#property but like ive been sleeping way more than usual. and by that i literally just mean 8hrs a night lol which is weird for me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whirlybirbs · 4 years

Note

okay but how would grim be around someone he really fancies like this man needs to be in a relationship

--- NOT INTERESTED ;

a/n: i’ve written about grim + nurse!reader and here’s some good ol’ angst for a nice “i have feelings for you but can’t” arc. anyways, i love these two. grim is my clone trooper oc, a part of talon squadron! click here to read more about the boys!pairing: grim x nurse!readerwarnings: angst, baby!

Ah, fuck.

You’re standing there, data-pad balanced on your hip as you count through the supplies rolling off the last transport of the evening. The tarmac is bathed in the orange hues of the Felucia sunset. Overhead, the fauna bounds about -- winged creatures swoop to eat that bugs that are arguably far too large for Grim to be comfortable.

He hates this fucking planet.

All of Talon does.

They’ve been here for three deployments now. The Outer Rim Sieges have scattered the Grand Army of the Republic across this end of the star system -- and the 111th Battalion, along with the sparse relief forces of the 104th and some of the 212th, was the one lucky enough to get stuck on this damn fungal field for the third time since the war’s start.

Even the General, who took a nasty hit on their first go on Felucia, is uncomfortable here -- her usual unwavering composure sure does waver here. Ru’kali, her padawan, even seems unsettled.

The humidity doesn’t help.

Grim sighs, arms crossed. Ignoring the loud buzzing of the native insects -- that are bigger than his fucking head, mind you -- he turns back to watching you direct the medical supply transport.

Your brows are knotted in concentration, gloved finger bopping in the air as you nail the numbers. Grim can see your lips, half-way pulled in a pout, move as you count -- you’re hardly aware that your CMO is staring.

He’s not the only one.

Beside him, leaned against the mobile barrack station, is Shade.

The sniper’s eyes narrow critically, fleeting between the stiffness in Grim’s posture and the center of his attention. One scarred brow climbs his face, curiosity dowsing his features. Shade fiddles with his helmet’s comm antenna as he speaks.

“What’s goin’ on with that?”

Grim flinches.

Honey brown eyes narrow sharply on his brother. Grim’s mouth pulls into a scowl, the tattoos there making the look seem more menacing than it really is. “Th’ hell do y’ mean?”

Shade juts his jaw your way. The sniper eyes the medic. “You’re staring.”

“So?”

“Mhm,” Shade snickers, “Okay, vod.”

“Ne'johaa [Shut up],” Grim mutters, rolling his jaw and carding his gloved hand through the mess of inky hair on his head, “S’ nothin’.”

“Don’t seem it.”

“Yeah, well,” Grim bites bitterly, arms crossed tight across his armored chest, “She’s not interested.”

That -- That wasn’t entirely true. But, it sure was how Grim interpreted it. In reality, you’d expressed concern. After all, he was your Chief Medical Officer. And you were civilian medical personnel. If anyone caught on... It didn’t look good. For either of you. The GAR had strict policies surrounding fraternization between ranks. Not to mention, between civvies and their ‘property’.

Word travels fast. You’ve known three nurses in the last month that were discharged thanks to interpersonal relations with troopers. The troopers themselves had received disciplinary strikes on their records.

One of them, an ARC Trooper, had been demoted.

Fucking hell. Forget losing your job. Seeing Grim lose his position as the Battalion’s CMO would kill you. He’s worked hard -- harder than anyone -- and despite his hatred for authority, he’d managed to work his way to the top. He earned the title. He deserves it.

He might not say it, but he’s proud of the title.

The conversation didn’t go well -- you’d only wanted to talk out the potential repercussions and your growing fears and the fact that sleeping together, despite it being much more than that, was very much against protocol.

You’d both walked away feeling hurt and lonely and lost. Grim had holed it all up inside, ignored the hurt, and despite the fact that it was literally all he could fucking think about, acted as if things were how they used to be.

Before the flirting. Before drunk snogging in 79′s. Before the sobering confessions in the medbay’s supply closet. Before the creeping sensation of love in his chest, and before he’d finally let himself wade into the feelings.

Grim feels like a fucking stranger.

Shade sighs -- a soft exhale that’s both gentle and annoyed. The sniper shifts in his spot on the barrack deck. His brother is stubborn and bullheaded and...

Hurt.

Shade and Grim were close. Arguably the closest of the Squad, aside from Lucky and Spades. The two were wildly different -- Grim was bombastic and Shade was grounded. They evened one another out. Hearing about the heartbreak hadn’t exactly shocked Shade; but Grim’s reaction sure did. He’d never seen his vod so broken up about anything before.

The sniper can see all that hurt swell back across his face when you approach, datapad in hands.

You speak quickly, eyes dodging the medic in-front of you. You’d once been a personality the Squad knew well -- kind and witty, keeping a certain medic in check. Now, you’re a mere ghost around the others.

You try to maintain some sort of facade. But it cracks.

“Final count is about 17 supply containers,” you relay, offering the datapad to Grim for a signature, “Just need you to okay the transfer.”

“ -- About 17?”

The question strikes you in the chest. It’s got a pointed edge to it. Your face grows hot; your chew the inside of your lip. Grim isn’t even looking at you, focus turned to the log.

There was a time, the first time on this planet, that you’d both been thick as thieves. Now, you can hardly stand the man before you.

“One container was damaged on the ride over,” you says coldly, swallowing down your sudden solar flare of anger, “Bacta IV bags inside were compromised. 96% was salvaged. So, yes. About 17.”

He just nods, signs the datapad and hands it back. That’s it.

No thank you, or good job, or... anything.

You stand there for a second. Hurt flies across your face so fast, Shade nearly misses it. Grim waits, eyes raising at the fact you’re still here. You look like you’re about to say something -- and Shade wonders suddenly if he should leave. But, then the sniper notices the glimmer of frustration in your eyes.

Oh.

“...Do you need something, nurse?”

Shade could strangle Grim.

“Get some shut eye,” the sniper speaks up; it’s soft and gentle and warm and you realize quickly that it’s his form of an apology -- the scar across Shade’s face warps in concern, “We’ve gotta long haul ahead of us.”

You nod.

Grim tightens his jaw.

“Thank you,” you breathe. The kindness settles your thrumming heartbeat.

Grim watches you leave. The moment your back turns, the cold look melts -- the emotions swirling across the medic’s face is forlorn and lonely, heartbroken and full of regret. Shade sighs, again, and stands.

“Keep treatin’ her like that,” the sniper bites, “And I can get why.”

Fuck.

Grim hates the fuckin’ planet.

#hhehehehhehehe #talon squadron #grim #clone trooper oc x reader #star wars imagine #not interested

236 notes · View notes

blacktofade · 5 years

Photo

sorry for almost killing ryan in my fit of angst. I promise he’s okay.

Shane doesn’t see it happen, only hears Ryan’s shout of surprise and turns, shining his flashlight down on where Ryan's now sprawled on the ground. Shane laughs at first, because it's clear Ryan's tripped and taken a short tumble down the two stone steps it takes to get to the back yard from the low decking of the property they're investigating.

“You alright, man?” he asks before Ryan shifts and Shane sees the wide shock of his eyes. “I hope we got that on camera.”

But then Ryan lets out a deep, haunting noise as he clutches at his right thigh with a white-knuckled grip and Shane realizes something’s gone horribly wrong.

“Ryan?” he asks, heart picking up speed as he closes the distance between them and drops to one knee, uncaring that it happens to be straight into the middle of a puddle. He sets his camera on the top-most step next to him and then presses a hand to Ryan’s leg.

Ryan lets out a shuddering breath, something strangled and pained, and when he inhales it sounds, horrifically, like a wail. Mark and TJ are there in an instant, cameras and audio equipment all but forgotten as they rush in, shining flashlights down on Ryan and illuminating a gruesome scene.

Looking down, Shane doesn’t know what he expects to find — maybe a broken leg or a bad cut from the rocks underfoot — but instead there’s blood, dark and seeping along the leg of Ryan’s pants. It’s bubbling up between Ryan’s fingers and Shane feels nauseated by the sight.

“Ryan,” Shane says gently, leaning further over him. “Let me see, buddy.”

Ryan doesn’t move his hands, probably from the shock, but as Shane gets closer, focusing his flashlight on his leg, he realizes there’s something shoved up between Ryan’s fingers.

“Oh my god,” Shane murmurs. “Fuck.”

“I’m calling for an ambulance,” Mark tells them, stepping back with his phone and TJ crouches at Ryan’s other side.

“Fuck,” he says, resting a comforting hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Is that rebar?”

He’s right, but Shane really doesn’t want to agree aloud, not when Ryan’s writhing in panic as much as he can when his leg is effectively pinned in place by a metal rod. He looks terrified and Shane can’t stop his hands from shaking as he presses them beside Ryan’s own.

“I need to put pressure on this, Ryan,” he says, because that’s all he can think to do. He has no fucking idea what he should be doing, but that’s what they always do in movies and TV. “Don’t move, okay?”

But that’s better said than done because Ryan’s still shifting in pain, every breath sounding like it’s an effort.

“Shane,” he croaks, and Shane leans into his line of sight, still keeping his hands on him.

“Hey, hey,” Shane comforts gently. “You’re okay.”

But the truth is that he honestly doesn’t know if that’s a lie or not. There’s so much blood, gushing between his fingers, soaking into the knees of Shane’s jeans already, and all he can do is lean his weight through his hands onto Ryan’s thigh. Ryan gasps in pain and when Shane next glances at his face, it’s wet with tears.

“I’m sorry,” Shane apologizes. “There’s just — ”

He can’t bring himself to say there’s just too much blood because he knows what Ryan’s like. He really doesn’t need to panic him because it won’t help anything. Not that Shane has much room to talk. He thinks he’s panicking enough for the both of them.

“Fuck,” he says, glancing over at TJ, who looks pale and worried, but he’s rubbing Ryan’s shoulder soothingly and keeping Ryan calm, which is probably almost as important as the pressure Shane’s providing. TJ catches his stare and Shane knows it’s bad.

“Ryan,” TJ says, voice shaking enough that Shane can hear it above the noise of Ryan’s raspy breathing. “Try not to move, okay? There’s an ambulance on the way.”

Shane doesn’t even know if Ryan hears because he doesn’t react. Instead, he keeps his focus on Shane.

“Shane,” Ryan says again, and Shane figures it’s because Shane’s the one actually hurting him, even if he’s trying to do good.

“I know, Ryan,” he consoles, “I’m sorry.”

“Shane,” Ryan repeats. “Shane, I don’t feel right.”

“I know,” Shane replies and his voice is tighter with more emotion than he expects. “I know, pal, just hang in there.”

Ryan takes a shuddering breath and reaches out with an unsteady hand. It takes him a couple of tries to find Shane’s shoulder, but then he clutches at Shane’s jacket in a loose grip.

“Shane,” Ryan says weakly, “don’t let me die.”

“Jesus,” Shane curses, glancing over at TJ for reassurance.

“Don’t be dramatic, Ryan, you’re not going to die,” TJ tells him. “It’s a flesh wound at best.”

But Shane can tell that’s a lie. With the amount of blood he’s trying to keep behind the tight press of his hands, he’d be willing to bet the rebar has nicked something important and if help doesn’t come soon, they’ll find out just how serious it really is.

“It’s okay, Ryan,” Shane says. “You’ll be outta here soon.”

He doesn’t want to make promises he can’t keep, but he has to believe help is on the way already, hopefully almost there because Shane doesn’t know what else to do. Ryan’s losing so much blood and Shane can’t do anything more to stop it. It’s so hot beneath his palms and it’s soaking into everything — Ryan’s pants, his hoodie, the sleeves of Shane’s shirt.

“Keep breathing with me,” Shane tells him, trying to make his breaths as deep and even as he can for him to follow, but Ryan’s gaze turn glassy and distant. “C’mon, Ryan.”

“Just gonna sleep,” Ryan murmurs, his eyes already beginning to droop tiredly.

“No, no,” Shane insists. “Don’t sleep, Ryan. C’mon keep talking to me.”

He’s dimly aware of sirens growing louder, and he’s never heard a more reassuring sound.

“Help is here, Ryan. Stay with me.”

He almost startles at the touch on his hand, but when he glances down, he finds Ryan’s settled his palm over the back of his own. It probably took the rest of his strength and coordination to do, and Shane’s heart clenches painfully.

“Stay awake just a little longer,” he begs, but Ryan’s arm goes lax, his hand slipping away, and Shane misses his touch immediately. “Please, Ryan.”

Ryan’s eyes finally slip shut and Shane’s entire world grinds to a halt.

Shane wakes to the feeling of fingers in his hair. It takes him a moment to realize what’s happening, but slowly, he raises his head and glances up at Ryan. He’d look cozy tucked up in his hospital bed if not for the mess of IV lines around him and the fact that he's literally been brought back from the dead. Shane draws in a slow breath and leans up, rubbing at his painful, tired eyes.

“Hey,” Ryan says gently, his voice rougher than usual. “Have you been here all night?”

“Someone had to keep an eye on you.”

“You’re not talking about you, are you?” Ryan asks. “Because I’ve been watching and neither of your eyes were open.”

Shane waits a beat before asking, “You were watching me?”

When Ryan finally smiles, Shane realizes it’s one of the best things he’s ever seen. He pushes himself to his feet before he can talk himself out of it, and then he’s shifting closer to Ryan and leaning down to kiss him.

It’s entirely unplanned, but almost losing Ryan has rearranged a few priorities in Shane’s life. And the best part is that Ryan doesn’t try to push him away, in fact, he raises his hand, and despite accidentally jabbing Shane in the cheek with the oximeter on the tip of his finger, he eventually settles his palm against Shane’s jaw and kisses him back.

“I think we have a few things to talk about when you’re out of here,” Shane tells him when he can eventually bring himself to pull away again.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Firstly, you got blood all over my favorite pants, so I’m going to need you to pay me back for those.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a — ” Ryan starts, but cuts himself off by dragging Shane back in for another kiss.

With Ryan warm and alive under him, Shane honestly can’t think of a better outcome.

#shyan #fic #thing wot i wrote #bfu prompts 2019 #bfu #tw: injury #tw: blood

75 notes · View notes

nurulsalposts · 4 years

Text

Day 1, 6 Jan 2020

On the first day, during the lecture has given me a clear idea and motive of this week. To kick start out several possible ideas and areas we could explore, several speakers came to speak and they shared some really insightful and interesting things that we would think about. A speaker, Alexander Ling (NUSS) and another speaker, Nadiah Quarantasei from Klima Action Malaysia.

After the talk I decided to do some reading on Quantum physics, to understand it better. There are 6 key concept to better understand Quantum physics, from an article titled, by Chad Orzel

Everything is made of waves and also, particles

Everything in the universe has particles and wave nature at the same time. “All is waves, with nothing waving, over no distance at all.” However, dscribing real objects as both particles and waves is necessarily somewhat imprecise. The objects described by quantum physics are neither particles nor waves, but a third category that shares some properties of waves (a characteristics frequency and wavelength, some spread over space) and some properties (theyre generally countable and can be localized to some degree)

This lead to a debate amount the physics community as there may be confusion among students by calling photons “particles” rather than “excitations of a quantum field” .

2. Quantum Physics is Discrete

“Quantum” - how much in latin.

- It reflects to the fact that quantum models always involve something coming in discrete amounts

- Energy found in a quantum field comes in integer multiples of some fundamental energy.

- Light is often associated with the frequency and wavelength of the light- high frequency, short- wavelength light has a large characteristic energy, which low frequency, long-wavelength light has a small characteristic energy.

- Ultra-precise spectroscopy is used for dark matter.

3. Quantum Physics is Probabilistic

- it is impossible to predict the outcome of a single experiment on a quantum system. When physicist predict the outcome, it would usually be a probability for possible outcomes.

- Comparisons between theory and experiment always involve inferring probability distributions for many repeated experiments.

- Mathematical description of quantum system typically takes the form of a “wavefunction”

4. Quantum Physics Is Non-Local

- Albert Einstein , Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen wrote the EPR, provided a clear mathematical statement. the idea of “entanglement”.

- Physics allowed the existence of systems where measurements made at widely seperated locations could be correlated in ways that suggested the outcome of one was determined by the other.

- Measurement outcomes must be decided in advance, by a common factor becayse the alternative would require transmitting the results of other at speeds faster than the speed of light.

5. Quantum Physics Is (Mostly) Very Small

- quantum phenomena are confined to the scale of atoms and fundamental particles, where the masses and velocities are small enough for the wavelengths to get big enough to observe directly.

6. Quantum Physics Is Not Magic

- things it predicts are strange by the standards of everyday physics

- boundaries of the laws of thermodynamics

KAMY Klima Action Malaysia

Environmental Conservation Organization in Kuala Lumpur

Mission: To discuss environmental issues and human rights in malaysia to gather comprehensive and detailed requests to present to the governing body.

Use a “Citizen Assembly” strategy that provides a platform for community representatives to come together to learn and debate issues to find the best solution

Formulate and document the demands and solutions of the people in an effective memorandum - presented in Parliament

Organize protests, gatherings, discussions, documentaries, exercises, workshops and more to raise public awareness, and 'capacity building' on climate change in Malaysia & lobbying for active and immediate change in policy

Collect data from the public, and disseminate accurate and reliable information - anecdotes, public surveys, document translations, infographics, short videos.

Group #1 of B4-IP06

Group mates:

Toh Min Hui, Felicia, BA (Hons) Fashion Media & Industries

Boon Hwei Qi, BA (Hons) Music

Lam Hui Cheng Gladys, BA (Hons) Design Communication

Group Discussion

The issue that the group and i decided to discuss is on Mass Production.

Mass production is the manufacture of large amount of standardised products often using assembly lines or automation of technology. It refers to the efficient production of a large number of similar products. Machines are used to produce high volume of items, detailed organization of material flow, standard of quality and a division of labor.

Mass Production has evolved in so many ways and it has definitely change consumerism. Due to mass production, a lot of things started to change when machines can literally take over anything that humans can produce. Home-made items become less popular, small farmers and small farms are out sourced by big companies could produce what they can in such a small amount of time.

An example of that is how the number of stall owners selling items such as fishes and meat are decreasing because children of stall owners are not up to doing such heavy duty jobs. Small shops like that are closing down and supermarket like Giant and Fair Price are buying items from big farms that could sell them more meat or fishes at a lower price and in even bigger quantities.

The problems that comes along with mass production would be the usage of materials that could contribute to global warming such as the usage of plastic. There are a few types of plastics and which ones to avoid. When buying a product that is made using plastic such as plastic bottles, there will be a number at the bottle indicating its threat level to the earth.

Plastic #1- PET

Made up of polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic resin and a form of polyester

Uses:

Cosmetics

Household cleaners

Water

Juice

Soft drinks

Salad dressings

Oil

Peanut butter

Plastic #2: High-density polyethylene (HDPE)

Made up of polyethylene thermoplastic made from petroleum. HDPE is hard, opaque and can withstand somewhat high temperatures (no health concern)

Uses:

Laundry detergent

Milk jugs

Folding chairs & tables

Plastic #3- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Made up of thermoplastic polymer. Through the use of phthalates, a plasticizer, it can be made softer and more flexible

Uses:

Shower curtains

Cling wrap

Waterbeds

Pool toys

Inflatable structures

Clothing

Vinyl IV bags used in neo-natal intensive care

Plastic #4 - Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)

made up of hermoplastic made from petroleum. It can be found translucent or opaque. It is flexible and tough but breakable. No health hazards

Uses:

Juice and milk cartons (as the water-proof inner and outer layer)

Most plastic grocery bags

Some packaging material

Plastic #5 - Polypropylene (PP)

Made up of thermoplastic polymer. It is strong, tough, has a high resistance to heat and acts as a barrier to moisture.

Uses:

Yogurt & margarine tubs

Plastic cups & baby bottles

Kitchenware, microwavable plastic containers and lids

Plastic #6 - Polystyrene (PS)

made up of petroleum-based plastic. It can either be hard or used in the form of styrofoam. long term exposure to small quantities of styrene can cause neurotoxic (fatigue, nervousness, difficulty sleeping), hematological (low platelet and hemoglobin values), cytogenetic (chromosomal and lymphatic abnormalities), and carcinogenic effects.

uses:

Disposable cutlery

CD and DVD cases

Egg cartons

Foam cups & to-go foam packaging from restaurants.

Plastic #7 stands for “Other” which may or may not contain BPA. Commonly used to label Polycarbonate (PC). The letters PC may be present with the recycling symbol, which would indicate that the product is made with polycarbonate(derived from BPA). BPA has been found to be an endocrine disruptor. Choose bottles made with the #1, #2, #4, or #5 recycling codes

Uses:

Electrical wiring

CD/DVD cases

Baby bottles

3 and 5 gallon reusable bottles

To wrap up the discussion, we decided to settle on the exploration on how mass production would be different in the future.

Bibliography

https://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/staff/alexling.html

http://www.babygreenthumb.com/p-122-safe-plastic-numbers-guide.aspxhttps://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mass-production.asp

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/quantum-theory

1 note · View note

diyunho · 6 years

Text

The Joker x Reader - “Mommy” Part 3

It was a well known fact The Joker’s girlfriend left him with four young children and disappeared. It was also known that his ex stepped up and took care of them even if she didn’t have to. The King of Gotham might have lost his woman, but he never lost his Queen.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

After 2 months

The Joker is alone in the VIP room, enjoying his solitude; he ordered everyone to clear the premises and wait outside since his business meeting ended earlier than expected. Out of the blue, the cell alerts of a new message. J slides the screen and a picture with you and Mia laughing pops up: you are both wearing matching headbands with yellow flowers, identical pearl necklaces and PJ’s made from the same fabric.

He barely smiles, when a new picture with you and now all the boys added in the frame pops up, apparently ready for bed. The Joker’s smile gets a little bit wider, then after a few seconds it disappears under the usual frown. He starts texting something back but changes his mind and erases the words, staring at the images one more time before placing the phone inside his pocket.

At the penthouse, you didn’t even wait for a reply since J never comments when you send him pics with the children; you get notifications they were seen and I guess that’s the best you’ll ever get.

“Kase honey, stop jumping on the bed, it’s time to sleep, ok?”

The four years old is still energetic so he keeps on jumping, chanting your name:

“Mo-mmy! Mo-mmy!!! Mo-mmyyy!!!”

“Kasey, be good and listen to me!” you try to make him behave while exiting his room with a clear purpose: taking Mia to her crib. The baby girl fell asleep in your arms, resting her head on your good shoulder. You are really not supposed to hold the kids or lift them up since it will take a while to completely heal from the injury you sustained, yet sometimes you can’t help it.

You carefully place her in the cradle, sneaking up into the room next door to make sure the twins are still dozing off. Thank goodness they are and you close the door to their bedroom, immediately rushing to Kase’s room when you hear the thud followed by crying.

The boy was hopping up and down when he accidentally moved too much towards the edge of the bed and landed on the floor right on his face. The carpet is soft but the impact scared him nevertheless.

“My poor little man,” you pick him up, worried he might have broken something.

Kase whimpers and hugs you, searching for comfort. You kiss the child’s head and caress his back, soothing the pain.

“Are you ok?” you wipe his tears, making him sit on the bed while you analyze him.

“Y-yes…” he stutters, sniffling.

“Then why are you crying honey?” you ask, cupping his face and the answer makes you hold in the laugh.

“Don’t know, mommy…”

“You’re silly,” you kiss his cheek, happy nothing bad happened. “You want me to read you a bedtime story?”

“U-hum, “ he nods, distracted by the offer. You get Kase under the covers and snuggle with him, reading until he falls asleep. And the busy day you had catches up with you, making you snooze in there before you have a chance to go to your own bedroom.

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

“Y/N…Y/N, wake up!” The Joker shakes you and finally gets a reaction; he’s been calling your name and you didn’t even hear his first attempts.

“What time is it?” you turn towards him and Kase instinctively moves closer, searching for the warmth of your body.

“It’s 2 in the morning. Come on, hurry up, we have to go: it smells like gas downstairs, I think we have a gas leak!”

“Jesus!” you wake up in an instant, pulling Kase in your arms and struggling to get up; your shoulder hurts since you carried Mia around yesterday. “I’ll take him, go to the car!” he wraps his son in the blanket, not fazed by the protesting moans.

“Dadddddyyyyy,” the boy yawns, closing his eyes, upset with the ruckus.

“You’re fine, brat !” J lifts him higher in his arms and follows you. You want to get the other kids, but some of the henchmen are already helping, having them in blankets and heading towards the elevator. The gas detector is beeping in a frenzy but you were so exhausted you had no clue.

“Yuck, the smell,” you cover your nose, waiting for J to catch up with you. “Are we going to my house until this is taken care of?”

“I suppose so,” he growls and you know why: The Joker hates your house, always complains it’s too small.

Situated on the property you use as the children’s playground – 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a large living room and a spacious kitchen- the one level home is more than enough when needed. Since you live mostly at the penthouse, you never feel the need to upgrade. Usually the boys sleep in one bedroom and you sleep with Mia, this way J has his own room. If he’s not coming to stay when you take the kids there, you move Aiden and Zane to their father’s bedroom. Simple and easy.

Not for The King of Gotham though. “Simple and easy” are not his thing.

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

“It’s cold in this stupid house!” J complains as soon as he enters the master bedroom where you gathered all the kids in the same bed, waiting for the central heating to warm up the house.

“You know I don’t have the heat on when we’re not here; it’s not safe. Be patient, it will get hot soon,” the reply attempts to explain the obvious situation.

“Gimme 2 kids, I need to warm up. I’ll take them to my bedroom!” he gestures towards the twins.

The two year olds are not excited about their dad’s strategy: they are cranky and whiney because they got woken up in the middle of the night and transported to another location. They hold on to you, burying their faces in the pillows.

“Hugging all the kids, hm?” J snarls, irritated. No other choice but to crawl in the big bed also.

You choose not to comment: how is this your fault?!

The Joker snatches Mia that is sleeping in your arms and places her on top of him, moving Kase to his left, this way he has some bodies around to warm up with.

“That’s better,” he grumbles, covering everyone with an extra blanket. Kase reaches for you, wanting to go back to the spot next to his mother but J won’t have any of it:

“Stop wiggling and sleep!”

“I want my mommy,” his son complains and The Joker gets mad:

“What am I, decoration?! She’s literally a few inches away!”

“Kase, go to sleep honey, ok?” you plead, touched by how much the children love you. “Mommy’s here.”

In about 30 minutes the house reaches a comfortable temperature and J tiptoes out of crowded bed, wanting the privacy of his own room.

You keep on tossing and turning; your shoulder aches and you’ll definitely need some pain killers if you want to be able to rest. You slowly move away from the kids, not wanting to startle them. It’s so sweet to see the four innocent souls peacefully dreaming, curled up under the cozy fleece blankets.

“J, are you still awake?” you knock at his door.

“Yes, come in,” he turns on the lamp, curious on why you’re still up. You open the door and step inside.

“My shoulder hurts and I forgot the painkillers at the penthouse. Can we send…”

“I have your med,” he shows you his coat on the chair. “Upper pocket.”

“Oh, that’s awesome!” you sigh, digging in there and retrieving the much needed remedy. ”Thank you.”

“Here,” he dismisses your gratitude, handing over the bottle of water kept on the nightstand.

You swallow 2 tablets, taking a deep breath when the sharp pain pokes at the surgery site.

“Get in,” The Joker slides on the sheets, making space for you.

You almost choke on the water and he rolls his eyes.

“Are you afraid I’m gonna take advantage of you?”

“No,” you hesitantly debate on his proposition, confused about it.

“Then get in,” he reinforces his will. “Don’t look at me like that!” J glares in your direction, not a big fan of that intrigued expression on your face.

You listen to him though and comply.

“What did the doctor say? Do you need more blood transfusions?” he starts the conversation as soon as you are next to him. You bite on your lip, nodding a no. “Well, if you do let me know, alright?”

“OK…” you agree, perfectly aware on why he’s interested: after all the blood loss you sustained with the stabbing, you needed more to replenish what was depleted. They had you hooked up to the IV ready to go, when J had a fit because the doctor didn’t notify him of the procedure. The Clown Prince of Crime was furious he wasn’t asked to donate blood: he’s a universal donor, a match for all blood types. Of course the medical team had to apologize and be thankful they weren’t killed on the spot.

They also had to listen to his rant about how generously rewarded they were for being allowed to take care of the mother of his children and how they couldn’t even keep him updated on your condition. That was the first time you heard him talk like that and it was hard to hold in the tears: it made you aware he did appreciate the sacrifices his ex-girlfriend made over the years while taking care of his babies. The Joker just never showed it; he’s not that kind of person.

Needless to say you do have his blood running through your veins now. And you could have more if necessary.

You stare at each other in silence: you have a feeling there’s a purpose to his behavior.

“Why did you remove the tattoo?” J unexpectedly blurs out.

Ahhh, there we go: that’s why you were cordially invited to stay; he wants to talk about stuff bothering him. Might as well since you want to take a few things off your chest also.

You answer with a question:

“Why would I want my ex boyfriend’s name on my skin?!”

“I worked on that tattoo for weeks! It was perfect, my best one !” J cuts you off.

It’s always about him, of course.

“We weren’t together anymore, no point in keeping it…”

“I worked on it !!!”

This is not going well.

“The lack of a tattoo doesn’t…”

“I spent weeks on that ink!” he interrupts again.

But you can’t hold in your own escalating anger:

“Why did you always bring Anya back?! Why did you tolerate her behavior?! Why did you keep on getting her pregnant?! She was horrible! And you didn’t want to have any children with me when we were together ! I would have been a great mother!!”

You lick you lips, running out of breath after the valid outburst. The Joker’s eyes have a sudden threatening sparkle, not expecting you’ll turn the tables on him.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you !” he grumbles, annoyed. “But I have to?!” you fight back, more and more upset. “Why…” and your voice breaks…”Why did you like her so much?…”

“I don’t like anybody!” he mutters through his silver teeth.

“You did like her a lot, it’s obvious…” you sadly smile. “And she neglected the kids, almost killed her own daughter… She never cared about you either…So…why did you like her so much?” you persist, unwilling to quit. At this point there’s no use: you are both fired up.

“Get out of here!” his menacing voice shrieks. “Get out before I might do something I can’t take back !” he pushes you away, struggling to contain his temper. “OUT!”

You don’t budge and J continues to violently shove you towards the end of the bed.

“Get out I said !” he pants, provoked by your rebellious behavior.

You don’t even feel the shoulder pain anymore or anything else for the matter.

“Why did you like her so much?” you repeat and he covers your mouth, rolling on top of you. The Joker realizes you’re not attempting to escape his grip; you just gaze at him without squirming.

“Get out of my sight!” J hisses, annoyed at your apathy; you’ve been in charge of his security for years, he knows you can defend yourself.

Why don’t you?

He lifts himself up a bit in order to give you one last nudge that will make you fall off the bed, when your arms tightly wrap around his neck, pulling him back on top of you.

“Why did you like her so much?” you forcefully hold him close when J wants to escape the embrace. “Why did you like her more than me?” you whisper in his ear and start crying, unable to suppress the burning question you wanted to ask for years. “I was loyal, I really loved you and never cheated,” your shaky voice makes him pay attention. “And you still broke up with me. And I didn’t object continuing to work for you when you asked. And I took care of your children when you asked,” you start sobbing and his face is buried in your neck, still mad yet listening. “You told me you trust me and that I never stopped being the Queen…Queen of what?” you lift his head up so you can look at him.“Queen of nothing?” and the tears keep on uncontrollably stream down your cheeks, your heart aching a hundred times more than the stabbing wound.

The Joker doesn’t bother to react or protest when you finally slide from under him, catching your breath while sitting at the edge of the bed. You wipe your eyes and prepare to go back to the kids just as his words barely make it out:

“You’re my children’s Queen and The Queen of this city. And…and my Queen since I can’t find a better one I can trust…”

Instead of making you happy, the sentences deepen your gloomy mood. J gets under the covers, turning his back on you, done with it all. He senses you scooting over closer to him until your steady breath lingers on his neck.

“Why are you still here?” he grouchily mutters and he feels your lips pressing on his shoulder.

“You want me to go?” you sigh. “Or…can I stay?”

“Suit yourself,” he reaches for the lamp and turns it off, not opposing to your left hand finding its way around his waist.

You’re almost napping when The Joker reopens the discussion:

“If by some miracle one of these days you manage to keep a man and get married, you still have to take care of the children; that’s an order !” he spits out with a hateful tone.

“ I really love your children; I couldn’t abandon them,” you cling to him more, somehow comforted when your hand is being moved from around his waist and kissed after a few seconds.

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

The next day he avoids you.

You spend a lot of time outside on the porch, watching the kids play in the snow: even if is mid-February, there is plenty left for them to enjoy.

“Mommy… for you,” Zane gives you a snow ball, excited it made you smile. Mia is chewing one of her toys, cozy on the thick blanket she’s placed on at your feet.

“Thank you baby,” you kiss his nose, making sure to button up his jacket one more time. He likes to unbutton it; surely takes after his father, can’t keep stuff buttoned up. The thought gives you a sudden boost of positivity while watching him run back to his brothers. Aiden trips him and they both fall to the ground laughing, Kase trying to squeeze in between them because he wants to join in the fun.

“Don’t hurt yourselves !” you shout, the maternal instinct surfacing for the millionth time today and you help Mia up, the cute Princess standing without too much help; pretty soon she’ll be able to walk on her own.

You peak behind you through the huge glass windows, seeing The Joker talking to Frost. The King of Gotham is fast to throw something in the trash can, visibly irritated.

“Mommy, look !” Aiden yells, showing you the wall of snow he’s starting to build with his siblings.

“Good job honey!” you praise, waving at the boys and J steps outside, crabby disposition noticeable from a mile away. “Hey, did Frost tell you how long it will be until we can return to the penthouse?” you’re curious to find out since you hardly spoke to him since this morning.

“At least one week,” he growls, displeased at the news. “The pipes need to be replaced at the lower level. Only one duct was leaking, but they want to change all of them for safety.”

“That makes sense,” you grunt and lift Mia up, The Joker scolding:

“You’re not supposed to do that !”

“I know, I know,” you agree and he gestures for her. After finding herself in his arms, the little girl starts munching on his coat’s collar, babbling words that almost resemble “mama” and “dada”.

“Greeeat, another one to chew my ears off,” he frowns and it doesn’t go well with you.

“Why do you have to take the joy out of everything? Aren’t you happy Mia will walk and talk soon?” you sulk, not understanding why he can’t appreciate the little things.

Sarcasm follows:

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be? It’s something a kid never did before, right? Pfft,” he scoffs, ”you’re the one that got emotional when each kid learned to walk and speak; I don’t get the hype.”

“Of course you don’t,” you grumble, concluding the children must be hungry after playing for so long. “Darlings, come inside; it’s time to eat!”

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

You stop drinking your tea and elbow J, making him pay attention to the touching scene taking place at the kids’ table: the boys are eating and feeding their little sister also. Kase is actually standing, holding her hand and she nibbles on the chicken nugget offered by Aiden. As soon as Mia starts chewing, the boys eat some more too, waiting for her to finish what she has in her mouth.

Your eyes get teary; even if they did it before, you find it irresistibly adorable.

“That’s very cute,” you gulp, getting ready to help. The boys can mostly feed themselves, yet their mom’s intervention is more than welcomed.

J smirks, quietly adding more salad to his dish.

You head over to the counter, wanting to dump leftovers from your plate in the garbage can before helping the kids. The small box resting on top of the trash is discretely taking out by a curious Y/N. Is this what he threw in there earlier?!

You open it and hold your breath: it’s a gold bracelet; a simple circle beaded with a few diamonds, engraved with plain, meaningful words:

To: Mommy

From: Kase, Aiden, Zane and Mia

J hears you sniffling behind him and turns his head to see what’s going on. You hold the bracelet in the palm of your hand, speechless.

“Why is this in the garbage?!” you bite your cheek. “Help me put in on please.”

He doesn’t seem willing to fulfill your demand.

“I had no clue you dig in the trash now! Is it a part time job?” he mocks, cranky you found the customized gift he ordered eight days ago and decided to dispose of.

“Help me put it on,” you disregard his bitterness and J nags:

“It’s a gold hoop, easy to use, no clasp or nothing.”

“I want you to help me… please…”

That’s the point: you want him to do it.

“You’re annoying !” he yanks at you wrist, gliding the bracelet against the soft skin.

“Daaadddy, I’m thirsty,” Zane whines, coming over with his empty cup.

“Oh goody, someone finally needs me!” The Joker’s sassiness escalates for no reason.

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

You creep inside his bedroom without knocking and lean your back against the closed door, waiting.

“Can I sleep here?” you utter, not looking his way.

“It’s your house, isn’t it?” the indirect invitation follows and you crawl in the bed by him, keeping a safe distance. “We can fit the twins between us; why aren’t you coming closer? Or are you scared you won’t be able to behave?”

You actually giggle, surprised you feel nervous.

“I think I’m alright, ” and you bring your body near his, cuddling like you used to years ago when you were together.

“Here’s the thing Y/N,” The Joker lifts your chin up. “If you sense any activity bellow my waist, don’t flatter yourself. It’s just a natural reaction due to the closeness. Are you…are you fucking blushing when I’m just messing with you?!” he teases and you feel your cheeks burning.

“I’m not blushing,” you whisper, embarrassed at your stupid vulnerability.

“You totally are,” J grins and you are aware it’s true. You wiggle in his arms, cautiously considering your next words. The smile perishes on his lips when you ask:

“J…Can you make love to me?”

He looks surprised and you feel awkward.

“That was dumb to say,” you patch your mistake with a fake, clumsy laugh.

“Of course I can,” The Joker’s face comes really close to yours. “The question is if I want to.”

“Well,” you gulp, “do you want to?…”

“Maybe…” he gropes you, thinking. Or is he just pretending?

“Moommyyyyyy,” is heard from the next bedroom, Aiden starting to cry because he probably had a nightmare.

“Such a missed opportunity,” J chuckles and you get out of bed in a hurry, but he grabs your hand, squeezing it before releasing the hold: “Come back afterwards.”

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

The children weren’t used to find their mommy sleeping in the same room with their father, but that changed two years ago. They don’t know what it means, but one thing’s for sure: they love coming in the master bedroom at the penthouse and jump on the bed, waking up both parents and horsing around all morning until The Joker hides under the pillows, displeased with the noise.

Mommy never complains though; she always shows her affection and lets them touch her growing belly, telling them their new sister is in there. So fascinating for the kids! And they are getting more and more impatient, especially the little girl: she was told she will be the big sister and it sounds like an important task.

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

“Baby?” the three years old Mia’s squeaky voice inquires, excited and curious to see such a tiny doll in your arms.

“Yes honey, this is your sister Emma,” you smile, pecking her forehead. You are sitting on the floor with the kids around you and they are seeing their sister for the first time.

“Waahhhh, she’s so cute,” Kase caresses the small head, mesmerized.

“Can I kiss her?” Zane claps his hands, puckering his lips.

“Sure,” you agree and Aiden wants to do the same.

“Me too!” the oldest kisses her also and Mia pushes him away, pouting:

“She’s my sissy!”

“Hey, hey, no fighting! Emma is everybody’s, ok?” you try to alleviate the quarrel, amused it’s already starting. It took like…40 seconds for the rivalry to surface.

“Look daaa’yy, baby!” Mia snickers, presenting Emma to her father like some kind of treasure. He’s been sitting at his desk, watching their reactions. You smile, softly rocking the new born when it fusses from the commotion.

“I know, I made her,” he sneers, winking and the kids are completely absorbed by the new addition to the family.

“Can I hold her?” Zane extends his arms and you carefully place Emma in his grip, holding both of them so he won’t drop her.

You notice the Joker is the proud possessor of a very arrogant aura and you know why: he’s been bragging all afternoon that he makes very cute babies and no matter how the mom looks like, he compensates for the deficit. Such nonsense!

But the annoying truth is that he does make beautiful babies.

“Mommy, can I hold her too?” Aiden begs, getting you out of daze.

“Sure can,” you nod, wondering when the jealousy will actually kick in.

You are definitely prepared for the challenge: this might have been your first pregnancy, but it’s actually your fifth child. It shouldn’t be too hard since…

Once a mother always a mother.

Also read: MASTERLIST

http://diyunho.tumblr.com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist

#the joker x reader #the joker fanfiction #the joker imagine #the joker jared leto #the joker #jared leto #joker #joker fanfiction #joker x reader #mister j #mistah j #mr. j #puddin #dc #the suicide squad #dc comics

374 notes · View notes

booknerd405 · 7 years

Note

all the soft asks! all of them! i love you so much!!

ily Kate!!!!!!!

honey: what’s your favorite memory you made this year?

tbh there were a lot so imma just name a few of them: 1) that night that you, Libby, Em, and I were at Libby’s house and we were all on one bed and just kept tickling each other 2)playing at carnegie hall & that one moment when i hit the gong correctly for the first fucking time and Mr. S looked so happy it was gr8 and 3) tonight i got pho with my boys and then we went to like 4 different parks and just fucked around and ate too much junk and trespassed on a lot of public property just to chill and it was everything

sunshine: 3 things you do to relax

1.) take extra long scalding hot showers with depressing/mellow music (this is gonna kill me not to be able to do properly in dorms fuck)

2.) take my dog for a walk or walk with my dad at night

3.) let myself go brain dead for a few hours and just watch youtube videos and crochet till my fingers hurt

rain: put your music on shuffle and give a 5 song playlist

Nocturne No. 5 in F sharp major Op. 15 No.2 by Chopin, played by Rubinstein (because i’m a ho for chopin)

That Green Gentleman by Panic! at the Disco

Mr. Watson by Cruel Youth

Bad Liar by Selena Gomez

Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean

lace: what’s your favorite piece of clothing?

right now it’s probably my 2 gentlemen of verona shirt but i’m changing my answer literally every 2 minutes in my head so idk (i’m hoping that if i ever actually crochet the cape i bought a punch of supplies for, that it’ll be my fav lol)

flowers: what’s your favorite outdoor activity?

does sitting and staring at the scenery count as an activity? if not, then going to parks with idiot boys

roses: what’s your favorite perfume or cologne?

my favorite perfumes are Mariah Carey’s Luscious Pink and Flowerbomb by Victor and Rolf but my favorite scent on earth is the cologne Play by Givenchy i literally spray that on my stuffed animals so that I can smell it as i sleep

sunsets: give 3 movie recommendations

1) The Intouchables (except ur literally not allowed to watch it the 1st time w/out me i need to watch this french movie w you even if we have to do it over skype)

2) Rush Hour (maybe even Rush Hour 2, but the 1st one is the best)

3) the original 3 Indiana Jones movies (i know that’s more than 1 movie, i dont care)

blankets: what’s your night routine?

brush my teeth, put on my prescription acne medication, try and fail to convince my dog to sleep with me instead of my parents, give up, write a sentence in my 10 year journal and tell myself that i’ll clean my pen out tomorrow, tell myself that i’lll start packing for university tomorrow (i wont), read some fanfic (usually Kurtbastian or Tododeku with a bit of Victuuri sprinkled in), then go to sleep

thunder: what’s your favorite instrument?

i feel a bit obligated to say piano cuz ive been playing it for over 10 years for a reason, but aside from that, i’d say my fav instrument to play is a 3 way tie between gong, suspended cymbals, and timpani, and my fav instrument to listen to other than piano is the cello

ink: favorite thing you’ve written?

lmao i haven’t written anything i’ve liked in a long time (i haven’t written anything in a long time cuz im afraid to lbr) but id say maybe the poem i wrote in middle school that was kinda experimental called Alone, and all the random scenes i wrote for the book i was writing all through middle school called Afflictions (i made the mistake of reading through them an now i wanna start writing it again fuck)

heartbeat: who’s your best friend?

it would actually be impossible for me to choose between Kate and Frederick so i will combine the names to make it 1 best friend: Katerick Frate Karick Frederate

sunrise: kisses or hugs?

hugs :D

fairy lights: who was the last person you talked to?

my older brother, about pumpkin spice beer

sugar: what’s your favorite snack?

bananas!! (especially if they’re covered in nutella ;P)

wind: what’s your favorite season?

im a basic bitch who loves autumn

trees: favorite thing about your hometown?

there’s a lot of things but probably the best thing about it growing up was that our public schools are so big and the environment is very inclusive so cliques were never rly much of a thing? like there were definitely different groups of ppl but they intermingled so much that it didn’t rly matter? nothing was weird about the captain of the football team being friends with a marching band kid

smiles: who do you go to for comfort?

my dad

skyline: the sun, the moon, or the stars?

the stars!!

lavender: what color do you find most comforting?

almost any shade of brown will usually do the trick but beige and tan are especially nice (basically look at my aesthetic side blog @mercurialaesthetic and that’s ur answer lol)

3 notes · View notes

therealestatesparkblog · 5 years

Text

No, You Are NOT Going Too Far in Pursuit of Financial Independence

I was talking to my buddy and co-worker Craig Curelop recently. It was about 7:00 p.m., and we were having one of our not-infrequent discussions about financial freedom late after work. As usual, Craig was cooking dinner at the office after his workout. I suspect that he was cooking here in an effort to save money on electricity that hed otherwise have to use to cook at home (I cant even tell if Im joking about that or not). I was just here late, trying to catch up on emails. For some time, wed been having a debate about his approach to attaining early financial freedom. I was claiming that Craig goes too far in his pursuit of financial freedom. Craig was politely dismissing my claim and insisting that he was perfectly happy with his situation. Craigs Obsession with Financial Freedom Now, I think I have some good reasons to think that Craig is going pretty hardcore in pursuit of early financial freedom. He does a LOT. Craig house hacksin a house that is eerily similar to the property I first bought back in 2014my first house hack. His home is just a few blocks away from my property, but a bit newer and nicer. Craig, however, gets a far better financial return from his investment than I did and will likely do better with his investment than me over time, even though I bought an investment that has better numbers as a traditional rental property. How does he do this? Simplehe rents out his bedroom on Airbnb and sleeps on the futon in the living room! Craig bikes to workevery day. Thirty degrees and snowing like it is on the day I write this? Craig is still on his bike. Craig rents out his car on Turo, netting positive every month on vehicle expenses. Craig does not eat sugar. Craig does not consume alcohol. Craig is involved in extra-curriculars like Toastmasters in an effort to constantly improve himself. Craig reads incessantly. Craig hang-dries his clothes to save money on electricity. Craig gets up at 5:30 a.m. each morning to pursue his goals. Craig meets investors and potential contacts multiple times per week. Craig has literally optimized almost every part of his life in pursuit of early financial freedom. Is this too much? I certainly thought so at firstand I told him so. I thought so until our conversation the other night, when I suddenly remembered what I did to jumpstart my journey to financial freedom.

Related: 7 Daily Habits of Real Estate Investors Who Seek Financial Freedom My Obsession with Financial Freedom See, when I got started on this journey, the term house hacking (but certainly not the concept, which has been around forever) had just been invented by Brandon Turner in this article. The concept of biking to work was completely foreign to me. In fact, every single person I had ever even heard of (excluding the 40-year-old virgin) drove to work or took public transit. Riding a bike had just had not presented itself as an option until I began reading a blog called Mr. Money Mustache (one of my favorite blogs of all time). In spite of friends and family who thought I was crazy, I bought a house hack. I took this Mr. Money Mustache guys advice and biked to work. I read over 100 personal finance, business, psychology, and career-related books. I quit a stable, hard-earned job with middling corporate opportunity to pursue a highly risky job at a startup. I networked with investors all over the city. I tried to get up early to pursue a version of the Miracle Morning even though I hated it and am a night owl. I cooked all of my own meals and almost never consumed anything that even approached unhealthy. I kept a daily log. I even hung dry my laundry instead of installing a dryer. I did this for years. I still do much of this. I dont regret it one bit. In fact, looking back, I wish Id been more like Craigmore obsessed, more (not less) productive. You Dont Have to Be Perfect Forever! The reason I initially thought that Craig was doing too much was that I am currently growing soft. Nowadays, I still house hack. I bike to work, but much less frequently, and often on a custom built e-bike that I put together over the summer that is pretty awesome. This is partly due to a nasty foot injuryI suspect I will resume with biking more regularly on the road bike as the foot continues to improve and the weather gets nicer in the spring of 2018. I cook less and eat out a few times per month. I love Chinese food and am willing to splurge on it now a bit. I enjoy dates at casual restaurants with my girlfriend. I have a dryer. I still spend very little compared with your average American, but its creeping up a bit. I sometimes forget that Ineeded to do the hardcore things that Craig is currently doing to get where I am. Are they things that I want to do for the next 50 years? Are they things that Im even still doing today? No, not all of them. Am I proud that I did them and happy that they contributed to my current position? Absolutely. But the point of all of this is that I can afford to bring some luxuries back into my life now. I have enough passive income to purchase some of these things and still get ahead. And while my passive income more than pays for my lifestyle as things stand, it is not yet enough to comfortably fund the life I could see myself wanting in the futurea life that will involve fewer still of these optimizations. As my portfolio continues to grow over the next few years, I see a more permanent house in my future. I see potential pets. I see a very nice, large kitchen and a significantly improved bathroom in a future residence compared to my present situation. I see some luxuries that Id truly enjoy, like maybe a backyard or garage filled with home gym equipment (purchased second-hand via Craigslist, of course). I see myself gradually approaching a lifestyle that anyone would call middle or upper-middle class. But Ill be able to live that lifestyle at extremely low cost, with minimal waste, and fund it entirely with a surplus from real estate cash flow. This result will unfold gradually, as I consistently increase my passive income in the coming years. And this is possible solely because of the optimization that I implemented in the past and am continuing to ride in the present. Im starting to get soft, and I may well continue to soften in the future. To plan on living an entire life of perfect optimization would defeat the purpose of pursuing financial freedom. I seek bit by bit to build the exact life I wantand to only increase my standard of living in proportion to my passive incomeand never in excess to the point where I will grow fat and lazy. Im willing to go without some of the things I eventually aspire to in order to make that dream a reality. Craig has a similar vision. Craig will not be living on a futon forever. As his wealth grows, as he eliminates his student loans, and as these choices become less and less meaningful to his financial position, I am certain that Craig will cool it a bit. Related: The Surprisingly Simple Secret to Financial Freedom Most 9 to 5-ers Overlook Once you are at a point where you feel that you can ease off the gas pedal, do it. Do it in certain areas that are most meaningful to you. As your passive income increases and covers your living expenses you can stop making the sacrifices that everyone thinks Craig and I are making! But What About Living in the Present? Notice, however, that neither Craig nor I give up or gave up certain things that are universally accepted as important to a well-lived life. Like travel. Like nights out with friends. Like attending sporting events. Like visiting family. Like attending life events of those we are close with. Like volunteering in the community. Those are the things we associate with living. Craig does not go too far in his pursuit of early financial freedom. Craig is one of the healthiest, most well-adjusted folks I know. In spite of his unforgivable love of Boston sports teams, including the New England Patriots, he is a genuinely funny guy, a hard worker, and has friends who come to visit him from all over the country. Craig is doing this whole thing exactly right and will enjoy experiences comparable to every other 20-something in Denver over the next few years, based on his interests. The only real differences between him and the rest of the pack are that he will arrive where he is going on his bicycle, and he will rest his head at night on a futon instead of in a bedroom. He says these things do not affect his happiness. And I believe him. How could they? I believe that Craig has some of the highest odds of anyone I know of achieving a $1,000,000 net worth by the age of 30. You might look at Craig and think, Thats crazy I could never do what he does and sleep on the couch while renting out my bed! But I challenge you to see things from the other perspectivefrom Craigs perspective and mine. Is it crazy to build that much wealth that early in life? Is it crazy to enjoy the same recreational activities as your peers, yet come out way ahead financially? Is it crazy to create a life that is healthier, more fun, costs less, and sets you up for greater career success or income generation? Is Craig crazy? Am I crazy? Or is everyone else crazy?

You Need to Get Obsessed with Optimizing Your Life, Too! Almost every day since I started optimizing my life, my life has gotten better. Ive become healthier, wealthier, stronger, happier, a better skier, a better rugby player, and more in tune with my family. Ive experienced career accomplishments. Ive since met a wonderful girl who Ive dated for a year and half and love very much, and I have what I consider to be a pretty good, fun-filled life. I believe that this progression of events is not unique to Craig and me. Almost everyone I know who has gone on to achieve financial freedom at an extremely early age, who has accumulated a large amount of wealth in a short period of time, or who has started a successful business has done some version of aggressive, all-out optimization in pursuit of their goals. Maybe successful folks didnt sleep on a futon or even house hack. But you can be sure that they devote outsized time, in the beginning, to getting some kind of venture off the ground. You can be sure that they earn more than they spendby a lot. You can be sure that they become obsessed with the success of the venture theyre involved in. Every blogger on this site is obsessed with their craft. They study it relentlessly for years. You need to develop the same healthy obsession with your goals as well. No one has come to me and said they regret these types of choices. No one regrets giving a worthy goal their best efforts. And even if they do, in most cases, choices like these are easily reversible. You can always stop reading, stop networking, stop biking, and stop house hacking if you decide its not for you. Craig can simply stop listing his room on Airbnb tomorrow if he wants and live at a lower cost than almost every American, in the heart of an expensive city at that! Yes, folks can build a million-dollar net worth as middle-class wage earners over a period of decades. Thats not hard and can be achieved automatically, with merely sane spending habits, buying a reasonable home, and contributing to a 401(k). Im not talking about achieving this result. I dont write for folks looking to achieve this result. I seek to help people trying to achieve early financial freedom in a fraction of that time. And to do that, you need to become obsessed. And if you truly want to give yourself the best chance at achieving this goal rapidly, you need to optimize with a passion and zeal. The part of the journey that Craig is currently in is the part that so many more of you readers need to undergo to truly jumpstart your journey to financial freedom. This should be the fun part. Its where you really make the changes necessary to become successful. Ive met dozens of people who are undertaking this journey and house hacking (yes, with kids) in the bottom units of up/down duplexes. Ive met people who have begun biking to work. Ive met people who read relentlessly or who take action day after day in pursuit of success with their career or side hustle. For the first time in years, many of them are excited to take on life. They identify the correct opportunity, the opportunity that offers them a real shot at achieving their goals, and they pursue it 100 percent, with their best efforts, for years. Dont mistake these folks for the outliers. The folks who achieve financial freedom rapidly without making optimized choices in almost every area of lifechoices that increase their wealth, productivity, and happinessare the exception, not the rule. Conclusion Look, I totally understand that Craigs approachor even my approachmay not be something that you want for your entire life. Frankly, I DO NOT plan to house hack in perpetuity, and I am reasonably sure that at some point Craig will move on from his futon to a bed, then a house that he eventually wants to reside in semi-permanently. The whole point of this is not to live like this forever. It is to do it as long as necessary to achieve your goals. The point is to create and execute a plan to create the life you want and then live that life exactly as you want, as the person in nearly complete control, forever after. And along the way, youll probably find that many of these sacrifices are actually all-around improvements in your day and lifestyle! Im not trying to convince you to live on a futon. Im trying to tell you that doing so will not impact your happiness if you go in with the right mindset. And that it is not and should not be a permanent state of affairs. Im trying to tell you that choices like that are the ones that increase your odds of accumulating money and freeing up time with which to pursue big income and investment opportunities unavailable to folks with tiny savings rates and no free time. You may think that Im strange for biking to work, making my own meals, and living in a house hack. You may think Craig is strange for renting out his bed and car, sleeping on a futon, and biking to work. But to us, this life is better than an alternative that involves long commutes, being handcuffed to a mortgage, and engaging in unhealthy or unproductive behaviors that dont produce results or fond memories! And in five, 10, or 20 years, the folks who make choices like this are more likely than not to be multimillionaires with multiple properties and multiple sources of income. Dave Ramsey famously says, Live like no else now so later you can live like no one else. The implication of this is that you have to give up happiness and sacrifice now to live the life of your dreams later. This is not how I have experienced things. Life was better immediately after making the choice to optimize my lifestyle around my goals, AND it continually improves as I reap the financial, career, health, and relationship results of those choices. I feel good about where Ive been, where I am, and where Im going. You can live better than everyone else now, in an extraordinarily low-cost, productive, and impactful manner, AND live like no one else later. I made the mistake of thinking that Craig was going too far in pursuit of financial freedom. But he can and should go farther and faster if he can and will continue to love his life. Let me state it all again: He enjoys it. And he should enjoy it. He is becoming healthier, wealthier, happier, and more self-confident with each passing day, week, month, and year. I too have enjoyed it and will continue to enjoy it. You should enjoy it, too. I honestly believe that those of us who pursue early financial freedom and make the optimizations necessary to make that a reality experience a better life in the interim while pursuing it, a better life approaching Financial Freedom, and a better life after achieving financial freedom. There is no sacrifice in this way of life. The improvements you make to your life may have positive effects immediately and will likely only continue to grow. I give you permission to choose the healthy, wealthy, happy path that you know will leave you better off when its all said and done. And once you decide to go for it, optimize for happiness, health, and wealth without apology. Were republishing this article to help out our newer readers.

What lengths do you go to in your pursuit of financial freedom? Have you ever encountered criticism for living the way you do? Share below! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/pursue-financial-freedom-unapologetically

0 notes