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#million dollar highway
dopescissorscashwagon · 6 months
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Million Dollar Highway In Colorado, USA!!!
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vanwinkle11 · 8 months
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Somewhere along the Million Dollar Highway in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado on July 20, 2023
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seaweedandgravel · 9 months
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fallauween · 1 year
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Link to the Past
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Link to the Past by Jeff Goldberg
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johndonneswife · 2 years
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🍂 ouray, colorado // 📸: kyle_kogler
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palarnik-superadgame · 8 months
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Flying Helicopter and Million Dollar Highway - Flight Simulator
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wanderguidehub · 8 months
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Scaling Heights: Climbing and Mountaineering in Ouray
Conquer the Vertical World In the heart of the San Juan Mountains, the picturesque town of Ouray stands as a mecca for climbing and mountaineering enthusiasts. With rugged peaks and stunning landscapes as your backdrop, Ouray offers a playground for those seeking the thrill of scaling heights and conquering vertical challenges. From ice-climbing to rock-climbing, this destination promises an…
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THE MILLION DOLLAR BABY 🤲🏾
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View along The Million Dollar Highway, south of Ouray, Colorado
My Photo ~ September 20, 2022
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sojutrait · 1 year
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sims mobile gameplay when ✋🙄
you kid but before i got my pc i used to have such an obsession with sims freeplay it was concerning
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batboyblog · 2 months
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Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #9
March 9-15 2024
The IRS launched its direct file pilot program. Tax payers in 12 states, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona, Massachusetts, California and New York, can now file their federal income taxes for free on-line directly with the IRS. The IRS plans on taking direct file nation wide for next year's tax season. Tax Day is April 15th so if you're in one of those states you have a month to check it out.
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into the death of Nex Benedict. the OCR is investigating if Benedict's school district violated his civil rights by failing to protect him from bullying. President Biden expressed support for trans and non-binary youth in the aftermath of the ruling that Benedict's death was a suicide and encouraged people to seek help in crisis
Vice President Kamala Harris became the first sitting Vice-President (or President) to visit an abortion provider. Harris' historic visit was to a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul Minnesota. This is the last stop on the Vice-President's Reproductive Rights Tour that has taken her across the country highlighting the need for reproductive health care.
President Biden announced 3.3 billion dollars worth of infrastructure projects across 40 states designed to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure. Communities often split decades ago by highways build in the 1960s and 70s. These splits very often affect communities of color splitting them off from the wider cities and making daily life far more difficult. These reconnection projects will help remedy decades of economic racism.
The Biden-Harris administration is taking steps to eliminate junk fees for college students. These are hidden fees students pay to get loans or special fees banks charged to students with bank accounts. Also the administration plans to eliminate automatic billing for textbooks and ban schools from pocketing leftover money on student's meal plans.
The Department of Interior announced $120 million in investments to help boost Climate Resilience in Tribal Communities. The money will support 146 projects effecting over 100 tribes. This comes on top of $440 million already spent on tribal climate resilience by the administration so far
The Department of Energy announced $750 million dollars in investment in clean hydrogen power. This will go to 52 projects across 24 states. As part of the administration's climate goals the DoE plans to bring low to zero carbon hydrogen production to 10 million metric tons by 2030, and the cost of hydrogen to $1 per kilogram of hydrogen produced by 2031.
The Department of Energy has offered a 2.3 billion dollar loan to build a lithium processing plant in Nevada. Lithium is the key component in rechargeable batteries used it electric vehicles. Currently 95% of the world's lithium comes from just 4 countries, Australia, Chile, China and Argentina. Only about 1% of the US' lithium needs are met by domestic production. When completed the processing plant in Thacker Pass Nevada will produce enough lithium for 800,000 electric vehicle batteries a year.
The Department of Transportation is making available $1.2 billion in funds to reduce decrease pollution in transportation. Available in all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico the funds will support projects by transportation authorities to lower their carbon emissions.
The Geothermal Energy Optimization Act was introduced in the US Senate. If passed the act will streamline the permitting process and help expand geothermal projects on public lands. This totally green energy currently accounts for just 0.4% of the US' engird usage but the Department of Energy estimates the potential geothermal energy supply is large enough to power the entire U.S. five times over.
The Justice for Breonna Taylor Act was introduced in the Senate banning No Knock Warrants nationwide
A bill was introduced in the House requiring the US Postal Service to cover the costs of any laid fees on bills the USPS failed to deliver on time
The Senate Confirmed 3 more Biden nominees to be life time federal Judges, Jasmine Yoon the first Asian-America federal judge in Virginia, Sunil Harjani in Illinois, and Melissa DuBose the first LGBTQ and first person of color to serve as a federal judge in Rhode Island. This brings the total number of Biden judges to 185
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shadowlali · 16 days
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Heyy I've been struggling to find some good enemies to lovers with Graves, can we get some good old sassy reader x agitated easily Graves?
ransom
COD - Phillip Graves x fem!reader
[18+] wc: ~2.5k summary: You take Phillip's target. masterlist | AO3
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warnings: NSFW, no specific timeline, some proofreading, no use of Y/N nor too many details on reader’s appearance, enemies to lovers, inaccurate military references, some minor OC characters, pet names (sugar, doll, brat), unprotected sex, squirting, creampie
a/n: the car is fine. it is sturdy. lol
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Phillip roars into his microphone. 
Private Anderson sighs before speaking, “Gonzalez saw him get into a car with a woman.”
“Well what are y’all waiting for? Get back in the fucking Jeep and follow them!” 
It’s not common for Phillip to lose sight of targets. Fucking newbies. All of their extensive training and they let a target walk away? It only takes a few minutes for Graves’ men in the helo to catch sight of a few suspicious cars that are driving away from the location. 
Before Graves can tell his men to scan the inhabitants of each car, his phone begins to ring. Phillip takes a look at the screen and raises his eyebrow at the “Unknown Caller” flashing across. 
“Graves,” he answers. 
“Hi, handsome.” 
Phillip grunts your name into the receiver, the blood in his veins running hot at the sound of your voice. Infuriating. 
“What the fuck do you want?” 
“Is that anyway to talk to a friend, Phillip?” 
He grips the phone tighter in his hand, quickly giving orders to his men to scan the cars. Phillip walks to a more secluded corner of the helo, not wanting anyone else to hear his conversation. 
“That’s Commander Graves to you, young lady. And friends? Did we become friends before or after you stole millions of dollars worth of my weapons?” 
“Millions of dollars worth? Please, Phillip,” you scoff, “I barely got two million for them. And that’s only because General Adair thought the dress I was wearing was pretty.” 
Phillip stifles the groan in his throat. He knows first hand what you look like in dresses. Silky, little things that do almost nothing to hide your soft skin and gorgeous thighs–the beep of the scanning software immediately snaps him out of his daze. He doesn’t have time for this. 
“You just admitted to selling weapons to an enemy nation. Once I’m done with my work, I’ll make sure to hunt you down–” 
“Your work, huh?” you interrupt him. “A little birdie told me you lost your target.” 
“The fuck did you just say?” 
“Such harsh language, Phillip. That’s no way to speak to a young lady.” 
“Saw him get into a car with a woman,” Phillip repeats the words he heard earlier, “it was you, wasn’t it? You took my goddamn target,” he spits out, “I have my best men scanning every corner of this town. We’ll find you before you hit the highway.” 
“Oh no, handsome. We’re gone. I clocked your helo the moment I left his house.” 
Phillip’s body begins to vibrate with anger. He can’t let you take his target. 
“How much do you want?” 
You throw out your price, asking for half now and the rest later. “I’ll send you the coordinates for the pick-up and my bank account information. Come alone, and wear something cute for me.” 
Before he can respond to your aggravating comment, he hears the click of the call ending. He runs a hand through his hair. Always bleeding me dry, sugar.  
Phillip leans against his truck, keeping his eyes on a swivel. There’s really no reason to. The lot is abandoned and he’ll be able to spot a car before it comes close. There is only one dim light illuminating the entire lot. Other than that, the sky is slowly fading into dark blues and purples. 
“Heads up, Commander. A car is pulling up. Two inhabitants inside. A woman at the wheel and a man in the passenger seat,” his sergeant's voice comes through the earpiece.  
Phillip sees the headlights of your car before he hears it approaching. His pulse flutters a little faster as your red sports car pulls up close to his truck. He sees the man slumped over in the seat, a black bag covering his head and his hands bound with rope. 
You park the car and make your way out, the evening wind ruffling the bottom of your dress and exposing more of your thighs. It takes everything in him to not glance down the deep V-neckline of your dress as you stand in front of him. 
“I love it when you do as I say,” you whisper, gently tugging on the collar of his polo. 
“So this is what you used from the sale of my weapons? A fancy sports car?” Phillips grunts. 
You have the gall to wink at him. “No, actually. This was a gift. Oh,” you gasp, “I remember this!” 
You expose his neck and thumb the thin pink scar that spans from his ear to his collarbone. It’s healed now since the incident in Monaco. The day when he first met you and fully understood just how dangerous you can be. 
Phillip quickly grips your hand before you can touch him further, feeling himself harden. “I don’t have time for this, doll. Did you kill my target? If I lift up the bag will I find a bullet between his eyes?”
You roll your eyes. “It depends. Do you have the rest of my money?”
With your hand tightly gripped in his, he leads you a few steps to his back seat. Graves opens the door to show you a large briefcase. You slip your hand out of his to open it and check to make sure it's all there. Large stacks of green paper practically make your eyes sparkle. 
“You know what I love the most in this world, Phillip?” you ask. 
“Money?” 
“Yeah,” you sigh dreamily, “I love money. And I love it even more when I take it from men like you.” 
He has the sudden urge to bend you over and spank your ass for your insolence. Disrespectful brat. 
“Alright, it’s all here. Call your men, Phillip. I know they’re around here somewhere.” 
He can’t help but laugh. “Am I that predictable?” 
You give him a pointed look as he speaks into his mic, calling his men down. A minute later, his helo approaches from the sky. They park far away enough that neither of you are too affected by the wind from the blades and two soldiers hop down to take the target. Phillip waves them off and the helo pushes up, leaving you two alone as it heads back to their base. 
“I let the weapons slide and I paid you the money you asked for,” Phillip starts, “but this is the last time, doll. I won’t respond so nicely the next time.” 
He told himself he would be firm when he saw you again. Phillip can’t have you fucking up his mission and making him look weak in front of his soldiers.
“It wouldn’t happen so often if your soldiers were better,” you bite back. “I mean, now you have an upgraded security system for your warehouse and I’m sure you pulled the other soldiers out of the field for more training, right? If anything you should thank me.” 
Phillip stares back at you with suspicion coloring his face. “How do you know all those things?”
You ignore him and walk back to your car, dumping the briefcase full of cash in the now empty passenger seat. Before Phillip knows what he’s doing, he follows you, catching you by surprise as he wraps his hand around your arm. Your back is pushed onto the hood of the car and he situates himself right between your spread thighs. 
“Answer my question, doll,” he whispers in anger. “How do you know these things?” 
You let out a teasing laugh, “does the Commander fear there’s a mole in his company? One that’s giving intel to a thief like me?”
He never feels this agitated when he’s around other women. Something about you makes him so frustrated and–and intrigued. Phillip rips his earpiece out and throws it far. He grabs both of your wrists in one hand and pins them above your head. 
“How?” he spits out. 
“Don’t worry,” you whisper, “it’s all me.” You take the opportunity to grind down, closing that space between your bodies and rubbing your warm cunt over the bulge in his jeans.
He moans before he can stop himself. A glance down to your joined bodies and he can see your dress ridden up on your hips, your panties fully exposed to his eyes.  
“Every time you think you’ve improved your security or that you’ve chosen the best soldiers in the world, I’m there,” you moan, “Taking it apart. Piece. By. Piece.” 
“Why?” he groans, angry at himself for not noticing earlier. 
“Because it’s fun.”
He lets go of your hands, fully intending to walk away and leave you once and for all. But he’s not sure who attacks first. Your fingers sink into his hair and tug hard enough to sting at the same time his hand yanks down the top of your dress. His mouth fuses to yours in a kiss that’s mostly teeth and tongue.
He moves his head down, dragging his teeth over your collarbones and chest until they nip at the soft skin of your tits. A pained little moan escapes your mouth as he bites down on your swollen nipple. 
“For fun, huh?” Phillip asks. 
Phillip drags his teeth to the other, doing the same thing. You moan again, twisting your fingers in his hair and rubbing your cunt over the crotch of his jeans. He’ll finish before he even touches you if you keep doing that. 
He stands up to his full height and pushes his hips away. With a hard tug your panties are ripped off your body, eliciting a yelp from you, and stuffed into his jeans pocket. There’s not much light now, the sun has fully set and the street lamp flickers in the distance. 
But it’s enough light to see your swollen tits and the glisten of your pussy. His cock feels trapped in his jeans and his mouth waters at the sight of your cunt. Graves knows there isn’t time, there isn’t enough privacy even if this lot is abandoned. It doesn’t stop him from kneeling to swipe his tongue through your folds. Your back arches at the sudden contact. 
“Phillip,” you whimper.
Even the taste of you is perfect. It’s sticky sweet in his mouth and he wishes he could spend his time on you, no matter how much you infuriate him. 
“No, you didn’t do it for fun,” he mutters, “you did it to get my attention. Didn’t you, sugar?” 
Phillip unzips his jeans and takes out his thick cock, wrapping a hand around it to give it a few tugs and relieve the pressure. You haven’t responded to his question, too preoccupied with the sight of his cock. He slaps the inside of your thigh and brings your eyes back to him. 
“And if I say yes?” you tease in a shaky voice, spreading your thighs wider and dragging a hand down to spread open your cunt. 
He rubs the plush head over your folds and up to your clit, the both of you moaning at the contact. 
“Expensive way of trying to get my attention, baby.” 
Phillip moves your hand away and wraps your thigh around his waist, giving him the perfect angle to plunge into your cunt. You throw your head back onto the hood of the car, any words you were going to say now trapped in your throat. 
Graves can feel every pulse of your hot cunt. You grip him in such a tight heat that he goes blind for a second. Monaco, the arguments, the times you’ve stolen from him or taken his money–all of it has boiled down to this moment. 
“Fuck–,” he moans, “perfect little pussy.”
This is part punishment for all the times you’ve robbed him blind and part pleasure for all the times he’s wanted to sink into your pussy. The scent of your perfume and your warmth makes him dizzy. 
You claw at his arms, dig your nails into his skin, mark him after every rough plunge of his hips. He’ll have scratches tomorrow, but none of it matters at this moment. 
“So needy,” Phillip says, “aren’t you, doll?” 
You barely manage to whimper out a yes, sir. 
Graves hikes your knee up to your chest and pounds faster. His tip reaches the end of you with each thrust and he revels in the fucked-out look on your face. The car shakes slightly at the force of his hips but you don’t seem to mind, probably haven’t even noticed. 
“Sir, huh? Only when I fuck you, do you show me respect?” 
“More, sir–please, oh God,” you cry out, twisting your hips in small circles. 
Sweat gathers on his hairline and underneath his polo. He can feel the familiar twinge in his lower stomach and the heaviness in his balls. He’s close and Phillip wants you there with him. He pushes his thumb into your mouth, shivering slightly as you begin to suck and lick with your wet tongue. 
He takes it out of your mouth and shushes you once you try to grab onto his hand, immediately rubbing your clit in harsh circles that have you squeezing his thick length. It doesn’t take long for him to feel the sudden tightness and gush of your pussy. You flood your joined, lower bodies, making it easier for him to fuck you faster. What a sight the both of you are. A pretty girl like you being fucked silly on the hood of your car. 
“Fucking brat,” Phillip groans.
His fingers sink into your thigh and he uses your body as leverage to fuck you. You’ve gone soft and moldable in his arms, letting him fuck you at the rough pace he chooses. There’s only the wet squelch of your cunt and the whimpers of pleasure that are heard throughout the abandoned lot. 
His body goes numb and he’s finishing inside of you, holding onto your hips and forcing you down on his cock. Graves fills you up, letting his cum paint your insides. You moan and twitch underneath him as you feel him cum. 
“Take it, doll. Ta–take it, f’me,” he stutters. 
It takes all his strength not to collapse on top of you. Phillip staggers slightly from the force of his orgasm but he rights himself. He runs his hands over your thighs as to slow his heart rate, moving a hand to wipe the drool from the corner of your lips. 
“Okay, doll?” he asks after a few moments. 
“Mhmm,” you answer in a tired voice. 
“Can you stand f’me?” 
You laugh and slowly sit up. Phillip fixes your dress and helps you stand, holding onto your arms as you teeter on your high heels. 
“You okay to drive, sugar?” 
“Look at you,” you slur your words slightly, “who knew the Commander was so sweet after sex.” 
Phillip rolls his eyes and helps you into the driver’s seat, slapping your ass hard before you can enter the car. 
“Quit stealing from me. I hope you learned your lesson, doll.” 
“You just gave me a shitload of money and fucked me hard enough that my legs are still shaking,” you say, “I think I like this, actually.” 
You drive off and leave Phillip standing by his truck, his heart still beating fast and a stupid smile on his face.
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writing-mlm · 1 month
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jason todd x reader please 😔
The ShopKeep and the Hobbyist [J.T]
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Summary: Jason's been going to this bookstore for long enough that he's developed a bit of a reputation with them. If only the cute cashier would understand he's trying to flirt but as fate would have it, one knife chase later, and maybe they're more than worker and costumer. Pairing: Jason Todd x Male!Reader WC: 7.3k TW: use of fag but its a quote
Jason traveled out of Gotham once a week, always on a Sunday, always to the same location for three entire hours. Everyone knew that Sunday from noon to four— accounting for traffic and eating out that might happen, that Jason was absolutely unavailable. Unless you physically went to track him down. 
But that’s yet to happen. 
It’s Sunday and Jason arrived at the normal spot earlier than usual. Traffic was amazing, no accidents on the way out of Gotham, and the highway was thankfully void. He parked his bike in his normal spot, right in front of the store, and lifted the visor to the helmet before heading inside. 
The Open Book had always welcomed Jason, even when the shop was closed in the middle of a blizzard. And he helped where he could (Wayne Enterprises always made a large monthly donation to the shop and for some odd reason, someone had gifted the shop a fake bird that is able to stop any thefts(odd)). 
“New shipment came in today,” The store owner's grandson greeted him, leaning across the counter to grab at the basket of free candies the shop offered. “Snagged this vintage-looking book collection for ya.” Ever since word that a Wayne kid visits the bookshop, sales have grown so it’s hard keeping certain items in stock. Especially the fancy-looking titles. 
“Do tell,” He grabs a bite-sized chocolate and rips the packet open while you set your lollipop wrapper into your apron pocket before ducking under the counter. 
   “Shits heavy,” You grunt, slamming the box onto the table and read the label. “Uhh, ‘William Shakespeare, Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Published According to the True Originall Copies, 1623.’ Original is spelled wrong, though,” You look up at him and pause at his wide-eyed, clearly shocked expression. 
“Shakespeare fan?” You ask, opening the flap to the box. “There’s a bunch of them in here. I think this was someone’s collection.” 
“Do you know how much it’s worth?” Jason laughs, peering into the box, and then whistles. 
   “Probably a hundred at the most,” You shrug and he slaps the table with a loud Ha! that makes you look at him, crossing his arms. “Fifty?” 
“Try nine mil,” The lollipop falls from your mouth as you look from Jason to the book collection. 
   “For all of it?” You gape. 
   “For the top book,” He corrects. “Thank god you snagged it before someone who cared did.” 
“Yeah,” You sigh, staring at the book and taking in all of the details. That’s more than you’ll ever make in a lifetime. “What should I do? Do you want it?”
“Want it like I need air,” He admits, handing you another lollipop. “But you should probably auction it, get a stack and whatnot.”
“Grams would get pissed,” You shake your head and slide the box towards him. “Believes books should be read, not stored as an artifact, yknow? Think she marked this box as a hundred, want me to ring it up?” He looks at you and takes his helmet off so you can fully see his are you stupid? look that’s plastered on his face. 
   “(Y/n),” Jason slides the box back. “This is worth more than every single book in here!” And as much as he pained Jason to say that, he knew it was true. With over two entire floors filled with books, they were but a drop in the bucket compared to that singular box sitting between the two of you. 
“It’s just paper and ink,” You shrug, staring at the box. “Besides, she’d get mad if I did and I can’t exactly hide nine million dollars!” Sighing through his nose, he agrees to buy the box and has you set it aside while he goes about shopping.
“You’re staring,” Someone tells him as they walk past and his head spins around to see who it is. It’s one of your younger sisters, around twelve or thirteen, if he remembers right. 
   “Wasn’t,” He tells her and picks up a book. “I was looking at this book!” She turns back to him and raises her eyebrows at the title before grinning. 
   “Didn’t take you as an Ice Breaker fan,” She chides and walks away while Jason stares at the book. It could’ve been basically any other book. Putting the book back, Jason returns to his actual book shopping which only takes ten or so minutes. He knows his bag is going to be heavy with the Shakeseapre books so he can’t get too many other books this week. 
“Light load,” You comment, scanning the books. “You bought this one a month ago, too.” You note, holding off on scanning A Good Girls Guide to Murder. 
   “My sister wants to read it,” He explains, flipping through the pages. “And she likes to dogear pages.” Cringing, you scan the book and read him his total before leaning against the counter. It’s a large enough counter that most of your body can rest against it while he pays while you use your phone to order some lunch. 
“That place sucks ass,” Jason comments as he’s putting his card away. You roll your eyes and look up at him. 
   “I’m hungry as shit and there’s no good places around within a reasonable price, this place has decent grilled cheeses.” You justify and he finishes paying. 
   “What would you have gotten?” He muses, leaning against the counter so the two of you are face to face. Staring at the sad picture of a grilled cheese you huff. 
“Five guys,” You admit, looking back at him. He nods, silently urging you to continue while looking you up and down, his eyes slowly moving. You also don’t notice it or the small smile on his face when you don’t move away from him. “Strawberry milkshake and grilled cheeseburger.” You finished. 
   “No fries?” He asks and you shake your head. 
   “I don’t really eat fries from there,” You admit, fiddling with the skin around your nails. 
“Sounds good,” He tilts his head a bit, grinning so his canines are showing. He watches as your eyes dip once and then twice to his lips before they finally stay on his face. 
   “It’s fucking good. An arm and a leg, but still,” Standing up, you groan and stretch. He stands up too and puts on his helmet. You watch and wait for him to dip his head down before giving his head two pats. For good luck, of course. 
When he leaves, you return to your seat and look over the shop. There’s a dozen or so people inside, some people who are clearly not there for books as they’re recording those random interviews with the tiny microphones and such. You should really stop them, maybe put up a sign or something. But they’re leaving anyway. So it doesn’t really matter. 
“Did you kiss?” Your sister asks, walking over to grab one of the candies.  
   “Girl,” Your face scrunches and she tosses the wrapper at you but it falls short. 
    “Just saying, seemed awfully close.” She shrugs. “I would’ve made a move on him a long time ago.”
“You’re ten.” Huffing, she huffs back and puts her hands on her hips. 
   “Nineteen,” She corrects. Making a talking motion with your hand, she smacks it away and throws a fireball candy at you. “That’s why you’re forty and a virgin!” 
“Neither of those are true,” You stress, tossing the candy back into the bowl. “And didn’t you just get dumped by some loser who said he’d absolutely eat a turducken covered in chocolate?” She rolls her eyes and walks behind the counter to sign into work. 
   “I dumped him,” She corrects. “Unlike your failed relationship with the guy who wanted you to pretend to be a woman.” 
“Too low,” You sigh, shaking your head. “Too low.” 
With your lunch break in full swing, you’re upstairs in the break room watching some crappy straight-to-DVD movie your father had bought years back while eating the very sad grilled cheese when the door opens. Half expecting it to be another family member, you don’t look away from the TV and give a small hey but when no one replies you look towards the door and hum surprised to see Jason there. Even more so on who let him in 
“Missed me?” You grin, watching as he closes the door behind him and rolls his eyes. 
   “Little delivery,” He corrects and motions for you to turn back to the movie. You do, albeit a bit hesitant to do so, but you try not to look back when you hear him getting closer. “Close your eyes, too.” He adds when you look as far back as you can without turning your head. Groaning, you cover your eyes with your hand just to prove you’re not peeking and hear him set something down on the spot next to you. 
“See you next week!” He pats your back before snatching the half-eaten grilled cheese from your hand and you take it as a sign you can open your eyes. You’re not even upset he’s eating your lunch, it wasn’t good. Looking at what he had set down, you see the familiar white and red bag and crack a smile. 
   “You got me Five Guys?” Your head whips to the door but it’s already shutting and you can hear his heavy boots quickly running down the stairs. Turning back to the bag, you pull your phone out and scroll to find his contact. 
Thank you
we feast tonight 
The two of you don’t text much, mostly if he had forgotten something in the shop or given him a heads-up that the bookstore was closed for the day. Hell, his contact name is still Jason (bookstore fav). But he reads it immediately and thumbs up the last text. 
This grilled cheese sucks by the way
It feels like plastic
Probably is lol
While Jason is very much a regular at the shop, you don’t really remember when he first started to frequent the shop. Just that one Sunday, you had seen the time and noticed he was late to the shop. He’d come in almost three hours later than he normally did and watched as you sighed, tossing his favorite candy at him before ushering him to the counter. He listened as you told him that next time he is late he needs to text or you’d send out an amber alert yourself. 
He truly hadn’t thought anyone had noticed the change in his routine. Especially someone he only saw once a week. It had been a really shitty night for him and an ever-shitter morning, feeling like a ghost wandering through Gotham, living in a life he never should have. 
He apologized with a grin and gave you his number. He also spent a little extra time in the shop, loving the familiar smell around him. He loves the bookstore more than he loves his guns, more than he loves most things really. It’s the only normal thing in his life and truly, Jason doesn’t know what he’d do without it. Without you, honestly. He’s only ever there when you are and a place is only as welcoming as the people inhabiting it. 
Which is why he’d picked up the 2 am phone call so fast. 
“Jason?” You whisper shout into the phone. He can hear some harsh wind and some distant shouts in the background, but it took much less than that for him to abandon his patrol and start over to you. “Shit— I’m sorry but I don’t know who else to call.” You add, the clarity hitting that during an emergency you called the guy who lived nearly half an hour away on a good day.
   “It’s okay, doll,” He replies and you dare to glance behind you. Maybe they’d given up by now, but no. “What’s wrong?” He asks as you round a corner. “Where are you?” He quickly adds and you glance at the road signs. 
“Uhh, heading towards Second Ave and Belcher Street. My friend's boyfriend thinks she’s cheating with me and him and his friends are chasing me,” You explain.
   “Guns?” He asks, already leaving the Gotham border. 
   “No,” You huff, the strain of running heavy on your chest. “Just knives.” 
That’s good, he tells himself. Distance is what you should be focusing on. But he knows that the regular person cannot run for nearly as long as he can and realistically, you’re bound to get tired much sooner than multiple people. 
   “Is there a crowd nearby?” You can hear some muffling to his voice but that’s honestly the least of your issues. “Maybe a club or hospital.” He adds when you don’t respond fast enough. 
   “No,” You strain. “Just apartments and shit. God, fuck! Do you think I should climb the fire escape?” There are several ahead of you, and one of them is low enough for you to grab. 
“Can you?” He asks. 
   “Yeah— yeah,” Jumping up, you pull yourself up and start climbing up to the roof. “Shit, I’m really high up,” You pant, daring to look over the edge and see the guys climbing up. “They’re climbing up,” You tell him, quickly backing away and trying to find an exit. What type of roof doesn’t have a fucking exit? 
“I’ve seen people jump from roof to roof,” You're thinking out loud at this point, trying to find some type of solution to your stupid idea. “Can’t be that hard, right?”
“Depends on the distance,” He truthfully tells you and you look at the two nearby roofs. 
   “Definitely too far. I’m fucked.” 
“Still on Second and Blecher?” He asks and you mutter a yeah when you see them reach the roof. 
   “They’re up,” You mumble. “I could jump and live, yeah?” Glancing to your left, you see a dumpster and reassure yourself that you’d be fine. 
   “Do you think you can come back down the fire escape?” He asks. “Is there one behind the building?” Looking behind you, you let out a loud sigh.    
“Yeah— yes, heading down.” Rushing down as fast as you can, you reach the ground as they’re in the middle and run back into the main road. 
“Head back down the way you came,” Jason instructs. He’s only five minutes away at this point, maybe three if he tries hard enough. He just needs you to buy five more minutes. 
   “Okay,” 
Running for what felt like an eternity, your legs are burning and your chest is tight. Maybe that one time you lied during your physical exam was coming back to bite you. 
But they’re still chasing you and Jason is still guiding you. You’re sure you’re about to pass out when a motorcycle drifts in front of you. 
“Red Hood?” You gape, panting. The fuck? 
   “Come on,” You hear him and Jason say. You’ll worry about that once you’re away from those absolute track-and-field freaks chasing you. Getting on the motorcycle, he holds your thigh with one hand before pulling off. 
The ride is silent as you’re catching your breath and just making sure you’re okay in general. Aside from the insane burn in your calves, you’re fine. The ride does a lot to calm you down, by the time he reaches the shop your head is pressed to his back and you’re holding him not as tight as you were before. 
“I don’t know your address,” He admits and you laugh into his back. After all that happened it’s a little humorous that your biggest issue is Jason getting your address. You give it to him and it takes him a second but he has the route mapped out before he pulls back onto the street. 
“I’m staying the night.” He tells you as you get off of the bike. You don’t protest, not in the slightest. You’re far too tired to do so anyway. Instead, you wave him over and head upstairs. He tries to hide his helmet from the camera view but you tell him they don’t work. 
“This guy got robbed two days ago; whole building found out the cameras are fake,” You explain while leaning against the elevator wall.
   “And you feel safe?” He incredulously asks, looking you over. Even buildings in Gotham have working cameras.  
    “I have a gun,” You shrug while he looks at you with more of an analyzing gaze, a little surprised you’d have a gun. “And no valuables. My electronics are all secondhand for that exact reason.”
“So, steal the couch?” He jokes. 
   “If it can fit through the door, it’s yours!” Patting his arm, you exit the elevator and fish out your keys. Thankfully you hadn’t dropped them during the chase. 
“What happened?” He asks as soon as you close and double lock the door. Looking at him, you drop your phone and keys onto the kitchen island before heading back to the door. 
   “My friend, Gina,” You start with a sigh, kicking your shoes off. “She used to be my beard in high school. But we never officially broke up, I guess because she posted a story saying happy six-year anniversary. With a bunch of pictures of us together. Her boyfriend saw and he’s always been…” Rolling your hand, you open your closet and grab a new outfit. “He thinks I’m lying ‘bout being gay. Because I’m too… I dunno what he thinks. But he says I don’t look gay and he’s never seen me with a guy before.” You explain with a huff. “Not my fault I’ve been single for two years, y'know. I got school and work and whatever!” Slamming the closet shut, you sigh and apologize. 
“I’m gonna take a shower, feel free to snoop and prod. And take the boots off, I just moped.” 
“Course,” He doesn’t move an inch as he unties his boots and walks to the shoe rack to set them down. You thank him and head into the bathroom. 
“If you gotta piss or shit, go ahead. I got a curtain and a strong scent blaster plugged in.” You tell him at the doorway to the bathroom. 
  “Noted.” He laughs but it drops once the door closes. 
He finds himself making sure the windows are locked and the curtains are properly drawn. He grabs his phone and saves your address into his personal map before he goes to check to see what type of security measures you have. And there’s not many, just a gun that’s badly hidden in your bedside table and the extra lock on the door. 
But there’s not much to the apartment, the decor is extremely minimal but he remembers you talking about saving to buy a house in the countryside. Or at least outside of a city. Own land and all that. 
He can’t decide if that’s good or not, there’s nothing to steal for sure, but it’s also really sad. There’s no personal touch to your apartment, it reminds him of one of his safe houses. 
He settles himself into the couch once he’s checked over everything, listening to the sounds of the shower and eventually, he hears the shower turn off. 
When you return to the living room in a pair of shorts, you’re a little surprised that Jason is still there. 
“Bruce Wayne as Batman makes a lotta sense,” Opening the fridge, you pull out two water bottles before setting them on the counter. 
“(Y/n),” Jason stops that conversation. “You should file a police report.”
“Fuck is that gonna do?” You huff, closing the fridge and opening the freezer to grab a popsicle. “Gina will hate me, cops will just forget to file it, and then I get harassed.” 
“They tried to kill you,” He stresses, blocking you from moving away from the fridge. You stare at him, a little upset that he’s caring so much. You feel bad for even calling him and sending him out of his way. And now he’s staying for who knows how long. Not to mention now you know his biggest secret— a family secret at that, one that you can tell one person, and suddenly the whole world knows. 
   “Happens every day,” You shrug but honestly, yeah, that shit scared you. His face drops and he snatches the popsicle from your hand before tossing it on the counter to your left. 
“No. Not to you. Not to most people. So what if Gina hates you afterward? Do you want a friend that’s known you since high school who would rather side with her crazy boyfriend?” 
“Of course not!” You groan. “But it’s Gina. She’s always been there and— and this is a one-time thing,”
“You sound ridiculous,” He tells you as he walks out of the small kitchen and into the living room. “Trying to kill someone isn’t a fucking one-off. It’s a crime, a legit crime. Has Gina even checked if you’re okay?” He points to the phone that’s still on the counter; the same phone he knows for a fact hasn’t buzzed once. 
   “No.” There's no need to check your phone, you already know there’s nothing from her. She’d never text you first. He nods as if to say there’s your answer. 
“Look, Jason. It was scary as fuck,” You admit. “But I’m good. And I thank you, but you should go home. I just…” Looking off to the wall. “I don’t know why I called you, I feel like shit for dragging you away from your home.”
“I was spending my night watching Harley and Ivy dry hump in front of a newly exploded power plant. You didn’t take me away from shit.” He blinks before heading to the couch. “Besides, it’s too late to drive back. I’m beat,”
“You’re lying,” You deadpan, tossing a water bottle between your hands. 
   “Am I?” He fake yawns, leaning back on the couch. “Can I get a blanket?” Clearly, he’s not going to leave, and it would be bad as a host to not make him comfortable. Asshole. 
   “Fine,” He grins as you walk away. 
“Oh and Jason, Gram’s told me about the payment plan you set up. Taking advantage of a woman who can’t speak English is rude. She thinks you’re paying five dollars a week for some back dues you owe.” It was actually five hundred thousand dollars a week, which was absurd but hey, if he insists. 
   “It’s just nine million,” He calls back. “Not even my money and B won’t notice it’s gone.” 
Just nine million, you repeat to yourself as you find a suitable blanket. It’s one of those thick fur blankets with a tiger on the front. 
“The couch is a pull-out, by the way.” Heading back into the living room, you tuck the blanket under your arm. “I’ve used it like once. It’s pretty comfortable unless you want the bed.” You add, setting the blanket on the edge of the couch. There’s no coffee table, you don’t see a reason for one. 
   “I can sleep on gravel, doll. I’m fine, thank you.” For some reason, his eyes are having a hard time staying on your face but you’re busy walking back into the kitchen to notice. 
“If you’re hungry make anything, I’m going grocery shopping in two days anyway.” Tossing the popsicle back into the freezer, you lean against the counter and watch him. It’s a little staring contest you have going on. His eyelashes are nice, real pretty boy-esque. 
The silence and tension in the apartment is broken by four rapid knocks to the front door followed by a worried: “(Y/n)?”
“Gina,” You tell Jason as he’s already off of the couch and halfway to the front door by the time you stand up straight. When you walk up behind him you pause, when did he have time to grab a gun? But he’s looking through the peephole before looking back to you and holding up two fingers. You almost laugh, this isn’t some military operation; just a… friend? at your door. 
“Please,” Gina says through the door. “We just— K wants to apologize,” Huffing, you look at Jason who’s standing behind the door, one hand on the top lock. He truly doesn’t want to unlock it, but it’s your apartment. Your call. 
   “Says who?” K snaps, his voice a lot more muffled than hers is. 
   “You’re going to fucking apologize.” She snaps right back. 
He raises an eyebrow and you nod to the door against your better judgment. He unlocks the door and stands in front of them, really standing over them with his damn height, the arm holding the gun hidden behind the door. You can basically hear Gina pause when she sees him. 
“Who are you?” Gina asks, looking him up and down. 
   “A friend.” He answers simply and then looks over to you. “Your friend is here.” 
“Thanks, Jay.” You smile and usher him into your bedroom with two quick glances. “Gina,” You greet a little harshly as you stand at the door. “Kyle.” You look at him for only a second. 
   “It’s K.” He corrects. 
“Can we come in?” She asks, stepping forward. “I explained everything to K and he’s sorry.” She looks back at him and he’s just standing there with this stupid look on his face. 
   “Is he?” You ask, looking at Kyle. “Because when he was screaming: I knew you weren’t a fag; I’m gonna cut your dick off; stop running bitch; and since you wanna pretend you’re a fag come and taste our dicks he just didn’t seem real sorry.” She cringes, he hadn’t said that part through the yelling they were doing. 
“I don’t wanna lose you,” She places a hand on the door, not that you were planning on closing it just yet. “Let us in and he’ll apologize.” Sighing, you look at her and frown. Between not even texting to see if you’re okay and then coming over with the audacity to think that a fucking apology would smooth things over, you were peeved. 
   “You’re losing one of us tonight. Him or me.” She takes a step back and frowns, her eyebrows knitting as your words settle in her. But at that moment, you knew the friendship was over. It shouldn’t ever take that long for an answer like that. 
“(Y/n), he’s sorry!” She almost shouts, shouting as if you had given her this impossible task. You want to reply, you want to yell, and to get into it then and there. But it’s no use. Your neighbors are sleeping, you’re tired, and far from a mood where you want to interact with them. As such, you close the door and put the locks back on. 
She shouts some things from the other side but you’re not listening as you enter your bedroom. 
Jason was standing right next to the door, startling you. If he hadn’t been so close you wouldn’t have seen him in the darkness. 
“Is that a requirement for vigilantes?” You ask, clutching your chest in an exaggeration. “Y’all are fucking spooky,” Tossing yourself onto your bed, you stare up at him. 
“She’s still at the door,” He ignores the comment on his family business once again. Instead, his eyes trained on your front door, watching and waiting to see what their next move is going to be. You hope for their sake it’s leaving because his hand is still on the safety of his gun. 
   “Not like they can get in,” You shrug, laying flat on your back. “I never give my key to anyone and it takes a full round of bullets to break the door.” 
“You know that how?” He asks, setting his gun down on the dresser. 
   “Last year my neighbor's crazy ex tried to break in but the door didn’t budge.” 
“Of course,” His head dips back into the bedroom, watching you. “Sleep, I’ll be in the living room.” 
“Okay,” Turning your head to look at him, you grin. “If you get nightmares, the bed is free.” Patting the empty space, Jason rolls his eyes with a grin and leaves the room. “Your gun?” You call after him, staring at the handgun still on your dresser. 
   “I have two more!” He calls back. 
“How the fuck?” But he doesn’t answer. 
The next morning you wake up to the sound of the front door closing. It stirs you, really, but you’re lucid enough to realize that hey, either Jason treated you like a one-night stand or someone had broken in. 
Sitting up in the bed, you collect yourself for a moment and grab his gun on your way out. While you’re surely not as keen as Jason is, you like to think you’re observant enough. The door is locked again, so you figure he didn’t leave and someone didn’t break in. 
“Jason?” You turn the corner to the kitchen and see him standing with a bag of Ihop, staring at you as if he’d gotten caught stealing from the cookie jar. 
   “Good morning,” His eyes flicker to the gun as you set it on the counter. A part of him is proud that you were hesitant enough to bring the gun with you. “I got breakfast.” 
“Aw,” You grin. “Post hate crime meal!” 
“That’s an insane sentence,” He tells you, unpacking what he had gotten. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got you blueberry pancakes, french toast, eggs, and bacon. And the orange juice,” He places two boxes and a large cup of orange juice in front of you, then the straw. But you’re just focused on the fact that you know for a fact that wasn’t a random order. You’d posted about that exact order once before. Maybe a month or so ago. 
   “Oh,” You hum, looking at the food and then at him. “That’s sweet. Thank you.” He hums back, dropping the bag down to the floor, and takes his food. He’d gotten strawberry pancakes, hash browns, an omelet, and a coffee. 
Now you feel bad for not having a coffee table. 
“Wanna watch something while we eat?” You point your thumb toward the living room and he nods. 
While in the middle of watching Breaking Bad, you get up to set the empty containers in the sink and the cup in the trash while Jason watches. He doesn’t really know what to do, he wants to sleep, having stayed up the entire night in case anything happened but he’s enjoying his time with you. Even if the circumstances were… less than ideal. 
“Do you work today?” He asks when you’re walking back. 
   “Depends if my sister calls out,” Sitting, you turn your body to look at him. “I work Wednesday through Sunday, most weeks, at least.” 
“Are you going to make the report?” He also turns his body to you, watching as you toss your head back and sigh. 
   “Probably not,” You admit, looking back at him. “It’s more effort than I care to do,” He blinks, clearly disappointed but he’s not going to push. 
   “You should carry a weapon.” Jason’s not really asking, he’s telling you. “How good are you with a gun?” 
“Not sure,” 
“You bought a gun without training for it?” He asks, slowly as if he’s waiting for you to correct him and tell him that you actually go to the gun range in your free time. 
   “My dad got me it when I moved out.” You shrug, feeling a little ashamed because now he’s looking at you like you’re insane. “He said I needed protection and he doesn’t believe in mace or tasers.” 
“Clearly you do!” He throws his hand up towards the door. “We’re going to the gun range today.” 
“Jay!” You groan, nudging his leg with your foot. He grabs it and slides you down the couch. “I’m fine.” He just hums and leans over you, it doesn’t do much. Aside from shutting you up. 
He’s staring at you, his eyes unwavering from yours while you can’t seem to settle on where to look. It’s making you nervous— he’s making you nervous. The proximity isn’t the biggest issue, no the issue is the fact that you don’t mind that he’s above you, his hand right next to your head, and for fucks sake his breathing is even. 
“You’re going.” 
“Yup,”
Weirdly enough, the shooting range wasn’t in some building. No, Jason had decided to drive the hour's ride to a private lot. While normally you don’t agree to be in the middle of butt fuck nowhere without your own means of leaving, you were willing to bend your rules this one time. 
He has you help with setting up the cans and the body dummies, which are incredibly lifelike. A little creepy, but whatever floats his boat, you guess. He also puts up a new target sheet on a metal wall before he returns to hand you a handgun and ear mufflers. 
“Don’t hold it like that,” He blinks as you’re pointing the gun directly at your foot. You’re not a fool, you’ve played a couple of shooter games before. 
   “The safety is on,” You justify but point it toward the ground instead. Just to keep him happy. He just sighs and grabs his own gun, pointing it toward the dummy. 
“Stand like this,” He watches you from the corner of his eye as you mimic his stance. It’s a little uncomfortable but very technical. “A little straighter.” Fixing your posture he nods and drops his stance to adjust your grip on the gun. He takes your hands and adjusts them appropriately. “It’s not accurate for beginners, but I learned this way.” He explains as he steps behind you and lowers himself to your height. It’s hard when you’re not the same six foot-five that he is, but that’s neither here nor there. 
With his line of sight that is the same as yours, he raises your hands a little higher and a little to the left. You trust his judgment, you’re no fool on how accurate Red Hood is with his guns. 
It's silent, so silent that you can hear him breathing even through the heavy earmuffs. Whether you like it or not, you start to stop focusing on the task at hand and on him. He smells like your soap, too. It’s a little too domestic for the setting you’re in. 
“Take it off of safety,” He instructs, taking two steps away. Doing as he says, you want to roll your shoulders back but you’re worried you’d lose the position. “Go ahead.” His arms cross as he stares ahead at the dummy and you catch the flex of muscle under his shirt. 
Adjusting yourself as lowkey as you can, you close one eye and press the trigger. It's harder than you would’ve thought, giving you only a moment to back out. Following through, you let the recoil push you back a little before looking at the dummy. It didn’t hit the center of the head, instead grazing over the ear. 
“Close,” Jason looks over at you as you’re rubbing your shoulder but stops when you catch him looking at you. “Again?”
“I mean,” One of your friends, Tasha, takes a long sip of her drink. “None of us wanted to say anything but Gina is a bitch.” Frowning, you push around your food with the back of your fork. What was supposed to be your friend group's monthly putting ended up becoming a major therapy session when they noticed that Gina wasn’t there. 
   “Yeah,” Dante gives you a sort of frown sort of smile. “But you’d been friends with her for longer than us, so it wasn’t really our place.” 
“It’s crazy that it took her boyfriend trying to kill me to realize that, though.” It felt a bit weird, she’d always been in your life, and before the whole incident, you never would’ve thought you’d be without her. But life was the same, if not better with her gone. You didn’t realize how much you didn’t need her until now and honestly, you’re just upset it didn’t happen sooner.
Especially considering all of your other friends didn’t like her. 
“Speaking of,” Alex cranes her neck to look at you. “Who’s Jason?” She grins as your eyes narrow. You’re not one to divulge about your life, especially over text. 
   “How do you know about him?” Setting your fork down, she snorts before digging back into her meal. 
   “Girl, I was the Uber Eats driver.” She explains and looks to the others who are clearly out of the loop. “My first order of the day, some guy named Jason with a blank profile. Whatever, right? I pick up the Ihop order— he knows your taste, cute.” She quickly adds. “And then, I get the address. I’m just thinking (Y/n) created a fake profile. Nah, bro!” She covers her mouth to stop her laughing and to stop any potential food from flying out of her mouth. 
“I knock and this tall guy with this hot face scar opens the door. If he would’ve asked I would’ve taken the tip,” And she didn’t mean money. 
“Clearly he already did!” Dante cackles, watching as you drown yourself in the soda you’d ordered. The others laugh while you have to do damage control. 
“Jay’s a friend who happened to be in the neighborhood when Kyle was chasing me,” The three look at each other, ever aware of the fact that you’re staring at your plate while talking. They just assume the friend part is a lie. “And he spent the night. On the couch.” You add, looking at each of them to make sure that they understand. 
  “And ordered you breakfast in bed. And he left a hundred-dollar tip,” Alex swirls her pasta around her fork while the others gape at the news. 
   “Oh girl,” Tasha looks over at you. “He got a sister?” 
“Too young for your old ass!” You laugh while she pretends to be offended. “His sisters are nineteen and eighteen.” You wondered if you should add Barbra to his list of family. But you think she’s more of an acquaintance than family. But you could be wrong. 
   “You know his family?” Tasha’s eyebrows furrow. 
   “I know of his family. Never met that before.”
“Ah, waiting for the one-year mark?” Alex nods as if she had caught the drift you are trying to get at. 
   “Oh my god,” Rolling your eyes, you lean back in your seat. 
“What? You’re acting like you’re not attracted to that man. He’s fine as hell!” Alex pushes her hair behind her ear as she talks. “Might have to revoke your gay card.” 
“I never said that, it’s just…” Rubbing your hands on your pants, your face scrunches. “He could be straight.” Now, you weren’t going to deny the fact that Jason was attractive. He was the embodiment of your personal preferences, but you were a chronic overthinker with these sorts of things. To the point where it needs to be spelled out for you to get any hints. 
“He got you breakfast in bed.” Dante sounds out each word, putting an equal amount of extra emphasis on it. Just to make sure it really sinks in. 
   “I did that for you guys before!” You defend. 
    “Fine— fine, how do you know him?” Tasha asks and the others nod, happily awaiting your response. 
“He comes into the shop every Sunday. He’s been coming for about four years, give or take.” You shrug and they blink at each other. This is why you’re still single. 
    “Isn’t he the one that bought you Five Guys last month?” Dante is now physically turned to you, his eyes wide and you grumble. You never told them about that. 
   “You’re lying,” Alex cackles. “That’s your man and you don’t wanna admit it. Five guys is expensive.” 
“How about this?” Dante rolls his hand before you can even reply to Alex. “If one of Tasha’s friends got her an expensive lunch without asking, showed up to her job every single shift for four years, stayed with her after a traumatic night, got her breakfast, and didn’t leave until she was truly safe; how much platonic energy does that give you?” 
“Not a lot, but—“
“Nah,” Dante holds your hands as he speaks. “I love you, so don’t take this the wrong way but you’re stupid as fuck. He wants you.”
“He wants the books I sell. And my friendship.”
“He wants to spread something other than pages.” He shakes his head and you snort. “Ask him out, if he says no. Then I owe you a grand.”
“You don’t have a grand.” You deadpan and he nods. 
   “I’m so sure he’ll say yes that I’m making that bet.”
“Fine,” You huff. “But if this ruins my friendship you all owe me lunch for a month.” Surprisingly, they all agree and you settle on asking him on the upcoming Sunday. So, the very next day. 
“Why are your friends watching you?” Your sister asks as she walks behind you to grab one of the display books and swap it for a different one. 
   “Don’t worry about them,” You mutter, too busy watching the window; waiting for the motorcycle to stop in front of the store. She notices, of course, and stands behind you before deciding it was time to take her break and join your friends upstairs. 
Eventually, you see his motorcycle pull up and sigh, fixing your apron but stop when you hear them snickering. This whole situation was stupid, that’s what you’ve decided. But you’ve made your bed, it was time to lie in it. 
Jason walks in, his eyes immediately finding yours but you’re busy ringing someone up. He grabs the basket from the front of the shop and walks around the shop until he sees the line is gone. 
“Jay,” You grin, holding onto the counter. 
   “(Y/n),” His eyes focus on your hands for a second before he grabs a chocolate from the basket. Glancing at your friends, you fix your posture and reassure yourself. “Anything new?” Typically, you’d already be talking about what’s new but there’s just this hanging silence. 
“Nah,” You shake your head but still double-check the inventory log. “But we’re getting some um… science fiction stuff next week.” He’s not too big on those, maybe once in a blue moon he’ll actually buy one. He goes to talk but your phone dings before he can open his mouth. Watching as you grab your phone, your eyes scan over a text before you huff and silence it. 
“I heard about…” You trail into a whisper. “The Riddler kidnapping, you okay?” Not the best way to lead into asking someone out, but hey. Could’ve been worse. 
   “I’m fine,” He nods. “Arms a little sore but I’ll live.” 
“Long enough to go on a date with me?” You ask, a bit quicker than you intended but thankfully your words haven’t jumped up. He laughs, his eyes closing and you falter, glancing up at your friends for some type of support. 
   “That was a bold transition,” He settles himself down. “When are you free?”
“Oh shit, for real?” You grin. “I’m free Monday. Or whenever you are, really. My shifts are pretty flexible,” 
“I’ll pick you up Monday,” 
“I asked you on the date,” You huff. “I’m picking you up.” He crosses his arms and his eyes lower into a sort of unamused expression. 
   “You’ll pick me up, from Gotham?” He asks, just to make sure you know what you’d be signing up for. Truthfully, you hadn’t. And as such, you weigh your options— you don’t even have a car to offer to pick him up in. Damn. 
    “Fine, Monday at eight.” Giving in, he nods and glances around the shop. 
   “I don’t need a book today, see you tomorrow.” He looks you up and down, this time you watch as his eyes slowly drag down and tilt your head. 
“Looking like you already wanna kiss me, Jay.” You joke as his eyes reach yours again. 
   “Since you offered.” He grins and sneaks one single kiss that lasts less than a second. 
“I get off in thirty,”
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bovineblogger · 3 months
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When my best friend and I are stressed or whatever we drive on the highway until we see cows and then pull over to give them melon and politely say hi
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ill give you ten million dollars to get me a photo of yo ufeeding melon to these cattle this is legally bidning this is
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sdwolfpup · 4 months
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More Joy Day 2024 is next week!
And I finally put together a real post about it. Progress!
What is More Joy Day? An explanation cribbed from my original post:
Years ago, I was reading the American Idol recaps over on Televisionwithoutpity.com and I came to this paragraph, written by the recapper Jacob:
Some dick cuts you off on the highway, and you give yourself the pass to be a dick to the next five customers, and your bad mood fades by lunchtime, and you forget the dick on the highway, you forget the color of his car, you forget how he was on the phone with his ex-wife, yelling about custody of their kids, and how he never meant to cut you off in the first place, he was just distracted. Your day continues as planned, and at lunch you check your websites and read a funny recap, and you maybe laugh out loud, and you go home and watch TV. But those five guys give themselves the pass to be dicks to the next five -- they're having a bad day, so it's okay just this once, and they're happy again by lunch -- and those twenty-five become six hundred twenty-five, and those six twenty-five become a million, and you've added to the sum total of anger in the world. But it works with love, too, and kindness. ... Your donation is something tangible, but what it means is something altogether more powerful, and it's that you continue to stand, and you continue to remember that you're not alone, and with reverence for this fact, you can't help but add to joy. Which is your entire job, from the day you're born until the day you die: more joy.
These times are desperately in need of joy, and it is incumbent on us to do our small part if we can, to send the ripples out into the world.
So every year since 2008, in the interest of spreading more joy, I’ve proposed that on a designated day in early January we each engage in one act, either online or physical space (or both!), which brings joy to another person, in the hopes that that person will spread that joy further, and exponentially onward.
This year's More Joy Day will be on Friday, January 12!
EVERYONE is welcome and encouraged to participate in even the smallest way! Some ideas of things we can do, fannish and otherwise:
Write a fic, make a podcast, make a vid, or make a fanart for someone.
Buy someone paid discord or tumblr or Dreamwidth time.
Leave someone a nice comment on their work.
Say something nice about someone.
Say something nice about something fannish you love and encourage squee.
Donate five dollars to the charity of someone's choice.
Send flowers to an online friend in a different city.
Buy someone you know a present.
Plant a tree or a flower in someone's honor and take a picture of it and post it.
When somebody cuts you off on the road, wish them well and hope they get where they’re going safely.
Make somebody a friendship bracelet. Or a construction paper heart.
Call someone you love and tell them so.
Buy someone lunch.
Give a stranger a compliment.
Put up a Zoom background celebrating the person you're talking to.
Or anything else you can think of! The sky's the limit.
Then on Friday, make a tumblr or DW post or tweet or skeet or snapchat or WHATEVER, saying what you've done (and/or a note that it's More Joy day), and that will hopefully help spread things further.
I look forward to sharing the joy with all of you!
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ralfmaximus · 4 months
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Hyperloop One, the futuristic transportation company building tube-encased lines to zip passengers and freight from city to city at airplane-like speeds, is shutting down, according to people familiar with the situation.
Once a high-profile startup, Hyperloop One raised more than $450 million since its founding in 2014, according to PitchBook. It built a small test track near Las Vegas to develop its transportation technology, and for a time took the name Virgin Hyperloop One after Richard Branson’s Virgin invested. Virgin removed its branding after the startup decided last year to focus on cargo rather than people.
Buried halfway through: it's another failed Elon Musk venture.
Not mentioned at all: the only reason Musk proposed Hyperloop was to thwart California's high-speed rail initiative and sell more cars. You see, his alternative technology of shooting supersonic capsules through evacuated vacuum tubes would be so much better than stinky old trains.
The only problem?
None of the technology exists. All the prototypes sucked. Even after ten years and a half billion dollars.
One "prototype" is literally a one-lane concrete tunnel allowing a single Tesla automobile to travel at astonishing speeds up to 107 MPH. Technically you can drive faster than that on most american highways.
Also that's 50-100 MPH slower than the high speed rail California wanted to implement a decade ago.
And now the whole venture is quietly going away.
Unpaywalled version here.
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