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girls-alias · 4 months

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Christmas Wish - Dean Winchester

Title: Christmas Wish - Dean Winchester Words: 2,959 Relations: Dean Winchester X reader. TW: Christmas chapter.

I walked with my friend in the mall. We were doing last-minute shopping for Christmas when we stumbled upon the mall fountain. She chuckled bringing my attention to it. It had been decorated for Christmas with a big sign explaining that throwing a coin into the fountain and making a wish would come true on Christmas day. She's superstitious so she pulled two coins from her pocket, a wide smile on her face. I accepted one of the coins reluctantly with a sad smile. I know exactly what I'm going to wish for, it's the same thing I always wish for.

I held the coin tightly, putting my heart and soul into the wish. Mentally begging it to come true. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I wish Dean would find me," I thought to myself before throwing the coin and watching as it sunk to the bottom of the fountain floor. I sighed knowing that this wish was no different from all the other times I had wished. Just like always I knew I was going to be let down. Dean Winchester was the one who got away.

It was a classic case of the right person but the wrong time. Dean and I had been hunting together when Sam was in college, we were somewhat young and irresponsible but we were a team. After 2 years we finally started dating, it was perfect, it was natural and amazing. We only experienced it for a month before his dad disappeared and Dean had to ask Sam for help. We tried long distance for a little while but with both of us constantly hunting and Dean's new mission of finding the yellow-eyed demon, we didn't work out.

We agreed mutually that it was a bad time and it only hurt more knowing we were separate. We both cried, we told stories and all I needed was his arms around me, reassuring me but unfortunately, we had to do it over the phone as we were on opposite sides of the country.

I know I should forget about him and should have fully moved on in the 11 years since I've seen him but no man ever compares to him. He's ruined my views on relationships because I haven't had a single boyfriend as good as Dean. There was a time I stayed adamant to keep my phone number so he could always reach me but when I was fighting a small gang of vampires, my phone and SIM card were destroyed. It ruined me but it had been years since I had heard from him and so I should have let it go by that point.

My best friend woke up early to wave me off as I left. She doesn't know that I hunt monsters, she thinks I'm a pilot so it explains why I'm gone for weeks and sometimes months. It also gives me an excuse to not have a fixed address as I explained I would rather stay in hotels so that I don't have to pay for electricity in a house I won't be in. She's not the smartest person I know so it makes it a little easier lying to her. She'll believe anything.

My friend tried insisting that I stay for Christmas but monsters don't rest, I don't have time. It was the day before Christmas Eve when I left, much to her dismay. We'd already exchanged gifts and she's amazing. She knows I never buy new clothes so any holiday for exchanging gifts she gets me a new wardrobe. It comes in handy as I often get clothes ruined when I'm hunting but sometimes she gets me things I wouldn't be able to fight in.

I stopped in a motel in East Iowa, I had seen suspicious activity on the news which made me think it was a possible shapeshifter. They're a pain in the ass but someone's got to do it. I tried checking in, and getting a room for the night but they explained they were booked full for the next couple of days. Not ideal but I'll just have to live in my car for a little while.

The hunt was tedious, but it was quick as the shifter was sloppy and I killed the shifter in the early hours of Christmas morning. After living in my car, it soon became apparent I had an issue with my car. I had stopped in a diner car park, opening the bonnet to take a look. I soon came to the realisation I either had a leak in the coolant tank or a clogged heater core and so needed replacements. I asked in the diner if there were any mechanics open or somewhere I could get car parts on Christmas day. I was given the address and directions to a salvage yard that never seemed to close.

*********

I pulled up to the salvage yard, finding it was a house on the property. I stopped the car, assessing the house as I wondered if I should leave since they were probably celebrating Christmas and didn't want to disturb the owner. I sighed knowing I couldn't keep sleeping in my cold car. I climbed out of the car and approached the front door. I knocked lightly and checked the time on my watch making sure it wasn't too early to be knocking. The door opened to an older gentleman looking at me a little confused, I smiled politely.

"Hi, I just need some car parts. If it's not a good time, I can just go," I explained but he chuckled, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, you need a hand?" He asked but I shook my head.

"I'll be okay, I'm just having an issue with either my coolant tank or I have a clogged heating core so I'll just look for replacements," I explained but he nodded with a smile.

"I'll help, it might be easier finding it together," He explained, stepping inside to grab a jacket.

"Oh, you don't have to. I realise it's Christmas and you're probably celebrating with family," I explained but he chuckled.

"Nah, my two boys are out of state, we're not big on Christmas," He explained making me a little sad he was alone and I smiled sadly as I nodded.

"I totally get it, I don't have family so Christmas is just another day to me," I explained as he stepped out, leading me to the scrap cars.

“So you’re doing nothing today?” He asked as he popped the hood of a close by car. I chuckled as I did the same with another car.

“Yeah, I’ll be on the road again.” I shrugged. Happily getting my hands dirty as I checked the car.

“Well, why don’t you stay here? We may be strangers but I’ll cook you a warm meal.” He explained and I was touched by his sentiment.

“Maybe I will. I’m Y/N,” I explained, holding my hand out for him to shake. We didn’t care about the oil on our hands and shook them with a smile.

“Bobby,” he explained.

*******

Bobby and I had found the parts. He helped me install the parts and after letting the car run a while it was perfect. I tried paying Bobby but he refused. His argument was that I was making his Christmas more bearable.

We went inside, Bobby was wondering what to make for Christmas dinner as he hadn't prepared anything special. I walked into his lounge following him as he explained he would have a microwave meal.

"I don't mind having a microwave meal with you, I quite like them and I can always-" I stopped as I looked to the ceiling surprised. Bobby seemed to notice my silence as he turned around to look at me confused before following my line of sight. He seemed stunned silent as if he couldn't think of a lie. "You're a hunter too?" I asked, pointing to the devil trap painted onto the ceiling. He smiled happily.

"Thank God, I had no excuse ready." He chuckled, relaxing as he took a seat at his desk.

"Wait, You're a hunter and your name is Bobby. You don't know Dean Winchester, do you?" I asked it's a long shot but -

"Yeah, I practically raised him. Sam too. They're my boys I mentioned earlier." He explained a little confused before his eyes widened. "Y/N Y/L/N?" He asked. I was shocked he knew of me. Either Dean has talked about me in the past and he had a great memory or he's heard of me from someone else. Weird coincidence though. I nodded softly. His lips curled into a wide grin. "I've been looking for you for years!" He exclaimed excitedly shocking me as he jumped up to grab his phone.

"Looking for me why?" I asked, worry filling me as I wondered if this whole thing might be a trap.

"Sam asked me to track you down so you and Dean can meet again, he's never shut up about you. He thought you died," He explained as he started dialling the phone before freezing. "Do you want to see him?" He asked. I grinned at the news. Dean never stopped talking about me, he was looking for me. Oh my God. This can't be real. What are the odds?

"Yeah, I always wondered what happened to him," I replied playing it cool but inside I was doing cartwheels, dancing, hell, I was even doing back flips. Am I really going to see Dean again after all these years?

Bobby called Sam and explained that he found me and to bring Dean, we would get some food for making Christmas dinner. He excitedly explained he wanted to make it a real Christmas. Sam said it would be a few hours before they could get here, around 7PM but was more than happy to make the trip.

Bobby put me in charge of decorating as I helped him get everything from the attack and he was quick to leave to see what food he could get. I felt a mixture of anxiety and excitement as I remembered the Christmas wish I had made in the fountain, never believing it would actually come true. But here I am, decorating a stranger's house, food soon coming, Dean, the love of my life on his way. I worried about how he might react to seeing me. I worried I wouldn't be the same or maybe he wouldn't but I always knew he was the right person, wrong time but now might be the right time.

*******

Bobby was back after a few hours. Nowhere was open but picked up a menu from a restaurant that was open and happy to deliver. He helped me finish putting up the decorations before he shooed me off to dress nicer. I laughed as I went back to my car, deciding to move it to the back of the house so he wouldn't see it. He hasn't seen this car but I don't want him suspicious someone else is here. It might ruin the surprise. I changed into a nice dress my best friend had got me and mentally thanked her for getting it for me. I figured it would be good somewhere along the way if I had to work undercover but those kinds of jobs hardly ever come up.

*******

Bobby was more excited than me. He had given me a glass of whiskey for liquid luck but he soon tipped the bottom of my glass as I was taking a drink, the car was pulling in and he wanted me out of sight but for me to have finished my drink. He grabbed the glass from me and guided me to the dining room before closing the double doors with a wide smile.

I listened as Bobby greeted them at the door, my stomach doing flips as I heard Dean's voice. I took a deep breath, stabilising myself as I felt like I was dreaming.

"Hey, Bobby. Merry Christmas," Dean commented as he entered the room behind the double doors. I waited anxiously as I knew only the wooden doors were the only things separating us.

"Merry Christmas boys," I heard Bobby add with some shuffling sounds as if they were exchanging hugs. "I've got you some gifts under the tree but Dean, yours is in the dining room," Bobby explained.

"Thanks, Bobby. You didn't have to," Another voice explained happily and I knew it must be Sam. "We've got you a small bag of presents in the car," He added making Bobby chuckle.

"Thank you, I think Dean should get his first and then we can have a drink," Bobby explained, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

"We'll drink first," Dean seemed to shrug.

"Drinks after," Bobby insisted. There seemed to be a little silence before I heard footsteps approach the door. I took a deep breath, instantly worried and unsure how to stand. I decided to clasp my hands together and let them fall in front of me. The doors opened.

Standing in all his glory was Dean Winchester. The love of my life, the man I pined over for 11 years. He looked confused but as his eyes found mine he broke into a wide smile. He hurried to me. Engulfing me in a tight hug as he rocked us side to side slightly. I giggled as I hugged him back. My arms wrapped over his shoulders as he squeezed me tightly. I forgot how tall he actually was until he straightened up and lifted me off the floor for a second.

He buried his face into the crook of my neck, his smiling cheeks noticeable against my skin. He pulled away, his hands still on me as he didn't want to be far. "What are you doing here? You're alive, I can't believe you're alive. How did this happen?" He asked excitedly. I chuckled as I admired him. He hasn't changed for the worst, he's even more handsome than I remember, he's more rugged and definitely still the epitome of my type.

"I had car troubles, it was a complete coincidence," I explained as his smile never faded. He pulled me back into a hug making me chuckle. I hugged him back, squealing as he lifted me from the ground again and kept me up. He's still strong. God, if only he knew what he was doing to me. I noticed Bobby and a tall guy smiling as they watched us. "Hi, Sam. It's nice to meet you," I chuckled as Dean's grip didn't waver. He chuckled.

"Nice to meet you too," He added. Dean spun around so I was facing the other way. I heard the doors closing as he took one hand from around me to close the doors. I chuckled a little nervous as to why he wanted to be alone with me but it also made butterflies flutter in my stomach. He held me up with one arm, he didn't struggle and didn't seem to even consider putting me down.

Once the doors were closed, he put me down. His hands cupped my face as he admired my eyes. "I've been waiting for you," He explained, my insides turning to mush. I smiled.

"Me too," I added, he grinned at my words.

"Good," He swooped down, connecting our lips in a passionate kiss. I swooned as his lips graced mine. The kiss I had dreamed of for years. The kiss I had imagined so many times. The kiss no other compared to. He smiled against my lips as my hands move to the back of his neck to hold him close to me. One of his hands moved to my hip, pulling my body against his. I pulled away slowly when I heard Bobby and Sam snickering to themselves probably talking about us. Dean seemed reluctant to pull away.

"We can't just ignore them," I explained but he looked disappointed. I chuckled as I shook my head. "It's Christmas," I added so he playfully rolled his eyes but his smile never left his lips. He pulled me back into a sweet kiss before pulling away again.

"Be my girlfriend again and I'll stop ignoring them," He hinted, his smile turning to a smirk. I blushed at his words knowing I had never wanted anything more in my life. I nodded a little too excitedly. He chuckled as he connected our lips, celebrating the rekindling of our relationship after 11 years. I should have made the wish in the fountain years ago.

*****

It was the best Christmas I ever had. We ordered Chinese food they opened presents, we exchanged hunting stories and acted like a real family. As the night was winding down, Sam took one of the spare rooms while Dean and I took the other. I worried he would want to make up for all the nights we had missed but as soon as we were in the room alone his arms never let go of me. We cuddled all night and it was the best sleep I remember ever having.

We stayed at Bobby's a few days before Sam and Dean had to go back on the road. Dean rode in my car, kissing me when I stopped but holding my thigh the whole time I was driving. He still looks at me the same way he used to, the love in his eyes only seemed to grow as we spent more time together. He had only changed for the better but he was still the same and loving man I had fallen for. He's still perfect for me.

Masterlist

#fanfiction #fanfic #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester #dean winchester fanfiction #dean x reader #dean #dean winchester fic #christmas #wish

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windvexer · 1 year

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I've been overthinking correspondences lately, i try to do something like a spell for money but i get caught up thinking about whether to use actual cash in the ritual, and if different denominations would be better, and then i get tripped up thinking about whether i personally associate bay leaves with wishing or if I'm just parroting it from other peoples practices XD do you have any advice for choosing good correspondences?

Here is my advice:

Answer these questions for yourself and address any answers which create undue burden for yourself:

Is your personal association for what correspondences mean more important than any "inherent" meanings? Do you even believe in inherent meanings? What is the worst case scenario if you end up using a correspondence that you later on realize is a weak personal association for you?

When you set up your spellcasting space, how much of it matters? Does the cleanliness of the table matter? Does the species of wood the table was built out of matter?

How do you draw the line between which aspects of your spell matter and which do not?

What is the worst case scenario for using unideal correspondences? For you, is it better to cast a money spell with 50% ideal correspondences, or is it better to never cast it until you can reach 97-98%?

Do you think there is value in experimenting with a wide variety of correspondences and noting the outcome? Do you think there is value in experimenting with correspondences you are unsure of or do not have faith in?

Do you practice a style of magic where your personal belief in the outcome is totally vital? Is it possible for you, personally (as it is certainly possible for others), to manifest spells successfully even if you experience doubt or uncertainty during spellcasting?

When considering these questions, if you come on any answer which makes you think, "that's it - that's the reason I can't choose correspondences,"

Change your magical practice, why not? 🦞

Try telling yourself, "look - I'm going to put a pin in what I believe right now. I'll save this version of my practice in a nice file-folder, as a backup. But for the time being I'm going to choose to believe that magic works differently. After all, there are a lot of valid ways to work up a successful spell. There is no reason for me to stick with these hindering beliefs."

I would like to focus on this bit:

How do you draw the line between which aspects of your spell matter and which do not?

I suspect from your ask that you have found yourself in a situation where literally everything matters, not just that you should have money but the number correspondences of the denomination; not just the bay leaf but your subconscious anxieties about bay leaves; and so on.

If you like, consider this concept of spellwork, which is highly theoretical and which I am not pushing as a literal cosmology:

There is the Physical (hello! I'm here, currently) and sort of on top of and around the physical is an astral, ethereal layer we're going to call the Spiritual.

The Spiritual is a dreamworld that resembles the physical in many ways, but the biggest difference is that only things filled with spiritual power become solid in the Spiritual.

As a witch practitioner, of course your job is to make a very solid spell in the Spiritual.

And you, Anon, as a practitioner of sympathetic magic (which is what we're all doing when we use correspondences), have chosen to make a spell by collecting various spiritual powers that correspond to physical objects you have gathered.

Or, in other words:

You are not using the power of the dollar bill.

The dollar bill has no power. It does not exist on the Spiritual.

You are using the dollar bill as a gateway or focus point to channel or evoke the actual energy you want.

And you, as the practitioner, get to choose which energies are drawn up into the Spiritual.

When you are working with the dollar bill, you can choose to channel various energies: money, greed, the number correspondence.

You are not (or should not be) empowering the entire bill and every single association it's ever had, ever - nor should you be actively empowering your own anxieties (this bay leaf also corresponds with doubt) or worries (this dollar bill has the wrong number correspondence).

Yes, you should be choosing to the best of your abilities which aspects matter for this spell. And then you should literally raise, channel, draw in, evoke, or summon those relevant aspects into the Spiritual.

Again - it is not the object with its complete and total history and full set of correspondences that matters to your spell. It is only the energies that you draw into the Spiritual, made easier by virtue of having a strong correspondence to open the roads and ease the way.

Anon, when you actually sit down to raise metaphysical energy, are you shoving as much raw energy as you can into these items? Are you addressing the items as complete beings without directing their focus?

Consider for example our good friend Basil, who among other things can protect very well, and draw in a lot of money.

When you call Basil on the Spiritual phone, do you say, "I need you for a protection spell," (or, do you specifically focus and channel protective energies)? Or do you just call Basil and say, "help - I'm sure you'll figure out the context when you get here?"

It's the same for Bay Laurel. "Bay Laurel, arrive and do every single thing which I personally associate you with." Or, "Bay Laurel, arrive and grant wishes?"

Bay Laurel grants wishes for some people. That aspect exists. You can ask for it, or channel/evoke it, or whatever, whether or not you also have a personal association with self-doubt.

And because that particular desiccated little commercially farmed leaf bought in a megachain grocery store has no spiritual power at all, the only thing arriving in the Spiritual are those aspects you are calling on and working to make arrive.

NOW I WILL SAY,

Despite all the words spent on it, this is a grossly oversimplified philosophy. Energies and powers do have various flavors, after all. Getting a wish granted by Bay Laurel is not much like getting a wish granted by Old Scratch. And what about objects already filled with a certain power?

But, I think overall that you should consider that you have much more power over what is going on inside of your own spells than you think you do.

#answered #theory #correspondences #cosmology #troubleshooting #just starting #spellcrafting #tbl

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0nlythrowharrybeaux · 1 year

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Unavailable - Part 3 **

Y/N has been living with Harry for a bit and it's getting harder for them to control their feelings for each other.

READ PART 1 & PART 2 FIRST!

Warnings: Sex, oral (f receiving). Also, please keep in mind that in this AU at some point Harry was Y/N's therapist and this kind of relationship with a therapist is completely illegal and inappropriate and you should never try and hit on your therapist or stay with a therapist who hits on you (from a future therapist haha)! There's also a wee bit of angst if you squint real hard.

WC: 10.4K

It had been several months since Y/N had moved in with Harry and things had been great to put it simply. The very next day of her arrival they talked about how this arrangement would work and she assured him that she didn’t want to invade his home for a long time, but he let her know that he hoped she would take her time to get on her feet so that she would have some stability once she was able to leave his place. With that in mind she started job hunting for something that paid better. Thankfully she was able to find a better job that was closer to his place with better pay, better hours, and better benefits. It finally felt like things were going to start looking up and for once she started to consider that maybe life could be really good. The only crappy thing she had experiences while being at his place was spending the holidays alone. Y/N had tried to reach out to her mother on Thanksgiving and she never got a response and close to Christmas the manager from the bar she used to work at reached out to her because her “Uncle Chris” had come around several times asking for a forwarding address for her because her mother couldn’t get in touch with her. Y/N instructed them not to give him any information about her under any circumstance, but she knew it was just a ploy of his to get her to call him, she had blocked his number and filtered his email as spam, she was sure that he had tried getting in touch with her but she was far beyond being manipulated by his antics ever again.

The holidays were lonely and cold. She mostly slept on the actual days as she was not working and then got back to her schedule as soon as the festive days were done. Harry wouldn’t be coming back until the 8th so she would need to endure the solitude for a bit longer. This particular day seemed to be dragging on and as she briefly looked through TikTok on her break a great majority of the posts were about wellness or fitness and she took that as her sign to go to the gym after work.

She and Harry liked to take walks in the evenings but as soon as it started cooling down he would drag her to the gym with him instead - he even added her to his membership. And while he would go off and do his thing she would do her half-assed exercises before sitting in the sauna with him for a while. It was amusing to go to the gym with Harry; Y/N very quickly noticed that most of the girls at the gym would ogle him. He seemed to be everyone’s gym crush. She also started to notice that when these women would see him make his way towards her they would shoot her odd or jealous looks and she would always tell him and he’d make a full on show of grabbing her hand or hugging her close with a very mischievous smirk. It was a fun little game they played and she would definitely miss it at her session today.

Other than those playful interactions things had stayed extremely platonic between the two. There was obvious tension at times, but they never acted on it with each other at least. That had been her biggest concern with staying with him, but he was very respectful of her space which was so wonderful of him and she didn’t intend on getting tangled up with him while she healed from all the crap in her life. Sure, if they hooked up it seemed like an ideal situation for them if they wanted consistency, but that also meant that things could get complicated quickly and fall apart and she really didn’t want that to happen with him.

*************

Y/N was not feeling tired after her session at the gym today, if anything she felt more energized, maybe it was because she skipped out on the sauna, but she didn’t feel comfortable going in without Harry. It was always full of dudes who were less than discrete when they looked over her, but they were a lot less ballsy with Harry around. Either way, she was making her way past the reception desk when someone’s voice caught her attention.

“Hey, where’s your boyfriend?” She didn’t think it was directed towards her but then she heard more specificity, “I’m talking to you in the pink shirt!” The voice said and she stopped and turned around and was met with quite a handsome looking guy behind the desk who was offering her a smile.

“Are you talking to me?” She asked pointing to herself and he chuckled.

“Yes, I don’t see anyone else in a pink shirt.” He said with a friendly smile and she giggled.

“True.” She pointed out as she approached the desk.

“I was just wondering about your man because he usually comes in religiously and I haven’t seen either of you over the last few weeks.” He explained.

“Oh yeah, well just to clarify he’s not my man, which is why I didn’t respond to the boyfriend thing.” She informed with a flirty smile, “And he hasn’t come in because he went home to England for the holidays.” She explained and he hummed in understanding.

“And what’s your excuse?” He asked with a teasing grin and she narrowed her eyes playfully at him and then read over his name tag that said Aaron.

“Well Aaron, if you must know, I hate working out and my roommate bribes me with Chipotle for dinner if I join him.” Y/N explained and this made Aaron laugh and she giggled at his reaction.

“I see. So why did you come in today? Did you bribe yourself with Chipotle?” He teased with a smirk and she giggled.

“Actually, my TikTok feed was showing me fitness videos for like ten videos straight and I took it as a sign from the universe to not waste away my evening.” She confessed and he laughed again, she liked that he found her funny and he was cute and his laugh was also nice, it made her giggle along with him.

“You’re funny and I’m glad you decided to come in.” He said flirtatiously but in a very subtle way and she smiled and nodded.

“Thank you, me too.”

“Well maybe I’ll see you around if you come in again, this time is usually towards the end of my shift.” He informed her and she bit her lip to suppress her smile and nodded.

“Yeah, maybe.” She said as she started to step back to leave.

“What’s your name?” He asked her before she turned around fully to head out.

“Y/N.” She disclosed and he smiled.

“Very cute, it suits you.” He flirted and she grinned.

“Thank you, Aaron.” She responded and he grinned.

“I’ll see you around. Have a good night.”

“You too!” She smiled and then turned around and left.

She felt a bit giddy at this guy’s attention towards her even more so when she realized that he was probably the most age-appropriate man she had flirted with in a really long time, her one hit wonder with Harry didn’t count because it should never have happened; in fact she was kind of grateful for the way things went down with Harry because it felt like the proper goodbye to her old and fucked up ways, it was quite poetic really. And as hot and attractive as she continued to find him, getting involved with him now was just not a good call and now she was even able to flirt with other guys. She could just feel it in her bones that things were about to take turn for the better, this was going to be her year.

Regardless of her slight disdain towards exercising and gyms she found herself stepping into the gym at the 7:30pm hour. When she came up to the front desk to sign in she was slightly disappointed that Aaron was not there and she just went on to the elliptical to warm up; the after work crowd was starting to leave, freeing up sufficient equipment for her to take her time and she did and was even glancing around for the first 20 minutes of her time there before giving up on finding Aaron. She was just finishing up her last few reps on the assisted crunches machine and when she leaned back she was peering up to a smiling Aaron and she giggled as she sat herself up through some laughter as he came over to the side of the specialized bench.

“Two days in a row, huh?” He grinned and she shrugged, “Were you bombarded with another blatant sign from the universe?” He teased and she giggled.

“Yeah, something like that.” She responded with a smile.

“What are you doing on this thing the incline is awful? Did you need someone to hold your feet?” He asked with a smile.

“No, I can do a sit up just fine, but the floor is too hard, even with the mats and it makes my tailbone hurt.” She explained, “So I opt for this thing.” She said and he hummed.

“Are you almost done?” He asked and she nodded.

“Just a 10 minute cool down after this last set.”

“Well, would you maybe want to grab a drink at Jamba Juice just a few doors down? My treat?” He asked hopefully and she nibbled on her lip.

“Alright.” She agreed.

“Cool. I’ll meet you up front when you’re done?” He asked and she nodded, “Perfect.” Aaron smiled and soon headed off.

Y/N was actually quite happy as she chatted and joked around with Aaron as they drank their smoothies. She was having a nice time, hearing about his endeavors outside of work and sharing her own hopes and dreams. They exchanged numbers and it was nearly 9:30pm when she started driving home. Y/N was quite distracted thinking about Aaron and his flirtations and his stories and when she keyed her way into the house she screamed as she stubbed her toe on something and then proceeded to trip over it before landing on the ground with a groan. She didn’t recall leaving anything out of place and was shocked when suddenly the lights came on and she was met with a frowning and just woken up Harry.

“What’re you doing here?” She asked as she sat up and he came over slowly.

“Fuck, are you alright?” He asked instead, crouching down to her and she nodded.

“S’just my toe.” She assured him.

“I didn’t think they were too in the way.” He said of his two suitcases.

“It’s alright. When did you get in?”

“Around 7:30. Where’ve you been? Did you work late?” He asked as he helped her stand.

“I was at the gym.” She said and he looked quite shocked at this and she rolled her eyes.

“There were signs I couldn’t ignore.” She mumbled and he smiled, “Welcome back. I’m sorry I woke you.” She apologized and he shook his head.

“It’s fine. I was only asleep like twenty minutes.” He assured her.

“Why’d you come back early?” She asked and he sighed.

“I’ve got an old patient coming back in a couple days. If we have readmits the same clinician should work with them if they’re still there.” He explained and she nodded in understanding, “Gotta prepare for his intake and all that.” He said and Y/N nodded again, recalling her own intake with Harry and feeling weird about it for a second before letting it go.

“OK, well again, welcome back. I’m happy you’re home, I’ve been bored.” She said as she leaned in to hug him and he hugged her back and held her for a few more seconds that just a quick hug hello.

“You were bored…well I missed you.” He said emphatically, “Like I actually did miss you.” He said to her before letting go and she grinned at him.

“Did you now?”

“Yeah, I thought my sister would be as annoying but turns out you’re far more annoying and it’s irreplaceable.” He teased and she rolled her eyes before reaching out to play punch him in the gut, but he caught her hand and stopped it, “I also brought you some stuff back for you to try. Junk, since I know you like that.” He smiled and she laughed softly.

“You’re so considerate.” She said.

“I know.” he hummed smugly before letting her hand go, “Now, I’m gonna get back to bed.”

“You do that, old man.” She teased and he rolled his eyes before heading back towards his room.

Y/N felt really happy that he was back in town, it was true that she was bored without him. Harry always pushed her to try new things and to get out of her comfort zone and she liked that about him. She would fall into this purposeless routine when she was all alone and it was so exhausting and unproductive, so she knew that things would be picking up again in no time.

***********

Harry was due for a long day, he was out of the house shortly after Y/N who left for her shift at the hotel at 6:30am. He had to read this his old client, John’s file again. It had been about two years since his last stint bat New Beginnings. Harry always hoped that his patients would follow his recommendations and choose to use the information and insight he gave them to make better choices for themselves, like Y/N. But Y/N seemed to be an exception to a lot of things.

As soon as she popped into his brain, working on anything else was moot and that seemed to be a pattern for Harry. Since they met she had piqued his interest. He hadn’t ever fully planned on sleeping with Y/N, it had lived in his brain for a long while, but when it finally happened she seemed to be seared in his mind forever after. He couldn’t stop thinking about Y/N; he couldn’t help but worry for her wellbeing, he wanted to call, he wanted to hear her voice, to see her, to hold her. He was so drawn to her and having her around was making him feel happier than he had been in a while.

When he told her the night before that he missed her, Harry hadn’t been lying. He had talked to his mom about Y/N a few times, well about her situation and how he was helping her out. And being with his family, there were moments where he would glance to the side to laugh with her and she wasn’t there and that scared him. Especially when she tried calling him for Christmas, it wasn’t Christmas for him anymore so he wasn’t busy, but it made him feel some kind of way. He felt a bit guilty for not being there with her since he knew that the holidays were really the only times when her mother would make an effort to have things go well between them. He knew how to talk himself down from feeling weird about her wanting to talk and before he could get too far in his head about what she wanted to say, she had texted saying that she didn’t mean to interrupt, she just wanted to wish him and his family a great Christmas and that’s when he came to terms with how much he missed her.

Harry could picture Y/N curled up in bed, too lazy to move until he’d come in and beg her to have a late breakfast with him; if he begged enough she would give in and make him her famous pancakes. He could picture her making pancakes while he made them an exceptional cup of coffee before they curled up on the couch to watch Christmas movies all day.

Harry smiled as he remembered his thoughts over the holidays. Yeah he was sad that his time with his family got cut short by a day or two, but duty calls and his physical house felt a lot more like a home with Y/N around. He got a bit distracted with all that, but he soon put his head down and got to work.

***********

Y/N was on her break and just heating up her lunch in the staff room when her phone started ringing and she hurried to answer it when she saw it was Harry.

“Hello!” She chirped happily and Harry smiled at hearing her voice after dedicating a lot of his time thinking about her.

“Hey. Are you up for the gym today or should we skip it?” He asked.

“I’m up for it.” She responded with a small smile.

“Who are you and what’ve you done with my Y/N?” He asked and she bit her lip to suppress her smile as his words processed. He had said “his Y/N”, hadn’t he? It made a swarm of butterflies flutter through her tummy as she stammered a couple times trying to come up with a response.

“I-it’s me. I j-just I don’t know. I’m not gonna fu-fuss as much as before, you know?” She said and he grinned. He felt quite pleased with himself that he had flustered her.

“Won’t need to coerce you into it with Chipotle anymore?” He teased and she giggled.

“I never said that.” She responded with a grin as well and he chuckled.

“That’s true…” he smirked, “So gym and then chipotle.” He confirmed.

“Yeah, sounds great.” She responded, “I’ll catch you later, OK?”

“Perfect, see you at home.” He said and hung up.

***********

Y/N and Harry got changed rather fast before heading off to the gym. Harry hadn’t missed how put together she looked today. Usually she wore a baggy old t-shirt with leggings or bike shorts, but today her set matched and he didn’t say anything about it, but he did check her out and he couldn’t help but smile thinking about her possibly wanting to look nice for him. They were making their way to the entrance when she stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and she shook her head.

“Forgot my AirPods in your cup holder, can I have your keys?”

“Yeah, here.” He said reaching into the pocket of his tote, “I’ll wait for you here.” He smiled.

“Oh, no it’s OK you can head inside.” She said and rushed off to the car and despite her telling him to go ahead he waited outside of the door for her until she was back and she looked a little skittish.

“You alright?” He asked with slight concern and she nodded.

“Yeah. It’s cold, lets ummm, get inside.” She said and he opened up the door for her and they headed inside. As soon as they walked inside Harry noticed the guy working at the desk looking over Y/N and it made him feel a bit protective.

“Nice fit.” He said as they walked up to the counter to sign in. Harry opened his mouth about to check this guy and he stayed quiet when he heard Y/N speak up.

“Oh thanks, Aaron.” She smiled timidly at the guy and as he looked at her he could’ve sworn that she was blushing.

“And the roomie’s back!” He said with a friendly smile and Y/N nodded before looking to Harry who was looking a bit perplexed, “Welcome back!” Aaron said to Harry, who just nodded as he looked over this young fit guy.

“Ummm thanks.”

“Yeah, of course! Alright, you guys can go ahead and scan in now.” He said and they both scanned the barcode on their phones before heading further past the desk.

“Are you gonna start with a jog today?” Harry asked Y/N who hadn’t answered and when he glanced to his side she wasn’t there, but he did see her leaning on the counter chatting with Aaron and he felt his stomach start to knot up in a sickening way. He felt a lump forming in his throat as she smiled at whatever he was saying to her, very clearly flirting with her and she was flirting back. He sighed and headed into the locker room with a huff before putting his things away and heading out to one of the treadmills and she was still there. He started his music and started to run, trying to keep whatever was going on there out of his mind and he sort of blacked out after that. He was completely lost in his head, he was thinking so many things and he wasn’t sure what was going on around him, just how he wanted until he felt some taps on his shoulder and he popped his earphone out and hopping his feet off to the sides of the treadmill and glancing over to see Y/N there.

“What’s up?” He asked and she shook her head.

“Nothing, I was just wondering if you’re going to be doing anything else? You’ve been running for twenty minutes.” She informed and he felt a bit shocked as she relayed this information.

“Ummm, not today. The plane ride was bad on bad on my back, don’t want to overwork it, just gonna do cardio.” He said lowly and she nodded.

“OK, I’m gonna go to the leg machines, OK?” She informed, “Just over there.” She said pointing to the area and he looked over and saw Aaron, the guy from the front desk, wiping down machines nearby and again, he felt his heart crumble up in his chest but he nodded.

“Yeah, fine.” He said curtly and popped his AirPod back in before she could say anything else.

Y/N was feeling perplexed at Harry’s attitude, he had seemed fine…well now that she thought of it he had been a bit quiet since he came home. Maybe he’d had a bad day, she knew that he would be working with a previous patient, maybe it had been hard on him, that case. And as she walked over to the machines she wondered if maybe it was someone he had been with, the way he had been with her. She quickly shook herself from thinking that and got on the machine, doing very light weight as she and Aaron chatted as he cleaned around the area she was at.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go grab food after this?” He ended up asking and she nibbled on her lip as she nodded.

“Yeah, sure. I came with Harry though-”

“I can drop you off at home after.” He said and she nodded.

“Yeah, alright.” She agreed, “Let me go have a quick chat with Harry. I think he had a bit of a day at work.” She explained and Aaron frowned.

“Oh.” He said and she nodded.

“Yeah, might be good for him to have a bit of space. I can be a bit much at times.” She said and he frowned.

“Has he said that to you?” Aaron asked in slight offense and her eyes went wide and she shook her head.

“Oh no, never!” She assured, “Just some ummm…something I’ve heard before. I guess, I just assumed he’d think the same thing.” She shrugged, suddenly feeling so embarrassed for unknowingly revealing how damaged she still was deep down.

“I was about to say, you shouldn’t be living with someone who talks to you like that.” He explained and she giggled as she thought about how that had literally been her entire life up until she was living with Harry, “I’m no expert or anything but he might need you. You’re friends, sometimes we need friends on bad days and sometimes we need space. If it’s one of those ‘need a friend’ kind of day then we can do dinner another day.” He assured and Y/N smiled.

“That’s sweet of you, thanks. I’ll go check on him.” She said and went off. Harry had been watching this entire exchange as they spoke and it made his stomach twist and ache with jealousy. It was hard to watch and when she started coming over towards him he knew that it wasn’t just to see if he was done. He pulled out his earphones as she walked up to him. “You alright?” She asked him with a small frown and he nodded quickly.

“It was just a long day.” He said and she nodded in understanding.

“I can see that.” She said and he sighed, “Well ummm, I-if you’re tired Aaron asked me if I wanted to grab dinner with him?” She asked and he felt his heart sink, “Said he could drop me off at home afterwards.”

“Oh ummm…yeah, that’s fine.” He said lowly.

“If you don’t feel like being alone I can totally tell him tonight’s not a good night.” She said and he shook his head.

“I’m fine.” He assured and she looked in his eyes for a few moments.

“OK, I’ll tell him another night.” She said and walked off and he ran after her. He didn’t want to ruin her plans because he had no idea what he would say when she asked about his day because it had been an absolutely peach of a day until he saw her flirting back with this gym guy. Harry had seen him before and he was always nice, but this was something else - it wasn’t very professional of him.

“Wait, no Y/N!” He hurried after her, “Please go eat with your… friend.” He said stiffly.

“Harry, you’re my friend too and if you need me to be with you tonight-” she said and then shook her head when he giggled a bit, “You know what I meant.” She said pointedly, “I care about you and I want to be there for you if you want that.” She said and he bit his lip, “We can get the Chipotle to go? And we can even get frozen yogurt.” She suggested with a small smile.

“Share one?” He asked and she nodded.

“Yeah, on me. Both the food and dessert.” She added in and he finally smiled and it made her heart feel all full and happy again.

“Yeah, alright.” He hummed, trying not to give away how happy he felt right now.

“Are you done then?”

“Yeah, I’m done for today.” He said and she nodded.

“OK, I’ll go let Aaron know.” She assured and hurried off. He watched from afar as she broke the news to him and he didn’t seem let down in the slightest. He just nodded with a smile and they hugged for a few moments before he also waved at Harry from afar who just nodded quickly before Y/N was back at his side and they were heading to the locker rooms to grab their things before heading off.

When they got home they both settled onto the ground in front of the couch and Harry put on a film, What a Girl Wants actually, per Y/N’s request and he honored it since she had paid for dinner and dessert. They ate while watching the film, but when she got up to throw away their bowls and grab the fro-yo container from the freezer he knew that she’d be back with questions.

“Here you are.” She said as she handed him the spoon and then scooted into the spot on the rug beside him before opening it up and letting him have the first scoop of it and then she went for a scoop.

“Can never go wrong with plain tart.” He hummed and she smiled and nodded in agreement.

“So do you want to talk about what happened today?” She asked and he sighed, “I know you can’t like…go into details but ummm, I can just listen.” She said and he sighed. He wanted to sort of get this off his chest but he needed to be vague and not make her suspicious of what he had been feeling since she clearly was interested in someone else now.

“It wasn’t all that bad, I just got in my head.” He said and she nodded in understanding, “Like sometimes being a therapist is really hard because there are just some patients that sort of…worm their way into your heart.” He explained and as he said this she felt a little pinch of jealously in her chest but nodded regardless in understanding.

“Yeah, I can see how that can happen.”

“Yeah and it’s hard sometimes to cope with those feelings. When you’ve crossed that line sometimes it’s hard to not cross it again.” He said and she swallowed thickly and nodded.

“So this patient…you’ve ummm…” she trailed off and looked down at her lap and he frowned as he understood what she was trying to ask. He quickly set down the fro-yo container and turned to her.

“No.” He said lowly but emphatically, “Hey,” he said as he grabbed her face gently, upturning it towards him, “I’ve never done that before. W-what happened between us was a one time thing a-and I never thought I would do that and I’ve never even thought of doing that again and it never should’ve even happened. It was wrong and-” he paused as he saw the look in her eyes of embarrassment and concern, “That’s not…fuck, I don’t regret it! I enjoyed it, a lot! But I do wish it had been under…other circumstances. Not that you would even want that or me, but if we had met somewhere else or-”

“I get it, Harry.” She interrupted with a small smile and he sighed in relief.

“Good. I’ve never slept with another patient, I swear.” He said again.

“Geez. I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed of being the person who led you to tarnishing your impeccable professional integrity.” She mumbled and he chuckled and reached for her hand.

“It wasn’t your fault. Not in the slightest.” He shook his head, “I wanted you. Badly. I was selfish and I wasn’t thinking about you or your wellbeing in that moment and I suppose\ that’s why I feel it was wrong. Sometimes I wonder if I…took advantage of your trust in me and I…hate that.” He frowned and she shook her head and squeezed his hand that was holding hers.

“You didn’t. I wanted you too, from the very start I was attracted to you and I toyed around with the idea the first couple days, but I ummm…I wanted to actually put effort into working on myself and my issues and I decided that for once focusing on a guy and getting him to like me wasn’t the priority.” She explained and he nodded along, “I ummm…I was shocked when even after getting to hear all of the fucked up-ness that I came with you still…wanted me.” She said, “And that’s why I ummm…let it happen. I knew you would’ve stopped if I properly asked and I ummm, didn’t want to, so you’re fine.” She assured.

“Well it’s good to know I didn’t make you feel pressured or something.” He said and she smiled.

“So, this patient…?” She asked and well, the patient he had been talking about this entire time was her, but he supposed he should talk about the patient she thought he was talking about from the start, John.

“Well, like I said the other day, they’ve been in and out a few times and I just get a little too invested. Could’ve sworn we had a breakthrough when he was last in and I kinda hoped it was the last time I’d see him there.” He explained, “Makes me feel like maybe I’m not doing a good job, but then again I realize that we make our choices ourselves and there’s people like him who can’t help themselves but stick to what they know and then there’s people like you who don’t want stay stuck in what they know so they just…take it all in and use it. And I feel happy that I was able to help.”

“You did. I swear it, Harry, you saved my life.” She said and he smiled as she let her thumb run over his knuckles, “Are you feeling better?” She asked.

“Definitely.” He assured and just before she pulled her hand away he brought his other hand over, to hold her smaller hand between his own, “So this guy from the gym.” He brought it up though he didn’t want to and that there was why… she giggled bashfully at the mention of him.

“Aaron. Ummm, we’re cool.” She shrugged, “He’s cute and sweet. It was actually his idea that I ummm, spend some time with you one on one if that’s what you needed. Not that I didn’t want to be here for you!” She added in quickly, “But I was thinking of giving you space instead. It’s mostly because that’s what I was most commonly asked for in the past by others so I just assumed you’d want the same thing.” She explained and he hummed.

“I would tell you if I needed space from you. I promise.” He said and she nodded in understanding, “So you and this Aaron?”

“We actually got to talking a few days ago. He had wondered where you were when I started coming in alone.” She explained, “He thought you were my boyfriend.” She said with a giggle and Harry bit his lip, he didn’t know why this was amusing. Maybe it was to her since she was not interested in him that way.

“Well, I supposed that’s not a difficult deduction to make. We always show up together and we’re warding gym creeps away from each other.” He explained.

“Yeah…” she hummed with a smile.

“You looked very pretty today. Was that for him?” He asked with a slight lump in his throat and she giggled quietly.

“No…and a little bit yes.” She confessed and he smiled despite the hurt in his heart.

“A little bit yes…” he repeated before looking into her eyes.

“Yeah, it’s just…he’s attractive. My age, so appropriate. and he was flirting with me. No one has really flirted with me in a while and I just-”

“Oh, is that so?” He asked with a grin and she rolled her eyes playfully.

“You don’t count.” She said and that hurt him more than he thought it would.

“And why not?” He asked and she sighed.

“Because Harry… then I’m gonna develop a crush on you and that would suck because I’m not nearly good enough for you!” She said, “And I don’t want to get all hopeful over something that can never happen.” She said in exasperation.

“I think I can decide who is good enough for me and who isn’t, Y/N. And quite frankly if anything I’ve done has given you hope it was completely intentional.” He said and her eyes widened in shock, “I care about you. More than I ought to, from the start. Every day after you left I was thinking about you. I wanted to call or know how I could help. I thought you hadn’t called because you regretted what happened or just chose to forget about me.” He explained and she shook her head.

“I just didn’t want to drag you into my mess.” She explained and he chuckled.

“Your life is not a mess, Y/N and I don’t see you as a charity case or anything like that. I genuinely care for you, Y/N. I’ve enjoyed having you here the last few months and I don’t want you to feel bad if you don’t feel the same way I do about all of this. I know that you’re trying to get back on your feet and the last thing you need is another layer of complication to what you’re dealing with-”

“No Harry, you’re wonderful and I couldn’t have asked for a better situation to be in. For the first time in my life I feel like everything’s right and like I’m happy.” She confessed, “I’m so happy being here with you.” She assured and he smiled, “And I’m not going to lie. I am worried about complicating things a bit since we are living together right now but I do care about you so much and I try and hold back how much I care for that very reason an-” Y/N was cut off as he grabbed her face in his hands gently and kissed her lips tenderly.

It felt so amazing to have their lips meet again. They’d each been dreaming about it since the day after she had moved in. He had kissed her then, but he told himself it happened in a bout of passion, he couldn’t just pursue her how he wanted to, he told himself he would take things as slowly as possible.

“That guy, Aaron, do you like him?” He asked and she sighed.

“Of course, but it’s more of a mild crush it’s nothing compared to how I-” she cut herself off and he smiled as he leaned back in and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers.

“Compared to what?” He asked quietly, trying his best to hold back his grin, “Tell me, baby.” He coaxed her gently. Y/N felt like her entire body was on fire at Harry’s words and proximity, she swore that her heart was hammering in her throat.

“Compared to how I feel about you.” She finally said in a small voice and he smiled even wider as she felt her face heat up with the blood rushing up to it.

“Oh…” he responded and she rolled her eyes playfully, “And how exactly do you feel about me?” He asked, puling her onto his lap and she giggled.

“You first. I already confessed something.” She said and he chuckled.

“OK, that’s fair.” Harry smiled, “I like that despite everything that you’ve been through, your heart is still so open and full of care and love. I like that you’re lazy-” she scoffed and he giggled, “let me finish, yeah?” She nodded as he continued, “it reminds me to slow down and enjoy the little things. I like the way your hair is now, it looks really pretty when it’s down-”

“My balayage is all grown out!” She laughed and he shrugged with a little smile.

“It just means you’ve come a long way.” He said and that made her smile drop into a pout of endearment as she felt her eyes welling up, “I like how happy I feel around you too. You’ve made this home away from home.” He said, “I like your pancakes, I need the recipe, you do something to them, I just know it.” He insisted and she giggled as she sniffled away the urge to cry, “I like how you make fun of my accent,” He said and she giggled again, “and how you quote films and shows in everyday conversation, I like how much you’ve been smiling recently, I like how willing you are to being the best version of yourself, makes me want to do the same. I like it when you say my name and when you hug me when I get home from work…I just like having you around, Y/N.” He finished simply and she leaned in and kissed him deeply it knocked him back a bit, but he managed to keep them upright as they kissed again and then parted with a soft smack.

“Wait, so what does this mean for us?” She asked and he hummed as he looked down to where her hands were on his chest and he grabbed one of them, interlacing their fingers before he glanced up into her eyes.

“I would like to be with you whenever you’re ready to take that step.” He said softly.

“I’m ready now.” She giggled and he did as well.

“Eager.” He hummed and she shrugged, “I do need to tell you this though, in the state of California a clinician isn’t allowed to engage in any type of romantic affair with a previous client until after 5 years after completion of treatment. It’s in the code of conduct.” He explained.

“Oh shit.” She exclaimed and he nodded.

“Obviously, I’m not going to make you wait 5 years for me and I don’t want to do that either but ummm… we will need to lay low for a while, you know? I love my job and I don’t want to lose my license and I also don’t want to get you into any trouble. I never told anyone what happened between us before, so in terms of that and like my personal life, that should be OK. But like when it comes to my co-workers and being together anywhere near to where I work we just need to not look like a couple. It’s one of the reasons I live so far from the facility, I wanted to make sure that there’s not too much bleeding of my personal life into my professional life.” He explained and she nodded.

“Yeah, I understand that and I don’t take offense to that.” She assured him, “I get it and you’re great at your job. I would hate for you to lose that on account of me.” She explained, “And well, as much as I want to move forward with you I think I also need to continue working on myself. Now that I have insurance I actually started looking for a new therapist to keep working through things with. We can take it really slow, you know? I want to be able to move out too, not that I don’t like being here with you, I love it! But I also know that if our relationship continues to evolve it’ll be important to have our own spaces while we get acclimated to that.” She said and he nodded.

“I agree. Research on cohabitation does not show a favorable outcome for relationship longevity.” He said and she giggled.

“Such a nerd.” She whispered as she leaned in to his lips and he grinned.

“You love it.” He hummed as he leaned in as well.

“That I do.” She smiled before connecting their lips slowly. She took her time feeling his lips on her own, loving how warm and soft they were as they connected against hers. She could feel him squeezing her fingers in his grip and her free hand came up around his neck. He hummed as she accidentally dragged her center over his, he was getting hard and she did it again, deliberately this time and she inhaled sharply as this movement in particular caused some friction to her clit. Harry felt like fire was running through his veins, he wanted her so bad. The last time they had sex it had been kinky and rough, but he wanted to love on her now. Make her feel good and cared for even if he knew he wouldn’t be lasting too long, there was no way he would. Like her, he hadn’t had sex with anyone since her - that was a long time for him.

“What happened to taking it super slow?” He teased and she sucked his bottom lip between her own a few times before responding.

“We don’t have to do anything past this.” She reasoned, “Unless you want to.” She added in as she pulled back to properly look into his eyes.

“Do you want to?” He asked and she bit her lip coyly, which made him smirk, which then caused her to hide her face against his neck and he chuckled as he ran his free hand up and down her back, “How about we have a shower and then cozy up in bed and watch a movie and we’ll see what happens. Sound good?” He asked.

“Yeah. And we’re showering separately, right?” She asked and he chuckled.

“Yes, unless you want to share, I don’t mind.” He said.

“I’ve never actually showered with anyone so maybe not.” She said and he smiled.

“OK, see you in my room?” He asked and she nodded and with one final kiss they broke apart. Harry assured her he would put away their untouched and melted fro-yo and she headed off to shower in a ball of nerves.

Y/N made sure she was extra thorough, she wanted Harry to smell her shampoo and body wash on her skin. She even went as far as moving up her body scrub routine because she wanted to be extra soft for him. Soon enough she was all done and just blowdrying her hair to a damp consistency because she didn’t want it to be sopping wet. Then she got into some sleeping clothes and wandered into his room, he had left the door open and it sounded like he was just brushing his teeth or something so she turned down the bed and slipped into the side that he clearly did not sleep on and curled up, shivering at the cold temperature of the unused sheets. It was just moments before he was stepping out, still shirtless and it made her blush. Harry liked seeing her in his bed, it did funny things to his tummy.

“Let me just get on a shirt.” He said lowly as he headed towards his dresser.

“I mean, you don’t have to wear one…” she joked and he chuckled.

“I also don’t have to get pneumonia.” He joked back and she rolled her eyes at his dramatics.

Soon enough he was turning off the lights and settling into bed beside her. He switched on the TV and handed her the remote to choose what she wanted. Harry wasn’t all that picky with what he watched, which she appreciated. She was largely into docuseries and those Netflix specials on cults and murderers and he had sat through plenty of them with her, but she would certainly choose something lighter for this occasion. She smiled to herself when he curled into her chest, assuming the position of little spoon. It didn’t take long for her to just put on a rom-com and slide the remote under the end of the pillow so that she could hug her arms around him. She nuzzled her cheek into the top of his head and he pulled her left hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

That was it for a little while, but soon he started to kiss her hand again, and he opened up it up before kissing her palm, which made her giggle as his slight scruff tickled her skin. Then he started kissing her fingertips so gently, but she could hear the smack of his lips and the little smooching sounds as he moved from finger to finger. She really wasn’t expecting it when he nipped at the pad of her middle finger before he slid it into his mouth and sucked. It immediately made her go hot all over and she bit her lip as she felt the smooth texture of his warm tongue against her finger. She had done this before, but it had never been done to her but now she understood why guys liked that so much. He skimmed the length of it with his teeth as he drew his mouth up her finger to let it go and it made her breath hitch as he pulled off. Seconds later he was taking two of her fingers between his lips, humming around her digits before popping off and turning around quickly. He settled himself over her body and kissed her fervently, it took her breath away as his tongue dipped into her mouth and rolled against hers. His hips were grinding into hers, letting her feel how hard he was for her and it was making her wetter for him by the second.

“Can I go down on you?” He mumbled against her mouth and Y/N hummed and nodded.

“Yeah, please.” She panted and he immediately started kissing down her jaw, to her neck, then her throat, and down her sternum. He sat up and tugged at her shirt which prompted Y/N to sit up and tear it off before he grabbed at her breast. His warm hands kneaded at her gently and but with purpose as his mouth took turns in suckling at her nipples until she was squirming beneath him and pleading him for more. He mumbled a smug “I’ll get there.” As he kissed down her tummy as his hands ran up her thighs, spreading her legs open so that he could settle comfortably between them. As he pulled down her sweats she lifted her bum and he chuckled when he didn’t see an underwear band, “To be fair I never wear undies to sleep.” She informed him as he made some remark about it.

“Sure, sure…” he teased before he tugged them off all the way and got a good look at her.

Harry’d been dying to get a taste of her since he saw her little pussy all sticky and wet for him. He wasted no time in pushing her legs up, banding them at the knee and delving in. She moaned immediately as he started to tongue through her folds, rubbing and flicking in all the right places. Her fingers wove into his hair, holding his face down to her as he started to suck at her clit. Y/N’s eyes rolled back as she let out a cry as she felt his fingers start to rub over her entrance. She was itching to feel them push into her and start to open her up for his cock.

“So good…” She moaned as he shook his head from side to side, his moans were reverberating through her body, sending waves of pleasure through her stomach and to her limbs. He was so good at this…the way he was making out with her entire pussy was something she had never experienced before. It was so much better than she ever thought it could be. Her tummy was fluttering as she suddenly felt so close to the edge. He’d only been down there five minutes and she already about to come, “I’m close!” She warned and he moaned before he used his fingers to open her up a bit more and really use his tongue on her clit. It was almost too much, it was making her tremble. His warm tongue rubbing over her clit, his stubble ticking her labia and inner thighs, his moans vibrating through her entire body, the sheer delight he was experiencing as he gave her head, it was all coming together beautifully to carry her over the coveted precipice of what is an orgasm, “Oh fuck! Oh fuck!” She cried as she started to come undone. Her thighs started to close as the tingle started to become too much for her, she was shaking and tugging hard at his hair as Harry worked her through her orgasm. He was living for her moans and her taste and everything that she was in this moment as she came undone on his tongue.

“Oh my god!” She whimpered as he kissed over her entrance before slipping his tongue inside, wagging it a few times and moaning at the taste of her cum. He them worked his way back to her clit, all sensitive and throbbing. He was gentle as he rolled his tongue over it slowly, barely letting her come down before he started to wind her up again.

“Want you to come again.” He mumbled briefly before he brought his fingers to her entrance again, “Can you give me another one, baby?” He asked, glancing up to her briefly and she nodded with a pained look on her face and while their eyes were on each others he sunk his two fingers into her and he watched as her brows creased and her jaw went slack as he curled them up into her spot. So hot and smooth against his finger tips. He smirked at he watched her eyes flutter closed as she moaned out in pleasure as he rubbed into her g-spot, “So fucking wet for me.” He moaned as he heard the wet and squelching sounds of his fingers moving in and out of her entrance.

“Fuuuck…” she mewled, “Don’t stop! Please, don’t stop!” She begged and he grinned again before he busied his mouth over her clit again.

She was so fucking perfect, he could do this all day if she’d let him. He could feel her tight, wet walls squeezing around his digits, sucking them in deeper into her. He started using more force, loving how her thighs were threatening to squeeze around his head as the pleasure started to overwhelm her. All he could hear were the wet sounds of his fingers fucking her, the wet slurps of his mouth at her clit, and her steady flow of praises as he brought her to her orgasm once again. He was enamored with the feeling of her orgasm, he couldn’t wait to feel it around his cock. It was driving mad and he kept going and going until her legs were shaking hard and he could hear her begging him to slow down. So he did, he slowly came to a stop, but before he could pull away she was tugging his hair up and guiding him back up to her. Their lips met desperately and she moaned at her taste on his mouth. Her hands were now tugging at his shirt and she broke the kiss for a moment.

“Told you, you didn’t have to wear one.” She grinned and he chuckled as he knelt up and pulled it off of his body and their eyes met for a moment, just a quiet and tender moment before he was letting his body settle over hers again, slower this time. Their noses nudged and their mouths hovered as their breathed each other in, the moment suddenly became so intimate and tender. Y/N could feel her heart swelling inside of her chest, everything she felt started to surface and it made her want to cry with joy because who on earth was she to deserve someone like him.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful.” He whispered between them as he took her in and she felt her eyes start to well up.

“You’re gonna make me cry.” She said sniffled and he smiled.

“Happy tears I hope.” He said with a little smile and she nodded, “I’m going to kiss you now.” He said and she craned her neck up towards his as their lips pressed together slowly.

There was no urgency to this kiss, it was deep and heartfelt and that was tangible the longer it went on, “Want to go nice and slow.” He said and she nodded in agreement, “Want to see your face.” He said and she moaned at the thought of watching his face while they had sex, “Gonna grab a condom.” He said and she nodded as he drew away from her for a moment to dig in his bedside table and cursing a bit when he realized there weren’t any in there and he hurried off to the bathroom. He quickly slipped out of his own sweats before climbing back on the bed and sliding the condom onto his erection before he settled over her body. She was aching to feel him inside of her, she was desperate to feel him so close to her again. She could feel him now, prodding at her entrance as he situated himself and their lips met again in a slow kiss. She hitched her legs up around his hips and he glanced down between their bodies briefly before looking back into her eyes as she nodded, indicating that she was ready for him and he pressed inside, his mouth dropped open in a low moan in tandem with her as his head pushed into her. He then slowly guided his hips down, watching her face as she took every inch of him until they were nose to nose and her eyes fluttered closed as she basked in the feeling of him finally inside. He was in deep, she felt like he was in her tummy and she had no idea how to cope with it as he started to gyrate his hips against hers, somehow managing to open her up further until she was completely at his mercy as he started thrusting deep and slow. She felt like her skin was on fire as his touch grazed over her arms and up to her hair. He buried his fingers in it before kissing her deeply. They were drinking in each other’s moans and sounds of pleasure as their bodies met in the most delicious way possible.

“I missed you so much.” He panted and she smiled as she pulled him down for a kiss again.

“Me too, baby.” She whispered into his mouth. Everything was perfect and slow and romantic and intimate. Y/N had never made love with anyone before and it was carrying her body and soul to a new height, a place she had never experienced. She couldn’t help it as her eyes welled up with tears and he saw it happened and kissed her lips.

“It’s OK if you need to cry.” He said to her and she sniffled as she surged forward as their lips met in an ardent kiss as a few tears streaked between them, “So perfect.” He hummed as he pulled away to let her breathe properly as he continued thrusting his hips against hers in deep motions until he was barely holding on. His arms were trembling and she pushed herself up to sit and he followed, pulling out of her before having her straddle his lap and sink onto his cock again. She gasped at how deep he felt now that she was on top but he continued to thrust up against her as she hugged him to her chest. His kisses were hot and needy against her chest and throat and neck. She had set the most delicious pace and they were soon getting close.

“I’m so close.” She mewled and he hummed against her throat as he hugged her tighter and she gripped the hair at the back of his head and yanked it back before kissing him hard and parting with a wet gasp.

“Fuck.” He groaned as she started to grind down against him. Their climaxes building together perfectly. Everything about this moment between them was perfect and as their sounds grew in frequency they started to peak together, “I’m gonna come! I’m gonna come!” He panted and she kissed his lips quickly.

“Just a little more, baby. I’m right there!” She pleaded and he groaned, his thighs and abs trembling as he tried to hold on. He brought his thumb between them to rub little circles into her clit and her body curled into his as she gasped, “Oh my god! Harry!” She whimpered and he felt her squeeze so tight around his cock and he couldn’t help it as he started to moan and come undone, shooting ropes inside of the condom as she started to grind against him in no particular rhythm, just riding out her orgasm until she was trembling and he was pulling them down into the mattress, their bodies still connected as he held her close.

Their ragged breathing and sweaty bodies a testament to what they had just done with each other, but it felt so comfortable, basking in his warmth. As they settled down she kissed at his neck and throat tenderly, careful not to leave any marks on his skin.

“You OK, baby?” He asked and she nodded against him, giving him a soft hum as confirmation, “Good.” He said before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

He warned her before he pulled out and went to toss the condom and so she let him go do that and when he came back he helped her get dressed, like the first time they had sex, and then he got himself dressed before they both settled into his covers, shivering as they adjusted into the warmth of the bed, he was the big spoon this time. She smiled as she felt him pressing kisses into her hair and her head, his arms were looped tight around her body as their legs tangled together. He was making remarks about how cold her feet were and she was giggling as she ran them against his calf, making him yelp. But soon the laughter settled down and they were both just breathing slow and deep together, basking in each other’s warmth after being so deprived of it for so long.

“Was that OK?” He asked after some silence.

“It was perfect.” She smiled as she responded, “I’ve never done it like that before.” She confessed and that made him a bit sad for her.

“I’m happy to be the first. Fucking is also fun but I also enjoy showing you what I feel for you so if you ever want that just let me know.” He said and she smiled.

“I will, thank you.” She whispered.

“Of course, baby. I just want you to be happy. So, so happy and I would love it more if I could be the one you’re happy with.” He said softly against her ear. It made her entire body covered in goosebumps as he said this, both of them vibrating with affection for each other, neither of them had ever felt whatever it was they were feeling now and it was so wonderful.

“You already are the person I’m happy with.” She assured and he couldn’t even contain the giant smile that was on his face as her words processed and sunk in.

“You’re that person for me too.” He assured quietly. Y/N smiled as she scooted even closer to his body and hummed in happiness. She couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for them.

"It's love, by the way." she suddenly whispered and his brows furrowed in confusion.

"What is?" he asked and she smiled.

"The secret ingredient. In the pancakes." she whispered and he chuckled and kissed her on the head.

"Knew there was a secret." he grinned happily.

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles reader insert #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles smut #therapist harry #harry styles flulff #roomie harry #harry styles writing #writing #0nlythrowharrybeaux

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fannish-karmiya · 2 years

Text

I’ve seen huge numbers of people in fandom who are Lan fans present the idea that Wangxian winding up in Cloud Recesses post-canon is their ideal ending: the ideal ending that MXTX intended. Any dissenting opinions about how Wangxian are treated in Cloud Recesses or the Lans’ past crimes is ignored, and how dare we disagree with Wangxian’s decision or MXTX’s master plan for the novel.

One thing that strikes me about this is that it’s very aggressive towards literary criticism. We can have differing opinions on the novel and interpret the ending in our own ways! On top of that, I’m not even criticising MXTX as an author or her plan for the novel or anything like that...I just have a differing interpretation of what the meaning behind the tensions in Cloud Recesses post-canon is.

I don’t think it’s necessarily meant to be a perfect, uncomplicated happy ending. MDZS doesn’t have those. The sects who committed atrocities are still in power, and WWX has only been replaced with a new scapegoat for the sects to vilify. It’s a very realistic ending, and I also think it should be viewed through the lens of it being a novel written in mainland China, where any stories about wide structural changes or revolution run the risk of being accused of sedition, and where real life structural change probably feels like a pipe dream; all you can do is live your life as best you can following your own principles, as Wangxian do, not change society.

I also think that the lack of real acceptance WWX deals with from the Lans, with LQR encouraging the sect to shun him and he and LXC both seeming to only tolerate him because they know LWJ will choose him if push comes to shove, has a purpose. It’s very reminiscent of how many real gay couples who are accepted by their families are only nominally accepted by them. LQR acknowledges the marriage tacitly by allowing WWX to attend the sect banquet as LWJ’s cultivation partner, but also discourages members of the sect from interacting with WWX (the juniors already have been informed that if they speak with him they will be punished, and so speak with him in private where they won’t be seen). On top of that, the banquet also shows us that many of the other members of the sect, and the elders, disapprove of WWX; WWX takes note of their harsh looks and then ignores them, but he still notices that he is not welcome. LXC never interacts with WWX post-canon, and we never hear about them doing so second-hand, either. LWJ is allowed to have his cultivation partner, these gestures say, but he is not a real member of the family and we will seek to mitigate this disaster as much as we possibly can, since he’s left us with no other choice.

I don’t want Wangxian to be unhappy post-canon or to make extra drama for them; I just see that there are issues with how they are treated by the Lans and want to address and explore them!

The fact that WWX is used to being shunned and treated badly by society, and by the family he lives with in particular, does not make it somehow better! So the way he was treated in Yunmeng Jiang was wrong but not Gusu Lan? It’s a clear bias present in large swathes of fandom.

It doesn’t feel like there’s any room in this fandom for having differing opinions or interpretations of the text. Different corners of fandom have different accepted narratives and if you don’t follow them then you’re out. This doesn’t happen in just one corner of fandom, everyone gets in on it. JC fans, LXC and LQR fans, JGY fans, XY fans...they all have really strict ideas you can’t deviate from. It makes the whole fandom feel really unwelcoming, because any discussion seems to inevitably turn nasty, and I’m left not wanting to engage directly with other people’s posts because I know that disagreeing with them will just lead to us arguing in circles and not actually finding middle ground or having a reasonable discussion.

#mdzs #mdzs fandom #gusu lan #wangxian #a bit more lan salt #sorry but i've been holding it in for a year and it's time to just toss out the whole saltshaker

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mama-qwerty · 1 year

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Sonic Prime Questions

Okay, so I’ve had some time to digest Sonic Prime, and lemme say, I really enjoyed it. It was fun, with interesting characterizations, and nice visuals.

There were a number of things that left me wondering, though.

~ Why was Shadow looking for the Chaos Emerald? He seemed pretty intent on finding it, like it was some urgent matter he needed to address. Why? This also seemed to be before he ran into Sonic, which would mean there was a whole other ‘thing’ going on with Shadow that made him search for the emerald. What was he doing?

Theory - He was actually sent back in time to stop Sonic from shattering the Prism. That fight between them was meant to distract Sonic long enough for Tails to take more readings and figure out what was going on and how to handle the Prism.

Husband’s Theory - He was between brooding sessions with nothing better to do.

*****

~ The Chaos Council - Okay, so we know they’re “Eggman” but how does that work, exactly? Are they clones? Eggman (Eggmen?) from alternate realities he pulled together as a “think tank” sort of thing? And why do we not see the middle-aged Eggman from the Prime universe? Age-wise, he should be between Mr. Dr. Eggman and Dr. Done It. Where is he? He was technically close to the Prism when it shattered, but not as close as Sonic. Was he affected differently due to his proximity?

Theory - All these dimensions hold shattered versions of everyone but Sonic and Shadow. Ergo, each of the Council IS Eggman, but he was shattered into five different ages. No other dimension we’ve seen so far has an Eggman, so all of his ‘alternates’ ended up in New Yoke City, and that’s why what world is completely paved over and the other worlds aren’t.

*****

~ I know this universe seems based a lot on the games, but Sonic didn’t seem very . . . Sonic. He seemed to refuse to listen to anyone, and was more interested in jumping into things without any thought or understanding of the situation. Every time he saw a version of his friends, he immediately ran toward them and acted like they knew each other, even after traveling to what is very obviously a completely different world.

Theory - Sonic seems . . . I dunno, young? Like maybe this takes place pretty early in his adventures, so he doesn’t have the benefit of experience to draw from. Mr. What You See Is What You Get is doing what he does best--jump in feet first and be the hero.

Husband’s Theory - He’s intentionally designed to be “not ideal” so we can see some character growth throughout the series. He’s flawed, but will grow, which we’re already seeing signs of.

*****

~ Where are all the Sonics? Do they not exist on these worlds? Are they simply minding their business elsewhere? Did they vanish because Prime Sonic seemed to be infused with the Prism?

Theory - There ARE no Sonics on these worlds, because Sonic (and presumably Shadow) was at the epicenter of the shattering of the Prism. They were essentially protected from the blastwave that enveloped the rest of Green Hill, and thus, immune from the shattering that occurred to everyone else in its wake.

*****

~ The Prism apparently has time altering abilities, not only because Sonic was gone for weeks according to the New Yoke timeline, but also because in Nine’s flashback, the world was already paved over. How long ago did the Council come into power? Where did they find the Prism Shard? Rouge and Knux both remember before the world was torn up. How long ago was that? Even if we say Nine was about four in his flashback, it takes a while to construct an entire city. Was Dr. Babble around then? Is Dr. Done It essentially Eggman Prime who arrived a long time ago and put things in motion, eventually finding/creating the other members of the council?

Theory - Yeah, I got nothin’ that may explain this. Let’s say Rouge’s flashback was about 5 years ago, the Council would have needed time to get enough supplies and resources to not only build the robots and machines necessary to plow over Green Hill, but also to implement all that construction and keep the locals from causing trouble. So there would have had to have been a longer period when Eggman/the Council were working behind the scenes. The city looked like it’d been built up over time, and the people seemed beaten down, as happens with long-term occupation by an oppressor. So I have no idea how to explain that.

*****

I’m sure there are other questions bobbing around in my head, but these were the main ones that come to mind right away. Really hoping to see more really soon!

#sonic prime #sonic prime spoilers

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batmanisagatewaydrug · 2 years

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heyhey sex witch! so warning i will be mentioning sexual trauma, but i will attempt to keep it brief, and this is not at all a request for mental health help, i'm bringing it up as a possible factor. but still, cool people give trigger warnings. okay

so i've had an internal vibrator i've had for about a year, though i haven't used it in about that long for (apparently persistent) pain reasons i'll be detailing below. i'm a seasoned solo-sex-haver, though that's pretty much always solely clitoral stimulation. some things in my life have changed lately and i've been making a lot of mental health strides, and i've decided i'd like to start trying vaginal penetration again, something i haven't really tried for like a year. but i experience a stretching kinda burning pain with insertion, almost exclusively on the anterior vaginal wall (on what feels like a flap of skin or something?) this does decrease a bit with the usage of lube (though, despite my being on testosterone, self-lubrication isn't really a problem for me once i get going lmao) but it doesn't go away at all. i've done some poking around on the internet and it sounds like i might just be too tight (which is apparently something that happens often with some of my disabilities, ehlers danlos and ptsd). but it's weird because i've been working on my ptsd and yeah recovery isn't linear and all that but i really have been getting a lot better. and on top of that, i feel like if it was just general "too tight" then i'd feel the pain all around the entrance and the canal, not just the anterior portion? and also it doesn't really feel like the walls themselves are too tight, just the entrance, and then pain coming from that anterior bit

i must admit my sex ed failed me miserably and i had to google what was in that region. it looks like maybe my urethra is in that area, but does it really stick out enough to cause pain during penetration???

i guess my questions are this

1 what the hell is/could be happening to me

2 do i need to see a doctor or is this probably something i can handle myself

3 if this is something i can probably handle myself, how do i do that

i really really want to enjoy penetration (like, hypothetically i'm a size queen (gender neutral)), so any and all advice/pointers/support you can provide would be greatly appreciated. tysm <3

hi anon, lots to address here so I'm going to follow your lead with a numbered list

1.) sounds like the most likely explanation for what's happening is that you're way out of practice with penetrative sex (recent post here about that) + have some specific conditions making it more complicated for you than it might be for the average bear.

2.) it couldn't hurt to raise the matter with a healthcare provider, especially if you think this may be relevant to one or more of your other health considerations. like I can't in any way guarantee they'll have useful insights but it also literally cannot hurt, you feel?

3.) re: doing it yourself, read that linked ask and give yourself patience and kindness while you figure it out. understand that your physical limitations may not fall exactly in line with what you ideally want to be able to do and understand that that's Fine. who among us gets a body that works exactly how we want?

4.) you didn't have a fourth question but this is so SO important to me to say this: your urethra absolutely should not be sticking out AT ALL unless you're experiencing urethral prolapse.

#sex edventures 2022

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tonaegiris · 1 year

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The Far Side of Self - A Gen Bungou Stray Dogs oneshot

READ ON AO3

Walking into the Armed Detective Agency on a Monday morning should not have been the event that it was, but Kunikida Doppo was used to the chaos that came with working at this establishment.

Right as the man opened the door he was hit in the face with a white coloured paper airplane made from printer paper, thrown directly at his shadow in the thin door window. He didn't even have to look up to know who was the offender who constructed the object, and after shutting his eyes and readjusting his glasses he let out a sigh and an angry huff of the name "Dazai".

Said Dazai just giggled and high-fived Nakajima Atsushi, the unwilling sidekick in his antics. Atsushi just sighed and apologized hastily to Kunikida, responding with another sigh and a shove past to his desk. He promptly opened his computer and pulled up his notes for the day, opting to ignore the whines coming from his work partner who was sitting next to him. It was going to be a busy day, and he had no time to waste on anyone.

Today was the day that they had to carry out a very important mission; a field day. A newly found gifted emerged out of seemingly nowhere with the threat to bomb a local elementary school if he didn't get a ransom. The threat was completely anonymous, save for an address to leave the suitcase full of money. Determined to apprehend the offender, Kunikida had been teaming up with the agency's detective, Edogawa Ranpo, to try and figure out the identity of the ability user.

With no success so far, Kunikida was getting very frustrated with himself, as he should have been able to identify a suspect two days ago due to his ideal schedule. Nonetheless, since no progress has been made he just needs to work twice as hard from now on, especially since today is supposed to be the day where he and Dazai go out to actually apprehend the person they suspect.

Zoning out for a minute, Kunikida turned around to sneak a peek at what his partner was doing to help the case at the moment, but was only greeted with a snoozing man laying on the agency's green couch. If there wasn't such a time crunch to find out this anonymous man's identity he would have gone over and given Dazai a piece of his mind, yelling at him for slacking off again at such an important time in their mission, but after giving his schedule a glance he concluded that there wasn't any time for that type of behavior.

Suddenly, Kunikida's phone went off, and thankfully it wasn't the annoying ringtone Dazai had programmed his phone to when his partner's number calls. Instead, it was the ringtone he set for himself for the agency members, and this specific call was from his friend Ranpo.

Picking up immediately, Kunikida brought the phone up to his ear and listened intently to what the detective had to say.

Cringing and pulling the phone away from his ear, all he could hear was aggressive chewing from his work affiliate's end of the line. This wasn't unexpected from Ranpo, as the man was almost always snacking on some sort of sweet, but Kunikida couldn't help but get annoyed at the timing of this particular snack break.

Suddenly, he could hear the other clear his throat before speaking in a slightly energetic and excited voice. "Hiiiii Kunikida!" Was the first thing he said, the man he was addressing only humming in response. "I found out who it was. A woman named Miyabe Miyuki. Her father was killed by the Port mafia in false identification of a murderer, and she has been resentful of any relating groups ever since. Looks like she chose to go after the agency first."

"Great work as always Ranpo," Kunikida spoke, relieved to finally have a lead in the case. "I'll get to work right away with this information."

Hanging up the phone, he placed it next to him on his desk, right where it was before Ranpo called.

READ THE REST ON AO3

#my art #fanfiction #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs chuuya #kunikida doppo #doppo kunikida #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #kunikidazai #this fic isnt ship but they are the main pair / trust is built #trans #transgender #trans headcanons #mine

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cherishedproperty · 2 years

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Hey, this might be kind of random but I thought maybe you would be someone who could kind of understand me or give me advice that might help.

So, I'm like you, pretty progressive, but I have this kink that I've recently kind of realized I'm into. I'm a pretty submissive guy, always have been but after all my relationships ended with them abusing and cheating on me. It's been a few years and I've still not been able to have any luck because its been nearly impossible to meet someone if you don't have a cool career or make a lot of money, basically, you're screwed when it comes to meeting and connecting with women in the dating world. I started seeing bimbos who I had always scoffed at as cute and it just kind of went from there to sluts and whores and now it's like subservient patriarchal obedient sometimes dumb women, I just find myself more attracted this as time goes on. Morally, it feels super wrong but idk, theres something appealing about in a naughty way. I was talking to someone I had a crush on about the kink because we share it and we actually flirt so hard that when I got off I felt this weird sensation I've never felt like deep within me, I can still remember the feeling. It kind of scared me, like what happened? Anyway, it didn't work out because like most people they don't want it to ever be a part of their real life. I started talking about what was happening with a friend and I think the reason I feel this way is a result of abusive exs, like it mentally warped my view on what the ideal potential gf could or should be. It's almost like I just I really dont feel like myself or know what I like or want and its just been very weird. I'm confused. I've never been dom at all let alone like that, why am I like this? I've only liked dominant fat women for most of my life, idk what's happening or how to like back away from this feeling.

There is nothing inherently wrong with changing your preferences over time. I’ve known many submissives who have become Dominants or switches. Physical type can change as well. Sometimes those preferences change as a sort of defense mechanism. A friend of mine was abused as a submissive and became a Dominant for a period. Now that she has a partner she trusts, she’s a bit more in the submissive space. Sometimes that happens.

But I’m also sensing some misogyny and hostility toward women in your ask. If I had to armchair psychologist, it sounds like your negative experiences—and your lack of positive experiences—with women have brought you to a place of wanting to be with someone you see as beneath you. The risk of rejection is lower when it comes from someone you don’t fully value in the first place. I could be wrong, but the fact that you’re troubled by this tells me you may feel like it’s not coming from the right place. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a bimbo kink. But your words are concerning to me. I think it’s worth unpacking with a kink-friendly therapist.

The other thing I want to address is these former partners who cheated. As a submissive, it can be easy to gravitate to the partner who is exciting and feeds your submissive side. But that person may be domineering and not dominant. They feed the kink side but utterly fail at the relationship side. A good number of submissives have had a Dominant partner who lied to them, abused them, cheated on them, etc. It takes a LOT of time to find someone Dominant who is a good person, nurtures your submissive side, AND builds you up as a person. Especially if you’re a submissive man. I want every submissive to have a mantra that goes like, I am a submissive, not a doormat. I don’t kneel for anyone until they’ve shown me they respect my boundaries and are eager to build me up just as I do for them. It’s important for submissives to set boundaries firmly and hold to them.

Inferiority can be a fun game for a scene, but it is toxic to a relationship. Even a D/s one. Doesn’t matter which side of the power exchange you’re on.

#ask #my ask

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knowledge-and-learning · 2 years

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What is Operation Security (OPSEC)

Operation security, or "OPSEC" for short, is the process of protecting critical information from being intercepted by adversaries. It is a critical component of security for any organization, military or civilian.

There are many ways to set up OPSEC on your computer, but some basic steps include using strong passwords, encrypting sensitive files, and avoiding sharing too much personal information online.

Strong passwords are one of the most important tools for keeping your account safe from hackers. A good password should be at least eight characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Encrypting files ensures that even if someone does manage to gain access to them, they will be unable to read the contents. There are many free encryption programs available, such as 7-Zip and VeraCrypt.

Finally, it is important to be careful about what personal information you share online. This includes things like your home address, phone number, and birth date. If possible, use a pseudonym instead of your real name when posting online.

By following these simple steps, you can help keep your information safe from prying eyes.

A few high grade operating systems to try out for OPSEC are :

-Tails: https://tails.boum.org/

-Whonix: https://www.whonix.org/

-Subgraph OS: https://subgraph.com/ose/

A few easy to use tools for OPSEC are :

-Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG): https://gnupg.org/

-Tor Browser: https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en

-OxygenOffice Professional: https://www.oxygenoffice.org/en/index.php

These tools make it much harder for anyone to track your online activity or steal your personal information.

What is Whonix?

Whonix is a free and open-source operating system designed for increased security and privacy. It uses the Tor network to route all traffic through multiple layers of encryption, making it virtually impossible to trace. Whonix is available for both desktop and server use.

What is Tails?

Tails is a live operating system that can be booted from a USB drive or DVD. It comes with a pre-installed set of security and privacy tools, including the Tor Browser. Tails leaves no trace on the computer it is run from, making it ideal for use in situations where anonymity is paramount.

What is Subgraph OS?

Subgraph OS is a Debian-based Linux distribution designed for increased security and privacy. It includes a number of features that make it resistant to malware and other attacks, such as application sandboxing and forced HTTPS. Subgraph OS is still in development, but a beta version is available for testing.

These are just a few of the many options available for those looking to improve their OPSEC. By taking advantage of these tools, you can help keep your information safe from prying eyes.

What is Gnu Privacy Guard?

Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG) is a free and open-source program for encrypting and decrypting files. It can be used to secure email communications, as well as to encrypt sensitive files on your computer. GPG is available for all major operating systems.

What is the Tor Browser?

The Tor Browser is a web browser that routes traffic through the Tor network. This makes it virtually impossible to trace your online activity. The Tor Browser is available for all major operating systems.

What is OxygenOffice Professional?

OxygenOffice Professional is a fork of the popular LibreOffice suite. It includes a number of security and privacy enhancements, such as built-in support for Gnu Privacy Guard. OxygenOffice is available for all major operating systems.

All referenced tools links :

-Tails: https://tails.boum.org/

-Whonix: https://www.whonix.org/

-Subgraph OS: https://subgraph.com/ose/

-Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG): https://gnupg.org/

-Tor Browser: https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en

-OxygenOffice Professional: https://www.oxygenoffice.org/en/index.php

Download links for the tools :

-Tails: https://tails.boum.org/install/index.en.html

-Whonix: https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Download

-Subgraph OS: https://subgraph.com/ose/download/

-Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG): https://gnupg.org/download/#sec-1-2

-Tor Browser: https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en#downloads

-OxygenOffice Professional: https://www.oxygenoffice.org/en/component/jdownloads/?view=category&id=9&Itemid=105

#opsec #internet safety #privacy #online privacy #digital privacy

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uppervalleyhonda123 · 22 days

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Upper Valley Honda

Despite being in Vermont, Upper Valley Honda has a sizable customer base in New Hampshire. When they reach White River Junction, they want to visit the oppressed there in the hopes of negotiating a peaceful resolution. When it comes to Honda service, no one in the Upper Valley region (which include parts of Vermont and New Hampshire) can compare to Upper Valley Honda. The parking lot is accessible from the addresses given above. Feel free to drop by any of our numerous Honda locations at your earliest convenience honda car dealer near me Get in touch with a leading lending expert whenever it's convenient for you. Our shop offers same-day service for all Honda vehicles, whether they are new or used. There are a lot of reasons why the name Upper Valley Honda is captivating. Near Vermont’s White River Junction, Upstairs Valley Honda is a favourite spot for happy Honda owners to hang out. The moment to drop by and find out is now. Joining our team is a great opportunity for you to make a lasting impact.

A apparently endless Buying one of our Certified Pre-Owned cars has numerous advantages, including a warranty and a thorough 182-point inspection.

It is my deepest wish that this project's final tally does not exceed fifteen thousand.

With our large collection, you can find the ideal used car for less than $15,000 dollars. Browse the classifieds for pre-owned vehicles anytime you like.

It piqued my interest to the extent that I started to question my place in Manchester's social circle.

The lovely towns of White River Junction, Manchester, Montpelier, and Concord are just a few of the many that Upper Valley Honda suggests. Connecting with other professionals in this dynamic sector is an opportunity you should not pass up. I intend to meet everyone and get myself accustomed in as soon as we move into our new place. Please give me a moment. You can get a better look at its stunning splendour at the White River Junction store. We need to start the party right away! We can only hope that you can swing by at this moment. I am keeping you in my prayers and thoughts right now. Any time you have questions or concerns about our inventory or the recently launched Honda models, feel free to contact us. From mom-and-pop shops to Fortune 500 giants, we have solutions for every type of business. Allow us to handle things while you relax.

Making sure our clients are happy is our number one priority.

Every one of our customers is important to us here at Upper Valley Honda, so we work hard to meet their needs. Our first concern is the satisfaction of our current and former clients. This makes them more inclined to suggest it to others. This concept is very important to us. You may rest easy knowing that we offer a three-day return policy and a guarantee that covers 100,000 miles. If the quality of the things you purchased was poor, we would both be unhappy. Our number one priority is helping you with all of the necessary paperwork to purchase a vehicle. It would have been easy for me to do everything I could have thought of to catch your interest.

Our large selection of both new and used Hondas allows us to confidently say that you will discover the perfect car.

Do your research before making a purchase from Upper Valley Honda. This car is perfect for any Honda owner in the White River Junction, Vermont area. It should be easy peasy to collect proof to back up your claim if you follow these guidelines. The most rewarding part of our job is helping customers find the perfect vehicle. Impressive state-of-the-art safety measures adorn this futuristic SUV. Do you agree that this is fascinating? I highly recommend the Honda CR-V. This car is a fantastic investment, as everyone who has heard us boast about it can tell you. This is due to the fact that the Honda CR-V offers these features. An appealing and functional choice is the Honda HR-V, thanks to its spacious cabin. So far, everything is going swimmingly, I'll admit. But for a vehicle of its size, the cabin is surprisingly roomy honda dealership near me A brand-new Honda Accord is probably not what you're looking for. It ought to be quite evident by now that you are the one questioning your authority. If you haven't had the opportunity to view or test out a new model recently, please inform us so that we can ensure we meet your expectations. Please let us know which version you prefer when the next one is released. Your analysis is top-notch. With its luxurious interior and state-of-the-art features, the Honda Accord is more appealing than before. The 2017 Honda Accord's mountain of high-quality goodies is a major consideration. Honda Civics are ideal for first-time drivers due to their user-friendly smartphone connectivity and abundance of safety features. With self-assurance and the right inquiries, a patient and knowledgeable buyer may be able to negotiate a lower price for a vehicle.

Maintaining and repairing anything on a regular basis will keep it in good operating order. Your self-assurance will soar after you achieve it.

Remembering specifics like where you bought your Honda or had it serviced is less important than remembering the basics. The proximity of the two sites serves as the primary rationale. We can't keep our sales and maintenance machinery turning around until our customers are happy. If the right departments support it, it has a very good chance of succeeding. You can rest assured that your vehicle will receive top-notch service here because all of the experts have successfully finished Honda's extensive training programmes. Our specialisation is repairing Honda vehicles. We promise to do all in our power to lessen reliance on external components. Insist on a parts and labour guarantee that lasts a lifetime if you can. When considering price, it's the way to go. Everything from new tyres to authentic Honda parts to aftermarket accessories and more is offered here. I will remain steadfast in my support of our cause until told differently. Upper Valley Honda places a premium on happy customers. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee in the event that our help does not live up to your expectations. If we take advantage of this chance right away, we can raise our profile in the region.

#honda dealership near me

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amylai600 · 1 month

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How to Plan an Event: 10 Step Event Planning Guide

Whether coordinating a little gathering or arranging an enormous meeting, occasion arranging is an immense undertaking! Each occasion, regardless of how basic or complex, requires nitty gritty preparation and association. From laying out an exact spending plan to advancing your occasion, there are various parts you ought to begin to think about right off the bat to make the cycle as calm as could really be expected.

While no two occasions are something very similar, and each occasion has differing objectives, spending plans, and crowds; there are a few stages you can take to kick off the arranging system, remain focused, and boost your occasion's prosperity. Looking for event space in Hong Kong visit Exclusive Venue. It is the best place to book venues like Corporate event, Wedding, Private party etc.

1. Characterize objectives and targets

Prior to hopping directly into the coordinated operations like scene or speakers, you ought to invest energy recognizing the reason and justification behind arranging this occasion. You ought to address this inquiry:

What a definitive objective for this occasion?

This is the why that prodded you to design an occasion in any case. Are you looking to:

Drive new deals? Support an item send off? Increment brand mindfulness? Or on the other hand perhaps, you have a blend of different objectives? Figure out the thing you are hoping to achieve and how this occasion will assist you with doing that.

Then, what are the targets?

In arranging any occasion, you ought to recognize a bunch of targets that will uphold your definitive objective. The following are a couple of instances of occasion goals:

Increment enrollment 10% from the last occasion

Increment income by 25% from the last occasion

Get 100 preorders for impending item

Increment web-based entertainment specifies/follows/reposts during the occasion

With your objectives and targets set up, you can make a fundamental extent of the occasion. Your extension ought to offer key subtleties and highlight how you will accomplish your illustrated objectives. While not permanently set up, you should spread out starter occasion subtleties including:

Dates. Your time span for the occasion, for example in 9 months.

Participants. Will this be a 100 man occasion, a 1,000 man, or 10,000 man occasion? You ought to start to ponder size. Are your participants coming from around the nation or is this a neighborhood occasion? You'll likewise need to remember your participants' socioeconomics as you plan.

Area. Is your occasion nearby? Or on the other hand, will it be facilitated in an objective? Begin to make a waitlist of urban communities and scenes that seem OK for your occasion.

Sort of occasion. Is it true or not that you are driving consciousness of another item? A one-day occasion with feature might check out. Uniting huge number of clients? A two-day client meeting might be ideal for you. Facilitating an inner or affiliation meeting? A day of little meetings could be a fit.

Working out your objectives and fundamental undertaking degree empowers you to approach your occasion and get purchase in from authority. Assuming your association is now energetic about the occasion, your objectives and extension assist with moving you along into the following phases of arranging.

2. Lay out an occasion spending plan

Making a spending plan is a fundamental early move toward occasion arranging that assists with explaining different parts of your arrangement. Moreover, laying out a spending plan assists with keeping away from undesirable shocks (like reaching a financial dead end for stylistic theme, and so on.). You will find lasting success on the off chance that you map out your whole financial plan ahead of time, keep on refreshing as you conclude factors, and remain nearby the interaction.

In light of your undeniable level financial plan and beginning extent of requirements. You ought to start to delineate your detail expenses to acquire a comprehension of how your financial plan will be scattered across your requirements.

As per Eventbrite, "Spending plan is separated by advertising and advancement (43%), speakers and ability (32%), printed materials (29%), settings (18%)."

As your arrangement hardens, you'll need to return to the financial plan. Details will without a doubt change, simply make sure to keep an exact financial plan that mirrors any progressions or updates you make, as well. Furthermore, in light of the fact that you never need to surpass your financial plan, it's normal for organizers to make acclimations to guarantee you are keeping up with your financial plan.

3. Assemble your occasion group

For little occasions, you may by and by deal with numerous or every one of the undertakings examined in this segment. Nonetheless, for enormous occasions, it takes a coordinated group to execute the creation.

In the event that you are developing a group starting from the earliest stage's, critical to assign jobs right off the bat to guarantee responsibility. All individuals from the group ought to report to a venture director who has permeability across the moving pieces in general.

Building a definitive occasion group

As indicated by Eventbrite, just 12% of occasions have groups of at least ten individuals and the most widely recognized number is 2 to 5 representatives (45% of occasions), so frequently people wear different caps. In the event that you're among the not many who have 5+ colleagues, this is a gander at the way jobs are ordinarily dispersed:

Project Chief

Directing every one of the moving pieces portrayed beneath, this individual is at last answerable for the execution of the occasion. Deals with the spending plan. Drives procedure. Settles on high level buying choices.

Setting/show floor

This individual is the principal contact for the setting, the sellers, the patrons while on location, and the on location volunteers and staff: security, photography, and food/refreshment. They recall everybody's name, and they know where every one of the power source are.

Planning

This individual leads plan advancement, works with speakers, and ensures the timetable is forward-thinking and imparted to the right gatherings. Your planning fellow organizes gatherings at the occasion, and he lives to make participants into effective organizers.

Inventive plan

Inventive planners set up all visual plans for printed and web materials like timetables, guarantee, enrollment and signage, and anything required for the versatile occasion application. To separate it: they do right by you. You might need to work with an occasion plan organization.

Advertising and Correspondences

This individual or group makes the perfect individuals mindful of the occasion, formulates offers and timing methodology to help enlistment, regulates marking, speaks with registrants, facilitates web-based entertainment enhancement and media relations, and sends and gauges follow-up materials. Goodness, and they're only nuts for quantifiable execution.

This group ensures a visitor has all that he really wants to capitalize on the occasion, from maps, plans, speaker data, and how to organize. They work out and refresh the versatile occasion application.

Enrollment and Registration

These people own enrollment arrangement, work with a product supplier, produce and oversee identifications, create reports, and ensure the enlistment cycle (pre-occasion and during the occasion) is chugging along as expected.

Sponsorships

This colleague attempts to delineate corner spaces, sell sponsorship amazing open doors, keep up with associations with supports, and investigate local area association connections. They have executioner timing and incredible relationship building abilities.

Keeping your group coordinated

With a group set up, you're prepared to make an occasion project plan. A venture plan is something other than a plan for the day. It's a point by point breakdown of each and every thing to do that recognizes proprietors, conditions, due dates, and finish status. You ought to have the option to legitimize each thing to do by planning it to your high level occasion objectives.

Occasion the board apparatuses

Project the board apparatuses smooth out occasion the executives and association. Use these instruments to keep every one of the moving pieces represented. With the capacity to relegate and screen projects, an undertaking chief can keep a precise perspective on progress and courses of events with these instruments:

Asana

Trello

Smartsheet

4. Pick your setting and date

Picking your setting and date for your occasion are two significant contemplations that will shape the remainder of your venture plan. Begin investigating scenes as soon as could be expected. The occasion commercial center is packed, so figuring out an opportunity when there will be setting accessibility is significant. While settling on a scene, you'll likewise need to consider dates for your area in light of occasional elements like travel and expenses.

"In January it's exceptionally difficult to track down huge spaces," says Romy an occasions industry veteran at PRIME, a full-administration occasions office in Vancouver. "January and February are weighty on deals gatherings, and it reoccurs in September and October." She expresses that during these times it's precarious to find conventional areas with show floor space.

As you exploration and start conversing with the delegates of different settings, ask whatever number inquiries as could reasonably be expected to guarantee it's a solid match. Search for spending plan, topical fit, area (is it focal, simple for transportation?), offices, and on location staff. Are there bathrooms strategically placed all through the scene? What's going on with fire control and crisis reaction?

Tip: When you track down the ideal scene, feel free to arrange your rates. A big part of occasion organizers arrange a markdown off of distributed rates, and of the individuals who do, coordinators most usually haggle Complimentary wireless internet, AV, or stopping, as per EventManager.

5. Foster occasion marking

From the occasion name and subject to the occasion web composition and on location look and feel - your occasion's marking establishes the vibe for your occasion. At the point when individuals consider your occasion, you maintain that a solid character should sparkle. Furthermore, a solid occasion brand gives a dream and assists with guiding the bearing of your occasion.

60% of US recent college grads expect steady encounters while managing brands on the web, face to face, or by telephone. (*)

While picking your occasion marking, look at that as an occasion brand ought to mirror your association's image yet it ought to have its very own brand. Also, ponder how your image will go over on the web and, in actuality. Finally, consider how you will mesh your occasion image into the singular components of your occasion.

While considering occasion marking, it commonly incorporates:

Occasion name. The principal vital stage, your occasion's name is the primary thing participants will see, so you believe that it should mirror your vision for the occasion.

Topic. A name alone can't recount the entire story. Frequent occasions will make a subject to integrate the occasion.

Logo, colors, typography. There ought to be consistency across all advertising touchpoints.

On location stylistic theme, email, signage, and that's just the beginning. While each touchpoint needn't bother with being hyper-marked. Individual components ought to meet up to help the story you are telling.

With these marking components hardened, you ought to utilize them across all stages including, your occasion site, virtual entertainment, messages, tickets, enrollment, and your occasion application.

6. Plan your program

Set your plan as soon as could really be expected! Is there a featured subject matter expert? Will there be an additional day or night arranged only for your patrons? Will there be a solitary "track" of studios and talks, or will participants have the decision to pick between different meetings at a given time? As you answer these starter questions, you can start to construct a significant level perspective on your occasion program.

Try not to worry: it's not critical to have the timetable settled before you begin advancing the occasion. You can cause changes to the timetable after you to have started to advertise your occasion and enlistment starts to develop. Innovation makes this simple to rapidly make updates to the timetable on your site and versatile application.

Your participants will need to know what's in store, so it is ideal on the off chance that you have the essential structure affirmed as soon as could really be expected. Also, the timetable is a significant selling point for support too!

Different Contemplations

Notwithstanding the center occasion program, there are various other program angles to ponder. On the off chance that your occasion is an entire day or numerous day occasion, you ought to likewise ponder arranging:

Food and Refreshment. Will you be giving lunch or tidbits?

Auxiliary occasions like blissful hours, organizing valuable open doors, or health exercises?

Diversion. Will the occasion finish up with a festival or party?

7. Affirm backers, exhibitors, and speakers

On the off chance that you're facilitating an enormous scope occasion, you'll probably need to get others required to balance expenses and grandstand numerous voices from the business. Speakers, patrons, and exhibitors are familiar with ways of adding an incentive for your participants and can balance costs.

Speakers

On the off chance that your occasion is meeting-based, you'll have to recognize speakers for every meeting. The following are two methods for adding speakers:

Call for meeting entries

In the event that you have a drawn-in local area, facilitating an open call for meeting entries is an extraordinary method for using your accomplices and clients as speakers. Ordinarily, an open call will expect people to present a meeting dynamic that frames the meeting subject and offer. With this, your group will survey submitted abstracts, select speakers, and speak with the people who have been chosen and the individuals who have not.

By and by welcome speakers

Contrarily, assuming you have people as a main priority, you can welcome them to talk at your occasion. In contacting a planned speaker, give a convincing preview of the occasion and crowd, and furthermore, convey your excitement for them taking part in the occasion. Remember, that welcomed speakers frequently expect pay along with movement and housing gave.

Overseeing speakers

When your speakers are recognized, remember to keep an open line of correspondence. Make a speaker understanding that incorporates essential data like show assumptions, content cutoff times, accessible innovation on location, and pay. Be clear about your assumptions forthright, so there are no curve balls the day preceding the occasion!

Keep imparting past sending beginning affirmation correspondence and speaker understanding. Maintain that your speakers' introductions should line up with the occasion subject? Try to give materials as you foster them. Expecting speakers to present their last introductions, send a suggestion to guarantee every speaker gets it to you on time.

Supports

74% of occasion participants say that they have a more certain assessment on the organization, brand, item or administration being advanced after an occasion.

- EMI and Mosaic

Construct a rundown of supporters you need to take part in your occasion. Prior to connecting with them, lead exploration to comprehend how they would profit from taking part in your occasion. Do they have shared clients? Free administrations? You ought to likewise guarantee each potential support carries worth to your participants. Carve out opportunity to make custom fitted recommendations that feature those interesting advantages and make certain to accentuate them while connecting.

Also, prior to contacting possible patrons, find opportunity to make sponsorship bundles. Your bundles ought to offer differing levels of cost and advantage. Notwithstanding standard support bundles, feel free to get innovative and offer extraordinary sponsorships like:

A supported parlor

A wifi and telephone charging station

Occasion Application sponsorship

Or on the other hand wellbeing movement sponsorship

Contemplate the exercises and apparatuses your participants are excited for and carry worth to the occasion.

Exhibitors

One more typical method for acquiring supports is with an exhibitor bundle. With this, you'll commonly have space at your occasion committed to your exhibitors. Every exhibitor sponsorship understanding accompanies a particular measure of distributed space for your exhibitors to possess, brand, and draw in with your participants.

Tip: Assuming you're working with exhibitors, you need to make certain to drive participants to interface with your exhibitors. Plan committed exhibitor time blocks to urge participants to stroll around and lock in.

8. Recognize and choose your tech devices

Innovation is further developing the occasion space for the two coordinators and occasion participants. While outlining your next occasion, you'll need to recognize your innovation needs and execution timetables. Certain advancements should be carried out far before the occasion, while others can hold off until nearer to the large day(s).

Enlistment and Tagging

Overseeing participant enlistment is more consistent than any other time! Eventbrite and other web-based stages make it conceivable to begin selling tickets in minutes. You'll need to choose your foundation early so you can advance enrollment and send your crowd to the enlistment site.

Efficiency Innovation

We covered this above, yet we will say it in the future to pound in on how basic it is for occasion coordinators to use project the executive's apparatuses to remain coordinated. Occasions are mind-boggling, however, project the board programming assists with mitigating a portion of the pressure. Trello can kick you off on the right foot with various occasion arranging layouts.

Portable Application

Smooth out your correspondences and upgrade the participant experience with an occasion application. A portable application, similar to the one you can make with Manual, empowers participants to get to plans, fabricate a custom plan, collaborate with different participants, and that's just the beginning. A portable application is an important device in encouraging a connection with, informed climate - whether essentially or face to face.

To see benefits from an occasion application, your application ought to be a coordinated part of an occasion methodology. Guarantee each participant has all that they need in the center of their hands to have a heavenly occasion insight.

Live Streaming or Recording

Have a huge local area spread out across districts or nations? Live streaming meetings are an extraordinary method for interfacing and broaden the compass of your occasion. Recording meetings is one more method for broadening your occasion's span and urge the discussion to go on a long ways past the actual occasion.

Commitment Apparatuses

Innovation is impacting the manner in which crowds hope to be locked in and occasions are continuously advancing to measure up to those assumptions. On the off chance that you're hoping to make your commitment a stride further, contemplate consolidating nearby advances like a web-based entertainment wall or computerized loot sacks, and occasion gamification devices which urge participants to engage in the occasion.

9. Make a showcasing and special arrangement

How are you going to draw in crowds to go to your all around arranged occasion?

Each effective occasion has a showcasing and advancement intend to get the news out and find fervor. In any case, where do you begin? There are a wide range of approaches to showcasing your occasion - from web-based entertainment and publishing content to a blog to internet publicizing and even bulletins - yet anything you do pick, every strategy ought to be an essential component of your promoting plan.

Parts of an occasion advertising plan:

Objectives and Targets

While making a promoting plan, defining out showcasing explicit objectives and objectives is an unquestionable necessity. Like your occasion's general objectives, laying out unambiguous promoting objectives is a method for guaranteeing each work is making progress toward quantifiable outcomes.

Normal advertising objectives include:

Increment online enlistment 15% over the year before

Drive x measure of traffic to the occasion site

Drive x measure of occasion application downloads

Increment online entertainment commitment 20% over the year before

Strategies

Your strategies are what you will use to accomplish your objectives. This incorporates all that you will use for your showcasing endeavors, for example, online ads, video advertising, web-based entertainment, email promoting, advertising, and so on.

In choosing which strategies to utilize, you really want to have a comprehension of your interest group. Is your occasion designed for youthful experts? Instagram promotions might be a strategy you pick. Are you designing your occasion only for a nearby crowd, geo-designated promotions are something to contemplate.

Timetable and Rhythm

As you distinguish strategies, you ought to begin working out a promoting course of events that gives a perspective on your showcasing exercises.

For instance, in the event that you choose to utilize email showcasing, you ought to plot out each email you intend to send:

10. Decide your estimation

How might you gauge the outcome of your occasion? You ought to start to consider the manners in which you'll assess your occasion far before it happens. A decent spot to begin is with the objectives and targets you recognized in sync.

Information and investigation

What number of tickets did you sell, and through what sources? What was the expense per participant? What's more, what number of qualified leads did you acquire? What number of pre-orders did you sell? When the occasion is finished, these are a couple of the measurements you might gauge.

As well as measuring the progress of your occasion, you ought to likewise investigate the occasion. To comprehend the opinion and participant fulfillment, you can check out:

Occasion overviews

Notwithstanding the numbers, one more method for estimating progress in criticism from your participants. With overviews, you can acquire a comprehension of participants' view of the occasion, which can assist you with distinguishing solid and flimsy spots from the occasion. Since can we just be looking at things objectively, regardless of whether the occasion was sold out, might you at any point truly call it a triumph on the off chance that participants didn't think that it is important?

Social and online buzz

Are your devotees more dynamic than expected on your organization's channel? Are registrants presenting about the occasion on their channels? Additionally, read the presents to understand what participants are really talking about. Are the posts brimming with acclaim? Were there in excess of a couple of normal grievances? It would be ideal for you to screen previously, during, and after your occasion to get patterns and experiences.

A thorough occasion plan

Together, every one of these components meets up for your occasion all-inclusive strategy. Work through each of these to make areas of strength for a, plan for your occasion. While arranging an occasion, you ought to start your preparation as soon as could be expected. With many moving pieces, getting an early advantage implies a smooth completion.

With a solid arrangement set up and the wheels moving - the subsequent stage is to flush out your promoting plan and set it in motion. Progress forward to the following aide, Manual for Arranging an Occasion: Showcasing and Advancement, to get reasonable tips on making a 360-occasion promoting plan that expands enlistment and commitment.

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johnhardinsawyer · 2 months

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The Door is Always Open

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

3 / 17 / 24 – Fifth Sunday in Lent

Matthew 18:15-22

Psalm 119:9-16

“The Door is Always Open”

(Wandering Heart – Week 5)

I have told this story before, but there was a woman in my former congregation. We’ll call her “Doris,” because this was her name. At the time, I was serving as the Associate Pastor of the church and I worked closely with a Head of Staff/Senior Pastor, named Jarred. One day, after church, this woman who we will call “Doris,” because that was her name, went up to Jarred and said, “The next time you talk with John about his sermons, tell him that he pushes his glasses up too often on his nose. Maybe he needs new glasses because they keep falling down and he has to keep pushing them up.”

Now, consider – for a moment – that Doris did not come to me, asking after my glasses or the complexion of my oily nose upon which the glasses sat. No, Doris went to Jarred who then came to me, forming this bizarre triangle of communication.

If you spend any time learning about how groups of people work together, you might come across this concept of triangulation, in which, I have a problem with someone but instead of talking with them, directly, about it, I go and share my frustrations with someone else who then goes and shares my frustrations with the person I’m frustrated with. Does this sound confusing? Yes, it does. Does it sound unnecessary? Yes. Does this sound like something that has ever been done to you? I’m willing to guess, yes. Does it sound like something you and I have ever done to someone else? Yikes! Probably. . . ? Alas, Doris moved away before I was able to address this matter directly with her. Let’s just say that some things are. . . still unresolved.

In today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches us about proper communication and healthy group dynamics. We also learn that even when the group dynamics are not healthy, the door should always be left open for healing.

The first part of today’s reading seems fairly straightforward. Jesus starts by telling his disciples (which includes those of us who would seek to follow Jesus in our own lives) that, “if another member of the church sins against you. . .” (Matthew 18:15). In the original language, Jesus is talking about someone who is as close to you as a sibling. Jesus uses the word “brother” here, which implies a brother or sister in the faith who sins against you – someone who is part of the broader community of believers – someone in the household of disciples who harms you in some way.[1]

Now, if you are new to church or think that everyone in church is super nice and nobody ever does anything to make anyone else feel bad, I’m sorry to shatter any illusions you might have. Alas, we do not always live up to the ideals we profess. There are any number of historical accounts, and books, and podcasts, and personal anecdotes about how people have been hurt by other people in the church. In recent years, we have witnessed clergy abuse scandals, and churches torn apart by questions of sexual orientation and ordination, and marriage, and politics. People can get hurt – physically, spiritually, emotionally – even at church. Many of these hurt people might leave a particular congregation and never go back, or they might walk out of church-as-a-whole – the very idea of church or organized religion – and never come back. In my mind, the church has a lot more confessing and repenting to do and a lot more relationships to heal.

When it comes to healing relationships, Jesus tells us that the best kind of reconciliation happens face-to-face. In today’s reading, there are the oft-quoted words of Jesus, which you heard earlier, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (18:20) I’ve always thought of these words in a, “whenever two or three people get together in Jesus’ name, Jesus is spiritually present and it’s all wonderful” sense. Upon reflection though, I’m thinking yes, it is true that Jesus does bring wonder and joy in moments of fellowship and community, but also, “whenever two or three people – who do not agree or who have hurt one another – get together in Jesus’ name, Jesus is there among them and it ain’t easy. . . but Jesus is there, bringing grace to the table, even when the people who have gathered around that table are fresh out of grace for one another.”

You know, after the presidential election of 2016, I preached a sermon right here that rubbed some people the wrong way. I admit that I did not choose my words wisely in that emotionally charged time. But I only heard about the negative response to my sermon through back channels and specific names were never shared with me. There was one person, though, who did come to talk. They walked right into my colleague Karen’s office to talk to her about me and my sermon. It could have been another “Doris” situation, but Karen – who knew something about the dangers of triangulation – immediately pulled that person next door into my office and we spoke face to face. It took such courage for them to speak their mind directly to me. And what they had to say was not easy for me to hear. But, in that moment, I sensed so much grace – grace that didn’t come from the brave, though hurt, person sitting in front of me; grace that did not come from me, the person who heard some hard things, but grace that came from the Holy One who was present among us.

To this day, whenever I see that person at church, I am so thankful for them and the lesson God taught me – through them – about how much power words can have, especially when they are spoken from the pulpit. And I am so grateful for the grace that abounds when the truth is spoken – and heard – in love.

This is what Jesus tells us to do. Go directly to the person in question. Or, take someone with you and go directly to the person in question – the person who harmed your sensibilities, your spirit, you body. . . This can be so hard. There are some people who don’t mind making others feel uncomfortable, but most of us would rather just let things slide or take the easier path. And when we do take the easy path – we sidestep the truth that leads to healing. As someone told me just the other day, there are times that we may have hurt someone without knowing, and we might never know unless they tell us.[2]

We need to take great care, though, because there are times – especially in this post-“Me-too” world – when it is important to acknowledge that someone should not – for their own safety and spirit – be in the same room as the person who hurt them.

In just a moment, we will sing a hymn that includes the lyrics,

For everyone born, a place at the table, abuser, abused, with need to forgive, in anger, in hurt, a mindset of mercy, for just and unjust, a new way to live.[3]

“Abuser, [and] abused, with need to forgive?” You know, whenever we have sung this song over the past few years, we have left this verse out because. . . well, it’s too hard for many of us to wrap our minds around. In a 2013 article on Patheos, called “When My Abuser is Welcome at the Table, I am Not,” the title says it all. The author writes that if the church were to welcome the person who had previously assaulted the author then she, herself, would feel unwelcome.[4]

How do we reconcile this, especially when – in today’s text – Peter asks Jesus, “How often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” (18:21) There are many who find it hard to forgive just once, much less seven times. And yet Jesus says, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” (18:22) Other ancient versions of this text have Jesus saying “seventy times seven” or “four-hundred ninety” times. As one commentator writes, “Jesus’ response effectively knows no limits.”[5] How many times should we forgive? Jesus’ answer is “Infinite.”

But, before we throw up our hands and say, “Jesus, this is too much!” I think it is important to state several things:

First, God’s ability to forgive is far greater than our own human ability to forgive. Remember, when Jesus is hanging on the cross, he prays, “Father, forgive them – the people who have put me here to suffer and die – for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)[6] God’s power to forgive and restore goes far beyond our own power or understanding. And sometimes, as the song infers, the forgiveness that abusers need can only, in the end, come from God.

Second, it is important for us to note that the church has some standards for what reconciliation looks like and it does not put the onus for forgiveness solely on the person who was abused. You know, I don’t often quote from the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and when I do, I rarely quote from the part of the book that centers on church discipline, but the church has put procedures in place – including an internal court system – whose primary goals are, in part:

• To honor God by making clear the significance of membership in the body of Christ; • To preserve the purity of the church by nourishing the individual within the life of the believing community; • To pursue and reveal the truth; • To achieve justice and compassion for all participants involved; • To correct or restrain wrongdoing in order to bring members to repentance and restoration; • To uphold the dignity of those who have been harmed by offenses; • To restore the unity of the church by removing the causes of discord and division. . .[7]

Just so you know, the “church court system” is not a substitute for a civil or criminal court system – a crime is still a crime – but when Jesus tells his disciples in today’s scripture reading that they have the authority to “bind and loose,” he is telling them that they have the authority to set some standards for what communal life in the body of Christ should look like, based on prayerful discernment of the scriptures, and the example of Jesus, and the movement of the Holy Spirit.

Today, when we sing the line, “abuser, abused, with need to forgive,” there is part of this forgiveness that involves the restraining of wrongdoing and true repentance on the part of the person who has done wrong. And, the good news is that the forgiving and reconciling work of Jesus is not finished. God’s new way to live is something that we might not see or experience this side of heaven, but there is promise and hope that God will, in the end, make all things right.

Justice will be done and relationships will be made right in the kingdom, even if it is hard for us to see right now. For God, the door is always open. And, for us. . . well, in that spirit, may our minds and hearts always be open to the life and example and teachings of Jesus – even the difficult teachings that we can understand and embody only with God’s help.

In this time when relationships between friends, and neighbors, and even siblings in Christ can be strained and tested and sometimes broken by all that is going on in the world, my prayer is that this place may be an example of right relationships, of speaking the truth, of accountability and repentance, of listening with grace, and, ultimately, a place of healing.

May God make it so. May God make us so.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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[1] Warren Carter, Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2000) 367.

[2] M.J.

[3] Shirley Erena Murray, 1998. Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013) No. 769, v. 4.

[4] Sarah Moon, Patheos, June 9, 2013. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/sarahoverthemoon/2013/06/when-my-abuser-is-welcome-at-the-table-i-am-not/.

[5] Warren Carter, 369.

[6] Paraphrased, JHS.

[7] Presbyterian Church (USA), The Book of Order: The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Part II (Louisville: Presbyterian Publishing, 2023) D-1.031.

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