There Are A Couple Relieving Months Of Nothing. Just Boring Days, Going To School, Going Home, Talking

There are a couple relieving months of nothing. Just boring days, going to school, going home, talking with Jr and Sam, and sometimes hanging out. You ask questions about being a werewolf any time you’re alone with the boys. It’s fascinating hearing Jr’s stories and the mechanics of different types of werewolves. You’re starting to relax and enjoy life. You know you shouldn’t. Any time you try reintegrate into “normal” everything shatters around you. This time is no acception. You, Jr, and Sam have been hanging out at a cafe all day, goofing around and having fun. You’ve learned to ignore Jr’s snarky comments by now, and you’re realising that he’s just not changing, but you’ve accepted that. He may be difficult to be around sometimes, but he’s still your friend. You giggle as you lead the way out of the cafe. It’s past dark by now, the stars and moon are out bright. It’s not a full moon, so you’re not worried about it being dark. The stars are beautiful and you lean your head back, enjoying the view. Jr and Sam are goofing off behind you, but you ignore them. Tonight is nice, and you want to remember this, the bright stars, the light breeze, the empty streets, it’s all so beautiful. You’re interrupted by a sudden outbreak of snarls in an alley near the cafe. You, Jr, and Sam all turn at the same time. A sudden howl goes up and Jr’s eyes widen, “That’s my pack.”

He’s running before you can question anything. Sam darts after him, “Jr wait!” You dart after Sam, “You can’t go with him! You’re not a werewolf! Guys!” You skid to a stop just before you reach the alley. You don’t want to get involved. You’re not magical, you can’t get bit, it could kill you. You don’t need to be in the midst of this. It turns out that it doesn’t matter what you need or do. The wolves spill out of the alley, it being too small to hold them. You scream and scramble back, but the wolves quickly engulf you. You duck behind a trash can quickly, trying to hide. Why do these things ALWAYS happen to you? ‘They didn’t before I met Jr…’ The thought barely has time to rush through your mind before a wolf whips around the trash can. It’s eyes fall on you and you freeze, staring at it. It lunges and you gasp and roll out of the way. You manage to avoid the brunt of the attack, but the claws of one paw still find your arm. They rake fown your arm, from you elbow to your wrist. It doesn’t hurt, you’re too pumped full of adrenaline for that. You take off running as fast as you can. The streets are full of wolves, everywhere. Where did they come from? Did they escape from the wolf city? You don’t see Jr or Sam anywhere. You round a corner, only to see another wave of wolves. They’re all fighting among themselves. Your mind wanders back to Jr, ‘That’s my pack…’ You stumble over to a building, pressing yourself against a wall. ‘There’s a pack of wolves in my city…. No… There’s more than one pack of wolves, there’s at least two, fighting, right now…’ You try to squeeze into an alley, but two wolves notice you. One lunges, but the other rams into it and glares. You stand frozen, not daring to move. After a moment, they turn and run off. You would have cried with relief, if you had had time. But right now you have to get out of here. You have to get home. You turn and warmth splatters across your face. It burns. You wipe at it desperately, squinting around to find what it’s from. Right in front of you, there’s a wolf being ripped to shreds. You stumble back, nausea taking you. You collapse by the building and look down. Your eyes find your bloody arm, then fall to your wrist. Your bracelet… Your charm... Your protection... It’s gone. You gasp and wipe desperately at your face, “Jr? Jr! Jr!” Fear grips you as everything swims. No… This can’t happen to you… You can’t be exposed to this kind of magic, not without your charm… You finally find Sam. He’s crouched against the wall, a wolf with bright blue eyes is guarding him. You assume that’s Jr. You call out for him again, but your voice is weak. You have to get out of here. You have to find your bracelet. You try and get up, but fall again. Why is this happening to you? You can’t die… Your mom needs you… Jr needs you… You crawl towards Jr. A wolf rams into you, slamming you against ground. You groan. The wolf is heavy, and not moving. You’re too weak to push it off. ‘Isn’t he supposed to notice me? Isn’t he supposed to come save me? Why isn't he coming?’ You stare at him from the ground. He’s guarding his brother with everything he has, not letting anyone even close to him. He doesn’t even glance in your direction. And then you realise… No… He’s not supposed to notice you. He was never supposed to protect you. You aren’t the main character. This isn’t your story. This is there’s… You were always just a side character... Your eyes slowly close and you breathe out for the last time...

I finally got the first part of the story up! Sorry it took so long, I got very busy for a moment there! Life kinda happened lol. Anyway I hope you enjoy it, it was just an idea I had, but I don't feel like it has enough basis to make a full story out of, so it'll be more like a short story :)

Just a couple days later, Jr is back. He’s leaning against that house again. You stop by him on your way to school with Sam, “Hey! Welcome back!” You know last time you saw him, you got into a fight, but isn’t that every time? Hopefully he’ll not take it too seriously… He nods, “Thanks…” But he’s distracted. His eyes are on Sam. You watch as his gaze slowly finds its way to his hickey, peeking out of his shirt. Sam blushes and covers it and Jr smirks. You get in his line of sight, “Ok, I know he’s your brother, but you can hold in the sex jokes ‘til I’m not around. I’m not interested in listening to you tease the living daylights out of him. Let’s be civil now.” Jr grins devilishly and Sam tugs on your shirt, “Come on, let’s go to school. There ain’t no way he’s keeping his big mouth shut…” Jr shrugs, “You’re the one going around with it on display Mr. Shy Boy…” Sam blushes deeper and tugs harder at your shirt. You glare at Jr, “Jerk,” and head to school. Jr’s laugh follows you and Sam as you head down the street. Sometimes you wonder if Jr will ever be nice. Aren’t jerky boys, like, supposed to change when they meet a girl? Aren’t they supposed to, like, “realise the errors of their ways” and all that? Well, it’s taking an annoyingly long time for Jr….

Wow this is amazing. I'm not around any hurricane zones or even close and I actually didn't even know there was such thing as a hurricane party. Things like this give me hope because, when it matters, when it REALLY matters, people are GOOD. Yes, there's that two percent who aren't, but in general they are. Like these are strangers going to people's houses and staying there and these people are welcoming them into their homes because they NEED that. They're looking out for each other and taking care of each other. I just think that no matter what others might say, people are amazing and no matter what happens we're gonna get through it because we're human and that's what we DO and I think that's awesome.

The Downlow on Hurricane Parties

Okay *presses hands together*I’ve been seeing a shit ton of posts about these and no actual explanations about How Living In a Hurricane Zone actually fucking works. Like - socially. 

Reciepts:  I was made homeless by 2 hurricanes in my life - once at 8 and again at 17. I have also ridden out more hurricanes than I can remember. I grew up in Hurricane Alley in florida and I have a tshirt from my senior year that says I Survived Hurricane High School because our senior year was so fucked by Hurricane Ivan no less than a 1/3rd of the student body was displaced. Aside from my parents divorce it’s probably the single most impactful thing to ever happen to me.

So let me explain a thing to those of you who don’t have hurricanes.

There’s a few types of hurricanes that make landfall on the continental US. There are REALLY BAD hurricanes - like Katrina and Harvey. Those are the ones where all you can do is Fucking Run.

But then? There’s the Less Bad Hurricanes.Those are insanely windy and full of rain and trees come down and shit gets bad but like…mostly, you get through it by hunkering down - boarding up the windows with plywood or specially made hurricane shutters(actually a thing, we had them on my house) bring in everything you have outside your house and plying it up in your living room and then just waiting shit out. Wild right?

If you live in Hurricane Alley, you realize, hey, for a Less Bad Hurricane, higher ground is all I really need. That is still an evacuation, it’s just not a  Fucking Run full evacuation. When you evacuate to higher ground you almost always end up at Someone’s House and often, whoever’s place you end up at is putting up 2+families and so are other people in that area because that’s the Higher Ground.

Here’s what’s happens. The whole goddamn town shuts down. This is one of the few times capitalism comes to a grinding halt (unless you work at Waffle House. That motherfucker stays open until you pass Cat3 because they’re more intrepid than any fucking US Marine) and the whole town shuts down. There’s power - until there isn’t. There’s water - until there isn’t. 

And then? 

There’s just you and the people you’re trapped in a house with for hours if not days.

What you end up with is a lot of people in one place, sharing their supplies of water and food because they have to - gathered in the ONE place that might have a generator - WHICH YOU CANNOT RUN ALL THE TIME ANYWAY, DON’T LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU DIFFERENTLY - when the weather is wet and also 90+ degrees, because you gotta remember this only happens in the summer. Schools are closed so a lot of the time, people are trapped in small places with their kids who dont know each other that well and cannot go outside and play which is a nightmare because did I mention the electricity is down? Yeah, this is literally the start of a fucking horror movie. 

Because on top of that, after a certain point, the sun is going to go down. You may have candles but not THAT many and you wanna save them so you can’t read.

And what are you going to do with that time? Seriously, what? Fam you gotta TALK to each other to pass the time.

Plus?  All the adults are fucking stressed out. Aside from the host, no one is in their own home and they’re scared. They might pretend they’re not but they are. They may not be scared for they’re life but they’re afraid for their property and their friends who didn’t come with them and they’re afraid for what’s going to happen when that motherfucker makes landfall and and and. 

You know what makes that experience easier (on the adults at least)? Alcohol (and weed if you’re in Florida where that shit is legal) and revelry and generally being playful, letting the kids play too, maybe getting a brightly colored cake that makes the whole experience less terrifying. 

And lo, hurricane parties. 

So yeah. That’s what’s going on with hurricanes.

That’s whats going to keep going on with hurricanes as the climate crisis continues.

And if you try and guilt and shame people out of their coping mechanisms and survival tactics that scientists and survival experts have proven work (seriously, I went to a panel on how to survive an apocalypse and the first advice they gave was Throw A Party) then you’re just wrong. Stop harshing people and start being supportive. Things are only going to get worse as we move forward and trust me when I tell you, a good hurricane party can save sanity and lives. 

So I had my story written in a journal and lost the journal (this is why electronics are useful kids!)... But I found the journal so gonna get it on the computer, edit it, and hopefully post it very soon! Sorry for the long wait! It's coming soon! Really this time lol XD