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c0llisiion · 25 days

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SIN FOR ME — J.JK

Pairing : jeon jungkook + f!reader

Genre : smut

★: request, npr , cnc , older!jk , boyfriendsdad!jk , cheating, pwp , named!bf , misunderstandings , slight manipulation, unprotected sex at the beginning, protected sex later on , bigdick!jk , coming on body , cum eating , dirty talk , name calling/nicknames, slight angst — lmk if i missed any!

W/C: 2,919

A/N: thank you to pookie for requesting this!! I had a hard time with the plot 😭✋ but i had fun! Thank you sm for requesting! And also sorry 4 going m.i.a i have js been so off 👎👎🤧🤧🥺🥺 anyways enjoy!!

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ This is strictly fiction. Any scenario or situation should not be taken seriously. Please refrain from reading if the topics make you uncomfortable. ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★

[edited ver.]

Another day came to an end. A bad end. You were cuddled up with your boyfriend, watching whatever popped up first on your recommended shows. You were hoping to get some action tonight, as it’s been a while since you guys had sex. 2 months, to be exact. You were frustrated, of course. He hasn’t touched you or done anything to you for two months. That's the longest you have gone without sex. You tried so hard to push away the negative thoughts. Convincing yourself that he was just busy and tired and definitely not fucking some other bitch.

His parents wouldn’t be coming back home for a couple of hours since his dad is always busy and barely comes home, and his mom is most probably out with another broad. So You tried getting him in the mood. Wearing just a tee and some ck thongs. Rubbing against him. Kissing his neck. But nothing seemed to work. He kept pushing you away. ‘Not now.’ ‘Im not in the mood’ ‘im too tired, not today.’ were just coming out of his mouth like a broken record. But you still didn’t give up! You were determined, but before that- “im gonna go sleep.” You looked up at him, confused. “What?” “Im tired, alright? Im gonna go to bed; you can continue watching your stupid show by yourself.” There was venom laced in his words. It hurt you. Your heart sank. He pushed you away before walking up the stairs. You were trying to hold back your tears. How could he do this to you? You scoff. “Seriously? You’re really not even going to ask me to join you?” Your boyfriend turned around and stared at you blankly. “No. I want some peace and space. Do whatever the hell you want.” And with that, he walked away. You could hear his loud footsteps descend before a loud slam took over.

You huff and try not to cry. It was too overwhelming for you, and you couldn’t help but think about the possibility that he was probably seeing someone else, or else why would he act like this? The waterworks started pouring slowly as you thought about the memories you made with him. Your soft sobs echoed throughout the empty, dark, and cold living space.

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He was mad. So mad. Finding out that his company just fell into a major controversy after all he worked for was not the cherry on top. Jungkook hastily unlocked his house’s door. It was unusually dark. The only light illuminating the space was the soft kitchen light, which his dumbass son forgot to turn off. He dropped his case and trenchcoat by the door before kicking off his shoes and walked further into his home. He noticed a small figure face-down on the couch, sleeping.

You were sleeping on your stomach, your head tucked in your forearm, and your hair covered your face. Your shirt was slightly rolled up, and your ass was on full display. Jungkook walked over and took a good look at your body. He needed something to pour his anger into, and so, assuming that it was his wife, he loosened his tie and sat where your foot rested. His hand went up your thighs before resting on your plump ass, cold fingers fondling with the soft flesh. He grabbed a handful before giving your ass a soft slap. He shuffled to hover over you. His hand cupped your pussy. Palm pushing into the wet hole, dampening your underwear. “…Gonna fuck you, okay, pretty? Just stay still f’ me..” His voice was low and deep. He was still under the impression that it was his wife. Jungkook’s fingers hooked around your underwear before pulling it to the side, exposing your bare cunt. He couldn’t see much, but he noticed how his ‘wife’s’ pussy was glistening in the dark. He circled your entrance with slow movements. Your cunny was getting wet at a quick rate. He swallowed thickly at the soft, warm feeling. Without wasting much time, he unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants along with his boxers.

Jungkook was rock hard. His tip glowed a deep red, and pre-cum was already dripping down his slit. Using his strong hands, he gently shifted your position so your ass was up in the air. He placed a couch pillow under your abdomen so you could lay comfortably. He hunched over your small frame, his hand gliding his aching tip over your glossy slit. He breathed heavily. It felt too good. Jungkook slowly started pushing himself in. He was struggling. It was easy to slip inside his wife, but this time? It seemed different. But familiar. Still, he continued moving forward. Maybe some miracle had happened to his wife. Who knows. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched your puffy lips swallow his hard length. You were still in deep sleep. The long crying session took a toll on your energy, so you were not really aware of what was happening to your body. Jungkook's breath gets caught in his throat as he finally stuffs you full. Your pussy clenching around his length unknowingly.

Jungkook started moving. Rolling his hips gently. He threw his head back at how your sweet cunny felt around his length. It was hard to believe that it was his wife. You felt warmer. Softer. And, of course, much tighter. Nothing compared to his wife. His eyes were squeezed shut, and short, heavy breaths left his lips as you continued taking him in. His hands grasped your plush hips, gripping the flesh tightly.

“Mmf-“ you let out a soft whine. Jungkook's tight grasp was enough to give you a bit of consciousness. Soft gasps escaped your lips at every thrust. Your stomach felt weird, and your body was getting hot. You were starting to sweat. “Junwoo… feels good…” you mumbled in your sleep. You felt something penetrating your sopping walls and immediately thought that it was your boyfriend. Maybe he felt bad and decided to finally give in.

Jungkook's heart dropped. No way. There's no way. His eyes went wide when you mumbled his son’s name. With shaky hands, Jungkook leaned forward and pushed the hair off of your face. Shock and terror spread all over his body. He stared down at you. His hand is still resting on your cheek. You were mumbling incoherently. You nudged your face into his palm. “Keep..going.. please.” You murmured. Jungkook gulped. He didn’t know what to do. He was fucking his son’s girlfriend! His thumb brushed the side of your cheek. He felt bad for you. He knew about the fact that his idiot son had been cheating on you for the past 3 months. How could he cheat on such a precious piece? He had to treat you right, even if it was wrong.

You were writhing and squirming under his huge build. Consciousness was starting to hit you. Your body felt hot and uneasy. The feeling was something you had never felt before. It was so much better than what junwoo was giving you. It was suspicious. You slowly lifted your head up, wanting to turn around and see ‘your boyfriend’. Jungkook immediately stopped and pulled out. He was still rock hard, and his dick hit his abdomen with a loud -thump-. He gulped heavily. You tuck your hair behind your ears and glance at the man who was fucking into you senseless.

“What the fuck!!!!!” You immediately pushed yourself away from him. Cramming yourself in the corner of his Fendi Casa sofa, your thighs shut together. Your eyes first landed on his twitching cock. Oh, it was big. Bigger than his son’s. It was leaking too, and you couldn’t help but feel yourself getting wetter. It was so wrong. So, so wrong. You immediately come out of a trance and look at the man in front of you. His shirt was open, revealing his built body. “I c-can explain-“Jungkook stuttered. “What the fuck mr.jeon???????? How could you just do that to me???” Jungkook's hands were up in defense. “It’s not what you think, y/n. I was mistaken too.” “Mistaken???? You just raw-dogged me???. You are fucking your son’s girlfriend!!!” Jungkook swallowed hard before looking at you with his dark eyes. “Like it’s not the first time i touched you. Be for real right now, y/n” he rolled his eyes at your reaction. “Yeah! Touched. You have only TOUCHED, me. Its a big difference mr.jeon!” It was true that you both fooled around here and there but that was before you started dating junwoo. And everything ended after you confirmed your relationship with his son who was once your bestfriend.

He was hard af and you felt too good to stop. So there had to be some way to get you convinced. It was about time he told you about his son’s double life. “Look. There’s something you should know. Your boyfriend or my son has been cheating on you.” He did not want to beat around the bush and just dropped the bomb. Your heart shattered, and you felt lightheaded. Your eyes went wide at Jungkook’s claims. You were too stunned to speak and just stared at him. It seemed like it had worked, which prompted him to slowly hover over you, pushing you down softly. “And I know about the fact that my whore of a wife has been cheating on me every day." He looked down and watched as his calloused fingers ran up the soft rolls of your abdomen before making eye contact with you again. “You need this, y/n.. we both need this…” the last 4 words came out in a hush. His words were so sinister, and he had a shit-eating grin on his face as he watched you process the information. You trembled under his frame. Oh, you definitely needed it. You shook your head before grabbing Jungkook's loose collar and pulling him into a heated kiss. If your now ex boyfriend cheated on you? Might as well start fucking his dad again for revenge.

Jungkook giggled into the kiss and kissed you back. His hand found the back of your head before tightly gripping your soft hair. You whined into his mouth as it started to hurt. Jungkook kissed you further. His tongue tasting the insides of your mouth. He ripped your underwear, making you gasp and whine. “I will get you new ones, pretty, dw” he mumbled into the kiss with a smirk. His dick was rubbing against your bare pussy, making you leak. His hips moved incoherently. He loved the feeling of your wet pussy lip’s coating his length. Jungkook started aligning himself with your entrance, but before he could shove it in, you stopped him. You broke off the intense kiss. A string of saliva connected your lips to his. Jung Kook looked at you in concern. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” You gulped before speaking up. “Protection… mr.Jeon.” You avoided eye contact with him as he narrowed his eyes at you. He let out a soft chortle before reaching down and taking his wallet from his discarded pants.

He pulled out a condom from one of the sleeves before chucking the wallet away. He was sitting on his heels and looked at you with a smirk. “Put it on for me, darling..” You nodded shyly as you sat up a bit and took the condom from his hands. You slowly ripped the blue plastic wrapping and pulled it out, all while innocently staring up at him. Your shaky hands gripped the base of his cock, giving it a slight squeeze before focusing on pushing the rubber down his huge dick. Jung Kook watched you with pure lust in his eyes. His hand went to the back of your head before forcefully making you look at him, causing you to whimper at the sudden action. “I didn’t know you were such a good girl, y/n..” He gave you a reassuring smile before pulling you to him. Your legs rested on his thighs, and his cock rested on your stomach. The length sat comfortably on your plush tummy. “Gonna take me all, baby? Can you do that for me?” You nodded vigorously before slowly moving your hips on his cock for some stimulation. He chuckled at your reaction and hissed as he entered you slowly. now savoring each and every inch of your sweet pussy. You whimpered as you finally felt how big he was. It still hurt, even though he had already dicked you down.

You stared at Jungkook's face, your eyebrows knit together and eyes swelling up with tears, your lips bitten down hard as you watched Jungkook's face contort in pleasure. Sweat dripped down his body, and soft grunts left his mouth as he inched inside you more. His eyes quickly glanced at yours, and he internally fumbled at your expression. Knowing that he was fucking you was making this experience even better.

With a quick thrust, he was fully into you. His tip kissing your spongy spot. Your breath was unsteady and faltering as he had you filled to the brim. His fingers were hooked under your chin and you lifted your face slightly so you could meet his gaze. “Can i?” He asked you gently with a reassuring smile. You nodded at his words before grabbing onto his shoulders for stability. Jungkook's hands held onto your waist, keeping you in place. His hips started moving. Each thrust made him grunt loudly. His pace increased as it got easier to move inside you. Your gummy walls were spasming around his length, and he could feel your warmth. Your both eyes were fixated on the way his dick went in and out of you. His cock would form a small bulge in your lower abdomen every time he pushed into you. “You see that baby? You’re taking me in so well… fuck-“ he was cut off as your pussy clenched. You let out a whine at his words “s-sir.. faster p-please..”

That was all Jungkook needed to hear for him to go absolutely feral on you. The way you begged with that voice sent blood rushing straight to his cock. “Yeah? My little slut wants me to go faster? I will give anything you ask, baby..” His thrusts got harder and faster. You gripped his shoulders tight, and your eyes rolled back as Jungkook hit your sweet spot perfectly. Sounds of wet skin slapping against each other were echoing throughout the whole area. Your moans are starting to get increasingly louder. Jungkooks quickly covered your mouth before leaning down and whispering into your ears. "don't want your boyfriend to hear how much I'm making you feel good, wouldn’t ya?” Tears streamed down your face as his dick abused your hole. Jungkook left wet kisses and purple hickeys on the sides of your neck, going lower and lower. You wrapped your hands around his neck and your legs around his waist, pulling him closer to your body as you writhed and twitched in pleasure. Jungkook's cock was ruining your pussy

“Fuck-“ Jungkook's voice got caught in his throat as you clenched around him again. He savoured the warm feeling of your cunt wrapped around his cock. “Taking me so well little girl…” he breathed into your ear in a whisper. Whines after whines left your mouth. His girthy cock, grazing your gummy, warm walls. The grip on your hips got tighter, enough to form visible bruises.

His thrusts were quick and sharp, and it has you seeing stars. You could feel the knot in your stomach reach its peak. He grunted into your neck and lifted his head up to look at you. “Gonna cum pretty? Gonna make a little mess for me?” You nodded and whined as his hand left your mouth and reached down to play with your puffy clit. You choked as he started flicking your sensitive nub. “Make a huge mess for me.. I will make sure my idiot son cleans it up..” he gave you a wink before focusing on helping you reach your orgasm. He was almost close too. His grip on your waist tightened, and he continued pounding into you.

“fuckkk!!!!” Your vision went blurry as you came all over his lower body. Streams of clear liquid coated the couch and his abdomen. Jungkook gawked at the sight, and he was so close to cumming. He quickly pulled out of you before removing the condom. His hand wrapped around his throbbing length, and he started jerking himself off. His head thrown back and mouth agape. “L-look at me baby..” he whispered, and you obeyed. Looking up at him through your dazed state. Eyes glossy, and your face was covered in a thin layer of sheen as you slowly came down from your high. Jungkook opened his eyes, looked at you once, and busted all over your body. Some of his cum even reached your face. A load of his creamy white cum never seemed to stop pouring out of his dick. Your stomach and shirt were stained with the thick liquid. You quickly wiped it off your face, licking it off your fingers as you stared into his eyes with a smirk. Jungkook let out a soft chuckle before reaching down to grab your face so he could kiss you. His lips met yours again, but this time it was more gentle. More passionate. He could taste himself on your lips. “Dirty little girl.“

A/N: thank you for reading!!! I was not rlly sure abt the topic because its the first time i actually wrote a cnc fic w plot 😭🧍‍♀️but i hope it was upto par!! Also if it seems like the plot gets lost somewhere please ignore 💀✋😨

Masterlist <3

#౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ yun’s silly fics #bts #bts smut #jungkook smut #bts reactions #bts x reader #bts army #bts fanfic #bts headcanons #bts scenarios #taehyung smut #jungkook headcanons #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x reader #jungkook reaction #jungkook scenarios #jeon jungkook #bts jungkook

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art · 6 months

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Creator Spotlight: @jdebbiel

Deb JJ Lee is a non-binary Korean artist based in Brooklyn, NY. They have appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, NPR, Google, Radiolab, and more. Their award-winning graphic memoir, IN LIMBO, about mental illness and difficult relationships with trauma, released in March 2023 from First Second.

Below is our interview with Deb!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

That implies I am over my art block, but I’m still in it! I think about Kiki’s Delivery Service a lot and how she had to stop doing a thing, and that you can’t really force it, and you have to let it come back to you. It’s a pretty humbling moment, realizing there is more to life than just drawing. I’ve been trying to consume other content like reading or watching movies—anything that is not drawing-related—and to trust that it will come back to me. I think not being afraid to do the small pieces before committing to the big pieces is helpful. Because big pieces are what I am known for, I dig myself into a deeper hole, thinking that each piece has to be bigger than the last one. So yeah! Relaxing and doing the small things before overcommitting to a big piece is the best way to go about it for me.

Which 3 famous artists (dead or alive) would you invite to your dinner party?

I feel like these are all artists that I have second-degree connections with! Jillian Tamaki, Victo Ngai, and Tillie Walden would be my picks!

What are your file name conventions?

…What file name conventions? I mean, I don’t have specific file name conventions, but I actually have a public Google Drive archive! But I usually put “djjl_whatever-the-title-is_final,” and I would always know it’s the final and legit version.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

I did an illustration for the whiskey brand Johnnie Walker. It’s so wild because I only had four days to finish it, and it usually takes me a week and a half if I rush. And honestly, it’s probably one of my best pieces from this year, which is funny. It was for the Mid-Autumn festival, so I made it as Korean as possible.

How has technology changed the way you approach your work?

I only use my iPad to draw everything now, and if I want to pretend that I have a steady workstation, I’ll use my Cintiq. I still am not as comfortable on the Cintiq as I am on Procreate, but it’s still pretty solid and nice. That’s the good part about technology. The bad part about technology is how AI art has been messing things up for me. I’m currently in a lawsuit about AI art as a class rep. Some of my stuff got turned into AI art late last year, so I have to give a deposition at some point.

What is a convention experience that has stuck with you?

Honestly, they’re all good! I feel like Lightbox Expo has been really nice because it’s truly been a convention for artists. I feel like that’s where most of my audience is, and they’re all around because their purpose is to be better at art. That’s where a lot of original artists do well because they’re getting art they’re inspired by, not so much fanart. I like the Lightbox Expo because it encompasses the pure love of art very well.

Top tips on setting up an Artist Alley booth?

Use a Y axis, not just your X axis! Take advantage of it! Branding is also something to think about. It is definitely something I’m getting better at. Having an assistant is also very important. I’ve also heard that 8.5x11 to 12x18 inches is usually a good size for prints, but I also provide postcard-sized prints because sometimes people don’t want to commit to a larger size.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

You know this is so funny. I’ve been following @alicexz for over a decade on Tumblr and other platforms. I’ve followed her work since high school, and we’ve only recently become peers. I found her, and we met for the first time in real life, and she recognized me. And then I found all my drawings from when I was in my Alice phase, back in high school, and I was like, “Yo, this is when I was trying to be you so badly!” and she was cracking up and was like “Wow, this is so good!” It was such a sweet moment. I wanted to take a picture of her holding my drawing up. It’s really nice because now we’re peers.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, Deb! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @jdebbiel.

#creator spotlight #artists on tumblr #deb jj lee #jdebbiel

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phoenixyfriend · 2 months

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I would advise listening to this podcast all the way through:

There is a section where they talk about how, while pro-ceasefire progressives are loud, they are low in number. The two statistics given are an opinion poll in Pennsylvania about how a pro-Israel stance has actually benefited one of the Senators, and the New Hampshire democratic primary.

In the NH primary, Biden was not on the ballot, for complicated Democratic infighting reasons about which state gets to host the first primary. He nonetheless won the state with about 64%, because people wrote in with his name.

There was also a campaign, a loud one, to get people to write in "ceasefire." It got under 1,500 votes.

Biden got over 77,000. As a write-in candidate.

"But the primary didn't matter!"

Sure, in terms of actual impact on delegates, but look. People are using it as evidence that the people begging for a ceasefire are louder than they are numerous. Shouting, but only a handful.

Abstaining does nothing, even in the primaries.

Hopefully, Michigan will change that, but we cannot rely on one blue-wall state to make a case for all of us.

Do not just shout online. Even in-person protests won't do much when it's a small handful of people each time, because What If It's The Same Five People. That's only five votes, right?

But what if you vote, and tell them you disapprove?

What if you call in, tell your Senator and House Rep that you may not vote for them if this continues, and they match your name and address to a database and find that yes, you DO have a vote you can withhold?

I know I'm a broken record, but PLEASE call your reps.

I'll even help you figure out what to say.

#Spotify #current events #npr #Israel #Gaza #Hamas #Palestine #united states #Phoenix politics

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prettygyuuu · 6 months

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his arms

summary: cheol always knows what you want and he isn't hesitant to give it to you either.

content: npr, established relationship (bf!cheol), unprotected sex (wrap it up babes), pet names (baby)

word count: 400

author's note: i try not to think about his arms but it's just too hard for my poor soul

seungcheol is that kind of boyfriend who would have movie nights with you, the both of you smuggled up in a blanket with his arms wrapped around you

of course, your attention is on anything but the movie.

his biceps flex in the postion and your mind would wander to places it shouldn't. he wouldn't notice it at first but then you really start to show it.

you shift uncomfortably in your seat. 'is something wrong?' he asks with visible concern.

you'd shake your head and say it's fine but you're screaming internally, begging him to take you right there on his couch.

he'd keep is eyes tained on you, noticing every shift in your behaviour. the way your thighs would involuntarily rub together to create some kind of friction, your eyes stealing glances of his arms and the way you would occationally shift closer to him. 'baby...' his voice calls you out of your trance, his eyes fixated on you.

his lips press against yours the moment you look up at him and you breathe out a sigh of relief. finally.

your clothes would meet their fate on the floor and he would glide his tip through your folds, slightly teasing before fully entering inside you.

he'd be brutal too, thrusting into you with all his force, bringing tears to your eyes. he'd hold your face in his palms, wiping the tears with his thumbs.

your walls flutter around his cock, indicating that you're close. your toes curl up and your hold on his arms tighten as the knot in your core snaps, your orgasm rippling through you. he wouldn't be far behind either. his pace quickens and his whole body tenses with his release.

and then comes the godly aftercare

he would pick you up with those arms you love so much and take you to the bathroom, sitting you on the toilet as he runs the bath for the both of you.

once most of his cum has seeped out of you, he bathes you, making sure you're squeaky clean before cleaning himself up. he'd then dry the both of you off before taking you to his bedroom, changing you into your pajamas and then dressing himself.

he'd lay down next to you on his bed, pulling you closer and occasionally planting a kiss to the crown of your head, slowly drifting of to sleep

#this is what happens to me when i'm in my cheol-rot era </3 #seungcheol x reader #seungcheol smut #seungcheol hard hours #lin writes

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books · 8 months

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Writer Spotlight: Elise Hu

We recently met with Elise Hu (@elisegoeseast) to discuss her illuminating title, Flawless—Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital. Elise is a journalist, podcaster, and media start-up founder. She’s the host of TED Talks Daily and host-at-large at NPR, where she spent nearly a decade as a reporter. As an international correspondent, she has reported stories from more than a dozen countries and opened NPR’s first-ever Seoul bureau in 2015. Previously, Elise helped found The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit digital start-up, after stops at many stations as a television news reporter. Her journalism work has won the national Edward R. Murrow and duPont Columbia awards, among others. An honors graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she lives in Los Angeles.

Can you begin by telling us a little bit about how Flawless came to be and what made you want to write about K-beauty?

It’s my unfinished business from my time in Seoul. Especially in the last year I spent living in Korea, I was constantly chasing the latest geopolitical headlines (namely, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s big moves that year). It meant I didn’t get to delve into my nagging frustrations of feeling second-class as an Asian woman in Korea and the under-reported experiences of South Korean women at the time. They were staging record-setting women’s rights rallies during my time abroad in response to a stark gender divide in Korea. It is one of the world’s most influential countries (and the 10th largest economy) and ranks shockingly low on gender equality metrics. That imbalance really shows up in what’s expected of how women should look and behave. Flawless explores the intersection of gender politics and beauty standards.

Flawless punctuates reportage with life writing, anchoring the research within your subjective context as someone who lived in the middle of it but also had an outside eye on it. Was this a conscious decision before you began writing?

I planned to have fewer of my personal stories in the book, actually. Originally, I wanted to be embedded with South Korean women and girls who would illustrate the social issues I was investigating, but I wound up being the narrative thread because of the pandemic. The lockdowns and two years of long, mandatory quarantines in South Korea meant that traveling there and staying for a while to report and build on-the-ground relationships was nearly impossible. I also have three small children in LA, so the embedding plan was scuttled real fast.

One of the central questions the book asks of globalized society at large, corporations, and various communities is, “What is beauty for?” How has your response to this question changed while producing Flawless?

I think I’ve gotten simultaneously more optimistic and cynical about it. More cynical in that the more I researched beauty, the more I understood physical beauty as a class performance—humans have long used it to get into rooms—more power in relationships, social communities, economically, or all of the above at once. And, as a class performance, those with the most resources usually have the most access to doing the work it takes (spending the money) to look the part, which is marginalizing for everyone else and keeps lower classes in a cycle of wanting and reaching. On the flip side, I’m more optimistic about what beauty is for, in that I have learned to separate beauty from appearance: I think of beauty in the way I think about love or truth, these universal—and largely spiritual—ideas that we all seek, that feed our souls. And that’s a way to frame beauty that isn’t tied in with overt consumerism or having to modify ourselves at all.

This is your first book—has anything surprised you in the publishing or publicity process for Flawless?

I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed recording my own audiobook! I felt most in flow and joyful doing that more than anything else. Each sentence I read aloud was exactly the way I heard it in my head when I wrote it, which is such a privilege to have been able to do as an author.

Do you have a favorite reaction from a reader?

I don’t know if it’s the favorite, but recency bias is a factor—I just got a DM this week from a woman writing about how the book helped put into words so much of what she felt and experienced, despite the fact she is not ethnically Korean, or in Korea, which is the setting of most of the book. It means a lot to me that reporting or art can connect us and illuminate shared experiences…in this case, learning to be more embodied and okay with however we look.

As a writer, journalist, and mother—how did you practice self-care when juggling work commitments, social life, and the creative processes of writing and editing?

I juggled by relying on my loved ones. I don’t think self-care can exist without caring for one another, and that means asking people in our circles for help. A lot of boba dates, long walks, laughter-filled phone calls, and random weekend trips really got me through the arduous project of book writing (more painful than childbirth, emotionally speaking).

What is your writing routine like, and how did the process differ from your other reporting work? Did you pick up any habits that you’ve held on to?

My book writing routine was very meandering, whereas my broadcast reporting and writing are quite linear. I have tight deadlines for news, so it’s wham, bam, and the piece is out. With the book, I had two years to turn in a manuscript. I spent the year of lockdowns in “incubation mode,” where I consumed a lot of books, white papers, articles, and some films and podcasts, just taking in a lot of ideas to see where they might collide with each other and raise questions worth reporting on, letting them swim around in the swamp of my brain. When I was ready to write, I had a freelance editor, the indefatigable Carrie Frye, break my book outline into chunks so I could focus on smaller objectives and specific deadlines. Chunking the book so it didn’t seem like such a massive undertaking helped a lot. As for the writing, I never got to do a writer’s retreat or some idyllic cabin getaway to write. I wrote in the in-between moments—a one or two hour window when I had a break from the TED conference (which I attend every year as a TED host) or in those moments after the kids’ bedtime and before my own. One good habit I got into was getting away from my computer at midday. I’m really good about making lunch dates or going for a run to break up the monotony of staring at my screen all day long.

What’s good advice you’ve received about journalism that you would pass on to anyone just starting out?

All good reporting comes from great questions. Start with a clear question you seek to answer in your story, project, or book, and stay true to it and your quest to answer it. Once you are clear on what the thing is about, you won’t risk wandering too far from your focal point.

Thanks to Elise for answering our questions! You can follow her over at @elisegoeseast and check out her book Flawless here!

#writer spotlight #elise hu #flawless #k-beauty #beauty #beauty industry #feminism #gender politics #seoul #south korea #journalism #writing advice #reportage #flawlessthebook

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vanwritesfan-fiction · 2 months

Text

I've Got A Crush On You

A WMCJ!Jeremy x Reader Fic

Soundtrack: Crush On You- Lil' Kim

The last thing Jeremy wants to do right now is teach a team of 12-year-olds how to play basketball, but when he finds out that the nephew of his gym crush is on his team and practically a basketball prodigy, he'll do anything to get him as a client, especially if it means getting to spend more time with you.

Word Count:

Warnings: language, some shameless flirting and objectification of women

"Dude, you've gotta get a new car. This shits a piece of junk." Jeremy slammed the door of Kamal's pale blue 1995 Honda Accord, the squeak of the hinges piercing his ear drums. "Man, shut up", Kamal sucked in his teeth at Jeremy as he hopped out of the driver's seat, a puff of black exhaust billowing out behind the car. "This is all 'Ni and I can afford right now, and last time I checked, it got your ass around LA just fine. Not everyone can drive Daddy's Porsche. Oh wait." He clamped a hand sarcastically over his mouth with wide eyes, chuckling at the look of hurt on Jeremy's face.

The brunette was quick to straighten up. "First of all, it wasn't my daddy's Porsche, it was Tatiana's daddy's Porsche", Kamal gave him a lazy roll of his eyes as he threw his gym bag over his shoulder, "and second, we broke up months ago, why do you keep bringing it up?"

"Because you call me at least once a week, tellin' me how much you miss her!" Jeremy quickly closed the distance between him, his face in a scowl, voice just above a whisper. "I told you that in confidence, man."

Kamal matched his tone, "Well, I wish you wouldn't tell me nothing at all." He was there for his friend during his breakup, but what Jeremy considered a "healthy processing of emotions", Kamal called "oversharing".

"Besides, I've moved on." Jeremy puffed out his chest, trying to appear as confident as possible. "I've met someone else."

"Oh right. Ms. Flexible." Kamal teased in a sing-song voice as he rested a forearm on the hood of the car. Jeremy wouldn't shut up about this "baddie" (his words) that he saw at the gym he frequented, and you would think Halle Berry was showing up in spandex every week, the way he talked about her.

"Put some respect on her name, man. It's Y/N. I took-well I snuck into- one of her yoga classes at the gym, and she is-", he let out a whistle in awe, "I left her class feeling so Zen." Jeremy wasn't any more limber than before the class started, but he sure was in love. "So what now, you wanna "align her chakras" or something?" Jeremy quickly got the innuendo with a suggestive raise of Kamal's eyebrows.

Jeremy let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Why do I feel like you don't take the ancient and complex, spiritual practice known as yoga, seriously?" You could insult his taste in women, but you couldn't insult his lifestyle.

"Because I don't." Kamal let out a hearty chuckle, but Jeremy was stone faced, failing to find the humor in his joke. "Come on, man. We're gonna be late."

Kamal didn't enjoy stepping foot in his old high school, the memories from his his fall from grace senior year forever in the front of his mind. The only reason he was spending his Saturday in this gym he used to call his second home, was to honor a promise he made to an old friend.

"So where are these prospects you talked about?" Jeremy set his NPR tote bag down the bleachers, surveying the inhabitants of the gym. "There's nothing but some old guys and some kids here, man."

"About that..." Kamal's breath hitched in his chest. He hadn't been forthcoming with Jeremy about what they were doing today, because he knew there was no way he'd come if he knew the truth.

"Kamal Allen?" Kamal turned to see his high school best friend Chris Williams walking up behind him, a bag of basketballs in his hands. "Chris, what's going on man?", Kamal asked as he pulled him into a hug. "How long has it been?" Kamal knew exactly how many years it'd been. There were times when he wanted to reach out Chris, but didn't out of shame and embarrassment for how he left things.

Chris chuckled, "Five years, I guess. How's Imani and the baby?"

"He's not a baby anymore. Drew just turned four."

"Damn, time really does fly I guess." Their was a painful silence between the old friends, so Jeremy stepped in. "I'm Jeremy. I've actually got my own business", he slipped a business card to Chris, who reluctantly took it, a blank look on his face, "I mold basketball players into the the next NBA star with my patented, well it will be eventually, shooting drills and techniques." He gave Chris his signature smile, the elevator pitch committed to memory. "I'm gonna need that back by the way. I only have the one."

"Okay", Chris handed Jeremy back the business card with a confused look on his face, Kamal silently signaled to ignore him. "Anyways, thanks for coming down today. I know these kids are a little misguided, but with some good coaching, especially from one of the best players in our school's history, they can get on the right track."

That caught Jeremy's interest. "I'm sorry, what did you say about kids?" He looked between Kamal and Chris, waiting for an explanation. "You said we were working with prospects headed for the draft, K."

"We are", Kamal avoided eye contact, "I just didn't say what year the draft was."

"Look, these kids are from some rough neighborhoods around L.A. They come here to feel safe, appreciated, and stay off the streets. I need some help getting them together though, I can't coach them on my own." Kamal gave Jeremy a pleading look but he wasn't budging.

"No! Look, that kid is picking his nose", the trio swung their heads to look around, catching a tall, scrawny boy wiping a booger on his mesh jersey, all three groaning in disgust, "and that kid looks like a newborn giraffe." Another kid was having trouble staying upright while he was trying to dribble the ball. "Besides, kids through off my energy. I can't do this." Jeremy collected his things, taking a quick swig of his green juice before throwing it in the bag. "I'll be in the car."

"He made it a couple of steps towards the door before Chris stopped him. "Did I mention the job pays?"

"Alright, everybody round up." Jeremy took in the group of boys in front of him, and realized there wasn't an ounce of talent between them. "This is Kamal and Jeremy, they're gonna help out the team."

"Help?!" Kamal shot a look at a kid with a high-top fade reminiscent of the 80s, couldn't haven been more than five feet tall. "What's an old man and Bob Ross gonna do for this team?" The team snickered and laughed at the joke.

"Bob Ross? You're lucky I don't believe in confrontation or..." Jeremy warned, a scowl on his face.

"Or what? You'd paint me a pretty landscape?" The kid shot back, and Jeremy forgot he was a peaceful soul for a second.

"Alright, that's enough Isaiah", Chris cut in. "This is Isaiah Thompson, our point guard." Isaiah flexed, earning a chuckle from Kamal and Jeremy. "What's so funny? I average 15 points a game. They call me Swisher, because I always make that net swish", he held up his hand in the follow through position, his teammates cheering for him.

"Well "Swisher", they should call you Swiffer, because y'all get swept every game." Kamal's tone was laced with sarcasm. He didn't like going toe to toe with kids, but he was asking for it.

"That's rich coming from you", the tall nose picker stepped in, "last time I checked, you weren't exactly holding any records lately. My dad went to high school the same time you did, and he said you blew your scholarship and now you deliver packages." Kamal's jaw flexed. Somehow, the story of his misgivings had been passed down through generations. He stepped to the kid in a moment of anger, but Jeremy was quick to hold him back. "He isn't worth it." He whispered, and Kamal composed himself.

"That's enough! Now, Kamal is still a legend at this school, and we're gonna show him some respect." Chris let out a sigh. "If we want to be taken seriously at this year's tournament, we need to buckle down and get back to the fundamentals."

"What about white boy over there?" Isaiah pointed in Jeremy's direction. "You don't need to worry about that white boy", Kamal palmed a basketball as he spoke, "he's one of the best shooters I've seen."

"Not with those shoes", Isaiah snickered. Jeremy looked down and wiggled his toes in his custom barefoot shoes. "What's wrong with my shoes? Studies have shown it's better for your body to connect with the ground."

"Its giving...broke." Another kid chimed in from the back of the group, sending the boys into a roaring laughter.

"The only thing its giving is me upper cutting a little kid today!" Jeremy lunged at the kid, Kamal stepping in with a hard push to his chest, making him stumble back. "Watch out everyone, Bob Ross is angry!" Isaiah teased, bellowing with laughter.

"Remember what you said? He's not worth it." Kamal patted Jeremy's shoulder reassuringly, this time the reasonable one. "I'm good. I'm good." Jeremy said with a hard breath out of his nostrils.

The sound of the gym door screeching as it opened made both of them turned. "Dude, you've gotta be kidding me." Jeremy couldn't help the smile that crept on his face when he noticed who walked in.

You were even prettier than Jeremy remembered, and he'd spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks thinking about you. You were out of your usual matching gym set, instead wearing scrubs, and he almost lost it at the thought that you were a nurse.

"Isn't that-?" Kamal pointed over to you, and Jeremy quickly slapped his hand down. "Yes it is. What the hell is she doing here?"

"She's probably here to provide medical assistance if you keep getting killed by these kid's jokes." Kamal let out a humorous breath as he looked over at Jeremy who was in a trance, tracking your every step as you made your way to the bleachers. "You think so? I'd like to get some CPR from those lips."

Kamal shoved his friend, shaking him out of his daydream. "No man. She doesn't even know you exist. One of these gremlins is probably her kid or something." He tossed the basketball to Jeremy, who caught it without dropping his gaze toward you. "Are you coming, man?"

"Yeah, yeah. One second." Jeremy dropped the ball and waved Kamal away. He didn't know if he was gonna get a second chance to have your undivided attention, so he was gonna take advantage of the moment.

You shot off a text and looked up just as Jeremy approached you, planting one of his feet on the bleachers, and leaning in uncomfortably close to you. He was cute, messy curls, a smile that could be used on a dentistry advertisement. His wardrobe, an old tie dye t-shirt that was ripped at the collar and hem paired with basketball shorts and those weird individual toe shoes, was a bit off putting, but you had to admire him being true to his own style.

"Sorry, this is a closed practice", Jeremy said with a smirk. "Oh, sorry! I had no idea", you uttered, quickly collecting your things. "I'm just kidding", Jeremy grabbed your arm gently to stop you from walking away. You glanced down at his hand, making him retract it. "I'm Jeremy. I've taken your yoga class over at Hurston, I'm a big fan." He extended a hand out to you, which you took hesitantly.

"Y/N. I didn't know I had fans", your brow knitted together with a smile, "thank you, I guess?" Jeremy chuckled as you tipped your head to the side. "Yeah, I've never seen anyone hold Warrior II like you do." God, he was rusty as hell at flirting after being with Tatiana so long. He could physically feel the charisma draining from his body. "So are you here waiting for your boyfriend or something?" Jeremy knocked his head back in the direction of some senior citizens going through the motions of a Tai Chi class in the corner.

"Oh no", you grimaced, "hell no, uh I usually pick my nephew up from practice, and I got off of work early, so I thought I'd save myself the drive to Inglewood and just wait until he's finished. He's the shy one over in the corner, Mattias." Jeremy noticed the kid with tight curls atop his head dribbling the ball through his legs. He was honestly impressed with his handling skills.

" Are you one of the coaches?" You noticed the basketball that Jeremy was nervously tossing between his hands as you talked.

"Yeah, you know kids are really my passion. Anything to help", Jeremy was lying through his teeth, but you didn't need to know that. "Children are the future, you know?"

You spent the next 15 minutes talking with Jeremy, and you could admit that he was as funny as he was cute. There was something undeniably charming about him, and the way he spoke so passionately about his business, even if it was a gimmicky juicing endeavor, was endearing.

"Hey, Richard Simmons", Isaiah yelled from across the court, "if you're done bombing over there, we need another person for 5 on 5!" Jeremy cursed under his breath with a roll of his eyes, before turning back to you with a smile. "I'd really love to talk more, but duty calls."

"Yeah, go, go, I understand." You said with a giggle as he jumped off the bleachers and jogged to back to the team. "How the hell does he even know who Richard Simmons is?", Jeremy mumbled under his breath.

To say that the team needed work would be an understatement. Most of the players couldn't even catch the ball without jamming a finger or getting the wind knocked out of them, and dribbling without a travel call was a pipe dream at this point. They could count on one hand the number of shots that made it into the basket during layups. The only player with a little bit of natural talent was Mattias. In fact, he could probably play on JV at his age, and both Kamal and Jeremy noticed how flawless his shot was.

"Are you seeing this?", Kamal whispered to Jeremy, who nodded without needing any other context. "He's good. For 12, he's great. He's Y/N's nephew." Jeremy looked back at you. You were intently watching the team play, and gave Jeremy a small wave, feeling your stomach flip as he returned one back to you. "What's up with that?" Even Kamal could tell there was a spark between the two of you. "All I know man, is when I look at her, my stomach drops into my ass." Jeremy's voice cracked as he spoke.

"Is that a good thing?", Kamal asked with a slightly disgusted face. Jeremy looked just as confused as he did. "I don't know man. I don't know." They both jumped as Chris blew the whistle, the sound echoing through the gym. "Let's get one more scrimmage in before we go home."

"Mattias, take point." Kamal tossed the timid kid the ball, but he caught it with ease. "I'm point guard." Isaiah complained, "Matti's too scared to even shoot the ball."

"No I'm not!", Matti threw back with a frown on his face. "Yes you are. Last game you choked, we could've won!" Isaiah was ever the instigator. "Y'all lost that game by 20." Kamal retorted, waving the paper schedule he had in his hand in the air.

"Yeah, but we could have lost by 18 instead."

Kamal sighed. "It doesn't matter, I'm the coach, and I say Mattias is running point. Now run the play." It ran more like a traffic jam than the play Kamal drew up for them to run, and it was only a matter of seconds before one of the kids missed the pass and the ball went flying into the bleachers.

"Mattias, you need to look where you're passing. Make sure you make eye contact with your teammate before you pass." Kamal ran through the motions before passing the ball back. "Jer, get on the wing." When he didn't move, Kamal looked over to see that Jeremy was practically drooling over you from afar, his back completely turned away from the basket. "Jeremy!"

Hearing his name called a second time caught his attention. "Sorry, man. She's just so beautiful."

"Man, get on the wing", Kamal growled. Jeremy jogged over his spot, but he couldn't take his eyes off you. He wondered what you smelled like, what kind of perfume you wore, what you dreamt about at night. He felt the ball whoosh past his head, but it couldn't tear his attention away from you.

He was so zoned in on you, in fact, he didn't realize the next basketball pass hit him so hard in the head, it knocked him out cold, his body falling to the ground.

"Jeremy. Jeremy, can you hear me?"

Jeremy's eyelashes fluttered rapidly as he came to, and while he couldn't see clearly, he could make out blurry figures hovering over him, muffled voices coming in and out. The first voice to come in clearly was a woman's voice.

"Jeremy, if you can here me, please squeeze my hand." The voice was soft and sweet, like something out of one of his dreams. He gently squeezed the silky soft hand in his grasp, allowing his eyelids to slowly open. "Is this heaven?" He could make out your soft silhouette as the lights got brighter around his head.

You let out a quiet giggle as you moved out of the way so Kamal could check on his friend. When Jeremy's vision was fully returned, he groaned at the sight of Kamal's face in front of his. "No man, this is Compton, not Heaven." He helped Jeremy sit up, and you handed him an ice pack for the ever growing bump on his temple.

"Are you okay?", you gave him a sympathetic smile with a pat on the shoulder. You could tell he was embarrassed, his cheeks and neck a bright pink.

"You should have seen it, the ball hit you in the head, and you went flying. Knocked out cold!", Isaiah exclaimed with a laugh.

"Shut up", Jeremy mumbled, letting out a groan as the pain from the impact finally hit him; his face felt like one giant oncoming bruise. You pulled out the pen light you had in your scrub pocket. "Can you follow the light for me?" Jeremy squinted as you shined the bright light in his eyes but his pupils were receptive. "Well, I don't think you have a concussion, but you should definitely take it easy for the next couple of days."

"Thanks, I'm glad you were here." Jeremy gave you a small smile. "Sorry you had to come to my rescue."

"Don't worry, it comes with the territory." You showed him your nursing badge that was still clipped to your collar. "Here, hand me your phone." Jeremy pulled his phone out of his bag and handed it to you. You put your phone number in his contacts. "Call me if any of your symptoms get worse, and if you start to smell toast, call an ambulance." You gave him one last smile before heading out of the gym with Mattias.

"Wait, so you get a ball to the head, and you still managed to get Ms. Flexible's number?" Kamal playfully shoved Jeremy in the arm. "She gave it to me for emergencies, not to ask her out on a date." Jeremy wanted nothing more then to go on a date with you, but he didn't want to exploit your kindness either.

"Trust me man, I saw you drooling over her. This is definitely an emergency."

That night, Jeremy wore a path in his carpet pacing back and forth in his apartment. He was trying anything to calm his nerves: herbal tea, meditation, even Ashwaganda, but that just made him horny and made it more difficult to hold off on calling you. Kamal wasn't any help either, edging him on as they drove back to their side of town.

He stared at your number in his phone contacts for so long, he had them committed to memory. Maybe he could just pretend that his symptoms had gotten worse. Yeah, maybe he did have a concussion, and while he was sure you'd advise him to go to the doctor, it would at least give him an in.

Fuck it, he was gonna call you.

The phone rang four times before you picked up, the sound of the TV in the background.

"Hello?"

Jeremy cleared his throat, feeling it go dry. The first word came out in a croak. "Hello, this is Jeremy. From earlier today. You know the one that got hit with the basketball?"

You stifled a laugh as you straightened up on your couch. "Jeremy, yeah. Are you okay? How's your head?" You'd been thinking about him all day, hoping that you'd get to see him again, but you honestly weren't expecting to hear from him that night.

"Its okay. Still a little dizzy when I stand up too quickly, but I took your advice and I've been taking it easy. I actually made one of my recovery smoothies tonight, and I can swear its helping." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, waiting for you to speak.

"That's good, I'm glad you're doing okay." You allowed a pause, not really sure what he wanted. "Is there something else you wanted to talk about?"

It was now or never. You were the first person after Tatiana that he actually saw as more as a rebound hookup. He wanted to do this right.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner tomorrow?" He immediately began to panic as soon as the words came out of his mouth. "I've know this vegan restaurant that has farm to table ingredients." He slapped a hand to his forehead in embarrassment. Good job, Jeremy. If she didn't think you were a weirdo before, he definitely did now.

He perked up as you began to speak. "That actually sounds really nice. I would love to go to dinner with you, Jeremy."

"One second." Jeremy punched the mute button so you wouldn't hear him run around his apartment in excitement, punching the air. He plopped back down on his couch, taking a second to compose himself and catch his breath before he pressed unmute. "Sounds good. 8'o'clock?"

"That's perfect. See you tomorrow."

Jeremy hung up his phone, and placed it on the coffee table as reality started to set in. This was the first date he was going on in five years. He really needed it to go well.

He needed it to go fuckin' perfect.

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#jack harlow #jackman thomas harlow #jackharlow #jackman harlow #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow concepts #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow fanfic

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rwby-encrusted-blog · 1 year

Note

So one of Shark Faunus Jaune sister's is a blonde Meroune from Monster Musume

(Change the pink to a Sandy-Blonde, and Indeed you Do!)

{Also Manako and Rachnera best girls. Don't @ me.}

RWBYJNPR are Visiting Jaune's Home

Nora: I didn't know you had an Indoor Pool!

Jaune: That would be My Oldest sister's Room. Her name is Anna.

Weiss: Why Does she need a Pool in her room?

Jaune: This is why.

Something Breaches the Surface of the Pool at terrifying speeds, aiming right for Jaune.

Jaune: *Lifting Anna* HI- Anna! HAH! caught you! This Time!

Anna: Hello Little Brother~ Beacon and granted you evermore strength than Working in the orchards, Hmm?

Anna-Ranth Arc. The eldest Sister of the Arcs. Her Faunus Trait Makes her effectively a Mermaid, the Tail of a Short-fin Mako in place of her legs. She wears a warm red-pink skirt, with what seems to be a similarly colored one-piece swimsuit. Her hair is mostly Sandy-Blond with red highlights.

Jaune: Yep! I gotta set you down now! I'll go grab your chair! *He tosses her to his side. She seems unfazed by it*

Anna: So~ All of you are the ones who Convinced my Baby Brother to stay away so long?

Ruby: Well, He ran away first! We've just been Keeping him Occupied.

Pyrrha: Yes. I have been Doing what I can to give him the skills a proper Huntsman Needs.

Anna: That's all well and Good~ Now just what do you think of My Dearest Brother~?

Ruby: He was my first friend at Beacon! We'd follow each other to the ends of Remnant!

Blake: He's been the doofus he's always been. Same goes for his Kindness.

Yang: He's cool enough. For a dork.

Pyrrha: He was the first person to see me for me, not the four-time tournament champion.

Ren: He is a dear Friend. He's practically a Brother I never had.

Nora: He's our fearless Leader! I'd break Anyone's legs if he asked!

Nora: I wish he would ask me to break someone's legs.

Anna: ...

Anna: And what of you, Schnee?

Weiss: He's ... I did not like him at first. But I've recently realized he has ... Certain qualities that make him a good friend.

R-BY-NPR: ...

Yang: Wow. That's the biggest Compliment She's ever given him.

Anna: ... Oh! I see now!

Ruby: *Whispering* What does she see? She's had her eyes closed this whole time?

Yang: She's using it as an expression.

Anna: You're in love with My Jaune-Jaune!

Pyrrha: WHAT!

Weiss: W-What do you mean?

Anna: Oh! How Beautiful! How Tragic! A Schnee and a Faunus! And not just any Faunus, but an Arc~! Forever separated by familial Values~

Anna: Unless They can forgo all they've learned, and trust each other~ Or perhaps it will end as Romia and Julius, dying for their love of one another, unable to stand the Separation~

Anna: *glaring at Weiss* Don't let it end up like Romia and Julius or I'll bring back to life to kill you again.

Weiss: ʸᵉˢ ᵐᵃ'ᵃᵐᵎ

Jaune: Hey Guys! Sorry I took so long! Her chair was all tangled up. She wasn't too intense for you, right guys?

Anna: *Back to normal, hauling herself into a wheelchair* Of course I wasn't~ For what purpose would I have to be nothing but courteous to your friends~? *They leave the room*

Blake: ... Was it just me, or did she get super hot when she did that?

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #nora valkyrie #blake belladonna #lie ren #pyrrha nikos #shark!faunus jaune #rwby shitpost #asks and answers #monster musume #anna ranth arc #rwby whiteknight #whiteknight #white knight

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capricorn-0mnikorn · 5 months

Text

A thought on Boycotting Israeli businesses

(this post is inspired by this report from NPR's "Morning Edition"):

Quote:

HSU: But then a customer came in and showed one of her employees a WhatsApp post calling for a boycott of her business. A couple hours later, another customer did the same, and Alkoby got a look at the post. She says it named her and her husband, identifying them in big letters as Israelis, which is true. And then in smaller print it said...

ALKOBY: Don't go to them. They are supporting terrorists.

[End quote]

Boycotting products imported from Israel, because you don't want your money to go into the government's economy, and fund Israel's war machine?

Yes. Good. Do that.

Boycotting a local small business, that's keeping its money in your own neighborhood, because the owners happen to be Israeli immigrants, or simply of Jewish descent?

That's conflating ordinary civilians with the government policy-makers.

Not good. Don't do that.

Support Palestine. But don't do it by imitating the Israeli government.

Check your bigotries.

#israel/palestine #antisemitism #NPR: morning edition #Heard on air 28 November 2023

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layce2015 · 8 months

Text

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

It's A Terrible Life

Masterlist pt 1

Masterlist pt 2

An alarm clock flips from 5:59 to 6:00 and starts beeping, and, immediately, a hand shuts it off. Dean gets up from his bed then goes to his closet to pick out his clothes for the day.

Minutes later, he makes himself a cup of coffee from his espresso machine and takes a sip from it. Now dressed up in a business suit and his hair slicked down, Dean leaves his home and crosses the street to a silver Toyota Prius.

Once inside the car, Dean starts it up and Rock music blares out of the stereo. He looks at it, confused, and changes the station. "NPR Morning Edition. It's time for this waste and—" the radio said as Dean smiles then drives off in the Prius.

After pulling up to his workplace, he walks in and goes towards the elevator. He enters it and pushes the floor button when he heard hurried footsteps. "Wait! Wait! Hold the door!" A female voice said and before the door could close Dean holds his hand out to stop the doors from closing.

A woman runs up to the elevator and enters inside, running out of breath. "Thank you, thank you." She said, breathless, and Dean looks over at her. She was very pretty, her (h/c) hair was pulled back in a bun with a few strands of her hair over her face. Her outfit consisted of a black skirt, panty hoes, black heels, a white blouse with a black blazer.

She was holding a brief case in her right hand and her left hand was placed over her chest as she catches her breath. Dean also took noticed that she looked a bit stressed. "Rough morning?" He asked her and she let's out a breathless laugh. "Rough doesn't even begin to describe my morning." She said as the door closes and it begins to move up.

"You wanna talk about it?" Dean asked her and she let's out a sigh. "First, my alarm doesn't go off on time so I had to hurry and get dressed then I spilled coffee on myself so I had to change outfits and don't get me started on the traffic and then it took forever to find a parking spot." She said, quickly, and Dean makes a face like he was getting overwhelmed just by hearing her talk. "And the worst part is this is only my first day here and I don't want to piss off my new boss but I have a feeling he's gonna tear me a new one for being late on the first day." She continues.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be understanding." Dean said. "I don't know with a name like Mr Dean Smith, it sounds like someone who'd be a hard-ass." She said and Dean's eyes widen at this. This had to be the new assistant Mr Adler told him about.

Dean opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the woman. “Though if you ask me, the name Dean sounds like someone that’s a real horndog. The type that’ll hit on any pretty woman he meets.” She said. Dean raises his eyebrows, taken aback by this statement. “Oh and last name of his, Smith. Sounds more like a made up name for a teacher on a sitcom.” She continued. Dean turns his head away, facing the doors and smirking knowingly.

The elevator dings and the doors open. “Well, I hope you survive your first day.” Dean said, stepping out of the elevator. “Thanks, so do I.” The woman replied, following him out.

The pair walk down the hallway, with the woman finding it a little odd that they seem to be going in the same direction, but she wasn’t thinking too much of it. Until however they reach Dean’s office, where he stop in front of the door and took out his keys to unlock it.

The woman’s face fell and her eyes widen so big in realization, you swear they were about to pop right out of their sockets.

The door click as it unlocks and Dean turn his head to look at the woman, smirking. “I’ll see you in my office now.” He said, turning the knob and pulling the door open, holding it for her to enter first. She stood there, nervously, and felt awful for the things she just said about her new boss...right in front of her boss.

"I-I-I am so sorry..." she apologized but Dean shrugs as waves his hand, vaguely. "It's okay, Ms..." Dean said, waiting for her to give her name. "Remington. (Y/n) Remington." She replied and Dean gives her a friendly smile.

The day goes on normally as Dean types on his computer, takes some calls and have meetings. (Y/n) would come in every now and then with some papers for him to sign and she would file in some paperwork and type on her computer.

"Net profitability aside, it's the client-retention rate that concerns me vis-à-vis maximizing return on sales. Buzz me back once you've seen the spreadsheets." Dean said into his headset but he kept staring over at (y/n) as she worked.

Then Mr Adler walks in and Dean takes off his headset and walks up to him. "Mr. Adler." Dean greets. "Dean." Mr Adler said as he slaps Dean on the shoulder. "Good stuff." he said. "Good stuff?" Dean asked. "Big things. Good stuff." Alder said and Dean smiles. "Good stuff." Dean said and Adler looks over at (y/n) as she continues her work.

"How's the new assistant treating ya?" Adler asked Dean. Dean looks over at (y/n) and a small smile appears on his face. "She's good. Great actually." Dean said and Alder notices the smile. "Oh I bet she is, you sly dog." Adler said as he, playfully, slaps Dean's shoulder then chuckles.

Later, that evening, Dean was sitting at his desk with his headset on, talking into it, as (y/n) walked in. "Oh I hear you. No, I haven't been to the gym in ages. Carrying a little bloat around myself. It's a sedentary lifestyle, my man, no two ways." Dean said as (y/n) places another set of paperwork on his desk. "All right, tell me one more time. You said lemon and—what was it? Cayenne and maple syrup, are you serious? How much did you lose?" Dean asked the person at the other end and (y/n) chuckles and shakes her head at this.

"Really? Okay, well I might have to give that a try. Okay, we'll talk later." Dean said and he takes off the headset. “Trying to lose weight?” (y/n) asked, curious on why a man that look like that would be concerned about his weight. “Not really. But it wouldn’t hurt to takeoff a few pounds.” Dean replied, picking up one of the sheets of paper she set down, skimming through it.

“Well, if you ask me, at least I hope I'm not over stepping here but, I don’t think you need to worry about that.” (y/n) said, as Dean glanced up from the paper. “Oh really?” He asked, the corner of his lips slightly turning upward. “Yes, I think you look great.” (y/n) replied. “Well thank you.” Dean said, smirking and setting the paper back down.

“If I were to say, you had a good body, would you hold it against me?” He asked, raising one of his eyebrows. (Y/n) was surprised by this sudden question, then laughs. “Mr. Smith, are you coming on to me?” She asked, trying to sound serious but the smile was slowing forming in her lips. Dean smirks at this response and shrugs. “Depends, is it working?” He asked, (y/n) laughs again. "Maybe..." she said and they share a smile

"So...how did your first day go?" Dean asked her. "Well it was better than this morning, I can tell you that." She replied to him. "Well, I hope I wasn't being a, uh...hard-ass on ya." He said. “No at all. I’m sorry, I misjudged you.” she laughs. “Apology accepted, on one condition…” Dean said and (y/n) eyes him, suspiciously.

"And what is that?" She asked him. "I take you out for coffee." He said and she chuckles. "Going on a date with the boss? So scandalous." She said, a bit with a laugh in her voice as Dean stands up and walks up to her. "Well, then we won't call it a date. We'll call it a getting to know each other meeting." Dean said, as he stands in front of her, and she laughs at this. "Do you say this to all of the assistants?" She asks, an eyebrow raised. "Only the pretty ones." He replies and she blushes at this.

"Well, you drive a hard bargain, Mr Smith." (Y/n) said and she thinks for a moment then looks at him as he looks at her. "Okay, I'll accept your meeting." She said and Dean smiles. "Cool, how about after work?" Dean asked her and she nods. "I'll see you in the morning, Mr Smith." (Y/n) said and she turns to walk away. "Goodnight, Ms Remington." Dean said as he watches her leave the room while smiling to himself.

He continues to work for a bit longer then he puts some files in a case and leaves the office. Dean checks his phone as he walks up to the elevator, which dings. He enters, focused on the phone, then he looks over at the other occupant of the elevator, who is staring at him; it's a young man, who's wearing a short-sleeved shirt that says Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc. Tech Support. This man is Sam Wesson.

"Do I know you?" He asked Dean as the elevator goes down. "I don't think so." Dean said to Sam. "I'm sorry, man, you just look really familiar." Sam said. "Save it for the health club, pal." Dean said, when the elevator dings again and Dean gets out. Sam stares after him.

Sam presses a button on the phone and talks into a headset. "Tech support, this is Sam Wesson." Sam said. It was the next day, and Sam was just sitting as his desk, bored, as he listens to the person complaining about their printer.

"Okay. Uh, well, did you try turning it off and then on?" he asked as he pokes at a vampire bobblehead with his pencil. "Okay, go ahead and turn it off. No no no, just, just off. All right, give it a second. Turn it back on. Okay, is it printing now? Great. Anytime." he said then he takes off the headset and presses a button on the phone. A man, Ian, at a cubicle behind Sam, the only one in the room who is not wearing the yellow uniform shirt, rolls his chair over to Sam

"Hey." Ian greets him. "Yo." said Sam as he turns to his friend. "What do you think of Mimi?" Ian asked him and Sam looks over and shrugs. "She's okay." Sam replied. "Might have to hit that." Ian said and Sam rolls his eyes. "Oh, dude, that's totally age-inappropriate." he remarks. "Experience." Ian said. "Trifocals." Sam grumbles.

"There's a MILF there, Sam. I just know it. Maybe a GMILF." Ian said and Sam scoffs. "Come on." Sam said and Ian smiles then he looks over and stops.

"Check her out." He said and he points out (y/n) Remington walking pass the cubicles, Sam looks up at her. "That chick is hot." Ian said as he bites his lips but Sam couldn't help but think he had seen her before just like how he thought the man at the elevator, the night before, looked familiar.

"Yeah, she is very pretty." Sam said. "Maybe if I can't get with Mimi, I'll try out with that girl." Ian said and Sam shakes his head. "Coffee break?" Ian asked Sam. "Yeah, for sure." Sam said and the two men get up and pass another man at his cubicle.

"Paul. Time for a refuel, buddy." Ian said to Paul, who hadn't taken his eyes off of his computer. "Sorry, no time." Paul said. "Since when? Dude, we get paid by the hour." Ian said, annoyed. "Working." Paul said, plainly. "Okay." Ian scoffs and he and Sam walk away from Paul's desk.

"He seems stressed." Sam points out. "Freaked because he got busted surfing porn on the Internet." Ian said and Sam turns to him. "No, no, no way. When?" Sam asked, shocked. "Got sent up to HR yesterday. Guess they put the fear of God in him." Ian said as they walk into the break room.

The microwave dings and someone takes out a bag of popcorn and leaves while Sam heads for the coffeepot. Ian, on the other hand, goes to a supply cabinet and starts pocketing packets of pencils. "Ian, dude." Sam said, disapproving. "Just doing a little shopping. Running low at home." Ian said as Sam hands him a cup of coffee.

"So, Sam, had any of those dreams lately?" Ian asked Sam as he turns away. "What? Don't be like that. Come on. It's the highlight of my day." Ian said and Sam sighs. "I never should have told you in the first place." he mutters. "They're genius. Don't hold out on me, dude. Share with the class." Ian said.

"You're just gonna be a dick about it." Sam said. "What? No way. I won't say a word. Total respect. Go." Ian said and Sam sighs then thinks for a moment. "I dreamt that I saved a Grim Reaper named Tessa from demons." Sam said and Ian bursts out laughing. Sam looks away and sighs.

"Classic! How much D&D did you play when you were a kid? Oh, my—okay, so you—rescuing the Grim Reaper. That's—you're a hero. I mean, thank God we got Harry Potter here to save us all from the apocalypse." Ian said, laughing. "Dick." Sam grumbles. "Wizard." Ian said.

A printer whirs and spits out a paper, a fax machine whirs and sucks in papers, an automatic pencil sharpener whirs. Sam is back in his cubicle, filling out a form on a clipboard. He yawns and props his head on his hand, closing his eyes.

And then Sam begins to have flashes of him in a fight, then him killing a demon, then him and Dean shooting a striga, then him dispelling an Acheri and then the woman, (y/n), stakes and decapitates a vampire. Sam wakes up in his cubicle and looks around, in fright.

Later, Sam enters the elevator and sees Dean, (y/n) and a few others inside. Sam tries not to stare at Dean or (y/n) while the elevator whirs. Ding! Everyone but Sam, Dean and (y/n) get out then the elevator closes.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" Sam asked them and the two look over at him but as (y/n) looks at Sam, she couldn't help but feel like she had seen him before but wasn't for sure where. She felt that way when she first saw Dean but she didn't dwell on it as she was really stressed that first day. "Look, man, I told you, I'm not into the, uh—" Dean started to say but Sam shakes his head. "Oh dude, come on, I'm not either. I just wanna ask you one question." he said and Dean looks around then over at (y/n), who shrugs.

"Couldn't hurt." She said and Dean sighs. "Sure." Dean said to Sam. "What do you guys think about ghosts?" Sam asked him and Dean and (y/n) give him confused looks. "Ghosts?" Dean asked. "Do either of you believe in them?" Sam asked them and Dean laughs while (y/n) lowers her eyes.

"Uh, tell you the truth, I've never given it much thought." Dean said and (y/n) shrugs as she bites her lips, nervously. "Vampires?" Sam asked. "What? Why?" Dean and (y/n) said, in unison, as they turn to Sam. "Because I've been having some weird dreams lately. You know what I mean?" Sam asked him. "No. Not really." Dean said while (y/n) shakes her head.

"So you guys never had any...weird dreams?" Sam asked and before (y/n) could reply Dean turns to Sam, sharply. "All right, look, man, I don't know you, okay? But I'm gonna do a public service and, uh, let you know that—that you overshare." Dean said and he presses a floor button. The elevator dings and Dean leaves while (y/n) stands there for a moment.

"You coming, Ms Remington?" Dean calls out and (y/n) sighs and walks slowly out of the elevator then turns to Sam, preventing the door from closing. Sam gives her a concern look as she looks up to him. "I do." She said, softly, then she walks away from the elevator and the door shuts before she walks over to Dean.

A printer whirs and spits out a paper, a fax machine whirs and sucks in papers, an automatic pencil sharpener whirs. Sam is again in his cubicle, the next day, addressing his headset. "Did you turn it off, then on?" Sam asked as he draws vampires on a pad of paper. "All right, well, let's try that. No, no, it's fine, I'll wait." Sam said then he pulls up a search engine on his computer, looks both ways, and types in vampires. He clicks to image search and glances over the pictures of Dracula wannabes.

"Is it printing now? Oh, that's great. Anytime." Sam said as he continues to look at his search. "Whatcha doing?" a voice asked and Sam jumps a bit then minimizes the search engine and hides the sketches, then turns to Ian, shaking his head. "Nothing." Sam replied.

"You get an email from Human Resources?" Ian asked. "No. Why?" Sam said, curiously. "Damn it. Guess it's just me, then. I'm supposed to, quote, report to HR, unquote." Ian said. "They're probably finally busting you for snaking all those office supplies." Sam jokes and Ian smiles. "I hope they spank me." he laughs then he shoves his chair back to his cubicle, and leaves. Sam returns to his search engine.

"No no no no no no. Come on. Don't do this to me. Please." Paul's voice said, frantically, and Sam minimizes the window, takes off his headset, and stands up to lean over Paul's cubicle. "Hey, man, you okay?" Sam asked him. "It froze." Paul said, panicked, as he looks over his computer.

"They're crap, Paul. They freeze all the time." Sam said. "You don't understand. When I, when I rebooted, everything was gone. A whole day's work deleted." Paul exclaims. "Well, did you back up?" Sam asked him. "No, I didn't back up. I wish to God I backed up but I didn't. I'll get it back. I'll find it. It's somewhere. I'll find it." Paul said, panicked. "Paul, it's okay, man. These things happen." Sam tells him, calmly, then he looks over to see (y/n) walking by.

He moves away from his cubicle and follows (y/n) as she heads into the break room. She goes over to the coffeemaker and starts to make her a cup and Sam comes up to her. "So, you've had weird dreams too?" He asked and (y/n) jumped a bit at this and turns to Sam.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Sam said and she places a hand on her chest and calms her breathing. "No, no...you're fine. Just...maybe wear a bell next time." She said and Sam chuckles a bit. "I'll remember that next time." He said and she turns to him.

"But...yes, I've been having these dreams. Of me fighting creatures with a couple of guys." She replied. "How long?" Sam said and she thinks. "Um...about a couple weeks ago." (Y/n) said and Sam seems shocked by this. "So...do you believe in ghosts or Vampires?" Sam asked her and she looks down. "Vampires, no. Ghosts....I don't know." She said as she looks and grabs her cup of coffee.

“What do you mean, I don’t know?” Sam asked, (Y/n) gives him a look and shrugs. “It means, I don’t know. What do you want me to say?” She asked, feeling weirded out by this conversation.

“Uh…nothing. Sorry.” Sam said, wanting to explain his own dream situation, but wasn’t sure how to do it without sounding crazy. “This was a nice conversation but...I gotta go." (Y/n) said and she walks pass Sam and leaves the break room; leaving Sam standing there, thinking.

That night, Dean and (y/n) were sitting at a café, drinking coffee and just laughing and talking. But as Dean was talking about a childhood memory, (y/n)'s mind couldn't help but go back to the young man that talked to her in the break room.

Maybe she shouldn't have told him that she also had weird dreams cause it did freak her out that he followed her and basically cornered her on what she believed. But she kinda felt bad for the guy as Dean was alittle harsh to the man.

"Hey, Earth to Ms Remington!" Dean's voice said and (y/n) shakes her head then turned to him. "Sorry." She said. "You okay? I'm not boring you, am I?" Dean asked her, concerned. "No, no...you're good. It's just...I was lost in thought is all." She said. "Oh yeah, what's got you lost in thought?" Dean asks her. "Nothing to worry about...just personal things." (Y/n) replied and Dean nods.

Then a song starts to play over the speaker.

I can't fight this feeling any longer.

And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow.

What started out as friendship,

Has grown stronger.

I only wish I had the strength to let it show.

I tell myself that I can't hold out forever.

I said there is no reason for my fear.

Cause I feel so secure when we're together.

You give my life direction,

You make everything so clear...

"Oh, I love this song." (Y/n) said, smiling, as Dean listens to it. "Not much of a fan for Rock music..." he said. “You’re kidding.” (Y/n) said, Dean shrugs. “It’s just never really been my thing.” He said. “Aw come on. You don’t like any thing from Bon Jovi?” (Y/n) asked, Dean shook his head. “Dennis DeYoung?” She asked next and once again he shook his head. “Bob Seger?” She asked, Dean gives a confused look. “Who?” He asked.

(Y/n) scoffs. “Wow. I don’t think I met anyone that didn’t like at least one rock song.” She said. “Well sorry, to be a disappointment.” Dean said, taking a sip of his coffee. “No it’s fine. It’s just surprising is all.” (Y/n) said, going back to listening to the song, before she starting to sing it to herself, quietly as not disturb the other people around them.

And even as I wander

I'm keeping you in sight

You're a candle in the window

On a cold, dark winter's night

And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might…

Dean smiles as he watches (Y/n) sing. She then notices him staring and stops, taking a sip of her coffee and looking a little embarrassed. “You know…” Dean said, getting her to turn her head to look at him. “…This song isn’t so bad when you sing it.” He said, (Y/n) blushes at this and smiles.

Bout an hour later, the two walk out of the café and head to the parking lot, Dean follows (y/n) to her car to make sure she got there safe. "Well, I must say that is probably the best meeting I've ever been in." She said as they come up to her car and she turns to him. "Best one you've been at so far." He points out and she laughs.

"That is...if you'd like to have another one...say...this Friday?" He asked and her eyes shine with brightness. “I wouldn’t mind that at all.” (y/n) said and Dean grins. “Great.” He said and grabs the car door opening it for her. “I look forward to it, Ms. Remington.” He said and she smiles, stepping closer as if she’s about to kiss him. “So do I, Mr. Smith.” She whispers and she breaks away to enter her car.

Dean closes her car door and the two wave and Dean goes over to his car but he couldn't help but smile to himself. He couldn't believe how well this meeting went and he not only could wait for Friday but he couldn't wait til tomorrow to at least see (y/n).

But little did he know the horrors that tomorrow would bring.

The next day, People in coroner outfits roll a body bagpout of the office area. Sam watches and sighs, the night before Paul stayed late but then, at one point in the night, stuffed his head in the microwave, shoved a knife in it, turned it on and killed himself. Dean, (y/n) and several other people, some in suits and some in the yellow shirts, also watch. Sam, Dean and (y/n) notice each other before Dean addresses another suited worker.

"Something about this seem not right to you?" Dean asked him. "Uh, yeah, try the whole thing. I'm telling you, man, I'll never eat popcorn again." the man said. "Yeah, right." Dean mutters and he and (y/n) share a look.

Later, Dean paces in his office when (y/n) comes in. "Hey, Mr Smith." She said as she comes in and he turns to her. "Yeah?" He asked and she looks down. "Uh...I went and looked up Paul Dunbar's file for you..." she said and Dean nods. "And...his death...it doesn't make sense..." she said. "What do you mean?" He asked her.

"Well, he was...two weeks away from retirement and he was supposed to have a party as well." (Y/n) said and Dean furrows her brow in confusion. "Two weeks?" he said, confused, and (y/n) nods.

Meanwhile, Sam rolls his chair over to Ian's cubicle. Ian is wearing the yellow shirt for the first time and working, busily. "Hey. Why would someone kill themselves two weeks before they were supposed to retire? I mean, Paul was two weeks from freedom. He should have been happy, right?" Sam asked then Ian turns to him in his chair.

"I don't have time for this, Sam." He said, firmly, and Sam laughs. "That's very funny." Sam said but then he notices Ian's shirt and attitude.

"What's with you?" He asked. "I'm working. It's important." Ian replied, firmly. "HR bust your balls or something? You're wearing the shirt. Did you shave?" Sam asked as a phone rings and Ian answers the call. "Tech support, this is Ian. Be right up." Ian said then he hangs up the call and turns to Sam. "Gotta go up to twenty-two, speak to a manager." he said and he takes off the headset and leaves.

There was a knock at the door and Dean looks up from his computer as (y/n), with Ian by her side, opens the door. "Mr Smith..." she calls out and he looks over at Ian. "Hi. Ian, is it? Yeah, come on in." Dean said and Ian walks in and (y/n) shuts the door behind them and she hands the file, Ian was working on, to Dean.

"Yesterday you filled out a 445-T and no problem, just a few errors when we did your switch over to Vista. So I'm sure you're used to filling out the dash-R's, am I right?" Dean asked Ian, who started to look distraught. "Oh, no." he mutters. "No no no. It's fine. It's fine. I just need you to redo one today so I can get the show on the road with the invoicing." Dean said as he pushes a paper over the desk and smiles. Ian looks at it, terrified.

"Oh my God." He said, devastated. "No, it's fine. Just refile it and we're square." Dean assures him. "I can't believe I did this." Ian said, upset, and Dean and (y/n) share a look of worry and confusion.

"I can't believe I—I can't believe I did this." Ian said again. "Hey, guy, come on." Dean said. "No, no. It affected profits. It—I screwed up. I—I can't—I can't—I am so sorry. I—how could I do that? I failed Sandover. I failed the company." Ian exclaimed, upset. "All right, why don't you sit down, Ian?" (y/n) said as she goes over to him. "Perhaps a cup of coffee?" She offers. "No." Ian shouts and he runs out of the room.

"Ian? Ian. Hey." Dean calls out and he follows him. (Y/n), fearing for Dean's and Ian's safety, follows after them.

Dean and (y/n) come up to the bathroom and Dean turns to (y/n). "Stay here." He tells her and she nods then he enters the bathroom. He walks in and sees Ian staring into a mirror. "Ian, hey. Just chill out, man. Okay?" Dean said and he noticed his breath is visible.

Suddenly, all the faucets come on even though Ian and Dean are the only ones in the room; all the soap dispensers, too. "Ian, hey, maybe we should get out of here, huh? Come on. Ian. Look at me." Dean said as he takes a few steps closer to him.

Ian turns toward Dean and pulls a pencil out of his pocket, stares at Dean for a moment, then stabs himself in the neck. Dean stares at the spout of blood and rushes forward as Ian collapses. Dean looks up and sees an old man in the mirror, then turns around and no one's there. Ian goes still.

"Somebody help me!" Dean screams and (y/n) rushes in. "What hap..." (y/n) said as she comes in then she begins to scream and places her hands over her mouth as she sees Dean holding Ian's dead body. "Call 911!" Dean shouts and (y/n) runs out the bathroom.

Later the coroner people roll Ian's body out, again with an audience, while Dean was talking to a police officer and (y/n) was off to the side, shaking visibly.

"No, I, I followed him into the bathroom. He was, uh—he was standing there in front of the mirror, and then—" Dean said then he sees Sam and stops. "Continue. Sir." the officer said send Dean turns to the officer. "And he stabbed himself in the neck. I'm sorry, that's, um..." Dean said and the officer nods.

Later, Dean was back in his office, (y/n) sitting in the chair in front of his desk. "You okay?" Dean asked her, concerned. "I think I should be asking you that." (Y/n) said and Dean sighs. "I really don't know." He said as he walks over to the window and looks out at it.

"Two deaths in two days..." (y/n) said, in a shaky voice, then she looks up at Dean. "What the hell is going on, Dean?" She asked and Dean shakes his head. "I don't know..." he said again then stops and turns to her. "Did you just call me Dean?" He asked and her face goes red. "S-S-Sorry, slip of the tongue." She said and he holds a hand up. "No, no, it's okay..." Dean said and (y/n) blushes a bit.

Dean thinks then said. "Maybe that weird guy might know something." Dean said and (y/n) looks at him. "The one that asked us about ghosts and vampires?" (Y/n) asked him and Dean nods. "Yeah, call him and have him come into my office." Dean said. "Why?" She asked. "I think...I think I saw something. So please, call him." Dean said and she nods as she gets up.

"Yes, sir." She said as Dean looks down at his bloodstained clothes and goes to grab the extra shirt he brought for emergencies.

At his cubicle, Sam sits there, feeling upset about his friend's death, when his phone goes off. "Tech support, this is Sam." Sam replied. "Mr Smith wants to see you in his office." (Y/n) said and Same hangs up.

Dean buttons up a fresh shirt just as there was a knock at the door. "Come on in." he said as he looks up and (y/n) and Sam enter. "Shut the door." Dean said and (y/n) looks over at him. "You want me in here?" She asked. "Yes." Dean said and (y/n) shuts the door behind her and Sam.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean asked Sam as he turns to face him. "I'm not sure I know." Sam said. "What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked. "Sam Wesson. I started here three weeks ago." Sam replied.

"All right. You cornered me and Ms Remington in the elevator talking about ghosts. And now..." Dean said then he stops. "Now what?" Sam asked then there was a pause. "Now nothing. I, uh...so you started working here three weeks ago, huh?" Dean asked and Sam nods. "Yeah, me too." Dean said and Sam looks over at (y/n). "I just started here a couple of days ago." She said as Dean unscrews the top of a bottle.

"It's the Master Cleanse. You tried it? Phenomenal. Detoxes you like nobody's business." Dean said before he takes a drink. "When you were in that bathroom with Ian, did you see something?" Sam asked him and Dean looks over at (y/n), who nods encouragingly at him. "I don't know. I don't know what I saw." Dean said.

"Wait. Are you saying that—did you see a ghost?" Sam asked. "I was freaking out. The guy penciled his damn neck." Dean exclaimed. "You did, didn't you? Okay, listen. What if these suicides aren't suicides? I mean, what if they're something not natural?" Sam suggested and (y/n) turns to him.

"So, what, ghosts are real? And they're responsible for all the dead bodies around here? Is that what you're telling us?" she asked him as all three of them sit down, in unison. "I know it sounds crazy. But yes. That's what I'm telling you guys." Sam said. "Uh-huh. Based on what?" Dean asked him and Sam thinks for a moment.

"Instinct." Sam replied and Dean looks down, shaking his head, then back up. "I've got the same instinct." Dean said and (y/n) smiles. "I think I do too." She said and Sam looks between them. "Seriously? You know those dreams I was telling you about? I was dreaming about ghosts." he said. "Yeah." Dean said and (y/n) nods.

"And then it turns out that there's a real ghost." Sam said. "So you're telling us that your dreams are special visions and you're some kind of psychic?" Dean asked him. "No. I mean, that would be nuts. I'm just saying something weird is definitely going on around here, right? So I've been digging around a little." Sam said and he pulls papers out of his bag. "I think I found a connection between the two guys." Sam said and he passes over the papers. (y/n) gets up and goes over to stand next to Dean's desk and they look at them.

"You broke into their email accounts?" (y/n) asked him. "I used some skills that I happen to have to satisfy my curiosity." Sam replied but Dean and (y/n) give him an impressed smile. "Nice." they said and Sam smiles. "Yeah. Okay. So it turns out Ian and Paul both got this same email telling them to report to HR, room fourteen forty-four." Sam explained and Dean furrows his brow.

"HR's on seven." Dean said. "Exactly." Sam said and (y/n) looks between the boys. "Should we go check this out?" she asked them and Dean seemed up for it but Sam looks at her, confused. "Like right now?" Sam asked, surprised, and (y/n) frowns. "No. No, it's getting late. You're right." She said but Sam smiles. "I am dying to check this out right now." he said. "Right?" Dean and (y/n) said, excited, and they all get up and leave.

The boys and (y/n) come down the corridor when they hear a man yelling and hurry to room 1444, it's locked. Sam kicks the door open. "Whoa." Dean said, impressed, as (y/n) eyes widen at this.

A shelf had fallen on a man and Dean, Sam and (y/n) hurry over to lift it off him. The old man from the bathroom appears behind (y/n and flings her into the wall, then shoves Sam and Dean over. His hands spark lightning. Dean gets up and swings at the old man with a wrench. The old man dissipates before he can touch the man. The monitors shut off and everything stops shaking. Dean, Sam and (y/n) lift the shelves so the man can scoot out from underneath.

"How'd you know how to do that?" (Y/n) asked Dean, shocked but also impressed, and Dean shrugs. "I have no idea." he replied, honestly.

"Holy crap, guys!" Dean said after he drinks his Master Cleanse. "Yeah. I could use a beer." Sam said and (y/n) nods as they sit in Dean’s upper-class house. "Me too." (Y/n) said. "Oh, sorry, guys. I'm on the Cleanse. I got rid of all the carbs in the house." Dean said and he goes to the fridge and grabbed a couple of water bottles.

"Hey. How the hell did you know that ghosts are scared of wrenches?" (Y/n) asked Dean as he hands her and Sam the water bottles. "Crazy, right?" Dean said, just as shocked and impressed as her. Then he turns to Sam. "And nice job kicking that door too. That was very Jet Li. What are you, like a black belt or something?" he asked and Sam chuckles. "No. I have no clue how I did that. It's like...we've done this before." Sam said.

"What do you mean, before? Like Shirley MacLaine before?" Dean asked him. "No. I—I just can't shake this feeling like I—like I don't belong here. You know? Like I should do something more than sit in a cubicle." said Sam. "I think most people who work in a cubicle feel that same way." (y/n) said and Sam shakes his head.

"No. Well, look, it's more than that. Like, I don't like my job. I don't like this town. I don't like my clothes. I don't like my own last name. I don't know how else to explain it, except that...it feels like I should be doing something else. There's just something in my blood. Like I was destined for something different." he said as Dean and (y/n) watch him. (Y/n) lowers her eyes as she looks down at the floor while Sam looks between the two.

"What about you guys? You two ever feel that way?" Sam asked. "Sometimes, but...I don't know, I guess I just deal with it." (Y/n) said. "And I don't believe in destiny. I do believe in dealing with what's right in front of us, though." he said and Sam nods.

"All right, so, what do we do now?" He asked. "We do what I do best, Sammy. Research." Dean said. "Okay." Sam said but stops and gives Dean a puzzled look. "Did you just call me Sammy?" he aske. "Did I?" Dean said, confused. "I think you did. Yeah. Don't." Sam said. "Sorry." Dean said. "Well...let's get to work, boys." (Y/n) said as she stands up and claps her hands together.

Later, the trio each had their own laptop and do as much research as they could until (y/n) speaks up. "Oh, jackpot." she exclaims and the boys turn to her. "What you got?" Sam asked her. "I just found the best site ever. Real, actual ghost hunters." she replied, smiling, and Sam and Dean go over and stand on either side of her to see.

"These guys are genius. Check it out." she said as she shows them the website of the Ghostfacers, where there were tons of videos. "Instructional videos." Dean said as (y/n) pulls up a video of Ed and Harry, both of them wearing lab coats.

"We know why you're watching." Ed said, in a serious tone. "You've got a problem." Harry said, in a similar tone as Ed. "A ghost problem." said Ed. "A ghost-related problem. A ghost—it's like a ghost-adjacent pr—it's like a problem that's—and the ghost is—" Harry tries to explain but Ed rolls his eyes and talks over him.

"Whatever. You've come to the right place. The only decent place, really, because the Ghostfacers know how to solve it." he said. "Period." Harry said. "Watch and learn." Ed said. "See, the first step in any supernatural fight..." Harry started to say then he and Ed say the next line, in unison. "Figure out what you're up against."

Dean, Sam and (y/n) exchange looks at this.

Sam, on his laptop, pulls up an article about the death of Sandover's founder; it has a picture of him. "That's him. That's the ghost." Dean said and Sam begins to read. "P. T. Sandover. Died 1916. Devoted his life to his work. No wife, no kids. Used to say he was the company, and his very blood pumped through the building." Sam reads. "Wow, okay. So slight workaholic." Dean said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Maybe he's still here, you know, watching over the company, even killing for it." (y/n) suggests. "Plus, turns out this isn't the first time people started killing themselves in the building. 1929." Sam said. "Yeah, but lots of guys jumped off lots of high rises that year." Dean said, shrugging.

"How many companies had seventeen suicides?" Sam asked him and Dean and (y/n) look at him, horrified. "Phew. Okay, so P. T. Sandover, protector of the company. His ghost wakes up and becomes active during times of grave economic distress." Dean said.

"Well, I mean, the worst time we've seen since the Great Depression—"

"Is now. Yeah, now sucks. My portfolio's in the sewer. I don't even wanna talk about it." Dean said, interrupting Sam. "So Sandover's helping the bottom line by zapping some model employees." (Y/n) said as she paces back and forth. "Yeah. I mean, Ian and Paul. It was like he turned them into different people." said Sam. "Perfect worker bees, exactly. So devoted to the company that they would commit hara-kiri if they failed it." Dean said.

"One more interesting fact. The building wasn't always that high. Used to be fourteen floors. And the room where the ghost attacked, fourteen forty-four? Once upon a time, that was the old man's office." Sam said and they all exchange looks then head over to (y/n)'s laptop and watch another video by the Ghostfacers.

"Once you've got that thing in your sights—" Harry said. "You kill it." he and Ed said, together. "Using special ghost-hunting weapons." said Harry. "First, salt. It's like acid to ghosts." Ed said as he holds up a container of salt. "Burny acid." Harry said. "Not LSD." Ed informs as he holds up a finger. "No. It's a bad trip for ghosts. Next up, iron." Harry said as he holds up an iron fire poker.

"That's why the wrench worked." (Y/n) exclaimed as she looks between the boys. "Pure power in your hand." Ed continues. "Dissipates ghosts instantly." Harry asked.

"Next little trick. We learned this from those useless douchebags—" Ed sneers. "That we hate." Harry growls. "The Winchesters and (l/n)." Ed said, with disgust. "Gun." Harry said as he holds up a shotgun. "Shotgun shell. Pack it up with fresh rock salt." Ed said, holding up a shotgun bullet.

"Very effective." They said. "Winchesters and (l/n) still suck ass, though." Harry growls. "Affirmative. Suckage major." Ed said.

Later, Dean packs three pokers in a duffel bag that contains a salt shaker and various items. "Where do we even get a gun?" Dean asked. "Gun store?" Sam said, shrugging. "Isn't there like some kind of waiting period or something?" (y/n) asked. "I think so." Sam said.

"Well, how in the hell—" Dean started to ask but Sam shrugs. "I don't know. Seems pretty impossible, honestly." Sam said. "Right." Dean said as he continues to pack while (y/n) continues to play the video.

"The aforementioned super-annoying Winchester douchenozzles and the (l/n) bitch also taught us this one other thing. You have to burn the remains." Ed explained. "Okay, this next part gets a little gross. Sometimes you might have to dig up the body. Sorry." Harry said, a bit disgusted, and even (y/n) scrunched up her nose at this.

"It's illegal in some states." Ed said. "All states." Harry corrects. "Possibly all states." Ed said. "Sandover was cremated." Sam said and Dean and (y/n) turn to him. "What? So what do we do now?" (y/n) asked and as if he heard her, Harry begins to talk.

"Now, if the deceased has been cremated—" he said. "Don't panic." he and Ed assure. "Just gotta look for some other remains." Ed said. "A hair in a locket, maybe. Fingernails. Baby teeth." Harry informs. "Milk teeth." Ed adds. "Genetic material. You know what we're talking about." Harry said.

"Go find it." Ed said.

"Fight well, young lions." Harry said, proudly.

"Godspeed." Ed said, in a distinguished voice.

Sometime later, Dean, Sam and (y/n) enter the elevator to their workplace when Dean turns to them. "Set your cell phone to walkie-talkie in case we get separated." he said and the trio pull out their phones.

"How the hell are we gonna find some ancient speck of DNA in a skyscraper?" Sam asked. "Well, that creepy storeroom used to be Sandover's office, right?" (y/n) said and she presses button 14 on the panel.

Minutes later, the trio look through the things stored in 1444. Dean and (y/n) go behind some shelves while Sqm rifles through the desk easily visible from the door. "What the hell are you doing here?" a voice asked, startling Sam. He turns around to see a guard while Dean grabs (y/n)'s arm and pulls her down, ducking out of sight.

"Nothing. I just—" Sam stammers. "Come with me." the guard said as he grabs Sam's arm and shuts the door behind them. "I hate doing that to him." (Y/n) mutters to Dean and she looks over then felt her heart stop as she realized how close her and Dean are.

Dean looks over at her and he seemed to notice how close they were too. They look into each other's eyes for a moment then Dean gazes at her lips for a moment then back into her eyes. (Y/n) begins to blush as she looks down the clears her throat. "Um...I think we should...uh...get back...to..." she said and Dean shakes his head a bit then nods to her. "Yeah, right." He said and they stand up and start their search.

"Man, listen. Look. It's okay. I—I work here." Sam said to the guard. "Whatever. Tell it to the cops." the guard grumbles as he takes Sam down the corridor and into the elevator, which descends several floors. The current-weather screen inside the elevator goes to static, and both men's breath are briefly visible. The elevator screeches to a halt and the guard uses his elevator key to open the inner doors, then pries open the outer doors; they're stuck between two floors.

"Well, come on." The guard said but Sam noticed a weird ominous sound. "What?" Sam asked. "Last time this happened, it took them two hours to get here." the guard said. "Let's just wait." Sam said as the guard crawls out, nearly kicking Sam in the face.

Meanwhile, Dean and (y/n) continue to search through drawers. Then Dean finds a framed picture of a Sandover bridge. "Think I found something." Dean said and (y/n) comes over to him and sees the framed photo. "Hopefully that'll work." She said and Dean nods.

The Guqrd is out of the elevator and turns back for Sam. "Seriously, I'll wait." Sam said but the guard leans back into the elevator. "Look, I don't have the rest of my life." he said but the elevator jerks downward abruptly, decapitating the guard, Sam's face and shirt are covered in blood spray.

"Hey. You okay?" Dean's voice asked over the phone and Sam slowly reaches for the phone. "Call you back." Sam said, shaking, as he stares at the mess in front of him.

Later, Sam walks between the cubicles, talking into his phone, cleaning the blood off his face with a towel. "Dean, you there?" he asked. "Yeah, listen, I think we got it. Meet us on twenty-two." Dean said. "Okay, yeah. Just, uh, take the stairs." Sam informs him.

Dean and (y/n) were looking at the Sandover history display when Sam comes in. "Whoa. That's a lot of blood." (y/n) said, shocked, as she looks at Sam. "Yeah, I know." Sam said. "Right. So, uh, in there." Dean said and he points to a glass case containing a pair of gloves. "P. T. Sandover's gloves." Sam said and Dean nods. "Yeah, how much you wanna bet there's a little smidge of DNA in there? You know, like a fingernail clipping or a hair or two? Something." (Y/n) said.

"So you guys ready?" Sam asked them. "I have no idea." Dean said and (y/n) shrugs. "Me neither." Sam said and he, Dean and (y/n) take a poker and (y/n) takes a container of salt. "Go for it." (y/n) said and Dean nods. "Right." he said and he smashes the glass. Sam's and (y/n)'s breath qre briefly visible.

Sandover appears behind Dean and flings him into the wall, then Sam and (y/n). His hands spark as he approaches (y/n), who grabs the salt and flings some through him. Sandover dissipates and Dean gets up.

"Oh. Nice." He said when Sandover appears behind Dean. "Dean." Sam and (y/n) shout and Sam throws Dean the poker. Dean turns and swings it through Sandover, who dissipates again.

"Nice catch." Sam said. "Right?" Dean chuckles as Sam gets up, helps (y/n) up and he goes over to pick up the other poker. Sandover appears between (y/n) and Dean, who simultaneously hit him with pokers; he dissipates. He appears behind Dean, who turns around to get him, then behind Sam, who does the same, then behind (y/n), who swings her poker at him.

Then he appears between them, and throws first Sam, then Dean into opposite walls and (y/n) down on the ground. His hands spark and he reaches for Dean. Sam sees the gloves and grabs them and his lighter, the gloves catch fire and so does Sandover, who burns into nothing. Sam drops the burning gloves.

"That was amazing." (y/n) said, with a smile and Sam laughs. "Right? Right?" Dean asked and the three of them start to laugh together.

In his office, Dean pulls a first-aid kit out of his desk. "Man, I gotta tell you, I've never had so much fun in my life." he said. "Me neither." Sam said. "Same here. Was a hell of a workout too, wasn't it?" (y/n) asked and Dean nods. "We should keep doing this." Sam said. "I know." (y/n) and Dean said as Dean looks through the kit and comes out with thred gauze pads. He gives one to Sam and the other to (y/n).

"I mean it. There gotta be other ghosts out there. We could help a lot of people." Sam said while (y/n) tends to her wound. "Right, we'd be like the Ghostfacers." Dean chuckles. "No, really. I mean, for real." Sam said and Dean and (y/n) turn to him. "What? Like, quit our jobs and hit the road?" (y/n) asked him. "Exactly." Sam said.

"How would we live?" Dean asked and Sam pauses at this. "You gotta be kidding me. How would we get by? With stolen credit cards? Huh? Eating diner food drenched in saturated fats? Sharing a crap motel room every night?" Dean asked and Sam shrugs. "That's all just details." he said, vaguely.

"Details are everything. You don't wanna go fighting ghosts without any health insurance." Dean said and (y/n) sighs. "All right. Um. Confession." she said and the boys turn to her. "What?" they asked and she sighs again then turns to Sam.

"Remember when I told you I had weird dreams too?" She asked and he nods and Dean raises an eyebrow at this. "You were dreaming about ghosts too?" Dean asked her and she nods. "Yeah and...not only that...I was fighting them." she said and Dean and Sam watch her. "Okay." They said.

"With you two. We were these, like, hunters, and we were friends. You two more like brothers, really." (Y/n) said as she points at the two men then she turns to Dean. "And...don't think differently of me when I say this but...you and me, I think we were in a relationship." She said and Dean stares at her, in disbelief. "Oh come on." Dean said and Sam shakes his head.

"I think she's right, Dean. I've had similar dreams as well." Sam said and Dean shakes his head. "I mean, what if that's who we really are? I mean, you saw us back there, working together. The ghost was scrambling people's brains. What if it scrambled ours?" Sam asked. "That's insane." Dean said. "But it was just some weird dreams that, coincidentally had you two in it." (Y/n) said.

"Is it? Think about it for just one second. What if we think this is our life, but it's not?" Sam asked.

"Hey, man, the ghost is dead and we're still standing. I mean, I'm sorry, but—" Dean said but Sam speaks up. "Look, all I know is this isn't who we're supposed to be." Sam said. "No. I'm Dean Smith, okay? Director of Sales and Marketing. I went to Stanford. My father's name is Bob, my mother's name is Ellen, and my sister's name is Jo." Dean explained.

"And I'm (y/n) Remington. I just graduated from college, so I'm trying to pay off my debt. My father's name is John and my mother's name is Mary." (Y/n) said. "When was the last time you talked to them? To any of them?" Sam asked the couple. "Okay, you're upset. You're upset, you're confused—" Dean said but Sam talks over him.

"Yeah, 'cause I only moved here 'cause I just broke up with my fiancée, Madison. But I called her number and I got a damn animal hospital." he yells and (y/n) felt sympathy for him. "Okay. What are you saying? Are you trying to say that my family and Ms Remington's family aren't real? Huh? That we've been injected with fake memories? Come on." Dean asked.

"All I know is, I got this feeling in my gut. And I know—I know that deep down, you two gotta be feeling it too. We're supposed to be something else. You're not just some corporate douchebag. Or some secretary with a dead-end job. This isn't you. I know you two." Sam said. "Know me? You don't know me, pal." Dean said and Sam frowns at this. "You should go." Dean said and Sam looks between the two before he leaves.

“Are you going to be okay?” Dean asked (y/n), who shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning.” She said. Dean nods, thinking for a moment. “So is it alright if I ask about these dreams of yours? Of us being in a relationship?” He asked, curious. “Look, they're just weird dreams, please don’t judge me because of them.” (Y/n) said.

“Oh don’t worry, I won’t. If it's any consolation, I think dream me is pretty lucky if he can call you his girlfriend.” Dean said, (y/n) blushes at this. “Really?” She asked. “Yes, you’re a wonderful woman, Ms. Remington. Any man would be lucky to have you.” Dean said, smirking. (Y/n) smiles, feeling pretty giddy at such praises. “Thank you, Mr. Smith. I believe any woman would be lucky to have you.” She said and Dean smiles. Dean and (y/n) shared a look, their smiles turning sad.

It’s no secret that they both felt this intense attraction towards each other. But of course, there’s policies in place that restrict the two of them from pursuing such feelings.

Sure they can have coffee and exchange flirts here and there. But to actually be together, one of them would need to resign from the company. Neither one is in a position to do so, nor are they able to invite the other to come live with them.

There are so many road blocks between them, it does make life on the road sound appealing, if only a little. They could be together and do all the little things that they been thinking about but were keeping to themselves. Perhaps this feeling between them could even grow stronger, to the point that they both would realize that they can’t live without the other. That their future would be incomplete if they weren’t together.

But that’s not the case here. Dean is (y/n)'s boss, so he and her can never be. They both knew this and they hated that this how things are.

“Well, it’s late. I think I should be getting home.” (Y/n) said. “Yeah, I should do the same. Goodnight, Ms. Remington.” Dean said. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Smith.” (Y/n) said, turning and walking to the door. “See you in your dreams.” Dean said, right before she could leave the office. (Y/n) stops, keeping her back towards Dean to hide her smile, then she leaves.

The next morning, Sam was in his cubicle filling out a form on a clipboard when the phone rings. Sam stares at it then he takes off his headset, picks up the poker he brought with him, gets up, and beats the phone to death. Everyone stares. "I quit." Sam said and he leaves.

(Y/n) was staring at her computer screen, mainly at the email she had written out but was deciding whether to send it or not. It was her resignation. After last night, (y/n) started to think over what Sam said and a part of her was thinking that maybe he was right, maybe this life isn't what she wanted. But then again, she needed the money to pay off her college debts.

"Morning, Ms Remington." A voice said and (y/n) looked up to see Mr Adler walking up to her desk. "Morning, Mr Adler." She greets, with a smile. "Is Mr Smith in?" He asked. "He sure is. Go on ahead." She said and Adler nods then walks over to the office door and knocks while (y/n)'s smile falters then turns her head back to the screen and sighs.

"Got a minute?" Adler asked Dean, who was typing on his computer. "Sure, of course." Dean said and Adler comes in and shuts the door. "How are you feeling, Dean?" he asked. "Uh, great." Dean replied, in a bit of a unsure tone. "You look a little tired. Been working hard, I gather." Adler said. "Yeah." Dean said.

"Ah, don't be modest. I hear everything. And I'm pleased with what I'm hearing." Adler said and he goes to sit down in front of Dean's desk. "That's why it's important to me that you're happy." Adler said and he pulls out a pen, grabs a piece of notepaper, and writes down a five-digit number.

"How's that for a bonus?" He asked and Dean looks at the paper. "That's very generous." Dean said, shocked. "Purely selfish. Wanna make sure you're not going anywhere." Adler laughs. "Wow. Are you sure?" Dean asked. "Positive. You are Sandover material, son. Real go-getter. Carving your own way." Adler said. "Well, thanks. I try." Dean said, a small smile forms on his lips.

"I see big things in your future. Maybe even senior VP, Eastern Great Lakes Division. Don't get me wrong, you'll have to work for it. Seven days a week, lunch at your desk, but in eight to ten short years, that could be you." Alder said and Dean takes off his headset. "Uh, well, thank you. Thank you, sir. It's, um...but..." he said then he passes the paper back. "I am giving my notice."

"This is a joke. You're kidding me, right?" Adler asked, quite taken aback. "No. I've—I recently—uh, very recently realized that I have some other work I have to do. It's, uh, very important to me." Dean replied. "Other work? Another company?" Adler asked. "No, I—it's hard to explain. Um. It's just that this—this is—it's just—it's not who I'm supposed to be." Dean said and Adler grins.

"What?" Dean asked him. "Dean, Dean, Dean. Finally." Adler said and he stands up and presses two fingers on Dean's forehead. At that moment, Dean looks around at the office and himself. "What the hell?" he asked and he looks down at his outfit. "Why am I wearing a tie?" he asked then his body jerks a bit and he holds his stomach. "My God, am I hungry." he said and Adler laughs.

"Welcome back." Adler said and Dean stands up. "Wait. Did I—did I just get touched by—you're an angel, aren't you?" He asked. "I'm Zachariah." Adler said. "Oh, great. That's all I need is another one of you guys." Dean scoffs. "I'm hardly another one, Dean. I'm Castiel's superior. Believe me, I had no interest in popping down here into one of these smelly things." Zachariah said as he indicates his body.

"But after the unfortunate situation with Uriel, I felt it necessary to pay a visit. Get my ducks in a row." he said. "I am not one of your ducks." Dean growls. "Starting with your attitude." Zachariah said. "Oh, so, what? This was all some sort of a lesson? Is that what you're telling me? Wow. Very creative." Dean exclaimed.

"You should see my decoupage." Zachariah said, smirking. "Gross. No thank you." Dean said then sighs. "So, what? I'm just hallucinating all this? Is that it?" He asked. "Not at all. Real place, real haunting. Just plunked you in the middle without the benefit of your memories." replied Zachariah.

"Just to shake things up? Hm? So you guys can have fun watching us run around like ass clowns in monkey suits?" Dean asked, angrily. "To prove to you that the path you're on is truly in your blood. You're a hunter. Not because your dad made you, not because God called you back from hell, but because it is what you are. And you love it. You'll find your way to it in the dark every single time and you're miserable without it. Dean, let's be real here. You're good at this. You'll be successful. You will stop it." Zachariah informs.

"Stop what? The apocalypse, huh? Lucifer? What? Be specific, man." Dean demands. "You'll do everything you're destined to do. All of it. But I know, I know. You're not strong enough. You're scared. You got daddy issues. You can't do it. Right?" Zachariah asked and Dean narrows his eyes at him. "Angel or not, I will stab you in your face." he threatens

"All I'm saying is it's how you look at it. Most folks live and die without moving anything more than the dirt it takes to bury them. You get to change things." Zachariah said and Dean turns away. "Save people, maybe even the world. All the while you drive a classic car and fornicate with that woman you're with all you want. This isn't a curse. It's a gift. So for God's sakes, Dean, quit whining about it. Look around. There are plenty of fates worse than yours." Zachariah said and Dean turns to him and glares at him.

"So are you with me? You wanna go steam yourself another latte? Or are you ready to stand up and be who you really are?" Zachariah asked him.

@rach5ive @kitsun369 @itzabbyxx @cevans-winchester @ellie-andthemachine

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