My dad and I once had a disagreement over him using the adage "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
I said, "That's just not true. Sometimes what doesn't kill you leaves you brittle and injured or traumatized."
He stopped and thought about that for a while. He came back later, and said, "It's like wood glue."
He pointed to my bookshelf, which he helped me salvage a while ago. He said, "Do you remember how I explained that, once we used the wood glue on them, the shelves would actually be stronger than they were before they broke?"
I did.
"But before we used the wood glue, those shelves were broken. They couldn't hold up shit. If you had put books on them, they would have collapsed. And that wood glue had to set awhile. If we put anything on them too early, they would have collapsed just the same as if we'd never fixed them at all. You've got to give these things time to set."
It sounded like a pretty good metaphor to me, but one thing I did pick up on was that whatever broke those shelves, that's not the thing that made them stronger. That just broke them. It was being fixed that made them stronger. It was the glue.
So my dad and I agreed, what doesn't kill you doesn't actually make you stronger, but healing does. And if you feel like healing hasn't made you stronger than you were before, you're probably not done healing. You've got to give these things time to set.
sir if he's your rival and you hate him with every inch of your body and you desire for him to experience the ultimate demise but would without a doubt jump in front and catch an incoming bullet for him to save his life and in return trust him with yours...that's not rivalry anymore sir i regret to inform you that's something else
"hyperpop would kill a victorian child" "mountain dew would kill a medieval peasant" well i think cavemen would absolutely love mukbang videos. couldnt we use more joy in the world. coulent we use more kindness in the world
I think tumblr should add a 'king for a day' feature. This would do very little other than add a crown to the chosen king's avatar (how blogs are chosen is not revealed) and enable the king to 'carcinize' blogs, changing their avatar to a crab. I think this would be a good feature because it addresses no problems with the website and also would make some people very mad and that would be funny I think.
i think lots of americans have a hard time conceptualizing china as a place where people exist in because they don’t really compare chinese things to american things, like
“the chinese government vanishes you for saying the wrong thing!”
the chinese government does indeed do things in a v extreme way, but even in america, there are lots of things you can say that will get you put on a list, that will get you investigated, visited by the secret service, maybe even arrested, etc. etc.
“chinese internet users are rabid and will harass anyone who speaks out against their country”
that literally applies to americans too
“how can chinese people let themselves suffer horrible working conditions for so little pay?”
that can be asked of americans too, and the answer comes down to: because the government doesn’t want to increase wages and shit
“how are chinese people content to live under such a regime?”
the same could be asked of americans, but we all know the answer to that, cause here in america, protests get violently suppressed and activists get assassinated
like, when you really start to looking at the similarities, it really becomes startlingly clear that even if things are different there, the reality is that the life of an average american has more similarities to the life of an average chinese than to the american elite
its kind of insane how many people in the notes respond to a post that says “you should really be more sympathetic and consider chinese people humans instead of racist caricatures” with “no americans number one we have to get more racist” because the idea that people outside of the american borders are humans too is just too threatening to american exceptionalism
no wonder why americans struggle so hard with the whole stop asian hate thing; they barely see us as humans
The floral tiles blurred as Bella zoned out while washing up, gliding the sponge over the clear glass one, three, ten times. Her thoughts scrambled over each other, vying desperately for her attention. She set the cup down on the counter, and then absentmindedly picked it back up again, continuing the mindless movement of the sponge across the already spotless glass.
“Bella. Bella. You good mate?” The voice broke through the clouds in her mind, and Bella started, the cup almost slipping between her fingers.
She shook her head to clear the last of the thoughts that clung to her like cobwebs, and then she turned toward Bee, who looked at her with a slightly wary expression. “What?”
“Hun, you’ve been staring into space for like, five minutes. You’re normally always on top of it,” said Apollo, his voice coming from the other side of the cafe where he was wiping tables out of sight.
Bella’s cheeks heated, and she said, “Oh. Right. Sorry.”
“It’s no worries,” Bee said, their voice reassuring as they plucked the glass from her sudsy hands and dried it off. “Have you got something on your mind?”
Bella grabbed another cup to do something with her hands, knocking a few others down in the dirty haphazard stack. The sponge squeaked in protest as she dragged it along the inside of the glass, but she barely registered the sound. Every other thought seemed to be of her - when she leaned against the counter, matching Bella quip for quip, word for word. The way her eyes flashed with something as she had said the modified drink was “good enough.” The self-assured, pure arrogance that radiated off her every movement. It was infuriating.
Only Bee’s athleticism saved the cup from being smashed to pieces as Bella pelted it vaguely in their direction for drying purposes.
“Bella?” Bee said, slowly drying the glass.
“What?” snapped Bella, glaring at the new dirty glass in her hand.
Apollo laughed, his footsteps light as he moved to the next table, now in the line of sight of the two doing the dishes. “There’s definitely something bothering you. Spill,” he said, his eyes gleaming at the prospect of gossip.
She groaned, wondering how to avoid the question before realizing that her co-workers were relentless. “It’s nothing,” Bella said sharply. “Just… the customer from earlier.” She shrugged, somehow scrubbing the dirty glass harder.
“You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that,” said Bee drily.
“I know exactly who she means,” Apollo said, smirking. “The one she was flirting with.”
“Far out, really?” Bee said, gently placing the towel over Bella’s frantic hands, stilling them.
“No, it- yes. Wait, what?” Bella sputtered, pulling her hands free from the towel. She continued washing at a frenzied pace, miraculously never dropping anything despite her clumsy movements. “We weren’t flirting,” she insisted. “She just really… pissed me off.”
“Right,” said Apollo, his voice teasing. “Definitely not flirting. Definitely not obvious enough for anyone to see. Even me, who normally doesn’t understand flirting enough to pick up on it.”
Bee swung an arm around Bella’s shoulders. “It’s okay. We all have to grow up someday,” they said, mock seriousness in their voice.
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, glad to be back in slightly more familiar territory. Bella had known steadfast, sporty Bee and dramatic, confident Apollo for months, while she’d only met Dawn today. “Says who?” she asked, slipping into easy banter with her friends. “What would you define as grown-up?”
“You’re changing the subject. And deflecting,” Apollo added. “Normally you have a better defense.” He winked at Bee, a smirk on his face. “Maybe you’re coming down with something.”
Relinquishing their hold on Bella, they strode over to meet Apollo at the entrance to the back. “Oh, I know. The L word,” Bee said.
Apollo stuck his finger up in the air in exaggerated revelation. “Leprosy,” he announced, and Bella sighed at the elaborate farce the two were doing.
“No, no,” said Bee, biting their lip to hold back giggles. “Four letters.”
Apollo grinned as he sauntered over to Bella, poking his finger in her chest. “Lice,” he said, his voice triumphant.
“Oh my god, did you just quote Ice Age?” Bella said, swatting Apollo’s hand away. “Oh my god, did I just recognize an Ice Age quote? I- Never mind.” She crossed her arms. “You both know I’m not interested in romance. Nothing significant has ever come from something like this before.”
Much to her frustration, Apollo laughed and herded her back towards the sink where she hurriedly washed the last glass. “Yeah, we know. We’re just teasing. You should hear Bee and Parker,” he said. “They both pick on me about that all the time. ‘Oh, that was such a good kiss I’d almost think you were in love with me,’ or ‘Wow, Apollo, from the way you ogled that boy I’d almost be worried you caught feelings for him.’”
Bee snickered, obviously very proud of themself.
“It was the costume!” he protested. “I’ve been helping out the costume department and gained an appreciation for good costumes. The stitching on his outfit was admirable, that’s all,” said Apollo heatedly. “But, Bella, we’re just having a bit of fun. We don’t mean it. We respect your identity, don’t worry.” He sighed, gazing off into the distance as if remembering something dramatic from long ago. “You do not want to hear about the crisis I had in high school.”
“Again,” added Bella, raising an eyebrow.
Apollo stuck his tongue out at her.
“You’re sure you don’t want help with this?” Bee asked, surprisingly sincere. “I’ve seen you around Karens and customers like that before, and you did not act like that.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Bella said adamantly. “Dawn was just another annoying customer.”
Apollo bumped Bella, making her drop the towel she was drying her hands with onto the floor. “Right. That’s why you remember her name.”
“Oh, you shut up,” Bella lightheartedly shot back, throwing the towel back into place. “You know I have a good memory.”
“Uh-huh,” Apollo said, but he didn’t sound convinced, which she ignored.
“Let’s just close up shop,” said Bella briskly. “With any luck, I annoyed her enough to not come back.”
Of course, that was not the case.
~~~
I hope you all enjoyed part 2!! It was a blast to write with the added bonus of all three characters using different pronouns. As this was Bella's pov, @apocalypsewriters wrote this, and @pagesofcursive betaed ofc. Apollo and Bee will be recurring characters, so if you enjoyed them, they'll both be back! Especially since they come from another one of our shared works. and Apollo was the one to take the register in part 1.
- mod eve
Hopefully you're as excited as I am for what's to come! Maybe some incorrect quotes, ask games, who knows! Until then, happy reading!!
taglist (reach out if you want to be added): @arbys-haunted-turnover, @writing-is-a-martial-art, @cloverfieldswriting <3
we all keep our dull little lives but there’s free healthcare and no racism or global warming. chips manufacturers still discontinue cool flavors but they tell people first
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