🦽 Too weak to walk, for Henry <333

(@whumpvp kiss kiss)

Content Warning | Post-op wooziness, Henry being pliant and helpless, Fluff

---

This was about as routine a heart surgery as they came. The battery in Henry's ICD had run low, and so for the sixth time in his life he'd gone under to have it replaced. Both of them were familiar with the process, and they'd had more than a month to prepare. But it didn't stop Wesley from nearly melting with relief when he first laid eyes on him again. Exhausted and pale and drugged, but still aware and still in one piece.

Wes filled out the paperwork. Collected the post-op meds, thanked the nurses one last time. Then he took the handles of Henry's wheelchair, and started them toward home.

Wes had seen him like this a few times before, but it was never going to stop making his heart ache. Henry's eyes were glassy and vacant, watching the floor tiles go by without seeming to follow them. He was still holding his hospital pillow close to his chest, looking every bit like he'd crumble apart without it.

Henry winced as they went over the threshold, knuckles going white on the pillow. Wes was even more careful about the next little bump, and then they were out to the lane where the valet was waiting with the Audi. The sound of traffic going by, the murmur of other waiting patients, the smell of heat and asphalt hit like a wave.

Henry seemed to stir a little, recognizing his car. And then he started looking around, brows furrowed until he found what he was looking for. Wesley.

"Hey," Wes said gently. He leaned down and locked the wheels on either side, making eye contact with one of the nurses and nodding for them to come over. He squatted down next to Henry, giving his arm a squeeze. "We're gonna help you into your seat. Then we're headed home to rest, okay?"

Henry's eyes were on him, blinking too slowly as he tried to focus. But eventually he inclined his head in what was probably a nod, and turned his eyes back to the car as if figuring out how to try to get in there.

Wes almost didn't catch it when Henry shifted his weight forward in an attempt to stand, only to nearly collapse into the car door. "Hey- hey—not yet." He caught him, and the other nurse jogged over to close the distance. They each took Henry under his arm, steadying him. "Let us do the work. Just put your foot here....and the other....there you go. Now on three. One, two..."

They hefted him the rest of the way out of the chair, and helped him transfer to the car. Wes caught his head just before it hit the roof, and let out a breath of relief as Henry sunk down into the seat. It took a few more moments of helping him adjust his legs and get buckled. Wes made sure he was able to keep the pillow between his seat belt and the incision site, and Henry went back to hugging it just as closely as before.

Wes thanked the nurse, then closed the passenger door. Once they were both in the silence and familiarity of the Audi, Henry's eyelids drooped. He looked exhausted, and his breathing was coming slow and a little labored. Wes buckled in, then reached over to give his leg a squeeze. He got a little sound of acknowledgement. He knew he was there.

The drive home was a quiet one. He took a longer route home, one that would avoid as many stops signs and potholes as possible to avoid jostling Henry any more than necessary. And when they finally pulled up to the steps of their rowhouse, Wes let the car idle for another minute as he coaxed Henry back to awareness.

"I'm gonna come around to get you. And we're going to take the steps really slow, alright? It doesn't matter how long it takes to get us there."

Henry made a mumble that sounded like an acknowledgement. They'd talked about this before his surgery, and somewhere in there he still knew the plan. Handrail on one side, Wes on the other. Slow and steady.

Wes gave a nod, and then came around to open his door. He helped him unbuckle, and murmured, "We're gonna leave the pillow here for now, but I promise I'll give it back when we're inside." He still saw Henry hold it even tighter for a moment, before that little bit of resistance caught up with common sense. He let Wes take it, fingers still clinging loosely as it was pulled away. The longing on Henry's face made his heart ache, but he knew it would be forgotten by the time he got it back.

Getting him to his feet was no small feat. Getting him to the base of the steps wasn't either. Henry wasn't exactly a light man, especially when he was swaying as they went. He kept tripping on his own shoes as though he couldn't remember quite how to place them. But with Wes' help they made it to the hand rail, and from there Henry finally seemed to remember his balance.

There were only ten steps up to the door, and every one of them was taken carefully and clumsily. Wes helped him lean up against the doorway as he got it unlocked, feeling Henry's whole frame trembling with exhaustion against his side.

And then they were home. He tossed the keys onto the counter, and helped Henry up the last step. Henry started hanging back just inside the doorway, looking down at his feet. It took Wes a moment to realize he was trying to toe off his shoes.

The sight tugged at him. Even drugged halfway to hell, routine was still such a powerful thing.

"It's alright, love. Let's get you sitting first. I'll help you out of them once we're in the bedroom."

"...mm?"

"Yeah. Promise it'll make it a lot easier."

He coaxed him along. They went past the couch and to the bedroom, where blankets and pillows and water were already set up and waiting. He eased Henry down onto the bed, and bent over to help him pull off his shoes.

He was gentle getting him undressed. Careful to make sure he didn't try to lift his arms, steadying him when he started to sway. He helped him settle back against the pillows. Henry's skin was clammy to the touch, but he still leaned into him when Wes pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm gonna be right back. I just need to go get the rest of our things."

Henry was almost asleep again by the time he returned. He roused him just enough to offer him his pillow. And when he saw it, the look of relief on his face said everything. He curled around it like a long lost friend, tucking his knees up and burying his cheek against it with a sigh. It didn't seem to matter that he was surrounded by other, arguably much better pillows. This was the only one he had eyes for.

Wes sat down beside him and combed fingers back through his hair. And with that, in moments, Henry was asleep.

Arab Character Joining Corrupt Superheroes, Police Parallels

Anonymous asked:

I’m writing a story with a Arabian diaspora main character. The story is about corrupt superheroes, and how they affect an oppressed superpowered minority. The main character is one of these superheroes, naively joining them in his teens believing he’s going to help people. Doesn’t help that his parents are having money trouble. Eventually he ends up fighting a superpowered crook, and gets a bystander killed.

1)I know portraying an Arabian character committing violence is a pretty touchy subject, even if accidental. Is there any way I can write this that makes it clear to the reader that the action itself is messed up without the unfortunate implication that Arabs are violent? 

2)A large part of the story is the MC’s parents reaction. They are loving parents, however after this incident happens, they are confused and ashamed. While they still love him, they temporarily cut ties with him. Eventually they reconcile and start to be a family again. In my research (they are diaspora Saudi Arabians), Family is very important and tight-nit. Shame towards the family is to be avoided at all costs. However I’ve also read that disowning a family member rarely ever happens. Is there a way to write this kind of narrative with respect to this aspect of Arabian culture?

Let us begin with some terminology.

- If a person is from Saudi Arabia, they are Saudi Arabian, or more commonly, Saudi. This is their nationality.

- They may or may not be Arab. Arab is an ethnicity. Not all Saudis are Arab. Not all Arabs are Saudi.

- Arabic is a language. Lots of people across the world who are neither Saudi nor Arab speak Arabic.

- Arabian on its own is a word used to refer to a specific breed of horses.

If you are referring to humans, you want to either say "Saudi Arabian" (both words) or “Saudi” to indicate nationality, or "Arab" to indicate ethnicity. If you’re looking to describe your character’s culture, you probably want to call it Saudi culture. (While grammatically correct, talking about “Arab culture” doesn’t make much sense because Arabs are an incredibly diverse ethnic group and there is no such thing as a single monolithic Arab culture).

Now for the first question. In my mind, the issue is less about the character committing violence, and more about the premise of the story and how it mirrors real-life oppressive structures. You have an organized group of superheroes who think they are doing good by fighting “crooks” but in reality are enacting systemic oppression upon a marginalized group. This immediately brings to mind police violence, racial profiling, and the way that policing in North America is used as a tool of white supremacy while glorified in propaganda as a force for good. Essentially, you are telling a story about a character who joins an oppressive policing force, enacts violence upon a marginalized group as a result, and (I’m assuming) eventually realizes that they are not, in fact, the good guys. This is very close to being a “bigoted character learns not to be bigoted” story. I recommend re-examining your premise in light of the real-life parallels and asking yourself whether this is the story you want to tell. 

The issue is compounded by the fact that your character is an Arab teen, who in real life is more likely to be the one facing racial profiling from the police. Taking this character and making him the oppressor in your story makes the already flawed premise even more problematic, especially if the characters in the oppressed group are white.

As for your second question, it seems believable to me that a teen’s parents might reject him if they learned that he committed a crime. However, when the family in question is Arab, you are suddenly feeding into harmful tropes about oppressive and violent Arab parents. You are asking if there is a way to write this respectfully. I believe that there is, but it requires a great deal of care, nuance, and cultural awareness. While it is possible to write a Saudi Arab character grappling with the consequences of violence and familial estrangement in a compelling way, the way your ask is phrased leads me to believe you are not equipped to do it justice. 

- Mod Niki

Think about why Arab people committing violence is a touchy subject, and then think about the general propaganda narrative that came about from the act that made things so touchy. 

It’s going to sound one hell of a lot like what you have here.

Military and police use buckets and buckets of propaganda to continue hooking in young, impressionable teens to commit state-sanctioned colonialism and oppression. That propaganda looks suspiciously like “we have health insurance, we will pay for your education, you just have to do what we tell you even if that means hurting or killing others, but it’s okay because you get to be the hero in the situation.”

Now, propaganda is a very powerful tool. I was taught, in my media classes, that controlling the message means shaping reality. The media is built as a propaganda machine, and when you start to see who owns what media properties you start to see some really disturbing patterns (Rubert Murdoch owns a lot of right-wing sources across America, the UK, and Australia, and he’s too rich to investigate his culpability in spinning terrible narratives found in right-wing publications. He owns the big names).

As Niki said, this situation mirrors police violence and police-sanctioned terrorism. And the very, very unfortunate implications of making the target of police violence be in that wheel. But I want you to look at the media situation that has made the plot happen.

Because even if you swapped out ethnicities, you’d still have a reckoning to do with the American culture that their primary social safety nets involve killing people.

I am not kidding.

Some of the most well-funded unions in the country are police unions. These people have pensions. They have health insurance. It’s damn near impossible to fire them. They get overtime very well mandated, and it’s a known thing among defence lawyers that arrests happen right before a cop’s shift will end so they get the overtime of filing the paperwork. They absolutely go into poor neighbourhoods and recruit based off people needing an escape, and them having the money to provide it.

A similar sentiment is true for the military, except they push for college education a bit more and don’t really have overtime, but they do have deployment bonuses. So the way to get extra pay for yourself is to go out and do colonialism outside the borders. The military doesn’t necessarily like it when the economy is doing well, and don’t like the idea of college being affordable, because they rely so heavily on poverty and fear of college debt to recruit. 

The story you’re telling here goes so far beyond an individual’s actions and instead taps into America’s single biggest cultural investment: that oppressing others makes you a hero. 

The Pentagon funds most military media out there as a propaganda tool, including most superhero movies and a large number of video games. This is in their budget. They will also go so far as to literally commission the games to exist. Part of getting that funding is you cannot critique America’s military, basically at all (the only exception I’ve seen is Ms Marvel, but that’s set in the 90s). This turns any sort of military-using media into a potential propaganda tool.

And the thing is? Even if you fall for that propaganda and were part of the military or the police, you still have to reckon with the fact you put whatever your own desires were above a huge track record of those groups being terrible. You still have to reckon with the fact you didn’t realize they were wrong, and were complicit in a lot of crimes.

This goes very far beyond “the action is terrible” and goes into “the system is rotten to its core, and you chose not to believe it, or to believe you could change what was built with blood.”

“Good” police officers get fired. If you try to question anything, if you try to say this action is wrong, you will absolutely get destroyed. Military’s much the same. You need some degree of buy-in to the concept of white supremacy to sign up for the military or the police, because you need to see their actions as not deal breakers instead of actions that violate multiple international laws. 

In short: you need to see the people being oppressed as deserving of being oppressed to some degree in order to participate with police and the military.

Marginalized people can hold this belief, it happens. But that is a very sticky situation that outsiders shouldn’t touch. 

It’s possible but difficult for you to write a white person having this sort of arc, but it would be extremely challenging to have it not come across as a white guilt story. To not have a socially aware audience roll their eyes at how long it took. You’d definitely not be writing a story with a diverse audience in mind, because you’d mostly appeal to those who saw the propaganda as just fine and not that bad.

This isn’t even getting into the oft-cited adage that boys who bully others become cops, while girls who bully become nurses. And the more police atrocities become mainstream news, the less and less people can convince themselves that becoming a police officer is a good thing.

Which brings me to the point of: how well-documented is this oppression? Is this character walking around in an oppressive situation like, say, pre-social-media where there was no direct access to the oppressed groups and you could close your eyes and look away even if it made national news? Or is this in a media connected world where these oppressed populations have a voice in the narrative?

The former has an angle of the character slowly realizing the horror and it’s slightly more forgivable for their early ignorance. But in any sort of world where there’s access to the people getting hurt? Things get more and more “ignorance is indistinguishable from maliciousness.” And keep in mind, these stories are read in the real world, where police brutality and war crimes go viral, and a lack of knowledge is getting harder and harder to defend as a position.

Media plays a huge role in shaping our perception of what’s happening. Cameras on a situation makes different activism tactics work, as we can see with how activism changed in the 60s and 70s as tv reached the masses. Social media has made it possible for you to look up firsthand accounts of discrimination within seconds. 

This is a factor you are absolutely going to have to consider, when you want to look at how nice your hero is seen by marginalized or otherwise socially-aware people. If there is a way to find out how bad this superhero organization is before you sign a contract with them? Then that doesn’t look particularly good on the “hero”. You’d really have to establish them as super idealistic, super sheltered, super desperate, and/or just swallow the knowledge that they really don’t see anything that happens “over there to those people” as that bad. 

All of the above is more than possible. And they’d still be seen as complicit no matter what justification you gave, because they are.

Does this mean all corrupt organization stories are off limits? No. The reason these stories have such deep cultural resonance right now is because of the propaganda I outlined above. 

But you as the author are going to have to examine your own engagement with the propaganda narrative and do your own private reckoning so your own sense of guilt and compliance doesn’t bleed through the narrative too strongly, so you can tell a good story instead of an overt message story that’s you working out your own feelings.

By all means, write a story where police and the military are taken down, where propaganda is weaponized and the media is controlled (because that’s sure as hell the modern world). 

But know that stories where the hero discovers the corruption already have a ticking clock because we, in the real world, are slowly being faced with a mountain of apathy instead of ignorance. The knowledge of oppression is out there so much that marginalized people are tired of the ignorance defence. 

As the saying goes, “privilege is the ability to ignore the oppression of others.” 

Propaganda, centralized media, and strategic cultural investment made it possible for police and the military to have a chokehold on their public perception. But that’s changing. The chokehold is starting to fade, people are starting to question their beliefs. 

The past year has shown that knowledge isn’t the issue; it’s white supremacy. People don’t want to believe that any of this is that bad. People want to believe that oppression is justified, that if people just followed the law they’d be fine. They don’t want to question themselves. And marginalized people are tired of these narratives where, suddenly, people snap out of it. Because there was so much evidence to show it was bad, but it was only when you do one of the worst crimes imaginable that you realize this is bad? It’s only when it becomes personal that things are worth looking at critically?

No. And you need to examine where you are in processing your own complicity before writing a story where you’ve swapped around the ethnicities to try and distance yourself from the problem, where in the end you made the target the oppressor.

~Mod Lesya

I kinda wanna fucking scream, so here, have a offline bullshit rant post.

So I’ve literally been trying to get my stupid fucking meds for over a MONTH now at this point, which I’m sure you can all see like, my mood is just wooooonderful these days. Not an excuse, casual reminder that yeah you do gotta take care of your own space so if my mood is dragging anyone down, I’m totes on board with blocking or unfollowing or y’know, burning me in effigy or something. Okay maybe not that last part. But still. You get it. And its not even that like, I need mood stabilizers per se, lol, so shout out to the armchair diagnosticians helpfully peppering my inbox still in their quest to oh so slickly be like ‘hey you’re a hot mess, take your hot messness away from tumblr’ like lol, didn’t ask.....nah, its mostly the perpetual lack of sleep and chronic pain issues that I have zero distraction from when my specific combo of meds isn’t able to let me actually weaponize my ADHD properly and power through that. Its a whole thing. Whatever. Just go with it.

POINT IS. So I’ve been trying to do this for over a month now, first obstacle was even just getting the money together for my refill appointment which is a whopping $150, because I have to pay out of pocket for mental health stuff these days because I had to switch my insurance over to something that paid out more heavily for physical benefits like my jaw surgery.....and because of the pandemic, and how many psychiatrists in my area and that I could actually reach aren’t taking new patients during the pandemic since most of them are conducting business virtually still, like, I have barely any resources for seeking out and trying new psychiatrist offices in the meanwhile that might charge less and I’m kinda stuck with the one I have because the last thing I can afford is to have like, NO psychiatrist at the moment, y’know?

So first I had to have that to even BOOK the appointment, which took forever because rent and food are a joy to accrue when you can barely manage to function as an actual employee of the capitalist machine ahfsklhflkahflakf, but so then I did that and like, got an appointment put on the books for August 19th. That was the soonest they could fit me in back when I paid them for my appointment about a week and a half ago. No, two weeks ago now? Eh, time is fake. ANYWAY, so that wasn’t gonna work for me, so basically the entirety of last week was devoted to constantly calling and trying to check in every other hour to see if they had any sooner cancellations I could take, because for whatever fucking reason, they just ‘don’t do’ a cancellation list wherein they call the next person on the list once they have a cancellation. Whatever.

So finally got a cancellation slot with a virtual appointment last Saturday night at random as fuck 8:40. Okay cool. Most of my refills are fairly simple, no real changes, but two are controlled substances so like, they have to do their due diligence and go through the proper protocols before giving me another prescription to one or whatever. Fine. Okay.

So I call the CVS they sent the prescription for my ADHD med to, the very next morning. One of the controlled substances, and the key med to like....making me functional instead of a rambling disjointed whirlibird of a thought emitter. Problem is, that medication is on back order. Won’t be in until Tuesday. Ugh. Okay, fine. Nothing I can do about it, because while the specific provider I spoke to in order to GET my refill prescriptions was taking an appointment the night before, the actual offices that schedule appointments and connect patients through to their providers was closed for the weekend, so I couldn’t even ask for them to send the scrip somewhere else.

SO. I go back to the CVS on Monday, hoping that maybe it came in early because not like I can do much else in the meanwhile. Course its not there, but oh well. I toy with the idea of calling to ask my provider to send the scrip to a different pharmacy (only had it sent to this one cuz its within walking distance to me, and since I can’t drive for medical reasons and Uber’s are expensive as fuck, just for errands, like, even though walking is sooooo not fun for me physically, like it is what it is). I decide against it because here’s another fun fact about this controlled substance....for security reasons, pharmacies don’t have to tell people over the phone if they have it in stock or not. Like, they won’t just say no we don’t have it in stock - I mean, they WILL say that, but that doesn’t actually mean anything because that’s what most of them say about that particular medication no matter whether or not they DO, and then just cite security protocols, so you have to actually GO to the store in question to ask them and even get a real answer to whether or not they even HAVE it in stock to FILL a prescription if its sent over. And no, the provider won’t just send scrips into several different pharmacies at once and just be whichever has it in stock can fill it - because again, controlled substance.

SO. I decide its not worth it to try getting the scrip sent over somewhere else, because I’d have to at least waste money on an Uber to even travel to various pharmacies and even check if they CAN fill it sooner than this one, when at least this place will have it in tomorrow. Its just one more day at this point.

Except then I go back on Tuesday. Oh sorry, don’t know why that other person told you we’d have our order in today, our shipments of that medication don’t come in until Wednesdays.

So I go back Wednesday. Success! They have it in stock. I go to pay, pulling out my goodRx coupon that was just printed out that morning, specifically citing the price for CVS at Target. The pharmacy manager says sorry, we don’t honor that coupon here for controlled substances like this one. I say: record scratch? He’s like yeah, that’s at the discretion of individual pharmacies, and we don’t honor that price for this specific medication, because we don’t want to attract customers only coming here to get that medication filled for that price. (This pharmacy is right at the edge of Inglewood and Culver City, for anyone who is familiar with those neighborhoods. The implications are exactly as they appear to be). So I’m like, what’s the regular generic price? He quotes me something that’s $180 more than the coupon, and thus $180 more than I have since I was focused totally on getting THIS amount ASAP, so I could get these meds so I could do more work and make more money. You see the train of thought. I’m like well that’s awesome, I don’t have anything close to that. Hey. Weird question. Why did nobody I talked to the past three days in a row that I’ve walked into this store in person to request this refill, like, mention this little tidbit about not honoring this coupon so instead of waiting for a backorder that would do me no good, I could have been spending that time having my prescription transferred somewhere that WOULD honor it?

He’s like, well did you mention to any of them that you’d be using a goodRx coupon for this particular medication? I said, yup. He said, you sure? I said well the specific process each time was I came in, I asked if this medication was in, they said what’s your name and date of birth, I provided that info, they said are you paying out of pocket, we don’t have valid insurance info for this on file for you, I said yup paying out of pocket with a goodRx coupon, they said *clickety clack of the keyboard* nope, sorry, we won’t have this medicine in until Tuesday, I mean Wednesday. 

He’s like, well you must be misremembering or they would have told you at the time that we don’t take GoodRx coupons on this medication. I’m like, dude, it was you. It was literally you that I spoke to two of those three times, right here at the counter, in person. I’m gonna go ahead and trust my memory of those interactions and what was said there over yours since you don’t actually remember having talked to me two times in the last three days. He’s like, I gotta go help another customer. There is no other customer. I leave. Fun day for everyone.

So then I call around town to at least check which CVS will actually honor the coupon I have and the price that I can afford to pay it at. I don’t bother asking if they even have the medication in stock because I know its not guaranteed to be a CORRECT answer, but at least I can see who accepts this damn coupon. Also, reason I’m only trying big brand pharmacies instead of smaller, hole in the wall ones is because again, controlled substance, and I know from experience that the bigger brand pharmacies are at least more likely to have that med in stock whereas most smaller ones tend to run out very quickly as they usually only get enough for their existing/regular customers and a little extra.

I find a CVS five miles away - not walkable, gonna have to Uber. Call my psychiatrist office again to ask them to transfer the scrip, front office says they’ll send the request to my provider, who usually checks and fulfills such requests in 24-48 hours. I’m like okay cool, can I get a phone call to let me know when that happens, so at least I know when to check back to follow up if it hasn’t happened yet for whatever reason? They’re like no, the pharmacy will send you a text or call when they get the prescription sent over and you can take it from there with them. I’m like okay, but I’ve done this a bunch of times and know from experience the pharmacy does NOT in fact always call or text, so is there a certain time to follow up to inquire if the provider has already sent the scrip and the pharmacy SHOULD have it by now or if the delay is on the provider’s end? Front office is like yeah no. I’m like, swell.

So that was yesterday. I call the pharmacy (which I still don’t even know if they have the medication IN STOCK to fill the scrip even once they GET the scrip, and won’t until I can actually Uber out there, but one thing at a time at this point) at like 9 pm, they’re a 24 hour pharmacy, and they’re like nope, we got nothing (this is after spending an hour and a half on hold to even TALK to someone at the pharmacy). Called them again today at noon, still nada. Technically I have another 29 hours before the window in which the provider is supposed to send the refill scrip to this new location, before I can be like, okay so they still haven’t done it, can we send him a nudge or another request. The 24-48 hour window will only actually EXPIRE after their offices close on Friday meaning it’ll be Monday before I can even actually REACH someone again to ask them to send the scrip again, if the pharmacy hasn’t ACTUALLY gotten it by Friday night, and pessimistically, I’m not super inclined to assume that they will at this point. 

I’m antsy, irritable, hungry because I don’t even know for SURE sure if the new pharmacy will ACTUALLY honor the coupon or say no sorry we don’t do that here either, whoever told you that was wrong, or if they’ll even actually have it in stock versus I’ll have to have it sent somewhere else AGAIN, so I have to pinch every penny possible in order to ensure I have the most money possible once my prescription IS filled in case the price is more than I expected again or in case I have to take Ubers there or further than I expected or basically....shit happens that I don’t expect. And this is what I’m basically spending all my time doing instead of working, because trying to get work done in this state is like....the harder I try to make it happen, the less it actually gets done, so I try and prioritize this and its roadblock after roadblock dragging out and wasting my time, and like yeah, I can post and shit while I’m doing this aka sitting on hold or walking around town trying to get shit filled because its fine if I ramble incoherently along the way in posts, but actual WORK work requires like....fucking coherency and succinctness and not having to stop and start every five minutes to call someone else, and oh yeah, being able to power through migraine spikes. And just.

I’m very annoyed about anything and everything to do with this shit. The hoops you have to jump through to even get the stuff that like....actualizes your hoop jumping ability, is just....*gnashing of teeth*

Anyway. So that’s my offline bullshit rant. Yay. The end.

Fix’er Upper Pt. 3

Pairing: Eventual Frankie Morales x F!Reader Warnings: Clumsy injury, more stupid fighting Length: 2.5k Notes: If these two dummies could have one (1) adult conversation they’d be in bed together by now. Instead, we get this! *waves around vaguely*

PART ONE, TWO

Money was tight. You had been trying to ignore the dwindling stack of cash, telling yourself that you didn’t actually need to fix the cracked drywall, replace the old oven, or fill in the missing patches of shingles. 

That ignorance had finally come to bite you in the butt. You were rudely woken at three a.m. to the clap of thunder and the pat-pat-pat of rain hitting the house. You loved storms, the excitement of the lighting, and how fresh the air smelled once the rain had passed. 

You rolled over onto your back so you could watch the lightning flashing between the cracks of your curtains. A tap on your forehead quickly destroyed the excitement you were feeling. The wet ‘splat’ was quickly followed by another, and another, and before you were able to scramble up and search for the closest thing resembling a bucket, it had turned into a steady stream.

“Fuuuuuuuck!”

The next morning, the sun rose and shed its light upon a beautiful scene. The leaves, now free from dust, were beginning to turn, the grass glimmered with raindrops, and the sky was clear. You, on the other hand, were a verifiable disaster. 

Hair unkempt, heavy bags under your eyes, and wearing the first items of clothing you could find in your scramble last night. Your exhaustion was so complete, it hadn’t even dawned on you to change or freshen up a bit before going out into the public eye. All you could focus on was getting to Hank’s Hardware and buying all the shingles you could get your hands on.

Once again, however, you were harshly reminded of your dwindling savings and just how expensive fixing up a house could be. The owner, Allan if you remembered correctly, had shown you the right size and style for your home’s roof and you nearly choked at the price.

“You know,” he had said gently, “we do have the option of a payment plan. I don’t let just anyone use it either. It’s for trusted customers. I have a good gut on who I can trust.”

“Really?” You asked, feeling a little pathetic while also knowing now was not the time to let pride ruin such a good thing. “And, um, what does your gut tell you about me?”

“Welllll,” he smiled, hooking his thumbs into his suspenders and leaning back a little to size you up. “You’re hard-working, feel like you have something to prove, won’t back down from a challenge, and are in way over your head with that damn old house.”

“Oh.”

“No offense, ma’am! Sometimes I forget myself and talk to strangers the same way I’d talk to my friends.” He patted your forearm gently then hooked it back into his suspenders, pretending he didn’t notice you jumping at the physical contact. “But it’s true. No denying you won’t be able to shingle all by yourself. I’d offer, but I’m in no shape to be climbing up roofs.”

“That’s very sweet of you, truly. But I’ll manage! I doubt I could afford a handyman, so it’ll be me and my stubborn self scrambling around up there.” You joked, but it fell a little flat since the both of you knew it was the truth.

“I’ve got an idea...” Hank trailed off, his gaze searching around by the till. “Maybe you two can help each other out?” He fiddled at the computer for a minute, then grabbed a flyer from the corkboard mounted behind the counter before handing you two pieces of paper. One was a receipt of what you owed him after this latest excursion and a detailed timeline of when small payments could be made. 

Glancing up at him, you gave him a watery smile and thanked him for being so kind. Allan waved you off and pointed to the second paper.

‘Help Wanted’ it read, ‘Morales Acres. Light physical labour, quiet environment, rate of pay dependent on quality of work.’

“So friendly and welcoming,” you murmured, sarcastically, under your breath. Not quietly enough though because Allan snorted out a laugh and agreed that the ad was worded very abruptly. However, he vetted for the owner of the farm and suggested you head over to see if he would be willing to trade labour for labour.

Or at the very least, you thought, pay you so you can afford a roofer.

Following the directions Allan had provided for you, you quickly found Morales Acres. Surprisingly, it was a very short distance from your own home, making you wonder if the owner had been one of the people to drop by during your first weeks here.

The driveway was a beautiful, winding drive. The view of the farm was obscured by thickets of trees on either side of the road but you managed to catch glimpses of a pond and a few bales of hay before rounding a bend and driving into the yard.

A small gasp left your lips at the sight. It was picturesque! Something out of a travel magazine, or on every city girl’s Pinterest board. The driveway came to an end in front of a statuesque barn painted in the classic red and white, stone walls cordoned off certain areas that, from where you sat, looked like they could be used to house sheep or hens. A few small sheds were lined up along the other edge of the yard but the main attraction was the neatly lined rows of apple trees all heavy with fruit.

Climbing out of the cab, you slowly made your way into the yard with your mouth hanging open dumbly. It was just so peaceful here and it was obvious that the owner cared deeply for the property. You were enchanted and fell immediately in love.

“You must be the help Allan called to say he was sending over,” a warm voice rang out.

Looking around for the source your gaze widened, then immediately hardened, when you caught sight of who was talking to you.

“You!”

“You?!”

To say it had been a smooth business agreement would be a total lie. You and Market Asshole, Frankie you reminded yourself to call him, had bickered back and forth for the better part of an hour before shaking hands. Surprisingly, you had both argued more for the other person’s benefit, something you had been mulling over since.

If this guy was such an ass, why was he also acting like his help with your renovations wouldn’t be worth as much as you picking apples? You knew your presence disturbed his peace, and that you weren’t as strong as he might have hoped his helper would be, and he still hadn’t trusted you with all the workings of his orchard. 

So, while you weren’t going to argue anymore, you knew you were getting the better end of the deal: you help him gather his harvest and get it safely stored in the barn, then he spends the same amount of hours helping you. While the weather during September was prone to drizzle, you had convinced him that a tarp thrown over the baldest patches of roof would be fine and that the apples couldn’t wait. 

He had grumpily conceded your point but had sworn that as soon as the last of the fruit was picked he’d be over to do a proper job of it. So continued the uneasy truce between the two of you for the past four weeks. The first week was the hardest as your hands, unaccustomed to work, blistered, and your muscles ached from sudden use. You had initially tried to pass the time by making conversation but you got the hint and stayed quiet once Frankie started choosing trees farther and farther from yours.

Slowly, however, the blisters healed and gave way to callouses. Your muscles became accustomed to the work and you were able to carry twice the amount as you had started off with. Your home could now boast electricity and running water everywhere it should be, and the pile of discarded furniture had been reduced to ash by a spectacular bonfire which Jacquie and her family had joined you in admiring.

Today started off as a normal day. You showed up for harvesting at the break of dawn, having discovered you much preferred the cool morning air over being up on a ladder with the midday sun beating down on you. The trees were obscured by a low fog that had yet to burn up, but you knew what section you needed to start on. 

Enjoying the way the fog enveloped you, making you feel like you were in a magical world, you began to hum and your steps took on a dreamy dance-like quality. You had never taken lessons or had even been allowed to make such a spectacle of yourself while living with Brad but now you felt free enough to spin, twirl, and glide. Overcome with the joy your freedom gave you, you began to belt out “These Are a Few of my Favourite Things”, The Sound of Music having been played on repeat when you were a child. 

Once you reached the ladder, you hoisted the basket onto your back and continued to sing whatever songs you could remember while you worked. A particularly boisterous rendition of “Do Re Mi” had you flinging your arm out wide and leaning back on the ladder for a dramatic finish.

The apples threw you off balance. 

With a screech, you fell backward, managing to twist yourself around to land awkwardly on your hands and knees instead of on the basket of apples strapped to your back. You seemed to have come away unscathed, with just scratched knees and a throbbing in one wrist. Thankfully it wasn’t your dominant hand.

“Whoa!” Frankie called out, catching sight of you on the ground with the ladder tipped on its side, “Everything okay? Are you okay?”

Coming to a skidding stop next to you, he grasped the basket and slipped it off your back with ease. 

You took a few deep breaths and nodded. “Fine! Fine, just bruised knees and ego...” you assured him.

“What were you thinking?!” He tore into you, “You could have broken your neck! Or ruined a whole barrel of apples! Then what would I do?! This job doesn’t come with health insurance for Christ's sakes!” Running his hands through his curly, brown hair he let out a huff of air and walked over to where your ladder lay on the ground.

“Un-be-fucking-lievable!” You called out, incredulously. While trying to get to your feet, to march over and wag your finger in his face, you put too much pressure on your injured wrist that caused pain to scream down your arm.

You managed to mask the cry of pain as a cry of frustration and got to your feet. Surreptitiously cradling your hand against your chest, you grabbed another basket and walked past Frankie to start climbing the ladder again. Looking at the ground so he wouldn’t see the tears of pain in your eyes, you mumbled, “I’ll be more careful, alright? I’m sorry.”

Stopping your ascent with a hand on your arm he stuttered out what might have been the beginning of an apology but he couldn’t quite seem to put the right words together so he just cleared his throat.

“Just...” he said in a much softer tone, “just be more careful. Okay? I can’t lose my best worker.” 

The lame joke made you smile despite yourself. 

“Employee of the month,” you replied in a dry tone, “hurrah.” 

You shared wry smiles while a silent apology passed between the two of you. His dark brown eyes held a warmth to them you had never noticed before. Their hue reminding you of every tree in the orchard from the early light to the sunset, golden flecks reminiscent of the sun. His face, weathered from so much time spent outdoors, was marked with laugh lines, worry lines, and a small scar gracing his left cheek. 

Your eyes wandered past the scar to note how long his scruffy facial hair had grown and how it had started to obscure those pleasantly pouty lips. 

Then, with a start, you realized you were staring at this infuriating man’s lips like a hormonal teenager. With an embarrassed squeak, you quickly scurried up the ladder, hooking your elbow around each rung to avoid any more pressure on your wrist.

To say Frankie was coping well with having someone around would be a gross overstatement. 

It’s not that he didn’t like the company or wanted to be alone. The problem was that he was starting to like her company too much, to care too much. And caring too much had been the root cause of all Frankie’s sorrows.

First, there had been his Dad, trying to impress the man who never even wanted kids. Then the force, always feeling like he needed to prove himself and desperate for praise. After that was his wife, ex-wife, and trying to be someone he wasn’t so she would stay interested and in love. The pressure created by caring about these people and the expectations they had for him drove him to abuse drugs. Then his friends came calling and Frankie went against his gut because they had cared so deeply about something and he had cared deeply for them.

His wife, his kid, his family, his job, his friends. He had cared more than they did and he had come away worse off. At least now he was clean and sober, and was very aware of the irony of him now making and selling an alcoholic drink.

No, it was best to stay alone. He loved too freely and put too much stock in being loved back and every. single. time. it hurt him.

So, he closed himself off from you. Initially, he didn’t think it was going to be an issue, especially considering how you two had met. But then he found himself smiling at your stories, idly leaning against a branch so he could watch your graceful moments. He hated watching you leave, knowing you were going home to that piece of shit house that he should really be fixing up for you.

He recognized the signs and nipped them in the bud; working farther away, replying to questions with the fewest possible words, focusing purely on work, and maintaining a professional relationship. It pained him to push you away but deep down he knew it was best for the both of you.

Which brings him back to this moment.

Frankie was too stunned to notice your awkward climb up the ladder. Standing there, dumbly, for another few seconds. Wondering, all the way back to the idling tractor, what the hell had just happened.

One minute he was just driving the tractor minding his own business and the next he was having a mild heart attack after seeing his only worker laying limp on the ground. Then, after arguing like usual, you had shared a...a moment and stared at his mouth almost long enough to tempt him to use it.

Part Four

If you’d like to be tagged please send an ask!

@rebelliouscat @pedro4ever @speakerforthedead0 @yespolkadotkitty @ilikechocolatemilkh @weirdowithnobeardo @pedro-pastel @disgruntledspacedad @a-skov @trash-dino-5000 @reader-s-cantina

hi sex witch! so i might be having sex for the first time in the near future and i’m wondering 1) if neither of us have had sex before so we have to get tested for stds? like ik there are some that u can get from things other than sex but arent those the kind u would already know u have? and 2) i’m underage + my parents don’t want me having sex, therefore i can’t just go get prescribed birth control (i’m afab and he has a penis) so is that a problem? obviously we’d use a condom but ik that’s not entirely effective on its own. sorry if those are weird questions!

hey anon,

those aren't weird questions! those are very normal and responsible questions, and I'm glad you want to be informed about your sexual health.

first off, as someone who has absolutely zero patience with parents asserting undue control over their children's bodies and sexuality, I would be remiss not to tell you that (if you're in the United States) it's legal in almost every state for teenagers to access birth control prescriptions without their parents' knowledge or agreement. nearby Planned Parenthood locations will be happy to work with you and help you set up affordable payments if you don't have or are unable to use family health insurance, and SimpleHealth is a telehealth service that will prescribe and send you birth control for a relatively low fee - certainly less costly than the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy.

but, alright, let's assume none of that works out and you're sticking with condoms as your only method of contraception. is that bad? not at all. condoms are most effective when used in tandem with another form of birth control, but on their own they still boast about a 98% effectiveness rate if you use them correctly every time you have sex - not perfect, but pretty damn close.

that part about "using them correctly" is crucial, though; if you click that link, you'll notice that the "actual" effectiveness of condoms, resulting from everyday human error, is more like 82% - still good, but not optimal. to increase your chances of contraceptive success, you need to be making sure that the condom is put on correctly every single time (how-to guide here), that it's nowhere near the expiration date, and that you and your partner are doing everything in your power to make sure it doesn't slip off or tear in the middle of sex. making sure you're getting condoms that are the correct size will help (sizing guide here), and so will using plenty of lubricant.

just to be safe, I would recommend having an emergency plan for if something does go wrong - know where you can buy an emergency contraception pill in your area, and make sure you and your partner have the money put aside to do so.

that might sound like A Lot, but I promise I'm not saying it to scare you - if you keep it all in mind and are careful and conscientious in your sex-having habits, you shouldn't have much to worry about at all!

also, sorry I totally glossed over this - if neither you or your partner have ever had sex before, getting tested for sexually transmitted infections isn't really necessary. there are conditions classified as STIs that can pass without having sex, but they're actually the opposite of what you described - STIs that pass without sex tend to be so subtle you might never ever know you have them at all, like oral herpes simplex virus or molluscum contagiosum. these infections are a completely normal and largely harmless part of human experiences, and I wouldn't recommend spending too much time worrying about whether or not you already have them.

incidentally, according to the World Health Organization around 78% of the world's population under 50 have herpes - what a great day to normalize it!

The Accident

Chromeskull x OC(female) Alex Hey guys! So this is the first chapter to my story I have been working on for a while. If you ya’ll like it, I’ll post the rest of the chapters on here.  Chapter 1 It had all happened so fast. One minute Alex was going about her day, driving into work. The next minute she woke up in a haze, barely able to move her left arm. Touching her head she groaned as the headache forced her back down onto the pillow. Her vision blurry making her nauseous, closing her eyes tightly. A sharply dressed man and someone looking like they just got off their job working for the Geek squad walked over to her bed side. Alex heard the foot steps and opened her eyes again. While the geek guy with the tablet typed some things in the sharp dresser leaned to her face. “Hello there, I am obligated to ask how you are feeling but quiet frankly I don’t care.”             

Alex closed her eyes tight again, “Am I…In the hospital?” The man huffed and straightened himself out, “No but you don’t need to know where you are. Quite frankly soon you won’t need to know anything about anything soon. I’m going to be taking you to my bo-“While he was talking, Alex lurched to the side of the bed, puking all over his shoes. The man screamed and took a few steps back, “Are you kidding me! These are real leather! HEY! Take care of her while I clean up.” Tablet man nodded and went to the monitors, while the other one walked away in anger.             

“Miss I’m going to need your arm.” The man softly took her arm, but Alex lazily pulled it away, “Noooo my health insurance isn’t going to cover that. I’m broke.” The man took her arm again, but Alex roughly grabbed his neck, starting to choke him out, “No means NO asshole! She shoved him off his feet, causing him to fall back. Alex pulled the tubs off her body and slowly stood up, fumbling down onto the concrete floor. “Oooww….gotta…get to…car…” Crawling to a wall she leaned into it, pushing herself up onto her feet. Walking along the wall, she started making her way out of the makeshift hospital ward. Alex’s vision was slowly coming back, but she still felt loopy. They must have had her on some heavy pain killers or sedatives. Looking down at her arm, she finally noticed it was in a cast.            

 “Well damn, maybe angry man will sign you. But after I get out.” Walking around the building she ended up in a tool show area filled with knives and other weapons. Mouthing the word ‘cool’ she wandered in as two men were grinding down on some metal. One of them noticed her picking up a hunter’s knife with brass knuckles welded to them. “Hey! You can’t be in here!” She turned to them and pointed at what they were making, “Is that a fidget spinner knife?” One of the guys looked down at it, then back at her nodding with a shrug in his shoulders. Alex snickered, “That’s….stupid..” She started wandering away, one of them men picked up the phone yelling ‘code 12’ into it.            Preston was in the bathroom cleaning his shoes when code twelve started getting yelled over the speaker of the building. Preston looked at the door, “Code twelve!? WHAT CODE TWELVE?!” Just then his cellphone went off, a text coming in from ‘Boss’. Picking it up it read ‘why is there a code twelve in my building? Fix it.’ Preston cursed as he pocketed his phone, running out of the bathroom. Alex still wandering the building, she walked up to an office map, rubbing her eyes while she saw double. “Where am I? Is this come kind of private hospital? Oh, shit I’m really gonna get screwed on my insurance. How did I…end up here?”            

Closing her eyes, she focused on what she could remember. She was in her car listening to her favorite playlist while driving somewhere. Her car hit someone else car or they hit her? She got out, talked to the driver, she’s holding something? But then he… she groaned as her head throbbed. That was all her brain was letting her remember at the moment. Looking at the map again she saw a long hallway that looked like it said ‘Boss office’ on it. Figuring that was who to talk to about this, she started wobbling down the hallway again. She wandered into a break room, luckily for her it was empty. Opening their fridge, she saw some waters bottles that she knew she could never afford in her lifetime. Grabbing one with her somewhat free hand she just for the life of her couldn’t remember how to open it. Shrugging as she placed the water bottle on the countertop, Alex used as much of her brain power that she had at the moment. Her solution was to start stabbing at it softly, raising the bottle up, letting the water flow into her mouth.            

“HEY! KNOCK THAT OFF” Snappy dresser Preston was back, and he was pissed. Shaking the bottle off her knife she frowned at him, giving him a meek wave. Rubbing his eyes, Preston glared daggers at her, “If you know what’s good for you, you will follow me back to your bed.” Alex shook her head no, “I’m going to see your boss.” Preston stared walking to her slowly, “You will see him when he comes to see you in the bed. Now come here.” Alex just stood there, staring at the man, watching his moves. Was really going to underestimate someone holding a knife? That’s really stupid of him.            Once in arms length, Preston went to grab her free arm, but Alex pulled back quickly. Dodging around him, she lowered her reach, cutting right behind his knee, causing him to scream out in pain. Preston fell on the ground, holding the back of his leg. “YOU crazy BITCH!” Wiping the blood on her gown she realized she was not in her normal clothes. Frowning she started to wobble out of the room, but not before Preston grabbed her ankle, trying to pull her down. Alex started stomping on his wrist then his head, causing him to yell out in pain. When he let go, she started waddling her way down the hallway.             

After wandering for what felt like forever, she finally found the hallway she was looking for. Still feeling loosely goosey, climbing the stairs was much harder than she thought it would be. Every step causing her to see double, the pain killers must have started to wear off cause now her arm started to hurt. Getting to the top of the stairs, she was greeted by a well-dressed woman. “Ah, so you’re our code twelve I see. The little secret Preston was keeping from our boss Chromeskull.” Alex leaned against the wall, “Are you the head doctor here? I’m starting to hurt. Can I talk to the boss here please? I wanna get my car and leave.” This woman was Spann, though Preston was Chromeskulls right hand man, she recently had been cleaning up all of his messes. After their boss’s accident, Preston had been trying to find ways to get rid of Spann so that he would have full control with the workings of the business. But Spann knew if Preston’s little secret came wondering into Chromeskulls office, she would finally have some leverage to prove to the boss that Preston was an incompetent boob.             

Spann took Alexs shoulder and walked her towards the boss’s office door.  Opening it for Alex, Spann ushered the weak woman in, closing the door behind her. The dark office made it a little easier to see. The lights were hurting her eyes anyways. A computerized voice came from her side, ‘How did you get in here?’ Alex turned to see a man sitting at the desk. He was wearing a black dress shirt and a black suit jacket on, buts all she could make out, the computer moneters light didn’t show his face. Alex pointed to the door, “Angry dress man said you wanted to see me..or…at the bed?” The pain was making her whole body pulsate. Her body was not use to her walking around anymore. How long was she out for?            

Alex walked towards the desk, holding up the knife but placing it down in front of him, “Sorry about your knife. Its cool so I took it with me.  Do you…where am I?” She could feel the man staring at her but not showing his face. He pulled a cellphone out of his jacket pocket, typing something. Holding the phone out, it started talking ‘You should not be here.’ Alex nodded, “I told sharp dress man that but he said I was a surpise for you and honestly don’t like surpises they stress me out so I puked on him and…and..” She covered her mouth, heaving coming from her throat. The man at the desk stood up quickly, walking over to her, he pulled her towards the private bathroom. A big hand slid to pull her long copper hair back as she puked into the toilet.           

 “I-I’m sor-“ She heaved again, using her all strength to hold up her shaking body. “I don’t remember anything. Just car accident an-“ Alex’s time was up, all her energy was gone, her shaky hand reached for him clinging onto his dress shirt. Alex felt what was a napkin wipe her face. Follower by a glass of water, gulping it down and Alex started ugly crying. “Thank you. You’re nice.” Looking up at his face, she was greeting by a metallic skull looking town at her. The man towered over her, broad shoulders, masculine jaw, and a chrome skull mask staring at her. Maybe it was the drugs still in her body, maybe it was the exhaustion but Alex just hugged the man, snuggling her face into his defined chest her tears soaking into his jacket. They both stood there for a minute until Alex pulled back, looking up at him. Her vision going double again, then black, her body giving out, “Oh down I go” Her body falling over, but towering man caught her half way down.            

Preston ran into Chromeskulls office, his leg bandaged and his face red from running. Chrome skull was sitting behind his desk again while Alex was sleeping on his couch, his jacket cover her. ‘Why is she here.’ Chromeskulls phone asked Preston.  Preston straightens himself out,  “I know this looks bad, but she’s the woman from the accident I told you about! See, we all know you’re looking for someone who looks like your dead wife so here she is! Close look huh?” Chromeskull sat in silence, eventually typing, ‘Get out.’ Preston pointed at Alex, “So I’m in trouble for trying to do something good for you?! If Spann did this, you’d be over the moon! I do everythin-“Chromeskull stood up and typed, ‘Get out’ one more time. Preston huffed and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Chromeskull let out a sigh as he texted Spann to get the body moving car ready , as well as make sure one of the doctors was ready to depart with their medical supplies. He looked at the passed out woman, studying her features. Pulling out his wallet he pulled out an old photo. It was one of him and his late wife, her face beaming with joy. Oh god, this woman's smile was almost a perfect match that it was eerie. Was he about to go through with the idea of tricking someone into being his wife? Would that even work?

Survey #357

“your magic white rabbit has left its writing on the wall  /  we follow like alice, and just keep diving down the hole”

Are you better at telling stories or writing them? Writing, by a long shot. What’s one song you hate, but know every word to? i'm a barbie girl in a fckn barbie woooooorld What’s your favorite magazine? I don’t read magazines. If you could be an animal for one day, which animal would you choose? Probably a house cat. Be indoors and safe, able to just nap... lol. But I'd want another cat as a friend, too! Do you prefer outdoor or indoor concerts/events? Indoors, by a mile. I get hot outside way too easily. Do you know if you were a planned child? I don't know. What’s your favorite gem? Dragon's breath opal. As an adult, do you want to live in an apartment or a house? I'd like to live in a house, especially with the pets I want. I doubt many apartment complexes would allow multiple reptiles and inverts. Do you like the stem or leafy part of the broccoli? It doesn't matter much to me, but I prefer the stem. The texture is more likeable to me. Do bats frighten you? No, I adore bats! Does Paris appeal to you? Yeah, it's a pretty place. Are you a KPOP fan? No, I've never really checked it out. How long was your longest relationship? Over three and a half years. First time you kissed the last person you kissed? We were outside roasting marshmallows one night. Do you have to really know someone to kiss them? Absolutely. I don't dish 'em out for nothing. Were you anyone’s first kiss? No. If you had to be named after one of the 50 states of America, what state would you WANT to be named after? I actually think "Nevada" would be kinda pretty as a name? Do you think morals are universal or relative to the beliefs, traditions, or practices of individuals or groups? I've wondered this for a long while, really. I lean towards it being a mix, maybe? But more towards universal, I think... with some exceptions. This answer is all over the place, I honestly don't know. Is torture ever a good option? If no, why not? If yes, when? No? I think the "why not" is obvious... You just don't. What do you think is one one of the most undervalued professions right now? Teachers, garbagemen, retail and food workers... There's a lot. Have you ever seen anyone have a heart attack? Thank Christ no. Have you personalized your answering machine/voicemail? No. Have you ever had Fiji brand water? I actually don't believe I have, though it's always looked appealing to me, haha. What’s your favorite horror movie? The Crazies and the first Silent Hill, as well as both Blair Witch Projects. What was the worst thing a friend has either done or said to you? I'd rather not even think about things the bitch said to me. Are you biracial? No. When was the last time you got mad and broke something? I've never broken something when mad. What color dress did you wear to prom? My first was maroon, second one was black. Who is the cutest baby you know? My friend has a daughter named Scarlett who is absolutely gorgeous. Have you ever thrown a rock at a window? No, because I respect people's fucking property. Has anyone ever thrown a rock at your window? No. Does your hair react well to dye, or does it damage it? It likes to not take dye at all. >.> I have only had one instance where a friend dyed it red and it stuck for months and months, but we kept it in for a couple hours, I think. My normal hairdresser says it's because my hair is really healthy and I guess rejects it. What kind of pet do you wish you had? I ramble plenty about how I want tarantulas and more reptiles, haha. I also DESPERATELY want to rescue or foster an opossum. When was the last time you were diagnosed with something? Are you concerned about anything regarding your physical or mental health at the moment? I haven't been diagnosed with anything in quite some time, I believe, but as I'm going through the process of being approved for TMS therapy for my depression, my bipolar diagnosis is being questioned, which is... strange to me. It's been acknowledged by many a doctor that I have bipolar 2, but if insurance recognizes my primary diagnosis as bipolar, they won't cover TMS because it can massively excite the mania portion of bipolarity, and therefore I can't do it because we can't manually afford it. I'm willing to take the risk by far, as I've never had issues with mania, but I can't without insurance. I'm just waiting to hear back from them... What is one blanket judgment you tend to make about people (like, you judge all people who live at home, all people who drink, etc)? Does this judgment come from a particular personal experience? I really don't know. How do you react to other people yelling or slamming doors? Is this something you ever do too? I get very scared if it's a man. I don't like anyone doing it, and my anxiety will spike regardless, I'm just terrified of angry men. Have you ever lost your cool at work or somewhere else important? What happened as a result? No. Who has the power to break you? Jason still might. I don't know. Is anyone in your family blind? My sister is legally blind in one eye. Do you believe in evolution? Yeah. I do find the concept odd, that ALL LIFE originated from one thing, but I sure ain't got a better explanation, so. What job do you think people should be paid the most for? Surgeons, maybe? I dunno, that's a big question. Were you ever held back a year in school? Did you ever skip a grade? No. Have you ever been given a hickey? Have you given one? Yeah to both. What is your least favourite thing about your full name? I have the most basic white bitch middle name in the world, lol. Do you like the age you are? Eh, I don't mind it much, but I think it'd be better to be in my early 20s versus mid 20s. I'm just always so tired now. I can't believe I used to refuse to go to sleep before 10:30. What’s your favourite kind of poptart? The chocolate sundae one. If you had to eat one type (Chinese, etc.) of food which would it be? American bc I'm not very adventurous with food at all. When did your family immigrate to wherever you live now? *shrug* Are your fingers long, or short? Long. Mom's always said I have "piano fingers." Do you play Pokemon Go? If so, what level are you and who’s your buddy? Yeah, I love it, but don't play it nearly as much as I want because I don't exactly go anywhere, lol. My bud's Charmeleon, and I'm probably like five EXP from level 28. Do you ever sit indoors and wear sunglasses or a hat? I don't own either, so. Do you know how to read animals’ behavior? I honestly think I'm very good at it. Do you like playing video games? If so, what do you usually play? Yes, but not as much as I used to. All I really play nowadays is World of Warcraft. The only working console I have is a PS2, and I haven't bought a new game in probably a couple years, but there are definitely ones I want to play, mainly on PS4. Just can't afford it right now. Have you ever viewed the moon through a telescope? No. Do you know how to properly eat food with chopsticks? No. There's no way I could, given my tremors. Do you prefer reading books, comic books, manga/graphic novels, magazines, or the newspaper? Books. When is the last time you ate donuts? It's been months, man. I've seriously been craving a glazed one, though. Krispy Kreme sounds amaaaaaziiiiiing. Has anyone ever called you sexy? Somehow. Do you like raisins? NO NO NO NO NO. Have you ever overheard a conversation you weren’t supposed to? More than once. Do you like ants? They're genuinely extremely fascinating animals, but they're seriously annoying nevertheless. Did you like the movie Antz? I loved it as a kid. What was your favorite ice cream flavor when you were little? Chocolate. Is it still your favorite? Eh, depends on the day. By the way, what is your name? Brittany. What time zone do you live in? EST. Do you like cats? I love cats. What’s the most creepy experience you’ve ever had? One night when my mom and sister were at the beach for a dance competition, I was having trouble sleeping, and it only got worse when my dog Teddy started freaking the fuck out, barking loudly and staring intently at the foot of the bed. I was so scared that I tried to force his head to lie down, but he fought against me. I was terrified, but got up out of the bed and went into the living room to call my mom at like 3 in the damn morning, and she had to have our neighbor come over to sleep in the house with me (I was in a different room that night). You can't convince me that there wasn't paranormal shit going on. I think the house was haunted honestly, for multiple reasons. What’s the most boring game to exist? Why do you dislike it so much? Hm, I dunno. What’s the coolest place that you've ever been to? What’d you do there? Disney World was very memorable as a kid. We just went around collecting signatures, going on rides, all that fun stuff. I'll never forget fireworks at the castle. If you’re interested in having a long-term relationship with someone, do you think that waiting a certain amount of time before you first have sex is a good idea? Or does it not matter? I think it's a good idea, personally, mostly for the sake of reducing the spread of STDs. Just because you think you'll be long-term, doesn't mean you will be. Besides that, isn't there a science that sex and feelings of love are connected? Like, sex is impossible without at least some underlying emotions? I might be entirely wrong, in which case forgive me for spreading misinformation, but if that's so and things don't go as planned, you've gotten emotionally invested in someone too early and wind up getting hurt. You do you, I just don't think it's smart. Have you ever discovered something big by looking through someone’s phone, Facebook, email, etc.? No. Have you kept anything from your past relationships? (Things they left at your house, gifts, notes, etc) Do you think that’s a big deal for future relationships or not? Yeah, like plushies and little stuff like that. When it's tiny things like I just mentioned, I really don't think it matters. I think some things might be questionable to keep, but at the same time, I don't think it's really wrong to keep memories of a happy time, if the thing still brings you joy and has been emotionally disconnected from the ex? Idk. Do you have any financial regrets? Either way, what’s an example of a GOOD financial decision you’ve made? Going to and dropping out of college three fucking times. I don't know about a good financial decision seeing as I'm not even in charge of my own finances, nor really have any to begin with. Are you a believer in “signs” from the Universe about things in your life? If you are, can you think of a particular example? No. Name some things that one or both of your parents are really good at or really interested in. Mom LOVES medical stuff, like watching surgeries and stuff like that. She is also absolutely incredible with children. Dad likes sports a lot, hockey and football especially. Think of a good friend of the opposite sex (currently or in the past). Have you ever had any sort of “more than a friend” or sexual thoughts about them? If not, can you explain why? Well, we dated briefly, so... It was awkward to, but I let myself imagine sexual situations a few times to help myself understand if I really did like-like him, or if he was truly just a brother to me. Turns out, he's a bro. If someone told you that you would never achieve something and you ended up doing it, would you have any interest in finding that person and showing them? I'ma be honest, yes. I wouldn't actively seek them out, but rather just hope they somehow find out or I run into them or something. What is the most jealousy-induced thing you’ve ever done? Apparently, be the girl Juan liked instead of this girl that literally threatened to deck me. Guess what? We're friends now lmaoooo.

careful man’s careless daughter

@philtstone prompted: Anne/Gilbert babysitter au fake dating prompt #5 let’s go laydees “you have the emotional capacity of a brick. that slate I broke over  your head.” (we’re pretending people still use slates now....american schools have no money...its possible ok) 

k so i was trying to figure out how to work in the babysitter + fake dating and ... like a flash the plot to this old telugu/tamil movie i love missamma/missaimaa came to mind -- its not quite the same because they’re two people pretending to be married so that they can make money as school teachers/live in tutors for a wealthy family’s daughter but it works just enough that i decided to roll with it lol. 

this technically isn’t the actual babysitting, nor the fake dating which I actually turned into a fake marriage lol, but i hope u still like it, even though it is all over the place and a general wreck because i wrote it straight through without any editing or thought towards pacing/characterization bc i havent written in forever lol!! im not even sure what the time period setting is lol, and i dont think my translating of the anne events into a semi modern day even works but w/e lol. 

u are the truest of friends, the light of my life, and have certainly heard more than your share of my mental breakdowns both in the last month and the last few years lol. u deserve all the good things, all the good fic, all the time. 

title is a perversion of a tswift lyric because it came up on youtube. if anyone wants to send in prompts from here

---

“You owe him how much?” 

Anne sighs, crossing her legs to hide how uncomfortable she is in this moment -- here she is in the park, fifteen thousand dollars plus interest in medical debt for Marilla’s eye surgery and being hounded by Roy Gardner, ex boyfriend apparently turned loan shark who was on his knees proclaiming both love and loan forgiveness should Anne just accept his proposal. 

Here Gilbert Blythe is, sitting on a park bench after two years without contact, watching the whole thing. 

“Marilla doesn’t have health insurance,” Anne says, eyes on the ground as she uses the toe of her shoe to grind a leaf into the sidewalk cement. “Even when I was teaching, the union plan didn’t let people add parents on as dependents.” She sighs. “With everything happening with the farm, she couldn’t afford to put money towards a plan and so when her eyes got bad....” 

For a moment, there is silence. Anne can almost hear Gilbert’s jaw clench “That’s just wrong.” 

Anne laughs, and because her eyes are averted she doesn’t see Gilbert flinch. “That’s America, Blythe.” 

“Well,” she hears him say, tone just dripping with what Mrs. Rachel would call the Blythe Stubbornness, “It shouldn’t be.” 

She won’t ever admit it, but there’s something Anne has always found deeply compelling about Gilbert when he gets into these moods -- all righteously indignant in a way that Anne feels inside of her own body. Or felt, before Matthew died and left behind debts not even Marilla had known about, and Marilla’s eyes worsened around the the time Anne was let go from her teaching job and even if she had had the job it wouldn’t have mattered, she knows, but still. Beautiful, wonderful, beloved Diana had offered to help, of course she had, but Anne knew that Fred’s business wasn’t yet where it should be and that the parents Barry were still unimpressed with their son in law to be’s financial acumen. So she’d had to go to Roy, who had of course lent his beautiful Anne the money, and of course had arranged for Marilla to be treated at the best hospital in Toronto, of course had set them up in the apartment of a friend of his right in downtown where the rents were a thousand maybe two per month. He’d popped the question for the third time the second Marilla had been released back into Anne’s care. 

Almost as if he can hear her thoughts, Gilbert speaks -- “Gardner shouldn’t be harassing you like this either. Who ever heard of charging interest on a loan to a friend? And what on earth does he think he’s going to take from you if you just don’t pay?” 

Anne burns. This, she hasn’t told Marilla, nor even her darling Diana. For some reason, it seems alright to tell Gilbert. “The farm,” she mumbles.

Gilbert snorts. “I’m sorry, I must have misheard. Are you saying that Roy Gardner, heir to one of the biggest fortunes in Boston and your ex boyfriend, took your home as collateral on a loan for money you needed to pay for your mother’s surgery?” 

Anne says nothing. She still hasn’t looked up at him, hasn’t been able to meet his gaze since she sat down on the bench and told Roy to get up off his knees and wait two months for either his money or her affirmative answer. She blinks, having mercifully forgotten that Gilbert was present for that last bit. She hopes he’s forgotten too. 

“And wait, before he left you said....” No such luck. “Anne!” Anne’s sure her entire head must be flame as she closes her eyes, bringing her knees up on the park bench and burying her face into her own lap. “Anne you said you’d marry him if you couldn’t get the money!” 

“There’s no debt between spouses,” Anne mumbles. “We’d get to keep the farm, and I wouldn’t ever worry about Marilla’s health again.” 

“But you don’t love him!” She doesn’t know if she’s ever heard Gilbert sound so scandalized. 

“I used to!” she tries to retort, but even Anne knows that her voice betrays her when she tries to speak this lie. “I used to think I was,” she amends, “and maybe that’s as close as I’m allowed to get -- he’s rich, handsome, he even loves me! What more could I ask for?” 

“Coercing you into marriage, demanding interest on money that we all know is just pocket change for someone like him...that’s not love,” Gilbert Blythe responds, with all that....that all-knowing Blytheness in his voice that Anne has hated since she was 13 years old and the new kid in a class of people who had always known each other just as easily as they had known themselves. “Love is selfless, Anne, strong and kind. It makes you better for giving away your heart, even if the one you love doesn’t give you theirs in return.” 

Gilbert Blythe, always acting as if he knows something Anne does not. He speaks as if he’s been in love, at some point over the years since he was last in Avonlea and for some reason Anne absolutely burns with that knowledge. Ooh she just hates him, now at 24 just as easily as she had at 13! 

“And what exactly is love worth if it means I just lose the farm trying to pay for Marilla’s surgery, and still have nothing for the next time she’s sick?” Suddenly Anne is on her feet, hands on her hips as she glares at Gilbert looking quite alarmed as he still sits on the bench. The words she has kept locked on the inside, too private to even be written in a diary, come pouring out in one big rush:

“Three of my four parents are already dead, Gilbert Blythe.” Her voice hitches, to her horror, her sudden fury vanishes as she has to blink away the tears she has kept at bay since she and Marilla buried Matthew. Damn Gilbert, for bringing this out of her as well. “I can’t...I couldn’t bear to lose anyone else.” Her lips thin, and with a breath, her voice steadies. “I don’t care what you, or anyone else thinks about my choices if it means that I can take care of Marilla.” 

Gilbert’s eyes have the sheen of his own tears when he stands, his own lips wobbling just slightly. “I...” he swallows. “Of course, Anne.” Something Anne recognizes as self hatred passes briefly over his face, but she doesn’t understand. “I wish I had money like Gardner to give you, I really do.”   

Anne gentles, even if something inside her twists to be the object of the long-old guilt mixed with pity, much less Gilbert Blythe. Since Matthew’s death, every person in Avonlea it seems has sat with Anne and Marilla and offered their deep condolences, their absolute shock at the pair’s financial state of affairs, how much they wish they could help but sadly cannot, what with the way the bank’s collapse has hit their own finances. Only families like the Gardners survive economic crashes with money to burn. 

“I wouldn’t have taken it even if you had,” she offers instead, shrugging casually. 

His eyes flash. “But you took Gardner’s?” 

“I thought he loved me!” Anne closes her eyes, somehow feeling her cheeks flush even deeper. This is why she’s avoided all mention of Gilbert Blythe so strenuously since high school graduation, because more than anyone else he is the one who drags out the words she is always learning to keep inside. Here he is, somehow pulling confessions Anne hadn’t even dreamed of telling Diana, confessions that make her seem small, and stupid, lost in a world so much more complicated and treacherous than she can handle all on her lonesome. 

Well, she thinks, in for a penny -- 

“I thought he loved me,” she says, “and that he had the money to spare. I didn’t realize...” She looks away again, so that she never has to see him react to her folly. 

“Oh Anne,” Gilbert says, for some reason so soft and stricken that Anne’s knees go weak with her sudden desire to fall to the ground and weep. “You deserve so much better.” 

And now she’s angry again. “What would you know about what I deserve?” Anne spits, “you haven’t even been home since you started med school!” Vaguely, Anne thinks that Gilbert hasn’t been home since she and Roy had gotten serious, serious enough for her to bring him to Green Gables and show him the place that had been her very first love. Coincidences can be so strange. 

“It doesn’t matter,” she says, glaring again at the ground. “None of this matters. I’m just going to go home” Anne clenches her jaw, knowing that when she gets back to Green Gables she will go into her room and play every excruciating part of this conversation back in her head, again and again until she throws up or passes out at dawn from sheer exhaustion. Maybe both, if she’s lucky. She leans back slightly and manages to turn around on her heels, a trick Gilbert Blythe had always pulled at school and had had girls thinking he was so cool.

She’s five minutes away from the park bench when suddenly she hears him call out her name. 

“Anne,” he shouts again much closer, bending at his waist to balance his hands at his knees as he pants. “God, it really has been two years since I was on the university football team.” 

Despite the roiling emotions of five minutes ago, Anne’s lips quirk. “I can’t imagine you all practiced very much to end up near the bottom of your league every year.” 

Gilbert’s eyes widen, and for some reason he flushes. Maybe he’s so out of shape that it’s from exertion? “I didn’t realize you kept up with my matches.”  Ah. Anne, it seems, will experience nothing else but one long sustained flush as long as she is in front of Gilbert Blythe. “You know,” she tries to say casually, “you hear things here and there. Diana told me the village gossip.” 

Gilbert opens his mouth, but then suddenly shakes his head, like a dog trying to dislodge water from its fur. “I have...” he frowns. “I have a proposition for you.”  Anne raises what she hopes is an elegant eyebrow. “Oh?” 

He grimaces. “There’s a boarding school, a Catholic one, that’s asking for teachers over the summer for a few of their select students who want to be coached for college admissions. Essays, standardized tests, everything. They’ve got heaps of money, and are willing to pay salaries up front. Plus, they cover all your expenses while you’re there!” 

Anne blinks, feeling the beginnings of hope gather as kindling at the very dredges of her heart. Once, both Anne and Gilbert had competed so well against each other that they had both gotten into Harvard. Then, Matthew had died, and Anne decided she could just as easily get a teaching degree at the state school and stay closer to Marilla too. Gilbert alone had had the distinction of being the first from Avonlea to reach such heights, and had reached even higher when he had been accepted again to Harvard Medical School. 

But at one point, both Anne and Gilbert had taken their SATs. They’d both written their application essays. They’d both gotten in. Anne, even, had been offered a full ride compared to Gilbert’s only partial scholarship, so there could even be an argument that of the two, Anne had been the one on top. 

And if nothing else, Anne is even better at teaching than she was at taking tests. 

“I’ll do it,” she says firmly. “Where and when do I need to report, and how much money are they offering?”  For a second, a bright, dazzling grin paints Gilbert’s face. “Really? Ten--” he coughs, “Twenty thousand.” Anne frowns. 

“Each?” It sounds like a dream come true. Five thousand more than Anne needs, and paid upfront. She could save the farm, and put away five thousand towards the farm’s debts. “That sounds....exorbitant.”  He nods, suddenly more confident. “Yep! Twenty thousand for sure.” He laughs. “I know Gardner was supposed to be slumming it at state school, but you really can’t be surprised at how much money rich people are willing to throw at a problem.” 

“The problem being...their children.”  Gilbert’s grin turns wicked. “The problem being their children’s SAT scores, and lack of compelling anecdote to base an admission’s essay on, yes.” 

Anne laughs, wicked in this moment as well. She wishes in this moment, fiercely, as she has many times over the last few years, that she had been able to go to university with Gilbert at her side -- as the friends they had slowly begun to be after years of one and two sided enmity, before time and distance had turned them into near strangers. She doesn’t regret staying back, not really, but there is a part of her that no one had ever understood half as well as Gilbert Blythe, who had, after the Harvard interest meeting, drawn and pinned up a schedule for practice SATs that took into account both his and Anne’s often conflicting life schedules. 

“What’s the catch,” she asks, grinning when Gilbert chokes “come on, Blythe, there’s always a catch with offers like this. Is it across from a waste manufacturing plant? Is the principal a pervert?” 

Slowly, Gilbert Blythe is turning red. “Ah,” he says, shuffling like he never did even when he was an errant schoolboy. “Well,” he says, and....is that his voice cracking? 

“Gilbert,” Anne says, trying to reassure him, “I grew up in the foster system, I can handle much worse than bad smells and pervert principals, I promise.” 

He frowns. “It’s not that,” he says slowly, “but basically they’re looking for two teachers, a man and a woman to manage the boys and the girls while the rest of the staff go on vacation.” 

Anne smiles, trying to ignore the jolt of her heart at the thought of an entire summer with Gilbert, studying like they used to but as friends. Her old dreams, finally coming true. “That’s perfect then, you take one job and I’ll take the other! It’ll be like old times, kind of.” 

He smiles faintly, as if, even after locking horns with the best and brightest at Harvard, Anne is still the person he wants to be trading barbs with over the heads of high school students for months on end. “I’d like nothing better, he says, except...” 

“Except?” 

Gilbert inhales. “ExceptTheSchoolWillOnlyHireAMarriedCoupleSoThatTheyDon’tHaveToWorryAboutOutofWedlockSexorTeachersHavingSexWithStudents.” All in a rush, and now Gilbert is the one who can’t apparently handle eye contact.

“What?” 

“The school,” Gilbert says to his shoes, “since it’s Catholic, and also since they’re lazy, only want a married couple so that they don’t have to have anyone watching to make sure the teachers aren’t having sex with the students. Or each other.” 

Anne blinks. “But we’re not married!” 

Gilbert grimaces, opening his mouth, but then just biting his lip. They could be, Anne thinks, only a tad hysterical. Only all of Avonlea was matching them up all the years of high school, and even the years after until she’d met Roy. It would be so easy to get a certificate. They could get a divorce by September, even annul their marriage since they definitely wouldn’t be having sex. 

Twenty thousand dollars. 

“So what you’re saying,” Anne says slowly, her lip curling of its own accord “is that after all that talk about what love is and isn’t, and telling me that I shouldn’t marry Roy for the money he’d give me, your blockheaded solution is instead, for me to marry you?” 

Gilbert looks up. “Well when you put it that way--”  Anne sees red, even as she already sees herself in one of her old white lace dresses, standing with Gilbert at the courtroom and signing. “Gilbert Blythe I don’t believe you! Sometimes, I think that you really do have all the emotional capacity of that slate I broke over your head!” 

“I know,” he says tone heavy with something so sad that Anne’s hearten softens a bit of its own accord. “But you really need the money, and I promise we’ll get a divorce by September.” He smiles, but there’s something bitter at the corners that Anne has never seen before -- she almost raises her hand to rub the strand of emotion off his lips. “And you’re not the only one who needs the money. Will you do it?” 

Twenty thousand dollars. The farm, Marilla, an end to the eternal pity of Avonlea. And also, a small part of her suggests, an opportunity to finally spend time with this new Gilbert Blythe who went off into the world and left her behind. 

She sighs. “I vote that you be the one to tell Mrs. Lynde.” 

The Truce

Music Theme

The card had shown up in a stack of mail the barkeep at the Drowning Wench had been holding for her. Blank except for a large white circle of paint in the center. The sight of it had caused her steps to falter, bringing her to a halt on her way out of the Lominsian alehouse. She was not so far removed from her life in Ul'dah that she did not recognize it for what it was. A truce card. There was only one person who could have sent this. 

Aislinn's initial instinct was to toss it over the first railing she came to, let the wind carry it to the ocean far below. Her stomach roiled with pent up anger. Sterling did not make truces. And even if he did he had sent bounty hunters straight to her door, flushing her out like a rabbit from its den. What reason could he possibly have to suddenly call for a truce? Whatever this was, she couldn't take it at face value. 

And yet, she didn't toss it that sun. Nor the next. She kept it with her, the knowledge of its existence like an irritating splinter in her mind. Aislinn didn't like things she couldn't make sense of and this was a puzzle to her. A part of her knew that's likely just what he wanted. He knew that in the end she'd be unable to ignore it purely because it made no sense. And damn him to Seven Hells, he was right. A fortnight later, much against her better judgement, she sent a card back with a date, time and a meeting place. 

This was how she found herself sitting at one of the well-worn tables of the Drowning Wench one gray, stormy evening. She’d chosen the Wench because it was sure to be crowded. Usually, she hated crowds but now she was depending on the many eyes to work in her favor, insuring Sterling wouldn't try anything drastic. And though it was raining heavily outside, the weather did little to keep the steady stream of patrons away from the Lominsan establishment. Leaning back in her chair, her fingers fidgeted with the truce card, turning it over and over in her lap as she watched a nearby table of sailors slowly slide into pleasant inebriation, the growing pile of cups at their table marking the time just as well as hands on a clock. 

“Aislinn.” 

She looked up from her people watching to find Sterling standing next to one of the empty chairs at her table. 

The room was crowded, that was true. And a hum and chatter of noise fell over everything but not so much that she couldn’t pick out the stiffness with which he greeted her. Over the years she had enough time to learn almost every one of his shifts in tone and their meaning. This one told her this meeting had not been his idea. He was there grudgingly, just as she was. Interesting. 

Wordlessly, she motioned to the empty chair. 

His icy gaze swept over the sparse tabletop. “Not drinking?” 

“This isn’t a social call.” she replied evenly, placing the card on the table. “I’d like my wits about me.” 

He snorted as if conceding to her point and after shaking the last bit of rain from his black traveling coat, took a seat. “All things considered, you look well.” 

“Come off it.” she shot back, all her practiced calm evaporating in the flare of her anger before she could help it. “‘All things considered’ being the mercenaries you’ve been sending my way.” 

He reached into his coat and retrieved a hand rolled cigarette, checking to be sure it was still dry before he reached out and lit it off the small candle at the center of the table. All of this was done with all the languid motions of someone who hardly seemed apologetic for his actions. 

“And yet, you look fine.” he said, bringing the cigarette to his lips with a slow smile, liking that he had disrupted her calm so easily. 

Not willing to play games, she slid the card closer to him and got right to the point. “What is this?” 

There was a narrowing around his eyes, a tightness that again told her he loathed the sight of the card and all it represented. 

“A fucking mistake, if you ask me and yet, here we are.” he said, his words forming around the cigarette. With a sigh, he breathed out a plume of smoke and smoothed a hand over the dark hair of his closely shorn head. “The cartel has a problem.” 

Her eyes widened slightly, her form absolutely still in the wake of his reply, the tension radiating from her in waves. After an airless moment, she seemed to come back to life, pushing herself back into her chair as if distancing herself could help her escape his words. “Too bad for the cartel. Don’t see how that has anything to do with me.” 

He huffed as if agreeing but pressed on. “Then let me continue. Everything was fine until a few moons back. Business as usual. But then, this new product shows up on the street.” he shrugged one shoulder, pulling the cigarette from his mouth to breathe out another lungful of smoke. “Normally, I don’t care one way or another what people decide to go for, we’ve all got to have our vices but this shite…” he shook his head, looking off across the crowded bar, his gaze going distant. Aislinn watched the slip of his mask with all the cautious interest one afforded a rattler in the desert. “This shite messes people up good. Plenty of them don’t come back from it. We can’t have that. Say what you will, our stuff will show you a good time, sure. But what good would it be if we kept knocking off our customers?” 

“I still don’t see what this has to do with me.” 

“We don’t know where this garbage is coming from. We can’t even find out which of our rivals is making it. Not without poking our noses where they’ll be seen and sparking some sort of war. And no one has time for that shite. We’re here to do business.” 

Business. At the end of the day that’s what it always came back to for Sterling. How would some action or event affect the health of the business. At least he was still reliable in that regard. She crossed her arms defensively over her chest as she put the pieces together. 

“So you want-”

“Not me. The cartel.” he interrupted with a razor edged smile that was anything but friendly. 

“So, the cartel wants me to go poking my nose around in its stead. Why, on the Twelve’s green Eorzea, would I do anything so stupid? This still doesn’t sound like my problem.” 

He shook his head. “Maybe not. But I can tell you the people getting hooked on this new product are mostly refugees. You cut ties and run like there’s no tomorrow but surely you remember your own people?” he jabbed. Then, almost reluctantly, he dipped a hand into his coat and withdrew a folded piece of parchment. “But, if that’s not enough, this is a show of good faith from the cartel.” he ground out as if the very words were being pulled from him against his will. 

She warily stared at the parchment a moment after he slid across the table to her. Finally, she reached  out for it, carefully unfolding it. Its contents causing her heart to jolt suddenly and wildly against the bars of her ribcage. She let the paper drop from her fingers lest the shaking in her hands give her away. 

“This is a recission of my warrant.” she choked out.

“I know what the fuck it is.” he growled. "I know what favors we had to call in. I know who we had to bribe. I know how much gil we had to pay. I know all of it. That's a bloody expensive piece of paper. All of which should tell you how badly the lieutenants want this new drug gone. As far as Ul'dah is concerned, you're a godsdamned upright citizen."

She didn't bother to retort that's exactly what she was everywhere, ever since she had managed to leave that viper pit of a city behind. Her lungs seemed to be filled with shards of glass, each inhalation hurt. She felt his sharp gaze on her, and knew he saw every twitch, every move that gave her away.

"I am also supposed to convey the cartel's apologies concerning the earlier behavior of their agent. Me. I was acting outside their knowledge." Sterling spat, somehow turning the apology into a curse.

She stared at him, almost dumbfounded by the words. The cartel had very clearly put him on a leash. She found she had no pity for whatever they had done to bring him to this moment, though she could guess it had been terrible. Staring down at the paper once more, she considered all he had told her. She well remembered what the life of a refugee had been like. How hopeless it had seemed at times, how desperate, how some days she was almost certain she would never crawl her way out, that the gnawing hunger and the flea-ridden, one room hovel would be the rest of her existence. She couldn't begrudge anyone looking for an escape from that life, no matter how short lived. But if what Sterling said was remotely true, this new drug was far more dangerous than a simple escape.

Nymeia's blood, was she actually considering stepping foot back in Ul'dah? 

"I need to think about this." She said quietly. 

"Of course you do." He sighed, dropping his hand heavily to the table. "Anybody ever tell you, you think too much? We just want to know where the hells this drug is coming from. That's it. -If- you're so inclined to help out, we got word an alchemist recently showed up injured at some bleeding heart's clinic on the outskirts of the city, where the refugees camp. We think the chemist knows something about the drug. Again, we can't go poking our noses around without drawing attention. But you can."

"Some bleeding heart?" She said, needing clarification. For Sterling, anyone with a drop of empathy in their veins was a bleeding heart.

Sterling shrugged. "Healer type that works around the warrens. Ask around." He pushed back from the table and rose from his seat in one, smooth motion. "Decide quickly. I can't go back without an answer one way or another."

She tipped her head back to look up at him, the flat expression on her face conveying how very little she cared about the fact he might have to wait around a bit. 

For a moment he looked as though he might say something but then, he shook his head sharply and simply walked away.

Manning was great for the Broncos

Around 40, 000 modular homes are built each year in the United States. A national average for these homes is $50 $65 per square foot. This includes the house, transportation, setting and application fees. The newest iPhone's camera has been upgraded to a 3 mega pixel unit with tap to auto focus and auto white balance. The tiny camera even supports 30fps VGA video recording with editing features so users can create their own real time docs. Other features with the newest iPhone 3G include a built in compass, Nike+ support, and its own itty bitty battery that gives you 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WiFi use for those absurd moments of messing around time in an Internet caf of your choice.

Cheap Jerseys from china INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ Employer sponsored health insurance is greatly affected by geographic region, industry, and employer size. cheap nfl jerseys While some cost trends have been fairly consistent since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was put in place, United Benefit Advisors (UBA) finds several surprises in their 2016 Health Plan Survey..  Cheap Jerseys from china

After finishing 2014 well, the Texans began pre season with high hopes but they were soon dampened when star RB Arian Foster required surgery on a groin injury ruling him out for much of the season. DeAndre Hopkins now leads their receiving core after Andre Johnson left for Indianapolis and the Texans will be hoping their defense can be explosive, with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney returning from injury to partner JJ Watt. Loss of Foster is a big blow however, and heaps the pressure on Houston's inexperienced quarterbacks.

cheap jerseys "Manning was great for the Broncos. I loved him. But you can only play football for so long. With research it has become less absurd because to some degree it is true. https://www.wholesalejerseyslan.com/ Alcohol can pass from the lungs into the blood stream. You see, alcohol evaporates pretty well at room temperature have you ever left a bottle of wine open for a few days and tasted it? When you smell alcohol you have alcohol molecules in your nose which you have inhaled.  cheap jerseys

wholesale nfl jerseys from china Guillermo Ochoa is there for the easy save. My friend Willie just asked, "When is Landon going to shave his head? Or is he just going to draw the bald look out?" These are the sort of things my friends talk about. Mexico squanders a good chance in front of the goal.  wholesale nfl jerseys from china

wholesale jerseys from china Only the black magic charge stuck, and Duncan was sentenced to nine months in prison. For black magic. In 1944.. True story: Back in aught 6 I was inspired after viewing some adult cinema to try sex standing up. nfl jerseys Like the kind where you just pick the woman right up and hold her there like some kind of bag of hump potatoes. What was I thinking? I work at a computer all day, my whole body has atrophied to pudding.  wholesale jerseys from china

nfl jerseys Then, click on the Contact Us link. I don t feel so bad about hanging on to my Titan for a bit longer now I find it difficult to use 4GB a month and HSPA is most we get from Vodafone where I live. Heath and safety, dealing with emergencies 2010 08 20 00 39 45 000,000,894 M C Users beverly Desktop Eusing Free Registry Cleaner.  nfl jerseys

nfl jerseys When news broke that Simpson was in trouble in Las Vegas for a Sept. 13 armed heist of sports memorabilia he claimed had been stolen from him, Goldman's lawyers were back in court so fast that Goldman obtained an order to get the items before Simpson was arrested. The items, including photos, http://www.okcheapjerseys.com/ footballs and jerseys, could fetch tens of thousands of dollars if they are found to belong to Simpson..  nfl jerseys

wholesale nfl jerseys from china Egg yolks contain valuable nutrients including choline, vitamin D and phosphorus, but opting for the whites only lowers the overall calorie content from 72 calories to only 17, and it also lowers overall fat and cholesterol intake. For a light, sumptuous and energizing breakfast, Erik Bustillo, a registered dietitian in Miami, Florida, recommends serving egg whites sauted in a small amount of coconut oil on whole grain bread, topped with a slice of Swiss cheese for added calcium and flavor. To make it even more satisfying and nutritious, add veggies like chopped mushrooms, tomatoes or kale to your eggs.  wholesale nfl jerseys from china

wholesale jerseys from china At Spring, all the colours are so simple, it's a very clean palette and we wanted to introduce little flashes of colour. When the hostess seats people, or our waiter is serving you, there's this pop of yellow or green or cerise. wholesale jerseys from china The rest of the dcor is restrained in a way, so the uniforms uplift things.".  wholesale jerseys from china

cheap nfl jerseys However, butters in this article do not have to be made especially from cream. Butters to me are spreads (not margarine, oleo or any of those things that people eat to stay thinner, healthier or whatever Madison Ave. Is selling you on this month) that one would use on meats, fish, and crackers, bread, and roll etc.  cheap nfl jerseys

wholesale jerseys from china Again, two of the four wrestlers on the plane (including Johnny Valentine) were so badly hurt that they never wrestled again, the pilot was fucking killed and the fourth wrestler (who was actually Ric Flair) didn't do another match for six months. https://www.cheapjerseys18.com/ Tim Woods had no business doing what basically equates to stunt work before he had completely recovered from the crash, but damn it, the mythology of Mr. For Eight Years wholesale jerseys from china.

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/01/28/dear-world-from-america/

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld for 24 hours, lay down your guns, stop your tanks and missiles, end the cyber attacks...and talk. Please. Just talk.

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld

The ice caps are melting.

The rain won't stop falling.

The forrests are on fire.

Eco systems are being wiped out.

The deepest dive ever recorded found a plastic bag on the sea bed.

The rivers +coastlines are polluted +so is the air.

Wake up before it Is to late.

#ClimateChangeIsReal

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld

We're sorry to the leaders of the world, who instead of being met by level-headed, measured, intelligent dialogue, are now greeted with the social media rantings of a furious man-child.

https://t.co/Z6Hbnl3uYc

Dear World, From America

Published JANUARY 28, 2017 |  JOHN PAVLOVITZ | Posted January 08, 2020 |

Dear World,

We felt we needed to say something while saying something is still allowed.

We know many of you have lived under malevolent, unhinged dictators before, but this is new for us. For its history our nation has been led by men and women who, despite their varying flaws and deficiencies, some of which were quite disturbing—were by and large, normal human beings.Whatever darkness in them, they had at the very least, a baseline of humanity and decency that more often than not insured rational behavior.

This man is not normal.

He is unstable, malignant, devoid of integrity—and he does not speak for us.

Please understand that nearly three million more people voted for his opponent Hillary Clinton than for him. (Yes, we realize this is completely screwed-up). Millions more voted for other candidates, and sadly nearly 90 million of our people did not vote at all. The point is, the vast majority of Americans are not with him. He does not speak for us. His America is not our America.

Over the past few months, we’ve watched long erected pillars of our Republic bulldozed in the stroke of a madman’s pen.We’ve seen the very hallmarks of who we are as a nation tossed in the garbage; the celebration of diverse coexistence, the open welcome to the oppressed, the guarantee of unalienable rights for every person, the same access to health and opportunity and safety afforded to everyone, the freedom to speak without censor or restraint. At this moment these are all in great jeopardy.

Things we took for granted in our leadership: things like goodness, wisdom, and basic truthfulness are no longer in play, and as things are eroding quickly we wanted to let you know that we’re sorry.

We’re sorry that our apathy and laziness have yielded such a reckless, impulsive, small man to steward this nation.

We’re sorry for the jagged, bitter ugliness that is characterizing us in these moments.

We’re sorry to those suffering greatly, who have braved such peril to seek refuge here and who’ve now been turned away based on the faith they profess.

We’re sorry to our Mexican neighbors who’ve been fashioned into convenient villains to justify erecting a grandiose, wasteful display of false protection that we do not want.

We’re sorry to Muslims everywhere who’ve been used as pawns to generate irrational fear among those already susceptible to bigotry and discrimination.

We’re sorry to the leaders of the world, who instead of being met by level-headed, measured, intelligent dialogue, are now greeted with the social media rantings of a furious man-child.

We’re sorry to those who now experience the Christian faith as a racist, Nationalistic bully pulpit wielded with malice toward the very diverse Humanity Jesus lived and died for.

We’re sorry to people everywhere whose lives are now more tenuous, more violent, less safe, less secure than they had been before.

We want you to know that this is not who we are. It may be who this man is. It may be who those sharing power with him are. It may even be the tens of millions who originally voted for him (though that support is vanishing quickly among those who are not among the religious zealots and extremists).

But this is not America. It is not the steady, strong beacon of freedom that it was intended to be. It is not the America our people have fought and died for. It is not the one first formed in the crucible of oppression and cast into the words of our ever-disregarded Constitution.

This is not our America. Our America affirms the inherent, priceless beauty of every human being. Our America declares that no person is ascribed less value because of their skin color, religion, gender, financial means, sexual orientation, nation of origin, or any other variable. Our America is home for those seeking hope and joy and rest.

And we are going to fight for this America.Through political channels and through grassroots activism, through the use of our Press and of our personal voices, we’re going to expose this man’s incompetence, call out his heart sickness, and condemn every violent, reckless, vicious act when it does not reflect our hearts and our will.Please do your best to disregard anything that comes from his mouth or those loudly and continually parroting his propaganda.They have proven themselves mortally allergic to the truth.

And we hope that in whatever way you can, that you will stand with us. We know that we have made this mess ourselves. We understand that you have your own problems to contend with, some far more urgent and pressing than this, but we believe that we are a single community; that we are tethered together in our Humanity, that we are in real-time crafting the life our children and their children will inherit.

Dear World, we’re sorry and we hope you’ll endure these days with us.

With despair and hope in equal measure, in peace and unity with you,

The American Majority 

🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍🌎

#DearLeadersOfTheWorld

War is not something we enter into flippantly; not a showy public exchange for the sole purpose of making small, insecure men feel big and strong.

It is not something we threaten to feel the cheap aphrodisiac of stranger's retweets.

https://t.co/BHOMf8E2AI

Because World War is Not A Twitter War, Donald

By AUGUST 9, 2017 |  JOHN PAVLOVITZ

Posted January 08, 2020 |

Texting is easy.

My children can do it (in fact, far faster than I can.)

It’s an effortless thing to toss out 280-character salvos at people we disagree with, to drop mic drop bombs on strangers, to unload rapid fire violence from behind the safety of touch screens.

Every one of us understands the ease at which our words, carelessly dispensed in a moment of anger or frustration or fear—can be terribly destructive. We’ve all lost our heads for a moment and found ourselves stepping into the minefields of our own hubris and impulsivity while all hell broke loose around us. We’ve all reached that place of knowing that we had to either retreat and fallback, or press ahead into the mess we’ve made—reputation and collateral damage be damned. We’ll all have to look back and realize we’d been irresponsible with the technology in our hands and grieved our stupidity.

Fortunately, most of us will never lead nations.

Our reckless words sent out in haste may emotionally wound people and it may lay waste to relationships—but people likely won’t actually die. They won’t find themselves crammed into stifling military vehicles on foreign soil, or launching nuclear warheads at strangers thousands of miles away or laying in hospital beds with burns, simply because we weren’t mature or wise enough to step away from our phones when conflict invited us in.

And even if we were blessed with the awesome responsibility to lead a nation, most of us would find a humility and restraint that we hadn’t possessed before.We’d become a more honorable version of ourselves. We would grow into the lofty position. We’d respond differently than we had before to taunt and threat, because we’d understand the gravity of our words.

That’s because War is not a Twitter War—and decent, rational human beings know that.

War is not something we enter into flippantly. It isn’t something we run wildly into led by ego and bravado. It is not a showy public exchange for the sole purpose of making small, insecure men feel big and strong. It is not something we threaten only to feel the cheap aphrodisiac of stranger’s retweets.

War is brutal, bloody, vicious, family destroying, joy-depleting, History-altering, sickening stuff—and lots and lots of people die. It is rampant fear and gaping wounds and orphaned children and terrified parents. It should be an outcome honorable leaders do everything they can to avoid.

And world war should not be as easy to stumble into as a Twitter War. It should never be in the tiny hands of minuscule men, who have such little regard for the Office or the people they represent, that they would prize the momentary high of putting someone on blast, above the lives of millions of human beings.

Tweeting is not leading, and it’s time we stopped allowing the most powerful man in the Free World to behave in ways we’d find unacceptable for our teenagers. It’s time someone took the power from this easily baited man-child who is not capable or worthy of it.

America cannot be led into annihilation, death, and disaster, simply because our President wants to overcompensate for his emotional insecurities, his physical inadequacies, and to have his historically fragile ego virtually stroked.

And he’s not a human being worth risking the lives of our children over. Not my child.Not yours. Not a North Korean’s. Not a Russian’s. Not a Syrian’s. Not an Iranian’s.

Yeah, texting is easy.

Killing millions of people, shouldn’t be.

🌏🌏🌎🌍🌏🌎🌍

Ummmmmm....

Kay....sooooo, whiney entitlement? Okay, what about the people, who DON'T let themselves foolishly buy luxuries they can't afford?

I agree, some of the younger generation, and a lot of my own are not great with money. Not sure still if I'm a millenial or Gen Z cuz I'm 20 and websites differ on the matter. But, I digress.

Most of us, myself included get low bank account notifications because I just barely managed to afford my everyday bills.

Bc idc, I'mma give you MY math.

Job: Makes 12.50 an hour, avg about 40 hrs a week, then I have to have my taxes taken and my health insurance taken because I have a policy with my work.

Avg around 600 to 800 depending on if I am allowed to work the full eighty hours per payperiod. In the summer, we barely are able to work five hours a day because we don't get any work, if at all. So, that sucks, because central air costs go even higher in the summer, considering I live on florida. Electricity, water bill, mortgage, car insurance. (Managed to buy my car used for 1000, so I avoided a car payment.)

Okay, water is 100 a month, electricity is a little less or more depending on usage.

Add that to 700 dollar mortgage payment per month(only cheap because our house is under my father in law's name and he is a veteran. His own condo get a discounted mortgage payment and the overall cost is less too) Plus food, which is a good four hundred a month. Plus clothes, and other necessities.

AND THAT'S NOT COUNTING MY ANIMALS.

Which tbh are the cheapest things on the list to take care of.

Me and my boo get by because we don't buy stupid shit and don't treat ourselves often. Maybe its weird of me to think, but I would hazard a guess that wanting to treat yourself if you can afford it isn't a crime or something shameful. You worked hard for that damn money.

I am so FUCKING sick of the older generation saying how EVERY single person under a certain age is ungrateful or doesn't know how to function in society and be the same type of adult they were. Teach us your wisdomly ways, then and try to get and keep a job with your sour attitudes and rude demeanors in this day's climate, I beg of you.

Another issue with this is that Some people SIMPLY don't make enough. Some people have to get upwards of three roommates to help pay bills and make end's meet, and even then it can be a gamble.

I am in no means well off, but I make enough combined with my Jonathan to live. Every once in a while we can afford to have a nice dinner, we can afford to buy a dvd, we can afford to go to fun things. But that's only because we plan ahead for it. Only because we use our brains.

Whiney Entitlement....

The only fucking humans I meet who are entitled are ones raised by entitled people, and those are raised by the boomers who think that they(the boomers) are a gift from the gods, can do no wrong and deserve everyone's respect and admiration and compliance even when undeserved. Not all boomers are like this, but enough are for me to make the comparison.

Younger generations are tired of being treated like garbage by the older ones. The good younger gen people, not the entitled ones, they will think you're wronging them no matter what you do. But the good ones? They just wanna do their best, they want to have good lives with a house and a family and pets and friends and a steady job.

The problem isn't whiney millenials, it's the assholes who raised them and the assholes who fucked the economy so badly that people have to work three jobs to afford basic human needs.

So, please, come at me for my "entitlement".

Wanting a good life is a human ideal. And not a crime, for boomers once called that ideal the American Dream. Those same people decimated that dream and still expect us to reach it the same way they did.

Sorry for the sudden midnight outburst, but I have very strong feelings on this matter, and hate people who accuse an entire group of people of something based on a few outliers. I only accuse when I see an overabundance, like with the boomer gen. Again, not all of them are like that, but, more are than there should be.

TW: SA

Dear President Hanlon (and also, To Whom It May Concern),

As a sophomore at Dartmouth, I was sexually assaulted after a fraternity party. This experience has impacted my life physically, emotionally, and financially in ways I could never imagine. The alienation I faced from 2005 to 2007 at Dartmouth as a sexual assault victim who reported the attack was harrowing and demoralizing in many ways. Once full of hopes and dreams that I would be a graduate of a prestigious Ivy League college, my experience completely took the wind out of my sails as a young adult preparing to forge my way in the world.

After my sexual assault, which was reported to police but not ultimately prosecuted, my Dartmouth peers wrote horrible things on the Internet about wishing I was dead. I faced regular shame and ridicule which I have internalized for years. At one point toward the end of my time at Dartmouth, I honestly feared for my safety and had to seek refuge in a safe dorm on campus. On graduation day, I barely walked across the stage, teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Part of the reason it took so long for me to come to terms with the level of abuse I accepted at Dartmouth was that I left college during stressful times in late 2007 when it was very difficult for young graduates to find work. It was arguably even harder for a young graduate like me who suffered sexual and emotional trauma and was effectively “cast out” from the Dartmouth network. Ever since, I have had extreme financial challenges for most of the time (and while at school I was on a scholarship and came from a bankrupt family with very limited income). Dealing with this reality while working to recover from abuse has been difficult to bear.

Willing myself to do the typical Ivy League career-building things to land a solid job after graduation proved nearly impossible. On top of it, I was suffering from crippling anxiety and depression stemming from experiencing severe trauma without a safety net. I felt— for good reason, I might add—  that it was completely unsafe to speak about my past experiences. When it came time to network and schmooze under these extreme circumstances, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to people’s faces when they asked me about my time at Dartmouth. Many times after a job interview I would be reduced to tears, after having to keep a straight face with an interviewer while simultaneously ruminating about the difficult experiences which scarred my psyche.

People would enviously remark on my Dartmouth education during a job interview, about what a great experience it must have been. I wanted them to know the whole story, about how much suffering and sacrifice was required to ultimately hold that fancy parchment diploma. But it was a story that stayed buried for many years, hidden by shame and a desire to pick myself up by my bootstraps so to speak, to turn the other cheek and find steady work and succeed in spite of the things that happened to me.

To this day I have yet to find a permanent job that has offered me health insurance benefits— my English degree is just as unmarketable as everyone warned me it would be when I was working to obtain it. And on top of it all, I have learned that the very English degree I worked so hard to earn is not even of much use when it comes to speaking truth about all of these painful and terrible things now that the time has come for revelation and reckoning, which is long overdue.

I cannot even use my English degree to define what happened to me as “sexual assault” and “rape” without encountering significant legal risk. Whether I am allowed to identify my attacker as a rapist who committed sexual assault is currently up for debate in federal court. Even though those definitions are clear and defined by the FBI, and even though the crimes I reported to the police fall well within those definitional guidelines.

My prestigious degree should at the very least render me capable and competent to define subjects on clearly defined and cited terms. What was the point of me earning a degree in Creative Writing if I cannot even use it to write about something deeply personal of extreme importance, which seems to be increasingly relevant to the shared experiences of many other victims? What power does my degree have if my very attacker can use the power his own Dartmouth degree has afforded him to effectively render me mute?

As victims we are damned in silence and anonymity, and damned in speaking and emerging from the shadows. We are damned as we are shamed into pretending everything is OK, and damned as we are implicitly asked to hold our lips and make nice anytime anyone asks about Dartmouth. Rather than take this significant moment to truly engage with the victims of the community, Dartmouth has acted to create policies to encourage people to move on and stop talking about the problem, long before it has truly been solved. Dartmouth has explicitly stated that the class action against them should be divided, and to me the strategy for dividing the voices of victims to me seems clear. If we are divided, we cannot stand together. Things can get settled and agreements can be signed to keep quiet. Things can easily get buried once again.

It seems there is no fair path forward for victims to seek reconciliation, as victims seem to be judged more harshly by the community than those who committed heinous acts of sexual abuse in the first place. This demonization comes no matter how we behave as victims, which is why it is no surprise that some victims would choose to remain anonymous in the face of such retraumatizing tactics.

The moment I began speaking out again, I began to face the threat of a very expensive lawsuit. As a result of the limited ways I began writing publicly about my experiences, I am accused in a court of law of being a lying, defaming, and gold digging opportunist, among other things. Members of the homegrown terrorist “incel” community have made statements about how I need “to be raped and burned alive.” One said he wanted to find me and “slit [my] throat,” and fantasized about hurting my family. All because I now face the challenge of my assailant accusing me of defamation, and attempting to put all of my speech and my life on trial as the price to pay for uttering forbidden words shielded under a veil of omertà. I sometimes wonder if the stakes would be lower if I’d joined the Mafia instead of attending Dartmouth.

Back when I was at Dartmouth in the aftermath of my assault, I was unable to receive psychological care at the college because there was an emergency shortage of therapists and psychiatrists available. There was an impossibly long waiting list, and ultimately I was unable to receive the care that I needed and deserved. Which is why the accusations being leveled against the Psychological and Brain Sciences department are, to me, beyond the pale. Abusers were sanctioned and paid by the college to continue academic research in the field of psychology, and meanwhile victims were being swept under the rug and denied psychological care.

To say this is a lost opportunity in the field of psychology is an understatement. For me, poverty and governmental policy kept me from accessing necessary therapy after graduation for several years. It was only years later under the care of many therapists that I ultimately began to fully accept and come to terms with the truth about Dartmouth, which is something I ran from in early adulthood and tried unsuccessfully to forget. I sometimes wonder what my healing process would have looked like if I had been afforded community support and an adequate safety net.

I fear a generation of future female leaders has been lost to the reality of scapegoating and re-victimization. These people could change the world if allowed to come together and given the space and resources to fully heal. We have not been given that opportunity, and we have been divided and silenced to weaken our cause. We have not been treated as stakeholders nor have we been given a seat at the table to foment change.

We are the voices that are needed to find lasting solutions which honor and rectify the lives of victims. Dartmouth can do much more to provide a platform and support to build a strong future for its victims in spite of the wrongs that happened to us at the college. Dartmouth needs to step up to recognize this festering wound at the core of its institution, and recognize the harmful experiences inflicted on its own community members. Professing ignorance, as the administrators do, seems to me almost like a cruel joke.

The first time I went to the mental hospital seeking treatment for a psychological breakdown, I met another troubled former Dartmouth student, Alix LeClair, in the women’s wing with me. She was having similar visions as I was about a resurgence of divine feminine energy, and the need for women to step forward and reclaim the sexual power they had relinquished to society and to others. We bonded over these ideals and compelling dreams and visions of an enlightened future, which the medical community was all too quick to label as sheer madness.

I came to find out she had also been abused at Dartmouth, and during her time there had protested and banged on the President’s door to his mansion late at night, to urgently give her message about honoring the feminine and dismantling the toxic patriarchy within the institution. At the time, I did not grasp it all and was focused on my own recovery. She and I went our separate ways after I was discharged and I never came back to see her at the hospital. I wish I had, because she died suddenly and unexpectedly a few months after we met. My good friend and sex educator Anna Zelinsky ‘06 still has a watch that Alix gave to me in the hospital, which reminds me that the time is always now and that I can no longer afford to avoid doing the difficult work of confronting the scary and difficult truth about Dartmouth College.

I have spent the past thirteen years of my life unpacking everything that happened to me during my time at Dartmouth. This unpacking has sent me several places including the federal court in the Eastern District of New York, cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars along with countless hours, and introduced me to dozens of other women who have suffered in ways all too similar to the ways I have suffered. Unraveling all of this has come at a great price, but it has also brought me closer to finding meaningful connections in the face of a lot of pain.

The time has come for Dartmouth to come to terms with the very real lives of the people who have been harmed by sexual violence and grotesque harassment on its campus. Because none of those costs are ever referenced in the marketing materials or the financial aid paperwork— and even with a scholarship, for me the price of losing my sexual autonomy as well as my voice has proven to be far too great of a price to bear.

At the very least, Dartmouth’s victims need representation and support. At the most, actions should be taken in a good faith effort to bring us closer to wholeness. Covering up the past and marching forward with new policy band-aids is not going to solve the problem of institutional rot, nor will it address the plight victims have faced and ultimately still face to this day. Dartmouth needs to take the opportunity to rise to the occasion of this “Call to Lead” they have foisted upon the community, take heed of this “red letter day,” and do better.

Monica Morrison, ‘07

Dad Letter 100221

2 October, 2021

Dear Dad--

I got your care package and thank you thank you! I’ve already watched the movie, and I’ll read the book, and I’ve already eaten the tootsie rolls. That was a pretty amazing movie, 1917, wasn’t it? I hope you watched some of the DVD extras, assuming you own a copy that has the same extras as the one you sent me. Because learning how they did everything they did to make the movie look like a single continuous take was fascinating! Alfred Hitchcock did a similar thing with Rope, if you’ll recall. And the Michael Keaton movie Birdman was similar, but none of them had all the fun explosions and battle scenes that this one has. I wasn’t expecting the movie to do that! I was just expecting a regular WWI movie. Thank you again; it’s definitely a keeper!

What else is going on in my life? I continue to work Sunday through Thursdays. Last Thursday our parking garage at the casino was much more full than usual because of a funeral service for a sheriff who’d been killed, taking place at the convention center across the street. The governor came. It was a big deal. Didn’t affect our jobs, we’re still auditing the casino’s income and making sure everything adds up. Someone finds a quarter on the bathroom floor and decides to give it to the cage cashier as “found money,” we have a form we fill out for it, and places in spreadsheets where its existence is documented. It’s a bit like picking gnat shit out of pepper, I think, but it’s nice when all the numbers balance the way they’re supposed to.

Other than that, it really has been a slow week. I’ve spent a good deal of the week being dissatisfied with how little I’m being paid at my job, and spent a small amount of time reminding myself that my paychecks will get bigger soon, when I’ve paid for my gaming license and some snafu with my health insurance which somehow put me a couple hundred in arrears (still don’t know how, or with whom) and they stop taking all that extra money out of my paychecks. I’m considering talking to my HR person at work. Be nice to know when I’ll be done paying for this stuff, and if it’ll happen before I enter the time of year when I have a kerosene bill to pay each month.

We had a fun kerosene kerfuffle yesterday! We get our kerosene from a company called Morin, and yesterday, for the first time since early spring, they came by to top off our kerosene tank. Not a bad bill, only $44. The problem was, the bill said it was for trailer 1, which we are not, and that my name was Lee Robbins, which I, even more vigorously, am not. So I figured, I needed the top off anyway, and they’re my kerosene dealers, not like I got screwed in any way, and in this case, someone else is being billed for it! But I also figured, the guy in trailer 1, whose name is apparently Lee Robbins, is still going to need kerosene too, and at some point, he’s going to realize he paid for some, but never got any. So I called Morin and let them know.

The nice flunky that I got on the phone from Morin was quite entertained by the whole thing. He thanked me very much for calling and letting them know. I explained that the manner in which our trailers are numbered defies rational thought, and implored them against giving shit to their fuel delivery dude who made the mistake. I realized the Morin flunky with whom I was speaking didn't know that I was a Morin customer, because, at one point, he had to ask, “So! Um...did you, like...Um...Did you NEED any fuel today? *nervous chuckle*” and got to tell him, “Yes, it’s getting cold, I figured I’d be topped off soon, you guys are my kerosene providers, it’s all good. No harm, no foul. Obviously, everything is going according to the good Lord’s plan.” (What I said in person did not include that last part.) Then he suggested I send them a check or stop by to pay for the kerosene, and I reminded him that they have my billing info on file, just suck the money out that way.

That worked out fine, but I began to realize that I probably don’t interact with strangers and people doing their jobs the same way most people do. I had a doctor’s visit, and the nurse’s assistant said, “I see you declined your last colonoscopy?” And I had to tell her, “Oh goodness no, I didn’t decline it, I just thought it was icky and I didn’t want to do it.” And she nodded sagely, like medical professionals are supposed to when you say something dumb as dirt, like that was, but then snorted through her nose and said, “It was icky and I didn’t wanna do it!” and laughed. I guess I’m just a witty motherfucker. Take that, boring badinage.

And OH SHIT a good thing just happened to me! I knew that the grocery store had some prescriptions ready for pickup, and intended to pick them up this morning. I had put this off a little bit--actually I was dreading it like a trip to the gallows--because I figured the grocery store pharmacy now knows that I have insurance through my work. Now that I have insurance, my shit won’t be 100% covered by MaineCare like it was, and I may have co-pays. If the co-pays are too big, it may put the meds out of reach. And that’s just bad in every way, to say nothing of having to tell the pharmacy, “Yeah, I can’t afford that. Can you please take those pills and give them to someone less undeserving than I,” while the folks in line behind you shake their heads and think, “Get a job, and you won’t have this problem, you pinko ragamuffin,” despite the fact that getting the job is what caused the problem.

But I steeled myself and went to the pharmacy and said I had prescriptions for pickup, and she said it was three medications, and I thought, “They’re going to ask me for a hundred bucks and then I’m boned,” but she said there was a zero copay for all three medications. That’s a big damn happy thing, so...what has gone wrong? I knew confirmation was in order, so I told her, “Well, I have insurance now...shouldn’t my ass be bleeding from all the copays by now?” (Again, not the actual phrasing I employed during this exchange at the pharmacy.) And she said, “Um...nope, it’s split between (someone) and (someone), and neither of those is gonna be called whatever you call it, probably.”

This was when I made my mistake, and I hope it isn’t a bad one. I didn’t have her explain who the (someone) and the (someone) were, and it’s not spelled out on the paperwork that came with my pills. I think she said one of the entities was “Advantage” something or other, and there's an “ADV” on my new Caremark prescription card. And I think the other entity had the letter M in its name, which might mean MaineCare. And I find myself thinking, I shouldn’t have to be Indiana fucking Jones to figure out how my own pills are being paid for. Obviously my only concern is that the other shoe will drop, and I’ll get a letter saying, “Dear icky poor person. You were accidentally charged a zero copay when it should have been $587.29. Enclose immediate payment in the envelope provided, or we’ll come take one of your thumbs.”

Probably that won’t happen. For the time being, I’m just going to be grateful for the fact that my medications didn’t cost me anything today. Also for the fact that fall has officially begun here in Maine, and the foliage is starting to turn. The cats are now more demanding of physical affection, for the warmth, and every mile of my drive to work is a picture postcard of autumn in New England.

More next week! All my love to you both!!

most affordable private health insurance

"most affordable private health insurance

most affordable private health insurance

BEST ANSWER:  Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://howmuchisinsurance.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr 

RELATED QUESTIONS: 

About how much a month does a first time teen driver in Northern VA pay for car insurance?

What is a reasonable figure?

Should I consider getting health insurance??

I am 22 and have no health insurance. I am a pretty healthy person and don't have to see the doctor often. I just think it's a waist of money to get health insurance unless it's for accidents or something like that because in order to get an affordable monthly premium then your deductible is going to be high. I may never reach the deductible, but still have to pay the premium. So should I just pay out of pocket when I do need to go to the doctor and just consider getting a high deductible plan or should I just go ahead and pay a higher monthly premium for a lower deductible. (Remember I don't have to see the doctor very often, I'm relatively healthy)""

Fleet Insurance?

Can anyone who has fleet insurance tell me roughly how much would it cost to insure 4 cars for a car rental business. i am doing an a level business studies project and need to know. thanks for your help!!!

What is the cheapest online car insurance where no deposit is paid? Morethan is no good. (UK)?

What is the cheapest online car insurance where no deposit is paid? Morethan is no good. (UK)?

Where to find low cost medical insurance?

Where to find low cost medical insurance?

What does it mean when a person put you under their car insurance?

im getting my own car and my brother in law said that he would put me under his car insurance what does this mean? does it mean i will be having my car under his insurance with the same policy and i will be paying the same amount as he is or does it mean that i would be having my own insurance policy and i would bee paying a whole different amount?

Non-owners policy auto insurance in NC?

im getting my license in january i will be a unnexpierenced driver but i cant afford a car right now can i get a non-owners policy in the state of nc?and drive my fiances car?

How much does the average American pay for Healthcare?

Spending on health care to reach $5,170 per Canadian in 2008 http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cw_page=media_13nov2008_e I'm looking for this in American.""

Im depressed because i cant get good price on car insurance :(?

I am 21 old male. I passed my driving test 5 months ago and my premium is way too high because I have 3 points on my licence. They were not displaying L plates. I really feel bad because my parents don't drive and I think it would be great to help out with the shooping at least. car insurance is coming up as 3000 and i cant afford. I really want to be there for my parents and drive to work in the early mornings. :( any ideas?

Lying to insurance driving record?

It's time to renew my insurance. In the quote I got in the mail, they didn't include the speeding violation that I got back in July 2009. If I tell them about it it would bring the premium up of about 120 dollars. I'm debating if I should tell them or not. After all it's their job to prepare the quote and check driving records. I'm just afraid that in case something happened they would use this as a reason not to pay eventual claims.. What would you do? Thanks""

Is there a safe and accurate way to search online for auto insurance quotes...?

Don't want to enter social security number or actual home address for that matter. Using age, driving record, general home address (city and state) and of course the required car info...Is there a site that would give you an accurate range of what it would cost to insure a vehicle in NY state? Personal experience is best , but all knowledgeable info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!""

Am i paying to much for car insurance?

my parents just got insurance for my first car it is a 1963 mercury comet i am 17 years old and my dad just told me the insurance for the car is $380 per month and that seems a little high what do you think? my other friend only pays $100 but he has a good student discount and has had insurance for a while.

Which insurance company is cheapest for young drivers?

im trying to insure a ford ka as my first car and the cheapest quotes im getting is around the 4k mark.. pretty sure i can do better but not sure where..

What is the average cost of health insurance for an infant/family plan?

What is the average cost of health insurance for an infant/family plan?

""NYC Car insurance for 18 year old dude, please help.?""

Ok so heres the deal, I am 18, a guy, living in nyc and looking to buy my first car. Now my parents dont drive so Im on my own for insurance. Now Ive been shopping around to every large company and even small, and the lowest I could get a monthly payment down to was around $371 a month. That is the state minimum coverage with no collision coverage. Its gonna be used whatever I get so I dont need the collision. Now the help I need is if anyone knows any possible way to get anything cheaper, I can deal with something like $200-$250 a month. If anyone has a success story or knows any agents or brokers personally and could help, Id love to know. Now dont tell me I should go on a family member or something, thats not an option. Ive done all the research and been doing quotes 24/7. Now Im a student just trying to get to school and work safely and efficiently. I have a clean license nothing on it. Please and thank you for any help.""

Can you get motorcycle insurance in NY with just a learners permit?

Can you get motorcycle insurance in NY with just a learners permit?

Do I need to have my own insurance to drive a friend's car?

I have my driver's license but don't own a car. Do I need to buy insurance for myself if I want to drive a friend's car, or am I covered under his policy? The car is insured in Florida and I have a Georgia license.""

Do you need insurance on a leased car?

Easy question...do you need insurance on a leased car? I heard that the company you are leasing from takes care of it.

Where can i find a cheap car insurance?

i live in UK from 2011 and i am self employed. i have a very cheap vauxhall and i pay nearly 2000 a year on car insurance. i want to have a second car to be clean and for social use only but i will need to pay an extra 1000 per year. i am 27 years old and have 5 years EU driven licence. can you advise me in any way?

Why does the political left compare obamacare to car insurance?

car insurance is to cover the other guy, people often have liability only which give no personal coverage whatsoever!!! ca""

Is it possible to get insurance for a couple of months for 18 year old?

I passed my test a couple of months ago and really want to drive for summer, but I can't afford a car at the moment. Is it possible to get insurance on my mums car for a couple of months? as I go away to uni in September, possibly as a named driver? thanks.""

""Pizza delivery driver insurance in own car, where can I get insurance uk?

I have been offered a job as a pizza delIvery driver but I need to insure my car with business insurance I have tried everywhere but know one does it please Help x

Will my Geico go up after 6 months?

My Geico is only $62.84 monthly. I have the 6 month plan. I had Allstate before switching to Geico last month. I switched because every 6 months Allstate would go up by $25. I could NOT afford it! So I switched to Geico because it was $125 cheaper monthly. Everyone I've talked to said theres hasnt went up after 6 months. I have no criminal record, no tickets, no felonys no nothing, etc. So I was wondering for all you Geico customers, has Geico been good? Has it went up after 6 months? No arrogant answers, please!""

I'm getting a Suzuki DR200SE and I want to know how much insurance would cost...?

I'm 14 and I'm going to get this bike. It's legal for me to drive off road (trails) but if I wanted to drive on road I would have to get my license (16 months time). The reason I want this bike is because when I am 16 it's 50 miles a gallon, and for a small bike it goes highway speed. I understand that because I'm under 25 that it's going to be a lot and I don't own a credit card so I don't have bad credit. I would just like to know how much per year that it would cost. Because if it's a lot I'm going to buy an old junker that's been sitting in my step dad's driveway for a few years.""

How much is insurance for a 16 year old girl driving a red 1998 corvette convertible?

I am a very responsible driver and I DO NOT speed. I always wanted a corvette and it would really help me out if someone would be able to tell me how much the insurance is. I heard the prices can range really high, but being a student on the high honor roll would that help me out? I am over a 4.0 gpa with honors classes. Btw I live in Illinois. Would it be over $100 dollars a month. I am very confused. please help me..""

most affordable private health insurance

most affordable private health insurance

Why arent car insurance comparison sites easy?

I am really confused how to use the damn things, for example i am trying to find a cheap quote but it keeps on asking when i want the policy to start?? When i do not want it to?? What policy date should i put in if i am just trying to find cheap insurance, not wishing to start it. Help is much appreciated!""

16 year old male car insurance?

I am currently 15 and going to be 16 and getting my license . I am going to be driving a 1997 chevrolet corvette. Ik this is going to be exspensive but my parents are going to help alot. I was wondering about how much i would be paying?

Cheap Cars for cheap insurace??????????

I am 18 a new driver and i am looking for a used car with a budget from 400 to 600 iam trying to find a car with a cheap insurance and are Diesel cars cheaper to insure????

California health insurance?

I am looking to get health insurance for a year, more to take care of neglected issues than to cover my butt if I get sick/hurt (I'm 27, betting on youth and good health!). Kaiser seems to be the most appealing because they cover a broader range of services. I am namely interested in physical therapy (winged scapula), dermatology (oily skin/acne), perhaps mental illness services as I have suffered from depression (although I somewhat consider it a problem of my past). I'm aware insurance plans won't cover preexisting conditions, but how can they really prove these issues didn't start yesterday, right? I'm overwhelmed with my choices. Is it worth paying $330/mo for $0 deductible, 0% coinsurance, $40 co pays and a max out of pocket @ $3000? Or is it smarter to pay $166/mo, $2700 deductible, 0% coinsurance, $0 co pays after deductible, and max out of pocket @ $5000 (including deductible)? Etc. I have put off getting insurance because I'm scared I will pick a completely inappropriate plan. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?""

Does your Drivers Ed grade effect insurance?

I know that taking Drivers Education can give you a discount on insurance. However, in the class, we take tests and are assigned homework. We need a 65 to pass. If I get a 70 does this effect the discount I could recieve on insurance compared to say a 90 average? State: New York""

Which car's owner will pay more for car insurance?

Car insurance costs more for cars that can accelerate faster than 10 mph per second. Which car's owner will pay more for car insurance? A. A car that accelerates from 0 to 50 mph in 4.5 seconds. B. A car that accelerates from 0 to 40 mph in 5 seconds. C. A car that accelerates from 0 to 70 mph in 9 seconds. D. A car that accelerates from 0 to 70 mph in 8.5 seconds.

Car insurance questions!?!!? HELP! accident!?

Hey, three weeks ago, I got into a car accident and rear ended someone in the front with suv. I had a honda, and the insurance company declared it totaled and they are going to pay around 9k for the car. Since it was rear-end accident, insurance company held me for 100% at fault. The suv had broken/dented bumper and lower part of trunk lid dented (No broken lights or anything). I would say around few thousand dollars worth of damage. There were 3 people in the car and at the time they said they are all ok, and drove off. No police report was filed. When I called at night to get one of the guy's birthday, he said all three went to emergency, and had whiplash pain in neck area (which is understandable from rear-end accident). I had full coverage so I know my insurance comp. would pay their bills. The thing I am scared about is what if they sue me? I am from low-class family and a full time student on loans so I have no money or even a job. If they do, how much can they sue me for?""

Will my Car Insurance rates go up for 1 speeding ticket?

I just got a speeding ticket this morning (66mph in a 50). I have a really good record. Will my insurance go up? I have State Farm in Ohio. Thanks!

Geico or Progressive Car Insurance?

I live in Chicago, IL. Which company offers better car insurance?""

Can you give me an estimate of how much car insurance would be.......?

lets say a guy under 30 in california with a 2002 BMW 325i sedan how much would insurance be?

How much would my insurance be?

I am 16 and I want to get a car. My parents said they would buy me this car I want but I have ot pay for the insurance. We have allstate. The car is a 1999 ford mustang. Yellow Color V-6 Engine Automatic Transmission 141,207 miles on it 2 drive coup""

""At 14 and 16, can my boyfriend and I get health insurance together?

Can we get a plan together for our baby on the way and us? We'd like to pay for it ourselves and we need health insurance for the baby and I.

How much would car insurance cost??????

16 yearold female in north carolina....how much would car insurance be for a pontiac solstice and a jeep grand cheerokee both paid off. give me amounts not wesites'

Does anybody know about the statewide increase of geico auto insurance in connecticut?

I got a hefty 8% increase for my next 6 months' payments. The telephone assistant told me that it was a statewide increase in CT, based on ZIP code. Anyboby knows more about this?""

""Car accident, neither driver has insurance?""

Was in a car accident yesterday. The other driver was completly at fault. He gave me insurance info, but has just informed me he was dropped due to lack of payment or something. I also have no insurance. YES, I KNOW ITS ILLEGAL TO DRIVE WITHOUT INSURANCE. IF THATS ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY MOVE PAST MY QUESTION!! What am I suppose to do? Do I need to try and get a lawyer and sue? My car was totalled,my hip is in a lot of pain, so is my bfs shoulder n back. The other driver is fine and had very minimal damage. Im at a loss, any advice would be.greatly appreciated""

Can my car insurance company take action on a DUI without a conviction?

I was stopped for a DUI, but have not yet been convicted since the court process takes forever... Well I would like to buy a new car, and it looks like my insurance company will check my record at that time. I have just checked out my record myself, and it shows that I have had my license suspended for 6 month for DUI, but it does not say that I have been convicted of the DUI. I have reason to believe that the charges will be dropped. Can they raise my rates or drop me at this point? Without a conviction?""

What kind of Life Insurance is out there for the Elderly? 70 years old and up.

I've seen some on TV and for the life of me, I can't remember all of what's out there. So far, there is no life insurance on my husband's mother and he and I are wanting to take out life insurance on her. What kind of life insurance is out there for ppl 70 years and up that does not require a medical background? She has a bad hip, smokes like a turned over train, and she hasn't had a physical in aprox. 15-20 years. And she has no assets of any kind to help with expenses if she should pass unexpectantly. This is why my husband and I feel that it is important that we take out Life Insurance on her. Thank you for your help. :-)""

Is this normal for home insurance?

I have AAA-California home insurance and we had an incident yesterday involving a squirrel and our fire suppression sprinkler lines. AAA says they only cover the damage caused (carpets, sheetrock, moisture, etc.) by the squirrel eating through the lines, but will not cover the cost of repairing the lines. Is this standard for all home insurance, or do I just have a crappy policy?""

Can you get your own insurance when renting a car?

When going to a rental car agency such as Hertz or Avis they strongly 'encourage' you to purchase insurance. Can you get your own insurance that covers you in their cars rather than having to pay the insanely expensive insurance they offer?

Cheapest car insurance I can get? (10 points)?

OK I know car insurance can depend on a bunch of diff factors. If I leave something out that may mean major money let me know and I'll do a quick edit. *I'm 17 *Senior in hs *A-B+ average *Had my DL for 3 months *Never been in a wreck *Never received a ticket *Took drivers ed *I have a part time job Again if there's something else I should mention just let me know. My insurance right now is $1000 every six months. It ends this month though, and I'm looking for a new insurance.""

My son's Beretta car is now in his girlfriends name. He wants me to put insurance on it so it can be driven.?

I just want to know what the Michigan law is regarding insuring a car not in my name. And not in my possession. I get a good insurance rate now because I have always paid my bills on time. My sons girlfriend thinks I should do this for them. I don't and I won't but I promised to look into it today. I have two trucks already insured in my name and so does the girlfriend. I plan to speak today with my insurance man to find out what I can. Any suggestions besides being totally blunt with these 40 year old people? Just say no is a good policy and the right thing for me to do. But hard.

Are there deals in car insurance if someone parents are divorced?

and he/she technically only lives with one parent?

""On, average what would a classic mini's insurance cost be.?""

In the UK for a first time, 18 year old driver, car would be left on a drive in a low crime area""

Buying new car; 1 day insurance?

I am going to look at a car soon, with intentions of making it into a winter project. It is drivable, but I do not plan on driving it until summer. I would rather not tow it home, but without insurance I dont want to drive it. Is such a thing as 1 day insurance an option, just to get it home? If so, how much does this usually cost? If not, are there any other possibilities besides a tow? State of Pennsylvania by the way.""

How much is insurance for a 17 year old in NY???

I'm thinking on getting a honda prelude 98-2001.

most affordable private health insurance

most affordable private health insurance

Term life insurance policies?

if i buy a term life insurance policy and three month later i die, will my family get the money?""

Cheap car/insurance for a young lad?

18 year old son has just passed his test. Looked at a Fiat siacento(I know thats wrong but you know what car I mean)1999/1100cc/65000miles/good nick/500,I thought bargain. Until I checked the insurance.... 3000!!! Before I start ranting about the cost of insuring a young lad(and the cost of my own insurance) can anyone tell me a cheap car that is also cheap to insure. Thanks.""

Car accident insurance question?

Last week someone backed up into my bumper while my car was parked. They were very nice and left a note, and we were in the middle of sorting things out. I got an estimate for the damage, but we had not yet done anything with their insurance company yet. Today my boyfriend was driving my car, and he spun out and totaled the car. His insurance should be able to cover it, but how should I go about for the insurance with the first person? Do I need to tell them about the accident or is it not necessary? We haven't yet filed the insurance and so I don't know if it will be a problem. Any help is appreciated.. thanks""

How much would my insurance cost with 5 point on ds?

How much would my insurance cost with 5 point on ds?

I'm looking for affordable auto insurance...?

I am looking for an affordable auto insurance in New Jersey. Does anyone have any ideas. And is it true that a Broker is a good option? What would be a reasonable rate for just a PIP and a older car? I have no accidents or tickets.

What effect will Obamacare have on U.S. per capita health insurance costs? . [SEE BELOW]?

What effect will Obamacare have on U.S. per capita health insurance costs? Note that my question is per capita -- If you take the total payments toward health insurance in the U.S., and divide by the total number of people covered by health insurance... How has that average per capita cost of health insurance changed in the past five or ten years, and how is it likely to change over the next 5 or 10 years? thanks for your answers""

What is the best car insurance that you don't have to pay much in any state?

I live in NJ and paying half as my car cost...

What is cheap car insurance for a new driver?

I am a new driver and I need insurance for a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2000. I am a student and I need cheap insurance

Insurance problems?

hi were looking at buying a new car we have full comp insurance on our car and are covered to drive any car the car were looking at has mot and tax vut no insurance as we checked with the mib web site, can we still drive it using our own car insurance for the car we have now or do we need to insure it on it's own we haven't got a new car yet but still looking wanted advice before we got a new car many thanks for any advice and best wishes diane xx""

Best Health Insurance Quote for uk?

Can you Suggest me Good Place where I can get Quote to Life Insurance?

How much has your health insurance gone up in the last year?

Mine just went up 35%. How much has the affordable health care act screwed you so far? And don't tell me it doesn't start until 2014 the insurance companies are raising rates already due to this stinking pile!

How much is motorcycle insurance?

For an 18 year old male with a streetbike, how much would insurance cost. I am just looking for a range because I plan to get a bike in the future and want to be prepared.""

Car insurance for 19 year old on a classic mini?

I am about to buy a classic mini mayfair 998cc car but I cant fins a decent quote. Cheapest is 2700 with Acorn insurance. Other companies have quoted around 4k and even upto 6k. Its just stupid. Anyway, Im turning 19 in february 19th so will be buying then but looks like I need to gold dig if its like this for insurance. Anyone one of you clever clogs know any companies who will take me on ? Tried: Adrian Flux, Elephant, Admiral, Acorn, and a few others. IKUBE says ring back next month as they dont have tariffs in place yet O_o lol! Ive tried googling this and have found no help. Preferably classic insurance for 19 year olds. Thank a bunch..""

What Auto insurance is more affordable and dependable?

nation wide..

Do u HAVE to have insurance?

i rather pay out of pocket anyways than fool with insurance.

About how much a month does a first time teen driver in Northern VA pay for car insurance?

What is a reasonable figure?

How to get a cheaper insurance premium?

In the UK am i able to put down a much lower value than the actual value of my car just so that i can get a lower insurance premium? Given my situation i would much rather pay for a new car if i crashed or pay for repairs myself if anything went wrong.

How much should aircraft rental insurance cost for an average small plane?

Just doing some budgeting / planning and wondering what rental insurance runs on small planes? Also, should I get that during my flight training or just once I'm out on my own? The FBO insurance only covers their own planes, not a multi-million dollar jet you bump into as far as I know. I would most likely be renting a Piper Archer II from the 70s, probably a $80,000 plane.""

How much would my insurance be?

ive just turned 16 and im getting a 50cc moped restricted. Most people insurance is 289 for the first year and 189 for the second. but thats for a scooter.I want an Rs50 (1 of a kind) and so i am asking, will my insurance be different or the same?""

Broke my contract phone and have no insurance?

Basically, entirely my own fault... i have no insurance on my phone (had it for three months) and it was smashed yesterday! But my question is, if i phone up vodafone and tell them i will PAY three months worth of insurance, backdate it back to the three months i have had this phone, can I then claim for a replacement? Technically I will still be paying for insurance and they will be getting money? Is this possible??""

Need's a ballpark guess on what our car insurace would be?

i'm 19 and my boyfriend is 18 and we want to get a car together but we're trying to figure out how much car insurance would be for the 2 of us with a dodge neon sxt 2005 any ideas?

How can i get affordable car insurance for myself?

i have really struggled to find my own car insurance, i am 18 years old, i have taken pass plus, at the moment i am on my mums insurance, i do have a part time job, do you have any suggestions or ideas for affordable car insurance for someone of my age?""

WHATS THE CHEAPEST CAR INSURANCE?

I AM TRYING TO GET A QUOTE FOR MY CAR INSURANCE AND THERE ALL LIKE 1000-2000. ITS A SKODA OCTAVIA 1.9 ELEGANCE PD 2006 ESTATE IVE TRIED WEBSITES LIKE GO COMPARE, COMPARE THE MARKET, CONFUSED.COM, DIRECTLINE.COM, LLOYDS TSB ECT ECT. ANY IDEAS WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED?""

Cheap Health Insurance In New York State for single adult?

Is there any good but cheap health insurance in new york state not based on income?

Affordable health insurance?

for milwaukee wisconsin?

most affordable private health insurance

most affordable private health insurance

How much would insurance be for a 16 year old in GA?

I'm 16, I own a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier LS Sport- 2 door, live in Athens, GA, drive less than 7,000 miles annually, drive to and from work and school 5 days a week... haha. I just want to know how much it would be monthly for car insurance on any of the companies. Any help would be appreciated. :)""

1.0 60 ps vw polo se insurance for a 17 year old?

just thinking of an average insurance quote price on the new 2014 model? i havent used comparison websites as they need your driving licence number and i dont have one yet.

I have a Texas Driver license but I'm staying in California for about 6 months?

So I moved to California and I'm only staying for six months because of work. I'm also buying a new car to get around. Because I am only staying for six months, I don't feel the need to change to a California license. Can I still buy car insurance and do everything I else need to do with just a Texas driver license? It doesn't expire till 2014.""

In California what is traffic school for? Will my insurance still increase?

I am 19 and got a speeding ticket 85 in a 65 this is my FIRST ticket. I take full responsibility and am ready to accept my consequences. I am not one to drive like that but I was late that day. I know there is no excuse. Soon I am getting my own insurance under my own name. If I take traffic school besides not getting a point on my license will this also prevent insurance increases. If I go to get my insurance will this ticket affect me even though I took traffic school? I live in California and this is my first ticket I am 19 and male.

Hit and run but the victims car didnt have insurance?

ok so i was in a private parking lot and i accidently scratched another car i left because i was stupid and got scared. the cops came and found me the next day and i got charged with ...show more

Insurance payout after lien paid?

My insurance recently sent my lien-holder, Chase Bank, the agreed amount for my totaled car. I owed about 3k less than what they paid out so am now left wondering when I will receive the difference. Chase received the payment a week ago.""

Americans. What cars do you normally have as your first Cars. As a cheap car with cheap insurance?

I was just wonderng What kind of cars American tennagers ahve for there first Cars I might think of importing one

Who has the best disability insurance?

Hi, I want to find out who has the best disability insurance. I work with my hands a lot doing home rehabs, and after a run-in with a spider bite on my right hand, I figured I need to get some insurance due to the nature of my outside activities. Has anyone purchased a supplemental insurance plan? If yes, did it pay out well? Do you like the company? Thanks!""

What is the cheapest way to insure a first car?

I want a ford ka which luckily I one of the cheapest cars to run and insure for young drivers. Is there anything else I can do (except from the black box as I have 3 siblings I will need to drive around) to make the insurance cheaper? My parents both have quite good jobs and are willing to pay it but they would like to pay 1500 p.a maximum if possible.

""I am 18 years old and have 6 points on my driving license, will my insurance cost go down after a year?

I currently aren't on any insurance policy!

My AAA card says it's expired but my parents are still paying monthly for my car insurance?

My AAA card says: Valid through September 23, 2010. They bought me a new car in July and we are still paying the monthly insurance so why is my card expired? Shouldn't they have sent me a new one?""

What do they test for when getting Life Insurance?

I wanted to get a life insurance policy for my family and myself. They want to take blood and a urine sample. What are they looking for? Drugs, nicotine, disease???? What's the deal?""

""Car from 2003, 17 year old female driver. Car insurance average?""

I'm a B+ student, my car belonged to my dad and is now being given to me. It's a ford focus. I'm 17 and a girl from New York. Can someone please ESTIMATE how much car insurance would be for me? I tried websites but I'd have to put in my social security # to get an average and I don't want to do that yet.""

How much would my car insurance be?(State farm Insurance)?

I'm a teen driver, and ill be 16 years old when i get my license. i'm a 3.0 + gpa or higher student and have had no issues with the law.i drive a 1997 mazda protege with a clean title (idk if that helps) I live in Portland,Oregon Car is 1997""

Cheap car insurance companies in the UK for young males?

Cheap car insurance companies in the UK for young males?

Does anyone know a carr insurance company that quotes and lets you print certificate?

i need a car insurance certificate for wed and my own insurance cant post one in time. does anyone know a web site that quotes and then lets you buy and print off a certificate? not swift cover as they wont insure my car as im only 24! thanks!!

I am looking for Home owners Insurance. Which do you have or recommend?

Geico or State Farm And Why? Thank you

What is the cheapest car insurance company to go with at 16. could someone give me a estimate?

my car is a 2000 Pontiac grand prix. all i need is state minimum.i live in ohio

How do I find Insurance coverage for preexisting conditions in California?

Our March Cobra payment was sent in too late so the coverage was cancelled. I applied on-line for coverage with Blue Shield of California and was denied due to preexisting conditions. Now I have no coverage. I understand I may have a 6 mo. to 1 yr. period where the insurance wont cover any preexisting conditions once Im on a plan, but how do I find a plan that will accept me?""

Insurance?

I am carried under my mothers insurance because I am in college currently and unmarried. I am pregnant though, so when I deliver, will the baby be carried under my mothers insurance also? Capital Blue Cross.""

What happens if you just don't pay your car insurance?

Where I live you get car insured and they put a sticker on the plates with expiry date a year from now. But you still only pay once a month. What happens if you simply stop paying ...show more

Is there a such thing as Cheap online insurance ?

I'm looking for some auto insurance for my car. I can't use the general aare there any sites that offer cheap auto insurance?

Do insurance rates vary on the type or model of car?

Do insurance rates vary on the type or model of car?

Which is the best insurance company for an 18 year old male driver?

Hey, I'm an 18 year old boy (hurdle #1) and live in South-East London (hurdle #2) and I've had my license for a month now (hurdle #3!) and just bought my VW Polo 999cc (999cc!!)..I CANNOT for the life of me find a decent insurance quote I mean i'm in full-time employment but still most of the quotes I've been given are more than half my annual salary! Public transport is NOT an option because of the shifts I've been given..I've tried the young drivers' insurance with people like Co-Op and InsureTheBox but they're not much different to anyone else.. So, if ANYONE has ANY advice/anecdotes they could share, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance (:""

What would be the cheapest auto insurance for me? i am 19 and drive a 1998 camaro z28?

What would be the cheapest auto insurance for me? i am 19 and drive a 1998 camaro z28?

most affordable private health insurance

most affordable private health insurance

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/car-insurance-one-day-drivers-license-test-possible-anthony-hopper/"

So there was this kid born in the early nineties who wanted to be a cop in the worst way. Fighting for other people, exacting justice for those who weren't able to defend themselves, enforcing the laws meant to make our society better. The whole bit. They even went on a ride along when they were in high school.

These days, they're a liberal, ACAB, ANTIFA, BLM, millenial snowflake type.

Sometimes they'll express their desire that people don't die from easily treatable and preventable diseases, or that if unchecked, corporations will commit human rights violations until its workers die, or something along those lines, and their parents will jokingly be like "where did we go wrong?" Their parents are very conservative. They're also also asking the wrong question.

The right question is, what do you think happened to that kid that believed in truth and justice? That kid who thought that being a cop meant fighting evil, for the sake of good and normal people who weren't able or were too scared? Why is that kid advocating for defunding police and instead funding mental and physical health services? Why do they believe cops should wear body cams and be held liable for the murders they commit? Those cops are on our side, don't you know?

Did that kid change? Did that kid decide that everything they believed in as a child was wrong, and that laws are for chumps actually? They're no fun, so break them at will, and screw all the people trying to enforce them?

Or, is it maybe that the things that that kid believed in on a fundamental level are exactly the same? That kid still believes in truth and justice. Still believes that the downtrodden and those with violence committed against them deserve help. That there should be someone fighting for them against those that would cause them harm. Maybe as that kid got older, they saw for themselves that the landscape of the battlefield looked different than they were taught. Maybe that kid is the same, and the world is the same, but only their understanding of one another has changed.

It's just so sad when these parents look at their kids, all grown up and still believing that things can be better, and they get angry. How dare you just give people help that they haven't earned? What kind of person thinks that thugs who are yelling at and threatening police should be taken in peacefully? They've broken laws, they deserve what they get. Yeah, maybe the laws aren't fair, but what do you really expect to be able to do? You're naive, you haven't been around long enough to know how futile it is. You'll get more conservative as you get older. You'll see that those damn liberals live in a fantasy world, that would never work in reality. You'll see.

Hopefully one day those parents will live in a better, safer world. Hopefully they'll live in a world with fewer state sanctioned murders. Hopefully they'll escape any negative notice that would get them carted off to an unknown facility where they have no rights. Hopefully they'll be able to live with minimal worry about getting sick and dying because they can't afford a trip to the doctor. Hopefully that kid's father won't have to work until he's 95 because their mom would die without his insurance.

I hope.