Podcasts about urgh

Just. URGH. With love, Nixalina. For more awesome content to read including beauty, fashion or dating & love features, please do head over to my digital platform www.nixalina.com. Don't be shy, come say hai! Head over to my Instagram or Tiktok @nixalina to slide into my DMs.

I'm annoyed - patriarchy. Enjoy!

Urgh. No episode this week due to waves hands around. On the hand, your' fun fact of the day is that sea lice are bad for Norway's salmon fisheries. Do with that fact what you will! The …crew… will return eys, arms, hammers, and all next week!Pledge/donate on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thatdndpodcastSend feedback to: ThatDnDPodcast@Gmail.comVisit our website: http://www.thatdndpodcast.comAmazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/?rw_useCurrentProtocol=1&tag=thdnpo07-20

A Very Opinionated Look At URGH! A MUSIC WAR--CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: An interview with Lesley Woods of Au PairsHello everyone! This week, I'm releasing this extra-special episode from the Revolutions Per Movie Patreon for everyone to hear!It's an incredible conversation with a complete legend—Lesley Woods of Au Pairs, who has also been an immigration lawyer in the UK for over thirty years.  Anyone who has been listening to the URGH! A MUSIC WAR PODCAST knows that Lesley's performance blew open my and Chaki's head with her slashing music and sexual politics lyrics…something that was new and necessary for young kids witnessing this film. So getting to talk to Lesley was an honor.We talk about the origin of Au Pairs at a bus stop, Lesley's political awakening in college, being banned by the BBC, how the podcast helped Lesley watch the film for the first time, the ever-present blood on her guitar, the band's first 7” Kerb Crawler, the way the band moved around on stage, what the band wanted to do differently on their 2nd LP, why the band gravitated towards music to dance to that was still protest music, the difference for Lesley writing music then and now, the incredible Urgh lineup they played with Gang of Four, Mekons & Steel Pulse, the trouble with music journalism and its attitudes towards women in the industry, how Lesley turned her back on music for a spell, why she turned to immigration and refugee law in the UK, freedom of expression and the right to hold your opinion, Thatcher's Section 28 law banning queer literature and references in schools, Gavin Friday of The Virgin Prunes, how Lesley found her way back to music and performing with members of Thurston Moore's band & Big Joanie, plus Lesley Woods explains why it really was an actual MUSIC WAR!!!If you enjoy the show, please consider joining at patreon.com/revolutionspermovie to support this completely independent endeavor (plus get access to over 170 episodes of Revolutions Per Movie, a 7" flexidisc with Ann Magnuson, Vanessa Briscoe Hay & Peter Buck, stickers, and more). Thanks!LESLEY WOODS: lesleywoods.bandcamp.comAU PAIRS IN URGH: https://vimeo.com/445459902CENSORED AU PAIRS PERFORMANCE ON OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST: https://odysee.com/@kentisheddie:8/OGWT-Au-Pairs:9?fbclid=IwY2xjawJyC6lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHgza-0yavgkB6fQpcuF0DFP95pjYYmtDpHdN1NHJaSBVV2ylmUdVookjvVpZ_aem_hbcX22AAHWx4tiYgHoMLVA Click here to get EXCLUSIVE BONUS WEEKLY Revolutions Per Movie content on our Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Urgh! What is that sound! Oh! That noise is so loud!天啊! 這聲音太大聲太刺耳了!Click HERE for the full transcript!

Our favourite game is back this week and has some of the very best and some of the very worst guesses Chris and Masud have made.And it may also be the closes game yet PLUS Sooz goes rogue with awarding points.______An exclusive extended version of this episode with almost 20 minutes of bonus extra chat can be found over at our Patreon!Extended episodes drop over there 3 days early so if you enjoy Mystery on the Rocks then please consider heading over there to support us, where there is already a huge backlog of exclusive extras such as extended episodes, bonus episodes, minisodes, outtakes, cocktail recipes and more!Hosted by Masud Milas, Chris Stokes, and Sooz Kempner Mystery on the Rocks is a high concept comedy and true crime/unexplained phenomena podcast set in a fictional mystery-solving bar with real cocktails!. The focus of the show is to attempt to crack a real, unsolved mystery from history – true crime and bizarre occurrences, all with a whodunnit or WTF happened question hanging over them.You can follow us on Bluesky, X and Instagram too! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, Darlings!We are back with Denise, her gals, Dr. Aaron and CHARLIE. Oh, how I have waited to see Charlie on this show!This truly is an outstanding episode! The lunch with Charlie is filled with Hollywood stories, Denise and Charlie telling the story of their first date, Lola having breakfast with Brad Pitt and his children......Urgh, it is utter perfection.Enjoy! Access bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

❤️ Urgh! Wenn du schon an die Hausaufgabensituation zu Hause denkst, bekommst du Aggressionen.

I denne episoden får du høre hvordan det går med det nye livet, slowknitting og skjerf i resirkulerte truser. I tillegg til de faste spaltene får du også høre hva som skal til for å bli 108 år.

Hello Wonderful Readers,Yesterday, a poet asked me,“Do you ever tell lies?”He had locks of brown hair, a strong jawline, and wicked eyes that smiled. I caught his gaze for a second, but then I quickly looked away. I focused on his somewhat dorky, checkered shirt. My shoulders hung heavy with guilt as I listened to the catchy notes of Lou Reed that played over us from an old vinyl turntable.I was three hours into my first date with this poet at Hule, a trendy, bustling bar in Mexico City. The night air was scented with a thin layer of cigarette smoke and air pollution. We had gotten along rather well, laughing a lot, until that moment. Could he sense that I was hiding something?“I h-had to lie the other day,” I admitted, stumbling over my words, “But I believe lying is really bad. And I never do it.” I took a large sip of my IPA. I let the sharpness of the alcohol zap my throat.“Why did you lie?” he pressed me. It was the next most obvious question. Urgh, I was terrible at this, I thought to myself.“Well,” I started, and then I immediately regretted everything as it came out of my mouth, “I had to go to the doctor to get…um…my IUD replaced. I didn't meet the requirements, but I only had one day to get it done in England for free. So, I had to go to this clinic and give them a fake name and a fake address. Anyway, I got it done.”I bit my tongue. Didn't meet the requirements? Oh, please.The truth was that I had scheduled that appointment in London two months in advance, and when I finally went to the doctor, she had asked me, “Have you had any unprotected sex in the last three weeks?” And I answered honestly, “Yes,” because I'm a clueless fool. And then she stared deep into my soul and said, with pity in her voice, “You should probably take some emergency contraception because you could be pregnant.” This was a ridiculous thing for her to say because I still had my old IUD inside of me, and I apparently study and care about women's health, and I thought I knew about these things. And that even if my IUD had expired a month ago, it wouldn't just stop working overnight. But I couldn't be sure without reading all the medical fine print from the IUD companies on the internet and deciphering a bunch of Reddit forums that night. And now, after eight years of not having to worry about pregnancy, this nurse was dishing out to me all the shame that I'd thought I was smart enough and wise enough to avoid and made me feel like I was being totally reckless for having what had been a beautiful, deep connection with a very sexy man.The truth was that I then had to tell Todor*, this very sexy man that I was sleeping with and whose dangerous sperm was potentially still swimming inside of me, that I might be pregnant after I had let him cum inside of me as many times as he wanted to because that was what I had wanted also. Needless to say, discussing my potential pregnancy with him was kind of a vibe killer because he said to me, “I don't want to have a kid.” I didn't have the guts to tell him, “I want to have a kid, but maybe not today, but maybe if we were actually boyfriend and girlfriend, I would have wanted to have one with you, but we live in different countries on different continents, and I am honestly so depressed being here in London, and I would never come back here, at least never again during the winter, if I could avoid it, but I'm too scared to tell you that.” And that after fulfilling my weird impregnation fantasies, while I had quite enjoyed my times with him, actually facing the reality of potentially conceiving a child together didn't feel quite as cool or fun or sexy as those times had been.The truth was that I had then had to leave that clinic without my new IUD and wait for another couple of days for all of Todor's dangerous sperm floating around in my inner caves to die before I rushed myself to another clinic on my last day in London. There, I gave the doctor, who was really quite a kind woman who did not deserve to be lied to, a fake date of birth and a fake address, which was definitely super illegal. And then I lied to her that I hadn't had unprotected sex in the last three weeks so that I could do what was right for my own body because I really did need that Hormonal IUD to help with my periods and also give me a solid form of birth control for the next eight years. I was privileged enough to live in a country that offers socialized medicine, but that has a lagging enough technological system that didn't check between clinics, and I could take full advantage of it for my own benefit.The truth was that once she had finally inserted my new IUD, which was physically painful but that didn't scratch the surface of this evident emotional turmoil, she suggested to me that I probably would want to take it out before the eight years were up, meaning that she expected me to want to have a child by the time I was 37, all that being contingent on finding a partner and us wanting to start a family together, which would not be an easy decision, and that person was tragically but undeniably not going to be Todor. I was turning 30, and I wasn't a teenage girl anymore. The eggs in my ovaries were not going to live forever.The truth was that this made me feel very sad. Remembering all of that, I really had no business being on a first date with this funny and charming Poet Man anyway because it had barely been a week since I had left Todor behind in London, the city I grew up in and used to call home but frankly hated visiting, wondering all the while why modern love had to be so f*****g hard but also knowing that I would never be happy living in London again. I had gone through so much in the last three years to build a beautiful life for myself in Mexico, and I wasn't about to throw all that away for nothing.The truth was that I had spent most of that week before the date randomly sobbing whenever I got a brief moment to myself, especially whenever I sat down to play “Mad Rush” by Philip Glass on the piano in Soho House, where Todor and I had celebrated his birthday and my first author birthday together a mere month ago. And I had finally felt loved by someone else for a brief moment in time after years of dating a******s or perfectly lovely men with whom I had no future, and now the one person that I had quite liked and I believed had quite liked me back couldn't be together, and that made me so, so sad. And that in my first week back in Mexico City, I had intentionally returned with my other friends to the places where I had memories with Todor so that I could paint over every scent of him that kept creeping up in my body, whether that be at my favorite pizza place or a random spot on the street near my house. And I had initiated 60 days of no contact with him also, or until further notice, so I could rip out the roots of whatever love for him I had that was growing inside of me and lob that tree off at the lowest point of the trunk possible.The truth was that I still had the card that Todor had given me. I had stashed it with the book that he had bought for me in the closet in my house because I didn't want to get rid of them yet. Still, I also didn't want to come home and see them and think about them and think about him every day, and I knew that he would understand that. However, the fact that I knew they were still in my closet and that I am thinking about them even now made it even more clear to me that I still wasn't over him. I might have to get rid of his gifts if I ever wanted to be, but we had ended on good terms, so there was really no reason to be quite so drastic in my actions to remove him from my life anyway.The truth was that, as funny as this Poet Man was, he was never going to know any of this, and as I had no intention of going home with him, I would keep it that way. Because, practically speaking, while many of us dating in our late twenties and early thirties are not virgins, the last thing you want someone to bring up on a first date is a past lover. It's rude. It's disrespectful, and frankly, I was not about to give this Poet Man the barefaced dissatisfaction of knowing that I was not over Todor at all. Instead, I let him speak.“I mean, it makes sense if you got done what you needed to get done,” he said vaguely, but in a way that I knew he was trying to be kind.“I guess,” I said, “What about you? When was the last time you lied?”The Poet Man continued with the conversation. I let his words drift in through one of my ears and out the other.Do you want to know the full truth? Next week on Misseducated, I'll be back with the honest story of how Todor and I met and what we got up to when he was in Mexico. Wink wink.Until then, I hope you have a lovely weekend.Much love,Tash

Donald Trump becomes the first convicted felon to win the Presidential race and will reenter the White House – again. URGH. Not least for women. Hannah and Mick's yearned for monkey overlords remain frustratingly absent, but at least Gary Barlow's massive son and the backpack-wearing rats are here.  And there's some extra light relief courtesy of Sarah Millican for our £5+ patrons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome all y'all to 2024 Gothtober week #2! The boys slick back their hair and get downright greasy in this latest slab of creepy crawlin' rock n' roll earworms. We're going to the barbershop to hang-out with the corpses and zombies and talk all things hot rods, pin-ups, horror, and rock n' roll!What is it we do here at InObscuria? Every show Kevin opens the crypt to exhume and dissect from his personal collection; an artist, album, or collection of tunes from the broad spectrum of rock, punk, and metal. Robert is forced to test his endurance and provide feedback, as he has no idea what he will be subjected to every week. Our hope is that we turn you on to something that was lost on your ears, or something you've simply forgotten about, or that (in our opinion) should have been the next big thing.Songs this week include:The Phantom Chords – “Voodoo Doll” from Big Beat Presents Dave Vanian & The Phantom Chords(1995)Zombie Ghost Train – “Step Into My Coffin” from Dealing The Death Card (2007) Blitzkid – “Terror In The Haunted House” from All Hallow's Stre'em (Live)(2021)Mr. Fang And The Dark Tones – “Rocknroll Monsters (From Beyond The Grave)” from Rocknroll Monsters (2022)Rezurex – “House On Haunted Hill” from Skeletons (2020)The Koffin Kats – “Darker Place” from Inhumane (2005)Vampire Beach Babes – “Gothmobile” from Reckless Summer (2000)Check out the great documentary “Urgh! A Music War” featuring an awesome performance by The Cramps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqrmFQwoUwUPlease subscribe everywhere that you listen to podcasts!Visit us: https://inobscuria.com/https://www.facebook.com/InObscuriahttps://twitter.com/inobscuriahttps://www.instagram.com/inobscuria/Buy cool stuff with our logo on it!: https://www.redbubble.com/people/InObscuria?asc=u

Hello, Darlings!I am joined on this episode by professional writer, astrologer, psychic, and witch, and SISTER WIVES EXPERT our gorgeous Renée Watt!Renee is no stranger to the Pod and no stranger to the insanity of Sister Wives, as a lifelong viewer of Sister Wives and friend of the Pod, we breakdown where we are in the Sister Wives lore, what is going to happen to Coyote Pass, what is coming up in Season 19 and more importantly, is Christine really "as mean as a snake..."URGH, we are so happy Sister Wives is back!!!Enjoy! Access bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

https://drinkag1.com/extrainchBardi, Nathan and Windy are left frustrated by the NLD.The Extra Inch Podcast, in association with 1882fanzine. Get your copy of the latest issue and the whole back catalogue at https://1882fanzine.com/.----------You've been listening to The Extra Inch, a Spurs podcast.Become an xSub: https://www.patreon.com/theextrainchProduction by Nathan A Clark (Twitter @NathanAClark).Intro music by David Lindmer (https://www.instagram.com/davidlindmer).Artwork by Trayton Miller (https://www.traytonrmiller.com/).Go get your merch at https://www.theextrainch.co.uk/Email us at podcast@theextrainch.co.ukTwitter: https://twitter.com/TheExtraInchFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheExtraInch/Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theextrainch#Spurs #COYS #THFCThe Extra Inch is a Tottenham podcast brought to you by Windy, Bardi and Nathan A Clark. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, Darlings!A new episode of RHOC is the shot in the arm we all need! How glorious this new season already is!!Join me as I discuss Gina's shoulder-padded dress, the waitress terrified to place Jen's coffee down while Gina was screaming, and Ryan's 6-year-old unused dishwasher.Urgh, I LOVE this show!Enjoy! Access bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Urgh- if I had a penny for every time I see someone's work stolen online, I'd be a pretty rich woman. And think, if the people who had their work stolen earned money from it, they'd be a lot better off too! On today's episode, I'm talking about sharing v. stealing, copyright infringement, the importance of asking (and waiting for!) permission, big bills and why IT'S NOT OK TO STEAL. I've had a few 'chats' with people online on more than one occasion about this. About how they're stealing, why a 'credit' doesn't pay the bills, and plenty more besides. So please listen, learn, ponder, research how it all works, and do a better job of sharing content online! Obviously, this isn't legal advice, but copyright matters - as does defending it - and legal issues aside, it's a really rubbish thing to do! 

In this episode we talk about Sweet Home Alabama!Episode includes: Rekindled love (Urgh), melding moms, felony Melanie, a list of reasons for why she should had chosen the other man and some rare maths humor on the pod. But all you really need to know about this episode is: don't hold people hostage and don't tip cows.Find out the answer to the question no one but us asked: "If this movie was a cheese, what kind of cheese would it be?"Find us:email: shenanigansensuepod@gmail.cominstagram: @shenanigansensuepod

Hey everyone! This episode about the Roger Corman (RIP) film Slumber Party Massacre came out today, so we've decided to let everyone hear this bonus Patreon episode to celebrate Corman's legacy. And if you're enjoying this show, please consider supporting Patreon.com/RevolutionsPerMovie, where you will get the bonus episodes, stand-alone shows (like Coffee with Krummeancher & A Very Opinionated Look at URGH! A MUSIC WAR), physical goods sent out to you and to also reserve your copy of the upcoming Flexidisc with Peter Buck of R.E.M. & Vanessa Briscoe Hay of Pylon that is coming this Fall! Thanks everyone...enjoy!In this bonus episode, I'm joined by horror filmmaker Jim Hickcox & film critic Craig Wright of Split Tooth Media, who will be turning us on to the heavy metal horror that is SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE 2!  We discuss the backstory behind the film, how it got changed by Roger Corman, how critical the horror movie community is, creating dance sequences in movies, famous monsters vs. fangoria, promotional items that were sent to video stores, horny boy creeps in horror movies, sequel success rate, the garage band members that are the heroes of the movie, whether a guitar with a drill on the end is the best murder device in a film ever, as well as the fact that Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate is a definite six-degree part of this film!So don't go to sleep (or go all the way) in this week's exclusive Bonus Episode of Revolutions Per Movie!LIMITED EDITION REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE SHIRT (available until June 9th 2024)revolutionspermovie.bandcamp.com Click here to get EXCLUSIVE BONUS WEEKLY Revolutions Per Movie content on our Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, Darlings!Guys, when I say I am filled with nostalgia after watching this episode it is an understatement.Urgh, the GLORY of seeing Jax appearing back on VPR and the editors describing him as "SUR Ex-Employee" was pure Platinum.Seeing Jax angry and gossiping was like the old days, and the Toms boppin' around town and falling off chairs really did make me smile-FORGIVE ME!Let's get into it...Enjoy! Access bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have such a joyful podcast episode today! It's all about failing businesses and tricky economic times. Urgh.    But if you've been in scarcity, feeling fearful, or worried about failure, you'll feel better after listening.    The feeling of uncertainty and concerns about the cost of living are real for a lot of us at the moment, so it's normal if you're feeling stressed.   It's also normal if you've noticed these feelings starting to have a knock-on effect on your business, but this doesn't have to be disastrous.    If you've made a mistake or your anxiety is peaking (I've been there), then today's episode will help you.

ARE YOU EXCITED TO PLAY CHILDR... URGH... *CITY* OF THE WOLVES?!? The SNK World Championships were this weekend and the results were surprising! But the talk of the town is all about Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves! James watches and reacts to the trailers released! == TIME STAMPS == 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:10 Xiao Hai Didn't Win?!? 0:04:57 Sooa The MVP! Laggia The Champion! 0:07:11 Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves 0:09:05 Gameplay Trailer Watch 0:12:37 Characters Trailer Watch 0:15:56 Preecha Is James Bait 0:17:48 NO MORE EXCUSES 0:21:06 Outro Find the YouTube version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSc3DpOZvyU Get the audio version of this episode here: https://soundcloud.com/ultrachentv/swc-ffcotw Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/ultrachentv Itunes - http://UltraChenTV.com/iTunes Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4nOFXvdcuJng3Y14qK3CVF Join the UltraChen Discord! https://discord.gg/VAmkUdp Please consider supporting our Patreon! http://patreon.com/ultrachentv Twitch - http://twitch.tv/ultrachentv Twitter - http://twitter.com/ultrachentv James Chen http://twitter.com/jchensor https://www.twitch.tv/jchensor #FGC #Esports #Podcast

Urgh! It doesn't matter how much money you make or how much you love your business, sometimes things SUCK!    You might be in this space right now, feeling down or overwhelmed. So, we're going to talk about what to do to get out of a funk and how to give yourself the grace and space you need. I get different variations of this question all the time, so today's episode will help you if you've been asking:   What do I do when all the bills are coming in? What should I do when my business stalls? I feel really down and everything sucks; now what?    I've been there so many times, and although you might think I have it all together, for me and most people I know in business, it's normal to have regular times when things suck and feel hard.   You might have a specific issue to address, like a staff member or client, but you could also be experiencing burnout. I know when I'm overwhelmed and down, I see more problems than wins in my business.   If you're like me, you might not like hearing that you could be in burnout, or you'll start looking for the magic quick-fix pill, but your body might be telling you to slow down and re-assess what's next.

Imagine if a Smurf and a Poddington Pea were able to breed. Go on, really imagine it with your imagination.  Urgh. That's disgusting.      IF YOU LIKE WHAT WE DO AND WANT TO HELP US CONTINUE; SUPPORT US ON PATREON: patreon.com/spreadthewhimsy   SUPPORT US ON KO-FI: ko-fi.com/spreadthewhimsy SUPPORT US WITH MERCHANDISE: whenwagonwheelswerebigger.com/w4bshop SUPPORT US FOR FREE: spread the word, spread the whimsy!   TWITTER: @spreadthewhimsy THREADS/INSTAGRAM: w4b_podcast FACEBOOK: facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger WEBSITE: whenwagonwheelswerebigger.com W4B theme composed by John Croudy W4B theme acoustic arrangement by Joe Beckhelling Additional musical contributions by R Gill

Isla tries to give up smoking… and finds a new addiction.By DaxDante. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy StoriesPart One - Resolution“Urgh! For fuck's sake!”Jake dashed from the living room into the kitchen. Isla stood at the counter, gripping the countertop in her hands. Her head hung, long dark hair covering her face. He briefly focused on the roundness of her ass, bulging through her jeans.“What's wrong?” he asked, concerned for his flatmate.“There's not a single fag in the flat! I've looked through every cupboard, every drawer!”“Well, yeah,” replied Jake, relieved it wasn't something more serious. “You threw them out. Or gave them to your mates.”“I know, but I thought I must have missed some! I'm never that thorough.” She turned to look at him, a pleading look on her face. “You don't have any, do you?”Jake shook his head.“I haven't smoked in years, you know that.” He stepped over to her, putting his hand on her slender arm. “I know it's tough, but you can make it. It's only been a week.”“I know! That's what's so fucking awful! I've barely made it through a week, how can I keep this up?”Isla had given up smoking for New Year's. She'd managed to cut down from ten a day to five over the last few months and thought a New Year's resolution was the perfect opportunity to give up for good. She hadn't really believed just how tough it would be.“When I was giving up,” said Jake, “I was on nicotine gum for weeks. You should get some of that.”“No, that's no good. It's just giving up one hook for another.”“Well, you were looking for a smoke just now,” he pointed out.“That doesn't count,” said Isla, convincing neither herself nor her flatmate. She'd idly picked up a pen off the counter and was flapping it about in her hand. Looking around, she absently put it in her mouth, moving it around with her tongue. Jake felt a brief surge of arousal at the sight.He and Isla had lived together for a couple of years now, matched up by a mutual friend when they both needed somewhere to live. They'd both had a few partners over that time, nothing ever lasting longer than a few months. Jake had developed a huge crush on Isla, and she knew it, but she never really minded. It was flattering, and aside from a little flirting, it never really came up. Certainly it never bothered her. Sometimes she heard Jake wanking in his room, the tell-tale slap and occasional grunt giving it away when he thought she wouldn't hear. It turned her on just a little to imagine that maybe he was thinking of her when he did that.Isla was about average height, reasonably slim, with a decent pair of tits and, she didn't mind admitting, a pretty fantastic butt. She thought she was quite pretty, and plenty of men had been into her over the years. Jake thought she was beautiful, with a stunningly gorgeous body, and he never missed an opportunity to check out her ass when she was turned away from him. For his part, Jake was fairly tall, averagely handsome, also dark-haired. He'd always wanted to be a little taller, a little more muscular, a little better looking. Isla thought he was pretty nice to look at, nothing to get in a twist about. Not that she hadn't wondered about it from time to time.She caught him watching her as she rolled the pen around her lips.“What?”“You need something to take your mind of the craving,” he said. “Something to do with your hands and your mouth. If you're not going to smoke or chew gum, or use vapes or anything else you could get addicted to, you'll need something else.”“Don't suggest food. I don't want to get fat.”Getting fat would just make that ass bigger, thought Jake, but shook his head.“OK… what else could you use your mouth for…?”He chuckled as the obvious suggestion popped into his head. Isla got there a split second later.“Oh, don't be disgusting!” she snapped, half-jokingly.“Well, it would be something to do with your mouth and your hands,” he noted, “and you did say you enjoyed it.”Ah, shit, she thought. Never get drunk and let things slip to your horny flatmate.“I wish I'd never told you that,” she said. It was true, she did really love sucking cock, but that wasn't the point. “I don't even have a boyfriend right now,” she pointed out.“Like you'll ever have trouble getting one,” he pointed out. Getting turned on and suddenly feeling self-conscious, he turned to leave, but couldn't resist adding, “or I could always take one for the team!”Isla sighed and shook her head, promising herself that she had to cut down the flirting she allowed between them. Still, she couldn't fail to notice the bulge in his pants just before he turned to leave.Part Two - CigaretteHours later, Isla lay on her bed, scratching at her arms and biting her lip. The craving was getting worse. She looked to her bedside table, at the collection of chewed up pens and pencils she had left in her wake. Jesus, this was getting ridiculous. It wasn't just the craving for nicotine or the sensation of a cigarette in her mouth. The conversation with Jake earlier had been running through her mind. She'd even watched some blowjob porn on her phone, silently in case he was listening, and quickly made herself come, but that had only made it worse.After another ten minutes lying there, unable to get the idea out of her head, she slapped her hands down onto the mattress and pushed herself out of bed. She stormed into the living room, where Jake was watching TV.“OK,” she said breathlessly, before she could change her mind. “Let's do it.”Jake turned to her, still half-watching his show.“Do what?”“I'm going nuts in here. I've got to go back to work tomorrow and unless I think of something I'm going to be awake all night fighting these cravings.”“So…?” he added, not quite able to believe what he hoped she might be getting at.She sighed anxiously.“I want you… to let me… suck your…” she stopped, an overwhelming surge of embarrassment washing over her.“Woah,” said Jake, standing up, “that was just a joke. I mean, it's not that I wouldn't… you know, I would, but… wouldn't it make things weird?”She looked him in the eye, setting her face so he knew she was serious.“Right now, I don't care. You put this idea in my head, and unless I get something in my mouth, I'm going to crack. Can I do it?”Jake found himself unable say anything. Almost unthinkingly, he unzipped his pants, pulling them and his underpants down far enough that his cock, already semi-hard from the very thought of it, flopped out.Isla slowly, nervously got to her knees, looking longingly at the hardening member. She'd often wondered what Jake's dick would be like, and he hadn't disappointed her. Now almost at full hardness, it was at least seven inches long and of a decent, solid thickness. Reaching out her right hand, she gently held it, unrolling the last of Jake's foreskin to fully reveal his swollen helmet.“Are, are we really doing this?” Jake stammered.“Shh,” whispered Isla. “Don't say anything.”She leaned forward, opening her mouth, extending her tongue to meet his waiting head. She'd always had a love-hate feeling with the taste of cock, that peculiar flavour, strange at the best of times, revolting at the worst, depending on the man (or, one surprising night, woman, when she'd discovered a friend of hers was trans and couldn't resist trying the experience). But there was nothing else like it, and the combination of that taste with the feel of hot, hard flesh in her mouth was unbeatable.Hell, it tasted better than cigarettes, in any case.Jake's flavour was actually pretty nice. Isla moved her tongue over the head, before bobbing back and forth on his now rock-hard cock. Jake moaned gently, which turned Isla on even more. Her cunt now slick and wet, she slipped her right hand down her pants, steadying herself with her left on the floor. Using just her head, she sucked and slurped, increasing speed and pressure as her excitement rose. It seemed like hours to both of them, but in a little under ten minutes, Jake let out a guttural grunt. His cock got somehow even harder in her mouth as it erupted, thick spunk shooting over her tongue and at the back of her throat. Gagging just a little, her fingers frantically going at her clit, Isla came, the surge of wetness matching the fluid shooting into her mouth.She involuntarily increased pressure, but the sudden hard suck was too much for Jake's tender cock and he pulled out with a gasp. Isla wiped away the trickle of saliva and semen that had escaped her mouth, pulling her other hand out of her underwear. She stood up, barely able to make Jake's eye.“Thanks,” she mumbled, after swallowing. “G'night.”She turned around and dashed back to her room, leaving Jake standing there, his deflated cock still hanging out and dripping.Part Three – CigarThe next morning, Isla got up, showered and dressed as normal, trying not to think too hard about the night before. She was always up earlier than Jake but she made sure to be prompt and quiet this morning. She couldn't believe that she'd actually done that last night. It was going to change everything between them. Flashes of it kept coming back to her: the look of his cock, the feel of it, the taste of his spunk, the noise he made when he came in her mouth. She tried hard to put it out of her mind so she could focus on the day ahead. And she still needed a fucking cigarrette!The morning was tricky. Back to work after New Year was never easy, especially when you were going through the combined struggle of nicotine withdrawal and unstoppable filthy thoughts. Isla's job was basic, boring admin at an office in town, as part of a marketing company. It was dull on a good day, frustrating on a bad one, and today was somehow both. Her need for a smoke increased throughout the day. Twice she left the office to run to the newsagent, stopping herself in time and buying sweets instead of fags.Twenty minutes before the end of the day, she allowed herself to finish early and went for a “smoke break.” The rest of the team were used to her doing that, and to be fair, half of them did it too. This time, though, she was just going to enjoy the brisk January air and try to get her head in order before she went home and had to face Jake again.Once upon a time there had been a smoking room in the office, a brief idea that soon became history once smoking in the workplace had been banned altogether. So now, the smokers went out onto the roof, via the fire escape. It was a shorter walk than going downstairs to the car park.Heading up to the roof, her coat and scarf tightly wrapped round her, Isla was dismayed to see Steve up there already. She knew there was a chance someone would have the same idea as her, but she'd really hoped she could have some time to herself. Instead, Steve was there, all six-foot-three of him, a tall, well-built black man dressed in a suit. He was the head of the outbound marketing team. Everyone liked him, most of the women had a bit of a thing for him. He was handsome and charming, and right now he was puffing on a cigar.Jesus Christ, I can't take this, though Isla, turning to go back inside.“Isla?” came Steve's deep voice. “You OK?”She stopped and turned back.“Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… I'm trying to give up smoking, so being around cigar smoke is going to be too much right now.” She rarely smoked them, but she preferred cigars to cigarettes. They tasted and felt better, although they could be harsh on the throat if you inhaled.“Oh, sorry,” he said, stubbing the cigar out on the railing at the edge of the roof and pocketing it once he was sure it was cool. No point wasting it, thought Isla. Her eyes followed from his big hand entering his pocket to his crotch. She'd often wondered just how big Steve's dick was, and from the line of his pants it was nothing to be ashamed of.“You sure you're OK?”She sat down on the one flimsy metal chair that furnished the roofspace.“I'm struggling a bit. Giving up is harder than I thought it would be, and I've been trying to find other things to do to take over the habit.”He stepped up closer to her. His crotch was now virtually eye level.“Like what?”“I can't tell you,” she said, turning red with embarrassment and giggling.“Well, now I've got to know,” he laughed.Fuck it, she thought. She wondered if she might be getting hysterical, but she couldn't help but tell him.“Um, I've… I've tried replacing cigarettes with… with penis.”Steve burst out laughing, a surprisingly high-pitched laugh for a man with such a deep voice.“Don't take the piss,” he said, smiling at her.“I'm serious!” she snapped. Stupid – that was a perfect way out but she couldn't let someone accuse her of making shit up. “I sucked my flatmate's dick last night because it was the only thing to take my mind off smoking.”Steve stood there quietly for a moment.“Did it work?” he asked, eventually.She thought about it.“Yeah, it did. I actually felt loads better afterwards. Aside from not being able to look him in the eye.”“I'm about a foot taller than you. That should make it easier to not look me in the eye.”She looked up at him, disbelieving.“You mean…?”“Anything for a member of the team,” he chuckled, stepping closer still.A stunned smile spreading across her face, Isla reached out for his pants, carefully unzipping his fly.“Now, please bear in mind that it is very cold out here,” noted Steve.Isla reached in to his underpants and pulled out the biggest soft cock she'd ever seen. It was bigger than most erections she'd seen.“Fuck…” she gasped, “if that's what it's like when you're cold…”She rubbed Steve's fat black cock, rolling his foreskin back and forth, the heat of it a contrast against the cold air. It hardened rapidly, increasing on its already remarkable size until it was a good nine inches long, at least. Thick and with a strong vein down the side, it was the most appetising thing Isla could remember seeing.“Fuck…” she said again, before lowering her salivating mouth onto it. Absently, she noted that Jake's tasted better, but the feel of this monster in her mouth was incredible. She sucked greedily on it, the huge head taking up half of her mouth. Carefully, she tried to take some of the shaft in, but could only manage a couple of inches.“That's it,” muttered the owner of the beast, “take it all in.”Isla had never really been one for deep-throating. The idea of it had always turned her on, and she turned to it more often than not in her occasional porn viewings. The very idea of taking this massive schlong down her throat almost made her gag on its own, but at the same time, she couldn't lie to herself when her pussy was so wet at the thought of it. Gingerly, she moved her head forward, feeling that huge head pushing at the back of her throat.She gagged, pulling away, a long string of drool still connecting her lips to Steve's cock.“You can do it, baby,” he crooned, putting his huge left hand on the back of her head and guiding her back.Again, she took his cock in her mouth, letting him move her head towards him. This time she was prepared, and coped with the feeling of it against her throat. Suddenly, he thrust forward, pushing past the barrier, his mighty cock sliding down her throat. She gagged again, panicking, but this only made him moan and chuckle more.“You're OK, baby,” he said. “You can take it.”Forcing herself to relax, Isla let Steve thrust his enormous member back and forth. She'd fantasised about a face-fucking like this, and now it was happening. She couldn't touch herself, holding onto Steve's legs to stop him forcing her even further onto his cock, but she was getting so turned on she thought she might come just from the sensation in her throat.Thankfully, Steve didn't last long. After no more than a couple of minutes, the feel of her tightening throat brought him to orgasm. He emptied himself directly into her throat and pulled out, saliva dripping from his big, dark cock. Isla sat there, coughing and spitting as he pulled away.Steve ticked away his dick and zipped up, before taking a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiping his hand on it. He tossed it to Isla.“There you go babe. Clean yourself up and take an early finish.”Part Four – MentholIsla spent her evening in a daze. She said hi to Jake, but when he tried to talk to her, she made an excuse, saying she was tired from work and not feeling well and would see him later. In all fairness, it was true. She was exhausted and her throat was tender. She went to sleep quickly, obscene thoughts running through her head.The ninth of January came and went. Steve acted like nothing had happened, but said he hoped to see her on a smoke break sometime. Isla found herself eyeing up the male members of the team, the guy who came to fix the photocopier, even the bloke who ran the newsagents, her eyes drawn to their crotches.One thing she wasn't craving, though, was cigarettes… until about halfway through the tenth, when the urge to smoke overcame her again. After spending half her lunch hour trying not to think about smoking, she caved and went to the newsagent. Only a moment's walk from the office, it was always convenient, and she'd become quite chatty with the young Arabic man who worked there on weekdays.“Hi,” he said, smiling at her as she came in. “You're just in time. I was going to lock up for lunch.”“You don't usually do that,” she pointed out.“It's been a slow day,” he said. “Thought I'd make the most of it.”They chatted for a bit while Isla argued with herself in her head about whether she was going to buy a pack of fags or not.“It's a shitty time of year for us,” he said, defeat on his handsome features. “Everyone is on their resolutions, no one's buying booze or fags or porn. It's boring as hell.”“Yeah,” she admitted, “I've given up smoking.”“Is that why you keep coming in and buying sweets instead of fags?” he laughed. God, he really was handsome, wasn't he? Dirty thoughts burst into her head.“What's your name?” she asked, suddenly.“Abdul,” he said, “Why?”“Well, I've been coming in here for a while,” she said. “About time I got to know you properly. I'm Isla.”“Nice to meet you Isla. Look, do you mind if I lock up? Now that I've promised myself a break I don't want anyone else storming in. Don't worry, I'll let you out when you've bought your sweets.”“Oh, don't think sweets are going to cut it today,” she said, watching Abdul as he locked the door and pulled down the shutter.“What can I get you then? Are you on menthol or regular these days?”“Actually,” she said, stepping closer to him, “I've been trying something else to help me kick the habit.”“Sorry,” he said, “we don't sell nic gum. We do have a few vapes though. Different flavours.”“Um…” she said, a wicked thought crossing her mind. “Do you have any condoms?”Abdul looked puzzled, then hopeful. “Sure thing… why?”“Pick your favourite flavour,” she said, “and put it on.”“Are you serious?” he said, his handsome features displaying utter shock.“I'm not going to fuck you,” she said, quickly, “but I really want to suck your cock.” She smiled. “The condom's just for fun.”The coffee-skinned young man smiled and reached behind the counter. He grabbed a pack of three flavoured condoms, picking out a green square.“This OK?” he said.“Don't tell me,” she said. “I want the taste to be a surprise.”She got to her knees and pulled down his tracksuit pants and underpants, revealing a beautiful circumcised cock already semi-erect. Carefully tugging at it, rubbing the exposed head, it hardened quickly in her hand. She let it go, and Abdul tore open the packet carefully, before eagerly sliding the pale green condom onto his now very hard six-incher. It wasn't the biggest she'd had even this week, but it was perfectly formed.Isla smiled and hungrily wrapped her lips around it, her tongue running over the sheathed flesh. She made a noise of pleasure.“Yum… minty,” she said, although it came out more as “Yum; ah; um” with Abdul's dick filling her mouth.She sucked on him happily for a good ten minutes, trying out her new deep-throating skills on his gorgeous cock. It was much easier than with Steve's huge thing, and she didn't gag nearly so much, she still got a rush of panicky adrenaline every time she forced her head against his crotch and the head of his cock slid into her throat. Before long, he was coming, his spunk pooling into the nipple of the condom.Isla pulled away from Abdul, letting his bright green dick flop out, already deflating. She felt strangely disappointed for a moment, before realising what else she was craving. She quickly but carefully pulled off the condom, eliciting a sharp gasp from the post-orgasmic man. Tilting her head back and opening her mouth wide, she poured the salty jizz into her mouth, swirling it around a little with her tongue before swallowing.Part five – SuperkingsAfter Abdul let her out of the shop, Isla hurriedly dashed back to work, feeling her own juices run down her left leg as she ran upstairs. She was wearing a figure-hugging dress in dark green, with accentuated her curves. She realised she must have subconsciously dressed to impress. At least it was long enough to hide the trickle of wetness that crept down her thigh.She'd only been back at her desk for ten minutes when Jack Q, her line manager, strode up to her. He looked awkward, not meeting her eye.“Jacko wants to see you,” he said.“Now?” she asked, panic rising in her chest. This was never good. The two Jacks – Jack Quinn and Jack Osborn, called Jack Q and Jacko to tell them apart – were the ultimate authority in the office. Jacko was the office manager and answerable only the owner. Jack Q was tall, not bad-looking, with prematurely grey hair. Jacko was shorter, stocky and bald, not the best looking guy but with a definite charm.“Right now,” said Jack, turning to the door and gesturing for her to follow.She walked quickly after him, following him into Jacko's office. It wasn't all that, no more luxurious than most of the building, but at least it was big, plenty of space for the Jacks to hang out and chat whatever bollocks they liked to chat.Jacko sat behind his desk, his normal charming smile replaced by an angry scowl.“Isla,” he said, gesturing for her to sit down. Jack Q, bereft of chair, remained standing.“Do you know what this is about?” asked Jacko.“No, Mr Osborn,” she said, thinking that the respectful tone was probably best. She had a worrying idea that she did though.“While you were at lunch, we had a meeting with Steve.”Shit, she thought. I'm fucked.“One of your colleagues saw you on the roof a couple of days ago. Steve tried to persuade them to stay quiet but in the end they did the right thing and came to me. I have to say, I'm genuinely shocked by your behaviour. Both of you.”“I'm sorry, sir,” she said quietly, looking down at her knees.“What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped, his calm demeanour slipping. “Sucking off a co-worker, out in the open, where anyone could see you?”“Not that it's OK to do that even if people can't see you,” added Jack Q, hastily.“Quite right,” nodded Jacko. “You do realise you could both be dismissed for this?”“No!” gasped Isla, looking straight at her employer. “I need this job! And Steve didn't do anything wrong, he was helping me out!”The two Jacks snorted a scoffing laugh in unison.“Steve said the same thing,” said Jacko. “Some crap about helping you give up smoking. What a load of –” he caught himself. “I don't believe a word of it. In any case, it's irrelevant. Sexual misconduct is serious.”“Look, it's not like anyone did anything they didn't want to do,” said Isla, panicking. “And it just happened so quickly. I wasn't thinking straight. I really have been struggling with my cravings these last few days and I've not been myself.”“Whatever your excuse, it's not acceptable. This will have to go to full disciplinary proceedings.”The panicked feeling in Isla's chest rose… and then she realised that everything would be fine. It was obvious what she had to do… and just like that, the craving was back again.“Come on Jack,” she said, looking her employer in the eye. “It doesn't have to be like that. How about we keep it between us, huh? I'm sure I can convince you that it doesn't need to be taken any further.”“If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting – ” started Jack Q, before Jacko cut him off.“Jack, shut the fuck up,” ordered his boss. He stood up, stepping out from behind his desk and walking over to Isla, his crotch at just the right height. “You need to make a decision, Isla. You do this, and I pretend nothing ever happened. Back down, and it's your word against ours, and you will not come out on top.”“I'm more of a bottom anyway,” she said, reaching forward an unzipping the fly of his suit.Jacko's cock was much bigger than she expected. Not especially long, but thick, a fat pale lump of flesh that was growing harder and thicker in her hand. Jacko smiled as she opened her mouth as she opened her mouth.“Good girl,” he murmured.She ran her tongue all over the bulbous purple head, sending a shiver through Jacko's body. She stopped for a second, looking back up at him.“How's that Mr. Osborn?”“Call me boss,” he ordered.She smiled. “OK boss,” she said, before taking a deep breath. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and took his fat cock into it. It stretched the skin at the corners of her lips, barely able to fit in her mouth. The sensation was on the exact edge of pleasure and pain.Jack Q stood behind his employer, looking dumbfounded. Jacko turned to face him.“Don't just stand there, Jacky-boy. Come get some.”A nervous grin on his face, Jack Q stepped over, his cock visible erect through his pants. Isla pulled way from Jacko's cock and turned to the other man, unbuttoning the fly on his fancy suit pants and pulling out his dick. It was the polar opposite of Jacko's: long, slender and pointed, the skin surprisingly dark. She put it in her mouth and sucked eagerly, bobbing her head back and forth, letting the head poke against the back of her throat.Jacko leaned forward and unhooked the loops of her dress, pulling it down as she sucked on his co-worker's cock. Her breasts spilled out, prompting him to run his rough hands over them. Her nipples, hard from her arousal, tingled at the feeling and she shuddered with a rush of pleasure.All conception of time disappeared as she moved back and forth between the two cocks, one long, one thick, sucking off the two Jacks with gusto. Her mouth was aching but she found herself getting more enthusiastic and horny as she went.“How're you doing Jacky?” asked Jacko as his colleague groaned in pleasure.“Almost there,” he gasped.“Isla,” said Jacko, “I want you to keep sucking Jack's cock, alright?”She paused for a moment, Jack's dick, slick with spit, brushing against her lower lip.“You're the boss,” she said, and shoved it back in her mouth.Jacko wrapped his meaty right hand around his even meatier cock and began hurriedly wanking it. Isla kept sucking on Jack Q's until, with a load grunt, he unloaded his gunk into her mouth. She mumbled a pleasured “Yum,” and this was enough to push Jacko over the edge. A thick rope of semen shot from his cock onto her face, splattering her eyebrow and running down her cheek. He continued to jerk, more strings of come colliding with her face until she covered. Jack Q stepped back as his employer squeezed the last droplet from his swollen bell onto her forehead.“I think that will do for now,” said Jacko. “Clean yourself up before you leave this office.” He chucked her a box of tissues off his desk. “See you at your performance review.”“Thank you, boss,” she said, wiping the coagulating cum from her face.Part Six – AddictionThe trip home was a self-conscious one. Isla had cleaned herself off as best she could, but there was still spunk stuck in her hair and a couple of blobs that had dried on her dress. She was sure the other commuters would smell it even if they didn't see it. Her emotions were all over the place: she felt ashamed, and used, but so turned on that her pussy ached. She kept thinking about the different cocks she'd sucked on over the week. Five different dicks, each one looking and feeling and smelling and tasting different.When she finally arrived home, Jake was sitting in the living room again. He stood up, sheepishly meeting her gaze.“I guess we need to talk,” he said.“I guess we do.”“Look, I'm sorry about the other night. I should never have suggested it, and we shouldn't have done it, and I know it'll never happen again…” he trailed off.She sighed. It wasn't fair for him to feel bad. Whatever filthy urges he had awoken in her had been there all along.“Listen Jake,” she said, stepping closer to him. “It's OK. I made the decision. And you know what? It worked! I'm hardly craving fags at all anymore. In fact, I didn't think about smoking once on the way home, and that's never happened after a day at work.” She paused, thoughtfully. “There's just one problem: now I'm addicted to sucking cock.”Jake wasn't quite sure what to say to that.“I, I'm sorry,” he stammered. “Are you OK?”“Oh, shut up Jake!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees. “Get your fucking dick out!”By DaxDante for Literotica

Isla tries to give up smoking… and finds a new addiction. By DaxDante. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories Part One - Resolution “Urgh! For fuck's sake!” Jake dashed from the living room into the kitchen. Isla stood at the counter, gripping the countertop in her hands. Her head hung, long dark hair covering her face. He briefly focused on the roundness of her ass, bulging through her jeans. “What's wrong?” he asked, concerned for his flatmate. “There's not a single fag in the flat! I've looked through every cupboard, every drawer!” [[MORE]] “Well, yeah,” replied Jake, relieved it wasn't something more serious. “You threw them out. Or gave them to your mates.” “I know, but I thought I must have missed some! I'm never that thorough.” She turned to look at him, a pleading look on her face. “You don't have any, do you?” Jake shook his head. “I haven't smoked in years, you know that.” He stepped over to her, putting his hand on her slender arm. “I know it's tough, but you can make it. It's only been a week.” “I know! That's what's so fucking awful! I've barely made it through a week, how can I keep this up?” Isla had given up smoking for New Year's. She'd managed to cut down from ten a day to five over the last few months and thought a New Year's resolution was the perfect opportunity to give up for good. She hadn't really believed just how tough it would be. “When I was giving up,” said Jake, “I was on nicotine gum for weeks. You should get some of that.” “No, that's no good. It's just giving up one hook for another.” “Well, you were looking for a smoke just now,” he pointed out. “That doesn't count,” said Isla, convincing neither herself nor her flatmate. She'd idly picked up a pen off the counter and was flapping it about in her hand. Looking around, she absently put it in her mouth, moving it around with her tongue. Jake felt a brief surge of arousal at the sight. He and Isla had lived together for a couple of years now, matched up by a mutual friend when they both needed somewhere to live. They'd both had a few partners over that time, nothing ever lasting longer than a few months. Jake had developed a huge crush on Isla, and she knew it, but she never really minded. It was flattering, and aside from a little flirting, it never really came up. Certainly it never bothered her. Sometimes she heard Jake wanking in his room, the tell-tale slap and occasional grunt giving it away when he thought she wouldn't hear. It turned her on just a little to imagine that maybe he was thinking of her when he did that. Isla was about average height, reasonably slim, with a decent pair of tits and, she didn't mind admitting, a pretty fantastic butt. She thought she was quite pretty, and plenty of men had been into her over the years. Jake thought she was beautiful, with a stunningly gorgeous body, and he never missed an opportunity to check out her ass when she was turned away from him. For his part, Jake was fairly tall, averagely handsome, also dark-haired. He'd always wanted to be a little taller, a little more muscular, a little better looking. Isla thought he was pretty nice to look at, nothing to get in a twist about. Not that she hadn't wondered about it from time to time. She caught him watching her as she rolled the pen around her lips. “What?” “You need something to take your mind of the craving,” he said. “Something to do with your hands and your mouth. If you're not going to smoke or chew gum, or use vapes or anything else you could get addicted to, you'll need something else.” “Don't suggest food. I don't want to get fat.” Getting fat would just make that ass bigger, thought Jake, but shook his head. “OK… what else could you use your mouth for…?” He chuckled as the obvious suggestion popped into his head. Isla got there a split second later. “Oh, don't be disgusting!” she snapped, half-jokingly. “Well, it would be something to do with your mouth and your hands,” he noted, “and you did say you enjoyed it.” Ah, shit, she thought. Never get drunk and let things slip to your horny flatmate. “I wish I'd never told you that,” she said. It was true, she did really love sucking cock, but that wasn't the point. “I don't even have a boyfriend right now,” she pointed out. “Like you'll ever have trouble getting one,” he pointed out. Getting turned on and suddenly feeling self-conscious, he turned to leave, but couldn't resist adding, “or I could always take one for the team!” Isla sighed and shook her head, promising herself that she had to cut down the flirting she allowed between them. Still, she couldn't fail to notice the bulge in his pants just before he turned to leave. Part Two - Cigarette Hours later, Isla lay on her bed, scratching at her arms and biting her lip. The craving was getting worse. She looked to her bedside table, at the collection of chewed up pens and pencils she had left in her wake. Jesus, this was getting ridiculous. It wasn't just the craving for nicotine or the sensation of a cigarette in her mouth. The conversation with Jake earlier had been running through her mind. She'd even watched some blowjob porn on her phone, silently in case he was listening, and quickly made herself come, but that had only made it worse. After another ten minutes lying there, unable to get the idea out of her head, she slapped her hands down onto the mattress and pushed herself out of bed. She stormed into the living room, where Jake was watching TV. “OK,” she said breathlessly, before she could change her mind. “Let's do it.” Jake turned to her, still half-watching his show. “Do what?” “I'm going nuts in here. I've got to go back to work tomorrow and unless I think of something I'm going to be awake all night fighting these cravings.” “So…?” he added, not quite able to believe what he hoped she might be getting at. She sighed anxiously. “I want you… to let me… suck your…” she stopped, an overwhelming surge of embarrassment washing over her. “Woah,” said Jake, standing up, “that was just a joke. I mean, it's not that I wouldn't… you know, I would, but… wouldn't it make things weird?” She looked him in the eye, setting her face so he knew she was serious. “Right now, I don't care. You put this idea in my head, and unless I get something in my mouth, I'm going to crack. Can I do it?” Jake found himself unable say anything. Almost unthinkingly, he unzipped his pants, pulling them and his underpants down far enough that his cock, already semi-hard from the very thought of it, flopped out. Isla slowly, nervously got to her knees, looking longingly at the hardening member. She'd often wondered what Jake's dick would be like, and he hadn't disappointed her. Now almost at full hardness, it was at least seven inches long and of a decent, solid thickness. Reaching out her right hand, she gently held it, unrolling the last of Jake's foreskin to fully reveal his swollen helmet. “Are, are we really doing this?” Jake stammered. “Shh,” whispered Isla. “Don't say anything.” She leaned forward, opening her mouth, extending her tongue to meet his waiting head. She'd always had a love-hate feeling with the taste of cock, that peculiar flavour, strange at the best of times, revolting at the worst, depending on the man (or, one surprising night, woman, when she'd discovered a friend of hers was trans and couldn't resist trying the experience). But there was nothing else like it, and the combination of that taste with the feel of hot, hard flesh in her mouth was unbeatable. Hell, it tasted better than cigarettes, in any case. Jake's flavour was actually pretty nice. Isla moved her tongue over the head, before bobbing back and forth on his now rock-hard cock. Jake moaned gently, which turned Isla on even more. Her cunt now slick and wet, she slipped her right hand down her pants, steadying herself with her left on the floor. Using just her head, she sucked and slurped, increasing speed and pressure as her excitement rose. It seemed like hours to both of them, but in a little under ten minutes, Jake let out a guttural grunt. His cock got somehow even harder in her mouth as it erupted, thick spunk shooting over her tongue and at the back of her throat. Gagging just a little, her fingers frantically going at her clit, Isla came, the surge of wetness matching the fluid shooting into her mouth. She involuntarily increased pressure, but the sudden hard suck was too much for Jake's tender cock and he pulled out with a gasp. Isla wiped away the trickle of saliva and semen that had escaped her mouth, pulling her other hand out of her underwear. She stood up, barely able to make Jake's eye. “Thanks,” she mumbled, after swallowing. “G'night.” She turned around and dashed back to her room, leaving Jake standing there, his deflated cock still hanging out and dripping. Part Three – Cigar The next morning, Isla got up, showered and dressed as normal, trying not to think too hard about the night before. She was always up earlier than Jake but she made sure to be prompt and quiet this morning. She couldn't believe that she'd actually done that last night. It was going to change everything between them. Flashes of it kept coming back to her: the look of his cock, the feel of it, the taste of his spunk, the noise he made when he came in her mouth. She tried hard to put it out of her mind so she could focus on the day ahead. And she still needed a fucking cigarrette! The morning was tricky. Back to work after New Year was never easy, especially when you were going through the combined struggle of nicotine withdrawal and unstoppable filthy thoughts. Isla's job was basic, boring admin at an office in town, as part of a marketing company. It was dull on a good day, frustrating on a bad one, and today was somehow both. Her need for a smoke increased throughout the day. Twice she left the office to run to the newsagent, stopping herself in time and buying sweets instead of fags. Twenty minutes before the end of the day, she allowed herself to finish early and went for a “smoke break.” The rest of the team were used to her doing that, and to be fair, half of them did it too. This time, though, she was just going to enjoy the brisk January air and try to get her head in order before she went home and had to face Jake again. Once upon a time there had been a smoking room in the office, a brief idea that soon became history once smoking in the workplace had been banned altogether. So now, the smokers went out onto the roof, via the fire escape. It was a shorter walk than going downstairs to the car park. Heading up to the roof, her coat and scarf tightly wrapped round her, Isla was dismayed to see Steve up there already. She knew there was a chance someone would have the same idea as her, but she'd really hoped she could have some time to herself. Instead, Steve was there, all six-foot-three of him, a tall, well-built black man dressed in a suit. He was the head of the outbound marketing team. Everyone liked him, most of the women had a bit of a thing for him. He was handsome and charming, and right now he was puffing on a cigar. Jesus Christ, I can't take this, though Isla, turning to go back inside. “Isla?” came Steve's deep voice. “You OK?” She stopped and turned back. “Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… I'm trying to give up smoking, so being around cigar smoke is going to be too much right now.” She rarely smoked them, but she preferred cigars to cigarettes. They tasted and felt better, although they could be harsh on the throat if you inhaled. “Oh, sorry,” he said, stubbing the cigar out on the railing at the edge of the roof and pocketing it once he was sure it was cool. No point wasting it, thought Isla. Her eyes followed from his big hand entering his pocket to his crotch. She'd often wondered just how big Steve's dick was, and from the line of his pants it was nothing to be ashamed of. “You sure you're OK?” She sat down on the one flimsy metal chair that furnished the roofspace. “I'm struggling a bit. Giving up is harder than I thought it would be, and I've been trying to find other things to do to take over the habit.” He stepped up closer to her. His crotch was now virtually eye level. “Like what?” “I can't tell you,” she said, turning red with embarrassment and giggling. “Well, now I've got to know,” he laughed. Fuck it, she thought. She wondered if she might be getting hysterical, but she couldn't help but tell him. “Um, I've… I've tried replacing cigarettes with… with penis.” Steve burst out laughing, a surprisingly high-pitched laugh for a man with such a deep voice. “Don't take the piss,” he said, smiling at her. “I'm serious!” she snapped. Stupid – that was a perfect way out but she couldn't let someone accuse her of making shit up. “I sucked my flatmate's dick last night because it was the only thing to take my mind off smoking.” Steve stood there quietly for a moment. “Did it work?” he asked, eventually. She thought about it. “Yeah, it did. I actually felt loads better afterwards. Aside from not being able to look him in the eye.” “I'm about a foot taller than you. That should make it easier to not look me in the eye.” She looked up at him, disbelieving. “You mean…?” “Anything for a member of the team,” he chuckled, stepping closer still. A stunned smile spreading across her face, Isla reached out for his pants, carefully unzipping his fly. “Now, please bear in mind that it is very cold out here,” noted Steve. Isla reached in to his underpants and pulled out the biggest soft cock she'd ever seen. It was bigger than most erections she'd seen. “Fuck…” she gasped, “if that's what it's like when you're cold…” She rubbed Steve's fat black cock, rolling his foreskin back and forth, the heat of it a contrast against the cold air. It hardened rapidly, increasing on its already remarkable size until it was a good nine inches long, at least. Thick and with a strong vein down the side, it was the most appetising thing Isla could remember seeing. “Fuck…” she said again, before lowering her salivating mouth onto it. Absently, she noted that Jake's tasted better, but the feel of this monster in her mouth was incredible. She sucked greedily on it, the huge head taking up half of her mouth. Carefully, she tried to take some of the shaft in, but could only manage a couple of inches. “That's it,” muttered the owner of the beast, “take it all in.” Isla had never really been one for deep-throating. The idea of it had always turned her on, and she turned to it more often than not in her occasional porn viewings. The very idea of taking this massive schlong down her throat almost made her gag on its own, but at the same time, she couldn't lie to herself when her pussy was so wet at the thought of it. Gingerly, she moved her head forward, feeling that huge head pushing at the back of her throat. She gagged, pulling away, a long string of drool still connecting her lips to Steve's cock. “You can do it, baby,” he crooned, putting his huge left hand on the back of her head and guiding her back. Again, she took his cock in her mouth, letting him move her head towards him. This time she was prepared, and coped with the feeling of it against her throat. Suddenly, he thrust forward, pushing past the barrier, his mighty cock sliding down her throat. She gagged again, panicking, but this only made him moan and chuckle more. “You're OK, baby,” he said. “You can take it.” Forcing herself to relax, Isla let Steve thrust his enormous member back and forth. She'd fantasised about a face-fucking like this, and now it was happening. She couldn't touch herself, holding onto Steve's legs to stop him forcing her even further onto his cock, but she was getting so turned on she thought she might come just from the sensation in her throat. Thankfully, Steve didn't last long. After no more than a couple of minutes, the feel of her tightening throat brought him to orgasm. He emptied himself directly into her throat and pulled out, saliva dripping from his big, dark cock. Isla sat there, coughing and spitting as he pulled away. Steve ticked away his dick and zipped up, before taking a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiping his hand on it. He tossed it to Isla. “There you go babe. Clean yourself up and take an early finish.” Part Four – Menthol Isla spent her evening in a daze. She said hi to Jake, but when he tried to talk to her, she made an excuse, saying she was tired from work and not feeling well and would see him later. In all fairness, it was true. She was exhausted and her throat was tender. She went to sleep quickly, obscene thoughts running through her head. The ninth of January came and went. Steve acted like nothing had happened, but said he hoped to see her on a smoke break sometime. Isla found herself eyeing up the male members of the team, the guy who came to fix the photocopier, even the bloke who ran the newsagents, her eyes drawn to their crotches. One thing she wasn't craving, though, was cigarettes… until about halfway through the tenth, when the urge to smoke overcame her again. After spending half her lunch hour trying not to think about smoking, she caved and went to the newsagent. Only a moment's walk from the office, it was always convenient, and she'd become quite chatty with the young Arabic man who worked there on weekdays. “Hi,” he said, smiling at her as she came in. “You're just in time. I was going to lock up for lunch.” “You don't usually do that,” she pointed out. “It's been a slow day,” he said. “Thought I'd make the most of it.” They chatted for a bit while Isla argued with herself in her head about whether she was going to buy a pack of fags or not. “It's a shitty time of year for us,” he said, defeat on his handsome features. “Everyone is on their resolutions, no one's buying booze or fags or porn. It's boring as hell.” “Yeah,” she admitted, “I've given up smoking.” “Is that why you keep coming in and buying sweets instead of fags?” he laughed. God, he really was handsome, wasn't he? Dirty thoughts burst into her head. “What's your name?” she asked, suddenly. “Abdul,” he said, “Why?” “Well, I've been coming in here for a while,” she said. “About time I got to know you properly. I'm Isla.” “Nice to meet you Isla. Look, do you mind if I lock up? Now that I've promised myself a break I don't want anyone else storming in. Don't worry, I'll let you out when you've bought your sweets.” “Oh, don't think sweets are going to cut it today,” she said, watching Abdul as he locked the door and pulled down the shutter. “What can I get you then? Are you on menthol or regular these days?” “Actually,” she said, stepping closer to him, “I've been trying something else to help me kick the habit.” “Sorry,” he said, “we don't sell nic gum. We do have a few vapes though. Different flavours.” “Um…” she said, a wicked thought crossing her mind. “Do you have any condoms?” Abdul looked puzzled, then hopeful. “Sure thing… why?” “Pick your favourite flavour,” she said, “and put it on.” “Are you serious?” he said, his handsome features displaying utter shock. “I'm not going to fuck you,” she said, quickly, “but I really want to suck your cock.” She smiled. “The condom's just for fun.” The coffee-skinned young man smiled and reached behind the counter. He grabbed a pack of three flavoured condoms, picking out a green square. “This OK?” he said. “Don't tell me,” she said. “I want the taste to be a surprise.” She got to her knees and pulled down his tracksuit pants and underpants, revealing a beautiful circumcised cock already semi-erect. Carefully tugging at it, rubbing the exposed head, it hardened quickly in her hand. She let it go, and Abdul tore open the packet carefully, before eagerly sliding the pale green condom onto his now very hard six-incher. It wasn't the biggest she'd had even this week, but it was perfectly formed. Isla smiled and hungrily wrapped her lips around it, her tongue running over the sheathed flesh. She made a noise of pleasure. “Yum… minty,” she said, although it came out more as “Yum; ah; um” with Abdul's dick filling her mouth. She sucked on him happily for a good ten minutes, trying out her new deep-throating skills on his gorgeous cock. It was much easier than with Steve's huge thing, and she didn't gag nearly so much, she still got a rush of panicky adrenaline every time she forced her head against his crotch and the head of his cock slid into her throat. Before long, he was coming, his spunk pooling into the nipple of the condom. Isla pulled away from Abdul, letting his bright green dick flop out, already deflating. She felt strangely disappointed for a moment, before realising what else she was craving. She quickly but carefully pulled off the condom, eliciting a sharp gasp from the post-orgasmic man. Tilting her head back and opening her mouth wide, she poured the salty jizz into her mouth, swirling it around a little with her tongue before swallowing. Part five – Superkings After Abdul let her out of the shop, Isla hurriedly dashed back to work, feeling her own juices run down her left leg as she ran upstairs. She was wearing a figure-hugging dress in dark green, with accentuated her curves. She realised she must have subconsciously dressed to impress. At least it was long enough to hide the trickle of wetness that crept down her thigh. She'd only been back at her desk for ten minutes when Jack Q, her line manager, strode up to her. He looked awkward, not meeting her eye. “Jacko wants to see you,” he said. “Now?” she asked, panic rising in her chest. This was never good. The two Jacks – Jack Quinn and Jack Osborn, called Jack Q and Jacko to tell them apart – were the ultimate authority in the office. Jacko was the office manager and answerable only the owner. Jack Q was tall, not bad-looking, with prematurely grey hair. Jacko was shorter, stocky and bald, not the best looking guy but with a definite charm. “Right now,” said Jack, turning to the door and gesturing for her to follow. She walked quickly after him, following him into Jacko's office. It wasn't all that, no more luxurious than most of the building, but at least it was big, plenty of space for the Jacks to hang out and chat whatever bollocks they liked to chat. Jacko sat behind his desk, his normal charming smile replaced by an angry scowl. “Isla,” he said, gesturing for her to sit down. Jack Q, bereft of chair, remained standing. “Do you know what this is about?” asked Jacko. “No, Mr Osborn,” she said, thinking that the respectful tone was probably best. She had a worrying idea that she did though. “While you were at lunch, we had a meeting with Steve.” Shit, she thought. I'm fucked. “One of your colleagues saw you on the roof a couple of days ago. Steve tried to persuade them to stay quiet but in the end they did the right thing and came to me. I have to say, I'm genuinely shocked by your behaviour. Both of you.” “I'm sorry, sir,” she said quietly, looking down at her knees. “What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped, his calm demeanour slipping. “Sucking off a co-worker, out in the open, where anyone could see you?” “Not that it's OK to do that even if people can't see you,” added Jack Q, hastily. “Quite right,” nodded Jacko. “You do realise you could both be dismissed for this?” “No!” gasped Isla, looking straight at her employer. “I need this job! And Steve didn't do anything wrong, he was helping me out!” The two Jacks snorted a scoffing laugh in unison. “Steve said the same thing,” said Jacko. “Some crap about helping you give up smoking. What a load of –” he caught himself. “I don't believe a word of it. In any case, it's irrelevant. Sexual misconduct is serious.” “Look, it's not like anyone did anything they didn't want to do,” said Isla, panicking. “And it just happened so quickly. I wasn't thinking straight. I really have been struggling with my cravings these last few days and I've not been myself.” “Whatever your excuse, it's not acceptable. This will have to go to full disciplinary proceedings.” The panicked feeling in Isla's chest rose… and then she realised that everything would be fine. It was obvious what she had to do… and just like that, the craving was back again. “Come on Jack,” she said, looking her employer in the eye. “It doesn't have to be like that. How about we keep it between us, huh? I'm sure I can convince you that it doesn't need to be taken any further.” “If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting – ” started Jack Q, before Jacko cut him off. “Jack, shut the fuck up,” ordered his boss. He stood up, stepping out from behind his desk and walking over to Isla, his crotch at just the right height. “You need to make a decision, Isla. You do this, and I pretend nothing ever happened. Back down, and it's your word against ours, and you will not come out on top.” “I'm more of a bottom anyway,” she said, reaching forward an unzipping the fly of his suit. Jacko's cock was much bigger than she expected. Not especially long, but thick, a fat pale lump of flesh that was growing harder and thicker in her hand. Jacko smiled as she opened her mouth as she opened her mouth. “Good girl,” he murmured. She ran her tongue all over the bulbous purple head, sending a shiver through Jacko's body. She stopped for a second, looking back up at him. “How's that Mr. Osborn?” “Call me boss,” he ordered. She smiled. “OK boss,” she said, before taking a deep breath. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and took his fat cock into it. It stretched the skin at the corners of her lips, barely able to fit in her mouth. The sensation was on the exact edge of pleasure and pain. Jack Q stood behind his employer, looking dumbfounded. Jacko turned to face him. “Don't just stand there, Jacky-boy. Come get some.” A nervous grin on his face, Jack Q stepped over, his cock visible erect through his pants. Isla pulled way from Jacko's cock and turned to the other man, unbuttoning the fly on his fancy suit pants and pulling out his dick. It was the polar opposite of Jacko's: long, slender and pointed, the skin surprisingly dark. She put it in her mouth and sucked eagerly, bobbing her head back and forth, letting the head poke against the back of her throat. Jacko leaned forward and unhooked the loops of her dress, pulling it down as she sucked on his co-worker's cock. Her breasts spilled out, prompting him to run his rough hands over them. Her nipples, hard from her arousal, tingled at the feeling and she shuddered with a rush of pleasure. All conception of time disappeared as she moved back and forth between the two cocks, one long, one thick, sucking off the two Jacks with gusto. Her mouth was aching but she found herself getting more enthusiastic and horny as she went. “How're you doing Jacky?” asked Jacko as his colleague groaned in pleasure. “Almost there,” he gasped. “Isla,” said Jacko, “I want you to keep sucking Jack's cock, alright?” She paused for a moment, Jack's dick, slick with spit, brushing against her lower lip. “You're the boss,” she said, and shoved it back in her mouth. Jacko wrapped his meaty right hand around his even meatier cock and began hurriedly wanking it. Isla kept sucking on Jack Q's until, with a load grunt, he unloaded his gunk into her mouth. She mumbled a pleasured “Yum,” and this was enough to push Jacko over the edge. A thick rope of semen shot from his cock onto her face, splattering her eyebrow and running down her cheek. He continued to jerk, more strings of come colliding with her face until she covered. Jack Q stepped back as his employer squeezed the last droplet from his swollen bell onto her forehead. “I think that will do for now,” said Jacko. “Clean yourself up before you leave this office.” He chucked her a box of tissues off his desk. “See you at your performance review.” “Thank you, boss,” she said, wiping the coagulating cum from her face. Part Six – Addiction The trip home was a self-conscious one. Isla had cleaned herself off as best she could, but there was still spunk stuck in her hair and a couple of blobs that had dried on her dress. She was sure the other commuters would smell it even if they didn't see it. Her emotions were all over the place: she felt ashamed, and used, but so turned on that her pussy ached. She kept thinking about the different cocks she'd sucked on over the week. Five different dicks, each one looking and feeling and smelling and tasting different. When she finally arrived home, Jake was sitting in the living room again. He stood up, sheepishly meeting her gaze. “I guess we need to talk,” he said. “I guess we do.” “Look, I'm sorry about the other night. I should never have suggested it, and we shouldn't have done it, and I know it'll never happen again…” he trailed off. She sighed. It wasn't fair for him to feel bad. Whatever filthy urges he had awoken in her had been there all along. “Listen Jake,” she said, stepping closer to him. “It's OK. I made the decision. And you know what? It worked! I'm hardly craving fags at all anymore. In fact, I didn't think about smoking once on the way home, and that's never happened after a day at work.” She paused, thoughtfully. “There's just one problem: now I'm addicted to sucking cock.” Jake wasn't quite sure what to say to that. “I, I'm sorry,” he stammered. “Are you OK?” “Oh, shut up Jake!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees. “Get your fucking dick out!” By DaxDante for Literotica

Isla tries to give up smoking… and finds a new addiction.By DaxDante. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy StoriesPart One - Resolution“Urgh! For fuck's sake!”Jake dashed from the living room into the kitchen. Isla stood at the counter, gripping the countertop in her hands. Her head hung, long dark hair covering her face. He briefly focused on the roundness of her ass, bulging through her jeans.“What's wrong?” he asked, concerned for his flatmate.“There's not a single fag in the flat! I've looked through every cupboard, every drawer!”“Well, yeah,” replied Jake, relieved it wasn't something more serious. “You threw them out. Or gave them to your mates.”“I know, but I thought I must have missed some! I'm never that thorough.” She turned to look at him, a pleading look on her face. “You don't have any, do you?”Jake shook his head.“I haven't smoked in years, you know that.” He stepped over to her, putting his hand on her slender arm. “I know it's tough, but you can make it. It's only been a week.”“I know! That's what's so fucking awful! I've barely made it through a week, how can I keep this up?”Isla had given up smoking for New Year's. She'd managed to cut down from ten a day to five over the last few months and thought a New Year's resolution was the perfect opportunity to give up for good. She hadn't really believed just how tough it would be.“When I was giving up,” said Jake, “I was on nicotine gum for weeks. You should get some of that.”“No, that's no good. It's just giving up one hook for another.”“Well, you were looking for a smoke just now,” he pointed out.“That doesn't count,” said Isla, convincing neither herself nor her flatmate. She'd idly picked up a pen off the counter and was flapping it about in her hand. Looking around, she absently put it in her mouth, moving it around with her tongue. Jake felt a brief surge of arousal at the sight.He and Isla had lived together for a couple of years now, matched up by a mutual friend when they both needed somewhere to live. They'd both had a few partners over that time, nothing ever lasting longer than a few months. Jake had developed a huge crush on Isla, and she knew it, but she never really minded. It was flattering, and aside from a little flirting, it never really came up. Certainly it never bothered her. Sometimes she heard Jake wanking in his room, the tell-tale slap and occasional grunt giving it away when he thought she wouldn't hear. It turned her on just a little to imagine that maybe he was thinking of her when he did that.Isla was about average height, reasonably slim, with a decent pair of tits and, she didn't mind admitting, a pretty fantastic butt. She thought she was quite pretty, and plenty of men had been into her over the years. Jake thought she was beautiful, with a stunningly gorgeous body, and he never missed an opportunity to check out her ass when she was turned away from him. For his part, Jake was fairly tall, averagely handsome, also dark-haired. He'd always wanted to be a little taller, a little more muscular, a little better looking. Isla thought he was pretty nice to look at, nothing to get in a twist about. Not that she hadn't wondered about it from time to time.She caught him watching her as she rolled the pen around her lips.“What?”“You need something to take your mind of the craving,” he said. “Something to do with your hands and your mouth. If you're not going to smoke or chew gum, or use vapes or anything else you could get addicted to, you'll need something else.”“Don't suggest food. I don't want to get fat.”Getting fat would just make that ass bigger, thought Jake, but shook his head.“OK… what else could you use your mouth for…?”He chuckled as the obvious suggestion popped into his head. Isla got there a split second later.“Oh, don't be disgusting!” she snapped, half-jokingly.“Well, it would be something to do with your mouth and your hands,” he noted, “and you did say you enjoyed it.”Ah, shit, she thought. Never get drunk and let things slip to your horny flatmate.“I wish I'd never told you that,” she said. It was true, she did really love sucking cock, but that wasn't the point. “I don't even have a boyfriend right now,” she pointed out.“Like you'll ever have trouble getting one,” he pointed out. Getting turned on and suddenly feeling self-conscious, he turned to leave, but couldn't resist adding, “or I could always take one for the team!”Isla sighed and shook her head, promising herself that she had to cut down the flirting she allowed between them. Still, she couldn't fail to notice the bulge in his pants just before he turned to leave.Part Two - CigaretteHours later, Isla lay on her bed, scratching at her arms and biting her lip. The craving was getting worse. She looked to her bedside table, at the collection of chewed up pens and pencils she had left in her wake. Jesus, this was getting ridiculous. It wasn't just the craving for nicotine or the sensation of a cigarette in her mouth. The conversation with Jake earlier had been running through her mind. She'd even watched some blowjob porn on her phone, silently in case he was listening, and quickly made herself come, but that had only made it worse.After another ten minutes lying there, unable to get the idea out of her head, she slapped her hands down onto the mattress and pushed herself out of bed. She stormed into the living room, where Jake was watching TV.“OK,” she said breathlessly, before she could change her mind. “Let's do it.”Jake turned to her, still half-watching his show.“Do what?”“I'm going nuts in here. I've got to go back to work tomorrow and unless I think of something I'm going to be awake all night fighting these cravings.”“So…?” he added, not quite able to believe what he hoped she might be getting at.She sighed anxiously.“I want you… to let me… suck your…” she stopped, an overwhelming surge of embarrassment washing over her.“Woah,” said Jake, standing up, “that was just a joke. I mean, it's not that I wouldn't… you know, I would, but… wouldn't it make things weird?”She looked him in the eye, setting her face so he knew she was serious.“Right now, I don't care. You put this idea in my head, and unless I get something in my mouth, I'm going to crack. Can I do it?”Jake found himself unable say anything. Almost unthinkingly, he unzipped his pants, pulling them and his underpants down far enough that his cock, already semi-hard from the very thought of it, flopped out.Isla slowly, nervously got to her knees, looking longingly at the hardening member. She'd often wondered what Jake's dick would be like, and he hadn't disappointed her. Now almost at full hardness, it was at least seven inches long and of a decent, solid thickness. Reaching out her right hand, she gently held it, unrolling the last of Jake's foreskin to fully reveal his swollen helmet.“Are, are we really doing this?” Jake stammered.“Shh,” whispered Isla. “Don't say anything.”She leaned forward, opening her mouth, extending her tongue to meet his waiting head. She'd always had a love-hate feeling with the taste of cock, that peculiar flavour, strange at the best of times, revolting at the worst, depending on the man (or, one surprising night, woman, when she'd discovered a friend of hers was trans and couldn't resist trying the experience). But there was nothing else like it, and the combination of that taste with the feel of hot, hard flesh in her mouth was unbeatable.Hell, it tasted better than cigarettes, in any case.Jake's flavour was actually pretty nice. Isla moved her tongue over the head, before bobbing back and forth on his now rock-hard cock. Jake moaned gently, which turned Isla on even more. Her cunt now slick and wet, she slipped her right hand down her pants, steadying herself with her left on the floor. Using just her head, she sucked and slurped, increasing speed and pressure as her excitement rose. It seemed like hours to both of them, but in a little under ten minutes, Jake let out a guttural grunt. His cock got somehow even harder in her mouth as it erupted, thick spunk shooting over her tongue and at the back of her throat. Gagging just a little, her fingers frantically going at her clit, Isla came, the surge of wetness matching the fluid shooting into her mouth.She involuntarily increased pressure, but the sudden hard suck was too much for Jake's tender cock and he pulled out with a gasp. Isla wiped away the trickle of saliva and semen that had escaped her mouth, pulling her other hand out of her underwear. She stood up, barely able to make Jake's eye.“Thanks,” she mumbled, after swallowing. “G'night.”She turned around and dashed back to her room, leaving Jake standing there, his deflated cock still hanging out and dripping.Part Three – CigarThe next morning, Isla got up, showered and dressed as normal, trying not to think too hard about the night before. She was always up earlier than Jake but she made sure to be prompt and quiet this morning. She couldn't believe that she'd actually done that last night. It was going to change everything between them. Flashes of it kept coming back to her: the look of his cock, the feel of it, the taste of his spunk, the noise he made when he came in her mouth. She tried hard to put it out of her mind so she could focus on the day ahead. And she still needed a fucking cigarrette!The morning was tricky. Back to work after New Year was never easy, especially when you were going through the combined struggle of nicotine withdrawal and unstoppable filthy thoughts. Isla's job was basic, boring admin at an office in town, as part of a marketing company. It was dull on a good day, frustrating on a bad one, and today was somehow both. Her need for a smoke increased throughout the day. Twice she left the office to run to the newsagent, stopping herself in time and buying sweets instead of fags.Twenty minutes before the end of the day, she allowed herself to finish early and went for a “smoke break.” The rest of the team were used to her doing that, and to be fair, half of them did it too. This time, though, she was just going to enjoy the brisk January air and try to get her head in order before she went home and had to face Jake again.Once upon a time there had been a smoking room in the office, a brief idea that soon became history once smoking in the workplace had been banned altogether. So now, the smokers went out onto the roof, via the fire escape. It was a shorter walk than going downstairs to the car park.Heading up to the roof, her coat and scarf tightly wrapped round her, Isla was dismayed to see Steve up there already. She knew there was a chance someone would have the same idea as her, but she'd really hoped she could have some time to herself. Instead, Steve was there, all six-foot-three of him, a tall, well-built black man dressed in a suit. He was the head of the outbound marketing team. Everyone liked him, most of the women had a bit of a thing for him. He was handsome and charming, and right now he was puffing on a cigar.Jesus Christ, I can't take this, though Isla, turning to go back inside.“Isla?” came Steve's deep voice. “You OK?”She stopped and turned back.“Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… I'm trying to give up smoking, so being around cigar smoke is going to be too much right now.” She rarely smoked them, but she preferred cigars to cigarettes. They tasted and felt better, although they could be harsh on the throat if you inhaled.“Oh, sorry,” he said, stubbing the cigar out on the railing at the edge of the roof and pocketing it once he was sure it was cool. No point wasting it, thought Isla. Her eyes followed from his big hand entering his pocket to his crotch. She'd often wondered just how big Steve's dick was, and from the line of his pants it was nothing to be ashamed of.“You sure you're OK?”She sat down on the one flimsy metal chair that furnished the roofspace.“I'm struggling a bit. Giving up is harder than I thought it would be, and I've been trying to find other things to do to take over the habit.”He stepped up closer to her. His crotch was now virtually eye level.“Like what?”“I can't tell you,” she said, turning red with embarrassment and giggling.“Well, now I've got to know,” he laughed.Fuck it, she thought. She wondered if she might be getting hysterical, but she couldn't help but tell him.“Um, I've… I've tried replacing cigarettes with… with penis.”Steve burst out laughing, a surprisingly high-pitched laugh for a man with such a deep voice.“Don't take the piss,” he said, smiling at her.“I'm serious!” she snapped. Stupid – that was a perfect way out but she couldn't let someone accuse her of making shit up. “I sucked my flatmate's dick last night because it was the only thing to take my mind off smoking.”Steve stood there quietly for a moment.“Did it work?” he asked, eventually.She thought about it.“Yeah, it did. I actually felt loads better afterwards. Aside from not being able to look him in the eye.”“I'm about a foot taller than you. That should make it easier to not look me in the eye.”She looked up at him, disbelieving.“You mean…?”“Anything for a member of the team,” he chuckled, stepping closer still.A stunned smile spreading across her face, Isla reached out for his pants, carefully unzipping his fly.“Now, please bear in mind that it is very cold out here,” noted Steve.Isla reached in to his underpants and pulled out the biggest soft cock she'd ever seen. It was bigger than most erections she'd seen.“Fuck…” she gasped, “if that's what it's like when you're cold…”She rubbed Steve's fat black cock, rolling his foreskin back and forth, the heat of it a contrast against the cold air. It hardened rapidly, increasing on its already remarkable size until it was a good nine inches long, at least. Thick and with a strong vein down the side, it was the most appetising thing Isla could remember seeing.“Fuck…” she said again, before lowering her salivating mouth onto it. Absently, she noted that Jake's tasted better, but the feel of this monster in her mouth was incredible. She sucked greedily on it, the huge head taking up half of her mouth. Carefully, she tried to take some of the shaft in, but could only manage a couple of inches.“That's it,” muttered the owner of the beast, “take it all in.”Isla had never really been one for deep-throating. The idea of it had always turned her on, and she turned to it more often than not in her occasional porn viewings. The very idea of taking this massive schlong down her throat almost made her gag on its own, but at the same time, she couldn't lie to herself when her pussy was so wet at the thought of it. Gingerly, she moved her head forward, feeling that huge head pushing at the back of her throat.She gagged, pulling away, a long string of drool still connecting her lips to Steve's cock.“You can do it, baby,” he crooned, putting his huge left hand on the back of her head and guiding her back.Again, she took his cock in her mouth, letting him move her head towards him. This time she was prepared, and coped with the feeling of it against her throat. Suddenly, he thrust forward, pushing past the barrier, his mighty cock sliding down her throat. She gagged again, panicking, but this only made him moan and chuckle more.“You're OK, baby,” he said. “You can take it.”Forcing herself to relax, Isla let Steve thrust his enormous member back and forth. She'd fantasised about a face-fucking like this, and now it was happening. She couldn't touch herself, holding onto Steve's legs to stop him forcing her even further onto his cock, but she was getting so turned on she thought she might come just from the sensation in her throat.Thankfully, Steve didn't last long. After no more than a couple of minutes, the feel of her tightening throat brought him to orgasm. He emptied himself directly into her throat and pulled out, saliva dripping from his big, dark cock. Isla sat there, coughing and spitting as he pulled away.Steve ticked away his dick and zipped up, before taking a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiping his hand on it. He tossed it to Isla.“There you go babe. Clean yourself up and take an early finish.”Part Four – MentholIsla spent her evening in a daze. She said hi to Jake, but when he tried to talk to her, she made an excuse, saying she was tired from work and not feeling well and would see him later. In all fairness, it was true. She was exhausted and her throat was tender. She went to sleep quickly, obscene thoughts running through her head.The ninth of January came and went. Steve acted like nothing had happened, but said he hoped to see her on a smoke break sometime. Isla found herself eyeing up the male members of the team, the guy who came to fix the photocopier, even the bloke who ran the newsagents, her eyes drawn to their crotches.One thing she wasn't craving, though, was cigarettes… until about halfway through the tenth, when the urge to smoke overcame her again. After spending half her lunch hour trying not to think about smoking, she caved and went to the newsagent. Only a moment's walk from the office, it was always convenient, and she'd become quite chatty with the young Arabic man who worked there on weekdays.“Hi,” he said, smiling at her as she came in. “You're just in time. I was going to lock up for lunch.”“You don't usually do that,” she pointed out.“It's been a slow day,” he said. “Thought I'd make the most of it.”They chatted for a bit while Isla argued with herself in her head about whether she was going to buy a pack of fags or not.“It's a shitty time of year for us,” he said, defeat on his handsome features. “Everyone is on their resolutions, no one's buying booze or fags or porn. It's boring as hell.”“Yeah,” she admitted, “I've given up smoking.”“Is that why you keep coming in and buying sweets instead of fags?” he laughed. God, he really was handsome, wasn't he? Dirty thoughts burst into her head.“What's your name?” she asked, suddenly.“Abdul,” he said, “Why?”“Well, I've been coming in here for a while,” she said. “About time I got to know you properly. I'm Isla.”“Nice to meet you Isla. Look, do you mind if I lock up? Now that I've promised myself a break I don't want anyone else storming in. Don't worry, I'll let you out when you've bought your sweets.”“Oh, don't think sweets are going to cut it today,” she said, watching Abdul as he locked the door and pulled down the shutter.“What can I get you then? Are you on menthol or regular these days?”“Actually,” she said, stepping closer to him, “I've been trying something else to help me kick the habit.”“Sorry,” he said, “we don't sell nic gum. We do have a few vapes though. Different flavours.”“Um…” she said, a wicked thought crossing her mind. “Do you have any condoms?”Abdul looked puzzled, then hopeful. “Sure thing… why?”“Pick your favourite flavour,” she said, “and put it on.”“Are you serious?” he said, his handsome features displaying utter shock.“I'm not going to fuck you,” she said, quickly, “but I really want to suck your cock.” She smiled. “The condom's just for fun.”The coffee-skinned young man smiled and reached behind the counter. He grabbed a pack of three flavoured condoms, picking out a green square.“This OK?” he said.“Don't tell me,” she said. “I want the taste to be a surprise.”She got to her knees and pulled down his tracksuit pants and underpants, revealing a beautiful circumcised cock already semi-erect. Carefully tugging at it, rubbing the exposed head, it hardened quickly in her hand. She let it go, and Abdul tore open the packet carefully, before eagerly sliding the pale green condom onto his now very hard six-incher. It wasn't the biggest she'd had even this week, but it was perfectly formed.Isla smiled and hungrily wrapped her lips around it, her tongue running over the sheathed flesh. She made a noise of pleasure.“Yum… minty,” she said, although it came out more as “Yum; ah; um” with Abdul's dick filling her mouth.She sucked on him happily for a good ten minutes, trying out her new deep-throating skills on his gorgeous cock. It was much easier than with Steve's huge thing, and she didn't gag nearly so much, she still got a rush of panicky adrenaline every time she forced her head against his crotch and the head of his cock slid into her throat. Before long, he was coming, his spunk pooling into the nipple of the condom.Isla pulled away from Abdul, letting his bright green dick flop out, already deflating. She felt strangely disappointed for a moment, before realising what else she was craving. She quickly but carefully pulled off the condom, eliciting a sharp gasp from the post-orgasmic man. Tilting her head back and opening her mouth wide, she poured the salty jizz into her mouth, swirling it around a little with her tongue before swallowing.Part five – SuperkingsAfter Abdul let her out of the shop, Isla hurriedly dashed back to work, feeling her own juices run down her left leg as she ran upstairs. She was wearing a figure-hugging dress in dark green, with accentuated her curves. She realised she must have subconsciously dressed to impress. At least it was long enough to hide the trickle of wetness that crept down her thigh.She'd only been back at her desk for ten minutes when Jack Q, her line manager, strode up to her. He looked awkward, not meeting her eye.“Jacko wants to see you,” he said.“Now?” she asked, panic rising in her chest. This was never good. The two Jacks – Jack Quinn and Jack Osborn, called Jack Q and Jacko to tell them apart – were the ultimate authority in the office. Jacko was the office manager and answerable only the owner. Jack Q was tall, not bad-looking, with prematurely grey hair. Jacko was shorter, stocky and bald, not the best looking guy but with a definite charm.“Right now,” said Jack, turning to the door and gesturing for her to follow.She walked quickly after him, following him into Jacko's office. It wasn't all that, no more luxurious than most of the building, but at least it was big, plenty of space for the Jacks to hang out and chat whatever bollocks they liked to chat.Jacko sat behind his desk, his normal charming smile replaced by an angry scowl.“Isla,” he said, gesturing for her to sit down. Jack Q, bereft of chair, remained standing.“Do you know what this is about?” asked Jacko.“No, Mr Osborn,” she said, thinking that the respectful tone was probably best. She had a worrying idea that she did though.“While you were at lunch, we had a meeting with Steve.”Shit, she thought. I'm fucked.“One of your colleagues saw you on the roof a couple of days ago. Steve tried to persuade them to stay quiet but in the end they did the right thing and came to me. I have to say, I'm genuinely shocked by your behaviour. Both of you.”“I'm sorry, sir,” she said quietly, looking down at her knees.“What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped, his calm demeanour slipping. “Sucking off a co-worker, out in the open, where anyone could see you?”“Not that it's OK to do that even if people can't see you,” added Jack Q, hastily.“Quite right,” nodded Jacko. “You do realise you could both be dismissed for this?”“No!” gasped Isla, looking straight at her employer. “I need this job! And Steve didn't do anything wrong, he was helping me out!”The two Jacks snorted a scoffing laugh in unison.“Steve said the same thing,” said Jacko. “Some crap about helping you give up smoking. What a load of –” he caught himself. “I don't believe a word of it. In any case, it's irrelevant. Sexual misconduct is serious.”“Look, it's not like anyone did anything they didn't want to do,” said Isla, panicking. “And it just happened so quickly. I wasn't thinking straight. I really have been struggling with my cravings these last few days and I've not been myself.”“Whatever your excuse, it's not acceptable. This will have to go to full disciplinary proceedings.”The panicked feeling in Isla's chest rose… and then she realised that everything would be fine. It was obvious what she had to do… and just like that, the craving was back again.“Come on Jack,” she said, looking her employer in the eye. “It doesn't have to be like that. How about we keep it between us, huh? I'm sure I can convince you that it doesn't need to be taken any further.”“If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting – ” started Jack Q, before Jacko cut him off.“Jack, shut the fuck up,” ordered his boss. He stood up, stepping out from behind his desk and walking over to Isla, his crotch at just the right height. “You need to make a decision, Isla. You do this, and I pretend nothing ever happened. Back down, and it's your word against ours, and you will not come out on top.”“I'm more of a bottom anyway,” she said, reaching forward an unzipping the fly of his suit.Jacko's cock was much bigger than she expected. Not especially long, but thick, a fat pale lump of flesh that was growing harder and thicker in her hand. Jacko smiled as she opened her mouth as she opened her mouth.“Good girl,” he murmured.She ran her tongue all over the bulbous purple head, sending a shiver through Jacko's body. She stopped for a second, looking back up at him.“How's that Mr. Osborn?”“Call me boss,” he ordered.She smiled. “OK boss,” she said, before taking a deep breath. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and took his fat cock into it. It stretched the skin at the corners of her lips, barely able to fit in her mouth. The sensation was on the exact edge of pleasure and pain.Jack Q stood behind his employer, looking dumbfounded. Jacko turned to face him.“Don't just stand there, Jacky-boy. Come get some.”A nervous grin on his face, Jack Q stepped over, his cock visible erect through his pants. Isla pulled way from Jacko's cock and turned to the other man, unbuttoning the fly on his fancy suit pants and pulling out his dick. It was the polar opposite of Jacko's: long, slender and pointed, the skin surprisingly dark. She put it in her mouth and sucked eagerly, bobbing her head back and forth, letting the head poke against the back of her throat.Jacko leaned forward and unhooked the loops of her dress, pulling it down as she sucked on his co-worker's cock. Her breasts spilled out, prompting him to run his rough hands over them. Her nipples, hard from her arousal, tingled at the feeling and she shuddered with a rush of pleasure.All conception of time disappeared as she moved back and forth between the two cocks, one long, one thick, sucking off the two Jacks with gusto. Her mouth was aching but she found herself getting more enthusiastic and horny as she went.“How're you doing Jacky?” asked Jacko as his colleague groaned in pleasure.“Almost there,” he gasped.“Isla,” said Jacko, “I want you to keep sucking Jack's cock, alright?”She paused for a moment, Jack's dick, slick with spit, brushing against her lower lip.“You're the boss,” she said, and shoved it back in her mouth.Jacko wrapped his meaty right hand around his even meatier cock and began hurriedly wanking it. Isla kept sucking on Jack Q's until, with a load grunt, he unloaded his gunk into her mouth. She mumbled a pleasured “Yum,” and this was enough to push Jacko over the edge. A thick rope of semen shot from his cock onto her face, splattering her eyebrow and running down her cheek. He continued to jerk, more strings of come colliding with her face until she covered. Jack Q stepped back as his employer squeezed the last droplet from his swollen bell onto her forehead.“I think that will do for now,” said Jacko. “Clean yourself up before you leave this office.” He chucked her a box of tissues off his desk. “See you at your performance review.”“Thank you, boss,” she said, wiping the coagulating cum from her face.Part Six – AddictionThe trip home was a self-conscious one. Isla had cleaned herself off as best she could, but there was still spunk stuck in her hair and a couple of blobs that had dried on her dress. She was sure the other commuters would smell it even if they didn't see it. Her emotions were all over the place: she felt ashamed, and used, but so turned on that her pussy ached. She kept thinking about the different cocks she'd sucked on over the week. Five different dicks, each one looking and feeling and smelling and tasting different.When she finally arrived home, Jake was sitting in the living room again. He stood up, sheepishly meeting her gaze.“I guess we need to talk,” he said.“I guess we do.”“Look, I'm sorry about the other night. I should never have suggested it, and we shouldn't have done it, and I know it'll never happen again…” he trailed off.She sighed. It wasn't fair for him to feel bad. Whatever filthy urges he had awoken in her had been there all along.“Listen Jake,” she said, stepping closer to him. “It's OK. I made the decision. And you know what? It worked! I'm hardly craving fags at all anymore. In fact, I didn't think about smoking once on the way home, and that's never happened after a day at work.” She paused, thoughtfully. “There's just one problem: now I'm addicted to sucking cock.”Jake wasn't quite sure what to say to that.“I, I'm sorry,” he stammered. “Are you OK?”“Oh, shut up Jake!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees. “Get your fucking dick out!”By DaxDante for Literotica

Dumpster surprise, house is ready to sell, Urgh! A Music War, the tree is up, and atheists don't doubt their doubt. The show notes for the latest Dimland Radio are at https://dimland.com/2023/11/27/dimland-radio-11-25-23-show-notes/

Joni Mitchell is 80, and so Hannah got on the Zoom with musician Jesca Hoop to celebrate the high priestess of folk and living legend. Mitchell's songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever, all of which Jesca explores in her new Radio 4 series, Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story.Meanwhile, Mick's been chatting to Yuliia Pykhtina, hoola hoop goddess and co-founder of be-Spiegeltented circus-cabaret, La Clique. They talk circus life, living in Ukraine, and delicious round potato snacks.In Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen's once again tipping her hat to the incredible Emma Hayes, and – SPOILER! – there is absolutely no hat-tipping going on in Rated or Dated as the team watch 2008's chaste, twinkly vampire, toxicity-fest, Twilight. Urgh, fucking Twilight.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isla tries to give up smoking… and finds a new addiction.By DaxDante. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy StoriesPart One - Resolution“Urgh! For fuck's sake!”Jake dashed from the living room into the kitchen. Isla stood at the counter, gripping the countertop in her hands. Her head hung, long dark hair covering her face. He briefly focused on the roundness of her ass, bulging through her jeans.“What's wrong?” he asked, concerned for his flatmate.“There's not a single fag in the flat! I've looked through every cupboard, every drawer!”“Well, yeah,” replied Jake, relieved it wasn't something more serious. “You threw them out. Or gave them to your mates.”“I know, but I thought I must have missed some! I'm never that thorough.” She turned to look at him, a pleading look on her face. “You don't have any, do you?”Jake shook his head.“I haven't smoked in years, you know that.” He stepped over to her, putting his hand on her slender arm. “I know it's tough, but you can make it. It's only been a week.”“I know! That's what's so fucking awful! I've barely made it through a week, how can I keep this up?”Isla had given up smoking for New Year's. She'd managed to cut down from ten a day to five over the last few months and thought a New Year's resolution was the perfect opportunity to give up for good. She hadn't really believed just how tough it would be.“When I was giving up,” said Jake, “I was on nicotine gum for weeks. You should get some of that.”“No, that's no good. It's just giving up one hook for another.”“Well, you were looking for a smoke just now,” he pointed out.“That doesn't count,” said Isla, convincing neither herself nor her flatmate. She'd idly picked up a pen off the counter and was flapping it about in her hand. Looking around, she absently put it in her mouth, moving it around with her tongue. Jake felt a brief surge of arousal at the sight.He and Isla had lived together for a couple of years now, matched up by a mutual friend when they both needed somewhere to live. They'd both had a few partners over that time, nothing ever lasting longer than a few months. Jake had developed a huge crush on Isla, and she knew it, but she never really minded. It was flattering, and aside from a little flirting, it never really came up. Certainly it never bothered her. Sometimes she heard Jake wanking in his room, the tell-tale slap and occasional grunt giving it away when he thought she wouldn't hear. It turned her on just a little to imagine that maybe he was thinking of her when he did that.Isla was about average height, reasonably slim, with a decent pair of tits and, she didn't mind admitting, a pretty fantastic butt. She thought she was quite pretty, and plenty of men had been into her over the years. Jake thought she was beautiful, with a stunningly gorgeous body, and he never missed an opportunity to check out her ass when she was turned away from him. For his part, Jake was fairly tall, averagely handsome, also dark-haired. He'd always wanted to be a little taller, a little more muscular, a little better looking. Isla thought he was pretty nice to look at, nothing to get in a twist about. Not that she hadn't wondered about it from time to time.She caught him watching her as she rolled the pen around her lips.“What?”“You need something to take your mind of the craving,” he said. “Something to do with your hands and your mouth. If you're not going to smoke or chew gum, or use vapes or anything else you could get addicted to, you'll need something else.”“Don't suggest food. I don't want to get fat.”Getting fat would just make that ass bigger, thought Jake, but shook his head.“OK… what else could you use your mouth for…?”He chuckled as the obvious suggestion popped into his head. Isla got there a split second later.“Oh, don't be disgusting!” she snapped, half-jokingly.“Well, it would be something to do with your mouth and your hands,” he noted, “and you did say you enjoyed it.”Ah, shit, she thought. Never get drunk and let things slip to your horny flatmate.“I wish I'd never told you that,” she said. It was true, she did really love sucking cock, but that wasn't the point. “I don't even have a boyfriend right now,” she pointed out.“Like you'll ever have trouble getting one,” he pointed out. Getting turned on and suddenly feeling self-conscious, he turned to leave, but couldn't resist adding, “or I could always take one for the team!”Isla sighed and shook her head, promising herself that she had to cut down the flirting she allowed between them. Still, she couldn't fail to notice the bulge in his pants just before he turned to leave.Part Two - CigaretteHours later, Isla lay on her bed, scratching at her arms and biting her lip. The craving was getting worse. She looked to her bedside table, at the collection of chewed up pens and pencils she had left in her wake. Jesus, this was getting ridiculous. It wasn't just the craving for nicotine or the sensation of a cigarette in her mouth. The conversation with Jake earlier had been running through her mind. She'd even watched some blowjob porn on her phone, silently in case he was listening, and quickly made herself come, but that had only made it worse.After another ten minutes lying there, unable to get the idea out of her head, she slapped her hands down onto the mattress and pushed herself out of bed. She stormed into the living room, where Jake was watching TV.“OK,” she said breathlessly, before she could change her mind. “Let's do it.”Jake turned to her, still half-watching his show.“Do what?”“I'm going nuts in here. I've got to go back to work tomorrow and unless I think of something I'm going to be awake all night fighting these cravings.”“So…?” he added, not quite able to believe what he hoped she might be getting at.She sighed anxiously.“I want you… to let me… suck your…” she stopped, an overwhelming surge of embarrassment washing over her.“Woah,” said Jake, standing up, “that was just a joke. I mean, it's not that I wouldn't… you know, I would, but… wouldn't it make things weird?”She looked him in the eye, setting her face so he knew she was serious.“Right now, I don't care. You put this idea in my head, and unless I get something in my mouth, I'm going to crack. Can I do it?”Jake found himself unable say anything. Almost unthinkingly, he unzipped his pants, pulling them and his underpants down far enough that his cock, already semi-hard from the very thought of it, flopped out.Isla slowly, nervously got to her knees, looking longingly at the hardening member. She'd often wondered what Jake's dick would be like, and he hadn't disappointed her. Now almost at full hardness, it was at least seven inches long and of a decent, solid thickness. Reaching out her right hand, she gently held it, unrolling the last of Jake's foreskin to fully reveal his swollen helmet.“Are, are we really doing this?” Jake stammered.“Shh,” whispered Isla. “Don't say anything.”She leaned forward, opening her mouth, extending her tongue to meet his waiting head. She'd always had a love-hate feeling with the taste of cock, that peculiar flavour, strange at the best of times, revolting at the worst, depending on the man (or, one surprising night, woman, when she'd discovered a friend of hers was trans and couldn't resist trying the experience). But there was nothing else like it, and the combination of that taste with the feel of hot, hard flesh in her mouth was unbeatable.Hell, it tasted better than cigarettes, in any case.Jake's flavour was actually pretty nice. Isla moved her tongue over the head, before bobbing back and forth on his now rock-hard cock. Jake moaned gently, which turned Isla on even more. Her cunt now slick and wet, she slipped her right hand down her pants, steadying herself with her left on the floor. Using just her head, she sucked and slurped, increasing speed and pressure as her excitement rose. It seemed like hours to both of them, but in a little under ten minutes, Jake let out a guttural grunt. His cock got somehow even harder in her mouth as it erupted, thick spunk shooting over her tongue and at the back of her throat. Gagging just a little, her fingers frantically going at her clit, Isla came, the surge of wetness matching the fluid shooting into her mouth.She involuntarily increased pressure, but the sudden hard suck was too much for Jake's tender cock and he pulled out with a gasp. Isla wiped away the trickle of saliva and semen that had escaped her mouth, pulling her other hand out of her underwear. She stood up, barely able to make Jake's eye.“Thanks,” she mumbled, after swallowing. “G'night.”She turned around and dashed back to her room, leaving Jake standing there, his deflated cock still hanging out and dripping.Part Three – CigarThe next morning, Isla got up, showered and dressed as normal, trying not to think too hard about the night before. She was always up earlier than Jake but she made sure to be prompt and quiet this morning. She couldn't believe that she'd actually done that last night. It was going to change everything between them. Flashes of it kept coming back to her: the look of his cock, the feel of it, the taste of his spunk, the noise he made when he came in her mouth. She tried hard to put it out of her mind so she could focus on the day ahead. And she still needed a fucking cigarrette!The morning was tricky. Back to work after New Year was never easy, especially when you were going through the combined struggle of nicotine withdrawal and unstoppable filthy thoughts. Isla's job was basic, boring admin at an office in town, as part of a marketing company. It was dull on a good day, frustrating on a bad one, and today was somehow both. Her need for a smoke increased throughout the day. Twice she left the office to run to the newsagent, stopping herself in time and buying sweets instead of fags.Twenty minutes before the end of the day, she allowed herself to finish early and went for a “smoke break.” The rest of the team were used to her doing that, and to be fair, half of them did it too. This time, though, she was just going to enjoy the brisk January air and try to get her head in order before she went home and had to face Jake again.Once upon a time there had been a smoking room in the office, a brief idea that soon became history once smoking in the workplace had been banned altogether. So now, the smokers went out onto the roof, via the fire escape. It was a shorter walk than going downstairs to the car park.Heading up to the roof, her coat and scarf tightly wrapped round her, Isla was dismayed to see Steve up there already. She knew there was a chance someone would have the same idea as her, but she'd really hoped she could have some time to herself. Instead, Steve was there, all six-foot-three of him, a tall, well-built black man dressed in a suit. He was the head of the outbound marketing team. Everyone liked him, most of the women had a bit of a thing for him. He was handsome and charming, and right now he was puffing on a cigar.Jesus Christ, I can't take this, though Isla, turning to go back inside.“Isla?” came Steve's deep voice. “You OK?”She stopped and turned back.“Yeah, I'm fine, it's just… I'm trying to give up smoking, so being around cigar smoke is going to be too much right now.” She rarely smoked them, but she preferred cigars to cigarettes. They tasted and felt better, although they could be harsh on the throat if you inhaled.“Oh, sorry,” he said, stubbing the cigar out on the railing at the edge of the roof and pocketing it once he was sure it was cool. No point wasting it, thought Isla. Her eyes followed from his big hand entering his pocket to his crotch. She'd often wondered just how big Steve's dick was, and from the line of his pants it was nothing to be ashamed of.“You sure you're OK?”She sat down on the one flimsy metal chair that furnished the roofspace.“I'm struggling a bit. Giving up is harder than I thought it would be, and I've been trying to find other things to do to take over the habit.”He stepped up closer to her. His crotch was now virtually eye level.“Like what?”“I can't tell you,” she said, turning red with embarrassment and giggling.“Well, now I've got to know,” he laughed.Fuck it, she thought. She wondered if she might be getting hysterical, but she couldn't help but tell him.“Um, I've… I've tried replacing cigarettes with… with penis.”Steve burst out laughing, a surprisingly high-pitched laugh for a man with such a deep voice.“Don't take the piss,” he said, smiling at her.“I'm serious!” she snapped. Stupid – that was a perfect way out but she couldn't let someone accuse her of making shit up. “I sucked my flatmate's dick last night because it was the only thing to take my mind off smoking.”Steve stood there quietly for a moment.“Did it work?” he asked, eventually.She thought about it.“Yeah, it did. I actually felt loads better afterwards. Aside from not being able to look him in the eye.”“I'm about a foot taller than you. That should make it easier to not look me in the eye.”She looked up at him, disbelieving.“You mean…?”“Anything for a member of the team,” he chuckled, stepping closer still.A stunned smile spreading across her face, Isla reached out for his pants, carefully unzipping his fly.“Now, please bear in mind that it is very cold out here,” noted Steve.Isla reached in to his underpants and pulled out the biggest soft cock she'd ever seen. It was bigger than most erections she'd seen.“Fuck…” she gasped, “if that's what it's like when you're cold…”She rubbed Steve's fat black cock, rolling his foreskin back and forth, the heat of it a contrast against the cold air. It hardened rapidly, increasing on its already remarkable size until it was a good nine inches long, at least. Thick and with a strong vein down the side, it was the most appetising thing Isla could remember seeing.“Fuck…” she said again, before lowering her salivating mouth onto it. Absently, she noted that Jake's tasted better, but the feel of this monster in her mouth was incredible. She sucked greedily on it, the huge head taking up half of her mouth. Carefully, she tried to take some of the shaft in, but could only manage a couple of inches.“That's it,” muttered the owner of the beast, “take it all in.”Isla had never really been one for deep-throating. The idea of it had always turned her on, and she turned to it more often than not in her occasional porn viewings. The very idea of taking this massive schlong down her throat almost made her gag on its own, but at the same time, she couldn't lie to herself when her pussy was so wet at the thought of it. Gingerly, she moved her head forward, feeling that huge head pushing at the back of her throat.She gagged, pulling away, a long string of drool still connecting her lips to Steve's cock.“You can do it, baby,” he crooned, putting his huge left hand on the back of her head and guiding her back.Again, she took his cock in her mouth, letting him move her head towards him. This time she was prepared, and coped with the feeling of it against her throat. Suddenly, he thrust forward, pushing past the barrier, his mighty cock sliding down her throat. She gagged again, panicking, but this only made him moan and chuckle more.“You're OK, baby,” he said. “You can take it.”Forcing herself to relax, Isla let Steve thrust his enormous member back and forth. She'd fantasised about a face-fucking like this, and now it was happening. She couldn't touch herself, holding onto Steve's legs to stop him forcing her even further onto his cock, but she was getting so turned on she thought she might come just from the sensation in her throat.Thankfully, Steve didn't last long. After no more than a couple of minutes, the feel of her tightening throat brought him to orgasm. He emptied himself directly into her throat and pulled out, saliva dripping from his big, dark cock. Isla sat there, coughing and spitting as he pulled away.Steve ticked away his dick and zipped up, before taking a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiping his hand on it. He tossed it to Isla.“There you go babe. Clean yourself up and take an early finish.”Part Four – MentholIsla spent her evening in a daze. She said hi to Jake, but when he tried to talk to her, she made an excuse, saying she was tired from work and not feeling well and would see him later. In all fairness, it was true. She was exhausted and her throat was tender. She went to sleep quickly, obscene thoughts running through her head.The ninth of January came and went. Steve acted like nothing had happened, but said he hoped to see her on a smoke break sometime. Isla found herself eyeing up the male members of the team, the guy who came to fix the photocopier, even the bloke who ran the newsagents, her eyes drawn to their crotches.One thing she wasn't craving, though, was cigarettes… until about halfway through the tenth, when the urge to smoke overcame her again. After spending half her lunch hour trying not to think about smoking, she caved and went to the newsagent. Only a moment's walk from the office, it was always convenient, and she'd become quite chatty with the young Arabic man who worked there on weekdays.“Hi,” he said, smiling at her as she came in. “You're just in time. I was going to lock up for lunch.”“You don't usually do that,” she pointed out.“It's been a slow day,” he said. “Thought I'd make the most of it.”They chatted for a bit while Isla argued with herself in her head about whether she was going to buy a pack of fags or not.“It's a shitty time of year for us,” he said, defeat on his handsome features. “Everyone is on their resolutions, no one's buying booze or fags or porn. It's boring as hell.”“Yeah,” she admitted, “I've given up smoking.”“Is that why you keep coming in and buying sweets instead of fags?” he laughed. God, he really was handsome, wasn't he? Dirty thoughts burst into her head.“What's your name?” she asked, suddenly.“Abdul,” he said, “Why?”“Well, I've been coming in here for a while,” she said. “About time I got to know you properly. I'm Isla.”“Nice to meet you Isla. Look, do you mind if I lock up? Now that I've promised myself a break I don't want anyone else storming in. Don't worry, I'll let you out when you've bought your sweets.”“Oh, don't think sweets are going to cut it today,” she said, watching Abdul as he locked the door and pulled down the shutter.“What can I get you then? Are you on menthol or regular these days?”“Actually,” she said, stepping closer to him, “I've been trying something else to help me kick the habit.”“Sorry,” he said, “we don't sell nic gum. We do have a few vapes though. Different flavours.”“Um…” she said, a wicked thought crossing her mind. “Do you have any condoms?”Abdul looked puzzled, then hopeful. “Sure thing… why?”“Pick your favourite flavour,” she said, “and put it on.”“Are you serious?” he said, his handsome features displaying utter shock.“I'm not going to fuck you,” she said, quickly, “but I really want to suck your cock.” She smiled. “The condom's just for fun.”The coffee-skinned young man smiled and reached behind the counter. He grabbed a pack of three flavoured condoms, picking out a green square.“This OK?” he said.“Don't tell me,” she said. “I want the taste to be a surprise.”She got to her knees and pulled down his tracksuit pants and underpants, revealing a beautiful circumcised cock already semi-erect. Carefully tugging at it, rubbing the exposed head, it hardened quickly in her hand. She let it go, and Abdul tore open the packet carefully, before eagerly sliding the pale green condom onto his now very hard six-incher. It wasn't the biggest she'd had even this week, but it was perfectly formed.Isla smiled and hungrily wrapped her lips around it, her tongue running over the sheathed flesh. She made a noise of pleasure.“Yum… minty,” she said, although it came out more as “Yum; ah; um” with Abdul's dick filling her mouth.She sucked on him happily for a good ten minutes, trying out her new deep-throating skills on his gorgeous cock. It was much easier than with Steve's huge thing, and she didn't gag nearly so much, she still got a rush of panicky adrenaline every time she forced her head against his crotch and the head of his cock slid into her throat. Before long, he was coming, his spunk pooling into the nipple of the condom.Isla pulled away from Abdul, letting his bright green dick flop out, already deflating. She felt strangely disappointed for a moment, before realising what else she was craving. She quickly but carefully pulled off the condom, eliciting a sharp gasp from the post-orgasmic man. Tilting her head back and opening her mouth wide, she poured the salty jizz into her mouth, swirling it around a little with her tongue before swallowing.Part five – SuperkingsAfter Abdul let her out of the shop, Isla hurriedly dashed back to work, feeling her own juices run down her left leg as she ran upstairs. She was wearing a figure-hugging dress in dark green, with accentuated her curves. She realised she must have subconsciously dressed to impress. At least it was long enough to hide the trickle of wetness that crept down her thigh.She'd only been back at her desk for ten minutes when Jack Q, her line manager, strode up to her. He looked awkward, not meeting her eye.“Jacko wants to see you,” he said.“Now?” she asked, panic rising in her chest. This was never good. The two Jacks – Jack Quinn and Jack Osborn, called Jack Q and Jacko to tell them apart – were the ultimate authority in the office. Jacko was the office manager and answerable only the owner. Jack Q was tall, not bad-looking, with prematurely grey hair. Jacko was shorter, stocky and bald, not the best looking guy but with a definite charm.“Right now,” said Jack, turning to the door and gesturing for her to follow.She walked quickly after him, following him into Jacko's office. It wasn't all that, no more luxurious than most of the building, but at least it was big, plenty of space for the Jacks to hang out and chat whatever bollocks they liked to chat.Jacko sat behind his desk, his normal charming smile replaced by an angry scowl.“Isla,” he said, gesturing for her to sit down. Jack Q, bereft of chair, remained standing.“Do you know what this is about?” asked Jacko.“No, Mr Osborn,” she said, thinking that the respectful tone was probably best. She had a worrying idea that she did though.“While you were at lunch, we had a meeting with Steve.”Shit, she thought. I'm fucked.“One of your colleagues saw you on the roof a couple of days ago. Steve tried to persuade them to stay quiet but in the end they did the right thing and came to me. I have to say, I'm genuinely shocked by your behaviour. Both of you.”“I'm sorry, sir,” she said quietly, looking down at her knees.“What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped, his calm demeanour slipping. “Sucking off a co-worker, out in the open, where anyone could see you?”“Not that it's OK to do that even if people can't see you,” added Jack Q, hastily.“Quite right,” nodded Jacko. “You do realise you could both be dismissed for this?”“No!” gasped Isla, looking straight at her employer. “I need this job! And Steve didn't do anything wrong, he was helping me out!”The two Jacks snorted a scoffing laugh in unison.“Steve said the same thing,” said Jacko. “Some crap about helping you give up smoking. What a load of –” he caught himself. “I don't believe a word of it. In any case, it's irrelevant. Sexual misconduct is serious.”“Look, it's not like anyone did anything they didn't want to do,” said Isla, panicking. “And it just happened so quickly. I wasn't thinking straight. I really have been struggling with my cravings these last few days and I've not been myself.”“Whatever your excuse, it's not acceptable. This will have to go to full disciplinary proceedings.”The panicked feeling in Isla's chest rose… and then she realised that everything would be fine. It was obvious what she had to do… and just like that, the craving was back again.“Come on Jack,” she said, looking her employer in the eye. “It doesn't have to be like that. How about we keep it between us, huh? I'm sure I can convince you that it doesn't need to be taken any further.”“If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting – ” started Jack Q, before Jacko cut him off.“Jack, shut the fuck up,” ordered his boss. He stood up, stepping out from behind his desk and walking over to Isla, his crotch at just the right height. “You need to make a decision, Isla. You do this, and I pretend nothing ever happened. Back down, and it's your word against ours, and you will not come out on top.”“I'm more of a bottom anyway,” she said, reaching forward an unzipping the fly of his suit.Jacko's cock was much bigger than she expected. Not especially long, but thick, a fat pale lump of flesh that was growing harder and thicker in her hand. Jacko smiled as she opened her mouth as she opened her mouth.“Good girl,” he murmured.She ran her tongue all over the bulbous purple head, sending a shiver through Jacko's body. She stopped for a second, looking back up at him.“How's that Mr. Osborn?”“Call me boss,” he ordered.She smiled. “OK boss,” she said, before taking a deep breath. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and took his fat cock into it. It stretched the skin at the corners of her lips, barely able to fit in her mouth. The sensation was on the exact edge of pleasure and pain.Jack Q stood behind his employer, looking dumbfounded. Jacko turned to face him.“Don't just stand there, Jacky-boy. Come get some.”A nervous grin on his face, Jack Q stepped over, his cock visible erect through his pants. Isla pulled way from Jacko's cock and turned to the other man, unbuttoning the fly on his fancy suit pants and pulling out his dick. It was the polar opposite of Jacko's: long, slender and pointed, the skin surprisingly dark. She put it in her mouth and sucked eagerly, bobbing her head back and forth, letting the head poke against the back of her throat.Jacko leaned forward and unhooked the loops of her dress, pulling it down as she sucked on his co-worker's cock. Her breasts spilled out, prompting him to run his rough hands over them. Her nipples, hard from her arousal, tingled at the feeling and she shuddered with a rush of pleasure.All conception of time disappeared as she moved back and forth between the two cocks, one long, one thick, sucking off the two Jacks with gusto. Her mouth was aching but she found herself getting more enthusiastic and horny as she went.“How're you doing Jacky?” asked Jacko as his colleague groaned in pleasure.“Almost there,” he gasped.“Isla,” said Jacko, “I want you to keep sucking Jack's cock, alright?”She paused for a moment, Jack's dick, slick with spit, brushing against her lower lip.“You're the boss,” she said, and shoved it back in her mouth.Jacko wrapped his meaty right hand around his even meatier cock and began hurriedly wanking it. Isla kept sucking on Jack Q's until, with a load grunt, he unloaded his gunk into her mouth. She mumbled a pleasured “Yum,” and this was enough to push Jacko over the edge. A thick rope of semen shot from his cock onto her face, splattering her eyebrow and running down her cheek. He continued to jerk, more strings of come colliding with her face until she covered. Jack Q stepped back as his employer squeezed the last droplet from his swollen bell onto her forehead.“I think that will do for now,” said Jacko. “Clean yourself up before you leave this office.” He chucked her a box of tissues off his desk. “See you at your performance review.”“Thank you, boss,” she said, wiping the coagulating cum from her face.Part Six – AddictionThe trip home was a self-conscious one. Isla had cleaned herself off as best she could, but there was still spunk stuck in her hair and a couple of blobs that had dried on her dress. She was sure the other commuters would smell it even if they didn't see it. Her emotions were all over the place: she felt ashamed, and used, but so turned on that her pussy ached. She kept thinking about the different cocks she'd sucked on over the week. Five different dicks, each one looking and feeling and smelling and tasting different.When she finally arrived home, Jake was sitting in the living room again. He stood up, sheepishly meeting her gaze.“I guess we need to talk,” he said.“I guess we do.”“Look, I'm sorry about the other night. I should never have suggested it, and we shouldn't have done it, and I know it'll never happen again…” he trailed off.She sighed. It wasn't fair for him to feel bad. Whatever filthy urges he had awoken in her had been there all along.“Listen Jake,” she said, stepping closer to him. “It's OK. I made the decision. And you know what? It worked! I'm hardly craving fags at all anymore. In fact, I didn't think about smoking once on the way home, and that's never happened after a day at work.” She paused, thoughtfully. “There's just one problem: now I'm addicted to sucking cock.”Jake wasn't quite sure what to say to that.“I, I'm sorry,” he stammered. “Are you OK?”“Oh, shut up Jake!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees. “Get your fucking dick out!”By DaxDante for Literotica

Kelly bites her lip sensually at Leandra and the entire episode nearly derails. Tune in for that, pigeons, and even a breakdown of our fantastic 10/31 show with none other than Uncle Barry Bostwick! Do you want a Christmas card? Give us a review and then email us your mailing address at rockyhorrorminute@gmail.com! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rocky-horror-minute/support

Howard, George and Lloyd talk fans as an afterthought, look back at City's midweek Champions League win, and forward to the big one - derby day. Caution from Pep - surely not?

Today, Mitch and Isi discuss all things fruit; the horrors of hairy fruits and mushy apples, Mitch's preference for a cold and crunchy banana, watermelon life-hacks, surviving on coconuts, the versatilities of apples and question; what the hell a lemon posset is and if Halle Berry is actually a fruit? Interactive Transcript Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership Transcript Mitch: [0:00] 12345678. Isi: [0:05] 12645678 What? 1264567. Mitch: [0:12] Easy English! Intro Mitch: 0:34 (Hello!) Hiya, welcome to the new episode of the Easy English Podcast. That is so formal. Isi: [0:39] I don't like to look at you while we record it. I have to laugh. Mitch: [0:44] We're so far away again. Isi: [0:46] Hello, down there, in the hallway. Mitch: [0:49] Yeah, it feels like we're in a hallway. Isi: [0:51] I will just directly say it. Mitch, We had The Big Veg Show (The Veg Cast. ) The Veg Cast. I hope people enjoyed it because I said it already, what comes this week. And it's The Big, Big Fruit Show. Mitch: [1:05] The Fruit Show, The Veg Cast and The Fruit Show. Isi: [1:07] Yeah, we couldn't do it both last time, so we need to talk about fruits. Mitch: [1:11] It wouldn't have been fair, though, to have thrown fruits on the ends of veg, because fruits don't... shouldn't be disrespected like that. Isi: [1:17] But fruits have a better life. Most of them are very sugary, so people usually like them more than veg. I would say. Mitch: [1:25] But we're savoury people. No, that sounds like... (We are savoury people.) That's actually a compliment. Because you can be a very unsavoury. Isi: [1:33] Will you make us a drink? Because I wanna ask our listeners for something, in between. Mitch: [1:37] Okay, feels like you're booting me out of the room, to say something private. Isi: [1:41] No, I just want a drink. Mitch: [1:42] If you'd like to listen to this podcast, without Mitch, give us a thumbs up. Isi: [1:46] What I wanted to ask, today is a little bit of a favour. You might know that, in podcast apps, where you listen to us. Um, there are several of podcast apps. It does help, if you give us a review of our podcast, on some apps you can leave a comment about our podcast. And this interaction, if you give like, a response to our podcast, will help others to find our podcast. So, if you could just today, if you like our podcast, take a second out of your day and see in your app where you can leave us a review, a comment, a rating That will be fantastic. It's weird to ask for things, but I think it would be really, really, really nice if you could help us with this. Anyway, and also, if you have questions for our podcast or for us, write us an email to podcast@english.video or on easyenglish.fm. You can also leave us an audio message. We have a section called 'Unhelpful Advice' and we are still waiting for your problems and issues to solve. Okay, now Mitch is back and we can go on with fruits. (Is margarita a fruit?) Topic of the Week Isi: [3:09] I have a few questions first, and then I would guide you through the world of fruits. Um, what is... (Come with me.) What is your favourite fruit? Mitch: [3:14] Off the top of my head, I'm thinking strawberries, but it probably isn't. But strawberries are just like, a solid fruit. Isi: [3:21] So I wanted to say peach, I really like a really good peach, but peach can be really shit as well. Mitch: [3:32] I know what yours is and it's my like, curveball, because when you... when you think of fruits, you think of sweetness. But I think, actually, if we were to really go into it, what fruit we eat the most, especially you, It would be a sour fruit. Isi: [3:48] Lemon. Yeah, lemon is probably my favourite fruit because I eat it most. Mitch: [3:53] It's my favourite pudding. Anything with lemon? Isi: [3:54] I love citrus fruits. Anyway, I love lime, love oranges... favourite pudding. Mitch: [3:59] Yeah. Anything with a lemon on it. (Lemon cake.) Lemon drizzle, for shizzle, ma nizzle, Lemon cheesecake. Isi: [4:05] Lemon posset. (Lemon posset.) Posset. Posset. Such a thing I've learned in England. Um, with watching 'Come Dine With Me'. Everybody does a lemon posset. It sounds so posh. I don't even know really what it is. It's a lemon cream or something. A lemon posset And they're always like; "for dessert, I have a lemon posset". And then you hear the other people talking in the off later in the car, and they're like; "a lemon posset, everybody's doing a lemon lemon posset and hers was not particularly good". Mitch: [4:38] I don't know what it is either. We should make one, just to sound fancy. Isi: [4:42] Lemon posset. Mitch: [4:43] Last night we had a lemon posset. Wasn't it just absolutely delightful, lemon posset. Isi: [4:47] I'll look it up now. Mitch: [4:48] I'm always very disappointed by nectarines. Isi: [4:53] Yeah! (Yeah.) Good nectarines are good. Mitch: [4:55] Yeah, but that's the... that's my I've never had a fully ripe one. I think ever. Isi: [5:01] I just looked up my least favourite fruit, and it's not in my list. So, we we have to do the list together. Um, a gooseberry Mitch: [5:10] You don't like gooseberries? Isi: [5:11] No, they're hairy. They're a weird mix of sweet and sour. And you know what they are... mushy. Mitch: [5:18] Er... mushy. Isi: [5:20] Don't like mushy foods at all. Mushy apples; urgh! Mushy bananas; urgh! Mitch: [5:26] Yeah. Oh, yeah! That That's my pet peeve. I love bananas, but they have to be kind of, not quite ripe. Isi: [5:37] No, yours are the least ripe I've ever seen. Mitch: [5:40] And in the fridge. Cold and crunchy. And probably my least favourite fruit is like a warm, mushy banana. Urgh! Urgh! Oh, I feel sick. Yours is gooseberry, because they're a bit hairy. Isi: [5:57] Yeah, gooseberry and my favourite. I don't know if my favourite would be lemon, but it has to be, because that's what I eat most. Mitch: [6:02] Uh, when you say a hairy fruit is a bit gross, isn't it? Like, have you ever eaten a kiwi? And you've forgotten to take off a little bit of the skin? And you're like, Ugh, what is that? And it's a bit of a hairy skin. Isi: [6:11] Actually, I recently learned that a lot of people eat it with the skin. You can eat the skin. You just eat it like that. Mitch: [6:16] That's disgusting. Isi: [6:17] OK, my favourites are strawberry, peach, mango, lemon. Mitch: [6:21] Yeah. Oh, I have one as well. Sorry. Do we have time for this last one? (No, we do.) I really want to use it more, but I don't know how to use it. And maybe, if anyone has a good recipe or a good way to like, cook it or prepare it. I really, really like rhubarb. Isi: [6:38] I love rhubarb. (I love the taste of rhubarb.) Rhubarb season is at the same time as strawberry. Mitch: [6:44] Oh, really? (I think so.) But I don't really know how to do it, but maybe someone who's listening can send us either a voice message to easyenglish.fm or write to us at podcast@easyenglish.video. Isi: [6:57] Yeah. Um... how do you? Yeah, how do you eat rhubarb in England? I've only seen it in cakes in... in Germany, I can just say we cook it, with a hell lot of sugar. (Where? In the oven or in a pan?) in a in a pot. (In a pot?) Yeah, you cook it and it kind of gets like this soupy, slimy mass. Sounds disgusting. It's quite good. And you can eat it with strawberries or with like, a vanilla sauce or something like this. Let's go now, through the berries. Strawberry, we already talked about. (Good berry.) Blueberry. Mitch: [7:28] I really like blueberries. Isi: [7:32] You like it more than me. We eat it basically every day. I still eat them. They're nice. Mitch: [7:36] Blueberry muffin. Isi: [7:38] Yeah, but you know what I don't like? And you often do it. Blueberry smoothies. Mitch: [7:43] Oh, I love the blueberry smoothy. Isi: [7:44] Too much blueberry. Then it is overbearing, isn't it? I like blueberries, I like them... I actually like both parts of them. Some are like, really big and not so sour, but really like, fresh. And then there're the little ones, that are super sour, both are good. Mitch: [7:58] Blueberries are... is a not safe for work fruit because, the skin always manages to sort of, somehow wrap itself around your teeth. Isi: [8:05] Mm, Yeah. And what is very English and maybe you can say how it's used here, is blackcurrant. Mitch: [8:15] Just someone saying blackcurrant makes you think of being like three years old with a glass of blackcurrant squash. I'm sure many other kids from the who grew up in the nineties, might think of that. Isi: [8:25] Which are the ones that we often see on our walks. Just recently, we saw a lot of them. They look like raspberries, but black. Mitch: [8:32] Oh, isn't that a gooseberry (No.) Blackberry? Yeah. Must be. Isi: [8:36] Like you don't know what a gooseberry is. Google Gooseberry now, so that you understand my. Mitch: [8:42] Goose... berry. They're not hairy. Isi: [8:47] They are hairy. Mitch: [8:49] Yeah? In this, they're not. Wait, it looks a bit like a grape. Which ones are hairy, though? Hairy fruits. Google is suggesting; "Are you thinking of Halle Berry?" Isi: [9:09] We stop with the berries, I'm not educated enough on berries. So citrus fruits, love citrus fruits. Mitch: [9:13] Yeah, absolutely. I have an issue, though. That I've never figured out, is that I don't know the difference between an orange, a tangerine and a clementine. I couldn't tell you what was what, or are they all types of oranges? Are clementines also oranges? And... is that what it is? Isi: [9:32] Clementines are the ones that you eat around like... (But is it an orange?) in winter and around Christmas and you peel them, right? That's clementines. Well yeah, I guess they're part of an orange. Then you have. Do you know kumquats? Mitch: [9:43] Yeah. Is that an orange? (Yeah. Blood oranges.) Oh, nice in a cocktail. Isi: [9:49] Valencia oranges. Best for juicing. Tangerines, juice for sweeter take on orange juice. Okay. Mitch: [9:56] Really, Tangerine? Isi: [9:58] Navel. Navel oranges, most common variety. And Seville/Seville Oranges. Perfect for marmalades. There you go. But these are the... that was the ultimate guide to winter oranges and tangerines. So there must be others as well. Mitch: [10:14] Right. Oranges is like the franchise. And then inside the franchise, there's different types. (Businesses of oranges.) Isi: [10:24] Ok, lime; amazing. (Love limes.) Ah, lime on... in drinks, on food. Basically, you can... you can put a bit of lime juice on nearly every food and it's good. Mitch: [10:35] Yeah. Really. Isi: [10:36] Melons. What's your favourite melon? Mitch: [10:41] Oh, I only know water and just like the yellow... what are the yellow melons called? (It says your honey dew.) Honey melon? Isi: [10:49] I like most, honey. (Really?) And then watermelon. Mitch: [10:51] More than... really. Isi: [10:54] Yeah, because I... I came to terms with watermelon, because you like it a lot. And we often have it in summer. And it's nice. It has to be good. We learnt how they have to look, but cannot explain it now, because I already forgot. Mitch: [11:06] Life hack. Not what you expect. It's the opposite of what you're expecting. Isi: [11:10] Yeah. Look it up. Google it. (The less round) How should the watermelon look? Mitch: [11:12] The less circular, the better, right? I think it was. Isi: [11:16] I think, yeah. And it should even be a bit yellow and weird. Mitch: [11:18] Yeah, circle and green is just not good. It has to be sort of like oblong and a bit brown and a bit yellow, I think. Isi: [11:25] Well, look it up yourself, please. I hope you don't have guarantees on that. So watermelon is nice. I like watermelon a lot, in a combination with, like, um, savoury, um, like feta, for example. Mitch: [11:36] Oh, yeah. Good shout Isi: [11:37] Um, feta cheese, watermelon, some balsamic... (Glaze.) glaze. And, um, some mint leafs. So, that's really good. Mitch: [11:50] I love the glaze. We should get that on Asda. Isi: [11:53] I'm getting hungry again. We always do this before food. Um, and but honey is also good. Also good with cheese. (Honey's not fruit!) Uh, honey melon, sorry. That also works very well. People that eat meat often eat it with, uh, in Germany, at least with ham. (Really?) That works very well, yeah. Mitch: [12:12] Oh yeah, we have ham and pineapple. Isi: [12:14] See. Stone fruits, Mitch. Cherries. Mitch: [12:19] I like cherries. (Like, or love?) Just like, 'cos you... It's a lot of. Is that when you're eating, there's a lot of this noise, like this. Not for say, for work, either. Just like the... blueberry. Isi: [12:41] Yeah, I'm not a big fan of cherries. I have to say I eat them, but I don't buy them, ever. Mitch: [12:47] I don't know what you do with it. They're selfish veg... like, fruits right? They don't really go with anything else, do they? What have you ever had a cherry with? Isi: [12:54] Yeah. And also like, cherry juice or so. It's too intense. Um, OK, we go in the world of tropical fruits. Bananas, we already talked about. (Yeah!) Coconuts, we had coconut yoghurt today. Mitch: [13:05] Coconut milk, I like. Coconut milk in any Asian dish. Isi: [13:11] Yeah, coconut milk is good. Do you like coconut meat or flesh? Or how do you call that? Mitch: [13:18] Doesn't it give you diarrhoea? (No! you've never eaten coconut?) I played a survival game once on the PlayStation. And if you... If you eat too many, you have diarrhoea for two days. Isi: [13:28] Oh dear, Oh! You know, Amarula is from the marula fruit. Mitch: [13:34] Oh, I love Amarula. Isi: [13:36] And I think the fruit is eaten by elephants. And that's why the big elephant is on it. Mitch: [13:40] Ah, that makes sense. Amarula fruit. Isi: [13:44] What do we forget? Oh, well, we forgot the big, I think the, the fruits of both our nations, probably. (Go on.) What is the... the fruit, that exactly now you get. Mitch: [14:00] Potatoes aren't fruit. The fruit of our nation? Both our nations? Isi: [14:08] Apples. Mitch: [14:09] Oh yeah, how did I not think about that. Isi: [14:12] Apples are eaten all day, every day. Apple juice, apple sauce. Apple sauce is a very English thing. Oh no, actually very German, too. With Reibekuchen. Mitch: [14:19] I tell you what is a very English thing with apples. (Apple mint sauce.) Cider. Isi: [14:26] Cider. Yeah, you see, it is a fruit of your nation. Mitch: [14:28] Have you ever had a proper cider? Isi: [14:32] Uh, I have... I have had cider... (Not Strongbow.) recently, at at our friends in London. I had cider. Mitch: [14:38] Did you? Oh, yeah, you did. Isi: [14:39] Yeah, a tiny glass, a cute little, tiny glass to try it. But it was too sweet for my liking. Mitch: [14:45] Oh God. Doesn't it make you realise that western... northwestern fruits are so boring, in comparison? Do you know what I mean? Do you think there are Mexican people saying; "Oh, do you know what I really love? Apples." Isi: [14:58] Maybe. Yeah, for sure. (No.) Yes. Mitch: [14:59] No. Not when you've got limes. I'm jealous. Let's go live in Mexico and just drink margaritas and mojitos all day. (Maybe we should do that. You know.) Caipirinhas. Isi: [15:10] We had apples today in our big yoghurt, with different fruits. Then it's OK. Um, the apples that I had were really small apples and like, red and green. And they were like, I only like apples when they are sour and hard. No mushy, no sweet, no nothing. Mitch: [15:25] Oh, really? Uh, we never talked about this. How have we never spoken about our favourite type of apple. Isi: [15:32] I know. I like Blackburn. (Blackburn?) Braeburn. Sorry. (Blackburn!) Blackburn is a place here. Bra. Braeburn, Braeburn, Braeburn. Mitch: [15:42] And what's your least favourite? Oh, there's actually way more than I ever heard. Isi: [15:45] I don't know what the mushy ones are called. Mitch: [15:48] I hate a pink lady. Isi: [15:50] Aren't they not mushy. Mitch: [15:52] They can get pretty mushy. That and a jazz. (Mashy, or mushy?) Mushy. That and a jazz apple. I like a Granny Smith. Isi: [16:01] Are those the green ones. (The green hard sour, more sour ones. ) Mm. Yeah, that's better. I also don't really like, uh, apple juice. Apple sauce, yes. Apple sauce was a good Reibekuchen. Which is like a... basically like a... hash browns. It's a bit like a big hash brown, isn't it? With apples. Mitch: [16:16] Yeah, that's right. Deep fried eggy, soaked, potato. (Grated potato.) Grated potato with egg and... Isi: [16:24] Made into like a dough with egg and... Mitch: [16:24] Did you know there's so many... one, two... there's Granny Smith, Fuji, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, Envy, Gala, Pazazz, Jazz, Red Delicious, Braeburn, Cameo, Holston, Golden Delicious, Lady Alice, Hidden Rose Ambrosia... there's so many apples. Isi: [16:44] Oh, yeah. Jazz apple. I just see it here. Mitch: [16:45] 25 types of apples. Incredible. Isi: [16:48] Probably even more. Mitch: [16:49] Can I tell you one you've not mentioned yet, which I really like. I love plantain. Isi: [16:55] Ooh, I love plantain, too. Is that a fruit or a veg? Mitch: [16:58] Isn't it just a savoury banana? Isi: [17:01] Yeah, it is, but, uh, it's not the same as a... it's not... it's not the same as a banana. Mitch: [17:05] Mm. In, uh, England, because of Jamaican, uh, connections. Empiric connections, I might... might add. uh, it's quite often you can find plantain. And specifically, one thing I love. I'm not in ages. Plantain crisps. Salted plantain crisps. Isi: [17:22] Hm. So good. I love plantain. Absolutely love it. Plantain, you can also have sweet, by the way, if you wait long enough, you can also bake them. Mitch: [17:31] Oh right, maybe that's what I should get instead of bananas. Isi: [17:35] Hm... you cannot have them in your yoghurt. Um, do you... do you, uh, know a pomelo? I don't know if it if this is in English the same. It's written the same as I would say it in German. It's pomelo. (You know it?) Yeah. ( What is that?) Pomelo. Um, Google it. Mitch: [17:54] Po... pomelo, pomelo? Isi: [17:55] I mean, yeah, it looks a bit like a melon from outside. It is more like an orange. (Oh, yeah, it does.) Or like a grapefruit. Look from inside. It looks more. Mitch: [18:03] It has segments as well. Isi: [18:04] It has segments like oranges or grapefruits, and it is very dry. You can really break off the segments, sometimes. It's not that all the juice... like, it's not messy. Um, I like it, it's super, super healthy. I think. Mitch: [18:19] It has anti-aging properties. (You see!) Fights cancer. Isi: [18:22] Better get to know about it. Yeah. No, it's really healthy. It's really good. I mean, this list is long. I could now just, go up and down with it. Sweet Dakota rose watermelon. Mitch: [18:35] People gonna ask; what... what did you do on your Friday night? Isi: [18:38] Tawa tawa, tawa tawa. I don't know. Uh, what do we do? Mitch: [18:43] You'll never guess what. We had a wild night. (What is a Thornberry?) We spoke about fruit. Isi: [18:44] I've heard of a thornberry. I think we have to stop The Big Fruit Cast now. Mitch: [18:54] Fruit Show? Isi: [18:54] Um, OK, we have to stop this now. The fruits are taking over my mind. Um, it was nice to talk to you about fruits. Mitch: [19:04] Yeah, I feel like I know you better now that I know that you like a Granny Smith. Isi: [19:07] I... I don't even know a Granny Smith. (Oh, you said you like the green ones.) Ah so, yeah. Ah so. Mitch: [19:09] Ah so. Sour fruits, are the best kind of fruits. Isi: [19:16] Sour foods in general, yeah. Yeah, everything has to be sour, not bananas, though. Mitch: [19:21] Cheers to that, on your margarita. Isi: [19:24] And, um yeah, hope you like fruits. It's healthy. Eat them. Five a day. Bye. (And I hope all your dreams come true.) Te-ra! (Te-ra!)

Urgh! Is there anything worse than being blue ticked and getting NO response... This weeks dilemma asks if its ever ok to leave a friend waiting for a response and how to know when to take a step back from a friend who's actions prove that you're just not a priority.Don't forget to send us your questions/dilemma's/chats about any topic to longstoryshortpodcast22@gmail.com (all dilemmas will be anonymous, or you can DM @ellenextdoor if that's easier) also, follow us on TikTok- longstoryshortpod for lols and good times :) Hope you enjoy the episode xx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the swamp, mother f*****s! Well. You thought Derry was bad, just you wait until you meet JOSEPH. Urgh. FUN FACT: Crocodiles are dangerous, did ya know? You do now. Hannah brings you part 2 of the Ghost Town Inn and Suzie regales you with the blinking lights outside Walmart, and for gods sake, will we ever get to the bottom of the undiscovered meats? Amongst all the spooky chaos, you will get footsteps outside your bedroom, a two sentence horror story and a brand new Goosebumps! Our creep of the week makes you ask yourself if you would road test a haunted car (Suzie obvs couldn't could she? IYKYK), and Hannah tells Suzie her future, spoiler, it ain't good! It's eppy 37 huns. Meet ya in the swamp!!! xoxoxo JOIN OUR PATREON! EXTRA bonus episodes AND a monthly ghost hunt for just £4.50!  Sign up here: www.patreon.com/GhostHuns

One of my random rambles, inspired by a toilet paper and a run

Urgh, not social media, YES SOCIAL MEDIA! You have to get on there and get posting about yourself, your cats and your kittens. The payoff is awesome and I am going to help make it easy and show you why it matters. CAT BREEDING FOR BEGINNERS PODCAST - EPISODE 30 Hi, I'm Pamela and I breed British Shorthair cats in Perth, Western Australia. I have a passion for cat breeding and helping others who are new to the hobby. Whether you are new to cat breeding and need some help or you've been doing it a while and would love some new tips I'm here to share what I have learned along the way. JOIN MY CLUB https://www.catbreedingforbeginners.com/new-cat-breeders-club WEBSITE https://www.catbreedingforbeginners.com/ INSTAGRAM: https://bit.ly/cbfb_ig FACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/cbfb_fb VISIT MY CUDDLETON BRITISH SHORTHAIRS PAGE HERE: https://cuddleton.com/ "Sappheiros - Embrace" is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0) https://www.youtube.com/c/Sap

Show note links: Download The Positive Pants Toolkit App for just £9.99 per month https://franexcell.com/positive-pants-toolkit-app Freebies: Grab your FREE ‘Stressed To Success' meditation: https://franexcell.com/stressed-to-success Download your guide for How to journal, for the non ‘dear-diary' type! https://franexcell.com/journaling-101 Grab your free Procrastination Buster workbook https://franexcell.com/procrastination-buster Find out YOUR Enneagram type:https://franexcell.com/introduction-to-the-enneagram  Ways to work with me: Join The Positive Pants Toolkit App for just £9.99 per month https://franexcell.com/positive-pants-toolkit-app Enneagram Essentials 90 minute 1:1 & Guide book https://app.moonclerk.com/pay/2b6wubgnysrp For corporate coaching, training and workshops email hello@franexcell.com Products: Grab Your 365 day Gratitude Journal on Amazon:https://bit.ly/365daygratitude  Grab Your Positive Pants Firmly On Notebook:https://bit.ly/positivepantsonbook  Contact: Make sure you're following me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/imfranexcell/ and tag me into your key takeaways! Email me at hello@franexcell.com with any questions or take aways! For more, head over to: www.franexcell.com/ Navigating A Career Change When You're ‘Older'   It can feel tricky when you've worked hard to forge a career, you've invested time and energy into it, you've climbed the ranks.   Then you realise you just really don't want to do it any more.   Urgh.   Now what.   I do believe this very thing is what creates a lot of the solo business owners we have now.   This comes again from a listener question about navigating this specifically in your late thirties.    And here's the kicker. If you're in your late thirties it's highly likely that what was instilled in you at school was that you decide what you're going to do for your whole life aged 16-18.   You get the grades, perhaps the degree, you get the job and then you stay there and work your way up.   This is a broken model because the amount we change as humans throughout our lifetime is huge.   You cannot and should not be expected to stick in the same career for your whole life.    It doesn't take into account any of the nuance of human existence.   Your priorities will change, your values will likely change, What's most important to you will change, what you actually want to get out of and feel in a career, will change (whether that's a job or a business, the same applies) YOU will change!   The issue is our beliefs and fears around that change. As usual so much of it comes down to our habitual thinking patterns and belief systems.   For example, if you believe it would be intolerable to have a lower salary or job title…you'll find it harder.   If you feel that starting at the bottom comes with shame and a feeling of failure, you'll struggle to do it.   But if you can shift the way you're looking at it all, guess what happens?  It changes what you see.   It's also not inevitable that changing careers will always mean a step down or change in income. Transferable skills have a lot going for them!   The other issue is that the majority of women will only apply for a job if they tick 100% of the boxes of a job description, whereas Men will give it a go if they only tick a few.    It's like any change really. What are you making it mean about you?   What can you not tolerate about it?   You may have another 35 years of working ahead of you. You have to be happy doing it, or it has to GIVE you something in return.   You can retrain if you want to.   You can go to or back to university if you want to. A gorgeous friend of mine, Chloe Burroughs, starter her new career and it's teaching non-traditional students. She literally created a career change to help other, older students change theirs.    If that's not proof it's possible I don't know what is.   Of course there are often other factors at play. If you're in your late thirties, as my lovely question asker is, there are usually a lot more responsibilities.   There are potentially mortgages and bills.   BUT…i'm a big fan of asking ‘how can i?'.  Thinking ok, this isn't ideal but my happiness and wellbeing are important so what would need to happen and what could happen that means i'd have more flexibility in my finances to change careers.    Of course, this is only if you need that. It's absolutely possible to do it without having to take a big dip.   Asking yourself and being really clear on what is an essential need vs a want.   Asking yourself and challenging yourself around what would really make you happy.   Asking yourself what assumptions you might be making is also helpful.    It's a common belief that you need to start at the bottom. You might remember what it was like when you were first starting out. But it is NOT the same situation. Whether you're learning and starting a new business or a new career you have SO many transferable skills under your belt, it's totally different.    People in their thirties are actually what Gallup calls the job hopping generation.    Think about who you could talk to in your network who might be a way in.    Think about your passions.   Think about what you really want your ideal day to look like.   How do you want to feel in your career?   Speak to a careers advisor to see if there are careers based on your skills, experience and passions that you might not even know exist!   There are so many avenues to go down and it's FAR more prevalent than you think.    The biggest thing I see getting in the way is the beliefs around it ‘meaning' you're a failure. Or the feeling that you will be judged as not as successful.    Fear of change and risk.    You need to recognise that it could be a complete identity shift in a lot of ways so you're ego is going to flare up big time.   If you're thinking you're too old to change I urge you to seek the many, MANY stories of people who've totally started over and thrived in their thirties, forties, fifties and way beyond.    Life it too short to believe you have to stay in an unhappy situation. That leads to so many more problems in the long run. Not to mention the toll it takes on you mentally or physically.   Age ain't nothin but a number baby! Don't believe the hype from society. Keep making decisions for you simply as a human being who deserves to be happy and fulfilled.   It's never too late to make a different choice.   Fx

Today I'm tackling the show's very first concert film, and I'll post a link for where you can watch the whole thing for free on YouTube down below. It's URGH! A MUSIC WAR, and I'm joined by the always hilarious Blaine Capatch (@blainecapatch on Twitter and BlueSky) to talk about it. This is also the first movie I was completely unfamiliar with before Blaine asked to do it, and I'm glad he did. You get to see/hear The Police, Devo, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Go-Gos, Joan Jett, XTC, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and a whole list of post-punk and new wave bands before they were famous. And being a concert film, the film discussion is light, so expect a lot of music discussion in this episode. And please check out the movie, it's free and it's a really fun watch! Check out the Nerd Poker Podcast here: https://nerdpokerpod.com/Check out the Derby Dolls Roller Derby: https://www.derbydolls.com/Check out Lucha Va Voom here: https://luchavavoom.com/Watch URGH! here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzRpTGQFkmxytTnjbe-l4wVcStNeFlZwaSupport the show on Patreon! It's the one thing that's gonna help keep the show going: www.patreon.com/soundtracker

Show note links: Download The Positive Pants Toolkit App for just £9.99 per month https://franexcell.com/positive-pants-toolkit-app Freebies: Grab your FREE ‘Stressed To Success' meditation: https://franexcell.com/stressed-to-success Download your guide for How to journal, for the non ‘dear-diary' type! https://franexcell.com/journaling-101 Grab your free Procrastination Buster workbook https://franexcell.com/procrastination-buster Find out YOUR Enneagram type:https://franexcell.com/introduction-to-the-enneagram  Ways to work with me: Join The Positive Pants Toolkit App for just £9.99 per month https://franexcell.com/positive-pants-toolkit-app Enneagram Essentials 90 minute 1:1 & Guide book https://app.moonclerk.com/pay/2b6wubgnysrp For corporate coaching, training and workshops email hello@franexcell.com Products: Grab Your 365 day Gratitude Journal on Amazon:https://bit.ly/365daygratitude  Grab Your Positive Pants Firmly On Notebook:https://bit.ly/positivepantsonbook  Contact: Make sure you're following me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/imfranexcell/ and tag me into your key takeaways! Email me at hello@franexcell.com with any questions or take aways! For more, head over to: www.franexcell.com/ You Get To Be Picky!   You get to be picky about who and what you allow in your life.   True story.   One I had to learn for myself in many, many ways!    With friends, in relationships, situations I would constantly find myself repeating.   Urgh…we've all been there!   And the beauty is you'll always be learning.    I'm constantly surprising myself on the daily with some of this stuff ha!   All those little ‘ooooh I wouldn't have said or done THAT before' moments that make the hard work worth it.   Of course sometimes there's going to be less of a choice in what you can be picky about, that's always going to be the case, but often there's MORE of one that we're not allowing ourselves to see.   So many of us were taught as kids to ‘do as we're told' and if we didn't there would be negative consequences.   We might have been taught we have to be polite or else there's negative consequences.    We might have been taught we have to spend time with people we don't want to.    Play nice with people who don't play nice with us.    Like people because we've been told we should or have to. Maybe because they're in our family or family friends circle.   You might have literally just been taught it's not good, or desirable to be ‘picky' about anything!  Think of phrases like ‘you get what you're given'.   It's important to caveat this, like I do everytime I talk about the things that we learn as kids, this along with many other things has always been considered totally ‘normal' for want of a better word.   It can be very innocent and no harm intended and remember people are only ever doing their best based on the resources and awareness they have themselves. So we steer clear of blaming and shaming anyone else in our quest for what I call ‘the great unlearn'!    We have to unlearn a huge amount of what we were taught as kids because it's not relevant, or helpful now as adults. And often completely untrue as adults.    And we do that piece by piece, not in one go.     This is where the self awareness work becomes so important, so we make sure we're looking at it from the perspective of ‘ohhhh this is why I think or do that, that makes total sense'.    It becomes ‘yeay me and my brain and nervous system for protecting me!'   Instead of judging ourselves or anyone else.   And this little piece is one of those such things.   You get to be picky about who and what you allow into your space, into your energy to take your time.   You get to do that.    If you have a boss you don't like or get on with, can you change teams or move companies?     You get to be picky about who is in your friendship circle.    You get to be picky about your relationships.  On this one it's worth noting there is far more to breaking ingrained patterns than simply cognitively knowing or telling yourself you get to choose. It definitely requires work.  But that's all part of the choice you're making to not repeat the same patterns and to change the game in your own life.   You get to be picky about your environment.    You get to be picky about who you allow to take up space in your life.    You get to be picky about the clients you take on.   You get to be picky about whose company you keep.   It's being able to say, ok, I don't like this, what CAN I do about it?    I'm not saying the options are always ideal, or easy, and of course privilege is always going to help in all areas, but they are options and you're capable of incredible things.   The problems come when we don't think we have options.  Because you're not going to make peace with that. You'll feel that sense of injustice. But once you see that you can make a decision, and it's more within your control…it changes the game in terms of how you feel day to day.   I always think it's a good idea to do little ‘audits' of these things.    Who or what has a positive influence in your life.   Who or what has a negative influence in your life.   Who or what doesn't bring nor take away.   Then get picky about how much time you spend in each!    On the tasks, in the places, with the people.   When you do the work around this and you grow in your own worth, values and boundaries, just watch how quickly the right people come into your life.   Watch how your relationships transform.   Watch how every area of your life improves.    You can't do any of it without awareness of your own patterns.    If you don't do it you're just going to repeat the same patterns of familiarity, which for most of us, don't tend to be good for us.    Seek support.    Seek the stories of other people going through similar things.   Seek the stories of triumph over adversity.   Seek the experiences that prove your current beliefs wrong and allow you to relax into yourself and rewire old traumas and patterns with the new information.   That's the good stuff.   Fx

Deze podcast heeft eigenlijk geen intro nodig, want iedereen weet intussen dat we best snel op zoek gaan naar duurzame energievoorzieningen. We willen (moeten) zo snel mogelijk van olie en aardgas af en wetenschappers helpen daarbij. Met allerlei slimme ideeën. Zoals... je huis verwarmen met de warmte uit je toilet. Urgh, say what?! Warmtenetwerken, geniaal in hun eenvoud! Prof. dr. Julien Blondeau, energie-expert aan de VUB, legt uit. Deze podcast is een concept van Universiteit van Vlaanderen. Expert: Julien Blandeau. Redactie: Helene Vanlathem. Presentatie: Sven Speybrouck en Koen Fillet. Deze podcast is mogelijk dankzij de medewerking van KU Leuven, Antwerpen, UGent, UHasselt, VUB en de Jonge Academie en komt tot stand met de steun van Knack, VRT en de Vlaamse overheid.

Hello and welcome to How Did I Get Here? From The Vault! Today, we go back to episode 1161 with Songwriter, musician, poet, actor and straight-up legend, John Doe from Los Angeles punk band, X. This show was originally released on 4/29/22. Below are my original notes form the show.  Songwriter, musician, poet and author, John Doe from legendary Los Angeles punk band, X is my guest for episode 1161! His latest solo album, Fables In A Foreign Land, where all the songs take place in the 1890's, drops on May 20th. You can hear the singles, "Never Coming Back" and "El Romance-O" now wherever you stream or download your jams. Go to https://theejohndoe.com for music, tour dates, videos and more. John and I have a great conversation about what brought him to Austin, playing with the John Doe Folk Trio along with Kevin Smith (bass) and Conrad Choucroun (drums), making Fables In A Foreign Land, the L.A. punk scene that spawned X and the books he's written on the scene, live streaming, his acting career, "Urgh! A Music War" and much more. I had an amazing time getting to know John Doe. I'm sure you will too. Let's get down! Get set up or repair on your guitars with J. Scott Lutherie! If you feel so inclined. Venmo: venmo.com/John-Goudie-1  Paypal: paypal.me/johnnygoudie

Urgh criticism is The Worst, isn't it?  Just the thought of it makes most of us clench up. So let's have a peek at what's actually going on.In this episode, we'll explore why we are so afraid of criticism, where that 'urgh' reaction comes from, and what we can do to get more comfortable with what other people think. For this week's free resource, you can download my recent workshop What will people think?!, which dives even further into how to lovingly detach from other people's opinions: https://selfbelief.school/podcasts/episode-133/Have a question about self-doubt that you want me to answer? You can submit a question for the podcast right here: https://selfbelief.school/podcast/#question QUOTES“Self-doubt isn't particularly logical or rational. Most of the time we can see that this is not a very healthy belief for me to hold, but somehow, can't go through with an alternative.”“Anyone's opinion of you is first filtered through their own perspective. We have to be discerning about whose criticism is worth listening to”"Every quality is neutral. There is no inherent best or right way; it's all in the context and the nuance between the two poles."

Natasha Elisa and I talk about my recent legal troubles…AGAIN! Urgh, I don't even know what to do. Plus, Natasha is meeting her ex's new gf for the first time and it wondering the best way to handle it? Show is sponsored by:  Carawayhome.com use code TSFS for 10% OFF your order at check out Cosmetic Plastics and Dr. Magge Book Dr. Magge for you mommy makeover, breast implants, botox and more. Mention The Sarah Fraser Show or code Podcast for 10% OFF ALL SERVICES  Camposfinancialgroup.com Doesn't matter if you have $500 or $5,000,000 Dan Campos is your financial advisor. Call him today: 240-207-3618  Financialgym.com/TSFS use code TSFS to get 20% your first year of membership Kristilittmanphoto.com - Book Kristi Littman for your wedding photographer Horizonfibroids.com - Get rid of those nasty fibroids!    Nutrafol.com: use code TSFS for FREE shipping and $15 off Plantoeat.com/tsfs: Get 25% off a yearly subscription by using my link Smartnews App: Download breaking local and national news for FREE Zocdoc.com/tsfs - Download the Zocdoc App for FREE   Advertise on The Sarah Fraser Show: Contact Laila Kalantari at True Native Media campaigns@truenativemedia.com Got at TIP on 90 Day Fiance, a TLC Show, Welcome To Plathville? Email: thesarahfrasershow@gmail.com Follow me on Tiktok: @thesarahfrasershow Book me on Cameo: cameo.com/sarahfraser Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In This Episode: We talk about how the ton of your voice really matters when it comes to self-compassion practices USING SELF-COMPASSION TO INCREASE MOTIVATION USING SELF-COMPASSION TO BETTER APPRAISE EVENTS How you can improve your self-compassion practices to include a warm nurturing voice. How you can practice a kind coach voice in your daily life. Links To Things I Talk About: Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD: https://www.amazon.com/dp/168403776X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_2JG8H4VWFSBMBJVQ4AD8 ERP School: https://www.cbtschool.com/erp-school-lp Episode Sponsor: This episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is brought to you by CBTschool.com.  CBTschool.com is a psychoeducation platform that provides courses and other online resources for people with anxiety, OCD, and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors.  Go to cbtschool.com to learn more. Spread the love! Everyone needs tools for anxiety...If you like Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast, visit YOUR ANXIETY TOOLKIT PODCAST to subscribe free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like Your Anxiety Toolkit, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (maybe even two). EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION This is Your Anxiety Toolkit – Episode 305. You guys, 305. That sounds like a lot of episodes to me. Oh my goodness. So exciting. All right. I am really feeling so connected to the message that I have with you today. It has been an ongoing lesson I have learned in my life. It has been something that I have had to fine-tune in my own self-compassion practice. And I know I've spoken about this before, but I wanted to come on and do a quick reminder of why the tone of your voice matters more than anything. When I say the tone of your voice, I mean like how you speak to yourself, and that would also include how you speak to other people. That both. Both are very, very important. I'm sure you know this from experience of talking to other people. When your tone is a little off, it tends to create some problems. Am I right? I definitely have some stories to tell you on that one. But there have been so many times over the summer and going now into the fall where I have had to really keep reminding my patients and myself. And I'm going to tell you a couple of stories here about my family where this has gotten so, so important. Why the tone of your voice matters more than anything? Because tone sets a scene for how things land. Here is an example. If I said to you-- let's use last week's example, we did a podcast on what does it actually mean to sit with your emotions. Now, as I talked about how frustrated I was about how-- sometimes we use this term and we don't explain what it actually means. If the tone of my voice, as I said that, was like, “Oh my gosh, it's so important that you use it in the right way,” I was saying those actual words. But if I'm using a tone that's like, “You have to use it this way because you can't use it this way!” that's going to create inside a massive degree of anxiety and defensiveness and rejection from you guys. We can all agree. In fact, if you have read any of Dan Siegel's work, he's an amazing researcher, an amazing author – he talks about how the word “no” and how we say the word “no” can actually create a massive emotional approach or a response in people than if you were to say “yes” very kindly. Just a one-word difference. What I want to talk about here with you is tone and why tone needs to be a major part of your recovery. Let me tell you a story. The other day, for those of you who don't know, I have this beautiful, young daughter who just started middle school. Yeah, get ready for the ups and the downs. It's been a total ride since she started. But my husband was actually at the end of the day reflecting to me in a very compassionate way and he was saying, “Isn't it interesting how you can say to her, ‘Get your bags, let's go,' and that can land so different than ‘Get your bags, let's go!'” Same words, different tone. Five words, same five words, but those five words and the tone that we use can shift their experience and the way we feel as we express it. We were talking about-- and he was actually giving me a little bit. I'm not going to lie, he was giving me a little bit of feedback that my tone could be a little calmer. In the morning, things are stressful. I know I have some work to do. I'm not going to lie. I was like, “Okay. Yeah, you're so right.” Coincidentally, I was already going to record this podcast, because so much of how we talk to ourselves is about motivating. I'm motivating her to “Get your bags, let's go, come on. We're going to move to the next step. We're going to be late for school.” And it's about how do we motivate ourselves. I've got some examples for you here and I want you to think about them and how they apply to you. These are personal examples, but I'm pretty certain you may or may not resonate with most of them. So, here we go. Using Self-Compassion To Increase Motivation The first one is how we motivate ourselves to get things done. So, what was shocking to me while I was in Australia, because things were much more calm and my workload was much less, is there were certain tasks I had to keep doing. Even though I was on vacation visiting with my family, I still saw my clients and I still had to respond to emails and so forth. But it was so interesting that when I sit to my desk, which I'm sitting at right now, I often use a tone, which is like, “You've got to write your email, get going!” Not that mean, but you hear what I'm saying. Maybe I'm going to be a little overdramatic in this today just for the sake of getting the message across. But like, “You've got to get your email done before you see your clients!” Whereas when I was in Australia, I had more space and I was like, “Okay, hun, you've got to get your emails done before you get and see your clients.” Same words, but the tone was so different. And so much of the motivating we deal with ourselves has a tone that is aggressive and unkind and bossy and anxiety-provoking and creates a defensive anxiety-driven experience. We all know when we are having anxiety, we actually then tend to build into that cycle even more. So, I want you to think about, how do you motivate yourself? You might even want to pause this and sit down and be like, “What specifically do I say and where's the tone that gets me in trouble?” What's the tone that brings on emotions that create more suffering for us? Another one, and this is true for a lot of my patients, this is where I pick up in them, is they know they have homework for therapy. And for those of you who are in therapy, usually, if you're doing any kind of CBT, you get homework, so you have to get it done. And how you talk to yourself about that homework can determine whether you're suffering or not. You could say, “I should get my homework done before I see my therapist!” or you could go, “Okay, I'm going to get my homework done before I see my therapist. When might I get that done?” Same topic, same motivation, same intention. The tone makes such a difference. Again, we're talking about motivation. Using Self-Compassion To Better Appraise Events What about your appraisal of events? You could say, “That was really hard.” You've honored that you just did an exposure, let's say, or you did your homework or you got your emails done, and then you go, “Wow, that was really hard.” That's a lot different if you were really in a wrestle, “That was really hard! Urgh!” Because when we're in that tone, we're in, again, a resentful, angry tone. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Again, there's an important place for every tone. You're allowed to be angry. You're allowed to be frustrated. You're allowed to be sad. You're allowed to be resentful and all those things. I just want you to question your tone and be curious about your tone and ask, is it helpful? Is it effective for you? An example of this is, we're talking about motivation, if you're in the last mile of a marathon, you might need to take on a tone that's very coaching, very like, “Come on, you could do it!” And you're like, “Ah, just get it done!” I have a dear friend who is suffering with a lot of grief. She lost her father. When she's playing her sports, she says, “I swear I can't stop the whole time, and I use my anger to belt out the ball.” So, there is a great example. If it's effective for you, go ahead and do it. But I want you to really question and be curious about your tone and really ask if it's working for you. And then you have this great opportunity to start to play around with tones that work for you. Same goes for when we talk about it's a beautiful day to hard things. A client of mine once mentioned to me that this really, really made her mad. She hated this term. She was like, “This is very annoying. I don't want to do hard things. I know I can do them, but I don't want to do them.” Again, you can absolutely use any tone you want, but check in on the tone you're using. Does it motivate you? Does it give you a sense of inspiration? Does it move you towards the behavior you're using? Is it kind? Absolutely the most important. Does it feel safe to use that tone? These are just questions to think about. One of the biggest ones is you made a mistake. You could say to yourself, “Okay, Kimberley, you made a mistake,” or you could say, “Kimberley, you made a mistake!” Same words, massive in different tone. Hugely different in the tone, same words. I keep saying same words. The tone is so much different and can really impact how much you suffer. For me, the one that actually-- I got it last, but the one that actually blew my mind the most is the saying, “Keep going.” I could say to myself, “Keep going. Keep going, Kimberley. Keep going. You've got this. Keep going. Keep going.” And that's this idea of just one more, you can do one more. But if I were to be saying, “Keep going! Just keep going!” Same words, totally different effect. So, there's some examples. You probably have dozens more, or the ones that are really, really different, but I really want, if you can implement, just checking in on your tone each day. You might find that you go leaps and bounds in your self-compassion practice. In fact, I found that the ones who mastered this idea, or not even mastered, just work towards having a kinder tone, tend to be people who end up embracing self-compassion and really reaping the benefits from it. Because again, this is why I'm saying, this is why the tone of your voice matters more than anything. It propels us towards healthier motivation. It propels us towards a bigger, wider self-compassion practice. It propels us away from having emotions that are brought on by this really mean tone, like more fear, shame, guilt, embarrassment, humiliation, irritability. When we use that tone, that really creates a really negative vibe for us. So, that is what I want you to take away. So, so important. All right. Before we finish up, let's quickly go over the “I did a hard thing” one. This is from Sienna and they said: “In high school, I developed an eating disorder, and in college, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. I'm currently one year out of college and weight restored, but eating is so difficult for me. I'm now in therapy for OCD, which my therapist and I realize, intersects with my eating disorder. It is very challenging for me to eat anything. I think I might be unhealthy and then continue to eating healthy foods that make me feel good. As a part of my ERP, I was assigned to drink kombucha once a day at lunch, and then continue eating healthy for the remainder of the day and to eat pizza once per week. These things scare me because of the pizza with my friends after a pool party, when I normally would have avoided the situation. I am so happy I was a part of my friend group in a way I previously couldn't be and that I was able to face some of my fears.” Sienna, this is so good. Oh, I love it. You're doing such hard things. And I love how you've identified the specifics, like eating unhealthy, but then going back to your other. I think that is such a great-- you've identified what the trigger is. That is so, so important, and it's such an important part of exposure therapy. We talk about this a lot in ERP School, which is our signature course for OCD, which is, as you plan your exposures, you really want to be clear on the obsessions that you're going to be targeting. Because once you've identified a good obsession and what you want to target, then you can create some really great exposures and some really specific exposures for it. So, so good. All right. Let's finish up with the review of the week. It's from Love Heart 2 and they went on to say: “Kimberley knows her stuff. I discovered Kimberley's podcast a few months ago, and I really love listening to her Aussie-American accent as I am an Aussie in the US myself.” How fun, Love Heart 2. That makes me feel so close with you. “So it feels like a little piece of home. Secondly, she's very informed on OCD, which I have had for a long time and anxiety. When you get down on yourself as a result of a mental illness, you need someone like Kimberley in your ear, reminding you that you can do hard work and that you are worth it.” Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for that review, Love Heart 2. If you haven't left a review, please do so. It allows me to reach more people. When they see my podcast, it allows them to feel like they can trust what we're saying. And that's so important to me. The more people who feel that they can trust me, the more I can help them, and hopefully, I can bring just a little bit of joy into their day. So, thank you so much, Love Heart 2, and thank you so much, Sienna, for contributing to the “I did a hard thing” segment. All right, my loves, I'm going to sign off. Please do remember that the tone of your voice matters. It really, really does. Have a wonderful day.

In This Episode: We talk about how the ton of your voice really matters when it comes to self-compassion practices  USING SELF-COMPASSION TO INCREASE MOTIVATION USING SELF-COMPASSION TO BETTER APPRAISE EVENTS  How you can improve your self-compassion practices to include a warm nurturing voice.  How you can practice a kind coach voice in your daily life.  Links To Things I Talk About: Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD: https://www.amazon.com/dp/168403776X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_2JG8H4VWFSBMBJVQ4AD8 ERP School: https://www.cbtschool.com/erp-school-lp Episode Sponsor: This episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is brought to you by CBTschool.com.  CBTschool.com is a psychoeducation platform that provides courses and other online resources for people with anxiety, OCD, and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors.  Go to cbtschool.com to learn more. Spread the love! Everyone needs tools for anxiety...If you like Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast, visit YOUR ANXIETY TOOLKIT PODCAST to subscribe free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like Your Anxiety Toolkit, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (maybe even two). EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION This is Your Anxiety Toolkit – Episode 305.  You guys, 305. That sounds like a lot of episodes to me. Oh my goodness. So exciting.  All right. I am really feeling so connected to the message that I have with you today. It has been an ongoing lesson I have learned in my life. It has been something that I have had to fine-tune in my own self-compassion practice. And I know I've spoken about this before, but I wanted to come on and do a quick reminder of why the tone of your voice matters more than anything. When I say the tone of your voice, I mean like how you speak to yourself, and that would also include how you speak to other people. That both. Both are very, very important. I'm sure you know this from experience of talking to other people. When your tone is a little off, it tends to create some problems. Am I right? I definitely have some stories to tell you on that one. But there have been so many times over the summer and going now into the fall where I have had to really keep reminding my patients and myself. And I'm going to tell you a couple of stories here about my family where this has gotten so, so important.  Why the tone of your voice matters more than anything? Because tone sets a scene for how things land. Here is an example. If I said to you-- let's use last week's example, we did a podcast on what does it actually mean to sit with your emotions. Now, as I talked about how frustrated I was about how-- sometimes we use this term and we don't explain what it actually means. If the tone of my voice, as I said that, was like, “Oh my gosh, it's so important that you use it in the right way,” I was saying those actual words. But if I'm using a tone that's like, “You have to use it this way because you can't use it this way!” that's going to create inside a massive degree of anxiety and defensiveness and rejection from you guys. We can all agree. In fact, if you have read any of Dan Siegel's work, he's an amazing researcher, an amazing author – he talks about how the word “no” and how we say the word “no” can actually create a massive emotional approach or a response in people than if you were to say “yes” very kindly. Just a one-word difference.  What I want to talk about here with you is tone and why tone needs to be a major part of your recovery. Let me tell you a story. The other day, for those of you who don't know, I have this beautiful, young daughter who just started middle school. Yeah, get ready for the ups and the downs. It's been a total ride since she started. But my husband was actually at the end of the day reflecting to me in a very compassionate way and he was saying, “Isn't it interesting how you can say to her, ‘Get your bags, let's go,' and that can land so different than ‘Get your bags, let's go!'” Same words, different tone. Five words, same five words, but those five words and the tone that we use can shift their experience and the way we feel as we express it. We were talking about-- and he was actually giving me a little bit. I'm not going to lie, he was giving me a little bit of feedback that my tone could be a little calmer. In the morning, things are stressful. I know I have some work to do. I'm not going to lie. I was like, “Okay. Yeah, you're so right.” Coincidentally, I was already going to record this podcast, because so much of how we talk to ourselves is about motivating. I'm motivating her to “Get your bags, let's go, come on. We're going to move to the next step. We're going to be late for school.” And it's about how do we motivate ourselves. I've got some examples for you here and I want you to think about them and how they apply to you. These are personal examples, but I'm pretty certain you may or may not resonate with most of them. So, here we go.  Using Self-Compassion To Increase Motivation The first one is how we motivate ourselves to get things done. So, what was shocking to me while I was in Australia, because things were much more calm and my workload was much less, is there were certain tasks I had to keep doing. Even though I was on vacation visiting with my family, I still saw my clients and I still had to respond to emails and so forth. But it was so interesting that when I sit to my desk, which I'm sitting at right now, I often use a tone, which is like, “You've got to write your email, get going!” Not that mean, but you hear what I'm saying. Maybe I'm going to be a little overdramatic in this today just for the sake of getting the message across. But like, “You've got to get your email done before you see your clients!” Whereas when I was in Australia, I had more space and I was like, “Okay, hun, you've got to get your emails done before you get and see your clients.” Same words, but the tone was so different. And so much of the motivating we deal with ourselves has a tone that is aggressive and unkind and bossy and anxiety-provoking and creates a defensive anxiety-driven experience. We all know when we are having anxiety, we actually then tend to build into that cycle even more.  So, I want you to think about, how do you motivate yourself? You might even want to pause this and sit down and be like, “What specifically do I say and where's the tone that gets me in trouble?” What's the tone that brings on emotions that create more suffering for us? Another one, and this is true for a lot of my patients, this is where I pick up in them, is they know they have homework for therapy. And for those of you who are in therapy, usually, if you're doing any kind of CBT, you get homework, so you have to get it done. And how you talk to yourself about that homework can determine whether you're suffering or not. You could say, “I should get my homework done before I see my therapist!” or you could go, “Okay, I'm going to get my homework done before I see my therapist. When might I get that done?” Same topic, same motivation, same intention. The tone makes such a difference. Again, we're talking about motivation.  Using Self-Compassion To Better Appraise Events What about your appraisal of events? You could say, “That was really hard.” You've honored that you just did an exposure, let's say, or you did your homework or you got your emails done, and then you go, “Wow, that was really hard.” That's a lot different if you were really in a wrestle, “That was really hard! Urgh!” Because when we're in that tone, we're in, again, a resentful, angry tone. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Again, there's an important place for every tone. You're allowed to be angry. You're allowed to be frustrated. You're allowed to be sad. You're allowed to be resentful and all those things. I just want you to question your tone and be curious about your tone and ask, is it helpful? Is it effective for you? An example of this is, we're talking about motivation, if you're in the last mile of a marathon, you might need to take on a tone that's very coaching, very like, “Come on, you could do it!” And you're like, “Ah, just get it done!”  I have a dear friend who is suffering with a lot of grief. She lost her father. When she's playing her sports, she says, “I swear I can't stop the whole time, and I use my anger to belt out the ball.” So, there is a great example. If it's effective for you, go ahead and do it. But I want you to really question and be curious about your tone and really ask if it's working for you. And then you have this great opportunity to start to play around with tones that work for you.  Same goes for when we talk about it's a beautiful day to hard things. A client of mine once mentioned to me that this really, really made her mad. She hated this term. She was like, “This is very annoying. I don't want to do hard things. I know I can do them, but I don't want to do them.” Again, you can absolutely use any tone you want, but check in on the tone you're using. Does it motivate you? Does it give you a sense of inspiration? Does it move you towards the behavior you're using? Is it kind? Absolutely the most important. Does it feel safe to use that tone? These are just questions to think about.  One of the biggest ones is you made a mistake. You could say to yourself, “Okay, Kimberley, you made a mistake,” or you could say, “Kimberley, you made a mistake!” Same words, massive in different tone. Hugely different in the tone, same words. I keep saying same words. The tone is so much different and can really impact how much you suffer.  For me, the one that actually-- I got it last, but the one that actually blew my mind the most is the saying, “Keep going.” I could say to myself, “Keep going. Keep going, Kimberley. Keep going. You've got this. Keep going. Keep going.” And that's this idea of just one more, you can do one more. But if I were to be saying, “Keep going! Just keep going!” Same words, totally different effect.  So, there's some examples. You probably have dozens more, or the ones that are really, really different, but I really want, if you can implement, just checking in on your tone each day. You might find that you go leaps and bounds in your self-compassion practice. In fact, I found that the ones who mastered this idea, or not even mastered, just work towards having a kinder tone, tend to be people who end up embracing self-compassion and really reaping the benefits from it. Because again, this is why I'm saying, this is why the tone of your voice matters more than anything. It propels us towards healthier motivation. It propels us towards a bigger, wider self-compassion practice. It propels us away from having emotions that are brought on by this really mean tone, like more fear, shame, guilt, embarrassment, humiliation, irritability. When we use that tone, that really creates a really negative vibe for us. So, that is what I want you to take away. So, so important.  All right. Before we finish up, let's quickly go over the “I did a hard thing” one. This is from Sienna and they said: “In high school, I developed an eating disorder, and in college, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. I'm currently one year out of college and weight restored, but eating is so difficult for me. I'm now in therapy for OCD, which my therapist and I realize, intersects with my eating disorder. It is very challenging for me to eat anything. I think I might be unhealthy and then continue to eating healthy foods that make me feel good. As a part of my ERP, I was assigned to drink kombucha once a day at lunch, and then continue eating healthy for the remainder of the day and to eat pizza once per week. These things scare me because of the pizza with my friends after a pool party, when I normally would have avoided the situation. I am so happy I was a part of my friend group in a way I previously couldn't be and that I was able to face some of my fears.” Sienna, this is so good. Oh, I love it. You're doing such hard things. And I love how you've identified the specifics, like eating unhealthy, but then going back to your other. I think that is such a great-- you've identified what the trigger is. That is so, so important, and it's such an important part of exposure therapy. We talk about this a lot in ERP School, which is our signature course for OCD, which is, as you plan your exposures, you really want to be clear on the obsessions that you're going to be targeting. Because once you've identified a good obsession and what you want to target, then you can create some really great exposures and some really specific exposures for it. So, so good.  All right. Let's finish up with the review of the week. It's from Love Heart 2 and they went on to say: “Kimberley knows her stuff. I discovered Kimberley's podcast a few months ago, and I really love listening to her Aussie-American accent as I am an Aussie in the US myself.” How fun, Love Heart 2. That makes me feel so close with you. “So it feels like a little piece of home. Secondly, she's very informed on OCD, which I have had for a long time and anxiety. When you get down on yourself as a result of a mental illness, you need someone like Kimberley in your ear, reminding you that you can do hard work and that you are worth it.” Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for that review, Love Heart 2. If you haven't left a review, please do so. It allows me to reach more people. When they see my podcast, it allows them to feel like they can trust what we're saying. And that's so important to me. The more people who feel that they can trust me, the more I can help them, and hopefully, I can bring just a little bit of joy into their day. So, thank you so much, Love Heart 2, and thank you so much, Sienna, for contributing to the “I did a hard thing” segment.  All right, my loves, I'm going to sign off. Please do remember that the tone of your voice matters. It really, really does. Have a wonderful day.

Pricing's tricky right?    When you go into business for yourself it's like you have to put a value on yourself. Urgh!   You might have some mindset stuff around wanting to be accessible and affordable for everyone.    So, if you are struggling with prices right now, let's talk about a couple of different ways it could be showing up for you.

Vince McMahon made an unadvertised appearance on WWE Raw to announce something that was already announced last week and had a video package earlier in the show. Why is he still doing this? Luke and Sullivan review WWE Raw from June 20th, 2022.Theme song by TALLBuy our new WrestleTalk merchandise hereWrestleTalk In The Office Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2sprWyZxCcqhtbzUuKfd0U?si=txG3hFYjSNOlGYpcDipx2gWrestleTalk Discover Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/00I22mwo6wwMKdBh6Y8Gtf?si=geesBbqiSuaNkW6SVdn3eQSubscribe to partsFUNknown hereWatch the video version of the WrestleTalk Podcast hereJoin the WrestleLeague and become a Pledge Hammer on Patreon hereFollow Luke Owen @ThisIsLukeOwenFollow Oli Davis @OliDavisFollow Pete Quinnell @PeteQuinnellFollow Tempest @TempestWTFollow Adam Blampied @AdamTheBlampiedFollow Laurie Blake @ElFakidor See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Urgh, I hate even writing the C-word. I'm so over it, don't we have a cure already? Anyway, a full update on what's been happening with my mom's health and why I'm in Maine. Thank you for all your prayers, plus a breakdown of the Johnny Depp trial, and all my thoughts.    Show is sponsored by: shipstation.com use code tsfs for 60 day free trial   Calm.com/tsfs for 40% OFF    Dameproducts.com use code TSFS for 15% off your order   HelloFresh: hellofresh.com/tsfs16 for up to 16 free meals   Horizonfibroids.com - Get rid of those nasty fibroids!    Nutrafol.com: use code TSFS for FREE shipping and $15 off   Organifi.com/tsfs for 20% off your order   Radleyacura.com - Now's the time to buy a Radley Acura   Rothys.com/frase for $20 off your first order   Switchcraft: Download the Switchcraft App for FREE in the app store   Zocdoc.com/tsfs - Download the Zocdoc App for FREE   Advertise on The Sarah Fraser Show: thesarahfrasershow@gmail.com Got at HOT TIP on 90 Day Fiance, a TLC Show, Welcome To Plathville? Email: thesarahfrasershow@gmail.com Follow me on Tiktok: @thesarahfrasershow Book me on Cameo: cameo.com/sarahfraser Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices