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acehoons · 2 years ago

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dating the zerobaseone boys . . ?!

☆! ot8 x gn!reader. fluff. not requested.

a/n: i didn’t include yujin bc i’m not comfortable in writing about him in a romantic way, since we have quite an age gap. hope u guys understand.

% . . kim jiwoong

this guy’s the most protective boyfriend to exist ever

is big on physical touch as a love language

always have to have his hands on you

on your waist, holding your hand, even gripping your thigh sometimes??? this man istg

more under the cut.

loves taking you out in dates

is a big restaurant man

i feel like jiwoong likes “traditional” dating

like taking you out for dinner, paying for your meal, walking you back home

i mean you deserve the best treatment so

he’s also big on surprises

if he gave matthew a bouquet on his birthday, imagine what he would give YOU, his s/o

likes to listen to you talk

let’s you ramble about your day for hours

he doesn’t really mind it, even if you think you’re annoying him with your rants

his favorite past time is to listen to you so

can read you like a book as well

takes him 0.1 seconds to know if and when you’re upset

would always try to calm you down by holding you in his arms

hates seeing you cry too

he sees one tear fall from those pretty eyes and he’s already on his way to soothe you

“what’s wrong, are you okay? please don’t cry.”

overall he’s a big softie for ya

% . . zhang hao

zhanghao’s definitely the type of bf that just loves to annoy you

teases you to no end

he just loves to elicit reactions from u, i feel like

but really, he’s incredibly caring

won’t hesitate to pamper you at any given time

he even calls you his prince(ss)

especially when you get sick

boy!! this man is never gonna leave your side when you’re ill

always tries to make time for you as well

even if he’s super busy, he’ll clear his schedule somewhat

even if it’s just for 20 minutes

is big on updating you throughout the day

you’d receive texts from time to time, just zhanghao telling you about his day

“we’re on our way to the company” “gyuvin fell on the stairs and landed on his butt lol” “dw he’s fine”

calls you at the randomest hours of the day to check up on you

likes to make sure you both are aware of eo every day

because he’s afraid of you drifting apart

his favorite dates are the spontaneous ones

like eating in a diner at one random night or going out for a convenience store run at 2 am

will always be there for you

doesn’t matter what you need

a hug? a new bag? 15 million won? someone to help you hide the body?

he’s there to provide

% . . sung hanbin

hanbin is a bf and a mother combined into one

is never not coddling you

always makes sure you’re taking care of yourself

and if you aren’t, he will >:(((

big on words of affirmation!!

but i feel like he’s the type to try and hit all of the love languages as much as he can

but yours (and by proxy, his) favorite is words of affirmation

bc he never fails to praise you and tell you how proud he is of you

the first time he said reassured you, you cried like a baby

and he cradled you like one, too

is there to comfort you at the speed of lightning

whenever you tell him that you aren’t feeling well, his priority is to ensure that you feel better asap

makes sure that you’re prioritizing your health over everything

sends photos at random times of the day

“babe we’re in busan! wish u were with us rn :(“

the two of you aren’t big on going out

so date nights would be spent with just the two of you cuddling on the couch and watching a movie

although you end up falling asleep halfway through

he secretly loves it

takes photos of you when you’re asleep and sets it as his lockscreen

tries his best to make homecooked meals for you

but if not he’ll just end up ordering takeout for you

he just wants to make sure that you are always happy, healthy and fed

% . . seok matthew

now this man is the definition of a golden retriever bf

is the happiest when you guys are together

loves to take you out on dates!!

library and park dates are his favorites

just anything involving the two of you walking around together

is also a clingy baby

is immediately sad when you guys separate

spends most of his days thinking about what the two of you could do together

likes to listen to music with you

makes you lots of playlists to listen to

is also the type to facetime you for a period of time

when you’d be studying and he’d be practicing his vocals

likes to ask you for advice as well

he thinks you’re one of the smartest people he knows so, it makes sense

is fond of sending you photos of things he sees that reminds him of you

“babe look! this goat looks just like u ㅋㅋ“

teases you sometimes, but not as much

is also big on cuddling

boy if you guys sleep together.. good luck

expect this man to cling on to you so much

he’d almost be laying on top of you

likes to bury his face in your neck

this might sound weird, but he loves your scent so much

not your perfume, but your natural scent

it reminds him of home, almost

because at the end of the day, he always comes home to you

% . . kim taerae

another sunshine boyfriend

he’s just always so smiley when you’re around

likes to take buy you flowers and chocolates

you’d put one of the flowers behind your ear and he’d take a photo

later you’d see it as his lockscreen on literally every gadget that he has

likes singing to you

but also likes to hear you sing

even if you think that you aren’t good, he just likes your voice

sends you snippets of him singing whenever he can

is big on quality time and acts of service i think

whenever you go out on dates, expect this man to do everything for you

even if it’s just to tie your shoe or to ask for a napkin in a restaurant

you are a prince(ss) to him. period

likes playing with your fingers whenever you hold hands

he does it a lot, especially whenever he’s nervous

like before a performance

having your hand in his calms him down a lot

can also be a little protective of you

he’s okay with you wearing anything you want when you go out,

but expect him to wrap his arms around your waist whenever he notices someone staring at you outside

incredibly whiny when you won’t give him what he wants

“babyyyy, i need one more kiss, c’mon!”

i mean, who can resist this man???

% . . shen quanrui

make way for our young and rich tall and handsome charisma boss baby

this man is going to SPOIL you rotten

obvi buying you material things isn’t an issue

he’ll get you the most expensive things even when you complain

you need a new bag? he’ll get a louis vuitton. you need some clothes? there’s a chanel store near his place. you want some food? expect some gourmet takeout

he just wants to provide you the things you deserve, even if they are expensive

but ricky doesn’t just spoil you with material objects

he’s big on assurance as well

always making sure that the two of you don’t end up in any disagreements and misunderstandings

the thought of you worrying about him worries him

always asks your opinion on things, too

about his clothes, his singing, dancing, etc.

sometimes he uses that as a way to get you things

he’s send you a photo of a necklace one day and ask,

“baby, what do you think of this necklace?”

you’d say it’s pretty and boom, next day he’s bought it for you

if he’s big on giving you expensive gifts, he’s big on receiving handmade ones from you

he loves everything you make for him

handwritten letters, crotched stuff animals, everything

he keeps all of them in a box in his closet

and if you ever buy him any piece of clothing or jewelry

expect him to always be wearing it

because in a way, it makes him feel like he’s carrying you with him wherever he goes

% . . kim gyuvin

boy.. good luck

you just got yourself a bf and a baby all in one

i’m jk, but we all know gyuvin’s a (literal) giant baby

likes to be coddled by you most especially

acts just like a little kid when he’s with you

but that’s only because he feels comfortable being with you

loves to watch movies with you!

at home or at the cinema, doesn’t matter

buys you lots of snacks. like. tons

it’s his love language; to feed you

likes to go to fun little events with you, like music festivals or fiestas

this boy has a social battery as big as a truck, so prepare yourself

introduces you to his friends a lot

and invites you to their hang outs

you end up being a part of their friend group, almost

and everyone loves you because you take really good care of gyuvin

although you make sure not to mother him too much, sometimes you just can't help it

you end up buying him things he needs or calling him at noon to make sure he's eaten his lunch

in compensation, gyuvin likes to make sure that you are always happy

would be the type to say a random joke or to even embarrass himself in public just to see you smile

"babe, babe, what do you call a fake noodle? an im-pasta!!"

it gives you a headache sometimes but you genuinely love it about gyuvin

how he always prioritizes your happiness,

sometimes even above his own

% . . park gunwook

another giant baby, oh boy

but unlike gyuvin, gunwook doesn't require much care actually

you just give him few hugs and cuddles and he's good to go

requires a lot of attention from you. like. all the time

if you guys are separated expect to receive dozens of messages and facetime requests from this man

always wants to talk to you during his breaks or whenever he isn't busy

and he always has a story to tell you

he's a little clueless when it comes to dating, given how young he is

so most of your dates just end with either the two of you hanging out at home

or just a simple late night walk around town together

however, he does like shopping with you

he's not as "giving" as ricky, but he's definitely one to buy you a few expensive pieces here and there

especially if he sees a pretty bracelet or a nice pair of earrings

loves to surprise you with them

he's big on physical touch as a reward

it's his motivation

"ok so if i finish my chores i can cuddle with you? alright, got it"

boom he's washed the dishes and mopped the floor and cleaned his desk table all in under 20 minutes

physically relaxes whenever he's with you

like he'd be tense whenever he's out in public, always wary of everything he says and does

but when he's with you, it's like all of his worries wash away

he loves you so much

to him, you are his comfort

#?! sinag.works — 📋#?! sinag.works :: zb1 — 📋#zb1 imagines #zb1 headcanons #zb1 scenarios #zb1 drabbles #zb1 reactions #zb1 fluff #zb1 x reader #jiwoong x reader #hanbin x reader #zhanghao x reader #matthew x reader #taerae x reader #ricky x reader #gyuvin x reader #gunwook x reader

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eff4freddie · 7 months ago

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Touch | Epilogue

Joel makes good on his promise to date you, at least once.

Words: 4k

Warnings: Just a slutty lil farewell to our resident Jackson masseuse and her grumpy-arse maybe sorta boyfriend, smut, vaginal fingering, sexy times, stockings that are far too thin for early Spring. Minors DNI

A/N: Another thank you for your support of this little story that ended up being a bit bigger and more complex than I expected. I went there because of your encouragement. Thank you, always.

Part Eight | Series Masterlist

The season was turning, but there was still a chill of a nighttime. It had been six weeks since Joel returned to Jackson, the medical supplies he and the second expedition managing to find and defend ensuring a healthy and safe Jackson for at least another two winters. The whole energy of the place, the optimism, was back in the community, and you had thrived in it, started to bloom alongside the wildflowers dotting the pathways into town.

You’d spent the time working, teaching Ellie, occasionally hanging around Joel’s place while he convalesced, first in his bed, then on the new-ish couch Tommy had found and dragged in through the back door. It wasn’t leather like his old one, and the springs stuck out in the centre so that you had to be very careful where you sat, but it was better than the rocking chair, and it was enough for him to sit still in for at least a few weeks.

He kept promising that he was going to date you, at least once if you’d let him, and each time you’d fobbed him off, telling him he had to get better first, that he was no good to you limping, that you wanted him marginally less grumpy if he could manage it. You weren’t sure why you were stalling, other than that you felt you were toes to the edge of a precipice.

When you were little your little family of four had driven out to the Grand Canyon, and you’d stood on the edge of the red dirt and been totally overwhelmed by the size of it, of all the negative space, the absence. You’d found yourself, aged eight and a half, ready to cry and even now, thirty years later, you remembered the howling wind, the echo of it.

You thought about the beauty of it, now. Now that you had seen so much worse, so much more, you reminded yourself that people used to travel entire countries to see the Grand Canyon. In your mind’s eye you entered your memories and stood beside yourself, your child self, and took her hand. You pointed to the sky, drew her eyes up and away from the ground beneath. Felt her pulse race under your touch as you showed her that the magnitude of it was the beauty in it, was the point of it all.

You accepted Joel’s invitation for the next Friday night. Then you ran to Maria’s to find something to wear.

You were supposed to meet at 8, a respectable time after dinner so as not to feel like you needed to have a meal; a more casual time, a more intimate time, when you could drink and chat and only stay an hour if you found it wasn’t working. It was both an in and an out.

Except that you were late, your last client having not only stored muscle tension in his fascia but emotional tension as well, and as soon as you had pushed into the glute he had unleashed years of mourning, of loss, of fears. You had stopped, wrapped him in a towel and pulled him upright, stood back and let him shake with the force of it. It wasn’t new, that people would come with muscle aches and discover trauma aches instead, but you lost track of time trying to put him back together again, trying to assure him of his safety. Tommy was right; sometimes it doesn’t come out until you feel safe enough to let it.

But it meant by the time you were pulling your door open you were about forty minutes late. Your cheeks burned with the shame of it, your timekeeping one of your strengths in the before-times, in the times when you had no other responsibilities other than the hell of being 15.

Joel was coming up your path and you stopped, nearly dropping the jacket you were still trying to pull over your shoulders. You couldn’t read his expression in the dark but his eyes were on you, and he was coming up, fast.

‘Joel, I’m so sorry,’ you started, as he strode towards you and up your porch. ‘I got caught up with a client, I couldn’t leave until they were…’ his hands were on you then, gripping you to him, your jaw resting in his warm palm.

‘You OK?’ he asked you, his eyes searching yours.

‘I’m fine, of course I am,’ you said, flustered, under the intensity of his inspection. ‘I just couldn’t…he was so sad, Joel. I had to stay.’

He nods at this, his jaw ticking. You resisted the urge to reach up and sink your fingertips into the masseter. ‘Were you worried about me, Joel?’ you asked, and he narrowed his eyes at you, then, suddenly freezing up.

‘Thought you weren’t coming, or that you were…thought maybe something had happened,’ he said, and you felt yourself soften.

‘I’m fine. And I would never stand you up,’ you said, moving to hold him around his waist, to circle him in your arms, only able to reach halfway around him, broad as he was. He avoided your eyes, the worry etched deep into his brow.

You still hadn’t kissed him. All of the things he had done to you, the way he had pulled you apart under his hands, his mouth, spread around his cock, nothing so intimate as a kiss.

‘I’m sorry,’ you said again, low and velvet in your throat. ‘I really like you, Joel,’ you went on, and he finally met your gaze, again. The naked vulnerability in it making you pause. You wondered how many people had ever seen this side of him. You suspected he could count them on one paw.

‘It’s late,’ he said, and started to pull away from you. ‘Maybe we should try again some other time.’ To your dismay he had nearly turned his back to you, and without thinking you grabbed him around the middle and tried to turn him back.

‘Wait,’ you said, and he hissed then, his muscles seizing. You let go of him, horrified.

‘M’ok,’ he muttered, raising his hand to stop you from rushing toward him. ‘Just…still gettin’ there, is all.’

‘Come in, please,’ you said, not touching him, not moving towards him, hoping your voice would be enough to get him to stay. ‘It’s cold, I have a bottle of whiskey Tommy slipped me when you were in the hospital, I can…’

‘You needed whiskey, baby?’ he said, and he had that lopsided grin on his face again, and you wanted to lick it off him. ‘Were you worried about little ole me?’

Never mind, you wanted to slap it off.

‘Oh for fucks sake,’ you said, rolling your eyes and turning back to your door. ‘Don’t get all cute just because I got scared when you nearly died,’ you said, and you heard him chuckle. You entered your house and turned to him, one hand on the door. ‘In or out?’ you asked, and you knew that you were talking to the both of you, knew that he wasn’t the only one facing the indecision, knew that you palming the responsibility off onto him, that you would accept his decision even if it meant never talking to him again. He hesitated, but only for a moment.

He was back in your kitchen, on the same chair from a more recent before-time, from before he’d found a place for himself somewhere under your skin. You were both sipping your whiskey, listening to the crackling fire in the other room, letting the silence seep out and blanket you. He was still enormous, still took up nearly half the space, and you ceded all of it to him.

‘Ellie speaks the world of you,’ he said, after a while, and you knew that this was important to him, that first and foremost he was her dad, her keeper and her protector.

‘She’s a lovely kid,’ you said, and then corrected yourself. ‘Not a kid. She’d fucking kill me if she knew I said that.’

He chucked into his glass. ‘Won’t tell her,’ he promised.

‘How’s that healing?’ you asked, gesturing to his wrist. It wasn’t in a splint anymore but it was still tightly bandaged.

‘S’just weak, aches in the cold,’ he said, and you nodded. You reached out and pulled it towards you, lay it on the kitchen table between you. You slipped the bandage away, watched the blood rush back in and pink up the flesh underneath it.

‘You need to stretch it, keep it strong,’ you said. ‘Bones probably healed but now the muscles’ll be lazy.’

‘Yes, doctor,’ he said, and you glanced up at him, at the crinkles in his skin and the warmth in his eyes as he teased you.

‘I mean it,’ you said, pretending to be offended, using it as an excuse to slip your hands around his wrist, his forearm. You felt the chords of the muscles there, the sinew and the veins. You rubbed your thumbs in firm circles, like you had shown him to do on your knee, all those weeks ago. You blushed at the thought of it, at the echo of the pleasure he had wrung from you not ten paces away.

He grunted a little, shifted in his seat, and you pulled his arm up at a right angle, so that his elbow was resting on the table. ‘Here, do this,’ you said, and you slipped your fingers between his, rested your forearm against his, leant in a little to ease your combined weight onto the joint.

‘I’m going to try and push your hand backwards, you push back,’ you said.

‘We arm wrestlin’?’ he asked, smiling again.

‘We will if you don’t behave yourself,’ you shot back, and he grinned.

‘Tell me when,’ he said, and you nodded your head. He grimaced at the strain through the joint, but you felt it stretch, felt it working under the force you were applying to it.

‘That’s good,’ you said, without thinking, ‘doing real well.’ He sucked a shy little breath in through his teeth. You stopped pushing, looking up into his pink cheeks. You continued to hold his hand, your eyes fixed to his.

‘Say it again,’ he said, and your mouth went dry.

‘Doing real well, Joel,’ you said, and watched as he blinked slowly, drinking it in. ‘Doing so good.’

He pulled you then, by the arm, out of your chair and into his lap, his mouth finding your neck and suckling, hard, as you struggled for purchase on his thighs. You could feel how hard he was through his jeans, the pulse of it pushing into your cunt as you settled yourself down on him, your thin little stockings under Maria’s borrowed dress doing absolutely nothing to provide a barrier against his throbbing for you.

He gasped, looked up at you as you perched above him. His pupils, blown wide with want, mirroring the ache you felt between your legs and in your heart for him. He tasted like peppermint toothpaste and you wondered idly if he’d brushed his teeth before heading to the Bison, if he’d hoped this would be the end result of the night or if it was just habit. You smelt the leather of his worn jacket. You reached up and let his salt and pepper beard scratch at the skin on your fingertips.

‘So good to us, Joel,’ you said, and you heard the gentlest whimper catch in his throat. ‘Looking after the town. Keeping us safe.’

‘Want to keep you, baby,’ he whispered, his eyes dropping to examine your lips. ‘Keep you tucked up all warm and safe, keep you under my roof where I know you’re protected.’ You shivered, at the heat of it, at the sincerity in it. ‘Be the one to shield you. All sweet and soft in your little kitchen. Wanting me, waiting f’me.’ He finished, biting his bottom lip.

‘I want you,’ you said, simply, feeling his cock jump underneath you.

‘Yeah?’ he asked, and you nodded.

‘Been waiting,’ you bit out, realising for the first time that it was true.

‘M’sorry baby,’ he said, playfully goading you. ‘Where did ya want me?’ he whispered, tucking his head under your chin and licking a stripe up your neck, chewing idly on your earlobe. You shivered again, a shuddering little thing that also came with a whimper. You took his hand from your waist and dropped it to your pussy, pushed his fingers to cup you there, gasping when he ran a fingertip along your seam.

‘Everywhere,’ you whispered, and he grunted, shifting his weight. With one warm hand splayed across your shoulder blades he leant you back, his eyes running up and down your body, devouring you. He kept his hand on your cunt, idly running a finger up and down where you ached the most for him, and you worried for a moment that he would feel how wet he’d made you just with his gaze.

His breath was warm across your cheeks when he exhaled. He took the hand from between your legs and cupped your breast, rolled the nipple through your dress, made you whimper.

‘Joel,’ you whispered, and you watched as his eyes lit up, as the sparks caught on kindling and turned into a forest fire, as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing from the strain. You wanted to run your tongue over his bottom lip, nip at it.

‘Sssh, baby, I know,’ he said, pulling you up off his lap to stand in front of him, your knees shaking. His arms bracketed your hips, gripping the table behind you, so you were surrounded by him. He remained seated, watching you from under heavy eyelids.

‘Take it off,’ he said, and you felt your pulse in your neck, thunderous.

‘Which?’ you asked.

‘Maria’s dress you don’t think I recognise, those silly little stockings that ain’t doing nothin’ to keep out the cold.’

He leant back on the chair again, kicked his legs out so that you were standing between his ankles now, leant his arm on the back of the chair and scratched at his beard. ‘Well, go on,’ he said, and you felt so exposed to him then, vulnerable in the heat of his stare.

‘Help me,’ you said, feigning not being able to get to the zipper, just for the excuse of turning away from him, from his eyes that were taking you apart atom by atom, from his hands resting on his thigh, from his thick fingers you wanted to slip into your mouth, let him push down on your tongue and suckle at him.

You felt his hands on your back, the zip coming down, the way he slipped the dress from you like he was unwrapping a present on Christmas morning. You leant over a little, trying to slip your stockings off and you heard him moan, felt his hands on you again, his warm paw on your lower back pushing you into a deeper bend, the other pulling on your hips to bring you closer to him, his hands gripping you, positioning you. You heard his sharp inhale when you slipped the stockings over your bottom, felt your cheeks blaze when he reached up and slipped your panties off along with them, bent over and completely exposed to him, wet and glistening in the light of the kitchen, the sound of your gasped little whimpers mixing with the ever-present whir of your forty-year-old fridge.

‘Oh, my girl,’ he said, and you wanted to launch yourself at him, seat yourself back on his lap and bury your head in his neck but he was running his hands up and down the back of your thighs, edging himself closer on the chair, pushing you forward so that your breasts rested on the kitchen table, your cheek flush to the cold wood.

He bent his head and placed a single kiss at the base of your spine and you worried your knees would buckle, worried you would collapse onto the kitchen tile. As you gasped he brought his hands up to cup your bottom, spreading your cheeks enough to slip a thumb into your cunt, probe the warmth and feel the wet collecting on his fingertip. You startled, trying to buck away, trying to buck towards him, circling your hips to capture him inside you, and you heard him chuckle, felt his lips dip lower to your tailbone as he twisted his hands, his thumb still inside as his fingers came around to cup and rub at your slit, your poor little aching clit caught between his fingertips.

‘Jesus,’ you cried, finding religion despite never having set foot in a church.

‘Want to keep you full of me,’ he muttered, sitting back down on the chair again and pulling you with him, spreading your legs over his so you were open wide, obscene and dripping in his lap, pulling your legs apart with his and whispering filth in your ear, cupping your breast with one hand and the other sliding into your heat.

‘Want to keep you here, my pretty girl all safe and warm in my arms, full of my cock and my fingers, crying out for me when I’m not there.’ You were gasping, your vision narrowing, barely able to concentrate on anything except for his words, for his fingers stretching you, his legs pulling you impossibly wide. ‘Won’t let nothin’ hurt ya, baby girl,’ he grit out, and you felt a sob rip through your throat, the pleasure he was drawing out of you mixing with the comfort, with the intoxicating allure of him protecting you, of him standing between you and so many terrors.

In your right mind you wouldn’t have believed him. Would have known there were things out there even the great Joel Miller couldn’t topple, that there were threats known and unknown, seen and unseen, things out there wanting to spill your blood, the blood of the people you cared the most for. But Joel was inside you, in your cunt and in your ear, and his words were chipping away at your resistance, sliding under the door long ago locked tight. You were far from your right mind. You surrendered to the seduction of it, of the intoxication of it, of the myth this man was peddling that you would buy again and again and again.

‘There she is,’ he said, as you came on his fingers, your cunt gripping him and your hips rolling, his face pressed hard into your neck as you twisted into the agony of it, your mouth open and gasping, your face turned to the Gods.

You felt his fingers underneath you, one hand wrapped tight around your torso to hold you steady as he released himself from his jeans, and you felt him then, pressed against the back of your thigh, the velvet heat of his length, the thundering throb of it. You had barely caught your breath, had yet to fully come back to yourself, before he was pushing himself into you, pulling you onto him, your neck caught in his teeth as he bit down on the nape, tried to stifle the groan blooming in his chest.

He felt bigger this way, the stretch even sharper despite his best attempts to prepare you, and your walls fluttered, fought to accept him. You shuddered, the sudden sting slamming you back into your body, and you gripped his hands to stop him, to pause. He stilled immediately, his breath hot and gasping.

‘Give me a minute,’ you gritted out, leaning back onto his shoulder and burying your nose in his jaw, panting, placing a placid little kiss to the salt and pepper patches there.

You felt him reach around you, his finger finding your clit and gently circling it, collecting your slick and pushing it over the nub to rid you of any friction. You groaned, arching your back against him, your hands digging into the meat of his thighs underneath you.

‘So beautiful like this,’ he whispered into your ear as you felt the pleasure overtake you, the throb in your cunt synchronised to your thundering pulse. ‘Can feel you gripping me,’ he went on. ‘Stuffed fulla me, baby.’

‘Stop,’ you gasped, the moment suddenly too intense, a fear gripping you then that if he kept talking you would give him anything; the shirt off your back, the blood in your veins. He chuckled, watching you struggle to take the pleasure he was pushing into you, through you.

It was wrong but you couldn’t figure out why, because it still felt so fucking good, and you wanted more but couldn’t figure out how it was possible, not sated by him seated fully inside you, not close enough to him as you pressed your body entirely against yours. You huffed, frustrated, standing before he could stop you and pivoting to face him, straddling him again in the chair and sinking yourself down on him in one swift motion, so that he gasped and then groaned when the heat of you enveloped him, joined you in a harsh cry when your clit met his hipbone and you settled there, shifted your hips to press into the nub.

‘S’better,’ you said, and you watched his lopsided grin emerge.

‘My girl miss seeing me?’ he asked, and you rolled your hips to shut him up, watched any semblance of cogent thought leave him when you gripped him there.

‘Say it again, Joel,’ you said, sliding your hips forward and back in a way that you knew wasn’t enough for him, but was making your clit throb when it grazed over his skin. He grunted, suddenly finding it hard to think clearly, and his brows saddled.

‘Keep you safe?’ he said, uncertain but meaning it anyway, and you shook your head.

‘Keep who safe?’ he asked.

‘You,’ he answered, still not following, and you planted your feet on the floor, raised yourself up just to bounce back down again.

‘Who am I, Joel?’ you asked, nearly breathless, and finally, finally he understood, his little huffed out laugh sending a thrill through you as he reached down between your bodies, felt where you were joined.

‘My girl,’ he said, finding your clit and edging his fingertips across it, sending fireworks up your spine. ‘My beautiful girl, so tight and wet, so needy for me, cryin’ out for me in her kitchen.’

You groaned, feeling him grip you around the middle with one arm, lifting you up and down on his cock, rocking into you and always, always, always watching your face, nibbling at your chin when you leant back to gasp for air.

You were going to come. It was too fast. You still had so many other things you wanted to say to him, wanted him with every atom of you, with every fibre, the neurons in your brain lighting up just for him. Wanting to live in the torrent of pleasure he brought out in you, wanted to twist and writhe in it. You felt, again, on the edge of tears, but not for wanting, this time. Not for the losses.

For the having. Of Jackson, of the wildflowers on the paths pushing past the cold. Of the little family you had eked out at the end of the world, of Ellie, of Tommy and Maria and Robin. Of this man under your body and on your kitchen chair, calling you his and promising to keep you safe. Of this man, pushing you closer and closer to the edge of oblivion and clinging to him, willingly readying yourself to cascade over it.

‘Want you right here, always,’ he grunted, and you keened, felt it then, that you were wanted, that you belonged.

You didn’t have the words for it, vowed in that moment that you would spend the rest of your life trying to find them. For right now you did the only thing you could think of, leaning over and gripping his jaw, angling his face to you as you landed your lips on him, kissed him as you felt a tear streak across your cheek and onto his skin, as you shuddered and felt your cunt milking him, as he spilled into you and you joined him, the ecstasy and the pleasure and the warmth of it. In your little house in Jackson, behind enormous walls, to hold you.

Taglist:

@orcasoul

@archofimagine

@hiroikegawa

@ilovejoel-andjavi

@giggly-otter

@harrysrosetatto

@Hjzghi-blog

@daddy-dins-girl

@kathaaaaaaa

@anoverwhelmingdin

@pedropascalsbbg

#joel miller #joel miller fanfic #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #pedro pascal fanfiction #the last of us fanfiction #tlou fanfiction #joel miller smut #pedro pascal smut #pedro pascal characters #pedrostories #pedro pascal fic

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arsenalsrusso23 · 4 months ago

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twins?! pt2

a.russo

once alessia’s family had left, the doctors came in to check on you and the babies, they suggested you stay a few days in the hospital for observation, just to be safe. alessia quickly agreed with their words, considering your last visit at the hospital.

once they had left it was nearing dinner time, and you hadn’t eaten all that much since the surgery and you were absolutely starving.

“lessi? would you mind ordering me some mcdonald’s for dinner please?” you smiled at her.

“of course I can baby” she kissed your cheek and quickly grabbed her phone and opened the delivery app.

she handed you the phone and you put in your order. now, as you were so hungry and you hadn’t eaten in over twenty four hours, your meal probably could have covered you AND alessia, but if she held any judgement she certainly didn’t show it.

she quietly took the phone back and placed an order for herself “it’ll be here in 15 minutes lovie” she gently re-took her spot on your hospital bed and slung her arm over your shoulder.

“thank you lessi” you mumbled tiredly. the twins were asleep in their cots and had been for about an hour, so you and alessia had a few moments to yourself. that didn’t last long though as oliver woke up and started crying, which in turn caused finn to wake up and start crying as well.

you sighed and reached over to get your special feeding pillow that can hold both of the boys while they were feeding. alessia brought them over one at a time, she got oliver first and gently positioned him on your right boob, almost immediately he stopped crying and started feeding.

she kissed your cheek and quickly went to get finn and she positioned him to your left boob and he immediately latched as well.

“are you okay? you’re not too uncomfortable?” alessia was honestly the best partner in the world. she was always checking in on you, getting anything you asked for and being the sweetest mother to the twins already.

“I’m alright less, thank you” it was a weird feeling, the suckling, and it was going to take some getting used to.

“alright, good. will you be okay if I quickly go and grab our dinner? the app says it’s three minutes away.”

“yeah of course, we’re all good here” you smiled at her, then you looked down at your babies to see both of them with their eyes closed and almost asleep.

“perfect, I’ll only be a few minutes” she smiled and came over to give you a quick kiss and went to meet the delivery person.

—————————————————————

you were now allowed to go home, much to your delight. both you and alessia were taking advantage of the twins being asleep and packed your bags.

well, actually, alessia was packing. you were trying to help but you were in quite a bit of pain from your c-section, and she insisted on doing it on her own.

once she had packed everything up, she grabbed the car seats and gently got finn and placed him in his, whilst you got oliver and did the same.

“I’ll be right back lovie, just going to put the bags in the car” she gently took hold of your waist and kissed you. as you pulled away she chased your lips for a few more sweet kisses.

you giggled quietly, so you didn’t wake the boys and playfully pushed her away. she picked up the bags and took them out to the car.

whilst she was gone you took a seat on the big arm chair that was in the room and closed your eyes, just taking a moment to let your new life sink in.

once alessia had returned, she approached the door quietly and as she opened it, her eyes softened. she looked at your peacefully sleeping babies, then over to you.

she tiptoed over to the arm chair you were seated in and squatted down to your level. she gently rubbed her hands over your thighs and rested her chin on your knee to look up at you.

you opened your eyes at the feeling, and you saw her face which had a soft, loving smile on it.

“you ready to go home baby?” she murmured, placing a kiss to your knee.

you nodded your head and she rose to her full height. she took your hands in hers and gently pulled you up.

she kept hold of your hands and leaned forward to place a long kiss to your forehead.

“I love you so much, I’m so proud of you” she murmured softly into your skin.

you smiled softly and repeated those same words to her.

she smiled and pulled away to walk over to your babies, who were settled in their car seats on top of the bed.

“I love you both so much already, let’s get you both home” she cooed softly. you came up next to her and ran your hand over her back.

“let’s go my loves” you carefully lifted oliver’s car seat while alessia took finn’s.

as soon as you exited the room, alessia held her hand open and gestured to oliver’s car seat.

“less it’s alright, you don’t need to take both of them” you placed your own hand in hers and she shook her head.

“i know you wanted to get a picture, let me take him and I’ll give him right back” she smiled and you could have melted into a puddle right then and there at her remembering your conversation during the early days in your pregnancy.

“ok fine, but I’m taking him back” you handed the seat over to her and as soon as she had a grip she was picking up her pace to be in front of you.

you snapped a picture and got a short video. “less i got it, slow down so i can take him back.” she turned her head around and gave you a cheeky grin and a wink.

“alessia mia teresa russo, you slow down right now” you hissed.

alessia cringed at the use of her full name, she sighed and slowed her pace to walk in line with you.

“I just don’t want you to push yourself too hard after the surgery” she said softly and adjusted her grip on the car seats.

you smiled gently at her thoughtfulness, it never failed to make you feel any less giddy inside, and honestly, it makes you fall in love with her even more every day.

“alright, you win this time” you sighed playfully and she giggled, knowing you were secretly happy and thankful for her help.

alessia had spent probably over two hours practicing getting these car seats into the car, and now, as she’s been saying, she’s a pro.

she did eventually had you oliver’s car seat, only for a few minutes though, as it only took her that long to get finn situated into the car.

“you want to sit in the back with them lovie?” she was stood in front of you now, gently taking oliver back and placing a kiss to your cheek as she did so.

“yeah, i think that would be a good idea. thank you lessi” you smiled and basically waddled around alessia’s mercedes. she was patient as you took your time getting into the car.

“all set?” she lowered her head down to look at you.

“yeah, I’m all good” you smiled at her. she grinned back and started working on getting oliver settled into the car, asking you to hold certain parts a few times.

“alright, we’re all good. are you sure you’re comfortable sitting here?” she asked again, just double checking.

“yeah don’t worry less, just focus on getting us home” you smiled and reached your hand over oliver to interlock both of your fingers.

“alright lovie, just let me know if you’d prefer to come up front” she said into your hand as she leaned in to kiss it.

—————————————————————

it was now the start of the second week with your boys home. everything had been going really well, alessia had been changing almost every diaper, at her insistence and organising your frozen milk supply, while you were breast feeding.

you were woken up again to the sound of both of your babies crying, you sighed and gently got out of bed.

as you were walking over to the boys’ cots, alessia got out of bed and joined you in trying to soothe the twins. she gently took oliver into her hold and started walking around and gently patting his back while whispering and humming to him.

you took finn over to the bed and tried to see if he was hungry by trying to get him to latch to your boob.

breast feeding was a lot tougher than you thought it would be. your boobs were always sore and tender. you felt like you always had a pump or a baby (or two) latched to them.

it had been challenging trying to juggle everything, but you and alessia have had multiple talks and agreed on who would be taking care of what.

finn didn’t seem to want to latch or that he was hungry, so you pulled your shirt down and carefully stood up with him still in your arms. you were rubbing his back while his piercing screams filled the once quiet room.

alessia was placing oliver back in his cot as she had managed to soothe him and he had stopped crying.

you had both figured out in the first few of days that finn especially liked it when he was touching the both of you, so alessia came and stood in front of you and wrapped both you and finn in a firm hug.

it was a bit challenging the first few times as you were trying to figure out what soothed each of them, but he seemed to like it better when he was just sandwiched in between you both.

you stopped bouncing him and just held him while rubbing his back as alessia was stood pressing lightly into the side of his back with her head on top of yours.

you were humming a lullaby softly into his ear and it seemed to be working, as his cries started dying down and he snuggled into you a bit more.

once you knew that he was sleeping, alessia stepped back to let you put him back in his cot.

once you turned around you found her with a soft smile on her face and her left arm extended for you to take.

you gently intertwined your fingers and you let her guide you back to bed.

you both laid on your backs with your head on her shoulder and her right arm wrapped around you.

she was lightly scratching up and down your exposed arm and pressing feather light kisses to your temple.

“I love you” she sighed out, rolling on her side to face you.

you turned your head to look at her and smiled.

“I love you, thank you for doing so much” you said truthfully.

“anything for you three, you all are my world” she whispered softly, bringing her hand up to tuck a few strands of hair behind your ear.

you smiled and started to tear up, your hormones were all over the place and to hear that coming from her mouth just made you so happy.

“we should get as much sleep as we can now lovie, I bet they’ll be hungry in a few hours” she suggested quietly, moving so her head was now on your shoulder.

“goodnight less, love you” you murmured into her hair.

she responded by kissing your neck a few times, then repeating those same words.

——————————————————————

thank you all for reading! sorry it’s a bit late, I’ll do a third part maybe about the first few years with the twins if you’d like that? Let me know!

If you’d like to request anything or ask me anything feel free!

#alessia russo #alessia russo imagine #alessia russo x reader #arsenal wfc #lionesses #alessia russo x y/n #lionesses x reader #leah williamson #woso community #woso

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angelmush · 3 months ago

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hi molly, you inspire me so much, thank you for being you. im about to move to a new city by myself for the first time and im scared. how did you build your life into one you loved? how do i meet people? i want so many things but sometimes they seem so far out of reach!! anyway, wishing you well and it always makes me happy to come visit your page and see you living life so fully :)

hello sweet anon!! sorry i am just getting to this, i was out of town for a few days and have been pretty offline in general lately. to be honest, i feel really really really underqualified to answer any questions about meeting people and making friends, as it is something that has never come easily to me, but i will do my best because i am SO excited for you!! moving somewhere new can be really healing!! i also want to gently remind you that social media-- even tumbr --is a highlight reel.

building my life into one i loved.

i think it's a few things.

it's a skill to find excitement about small things. delicious meals, nice weather, cute animals. being intentional about noticing and allowing yourself to feel excited about the little stuff does some kind of magic in your brain, and in appreciating your life in general. i am not naturally gifted at this whatsoever, but it's a muscle that takes practice to build, like anything.

i also dedicate a LOT of my free time to hobbies. right now it's mostly knitting, but often it's cooking and training my dog as well. watching movies and talking about them with people. spending time decorating the house. i'm very very very much a homebody, often to my detriment. it is monumentally difficult for me to take the first steps to leave the house to do things, even fun things, but once i do i am almost always better for it.

one sort of silly way i have helped to mitigate this, is that my girlfriend and i have started making seasonal bucket lists and magnetizing them onto our fridge. it turns it into sort of a game i guess, and it makes me feel accomplished to cross things off. we did really really well with ours this summer! we have three sections, small things (make smoothies, try a new dinner recipe, make a playlist), medium things (take the dog to the lake, see a movie in the theater, have drinks on a patio), and large things (go camping, go to pride, celebrate my birthday), etc. we just made our fall/winter one and i'm already sooooo excited for it!! it helped me to have a reason to leave the house while we were still getting our bearings in this new city.

i also have limited my social media time more recently on all apps except tumblr and pinterest to 15 minutes per day total. this helps me feel so much less frantic and it's easier for me to stay present than it used to be.

i also started taking medication! it's been a really big piece of the puzzle for me, personally. it helps my baseline be significantly more resilient and regulated and stable. it isn't a singular fix, but it opens up more space for that joy.

as far as meeting people goes, i will let you know when i figure it out LOL. im someone that needs a lot of quiet alone time to function and so i spend a lot of time with myself. i am still learning how to make the bridge from casual friends to a deeper and more meaningful friendship with the people ive met since moving here last august, and it's been a very clumsy imperfect process.

i'm sure this probably wasn't all that helpful haha it felt disjointed to write, and like i said, i am severely underqualified to give advice on this topic. but these are a handful of things i think have helped me in the last year, so hopefully there's something you can take from it!! wishing you all the luck and joy and wonder on your endeavors!! you can send me an ask anytime!! <33

#this is long and i'm really tired from travel so i hope this makes any sense at all #i feel a responsibility to tell you that i DO NOT HAVE IT TOGETHER WHATSOEVER #this is the blind leading the blind when ya'll ask me for life advice lmfao #idk what im doing out here guys im so sorry #asks

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floydhat · 10 months ago

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Magic Assault Practices Opening and intermediate

(Esp video/En post w/ translation)

@prince-kallisto Here is the translation of this event ^^

(LOL, video translation is a little bad, but meh, Hikari (@sebbyphantomhive08) makes her own video with my raw -> here)

(I'm trying, notice me for any mistake)

Opening:

Here are all together, all in time, I'm glad to see all of us here.

We are near to the hour to start the obligatory "Practical Formation" start it? Ah, yeah.

By the way, hear me. As I did not have much time longer, I went to the mountains, I noticed up that a new gibier restaurant, I be dying to go there. I want in the queue to 3pm. I don't know if it was a meal or an early dinner. It tastes tepid but really flavourful.

You know it? Gibier, for its own nature, the meat is fron different species...If it's not properly care, it can make some smells of it will turn dry and stiff. It's requires qualified techniques based on experience.

In a lot of situations, u need to make hard decisions quickly in that place. That's not something that u can learn on a day.

That's really hand made, u will fall in love with it

...

Can u stop seeing me as u don't matter this? This story concerns u, too!

Being able to make decisions based on experience is important, and mages are not different. This lesson of "Practical Formation" is obliged because the good mages need practical experience. We would like our students to be aware of the importance that therse lessons have, and for the lessons in the lecture hall too.

"It will be funny to use all magic that I want." If u think that way, U WILL REGRET THAT FRIVOLOUS IDEA!

Then, additionally, I would like explain this lesson.

"Practical Formation" is a lesson when u use the knowledge that u learned in the classroom.

From now on, u will dare your limits using your magic thoroughly in a virtual area in the Coliseum.

I supervise and calificate if the learning in the classroom is used in practice.

Yeah? Why is it in a virtual area?

EXPRESS GRATITUDE TO ME FOR THAT!

Before, the "Practical Formation" was made in non habited islands or fields rented for that. But some students escape from teachers' eyes, we have a lot of blind points and they take advantage of that to don't make the lessons. We had a lot of disputes between teachers and students who tried to escape to their responsibilities, I was a lot of work!

Ah ...ah... today by today, go so further has no make sense.

Today, magical projectors' technology improved a lot. They're can show locations and enemies identical to the originals. With it, u can walk in the desert, take a bath in the forest, or explore the sea. From your home, we don't need to cancel by the bad weather.

In the past, how many lessons will be suspended by storms or blizzards? I mean, I'm glad about the technological advances.

In the virtual area, u will fight with the enemies generated by the projector.

Me, Dire Crowley, I will be the generated enemy!

For ur own security, the magic level of my vitual version is really low compared to me. I'm the headmaster of Night Raven College, I'm really strong, please, be prepared for this.

Yeah, I know that u would say: "The "wall" is really big, right?

But, if u try to pass those "walls," u will grow

U will be conscious of that, Now, let's start the Practial Formation!.

C'mon Dire Crowley instruction will begin, U will pass this successfully!

("Walls" like barriers of that)

Intermediate:

Good job, u have passed this training very well! Excelent! It's a really confusing feeling see how my student hit me even though it is a virtual me, it's werid, but if this is the way, I will accept it with tears because I'm so kind!

Now, the Practical Formation will be more difficult. Let's do a little break to pass to the next stage. Considering how many time I need to configure the projector , u have around 15 minutes.

Yeah? If I completed this Formation?

I ask u, "You see me like that type of person that assign task to their students that he own can't complete?"

U can't see it, but I can clear it. Obviously, I can clear it! After all, I'm the headmaster of Night Raven College.

Eh? U want to know what I think about your work? I can't tell u don't, no, no, no matter how kind I am.

Actually I never do it, but I'm sure that I can do it

While u are answering the sentences on a text, u never will hear "Up to now, the number of right answers are 5" right?

If I tell u, others teachers will be upset with me. I don't want that that's would be pretty embarrassing for me in my position.

But if it's my personal opinion, I don't matter tell you in secret

I'm honestly surprised with the high level of my school. As a headmaster, I'm proud of that.

With that rhythm, maybe u can exceed me in the hard mode.

Please~ do your best! That's they way to the development of the school.

Now, I'm going to adjust the projector and make sure to be relaxed to the next levels.

#disney twst #twisted wonderland #twst #twisted translations #night raven college #español #twst crowley #dire crowley #translation #twst dire crowley #magic assault practices #current events #english

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snowblossomreads · 1 year ago

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Day 12: A Missing Gift (Missing Star + Giver of Gifts)

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x Amiee Huang (OC)

Summary: In where Amiee plays hostess to a party while Sinclair is missing. She learns later why he was gone for so long.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): mean jokes, defending loved one, kissing, hidden relationships, food(lots of food), gift giving, feelings of unworthiness, fluff and love!

Word Count: 5.4K (Sinclair's getting spoiled I know 😌)

A/N: Heheh so this story takes place before the events of The Art of Entangled Hearts which ,you can read here (come on i know u want to read it) . This little fic is just sweet fluff between these two and a little surprise awaits at the ending 🥹.

Disclaimer: Any resemblance to any person living or dead is just coincidence 🤣🤣 (it's not) Enjoy lovelies!

There were about 15 or so people, including Amiee, mingling in the spacious living room of Sinclair's flat, which resided on one of the top floors, in a luxury apartment building, in Manchester's city centre. All sorts of folks from work had come to the little, or more accurately rather larger dinner party he was throwing for the upcoming holidays, ready to gossip and drink fancy wine and champagne till their heads spun.

It was the weekend after all, and why not indulge, especially if you weren't paying for it. Most of the people there were from different departments though, she recognised two or three of them from her own. She was sure that they knew Sinclair, as everyone who ever met him could attest that he was hard to forget, and even harder to avoid once he took a liking to you.

Speaking of Sinclair.

"Amiee where'd ya say our office puppy went to?" Millie, who she had learned was a lawyer for the company asked as she sat down next to Amiee with a drink in hand. "I know he has a habit of being late, but to his own party? That's a new one even for him!"

"Honestly he's hopeless when it comes to time management, it's the reason he's always in the office so late sometimes," Amiee mused as she took a sip of her own drink. "He said he had some last minute things he needed to pick up and then left me to supervise if he didn't get back on time."

"Oh of course he would! Men I swear," she snickered, though there was amusement in her voice as she spoke. "Well, it's not too bad of a mess. I mean there're drinks and some amusing company I guess. Though, I wonder what's got him so tied up. Maybe he's gone back to the office?"

"Haha, I don't mind.” She actually did mind, even if it was just a little bit, but that wasn’t the point. “And I doubt it. Sinclair wouldn't miss a party, especially his party. He enjoys the company too much," Amiee continued as she fell into a comfortable conversation with the lady. "But," she added, covering the side of her face, and leaning over like she was telling a secret to Millie who was also leaning in to hear. "If he doesn't show up soon I'm liable to just start eating the food without him. I'm starving!"

Both women let out a laugh drawing a pair of eyes towards them.

"Be careful," Millie snorted bringing her drink to her lips. "That's probably a sackable offence when it comes to him. Can you imagine him coming back and all the food is gone?"

"It'll drive him mad for sure! I'm pretty sure we be his mortal enemies if we ever did that!" Amiee cackled doubling over in laughter at the thought of Sinclair marching everyone out of his flat because they had eaten all the food.

It was honestly easier to imagine than one would think considering who they were talking about. That man took his meals seriously!

"A sackable offence to who? Who are we talking about ladies?"

The voice of a man interrupted the two women, who looked up to see a red-faced middle aged man approach them and before he got near, Amiee could hear Millie hiss a soft,

"Not this dickhead." Before leveling a nasty glare at him.

He was a bit wobbly on his feet as he waddled up to them, and it was clear he was going to need to be cut off from the drinks soon in case he got too plastered before dinner was served.

"Bugger off won't you Williams? Can't you see me and our hostess are talking?"

As if he didn't hear her, Williams, whom Amiee didn't know, yet already disliked immensely, seemed to ignore the request to leave them alone, instead doing his best to join the conversation he wasn't wanted in.

"Aw come on Mills be nice," he crooned causing the blond woman's face to twist in disgust at the nickname as she looked away from the man. "Amiee isn't it! Still no sign of our friend Sinclair huh? Chaps probably lost somewhere staring at some billboard that's got him interested. Sometimes I don't think that man is all that there," Williams thought out loud as he tried to sit in the small space between the woman.

This only caused him to almost sit on Amiee's lap causing her to yelp and scoot to the opposite side of the sofa but not without her snapping at him with a,

"Hey watch it!"

"Sorry as I was saying," he continued, not paying any mind to the women who clearly did not want him to be there. "Brilliant at numbers but he's kind of odd fellow don't you think. Talkative too."

"Is that what we are calling people who are interested in a lot of things now? Because honestly I rather be friends with someone like that. Even if he is talkative, at least he has something of value to say, unlike some people," Amiee spat, still annoyed at the sudden appearance of the man and, the apparent audacity he had to insult Sinclair in his own home.

"Millie, what do you think?"

"Oh, absolutely. There's never a dull moment when Sinclair is around though," Millie paused to give the unwelcome guest a dirty look that was clearly telling him to piss off yet he stayed. "I can't say the same when it comes to some people."

The man seemed to be unaware he was nearing dangerous territory with the thinly veiled insults that he was hurling at Sinclair. And if he wasn't, well it was about to be made clear that he had overstepped.

"I mean he's a fine man, brilliant. But you have to agree he's a bit, I don't know, he seems off his rocker sometimes when he starts rambling about all those facts up in his head. It’s bloody weird!"

This had Amiee glaring at the man fiercely as he seemed to have realized what he said had crossed a line.

"No, I don't agree actually!" Amiee seethed lowly, her face hot from anger and her cheeks flushed, but not from the drinks.

Her ferocity seemed to catch both Millie and Williams off guard and had anyone else heard her, she was sure it would have caught them off guard to.

"It's fine if you don't like him, but if you're going to just insult him in his flat, at his party why even show up! If it bothers you so much, how about buggering off like you were asked to. And preferably out of here altogether."

Everyone seemed petrified for a moment as they all took in the way she had just told this man off. Someone she didn't know but already never wanted to meet again, especially with how he talked about Sinclair, who was goodness personified to her.

He had flaws like any other human being, but she wasn't going to stand for someone, especially someone supposedly on good terms with him to speak about him like that. Drunk or not.

The air was a bit tense between the three, but it seemed like luck was on their side in a manner of speaking because not seconds later, the door to the flat opened, and Sinclair was walking in with a few shopping bags in hand and a grin.

"And look everyone it's the man of the hour," Amiee cheered as she jumped from her seat to get away from the uncomfortable situation, leaving Williams confused and Millie hiding her laughter behind her glass.

"Sorry sorry hello everyone! I got caught in traffic trying to get back with some more food and stuff for us!" Sinclair explained enthusiastically as he made his way into the flat, shutting the door with his foot and greeting everyone. "I should have known I get back late, but that just means everyone is already here!"

Amiee smiled as she approached him, happy he was still in his cheerful mood even with the delay, and with all the alcohol in people's blood, they seemed to just be happy he was here. With food of course.

Finding her in the small crowd, Sinclair seemed to brighten up even more as he walked over to her while boisterously announcing,

"Also everyone say thank you to Amiee as the unwilling hostess! She's wonderful to put up with me and my demands."

Her heart leapt, and she felt herself become instantly shy when he said that. The urge to ball up a little was strong as the attention turned to her for a few seconds when a chorus of thank you's and laughter filled the air.

Mortifying wasn't the right word, but she did feel self-conscious as she nodded and gave a little wave and smile to everyone. A soft 'you're welcome' left her before Sinclair was swooped in.

"Dinner in about 30 minutes! Hopefully faster though because I'm starving! I'm stealing Amiee away for help seeing she's already done a brilliant job at keeping you lot entertained. It's a hard chore!"

There was more laughter at his announcement, as he took Amiee by the hand and began to drag her away from the party. She happily let him to, ready to get a break from the crowd of people, and that one twat.

Dragging her down the hall and into the kitchen where they could only hear the chatter faintly along with the low music that had been playing, Sinclair kept his boyish grin as he put the bags of food on the counter before turning to the woman.

"Sinclair that Williams or whatever his name is an arsehole," she stated plainly when he looked at her, not giving him time to tell her how pretty she looked with her outfit.

She must have changed when he left as she was now wearing a festive-looking red jumper blouse with a cowl neckline, along with a red headband that was adorned with a bow in her hair. Speaking of her hair, it had some more volume than it usually did which also looked quite good.

‘So cute.’ He mused in his head as he watched her brows furrow waiting for his response.

"Oh from the advisory board?" He asked nonchalantly as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arm around her waist to hug her against him. She let out a hum as she hugged him back and deflated a bit in his arms already tired from a night that had only begun. "Oh, he's alright. He speaks his mind a lot even if it isn't the most popular thing. I think it's good to have different opinions even if they aren't said nicely. Though I do prefer them put in nicer ways no need to be snide."

"Sure, but sometimes you can have the wrong opinion and he was being snide," she snarked, as Sinclair chuckled and leaned down to press a kiss atop her head. "He decided to have a go at you before you came in and I let him know he could bugger off if he didn't like you."

"Was he drunk?"

That wasn't the question she thought she would hear.

"Yes I believe so," she answered, tilting her head up with a quizzical gaze at his question only to see amusement shine in his eyes.

"Darling you slagged off a possibly drunk man because he was mean to me did you?" Sinclair laughed in astonishment as he let go of her, only to find a pouty expression directed at him. "He probably won't even remember tomorrow, but it's lovely of you to defend my honour at a holiday party to someone you don't know. Hmm, I think it's the sweetest thing someone has ever done for me actually. Thank you Amiee!"

She sure hoped it wasn't the sweetest thing a partner had ever done for him, or she would need to talk to him about the people he had dated considering it was the least she could do. Granted she probably needed to have that pep talk too as she was no better.

Her pondering was cut short though by Sinclair who interrupted her with a cheerful,

"But also you look very pretty! I like the red on you! But red also makes me think of wine and stuff which reminds me that I'm hungry and I'm sure everyone else is!" He blabbered on as he turned towards the counter to begin taking food out of the bags. "Can you help me get all this food and stuff set up and brought out? Gosh, It seems like I'm making you do so much running around!"

The dizzying array of topics that he had just jumped through would have confused others, yet Amiee followed his train of thought perfectly, amused at how he related seemingly unrelated topics.

"Thank you 'Clair!” She beamed. “And yes, I will help you plate stuff. What kind of hostess would I be if I didn't?"

With a strong team effort, they unpacked the precooked food that he had bought for the party. Along with that, they also took things out of the fridge that had been premade and opened the oven to check on the food that had been in there staying warm.

Amiee only had to keep Sinclair from trying to eat one of the mini pork pies once. Though, when she had turned around for a second, he shoved a sausage roll in his mouth only for her to laugh at his puffed cheeks when he was caught chewing. He wasn't a very quiet eater, and it was very obvious by the sudden groan that he made that he had nicked something.

Once all the food had been plated on the fancy serving plates, and bags were tossed or stored -except one, that Sinclair said was for a surprise later. The only thing left was to bring all the food and plates out for everyone to serve themselves.

Giving each other approving looks, Sinclair leaned his head down as if he was looking for something on Amiee's side, only to find her lips being placed on his. He hummed in delight as they basked in the warm moment with each other, right before they would have to go back to being just good friends in front of everyone.

Oh, the woes of a hidden relationship.

They moaned as their lips hungrily clashed against each other, almost forgetting that someone could walk in and see them snogging like teenagers.

Pulling away, Amiee looked up at Sinclair before amusement blanketed her features.

"Sinclair here you have something on your lips," she giggled as she swiped at his lips with her thumb, trying to remove the lipstick that stained his thin lips.

He hummed as she rubbed it off before she gave him a pleased smile.

"Alright, ready to feed the hungry masses?" She asked as she picked up two different things getting ready to head for the living room.

"If by hungry masses you mean me? Then yes!" Sinclair answered enthusiastically, causing her to let out a loud laugh as she led them back into the front where people cheered as the food arrived.

The abundance of appetizers and small eats had been a hit, as everyone seemed pleased with the variety and the amount of things they could choose from. It came to no one's surprise, that there was such an abundance considering it was Sinclair hosting, and he was notorious for making sure there was plenty to go around.

Someone even complimented the egg tarts Amiee had brought, and Sinclair, once again, proudly proclaimed that she had bought them causing her to be back in the spotlight but just briefly. She would have to tell her mum that they were a hit like she knew they would be.

The party seemed to go on and on with everyone having a good time, and becoming more energetic after food was in stomachs. Someone even opted to do some mock karaoke to one of the Christmas songs that started to play, garnering everyone's attention and laughter.

Throughout the whole thing, Amiee and Sinclair would sneak looks at each other whenever he wasn't deep into a conversation, and both of them couldn't stop the smiles that grew on their lips when one saw the other.

They were hopeless. As it went on though, Amiee found herself tiring of the socialization as she had done enough for the rest of the year and some of the next. Her eyes felt tired, yet people seemed to be having fun still and Sinclair, the ever-energetic puppy, was in deep conversation with a group of three.

How he had the energy, she didn't know, but she wouldn't drag him out of his zone as she was happy to see him happy. But she needed somewhere quiet to recharge from all the noise.

So she made a decision. Surveying the crowd, she made sure no one was looking, and that everyone was talking to someone before she slowly made her way out of the lively room. If she didn't make eye contact no one would notice her.

'Amiee what are you doing you're not James Bond, this isn't a spy movie please act normal.'

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and it wasn't as if she wasn't well-versed in slipping out of crowded rooms. She was usually hardly missed in those kinds of gatherings.

The thought pulled at her heart a bit, and a frown briefly invited itself onto her lips before she quickly and quietly left the room. Once she was confident no one saw her, she kept moving down the hall until she was able to slip into Sinclair's dim bedroom, where the only light source was a lamp on his bedside table.

Cautiously, she closed the door behind her before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Freedom," she muttered to herself, as she padded towards the large bed and flopped herself face forward onto the mattress.

A long groan left her lips as she crawled on top of the bed sheets, and rolled herself onto Sinclair's side of the bed. Snuggling with his pillow, and inhaling the comforting scent that was him, she relaxed, happy to be away from the crowd just for a bit.

"Just rest my eyes for a bit, that should do it." She told herself as her eyes fluttered closed. "Just resting my eyes, that's it Amiee then you'll get up and go back and …yawn… be social."

Closing her eyes to rest them, she was unsurprisingly out like a light moments later.

It wasn't the noise that had awakened her, but the lack of it, as her bleary eyes opened to the dim room that was filled with silence. Getting her bearings together took a few more moments, and her sitting up took the same amount of time as she found herself more exhausted than before.

"Shit," she groaned as she wiped at her eyes to try and wake up. "Did I fall asleep?"

"You did!"

“Oh my god!”

Amiee shrieked, startled at the voice that suddenly came out of the en suite bathroom, which she hadn't noticed had its lights turned on.

Coming out of the room with a white t-shirt, and a pair of cozy joggers that hugged his hips just right, Amiee couldn't stop herself from ogling Sinclair as he came towards her.

"I was wondering where you had run off to!" He started as he sat on the edge of the bed closest to her.

"God I'm sorry 'Clair," her apology was punctuated with a yawn that couldn't be stifled.

"It's okay! You looked so adorable sleeping that I felt bad about oh, uhm, what's that word you all use sometimes," he thought for a moment before finding the word he was looking for. "Mither? Felt bad if I mithered you?"

His attempt to use the local slang made her giggle, as it was so odd to hear anything but his posh upper class London accent.

"You wouldn't have mithered me at all, I would have gotten up, I was just dead tired talking to all those people," she explained while crawling over to his side and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Sorry love, I'll make it up to you at the next party that I know you'll be having."

"Which will be your birthday party you know. I still can't believe you haven't had one before that's absurd you deserve to be celebrated and I want to celebrate you but, you need to tell me where you want to have it."

"Sinclair no it's fine! Please don't make such a fuss about it.” She begged, wrapping her arms around his forearm and putting her chin on his shoulder which was accompanied by an endearing pout. “I don't mind really. It’s not a big deal for me to not have a party, just being with you during it is good enough for me."

"But it is a big deal because you were born and it makes me happy that you are here. And I want to celebrate my favorite person is that so wrong?" Sinclair asked, eyeing her with that longing look that he knew she was weak too.

Ugh, how could she say no when he put it in such terms and looked at her like that. Damn him!

"No, it's not but, hmmm fine, let's make a compromise.” She offered which had him perk up just like a puppy hearing a door open or food being poured into a bowl. “We can have dinner somewhere but only with six people at the most, including me and you."

Hmm. Six people didn't sound too much like a party to Sinclair, but he decided he was happier that she was letting him do something special for her birthday to care. Plus it was her birthday.

"Okay! Deal darling a dinner party with six people it is.” He agreed energetically. “I'll let you be in charge of the guest list since it's for you. Let me know if you need help wrangling people. I do love people wrangling."

Of course, he did, though he usually didn't have to wrangle people, as he already had a magnetic and sunny personality that people were drawn to automatically.

Great, now she just had to find four people to celebrate within a week or two time. That was next week Amiee’s problem though, as Amiee of the present was tired and ready to just cuddle up into bed and snooze.

"Oh speaking of birthdays and holidays!" Sinclair chirped out of the blue now that her birthday event was settled. "I have a gift for you that I want you to have! It was one of the reasons I was late this evening, which sorry, but thank you for keeping everyone company. Everyone said you were lovely as a hostess!"

"Sinclair what did you buy me now," Amiee whined, as he scooted off the bed and headed to his closet to rummage for the item he had bought today. "You always buy me stuff you know, and you don't have to," she continued as he disappeared, and then reappeared in the room with a medium-sized rectangular box that was just a tad bit larger than his palm. "And it's always such pretty stuff that I hate I can't display at home because my parents and Angie would ask about it."

Walking back over to her, and sitting down, Sinclair grabbed Amiee gently as she wobbled due to the sudden motion of the bed dipping. Grinning at her, he leaned over to kiss her temple and then her lips, which she accepted with a soft noise as she leaned against him.

"I know, I know, but I saw it and it looked so cute and I thought of you because you're also very cute darling.” His compliment had her bashfully dropping her head and shaking it, as a sweet giggle left her lips that made him all the more enthused about giving her the gift. “But it also reminded me that you've never had a Christmas tree, or a Christmas topper for the tree! So I thought well this would be nice to put atop the tree this year instead of a star and you would also have a topper," he chattered happily as he handed the velvet box over to Amiee who apprehensively took it. "Plus I love being a giver of gifts, especially when I can gift you with things!"

The fabric of the box was so soft, and upscale that she wouldn't be surprised if he had paid the same amount for the box as the gift itself. It made her heart ache a bit only because while she was sure she would love it, there was guilt hanging around telling her she didn't deserve it. Making her feel bad that she couldn't reciprocate his generosity with her own.

He never complained about the gifts she would give him, even if they weren’t as luxurious as the ones he could afford to give her. Yet, he was always thrilled when she brought him something. And while she was sure he wasn't faking it, considering it was hard for him to fake emotions, she still felt a bit bad.

Noticing her hesitation, his hand fell to her lower back patting her gently as she played with the box in her hand.

"Go on darling," he murmured leaning over, and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Don't be shy open it! I want to see if you like it!"

Shooting him a timid smile, she looked back down at the box and took the top off delicately placing it down on the nightstand. In the box was filler paper, which she removed from the top only to find at the bottom a beautiful looking angel.

It had dark long hair, which had a golden crown made of flowers sitting atop its head. Brown eyes, with red paint on its lips, and golden angel wings that curved towards the front of the doll’s body. The dress it had on was a beautiful shiny red with golden flowers, and a red sash tied around its waist. The thing was absolutely gorgeous and Amiee was terrified of anything happening to it as she picked it up.

"An angel for my angel! She reminded me of you when I saw it!" He mused and it was so cheesy, but it didn't matter as Amiee was speechless at the gift and how sweet it was. She honestly would probably cherish it forever as she couldn’t take her eyes off the little thing.

"Did you know angel toppers were the first ornaments people made by hand? Usually with straw because well it seemed like everyone used to have that long ago,” Sinclair rattled off. “We then started making glass ones just to put on top of the tree! Quite a long history for something so small."

"She's beautiful Sinclair," Amiee whispered so hushly that he hadn't heard her as he rambled on about the history of Christmas tree toppers that he knew far too much of.

Her fingers brushed the doll's cheek, which was smooth like the porcelain it was made from. And the satin, or whatever its dress was made of, was just as smooth and didn't snag like cheaper quality fabric.

She was so beautiful, and Amiee felt so silly when she felt emotion bubble in her throat as she looked at the doll. It was just a doll yet, it meant so much more to her than he could ever know.

"Thank you, thank you I love her so much," Amiee beamed leaning over and kissing Sinclair's cheek just in time to hide a tear or two that had slid down her own cheeks.

"Can we put her up soon?" She asked turning to the side to wipe her eyes and put the beautiful thing back in the box but not without admiring it some more. "I mean if you don't mind us changing what's on the tree already?"

A large smile shined on his face and he seemed to be on board with the idea considering that he was visibly vibrating with excitement.

"Yes! Of course! We can do it tomorrow!" He exclaimed before looking at the clock and quickly correcting himself. "Well, later today actually but I think we could both use some sleep right?"

“Absolutely! I'm pretty sure my nap made me even more tired. But first I need to shower and get myself out of these clothes." She mumbled, remembering she had fallen asleep with her party outfit still on. "Mind if I steal a jumper for the night though?" She asked, putting the top of the box back on before getting off the bed to ransack Sinclair's closet for any jumper she could find.

"Oh wait I'll get one!" He suddenly shouted shooting off the bed and towards the closet, startling Amiee with how quick he moved.

It was those long legs of his.

"Here you go though darling!" He announced after a second of rummaging through the space before presenting her with another well-worn jumper that he had but not without adding, "if you could bring some of the ones you've nicked back it be great. I think I'm running low on them and I don't want to buy new ones. I could...but I like my old ones better more worn in you understand right?"

Brushing her confusion aside from his sudden rush toward the closet, her face turned warm at his ask before she let out a raucous laugh.

He was right though, she had stolen a few to keep for her own. She couldn't help it! They were comfy and she liked how his clothes drowned her smaller form. Also, they smelled like him and well…she liked snuggling in them when she felt down. But he was right, and for the sake of making sure he stayed comfortable, she would bring some of them back. Only some though because had to keep her inventory stocked up too.

"Hahah yes sir! Sorry, I’ll make sure to return this one and some of the others."

She saluted him before taking the article of clothing, and making her way to the bathroom for a nice relaxing shower. As she made her way to the bathroom, Sinclair gazed at her and kept watch until the door was closed and he could hear the spray of water from the shower start. Once he was sure she was in the shower, he walked back over to his closet where he had kicked a little black bag over so she couldn't see it, had she followed him to grab the jumper.

Getting on his knees, he reached for it and dragged it into the light before pulling another velvet box out of it. This time it was a much smaller box than the one he had given Amiee and more octagonal. Looking behind him, he made sure she hadn't come out of the bathroom, and when he was confident she wouldn't pop up, he opened the box to gaze at the ring that was sat cozily inside.

A beautiful rose gold band with a tracer attached to it. It had an oval garnet center that was surrounded by a halo of diamonds which were themselves surrounded by a diamond shape that had the same jewel in it. The jeweler had said it was a north star design when he picked it and he immediately thought it perfect for her.

He had gotten the call it had been delivered to the store before the party and he decided to fetch it considering he be out anyway. It was quite worth being late for the festivities, and he hoped that when it was time to use it, she would agree when he told her. Grinning at it, he closed the box and stowed it along with the bag somewhere a little more discreet while thinking about the moment he would present it to her.

It was the only thing he could think about the rest of the night, and even more so when they were both cuddled in bed after her shower. Amiee’s head rested against Sinclair’s chest, and his arms were wrapped securely around her small frame as she fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. He hoped that this would one day be an everyday occurrence, and as he turned the lamp on his side off he couldn’t help but kiss the top of her head with a soft murmur of,

“I love you, sweet dreams angel.”

A/N: 🥹🥹 if you've read the story this ending may be bittersweet but i promise these lovebirds will be happy! thanks @renee561 for the angel topper idea it was so cute i couldn't resist not using it 😘 I hope this gave some warm fuzzy feels!

Also the ring inspo.

Tag: @deepperplexity , @mercurial-make-em-ups , @ringaroundthetown

#sinclair bryant x oc #sinclair x oc #amiee x sinclair #(she goes first LOL she's important!)#rickmas2023 #rickmas #blossom writes

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writesaboutdragons · 6 days ago

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365 Promises of God

Day 344 – You Have Been Made Accepted in the Beloved

to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Eph 1:6 NKJV)

Read: Ephesians 1:3-6

My wife and I got married in a fairly large Baptist church, one of the last couples to get married in our old facility in Memphis, before the congregation moved south into Mississippi into a 65-acre beanfield. We’d attended the church there for about 8 years before that move, and remained there for another 20. Yet in all that time, my wife and I never really felt accepted by the couples our age.

Many of them came from the Christian school there, and so they certainly gravitated to one another, having grown up with each other. And I guarantee I’m doing some of them a disservice, since I know a few of them kept in touch even years later. But my wife drove it home for me one day when our young married class decided to have a get-together. There were 8 couples in the class, plus the leader and his wife. We were excited to hang out with them and learn more about them.

The get together was going to be a meal at the leader’s apartment. We arrived early, about 15 minutes, because we didn’t want to be late. But the leader answered the door and told us to go have a quick dinner and return, they had decided not to do a meal. Instead of 6:30 we’d meet at 7. We arrived at 7, but there was a sticky note on the door saying they had all gone to a putt putt golf place. We arrived there, and they were already halfway through a game. Which they had to have been playing long before 7. We said we’d wait on them, but they suggested we grab a couple clubs and some balls and catch up. They would wait on us. Only they didn’t, they continued to play, and finished before we were halfway done.

I suggested we quit playing and join them, but they told us to just continue playing, and they would wait on us. Only they didn’t. They headed for their cars. I asked where they were headed. They said a movie, and they’d wait on us at the local movie theater. We finished in a hurry, and I rushed my wife to the car. She was angry by now, and informed me the class wasn’t going to wait for us, if they even WENT to the theater. We arrived at the theater, and they were nowhere to be found. We headed back home. I was bewildered, but my wife stated flatly, “They just don’t LIKE us.”

Somewhat later, we were in another class with about half those couples. We arrived early, before the teacher. Six couples, 12 people, were sitting on the right side of the room, so, trying to be sociable, I sat us down beside one couple and struck up a conversation with them. They both excused themselves, wanting to hit the restroom before the class started, and so I talked with my wife for a few minutes. Then the teacher came in to start the class. My wife elbowed me and pointed. We were suddenly the ONLY people on the right side of the classroom. Everyone had moved away from us, like we were infected with leprosy.

Do you know, in that moment, I felt an overwhelming tidal wave of rejection. That I was shut out. Excluded. Ostracised. A pariah. I even had to double-take my own spiritual condition, because surely the people of God wouldn’t shut me out like that unless I was considered an unbeliever or something.

I wonder if you’ve ever felt that way. If you’ve ever been treated like that. If you got the impression that no matter what you did, no matter how hard you tried, you would never be accepted. By the group you want so desperately to be a part of. By the neighbors you moved by. By your parent.

It can be devastating to be rejected. It’s even harder when it hits closer to home. When it’s family. And frankly, church is SUPPOSED to be a family, yet don’t we often treat the new members like they have leprosy? Like we’re happy with our comfortable friends and don’t have room for someone new and strange.

But Jesus said the world would know we are Christians by our love. And he left us with a new Commandment, that we LOVE ONE ANOTHER. It’s so hard, I guess, and I’ll admit that I’ve been known to be a little unlovable. But that doesn’t change His commandment.

Regardless of whether your brothers and sisters accept you, though, dear Christian, regardless of whether your earthly family and friends accept you, God promises you here and now that you ARE accepted by Him. Into the Beloved. The beloved family HE started. You can never be rejected by Him, will never be shut out or avoided by Him.

You know, after that event, I made the conscious decision to stuff my family into every single thing the church had to offer. Because if they constantly saw us, they would have to love us. I mean, we were great people, if a little ADHD. We got involved in choir. In witnessing. In children’s ministry. In Scouts. In Awana. In the prayer ministry. With the youth. And quite a few of the folks there did start to connect with us. But you know, many of them never did. And that’s ok. Because I’d figured out by that time that we were Accepted by the most important member of that church. And so are you.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for accepting me. May I reach out to someone who needs acceptance, today. Amen

#christian #devotional #365 devos #365 promises of god #rejection #acceptance #clique

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skruffie · 2 months ago

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I went to work today and my boss had a similar expression to what she had earlier this year when she had a massive personal crisis. It was just her and I today plus our fill-in doctor while our usual one is on vacation. I was hoping the bulk of our appointments would no-show today to be honest because I was not going to be fully present but we were steady-busy. First patient of the day, like I was posting earlier, brought up how we have a new president after I broke the news to her that she was out of network and I shut that topic down immediately. The substitute doctor is nice but by the end of the day we were lagging behind 45 minutes with the last few appointments so I messaged Alice saying I'd probably be late. I wasn't too late thankfully.

I decided after work to stop at Lover's because I've reached a critical stage of Fuck It and was going to buy something to wear with this top for a burlesque show on Friday night. There was one woman working there who temporarily closed the store for a meal break so I waited in my car about 15 minutes until she came back. I remembered her from when I had been in last year and she was quite chatty, and I knew also that she had a wife and wore pride pins on her lanyard. I found what I came in for and talked a bit with her at the register.

"It's probably silly to ask but how are you holding up?" I asked.

"Terrible." She said. "You?"

"I thought I'd be one of those weirdos crying while shopping." And we talked a bit. I went home, had dinner with Alice, and on our way back we passed by this restaurant that typically has stupid jokes up in their marquee. It's the kind of jokes you see as memes reblogged by your grandma on facebook, and they sometimes usually have a slightly conservative slant. In five years of working and living around this area, there's always been something in there. When it wasn't jokes, it was usually some text welcoming home a Navy ship. We drove past it tonight and it was blank on both sides. Somehow this part was disturbing to us both. I thought back to the videos I saw on Tiktok where people were saying things like 'NYC is completely quiet today', or the friends that independently changed their profile pictures to just empty black squares. No planning.

So, I wanted to write this out. I want to keep a momentum of this, the little daily moments because this really feels like we're on the edge of something very huge and awful. I don't remember a lot from 2020-2021 and I want to be able to have something to look back on as things change daily. The pace from the 2016 presidency felt like it was shattering reality and I need a tether to stay afloat.

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kimmysurveyblog · 7 months ago

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1.) What was the last strong scent you smelled? Eggs. I made some for my daughter. 2.) When was the last time you changed your outfit? 20 minutes ago. 3.) What did you buy the last time you went shopping for new clothes? Old Navy had a sale and I got a bunch of t-shirts for me, my boyfriend and my daughter. Last time I went shopping for clothes in general was to buy some princess dresses for her to dress up in. 4.) What is your favorite meal of the day? Dinner! 5.) Do you typically eat breakfast or skip it? Skip it. I don't usually eat much lunch either.

6.) What was the last thing you took a picture of? My daughter at the park. 7.) Do you have a collection of anything? Not really. 8.) What was the last thing you threw away? I just finished sweeping so dust and crumbs. 9.) What is the cause of your current emotional state? I'm PMSing & in a pain flare up. 10.) What were the last plans you made? How about cancelled? We bought Raffi concert tickets yesterday! We'll be doing our first little day trip in September. Not sure what plans I cancelled. 11.) How did you discover your favorite band? I don't have one. 12.) Does the weather affect your mood? If so, in what ways? It does, now that I have a toddler which forces me to go outside every day. I'm definitely happier when it's sunny or raining. 13.) When are you most likely to be bored? Like 10pm. 14.) What was the last big decision you made? We're going to be moving this year (if we can find a house/sell ours) 15.) Where was the last place you traveled to, and what did you do while there? I haven't travelled in ages. 16.) What is your favorite thing to go shopping for? Clothes and toys for my daughter. 17.) How organized are you? Not organized at all. 18.) What were the positives and negatives of your last week? Positives were the work we got done on the house, making plans for when my internet friend visits in 2 weeks. Not many negatives tbh. 19.) If applicable, how did you decide what you wanted to study in college/university? It was what I wanted to do. 20.) What was the last thing you received in the mail? An Amazon order. Diapers. 21.) What is one of your wildest dreams or ambitions? I don't really have any. 22.) When was the last time you performed in front of a group of people? Never. 23.) Who was the last person to upset you? How about the last person to cheer you up? Upset me would be the shitty new neighbours we're moving to get away from. Cheer me up would probably be my daughter. :) 24.) Is there anything or anyone you’re trying to get over or let go of? No. 25.) What was the subject of your last phone conversation? I called my Nan to check up on her. She had needles in her eyes yesterday. 26.) What are your plans for tomorrow? How about the weekend? Nothing for tomorrow or the weekend. The following weekend is Fathers Day & the weekend after that my internet friend is visiting so this weekend we're taking it easy. 27.) When was the last time you were sick? April I think. 28.) How close do you have to be with someone before you’ll consider them a friend? I'm not sure. I haven't made a new friend in a really long time tbh. 29.) What did the last jacket you wore look like? Plum coloured and kinda long. 30.) Name five things you can grab from where you’re sitting. Nail polish, iced coffee, pen, stack of temporary tattoo sheets, Gatorade.

#survey #surveys #personal survey #bored #personal surveys

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mandbtravels · 7 months ago

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Day 13 - Nagano & Snow Monkey Park

Up and out of our room for 7.30am to try our first traditional Japanese style breakfast. It had lots of small bowls that included radishes, miso soup, Japanese omelette, salmon, spring vegetables, rice, mushrooms and aubergine and pepper.

We headed to Nagano station to get the first express bus up to the snow monkey park. From the bus stop it is then took 35/40 minutes to walk to the park entrance. When we arrived it was still early ish as the monkeys were still having their breakfast in the mountains and so there were only 10 monkeys in the park. We stayed there for an hour or so then headed down to get some lunch to allow the other monkeys to come down.

At around 1pm there must have been nearing 100 monkeys in the park, they had all been fed and were relaxing either in the sun or the shade, there were so many little babies which were adorable. I’m going to do a separate post or two with the photos as they deserve to be altogether!

On the way back down to the bus stop we stopped at the farmhouse restaurant as they were advertising craft beer, we each had a pint of Snow Monkey IPA, mine was hazy and Michael’s a normal IPA, both brewed in the Nagano prefecture.

Once back in Nagano we headed to Nishinomon-Yoshinoya sake brewery, a quick run around the museum and then onto the tasting. 8 tastes from the original sake to a new type with a new strain of yeast that were made it taste similar to white whine. Finally, a plum wine that is normally made from shochu (more like vodka) but theirs was made with sake, all were delicious!

Then it was dinner time and finding somewhere that either does fish or vegetarian options was near impossible. We came across a tiny restaurant and through google translate I saw the word shrimp so we went in. There was a young couple in there who instantly came up to as and asked if we would like them to translate the menu, they were so lovely. Michael had a roast pork ramen and I had a shrimp udon with an egg and tofu in a dashi broth, by far the best thing I’ve eaten! A brilliant meal, for the food, one bottle of beer and a lemon sour it was around £15, for the quality you couldn’t ask for any more!

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holidayvisa · 1 year ago

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3 January 2024 - I received an email from a canyoning company in New Zealand yesterday. It was a company that I'd been in contact with before I came to Australia that had shown interest in hiring me. But before I bought a plane ticket, this company notified me that because of weather and bad road conditions, the canyon that this company operates in is closed for commercial operations. Therefore, this company wouldn't be hiring anyone since there's no work for guides. But, yesterday, I got an email from this company saying that the canyon is opening to commercial operations and that the company wants to start sending tours out. However, all of the guides that previously worked for this company have found other jobs. The owner of the company asked me if I was interested in coming to NZ and joining his operation and working as a guide or assistant guide for him.

So that's interesting...

I called the folks for just a few minutes but didn't get much of a chance to talk.

Daniel and I had a mission: we needed to get to the Tetkas' house by 2 pm to help move some furniture. Daniel and I left Dee Why at 1:15 to take a bus to Manly Vale. The Tetkas needed a couch moved from inside to outside. The moving of the couch took fewer than five minutes. Then, the Tetkas wanted to reward us for our hard work, so they insisted that they feed us. Tetka made pasulj (pronounced "possool"), which is a vegan bean soup. It was delicious! I finished mine pretty quickly because it was so good, and Tetka noticed my bowl was empty, and she insisted that I have another bowl! So, I was stuffed after two huge bowls of pasulj. After lunch, I headed back to Dee Why alone because Daniel had some other errands to run.

I cooked a vegan gado gado for dinner. This is a recipe that my housemates and I cooked in Ann Arbor, and I believe we called it Helm's Deep pad thai. And then I cooked this meal in Bremerton, and it went by various names. I cooked this for Marie and Daniel, and Marie (not sure about Daniel) enjoyed it!

After a significant food coma, I decided to go on a night run. I can feel my body getting stronger; I'm less tired and less sore today than when I took my first jog on the beach.

I'm thankful for talks with my parents, no matter how short. I'm thankful for missions with Daniel. I'm thankful for the opportunity to help the Tetkas, thereby having a way to show my gratitude to Marie and Daniel for all that they've done for me. I'm grateful for the Tetkas love and cooking. The Tetkas love me, and they're so cute. Even though we don't interact much, I'm pretty sure they think of me as a nephew/grandson, and that makes me smile. I'm grateful that Marie liked my gado gado! I'm grateful for late-night runs on the beach.

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rhetoricalrogue · 2 years ago

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This year, instead of making a bunch of resolutions all at once and then feeling bad that I dropped the ball on one and quitting the rest because of my usual “if I can’t do it perfectly, why bother” mentality, I’m going to develop one new habit per month. I’m hoping that by this time in December, most of my early monthly habits will be second nature so I can incorporate new habits each month. I’m taking it at a month by month basis, so if I’m struggling with one I’m not rushing to build a new one, because that’s a recipe for failure for me. If I need more time to make sure things stick, I’m going to take it, even if that means that ultimately I only developed one lasting habit this year.

This year’s theme is “what can I do now to help Future Issa out later? How can I make life less stressful for us now and 12 months from now?” Burnout has been an ongoing problem for the past two, three years now and I’m tired of grasping at straws and constantly being exhausted, both physically and mentally. I want to develop habits that will make my life easier in the long run, starting with getting enough rest and making sure my mornings get off to a good start.

So! January’s goal is to develop a realistic morning and nighttime routine so that my mornings aren’t rushed and I get to work on time.

I’ve been on vacation since before Christmas and in that time, I haven’t set any alarms. I usually wake up around 6:00 or 7:00, which means that my body needs roughly 7-8 hours of sleep to function. I’ve also been having regular breakfasts, which have kept me full until noon every day, so I want to keep that going. Luckily, making meal prepping a 2022 habit has carried over, so I think a few tweaks will make this manageable.

The night before, starting after dinner:

Wash dinner dishes

Set up coffee, put automatic timer on for 6 am

Set out coffee cup, spoon, sugar

Set out dishes for breakfast (measuring cup for oatmeal, bowl, spoon, etc)

Set our morning vitamins, glass for water

Things to do 30 minutes before bed:

Take vitamins

Make a cup of tea

Do nighttime skincare/haircare

Set out morning skincare, clothes for work

Shut off all lights except for some lamps

Drink tea, take time to de-stress before bed

In the morning:

Make bed so I’m not tempted to fall back to sleep

Make breakfast, take vitamins

Shower, do morning skincare

Drink coffee, take time to relax and prepare for the day/think about what needs to be done that day

Get dressed, head out to work

I did a practice run this morning since it’s my last day to be on vacation and I had time to slowly wake up. I need to be out the door by 7:30 at the latest in order to be at work and have enough time to start things up/see how my morning is going to go/organize my thoughts before I clock in at 8, so I’m thinking that 6:30 may be my best time to wake up.

My goal is to set things up the night before so that everything is ready and becomes automatic the next morning to help Future Me not have to think about what goes next while I’m still half-asleep. Most of the work is done the night before, and honestly, it’s not even that much. I think it took me maybe 5 minutes max to set everything up and another 15-20 minutes to actually do the wind down before bed portion.

I’m not a big breakfast person, but I’ve spent my vacation experimenting with variations of overnight oats, instant cream of wheat and fruit, microwave breakfast sandwiches, and cereal, so I think I can rotate between those options to keep myself from getting bored and keep me from getting hangry by 10 or 11 at work.

Most of the morning routine is completed within 30-40 minutes, but I want to give myself a full hour to a) enjoy a slow morning without waking up already stressed about the day and b) take the time to mentally prepare myself for the workday with a set plan of tasks that need to be worked on (not necessarily accomplished because Things Happen, but I find that I’m not as frazzled about juggling tasks if I can at least touch on various things daily and adjust which items are more important throughout the week since my job seldomly lets me focus on one thing at a time.)

I think that this can be doable, if today was any indication. I’m also making a side habit to work on that I was already starting last year that helped tremendously with my workload to end the workday by taking the last 10-15 minutes of the day prepping what needed to be finished, either by making a sticky note to myself or by setting up a pile of paperwork in my inbox that was ready to go in the morning for whatever next step was needed. It made things easier to remember where I had left off instead of me flipping through my stack and spending more time each morning setting things up before getting distracted by that day’s tasks and then ultimately getting overwhelmed by everything that needed to be done. It also made a good winding down practice to ease out of Work Mode and get ready for Home Mode by the time 5:00 rolled around.

Will this work? I hope so, but I’m also not going to beat myself up if I skip a day in order to sleep in a half hour longer or if there’s days when I’m not hungry when I wake up. On those days I’ll grab some of the snacks I’ve already stocked my fridge and pantry with to have when I do get hungry later at work. I want to give myself some flexibility to take the time to check in with myself and do what’s best for me this year instead of doing the gogogo all or nothing thinking that I’ve fallen into these past few years that’s made me dislike a job that I otherwise really enjoy and want to grow into something more and pushed myself to the point where I’m not only burning the candle at both ends, but also at multiple points in the middle.

I’ll see where I am at the end of this month. Hopefully I’ll be in a place where my mornings aren’t so rushed and I wake up rested, but if not, then at least I can see what worked and what didn’t to try again in February.

#2023’s theme is Issa Takes Care of Herself #going to take more time off from work even if it’s just a day here and there #going to focus on getting my energy back so I can start creating things again #not going to force things but I miss writing and making art and crocheting #I also want to work on my self-confidence especially if there’s a chance of getting promoted into a more publicly visible position #taking time from work means I can come back energized and ready to help build programs while working on existing projects

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