#I despise being pushed to market to others and I despise being marketed to. I can live without tumblr. I will continue to find new places

[neverendingford]

.

[haithamuse]

☆ INFURIATING ─── FT. ALHAITHAM

cw. none, sfw !

Alhaitham is a handsome man — that is, until he opens his mouth.

“No”, his stern voice sounds from behind and when you turned around to face him, he wasn’t even looking at you. “Don’t even think about it. You are not buying that.”

“I wasn’t going to–”, you started to defend yourself, but Alhaitham has already continued the stroll through Port Ormos’ market district and you could already feel another headache coming on. In fact, the Scribe was probably the biggest headache in your life.

Even after graduating from the Akademiya and assuming the ranks of Mahamatas, Alhaitham still crosses paths with you.

You didn’t even attend the same schools and yet whenever you were to collaborate with others for field research, Alhaitham was the one who worked with you when you asked the Haravatat for assistance.

He was infuriating, to say the least.

Whenever you proposed a course of actions, he was quick to counter with his own plans. There was never a lot of room for discussions, yet you still forced negotiations and arguments.

The way he’d talk to people also irked you. He was never straight up rude, yet also never exchanged pleasantries – forgoing them in order to not waste any time and get straight to the point.

In the end you‘d always meet your objectives, but you despised the journey there – because all of it was to be shared with him.

“Hey! Hold on!”, you called out for Alhaitham and jogged after him. Of course, he didn‘t turn around nor stop to wait for you. Though if you had paid closer attention, you could have noticed the way his long strides became a tad shorter.

Once you reached your target, you slowed down with a huff to match his speed. “Also, it’s none of your business what I do with my money anyway”, you nagged, annoyed with his attitude. In response, Alhaitham just clicked his tongue and scoffed, “It is my problem – once I have to come up for your expenses at least.”

It really wasn’t like you to be petty, but this man really pulled out the worst out of you. Anger flared up inside you and you were ready to retaliate against his words, but then he suddenly came to a halt, turning around to face you with a sigh.

“Listen”, he began. For a split second, his stoic façade cracked and you could see the exhaustion on his face, though it disappeared as quickly as it came. You almost thought you were just imagining it. “I don’t like having to put up with you, but we should just finish our business here as quickly as possible.”

Alhaitham mustered your expression for a second – though your gaze didn’t meet his, he could easily see the bitter gleam in your eyes. Your arms were crossed in front of your chest and the Scribe could swear that he might as well be looking at a pouting child right now. Averting his own gaze as well, he continued. “It won’t do any good if Dori notices Akademiya folk meddling in her affairs.”

To the best of your ability, you tried to hold your tongue – because as much as you hated to admit it, he was right. By the archons, he always was, but you’d sooner die than admit it to his face. So in favour of forgoing him a reply, you simply pushed past him and continued the walk.

Your reaction caught Alhaitham off-guard; he had anticipated retaliation, being cursed at or at least being told to shut up. He wasn’t a stranger of your dislike towards him, nor did he ever question how it came to be. You had asked him multiple times why it always had to be him when you requested a work partner. He’d always tell you to simply deal with it, but in his mind, the answer was logical and as clear as day. When the two of you worked on research together, the results would always, without fail be phenomenal.

No matter how much displeasure working with you would bring him, it was his price to pay to get those results and that’s why he’d request to be partnered with you – that’s what he told himself at least.

His thoughts actually elicited a quiet chuckle from him. You immediately took notice of the sound as you whipped your head around and your first reaction was to be irritated. “What the hell is so funny?”

“Nothing”, Alhaitham nonchalantly replied and moved to join you. “I just think you look better when you shut up.”

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[kateisprettyodd]

Discussing Watcher again lmao

Okay, now that a couple of days have passed and emotions aren't running high anymore - I wanna talk about the situation, the backlash, their potential response and everything else once again (with somewhat of a refreshed POV lmao).

I haven't changed my mind about this move whatsoever since the moment I heard about it. I'm an international fan, and through the very kind Tumblr user who is organizing a subscription match-up between fans through Email - I think it was @prettyghoul- someone was thankfully willing to reach out to me and share their account. So the money issue isn't a problem for me, sure, but WAIT - the website isn't international, I don't know if it's gonna be made available in my 'insignificant' Eastern European country (lmao), so a whole slew of issues arise that aren't money related (but of course, someone else would be paying, so I can't really speak on that issue on that person's behalf).

Secondly, people who are defending Watcher on here and on other social media - I understand you, I get you, but to be perfectly honest some of you are cherry-picking the information you present and are somehow blind to their intentions, either on purpose or genuinely. I don't understand how people can't see that making this move is so incredibly selfish. That's the best and frankly only way to describe it. And no, it's not because creatives don't deserve to be paid for the work that they do, and it's not because we are ENTITLED to receiving free content on YouTube (which is the main narrative being pushed by defenders on here) - but it's because their ambitions do not line up with the audience-based shows they have been creating. They have incredible creative abilities and true passion for creating shows which are "much higher-quality than other YouTube shows" (simply not true but I digress), but nothing will ever change the fact that they started on YouTube, that their main audience was cultivated on YouTube, the place they have come to despise because of the limitations to THEIR creative work, such as appealing to advertisers and whatever else they mentioned in the video. This I can understand, YouTube's algorithm sucks and advertisers are also horrible, as well as the fact that 'unappealing' yet passionate shows don't do well - this can all take a hit on their creativity and their passion for YouTube. I understand. But they have to weigh these cons against the pros, and they clearly did a horrible job of that. YouTube allows them to increase their relatability and their marketability if you play by the rules, YouTube allows them to connect with other creators WHICH SOME OF THEIR SHOWS LITERALLY depend on, YouTube allows them things like the discover page and the trending page where new audiences can find your stuff once you expand your reach to appeal to different demographics and interest groups, YouTube Membership is a thing if you need income, whatever. I understand that they don't want to play by the rules, but if your audience is gone then who are you making these shows for??? When your main venture is paid, even if it is 'only' 5.99 a month (lmao again), other options where they can make revenue immediately close up, since they can't really justify them. Why does their Patreon still exist??? What was the purpose of PodWatcher??? How are shows like Are You Scared? and Too Many Spirits going to survive on a streamer, shows which are based on that exact YouTube vibe of low-production two dudes chilling and laughing. Why are they considering their shows TV-caliber? Puppet History and Mystery Files are certainly NOT TV-quality and they are the second- and third-most popular.

Which is what brings me to my next point - how this all seems Ghost Files and Travel Season centered. No one can convince me that most of their expenses are not going to these two shows right now. Ryan said it himself, a season of Ghost Files takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to make, which is fine and I commend him for that effort. I don't even have to tell you why Travel Season also may have cost them a lot of money - which is also fine and I understand the appeal of it. But why not try a different approach? A season of Ghost Files doesn't necessarily have to come out every year, they could space out their budget, spend time churning out Too Many Spirits and Are You Scared (also shows that perform quite well), update their Patreon to look more Mythical Society-esque, do a merch drop (I have seen so many people asking for box-sets of their shows, and I can guarantee people would have paid A LOT of money to get a Puppet History karaoke thing on Patreon or WHEREVER)... Just generally diversify their income??? And space out these GIANT, extremely expensive shows, generally pace themselves and take it easy?

Now, they won't be able to expand their reach EVEN IF they bring new personalities onto the streamer. No one new will hear about them, and if they do, why would they pay for something they've never heard of before? There is no algorithm to cater to the masses which recommends their videos to new people. People who were here from the BFU days are disilluisoned and probably won't pay. They legitimately sacrificed their audience for money to fuel their creative ambitions, but their creative ambitions don't have an outlet anymore.

TO BE CONTINUED as this is too long already

[lonewhumper]

contains: human trafficking, an auction, implied future pet whump & noncon, dehumanizing language. no underage characters despite Whumpee being referred to as "boy", he's just younger and smaller than the Whumper(s).

|| 18+ INTERACTION ONLY — NONWHUMP P*RN/K*NK BLOGS DNI 🔪 ||

[1.]

Hayes despises this side of town.

Even as much as he makes now, with that promised promotion (surely...) on the horizon, he still finds the people too uppity, the goods too expensive for what's never that much better than what he can find across town.

But it's different, he guesses. Usually, he's purchasing for his boss, who never settles for less than the best for his business. Hayes finds a pretty pet for whatever budget he's given that day in different places about town, and then tosses them to be dealt with there. They're not his problem.

Tonight, he's looking for himself. And it just so happens that tonight he finds that, even for an auction on this side of town, the pets for show are especially pretty.

He walks his way past them, one by one, until he comes across one in particular, and this one...

There's something about this one.

He's drugged, no doubt. Wrists that have been rubbed raw with attempts to escape, streaked with dried blood, are limp in their metal cuffs now. A head that must have been raised defiant enough to earn the beating blooming bruises all over his body is lolled down against his chest, which heaves with a desperate breath every few seconds through the thick cloth gag tied in his mouth.

A lot of them are gagged, because they look good gagged—and this one does too, maybe especially—but this one seems to be gagged for more than aesthetics. He looks a little like he might try to bite, if the cloth and the sedative weren't preventing it, and Hayes feels a tingle up his spine at the thought.

He's always liked it rough. He's always liked the way smaller bodies bend and writhe and submit beneath him, eventually, and he starts thinking, even after all of the options he passed, about this body alone in particular.

Maybe giving Hayes a reason to be a little more rough would be worth the price.

"He gave you trouble?" Hayes asks, and then gestures to the price tag. "He's less than the others."

The handler behind him laughs, pushing himself up off the wall and rounding the merchandise. "Fuck, you should've seen the little bitch. Busted one of my guys' noses, scratched the hell out of some faces. Needs a muzzle, I reckon, but a little K did the trick, too. We grabbed him off the street, so—"

"He's untrained," Hayes says.

"Well," the handler crosses his arms, "we had a few hours with him."

"I can see that." He strokes a finger over bruised skin, and the boy blinks hard in what might be a wince, might be him trying to stay conscious. It's cute, whatever it is. He's cute.

"Hey, we like variety here! Could be fun, if you're in the market for it. Some folks are. Otherwise we got ones we trained for a few weeks a little further down."

"Yeah," Hayes murmurs, but doesn't look away. "Somethin' about him, though."

"It's the eyes," the handler tells him, grabbing the boy's chin and pulling it up, squeezing his cheeks hard enough to get those pretty blues open again. "Might have left him alone if it weren't for those. Well, and these hips...goddamn, this whole body. Look at it. In its prime."

He runs his hands down the boy's sides, grabbing at those perfect hips underneath the navy blue lingerie, and Hayes feels his hands clench into fists.

Feels possessive, suddenly. Like he wants to rip that man away.

"They wanted fresh, I gave them fresh."

"Anyone been inside?"

"Probably half the town, with that face...but not since we got him here, nah. We're not animals...not before the showings, anyway. Nothing that doesn't need to be done. Cleaned up and dressed up."

He smiles, pinching the boy's nose shut and watching him try in vain to breathe. "Shouldn't have been walking alone so late at night, baby, huh? A bad choice for someone so pretty, didn't you know?"

"He looks like he knows now," Hayes says, and the handler lets him go, lightly cups the boy's neck while it works as he swallows and gags, slowly catching his breath.

"Yeah. He does. And I'm sure with the right man for the job, he'll know a lot more soon. Hell, he'll make the prettiest little pet, won't he? Yeah. Just need someone to train you right, and you'll be a damn good boy." He glances up at Hayes, smirking. "Can't keep my hands off. If he ain't sold by the end of the night, I don't know who's gonna have their way with him first. Everyone, maybe."

Hayes could kill him. He has the idea right there, slicing the man's throat and watching him bleed.

But then the handler stands, approaching Hayes, and asks, "So? You want a pup that doesn't bite, or are you up for the challenge of this one?"

The boy twitches. He kicks a foot out, grunting softly, and mumbles something incoherent.

He's adorable. Tiny. Doesn't look like he took very good care of himself. Doesn't look like he'll last very long, if Hayes does everything to him he's thinking of right now.

What he does look, though, is fun. He looks like Hayes wants to call him mine.

No. Already his, maybe the second he laid eyes on him.

"This one," he says. He looks into the suddenly fright-filled eyes of the darling little thing, and smiles as he hands over the payment in full. "I want him."

[next]

[series masterlist/picrews]

[shawty-writes-a-little]

Ever yours 4.

[series list]

ram rrr x fem!reader

word count: 3.1k+

summary: idiots in love

YES I’m alive SORRY it took me million years to update I will update more often now I swear

The next morning as the sun shone through the thin curtains of Ram’s former bedroom, he fluttered his eyes open. Settling into the surrounding as he rose back to reality, he’d realised it was the first time he slept in his room after being married. He slept in his library to honour his lady wife’s privacy and comfort given their marriage was a bit sudden and to fit circumstances. Regardless, he also recalled it being the first time he slept next to his wife, the last of his memory from the previous night was his fingers intertwined with hers and her head by his bicep-the pair snuggling as they dozed off. He looked to his side and found it empty her side of the bed already made.

Ram revisited his memories of y/n’s embrace, was it a dream or did it actually happen? No, he was sure it did happen. He remembered being half asleep as they held each other after visiting some events of his life. The feeling of her asleep in his arms, he remembered her even breathing, the feeling of his hands around her, the solace of her—why am I thinking about it? Ram had his mind made up he wasn’t made for petty domesticities, he had a huger sense of purpose. Despite of the fact that he smiled a bit to himself just remembering that he slept with his wife in his arms and their conversation, the vulnerability he seemed not regretful of showing her. It made him feel lighter and it wasn’t a feeling he was so used to so he contradicted it.

Pushing away the thoughts that the most mundane intimacy with his wife made him feel any more better or a bit confused that she had simply left that morning, she usually always did before he left for work but today he felt as if she was expected not to be doing so? Perhaps she could’ve awoken him before leaving? Perhaps stayed for some tea—Stop. Thinking. About. Her.

That day he did not need to attend to his station for work, he got ready and studied in his library when approaching conversations from the verendah averted his attention. It was y/n and Akhtar, strangely?

They both seemed bumped into each other on their way back home as they briefed about it to Ram, he barely caught everything they were talking about because he couldn’t get his mind to stop circling back to the previous night and how simple and somewhat unbothered y/n seemed to be with it. Was she trying to act as if nothing happened, perhaps it wasnt something that was not to be put so much thought into? For what it was worth the two just slept alongside each other or maybe she secretly despised Ram this entire time— “Ram!” Y/n exclaimed pulling him out of his thoughts “Akhtar seems truly smitten with love about this certain someone!” she said chuckling, the two seemed to be conversing about this woman Akhtar met at the market earlier today and he blushed like a school boy when y/n put it that way. She brought Akhtar a glass of water as he had his mandatory meal at their house.

Ram gathered he had to put attentive input of course, he teased Akhtar over liking Jenny and the couple had a good laugh about Akhtar not interpreting the woman’s name correctly because of language barrier. Regardless the two agreed to join Akhtar when he begged them to come along to the function, y/n asked for a hurried second to get ready as Ram tended to Akhtar with his suspenders and his knowledge in grooming hair.

Ram had just finished setting Akhtar’s hair when y/n called out to leave from the living room, she had worn a fine lehngha dress with a pink-off white adjacent dupatta of heavy royal work. It was very different from the white salwaar she usually wore. Ram took that in, Ram took all of it in just staring at her as she hastily tried to fix the bits of it. Y/n didn't quite understand why he was looking at her with a solemn unblinking face, he was actually looking at her in awe. Somehow to his thankfulness it wasn’t showing, they didn’t have a lot of occasions where she dressed up—he tried to debate it to himself on the inside that this wasn’t what he felt everyday at a mere glimpse of her. “What?” she asked confused as she caught on him staring at her.

Of all he thought of her in that moment, of how beautiful he thought she looked, of how much he felt looking at her, how intensely he did and how much he did not want to kneel to those feelings and just how frustrating it was to battle those thoughts when she looked this captivatingly beautiful “Nothing.” was all he said with a shrug and gestured her to walk along to get to the jimkhana gathering. Even Akhtar was in a hurry.

-

Ram and Akhtar were soon to depart as soon as the got there, much to Ram’s dislike given he could barely take his eyes off his wife however whilst he did that he just had his usual brooding expression not letting his feelings surface. Y/n was on the side for a while just when she was approached by an old friend, “Princess is that you?!” Jenny exclaimed making y/n turn around.

“Jenny?” Y/n spoke with a huge smile on her face, when they were younger Jenny had frequent visits to her palace and then their uni days in London were spent together. The two enlaced each other in a hug with a hearty chuckle. “It’s been so long!”

“I know!” Jenny exclaimed hugging her friend for a while as she let go, “How long have you been here?” Jenny asked as she let off the hug to face her friend. She was dressed rather galant despite what Jenny knew of her indifference to such events.

“Just a few minutes” Y/n replied mentally summing everything that she has to tell Jenny.

“No I meant here as in the capital.” Jenny corrected her phrasing.

“Oh a while actually…five months or so?” Y/n said with a slight nod calculating proper number of weeks since she’d been married.

“How dare you not tell me earlier?” Jenny complained and nudged y/n’s elbow playfully.

“I didn’t know you were here!” Y/n exclaimed as she inhaled a breath, “a lot a has happened, I am actually banished from my father’s state.” Y/n briefed her shortly in a normal Tuesday happening tone.

“Gods really?” Jenny gasped but having known y/n’s blunders she wasn’t really taken aback, “I am not entirely surprised but your father was always so resistive to your roguery.”

“He was actually” y/n nodded along thinking back to it, there were many a times her father could’ve himself banished her from the state given the rebelliousness she was upto even outside of patriotism “But no this is the government, you know speeches and the rallys didn’t sit right with some and they deem it wrong because I’m a princess but they don’t deem looting and reaving wrong.”

“I am so terribly sorry” Jenny said with a grim expression, “You should come live with me, we’d love to have you over!”

“Almost forgot to mention…” Y/n began suppressing a giggle “I have a husband now.”

“You have a what?” Jenny couldn’t help but laugh out at that, the last person she could’ve imagined getting marrying and settling down was y/n, from their uni days as Jenny recalled the last thing on her list was getting married. “You don’t have to lie to me if you don’t want to stay here I understand—”

“No no I really do have a husband” Y/n interrupted her midway trying to say it with more conviction, saying it out loud to Jenny was just as surprising to y/n herself. I have a husband now.

Jenny took a pause as she blinked a few times and realised y/n wasn’t joking, “Really? You?”

“Yes yes…it’s a marriage of a convince really, my father didn’t want me to just fend for myself alone and he’d known my husband’s father before he died” Y/n explained “and now I live with him here…it’s just the two of us.”

“Not only am I in a great shock I am also very upset I wasn’t invited to the wedding!” Jenny complained, her girlhood best friend wasn’t the most romantic knight in a shinning armour wanting girl, her getting married in the first place was huge as it is, jenny gathered she wouldn’t have wanted a grandeur of a wedding but not even being invited to her best friend’s wedding? She wouldn’t have thought.

“The order for my banishment said I had to leave in a fortnight, seriously the whole wedding wasn’t even that huge it took place in two days in temple at our garden and the only people there were my father, some of the castle staff, Ram and perhaps his uncle that is all.” Y/n reasoned.

“I could’ve been there by rail in two hours had you informed me but it’s alright” Jenny sighed, getting over it, she understood the pace of her situation at the time “So his name is ram?” She asked as she wanted to know more about her best friend’s marriage.

“Yes!” Y/n replied enthusiastically with an unaware smile on her face at the mention of him. “He is actually here w-”

“Is he?!” Jenny exclaimed as she looked around the crowd “You must introduce me” as she kept looking around jenny was soon pulled back to y/n’s attention.

“Hey stop it he’ll know we were talking about him!” Y/n instructs her as it confused jenny.

“So what? He’s your husband?” Jenny questioned.

“Yes but…it’s a bit complicated.”

“Complicated?” Jenny asked with a low chuckle “You are married to him!”

“Yes..yes!” Y/n sighed as she tried to think how best she could explain it to her, “You know how I said it’s just a marriage of convince, I married him because of my father and he did for societal image.”

“Oh…” Jenny said sadly as she nodded, “So you don’t like him?”

“No no—the opposite actually” Y/n sighed, she hadn’t yet admitted this to herself but as she talked about it she realised it further “I really like him.”

“Oh!” Jenny exclaimed, she’d always joked about this to y/n when they were younger about finding a knight in shinning armour and she had always brushed it off, that headstrong girl liking somebody was so bizarre yet wholesome, Jenny had never been more glad to he right “So what’s wrong?”

“We’re not in an ideal marriage, at first I was glad! When I came here I could attend any public meetings and movements unlike back at the state where my father and the soldiers back at our palace knowing all my whereabouts all the time-“

“Like that ever stopped you?” Jenny snorted as she interrupted her.

“That’s a different story” y/n narrowed her eyes playfully “but yes with Ram, I was so happy he doesn’t care what I do or where I go as I take part in revolutions…but he is my husband and Ram doesn’t care what I do or where I go.” Y/n repeated in a dejected tone.

“That is complicated” Jenny said in agreement with a sigh.

“And he is so obligatorily nice to me, he cooks for us because I can’t, he lets me sleep in his bedroom whilst he does in his study so I’m not uncomfortable, as I get to know him more and more i’m starting to develop feelings for him, very strongly Jenny and I don’t think he feels the same” she said exhaling a breath.

“What nonsense! He sounds like a lovely man how would he not fall for you? Me, personally I wouldn’t cook each day for somebody I wasn’t head over heels for!” her friend said as she tried to big her up.

“Perhaps…but I’m just a responsibility to him in a way I guess that’s why he does what he does and I am starting to really like him” y/n mentioned it felt just as caged as it did liberating finally coming to term with her feelings. “And he is just so distant I have no way of knowing how he feels about me!”

“Have you thought about talking to him about your feelings?” Jenny suggested.

“Have you gone mad?” Y/n asked as if Jenny had suggested the most ridiculous option ever “Of course not! I’ll just suppress my feelings about Ram until they eventually go away—“ she stopped herself midway as she saw Ram approaching them “it doesn’t always depend upon the horse in polo you have to have a good grip with the-“ Y/n had entirely changed her conversation so Ram wouldn’t know they were talking about her feelings for him, it even left Jenny massively confused why she just changed the subject halfway through her sentence, “Ram!” Y/n greeted nonchalantly as she turned jenny around, that explains it, Jenny thought.

-

It had been quite the eventful afternoon after y/n introduced Jenny and Ram, also the dance that escalated was quite the joy. They had gotten back home as y/n sat in the living room reading the weekly print of Champak, as avid and versatile reader that she was she had read most books in Ram’s library and as silly as it was she was fond of the snippet and short stories in champak.

She had gathered Ram would probably go out again or be succumbed into his study, she did not bother pry him even though she wished if he could perhaps just come and sit beside her on the sofa, tangle his fingers in her hair and talk abo—no.

It was almost as if he could read her mind? She thought as he came out of the kitchen with two cups of tea in his hands, handing y/n hers as she straightened herself in her seat. Instead of sitting across her and going on about his reading or just leaving the room like always ram just sat right next to her, not too close yet not too far. “You didn’t have to” Y/n said with a small smile as she sipped the tea, so far what she had learned to cook was tea often during supper she’d make it herself yet Ram made, without her asking him to do so…

“It’s alright” Ram, on the other hand, hoped and prayed on the inside if she could pick up on his feelings, at this point he wasn’t even denying his feelings. Not denying the himself thoughts of her, her in his headspace just made him feel so whole he wondered how he could make it this far without thinking of her, how could anyone? What good was a purpose if he couldn’t accept the blessing of a wife he’d received from the gods? “You were reading that?” He asked pointing at the children’s moral story magazine.

“Yes!” Y/n exclaimed enthusiastically however she regretted it soon enough when she realised he didn’t mean it as if he shared her fondness for it, “Dont read it often though…was just lying around” she shrugged trying to play it off as if it didn’t interest her.

“Oh?” Ram responded raising a brow, “wonder who does the half finished crossword and maze games then?” He had seen her attempts on crossword and the games in those weekly copies lying around almost everywhere ever since she’d been living there.

“Alright fine I enjoy them!” She confessed “Just wanted to seem intellectual.” She said with a chuckle, as he stared at her longingly hoping he could hold her hand as she laughed, intertwine their fingers as he’d make her laugh. “What?” She asked him unsure why he looked at her like that, with a pause.

“My lady can read whatever she wants” Ram said zoning back in hoping he could cover up his awkward crack of feelings with sarcasm.

“Ram!” She whined as she swat his arm playfully, she had asked him before not to address her as ‘my lady’ he simply just did it on purpose to annoy her.

“Alright, y/n” He complied emphasising on her name “Wouldn’t make a difference to me if you weren’t an intellectual.”

“Oh how polite of you” she joked as she finished her tea and placed the cup on the small table by the sofa, Ram had picked up the short story page of the magazine that lied between them. “Change of heart?”

“I need to be intellectual enough for your company.” Ram told her with a grin and earned a playful roll of eyes from her.

Y/n leaned back on the sofa to see which exact page he was on, “I was just reading that” she mentioned as he held the magazine in his hands in a way she could read it along with him.

Whilst the pair read it Ram kept making funny comments after almost every second line causing her to laugh, he loved the sight of it. Her trying her best to focus on reading the snippet of fable but he kept making her burst into laughter. “Wonder why the older animals are never ever the villain? Watch this old vulture apologise and all of a sudden he is everybody’s favourite neighbour” Ram joked in the context of the story as y/n tried to soothe her laughter.

“Stop please I want to read it through!” She exclaimed as she laughed softly, her previously gracefully worn dress having loose ends, the dupatta of heavy work just a drape on her adding some carefree charm to her, her disheveled pinned down hair and her hearty laugh…all so enchanting to him.

“You are reading each word?” He asked with a huff, he had just skimmed through the story.

“Of course! You only get this once a week!” She said as she looked up from the magazine to him, they were rather close since they’d been reading but as she’d face him she was close, just not close enough however both their jokes and amusing had faded. She didn’t even look back to the story to continue reading.

Without a word, Ram leaned in, his heart pounding with anticipation. Y/N's breath hitched, as he held her face and pulled her to him, their lips met in a tender and passionate kiss, time seemed to stand still. Y/n kissed him back just as eagerly as she’d smiled into the kiss holding the side of his arm.

When the two finally pulled away, both smiling widely and blushing the world seem to be resumed but they let the weight of unspoken words just hang there, happy with the gravity of their affection.

—

YO I am SORRY for not updating frequently I am trying pls also I am sorry if this chapter seems out of place I’ve been writing it for the last two months (I’m a board student)

let me know if u want be tagged in the next parts <3

@vijayasena is literally all my will to write

@mish-ka @yehsahihai @goldenharrysworld @aapki-pyaari-sakhi @bitchy-bi-trash @dumdaradumdaradum @budugu

[skepticalarrie]

your kiwi answer YES, absolutely - he gets wild and all i see i rage (it has always been tbh) but i get what that anon meant bc it’s an intense moment and it has become a show of its own and a very anticipated moment for the crowds

maybe people who weren’t here for when we used to get h content through his own hands (interactions, tweets, reactions and the fucking bears) won’t ever grasp how much of a raging sassy manic petty ass bitch (and i mean it in the best way) harry can be. he never pretended to be comfortable around bbg, on the contrary, he’s been hostile from the fucking start, he despises it. he’s feral and will absolutely destroy anything or anyone that will dare come between him and his man

new larries usually can't see him like that bc they didn't have to. he’s far from being a passive agent in this war, he fights and roars and pushes back as much and as aggressively as louis does. as much as he’s marketed around other personality traits mostly, that energy is still there: harry is a lover and a fighter

people can be more than one thing, kiwi is more than his closing song

Yes yes I agree, very well put.

Although... well, I understand the argument "new fans don't understand because they were not here", because yeah it's a bit harder to understand things you didn't live through it, but you totally can understand it if you want to. I mean, that's why tumblr is here, right? We have videos, and posts and archives. I don't know, I'm just saying that because sometimes the comparison between new fans x older fans bothers me a little bit. Like, we're all here right now, right? I wasn't here from the beginning of the band either, I took really long breaks from the fandom... but oh well, I'm just ranting.

In reference to this

[chuyasthighs0]

There you are

Tonight was the when your village hold up night markets with merchant from a far coming in selling whatever they had brought with them.

This was the perfect escape,throwing a hood over to conceal you from any angle hoping no one that knew you would recognise you at all.

It was beautiful with many traditionally baked deserts,jewellery and to books that rarely could be found in the local library.Though to your disliking there was too many people out than usual,too many you knew and despised they were exactly like your family.

Many things had peeked your interest, unfortunately your money had its limits and when you had came to one of the stalls your eyes widen at how much disappeared so quickly

“You know what maybe next time I’m a bit short,I do hope business goes well and-” Flinching when a hand suddenly gripped your

shoulder lightly as you turn to glance at them.

“I’ll pay for the my dearest.”That same sultry, soothing and familiar voice spoke,Chuuya or the mysterious and dashing man you meet on a forbidden hour of the night.

“You really don’t have to.”You dejected

“But I insist here this should be enough.”He handed the exact amount grabbing it out of the seller’s hands plopping the brooch into yours.

“So we meet again how are you?”He asked still

keeping his hand on your shoulder,guiding you

“Good,why would you pay for me.It’s just a brooch that caught my eye.”Looking down at it

halting when you heard your stomach rumble

loudly the last time you ate was six hours ago…

“ I paid because I have the money to.Plus you don’t seem to have enough on you to even pay for something to eat now.”He pointed out as you nodded slipping the brooch into your pocket

grabbing his hand and suddenly pacing towards the pastry stalls.

“Well if you insist on being such a gentleman be my guest Chuuya.”You suggest as he shook his head and smiled down at your locket hands.

•••

The night was filled with laughter as you both chatted and got to know more about each other.

You started to grow tired and Chuuya noticed that and offered you a walk home,things got complicated and he had to stop by the tavern to meet somebody only saying they were a friend.

So here you are sitting on the outside tables waiting as he talked to his said friend.It wasn’t long until a stranger had approached along with his friend causing you to gulp dryly down.

“Look at the pretty little mouse,wanna come home and play?”He spoke his friend laughing

“Certainly not your home.I’m waiting for someone.”You answer bluntly as he winced

placing his hand on his chest.

“You hurt me.But it sure doesn’t look like your waiting come along with me you won’t regret.”

He kept pushing the offer,now gripping your shoulder firmly as you tried to squirm out

“I already denied your offer please leave me alone.”Trying to rip his hand from your shoulder

“Aw,look she’s struggling I bet your the same when I take you back to my hom-”He was interrupted as his hand was ripped of you

“Dearest are you okay.Did these men bother or hurt you at all?”It was Chuuya standing behind

“And you are?”The man had asked the Ginger

“I’m her boyfriend and I suggest you stay away from her or you won’t meet a pretty ending.”

He threatened you didn’t dare to look back to see the expression his face hold,you already felt his cold hearted glare towards the men.

“Now.”He stated as they both ran off screaming their apologies like they were going to die.

“I’m sorry I left you out here for too long let’s get you home.”Speaking more softly toward you as he helped you up from your seat,glancing up to him the moon light basked his features and he wore a devilish smirk on his face.Looping arms whilst you walked back to your house,his hold was tight and he didn’t plan on letting go til you got there safely.

[allycat75]

A bit more about the repercussions of "Drive Away Dolls"...

Boy, it's one thing for critics not to like a film, but it is an entirely different thing to have it despised by audiences. I know Boston Dumb Fuck's comeback cult leader role in "Honey Don't" was reported to be the second in the "Drive Away Dolls" trilogy, but it looks like the marketing team is already backing away from that, trying to push it as more of an "anthology" (and if it gets worse, perhaps no connection at all). I do wonder, however, how much script doctoring they are currently doing to fix any problems. Always a good sign for a movie just about ready to begin filming in a couple of weeks.

But I think this tale is emblematic of a larger problem- lack of authenticity. Not too long ago, most of us were contemplating our priorities and our own mortality in lockdown as we watched the Covid losses reach into the millions. Many of us felt if we made it, we would come out of it with more of an appreciation of what was real and true- the people in our lives, the experiences we have, how we spend our time because it is all precious and can be taken too soon and at any moment.

But, how soon we forget. It seems we have become cynical, apathetic and manipulative again (maybe) and no where is this seen more, with the exception of politics (*cough* ASP *cough*), is in what Hollywood tries to shill. They expect us to be brain dead and grateful for their product, and feel they can put anything out there and we will eat it up like gluttons. Whether it is the new male or female flavor of the month (regardless of talent), the latest recycled intellectual property or the original too cool for school-more shine than substance asset, they think we have forgotten what authenticity means and that is why we are seeing so many failures. In the era of social media, everyone is now an expert. We know the tricks and we don't like being conned out of our hard earned dollars by billionaire C-suite pricks who are worried if they can buy their 4th yacht.

And this incompetent, pointless, inauthentic shitshow we are witnessing is exemplary of how out of touch BDF and his team appear to be. It is like he is a jockey riding the doped-up horse that is his career (both with blinders on), owned by CAA and trained by Narrative, each with other jockeys and horses they care about much more. Most of us are no longer betting on him and his horse because we know the disaster that will come- not if, but when.

His team has often given him dubious content. Take "Playing it Cool", coincidentally also staring Aubrey Plaza, who has a role in "Honey Don't". This is a very weak, if not completely problematic, script and while he was popular, BDF could at least make something like this inert. But in this new hypocrite era, BDF can't save a feeble project and will be blamed for it, furthering his reputation as a joke in the industry. Look at "Pain Hustlers"- one of those too cool for school scripts, giving a too cool for school performance. Millions of people have died due to the opioid crisis, but why further the debate or shine a new light when you can exploit that suffering for a slick, self-serving movie for Netflix.

No one wants superficial, but that seems to be how BDF and his handlers are looking at his career, and really his life. Don't look too closely at the script; don't look too closely at the contract; don't look too closely at the wifey and her background; don't look too closely at your own thoughts and emotions; don't look too closely at how your decisions and actions affect the world around you. A selfish life for selfish people.

But the world spins madly on and as an original, lovable celluloid fibber once said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

[icarricn]

(jenna coleman, she/her, dreamshade) To JUDAS SHARPE, the whole world looks like an open page. With a leap of faith, their ability of NATURE WEAPONRY CREATION grows a little stronger. They are a DOBERMAN shade aligned to NO ONE. For 500 years, they have survived a world of magic with both their RESILIENCE and INTENSITY. They work as a BLACK MARKET SUPPLIER/SELLSWORD, but if they could change their fate, they’d want to BRING BACK THEIR DEAD WIFE.

BIOGRAPHY (TW MURDER, DEATH)

For a long time, Judas only went by her first name. Her parents did not dally themselves with the rituals of mortals. And the village she was raised has little hold on her now. Even when it disappeared from the landscape of Selphia, she found no sorrow. After all, it was bound to happen in the eyes of a cynic. Her parents were lost to time. Their existence now uncertain.

After decades of trying to find herself, she found war. A holy grail in the eyes of a war hero, albeit a war hero now forgotten and decrepit. She has no right to claim that title anymore. The on-and-off truces between dreamshades and spirit warriors carved a hole in the meaning of her existence. Not only years spent slicing down mortals, but lifetimes. For a time, she despised them and she still does. It is harder to now though, even when she blames them for the world order and black markets that made her into a murderer. A murderer she had not considered herself before when she had cut down spirit warriors like the peaches her wife had baked into their pies.

When wartime was at a loss, she turned to greed. Dreamstones could make money fast. They always had, in fact. And in some ways it was easier to cut through dreamshades when they already had reason to trust her. It most ways, it was harder. Though it did not stop her. It was simply what she was pushed to when order shifted.

Judas found her wife after years of searching for service. Money in her pocket from the dreamstones that had weighed down her robes. She did not expect herself to fall in love with a mortal, but at least she was not a spirit warrior. Their romance was unexpected and sudden, but full of life and love. Years spent by each other's side until the princess returned. Judas had never liked her. Her wife had never known her. The years they had spent living out her wife's wishes of exploring the world and selling ingredients they ran into shattered in the Wildwoods less than a week after they had arrived. The potion they purchased to disguise her wife's mortality of little importance when Judas was not there to slay the monster that killed her.

It was only fate that she fall back on her old ways. Targeting those less fortunate and more vulnerable than herself and her clients. It is the only way she knows how to proceed, even as she amasses what wealth she can to bribe someone to bring her dear mortal wife back to life.

HEADCANONS

She took her wife's last name: Sharpe.

For whatever reason, she can't find blame in herself for killing people. She blames it on the way in which society is ordered.

Looks like a cinnamon roll, but could kill you.

She talks and dresses a certain way that definitely makes it noticeable that she's immortal. She's also a boomer when it comes to using technology. Lmao, her insta equivalent is full of poorly-angled selfies and she posts once a year.

Honestly, she can be a bit stuck up, but she's a big talker and not very quick-witted. Also doesn't understand that she's not a war hero anymore.

I promise I love this character, but damn her wife was a brave woman.

If you call her Judith or Judy, she will lose her shit. It will be so funny, I promise. Also slightly dangerous, but hilarious.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

She's easily scammable. But just don't get caught and make a clean getaway.

She has not made a contract with a spirit warrior yet. She just can't get out of her little pit very well to align with a house (yet).

She absolutely visits the less 'desirable' establishments a lot. I can see her being a regular around bars/clubs... and not a very welcome one at times.

OTHER LINKS

pinterest - more info/muse page

[feralshadowdemon]

once again I remember that Tumblr has not heard of all my bsd AU ideas, and I do not ramble about them enough, so buckle up i’m rambling about one of my bsd aus again

warning this gets long and detailed so if you wish to keep reading click keep reading DkWDMA

Siren/Seafolk Pirate Crew AU

-  Chuuya is the captain of the infamous The Arahabaki, a ship rumored to have disappeared over a century ago returned with a crew of sirens and mermaids.

- Chuuya is the vessel of Arahabaki, who was a god who took the form of a serpent and caused many calamities in history, before suddenly disappearing. Due to this fact, Chuuya has a unique scale color, a bright red. When he uses corruption, he does still cough blood and technically slowly die, but he also has more of his siren side showing (he looks as human as possible usually and no one's ever seen his actual siren form before).

- The reason behind Chuuya being Arahabaki’s vessel is mostly unknown, but some of his crew suspects it may have involved an incident where a supposedly failed ritual set up was found covered by debris and rocks on the ocean floor, right around the same time Arahabaki disappeared.

-  Another crew member, who is usually kept out of sight and below deck or inside a cabin, is Atsushi. A Siren-mermaid hybrid which caused him to have white and black scales, and a unique pattern on his scales being stripes. Due to this, he is a main target for other pirates to try and get because of his rarity. He gets along well with Tanizaki and one of the later crew members who tags along, Lucy. Though he argues a lot with Akutagawa, another siren in the crew.

-  Akutagawa is essentially the second-in-command, he keeps everyone on track and is a rare siren as well that Chuuya found, Akutagawa has black-scales but usually covers them up with fabric he can control. It's a strange side affect he refuses to tell the backstory of (but Chuuya suspects Dazai might know why but just isn't telling, as it seems Akutagawa and Dazai have met before.)

-  Akutagawa's younger sister who also has black scales and is a siren, Gin, usually is the one to hoist sails and such due to her quick thinking and also because of how much agility she has. Some crew members, including Chuuya, suspect she had assassin training from someone due to the fact she always carries a dagger around and is very skilled with it.

- Dazai is a siren who’s kept in the bottom of the ship because Chuuya despises him. Atsushi at first has no clue who he is because he barely is allowed out from the bottom of the ship, and occasionally when he is out and about it’s only to help stop Chuuya’s corruption. He has been pushed down the stairs way too many times form Chuuya shoving him back down to the lower deck, though. (A tad bit of contribution to him being in the lower deck is because of his weird nullifying abilities, but mostly because Chuuya doesn’t like him.)

-  Tanizaki is a mermaid who has orange scales. He's on The Arahabaki to get paid and help get stuff for his sister, Naomi, who stayed at home (she's also less... ew in this AU because. yeah) when Tanizaki got hired on The Arahabaki, happy for her brother to be able to get a decent job. He's very helpful and he and the captain get along well, he also is mainly on cleaning duty but is skilled in combat as well. Usually relying on tricks or distractions to fight though.

-  Lucy is a mermaid as well in this AU, and she escapes onto The Arahabaki as a stowaway until Chuuya catches her snooping through their food supply in search of something. She escapes onto it because she was on an island they went too which had a market place, and she stole something and needed to get away from the island so she didn't get caught with a valuable item, which was the book. (Which she loses and is looking for when Chuuya catches her. She still has no clue how she lost it.)

- Q is here too! And is introduced in an entirely different way. When Chuuya gets off The Arahabaki to get some supplies, Chuuya notices a commotion and sees some people dragging a crying siren child away from the crowd that started to gather around said child. He also notices Q is a unique siren, or also a siren-mermaid hybrid, who’s scales are half white and half black, he then grabs a sword from one of the nearby guards and stabs the person who is dragging Q away from the public, mainly being influenced by Arahabaki whispering something to him about saving the child, before he then flees from the marketplace with Q.

- Q joins the crew from then on, getting along well with the other siren child there, Kenji. He gets super excited to meet someone younger than him and claims them as his younger sibling, also commenting on how the colors of their scales reminds him of the cows his family raised.

- Kenji is a mermaid who was raised on a farm! Not. not an underwater one, he literally was just a mermaid born with two human parents and they didn’t notice his scales until he got older. His incredible strength is from his mermaid blood, no one knows how his both human parents ended up with a mermaid child, but they decided it may be best if he explored the ocean. He then ended up on The Arahabaki.

- Fyodor is still here, he and Chuuya have a cool fight scene at some point and both of them live. Fyodor is as mysterious as ever, first appearing to aid Tanizaki in a fight, then disappearing without a trace.

as a thanks for reading through all this, here’s some cool scenes that happen in this AU:

Chuuya fighting three guards while blindfolded and his hands are tied, ends up as the victor and stabs a sword into the ground and climbs onto it's hilt and threatens the person who sent the guards after him. (No, he totally didn’t climb onto the sword’s hilt to make himself seem taller. totally not.)

Tanizaki fights off some pirates who attempt to invade the ship pretty decently, though when it starts getting too tough, Fyodor appears out of nowhere and helps Tanizaki fend off the invading pirates, before Fyodor disappears just as quickly as he appeared. Tanizaki is left very confused and informs Chuuya of this, who simply smirks when he learns of this strange, mysterious and strong individual 

The entire fight scene between Chuuya and Fyodor is very violent with sly comments thrown in and there. Also no, Fyodor doesn’t kill everyone he touches this AU, it’s kind of different. So he and Chuuya get into a very action-filled fight, at first Chuuya refuses to fight Fyodor but immediately attacks him in response to Fyodor throwing Akutagawa across the ship with ease. At some point Chuuya is distracted by Dazai running up from the lower deck and yelling for Chuuya to back down from attacking Fyodor, in response Fyodor kicks Chuuya into the sky. Oh yeah he has the strength to do that by the way, don’t ask me either he’s just a strange siren guy

[neon-dynasty]

On Universes Beyond

I think there are two huge issues behind the normal Magic fan whining when it comes to Universes Beyond.

First, there's the fact that Magic is almost thirty years old, and this is the first major push toward using the game as a vehicle for licensed tie-ins. There's a lot of resistance to it based on decades of precedence. Fans are accustomed to the MtG team's versions of real-world inspirations like gothic horror, Greek mythology, and Japanese cyberpunk. Throwing literal Optimus Prime into the same exact game as a Voltron-inspired card feels like it's diluting what fans already love about the design.

A side note to this one is that there are lots of properties that fans don't want to engage with at all. The Walking Dead is brutal, and Warhammer even moreso. Magic traditionally doesn't cross into the levels of gore and violence that some of these things do. Other properties like Doctor Who are more science-fiction than some fans really want in their fantasy game (though I'd argue the game has always had scifi elements, and that most scifi properties aren't as devoid of fantasy as people seem to think).

Second, there's the fact that it shines a light on how bad the demand for some cards is, and how WotC often fails at reprinting cards enough to accommodate the players. To a certain extent, all Magic capitalizes on FOMO, urging players to get the cards while they can, before they shoot up in price on the secondary market after they realize they need it for a hypothetical future deck. By making unique cards that are obtained in new and less common ways than most other cards, it can feel like Wizards is forcing fans to purchase products they might not have otherwise. There's a feeling like it's a second Reserved List, which is something that people are terrified about.

As for both of these reasons, I don't personally feel that way, but I understand them. Universes Beyond is doing nothing Magic hasn't done in the past (or wouldn't have done, had it had the resources), and arguably is taking the game places that it should have gone a long time ago.

I love that we're getting a Lord of the Rings set, that we've gotten two whole Dungeons & Dragons sets (though I think those are being treated as crossovers more than licensed tie-ins), and that they're actively exploring bringing my favorite characters and franchises into my favorite game.

Do I hate that TWD and WH40K cards exist now, and that I may one day have to play a match with them in it? Sure. I despise those properties. You know who doesn't? My best friend who's finally interested in the game now that Rick Grimes can be his commander. That's a win for me, no matter how much I may dislike zombie soap operas. And now that he's interested in playing a Chun-Li card, I can introduce him to Narset.

In fact, my only issue is with the absolute glut of product we've been getting over the past few years, and the associated product fatigue. Seriously, let us rest our wallets a bit!

Magic is a game that's always changing. Faster now than it has in the past, for sure, but in ways that make it more appealing to new players. I have concerns over how much they can add to the game before they're forced to slow down, but ultimately, this doesn't seem like WotC is trying to squeeze every penny out of its existing fanbase in a desperate cash grab. If anything, it feels more like it's rushing to catch up with what it could have been all along.

[sapphire-heart-tippy]

While at first they found it humiliating, eventually the heads came to like being pushed around in a stroller, even Alessi and Steely Dan even if just for the ironic laughs.

The one constant naysayer is Zeppeli. He DESPISES it and finds it absolutely degrading 😅

Alessi and Steely Dan: *snickering to each other in the stroller*

Speedwagon: *asleep with a pacifier in his mouth*

Jonathan: Oh come now, my dear friend! This is not so bad

Zeppeli: I refuse to take part in any more of this humiliation! As soon as we get back to the mansion, I am planting myself firmly on the most magnetic surface of the wine cellar and staying there indefinitely

Vanilla: *at the super market pushing the stroller and grabbing items*

Enya: Awww, I didn't know you and Tippy had -

Vanilla: No *strolls away*

Enya: Fine, be that way you steroid bean pole looking-

Cashier: Fabulous choices, sir! Did you find everything okay?

Vanilla: Yes, thank you.

[anthonybialy]

Promising to Break Promises

This world breaks government’s promises.  Arrest this rotten globe and drag it to The Hague.  Fear is framed as a product manufactured by greedy corporations to profit off offering weak cures.  Sadness hasn’t been banned because diabolical Republicans won’t send a passed bill to Joe Biden.  Enemies of your joy don’t want the cool grandfatherly president to get credit.

Ending guarantees which guarantee nothing seems like an obvious plan.  Well, that worked out.  But pretending any stuff you want is your right to be delivered with two-day shipping is inherent to certain identities.  Complimenting complimentary goods is too enticing a draw for true believers of a false narrative revolving around how government is good at anything.

The little matter of who’s going to pick up the tab is for squares who are into antiquated notions like compensation.  Handing out money without bothering to work made everyone wealthy, which is why the Biden times are packed with euphoria.  Notice fans of complimentary cash by how they call everyone who wants to keep what they earn selfish.

We should have learned by now.  In honor of collectivists who keep getting it wrong, pretend disincentivizing production s a group problem and not their individual foolishness.  A stubborn refusal to retain lessons keeps life fresh, although the tradeoff of widespread miserable poverty doesn’t precisely seem worth the constant intervention.  It’s no wonder liberals despise markets when they create such paltry benefits compared to agonizing drawbacks.

Why invade countries that are threatening America when you can do so in American lives?  A different type of defense is popular amongst neolibs.  The need to push values is part of the ugly urge behind imperialism.  The only thing that makes woke invasions worse is the hateful ideology they make others obey.

Statists’ religion must be imposed because everyone else sees faith in fighting inflation by handing out money never pays off.  Millions of hard truths learned by pretending things can be provided without cost are just added to the tab.  Our leaders are either unwilling to be taught or refusing to admit they sadistically inflicted concepts that’d get them laughed out of kindergarten.

It’s not as fun as you’d think to determine whether adherents can’t grasp patterns or think this will be the time for the exception.  Handing out currency is a much more sophisticated racket in these modern technological times.

Contemporary schemers are so much brighter than earlier dim suckers who thought they could get rich by printing money while taxing those who already got some.  Recent barons must have pilfered before fairness commissioners stepped in to create equitability.

An entire political philosophy based on telling others what to do creates widespread disobeying.  Trying to evade icky concepts like labor and value creates shiftlessness like it’s the desired product.  Advanced thinking leads to being horrified by the ghastly notion that humans trade what they can provide for what they’d like.

The hurters are here to help.  Every intervention, subtraction, and redistribution creates challenges meddlers claim to remedy.  It’s tough to ascertain whether grabby politicians are daft enough to think they’re helping or cynically making themselves appear messianic by creating crises for them to pretend to solve.  The debate reflects how we haven’t been able to escape prosperity since Biden blessed our nation by letting us elect him.

Acting as if an item is a right makes acquiring it even tougher.  I know it should be illegal for reality to break the law.  But the entitlement that results from proclaiming goods someone else offers is a right is as detrimental for keeping up quality supply as is unavoidable slacking when a provider knows business is guaranteed.  Irony unfortunately can’t be redeemed to purchase material goods.  But the supermarket is out of things like groceries, anyway.

Federal promises are worth as much as money.  A dollar is as worthwhile as a college degree. Mustering enough cash to obtain a luxury like any item somehow became futile once everyone got handfuls of it.  That’s quite the cruel trick.  Biden handing out bills like a creepy uncle was supposed to endear us and reality to him.

None of the paper with portraits of infinitely more successful governmental servants was his own, of course.  The whole reason he got into this government racket was to avoid dipping into his personal vaults, which can get pricey.  Biden just knew he could spread happiness while increasing his own popularity.  Now that he can dispense funds at will, Americans are cranky.  What is our problem?

Financial shenanigans end themselves organically.  Money can’t keep pace with its appraisal reduction. Noting a pyramid scheme can’t perpetuate indefinitely is racist against Egyptians.  Charles Ponzi inspires contemporary Democrats.

Please stop comparing a political philosophy based in government guaranteeing all your material needs will be met to communism.  It’s half sickle and half hammer.  Not letting East Germany fall because doing so kept it from enabling guarantees would have been the compassionate outcome.  In lieu of fixing history, Washington will find something new you should get without buying.  Stockpile food before it’s free and we starve.

[fandomxpreferences]

Got So Bent Out of Shape That I Probably Need A Chiropractor

Master List

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x female!reader, slight JJ Maybank x female!reader

TW:18+, pure self indulgent filth, toxic relationship, violence, angst, fluff, drinking, unprotected sex, breeding kink, oral (f receiving), choking, spitting, possessiveness, extreme dominance, praise and degradation, I think thats it but honestly there's so much happening so just read at your own discretion

Summary: You and Rafe have been playing a toxic game of cat and mouse for months, and he finally catches you.

Word Count:5k

Rafe Cameron is the bane of your fucking existence. He's arrogant, crass, and, unfortunately for you, a mind-blowing lay. You detest everything he stands for, and yet you can't stay away.

You've had an on-again-off-again friends-with-benefits situation for almost a year now, but at some point, it progressed past that. You wouldn't call it a relationship per se, but along the way, you started sleeping over and cleared your roster. 

You have your reasons for not making it official, primarily that you're both admittedly toxic. More often than not you're at each other's throats, projectiles being lobbed across the room at each other's heads before the two of you wind up tangled in sheets. 

You break it off every few weeks, trying your damndest to stay apart. It never fails that one -or both- of you gets drunk or high and comes crawling back. He's an itch you just can't scratch, and as much as you despise it, he's infected you like an incurable disease. 

There's always been an unspoken understanding that even when you're apart, and even though you're not technically together, you're off the market. It's a mind-boggling situationship, the two of you somehow committed while simultaneously not having contact names for each other. 

Regardless of the circumstances, you haven't slept with anyone else since Rafe and you thought the same could be said for him. You're on another break-thats-not-really-a-break after having an explosive fight last weekend. 

Initially, Rafe was drawn to your spitfire attitude; he's seen you in more fights than he can count and he just had to have a taste. That proved to be a bad idea because as it turns out, you're the only person he's ever met with a temper worse than his, and it's a recipe for disaster. It's too late though; he drank your poison and it's all but replaced the blood in his veins now.

You're standing with JJ at Tannyhill as the party rages around you. The alcohol coursing through you does nothing to quell your anger when your eyes land on Rafe's arm wrapped around none other than Amber. She's a past fling of his, and you know for a fact that she's been itching to get under him again. 

You know what he's doing; it's not the first time. Hell, you're guilty of it too. This is the dance you guys do. You go your separate ways, one of you hangs off of a random person just to press the other's buttons, and then you hate fuck until you fall back into the same old pattern. 

This time it strikes a nerve like never before because it's personal. In the past, it's always been a Touron being used as a pawn; but tonight is a whole new ball game. Amber terrorized you for years and Rafe knows this; at least three of those aforementioned fights were with her.

You momentarily reason that maybe, just maybe, it's not what it looks like. That thought is quickly erased when he leans down and nibbles on her ear, whispering something that causes her eyes to widen as she lightly slaps his arm. 

Your blood boils, and all you can think about is settling the score. Two can play this game. You turn to JJ with a sinister smile and he gives you a pointed look like he already knows what you're up to. 

He's well acquainted with your push-and-pull dynamic with Rafe and has expressed his disapproval until he's blue in the face. 

"How do you feel about getting under Rafe's skin?"

JJ is Rafe's Amber, and you know this will cut him just as deep, if not deeper. It's a perfect scenario; you're close enough with JJ for it to work, but not so close that it'll damage the friendship. 

"What are you thinking?" He asks with genuine intrigue, and you already know he's gonna be down. 

"He's here with Amber, so I was thinking we can have some fun of our own. We don't actually have to do anything, we just need him to think we did."

He shakes his head with a smile and wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. 

"You're evil and I respect it. Ground rules?"

You lean in the same way Rafe did a moment ago, a sickly sweet smile on your features despite your intentions being anything but. 

"Act like I'm telling you something that would make the devil blush. As for ground rules, just do whatever feels right, but it has to be believable. Lingering touches, whispers, and maybe a few kisses if the opportunity presents itself."

He plays along, laughing lightly and giving you a lustful look that even you would believe if you weren't in on it. 

You weren't expecting him to slip into character so easily, and your reaction is genuine when he kisses right below your ear before murmuring into your neck. 

"If he doesn't realize what he has, I'm more than willing to bend you over and show him. Just say the word." 

Your mouth drops open in shock at his words and he gives you a cheeky grin. 

"You said to make it believable." 

You shake your head and match his expression, nuzzling impossibly closer to his chest. 

"This is going to be fun."

It's not long before you're leaned back as JJ does a shot off of you, licking up your stomach before retrieving the lime that's slotted in your chest with his mouth. The cool breeze on the wet stripe causes goosebumps, and JJ smirks down at you.

As the alcohol flows, the line becomes blurred and the sexual tension is palpable. You aren't planning on sleeping with him, but crazier things have happened. You feel eyes burning into you but don't give him the satisfaction of capturing your attention. 

Instead, you stand up and grab JJ's hand, leading him over to the makeshift dance floor where a few other people are grinding on each other. 

He pulls you back so against his chest as your hips start to sway, and his hands grip your waist tightly. Your bodies have practically meshed into one, the thumping bass causing you to vibrate. 

All of your senses are overwhelmed, the feel of JJ's calloused palms on your bare torso and the intoxicating scent of weed mixed with cologne making you feel euphoric. 

Your hand comes up to reach behind you and tangles in his blonde hair as his lips attach to the side of your throat. There's a blissed-out smile on your face as the two of you move together seamlessly, and you turn your head to kiss him. 

He reciprocates immediately and tugs lightly on your lower lip before slipping his tongue into your mouth. You make out for a few minutes, the flavor of beer and mint mingling on your taste buds. 

It's so different than Rafe, but you don't mind. He tastes like expensive whiskey and he's more aggressive. JJ is gentle yet commanding, and it's a nice change of pace. 

You break apart to breathe and continue dancing, when your eyes lock onto Rafe's. You give him a sly grin and shoot him a wink for good measure, never slowing your movements against the man behind you. 

You falter when a look you would almost think is hurt crosses his features, and it makes you second-guess everything. This has definitely gone further than you intended, but that's what happens with Rafe. 

He makes you crazy and impulsive, and all you wanted to do was beat him at his own game. You excuse yourself from JJ and head toward the keg, deciding you definitely need another drink. 

It's as you're filling your cup that you hear Amber's shrill voice and freeze. 

"I'm not letting him slip away again. Besides, he's always told me I'm the best he's ever had, so he'd be crazy to let me go. He's been telling me all night that he can't wait to have me back in his bed later."

The red cup slips from your hand as you whip around, rage overtaking any logic. You're seeing red as you stalk forward, and she scoffs when she sees you. 

"What do you want, pogue? Did your boy toy already lose interest?"

That's the final straw as your eyes darken, and you snap. Fury you've never experienced radiates through your body, and you suddenly understand how people black out and kill in a fit of rage. 

"Round four, bitch."

There's a brief moment before you lunge when you see her face drop and you smile in satisfaction. Some would argue it's psychotic to smile before you walk someone like a dog, you just think it adds to your charm. 

She doesn't have time to react before you lean your weight into your right arm, your fist swinging around from the side and connecting with her cheek. Her friends scream as she's sent flying back, and you ignore them while climbing on top of her. 

You should've stopped after the first blow, but her words ring in your ears and all you feel is the blunt force of your knuckles connecting with her face. 

Normally you wouldn't fight a girl over a guy, but it's Rafe. Nothing about your relationship with him is normal.

Besides, she's had this coming for a long time. 

You're so pissed you don't notice your skin split open, or the crowd that's gathered to watch the shitshow unfold. 

You're abruptly wrapped in strong arms and pulled off, flailing violently against the restraint. The arms tighten as you're manhandled toward the house, hard muscles rippling as they dig into you. You land a lucky shot with your foot, and the person drops you on the porch with a yelp. 

You spin around ready to have your second altercation of the night when you see Rafe rubbing his knee. He stands up straight when he notices you looking at him, and his eyes peer down into yours. There's a familiar fire in his cerulean irises and it only spurs you on. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He snaps and he's already braced for the shove he knows is coming. 

Your hands push against his chest in a fruitless attempt to move him, and he gives you an amused look. 

"What's wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong with you? You are such an asshole, Rafe!"

Before you can think it through, your hand connects with his cheek and his head snaps to the side. Your chest heaves with pants as you stare up at him, and he processes what you just did for a moment before turning his face back to you dangerously slow. 

"Get in the fucking house."

You cross your arms defiantly, partly to prove a point and partly to stop yourself from hitting him again. 

"Go fuck yourself."

You attempt to go around him, but you're stopped in your tracks when his hand flies up to your throat just as you're about to step past him. His hand holds you in a punishing grip, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to keep you in place. 

His head dips down so he's level with your face, and you gulp at the gravel in his voice. 

"Y/N, get in the fucking house before I make you."

When you don't comply, he chuckles lowly and throws you over his shoulder. Your fists pound on his back but it's as if you're hitting him with a pillow as he carries you up the stairs and into his room. 

He sets you down roughly and points to the bed before heading toward the ensuite. 

"Sit."

You listen this time, aware that you're teetering the line between being stubborn and taking it too far. You watch as he returns with a first aid kit and kneels in front of you, taking your battered hands in his much larger ones. 

You wince when he presses a rag to the cuts littered across your flesh, and he tightens his hold when you try to pull back. 

"That hurts."

He rolls his eyes and continues, though his pressure lightens. 

"Should've thought about that before breaking someone's face."

You yelp when he wipes your wounds with an alcohol pad and he presses a kiss to the inside of your knee. 

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm almost done."

You don't protest again as he finishes up and you flex your fingers a few times to make sure nothing is broken. 

"Why did you attempt to murder Amber?"

You scoff at the idiotic question, the flame in your chest reigniting. 

"Reasons." 

He gives you a pointed look and you shrug, your combative attitude back as if it never left. 

"The same reasons I want to go downstairs and strangle Maybank until his eyes pop out of their sockets?"

You stand suddenly and he moves to block your path when you head for the door. 

"I'm not fucking doing this. I'm going back downstairs to find JJ and finish what we started."

There's no truth to your words, but you spit them out anyway; dead set on antagonizing him the way he did you. He knows this and laughs as he provokes you in a way only he can.

"So you just spread your legs for anybody now? I knew pogues were whores but-"

He's cut off by another slap, this one hard enough to leave a handprint and you know you fucked up. It's a miracle he let one slide, but two? You're in deep shit. 

In the blink of an eye, he has you pinned against the bedroom door with his body pressed into yours, a dangerous glint in his eyes. 

You return his harsh gaze, the two of you silently daring the other to make a move. You refuse to give him a reaction and ignore the slick between your legs. 

"You are mine. Your pussy, your throat, your moans, your soul; they're mine. Do you understand me?"

You continue acting as if his words don't phase you, but he doesn't miss the way your body subconsciously leans into him. You hate the smug look on his face and fight against him, but he only presses further into you. 

"Stop fucking fighting this. When are you going to admit you don't actually hate me?" 

There's an uncharacteristic vulnerability in his voice that makes your head spin and against your will, your eyes dart to his lips. 

"When it stops being true." You bite and just like that, the moment has passed and his eyes darken. 

"Fine, we'll see if that's how you feel when I'm through ruining you for anybody else. No man will want you after I'm done because your pussy is going to be molded to the shape of my cock. You can't escape me, princess. You might as well lean in and enjoy."

You're not sure what it says about you that his promise has you dripping, but you can't bring yourself to care. The tables have shifted, and in an instant you're slipping into the headspace that casts all morals and dignity aside, eager to give Rafe anything he wants. 

His hand slips into your shorts, finding your slick folds as if they're his home, and he tsks. 

"Your mouth can lie all it wants, but your body always tells the truth. You love that I own you, that I use your body. Say it."

Your voice escapes you as his thumb finds your bundle of nerves, and any morsel of fight you have left is sucked from your body.

"Say it, or I won't let you come tonight."

You know he means it, and manage to force your tongue to form the words. 

"I love that you own me and use me."

He hums with a smirk and pinches your clit before resuming his previous movements. 

"Good girl."

You whine when he suddenly retracts his hand, but you're quickly appeased when he picks you up and carries you to the bed. Your body bounces against the mattress as he chucks you down like a rag doll, and you squirm when he just stares down at you. 

It doesn't last long, and you gasp when he reaches down and tears your shirt down the middle. The rest of your clothing quickly follows, and much to your surprise, Rafe settles between your legs.

His hands splay across your knees holding you open for him, before his mouth attaches to your thigh. You moan as he sucks and bites dark hickies into the flesh, a lasting reminder of his sentiment from earlier.

He continues on his path until you're writhing beneath him, your hips bucking up to search for any form of friction. His palm comes down on your thigh with a harsh slap, and you settle back into the bed.

"What do you want?" His voice is akin to a growl as he coaxes you and you lift your hips again in response. Another slap and a warning glare have you whimpering as he holds eye contact. 

"Words."

You huff in frustration as your hand reaches for his head, and he emits a groan when you grab onto the buzzcut that's grown out just enough for you to grip onto. 

"I want your mouth, Rafe. Please."

You barely recognize your own voice as you breathe the words and he flashes you that million-dollar smile. 

"You're so pretty when you beg."

You're about to bite out a snippy retort when his mouth attaches to your heat, and you cry out loudly. He licks a broad stripe before pulling back to spit. He watches as his saliva drips down slowly and groans.

"God you're so fucking sweet. It's like a drug, I could survive off of you for the rest of my life."

Your eyes roll back at his words, and he dives into you like a man starved. He sets a brutal pace, giving you no time to adjust before curling two fingers into your gspot. 

Your head tilts back as you see stars, and if you weren't so far gone you'd be embarrassed at how quickly he has your high approaching. He hums when he feels you tightening around his fingers and you gasp at the vibration. 

He bites down before sucking your clit into his mouth, and that's all it takes to make the coil in your belly snap. The combination of lewd noises and the coolness of his rings sends you into overdrive as your back arches off the bed, and he lets you ride it out before pulling back. 

You take a second to regain your senses, and when you do you hear the familiar clinking of his belt buckle. You start to get up, ready to return the favor when he pushes you back down. 

"Not tonight. I need to feel you around me."

You don't respond as he covers your body with his, and he presses his mouth to yours in a bruising kiss. Its clashing teeth and sloppy tongues, and Rafe lets out a strangled groan when you lick around his lips to clean off your arousal. 

He teases your entrance torturously slow as you buck into him, and smirks. 

"Who's pussy is this?"

You don't hesitate, too desperate to be full of him to think of anything else. 

"Yours." 

At that, he slams into you and you gasp at the sudden intrusion. He gives you a second, locking eyes to confirm, and starts thrusting sharply when you give a nod. 

His head drops into the crook of your neck, flooded with relief at being seated inside you once again. 

"No one else is ever allowed to feel how perfect and tight this pussy is. Only I get to hear your pretty sounds and watch you fall apart."

You nod your head vigorously, seeking out his mouth again as moans tumble from both of you. He accepts your answer and rewards you by hitching your leg over his shoulder to get a deeper angle.

Your nails dig into his back at the new feeling, and you rake them down to his back dimples as you feel his muscles flex under your touch. 

You're quickly approaching your second orgasm as his grunts fill your ears, sweat beading across both your chests as the heat from your bodies warms the air. 

"Such a good little whore for me, taking this cock like it's your job. My perfect girl." 

His hand comes up to your throat when you let out a whine and you part your lips. 

He smiles brightly, obsessed with how eager you are to please him, and leans down. The whimper you let out is pathetic as he spits into your mouth before capturing you in a messy kiss. 

His fingers squeeze with delectable pressure and you let out a silent scream when his other hand starts rubbing fast circles on your clit. 

"Come for me, baby. Soak the sheets and show me how good it feels."

That's all it takes for white-hot pleasure to engulf every nerve ending, and he sucks a mark onto the column of your throat as you tremble against him. He waits for you to come down before flipping you over and snapping his hips into yours. 

He growls as he fucks into you, letting spit drip from his tongue and down to where your bodies meet. 

"Such a greedy pussy, sucking me in like it can't live without my cock. Maybank could never make you feel like this, no one else can."

You're an incoherent babbling mess now, your mind empty as your focus on the feeling of Rafe's cock dragging against your walls. 

You mewl when he tangles his hand in your hair, pressing your face into the mattress as he fucks you into another dimension. You shiver when he presses wet kisses down your spine, his voice right next to your ear as he whispers praise. 

"Good girl, you're doing so well. So beautiful like this."

The mixture of praise and dirty talk has you trembling, your legs nearly giving out beneath you. Rafe notices and slaps your ass before grabbing a pillow and placing it beneath your hips. 

He presses you down so you're propped up, and you feel tears spilling out onto the linens as the pleasure swirls around you like a vortex. His body is practically on top of you now, the weight grounding you just enough for you to push back and meet his thrusts. 

He chuckles and shakes his head, completely enamored. 

"Look at you, using my cock to come for the third time. So greedy."

You manage to shake your head and kiss his bicep that's propping him up next to your face. His features soften at the realization and he leans down to press a kiss to your shoulder blade. 

"Oh, how sweet and thoughtful. You just wanna make me feel good, huh?"

You nod your head and whimper, closing your eyes as he presses a kiss to your cheek. It's the most intimate you two have ever been, and you're met with a fleeting thought that something has changed. It's quickly wiped away when he switches up his place, slowing down to fuck you hard and deep. 

"You wanna make me come, princess? Want me to fill you up until you can't take any more? Maybe I'll fuck a baby into you. See what Maybank thinks when all round and pretty with a Cameron inside you."

You clench down at his words and he hisses, his own high dangerously close. 

"Come for me one more time, baby. Come with me." 

His request triggers your third orgasm and you scream until your throat is raw as shockwaves of pleasure roll over you. Rafe's hands entwine with yours, squeezing tightly as he gasps. Hot ropes of cum coat your walls and he fucks it back into a few times before gently pulling out and collapsing next to you. 

Your mouth feels like you've been chewing on cotton as you try to catch your breath, muscle fatigue settling into every square inch of your body. 

You and Rafe are a sight to behold; eyes glazed over, tangled hair, and flushed skin glistening with salty sweat.

You lay in silence for a few minutes, Rafe's fingers tracing featherlight patterns on your back as if they're following paths he knows by heart. You're convinced he's about to pass out when he stands, making his way into the bathroom. 

You listen as the shower starts running, and will your limbs to work so you can gather what's left of your clothes and one of Rafe's shirts to leave. Your efforts are interrupted when Rafe reappears and turns you over, gently scooping you into his arms. 

You wrap yourself around him, too tired to argue, and let him carry you into the bathroom. He carefully steps into the shower with you still clinging onto him and you weakly shake your head. 

"Too tired for round two, Rafe." It's a slurred mumble and you frown when his chest rumbles with quiet laughter. 

"We need to shower." He explains, his voice tender in a way you've never heard before. 

"Together? Without sex?" You're genuinely baffled at the suggestion. He's never done this before, and your heart flutters at the sudden change in behavior. 

"Yes? We're sweaty and gross, and I don't want to get it in the bed after I put on fresh sheets." He says it's like it's the most simple thing in the world, and you let him, too exhausted to put any more effort into thinking. 

He carefully sets you down, his hands holding you steady as you stumble a bit. You stay still as he takes it upon himself to wash your hair and body, letting yourself revel in the newfound affection. 

This is a new side of Rafe, and you're surprised at how willing you are to accept it. You let your eyes flutter closed as the water cascades across your skin and lean back into Rafe when his arms wrap around your waist.

"I didn't fuck her, you know. I just brought her to piss you off, and it was cruel. I knew your history and used it against you. I'm sorry."

Apparently, Rafe is full of surprises, because never in a million years did you think you'd ever hear him apologize sincerely. You turn around to face him, clasping your hands around his neck as you give him a short kiss. 

"Thank you. I'm sorry for kissing JJ. Seeing you with her just made me so mad and I did it without thinking." 

He kisses your forehead and pulls you closer, setting his chin on top of your head. 

"They say love makes you do crazy things." 

His voice is barely audible, but the words sound like they're coming from a megaphone as they sink in. 

"I'm sorry, what?" You ask puzzled, looking up at him in bewilderment. 

"Come on, Y/N. You have to know by now. You don't get that angry and jealous over someone you aren't in love with."

His statement hits you like a freight train, and you blink a few times as you try to work it out. 

Does Rafe make your head spin? Sure. Do your eyes immediately seek him out in a crowd full of people? You guess. Does your stomach do somersaults when they finally find him? Like an Olympic gymnast.

Is Rafe the only person you want to see when something happens, whether good or bad? Of course. It's then you're struck with realization, and it knocks the wind out of you. Holy shit. 

You're in love with Rafe Cameron.

All the fighting, all the games, and all the supposed hatred were because you couldn't come to terms with your feelings.

You convinced yourself that you hate his stupid toned muscles, and his dumb perfect smile, and his annoyingly blue eyes, and his infuriatingly infectious laugh, and- yeah, you're an idiot. 

Rafe watches as you connect the pieces, his thumb gently rubbing your cheekbone as he seizes the opportunity to memorize your features. He sees the exact moment it all clicks, his irises somehow becoming an even brighter blue than they already are. 

"How long have you known?" You press; surely he just recently came to this conclusion too. 

"A few months." He grins and he can't help but laugh as you swat at him wide eyes. 

"Why didn't you fucking tell me?"

His eyebrows raise in amusement and he shakes his head, his cheeks burning from the wide smile he wears. 

"I know you, and if I had told you, you would've smacked me and screamed at me until you lost your voice."

Your shoulders slump in defeat because he's right; it would not have gone over well. He continues with his shower, periodically focusing on how cute you are when you mope. 

Once he finishes up, the two of you dry off and he tosses you one of his sweatshirts before slipping into some joggers. 

You wait patiently as he strips the sheets and replaces them before crawling into bed and snuggling into the down pillow. You're out within seconds, and Rafe's heart flutters as he watches you sleep in his bed wearing his clothes.

It seems to be a new unspoken agreement now; that the two of you are together and belong only to each other. He relishes in the thought and creeps into bed as quietly as he can manage so as not to disturb you. 

He settles in, and the second you register his warmth, your body shifts closer to his. Your arms flop across his chest with your hand resting gently against his neck while your leg is perched up on his waist. You let out a content hum and bury your face into his arm, wanting to be as close as possible even in your sleep. 

The thought makes his heart drown in love and he wraps you in his embrace while pressing a kiss to the top of your head. He chuckles to himself and reaches over to shut off the light, fatigue clawing at him as his eyes burn. Not in love, his ass.

[makaylacooperblog]

The Entrepreneur Who Can't Write "e"

I don’t necessarily enjoy writing. It’s far from being my passion. However, there are forms of writing that are important to me. I have used different forms of writing to uncover my passions, relive my favorite moments, and influence others in my professional career. From my earliest memories of my childhood I have always been determined. Finding something I was passionate about, and working towards it has always been a key component of my personality.

First grade, 2009, at recess; my favorite part of the day. Before the bell rang, I always made sure to grab my pink Hello Kitty notebook along with my short pencil. Every recess I would run as fast as I could underneath the blue plastic slide where my customers waited for me. I ran my own imaginary business where I sold and traded wood chips and rocks. Using my top of the line stationary, I would write down everyone’s orders. Learning to write for me was a way to put my blooming love of the world of business into form. In the first grade we were just learning the basics: letters, sounds, our names, and occasionally a phrase or two. Each day we learned a new letter of the alphabet and how to write it in both capital and lowercase letters. When learning the letter “E,” I broke into tears simply because I was incapable of writing the letter. For some reason my lowercase “e” just became an “o” everytime. The fact that I couldn’t write the letter felt so embarrassing, though I still continued on with my business, but never wrote the letter “E.” That being said, my order taking skills were nearly gibberish, but nevertheless I was still practicing. 

As time moved on, I eventually learned how to write the letter “E” and I soon could craft full sentences which opened the gates to a new passion: calligraphy. Around 6th grade I became obsessed with cursive writing, and wrote every assignment in cursive. Cursive writing became my own creative outlet as it transitioned into a more calligraphy style. Middle school was a rough time for me, so having a creative outlet gave me the freedom to be myself in an artistic way. Yet, I was still a hustler; I would take orders and write my friends name’s all fancy and deliver them to lunch. I loved making invitations, cards, or anything that needed a creative twist. My love for using writing as an outlet for myself, even though not in a story-telling classic form, was apparent.

As high school came around I rekindled my passion for business. My writing skills became more practical. I still used it to portray my thoughts and present them, just more in a professional way. In my business course, I was given my first large market research paper of twenty pages. Normally, I would have despised this kind of writing; however, my passion for understanding more about the topic drove me to complete the process.

 I took that paper to my regional competition for our business club and expert judges from the industry critiqued each and every inch of the paper. Using the feedback, I qualified for both the state and international levels of competition with my research. Looking back, my entire future was shaped by that paper. It brought me some of my favorite high school memories, it gave me a bunch of events to put on my resume, and it even got me into college so I could pursue my passions in business. It is shocking to me because of how little I write that a research paper I barely wanted to do could take me so far.

International Career Development Conference, 2022

It seems as though my passion to enter the business world will always have a tie to writing. Taking and writing down orders on the playground sparked my interest in entrepreneurship. My calligraphy skills acted as a creative outlet to get through one of the hardest times in my life. Writing my first business paper helped push forward my career. My determination into things I have passion for has honed in my writing skills. As much as I don’t enjoy writing, I’ll never forget how some parts of it have helped push me forward and helped me grow into the woman I am today.

[rametarin]

From a practical standpoint

You know, if someone wanted to bring down the cost of medicine, the only thing they’d really need to do is improve the science and the technology/engineering to where such things are cheap, and easily available.

However, they won’t do that, because in the current system, if anti-cancer drugs were the cost of bubblegum at the local corner store, then they couldn’t necessitate having a strong man government and centralized healthcare system that demands everybody be given said treatment on the basis of being alive, and demand everybody pay into this system to provide it.

So people like me find ourselves in this position where we despise the racketeers that overcharge for medicine, and the fabian socialist types that want all the centralization and authority and marriage of the state with healthcare as a way to justify taxation and control over the people.

Had I the political means, I’d fight high medicine prices by making a push towards the engineering education and manufacturing to make existing medical equipment that’s literal pennies to make, smack some bureaucrats in the head to make it more legal to do so, and set up programs to have the technical manpower needed to operate the diagnostic machines and equipment. So the base minimum standard of X-ray, sonargram, if there’s a machine you can name the thing would be ‘finished’ to be portable, consume minimum amounts of electricity, moderately intelligent and comprehensive to use and interpret- and capable of being software updated based on the latest research.

Profit would still be a driving motive, but overhead costs and engineering realities would be figured out. With a particular emphasis on those engineers that are willing to work on things that ultimately will lead to cheaper devices that can even be end-user owned but interpreted by clinicians and specialists. Profit NEEDs to be a motive. The question is, exactly by what margins and just how big a business or corporate model is required to fulfill them.

Some of the amazing things they’re doing now by pharmacogenetics and organs-on-a-chip are just incredible. So a great deal of complexitiy, the time sink and the ambiguity and unknowns of drug and medicine research, the pitfalls and legal risks, are about to go the fuck away. Meaning, even smaller companies trying to develop and patent their own brand of drugs or medicine, could do so.

And then there’s lowering the cost of the materials needed or required to produce insulin. And just smacking the bureaucratic system in the face on the government’s end that says, “only a certain anointed few are even allowed to produce stuff classified as medicine, and it’s an in-group you don’t belong to.”

I fully believe in the free market, private property, intellectual property, patents, copyrights and trademarks. And right now it isn’t capitalism or patents that are fucking it up for everybody, it’s how the government is being used to secure monopoly for some using that system, and then hiding behind that system like a shield for the impropriety existing at all. As certain ideologues are.

And I believe when medicine and healthare are UNFUCKED from this system, that will be the ideologues last gasp against capitalism. Capitalism will win, and ironically, it will result in honest medical bills from a position where there’s not a pill or injection that could run you more than the cost of OTC pain medicine.

The biggest battles to free medicine from this exploitation of the legal and bureaucratic system will occur in law and government on one end, and the science and engineering level on the other. It is ONLY in the interests of corporate monopoly and government interests, and those that want them merged, that healthcare be so expensive it REQUIRES an entire nation’s treasury to secure.