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fangweaver2099 · 3 months

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𝐅 𝐀 𝐖 𝐍 𝐓 𝐄 𝐄 𝐓 𝐇 - Prologue pt 2

MINORS DNI 18+ FIC

You’ve always liked the idea of having a dominant partner - BDSM was something you’ve read about, watched videos about.

Something you made Pinterest boards and aesthetic tumblr posts about when you were 18 and curious, the idea always sounded nice, but you’ve never done it in practice, not really. Sure you bought fuzzy handcuffs at a gag gift store once, but that didn’t really count.

You’re still a virgin.

You’ve always had that chronically awkward, workaholic type of vibe that made typical dating near impossible at worst and frustrating at best. Normal dating apps have proven fruitless and agitating. So poor curious little you talked yourself into making a fetlife account. You weren’t looking for true love, but at least you could get laid.

DM Request from: 10:13 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hello, Fawn.”

College was for new experiences after all.

CW: BDSM heavy/centric fic. Safe, Sane & Consensual. Miguel is your professor, but you both don't know that. Age Gap (Y/N is 23, Miguel is mid 30's)

TAG: @slut4oscarissac23

PART 1 - PART 3

It’s been a week since you met Web. You’ve gotten into the routine he provided after you confirmed he expected you to start instantly. Thankfully, your summer job is walkable and makes the whole hour of exercise he’d demanded - so it isn’t much of a change in routine.

He isn’t pleased that your idea of meals is usually whatever frozen nuggets you have in the fridge or whatever you and your roommates decide to swing by to, but there’s only so much you can do on a college budget, and he begrudgingly accepts that fact after some discussion.

You wake with a groan, still entangled in your gray duvet. You had opted for a daybed for your tiny room and it means you often sleep with your nose touching the wall and your limbs curled close to you, fetal position.

For a long moment, you consider heading back to bed. Your hands search down your body and across your bed for the phone. You pull the damn thing out from under your hip and flip it over in your hand.

Web asks you to download something called ‘Telegram’ - it doesn’t log pictures or anything for that matter, according to him. You find you even have a few contacts saved that used it. You discover your cousin is a furry, but you aren’t going to tell him that.

Web’s icon is what you’d expect, really - a red web. His number is fake - surprising to exactly nobody. He was clearly more tech savvy than you. When you had visualized an ideal dominant - Web checked too many boxes. At first you considered ghosting him, anxiety ate you up.

But you also crave his attention - maybe you’re more lonely than you thought. You find yourself waiting for his messages and bouncing at the attention. You’ve developed a habit of staying up too late waiting to see if he’ll pop back online again.

So you click open your phone, ignoring Facebook, Instagram, whatever, and click open the small blue icon to Telegram.

9:13 AM - WebRigger2099 - “Good Morning.”

“ I slept in… Sorry. Just saw this. Morning. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:15 PM

1:19 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Slept in until 1pm? Up late?”

“ Roommates were loud, so I watched netflix. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:19 PM

1:19 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Maybe when summer is over you’ll be able to get proper sleep at my place.”

“ That sounds nice. We’ll have to see. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:19 PM

1:20 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I can set up a dog bed at the foot of mine. I’d make sure you were comfortable, but you’d have to wake me to go to the bathroom. The leash would keep you bound to bed.”

“ And here I thought we’d snuggle. :p ” - Fawnteeth - 1:20 PM

1:20 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Yes, but you have to earn the bed for sleeping at night. Incentives keep you from growing complacent.”

“ You really do know what you’re doing. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:21 PM

“ Any free time today? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:21 PM

1:21 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I work from home during the summer and practically make my own hours. It’s a quiet day.”

“ Can I ask what you do? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:21 PM

1:21 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Yes, but I won’t answer.”

“ Mysterious. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:22 PM

1:22 PM - WebRigger2099 - “If you guess correct you might earn a treat, pup.”

“ How many tries do I get? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:22 PM

1:22 PM - WebRigger2099 - “We’ll say three.”

“ Banker? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:22 PM

1:22 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No. Every time you get it incorrect, you’ll answer a question of mine, how’s that sound?”

“ That's not very fair. :c ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I never said it would be.”

“ Fine. Ask away. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “When was the last time you touched yourself, Fawn?”

“ Oh. These kind of questions. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Is that a complaint I hear?”

“ No. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Well?”

“ The night after we spoke the first time. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good girl. Excited you, did I?”

“ Yes, sir. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good girl. You remembered the rule. No ‘maybe’s, only ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

“ I’m trying my best. It’s not like it’s fun being a brat at the start. I gotta learn your buttons. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You must be a glutton for punishment. Did you see the cane marks I left on some of the girls in my photo album?”

“ I did. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Did it excite you, Fawn?”

You huff, rolling onto your other side on the bed.

“ ...Yes. When do I get to guess again? >:c ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I never said you couldn’t. You’re just answering free questions.”

“ Mean. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Exceptionally. You have to earn ‘nice’.”

“ I don’t know why I find you so charming. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

“ Librarian? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Wrong. And many submissives find comfort in pain and punishment.”

“ you seem like the librarian type. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Because you think I’d spank you with a ruler if you made too much noise?”

“ I don’t think a ruler would hurt very much. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You haven’t had one break on your skin then. I’ve left bruises with them before.”

“ I sure haven’t. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’ll have to bring one someday, then. And a crop. Anything else you’d like me to mark you with?”

“ Let me think about it. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

“ Personal trainer? You have the body for it. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Isn’t that what I’m doing to you? It doesn’t pay very well, but I don’t have any complaints about the benefits so far.”

“ I mean. I guess? You haven’t asked me to work out, plus I hear the right clients means you could make bank. So you are a personal trainer? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:26 PM

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I did tell you to exercise an hour a day. Did you forget?”

“ Not completely. I walk. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:26 PM

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No, I’m not a personal trainer. Ready for my last two questions?”

“ Yes. :c I thought I was right… ” - Fawnteeth - 1:26 PM

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Afraid not.”

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “When you masturbated the night we first spoke, what did you imagine?”

“ A bit of what you could look like. Putting myself into one of your photos. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Do you like the idea of me showing you off for everyone to see? Your face covered of course, like the rest.”

“ I sure don’t mind the idea. Do most girls say no? I see you haven’t taken any photos in like 7 years. ” - Fawnteeth - 11:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’ve been busy. Started again recently.”

“ Ohhh. I see. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Would you like to practice?”

“ Practice? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Posing for my photos.”

“ Can I see you too? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Fair is fair.”

“ Your profile pic leaves most to the imagination. Well. Below the belt, I guess. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “That’s what you want to see, is it? You’ll need to earn it.”

“ Call me curious. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’ll need to follow my instructions for posing, Fawn. Listening?”

“ Yes. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:28 PM

1:28 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’ll take a picture of every step to prove you’re following along. Understood?”

“ Okay. Let me lock my door. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:28 PM

You need a gameplan. Checking for your roommates, you pop your head out of your door, listening hard. You can hear your roommate Kore’s music - some pop medley that she’s sewing to. Good.

You don’t hear anyone else, so everybody else must be out. You… try not to think about what Taylor or Aurora could be up to.

Sticking your head back in, you close the door. moving to click the lock shut. You check the door, only for it to open with the slightest tug. Glancing at the lock, you frown, flicking it on and off to see no little ‘lock’ mechanism come out.

Shit… You fucking hate your landlord.

You glance around your room - you are not doing this with your door unlocked. You grew up with half a dozen siblings and strict parents - you know how to improvise. Grabbing the circular chair piled with clothes, you push it to the door and force the metal under your door knob. Hands on your hips, you nod at the handiwork.

Good enough.

Snatching up your phone, you frown, kicking away most of your discarded clothes and random papers.You really need to clean your room, but you decide you’d do it later.

Right now, you have other priorities.

Said priority seems to know just when you sit down, the telegram notification lighting up your screen as if you’ve summoned him by pure thought alone. Think of the devil…

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Having trouble?”

“ No. All good now. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:46 PM

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Get a marker.”

You frown, then glance at your backpack. You trot over and search through it, tossing a few pens and your pencil case in frustration.

In the end you find a single purple sharpie.

You click open your phone.

“ Does the color matter? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:46 PM

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No. It just needs to be visible on your skin.”

“ Kay. Got it then. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:46 PM

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Take your clothes off. Bra and panties can stay on.”

You glance up at your phone and stare at yourself in the mirror.

Your hair is a bit of a mess - that’s fine.

You glance at your sleep shirt, it’s old and the hem is frayed on the sleeves, the little bunny screen printed onto it is mostly faded. You knew you weren’t wearing a bra, so you glanced around your room till you spotted one laying limply on the floor. Tossing off your top and discarding it wherever it landed.

Pulling the bra on, you take a deep breath, glancing at yourself again in the mirror. You feel yourself hesitating. You’ve taken nudes before, what about this makes it different?

Web makes it different. Him telling you to take these for him makes it different. You slip off your shorts and realize you’re wet. Your cheeks burn with embarrassment.

Still, your phone is in your hand again, you flick it open and type away.

“Kay.” - Fawnteeth - 1:50 PM

1:50 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Where is my proof, Fawn? I told you to take pictures. Are you trying to get punished?”

You bite your lip.

“ No. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:50 PM

You need your face mask - the one you wore in all your photos is easy to find. You wrap the thing around your nose and mouth. You know you’re going to crop out your face anyway, but it makes you feel better.

Like you’re pretending to be someone else. You supposed you aren’t you anymore - you’re Fawn. Fawn doesn’t struggle with nudes. Fawn takes great nudes.

You glance at yourself in the mirror. You end up trying a few poses, trying to not put emphasis on your long legs or stomach rolls. You settle on your knees - back slightly arched, one hand splayed on your thigh. Not too lewd.

You snap the photo, shifting your body a bit as you take another. The routine continues a few more times before you pause to look at the photos.

You decide the second one is the best. You move to crop as much of the background out as you can, including your face. Wisps of your hair remain around your neck but that’s fine. Whatever. Good enough.

You hesitate for a moment, finger lingering on the send button.

What if he doesn’t like it? What if he decides he doesn’t like you? You cringe at the thought. You send the photo and close your phone instantly.

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:55 PM

You hear it ping and slowly click the screen back on.

1:52 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good girl. Has anyone told you you’re beautiful today, Fawn?”

You blush.

“ Now someone has. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:52 PM

1:52 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Write it on yourself. We wouldn’t want you to forget if I’m busy and can’t tell you tomorrow morning.”

“ Okay. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:55 PM

You take a deep breath, grabbing the purple sharpie from beside your knee. Biting down on the cap, you frown, glancing over the expanse of skin thoughtfully.

How the hell do you write backwards…. You’ll flip the image before you send it.

It’s embarrassing how long you pause, you stare at the pen and your skin. You come to the sad realization this is the first time a man has called you beautiful like… ever.

You’re smart enough to realize he’s trying to build you up. God, he knows what he’s doing, doesn’t he?

You settle with scribbling the world carefully onto your right thigh. You don’t use the mirror for the photo this time, taking it directly.

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:55 PM

1:55 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Again.”

You consider asking him where. After considering for a moment, you scribble ‘beautiful’ on your other thigh. It’s not huge and written towards your knee, but it’s readable.

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:56 PM

1:56 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Keep going.”

You wonder where - not your thighs again you decide. After some effort you manage to scribble it carefully above your panty waistband, crawling from your hip and across your stomach.

This time you have to use the mirror. You settle back into that kneeling pose and take a few shots.

You pick the favorite, flipping it so the text can actually be read. You crop it again, cutting off your shoulders and part of your arm.

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:57 PM

1:57 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good. That’s enough.”

“ Here I expected something lewd. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:57 PM

1:57 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Now pull your panties to the side and show me your pussy.”

Your cunt throbs, making your thighs snap together. He isn’t even talking, it it’s words on a fucking screen . It’s unfair how effortlessly arousing Web is.

You could say no. You don’t think he’d be upset if you said no. He had spoken a dozen times over about consent in the past week, reaffirming to you that if you thought it was too much that you were welcome to say so. All it took was you typing yellow or red.

You don’t.

“ Mkay. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:58 PM

You end up sitting back on your ass, legs apart. You see the dark mark on your panties in between your legs. You almost shutter pulling the cloth aside. You feel your slickness on your fingers and wipe it away with your inner thigh.

You see yourself through your phone, legs spread and the hints of the words written on your thighs make you freeze.

You settle with closing your eyes to take the picture. You don’t crop it this time - but your face is still missing from the shot regardless. Just a hint of the black cloth over your chin. Your face is warm both from your cheeks and your breath now.

You click send and wait patiently for his reply.

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:58 PM

It comes instantly.

1:58 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Now shove the marker inside.”

Your eyes widen.

1:58 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Take a picture so I can see all the writing and the marker inside you.”

You grab the top of the marker and cap it, flipping it in your fingers.

“ I’ll try. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:59 PM

The marker is cold. You cringe as you press it against your overheated pussy, flinching as you run it along your opening. After a deep breath you slip it into your opening. You couldn’t exactly feel it - it was more like your fingers.

You’ve never bought a toy, knowing your roommates would rip the package open to see what you ordered, nosy as they are, and it’s not like you could order it to your childhood home. There are some things even you know better than to do.

Slowly, you kneel again, your hips up in the air as you see the small white and purple thing in between your thighs.

The last time you took a nude was before college. You chickened out of sending it to your boyfriend at the time. Now you’re just thankful you never got to second base with him.

You take the picture, eyes closed again. Like that somehow made what you were doing more modest and less slutty.

Is it slutty? It’s not like you’re sending it to anyone but Web. But also… who is Web?

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 2:02 PM

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “ Good girl. I’m posting this as an album on my page for everyone to see. I’ll blur the background for your privacy, and you already have your mask on.”

“ I thought this was supposed to be practice? :’c ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

You slip the marker from yourself and put your panties back on correctly. You cringe at the cold wetness.

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I find it best to practice by doing.”

“ I guess that makes sense. It’s the first time I’ve sent that to anyone on here. Can you keep the one with my crotch in it private? ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You did good. Lighting and the perfect background are nice, but it's not realistic. Not everyone has perfectly angled windows and lamps to make shots. This is raw. Vulnerable. And yes, I can keep those two private.”

“ Thanks. My room is kinda a mess… You’re nice, Web. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Just respectful, and not that much. You have low bars, Fawn. Careful someone doesn’t take advantage of them.”

“ You haven’t. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You just shoved a marker up your cunt for me without even questioning it.”

“ I think you’d be fine if I had said no. When do I get to see it? ” - Fawnteeth - 2:04 PM

2:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I suppose you earned it.”

His hands are huge, his chest is broad and clearly the same guy in the photo… and…

Your eyes widen at his dick. The sweatpants bulge in his profile pic is a fucking beast. You had asked him how long it was before, shyly, and he said eight inches. Sheepishly, you told yourself you’d fetch a ruler to see what that would be like in person.

You’d been too nervous to follow through.

He’s wide, too, his log-like member swollen with arousal. The dark brown skin fades to a milder tan as your eyes finally leave his bulge, trailing up the muscular torso. You swear you see a bead of sweat running down his abs, but you realize that it's yours .

You’re sweating, forehead moist, wiping away the rest with a glide of the back of your hand.

Like all the pictures he had of himself in his gallery, the picture cuts off at the beginning of his neck. This one also cuts off near the knees at the bottom.

“ Jesus christ. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:07 PM

“ Did I do that?. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:07 PM

2:07 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Would you be proud of yourself if you did?”

“ I’d feel special. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:07 PM

2:08 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’re special, Fawn. Do you know what I would do if you were in front of me right now?”

You sink on your thighs as his words. ‘You’re special’ makes you almost tear up. You’re absolutely charmed by him.

Slowly, you lay on the floor, hovering your phone above your face. It’s hard not to grin, chewing your lip red as you think over your reply.

“ No, can you tell me? ” - Fawnteeth - 2:08 PM

You feel accomplished at that. You’re being so smooth and cool.

You wait patiently, crossing your legs and bouncing one of them in the air.

He doesn’t reply. You feel sweat gathering at the back of your neck. You move from lounging casually to sat cross legged before your mirror. You debate sending another message.

You do not send another message - that would make you look desperate, and you are definitely not desperate. That has to be a massive turnoff anyways - after all, he knows what he’s doing, he’s incredibly attractive and hung. He’s probably so sure of himself. Pestering him would just annoy him.

It isn’t even five minutes you wait before you decide to do anything but stare at your phone. You change into loose pajama pants and toss your shamefully wet panties into the laundry hamper.

You’re halfway through cleaning your room when you hear it.

Your phone pings and, embarrassingly, you drop the bra you were holding to rush for your bed. Feeling like a kid on christmas, your fingers shake as you punch in your passcode and pull up the notification.

2:15 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’m sorry. I have to go for a few hours.”

Your stomach sinks. You think you might be sick.

“ Oh. Okay. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:15 PM

2:15 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I can message you again tonight after 8.”

“ I’ll hold you to that. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:15 PM

Okay. It isn’t your fault, right? Something’s very clearly up with his life.

Frowning, you force yourself take a deep breath to calm yourself.

You investigate his picture, his bedroom is neat and simple. It’s clearly not a hotel room - it’s got some personal cozy touches and you can see some brick outside the window behind his shoulder. The sheets are messy and the blankets are mismatched. He’s probably just some normal guy, maybe he works in an office and just likes his body.

And… bondage.

Y’know - average weird secret pervert things. Hopefully he isn’t married . You didn’t see a ring on either of his hands or even an indent from one he might have taken off for the photos.

Your eyes eventually drift to the marker discarded on your floor, the end still slick. If he was some kind of weird pervert, what does that just make you?

You look down at your stomach and the small ‘beautiful’ written carefully on it. You need to take a shower and get this off.

You sneak through the house with a change of clothes and your nice shampoo you don’t share with anyone. Your house has one bathroom with a half decent shower, technically being a 2 ½ bath house.

You don’t like the other bathroom that Kore and Babette mostly use. It only has a bathtub - the shower head doesn’t work.

You hop in the shower and are horrified at your discovery. It’s not coming off. The writing doesn’t come off with the dove soap or Aurora’s washing puff. Not even scratching it with your nails does anything but vaguely fade it.

Great.

You try your best to not freak out. You’ll dress like it’s winter until you can wash it off your skin. You should have asked Web if you should use a sharpie.

You wash your hair and dry off the best you can. Thankfully, your loose shorts and loose t-shirt hide the marks as long as you don't let the shorts ride up your thighs too much.

You return to your room and move your chair back into its place. You don’t have work today and you can hear the movement that told you one of your roomies had just gotten home.

Your stomach growls.

You’re hungry - three meals, you remind yourself, Web always somewhere close to the front of your mind. Technically this would your first meal, you did just wake up and… fuck. Anxiously, you tug down your pajama shorts. Lesson learned, that shit doesn’t come off in the shower. You make a note to ask Web for a marker to get that does wash off.

You find yourself questioning why some random faceless man on the internet is the motivation you have to take care of yourself. Shaking away the thought, you explore the tiny freezer stuffed with mostly frozen chicken nuggets. You frown, debating ordering takeout again. You settle on boiling noodles and smothering them in pesto and salt.

You head out to the living room - the room is eternally cluttered like the rest of your college house. The ceiling light doesn’t work, so you and your roomies had hung fairy lights everywhere. The drapes are pulled back to let light in - the lesbian flag with markiplier’s face on it in full display to the whole neighborhood. Four couches meant you had plenty of space to sit, falling in the far corner from the only other person in the room - Aurora.

The bubbly blonde is chomping away at her food, phone propped up on the stained coffee table as some sort of video plays. You eat while listening to something about a person named ‘illuminaughty’.

Aurora looked up from her bowl of fruit loops from the couch, she smiled through a mouthful, cheeks as stuffed as a chipmunk. "Mornin'!" she grinned, never one for table manners.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, "You slept in late."

Her eyes looked you up and down, a perfectly tweezed eyebrow raising to look at your leg. "Were you drawing on yourself?"

You looked down, a purple "L" in sharpie just barely poking out of your shorts. You feel a chill go down your spine. You are fucking mortified.

"Uh...yeah," you say quickly, your brain scrambling for a moment to make up some lie. You couldn't just confess that you'd written on yourself and shoved the marker up your pussy just because a man you didn't even know the name of told you too. "Got bored last night, y'know."

Aurora shrugs, thankfully dropping the subject as she turns her attention back to her bowl of sugar cereal.

You promptly get, desperately pretending that she didn’t notice your sexy leg writing, and power walk to your bedroom. It takes effort to not slam the door.

You stay in your room for the rest of the day because you sure as fuck aren’t hanging around your roomies now. Aurora would question you again - it’s Aurora, and you can’t exactly explain away wearing long pants in June.

So you break out your laptop and watch Delicious in Dungeon. You always have a habit of marathoning random shows on Netflix and it passes the time better than staring at the wall, waiting for Web to message you.

You got popcorn as a snack, maybe you’d eat weird monster food too. Senshi does make it look delicious. You chuckle, realizing the name matches.

Hours passed and the sun is barely setting before you consider taking a nap.

8:00 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hello Fawn.”

You sit up and snatch your phone up at the ping.

“ Hey. Everything good? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:00 PM

8:00 PM - WebRigger2099 - “It’s fine, just a sudden schedule change. Things moved up quicker than I expected, but I should be done for the night.”

“ Okay. Well… You never answered my question, Web. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:01 PM

“��Also. How do I get sharpie off my skin. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:01 PM

8:01 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Oh Fawn…”

“ I thought I could scrub it off, if I’m honest. I figured… you.. might… know… ” - Fawnteeth - 8:02 PM

8:02 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I do, but maybe I should let you keep it on until it fades normally. A lesson to be more careful. Better this than something more serious.”

“ I should have figured as much. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:02 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’m just glad you didn’t shove it deeper. You can’t put things inside without a flare, it’ll get stuck. I didn’t realize I needed to explain things like that to you, but I know better now.”

“ I know that. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “But not that permanent markers are hard to remove.”

“ Yes. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Fawn you are delightfully foolish.”

“ I’m glad you enjoy my suffering. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I enjoy your happiness too.”

“ You’re good with words. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Better with my hands, but you’ll learn that later.”

“ I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

“ Well. Now that I’ve made myself a fool, I hope I haven’t turned you off. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

8:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hardly. I believe we left off before at ‘what I would do to you if I was there’.”

“ Thank you for mentioning it so.. I didn’t have to bring it up again. I’m still quite curious. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

8:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You remember the picture I sent you?”

“ I do. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

8:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I want you to order something. I’ll pay, naturally, but I figure it would be more comfortable if I didn’t know your address so quickly.”

“ Yeah. I think that would take some time. A toy? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

8:05 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I have a list. Run away with the money and you won’t hear my answer.”

“ I won’t. But are you sure you want to invest anything in me yet? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:05 PM

8:05 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’ve invested at least 3 days in me with that marker.”

“ True enough. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:05 PM

8:06 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’m comfortable financially. This isn’t the hit it might be for a girl your age. You’ve earned some nice things.”

“ Oh. I see. Thank you. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:06 PM

8:06 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No using them without my permission, understood?”

“ Understood, sir. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:06 PM

He sends you the link to an adult website. Your cheeks flush as your screen is filled with all sorts of sex toys and other lewd imagery. Your eyes flicker to your door for a moment, anxiety simmering low in your belly as the thought of someone walking into your room and seeing what you were looking at flashes through your mind. You bite your lip, feeling like a nervous teenager under your father’s roof once again.

You notice that the cart has been pre filled with a number of items: A 6 inch silicone dildo; a Lovense egg vibrator; nipple clamps; a rabbit vibrator; a bottle of water-based lube; and a set of black lingerie that matches your face mask.

Your eyes linger on the cart total. That’s more than your paycheck .

“ You sure? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:09 PM

8:09 PM - WebRigger2099 - “If I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have sent you the link. There is a gift card code: HGJ-8734-KHW. It’ll cover the expenses and leave a little extra for you to browse and select one or two items that catch your interest.”

“ Okay. Thank you. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:09 PM

8:10 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’re welcome, Fawn. I take care of my pets.”

#miguel spiderverse #miguel o'hara #spiderman 2099 #atsv miguel #miguel x reader #miguel ohara #into the spider verse #miguel o'hara smut

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bitchinbarzal · 1 year

Note

Definitely argument while Mama is pregers 🥺😭

Jack had past flings and girlfriends, you knew that.

He pursued you, he begged you to go out with him in the beginning and you made it so clear to him that his dating history made you uncomfortable and unwilling to go out with him.

He promised you that he wouldn’t hurt you, not like that.

Which is why you were left confused when Jack’s iPad kept dinging in the middle of the night while he was away on a roadie.

Your sleep was already disturbed due to the almost eight month old baby you were growing so the noise was less than impressive.

“Shut up” you grumbled, rolling out of the bed and into the living room where the iPad lay.

You pulled the iPad out of the charger and the screen lights up, you look at the notifications all from instagram.

messages from a @laurenkaytee

hey I’m the one you spoke to at the bar tonight? I think lol I found you from your friend!

yes that’s me! those shots were such a bad idea you didn’t drink much tho?

yeah babies will do that… BORING! well if you ever want a break from that life hit me up! you’re always welcome in cali 😘

aha, well here’s my number ***-****-*** when you need it

You felt sick. You couldn’t even see his replies, but he was obviously replying.

Tears were in your eyes and tears our hands were shaking with the iPad in your grip.

The tears angrily fell down your face and you felt the baby kick you

Your hand gingerly pressed onto the skin of your bump “I’m okay Stevie, I’m ok babygirl”

You didn’t go back to sleep that night, sitting on the couch and watching re-runs of sitcoms.

It wasn’t until you heard the front door unlock the next morning that you realised time had passed.

“Hey sexy lady! I’m home!”

You didn’t even flinch. Didn’t turn around.

“y/n? Babe? Did you hear me?” He frowns, walking to the couch and you don’t move.

Jack reaches out and touches you, you flinch “don’t touch me”

“What’s up with you? Why didn’t you answer me?”

He then notices the red rims around your eyes

“Baby, have you slept?”

You croak out “No”

“Why not? Stevie girl been keeping you up?”

“No, her dad”

He frowns “What?”

“You, your stupid iPad and your stupid messages to stupid models!”

He’s taken aback “What?!”

You look right into his eyes and choke out “If you want to go fuck models in California, don’t leave your instagram logged in on your iPad in New Jersey”

He’s shaking his head, confused “Fuck — what?”

Standing up you scoff “Just leave me alone Jack, I’m so tired and I can’t be bothered with this”

He watches you struggle to get up and waddle off to your bedroom, finally laying down after not sleeping.

Jack uses that time to grab his aforementioned iPad. He clicks it on and looks through the notifications, scrolling until he lands on instagram

His mouth drops open in an O shape and he hums in understanding

“that girl of mine, always getting herself all worked up” he mumbles and heads off to your room.

He slips in past the door and into your bed, you’re asleep and he knows it’s because you’re exhausted from your mind moving at a million miles a minute.

He gets under the blanket and pulls you into his arms, fingers carding through your hair. You have a frown etched into your features even in your sleep.

“Oh pretty girl, I wish I could take all of your stress”

You groan, tossing and turning. Jack’s hands reach around your back and press into your sore point.

You all but moan in relief, the change in pressure waking you up “J-Jack”

“I’m here princess, is it sore?”

You nod, wincing in pain and before long you remember you’re mad at him and attempt to push him away

“No, no baby don’t do that-“

“Jack get off me! I told you-“

He shushes you “Listen to me, let me show you!”

One hand is still on your back and the other now grabs his phone and pulls up his Instagram DM’s, tilting the phone for you to see

hey I'm the one you spoke to at the bar tonight? I think lol I found you from your friend!

hey, you’re shots of sambucca girl right? you didn’t look to good when we left. hope you’re ok?

yes that's me! those shots were such a bad idea you didn't drink much tho?

yeah we’re in LA for work plus my girlfriend is pregnant with our first baby back home in jersey so I’m not a party animal as I once was.

yeah babies will do that... BORING! well if you ever want a break from that life hit me up! you're always welcome in cali

appreciate it but I won’t be doing that. hope you got home safe.

aha, well here's my number *******-*** when you need it

You look up at him, pouting

“I’m so sorry J… I feel like an idiot”

“You are an idiot. My idiot! I love You, I love stevie and I’m not going anywhere” he says and kisses the tip of your nose “Now turn over and I’ll hold the bump so you can get some sleep”

#life of stevie #Jack and mama #jack hughes imagine

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seaurchin0 · 26 days

Note

MAKE A FULL GUIDE BRO PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS I WOULD EAT THAT SHIT UP!! /nf

oh man, this gonna be a long one but ty for letting me infodump about my interests </3 my overall advice would be to be creative, and DON'T underestimate how intertwined social media is with everyday life. Experiment, see what works, and good luck <33

so a lot depends if you know the person in question irl or online and i'll go over both but first, here are some things that help in both cases: -names are not necessary to find people, useful af but info like what school they go to, class they're in, clubs they're in etc do better -look at their friends, their friends' friends, family, tagged photos, followers and following list (if they're active online), info doesn't just come from them, if you can't get in contact with them you can learn a lot from family, friends classmates etc

-intelius.com

-please PLEASE keep track of what info you found out and what they told you, don't accidentally drop that bombshell

-i have a folder where i keep my fp's information saved, all the "useful" images they sent me, link to their social medias, school website and more so i'd suggest making one of those

if you only know them online, here are some cyberstalking tips that don't rely on being close and location (all this assuming they're active online):

-look up their username(s) and variations everywhere. literally every platform you can think of, i had to sign up to 3 platforms i never used just for that

-look up their friends' usernames

-look at tagged photos, mentions and interactions they have with others in the comments under their posts to find out who they're friends with

-if you can see previous usernames (like on instagram) look up those too

-you might get lucky with wayback machine

-if you can find their reddit, twitter or any social media that shows their post and comment history study that shit

- if they haven't shown their face but have photos including any other part of their body that isn't usually covered up, even in colder climates (like hands most commonly) save those too, if you manage to find a school website or something later on that might have photos of their face you could match them up. it's difficult af but never give up, if there's a will there's a way

-reverse image search all the images they posted

-try images on geoimgr.com. photos taken on phone or camera will sometimes have GPS coordinates stored in the metadata of each file, but there are some websites that encrypt this

-anaylze the background of images, especially if they're taken outside

-trying to pinpoint a location (town or country they live in) would be good but not necessary: • if they posted screenshots that aren't cropped and include the time, it will be easy to figure out the general area because of timezones • use google maps to match up the background seen in images

if you wanna figure out an email or number: • log out of your account, put their username in in the login section, press "i forgot my password", the next part may vary from platform to platform but select the option for their the recover of their password to be recieved through email and it will display the first and last characters of their name, as well as what domain they're using. same with the phone number

next, in real life, i'm not really an expert in this since i've never stalked anyone irl for as long and as much as i have online but hope these help too!:

-eavesdrop

-if you're not close or to them (as in not in the same class, school, workplace etc) look for someone that knows them in any way.

-assuming you found that person, don't directly ask about them. let's say, your fp likesa art, so you ask that person about art clubs. chances are, they'll mention the one your fp is in. very vague example but it works with almost everything

-ask your parents about your fp's parents, works well if you're younger and still in school

-VERY carefully try to glance over at their phone's screen as much as you can, it could make finding social media accounts 10 times easier

-use all the info you manage to get for cyberstalking. don't follow them around, especially don't follow them home, you don't need to do that to figure out more about them. again, don't underastimate how ingrained social media is in our lives. Cyberstalking is much more easier and safer.

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gougarfem · 9 months

Note

how was the process of getting a dumbphone!

oh my god this is something i'm so excited to talk about, sorry it took me so many months to respond!

getting a dumbphone improved my quality of life so so much. i knew my screentime was high, but didn't realise it was a genuine psychological addiction until i quit. the first few days were extremely rough. time seemed to pass about ten times slower, and i was forced to fill the hours with various hobbies and activities. i know we all love to tell people to touch grass, but i really did have to connect with nature and it did wonders for my mental health.

i think for the first three days i was constantly restless and horribly irritable, looked around for my phone every few minutes, felt intense boredom and even cried a few times lol. your addiction may not be as extreme as mine was and this varies from person to person. however, after about a week i realised i remembered everything i'd done each day, because it was filled with intentional activities and little moments of peace rather than a blur of scrolling. i also wasn't on adhd meds yet, which is something i'll talk about in another post.

not having everything at your fingertips is uncomfortable, but (and it's a cliche) you really start to appreciate the world around you more. i looked forward to spending time with my family, because it filled time and i wasn't half-involved in my phone the entire time. i use an mp3 player to listen to music, and uploading music to it is a meaningful and interesting activity, rather than just shuffling a playlist. i listen to whole albums instead of being flooded with dopamine from spotify firing recommended songs at me. i appreciate music more, i make CDs for friends, i have to be intentional in discovering new artists and music. if i'm having an interesting conversation online, i look forward to going home and logging onto my laptop to continue it. i don't spend my commute, time in class, or time with friends texting somebody else. everything feels more intentional, spaced out, and interesting, even the things i do online.

i also found i stopped performing in every activity i did. i stopped thinking about whether i could post it to instagram or instantly send a picture in a discord server. i started picking up new hobbies for myself, not for an online audience, and living in the moment more. this is really important in the modern age, although again uncomfortable.

the best part was how my connections with others increased through having a dumbphone. i started calling friends rather than messaging on five platforms at once, and they started reciprocating. my message threads are continuous, coherent conversations, rather than sending memes. people realised they have to intentionally reach out to me, and i lost relationships with people who weren't interested in that, but strengthened connections with people who did put in the effort (many of whom i barely talked to in the past). i give people my phone number, not my social media handle, and they actually start conversations with me rather than hitting follow. i get to hear my friends' voices when they have drama to share and realise it takes me forever to type on my flip phone keyboard. again, everything is intentional, takes time, and richer than when i had a smartphone.

i genuinely would recommend it to absolutely everyone (i've kind of become like a crossfit guy in telling people to get a dumbphone lol). i won't pretend it's easy, and most people make excuses - for the first few months of having a dumbphone, i was bedbound or in hospital, and truly relied on online connections to pass time and communicate. it still hugely improved my life. however, no matter your situation there are always, always better options than scrolling an app, and you deserve to pass your time in a memorable way. i think most people don't realise they're addicted/reliant on smartphones, and the idea of quitting is horribly uncomfortable, but at least for me, the benefits were worth it.

i'm happy to answer any questions, i literally could talk about this topic for hours (even if it's stuff like "how would i use x app" "how would i replace x smartphone function").

ditch your smartphone babe, u deserve better <33

#asks #hystericelle #dumbphone #phone addiction

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cheritzteam · 6 months

Text

[The Ssum] If You Like Them, You’ll Get Teased😘 2024 April Fool’s Day Event Announcement

Hello, dear lab participant.

We bring you news on this year’s April Fool’s Day events.

< ① A Ssumone’s Transformation Is Innocent!>

Piu Piu, who worked day and night to deliver to you the image of a great guy.

It is said that something is wrong with its cutting-edge system due to burning passion...!

Regardless of Piu Piu’s will(?), it starts taking pictures as it pleases!

The great photos are showing a new side of your Ssumone….

Check out the new side of your Ssumone shown by Piu Piu's camera on X(Twitter)!

Please share your thoughts on seeing your Ssumone’s new side on social media!

All of your precious stories become love research data.

A total of 10 lab participants will be given 100 Aurora Batteries through a drawing✨

Event Period : April 1st, 2024 (Monday) ~ April 11th, 2024 (Thursday) KST

How to Participate : Use hashtag #TheSsum_Innocent_Ssumone’s_Transformation and share your thoughts about the new side of your Ssumone.

Winner Announcement : April 25th, 2024 (Thurs) KST

*The social media platforms you can use are limited to X/Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

*If you participate using someone else’s work, even if you win the event, your prize may be canceled.

< ② City of Free Men : Celebratory Lab >

For the following period, a Celebratory Lab📚 in commemoration of April Fool’s Day will open in the City of Free Men.

Join other lab participants in voting for the best April Fool’s Day prank,

and aim to become Top Lab Participant for the prize of 200 Aurora Batteries!

Celebratory Lab open for : 28th of March 2024 (Thu) 9:00 am KST ~ 11th of April 2024 (Thu) 8:59 am KST

Criteria : Number of supports in a post (5 lab participants will be chosen per language)

Winner Announcement : 25th of April 2024 (Thu) KST

*Posts will still remain after the event period, but you will not be able to write new posts.

*We will count the number of supports accumulated at the event's end.

*If you have won an in-game event within the past 3 months, you will be excluded from the raffle for this event.

< ③ In-game Seasonal Content and Access Gift >

The winner of this year’s April Fool’s is…?

Seasonal Content open for : 31th of March (Sat) ~ 2th of April 2024 (Tue) (based on your account timezone)

Seasonal Content : April Fool’s Phone Call + April Fool’s Photo Memento

*You can check past Seasonal Content anytime in your Milky Way Calendar and Album after unlocking them.

In-game Access Gift : 15 Aurora Batteries + 3 Frequency Momint

Have a delightful day with The Ssum🤹‍♂️🎭

Thank you.

Cheritz

#TheSsum #TS #Cheritz #TheSsum_Innocent_Ssumone’s_Transformation

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cringelordofchaos · 19 days

Text

I HATE THE INTERNET !!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU NEED TO SIGN UP FOR FUCKING EVERYTHING THESE DAYS !!!!!! "Oh, you want to explore this social media some more?? NUH UH YOU NEED AN ACCOUNT FOR THAT!!!!" "oh you want to watch this one single fucking TikTok video? log the fuckk in!!!!!" "wanna check out this Instagram account for a couple minutes? scroll a little through Tumblr?? well that's be great, first make a platform useful exclusively for uploading content in order to view anything more than five pieces of anime fanart and cat images !!!!" "Want to read the rest of this article on our stupid niche useless website??? get an account and give us your full name, age, phone number and place of residence!!!" BRO. LET ME EXPLORE YOUR TOWN WITHOUT BEING LEGALLY RECOGNIZED AS YOUR CITIZEN.

#rage

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xoxiu · 1 year

Text

first love of late spring - ot7 x reader

chapter one masterlist

join the taglist

summary: falling, falling, falling- that's what you shouldn't be doing as a young intern at hybe. falling in love with your supervisor is frowned upon, especially all seven of them. you'll never learn, will you? guess you’ll just have to be their dark secret.

tags/warnings: intern!reader, poly relationships, stockholm syndrome, age regression, spanking, drug use, sugar daddy au, dubcon, body dysmorphia

Daylight slowly faded through the office window near your tiny cubicle. It had been your first day of work, and you couldn't believe how fast it flew by. Your computer clock only confirmed this- 18:57- long past your coworkers' traditional end of the workday. But not you, you quite liked the peacefulness of the office after hours.

As HYBE's newest social media intern, you mainly took on the jobs that your managers didn't want to do- check emails, keep track of social media growth, the works. Today was spent giving you the social media passwords to Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Weverse and training you on what to do. Of course, this was taught to you by a much older man- the head of the social media department. While you knew exactly how to operate online accounts and what a Tweet was, you allowed the head manager his time in the spotlight by making him think he was teaching you the hidden knowledge of the internet.

You check Jandi, the office management system, to ensure you've done everything assigned to you today. Yes, you've logged into the platforms, filtered through comments and replies, and watched the mandatory entry videos for the company. All you needed now was to...

Call Park Jimin of BTS to remind him of his scheduled livestream on Weverse at 19:00. Shit.

Panicking, you quickly picked up your black office landline and dialed the phone number in the computer's contact list. The phone rang for what felt like the whole three minutes leading up to the scheduled time. In reality, the idol picked up after only three rings.

"Ah, Hello?" The smooth and silky voice said on the line. You wet your lips as nerves quickly sank in- you've never been good at phone calls.

"Is this Park Jimin? I'm with the social media department for HYBE."

"Yes, it is. Is there a problem tonight?"

"No, sir. This is just a reminder to be in the studio for 19:00. You have a livestream planned with managers Seo and Kang assisting you."

"Oh, yes! I'm currently in the studio waiting for the top of the hour. Thank you, manager-nim!"

Before you could correct him on your proper title, the line had gone quiet. You let out the breath you had been holding for what felt like ages before putting the phone back on the receiver. With your final task for the day done, you marked it complete before logging in your total hours for the day- eight.

You stood up and started packing your backpack. Your phone charger, tablet, novels, and miscellaneous paperwork were packed up, and you placed your headphones on your ears before exiting the office.

The BigHit social media office was on the tenth floor of the HYBE building, right in the middle of the office block. Thankfully, the elevators in the building are much more reliable and fast than the ones on your university campus. You managed to catch an empty one and pressed the button for the ground floor.

Engrossed in your phone, you didn't even look up when the elevator stopped until you heard the ping, indicating that the elevator had indeed stopped. You checked what floor you were at- floor five- before looking straight ahead to see who was entering the lift. A tall man with a black cap, white face mask, and tan sweatshirt entered the elevator. Moving to the back left corner away from the control panel, you made a quick bow.

"Hello."

The man walked into the opposite corner, also going down to the ground floor with you. He looked at you with wide, surprised eyes.

"Oh, good afternoon," he said. He glanced at his phone before looking back at you. "I don't recognize you. Are you new?"

"Yes, sir. I'm y/n, the new social media intern for BigHit. It's a pleasure to work alongside you."

You could see his eyes slant slightly, showing that he was smiling behind the mask. He gave you a short bow before reaching his hand out toward you.

"I'm Kim Namjoon. I'm sure you'll make our socials the best they can be."

Your heart skipped a beat; You had a member of the company's- no, the world's biggest idol group right in front of you, wanting to shake your hand. Timidly, you placed your hand in his, shyly shaking his hand. Namjoon chuckled, sensing your nerves.

"No need to be shy. You'll do great. Can I walk you out?" He asked as the doors to the elevator opened, revealing the empty lobby. You gave him a smile and a small nod as you both exited the lift.

"So when was your first day?" Namjoon asked.

"It was today- I mainly did training and menial tasks." Namjoon gave a disgusted noise at your response.

"That doesn't sound fun at all. Surely your work will get more fun as time goes on."

"Yes, sir. I'm sure it will. I will do my best to make you and everyone else look good online."

Namjoon gave a loud laugh at your response, further putting you at ease. He opened the side door to the parking deck for you, indicating for you to go first.

"That's a hard job, y/n-ssi; Our career depends on it."

Namjoon meant his words as a joke, but you couldn't help but have your smile falter as you gulped in fear. In reality, BTS and the rest of BigHit's public image depended on the competency you had at your job. In the back of your mind, you knew it wasn't solely your job, you had a whole team you worked for, but the thoughts wouldn't stop isolating you and solely making you the problem. You were so caught up in your thoughts that you barely comprehended Namjoon saying his goodbyes and walking towards his vehicle.

Quickly, you snapped out of it, realizing that staring at the older man as he walked to his car looked a bit stalker-ish. You walked out of the parking lot and began your trek to your apartment.

You were a recent college graduate, having had your commencement ceremony this past spring. You majored in Social Media Marketing with a minor in English and had quite the resume and portfolio following graduation. Over the summer you applied to job after job, but rarely received a callback or an interview. Smaller businesses and organizations passed on you, but you were shocked when you received an employment offer from HYBE after your second round of interviews.

In typical internship fashion, it was an unpaid gig. They did, however, offer to pay for housing and gave you a monthly allotment of money for food. While you much rather preferred a paycheck, the stipends for housing and food allowed you to at least live in Seoul. It did not, however, pay to allow you to take a bus home. So, you had to walk the thirty-minute walk home every day.

Entering your studio apartment, you sat your backpack down on the tiny countertop of your kitchen and slipped off your shoes. Your apartment was small and cheap for Gangnam, being only ₩300,000 a month for 20 square meters of space. This meant your kitchen barely had room for a table for one, your bedroom and living room were the same small room, and your bathroom held only enough extra space solely so you could stand in one place. It wasn't much, but living in Gangnam felt better than the farmland you had grown up in.

Growing up in a small village outside of Gwangju didn't provide you with much of anything in life. If anything, your childhood consisted mainly of bullying and body issues. You were much larger than most of the other kids growing up, and even now you still leaned on the thicker side. Many strangers would stare at you with your larger behind, thighs, and bust with disgust on their faces- you weren't the beauty standard in Korea. However, while attending Chonnam University in Gwangju, you befriended a group of foreign students from America that would constantly hype up your appearance, telling you that any man in America would die to have a girlfriend with a body like yours.

But you didn't live in America. You lived in Korea.

Eventually, your American friends would graduate and move back stateside, leaving you to receive glares and offensive remarks with no backup. By this time, though, the confidence your friends provided you with was stuck in your head. Their words of 'you're just short, you don't weigh that much', 'your tits are killer', and 'I'd smack that ass' never left your conscience. To this day you don't know whether to laugh at the memories or appreciate them endearingly. You just decided to do them both.

With water boiling on the stove for your instant noodles, you lay on your sleeper sofa and stared aimlessly at the chipped paint of your ceiling. Maybe someday you'll get rich and famous like Namjoon and Jimin and live in a luxury apartment, not a basement studio apartment for less than a week's worth of minimum wage.

#bts fanfic #bts x reader #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #bts #jungkook x reader #taehyung x reader #jimin x reader #namjoon x reader #hoseok x reader #yoongi x reader #bts little space #first love of late spring #seokjin x reader

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jeniffercheck · 1 year

Text

light blue (nothing's gonna stop me now)

shivlina fic exchange: exposed affair with a side of shiv becoming twitter's rich white lady of the month, s2 canon (until it's not), set during 'safe room' - 2x04, shivlina are established affair partners.

words: 7.7k

read here or on ao3

for @shivvroys<3

“Do you have a Goodreads?”

Shiv pauses in the bed. Karolina’s been scrolling through her phone, laughing every so often at a cat video that she desperately needs to show Shiv right now, asking her if she’s heard about some absurd foreign news that Karolina gathers from the pits of Reddit.

(Because Shiv desperately needed to know that a rolled truck in Canada covered an entire highway in celery.)

It’s the worst part of the night, when the hours turn into minutes and the minutes to seconds, and every passing moment becomes one less that they get to breathe the same air. One less that they get to sit next to one another and exist in their small bubble, away from all the bullshit that makes up their lives.

“What?” Shiv asks, flopping her head to face Karolina.

“A Goodreads account,” Karolina says. “Do you have one?”

“Yeah,” Shiv says. She shifts closer to Karolina, trying to get a better look at her phone. “Why?”

Karolina shifts the device into Shiv’s view. “I think you’ve been discovered.”

“What?” Shiv rips the phone out of Karolina’s hand, eyes quickly scanning the screen. It’s her account, and the numbers do look suspiciously higher than usual. She grabs her own phone and opens the app, and lo and behold, hundreds of notifications have rolled in throughout the day. Likes and comments on her reviews, followers on her account. She’s not not used to it, her Twitter and Instagram receiving a healthy amount of engagement compared to the average user, but those are staged. This is…fucking embarrassing.

“How the hell did they find this?” she grumbles, clicking through some of the followers.

“I don’t know,” Karolina says. “Maybe the one-star and very detailed review of that unauthorized biography on your father was a good hint?”

“My review?” Shiv asks, scrolling through her page.

“I mean,” Karolina continues, “I don’t think the words, ‘My dad,’ were very helpful in keeping yourself anonymous.”

It appears on Shiv’s screen, a review logged last week. Sloppy, choppy, and boring as hell—she deletes it before she has time to read the rest.

“Oh my god,” she says, covering her face with her hands. “I was drunk when I wrote that.”

“Well, you’re a tough critic when you’re plastered,” Karolina says. Shiv’s mouth curls upward in disbelief as she unveils herself to Karolina, who seems to be fighting a smirk of her own. Shiv can’t contain her laughter as she drops back onto the bed, and Karolina follows, perched on her elbow next to Shiv’s head.

“What are the optics on this?” Shiv asks. The last thing she needs is to start an internet war with some E-List author. Karolina pulls her phone back in front of her, the screen flashing as she swipes through different apps, her nails making that grating tapping sound that pisses Shiv off when she’s trying to go to sleep.

“Uh—” Karolina pauses, zooming in on something. “Well, looks to me like you’ve just become the internet’s newest white girl of the month.”

“The what?”

“I mean, just look—” Karolina holds out her phone again, urging Shiv to read whatever’s on the screen, Twitter coming into view as Shiv does so. She scrolls through a variety of tweets, phrases like feral and deranged and mommy punching through. “They’re going crazy over you.”

@evermores: Does anyone else think Shiv Roy and Nate Sofrelli had something going on?

↳ @dazzlinghaze: why do you know random ass Gil staffers

↳ @evermores: Spoken like a fake fan.

↳ @notromanroy1: they were definitely boning

@milfhotline: I mean I know she probably steals money but she’s hot, so.

↳ @moonhaven: ???

↳ @Ryan2334657: Her dad is Logan Roy. Definitely a family of thieves.

↳ @moonhaven: sorry are you their bank? maybe she hates him. we don’t know

↳ @milfhotline: oomf out here defending a capitalist?

@candlenights: I don’t care what y’all say. Shiv Roy is my new Caroline Calloway. If she wants to steal, let her. Who am I to deny a woman her wrongs?

“Why the fuck do they all think I’ve stolen money?”

“You’re a Roy. It obviously means you commit wire fraud for breakfast,” Karolina says, scrolling through more tweets. “You should reply to one of them. Fan the flames.”

“Why would I do that?”

Fanning the flames sounds like the opposite of what her years of PR experience have told her.

“It would look good, engaging with the culture,” Karolina argues. “You know ATN’s viewership is sixty-eight percent senior citizens? Imagine if you brought in the youth. Your father would salivate.”

Shiv sits up, looking at Karolina doubtfully. “You, Karolina Novotney, want to brainwash the youth with ATN?”

Karolina shrugs, that hint of a smirk still visible on her face. Shiv scoffs playfully.

“Fuck you. You just want to see what would happen.”

“Fine,” Karolina concedes. “Sue me.”

“Yeah,” Shiv says, leaning over to press a kiss on Karolina’s forehead before getting out of the bed. “You couldn’t afford that.”

Karolina gasps, throwing a pillow at Shiv. “Whatever,” she says. “I just think it would be a good temperature check. Organic.”

“Well, I’m not engaging,” Shiv says. “I’m disengaging, if anything. I’m deleting my Goodreads and leaving the rest to their imaginations.”

“Their imaginations certainly are impressive,” Karolina says, grimacing at her phone.

“What is it?” Shiv asks.

“I thought you were disengaging?”

Shiv rolls her eyes. “I am.”

“You’re no fun,” Karolina says, pouting as she stands, but Shiv walks back over to her, lightly pushing Karolina back on the bed.

“You hang around me because I’m fun?” she asks, hovering over Karolina. She stops just as she reaches Karolina’s lips, and Karolina’s breath hitches. It’s then that Karolina’s laptop chimes from the other end of the room, and both of them sigh, an unwelcome reminder that their time for the night is officially coming to a close.

“You’re so much fun,” Karolina says before she leans up, stealing a chaste kiss from Shiv’s lips. “What time is Tom expecting you?”

Shiv sighs, rising once again.

“Thirty minutes ago,” she says. She walks into Karolina’s bathroom, pursuing her things that are already there. It all feels so simple, having a toothbrush in Karolina’s holder, having pajamas in her drawers. It’s a second life, sure, a home away from home, but it doesn’t feel any less real than the other parts, the parts where wakes up in the middle of the night and wonders why Karolina’s hands feel so big, why her sink looks so different. She washes her face, pushing the thought away for another time.

“Shiv,” Karolina says, her accusatory tone following Shiv into the bathroom.

“What?” Shiv asks, drying her face. “He’s fine. Mondale’s there.”

Karolina’s silent as she leans against the door frame, watching Shiv freshen up. It’s one of the more humiliating parts of the routine, running home to her husband who thinks she’s well on her way to becoming the next Head of PR for Waystar, guiding his eager mouth through the dark to her already-bruising breastbone, lest he think the marks came from anyone other than himself. Karolina looks at her sadly. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s annoying when it does, the sour mood or separation catching them both by its vicious claws.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Karolina asks. She asks at least once a week. Shiv would find it endearing if it didn’t make her feel entirely suffocated by just the thought of her actions.

“I told you, we have an arrangement,” Shiv says.

“And you’re not lying to me?”

Shiv sighs. She’s not lying, not really. She and Tom do have an arrangement. She stays out of Tom’s business—not that he even makes an effort to participate—and he stays out of hers. It’s simple, and she wants it to stay that way, but still, a part of her knows things with Karolina have gone outside the parameters of the arrangement. So, she’s not lying, but she isn’t quite sure where the truth fits just yet.

“I’m not lying,” Shiv says. “And Tom doesn’t own me. If I’m late, I’m late.”

“Alright,” Karolina says, voice still weary.

“What, you want to get rid of me so soon?” Shiv teases.

“I wouldn’t let you hog my sheets all the time if I wanted to get rid of you,” Karolina says.

“I do not.”

“Prove it,” Karolina challenges, and Shiv laughs.

“Should I set up the cameras before, or after we fuck?” Shive asks, facing the mirror. Karolina laughs, but it’s small and she replies by hugging Shiv from behind and resting her chin on Shiv’s shoulder. They lock eyes through the mirror.

“Stay over tonight,” Karolina says.

It’s an easy ask, as easy as anything else Karolina ever asks Shiv to do for her, and a rare one at that, and it tugs at Shiv the way it always does when she has to deny Karolina of something that she wants. Karolina, a never-ending stream of goodwill and wonder, Shiv, a constant disappointment.

“What do you get out of this?” Shiv suddenly asks, and Karolina doesn’t hesitate with her response.

“I get you.”

“But—” Shiv stammers, unsatisfied by the answer. “Like, what do you get out of it?”

Surely Shiv is not the prize. She’s a consolation, a means to an end. Karolina should be lucky to have her, sure, but when luck runs out, what’s left? Shiv is convenient.

“You make me feel normal for a little while,” Karolina says. “Like I’ve finally done something right. You do.”

It feels like a cosmic joke, Karolina saying that Shiv makes her feel right when Karolina makes Shiv feel as though she’s done everything wrong, her mere presence causing Shiv to rethink every action she’s ever taken to lead up to their interactions. Not that it’s Karolina’s fault. It’s a mess that Shiv’s made, one she knows she has to clean up soon, before it all comes crashing down on her.

“Not what you wanted to hear?” Karolina asks, looking nervous in Shiv’s silence. Shiv reaches up to grab Karolina’s hand, squeezing it as she smiles softly.

“Just—not what I expected,” she says.

“What did you expect?” Karolina asks.

“I dunno,” Shiv says. “Maybe that my financial crimes get you off.”

Karolina’s lips curve gently, and a soft laugh escapes her. Shiv knows she’s laughing because Shiv wants her to. Because Shiv has to leave in fifteen minutes and if they get into it now, if they let their emotions get any further, they might go places they can never come back from. Shiv turns around, connecting their foreheads. By the time she leaves, Karolina is back to some late-night work, and Shiv, back to Tom.

—

The first thought Shiv has when the gunshot goes off, is that it doesn’t really sound like anything at all. One second she’s playing Connect the Dots while being babysat by the Old Guard, and the next she’s being rushed off through the executive floor to a safe room that she isn’t really sure is all that safe, given the fact that they’re on the top floor of a high rise in the Financial District, distinctly known for having zero issues involving life-endangering events and fucking high rises.

She stumbles her way through an increasingly irritating phone call with Tom, something about the wrong safe room and she realizes that she doesn’t have a clue where Karolina is, right safe room or wrong safe room, and she still doesn’t know if there’s a shooter in the building, and she still doesn’t know where she stands with Dad, and she doesn’t know shit about anything, because everybody wants to keep her around but nobody wants to keep her in the loop.

“Where’s Kendall?” her dad is immediately asking, winded and wilting, and only ever concerned about her older brother.

“I don’t know,” Shiv says. It doesn’t seem like the correct time to remind him that she’s not Kendall’s keeper, and she’s also got bigger concerns on her mind. “Were you with Karolina? Have you seen her?”

“Karolina?” he repeats, and at first, it’s a quickening of Shiv’s heart rate, wondering if she’s somehow said too much, gone too far, but then it’s a dismissive wave of her father’s hand, a welcome sign that she hasn’t completely screwed anything up just yet. “Get on the phone with her—figure this fucking mess out.”

She does, retreat to a corner and call Karolina several times, her pulse beating harder with every passing ring. It’s not until the third try that Karolina actually picks up, just as Kendall and Gerri enter the room, and she still has enough time to roll her eyes as her dad greets Kendall, his golden boy returned safely to the throne room.

“Shiv?” Karolina’s voice comes through the receiver.

“Karolina,” Shiv sighs, relieved. “Where are you?”

“I was on a lower floor dealing with a small fire—we were evacuated right away,” Karolina says. “I’m with the news crew now, they’re prepping to go live from outside. Where are you?”

Shiv looks around. Kendall doing God knows what in the bathroom, Rhea and Dad looking awkward as all fuck on the couch, Colin hovering creepily. Gerri, it seems, is heading right for Shiv.

“In the Kensington Palace of panic rooms,” Shiv says, losing her words with every step Gerri moves closer. “I just wanted—we, wanted to check in on the response. And I—you’re safe? With the protestors outside?”

“I’m pretty sure ANTIFA is the least of our safety concerns,” Karolina mumbles, her voice getting quieter as Shiv cups the phone, Gerri stopped in front of her, gesturing to the phone.

“Can I speak with her?” Gerri asks.

Shiv has half a mind to say no. Wants to take herself and her phone and Karolina’s voice and lock it all away from others. Wants to touch her hand and make sure it’s real, that Karolina’s right where she says she is, outside of Waystar HQ, prepping some corporate shill with eyelashes far too long for national news to tell the whole world that everything’s fine, that there’s a shooter inside of their workplace but they’re all fine because this is America and guns are our friends.

Instead, she holds her phone out to Gerri. She’s at least grateful to be rid of the vibrations from Tom’s texts coming through every twenty seconds.

“How’s it looking out there?” Gerri asks into the phone. She eyes Shiv and then turns her back, mumbling a yes, and a no, and a no, we’re not legally liable, and a yes, they can say that on-air, and when Gerri turns back around, she looks as though she’s about to hang up, and if things were different—if Shiv weren’t trapped in a room with five people who definitely can’t know that Karolina is anything more to Shiv than a corporate sounding board—she’d get Gerri to stop. She’d rip the phone out of Gerri’s hands and take Karolina back.

Except, Gerri pauses. Her eyes flash suspiciously at Shiv, and she bids Karolina goodbye before handing the phone back, Shiv, using everything in her power not to look as desperate as she feels.

“Shiv?” Karolina says. “You there?”

“I’m with you,” Shiv says, trying her best to sound inconspicuous. Dad, Kendall, and Rhea are still deep in talks, but Gerri’s ears are her, even if she’s pretending they aren’t.

“I stepped away for a moment,” Karolina says. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, we’re all good here,” Shiv says. “I’m glad we got in touch quickly. It’s best if we get a statement out soon.”

“I was worried,” Karolina says, and Shiv bites the inside of her lip. “When they said there’d been shots fired, you know, I-I didn’t know—”

“Uh-huh,” Shiv cuts her off. “You’re right, we should wait a little. Don’t want to sound too haste.”

There’s a bit of silence on the other end, and Shiv feels bad. Feels awful, actually, because she’s worried too but she can’t show that. Not right here, not in front of everyone. She can’t cry or panic, can’t tell Karolina that if something had happened to her it would’ve been the end of Shiv, that the entire time she was speaking to her husband the only thing that was on Shiv’s mind was Karolina. She can’t tell Karolina any of this, ever.

“Can I see you tonight?” Karolina then asks.

It’s small and slightly hesitant, and feels far too fragile for the circumstances, feels too fragile to be aimed at Shiv. She can’t help it. Shiv might explode if she has to deny Karolina anything ever again.

“Yes, of course,” she says. “I’ll send you the details when we’re out of here.”

“Okay, Shiv. Be safe,” Karolina says, and it feels like the words are hanging, like there are so many more they should be saying that are inhibited by time and space and circumstance, and Shiv can’t help when the spell is broken, when she forgets that she isn’t the only person in the room and her lips curl to say something irrevocable, until at the last second she looks at Gerri, perceptive eyes still plainly on her and she does remember. The destructive words swallowed, and replaced with a cordial, “You too.”

She avoids Gerri’s gaze as she hangs up, opting to read through the abundance of texts from Tom that she’s received within the last twenty minutes. He’s going to be stuck at ATN all night, and the paperwork is, “Horrendous,” considering the shooter was revealed to be one of his employees. She schedules a car for Karolina and a separate car for herself, both to be taken to her apartment. It doesn’t feel entirely right, but it doesn’t feel wrong either, wanting to just sit on her own couch in her own place and bask in the silence with Karolina.

“What did Karolina want from you?” Gerri asks suddenly, voice quiet so as not to interrupt the Boys Club still trying to land a deal.

“Uh—just wanted my opinion on some words,” Shiv says. “That’s all.”

“Right,” Gerri says. “Because it doesn’t make sense to speak with the people who are actually on her payroll.”

“Look, Gerri, if you have a problem, then take it up with Karolina,” Shiv says. “I’m sure she’d love to explain.”

She locks eyes with Gerri this time, smiling her Shiv Roy best, and Gerri just sighs. “She’s not a toy, Shiv.”

Shiv can’t help it as she laughs under her breath.

“Are you my godmother, or hers?”

Colin whispers in Dad’s ear. He stands, Rhea joining him. They’re all shaking hands, smiling as Colin opens the door.

“If I were Karolina’s, I’d be telling her to run rather than telling you not to fuck things up.”

—

Relief.

It’s the only thing Shiv feels when there’s finally a knock on her door and she opens it to find Karolina on the other side, a little more disheveled than Shiv is used to, but her Karolina, nonetheless. Shiv normally wouldn't have her over like this, not when it’s so late and Tom could be in even when she knows he won’t be, but she finds that she’s running out of reasons to care.

The second Karolina is inside and situated, she’s pulling Shiv into a hug. It’s not her first hug of the day, but it’s the first one where she feels like she’s being held. Like her hands aren’t the only two things doing the lifting, like her body isn’t a vessel for someone else to consume and spit out and mold—like she’s being hugged because someone cares. Like someone is wrapping her in their arms, not because it’s where they want her, but because it’s where she fits. With Karolina, everything fits.

“Eventful day,” Karolina says, brushing a thumb across Shiv’s cheek.

“Not really a good reflection of Waystar,” Shiv says, frowning. “An employee blowing their brains out in the bullpen.”

“We’re lucky that’s all it was,” Karolina says, and her hands tighten around Shiv, voice thick with the emotional toll of the day. “Three Roys in the building an active shooter, I mean—it could’ve been anything, Shiv.”

“Hey,” Shiv instantly says, attempting to calm the concern in Karolina’s words. “It wasn’t that. I’m fine, and you’re fine—we’re all good. Right?”

Karolina looks at her, furrowed brows and scrunched lips holding back like they always do, and she just nods. It comes over Shiv again, that wave of protectiveness that she pretends hasn’t recently become exclusive only to Karolina, and she takes control of the embrace, bringing the side of Karolina’s temple to her lips and holding her tightly in return. She wants to say something, wants to make more promises that she can’t keep, and ask more questions that she doesn’t want the answers to, but her phone buzzes in her pocket.

“It’s Tom,” Shiv says, pulling away from Karolina, and then into the receiver, “Hello?”

“Hey, honey,” Tom’s voice comes through. “Are you home yet?”

“Yeah,” Shiv says. “Yeah, I got in about an hour ago.”

“Okay, good,” Tom says. “Will you make sure to feed Mondale? I’m afraid I’m going to be in the studio for a while.”

“Yeah,” Shiv says. “Can do.”

She’s being short. It’s not fair, but so many things aren’t fair. Which safe room are you in, Shiv? Are you sure there’s only one? I think they brought me to the wrong one, Shiv. I thought that it was something we wanted for me. What happened to the plan, Shiv?

“Alright, well. Everything—everything’s good?”

“Yeah, Tom,” Shiv sighs. “Your safe room kept you safe, I guess?”

“Oh, yeah,” Tom says. “Very spacious. It was nice to have some quiet time, you know? Hard to come by these days.”

“Right, no—yeah,” Shiv says. “Ours was—it was quiet too.”

“Good, good.”

There’s a lull of silence between them that Shiv often worries is a permanent fixture, but she knows Karolina looming behind her isn’t the best fuel for a conversation with her husband.

“Well,” Tom says, filling the silence, “I’ll see you later?”

“Sure, honey,” Shiv says. “Just let me know when you’re on your way, yeah?”

“Alright,” Tom says. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Tom.”

She keeps her back turned, scrolling through the calls on her phone. Tom, incoming. Karolina (3), outgoing. Tom, incoming. Roman, missed. Tom (2), missed. Karolina, incoming. Karolina, outgoing. She locks her phone, sliding it into her pocket without another glance. She finds Karolina’s set herself up at the kitchen counter, laptop out in front of her, fingers typing away. She looks up as Shiv returns, and Shiv wonders where her determined energy comes from, how Karolina can always keep going, despite it all.

“ATN putting out the fire for us?” Karolina asks.

“Yeah,” Shiv laughs sarcastically. “They’re gonna own the libs and turn a suicide into a men’s rights issue.”

“As long as the ATN audience believes it, I couldn’t care less,” Karolina says. “Waystar will provide its condolences and ATN can do…whatever the hell it does.”

Shiv knows Karolina doesn’t mean that. That she’ll be watching the news broadcast and she’ll send a scathing email to ATN’s PR department when their story doesn’t align with the professional public image that Waystar needs to maintain, and she’ll work long and extra hours just to make it right, even though there are plenty of people on her payroll that can do it just as well with her guidance.

Shiv wonders if Karolina thinks the same way about her. That whenever she asks if they can spend the night together or if they can see each other, if there’s not always a part of her that couldn’t care less. A part of her that can’t afford to care more.

“Well, with a Nazi on the news desk, I’m sure they’ll do just fine,” Shiv says. Karolina sighs and leans her elbow on the counter, head in her hand. She continues to type with one hand, a skill Shiv would find laughable on any other day, and Shiv pulls another seat closer to Karolina, resting her own body across the countertop as she watches Karolina work. Suddenly, Karolina’s typing furiously, sitting up straighter and switching through tabs at a rapid pace. Her phone dings a few times, and an unsettling feeling comes over Shiv.

“Fuck.”

Karolina’s expression has grown from slightly annoyed to exceedingly worried within seconds, and Shiv sits up instantly.

“What is it?” she asks. “Ken get high and shoplift with the Naked Cowboy?”

Except, Karolina doesn’t laugh, which worries Shiv, because Karolina always laughs at her jokes, no matter how stupid or ill-timed or horrible they are.

“Um, no, Shiv,” Karolina says. “It—it’s about you.”

Shiv goes through her mental calendar, trying to remember the events of the last week. She can’t remember stealing candy or vape fluid or murdering a fucking homeless person though, so whatever it is, surely can’t be as bad as Karolina’s frantic typing is having her believe. Karolina continues to type, and then pauses, turning her laptop screen to face Shiv, a gaudy email taking up the screen.

Email: [email protected]

Subject: Heavy is the Head

Message: Married heiress to a popular American news conglomerate spotted cozying up to a mystery woman at a gala.

Shiv tries to make sense of the words. “What am I looking at?”

“It’s a blind,” Karolina says, and Shiv attempts to calm her panic. A blind is a blind. They’re bullshit, even when true.

“It’s just the same thing as last night,” Shiv says. “Nobody’s going to believe it.”

“Scroll.”

Shiv does, hesitantly, and her heart sinks as she makes it to the next part. There’s a photo. A fucking photo of her kissing Karolina t that stupid charity gala that she didn’t even want to be at, taken by some sleazeball with an iPhone 14 and a dream. But still, it’s not the end of the world, right?

“Nobody can see your face,” Shiv says. “I mean, fine, fuck, I’m kissing a woman—that doesn’t mean anything—”

Karolina slides her second phone over to Shiv, a screen that’s usually reserved for the most desperate of occasions, and on it is a thread with a different photo, Karolina’s face and dress circled out of a crowd.

“Fuck,” Shiv repeats, because what exactly is the proper word to being outed to millions of people at once, and also, by the way, the person you’re kissing is one of your dad’s most trusted advisors, and, oh, you’re also fucking married! She looks to Karolina, who seems to be flitting between passing out and figuring out where she can purchase a military-grade machine gun to mow down the Reddit headquarters.

“Is someone on this?” Shiv asks, and she’ll admit it, she’s panicking, because normally it’s Karolina who’s on these stories and squashing them before they’ve seen an ounce of daylight, but Karolina is here, and the story’s already broken, and her eyes are a little frantic and her hands a little shaky and Shiv’s slowly losing faith that they’re making it out of this one unscathed. Shiv grabs one of Karolina’s hands, and the contact springs her into action.

“I—I don’t know, Shiv,” Karolina says, puffing her cheeks. She pulls her hand away, standing. “I need to make some calls.”

“You can use my office,” Shiv says, and Karolina nods, walking away without so much as another word. It’s a lot, a shooting and an exposé all in one day, and Shiv doesn’t even want to begin to think of the fallout. The thought of checking her phone makes her feel sick, and if the universe is at all on her side (which, it’s decidedly not, considering this is happening at all) then Dad is already asleep and he’ll never have to find out about this mess. There’s no way Roman hasn’t already found out, and she makes a mental note to come up with a list of things to blackmail him with if he enjoys his life as it is currently. And then, as if on cue, Tom is walking into the apartment, either blissfully unaware, or entirely all too excited.

“Shiv?” his voice calls out, and she steels herself, not at all ready for the first wave of consequence.

“In here,” she calls from the kitchen. It’s a little while before Tom actually enters, his slow, tentative steps confirming her suspicions.

“Hey, honey,” Tom says as he approaches. He doesn’t greet her like he normally does, his inviting arms usually engulfing her, and she’s troubled by the fact that it doesn’t bother her. The distance almost feels welcome.

“Hey,” she says. The tension is thick.

“Crazy day, huh?” he asks. He looks at her expectantly, and she imagines what he’s thinking. Maybe he wants her to fall to her knees, to beg for forgiveness. Maybe he wants her to serve him with divorce papers, to annul the marriage having violated the terms of the prenup. Maybe he wants to pretend it never happened, to forbid Shiv from seeing Karolina ever again even though they both know that Shiv would never listen to that order. She can’t tell, because she never knows what Tom wants. He pretends to want what she wants, or he says he wants less when he always wants more, or he wants things that simply don't exist, things that can’t ever exist, and she just has to stumble her way through his needs, catering to him without completely destroying her own desires.

She feels that urge again, to hide Karolina somewhere far away, somewhere where Shiv wanting can’t be used against them. Where she doesn’t have to suppress her desires just to make everyone else around her feel whole.

“Yeah,” she says stiffly. “Wild.”

Tom nods, still playing his cards close to his chest. He eyes the mess of screens on the counter, not lingering for too long on any device. It’s likely he spent his entire car ride home memorizing every detail of the news.

“So—what’s the plan?” he asks, like he’s somehow a part of it. Like it’s a business move that they’re making together and now they have to figure it out. Like it’s not Shiv’s livelihood at stake.

“The plan?” she asks. She knows it’s not the time to be dense, but he’s already pissing her off and they haven’t even begun. She doesn’t need a Tom-solution to her own mess.

“Shiv,” he says, her name coming out like a warning.

“I don’t know, Tom,” she says. “I have to—you know, I need to talk—”

It’s not the admitting that’s hard. She’s admitted plenty before. Admitted worse. It’s saying her name. It’s giving Tom that piece of her, that version of Karolina that up until now, had only belonged to Shiv. If she says her name, then it’s real. They belong to everybody. It leaves her control.

“Her,” Shiv finally says. Tom’s current state of mind is elusive. She never prided him much in the way of not wearing his heart on his sleeve, but he’s doing a good job currently, and it’s unnerving, not being able to suss out what he’s thinking.

“When will—I mean, is that—are you in contact with her?” he asks. “Because we should really all be on the same page.”

We. Us. All.

“She’s in the study,” Shiv says, and Tom’s eyebrows shoot upward.

“She’s here? Now?”

“Well, yeah, Tom. Did you want me to drop her off in front of Waystar?” she asks. “See how many different ways the paparazzi can ask her what it feels like to fuck your wife?”

“Okay, Shiv—I understand you’re upset—”

“Oh, fuck off,” Shiv says, turning away from him. “Can you just—stop, being so nice right now?”

“Well—I mean, this was a part of it, right?” he asks, that sickeningly dumbfounded expression slapped across his face. “The arrangement?”

Shiv hopes her face isn’t conveying the paralyzing lapse of nausea that she feels course through her. She can feel the boyish hurt seep through his words, pretending like the arrangement is still something he’s okay with. If she were being completely honest, it doesn’t feel like a part of the arrangement. If it were a part of the arrangement, it wouldn’t have been Karolina in that photo. It would’ve been some hot, young guy, just barely taller than Tom; enough to make her feel like he should be jealous, enough to make him jealous. Karolina is different. He wasn’t supposed to find out about her. She was supposed to be Shiv’s secret, her life away from Tom that he couldn’t touch, couldn’t steal. She won’t let him steal her now, either.

“Right,” she says. Silly. How could she have forgotten? “The arrangement, yeah no—sorry. It’s been a long day.”

Tom pouts and steps forward, Shiv’s lie like some kind of spell cast on him. It feels more morose than usual, his desperation for her bare minimum commitment to him. He pulls her into him, as if the arrangement means it’s not real. She isn’t sure either of them believes that, but she knows he wants to, and Shiv, as always, is beholden to his wants.

“It was frightening being in danger,” Tom says. “And this, on top of it all. We’ll get Rat-Fucker Sam on it. Ruin some Silicon Valley tech mogul’s life.”

“I think it’s too late for Sam, Tom. It went viral instantly,” she says. “I just need to figure this out.”

“Well, has she gotten the call yet?”

Shiv looks up. The call?

“What call?”

“You know,” Tom shrugs, and Shiv wildly shakes her head, because, no, she doesn’t know. She’s not some clairvoyant psychic put on Earth just to be able to read Tom Wambsgans’ mind when he decides the middle of a conversation is a good time to play fucking charades.

“What call, Tom?” she says again, stepping away. He looks around to make sure it’s just the two of them, which, Shiv’s pretty sure they are, considering she can still hear Karolina’s commanding voice leave the confines of the study every few minutes, and he leans in, lowering his voice.

“The fucking axe, Shiv!”

He says it like it’s break room gossip. Like Karolina isn’t one of the few people at Waystar who’s actually decent at their job, like she’s dispensable and that’s why Shiv chose her. Not a real person. She wonders if that boyish hurt isn’t just a glint of zeal, like maybe he’s finally found his opportunity for payback. Shiv gets to cheat, and Tom gets to watch the destruction. She wonders if this might not have been his play all along, let her run herself through brick walls over and over again, and watch silently until one of them finally takes her down, bruised and bloody and begging for mercy. Something tugs inside of her then, and she realizes there is a wall worth salvaging, and it’s not the one in front of her.

“She’s not getting fired, Tom,” Shiv says, hoping the blood and the cement seep through, spoken proof that even knocked down, the fragments of Karolina are deep within her now.

Tom just stares at her, open-mouthed with that stupid, disbelieving smile.

“If you’re worried about the optics, Shiv—we’ll have her sign papers. This won’t come down on you,” he says. “It’ll be quick and painless, I mean, you won’t even have to be a part of it—”

“Tom,” Shiv snaps, he closes his mouth, jaw set. “I said, she’s not fucking getting fired.”

In come the theatrics.

“Oh, oh, I mean, of course, Shiv, I don’t—I mean, I wouldn’t really think of it as a firing, more so as a sort of, Witness Protection situation,” he says. “I mean, she can’t possibly come back to the office, right? That could be, well—sort of disastrous, if you think about it.”

She tries to imagine it, tries to picture either of them returning to Waystar with a shred of their dignity, and she wants to believe that there is a way, somehow.

“She can,” Shiv says. “It was just a part of the arrangement, right? If we don’t treat it like a big deal, then it’s not. Firing her looks sloppy, Tom. It’s guilty.”

“Yeah, Shiv, it’s fine,” Tom says, finally letting some of his anger come through. “Maybe I should walk in with her tomorrow, then everyone can know I’m friends with the woman from whom I got cucked.”

“I don’t really want that any more than you do,” Karolina says, and Shiv looks past Tom, his head immediately turning towards the sound of her voice.

“Karolina, hello—”

“Hi, Tom,” Karolina says.

She’s a new kind of silent. Shiv isn’t sure how long Karolina has been standing there, doesn’t know how much of the conversation Karolina heard, but however much, Shiv wishes she hadn’t.

“Uh, hey—Tom?” Shiv says, Tom now looking back at her. “Can you just, maybe?” She nods in the direction of the door, and he raises his eyebrows before a light, “Oh,” escapes him, suddenly cordial again now that Karolina’s in the room.

“Sure, sure, yeah, I’ll just—I need to take Mondale out. All of this…energy isn’t good for his sleep schedule, so. I’ll, um, I’ll leave you two to…it,” he says, wincing near the end.

They both wait for him to leave, Karolina not daring to move closer until she hears the door shut, and even then, it’s a minimal attempt at closing the distance.

“He seemed mad,” Karolina says.

“Yeah, well,” Shiv sighs. He reacted how she’d expected. Highly upset but too desperate to actually show it.

“I thought he knew,” Karolina says, her tone slightly accusatory.

“He knew, yeah,” Shiv says, trying to sound sure. “I guess, he just—didn’t know who with, is the problem.”

She doesn’t expect Karolina to believe her, not in the way she expects Tom to take her words at face value, and Karolina doesn’t. She never does.

“So, we’ve been having an affair,” Karolina states.

“I told you, Tom and I have—”

“An arrangement. Yeah, Shiv, I got it,” Karolina says. The silence isn’t awkward more than it is uncomfortable. There are too many things to say, too many questions and strategies and unknowns. Shiv starts with what’s simple.

“Who was on the phone?” she asks.

“It was Gerri,” Karolina says. “She, um—well, she chewed me out, and then she, you know. Advice.”

“And what was her advice?”

“She told me I should stock my arsenal,” Karolina says. “HR, journalists, lawyers. She gave me some numbers.”

“Are you going to call?” Shiv asks, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach.

“I don’t know, Shiv,” Karolina says. “I might.”

Shiv nods, unsure of what other response she could give. Of course, she doesn’t want Karolina to call those numbers. Of course, she wants Karolina to trust her, to believe that Shiv will do the right thing, to believe that Shiv would stand by her, would choose her. The longer this bullshit goes on, the more Shiv thinks that she would.

“Don’t,” Shiv says. “I’m not going to hang you out to dry. I wouldn’t do that.”

“Shiv,” Karolina sighs, and her face falls almost sympathetically. She moves closer to Shiv, though they still feel worlds apart, and Shiv wants nothing more than to reach out, to grab her hand and never let go. “It’s not you that I’m worried about.”

Dad. Shiv had nearly forgotten about him while trying to handle Tom.

“Did Gerri say—”

“He hasn’t called her about it,” Karolina says. “So, he either hasn’t seen it, or he’s ignoring it.”

Shiv lets out a sigh of relief at the information. This gives them time, a lot more time than she initially thought they’d have.

“So, we still have a chance to get ahead of it,” Shiv says. “Or he doesn’t believe it. Both work in our favor.”

“It doesn’t really matter whether he hasn’t seen it, Shiv, there’s a photo,” Karolina says. “Everyone else has seen it. The entire fucking internet has already seen it.”

“He’s the only person that matters, though,” Shiv says.

“The only person?” Karolina asks. “What about my subordinates? My boss, fucking—Hugo? There are people who want to see me fail. This could ruin me, Shiv.”

“It won’t ruin you,” Shiv says.

“I’ve been fucking the married daughter of the fucking CEO, Shiv. This is a PR disaster from hell,” Karolina says. “Who’s going to want to hire me? I’m a fucking liability now.”

Shiv waits for Karolina to say more. Waits for her to say that she regrets this, and that she never should’ve done it, and that it was a bad idea from the start. That Shiv’s malignant, a festering presence that bursts into people's lives and does her bidding and then leaves right before things go to shit, that she somehow makes it out unharmed every time, a body count living in her wake. She won’t let that happen to Karolina. Won’t even give her a chance to think it.

“I’ll handle it, Karolina,” Shiv says. “I’ll fucking, I’ll figure it out, okay?”

“How?” Karolina asks. Her voice is sharp and jagged and Shiv doesn’t think she’s ever heard it sound so unsure before, so small in the face of something so large.

“I don’t know, I’ll offer my soul to Shanghai, I’ll do the fucking management program, I’ll do whatever he wants—”

“What?” Karolina interrupts. “Shiv you’re not even in the company—”

“Why do you think I was in the office today?” Shiv asks. “It’s me. It’s fucking me, Karolina.”

Karolina shakes her head, confusion taking over her face. “Seriously?”

“I don’t know if he meant it, but he said it, and it’s something,” Shiv says. “If he wants me out of his precious politics, then it’s fucking something, okay? We have to try.”

Because if this is rock bottom, then Shiv has nothing left to lose, and she knows the Dems on Capitol Hill would kill to have the gay fucking Roy child on their campaigns. She can work with this; she just has to convince Karolina.

“Even if that did—it’s not a Get Out of Jail Free, Shiv,” Karolina says. She goes silent, her arms crossing gently. Her expression softens, her anger at the situation replaced with something sadder. She looks up at Shiv again, eyes boring into her from across the room, “Did he really choose you?”

“He said it,” Shiv shrugs. Karolina still doesn’t look convinced.

“It’ll never work,” Karolina says. “It just won’t, Shiv. The CEO of Waystar—home of ATN—with a woman?”

“Then we’ll go to Pierce,” Shiv says instantly. “Get them to agree to an exclusive sit down. Dad will be so mad he’ll back off. Fuckin’ extort the hell out of him. I’m from a crime family, right?”

Karolina’s brows furrow so thoughtfully, Shiv might think Karolina were pitying her. “No, Shiv.”

“Why the hell not?” Shiv asks, growing irritated when Karolina laughs.

“Shiv, you can’t ruin your life for me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shiv asks.

“That I can’t let myself get in the way of you becoming CEO.”

And it’s that. That sentence right there, when the decision’s already been made for her. She doesn’t care if Karolina hates her for the rest of her life and they never speak again; Shiv won’t let anything happen to her. Karolina, who didn’t go running to the papers right away. Karolina, a top PR strategist who could’ve spun the story in her favor within minutes of its release. Karolina, who desperately wants what’s in Shiv’s best interests. Karolina, who’s willing to throw away her tenure for a fucking vanity title Shiv isn’t sure she’ll ever actually get. Karolina, who cares about Shiv. Who’s worried about how it’ll affect her, sure, but who cares about how it’ll affect Shiv.

“And what if I told you that it wouldn’t even be worth being CEO unless you were there, by my side?” Shiv asks, finally moving closer to Karolina. Karolina's arms are still crossed, but she doesn’t move away as Shiv does so.

“I’d tell you that’s a stupid thing to say.” Karolina looks down, and Shiv lays a hand over her arms, squeezing lightly.

“I know this is bad, Karolina,” Shiv whispers, ducking her head as well. “I know that. But I don’t want any solution that doesn’t involve you. You’re non-negotiable.”

“I’m not an acquisition, Shiv,” Karolina says. “I’m a person and this is my life.”

“I have a life too,” Shiv says. “I want you in it.”

Karolina looks up, her eyes misty. “You have a husband.”

“I don’t have to,” she says, and it’s the first time she’s admitted those words out loud. The first time she verbalizes to another person that maybe she has made some wrong choices along the way.

“You’d leave him?” Karolina asks. Shiv looks into Karolina’s eyes and knows it’s not about leaving Tom. It’s about choosing Karolina.

“You make me feel like I’ve finally done something right, too,” Shiv says, tugging Karolina’s arms free. She presses their foreheads together, and Karolina’s hands grab at Shiv’s waist. They stand there in the silence, connected, and Shiv prepares herself for it to be the end, until Karolina’s voice rings out one final time.

“Shiv—are you sure?”

Shiv kisses Karolina, and it feels like nothing could ever go wrong again.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

—

“Look at this one,” Karolina says, rolling over in the bed. It’s been like this every morning since the divorce went through, Karolina doing her morning doom-scrolling and subjecting Shiv to the first round of daily tweets. She assumes one day it’ll get old, but for now, the only thing Shiv cares about is the peaceful glint in Karolina’s eyes and the easy smile she adorns, and Shiv lays her head on Karolina’s chest, giving her undivided attention to Karolina’s selection.

@milfupthesun: shiv roy has game like that ?

↳ @chaostheory: i mean we’ve all seen her girlfriend

↳ @milfhotline: want a waystar baddie soooo bad now

↳ @onemintjulep: need her to teach me her ways

↳ @notromanroy1: shiv is definitely not the one with game

“Wait a minute—” Shiv snatches the phone and sits up, squinting at the screen. “Is that fucking Roman?”

#evil laughter i think #<333333333333 #shivlina #shiv roy x karolina novotney #succession fic #shivlina fic #shivlina fic exchange 2023 #duskfalls

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ellatitanium · 9 hours

Text

(His return, and Her conviction) pt.1

Warnings: talk of prison, no clue what else let me know if anything

( A/N) before you continue ahead, this is my first real story/imagine that I have posted on Tumblr. Let me know what you guys think.

He was away for so long. Not knowing what had happened at first drove you crazy, not knowing if he was ok, where he was, and eventually, it all faded and life went on. The minute my sister texted me that day to tell me where he was, telling me he was ok, my heart filled. I had been broken by people in his absence, becoming void. The minute his voice came through that phone was euphoric. It was like coming up for air after being under water for so long. But there was the downside of it all. The beeping noise coming from the other end of the phone reminding me of where he was. I had never expected to be the type of woman who would be taking jail calls but there I was, heart beating like it was about to throw itself out of my chest, on a jail call with the one person in the world I knew would be there for me forever no matter what happened with us. For years we had been on and off. Meeting through a mutual and falling for each other, leaving each other and then getting back to the other in some form. He was dangerous in his own way and every part of my body knew that, screamed it at me, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.

“Oh baby, what happened?!? How did this happen?!? What’s going on my love?!?” The first thing I said to him when I knew it was him over the phone. All the feelings I still harbored for him pooling out in my concerned voice. Hands shaking and heart racing it felt like forever till I heard him respond. “It’s ok mamas, I just got into some trouble. You know how hard it was to find you? To get your number? Had to have my boy log into my Instagram to try to find you. He found (Y/S/N) and messaged her for me.” He replied back. The beeping sound continuous with his speech. I had already known of him finding (Y/S/N), she had told me the minute she got the message, and the minute she gave him my number. He however was non the wiser to that truth. We talked until we couldn’t anymore. The daily phone calls running completely out and the minutes all used. That night I sat awake yearning to continue to hear his voice yet again. Eventually I had pulled out my laptop opening a whole new tab and doing research, trying to find anything, anything to lead me to him. After finding nothing, I allowed myself to rest. Putting my phone on full sound so I wouldn't miss the calls for that day, and I laid myself down and went to sleep.

The ringing of my phone was what woke me that morning. Answering the phone with a quick swipe and allowing the beeping to reach my ears. "Good morning beautiful." He said once he knew I had answered. "Good morning baby, I missed you. spent all night thinking of you." I let out with a tiny giggle. "Is that right?" He had responded to me teasingly, a smile heard in his voice. We talked until he was completely out of calls for the day. It wasn't even 12 in the afternoon yet, but he had used all his calls on me. Joking with me, talking with me, having me catch him up on things that had changed, and even teasing me. When the last call finished and ran out, I fell back asleep thinking of him, and when I awoke, he was on my mind once again. It felt odd, the way it felt so right to hear his voice again, to laugh with him and hear about all the things that would happen once he got home. How he would take care of me and make sure I was safe. I had caught him up on the horrible bad that was going on, on how I had lived in a homeless shelter and was possibly going to have to do so again. He did not stand for that however. "I should be home in two months baby girl, and when I get home you will never live like that again." That's what he had said to me, conviction running through his voice. Once the sun had gone down, and it was once again just myself, completely with my own thoughts, music playing, my phone started to buzz. It was him. How I had no clue but I was elated. "You have to save one phone call for night time now." I told him. He teased me for wanting him to call to say goodnight but he had agreed. And once that call ended, after we had said our "I love you" 's, it was me again, but now, now I was day dreaming. Imagining when he would come home, how things would be, wondering, if he would really still love me like he said even though my appearance had changed as did I.

During that night, I had imagined his voice, basically heard him in my head, and that was when I knew, his words were true. I knew deep inside my heart that he had not lied to me, and that he would still love me even though I had gained weight and had been hurt. Every part of me knew that with him, I would always be loved, and every part of me yearned to have him close again. I knew for a fact and would even bet on it that he would be the one to find who I was deep inside and bring her back out and keep her safe. He would, the minute he had the opportunity to, he would hold me and keep me safe and my heart knew of it. And let me just say, I could not wait. I daydreamed the whole time of what it would be like when he got home. How it would look when I finally was able to go and visit him, to see him, and every fiber of my being was jumping extatically. I couldn't wait until I was able to see his face. It killed me to know I wouldn't be able to touch him or even kiss him when I got to see him again for the first time in so long, but I knew it was something I would endure until I could be in his arm's again. And for now that was ok, it was something I was willing to live with, all because I finally had him back.

#imagine #prison #behind bars #love

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owenryder · 3 months

Text

MERROCK TASK #20 SOCIAL MEDIA

at what age did your character start using social media? Very, very young. Ryder can remember being on social media long before he was supposed to be, but in a lot of ways, it was how he stayed in touch with everyone he knew, since he was on the road so much, and barely at home.

did their parents monitor their use, if they were young? Absolutely not, he doesn't think either of them knew (or cared) about what he was doing online at any age.

has your character ever had fake identities or accounts online? All the time. He'd never dream of doing it now, but he used to create fake accounts a lot.

no shame: do they remember myspace? did they use it? Ryder's a little bit too young for MySpace, but he knows what it was and has heard all of the stories, both good and bad.

who would be in their top eight today? Greyson, Iris, Jayla, Amina, Miranda, Harley, two flavors of the week...

what social media platforms do they use today? Pretty much all of them, but that doesn't mean he uses them super actively. Sometimes it's just logging in, checking it, and logging back out.

do they have public profiles, or go private? Public.

how about their following? are they pretty lowkey, or do they have a decent following? It's beyond decent; for a pretty long time, Ryder had a high number of followers because he became known as 'that guy that paints shirtless on Instagram' which definitely won him more than a few fans. It's backed off a little bit now that he's stopped doing that as much, but he still has a very, very large amount of followers, yeah.

do they tend to pick obvious usernames, ones with sentimental value, funny things? how do they decide? Nope, just obvious. It's "owenryder" across all platforms, he likes to make sure that he's easy to find, even if he detests the name 'Owen,' it still feels like a nice shout out to his folks. For whatever reason.

profile pictures: the same across all platforms? The same -- again, it's a recognizability thing, he likes to make sure that people can find him when they go looking for him. Online, anyway.

and just what profile pictures do they use? Hot selfies. Duh.

what kind of bio writer are they? silly, cute, sweet, or just basic? Very basic, he's not the kind of person who feels the need to slap in a Bible verse or anything about himself, he just lets his content speak for itself and if people want to follow, great.

how much time per day would you say that your character spends on social media? Way, way too much time. He wakes up, grabs his phone, scrolls through. Checks it while having breakfast, checks it on his breaks (or downtime), hangs out on it while watching TV, eating dinner, before bed... it's just kind of there.

is there one platform that they visit more than others? Probably Instagram, but he spends a decent amount of time on TikTok, too.

if they have kids, do they use social media? how do they feel about that? if not, and they want kids, will they let them use it someday? No, and probably not something he has to worry about.

be honest: have they ever created an account for something else, like a hobby, or… to try to make their cat internet famous? His art, yes. Although he posts some pieces on his personal account, Ryder does have a business/hobby account where he posts stuff specifically related to painting. Not everyone wants to see his Porsche, after all. Even if they're missing out.

do they run any professional or business accounts? Just the aforementioned art one.

have they ever left a social media platform (or more than one) for any specific reason? He doesn't use Twitter/X as much as he used to back before it was all... like it is now.

do they plan on using social media into their older ages? Yeah, why not? There's no age limit to being social.

have they ever made any long-lasting friendships through social media? He has, he had a lot of online friendships when he was traveling, and even met up with people that he talked to online, when he would go to different areas.

or on the flip side, gotten into any big social media beef? That, too. Ryder would get into arguments just for the sake of getting into an argument, to be honest. It kept life interesting.

have they ever felt negatively impacted by social media as a user? Not really, no. Even negative criticisms of his art work (or his body), he kind of just let roll off his back.

who is their favorite person / account to follow on social media? There are so, so many artists that he loves to follow on social media. He's fascinated by the people who do pottery, especially the men who do it shirtless. Those are his people.

would they say that social media has had an overall more positive or negative impact on the world? Probably positive, but he can see the downsides. But there's a lot of good that social media can be used for, if you use it right.

and finally: a/s/l? (and do they know what that means?) 29/M/all over the world, until recently. He does know what it means, but he wasn't super active online at the time that it was being used, admittedly. So the first few times he saw it were major "huh?" moments.

#merrocktask

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nickgerlich · 6 months

Text

0 To 5 Billion

Twenty-five years ago, the number was 0. No, it wasn’t the temperature, in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. It wasn’t the inflation rate or the interest rate. It wasn’t the number of EVs that had been sold.

Nope, it was the number of people on social media. It simply did not exist. But data released earlier this year show just how much of a force it has become, because there are now slightly more than five billion people worldwide on social media, or 62.3% of the world’s population. It may not be Ferrari-like acceleration, but it is still pretty impressive.

The typical user spends 2h23m per day on 6.7 platforms. Of course, your mileage may vary, but those are the averages. Among Android users, they spend 34 hours per month on TikTok and 28 hours per month on YouTube.

And you wonder where all of your time went.

Overall, Instagram takes top honors as favorite platform, toppling WhatsApp, a popular platform everywhere but the US. Overall, we spend 6h40m a day online doing one thing or another. Based on my weekly screen time report that pops onto my phone every Sunday morning, I am above average.

All of this time has to come out of other things, since we are still kind of locked in at 24 hours available each day. Television watching is in decline, losing another 17 minutes last year. I suspect it is also coming out of interpersonal time, productive time at work, and leisure activities. Sure, we might figure out how to juggle things (how many of you keep a social app open on your computer while at work?), but let’s face it: You’re probably not dedicating quality time to either.

And since marketers go where the eyeballs are, digital ad spend grew by 10% last year to $720 billion. Social media ad spending was $207 billion.

So what does this say about us as a people? A lot. It says that we have changed considerably in a quarter of a century, that no matter how much we may naysay social media specifically, or this digital lifestyle more generally, we have embraced it all nonetheless.

Social media has become the way that people connect and reconnect. Yes, some people use it as a substitute for F2F interactions. Like it or not, this is how we do it, and in the developed world, it has become the de facto means of communication. When was the last time you sent a greeting card of any kind, such as birthday, holidays, anniversary, etc.? Do you even call people these days? My calling log grows more sparse with each passing year. Do you no longer feel the need to attend reunions and similar social gatherings, because you already know what your old pals have been doing thanks to their posts?

We get our news online. We find our entertainment online. We shop online. We get our recipes online. There’s not much we don’t get online. And the implication to marketers is clear as the world approaches digital totality: you either join the tidal shift in redirected advertising dollars, or run the risk of completely losing relevance.

But as we continue the transition, we must be cognizant of the fact that old-school methods of advertising, notably mass communication on broadcast or print media vehicles, is probably a waste of time and money. A shotgun approach to advertising means spending massive sums to spray messages in the general direction of people, hoping that you actually reach some of the people you really want. We can do much better now with targeted advertising. It behooves us to understand the users of each platform, and then utilizing all of the tools available, go after specific people. The audience of many has been replaced by the audience of one.

I know that this creeps out some people, as we have discussed multiple times. But as we approach the end of this course, we need to step back and try to see the bigger picture. This is where we are. Digital marketing commands an ever growing portion of all marketing activities, and I suspect that, while old-school methods may never go away completely, it will be the gorilla in the living room.

Discussion topics like this may summon comparisons to Black Mirror, the Jetsons, The Matrix, and numerous other pop culture touchstones. Those may very well have been prophetic; we just didn’t realize it at the time. If you are uncomfortable with change, you’re in for a rough ride ahead. I don’t see this crazy train slowing down any time soon.

I do hope that my students will ponder these stats, but more importantly think about what it all means. Things have changed even in just the three months we have been journeying together. It may not feel like much, but when you turn to look over your shoulder, you can see just how far we have come, not just in 2024, but in the last 25 years.

That little speck you see in the distance is where we were. We can’t go back there, and to try is futile. Zero may have been quaint, but we’re at five billion now and growing. What you do with that reality is up to you.

Dr “The End Is Near” Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #social media #digital marketing

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averyauthorship · 1 year

Text

Highly recommend this writing exercise for anyone with original characters: Come up with the contents of their bag. An author visited my workplace recently and this was her tip, so I gave it a shot. It really helps with writer's block, and it helps you get to know your lil' guys a little bit. (I also added phones because that is another great glimpse into the person.)

Sam

The bag: A square, black backpack with a Lord of the Rings keychain and a space needle pin on it. The straps are a little frayed because she has been using it since high school. It’s very practical and spacious.

Inside the bag

Emotional support water bottle

Laptop (covered in various stickers)

A pile of discarded/forgotten elastic headbands

Notebook filled with DM scrawlings

At least one book at all times

Wallet with keys attached

Phone: iPhone (a couple generations old) from high school, cracked screen, yellowed clear phone case with a couple stickers stuck inside. Both the home screen and lock screen wallpaper are the Eye of Sauron.

Link

The bag: A generic gray backpack with an Adventure Zone lanyard with keys and his wallet clipped onto the outside in a little card holder.

Inside the bag

Work laptop (it’s sort of a brick, old and thick, but it runs numbers well)

Switch (in case he gets bored at work)

Personal laptop

Creased up old comic book

Glasses case w/ wipe

A bottle of coke that he’s been working on for a week

Phone: An older iPhone in an opaque red phone case with black D20 phone grip. His home screen wallpaper is a picture of him and his dad at his sister’s quinceañera, and the lock screen is a picture of his dad’s EMS dog Mariposa.

Aria

The bag: A very big tote bag (pink).

Inside the bag

Collapsible wireless headphones (pink)

Nail kit for emergencies (including file, clippers, clear polish, etc.) (pink)

Hairbrush (pink)

Tinted sunscreen (pink, somehow)

Cat shaped wallet (pink)

An unacceptably heavy chemistry textbook (not pink)

Phone: The newest iPhone (she saved up for it) in a (pink) sparkly case. Her lock screen is a picture of the best smoothie she ever had in her life and her home screen is a selfie of her and Sam on a hike.

Chris

The bag: An army green satchel bag absolutely covered in pins and buttons (including, but not limited to, a Green Day button, a pan flag button, a trans flag button, one that says, “Screw you I’m hilarious,” and various other ones with cheeky little phrases).

Inside the bag

A journal stuffed full of receipts and scribbles that they use to keep track of store inventory and purchases. (They log everything into a computer too, but they like having a physical copy on them in case their internet or computer poops out.)

Folgers instant coffee (travel sized packets)

Pocket knife

An absolutely fat ring of keys on a Dark Crystal lanyard

Big sunglasses (stolen from their mom when they moved out halfway through high school)

A leather pouch with a clasp instead of a wallet (filled with loose cash, change, and one card)

Phone: They never upgraded to a smartphone, so they have the same flip phone they had in middle school. The wallpaper is a very unflattering picture of Link that they took after he fell asleep on the couch during a sleepover. They also have an iPhone for work, but it only supports the internet so that they can post about their tabletop store “The Do’s and Don’ts of Dice” on Instagram.

#what's in my bag #writing #original writing #my writing #creative writing #book #books #author #writer #author things #novel writing #writing exercise #original character #original characters

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vishal6x · 10 months

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How do Parental Spy apps track children's online activity?

Parental spy apps are a tool that give parents the privilege to track their children’s online activity. They also allow parents to control and set certain limits to these activities but that depends on the features and other factors based on which one can perform these activities.

Today, the kids are technologically very advanced. Every kid is equipped with smartphones and also has a presence on the internet. This is the reason why parents are so concerned about their safety and monitoring children’s online behavior has become crucial for them.

In this article, we will read about how these spy apps function for your child’s online activity tracking and assuring the internet safety for kids and your loved ones.

What Are Parental Spy Apps?

As mentioned above parental Spy apps are a tool with the help of which you can track your loved ones’ online activity. You can view the content they watch, the people they interact with, their real-time location. You can also block the websites that you think are not right for them and much more.

There are numerous phone monitoring apps available on the internet that you will find, some could be free while most of them would be paid apps. Usually, the free apps offer less features and security as compared to the paid apps. Also, despite offering similar services, different spy apps would have something different in them in terms of features, packages, and performance.

We will now read about the features that are commonly offered by the mobile spy apps that can help you track your child’s online behavior.

Features Of A Phone Spy App

There are many features offered by a phone spy app that are helpful in tracking your child and also allow you to take certain actions based on what the kid is doing. Let us learn more about these features.

Call Recorder: The hidden call recorder is an effective feature when you want to remotely listen to the calls of the concerned person. Not only you can listen to the calls but also get the information of the complete log that provides you the details of the other person on the call also like their name and phone number.

Location Tracker: You can remotely track your child when you want to know about their whereabouts. The GPS tracking feature shares accurate and timely information.

Social Media Monitoring: To track your child’s social media, you can use the social media tracking tool that allows you to see their activity on the social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Web Browser History: The websites your child visits is a major concern for parents and to ensure that, you can access their web browsing history with a spy app for android.

Website Blocking: You can block the websites that you think are not supposed to be viewed by your child by remotely blocking the site through certain settings.

Screen-Time Management: Most of the digital parenting tools allow you to manage the screen-time of your child so that you can ensure that they are not spending too much time in front of the screen.

How Are Digital Parenting Tools Helpful?

The digital parenting tools are the software that you need in today’s digitally advanced times. Digital parenting is the solution for digital children. The features mentioned above are not only beneficial when you have tried most of the resources available to look after your child when nothing works, but also when you intentionally want to monitor everything your child does on their phone.

We will discuss how these mentioned features can help in digital parenting. Starting from the call recording feature, this feature works well when your child is constantly on calls and won’t let you around them when they are talking on the phone. With the help of the hidden call recorder, you can remotely listen to your child along with the other person talking to them. Once the call is completed, the mobile spy app will store all the information on the dashboard.

The other feature that parents commonly look for in a phone spy app is the live location tracker. This feature allows you to view the real-time location of your child to ensure that they are exactly where they are supposed to be. Usually children lie about their whereabouts and that is when this feature comes in handy.

Today, every child is on social media and we know how impactful this platform is in both positive and negative ways. While some children find it cool to be on social media, other kids are there just because of the peer pressure. Whatever the reason is, the bottom line is that all the children are online. In the online world, all types of people are present and there are also people who wish to harm others digitally leading to a traumatizing experience also in some cases, so it is important that parents use the digital monitoring tools to ensure their children’s safety.

When new to the internet, kids would want to explore everything they see online. They may also see content that is not age-appropriate. Later on, this may become a habit to view the violating content that can turn into serious addiction. To ensure that they do not watch anything inappropriate, one can use the web browsing history tracker to see which websites the kids are visiting and if you think that it is inappropriate then you can also immediately block them, restricting your kids to not be able to watch any exploiting content.

The Spy App You Need

There are multiple apps available on the internet that provide parental monitoring but be sure to invest in an app that delivers results. Phone spy apps like Onemonitar has shown great results as it is one of the most trusted spy app providers with more than 60 features. There are basic to premium plans that you can choose from as per your requirements and the support team at service also guides you through the process from choosing the right plan for you to installation of the spyware.

The support team is also available through live-chats, emails and calls and if requested, they can also install the application on the target phone remotely for you. With so many facilities and features it is safe to say that Onemonitar can be the right choice for your digital monitoring needs.

In The End

The parental control apps are a valuable and beneficial tool when it comes to monitoring your children’s online activity as they give you proper insights of how your child is using the internet. It is also considered a more relaxed and approachable way to parenting in today’s times.

#androidspy #mobilespy #spyappformobile #hiddencallrecorder #spyapp #spyappforandroid #androidspyapp #parentalcontrol #phonespy #whatsappspy #social media #parental control #online safety #internet safety

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yunjardi · 1 year

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YOUR DOING cam GOOD W THE FACE ID CUZ ME PERSONALLY I KEPT ON DOING IT UNTIL THEY SENT ME A LINK TO MY PHONE NUMBER.

back to all seriousness: eventually they’ll ask for your ACTUAL phone number or email that you use for the account and they’ll send you a link. click on it and it’ll lead u to the log in page on instagram and it’ll HOPEFULLY log you in and make you go through security to change your password and everything immediately.

tip: if you have an email attached to ur account plz replace it and make a new one. Like if you put your phone number back as the primary number, then the hacker obviously can’t do anything cuz you get the text messages instagrams sends you, not them. They only changed things up so they can get things sent to them. so if instagram possibly and randomly asks you any question abt ur account being linked to the device you have rn, say yes. Cuz it’ll make the whole process easier trust. Cuz my dumbass got all suspicious and said no which made me get kicked off again.

PS: the hacker will change something abt ur username. Whether they add a underscore or dash, keep in contact with ur friends, mutuals, and ask them if ANYTHING abt ur username(capital or lowercase letters, numbers) has changed from the original username you knew it as. Because if they changed something abt ur username and you have no idea, instagram will say “no account found” when you go to type in your username to click “forgot password” or “can’t reset password”. Which will obviously make you worry, panic, and think that they sold your account. Which they did to me. Still can’t believe they hacked my account the day before EID. like I was so devastated. but dw, I got it back the day of EID :).

All this advice is coming straight from the heart, and I truly wish you the best. Patience will key. don’t sob and panic like me.

WAIT THAT RHYME LOWKEY ATE EVEN THOUGH I WAS BEING SERIOUS 🤭💡😛

yk what instead of question mark anon from my first two paragraph advice I gave you, call me lightbulb anon cuz the ideas zoominn through my head rn 🥸-

love yaaaaa

💡anon :)

HELLO 💡 ANON, WELCOME TO THE CLUB 🩷

but anyway, THANK YOU SM for giving me hope 😭😭 i really wanna get back into the account because i've had it since i was like 10, and it's such a big piece of jardi lore that i don't wanna lose to a dumbass hacker 💀 IM ALSO HAPPY YOU GOT UR ACC BACK TOO BABE

love you lots and lots and i look forward to interacting with you more my 💡 love

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edgeofheavenshortnovel · 1 year

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Chapter 1 - Unblanking

Paramedics and the police arrived swarming Andy and Patrice’s home in this upscale and exclusive subdivision.

The chief of police found Andy curled up on their king-size bed in the master’s bedroom. He was quiet. He didn’t even flinch when the cop walked in.

“Sir, may we have a word please?” Chief of Police Officer Ed Cho, sternly asked Andy.

Although the Chief of Police Officer was a short and stout man with dark eyes and bushy eyebrows, not physical descriptions to be feared, he was very intimidating. He could look like a happy husband and a loving father when he was off from work, but he sure was daunting when he put his blue uniform on.

There had been rumors about him being a bad cop, planting drugs on suspects and framing his enemies, just to make an arrest and get his enemies off his back.

Andy didn’t like him.

“Sir, we just wanted to get your statement regarding her death.”

“Okay,” Andy said weakly.

“We just want you to walk us through what happened and how you found her.”

“Okay… Uhm… Well, I arrived from work and she usually greets me the moment I walk into the front door, but she didn’t. So I went looking for her in the kitchen, but I didn’t find her there. I came here to the bedroom, but she was not here. So I went into that room and then I saw that she had hung herself.”

The chief police officer stared at him with a hint of incredulity on his face.

“Look, if you think I might have something to do with this, I don’t know how you come up with that. She took her own life. And if you will be incriminating me for her suicide, then I must speak to my lawyer first.” Andy hesitated.

“Did you find the suicide note?” the officer followed up quickly.

��No.”

“Then there is a reason why we need to question you at the station. You might want to call your lawyer now, we’re going to take your official statement. And meanwhile, stay out of that room. We wouldn’t want to disrupt any potential evidence for a potential crime.”

“I did not - fine. I will call my lawyer.”

Andy spoke to his lawyer, Atty. Alonso Yap, shortly after speaking to Cho for over half an hour. They made their way to the police station where Chief Police Officer Cho was posted.

After he had given his statement to the cops for more than three hours, he went home to the very home he found his dead fiancée in.

Andy went into the bathroom to do his nightly routine hot shower. His mind was blank and he felt numb.

He finished his bath and got changed into his night clothes and crawled into bed.

“This can’t be real.” he sighed.

He rolled to his fiancée’s side of the bed and lit the lavender-scented candle on her side-bed table to feel her presence.

Patrice had always done this when she was preparing to go to bed every night.

“How could you do this to yourself, Trizzy?” he caressed her pillow in hopes to hear her voice. In hopes that this is all nothing but a nightmare that he was about to wake up from and Patrice would be there sleeping next to him.

Andy just lay there for hours, unable to get any sleep. His mind was blank but at the same time in complete chaos.

He was troubled by the thought that there was no suicide note. Or perhaps there was but Cho and his team were just trying to frame him so he could add him to his tally of arrests.

Andy took his phone for the first time since he called the emergency number and went to check his Instagram.

“Trizzy always leaves trails about her mood on her social media. Cryptic most of the time, but I can figure it out.” he thought to himself.

Patrice’s was the only account he followed on Instagram. He noticed that he was no longer following anyone on his account. Zero.

“Did she block me before she killed herself?” he wondered.

He then remembered that he and Patrice used to have a dummy account to catfish and play pranks on random people years ago. So he logged in to the account and searched Patrice’s handle on the search box.

“No results found for pa3ssss”

“Then this must mean she deleted her account.”

He knew her login so he went on to log in to her account instead.

Error. It said the account did not exist.

“So she did delete her account.”

He went on to check all her other social media accounts. Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Discord, Twitch, Reddit - none. Even her Pinterest account no longer existed.

“And the police said they could not find her phone nor locate it at the moment,” he recalled.

He checked to see if her email still existed, and it did.

The couple shared all their logins and passwords because Patrice always forgot her logins. He kept a list of the logins and passwords on his Notes app on his phone to keep track of all of them in case they needed them.

He went on his Notes app to look for her email login so he could try to get in. But this was set up to ask for a 2-Way Authentication from her phone number and her phone was missing. He could not get in.

He hated the fact that the police had suspected him of foul play. He can afford to get her an autopsy to prove his innocence, anyway. Why should he not do that?

“No, they’ll cut her up just to prove she killed herself. That would do more disrespect to her death,” he continued to think.

He was so tempted to get into the writing room to look for clues. He knew well that she kept her journals in there. Did the police take them for evidence? There was only one way for Andy to find out.

He jumped out of his bed and strode toward the writing room.

He went in slowly making sure he does not disturb the police tapes around it, then he scuffled through the cabinet on the left wing of the room where she kept her notebooks.

He couldn’t find her journals. He most certainly knew what they looked like because, after all, he bought them for her every year. They were not there.

“She must’ve hidden them somewhere else,” he muttered.

He went through another cabinet, but he still could not find any of those notebooks. He went looking through every drawer and checked for compartments. None.

“I wonder where she hid them,” he exhaled.

“Or did she get rid of them like how she got rid of her social media?” he started to wonder, also worried that the police must’ve gotten them when they were sweeping up the scene earlier that night.

“If Trizzy’s suicide is going to put me in jail, damn her soul. I hope she rots in hell. She’s really managing to get on my nerves even in her death.” he felt an overwhelming resentment and anger toward his deceased fiancee. But at the same time, felt a pang of strong guilt that he could accuse her of something he is not even sure was her intention.

He stood at the left corner of the room, right beside the shelf where Patrice kept all the children’s books she had written.

He stared at the ceiling where she hung a few hours ago, and chills started to linger on his nape.

Andy wasn’t superstitious. He did not believe in spirits or anything supernatural. He wasn’t even a believer in a higher being in the sky either. But at that moment, he felt a damning presence. He started to feel goosebumps running down his entire body. At least that’s how he was feeling at the moment.

He quickly walked out of the writing room and closed the door. He jumped right back to bed and forced himself to sleep.

But he couldn’t.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the scene of Patrice’s dead body hanging in the writing room.

He was overcome with fear and anger. He hated her for leaving him a problem. He hated that she had to leave him first in the most inconvenient way possible before he could. He hated her so much at that point, that he could not remember why he even fell in love with her in the first place.

“All you ever offered was an inconvenience since day one, Trizzy.” he cried out.

“And now you just want to mess with me after all these years of always putting you above my needs!”

Andy sobbed hysterically.

The next thing he knew, he had fallen asleep and was awoken by his phone ringing.

10:54 AM. 71 missed calls. 90 messages. And a whole bunch of social media notifications.

“They probably just want to hear what I have to say about what happened to Trizzy.”

“And I’m very late for work.” he sighed.

“I think they’ll understand if I don’t come to work today. My fiancée just died.” he thought as he stared at the bathroom door, hesitating to get out of his bed.

He didn’t bother reading the messages. He just didn’t feel like he wanted to talk to anybody.

He succumbed to his thoughts about Patrice once again.

Last night he was angry and he hated her. But today, he missed her.

He recalled the day they first met.

She was a new hire in the same company where he worked. He was fortunate enough to have her be assigned the desk next to him.

He didn’t introduce himself at first. He was frustrated at his job because he always missed his quota.

But then she turned to him and said, “Hi! I’m new here.”

Her wide smile was brilliant, almost amusing that she seemed so happy to be in this wretched place.

“I can see that.” Andy returned.

“Someone is grumpy,” she said in a mocking tone as she turned her seat back to her computer screen ignoring Andy.

He didn’t know if he had to feel bad about it, but he was intrigued by her energy.

“I’m sorry. I’m just tired, that’s all. My name is Andy.” he pushed his seat nearer to her desk.

“Andy? Almost sounds like ‘Angry’. Just like your mood and your entire vibe.”

“Why is she so sarcastic?” Andy thought.

“Is it your dream job to call people and sell them stuff that doesn’t work? Or are you just here because you desperately need a job?” Andy asked her in a joking manner.

“The second one.”

“That makes the two of us.”

“Oh really? What did you want to be before deciding to work here?”

“I wanted to be a rich model sipping on a pina colada in a yacht with three or four hot chicks around me.”

“You’ll get there.” she retorted.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name. What did you say your name was?” he shifted his posture to lean toward her.

“I didn’t tell you my name. But I’m Patrice. But everyone calls me Patty or Pat.”

“Then I am not calling you Patty or Pat. I will be calling you Trice or Trizzy.” his mouth arched upwards to a grin.

“No, you won’t.”

“Oh, yes I will.” And then he leaned back in his chair, pushed back to his desk, and returned to work.

A month went by, and they both easily got along. Andy was not making sales still, Patrice was getting the hang of the job, and they both became work friends.

Andy’s mood towards coming to work was a lot better now. He felt a little better about his job now that there is someone he can joke around with and hang around with within the office.

He lived up to calling her Trizzy and she often got annoyed and ignored him every time he called her Trizzy. But soon, she got around to the nickname he had given her and just gave in.

Little did Andy know that he was slowly developing strong feelings toward Patrice.

The phone rang again.

Andy saw it was a call from Patrice’s mother. He didn’t want to deal with her family yet. He was still trying to process everything for himself.

In the afternoon, Andy headed out to the mortuary to see Patrice. Her parents were already there.

Her mother, Roselyn was crying uncontrollably. Her father, Harold, was consoling his wife while he sobbed on her shoulder. Her younger sister, Kate, was also there. She cried quietly as she watched her parents hugging each other. The only one who was not there was her older sister, Stacey. She’s currently in Singapore on a trip with her husband.

Andy stopped his pace and watched her family mourning the loss of their precious daughter and sister.

He couldn’t face them. After his thoughts of wanting to break up with Patrice the night before, he felt this heavy guilt throbbing in his chest.

He turned around and went straight back to his car.

He felt numb again.

He was overwhelmed by the sight of Patrice’s family. He couldn’t watch the scene for one more minute. He could never face them - not because he was guilty of causing her death, but because he failed to identify whatever caused her to take her own life beforehand.

He was supposed to know. She was supposed to tell him things like this. He was supposed to listen and support her. But he felt that he was too busy and selfish to even give a thought about what could have been going on with her while he wasn’t around.

He should have been able to spot the slightest change in her demeanor. But he was too overwhelmed by his feelings of dissatisfaction with the relationship.

He went straight back home and planned to leave the country. He didn’t want to deal with any of this right now. He wanted to mourn the loss of his fiancee but not in an emotional territory with the rest of her friends and family. He wanted to be alone.

“Maybe I’ll go to Ireland. Trizzy always wanted to visit Dublin. I can mourn her there.” he said to himself.

“And maybe I should contact Atty. Yap first, so I would not look too suspicious for deciding to leave the country for a while.” he continued to think out loud.

He sat on his bed and turned his head toward the writing room’s door.

“I must find her journals.”

Andy shifted and rested his head on the pillow.

He thought, “She should’ve told me what was going on in that pretty little head of hers. She never showed any signs. She never said anything. The answer must be in her journals…”

Andy’s thoughts slowly flooded with different possibilities of why his fiancée could have taken her life.

Was it something that he had done in the past that hurt her? Was it a family problem? Did she have some sort of mental health issues he didn’t know about? Did something happen with her publishing deal and her career?

His mind swiveled to darkness. He had fallen asleep.

#edgeofheaven #independentauthor #shortnovel #fiction #timetravel #dream #unrequitedlove #mentalhealth #tragedy

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