#financial counseling couples

[heritagefinancialcreditunion]

Strengthen your relationship with expert financial counseling for couples from Heritage Financial. Learn to manage finances together, set goals, and build a secure future. Our counseling services help couples communicate effectively about money, plan budgets, tackle debt, and achieve financial harmony. Explore how financial counseling can enhance your partnership and create a solid foundation for long-term success. Start your journey with us today!

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1123: The Benefits of Marriage in Your 60s

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, in your opinion, what are the benefits of married life in your sixties? Rosner: I can’t speak about it in general terms, but I don’t know about my situation. Well, your body requires more maintenance, checkups, and sometimes more treatments as you age, and it’s good to have someone to go through that with you. My wife has taken on the role of caring for me in many…

[papa-poutine]

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[dc-probate-attorney]

Navigating Love and Money - Financial Planning Before Marriage

Love and marriage are often celebrated for the joy and companionship they bring, but they also introduce a significant aspect of life that should not be overlooked: finances. Financial planning before marriage is a crucial step in building a strong foundation for your life together as a couple. In this article, we will explore the importance of financial planning before tying the knot and provide…

[reachlovenheal]

Best Couple Healing Therapy In Pune

Couple Healing

Relationships can be incredibly rewarding, but they can also be difficult at times. Couples can experience a range of challenges, including communication issues, trust problems, and conflicts over values or priorities. When these issues become too much to handle on their own, couples may seek out couple healing therapy as a way to work through their problems and strengthen their bond.

Couple healing therapy is a type of counseling that focuses on improving the relationship between two partners. It is often used to help couples who are experiencing difficulties in their relationship, such as communication problems, intimacy issues, or trust issues. This type of therapy can be beneficial for couples who are struggling with a variety of issues, including infidelity, financial stress, parenting issues, and other challenges.

The goal of couple healing therapy is to help couples identify the root causes of their problems and develop strategies for resolving them. Therapists who specialize in this type of therapy will often work with couples to identify patterns of behavior that may be contributing to their problems. They may also help couples learn new communication skills, improve their ability to express their feelings and needs, and work through any unresolved issues from the past.

One of the key benefits of couple healing therapy is that it provides a safe and supportive space for couples to work through their issues. This can be particularly important for couples who are struggling to communicate effectively or who feel like they are stuck in a cycle of negative behavior patterns. With the help of a skilled therapist, couples can learn new ways to communicate and connect with one another, which can help to improve their overall relationship satisfaction.

Another benefit of couple healing therapy is that it can help to prevent future problems from arising. By working through their issues in therapy, couples can learn new ways to communicate and relate to one another that can help to prevent conflicts from occurring in the future. This can help to create a more stable and fulfilling relationship over the long term.

There are many different types of couple healing therapy available, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and solution-focused therapy. Each of these approaches has its own strengths and weaknesses, and couples may need to try a few different types of therapy before finding the one that works best for them.

Overall, couple healing therapy can be an effective way for couples to work through their problems and build a stronger, more satisfying relationship. By learning new communication skills, resolving conflicts, and developing a deeper understanding of one another, couples can create a more fulfilling and supportive partnership that can stand the test of time.

ReachLovenHeal Pvt Ltd ( Reiki Healing, Reiki Courses, Black Magic Reversal ), Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Lovenheal Reiki healing Center in Pune is one of the best places for Reiki healing in India. The center offers Reiki training, healing sessions, and workshops. It has a team of experienced Reiki masters who have helped many people heal from various ailments. The center also offers distance healing for people who cannot visit in person.

Lovenheal Reiki healing Center in Pune is experienced Reiki practitioners who provide healing sessions to clients. Lovenheal also offers Reiki training for those who want to learn this technique.

The team of Reiki masters at the center is dedicated to helping clients achieve physical, emotional, and spiritual balance.

[pastordin]

Why Premarital Counseling for Christian Couples is Essential: A Short Guide to Strengthening Your Relationship Before Marriage

Premarital counseling is an important step for Christian couples to strengthen their relationship and align it with their faith

Introduction to Premarital counseling for Christian couples: Premarital counseling for Christian couples. Marital counseling is an important step for any couple who wants to strengthen their relationship and build a healthy and fulfilling marriage. For Christian couples, marital counseling can also provide an opportunity to align their relationship with their faith and to seek guidance and…

[cosmicpuzzle]

Jupiter 🪐 Conjunct Planets

Jupiter Conjunct Ascendant

This is one of the most desirable astrological aspects anyone can have. You have a larger-than-life personality that others find extremely attractive. You easily make a good first impression on people because you are friendly and outgoing. Broadminded and enthusiastic, you have an eagerness for knowledge and travel. You come into contact with people who can help you socially, financially and professionally. About the only negative thing that can be said about this aspect is that there can be a tendency to self-indulgence and weight gain.

Jupiter Conjunct Sun

You have an essentially positive and optimistic outlook on life, coupled with a strong desire to improve your position in the world. You are motivated to expand your awareness and broaden your horizons, which you can do through travel and higher education. You are naturally enthusiastic, gregarious and generous towards others but can also be immoderate and wasteful or extravagant. You are inclined to overdo things, especially the good life, which can lead to weight gain and its associated problems.

Jupiter Conjunct Moon

You are naturally generous, open-minded and kind-hearted and often experience benefits in life with or through others. Your emotional honesty and good humor make you popular and appreciated by others. You are socially aware and always ready to help other people. You know how to enjoy yourself and are fond of sociable and pleasurable activities. Relations with women are usually positive and often personally advantageous. Your outlooks on life can fluctuate with your moods and you may experience religious and philosophical conflicts. You will probably travel and possibly live overseas.

Jupiter Conjunct Mercury

You are basically an optimist at heart and usually express a positive and confident outlook on life. You are able to exercise intelligent reasoning and are generally tolerant of other people's ideas and perspectives. In general, you are a good communicator and can express your ideas easily and lucidly. You are quite wise and understanding of things and others will frequently seek your counsel and advice. In your desire to broaden your knowledge, you will most likely travel, correspond with people in other countries and possibly study or have business arrangements overseas. You may be well read and erudite. Certainly, you appreciate the value and benefits of a sound education. You will most likely have success as a speaker or writer. A sense of humor, wit and a generous nature will gain you popularity with others. Negatively, you can be intellectually arrogant, preachy or inclined to magnify things to stress a point.

Jupiter Conjunct Mars

Live life to the max is your motto. You are ambitious for personal success and never back down from a challenge. In fact, the tougher something is the more determined you become. You usually manage to achieve whatever you set out to accomplish because quitting never enters your mind. You are a productive, energetic and resourceful person. If other factors in your chart support it, you have managerial and business abilities. At the very least, you are decisive and able to make decisions quickly. Also, you have a good sense of timing, especially when it comes to maximizing opportunities. Naturally competitive, you enjoy sports, adventurous games and physical exercise.

Jupiter Conjunct Venus

This is a very desirable aspect to have in a chart because it brings social and worldly benefits and facilitates successful relationships with others. Warm-hearted and sociable, you are popular with other people because of your readiness to give generously. You have a pleasant and affectionate nature, which people find attractive and appealing. Romantic encounters are generally positive and happy and artistic ability is evident. You know how to enjoy yourself; however, you can be prone to self-indulgence, sensuality or wastefulness. There can also be an inclination toward laziness.

Jupiter Conjunct Saturn

In general, your life alternates between periods of optimism and pessimism and periods of financial abundance and financial hardship. It can sometimes seem that everything good that happens to you comes at a cost. Your challenge is to find the middle path between enjoying life and keeping it real. Occasionally, you experience feelings of dissatisfaction with your lot in life; however this can serve as a motivation to improve your situation. All of your personal successes - academic, financial or emotional - are hard won and gained through industry, perseverance and self-discipline. You have a good head for business because you understand the cycles of expansion and consolidation. Your philosophical outlooks tend to be orthodox and conservative.

Jupiter Conjunct Uranus

You are highly independent and delight in your own originality and uniqueness. You are quite happy doing your own thing and don't concern yourself with other people's opinions. Your faith in your own abilities is usually strong and, regardless of what may be happening in your life, your trust in the future rarely flags. You have an eye for good opportunities, coupled with a keen intuition and an exceptional sense of timing. This can be a good luck aspect for receiving sudden windfalls; however try not to depend on this as a reliable source of income! You will almost certainly travel and have out-of-the-ordinary experiences when abroad.

Jupiter Conjunct Neptune

You are essentially an idealist who sometimes sees the world through rose-tinted glasses. As a result, you can perceive situations to be quite different from what they are in reality. You are selfless, compassionate and emotionally sensitive to the needs of others. Spiritual subjects may interest you and it is possible that you possess psychic ability. A talent for music and art is also likely. On a more mundane level, you may have an enthusiasm for taking risks, however, it is impossible to tell if your speculations will succeed or fail - so you need to take care.

Jupiter Conjunct Pluto

You have a strong desire to make your mark on the world and to accomplish something of significance. Your ambition and self-motivation are pronounced, and you will pursue your goals in life with passion and intensity. If other factors in your chart support it, this aspect can bring you power and leadership over others. At the very least, you will be known in your own group or community for organizing others and taking charge of situations. However, watch that you don't let power go to your head, because you will turn people against you, especially if they think they're being manipulated. Similarly, you can risk placing yourself in serious loss situations if you provoke those with greater authority than yourself.

For Readings DM

[lushrue]

i’ve been seeing a lot of business/ceo aus with the 141, but i’ve been bingewatching “suits” lately so…law firm au?

The 141 Law Group is one of the most prestigious in London. they take on clients that nobody else will, lots of high profile people and large businesses. they have a great reputation for discreteness, getting things done quickly and quietly and mostly above board. 141 handpicks their associates from the top law schools in the UK and it’s an honor to be chosen by them.

jonathan price is managing partner. at the end of the day, it’s him who makes the decisions of what clients to take on, what expenses are necessary and which ones aren’t, and how to handle the difficult cases. he runs the show, and what he says goes. usually mills around in the associate spaces, making sure the firm’s making good investments in the rookies. his background is in criminal law, but getting him in the courtroom is tough these days. he can be tempted out of his cushy corner office on occasion, though.

simon riley is a senior partner, price’s right hand. he was one of the founding partners of the firm, but chose to keep his name off the official paperwork. he has more interest in being a lawyer than a manager, though he likes to throw his weight around from time to time. expert in business law, does a really good job at giving government oversight the finger and finding workarounds for his clients. he has his limits though, won’t help his clients take action that will harm consumers. most people think he’s sleazy and dirty, but there’s a heart of gold underneath that prada suit.

john mactavish is the firm’s numbers guy. we already know he’s good with math, he has to be not to blow himself to bits. he keeps the ledgers balanced and the firm consistently in the green. has a few clients of his own that he advises on strictly financial matters. price brings him on every new client lunch because of his charm and wit, swears they’ve gotten a couple of clients because of johnny’s sense of humor alone. likes the water cooler talk, especially with lawyers in different specializations. this man knows so many random bits and pieces of international law, business law, entertainment law all because of the people he strikes up conversation with.

kyle garrick is the freshest face, hired for a permanent position after being chosen as an associate. aspiring senior partner, would love to co-manage the firm with price someday. he works primarily with international clients, loves the late nights reading up on the laws that govern other countries. he’s great at finding loopholes, just like simon. he’s aggressive in the courtroom when he does get to go, oftentimes as co-counsel with simon or johnny. he’s scribbling notes in every meeting he’s in, soaking in all the information. despite the multiple offers he’s gotten from other firms, his loyalty lies with john.

and then there’s you, their new secretary. simon was hesitant when john announced your hiring at the partners’ meeting, didn’t really think they needed someone fielding calls and making copies when that was what the associates were for. john had purely personal motivations for hiring you, though. poached you from the rival firm, Shadow Company, LLC. while you’d been content enough in your position, phillip graves was a bit of a sleazeball, in your opinion. when price came in with his sweet talk and promise of a signing bonus, you were hooked. nevermind that it took a whole week of morning coffees and tickets to the ballet for johnny to agree to the extra expense. they change their mind when you show up to work in your tight skirt and high heels, eyes bright and ready to start. 

the second you bent over your desk and they caught a glimpse of your lacy thong, it was all over.

[thesirencult]

PICK A CARD : FIRST NIGHT WITH YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE

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Disclaimer : Α tarot reading should never be used in place of professional counselling. Your reading cannot offer legal, medical, business, or financial advice nor does any portion of your reading herein purport to. You should not rely on a tarot reading to make any decision that would affect your legal, financial, or medical condition. If your inquiry involves the law, finance, or medicine, then you should seek the advice of a licensed or qualified legal, financial, or medical professional. Also, tarot reading cannot replace qualified mental health care. A tarot reading can only facilitate how you cope spiritually with a given situation.

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Pile 1

This person is very masculine in nature. They will want to penetrate your heart and soul until you reach your climax. This is a satisfier AND provider.

I'm getting that your ACTUAL first time may happen during the day and this is the first night that you spend at their house.

You will be teasing them all day long and it will drive them crazy.

There might be some chasing around the house and when they finish with you it will be apparent that you will need some support to get around *wink,wink*.

Your FS will tire you out ! I would work on my stamina if I was in your shoes as this person can last for a VERY long time !

They will be honest and sincere with you, so believe whatever they say during the act. They may have a hard time expressing themselves in general but during doing the deed they will express their love and adoration to you.

Pile 2

Your FS is very tender. They have been wishing for someone like you. As soon as they see you everything will fall into place. Their fantasies now have a face.

They don't need words, your eyes are enough. They want to kiss you until your lips are ble*ding. They are is a sense of breaking you down and guiding you towards your limit. They want you to do the same to them. Very fluid energy. They might be a switch.

Sleeping with them will be dangerous. Both of you will feel like playing with fire whenever you touch. Your love making will be awfully raw. You will not be able to escape their energy and I get the feeling there will be "reminders" of the night on your bodies the next morning.

This person is obsessive. They will feel you are tempting them and that they have fallen hopeless under your spell.

Pile 3

You have been waiting a very long time for this. The first night with your future spouse is going to come after a period of celibacy.

The masculine will be staring into the feminines eyes and he will feel like he has known her for an eternity. Your first night will seal your fate as a couple. Your union will also help both of you "manifest" a better future through the power of the big O.

Everything will feel like it was written in the stars and supposed to happen this way. Very emotional and dreamy. Your FS will make love to you while staring deep into your eyes. This person will be fascinated by you and they won't be able to look away from your face.

Things will be boiling under the surface for a while. Passion can not be contained that long and there will be some "spillage".

You will crave each other's touch so much before your first night together, that the release will be powerful. Like an itch you desperately need to scratch and they definitely know which buttons to press.

[captainuranium543]

Fairy tail headcannon a nobody wanted at all😊

- most of the dragon slayers+erza eat bugs regularly and it's gross AF to everyone

-Natsu because he grew up in the woods and they were like the number one abundant source of food, same for Wendy but she stopped for a while because Carla told her it was nasty (as soon as she joined the fairy tail guild she reverted so incredibly fast)

-gajeel pretends to thinks it's gross but secretly he really likes the taste he just doesn't wanna have that in common with natsu

- erza and Erik because in the evil slave tower where everyone was starving if you found a bug you ate it before anyone else could grab it from you.

- sting did not do that growing up but started when natsu told him it was good, he does not agree but does it anyway so natsu thinks he's cool

- rogue only tried it a couple times because frosch wanted to try it to be more like a frog and rogue is nothing if not supportive

- laxus grew up normal and thinks all of them are disgusting

- Lucy has the WORST financial skills. Legit they are awful. Everyone thinks she's always broke cuz of the tpd (team property damage) constantly making them lose their reward to repair bills but (while that is a factor) when Lucy sees smth cute that would look great in her apartment she just cannot help herself. Lucy will be so careful trying to save her money then she'll see a new set of stationary and goes "haha rent what rent"

- the hand me down game at fairy tail was fucking insane when they where kids. For levy and lisanna basically everything they owned had been passed down like 6 times already

- that red shirt natsu wore in the flashbacks? Before him it was erza's, and before her it was canas, and before her it was laxus.

- gray wears almost exclusively white jackets because jackets are expensive and if he loses them he would rather they be easy to spot so he can find them again rather then have to buy a new one

- sometimes people will invite erza places for the scary dog privilege when they dont want to be bothered by strangers. Erza has no idea thats the reason she just thought people really liked walking with her through rough parts of town in the middle of the night.

- Carla and lilly have insane beef, for no damn reason. Like both of them are fairly polite so neither will say it openly but every conversation between the two is the most passive aggressive petty insult battle you could imagine

- freed, levy, Lucy and later jellal have a book club where they all meet up and talk about whatever they're reading and play Scrabble and talk a lot of shit about their annoying ass friends.

- happy sometimes comes but he is under no circumstances allowed to bring natsu(he knows what he did)

- when erza met seigrain/jellal in the magic counsel she first tried to attack him, when that proved to be a bad idea she later started specifically destroying stuff under his jurisdiction to make sure he had to deal with as much paperwork as possible

- for her modelling, Mira used to use a very light spray of holy water to remove body hair because it burns it off💀

- wendy romeo and chelia are actually best friends like they are constantly hanging out together just to go do stuff

- erza and Erik hate each other for no reason at all. Like over that year that she worked with crime sorciere they where ALWAYS BEEFING. Every time they were near each other erza was thinking insults she knew he could hear and Erik was fighting for his life not to strangle her to death.

When erza became sclass she used to sit on the 5th step of the stairs because Mira wasn't allowed on those stairs yet and it really pissed her off. She was like, just barely out of reach, so Mira would stand at the bottom the stairs yelling death threats at her and erza would be like "whattt I'm not doing anything I don't even know what your talking about in literally just sitting what are you so mad about"

- when Warren invented cellphones, despite all of them looking like modern smartphones, freed somehow managed to get one that looked exactly like a Blackberry and refuses to get a different one

- Mira used to cut her siblings hair and because she didn't know any good haircuts yet her 2 options where 1- bald or 2- bowl cut. Hence lisannas horrifying cut as a child

[ladykailitha]

Not All That Glitters is Gold Part 1

I fully intended to put out the next part of Well Met, but I got a really bad cold and didn't get far enough into the next chapter to post it, so I'm putting out this one. It's based on this idea here. It is spoilery, so if you don't want to be spoiled, you can read it after the story is done.

I've tagged my regulars as well as those that expressed interest in the original post. If you don't want to be tagged in future parts, just DM me and I'll remove you.

Eddie IS in this just not for awhile. And Steve does have sex with other OCs, the only sex shown will be between Eddie and Steve.

Summary: Steve is an escort with Starcourt Services, who provides omegas to alphas with the money for all sorts of accommodations: arm candy at social events, rut servicing, multiples (including orgies), and sometimes, just sex. Steve is highly sought after, but after a run in with Corroded Coffin frontman Eddie Munson at a fundraiser for a US senator, his world is turned upside down.

No monsters/omegaverse AU. Rockstar Eddie/Sex Worker Steve. Mature (especially in later chapters).

****

When Steve presented as an omega at the age of sixteen his parents were thrilled. They were going to throw lavish parties of all the best alphas in the state. Well, the appropriate ones, anyway. The good ones from conservative families of wealth and breeding.

Steve wasn’t looking forward to any of it. Which is why he breathed a sigh of relief when the doctors tested his fertility they told him he was infertile.

There was a couple other tests they could have preformed but his parents weren’t having it. How dare he be infertile! How were they going to recoup the cost of having an omega for a son, if he couldn’t have been an alpha?

The doctors informed them they had three choices. To the Church where he would be celibate and never seen or heard from again. This is what his mother wanted, but the Church wouldn’t give the money they so desperately wanted.

The second option was as a nursemaid for wealthy omegas who didn’t want to breastfeed their own pups. It had no real financial security because it was dependent on the elite needing a nursemaid in the first place. As callous as the Harringtons were, they didn’t want him to starve.

The final option was Starcourt Services. An elite escort service that would buy infertile omegas to pimp out to single alphas. They had a whole range of services. Rut servicing, gang bang and multiples (including orgies), and cherry popping.

The last one was how the Harringtons would get their money. Whatever the bid price was for an alpha deflowering Steve would be how much they would get for him. Then Steve would work for Starcourt until it was paid off. Then it would be up to Steve to decide what he wanted to do after that.

Most omegas would then go into nurturing fields, like teachers, nurses, and counseling. Not all of them did though, there were some really famous omega escorts in their fifties and sixties. Not even the best paid actors and musicians got paid as much as these escorts. They were lavished with everything they could ever want. Clothes, jewelry, trips to anywhere in the world. You name it, they got it. And they were paid handsomely by Starcourt on top of all that.

There was this really famous male omega simply called Roxie that Steve had on a poster on his wall. His contract had been offered to be bought out a record number of twenty-seven times during his career. People like politicians and diplomats, rockstars and A-listers, the elite and the powerful. Rumor had that one of the princes of Saudi Arabia had offered three times, but Roxie turned them all down.

Steve wanted to be just like him. But he knew that if he voiced that he would be whisked away to the monastery before he could even blink. So threw his lot with wet nurse lot. Saying that it wouldn’t be that bad, he could still save money to go to school and become a teacher.

It was the teacher part that really got Clint Harrington. No Harrington omega had ever been a teacher in their great history and he was going to let his son become the first.

So Starcourt it was.

When he turned eighteen he would be sold off to the highest bidder to take his virginity.

When the time came, Steve was one of the highest cherries ever sold by Starcourt to the tune of one million dollars. His parents went away with their money and Steve got his back blown by a thirty year old pop princess alpha, who still hires Steve to service her ruts on occasion if she’s in town.

*

Steve loved his job. What he loved even more than that was his beta handler, Robin.

“Hello!” he greeted warmly as she slip into his penthouse suite in the morning with his favorite coffee and muffins.

“Good morning!” Robin greeted back. “How was your night with Sir Kensington the third?”

Steve shrugged. “Boring. I loved the gala, but he just kept going on and on about how his estates had a water drainage problem and it kept flooding the basement. The first time I was sympathetic, the second time I was sincere, all the times after that? I could barely keep my eyes open! And! It strictly social, no sex. I would have tolerated it if there was at least the promise of mediocre sex afterwards.”

Robin winced. “Do you want him on your black list?” she asked, pulling out her tablet.

“Yes, please,” Steve said, pulling on a silk robe and sliding out of bed. “Send the usual black orchids and note.”

Robin nodded, making a note on her tablet. “And what do you want it to say?”

“When you take out a premier escort learn better material then irrigation. It was an irritation. If you want that kind of talk, get a mate for fuck’s sake. Passionately, S. Harrington.”

“Ooh,” Robin said with a grin. “It’s bitchy, succinct, and the most beautiful fuck you imaginable.”

Steve grinned back at her. “Thanks. I do so love to be bitchy. So what’s on my docket this week?”

“So you have a rut servicing with movie star Dillon Forrest starting tomorrow,” she said going through his schedule. “His ruts last three to four days and tends to get hungry right around day two. He hates cereal and protein bars or anything that ‘tastes like dirt’.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “As if that isn’t subjective as hell. And of course he doesn’t like the one thing that is the easiest to eat while literally out of his god damned mind.”

Robin hummed in agreement. “I’d try shakes, toss the protein powder in that.”

Steve nodded. “Make sure he’s house is stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. Add some steaks or whatever to throw him off the scent. I’ll pack the protein powder in my kit.”

She nodded. “Next, you have the New Yorker charity gala with journalist Nancy Wheeler. She wants you in a tux, so I send in Pedro with your tuxes. Her dress is a metallic gold sequin slip dress with black lining.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I hate it when she wears metallic colors, it makes me looked washed out in comparison.”

“Sometimes I think she does it on purpose,” Robin groused.

Steve sighed. Nancy and he had dated briefly in high school before he presented as an omega and she an alpha. She actually had a mate, but Steve looked better on her arm at galas and charity events. That and her mate, Jonathan didn’t like the attention. He preferred to be behind the camera and not in front of it.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “Put her on the pre-check list.”

Robin nodded. The pre-check list was a way to give the escorts a chance to decline an offer before it was set in stone. Usually the handler did that, but there were some cases where an alpha would pull shit like what Nancy did it was good for the omega to get a feeling of the event before the contract was set.

“Wear the dark blue jewel tone jacket with the black button up. That will prevent you from looking washed out, it’ll complement the dress and you get to one up your ex.”

Steve grinned. “Thank you, darling!” He leaped up and kissed her cheek. “You’re the best.”

“Also a heads up about the gala,” Robin said. “Tommy’s been tapped to escort talk show host Billy Hargrove.”

Steve flopped on the sofa dramatically. “Argh! Tommy’s going to be insufferable.”

Robin nodded. Tommy and Steve were “rival” escorts (it was mostly in Tommy’s head) who competed for the best clients. A three-time Emmy award winning talk show host was more “prestigious” then a one-time Pulitzer winning investigative reporter. Especially since that reporter was Steve’s ex.

“And with Nancy trying to sabotage my look for the night, he’s going to be gloating the whole time!” Steve continued.

“Well, thankfully you have a handler that thinks of these things before hand,” Robin said, rolling her eyes. “If Tommy gets in your face about it, ask Billy when was the last time he had person of color as a guest.”

Steve sat up on the sofa. “He’s never had, as far as I’m aware.”

Robin shook her head. “He does the ‘pandering’ thing around award season to make sure the Academy doesn’t notice his blatant racism.”

“Oh,” Steve said, his eyes glittering with mischief, “that would be a terrible embarrassment if someone were to bring that up at gala for people in news hosted by a black alpha, wouldn’t?”

Robin grinned. “It would be a damn shame.”

“You really are my platonic soulmate!” He jumped off the couch and flounced off to the bathroom. “Anything else for this week?”

Robin shook her head. “The schedulers were wanting to keep this week a bit thin because of how busy next week will be.”

Steve glared over his shoulder. “Don’t remind me. Two multiples and a rut servicing.”

“At least the first one is just a threesome,” Robin said with a wince. “Two alphas that want a cute little omega to freshen up their sex lives without looking to bond.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, but the other is some manager of a rock band ordering a gang bang for them because their shitty song went gold or platinum or whatever.”

Robin grimaced. “Yeah, that is pretty tacky. What’s worse is that they are all alphas.”

Steve dropped his robe with a heavy sigh. “Who’s the rut for?”

Robin looked through her tablet again. “Oh well that’s something at least. It’s Lonnie Goodwin.”

“That is a relief,” Steve said, shimmying out of his white silk briefs. “Lonnie’s good for a laugh. Do you want me to see if I can get you and Vickie tickets to his next Netflix special?”

Robin lit up. “Hell yes. He’s Vickie’s favorite comedian and her birthday is coming up next month.”

“Done, darling.”

He got into the shower and turned on the water as hot as it would go. He needed to warm up his muscles to be nice and limber. He got out and dressed in exercise clothes to go for a run. He put in his earbuds and turned up his music. He stretched and warmed up before heading out.

Walking out of his apartment building, he waved goodbye the doorman, Keith and set off down the road. He was listening to the band who was requesting the gang bang. Steve knew that the best way to get over an awkward beginning was to talk about things they were interested in.

So as part of his prep leading up to a client Steve liked to go through their social media, if they were famous any interviews they’ve done. Watch any movies or shows they’ve been in. Just really diving deep into their lives so that it was less a transaction and more like a date.

It was why Steve was so sought after, he never made his clients feel shame for hiring him.

Unfortunately that didn’t always go both ways. An escort at its core was still a sex worker and people still had problems with those. Even the ones doing the hiring of said escort.

But that’s why each escort had a handler. A beta that could come in and break up anything that might go wrong. Which is Steve loved Robin. He had seen her take down a raging alpha like it was a Sunday afternoon walk in the park. She looked thin and scrawny, but she was scrappy and tenacious.

When he came back from his run he showered again to get clean and then he slipped into some comfortable clothes to lounge around in. He could have done anything today. The Starcourt management team was intent on making sure their omegas had plenty of time between clients to rest, shop, hang out with their friends.

Starcourt omegas were some of the best kept omegas in the country, and it showed.

Steve would have done those other things if tomorrow wasn’t a rut servicing. They tended to be heavy on the exhausting side. Both physically and emotionally.

Because despite being infertile, they still experienced all the things that fertile omega did. Scenting, bonding, heats all came with being an omega whether you had the capability to have pups or not. There were always going to be times an artificial bond would occur, even with all the blockers they were on.

The bond would fade after a couple of days, but it was still hard on the omega when it happened.

Half way through his binge watching of the latest Netflix K-drama, Pedro came in with the tuxedos. They were blue jewel tones of varying shades and styles.

Once they had decided on a short jacket and necktie combo, his assistant Janica came in with accessories to chose from. Once everything was picked out, they went away again.

He debated going out to eat over making himself dinner. A couple of the omega escorts he knew had a professional chef, Tommy chief among them, but he liked to cook his own meals.

He decided to go out to eat, because he was going to be locked up in a room for the next few days and needed to get out for bit.

He got dressed in his favorite blue jeans, a blank tank top, and white short sleeved button up, that was left unbuttons. He pulled on his Nike’s and grabbed his cell phone and keys.

There was a taxi waiting for him by the time he got to the lobby. He loved his job.

He picked a nice restaurant near his place and sat down for a damn fine hamburger and fries.

At the end of the meal the waiter came up to him.

“Just charge the Starcourt account,” Steve said with a wave of his hand.

The waiter’s eyes went wide and he scrambled to do as he was told.

Steve left a hundred dollar tip on the table and then wandered back to the front of the restaurant where the same taxi took him back to his building. Where he finished the series with a tub of cookie dough ice cream.

****

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

So much world building in this. Which is why it takes so long to get to Eddie. But have no fear, none of what I'm putting in the next chapters is fluff. It will all make sense once we get to the Eddie chapters.

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @lexirosewrites @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @yikes-a-bee @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @irregular-child @nburkhardt @apomaro-mellow @yellowdevilkitten @lingeringmirth @rememberthatiloveyou @demolvr

[phoenixyfriend]

Hi please consider: Vivi and Sanji are, ostensibly, of the same social class.

Vivi and Sanji are arranged into a marriage.

Vivi's assistant/secretary/handmaid is Nami. Sanji's bodyguard (which he doesn't need but it's a whole situation about being royal) is Zoro.

Technically, for Reasons, Zoro and Nami also get married. On paper.

Every night one of each duo hops the fence, high fives, and goes off to do ZoSan and NaVi shipping instead. (You know, like this post about Mercutio and Romeo.)

Arranged royal marriages but make it shenanigans instead of Sad.

Admittedly I'm not super into NaVi but I am a fan of Zoro and Nami as a duo and I think them bearding for each other would be hilarious.

It's not about military support like the Big Mom thing; Germa want to exchange their tech (desalination plants) to Alabasta for raw materials (beach-beaten sand, used for concrete).

God, this would work out so well for all of them.

Nami is so weird about girls that the flirty friendship just gets treated as Normal, especially since Vivi is fairly shy about romance.

Sanji is ludicrously over the top about girls and will dote on his wife, publicly, at volume, even if they're not in romo.

Vivi gets a marriage that her royal court will allow, to a friend who gets to leave a bad situation, and they can both live with it.

Sanji and Zoro will fight like the bitches they are.

Nami and Zoro will oscillate between saltmates and a dynamic that really has people making "Ah, the old ball and chain, huh?" jokes because of the whole debt thing.

BECAUSE SOMETIMES TOXIC HET MEMES MAKE IT SO YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TRY TO BE IN LOVE

Sanji and Vivi are doing their best to sell it (it's easy, they aren't expected to be in love, they're already friends), while Nami and Zoro, despite actually being friends who would die for each other, are leaning into toxic heterosexuality for the gag.

They want people to suggest couples counseling.

They want to be so toxic that people get concerned.

Someone tries to hand Zoro a pamphlet about financial abuse and he just takes one look, stares them in the eye as he puts it in the trash or shredder, and then says "I can't read."

And leaves.

(Which is not a funny subject, but is a funny reaction.)

Nami: I have a great sense of direction and he has no sense of direction at all. Nami: I'm fun and he's no fun at all. Nami: I've got tons of money and he's got none at all. Nami: We can both drink the rest of the world under the table. Nami: We complete each other.

"That's not a basis for a relationship." "It isn't? Shame."

[sunnystrollblog]

Ablaze: Trickee gave me a get better soon card.

Boom: That's sweet!

Ablaze: I wasn't sick, they just think I can do better.

Ablaze: The universe is cold and unfeeling. The only constant is chaos.

Hype : Was the canteen out of chocolate-chip pancakes again?

Trickee: I'm not mean. Name one mean thing I’ve ever done.

Boom: When we were younger, you convinced me eggs weren't real.

Trickee: They're not.

Boom: Haha, very funny.

Trickee: I'm serious. Didn't you hear?

Boom: No... what happened?

Trickee: ...Why would you fall for this again-

Branch: “Struggle with depression” would seem to imply that I am bad at being depressed when I am, in fact, very proficient at being depressed.

Creek: I feel like I have died and gone to heaven.

Branch: I have that dream, too, but you go in the other direction.

Poppy : I am in charge of this disaster!

Branch: I have a name, you know.

Branch: Anyone down to take couples counseling and see at what point the therapist realizes we barely know each other?

Poppy : Idiots to lovers, 20k words, angst with a happy ending.

Poppy : Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and…

Branch: Was diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Poppy : Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said…

Creek: You might be entitled to financial compensation if he or a loved one dies.

Creek: Hey besties-

Branch: Die.

Creek: What did I do to you-

Branch: Poppy is restricted to decaf for the rest of this adventure.

Poppy : You were stabbed. Do you remember anything?

Boom : Only the ambulance ride to the hospital.

Poppy : That wasn't an ambulance, I drove you.

Boom : But I heard a siren.

Trickee: That was Hype .

Hype : Sorry, I got nervous.

Branch: Why is Ablaze crying on the floor?

Hype : he’s drunk.

Branch: And?

Hype : he saw a picture of Trickee's spouse.

Branch: But he’s Trickee's spouse.

Hype : I know.

Ablaze : I wasn’t that drunk.

Branch: You colored my face with a highlighter because you said I was important.

Ablaze : BECAUSE YOU ARE!

Trickee: I’ve only had Branch for a day and a half but if anything happened to them I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.

Trickee: I don’t know how you have your foot in your mouth, your head up your ass, and your nose in my business. But here we are, you fucking wizard.

Branch: I WOULD DESTROY THE WORLD FOR YOU!

Boom : Okay, can you do the dishes?

Branch: No!

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

My mom comes over a couple of times a week to help me keep the apartment tidy and to body-double so I can focus on work.

"Mind if I open this?" she asked me this morning, holding up an envelope I'd tossed onto a pile of clutter the week before. I hadn't opened it because I already knew what it was—the decision of my appeal against being judged "medically ineligible" for permanent disability benefits, which are almost double what I get now and would cover rent and food. Absolutely everyone, from disabled advocacy groups to the legal aid lawyer who helped prep me for the hearing, told me that there was basically no chance I'd get deemed eligible on the first appeal. Normally it takes 2 or 3 application-appeal cycles (9-10 months each) for people to get into the program.

"Go ahead," I told her, and then turned back to other work. I've got a lot to do given how well my Kickstarter is doing, whether it's setting up the behemoth new printer I got off Kijiji for 10% of its original value, to scheduling work meetings with my newly-hired personal assistant. I've always got so much on my plate, and the number of hours in the day I can focus on it is countable on my hand that's missing fingers. And I'd love to get a sewing pattern out for my "just the sleeves, please" costume idea out in enough time for people to use it for Halloween, but I still need to make mock-ups and hire someone who's used to producing digital sewing patterns.

"I think," Mom said quietly, leafing through the letter, "that you won."

The letter ends like this:

Conclusion: The Panel finds that the Appellant meets the definition of "severe handicap" as is set out in the Regulation and therefore reverses the Director's decision.

Yeah. It means I won.

The benefits program will require another eight weeks to double-check my financial eligibility using information they already have, and to process my new program status to reflect an increased benefit rate and a different health insurance program.

Right now I'm really feeling this line from Komarr, by Lois McMaster Bujold: "But do you know--well, of course you could, but… the business with [throwing yourself at] the brick wall. Failure, failure was grown familiar to me. Comfortable, almost, when I stopped struggling against it. I did not know achievement was so devastating."

It felt like my whole life ended in a flaming wreck when I had to give up counselling. I lost part of who I was when I did that, and spent years telling myself I'd pull up my socks at any minute and go right back to it. But the truth is, I am not capable of doing that job as well as it needs to be done, and it's one of those jobs where you half-ass things at the peril of the vulnerable people who trust you.

And what if... the worst had happened, and I lost it all, and then in clawing my way out of the pit, trying to get purchase on absolutely any kind of survival I could, I found my way to something new and solid and real. What if it was okay after all?

I'm still having trouble believing it, but the letter keeps saying what it said.

I'm gonna go sew things, and see if it feels any more real in the morning.

[baddygab-bi]

Maybe it’s because I’m a Hawaii five-0 fan, but I can’t see Buck and Eddie as romantically written after watching Steve and Danny. I know they’re different shows, but it’s night and day even with some similarities.

(Warning for very small, vague spoilers. I’m halfway through S10 of Hawaii 5-0 so no spoilers for S10 please. Also I highly rec H50)

McDanno:

Characters always commenting on their relationship. “Mom and dad” “parents” “married”

Buddie:

2 comments on their relationship. Online stream viewers, Elf. Both in the earliest seasons for Eddie.

McDanno:

Takes care of Danny’s kids. Kisses them on the head. Tucks them into bed. Says I love you multiple times. Steve rescues Danny’s daughter from multiple highly dangerous situations and is openly distraught about it. Calls Danny’s daughter “my girl.” Brings Danny’s kid into Steve’s life, even when he’s in a relationship.

Buddie:

Takes care of Chris on fewer ~on screen~ occasions. Openly distraught when saving him on one the one occasion the show gave. Does obvi 100% love Chris and spends time with him, but it’s seen less on screen due to the nature of the show.

McDanno:

Danny calls Steve “babe”. Multiple times. An episode. Steve calls (and refers to) Danny “Danno” a family nickname.

Buddie:

Contrary to popular opinion, Buck has never called Eddie “Eds” nor do they regularly use any other cute nicknames for each other.

Mcdanno:

Treated in the show as a romantic pairing when they’re both not in relationships, and even when they are. In most episodes. In a fantasy sequence (no spoilers) they literally take pictures with a certain child and grow old together. They cuddled on the couch. They were roommates. They’ve pretended to be a gay couple. They touch each other all the freaking time: arms, shoulders, hands, lower back (it was a joke but also not), head. Have slow-ish danced together. Eat breakfast together while sitting on the counter. They’d save each other no matter what it takes. They went on a couples retreat. Couples counseling. They say I love you constantly, like once they started saying it they just kept saying it. They’ve given literal pieces of each other to the other (hard to not spoiler that so kept it vague)

Buddie:

They aren’t treated like a romantic pairing in every episode. At most they say the other always invites the other and they’ve been seen together in the end of episode wrap ups. The couch theory would’ve been a great time to dig into stuff. They’d save each other, but because of the show it’s not nearly the same level of involvement. Have never said I love you (correct me on that if I forgot). They’re treated as best friends who are clearly very much in each other’s lives, but they didn’t push the line into it being romance.

Mcdanno:

They’re literally intertwined in each other’s lives. Like financially, physically, emotionally, career-wise. We know how much they’re involved with each other even when the other isn’t there. Other characters will bring them up. They can’t have storylines without the other being involved in some way.

Buddie:

They’re in each other’s lives legally, emotionally, and career-wise. Though, they can have separate storylines that don’t involve the other.

McDanno:

Talk about the hard stuff a lot. Their lives, feelings, relationships, sex lives.

Buddie:

Talk about the hard stuff less. When there’s monumental stuff they do, but it’s rarer, but the show is also less dark and has less episodes.

Mcdanno:

Can read each other’s minds and body language in and out of work: People comment on it.

Buddie:

They can read each other. Mostly at work. Nobody ever comments beyond their good work.

McDanno:

Called each other “brother” a few times and it didn’t kill the non-platonic vibes.

Buddie:

Called each other “brother” once, and if done again, it would kill any romantic vibes.

In all:

They’re different shows. H50 has about 25 episodes a season and is a different genre of show to 911. But the relationships, the two men, divorced, kid(s), work together, is similar, though drastically different.

McDanno never went cannon. I can watch the show and see it both romantic and like an amazing bromance. It’s not a far grasp to see the romance.

Who knows about Buddie going canon, the show is still on air. But it reads like a very deep friendship, a great bromance. The romance stuff isn’t there. Do I think it could be? Yeah, but they have to put it in by choice and not leave it to interpretation. As of now? Nothing that can be 100% read as romantic.

[prettyinpwn]

Thoughts on the reveal that the Pines parents are having a rough patch in their marriage such that it became a recurring nightmare for Dipper? Do you think they divorced at the end?

Oof... yeah, that was probably the most heartbreaking part of TBOB for me, other than the awful things that happened to Ford with Bill. I personally think their parents divorced at the end. They could have done couple's counseling in private with Dipper and Mabel still there, you know? Like, "Mom and Dad are going for a date, sweethearts, your grandparents going to watch you tonight." type little lies.

But having Dipper and Mabel gone all summer is like... divorce level prep time. Divorces can take forever, speaking from my own experience having watched my own parents divorce when I was around Dipper and Mabel's age, because there's a lot of legal stuff that needs to be figured out and mediated with a judge. It also can stir up a lot of tension in a household with two people that might resent the hell out of each other, because who knows what the cause was; could have been cheating, financial issues, constant conflict, etc.

Of course, we won't know for sure until/if/when Hirsch confirms it, but I'd lean more towards divorce, given how long the twins were sent away. Plus, it'd make for a good plot conflict to use for story reasons should he decide to ever return to that world again.