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joelmillerisapunk · 7 months ago

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Beach Daddy I. Unexpected Encounters

Rich daddy!Joel Miller x f!reader

Masterlist • Series Masterlist

Wordcount: 5,849

Summary: You find yourself on a luxurious yacht, invited by your old roommate Sarah, only to discover that her new boyfriend is none other than your very recent ex. Feeling out of place and overwhelmed, you take solace in the kindness of Reggie, Joel's intern, who helps you navigate the ship and offers a sympathetic ear.

Warnings: 18+, mentions of cheating, reader has hair and wears a dress, you meet Joel, there's a few random oc's thrown in

Notes: Hi, I hope you enjoy 🥰 if you're feeling saucy after comments and reblogs and thoughts are always welcome! Ty @saradika-graphics for the dividers

As soon as the soles of your worn-out converse hit the wood of the dock, you know you're underdressed. Your old roommate, Sarah, has invited you to spend a few weeks on her father's boat. But as you approach the enormous white yacht docked at the end of the pier, you realize this is no ordinary boat. The yacht's sides are lined with three stories of windows, reflecting the ocean's crystal clear water.

From where you're standing, you can make out a double staircase leading to an upper deck with a circular swimming pool large enough to land a helicopter in. Men and women in matching black and white uniforms pace the decks, preparing the ship to leave the marina.

When Sarah invited you, you had no idea the vacation would be so extravagant. If you had known, you would have packed something nicer than your department store shorts and tank tops. Truthfully, you don't own anything that would make you feel undressed on a yacht that likely costs more than a private island.

"Wow," you say to yourself.

"What was that, miss? Is there something I can help you with?" The driver asks you.

"Oh, sorry, no, I’m fine. Thank you, though," you answer sheepishly.

"Don’t worry about your bags, miss. Someone from the ship will be down shortly to get them and take them to your room."

Sarah sent a Cadillac to the airport to bring you to the private dock her father owns. You appreciate the gesture more than she knows because even though you accepted her vacation invitation, you're on a very tight budget. Splurging for a taxi from the airport to the Florida coast would have left you choosing between buying textbooks or food when your next semester starts.

This vacation marks the beginning of a massive change in your life. After graduating with your Master’s Degree from NYU, you got accepted into Harvard Law School. You'll be moving out of New York City at the end of the summer and getting a new start.

You worked at a hole-in-the-wall bar to pay your tuition and barely scraped together rent each month from your tips. You lived in an apartment that you shared with your two roommates, Lin and Aubrey. You're not renewing your lease on that dilapidated and overpriced apartment, and the thought of finally getting to quit your job is a fantastic feeling.

After all of the excitement of opening your acceptance letter from Harvard, you notice a shift in the one person you thought would remain your constant through all of the change. That person is Todd, your boyfriend of two years. He dumped you with no explanation the night before graduation.

So when you receive a text from Sarah inviting you on a vacation, you accept without hesitation. You're still hurting from the breakup and wanting to be anywhere other than New York.

"Miss?" A woman in a white polo and black knee-length skirt asks you.

"Uh, yes."

"If you will follow me. Miss Miller is waiting for you."

"Of course," you say with a small smile. It's typical that Sarah would send someone to get you rather than meet you at the dock herself, but you ignore it. You're on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, and you're going to enjoy every minute of it.

As you reach the deck with the swimming pool, you hear a high-pitched version of your name being yelled and you instantly remember why Sarah and you are friends. She has a way of making you feel special.

Sarah is lounging on a deck chair in a glamorous white bikini with a blue chiffon kimono. As she stands to greet you, you're surprised she's wearing high heels. You thought women only did that on the runway–or maybe in certain kinds of movies....

"Sarah! It is so good to see you. You look amazing, by the way." You're not surprised to see that Sarah already has a pink fruity drink in her hand.

"Oh, thanks. Daddy bought me a new yacht wardrobe while we were in Paris. Isn't this bikini just to die for?" She asks.

"It really is." You smile with your response.

"You look cute too. You’re always dressed like you're in a Gap advertisement."

Your smile almost falters, but you catch it before Sarah notices. You had almost forgotten how Sarah can make you feel special one moment and two feet tall the next.

"The yacht is gorgeous. I had no idea what to expect; I’ve never been on a boat like this before." You admit while brushing off Sarah's previous comment.

"I figured this would be a big treat for you. It’s a shame most of my other friends have a fashion show in London. Anyway, I am glad you could make it."

"I'm glad I could make it too," you say, still trying to maintain your smile.

Sarah snaps her fingers at a young man cleaning the pool while wearing a uniform that indicates he is part of the yacht’s staff. He immediately stops what he's doing, brings over a second pink drink, and hands it to you.

"Thank you so much," you say to him with a sympathetic smile. You take a small sip and are sure you will be having many more of these; it's delicious. The pineapple juice perfectly complements the rum.

"Good, right? It’s a Caribbean rum punch." Sarah says, clearly watching the enjoyment on your face.

"It’s really good. I’ve made these for customers before, but I haven’t had the chance to try one."

"Oh, you still work at that little dive bar?" Sarah asks, but she is clearly uninterested and does not intend to wait for your answer. "You are going to love the yacht," she continues without skipping a beat. "Daddy bought it last year; it is much better than his old one. You and I will be on the second floor, right off this deck, with the pool. Daddy is on the third floor in the main suite. He has a whole deck to himself, but each of our rooms has its own balcony."

You had not had a room to yourself in six years. In your apartment, all three of you shared one bedroom because you couldn’t possibly afford anything bigger. The thought of a room and a balcony all to yourself feels almost too good to be true.

"That sounds amazing, Sarah. I can not begin to thank you enough for inviting me. You have no idea how badly I needed this. I just went through the worst break -"

Sarah cuts you off before you can finish.

"Daddy keeps to himself. He says he has work to do or something like that. So most of the time, we will have the ship to ourselves. It's going to be the biggest party. Daddy even hired a DJ as part of the staff after I begged him."

"Who is us?" You ask wondering how many people she has invited.

"You, me, my boyfriend, and a few other friends. Everyone else will be coming a bit later. They’re taking Megan's private jet, so they'll get in just before we set sail.”

Part of you is nervous to meet the rest of Sarah’s friends. People who have their own private jets are not your usual crowd. However, you feel a bit relieved that there will be other people to entertain Sarah so you can find some time for yourself to relax. Sarah is the type of person who can party for hours on end. She always has to go to one more party, one more bar, or one more club before calling it a night.

“Maybe don’t mention to the others that you could only afford to fly commercial. If you do, at least lie and say you flew first class.”

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend Sarah,” you say, purposely trying to change the subject. “How long have you been seeing him?” Sarah must have changed more than you realized, because in the past she never would have settled for one man. Sarah knows this and flaunts it. She has a line of guys wanting to date her and she likes it that way.

“We have been seeing each other for four months now. He is absolutely amazing. You are going to love him. Plus he's super hot!” She gushes.

“Well, I can’t wait to meet him,” you say with a bit of a laugh.

“You will soon, he just went to our rooms to get his sunglasses. Oh, here he comes now,” Sarah says with a huge smile lighting up her face.

He walks out onto the deck, wraps an arm around Sarah’s waist, and pulls her in for a kiss. Then he turns to you as though you had never met.

“Hey, I’m Todd.”

“Todd?” you say, completely dumbfounded by the fact that your very recent ex-boyfriend is standing in front of you with his arm around Sarah.

“Yea, I’m Sarah's boyfriend. She told me one of her old roommates would be joining us.”

“Um, yea.” You respond awkwardly. At first, you don’t understand why Todd would act like he doesn’t know you, but then a lump forms in your throat. Sarah says they have been together for four months.

“Hey, you should go get changed, and we can all go up to dinner together. We're eating on the rooftop deck tonight.” Sarah says, completely missing the strangeness of your interaction with Todd. She snaps her fingers again at another member of the yacht staff. “Will you show her to her room?”

“Of course. If you will follow me,” the woman says and starts walking towards the double doors leading into the ship.

You glance back at Todd and Sarah and quickly wish you hadn’t. Todd is kissing her again, and then he winks at you as his hand starts sliding down her back. You turn away quickly before you have to see where his hand lands.

“You are in the first room to the right.”

“Thank you so much-” you pause.

“Molly.”

“Thank you so much, Molly. Also, I'm sorry about the snapping. I work as a bartender and always hate when people snap to get my attention.”

Molly smiles genuinely at you after your comment. “Thank you, but we are all used to Sarah and her ways. There is an intercom in your room. If you need anything, just press the button, and someone downstairs will respond.”

You nod and open the door to your room, but room is an understatement. The size and luxury of the room are unlike anything you have ever experienced. The main room houses a king-size bed covered in a white silk comforter. There is also a lounge area with two modern black leather sofas. And your suitcase is already waiting for you on an ottoman at the foot of the bed.

You sigh and throw yourself onto the bed face down in the comforter. It seems like a bad dream that Todd is here, pretending he doesn’t know you, let alone date you for two years.

You were comfortable, and your relationship was secure, or so you thought. It started with little things, like Todd bailing on plans you'd made and how he stopped inviting you to spend any time at his place.

Aubrey was always suspicious of Todd, but you never questioned him. Because you knew, deep down, he was cheating on you, but you went on pretending because it was easier than losing him. You didn’t have to pretend for very long because he dumped you the day before graduation.

You cried for hours on the living room couch as Lin and Aubrey comforted you and supplied you with all the ice cream you could eat. You picked yourself up the morning of graduation and packed away your pain. You would not let Todd, or anyone else, see you beaten; you thought maybe that would make you a good lawyer one day.

You walked across that stage and accepted your diploma with a giant smile on your face because you truly earned it and right after the ceremony, you let yourself fall into misery again.

And now he's dating Sarah.

Sarah had said that they’d started dating four months ago, which meant that Todd was definitely cheating on you. It was just hard to believe that he cheated on you with one of your friends.

Sure, Sarah and you fell in and out of touch as your lives drifted apart, but it still made the betrayal hurt more.

During college, you were very different people. Sarah attended NYU for the party life and never missed an opportunity to go out and have fun. You spent most of your time studying to ensure you didn’t lose your scholarship. Even though you had your differences, you got along for the most part, and while you were living together, you became close friends.

You allow yourself a few more moments of self-pity before pulling yourself off of the bed. You didn't let Todd see you beat at graduation, and you aren't going to let him see it now.

You make your way to your suitcase and roll it into the connecting ensuite. As you walk through the double doors of the ensuite, you are shocked again by the sheer size of the yacht. You take your time unpacking each item of clothing and hanging it in the closet. You pick out a black knee-length dress, which is the nicest thing you have brought, and change into it.

Just as you finish touching up your makeup, you hear the click of the door latch opening.

“Hey, are you ready? Everyone else is here, and we are all heading up to eat,” Sarah says while she bursts into the room without bothering to knock.

“Yeah. Perfect timing. I just finished.” You walk out of the ensuite and see her standing in a floor-length dress made of silvery fabric. She takes one quick look at you outfit and says nothing, obviously unimpressed by your simple choice. You follow her out into the hallway, where three women and four men in black tie attire talk among themselves.

Sarah makes quick introductions, but the only name you catch is that of the tall brunette woman, Megan, the one with the private jet. Your hands are already starting to sweat, and you're honestly grateful that most of the other guests ignore your presence as waiters bring plate after plate of food and set it in front of each of you.

“Megan, how was the flight here?” Sarah asks.

"Oh, it's the worst. My mom has to take the big jet to Japan for a business conference, so I'm stuck with the little jet. Hudson nearly hit his head on the ceiling because it's so small." Megan throws a seductive look at the tall man with blond hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Well, I'm sure you didn't have the worst flight. She had to fly commercial," Sarah says, gesturing towards you.

"You poor thing. I've never flown commercial, but I hear it's horrible. Do you really have to sit next to strangers?"

"Yeah, you do, but not in first class." You say remembering that Sarah had told you to say you flew first class even though you didn't.

It's typical of Sarah to throw you under scrutiny when you had planned to avoid talking about how you got here or anything else to do with money, for that matter. Luckily, the one dig at you seems to be enough for Sarah because she gets distracted by Todd.

"You are the sexiest woman I have ever met," Todd says as he runs his hand up Sarah's arm.

"You two are the absolute cutest," the woman sitting on your right says.

"Oh, I know, right? It's so fun that we are equally numbered men to women," Megan says, throwing another look at Hudson, who seems completely clueless.

You eat your meal in silence and try your best not to watch Sarah and Todd. However, it's hard to ignore the fact that Todd has abandoned his meal and is instead licking Sarah's neck. She laughs, runs her fingers into his mess of brown curls, and pulls his face to hers.

You make it all the way to dessert before you can't take it anymore and quietly slip away from the table. Of course, no one sees you leave; if they did, no one cares.

As the door closes behind you, a few tears start streaming down your face. You have to get back to your room before anyone finds you crying. You quickly wipe the tears from your cheeks and do your best to keep any more from falling.

The day's events have finally hit you in full force. You're angry and hurt that Todd has been cheating on you the whole time, and now you have to spend your vacation watching him and Sarah together.

You're so distracted in your thoughts that you run straight into a rock-solid chest.

You had hoped you just ran into one of the yacht's staff members, but you quickly realize the man is not wearing the uniform. All you can see is a suit jacket. You pull back and continue to try to hold back your tears.

"I am so sorry; I should have been watching where I was going," you say while trying to plan your escape.

When you look up at who you ran into, you're met with the most beautiful brown eyes you've ever seen.

"Are you okay, Miss?”

—♡—

Joel is walking down the hallway on his way to the upper deck when he hears a loud burst of laughter. He sighs in frustration; this was supposed to be a quiet escape from work, yet his yacht is full of a bunch of twenty-year-olds.

He had invited Sarah, as a way to spend a bit of time together this summer. Then Sarah asked if she could bring her new boyfriend along, and he agreed without much thought.

Joel met Todd earlier in the week over breakfast, and he seemed like a good kid. He works in finance for his father’s financial firm in New York, so they immediately have so much to talk about.

He is very complimentary of Joel's recent purchase of Explore Air, the second airline that he now owns. It truly is a good purchase, and he has big plans for expansion.

Joel is impressed that Sarah has picked someone who is putting down roots, and he seems like a stable choice. Sarah has never introduced him to a boyfriend before, so he is taking their relationship seriously.

Having her boyfriend join them would be an easy way for him to get to know him better and also give Joel a little more time for himself, which is probably a little selfish. It’s not that he doesn’t love his daughter; he finds it difficult spending time with his daughter; they aren’t very close. He had only found out she existed fourteen years ago, and trying to connect with a ten-year-old with whom he has nothing in common has not been easy.

It doesn’t help that he has bought her everything she could possibly ask for–for the last fourteen years. In the beginning, he did it to make up for missing the first ten years of her life, but after that, it just became easier than dealing with her when she didn’t get what she wanted.

Sarah is now a spoiled and entitled twenty-four-year-old with no plans for her life other than partying and spending as much money as possible.

In classic Sarah fashion, his agreement to let her bring her boyfriend along turned into her filling each one of his guest rooms with her rich and arrogant friends. Sarah also hired a DJ against his wishes, but after a hysterical outburst where she accused him of not loving her, she got her way, just like always. So his quiet and relaxing vacation with his daughter quickly turned into him hosting a summer-long party.

Before he heads to his stateroom, he figures he better play the welcoming host and go up to greet Sarah and her friends. As Joel turns a corner, he bumps into someone. The woman has her head down, so all he can see is her hair.

“I am so sorry; I should have been watching where I was going,” the woman says.

When her eyes finally meet Joel’s, he is surprised it looks like she is fighting tears.

“Are you okay, miss?” Joel says in response. He feels dumb as soon as the words are out of his mouth. She, very obviously, is not okay.

“Yes. I’m just heading back to my room, uh, sir,” she says as she straightens up, obviously not wanting to be caught crying.

“Oh right,” Joel replies, suddenly realizing that she called him sir, so she must be one of the maids.

He starts picking through his memories, trying to remember when he’d hired her. Reggie must have been the one to interview her because he surely would have remembered a woman so captivating.

“Before you do that, would you head up to my stateroom and unpack my luggage? I'm afraid it's been delivered later than usual. Had some business I had to attend to before leaving port, and I didn't get here as early as I would have liked.”

“Oh - I am - Uh -” she starts staring at the floor.

Joel stands waiting for her response. He thinks it is cute how flustered she is; perhaps it's because he makes her nervous. That's pretty common with new hires, but oddly, she makes him feel a bit flustered, which is completely uncommon.

“Yes,” she stammers.

“Thank you so much -” he says with a smile, leaving a pause in hopes that she would tell him her name, but she quickly turns and heads in the opposite direction. He can't help but stare as she walks away. As she slips around a corner and out of sight, he sighs, knowing he needs to make an appearance upstairs.

Joel walks out onto the deck, where a large dining table is placed and decorated with an extravagant centerpiece. The stars reflect over the ocean and create a stunning backdrop for his daughter's dinner party. He is really impressed at how well the staff has done at transforming this space, most likely with very particular instructions from Sarah.

“Daddy!” Sarah screams as he makes his way out onto the deck. She screams a lot, but he notices most girls her age do. Thankfully it looks as though their dinner party is just wrapping up; waiters are clearing away everything from the table.

Sarah runs over and hugs him.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he says kissing the top of her head. “Is everything goin' alright?”

“Everything has gone perfectly so far. The yacht is so awesome; I think my friends could die out of jealousy.”

Joel remains silent, not knowing how to respond to Sarah's need to be the envy of other people. He would leave figuring that out to her mother, Marnie. They hardly speak other than when she needs money from him, which is more often than he'd like.

“Good evening, Mr. Miller,” Todd says as he makes his way over and shakes Joel's hand.

“S'good to see you again, Todd.”

“Likewise. I’d like to discuss a real estate investment I'm working on for a client when you have the time. I would love to get your opinion.”

“Of course. We can talk about it tomorrow night over some drinks.”

“I look forward to it, Mr. Miller.”

Joel continues to greet Sarah's friends and make small talk for as long as he can manage. He makes his exit by lifting a glass of champagne in the air and toasting, “To an amazing summer.”

Sarah's friends echo his toast, followed by cheering and chatting amongst themselves. Joel slips out and heads over to a hidden elevator, which goes up one more floor where his room and private deck are located. He really hopes that the group makes their way to their rooms soon. He's exhausted and can not wait to slip into sleep.

He opens the double doors to his room and is slightly disappointed that the maid he met earlier was already gone. His suitcase was missing from where he left it, so she must have come and gone while he was greeting my guests.

He immediately makes his way to the bar cart and pours himself a glass of whiskey taking a long sip of his drink, he can't stop his mind from wandering back to the maid he ran into. It’d been a long time since someone had caught his attention as she did. She did seem much younger than him, though. He wasn’t sure that would be a problem.

He walks over to the screen mounted on the wall next to the door, and at the press of a button, the wall of windows at the far end of the room slid open, eliminating the barrier between his living room and private deck. That feature was one of the main reasons he purchased this particular yacht. He thought there would be nothing better than feeling the ocean breeze and hearing the waves even while hiding away in his stateroom.

He steps onto his deck and could see the dinner party continuing without him one deck below. The muffled sounds of conversation and laughing are the only sound drifting up to him.

Joel sips his drink and watches the white foamy waves follow the yacht as they move through the water. It's the only way he can tell they're moving as the sky darkens to a deep blue. He sits back, relaxing, and imagines the woman's eyes staring back at him.

—♡—

“Are you okay, miss?” the attractive man asks after you run directly into him.

“Yes. I’m just heading back to my room, uh, sir,” you respond.

“Oh, right,” he says, lost in thought. He pauses for a few seconds and then continues.

You stumble over your words, mortified that he clearly thinks you are a member of the staff rather than a guest on the yacht. However, you suppose you look nothing like the typical guests.

“Yes,” you finally say, deciding it is easier than trying to explain the mix-up. He thanks you and continues standing there, staring at you, making sure you are actually going to go unpack for him.

You quickly turn and head back down the long hallway. You must be headed in the right direction because the man does not tell you otherwise. Unfortunately, this is leading you in the opposite direction of your room.

You take a few turns, trying not to accidentally run into the man again and have to explain that you don’t work for him. You should have just told him from the start, but he startled you, and you got a bit distracted staring at his face.

He has a very nice face and a very nice body, and you can’t stop thinking about him. It isn’t too long before you are completely turned around; the ship is so outlandishly large.

Exhausted and embarrassed, you find a small alcove off of the main hallway, lean your back against the wall, and slide to the floor. You just need a minute to yourself to get control of your emotions, but a door opens next to you and cuts that time short.

You jump to your feet and smooth your hands over your dress.

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve met,” the man says. He is very clean-cut, with smooth black hair and freckles dusting his cheeks. You guess that he isn’t much older than you are.

“I’m a friend of Sarah’s,” you introduce yourself, not wanting to get mistaken for part of the staff again.

“Oh, wonderful. I hope you’re enjoying yourself,” he says with a genuine smile. You feel at ease in his presence, happy to have finally found someone who isn’t already judging you.

“I am, but I may need some help. I ran into someone down the hall, who mistook me for one of the maids and asked me to unpack for him. I don’t want anyone to get into trouble if it doesn’t get done,” you say, slightly embarrassed. “Can you help me?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry that happened to you. Do you know who it was?”

“Uh, it was a man wearing a very nice suit - but that probably doesn’t narrow it down much.”

“Not exactly,” he says with a sympathetic grin.

“He was tall with dark brown hair that perfectly complements his brown eyes. He had a concrete jaw that was peppered with black and silver facial hair. His voice was deep, had a southern accent, and he smelled like sandalwood,” you say, picturing the man in your head.

After a few moments, you realize you’ve said way too much. If you could have jumped off the railing and into the ocean, you would have.

“That is Mr. Miller,” he says quickly, saving you from further embarrassment. “I am his intern, so I can make sure someone goes and takes care of his luggage.”

Did he say… Mr. Miller? As in, Sarah’s dad?

“Thank you so much,” you say. “You will have to forgive me. It’s been a long night, and I’ve been so rude and haven’t asked your name.”

“You can call me Reggie.”

“Well, thank you so much, Reggie. Can I ask you for one more favor?”

“Of course,” Reggie says with his signature smile.

“I got a little turned around after leaving the dinner party upstairs, and I’m not sure how to get back to my room.”

“It would be my pleasure to escort you back to your stateroom, Miss,” he says and offers you his arm.

“Thank you so much,” you say as you take his arm, absolutely delighted by the gesture.

Reggie is leading the way back to your room when he says, “Please don’t hold it against Mr. Miller for mistaking you for part of the staff. He has been under a lot of stress lately and passed the hiring off to me. Since you weren’t at the dinner party, it’s likely he just figured that you were a new hire. He really is a kind person and would have never intentionally offended you.”

“He didn’t offend me. I know I don’t fit with Sarah’s other friends, so it was an easy mistake to make. I could have straightened everything out, but I was a little distracted by some personal issues.”

“Do you need to vent?” Reggie asks innocently.

“It’s just that I went through a really difficult breakup, and I hoped this trip would help me get my mind off of him. It hasn’t worked out that way,” you say, trying to remain as vague as possible.

“I’m very sorry. Was it a long relationship?”

“Two years.”

“Ouch. Well, just give it a bit more time. With what Miss Miller has scheduled, I’m sure you will have plenty of distractions to keep your mind off of things.”

You laugh. “I’m sure you’re right. There is never a dull moment with Sarah around.”

Just as your conversation wraps up, you reach your door. You are so relieved to be back in your room that you could have hugged Reggie. You feel like you could talk to him about anything, and it helps you to feel as though there is at least one person on this ship who has not immediately judged you.

“Thank you so much for all of your help, Reggie. I don’t know what I would have done had I not run into you.”

“I’m here to help anytime. That goes for all of the staff on the yacht. If you need anything at all, just ask.”

You nod as Reggie walks away, and you slip into your room.I You head straight to the bathroom for that giant tub you discovered earlier. You have never been so in need of washing away the events of a day before.

You soak for almost an hour when the water starts getting cold, you reluctantly pull yourself out and wrap yourself in a fluffy bath towel.

You change into your pajamas, a pair of gray shorts, and a Harvard T-shirt. Your grandfather sent you the T-shirt as soon as you told him you’d been accepted; he was so proud.

You pull out your phone to send him a quick text telling him that you are okay. You should have sent it as soon as you arrived, but you forget in the chaos of seeing Todd with his arm around Sarah's waist.

You type out a quick message reading, "Hi Gramps. I made it safe. I will keep you updated. Love you." When you go to hit send, you realize you have no service. So not only would you not be able to contact your grandpa, but you can't update Lin and Aubrey about this horrible situation you are in. You sigh in defeat and toss your phone onto the bed.

Instead of talking with your friends, you use the intercom system in your room to call down for a cup of chamomile tea. You are shocked at how quickly there is a knock at your door. You take the tray and make your way out onto your private balcony.

The balcony is large enough to fit a lounge chair and a small breakfast table. You quickly make plans to put that to use in the morning. It would be amazing to sip your coffee and listen to the sound of the ocean.

You take a seat on the lounge chair and place your tray in front of you. A tiny teapot and matching cup are accompanied by a small plate of macaron cookies. You pour yourself a cup of tea and bite into one of the pink, dainty cookies.

You can't help thinking that this vacation would be perfect if you could spend the whole time in this room. Unfortunately, you would have to come out eventually and face Todd. You could have told Sarah the truth about Todd being your ex, but now that you are sailing, you have no escape.

It would have made the rest of the vacation unbearably awkward if you'd told Sarah. You have to keep this secret, at least until you are all back on land. A flash of shame hits you when you remember the other secret you would have to keep from Sarah.

The fact that you are undeniably attracted to her dad.

#joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fanfiction #pedro pascal #joel miller smut

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rey-129-fan · 6 months ago

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Well, it's been a while since I've posted any fanfic... Let's change that.

Good news! I'm not dead! My brain did try to get me to do things that could unalive myself for a bit, and then I lost nearly an entire side of my family over the span of 3 years, but I'm still here and still kicking! And I have two new puppies who are adorable and so loving.

Now for this story, this is inspired by a few posts I saw on @theglamorousferal, mostly the one about Amity Parkers going to college in Gotham and buying a hotel (I'm making it a co-op student house, but I've never lived in one, so if something's unacceptably wrong, tell me, if not, artistic license), but also the one where our main Trio buy a building to set up shop there, and wind up adopted my Jason (I swear, I saw that post after I wrote the first chapter, but it just fit so well).

***

Honestly, Amity Park was weird long before the Fentons moved there- the original settlers named the nearby lake Eerie, and it wasn’t after the Great Lake. It’s just that before the Fentons’ machine punched a hole through reality and created a permanent doorway to the land of spirits and ghosts, the weirdness was not as blatant.

Prior to that, Amity Parkers were some of the few that could move to Gotham without suffering a breakdown that was common for new arrivals. Now there was a slight dip in newcomers for about a decade or two after the Bat made his debut and then the crazies that followed him, but then Amity Parkers got used to the spirits of the dead wandering around following the aforementioned punching through reality.

All this to say that Gotham Universities were a rather common destination for young Amity Park adults seeking higher education.

Now because of this, there were always apartments advertising themselves for people from the small town. They, after all, tended to not have a breakdown after their fifth rogue attack and just pack up and leave halfway through their lease. But it got very annoying having to sift through all the advertisements when looking for a place to stay- something Danny Fenton saw his older sister go through when she got in to Gotham City University. The boy then shared what he was witnessing with his two best friends- Tucker Foley and Sam Manson. Tucker offered to help filter out the spam, which Danny’s sister Jazz thanked him for but turned down. Sam… Sam instead got thinking.

Sam had been to Gotham a few times in her life. She had an idea of the areas closest to the schools and how much those should cost. And looking at the letters Jazz was getting, the offers were a little too high for a regular college student to afford. Sam was also familiar with how many hotels were not being used in Gotham- people building them in hopes tourists would come to stay while visiting the East Coast, tourists that could not be convinced to visit due to the high crime rate and the lack of activities or places of interest in the city itself.

She quickly went to work, looking in to these empty hotels. She was rather upset by their numbers and put together a spreadsheet of them, with details like number of rooms, any amenities they may have, and nearby landmarks. She then grabbed her two dorks and marched to Casper High’s Community Outreach director.

Now Sam’s presentation raised a few eyebrows, mostly because it was in a completely different state, but Sam shot back that because of the efforts to incorporate the town’s new ghostly residents and provide them with helpful ways to feed their obsessions- efforts led by the Fenton family- Amity Park had very few homeless, and those that were had a huge community safety net to help them get back on their feet. Additionally, with how many people moved between the city and the town, helping the city could be argued to also be helping the town.

The Outreach Director just sighed and gave Same the green light to at least draft and send out a proposal to the powers that be in Gotham, saying that there wasn’t much that could be done before they got backing and approval. Sam thanked them before leaving, Danny and Tucker trailing behind.

She was back the next day with a draft of her proposal and a list of who to send it to.

***

Since returning from the dead in the eyes of the public, Jason Todd was often contacted by groups trying to use the Wayne fortune to fund their own personal projects. They thought Jason would be the easiest to con- sorry, persuade- since he was a former street kid unlike the rest of his family. Thus surely he would know just how much this new building with low income housing would help the people of Gotham- it even came with a pool and gym!

Yeah, he did know how much the people of Gotham needed housing, but $2K a month was not affordable when you’re barely making $30K a year! Oh and the pool and gym were only available for those who could shell out an additional $2K a month. Jason knows, he read the whole document carefully.

God, sometimes it was hard to tell who was worse, the psychos in Blackgate or real estate investors. And sadly, he couldn’t just pop a bullet in their heads and be done with it because 1) it would raise too many questions and 2) it would make Bruce get all sad and mopey- again. Jason just did not have the mental energy to put up with that on top of the rest of his life as a crimelord/vigilante/long-lost adoptive second son of a billionaire.

All this to say, he was not impressed when he first glanced over a proposal to convert the unused hotels around the city into housing units- especially since it was from someone that did not live in Gotham.

Manson? Wasn’t there a family with that name that would attend some of Brucie’s galas? Oh yeah, their family made its fortune off patenting the machine that wrapped toothpicks in plastic, as well as a couple others. And they had a daughter around Repla- Tim’s age. Hopefully this wasn’t her trying to be a kiss-ass like her parents.

Jason finished reading and sat back. The proposal wasn’t too bad. Converting hotels into apartment buildings would be easier than office buildings, and the suggestion to use ex-convicts that wanted to turn over a new leaf as building managers certainly wasn’t the worst. Also creating a fund for those that couldn’t afford rent, as well as community kitchens and gardens were certain plusses, though would need to have the right people in charge to make sure they actually worked as planned, and to keep the Court of Owls from messing with it.

Overall, it was something Jason would consider, after some research and maybe talking with the rest of the Bats and Birds. And if this was from the Manson kid, maybe get Dickie or one of the others to talk to her next time there was a gala in town. Or talk to her himself, if the Pit wasn’t too loud.

…Dick was probably the better option to talk with her if it came down to it.

***

There's the first chapter. I'm going to go write the next one. When I have a good log of them, I'll then go and edit them and put them on AO3.

This has no title yet because I suck at naming. Feel free to comment with suggestions for a name, both for the fic/au and for the eventual hotel/co op. As well as any shinanegans and majors/colleges/universities for our liminal young adults.

Part 1/? Next >

#dp x dc crossover #dc x dp #danny phantom #dc comics #i've admittedly never read dc comics #jason todd #sam manson #amity park/gotham co op #comments and constructive reviews are welcome #I was originally going to throw in a reference to another spoopy franchise #but i figured i could save it for later #the rest of the bat fam will show up eventually #I don't need majors for sam danny tuck or jazz #I do need for paulina dash kwan wes val and any other kids #star i'm think of being a physics or sports science #gotham is based around where jersey city is #amity park is actually going to be in NY #specifically around jamestown in the southern tier #no it's not illinois because it takes the fentons two days of driving to get to vlad's at least #that means over 8 hours in the car which illinois is not #part 1 #of idk how many parts there'll be

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coochiequeens · 2 years ago

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An update to an older story that’s goods news!

When Jenny Nguyen signed the lease to create her dream bar, she wasn’t sure it would stay open for more than a few months.

But earlier this month, 43-year-old Nguyen’s first-of-its-kind establishment in Portland, Oregon, celebrated its one-year anniversary. Aptly named The Sports Bra, it’s a sports bar where only women athletes appear on the TVs.

Business has been good, despite the niche business model and record inflation sending food and beverage prices soaring. The Sports Bra brought in $944,000 in revenue in the eight months it was open in 2022, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

It was profitable in that first year of business, Nguyen adds.

“It turns out, it’s pretty universal — that feeling of being a women’s sports fan and going into a public place, like a sports bar, and having a difficult time finding a place to show a [women’s] game, especially when there are other men’s sports playing,” Nguyen says.

Initially, she wasn’t sure the idea would work at all. The vast majority of money and attention historically goes to men’s sports only — a big reason why The Sports Bra was reportedly the country’s first bar to only play women’s sports on TV.

It’s also not the kind of thing Nguyen would ordinarily do: She describes herself as “very cautious, risk averse.” But her obsession with women’s sports and frustration with its lack of representation on television screens drove her to empty her life savings — about $27,000 — and give it a try.

“Me, personally, I thought the idea was brilliant and that [it was] what the world needs,” Nguyen says. “But I had no idea that the world would want it. I just wanted to give it a shot.”

How The Sports Bra went from running joke to reality

Nguyen is a lifelong basketball fan who played the sport at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, before tearing her ACL. She’s also a longtime restaurant worker who spent three years as Reed College’s executive chef.

In 2018, Nguyen and a group of friends wanted to watch the NCAA women’s basketball championship game. They went to a mostly empty sports bar and still had to plead with a bartender to switch one of the smallest TVs — which played without sound — from a men’s sport to the women’s championship game, she recalls.

Together, they jumped up and down celebrating “one of the best games I’ve ever seen,” Nguyen says, as a buzzer-beating three-point shot sealed the championship title for Notre Dame. Afterward, she was struck by the normalcy of her situation.

″[We’d] gotten so used to watching a game like that in the way that we did,” she says, adding that they’d only find better viewing conditions “if we had our own place.”

Days later, she channeled her disappointment into a hypothetical: What would she name her bar? “The very first thing that came into my mind was The Sports Bra,” Nguyen says. “And once I thought it, I couldn’t un-think it, you know? It was catchy. I thought it was hilarious.”

For years, she joked about it. Then, the fallout from social justice movements like #MeToo and the country’s racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder left her wanting to make a meaningful impact on the world and her community.

Nguyen, who came out as a lesbian at age 17, says she doesn’t always feel welcome at most traditional sports bars. The Sports Bra could help her, and anyone else who’d rarely felt accepted in other sports establishments, feel like she belonged.

“I thought about, if we can even get one kid in here and have them feel like they belong in sports, it’d be worth it,” she says.

Helping other women’s sports bars get started

At first, Nguyen had her savings, and $40,000 in loans cobbled together from friends and family. That would keep The Sports Bra afloat for three months, based on her cost estimates for labor, inventory and other overhead.

In February 2022, she launched a Kickstarter to raise $48,000 — enough money for an extra six-month financial cushion, to build up the sort of regular clientele any bar or restaurant needs to survive long-term.

To Nguyen’s surprise, the campaign raised more than $105,000 in just 30 days, thanks to a viral article in online food publication Eater. “At that moment, when I was looking at that Kickstarter graph, I thought to myself, ‘This might work,’” she says.

But the money, which came from around the country and world, was no guarantee of success. Actual people in Portland still needed to frequent the bar.

Today, there’s often a line out the door. Women’s basketball icons like Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi showed up, for an event sponsored by Buick, earlier this month. Ginny Gilder, co-owner of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, has even waited in line to watch her team play on The Sports Bra’s TVs, Nguyen says.

That’s a far cry from the Kickstarter days, which Nguyen says only happened after she was denied business loans by multiple banks and small business associations. The denials commonly cited the high risk of a unique concept run by a first-time entrepreneur during a pandemic, she adds.

Even the bar’s core concept is a struggle: It’s hard to find enough women’s sporting events to fill up the televisions. Only about 5% of all TV sports coverage focuses on female athletes, according to a 2021 University of Southern California study.

Nguyen says she’s taken to reaching out directly to sports networks and streaming services, some of which have hooked her up with access to more women’s sports content. She also spends an inordinate amount of time “scouring” TV listings, a process she likens to “taking a machete and chopping through a jungle.”

But she’s no longer alone. Another bar specializing in women’s sports has opened in nearby Seattle, and Nguyen says she’s in touch with a handful of other prospective entrepreneurs asking her for advice on opening similar visions in other cities.

“I would love to have as many people experience the feeling people experience when they walk through these doors,” she says. “It feels very selfish to keep it to this one building that holds 40 people at a time.”

#USA #oregon #Portland #jenny nguyen #The Sports Bra #A sports bar for women and women’s sports #She was originally denied business loans

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johnwickb1tsch · 7 months ago

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bittersweet ~ a yandere!John Wick x fem!reader sunshine/grump coffee shop AU... Part 31 all chapters

WARNING: NSFW, SEXUAL CONTENT, YANDERE SH!T. Plz take care. I luv u all. 😘

Maybe it’s silly, but you feel as though you have a new lease on life, in the days that follow.

John is still undeniably clingy, but so very sweet. It is a much easier form of obsession to bear.

You are still a prisoner, but at least you feel loved.

Perhaps even more precious, you begin to feel safe.

Whatever possessive madness gripped him before seems to have receded for now, and maybe you’re a fool, but you dare hope in time he might make a full recovery.

Now that you’ve reached a sort of understanding, John seems bent on making up for lost time. There is no doubt that you are still his prey, but now he ambushes you with the express intention of making you cum—whether you like it or not.

Again, you find yourself begging him for reprieve, though this time through laughter rather than tears. He swallows your protests with devouring kisses, eating your cries whole as he slides his long fingers inside you and works your clit masterfully with his thumb.

When you complain of your difficulty sitting down, a gift of a hemorrhoids donut pillow appears. You think he meant it as a joke.

John likes to give gifts, you find.

When one day you walk into your studio to find a bejeweled set of headphones bedecked like a crown, you cannot help but grin like an idiot. It is ridiculous what those fucking things cost, and you’d thought you’d been clever about concealing your enchantment with them in Italy, but nothing escapes John Wick’s sharp eye.

When he finds you later wearing your new coronet, singing out of tune while you put paint down on canvas, he presses you into the worktable with his hips and his kisses, going down on his knees before you with a murmur of, “My beautiful queen.” His words make your knees weak, as does his insatiable tongue in your slit. It’s all so much, and when you beg him to take you there on the table he is all too happy to oblige, scattering your pastels in a rainbow of projectiles with a sweep of his arm before driving himself inside you. With legs wrapped around his waist in a desperate effort to hold on, you take the fury of his adoration with a cock-drunk smile.

If you learned anything in the darker times before, it is that this man is a predator to the bone, and no matter what his mood, he loves a good chase. It becomes your favorite game, and it starts one evening when you splash him while doing the dishes. The look of surprise on his face is priceless, and with a screech you run for the stairs.

You only get so far as the living room before he catches you, his arm like a band of iron around your waist hauling you from your feet entirely. It happens too fast to register, but by some form of ninja magic you are suddenly on the floor, the lean length of his body on top of you. On the plush oriental rug with his thick cock inside you, this man makes you see God.

It feels alarmingly, magnificently, terrifyingly, like truly making love.

“Has anyone ever loved you, the way I do?” he demands desperately, filling you impossibly to the brim.

“Never,” you barely manage to answer, the force of his thrust stealing your breath away.

The next question is much more vulnerable.

“Have you ever loved anyone, the way you love me?”

“Never.”

It’s true, and in the softening of his gaze you dare to hope that someday he will believe you enough.

It is surprising, how quickly the time passes. Despite the circumstances, it is not terribly hard to live with John Wick, like this. He is sweet, and loving, and he spoils you rotten. You could almost mistake your relationship for normal—if one didn’t look too hard at the locks on all the doors.

Soon summer is fading, giving way to the golden hours of early fall. You see it out the window, but since your little car ride, you still have not been allowed outside. You’re an outdoorsy girl, and frankly, it’s starting to drive you a little crazy. You find yourself clawing at the impenetrable windows with a sigh.

John’s mood has been steady, but your heart is still in your throat when you dare ask, “John, can we go out?”

He looks up from his book, the fall of his dark hair covering half his face as he cants his head in thought. They say familiarity breeds contempt, but even after all this close proximity, you still find him beautiful. You do not think that will ever change.

“Why?” he finally asks, and you detect the shadow of suspicion in his tone.

“Because I miss it.”

You used to hike every day off you had. Being indoors this long…is doing things to your brain.

You watch as his nostrils flare, his chest rising and falling as he considers this request. You can tell he doesn’t like the thought at all, but you force yourself to stand your ground. He won’t punish you for this, surely? Just for asking?

Of course, he might punish you for what you’ll do later, if the answer is no.

In the end he nods, though more to himself than to you. “I’ll think about it.”

“Think about it fast? The weather will be turning soon.”

The look he pays you then is less kind, his eyes sharp as glittering obsidian. “I said. I’ll think about it.”

You sigh, assuming the answer is no, and retreat to sulk in your studio. You are painting the view from your favorite outlook on the mountain trail nearby from memory when you start to hear an odd, rhythmic toque…toque sound, over and over.

You go downstairs, searching for the source. No dice in the living room or the kitchen. You follow your ears to the bank of windows off the living room. There’s another door (locked, of course) that leads to a patio. You see John outside…chopping wood? Watching the pine rounds explode under the sharp blade of an axe in his hands shouldn’t be this fascinating, but you find yourself pressed to the window, transfixed. The definition in the muscles of his forearms as he swings down are a sight to behold.

You’re not sure he can see you, the way the glass is mirrored on the outside, but you knock on the widow anyway. He looks up at you with narrowed eyes at first. Then, a small smile. It feels like a little gift, just for you, and it quickens your heart. Watching him do everyday things moves you, and you acknowledge to yourself uneasily for the umpteenth time that you’re in so deep.

As it turns out, the wood was for a little pit fire, which you sit together and watch with a glass of wine that evening out on the patio. The tall trees loom all around you, pitch black outside the ring of your little campfire. It feels so good to be out of the house, but it’s not quite what you wanted. As though he senses that you’re not exactly satisfied with his offering, John tries to distract you with his kisses, laying you down on the outdoor couch to wreck you with his mouth. You make love with your skin bared to the great outdoors, but no one to really see you in your seclusion. Later you snuggle under a soft blanket together.

Sated, you let it go, for now.

-But John doesn’t forget, and one morning he wakes you early with kisses on your ear. “If you want to hike, we have to go now,” he tells you. You have become spoiled in your captivity, no longer at the mercy of coffee house hours, now used to sleeping through the morning after John keeps you up late with his kisses and his beautiful cock, but the offer of getting to really go outdoors has you up and at ‘em in minutes.

You find your old pair of broken-in Merrel hikers in the walk-in closet, and realize John must have accessed your possessions from your previous life at some point. It’s so strange to see them—you realize in the suspended reality of your current situation, you’ve almost written off everything that came before.

There is a distinct mental separation in your personal timeline—BW, and AW; Before Wick, and After Wick.

You have a quick breakfast and coffee before stepping outside, the sun just peeking over the horizon.

You can hardly describe the elation you feel, at last being allowed to walk out that front door like you are almost normal. You are so happy just to feel the morning air on your skin. You stand in the driveway like a simpleton, your face lifted to the sky, soaking in the sun. There is a cool breeze that smells of pine, and it is the sweetest thing you have inhaled in a long time.

John watches your reaction intensely, and you do not think you invent it, when you see a glimmer of guilt in his expressive mocha eyes. Intent on assuring him, you stand on tiptoe, pressing a kiss to his bearded chin with your front flush to his.

“Thank you,” you say, and he relaxes slightly against you, resting his forehead against yours.

You are practically skipping as you hit the trail in his woods that connects to the bigger loop. You cannot help but think about that day in the snow, when you met him, alone, on that very path. How easily he could have had you then. It is another clue that tells you he hadn’t decided yet—or he had not yet cracked.

This early, in the middle of the week, it isn’t likely you’ll meet anyone in the woods. You feel a trill of nervousness, as you wonder what would happen if you did. You have been kept to yourself for so long, the thought of contact with other people out in the world feels strange, a little frightening, even.

As you walk an exuberance overtakes you, fills you head to toe. It almost feels like you’re…free. The only contradiction to that is the tall man in black walking by your side. He has let you have free reign, not insisting on holding on to you. He doesn’t have to, you know. He could just run you down with those delectably long legs of his any time he wanted, surely.

That doesn’t mean the thought of it isn’t titillating, even if you absolutely know you would be destined to lose. Perhaps he truly has broken you at last, but you have come to love the game of chase too. It is your most exciting distraction in your world that is limited to the confines of the Wick cabin.

You are going to be sore the next day, you know. It’s been…forever, since you’ve been able to walk like this. The most exercise you’ve really gotten has been engaging in your sexcapades with John—as much of a workout as that is—it’s a different group of muscles.

Perhaps he does not insist on holding you, but it doesn’t stop you from reaching for him. You squeeze John’s hand in thank you.

Despite everything…it feels like a perfect day.

“Maybe this is far enough for today,” he says as you approach the junction with the main trail, the line of his private property and the park that adjoins it.

Disappointment spears through you. You are not ready to go back into your prison. It’s turning into a beautiful day, and you have so much energy to burn.

You make a pouty face, playing cute while you are flirting with rebellion inside.

“But the overlook is so pretty this time of year,” you insist, batting your lashes. Lately, that’s been enough to get your way on little things in the house. Today you feel like you can’t lose. Everything is too good.

He narrows his eyes down at you, as though he senses your internal mutiny, but in all your elation you feel strangely impervious. You realize you feel high, the kind of mood lift usually people have to ingest pills to get.

“Y/n…” He reaches for you, and without thinking you step just out of reach. You’ve played this game a dozen times now in the house. A game you’ve never, to this day, won, but you’ve found it’s the thrill of a lifetime, to be chased down by this man, trusting he won’t really hurt you. It always leads to mind-blowing sex, and maybe you are thinking a bit too much with a lust-addled brain alongside your elation for the great outdoors.

There is a very pregnant moment between you, and you smile when his intense eyes meet yours, your lips curling in what you know is a shit-eating little grin. What happens next is pure reflex; an extension of a thing you’ve done repeatedly together, with a dash of that age-old ingrained instinct of prey in the presence of a predator. But now you’re outside, and your jubilation is magnified times a hundred.

You run.

“Y/n!”

He lunges for you, his fingertips just brushing your arm, but in the end he’s–amazingly–too slow.

You are a human missile, rocketing down the hill, fueled by gravity and the knowledge of how to move in this environment you’ve trained for since you were just a child. You may as well be a wood sprite, for this is your element. This is your mountain, and no matter how many wealthy interlopers buy it up and carve it into parcels and drive up the price of everything so that locals like you can barely live—this will always be your home.

It feels so good to run.

Your feet fly over the needle-strewn forest floor, jumping over rocks and dodging trees. You laugh like a madwoman, the sweet sweet mountain air filling your lungs. You run like a wild thing of the woods, the way you used to when you were a child, before your parents decided to break the oath they'd made to each other and split your happy world to pieces. While your parents fought you would flee to the trees to be free, and you feel that desperate euphoria again. That feeling like you can fly, jumping over rocks and launching from boulders.

You sense more than hear John behind you, your own ears filled with the rushing of your blood and your racing heartbeat. His fingertips brush your back before you juke him around a tree. You hear him curse and you laugh—you do sound mad.

“Have to do better than that, old man!” you crow.

You realize with another rush that you are far more agile than John is. The trees are your friend, the way you dart around them and power yourself down a new line of retreat. You hear him curse after grazing one, and you realize you might break the poor man’s neck, making him pursue you like this.

In a pine-needle carpeted clearing you make yourself slow down, and you are so high on adrenaline it doesn’t even hurt when he finally tackles you to the ground, your grin like a baring of teeth, giddy from the chase. He pins your hands above your head, sharp pebbles digging into your skin as you laugh.

“What the fuck—” You interrupt him mid tirade with your mouth on his, a hungry kiss that swallows his fury, but does not quench it. Already anticipating the passion of your (and his) reward with his delicious weight pressed down into you, your legs are wrapped around his waist, pulling him close.

“You think you’re cute?” he snarls above you when at last you separate.

“I am very cute,” you assert, still giggling to yourself. “Don’t be mad. You love this game.”,

“Maybe I’d love to spank that cute ass of yours raw?”

“Nuh-uh. No hitting.”

You’d made a deal, after all.

He narrows his eyes down at you, and this is when you finally start to sense that maybe he is not half as amused as you are. Your blood runs cold, and before you can blink he has you flipped over on your belly, your pants down around your thighs.

“No—”

You try to squirm away, but his inexorable hand is in your hair—it makes for a damn good handle, the bastard. His big hand digging into the globe of your ass makes you quiver under his fingers.

Your heart plummets into freefall, as you realize he’s serious. And you can tell he’s not talking about the playful little smacks he sometimes gifts you in the middle of riding his cock to completion. He means to punish you, and the knowledge takes you from the highest high to the blackest despair. You can barely hear past the sound of your heartbeat in your ears, the familiar fear and uncertainty from before creeping in. Not again. Life was so good. Please don’t go back to this shit again. You can’t go back to the way things were. You can’t live like that again.

A revelation settles over you with irrefutable clarity. You accept it as truth with every cell of your being, and you know there will be no going back after this.

“If you hit me we’re done.”

There’s no hint of playfulness in your tone either now. Just…resolve. You mean what you say, to the very marrow of your bones.

“I think I must have confused you, y/n. You are not in charge here.”

“Maybe not. But I’ll tell you this. If you hit me, I’ll fight you to my dying breath. I mean it.”

Like watching yourself from the outside, you almost find it interesting that this is the true limit of your generosity with him. This is the cliff’s edge. The point of no return. Your resolve is unmoving, even if it fills you with absolute misery. You could lose him now, today, this very minute. This man who keeps you prisoner, yet with whom you have lived happily the past months. This complicated, broken man, who you love with all your heart.

In this insane moment you realize with soul-shaking clarity…you don’t want to leave him. What would you do with your life? Go back to your stupid little existence at the coffee shop, working your fingers to the bone, doodling on the chalkboard, waiting? You’ve spent most of your life just fucking waiting. Waiting to travel. Waiting for something good to happen. Waiting…for this man to come through the door, so you could pester him for five minutes, knowing it would be the highlight of your day.

Could you possibly go back to looking up at the mountain, knowing your Beast in his castle resides there? That a man who loved you like no other is there pining for you?

But if he crosses this line—you will have to leave, somehow. Or die trying. That is your heartfelt resolution. That is the promise you make to yourself. You’ve made too many compromises as of late, and this is a battle for your very soul.

You feel him like a malevolent storm cloud behind you, trembling in his fury, but for once, torn as to what to do. You realize this is the only time you’ve seen him doubt himself, when he’s contemplating teaching you a lesson.

You dare to try to talk him down, your voice calmer, or perhaps more distant. You don’t know how you muster the courage; perhaps only in the knowledge that this could truly be it for the two of you. No more we’ll see how it goes or maybe it will be better tomorrow. There is only now.

“This thing we’ve somehow built together, despite everything…” You shake your head, trembling as much out of fear as despair. “It will be destroyed, and you’re the one who will have broken it.”

“You’re the one who ran from me!”

You can tell from the hushed fury in his voice that he is hanging on by a thread. You realize now, what a stupid thing that had been to do. That despite the games you’ve been playing in the house, out here, he just couldn’t handle it. Even just the slightest possibility of you leaving is enough to drive this man off the edge.

“I let you catch me.” You will him to believe you. You even half believe it yourself.

“The hell you did.”

“It’s true. I know these woods better than you. I’m smaller. I’m faster. I let you.”

“Bullshit.”

Before you can hardly think about what to do you lower your face to the dirt, offering your ass in the air. You know he can see your puffy slit, your glistening opening just begging for him. This is how he has warped you; or maybe you were a twisted little thing all along, just waiting for him to show you the way to your ruin. Either way—you want him, and you will him to see it for himself.

“I let you catch me,” you insist again. “So give me my reward.”

You feel the tremor run through him, from his fingertips to his core.

You realize that he wants to believe you. That maybe punishing you was never really the fun for him at all, in this deadly game you’ve been playing.

You feel him shift his position behind you, his merciless hold moving to your hip. When his long fingers slide into your wet folds you mewl like a cat; half relieved, and half just needing him. He makes you buck by circling your bud, before delving inside your weeping channel with two of his fingers. It makes you moan, and if someone walks up the trail my god will they get an eyeful, but you can’t bring yourself to care.

“Does that feel like someone who’s afraid of you?” you bluff. Because wanting this man has never really stopped you from fearing him. Fearing what, exactly, has shifted over time. In the end though, maybe just that he would be the absolute ruin of you.

He only grunts in answer, spreading your juices around your aching pussy. When his fingers withdraw you whine in protest, but you hear him rifle with his clothing, the zzzip of his fly jerked downwards. When his thick tip kisses your entrance you could weep, offering your ass even higher in the air.

“You are a very bad girl,” he tells you as he slides home, making you writhe with a mixture of pleasure and pain.

“I’m your bad girl,” you correct him, and he growls behind you, thrusting again. He’s not treating you with the usual care he pays this position, but you take it anyway. Gladly, if this will mend the thing between you, you’ll take it all.

“I would have found you, you know,” he pants as he thrusts, his hand weaving in your hair. “Even if you made it down the mountain…there’s nowhere in the world you can hide from me.”

You absolutely believe him.

“I know,” you tell him, your face in the dirt, yet somehow still loving the feeling of him behind you, filling you absolutely and completely. “You don’t–have to–lock me up, John,” you pant, interrupted by the violence of his thrusts. “Because I know I can’t escape you.”

This makes him growl again, that primal, possessive sound that touches the darkest recesses of your cavewoman brain. It is as though there is no part of you, inside or out, that this man cannot touch. He drapes his long body over yours, engulfing you in the shelter of his warmth. Even now, you cannot stop yourself from leaning back into him, pressing your smooth cheek to his soft beard. His tone is pure gravel, but you know him well enough now to sense the vulnerability in his words too. “But do you want to escape now?” he asks.

“No,” you tell him, and you know in your heart this isn’t manipulation, or vying for a better chance to run somewhere down the line. It’s just the truth, and you even surprise yourself as you say, “No, I don’t want to leave you.”

He goes still behind you as he evaluates this heartfelt confession, his harsh breathing and the pulsing of his cock buried inside you his only movement.

“I want to believe you.” You only enjoy a moment of relief, before he rears again behind you, driving himself into you to the hilt. “But I can’t.”

Your heart plummets as you realize he still cannot bring himself to trust your word, to have the faith to walk out into thin air, the way normal people do when they dare to fall in love. He cannot leave anything to chance with you, and now you are not sure he ever will.

He really might keep you locked up forever.

You feel the earth beneath you, hyper aware of the pine needles in your clenched hands, the wonderful smell of the dirt and ancient rocks below. The cool breeze on your bared skin, and the dappled light filtering through the pines. What if this really is the last time you are ever allowed outside?

There was always a glimmer of hope on the distant horizon for you, that little light of optimism that never quite managed to extinguish, despite everything he put you through. But now you feel it leave you, stealing the integrity from your very bones. You go limp beneath him, only his iron-grip on your hips holding your ass in the air as he uses you. When he reaches down to find your slippery bud you are no longer in the mood, and perhaps foolishly, you try to shake him off.

“Just get it over with.”

You already know it’s the absolute worst thing you can say, but now you don’t care.

“But I thought my darling wanted to enjoy the great outdoors?” He doesn’t sound half as angry as you expected him to, but there is still something sharp in his tone that puts you on edge. Like glimpsing a dorsal fin parting still waters, you know something dangerous swims underneath.

He slows his thrusts behind you, so that his magnificent length stretches you just right without hurting you. He uses his now expert knowledge against you, weaponizing the hours you’ve spent in bed together making up for lost time. You can’t stop yourself from arching into him, canting your hips to intensify the sensation, and now you bow your head so you don’t have to see his smug smile. “Goddamn you.”

He huffs with laughter, though there’s no real humor in it. “You’re too late, I’m sure.”

This time when he touches you, you are desperate for it, your aching walls squeezing him in search of release. It tears a groan from deep in his throat, a sound you know so well by now, and you realize you can use your own knowledge of this man against him too. You squeeze him again, almost in challenge, and it becomes a contest between you, who can bring the other to pieces first. You have to admit that his blunt fingers on your clit are heaven, and your heart pounds too fast in your chest, your head light as you very nearly forget to breathe in your concentration. He tries to hold himself off as you move to take him deeper. He cannot control your body as well as he would like, like this, with his fingers buried in your slit, and you almost smile at his grunt of frustration at you.

In the end you both lose.

You cum so hard on his cock you see stars, a ringing in your ears as a merciless pleasure breaks and explodes through you. He fares no better, filling you with ropes of hot seed as he moans, loud enough to echo across the mountains.

Maybe you do feel a little better, panting in the soft leaf litter with his body draped over yours again, his heavy breathing and soft lips upon your neck. As usual, you feel bereft when he withdraws, wishing you could hold him inside you longer. You didn’t bring anything to clean up with, and you anticipate a soggy walk home back up the hill.

In fact, after sprinting, then fucking like animals on the ground, you’re not even sure you can walk.

It’s John who rises first, groaning with the effort. He glares down at you, as though daring you to make another old man jab. For the moment, however, you are out of quips, out of jokes, and out of clever repartee. Even though you know it shouldn’t be so easy for him to tame you, you snuggle under his chin anyway, kissing the swell of his Adam’s apple. For a moment he sags against you, savoring this sweetness, before brusquely leading you back up the trail.

He is not cruel, or strangely, even outwardly angry now, but somehow you just know you are in so much fucking trouble.

#john wick #john wick x reader #john wick x you #john wick fic #john wick x y/n #keanu reeves x reader #yandere john wick #bittersweet john wick imagine

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horreurscopes · 20 days ago

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so after months of apartment hunting hell and many rejections from apartments i fell in love with that hurt more than any romantic breakup i have ever had, i moved into a new place about two months ago and i thought i would love it but there were many little things here and there that were obscured from me during the tour and it's not working out and it's making me so incredibly unhappy (unresponsive management, loud neighbors, and it's so filthy from the last tenants [bathtub has jets??? which i thought was sick until i found out they were full of biofilm because they have never been cleaned out and yes i have disgusting pictures] and it's really dark because it's north facing and has scaffolding around it and the broker just made stuff up about the scaffolding being about to be taken down but it seems its just not going to come off because it's cheaper for the owners to have the scaffolding there to comply with safety law than it is to actually fix whatevers wrong with the building) anyway. so now, a really cool gorgeous place that's significantly cheaper and SO sunny and much better that i immediately fell in love with went up on streeteasy, so i thought, hey, it will be super mega tough to pull off but i can probably transfer my lease (wherein you find someone to take over the contact and are free of it) and move again, but then the listing agent messaged me that the current tenants had decided to stay and i was bummed out because the same thing had happened to me months ago during the beginning of my search with another place i really liked, so i looked it up and hey, turns out last time it happened it was the same leasing agent. so what i think is happening is that because it's such a desirable place at such a low cost, the broker probably has too many people who want it and just brushed me off with a lie because they can just do whatever they want. so i pretend i didn't see the cancellation email and show up to the building anyway, and ring the apartment number, and im LET IN but when i go up the stairs and walk into the place turns out it was true and the tenant's friend IS taking the apartment and they're like oh we're so sorry the broker was supposed to cancel ): and I'm like oohhhh nooo...... oh well! because at least i got closure lol

but i shit you not, as im walking out the tenants yell at me through the window to come back in because they JUST heard from their friend that he backed out and actually, the apartment is back on the market, and im the only person who knows and has seen it. so i stay for a solid hour just talking to the tenants who let me know the #honest ins and outs of the place, and that the broker basically did nothing (what is new) because they took the pictures in the listing and the guy hadnt even stepped foot in the place.

anyway it's a great story, kismet meant to be etc, im imagining my entire life in that apartment, until i realize i can't move in because the broker's fee that *im* supposed to pay (on top of first month + security deposit, which i would've had to figure out/loan out anyway because i definitely don't have enough money to put those payments in before getting the security deposit and rent refund for the rest of the month back from the CURRENT place) is fifteen (15)(IX) FIFTEEN percent of the annual rent. fifteen percent of the annual rent. FIFtEEn PercEnt. Of The Annual Rent. For Doing Nothing. so long story short i briefly thought I'd try to fundraise like $7k for all of moving expenses but then i deflated like a depressurized blob fish..... the unstoppable force of panache grit and scrappiness alone will get you far but it's not enough against the immovable object that is nyc capitalism. hashtag american dream hashtag bootstraps

#IT WOULD'VE BEEN A GREAT STORY

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epicbuddieficrecs · 3 months ago

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Weekly Recap | August 12th-18th 2024

Little bit late, but I hope you enjoy it!

Complete

Right Here, Right Meow by carpediaz/ @sofa-king-lame (Getting Together | 1,7K | General): The one where Buck gets a cat and ropes Eddie into looking after her. Not that Eddie needs much convincing, he'd do pretty much anything for Buck at this point.

plugged in by PretentiousSwanQueen/ @hotcinnamonsunset (Secret Buddie, PWP | 2,5K | Explicit): or: Buck and Eddie are secretly together and grabbing drinks with the team and decide to have a little fun with butt plugs along the way.

prove it by PretentiousSwanQueen/ @hotcinnamonsunset (Getting Together, Post-S7 | 3K | Explicit): or: when enough is enough, Eddie and Buck watch When Harry Met Sally because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. And you know. Blow jobs to follow.

🔥 Perfect Fit by Inell/ @inell (Post-S7, Friends to Fiances | 3K | Teen): Buck drops by to talk to Eddie after his break up with Tommy ends up with an unexpected offer. Eddie realizes that it’s time for him to finally make his move before it’s too late.

First Date Nerves by Inell/ @inell (First Date, PWP | 5K | Explicit): Buck and Eddie are on their first date, both nervous about taking their friendship to the next level. Neither one wants the date to end, though, so they continue it at Eddie’s house.

the cost of doing business by PretentiousSwanQueen/ @hotcinnamonsunset (Ravi POV, Secret Buddie | 5K | Teen): It happens like this: he had been this close! like, minutes away from printing out a new tenant lease! when the prospective renter in question calls the leasing office and mentions that she won’t be needing the 1 bed, 1 bath walk up in Faircrest Heights any more because she snagged a 2 bath loft downtown that seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity.

🔥 I'll Make This Feel Like Home by cairparavels (Post-S4 to S6 | 5K | Not Rated): Buck keeps calling Eddie's house home, and its making Eddie rethink a lot about his life. (Five times Buck refers to Eddie's house as his home plus one time Eddie does.)

🔥 Where You Go (I Go) by blueberrytwoberry/ @blueberrytwoberry (Post-S7, Getting Together | 7K | Explicit): Eddie stood before an open cupboard. He had a big cardboard box on the counter beside him. As Buck stood there, feeling as though he’d been turned to stone, Eddie put a stack of plates into the box. A stack of identical cardboard boxes sat by the kitchen table. Buck looked across all of it, his heart lurching painfully in his chest, and managed to ask, “What are - Eddie, what are you doing?” OR: Eddie's decided to change his living arrangements; Buck takes it poorly.

🔥 Vibrant by blueberrytwoberry/ @blueberrytwoberry (Soulmates AU | 8K | Teen): Color flooded into Buck’s world between one jump and the next in the middle of the tight, pressing crowd of a concert when he was twenty and making a pit stop from running somewhere - anywhere - away from where he’d been. He wished like hell, afterwards, that it had happened anywhere else at any other time. OR, Buck meets his soulmate, misses them, and tries to deal with that.

Right. Down. Medical. by blueberrytwoberry/ @blueberrytwoberry (Post-S7, Canon Typical Catastrophe, Getting Together | 8K | Teen): Buck hadn’t expected to end up in a disastrous accident when he boarded a train - the Pacific Surfliner - for what should have been a relaxing trip down the coast to enjoy some beautiful scenery and just relax, but if he had - and maybe he should have, considering the way bad luck and trouble seemed to follow him - he’d have expected something normal, you know, like a derailment. OR: Buck has some realizations about his life after an accident on a train.

like a vision reaching down to you by blueberrytwoberry/ @blueberrytwoberry (Post-S7, Crack | 8K | Teen): “You ever notice how a lot of the calls we go on seem kind of, I don’t know, predictive?” Buck asked, when the game they were watching cut over to a commercial, his voice an anchor dropped right in the middle of the spiral of Eddie’s thoughts, dispelling it. OR: The crew at the 118 realizes that the universe is, possibly, trying to tell them something via their jobs.

I never meant to fall for you but I was buried underneath by smilingbuckley/ @smilingbuckley (Canon Divergent Probie Buck | 9K | Teen): Buck is the new probie at the 118 and Eddie.exe stops functioning.

🔥an inch away from more than just friends by allyasavedtheday/ @littlespoonevan (Post-S7, Getting Together | 10K | Teen): In which Buck has a clipboard and a list and is about to romance the hell out of Eddie Diaz. (Part 2 of Eddie vs Romance)

🔥From the Ground Up by blueberrytwoberry/ @blueberrytwoberry (S3, Animal Transformation | 17K | Mature): Eddie’s life had gone to shit in roughly every possible way. He felt about two seconds away from breaking every hour of every day, like someone had stepped up in front of him, shoved him down, smashed the life he’d been working on, and left him to rebuild from the ground up. And so, really, the last thing he needed when he got home at the end of a long shift was to find a massive, weird-ass dog curled up on his front porch. And yet, there it was.

Lost 'Til I Found You by JJK/ @trenchcoatsandtimetravel (911/MCU Crossover, S3 | 20K | Teen): A 9-1-1 x Marvel crossover where Buck is a genetic son of Steve Rogers because the doctors the Buckley's used to make their saviour baby were also experimenting with the super soldier serum.

WIP

🔥Where there's smoke by rainbow_nerds/ @rainbow-nerdss (Multiverses | 18/31 | 22K | Teen): His eyelids are heavy. His lungs ache. The smoke is dense and thick, slowly suffocating him. Eddie feels himself drift as Buck’s voice penetrates the smoke, cuts through the fog in his brain. “Eddie, stay with me. Stay with me, Eds.” Eddie wants to stay. He wants to open his eyes and see Buck. He doesn’t want to leave. But he’s so tired, and sleep is calling him. Maybe it will be okay. Maybe his dreams will be sweet. Maybe there’ll be peace, there. And maybe, if he just rests for a little while, he’ll be able to find his way back.

Gentle On My Mind by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon Divergent, Shannon Lives, Buck/Eddie/Shannon | 1/? | 6K | Explicit): In which Shannon lives, tells a lie, and sends hers, Eddie's, and Buck's lives down a very different path.

go and kill, go and die by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Zombie Apocalypse AU | 3/14 | 12K | Mature): The 118 are a group of survivors in a small California town in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. For months they've been isolated and safe. But the arrival of some new players, the search for some missing loved ones, will shake everything up and put their little team in jeopardy.

🔥 Long Death by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Post-S7, Vampire AU | 13/15 | 62K | Explicit): In the summer of 2024, a never before seen form of vampirism breaks out in Los Angeles. Just as Eddie is about to get his son back. Six months later, Buck's life is permanently changed.

Podfic

🔥 [podfic] to hurt, to heal, to hope by be_brave13/ @djemsowhat // fic by brewrosemilk/ @gayhoediaz (Post-S7, Getting Together | 10-20min | Teen): "I'd love to be more of a gentleman about this, and I mean this in the most abstract and metaphorical, and least possessive way possible, but in the spirit of not wasting any more time than we already have, Buck..." the words follow each other quickly through a single, whispered breath. "...you're fucking crazy if you think I'm letting you go on that date." "Eddie, you think I'm going anywhere, you're fucking crazy."

🔥[podfic] Advice Wanted by be_brave13/ @djemsowhat // fic by cairparavels (Social Media Fic | 45-60min | Teen): Eddie Diaz takes to Reddit to figure out why he hates his best friend’s new boyfriend so much.

#epic buddie fic rec #buddie fanfic #buddie fic #buddie fanfiction #buddie fic rec

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 9 months ago

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WIBTA if I ask my roommate to move out?

I live in a 4 bedroom house with 3 other roommates. B, C and D for this scenario. B & I are on the lease, C & D are not on the lease. C is my long time friend and disabled in a way that makes staying employed a struggle, so often I shoulder their financial burden for the household - an agreement from when we moved in because it was to keep them from being otherwise homeless. They do the amount of housework their disability allows, which is a reasonable amount. B is full time employed and primary breadwinner for the household (making up 75% of household income) and does minimal housework aside from putting their dishes in the dishwasher when they're done eating, per agreement that in exchange for paying 75% of household expenses and working full time they would do the least domestic work in the household. I'm part time employed, making up 25% of household income, disabled and do the majority of the housework.

D moved in two years ago under the agreement that they would help with housework because they're unemployed while they job hunt and then we would add them to the lease. D is a really good friend and has quite literally saved my life once but they haven't done any housework in the past two years and have yet to find a job as well as being actively detrimental to C & I doing housework (hoarding all dishes in the household in their room regularly despite repeated offers and requests to work out a system) and failing to communicate with us about any struggles they might be facing regarding housework or job hunting so we could try to help with it or at least know what was going on.

Recently D moved their partner who none of us knew into the house without asking or telling any of us (quite literally imagine just coming home and discovering a new person living in your spare room) and told their partner we would be able to house them indefinitely since they can pay a minimal amount of rent. Their partner isn't a terrible roommate but absolutely has to go because none of us get along with them or agreed to them being there and all of us have extensive trauma from a previous abusive roommate that is covered under this, turning this person into a walking PTSD trigger for us even though they didn't do anything wrong. D's partner has found alternative housing and has a move out date but D didn't help at all with it despite claiming they felt bad about causing this distress (and we do all genuinely believe they didn't mean to hurt anyone, but feel an apology without action - for example, promising to immediately start helping their partner find alternative housing, something that has fallen only on the shoulders of their partner and the rest of us - is meaningless in this situation). But we're also all on the same page that after two years of failing to follow through on promises or communicate with us about anything, the breach of trust and lack of any attempt to rectify it is a last straw for us and none of us feel comfortable continuing to live with D.

I know D struggles with their mental and physical health and they don't have anywhere else to go so we're in agreement that we shouldn't give them a hard move out date but we want to ask them to start searching for somewhere else to live, some other friends to stay with, maybe suggest they move to the city where there are more job opportunities and rent is lower. But I still feel guilty about us prioritizing our boundaries and comfort in a household over taking care of them and I'm sure that it'll unfortunately be the end of our friendship even though I wish there was a way we could navigate this and stay friends because I'm up to continuing to support D in the other ways I support them.

The three of us moving elsewhere isn't an option for a number of reasons (just renewed our lease, B's job is in this area and is very stable/pays very well and because of the high rent and stringent rental requirements in our area it would cost more than I make in a year for us to move to a significantly worse rental with significantly higher rent we can't afford - we currently pay half market rate for a similar rental. I'll admit there's also an element of it's my house, I lived here long before anyone else currently living here and I want to feel safe for the remainder of my residency here.)

Would we be the assholes if we told D we don't want to live with them anymore and asked them to start looking for other housing?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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chadfallout76podcast · 9 months ago

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Major Update: Life...is a changing for me/us (and a sneak peek of Vault-Tec Rises!

Good afternoon!

I wanted to give you all an update on Vault-Tec Rises as well as an update on myself and some major life changes happening this year that may impact our season while the dust settles. Firstly, I'm more than halfway done with our next major feature length episode, "Vault-Tec Rises"...which is technically episode 16, set BEFORE Little Sanctuary of Horrors. It essentially is the story of how everyone came to be there in the first place, what Vault-Tec and the Enclave are really up to, and is the start of our last 4 episodes of the season as the Battle for Appalachia begins.

Secondly, I've shared quite a bit about the journey of these past 10 years with my husband Travis and his struggle with mental health. Many of you were kind of enough to support or share our GoFundMe to help take the pressure off the crushing debt we were under with mounting medical bills and his bills, none of which was covered by insurance fully. Trying to keep us afloat financially has been a long-term struggle of mine and here's in New Hampshire we just haven't been able to get ahead. After having to cancel some of his services last week as we couldn't afford them, we made some major decisions.

The next few months I'll be doing a lot of painting, landscaping, plastering and prepping to list our home on the market. Financially we can't afford to buy again for a while, so we're stuck renting. Based on what things are selling for in the area, I'm not too worried about getting out of it fairly quickly. We'll be moving to Texas, in between Dallas and Fort Worth in a really beautiful, new planned community where leasing and the overall lower cost of living will save us $20k a year which will allow us to not only fix our debt issue permanently, but also they have one of the leading centers in the country for C-PTSD. Once settled, I'd be able to get him more direct help he's needed that we just don't have access to out here.

Texas is going to be a big, big change for us...a huge move, but one I'm eager to make. Our backup editor is continuing to plug away at stories as well as I've had my hands full with work trying to keep the lights on (literally). I wanted to explain all of this with clear honesty so you know what I've been doing, what I'll be doing this year and why it often takes us so long to ship episodes to you. Your patient and support of me really, really means the world to me. The other benefit of this move is that once I'm not strangled hustling for work 7 days a week, I'll have more free time to actually create. Something I really want to do...as there are still two more seasons of Chad and some other projects I really want to share with you all.

I hope to have our 3-hour feature length Vault-Tec Rises completed in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. :) And if you can please excuse how hectic this year will be between selling and moving halfway across the country I'd appreciate it.

Much love to you all,

Ken

#chad: a fallout 76 story #chad: a fallout 76 podcast #fallout 76

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wambsgansshoelaces · 11 months ago

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Keys

Siobhan Roy x Reader

Oneshot

Summary: you just live too far away, but thankfully, she has a solution. very soft and fluffy <3

thank you so much to lovely 🫀 for leaving this request! I love you and all your ideas <3 i hope i brought your dream to life! enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think x

Word Count: 2.416k

“Come on, babe, let me fly you out for New Year’s.” You and your girlfriend, Shiv, both lived in New York, but you lived a bit away from the city. With all of the traffic, on top of the already five-hour drive, a trip down to the Big Apple would rip your will to live from you.

“I couldn’t ask that of you,” you say back into your phone. “It’s right after Christmas, Shiv. That’s going to be a lot of money.”

You hear her shifting around. She’s probably lounging in bed, her sheets pooled around her. “So? I have the money, might as well spend it,” she tells you. “Besides, I want to see you. It’s been a while, and I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” you murmur. “I’m… can you get a flight for today?”

“I already booked it,” she says, and you can practically hear the smug smile on her face. “Enjoy business class, baby.”

She comes to pick you up from the airport herself, the terminal empty other than the other passengers of the flight. She throws herself into your arms, bright smile unmoving.

“Shiv!” You kiss her cheek, then her jaw, her neck, before taking hold of her face and giver her a long, hard kiss on the lips.

“God, I missed you!” she exclaims. She presses lingering kisses to the corners of your mouth. “Don’t leave this time,” she murmurs teasingly.

“You know I can’t,” you tell her seriously. She frowns, but keeps her mouth shut, instead taking you by the hip and guiding you out to the car waiting for the both of you, the driver immediately taking your bags from you. You’d packed a fair bit- you’d been able to get your boss to let you work online for the next month.

In the car, neither of you can let the other go. Her arm is hung loosely around your neck, hand draped across your collarbone, fingers stroking absentminded patterns into your skin. Your arms are hooked around her waist, your head tucked into her shoulder.

She kisses across your forehead, smiling down at you. You reach up, dragging a thumb over her plush bottom lip.

“I was serious, before,” Shiv says. “I want you to stay. I want to live close to you, not so far away, and I need see your pretty face every day.”

You kiss her jaw. “I missed you lots, Shiv, but I just can’t. I’d need to find a new job, it’ll cost so much fucking money just to hire a moving company…”

“Let me handle all that,” she insists. “I’m being serious,” she repeats. “I’ll get you a good job at Waystar. One that pays way more than that shithole you work at now. And I’ll pay off the rest of your lease. I’ll get Connor to sell all the furniture you don’t want. I need you with me, babe, I’m so serious.”

You don’t say anything for a moment. You’ve been looking for a reason to leave your current city, your current job. You despise it all, and shiver everything else was the longing you had for Shiv.

“Kendall owns an empty apartment complex. You can stay there. It’s already furnished.” She looks down at you, eyes pleading.

“I’ll quit the minute we get to your apartment.”

Shiv grins down at you, self satisfied grin stretching across her face. You can’t help giving her a small smile back.

“I thought you’d never let me.” She kisses your nose, stroking your jaw with her thumb. She kisses you, mouth lingering on yours before speaking again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You bite your lip, trying to suppress and even bigger smile. “What kind of job are we looking at, here?”

Shiv laughs. “The bitch heading Finance and Analytics is getting on my nerves. And I think you’re much smarter, anyway. And hotter. And sexier.”

The minute you get back, she has someone make the drive back up to get all of your clothing and essentials. And, as promised, you call your boss and quit with a satisfactory and quite colorful monologue.

When you toss your phone on the kitchen counter, feeling lighter. Things were moving quickly, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. Shiv slides past you, slowing down slightly to kiss your cheek.

“I had to fire someone just now. I’m so distraught over it… A kiss would make me feel better,” she says over her shoulder. You snort, reaching out to her and catching her arm, pulling her back to you. She’s grinning at he whole way through the slow, tender kiss. “Job’s yours if you want it,” she murmurs against your lips. “Come to work with me tomorrow. Feel everything out.”

“You really didn’t have to do any of this, Shivvy…” You pull away, smoothing a thumb over her lips.

“I wanted to,” she says back, taking hold of your hand, keeping it pressed to her face. “I really love you. I’m serious about you, baby, and I want to show you that.”

You give her another kiss, savoring her taste, savoring the way her lips curl into a smile against yours. “You’re so good to me, you know that?”

“I aim to please.” She laughs, taking you by the hips and pulling you close to her. “You deserve the world, and I’m committed to give it to you. I love you, I love you.”

The next few days are pure bliss. As promised, Shiv takes you to work with her, and you settle in immediately. You’re good at what you do, and you’re friendly. Nobody seems opposed to you taking the reins.

You and Shiv leave work together every night, hand in hand. You can never keep your heart from swelling with pure affection every time you see her. You can’t believe it. You get to see her, every single day.

As the new year approaches, Shiv begins to cram all her work in at once to be able to take the day off to spend with you. You think she’s overworking herself, but she refuses to hear it. She leaves late now, only ever texting you back past midnight.

Now, New Year’s Eve, you’re sitting in her office, perched on her desk as she paces the room, yelling at somebody on the phone. Something about destroying paperwork and covering up criminal felonies. When you realize this call is going to stretch on forever, rather than the ‘quick work thing’ Shiv claimed she was dragging you to the office with her for, you slide off the desk, step in her way, and give her a kiss goodbye. She kisses you back, the frown she gives you not ever reaching her eyes.

It’s early in the evening, so you have plenty of time to execute your plan. Besides, you don’t feel like Shiv’s going to be done anytime soon, despite her insistance through text that she will.

You find yourself in an arts and crafts store first, walking out with streamers, confetti, and confetti poppers. You then hit the grocery store, quickly grabbing ingredients for the fudgy brownies you know Shiv loves.

Having been given a spare key to her apartment, you let yourself in and you get to work on the brownies, making sure that they come out extra chocolatey, just for her. You’d also bought a carton of vanilla ice cream- you were determined for her to enjoy her night. Once they’re in the oven, you carefully put up streamers in the living room, letting them hang from the ceiling. Some curl, some hang straight. When the light catches the sheer fabric, they glitter. You put up the few sparkling triangular banners you’d bought, littering some dried rose petals you’d found at the grocery store across the living room. When you step back to admire your work, you feel proud. The living room is glittering and sparkling black, silver, and gold. A mouth watering chocolate smell seeps into the room, and you hurry to turn the oven off. They look amazing, and smell even better. You decide to leave them in the oven to keep them warm while you’re away, and to let the smell linger.

You glance at the clock. It’s still a long while away from midnight, and you don’t think Shiv is on her way home yet. You send her a text to make sure, and you’re back in her office, watching her stare into her computer, expression strained.

“Shiv, baby, come on. We should be at home, spending time together.”

“Just ten more minutes, okay? One last thing.”

You sigh. “Siobhan. You promised.”

She snaps out of her trance, glancing up at you. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I got carried away.” She swipes the heel of her palm over her eyes. You can feel the tension emanating off of her, so you open your arms to her.

She gets up quickly, letting you envelope her in a bear hug. You give her a tight squeeze, and she sighs into your hair. “Let’s go home,” she says, pulling away. She grabs her purse and you’re off.

While she fumbles around in her pockets for her key, you have to pretend like your spare isn’t in your pocket. Shiv shoulders the door open, and the fudgy smell of brownies fills your lungs. “Fuck, it smells amazing. Did I leave a candle lit? I better fucking have not,” she mutters under her breath. She stops when she sees the living room, looking at you over her shoulder. A small smile begins to develop on her face.

“You?” she asks.

“Me,” you confirm. “Go look in the oven.”

Her smile is a full blown grin now, and she excitedly hurries to the kitchen. You hear her gasp, and she runs back to you, throwing her arms around you.

“I fucking love you!” she exclaims.

“There’s also ice cream in the freezer,” you murmur, smiling up at her.

Shiv takes your face in her hands and plants a massive kiss on your mouth. “You’re the best,” she tells you, peppering kisses across your face. “You know what? Forget your new apartment.”

“I just got settled in,” you murmur. “Kendall think I’m a lunatic?”

She laughs. “No. I want you living with me.”

“What? Really?”

“Why not? I’m fucking head over heels for you and you need a place to live.” She sets your hands on your sides, rubbing up and down. “And if this is what it’s like being domestic”-she gestures around, at the brownies, at the decorated living room-“then I want it to never end.”

“Are you sure, Shiv? It’s a big move, and…”

“I’m so sure. I want to wake up and see your face first thing every single day. I love you. I need you by me 24/7.”

You chew lightly on the inside of your cheek, struggling to keep yourself from smiling. “I’d like that.”

“I’ll tell Ken to move all of your stuff.” She squeezes you, still grinning. “Stay the night. Please. Borrow some of my clothes.”

You kiss her chin. “Okay. I love you more.”

You both change into pajamas, Shiv’s a smooth silk. It clings to all the right places, and she enjoys when your eyes linger over her hips or chest. You’ve taken an oversized shirt or hers, forgoing the pants, much to her delight. You both sit tangled together, Shiv leaning against you, your legs intertwined. You’re stroking your hair as she chews on one of your brownies, smiling absentmindedly as she does so.

You’re both lying around, watching and waiting for the ball to drop. You didn’t have any fancy plans to bring in the new year, you were just happy to be together. While your move had been so sudden, you knew you were where you were supposed to be. You couldn’t imagine yourself anywhere else; everything with Shiv just felt so right.

The clock reads 11:59, and you both grip confetti poppers. The second the clock turns and the cheers sound from the TV, you both send confetti everywhere, but mostly on each other. You both grin at each other before leaning in at the same time, bringing your mouths together.

Ten minutes later, you’re both asleep on top of each other.

The next morning, you wake up without Shiv by your side. She’s texted you, letting you know she woke up early, wasn’t able to go back to sleep, and decided to go run an errand that she’d been procrastinating for her car. You don’t mind, and text her back you’ll make breakfast.

In the pantry, you find a bag of pancake mix, and you have leftover chocolate chips and syrup from yesterday. You find a skillet and begin frying the pancakes, sprinkling the chocolate chips as you go.

Despite Shiv not being at your side, you’re the happiest you’ve ever been in your life. She’s yours, you’re hers; you need nothing else in life. You smile to yourself as you make breakfast, content with life. Shiv makes you happy, and you pray you do the same for her. She’s the light of your life. You couldn’t ask for any better.

You hear the key in the lock and the door being pushed open.

“Good morning, babe,” you call out.

“Morning,” she calls back, socked feet padding into the kitchen. She gives you a kiss on the cheek before you turn and kiss her yourself. “I went out to get something for you.”

You finish plating the pancakes and turn off the stove. She beckons you into the living room, so you follow.

“I know I gave you a spare a really long time ago, and it’s nasty and gross and disgusting,” she begins, sitting on the couch, you following. “And if I’m honest, I got you this a really long time ago.”

She takes her hand out from behind her back, revealing a soft blue colored key ring. Off it hangs a small brass key identical to the one you have, just much, much cleaner. Another charm dangles from the ring, a small, golden, square. When you take it from her and look closely, you find an engraving- you and Shiv’s initials, a + separating the two. After a moment, you realize it’s her own handwriting.

“Shiv, you’re so sweet,” you coo. She grins back at you.

“I have a matching one. Mine’s just green.” She leans towards you, claiming your lips with hers. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

#siobhan roy #shiv roy #shiv roy fluff #siobhan roy fluff #succession #succession hbo #succession fic #wambsgansshoelaces #succession x reader #siobhan roy x you #shiv roy x you #siobhan roy x reader #shiv roy x reader #anon asks #requests open #fic request

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solo6677 · 8 months ago

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Roommates

Lisa and Richard had been roommates for three long years, but their living arrangement had become far from harmonious. Lisa, a striking beauty with a seemingly endless supply of charm, had never paid the rent. Instead, she would take the money meant for their shared living expenses and use it to fund her extravagant lifestyle.

Despite Richard's repeated attempts to confront Lisa about her selfish behavior, she would simply brush him off with a smile and a wave of her hand. She was self-absorbed, and it seemed that nothing and no one could stand in the way of her desires.

Richard: Lisa, we need to talk about the rent. It's overdue again.

Lisa: Oh, Richard darling, don't worry about it. I've got everything under control.

Richard: I've asked you multiple times to pay your share on time, but you never do. It's not fair to me.

Lisa: Dear, you're being such a buzzkill. Let's just enjoy life, shall we? There's always more money where that came from.

Richard: That's not the point, Lisa. We agreed to split the costs evenly. Your extravagant lifestyle can't come at my expense.

Lisa: Richard, you need to relax. I'm handling things. Trust me, I always land on my feet.

Richard: I hope so, Lisa, because this can't go on forever.

As if her financial irresponsibility wasn't enough, Lisa had also earned a reputation as a bit of a floozy. She slept with both men and women, often bringing them back to the apartment in the dead of night and leaving a trail of chaos in her wake. But what upset Richard the most was that she didn't show any care for him. He had feelings for her but she didn't reciprocate them at all.

Finally , Richard had enough. He couldn't continue to shoulder the burden of Lisa's reckless actions any longer. But as he prepared to confront her once and for all, he couldn't help but wonder: what would it take to finally make Lisa see the error of her ways?

Richard: Lisa, I've had it. Your financial irresponsibility and promiscuity are causing serious problems in our lives. I can't keep bailing you out and dealing with the messes you leave behind. It's time for you to take a hard look at yourself and make some changes. I won't keep paying the rent by myself for you anymore.

Richard had reached his breaking point. After three years of living with Lisa's selfish and reckless behavior, he knew he had to get out. When the rent was due and Lisa didn't have it once again, he made the decision to leave and find a new place to live.

Richard:(firmly) Enough is enough, Lisa, I can't keep covering for your careless spending and reckless behavior. I've decided to move out and find a place of my own.

Lisa:(in shock)What do you mean you're leaving?

Richard:I mean that I can't continue to live like this. The rent is due again, and once again, you haven't come through. I deserve better than this.

Lisa: (crying) But Richard, I promise I'll change.

Richard: I've heard that before, Lisa, but actions speak louder than words. It's time for me to prioritize my own well-being and find a more stable living situation.

Lisa :Please don't leave me.

Richard:I'm sorry, Lisa, but I have to do what's best for me. It's time for me to move on.

Two days later Richard had everything packed and said his goodbyes. He then walked out the door for a new lease on life. Lisa was saddened by Richard's departure.

After a few days she put out an ad for a new roommate, confident that it wouldn't be long before someone jumped at the chance to live with her. But a month went by, and still no one had answered the ad. Lisa began to worry. She couldn't afford the rent on her own, and she knew she needed to find a new roommate fast.

Finally, just when Lisa was starting to lose hope, a woman named Rachel responded to the ad. Rachel was confident and poised, with a striking beauty that immediately caught Lisa's attention. She seemed like the perfect roommate, and Lisa was thrilled when she agreed to move in.

Lisa: Rachel, I'm so glad you got in touch. I was starting to think I'd never find a suitable roommate.

Rachel: I'm happy to be here, Lisa. I saw your ad and just knew this would be a great fit.

Lisa: Your confidence and poise are really impressive. I can tell you're going to bring so much positivity to this place.

Rachel: Thank you, Lisa. I always try to put my best foot forward and make a good impression. I'm excited to be living with you and can't wait to get to know you better.

Lisa: I feel the same way. You have a striking beauty that immediately caught my attention. I have no doubt that we'll get along famously.

Rachel: I'm thrilled to have found such a wonderful roommate. I know we're going to have a great time living together.

But Rachel had a dark secret. She was not who she seemed, and she had her own agenda for moving in with Lisa. Before long, she had turned the tables on Lisa, putting her in her place and taking control.

Rachel was a dominant force. Lisa, who had always been so confident and self-assured, found herself helpless under Rachel's spell. She couldn't resist Rachel's charms, and she soon found herself doing everything that Rachel commanded.

It all started one night when Rachel leaned back in her chair, a smirk playing on her lips.

Rachel: Lisa, darling, I need you to run to the store for me. I'm just dying for some ice cream.

Lisa hesitated, her mind racing. She knew she should say no, but the way Rachel was looking at her made her heart flutter.

Lisa: I-I don't know, Rachel. I have a lot of work to do.

Rachel's eyes narrowed.

Rachel: Oh, come on, Lisa. You know you want to. And I'll make it worth your while.

Lisa swallowed hard, her resolve crumbling.

Lisa: O-okay, I'll go.

Rachel clapped her hands together.

Rachel: Excellent. Now, be a dear and hurry back. I'm getting impatient.

As Lisa left the room, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment. Why was she letting Rachel boss her around like this? But at the same time, she couldn't deny the thrill she got from following Rachel's commands.

As the days went by Rachel did more of these commands. Every time Lisa followed these commands her pussy got wet. She was starting to enjoy her submissiveness to Rachel.

Things only got worse in the weeks ahead. Rachel started to assert more dominance on her and had Lisa do sexual things with her. Rachel would have Lisa eat out her pussy at least twice a day and forbid her to have sex with anybody else.

Rachel: You'll eat me out, twice a day. No exceptions.

Lisa: Yes, Rachel.

Rachel: You're mine, Lisa. Don't forget. And from now on you call me Mistress Rachel

Lisa: Yes Mistress Rachel

Lisa felt her pussy get wet as she called Rachel Mistress.

Rachel: (smirking) I know you want to please me, Lisa. Just give in to it.

Rachel: You're not allowed to sleep with anyone else. Understand?

Lisa: (whispering). Yes mistress Rachel

Rachel: (staring intently) You're going to do what I say, when I say it. And you're going to like it.

Lisa: Yes Mistress Rachel

Rachel: You're mine now, Lisa. And I'm going to make sure you know it.

Rachel : Now show your mistress how much you want her I want you to take off all your clothes and rub your clit until you cum.

Lisa then did what her mistress told her to do. She first slid off her camisole then she undid her bra. Next she slid off her skirt and then finally slid down her panties. Lisa sat on the floor and then rubbed her clit until she came. Rachel just smiled like the Cheshire Cat. She knew she had Lisa right where she wanted her.

In the month that followed Lisa fell more and more into servitude. She would bathe Rachel, make all meals, and was forced to pay the entire rent by finding a second job. She became a stripper at the local gentlemen's club.

One night when Lisa was in between Rachel's legs servicing her pussy, Rachel had an evil grin on her face.She then revealed Lisa how she came to be.

Rachel : You know, Lisa, if you had been kinder to Richard, maybe things would have turned out differently. But no, you had to toss him aside like yesterday's garbage. Well, I have some news for you. I was Richard before I stumbled upon that life-changing elixir. And all I wanted after that was to get my sweet revenge and make you my little plaything. And look at us now. I'm a stunning woman and you're licking my pussy and serving me as my slave. I think it's safe to say I've succeeded.

Lisa sat on the floor, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Rachel, the woman she had come to see as a friend and confidante, was actually Richard, the man she had betrayed and mistreated for so long. And now, she was nothing more than Rachel's slave, a plaything to be used and discarded at will.

Lisa felt a wave of anger and resentment wash over her. How could Rachel do this to her? How could she manipulate and deceive her so easily? But even as these thoughts raced through her mind, she knew the answer: she had let it happen. She had let Rachel take control, and now she was paying the price.

Rachel stood up, a cruel smile on her lips. I hope you've learned your lesson, Lisa, she said, her voice dripping with venom. You may be my slave now, but you can always choose to leave. All you have to do is say the word, and I'll release you from your servitude. But I have a feeling you'll be back. You're a weak and selfish person, Lisa, and you'll always choose the easy way out. Just like you did with Richard.

Lisa looked up at Rachel, her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to argue, to defend herself, but she knew Rachel was right. She had always been weak, always been selfish. And now she was paying the price. She couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to break free from Rachel's control, or if she was destined to be a slave forever.

In the months that followed, Lisa sank deeper and deeper into her servitude. She did everything Rachel commanded, no matter how degrading or humiliating. She was Rachel's slave, and she knew it. She had lost all sense of self-worth, and she couldn't imagine a future beyond her life of servitude.

#m2f transformation #elixir #transformation story #Revenge

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romanceyourdemons · 8 months ago

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one thing i always love to see is when someone gives a character another lease on life at huge cost in order for the character to fulfill their tragically interrupted destiny, and the character goes what gives man!! my last death was perfectly fine and anyway that destiny is SO last life. and dedicates their new life completely to hanging out and chilling. you’ve heard of came back wrong now get ready for came back with sunglasses and a little fruity drink

#ryddles

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ros3ybabe · 5 months ago

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Where Have I Been?

hello lovelies. so, I started the challenege, did one day, and all of a sudden I feel off the face of the earth. I fell into a bit of a depression, and while I've managed to pull myself out, life has been busy busy busy! This is probably the 2nd busiest week of the year (the 1st will be in August, and you'll find out why). Here's an update on life:

I fly to Colorado on the 16th, so....under 5 days now. I haven't packed or anything yet, but I plan on doing that either tomorrow or Thursday. And I have to clean and prepack for when I return because....

I signed a new lease for a new place to live! I'll have roommates who I haven't met yet (I'm taking over someone lease, actually), but my lease starts August 18th. I return from Colorado on the 14th of August, so....I'm going to be very busy once I return.

I decided to call it quits on getting a 2nd job. It's going to mess up the schedule with my first job, and it would only make me 200$ more a month, which I'm not worried about missing our on since I'll still sell stuff on depop once I return from Colorado and I'm going full time at my current job.

I've gone out to lunch with my dad a few times as well, it's been really nice hanging out with him and spending time with my dad. I lucked out in the dad department and spending time with him is one of my favorite things!

I've been debating going to San Fransisco in October for an XG concert, but I don't know if I'll have the money or ability to anymore. (thank you new apartment and all those fees and expenses!)

my anxiety has been terrible. I haven't changed anything about what I do, but I did squish a lot of anxiety inducing things into the span of two weeks, which....my bad on that. Now I know, don't do that to myself.

I bought new makeup! The juvias place bronzer, charlotte tillbury setting spray, nyx eyebrow stuff, and blush, ughhh I love buying new makeup, I just wish it didn't cost money!

I've gotten better at doing my makeup! I've had people not even notice I'm wearing it because it looks natural despite being like, a full face! Thank you perfect color matches on my skin tint, foundation, and concealors!

I went to two movies with a friend. We saw the new Strangers: Chapter One and the Planet of the Apes movie. Both were definitely good, in my opinion.

I now have to plan with my boyfriend for when he needs to come down here and get his stuff and work out changing the utilities to our roommates name since I'm leaving. I don't feel like it should be my job to coordinate that, but oh well. I guess it's too hard for him and his best friend (my roommate) to call each other for once?? Ugh, men get on my nerves sometimes.

I need to ask my dad and a friend to help me move upon my return, which also means I won't be able to work that weekend, which kind of sucks.

I need to declutter my room and start throwing away things I don't want or need anymore this week to make it easier on myself when I return from Colorado but hahaha I procrastinate a lot.

I'm stressed about paying rent. I'll have to pay rent for here and rent/fees for the new place before august and then September's rent for the new place, and my new rent is about double what I pay now. so yayy, adulting and finances. I don't feel qualified to be an adult, but here I am, age 21, an adult.

That's about it for now! Lots of stress, lots of anxiety, lots of stuff happening super close together. But that's life, I guess. Forgive me for my absence from my blogs. I also stopped studying spanish for now, and my routines are non-existent. Colorado will change that, tho, for sure. I do plan on updating a little more frequently once things settle down when I'm in Colorado. but for now, it'll be kinda here and there with my posting.

thank you for all the patience and kindness, lovelies. til next time 🩷

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thesapphireprincess · 1 year ago

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Software Engineer 👩🏾‍💻

I recently learned that you can become a Software engineer without a degree. I found a free Introduction to software engineering course on YouTube. It was created by a computer science professor and he goes over everything that a beginner needs to know and what is learned in a full semester. I also found these free Harvard courses and after you complete them you can purchase a verified certificate. The certificate will look so good an a resume and it will show that you know the material.

💌 Being a Software Engineer isn’t the only option for a high paying job without a degree. This is just the one I am choosing.

There are so many resources online but after this I will most likely enroll into a software engineering boot camp since this is what most people do. I found that there are a lot of software engineers who do not have a degree but are still making a ton of money because the work is so valuable. I learned that you can get almost any 6 figure high paying job without a degree except in the medical field. This job will not be replaced by AI which is a relief.

The starting salary for an entry level position is around 70-80k in the United States as of June 2023. Even 60k would be great but there are people making 100-250k a year as a software engineer. The people who work at the big companies make even more than that.

This is a great way to set up your financial future. Imagine being able to save $1000-$2000 a month. Imagine where you’ll be at in 10 years. You can even use this as a starting base to set your life up financially. You’ll be able to afford to live anywhere in the world especially if you get a remote job. Places like San Diego, New York, London or Hawaii. You can afford the cost of living. You can afford to live in any of the major cities and have a really comfortable life. You will have lots of money that you’ll be able to multiply. You’ll actually be able to save up for a house and have actual money to invest. So many opportunities will be available to you. You can live below your means in the best way possible.

Personally I’ve always wanted to live by the beach in a city. By this time next year I’ll be living in a new city with a great high paying job. My current job will look amazing on my resume because I work side by side with engineers and technicians on a daily basis at a reputable company so I can totally jazz up my resume to sound really good. Which totally counts as ✨experience✨. I’ve been working here for a couple of years now which will look even better because it shows longevity.

I definitely plan on moving to San Diego or Hawaii next year when my lease is up. I will update y’all in a week on my progress.

#level up #self improvement #software engineering

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theromanticscrooge · 4 months ago

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Top 10 Favorite O.K. K.O. Episodes

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Like any top 10 list, this is very subjective. These are ranked by how much I personally enjoyed a certain episode over anything else. For some context, I'm the kind of Star Trek fan that enjoys more dialogue and philosophy heavy episodes or really goofy love letter romps over big spaceship battles or anything particularly action-heavy. The same applies here even with a goofy, over-the-top cartoon. That's a huge part of why I picked some of these.

10.) "Presenting Joe Cuppa"

Joe Cuppa is a middle-aged flop of a comedian with a routine full of bad dad jokes and coffee puns. Joe is absolutely convinced that because his time in the limelight is over that there's nowhere else he can go; he's all washed up. Rad and K.O. are determined to lift his spirits and help him rediscover his confidence as well as a new lease on life. The eventual coffee-themed fight with Shannon is a hilarious cap-off to Joe's short but satisfying brush with a mid-life crisis.

I love that this is a goofy story about an older man that is just starting on an exciting new chapter of his life. There's too many older people that get stuck in the rut of "my life is my job" and become empty husks of their former selves after they retire and don't know what to do with themselves or their time without their former day job. Joe is a friendly reminder that an old dog can always learn new tricks in the form of using his coffee in clever, creative ways he hadn't tried before.

Out of O.K. K.O.'s long list of weird, wacky side characters, Joe is one of my personal favorites. I wanted more of him after this episode premiered and I still want a Joe-centric series of webisodes or comics now (even if I have to make them myself and nobody reads them, hahah).

9.) "Your World is an Illusion"

I'm a sucker for thoughtful and clever takes on fourth wall breaks. This one gets extra points for setting up a parallel between K.O.'s fourth wall break and someone getting a hit of existential dread from thoughts like "Am I just someone's Sim?" and the extra layer of "Can or do I exist after death?" In K.O.'s case, he decides to offset further nihilistic feelings and spirals by reaffirming how tangible and real his relationship with his mom and friends are.

As long as he values these people and his lived experiences with them, that's more than enough to give his life and reality value in turn. Its an especially insightful take, given how big the themes of friendship and found family are to this show as a whole. These are ideas I think about daily, to be honest. So, anything that tackles something close to Holo-Jane pulling the proverbial rug out from under K.O.'s feet is going to be a story that grabs my attention.

8.) "Bittersweet Rivals"

After the build-up of Enid's history with Elodie, this is the turning point and beginning of repairing their broken friendship. The best scene, hands-down, is Elodie swooping in to rescue Enid; a dramatic sunset scene that encapsulates a chain of Elodie choosing Enid over her need to win at everything. Elodie herself is a fantastic portrait of someone struggling between personal morals and societal pressures to appear as the prettiest, strongest, most popular, etc. no matter what the cost. She knows how intimate and strong her connection with Enid was but she was also convinced that there was only one spot in the limelight. If she shared that spot, it would lessen the prestige of her position. Its artificial scarcity. Elodie was cornered by the capitalistic vision of competition where others have to be pushed aside and stepped on and there's only one clear-cut path or mold for the "perfect" hero.

"Bittersweet Rivals" explores Elodie's side of her strained relationship with Enid. It also shows what kind of impact Enid has on her overall worldview and that Elodie can and will choose her friend and the personal changes needed to include Enid in her life. This is one of several examples of why its worth giving someone room to change if she shows the initiative and active desire to do so.

7.) "Back in Red Action"

Red Action was my favorite character when I first kept tabs on O.K. K.O. back in 2017-19. Enid's crush on Red was obvious from Red's on-screen introduction. This episode reveals that the feelings are definitely mutual; Red is just as much of a wannabe cool kid and closeted dork as Enid is. When Enid learns about Red's Hue Trooper past, it levels the proverbial playing field. These two can and should be more open and vulnerable around the other. They're cooler together and are absolutely a power couple on the hero side of the Plaza to rival Mr. Gar and Carol.

Besides fantastic character building for Red, the entire episode is full of corny poses and fun references to the ridiculous transforming vehicles that litter Power Rangers and its super sentai source material. Granted, the Hue Troop is definitely more of an homage to super sentai. The eight-year-old me that always wanted a girl as the Red Power Ranger loves Red Action. She's the obnoxious, but charming punk Ranger I didn't know I needed until I checked out O.K. K.O.

6.) "Lad & Logic"

As someone that's written a character analysis on Lord Boxman, I think this episode is core to any discussion about him as a character. I'm still fascinated by how much more open-minded, warm, and considerate Box Lad is when compared to present-day stern, manipulative, and cruel Boxman can be until a combination of his closer relationship with Professor Venomous and his redemption arc (with his kids, not in regards to his overall alignment).

At the very least, Boxman is an example of how a bright-eyed and hopeful person can lose themselves to an all-encompassing goal or obsession. Anyone could become a Boxman if they surrender to paranoia and get lost in their own head to the point they refuse to listen to anyone else.

Mr. Logic's story is roughly comparable to someone leaving an abusive relationship. Part of Boxman's deterioration is how someone can start a relationship with a kind, well-meaning person and that image of how they used to be eclipses what problems pop up later after that person removes their mask or in Boxman's case, something happens that leads to them becoming a horrible partner. Mr. Logic was "made" for a specific purpose but starts to discover who he wants to be after talking with Mr. Gar at the work-in-progress Plaza. Who Mr. Logic wants to be conflicts with what Boxman demands he should be.

This is what leads to Boxman creating his kids with the sole intention of them conforming to the exact vision of who and what he wants them to be. Thankfully, he pulls back on this motivation and starts work on becoming a better parent later. When Mr. Logic stands up for himself and leaves Boxmore, its the start of his own self-determination. He needed space and autonomy to become his true self.

5.) "Boxman Crashes"

I almost put "Villains' Night Out" in my top 10, but this episode has the penultimate Voxman scenes in it. Or more specifically, it has my favorite Voxman scene where it looks like Venomous has a big, world-shattering epiphany about how to work through his ennui after he and Boxman attack the Plaza. He's been so bored for so long and now this weird cyborg man gave him the metaphorical missing puzzle piece to get his life that much closer to complete.

"Villains' Night Out" has the magic carpet ride and the Venomous "proposal" scene but "Boxman Crashes" shows the Professor's side of the story. Viewers finally have insight as to what his personal life was like and most importantly, what he thinks of Lord Boxman. Look, the Voxy Bunch found family dynamic is one of my favorite parts of this cartoon. I love that this episode gives me both perspectives of the relationship for my favorite gay mad scientists. I need both POVs for my bad fanfic-writing needs!

4.) "The So-Bad-ical"

Setting up a villain plot of "ruin kids' education by teaching them nothing but blindly memorizing facts" is a stroke of genius. Its alarmingly accurate commentary on where American education is and how the end result can be made-to-order zombies (corporate drones that don't fight back or ask questions). Besides Boxmore shenanigans, Ms. Quantum paints a really sympathetic picture of teachers that honestly love their job and want to challenge students but are restricted by school boards, funding, and whatever else.

I'm tempted to put a pin in further discussion on this one considering how much stronger the commentary is now vs pre-pandemic conditions. In a nutshell, I love the social commentary here.

3.) "Second First Date"

There are so few cartoons that let the male and female lead stay just friends. Rad and Enid are that much more interesting because they started out as a failed romance. Enid's first impression of Rad was that he is an insensitive macho meathead and not much has changed. At surface level, Rad doubled down on the toxic machismo and his more feminine interests or sensitive side are open secrets he refuses to acknowledge. This establishes that Rad will apologize and can have frank, honest conversations with people that are important to him. It also sets the stage for how Rad and Enid's friendship becomes more than coworkers and surface level from here.

Manly Cupid is also a delight. He's an 80s brand of big, boxy, and rippling muscles in a bright pink toga. He's gruff but he also embodies the importance of open communication and vulnerability between romantic partners. He's very forceful in his approach but there's a promising note that he's open to learning from his own mistakes and admitting when he's wrong. He's a fantastic early example of positive masculinity in this series.

2.) "Special Delivery"

The meat of this episode is addressing the sharper edges of how often Enid quips at Rad or makes fun of his 'softer' interests. Rad still struggles with owning the more 'feminine' side of his personality and interests but he's reached a point with Enid where he feels like he should be comfortable enough to be his full, uncensored self. Where "Second First Date" focused more on Rad's defenses, "Special Delivery" is a companion episode where Rad calls out Enid using sarcasm and blurring the line between playful teasing with outright bullying as her own set of defense mechanisms.

They're able to work things out with Enid addressing Rad's criticisms and promising to be more thoughtful and conscientious when Rad expresses genuine interest in something 'cringe.' While Enid has a shared arc of "being emotionally vulnerable is cool" with Red, Rad's more sensitive side complements and touches on what kind of self-awareness Enid would need otherwise. There's also K.O., but he manages to knock down her walls in an easy, affable way unique to him as an adoptive younger brother. Rad is a harder nut to crack. Empathizing with him means looking past his more awkward exterior and takes a little more effort on Enid's part than with Red or K.O.

1.) "The Power is Yours"

This is my all-time favorite episode as well as crossover event, hands-down. It single-handedly drummed up what interest I have in Captain Planet now and led to me going out of my way to watch more of the original series. If O.K. K.O. comes up, I mention this episode at least once every time and I was hellbent on showing at least this one to my partner or anyone else that expresses even an iota of interest. It lives in my head rent-free!

This is a love letter to how campy, goofy, but heartbreakingly earnest Captain Planet was as a warning about pollution, climate change, and other social issues. Dr. Blight is as over-the-top as she is in the original cartoon. Overall, its a fun, ridiculous romp that showcases the strengths of O.K. K.O.'s deceptively simplistic art style combined with surreal, goofy imagery only possible in an abstract cartoon world. The ending bit with Kwame and Captain Planet warning K.O. that climate change is an immediate and ongoing issue has the right amount of seriousness and gravity that message needs. There's so many episodes that I could similarly describe this way but this one managed to grab my attention in a way that I can't fully articulate.

This is my current list as of late 2024! These may change as time goes on and I write enough essays to flesh out a short novella. For now, this was a means to get my creative juices flowing again in a lower stress way than a full blown character analysis or whatever else. The more focused stuff is returning soon!

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