#This place makes hundreds every day and I get paid 7 dollars an hour so 🖕:p

[sometimesitrytowritethings]

Mountain Man: Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | PART 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Reader

Word count: 5k

Warnings: Swearing, Mourning, Nudity

Summary: You never thought you’d love again. Then Arthur Morgan came into town. Fate continuously has you meeting each other in odd ways, and a troubled past is something you are both familiar with. Perhaps that’s what will make this time different.

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The smell of soap filled the air on the porch of the boarding house, the same as it did every other Thursday. Work didn’t start until the late afternoon, so you took the extra time in the morning to do some chores around the boarding house. It wasn’t the most entertaining of times, but it netted you a good ten dollars off of your monthly rent, and you recently had been able to convince Ben to work on his reading as you washed.

This week, there was notably more to wash, with an additional border at the house. Mary seemed nice enough, if a little arrogant, and had offered to pay you an additional five dollars to wash her laundry alongside yours. Given that it looked like she hadn’t worked with her hands a day in her life, and not expecting much to wash after the woman’s short stay, you’d agreed.

However, you were surprised to note that, over the course of less than one week, Mary had managed to need five chemises, three skirts, and four blouses washed. At first, you had balked at the large pile of laundry, who goes through so much in one week? Seemingly having missed your surprised face, Mary had thanked you before heading back inside, mentioning something about coffee and a book.

Honestly, you would have been furious with her if you hadn’t taken the time to look at the clothes. The majority of them were mostly clean, the shirts slightly scented with sweat, and the skirts and chemises had a light ring of dirt on the hem. All of these clothes could have easily been worn weeks or even months longer before they even needed to be considered for washing. This left you more amused than it did irritated - if she wanted to pay you to essentially dip her clothes in soapy water while you were doing the rest of the wash anyway, you would certainly take the extra money.

You hummed quietly, lightly scrubbing the dirt from the hem of one of her skirts, as Ben practiced reading to you from an “Otis Miller” storybook that he had been slowly working his way through. He would slowly sound out each word, as you had taught him, and occasionally ask for help with larger, unfamiliar words. 

He had read through an entire 5 pages by the time Mary had come outside to join you. She held two steaming cups of coffee in her hands and her book under her arm, as she sat in the worn rocking chair. She placed one cup at her side and held the other out for you. “I’ve made it fresh, I thought you might like some,” she mentioned with a smile. “And to thank you for helping me out with my laundry.”

You smiled back and stood, wiping your wet hands on your skit. Was it still considered being helpful if you were only doing it because she paid you? You supposed it didn’t really matter. “I’m glad to help out, Mary,” you reached for the cup, holding it and enjoying the warmth on your hands, “thank you for the coffee.” There was a small stool next to where Ben sat, which you took, ruffling his hair and giving him a kiss on the top of his head as you sat next to him. 

Having seen you take a break from work, Ben looked up from his book. “Mama, can I go play?” He had been hard at work for about an hour - he deserved a break.

You nodded, and he immediately darted out towards the long grass in the yard, where a cat was sleeping lazily in the sun. Upon hearing Bens footsteps, the poor animal stood up and dashed to his left. The cat was fast, but your son was determined - he dashed after her. You laughed lightly and sipped your coffee, keeping an eye on the boy. “Have you been enjoying your stay so far?” you asked, not exactly comfortable with the silence.

Mary was also watching Ben with a small smile on her face. “As much as possible. It’s a…” she paused, evidently searching for the right word, “charming little town, and I do wish I were here under better circumstances.” The diplomatic answer. Valentine was a dirty, smelly old town and everyone who lived there knew it. The nickname “Mudtown” had stuck for a reason. 

“I’m sorry if this is too forward of me, but if you don’t mind me asking,” you started, fiddling with the warm coffee cup in your hands and turning your gaze to her. The steam from your cup was rising in the cool morning air, and the warmth seeped into your chilled fingers nicely. “What brings you to Valentine? Most of the time we only get tradesmen and livestock around here. It’s not usually the kind of place for a high-society lady like yourself.”

Mary seemed only slightly taken aback by your question. She must have been asked the same thing nearly every day since her arrival - everyone knew this was not a town for tourists. If she wanted to have a taste of the outdoors, she was much better off in Strawberry, which you had heard was recently marketing itself as a mountain resort. “Oh! Well, I suppose you’ll find out eventually, but I would appreciate it if you don’t spread the word around,” she looked off into the distance as she spoke, as if she was too embarrassed to look into your eyes.

“Of course.”

She sighed before continuing, her breath blowing the steam from her coffee away from her. “My brother, little Jamie, he’s run off and,” she paused and she chewed lightly on her bottom lip, “and joined the Chelonians. I’ve heard he’s been seen around here and was hoping to convince him to come home.”

“The Chelonians?” you had recognised the name from the papers, but had never really paid attention to the group. Supposedly they were camped nearby, in the mountains, but you didn’t know much else. They had never bothered to come into town that you know of, and most people rarely had time or interest in venturing so far away, so no one you knew had actually seen them in person.

“Oh yes, it’s some ridiculous new religion of some sort that worships turtles in the mountains, from what I understand,” she explained, waving a hand in front of her face to emphasize how indifferent she felt about the group. “I have to say, it’s all terribly confusing and I don’t see why he was so taken with it.”

“Oh, I… I’m very sorry,” you responded, more out of politeness than anything. If he ran away, why was Mary sent to get him, of all people? What about the rest of the family? Mary seemed determined, but you hadn’t actually seen her do anything to look for her brother. Was there no one better suited for the job? “Did he say anything to you before he left? About why he was joining?”

She sighed and stood from the rocking chair to pace over to the porch railing, leaving the chair rocking lightly in her wake. She leaned on the rail and gazed further into the horizon. “Oh, he blames my father for it, of course,” she explained in exasperation, again waving her hand in front of her as if to brush away the very notion. “The man can be overbearing, yes, but I know he only wants what’s best for us. I just hope Jamie will see that soon.”

“I’m... sure he will,” you honestly didn’t know what else to say in the situation. Mary looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, so was Jamie not also an adult? Was he not allowed to make his own decisions? To live his own life? If that was the case, you honestly wouldn’t blame him for running away. 

Before you could let the silence become awkward, Mary continued, “If not, well, I’ve seen some old acquaintances around town. My childhood love, before Barry, used to run with a rather rough crowd of outlaws and... degenerates, so I suppose I may be able to ask them for help if it comes to it.” Seemingly eager to change the subject, she turned to face you, leaning against the porch railing and holding her coffee in both hands.  “In the meantime, may I ask you something as well? If it’s not too personal?”

You paused before answering and glanced at Ben. He was still chasing the poor cat around the yard. “Sure, I suppose. If it’s not too personal…” You leaned against the wall, took the last sip of coffee in your cup and looked at her, awaiting her question.

Mary had also glanced back to Ben before continuing, leaning slightly in your direction. “Your husband? Ben's father, I mean. If I can ask, where is he?” she asked, quietly, in case Ben should not hear.

That was a surprising relief. Yes, you missed Andrew, and yes it still hurt to think about losing him, but you never would hide what happened or how much you had loved him. “Oh. He…he passed shortly after Ben was born. It was a bad flu that took a turn for the worse all of a sudden. We got some medicine, thought he was getting better and then… and then he was gone. Overnight,” you revealed, unable to look in her eyes as you spoke. The pity that always overcame people when you spoke about Andrew was sometimes too much to bear. You swallowed and took a deep breath, burying the lump that inevitably formed in your throat each time you had to retell the story.

Mary quickly moved from the railing and sat back in her chair, reaching for your hand. “Oh my, I am so sorry! That must have been awful,” she replied. You allowed her to grasp your free hand, still refusing to look into her eyes. 

You had heard the same rehearsed response hundreds of times - from friends, family, neighbors. Everyone had been curious at first, after his passing. People you had barely known came by, more out of curiosity than care, and had quickly offered you their well-wishes before digging for the gossip. They almost always left feeling disappointed and guilty. This type of death, suddenly from a common illness, was not uncommon in this area, and left very little to be gossiped about.

You cleared your throat and turned your focus toward Ben, wanting something to distract you from the conversation that you had had so many times before. “It was. It still is, actually, but... I think you get used to carrying it with you after a while,” you explained, a bittersweet smile gracing your features. Outside in the yard, Ben had finally caught the cat and had wrestled it into his lap. Sensing the futility of trying to escape, it had given in and was now purring as he stroked its fur and whispered to it. “But… he gave me almost five amazing years, and he gave me Ben, and I… I honestly couldn’t ask for more.”

If you had looked, you would have seen Mary sporting the same bittersweet, longing smile that you wore. “Ben is a wonderful boy, I’m sure your husband would be proud,” she responded, her voice quieter and sadder than most peoples’ usually are at this point in the conversation.

“Thank you, I think so too.”

The two of you sat in silence for a moment, both of your coffee cups emptied, and the bubbles from the washbasin having slowly receded into the grimy water. The birds chirped in the crisp spring air and a few clouds drifted by overhead. A light breeze came in from the West, making your skirts sway lightly as you sat on the porch. It was nice, peaceful.

After a few minutes of contented silence, Mary spoke, “My husband also passed away a few years ago. Pneumonia,” she explained, her voice barely above a whisper. “Even before that I lost my first love, but in a very different way. And now I may have gone and lost Jamie too. It’s… it’s never easy, and I wish no one had to suffer like that.”

“No one deserves to,” you agreed solemnly, surprised by your companion’s revelation. It was strange to have something in common with Mary Linton, but you wouldn’t complain. It was nice to have someone who understood.

Once again, silence overtook the two of you, as you sat on the porch and lost yourselves in memories. The peaceful morning bled slowly into the early afternoon, the birdsongs fading away, the sun shining high in the sky. Ben had long since lost track of the cat and was laying on his back in the grass, making pictures out of clouds. After a while, Mary opened up her book and began to read silently, rocking back and forth in the chair, and you returned to the laundry. 

Only a few hours later, you stood in clean clothes in the back of Saint’s Hotel, getting a necessary breath of fresh air and listening closely for any new customers. In the last hour, you had already cleaned the upstairs rooms, readying any empty ones for new patrons. Unfortunately, this task also included cleaning the room of Mr. Presley in 2A, which the other women refused to touch unless specifically told to do so. After a thorough scrubbing and airing out, you had managed to get most of the stink from the room for the time being, but you dreaded the day he left. Room 2A may never again be suited for a new patron once the poor man moves out.

You stood, taking in deep breaths of the fresh country air, until you heard the front door of the hotel open and close. A few words were exchanged between your boss and a new patron, before your name was called. “Please fill a hot bath! Our customer will be in his room until it’s ready.”

With a sigh, you heaved yourself off the stack of logs you had been leaning against and went to fetch a pail of water from the well. The water was ice cold from the mountain runoff, and would surely take some time to heat, so you went ahead and started the coals in the bath room as soon as you were back inside.

After a half an hour of trudging back and forth with pails of water - one of your least favorite parts of the job - you called to your boss to tell him the bath was ready. A pair of freshly laundered towels and a bar of soap on a chair in the room finished the job, and you headed outside to take a quick break. 

As was custom, you were to listen for the patron to enter the bath room, wait about 5 minutes for them to undress, and then knock on the door and offer your services. 

Valentine, being a livestock and trade town, rarely had families or women passing through for baths, so rest assured you were usually invited by the lonely men in without hesitation. By and large, the men were respectful, if a little flirtatious, and never tried anything uncouth. Of course, occasionally men would come in drunk, or were just plain bastards sober, and that would lead you to deny your devices and call for your boss to toss them out. Thankfully, your boss never batted an eye when you brought him in to sort things out - possibly out of respect for his long-standing employees, but more likely because there was no other hotel in town and he already had their money. Regardless, you were grateful that he looked after you, even if his motivations may have been somewhat questionable.

You heard the bath room door squeak as it shut and began your countdown, digging out any dirt from under your nails just in case you were needed. After about five minutes had passed, you squared your shoulders and knocked lightly on the door. “Need any help in there?”

Immediately, the response came, and the voice was unexpectedly familiar. “Shoa, why not?”

You tried your best to hide the surprised smile on your face, and pushed the door slowly open. The room was dimmed, curtains closed and lit by only a few candles, and smelled strongly of soap and lavender. Even through the dim light and the fog from the hot bathwater, you recognized the handsome face of the man who sat, naked, in the tub before you. “Well hello again, Mountain Man,” you said with a smirk, rolling up your sleeves.

At first, he seemed shocked, but quickly let out one of those loud barks of a laugh as he had done at your previous meetings. “Ha! I just can’t seem to shake you, can I?”

With a friendly smile, you moved to sit on the stool next to the tub. “Seems so,” you responded, reaching into the soapy water to wet your hands. A slight nervous lump formed in your throat as you looked him over. Each time you saw him, he’d somehow become more and more handsome. Granted, the first time, you were exhausted and were in a dimly lit saloon, the second time he was covered in mud, and now… now he was stark naked and dripping wet in a bathtub, directly in front of you. 

Your perception may have been slightly biased. 

Arthur cleared his throat, making you jump. Had you been staring? “Didn’t know you worked here,” he teased, looking you directly in the eye. He really had to stop doing that. “May have to stop by more often.” He tore his eyes away from yours and then drew them obviously up and down your body as he spoke, stopping momentarily on your cleavage, which was peeking out through the top of your blouse.

A blush crept to your face, and you were immediately thankful that the room was not well-lit. He could stop by every day for free if he kept looking at you like that. Of course, you couldn’t say that out loud, your boss would kill you. Instead, you chuckled and said, “Please do, I can use the extra cash.”

Not missing a beat, Arthur responded with a smirk, “Thought you was expensive?”

Cute. You let out a small chuckle and reached for the bar of soap at the edge of the tub. “Too expensive, I suppose. Or maybe I’m just too choosy,” you managed with a wink, before turning him away from you so you could wash the top of his head. Finally, those eyes weren’t on you and you could actually think again.

He groaned lightly as you massaged soap into his hair. “So that’s why you've been runnin’ off on me?”

That earned him an earnest laugh. “Running off? Oh, please! You’re easily one of the better men that’s come through this town in a long time,” you told him, lightly smacking the top of his head before moving down to his shoulders. His muscular, broad, tanned, perfect shoulders. “Especially that Tommy…” you continued, having heard about his fight with the man after you had left the bar the other night.

“I guess you heard about that?” he chucked awkwardly, tilting his head back slightly to look up at you. 

Another laugh. He was obviously not from a small town, otherwise he would know exactly how fast gossip can travel. Not to mention that Tommy was completely black and blue, and ranting about some drunken bastard the next time you had seen him in town. “‘Course I heard! Maybe 100 people live in this town and half of them were in the Saloon the other night,” you chided, still massaging his shoulders. “You can’t keep a secret for long around here, Mountain Man.”

He laughed again, that barking laugh that started in his belly and made him throw his head back with a smile. You liked it.  “Obviously,” he grinned up at you for a second before turning away. “Though, if I’m one of the best ‘round here, I’d hate to see the other bastards that pass through.”

You narrowed your eyes, confused. Was that a joke? Sure, he seemed a bit rough around the edges, but no more than the other men who usually passed through here. And you wouldn’t even begin to start on how much more attractive he was than the rest of them.

Regardless, you decided to try your best to change the subject, it seems to have been a bit of a sore spot for some reason. “It’s not all that many, to be honest,” you told him, moving to wash his left arm. The muscles lightly twitched under your touch, and you couldn’t help relishing the feel of his skin under your fingers. “Occasionally we get some groups of men from out in New Austin or near Strawberry looking for work, I guess that’s where you’re coming from?”

He cleared his throat. “Shoa,” he confirmed, still looking away from you. “We was workin’ at a factory ‘n it was shut down. Lookin’ for something new now. Didn’t wanna come this far east, but there ain’t many options anymore.”

You nodded in understanding. Plenty of factories up north had recently shut down, or replaced their workers with newfangled machines. “I hear that Cornwall Tar is hiring,” you mentioned, only half joking. Cornwall was a notoriously awful boss, who underpaid and overworked his employees as much as possible, but a job was a job. “If you’re willing to work for below average and ungodly hours.”

Another loud, barking laugh. You were growing rather fond of it. “Low pay and high hours I can handle,” he responded, finally turning his head to look at you again, “just not for Cornwall.”

“Got a history?” you joked, not at all expecting a serious answer. Everyone knew about Cornwall’s awful business. No one actually wanted to work for him, even without a history.

“Somethin’ like that,” came Arthur’s mumbled response, surprising you. So he actually did know Cornwall? Maybe the man had owned the factory Arthur used to work at? “In the meantime we’re gettin by with the occasional bounty and whatever other labor we can find.”

“We? You and your two friends from the saloon, right?” you asked, dipping your hands in the water to gather more suds. Just a few inches closer and you would be able to feel his chest. Somehow, you managed to resist the urge, and proceeded to wash his calf, which honestly may have been just as nice.

“Yeah, there are a few more of us around too,” he explained, shifting position in the tub and causing the water to splash about slightly. He leaned his head against the back rim and groaned as you massaged his aching muscles. “They’re my… co-workers.Though really they’re almost family at this point.”

“You didn’t part ways when the factory shut down?” It was an innocent enough question. You’ve had groups of laid-off workers come through before, though usually by the time they had hit Valentine the group was at about a quarter its original size. People found other jobs along the way. People got sick. People just left. That’s how it went.

“Nah, we’ve been workin together too long to give up on each other now. Loyalty’s always been important to us. Course, we lost a few along the way, but that’s the way it is I s’pose,” he continued. It was interesting to say the least. You had seen about twenty or so new faces in the past week, all coming from the direction of Emerald Ranch. If that were his group, that would be a surprising amount of people who’ve stayed together. 

Suddenly, something Mary had mentioned that morning came back to you: she had seen some acquaintances of her ex-love around town. It couldn’t possibly be the same group of people, that would mean that Arthur rode with a bad crowd, as she had described. You glanced him up and down again. He had his head leaned back, eyes closed, and hair dripping on the wooden floor below. At that moment he looked serene, peaceful. Definitely not the kind of man who ran with a gang of outlaws and degenerates, as she had described.

After a few more moments of silence, Arthur opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, contemplative. “‘n what keeps a woman like you in Valentine? Seems like somewhere else might have more to offer,” he finally asked.

You chuckled, having been asking the same question yourself since Andrew had died. “Oh most definitely,” was your response. “But this is where my husband grew up and where my son was born. I’ve been here long enough that Ben and I know everyone in town and, well, it’s been hard to leave. Been thinkin about it for a while, but I can’t bear to part with it. As dirty and backwards as this place may be.”

This seemed to peak his interest. He sat up straighter in the tub and brought his leg back in to soak. “Your husband, right. That the boah’s pa?” he asked, looking at you and lifting his other arm out of the water - your cue to move to the other side of the tub.

You feigned offense at his question, but didn’t blame him. It’s not like Andrew was around to introduce himself. “Of course! What kind of woman do you take me for, Mountain Man?” you teased, flicking a few droplets of the cooling water into his face.

As a reflex, one of his large hands came up to shield his face from your attack. “Hey!” he shouted through a laugh. “Now, that’s not what I meant! I just seen you at the cemetery after your boah said you was going to visit his pa. Didn’t want to assume.” His laughter had died down by the end of the sentence as he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye.

You looked at your feet, having dragged the stool to the other side of the bath and sat down. Under normal circumstances, you would let the conversation die there. No need to continue, no need for explanations. But, for some reason, with Arthur, a man who is essentially a stranger, you wanted to let him know. “Oh. Well, yeah, that was his pa,” you began, reaching into the water and gathering some of the remaining suds to begin washing his other arm. “He passed a few years ago. He got pretty sick for a week or so, and then right when we thought he was getting better he was just… gone. All of a sudden. It…” you took a breath to steady yourself before you continued. “It was right after Ben was born, actually. Poor kid doesn’t even remember him.”

Arthur cleared his throat and looked away from you. “I’m real sorry. Shouldn’ve brought it up.”

You wish he hadn’t. You wish he could have just stayed flirty and playful. You wish he hadn’t unintentionally brought your mood down. It wasn’t his fault, but you still wished it hadn’t happened. “It’s fine,” you told him, quietly. “You didn’t know.”

You didn’t know how to continue. There was no way you could think of to cut through the awkward silence that followed. So, you finished up his bath with practiced efficiency, no longer taking the time to inwardly fawn over his muscled arms and calves. It only took a few more minutes until you had finished up - a lot sooner than you would have preferred under other circumstances. “Well, that should do it then,” you said quietly, clearing your throat and wiping your wet hands on your skirt. “You’re squeaky clean, Mountain Man.”

He coughed out a short, “Thanks,” as you stood to leave the room. 

As soon as the door creaked shut, you practically ran out the back door, desperately in need of fresh air. You heaved yourself up to sit on top of the small stack of logs at the back of the house, wishing you had a drink as tears formed in the corners of your eyes. It was strange, really, talking about Andrew with him. You had talked with people about your late husband hundreds of times, and it always made you sad, but this time was different. It made you feel so overwhelmed and, somehow, raw. Talking to Arthur, a man you hardly knew, about your husband, confirming that Andrew was gone, it seemed wrong and you couldn’t pinpoint why. 

Maybe you were just tired? Maybe it was because, between Arthur and Mary, you had talked about him more today than usual? Maybe you could see yourself beginning to move on, and you felt guilty?

After a good amount of time had passed, when you were certain Arthur had left the bath and gone up to his room, you re-entered the hotel and made your way back into the bath room to clean up. Even after nearly a half an hour, the scent of soap and lavender hung thick in the air. You quickly opened the curtains and the windows to air out the humid room and let in the afternoon sunlight. 

As soon as the light filtered in the room, highlighting the wisps of steam still hanging about, you noticed a folded piece of paper sitting on the stool by the tub. Gingerly, you picked it up and ran your fingers over the handwritten letters on the front. Your name. Upon unfolding it, ten dollars fell to the floor, and you saw a drawing of a small daisy in the upper right hand corner of the paper.

Below the daisy was a note, beginning with your name.

I’m real sorry about bringing up your husband. I know losing someone you love never really goes away, and I can see that talking about him hurt. Can’t really make up for that, but I hope a nice dinner from the saloon today for you and the boy will help out just a little.

Thank you for the best cleaning I’ve had in years. I hope we can really meet for a drink sometime. 

Yours, Arthur

#rdr2 #rdr2 fanfic #red dead redemption 2 #Arthur Morgan #Arthur Morgan x reader #f!reader #arthur morgan x f!reader

[purplesurveys]

1197

survey by ohsh1t2wksl8

Layers

Layer 1: The Basics

Name: Since there’ve been several people who’ve followed me recently anyway, HI I’m Robyn.

Age: 23.

Birthday: April 21st.

Gender: Female.

Zodiac Sign: Taurus.

Layer 2: Your Family

Do you have any brothers or sisters? Yes, I have one of each.

Do you have any pets? Yup, two dogs.

Do you still live with your parents? I do. I’m not in a rush.

Do you have any stepparents? Nope.

How many cousins do you have? 11 first cousins. Throwing my second cousins into the mix would dramatically increase the number and I don’t feel like counting rn.

Layer 3: Your Friends

Who is your best friend? Angela and Andi.

Who have you been friends with the longest? Angela and I have been friends for 16 years and it’s stronger as ever these days because of our mutual love for BTS hehe.

What do you like to do with your friends? It really depends! There’s no one thing I like doing most with any of them; as long as I’m with them I’d consider it time well spent.

Do you have more friends online or in real life? Real life. It’s hard to form friendships online once nearly everyone starts becoming younger than you.

What is a good way to make friends with others? One thing I learned is that you have to be okay to initiate, and that’s not really something I like doing all the time.

Layer 4: Your Home

Do you live in a home, apartment, duplex, trailer, etc? I live in a house.

How many rooms are there in your house? There are 4 bedrooms and 5 other kinds of rooms – that’s 2 bathrooms, the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Is your home large or small? I’d say it’s medium-sized. It’s not small that I feel cramped or inadequate, but it’s also nowhere near a mansion. It’s very comfortable for a family of 5.

What is your favorite room in your house, and why? Rooftop. My family barely goes there (and what a shame they don’t), so it’s a nice place to go to when I want to be alone but can’t get out of the house. Not to mention that it’s open-air and windy there, so whenever I feel as if I’m getting cooked inside I can always depend on the rooftop.

Do you prefer having people over to your house, or would you rather go to theirs? I’d rather go to theirs. Our house is really deep into the village and is a challenge to get to, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the general area.

Layer 5: Can You

Can you fold your tongue into the taco shape? Yes, but that’s the furthest it can go. I can’t really bend or twist it into shapes more complex than that.

Can you touch your toes without bending your knees? Nah, I lost that ability years ago. I didn’t make the most out of my flexibility back when I still had it.

Can you tie a cherry stem in a knot with your tongue? I never tried.

Can you hold up your end of a physical fight? I bet I can’t.

Can you do any yo-yo tricks? No, I was always terrible at the yo-yo.

Layer 6: Who

Who inspires you the most, and why? I don’t have any ~inspirations. I do like looking up to whoever my current obsession is – be it Rhett and Link, Paramore, BTS, etc. – to help me be happy and have something to smile at, but I try not to let any of them govern every single aspect of my life.

Who helps you maintain your sanity? My best friends. And these days, surprise surprise! – BTS.

Who do you go to most often for advice? Depends on the topic; I always run to either of my best friends. If I need a collective opinion, I go to my college friend group’s group chat.

Who knows you better than you know yourself? At one point it had been Gabie, but *shrug* Nowadays, the person who knows me best would probably be Andi.

Who is someone that you would die or put your life on the line for, no questions asked? Any of my friends.

Layer 7: Do you

Do you still eat sandwiches without the crusts? Nah - I’ve grown to be a fan of the crusts. I used to make my grandma slice them off as a kid or else I wouldn’t even think of touching the sandwich; then something changed as I got older and now I absolutely have to have the crust. At home, I even call dibs on the first and last pieces of bread (the ones that are all crust) whenever we get a new pack of sliced bread.

Do you typically finish your meal at a restaurant, or need to take a container home? I usually ask for it to be packed up for takeout.

Do you pull an Oreo apart in order to eat it? No, I just bite into it.

Do you read a lot of gossip magazines? As a kid/teenager. I’m over that now.

Do you make friends easily? I’m not the biggest social butterfly, but I’m also not super closed off. I’ll be happy to talk to anyone who approaches me.

Layer 8: How Many?

How many people live in your house with you? Four.

How many pets have you had in your lifetime? In my lifetime...I guess a good rough estimate would be somewhere around 10? I’ll never know exactly how many we’ve had since I never kept track of how many goldfish we kept.

How many tries does it take you to become successful at something? Depends. I never learned how to ride a bike even if I’ve pushed myself to practice ever since I was 5, but there are other things I’m able to pick up easily.

How many meals do you eat a day? One, dinner.

How many people can you honestly tolerate? This isn’t really an issue to me haha, I like being around people and my patience around them is usually long.

Layer 9: How

How do you typically get to school or work? I work from home at the moment and probably would for a little while longer; but if things were different, I would be driving myself.

How do you deal with a breakup? When I was going through mine, I was stupidly stubborn at first and refused any form of help. I deactivated all my social media and shut both my best friends out; it even got to a point where mutual friends were beginning to ask Andi where I’ve been as I’ve “disappeared off the face of the Earth” (an actual quote they relayed to me). I cried day in and day out, cried during my shifts, stayed holed up in my room; and I skipped hundreds of meals, sometimes not eating all day. It wasn’t a good place to be in.

But I knew I was on the right path to recovering the moment I reached out to friends again and acknowledged that I needed help. I started to help myself, too; I cut the person off slowly, and I started to look for new things to get into, new hobbies to invest in. I let my friends give me tough love and show me the reality of my situation, and I listened this time around. I don’t know what drove me to make a sudden change in my life but I’m really glad I came around to the decision, because I’m happier than ever these days.

How do you like to help others? All sorts of ways. I always want to make others’ lives a little easier.

How do you know when you’ve found “the one”? I don’t trust that instinct anymore.

How do you sleep in bed? On my side, clutching a pillow. No pillow to hug, no sleep.

Layer 10: What

What do you think happens when we die? That I just fall asleep for a very long time.

What do you do if there’s no toilet paper left on the roll and you’re already peeing? Turn around and hope there is at least a bidet in the stall.

What do you eat most often? Rice.

What toys did you enjoy most as a child? Anything with a lot of buttons or features to play around with, like detailed dollhouses.

What do you do if you witness someone being awful to someone else? Intervene, for the most part.

Layer 11: Where

Where is your favorite place to eat out? BGC has great ambience and restaurant choices, but it’s been a while since I’ve been there. I also still feel weird about the place since Gabie and I had dates there pretty often, sooooo I really ought to make new memories there with new people once I can.

Where is the place that has the best ice cream in your area? We don’t really have places known for ice cream...most people just buy pints or tubs of them at the grocery lol.

Where did you meet your current or last significant other? School.

Where can you be found at 7 PM. typically? Wrapping up work in my room.

Where can you find the best French fries? Potato Corner.

Layer 12: When

When did you find out the truth about Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy? Never believed in the first two. Tooth Fairy I lost hope in when I placed a tooth under my pillow when I was around 6 or 7 and woke up to nothing.

When do you typically fall asleep? Early hours of the morning tbh. I’d sleep anywhere between 1-4 AM these days.

When was the last time that someone paid you a compliment? Kata and I often make sure to compliment one another for our hard work by the end of particularly grueling shifts.

When do you feel most comfortable? Friday nights when I’m sure I can finally close my work group chats for the next two days.

When did you last go to the bathroom? Around an hour or so ago.

Layer 13: Why

Why do you enjoy taking surveys so much? It’s a stress reliever that has never failed me, and it lets me answers quirky random questions no one would ever have to ask me.

Why do people gossip so much? For one, probably the thrill of knowing something that's meant to be a thing.

Why can’t humans fly? It wouldn’t have been a necessity, I’m guessing.

Why aren’t you doing something else right now? Because I just spent the last 24 hours streaming Butter on Spotify and YouTube to raise views and plays for the boys, and taking this survey is actually the first thing I’ve done all day after taking a quick nap this afternoon to recover from all the streaming I did hahaha.

Why is the sky blue? I don’t know.

Layer 14: If…

If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on? Buy chocolate chips because I’m craving them rn; get all BTS merch in one go; give a chunk to my parents; keep the rest.

If you found out someone was cheating on you, would you ever take them back? I don’t really have consistency when it comes to this situation. I know I definitely would’ve been stupid enough to stay with Gab if she hypothetically cheated on me while we were still together; I’m not sure if I’d stay when it comes to another person entirely.

If you found a wallet with cash in the street, including identification, would you turn it in? Why or why not? Yeah, I’d look for the owner. I’m not that desperate for money, personally.

If you could have any food right now, what would you like?   SUSHI.

If you found out that the world was going to end tomorrow, how would you spend your last day? Go to the mall and get some much-needed air, then probably drop off some japchae and tteokbokki at Angela’s place.

Layer 15: Firsts

When did you lose your first tooth? I was in Prep and it actually fell out while I was in school. We were having storytime and I had to interrupt the session to tell my teacher it was starting to feel loose, so she got me some tissues to help me get it out.

Who was your first teacher that you ever had? Her name was Kathy. I don’t really have any substantial memories of her because I was 4 lmao, but I know she was nice.

When did you first learn how to ride a bike? ...Still learning...

When was the first time you had sex? Like a day or two after turning 18.

Did your first birthday have a theme to it? Not necessarily but my parents threw me a party at Jollibee, so it kinda had to be Jollibee-themed lol.

Layer 16: Lasts

Last person you texted: I don’t feel like checking because it was most definitely a work-related text and I don’t want to be reminded of work on a Sunday, but it was a media person. 

Last drink you sipped: The last of my coffee.

Last time you rode a bike: Like, March last year when the pandemic had still been fresh and I thought I could use all the free time to finally learn how to ride a bike. Absolute clownery.

Last time you swam in a pool: August 2019.

Last person you hugged: Not sure. Angela, I think.

Layer 17: Favorites

Favorite Color: I think pastel pink is still taking the lead for me.

Favorite Season: We don’t have the usual four seasons, but I do have a liking for winter. It just seems very cozy for me.

Favorite Shape: I don’t have one.

Favorite Letter: Mmmmm, don’t really have one of these either.

Favorite Number: 4 or 7.

Layer 18: This or That

Pepsi or Coke? I don’t drink softdrinks.

Movies or Television? Movies, but I haven’t really been watching much of either recently.

Phone or Tablet? Phone. Haven’t used a tablet in yearrrrrsssssss.

Fruits or Vegetables? Veggies. Hate fruits.

Animals or Humans? I think I like both an equal amount.

Layer 19: Which

Which Poke’mon is your favorite? Chikorita.

Which day of the week is your favorite? Friday, because of course.

Which birthday celebration was the most memorable for you? My 18th, even though out of all the friends I celebrated my birthday with I only have one of them left in my life. I know I was happy during that time so I wouldn’t invalidate that experience for myself.

Which holiday is your favorite? Christmas, only for the sheer amount of food I get to have.

Which shoe do you put on first? I always switch it up, I’m pretty sure. I don’t have a particular habit.

Layer 20: Love Life/Relationships

What is the name of your first love? Gabie.

How many times can you honestly say you’ve been in love? Once.

Have you ever been in a relationship before that was abusive in any way? After being able to take a step back and analyzing it deeper, yes.

Have you ever been engaged or married before? Nope.

Do you have any children? I don’t.

Layer 21: Jobs, Dreams, & Goals

What did you want to be when you grew up (as a little kid)? I couldn’t decide among being an astronaut, firefighter, or veterinarian.

What do you aspire to be now? What interests you? I realized I wanted to be in the field of media and public relations, and that’s where I am now. I like being able to use my writing skills for something I find fun and fulfilling, instead of rotting away in a newsroom writing news I’m usually too sensitive for.

What is the most recent goal you’ve achieved? I got regularized! :)

What is a goal you are still striving to reach? A salary increase would be nice, and then a promotion down the road would also be awesome.

Have you ever won any sort of awards before? If so, for what? Sure. I was consistently on the honor roll in college and graduated with Latin honors, if those count as awards.

Layer 22: Opinions & Beliefs

Pro-life or pro-choice? Pro-choice.

Were you raised with any sort of religious background? If so, then what? Yesss, I was and am raised in a Catholic household. Weirdly enough my parents have grown more laidback in the last few years and my mom no longer berates us for not doing the sign of the cross when we pray before eating (my siblings have taken after me and refuse to do it as well). No idea what sparked that change but I’m just glad I never have to do gestures like that one anymore.

Democrat, Republican, or Independent? We don’t have the same parties here.

For or against the death penalty? This is a very complicated web and for reasons largely relevant to my country and the issues we have, I am mostly against it.

Thoughts on assisted suicide? I am ok with it as long as there is consent involved. 

Layer 23: Currently/Today/Present

What day is it? It’s Sunday again, blegh.

What’s the weather like outside? Sunny.

What have you eaten? Just a Fudgee Bar so far but I’m having breakfast with my family in an hour or so.

Did you run any errands? Well it’s only 8:37 AM so not yet, but one or two might come up throughout the day.

What time is it? 8:38 now.

Layer 24: Yesterday

Did you have a work shift? No, I don’t work Saturdays.

Did you eat out anywhere? No :( I’ve wanted to for a while, though. Maybe I might today, actually – they’ve loosened up quarantine protocols so restaurants have opened up again. Let’s see if I’ll feel like driving today.

Was it snowing? It doesn’t snow here.

Who did you last say goodnight to? Cooper.

Did anything unusual happen? It rained and there was cold breeze during the evening.

Layer 25: Tomorrow

Do you have to go to school/class? No, but I do have to go to work.

Does this day have any sort of significance to you? May 24...I don’t think so. Nothing comes to mind.

What is a chore that needs to get done? My veeeeeeery long list of to-do tasks that I’m trying not to think about rn.

Will you hang out with friends? No chance of that happening.

What time will you be expected to be awake by? 9 AM.

Layer 26: Have You Ever

Performed a magic trick successfully? I don’t think so.

Sat or laid on a rooftop and looked at the stars? I’m at the rooftop all the time but I only occasionally lie down to look at the stars.

Walked around with your underwear on inside out or backwards all day without realizing it? Nope.

Touched a snake? Yep. I’ve had one wrapped around me before, too.

Been bitten by an animal? If so, what animal? Just by ants and mosquitoes.

Layer 27: School Life

Are preschool and kindergarten mandatory where you live? Not sure about mandatory but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of people who went straight to first grade as kids, either because of advanced intelligence or financial limitations.

Were you or anyone you knew homeschooled? I have one set of cousins who are all homeschooled; and I also used to have classmates who eventually transferred out of my school to be homeschooled instead.

Did you attend public or private school? Private.

Were you bullied in school, popular, or somewhere in-between? I was a loner for the most part, but after befriending the popular groups in high school I kind of got dragged into that scene as well.

What is the highest level of education that you completed? Undergraduate degree.

Layer 28: Your Appearance

Eye Color: Dark brown/black.

Hair Color: Black.

Height: 5′1″.

Weight: A little under 100 lbs.

Do you have freckles, moles, beauty marks, or birthmarks - and where? I have moles on my right arm, under my jaw, near my left knee, and under my left boob. I have a birthmark behind my left shoulder.

Layer 29: Electronics, Internet, & Social Media

How much time do you spend on the internet per day? Hahahah yeesh, way to put me on the spot. I wanna say anywhere between 16-18 hours? I’m online the second I wake up until the moment I turn in for bed.

Which social media platforms do you belong to? Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr.

When’s the last time you replaced the batteries in your television remote? 4975493875495743 years ago.

Are you more likely to stream movies and shows on your laptop, or cast them to your television? Laptop.

Do you have an e-reader, or do you prefer actual books? I don’t read regularly anymore, but I’ve never liked reading from a screen. I prefer a physical book as much as possible.

Layer 30: Are You

Are you still in school? No. I’m not opposed to grad school either, but it has to be a REALLY REALLY REALLY fucking great opportunity for me to sink my teeth into it. We’re talking getting accepted to grad school in like Spain or NYU; otherwise I wouldn’t take it.

Are you a member of the LGBTQ+ community? Yes.

Are you looking forward to anything coming soon? Festa month!

Are you dreading anything coming soon? Work tomorrow.

Are you gullible or naive? I can be both.

Layer 31: Does

Does your workplace make you feel like you can never take a day off without feeling guilty about it? Not at all. I’m really grateful they take vacation leaves seriously; we even have a Mental Health Break Day scheduled two Fridays from now. Purely a company thing.

Does someone currently hold the key to your heart? Kim Taehyung... :/

Does anyone out there hate you? Idk and I couldn’t give less of a shit if anyone does.

Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? No.

Does crying make you feel less strong? Nope. It took me a while to realize it, but acknowledging feelings and processing them is actually one of the strongest things you can do for yourself. 

Layer 32: Would You

Do the Polar Bear Plunge? Idk what that is.

Ever try to walk across a room blindfolded? I’ve done it before, so sure.

Swim with sharks? As long as I’m surrounded with experts, yes.

Go into outer space, given the chance? In a heartbeat.

Go out in public, looking how you do right now? Nope.

Layer 33: Pets/Animals

Do you have any pets? If so, what type, and their names… Yesss. There’s Kimi who’s an aspin, and Cooper the beagle.

If not, what type of pet have you always wanted?

What is your favorite animal? Dogs and elephants :)

Do you think it is cruel to have circus animals? Yes, or having animals do tricks for show, in general. I always discourage my parents from booking tickets to animal theme parks when we plan vacations.

How often do you walk your dog, if you have one? How often do you scoop the litterbox, if you have a cat? Every week.

Layer 34: Food

What is your favorite breakfast item? Fried rice.

What is your favorite kind of dessert? Macarons and cheescake.

Do you eat all three meals everyday? Nah. I have one meal on weekdays, and two meals on some weekends.

What’s the longest you’ve gone without food? Around 24 hours.

What do you like to eat when you are feeling sick? Greasy things haha. If I’m feeling like death, might as well be having good food.

Layer 35: Past

Does your past ever come back to haunt you at times? Not really.

What is one of your favorite memories of the past? Spending my college years with the right people.

What is something that you used to do in the past, but no longer do? Harm myself.

If you could have a meal with someone from the past, who would it be, and what would you ask them? Audrey Hepburn, but I don’t really have a question for her. It would just be nice to get to spend a few minutes with her.

Which historical time period would you like to go back to and check out? Precolonial Philippines.

Layer 36: Future

Do you think you will ever get married one day? It’s definitely a lovely scenario to have but I’m really unsure about it at the moment just because there’s no one I have in mind and I have no plans to start dating around again soon.

Do you plan on ever getting a different job in the future, or are you happy with the one you’ve got? I’m happy with the one I have and I don’t see it changing any time soon.

What age do you plan to retire at? Or do you plan on working til you’re dead? Probably the latter haha.

What is something on your bucket list worth mentioning? Going to Wrestlemania.

If given the opportunity to see how your future plays out, would you take it, or no? Yes.

Layer 37: Hygiene

How often do you shower? Once daily. Twice if it’s stupidly hot during the day.

How often do you brush your teeth? Once or twice a day.

Do you actually iron any of your clothes? Mm, not really. But if I was planning on wear something that gets easily crumpled, I iron that in advance.

How often do you do laundry? I’m not in charge of laundry.

How long do you use a bath towel before switching it out? Around 1–2 weeks.

Layer 38: Clothing, Makeup, & Style

Do you wear nail polish? If so, how often do you paint your nails? Nah.

How would your describe your sense of style? I like sticking with trends as long as I feel comfortable in them.

Are there any popular trends that you do not find appealing? Just makeup in general.

Where do you typically buy your clothing from? Local small businesses or H&M. 

What sorts of accessories do you wear/use? I don’t really invest in them, but I wanna start buying more headbands, bucket hats, and earrings.

Layer 39: Hobbies

Do you still color, even as an adult? Occasionally.

Do you/would you like to crochet, knit, cross-stitch, etc? Yeaaah I do embroidery but I’ve stopped for a while since finding other interests and hobbies to dabble in. I have no plans to ditch it completely though; I’ll come back to it when the time is right.

What’s the last thing you crafted all by yourself? Not sure.

Do you use Pinterest at all? Nope.

What’s the last thing that you cooked or baked? Lol.

Layer 40: Dislikes

List some of your pet peeves here. Driving slowly on lanes intended for overtaking; taking too much of my food; being subtle about asking for favors.

What are some things that annoy you about yourself? Easily punishing myself for mistakes, no matter how small; I also find that putting others first before myself 100% of the time can sometimes end up being an inconvenience for myself.

Is there anyone out there who you actually hate? Who? Nope.

What is a feeling that you dislike? “I should have done/said this.” Not sure what feeling this falls under (maybe helplessness?), but having these thoughts irritate me to no end especially if I can’t do anything about the situation.

Do you get some ugly road rage while driving? Yep.

Layer 41: Random

Have you ever successfully pogo’ed on a pogo stick? Nah, I’ve never even seen one in real life. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been dying to try getting on one lol. 

Have you ever mastered the jump rope? I wouldn’t say I’m a master, but I can do the basic jumps and last a long time doing them.

Do you know what it feels like to be truly happy? I don’t know if I’ve determined this already; I have a lot of years ahead of me and lots of experiences I’ve yet to go through.

Is it winter in your part of the world right now? No.

What’s your favorite type of survey, and why? Random ones or ones with categories, like this one.

Layer 42: Music

What are some of your favorite genres of music? Alternative, folk indie, punk rock, R&B...and BTS.

What are some music genres that you can’t stand? Country, screamo, techno.

If you had a blank pair of concert tickets, who would you hope to be going to see? Any one of my holy trinity: Paramore, Beyoncé, or BTS.

Do you still listen to music on the radio from time to time? Not anymore, come to think of it. I’m completely unaware of the Top 40 space right now, and have been for a while.

iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, or YouTube? Spotify.

Layer 43: Books

What were some of your favorite books as a child? The Septimus Heap series and the Percy Jackson series.

What genre of books do you typically read most often? Memoirs.

What are some of your favorite books as an adult? I don’t read anymore.

What is a book that you were required to read for school that you actually enjoyed? Hands down, Without Seeing the Dawn. I remember fairly enjoying Charlotte’s Web and Number the Stars as well.

Do you read any newspapers or magazines anymore? No.

Layer 43: Around the World

Where’s the best place you’ve taken a vacation and/or day trip to? Jeju, South Korea; Bali, Indonesia; Palawan; Batanes; and Boracay.

Where is somewhere that you’d like to go someday, assuming you have the funds to do so? Seoul, South Korea.

Where do your family members originate from? Just Philippines.

What is your favorite type of ethnic cuisine? All Asian cuisines. Each of them is so unique and always has something new to discover.

What is something that is typically representative of your own culture? Jollibee? Hahaha.

Layer 44: Would you Rather…

Drink apple juice or grape juice? Apple.

Wear pants or shorts? Shorts, as much as possible.

Be taller or shorter? Taller.

Go to a zoo or an aquarium? Neither if possible.

Visit an art gallery or a museum? Museum.

Layer 45: Movies

Do you remember what the first movie was that you saw in theaters? Stuart Little 2 when I was 4.

What are some of your favorite movies you’ve seen? Two for the Road, Gone with the Wind, Roman Holiday, Revolutionary Road, Toy Story, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Room.

What genre of movie do you typically enjoy? Drama.

What is a movie you’ve seen that you weren’t expecting to like, but were pleasantly surprised? Requiem For A Dream, but maybe remove ‘pleasantly.’ Anomalisa is also a good answer for this.

How many movies do you own? Are they all DVD’s, or do you still have some VHS ones left? I just watch them on Netflix, haha.

Layer 46: Personality

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert? I’m really more of an ambivert than anything else. I can deal with alone time and more social days equally well.

Are you more easygoing and laid back, or anal? Again, I can be both depending on the situation.

Are you kind to everyone who shows that they deserve kindness? Yes.

Describe your sense of humor. I can laugh over anything from dad jokes to crackhead memes.

Do you tend to over-share? Not really. I tend to have a good sense of how much I should share depending on the person/group I’m with.

Layer 47: Celebrities

Which celebrity has given their child the most unique name, in your opinion? I mean, Elon Musk and Grimes have to be up there, right? The Kardashians have also given their kids unique names, but I actually am a fan of them all.

Are there any celebrities that you keep tabs on/read articles about often? Nah, I’m past that part of my life lol. As obsessed as I am with BTS and as unavoidable rumors about their personal life are, I literally don’t care and just want them to have happy private lives. That’s one of the reasons why I know I’m truly in my 20s now hahaha.

Who is/are your celebrity crush(es)? Kim Taehyung, Hayley Williams, Kristen Stewart.

Have you ever personally met someone famous before? If so, then who? A lot of local celebrities and personalities since it came with the nature of my course.

Who is a celebrity that you’re getting tired of hearing about all the time? Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift.

Layer 48: Emotions

When was the last time you cried? Earlier, but they were happy tears.

What are some things that you’re afraid of? Big change, injections, drowning, sharp objects.

What is something small that makes you happy? Cold weather.

Who is the last person that you were angry with, and about what? My mom wrongfully blaming me for something I had very little to do with. Both my siblings are very sensitive and are never scolded, so I usually take the heat even for things I’m barely involved in. Such is the life of the eldest daughter in an Asian household, lmao.

Are you typically a shy or outgoing person? I’m always shy at first, but end up being perky and outgoing once warmed up.

Layer 49: Digging Deeper

What is your favorite alcoholic beverage? Mixed drinks.

How old were you when you got drunk for the first time? 18.

Do you smoke? Very rarely. I don’t want to make it a habit.

Have you ever taken and sent naked pictures of yourself? I have.

Have you ever done any drugs other than marijuana? If so, which ones? No.

Layer 50: Games

What are some of your favorite video games? Mario Kart, Resident Evil, and Legend of Zelda are some of my favorite series.

Do you have any computer games that you play regularly? I don’t play computer games.

What was your favorite board game, growing up? Scrabble.

How about your favorite card game? I also don’t play card games.

How good are you at solving puzzles? (such as a Rubik’s cube, word puzzles, or putting together a jigsaw puzzle) I don’t like puzzles.

#survey #surveys

[no-dull-days]

Bogota, Colombia

Exploring Bogota's Misunderstood History

Three weeks in to Colombia, I headed to the infamous Bogota . As dawn approached, I arrived at the North Terminal. 14 hours had passed during the night bus from Popayan. The trek to Bogota took us through the Andes mountains, hairpin curves, and peculiar weather. I was suspicious as we drove by uneasy scenery. I’d researched every other destination prior to arrival. Bogota was the exception.

History: During the 1980’s & 90’s Bogota was the most dangerous city in the world. I'll bet you think it's danger emanated from drug cartels…More people were killed in Bogota by buses and cars than by military or political problems. Children feared being hit by a car, truck, or bus. Public transportation was a mafia run business. Buses would block traffic or run people over on the sidewalk. The people of Bogota were ashamed of the city. There was a lack of infrastructure coupled by low security and high safety concerns. Residents had zero faith in the future. Leaders didn’t know where to go or what to do. Bogota had no vision, no model and no money. It was known as the worst place in Latin America.

In 1998 Enrique Peñalosa was elected mayor of Bogota. During a visit to Europe, Peñalosa said, “as a fish needs to swim, we need to walk. Not in order to survive, but in order to be happy.” In regards to Bogota, Peñalosa was convinced, crime and poverty were connected to Bogota’s design — how the city was structured.

Something had to be done, considering Bogota’s population grew from 100k to 7 million in 100 years. Peñalosa created automobile restrictions. In the following ten years, Bogota’s murder rate fell a whopping 70%! From the highest in the world to less than that of Washington DC.

Bogota’s bus system was modeled after a Brazilian city. Today, Bogota has an internationally acclaimed bus system. Public transportation has brought the community together. Take Avenida el Dorado— there’s what seems to be endless miles of road dedicated solely to pedestrians. On Sundays, over a million people show up to ride, walk and socialize. It’s the safest place in the city. By way of urban design, a city for the people was created.

It changed beyond belief. We changed the city more for people than for cars.

— Enrique Peñalosa

As a statement of priorities, Avenida el Dorado was built to go through the poorest communities. It’s the longest pedestrian walkway on the continent. Buses and parks are all connected causing entire neighborhoods to interact. When communities know one another, crime rates fall and the quality of life improves. Locals even denounced those who violated the system.

Public transportation was a multi billion dollar industry. By placing mafia members on the board of directors and giving them stock options, the system evolved. A power play considering the mob could crush the city.

Bogota’s large sidewalks show people are equally or more valuable than automobiles. These and other changes made it more difficult for people to access businesses which led to a movement to impeach Peñalosa. People soon realized public interests come before private interests. This urban design proclaims a bicyclist is just as important as a $30,000 automobile. Bogota’s mayor, Peñalosa, left office with the highest approval rating of any mayor in history.

This is one iota of Bogota’s history. The powerful drug cartels of the 80s who ruled cities such as Medellin, Bogota, and Miami were historical times no doubt. Seeing the murals, sites, and stomping grounds of these tumultuous times was spine-tingling.

I explored the Halls of Justice where Supreme Court Justices were assassinated and many others were killed or held hostage. I’ve watched dozens of documentaries on Colombia and Pablo Escobar’s reign over Bogota. Walking around the city was like being in a history book.

The history was so thick, it almost rivaled The Lost City of Petra’s history! Escobar and the drug cartels pillaged Bogota and ran the city at some points. Escobar practically owned the police. He was both loved and hated by fellow Colombians. He also made the Forbes Top 10 List. Netflix’s, ‘Narcos’, does a great job of documenting what happened during this time. Both enthralling, and terrifying.

My Experience: Upon arrival, I had no plans. My Spanish had drastically improved. I was sociable, yet cautious. Violent crime still occurs at random. After Cartagena, I discovered it was tough finding a place to stay in advance. Taxis can be dangerous and I didn’t know how far I’d be from my destination. There were times I’d arrive in a new city, by plane or bus after dark. I didn’t think it was wise to take a bus or walk through unfamiliar neighborhoods. Speaking far from perfect Spanish and carrying thousands of dollars of electronics didn’t ease the situation.

All through Colombia, ATMs dispense pesos. Many of the bills are COL$50,000 and finding change can be difficult. Exchange rates and small bills was another barrier. If you’re traveling to Colombia, I’d recommend learning how to count to 100,000 in Spanish.

I rented a room in the common style five bedroom home for COL$50,000/24 hours. This gave me time to make plans, look at a map and figure out where I wanted to stay thereafter. I had a queen bed with a private bathroom. 15 minutes later, I was walking to another bus. I paid special attention to the landmarks because addresses were beyond my understanding. Getting lost was no fun.

Perhaps my favorite thing to do in Bogota was play tejo. Tejo can be played for fun with points or in professional tournaments. The object of the game is to throw fairly heavy discs at small triangle packets filled with gunpowder. Points are acquired when there’s a ferocious bang! They sound like revolvers firing at random. It’s fun playing in lanes with 30 people. It sounds like a fire fight. Only difference is, everyone’s drinking beers and smoking various substances. Players stand about 40 feet away and the gun powder packets are about 3 inches. They sit in a clay bay at a 45 degree angle.

Aside from tejo, sampling mouthwatering exotic fruits was a meal in itself. I sampled literally dozens of fruits I never knew existed. Fruits with vibrant colors and bizarre shapes with funky names. Outrageous natural flavors. I’d return to Bogota just for the fruits!

Though Bogota’s fruits were an enlightening experience, it made me sad and angry. I thought of Monsanto — the massive evil corporation based in the US that’s burned farmers in more ways than god intended. I thought of the politicians and lobbyists that support GMOs — special seeds created from the same corporation that developed Agent Orange in Vietnam.

Between fresh fruits in Bogota, godly organic produce in the rural Nicaraguan mountains and Panamanian islands, I practically had steam coming outta my ears. I drank water from a stream near Ecuador. It was the purest, most amazing water I’ve ever had. If you know what food and water should taste like, it should make you absolutely livid that corporations and politicians are taking control of our food supply and destroying our water for bigger profits.

La Candelaria: I made a friend at the bus stop who guided me to La Candelaria in Bogota. La Candelaria is a hipster neighborhood that reminded me of Berkeley and San Francisco. Graffiti on every corner, VW’s, head shops, music stores, and reggae music all flooded by local college students.

The nightlife here was unique. Hundreds of people mingled throughout the area on bicycles and mopeds. The energy was comforting and it was refreshing to meet a wide array of travelers in this area who spoke broken English.

The daunting feelings of massive Bogota subsided when I found a great hostel in this neighborhood. I got a private room and bathroom for COL$60,000/night. I met other international travelers. I had a solid internet connection, private living quarters, a hot shower, and food from all over the world in my neighborhood.

In the following days, I explored the city on bicycle — by guided tour and on my own. Two friends and I rode around for five hours with a Bogota local. We saw cemeteries, tasted the world’s finest coffee, learned about political graffiti, human rights, Pablo Escobar, terrorism, cocaine, Buddhism, the upper class, and people who lived in sewers. We learned about the Emerald Industry and agriculture.

Attractions: The city of Bogota, home to about 10 million people, is a massive city. It resides at 8,660 ft in the Andes Mountains. The air is a little thin, but I got used to it. You’d really need many months to see everything the city has to offer. I enjoyed the hike to the top of the Monserrate.

Monserrate is a mountain that dominates the city center of Bogota, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to 10,341 ft above the sea level, where there is a church built in the 17th century. — Wikipedia

Bolivar Square is a huge plaza with government buildings, tremendous history and usually the location of concerts and festivals. It’s a great place to socialize and take in the open air. I also enjoyed the Bogota Botanical Gardens. It too was a nice place to casually walk around, mingle, and learn something new.

However, I enjoyed Parque 93 moreso. It reminded me of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco where singles, families, couples, bikers, and dog walkers all come together for lunch, reading the newspaper, and snoozing in the sunshine. The bike tour was probably my favorite though. There’s a number of companies throughout the city. If you’re looking for nightlife in Bogota, I can vouch for that too. If you’re a social butterfly, workaholic, party animal, foodie, or entrepreneur, Bogota has plenty to offer.

[cosmiclatte28]

Secret Love Song (ten x you)

here we go!

ps. Ten is a WayV and SuperM idol here, while Yuta, Jaehyun, and Johnny are not idols! Thanks

Song : Secret Love Song from little mix and Jason Durelo lol Derulo xD

warning : tiny bit of insecurities, lots of fluff, happy end.

CHITTAPON IS JUST SO SWEET!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You make your way slowly back to your small studio apartment. You rush from the nearest bus stop, walk through the cold winter night, reach the front door and then take the lift to your room. Today has been tiring, your neck and lower back are aching from sitting on stools for hours and reaching your clients body as you inject safe permanent inks into their skin. Yes, you are a tattoo artist, working in a superior tattoo parlor, where hygiene levels are guaranteed safe and the drawings are not regrettable. Well, your clients paid a hundreds of dollars to have a 4 inch tattoo! You have to admit, being a tattoo artist in a high-class studio gave a fair amount to pay your rents, eat decent foods, and spend some money for your happiness. You sigh when you remember that the flat fee for this month has been raised, and you know you will need to either find a new living space or work extra hours to pay for the extra cost.

You stretch your neck for a while as your fingers type in a six digit combination to open the door to your heaven: the bed. Once you close the door behind you, you take off your coat, carelessly toss your bag to the sofa, and free yourself from your boots. You make a quick attempt to untangle your scarf and dive belly first to your soft mattress. A sigh of great relieve escapes your mouth and you find your eyelids super heavy. You would totally fall  asleep within five seconds if your bizarre phone did not disturb you.

Your hand blindly searches for the rectangular noisy object and when you find it, the ring has ended. You groan in frustration, but your fatigue drowns you back to slumber. This time there was a short beep five times in a row, and you know that is your boyfriend messaging you. Your mind fights over waking up to call him back, or just drive your tired eyes to sleep and deal with him later when you're fresh. You decided to do the latter, but today must not be your day. Your phone rings again and your finger slides to pick up his call.

"What?!" You snapped.

"Woah, easy... Did I call the wrong number?" the man on the other hand takes his phone away from his ear to check the caller ID. He shakes his head when he ensures this is the right number.

"Sorry... I-"you yawn and he stays silence until you continue, "I just got home, and your calls postpone my -so needed- sleep..."

He smiles to himself when he heard your yawns and slurs.

"Okay, I'll just tell you I'm busy for the next three days. I'll call you back, I need to do my make up now. Bye!"

You did not reply him, your brain didn't actually understand anything he said, you've lost yourself into the dreamland after finishing your sentence. You sleep through your dinner time, only to snore deeper as the night darkens.

__

One man sits stiffly on his chair in the powder room. He is waiting for his stylist to come and do his make up before he steps into the stage filled with a crowd dedicating their life, money, and time to support him and his group. He shakes his shoulder a bit to throw the pressure away, why did he feel like he committed a great sin for calling his girl just to disturb  her from sleeping.

"Who is that Ten hyung?" Yang-yang who happens to catch a few of Ten's surprised action earlier asked.

Ten turns his head to face the youngest boy, he's about to open his mouth before the tallest and loudest man cuts his answer "It's (y/n) of course," Lucas offers his big smile while slapping Ten's shoulder.

"Stop it Lucas, I might poke his eye because of your sudden slap when I am drawing this eyeliner." The stylist who has been working hard to polish this pretty eyes of Ten, scowls at Lucas.

"Sorry, but it's true right?? It's (Y/n)???" Lucas takes a seat on one of the free chairs in the powder room. He's ready to go on stage already.

Ten shakes his head in disbelief and nods, "Yes it's her. Happy?"

Yang-yang smiles and drags his chair closer, "So... what happened? Spill the tea!"

Lucas also has his eyes bigger twice as much in size and his back is straightened, he is ready for the gossip!

Ten smacks his lips when the last stroke of light lipstick was applied; he checks himself on the mirror and nods an approval for the stylist to go. "Thank you!"

Now when nobody else is in the room, Ten finally opens his mouth.

"I called her at the wrong time I think... She snapped at me because she said I disturb her sleep?"

The two younger men pretend to understand though really they don't have a single idea why Ten must look this nervous just because his girlfriend snapped. Hey, every person has a bad day right?

Ten stares into the two soul across him and he face palms himself mentally when he realize there was no way Lucas nor Yang-yang understands his worry.

"Forget it, both of you are not helping." Ten pushes himself from the chair to put on his golden jacket.

"We're putting on mikes and in 7 minutes, you're going Live." The stage director opens the door right in time and a swarm of crew help the members put on their mikes.

Ten glances at his phone for the last time, there his smile rises when one notification pops from none other than you.

From: mon petit cœur

"Burn the stage,love! Bad Alive deserves the spotlight. <3"

Ten knows he doesn't have to reply that message, but the heavy weight in his heart is gone as he takes a deep breath and joins his other brothers to the side of the stage. They chant their group cheers and soon take over the stage.

--

You're awakened by your alarm clock around seven at night. Your head feels dizzy and you know that's probably because you skipped dinner. You force yourself to open your eyes. Your fingers expertly open the messenger application and through your squinting eyes, you type a short message to your boyfriend. Well, you promised him you won't miss their first stage of Bad Alive, and so here you are! seated on your worn-off sofa, an apple on one hand and the small TV provides you music and pictures. You focus yourself on the screen when you can see your boy and his team already shown for the interview at the screen. You fix your position, increase the volume, and you're totally awake when the stage shows your favorite group of all time.

The three minutes performance was over. You get up from your position, walk to throw the apple core away, and you grab your phone back.

To : Ten

"Amazing job you did there, my body's burning,

Guess I can save money from not using any more heaters.

Going home? <3"

You want to meet Ten so bad, it's already one month since you two didn't see each other. He has intensive practices for the comeback. Not that you're not understanding or selfish; You just wish he can make some time to come tonight, because you need someone to listen to you.

Your phone bleeped after an hour. Ten must've finished all of his works and probably already seated in the van, ready to leave the venue.

From: Ten

"Glad the song kept you warm. Sadly I've told you earlier in the call I cannot make it home these three days. Next week I also have another stage performance. I'll let you know when we can meet. How's today?"

Your shoulder slumped, you ghost you finger over the call button. You want to call him right now, but dating an idol is not that simple. If some manager or stylist caught you in the act, they might tell this to the director board and you know how this will end. Yes forced break up!

You left him on read. You glance at the clock on the dining room. It's already nine, you have some place to go. You dress yourself in a warm jacket and you leave the empty room. You hail a cab and direct an address. Your phone vibrated and you picked up a call.

"Hey! Where are you now?" Ten asks

"I'm going out for a while, why?"

"Oh, where are you headed to?"

"Ummm Johnny's, I forgot he invited me over for wine and cheese. Wanna join?"

"Is this Saturday Night already?"

You chuckled, "Yes Mr. busy, this is a Saturday Night."

"I'll see how the meeting with SuperM goes, til then have fun and be safe, Love you!"

"He's a nice brother, don't worry I'll be okay. Wait I have to get off the bus."

Ten waited for you on the other side of the line. He likes to make sure you're okay on the road. He busies himself with a strand of loose thread on his jacket and holds the phone close to his ear. His smile returns when your breathy voice greets him back.

"Woah, sorry there were several people going down too.

I'm only 3 minutes away! Are you in the office yet?"

"I'm entering the lobby, need to rush to the lift and see if everyone's there already."

"Okay, guess I'll end the call here. I can see his house already."

"No, I'll wait until you are in his house. Besides my notification just notifies me Taemin hyung is late."

"Well, I'm here already. Johnny's by my side."

"Alright, trust you. Tell him I miss him! Okay then, enjoy your night.

Call me whenever you need my help. Love you!"

You smile at his small attention, "Thanks Ten, Love you too! Good luck with the meeting."

The phone call ended

You enter the kitchen of the small house your brother and his fiancée bought. Johnny is five years older than you, and that's why he has been able to take care of you ever since the two of you were young. Johnny's wife happened to be staying in her mother's house because she had to look after her younger cousins. Johnny cannot join her because he needs to supervise his office. So here you are, the two of you meet one another for a siblings quality time.

"Tonight's special is Cabernet Franc," Johnny said after examining the bottle and taking the cork off.

I push him my empty glass and he fills in both glasses with the red liquid.

"Cheers," You both chime and clank the glass.

Moving on to sit on the comfortable L-sofa, you make yourself comfortable before finally starting to chat and talk about life. A soft music was played on the background, some classics because both of you felt like it.

"So, how is your day?" asked Johnny.

You gulp down the rest of the wine and roll your eyes, "Bad. Worst!"

Johnny straightens his back, "Ten? Or Work?"

You run your eyes right and left, taking a moment to think which one of them is bothering your mind. You smile when you know the answer, "Both!"

Johnny only raises his brow and you know the queue to spill everything out. Your mind went back to earlier this morning, where you woke up late and missed the bus to your office. You had to take the cab, since Ten was busy with his performance schedule today. You had to spend a good $20 to make it on time. You did arrive on schedule; the shop was opening as per usual. You greeted your co-workers, Yuta and Jaehyun.

The three of you have been working together since this parlor opened, there were no other worker here because we don't need that much! The people who step through the door were usually a regular or have made an appointment. However, today was totally irregular!

You remember the horror of Jaehyun's face when he entered the employee room with terror. Yuta was working on a customer's drawing and you were washing and cleaning the pen.

"We sorta have a problem here, there were three girls wanting to get a tattoo done without any appointments."

Yuta raised his brow, there must be something next that will surprise them both.

"They're minors. I've told them to come back when they're older, but they insisted."

"Let me talk," You place your pen down on a table and take the queue to talk to the girls. Well, Jaehyun is a softie, he cannot be strict especially to high-school girls.

You caught the three girls giggling over a picture on their phone, and you quickly snatched it away from her hand. They gasped and protested on your action, but you were taller than them.

"Sorry, but it was not appropriate for you to secretly take pictures of another person. This, I'm sure you took them secretly earlier. You're violating someone's privacy." You said as you deleted the pictures of a candid Jaehyun.

"If you're here only to take inappropriate pictures of my co-worker, leave immediately and don't ever come back. And you're clearly not 18 yet, the law stated you must be 18 to have a tattoo. Til then, let's wait patiently. Come back only when you are 18 and permitted to have ink on your body. Good bye." You returned the phone and shrugged your shoulder to the exit door.

The three girls have fires in their eyes and they were clearly killing you in their heads, but you're not afraid of babies like them.

"You're mean! Just wait for our revenge!" One of the girl stomped her feet in anger and ordered the other two to follow her and they left the parlor.

You let go a breath you held back earlier, then you decided to take the welcome desk for a while.

Just when you thought nothing else will go wrong, that's where you were fucked. Across you stood your nightmare. The enormous man across you smiled secretly when he found you greeting him.

"Well, welcome back Sir Dimitry, I believe you're here for a touch up?" You ran your eyes through today's schedule. Sadly his name was not there, but he was a regular and he's the Russian gang leader here, who roamed around Incheon at night. You knew better not to mess up with him, but that was not what bothers you.

He Is big and scary, the first time you saw him was when Yuta has to do a big dragon on his well built arm. That day you were occupied with another client, but although you were focused on doing your work, you can't help but feel his gaze on your body. Yuta and Jaehyun were aware of this, and since then they always try their best to take his project and they always lied you're busy or occupied. You're thankful for them. The two men were not so pleased to work on his skin too, for his drawings were always big, disturbing, and scary. However, he was the most generous tipper, and that made them close their mouth and ears (because he used to answer calls and believe me your ears won't stay cold listening to his choices of bad words).

"I haven't made an appointment yet, and I came here for a new drawing. I've had one in my mind and I believe you can finish tracing it in a couple of minute." The big guy leaned forward on the table.

There were two other people coming in and Yuta happened to pass by. You threw him a "help" sign and Yuta bit his lips, "My client is here already... I'm sorry, try Jaehyun."

Yuta took his customer to the studio and Jaehyun appeared beside you.

Jaehyun glanced at the clock, then looked into the Russian man's blue eyes "I'm sorry sir, but today we're a bit tight. You can come back here tomorrow say around one? I'll take your order, do you want a new drawing or retouch?"

The man hit the table, "I believe this lady over here is free right now, I don't see any client waiting for her. That guy is clearly your job Jae, I saw his tattoos those were definitely yours."He smiled winningly.

You cursed in your heart, well today you happened to have no appointments, you're only making templates. You closed your eyes, inhaled, and looked at Jaehyun. You nodded your head to tell him you'll be okay and you'll take him. Jae could lost his eyes from the shock when you sighed and told the big man, "Alright, I am free for two hours. Before that let me remind you I cannot do strong and big inks."

The Russian man smirked like a cat who won a fish, you took him to the processing room and he explained you what he want. You went to your professional mode and focused clearly on making his dream comes true. You were bargaining with him to make the designs smaller and less bold, he finally gave in. You worked your drawing quickly and after he agreed, you prepared your tools.

To make it short, it was the longest two hours in your life. He was clearly stealing views of you concentrating, and he was throwing so many offensive and disturbing flirts. You almost lost your cool when he joked about how hot you would look like on bed. You promised you held yourself from not forcing the word "bastard" to his neck and you clearly knew Yuta and Jaehyun were both busy keeping eyes on you. You're focused on making a word out of Russian alphabet you didn't know.

"I am attached, so please stop. You're going over the line already." You exhaled when he tried to touch your lap. You quickly pushed his hand away and you rushed your work.

"I said stop! You're harassing me!" You tossed the pen to your metal tray, and you pushed your chair back. He was not totally harassing you physically, but he was mentally fucking you. You saw his tent and you decided you'll stop your work. Well you finished it right on time though.

"I can file a report and you can be trialed." You stood up from your stool, but he held you back faster.

"Let go off her," Yuta threw him a deadly gaze and swatted the man's hand.

"You won't, they wouldn't care. Look this tattoo's amazing. I'm leaving you 500! Take the change." He forced the bills in my hand and made his way out.

You stood there surprised and petrified. You're ashamed of yourself, but what would your boss say if he found out a client was not satisfied because the girl artist did not want to work on his body. You'll lose your favorite job, and no you don't want that to happen yet.

Yuta and Jaehyun comforted you and ensured that you were not assaulted physically or even harmed. You shook your head and a tear fell on your cheeks. "I am embarrassed of myself, I feel bad for Ten... and Fuck I blew up my relationship."

Yuta ensured nobody will know, or you hope so. The day continued and after some more picky madams with boring gossips, you went home with....well an extra $300. You actually hated the money, but 300 is a big number, you can either put it on donation or pay your rent. You decided to put it in the cashier box though, let your boss decide. Usually a 100 bucks is already a big tip, this is triple! But thinking back of his actions, you hate everything.

"You sure you're okay?" Johnny reaches for your hand and takes a good look on your body.

You giggle, "It's fine, he almost reached for my lap but I was faster! But his mind, I can't control that..."

Johnny nods, "Just avoid him okay, or tell your boss you cannot take him. Moving on, tell me about Ten!"

"About Ten, I just hope dating an idol can be more public." You swirl your wine that had been refilled.

Your mind one again brought you into a daze, you remembered two years ago when Ten knew you from his tattoo appointment. You were responsible for his temporary tattoo for a comeback. He knew you from Taeyong, fellow SuperM member who made the 'UNDER STAND' tattoo with your help. Ten likes the result and he asked Taeyong where he got it done.

To make it short, you frequently see one another from discussion, drawing, and planning. Ten and you learned about one another quickly while he was on his ink bed, and you're focused on drawing his perfect sketch on his arm. The meeting became frequent after three months where he needed another tattoo for a comeback.

After returning about ten times to have a retouch or a new design, Ten finally earned your number. From there, everything was so fast and you're suddenly on your third year of dating an international famous idol! You thought you were ready for everything, not going public, staying home most of the time for dates, wearing masks and keep being undercover, even having sleepless nights while waiting for his message when he's away on a world tour. You can go on with the list, but you decided to focus on the good things more.

You were okay with Ten being away from his phone most of the time. He always did his best to send you an update about him, be it one emoji, a selfie, or a whole long ass paragraph of how his day went. He couldn't call you that much because someone might eavesdrop.

So far, no one thought Ten is having a secret love relationship. There were small fights, but both of you can talk it out together with cool heads and bonded stronger after the fight. Ten could see you and him being a family in the future, he even boldly told you his parents can't wait to meet you.

You were okay with all of the relationship, you were okay with his fans, you supported him on concerts and voting, you basically love him too with all your heart. Only one thing actually made you sad.

"What is that one thing? Not posting it in social media?" your brother teases you.

You lean on the soft cushions; your finger carelessly fiddles with the tassels hanging around the blanket Johnny had wrapped around you. You toss your look to his curious face.

"I want to walk under the cold winter air beneath the romantic lights, hand in hand, warmth shared from I don't know his heat pack in his pocket maybe... Then imagine the Christmas Carols are softly whispering in the night, mistletoe is everywhere. It doesn't have to wait until Christmas... I just want it whenever we can." You plop a cheese into your mouth. Your eyes were glassy when they look into Johnny's

Johnny pulls you closer and you instinctively lean in and let him caresses your back.

"You're tipsy, can you still walk?"

You shot your eyes open, the hell did your brother just kicked you out? Hey it's night already! Shouldn't he let you sleep in??

"I am not going home! It's dangerous! What kind of brother are you? Telling your little sister to go home at this time." You hit him repeatedly.

Johnny rolls his eyes, you clearly had too much!

"WALK TO THE BED SIS, WALK TO MY ROOM AND SLEEP PROPERLY." Johnny stresses each of the word in case my ears did not caught them.

You look at him blankly and Johnny knew you're gone already. He swiftly picks you up and carries you to the bed. Nicely he tucks you in and he cleans up the mess in the living room.

He notices his phone vibrating; noticing it was Ten, he picks up the call.

"She's sleeping in tonight, you're on the dorm right?" Johnny asks.

Ten answers him his schedule for the week and how he's not going home. He also told Johnny what happened earlier this afternoon. Johnny smirks as he whispers a code to Ten.

__

Two weeks passed by, you already forgot your grudges to Ten. You try to be considerate to his hectic schedules. One cold afternoon, just after you finished working on your last client for today, you take your time cleaning the tools and sterilizing them. While humming to Love Talk, your favorite song, Jaehyun peeks from the curtain door.

"(Y/n), someone's looking for you." Jaehyun drags the curtain open. You pause your activity, for a moment; your eye brows quirked. You focus your mind to see if you missed an appointment, but no you're positive no one called you for a session this afternoon.

"Hmm, we still have time before closing time, so okay I'll take it."

You leave the room to see your client and you're surprised to see your boyfriend sitting on the waiting room.

"Ten!" You squeal out of surprise and joy. You run to hug him, well it has been three weeks since you last saw him in tangible state. Three weeks of video-calls and texts were quite satisfying, nevertheless.

Your boyfriend hugs you back and engulfs your smaller figure. He inhales the sweet scent of your shampoo he missed and how he wished the time can stop here right now.

"You're here for a new tat?" You ask after breaking the hug.

Ten shakes his head, "No, I got dismissed earlier and I want to pick you up!"

You blushed, hey that's so sweet of him. Unlike other boyfriends, having Ten walking in the sidewalk without his manager and body guards is a rare occurrence. Ten was always in the van or swarmed by fans! This afternoon however, here he is standing with a long winter coat, face hidden under a cap and a mask. He did not wear anything eye catching to avoid the media and saesangs. He did it! He made it here in your office without any missing piece or a trending twitter hashtag!

"Well we have another 20 minutes before my shift ends; do you need any help for a tattoo?" You smile at him. Hey planning a tattoo with Ten is always wonderful.

"You know we can always draw them together at home." He smirks and brushes my hair away from my face.

"Okay then, wait for a moment as we're tidying up." A big smile erupts from your lips and your heart is full of flowers!

--

"Good bye Jae, Yuta!" You wave your hand as the two men let you leave first while they close the doors.

Ten is already waiting for you on the front porch with his hidden face. You place your mask over your face too. You stick yourself next to Ten to hug his arm, his heart softens at the sight, how a soft girl like you can work as a tattoo artist with Yuta and Jaehyun (who both have enormous prints on their bodies).

Without any warning, Ten takes one of your hand into his, he holds yours tightly and slips them to his jacket pocket."It's a bit cold right? Now where should we go?"

Your eyes widen, usually he always brings you home directly since he cannot be in public for too long.

"Shall we just go home? I can cook dinner." You sound confused by his offer tonight.

Ten shakes his head, and drags you without any clue where are we headed.

You are so stunned when you find yourself finishing a nice dinner course at a new restaurant. Luckily it was not crowded yet and no one seems to notice Ten, but dinner was not the end of the surprise.

You stand frozen under the dazzling disco ball, beneath your feet are colorful light up tiles, surrounding you are the moving body of half-conscious people, and your ears are slowly aching from the loud music.

"Ten, can we go somewhere quiet, I can't talk." You lean in closer to scream into his ear and your boyfriend pulls you out of the crowded space.He brings you to the bar and helps you sit on one of the stool.

"One bourbon for me, and a vodka for this pretty lady." Ten smiles to the bartender.

After he takes his sit next to you, you raise your brow. He knows that code and he quickly reaches for your hands.

"You don't like dancing in the club? It's a Sunday Night, I thought some drinks won't hurt right?" Ten knows you're not new to these kinds of places.

You let out a free laugh, "I do love dancing in the club, I'm just surprised why you're suddenly doing this. Plus if you told me, I could have prepared for better attire!" You hit him playfully.

Ten takes your hand into his, "Well, you look great already, plus we must not catch attention right." He leans in closer to you.

Your eyes slowly move down over his nose and finally on his lips. Maybe it was the way they glistened under the dim light, or the tenderness you miss, or just simply his lip bites he always did when he's nervous! You feel gravity pulling you closer just to taste a tiny bit of it, but Ten moves back quickly when the bartender returns with two glasses of our drinks.

"Thank you!" Ten hands over the cash and offers you your glass. You found yourself stupid for almost kissing him in public. Rule number one of dating an idol is to never kiss on public.

"Sorry," You look everywhere but his eyes and gulp down your shot.

Ten just nods beside you and there was a bit of a tension between you and him. Maybe you're still embarrassed of your action, but Ten is actually enjoying your braver side.

"Let's hit the floor. I really miss dancing together." Ten easily picks you out of your stool and lands you gently on the floor. One shot of vodka won't make you drunk yet, but you spent your youth dancing on the dance floor, so this is nothing for you.

The DJ was wonderful tonight; his choices of songs are perfect and as the two of you are getting more and more heated up under the throbbing lights. The dance floor was crowded and there was not much space left. You share his body heat, you can feel his breath tickles your neck, and you can once again see his plump cherries. You drive your mind elsewhere, and move your body to the rhythm. You smile at him and he smiles back at you, with one deep glance the two of you inches closer and closer.

Your eyes grew heavy, vision dark, you let your other senses work, and you feel that warm plump lips touching yours. You caught your breath and after some time, he pulls back. The loud sound blasting through the speaker slowly disturbs your hearing again. You open your eyes slowly and stare into his deep eyes. He places his hands over your waist, pulls you into his arms, and the two of you sway to the loud slow music the DJ offers.

You're no longer thinking straight. You bury your face into his chest, you trust yourself into his lead and a single tear fell down.

When you hold me in the street

And you kiss me on the dance floor

I wish that we could be like that

Why can't we be like that, Cause I'm yours.

You know this is everything you need to face when dating an idol, and you cannot hate him for this. It was your decision to say yes to him. Your head spins, your ears deafened, your vision darkens, and you no longer feel your feet.

You lost your conscious; all of a sudden you're already lying down on your bed. Turning your head to the side, you see Ten sleeping by your side hugging you loosely while taking in calm and relaxed breath. You grit your teeth as you try your best to softly turn your body to face him.

In his warm embrace you snake your hand to ghost over his godly face to brush away the golden locks away from his eyes. You stare at his innocent face, you're overwhelmed. It's been a while since the last time you has Ten by your side when you sleep. He was always busy and thousands of miles away from you in a different time zone. You touch his cheeks and wipe a tear running down from your eye.

We keep behind closed doors

Every time I see you, I die a little more

Stolen moments that we steal as the curtain falls

It'll never be enough

Just the sound of his relaxed breathing and the slight touch of his arms over your waist, you finally found the missing warmth and peace you've always craved for bedtime. Having Ten lying next to you tonight sparked a small fire in your chest. You feel safe and you're so emotional. You snuggle closer to him, Ten stirs in his sleep but did not wake up, instead he naturally finds your body and fixes his posture to a comfortable position. You face his chest, right where you can see the tattoo you nicely did on his left chest (where he worked so hard to get his mom's permission) you smile when you remember how happy he was when he sneaked out to meet you to deliver the happy news.

Your heart flutters, he did not need to wake up to fit you into his embrace. Your relationship fits like a puzzle where each pieces were so different that you won't make mistakes. You want to believe that Ten is the one destined for you and so are you to him!

It's obvious you're meant for me

Every piece of you just fits so perfectly on me

Your mind plays thousands of silly scenarios. Most of them were happy, but you cannot lie that the darkest corner in your brain still repeatedly tricks you with nightmares. It was not the first time you have dreams about his fans finding out your relationship, you cannot imagine their faces and you cannot imagine living with the constant fear that one of those fans might kill you out of obsession!

Your insecurities also snatch your confidence away whenever you see Ten standing on a stage with another "oh so perfect" girl idols or models or hell actresses! Not to mention the flirty look those back up dancers always toss to your man. Well, they might be throwing flirts on him because they did not know Ten is attached already; however, even when they know 90% will fight harder and the rest 10% will let go. You're living in fear, in terror that one day when you wake up Ten can no longer be beside you.

You break your own promise about always telling one another your fears and struggles. You hide them behind your cheerful smile, you blame yourself for over thinking, and you make sure Ten will never know that. You are learning every day to put the negative thoughts away and focus on the good ones. Ten needs your support, Ten loves you, and you believe that. You can sleep a bit after convincing your heart that the man hugging you here is an angel made for you!

Every second, every thought, I'm in so deep

But I'll never show it on my face

Your eyes flung open when you feel the sudden drop of temperature. Your hand reaches to your side in panic and you peek to see that it's no longer occupied. You stretch yourself to wake up, Ten might be away already for his schedule. You take your phone to see any message he probably left, but there were none. You glance to the door, it was closed. There are no traces of Ten, not his shirt, not even his phone.

Once the room door was opened, your nose is filled with a fresh smell of bacon and eggs. Your smile returns when you see Ten only in his boxer and apron. You can hear your washing machine working and when you look at the door, you smile when you see a pile of your laundry and his outfits are there.

"Morning princess, I'm sorry I have to run the laundry for my clothes...since someone happened to spill a drink over me yesterday and I'm not going back to the dorm with a smelly outfit." Ten explains while flipping an egg over. He sets the fire to a lower heat and turns his body to see you.

You can only smile like a dumb love-struck girl (which is not wrong). You make your way to jump and hug him. Ten automatically receives you in his arms and you dip your head down to greet your lover with a sweet morning kiss. In between the sweet kiss, you can see Ten smiling like he enjoys these kinds of cheesy morning things.

"You better stop kissing me," Ten speaks up on our short breaks, he kisses you one more time, "Or I will burn the eggs."

You laugh and toss your head back, you take your queue to jump off him and Ten quickly saves his egg from burning. "Just right in time," He smirks when he plates the last egg on the dish.

"Please take your seat miss, breakfast by your hottest man is ready." He sits down across you with one plate of the same menu. From your request, Ten did not take off his apron. No you do not need a distraction this early!

Your mind records every single moment Ten giggles and laughs, his wake up state is already so lovely and you cannot imagine how perfect your mornings will be if the two of you finally tie the knot and live together. You can only keep that in your small heart, a really simple dream you wish you can achieve. Living with Ten for the rest of your life, why? Because you know he is the man made for you. But are you the woman made for him?

You finish your breakfast and as the washing machine finished its job in drying the clothes too, you hear his phone rings. Ten glances at the buzzing noise. You toss him a small smile before leaning in to kiss him and walking away to take the laundries. You pick up his shirt, Ten does his duty to wash the dishes and pan he used.

"Let me iron this quickly," You disappear to at least send him off to work in a nice attire.

Ten places the last dish on the drying rack and he starts to pack all of his stuffs, he brushes his hair and teeth, puts his cap back on and his eyes soften when he sees you coming back with a neat shirt.

He finally takes off his apron and with your help, put on his tidy sweet smelled shirt. Secretly Ten loves your laundry soap and that's one reason why he used your washing machine. He wants to smell like you!

"So, when can I see you again?" You ask as you fix his collar. You're facing him and only inches away from his nose.

Ten smiles and puts his hands over your waist, he leans in to stare deeper into your eyes, "Whenever you want miss! I'm only one call away," he winks.

Both of your face are slowly erasing the gap between you two and just as you close your eyes his phone abruptly kills the mood. You pull your face back and you can see Ten cussing at the caller.

"Damn Lucas! Such a mood breaker! I told him I am coming in 10 minutes," Ten presses the red button and pockets his phone. You burst out laughing, of course it must be Lucas!

"Well, guess you will want to go before Kun calls you! Thanks for yesterday and today and everything!" You hug him and bury your face on his chest. "I wish you can come often and do my dishes!" You taunt your tongue.

Ten ruffles your hair and kisses your forehead for the last time, "Okay, I need to go now. You also need to prepare yourself for work."

You nod and note the time, it's an hour to the store opening hours, you need to get ready.

"Bye love, take care! I love you." Ten walks to the exit after putting on his coat and shoes.

"Love you more!" You stand by his side facing by the exit door.

"Love you most," he winks and finally pulls his cap to cover his face and puts his mask on. He finally turns around and walks to the lift.

You return to your room, taking a bath and getting ready for another long week. You believe if you can get through this, your dream of living with Ten will be clearer and brighter.

Your day goes on and you cannot lie whenever you see him on social media, a website, a magazine, or a music show, even from the talks from your customers, you cannot throw the disturbing insecurities away from your mind.

Is our love hopeless?

Will the world accepts me as his significant other?

Will his family love me?

Will he even stay by my side, or will he found someone new who is better than me?

Those are the things you cannot spill to him that haunt you every time he is away.

You play with the promise ring Ten gave you on your two years anniversary. The dark minds foreshadowing your mind suddenly disappear just as you remember the same words Ten always recites, "You're the puzzle that fits into me, why would I let you go? Trust me and wait for me, I love you more than anything!"

With that, your smile erupts back into your face and the rainbow in your heart plus mind is back. You know you just have to trust Ten the same way he trusts you! Life will bring you two together if it is meant to be, and fate will also play a part.

Because Trust is everything you need for an everlasting love story right?

#ten x reader #ten x you #ten x y/n #ten imagines #ten oneshot #ten scenarios #wayv ten scenarios #wayv ten #wayv imagines #nct imagine masterlist #nct smut #wayv smut #ten smut #ten fluff #ten fanfiction #ten fanfic #ten nct #nct ten #superm #nct #wayv #imagine superm #nct imagine #wayv imagine #wayv oneshot #wayv scenarios #chittaphon x you

[the-deeds-to-shibden]

Tuesday 27 August 1839

[To Anne’s great interest and fascination, today she and Ann visit the iron mine of Dannemora, at the time one of the most important sources of iron for the production of steel, including Sheffield steel. Anne ties up her skirts, dons a cap and man’s frock coat, and down she goes in a barrel, while Ann sets up her sketching things and gets to work. In the evening Anne finds some fascinating local agricultural practices to learn about, and then our couple take a saunter in the summer twilight. Note how Anne says a miner at Dannemora could earn one rigsdollar a day, and later on we learn that this amount buys one bird for the table, or a pottery dish.

This is not the first time they have visited a mine on their travels. During their 1838 tour of Belgium they went down the St. Marguerite coalmine near Liège; go here to read the full transcription of this adventure.

It is not the last time, either! Stay tuned for more pit adventures!]

[up at] 7 3/4

[to bed at] 9 1/2

fine morning Fahrenheit 60 1/4 at 9 a.m. breakfast at 9 1/2 and at yesterday’s accounts till 11 20/” – then off to the mine at 11 1/2 – we walked there at 11 55/” in 25 minutes – sent Jean back for Ann’s sketch book etc. and my travelling cap (casquette, blue cloth from Jupp’s London 1835) I had no idea of this mine – a large oval opening perhaps about 200 yards in circumference with seven great large shed-covered 2 horse gins and their tackling on the north side (left as we stand) at c (close to the gin that let us down into the bottom) in the Damp- -machine (steam engine now disused) –  deep achtzig klafter (80 klafter) the mine goes in a Southwest (I think he said) direction 80 famms (1 famm = 3 ells) I had no idea of this mine – an enormous yawning gulph to look down into with a deep chasm or cleft entrance to the mine itself –  the red timbers supporting the sheds very picturesque on the north side which is walled at the top with a good ashler wall 4 or 5 yards high, down to the solid rock, to keep all safe at the top – the stone at the top not worth much – 3 sorts – the best yields 65 percent of iron – no foundries here – the ore is sent away in winter – 12 proprietors and count .   .   .  .  . who has one-third of the whole mine 

a the gins

b apparently remains of old gins

[within image, below c:] the gin which let me down

200 workmen in the mine

1st pit 100 klafter deep (Mellan faltet* Dannemora)

2nd ditto 120 klafter deep (Sudra faltet* Dannemora) does not communicate with the gulph sketched above, and is close to the square tower-like blacksmith’s shop (to the Southwest) and here are 7 pits close together and here is the best ore.                   

observed in the blacksmiths shop very convenient rack, for whimbles – would do very well for our rails –

                  standing one of the side walls – rack about 2 feet deep 4 or 5 feet high and the divisions about a foot wide?

the ore consists of esen, iron, quartz and zweifel (sulphur) ready to go down at 2 p.m. tied my pelisse skirt tight round my middle put on my travelling cap and one of mans frock coats, and did not feel it too warm –  8 minutes going down and the same coming up –  200 workmen in the mine and about 200 more employed 1 way or other 1 hundred thousand shipond of stone got per annum the Hull company has taken the whole mine and all that is got and pays every tenth part to the crown –  every workman paid per ton – when the stone is hardest 14 skillings rigs and when softest 3 1/2 skillings rigs per ton – a good man can get 4 tons and more a day – or (for the stone has to be got and landed) a man can earn a rigs dollar per day 10 pair of horses and 14 pair of oxen – one can say 40 pair = 80 horses for all the work – the pump is worked by a water mill 1/4 mile off –  on reaching the bottom turned along the mine or drift at d, 20 famms long –  wants only one famm of being completed, and then will open a communication from the great gulph to the stegge ladders that go down into the pit at that place these works not expensive – a mass of hardened snow and ice at the bottom – the better iron at the bottom, and 20 famm deeper at the South pits

– kleina, black stone, argillaceous, not eissen (iron) near the top – paid the man at 3 1/4 and then stood by Ann as she sketched –  just 1/2 hour in the bottom – the blasts are fired at noon – the big pieces are broken in the natural cleavages by making fires (charcoal) under them –  See what Von Buch says. – working at 4 or 5 different heights in the mine –  a tonneau (I went down in one) seems about as big as one of our 12 gallon tubs –

home in 25 minutes at 4 55/” – dinner at 5 10/” in 40 minutes fried fish (brochet) Moorcock, gelinotte (partridge) and sweet omlette and potatoes and cucumber – good – the moorcock looked like a plump rumples barn-door fowl and sent to table like one without head or feet (legs cut off at the knee) –  the outer flesh brown – the inner (on the breast bone) quite white – an auction outside our Inn door, – of carts, a gig, tubs, pottery etc. etc. saw a largeish common white round pot dish knocked down at one dollar rigs – 2 or 3 priests, and several respectable looking men and women and peasants were assembled – out at 6 – sauntered in the village (Ӧsterby) to Mr. Tamm’s forges – then about his sheds and barns and then into his garden – 5 gardeners (garçons) and 4 filles – hot houses – pineries – grapes under cucumber frames – fruit from July to October – planted in a good light soil 

1 vines

2 a pit

three Swedish ells deep and 2 or 3 ditto wide filled with horse dung – fresh dung every year – when fruiting over, the glasses taken off, and then as soon as the leaves have fallen rafters are laid over, and on these rafters an ell deep of litter for the winter say from 1 November to 1 April when the glasses are put on again and the vines grow vigorously –  vines here of 30 years old – several sorts of grapes – all looking well – gave the man 8 skillings banco – had just written so far at 7 20/” – get at Stockholm the gardening book of the Directeur Landström – vide for this manner of cultivating the vine – the vines are trained on espaliers – then left John at the Inn and Ann and I sauntered about till came in at 8  – very fine day – then looking at maps 1/2 hour –  

Rank in Sweden           }      See at Stockholm the collection

Fjords and forests           }      of farming utensils

Horses and hedges          }

Roads and snow ploughs }

 Anne’s marginal notes:

depth.

§

‘moorcock’ a pheasant the woman of the house said worth a rigsdollar

Mr. Tamms grapes under cucumber frames

the last 3/4 Swedish miles of last stage but one and almost all the last stage forest –

Notes:

* (Swedish) mellan faltet = middle field; södra fältet  = southern field

WYAS pages:  SH:7/ML/TR/13/0012     SH:7/ML/TR/13/0013  

Dannemora in 1800:

 Dannemora mine, watercolour by Elias Martin:

Going down Dannemora mine in a barrel (a 1830 gouache by Johan Fredrik Julin):

#anne lister #ann walker #travelnotes1839 #sweden1839 #anne lister code breaker #gentleman jack #annelister #annwalker

[prolestariwrites]

Time To Go [9] Epilogue: How To Lose A Fortune In 10 Days

Fandom: Devil May Cry Rating: M   Characters: Nero, Dante, Vergil, Kyrie, Nico, Trish, Morrison   Tags: Mystery, Humor, Missing Person, First Time, Family Drama, Family Bonding, Post-Canon Chapter: 9/9 Chapter [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Summary: When Kyrie goes missing, Nero goes on a desperate search to find her. Unfortunately, Dante and Vergil go too. Sparda boys shenanigans, fighting demons, a smattering of family drama, and male bonding (otherwise known as Nero’s worst nightmare). Please check it out below, or you can read on FFNet or AO3.

It’s the last chapter!!! I’m so excited to have this story wrap up, but it being my first DMC fic it’s also a bit bittersweet too. I want to give a huge thanks to @copper-wasp for being such an awesome beta, and to @solynacea for being an amazing friend and cheerleader.

I have some new fics in the works and will be publishing new stuff in the next couple of weeks! Meanwhile please leave me a comment or emoji to let me know how you liked the story. I’m also planning a sequel so if you liked the fic and want more, let me know! Please enjoy and thank you to everyone for reading!

━━━━━━━✧━━━━━━━

Nero lounges on the couch, feet up on the ottoman, Kyrie curled up next to him. Her head rests on his shoulder, his hand rubbing her thigh as they watch a movie. It has been a few weeks since he had found her again, and he savors moments like this now, when the kids are in bed and the house is quiet and it can be just them together. Most guys his age are probably at a bar or club, but Nero must admit he likes this domesticity. Even though it was barely a full twenty-four hours, her disappearance had affected him, and only reinforced his determination to protect their family.

He turns and presses a kiss to the top of her head. Kyrie smiles up at him and wraps her arms around his, snuggling closer. "You look thoughtful," she murmurs.

"Just thinking of you," he replies.

Kyrie rests her head back on him, and Nero moves his arm around her waist, holding her tightly. Protect their family. The words had taken on a new meaning since his search. Particularly where Dante and Vergil stand; Nero has found his patience with them both is lasting a bit longer, his willingness to overlook their more ridiculous traits a bit easier. He had even started calling Vergil every few days to check on him or just say hello, even though the conversations are stilted and at times, uncomfortable. Dante is easier, but he always had been, their work allowing them a more natural way to bond and his natural goofiness not allowing any room for awkwardness.

He goes back to watching the movie, thinking about whether or not he should get Vergil a cell phone—a piece of technology the man is strangely against but would make all their lives a hell of a lot easier if he would just give in—when his own rings. Kyrie eases back as he fishes it out of his pocket, sighing when he sees Dante's number on the screen. "Yeah?" he chuckles as he swipes to answer.

"Hey kid, you home?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Cool."

The line goes dead and he frowns. Kyrie is sitting up, having paused the movie, and Nero looks over as she asks, "What was that?"

"Who knows."

Their front door bursts open, making them both jump. Dante and Vergil stroll inside, and it isn't so much the intrusion that has Nero gaping as what they are wearing. Vergi is in what is best described as a tuxedo; but it is purple, possibly velvet, with a tight doublet and a puffed collar, the monocle he wears and cane he carries completing the look of some medieval count. He flicks the tails of his coat behind him as he sits in their recliner, grinning.

Dante has taken the opposite track. His suit is bright orange, the shirt underneath unbuttoned to nearly his navel, several gold chains hanging on his chest. He taps his cowboy hat as he walks through the room, and when he does a turn Nero is startled to see he is wearing snakeskin boots that jingle with each step.

"What the actual fuck?" says Nero.

"Nero," Kyrie chastises with a laugh, her hand pressing to his arm as he continues to stare. Dante places a briefcase on the coffee table, and Nero shakes his head to see his fingers have several large, clearly fake gold rings.

"Wait until we tell you what happened," Dante says.

He and Kyrie exchange a glance. "Oh, I can't wait," he sighs.

Dante holds up his palms. "Get this. We were thinking, right, about what those dinguses said who took Kyrie. How mom's family had money. So we went to look, me and Vergil." He gestures between them. "We found the old house, and let me tell you, it looks like hell. But it's still there. I thought for sure there'd be some kind of, I don't know, strip mall or something there by now. But the land is untouched."

Nero looks between them. "Which means what?"

"Which means it still belongs to the Sparda family," Vergil says. "Not the bank. Which means Father and Mother had already paid it off."

"So we went to city hall in the nearest town," continues Dante. "Found the deed and everything. Sure enough, Eva Sparda, right there."

He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket, handing it to Nero. Kyrie peers over his shoulder as he reads, and just as Dante had described, it is a deed for two hundred and fifty acres of land, paid in full. "Wow," he says. "This must be worth a lot by now."

"Yeah! So Vergil and I went to the bank. We figured we could take out a loan, and use the place as collateral."

Nero frowns up at Dante. "You really think that's a good idea? Getting in more debt?"

"We didn't have to," Vergil says.

"What do you mean?"

Dante gestures excitedly as Vergil explains, "Once we gave our names, the banker recognized us. Said we had a safety deposit box there, that could only be opened when we came together."

"It's been there since we were born!" Dante exclaims. "It was opened when we were only a month old."

"So what was in it?" Nero asks, his own excitement starting to spark.

"Tons of stuff," Dante says. "Papers from the house, our birth certificates. Who knew I even had one?"

Nero chuckles. "You're official."

Dante nods. "I existed this whole time and never even knew."

"You've left out the best part," Vergil scolds him. "The deposit box also had the fortune those dinguses were after."

Both Nero and Kyrie give a gasp at the same time. "What do you mean, fortune?" Nero asks tightly.

"Stocks. Bonds. Stakes in all sorts of businesses." Dante grins and puts his hands on his hips. "Worth at least a million dollars."

The blood drains from Nero's face as he takes it all in. Their family, millionaires? This could be a game changer. They could move, get a bigger house, get out of the city like he's been dying to for years. They could afford to formally adopt. Samuel will be going to college in a few years—hell, Kyrie has been talking about taking classes too, and it can happen. A home, school, their futures secure.

His eyes slide to the briefcase on the table. "So what do we do?"

"Well," Dante says, rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't as easy as we thought. We called Morrison, and he hooked us up with his lawyer guy. We cashed in the money and paid off the debt we owed."

"You owed," Vergil interjects.

"Well devil hunting isn't easy. And I didn't exactly have a steady stream of income spending three months in hell, you know," Dante argues.

Nero shakes his head. "Wait. So there's nothing left?"

"Well I wouldn't say that," answers Dante. "I paid off the building, so I own it outright now. Then I paid the utilities, and the insurance I owed, and what I owed Lady, and what I had borrowed from Morrison, and paid all the back taxes."

"And I paid off my apartment, and the fines for um… some of my run-ins with the locals," Vergil adds.

"We also used some for these cool business outfits," Dante says. "What do you think?"

Nero blinks, but Kyrie answers, "You both look wonderful."

"We took your advice too, Nero," Vergil says quietly.

He frowns at his father. "My advice? What advice?"

"We hired a private investigator. Paid up front," replies Vergil. "We want to find out what happened to Sparda, once and for all. He is going to find us all the information he can, and then we're going to figure out where he is, and if he is alive."

"You'll come too, right?" Dante asks.

Nero hesitates for a moment before huffing out a laugh. "Sorry, I'm still processing all this." He glances at Kyrie, who is smiling broadly at him.

"It's amazing," she says sincerely.

"Yeah. Find Sparda, huh?" Nero chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'd be down for that. Sparda Family road trip, part two."

Dante cheers as Vergil chuckles, and Nero holds the deed out to return it. But Dante waves him off. "No, you keep it."

"What?"

"Vergil and I talked about it. You deserve something too, and neither one of us can take care of the place. You can sell it, or rebuild, or do whatever you want." Dante shrugs. "The property belongs to you now."

Nero looks between them in shock as Kyrie grips his arm. "Really? You're giving this to me?"

"Of course," Vergil says. "You're Eva's grandson. You should inherit her house."

"I don't know what to say." The money is gone, just like that; but that's okay, isn't it? In the end, they all got what they needed, and Nero smiles. "I'm happy for you guys," he says slowly. "I really am. And this… thank you." He looks over the deed one more time, his chest tightening a bit.

Kyrie kisses his cheek, pulling him out of his thoughts. "So what's with the briefcase?" he asks.

Dante grins and sits on the floor, laying it down to fiddle with the clasp. "Last of the money in here."

"Oh yeah?" Nero slides forward, wondering how much. Maybe a few thousand?

Instead, there are four Big Macs and a twenty-piece McNugget inside. "Celebratory dinner on us," Dante says happily.

He hands Vergil a sandwich before tossing one to Nero, which he looks down at in a mixture of amusement and confusion. "You guys really know how to live well," he laughs.

Dante pretends to "clink" his Big Mac with Kyrie's, and they dig into the meal when Nico appears at the door. "You guys still on your date?" she calls obnoxiously before gawking at them. "Hey! You got McDonald's and didn't tell me?" She plops down next to Dante, leaning over him to scoop up some nuggets. "Halloween was a week ago, you know," Nico jokes, eyeing his outfit.

"Hey, I make this look good," he says.

Nero laughs, listening to them argue and then team up together when Vergil jumps in. Kyrie leans against him and he puts his arm around her, giving her cheek a kiss. His eyes fall on the deed to the Sparda land as he smiles to himself. Protect their family. Yeah, absolutely.

#dmc #devil may cry #dmc dante #dmc nero #dmc vergil #nerokiri #dmc kyrie #dmc nico #dante sparda #vergil sparda #fan fiction #time to go #myfic #it's all done! #please help me celebrate :)

[studyblrrsworld]

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6. Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is like a personal assistant who can earn money by working online for someone without being physically present.

He can do variety of tasks like taking care of websites, counseling, writing & proofreading, publishing content, marketing, coding, website & app development, research, etc.

There are dozens of companies like HireMyMom, MyTasker, Zirtual, uAssistMe, 123Employee where you can signup for virtual assistant work.

7. Writing Job

Writing is another better way to earn money on the internet through writing different types of content.

You can write for blogs, companies, institutions, individual people, etc. Different types of writers get paid differently.

Normally people get paid $5 to $20+ for writing 500 words content.

You can go to the sites like UpWork, iWriter, WriterBay, FreelanceWriting, TextBroker, ExpressWriters.com, FreelanceWritingGigs.com to find the content writing jobs.

8. Micro-working

There are more ways that can help you to make extra income by working part-time. You can easily make $200-$300 per month by doing simple tasks on different sites.

Here you can work on a variety of different tasks like identifying an object, rating & commenting on different sites, visiting some websites, finding contact details, doing small research, writing small articles, etc.

There are many websites like mTurk, MicroWorker, SEOClerk, ClickWorker, GigWalk where you can work as a micro worker & earn extra income. After signup, we will show you how to work as Micro-worker and make money.

9. Become a YouTuber

YouTube is one of the hottest trends in earning money online. You can start your YouTube channel, upload some quality videos and then become a YouTube partner to make money online on YouTube.

You can create a different kind of videos like prank videos, comedy videos, kitchen recipes, how-to-do videos, travel tips, or anything you think, is useful for people.

Once you get the videos views and subscribers for your channel then you can apply for YouTube partner program.

Once you get the approval, people will see the ads along with ads in your videos. You will make money for each views your video receive.

You can shoot videos from your smartphone or any DSLR camera.

10. Become an online seller

Online selling is not like traditional selling. You don’t have much scope of selling your items outside your local market but in online selling, you can sell your product all over the country.

There are 2 ways to sell anything online.

Either, you can create your own website and sell your products from your website OR become a seller on any famous shopping portal like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, Snapdeal etc.

Second, an option is much better you will get existing customers of these popular portals.

Now you must be thinking that what can I sell when I don’t have any product?

I have seen many Amazon and Flipkart sellers who don’t have any product but still they are selling the number of products on these sites.

What you can do is, roam around your city & check for the best products you can sell on these sites. You can find the wholesalers and distributors who can sell you these products at highly discounted rates.

You can list these products on Amazon, eBay, etc. and make money by selling at a higher price.

You need to try the best products that you can sell at lower than market price. Trust me, it is easier than you thought. The only thing you need to do is take action.

11. Domain Trader

Domain trading is another high-profit business you can do online. But here you need some investment in buying the domain.’

You must be an expert OR you should get detailed knowledge before you start this business.

You can buy domains from GoDaddy or other domain registrars for less than $10 & sell in the future to the needy person for hundreds of dollars. Your skill here is to identify great domains that are not booked yet & companies in the future can try to buy that domain.

When companies don’t find the domain of their choice, they contact the domain owner for the deal & it’s in your control to fix the price. You can even put your domains on auction so that people can buy directly at your desired price.

12. Website flipping

Like domain trading, website flipping is also a hot business to earn money online. Here you don’t deal with domains but websites.

You have to create a website, work on it for 3-6 months or more so that you can start making money from the websites.

After earning for 2-3 months, you can put that site on auction on Flippa, EmpireFlippers, etc. You can easily get 15-20 times the price of your monthly earning from that website.

It’s much easier to grow old sites than creating a new site and the growth of this new site.

Many experienced people buy websites from Flippa, work for 3-4 months on these sites and make double or triple income.

13. Provide training & consultancy

There is a big scope of earning money online if you have some good skills that people need. Like you can provide training on spoken English, computer courses, any technical course, Feng shui, medical treatment, and any other things.

You can promote your business through a website or a Facebook business page.

You need to promote your website or Facebook page in order to get the potential leads.

You can get many customers through good follow-ups.

14. Stock & Forex Trading

Stock trading & forex trading is a very lucrative way to make money for those who has a good idea of the market.

There are number of free or paid courses available on the internet that can train you for online trading.

You can even read newspaper like Economic times or watch TV channels like CNBC to become more experts in the field. It's risky to enter into this market without sufficient knowledge.

15. Earn money from your smartphone

There are various smartphone apps that can pay you some extra income by completing some simple tasks on your Smartphone.

There are at least 20 money-making apps that if you install in your smartphone, can give an extra income of $200-$300.

You have to take simple surveys, complete offers by signup on other websites, play games, watch videos etc.

You don’t need to take any extra time to earn from this as you can make money on the go.

16. Sell photos online

This is another use of your smartphone. You can take high-quality images of nature, places, people, things, dishes, homes, etc. & sell them online.

There are number of big sites like Shutterstock, Fotolia,, iStockPhoto, Photobucket where you can submit your photos. Whenever some customer wants to purchase your photos, you will get paid as per the price you fix.

17. Sell old stuff on OLX or Quikr

I am sure there may be a number of things in your home that are lying unused for months & if you take little effort, you can earn some good money.

You just need to do 2 things, i.e. find out all the items that you are no longer using, take high-quality photos of these items from different angles & list these items on OLX & Quikr for sale.

Not only this, you can also ask your friends & relatives for selling their old stuff. You can help them selling these items & make some commission.

So these 18 ways can provide a perfect answer for your query ‘how to earn money online” & yes, you can shoot an email to us in case of assistance.

#earn money #earn money on youtube #earn money online #earn money online free #ways to earn money #how to earn bitcoin #how to earn money #how to earn from home #how to earn online

[smarterincomesystem]

10 Legit Ways To Make Money And Passive Income Online – How To Make Money Online

Did you know that you can actually make money online? Yes, that’s right, and all you need is Computer or phone with Internet access. So in this video, I’m going to show you 10 sites where you can actually get started Some side cash or if you are really serious, some good money! This is not amazing! On some of these sites you can actually make up to $ 100 a day or so More, the best part is, you don’t do that. You have to quit your job 9-5, you can do it Money, work at your spare time.

On the Internet, there are two distinct ways to make money. The first method is active income. With active income, such as normal 9-5 jobs. You only pay for the work you do. If you don’t work, you don’t make money, as simple as that. The second way is through passive income. This is his preferred method because, with active income, all you have to do is put it to work once, Theoretical money must continue to roll in, without having to do anything more Other than that, maybe reinforcing what you have done, or in some cases what others have done. Let’s go to the video. 1. upworks.com Upworks is a freelance website. With upworks you are making income. Companies and individuals publish services on upworks They want to outsource articles like writing articles, editing videos, developing an app, For coding, there are tons of jobs and outsourcing services in upworks … The beauty of all this is her low entry barrier, you just have to be good at something. If there is something you are good at maybe graphic design or coding or about Any skill, head over to the upworks and start making some money.

Here’s a tip if you’re considering working on upworks, you have a solid profile that looks like Hassan. This will greatly increase the likelihood of ever receiving job offers, from prospective Client. Showcase your best or showcase a specific experience that can and will help you stand out. 2. YouTube. Not many people know this, but you can Actually earn money with YouTube. If you’re thinking of logging into YouTube to earn money, make sure you understand The thing clearly. Thanks to the new rules, if you plan to start an entirely new channel from the start, You must first reach the YouTube Minimum Monetization Minimum. That is, you will need 4000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers in the last 12 months. Once you get there, you can make money, how much can you make on YouTube? Be honest as much as you want! As long as you continue to download good content that people are willing to watch your golden, and The longest video for the more money you can expect to make …

You can make anywhere from $ 1 to Thousands even hundreds of thousands of dollars. The more views you get, the more money you can expect to do, and the more you get Participants! Using YouTube, you earn what income earns, make some videos and they must Keep making money constantly You can also make money with YouTube paid care, but with paid care You will need a large audience, usually a minimum of 10K subs to do this. You can also earn money through affiliate companies, but we’ll get to that later … 3. Amazon. Although Jeff Pazos, the company started Bookstore, Amazon now sells almost anything you can think of. It’s not just a site to buy your favorite toys though, you can actually make money with Amazon. Here are three ways for you how … The first way is Amazon Mturk – Mtruk is kind of like upworks, it’s a place Companies use very difficult external business for a computer program to do. Like the sound Editing, transcription, translation of audio and video from various languages, and testing Web pages, write reviews, and a host of other services.

You can make up to $ 20 or $ 30 an hour, by working on some different tasks. This is probably legitimate from making money, and they pay. This is an active income though. The second way is to publish the Amazon Kindle. Convert your ideas into an e-book and earn money Today. Every time you buy an e-book from Amazon, Amazon and the publisher earn money, and you can very. The thing with publishing the Kindle is … You first need a book to sell it. You can either write this book yourself or you can hire someone to write it for you. You don’t have to be a founding author, or find a publishing company to do this. You can do this from the comfort of your own home and start earning some downside Revenues.

It looks so cool? And the best part is, it’s completely free, so sign up and get started Earn some money. Amazon takes care of money handling … and you can sit back and relax on the sofa, While some good old income … If you are really interested in publishing the “Kindle” book, I highly recommend further research This subject. You can find free videos and tutorials here on YouTube that will teach you the basics. If you want expert advice, you may have to pay for the first time for the course. I will link a good one to the description, if you are interested. Some people produce more than $ 100,000 for publishing the Kindle e-books on Amazon. It is definitely a market to consider. The third way is the Amazon Partner Program. This is a very popular and easy way to earn passive income. All you have to do is register for Amazon Partners The program is free, so you can choose from Thousands of things amazon sell on their website and start promoting. Amazon will give you a special link, and all the time someone buys through your link, amazon It will give you a commission anywhere from 5-10% of the sale.

Amazon will pay you 60 days after purchase and you can choose to pay through Amazon gift cards, bank transfer to the bank account – despite this only currently Available in the USA but if you live abroad America you can pay by check or you It can be transfer money to your amazon account and start buying stuff with it. 4. clickbank. Clickbank is a marketplace for product creators Affiliates will make money online buying selling their courses or services to the world. Clickbank only sells digital products, but the beauty about Clickbank is that the commission Pay much higher than that of amazon. Some affiliates pay you up to 75%, to sell their services, while others pay As low as 5%, so keep this in mind.

But nevertheless, you can really make some really good money on clickbank, hundreds or even Thousands of dollars. Simply head over to Clickbank, choose something to sell and start making money. 5. flippa.com flippa is the number one marketplace to buy And sell companies online. It attracts a huge audience, and it offers great tools for increasing visibility An auction site is very similar to eBay those buying and selling digital assets, such as Such as websites, apps, domains, store stores, and Amazon FBA accounts. If you are good at creating apps or even websites … you can actually sell them online and make some Capital. Or better yet, if you have some money lying around and you’re interested in buying either Websites, applications or e-commerce stores … make money already, you can do it with flippa. What happens is that you place a bid very similar to eBay and if your bid is higher then Congratulations on purchasing your own online business. You can also make money by selling online business.

So this is flippa for you. 6. Stock shutter. Basically a stock shutter is a platform where You can buy or sell digital media. Like photos, music, and videos. Created mainly by freelancers and external actors, even if you might be particularly good at photography Take great photos and videos. Or really good at making sick beats, you can even monetize your talent on shutter arrows. The way you make money with stocks shutter every time you buy some pictures is one of your photos, You get a commission, usually a couple of cents to a few dollars, if you’re lucky. The trick in making a lot of money with stock shutter is to keep loading high High quality pictures. 7. Rover. Do you like pets? The dog in particular? If so, then Land Rover is best to check. Rover is dog seat service, but this is currently only available in the United States and Canada. So if you live in either of these two countries then you can register as a dog sitter, and Get paid for babysitting dogs. You can make between $ 80 – $ 100 a night, just by watching someone’s dog! You can literally make hundreds of dollars a week just by babysitting someone.

Now how about that for a deal? 8. Takelessons.com Taking Lessons is a website where you can teach Any skill. Everyone has a skill, he can teach it, be it, teach someone Language, how to cook, how to play instrument music, how to solve complex math equations … Any more than that. Anything you think someone else might not know, you can teach people on takelessons, And start making money. 9. Fiver. You probably heard of the mentioned fivver Often times, it’s simple and an easy site to start making money. But if not, it is basically an independent site where you can literally outsource Anything and I mean anything … as long as it is legal, for less than $ 5 There are many different ways to make money on fiverr, just to name a few. You can do animation, logo design, packaging design, web and mobile design, social media Design, Photoshop editing, Geometry and flooring planning, 3D models, Product design, T-shirt Promotion, SEO and much more. If there is anything to be outsourced, you can probably find it on fiver. Head over and check the fiverr guys, it’s a legit out of making money.

10. Drop shipping. With drop shipping, what you’re essentially He is selling someone else’s stuff for a small or big profit without having to deal with shipping. So you basically act like a mediator or an average guy. You can do this by opening the shopify store and then connecting it with oberlo. Oberlo is basically an app that integrates with shopify, and that is what a lot of people do Use a source of the things they want to sell in their store. The basic principle of drop shipping is, you are setting up a store or any channel where people are Things can be bought from you. Then once you buy something from you, you are paying the manufacturer, usually much less Then what you got, and then you have the manufacturer ship to the customer. All without seeing or touching the product. The best part of drop shipping is that you set your price for the product you want To sell, then take profits and pay the manufacturer the rest. So yes this drop shipping in short. If you are interested in drop shipping, there are tons of tutorial here on YouTube, that You will be shown a step-by-step guide to creating your store, finding products, ads, Find influencers, finally shipping and get paid.

It’s a bit complicated to start, especially at first, but you can make tons of Money … with drop shipping. With that, thank you for watching guys, please subscribe, and enable the notification I will see you in the next one.

Read More: Nichexploit – World’s only YouTube customised one click solution to discovering profitable niches!

from Smart Income System https://smarterincomesystem.com/10-legit-ways-to-make-money-and-passive-income-online-how-to-make-money-online/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-legit-ways-to-make-money-and-passive-income-online-how-to-make-money-online

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[withoutshade]

How I’ve managed to succeed.

Forward:

Yesterday, @KC Allen asked about how people stick with their long term goals and hold themselves accountable. @Brad Bishop requested that I write a book on the subject, but I think that may be a bit of overkill. I have wanted to put down the most important skills I have learned for achieving goals. So, I might as well spend an hour or two doing it. I apologize for the length of this post / note / possible future book outline, but I will try to be as concise as I can in the few hours I have allocated to drafting, fact-checking, writing, and editing. Without further ado, here is “How to succeed: the April Choi Method.”

Overview:

Overall, these are the steps I use:

Setting a Goal

Breaking down the Goal into Steps

Planning out those Steps

Testing the Realism of that Goal

Re-planning and Documentation

The Incentive, Motivation, and Self-Discipline Trinity

Building Incentives

Seeding Motivation

Cultivating Self-Discipline

External and Internal Accountability

Methods and Tools for Maintaining Focus

Time Management & Efficiency

Resources: Time, Money, Energy

Tips, Tricks, and Tools

Goal Setting: Since the main focus of KC’s post was accountability, I’m only going to touch on proper goal setting.

Finding and setting a goal is usually the easy part for people, but it’s holding on to that level of initial excitement that’s the difficult part. Before we get to that, I do want to mention that testing the realism of your goal is an important step and you don’t want to skip it. A few days of testing or research could save you years of your life and disappointment. For me, I still have the dream of breaking the world record for “Most juggling catches of 3 whips in 1 minute”. However, after testing my learning I realized that this would not be possible in the time frame and given the effort I had outlined. I have in the past spent hundreds of hours striving for a goal, only to realize that the end was not possible due to something out of my control. The weather, your location, or income could be something you’re not considering. Please do. Breaking down the goal is a good way to check if that goal is possible, but also to see what some unexpected challenges may be. “The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything, Fast!” by Josh Kaufman and “Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg are marvelous resources for how you can break things down into baby steps. The key here is to truly visualize yourself going through each and every single step. Something as simple as “Needs a notary” or “Needs a work visa” could be the difference between succeeding or not. I have forgotten very simple things before that has then trapped me or negated all my previous work.

Documentation: Lists are amazingly powerful tools. I have them everywhere. I have a list tattooed to my arm. I use them all the time. Now, some people aren’t list people, and we’ll get to them in a bit. The main point of a list is to organize the steps from above so you don’t have to waste time thinking about it later. It’s also nice to cross things off. In “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen, his entire system is based on the idea of a “Tickler File”. It’s a way of setting up a system of which when something is needed to be done, it tickles his brain when it needs to. Allen uses a file system, some people use a 30,000 ft view like in “Elevate: The Three Disciplines of Advanced Strategic Thinking” by Rich Horwath, and some people use a calendar. Personally, I use the bucket method, which is putting tasks into bucket lists. My buckets are: Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, Seasonal, Yearly, and Future. I have a list with everything I plan to do placed onto one of those lists. As time moves on, things move from one list to another. Use what you need, but planning and documenting REALLY helps. For the people who aren’t list people, I love to them the parking lot or brain dump. Given a certain amount of time (weekly for me), I use a brain dump. It’s where I sit down for 5-10 min and write out everything that comes into my head. Some people use a parking lot, where they “park” an idea from the week. I like doing it all at once. From this, you pick the top 3 things you want to work on in that time frame. Keller, of “The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results” by Gary Keller likes to connect all his activities to a single objective and that way he has less distractions. Everything as one common goal. That way you aren’t overwhelmed with a massive list, but rather you can pick and choose what to worry about for any given week. Obviously, there are home, family, work, and social obligations, but this is assuming that you are doing those things, you just have 1 point of focus outside the necessary things to hold your baseline.

Visualization: Now to the real meat of what people want. You’re already on a journey, but how do you stick to it? The first ‘trick’ I like to use is visualization. You should have a goal in mind but you also need to truly FEEL what it’s like to have that goal done. Both “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” by Simon Sinek and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” by Stephen R. Covey start with visualizing your goal in full. If you don’t have a goal, then imagining what you want people to say at your 100th birthday party is a good generic guide. That visual of your goal should inspire you a great amount, and being able to come back to that is a powerful tool.

THE INCENTIVE-MOTIVATION-DISCIPLINE TRINITY: Anecdotally, the question that gets asked the most about sticking with something is “How do I stay motivated?”. You’ve probably seen the “F**K Motivation” post and thought, for a moment, that it’s all about self-discipline. Your job may think something else and argue that money and power is how you get people to do things. Well, as with most things in life, it's more about balance than the black and white, binary view the world keeps feeding us. I’ve always loved the idea of the exposure trinity from photography. It’s not just Aperture, Shutter Speed, or ISO, but a balance of all three. If you lose some of one, you need more of the others. Let’s go through each one of these, what they are, and how they can help you.

Incentive: Incentive is the most obvious of extrinsic motivators. It’s getting more money, a nicer car, food on your plate, clothing, or the ability to live. We’ve all heard the phrase “Money can’t buy you happiness.” and the arguments that come with. What it comes down to is your placement on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. If you are starving and don’t have the money to buy food, money can definitely buy happiness. If you own a multi-billion dollar company, even giving away a billion to a charity is probably not going to give you lasting happiness. It’s relative. In “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want” by Sonja Lyubomirsky, Lyubomirsky shows in an experiment where they paid people the US equivalent of $1 per task up to $1000 per task that people very quickly stop putting in effort after a certain payment. At $1 per task, they have to do the task 5-10 times for a meal. But give them $1000, why would they want to put in more effort once they have enough money to eat for a year. This experiment was carried out in a very low-income country, and despite the promise of getting a years worth of money in a single day, the people there actually started to slow down their production rates. This is the downside of incentives or external motivation. They work up to a point. It’s stated in “Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine” by Derren Brown that around $75,000 / year, there is no further correlation between happiness and additional income. As I am currently rather well off, I no longer need Incentive. For many of you, this may be a great extrinsic motivator. I have used the money from commissions, shows, and workshops as incentive in the past, but it’s hasn’t pushed me much compared to the other two. My extrinsic motivators are now things I enjoy doing. If I get this article written by the end of the day, I get candy or a trip to the climbing gym. Make sure whatever you use for incentive is worthwhile to you.

Motivation: The big “M” word that is thrown around a lot. I know that many of you are going to want to know what are the secrets of staying motivated. Sadly, there are not any. Motivation comes and goes. Is strong or is weak. Some days you have it, and some days you don’t. Rather than concentrating on getting more motivation, I like to think about what triggers or sparks your motivation. For me it is music, or people. So if I want motivation to study Spanish, I listen to Spanish music. If I want motivation to practice burlesque, I talk to burlesque dancers. Doing those things doesn’t create motivation. My intrinsic motivation is already there, these things just help it out. Even in the great motivational books that I would recommend such as “The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation” by Michael Matthews, “The Motivation Manifesto: 9 Declarations to Claim Your Personal Power” by Brendon Burchard, and “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero, though they throw around the word “motivation” a lot, what it came down to was techniques that sparked motivation or habits than maintained it. I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but understand how it works and how to use it to boost yourself. Don’t rely on motivation, but think about it like how caffeine should help your day, rather than you be dependent on it.

Self-Discipline: Holy Cheese balls this is a big section. Let me just get the references out of the way. Please, do yourself a favor and read or listen to these: “The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It” by Kelly McGonigal, “The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage” by Mel Robbins, “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength” by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth, and “Scientific Secrets for Self-Control” by C. Nathan DeWall and The Great Courses.

Let me be frank with you, the only way to build Self-Discipline is to do it. It’ll suck that first day, but as you do it, it gets easier. Start off with something simple, something easy to stay focused on and try for as long as you can. If getting started is difficult for you, then use the 5-second rule. You are allowed 5 seconds, then you have to start. Count, 1, 2, 3, 4, and before you get to 5, you have to have started. That works wonders for me. Even when I’m sad. I give myself a timer. I’m allowed to cry for 10 minutes, but when that timer goes off, I’m done crying and I get back to work. If you want a drill to build self-discipline, there is nothing in this world that will give you the outcome that meditation will. I’ve written on Meditation a number of times, so I’m just going to put my favorite version of what I’ve written: Meditation as Strength Training for Self-Discipline:

I have found myself explaining how to get into meditation, or responding to a lot of “I can’t meditate.” comments. I have found an analogy that I think helps quite it bit. I like to think that Meditation is just strengthening focus just like weight lifting strengthens your muscles.

So for lifting you have reps, weight and muscle groups.

For meditation, a single rep is:

*Focus on something*

*Have a distracted thought*

*Guide yourself back to the something*

That’s it. That’s the most basic iteration of meditation.

The amount of weight or “strength" in meditation is how focused the task is. Watching TV is almost mindless. So, it’s like lifting 1 lb. Slightly more difficult might be something like reading a book; which would be like lifting 20 lbs. For you, yoga could be 50 lbs, jogging is like lifting 100 lbs, just concentrating on your breath is like 200 lbs, and sitting still with your eyes closed, thinking about nothing is like lifting 500 lbs. Now, I don’t know that many people that can lift 500 lbs. Thus, I wouldn’t expect someone who just started meditation to meditate on such a difficult subject.

Personally, I use highly repetitive activities. Knitting, Braiding, Whip Making, or actual weight-lifting. You can use whatever you like. The goal is to “Single-task” rather than multi-task or get distracted.

Just like you can lift weights to improve certain muscle groups, you can meditate to strengthen certain mental muscles. This can be positive aspects like gratitude, confidence, or loving-kindness; or negative aspects such as negative self-talk, anger, or jealousy. For a positive aspect, focus on a single positive affirmations (like “I am smart.) and when you get distracted, guide yourself back to it. 

For an exercise regimen, you can start with just 1 set of 5 reps once or twice a week. As you get more comfortable with it, you can ramp up to doing 1 set of 10 Reps, resting (which is just doing anything else), then doing another set, for 2 sets of 10, three to four times a week. In about a month, most people will find that the reps happen without counting and a set is now a period of time. Currently, I used my FitBit to meditate 5 min a day, once a day. Not everyday, just when I feel like I need to calm down or collect myself.

For negative thoughts, the regimen is a bit different. I like to write down the opposite on a rubber band that I wear on my wrist. For something like “Less Negative Self-Talk” I write “Be more positive” in the rubber band. When I notice a negative thought enters my mind I snap the rubber band and that is my rep for my training regimen. You don’t actually need the rubber band, just pushing the thought aside is enough. The rubber band is just a nice physical reminder.

As you get better at mediation, you’ll notice that the reps get easier and are spaced further apart. Very few people can go more than 5 seconds without a distracting thought when just concentrating on their breath. So, if you can make it that long, you’re already at the super elite, olympic level of meditation. If not, don’t worry. Plenty of people never win a gold medal in Olympic weight-lifting.

If you want to build the habit into your daily life, you can pick a time to meditate. I have found it much easier to establish a meditation habit by linking it to an activity you already do. For example, whenever you brush your teeth, take a shower, or eat lunch.

I hope this helps someone starting their meditation journey. I realize that meditation is not for everyone. So, if you don’t like it, don’t do it. There are plenty of studies that show meditation helping anxiety, depression, stress, or just improving focus. [Links Below] The method I described above is obviously not the only way to meditate. It was just a way that’s analogous to how most people strengthen their muscles. There are plenty of other methods including guided meditations for beginners. Hopefully, you find something for you.

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1609875 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-may-ease-anxiety-mental-stress-201401086967

The Wall:

So, you’re now goal-oriented, motivated, and focused, but you still can’t get the things done that you want done. You’ve hit the dreaded “Wall”. What can you do from here? Well, if you’ve hit that wall, then it’s because you have run out of a resource. That resource, may be Money, Time, or Energy. This is where you need to start budgeting all three. If there is only one book you read from all the ones I have given you, let it be this one: “The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy” by Chris Bailey. I have read, listened to, re-read, and re-listened to this books multiple times. It’ll will get you over your biggest hurdles. I’m only going to touch on efficiency and procrastination a little bit because this book has it all covered. Every chapter is a new method on how to be productive, how to improve efficiency, and how to stop procrastinating. 

Efficiency & Procrastination:

If your serious about this, right now, start counting to 60, once you get to the number 30, Stop reading this, Google “The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy” by Chris Bailey, then by the time you get to 60, buy that book. Put it at the top of your pile, read it, even if you don’t think you have time, trust me, it’s worth every second of time, 10 times over. Seriously, do it now. Everything I would write out is pretty much a recreation of that book, from biological prime time to task batching. 

So, with that, we move onto the big three resources: Time, Money and Energy. These are probably your biggest walls. I’m not saying you will get over these. Some of these are just too big. But hopefully, the advice and resources here will help you out.

Time:

Time is a tough one. You can’t make more time, but you can get rid of time holes. In “The Productivity Project”, Bailey talks about keeping a time journal. I personally use Toggl.com and find it super useful. But for me, I found a secret that drastically increased the amount of time I have and made everything I wanted to do go much faster. How? People. People: This is probably my biggest “Secret” when it comes to doing all the things I get done. The adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” is true in more ways than one. If you meet the right people each of you gets to leverage your own strengths and help cover each other’s weaknesses. Also, people give you an amazing way to check to make sure what your doing is the right path. The amount of knowledge the rest of the world has is infinitely larger than the knowledge you have. Use them. Sadly, people are usually the largest hole of time than could suck out all the time you have. Between arguments, disagreements, and fights, you can lose hundreds of hours a year. But with a good team of friends and family, they can also help you get through things. I HIGHLY recommend spending time with each of these books to help you gain the human resources and interpersonal skills to help you gain more time. Communicating with others: “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. “More Than Two: A Practical Guide to Ethical Polyamory” by Franklin Veaux. “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman.

Interpersonal Skills: “Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People” by Vanessa Van Edwards. “Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think” by Tasha Eurich

Advice: “Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers” and “Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World” both by Tim Ferriss

Money:

After not having enough time, the next things I hear is “I don’t have the money.” There is no quick fix here. I’m not a financial expert, so I’m simply going to give you what’s helped me: “The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness” by Dave Ramsey, “Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!” by Robert T. Kiyosaki. What’s probably helped me the most in increasing my income is “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It” by Chris Voss

Emotions:

This is the last area I’m going to touch on. It’s the area I have the most difficulty with. I suffer from depression severe enough to leave me doing nothing but working, crying, ruminating, with very little sleep and very little food. Here, I also don’t have an easy answer for you. Therapy, friends, socializing, and gratitude are going to be your best bet moving forward. As for resources, these are my top 5 favorite books on improving my happiness.

“Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things” by Jenny Lawson

“The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin

“SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully” by Jane McGonigal

“Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead” by Brené Brown

“The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life” by Shawn Achor

Tips, Tricks, and Tools: Here is a list of Tips, Tricks, and Tools that I have used. I put these last in hopes that you would first read the above section to better understand how important framework and context is. You can have the fastest car in the world, but if you don’t know how to drive, you’re never going to win a race. These will help you, but unless you build them into a habit, they are unlikely going to stick around long enough to get you to your goal by yourself.

Journaling. Whether it’s to keep track of thoughts, tasks, exercise, time, or food. Writing down what you do, eat, or think almost always has the largest impact on behavioral change.

Motivational Photo Wall. I have a wall of photos of goals and people that inspire me.

Brain Dump. Sit down for 5-10 min and write down everything that bothers you so you don’t forget a thing.

5 second rule. You get 5 seconds, then you have to start doing whatever it is you need to start doing.

Pomodoro Technique. Set a timer. For 25 minutes you have to work HARD, but then give yourself a 5 min break.

Accountability Partner or Coach. Pretty much self-explanatory.

Therapy. Also, self-explanatory.

Self-writing. What I’m doing here. Then read your letter, post, or article when you need to.

Tiny Tasks. Break tasks down to tasks that each take 5 min or less. You can break an hour long task of writing into 12, 5-minute bursts.

Self-Talk. Change the way you self-talk.

Visualization. Think of the end goal whenever you get low.

Find your prime time. When are you most active? Do the hard things then.

Mentor someone else. When you have to teach or mentor, you learn a lot as well.

ASK FOR HELP!!! Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

[internetguruhub]

The Only 3 Things You Need To Have A 7-Figure Marketing Business

The Only 3 Things You Need To Have A 7-Figure Marketing Business

Would you believe me if I told you that there were only 3 things that you need in order to have a 7-figure online business?When I first started online, I was a bit skeptical.  I had just recently parted ways with a well-known MLM.  I got a few wins, but it was mostly just a lot of standing in strangers' living rooms polishing up my "story".  Not much money, though. I was acquainted with some of the "Big Leaders" who were making as much in a month as I was after 10 years as a Senior Manager with a Fortune 500 company.  I knew the money was out there, but I had absolutely no idea how to get there from where I was.  I did figure out one thing pretty quickly, though;  this was not my idea of "working smarter, not harder."And did I mention I was spending a lot of time having awkward conversations in strangers' living rooms? via GIPHY Every time I went online, though,  I would see another story about some ordinary guy or gal who figured out how to make enough money to quit their job.Never mind the fast cars or exotic locations. That stuff didn't really turn me on. I just wanted to know how I could make enough money to take care of my family, working from home Can you relate?

It is Possible...

Eventually, I learned that it is possible to create a real online business, and that ordinary people are actually creating them every day. I've spent years studying, learning, and testing basically every possible make-money strategy in existence, trying to create personal freedom through online income. Most of them require a ton of up-front cash, or a lot of technical knowledge, and in some cases, both. I've lost tons of money trying to figure it all out, and no matter how many times it happens to you, it never gets easier.   Spending countless hours with new tech, new strategies, new systems that don't pay off in the end is the ultimate insult to injury. I can make more money, but time I will never get back the time I didn't spend with my wife and kids 

Losing money sucks, but wasting time is worse.

I have 3 young kids and a wife that I adore. I spent most of their lives leaving the house before they were even awake to go to my corporate job, and then racing home to try to spend 15 minutes with them before they go to bed, six days a week.It was a constant reminder to me that even though I wasn't in love with money, I really needed to learn how to be friends with it.  Like it or not, money has a MASSIVE influence on my ability to spend time spend (MY) time with the people I love and doing the things that I want to do.  This was my reason for getting into online business in the first place, my "big why".How about you?  Why are you looking into this?  I would love to hear your comments down below.   Stop Struggling. Get Help

Download "The Super-Affiliate Starter Kit" For Free. It Has All The Information You Need To Start Making Money Online

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So What Are the 3 Things That You Need To Have A 7-Figure Online Business? 

After spending thousands of dollars on courses and mentorships, and countless hours of trial & error, I've noticed a formula that keeps coming up, again and again.This is the formula that my own personal mentor was using to make over $3,000 per day.  It is the same formula that his mentors were using to make in excess of $1,000,000 (that's one MILLION) per month.  There are countless well-known marketers that are using this same simple method to make fortunes online, every single day.  Keep reading to the end of this post and I'm going to give you access to an in-depth video training that covers this entire method and much more.   

The 7-Figure Online Business Formula

Start With A Highly Engaging, Attention Grabbing Ad If you want to sell something to someone, you have to get their attention.   Simple as that. You have to cause them to stop scrolling long enough to grab their attention, as well as make them curious enough to click.There are plenty of ways to do this, but the two methods that I have actually seen that work the best are videos and curiosity-based images.VideosVideo is taking over.  It is by far the most engaging form of content on the internet today. People prefer video to text, generally speaking, because our brains can process video 60,000 times faster than text, and for info-junkies like me, that means I can watch more YouTube videos on 2X speed than I could ever hope to consume by reading alone.  Video as a % of total online content is only growing, too.  According to Cisco, Globally, IP video traffic will be 82 percent of all IP traffic (both business and consumer) by 2022, up from 75 percent in 2017  Bottom Line:  If you aren't using video in your marketing, start today.Find or create a video that addresses someone's problem, passion, or interest, preferably in a way that hooks them with a story, or creates an open loop, and you will be well on your way.Sites like Pond5, Envato, Story Blocks, and Shutterstock all have stock video that you can purchase and use for your ads.  Spending a few bucks to get a quality video will also help to ensure that everybody and their brother isn't using the same video in their ads.  Curiosity-Based ImagesOne of the best and easiest ways to stop someone from scrolling is to show them an image that doesn't look like anything else in their feed, something that their brain doesn't immediately recognize.  The term that's commonly used when referring to these images is "pattern-interrupt."  We are wired to be curious, so when we see something that we sort-of recognize, but can't quite figure out what we're looking at, we naturally stop and investigate.  Here are a couple of videos that beautifully explain.......and then illustrate this concept. That is the technique that many of the top super affiliates in the world are using to rake in hundreds-of-thousands and even millions of dollars every month.   Here's an example of an image that I enjoyed some great success with (until Facebook banned my account for using it).

Think about scrolling past this in your Newsfeed.  I looks like a toe, or a knuckle, with a mouth & a moustache and some googly-eyes glued onto it.  You don't have a template in your brain for something that looks like this. But before you can even react or think about what you just saw, your subconscious is already trying to match it up, to figure out what the heck it is. Next thing you know, you're on my quiz lander answering questions about your health.  That is how they work.Here are a few of others I've added to my swipe file along the way.  

Previous Next You get the idea... Presell PagesOkay, mission accomplished.  You stopped the scrolling and you got their attention, but now what?  You do what the most influential people in the world have done since the beginning of time:  you tell them a story that evokes some sort of emotion.The most effective type of story for moving your prospect from a browsing mindset to a buyer's mindset, is a story related to a problem they want to solve  for themselves or for someone they care about.  The idea is to remind (or agitate) them of a problem in their life.  You help them remember the emotions the problem is causing them, and that they are still looking for a solution to that problem.When properly executed, they don't even bother reading the entire page.  After the a few paragraphs, they will be scrolling down to the bottom of the page looking for the button to get the solution.  Solve Their Problem... With A Proven, High-Converting Offer It would't be right to run ads just to try to ruin someone's day.  We want to help people.  We want to provide solutions to the things that are keeping them awake at night.  And we want to be paid for doing it, too.  So, once you stopped their scrolling with an attention grabbing video or a curiosity-based image (creating an open a loop in their mind), you agitated a problem that they have in their life with a proven pre-sell page, the last step is to close the loop by offering them a valuable solution to their problem.  

Sounds Simple, Right?

Actually, it is simple. 3 simple steps. Ad, pre-sell, offer. It really is a method that anybody can learn.  And when you consider the ridiculous, life-changing (we're talking multi-generational here) amounts of money that normal, every-day people are making with this method, you would be crazy to not want to learn more about how it works.  But just because it is simple doesn't necessarily mean it's easy.  Anybody can do this.  I sincerely believe that.  I have made more money with this method than any of the other that I have tried, hands down.  It is simple.  It works. It has been working.  It will continue to work, but there are a few things that you want to work out before you get started.  You can read about them here in my next post. Or,you can skip right to a FREE, in-depth video training taught by a multi-7-figure Super-Affiliate. In this FREE Training, he covers: The 7-Figure Online Business Formula, in detail, step-by-stepThe 3 Critical Keys to Success. (Get any of these wrong and your system will fail.)7 Mistakes That Separate Small and Struggling Affiliates From Super-Affiliates3 Super-Affiliate Secrets That Are Critical To Your Becoming a Super-Affiliate  Watch the FREE TRAINING Now Give Me Instant Access Read the full article

[lottiesfics]

6 Inch (chap 5/dd) {Lemonade Series}

Prompt: Each song from Lemonade tells a story in one way or another, the story of love being tortured and ruined to finding a conclusion that will work. You and David had been together for years, 3 years of marriage and one child. Although, David and You have been through some hard times. Rumors of infidelity had begun to spring about, leading to a one night binge of you re-thinking your love for him.

Word Count: 2,120

Chapter 5- 6 Inch

 It was a late Friday night in 2017. I was dressed to impressed, I mean at least impress the guys who come to the club who give me the money. I wish I could say I was the Hugh Heffner of this operation, but in all honesty, I was the playboy bunny. I moved out to LA with 1600 dollars and nothing to my name. I dreamt of starting my own clothing company, something I wanted to do since I was 12. I knew damn well with 1600 dollars the most you could get in LA was a shitty cubicle apartment. I was out there for 4 months, working as a waitress in Echo Park. The dinner was shut down and I was earning maybe 9 dollars a day, my tips lower and weaker with every service. I was evicted from my apartment, 8 months in. I was homeless. Surviving out on Skid Row. I never envisioned giving up. I wasn't the type to give up. I thought I would have to go home, I didn't wanna go back to Nebraska. I met Marty Karrington in downtown Los Angeles, Skid Row. I recall him saying, "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be out here on her own." I replied with, "Well I am, 1600 dollars can't get you enough." I scoffed, I rolled my eyes. Marty was in his late 40s and had the look of a Hugh Heffner. "You came out here with 1600?" He asked, his eyes widened as he took a seat next to me on the curb. I recollect thinking 'why am I letting this dude talk to me?'. I was at the point where I didn't care about where I was or where I go. I felt emptiness within me. I just couldn't go home. "Yeah, but it didn't work out quite," I said, gesturing to my current circumstances. Marty gave me a pitiful smile, he stared at me and glanced back at the streets. The next sentence he said would lead me to a whole new direction. "I know a way you could tripe that 1600 in 1 night." He said. I looked at him, I didn't quite get what he meant. "Wait I'm confused," I said. "What's your name?" He asked me. "(Y/N)." I replied. "Well (Y/N), are you over 18?" He asked me. I started to slowly understand what he meant. "20," I said. "Where's the strip club?" I asked him. "Burbank." He responded. "I don't think your a whore or anything, but I think you could use the money. The girls are great, the people pay, famous people come, it's a scene." He said chuckling. Marty reminded me of a childhood friend I had. He gave me an odd source of comfort. "When can I start?" I asked, my voice fracturing. I never thought in a million years I would turn to a strip club as my source of income. I remember my first night there, Megan Crawken was my mentor. She was an attractive brunette with blue eyes, blue seemed to be her color. She said to me, "Okay, so I showed you how to dance, and-" She was mentally going through the list in her mind. I lived with Marty momentarily, he took care of me and another girl named Claire Holland. "So, you get the gist of what goes on here?" Meghan asked me. I nodded yes, "Thank you," I said. "Oh please, It was nothing! Oh, one last thing-" She said turning around to face me, "Work hard, be smart, don't crave the materials, think more about your next meal. We both know this isn't the end goal for us, and it won't last forever. Watch your money and stack it up." She told me, looking me dead in the eyes. "Got it," I said. I went back to get dressed. I felt like meat wrapped in butcher's twine, which would make sense as I was about to be a carrot dangled in front of men's faces. I put on my 6-inch heels, courtesy of Meghan. It was different from what I pictured. Yeah, people paid attention, but at the same time, they didn't. Some dudes got drunk instead and just watched, some got really into it, throwing 100 dollar bills at us and others were too scared. It was a very intimidating process, I felt like I was on display for quite a while. By the time David came into the picture I had made quite a name for myself out there, I had worked there for 7 months, I had made thousands in a week. I finally got to move out with Marty and get my own place in Burbank. Yet, leaving Skid Row was bitter-sweet. Bitter because when I felt the emptiness, Skid Row gave the excitement back to me, I met Marty there, oddly I turned my life around there. Sweet because while I was turning my life around, people were losing theirs. Homeless was growing, the danger was more frequent and others kept feeling the emptiness I once felt. Claire went home, she couldn't kick it. I made a promise to myself that I would never go home. It worked, I sat in the living room of my apartment talking to Meghan. "Which shoes tonight?" I was going between a pink pair with fuzz and a gold pair with glitter. "What about these?" Meghan asked me. It was the simple black pair she gave me the first day I worked there. "Yeah, I'll wear them." I said. We both put on our shoes, put on coats and left my house. We strolled through the streets of Burbank until we made it to the club. "There are my headliners!" Marty said. We laughed. He wasn't disturbing as you'd expect from a dude running this type of work. He was actually incredibly caring and kind. He wanted to see us all grow from here. He knew Meghan was gonna be leaving soon, he was looking for his next Meghan and he believed that it was me. We walked past him to the dressing rooms. We got all ready and put our stuff down. Hannah L'Laome walked in. She was the youngest out of everyone here, freshly 18 off Hollywood Boulevard. "Hey, Hannah." I said. "Hi (Y/N)." She said, she plugged in her curler and began waving her hair. She had stars in her eyes. "Hannah, you should really get a day off!" Meghan laughed. Hannah worked the most out of all of us. "No, I gotta make money. That's the only way to pick it all up." She said, laughing but I knew she was serious. I patted her on the back as the music started to fill the club. Meghan and I walked out, doing our jobs. Having a hundred dollars bills, fifty dollar bills and twenty dollar bills were thrown at us. In the first hour, I made 700 dollars. Then, my whole world changed. In walked David Dobrik, a vlogger who has a 2.6 million dollar house. He was cute, he needed a haircut but he was cute. An older man walked in behind him, he started talking to Marty. I tried to overhear the conversation but I couldn't with the music blasting behind me. David looked at me, I looked at him back. He blushed, he was one of the shy kids. Marty started shouting for me to come over. I strolled off the stage and headed towards Marty. My heart-racing. "Yeah?" I said. "Meet David Dobrik and Jason Nash." He said shouting. I felt like I was gonna pass out. "Hi! (Y/N)!" I said my name back. David was enamored. I couldn't help but not keep my eyes off him. Cute was an understatement. "They need two strippers for a video, do you wanna do it?" Marty asked me. "How much am I getting paid?" I asked. Jason went to answer but David cut him off, "500". "David what?!" I remember Jason reprimanding him. "Wait! I have an idea!" David said walking away with Jason. Marty and I were perplexed. I went back to doing what I was doing, by hour 3 I doubled my 700 into 1400. David came back with a whole group of boys. Some cute, some not. He went back to Marty and held up his camera. Marty shook his head 'no' and pointed to the door. David shrugged and visibly got upset. I walked back over to them. "Marty, what's wrong?" I asked him. "They wanna film" I rolled my eyes at Marty, David watching my every move. "Let them film!" I said. "But-" Marty tried to argue with me. "Marty, you're crazy if you don't think other people aren't filming." I said. He nodded and let the group pass through the rope. David was smiling wide, "Thank you." He said. I nodded and brought them to a table, a section of their own and went back to doing what I was doing for the third time. I watched David film. Meghan pointed out to me something, "Yo, just go over and dance!" She said laughing. I laughed, there was no way I was gonna do that. As the night grew on and I rolled into my 5th hour David and his friends were still there. Getting crazy shots. I started getting really into it, moving my way to all the tables. Of course that included David's. I did a bit where who I know now as Zane and I danced on a table. Alcohol sprung up around us, I was having the time of my life. I sensed someone slide something into my leg band. It was a little white piece of paper. I smiled at them and left. Shortly after I heard they split. I didn't see it because I was making 4x my 1400. It was a good night for me. I went back to the dressing room putting all my money in my mesh bag, the white note fell out. I opened it and it read: Hi, here's my number (xxx) xxx-xxxx -David. My stomach erupted with butterflies. That night in my apartment we started texting, we called and then facetime for hours. I told him my dreams and he told me his. This routine kept going, I work, I come home and we facetime. Until one night we had a deep conversation. "You've been doing this for 18 months now. When are you gonna start working for the company start-up? You have the money now, you have the place." He said. I realized that he was right. I was working Monday to Friday and Friday to Sunday. I wasn't working for the dream anymore, I was working to work. I became addicted to the money. The next day, I gave Marty my resignation. It was almost like some mystical being brought back my emptiness from a year ago and delivered it to Marty. "(Y/N), thank you for all that you've done for me and the girls. I really appreciate it." He said, he smiled. A real smile, for the first time I had seen. He scribbled something on paper. "Here's my REAL telephone line, call me, keep in touch." He said. I told David I quit and he was ecstatic, taking me out for dinner that night, the first time we had seen each other since our ordeal. I found out 5 months later the club was shut down, Marty went on to live his own dream. He opened a restaurant out in Studio City. A very successful restaurant, the one that David and I would go for our 8-month anniversary.  I thought about how that one night changed my life tremendously. I own that clothing company now. I watched Meghan end up on the runway, I watched Hannah become a fashion designer. I think about how they may even know my troubled relationship. The emptiness resurfaces in me. I want David back. I want him to love me again, to come back to me and fall at my feet. I want him to come back. Come back home. The baby monitor in my room started making noises. Through all of Kaela's whines, I heard the word, "Dada?". 

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