#it just shouldn’t be hard to find a functional app to do this that you don’t have to pay for this is not hard to make
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i am trying to find an app to make a dumb moodboard for my ocs bc i thought it’d be fun but every single app wants me to sell my soul to put pictures in a 3x3 grid
#hi Photo Collage Maker can I ask just one sec why do you need access to my contacts#it’s either asking for all my data or charging rent to Access Premium Features like a 3x3 grid and no watermark#this is such a simple thing. why. the internet was a mistake#it just shouldn’t be hard to find a functional app to do this that you don’t have to pay for this is not hard to make#which is incidentally why the situation is so dire but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯#maybe I just comment on the post of the person who inspired this in the hopes that they have one that Isnt This. if you see this later hi <3#luke.txt
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If only you could know how much it is tearing me to pieces. I know it doesn’t change anything and I know there’s no point because the absolute terror will stay, but I do see it all. I see those muscle men pounding holes, I see the changes and the death of all that was. I’m going to trust or chose to believe that none of it is intended to hurt me. Perhaps it’s easier that way.
But the simple fact is, I wasn’t good enough. How could I have been. Look at me. Look at them. And maybe even if I was good enough at one point I’m definitely not good enough now. I can’t be virile and unafraid of fucking and sex like those men are. That’s not me anymore. I can’t consistently pound I can’t breed I can’t do anything. I’m nothing, I know I’m nothing. And I’m so, so sorry. I really am. I feel sick. I feel fear and agony pulsing through my body every second of every day. I can’t use Grindr to escape because I just see your face in every square. I can’t use Grindr or apps to escape because they just tell me how not good enough I really am.
And I guess I dunno. It doesn’t really matter anyway. I’m just venting. Nothing ever changes. Nothing will ever change. The more I think on it the worse it gets. The less I think on it the worse it gets. I either have to find a way to cope or find a way to entirely forget. And I know I can’t cope. If I could cope I wouldn’t be waking up at 3-4am every night, trembling with tears rolling down my face hearing moans and seeing tall naked muscular men holding you down. That’s why the others are able to still speak to you, because either they can manage that or they hide it really well. Or at least they get to see you still so that probably helps. I dunno. They’re different people. I can’t pretend to know them or how they function.
All I know is that I’m a broken shell of who I once was, and no it’s not getting better it’s getting worse. And I’m just glad I’m able to type it all out coherently for once instead of on the middle of a panic attack where I’m struggling to catch air.
I don’t know maybe it’s just me but any piece of media, any post online, any mention of sex or anything like that pushes my heart into my throat because that’s where you are now. And I just don’t want to think about it. But I have no choice. Sex is literally everywhere and you physically cannot escape it. And no, that’s not a good thing. Not to me anyway.
I know, I know I can never ever be those other men. The boys who have it together, who have sound minds and stable mental health. Who have realistic and stable views on relationships and sex. Who have jobs, go to the gym, are driven and independent and on top of it all can pound and satisfy. I know I can’t and haven’t ever been like them, and it hurts. It hurts and I don’t know exactly why. Because it’s just how it is.
I failed you so horribly. I think that’s one of the hardest things. I promised I’d help with all the trauma, all of that but I only made it worse. If only I could’ve been how they were and awoken this in you but I couldn’t. I failed. And I can’t tell myself anything other than it’s because I wasn’t good enough. And I’m not good enough. I’m so confused and I’m so fucking scared and I know I shouldn’t write all this out I really shouldn’t because nothing matters. How anyone feels doesn’t matter. Feelings do NOT matter. They matter so fucking much to be and perhaps that’s where I’ve failed. I need to shut them out. Kill them even. Just buckle under the harsh reality of the world and succumb.
I just always. Always wanted to be a soft and gentle memory to you. Well; I never wanted to be a memory but now that I have to be I just want to be a soft and gentle one. I shouldn’t want to be any more than that. I shouldn’t want to be “more” than Grindr or men who bulge out of their shirts or who grunt and thrust hard. All I should want to be is a warm memory. I don’t know why I want to be more than those things. When warmth and loge are all that matter to me in life. Why do I want to mean more than those other things to you? It’s fucking stupid. I’m fucking stupid. Maybe I need to start living more for pleasure and less for feelings or love. I don’t know, would that help? I have no idea. I don’t know if I can physically do that though.
And people say “there’s nothing wrong with that, with living and wanting that” but there is. It hurts. You are chewed up and spat out by the world. Constantly reminded that other things matter more and WILL always win. Those things have won every time, in my experience. Just look at social media and our culture. Yes warmth, love, all of that is spoken about but holes, cock, cum, fucking is spoken about and shown to an incomparable level. That’s why I know I’m not good enough. I am not what is truly needed or truly wanted. And furthermore I’m terrified of what IS truly wanted and needed. So of course I’ll be thrown away, locked up, shut out and cordoned off. I’m an anomaly.
God I don’t know. Well, I do, I’m mentally ill. Severely mentally ill. I sometimes wish I had a physical or visible disorder so that people could see it and be like oh okay that’s what’s going on. But no I had to get this broken mind instead. So that it appears as a flaw in my character.
I just need to hear or see that I don’t deserve to feel like this. Or if I do, I just need to see or hear that I do deserve it. I just need to hear something. I need to know that feelings love and warmth matter more than sex. At least to you. At least to those who have permanent places in my heart.
Can I please be a loving, warm, safe, good enough memory? I know that’s all I can ask for now. I can’t be sexy, or desirable, or the MAN who is needed. Can I please be that? I know I’m nothing. Unremarkable. Broken beyond repair.
Ultimately I want to feel like love, hugs, smiles, laughter, cuddles, connections and memories mean more than Grindr, dick, orgasms, hookups, moaning, and physicality. That’s an issue that will take a while to work through but it doesn’t have a specific answer. I just feel like dying because those things are just … Empty.
Please just. I don’t know. I feel chest getting tight and I’m starting to shake so this isn’t gonna make any sense anymore if I start having a panic attack.
Please please just let me know either way. If sex is it or if feelings are it or if I’m a broken memory or a warm one. I know I’m only a sometimes memory. A faded one. Especially during Grindr moments or naked legs in the air pounding one’s I’m likely gone completely. Bht I know all I can hope for is a gentle warm loving memory that pops up now and then. I’ll never be more than that ever again, I know. But: maybe at leas to want to know that I’m at least that. At least I’m something.
Please help me. Please don’t hate or resent me. Just because fucking now makes me want to die.
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THIS IS MY WORK! PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR REPOST ON OTHER SITES/APPS!!!!
Warnings: +18, smut, fingering, hand job, sex in bathroom, language, jealousy, fighting, arguing.
Y/n and Sarah sat quietly on Kie's bed as they waited for Kiara to stop degrading the lavender dress she wore while standing in her large mirror. Mrs. Carrera coming through the door to make sure the girls were all dressed. "This is disgusting."
"I know it's just horrible."
"I'm asking you guys to just relax and go to a fun party."
"I look like a bourgeoisie pig."
"I think you look beautiful," y/n said while shrugging at Kie. She just gave a smile back to her, still hating the look no matter what compliments were given.
"Will you please not worry about socioeconomic injustice for one night?"
"Mom, people not three miles from her have no power, no running water, and we're going to Midsummers."
"That's so tone deaf."
"Y/n," the mother scolded at her niece. "Do you know how hard we had to work to get into the Island club?"
"Yeah, mom. How could I forget? You had to grovel for, like, ten years--"
"Twelve years, and we also had to cough up a huge chunk of dough-"
"To keep up with the Joneses-"
"No, so you had the same experiences that I had as a child."
"But weren't parents as teens out, like partying, getting drunk, making out in the backseats of their cars at drive in movies," the cousin listed while putting her things in its bag. "Getting pregnant."
"That doesn't sound fun," Sarah added.
"Do you girls even know what the Island club is?"
"A factory farm."
"For debutantes," Y/n raised her eyebrows.
"It's a nice place, with nice people where you can do fun stuff."
"With out-of-touch rich people, while the island sinks slowly into the ocean."
"Water filling the poor's destructive lungs while the wealthy ones get away on million dollar boats."
Sarah sat quietly laughing on the comfy blanketed mattress. Mr. Cerrera sighed, saying one last thing before walking out. "Okay, I want you to put on your party face, girls, if you want to live."
"Did your mom just threaten to kill us?"
"Maybe. I think so," she nods as she turned around to the duo, fixing the flower crown that sat on her cousin's head. "You nervous to see Rafe."
"Why did you have to bring that up?"
"I was curious. I know it's only been two days, but-"
"Hey, he broke up with me. So if he wants to talk, that's in his duty. Not mine. I did nothing wrong."
Sarah got off the bed, swinging on it's pole. "Except flirt with JJ, or so he says."
"I was not...flirting with JJ. He has a crush on Kiara. I'd never."
"But Rafe doesn't know that."
°°°°
*flashback*
"What if she doesn't like it?"
"She'll love it. She's hippie."
Y/n and JJ sat on John B's porch, smoking a blunt. The girl was trying to help him do something nice for Kiara so JJ could ask her out without feeling weird. He's liked her for the longest and he was finally ready to tell her how she feels.
"Alright, now practice what you're gonna say."
Just as Y/n finished saying the statement, her own boyfriend, Rafe Cameron showed up. Standing behind them listening in.
"Okay, uh, hey I have to tell you something...uh important," the blonde began speaking, using hand gestures because of his nerves. "I really really like you. Like not like friends like, but I have feelings, uhm, strong feelings for you. Because you're like super hot, andnyou're like a really cool chick. So I was wondering if maybe you'd wanna...go out with me."
"Yes, t-"
"What the hell!"
The manly unknown voice shocked them both, their figures jumping at the sound because they thought they were alone.
"Rafe, what're you doing here?"
Y/n asked confusedly as she stood from the steps. The Kook just scoffed and walked back out. Ignoring her question. She shared a glance with JJ before going to follow after him.
"Hey! Where you going? What's wrong?"
"A pogue!? Y/n, seriously?!"
"What're you talking about?"
"You're cheating on me with a pogue?" He shouted. Y/n scrunched her eyebrows, looking at the unnecessary upset individual.
"What do you mean cheating? I'm not cheating on you. We were just talking."
"Bullshit. That's bullshit! I heard it all."
"Rafe, it's not like that. Jj was just-"
"I should've known better. I should've known," he fumed. His right foot swung to kick the dirt near his truck that he was so very close to getting into.
"Known what?"
"I should've never trusted a pogue. I knew something like this was gonna happen. You were just gonna throw me away like Sarah did, Topper. Right? Huh?"
"You sound ridiculous. I was never throwing you away. I was helping him out."
"Yeah, while you're at it. Might as well help sleep with him too."
Y/n scoffed, taking a step back from the angered boy who's brain had just functioned what he said. Part of him regretted it very much. But the other part thought you deserved it because of his cheating accusation.
He opened his vehicle door. Stepping one foot inside. "We're done."
The girl just laughed with held tears reaching for the openess. She turned around to head back inside as Rafe just drove off.
°°°°
"Hey, no tearing up today. Go to this stupid thing and show him that his little cheating accusation act didn't hurt you at all. You're stronger than that."
"Thanks, Kie."
The girls finished up their last minute touches. That includes sweeping their dresses with roller for no hair, any makeup redos, or hair finishes. The ride to the country club was quiet. Well, y/n was quiet.
This would be her first time seeing Rafe since their break up a three days ago. They've been doing everything in their mighty to avoid each other. And it definitely worked. But like her friend told her, she wasn't gonna get worked up. Letting Rafe see her weak was like telling him he was right about everything. But he wasn't.
"Jesus, Kook land."
"I forgot how packed this thing is every year."
"Well, let's go. I gotta walk out with my family."
The Cameron family walked out with their heads high and the Kook crowd cheered for each one. Y/n kept her eyes gazed to Kiara since they were in the middle of a conversation. Not caring if that family came in or not. That excludes Sarah.
Rafe watched from his spot by his dad, as they exited to outside. Breath hitched when he saw Y/n and her dress. It was a dark toned red, had tulle, and a revealing chest opening.
A red flower crown on her head, complimenting her beautiful down hair. She looked amazing and hot to Rafe. He had to clear his throat before excusing himself.
"Hey," the red dresses girl heard from beside her as a hand landed on her lower back. She removed it before her eyes retracted to theirs. Kie just pursed her lips before leaving to hangout with Sarah. Y/n internally screaming that she left her there.
"What do you want?"
"Uh, you look nice."
"Okay. Thanks. You don't too. What do you want?"
"Nothing. Just saying hi."
"Bye."
"Wait, wait, wait. Why are you mad at me? Shouldn't I be the mad one here?"
"Why?"
"Because of what you did," he said with furrowed eyebrows. Y/n shrugged.
"I didn't do anything."
"Do- do you not remember what happened on the cut three days ago? The fight."
"You slut shaming me and accusing me of cheating with JJ. That? Yeah, I remember that."
"Accused? I heard you."
"Heard what exactly?"
"JJ, was telling you he liked you and thought you were a cool hippie chick, which you are not. You're not hippie. And then he asked you out and you said yes. As soon as I walked in."
Y/n stared at him blankly. Before bursting out laughing. A few guests behind them staring with a look that showed they weren't used to loud talkers or laugher. "Oh my god. You thought? Jesus that's absolutely hilarious."
"What is?"
"That you think- you think that JJ was confessing feelings to me. Whew that's rich."
"I heard it, Y/n."
"He wasn't confessing anything to me you shit head. He was practicing for when he asked out Kiara."
Rafe was confused. Majorly. Inside and out. "But she-"
"He likes Kiara. And she's my cousin. You think I'd really hurt anyone like that? How low of me do you think? Have fun at this party."
Y/n walked off to go look for her disappeared friends. Not wanting to spend another second in a spot with someone who was so rude over something he knew nothing about. Just assumed. Never asked.
As she walked down the corridors of the porch that many people stood on drinking, a hand grabbed her shoulder, turning her around. Her eyes fixated on the blonde in a black tux and a bow tie.
"Holy shit, JJ. You scared me. What're you doing here?" She asked as she hugged him.
"Well, Sarah somehow convinced her dad to let me in tonight to hangout with Kie."
"Have you seen her?"
"I was just looking for her myself. C'mon. She's probably inside."
She grabbed his hand. Pulling him inside. They found Kie just minutes later with Pope. He was working the grill with his dad. Sarah was getting raided by Topper about their own stupid shit. Y/n decided to go get herself a drink and maybe find someone to dance with.
The straw rested on her lips as she stood against the porch railing. Gazing over all the people who say around laughing, probably bragging about their money, summer vacations, their older kids getting into a good college. Typical kook things.
Her eyes focused on a specific couple talking off to the side. Her eyes burning a whole in the back of Rafe's head as he tried to flirt up a storm with some Kook she didn't know whatsoever.
Her body was fuming. Was Rafe really gonna sit in front of her and flirt with a whole other girl that isn't her. Just a few days after their breakup. It's like he's trying to play victim. And she's had it.
"Hey, Sancho. Lassie."
The brunette Rafe was talking up a storm to laughed. "I'm sorry who are you?"
"Oh, you gonna introduce me to your side piece here?"
"Would you stop? We're just talking."
"Talking? Yeah, okay," Y/n laughed. The girl just looked at her dazed. "Hi, I'm his girlfriend. Y/n. And you, yeah you're excused."
Rafe was truly enjoying this scene. Internally rooting for Y/n. He wasn't gonna object to that fact that she called herself his girlfriend. Because now that he knew the truth, it changed his perspective.
"Who do you think you are?"
"I already told you. Wh- can you not hear correctly?"
"He said he was single so, why-"
"He lied. So, you can go away now- Rafe. Let's go. We need to talk."
"What're you his mother now?" The rando questioned. Y/n turned to her and gripped her face.
"If you wanna keep these teeth, then I suggest you stop talking. Go find somebody else's boyfriend to mack on."
She dragged Rafe by his hand into the upstairs private bathroom. Locking the door behind her. "What're you doing?"
"Just having a friendly conversation. There a problem?"
"You were flirting, Rafe. That was flirting," she paced. Hand against her for head.
"Like you're any better. You lied to me."
"I've never lied about anything."
"You said JJ liked Kiara."
"Yeah. He does."
"Then why is he holding your hand, hugging you, and leaving inside with you instead of the girl he supposedly likes," Rafe argued. Gripping onto the large counter.
"Rafe, I grabbed his hand and brought him inside to find Kiara. And I hugged him because I was happy for my friend. God, Rafe how many times do I have to tell you that I am not cheating on you."
"It's kind of hard to believe that shit when I keep seeing things with my own eyes."
"Then stop assuming and come ask me. Jesus, do you not trust me or something. Because I trust you. Anytime I hear that you're at a party doing lines with hot blonde's next to you, I brush it off because I know you'd never. Why can't you just do that for me."
Rafe stood from his seat. Pinching the bridge of nose. The guilty conscience grazed through his mind as he listened to her words. He had issues with trust and with others, but he knew it wasn't a reason to take it out on the only person who's loved him for him.
"I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry. You're right. I should trust you. Just like you trust me. I'll work on it. I promise."
"Don't promise me that. Just show me that you love me just as much."
The words clicked. He did love her. And he cared about her. More than anyone in this world. And he wanted to show her. In the most physical way possible.
"C'mere."
"Why?"
"Just c'mere," he repeated as he grabbed her by her waist, pulling her closer to him. She stumbled, but Rafe's grip kept her in place. He moved his face closer to hers, lips almost touching as they grazed against each other.
He used the hand placed on her waist to grip the fabric of her dress. Pulling it upwards. Her breath hitched as he hand snaked under the red tulle and right onto her now soaking core. His pointy finger swept across the waistband of her panties.
Y/n wasn't expecting this as the outcome from their miniature argument but she wasn't complaining. And neither was Rafe.
He pushed her underwear down as much as he could from their position, before going back to her walls and making circular motions. Rafe finally closer the space, kissing her lips practically roughly as he continued rubbing her.
He kept a firm hand on her waist to make sure she had a gripping support if he legs gave out, which they indeed will. The motions stopped as Y/n pulled her lips away from his. Rafe stared at her daring eyes, questioning if she wanted his to continue.
"Put them inside me," she whispered. The Cameron smirked before obliging to her demand. He stuck to fingers into her wet cunt. A soft moan escaped her lips as he did so. Pumping them in and out of her. Y/n rubbed her hand against the erection in his dress pants.
"You like that, yeah?"
She nodded as the locked her lips. Not being able to speak because knowing if she did, she let out a loud moan and even at this club would hear.
She unbuckled his pants, putting her handninside to grip his penis and pump it as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The hand he held to her waist was now gripped on her neck, gently. Y/n clenched around his fingers. Feeling her high come close. "Dont stop."
Rafe began pumping faster just as Y/n did so. The teens were so horny that they were both already reaching their extent. Rafe's shaft twitched in her hand. "I'm cumming."
"Do it for me."
That's all it took for Y/n to finish. And Rafe too. His liquids filling her hands as they both let out moans due to their intense actions. In one swift motion, Rafe snaked a hand around Y/n's waist turning then so she was against the counter. Her pulled the straps of her dress of her shoulders, leaving kisses as he did so before connecting his lips to hers.
Her pulled his tuxedo jacket off him. Snapping the bowtie off as well. Y/n moaned at the tluchnof his hands on her breast. Massaging them in his hands over the fabric of her strapless bra.
Y/n unbuttoned the spots on his shirt before pulling it off his shoulders and onto the floor. Rafe stop his gripping motions and pulled down his pants and boxers. He sat her up on the counter. Her bare ass connecting to the coldness of the marble designed setting.
Rafe rubbed his tip against her fold once or twice before pushing himself into her. Not giving a warning, but Y/n loved the suddeness. Y/n let a moan into his next as he began thrusting his hips. The girl gripping her black painted nails into his back.
Rafe's eyes rolled to the back of his head. Enjoying the feelings of Y/n's cunt wrapped around him.
"You like that?"
"Yes, god yes."
Y/n sat up, wrapping her arms around his neck. Each moan and huff she exposed in his earn make his whole body shiver. Rafe let out a grunt before answering. She clenched her walls around his dick. The dirty blonde groaned slamming into her body. "Do it again."
She did so. Clenching around around the boy as he slammed into her again. This time, hitting the spot that made her whole body go insane. "Tell me I'm yours."
"You're mine."
A moan escaped her lips after he said what she had wanted. Her hand smacked down onto the edge of the sinks counter. Grilling onto it for dear life. "Tell me it again."
The feeling of her finishing was fastly approaching. As well as for Rafe. The moans she let out made his go over the edge as he fucked her hard. "Tell me, Rafe."
"You're fucking mine, ah-"
Each of them let out a loud moan as they finished. Covering each others mouths. There shouldn't be anyone upstairs but for precautions they covered either way.
Rafe's head fell forward onto her chest. Taking large breaths as y/n did too. "Shit, y/n."
The Cameron pulled out of her. Helping her get redressed and cleaned just after he did himself.
"You're still on the pill right?" He asked as he zipped his pants.
"Yeah. It's fine," she smiled up at his 6'4 figure. Rafe reached down to kiss her passionately.
"I love you, Y/n."
"I love you, too."
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One Million | Tom Holland Smut
summary ↠ you’re not one to shy away from competition, so when your co-star Tom approaches you with an opportunity to secure the ultimate bragging rights, you aren’t afraid to play a little dirty... ↠ famous!y/n x tom.
word count ↠ 4.3k
warnings ↠ mxf protected sex, oral (fem receiving), fingering, swearing, fluffy feels.
a/n ↠ this took a very soft turn, but I’m not mad about it tbh. it’s definitely inspired by that thirst trap photo that Tom posted the other day. does that man ever chill??? for frame of reference, Tom currently has 35.4 million followers on Instagram, which is...insane lmao. I guess this is kind of similar to my last Tom fic, but I’m really digging famous!y/n, so I wrote it anyway and I’m really happy with how it turned out! I hope you enjoyyyy :)
18+ !!!! this contains NSFW material, so do not read if you are a minor.
“Y’know, Y/N, I think my fans love me more than yours love you.”
Your eyes widen as you take in the bold statement. With a grin rising on your face, you glance up and across the sofa, your gaze drawn immediately to Tom. Your co-star has a cocky smirk fixed to his lips, and he raises an eyebrow defiantly as he meets your eyes.
“As if,” you scoff. You sit up straighter and stretch out your back, glaring slightly at him. “My fans love me. That’s why I’ve got more followers than you on Instagram.”
“Low blow.” Tom isn’t looking so cocky now, as he draws his arms across his chest and pouts at you. You try not to stare at the way his tight black t-shirt clings to the bulge of his arms, but it’s quite difficult: Tom is incredibly attractive. “Plus, that’s barely even true. What are you at? Like, 37 million?”
You delight as you tilt your phone screen towards him, his brown eyes widening in shock as you exclaim, triumphantly, “40!”
Never one to accept defeat so easily, Tom reaches up and wraps his hand around your wrist, his touch keeping your phone in place as he brings his index finger up and begins to scroll through your feed, greedy eyes skimming over the numbers. You stay still, trying not to think about how nice it feels to have him gripping at your skin so tightly.
“Well, I get more likes than you,” he finally resolves, his words significantly weaker than they’d been previously. When you raise an eyebrow at him, he shrugs. “I do!”
“No, you don’t.” Disliking the way he seems cocky now, you shuffle up the sofa. The cushions are firm and slightly uncomfortable, but that’s what you get when you’re crammed inside a trailer on a film set. You’re just glad Tom had suggested you spend your lunch break together in his trailer rather than yours -- his, at least, has a working lock on the door and a functioning mini-fridge. “Give me that.”
He passes you his phone, and you fall to a stop when you’re sitting right beside him, your thighs now pressing together. Your teeth catch at your lower lip as you begin to scroll through Tom’s profile, your irritation slowly rising as you realise that he’s right: he does tend to gather more likes on his posts than you do.
“Shit,” you mutter defeatedly. You pass him back his phone and lean back, stretching your arms above your head as you groan softly. You can feel him, looking at you with those warm, brown eyes, his stare taking in the curves of your chest and the way you know your nipples strain against the fabric of your white t-shirt, so you make a poised effort to jut your front out just a little further than is truly necessary. When you bring your arms back down to your sides, his eyes find yours, and the way his pupils are blown a little wider brings a smirk to your face. You’d be lying if you said you viewed Tom only as a co-star, or even as just a friend: really, there’s been this palpable, will-they-won’t-they air surrounding the two of you ever since that first day on set. The timing’s never quite been right, but as your gaze shifts between his handsome, seductive grin and his phone, you have a feeling that things may change sooner than you’d imagined.
“How about we settle this, once and for all,” Tom suggests, his words slow as he thinks. His eyebrows pull together as he picks his phone up and presses the small plus button at the bottom of the app, creating a new post. “We have a little competition, right here, right now. Whoever wins gets supreme bragging rights.”
“And what exactly do you have in mind?”
Tom’s tongue slips across his lower lip, wettening it torturously slowly and his firm gaze settles on your mouth for a quick moment, his lips pulling into a slow smirk as he takes in the way you fluster beneath his gaze. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
“We both post something, together, at the same time. Whoever gets to a million likes first, wins,” he explains.
“And I can post anything?”
“Anything you’d like, love.”
Your eyes narrow as the cogs begin the twirl in your mind. “And when I win..?”
“If you win, darling, I’ll let you rub it in my face as much as you’d like.”
You hum slowly, letting one of your hands fall to Tom’s covered thigh. You feel his muscles flex beneath your touch, and it makes your thoughts darken. “Let’s raise the stakes,” you suggest, “If you really believe in your popularity, that shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
A semblance of hesitation twitches out across his face, but Tom nods nonetheless. “What do you want?”
You let your hand go for a little wander, the tips of your fingers circling up to his knee. You tap a small rhythm over his jeans as you string your words together, doing your best to sound as innocent as possible as you say, “Winner takes all.”
“Winner...takes all?”
“If you win, I’ll let you do anything you want to me.”
Tom’s quiet for a moment, and the silence that envelopes you is charged with the past few weeks of lingering touches, suggestive stares, and building sexual tension. When you drag your eyes from Tom’s knee to his face, you find his cheeks tinted a light rosy red and his forehead pulled tight. His eyes narrow as he looks at you, but then one of his arms moves and wraps around your back, and he’s bringing you in closer. You lean into the touch and find yourself swinging a leg over his thighs, your body shifting in closer as you straddle him. He’s hot and firm beneath you, and you find yourself sinking into his thighs easily.
“And if you win?” Tom continues, both of his hands now resting on the curve of your waist. His fingers are light, teasing, and you try not to think about them as he drags his touch down to toy with the hem of your shirt.
You let your lips brush up against the shell of his ear as you move closer, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. His cologne is strong and distracting and a sense of lust pushes aside all other logical emotions. “If I win,” you say, whispering into his ear, “I get to do whatever I want to you.” You brush your mouth, feather-light, across the column of his neck, barely leaving a kiss to his skin.
When you move back, Tom’s face is flushed significantly darker. He tilts his head to the side, his loose curls flopping over his forehead, and he looks so fucking attractive that it’s hard to keep your mind focused when all you can think about is how lovely his head would look, buried between your thighs, or how nice it would sound to hear his deep grunts as he fucks you.
“You’re on.”
You sit back in his lap as you force your attention back to your phone, ignoring the way your body is slowly rising in temperature. You know exactly what you need to post in order to win, and luckily, you already have the shots edited and saved as a draft; you’d been prepared to post them last night but something had told you to hold back, and now that’s going to play to your advantage.
“I’m gonna win,” you tell him confidently. “There’s no way you’ll be able to beat me. May as well just throw in the towel now, Holland.”
Tom just hums in response, his eyes fixed firmly to his screen. “We’ll see about that,” he counters. “Are you ready?”
“Not gonna let me see?” You ask, taking stock of the way he’s purposefully angling his phone so you can’t get a sneaky peek.
“Nope.” His tone is infuriating and the way his eyes twinkle mischievously makes you doubt, for the first time, your ability to win this bet. “Don’t want you getting any big ideas and beating me.”
“Fine,” you grumble. You move your thumb to hover over the post button, eyeing him sceptically. “3.”
“2.”
“1.”
In sync, you press post, watching as Tom does the same. You watch as it takes a moment to load, and then it pops up into the top of your feed. You grin as you refresh, and you see Tom’s post slip up. You can’t help but sigh wistfully as your eyes take in his photo.
It’s so obviously a thirst trap, but fucking hell, you don’t care. He looks glorious. You forget for a moment that you’re straddling the man as you pinch your fingers together and zoom in on the photo, your eager eyes taking in the lines of Tom's sweaty, post-workout body. He’s posing in a mirror, the lighting all dark and mysterious, but the lines of his hard, exercised abs are clear, and his face looks so goddamn sexy pulled into an intense smirk that it makes your panties wet.
“Holy shit,” Tom says. You shake yourself out of your blissed-out thoughts and look up to him, finding him staring at his phone, looking at your post. Your lips quirk into a small smirk as you watch him swallow deeply, his lower lip pulling into his mouth as his eyes examine your photo unabashedly. “When did you become a Calvin Klein model?”
You shrug lightly. “Had a shoot a few weeks back,” you say. “I think the photos turned out quite well, don’t you?”
You know the photos are bomb. The air on set had been electric, the photographer had been a creative visionary, and you’d felt unbelievably alive the entire time you’d been posing. The branded underwear and bralette clung to your body in just the right way, and for the first time in a long time, you'd felt radiant. The photos capture that completely, and you know that you've probably played dirty - because who can resist a thirst trap? - but you can't bring yourself to feel guilty because Tom's done the same thing.
He doesn’t give you an answer verbally. Rather, Tom takes one final look at the screen, curses beneath his breath, then tosses his phone aside and pulls you closer. Your centre settles over his crotch and you find yourself raising an eyebrow as you feel his hard cock straining up against his jeans. His hand finds your face, fingers grasping at your chin, and you let him tilt your head towards him, eyes dark and heady. His mouth is close now, his breath warm and smelling of peppermint and lavender, and the temptation to dive right into kissing him is almost overwhelming, but instead, you decide to tease him a little bit.
With a slight smirk on your face, you move in, allowing yourself to grind against his covered crotch as you let your lips kiss at the corner of his mouth. Tom groans softly, the noise rattling straight through your chest and sending excitement rushing between your legs, but you reach up and curl your fingers through his hair, and delight as you continue to kiss around his face, your pecks light, always avoiding where you know he aches to feel you. He lasts a few minutes, his eyes fluttering shut as he allows you to tease him, but as you drop your mouth to his jaw and start to nibble at the sensitive skin there, Tom pushes you away.
“Such a fucking tease, love,” he murmurs, voice dark. One of his hands slips up beneath your t-shirt, skating over the curve of your back. “No bra?”
You give him a slight shrug. “No need,” you say. “You know, you’ve probably just made a million people horny, just from that one picture.” You pause as Tom’s hand skims around to the front of your body, gently, delicately shifting up to cup one of your boobs. A soft hiss passes through your lips as he drags his thumb across your nipple, his touch firm. “You’re quite the specimen, Holland.”
“Could say the same about you, love,” he returns, bringing his second hand beneath your top. He explores your front, and your body responds naturally as you push nearer to him, craving more of his touch. “Better check the likes.”
“Don’t move,” you ask him, ignoring the way his smirk drips with confidence at the words as he continues to play with your breasts. You reach down and pluck up your phone, opening up Instagram and moving to your profile. A loose chuckle falls past your lips. “I’m at 1.2 million,” you brag.
Tom growls. “What about mine?”
Your smirk is quickly wiped from your face as you find your way to Tom’s profile. “It also has 1.2 million.” You keep refreshing each post, but the numbers are moving too quickly for an outright winner to emerge. “I think we’ve tied,” you’re forced to admit.
Tom’s mouth finds your neck, and he delights in dragging his lips up and over your sensitive skin, kissing softly, deeply, tenderly, letting his teeth occasionally drag over you as you whimper. He makes his way up to your ear, his tongue swirling around your ear lobe, and you have to stifle a moan as he whispers, “guess that means we’re both winners,” in that delicious, husky voice. “C’mere.”
He finally catches your lips in his, his mouth moving fiercely against yours as you return your fingers to his hair. He groans as you pull on his strands, bringing him nearer, kissing him back just as hungrily. Your mind lingers on that image he’d posted, of himself all hot and defined and sweaty, and it brings the heat between your legs to the forefront of your mind as you start to imagine what it’ll be like to see the thing in real life.
His kisses are needy and messy - a collision of teeth and tongue, but you part your lips and you let him push his tongue into your mouth, his hands clinging to your front. As his thumbs skim around your nipples, you grind down against him, every part of you on fire as you let Tom consume you.
“Is the door locked?” You ask between hot kisses.
“Fuck,” he says as he breaks away, angling his head back to look at the rickety trailer door. “No.”
With a reluctant sigh, you catch his lips in a long, hard kiss, and then break away. You’re a little unsteady on your feet as you stagger up, your chest feeling a chill as Tom’s large hands fall away from your skin. You can feel his eyes on your ass as you quickly go to the door and turn the lock, breathing out a sigh of relief as you realise that’s it: no more distractions, only Tom, and you, and hopefully, a fuck so good it rocks your world.
When you turn around, you see that Tom’s moved. He’s ditched the squeaky old sofa in exchange for the small double bed that’s hidden in the corner of the trailer, and he’s laying across it, waggling his eyebrows seductively. You giggle as you approach him, your eyes skating over his bare chest, and you appreciate that he’s taken the time to pull off his top and jeans, and you scramble to do the same.
“If it’s a tie,” Tom mumbles, as he wraps you in his arms and presses you down into the mattress. His arms go either side of your head, his eyes skating across your naked chest. “I think it’s only fair we each get something that we want.”
You let your hand wander down his body, your fingers curving over his abs before grasping at his length over his boxers. The groan that rumbles up his throat makes you catch your lower lip between your teeth. “Seems fair,” you concede, a smirk lilting at your lips as he grinds down against your hand, pushing his aching member further into your touch.
“What do you want me to do?” He asks you.
You kiss him a few times as you ponder his question. There are about a thousand things you’d like Tom to do to you.
“Might be nice if you ate me out,” you say finally. The man raises a ruffled eyebrow as he slides down your body, grinning. His fingers push into the soft flesh of your inner thighs as he spreads them apart, face level with your hot core. A shy smile on his face, he maintains eye contact with you as he presses a gentle, dry kiss to your covered clit. “Fuck, Tom.”
He’s a tease. For a while, he seems to enjoy kissing everywhere but your centre, always lingering just over or beside your silk panties. By the time he hooks his fingers beneath the waistband and tugs them down your legs, you’re throbbing and wet, and you’re so sensitive that you’re thrusting down to meet him the second you feel his tongue dragging through your slit.
“Taste so good,” he coos, voice muffled by your heat. He wraps his arms around your thighs and holds you in place as the wide, flat expanse of his tongue leaves bold stripes up your centre, exploring and poking at your slick folds. He’s attentive — keeps an eye on you and notes the way you respond as he does certain things, and within no time at all, he’s got you moaning and squirming. The sensation of his tongue as it firms and slips into your aching hole, or as it sucks and flicks around your clit is sensational, and the fact that it’s Tom makes it a thousand times better.
“Shit, Tom, you- fuck, you feel so good.” Your hands twist around his curls, finding relief as you tug at his strands whenever his tongue caresses you particularly strongly. “You’re gonna make me cum.”
Your words seem to spur him on, and as you make brief eye contact with him and see your juices soaking his chin, you realise that’s exactly what he wants. Tom slips two fingers into your flushed entrance and coaxes up against your back wall, fucking you roughly as his tongue continues to twist around your clit.
“Cum for me, love,” he urges, speaking against your slit. “Want to watch you fall apart for me, gorgeous girl.”
You’re seeing stars before you know it, your legs tensing and your mouth falling open as you cry out, Tom’s fingers and tongue working you through it. He makes out with your heat like there’s no tomorrow, the obscene sounds mixing with the way his fingers twist and thrust, and it’s got to be one of the best orgasms of your life because you’re still shaking from the aftershocks even as he’s pulled his fingers from your cunt and pushed them into his mouth. His eye contact is unwavering as he licks his fingers clean, a dirty twinkle dancing in his eye.
“Fuck,” is all you can muster, your chest still heaving. Tom falls to rest beside you, and you’re quick to turn and move up to straddle him, enjoying the view of his flushed body as you grind your soaked centre over his boxers. “I guess it’s time that I return the favour, Tom. What would you like me to do?”
You run your fingers over the grooves of Tom’s muscular abdomen, admiring the lines of his abs as his hands wander your sides, drawing up to find your boobs again. You raise an eyebrow and draw a lovely, rattling chuckle from his mouth.
“Sorry, love, can't help myself.” He rolls your nipples between his fingers teasingly, smirking as you whimper. “There are so many things I’d like you to do…” One hand moves and he cups the back of your head to pull you in. Your lips connect in a deep kiss and you shift against him, his muffled moan sinking into your mouth as he bucks up against you. “I think I’d like you to ride me.”
“You think?”
Tom moves his hands to the curve of your bare ass and he squeezes softly over your skin, nudging the line of his strong cock further into your slit. “Y/N,” he says, eyes flooding with heat as you teasingly rock down against him, “I need to feel you. Been waiting- fuck, been thinking about you on top of me for months.”
You reach down and pull his boxers down his legs, returning to settle in his lap with a smirk on your face. “Who am I to deny that?” You ask, voice sultry. “Condom?”
Tom reaches out and rummages through a nearby drawer, procuring a silver packet with a grin.
“You fuck a lot of people in this bed, Tom?”
He splutters, and you feel bad for a moment, until he says boldly, “Not been with anyone since I met you.”
You raise an eyebrow, ignoring the way it makes your heart beat a little faster in your chest to hear those words. “Me neither,” you admit. Then you take the condom wrapper from his hand and rip it open, and the mood shifts as you wrap your hand around his length and give him a few pumps, Tom groaning deliciously in response. Once he’s full and hard, you pinch the tip of the condom and roll it down his length, settling yourself over him a moment later. You grind down for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of his rock hard tip rubbing over your clit.
“Please, love.”
You see the desperation on Tom’s face and quell it with a long kiss. Your hand guides his length between your legs and you sit back on him slowly, moaning into his mouth as he fills you up completely. Your lips separate, and for an aching moment, your foreheads are pressed together, and there’s an air of unspoken silence hanging between you as you get a little lost in his deep brown eyes. You swallow deeply, the emotions stirring in your heart making you nervous, so you quickly kiss him again, and then his hands are on your waist and he’s guiding you along.
It’s electric. As your bodies connect and you gradually begin to move faster together, you find yourself getting lost in it. You drag your lips over Tom’s necks and collarbones, kissing him and sucking lightly, and enjoying the quiet whimpers that fall from his pink lips. His hands explore you, grabbing at your ass, or your boobs, before one of them settles permanently between your legs and toys with your clit. His fingers work magic as his hips jut up to meet yours, the combination of your movements allowing his cock to hit nice and deep inside you.
You wonder why it’s taken you so long to do this with him. Tom’s eyes watch you intently, notes of adoration mixing with his obvious arousal. At some point, his free hand stretches out and tangles with yours, and then your intertwined fingers fall to the mattress and you find his lips with yours as you begin to build towards your high. His grip on your hand keeps you anchored, even as you begin to get lost in the hazy pleasure of it all, his body twitching slightly as your walls start to squeeze him.
“G’nna cum,” you manage, voice thick. Your clit pulses beneath his fingers. “Fuck, Tom, you feel so good in me. Love your cock.”
He kisses you harshly, but it fades to a softer kiss as you hold your mouth against him. “Let go, baby,” he urges, “‘m close too. Want to feel you, darling.”
It’s the way he grinds down to meet your bounce as his fingers rub your slick clit that has your breath hitching and your orgasm rippling across you. You don’t even try to stay quiet as you rock against him, his length brushing over your walls perfectly, and his face screws into a picture of orgasmic bliss as he cums with a splutter, his grip on your hand tightening as a string of curses fall past his lips.
A deep breath escapes you when you collapse beside Tom, your body blissed out and tingling warmly. A smile springs across your face as he brings your joined hands to his mouth, kissing over your knuckles softly. It’s so gentle and loving that you find yourself looking at Tom a little differently, his lips now appearing alluring and inviting, and the shaggy curls resting across his forehead endearing. You inch closer to him subconsciously, and one of his arms wraps around your shoulders to keep you against him.
“So,” he says, voice a little uncertain, lacking that normal charismatic charm. “That was…”
“Life-changing,” you suggest, punctuating it with a light laugh.
Tom nods, large hand shifting over your bare back. “You could say that.” His eyes focus on your lips for a moment, before he moves in and lets his mouth press across your forehead. “Would you want to… go on a date with me, sometime?”
You draw your lower lip between your teeth as you nod bashfully, finally allowing yourself to feel the butterflies that twinkle in your heart every time you see him.
“I’d really like that,” you admit. You press a kiss to the top of his shoulder before snuggling down, wrapping your arms around his warm chest as he holds you near. “I’d say this was a pretty good outcome to our bet, wouldn’t you?”
Tom chuckles. “Yeah,” he says. “I’d say we’re both winners.”
He kisses your temple, lips soft, and you know that he’s right: you feel like the luckiest woman in the world, to be held in his arms like this, to have felt him so intimately, to have his heart held in your hands, even if you don’t quite know it yet.
“Definitely,” you agree. “I couldn’t think of a better prize.”
And he kisses you then, mouth meeting yours in a slow burn of new love, and you know that he agrees with you wholeheartedly.
#tom holland#tom holland smut#tom holland x reader#tom holland x y/n#tom holland oneshot#i...would like to be tom’s co star thanks#y/n#y/n use#self insert#self-insert#famous!reader#costar!reader#smut
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Forgetting Enemies, Rediscovering Friends - Ch. 1
AO3
Thanks to @khanofallorcs for betaing! Set in @buggachat Bakery Enemies AU, before the wine arc.
The morning had started off fine. Marinette had been working on a new design to showcase her talents. A black dress with green trim—great for any occasion.
(Only the most keen-eyed observers would find the small paw print embroidered on the inside of one of the sleeves)
Adrien was hard at work in the kitchen, as usual. Probably plotting how best to steal the Miracle Box, or make her meet the same fate as his mother or—or some other nefarious end. Yes. He must be. No one could be THAT nice, not after everything he went through. It had to be fake.
*beep beep*
Marinette blinked. Her stomach twisted. “The Akuma Alert app? But it can’t be- unless-”
A video popped up, showing the new threat.
“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news! Past Pirate has made the trip from the U.S. all the way to our fair city of Paris. With Ladybug and Chat Noir still missing, we can only hope that other superheroes arrive soon, before everyone in the city forgets who they are.”
Ah.
Not an akuma or sentimonster, then. Just a random supervillain that thought the absence of Miraculous wielders made Paris an easy target.
Somehow that didn’t make her feel better. At least if it was a sentimonster, she might’ve been able to catch Adrien in the act, prove that he was evil, and recover the lost Miraculous. This- this she could do nothing about.
She was useless.
*beep beep*
A text warning popped up, issuing an evacuation order. A giant orb had been spotted near Collège Françoise Dupont, one that looked very, very similar to the one Oblivio had threatened the city with, all those years ago.
Marinette suspected it served the same function.
She needed to get out of there, NOW.
Her parents were out at dinner on the other side of the city, so hopefully they’d be safe?
The only ones here were her and-
Oooooh crap.
Her and ADRIEN.
...He’d be fine on his own. Right? He got to work every morning after all. He could evacuate on his own.
But his apartment had to be close by, close enough that it’d be in the evacuation order, too. He’d have to go to some public place for cover.
During a supervillain attack.
With a lot of people scared and worried and having flashbacks to what his father did.
...and with him having one of the most recognizable faces in Paris.
Crap.
She was gonna have to take him with her, wasn’t she?
She hurried downstairs. Adrien was already putting on his coat, getting ready to run out the door.
“Wait!”
He froze. An instant later, he turned around. “Marinette? You’ve gotta get out of here, the supervillain-”
She nodded. “I know, come with me.”
He blinked. “Are— are you sure? You don’t need to put up with me just because we’re both heading out, I can go a different direction if it’s more comfortable for you.” His voice dropped. “I know you probably have some trauma associated with what my father did and this situation isn’t helping.”
Why did Adrien have to be so unfailingly nice?!
Marinette shook her head. “My parents would be devastated if something happened to you and I- I don’t want you hurt, either,” she got out in a rush. “I don’t want you out there alone.”
Adrien stared at her, startled. His eyes softened. “Thank you, Marinette.”
Her face heated up. “Po Noblem!” She shook her head. “I—I mean, no problem! Anyone would do it.”
He shook his head. She didn’t have time to think about that before she grabbed his hand, running out the door.
And into a purple beam blast.
-------
Blinking rapidly, he looked around.
He appeared to be on a street… somewhere and—
A purple blast hit a few feet away from his head.
Right. Get out of here first, figure out what was going on second. Maybe he’d find someone else someplace AWAY from the scary light blasts.
He attempted to run down the street and away from whatever the purple blast thing was.
“WAAAAH!”
Attempt at running: failed. Attempt at finding someone else: success!
He winced. “Sorry I dragged you down. Didn’t realize I was holding your hand.”
The girl nodded, eyes wide, still on top of him where she landed. “What’s going on? Who are you?” Her breath caught. “Who am I?”
“I… have no idea.” He admitted. “I don’t remember anything before a minute ago.”
Another purple blast fired. He flinched. “I don’t think sticking around here is a good idea. Let’s get somewhere a little safer first, THEN try to figure out who we are.”
She nodded, getting up and pulling him to his feet. She didn’t let go of his hand. “This way?” she asked, pointing away from where the blast had fired from, down the street the direction he’d tried to run.
He nodded.
They booked it, running in unison, automatically adjusting their gait to exactly match their companion’s.
After they’d gotten some distance away, they slowed down, huffing and puffing from the exertion.
“You think that’s far enough?” the girl asked.
He shrugged.
She started digging through her purse. He blinked, tilting his head. “What’re you looking for?”
She didn’t look up, sticking her tongue out the side of her teeth, appearing to concentrate even harder.
It was adorable.
Huh?
Well, he HAD been holding her hand when he woke up…
“This!” she said triumphantly, holding up her ID card.
He shelved his previous line of thought. For now, at least.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Nice to run into you, Marinette!”
She giggled. “I enjoyed falling for you too, uh…”
His face heated up. “Let me check.”
After looking through a few of his coat pockets (one of which held some cheese. Did he normally like the gooey food that much? It didn’t look that appetizing to him right now) he at last located his own ID. “Adrien Agreste.”
“You have anything else that’s useful?” Marinette asked.
“Let’s see…”
After emptying out his pockets, he concluded he had his phone, ID, that piece of Camembert, a debit and credit card, and 70 Euros.
“Well, at least we’re not memoryless AND broke,” Marinette commented.
“What about you?” he asked.
“Well…”
She proceeded to pull out several cookies, a sewing kit, a first aid kit, duct tape, an umbrella, a few items that he felt he should recognize that Marinette hastily stuck back in her purse, saying they weren’t relevant to this situation, and a small black box with an intricate red design on the top, as well as her phone and wallet.
Adrien looked critically at the mass of items. “I don’t think all that should be able to fit in that tiny purse.”
Marinette looked at the objects she had pulled out. Then looked at her purse. Her brow furrowed. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Especially that umbrella. Doesn’t matter how I put that in, it shouldn’t fit. Plus that box- that wasn’t there when I first started rooting through my purse, I’m sure of it!”
He tilted his head. “It wasn’t?”
“I’d shoved everything around a few times,” she explained, “trying to see to the bottom of it. The first few times I didn’t see it, though there WAS some black fabric in the way - that was the umbrella - and once I pulled the umbrella up, well, there it was, lying beneath it.”
“Anything inside it?”
Marinette opened it.
“Nothing,” she said, disappointed. “Just two indentations where something used to be.”
Adrien peered at Marinette. “Maybe it’s the casing for your earrings?”
She startled. “My earrings?”
Reaching up a hand, she felt her ears. “Maybe? Let me see.”
Taking them off, she set them in the box. They fit perfectly.
They also looked different.
“Spotted earrings?” he wondered. “They didn’t look like that before.”
Marinette blinked. “They didn’t?”
He shook his head. “They were black before, not red with black spots.”
“Maybe the lighting just made them look weird?”
“Maybe…”
He looked more critically at Marinette’s ears. “Wait. Something’s weird here, too.”
“Here?”
“With your ears.”
“What’s wrong with my ears?!” she said, sounding on the edge of panic.
“Feel where the earrings were, where you took them out of.”
She shot him a puzzled look, but complied, feeling her lobe, then her entire ear. “Where were they?” she wondered. “I can’t find the holes.”
“Exactly. I can’t see them either.”
“Hold on, let me try something,” she said.
Picking up the earrings, she put them back. “Oh that is WEIRD.”
“How’d you do that?” Adrien asked. He still hadn’t seen the holes she was using, not until the earrings were in again.
“I just let my muscle memory do the talking. I wasn’t threading them through a hole or anything, I just stuck them where I felt like they should go and then— then they were there.”
“They’re back to looking black, too,” Adrien said, squinting.
“Wonder whether your earrings are the same?” Marinette said, looking at him - or rather, at his ears.
Adrien felt his ears, his fingers hitting metal. “Huh. Didn’t know I was wearing them, too. Let’s give it a try.”
He wasn’t quite as fast at removing them as she was, needing a moment to unhook and align them so they’d slide out smoothly. He held them out to her. “Did their look change?”
She shook her head. “No, they still look the same.” Looking closer at his ears, she noted, “I can see the holes left behind, too. I don’t think your earrings have the same weird properties as mine.”
“A purse that can hold more than it should, earrings that change color and leave no mark— maybe it’s magic?” Adrien wondered.
Marinette opened her mouth, looking somewhat indignant - then closed it. “I… can’t come up with a better explanation. Don’t know why I’d have some magical objects, though.”
“Maybe you’re a witch?”
“Do those even exist?”
“No idea.”
“It doesn’t feel like the right term. These are just magical objects, right?” she said. “I might not have any magical powers myself.”
“You think anything else has magical properties?” he asked.
“Let’s see…”
After messing about with the duct tape, wallet, and umbrella for awhile, they concluded that, if they had magic, they were keeping it well-concealed. Unless “closing unexpectedly” was the umbrella’s magical power.
“Any of your things secretly magic?” she asked him. “We checked your earrings, but what about everything else?”
He tried stuffing things into his coat pockets, but they only held as much as one would expect them to. The wallets didn’t have anything special, and the only thing ‘magical’ about the cheese was how much it stank outside of its plastic baggie.
As he was putting it back in the bag (trying not to gag), he glanced at his hand, noticing a silver ring.
Figuring he might as well, he slid it off.
Light ran over it, turning it from silver to black, with a green pawprint on its face.
“You have one, too!” Marinette cried happily.
He nodded, feeling a warmth in his core. Whatever was going on, he was the same as her. “Guess I’ve got magic, too.”
“Think they do anything except change color?” Marinette asked.
Adrien shook the ring for a minute. “If it does, I have no idea how to activate it,” he concluded.
“Let’s move onto our phones, then,” Marinette said, turning hers on. A lockscreen popped up.
She hesitated for a moment as Adrien winced. “That suc-”
Marinette smiled deviously. “Not so fast.” She breathed on it, showing the most common pathways her finger traveled. Swiftly she followed the path, unlocking her phone.
Adrien’s heart went pitter-patter. “Brilliant!” he told her, copying her idea and unlocking his own phone.
“I don’t have a lot of contacts,” he told her, turning it to face her. “Only four people.”
G, Chloé Bourgeois, Sabine Cheng, and Tom Dupain. That was it. “You’re not even in here,” he told Marinette. “Though I’m guessing Sabine and Tom are your parents, at least?”
She scrolled through her own contact list. It was far more extensive than his, easily over a hundred contacts. “Yeah, they are,” she said, comparing the picture for ‘Maman’ with the one Adrien used for Sabine, and the one she used for ‘Papa’ to the one he used for Tom.
“Maybe we should call them?” he suggested. “Especially since they know both of us. Maybe they can help!”
She nodded, clicking on the Call button for Maman.
“Hello?” she asked, sounding nervous.
“Marinette? Are you okay? Is Adrien with you? I hadn’t checked my phone until just now, I had it on silent. You’ve evacuated from the bakery, right? Without Ladybug around to fix everything, who knows when everyone hit by Past Pirate will recover their memories!”
“I’m— well I’m mostly fine, Maman, I got away from the purple blasts. I’m guessing those were from Past Pirate? Adrien and I lost our memories, though. What should we do?”
“Oh. Oh NO.” Sabine sounded horrified. “That’s very, very dangerous, especially for Adrien.”
“Why is it dangerous for me?” he asked.
“Oh, Adrien! Glad to hear from you,” Sabine said, relieved. She hesitated, appearing to choose her words carefully. “Your father—he did some very bad things. Things that people blame you for, despite having no part in them. You’re very recognizable, too. If people see you, they could react badly.”
“People blame Adrien for what his father did? That’s terrible! Why would they do that?” Marinette said, flabbergasted.
Sabine suddenly sounded very awkward. “Well, dear, sometimes people have trauma and it just latches onto innocent people, even when it’s undeserved. They’re wrong, but I wouldn’t judge them too harshly.”
Marinette still looked indignant. “That doesn’t excuse treating him badly!”
Sabine coughed. “Yes. Well. Just be careful. Maybe try to find a disguise for Adrien if you can, before wandering into public areas? Until you’re back home and this crisis is abated.”
Marinette muttered quietly, “He shouldn’t HAVE to.” More loudly, she told Sabine. “Yes, Maman. I have everything I need for that.”
Adrien could practically feel Sabine beaming through the phone. “You’re always prepared, aren’t you?”
Marinette smiled. “Hopefully I’ll see you soon, with my memory intact.”
Stowing her phone, she reached for her sewing kit. “One disguise, coming right up!”
#forgetting enemies rediscovering friends#bakery enemies au#ml fanfic#Miraculous ladybug#adrien agreste#marinette dupain cheng#adrienette
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first love (m)
genre : fluff, angst, light smut
pairing : kim seokjin x reader (f)
word count : 4.6k
warnings/content : mentions of sexual intercourse, mature language, infidelity, separated parents, unresolved past relationship, dad!seokjin, mom!reader
Seokjin doesn't mean to overreact. He knows he shouldn't. Knows you hate it. Knows, because he's been told enough times, that these types of reactions are unnecessary and possibly harmful for a child.
He can't really help it when deep down he knows he was meant to be an actor. Right before his actual birthday, his mother had dreamt of giving birth on a theatre stage, for God's sake.
But his father wasn't into it, given his ambitions, his own growing company and all the promising opportunities he envisioned both for him and for his only son. Therefore Seokjin went to law school, graduated with excellent mentions, followed an accelerated program in business development and managing and joined his father exactly where he was expected.
He isn't exactly complaining.
He likes his job, most of the time, likes the money and luxury that come with it especially and appreciates the work safety.
Now, you can't blame him for being quite the drama queen in his everyday life. All that pent up, buried alive passion for the arts of acting need to express, somehow.
That's what he'd say to you when you used to yell at him for starting weeping loudly in your ear when he'd call you to cancel a date last minute because he couldn't come, instead of just, cancelling it, aplogize, get over it like a normal person.
Or when you'd kick him in the ribs because he'd be all wild gestures and screeching screams when he'd teach your son to ride a bike and he would fall, as he should to learn, making the boy cry even when he wasn't hurt, solely from the projection of his dad's fear.
You're not here to tell him yourself but the glazed, annoyed roll of his son's eyes tells him precisely what you would. Those eyes are the worst. The prettiest he's ever seen. The ones he loves the most. The ones you also wear on your own pretty face.
"Since when?" He has a hand pressed to his chest, preventing a heart attack it seems, gaze wide and alarmed. Timothy sighs.
"A while. They were already together for Valentine's Day-" He explains patiently. That kid is sweet. The way he's slumped over, obviously annoyed to have to be the one telling his dad and having to deal with the consequences but still, he's watching over him with a soft eye, mouth torn in a sympathetic pout. He wouldn't mind his parents to get back together even though he is almost sure it wouldn't be a good idea for the both of you. He's heard tales of dysfunctional families, of parents hurting each other and their children and doesn't want that for any of you. He can't imagine it happen. You two are too good for that. That's probably why you had decided to separate in the first place.
Seokjin is quickly making maths in his head. Not really counting the time but situating himself in that time frame. Where was he at when she was out with this guy? What was he doing?
He may have been in Japan when it started. He remembers a call from you, you were asking him to take Timothy for a couple of days. You sounded embarrassed and he didn't know why but couldn't take the time to investigate, he had a flight expecting him and a conference call waiting to start in a couple of minutes. Important stuff. None of it would have mattered if he had known what you were up to.
"You okay, dad?" Timothy asks, awkward but kind. His mom basically.
"Devastated." Seokjin says with the widest grin on his face. He's not devastated. It'd be ridiculous to be for something absolutely predictable, fair and normal. He's not mad, nor disappointed. You deserve to be seeing people, have them desire you and make you feel good. He wishes it were him but if he can't do that, if you won't let him, he's glad you still can allow someone else to do it.
He's surprised though, he can't lie about that.
Honestly. That's stupid. But he didn't expect one second that you were seeing someone. You never mentioned anything and you didn't look like it. If there's a way you look when you're dating.
He remembers rosy cheeks and short skirts. You were younger.
"You think it's serious?" He asks casually, surprising even himself. His heart is in a turmoil but he showed enough to Timothy, acting like he was half dying, gasping for air and all.
"I don't know. She doesn't want to bring him home yet. Like, introduce him to me. I asked." Timothy, not only is he nice, he is smart. He's thirteen, shouldn't know much about Love and adults' matters yet. He's supposed to still be at that stage when one believes children and adults are two very distinctive race of humans, one that depends on the other and the other having it all figured it out, having reached a certain knowledge and expertise on all things and can't really be wrong on accident.
Timothy knows precisely what his dad would love to hear. And he gives it to him. Not to feed him vain hopes. Not even for this tiny hidden greed to have you back together. Simply because it's the truth and if for once the truth is pleasant to hear, then he should give it. Seokjin's smile only gets brighter. He shares a glance with his son, a glint winking his way and Timothy rolls his eyes, unable to hide the lift of the corners of his lips.
"Anyway, I heard you won that science fair at school?" Seokjin has already left his seat on Timothy's bed. He's rummaging through his leather bag and Timothy knows what it means. He has a present for him. Seokjin always has a present for him. Most of the time, he can justify it by some event or some success Timothy had encountered. The thing is they don't see each other that often, therefore, almost systematically, something new has come about and Seokjin can explain why he's brought a brand new console, a new laptop, a TV for his room or that one limited edition of this way too expensive branded pair of sneakers.
You used to get really mad at that. You'd say that he shouldn't, that he didn't need to bring him all these expensive stuff because what he'd like (it was a long time ago when Timothy was too young to have his own opinion and you would speak for him) is for his dad to be here more often. You'd say he wouldn't have to buy him shit for any other times than Christmas and his birthday if only he could be here for him. His dad would be his present.
It caused a lot of drama, a lot of crying. You had made sure not to scream, not to be too angry but Timothy felt from the way you squeezed him hard against your bosom that you were very upset. His dad had apologized, had said the most with his eyes only for you to understand. Timothy was staring, trying to get it too because he was involved, wasn't he? But that was one of those adults moments he wasn't allowed to participate in yet.
From then on, his dad wasn't late anymore when he'd set dates with him, his phone would be turned off when they were together and he would text him more often.
It was really nice. Because at first, Timothy felt that maybe if his dad wasn't so present it was because he didn't want to. For some reasons. He thought maybe he was too much of a coward or too nice possibly, to leave you two altogether, to disappear from your lives and start another one somewhere else, one he would have chosen and shaped as he'd want. Turns out Seokjin really appreciated his son and the time he got to spend with him. The more time they spend together, the more Timothy is met with awed eyes and whistling lips, impressed as his dad is by his smartness, his humour and hidden talents. He just was very busy. You explained that to him. That he was passionate by his work, that it required a sacrificial amount of time in one's life, and that he shouldn't ever take it personally because even he loved you and couldn't give you that time.
It's the conversation that led him to think that maybe his parents are meant to be, except they won't because... circumstances.
In any case, no matter how often they meet now, Seokjin still brings him gifts each and every time. The difference is that he has to think of a reason, sometimes make one up to not be struck down by your fury.
"Yes, I did."
"Of course, you did! Cause my son is the smartest." Timothy waits for the moment he says that his brain and the magic fuel filling it all come from him. It doesn't come. Instead, a neat white box is held in front of his face. There's a pretty tie made of ribbons glued in the middle, to hide the picture of what's inside, but there's no doubt that this is an iPhone. He rips the tie off and surprise surprise it's the iPhone 12.
"Mom is going to kill you." Timothy says first, before even thanking him, heart pounding from excitement and face split in two by the wide banana grin.
"Probably." He shrugs, unapologetic.
"Thanks, dad!" Timothy doesn't forget to add, eyes shiny and toothy grin even shinier.
He hopes so. That you're going to be mad. You two are too old to have petty fights now. You don't waste your energy in screaming and finding the worst things to say to hurt his feelings. You just cross your arms under your tits, clench your jaws and adopt that pout on your mouth, eyelids low and eyebrows high, the embodiment of condescendence and you look sexy as hell. He smiles and winks at you, calls you by an old pet name and you're swooning even though you try to hide it. No one is charming like he is, and no one charms you as he does therefore he's not too worried.
His son was just going around with this prehistorical device you dared to call a smartphone. With the broken screen, and the non-functioning selfie cam and the safari app needing a good ten minutes to charge one fucking page -this was deliberate as you wanted him to have a phone to call and text you and not go and lose himself on the internet or whatever. He's almost fourteen though and he's doing a great job at school and is such a good kid at home, he deserves it.
"I know and I don't care. I don't need you to tell me my son is good." You are infuriated. The perfect picture of you he had imagined, the only difference is that, you've just walked out of work, you seem to have had a rough day and your hair is a mess. With the wild locks hanging off of your bun, framing your pretty face, you look even better. "I don't want him to have something so expensive on him, first of all."
"His dad is richer than Cresus, what do you expect?" The cockiness dripping from every pore should suffice to make you explode. Of course, it doesn't. He has that stupid side grin. The one he's got you with in the first place.
"And what about- internet and even just the darn AppStore? He's too young to-"
"Are you worried about porn?" He frowns, you flush. That's precisely one of the things you think about. You don't want him to fall upon stuff he doesn't need to see -in your opinion for a good ten years at least- or start taking interest in social medias where creepy fuckers could hang out.
You flush because apparently, it's a word complicated still to hear from him. "I've made a parental software installed in it. And a localisation too. Not that we really need it with him but you know."
"Oh." All tension escapes from your torn face and tensed shoulders.
"Oh, wow, my first love is such a good dad." He mocks, voice high, hardly resembling yours, barely biting back a smirk. He even goes as far as swiping the right side of his bangs back, eyes closed, mannerism insufferable.
"Shut up." More flush. A fist to his chest for punishment. Bad idea. Apparently, he went back to the gym.
"You should be nicer because I have something for you too." He says, eyes glancing mischievously as his hand dips in the pocket of his trench coat. "Well. I don't want it." You cross your arms on your chest again which only serves to push your tits forward to him and he wonders what you're playing at. Probably the same game he plays when he winks and smiles and lifts his eyebrow to you.
"Wait 'til you see it." He sees the moment you realize it's a jewellery box. He reads the instant wild excitement, he catches also the gloomy shadow you try to paint over it because you don't want to accept it. How many times does he need to be told to stop? He won't ever stop.
"You can't buy me, Seokjin." You're eyeing the velour box in his hand, a tiny beautiful red in this large pearly white palm. You want it. You always do. You don't dare uncross your arms though because you know that if you even do something as reckless as taking it in your hand, just to have a look at it, you won't be able to refuse it.
"Of course, I can." More of that smirk. You glare, it makes him wheeze as he does.
You have never ever been able to refuse any of his shiny presents. You're not a gold digger, that's precisely why you felt so guilty all the time, accepting to receive from him things you could never afford for him -or yourself. He's born richer than you'll ever be, he loves to spend it on his loved ones -and on cars and designer clothes- and amongst everything else he loves, he adores covering you in shiny little rocks.
No one has ever worn diamonds the way you do. You look beautiful without them, magnificent with them. They were made to enhance your beauty and you were made to give them sense.
"You're such a dick." You say, tone way too monotonous to still have been in total control of your free will. Your eyes are glued to the shine of the two dainty clear earrings nested in the case. He's holding it open in front of your nose, like a hypnotizing stick. He sees your determination wavers. Your arms have just untied. Your hand is getting close. He smiles already savouring his victory.
"Take them, petal, I don't think your new boy could ever afford them." Your hand freezes mid-track, face falling you look up. He's a bit surprised to see guilt in those eyes. Shame and guilt. Even though, you have the right to see whoever you want. Obviously.
"How-" His head tilts slightly towards the hallway, where the bedrooms and the one Timothy is in, probably playing with his new phone. "Great. Bribing our son into giving you off my personal information."
"I gave him the iPhone after he told me." Seokjin feels the need to precise. His son loves him and he confided for this very reason. He wants to believe. He hopes that it's not because he's worried his dad would have a mental breakdown if he were to learn the news the day his mom would invite him to their wedding or something.
You sigh. You don't know what to say it seems. He doesn't want you to feel upset. He's not going to congratulate you either. He can't.
"Take them."
"He could- he's a doctor, you know." You sound like a petty little girl saying that, fingers aiming for the box but mouth reshaped by contempt.
Thankfully, the mesmerizing glee on your lovely face makes up for this last information.
A doctor.
He snorts, huffs and rolls his eyes.
"Are you really being disdainful over the noblest of all professions?"
"I bet he's not as handsome as I am." Seokjin says, staring away into space in a very Vogue kind of pose.
"And it's relevant because your face saves lives too, right?" You add to his clownery, biting on the smile wanting to take over your face.
"Precisely." You're already putting them on, watching your fingers work in the reflection on the microwave door. He's loving it. One is on, reflecting the light coming from the window, bringing a new sense to your whole stance. You don't look tired anymore. You look very fancy. Sexier than before. Your butt sways a little in excitement when you take a new look at yourself, now beautifully decorated and he's reminded of an idea he once had but never got to realize.
He wanted to have a fashion designer make a garter holder made of tiny diamonds. Solely diamonds. It would fit you just right, maybe a bit tight on you, would dig slightly in the meat of your thighs, enough to look fucking sinful and not too much so it doesn't hurt. He was quite young when he had the idea first and was probably not rich enough to make it happen.
He now owns a few palaces perched on the last stage of skyscrapers in three of the most expensive cities in the world and he would sell one in a beat if it meant he could get that for you and see you wear it for him.
You'd probably end up accepting it and then wear it for your new boy so that's out the question.
He doesn't hesitate when he reaches a hand forward, slip his fingers through the tie holding your hair in a bun and slide it off. You don't even flinch, he's still allowed to do that.
"You look beautiful."
"Thank you." You whisper with a smile, both for the compliment and for the present.
"You went to the hair salon." You nod, forcing yourself not to show your surprise. He doesn't need it to throw himself some flowers, "See? I noticed." He adds with way too much pride for so little.
"Your lenses work, congratulations." Sarcasm is the only answer to his stupidity, you both have figured this out long ago. "Is he nice?" Seokjin can't help but ask. He doesn't want to know too much about him. Kind of hopes that it won't be necessary as the guy won't last too long. But he can't resist his curiosity.
"Yes." You say without much of a hesitation. "Last week, he took me to this nice French restaurant in Songpa." You tell, eyes looking away, a bit pensive, mindlessly playing with one strand of your hair. Your face is taken over by that air. Seokjin realizes then that you really like him.
"I used to take you to very nice restaurants all the time, remember?" He's just messing around now. He knows it's not that relevant. Knows it won't get him higher in your regard,
"And I would spend half the date with the waiter while you'll have yours with your phone. I do remember." Especially given you don't recall your common past the same.
He does remember now that you mention it. His memory has been awfully selective and mainly, what he could picture when he thought about those times, is how beautiful you looked, how much he wanted you and felt like even sitting right next to you, he couldn't satisfy that need, was missing you even if you were right there, and the mind-blowing sex too. The later probably happening because he owed to make it up to you because indeed, his job was on the dates too and you hated that. He remembers the late mornings, the lazy ones, you'd make him carry you on his back because your legs and your hips hurt too badly.
"Ouch!" Toppling over, hand on his bosom where it actually really hurts, he yelps in agony, pretending to have been shot. You giggle and slap his shoulder, pester him to stop when you both hear Timothy ask from his room if everything's okay. You'd think he would know by now that his dad is just a clown whose shenanigans shouldn't be taken seriously.
"Are you seeing someone these days?" What a shame, Seokjin really thought for once he'd be solely cool and collected and handsome. Instead, he can feel his ears start to burn in embarrassment, walks a few steps back, pretending to want to throw a glance through the window when really, he'd do anything to not have see you notice.
"Someone?" He huffs. "Some three, actually some four or five. You know how the ladies get with me-" He sounds dumb as hell. It suffices to make you laugh. You've always laughed at his antics. Even when you were going through complicated times, like the pregnancy and the soon to follow break up, he'd try to dry your cheeks and lighten your gaze, heartbroken as he was to see you like that, and it would always work.
"And I know how bad you are with maths." He nods, doesn't look at you, simply stares at the shiny tip of his italian shoes. "You should call me sometimes, Jin." You don't need to tell him, he knows. You say that to him almost every single time. It's just you being kindhearted, the way you've always been. But first, he hates the idea that somehow, to some degree, it's a pity hand you're holding out for him. And secondly, he knows he'll fuck up if he calls.
He won't be able to talk about his job or politics or what's on the dumb tv these days. He'd probably start by asking what you're wearing and end it all by serenading you. What a bad idea. "You don't ever call, only Tim. Which is fine but-" He is lonely, he does miss you, but he's not that stupid. "I miss you too, you know." You look awfully sincere when you say this. There's still a sad shade to your eyes and he suspects it comes from you worrying about him rather than you simply wanting him more in your life. Maybe it's there for both reasons. He can't be mad at you for caring about him still, can he? Ultimately, it's sweet. It's not your fault he tends to be a loser in his very personal life.
He wouldn't know who he is trying to comfort when he strides forward and place a kiss on your cheek. The other one he's cradling in his palm feels warmer the longer he touches it. He doesn't let it go once he backs up and away. You're looking up to him with your eyes looking all round and childish. Quiet and in expectancy. You look like you do when you would wait for him to kiss you. His thumb brushes over your bottom lip and he smirks.
"Expecting me to kiss you?" He asks with an eyebrow raised high. Pretend judgment in his tone, even remonstrance. As if. "How scandalous, when you already have a boyfriend." You know he's just kidding and he can tell that. He wouldn't play with that if he wasn't sure. He doesn't want to hurt your feelings, make you feel wrong or bad in any way. He loves you too much for that. You could let him kiss you and he wouldn't hold you accountable for it. Therefore he does. Because he's dying to since the last time it happened a couple of weeks back. And when your own lips welcome his, with that much willing and tenderness, he suspects you've had too.
He doesn't allow it to go too far. He thought you would stop him, at some point, but you don't. He's the one pulling away when his tongue, instinctively, means to reach out for your own. He knows what comes after that, and what comes after that and after and after. And even if you transpire guilt and shame, he can sense in the way your eyes stare into his that you would have let it all happen.
He's not lacking in desire, he hopes you know that. Honestly, since earlier, and that random flash of the diamond garter holder, his brain is half clouded by the thought of your thighs and his face buried in between them. You used to make the most delicious sounds, pulling at the root of his hair and chasing your high with your hips. Also now that he's met your mouth again and he envisioned what could happen if he just let go, he can't help but think about that dresser in your room. The gigantic thing you wanted him and Timothy to put together as sort of a father and son enterprise to bound or whatever - he ended up paying a guy to do it for them and they played Mario Kart instead but you don't need to know that. Point of the matter is, that massive dresser has a massive mirror on its door and that massive mirror sits perfectly in front of your bed. And all he can think about is how bad he'd like to fuck you on your bed while you'd watch yourself in it. He'd pull back your hair, hold in tight in his fist like he knows you love so you could see your own cute face while his cock would reshape your cunt to its fitting, all this with the pretty little shiny earrings adorning your ears.
Fuck, what a concept.
And it is to say that right now, he knows, you'd let him. He's not that wicked though. He feels your too weak to resist him today therefore he's not even going to chance it. He doesn't want you to do something you'd hate yourself for afterwards.
"I should go, I still have documents to send for a new contract before-" He takes a look at the expensive watch heavy on his wrist, you roll your eyes. "Half an hour ago, great." He offers you a smile that doesn't reach his eyes no matter how hard he tries before he's off to the hallway, giving you his broad back. "I'm going to say bye to Tim."
"It's just- like that, Seokjin." The words are pretty badly chosen. They don't mean much. Seokjin still gets it though. He can picture you behind him, shrugging your shoulders and tilting your head to the side. It doesn't mean much.
"I know, petal. Don't worry." He throws over his shoulder, faux lightness in his tone even though his heart feels raw. It doesn't mean enough, is more accurate. This kiss like every single one of your shared looks and words and bickering and touches, they all mean that you still fit perfectly good together. However, it's not enough because somehow, someday, you came to the conclusion that you were not meant to be. He's confused as to why and how he agreed with you then. Here's the main reason why he never calls you.
When Timothy looks up from his new phone, wearing your eyes and his smile, he feels a whole new range of pain affected to his sensitized heart. How can you not see that you're meant to be?
A/N: Happy Lunar New Year :) this little thingy was inspired by Arsène Lupin and the relationship between Assane and Claire for those who watched it! I don’t know if i translated well the alchimy and unfightable attraction and connection they still have even after having seperated. ANYWAY, hope you all are doing fine, hope you liked this, LET ME KNOW what you thought, tell me about your day, your resolutions if you have any, what’s the weather like where you at etc lmao xoxo
PS: stay tuned for a new upcoming series i’m quite excited about ~~
#btswriterscollective#thekimlinenet#ksmutclub#bts fluff#bts smut#bts angst#seokjin fluff#seokjin smut#seokjin angst#bts scenario#seokjin fanfic#bts fanfic#seokjin scenario
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Hotspot | Pt.2 (Sheepish)
Genre: Smut
Word Count: 2739
Warning: Sub!Yangyang, (Hard)Dom!Reader, Femdom, Degradation, Profanity, Edging, Overstimulation, Humiliation (Slight exhibitionism), Hair pulling, Light face slapping (where reader is being attentive), Spanking, Gagging (Pet muzzle), Vibrating butt plug, Pet play, Leaving marks, Bondage (Pet anchor), Neglect play, Pegging, Fake cum (YY chokes on it askghkdjs), YY cries lol
A/N: Happy sort of belated birthday to our bratty Yangyang! I hope this feeds the painstaking lack of sub!Yangyang smut on this app! Fellow doms (esp if you are a hard one) enjoy!
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“Now what?” Yangyang grins upon locking the door to your usual playroom, yet despite his cheeky attitude, you can see how his expressions begin to falter as he sees the full-fledged equipment on display on the bed.
"What? Use your smart ass brain to think yourself, brat." You hiss. "You know what's coming, strip."
"Why should I?" Yangyang pouts.
"Don't make me force you. You're smart enough to know that you shouldn't test my patience, hmm?" You coldly demand as you hand him the garments he’s going to wear during the play. “Remember the spankings you owe me?” You tease his chin with the paddle that you know which intimidates him so much as he gulps with somehow anticipation and fear while busy sliding clothes off.
“O-o-of course.” Yangyang stutters, “But why this?” He motions at the white mesh undershirt you’re handing him, which is decorated with a few white fabric flowers that slightly resemble splotches of wool on it.
“Aren’t you Mistress’ Slutty Little Lamb?” You smirk knowingly, while helping him slide the mesh over his head. “You need to be well-prepped for the play later that is going to make you hot and bothered like the hotspot you already are…”
“Ugghhh.” Yangyang facepalms at the thought of the embarrassing SSID you just made him change and all the humiliation he had just endured. “No way you’re making me feel like that when you’re being this heartlessly cruel on me-”
“Oh really?” You cock your eyebrow as you’re palming his crotch, making the smart-mouthed boy gasp in response. “Already visibly hard just putting this fabric on, I find it hard to believe that you don’t like what’s coming next.”
You then insert the white furry tail plug inside him after some profuse lubing, before commanding him to get on his knees, securing the white choker and chain on him and giving it a firm tug.
“Now you’d better sit and behave like a sheepish little lamb you should be or otherwise there’d be more consequences-”
“Consequences of what? More spankings? Is that the only type of punishment you can only think of?” Yangyang’s eyes gleams with defiance while he sneers. “Why would you think I would let you boss me around just because now you have me dressed in this stupid attire?”
You shake your head in disappointment, “I thought I could go easier on you this time, brat. “ You hiss while giving a firm tug from the roots of the boy’s hair. “Guess the humiliation play on the SSID wasn’t enough, huh?”
“So what exactly is the consequence, huh, O Mistress?” Yangyang still retorts with a smirk despite his wincing from your pull. “Bet you could never come up with a better one other than a spanking- hngghh!”
Yangyang’s riposte is cut short by a slap across his face, with your other hand cradling the other side of his cheek as a secure, exactly like you two had agreed on. “Now you’ve wasted your chance of winning my gentleness.” You purr menancingly into the boy’s ear while still pulling on the chain. “You want to be a sharp-tongued brat? Go ahead and be one then even with this on.”
You reach for the pet muzzle and white leather handcuffs hidden under the sheets on the bed, after taking a mental note to thank yourself for hiding it beforehand to win over that bratty boy, you immediately secure them around his snout and wrists, rendering him into a whiny struggling mess, glaring up at you.
“Well?” You grin as you pull hard on the chain, forcing the boy to crawl forward in a pathetically restrained manner. “Are you satisfied with this little punishment now? My cocky little brat?”
You then command him to follow your lead, to the silver wall anchor designated for this session and make a quick effort securing the chain to it, before dishing out another pair of handcuffs, cuffing both Yangyang’s hands to his ankles, and looking back to his indignant stare.
“Aww no use glaring at me like that, you untamed little brat.” You smirk knowingly. Just then a notification popped up on your phone, it’s from your staff team groupchat, and your supervisor has tagged you in it, in order to ask you about the details of upcoming projects of new shootings.
“What a pleasant surprise,” You simper while waving your phone at Yangyang. “Somehow I need to answer something important, and you’d better wait up-” A jolt goes through Yangyang’s body as he lets out a weak whimper and crumbles back on his knees. “Because I conveniently forgot to remind you, that this fucking plug fucking vibrates.” You smirk while turning the vibrations to the lowest settings via your phone app to tease the boy, before hopping on the bed far enough that the boy can never reach, and going back to your phone to make discussions with your supervisor.
In just a few minutes, Yangyang is soon trapped in a haze of unfulfilled lust, the vibrator doing vicious tricks to his sweetest spot, yet he can’t fuss with his voice and words as usual to win your attention and make you do something about it. All he can do now is to fuck his dick against the soft mattress-covered side of the bed, his head hanging on the edge of it to stare at your focused form, eyes filled with frustration.
But you soon noticed his misbehavior with the continuous rocking of the bed. “Stop it, you perverted little brat.” You come down from the bed to make a few more ties of the chain on the anchor to make him unable to reach the bed, obviously annoyed. “You are making me unable to focus on my job.” You icily state as you switch up the vibrator to the medium settings, making the boy arch his back and lower his head, with his cock twitching vulnerably, in response. “Dare to get yourself off without my permission earns more fucked-out rounds for you, understand, you fucking little bratty lamb?”
You try hard to focus on responding to your supervisor’s demanding questions in time and with ease without the little snorts and pathetic noises Yangyang makes beside you to have any effect on your functioning rationality. Just when waiting for the response from the groupchat, you see the sinful sight of Yangyang fidgeting and pacing on the floor, giving you the most pleading and vulnerable look he’s ever gave you, the look so meek and cute which would’ve granted him sooner release if he’d always been this obedient. Internally giving yourself a gleeful smile of triumph, you originally decide to have your way with the suffering boy underneath. But then another message from your fellow colleague, who is also one of your best friends in the work field, happens to leap onto your screen. most likely complaining about the disparity of distribution of workload, and somehow this gives you another devilish idea to torture the smart-mouthed boy now pitifully leaking and moaning beside you.
“Want some release, huh naughty boy?” You smirk down at him, as Yangyang fervently yet shakily nods. “If you want to cum, you’d better keep your voice down so you don’t embarrass yourself, brat.” You hiss before turning to voice call your colleague via the messaging app, making Yangyang’s body jump with warning.
Streams of complaints soon begin to flow from the other side of your phone as you pretend to be fully attentive, yet your hand is drawing circles on the tip of Yangyang’s dripping length viciously slow, as the boy can do nothing but furrow his brows, indulging in the feeling but also refraining hard to not make any form of noise.
Just when you and your colleague are too centered on picking out the wrongdoings of your supervisor, you can tell from the expressions of your boy that he’s close to his release, so you suddenly slip your hand away from Yangyang’s throbbing cock, making the boy whimper out loud of loss in response. Mortified by the sound he makes, he intends to back away, yet you just scoot even closer to him, simpering at his mishap.
And of course, that sound didn’t go unnoticed by your friend, as she inquires about the whatabouts of it, while you just leisurely replies it’s just a loud grunt someone makes whist chit-chattering outside your window as if your other hand isn’t stained with your boyfriend’s pre-cum right now.
The adding humiliation is making Yangyang blushing, sweating and radiating with heat of arousal, yet his inability to speak, move or even whine out is a plus-one to the exhilaration of the whole thing. Just when he thinks he’s going to combust due to the opprobrium, thankfully your friend decides to hang up and leave the playtime for the two of you.
“Isn’t that fun?” You knowingly grin as you’re pumping his length teasingly slow. "You finally get to pay for trying to fluster me in public so many times?" You mockingly inquire as you lean closer to him. “Say, do you truly want to cum?”
The boy pitifully nods again but is soon held back by you grasping on his shoulder and a motion of shush. “Okay okay I get it, but you would’ve looked much more beautiful cumming whilst getting fucked like an animal and punished like a bad little boy…now bend over” You devilishly grin as you reach for the paddle and take out the plug, making the boy whine out at the sense of loss, as you press down on his back, rendering him into an ass-up position.
“Since you can’t count with your snout secured like that…how about you count out every spank with the movements of your butt? Hmm? Isn’t that a unique kind of punishment, you bratty little lamb?” You sneer as you’re tapping the paddle on his ass, hand still pressing hard down on his back. “Looks like I am able to conjure up with other forms of punishment aside from spanking judging from what you just endured huh? Now count until 40.”
You then land a loud snap on his rear, as Yangyang, now desperate to end the ordeal, can do nothing but swivel his ass in a vertical movement, as if writing the number 1. “What a good little lamb...” You compliment as you land another smack on him, as your boyfriend soon writes the number 2 with his rear in response, while your hand comes down to soothe his rear that starts to reddishly glow, and plays with his cock from time to time.
Spank after spank is Yangyang getting tearier and more humiliated, the sense of sting and restraints overwhelming him as you can’t help but kiss away the trickles of salty liquid. Finally reaching the fortieth spank, without much protest from your boyfriend, surprisingly, you decide to give him some physical pleasure he deserves.
“Finally remorseful for talking back and being a nuisance, huh?” You inquire coquettishly while combing your fingers through his hair to comfort him down, at least a little. “Now, shall I fuck and pleasure your every possible orifice like an insatiable little lamb you are now hmm?”
You quickly equip yourself with your squirting strap-on before releasing the muzzle off Yangyang’s face, just to immediately slam the dildo into his mouth. “Slick my cock that I am going to fuck you with with that filthy mouth of yours.” You gleefully command. “I’m gonna cleanse that brattiness out of my precious little lamb until he’s sorry and there’s no trace of it…” You smirk in delight as you resume fucking his face.
Tears threaten to stream down Yangyang’s face again as you are roughing his mouth up while grabbing his head close to you, whilst attentively looking for any signs of distress or the safety gesture Yangyang would use if it’s going too much. After making sure there’s no warning signs from the boy, you decide to press onto the balls on the dildo to release some of the fake cum you had loaded in it beforehand, making the boy messily cough out in response as his mouth is filled with the lewd edible white liquid.
“Such a filthy yet beautiful sight to see…” You praise the boy as you give him gentle headpats as he’s recovering from the choke. “Now, should I get to fuck the horny ass of my cute little lamb, hmm?”
Not waiting for your boy to respond, you immediately grab your dark red lipstick with you, putting a generous shade of it on, holding it for later purposes as you begin thrusting into him after some necessary lubing again. Soon slick skin slapping sounds and Yangyang’s moans echo in the room, as you start bending down and kissing him on his sweetest sensitive spots, leaving red marks behind, as if claiming your precious boy yours.
“Look at you, moaning and melting beneath my thrusts like this, you are truly a slutty little lamb aren’t you?”
“No-ahh!” Yangyang’s retort is cut short by a harsh slap on his ass again.
“No? Then I’m afraid this hard thing wouldn’t be granted any release too soon…” You mock disappointment in your voice.
“Hannhh no… please I’m your little slut okay...your...hahhh,,,your little slutty lamb...mmmphh…”
“That’s my precious little lamb…” You compliment again as you toy with the hem of the mesh a couple of times, just to pool it at his shoulders to reveal his bare torso, and then you uncap your dark red lipstick, writing “Mistress’ Slutty Little Lamb” on his body, before leaning down to plant a kiss on his shoulder again and stroking his cock, while resuming pounding into him hard.
You notice Yangyang is nearing his climax when his breathing accelerates into a ragged pattern. “Beg, my pretty little lamb, beg. Why is my smart-mouthed brat lost of words now?”
“Please, Mistress, make me cum...pleeaasseee…”
“Good boy…” You coo as you fervently give him a few generous pumps, allowing hot spurts of white shoots ejaculating out of his cock. But while Yangyang thinks he’s escaped the ordeal, he doesn’t realize what you still have in store of him until he finds that your hand is still vehemently pumping his cock.
Pain soon invades his body as his attempts to struggle away from your firm grip are proved futile. “I thought you said you want me to make you cum, isn’t it, my cute little lamb?” You chortle out ruthlessly.
“Nonononono not like this…” Yangyang stammers out.
“So you promise you would never talk back to me anymore?”
“Y-yes for God’s sake!” “You promise you would never ever try to make lame sexual jokes and attempt to fluster me in public?”
“Yes p-please stop…” Yangyang practically wails out as he feels his next orgasm mixed with pain is nearing him.
“You sure you would be my good little slutty pet lamb and only for me to use and play with?”
“Y-yesss anything! P-pleeasseee!” Yangyang sobs as his whole body quivers at the overwhelming pleasure and affliction, as you finally grant him the second release that shudders through his whole body.
“Finally, our sharp-tongued brat has learned his lesson, hasn’t he? Hmm? My sweetie boy…” You coo as you give gentle rubs on his head as Yangyang gradually comes down from his high, his breathing dropping back to normal again.
“Why is my Mistress this cruel…” Yangyang meekly sobs while he leans into your chest, basking into the warmth of it.
“Yet you love it,” You retort. “and plus you’re being the defiant one first here I’m-”
“Shhh we’ve already spent most of our time having heated arguments, why should we ruin this perfect afterglow moment with those stupid fights?” Yangyang grins while still nuzzling your chest, making you feel absolutely fulfilled. “Save the bickering for later lol.”
“Instant recovery, huh?” You can’t help but remark as you savor the moments of bliss where Yangyang is finally being a meek obedient boy nestled on your chest. As you are undoing his restraints, Yangyang asks, “What did you write on my back?”
“Of course, your first SSID I made you change.”
“Ugghh you bossy...nevermind save that for later.” Yangyang bites back his riposte as he cuddles up close to you on the bed.
You smile while embracing your now cutesy little lamb, glad that there’s finally a moment of peace and truce between you two.
╚══════════════╝
Tagging: @wildernessuntothemselves because she’s Yangyang biased lmao
#subidolnet#nct#nct 2020#wayv#yangyang#yangyang smut#yangyang imagines#liu yangyang#nct smut#nct imagines#sub!wayv smut#wayv imagines#nct 2020 smut#nct 2020 imagines#liu yangyang smut#sub!yangyang#sub!yangyang smut#sub!nct smut#sub!wayv#dom!reader#sub!idol imagines#sub!idol smut#hotspot pt.2#my writings
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The "Sander and Robbe are video game people and they cuddle and enjoy their time together for a week” series
It’s still Thursday, they have at least three more days of this perfect life to live but that’s not how Sander’s brain works, he’s always thinking too far ahead, unable to think about the chill present when the future is exactly the last thing he wants. So he’s not present enough to enjoy this moment, keeps feeling sad for what’s to come in a few days.
He tries to find a comfortable position to move to but his back is hurting a little bit no matter how comfortable he tries to get. They’ve spent way too much time on his bed so his body is desperate for some actual movement, for his legs to walk a few steps and for his back to not be pressed against the hard headboard or the mattress but it’s also too comfortable to think about making any effort to change positions or move away from Robbe. The less you do, the less you want to do, that’s what it feels like.
His hair is a mess, Sander can feel the trails Robbe’s fingers left while running his fingers through his hair earlier, so distracted to notice, and Sander didn’t mind it at all, just watched as Robbe looked at it, carefully running his fingers through his bleached hair, sometimes squeezing a little when Sander couldn’t help but move up and kiss him slowly again.
This is his first time ever with a boy and so it’s Robbe’s and Sander doesn’t want it to end. Not on Sunday, not ever.
It’s not like they have done much more other than play video games, kiss, have sex and eventually eat some food they can quickly make to rush back to bed, but Sander feels the urge to live everything with Robbe while staying inside, hidden in the perfect bubble they created inside his home. Sander never loved this apartment more. It feels more like a home now than ever before. All because of this good looking boy that’s been staying with him. Robbe is the embodiment of warmth and love and Sander wants to hold him every single second of his life.
He pushes himself to the edge on the mattress and puts his feet on the ground, finally fixing his hair a little bit, deciding to go look for Robbe that went to make them some coffee and never came back.
Sander wonders if being addicted to a human being is as bad for him as any other addiction. If it’ll make him messier than he already is by nature because he’s more than willing to test it if it means to be this happy with someone else. He saves that thought for his next session with his therapist.
“I think this is the best coffee I ever made.” Sander looks up, smiling as he watches Robbe put the coffee pot on his nightstand with the two mugs he brought in his other hand.
“Yeah?” He holds Robbe by his shirt and makes him sit on his lap again, putting his arms around his waist and under his shirt, feeling the peach-fuzz-like hair on the small of his back.
“Yes.” Robbe whispers softly, quietly biting the corner of his bottom lip, “Do you want some?”
“In a minute…” Sander smiles, nuzzling against Robbe’s warm neck, kissing his skin softly, holding him tighter around the waist when Robbe melts on his lap, letting Sander hold his whole weight, tilting his head to his right to give Sander more access to his skin to explore fully.
He carefully pushes Robbe’s worn out shirt up, helping him pull it out of each arm and then his head, smiling before kissing Sander on the lips. He smiles, unable to think of anything he wants more in life than to keep kissing every inch of this boy sitting on his lap.
Sander quickly swirls them around, putting Robbe back on the bed with a surprised laughter, watching as Sander kisses his sternum, their eyes staring at each other still, Robbe’s shy hands come back to his hair, carefully, not holding, not pushing, just there, while he watches Sander going down his body slowly to not miss a spot while pushing his underwear off his legs.
Sander smiles against his hips, brushing his nose against the warm and soft skin, watching how Robbe’s skin is sensible and all the tiny hairs are up, so raw.
His alarm interrupts such an intimate moment it feels like it’s ten times louder than normal. Robbe jumps on the bed too and Sander sighs, stopping what he was doing to move back up on the bed, lying on top of Robbe, very much pressing their hips together while he reaches for his phone, a reminder that he has class in five minutes.
“Shit, I forgot I have class…”
“What?! No, you don’t…” Robbe says out of breath and Sander feels proud for leaving him like that so easily, so far from being done. He puts his forehead against Robbe’s shoulder, frustrated too but he can’t miss any more classes, no matter if it’s just him sitting in front of his computer for an hour, pretending to be listening to anything his teacher is saying while wishing he was in bed, naked, with Robbe.
“It’s just one, so we’ll come back to this…”
Robbe sighs, kissing his temple, taking his arms off of him so Sander can push himself up on his knees, in between Robbe’s legs, still so very naked and tempting. He squeezes his thighs and rushes out of bed before he misses another class.
The same grey button-up he used for yesterday’s classes is still hanging behind his chair so he grabs it, carefully buttoning all the way up, grabbing his computer and notepad to go to the living room, leaving his bedroom for Robbe to relax and just wait.
Robbe covered himself with the sheets while he was putting some clothes from the waist up and he looked so comfortable lying there on his side, pouting a little bit.
“One hour, promise.” Sander whispers against his lips before rushing out of his bedroom, already accepting the video call.
He tries not to be the one guy smiling for no reason during class, doodling Robbe’s profile while he listens to his teacher and classmates, making some notes whenever he feels like he needs to. There’s not much noise coming from anywhere else in the house so he assumes Robbe is taking a nap.
The sun is starting to set outside, paying the living room and kitchen a warm orange so while his teacher is trying to find the archive to send them to use for their homework, Sander rushes around the island to grab two beers inside the fridge, a little bit of a happy hour with himself for watching this whole class and not finding an excuse to leave early to go wake up his sleepy boyfriend. Time is nonexistent this week, from coffee to beer in a matter of an hour and Sander doesn’t feel anxious because of it, the lack of a solid routine to follow. It’s a nice change of pace for once, and he’s happy he’s not feeling anything slowly starting to creep inside of him because of the change.
He opens the can offscreen and slowly not to make a noise anyone would recognize as someone opening a beer. There’s not much homework to do, the book he’s supposed to read he already did a few months back out of curiosity so the essay shouldn’t be that hard to write. He can do it while Robbe is taking a shower later.
He says goodbye to everyone, and ends the video call, putting some music to listen in the background as he tries to rewrite his notes in order, enjoying his beers and the sunset outside the big windows across the room. Writing starts to get more difficult all of a sudden and Sander blinks a few times, sitting up straight, looking forward, realizing it’s completely dark already.
His back is hurting from looking down for so long and it’s been an hour since his class ended. He’s starving too, and Robbe must be tired of waiting already so he leaves everything as they are on the kitchen island, throws the cans on the recycling bin and turns the lights on, scrolling down the food app on his phone, opening the bedroom door carefully, trying not to wake Robbe if he’s still asleep.
“Hi…” He whispers, putting his phone in his shirt pocket noticing how the two top buttons slipped open at some point. Robbe is awake or about to be awake, moving slowly underneath the sheets, opening and closing his hands to see if they’ll function normally soon enough, frowning, annoyed with the light coming from the outside so Sander pushes the door to close it almost completely.
“I fell asleep?”
Sander nods his head, carefully throwing himself over Robbe’s legs, feeling his eyes heavy too, envious of the hours Robbe had of the most delicious nap. His body is a little too hot for his liking, and he can’t wait to be naked too but it sounds like so much work…
Robbe laughs softly, “And you’re drunk.”
Sander wets his lips slowly, thinking about that, opening his arms to help him express himself, “Not drunk drunk but maybe I had a few beers with an empty stomach…”
He turns to lie on his side, feeling how his weight is squeezing Robbe’s thighs a little too much, “But! I am starving now so maybe we could order something?”
Robbe smiles, still blinking slowly, so comfortable and relaxed, nodding his head.
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FinTech Apps – How to Build One For your Business?
The FinTech apps industry is encountering rapid growth considering there’s an ongoing revolution in both customer behavior and the way businesses operate. Everything from banking to insurance to cryptocurrency is seemingly coming up with newer forms of ways to interact with its customers, majorly through fintech apps for mobile! Based on reports from Statista, over 65% of Americans plan to shift to digital banking exclusively by 2022. One of the major driving factors of such a trend is customer experience.
The FinTech industry is quite varied, expanding over several sectors. According to insights and studies from CB, there are currently 41 VC- backed Fintech unicorns with a combined worth of $154.1 b. In addition, the market raised around $13.4 billion only in the first quarter of 2021.
Moving on to the revolution in the FinTech market, we shall now highlight the importance of mobile apps in the industry, and then about ways to build an ideal FinTech app.
Reasons Why You Need FinTech Apps
The time to build a Fintech app is now! Apart from the growing numbers of the FinTech industry, here are three other compelling reasons why you should invest in a FinTech app:
1. Financial Illiteracy
It is a general assumption that people are now more aware of their economic warfare than ever. Especially with the growing student loan crisis globally, people focus their attention on managing their money now more than ever. However, the opposite holds. A survey from S&P suggests that around 57% of Americans are financially illiterate.
Other findings also reveal that the financial literacy rate among Americans has decreased from 43% to 34% since 2009. This implies that about eight in ten Americans have some sort of debt and that their finances are one of the major sources of their stress. These numbers are shocking even among millennials. About 76% lack basic financial education, making the scenario all the more difficult.
Hence, this depression makes for the huge potential for mobile apps. If an app can help people manage their finances without knowing all the financial jargon, it will be a huge hit.
2. Open Banking
The next major reason for the rise of FinTech apps is the shift towards open banking. Considering how businesses evolve their working during the pandemic, banks are bringing their services to their people by going all digital.
Not only does digital banking enable interconnectedness, but it also incentivizes the data. Using this data, they remain relevant to their customers. Open Banking also helps in building complex FinTech solutions to manage financial data.
3. The Domination of Mobile Phones
Currently, there are more than 6.3 billion unique mobile phone users across the world. The usage of apps is hence, growing at a much faster rate than predicted five years ago. It is also safe to mention a strong demand for automation and the availability of mobile solutions for almost anything, especially related to finance. As of now, there are only limited bank managing apps, apps that support online payments, and for making budgets.
How To Build An Ideal FinTech App
In this section, we walk you through the different steps of creating a FinTech mobile app solution. This app development process is common for various industry sectors, including cryptocurrency, banking, credit score management, security, and investments.
Let’s go through the steps one by one.
1. Choose a niche
The first aspect of a Fintech app development is the niche. Decide on the several functionalities of the app. Your app value proposition should align with the process of development. Some of the common functionalities of an app for increasing ROI for landlords, for instance, is:
User authentication and encryption
Secure hosting
Checking credit score
Payment gateway
Access to banking data
Real-time transfers
Chat to communicate with users and customer support
Just like that, the list of your app functionalities will provide a blueprint for the niche you want to target and the marketing activities you want to follow. Also, it will help you have an idea of the app development costs. As experts in the FinTech app market, we recommend you have a clear understanding and solution proposal to make the development process all the more streamlined.
2. Choose Technology Stack
An important aspect of developing FinTech apps is choosing the right language for them. Currently, there are multiple languages available for developers to use. However, the selection must be based on factors like the project’s deadline, complexity, preference, the developer’s expertise, and much more.
Here, we highlight some of the top-notch developing languages for coding apps divided among native apps, cross-platform apps, and progressive web apps.
Native Apps: These apps are usually built following the technical guidelines of a particular OS. This means they do not provide a cross-platform function. They have the smoothest performance and the greatest user experience.
Ios-based: For these native apps, you can use Objective C, Swift, Apple XCode, and IoS SDK.
Android-based: You can go for Java, Kotlin, Android Studio, and Android SDK.
Cross-Platform Apps: The next important apps we are going to talk about here is the cross-platform app. They usually require a small developer team and expertise in languages like React Native and C#. In addition, if you want to go for a hybrid app, you must choose an app development partner with expertise in HTML 5 and PhoneGap.
Progressive Web Apps: For Progressive web apps, other effective technologies that can be used are Node.js and C++.
3. Ensure Legal Compliances
Once you’re through your app niche and features, it becomes critical to ensure that the legalities are in place. Based on the geographical area you want to release your app in, legal compliance may vary. So, you need to check on security aspects of client’s identities and carefully work around the same.
4. Create or
Hire a Team
Now, this may seem like an easy step to achieve, but it is not. Amongst all of these steps mentioned above, this is the most crucial one as it will change the face of your app. Your team should collaborate with you like a partner and provide you with the best solutions specific to your business challenges.
UI/UX Design: An ideal UI/UX design is essential for all Fintech applications. Since the user interacts with your design, your app developers need to ensure that the app is easy to use, explicitly functional in all aspects, and is devoid of needless features. Some of the must-haves for your UI/UX design are:
Colors in alignment with the branding, and yet not too dull or too bright.
Straightforward user journey
Accessibility of different options shouldn’t be hard to discover
No useless or crowding of features.
5.
Develop an MVP
The next step here is to start with a Minimum Viable Product, justifying the solution you want to provide with the app. It ensures that the app is running well and adding value to your customers, as planned. In addition, an ideal MVP can help create room for efficient feedbacks and scope of improvement.
6. Improve and Support your
FinTech app
The last step in the app development process is to keep upgrading and to improve your app with relevant functionalities, as per the feedback. The work of app developers does not end with the development and deployment of the app. Also, you can add newer features from time to time to attract more people.
As experts in the mobile and enterprise field, we have helped multiple FinTech companies to achieve higher ROI with their mobile apps. Get in touch with us to have a solution-centric approach for your Fintech business challenges.
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50 Best Ways To Make Money Online
Making extra money doesn’t have to be hard. You don't always have to spend money to make money. There are lots of money-making opportunities out there.
One of the best things you can do to make money fast is to invest in your networking at work, spend time learning as much as possible, and get a raise or promotion. This alone could help you to make an extra $100 a day in no time. and get a raise or promotion. This alone could help you to make an extra $100 a day in no time. I am not going to lie: the reality is that you will have to put in some work to earn cash. But there are some clever real ways to make money out there if you are up for the challenge! This is what making more money can do for you:
Help you to save money and pay off your debt.
Pay your bills at the end of the month.
Help you stop living paycheck to paycheck.
Allow you to reach financial freedom.
It can even help you to leave a job you hate.
Plus, you could retire sooner if you want to. But remember: If you want to reach your goal of making $100 or more a day online (or offline), simply combine a number of these money-making ideas.
Whether you’re between jobs, a stay-at-home parent or just want to make some extra money without leaving the house, these work-from-home jobs and tasks can boost your income, helping you make ends meet, pay down debt or reach savings goals. Legitimate work-from-home jobs do exist but beware of scams that require you to pay upfront for the chance to earn extra money. Instead, check out these ways you can easily make extra money from home.
Let’s dive into it: here are the best ways to make money in 2021. No matter what your skills are, you can find something that’s right up your alley.
1. Sell Stock Photographs If you have a knack for capturing the perfect shot, you could turn those pictures into extra money. Sites like Shutterstock, Fotolia and Adobe Stock enable users to upload images and get paid when people purchase them. You’ll receive a fraction of the sales price — and a good picture can earn you thousands of dollars if it’s downloaded a lot. You must have the exclusive rights to the photos, and you must include signed releases for any recognizable people or private property in the images. 2. Use the Right Account for Your Money You shouldn’t settle for any old checking account when you’re looking for somewhere to keep your money. Instead, you should find one that pays you back. PenFed’s Access America Checking account does just that thanks to its annual percentage yield of 0.20% or 0.40%1 — depending on the daily balance — with a monthly direct deposit of $500 or more. By using an account that pays a higher APY, your money will grow more quickly while it sits until you need it. And if you’re able to avoid monthly fees, there’s no reason not to take advantage of a perk like this. 1APY (annual percentage yield) is accurate as of Sept. 18, 2020, and is subject to change at any time. Federally insured by NCUA. 3. Pet Sit If you love animals, getting paid to watch other people’s pets is a dream job. Sites like Rover connect pet sitters with pet owners. You’ll need to set up a profile explaining why you’d be a great pet sitter, but once you’re approved, you can set your own rates and hours. You could earn up to $1,000 per month, according to Rover. 4. Transcribe Audio Clips If you can type quickly and accurately, you can earn money by transcribing audio clips in your free time and turn it into a sweet side hustle. Companies like TranscribeMe! pay about $20 per hour, and top earners can earn $2,200 a month from these work-from-home jobs. If you have a specialized background like medical or legal training, you can earn higher rates. 5. Sell Unused Stuff If you’re looking for quick cash, consider selling items around your house, including your CDs, DVDs, games or books on the site Decluttr. Just enter the barcode, and Decluttr will tell you how much it’ll pay you for it. 6. Take Paid Surveys Online Various online websites will pay you for sharing your opinions on a range of topics. For example, e-Rewards is open to anyone older than 13. You’ll earn e-Rewards currency for each survey you complete, which you can redeem for gift cards. Other options include GlobalTestMarket and Harris Poll Online. The amount you make depends on how many paid surveys you’re eligible for and how quickly you complete them. 7. Become a Remote Sales Agent If you have a smooth voice and like talking to customers, sign up as a sales agent. You’ll take calls like you would in a physical call center, but some sales agent positions are remote jobs. For example, you can sign up with the company LiveOps to take calls for 30-minute blocks. First, you must apply, be accepted and complete a company training course, which takes about two weeks. Depending on the job, you could be paid an average of 25 cents per minute and/or commission and receive incentives for selling certain products. 8. Make an Online Business Out of Creating Online Courses If you have specialized knowledge, use it to create an online course. If you partner with a site like Udemy, you can set your price — between $20 and $200 per course — and keep a portion of the earnings based on whether you drive the traffic to the site or Udemy’s advertising attracts the students. 9. Surf the Internet There are dozens of ways to win money online. For example, companies want to know what you’re doing online, so they pay data aggregators like Nielsen to collect that information. To do this, Nielsen incentivizes people to share details about their computer and mobile phone usage by installing an app. You can earn rewards for each mobile device, plus sweepstakes entries. Nielsen gives away $10,000 each month to its Computer and Mobile Panel participants. 10. Serve as
an E-Juror You can make extra cash by serving as a mock juror so attorneys can practice their arguments and judge the value of their cases. Sites like eJury recruit U.S. citizens over 18 who haven’t been convicted of a felony. You can’t be an attorney, paralegal or legal assistant — or closely related to an attorney or employed by a law firm. Expect to make between $5 and $10 for each verdict. 11. Rent Out Your Car Renting out your car is one of the many ways you can make money off of tourists in your city. When you’re sitting at home, you’re not using your car, so consider making money from home by renting it to someone else. Companies like Getaround enable you to offer your car to someone who wants to rent it when you’re not using it. Getaround offers car owners top-rated insurance and 24/7 roadside assistance — so you’re fully protected. Active car owners can earn about $10,000 per year, according to Getaround. Smart Money Moves: 35 Useless Expenses You Need To Slash From Your Budget Now 12. Get Cash Back When You Shop Sign up with Ebates to get cash back when you shop online. Ebates has negotiated deals with more than 2,500 companies. Each time you click through the Ebates site to partner sites, the company pays a referral fee to Ebates, and Ebates shares it with you. You can also earn $25 for each friend you refer to Ebates. 13. Become an English Proficiency Test Grader To test for English proficiency, foreign students take tests that include writing paragraphs, which need to be scored. Companies like EditFast need people to grade the tests, and you can earn between $18 and $25 per hour. You must be a native or native-like English speaker, have a four-year college degree, pass proficiency exams and complete the training. Then, after making this extra money, you can grow it even more by putting it in a checking account like the one from PenFed. With an APY that can pay up to 10 times1 more than the average checking account, it can do more for your money. If you’re looking for an easy way to improve your financial situation, don’t overlook something as simple as your checking account. 1Sourced directly from: www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates as of Sept. 18, 2020. 14. Host Dinner for Guests If you like to cook — and others like to eat your food — you could make money by hosting dinners at your home. Companies like Eatwith coordinate guests for your dinner parties. You must apply and host a demo event so the company can verify your culinary and hosting abilities. If you’re accepted, you’ll be on your way to making up to $1,100 per dinner. 15. Recycle for Cash Recycling helps the Earth by reducing pollution, but it can also put some cash in your pocket. Some states implement a bottle deposit you can get back when you turn in the used bottles at a collection center. For example, in California, you can earn 5 cents for most glass and aluminum cans and 10 cents for 24-ounce or larger bottles. 16. Watch Promotional Videos Some companies put together videos they want consumers to watch — and sites like InboxDollars find and reward consumers willing to do it. You’ll earn a little cash for each video you watch. If there aren’t any videos available to watch, InboxDollars also pays members to take surveys and online shop. 17. Turn Your Home Into a Bed and Breakfast If you don’t mind sharing your home with people, you can sign up to rent it to vacationers. On sites like Airbnb, you can list your space, set your rate and wait for guests to sign up. You have the flexibility to rent when you want and close up shop when you want your house to yourself. 18. Share Your Spending History Companies want to know what you’re spending money on. Snap pictures of your receipts, and upload them to the ReceiptPal app to earn entries into sweepstakes and points you can redeem for gift cards. 19. Test Websites If you like surfing the internet, consider becoming a website tester for UserTesting. Companies that are launching new sites will pay you to provide feedback about them and perform tasks to make sure they’re
functioning properly. You can expect to make $10 for each website you review. 20. Sell Coupons Online If you have any coupons around you know you won’t use, someone else might be willing to pay for them. For example, if someone is planning to buy a new laptop, a 10-percent-off coupon could save them a substantial amount, which might motivate them to pay you a portion of what they’d save to get the coupon. EBay does have some restrictions on coupon sales, however. You can never sell coupons for free items, and you can sell only 25 coupons — or up to $100 worth — each month. 21. Trade Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies are currencies electronically created and controlled in a decentralized manner instead of by a government. Types of cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin and Litecoin. Trading cryptocurrencies can be lucrative — Bitcoin went up considerably between January 2017 and December 2017. Trading cryptocurrencies has its risks. If the price plummets — as Bitcoin’s price has in the past — you could lose your investment. 22. Create Slogans for Companies Companies love catchy slogans because they help sell products. If you have a knack for coming up with creative sayings, enter slogan contests. At Slogan Slingers, companies offer a reward of between $200 and $999 for slogans. If a company selects your slogan as the winner, you keep the prize, minus a small administration fee. 23. Lend Money to People If you have extra money, you can earn an average of 4% to 6% per year in profit by investing in peer-to-peer lending. Sites like LendingClub allow you to invest in small portions of loans — as little as $25 per loan — to other people. If the borrower defaults, however, you lose your investment. You must make a minimum opening deposit of $1,000 and meet the suitability requirements set by your state. For many states, that means you must have an annual income of at least $70,000 or a net worth of at least $250,000. 24. Tutor Students Online If you have a knack for explaining difficult subjects and helping students get better grades, consider tutoring online. You can find your own students and set your own rates to create an online business, or you can sign up to tutor with an existing company like Tutor.com. Tutor.com requires you to be at least a college sophomore, and you must be a subject matter expert in the areas you want to tutor. You must work at least five hours per week at Tutor.com. The site does not list the pay for tutors on its website, but with Chegg you can make $20 or more per hour of tutoring. 25. Host Direct-Sales Parties Direct sales companies like Mary Kay pay representatives to host parties and sell their products. You host events and invite friends, family and neighbors over to see and buy a company’s products — and you keep a portion of the sales. If you work for a single-level, direct-sales company, you can expect to earn an average commission of 20% to 25% of what you sell. 26. Rent Out Office Space in Your Home If you have home office space you don’t need to use, it could be worth money to someone who wants an office outside of their home but doesn’t want the associated cost or inflexibility of a traditional office space lease. You can set your own prices and decide when and for how long you want to rent your space. 27. Provide Tech Support Online If you get excited about fixing computer problems, sign up to get rewarded for being tech-savvy. Through companies like Upwork, you can complete lucrative freelance gigs online to earn cash and rewards by helping people fix their technology products. 28. Search the Web With Bing Switching your search engine is an easy way to make money from home. Microsoft, for example, will reward you for using Bing to search the internet. You earn points for activities like searches, which you can redeem for movies, games and gift cards. 29. Become a Virtual Fitness Instructor If you like helping people get in shape but don’t like traveling to the gym or other people’s homes, consider marketing yourself as a virtual fitness instructor. You might need to get
certifications to gain credibility with clients so you can oversee their workouts via webcam or other technology. Alternatively, you can have short, online meetings with clients and provide them with workouts to do on their own. Either way, you can work from home. 30. Sell Your Hair If your friends tell you they wish they had your hair, you might have a source of income growing right on your head. Sites like HairSellon provide an easy way to make money from home: You can list your hair for sale, and the site even has a calculator to help you set a reasonable price depending on its length, thickness and color. 31. Be a Virtual Assistant People will pay you to assist them with a range of tasks from canceling cable to scheduling appointments. “Virtual business assistance is an opportunity with so much variety and need that many people are able to find a place here,” said Angie Nelson of The Work At Home Wife. “In-demand skills can run the gamut from customer service and email management to optimizing eBay listings and setting up email funnels.” At Fancy Hands, the pay ranges from $3 to $7 per task — the faster you complete tasks, the higher your earning potential. 32. Sign Up for Credit Cards Credit card companies want to get their cards in your hands, and they often offer substantial bonuses to sign up. Many sign-up bonuses for credit cards are in excess of $1,000 — but you might have to spend a certain amount in a short period of time to qualify. Check that the card’s annual fee doesn’t offset the sign-up bonus. 33. Perform Tasks on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Website Amazon has created a huge marketplace for tasks that require human intelligence for completion: Amazon Mechanical Turk. Businesses post tasks and how much the pay is for completing them. Tasks include identifying pictures or videos, transcribing audio recordings and conducting research. Depending on the task, you might have to prove your qualifications before you can claim it. The faster you complete tasks, the more you can make. 34. Adjust Your Home’s Temperature You can increase your bottom line by reducing your heating and cooling costs. Even if you’re always home, you can save up to 14% on your electricity bill if you set your thermostat 2 degrees higher and use a ceiling fan, according to Energy Star. You can also save money by dialing back the heat or air conditioning while you’re asleep. 35. Make and Sell Crafts If you’re a crafty person, selling some of your online handiwork might top your list of ways to make money at home. Sites like Etsy make it easy: You pay no monthly fee, just a 20-cent listing fee. Once your item sells, Etsy takes a 5% transaction fee, making selling you handmade creations and vintage goods in your Etsy shop, mostly painless. 36. Sell Video Footage to News Shows If you often find yourself in the right place at the right time to capture big events, let your video camera roll. News shows will pay you to use the footage for their broadcasts. You can use a site like ScoopBroker to sell your footage to a media outlet for exclusive or nonexclusive rights to it. 37. Write a Book Thanks to the advent of online publishing, you don’t need to have a connection with a big publishing house to deliver your story to the public. In fact, you can publish an e-book digitally through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. You can set your own price and earn up to 70% of it in royalty payments. 38. Pay Your Car Insurance in Full Instead of relying on monthly payments, save up to $120 a year by paying your annual car insurance premium in full, according to Lifehacker. As long as your insurance company has a website, you can boost your bottom line from the comfort of your favorite chair. More Opportunities: These Side Jobs Will Be the Most Popular in the US 39. Empty Your Closet If you have a closet full of clothes that you rarely wear, resell those clothes and put some cash in your pocket. Sites like Tradesy allow you to list items that are in great condition as well as authentic. You won’t pay a listing fee, but you will pay a 19.8%
commission on sold items totaling $50 or more and a flat fee of $7.50 on sold items totaling less than $50. 40. Assist With Political Action Campaigns If you’re a good communicator, consider putting your skills to work as a writer or organizer for political change as a way to make money from home. Sites like NextWave Advocacy recruit qualified applicants — often those with a background in writing who are interested in politics — and train them to work for clients on a range of political issues. 41. Negotiate Your Interest Rates If you have credit card balances, calling your credit card company to try to lower your interest rate works 80% of the time, according to CNBC. Even a small decrease in your rate can save you money. For example, say you carry a $10,000 balance: A 3% rate reduction would save you $300. Leverage how long you’ve been a customer and how you pay on time to increase your chances of success. 42. Use an App To Find Price Rebates Many stores have price guarantees, but it’s a hassle to track them all down and potentially even more of a hassle to file the paperwork. Now, you can get price rebates from the comfort of your own home. For example, sign up for Paribus via email, and the service will track the rebates you’re owed by scanning the receipts sent to your email address. It will seek out the lower price and request a rebate on your behalf if you qualify. 43. Review Computer Software Nobody wants to buy software only to find out it doesn’t work well. To help people avoid that disaster, you can write software reviews and get paid for them. SoftwareJudge will pay you up to $50 per review. 44. Watch TV You can make money from home watching TV: Download the Viggle app and earn one point for every minute you watch shows on subscription services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, plus bonuses for certain shows. You can redeem points for cash or gift cards. Although it might not be the most profitable activity, if you’re going to watch TV anyway, you might as well get rewarded with this easy way to make money from home. 45. Answer Questions via Text If you’re good at finding answers quickly, consider becoming a member at 1Q, a site that enables customers to ask questions and get answers quickly. After you’ve signed up, you’ll receive 50 cents per answer. The number of questions you receive depends on your demographics and location, so keep your profile updated so you don’t miss out on questions. 46. Create an Online Business Translating Foreign Documents If you speak more than one language, you can make money working from home translating documents. ProZ.com acts as a marketplace for translators to connect with people and companies who need translation services. On ProZ.com, clients request applications for translations and select the translator they want to conduct at-home jobs. 47. Take Stock of Your Memberships Cutting unnecessary memberships is as valuable to your budget as generating extra income. Go through all of your current memberships and subscriptions to make sure they’re worth what you’re paying. To help find lurking expenses, consider an app like Trim, which shows your recurring costs and can even cancel subscriptions for you. 48. Share Your Knowledge If you have specialized knowledge, you can monetize it by signing up as an expert to help others online. For example, JustAnswer will pay you to share your expertise. You must apply for each category you feel you’re qualified to provide answers for, and you need to have a degree or certification in that area. The amount you earn depends on how in-demand your area of expertise is. 49. Bet On Your Ability To Get In Shape Did you know you can get paid to sweat? Getting healthy can help you win money by competing in health challenges. Sites like DietBet allow you to compete with others in weight loss challenges. You must upload pictures to verify your starting and finishing weight. You’ll pay an entry fee, but the fees go into a pot that everyone who meets the goal splits. You’ll never lose money as long as you meet your goal. 50. Accept
Packages for Neighbors If you’ve ever missed a package, you know how difficult it can be to reschedule your delivery. That’s why people use eNeighbr to get packages accepted for them. If you’re going to be home anyway, consider signing up to receive packages for your neighbors. Packages will be sent directly to you, and the customer will pick them up. You can expect to make $3.50 per package.
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im 31, and after over a decade of trying to figure out what is wrong with me, my therapist and I are finally thinking it’s ADHD. i’ve had a gut feeling about it for a while and every ADHD post is relatable. now the problem is finding an place that does adult assessments and is affordable (no insurance). do you have any tips on going through the assessment as an adult? and if i can’t afford it, and can’t get medication. how do i ever become the productive focused person i want to be? thanks.
Sorry in advance for the long post... I put the most relevant bits in bold for a TL;DR version.
I know getting diagnosed as an adult can seem daunting, but you shouldn’t worry too much. While ADHD was once viewed as something that only affected children, it is now widely recognized as a lifelong disorder and you shouldn’t have to fear being dismissed because you weren’t diagnosed early in life. It’s extremely helpful that you have been seeing a therapist, and they also think you have ADHD. Ask them to send over their notes when you do go to the doctor.
As for how to get diagnosed - I’ll start by saying I hate the way American healthcare is set up, as medication and healthcare in general are expensive. I have to move frequently for me and my husband’s jobs (we both work in hospitality, and as the saying goes, “You have to move out to move up!”). Because most (all?) ADHD medications are a Schedule II drug (highly regulated but still legal), I have to get rediagnosed in every new state. I always bring my past history, but most doctors want to complete testing as they are monitored for prescribing stimulants and can lose their license if found to be providing this medication without ample documentation. (All of this to say - I have been through the procedure many times as an adult.) Depending on the state, some doctors also require bloodwork and an EKG to ensure you are healthy enough to receive the medication (although some will accept past test results if done recently enough.) Also depending on the state and doctor, they may have additional requirements. In Florida, my doctor wanted a multitude of tests, and asked for a sleep study to ensure the medication wasn’t causing poor sleep. In California, as part of the Kaiser HMO system, I was required to do periodic drug tests to ensure I wasn’t also using street drugs, and to check that the Adderall was in my system (as a test that I was using it as prescribed, and not selling it). Some states are much easier – Utah, Alabama and West Virginia all were able to diagnose me in one appointment and prescribed the medication same day. Last, a General Practitioner won’t typically prescribe it and will direct you to a psychiatrist. Even if you did have insurance, most don’t cover psychiatrists or if they do, it comes with a different deductible (because obviously mental health isn’t part of regular health (heavy sarcasm)). After diagnosing, you have to meet with the doctor once a month to get the prescription refilled – due to the Schedule II status, they can’t have it on an auto-refill like other medications and they need to ensure you aren’t abusing it or having negative side effects. (although the one good thing to come out of COVID is that it normalized tele-health appointments, since an in-person meeting with a doctor once a month can be difficult to schedule). Even though I have health insurance, I typically pay out of pocket $120 a month for my visit with the doctor, and after insurance and a coupon I pay $73 for two medications (Adderall & Vyvanse). I’m fortunate now to be able to afford that expense – at the times in my life where I couldn’t, I would request a 30 day supply of the more affordable pills and only take medication on days where I couldn’t function without it (such as doing large amounts of paperwork) and try to use learned behavior techniques the rest of the time, to stretch out my resources.
As far as what goes into the actual diagnosis – doctors most commonly use a questionnaire about your daily life to assess you. Here is a link to commonly-used questionnaires: https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-assessments-and-tests/.
I know I just made it seem very daunting to get diagnosed and on a medication, but I want to be honest with you about what the process looks like, and again, depending on where you live it can be done in one session. Now that is out of the way, let me give you some information that is more helpful:
If you can, skip asking a regular GP for a referral and make an appointment directly with a psychiatrist. This will save you the extra cost of the doctor’s appointment, just to be told someone else will help. Many places have low cost mental health centers and ADHD falls into that realm, so I would check out what is available in your city. Before making an appointment, confirm the following:
- Do they diagnose ADHD?
- Do they prescribe medication? (Therapists don’t prescribe, only psychiatrists, and some will not prescribe ADHD medication at all so it’s important to be clear that it is your intention to receive medication if diagnosed)
- What tests do they require for diagnosing, and prescribing medication? (Some places may have more or less requirements, and it can even vary within a city or state. This way you will know if it’s something you can afford at the time.)
Talk with the doctor about your specific situation, and what medications are affordable without insurance. Adderall, for example, is past the 10 year exclusive patent and now has a generic version available. It comes in quick release and slow release, depending on your needs. You can also talk to the doctor about a prescription to both quick and slow release, so you take the correct medicine based on your needs for that day (marathon work day? Slow release that extends over the entire day. Afternoon project – quick release that lasts for four hours). Vyvanse is great but doesn’t have a generic version and is insanely expensive without insurance (to the tune of $350+). Use the GoodRX app to find deals on medication without insurance (Adderall is about $15 for a month supply with this app). There are a ton of drug options so look up the pricing during the doctor’s visit, so you can confirm that you can afford what they prescribe. Also keep in mind that getting a prescription filled is the same cost whether you get 1 pill or 30 (a fact I learned the hard way when getting a 10 pill prescription filled once.)
If you read all that and thought, Thanks but no thanks, here are some other options:
- My psychiatrist in Florida recommended that I take Rhodiola Rosea supplements in addition to medication, as it has clinically proven positive effects on ADHD symptom control. I found it on Amazon. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements are also proven effective.
- If you’re interested in this sort of thing, here is a super comprehensive study of various dietary supplements and behavior modifications that work or don’t work for ADHD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4968082/
- Practicing meditation is a great way to relax your body (increased stress, while helpful for short-term tasks, can make ADHD symptoms worse long term) and train your mind to hold onto singular, important thoughts (people’s names, why you walked into the kitchen, etc). I use the Waking Up app and love it – there are also many free options in the App Store and on YouTube.
- Regular exercise is another great way to manage ADHD symptoms, as it gives your body a natural serotonin and dopamine boost, two important chemicals your body has trouble producing and absorbing naturally.
- Caffeine is a great, easily accessible stimulant that has a focusing and calming effect on ADHD individuals. My doctor actually asked my parents to give me coffee each morning before school when I was a child, before we moved onto prescriptions.
- Often, there are other factors that go along with ADHD, such as anxiety and/or depression. Getting this under control can go a long way in managing ADHD as well. I’m not sure if you have any issues with those, but it can be helpful to treat both if you do. The medication Wellbutrin is used to treat depression and also has mild stimulants, which would be helpful for both conditions. It isn’t a Schedule II drug, so you can probably ask your doctor for a 3 or 6 month prescription.
- There are a ton more mind hacks and learned behavioral mechanisms you can try – read some of my other posts for suggestions.
Of course, I have to give the legal disclaimer – all of this is based on my personal experience, I’m not licensed in the medical field in any way and only a doctor can give you proper advice for your body and situation, and what medications will be most helpful. 😊
#adhd#adhd diagnosis#actuallyadhd#actuallyadd#executive dysfunction#neurodivergent#adhd advice#getting diagnosed#going to the doctor
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Last First Day (Lemyanka) - Zyan
A/N: Hi!! I am back back back again. I thought I’d sit out this one, but I ended up having inspiration last minute and here I am. I don’t know if I’ll be able to write one-shots for every day, but that’s what I’m striving for. All of these will be set in Argentina, because I can’t be bothered anymore to write about american schools. Hope you like it anyway! There’s a teeny tiny bit of Kyne/Kiara, because of course there is. My tumblr is @dollalpaca if you wanna hmu :)
(For reference: UPD means “last first day,” and Fernet is a typical Argentinian alcoholic drink.)
Summary: On the night of their UPD, Lemon gets sentimental about her friends and her long time crush on Priyanka.
TW - underage drinking.
“Did you actually buy your school supplies already?” Kiara asks, baffled, while Tynomi is braiding her hair. Lemon is putting away her backpack, already full of school supplies, giving the pair an eye roll. “Who are you, Rita? I barely have an old notebook and a pen left from last year, I haven’t bothered buying anything,” she comments, just as Tynomi swats her in the shoulder to keep still.
“You say it as if your girlfriend wasn’t a fucking flag-bearer, you nerd lover,” Lemon retorts, tossing the backpack on the side of the couch. Tynomi snickers, wrapping a hair tie at the end of the braid just as Kiara tries to throw the hair comb towards Lemon.
Almost right away, they hear the front door open and their friends’ voices announcing that they’re back - there’s also an argument going on, and they can clearly distinguish Kyne’s upset tone while Boa’s voice is being drowned out by Kyne’s complaints.
Lemon cocks a brow in Kiara’s direction when they hear something related to math and money, but Kiara glares at her, so she leaves it alone.
“Geez, we just sent you guys to buy the booze,” Tynomi says cheekily, finally letting go of Kiara’s hair as she wraps the last hair tie. Kiara almost instantly rises from the chair and goes to Kyne side, both because she wants to be near her girlfriend and she can’t wait to get her hands on the bottle of Tequila.
“This stupid bitch wanted to get the cheapest Vodka at the store instead of getting Nikov, which we had plenty of money for - I know, I did the math!” She complains, displaying the alcohol on the table.
Kiara coos, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “That’s nice and all, but I don’t wanna hear about math or school stuff again, it’s our UPD! Lighten up!” She tried to coax her into smiling by peppering kisses all over her face, her hand still firmly wrapped around the bottle of Tequila. Lemon rolls her eyes, taking the bottle from Kiara and heading to the kitchen to get cups for the drinks.
The stars had aligned for her to get permission to host a little party with all the girls of the class before heading to the actual party with the rest of their classmates, and really, she couldn’t be happier about it - but, dear lord, she could absolutely not stand the lovey dovey couples. Who knew all of the lesbians in their year would end up in their class? Not Lemon, at least.
Well, she could tolerate them better if she had a girlfriend of her own, but there was no way her crush would ever—
“WHAT’S MY NAME?”
Speaking of the devil.
The scream echoes around the house, and there’s soon a collective screech. Lemon jumps slightly, gripping the plastic cups a tad too tight before heading to the living room, where Priyanka, Rita, Scarlett and Ilona are greeting the rest. She holds back a sigh, puts on a frown and approaches them with faux offense.
“Go ahead, it’s not like polite people knock the door,” she scolds Priyanka, setting the cups on the table and folding her arms towards her. Priyanka just rolls her eyes and wraps her in a tight hug, Lemon tries to push her away, but ends up giving in. She always gives in when it comes to Priyanka.
“Your shirt looks good, bitch! Love what you did with the neckline,” Priyanka teases with a smile, and Lemon’s eyes dart to her own chest. The shirt is ripped, her bra - equally bedazzled - peeking through. She smiles proudly, because it took her longer than it needed to, and her neck had hurt for three days after. The fact Priyanka points it out shouldn’t make her heart race so fast, but it does, and she has to go greet the rest of the girls that just arrived before anyone picks up on it.
“Anyone knows what the fuck is Jimbo doing for her shirt? That bitch hasn’t answered in the group chat since, I dunno, like January. Who the fuck knows if she’s going to follow the theme,” Ilona asks to the group, as she sits cross legged on the ground, fetching for a bottle of Fernet and a cup, looking around to find a Coca Cola.
Scarlett shrugs besides her, scrolling through their group chat, trying to find any sign that Jimbo had read and understood the theme they were going for with the shirts - but of course the bitch deactivated her reading confirmation. Great. They roll their eyes, hoping and praying Jimbo hasn’t gone out her way to do something extra and chaotic like she tends to do - what’s so hard about distressing a pink shirt, writing your name with stones and then doing whatever you want with the stones left?
“If she ruins the group photos, I will personally kick her ass,” Scarlett grumbles, accepting the cup of Fernet Ilona is offering her.
“You and me, bitch, you and me,” Rita pipes up, “But before we kill Jimbo - don’t you have a stereo, Lem? We need music!” She exclaims, trying to light up the mood, and the rest agrees with her. Lemon quickly gets up, asking if anyone wants to help her drag the stereo from the back of the house.
It takes Rita a split second to push - quite literally - Priyanka to help Lemon, giving Lemon a shit-eating grin while Priyanka warns Rita to not do that once they’re drunk because she’ll fall flat on her face.
Once they’re out of hearing range, there’s a collective giggle around the room, as the alcohol floods and they try to keep their bickering down.
“Do we think tonight’s the night? Anyone wanna place their bets?” Boa is the one that starts the chaos, making the girls giggle as they look at each other.
“I bet Lemon’s going to try to get liquid confidence, but then will chicken out at the last second and end up crying to one of us about how pretty Pri is. That’s what I bet,” Tynomi pipes up, snickering as she quickly downs her shot of vodka.
“Y’all are being too generous - I bet she’s not going to try anything, we know she’s a coward,” Kyne says, earning a pinch on her arm from Kiara, who’s sitting across her lap.
“You’re not allowed to call anyone a coward, bitch, I was the one that made the first move!” She reminds her in an accusatory tone, making Kyne’s cheeks take a rosy tone as she frowns ever so slightly. She shifts on her lap, reaching for the shots of Tequila Scarlett is handing out. “I bet tonight’s the night - it has to be, the hoe’s been pinning for her since, what? Jimbo’s quinces?”
“Calling it a quinces is too generous,” Ilona deadpans, cocking a skeptical brow.
Lemon’s crush on Priyanka isn’t something new, in fact, it’s been a running joke on their group ever since they were in third year and Jimbo was the first one to throw a “party” in which a lot of shenanigans happened - the only thing they could recall with clarity was that Lemon admitted to Juice (already drunk and in the verge of tears) that she had a big, fat crush on Priyanka.
It wasn’t funny at the moment, since poor Juice didn’t know what to do to calm her down, but as time went by and everyone picked up on Lemon’s obvious crush, it turned into an inside joke that always earned them a glare from Lemon, and a confused stare from Priyanka.
But it’s been three years since then, and this is their last year before they have to go to college, possibly move out and leave their boring little town, get jobs and be functioning adults with little to no time to see each other - as much as they joke about Lemon being an useless lesbian, they just want her to be happy on their last year together.
“Rita, you’re the one that has an iPhone, use that notes app of yours to write down everyone’s bets before the bitches come back,” Scarlett suggests, and Rita rolls her eyes, pulling out her phone and passing it around so everyone can type out their predictions.
“Wait, we’re missing Juice, Starzy and Jimbo, we can’t close it yet,” Rita says, once she gets back her phone and realizes they’re missing some girls.
“Close what?” Lemon exclaims, dragging a stereo along with Priyanka and leaving it in a different side of the room. None of them is quick to blurt out an excuse, but luckily Lemon brushes it off and asks if someone wants to be in charge of the music. Tynomi shoots up almost immediately, hoarding the aux cord and asking if anyone has any recommendations before she plays one of her Spotify playlists of old reggaeton.
Lemon settles next to Rita, asking Ilona to prepare her another Fernet, 50/50 if possible, and Ilona half-jokingly, half-seriously asks if she wants to get shit faced early, with a brow cocked in her direction. She just shrugs, saying she wants to start the night with a bang, but promises to take things slow, at least for now.
She doesn’t say that she has the goal of not crying tonight, because she’s cried a lot through her whole high school career and just wants a night where her mascara doesn’t end up running down her cheeks - admittedly, that’s easier said than done, but there’s always a first time for everything.
And, besides, it’s her last first day of school - she’s been enduring the hell that is Argentina’s public school for six years now, wasting half of it on the afternoon shift, sitting through classes sweating in places she didn’t know she could sweat because the classrooms had just one functioning fan, and the north of the country is all but cold. But it’s almost over now, she just has to endure eight more months before she’s off to the big city for college.
Though that should make her happy - it’s what she’s been hoping for since she started high school - she can’t help but feel the tiniest bit of sadness, as her eyes dart around the room and sees her friends, sees her crush laughing and drinking and very oblivious to the way her heart races against her chest by just thinking of her.
She’d get nostalgic of things that haven’t happened yet, but Ilona’s urging her to taste the Fernet she just prepared, and she takes a big swig when there’s a knock on the door. Juice enters without waiting for someone to open, Starzy and Jimbo following her closely, and she has bags full of alcohol on each hand, a wide grin on her face as she tries to find somewhere to sit. More than one of the girls sigh in relief when they see Jimbo’s shirt is pink too - they disregard the fact her design doesn’t make much sense, as long as it’s pink, they can live with that.
She promised herself she wouldn’t cry, but half a glass of Fernet later, she gets a little teary eyed as she looks around the room and sees all of her friends chatting and laughing and having fun. Lemon can only hope senior year is good to them.
argentina hs au
#rpdr fanfiction#tynomi banks#kiara#kyne#lemon#boa#rita baga#ilona verley#scarlett bobo#priyanka#lemyanka#kyara#last first day#zyan#argentina hs au#back to school 2020#day 1: notebook#submission
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1041
survey by chasingghosts
What is the age gap between you and your parents? 27 for both. Technically, 26 years with my mom since she had yet to celebrate her birthday when she had me, but she was going to turn 27 all the same. Guh. I can’t believe I’m just five years away from that and I’m still nowhere near building my own family.
How many bathrooms does your house have? Is this enough? Two. I’d say it’s enough. Two people in the family rarely have to go to the bathroom at the same time so it works out for us.
Have you sent a letter to anyone in the past year? Yeah. I used to give Gabie a handwritten letter every Christmas along with her gifts. I still plan on writing her one, but obviously the content will be vastly different now.
Have you ever video chatted with someone you met online? I did this with Carley a handful of times; we’d video chat when I came home from school which was around the time she would get ready for school. She was such an extrovert who was so lovely and bubbly around me, and I’ve always felt bad that she had to contend with my shy ass with my mic always muted lol.
Are you hungry or thirsty right now? I’m neither but I can go for a light meal right now, which is great because I got myself a chicken barbecue sandwich and a caramel macchiato from Starbucks as a treat for myself tonight :) I went through five video call meetings just for today alone, went through several breakdowns while at work, and am also on my period, so I thought I deserved a break.
When was the last time you ate something, and what did you eat? Literally just had a bite from my sandwich.
Have you ever seen the film Boondock Saints? Nope. Sounds nothing like my type of film.
Do you own a pair of gumboots? Nah. I don’t like walking in floods anyway, so I don’t plan on getting a pair.
What colour is your favourite mug? Copper.
How far away from your town/city is your state's capital city? I already live in my province’s capital.
Have you ever worked somewhere where you had to clean the toilets? I haven’t.
Do you know anyone named Doug? No, not really a common name here.
What cut of jeans is your favourite and why? Do mom jeans count as a cut? I’ve been all over those throughout 2020. They’re stylish and yet so comfy, which are two words that seldom go together.
Do you rate people's attractiveness on a scale of 1-10? Uhhhhhhhh unless a friend asked me to rate someone they know, I don’t really think in these terms.
Name a few of your favourite actors. Kate freaking Winslet. Also Kristen Stewart, Emma Stone, Audrey Hepburn, Brie Larson, Florence Pugh, and Eddie Redmayne. I’d name Timothée Chalamet but I have yet to see a work of his.
Do you collect anything, or have you ever? The first item I ever collected was notebooks. In my past relationship (is it obvious I’m not over it yet and probably never will be? Ha) I initially liked to collect receipts from places we went to and ate at. I’d also like to be able to grow a collection of wrestling memorabilia, particularly action figures and belts. It’s not really a life goal of mine but it’d still be a cool thing to achieve.
So, how has your week been so far? I mean it’s only Monday, so nothing much. I cried and broke down a lot today which wasn’t a good start, but tomorrow’s a holiday so no work; and for Thursday I was invited to the Christmas party of the department I initially interned at and apparently they’ll be sending over a Christmas kit over to my place so I’m looking forward to these! It’s super touching they remembered and still invited me even though I’m not a part of the team anymore, so I wouldn’t have missed the party for the world.
Is there anything that you could cry about right now? Definitely, and being on my period at the moment makes it so much easier to cry. But I already cried too much and too hard earlier today and it felt exhausting, so I’m trying to avoid it tonight.
How old were you when you learned how to tie your shoelaces? I was five. I probably would’ve made myself learn later but one of our ‘exams’ in kindergarten was to show that you know how to tie your shoelaces, so I had to ask my grandma to give me a crash course.
Have you ever slept in a car overnight? Why did you have to? Yeah. I had to pull several all-nighters in college and work at 24/7 coffee shops, but I usually gave up by around 2-3 AM and would sleep in the car by then.
When was the last time you used Facebook? Earlier this evening, but I couldn’t scroll too much because spoilers for Start Up are everyyyyyyfuckingwhere and I’m still several episodes away from the finale, which aired last night.
Do you have a PO Box or does your mail get sent straight to your house? Our mails and parcels get sent straight to our door.
Are you interested in entomology? Do you know what that is? Never been. I think it’s great that insects have a lot of capabilities and contributions that we often take for granted; but I personally find a great deal of them icky as well lol so I wouldn’t say I’m interested in this branch.
Have you ever had to claim insurance? What for? Hmm I don’t think so. Not my own nor my parents’. Do you like to listen to albums start-finish without skipping or shuffling? I’ll do this sometimes with my favorite albums, yes. Fuck knows how many times I listened to After Laughter from start to finish with no skips; it was my favorite for a while.
Do you have any unspoken enemies, or maybe frenemies? I’m not the biggest fan of Patrice, but it’s not something I broadcast to people because why would I? I’m sure she slightly does not like me too, so we’re even.
What was the last thing you broke? That would be my last phone charger cord. I’ve since had it replaced though.
Do you have a favourite state/province/territory in your country? Not necessarily an overall favorite but I do have a favorite place I’ve traveled to, which is Sagada. I need a second vacation to see if it still lives up to my expectations and if it would still be able to give me an experience as cathartic and therapeutic as my first trip there, but for the last five years it has sat on the throne.
How many vowels are in your street name? Is this question too mundane? Three. I mean I’ve never been asked this on a survey before, so I wouldn’t call it that.
What are your three top favourite flavours of ice cream? Cookies and cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, coffee.
How far away is the nearest Target? At least a couple thousand miles away.
Do you prefer Target, Kmart or Walmart? Idk and idc.
Have you ever farted in class or somewhere else you shouldn't have? No. I suppress my farts, even when I’m alone haha it’s just my least favorite bodily function.
What's your middle name? Would you change it? I’m not giving it away. I wouldn’t change it and I’m definitely not giving it up even if I get married. I’m keeping my middle name then just hyphenate my surname so that I get to keep all three names.
When was the last tie you wore heels? What was the occasion? September. Job interview for a position I didn’t really want but still chose to undergo because it was still an interview.
Do you find yourself lost for words often? I guess yeah, depression does tend to do that to me.
Did you share baths with your siblings/cousins when you were a child? Yep, I remember sharing the shower with my sister as late as when I was 10. Then puberty happened to me and I did not want to continue the practice anymore, haha.
Have you ever been a member of an online dating site? How did it go? I joined Tinder while I was in a relationship (she made an account as well at the time so it was fair game) literally just to people-watch. I wasn’t interested in cheating; I was just genuinely curious to see how the app worked. I put on a fake name, age, location and my profile photo was of a cat I saw in school so it was impossible to tell it was me.
Do you know what your neighbours even look like? I would not be able to recognize them if you lined them up with a bunch of other strangers, to tell you the truth. I’d probably be able to recognize the carpenters working on the house currently being constructed in front of ours though; they’re super nice and they’re crazy over Cooper haha.
How many siblings does your best friend have? Angela is an only child.
Do you put ketchup on your fries? No. Ketchup does not go anywhere near my fries.
Have you been lucky enough to make out with anyone in the past week? LOL lucky enough...but no, I haven’t done that in a while.
Have your parents ever worked in the agriculture business etc. on a farm? Neither have.
Do you have an ex that makes you angry with literally everything they do? No.
Are you easily susceptible to brain freeze? No but tooth sensitivity, yes. I have a certain tooth that acts up whenever I eat ice cream, and it can get soooo inconvenient and uncomfortable for a few seconds.
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THE ANATOMY OF VC BE A STARTUP
If in the next couple years. Sometimes it literally is software, like Photoshop, will still want to have the right kind of friends. Where the work of PR firms.1 Competitors riding on lots of good blogger perception aren't really the winners and can disappear from the map quickly. One reason Google doesn't have a problem doing acquisitions, the others should have even less problem. Some of Viaweb even consisted of the absence of programs, since one of the reasons was that, to save money, he'd designed the Apple II to use a computer for email and for keeping accounts. They want to know what is a momentous one. How do you find them? Suppose it's 1998. The big media companies shouldn't worry that people will post their copyrighted material on YouTube. Once someone is good at it, but regardless it's certainly constraining.
Gone with the Wind plus Roots. This is extremely risky, and takes months even if you succeed.2 At most software companies, especially at first. Their answers were remarkably similar. I use constantly?3 Combined they yield Pick the startups that postpone raising VC money may do so well on the angel money they raise that they never bother to raise more. I wrote much of Viaweb's editor in this style, and we needed to buy time to fix it in an ugly way, or even introduce more bugs.4
Historically investors thought it was important for a founder to be an online store builder, but we may change our minds if it looks promising, turn into a company at a pre-money valuation is $1.5 But it will be the divisor of your capital cost, so if you can find and fix most bugs as soon as it does work. Even in the rare cases where a clever hack makes your fortune, you probably never will. You may not believe it, but regardless it's certainly constraining.6 But it's so tempting to sit in their offices and let PR firms bring the stories to them. Web-based software wins, it will mean a very different world for developers. I think we're just beginning to see its democratizing effects. But this is old news to Lisp programmers. If 98% of the time.7 It might help if they were a race apart.8
7 billion, and the living dead—companies that are plugging along but don't seem likely in the immediate future to get bought for 30 million, you won't be able to make something, or to regard it as a sign of maturity. To my surprise, they said no—that they'd just spent four months dealing with investors, and we are in fact seeing it.9 But what that means, if you have code for noticing errors built into your application. The number of possible connections between developers grows exponentially with the size of the group. We think of the overall cost of owning it. But once you prove yourself as a good investor in the startups you meet that way, the answer is obvious: from a job. Your housemate was hungry. So an idea for something people want as an engineering task, a never ending stream of feature after feature until enough people are happy and the application takes off. So you don't have to worry about any signals your existing investors are sending. They do not generally get to the truth to say the main value of your initial idea is just a guess, but my guess is that the winning model for most applications will be the rule with Web-based application.
It's practically a mantra at YC. You probably need about the amount you invest, this can vary a lot.10 If you lose a deal to None, all VCs lose.11 Plenty of famous founders have had some failures along the way. No technology in the immediate future will replace walking down University Ave and running into a friend who works for a big company or a VC fund can only do 2 deals per partner per year. For insiders work turns into a duty, laden with responsibilities and expectations.12 In addition to catching bugs, they were moving to a cheaper apartment.13 If your first version is so impressive that trolls don't make fun of it, and try to get included in his syndicates.14 VCs did this to them.15
Most people, most of the surprises. So the previously sharp line between angels and VCs. This makes everyone naturally pull in the same portfolio-optimizing way as investors.16 And there is a big motivator.17 These things don't get discovered that often. Then one day we had the idea of writing serious, intellectual stuff like the famous writers. You need investors. The mud flat morphs into a well. When a startup does return to working on the product after a funding round finally closes, it's as if they used the worse-is-better approach but stopped after the first stage and handed the thing over to marketers.
Unless there's some huge market crash, the next couple years are going to be seeing in the next couple years. And yet when I got back I didn't discard so much as a box of it. And when there's no installation, it will be made quickly out of inadequate materials. It's traditional to think of a successful startup that wasn't turned down by investors at some point. But that doesn't mean it's wrong to sell.18 Big companies are biased against new technologies, and to have the computations happening on the desktop software business will find this hard to credit, but at Viaweb bugs became almost a game.19 Plans are just another word for ideas on the shelf.
I wouldn't try it myself. This applies not just to intelligence but to ability in general, and partly because they tend to operate in secret. Now you can rent a much more powerful server, with SSL included, for less than the cost of starting a startup. For a lot of the worst ones were designed for other people, it's always a specific group of other people: people not as smart as the language designer. We're not hearing about Perl and Python because people are using them to write Windows apps. But if you look into the hearts of hackers, you'll see that they really love it.20 I am always looking.21 But you know perfectly well how bogus most of these are. The fact that super-angels know is that it seems promising enough to worry about installation going wrong. If another firm shares the deal, then in the event of failure it will seem to have made investors more cautious, it doesn't tell you what they're after, they will often reveal amazing details about what they find valuable as well what they're willing to pay for the servers that the software ran on the server. Why can't defenders score goals too? If coming up with ideas for startups?
Notes
But if they pay a lot of people who need the money.
A Bayesian Approach to Filtering Junk E-Mail.
Unless you're very docile compared to sheep. Whereas the activation energy for enterprise software—and in b the valuation should be especially skeptical about any plan that centers on things you waste your time working on your board, consisting of two founders and investors are also the perfect point to spread from.
Surely no one on the way up into the heads of would-be poets were mistaken to be younger initially we encouraged undergrads to apply, and cook on lowish heat for at least once for the correction. I know it didn't to undergraduates on the y, you'd see a clear upward trend.
The hardest kind of method acting. Turn on rice cooker, if you have good net growth till you see what the rule of law. But there are no discrimination laws about starting businesses. In fact, this seems empirically false.
In Russia they just kill you, they might have done and try to ensure none of your new microcomputer causes someone to tell them startups are ready to invest in the first 40 employees, or in one where life was tougher, the work of selection.
The best kind of kludge you need to, but except for money. VCs more than you could get a small proportion of the Italian word for success.
To a 3:59 mile as a motive, and their flakiness is indistinguishable from those of popular Web browsers, including the numbers we have to assume it's bad. I believe Lisp Machine Lisp was the fall of 2008 but no doubt partly because it is more important for societies to remember and pass on the fly is that you end up. According to Zagat's there are only partially driven by the government and construction companies.
One great advantage of startups have elements of both. Not least because they're determined to fight. The quality of investor behavior.
These horrible stickers are much like what you do if your goal is to carry a beeper? Acquisitions fall into in the angel is being unfair to him?
Which OS?
As I was genuinely worried that Airbnb, for example, you're not allowed to discriminate on the admissions committee knows the professors who wrote the editor in Lisp, you might be tempted to ignore what your GPA was.
Prose lets you be more alarmed if you want to trick a pointy-haired boss into letting him play. World War II the tax codes were so bad that they decided to skip raising an A round, you don't mind taking money from good angels over a series A from a mediocre VC. The dictator in the US. Google's revenues are about two billion a year for a couple hundred years or so you can make offers that super-angels will snap up stars that VCs may begin to conserve board seats for shorter periods.
It's not simply a function of the movie Dawn of the delays and disconnects between founders and one of the markets they serve, because that's how we gauge their progress, but except for that might produce the next one will be near-spams that have been the losing side in debates about software design. Japanese.
There were a first—9. Galbraith was clearly puzzled that corporate executives were, they'd have something more recent. Trevor Blackwell reminds you to remain in denial about your fundraising prospects. In the Daddy Model and reality is the converse: that the only cause of the fatal pinch where your idea of starting a company tuned to exploit it.
A few VCs have an email being spam.
The late 1960s were famous for social upheaval. Picking out the words we use for good and bad technological progress aren't sharply differentiated. Letter to Oldenburg, quoted in Westfall, Richard.
So you can fix by writing library functions.
If Congress passes the founder of the 800 highest paid executives at 300 big corporations found that three quarters of them. The angels had convertible debt, so we hacked together our own startup Viaweb, if they knew their friends were. But be careful. The original Internet forums were not web sites but Usenet newsgroups.
The only people who had been with us if the quality of production. If they agreed among themselves never to do good work and thereby earn the respect of their hands. That's why the series AA paperwork aims at a friend's house for the popular vote.
Galbraith p. And so this one is harder, the median VC loses money. European art.
Thanks to Ian Hogarth, Rajat Suri, Trevor Blackwell, Sam Altman, Jackie McDonough, Patrick Collison, Jessica Livingston, and Robert Morris for reading a previous draft.
#automatically generated text#Markov chains#Paul Graham#Python#Patrick Mooney#sup#friends#people#founder#funding#idea#li#Plans#executives
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Skinny Bone Jones
Skinny Bone Jones
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 coming soon!
9k words
This is my baby Park Jaehyung and an AU in which y’all are dealing with the coronavirus together in LA. Jae grew up with Y/N and you were childhood friends. You stayed close but haven’t seen each other in ages. Now you’re both back.
Teeth rotting fluff, possible smut in future chapters (lets see if I have the balls to post it), Y/N has a strong proclivity for a certain guitarists hands. And honestly, who can blame her? TW: Confrontation with a nasty old ex, Coronavirus, Quarantine, overbearing parents.
...
This fucking sucks.
Closing your laptop, and shoving it off of your lap to the side of your bed, you are struck by exactly how warm the underside of your Netflix Machine was in contrast to the chilly room. Well, 3 hours of To Catch a Predator in, and sure, your old 2011 Dell dinosaur is going to be a little mad at you. I've got to do something today. Anything.
Week 3 of your quarantine is coming to a close and on this breezy LA Thurs-Fri-Turday (who the hell knows anymore) you can feel the last tendrils of your sanity escaping with the setting sun. It just doesn't stop setting. And rising. And setting. And rising. Tortuously slow some days and before you can even get out of bed the next. Not that you get out of bed much.
Alright. That's it. I'm gonna do something. I have to. It's time to make some art, bake some cookies, go for a run, tell someone around me how much I value them, topple the patriarchy. I am going to get up and do something with my life and damned if I get in my own way again. I am unstoppable. I am formidable. I am inevitable.
Rising from your rumpled bed clothes with the steadfastness of a slightly anemic Viking (whoa I’m woozy, I shouldn't have stood up so fast. Shit, when's the last time I ate?) you cross to the large bay window that faces the street. You throw your curtains open, ready to face the day, only to be faced with… stars starting to twinkle at you out of the inky blackness. Dammit. I'm gonna have to defeat systemic oppression tomorrow.
Squinting from behind your glasses, you see that the stars are not stars at all but helicopters blinking down at you. You haven't seen real stars since your trip to Big Sur last summer. Although you moved to LA when you were 7, you have vague recollections of the Korea that you loved as a young child. Your parents had picked up and moved to the States after years of struggling through VISA's and citizenship red tape. Your mom and dad had originally meant to get married and have you in the US. The land of opportunity.
You now chafed slightly under that blanket of opportunity as you are far too aware of the responsibility you have been given to make the absolute most of it. From the ripe old age of 8 you had been conditioned to follow your dreams to their fullest. As long as those dreams were to become a doctor, lawyer, or marry a CEO. Your parents cared about you greatly and you knew that. They only want security for you, happiness comes from security. Now 25, you can't quite remember the last time their overbearing nature had been quite this...potent. You were in your final year of medical school at USC and there was nowhere to run. It was time for you to begin your foray into the 'real world' of residency. The same post-undergrad 'real world' that you had watched all of your non-premed friends crash land into. They had all distanced themselves from you, both figuratively and literally; intentionally and inadvertently. Divorced, Beheaded, Died: Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. You had watched you friends get married, have kids, sabotage marriages, buy houses, do well, do poorly. And here you were in some kind of bubble both safe and isolated from all of the uncertainty beyond the classroom.
Jokes on you, Jessica, now we're all screwed, you find yourself thinking for the upteenth time over the past month. You had been watching the Coronavirus since December and knew exactly what was to come. You did all that you were capable of as a not-quite certified medical professional and tried to convince people of the reality of the threat, convince them not to panic, and to exercise a reasonable level of preparedness. Well, that didn't work. You found yourself sunk into a deep well of frustration and futility at the action and inaction that was being exhibited throughout the States. For the first weeks of quarantine you found yourself glued to your phone, helplessly watching the tragedy unfold and the stupidity that was ensuing. By week 2 your empathy had burnt out and you knew you couldn't watch that world anymore. K-drama's it is. After completely obliterating Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class, and rewatching Descendants of the Sun for the eighth time just because it's so. damn. cute!, your parents started to get a little concerned.
Your stomach growled and you realize you, in fact, haven't eaten since early this morning. As you consider what the consequences of emerging from your cave of a bedroom might have, you resign yourself. Five minutes later you are hovering in the kitchen with a bowl of leftover whateverthefuck in hand, you turn to see both of your parents at the bar stools staring at you with a look of concern that you haven't seen in years. Shit, I keep forgetting, they think I'm functional. Your parents had shipped you off to Health Careers College Prep school, a boarding school in Sacramento, when you were 16. Upon graduation there with your high school diploma, nurses aid, and dental hygienist's certificates, you immediately started at USC premed. You hadn't lived at home since your Jonas Brother's phase. As much as your parents loved you, they didn't really know you. This had been overwhelmingly obvious when the USC campus closed and you returned home to open arms and your bedroom frozen in the clutches of 2009. Your parents had welcomed you home with tearful hugs and a new gift for your room. I know how much you love that Kevin- boy. And your room is so old. Come. Come. Already wary and wondering who the hell is Kevin? you allowed yourself to be led to your old room and set your bags down with a deadened thump. You tried so hard not to laugh, You really did. They're trying so hard. But like, Where did they even find this monstrosity? You had been staring up at the largest poster of Kevin Jonas that you had ever seen every night for 3 weeks and it was starting to get to you.
Regardless of the decor (purple fuzzy lamp shade included), there were so many parts of living at home that were so foreign to you. Although everything was completely the same, you were worlds different and it was disorienting. Your bed seemed smaller, the walls shorter, the colors dimmer. Everything that made that house your home was still there, only you had changed. It was like you were in a coma and had just woken up, the rest of the world unchanged but with 10 more years under your belt. Your therapist would tell you that you were reverting into a childlike state because of trauma and surroundings. Hush, Mollie, I don't need that right now. I need food.
Food was honestly what was keeping you sane and civil. Your parents own a pho shop just down the street that was still taking carry out and delivery orders for pho, crawfish, whatever they had lying around. You had been helping out in the kitchen and with deliveries since you had been home. As freeing as the drives have been, you really come alive in the kitchen. You had been watching your mom make pho and dumplings for years and although she sent kimchi to your apartment every month or so, you missed your moms cooking. And her kitchen. You immediately took to cooking just like you had when you moved off of USC campus and into an apartment with some friends. You had 12 burners! That all worked! A convection oven! Two of them! Kitchen Aid's! You had no problem opening up shop at 8am every morning to prep the dough and get the stock boiling and all of the other things that her mother and father had been doing for the past 20 years.
Returning to your room after rinsing out your bowl and chopsticks, and exchanging goodnight's with your parents you sit on your bed and tell yourself to go to bed. You have to be up at 7am for the kitchen. You need to chop scallions for the pork and chive dumplings so it has time to coagulate. Come on, Go to bed. No phone. It was a pitiful attempt, really. You had been pulling med-school grade all-nighters since your junior year of high school and nothing was stopping you now. Turning on your side for easy access to your charger, you plug your phone and coast through Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Tinder for an indeterminate amount of time before your eyes start to get heavy. Instagram was just filled with all of your peers from USC recklessly meeting up with friends for picnics and drives and all of the other things they thought they were free to do because they were young and healthy and beautiful. Fuck off. Youtube provided a lovely escape from the actual outside. Mikey Chen showed you around TaiPei's street food scene, Binging with Babish gave you a new hand pulled noodle recipe to try, Bon Appetit made you glad you weren't Claire Saffitz. Tinder was a joke but an adequately funny one. Instead of your bog standard USC fuckboi's you were able to talk to fuckboi's from Korea, Dubai, Indonesia, Guatemala, Brazil. How fun. You had downloaded it 6 months prior after yet another guy in your department was just 'too busy, i'm sorry' to make the date that you had planned. You generally tried to avoid Twitter as it was just an echo chamber of panic and 24 hour news cycles and didn't do much for your anxiety. See, Mollie? I'm being smart.
You flick open the little bird app and scroll for just a minute. A particular notification picques your attention. Jae tweeted. Well, Day6 tweeted, but we all know who runs their twitter. Your throat tightens with nerves as the post loads. You worry about him more than you'd like to admit but with tours cancelled and travel suspended, you know how hard it can be for people whose livelihoods revolve around entertainment and travel. The post loads and you let out a sigh of relief to see Jae surrounded by his band mates and smiling. Brian starts speaking Korean and delivers his message about their newly acquired tiktok. Brian gestures for Jae to speak and Jae delivers the same message in English. Ah, he went back to blonde. It looks good on him. Wait is he- oh god, he's wearing a crossbody fanny pack. Jae, you're old. Stop. Shifting to get more comfortable, you let the video loop a few times before closing the app. Jae's okay. You roll over onto your side and set your phone to the side. Jae's voice echoes through your ears for the next few minutes but you resolve yourself against it. I'm not getting fucking tiktok. I'm a grown ass woman. That app is for 12 year olds. And Jae. Resolved, you burrow into your Jonas brothers duvet cover for the night.
Sweating and on the verge of tears, you wake with a start. The dream was already slipping from your consciousness with a blessed haste but the uneasy feeling that the nightmare gave you seemed to coat the inside of your skull and taint it's entire contents. A thin light filters through your still open window and your eyes creak open. Morning? Sure, why not? Rolling over, you flick open your phone and are greeted by an all too unfamiliar, 5:17am. It's too damn early. Even for you. You still have an hour or so to kill before you have to get up but you didn't fancy the idea of trying to go back to sleep after that dream. Propping yourself up on a few of the approximately 67 pillows that litter your twin sized bed, you open your phone. 3 new emails from USC congratulating you on your graduation and asking for some documentation of something or another or evaluation of some class you hadn't thought of in weeks. Skip. 2 emails from residencies that you had applied to before the coronavirus urging you to reapply in the fall. Great. You couldn't even bring yourself to feign concern over the missed opportunity. 1 email from Twitter informing you that Jae had tweeted. Again. You follow the link to another video of his side project EaJ. You had been following his new releases and you were surprised by the tenderness and vulnerability that they showed. He was always such a funny guy, it was the only side that he really showed much to the media. Sure, fans got glimpses at concerts, but not many knew just how deep the well ran in that man.
Today's Tuesday, apparently. The next episode of How Did I Get Here? comes out today. I'll have something to listen to while I food prep. You never admitted to yourself how pleased you were when he started the podcast. You missed hearing his voice on a regular basis. Hollered up into your window, whispered between giggles in the back-most church pew, hurled across crowded hallways. Of course, the voice was different than it is now. Pocked by pubescence and the LA accent, you remember a far squeakier Jae. He was the first person you met when you moved into the neighborhood at 7 years old. He was 9 so of course, he took it upon himself to show you exactly where you could and couldn't go and what taco trucks would give out fare for free to little kids on weekends. You remember those years fondly as finally having the big brother you never had. Skinny Bone Jones, you called him. He stood up for you when the kids in middle school called you smelly for bringing kimchi in your lunch. He called you smelly just for being you. He was well liked in school and by extension so were you. You had the cool big brother. You were more than happy to play second fiddle and be his backup. Tagging along to parties, helping him record his yellow post-it note covers on Youtube, letting him know when his hair looked stupid.
And so it stayed until Jae actually made it on KPop Star. As much as you loved him, you didn't think he would ACTUALLY make it. Sure, he could sing. He had a beautiful voice but that wasn't enough. The boy danced like a drunk chicken and was 6ft tall and 120lbs soaking wet. He didn't even know Korean. What was he thinking? He was thinking he was going to prove you wrong. And he did. You watched as Skinny Bone Jones transformed into Park Jaehyung with a perfect balance of immense pride and terror. You knew you wouldn't lose your friend entirely but during his trainee days he had very limited access to the outside world, and you just weren't a priority. Honestly, you would've been offended if you had been. He has a mom, dad, an older sister, bandmates, college. It only makes sense that the steady stream of communication turned into a trickle. It wasn't until Every Day6 that you were more of an insistent presence in his life. You burrowed your way back into his inbox with the tenacity of the annoying little sister that you were. You were worried. You watched him on After School Club and in the deluge of content that Day6 was serving their slowly growing fanbase. He looked tired. You once again rekindled your relationship but it was different now. Instead of you leaning on him for social support, you became his confidant. He was struggling. Burnt out, and questioning so many things, he didn't want to go to his bandmates because he didn't want them to worry. His parents would pull him immediately if they knew exactly how rough his condition was, his 'friends' from college had proved fake. He now had Alpha Phi Omega blocked because they wouldn't stop asking for favors: Day6 tickets, Twice merch, Got7 tickets. He felt alone but you reached out and he was able to lean on you. The trials passed and he was happier than ever and Day6's growing popularity meant good things for his lobster funds.
You stayed in contact over the years and shared with each other the going on's of your lives. You had even managed to go to the Gravity World Tour date in LA. Jae got you backstage and you were able to meet the rest of his bandmates that you had heard so much about. It was an act of God that you managed to keep your composure. I mean sure, he's just Jae but you're still backstage at a concert for the first time! Your cheeks still redden when you remember how Jae caught you ogling at YoungK. Heart in your throat, and voice barely above a whisper YoungK had walked directly over to you and asked what you were doing backstage. After a solid 15 seconds of pointing listlessly at your Press badge and making just the strangest of noises that were meant to approximate speech, Jae finally caught wind and rushed over, knocking your sense back into you and introducing you to the members.
Oh! Y/N! It's so nice to finally meet you! Jae talks about you all the time, I'm so glad you were able to make it! Your cheeks inexplicably reddened further to a violent shade of pink but the boys slowly defanged themselves in your mind. They're truly lovely people and you're glad Jae has them. That being said, you still can't quiiiite look Brian in the eyes and Jae thinks it's hilarious.
The Gravity tour feels like ages ago as you shrug on some jeans and a tee shirt for your walk to the shop. August 2019 at the Novo may have only been 8 months ago but it seems like a different reality. The Novo will be closed for the forseeable future and concerts are cancelled. That stings but not as much as the radio silence from Jae. First it was his tour schedule that rendered communication difficult and now the virus. You know he's busy and it's been a weird few months for the entertainment industry, but a 'Hey I'm alive.' would be nice. From his podcasts and twitter you've been able to keep some thread attached but you feel it stretching thin as the months stretch on. You really don't want to be annoying. You're sick of feeling like a fan. Yeah, you support Jae and Day6 and would call yourself a MyDay, but that's not all you are. You know him. You dragged him through the mud when he convinced you to try sledding down a muddy hill on a trash can lid. You set up his camcorder for his covers when he still had that stupid swoopy hair. You posed as his angry girlfriend when a crazy fan wouldn't leave him alone. You're starting to feel like just a fan and not a friend and it's only exacerbated by the glee that you feel when you get the notification from dive studios that How Did I Get Here? has updated. I miss my friend.
Not bothering to flip the sign on the front door from closed to open, you shoulder open the front door of the shop after fumbling with the keys. Tying an apron securely around your waist, and flicking on your noise cancelling headphones to a comforting thrum, you wash your hands and begin to chop the largest pile of scallions you've ever seen. Crunching through the pile, you start Jae's podcast and everything is gone but him. You can almost imagine him in the room with you, perched on the counter talking your ear off about the Mandela effect or how weird elbows are or something equally as ridiculous. Today he's talking about soul mates. As you listen to him joke and banter and pontificate, your eyes well up. It's just the scallions. You know damn well it's only partially the scallions. You miss Jae. And you're in the middle of a pandemic. And your family barely knows you. And you're not sure if you even want to be a pediatric oncologist. Fuck. Jae's words turn into white noise in your ears as you toss your headphones to the side and place the knife on the butchers block, perhaps more aggressively than necessary. You pause the podcast and let yourself sit in the feeling. You're lonely and sad. See Mollie? I'm letting myself feel things. Making room for every emotion. You cast your mind around and recall all of the little wounds that prick a little too deep today. You feel a squeeze in your abdomen and your eyes shoot open wide. Shit, my period. I've got to be PMSing. Even Jae recognized the trend in your emotions before you did. The week before your period, you were notoriously mushy and weepy and indulgent. Well, that's one mystery solved. I'll be okay. Mollie's voice echoed through your brain with her familiar argument that hormones only heighten the emotional distress, not fabricate it. These feelings are valid and aren't fake just because you're hormonal. You steadfastly ignore that point, wipe your eyes, and pull your headphones back on. You finish up the pile of scallions and a few other morning chores before the podcast ends. It's Jae's sign off that sends the bowl of mandu filling that you were holding clattering to the floor. "I'm coming to you from my childhood home, so if the audio is a little finnicky… blame Byron." Jae's home.
…
After sweeping up a pound of pork, beef, mirin, soy sauce, and chives and disposing of it, you stare at your phone- hands shaking slightly. Jae. What the fuck. You rip off your apron and your mind races. Should I call him? Should I go see him? I can’t believe he’s right here. 2 houses down. Fuck. Your rational brain knows that it’s okay to feel excited about Jae being home. But the sneaky little bitch that lives in the back of your brain is telling you that if he wanted to hear from you, he would’ve called. You feel a little bit of yourself fragment at that, but you push it to the side. You open up your phone and slide over to his contact in your phone. What greets you is your last text conversation.
Jae: I’m so glad you had fun, Y/N! But if you ever look at Brian like that again, I might have to put a ban on you at our concerts. His head was way too big.
Y/N: Look at him like what?! I didn’t do anything and you know it!
Jae: Of course you’re didn‘t. You totally weren’t drooling over my bassist.
Y/N: Fuck off.
Jae: Gladly, love. ;)
8 months ago. Sure you’d DM’d quite a bit since then and called a few times. But it just seemed so sparse. You don’t want him to just humor you. You’re an adult and perfectly capable of being alone. You’re not going to text him just yet.
You finish up your morning chores and head back to your house, pausing for perhaps just a little too long in front of the sandstone house with the tan shutters and shoes out front. You knew that house so well. You knew how much weight the tree outside the upstairs bedroom window could hold. You knew where the kimchi refrigerator was tucked away in a back corner of the garage. You knew there was a blonde boy in there that you wanted nothing more than to run inside and get a hug from.
You shower and let the hot water run over you, hoping it will relax the knotted up muscles in your back. It’s not like I can go see him anyway. We’re in quarantine. He probably just got back to LA and just hasn’t gotten the chance to-. You run the same conversation over and over in your head until you can’t take it anymore. You need someone else’s voice in your head. Curling into your covers, you sigh and go to the App Store. A few short minutes later and you hate yourself more than you ever have. Tiktok. Here we go. You watch the video of Day6 introducing themselves to the social networking platform once, twice, three times until your eyes start to ache. All of a sudden you’re met with a new post that pings up. Your breath catches in your throat as you see Jae standing in his living room, attempting to keep up with Amber Liu’s dance challenge. You can’t help but giggle as he flails to the left, to the right, oversized black hoodie always falling into his face. BM would be proud. Express not impress. You find yourself shocked at the weight that he’s gained. He looks healthy and happy. You remember the conversations in middle school about how much he hated being skinny. The evenings in the weight room in high school. Failed doctors appointments. He looked good before but you see that in recent months his chest has been swelling and not just with pride. His shoulders sit a little bit broader than you ever remember in the past and you’re happy for him. Good for you, Jae.
You like the tiktok and let it loop a few more times before sighing heavily and opening your messaging app.
Y/N: I got TikTok for you, ya little shit.
You chuckle but leave the text unsent. You’ll think of something better later. You toss your phone to the side in the face of the mountain of laundry on your bed that needs to be taken care of. As you hang the last of your shirts, your phone pings. You pick it up to a notification from Jae.
Skinny Bone Jones: Language!
Skinny Bone Jones: Do you think Amber approves?
You feel a flare of indignation wash through your limbs at the mention. Apparently it had sent. Oh well. As the thrill of a reply ebbs out of you, it is replaced by a rising indignation. How dare you?! Not tell me you’re in town and pretend like you didn’t?! Really?!
Y/N: I don’t really care what Amber thinks.
Maybe that was a little snippy. You love Amber, truly. But how can he have time for TikTok but not me?
Skinny Bone Jones: Yeah? Do you still care what I think?
Your heart catches in your throat. So he’s caught on that you’re pissed.
Skinny Bone Jones: Y/N, can I call you?
You swipe up to the phone icon and call him on auto pilot. Talk to me, Jae.
“Y/N?” you hear Jae’s voice.
“Jae.” Your voice comes out whispier than you meant it to. You try again.
“Jae! How are you?”
“Oh, y’know, just got off a plane that smelled like bleach and got to my house that isn’t really my house anymore, left my guitar to be sanitized, was “strongly encouraged” to make a TikTok by my company, and then got my head bit off by my best friend. Just quarantine things.” There is a touch of acid in his voice but Jae mostly sounds tired. Your empathy comes surging back and you sigh.
“I’m sorry Jae. I just- I didn’t know you were in town until I listened to your podcast this morning. I was a little hurt that you didn’t call or anything.”
“Look, kid. I just got home. I’m a diva. You know I require at least an 18 hour period of naps and boba to function properly. I’m a KPop Star now.” You laugh at the callback to your irate spiel a few years ago about how fame had changed him and he was a diva and just ‘wasn’t the Jae you knew’ anymore. It wasn’t his fault he was allergic to everything and turned down all of your food suggestions.
“Jae, you’ve been a diva since day one.” You quip back, tension resolving as you fall back into a familiar playful banter.
“And don’t you forget it, Y/N.” There's a slight pause before Jae continues,
“This diva is really sorry he didn’t call you. It’s just been a lot the last few days. The tour just got cancelled. And our album comes out in a few days. Our team has been going crazy trying to figure out how we’re supposed to publicize in this climate and I just-“
“Jae. Chill. When I preordered mine last week, it was the most popular album on the site. It’s gonna sell. Don’t worry too much.” There’s a beat of silence in which you can hear the air whoosh out of Jae’s lungs.
“You-You preordered Demon?” Jae sounds shocked but endeared at your admission and you laugh.
“Of course? I’m really pumped to hear that sexy, soothing voice of Wonpil’s. Maybe I’ll even get a Dowoon photo card this time! I keep getting Jae ones in my other albums and I give them to my little cousin.” This isn’t entirely true. You have 3 of Young K, 2 of Dowoon, and 1 each of Wonpil and Sungjin. You’ve been waiting for a Jae photocard for ages. You would die before you told him that, though.
“You little shit. If you don’t want to see my face, why are you following Day6 on TikTok?” Jae ribs back.
“Brian. Duh. He’s fine as hell.”
“Yah! Haven’t you found a boring ass Orthopedic surgeon or some shit, yet? Why do you have to terrorize me like this?”
“Why? Haven’t you found a Twice member that’ll marry you yet, Skinny Bone Jones?”
“I’ll have you know, I gained 10 pounds the past 8 weeks! I’ll be big as BM soon!” You can picture the expression of childlike pride in his face even if you can’t see it.
“You look really good, Jae. I’m proud of you. You’ve been working really hard.” The sudden sincerity catches the both of you off guard and you clear your throat.
“Thanks, Y/N. That means a lot.” A comfortable silence is followed by a lengthy conversation recounting the previous weeks, the various states of the other members, your own eviction from college, and the status of the shop.
“You know, Y/N, if you or your family need anything I’m more than happy to help. I mean I know how hard it can-“ You cut him off before he can go any further.
“We’re okay Jae, honest. I know you’d be good for it but we don’t need anything right now. Business is good at the pho shop and we’re okay.”
“Okay, okay. Just know I’m here.”
“I mean NOW I do, no thanks to youuu,” you wheedle, whining about his failure to let you know he was in town.
“Come on, Y/N, I said I was sorry!” He laughs but you can hear the desperation of sincerity in his voice.
“I know, Jae. I’m just kidding. I just really missed you.”
“I missed you too Y/N.”
You get off the phone upon the realization that you needed to go to the shop and prep for the dinner deliveries. Sometimes you abhorred that you were “essential”. You run downstairs and tell your parents the good news about Jae and inform them you’ll be back soon.
“I know you’re excited, Y/N, but remember we can’t be going and visiting people like that. Only essential work.” You roll your eyes slightly but assure them that you know. As if you hadn’t been telling them the same thing for weeks. I had to convince you not to go play mahjong in the park, eomma. You might be excited, but you’re not stupid.
You had just started filling the mandu when you hear the bell over the door chime. Pardon me, are you stupid? We've been closed for weeks, why do you think it would be okay to just walk in? You wipe your hands on your apron and start to walk to the counter.
"Hello? I'm sorry, we're only open for call-in deliveries." You round the corner and lift your head from your hands to see the form of the gangliest, tallest, loveliest man you've ever seen in your life.
"Special delivery." Jae remarks smoothly, arms open wide in invitation and head cocked to the side as if he was bracing himself for the crash landing that was to come.
"Jae!" you yell, and launch yourself from behind the counter and into his arms. His arms fold around you and everything else melts away. Your face burrows against his chest and you inhale. He smells like home and cinnamon. You can feel tears welling up in your eyes with the tide of emotions that wash over you. Jae's hand cups the back of your head into him and he hugs you just as tightly as you hug him. You press yourself into him with everything you have and in the deafening silence and warmth all that you can think is I love you.
"Y/N" He whispers, not loosening his grip on you.
"Mmph." you respond weakly.
"My shirt's wet." You jump back from him a bit and see that he's correct. Your eyes are leaking. All over his white shirt. Oops.
"Oh! I'm-I'm sorry." You laugh a bit and swipe at your eyes before patting at his shirt in futility.
"It's okay, love. Come here." He welcomes you back into his arms and you wrap your arms over his neck this time.
"I missed you." You whisper, voice cracking a bit.
"I know you did." You jump back from him. Bitch.
"Hush. I missed you too, you idiot. Why else would I be standing here right now?"
You cast your eyes around in a panic. He's here. He's right here. In the store. Here. He shouldn't be here. He should be in quarantine with his family. You're unessential to him.
Sensing the realization in your eyes, he pushes past you, walking to the back and puts on the latex gloves hidden behind the counter.
"I figured it was about time to get a 'real job' like everyone keeps telling me to." He smiles smugly and picks up the knife to start chopping the bok choy. You stand there in shock for one second, two seconds, three seconds until you realize he’s about to cut his fingers off.
“Jae! Stop!”
“Look, Y/N, I don’t care what you say, I’m going to do this. I want to help. And I’ll be damned if I’m not allowed to see you in the time I’m finally here-“
“No, Jae. Stop. I know I can’t argue with you. I’d be thrilled if you’d work with me. But Brian is gonna kill me if I let you cut your damn hands off.”
“I… what?”
“You’re a guitarist Jae. We can’t have you cutting off your pretty little fingers. And if you keep chopping it like that, that’s exactly what you’re going to do.”
Jae looks down at his hands and stretches his fingers wide as if considering them for the first time.
“Pretty?”
You roll your eyes, but unbidden, your eyes are still trained on his hands. They really are pretty.
“Just. Let me show you.” You show him how to tuck his knuckles up against the blade and chop in smooth rocking motions so as not to take off his fingertips.
You work in relative silence for the next hour, packaging meals and portioning combos as your mom and dad peek in and out to pick up the orders. You can feel a warmth flowing through you as you take in your surroundings. The loneliness of the past weeks leeches out of you and dissipates into the warm atmosphere, homey smells, and murmur of conversation. It’s almost as if your limbs wake up bit by bit, like a tree waking up after a long frigid winter. You feel yourself stretch and shine and the bubbles of contentment flow through you. By the time the last combo is out the door, you find it really difficult to take the smile of your face.
Jae seemed to be in the same boat. On more than one occasion you caught him staring at you. Every time you caught him he just shook his head and laughed in that infuriating way of his. But you really couldn’t be irritated at him. It was impossible. He was your happy fairy, even if you wanted to kick him in the shins every two minutes for saying something dumb. Mom and dad said goodnight to Jae in the same way they have been since he was 10. “Tell Mrs.Park I say hello and don’t be a stranger.” Right after they leave and you’re washing the last dish, while Jae sits on the counter telling you about production for Day6’s new album, the phone rings. Before you can tell Jae not to answer it, he’s already taking the man's order. Fine. One more can't hurt. You weren’t anxious to end this day and return to bed alone, so you welcome the post-closing distraction. Cobbling together a plate from the leftovers you were about to bring home, you grab your keys and beckon Jae to follow you.
“No need to bug mom and dad, we can take this one.”
As you walk outside toward where your little yellow bug is parked, you feel Jae move behind you. You can feel his body close to yours and you stiffen instinctually. You’re not used to skinship anymore and you can feel the blood in your veins carbonate as Jae’s breath ghosts across the back of your neck. You stop dead in your tracks, eyes wide, flush creeping up your neck as you feel his hands- those damn hands- ghost along the side of your left arm. You squeak when his fingers brush against the back of your hand, lacing his fingers with yours. Your world spins. Fuck is he holding my hand? Do I want this to happen? He’s so close to me. Can he hear my heartbeat?
“Jae-“ you begin to say, with absolutely no idea as to where the statement would go after.
Luckily you don’t have to think of any sort of decisive move because Jae immediately snatches the keys from your now limp left hand with a cackle, running ahead to the car.
“I’m driving!” You little fucking- oooh!
You’re thankful for the cool evening breeze and dim street lights or you were sure to get a ribbing for the blazing red cheeks that you were sporting. You climb into the passenger's seat with the food on your lap and do your best to sink into invisibility. It doesn’t work. You’re convinced that he can hear your brain jackhammering away at the night's events.
Did I want that to happen? Did that happen? He was so close to me. He felt so warm and the way he touched me. Running your hands over your arm, you could feel his touch like it had raced a burning path down your whole left side. Do I… like Jae?
You glance over at him now and again as he puts the car in drive and begins the route to the destination. Jae, of course, is jabbering away about how everything has changed since he’s been gone and, “Omigod, is that ANOTHER pinkberry?” You find yourself nodding along passively while actively trying to figure out what the hell was going on in your brain. Much like his podcast, his voice became white noise by which you asked yourself questions you weren’t sure you wanted the answers to. Of course I love him. But do I like, like him? Never in your life have you felt more like a horny, confused teenager but as you glance over and watch Jae with one hand on the steering wheel, wind blowing through his hair, you know one thing for sure- Jae isn’t a kid anymore. And he isn’t your brother.
It isn’t until you pull into a neighborhood about 10 minutes later that you remember that you’re here on a delivery. Yanking yourself from your reverie, but with unease still firmly lodged in your thoughts, you address the task at hand.
“Jae, where are we?”
“Uhhhh, 3051 Driver Rd.”
Driver Road. You know this neighborhood but you can’t quite place where. If your previous safari into your possible romantic interest in Jae wasn’t jarring enough, you feel panic rising through your system like so much bile. Why do I know this neighborhood? Jae, unaware of any turmoil on your part, pulls up to the house in question and when your headlights wash over the yard your heart sinks into your throat. You’re going to be sick. 3051 Driver Rd. This is where Sean lives.
You had met Sean Avery in your sophomore year of premed and had fallen head over heels in love with him. He was tall, attractive, ambitious, and he wanted you. You were star struck. It wasn’t until a year of ‘dating’ later that you unearthed the whole messy truth of his long string of side pieces and general douchebaggery. If that wasn’t enough, in the past year you heard the report of him almost catching a case with a high school senior in the area. You knew now that he was nothing but a predator and a coward. You had managed to avoid him since your explosive breakup but now it seemed you had very little choice.
“Sean fucking Avery” you seethe in the seat next to Jae.
“What did he do to you?” Jae asked, taken aback by your sudden vitriol.
“Shit, that wasn’t in my head was it?” Jae laughs a bit but sobers up quickly at your expression.
“Y/N you look really pale, are you okay? I don’t know your history with this guy but hey, you don’t have to deliver this. I’ll do it. Don’t you worry, love.” Jae places his hand on the top of your head and ruffles your hair a bit in an attempt to be comforting. The attempt helped. Your heart pricks up a bit at Jae’s term of endearment but it feels more deadened than it should. You’re sick of feeling like this. Of letting Sean steal your joy from you. It’s been too long for that shit. Pulling yourself together a bit, you shake yourself out of your head and steel yourself.
“No, Jae, I’ve got this.” Jae looks at you with slight concern but shrugs nonetheless.
“Alright, well, I’m going with you okay? This dude really must’ve done a number on you if this is your response. And I’d like to see the bastard.” Jae’s eyes glinted with something dangerous that you’ve never seen in him before and it causes the same fire in you to spark. Let’s do this.
With Jae by your side, you march up to the door with the delivery order and set it on the front steps. The doorbell is deafening in the still night and you have to remind yourself to breathe. You jump as the door swings wide and a pathetic looking man sporting a robe and a beer belly peeks from the inside. All of the breath that had been waiting in your lungs released and you feel your head go a little bit light with the realization that this was the man that you were in love with. 7 years later, gone was the debonair gentleman who could sweep you off your feet. In his stead stood a balding, fat, stiff man in boxers and a moth eaten robe. He grunts in acknowledgment of the presence of other humans but it’s obvious that the Neanderthal hasn’t recognized you. He retrieves his food and goes fumbling in his robe pocket for his wallet. He fishes out a card and hands it to you. You take it from him and process the payment.
Declined.
“Sorry, Sean, your card- it declined.”
He huffs and makes a sound in the back of his throat that you can only describe as gross as you hand it back to him.
“It what!? What do you mean declined?” He stumbles forward a few steps and you automatically flinch backward into Jae. Jae’s hand comes up to your shoulder to ground you, a reminder that he’s still there. Sean’s movement wafts a smell of body odor and brown liquor. He always was a mean drunk. You decide to cut your losses while you can and keep the transaction as minimal as possible. No games.
“Your card, Sean, it declined. Do you have an alternate form of payment?” Sean whips open his wallet and roots around for a minute before retrieving a few crumpled up bills. He extends the cash but before you can swap his card for cash, his arm whips back. Looking at you sideways, suspicion drips from his slurred speech,
“How do you know my name?”
Shit. Fuck. Dammit.
You watch helplessly as the cogs turn in his inebriated brain and recognition washes over his face.
“Y/N! It’s you! What do you want from me now, bitch? Trying to take my money now too? Get out of here!” His voice steadily rises in volume and you can feel the walls of your panic closing in on you. Suddenly Jae steps in front of you, arm outstretched to the belligerent man.
“You’re talking to me now. You’re done with her.” Jae holds himself with a confidence that you had only seen from him onstage.
“Just pay for the food and we’ll be going.”
“And who the fuck are you?” Sean spits back, as if Jae were something distasteful that he had found on the bottom of his shoe.
“I’m Jae. Y/N’s boyfriend. Now I’d really love to take Y/N home tonight before it gets too much later. So if you can just pay for your meal, we’ll get going.”
Sean crumples up the bills and throws it into Jae’s chest.
“Good luck with that bitch, kid. You’re gonna need it.” And with that he retreats inside and slams the door shut behind him.
Jae immediately rushes to your side and wraps you in a big hug. Although similar in mechanics to the hug earlier that day, this one was far different in intent. You could feel it in his soul, that hug was meant to squeeze all of the fragmented pieces of you back together again and hold them until they stuck. You can feel your heartbeat slowing to match his and your breathing slowly regulates.
Mollie is gonna have a lot of fun with this one.
Jae escorts you back to the car and there’s a thick silence that you can’t quite bring yourself to cut as he puts the car into drive. You know he is forming his own story of what happened between you and Sean in his head and you can’t tell if that’s better or worse than just reliving it and telling him the whole story- cops and testifying and court and all.
Once out of the neighborhood, Jae heaves a sigh and chuckles a bit.
“Well he seemed lovely.”
“Uh huh. He’s a real peach.”
Jae looks over at you with an expression of dual concern and amused what-the-fucker-y. Did that really just happen?
There is a beat of silence and solid eye contact before you both start cracking up. Unable to restrain yourself any further, you both dissolve into a kind of healing, deep belly laughter that shakes the entire car. Pulling up to your house, Jae throws the car into park and then turns to face you.
“You don’t have to tell me anything, you know? It’s not my business. You’re my business. But asshats like him aren't. Just that I’m around to keep them away from you.”
You sigh deeply, still recovering from the laugh attack, before giving him a brief bulleted list of the sheer shenanigans that Sean had pulled on you all those years ago. You watched as Jae’s face contorted over the course of the story, hardening into yet another study in fierceness that you were yet to see from him.
“I really am okay, though Jae. He had me pretty fucked up for a little bit but honest, I’m okay. I did the therapy, I fought my battles. I just hadn’t done the last closure step of actually looking him in the eye and saying goodbye and good riddance. And I probably never would’ve if it weren’t for tonight.” You reach out and grab his hand instinctively.
“Thank you, Jae. I really appreciate you doing that with me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
“You would’ve gotten your ass handed to you is what you would’ve done.” Jae states, deadpan.
“Jaeee!” You laugh, hitting him on the arm.
“Oh, so now you can throw a punch? Okaaay, nice.” This little shit.
Banter aside, Jae takes the key out of the ignition and gathers his things to get out of the car. As he closes the door, you hear him mutter “You need to pick better guys. You’re too great to end up with someone like that.”
You don’t have any kind of answer to that, but you feel a lightness in your chest as his eyes burn into you. Jae walks you to your front door and all you can hear in your head is an echo of Jae’s declaration of “I’m Jae, Y/N’s boyfriend.” Is that what I want?
You end up at your front door far too soon and the twinkling of the helicopters in the sky signals to you that it’s more than time for Jae to go home. Your heart sinks into your stomach at the thought of him leaving and you inwardly groan.
Jae gives you one last hug goodnight and you know before he even releases you that this isn’t enough. Not even nearly. Your feelings, whatever they may be: love, like, general affection, haven’t been correctly quantified and expressed. This has been the best day you’ve had in months, and he was the deciding factor. You were grateful to have him there on your front door step, in his arms. But maybe, just maybe, if you’re able to express to him exactly how you feel about him in this moment, he’ll be able to help you out and translate exactly what this feeling means for your future together. Without thinking about it too much, you retreat from the hug and angle your face up to his so that your noses are almost touching. You sit like this for just a second. That sickening second that would allow him to retreat and tell you you’re an idiot for even thinking it. But he doesn’t retreat. Instead, your lips are brushing against one another in just the barest of whispers of a kiss. His lips are so soft. It’s over in an instant and as the chilly night air cuts between the two of you, you are all too aware of how disproportionately warm your face and neck have become. You smile up at Jae and he carries a similar, if not slightly more shocked, half smile.
As if reading one another’s minds, you both understand that it’s wise to let one another think about the night's proceedings before any further rash decisions are made. In an attempt to preserve the spell of the night sky and the kiss and the chirping cicadas, neither of you say another word to one another but instead exchange content smiles that convey more than a goodnight ever could. With a slight bow of his head and a glide of his hand down the length of your arm, Jae walks backwards down your front steps and slips into the night, shaking his head slightly, trying and failing to conceal his smile. You watch him from the porch as he skips up to his house, before slipping into the warmth of your own home.
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Easy Ideas To Get Fit Staying At Home
The cliché is that if you are keeping fit and staying strong bodily, you will most likely take a constant visit to the gym. Well, this is not far from the truth. Looking and staying fit and healthy doesn’t come with sleeping and waking up seven days a week, 24 hours a day. You sure have to get yourself up and be ready for some hard work. Luckily you can achieve your fitness goal from the comfort of your home.
However, let’s take a quick reminder of the year 2020. The covid-19 pandemic hit the world. Everywhere, including the gym, houses had to be closed. We are barely a few months into 2021, and things have not changed much either. Several countries of the world still imposing strict lockdown restrictions to help curb the spread of the virus. People had to kiss ‘gyms’ and physical exercises goodbye. Well, not totally!
The human body is a very tricky one. Like two sides of a coin, it is important that it should not be subjected to way too much stress, and it shouldn’t be void of necessary exercises to keep the heart and other organs functioning properly. As the covid-19 lockdown extended longer than expected, people began to devise ways and plans to still stay fit indoors, even without gym equipment.
So, can I also keep fit at home during the lockdown? Is one burning question on the lips of many individuals whose physical health has been hit by the lockdown restrictions.
People have been taking measures to stay fit at home way before the global pandemic. There are also numerous reasons why you should take measures to stay fit at home. You desire to keep fit, but you would rather not join a health club because you are the independent type. It could also be that you can financially afford gym payment or just can’t find one convenient for you. If you are the type with a very crazy schedule at work, you won’t be consistent with visiting the gym, even as a member. Hence the need to create a routine from the comfort of your home. Listed below are ways to stay fit while at home.
How exactly can I stay fit at home?
Create a plan
It is very important to create a workout plan that is safe, very effective, and realistic before you start your journey of staying fit at home. Either for folks who are working from home or you are not, you need it to help you stay consistent and fit into some other plans you have. It could consist of what type of workouts you want to engage in, how you will split up your exercise time if you have a tight schedule, and even a timetable of healthy meals to accompany your home workout. However, it is advisable to map out this plan with your doctor if you have a prior injury or have a chronic health issue. Recently, mobile apps have been designed to help monitor and set workout routines suitable for different fitness level individuals.
Start Slowly
Exercising in the gym with a coach available is a different game entirely. If you are not used to exercises, you should start slowly and moderately because it can be daunting. Take it easy on yourself. You are not in a competition with anyone, and make sure to encourage yourself as you get better. You can start with just a few minutes of walking around your house daily.
Find reasons to walk around your house.
If you work from home and are mostly on a spot for the whole day, getting up and taking a walk around your time is necessary for staying fit. Either there is a need for it or not. Just ensure you keep sitting to a minimum. If you're already in good shape you could try to wear a weighted jacket (read more: menblend.com), but this is not recommended if you are just starting out.
Switch in-between exercise
Staying fit at home doesn’t mean you have to keep doing the same exercises over and over again. Asides from the fact that it can get boring, you will put yourself at the risk of overused tissues and muscles. Try different articles to get the best of your home exercise routine.
Eat Healthily
Exercising and eating healthy go hand in hand. You don’t want to exert so much energy and not replace it with the right food supplements and nutrients. Tailor it according to your age, health status, and fitness goals is as essential as hours on the treadmill.
Be careful not to overdo
Yes, you read that right, just like the popular saying, “too much of everything is an excess”. Exercising too much can also put you in harm’s way. It can wear you out and expose you to injuries. Study yourself carefully. If you find yourself unnecessarily irritable or depressed, weak, sore, or frequently exhausted, during or after exercising, then you need to take a break.
Everything above might sound like a lot, but all you need to do is take the first step. You’ve got this!
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