#expirator┊01.

[freckledgeto]

has anyone who bought an esim from nomad not had theirs activated yet?

[aliyahwritings]

THE CONTRACTED HEART — Rafe Cameron (01)

MASTERLIST | Basketball Player & Model!Female Reader

Summary: Rafe Cameron, a basketball star, needs a marriage to fix his image, while Model!Reader needs one for citizenship. They may be the perfect solution for each other.

Warnings: smut, descriptions of violence, jealousy, usage of drugs, talks about body image/ed, angst, and lots of bickering. Reader is confident, a people-pleaser, has a traumatic past, and is a sunshine with an attitude. Rafe is a whore, possessive, cocky, and secretive about his past.

Word Count: 4.2k

Aliyah's Notes: this is my first series on here so go easy on me (#adele) pls + some things are not going to be obx canon ... at least some of yall are warned. anyw im so excited for this cause lord knows the amount of time ive wanted to make a fake dating fic!!!!!!! anyw i hope you all will enjoy this i had so much writing the first chapter

The clatter of high heels against the marble floor echoed in perfect sync with the ticking of your watch. Every step was deliberate, poised—just like your life had to be. Perfection, it seemed, was not a choice but a requirement for survival.

You adjusted your sunglasses, your gaze skimming over the glamorous expanse of the fashion agency's lobby. People buzzed around you like bees in a hive, their worlds spinning, fueled by the weight of names, status, and flawless images. You smiled politely at the receptionist, offering a nod, though your mind was miles away.

To the outside world, your life was golden. The covers of magazines, the invitations to high-society events, the million-dollar deals with luxury brands—it was a fantasy that others could only dream of. It was your dream some time ago, too. 

But today, your reality felt like walking on the edge of a tightrope, the safety net fraying below you.

Your phone vibrated in your purse, interrupting your thoughts. You fished it out, your pulse quickening when you saw the text from your lawyer. Three words that sent a chill through your carefully constructed façade.

"We need to talk."

Your heart sank. The issue of your visa had been hanging over your head like a storm cloud for months now, growing darker by the day. You’d known this was coming, but knowing and confronting it were two different beasts.

Fame didn’t shield you from the cold bureaucracy of citizenship laws, and your time was running out. One misstep, one delay, and your golden empire could crumble. In a matter of months, you could be deported, left behind by the very country that had built you up.

With a deep breath, you silenced your phone and slid it back into your purse. This wasn’t something you could dwell on right now, not in public. Your expression remained serene, even though your mind was anything but. You had a shoot in an hour, a charity gala that evening, and at some point, you had to meet with the lawyer to discuss "options"—a word that had started to feel more like a trap than a solution.

As you exited the building, the cool breeze caught your hair, the city unfolding before you like a glittering stage. New York City. You looked out at the streets, the people, the life you fought so hard to build. The car pulled up to the curb, and you climbed inside. On your way to your lawyer.

You stepped into the law office, the familiar scent of polished wood and stale coffee wrapping around you like a tight band.

"Ms. Y/L/N, good afternoon," Nicolas Ramirez, your lawyer, greeted you, standing behind his desk. His expression was composed, but you knew him well enough by now to spot the unease in his eyes.

"Hi," you softly smiled at him. Your heels clicked softly on the floor as you sat down, crossing your legs tightly, as if holding yourself together. "Let’s just get straight to it, okay? How bad is it?"

Nico sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Your visa expires in less than three months."

You felt your stomach twist, your worst fear inching closer to reality. You swallowed hard, trying to keep your voice steady. "And what about the appeals? The extensions?"

"We’ve exhausted every possible option—work visas, artist visas, even humanitarian grounds. Immigration laws are tightening, and without a permanent solution like citizenship or residency, you’ll be forced to leave the country."

"Leave?" Your voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the full weight of the nightmare you’d been living with. 

Leave? Go back there?

The country you had fought so hard to escape. The country where your childhood had been marked by suffocating poverty, where your parents had already planned your marriage before you even turned 15. Where your dreams had been a distant, impossible hope until that one person changed your life forever.

You felt your throat tighten. You couldn’t go back.

Nico’s gaze softened slightly, his voice gentle but firm. "I know what this means for you. I know how difficult—"

"You don’t know," you cut him off, your voice sharper than you intended. "You… You don’t know—I can’t go back there, Nico. I just… I can’t."

He nodded, giving you a moment of silence to compose yourself, but the pressure in your chest only grew. You took a deep breath, trying to keep the panic at bay.

"So what now?" you asked, fighting to keep your voice steady. "Is this it? Am I out of options?"

"Well… There’s one option we haven’t explored yet." his tone was cautious, like he knew what he was about to say would open a new can of worms.

You furrowed your brow. "What?"

"Marriage."

The word hung in the air, thick and heavy. You blinked, unable to comprehend at first. "Marriage?" you repeated, as if saying it aloud would make the absurdity of it clear.

"It’s one of the few legal paths left," he explained, leaning forward slightly. "Marriage to a U.S. citizen could secure your green card and, eventually, permanent residency. It’s a legitimate route—many people in similar situations have done it."

You sat back in your chair, the tension in your body coiling tighter. The thought of marriage, of attaching yourself to someone you barely knew for the sake of staying in the country, made your skin crawl. You had already sacrificed so much for your freedom, for your career. And now this?

"You’re telling me the only way to stay here is to marry someone I don’t even love? Just to avoid being sent back to a country I don’t belong in anymore?"

"Not necessarily," Nicolas said, his tone measured. "It wouldn’t have to be a traditional marriage. Think of it as a business arrangement. It’s a legal partnership—nothing more. And it could save your career, your life here."

You crossed your arms tightly, your mind racing. Marriage. It was a word that had haunted you ever since your parents had tried to force you into it as a teenager. Back then, it was their way of controlling you, of keeping you bound to a life you didn’t want. Now, it felt like the universe was throwing the same chains back at you, just in a different form.

"I’ve compiled a list of potential candidates," Arjun continued, sliding a piece of paper across the desk toward you. "People who might be open to an arrangement like this. Athletes, businesspeople—individuals who might benefit from a similar deal."

You glanced at the paper but didn’t pick it up. The names blurred in front of your eyes. This wasn’t how your life was supposed to go. You’d already lost your family, fought tooth and nail to get out of your country and build something for yourself in the U.S. And now you were at risk of losing everything—again.

"I don’t know if I can do this, Nico," you said quietly, shaking your head. "I’ve already sacrificed so much. My family… I gave up everything to be here. And now you’re telling me I have to give up even more?"

"I’m not telling you that you have to do anything," he replied, his voice calm but firm. "I’m saying this is an option. One that could keep you here, legally. But the decision is yours. I’m just laying out the possibilities."

You swallowed the familiar knot of anxiety tightening in your chest. 

"I can’t go back there," you whispered, more to yourself than to him. "I’ve worked too hard to get here. I can’t lose everything."

He nodded slowly. "Then maybe it’s time to consider unconventional options."

You finally picked up the paper, scanning the names but not really seeing them. Your heart was racing, your mind spinning with a thousand thoughts. Marriage. It felt like a trap, just like it had back then. But maybe—just maybe—it was the only way to keep your future intact.

"I’ll think about it," you said, standing up and smoothing the front of your dress. "But I’m not making any promises."

"Of course," he said, standing as well. "Just let me know. We’re running out of time, but I’ll support whatever decision you make."

You nodded curtly, turning toward the door. As you stepped out into the cool city air, your chest tightened with the weight of everything you stood to lose. The lights of New York City flickered ahead of you, just out of reach, as though the life you’d built here could vanish at any moment.

And for the first time in a long time, you felt truly afraid.

Your phone buzzed, dragging you out of your spiraling thoughts. You fished it out of your purse, heart skipping a beat when you saw the name: Nina. Your agent.

With a shaky exhale, you answered. “Nina, hi.”

“Hey, babe!” Nina’s voice was all cheer, a stark contrast to the storm inside you. “So, I have amazing news! Guess who just got major campaign offers coming in? You! Chanel, Loewe, and oh my God, don’t even get me started on Louis Vuitton. The year starts beautifully for you!”

You should’ve felt ecstatic, but instead, the words passed over you like an echo. All you could think of was the countdown Nico had set in motion: three months. Three months before everything you’d built here would be taken away from you. 

“That’s… amazing, Nina,” you managed, trying to muster some enthusiasm. “Really amazing. Thank you so much.”

“Are you okay? You don’t sound like your sunshine-self.” Nina’s voice softened, concern creeping in. “What’s going on?”

There was a pause. Nina had been there through all your ups and downs, from your rookie days as a model to your rise in the industry. But the immigration issues, the fear of being sent back to a life you couldn’t return to—that was something neither of you could control. 

“Three months?” she repeated, her voice going higher. “Oh my God—what the fuck? I thought… I thought you had more time.”

“So did I.” You swallowed the lump in your throat. “Nina, I don’t know what to do. I’ve called Nico and he tried everything—extensions, appeals—but the laws are tightening, and he said there’s only one real option left.”

There was a brief silence before she asked, “What option?”

You bit your lip. “Marriage. Nico says I could marry someone for a green card.”

“Marriage?” Nina’s voice came out in a shocked squeak. “Like a fake marriage? Babe, are you serious?”

“I don’t know!” you burst out, frustration and fear colliding. “I don’t know what to do! I can’t go back there. I can’t. My parents… My parents already wrote me off as dead, and if I go back, I’m stuck in a place I spent my entire life trying to escape.”

Her voice softened. “I know, honey, I know… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound—God, I can’t imagine how scary this is for you.”

You took a shaky breath, grateful for her understanding. Nina wasn’t just your manager—she was one of the few people who you actually close to. She was a 34 years old American-Filipina woman. You trusted her with your life. 

“Okay,” Nina said, her voice more focused now. “Okay, now listen. We’ll figure this out. I know Nicolas wouldn’t suggest something like this unless it was a real option. Do you trust him?”

You sighed. “Yeah. I do. But the idea of marrying someone just to stay… it feels like another version of what my parents wanted for me. Like I’m back in that same time of my life.”

“I get it. But this isn’t like that. You’re in control this time,” Nina said. “If this is what you need to stay here, it’s not about love or being owned by someone.”

You nodded to yourself, trying to absorb her words. “Well, um, Nico gave me a list of potential candidates—people who might be willing to make an arrangement. You’ll never guess who’s on it, though.”

“Who? Shawn Mendes? Harry Styles? Tom Holland—”

“Rafe Cameron,” you said, cutting her off. “The basketball play—”

“Yeah, I know who that man is, Y/N. His reputation is a total mess right now. It’s not surprising for him to be on that list.”

“Exactly,” you muttered. “It’s a perfect business arrangement for him, too. He needs a way to look respectable again, and I need to stay in the country.”

“So, you’re actually considering this?”

You leaned against a streetlamp, staring at the city around you. “I don’t know. Maybe? It just feels wrong. Like I’m giving up a part of myself.”

“As nicely as this can be said, you are being dramatic here, babe.” Nina sighed softly. “Look, I’m not going to push you either way, okay? But I do think you need to look at it from a different angle. You’re not giving up on yourself. You’re doing what you need to do to stay here, to keep fighting for your career and your future. And Rafe—or whoever you’ll end up marrying—is not your parents. He’s not going to control you or he’ll get slapped.”

You closed your eyes, trying to let her words sink in. She was right—you were in control now. This wasn’t the same as being forced into a marriage you didn’t want. This was about survival. About keeping your life in the U.S. intact.

"Yeah… I guess you’re right," you said softly, feeling some of the tension release from your shoulders. "I just need time to think."

TWO WEEKS LATER.

The soft glow of the late afternoon sun filtered through the curtains, casting warm light across your living room. After two relentless weeks of back-to-back fashion shoots, campaign meetings, and gala appearances, you had finally found a moment of peace. You curled up on the plush sofa, sinking into its embrace as the hum of the city outside became a distant murmur. The oversized, loose pajamas you wore were a far cry from the designer gowns and couture you’d been draped in recently, but they were yours—soft, comforting, and familiar. Your hair was twisted into a lazy bun under a satin bonnet.

You exhaled a sigh of relief, finally feeling the weight of exhaustion slip from your shoulders as you closed your eyes.

Buzz. Buzz.

The sound of your phone vibrating on the coffee table pulled you from the calm. You groaned softly, reaching for it with one hand, expecting to see another notification about a meeting or event. Instead, it was a message from Nicolas.

“Any thoughts on who you're going to marry? We need to move quickly if we want to ensure everything goes through in time.”

The familiar weight of the situation you’d been trying to avoid crept back into your chest. Two weeks had passed since your lawyer had first laid out the reality of your visa situation. In those weeks, you'd thrown yourself into work, hoping the constant flurry of activity would drown out the anxiety. But now, in the quiet of your home, the decision loomed large again.

You typed back, hesitating for a moment before hitting send.

"I haven’t decided yet."

A few seconds later, the reply came through.

"We need to discuss this in person. Can you come to my office today?"

You frowned, your eyes darting around the cozy room, not quite ready to leave your home.

"How about you come here instead?" you typed. "It’s been a long week, and I’d rather talk in private."

There was a pause before the three dots appeared, and then the message followed.

"Sure. I’ll be there in about an hour."

You put your phone down and leaned back against the cushions, staring at the ceiling. This wasn’t a conversation you wanted to have, but it was necessary. Time was running out, and you knew you had to face it—whether you wanted to or not.

An hour passed in a blur, and soon enough, you heard the knock at your door. You padded across the room in your socks, your oversized pajama pants swishing softly as you walked. Opening the door, you found Nicolas standing there, looking as composed as ever in his tailored suit.

“Come in,” you said with a smile, stepping aside to let him in.

Nicolas entered, his eyes scanning the room before they landed on you. "You look... relaxed."

You gave a soft chuckle, gesturing to your pajamas. “Don’t mock the pj’s until you’ve tried them.”

He smiled slightly, but there was a hint of emergency in his expression as he took a seat in the armchair across from you. “I know you’ve had a lot on your plate lately, but we really need to make a decision.”

You nodded, sitting back down on the couch, hugging a pillow to your chest. “I know… I’ve just been avoiding it.”

“And I noticed,” he said, pulling out a folder from his briefcase. “But with the visa expiration approaching, we don’t have much time. We need to find someone—someone who understands the situation and won’t make things harder.”

You bit your lip, holding a smile, glancing at the folder in his hands. “You bought the list?”

He nodded, and handed it over, and you flipped through the names, recognizing some immediately. Athletes, businessmen, even a couple of actors/singers. And then there was Rafe Cameron, his name standing out like a bold headline.

“I’ve looked at these,” you said quietly. “I just… I don’t know who to choose. None of ‘em feel right.”

Nico leaned forward. “It's not about right or wrong. It’s about who can offer the least amount of personal complications and help you secure your residency. Rafe Cameron, for instance—he’s someone who could benefit from this arrangement as much as you. His reputation needs mending, and this could be a mutually beneficial situation.”

You stared at Rafe’s name, the memories of seeing his name in the news about how much of a womanizer he was… Could you really tie yourself to someone like him in a fake marriage?

“Alright, but I need you to help me decide,” you admitted, looking up at him.

He nodded, his expression understanding. “Of course, that’s why I’m here. Let’s break it down together and figure out who makes the most sense, not just legally but for your peace of mind.”

Nicolas opened his briefcase again, pulling out more detailed files on the potential candidates. He laid them out neatly on the coffee table, each name with a stack of information—financial records, personal histories, public perceptions. It was all very businesslike.

You leaned forward, looking at the pages in front of you. Each one represented a major decision, a shift in your life you weren’t entirely ready to accept, but you knew you didn’t have much of a choice.

“Let’s start with the most practical options,” he said, sliding the file on Rafe Cameron toward you. “I know his name has come up before. He’s wealthy, influential, and… well, let’s be honest, he could use a boost to his public image right now. It’s a good match on paper.”

You stared at Rafe’s name again, tapping the edge of the file with your finger. “Yeah, but he’s also a bit of a mess, isn’t he? I mean, the media paints him as this… whore, and his personal life is always talked about. What if that blows back on me?”

Nicolas raised a brow. “That’s something to consider, but you also have to think of the benefits. His public image might not be very clean, but he’s powerful. Marrying him would put you in a stable position, and if it’s a business arrangement, his private affairs don’t have to concern you.”

You exhaled slowly, still feeling uneasy. Rafe Cameron was trouble, and you knew it. But at the same time, trouble might be exactly what could make this work—for both of you.

“What about the others?” you asked, flipping through the files. “There has to be someone who’s… less complicated.”

“Well,” he said, tapping another file. “there’s Owen Turner. He’s a succesful tech entrepeneur, keeps a low profile. No scandals, no messy reputation. He’s reliable, but you’ll have to approach this differently. He’s more private, less likely to want his personal life on display.”

“And boring—plus, he seems like the type of white guy to want a traditional wife. Like he would expect me to cook for him every night… and he has an ugly name.”

“Owen won’t be expecting home-cooked meals, Y/N. He’s a tech guy; he probably lives on energy drinks and instant ramen,” Nico pointed out, trying to steer you back to the serious topic. “But if we position it as a legal arrangement, he could see the value in it.”

You sighed, leaning back on the chair. “Okay, maybe Owen is the safer options. But can you imagine our wedding announcement? ‘Succesful Tech Entrepeneur Married Famous Model: They Share a Love for Cats and Instant Noodle.’”

Nico shook his head, trying not to smile. “Focus, please. This is a serious matter.”

“Right, right, sorry…” you said, wavering your hand dismissively. “But, what do you think about Rafe?”

“Rafe Cameron is the most straightforward option,” he said, his tone now more measured. “He’s already in the public eye, which means there won’t be as much of a shock if you’re suddenly married. Plus, his need for good press aligns with your need for stability.”

“And personally?”

He smiled softly, a rare gesture from him. “Personally, I think you should go with the person you think you can manage.”

You nodded, appreciating his honesty. Staring at the stack of papers in front of you, Rafe Cameron’s name glaring up at you from the top of the list. Every name on the list had its pros and cons, but something about Rafe’s file felt different. Maybe it was the intensity of his media coverage, the scandals, or the way he dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But as much as you hesitated, his name kept pulling you back.

“I know his reputation isn't spotless,” Nico said, sensing your hesitation, “but in this situation, a clean reputation isn’t the priority. You need someone powerful, someone with enough influence to make this arrangement stick without getting tangled up in emotional complications.”

You nodded, again.”But I don’t know if I can handle all the baggage that comes with Rafe Cameron. His public image is a trainwreck. Wouldn’t that only complicate things more?”

Nico leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. “Possibly. But think of it this way: his personal life is already so chaotic that a stable, respectable marriage might be exactly what he needs to repair his image. And that’s where you come in. You’d be helping each other.”

Your eyes dropped back down to his file. "Do you think he'd even agree to something like this?"

Nico chuckled softly. “If there’s one thing I know about men like Rafe Cameron, it’s that they understand deals. His reputation is hanging by a thread, and a marriage to someone like you—someone with a pristine public image—could be the ticket to restoring his credibility. It’s a win-win, really.”

You considered Nico’s words. He was right. Rafe had everything to gain from a marriage of convenience, just like you. And while his scandals were messy, they didn’t define him entirely. He was still an elite athlete, one of the best in the game, and with the right PR strategy, you could both come out looking better.

But the thought of marrying someone like him—a notorious playboy with a history of messy breakups—made your stomach churn. 

“You know,” Nico continued, “if this were just about your visa, we’d be having a different conversation. But this is about your entire future. Your career, your freedom to stay here, everything you’ve built. I’m not saying it’s an easy choice, but it’s one worth considering.”

You sighed, the weight of the decision pressing down on you. "What happens if it falls apart? What if things with Rafe go wrong?"

"That’s why we’ll draft a contract," Nico reassured you. "This won’t be a traditional marriage, Y/N. You’ll both have clear boundaries, and legally, we’ll protect your interests. If things go south, you’ll be covered."

You stared at the file a little longer, then closed your eyes.Rafe Cameron. He was cocky, possessive, and reckless—everything you usually avoided. But maybe that was the key. You wouldn’t have to worry about him trying to control you or make this anything more than a business transaction.

It would be messy. It would be complicated. But it would also keep you here, in the country you’d fought so hard to call home. And maybe, just maybe, it would be the solution you both needed.

“Okay,” you said softly, your decision finally settling. “I’ll do it.”

Nico’s eyebrows shot up, a little surprised at how quickly you’d made up your mind. “You’re sure?”

“No,” you admitted with a weak smile. “But I think this is the best option. I’ll marry Rafe Cameron.”

Nico nodded, closing the folder with a satisfied smile. “Good. I’ll set up a meeting with him. We’ll get the ball rolling.”

Oh God, you were going to marry Rafe Cameron…

chapter two

[starrynights-sunnyskies]

as the flowers bloom, my heart does too ⋆*·ﾟmisa x putellas!femreader, social media au, (11/-)

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when your relationship ends and all you want to do is hide and cry, flowers suddenly start to appear on your doorstep.

or; misa hating to see a pretty girl cry and suffer and going out of her way to cheer her up while staying anonymous

fic: see my masterlist 🤍

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yourusername: guess who's back home!!! Liked by albaps9, begovargas, janafernandez3 and 1,309 others

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username1 what happened to home is wherever you are? 👀 ↳ username2 Exactly what I was thinking lol

bff1 she's baaaaaaack 👯‍♀️

albaps9 🤗🤩😭

salmaparalluelo ❤️

ingridengen Stay a little longer this time! We've missed you 💘 ↳ yourusername i'm planning on it!! 🥺

claudiaapina 👏

fridolinarolfo Missing us already? 😌

marialeonn16 You two should come over for dinner! ↳ yourusername it's just me, but i hope the offer still stands 🤭

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↳ 6h ago: marisabel_rguez added to their story

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albaps9: don't mind me hogging up all her time now that she's here 😛 Liked by alexiaputellas, marialeonn16, marisabel_rguez and 891 others

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yourusername yea uuf it's been unbearable ↳ albaps9 don't pretend you didn't miss sleepovers in my bed ↳ yourusername 🤏 ↳ albaps9 that's what i thought ↳ bff1 excuse me, i do mind?? ↳ bff2 Yeah, what's up with that? 😝 ↳ bff1 wait, i see what this is. she's trying to weasel her way into our group ↳ albaps9 gasp i would never ↳ bff1 🖕

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↳ 15min ago: yourusername added to their story

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marisabel_rguez: 🧡🤙 Liked by ona.battle, bff3, carolinemoller_ and 16,529 others

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username1 wait this is so sad, is she alone there? ↳ username2 obv not alone-alone bc someone took the photos 🤣 ↳ username3 Who's she doing all this with if YN is still in Spain? ↳ username2 ever heard of friends and family?!?!?

jennihermoso 😍 ↳ jennihermoso (to the sunset) ↳ marisabel_rguez Get out of here 😂

carolineweir95 enjoy!!

bff1 *jaws theme starts playing* ↳ yourusername that's not funny 😫

sofie.svava Have a good time back home 😘

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yourusername: 🌼 Liked by alexiaputellas, claudiaapina, judebellingham and 1,938 others

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alexiaputellas Chiquita 🤩

begovargas next time i'm taking you to the ones in el raval 😌 ↳ yourusername more clothes? yes please (i say while trying to get my suitcase to zip shut)

friend1 Missy!! 😍

username1 why's jude still lurking 🤣

albaps9 yea, you're right, nala did rock those sunnies better 🤭 ↳ yourusername but i still rock them better than you ever will 🙋‍♀️

bff1 i want to be that icecream ↳ yourusername ew get out, weirdo

username2 why are you not with misa liked by 12 others

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↳ 12h ago: yourusername added to their story

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Text Messages

17:39 mami 🌷(ICE) Mija, text me when you are home. We just went through customs. I love you.

17:40 mami 🌷(ICE) Make sure you lock all the doors and windows when you go back to Madrid. Your tio knows you'll bring the keys to him. Tell him we said hello.

17:43 mami 🌷(ICE) And don't forget to clear out the refrigerator. You can take anything else that will expire soon with you.

17:45 mami 🌷(ICE) Be careful when you drive back to Madrid. Take some breaks and text me whenever you can. I know we will have a big time difference but you can always call and text me, laelia.

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18:01 albaquerque 🌼you've got this! and you've got your girls, so you won't be alone! i really loved having you around again. we'll see each other again soon. don't miss me too much 😉

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20:05 ale 🐻About to get onto the plane. Thinking of you. You've been through worse than a month alone, remember? And you'll have Nala to keep you company. I love you. 😘

20:05 ale 🐻 Give Nala a kiss, btw.

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yourusername: i could cry. Liked by bff3, bff1, alexiaputellas and 872 others

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bff1 uh yeah and you did. multiple times this week. ↳ yourusername stop exposing me 😭 ↳ bff1 as long as they were happy tears ↳ yourusername they were 🥺

bff3 My favourite girls! ☺️

username1 WHY AREN'T YOU WITH MISA AT THE WC?? liked by 42 others

alexiaputellas Looking beautiful you two 😍👶

bff2 I love you all so much!! 🥺🥺🥺 ↳ yourusername we've come a long way 🥺 ↳ bff3 We have ❤️ ↳ bff1 i can't believe we're getting old ↳ yourusername get used to it ↳ bff2 At least we're getting older each year! ↳ yourusername can't wait until we're grey and pruning and wreaking havoc in the nursing home ↳ bff2 And then our kids come to visit us and get second hand embarrassment 🤣 ↳ bff3 I can't wait ☺️ ↳ bff1 jesus guys, let me find a hubby first ↳ yourusername are you implying you need a hubby to have kids bc i will fight you on that one ↳ bff1 NO. be gay do crime ✌️ ↳ yourusername 😚

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↳ 45min ago: yourusername added to their story

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↳ 16h ago: marisabel_rguez added to their story

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↳ 12min ago: yourusername added to their story

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↳ 2h ago: yourusername added to their story

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yourusername: friends and food. Liked by bff3, bff1, alexiaputellas and 872 others

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bff2 😍😋

marialeonn16 Pasta again? ↳ yourusername yea... i'm constantly carrying a carb infused food baby around 😭

bff3 Always the best cook ❤️ ↳ bff1 you're only saying that because she kept indulging your cravings ↳ yourusername i was just being a great friend xxx

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↳ 1h ago: yourusername added to their story

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yourusername: madrid madrid madrid 🌼 Liked by bff2, friend1, janafernandez3 and 1,290 others

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username1 girl what are you doing, the semifinal is in two days 😭 ↳ username2 At least she's back in Madrid? 🤞

friend1 Better luck next time! 🎾🖤

bff3 Loved our double date... + YN 😂 ↳ bff2 It was such a lovely day with our men... oh and YN 🙊 ↳ yourusername rub it in, won't you <3 ↳ bff1 next time you'll have me there again to save you from the thirdwheeling!!!!!

username3 get your ass down under asap for wag duties 😡 ↳ username4 fr why isn't she supporting misa at the wc? ↳ username5 Some people have jobs and responsibilities, ever heard of those? ↳ username3 and you don't think supporting your significant other at one of the biggest moments in their life is important?

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Text Messages

10:31 Misa Hey, what's up, are you free?

10:41 Alexia Sure!

10:41 Misa Can you come to the cafe on the corner of the street? I'm at a table outside.

10:41 Alexia Right now?

10:43 Misa If you can? 😅

10:43 Alexia Is everything okay?

10:44 Misa More than! Don't worry.

10:44 Alexia Are you sure?

10:44 Misa Positive. I just need to talk to you about something.

10:44 Alexia Okay. I'm coming down!

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marisabel_rguez: Hello Sydney, hello final! 🇪🇸😎 Liked by bff3, albaps9, haleyraso and 18,389 others

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sofie.svava If you don't bring me one of those hats, we're going to have a problem. ↳ carolineweir95 I can't tell if this is sarcastic or not 😂

haleyraso Welcome, welcome 😌

username1 ok misa i see those flowers 👀

username2 I miss YN in the comments 😕 ↳ username3 but she hasn't really posted anything, so what is there to comment on?

albaps9 HELLO 👋

alexiaputellas 😎

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↳ 23h ago: yourusername added to their story

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username1: YN IS IN SYDNEY, I REPEAT, SHE IS DOWN UNDER! (pic cred to username19 from twitter) Liked by 323 others

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username2 what hotel is this?

username3 Now we just have to cross our fingers she's not only there for Alexia because this sudden radio silence is creeping me out

username4 was she with misa?? ↳ username5 she's not staying at the players hotel and i doubt the players can go see family right now. they're always pretty isolated during big tournaments, especially now that the final is tomorrow. and i heavily doubt that vilda will let family come over to keep morale high

username6 it kind of worries me that they're no longer so loveydovey online, but i'm holding out hope for a YSN pic soon ↳ username7 they're probably fine. they don't have to salivate on each other's post week in week out to be going strong. ↳ username8 It lowkey looks like the initial hype died down a little after their hard launch, but hey, that's fine. It's their life, as long as they're happy 💘 ↳ username9 but they better go back to being loveydovey again soon tho 😭

username10 🕯praying everything is fine between them 🕯

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a/n: hope you've all had a sweet week 🌻

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Uncle Sam paid to develop a cancer drug and now one guy will get to charge whatever he wants for it

Today (Oct 19), I'm in Charleston, WV to give the 41st annual McCreight Lecture in the Humanities. Tomorrow (Oct 20), I'm at Charleston's Taylor Books from 12h-14h.

The argument for pharma patents: making new medicines is expensive, and medicines are how we save ourselves from cancer and other diseases. Therefore, we will award government-backed monopolies – patents – to pharma companies so they will have an incentive to invest their shareholders' capital in research.

There's plenty wrong with this argument. For one thing, pharma companies use their monopoly winnings to sell drugs, not invent drugs. For every dollar pharma spends on research, it spends three dollars on marketing:

https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2015/05/Pharmaceutical-Marketing-and-Research-Spending-APHA-21-Oct-01.pdf

And that "R&D" isn't what you're thinking of, either. Most R&D spending goes to "evergreening" – coming up with minor variations on existing drugs in a bid to extend those patents for years or decades:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3680578/

Evergreening got a lot of attention recently when John Green rained down righteous fire upon Johnson & Johnson for their sneaky tricks to prevent poor people from accessing affordable TB meds, prompting this excellent explainer from the Arm and A Leg Podcast:

https://armandalegshow.com/episode/john-green-part-1/

Another thing those monopoly profits are useful for: "pay for delay," where pharma companies bribe generic manufacturers not to make cheap versions of drugs whose patents have expired. Sure, it's illegal, but that doesn't stop 'em:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/competition-enforcement/pay-delay

But it's their money, right? If they want to spend it on bribes or evergreening or marketing, at least some of that money is going into drugs that'll keep you and the people you love from enduring unimaginable pain or dying slowly and hard. Surely that warrants a patent.

Let's say it does. But what about when a pharma company gets a patent on a life-saving drug that the public paid to develop, test and refine? Publicly funded work is presumptively in the public domain, from NASA R&D to the photos that park rangers shoot of our national parks. The public pays to produce this work, so it should belong to the public, right?

That was the deal – until Congress passed the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. Under Bayh-Dole, government-funded inventions are given away – to for-profit corporations, who get to charge us whatever they want to access the things we paid to make. The basis for this is a racist hoax called "The Tragedy Of the Commons," written by the eugenicist white supremacist Garrett Hardin and published by Science in 1968:

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/10/01/the-tragedy-of-the-commons-how-ecofascism-was-smuggled-into-mainstream-thought/

Hardin invented an imaginary history in which "commons" – things owned and shared by a community – are inevitably overrun by selfish assholes, a fact that prompts nice people to also overrun these commons, so as to get some value out of them before they are gobbled up by people who read Garrett Hardin essays.

Hardin asserted this as a historical fact, but he cited no instances in which it happened. But when the Nobel-winning Elinor Ostrom actually went and looked at how commons are managed, she found that they are robust and stable over long time periods, and are a supremely efficient way of managing resources:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

The reason Hardin invented an imaginary history of tragic commons was to justify enclosure: moving things that the public owned and used freely into private ownership. Or, to put it more bluntly, Hardin invented a pseudoscientific justification for giving away parks, roads and schools to rich people and letting them charge us to use them.

To arrive at this fantasy, Hardin deployed one of the most important analytical tools of modern economics: introspection. As Ely Devons put it: "If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn’t go and look at horses. They’d sit in their studies and say to themselves, ‘What would I do if I were a horse?’"

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/27/economism/#what-would-i-do-if-i-were-a-horse

Hardin's hoax swept from the fringes to the center and became received wisdom – so much so that by 1980, Senators Birch Bayh and Bob Dole were able to pass a law that gave away publicly funded medicine to private firms, because otherwise these inventions would be "overgrazed" by greedy people, denying the public access to livesaving drugs.

On September 21, the NIH quietly published an announcement of one of these pharmaceutical transfers, buried in a list of 31 patent assignments in the Federal Register:

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-20487.pdf

The transfer in question is a patent for using T-cell receptors (TCRs) to treat solid tumors from HPV, one of the only patents for treating solid tumors with TCRs. The beneficiary of this transfer is Scarlet TCR, a Delaware company with no website or SEC filings and ownership shrouded in mystery:

https://www.bizapedia.com/de/scarlet-tcr-inc.html

One person who pays attention to this sort of thing is James Love, co-founder of Knowledge Ecology International, a nonprofit that has worked for decades for access to medicines. Love sleuthed out at least one person behind Scarlet TCR: Christian Hinrichs, a researcher at Rutgers who used to work at the NIH's National Cancer Institute:

https://www.nih.gov/research-training/lasker-clinical-research-scholars/tenured-former-scholars

Love presumes Hinrichs is the owner of Scarlet TCR, but neither the NIH nor Scarlet TCR nor Hinrichs will confirm it. Hinrichs was one of the publicly-funded researchers who worked on the new TCR therapy, for which he received a salary.

This new drug was paid for out of the public purse. The basic R&D – salaries for Hinrichs and his collaborators, as well as funding for their facilities – came out of NIH grants. So did the funding for the initial Phase I trial, and the ongoing large Phase II trial.

As David Dayen writes in The American Prospect, the proposed patent transfer will make Hinrichs a very wealthy man (Love calls it "generational wealth"):

https://prospect.org/health/2023-10-18-nih-how-to-become-billionaire-program/

This wealth will come by charging us – the public – to access a drug that we paid to produce. The public took all the risks to develop this drug, and Hinrichs stands to become a billionaire by reaping the rewards – rewards that will come by extracting fortunes from terrified people who don't want to die from tumors that are eating them alive.

The transfer of this patent is indefensible. The government isn't even waiting until the Phase II trials are complete to hand over our commonly owned science.

But there's still time. The NIH is about to get a new director, Monica Bertagnolli – Hinrichs's former boss – who will need to go before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for confirmation. Love is hoping that the confirmation hearing will present an opportunity to question Bertagnolli about the transfer – specifically, why the drug isn't being nonexclusively licensed to lots of drug companies who will have to compete to sell the cheapest possible version.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/19/solid-tumors/#t-cell-receptors

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

[genshin-impact-updates]

"An Introduction to Perfumery" — The Web Event for Genshin Impact's new character: Emilie is now available.

>> Click to Take Part in Event <<

Elegant ladies and gentlemen each have their own approach to "wearing" perfume.

〓Event Duration〓

2024/08/01 12:00 – 2024/08/07 23:59(UTC+8)

〓Eligibility〓

Reach Adventure Rank 10 or above

〓Gameplay Details〓

1. During the event, answer four scent selection questions from Emilie and receive the perfume recommended by Emilie along with its description card to obtain in-game rewards.

2. After generating the perfume description card, you can select your favorite photo to save or share.

〓In-Game Rewards〓

Answer Emilie's scent selection questions to obtain Primogems, Character Ascension Materials, and other in-game rewards.

〓Event Notes〓

1. Please log in to the event using your HoYoverse Account and select your corresponding character in Genshin Impact to take part. This will ensure that your rewards can be sent and claimed correctly.

2. The event wallpaper is not available after the event ends. Please save it in time.

3. After generating the perfume description card, the in-game rewards will be distributed via in-game mail. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the rewards in time.

[lightningcola]

01/01/24

Expired Fujifilm Velvia 50 - Nikon F100

[hockpock]

Glasses Review - Firmoo

Hello vision impaired friends, I bring you the gospel of Ordering Your Damn Glasses Online

I have previously ordered from EyeBuyDirect (luxotica/lenscrafters'/America's Best in disguise, sorry.) and Zenni Optical ( most well known online provider, A+ would recommend) and have seen lots of ads for free pairs from a competitor, Firmoo. I have too much prescription for the free pair offers to ever work out from ANY provider, but their fun designs put them on my list.

When my current glasses broke, I was dinking around and saw their current promotion is Buy One Get One Free PLUS 20% off lenses and as lenses are the real $$$ I jumped on that like tigger on crack. I am VERY nearsighted with astigmatism and the average pair of glasses from lenscrafters used to cost me $300 minimum.

After much deliberation with a million tabs open and a poll I ignored the results of for Reasons, I ordered a pair of clear frames and a pair of purple steampunk-y wireframes . Two pairs of HIGH PRESCRIPTION glasses for $87 shipped. I could cry, y'all.

Note: I have an up to date prescription and a nifty app that measures Pupillary Distance or 'PD'. you will need both these things accurate to have the best experience buying your glasses online.

I ordered them 9/22, they shipped 9/25, I received them 9/29 with regular shipping. They came well packed - each pair was in a bag made of cleaning cloth material inside a sturdy plastic case and they come in a foil bubble mailer.

Both pairs feel well made, with lots of attention to detail-

however I did not pay attention to detail or pay extra money for the Re-he-heaaallly thin lenses. So the clear ones are slightly too big and I hate the way the nose pieces sit, while the purple ones are a wee bit small across the temple and heavy to boot. I haven't had dents in my nose like this since I was 12.

the website lists their exchange policy as 30 days, the pamphlet that came with the glasses says 60. Either way it was pretty painless to go into my order history and select "exchange". The form I filled out with my reasons for dissatisfaction promised me I would be contacted within 24 hours.

My 'personal Firmoo consultant', 'Karen', emailed me with a code for the full price before discount of both pairs + standard shipping, as well as the usual customer service canned answers about checking the sizing information and did I know I could upgrade the lenses?

Also I could keep the failed pairs 'FOR NOW', here are some places that accept glasses as donations. (mixed messages, Karen, but sweet!)

New friends are April006, round anodized wireframes with a cute dingly gem thing, and Sandy020 , literal tortoiseshell cat eye frames.

This time I used the site's search terms to cut the temple width and earpiece length options down and double checked the weight of the base frames. (14g vs 24g for the round wireframes before my coke-bottle lenses. RIP my nose. )

New order was placed 10/5 and they arrived 10/17 . (last time I checked the tracking estimated arrival had creeped from the 19th up to the 23rd so grain of salt. This may be a tactic to make the order feel like it got here faster or legit delays. In my case there was a federal holiday involved.)

Complete disclosure I'm gonna grab a pair of pliers and take the little dangly off the wireframes. It makes a noise when I move my head and if I don't fold the frames in the right order when I take them off it'll scratch up the lenses. I ain't gonna remember to avoid that, so off it goes.

The Good:

Large selection, Good Quality, Good Communication. Lots of Off the Beaten Path options for internet weirdos. Firmoo p much always has a promotion going.

My wallet is so happy. SO HAPPY. Frames run $20-30ish to start. lenses will vary with your prescription and options.

If y'all want 50% off your first frames and to give me a $10 credit they have a referral program and my code is T4Z8I2. BOGO20 is a better value but it expires 11/01/23.

The Bad:

Not flexible about lens options- you go down one track and pick your options within that. If there was a way to put tinting on a pair of glasses other than blue light blocking I couldn't find it. (in contrast I believe Zenni lets you choose a range of colors and tint depth on any pair, designed as sunnies or not)

You Will Get Emails. Firmoo REALLY wants you to buy more glasses and post about it and tell your friends and HERE THIS CODE IS ONLY GOOD FOR 3 DAYS, GO BUY NEW GLASSES. They are marketing themselves to fashionable young influencers who change styles every month. Unsubscribe with impunity.

like Zenni, this is a company with the majority of it's functionality based overseas. It's cheaper because you're ordering directly from a factory and not paying Luxotica's markups to itself. Customer service is mostly English as Second Language speakers and there may be delays.

Not For Emergencies. I was able to coast on a pair of glasses from a prescription or 2 ago but it's gonna take time for your order to be made and shipped.

Overall I'm very happy with them and will probably order again.

Next time I have spare money I'm aiming at Wherelight because y'all. they are next down on the list of reputable to shady AF but they have the most amazing WTF designs.

[agi-ppangx]

💌letter four - why is love so contradicting?

╰► hwang hyunjin has sent you a letter !

series masterlist

“we haven’t talked for almost a week now and i’m starting to lose my mind. even if this was my idea and it was me who said that we need to spend some time alone. 

i miss your laugh. before our conversation you told me this funny story from your work and you giggled the whole time and i swear i’ve never heard a more beautiful sound. 

we’ve been dating for almost a year now, but recently it seems as if we’ve come to a standstill. i think you felt it too, because you didn’t even protest when i said we need to slow down and reconsider our goals. we'd kept talking about our future and you seemed so excited when you were telling me about your plans and dreams, but the conversations never led to action. it feels like these were just empty words. the breeze we felt together has calmed down and it hurts me so much. i love you more than you’ll ever know, but now i struggle to keep myself together and stay strong. not when i feel as if i’m losing you. 

where do we go from here? i think it’s time we seriously thought about “us” and our future. we’ve been through so much together already and i wanna believe that we will overcome every obstacle on our way to happiness. but we have to come to some kind of compromise here. i want to fight for our relationship, because i know that we can come out of this stronger. 

you mean the world to me. you’re a light in the darkness, a ray of sunshine on a stormy day. you are my hope. but all of this feels like we’re on a train running without a destination. let’s go back to the beginning and find all of the things that went wrong along the way. we’ll find a solution, i’m sure of it. for me, love doesn’t have an expiration date and with that in mind, i believe our relationship will blossom again and we’ll find the long forgotten happiness.

until the end of time, hyunjin.

PS. i’m about to send you a message with a request to meet and talk. i hate myself for suggesting being alone when we needed each other the most. i’m sorry. but we’ll work this out, my love, i promise. we’ll make up for the lost time and feel the joy of life again”

taglist: @lynlyndoll @iyenbread @flooo71 @skz-streamer @inniescandy-01

let me know if you wanna be added/removed from the taglist🩶

feedback and reblogs highly appreciated🫶🏽

[bitchlessdino]

TPC: Joshua's beery good compromise

Full series

Pairing: joshua x afab store clerk!reader

Genre: smut, some humor

Word count: 2.6k

tags: embarrassed josh, hungover josh, fingering, public sex, breakroom sex, spontaneous hookup (this is not realistic lets be soo fucking fr), praise kink

Summary: Josh's job is getting beers for the party but meets a cute convenience worker and sees if he can get a good bargain with a tempting offer.

author note: this was fun and exciting to write, especially the jokes i made. those were pretty self-indulgent

tag list: @iwouldbangchan @1uvlywon @just-here-to-read-01 @candidupped

Joshua’s plan was to go to the closest liquor store, convenience store, hell even pharmacy to get a couple of sick packs of whatever to satisfy the wheat cravings of whoever would enjoy a beer at the party–a likely chance of 90% of them–all while getting over his hangover from yesterday’s party. He didn't bother doing his hair or putting on something particularly fashionable or eye-catching, but maybe he should’ve considering the cashier up front was the sexiest head and torso he’s ever seen working retail. He can only imagine how they would be bottom-down if they were gorgeous top-up.

His teeth dig at his bottom lip, waiting last in line behind five to six people, agonizingly getting closer to the end of his gatherer journey. In the meantime, he could observe the unbothered expression on your face, seeing you complete the bare minimums of your job: swiping, scanning, ID checking, and the occasional hair toss to get strays to sway from your eyes. Before he knew it, it was his turn, figuring it was at least it was nice while it lasted.

You don’t look up to meet his eyes and instead bore ahead of him like a 10-yard stare. He places the merchandise on the counter in front of you, and you sigh, thinking to yourself it’s another unhinged frat part from the college town a few streets over. “ID, sir.”

He plucks it from his leather wallet, tattered with age and poor maintenance, handing the plastic over to you for validation. You retrieve it, briefly brushing against his burly fingertips, you examine it in a quick scope, checking the date of birth and stopping at the photo. You’re pleasantly surprised by a handsome face. You ascend your gaze, seeing the identification matching perfectly with its owner, just slightly rougher around the edges in much more casual clothing.

You clear your throat, trying not to let the doe-shape of his eyes throw you for a loop, or the curve of cupid’s bow let your mind wander on how they’d feel against your skin, maybe burning with every touch. You bite the inside of your cheek, handing it back to him, his hand that made contact with yours once already feels different the second time around, almost electrifying.

“$42.80.”

Joshua sighs, inserting the card into the chip reader. You watch the screen try processing the card but sees the opposite happen. “It declined.”

He doesn’t pay mind the first time and reattempts the application, only for it to repeat. His eyes shoot open the second time, he examines the card for him and sees it’s past his expiration date, remembering that he left the new version at his dorm. “Shit.”

He looks through his wallet for cash; a lone ten-dollar bill occupies the sleeve and he looks up sheepishly. “Is there a payment plan or something?”

You raise a brow at him in confusion. “No.”

He grows a deeper shade of red as he looks deeper in his pockets for something, anything, only for them to come up empty. “I’m not broke I swear.”

“Are you going to pay or not, Sir?”

He rests the balls of his palms on the counter in frustration, cursing at himself for being so ill-prepared, embarrassing himself in front of the hot checkout person. He finally runs a hand through his hair and nods at himself, coming to terms with the inconvenience, barely meeting your eyes. “I can’t pay, sorry.”

When he’s about to leave, you feel the sense of pity anchor in your stomach and you stop him. “Hey, so you planned on buying a lot of beer, and it’d be a hassle to put it all back.”

“I can help put it back.”

You shrug, “I’ll just pick up the tab.”

He blinks back at you in surprise. “What? You can't do that.”

“Of course, I can.”

“I mean you shouldn’t.”

You side grin. “You’d just owe me. Come closer.”

He does as you ask. Your upper body leans forward, merely inches away from his face, his eyes shooting up at the proximity. You reach over for the phone in his pocket and pull back, typing your number in and letting your phone ring at the incoming call. “Now I can call you forever, and you can’t avoid me.”

“That’s until I change my number.”

“You won’t. You don’t even have money for beer.”

He snickers. “Touché, but I do have an offer that might work out.”

There is not much offered in his words, but his tone does all the work. His eyes lock with you daringly, yet somewhat hopeful. He leans over and spiders his hand over the counter, a single digit brushing against your knuckle. You quirk a brow, a quiet laugh leaves your lips and you notice a temping smile on his. He tilts his head, practically beckoning at you in this subtle graceful way that isn’t too much but gets his point across.

“What kind of offer is that? Joshua.” You just happened to catch his name from his ID, whatever.

“Depends, if you’re interested. Y/n.” And he can read name tags.

Besides the pop music playing from the store speakers, it was quiet and he was the only customer in sight. In your experience, these were the hours of the dead since weekend nights are most typically when people go out to drink rather than buy it from a store unless they were like Joshua, you guess. If he was responsible, he’d buy it in the morning or the afternoon, way before the party, not trying to sleep his way get some mid-grade beer. 

“In what world do you think your offer would help me?”

“You haven’t looked away from me the moment you saw me. That counts for something.”

Maybe it did, and more than you’d admit to a measly stranger, but this stranger was cute, dare you say hot. As if your impulses take over, you become highly aware of the fact there are no cameras in the backroom and a whole array of security inside that you could watch the store without worrying about leaving your station unattended. Not to mention the oversize t-shirt drowning Joshua’s torso but hung around his shoulders in a sexy, relaxed way that reveals the sliver of his collarbone.

Fuck it.

You come up around the register, making sure you locked it, and tug him by the wrist to lead him to the door with an ‘employees only’ sign. You press him into a wall, observing him through a closer lens as he does the same before you seal your mouth over him. It’s far from slow, producing fever quickly and effectively. His hand goes to squeeze your ass through your tight jeans and man is it glorious. The denim was thin and flexible, and the flesh of your ass bounces in his hands gratifyingly. 

He pushes himself from the wall, tucking your legs briefly to his side until you’re sitting on the breakroom table, his body between your legs, and his hands now exploring the shape of your build. You sense his impatience, eyes glancing down at his lap to find his groin poking through low-rise jeans. You’re just as impatient, taking off his shirt without an ounce of remorse and–shit.

You pant against his sculpted chest only now realizing the thick girth of his upper arms as well as the curvature of his firm pectorals. It all leads down to the rather too perfect abdomen–resembling a shiny honey-glazed set of Hawaiian rolls–-that could make the cover of Playgirl magazine, that is if playgirl was still around. Maybe sports illustrated?

“Happy you took my offer?” He teases, taking your hand and tensing over the center.

You have the wit to answer but are too preoccupied with the deep dent of his abs, your digit now trailing over his prominent pelvic bone–he was smooth everywhere, just too edible–until you settle against his erection. It twitches at your contact, having you impulsively squeeze its shape, to which he gasps, slithering closer. “It’s not a stress ball. Take it out for me.”

You smile, just a small one, before deciding to unbutton and zip down his pants, hearing the fabric hit the ground. A delectable wet spot stamps the front of his briefs and your tongue creeps out of your mouth to wet them. Your finger of the waistband and tuck underneath his balls, his shaft naturally falling in your grasp. It’s weighted, long, and hard as a rock in between your fingers and it just made him all the more delicious of a breakroom snack.

“You’re so hard, I hardly even touched you.” You glaze over at his eyes before he collects your lips. He swallows your moans, feeling your hand pump his cock clenching around his girth, and he grunts between breaths. Your legs trap around him, pressing him closer, and you feel the tug of his teeth on your lips.

“There’s not much touching needed because I knew all I wanted to do when I saw you was to fill you up with my cock.”

A hum vibrates in your throat, arm slinging over his neck, and you force him to rest his forehead on yours. His wish sounded incredibly promising. “Already? In the five minutes, we’ve known each other?”

“I normally know what I want and I’m never wrong.”

He helps you take care of your jeans, kicking them aside along with his, and let his hands find solace underneath your shirt. You raise your arms to slide the material off and out of your way, and you press against his chest, feeling the stiff peaks of both your nipples carve out a ticklish flush on your skin.

You muffle your moans into his shoulders as he nibbles on the skin of your neck, his hand freely goes to find your arousal that seeps through your thin underwear. He tigs them off finally, wetting his fingers in his mouth before feeling through your wet folds. Two digits rub skillfully against your pulsing core, feeling how you clutch around nothing and he welcomes himself inside when your hips twitch in his direction.

Pride settles in his stomach hearing you say his name in the form of moans, his heart practically pouncing in unadulterated excitement. He was going to make this fuck something you would especially be grateful for. God, were you wet and malleable in his hands. A free arm grabs a ball of your flesh, plunging his enclosed fingers harder into your core, hips impulsively thrusts into the air, desperate to have the gorgeous pussy suffocating his cock.

“God, you feel fucking good around my fingers,” he rotates them, seeing your stomach tense at the sensation only to push out in the most incomprehensively addictive way, “I need to you feel good at everything I do for you. I won’t have a single regret fucking you senseless.”

His words, heavy and daunting, were something you would’ve pushed aside, but given the circumstances, you ate them like you were starved on a deserted island, begging to get a taste of his sweet cock even if it’s just for a second. “I need you. Really fucking bad.”

You feel his smile against your skin, burning into the thin skin of your lips, he tastes you from his fingers, rich and sweet. It's only a second he's away to grab a condom from his wallet and cover himself. Oh, that he has but not other forms of payment?

“Really? You want me? You promise you can take me?”

You can’t promise a damn thing from the look of his cock in his already larger-than-life hands but you nod anyway, anticipating his vacancy as he aligns himself to your entrance. You pivot the thought of Joshua’s large cock about to be inside you by reconnecting with his lips, his tongue, invading the inside of your mouth in a frenzy. It was soft yet wet. Hot yet comforting. Dirty yet safe. It was a nice distraction.

He takes his time before he’s inside you, parting your legs to spread you, rubbing his cock on the line of your slit. You bit his lip, fingers digging into his scalp, and it's only time before plunges himself inside and meets your fluttering walls. You gasp, the expected stretch initially surprises you but you melt hopelessly in his grasp as you find yourself adjusting to his size, meeting him only halfway, but that’s all he needs. 

God, did you feel perfect around his cock. “You’re so fucking–shit–”

You rest your hand on either of his shoulders as he pounds into you. Shutting his eyes, he’s taking the moment to appreciate his lack of tact to allow him to be in such a situation. Nothing like an unorthodox but civil compromise.

“Mmh, Joshua…You’re fucking me so good…”

You meant it. You can barely hold yourself together with your body so full. Your hands filled wth tingle take hold of the table beneath you, your back arching in anguish at how good he feels fucking you with promise.

He speaks between his grunts, forming words the best he could. “I…meant it…I will have no regrets…God, you’re fucking perfect.”

He takes your spread legs and plants them on either side of his head, your pussy squeezes around him, and he feels his patience depleting rather quickly. Obscenities became a second language for him at this point. His hand hovers above your pussy, thumb finding your clit, and drawing circling it in a way he hopes he’s right.

“Fuck, yes…”

Indeed he was right.

His hips move faster, his other hand takes a squeeze at your side, feel how soft and plush and heavenly it was to have your body as close to him as it was. He bites his lips, an impish moan submerging, “Fuck, not yet, not when you haven’t.”

As if he wasn’t embarrassed enough, your presence made him deduce to one of a teenager. A weak, horny teenager that has whacked off enough times to know how quickly he’s about to come and he’d be damned if that was to happen before he’d get a taste to see how you say his name in a moan as your wave of arousal overtake you. He slows his pace, rolling his hips with ease, pushing deep enough to unknowingly hit your spot of enlightenment, which you quickly alert him of. “Oh, right there, yes, please, keep going.”

Finally, a sense of accomplishment (despite him congratulating himself a million times while pounding you like a jackhammer earlier), he takes your advice and repeats the move. More mumbles of appraisals on your end. You held the back of your thighs in grit, the warmth of his skin stinging as they made an impact with yours. You moan a “yes Joshua” with every “like that,” or “feel good,” and yes you meant every word of it.

Your legs give out when your pleasure is hit hard, not ever caring who hears you on the other end of the door. You gasp your loud breaths, heaving your chest, and Joshua thoroughly savors them, a wet, loud moan lingering in his throat. He leaves you with a last set of thrusts, emptying himself to the sensation of your warmth, your decadent scent, and the ghost of lips on his before it replaces with your actual lips. His cock still pulsating inside you, a squeak of desperation escapes the corner of his lips, and he brushes tendrils of your hair out of your beautiful face.

“Well, fuck. Um, thank you?”

You let out an airy laugh, shoving him off just slightly before briefly scanning the cameras, seeing nothing, nobody, not even a hair out of place. You blink back at the screens in amazement. “Wow, it’s like I wasn’t even gone.”

Joshua hums, reconnecting with your body, “Then, I’m sure nobody would mind me thanking you just a bit longer. Well, nobody except your manager.”

You offer him a crooked grin. “Oh, sweet boy. I am the manager.”

[faulty-heat-vents]

//is this thing on? Oh shi-

Howdy, I’m Ashton (he/they). New to this whole “having an Omninet blog” shtick, saw the foundries doing it and figured “fuck it, why not?”

I’m a “rookie” Lancer pilot (according to command), and my other half is an NHP in an Everest. Don’t tell my boss.

DESIGNATION: [THERMALLY CHALLENGED].

PRONOUNS: xey/xem

ENLIGHTENMENT-CLASS TECHNOPHILE NHP

OOC below readmore, full character list here

Ashton’s COMP/CON Share Code: XJPYDZ (expires 01-04-25, remind me then to update it)

#reblog moment is for reblogs, #Ashton talks and #lancer pilot is for IC text as Ashton, #Thermie talks and #lancer nhp is for IC text as [THERMALLY CHALLENGED].

Links are highlighted in blue, Ashton’s commentary is in //purple, and [THERMALLY CHALLENGED]’s commentary is in //red

--------

Need to catch up on the important lore? Read it here on ao3!

All the canon stuff is based on the 1v1 "campaign" my irl gf and I are playing every so often, so canon updates are kinda irregular. Other than the RP on the blog, that is- some asks might have lore as a treat!

This blog is both an archive for the campaign and an active "socialport" for Ashton and Thermie to interact with the rest of the Lanceblr community!

[kickthecan-revolution]

A long time ago when Trump was first in office, I had a sustained two week anxiety attack, convinced we were going to experience a significant war and I had to be prepared. I’d just gotten a big bonus and I spent a ton of it on survivor gear - all of those buckets of rice, beans, dehydrated food, camping gear, solar lights - so much more. I made go bags for work, my car and home. The primary one was stolen when I first moved in here via a break in where thieves stole a lot of stuff people were storing in the garage. The backpack was in my parking spot - poof, gone.

I lugged so much of it here - over the years I’ve slowly simplified it but I’ve been a little afraid to let all of it go. it started this habit of buying extras - why not buy three Justin’s boxes of peanut butter packets even though I only need one? Why not have five ketchups so I never run out?

When R was here organizing, I *saw* it - all of the canned food that had expired, all of the stuff I was keeping in the pantry that I didn’t use because I didn’t even know I had it. She gently said “if you feel like you want to bake cookies, you can just zip over to the store and buy flour.” Part of it was never having enough food when we were little - we could afford it, my mom just never bought enough for us. It’s why I’d drive around on Christmas looking for snack food before all the kids came over. Granted, that could be my food insecurity speaking and my filter was grounded from that, it’s a very likely possibility.

Anyway. R is coming back for my last infusion bringing her BFF A who is an organizer and a professional chef. She’s going to organize so much of my stuff but the deal is, I only have what I really want to keep, consider getting rid of the extras of things I don’t need (including three spatulas, etc) and focusing on keeping what I love and use for myself every week instead of all of the imaginary dinner parties I throw in my head. So that’s what I’ve done today, after…11 hours of sleep? I’ve been slowly whittling it all down and it feels so great. I’m 90% done. It’s not as much as I thought but it’s just so good to let it go.

My surgery is tentatively scheduled for October 01, pending what happens with this biopsy on Friday. That feels lightning fast. My last chemo infusion is next Wednesday - I’m not going to lie, I’m afraid of it based on this last one, I was so debilitated by the fatigue, I had more hair shedding than usual, no appetite and the peripheral neuropathy was hard so I’m going to try to freeze my hands and feet during the infusion to prevent it. It has definitely lessened, thank God but it’s not gone away entirely. It can take a long time.

I cry so frequently these days, even writing that it’s the last one. I’ve held it all together for five months, and I can feel the emotional and mental reserves I’ve leaned on to that beginning to crumble. That’s probably good. Things are starting to get……thin when I’m sleeping. My dreams are wild and I heard repeated knocking three times last night. My cats were on high alert. I pit myself in a golden bubble and reminded myself that I live in a building where people could be knocking at other doors, not likely at 3am but it helped. I stayed up until 4:30am watching The Office and then slept hard until 9am.

I’m numb when I think of the MRI biopsy on Friday, two of my worst things happening at the same time is like a cruel joke (biopsies aren’t painful but just traumatic waiting for the results). I’m strong - I can and will do this. And then chemo, and then the surgery which completely freaks me out - I have a massive fear of “going under” - and then I’ll know what happens after those biopsies come back.

In talking about work, my oncologist recommend that I extend my leave of absence to at least March of next year. The neuropathy is concerning her as are my cognitive tests, and I think for a living. She reminded me how they have taken my body to the point of decline where the basics work but there’s a lot of damage. And the mental damage of all of the biopsies on top of that, she thinks I need time. I agree with her. So I’m going to pursue that, it means I live on a lot less and I don’t think I am guaranteed a job when I go back but I’m not worried about that.

[haruharuz]

Episode #01 / ??

Is life fucking you with a cactus? Do you not know where the fuck to start with getting your shit together? Join the club. I've failed probably a hundred different types of challenges and life transformations. Doing so has taught me exactly how to get my shit together over the years.

The tasks are random and customized to my personal experiences, you can add or remove whatever doesn't fit your lifestyle. I have added detailed instructions or links for those that need help with knowing exactly what to do. There is no "Start date" or "end date" you just do what tasks fit into your lifestyle. These things don't even have to be done on the same day.

TASK LIST #001:

-> Clean The Kitchen Sink & Counters: Wash any dishes or place them in the dishwasher, get a rag or sponge & a toothbrush you don't need, take dish soap or disinfectant multi-surface cleaner (i used pine sol) and scrub the sink. Take the toothbrush and get any small areas (especially behind the sink and faucet) with it. Rinse the rag and wipe it down. Remove any trash / random items from the counters and use a rag with soap to wipe down. Try to get underneath the microwave/whatever else if you can. Any items that were on the counters, find a home for them or place them back on the counter where they belong.

-> At-Home Gel / Polish / Whatever Pedicure : Go on youtube or tiktok and find the instructions for whatever supplies you have.

-> Clean your bathroom drawers and counters: Start with the counter, remove anything unnecessary and throw away any trash. Use a spray cleaner or disinfectant cleaner and a rag/sponge. Scrub the grime off from the sink and use the toothbrush you had earlier to get any nitty gritty areas. Then, open your bathroom drawers and have a small bag (grocery bag, trash bag) near. Look at each item and decide whether you need/want it or not. Throw anything that is expired away, find a place for everything that makes sense. You can optionally wipe the inside of the drawers with disinfectant if you'd like.

-> Buy floss / floss picks / water flosser and place it somewhere VISIBLE . Floss before you brush your teeth that night.

-> Create a Meal Plan / Grocery Plan: Look on youtube, tiktok, or whatever you'd like and find some easy meals you know you can reliably make and eat even on a bad day. When you go grocery shopping, make sure to have at least two kinds of fruit, some veggies, and something that is insanely easy to eat. I have frozen burritos in my fridge right now, they may not be the "healthiest" but it doesn't matter. Start the change today not tomorrow and keep that mindset in your head. It doesn't matter if the change is literally just that you ate an apple today. Make that change now.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Members of the union representing nearly 12,000 public transit workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratifying their latest contract with the TTC. More than 80 per cent of the members of Amalgamated Transit Unit (ATU) Local 113 support the three-year agreement. [...] The bargaining process between the TTC and ATU Local 113 began earlier this year. Workers had been without a deal since their last contract expired in March. Negotiations were complex and went down to the wire. On June 6, less than an hour before the 12:01 a.m. deadline, the union announced that it reached a “framework agreement” with the transit agency. ATU Local 113 said the agreement came after it saw "action" on critical issues such as job security, benefits and wages.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[aroaceloverofgarlicbread]

Hello.

One of my employees has accidentally *Floofed* you into a fluffy fox furry. This should not have happened and I sincerely apologize.

Since it's Spooky Season, you were supposed to become a vampire bat (garlic resistant), so....

🎃*Refloof*. 🦇

Here you go, you are now a fluffy vampire bat (garlic resistant).

This *Floof* is temporary and ends at 00:01 on November 1st. Please take this into account with regard to your ability to fly. If you do not return to your natural form after the temporary *Floof* expires, please contact our customer service. Or simply scream.

Oh? That works too I guess. I can fly now so that’s nice. Perfect for halloween, then I don’t have to make a costume. Thank you!!

[planetarysemaphor]

𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕥𝕖 𝟘𝟙

Slugs are friends.

01.Rigelian Bodyplans

Mmf'tir. A race hailing from the 2nd moon of Rigel. A fairly warm, oceanic world. According to their ships archives, they are a living fossil on their homeworld, one of the last of the Mucorposi kingdom, their survival is thanks to a number of reasons, but most important one of them is their insane adaptability, spawned out of their equally unhinged lifecycle.

_ (fig.1 Rigelian Hydra (Mmf'tir<a>umf'm)) The Rigelians' life starts inside the hydra as a bud. These buds grow into the larval rigelian, and develop internal organs before fully separating from their host.

The Hydra itself is the backbone of rigelian social structure, serving as both a nursery, 3d printer and information server. It's the longest living form of a rigelian, able to survive up to 230 years, however, due to the fact it has no "main" head, it is unable to heptate, and therefore is doomed to expire. This however, does not bother the hydra, as it does not posses any manner of autonomy, it's previously exhibited personality erased entirely.

_ ((fig.2 Rigelian larvae(Mmf'aAr))

The larvae remain in the shallow waters for the better part of 6 years as they grow in both sentience and shape. During this time, they go from animals in need of tending to, to menial workers, able to preform manual labor in specially designed exobodies.

_ (fig.3 Rigelian larvae piloting an Aethlynn exobody)

The Aethlynn was developed long before the first official contact with humans to aid in ambassadorial duties. As you can see, it's nervous system is not integrated into the larvas, allowing for easy separation when need arises.

_ (fig.4 The Aethlynns major structural components) This body is a middle ground between rigelian and human anatomy, created based on the data received by the rigelian ships brain over 192 years prier to it's arrival in the solar system. At that time, the ship had not utilized electronic sequencing interpretation. So from what little it could understand, it sourced that humans had long, dexterous upper appendages and strong, upright standing lower ones. This minuscule amount of info it applied to the basic rigelian body plan, resulting in the aethlynn.

_ (fig.5 Rigelian larvae piloting a golem exobody)

The golem is a unique exobody, a result of collaboration between rigelian colonists and humans. If we remove the opaque exogracii, we can see that the main body is an incredibly dense pod of structural exogracii, making the golem a kind of hardsuit for manual labor.

_ (fig.6 golem exobody with opaque exogracci removed)

These exobodies have become so popular, than there are multiple scientific efforts to create a method to allow for other races to pilot them, sadly, there has yet to be any meaningful development on it.

_ (fig.6 Adult Rigelian(Mmf'tyr))

Also known as "the heirophant" this exobody is unique as it's nervous system fully integrates the larva into itself, allowing not only for more precise control, but also heptation and further evolution. The Rigelian will spent around 30 years in this state, until it heptates, turns into a hydra, or expires of old age.

_ (fig.7 Side by Side size comparison)

Rigelians evolved to be rather large due their amphibious lifestyle, of course, it should be noted, that any exobody can be modified by the hydra to suit the rigelians personality and preferences. The most popular bodypart to grow among the colonists are the sensory lobes on their head, which allow for a better depth channel pickup range.

[genshin-impact-updates]

"Melusines' Survey" Web Event Now Available, Participate For Primogem Rewards!

The two Fontainian aquabus tour guides Aeval and Elphane have been tasked with carrying out a survey of Travelers visiting Fontaine.

Help Aeval and Elphane with their research~

Obtain Primogems and other in-game rewards, as well as a little surprise!

>> Click to Take Part in Event <<

Event Rules

● Event Duration: 2023/12/25 12:00 – 2024/01/07 23:29 (UTC+8)

● Raffle Prize Results Announcement: Before January 12, 2024

● Primogem Rewards Claim Time: Within 30 days of receiving the mail

Event Rewards

● Complete the survey to obtain Primogems ×40, Hero's Wit, and other in-game rewards.

● Share your survey results with the hashtag #GenshinMelusinesSurvey on Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, VK, or other social media platforms.

Primogems ×160 (100 Winners)

Genshin Impact Ganyu Figure (10 Winners)

※ Sharing on HoYoLAB does not count towards prize draw participation.

User Terms and Conditions

・Please log in to the event using your HoYoverse Account and select your corresponding character in Genshin Impact to take part. This will ensure that your rewards can be sent and claimed correctly. You can participate in this event as long as your Adventure Rank is at least 10.

・After helping Aeval and Elphane complete their survey, the in-game rewards will be distributed via in-game mail. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the rewards in time.

・Players who share their survey results with the specified hashtag #GenshinMelusinesSurvey on Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, VK, or other social media platforms will be entered into the raffle and have a chance to win Primogems ×160 or a Genshin Impact figure.

・If you post and win on multiple platforms, you'll only be able to win one reward. Reward information will be sent out via private messages.

・The list of winners will be posted on the various official social media platforms for different languages. Relevant information will also be sent to the winners via private messages.

・Primogem rewards obtained from the raffle will be issued via in-game mail within 20 business days of the winners list being announced. The mail is valid for 30 days. You will be deemed to have forfeited your rewards if you fail to claim them before the mail expires, so don't forget to claim them in time.

・Winners will be informed of the specific issuance time for Genshin Impact figures won in the raffle via private messages.

・This event will be held and judged on multiple platforms. The event rewards will be shared across all platforms, and will not be distributed proportionately between different platforms/regions.

・If the issuance of rewards fails due to the player providing the incorrect UID or delivery address, the official team will not re-issue said rewards.

・If you have any queries about the event, please contact our Customer Service at genshin_cs@hoyoverse.com or via the in-game Feedback feature.

・There is a possibility that this event may be changed or ended without notice.

*More details about the rules of the event can be found on the event rules on the event page.

*This web event is not indicative of any related gameplay features in Genshin Impact.