Captain Hook

Her weight is like a stone tied to a man’s foot, a heavy reminder of the consequences to come as the world itself finds its way into your very lungs, cutting you off from the life you had so carelessly taken for granted .. and as Killian shifts, one arm wrapped around Isabela’s middle to steady her, he tries not to think about how far, or near as it were, in the distance the end to that life might be. He settles behind an outcropping of rock, a lucky find that offers safe haven from both the sun and those who pursue them .. and as he eases them both to the ground, the pirate can’t help but let a tired huff of laughter pass through rum flavored lips. Gulls call overhead, taunting insults perhaps at the sight of the fearsome Isabela and Hook both momentarily cowed in the sand... but Killian is too tired for the effort it takes to care.

The Wounded Coast...aye, fitting name. The irony brings a tug of a grin to the corner of his mouth even as blue eyes study the flash of red peeking from beneath the gash in his own shirt. The least the monstrous bastards could have done was to give him a scar where others could at least see it...Gaze flashes to the woman still pressed against his side and the edge of curved steel catches the narrow sweep of Isabela’s jaw, tipping her chin upwards until she meets his eyes with a question dancing in the shadows of her own.

A huff of breath escapes before he can stop it, a dry laugh that crawls its way up the Irishman’s throat and slips through the teeth that clench together in an effort to keep it thoroughly locked away, to keep it pressed in shadowed corners that keep regret from haunting an otherwise neutral expression - and that single breath is all it takes for the wall Killian Jones has so studiously built to come tumbling down. Each brick was construed from memory, thoughts and dreams of what might have been that left a red dust on the palms of the younger man’s hands as he raised them ever higher - and now as they fall from their place in the hollow of his chest, a pang of hurt wraps itself around a vulnerable heart. 

Have I? 

The question is there, perched atop salt flavored lips but Killian swallows it down, trading it for silence as eyes study water so much like the color of the other man’s own. He doesn’t know what’s caused Guy’s sudden confession - but he understands. The way the waves lap against the hull of the ship, the wind that blows a gentle caress through the night air... it’s enough to make a man believe that perhaps wounds long thought scarred over can be erased completely, can heal anew. His heart wants to answer - I know. - wants to give its own confession to a question the other hasn’t actually asked.. but instead teeth chew quietly on the inside of one cheek as the Irishman mulls things over.

okay so for everyone who hates big corporations and management who takes advantage of their employees.. this one’s for you. it’s long but .... i find it completely hilarious.

so a brief recap: amy got fired back in march from a huge international retailer, yes? when things first started like they were going south, i worked on really re establishing a relationship with my brother who is like one level below C-suite (cfo, ceo, etc etc) of that same company because i had an idea in mind. March rolls around, amy gets fired .. and I’m like .. okay. time to put this in motion. but stress and depression obviously took the motivation away from me, but i continued to keep that line of communication up with my brother. we started talking weekly, sometimes twice a week via an actual call. well, i’m finally feeling better .. so this week i finally put my plan in motion. here’s how it went

stage 1: i sent a text to my brother asking if i applied to the store in my area if i could use him as a reference. he said, of course but every store is hiring so i’d look at any store besides that one. (which is already fucking hilarious but i digress) ... so i call the store and one of the managers who sat in on amy’s firing answers when i ask to speak to someone involved in hiring (oh lucky day). I start off with “hi! I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve been looking for a job thats a bit of a change of scenery and my brother is the *insert position name* and works in *insert headquarters location* and he recommended i give the company a try despite that I had a less than stellar experience last time”. And this manager FALLS OVER telling me they are hiring for so many positions blah blah blah and then at the end when i’m like “thanks for the information! I’m definitely going to apply!” she’s like “of course! I’ll give our hiring manager your information so she can pull it immediately. Whats your name?” and i give my name and suddenly its just dead fucking silent... because they know who I am and they know that I’m in a relationship with amy and that i know what they did. But she recovers and is like ‘can’t wait to see your application!’ .. so.. okay. stage 1 was a success. but then, enter...

unexpected event: the store manager himself calls me. Starts off with some small talk, finally gets around to saying ‘so I hear you’d like to come back and work for us? I was looking at your previous application and I didn’t see any mention of the relation you talked about when you called”. And I’m like “oh, yeah... I don’t like using stuff like that because I’d prefer to get in on my own merit  and skills and not by a family member’s position. Plus its like that show undercover boss, you know? I get to see what the place is like before they know. BUT given with what happened to amy, I was unsure if I’d even be considered without a reference like that” and he laughs nervously and is like “i totally get it. So did anyone know that you had a brother in that position?” and I’m like “oh i mentioned it once in passing to [amy’s manger] but I just said my brother was in corporate and there are a lot of levels so i think he just left it at that” and the store manager is like ‘haha yeah different levels but thats like ... its own level...” and we talk a little bit and he’s like “what made you want to come back?” and I’m like “like i mentioned before, the amy thing really threw me off. I was angry and the good thing about siblings is you don’t have to sugarcoat stuff. So I went to my brother and was like this is how you treat people?? are you kidding?? what about job security?? and i sent him the picture amy had snapped of her discharge papers where it listed the reason and he told me that, and everything else I yelled at him about,  wasn’t the company’s way and that the store had seriously violated something. So for one, I now know that isn’t actually something that should have happened and  two, i inadvertently brought this store to corporate’s attention and there are a lot of good people who work here, and they don’t deserve the consequences of that, so I want to help make it right” and he’s fucking sweating yall, I can hear it over the phone. and he’s like “fill out your application and put whatever you want down and we’ll call you and talk about positions and we can find a way to give you what you want” and I’m like “oh, don’t tell me that nick because your chair is looking awfully good right now” and he did a nervous laugh. SO, unexpected event made my plan even better. Then we get to:

Stage 2: I apply. I check literally every management position, including the one they fired amy from and also some hourly positions and put down ridiculous hours. I pass the manager test with flying colors and when it asks why i said i want to be a team trainer i wrote down ‘thanks to knowing the home office, i know how things should work and I want to help this store raise its position in the district and I know what policies aren’t being followed to help make that raise smoother.” I submitted the application, called the first manager I had spoken to and told her I had done so and she was like “I’m sure we’ll give you a call tomorrow!” ‘Tomorrow’ came and by 7 that night, they hadn’t contacted me. So I went to the ‘we’re hiring’ image they had posted on their facebook page like an hour previously and tagged my brother and was like ‘dude this is one of the positions at my store i was telling you about. think i could pull it off?” AND BAM ! they sent me a request for a phone interview at 8am the next morning. I scheduled my interview for later that afternoon at 2:45 and we enter Stage 3.

Stage 3: Amy and I go to the store to pick up a few things. It’s suddenly fucking spotless. There are no gaps in the shelves, the floor has been cleaned since the last time we were there (monday night and i called them tuesday and it is now white and shiny as hell) and they have the lights turned up all the way so you can actually see. EVERY FUCKING AISLE is perfect. Cat food? perfect. Funko pops? stacked and lined up perfectly. Video games? Filled. Clearance aisle? Perfect order. Like its super obvious they did a mad dash and tried to get the store in shape. So amy and I walk down every single aisle and point things out and kind of put our heads together and talk and I take out my phone and act like i’m texting etc .. basically we’re just fucking with people’s heads because the managers are nearby and they can see what we’re doing. 

Stage 4: So later we’re home and 2:45 comes and goes with NO word. No phone call, no email, no hey can we reschedule. they FORGOT about the interview. I’m dying because they’re making it even better and even easier to fuck with them. So I text my brother (who KNOWS my mental health has been in the trash) and I’m like “I filled out an application just to see and they set up an interview and blew me off. You were right .. not a great help when it comes to the blues” and he was like “yep...i’d look at literally any other store” and talked to me a bit more about it. He was irritated that they’d do that and kept saying they were on thin ice.  Finally at 5 they text me and they’re like “hey, this is the [insert store] and we’re sorry we missed your interview. I wanna apologize. Can we reschedule?” And I wait like an hour and a half (i was napping, i’ll admit it) but I respond with “I apologize for the late response, I had a prior commitment I had to take care of. Unfortunately, I reached out to someone [they know who it is. they know]  in the off chance I had misunderstood the process since I hadn’t heard from you guys and I was encouraged to pursue opportunities at other branches in the area. Thank you for the original consideration and I hope you have a great day!” and they waited until 11am the next day to reply back which I’m assuming is because they were waiting for the higher up management to return to the store.

Come to find out the managers are still basically pissing themselves and freaking out because not only did they a) fire someone against company policy and now know the people at the top know and b) drop the ball and forget to interview a family member of said people at the top ... I got to add salt in the wound one more time by mentioning that my brother dropped in a lot (he doesn’t) and that I’d love to show off the store since it’s such a huge part of the community and it was looking better than I’d ever seen it look. And that it would be nice because he’d get the real experience since it wasn’t a formal, announced visit .... but, of course, that he’s salary .. so the policy is that he’s always ‘at work’ and obligated to take note of things.

I finally sent in my book to someone a while back before depression hit and heard back with a raving response today and now I gotta finish it and talk with her about logistics and send the rest and I have like 240 people who are already putting down ‘pre orders’ after reading a snippet of one chapter.

I still plan on being here but I mean .... I’m actually looking at a fairly good paycheck here y’all. I actually got an interest for more from Alloy Entertainment publishing as well. They work with warner brothers and choose books that they think might become something (think vampire diaries ... though idk if I want to be included in that case 😂) so I don’t think that will go much further. Though, I mean, someone was dumb enough to let ouat be a show so I mean ...

Happy munday! All I can say is: