#the founder of the group asked to talk to me bc she saw on my works website that i work there

[jayswing101]

.

[mental-illness-bingo]

TW Sophieinwonderland, cult discussion

For anyone with expertise on cults, does it seem to you like sophie may be going in that direction? Reading their recent posts after *that* post, it sounds to me like it’s going there - whether or not she intends it to.

Her posts constantly include her not just advocating for endos and attacking anti-endos, but actively trying to pressure people to be plural. She’s probably successfully making some people realize they’re a CDD system by traumatizing them with the things she posts. She’s definitely trying to get a group of people behind her and encourage them to follow her and get even more.

She talks about how wonderful she thinks it is being plural, and REALLY wants everyone else to be in on it. So much so that she’s willing to make it seem like people were toxic to their imaginary friends as kids for trying to control them and then shoving them away. In her pinned she has something she wrote where she actively says that she’ll convince “at least one of you” that your imaginary friend from childhood is sentient and you just forced them to hide.

She literally said, and this is a quote “Speaking as the person who started The Future is Plural, and a tulpa, more created systems (and tulpas specifically) have always been baked into the slogan. Yes, it's about acceptance. But acceptance will result in more created systems. And more created systems will lead to more plurals. Higher numbers of plurals leads to more power. And more power will let us spread more acceptance.” That post was tagged with “we are legion”.

And then there’s that post where she actively was asking for ideas and articles she could use to make a fake conspiracy theory to use as “a Trojan horse in the conspiracy theory community” to convince them everyone was plural before a coverup happened. Dragging Egyptian mythology into it too, which is incredibly disrespectful. She is actively making up fake stories of some past where there were a bunch of people like her and the group she’s creating and that everyone not like them is either secretly like them or is against them and actively trying to cover up their existence. This fake past (that she openly posted about making up to infiltrate conspiracy theorists and get them to believe) that she’s then going to try to use to get even more people to join her bc she’s “awoken” something in them.

I definitely don’t think she’s there yet; like I said I think it’s just going that way. Especially with that explicitly stated desire for power which she would then use to spread her message further which would get more power for her and her followers and so on in that cycle.

BITE model analysis below the cut (idk if there’s a more recent version than this as I stepped away from learning about cults a while ago bc I just wasn’t there in my religious trauma journey to hear so much about catholic adjacent ideas)

I’m not at all set in stone on this idea. I just want to know if I’m reading too deep or if this really is why her followers saw that post playing into paranoia and threatening anti-endos as somehow the same as not believing in endos and how they think blocking her is some extreme offense. Someone on my post asking what it was she said in that post that went around (I hadn’t seen it since I had her blocked already) said that I shouldn’t judge her by that or by anyone else’s opinion on her. It was giving “if you just meet and talk to our founder, you’ll understand why we do everything we do” vibes and I wanted to look deeper into it. You are/gen encouraged to counter or disprove this with actual critical discussion. “She’s not making a cult you’re stupid” isn’t critical discussion. “Here’s why I don’t think you’re right” is.

Please note, for the analysis using the BITE model I will be phrasing things using what she says. I do not believe any of what she says but it’s easier to communicate using her terms and more effectively explains it rather than shoving “supposedly” and “what they call” into every single sentence.

B/Behavior control:

Promote dependence and obedience ✅ - you’re “pluralphobic” or a “sysmed” if you disagree with her trying to push people to become plural and force this idea of a future she has where everyone is plural. Even if the actual singlet involved doesn’t want to, she then pushes the idea that you’re actively emotionally hurting someone by not following her ideas, someone you cared about as a child. Imaginary friends are often foundational to children’s emotional attachments as it allows them to freely practice social interactions and connections without risk of messing up, so attacking someone’s feelings towards their imaginary friends is likely to drag them to her side whether they want to or not.

Modify behavior with rewards and punishments ✅ - anti endos are threatened on that post with emotional harm and told there isn’t a way they can escape it unless they stop being anti-endo and start pushing plurality with her.

Dictate where and with whom you live, Restrict or control sexuality, Control clothing and hairstyle, regulate what and how much you eat and drink, deprive you of 7-9 hours of sleep, exploit you financially, restrict your leisure time activities, require you to seek permission for major decisions ❌

Requiring major time spent on group indoctrination and rituals, including self-indoctrination on the internet ❔- while not exactly required, sophie isn’t unclear on her message that you should be putting pressure on people around you to be first accepting of and then consider actually being plural. She also has EXTENSIVE reading in her pinned post and recommends various other sources throughout her posts

I/Information control:

Deliberately withhold and distort information ✅ - any sources that go against endogenic systems are from “bigots/sysmeds/pluralphobes” and the only things you should be listening to are the few and far between biased “research” she’s found pointing to the existence of endogenic systems. For the most part, these don’t exist so instead she appropriates tulpamancy which is a closed practice separate from any definition of a system (according to people who are part of the closed practice I’ve seen speak on this), which does have research into it being that it’s a long standing religious practice.

Forbid you from communicating with ex-members and critics ✅ - the paranoia inducing post directly states that she will get your friends and family to stop speaking with you without ever telling you why. She claims she will entirely isolate anti-endos and destroy their support systems.

Restrict access to non-cult sources of information ❔- not that I’ve seen other than trying to pressure people into thinking they’re biased against them and therefore inaccurate.

Compartmentalize information into insider vs outsider doctrine ✅ - everything she’s doing is Us vs Them, pro-endos vs anti endos isn’t a discussion anymore it’s a *personal attack* and shouldn’t be discussed it should be eradicated. This isn’t a conversation to her at this point, just a way of leaning into her desire to push fake plurals even further.

Generate and use propaganda (“the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person”, Merriam-Webster) extensively ✅ - literally her whole blog on tumblr and on whatever site it is those links go to

Use information gained in confidence against you ❔not to my knowledge

Gaslight (“to psychologically manipulate (a person) usually over an extended period of time so that the victim questions the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and experiences confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, and doubts concerning their own emotional or mental stability”, Merriam-Webster) to make you doubt your own memory ✅ - the whole concept about how she talks about imaginary friends and the idea that they were people you emotionally mistreated (haven’t seen her use the word abuse but wouldn’t put it past her) is based on trying to convince people they weren’t really imagining them. She tries to use things such as dreams to prove something can be autonomous within your own head and drives this idea further by attempting to reshape childhood memories. All children at some point believed their imaginary friend was separate of them because it’s the subconscious trying to help you run simulated social experiences, but sophie wants you to believe your subconscious isn’t responsible (and in fact doesn’t - at least in the post about sentience in her pinned - acknowledge the subconscious at all) but an entire other person in your mind. There’s a reason children realize these aren’t real people right as they hit the age where they can both understand reality’s fiction and when they realize they’re capable of imagining things at all (both fundamental developmental milestones). It’s just that they aren’t capable of understanding that they’re in control of it yet because their neurology allows for playing pretend but not for comprehending pretend.

Require you to report your own thoughts, feelings, and activities to your superiors, encourage you to spy and report on others’ misconduct, big brother surveillance ❌

T/Thought control:

Teach you to internalize group doctrine as “Truth” ✅ - as I’ve mentioned earlier in the post, she marks all sources that agree with her as correct and all sources that disagree with her as incorrect AND bigoted against her and people like her. If you are to avoid her threats, you have to agree with what she considers the truth, regardless of the vast majority of psychological studies that say different.

Instill black vs white, us vs them, good vs evil thinking ✅ - extensively covered above

Change your identity, possibly even your name ✅ - she wants singlets to believe they’re someone else. Multiple someone elses. All with different names and opinions but most importantly all who have been shoved away by you and want to be free to do what they please which just so happens to align with her desire to push more people to do the same.

Use loaded language to stop complex thought ✅ - most examples of this are rephrasing something to put emotional weight against disagreeing with it. One such example given when I looked it up was the transfer from anti-abortion to pro-life. This is all over Sophie’s posts. She’s got three different terms she’s throwing around all emotionally loaded to make you feel disgusting for disagreeing. Sysmeds (which she constantly pushes to conflate with transmeds and actively compared anti-endos to homophobes), pluralphobes, and outright use of the word bigot - all used to replace the term anti-endo and make it seem disgusting and horrible and just morally Wrong to be anti-endo.

Induce hypnotic or trance states to indoctrinate ❔ - she does seem to push some methods adjacent to meditation but I wouldn’t call it a trance state, though she does heavily believe in forcing people to dissociate and create systems that way so up to you if you see this as a yes or no

Teach thought-stopping techniques to prevent critical thought and reality testing ❔ not in any classic cult way I’ve seen where they have a phrase of some sort to stop those thoughts, but the fear of punishment technique is in place. Her followers saw how she spoke to anti-endos. The threats weren’t released in any isolated way. The people who agree with her saw what would happen if they changed their minds. I’m willing to bet it didn’t just cause paranoia in people already on the anti-endo side.

Allow only positive thoughts ❌

Use excessive meditation, singing, prayer, and chanting to block thoughts ❌

Reject rational analysis, critical thinking, and constructive criticism ✅ - extensively covered above

E/Emotional control:

Instill irrational fears of questioning or leaving the group (phobia indoctrination) ✅ - more of what I was speaking on above; her followers also saw the threats that anti-endos got. This could very well keep someone on her side for fear that she would cause them isolation and emotional harm if they were to disagree with her.

Make you feel elitist and special ✅ - all over her page she talks about how great letting your imaginary friends take over is and how being plural is such a great thing. I’ve seen her reblogging things going all the way to saying extreme pain was made bearable (from 100 to 10) from one of their “headmates” holding their hand. This has neurological basis in CDD systems but it doesn’t have any basis without the different usage of the brain that comes with a CDD system. It’s basic “mind over matter” but it’s being rebranded as some special thing they could do because they fed into this. She convinces them they’re better than others who continue to shove away their imaginary friends. She also says they’re better than all anti-endos because they aren’t being bigoted. The future is plural is pushed because being plural is better in her mind.

Promote feelings of guilt, shame, and unworthiness ❔- not to her followers which is what I think this refers to? She does this to people who don’t agree with her though and to an extreme degree (The Post, you know the one)

Elicit extreme emotional highs and lows, label some emotions as evil, worldly, sinful, or wrong, teach emotion-stopping techniques to prevent anger or home-sickness ❌

Threaten and harass your friends and family ✅ - if we are to believe her, this is what she would do given the opportunity. This is what she threatened to do. I have no doubt that she would absolutely do this to any anti-endo in her real life. It’s not a risk to us because she has no access to our information and our families. But given that access? I don’t think she’d be above trying it (at least until it got her in trouble where she would go whine to a judge about how they’re mean to the people she supposedly made up and decided to keep in her head)

Shun you if you disobey or disbelieve ✅ - just as she tried to make anti-endos believe she’d isolated us, so too would she do to one of her followers who became anti-endo. She wants anti-endos to believe we have no support network so we join her side. By extension, that likely means she wants pro-endos to believe that they would have no support network if they became anti-endo.

Teach you that there is no happiness or fulfillment outside of the group ✅ - she has several things she’s reblogged or posted from her asks discussing how miserable anti-endos must be, one even claiming that the reason we’re anti-endo is because our system wants us to continue doubting the existence of our alters so they push away her beliefs. She either firmly believes herself that we are all miserable and mean or she knows better but wants her followers to believe it.

There’s a lot of X’s there. She’s definitely not there yet I don’t think, and I don’t even know if there’s sufficient evidence to say it’s going there. There IS sufficient evidence in the way her followers reacted to and defended that post (or completely ignored its existence while continuing to follow her and act like it was completely normal) to say that people are being swayed and controlled by the ideas she’s pushed. There’s a reason we have to do so much damage control on that post - because she wanted people to be scared and enjoyed that it worked.

She is, bare minimum, high on a power trip. She’s willing to avoid blocks and harass people to get her message across, and the message is that no one is to disagree with her.

I don’t agree with and don’t appreciate the existence of the endogenic “system” community, but Sophie isn’t representative of all of them. She’s her own issue separately and maybe more pressing than them.

I don’t know what if anything can be done about this if it is the case. I just know that I saw a pattern I recognized from an old hyperfixation on cults and some… experience from a short period of my personal life dealing with this kind of thing and I wanted to see if others see it too.

Edit: addition based on something I saw on the sophie filter blog (avoid this at all costs it’s intentionally triggers and traumatizing to read AND is used to intentionally filter everything terrible people on the internet have sent to her into one place to try and make anti-endos look like a hate group)

If you don’t do what she says, you are punished. If you post in tags she decided were theirs, you are punished. “Stepping out of line” is the phrase she chose to use.

[cultofbeatles]

beginners guide to the beatles

 made one of these a long time ago but i'm surprised by how short it was. so here we go again. doing it right this time lol. 

pov: you told a bad joke and now the beatles are judging you. 

john winston lennon. later in his life known as john winston ono lennon. 

born on october 9, 1940 

i believe in astrology bc how does john just happen to be a libra 

when john was four he started living with his aunt mimi who acted more as his mother figure 

his mother, julia, remarried and would visit him quite a bit.

it was julia who taught john how to play banjo and piano. and she bought his first guitar.

they both had a deep love for music and rock n roll 

he never really thought of her as his mother but more as a cool friend i suppose 

aunt mimi was more rough on him and did the disciplining 

his father was never really present growing up and his uncle passed away when he was young 

he thought he was a curse for the men in his family 

he had five half siblings. two of them, julia and jacqueline, he was pretty close to. the other three he barely knew. 

fashion icon.

hated school but loved art 

very early on he was insecure with himself 

teachers always shit on him and said he would go nowhere in life 

he met paul at a church fete on july 6, 1957 

paul taught him how to play guitar properly.

once told paul that he didnt know how paul carried on after his mother died bc he just didn't think he could do it 

john’s mother died from being hit by an off duty policemen. john was seventeen at the time. 

 he took her death really hard and became a bit of a recluse. 

first serious relationship was with cynthia (we stan her) 

once cynthia cut her hair short and he didn't talk to her for two days. 

hate men. kill all men. 

when he asked her to dance at a party she turned him down saying that she was engaged, and so he said “well i didn't ask you to fucking marry me, did i?” 

slapped her once bc he was drunk and another boy was talking to her.

only time her hit her.

read cynthia’s books about john pls. i beg. 

once a psychic told him that he would be shot in the states.

founder of the beatles and also came up with the name.

instruments he could play: guitar, harmonica, rhythm guitar, banjo, keyboard, piano, saxophone, bass guitar, and a little drums. 

main songwriter in the beatles along with paul.

was more open minded to change in the beatles music. 

was insecure in his relationship with paul after a while bc he thought he only needed him for songwriting. 

would bitch about paul all day long but the second anyone else said something about him he’d be on their ass. 

had a lot of issues and needed a good hug. 

suffered from eating disorders, drug addictions, depression, insecurities, and questioned his sexuality bc of the time. 

was super open minded and ahead of his time in many instances. 

once he was called “the fat beatle” and after that he stopped eating as much.

truly loved his first son, julian lennon, and would buy him presents all the time bc he was excited to see him play with them.

“your famous ex husband”

he enjoyed playing monopoly. 

he once claimed that he saw a ufo.

he had written three books but he always wanted to write a children's book.

 the last song he ever performed in front of a live audience was “i saw her standing there.” with elton john.

he was afraid of the dark. 

found out later in his life that he was dyslexic. 

was also legally blind without glasses.

never could catch a break huh.

said that his best lyric ever was “all you need is love” i agree.

the first time yoko and john met was not at her art exhibit but actually when she approached him about giving away songs for free.

wanted to write a musical with paul. 

once a friend dared him to masturbate ten times in one day and he managed to do it nine times.

would hold circle jerks with paul and a few other friends. 

just dudes being dudes. 

went on a holiday with brian epstein, who was gay, and told some people afterward that they did certain sexual things. but we will never know for sure.

yoko says that john was bisexual.

once in an interview he said that he would of married a rich man or woman if he wasn't in the beatles. 

hated his voice on records. would always ask for effects on his voice for final recordings. 

made a film with yoko where it was just his penis going from flaccid to erect for fifteen minutes in slow motion. 

only beatle not to of become a vegetarian while he was alive. 

murdered on december 8, 1980.

gave his autograph earlier in the day to the man who would murder him.

died at the age of 40.

“all my loving” was played while he was at the hospital.

and its spooky bc a lot of times in interviews he would say “when i'm 40..” 

and it’s sad bc he was finally becoming who he truly wanted to be. 

honorable john moments that i love:

“thanks for the purpler hearts” he says while receiving the silver heart 

“you are the first person from liverpool that i've ever seen” “great”

eric lennon on my mind today 

this come together performance where he messed up the lyrics lol

that interview where paul was sick and john keep checking on him 

john lennon speaking nothing but facts 

when he said that he could see the beatles going separate ways but that they'd always come back together.

SHUT UP 

“shut up while he’s talking..”

this interview breaks my heart sometimes 

and this interview is great as well 

sir james paul mccartney 

born on june 18, 1942

if you ever have spare time just check out this man’s natal chart. 

idk how he’s still alive with his chart tbh. 

he has a younger brother named mike and a step sister named ruth. 

his dad thought he was the ugliest baby he’d ever seen when he was born. 

when he was young paul would kill frogs in a way to prepare himself for the war if he ever was drafted. 

the first instrument he ever learned to play was the trumpet.

I don't even want to list every instrument this man can play but trust me when I say it’s a lot.

but for the beatles he mainly did bass, vocals, and piano. sometimes playing the guitar and the drums.

the beatles was just paul moving really, really fast. 

he lost his mother when he was 14 due to surgery for breast cancer.

never really learned how to cope well with loss of a loved one tbh. 

had the cutest chubby cheeks as a kid tbh 

met john and was accepted into his band 

sometimes they'd ditch school together and either work on music or would visit art galleries.

went to paris with john and john bought him all the banana milkshakes that he wanted.

connected over their love and admiration for music, and bc they had both lost their mothers. 

had a girlfriend’s mom who he would make comb his leg hairs. 

was an ass to his first girlfriend.

kill all men again. 

almost had to marry his girlfriend dot bc she was pregnant, but she ended up losing the baby.

was the one who introduced george harrison to john.

practically despised pete best and stuart stutcliffe bc they were bringing the group down. 

got arrested along with pete best bc they lit a condom on fire in hamburg.

still felt awful and a little guilty when stuart died suddenly. 

main force behind the beatles imo. 

without him we’d have not as much beatles music as we do. 

was dating jane asher throughout majority of the sixties. 

when they first met they talked about syrup and paul fell in love.

they broke things off after she walked in on him sleeping with another woman though.

directed magical mystery tour and it was amazing and I don't care what anyone says ok?

when john divorced cynthia he was the only one not scared of john and went against his wishes of not speaking to cynthia.

was a little controlling at times. 

has a good heart though. 

mal evans had to drive him home once after a beatles sessions bc he was crying so hard. 

was talking about getting the band back to touring when john said he was leaving the group. 

everyone kind of turned against him when the beatles were breaking up and i hate it.

he just wanted what was best for the band.

married linda and had a nice little farm. 

we love that story.

linda i'm free thursday if you want to hang out pls.

started up the whole “no meat monday” thing where you don't eat monday on mondays

food meat. not the other kind of meat.

children: james mccartney, stella mccartney, heather mccartney, mary mccartney, and beatrice mccartney. 

rip martha. 

WINGS!! 

he lost linda in 1998 due to cancer.

 cried for a whole year bc of it.

still has dreams about john and says they're nice.

wrote a sad song about john called “here today.”

really loved john. like..he truly, genuinely did. 

want someone to love me like paul does john. 

“think of me every now and then old friend.”

honorable paul moments:

his story about george’s dad 

“john? he was beautiful. very beautiful.”

humpty dumpty rap 

another story about him and george.

his google search video that I watch every week 

this 

george harrison 

born: February 24, 1943 

or at least we think 

bc he use to say that his birthday was february 25, but later started saying it february 24. 

why can't we change our birthdays its not like we picked it 

he was the youngest child.

baby of the family and of the beatles awwww

two older brothers named harry and peter. one older sister named louise.

when george’s mom was pregnant with him she’d play sitar music.

his mom was super supportive of his career choice 

when he was 16 he worked as an electricians apprentice.

his dad kind of hoped he would start a family business out of it.

george said nah

would ride the bus opposite way of his house just to spend time with paul 

headbutted a kid bc he didn't think they were worthy of paul’s friendship 

was brought into the band bc of paul insisting to john 

would follow john around like a lost puppy when he first met him 

once had an eight hour erection. don't ask me how idk he said it.

was 17 when he lost his virginity and the other band members were in the room watching and cheered him when he finished 

most sex craved beatle tbh 

once walked into a girls dressing room and asked if they could stand there so he could masturbate 

he was the first beatle to go to america 

got a black eye for defending ringo once 

would make john and paul take turns sharing rooms with ringo when he first joined the band so that he felt more welcomed 

when ringo left during the white album and then came back george decorated the studio with flowers for him 

during the beatles first recording session he told george martin that he didn't like his tie

became a vegetarian at 22 

favorite candy was jelly beans and purple was his favorite color 

used the phrase “grotty” in the hard days night movie, hated it, but everyone else picked up on the slang 

met his first wife, pattie boyd, on the set of a hard days night 

was turned down by her at first 

they married in 1966

wouldn't let her do modeling stuff and was kind of an ass 

a stylish couple but not the best image for a healthy relationship 

got into eastern religion around 1965 

during the Hamburg days he would eat chicken on stage 

had an affair with ringo’s first wife maureen 

got a divorce from pattie in 1977

in 1978 he married olivia who he stayed with until his death and had one son with. dhani.

was the first beatle to hit a number one single and album. 

was buddies with led zeppelin

inspired their “rain song” 

smashed a piece of cake on john bonham’s head and then was thrown into the pool by him 

he financed and produced films. had a production company.

tom petty said that george never shut up once you started talking to him 

but he was often referred to as “the quiet beatle”

formed another band called the traveling wilburys

he’d answer questions online in the 2000′s and it’s the cutest thing ever and his answers break my heart too.

“what do you miss most about john lennon?” “john lennon.”

in 1999 a schizophrenic person broke into his house and stabbed him 40 times 

thank god olivia was there bc she was the only braincell in the room 

had to get a part of his lung taken out 

died november 29, 2001 from lung cancer 

ashes were scattered into the ganges river 

honorable george moments:

this interview he did with ringo 

“i'm sad bc i can't play guitars with john anymore. but i did that...i know we’ll meet again some day.”

when he invented reaction videos 

“the wind was blowing.” “..blowing my girl?”

“what kind of girl do you like?” “john’s wife.”

sir richard starkey aka ringo starr 

born on july 7, 1940 

oldest member in the group 

has no siblings 

naturally was left handed but his grandma thought it was bad luck so he writes right handed, and plays drums with a right handed kit 

but does everything else left handed

when he was 6 he fell into a two month coma 

was a very sick child 

when he was 13 he was in the hosiptal for tuberculosis and formed a hospital band 

grew up poor 

loves and looked up to his stepfather a lot 

his step father bought him his first drum kit in 1957

wasn't that great in school bc he missed so much of it from being so sick 

he worked for a britain railway for a while 

also served drinks on a day boat for a job 

loves dancing 

Rory storm and the hurricanes 

got his nickname from all the rings he would wear

replaced pete best as the beatles drummer 

dealt with people hating him for a bit bc they liked pete more 

had to style his hair in a bowl cut to be in the band and i'm still mad at them for making him do that shit 

ringo i'm so sorry 

george martin didn't really like his drumming and had a session drummer come in for the first album 

in 1964 he had tonsillitis, pharyngitis, and high fever all at once and had to be in the hospital for a bit.

was worried the beatles would replace him for good 

he’s a cancer don't worry

was the first beatle to try weed 

drummers always go first huh 

married his first wife, maureen, in 1965 

she kissed paul, ringo, and george.

what a champ

honeymoon was ruined by reporters 

was really insecure in his relationship and needed a lot of reassurance 

had a great relationship with pretty much all the beatles 

but a great one with john 

john felt his most relaxed when he was with ringo

was once in a movie with roger daltrey 

divorced maureen in 1975 

his wife now is barbara bach who he married in 1981 

had alcohol problems 

once gotten so drunk that he beat barbara so badly that he thought he killed her 

put himself into rehab after that 

barbara lowkey looks like jan from the office 

children: zak, lee, and jason

zak is the drummer for the band the who 

peace and love 

but don't send me fan mail anymore 

peace and love 

ringo starr and the allstar band (starting 1981)

was the narrator for thomas the tank engine 

will play at paul’s concerts sometimes now for fun 

mad bc he came on stage during paul’s last concert show and it was on my birthday and I couldn't go to it 

honorable ringo moments:

“do you want me to come with you?”

stupid barbara walters 

talking about paul 

giving us a little dance 

[joseffie]

02.28.21 Ghost Diary

So i think my apartment is haunted. The vibes have been off for a little while around here, and my roommate is often gone on weekends bc she spends them with her boyfriend.

Yesterday was esp. weird. I had trouble falling asleep and I've been sleeping badly (weird dreams, waking multiple times in the night, trouble falling asleep) for a hot minute now.

When I work up my bluetooth speaker turned on randomly and said it was connected to my phone. All I had done at the most on my phone was turn off an alarm. It could've been my roommate turning on her computer which we connected to the speaker last weekend to play music, but it didn't say it was connected to that device, only my phone. Anyways I ignored it.

Later that night I had just gotten off of a late shift. We had been talking paranormal/metaphysical stuff and my co-workers are all a lil-superstitious. I came back to my apartment and was just on the phone with my best friend back home when my roommates touch light turned on randomly and suddenly. It's on the opposite side of the room as me and nothing could've touched it to turn it on. I was immediately wigged out.

I rang my bells to clear the energy but I was still intrigued.

I reached out to my apartment group chat to see if anyone else has experienced paranormal stuff if they believe in it (it's a college apartment complex, so much more chill). Mostly no responses until this morning;

here's where other people's stories come in:

- my next-door neighbor said she was experiencing weird vibes and dreams about ghosts. She said that she had thought she maybe felt or saw something but brushed it off

- two floors up from me messaged this morning that one of the girls in the apartment swears they saw a figure in their hall last night

- another girl on the 4th floor says she has always seen/heard ghostly things near the entrance to campus. this is much further away from the apartments but many of us are going to campus daily for work or classes. And it actually just so happens that a donor/founder of the school had his ashes encompassed in a sculpture piece near the entrance to the university

- another girl who lives on the third floor said she and her roomies named their ghost Gary and that ghostly shit happens a lot in their apartment (no specifications)

- another person who moved into the apartment with the girls two floors up from me said that she had a ghost named John in her dorm last semester and that he maybe followed her

So really wacky shit.

I've always been superstitious and believed in the existence of spirits/ghosts/past lives, etc. And last year I had a friend group for a short time that made a ouija board and often used it on campus. It got too freaky eventually and the friend group fell apart, so we stopped. A person I had a falling out with ended up taking the board because they didn't really believe in ghosts and the paranormal.

But I was thinking, what if it's not some group experience, could've brought this spiritual energy to me. An lo and behold I had a long conversation with this person after not talking to them for at least 3 semesters. It's not like we were besties now or anything, but i could've picked up some of their energy in that meeting. I often do pick up and reflect other people's energies.

I asked them after the light incident if they believed they were haunted/had ghosts in their dorm and they told me they weren't sure because they've never been attuned to that sort of thing. They did say that they accumulated another ouija board tho, and that freaks me out.

I take this seriously, obviously. So I wanted to log the experience here.

EDIT: I forgot to add that I also shattered to bottles of coffee yesterday. They were in my bag which i accidentally let it fall to the floor and they broke. It wasn't like they hit the floor too hard either. Two days ago my roomie's bowl cracked mysteriously too (chipped and cracked halfway through). Weird marks on my mirror too that look mysteriously like a capital letter "I"

Reblog/comment if you have any insight or a similar experience

[doing-all-write]

the art of flirting on a hoverboard

Ivy runs a successful arts non-profit and Joe tags along when Rami and Lucy go to visit her. But what happens when a simple bet made over a hover board competition gets out of hand? 

Pairing: Joe Mazzello x Ivy (OC)

Rating: Rated B for background and C for characterization. (We love exposition in this house)

Warnings: None! 

This is for sure going to be a multi-part fic so here’s the first part! I hope you guys fall in love with Joe and Ivy as much as I had writing them! Ivy wasn’t inspired by anyone tbh, I tried writing in the second person but it kept confusing me so she can be a self-insert or an OC, whichever way you want to read it! 

Any comments, notes, love, hate WHATEVER you got for this, let me know! 

Reblogs and feedback are much appreciated bc I crave validation!!!!!

"EXCUSE US. HOVER BOARD COMING THROUGH." 

Joe jumped, looking around to locate the voice, and said hover board, as Rami sighed with longing.  

The hover board in question was attached (by what Joe could only guess was a jump rope?) to a scooter. The scooter carried two kids while a third desperately tried to keep their center of gravity underneath them as they all raced down the hallway, laughter and profanities left in their wake. 

The receptionist behind the desk leaned over, offering encouragement as her iPhone lens tracked them as they all loudly screamed upon realizing they would have to turn a corner. 

As they took the corner (with only one loud "FUCK" uttered as the hover boarder's shoulder made contact with the wall, but impressively, stayed on) the receptionist shook her head as she watched the video back. Snickering, her thumbs flew as she added a caption. The nameplate attached to the front of her desk identified her as Erin.

Erin looked up once the video had been posted to her Story and her eyes lit up as they fell on Rami.

"Well, well, well. Look who came CRAWLING back to us. Mister Oscar Winner."

Rami rubbed the back of his neck, "Seriously, Erin? I literally saw you last week." 

Erin made her way around the desk to wrap him in a hug, "Doesn't matter. And besides, I just like seeing the internal struggle that you go through where you want to brag about having an Oscar but also don't want to seem like a massive prick." 

Rami shrugged, "It's a fine line always." 

"Sometimes it's so fine it's nonexistent." Lucy piped up which caused Erin to collapse into giggles as Rami rolled his eyes and Joe smirked. 

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy your company IMMENSELY." Erin said as she turned to Lucy and shook her hand.

"Likewise." Lucy offered as Erin turned to Joe.

"What about me? Are we going to become instant besties?" Joe joked as he shook Erin's hand.

Erin shrugged, "Depends, are you going to roast Rami with me?"

"Absolutely. No hesitation. He's not even my friend."

Erin clapped him on the shoulder, "Good man. We're now besties."

Joe hissed a "yes" as Rami, oblivious to all of this, craned his neck to try to see where the joy riders had disappeared to down the hallway. 

"Glad to see the trend of 'tying wheeled objects to other wheeled objects' hasn't died out." He shot a knowing smile at Erin who rolled her eyes. 

"They'll be back, they usually make a few laps." Erin sighed. "They usually do this whenever new people show up, trying to impress you guys," she fluttered her fingers in the direction of Lucy and Joe. 

"Plus around three everyone starts getting stir crazy so...hover boards." She waved her hand flippantly in the air as if that gesture explained the inner mechanisms of bored teenager's brains. 

Rami nodded, "I have fond memories of us, well, Ivy, almost dying when we tied a skateboard to a bike and tried to make it down the hill, you remember that?" Erin nodded as she threw her arm around his shoulders as they both sighed at the memory of being young and stupid.

Lucy's eye flicked over to Joe who shrugged. 

"We should definitely recreate that" Rami declared.

Joe's eyes lit up at the prospect of doing something so chaotic as Lucy turned to Erin, "Do you have a bike, jump rope and skateboard?" 

Erin laughed, then upon seeing the trio in front of her not joining in, realized they were serious, and quickly swallowed her laughter as she cleared her throat.

"We definitely do but your 'meeting'," Erin put air quotes around meeting, knowing full well it was an excuse for them to fuck around and do stupid shit like this for the rest of the day, "with Ivy is in like, two minutes and she'll be so pissed if she misses out on that." 

Erin paused, eyes raised up and to the right as if she could look right through the floor to where Ivy was. "Honestly, if you propose the idea to Ivy right away, you guys could discuss logistics for this week and build that at the same time." 

Rami nodded once in understanding, "Good call, she's always been a fan of multi-tasking anyway." 

Erin laughed, "Yeah, remember when she was just starting this foundation? She had so much to remember and do, and we came in one day and she was grouting one of the bathrooms, on the phone with a sponsor and was sending out a mass email asking for volunteers all at the same time?"

Joe and Lucy exchanged looks as Rami and Erin chuckled over a memory that went right over their heads.

Lucy spoke up, "Sorry, but you two'll have to explain further. All Rami told me was that he was visiting an old friend and I was on the phone with Joe at the time and he invited himself."

Joe adopted an affronted expression, "Well EX-cuse me for ruining an outing that you were already barging in on!" 

Lucy gave his shoulder a gentle shove with a twinkle in her eye,  "Maybe if you didn't have to call me every time you heard a Queen song in public this wouldn't be an issue!" 

Joe opened his mouth to respond when Rami interjected, "Ivy's been my friend for forever. We met doing community theater. She always talked about how it was so hard for kids to get involved in the arts because there was such a sense of elitism attached to it, she wanted to make it more accessible to kids."

He paused and took in the scene around him, people running back and forth through the lobby, calling out to each other, going over song ideas, running lines, carrying pieces of props back and forth, collaborating on beats, and that was just in the lobby. He knew that further into the building they'd discover recording studios, blackbox spaces, auditoriums, dance studios, a gym and a living space that had been added on after Ivy and the other co-founders had been caught camping out in one of the auditoriums after a particularly grueling event planning session for the foundation. 

Erin picked up where Rami had trailed off, "And not just things like acting and singing. All the backstage work, the stage managers, the people who mix music, who build sets, who do special effects makeup, all the non-acting and singing jobs, she wanted to shine a light on them too. So, she started this foundation to give kids a chance to explore all the options the arts provide. She likes having individuals who have 'made it' come in from time to time. Either to visit, maybe talk to the kids, teach some classes, give a lecture or even, in this case, just to hang out."

"I think she mainly wanted me to come so she could meet Lucy since I wouldn't shut up about her every time we talked." Rami admitted with a grin as Lucy threw her head back and laughed.  

Erin glanced between them, "So, how long have you two been dating?" 

Lucy glanced at Rami, "About a year now."

"But it feels like forever." Rami quickly added as he squeezed Lucy into his side and planted a kiss on to the top of her head.

"Oh that's disgusting. Get out of here with that shit." Erin said as a smile broke over her face.

"They're always that cute. Frankly, I'm getting fed up with their happiness." Joe said as he smiled at Erin and rolled his eyes. 

"Well, what about you, Joseph? You dating anyone?" Erin crossed her arms as she directed her piercing gaze onto him.

"Ah, well, no. Not at this time. I don't know, guess I haven't found the right person." Joe shrugged as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Hmm. Tell me Joe, how do you feel about women who can grout a bathroom AND ask for money all at the same time?" Erin jokingly said as Rami snapped his gaze over to Joe.

"Holy shit, dude. No, this could be perfect."

Lucy, smelling a scheme and wanting in immediately, turned to Rami and Erin, "What do you mean?" She shook her head, "You know what? Doesn't matter. I'm in."

Joe, looking very much like a panicked gazelle after realizing lions hd him surrounded, looked between the three of them, "I'm not sure I like where this is going."

Erin completely ignored him as she turned her full focus onto Rami and Lucy, "They would be perfect together. I mean, Rami, you know Ivy. Tell me they wouldn't be so cute together." 

Lucy scrunched her nose as she pondered what Erin had just said, "Wait, is she the one with the nose piercing?"

"YES." Rami turned to Erin, "Ivy's FaceTimed me a few times and she's met Lucy that way."

Lucy's eyes lit up, "Oh my god, she's beautiful. Yeah, they would be such a good match!"

"CAN I GET A SAY IN THIS PLEASE?" Joe interjected as he waved his arms over his head to get the groups attention. 

Everyone's gaze snapped to Joe and Erin had the decency to look guilty, "Sorry. I got carried away. Ivy just," her eyes flitted around as she tried to pick the best words to describe her friend's situation, "She doesn't think she deserves to date nice guys so her past few boyfriends have all been assholes. I just really want her to date someone good and if Rami and my new bestie Lucy think you're a good guy well...I trust them." Erin said as she shot Joe a half smile.

Joe crossed his arms, "Alright, that's...sweet. But still. I'd at least like to meet this girl before you guys pick out rings for us."

Erin's phone vibrated at that moment and risked a glance down at it. She looked up to announce, "Well, luckily you'll be able to meet her in a few minutes, Ivy's current meeting is wrapping up in two minutes. So, get ready to meet your future wife." she joked as Joe rolled his eyes and Lucy snickered. 

"You guys can take a seat while you wait. I should probably actually go do my job." Erin said begrudgingly as she trudged back behind her desk.

They all offered their thanks and wandered over to the chairs in front of Erin's desk. The desk was situated in the middle of two staircases that came down from the second floor. Joe could see glass-walled office spaces, each outfitted with a dry erase board, tables, chairs, charging ports and a mini fridge. 

Rami nudged him as he pointed to the first room at the top of the right staircase, "You see the girl writing at the whiteboard? That's Ivy." 

Joe followed his finger as his eyes swept over the room noticing the two men and four women. Only one of the women was scribbling something onto the white board, her back facing the lobby. 

She was wearing a pair of denim cutoff shorts, a white t-shirt and converse. She spun around and her hair followed as she opened her mouth in a silent laugh. 

Her smile made the whole room brighter, everyone seemed more jovial as she talked and gestured with her hands to drive her point home. 

Joe couldn't take his eyes off her. 

Lucy looked over at Joe to make a comment about what his first impression was of his future girlfriend but when she saw the dazed look that had come over him, she pressed her lips together and knew that it wouldn't be "maybe" they'd start dating but "when" they started dating. 

Rami raised his hand in an enthusiastic wave to try to get Ivy's attention. Her eyes flicked toward the movement then away. A second later they clapped back onto her friend as her face broke open into a wide smile as she waved wildly back. 

"Gang, let's wrap up this meeting, Rami's here and I want to hang out with him." Ivy announced to the room. Everyone agreed and started gathering their things.

"I didn't know Rami was coming to visit, did he bring his girlfriend?" Ava, their HR Wonder Woman/personal trainer, was peering down into the lobby waving wildly back at Rami, who at this point, was jumping up and down.

Ivy glanced up from her laptop as she saved her notes and snorted at Rami's actions, "Yeah. I told him if he didn't bring her here, to his humble beginnings, I'd track her down myself and force her to come visit." 

Charlotte, their finance wizard and the one to corral board members, barked out a laugh, "Yeah, that would look really good for us. 'Local Non-Profit Investigated for Kidnapping Charges.' That would really help us get more money."

"Better than us bamboozling funds." Adam, their music mixing master, pointed out as he pushed Ivy's cup of iced coffee closer to her so she wouldn't forget it. Ivy smiled her thanks as she took a sip.

"Yeah, better to explain a kidnapping charge than doing weird shit with people's money like buying furry costumes or having wild orgy parties." Sean, their 'Bob the Builder' of set designs, chimed in as he stood by the conference room door, sticking a pencil behind his ear.

Gracie, their social media coordinator looked up from her phone, "Why would we be having wild orgies?"

"Well, wasn't Dionysus the god of theatre? He was also the god of parties and all things hedonistic so...orgies." Sean offered as if that all made perfect sense.

"Also, it's a well known fact, all theatre kids are horny on main so it probably wouldn't be a huge shock to most people." Ivy said as she took another sip of her drink. 

"As much as I love talking about orgies and kidnapping others with you guys, Ivy you better get down there. All three of them are jumping up and down and waving now." Ava offered from her vantage point by the window.

"All three? I thought it was just Rami and Lucy?" Ivy's brow crinkled as she walked over to the window.

"There's a third guy. He seems pretty cute in a 'basic white boy' way."

"Oh my god. Ivy. Date him. He sounds like he’s just your type." 

"God, Adam, you act like I've never dated anyone, ever."

"Well, no one good at least." Charlotte mumbled under her breath as she continued furiously typing.

"CHARLOTTE." Ivy screeched as she whirled around to face the room at large. 

Gracie threw up her hands, "Someone had to say it! It might as well be Charlotte! She's known you the longest."

"Yeah, but-I mean, this is-c'mon guys!" Ivy knew her voice was getting whiny but she couldn't help it. Her friends always ganged up on her about her dating life and she really didn't want to hear it. Especially when she was so close to getting out of work for the rest of the day.

Adam threw an arm around Ivy's shoulder as he passed by her on his way to the door, "Now, now everyone. Just because Ivy's never dated a good man before doesn't mean she ever will. It will just take an act of god to make that happen." 

"Fuck. Off."

Adam planted a loud kiss to Ivy's cheek as he scurried out of the room with Sean following close behind, "LOVE YOU IVY."

Ivy rolled her eyes and turned to the remaining women in the room. 

"Is my taste in men really that bad?" 

"YES." 

Ivy winced as all three of them answered with no hesitation.

Charlotte sighed as she adjusted one of her dreads, "It's because we love you that we say these things. We want what's best for you."

Gracie and Ava nodded in agreement as Ivy slumped against the window and groaned.

"I know you do. I can't help it! Every time a guy is actually nice and sweet I get so scared he'll leave me that I just...go for the exact opposite so I don't get hurt."

There was a long pause then Gracie blinked, "That's...a lot to unpack."

"You're telling me." Ivy mumbled as Ava wrapped her in a hug.

"We still love you but maybe, just try going for an actual nice guy. Just this once. I know I'm just a simple lesbian but I'm sure there has to be a nice guy out there right?"

"Do you really believe that?" Ivy leaned her head on Ava's shoulder. 

"No, not at all. I just thought it would make you feel better. Did it?"

"Well, it did until you told me you lied."

"Hmm. Yeah. My bad. Well! Go get 'em." Ava said as she patted Ivy on the back and swept out the door.

Ivy rolled her eyes, "Will I ever hire or befriend people who aren't a giant pain in my ass?" 

"Not likely."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Char."

"No problem. NOW GO. See your friend. We love you."

Ivy waved as she walked out the door toward her office, thumbing through her phone till she got to Erin's contact information.

As she stepped inside her office, the light coming in from her bay window almost blinded her as she dropped her stuff onto her desk. 

"Are you coming down or what? You told me you'd be down like, three thousand hours ago."

"Your perspective of time is a little worrisome."

"ARE YOU COMING DOWN OR WHAT."

"Yes, oh my god, I just wanted to let you know that I'm dropping my stuff off in my office then I'll be down and I would be oh so grateful if you'd rely that information to Rami, Lucy and Joe."

"Yeah, I can do that. By the way, Joe? Very cute. Good sense of humor. Single. Seems like he'd have a nice dic-"

"ERIN."

"WHAT. I'm just letting you know what I've observed so far!"

Ivy rolled her eyes, "I don't even want to know how you got to that last conclusion but honestly he's probably not even going to be interested in me."

Erin scoffed, "Want to fucking bet? He was definitely checking you out earlier. Mayhaps someone has a crush..." She singsonged into the phone as Ivy's heartbeat sped up against her will. 

The idea of someone like Joe having a crush on her was, well, too much for her to even consider. It was easier to go for guys that she really didn't like or who liked her more than she liked them. That way, she never got hurt. She never had to spend another night crying over some guy who didn't give her the time of day. No one was disappointed when they finally got to know the real her. She could keep her focus on her work, which is where her focus should be.

Not on some cute, seemingly nice guy who might break her heart.

But some nights, some nights she couldn't help but wish she had someone she really, genuinely liked holding her close.

She started to imagine flirting with Joe. Going on dates with him. Holding his hand. Kissing him. She felt a warmth start to seep through her stomach as she imagined him kissing her, then moving down to kiss her neck, her chest, her-

"...ASS down here so I can prove to you I'm right." Ivy refocused her eyes on her reflection in her dark monitor screen as Erin's command broke through her thoughts. "Alright, alright, tell them I'll be down in, like, 30 seconds."

She hung up and took a deep breath. She ran her fingers through her hair and walked towards the door. 

She paused, turned back and rifled through the drawer of her desk. She quickly applied some lipstick and sprayed a cloud of perfume in front of her, waited a beat, then walked through it.

It couldn't hurt.

~~~

Erin, shaking her head, lowered the phone from her ear and looked at the trio in front of her, still waving like those on a dock waving to an ocean liner on its maiden voyage. "She's running to her office real quick and then she'll be down, promise."

Rami lowered his arm as Lucy shook her's out, "Yeah, I saw her race off." Lucy nodded in agreement and spared a glance at Joe who kept running a hand through his hair, a sure sign he was nervous.

"So, I saw some guy kiss Ivy's cheek, did she start dating someone without us knowing or..." Lucy trailed off as she subtly flicked her eyes over to Joe then back to Erin. Erin's eyes widened in understanding and inclined her head to let Lucy know Don't worry, I get what you're trying to do and we're on the same team. Lucy nodded once and in that moment, an alliance was born.

Rami couldn't tell what had tectonic shift had just transpired between Erin and Lucy but decided to stay out of it.

Shaking her head, Erin replied, "No, that's just Adam. He's known Ivy for forever. Everyone here is pretty affectionate with each other but, like I said earlier, Ivy's single," she emphasized as Joe's hand stilled in his hair, "and Adam has a serious boyfriend who's usually hanging around here." Lucy nodded knowingly as Joe felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders. 

He didn't like to admit it, but the idea of Ivy having a boyfriend had caused him to deflate, just a little.

"Speak of the fucking devil," Erin muttered, then louder, "THERE YOU ARE. I was about to send out a search and rescue mission for you." 

"Well call it off. I'm here. And it wasn't that long!" Ivy said defensively as she trotted down the stairs. 

Erin noticed how Ivy's hair looked liked it had been brushed, the waves were softer. The woodsy scent of Ivy's favorite perfume reached Erin's nostrils as Ivy gave her a quick hug. When she clocked the freshly applied lipstick it all clicked. She smiled as she realized that Ivy must have taken a while to freshen up because she was trying to impress Joe. 

"What the hell are you smiling about?"

"What? Can I not smile?"

"I mean, you can. But it was weird to come out of the hug and have you just smiling at me. It's a little creepy." 

"Well fine. See if I ever smile at you again." Erin bumped her hip against Ivy's as Ivy turned to greet Rami. 

"WELL, WELL, WELL. If it isn't Mister 'I Won an Oscar So I'm Too Good For My Non-Oscar Winning Friends'."

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT."

As Ivy continued to tease Rami and meet Lucy in person, Joe got a chance to look at Ivy up close. He noticed she had freckles covering her cheeks and nose he hadn't noticed before. Her lips were full, her eyes bright as she laughed at something Lucy had said. Her smile was even more radiant up close. She was short, shorter than Joe and he wanted nothing more than to wrap an arm around her shoulder and tuck her into his side. 

Ivy shifted and Joe noticed how the muscles of her thigh moved underneath her skin and wanted nothing more than to feel those thighs wrapped around his head as he went down on her. Feeling them squeeze the sides of his head as he wrapped one hand around her thigh while the other hand teased her entrance...

"Joe? JOEY. Come back to us." Erin laughed. 

Joe snapped back to attention and saw a bemused Ivy staring back at him with her hand outstretched. 

"I promise I don't have cooties."

Joe shook his head as he mentally kicked himself, "Yeah, no, I'm so sorry, uh, I'm Joe! It's nice to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you too. A little disappointed you didn't bring the cardboard cutout of Ben."

"That's going to follow me until the day I die isn't it?"

"Well yeah. Especially since I'm assuming you'll be buried together." 

Joe laughed and Ivy smiled at him.

Erin and Lucy exchanged looks as they both noticed their hands were still connected. 

Rami cut in, "Ivy, we saw these kids roll past on a scooter with a hover board attached and it reminded me of the time we did the same thing but with-"

"-with a bike and a skateboard, hell yes!" Ivy exclaimed as she let her hand slip from Joe's as she turned to meet Rami's excited expression. 

Joe flexed his hand and realized how cold it was. 

"I know where all that stuff is, follow me." She linked arms with Rami and started skipping down the hall with him. Lucy laughed while Joe, not one to be left behind, linked his arm through Lucy's and started skipping after them.

"Soooo," Lucy said as they followed the laughing pair down a hallway lined with vintage concert posters and records with doors that led to recording studios, "what do you think of your new girlfriend? Is there a spark?" 

"I think she's really great." Joe offered with a noncommittal shrug, "I don't really know what else to say beyond that, but I think we're going to get along well." 

"Do you think she's pretty?" Lucy pressed, never one to beat around the bush.

Joe took a second and finally decided that with Lucy, the truth was always better. She would find out anyway, "Yeah, I do." Hoping the forced casual tone of his voice would downplay how beautiful he really thought she was.

Lucy nodded while on the inside she was jumping up and down and cheering. 

All the while, Erin watched them receding down the hallway and spoke to herself, as if she were a Greek chorus of one, "I give them a week before they can't keep their hands off of each other."

[angelic-holland]

Miley // th x fem!oc

Summary: Tom meets a singer at a club she’s performing at and she decides to take him home for the night. 

Part of my Drive North series; you can read the rest here. Feel free to listen to the song Miley by the SWMRs, as it is an inspiration for the story. Yes, they are singing about Miley Cyrus but Miley is an OFC here. 

Warnings: smut, nsfw, 18+ please, degradation kink, mild choking, dom!Tom (bc ooF), mentions of past drug and alcohol abuse, swearing

word count: 5.4k

Tom was on a small break from filming after the Spiderman: Far From Home premiere. Harrison had brought him to a small club, he said a band was playing he thought Tom would love. He was a few drinks in, hanging out at the bar while Harrison danced with a pretty girl. He heard the band make their way on stage and turned to watch them set up.

****

Miley lit up the blunt and took a drag of it before passing it to Billie, and they passed it to Rainne before Miley took the last drag.

“Alright, fuck pop on three,” she says, holding her hand in the middle as her bandmates followed suit.

“Fuck pop!” The cheered, tossing their hands up in the air, snickering as they left the backroom.

“Hey what’s up fuckers, it’s your least favorite band Cheeky Devils here, time to make some noise!” Miley says into the main microphone, a huge grin spreading across her face as the club cheers and shouts.

****

Holy fuck, Tom watched as the main singer spoke into the microphone. He tried to pay attention to what she said but he could only pay attention to her. She had bright pink hair, a ripped up Green Day T-shirt, a tight leather skirt, fishnet stockings, and leather boots. She had pink lipstick that just about matched her hair and the way she licked her lips as she talked drove him crazy.

He didn’t know who she was but he wanted to find out. He pulls out his phone and googles the band name and finds a website they have, advertising their music, posting upcoming gigs, talking about how each of them came to be in the band. He clicked on her profile, or at least he was pretty sure it was her, the hair in her picture was bright blue but her facial features were the same.

Hey whats up fuckers my names Miley, founder and lead singer of this lil group, just a group of folx trying to figure their lives out and making good music while they do it.

****

Miley was probably a little too high as she sang the chorus of their third song in the set, a little off rhythm and Billie could tell, giving her glances every so often as she jumped up and down, her hair getting stuck in her face.

She scanned the crowd to see if there was anyone she might want to bring home, feeling like it was going to be one of those nights.

It was pretty crowded, the dance floor full of people jumping up and down or grinding on each other. She noticed a few people sitting at the bar, one guy wasn’t paying too much attention, sitting on his phone. When he did look up, his eyes met hers and she let her eyes wander down his body, practically undressing him with her eyes as much as she could.

He was wearing a tight white T-shirt, his arms looked fucking perfect as he took a sip of his drink. He was wearing what looked like jeans that hugged his thighs so nicely she could ride them for days. She knew the weed was making her horny so she shook it off, putting her attention to the final part of the song, making the vocals perfect as it finished. They had another five songs in the set and they took a pause to all grab some water.

“How’s everyone doing tonight? Having fun?” Miley said, her voice rough from some of the shouted lyrics.

The crowd cheered as Rainne cued them for the start of the fourth song.

****

Tom couldn’t help but get hard when he saw the way Miley looked at him. The way her eyes scanned his body, the way she would still sing perfectly while focusing her attention on him.

He fiddled in his seat, downing the rest of his beer and motioning to the bartender for another one.

He scanned the crowd of people, looking for Harrison but noticing that he was nowhere to be found. He must’ve slipped out with whoever he was dancing with.

For the rest of their set Tom just watched, watched as Miley jumped up and down as she sang, her voice rougher and deeper as the night moved on. He smirked when he noticed her nipples through her shirt, not so subconsciously licking his lips.

****

As they finished their set Miley noticed the man licking his lips, his hand gripping his beer bottle so tight she thought it might break.

“Thank you London! Hope to see more of you all later!” Miley said as the crowd cheered, she set the microphone down and grabbed her water bottle finishing it off as her and her bandmates left the stage.

As they made their way back to their dressing room Billie elbowed her, “who were you eye fucking back there?”

“No idea,” Miley laughs, saying hi to some people who were standing around outside their dressing room.

“Can we get a picture with y’all?” A woman asks, eagerly holding up her phone.

“Sure, would love to,” Miley says as the three of them stand behind the woman and smile for her photo.

“Okay, Miley, you’re going to go out there and you’re going to find that guy and fuck him silly,” Billie says as they walk into the dressing room.

“Ughh, I don’t know if he’d be down for what I want,” Miley whines, flopping down on the couch.

“Well, you know what? You’ll never fucking know unless you get your ass out there and find out. And if he’s not down then you kick his ass out of your hotel room. Easy as that,” Billie says.

“Fine, but it’s a total bust I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“Oh it won’t be, I’ve got faith in you and whoever you decide to bring home.”

“Oh shut up, I’m gonna get a little more stoned first,” Miley said digging through her purse to find her dab pen. She took a few hits before tossing it back in her purse, standing up.

“I’ll see you all bright and early at 2pm tomorrow for our drive to the next show, don’t have too much fun fuckers,” Miley says as she left the dressing room.

****

Tom hung out at the bar after the set, finishing his beer and looking towards the hallway that went to what he assumed was the dressing room.

He watched as Miley came walking down the hallway, turning his head when he noticed her notice him staring.

He turned towards the bar and looked down the neck of his empty beer bottle, fingers tapping along the wood of the counter. She sat next to him, his eyes darted to her fingers which seemed to copy his movements, tapping along the counter.

“H-hi,” Tom stuttered out, shit, he’s never been this nervous trying to pick up a girl before.

He turned to face her, watching as she slowly smirked, “you talking to me?”

She still hasn’t turned in her seat, fingers creating a familiar beat against the counter.

“Yes.”

“Is there a reason you said hi or?”

“I, I wanted to say I really loved your set, those were all your songs?”

“Yeah, I wrote most of them, the rest of the band help me come up with the tunes and rhythms and shit.”

“So you’re a writer?”

“Nah, just song lyrics, nothing special,” Miley shakes her head, finally turning it to look at Tom.

She was a lot prettier up close, she only wore the bright pink lipstick, the rest of her face bare, she had lots of freckles which he wasn’t able to see while she was on stage.

“Gonna keep staring at me or say something?”

“Well what do you want me to do?”

“Nah, not how this works cutie, want someone to tell me what they want, what they’re going to do to me. So, you know my name? What’s yours?”

“Tom,” he says, turning his body towards her.

“So Tom, what are you going to do to me? If I think you’re worth my time.”

Tom’s whole demeanor changed, standing up and resting his hand on her opposite hip, his lips ghosting over her ear.

“Well, Miley, you’re the type of girl who’s a leader, who likes to be in charge out here, that’s why you’re being a little bit of a brat, but in the bedroom, oh sweetheart in the bedroom,” Tom says, “in the bedroom you want someone to take control, tell you what to do, make you feel everything and still leave you begging for more.”

She had tilt her head back a little, her hair pushed away from her neck, her eyes shut, imaging what Tom was saying.

“Go on Tom, how’d you make me feel everything?”

“Well Miley, I don’t know if you want me to tell you here, don’t want you to come in front of everyone, so why do I show you?” Tom whispers, his mouth ghosting over her neck now.

“Fuck, let’s get out of here Todd,” Miley grins standing up as Tom stood up with her.

“Hmm, try again sweetheart,” Tom says, pulling her flush against him.

“Tim?” Miley smirks, eyes looking wickedly up at Tom.

“Not quite,” he says, his hands grabbing her ass.

“Tom?”

“There ya go,” He says, pulling her with him towards the front door.

“Hotel’s only a block away,” Miley says as the quickly leave the club.

There was a line of people waiting to get in, a few people noticing the pair and taking pictures, shouting to them.

“Wait, how do they know you?” Miley asks, her brows furrowed.

“I’m full of surprises sweetheart,” Tom says, “lead the way.”

Miley all but drags Tom back to her hotel, his hands all over her, but never where she wanted them the most on the elevator ride up. She manages to unlock her door and he pushes her inside, slamming her back against the door.

“Fuck Tom, wanna show me what you’d do to me?” Miley says as Tom leaves rough marks down her neck.

“Patience sweetheart, come on, strip for me,” he says, stepping away from her.

She grins, walking towards the center of the room in front of the bed, pushing him to sit down on it.

She slowly unzipped her skirt, kicking off her boots while tugging the skirt down her legs.

“Take your time pretty girl, wanna see all of you,” Tom says, resting his hands behind him as he watched Miley strip.

She slowly pulls off the fishnet stockings, underneath was a black thong which left nothing to the imagination. She paused there, shrugging off her leather jacket and playing with her tits above her shirt before pulling it over her head.

“Wow pretty girl, those tits look even better in person. Couldn’t help but think you were teasing everyone when you were jumping up and down tonight, no bra on, could practically see your nipples through your shirt,” Tom says, wetting his lips.

“Had my eyes on you the whole night Tom,” Miley says, pulling her thong down and tossing it to the side.

“I saw the way you looked at me, stripping me with your eyes.”

“Wanna strip you for real,” Miley says, moving to straddle his lap.

“Nuh uh, baby girl,” Tom says, placing his hands on her hips and stopping her.

“What?”

“I think you deserve a punishment, for teasing me all night, for being a little brat,” Tom says and watches as Miley shudders, nodding.

“Anything you don’t want me to do, just tell me to stop okay?” He says, his hands maneuvering her so her cunt rested between his thighs, her upper body resting on the bed next to him.

“Okay Tom,” Miley says, wiggling her ass a little.

“Fuck, you really wanna get it don’t you?” He says, smacking her ass lightly.

“Fuck, come on Tom, show me you’ve got what I want,” Miley says, her hands digging into his leg.

“Don’t tell me what to do, that’s my job,” Tom says as his hand slaps her ass again, causing her to buck against him, “be still baby girl, gotta take your punishment like a good girl.”

“What if I don’t want to be a good girl?”

“Oh yeah? What would you want to be Miley?” Tom says, his hand colliding with her ass again.

“Fuck, Tom!” Miley cries out as he slaps her ass over and over again.

“What do you want to be Miley? Answer me,” Tom says, changing his rhythm, alternating slaps randomly so she never saw what would come next.

“Wanna be, oh fuck, wanna be your slut Tom,” Miley cries out as he pushes her thighs apart.

“Fuck, you’re practically drooling onto the bed for me Miley, such a dirty slut, thinking about what you want me to do to this dripping cunt huh?”

“Fuck, yes please Tom,” Miley says as his hand comes down to smack her cunt, a little lighter than his slaps to her ass. She bucks against him and moans into her arm, trying not to be too loud.

His hand wraps around her pink hair and tugs, forcing her to look up as his other hand slaps her cunt harder.

“Tom!” She cries out as he drops her hair, his hand moving to hold open her thighs.

“Why don’t you get on all fours for me pretty girl?” He says, slapping her ass before running a finger through her dripping cunt. He lets go of her and smirks as she scrambles up farther on the bed, moving to stick her red ass up and her head down.

“You were born to be like this huh, know this position well?” Tom asks, smirking as he moves behind her.

“Yes, fuck, Tom, my favorite position,” Miley whines as his finger slips between her folds, moving to rub her clit a little before pushing into her cunt.

“Take my finger so well, want another one?”

“Yes, please fuck me, please Tom, want another finger, please,” Miley groans as he pushes another finger alongside his first, feeling his jean covered legs rub against her thighs and sore ass.

“This feel good slut? Tell me when you’re going to come, wanna hear you loud and clear,” he says, his thumb rubbing harsh circles on her clit. His other hand holds her ass, switching between groping it and slapping it, watching it bounce as he fucked her with his fingers.

“Fuck, Tom gonna come, almost there,” Miley whines, fucking herself back on his fingers.

He quickly pulls his hands away from her, she could only feel his jeans rough against her as she whined.

“Only good girls get to come, and what are you Miley? Are you a good girl?”

“No, I’m, I’m your slut,” she whines, pushing back against nothing.

“Exactly,” Tom says, his hand trailing up her back to tug at her hair, pulling her back flush against his clothed chest, “and do sluts get to come?”

“No,” Miley stutters out as he drops her back down on the bed.

“Good, now you tell me when you’re close again, or else you’ll get in big trouble,” Tom says, the feeling of his jeans disappearing from her thighs, she turns her head to see him lying on his back, his head right underneath her pussy.

“Yes Tom, tell you when I’m close,” Miley says as his hands wrap around her thighs, bringing her pussy to his lips. He takes his time, slowly licking the juices from her before lightly sucking on her clit, letting her ride his face for a little bit until her whines got a little too high pitched, so he switched to fucking her hole with his tongue, his fingers flicking her clit, causing her to buck and shake above him.

“Fuck, Tom, I’m close again, please don’t stop please let me come, please,” Miley whines, crying out when he pushes her up, wiggling out from underneath her.

“Hmm, don’t think you’ve earned that yet slut,” Tom says, his hands pulling off his jacket and shirt.

“Please, Tom wanna earn it wanna earn the right to come, tell me how to, please,” Miley whines, her cunt clenching around nothing, just waiting for something to fill her.

“Such a needy little slut huh? No worries, I’ll fuck you eventually,” he says slipping off the bed. She starts to turn her head to see what he’s doing but he stops her, “eyes up front baby, be patient.” He quickly strips of his jeans and underwear, grabbing a condom from his wallet and slipping it on.

“Is this what you wanted slut?” He asks as he bottoms out, smirking as she calls out his name.

“Yes Tom, wanted this, wanted you to fuck me,” Miley says as he fucks into her, leaning down to kiss and mark her back with his lips.

“Fuck you’re so tight baby girl, when’s the last time you’ve been fucked?”

“Been a while, been on tour, never found someone willing to, oh fuck, fuck me like this,” Miley groans as he pulls her flush with his bare chest now.

“Oh yeah? Fuck you nice and hard? Fuck you like this?” He says, his words accentuated with each thrust of his hips. His hands grab her tits, pinching her nipples between his fingers as she cries out for him.

“Gonna come, oh god Tom, please can I come? Please let me come,” Miley whines as Tom’s fingers leave her nipples, a hand wrapping around her throat.

“Gimme a second Miley, don’t be fucking greedy, wait for me,” he whispers in her ear, pounding into her as his hand moves to rub her clit, “hold it slut, be a good girl for me and hold it.”

“Fuck, Tom, I-,” her words cut off as his grip tightens around her throat, causing her to clench around him, feeling her orgasm fast approaching.

“Come for me slut,” he says, releasing her throat and dropping her to the bed as he comes, his thumb rubbing steady circles on her clit as she comes around him.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Miley mumbles into the sheets as Tom pulls out of her, stripping his cock off the condom and tossing it in the trash can by the bed. He flops down next to her, pulling her into his chest.

“Was that okay?” He asks, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

“Yes oh my god, that was, amazing,” Miley laughs, coughing a little.

“Here lemme get you some water,” Tom says, scooting out of the bed.

“It’s fine, I gotta pee anyways, I’ll be back,” Miley says standing up and making her way to the bathroom.

***

Miley steps inside the bathroom and closes the door, looking at her appearance in the mirror. Her hair is fucked, her lipstick slightly smeared, marks down the side of her neck, her ass sore.

She peed and grabbed water, taking a sip, coughing a little before bringing the rest back to bed.

“Hey,” Tom says, reaching his arms out.

Miley crawls back into bed, taking another sip of the water before handing it to Tom, cuddling into his side.

“So you gonna tell me how all those people seemed to recognize you?”

“I’m, yeah I’m an actor,” Tom says, placing the water on the side table.

“Woah that’s dope, what movies and shit have you been in?”

“I was in Lost City of Z, Edge of Winter, uhh Spiderman.”

“Oh sick, never seen those, did you like them?”

“Yeah, love it, you’ve seriously never seen me in a movie?”

“Uhh, no? Am I supposed to recognize you or?”

“Nah just thought you might.”

“Yeah I’m not a nerd, don’t watch comic book movies.”

“They aren’t just for nerds!”

“That’s what nerds say.”

“Pssh, I think you’d like the Spiderman movies.”

“Are you a dork in them?”

“Very much so.”

“Who are you? You like a British Spiderman or something?”

“Nope, I’m Spiderman from Queens.”

“Wait, you’re Spiderman Spiderman?”

“Yeah what else would I be?”

“I don’t fucking know,” Miley shrugged, shivering a little.

“Here lemme get our shirts,” Tom says pulling away to grab their shirts from the floor. He tosses them to Miley who pulls on Tom’s as he gets back in bed with his underwear on, pulling her ripped up Green Day T-shirt on.

“Wow this is comfy,” Miley laughs as Tom settles back down beside her.

“So what’s the next stop on this little tour of yours?”

“Scotland, got a cool gig in Edinburgh then Glasgow, we’re opening for a band on tour for the next month.”

“Oh that’s so cool what band?”

“The SWMRs, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of them, a punk rock band, just released their second album a few months ago.”

“Hmmm, I haven’t but I’ll have to give them a listen.”

“They’re pretty great.”

“I’ll believe it,” Tom says, running his fingers up and down Miley’s arm.

“That was fun, thank you for uh, being down with what I wanted.”

“Of course I’m glad that you took well to what I was thinking you wanted, you know what I wanted to do when I first saw you up close though?”

“What?” Miley laughs as Tom tickles her sides.

“Count your freckles.”

“Oh well buddy that might take a long time,” she says as his hands caress her face.

“I’ve got time.”

He straddles her hips, his finger gently touching each freckle, counting out loud, kissing across her face as he does.

****

“You’ve got 68 freckles on your face,” he says, laying back down next to her.

“Wow, I’ll make sure to keep note of that,” Miley laughs as Tom lays back down next to her.

“This was fun,” Tom says, yawning.

“Yeah, wanna, uhh, no that’s stupid.”

“What? Nothing you could say is stupid.”

“Do you wanna spend the night maybe order some pizza or something?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Tom smiles, grabbing his phone.

“I’ll eat literally anything but pineapple,” Miley laughs as Tom opens his phone.

“Three missed calls, hey, my mom called me and she usually only calls me when somethings wrong, I’ll be right back,” Tom says, getting up off the bed.

Miley shrugs, reaching for her purse at the end of the bed and grabbing her phone as Tom walked into the bathroom, returning his mom’s call.

***

“Mum, what’s wrong?” Tom says as his mom picks up the phone.

“Tom oh my god I was so worried, I saw those pictures of you and that girl and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever hear from you again.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“That girl, people are posting photos of you two leaving the club and I looked her up, she’s bad news Tom, she has a pornographic blog, she went to rehab for drinking and cocaine, Tom she’s seriously disturbed.”

“Mum, this is so embarrassing, Miley, she’s just a girl I hooked up with why is this such a big deal?” Tom whispers, not wanting Miley to hear him.

“Because there are photos of you everywhere and everyone is talking about her being a bad influence.”

“What do you mean everyone? The one person who commented and is jealous? Mum I swear, you don’t need to worry about it I’m fine we’re just gonna order pizza and hang out.”

“Tom, you really need to be more careful about who you’re seen with it could really affect you.”

“Mum it’ll all blow over, people will find something else to obsess over, I really don’t think a few pictures of us really matter.”

“Tom, you know what? You can learn from this, you can learn how to control yourself and how to be private with what you do, and who you do it with. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Mum I’m an adult. Stop worrying, I can take care of myself.”

“Love, I’m your mum that doesn’t come with an age limit, I’m supposed to worry.”

“Okay you can worry but just, just let me do me.”

“Okay Tom, just, be safe?”

“I will, promise, love you mum.”

Tom sighs, hanging up and walking back to the bed.

“You know, the internet fucking sucks,” Miley says, showing him a tweet with a picture of them walking out of the club.

“Tom with some cokehead skank, guess he’s hit rock bottom,” Tom reads out loud, “What the fuck?”

“I’m a cokehead skank what can I say? Was that your mom worrying about her boy being with a cokehead skank?”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Tom says, sitting down next to Miley, “you’re not a ‘cokehead skank’ you know. And even if you are, I mean, that’s your decision, so fuck them.”

“I mean, I was, a cokehead skank, I mean, I was young, stupid, our band was just starting out and a guy who was our ‘manager’, he uh, he got me into coke and I had to go to rehab for awhile, now I’m sober, okay well I don’t do coke or drink anymore. I smoke weed but that’s just to take the edge off. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I should have warned you I just didn’t know you were you and that people would be attacking you or me like this. And jesus, I don’t know why I’m saying all this, I don’t normally ramble, just when I’m nervous.”

“Miley, you don’t, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. Promise. Hey, why don’t we order some pizza, you can talk a little bit if you want, or you could just relax, whatever.”

“Yeah, I’d like that, thanks,” Miley says, resting her head on Tom’s shoulder.

“Alright, What kind of pizza do you want? Dealer’s choice. Fuck that was a bad way of putting it,” Tom says, groaning.

“You’re fine, oh my god that’s so funny,” Miley laughs, “let’s just do a cheese.”

Tom orders a pizza and waits to see if Miley wants to talk.

“You know, I think my favorite part about my mum calling was that she snooped so much into you that she found a porn blog of yours.”

“Oh my god,” Miley groans against his shoulder, “I just, it’s not a porn blog, it’s art, I post pictures of myself in pretty lingerie, tied up, never show my face, only call myself M, I know some of the band’s fans or whatever know about it but oh my she must’ve had to dig deep to find it.”

“I mean, isn’t that basically porn?”

“Let’s call it, artistic pornography.”

Tom burst out laughing watching Miley’s frown break out into giggles.

“My mum thinks that you’re disturbed, I’m not kidding, her words.”

“Well, what other types of girls have you been with that she knows of? Any like me?”

“No, never, always went for the good girls.”

“Ah and we learned that I’m definitely not that. Fortunately for her I’ll be on the road tomorrow and all this will blow over soon enough.”

“You know, I’d love to uh, get the chance to see you again.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, just a thought.”

“Okay, I’ll give you my blog and you can jack off to pictures of me, I’ll be sure to post some just for you.”

“Oh yeah? What if I want to do more than come all over myself thinking about you?”

“Well, we’ve got all night, you have all the time in the world to fuck me, right now,” Miley says, straddling his hips.

“Fuck, what about the pizza?”

“Gonna make it quick then huh?”

“Yeah we do,” Tom says as Miley pulls his underwear down his legs, only far enough for his cock to bounce up against his stomach.

“Fuck, can I ride you?”

“Yes, gotta grab a condom,” Tom says, watching as Miley scrambles off his lap, grabbing the second condom from his wallet.

“Fuck why do you keep more than one condom in your wallet?”

“Was hoping I’d get lucky sweetheart,” Tom says, moaning as her hand wrapped around his cock, rolling on the condom.

“Well, congrats, you’ve officially gotten lucky,” she says, straddling his hips again.

“Why thank you,” Tom says, kissing her as he slides his cock against her folds. His hands grip her hips, stopping her from sitting fully on his cock.

“Come on, no teasing, we don’t have time for that,” Miley says, gasping as he thrusts up into her, letting her bounce on top of him.

“Gonna make you come quick and dirty, gonna make you come all over my cock before getting our pizza, hair all fucked up, neck all marked up, they’ll know what you did, how does that make you feel Miley?”

“Fuck, Tom, makes me feel, feel dirty Tom,” Miley moans as his hand pinched her nipple over his shirt,

“Yeah? Like a dirty little slut, knowing everyone knows I’m fucking you? Making you mine, fuck, feel so good around my cock.”

“Fuck, Tom, touch my clit, please, wanna come, Tom, make me come, please can I come?”

“Good girl, come on, come all over my cock for me,” Tom says, sucking on a spot on her neck as his thumb rubs her clit.

“Fuck, Tom, oh my god,” Miley cries out, coming around his cock as she moves faster, clenching around him.

“Gonna come, fuck Miley, gonna come in this pretty cunt of yours,” Tom groans as he comes, Miley’s hips slowing.

“Shit,” Miley laughs as Tom’s hands run up and down her sides, helping her off his cock.

His phone buzzes as he’s tossing away the condom, “fuck, that must be the pizza.”

“Go fucking get it dummy,” Miley says, shoving him slightly.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Tom laughs, tugging his underwear back up and grabbing his jeans, pulling them on. He grabs his wallet, flashing Miley a smile before leaving the room.

He whistles as he makes his way down the stairs to the front entrance, eyes widening as he sees cameras flashing and people crowded around the entrance.

“Fuck,” he mutters, calling the pizza guy, “Yeah, is there anyway you could come round the side door? I uh, there’s just a commotion at the front.”

“Yeah I can see, I’ll be around the side in a second,” the guy says before hanging up.

“Thanks mate,” Tom says, paying the man and giving him a nice tip.

He makes his way back up to her room, knocking on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Tom? Duh?”

“Oh sorry I only know a Todd.”

He laughs, leaning his shoulder against the door, “sweetheart I’ll be whoever you want me to be.”

“Well hello there,” Miley says, swinging the door open, laughing as he stumbles into the room.

“Hi,” Tom laughs, pushing the pizza into Miley’s arms before tossing his phone and wallet on the bed and tugging his jeans down his legs again.

“Oh, round three? I don’t know I think I’d pay more attention to this pizza,” Miley says, sitting down on the bed and digging in.

“Hey save me some,” Tom says sitting down next to her and grabbing a slice.

****

Tom watches as Miley packs up her stuff the next morning, moving around the room and tossing her clothes into her suitcase.

“You should get lost, I gotta get drive to Scotland soon.”

“Oh? Well, if we’re ever in the same city at the same time, you should meet up again, you know, have some fun.”

“Oh? Am I your international booty call?” Miley laughs as she zips up her suitcase.

“I can be your international booty call,” Tom says.

“You can keep the shirt, and listen to their music,” Miley nods at her ripped up Green Day shirt Tom wore.

“I think that’s just an excuse for you to wear my shirt.”

“What? Never, take your shirt too I’ll leave this hotel shirtless.”

“No, you keep it, I insist.”

“Wow, such a gentleman,” Miley laughs, grabbing her purse and shrugging on her jacket over Tom’s shirt.

“Here, put your number in my phone, I’ll text you so you have mine,” he says, pushing his phone into Miley’s hand.

“Alright, alright,” Miley laughs at the contact name he had for her, “punk rock queen, really?”

“Yeah, what you don’t like it?”

“No I love it,” Miley giggles as she types her number in, “okay Tom, get outta here,” she says, leaning up to kiss him.

He lets himself get a little lost in the kiss, grabbing her ass in the leggings she wore before she pulls away, “if you keep that up I’m gonna want you to fuck me again and then Billie and Rainne will murder me.”

“Okay, bye Miley,” Tom says, leaving the hotel room.

“Bye Tom,” Miley waves as he shuts the door behind him.

[evstenroos]

IT'S TIME TO UPDATE YOUR APPRAISALS

From the archive: February 27th, 2020

THE RISING COST OF PALLADIUM

Palladium, a shiny white metal in the same group as platinum, is now the most valuable precious metals, with a recent shortage driving prices to an all-time record breaking high.

The cost of palladium has jumped by more than 25% in the last two weeks alone, and almost doubled in value over the last year, making it more expensive than gold...

Read More

MEET THE TEAM: WARREN SMITH, MASTER ENGRAVER AT THE COAST HANDWORKS CO.

Born and raised in North Vancouver, BC, Warren Smith is a journeyman machinist turned goldsmith, master hand engraver revered for his meticulous attention to detail and outstanding artistic designs.

"Growing up, I lived across the street from Robert Davidson and Bill Reid, two famous west coast artists. I was influenced early on by the artwork in their houses. It led to me being interested in and studying art as a teenager, primarily north west coast work.”

Warren went on to become a full journeyman machinist, melding his love of art and metal together while continuing to practice engraving on his own. When he was offered a job as head engraver at a company in Vancouver, after walking in to ask a few questions about tool design, Warren saw it as an opportunity to gain more technical knowledge and accepted.

“I would start my days at 5:30 in the morning and finish around 10 at night, in order to learn while working.”

 It was during his time in Vancouver that Smith met Ellinor, who was also working with a different jewelry company.

“Her and I would meet through the phone to work on various projects. When she went out on her own, she called me to work on some of her pieces and I said yes. Ellinor is a dynamo and I can’t say enough good things about her. She is inspiring, her enthusiasm is incredible, and she is one of the hardest working people I know in this business. She places a lot of trust in me and allows me a lot of creative freedom on our collaborations, and I think that’s how you get the best pieces.”

After 12 years in Vancouver, Smith decided to branch out on his own and now works from his ranch/studio in the Okanagan Valley. He has engraved thousands of unique pieces for jewellers, gunsmiths, private collectors, and many celebrities, including David Bowie, John Travolta, and Sylvester Stallone. In 2012, Smith began offering his engraving services directly to the public.

“When I stopped working under the umbrella of a company, I was no longer conveniently located and it was only my reputation on the line. The fear that people wouldn’t like my work and that they wouldn’t come, meant the quality of my work had to increase immensely.”

Warren has studied and mastered several distinct art forms and engraving styles. To this day he is a devout scholar of Heraldry, Calligraphy, European and American Scroll Work, and the Native formline art style of the Pacific Northwest. A selection of Warren’s original works can be purchased online at The Coast Handworks Shop  along with an assortment of blank signet rings and bands tailor-made for custom engraving based on customer input.

Learn More About Warren’s Work

KIRSTEY JANE, PHOTOGRAPHER & FOUNDER OF SUPER CORPORATE PEOPLE

Kirstey Jane has always loved taking pictures. Before moving to Calgary and opening her own photography studio, Kirstey split her time between working in London’s restaurant and nightlife industry and taking photos.

“I had a career in training and development but there were just so many actors, dancers, and performers who needed photos for their portfolios. I would photograph them and weddings and corporate events on the weekends and in the evenings.”

In 2001, Kirstey left behind London’s hub of fashion and media agencies to come to Calgary and start a family. But, when she arrived, she realized the photography industry in Alberta was going to be very different. “London was very exciting and fashion-focused. There was a lot of attention to detail, the city was busy and thriving. But here, people wanted pictures of their dogs,” she laughs. “And no one had a website for their work. It was all through the yellow pages.”

Although Calgary lacked a strong online photography community, it didn’t take long for Kirstey to find a niche for herself.

“The corporate, business-side of things in Calgary was very male dominated and it was a blur of golf shirts, chinos, and coffee mugs. I wanted to put a spin on it and help people ramp up their business image. I was able to find clients and build up my portfolio mostly by word of mouth. People would see my pictures on someone’s desk or business card and I would be referred to them.”

But as digital cameras became more and more accessible, Kirstey had to continue distinguishing her business from emerging photographers.

“It’s not all about how great the pictures are. In my opinion, it’s 20 percent technical skill and 80% people skills. You have to know how to talk to people, how to resolve problems, and how to navigate a business.”

 When Kirstey met Ellinor, through a mutual friend over ten years ago, the two instantly clicked and began working together. You may recognize Kirstey’s work from EVStenroos editorial campaigns and more recently, our 10th anniversary party.

 “You don’t find work like Ellinor’s often, especially in Calgary," Kirstey says. "I can’t remember the first shoot we did together, whether it was business or social, but we really connected. She has a keen eye to detail and is very visual. She liked my photos, and I didn’t have to explain much to her. We do the same work, just in different trades.”

Learn More About Kirstey’s Work

[saintkimora]

i will make a full post about the retreat another day since i have so much hw rn but here is how my storyline w the republican club president went

so i met him at the start of the retreat, during the diversity training on campus. he told me that he was the republican club president so i was mentally like ew and then he told me he was gay and i was like ??? and he said he was also one of the founders of the gsa 3 years ago like.......HOW do you go from founding gsa to founding the republican club?????????????? literally what happened

so then he sat across the aisle from me and jami on the bus but i didnt talk to him. then we got to the actual retreat camp and he was STUCK to me and jami like he followed us everywhere!!!!! he sat with us at every meal and whenever he had group activities he always made his way into my group. at one meal we were all talking about our various hair problems and i said how i was growing mine out for my man but i dont like having it this long bc its thin and i dont like it and he was like “dont worry your hair is nice! youre very handsome” i was like ...............did he just call me handsome. but still we just thought he was really desperate for friends (since he was a huge attention seeker in every activity) and that he just attached to us bc we were somewhat nice and approachable or s/t

at one point he asked for my number bc he wanted our clubs to collab when we got back and i gave it to him just bc i didnt wanna be rude but i will literally die before i let my gsa collab with the republican club

so then jami and i were walking to the gazebo on the beach to take cute pictures and on the way there i was talking w her and i was like “he follows us everywhere...what if he develops a crush on me or something???” then we got to the gazebo and he was already there hanging out w a few others but i didnt mind bc i was like whatever i just wanna take cute gazebo on the water pictures for snapchat

so i pulled out my phone to open snapchat and saw i got a text 2 min ago that i didnt notice the vibration for and it was from adam and it said “do you wanna have some fun later? if you know what i mean” and i was like UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM jami we’ve gotta go

i tried to be discrete so luckily there were bees in the gazebo so jami and i were like ew bees and used that as an excuse to leave. so i walked w jami up the beach some more then up these stairs onto this grassy area with pews so we were out of the gazebos line of sight and showed her the text and she was SHOOK and so was i like i was freaking out i could NOT believe my eyes

like first of all i would never ever hook up w a republican let alone the very republican that united the evil on our campus and he wasnt cute either he was gross and his personality was fucking annoying too i hated him even before he made a pass at me

i didnt respond yet and at one point i had to go to my room to get my water bottle but he was in there in bed on his phone (his bed is diagonally across from mine) so i didnt wanna see him obv so i went in and he didnt notice me so i got my water and i saw my new friend anton on the bed reading hellboy (tbt to joel saying hellboy was hot) so i was like “ooh what are you reading?” just to make conversation since i was there to make friends after all. and as soon as republican adam heard my voice he like shot up in bed and looked at me like.....extra

after i told a few more of my new retreat sisters (including rochile) (also he is out btw and he literally announced he was gay to everyone during the diversity training so it wasnt like i was putting him on blast to everyone) and we all strategized and settled on me replying “i dont know what u mean” and we went about our business having fun and bonding and then he replied “i was thinking we could cuddle, or maybe something more intimate?” and i was like ............MESS so my sisters and i agreed to just say “No” so i did that and he didnt respond and then at our next meal i was escorted by my friends and we made people sit with us to fill up our table so there wouldnt be any room for him to sit with us lmao

so yeah i avoided him the rest of the day. then that night we played trivia but i was a little late along w many others so the csi (the org thats running the retreat) people were saying how some people werent there yet so according to multiple UNRELATED sources when the csi people said that adam got sad and said “why isnt he here yet....i should text him” and at the time i was peeing in my cabin and i got a text from him saying csi needed all of us in the willard cabin. i didnt respond bc i was rushing to get there 

then after the bonfire it was our last night and i needed to shower. all of these guys were so shy like they would literally put their new clothes on IN the shower bc they didnt want anyone to see them naked like...flops but anyways i did not do that! adam could see into the bathroom from his bed if the door was open. i wanted to be petty and show him a glimpse of what he couldnt have so i showered but left the bathroom door open that way when i stepped out of the shower cubicle adam could see me towel myself off. i had the towel strategically hanging so it was just covering my dick so he could only see like my legs and then when i lowered the towel only my upper body. so sure enough when i was drying myself i caught him looking at me like LMAO 

then he went to bed later and on the final day he didnt talk to me at all and sat far away from me on the bus ride home lmfao so that is my story of how the republican club president tried to get with me

[garancefranke-ruta]

“Do your job!”: Rowdy Republican town halls a sign of things to come

The town hall meeting held by House Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz in a Salt Lake City suburb Thursday night was raucous, packed — and a sign of things to come.

The meeting had to be moved to accommodate the crowd, and still hundreds of people couldn’t get in, waiting outside it and chanting, “Your last term!” after it was over. The Salt Lake County GOP knew it was going to be packed, and urged its members Tuesday to turn out to counter an expected wave of angry resistance movement attendees. It didn’t make any difference.

The room in Cottonwood Heights held more than 1,000, and was quickly filled.

Auditorium for Cong Chaffetz Town hall packed. Police say 1000 outside. Now chanting, "You work for us!" @UtahIndivisible @IndivisibleTeam pic.twitter.com/R9iDakiWrZ

— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) February 10, 2017

Attendees chanted “Let them in!” when the doors were shut, and “Do your job!” after Chaffetz, a Republican who represents Utah’s third congressional district, was pressed on why he was not conducting oversight into the Trump administration with the same vigor he’d pursued Hillary Clinton.

Cong Chaffetz Town Hall crowd chanting "Do your job!" He's having a hard time answering over crowd noise @UtahIndivisible @IndivisibleTeam pic.twitter.com/gO0BXybGy5

— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) February 10, 2017

After the Women’s March on Washington and its sister marches around the country turned into the largest street protests in American history, and after a robust array of groups helped drive the calls that led to the busiest three days in Capitol switchboard history, the progressive anti-Trump movement that’s loosely organized under the banner of “the resistance” has a third target in sight: congressional town halls.

In fact, just as the confrontational Chaffetz town hall was getting started, an online video training about how to put members of Congress on the spot at town halls was winding down. The founders of the post-election group Indivisible — which aims to build a progressive version of the tea party movement — and the representatives from Organizing for America — the advocacy group that grew out of the 2008 Obama for America campaign — had come together to teach a new generation of progressives spurred to action by Trump the fine art of putting the screws to their members of Congress during the upcoming congressional recess, which begins on Feb. 20.

Their three main messages: Organize and show up. Your member of Congress works for you. And, critically, the old Internet dictum: “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

Trainer Angel Padilla of Indivisible advised going to meetings and town halls with a group and “make sure you record, record as much as you can.” That means during the meeting, before the meeting and after meeting, too — especially if filming is shut down during the meeting.  “When you get a good interaction with a member, it can really get amplified when it’s caught on video,” he said. “Go in a group. It’s easier to ignore one person.”

It’s not just publicly advertised town halls that are on the district recess agenda. Activists interested in preserving the Affordable Car Act are being urge to request town halls, too, as well as district meetings with senior staff. And they are being urged to show up at all public district events, from ribbon-cuttings to walkabouts to office hours.

Already they are coming up with creative approaches. “For Resist Trump Tuesday office visits we use a ‘Donuts with Dialogue’ model. We take donuts for staffers and target specific issues & tell stories. Each time, we have been met with respect and staffers take notes,” wrote Grace Haynes in the group chat accompanying the video call.

“Austin TX, people here are meeting every single Tuesday at lunch at John Cornyn’s office bc phone lines don’t work,” added Kristy Sprott.

The current efflorescence of activism is so intense that it comes with the risk of overloading the system and causing members to shut out even voices they might want to be listening to. “I’m in a red district and one of my MOCs has been complaining about being bombarded by individuals outside of the state. I’ve noticed that his people have stopped asking for my zip code when I call. Thinking that my calls are now being discredited be/c they are getting so many out of district,” wrote one watcher during the OFA-Indivisible training.

That’s explains the emphasis on in-person, in-district action. The entire premise of Indivisible is that members of Congress — and especially members of the House, who face voters every two years — care first and foremost about reelection, and thus about anyone who can help or hurt on that front, regardless of broader national currents of public opinion. “Constituents are really important to members of Congress and other people are not. If you’re not a member of Congress’s constituent, they don’t care what you think,” explained Matt Traldi, one of the leaders of Indivisible, during the video call. He said that after study of the tea party, which came into power when Obama had a super-majority on Congress and was enormously popular and still managed to significantly slow his agenda, or even block it, he believed that progressives could be even more effective in light of the new president’s unpopularity. “Trump’s agenda is not just a bad one, it’s also very unpopular. If we stick to the facts…we can win,” he said.

But that requires the same single-minded focus that characterized the tea party  in 2009-2011. The tea party “focused on saying no to the president’s agenda,” he said. “We should absolutely replicate that right now.”

Donald Aguirre is just the sort of person the national organizers are counting on. A Utahn with what he described as “an office job” at a communications company, he co-founded Utah Indivisible along with two fellow millennials, sisters who work as a nurse and a 9/11 dispatcher. The group is one of three local Indivisible groups that turned out at the Chaffetz town hall. It’s so new it just held its first protest, organized online in opposition to the confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and has yet to hold its first in-person meeting. The group has drawn Democrats, Republicans and libertarians, Aguirre said. He estimated that, all told, the three Indivisible groups combined had turned out maybe 100 people to the town hall. Others came representing other groups. But many came on their own.

CNN reported from the scene that most of those at the town hall were attending one for the first time in their lives.

About this turnout: The first dozen people I interviewed at the #Chaffetz town hall said they'd never been to one before.

— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 10, 2017

“Even though we had members of Congress and senators that denounced the words that Donald Trump was saying, they condemned his actions, like that video of him talking about grabbing ladies, it’s too much hypocrisy with people saying they stand for something, then they don’t. We got sick and tired of members of Congress not really representing us but towing the party line,” said Aguirre. He livestreamed the town hall on Facebook to the group. (You can watch the full Chaffetz town hall, as recorded by Aguirre, here.)

Indivisble, OFA and other activist groups such as MoveOn have also been holding twice-a-week calls to compare notes and catalog all the events Republicans are having in their districts, with the goal of fostering a massive mobilization at the local level to have an impact in a strategic way. Among the new groups they’ve been relying on in this process is the Town Hall Project 2018.

Co-founded by Nathan Williams, a political field organizer who worked on Obama’s 2008 campaign and in 2016 helped turn out voters in Las Vegas for the League of Conservation voters, and by Clinton 2016 campaign field organizer Jimmy Dahman, the all-volunteer group saw an opening after the election to give people the tools they needed to continue expressing themselves to their representatives, Williams said. They snagged an off-the-shelf interface to promote a simple concept: A Google Document with a complete list of upcoming congressional town hall meetings, launching the Town Hall Project 2018 with the help of volunteer labor from dozens of Democratic field organizers in their network. Many of them were, like Williams, unemployed after the end of the 2016 campaign. Now that guide is being used by Indivisible and other groups.

Planned Parenthood also has been actively rallying members to confront members of Congress at town halls, holding a series of forums across the country in communities beyond the big cities. That paid off in a big way Thursday night in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where Rep. Diane Black, a conservative Republican who wants to roll back Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood, was confronted by women wearing or carrying the group’s logo.

In other news: the rowdy scene outside of a healthcare townhall in Murfreesboro, TN, tonight: pic.twitter.com/AIIeir61kz

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) February 10, 2017

Her town hall on Obamacare was so swamped that a woman from the back of the crowd that was trying to get in cried out, “If you want to represent us, let us in!”

Chaffetz was also confronted by a Planned Parenthood patient Thursday. The national organization sent video of the confrontation to reporters Friday, in case they’d missed it.

The woman stood to testify that when she found herself at high risk for cervical cancer as a single mother of three with no health insurance, she relied on Planned Parenthood for her annual screening tests. “Sir, can you please tell me, can you explain to  why you are trying to take that vital health provider away from women like me?” she asked.

Chaffetz replied with a story about his mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 30s, then drew murmurs of outrage when it seemed like he might be avoiding a direct answer and moving into a story about his wife.  He shushed the crowd. “I want her to know that I care about this, and I care deeply and I care personally,” he said, seeking to address the questioner directly.  His further answer — “My concern is to give that organization federal taxpayer dollars when we have so many in our community that disagree with that” and that he thought there would be “a better use of the money” — drew deep boos and shouts from the audience.

In Tennessee, a woman from Black’s district who described herself as a Christian, spoke up feelingly for the ACA as “the healthy people pull up the sick.”

Seriously urge everyone to watch this entire question from a woman at GOP #Obamacare townhall in Tennessee: pic.twitter.com/8mBGE1z6Rj

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) February 10, 2017

“I HAVE to have coverage in order to make sure that I don’t die,” said Mike Carlson, a 32-year-old student from Antioch, Tenn., according to CNN.

"I HAVE to have coverage in order to make sure that I don't die… and you want to take away this coverage?" #ObamacareTownhall pic.twitter.com/C2JtPcOuGA

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) February 10, 2017

But it the anger wasn’t all about ACA and Planned Parenthood. At Chaffetz’s town hall, constituents spoke up about tribal sovereignty and the Bears Ears National Monument, which was designated by President Obama and which Chaffetz opposes. A six-year-old girl spoke up on behalf of science. And a former teacher drew cheers when she asked Chaffetz, “what is your line in the sand” when it comes to impeaching President Trump.

At rowdy town hall, ex-teacher asks Chaffetz — chair of House oversight — “what’s your line in the sand” for Trump? pic.twitter.com/8U7IkpZtsS

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) February 10, 2017