KNUCKLE UP OR SHUT UP.

opening his bakery was an almost daily routine for phillip by this point, but he still loved doing it every day. there was just something about clicking the lights on and fixing the displays that made him happy. he hadn’t noticed the woman watching him open up his doors, as his mind was solely focused on finding the correct key, and thinking of what pastries would be going into the oven first. ( what an important decision! )

the first thing phillip did the moment he walked through the door was fix some of the chairs to make them neater – he couldn’t have a messy restaurant! after he was done, it was fairly quick for him to have everything out and on display. ( then again, most of it was practically second nature at that point ) a few people wandered in about ten minutes after he had opened, and he felt like this would be a good day. 

upon seeing someone who looked to be a new customer, he gave a cheery ❝ good morning! ❞ before returning to ringing out someone. gosh, it was always nice to see new faces! he knew he hadn’t seen the woman come into his bakery before, but she looked so familiar. it was a little while before she was next in line, her smile making his cheeks grow warm. her smile seemed so genuine! it wasn’t often that he had customers like that.

❝ t-thank you, you’re far too kind! it’s taken uh - it’s taken a lot of work. ❞ why was it so hard to speak coherently all of a sudden? ❝ i’m sure i can help you figure something out! are there any preferences on the type of pastry, or are you just here for a drink? ❞

God, the energy this man has is impressive! He beams like a summer day, his smile a refreshing breeze against the bright look in his eyes. She’s mesmerized for a solid second before her smile warms back up against her lips, a shrug hitting her shoulders. Emily’s only ever been used to her own pastries; Swedish sweets and baked goods and, occasionally, a doughnut from some stop-shop before the gym. A whole bakery with a selection this wide? It was like a kid in a candy store for the first time. She never thought there could be so many types of rolls or cookies!

A breathy chuckle and she shakes her head.   “ What do you recommend? ---I’ve only had Swedish rolls my whole life, honestly, so.. I’m all ears. “

Emily doesn’t recall the last time she’s been genuinely excited about something, but boy was she excited about the kind of pastry he’d pick out for her. She knows she probably shouldn’t, considering the training sessions today were going to be a little more extensive than usual, but she’s been dying to try this shop for so long! She couldn’t back out now! And besides, he seems so genuine about his shop. Emily can’t leave completely empty handed.

“I trust you, but, I am glad I get to see them first” Sadie said with a small laugh.  “But I’m sure I’ll be up for taking some pictures.”

“My worst day?  Hypothetically or what’s actually happened?”  Sadie thought a minute.  “I prefer not to dwell on the bad.  One of my early cases was looking into a teenage girl who’d been missing for over a year.  We caught a lucky break and found her in this shelter, isolated, dirty, and bound up in chains.  She was in bad shape, mentally and physically” Sadie said.  “I remember just sitting in the shelter after we rescued her.  It wasn’t sanitary and it was dark and dirty and small. I could barely stand to sit in it for 5 minutes, and I could come and go, while this girl was trapped for months.” 

Sadie fought off a shiver from the thoughts and memories of the case before continuing.  “But she recovered and even managed to graduate and managed to testify so he got put away for a long, long time.  I’m glad she did.  I had nightmares about that one for a while.  But knowing she went home to her parents and recovered and she’s now in college helped out a lot.  That’s what I prefer to think about.”

        “ Yeah, I bet, “   she says, softly. Emily’d rather think about the positives too if those were things she had to deal with everyday. Hearing about that situation, though, sent chills on her for a whole new reason. She can understand all of it a bit too well. But like the conversation pulls, she’s going to move towards the positive and expel the thoughts quickly, before she lingers on them for too long.

“For running an illegal gambling establishment, running illegal fighting tournaments, for conspiracy to commit murder, for bribery and intimidation, and for several counts of rape, sexual assault, torture, and unlawful imprisonment.” Fiona paused. “Do you happen to have any proof that Ms. Brass was unstable while she worked for you?” She didn’t believe a word he said, but she want to give him enough rope to hang himself with regarding the evidence Emily had given her. She hoped that Zamora would lawyer up. It would make things easier to a degree. She’d prefer for his dirty laundry to go public, rather have him die a martyr. Even if the trial didn’t go how they wanted it, companies and customers alike would be hesitant to deal with Zamora any further after learning the charges brought against him.

There’s only a hard chuckle escaping him. Of course he has evidence! Emily was only a girl, riddled with depressive episodes and wrought with grief. She was unstable to a T and clearly needed discipline-- or so he could paint it. There were ways he’d already thought of this, how he could save himself if this were to ever come to light. Zamora was smarter than this. His smirk shows his confidence in that. It kills Emily, rakes at her insides to see that expression, like he’s so damn sure of himself.

“Well, it doesn’t appear to be the case today” James said.  Though at least this particular fight didn’t involve either of them.  They just happened to be in the area when some guys got into it.  “Let’s get out of here before the cops get involved.  It doesn’t appear like anyone’s really hurt.  Just some drunk idiots with a few cuts and bruises.”

this is a fair question.

look.. i’m vietnamese. i’m mexican. i’m apache. i’m also white.i culturally grew up vietnamese. my first language was vietnamese, taken away because mom and dad spoke english at home when we moved.

it’s not fair, to me, to portray somebody i’m not or don’t / can’t relate to. i’ve passed as white. in instances where i haven’t, i can only relate to being vietnamese / asian and mexican.

i only have 2 ocs of color. that’s a crime, i get it. i should be more diverse. but i don’t want to make a character i can’t portray or relate to, or write just for the excuse of diversity. it feels like cheating, and i don’t think i should or can.

i have predominantly white characters, as you’ve said, because i’ve grown up in a majority of a white / white passing perspective and have only realized i can portray who / what i want recently  ( in making diem, my self indulgent oc, and in recreating jane, an older oc, to be italian / middle eastern influenced ).

i don’t know what else to say about this question. i’m sorry if it bothers you. i’m sorry if you feel i should do more.