#rent coders

[shilshatech]

Shilsha Technologies provides part time or full time offshore dedicated programmer in India We also provide low cost Indian developers who are expert in latest technologies like Angular developer, Reactjs developer, Nodejs Developer, Low cost Indian programmers, Cheap offshore programmer

[luvyeni]

COMPUTER FREAK 𝕼. ( 제이크 )

𝓲𝓲 ㅤ𓈒ㅤ𓈒𓈒 ( 제이크 x fem!reader )   ─── ❛ genre ⸝⸝ smut. content warning. loser!jake. reader is a coder but not much of coding is talked about. handjobs. unprotected sex. sub!jake. word count. 4.1k 「 req? ⦂ yes/no 」 library  !

synopsis … this couldn’t be happening right now; he had to be stuck in some fucked up nightmare. there’s no way his computer did this — not while he was doing that.

𝕼 ㅤ𓈒ㅤ𓈒 yeni’s note .ᐟ i don’t write sub often but when i do it’s like i go a bit crazy 😗… enjoy!

jake really had it all; he was smart, he passed every test he took. he was handsome, many girls would love to be with him; not like they had a chance though. he wasn’t interested in them. he was interested in you, the computer savvy girl who moved into the apartment he shared along with heeseung, jay sunghoon about a year ago.

but jake was terrible at talking to girls; especially you. he’s never been around a girl who’s both nerdy like him, but also fucking hot as you. when you first moved into the apartment he did his best to avoid you, knowing he’d never be able to hold a full conversation with you — but then he felt bad , because you were extremely nice to him , you even made him cookies to show your appreciation… you were even a good fucking baker, was their anything you couldn’t do.

“yn you have to put on some shorts.” jay said as you sat down. “i have shorts on.” you lifted up the shirt , they all averted their eyes. “be for real , you people are the last guys i’d ever flash.” you sat down. “i’ve smelt what that damn bathroom smells like after one of you's been in there.” you grimaced , pushing your glasses up on your face. “ you fixed the wifi?” heeseung asked. “you mean plug it back in? yes and if you call me at 12 in the morning to do it again im going wash my pink thong with all your white clothes.”

“he’d like that i think , he’d get to touch your panties.” sunghoon teased and you rolled your eyes. “no you know who would like it.” heeseung smirked pointing past you; which made you turn around. “good morning jake.” you smiled. “go-good morning yn.” he sat down. “go-good morning yn.” heeseung teased him , he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “now that the family is all together time for our morning meeting.” jay said. “you mean jays nagging time.” everyone laughed at your joke. “im gonna put you on the streets yn.”

“i pay my fair share of utilities; so no you can’t kick me out.” you smiled. “well then i’ll rent your room out , good luck with a new roommate.” you shrugged. “i’ll just share a room with jake, you don’t mind jake?” you turned to him. “hu-huh?” he stuttered. “we-well i mean.” he stressed to find the right words. “you say that now until you find a hard sock in the closet you’ll be sharing.” him and sunghoon snickered. “shut up.” the boy said softly from beside you. “heeseung you proudly show your fleshlight on the night stand?” you said. “it’s my room isn’t it.” your nose scrunched up in disgust. “you’re a pervert.”

“i am man yn , men do men things.” he shot back. “you’re hardly a man.” you stood up. “how about i follow you back to your room and show you how much of a man i am.” you pushed your glasses up , fake gagging. “i respect myself , no thank you.” you walked back to your room. “she knows she wants me.” the guys at the table shook their heads. “does she really?”

jake stood up , putting his cereal bowl in the sink. “i have to go to work,” he said. “do you have to work late today? i have a package being delivered and I need someone to be here and sign it.” sunghoon said. “yn doesn’t work today , she’ll be here.” sunghoon sighed. “she was here last time they came but she was too busy coding to pay attention.” he rolled his eyes. “she’s a coder , that’s her job.” heeseung said , he was another coder , just as passionate as you. “you can’t just pull away from it to open a door.”

“especially if just porn , i opened the box , that’s disgusting.” jake didn’t even entertain his friends , ready to leave. “she was trying make a code for a sims mod she wanted , it wasn’t that important and stop opening my damn mail.” jake spoke up. “i’ll be home.” and with that he was out the door.

his work day was exhausting; he just wanted to go home and sleep. he opened the door; kicked off his shoes at the front , stopping to get water from the fridge , before making his way to his room. “sunghoon is that you?” he heard your door open , sticking your head out. “oh hi jake.” you stepped out of your room , you were dressed in the same shorts from this morning— but instead of a long shirt , you have a cropped tank top on. he had to fight himself to not look at your boobs , but it was hard when they were so full and plump and he just wanted to lay his head on them , touch them… fuck them. “jake?” you waved your hands in front of his face. “h-huh?”

you chuckled; your boobs slightly bouncing. fuck , you didn’t have a bra on. “i asked how was work? did you eat?” he coughed awkwardly, his softened cock stirring in his pants. “o-oh yeah , i had some ramen.” he said. “you need to start eating more healthy , those ramens aren’t good for you.” you grabbed his shoulder. “if you want i can make you lunch to take , heeseung pays me to do it , but you don’t annoy me half as much , so it’s no need.” he nodded. “th-thank you.” he stuttered out , desperate to get to his room , not to sleep anymore , but for other reasons. “okay , it will be in the fridge with heeseungs in the morning.” you turned to go back into your room. “and if sunghoon comes , tell him the package did come and i got but im holding it hostage until he gives me the 100 bucks he owes me for hacking into his instagram account because his dumbass forgot his password.” he nodded and you closed your door.

he basically sprinted to his room; locking the door behind him. “fuck.” he cursed , his hard cock desperate to be touched. sitting down in his gaming chair , pulling up his screen on his pc , hand already palming his needy cock. “sh-shit.”

here’s where jake might be a pervert; he’s tried so hard to just go to twitter and watch the random porn there — but he just couldn’t , it had to be specific; he’s perfectly curated a playlist full of porn and pornstars… ones that look as close to you as they could , because in his eyes no one could look like you , but they could look similar to you. but not only that , they sounded like you too…

this started a few months ago; he stumbled across a video and he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the video; the pornstar looked like you. glasses , same build — and tits just as big as yours. not only that , she sorta sounded like you; but he knew it wasn’t you. she didn’t have same cute nose you had; and her voice was just a smidge deeper and of course no one else might’ve noticed , but he did. that was the first night he past out in his chair , covered in cum; his dick sore for the constant tugging of it. he came to that video more times than he liked to admit that night.

he then started a quest of finding videos just like it; saving them to his computer, all of them ranging from pov to cumshots; professional to amateur, hell he even had solo and couple porns , but they all had a common denominator — they resembled or sounded like you. he was yet to find one of titty fucking yet; but he was looking. “mmh , which one.” he groaned , clicking his favorite , cock now free from his underwear , slowly stroking it as he went through the playlist. “let’s do a real old one.” he clicked the video , sitting back in his chair.

the video is only 1 minute and nine seconds long; but it’s the perfect video — the closest he was ever to getting a direct look like of you; the glasses were identical , everything was… including the boobs. “oh fuck.” he began stroking his cock , just as the model began stroking the cock of her partner. it was a pov , his favorite. because then he could imagine it was him , and you were stroking his cock for real. “oh fuck that feels good.” he moaned.

he bit his lip to cover a moan; he couldn’t risk you hearing him or anybody in the house for that matter because then they’d never let him live it down. he began to speed up, the video replaying over and over as he hunched over in his chair , so close to a desperate relief. he watch the guy cum all over the girls glasses , which he dreamt of doing to you on numerous of occasions; your pretty smile as he covered you in ropes of cum. “fuck yn im gonna cum.” he moaned — then his computer stopped.

his hand immediately stopped; hissing as he ruined his own orgasm. “what the fuck?” he said , hitting the side of the screen; he knew it would do nothing but he still gave it a try. then he realized his worst nightmare has come true; his screen froze, with the porn still on it. this couldn’t be happening right now; he had to be stuck in some fucked up nightmare. there’s no way his computer did this — not while he was doing that.

he quickly unplugged the computer; waited for a bit — he was desperate; he even blew on the plug in hopes it worked. ”please.” he plugged it back in— and no , the screen was still the same, and on the worst part as well , right when he came on the girls face. he couldn’t believe his screen was stuck on this , what else he couldn’t believe is that he still wanted to finish.

he stuck his head out of his door; praying your door wasn’t open. he almost jumped for joy as saw that it wasn’t, he just had to make it to heeseungs room. he quietly knocked on the door , heeseung emerging right after. “what im on my way out.” he said. “no , wait come here.” jake said. “follow me to my room.” heeseung looked at his friend. “you’re good looking but i am a man who loves pussy.” jake rolled his eyes. “just come.” he pushed the door open. “make sure the door is closed.” he panicked. “what is it?”

“don’t laugh.” he started. “if you laugh i don’t know what i’ll do but it will be very drastic.” he said , heeseung grew tired. “come on, show me i have a hot hook up in about 30 minutes, something you’d know about if you did hide in here on your computer doing god knows what.” jake plugged the computer back in , the frozen screen popping back up into frame. “yo dude , what the fuck?” he exclaimed , jake covered his mouth. “don’t shout i don’t want her to hear.” he pointed to the door. “ew gross.” he pushed the boys hand away. “i clearly see what you do with those hands , never touch me again.”

“please help me.” he said. “it’s stuck and it won’t go away.” he whined. “get rid of it for me.” heeseung sighed walking over to the computer , bending down. “whoa , this looks like yn.” he said. “holy shit , if it wasn’t for the subtle differences i would think this was her…” heeseung trailed off. “is this why you’re watching this , because it looks like her?” heeseung smirked. “bro you’re a freak honestly.” he said turning back to the screen. “but respect.” he shrugged. “do you have any others.”

“is that important? can you get it off?” jake asked , already embarrassed. “no.” the boy stood straight. “this is out of my area of expertise,” he said. “heeseung please try.” the boy begged. “you know who might be able to figure this out.” no please don’t say her. “yn , she just helped jay unfreeze his computer too , his didn’t have porn that looked like her on it , but I’m sure this won’t freak her out that bad.”

he couldn’t possibly ask you; you’d probably stop talking to him. think he’s so weird, he thinks he’s weird. “you do school work on here so you’re gonna need her to do it , just pray she has a sense of humor.” he said walking out the door. “and if you get your computer working , send that to me.”

he dreaded doing this; how could he ask you this? he felt his heart in his ass as he knocked on the door. “yn?” he waited. “come in.” he heard your sweet voice , pushing the door open. “hi jake , what can i do for you?” you turned around in your pink chair , legs crossed in the seat. “um we-well i co-could use your help.” he said. “in what?” you chirped , god he was so sick , even in his time of desperation, he couple only think about sinking his cock in between your plush toys , and fucking them until he covered you in his cum. “it-its with my computer , it’s kinda hard to explained.” he said — and sure it was. “oh okay , let’s go take a look at it.”

you got up from your seat; walking past him and out the room. “it’s probably nothing i can’t fix.” you opened the door to his room. “it smells surprisingly okay in here.” you made your way over to the computer. “okay , now what’s wrong with it?” you said , searching. “oh wait it’s not even plugged in , let– wait not.” it was too late , you had already plugged it in; the dreaded screen popping up , you were face to face with what seemed like your doppelgänger — in such a compromising position. “um okay.” you said.

“yn im so sorry , it’s not what it looks like.” he said. “well what it looks like is me.” you said. “except my boobs are much nicer than those.” his eyes widened , did you really just say that? “she even has my glasses , are my glasses porn star glasses?” you were taking this extremely well. “yo-you’re not upset?” he said , you chuckled. “jake we live in a confined space and see each other every day, honestly i wouldn’t be concerned in the slightest if this wasn’t me but one of the guys.”

“can you fix it?” you laughed, he was confused. “did you ask heeseung?” he nodded. “wh-why are you asking?” you pressed the ctrl key , then the alt key and then finally the del key. “because it’s so simple to fix this.” you said clicking restart. “you didn’t need me , you just asked heeseung on the day he was being a dick.” he was even more embarrassed now. “there’s no need to be embarrassed jakey.” you sat down in his seat. “i told you im not upset about the video.” you said. “are there more?” you said his eyes widened. “i mean come on , this video is too accurate , hell i wouldn’t thought you edited my head on to it but that’s obvious you didn’t , so that means you had to go searching for this.” you said. “and this can’t be the only one jake , i know it.”

“show them to me.” you said. “yo-you want me to show you, for real?” you moved the chair back allowing him to move in front of the computer. “show me.” you watched him intently as he clicked on the keys; he could feel the burn from your stare as you watched him pull up the album with almost 100 photos and videos. “oh?” you scooted closer; so close that if even turned his head , he’d be staring directly down at your chest. “my god , why do i have so many pornstar look alikes?” you said. “so-some of them are the same.” he said. “ah i can see that.”

you scrolled through the videos; he watched you trembling, his cock twitching in his jeans , he never had a proper release. “oh is this the one you were watching when it froze.” you clicked on it. “wait yn.” you waited for the video to load. “he’s not the biggest.” you said , watching the model jerk him off. “y-yn.” he was so fucking hard right now he felt like he was gonna cum in his pants. “this video is too forced.” you paused it. “he’s barely even moaning.” you said , you were now turning facing him. “how do you sound?”

was this happening right now? were you seriously asking this? “u-um.” his hand went to his cock , to cover it. “don’t cover it.” you moved his hands. “im assuming you didn’t get to finish?” he nodded ; still thinking he was joking , until he felt your hand on his clothes dick. “y-yn.” he whimpered , you pouted. “oh poor you , you’re throbbing.” you stroked him through his pants. “you like my boobs jakey?”

he nodded and you stopped moving, he let out a whine. “oh don’t be so upset.” you took your tank top off , your boobs bouncing from the impact. “come on , i want you to cum just like he did.” you picked his cock back up; kissing his tip, looking up at him — this was his dream , to have you like this; stroking his cock. “you wanna cum jakey don’t you?” he whimpered , nodding. “ye-yes , please let me cum.” you cupped his balls which made him moan loudly. “fuck im gonna cum.” you were getting turned on from hearing him moan. “cum for me.” and he couldn’t help it , that set him off. “im cumming!” he shouted , as cum spurted from his tip on to your face, hitting your glasses. “fuck.” you kept stroking him , his legs twitching. “i can’t , i came , i came stop.” he whimpered. “please stop.” you finally gave him a rest , releasing his cock. “so cute.” you brought your fingers to your lips. “you’re so sensitive , you came so much and i barely did anything.”

you stood up , switching places with him. “i-i can go again , i just need a minute.” he huffed , you smiled. “yeah?” you straddled his lap. “is watching another one of these gonna help , or do you want me to help you get hard again?” you kissed the back of his ear. “i can help you.” your hand came to his , bringing it to your boobs. “do they feel nice?” he nodded. “i’ve seen you staring at them before.” you said , moaning as he began to knead it. “fuck that feels so good.” you grinded against him. “they're so sore , you’re making me feel so good.” your fingers tangling up in his hair. “su-such a good boy.” and just like that he was hard again. “oh i see you liked that?” you chuckled. “ca-can i put it in now?” he didn’t want to cum just from you sitting on it. “i don’t know , you really haven’t been a good boy.” he whimpered.

“i-i have.” he said , his hair sticking to your forehead. “really?” you moved again. “good boys don’t jerk off to their roommate without permission do they?” you said , he shook his head. “that’s right , only perverts do.” he was about to blow his load. “y-yn pl-please let me put it in , wa-wanna feel you.” he begged , you loved it , he was so willing to do anything to cum. “i don’t really think you deserve it , i think you don’t deserve to cum for the rest of the week.” you began to stand up.

no , he couldn’t go that long he was sure , he jerked off almost everyday, he knew this would kill him. “please let me put it in , please i’ll be a good boy i promise.” he said. “i wont cum with out your permission ever again. , please , i’ll do whatev– oh fuck!” he gasped as you sunk down on him. “oh fuck , fuck fuck!” he moaned as he felt the warmth of your cunt. “jakey you’re so big.” you began to move , his head was thrown back , eyes crossed almost as you rode him. “that’s it jakey , you like it?” he nodded. “so-so much , please go faster.”

you grabbed his cheeks forcing him to look at you. “you wanna kiss?” he nodded. “please.” you kissed his lips , bouncing on his cock. he was in heaving right now , if he could feel this for the rest of his life — or at least for the next two minutes, then he could die a happy man. “y-yn im gonna cum again.” he said , looking up at you with wide , tear filled eyes. “can i cum? please can i cum?” he moaned , you kissed his forehead , tugging at the nape of his neck. “good boy for asking , you can cum.”

his hips involuntarily shook as he bucked up into you cumming hard. “fuck.” he wrapped his arms around your waist , as he pumped what felt like the largest load he ever gave. “jakey.” you moaned , he slightly bit down on your shoulder. “can i keep going?” he nodded , he was willing to push forward even though his cock was sore. “ye-yes you can.” you began to speed up. “oh fuck , jakey yes!” you squealed , the boy below you moaning loudly as he felt overwhelmed by your cunt. “fuck im gonna cum.” you moaned , he brought his lips to your nipples , sucking harshly on them. “ah yes!” you tugged his hair. “im cumming.”

he felt you cumming , and he thought he was gonna get hard again. “did you cum?” you nodded. “it felt so good.” you praised , scratching his neck gently. “you’re such a good boy jakey , such a good boy.”

he woke up later from his nap later that night ; tired and hungry, you had really did a number on him. he stumbled his way to the kitchen opening the fridge. “fun evening?” heeseung stood in the hallway. “fuck off , you set me up.” he took the cookie off the plate. “I’m starving.” he said. “im sure , you want some ramen?” he nodded. “and i didn’t set you up , i knew she wouldn’t mind it?”

“how do know?” he said. “because she’s fucking obsessed with you bro.” heeseung said. “he’s right.” they both turned to where you were standing in his shirt. “you’re just haven’t been paying attention.” you said , sitting in his lap, his eyes widened. “too busy watching porn that looks like her.” heeseung waited for the water to boil. “but that’s okay , that means you can make it up to me right?” you smirked feeling him get hard again. “ye-yeah.” you stood up. “good boy.” you made your way back to his room. “oh that was gross.” heeseung gagged , but jake didn’t care. “just leave the ramen out on the stove.” he followed behind you. “please keep it down I have homework.”

“there you are.” you waited on his bed. “come here.” you moved your pointer finger; he moved towards you. “good boy.” he crawled on to the bed , your legs spreading for him to sit in the middle. “what do you want?” you asked. “to-to taste you , i really want to taste you.” he could almost taste it on his tongue. “go a head.” you pushed his head down , where you were already bare and ready for him. “you know what to do.” you moaned feeling him lick your clit. “oh fuck.”

“such a good boy.”

©️LUVYENI

[starryeyed-apple]

a fresh start (back to the beginning)

part i of small town au xavier series

synopsis: you thought that once you left your hometown, you were done with it forever. but fate has a funny way of working itself out, and your world falling apart drives you to return. and in the back of your mind, you can't help but remember him...

★pairing: xavier x fem!reader ★wc: 2.4k ★content: fluff and some angst, humor. small town dynamics, returning to hometown, childhood crushes. reader's grandpa had a health emergency as part of the plot (he's okay). reader is a medical coder, and still has heart problems. brief zayne mention (back in the city). mainly exposition in this chapter. ★a/n: YIPPEE YIPPEEEE im so excited to be starting this one. please be patient with me as this is the first series I've done in a while, and it may take time to get updates out because I want to take my time and have fun with this <3 ★masterlist ★read on ao3 ★series masterlist

Maybe you should've known, that despite everything in you trying to stay away, you'd always come back again.

There's a rush of relief when you see the deer on the town's welcome sign once you turn off the freeway, mixed with a sinking feeling of dread. A sensation that you've never been able to shake. A deep seated disappointment that yes, every road you'd taken away from here had eventually led you straight back.

You'd tried. You really did.

And you'd done pretty well for yourself, for a while. You'd landed a career that actually suited your education, one with benefits and a retirement plan on top of that. Also, it didn't make you want to peel your skin off 24/7, so that was a bonus.

You had a nice little townhouse all to yourself, with low enough rent, and good restaurants near your neighborhood.

A tight-knit group of sweet friends pulled you along with them when they went out on the weekends. And your boy—

You pause in your reminiscing, glancing down towards your hand on the steering wheel when you turn the car off the main street.

Yeah, no. Not thinking about that.

But it all boiled down to that phone call that nearly stopped your heart, already too faint for its own good all on its own.

The stop sign right before you turn onto your street is still a little crooked, a monument to the storm that had ravaged through the town back in '02. You'd only been a kid, and remembered how the water on the street came up to your knees before Gramps had swept you back inside.

Gramps, you think with an ache in your heart, hands tightening on the steering wheel before you force your grip to loosen.

His old beat-up truck is still in the driveway when you pull in next to it, and you have to remind yourself that that's all the scare was—fear, unrealized.

He was still inside, still okay. Maybe a little worse for wear, but alive.

Still, you wouldn't believe it until you saw it.

And so you're rushing out of the car when you've barely turned the ignition off. The keys dangle in your shaky hands when you take the steps up to the front door two at a time, an unbidden sob escaping your throat when the door's already opening.

Your grandpa just smiles, waving you closer from the wheelchair that his longtime neighbor pushes out—the very neighbor who'd found him passed out in the driver's seat of his truck when they came home after work.

"Oh, my girl," he sighs when you collapse into the hug he's waiting for, crying into his shoulder.

His wrinkled hand comes to pat the top of your head, and you finally feel at ease for the first time in the last 48 hours, since you'd gotten the call he was in the hospital. It was just a mini-stroke, they'd reassured, and you wanted to laugh bitterly if the sound wasn't stuck in your throat. Just.

"I'm okay. It's all okay now."

He wipes your tears and laughs, deep and joyous, when you pout at him.

"You scared me." You try not to sound like a whiny child, but the sound escapes you anyway, afraid you'd lost the only family you'd ever had in the blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry, girlie." He pats your head again, smiling, and it brings the first smile in the past two days onto your face. Relief finally floods your chest, and you deflate with it. "Come on, let's get you inside. Have you eaten? You look more like death than I do."

You laugh at the familiar dark humor as you grab onto his wheelchair handles to push him inside. Shooting a grateful glance towards Bethany, your neighbor, you mouth a sincere thank you. She just smiles.

"Anytime, sweetie," she hums, tucking your hair behind your ear, and the familiarity soothes that ache that still sits in your chest.

That persistent, gnawing feeling that now that you're back, you're not getting out again.

Still, there's comfort when she offers a warm greeting to your return, "Welcome home."

With a quiet groan, you squint at your laptop screen, all the letters making up the medical jargon jumbling together. You reread the sentence about which vein had been surgically connected to which artery for the fifth time, glance towards the codes, and lean back in your chair.

It had only been a week back home, and you were already going crazy. You could still do all your work remotely, thank god—but that just meant you were stuck with the same work and same old views all day, now. It was hard not to start feeling stir-crazy already, missing the life you had built for yourself.

Even if it had already started falling apart before you got the call.

Rubbing the heels of your palms against your eyes, you sigh, blinking rapidly at the lights that swim in your vision when you pull them back.

"Too many veins. Too many fucking arteries," you grumble, reaching for another sip of your latte, only to discover you were on its last dregs again. "Aarya—"

"No way," the barista calls from the counter, leveling you with a glare that rivals your own. "That's the second one you've had today, missy. I'm not making you another one, I know how your heart acts up when you've had too much."

You groan and huff, head dropping onto your arms on the corner of the table where you'd set up your work.

"It's not my fault." You switch tactics to whining instead, smirking into your arms when you sneak a glance to see your old high school friend wincing at the sound. If it grated on her nerves enough, she'd give in. She always had. "This is the fifth cardiovascular surgery in a row."

"That's too bad," Aarya sings, shooting you a smirk when you lift your head to glare at her. "Hey, you wanted to move to the city to work for a big hospital, now you have to deal with the consequences."

You stick your tongue out at her, and she returns it with a rude gesture that makes you bark out a laugh. It eases that tension at the base of your neck, and you sigh, rolling out the remaining tightness.

Glancing out the window you're seated next to, you squint at the small stage set up at the civic center right across the street from your favorite coffee shop.

"What's going on over there?" you ask, glancing over the small crowd that had gathered around whoever was giving a speech on stage.

Aarya leaves the counter to walk up behind you, leaning down to get a better look.

"Oh, that." She rolls her eyes, disinterested. "It's re-election time."

You look at the speaker for a few more seconds. Their platinum blond hair is graying, eyes too blue even from a distance, and then realization hits you.

"Is Mayor Shen still the mayor?"

"Yup," with a pop of the p, she shoots you a knowing smirk. "Some things never change, do they?"

"Is that even legal?" you ask, trying to remember if there was ever a time when the richest man in town hadn't also ran it. "Can you be mayor of a town for that long?"

"Who knows?" Aarya throws up her hands with a shrug, readjusting her septum piercing before sitting across from you. "Small towns and all that. People like things to stay the same."

"I guess so," you mutter, chin propped on your hand as you look back at your friend. "Does anybody even run against him?"

"Yeah, sometimes. I think somebody else is campaigning this year, but I can't remember who." She smirks, a familiar look in all its cynical charm. "They'll lose anyway."

You sigh, shaking your head as you look back at your laptop screen. With a groan, you slam it shut, earning an arch of Aarya's pierced eyebrow.

"Dr. Li will forgive me for taking a break," you tell her with a bright smile, and she huffs out a laugh.

"Dr. Li sounds like a merciful boss."

"Sometimes," you allow with a shrug. Zayne could be sweet if the mood struck him, especially if you were catering to his sweet tooth.

The surgeon was far too serious for his own good, but you had grown fond of him in the time you worked for the cardiovascular department in Linkon City's top hospital. His medical reports were way more organized than most other doctors you've coded for, and he was patient whenever you needed to ask for clarification.

"He's not really my boss, though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." You nod, staring longingly at what had once been a full cup of coffee, as if willing it to refill on its own. "Hospital administration pays me."

Your phone chimes with a medication reminder, and you pass on the message in a quick text to your grandpa. Waiting, you see the read notification light up with the time, and frown when there's no further response.

With a sigh, you push yourself up from your seat, tucking your laptop back into your tote bag.

"Gotta go check on the old man," you explain at Aarya's questioning look. Fondness coats your voice at the nickname for him, emphasizing your hushed worry, and she softens.

"How's he doing?" she asks, her voice notably quieter, kinder than her usual harsh-edged monotone that you love so dearly.

"He's good," you brush off, because he was. Because he had to be.

You couldn't entertain any notion that he wasn't, even if he was remaining tight-lipped on everything the doctors had to say in his brief hospital visit. Stubborn as always, just like he'd raised you to be.

"Yeah, he's good."

"Good." Aarya is nodding, her mouth opening to say something else, but you're already spinning around towards the door, your practically empty drink in hand in preparation to throw away.

You stumble back in surprise when you collide right into somebody else as they walk into the café.

The jingle of the bell distantly rings in your mind while you sway dangerously, steadied by the gentle strength in the hands that quickly come around your shoulders.

"Woah," you hear a soft voice mumble.

It's faintly familiar in its melodic lilt, and your widening eyes shoot up towards its owner.

Deep blue eyes peer back at you, slowly widening a fraction as they take you in.

"Xavier," you breathe, and clear your throat. "Uh. Hi."

Xavier Shen blinks a few times.

Long, slow blinks, his head tilting to the side as he continues to take you in. It makes the bangs of his fluffy, silvery blond hair fall across his gaze, and he doesn't even bother to push it back.

"Oh," he finally says after a long moment that feels more and more like eternity. "It's you."

You try not to wince at the utterly lackluster reaction. Or retreat into your shell because of how long it took him to even recognize you.

"Yup." You attempt a laugh, grimacing internally when it comes out strained. "It's me…hi."

Trying to wave awkwardly, it gets even more awkward when you remember your cup is still in your hand.

The awkwardness intensifies when you realize even though it wasn't completely empty before, it's definitely empty now.

"Oh, shit," you hiss, eyes narrowing in on the very noticeable little coffee stain over the pocket of the completely white, pure as fucking snow hoodie that Xavier was wearing.

Your face heats up when he looks down and slowly blinks again.

"I'm so, so sorry," you begin to ramble, hovering around him in a panic. He just stares at the stain, then back up at you. "I—I can pay for you to get it cleaned, or get you a new—"

"It's fine," he interrupts you, not even trying to cover up the yawn that stretches across his face.

He rubs at his eyes, and with the tiniest tilt of his head that can hardly even be called a nod—honestly, it easily could've just been him looking at the menu behind you—he moves past you.

You're left blinking rapidly, empty cup still in hand, staring at the door you had been about to exit through.

You hear him ordering a drink from Aarya behind you, in that same soft-spoken tone he'd always had, and you try not to feel like you've just been left in the dust. A toy never even taken out of its box.

Some things never change, do they? You can practically hear Aarya's voice as you feel the weight of her gaze on your back when you leave, in a daze all the way back to your parked car.

Well.

That…wasn't exactly how you'd imagined it.

But in hindsight, it was Xavier Shen.

Effortlessly cool, top student Xavier Shen, having not a single care in the world as he aced every single test while hardly lifting a finger to study. Sleeping in the back of the classroom and finishing an exam in ten minutes when it was passed back to him.

Xavier Shen, who led the school's fencing team all the way to the national level of competition, and came home with the only first place trophy to grace its barren display cases. And another trophy every year after that, his name shining proudly on the top of the team's list on the shiny plaque.

Xavier Shen, only son of the rich and successful mayor, unsmiling but present in every newspaper photo of a town charity event.

Xavier, who disappeared from school for days or weeks a time, and came back paler, more tired than before.

Xavier, valedictorian and refusing to make a speech. Xavier, never bothering to show up at a school dance, absent even when he won the title of prom king.

Except for…

You clear your throat, shaking your head as you sink further into the driver's seat. Your face is hot when you bury it in your hands, banging your forehead against your steering wheel.

Popular without trying, without even caring, aloof and beautiful Xavier Shen.

Who met your eyes every time you would sneak a glance back at him. Who never said anything when you passed him in the halls, even with the way your eyes were glued to his every move.

Xavier, your biggest childhood crush, who hardly knew you ever even existed.

So maybe it should've been all you expected after all.

[lostintransist]

Tansy Tea for Four

Original thought here from @spookytragedyshark. All yellow lines are directly pulled from their original thought. If the yellow is hard to read, find the all black here. Shout out to @/steddiecameraroll-graphics for the dividers.

A/N: I ran out of work a half hour after I got there but couldn't go home soooooo.... Also shout out to you coders out there. Getting the color added to this fic made my eyes cross several times.

“Okay, I’ll go for Christmas.”

Simon felt the words slide off his tongue, unable to call them back. He wonders if he would hesitate looking back. If he knew that those five words would launch change at him like a manhole cover being launched into space. That was an accident. A lot of accidents led to what Christmas became that year.

Johnny sat upright, scrambling to mark the place in his novel as he stared at his lover.

Simon fought the urge to don his mask. Johnny stared at him, eyes searching for seams as to where the man might have been body snatched.

“Who are you and where is my Simon?” Johnny uses his interrogation voice.

Blinking once to process that he heard the tone he thought he did, Simon shifts as if to move toward the desk at the end of the bed. Instead, he pounced on the man lounging on his bed. Johnny let out a squawk that shifted into a groan as Simon’s weight landed.

“I am your Simon,” he bit the curve of Johnny’s neck. “I’m agreeing because you look sad when you think of missing another Christmas with your family.”

Johnny arched under him, a gasp falling into Simon’s ears. Fingers worked their way into his hair. Simon followed the command implicit in the tug and pressed his lips to Johnny’s.

“I already told my mum I wouldn’t be making it. Now it will be a surprise. You’re in charge of buying her some mead when we land,” he pushed the words into Simon’s mouth along with his tongue. “Can I tell her about you?”

Instead of answering, Simon dipped a hand below Johnny’s waist band.

When Johnny could walk again he found his phone and booked two seats home for the holidays.

The drive to his childhood home sees Johnny’s knee bouncing as his eyes never leave the road. Simon lays a hand on the thigh closest to him. The bouncing stops.

The front door stays firmly shut against the dark as Johnny parks the rented car.

“Leave your stuff, we can grab it if Mum has a room to spare. If not, we will pop down the road,” Johnny nearly levitated from the driver’s seat.

Simon walks silently behind his love, feeding the fears in his head to the demons that dogged his steps. He was doing this for Johnny. Wiping the sadness from his face was worth the weight in every step.

Without knocking Johnny throws open the front door, hollering for his mum. Simon speeds up when Johnny’s voice cuts off with a sob.

“Tansy?”

Stepping through the door Simon gently maneuvers Johnny further into the room to shut the door. He scans every face of the ten or so people dotted around the table. He lands on yours as you step into the room. You are the only face here that doesn’t claim familiarity due to linage. A touch of movement draws his gaze down to a boy, no more than four, staring at him with wide eyes.

Pieces click in his mind as he recalls why that name sounded familiar. Johnny had spoken of you, his first love, the one that got away. The one that literally disappeared. And that child looks like Soap, a Mohawk, and all. The demons in his shadows mauled him now, under the eyes of his lover’s lost love.

“Who?” The kid is pointing directly at him, unafraid, almost entranced by his soft skull balaclava.

You don’t remove your eyes from Johnny, who stands as if struck dumb, as you answer.

“Dad,” you point, “And Ghost,” you point to him now.

Johnny wouldn’t pick him now. Surely not him, not as broken as he is. Pain, sorrow, longing, it’s all hitting him rapid, like a pinball machine.

“Skully!” The child screams excitedly.

“Yes, Ghost. From the pictures.” You glance at him with your nose still in pressed against the kids face. “My darling little soldier, could you play with Mimi for a few?”

The brows pulling together under the mohawk stab at Ghost like a knife from a hidden enemy. He knows that look, has been bested by it time and again from Johnny. The kid lifts a small hand, pointing at him again.

“Later?”

“If they’re not busy with work.” You turn at the waist, setting the child on the floor within reach of Mama MacTavish.

It is not missed on Simon that you are giving them a way out.

Once your arms are free Johnny is there, filling them. He is sobbing. Simon has never heard him cry like this. It tears open the scabs that he had so carefully covered.

“Let’s go to the kitchen, yeah?” Your arm is still looped around Johnny’s waist. Simon can’t breathe beyond the squeeze in his chest.

No one speaks as you are trailed by death into the kitchen. Settling Johnny onto the stool by the stove you step back to the sink and shove your hands into your pockets. Your ears are at your shoulders and your mouth moves fast as you start to explain. Simon stands guard near the door. He can’t decide if his placement will make it easier to run or to keep Johnny’s family out while you and he talk.

“I was planning on talking to you privately but your mum said you weren’t coming for the holidays and I couldn’t stand the thought of him missing another holiday with relatives. You know how I feel about relatives.”

Johnny remembers all the times you said you wished for your kid to have a big extended family. How you cried, scared yours would pass before you had one.

“It was too difficult to contact you, so I called your mum. Bless her, she helped me run the DNA test, so I did not have to worry or bother you if I was wrong.”

“Of course, she helped with the paperwork, so it’s all set up. If anything happens to me, you’ll get him. If you can’t, it’s between my mom and Ghost ,” You nod to Ghost as you say it. His heart has to have stopped. No one would want their child under his care. You shift your gaze back to Johnny, eyes scared. “When you’ve regained the ability to talk, could you please tell me when we slept together, though?”

Johnny, as flabbergasted as he is, blurts out, “That’s not why you disappeared?”

He reaches for you. Simon hears weeping from somewhere in his mind.

“No,” you step between his spread knees, resting one hand on his cheek and the other running over his hair, inviting him to look at you. “I left because I had to. My sister had an incident. Based on your reaction, I’d say it was when I broke up with Jonathan and got messed up?”

Simon looks from you to Johnny like he was studying a painting. The colors are all drenched in his pain. Johnny looks ready to cry, guilt lifted from his soul. He had never mentioned he felt responsible for your absence. Ghost has no clue who Jonathan is or what transpired, but the pieces are there. This, whatever this is, Soap clearly never wanted to even think about again. He had never mentioned sleeping with you before your disappearance, only the shock of the loss, the longing for the friendship lost.

“We were beyond wasted that night. I don’t blame you. We’re adults, we knew better,” you offer absolution with the swipe of your fingers along his face. Simon has never seen a more intimate moment. He wants to vomit and cave in on himself until he is no longer intruding.

“I’d have come,” Johnny’s fingers are curled above your knees, pulling you closer until his chin rests on your baby softened belly. The body changed by his seed.

Vomit creeps up Simon’s throat.

“I thought he was Jonathan’s and he never wanted kids. So it took until Callum started to resemble you. That’s when I started to look for you.”

Johnny is looking at you like an angel, all reverence and awe and bursting with love.

“You named him Callum?” Johnny’s voice broke as tears filled his eyes again.

“‘It’s my favorite name, Tansy.’ The name stuck in my head even though we were thirteen.” Your hand trails from Johnny’s forehead through his mohawk, grounding yourself, Simon guesses.

Simon’s thoughts are derailed when you turn from Johnny, tears in your eyes, to pin him to the cabinet with your gaze.

“When you two become officially public, I’ll have him start calling you Bonus Dad. Seems more fitting and all.”

You’re addressing him, looking at him as the worlds leave your mouth. Fear seizes his system, his brain slows. You know. You know he and Johnny…Johnny would want you now, Simon can’t interfere with that. How does he fix this?

You move away, pacing through the kitchen. Johnny’s hand stay reaching for you, you skirt the widespread fingers with the practice of a mother avoiding sticky giggles.

“I’m not staying anywhere nearby. Actually, I’m moving again, so we’ll have to figure something out about visiting.” You glance at Simon and then Johnny, wincing as you continue, “I steamboated again, huh?”

Johnny nods, mute. Ghost is confused by the phrase, isn’t it steamrolling?

You catch the confusion in his gaze as you address him. “Oh, one more thing. Callum is interested in anything creepy, so be prepared. He’s probably going to have a lot to say about your mask…and try to climb you.”

“Same taste as his mum then?” Johnny must be recovering if he can prod at you.

You level him with a glare. Johnny grins, unrepentant. The interaction has a flavor only time can add. Simon fights to keep his teeth from grinding.

“What about the haircut?” Johnny questions, shifting to take your hand in his.

The hand not being held is banded across your ribs.

You blow out a breath, “He saw one picture of you and demanded a mohawk. Callum was two and I had been avoiding what I knew. He was your child through and through. Jonathan had been out of the picture for over a year at that point. I have pictures of him grinning with my smile as the stylist gelled his hair up for the first time. I’ve got a whole folder of photos for you.”

Silence engulfs the room. Johnny stands, lifting a hand to your cheek as he crowds into your space.

“I would like to me our son,” he whispers the words like a love confession.

You look up at Johnny and Simon can see all the love that resulted in your shared child surfacing in your eyes.

“Okay.” Your whisper barely reaches Simon’s ears.

The moment they reenter the room Callum does in fact try to climb Simon to get a better look at his mask. You effortlessly pick him up and away from Simon’s legs.

“Callum, pause. We don’t climb people without permission. Now, let’s ask. Repeat after me: Simon, will you hold me?”

Electric blue eyes, the same shade as the man Simon would happily walk into hell for, burrow under his bones.

“Simon, will you hold me?”

At his nod, Callum stretches, legs still held firm in your grip. Simon lets out a grunt as he catches the full weight of Johnny’s son. Kid got his fathers density alright.

Small hands slap either side of Simon’s face, forcing eye contact as Callum starts into a tale about his haunted teddy bears and how they can’t move because they don’t have bones. Simon nods when appropriate to show he is listening. His stomach falls into his ass as you and Johnny step further away to sit down on the love seat.

“Did you know I went as a solider for school one day?” Callum’s brows lift as if this is shocking information.

“Oh…uh..” Simon glances away seeing you and Johnny knee to knee with faces nearly touching as you show him something on your phone. “Why?”

“My Mimi gave me a picture of my dad and you. Mum hung it on my wall with tape. You looked so cool with your skull on the outside.” Callum’s face darkens as he continues, “Mum wouldn’t let me wear a skull to school.”

The laughter sealed the deal. Simon swore to himself he will protect this kid. He is too innocent, too perfect. He may not be Soap’s lover much longer, but he will be here.

Johnny looks up from your phone. Simon is still locked in eye contact with his son. My god, he had a son. You, his first love, his Tansy flower, had given him a son. The years between that dim, sweaty night and now pull on him, setting an ache in his chest. As much as he longs to take you in his arms but this is his L.T., his Simon. He can’t give up one love for another.

Callum wiggles, pushing against Simon’s chest. Bending at the waist Simon sets Callum down. He runs directly to Johnny, hands resting on Johnny’s knees as he starts in with the rapid fire words he had also used on Simon.

“Did you know you are my dad? Mum told me all about you, and Mimi has so many stories and pictures of you!”

“Hi bud, I learned today that I’m your dad.” Johnny pulled his son into a hug before setting him on a leg. “I’ve never been a dad before, what do you think a dad does?”

Pursing his lips Callum thought before answering definitively, “Tickles.”

Both your and Johnny’s brows lift and connect gazes.

“Really? Tickles?” Johnny starts in on the request. Callum’s peels of laughter fill the room.

For a few breaths, Ghost adores the interaction. How perfectly Soap takes to his son.

He tears his eyes away. No, this isn’t his place. Simon mutters something about a smoke and steps outside. Soap is enamored with Callum, doesn’t notice at first, but you do.

Silently, you follow. The MacTavish home is small, snug even and it doesn’t take long to find Simon through the windows. Giving him time, to mostly finish his cigarette, you watch him. You are not surprised that Johnny found someone solid in stature and personality. He always was drawn to people who would call him out on his bullshit. The spooky aspect of his mask didn’t hurt either. You had always been drawn to the macabre.

Stepping through the creaky door, you join Simon. It is just you two on the porch. He rubs the remainder of his cigarette out on the bottom of his boot. His eyes don’t leave the horizon.

“Hey,” you say softly, “I am sorry about everything. I know it was shocking, and I have a tendency to kinda take over or uh not rant but steamboat is what we call it. It is a result of my overactive mind.” You are rubbing your neck, looking nervous, “I really want everyone to get along. Soap and his mom have a high opinion of you so—”

“He’ll be with you.” Ghost cannot for the life of him understand why you are apologizing to him. It is out of his mouth before he realizes he even opened it. “If it comes to it, he’ll choose you.”

You look up at him and blink in shock.

“The fuck he will!” Anger is not something he expected when this interaction started. Your fists are shaking as your eye twitches beneath furrowed brows.

“He loves you.” It’s firm, as if stating a fact, it doesn’t hurt him any less to say out loud.

“You are not pulling back from him because of me,” snarling is not something he expected from you by the way his brows lift. Shows how much Johnny said about you.

Ghost hears his own insecurity in your voice, but he can’t help it. He pushes more, “He has loved you longer.”

“And he loves you more.”

The two of you stand, locked in a glaring contest as both hearts bleed out on the stones below.

The whistling of the wind is the only sound as your face softens. Simon has never seen anyone look at him like that before, understanding tinged in empathy. Simon tears his eyes from yours, even an inch further with the knife and his heart will explode.

“Then he will have both of us. No reason for you to go away."

What the hell? Simon is a big man, strong and well trained. He has not been so thoroughly disarmed since his first year of basic training. This is why he doesn’t talk to people. To many chances to fall into traps.

“He clearly loves you. His family loves you. Callum already loves you. I am not letting you walk away because of a choice that isn’t ours to make. Besides,” you tuck your arms close, chin tipping down as you look down and away. The posture reads of shame. “This is my fault. I was so blinded by my own insecurities that I did not think anyone could truly love me. I fell into bed with him because he gives so easily. Why not take what he is offering, even if I think it won’t last? I was bound to fuck it up sooner or later. Some people aren’t made to be loved, I guess.”

Hearing his own thoughts echoed back at him, Simon thinks back to that first night together. Johnny had followed him into his room, fingers deft and kind as he stripped Simon bare. Simon had cried after they lay under the blanket Johnny had found kicked to the end of the bed.

Johnny cooed to him, telling him how even when love is lost it is never gone. He spoke of you that night, how you disappeared and despite all the times he searched over the years you remained lost.

“That is love, Simon. I would search for you if I lost you.” He had grinned then. The darkness couldn’t keep Simon from feeling bathed in warmth when that look turned to him.

Johnny bursts through the door then. Maybe discussing him called im forth like the devil. His head swiveled. He spots you to the left of the door but doesn’t stop looking. Scanning right he finds Simon. His shoulders drop.

“Oh Si,” Johnny crossed the porch, pulling the larger man into a hug. He held on like his lungs might give out without the contact.

You find Simon’s eyes on you as he holds his lover close. The shifting of your lips pretends at a smile, the tears in your eyes ring of truth though. With a hard swallow, you nod once.

“I’m glad your taste in men is as good as mine, Johnny. Your Simon would be someone I chose, too,” you slip inside before either man can truly take in the full meaning of that statement.

Disappearing in a full house takes skills. Johnny nor Simon saw much of you the few days they celebrated. Callum, on the other hand, spent every waking moment pinned to either or both men. They adore the boy and Mama MacTavish sneakily snagged a photo of the three when Callum had fallen asleep on Simon, and Johnny decided a nap was the best order of business.

When gifts were being passed about you hid in the kitchen. Callum happily handed over a new sketchbook for Johnny, his name proudly scribbled under your handwriting proclaiming ‘Callum loves dad!”. Simon took the gift from Callum as carefully as a bomb handoff. He peels the wrapping paper away to expose a wide, soft wool scarf. A tiny white skull had been stitched into one corner of the garment.

Callum gasped before jumping from Johnny’s lap to help Simon put on the scarf.

“Mummy makes the best scarves.”

Everyone laughed at the boy’s exuberance.

Before they returned to work Johnny and you sat down at the table, working out phone numbers and holidays to spend with Callum and what life could look like. You couldn’t nail down a bunch of details yet as you were moving with the start of the new year. Connection had been made though, this time you wouldn’t disappear.

New Years Day saw an adorable photo of Callum seated in an airplane seat with the message ‘Adventure is out there!”

Johnny smiled so wide Simon worried that his face might crack. The photo was promptly downloaded and saved as one of multiple backgrounds. It fell in rotation right behind a photo of Simon’s lower face tucked into his elbow offering a middle finger to the camera.

Simon shoves down the twisted pride that no photos of you appear in the rotation. Johnny had sat down when they got back to base and loaded several of his favorite pictures of Simon and Callum and a photo of a yellow flower to rotate as his background and lock screen.

January 3rd found the men and women of the 141, all seven main teams meeting the first of the several new civilians that would be helping with a variety of things.

Price whistled once and all his people circled up. Simon watched as Johnny’s mouth popped open and his eyes bugged. Confused, he looked towards Price as well.

There you stood. Eyes wide and mouth open a touch, as if you had lost the battle to keep it closed, you stare at them.

“Let me introduce you to new civilian specialized gear mechanic—”

“Tansy!” You cut Price off, “You can call me Tansy.”

Price, confused but known to be one who rolls with it, finished his sentence.

“Tansy. Tansy this is the team. You’ll learn all their names in time, but if any of them give you a hard time," he glared at Johnny and a few others pointedly, "you come to me.”

Price patted you on the back as he spoke again, “Dismissed muppets.”

You send Johnny and Simon a shrug as Price starts walking, telling you about the base and where you will be set up for jobs.

Masterlist | Taglist

A/N: I used the hex code #f3a900, which is called Albany Paint Tansy. It's the little things, ya know?

[andreablog2]

The whole production of this purging of “useless” jobs obviously comes from a cold, efficiency obsessed angle, but also such a stupid one. It’s incredibly counterintuitive to celebrate layoff while boasting to care about the function of society. News of mass layoffs used to inspire sympathy now there’s this really sick and twisted glee people are getting over government workers losing their jobs. The argument for cheering the purge of “useless” jobs obviously comes from a cold, efficiency-obsessed angle. People like Elon Musk or really any hardcore economists who fetishize productivity….think if they get rid of the fat, keep the machine lean, focus on jobs that “matter.” Ideally is frees up resources, cuts waste, and maybe even forces people to level up their skills for roles that actually move the needle. In theory, an economy of “essential” jobs could mean more innovation, less busywork, and a tighter focus on survival-level stuff—food, tech, healthcare ect….but nothing is stopping from that extra revenue from following directly upwards and not to the people who suddenly have more pressure or perform well. Useless jobs are actually like an essential buffer option to a functioning society imo that provide more function than UBI. They’re low-stakes, low-pressure gigs where people can coast, clock out, and still pay the rent. Receptionists who barely answer phones, middle managers shuffling papers, corporate box-tickers—these aren’t curing cancer, but they keep people fed without demanding soul-crushing effort. Strip those away, and you’re left with a world where every job is do-or-die, high-stakes, “essential.” That sounds exhausting. Imagine a society where everyone’s either a doctor, a farmer, or a coder—no chill, no slack. Stress levels would skyrocket. There’s also the human side, not everyone’s cut out for “essential” work but they should keep their minds active, whether that’s socially or mentally. Some people thrive in low-key roles, and useless jobs give them a niche. Plus, what’s “useless” anyway? One person’s pointless gig might be another’s lifeline, or even a weirdly satisfying way to spend 40 hours a week. The celebration probably comes from a mix of deep callousness, elitism and blind faith in progress. People see a company like Twitter slash half its staff and still run, and they think, “Wow, proof we don’t need all that bloat!” But they’re not the ones suddenly jobless, or stuck in a world where every gig demands you bleed for it. Useless jobs might just be the grease that keeps the whole mess from grinding us all down. People are going to lose their fucking minds soon if this is any indication of the future.

[randomfangirlof]

Just got home after watching The Amateur and holy sugar honey iced tea... The itch for a nerdy coder with an IQ of 170 have been turned on, I was only going to watch it for eye candies and I'm glad I did because the plot was way more than that.

The grief Charlie has gone through will live rent free for the next few weeks on my head. My frustration whenever Moore and/or his tentacles were on the screen made me wanted to throw the popcorn honestly but I am so relieved when Charlie did what he needed to do. To be honest, I probably really like this one movie because for me it's hits different when you want the main character to be who you have envisioned them.

[ralexsol]

JRWI FAN! Yes, you!

Do you absolutely love Riptide #114: Still Not Ferin Well? Do you wish someone would make a 90s-style choose-your-own-adventure horror visual novel about E114?

Most importantly, do you have:

A) Expertise in pixel art

B) Experience coding in Ren'Py

C) Skill at writing

D) Lots of free time

If yes to any of those, would you like to MAKE PREVIOUSLY STATED VIDEO GAME WITH ME?

I have been conceptualizing a JRWI video game called Moonlight, Storm, and Blackened Sea for a few months now. Unfortunately, with no motivation to make it beyond thinking "it would be a cool finished product," I have not made much progress. But if I have people working with me, my brain will kick into action because people will be depending on me!

I am a writer first and foremost. While I could theoretically make the entire game myself (as I have experience in writing, art, coding, and music), I would never actually finish the game for previously stated reasons. If I had an artist, coder(s), and perhaps even story consultants (although probably not necessary), MSABS might actually become a reality.

The MSABS project would make no profits, and it would be entirely created from volunteer work. I am a broke ass bitch. But if you don't care and simply want to create something amazing with me, then please, DM me!

So far, I have 2 branches plotted storywise out of - oh, I'm not sure, maybe 25? 30? I have drawn 9 sketches out of around 30 main backgrounds (excluding bg variations). I've recreated 6/9 music tracks from the official Riptide soundtracks into 8bit tunes. If people actually sign onto the project, I'll be moving forward as Creative Director, Head Writer, Storyboard Artist, and Music Producer. Still leaves a LOT of room on the project, especially on the coding side.

I genuinely think MSABS would be insanely cool. Please, if you have any questions about my overall game vision, please send me an ask and I'll try my best to give thorough answers! This game has been living rent free in my brain since March, and it needs to get out!

[ethicaltreatmentofcowplants]

(Thoughts - and potentially prayers 😅 - for the new pack below, somewhat negative so cutting for people who would rather not have that energy)

And while I'm not a coder by any means, I'm wondering if the recent For Rent flare up may be due to whatever's going on behind the scenes to prep the game for the new pack. Which does not augur well.

@blvckentropy hit it when she said that she was concerned Businesses & Hobbies would run into the same issues as For Rent with the lot type, and that's my biggest worry. While I'm trying not to be cynical, I'm getting major deja vu with the For Rent release. A concept that could be really innovative in theory is in practice hopelessly broken at best, and save file corrupting at worse.

All of this is making me wonder about the future playability of the game, and how I may need to change my approach to it. I may have to treat expansion and game packs the way I'm planning to with gameplay mods - cycling them in and out depending on my main save file. Dine Out I never use, ditto Get To Work, and Get Famous can be annoying if it's not the main focal point of a save.

Obviously I don't need to purchase everything ever and it could be argued that I should just stop complaining about it 😅 But I don't like how it's become the norm for EA to release broken content that they seldom fix.

[red-room-studi0]

Here's my TurboTime Dev oc

About damn time I actually introduced him, for some reason I had zero motivation to post this guy. But now i'm finally showing him off cuz one, I needed too, and two he's gonna be in another au lol.

SO. Me and my two friends @dani-be-existing @sunn-e-bunare made this au called Deadstock about three game developers that are in a Poly relationship (we call it a polycule lol). And they go through absolute hell (who would've guessed).

So Tucker Tatum is one of the two game Devs of TurboTime, The other Dev being Kensuke ←(link to Ken's character intro). He is a fucking idiot and a loser, Think of Grunkle Stan and Turbo in one person but worse. Yeah, that's Tucker.

Bro has some bad anger issues and hates kids. Which sucks for him cuz Ken and his wife have a kid and they both hate each other (Ain't no way this grown ass man has beef with a 9 year old 😭😭😭).

Tucker is the Game coder/programmer while Ken was the pixel art and visual game designer.

Tucker being the loser he is he vents in his game coding (Uh Oh, shouldn't have done that Tucker).

One day Tucker and Ken got into a heated argument and then Tucker just left the room leaving Ken alone. After left the house and grabbed a couple of beers to calm his nerves, Tucker came back to the house and into the room to apologize and share a drink or two but to his horror all he sees is the games cabinet screen shattered and covered in blood. From what it seems like... Ken was forcefully pulled into the screen from some unknown force.

Even worse, Kens wife Haru walks into the scene only seeing the bloody shattered screen and Tucker by it. Of course, she accuses Tucker of killing her husband and is incredibly upset (I mean who wouldn't). Tucker tried to explain but she had already called the cops and she just wouldn't let Tucker talk.

Tucker had been detained and taken in. The court statements came in and he was found not guilty due to no evidence that Tucker had killed Ken. But he did have to serve some time in jail for not paying his past due payments (classic Tucker).

Tucker attempted to to call Haru with the only call time he had to try and explain things to her but she never answered. So instead Tucker called his next door neighbor and asked her to bail him out. She doesn't like Tucker all that much but Tucker was being an annoying little shit pleading to be bailed out and she finally agreed. But Tucker owed her $200 back.

Tucker somehow got hired to work at a car dealership (that mostly sells trucks) and had to make that money quick (She would not leave him alone till she got paid back).

As for the Cabinet that is covered in blood with the screen shattered and is evidence to try and figure out what happed to ken... Tucker took it (he's living with his neighbor now cuz his home is a literal crime scene), cleaned the blood, fixed the screen and thought it would be a GOOD IDEA TO STILL SELL THE GAME CUZ HE'S SO FUCKING STUPID HE LITERALLY TAMPERD WITH EXTREMELY IMPORTANT EVIDENCE AND SOLD IT TO LITWAK (LITWAK HAS NO IDEA MIND U)

The police found out that the Cabinet was gone and they have no idea where Tucker is living so they wouldn't be able to find him with no clues of his whereabouts and have no idea where the cabinet is. (They stopped to care at this point cuz they're lazy and stupid)

So the case went cold after a while and Tucker just decided to live the rest of his life with his neighbor (cuz he's not risking living inside his own home again in case someone brings the case up again, and trauma. Also he had to pay rent at this point or his neighbor will kick his ass.)

There is more to the story but I'll leave that for later or if Dani or Sunny wanna talk more about it.

[freefolksbtw]

Dreams, Drive & Disruption: How Millennials and Gen Z are Rewriting India's Future

Millennials and Gen Z are not just shaping the future of India, they are the future. From rejecting traditional careers to leading digital revolutions, here's how they're changing everything.

By Juie Bele

India is experiencing a generational shift like never before. At the center of it all? Millennials and Gen Z, young, bold, and unapologetically redefining what it means to live, work, and dream.

India’s Youthquake:

India isn’t just a young country in spirit, it’s young by numbers too. With over 65% of the population under 35, the transformation we’re witnessing is massive, visible, and unstoppable. At the core of this revolution are Millennials and Gen Z, two generations rewriting the rules on work, ambition, money, relationships, and identity. They’re not asking for change, they are the change.

A New Kind of Dream:

The old Indian dream was simple, government job, city flat, family, and early retirement. Safe, predictable, respected. But that’s not the dream anymore. Today’s youth are chasing.

· Passion over pressure

· Freedom over familiarity

· Purpose over prestige

They’re building brands from bedrooms, freelancing with international clients, launching startups before turning 25. They’re making bold, self-defined choices, driven by meaning, not just money

Careers without a Corporate Ladder:

Millennials questioned the system, Gen Z rebuilt it. Gone is the formula of engineer, MBA, corporate manager. In its place? A new generation of:

· Creators on Instagram and YouTube

· Designers freelancing from remote Indian towns

· Coders trained via online bootcamps

· Writers running successful newsletters and blogs

In this world, skills beat degrees. Portfolios matter more than resumes. Platforms like YouTube, Substack, and Behance are the new career springboards. The gatekeepers are gone, the gates are open.

Not Just Jobs, Journeys:

Today’s careers aren’t ladders, they’re winding paths of discovery. Young Indians are choosing,

· Remote work over rigid routines

· Renting over buying, for flexibility

· Freelancing over 9 to 5, for freedom

· Side-hustles over side-tables, for self-expression

They’re not unstable, they’re intentional. And they’re choosing experiences over possessions, meaning over monotony.

Financially Fierce:

This isn’t your parent’s version of money management. Young Indians today are:

· Investing in mutual funds, index stocks, and crypto learning about personal finance on Instagram and YouTube

· Managing multiple income streams, from affiliate marketing to remote gigs

· They’re delaying marriage, avoiding debt, and rejecting outdated financial timelines.

For them, financial freedom is power, and they’re claiming it early.

Socially Conscious, Digitally Native:

Gen Z was raised online, but they use the internet for more than just memes. They’re

· Advocating mental health and ending the stigma around therapy

· Challenging inequality, gender, caste, sexuality, climate, and more calling out injustice, both online and offline

· Activism isn’t a side hobby, it’s woven into their identity.

From Instagram infographics to climate protests, they’re showing us what 21st-century citizenship looks like.

But the Tension is real:

Behind the cool jobs and viral posts, there is still; parental pressure to pick “safe” careers, mental health struggles in a hyper-digital, hustle-heavy world, uncertainty in a job market shaped by AI and automation, Loneliness and burnout, even in this hyperconnected age.

But the response is different. They’re talking openly, seeking help, prioritizing therapy, boundaries, and community. Vulnerability is no longer a weakness, it’s a superpower.

What This Means for India:

It means India’s future isn’t coming, it’s already here:

· The 20-year-old launching an ed-tech startup

· The small-town designer working with a client in Berlin

· The student podcasting about mental health in Hindi

· The young couple choosing to travel instead of settling down. They’re not rejecting tradition for the sake of it, they’re refining it, rebuilding it, and reimagining it. This isn’t rebellion. This is reinvention.

If you’re a young Indian reading this, keep going. Your dreams are valid. Your journey is powerful. Your choices are yours. And if you’re not from this generation, start listening. Because the future is speaking, and it’s speaking in their voice.

[utopicwork]

Got deepseek coder working on the shadow we're renting, it's, underwhelming but that might just be my prompting, now that I've got inference set up though I can test it as much as I want

[serialeclipse]

muse no2 here we go! raising the curtains on miss lee rumi, who's just your run of the mill regular girl! also the most coach user of all time who just can't break the 85% compatibility rate </3 still no pages rip but regular drill, info / plots are under the cut & pls like to plot or ask for my d/scord! 💗

info

rumi is rlly the most regular person ever!! one of those terra users who's just chilling & living life yk she's got small dreams of getting her dream megabuilding skin & respectably medium dreams of finding her person, no big dreams

she also comes from smaller beginnings, born into the care of terrascape corporation & just naturally graduated at age eighteen. officially, her parents are unlinked & she's never really tried to find them. says she's just respecting their decision or whatever that way, but mostly she's afraid she might find them & realise they didn't want her for a reason. no thanks!

she thinks she's doing pretty well for herself though! minus the loneliness that occasionally takes over & the void of whatever that she gets late at night idk but doesn't everyone feel that way at 2 in the morning?

right now she's ur local barista who's lowkey like an npc bc she works at multiple coffee shops! hustling to survive & maybe have extra money for her dream megabuilding skin it is what it is we live in an economy

uses coach a lot. she's that friend who's been online dating for nearly a decade </3 kinda embarrassing but she's putting herself out there in tiny steps yk

( and? she isn't saying that weird things are happening to her. not at all!! she's regular!! but there's something about how she gets deja vu once in a while about a match she made on coach even though she knows for sure that she never met them

weird. maybe it's fate? it's not like terra has glitches! )

chart facts: libra sun cancer moon taurus rising, chill & goes w the flow most of the time. not the type of person to fight back but she might have some emotional walls up to protect herself! doesn't have a lot of ambition, she's happy with her slice of terra life as it is right now. likes being around people but is careful about who she lets in, clingy with the ones who stay. bad at keeping in touch. good at making coffee.

she's a work in progress & also pls pretend i didn't give my muses really similar names pls

plots

fellow coach users: a) 84%, the highest match she's ever had but it didn't work out even though she really tried; b) the 60%ers that she's matched on because what if coach was a little wrong but not totally wrong!; c) a 50% match she swiped on as a fluke (?); d) failed dates that she got a friend out of... or a blocked number rip

u think she's an npc after seeing her at multiple coffee shops & get a jumpscare seeing her out n about with thoughts of her own

found family, other people who grew up under the terrascape care or smth else? thee most important person in her life

other regular guys & gals just living their npc life

she's on the lookout for a megabuilding roomie to split rent but u disagree on what display skin ur flat should have

ur trying to get her to try real dating ( meeting ppl at the bar ) but it flopped

she's too cheap to buy the official cosmetic mod so she's begging u ( coder? reskin guy? ) to help out

regulars on the menu: besties, childhood friends, enemies, fwbs, exes! i also love a brainstorm too we should do that 💗

[lostintransist]

Tansy Tea for Four

Original thought here from @spookytragedyshark. All yellow lines are directly pulled from their original thought. Find yellow version here. Shout out to @/steddiecameraroll-graphics for the dividers.

A/N: I ran out of work a half hour after I got there but couldn't go home soooooo.... Also shout out to you coders out there. Getting the color added to this fic made my eyes cross several times.

“Okay, I’ll go for Christmas.”

Simon felt the words slide off his tongue, unable to call them back. He wonders if he would hesitate looking back. If he knew that those five words would launch change at him like a manhole cover being launched into space. That was an accident. A lot of accidents led to what Christmas became that year.

Johnny sat upright, scrambling to mark the place in his novel as he stared at his lover.

Simon fought the urge to don his mask. Johnny stared at him, eyes searching for seams as to where the man might have been body snatched.

“Who are you and where is my Simon?” Johnny uses his interrogation voice.

Blinking once to process that he heard the tone he thought he did, Simon shifts as if to move toward the desk at the end of the bed. Instead, he pounced on the man lounging on his bed. Johnny let out a squawk that shifted into a groan as Simon’s weight landed.

“I am your Simon,” he bit the curve of Johnny’s neck. “I’m agreeing because you look sad when you think of missing another Christmas with your family.”

Johnny arched under him, a gasp falling into Simon’s ears. Fingers worked their way into his hair. Simon followed the command implicit in the tug and pressed his lips to Johnny’s.

“I already told my mum I wouldn’t be making it. Now it will be a surprise. You’re in charge of buying her some mead when we land,” he pushed the words into Simon’s mouth along with his tongue. “Can I tell her about you?”

Instead of answering, Simon dipped a hand below Johnny’s waist band.

When Johnny could walk again he found his phone and booked two seats home for the holidays.

The drive to his childhood home sees Johnny’s knee bouncing as his eyes never leave the road. Simon lays a hand on the thigh closest to him. The bouncing stops.

The front door stays firmly shut against the dark as Johnny parks the rented car.

“Leave your stuff, we can grab it if Mum has a room to spare. If not, we will pop down the road,” Johnny nearly levitated from the driver’s seat.

Simon walks silently behind his love, feeding the fears in his head to the demons that dogged his steps. He was doing this for Johnny. Wiping the sadness from his face was worth the weight in every step.

Without knocking Johnny throws open the front door, hollering for his mum. Simon speeds up when Johnny’s voice cuts off with a sob.

“Tansy?”

Stepping through the door Simon gently maneuvers Johnny further into the room to shut the door. He scans every face of the ten or so people dotted around the table. He lands on yours as you step into the room. You are the only face here that doesn’t claim familiarity due to linage. A touch of movement draws his gaze down to a boy, no more than four, staring at him with wide eyes.

Pieces click in his mind as he recalls why that name sounded familiar. Johnny had spoken of you, his first love, the one that got away. The one that literally disappeared. And that child looks like Soap, a Mohawk, and all. The demons in his shadows mauled him now, under the eyes of his lover’s lost love.

“Who?” The kid is pointing directly at him, unafraid, almost entranced by his soft skull balaclava.

You don’t remove your eyes from Johnny, who stands as if struck dumb, as you answer.

“Dad,” you point, “And Ghost,” you point to him now.

Johnny wouldn’t pick him now. Surely not him, not as broken as he is. Pain, sorrow, longing, it’s all hitting him rapid, like a pinball machine.

“Skully!” The child screams excitedly.

“Yes, Ghost. From the pictures.” You glance at him with your nose still in pressed against the kids face. “My darling little soldier, could you play with Mimi for a few?”

The brows pulling together under the mohawk stab at Ghost like a knife from a hidden enemy. He knows that look, has been bested by it time and again from Johnny. The kid lifts a small hand, pointing at him again.

“Later?”

“If they’re not busy with work.” You turn at the waist, setting the child on the floor within reach of Mama MacTavish.

It is not missed on Simon that you are giving them a way out.

Once your arms are free Johnny is there, filling them. He is sobbing. Simon has never heard him cry like this. It tears open the scabs that he had so carefully covered.

“Let’s go to the kitchen, yeah?” Your arm is still looped around Johnny’s waist. Simon can’t breathe beyond the squeeze in his chest.

No one speaks as you are trailed by death into the kitchen. Settling Johnny onto the stool by the stove you step back to the sink and shove your hands into your pockets. Your ears are at your shoulders and your mouth moves fast as you start to explain. Simon stands guard near the door. He can’t decide if his placement will make it easier to run or to keep Johnny’s family out while you and he talk.

“I was planning on talking to you privately but your mum said you weren’t coming for the holidays and I couldn’t stand the thought of him missing another holiday with relatives. You know how I feel about relatives.”

Johnny remembers all the times you said you wished for your kid to have a big extended family. How you cried, scared yours would pass before you had one.

“It was too difficult to contact you, so I called your mum. Bless her, she helped me run the DNA test, so I did not have to worry or bother you if I was wrong.”

“Of course, she helped with the paperwork, so it’s all set up. If anything happens to me, you’ll get him. If you can’t, it’s between my mom and Ghost ,” You nod to Ghost as you say it. His heart has to have stopped. No one would want their child under his care. You shift your gaze back to Johnny, eyes scared. “When you’ve regained the ability to talk, could you please tell me when we slept together, though?”

Johnny, as flabbergasted as he is, blurts out, “That’s not why you disappeared?”

He reaches for you. Simon hears weeping from somewhere in his mind.

“No,” you step between his spread knees, resting one hand on his cheek and the other running over his hair, inviting him to look at you. “I left because I had to. My sister had an incident. Based on your reaction, I’d say it was when I broke up with Jonathan and got messed up?”

Simon looks from you to Johnny like he was studying a painting. The colors are all drenched in his pain. Johnny looks ready to cry, guilt lifted from his soul. He had never mentioned he felt responsible for your absence. Ghost has no clue who Jonathan is or what transpired, but the pieces are there. This, whatever this is, Soap clearly never wanted to even think about again. He had never mentioned sleeping with you before your disappearance, only the shock of the loss, the longing for the friendship lost.

“We were beyond wasted that night. I don’t blame you. We’re adults, we knew better,” you offer absolution with the swipe of your fingers along his face. Simon has never seen a more intimate moment. He wants to vomit and cave in on himself until he is no longer intruding.

“I’d have come,” Johnny’s fingers are curled above your knees, pulling you closer until his chin rests on your baby softened belly. The body changed by his seed.

Vomit creeps up Simon’s throat.

“I thought he was Jonathan’s and he never wanted kids. So it took until Callum started to resemble you. That’s when I started to look for you.”

Johnny is looking at you like an angel, all reverence and awe and bursting with love.

“You named him Callum?” Johnny’s voice broke as tears filled his eyes again.

“‘It’s my favorite name, Tansy.’ The name stuck in my head even though we were thirteen.” Your hand trails from Johnny’s forehead through his mohawk, grounding yourself, Simon guesses.

Simon’s thoughts are derailed when you turn from Johnny, tears in your eyes, to pin him to the cabinet with your gaze.

“When you two become officially public, I’ll have him start calling you Bonus Dad. Seems more fitting and all.”

You’re addressing him, looking at him as the worlds leave your mouth. Fear seizes his system, his brain slows. You know. You know he and Johnny…Johnny would want you now, Simon can’t interfere with that. How does he fix this?

You move away, pacing through the kitchen. Johnny’s hand stay reaching for you, you skirt the widespread fingers with the practice of a mother avoiding sticky giggles.

“I’m not staying anywhere nearby. Actually, I’m moving again, so we’ll have to figure something out about visiting.” You glance at Simon and then Johnny, wincing as you continue, “I steamboated again, huh?”

Johnny nods, mute. Ghost is confused by the phrase, isn’t it steamrolling?

You catch the confusion in his gaze as you address him. “Oh, one more thing. Callum is interested in anything creepy, so be prepared. He’s probably going to have a lot to say about your mask…and try to climb you.”

“Same taste as his mum then?” Johnny must be recovering if he can prod at you.

You level him with a glare. Johnny grins, unrepentant. The interaction has a flavor only time can add. Simon fights to keep his teeth from grinding.

“What about the haircut?” Johnny questions, shifting to take your hand in his.

The hand not being held is banded across your ribs.

You blow out a breath, “He saw one picture of you and demanded a mohawk. Callum was two and I had been avoiding what I knew. He was your child through and through. Jonathan had been out of the picture for over a year at that point. I have pictures of him grinning with my smile as the stylist gelled his hair up for the first time. I’ve got a whole folder of photos for you.”

Silence engulfs the room. Johnny stands, lifting a hand to your cheek as he crowds into your space.

“I would like to me our son,” he whispers the words like a love confession.

You look up at Johnny and Simon can see all the love that resulted in your shared child surfacing in your eyes.

“Okay.” Your whisper barely reaches Simon’s ears.

The moment they reenter the room Callum does in fact try to climb Simon to get a better look at his mask. You effortlessly pick him up and away from Simon’s legs.

“Callum, pause. We don’t climb people without permission. Now, let’s ask. Repeat after me: Simon, will you hold me?”

Electric blue eyes, the same shade as the man Simon would happily walk into hell for, burrow under his bones.

“Simon, will you hold me?”

At his nod, Callum stretches, legs still held firm in your grip. Simon lets out a grunt as he catches the full weight of Johnny’s son. Kid got his fathers density alright.

Small hands slap either side of Simon’s face, forcing eye contact as Callum starts into a tale about his haunted teddy bears and how they can’t move because they don’t have bones. Simon nods when appropriate to show he is listening. His stomach falls into his ass as you and Johnny step further away to sit down on the love seat.

“Did you know I went as a solider for school one day?” Callum’s brows lift as if this is shocking information.

“Oh…uh..” Simon glances away seeing you and Johnny knee to knee with faces nearly touching as you show him something on your phone. “Why?”

“My Mimi gave me a picture of my dad and you. Mum hung it on my wall with tape. You looked so cool with your skull on the outside.” Callum’s face darkens as he continues, “Mum wouldn’t let me wear a skull to school.”

The laughter sealed the deal. Simon swore to himself he will protect this kid. He is too innocent, too perfect. He may not be Soap’s lover much longer, but he will be here.

Johnny looks up from your phone. Simon is still locked in eye contact with his son. My god, he had a son. You, his first love, his Tansy flower, had given him a son. The years between that dim, sweaty night and now pull on him, setting an ache in his chest. As much as he longs to take you in his arms but this is his L.T., his Simon. He can’t give up one love for another.

Callum wiggles, pushing against Simon’s chest. Bending at the waist Simon sets Callum down. He runs directly to Johnny, hands resting on Johnny’s knees as he starts in with the rapid fire words he had also used on Simon.

“Did you know you are my dad? Mum told me all about you, and Mimi has so many stories and pictures of you!”

“Hi bud, I learned today that I’m your dad.” Johnny pulled his son into a hug before setting him on a leg. “I’ve never been a dad before, what do you think a dad does?”

Pursing his lips Callum thought before answering definitively, “Tickles.”

Both your and Johnny’s brows lift and connect gazes.

“Really? Tickles?” Johnny starts in on the request. Callum’s peels of laughter fill the room.

For a few breaths, Ghost adores the interaction. How perfectly Soap takes to his son.

He tears his eyes away. No, this isn’t his place. Simon mutters something about a smoke and steps outside. Soap is enamored with Callum, doesn’t notice at first, but you do.

Silently, you follow. The MacTavish home is small, snug even and it doesn’t take long to find Simon through the windows. Giving him time, to mostly finish his cigarette, you watch him. You are not surprised that Johnny found someone solid in stature and personality. He always was drawn to people who would call him out on his bullshit. The spooky aspect of his mask didn’t hurt either. You had always been drawn to the macabre.

Stepping through the creaky door, you join Simon. It is just you two on the porch. He rubs the remainder of his cigarette out on the bottom of his boot. His eyes don’t leave the horizon.

“Hey,” you say softly, “I am sorry about everything. I know it was shocking, and I have a tendency to kinda take over or uh not rant but steamboat is what we call it. It is a result of my overactive mind.” You are rubbing your neck, looking nervous, “I really want everyone to get along. Soap and his mom have a high opinion of you so—”

“He’ll be with you.” Ghost cannot for the life of him understand why you are apologizing to him. It is out of his mouth before he realizes he even opened it. “If it comes to it, he’ll choose you.”

You look up at him and blink in shock.

“The fuck he will!” Anger is not something he expected when this interaction started. Your fists are shaking as your eye twitches beneath furrowed brows.

“He loves you.” It’s firm, as if stating a fact, it doesn’t hurt him any less to say out loud.

“You are not pulling back from him because of me,” snarling is not something he expected from you by the way his brows lift. Shows how much Johnny said about you.

Ghost hears his own insecurity in your voice, but he can’t help it. He pushes more, “He has loved you longer.”

“And he loves you more.”

The two of you stand, locked in a glaring contest as both hearts bleed out on the stones below.

The whistling of the wind is the only sound as your face softens. Simon has never seen anyone look at him like that before, understanding tinged in empathy. Simon tears his eyes from yours, even an inch further with the knife and his heart will explode.

“Then he will have both of us. No reason for you to go away."

What the hell? Simon is a big man, strong and well trained. He has not been so thoroughly disarmed since his first year of basic training. This is why he doesn’t talk to people. To many chances to fall into traps.

“He clearly loves you. His family loves you. Callum already loves you. I am not letting you walk away because of a choice that isn’t ours to make. Besides,” you tuck your arms close, chin tipping down as you look down and away. The posture reads of shame. “This is my fault. I was so blinded by my own insecurities that I did not think anyone could truly love me. I fell into bed with him because he gives so easily. Why not take what he is offering, even if I think it won’t last? I was bound to fuck it up sooner or later. Some people aren’t made to be loved, I guess.”

Hearing his own thoughts echoed back at him, Simon thinks back to that first night together. Johnny had followed him into his room, fingers deft and kind as he stripped Simon bare. Simon had cried after they lay under the blanket Johnny had found kicked to the end of the bed.

Johnny cooed to him, telling him how even when love is lost it is never gone. He spoke of you that night, how you disappeared and despite all the times he searched over the years you remained lost.

“That is love, Simon. I would search for you if I lost you.” He had grinned then. The darkness couldn’t keep Simon from feeling bathed in warmth when that look turned to him.

Johnny bursts through the door then. Maybe discussing him called im forth like the devil. His head swiveled. He spots you to the left of the door but doesn’t stop looking. Scanning right he finds Simon. His shoulders drop.

“Oh Si,” Johnny crossed the porch, pulling the larger man into a hug. He held on like his lungs might give out without the contact.

You find Simon’s eyes on you as he holds his lover close. The shifting of your lips pretends at a smile, the tears in your eyes ring of truth though. With a hard swallow, you nod once.

“I’m glad your taste in men is as good as mine, Johnny. Your Simon would be someone I chose, too,” you slip inside before either man can truly take in the full meaning of that statement.

Disappearing in a full house takes skills. Johnny nor Simon saw much of you the few days they celebrated. Callum, on the other hand, spent every waking moment pinned to either or both men. They adore the boy and Mama MacTavish sneakily snagged a photo of the three when Callum had fallen asleep on Simon, and Johnny decided a nap was the best order of business.

When gifts were being passed about you hid in the kitchen. Callum happily handed over a new sketchbook for Johnny, his name proudly scribbled under your handwriting proclaiming ‘Callum loves dad!”. Simon took the gift from Callum as carefully as a bomb handoff. He peels the wrapping paper away to expose a wide, soft wool scarf. A tiny white skull had been stitched into one corner of the garment.

Callum gasped before jumping from Johnny’s lap to help Simon put on the scarf.

“Mummy makes the best scarves.”

Everyone laughed at the boy’s exuberance.

Before they returned to work Johnny and you sat down at the table, working out phone numbers and holidays to spend with Callum and what life could look like. You couldn’t nail down a bunch of details yet as you were moving with the start of the new year. Connection had been made though, this time you wouldn’t disappear.

New Years Day saw an adorable photo of Callum seated in an airplane seat with the message ‘Adventure is out there!”

Johnny smiled so wide Simon worried that his face might crack. The photo was promptly downloaded and saved as one of multiple backgrounds. It fell in rotation right behind a photo of Simon’s lower face tucked into his elbow offering a middle finger to the camera.

Simon shoves down the twisted pride that no photos of you appear in the rotation. Johnny had sat down when they got back to base and loaded several of his favorite pictures of Simon and Callum and a photo of a yellow flower to rotate as his background and lock screen.

January 3rd found the men and women of the 141, all seven main teams meeting the first of the several new civilians that would be helping with a variety of things.

Price whistled once and all his people circled up. Simon watched as Johnny’s mouth popped open and his eyes bugged. Confused, he looked towards Price as well.

There you stood. Eyes wide and mouth open a touch, as if you had lost the battle to keep it closed, you stare at them.

“Let me introduce you to new civilian specialized gear mechanic—”

“Tansy!” You cut Price off, “You can call me Tansy.”

Price, confused but known to be one who rolls with it, finished his sentence.

“Tansy. Tansy this is the team. You’ll learn all their names in time, but if any of them give you a hard time," he glared at Johnny and a few others pointedly, "you come to me.”

Price patted you on the back as he spoke again, “Dismissed muppets.”

You send Johnny and Simon a shrug as Price starts walking, telling you about the base and where you will be set up for jobs.

Masterlist | Taglist

A/N: I used the hex code #f3a900 for the yellow version, which is called Albany Paint Tansy. It's the little things, ya know?

[bleachbleachbleach]

🗻🏃🏻‍♂️箱根の山は？ 天下の険！🗻🏃🏻‍♂️

We finished our annual Run with the Wind rewatch last night, which is a series I love so intensely that if I had to recommend one anime to someone it would be this one. It clocks in at a cool 23 episodes, which makes it approachable, and it's so character-driven it doesn't matter if the premise sounds inherently interesting or not.

Do you love running? asks fourth-year university student Kiyose Haiji in the opening scene. If you don't, YOU WILL, as all of his roommates are about to find out, whether they want to or not (they do not).

It's based on a light novel by Miura Shion, who also wrote The Great Passage, which is a book (and anime series!) about writing a dictionary, which if you're like me will sell you on her instantly and if you are not might sell you on the premise that it's not the premise you need to be drawn to. The premise of Run with the Wind is the Hakone Ekiden: An annual, university marathon relay held up and down the mountains of Hakone just after New Years. Specifically, a 10-person college dorm that gets tricked/dragged/lovingly blackmailed into becoming an elite, 10-person marathon relay team.

Except most of the house aren't runners, and none of them wanted to be (except Haiji. Haiji's the one in the green. Can you tell?). They're law students and game show-loving job hunters; sun-starved otaku; coders who smoke; they're at the club; they're after girls; they have a girlfriend, actually; they are unassuming exchange students who like bathing in the dark and tuning into their friends' shoujo-style love lives; they are stealing 100 yen buns because they lost all their rent money in a single night of gambling.

Run With the Wind comes with all the tropes (extreme underdog story! DESTINATION TRAINING CAMP! fireworks! bathhouses! shared meals! hurt/comfort! very questionable driving (is this a real trope? it is to me)! cute dog! extremely homosexual soliloquies! extremely polyamorous nakama! It's goofy and charming and incredibly grounded in all of the small details of its characters lives and passions and insecurities. It's philosophical without being pedantic, existential without being nihilistic, and it's pure in the sense of being genuine, pure in the sense of being about some weird dudes who are willing to be deeply weird and to witness each other's weirdness.

There's so much to love about this series: The little notes on the walls of their dorm; the personalizations of everyone's shoes and phones and clothes; the amount of mayo someone is willing to put on curry; the eyes of the taxi driver as people have an insane conversation in the backseat; the amount of shit that exists in piles in the halls of the dorm; the slopes of Hakone; the team cheer; the sound of a metal windmill, creaking in strong wind.

It makes us cry every single time. The world for the Aotake boys. <333 Plus, this year (2024) was the ONE HUNDREDTH RUNNING of the real Hakone Ekiden!

For additional recs, here's my favorite:

film "about" running - Atanarjuat (2001)

fanfic "about" running - Run, glasshoe (2009)

essay "about" running - Repetitive Stress, Devin Kelly (2021)

[boltedfruit]

Employment Struggles

I'm going to do something shocking and use this as an actual blog post.

I am SO sick and tired of applying to jobs, only to be ignored completed, or even worse the interview is scheduled and then the role is filled before I can interview. Today the interview was cancelled a minute before the scheduled time. Then the person who would be interviewing me ignored me on email and phone.

I am mentally exhausted. I am broke all the time. I don't get unemployment because I've never been eligible for it. The only good thing about this is that I have full healthcare coverage and food stamps.

I am a medical assistant with experience, I am a certified professional medical coder with internship experience, I have experience in retail, yet I cannot even get a call back from McDonald's, let alone a good healthcare job.

I've considered becoming a behavioral health tech, but I just truly don't want to be hit/bitten at work. I also couldn't deal with the families of children disagreeing with a preset therapy plan while I'm physically stuck in their home. The other options I was looking at was security, or 911 dispatcher, but dispatch classes are few and far between into next year, and also expensive. And security can be dangerous.

At this point, being 30 and just defeated by how unsuccessful I am in life, I am considering going to a trade school. Like welding. Or automobile tech or something that is actually in demand. There is literally no other options for me and I'm literally five minutes outside of San Francisco. I am mildly considering an IT course, but tech is so unstable and unsafe while also being over saturated right now and I don't trust it. But then, you have to deal with stereotypical personalities in 'conservative' trade jobs too. The other risk is I spend time and money doing a trade school and then no one wants to hire me (like I've done twice now). I don't know what to do.

The trades I'm considering:

Electrician

Welder (part of machinist trade) (honestly this is most appealing to me)

Aircraft Maintenance Technology (Can't hurt with SFO next to me and their planes literally falling to pieces in the sky every week)

HVAC (still don't really understand what this job even is)

The guilt I'm feeling is that I am about to finish my BA in psychology next month, and I'm waiting to hear back from the two colleges I applied to for a Master's to become a therapist. If I get in to my top choice, that's $60k+ I'll need to fund. If I get into the state school, which is slim, that's likely covered by school loans, but I'll still want to make some kind of income for three years I'm in the program. If I don't get into either program, then my last choices are: work while getting med school pre-reqs done, or work while doing an online MFT program (which I really don't want to do an online only program but if it's accredited at the end of the day I don't care.) The online only school would also be $60k+ so I'd need to work regardless.

I'm feeling guilty too because I've never been the fanartist who can drop a new print and have thousands of followers want it. I can't make money that way. Commissions have always been my most lucrative offering as an artist, but it's often mentally very taxing. It's also unstable. I don't have a lot of followers to drum up a successful pays-my-rent-every-month Patreon, and with the way of algorithms and sites are these days, I likely won't ever. I'm not trying to complain for sympathy, but this is just how it's been for me.

I know it's stupid to feel guilty for things like this, but I just am in this nebulous space between being apparently unemployable while also not being unemployable enough to receive livable benefits while continuing job hunting.

So I guess I'm looking for opinions on trade professions. I'm trans, but I pass masc in public save for my voice really. I also am not the kind of person to wear pride pins or color my hair rainbow, which would draw attention that way. I'm not too concerned about mean people in a trade job, because honestly the rudest people I've worked with have been in healthcare anyway. And a trade job would mean no customer service positions/working with my hands, which requires little mental gymnastics.

Also pointless, but true, I keep thinking of Debbie in Shameless getting her welder certification after becoming a teen parent.

I guess the takeaway here is, I'm more willing to be hurt on the job by a machine mistake on my part than I am willing to be hurt by other people assaulting me (very real in healthcare jobs/security) while working.

What do you think?

[hollowspaced]

Sims 4: B 4 Real

I made a Sims 4: 4 Rent Expansion Pack What-I-Wish-It-Was Wishlist because even though the bar is in hell as far as the Sims 4 Team is involved, it's fun to imagine what the pack could've been, what features could've been added blah-blah-blah.

I've seen the Release Trailer, the "Gameplay" Trailer, the "Livestream", and absorbed as much EA Creator Network content as I can handle... and it's meh-to-yikes (MWS 2). So....

RENTING

Not mad at what they did. This is exactly how I, in my dumb-dumb non-coder brain, figured that they could've made working apartments HOWEVER they could've added a better screening process, moreso accepting tenants to apply for the apartment rather than outright accepting them.

The application process could've given the player the ability to accept tenants sight unseen OR given them the ability to screen traits, wealth, or if they have a job with the possibility of getting sued for housing discrimination.

On the other end, if you're playing generationally you can apply for an apartment, pay the application fee, look around, meet the landlord, and/or get rejected because it's your first apartment and your Sim Score is non existent.

All the gameplay I've seen so far, I actually like as far as the water heater and fuse box, mold, and infestation, and all the events. I also like that you can experience all those issues in a regular residential. (RIP Plumbros you've been incorporated?)

I do wish they would've gone back and updated Elevators and allowed a High-End Apartment experience such as Building Maids, Doormen, Receptionist, a basement Irwin, etc.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL LOTS

This would've actually shocked me and 100% made the pack worth it, if they'd given us both the ability to make apartments and make a bar beneath me.

The Multifunctional lot would've worked the exact same way and allowed for storefront RENTALS (but I imagine this would make GTW useless to those who only use the Retail system)

WORLD

9 lots!? BFFR.

:Conspiracy Theory Side Rant: I think they had planned for water lots. The bottom of that map is wayyyy too empty both in world and in world view. I think they hit a snag in coding and instead of delaying to figure it out they scrapped water lots and pushed out this pack and that's why we also can't build on the waterfront lot in Sulani. Nothing can sway me. :End:

It's a pretty... empty world. I wish there was less set dressing and more lots. The cave isn't nearly as cool as the one in Horse Ranch and I could do without it. It really just punched home all the rabbitholes (like seriously Sims 4: For Rabbitholes) and I don't even dislike rabbitholes. I wanted more rabbitholes in Growing Together and less in this pack.

CULTURE

I'm not SEA but I love broad representation, so I love the new dances, love the squat toilet, the food, the night market, the fish market. I just wish there was more! To be exact 10 more, but I'll detail 3.

MY NUMBER ONE WISH - the Animal Sanctuary - imagine the same shell but when you click on it you have the options for a guided Tiger Tour (the current system more or less, popups and all) and an Elephant Walk where it takes you to a TIMED HIDDEN LOT EVENT (also what happened to hidden lots) with elephants that will walk around with the possibility of being drenched in mud, feed them a banana, wave, etc (nothing too crazy as even in a video game I want to remain ethical... to animals) Also would've been a great opportunity for EA to partner with an ethical animal sanctuary and spread awareness. One animal I would've been content. Two. Three. EA would've blown my mind. Imagine the First Person POV in-game and those Safari Cars driving in the BG.

MY NUMBER TWO WISH - Surfing (child+ in water, toddler+ training)- I'm still awed by how we didn't get surfing with Island Living and now with this golden second opportunity they didn't give it to us once again! It would work like this: an invisible marker (in live mode) that we place in Build/Buy and when we click on the water we'd get the option to practice surfing. Waves won't simulate without the marker, they'd go through the surfing animations depending on skill level, and the marker could even designate where the sim would pop up after they wash out. This could be its own fleshed out thing with surf training in water and on land, playable lifeguard, surf competitions/career, injuries, but I would've taken just surfing.

MY NUMBER THREE WISH - Muay Thai - as an activity (child+) AND apart of a Fighter career. I'll never expect an active Fighter career from EA as that's too many animation cycle possibilities for them for some reason but could've been a great opportunity to give us Boxing 2.0 and become full-time World Class Fighter.

Quick 4-10

4. Boats! Group boats! Tour boats (even as a rabbithole, might as well go all in if you're going to give them to us)

5. River rafting (just more water activities would've been great)

6. Sunken ship hidden lot (deep diving to a hidden lot) / more snorkeling spots (though I understand snorkeling is a draw in for IL)

7. Hiking (I know we've gotten hiking essentially in the last two EPs but this would've been a great EP for it and/or give us a climbing mountain experience like in SE... but green)

8. Harvestables - tea, spices, fruit.

9. A TukTuk Tour (cute to say and if we only got one rabbithole this would've been fun for my tourist sims)

10. Botanical Garden. At the bottom b/c even EA didn't care enough about this. Seriously, no new flowers?

Secret 11. Night Market Worker, would've been nice if the reason a night market stall was empty was because you could come up and work it, sell at it like any other selling table or have it be its own job.

SPEAKING OF SECRETS.

Breaking and Entering to snoop through a Sims things when I can do it through multiple different interaction is cucking me and I don't like that. Just give me burglars. Or update the Klepto trait to not have a cooldown (sure, there are mods for this but EA shouldn't depend on modders to give us something they're teasing)

In that same vein CONSEQUENCES, I don't want my sim to just get into a fight. Arrest them. Send them to jail. Give me some cross pack combability with GTW and let me use that lot for once to report theft and/or give me NPC Cops to fight instead.

And my biggest gripe so far, for a pack that I haven't personally played, are the SECRETS themselves. I hate how much EA infantilizes its players while simultaneously being the same game with a plant that eats people and a murder apartment. The secrets, which are a fun mechanic, just seem so blah. Not only because they also seem random but they're also just... childish. (I get T for Teen, but I feel like most of the player base are adults) Give me SPICY SIM SECRETS: who's having an affair, who's faked their death, who has a literal skeleton in their closet, who's embezzled money, who's proudly the weekend (Also a great mechanic to make their occult states a secret) ! Make the blackmail worth it and make it more than $100 dollars. If a Landgraab has a secret love child out there and I find out they're wiring me 10k a week for life, at least. If I can't have consequences, give me hot tea! Also sure, I could keep their secret but also let me gossip about it to other people and get in a fight because I didn't keep their secret. It's a good game mechanic but it's a wasted opportunity.

MISCELLANEOUS: and this is nitpicking but I would've wanted an animation of the child drawing out the hopscotch and marble circle instead of one you just put down in Build/Buy. Other than that I love having more things for them to do and the collection system for marbles but I want more marbles.

Okay, off to watch Kdramas. I will post regular game screenshots... eventually. I'm prepping for Joy of Life. It's my first real generational challenge (2nd challenge overall, I got to baby 79 in 100 baby before I just stopped)