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looye29 · 2 years

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Hey, its James. This is my review of the ClickBank University 2.0 where I’ve tried to give you an open show of hands on the product – a fair and unbiased take on what it claims it is and what it really is! I hope you find this useful! ClickBank University 2.0, as the name states, is an updated version of the earlier ClickBank University program. The new program is quite a step-up from its previous counterpart, which was seriously lacking in several areas. The Product So, first things first, what is ClickBank University 2.0? As per the website, “ClickBank University 2.0 delivers the latest up to date strategies, methods and, tactics for you build your ClickBank business rapidly.” With ClickBank University 2.0 training, the odds of you being successful online developing or promoting ClickBank products go up DRAMATICALLY. In layman’s terms, it is an online training program and a community with access to a forum, live webinars, and more. It is mainly composed of two key aspects – becoming a vendor with Clickbank by creating your own digital products and learning how to promote other existing products at Clickbank as an affiliate. Here’s what you get inside the member’s area of ClickBank University 2.0: 12-week Vendor schedule 8-week Affiliate marketing schedule Traffic center Tool Kit with access to actual products you can use and discounts on purchases of others Live Webinars with real-time QnA sessions with other experts Recordings of earlier live sessions The Creators The Clickbank University 2.0 has been jointly created by the trio: - Matt Hulett (ClickBank’s current CEO) - Justin Atlan (Product Publishing Instructor) - Adam Horwitz (Instructor of the Affiliate track) For me, the Instructor list lays the initial trust foundation because, just like me, if you’ve been in affiliate marketing niche, you would have heard of Justin and Adam’s million-dollar success stories. If these guys are going, tell me how to do it, I’m in! The Sales Page The presentation and content of the site had me impressed. There is no vague information and double-ended phrases – the page tells you what you get when you pay. It shares a lot of details on what the product contains, how long each course etc. Its more information than most other products that I’ve seen – and when people give details, that just goes on to show that it’s solid. The video is long and honestly makes a lot of tall promises, but just to be fair here – that’s what a sales pitch is all about! Pros Here’s what I found once I was inside the member’s area of ClickBank University 2.0: The first impression that I got is that it’s all so organized! There is a definite schedule to follow plan for you to the very last detail. The course contains a lot of videos – but none are overwhelming. They are short and crisp – giving you just the information you need in a clear, understandable manner. There is never an information-overload feeling. There are downloadable files for you in every module. I saw that most videos had files I could save to my computer. They contain a synopsis of what the video taught in easy steps – basically a quick recap of the video in writing. There is a lot of reading material that’s sure to keep you busy. The guides are concise and well-written. The Product Publishing track is really very comprehensive – it covers a lot of ground. If you are a complete newbie to the affiliate marketing world, the information and training here is hugely helpful. There is a lot that a mid-level experienced affiliate marketer can also learn – I found some very nice tricks! The “exclusive community” they promise you as part of the program is actually quite active. I saw posts made on a daily basis by other members helping each other out with their queries. For me, it was a nice feeling – I felt that if I have a problem, there are people willing to give me a hand! Cons The ClickBank University 2.0 has noticeable shortcomings, and here’s my take on the downside:

The support system isn’t really that great. The initial response they send to any is usually a canned one. They did solve my query in the next mail though. For me, the support service can do with some more attention! Proper examples are missing in many places. The Instructors are telling us what to without actually ‘showing’ us what to do, if you get what I mean. For example, you can tell me that I need to use a good email marketing program, but if you actually show me how to use one to get results, it just makes more sense. In this regard, I will go on to say that I found a few tutorials lacking ineffectiveness. There’s a hidden upsell of about $600, which you realize once you are about halfway through. This is optional, though, so it's not really necessary for you to spend anything extra. They believe in revealing content as you go along which means there’s locked content. All of the data is not available to me as and when I want to take a look and it also does not unlock on immediately finishing the previous section. There are a minimum number of days that you need to wait for, for some sections. This was a little annoying as some people may learn faster than others. The community is not moderated frequently which means that incorrect or just plain bad advice is sometimes given which can be easily avoided if the forum is well-moderated timely. My Verdict Overall, I would say that at $47 per month, ClickBank University 2.0 is a good investment for beginners who need direction and actionable advice. However, if you are an intermediate-to-expert-level affiliate marketer, I doubt you will gain too much from this program – it mostly covers the basics, and sometimes in an unnecessarily simplified way.

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survivallomo · 2 years

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App launcher for google drive for mac

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC FULL#

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC ANDROID#

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC OFFLINE#

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC FREE#

Google Drive is a key component of Google Workspace, Google's monthly subscription offering for businesses and organizations that operated as G Suite until October 2020. A Quick Access feature can intelligently predict the files users need.

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC ANDROID#

The website and Android app offer a Backups section to see what Android devices have data backed up to the service, and a completely overhauled computer app released in July 2017 allows for backing up specific folders on the user's computer. On the website, users can search for an image by describing its visuals, and use natural language to find specific files, such as "find my budget spreadsheet from last December". Users can change privacy settings for individual files and folders, including enabling sharing with other users or making content public. Files uploaded can be up to 750 GB in size. Google One also offers 100 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, offered through optional paid plans.

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC FREE#

Google Drive offers users 15 GB of free storage through Google One. Files created and edited through the Google Docs suite are saved in Google Drive. Google Drive encompasses Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, which are a part of the Google Docs Editors office suite that permits collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, forms, and more.

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC OFFLINE#

In addition to a web interface, Google Drive offers apps with offline capabilities for Windows and macOS computers, and Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Launched on April 24, 2012, Google Drive allows users to store files in the cloud (on Google's servers), synchronize files across devices, and share files. This is awful for viewing images because phone screens are not that big and now it only shows up on half the screen.Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google.

#APP LAUNCHER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE FOR MAC FULL#

App Launcher For Google Drive Full Screen Withīut now, not only is the text required but am unable go full screen with an image (and hide the text when tapping on it or rotating my phone). I purposely used this app when searching for images as chrome doesnt display image searches the same. Less than 5 mins later I get an article about him in my feed. The day before writing this, I was talking about Chris Stapleton with my mom since she likes his music. What is starting to really bothering me is the repetitive custom cards that show up in my feed. It helps with so many things I need to do whenever it comes to research for a school project or just looking up the news. I hope its just a bug and can be fixed because I dont want to have to manually switch over every single time I use it, where as before, you did it once and you were set and good to go up until this most recent update. I typically dont like having a search history on because its just too much to clear out once it accumulates and google has allowed me to do that seemlesly for the longest time, but now Ive come across the issue that I have to manually switch browse history off every single time I open the app, because the search Ive done from one prior time, is still on there. If you are enjoying the app, please consider leaving a review or rating. We are always working to make the app faster and more stable. Learn more about what the Google app can do for you: Your feedback helps us create products youll love. Gboard is a keyboard that lets you search and send information, GIFs, emoji, and moreright from your keyboard, in any app.

App Launcher For Google Drive Full Screen With.

Find quick answers, explore your interests, and stay up to date with Discover.Search and browse: Nearby shops and restaurants Live sports scores and schedules Movies times, casts, and reviews Videos and images News, stock information, and more Anything youd find on the web Get personalized updates in Discover: Stay in the know about topics that interest you Start your morning with weather and top news Get real-time updates on sports, movies, and events Know as soon as your favorite artists drop new albums Get stories about your interests and hobbies Follow interesting topics, right from Search results More ways to access Google: Google Lens Search what you see with your camera, copy and translate text, find similar apparel, identify plants and animals, scan QR codes and more.Search Google extension While browsing in Safari, you can share a web page with Google to see suggestions for related contentno need to type anything new in the search box.Tap on the Search Google icon from Safaris share menu to get started.

#App launcher for google drive for mac

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rblascl · 2 years

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Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months mac os x

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months upgrade

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months android

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months trial

But this is the first time where I haven't been able to completely pay off CCs every month. We moved back in the house on the first of November after a complete rebuild (4 ft of water pulled out 8 ft of sheetrock). We didn't have flood insurance, so we got by on our own savings, FEMA, and donations. And we live in a "starter" home with the mortgage + escrow being less than 1k. Only debts were 1 car (to be paid off this year) and the mortgage. We were doing really well up until August. I've got so many bills to track now due to "interest free" this and that and an extra car loan. I've started doing this since I was flooded. I hope to make a $30-$40k lump payment on that. Fund will go straight to the student loan when it becomes a 5yr. Whatever we have saved up in excess of our Emerg. We do about 1/2 of what we should do for IRAs, but we're mainly focused on savings right now. Things I probably know, but I feel like we're saving well and living comfortably. That being said, children aren't too far away either. Is it to tell me that I could put that $109/month for my wife's yoga to better use? Cancel my cycling coach? What exactly? That I could/should start throwing more at our student loans? My wife gets a +/- $100,000 raise in July, so my situation Has a solid end-result. I'm putting $3100 into savings every month. I just don't know how it will help set me up better. I'm going to give it the 34 days, so I'll report back how well this works. I never float and wait until the end of the month. When I make a charge or get a text (wife), I go to my AMEX app and pay the charge. I have text/email alerts set for $5 spend. If you ladder your policies correctly, you can make it work perfectly. By year 35, you have your million and are self insured. Now if you would have bought a term policy, and invested the $450/month difference and made 8%, you would have nearly $700k in the bank in 30 years. You see the difference is that most of your premium is going to pay commissions. Despite this, You would have a "cash value" of about $50,000 though. Over the 30 year period, you would have paid in $180,000. A premium on a similar policy would cost $500/month, or $6000 a year. While you are covered until you die, no matter the age, you pay the premium for life as well. A whole life policy combines this with a "savings account." that pays about 3% per annum. If you don't die in the 30 years, they make $18,000. In the event that you die, the company pays your beneficiary $1 million. You can get a $1MM 30 year term life policy for $50 a month (or under, I'm just using round numbers.) You are going to pay $600 a year for 30 years ($18,000).

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months mac os x

System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7/8, Mac OS X (Snow Leopard 10.6 – Mountain Lion 10.Say you are a healthy 35 year old male.

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months trial

They do offer a free 34-day trial as well. The new version also allows users to input text in any language, as opposed to just Latin characters.Īlthough a bit pricey, You Need A Budget is a thorough budgeting program that can help users reach long-term financial goals. For those who import QIFs, YNAB 4 won’t import duplicate transactions from QIF files, erasing any extra cleanup time users might have encountered. The new budget-switching feature allows you to flip-flop between budgets without having to shut down the program. The program allows you to create multiple budgets to keep your finances organized. Auto-save is another added feature, so you don’t have to worry about losing your work.Ī reconciliation wizard, which is also new in this version, ensures that your YNAB balance matches your actual bank accounts. In YNAB 4, you can create customized financial history reports for simple tracking. If you make an error while tracking your budget, the program now lets you go back to a previous version of your budget, so past budgeting isn’t lost. The new version includes a unified account view so users can see all their transactions on one screen.

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months android

YNAB 4’s iPhone and Android app make it easier to stay on top of your spending as well. It features cloud syncing, which allows users to access their data using any device, at any time.

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months upgrade

You Need A Budget recently came out with an upgrade to the program, YNAB 4. Using this online program, users can input their expenses, categorize spending and generate reports. You Need A Budget (YNAB) is a popular budgeting program that seeks to help people avoid living from paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt and save more money.

#Ynab budgeting when 4 paychecks over months

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salonpiner · 2 years

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Quickplan mac app calendar

#Quickplan mac app calendar full version#

#Quickplan mac app calendar archive#

#Quickplan mac app calendar pro#

#Quickplan mac app calendar software#

ProofHub can be accessed from any place, making remote managing teams easier. ProofHub helps replace various tools, including Team Calendar, Team Chat, Task Management, File Storage, and others. It allows teams to track team and individual progress, define milestones, effectively communicate, respond to job requests, manage tasks, fulfill deadlines, measure time, and assure high-quality work. ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and team communication solution that packs a lot of functionality into a small package. As a part of team ProofHub and a regular user of the tool on all kinds of devices I can vouch for the tool and confidently say its the best among the lot. But for me one particular tool takes the cake and that tool is ProofHub.

#Quickplan mac app calendar software#

Rating I give shows this software is okay and works as advertised, and should serve you well for the price.There are various project management tools available in the market that work great on IOS devices such as iPads, iPhones, and Macbooks. It is absolutely brilliant at what it does (grab your mone.er, I mean storing your contacts etc)! Of course, if you like giving away your money, I can't recommend more highly SpinOffice CRM. But at the end of the day, you pay nothing, nil, zilch, nada, for the core CRM. Of course, if you want more, you can always pay a reasonable cost to have extra databases added to your contacts system (and help support those developers to do more things for you). And it is independent of Apple and other big companies, and doesn't attempt to be more than it isn't. MacUpdate is afraid to offer this software on its web site.

#Quickplan mac app calendar full version#

If you really want something decent for a CRM (and looks attractive too) and don't have to pay anything for a full version (at least for the contacts, calendar, to do, labels, create invoices, send emails, organize your documents, and all the rest needed for a CRM), and never have to pay again, you would be hard pressed to go past SUNRISE Contacts 2016 at. Seriously, is the developer from the CIA or NSA and keen to look at all your contacts? Software of this nature that keeps sensitive personal data should be stored only on your own machines, not someone else's. Speaking of cloud-based things, I hope this isn't one of them. it is crippleware for the free version), and have to pay again next year, and the year after, and so on, That is crazy! And it is not even priced like a cloud-based subscription Adobe software, which is much lower than the full outright ownership option. In terms of SpinOffice CRM, you still need to pay $300 to get the full version (i.e. Not sure how many users love giving away money in this day and age for this kind of software. Extra features (including account personalization, time registration, MS Office integration, document templates and mail merge, sending birthday and scheduled SMS, time registration).Ability to synchronize your contacts, email, and calendar.

#Quickplan mac app calendar pro#

Upgrade to Pro in the app (pricing info can be found here) and benefit from:

Access to and sync with SpinOffice iPad app.

Collaborate as a team (free invitation of your colleagues).

Integration with MailChimp, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Folders to store documents, files, tasks and communication.

Instant auto archiving of email for each relationship.

Email integration via POP/IMAP or Active Sync (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Hotmail, Me.com).

#Quickplan mac app calendar archive#

All your contacts' details with each their own personal archive.

SpinOffice connected with your business contacts and save time by getting organized! Get your customers, prospects, mail, calendar, tasks and memos, documents, projects and archive in one central database.

#Quickplan mac app calendar

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iphonetonki · 2 years

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Evernote for mac where did the export all notes go

EVERNOTE FOR MAC WHERE DID THE EXPORT ALL NOTES GO MAC

You’ll find it in your home Library at ~/Library/Containers//Data/Library/Notes/. The first obstacle to using this method for recovery is finding Notes’ storage location. The one upside here is that this file may retain the text of recently deleted items. Rather, all notes are combined into a single database-like file. If Notes saved each item as a separate readable file (as most apps do), and moved deleted items to the Finder’s Trash, it would be a breeze to recover deleted notes. Here’s where the road can get really rocky. If it’s too late for this trick, you may still find the deleted text within the files Notes uses to store its data on your Mac. Just copy the text to another location and you can then turn Internet access back on. If this succeeds, you will be able to retrieve the deleted note. With a bit of luck, you might be able to prevent this mass destruction by disabling Internet access on your synced devices as soon as you discover your error.

EVERNOTE FOR MAC WHERE DID THE EXPORT ALL NOTES GO MAC

It means that if you delete a note on your iPhone and go to your Mac in the hope of retrieving it, you’ll likely find that it’s gone from your Mac as well. The near immediate syncing of Notes among your Apple devices, normally an asset, becomes a liability here. But they typically have better recovery options than Notes. To be fair, apps such as Evernote share some of the same problems. At the very least, this makes Notes a poor choice for long-term storage of important data. It’s so serious that it is almost a deal-breaker for me: The way OS X stores notes is so obtuse that, if you unintentionally delete a note and the Undo command cannot bring it back, recovering the file will be a hassle at a minimum and, at worst, all-but-impossible. That said, there is one limitation of Notes that is quite serious. Too often, when I just want to record some brief text (especially if I don’t intend to save it for an extended time) the multitude of features in apps such as Evernote seem to get in my way rather than offer benefits. But I still keep coming back to Notes precisely because of its barebones simplicity. They also include useful features missing from Notes, such as an ability to store images or organize notes in category folders.Įvernote is one such app. They are reminding me that there are other note-taking apps, ones that similarly offer cross-platform syncing, but have more extensive editing options. “But wait!” I can hear the naysayers out there. That’s why, whenever I want to jot down and store snippets of information, Notes is my go-to app. The Notes user interface is almost identical across platforms, making it especially easy to navigate between the two. If I create a note on my iPhone while away from home, it’s waiting for me on my Mac when I return-and vice versa. With its improved cross-platform syncing in recent OS iterations, the app is better than ever. Apple’s Notes (available both for OS X and iOS) has long been one of my most frequently used apps.

#Evernote for mac where did the export all notes go

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tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 3 years

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I’ve said before on this blog that I download things for free, sometimes from less-than-savoury corners of the internet, because I’m not given a good option for ways to support artists (and other people involved in producing these shows) directly. In many cases, I don’t have any way to watch these shows legally from outside Britain. In some cases, I could watch them legally if I wanted to pay for a streaming service, but I refuse to see that as the more ethical option. Me giving money to HBO by paying for HBO Max instead of downloading Rose Matafeo’s stand-up special for free – that’s going to have an absolutely negligible, statistically insignificant, effect on Rose Matafeo. The main thing it’ll do is give money to large and shitty corporation. So that is how I justified finding that show for free, even though I did technically have the option to pay for it.

However, I have said I will pay money if I’m given that option. If there’s a situation where I can just pay some money, and most of that money will go straight to the people who made the show, and then I will own a digital copy of that show. That would be great. I thought I had a way to do that with Nish Kumar putting his album It’s in Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves online for pay-to-download, until I discovered that the internet did not want my Canadian credit card. I tried multiple ways to pay for it, but it seems to be only purchasable from within Britain.

I realize this stance I hold is pretty convenient for me, because its result is I can get all this stuff for free and morally justify it to myself. So I want to let everyone know that today, about ten minutes ago in fact, I did put my money where my mouth is. I saw an opportunity to pay money directly to an artist to access their stuff, and I did it. I will do that if the people who create these shows start giving me that option. I don’t want a streaming service that may or may not even keep the show I want available, won’t let me take screenshots or cut out clips, and relies on me paying every month to keep renting access to its content. I just want to have a file on my computer.

I’ve just learned that Mark Watson has put up a stand-up special for on-demand purchase on Vimeo. It was simple. I paid some money, I got the video. I mean... to be really honest it wasn’t as simple as I’d have liked. The money I paid let me stream but not download it, so I did have to use some other tools to get a copy of the video that’s actually saved on my computer. But it doesn’t matter that I used creative tools to download it, because Mark Watson already has my money. Not Netflix, not HBO. Mark Watson. I mean, Vimeo also has some of my money. But the money got split among the people who made the show and the distribution company that brought it to me. Which is much better than having it all go to the streaming service and that streaming company may or may not decide to compensate the artist at some point.

Even without using extra tools to download it, paying for this gets you access to stream this show any time, even if you don’t make another payment next month to keep accessing it, and Vimeo isn’t going to suddenly decide to take this show off its platform the way something like Netflix might. So I recommend it, if you’d like to support some good ethical organic fair-trade free-range comedy (or at least, comedy that wasn’t scrounged from the code of a website that has the word “pirate” in the name).

I haven’t even seen the show yet; I only just downloaded it. I’m pretty excited to watch it, as I haven’t been able to find any of Mark Watson’s stand-up shows online before. I just thought I would share the fact that this is a good model for distributing media for a price, I really hope people do more of this in the future. And I’m still hoping the other half of Wumar opens up that option to a wider audience too, because I really want to hear Nish’s comedy album.

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manonamora-if · 3 years

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And what a year it has been. I have decided to not be original and follow the steps of other IF authors and have a little final updates on this year.

I don't really talk much about personal things on this Tumblr (maybe I should, maybe I should leave it like this), but it has been a strange year. I moved across the world early 2021, had to deal with a terrible administration to have my papers in orders (it took for some 8 months you guys...), lost some people and almost lost some more, was hella bored waiting for things to come through (completely out of my control), met some new people, had a small culture clash along the way... and, most importantly, survived another year (even with the C-panini looming over our heads - get vaccinated and boosted).

One highlight of this year was coming to this hell of a website and interacting with cool people, exchanging ideas and information, and working in even cooler projects. I think what saved my sanity was starting creating IF stuff. Sure I had to take a (long) break or two along the way, but helped so much with keeping a semblance of a routine (with M's help too).

Since April-ish, I have worked on a bunch of stuff (see the Master list). There is probably too much I want to say about these projects, so I'll limit myself to a few words each. Meeting the Parents was a RIDE, that taught me a coding language or two and some cool praises. Crimson Rose and White Lily has been and still is EXCITING, and reminded me to keep things simple and organized. Exquisite Cadaver was QUICK but not easy, and took me in a deeper dive into coding and macro use. TTTT was PAUSED as soon as it started, but it will come back hopefully sometime next year. And other ideas and projects that are still in the infant stage.

As I dived back into writing, something that I had forsaken for too many years, I learned a lot about myself and what I liked doing. I worked hard... and also barely. I wrote much more than I thought I would, and also barely finished NaNoWriMo. I failed many, many, times and also succeeded (unless you are called Tweego, I will master you next year!). I have given up and started again. I have been excited and annoyed, infuriated and ecstatic, and felt so much that I thought I would not feel as deeply again (fuck you, depression). And I have worked a lot on myself. I don't think I can completely stop comparing myself to other people, in how much or well I write or the numbers I get; or stop myself from feeling undeserving and out of place in this space. But sharing some stuff that is not always shared here and be vulnerable here has helped me tremendously. I can still be afraid to fail, but it is getting easier to get over with it.

This year has been great. This year has been terrible. It is ending just fine, around people I love and care, with some lovely food and drinks. I hope you are able enjoy the passage into the new year as happily as I definitively will.

Boy-o-boy am I excited for this new year!

I can't wait to get deeper into the IF Ocean and its wonderful games. I don't think I have been trying out as many games as I wanted, but I have already set myself some time to look up fun demos to try out and be excited about. I have a saved list already on itch. I also want to be more part of the community in terms of supporting other authors (as much as I can, cause we are all #broke here). Expect some bunch of reblogs maybe?

There are a few projects that I have on the horizon:

First, CRWL Chapter 2 should be out some time in 2022 Q1 (depends on how fast the re-drafting/proofreading goes).

I do want to finish and submit TTTT to the next IF Comp, the code is there and works, I just need to do the hard part of actually writing characters and backstory.

M has been hard at work with his Lovecraftian-inspired IF, which I will code (yay for less work!); I will take whatever is done and probably submit it to a Halloween-themed jam on itch later this year. I have read his file and I have to say... THIS IS SO COOL. Unfortunately, he is going to have busy days ahead so progress will be ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some other stuff I am looking forward to:

I think one of my games will be hitting a milestone soon.

Next month will be the 6-month anniversary of CRWL, and like MtP I am planning on doing a small retrospection on how well it is doing and some stuff I've learnt working on this project.

Some other IFs I am following are getting an update or are releasing their demos.

Finally making Tweego my b*tch (hopefully... it's really not easy 😭)

My birthday will be coming up sooner than I'd like it too. But I've stopped being afraid of seeing my age grow and not feeling like I am keeping up with my peers. I am really looking forward to my favourite meal 😂

Finally, I've been toying with the idea of getting some sort of Kofi or add a Donate button to my itch page. And a Discord for beta testers. I'd need to mull it over a bit longer.

Anyway... see you all in the new year! Luv ya!

#personal stuff #milestone #retrospective #2021 #2022 #new year

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bubblesuga · 4 years

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Special-Tea

Summary: Yoongi’s always been a coffee man. When stuck at the studio in the early hours of the morning, he craves caffeine. The only problem with that is there’s no coffee shops open at three in the morning. So, he finds himself at the next best thing, a 24 hour tea shop where he finds you.

Warnings: cussing, smut, shower sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), oral (f receiving)

W/C: 4,798

It’s too early for this.

Or maybe it’s too late.

Yoongi isn’t sure. In fact, he’s pretty sure his clock stopped working three hours ago. Unless the last few minutes have felt like hours, then Yoongi was on the verge of tearing every piece of equipment from the wall and smashing it into a million pieces.

Yoongi’s been working on this album for far too long. His fingers are cramped from continuously playing the same three notes over and over just hoping and praying that something will come to him. He’s confused more than anything. Before he had no problem spitting out 2 or 3 songs in a day, recording demos and having the studio ready to record for the other members the following day.

Lately, however, he’s lucky if he can even get a concept for a song down. It’s like his mind has been clouded over with writers block and he’s not getting anywhere. Like someone sucked his ability to compose music right from his brain with a straw.

He tosses the pen he had been anxiously tapping on the desk into his bag, along with his notebook, and he stands abruptly.

Scoffing at his phone, he glares at the black 4:37 on the screen while the elevator in the BigHit offices slides downward. There’s no coffee shops open yet, there has to be something though. He just needs caffeine, though he could really go for an iced americano with-

“Special-tea...?” He raises an eyebrow at his phone, Google holding up options for the nearest place selling caffeinated beverages. Rolling his eyes, he begins the short journey to the one 24 hour shop within a five mile radius.

What kind of a name is ‘Special-tea’? Who sat in an office and thought, ‘ah you know what? Let’s name a tea shop but make it punny.’

“Stupid.” He grumbles to himself. He’s well aware that he’s far too tired to be having human interaction right now but he needs to get some progress done. At this point he’ll take a ghost of a song.

Stepping into the tea shop, he’s overwhelmed by the smell of flowers. Undeniably strong, he takes a moment to collect his thoughts before stepping all the way in. As the door chimes, he hears a gasp and a patter of foot steps.

“Welcome to Special-tea! How are you doing today?”

The voice is loud, echoing off of the various shelves scattered around the shop with loose tea for sale. He whips his head towards the register, spotting you.

“I’m fine, thank you.” He didn’t realize how sore his voice was from attempting to record backing vocals earlier in the day, but it came out gruff and quiet. A stark contrast to the bubbly barista in front of him, her nose dusted in flour and a messy apron protecting her clothes. Well, attempting at least, because Yoongi has to hold back a smile when he notices hand prints of flour on your backside.

“What can I get you this morning?” you question, leaning over the counter and causing Yoongi to blush when he notices the way you’re smiling. When you meet his eyes, Yoongi can tell you recognize him. For a moment he feels the need to brace himself, but soon realizes you’re calm.

Yoongi returns a smile, haphazardly running his fingers through his hair. “Dumb question, but do you guys sell coffee?”

“Coffee? No, but we do sell black earl grey. I’m told that’s a close comparison as far as bitterness goes,” You explain, turning to the shelf behind you and pulling out a bag of tea, “you’re welcome to smell it if you like.”

He raises an eyebrow, leaning forward and sniffing the bag. He backs away quickly and watches you bite your lip to stifle a laugh, “It’s not exactly a new tea drinker’s type of tea.”

“I’m not really a new tea drinker,” he grumbles, wiping his nose, “I’m a tea drinker only in times of desperation.”

She smiles again, “What causes said desperation?”

Yoongi rolls his neck, “I’m trying to write another song. Get the ball rolling to finishing up an album.”

“BE, right? I’ve heard good things about the process,” you say softly, surprising Yoongi by your admission to being a fan, “I figured it would be finished already?”

His eyes stay trained on you as you turn back to the shelves, rummaging through various boxes of tea. It takes him a moment to realize what your question was, so he sucks in a breath, “Ah, yeah. It’s nearly there, we just need one more track because one of them got trashed.”

Why is he revealing so much to a stranger? Namjoon is going to kill him.

“Trashed? Why’s that?”

“We realized the song itself didn’t follow any of the messages we wanted to put out there.”

Damn it, Yoongi. Stop talking.

You finally stop rummaging and pull out a bag of tea without showing Yoongi. He tries to catch a glimpse but instead watches as you boil more water and begin steeping the tea.

“What kind of message did it have?” You ask, leaning backward against the counter and crossing your arms. Having expected a follow up question, Yoongi swiftly dismisses it, “What kind of tea are you making?”

“The kind you drink.” You smirk.

He lowers his gaze at you, “It’s kind of your job to tell the customer what they’re getting.”

You laugh, “Alright. Jasmine green tea. It’s subtle enough that it won’t get your coffee loving tongue in a twist, and has enough caffeine to keep you up to finish whatever you’re working on.”

Yoongi is happy with this response, taking the time to lean away from the counter and gaze around the shop. It’s small, something he’s definitely not used to from coffee shops. The earthy smells from earlier have dwindled down to a nice summery scent, lavender filling his nose the closer he got to the register.

As much as he tried to keep his eyes away from the cute girl behind the counter, he couldn’t help but turn back and watch you as you organize various things. Something about the way your hair slips from the messy bun it’s in and your charismatic way of helping him while also providing a sense of normalcy drew him in in a way he has never experienced before.

“Order up, Suga.”

He shakes his head from his gaze, walking back up to the counter and pulling out his wallet.

“On me,” you say, “besides... don’t want to make you pay for something you may not like.”

Yoongi nods, murmuring a small ‘thank you’ and bringing the cup up to his mouth.

Without missing a beat, he reaches for his wallet and pulls out a 10000 won bill, stuffing it in the tip jar. He gives you a small smile, thanking you again as he turns towards the door.

“Wait!” you call, “What do you think?”

Yoongi raises his hand up just before he walks out of the door, “It’s delicious!”

The smile on your face was worth Yoongi’s little white lie.

~*~*~

“Alright, this is great! We’ll record tomorrow, yeah?” Seokjin speaks for the entire group as Yoongi plays them the demo of the song he was finally able to right. There were a few jabs here and there about the auto tune Yoongi likes to utilize, but other than that it was well received.

The only person he could think was you, though, because if he hadn’t have tasted that tea he would have never thought of writing what he did.

“How did you manage to spit out something like this in a night?” Jungkook teases, patting Yoongi’s shoulder softly.

“What do you mean?” Yoongi chuckles, clicking sound files around and creating a copy of his demo.

Jungkook grins, “Who’s the girl that made you think of that?”

“No girl,” he defends, “a good writer doesn’t need actual experiences. All from the imagination, young Jungkookie.”

Namjoon raises an eyebrow, “I’m pretty sure that’s not the case at all.”

Yoongi shushes him, saving his project one more time before deciding to kick everyone out and lock the studio.

Of course they’re going to find out eventually what happened. Especially since Park Jimin follows Yoongi to the elevator. Once they’re the only ones inside, Jimin turns to his Hyung, “Tell me about the girl.”

Yoongi, knowing that no one else could read him better than Jimin, sighs in defeat. “She’s gorgeous. Her nose had flour on it, her hair was messy, and she was everything that I’m not used to. She has a smirk- god the way she smiles- it just makes me melt for her.”

Jimin seems pleased with this answer, “and you’re going to see her now?”

“Yep.”

The bell above his head is a welcoming sound. This time you’re not waiting in the back. Instead, you’re counting money at the register as he enters. This time you wore a purple apron, and it’s clean compared to a couple of days ago. You still haven’t looked up, so Yoongi walks slowly up to the counter and taps his fingers twice.

“Ah- Yoongi! Good evening, what can I get you started today?”

“The same as last time, please.” Yoongi grins, watching you carefully as you nod at him and turn on your heel and kick on the kettle. The way the straps of the apron tie right above the curve of your back has Yoongi’s mind beginning to wander. It’s been years since he even thought of looking at a woman like this in person, but for some reason when it comes to you he just can’t stop.

“So,” you break the silence, “how did that song writing go?”

“Oh,” his cheeks are a rosy pink, “it went well. I showed the other members the demo and we’re recording it tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.” You grin, pouring the water over the tea bags. Yoongi thanks you quietly and pulls out his wallet once more. You shake your head, “Nope. Your last tip was enough to cover your next 3 drinks.”

Yoongi nods, “Oh okay.” but then ignores you, slipping another 10000 won bill into the tip jar. Just as you’re about to open your mouth in protest, Yoongi sends you a wink and salutes on his way out before he closes the door behind him.

~*~*~

Your alarm is too loud.

It’s like a banshee screeching in your ear, like a baby crying, like a rooster crowing. You groaned loudly at the sound and threw your hand on top of it, rolling out of bed to drag yourself to the shower.

It’s been a few weeks since Yoongi became a regular to your work. The initial star struck feeling you got when you were around him had dwindled away, and now you feel you can call him a friend.

Your routine was as follows: Yoongi enters the shop, you make him his drink, and he stays and distracts you for a while. Much against everything you stand for, you drop everything to talk to him. It causes you to have to move much faster than usual on your prep work but you didn’t mind, because you loved seeing the way Yoongi would laugh at your jokes.

You feel like you know the man beyond the idol. The person who hides under the shadow of a stoic demeanor is bright. The way you perceived him prior to actually knowing him was wrong. He is, without a single doubt in your mind, the most interesting man on the planet.

When you arrived at work, your evening worker is already willing to go.

“I counted the safe and there’s some money missing. If Summer asks, it wasn’t me.” Flora says, shrugging her shoulders.

“Okay,” you raise an eyebrow, walking towards the back, “any orders?”

“Uh, yeah!” you hear her call, “chocolate covered strawberries for 6!”

“Awesome-- thank you!” You call back just as the door dings and Flora exits the store. You take a moment to walk through the kitchen to make sure everything is set up and then you pull your apron over your head.

The doorbell dings and you can’t help the smile that stretches across your face.

“What’ll it be today, Mr. Min?” You still stand in the back, glancing in the mirror to make sure you look your best.

“Honey butter croissant,” he yells back, “how did you know it was me?”

When you’re happy with your look, you finally walk to the front and smile, “So we’re changing it up today, are you okay? You sick or something?”

“I just wanted something new,” Yoongi looks different today. He’s dressed in a cream cardigan and black jeans, the usual rose tint to his cheeks is a bit stronger today.

“Okay, I’ll have to bake some new ones. It’ll take about 20 minutes if you’re willing to wait.” You explain, with an unsure smile.

Yoongi looks around for a moment, “Ugh, I guess I can wait.”

“Awesome,” you speak, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

As you walk towards the back, Yoongi listens carefully to you humming along to a song that’s been stuck in your head for days. You pull out a couple of fresh croissants and prep a baking sheet. Sticking it into the oven, you brush the flour from your hands onto your apron and walk back to the front.

Yoongi jumps up from his phone when he notices you standing in front of him. This is the closest you’ve ever been to him, the freckles across your nose easing him into a sense of comfort. “Do you plan on telling me why you kept ordering a drink you hate?”

Yoongi’s eyes widen, “Now why on Earth would you think that I hate it?”

“Welp,” you laugh, “you’re usually my only customer at night, and every morning I would check the outside garbage to see if it needed to be changed, yet the only thing I would find is a full cup of tea, with your name on it.”

For a moment, Yoongi was silent. He stumbles over his thoughts in an attempt to come up with some type of excuse. Something to hide why he had been coming here all this time. Yet, he couldn’t. So instead he looks up from his chair and smirks, “How else was I supposed to talk to the pretty girl at the tea shop?”

You swallow, your mind racing a million miles a second. Before you have the chance to respond, he stands. His body is close, and he smells so good. His cologne is expensive, herbal and earthy, and it makes you want to bury your nose into his neck and inhale. His eyes, the usual dark brown has turned into honey, drawing you in and keeping you there.

“You could have asked me on a date, we could have gone from there.” You shrug, feeling Yoongi’s calloused hand gently push away a stray hair behind your ear. He doesn’t move it afterwards, though, instead his thumb finds home on your cheekbone, stroking gently. His face has shifted, and he laughs. Almost bitterly, causing your heart to sink.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be interested in the types of dates I get. You see,” his other hand slithers around your waist, “we get long walks in the park but we have to wear a mask and a hat. We get picnics by streams late enough at night that we know no one will be around. Sometimes we can slip away to another country where we pray that no one recognizes us, but with my schedule that thought is laughable at best.”

“What if I like long walks in the park with masks and late night picnics?” You breath, the look in your eyes stirring Yoongi’s heart.

“Then I guess we’d have to give it a shot, wouldn’t we?” He whispers. Your eyes flutter from his eyes to his lips, silently begging him to close the gap. You could sense his hesitancy, though. It blossoms from his chest and heats up his entire body but for some reason he’s frozen, completely still. He’s fighting, urging himself to lean forward and kiss you but he can’t move.

Good news for him, though, because you take a moment to lean up and press your lips against his softly. It’s gentle, easing him into the feeling of you so close to him. His lips taste of mint chocolate, causing you to smile into the kiss. It takes a moment, and for a second you’re hoping that you didn’t read the situation wrong until finally, he kisses back. It’s eager, introducing his tongue to yours and grinning idly into the kiss.

You allow him to back you up against the counter, boxing you in and surrounding you completely. His hands move down and pull your hips close to his, feeling the strain of his cock against his jeans.

“We’re entering dangerous territory here, baby.” Yoongi speaks, pulling away just a little bit. His eyes stay closed and his breath is hot on your face.

“How so?” You whisper, afraid of the answer but also intrigued. He doesn’t respond, instead capturing your lips and breaking the kiss repeatedly. Your fingertips dig into his shoulders and he smiles at the knowledge that you’re enjoying this just as much as he is.

A groan fills the air when you finally buck your hips towards him. In a feverish attempt to feel more, you wrap your legs around his waist and hang from his shoulders. Just as you’re about to slip your hand between your bodies, the timer on the oven blares through the building, shattering the small walls you built around the two of you.

“Fuck--” you gently pull away, “I’m sorry. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Quickly, you slip off the counter and rush to the oven. You pull out the croissants and douse them in honey butter from the fridge. You watch the butter melt for a moment, collecting your thoughts.

Did that just happen? Did that actually hap-

When you walk back out, Yoongi’s hands are clasped behind his back. He mutters a small thank you as you hand him the plate. He rips off a corner of the pastry, and pops it into his mouth.

There’s a beat of silence. One-- two-- then he speaks.

“It’s delicious.”

“Thank you, I work hard on them.”

~*~*~

“And you just left her?!”

Oh god. Yoongi has never seen Jimin so angry before. The small man can yell louder than ever imagined, and Yoongi would be lying if he said that he wasn’t scared.

A mere 30 hours ago, Yoongi had his tongue buried in your mouth and he was the happiest man on the planet. Then it changed quickly once he realized what exactly this could entail. Even though he wanted nothing more than to bend you over the dough table and take you roughly while you scream his name, he couldn’t help but over think.

Standing in Jimin’s living room, he expected to be comforted and given some nice advice from his friend. Instead he’s learning that he pulled a bad move.

“You’re supposed to be giving me advice, not yelling at me!” Yoongi yells back, gesturing his hands wildly. Even though he’s scared, he can’t help but defend himself to a certain extent.

“Hyung, I thought you’d have enough intelligence not to kiss her and run!”

Yoongi groans and drops onto the couch, his face falling into his hands, “The things I was feeling scared me.”

“Oh my god, go to the tea shop!”

~*~*~

Yoongi spots a customer at the register. He opens the door quietly, the break of dawn just behind the mountains. This was different to Yoongi’s usual time and you know that, your eyes going wide in surprise while you finish ringing up the last customer.

Once Yoongi hears the heels clack against the tile and the door open, he rounds the shelf and walks up to you.

“I’m sorry I left so quickly yesterday. I just- I got scared. I wasn’t sure how to approach the situation but after thinking over it I realized that I really need you to kiss me again,” Yoongi speaks fast, quicker than you’ve heard him before and it takes a moment for the words to settle in your mind, “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

You breathe out a laugh, leaning forward and pressing your lips to his again. This time it’s slow and soft, different but Yoongi loves every second of it. The minute you kiss him, you taste coffee. You hold back another laugh, pulling away with mock hurt, “You cheated.”

Yoongi brows furrow, “I don’t follow.”

“You drink coffee and then come try to sweep tea shop girl off her feet? Cheater!” You tease, putting your hand on your chest as though you’re in pain.

Yoongi grins, “You’re crazy. I would never drink coffee, not when I can taste you. You’re probably going to have to kiss me to make sure.”

You gnaw your lip, leaning upward and pressing a kiss to him again. He giggles against your lips, a sound that you will never get sick of. You pull away much to both of your dismay, “Let me take you back to my apartment. It’s small but it’s big enough for the two of us.”

He agrees instantly.

Yoongi waits in the car while your relief shows up and you clean up. He taps his feet against the pedals anxiously, the thought of what could happen exciting him. You have clouded his mind for a weeks now and as you skip out of the building and hop into Yoongi’s passenger seat, he can’t wait to get his hands on you.

He follows your directions, his hand resting on your thigh as he tries not to speed. When he pulls into the parking lot, you lead him up the stairs to your apartment.

Nervously, you toss your bag onto the couch, “It’s not much. . . but it works for me.”

Yoongi grins, “It’s quaint. Cute.” He reaches forward and wraps his arms around you in a back hug. You welcome it, craning your neck to kiss him.

“I need a shower. Join me?”

Yoongi nods, “Yes please.”

There’s a thumb in your chest louder than you’ve ever felt before. This is actually happening. Min Yoongi, is being lead to your bathroom and you’re about to shower with him.

Yoongi doesn’t waste much time once the door is shut behind you. He latches his lips onto your neck, tugging at the hem of your shirt and easing it over your head.

“I want to make sure you want this as much as I do.” Yoongi says breathlessly as he catches a glimpse of your bare chest. You don’t respond verbally, but you look him directly in the eye as you slip your pants and panties off in one swoop.

You stand in the shower, turning on the water and peaking your head behind the curtain, “What’s taking you so long?”

Yoongi moves fast as he tears off his own clothing, and you close the curtain so you don’t spot his body too quickly. Building suspense for yourself, you wet your hair under the warm water and feel your muscles relax after your long day of work. Although your eyes are closed, your ears are trained on Yoongi. He steps behind you, continuing his assault on your neck.

You sigh happily, but everything changes the minute Yoongi opens his mouth.

“Spread your legs, baby. I’ll hold you up.”

Instantly you feel your cunt clenching around nothing (unfortunately). You immediately allow Yoongi to guide your leg to the edge of the tub. He slides a finger in between your folds, collecting your wetness all while his lips trail kisses across your chest.

Finally you allow yourself to open your eyes, gasping at the image in front of you. Yoongi’s body is as rosy as his cheeks, his knees on the bottom of the floor and his face level with your heat.

“Ah, now you open your eyes.” He smirks, and doesn’t give you much warning as he licks a long stripe from your heat to your clit. You instantly moan, tossing your head back and bracing yourself against the wall of the shower.

He moves ruthlessly, consuming you like a starved man. The feeling of him against you doesn’t compare to the imagine in front of you. His fingers reach between your folds and pump in and out of you while he continues to nip and suck mercilessly at your clit. He looks up at you through his lashes, and you swear you feel him smirk against you as he speeds up his thrusts and sucks as hard as he can.

“You look so good like this,” you moan, “your tongue feels so good.”

Yoongi pulls away to let out a groan, “Fuck.” His chest is heaving and he reaches a hand down to squeeze his shaft for a moment of relief, then he stands.

“Think you can hold your leg up for a moment, baby?” Yoongi instructs, laying a kiss on your forehead as you spot his hand pumping himself a few more times. You nod silently, allowing yourself to relish in his glistening skin as he runs the head of his cock over your slit. You appreciate his concern, and you know he’s going to take care of you after he’s finished ruining you. You couldn’t be more excited as Yoongi’s cock continues to slip over you.

For a moment you feel him enter, both of you gasping at the contact but just as quickly as he enters, he slips out.

“No,” you shake your head, “please no teasing. Fuck me.”

Yoongi gives you a devilish grin, his hand holding up your thigh once again as he finally begins to push into you. He takes pleasure in the way that your lips part with every inch that he pushes in. Yoongi was proud of his size, and your reaction further fuels his ego. Finally, he bottoms out and you’re rewarded with being filled to the hilt with nothing but Yoongi.

He moans your name in your air after you adjust to his size, beginning to thrust faster. “So... tight. Fuck.” He sinks his teeth into your collarbone, relishing in the feeling of your nails scratching into his back. He can’t bare to leave your cunt for more than a few seconds, because the way you clench tightly around him was the closest thing to Heaven on Earth that he’s ever experienced. Every one of his thrusts is meant with a rewarding moan from you, your juices coating his cock more and more and fueling his pleasure.

“Ah,” you moan, “Yoongi. So good.” Your brain was absolute mush. You couldn’t think of anything else but him.

“So good at taking my cock,” he laughs breathlessly, “I can’t believe how well you’re doing.”

You surrender yourself completely to Yoongi at his words, his encouragement pushing you closer to the edge. “I’m close.”

“Good girl, cum for me. Cream on my cock.” Yoongi praises, kissing your lips tenderly as you feel yourself clench tightly around him. White hot electric shocks rush through your body, your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

He breaks the kiss with a bite to your bottom lip, “Take my cum. Take it- fuck fuck-” Yoongi’s cut off by his orgasm taking over, and you open just in time to see his jaw drop as he rides out both of your orgasms with increasingly slow thrusts until finally, he slips out, the feeling of his release dripping down your thighs.

He rests his forehead against yours, suddenly hyper aware of the water dripping down your bodies.

You lower your legs onto the floor, Yoongi holding you up while you struggle to regain your balance. The two of you giggle, sharing kisses for a moment as you both work off the pleasure.

You reach behind Yoongi, squeezing shampoo into your hands and massaging it through your scalp as Yoongi takes your soap across your body. It’s such a simple move, but even though you’ve already had sex he still is taking the time to take care of you. It’s endearing, and it fills you with hope for something more with Yoongi.

As you both finish the shower, you step out of the bath tub and reach for a towel.

“Oh, by the way, Yoongi?” You say as he runs a brush through your hair. You bite your lip to hold back a giggle as he stops, “Yes baby?”

“I still tasted coffee.”

Yoongi laughs, “God damn it.”

#midway through this i lost everything and had to start over lmao #that was a fun journey but bc i could actually sit and write i wanted to get something out for y'all #ty for reading!!#min yoongi x reader #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #yoongi smut #yoongi fluff #bts #yoongi x reader fluff #yoongi x reader smut #yoongi x you smut #suga x reader #suga x you

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sisterspooky1013 · 3 years

Text

Damsels, Chapter Five: Work That Gameboy

By SisterSpooky1013 / Tagging @today-in-fic

Rated E / Read previous chapters here

Mulder arrives at work early, looking longingly at Scully’s car in the parking lot. Approaching it, he peers in the windows looking for…he isn’t sure what. Her car is, as usual, neat as a pin with no indication of where she went or why.

In his restlessness the night before, he’d thought a lot about why it bothers him so much not to know where she is or what she’s doing. If the roles were reversed, he would expect her to wait it out and trust him to take care of himself, but for some reason he’s struggling to do the same for her. He thought at first that it was her tendency to get hurt or need help, but by comparison he needs her help just as often as she needs his, so that doesn’t track. Then he thought maybe it’s that he doesn’t trust Skinner to do what’s in her best interest, but Skinner has shown a tendency to be protective of Scully on numerous occasions (and in fact Mulder strongly suspects his feelings for her go beyond the bounds of strict professionalism), so that isn’t entirely logical either. Skinner may have left him out to dry with the New Spartans, but he doesn’t believe the man would stoop low enough to treat Scully in the same manner.

In the end, he realized that it’s pretty simple; he’s just crazy about her. His protectiveness doesn’t have anything to do with how capable she is, or the situations other people might put her in, or even situations she might put herself in. He misses her, and cares so much about her that not even knowing where she is feels wrong. It feels like a piece of him is missing, and he’s not allowed to know where it is or when he’ll get it back.

After pretending to work for an hour, he sulks up to Skinner’s office and asks for a few minutes of his time. Skinner is immediately irritated, though Mulder doesn’t realize that it’s in response to him and not a preexisting condition. He stands in front of Skinner’s desk, looming over him.

“What do you want, Agent Mulder?” Skinner grumbles, not looking up from the document he’s reading.

“I’d like to know where Agent Scully is, sir.”

Skinner sighs heavily, dropping his head to his chest.

“Get out of my office, Agent Mulder,” he says in a low, menacing tone.

“Sir, I’m not asking to contact her, I would never compromise her case, I just need to at least know where she is. What if something happens and I need to find her?”

Skinner stands, looking Mulder in the eye with an intensity he’s seen on very few occasions, none of them fond memories. “Agent Mulder, Agent Scully explicitly asked me not to tell you where she is, or what she’s doing. Even if she hadn’t, I STILL would not tell you, however I hope that if you don't respect the direct orders of your superior, you might, at the very least, respect Agent Scully’s wishes. Now get the hell out of my office and do not bring this up again, understood?”

Mulder glances down and notices Scully’s keys on the desk near Skinner’s nameplate, her Apollo 11 keychain easily identifiable. He leans forward, putting his hands on the desktop, one covering the keys.

“Sir, if anything happens to her, I’ll-“

“You’ll what, Agent Mulder?” Skinner challenges him, stuffing his hands in his pockets in a show of bravado.

Mulder straightens, palming the keys as he stands, and leaves without another word.

Scully arrives at the club just before 2 pm, wearing shorts and a tank top as Angel had instructed. After stuffing her purse into a locker, she finds Angel and Tibet on the floor, which has returned to its daylight state of clean and quiet. Queenie restocks the bar while Ben fiddles with the sound system.

Tibet is up on the stage while Angel sits at the tip rail, offering pointers on a new dance Tibet is working out. Scully immediately notices that Tibet’s hair is cropped short and worn in its natural curls, and realizes she’d been wearing a wig the night before.

“So I was thinking that I could either take my top off just before or just after the first chorus, tell me which looks better, okay?” Tibet says to Angel as Scully enters and takes a seat beside her.

“Benny! Hit me with the music!” Tibet shouts, and then repeats her performance twice, revealing her breasts at a different point in the song each time. When she’s finished, she sits down on the edge of the stage in front of them and asks for their thoughts, her breasts still uncovered.

“I think the sooner the better,” Angel says. “They come here to see your body, so show it to em!”

Tibet nods. “What do you think, Desi?” She asks, stretching a smooth brown leg out to her side and leaning into it.

Scully suddenly feels entirely out of her league in terms of providing an opinion. “Uh, well, generally speaking I guess I’d say wait. You want to build some suspense, right? Make them work for it?”

Angel looks at her suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. “You don’t fuck on the first date, do you?” She asks with a haughty grin, and Scully’s eyes go big at the question. “I’m just messing with you, let’s get to your training!”

“Alright,” Tibet begins as though she’s done this dozens of times, tugging the straps of her shirt back over her shoulders. “So, have you ever given a lap dance before?” she asks plainly, and Scully’s cheeks flush.

“Well, kind of I guess. In college, though more as a joke than anything else. I would definitely consider myself a beginner.”

“Got it, got it,” Tibet responds. “Well, for the most part dancing is about creating a sense of intimacy. It’s fake, obviously, but the more your customer feels like you actually care about him, want him to look at you, like that he’s appreciating your body, the better you’ll do. Your stage set is just about showing yourself off and getting them curious about you. The real money comes from lap dances and VIP, and the more you can draw attention with a really great stage set, the more customers will want to spend time with you afterward. Angel is a beast on the pole and she can teach you all those tricks, but I consider myself the lap dance expert around here, so I’m gonna teach you that part.” She smiles and jumps down from the stage, pulling a chair away from one of the tables and gesturing for Scully to sit in it.

“Oh,” Scully says, and sits as instructed.

“Sometimes, when you’re on the floor, customers will flag you down or ask for you, and that’s great. But you also have to approach people, because they’ll be too shy to ask. So you might come up and do this.”

Tibet saunters towards Scully with a secretive smile on her lips, stepping so close that her thighs thread between Scully’s knees. Next she leans down, placing her hands on Scully’s shoulders and bringing her mouth to Scully’s ear.

“Would you like a dance, Baby?” she asks in a syrupy voice, and Scully feels a shiver run down her spine. Tibet backs up. “Okay, now you try.”

“You want ME to do that?” Scully clarifies, and while just asking someone if they want a lap dance should be the easiest hurdle to clear, she’s finding that it’s still an uncomfortably high one.

Angel turns her head toward the bar and calls out, “Queenie! We need some liquid courage over here!”

Queenie walks over with a bottle of tequila and three shot glasses, pouring them wordlessly before returning to her task.

Angel holds her glass up, Tibet and Scully following suit. “To new career paths,” Angel says, and Scully smiles thinly, clinking her glass with theirs and throwing back the shot with a grimace.

Three weeks. She’s been gone three weeks, and not a word from Skinner. No update, no information, though he’s stopped by a couple times and asked, drawing increasing amounts of rage from his boss. He’s finished all the paperwork, re-organized the files, cleaned and rearranged the office (only to immediately change it back) and spent hours upon hours imagining where Scully might be right now.

He kept her keys, just in case, but knows she’d be unhappy with him invading her privacy by snooping around her apartment. That’s why he waits three whole weeks before he finally does it. He has a key to her apartment and could have gone there at any point, but her personal keyring also holds the keys for her gun safe and her mailbox, which may prove helpful. After work on a Thursday, he drives by and lets himself in, the warm vanilla smell of her immediately invading his nostrils as he opens the door. He sighs deeply, pulling her into his lungs; it feels like coming home.

First he waters her plants, which are looking half dead, and makes a mental note to use watering them as the reason he came here if asked. Next he opens her gun safe, and is struck to find her service weapon holstered and tucked neatly inside with the safety on. She doesn’t have her gun? What the hell kind of assignment is this? He brings in her mail, which is no help at all, and leaves it stacked on the counter. Next he lays down on her bed, shoving his face into her pillow and breathing the smell of her shampoo for a few minutes before he has the thought to look for her overnight bag.

Scully has a go bag in the trunk of her car for emergencies, but given the opportunity she’ll use her overnight bag and pack for the weather, situation, etc. Opening her closet, he finds it on the floor near her laundry hamper, empty save for a travel size can of hairspray tucked into a side pocket. In her bathroom, he finds all her toiletries accounted for, including her toothbrush. The more he sees, the more confused he is. Even when he’d spent time undercover with dangerous individuals, he’d been allowed to bring his own toothbrush.

Moving to the hallway, he picks up her landline and dials.

“Dana?” Maggie Scully’s voice answers on the second ring.

“No, sorry, Mrs. Scully, it’s Fox Mulder.”

“I saw Dana’s name on the caller ID, is she with you?” Her voice carries worry.

“No, I’m just here at her apartment watering her plants, sorry to confuse you. Have you been in touch with Dana, Mrs. Scully?”

“No, Fox, I haven’t heard from her in weeks. She told me she had an assignment that would take her away for a while and that she’d be unreachable, but I’m a little concerned that she hasn’t contacted me yet.”

Mulder closes his eyes. “I wish I had anything to share, Mrs. Scully, but I’m in somewhat of the same boat. A.D. Skinner isn’t concerned and it does sound like he’s in touch with her, but I was hoping she might have called you.”

“I’m afraid not,” Maggie replies sadly.

“What did she tell you when she left? Did she share any information at all?” he asks hopefully.

“Um, let me think. She said she was going on an assignment and that she’d be out of touch for a few weeks. And she said she’d bring me some Tastykakes when she comes home,” she adds.

“Tastykakes, what are those?” Mulder asks, his investigative senses tingling.

“They’re a treat we always get when we go to Philadelphia; little packaged snack cakes. The kids always loved them.”

“Are they only available in Philadelphia?” he asks, heart pumping.

“I’m not sure, but that’s where we always get them,” Maggie says hopefully.

“Thank you, Mrs. Scully. That’s really helpful. I’ll let you know if I track her down, okay?”

“Thank you, Fox. Take care.”

Setting the phone back on its cradle, he does a little victory dance. It isn’t much, but it’s something. Scully is just a few hours away in the city of brotherly love.

Three weeks. It’s been three weeks of practicing stage sets and lap dances in the afternoon, serving drinks in the evening and well into the middle of the night, and then sleeping until noon. Her arms and legs bear fading bruises from her acclimation to Paul the Pole, the crooks of her elbows and knees sporting slight calluses that help her get a good grip (with an assist from the grip powder Angel has instructed her to use). She’s given Tibet and Angel dozens of lap dances each, the other standing by to coach her on making sure one foot stays on the floor. After three weeks, she found that her barriers were mostly in her head. Once she was able to let go and just move, she’s actually pretty good at it.

That day she arrives in pink cotton shorts and a white tank top, now so used to being scantily clad that it no longer makes her self-conscious, and prepares to do a full dress rehearsal of the routine she worked up with Angel’s help. Queenie and Ricky sit down to observe what is more or less a test of her readiness, and one she intends to pass. Where she would have expected to feel nervous, she’s excited, ever the eager student motivated to impress and exceed expectations. Ben kills the daytime lights to make it look and feel like it would if they were open, and her set begins.

Moving onto the stage, she can barely see her audience with the bright lights trained on her. She quickly gets lost in the movements she rehearsed, feeling graceful as she circles the pole and hitches an arm around it, spinning in a feathery arc. When the point in the dance comes to remove her shirt, she does so as a well practiced step in a strategy, without any feelings of exposure. Soon enough her bra follows suit and she is left with only her tiny pink shorts, nipples hardening as they graze the pole. The undulation of her hips, the pop of her booty out towards the audience, the slip of a hand down the inside of her thigh; they’re each a part of the method. Precisely planned and executed in much the same way as she might dismantle and clean her gun, or prepare a slide for the microscope. It isn’t much different than performing an autopsy, she had reasoned. Except instead of: Y incision, open rib cage, remove organs, examine stomach contents, collect specimens, examine brain, it’s: arch back, grasp breasts, spread legs, thrust pelvis, rub thighs, grind on the pole. She’s always found her strength in taking a clinical, detached approach to difficult tasks, and that turns out to be just as effective on the stage as it is in the lab.

As she finishes, her small audience erupts into applause, standing in ovation as Ben brings the house lights up halfway. Scully smiles shyly, stepping down to join them on the floor as Ricky approaches her and slings an arm around her bare shoulders.

“That was fucking fantastic, Desi. Sexy as fuck. Let me see you do a lap dance now.”

#the x files #txf #dana scully #fox mulder #gillovny #msr #sculder #x files #case file #case fic #x files fanfic

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