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mostlysignssomeportents · 19 days

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How to shatter the class solidarity of the ruling class

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me WEDNESDAY (Apr 11) at UCLA, then Chicago (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Audre Lorde counsels us that "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House," while MLK said "the law cannot make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me." Somewhere between replacing the system and using the system lies a pragmatic – if easily derailed – course.

Lorde is telling us that a rotten system can't be redeemed by using its own chosen reform mechanisms. King's telling us that unless we live, we can't fight – so anything within the system that makes it easier for your comrades to fight on can hasten the end of the system.

Take the problems of journalism. One old model of journalism funding involved wealthy newspaper families profiting handsomely by selling local appliance store owners the right to reach the townspeople who wanted to read sports-scores. These families expressed their patrician love of their town by peeling off some of those profits to pay reporters to sit through municipal council meetings or even travel overseas and get shot at.

In retrospect, this wasn't ever going to be a stable arrangement. It relied on both the inconstant generosity of newspaper barons and the absence of a superior way to show washing-machine ads to people who might want to buy washing machines. Neither of these were good long-term bets. Not only were newspaper barons easily distracted from their sense of patrician duty (especially when their own power was called into question), but there were lots of better ways to connect buyers and sellers lurking in potentia.

All of this was grossly exacerbated by tech monopolies. Tech barons aren't smarter or more evil than newspaper barons, but they have better tools, and so now they take 51 cents out of every ad dollar and 30 cents out of ever subscriber dollar and they refuse to deliver the news to users who explicitly requested it, unless the news company pays them a bribe to "boost" their posts:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

The news is important, and people sign up to make, digest, and discuss the news for many non-economic reasons, which means that the news continues to struggle along, despite all the economic impediments and the vulture capitalists and tech monopolists who fight one another for which one will get to take the biggest bite out of the press. We've got outstanding nonprofit news outlets like Propublica, journalist-owned outlets like 404 Media, and crowdfunded reporters like Molly White (and winner-take-all outlets like the New York Times).

But as Hamilton Nolan points out, "that pot of money…is only large enough to produce a small fraction of the journalism that was being produced in past generations":

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/what-will-replace-advertising-revenue

For Nolan, "public funding of journalism is the only way to fix this…If we accept that journalism is not just a business or a form of entertainment but a public good, then funding it with public money makes perfect sense":

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/public-funding-of-journalism-is-the

Having grown up in Canada – under the CBC – and then lived for a quarter of my life in the UK – under the BBC – I am very enthusiastic about Nolan's solution. There are obvious problems with publicly funded journalism, like the politicization of news coverage:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/24/panel-approving-richard-sharp-as-bbc-chair-included-tory-party-donor

And the transformation of the funding into a cheap political football:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-defund-cbc-change-law-1.6810434

But the worst version of those problems is still better than the best version of the private-equity-funded model of news production.

But Nolan notes the emergence of a new form of hedge fund news, one that is awfully promising, and also terribly fraught: Hunterbrook Media, an investigative news outlet owned by short-sellers who pay journalists to research and publish damning reports on companies they hold a short position on:

https://hntrbrk.com/

For those of you who are blissfully distant from the machinations of the financial markets, "short selling" is a wager that a company's stock price will go down. A gambler who takes a short position on a company's stock can make a lot of money if the company stumbles or fails altogether (but if the company does well, the short can suffer literally unlimited losses).

Shorts have historically paid analysts to dig into companies and uncover the sins hidden on their balance-sheets, but as Matt Levine points out, journalists work for a fraction of the price of analysts and are at least as good at uncovering dirt as MBAs are:

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-04-02/a-hedge-fund-that-s-also-a-newspaper

What's more, shorts who discover dirt on a company still need to convince journalists to publicize their findings and trigger the sell-off that makes their short position pay off. Shorts who own a muckraking journalistic operation can skip this step: they are the journalists.

There's a way in which this is sheer genius. Well-funded shorts who don't care about the news per se can still be motivated into funding freely available, high-quality investigative journalism about corporate malfeasance (notoriously, one of the least attractive forms of journalism for advertisers). They can pay journalists top dollar – even bid against each other for the most talented journalists – and supply them with all the tools they need to ply their trade. A short won't ever try the kind of bullshit the owners of Vice pulled, paying themselves millions while their journalists lose access to Lexisnexis or the PACER database:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/24/anti-posse/#when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-give-a-solitary-single-fuck

The shorts whose journalists are best equipped stand to make the most money. What's not to like?

Well, the issue here is whether the ruling class's sense of solidarity is stronger than its greed. The wealthy have historically oscillated between real solidarity (think of the ultrawealthy lobbying to support bipartisan votes for tax cuts and bailouts) and "war of all against all" (as when wealthy colonizers dragged their countries into WWI after the supply of countries to steal ran out).

After all, the reason companies engage in the scams that shorts reveal is that they are profitable. "Behind every great fortune is a great crime," and that's just great. You don't win the game when you get into heaven, you win it when you get into the Forbes Rich List.

Take monopolies: investors like the upside of backing an upstart company that gobbles up some staid industry's margins – Amazon vs publishing, say, or Uber vs taxis. But while there's a lot of upside in that move, there's also a lot of risk: most companies that set out to "disrupt" an industry sink, taking their investors' capital down with them.

Contrast that with monopolies: backing a company that merges with its rivals and buys every small company that might someday grow large is a sure thing. Shriven of "wasteful competition," a company can lower quality, raise prices, capture its regulators, screw its workers and suppliers and laugh all the way to Davos. A big enough company can ignore the complaints of those workers, customers and regulators. They're not just too big to fail. They're not just too big to jail. They're too big to care:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

Would-be monopolists are stuck in a high-stakes Prisoner's Dilemma. If they cooperate, they can screw over everyone else and get unimaginably rich. But if one party defects, they can raid the monopolist's margins, short its stock, and snitch to its regulators.

It's true that there's a clear incentive for hedge-fund managers to fund investigative journalism into other hedge-fund managers' portfolio companies. But it would be even more profitable for both of those hedgies to join forces and collude to screw the rest of us over. So long as they mistrust each other, we might see some benefit from that adversarial relationship. But the point of the 0.1% is that there aren't very many of them. The Aspen Institute can rent a hall that will hold an appreciable fraction of that crowd. They buy their private jets and bespoke suits and powdered rhino horn from the same exclusive sellers. Their kids go to the same elite schools. They know each other, and they have every opportunity to get drunk together at a charity ball or a society wedding and cook up a plan to join forces.

This is the problem at the core of "mechanism design" grounded in "rational self-interest." If you try to create a system where people do the right thing because they're selfish assholes, you normalize being a selfish asshole. Eventually, the selfish assholes form a cozy little League of Selfish Assholes and turn on the rest of us.

Appeals to morality don't work on unethical people, but appeals to immorality crowds out ethics. Take the ancient split between "free software" (software that is designed to maximize the freedom of the people who use it) and "open source software" (identical to free software, but promoted as a better way to make robust code through transparency and peer review).

Over the years, open source – an appeal to your own selfish need for better code – triumphed over free software, and its appeal to the ethics of a world of "software freedom." But it turns out that while the difference between "open" and "free" was once mere semantics, it's fully possible to decouple the two. Today, we have lots of "open source": you can see the code that Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook uses, and even contribute your labor to it for free. But you can't actually decide how the software you write works, because it all takes a loop through Google, Microsoft, Apple or Facebook's servers, and only those trillion-dollar tech monopolists have the software freedom to determine how those servers work:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/04/which-side-are-you-on/#tivoization-and-beyond

That's ruling class solidarity. The Big Tech firms have hidden a myriad of sins beneath their bafflegab and balance-sheets. These (as yet) undiscovered scams constitute a "bezzle," which JK Galbraith defined as "the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it."

The purpose of Hunterbrook is to discover and destroy bezzles, hastening the moment of realization that the wealth we all feel in a world of seemingly orderly technology is really an illusion. Hunterbrook certainly has its pick of bezzles to choose from, because we are living in a Golden Age of the Bezzle.

Which is why I titled my new novel The Bezzle. It's a tale of high-tech finance scams, starring my two-fisted forensic accountant Marty Hench, and in this volume, Hench is called upon to unwind a predatory prison-tech scam that victimizes the most vulnerable people in America – our army of prisoners – and their families:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

The scheme I fictionalize in The Bezzle is very real. Prison-tech monopolists like Securus and Viapath bribe prison officials to abolish calls, in-person visits, mail and parcels, then they supply prisoners with "free" tablets where they pay hugely inflated rates to receive mail, speak to their families, and access ebooks, distance education and other electronic media:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/#guillotine-watch

But a group of activists have cornered these high-tech predators, run them to ground and driven them to the brink of extinction, and they've done it using "the master's tools" – with appeals to regulators and the finance sector itself.

Writing for The Appeal, Dana Floberg and Morgan Duckett describe the campaign they waged with Worth Rises to bankrupt the prison-tech sector:

https://theappeal.org/securus-bankruptcy-prison-telecom-industry/

Here's the headline figure: Securus is $1.8 billion in debt, and it has eight months to find a financier or it will go bust. What's more, all the creditors it might reasonably approach have rejected its overtures, and its bonds have been downrated to junk status. It's a dead duck.

Even better is how this happened. Securus's debt problems started with its acquisition, a leveraged buyout by Platinum Equity, who borrowed heavily against the firm and then looted it with bogus "management fees" that meant that the debt continued to grow, despite Securus's $700m in annual revenue from America's prisoners. Platinum was just the last in a long line of PE companies that loaded up Securus with debt and merged it with its competitors, who were also mortgaged to make profits for other private equity funds.

For years, Securus and Platinum were able to service their debt and roll it over when it came due. But after Worth Rises got NYC to pass a law making jail calls free, creditors started to back away from Securus. It's one thing for Securus to charge $18 for a local call from a prison when it's splitting the money with the city jail system. But when that $18 needs to be paid by the city, they're going to demand much lower prices. To make things worse for Securus, prison reformers got similar laws passed in San Francisco and in Connecticut.

Securus tried to outrun its problems by gobbling up one of its major rivals, Icsolutions, but Worth Rises and its coalition convinced regulators at the FCC to block the merger. Securus abandoned the deal:

https://worthrises.org/blogpost/securusmerger

Then, Worth Rises targeted Platinum Equity, going after the pension funds and other investors whose capital Platinum used to keep Securus going. The massive negative press campaign led to eight-figure disinvestments:

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-05/la-fi-tom-gores-securus-prison-phone-mass-incarceration

Now, Securus's debt became "distressed," trading at $0.47 on the dollar. A brief, covid-fueled reprieve gave Securus a temporary lifeline, as prisoners' families were barred from in-person visits and had to pay Securus's rates to talk to their incarcerated loved ones. But after lockdown, Securus's troubles picked up right where they left off.

They targeted Platinum's founder, Tom Gores, who papered over his bloody fortune by styling himself as a philanthropist and sports-team owner. After a campaign by Worth Rises and Color of Change, Gores was kicked off the Los Angeles County Museum of Art board. When Gores tried to flip Securus to a SPAC – the same scam Trump pulled with Truth Social – the negative publicity about Securus's unsound morals and financials killed the deal:

https://twitter.com/WorthRises/status/1578034977828384769

Meanwhile, more states and cities are making prisoners' communications free, further worsening Securus's finances:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/14/minnesota-nice/#shitty-technology-adoption-curve

Congress passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, giving the FCC the power to regulate the price of federal prisoners' communications. Securus's debt prices tumbled further:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1541

Securus's debts were coming due: it owes $1.3b in 2024, and hundreds of millions more in 2025. Platinum has promised a $400m cash infusion, but that didn't sway S&P Global, a bond-rating agency that re-rated Securus's bonds as "CCC" (compare with "AAA"). Moody's concurred. Now, Securus is stuck selling junk-bonds:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1541

The company's creditors have given Securus an eight-month runway to find a new lender before they force it into bankruptcy. The company's debt is trading at $0.08 on the dollar.

Securus's major competitor is Viapath (prison tech is a duopoly). Viapath is also debt-burdened and desperate, thanks to a parallel campaign by Worth Rises, and has tried all of Securus's tricks, and failed:

https://pestakeholder.org/news/american-securities-fails-to-sell-prison-telecom-company-viapath/

Viapath's debts are due next year, and if Securus tanks, no one in their right mind will give Viapath a dime. They're the walking dead.

Worth Rise's brilliant guerrilla warfare against prison-tech and its private equity backers are a master class in using the master's tools to dismantle the master's house. The finance sector isn't a friend of justice or working people, but sometimes it can be used tactically against financialization itself. To paraphrase MLK, "finance can't make a corporation love you, but it can stop a corporation from destroying you."

Yes, the ruling class finds solidarity at the most unexpected moments, and yes, it's easy for appeals to greed to institutionalize greediness. But whether it's funding unbezzling journalism through short selling, or freeing prisons by brandishing their cooked balance-sheets in the faces of bond-rating agencies, there's a lot of good we can do on the way to dismantling the system.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/08/money-talks/#bullshit-walks

Image: KMJ (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boerse_01_KMJ.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

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visixnaryx · 2 years

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will attempt to do things now and pop things in the queue, maybe

#ooc;;{tori speaks}#(( but also i feel a lil cranky because of a goddamn dinner roll ))#(( it had a really crispy sharp edge that just clawed a line down my throat ))#(( sore throat now ))

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multifan2022 · 10 months

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Fearless

New story that I had in my WIPS lets see if theres any interest lol.

The water from the chasm was pouring down into the abyss below, sprinkles of the coolness hitting your face as you waited. Below people were starting to stir, leaving their rooms to find their way to the small shops or cafeteria. From your spot high on the wall they looked like ants, of course you weren't supposed to be up here..

Max would scalp you if he saw you. It was a tricky climb to this little alcove, the wall was wet from the waterfall next to it. Small little holes for your hands and feet, people such as Eric never would be able to make it. Even if he could he was too scared to try. That's why it was your favorite place in all of Dauntless.

"You better get down, Girl.. You gotta get to the train." A voice called from the ledge below, when you looked down you saw the person who was like a mother too you. Her hair slicked back, tattoos on display with a soft smile on her sharp face.

Tori.

She was and is the only person who ever looked out for you. Told you that you were strong, strong enough to face the trails as an initiate. Strong enough to get your first tattoo, strong enough when you got your ears pierced. Strong enough when Max ranked you in third when you should've been in second.

She was there the day you almost died at the hands of your 'friends'. There every day of your recovery. And there even now that you were one of the strongest, still in your corner even if you didn't need her.

Little did she know you would always need her.

Slipping down the wall, you could almost hear her eyes roll as you let go off the wall. The seconds of free fall giving you the little boost you need to make it through the day. When your booted feet meet the narrow walkway that has no rails, you turn to look at your mother figure. Confirming the eye roll you figured would be happening.

Smiling widely at her as she loops her arm through yours, pulling you down the walkway. You could tell she had something to say, she always said that you were one of the few people who could read her like a book. You also knew if she was waiting then it was important and needed to be private.

That proved to be true as she pulled you into the tattoo parlor, back into her room closing and locking the door before leaning against it. You stood hands folded together in front of her, waiting for whatever it was she was going to tell you. When she opened her eyes, your heart dropped, the line of tears waiting there was something you hadn't seen in two years.

Since the day after she administered your test.. Since the day she watched you roll off the net after jumping. You stepped closer to her, using your hands to rub her arms slowly as she took a few deep breaths. "Theres another of you.. Shes almost as.... strong.. as you.."

You felt all the muscles in your body freeze, you knew what she meant by 'strong'.

Divergent.

Before you could start asking questions the speakers turned on and announced that the trains into the city would be leaving soon. Both of your heads turned back to each other, her hands grabbing you as you had her. "I told her to stay with the Stiffs.. But I have a feeling shes too much like someone else I know." She had a soft smile on her face as her hands moved to your face, cupping both of your cheeks.

"If she chooses Dauntless.. You have to protect her as I have you.. As we both have Uriah.. Promise me Y/n." Tori begged, you knew there was no way you could say no. Even though you wanted too. Protecting one Divergent along with yourself was going to be enough work, now there was someone almost as fucked up as you? And shes a stiff??

You let out the breath you didn't realize you were holding as she leaned your forehead against her own. The buzzer went off again, you knew you were going to be questioned for being late. So you pulled away opening the door as Tori moved, pausing only to turn back and look at her. She had risked so much for you, how could you tell her no?

"Ill do what I can. But I wont risk myself or Uriah for someone, Zeke is one of my best friends. Riah is like a little brother too me, but I will do what I can. I promise Mom."

The entire train ride your stomach was in knots, bile heavy in your chest. Not only from not eating breakfast but from nerves. You watch Uriah talk and goof off with the other 16 year olds. You knew this was a big day for all of them, some would be coming home with you and some you would never speak too again. You couldn't help but wonder who would be going where, you remembered you own Choosing Ceremony.

The day that you left Amity behind.

Really nobody was surprised, you had never fit in there. Members of Amity are dedicated to peacefulness, kindness, forgiveness, trust, self-sufficiency, and neutrality. They are slow to anger and yet quick to forgive. None of which you are. You still held grudges from when you were five and your use to be brother ate the last pumpkin cake.

No.. Amity was not where you belonged. While you did miss the rolling fields, and the openness of having the outdoors right there. You were constantly in trouble, always being chastised and then forgiven for everything.

"Do not run through Y/n, we are all trying to meditate."

" Do not you think it would be kinder to offer the last one to someone older, maybe even younger? Be kinder Y/n."

"Dont worry young one, I forgive you for your stubbornness."

It was exhausting being there, the peacefulness and trust was all you missed. You were self-sufficient enough, part of being in Dauntless was being able to carry out orders without needing supervision. But you are quick to anger, slow to forgive and definitely biased.

The kids started yelping as the city came into view, most readying themselves to jump. It was then you noticed the two standing near the back. They looked around at there friends, the girl whos name you couldn't remember caught your eye. Her face paling before you sent her a small smile, making your way over to her.

Your voice was low, so low only she could hear you as you stood behind her. "Make the choice thats right for you. This is forever, dont think about anyone else. Just yourself. It'll be ok, I promise."

You could read the surprise on her face as you pushed her towards the door, where everyone was already jumping. A quick somersault was all you registered as you stood walking with the group towards the building. Your eyes scan the crowd like you would be able to spot the girl Tori told you about.

The Stiffs would already be in the building, walking up the stairs like the selfless people they are. 'Fuck that' You thought as you and Zeke broke from the group towards the front doors. The two of you were stationed outside, to make sure everything ran smoothly. That no one would come in and interrupt the ceremony once it started. You wanted to watch now that you knew what was happening, but it was too late.

Plus who better to work with than your best friend? The hours this would take would go by quickly by his side. The only person you would trade him for was Four, and really he wouldn't be good conversation here. You knew his father was in there, that would mean he would shut down and be rude.

He would be short and disgruntle. Which is why the last two times this had happened he stayed behind, ready to watch the first jump.

Inside you could hear them starting, "Decades ago our ancestors realized that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality—of humankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form that is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray." Marcus started.

Your eyes rolled as you held your gun tightly, you had only heard this speech three times but it wore on your nerves. Before you could even think about how disrespectful it might be you started mocking him.

"ThOsE wHo BlAmEd AgGrEsSiOn FoRmEd AmItY."

Zeke followed directly after you, proving yet again why he was your best friend. "ThOsE wHo BlAmEd IgNoRaNcE bEcAmE tHe ErUdItE."

You both shook your head and chuckled, "Seriously, he needs to revamp his speech. Its getting old, like they dont learn about all that in school no matter the faction." Shifting from foot too foot you could feel yourself getting restless. You were good at following orders, but today something just felt off.

Zeke noticed almost immediately, you were antys. Moving around constantly, fingers tapping on the butt of your gun. Your face flush and slightly red like you were sweating. "Are you good? Because you look like your going to pass out." He said in a concerned tone, there was no judgement there like there would be with some others.

You cracked your neck, willing yourself to calm the hell down. Planting your feet and finding your stance you nodded once. "Yeah I didn't sleep well last night" ..Not a lie.. "I always get worried that I'll see my brother here and he will give me that judgy Erudite stare.. " Again not a lie.. Ok not a complete lie.

You really didn't care about any of Amity's opinions of you. The people whose feelings you cared about you could count on one hand. But for some reason the stare that your brother always gave you, even before you turned 16, always made your stomach turn. Like he knew something you didn't. Like he was disgusted by you.

Zeke shook his head "I know that's not the reason, but Ill let it go. Just know I'm always here if you need to talk." Silence fell between you two, you couldn't thank him for not pushing because that would confirm his doubts. After what felt like days the doors open and the few leaders are followed out by those who have chosen the fearless life you have.

Your eyes stay straight ahead as they all file pass you, walking behind the group where Zeke is in the middle. It isn't hard to pick out the Stiff, taking small but quick steps trying to keep up the kids who are whooping and smiling. Its always easy to pick out the transfers, of course the plain grey dress thing shes wearing helps.

Your feet move closer to her without you telling them too. Your lungs are pulling in air to speak even though your brain is telling you too shut up.. You made a promise, one that you unwilling would keep.

"Dont look at me.. Keep your eyes forward and your mouth closed. Just listen."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The blond girl next to you jumped as you spoke, clearly caught off guard. Either by you speaking to her in general or the tone that was clear even in whispers. Your grip on your weapon tightened as you tried to find the will to be reassuring like Tori was.

"Follow what the Dauntless born do. Don't hesitate when jumping on the train or you'll die." Great job y/n.. That was reassuring.."When we get to headquarters, when they ask for jumpers.. volunteer before the others. Dont ask questions, dont look for help.. Just do as I say and it will be fine.."

You didn't even look at her or give her the chance to respond before you started running. Didn't look back to see if she was running, or if she was falling behind. In no way would you allow it too look like you were helping her, because in the long run that would only make it worse. For both of you.

"What the hell is going on?" A transfer boy yells as people start passing him. You shake your head and wonder if these kids even know who they are joining. Had they ever watched the Dauntless? Did they know anything besides that the motto said?

We believe in freedom from fear, in ordinary acts of bravery, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.

Did they think that being part of this group came easily? That they would just walk into headquarters and be handed a gun and a job? Zeke was next to you jogging as the train horn sounded behind you. Jumping on and off things was one of his favorite things too do, anyone could see it in the way his face lite up.

"Oh no," mumbles the Erudite boy. "Are we supposed to hop on that thing?"

You hear the Stiff mumble "yes" and feel the tiniest bit better. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad, maybe she knew a little about what was about to happen. But it didn't mean she was prepared for the amount of lying that she was going to have to do. Dauntless begin to pile in, group by group, until only the new initiates are left. The Dauntless-born initiates are used to doing this by now, so in a second it's just faction transfers left.

You watch as they all start to panic, running next to the car you're in. You placed yourself in the last one, where all the others were in the first two. You watched them make it in one by one, the Stiff almost falling off. Had it not been from the girl from Candor she wouldn't have made it. You all watch A short Erudite boy with red hair pumps his arms as he tries to catch up to the train. An Erudite girl by the door reaches out to grab the boy's hand, straining, but he is too far behind. He falls to his knees next to the tracks as we sail away, and puts his head in his hands.

You should feel bad. Hes just failed the first test, hes now factionless. Less than thirty minutes after making his choice he has failed. But you know deep down its for the best, this is the easy part. If he couldn't make it onto the train what you and Four have planned for training would've killed him.

You listen to the Cador girl and the Abnegation girl talk, watch as she sits down and then instructs the other girl too. It is that moment you see her divergence. A true Dauntless would stay standing, be unafraid of the wind. Would find a way to show courage in the face of the speeding train and whipping wind.

This is going to be so much harder than you think, so much worse than you had planned. Thankfully Uriah was only a little divergent. His would be easy to hide, this girl.. Beatrice.. She would cause problems, problems you had already promised to try and solve.

"I guess we are going to Dauntless headquarters," She says after the other girl Christina speaks, "but I don't know where that is."

"Does anyone?" Christina shakes her head, grinning. "It's like they just popped out of a hole in the ground or something." You chuckle and cross your arms, pulling their attention towards you but you just keep looking out the train doors. If only they knew, you kinda do pop out of holes.

Then the wind rushes through the car, and the other faction transfers, hit with bursts of air, falling on top of one another. You pinch the bridge of your nose, sighing through it. "Pathetic" You say loud enough for them all to hear, Christina scoffs along with the tall boy from Candor. The rest smartly stay quiet, Beatrice's eyes falling on you silently.

"Arent you supposed to be like.. guiding us or something?" He says from his place on the floor, it's your turn to scoff. Turning back to the door grabbing the railing and leaning out, you hear the transfers gasp assuming you're going to fall. Like you haven't done this a million times, none of them know if you're a transfer or not. Younger kids don't go to the ceremony, they would have no idea if you were Dauntless born or not.

In the cars ahead you could see those your age looking back at you. Zeke, Eric and Shauna all smiling knowing what was coming next. The roof came into view as you all pulled back into the cars, you could hear the Dauntless born whooping again. Turning back to the transfers you smiled, before locking eyes with Beatrice. They were all standing now, frantically talking amongst themselves about jumping.

"Good luck" was all you said before running and throwing yourself from the train.

#tobias eaton #tobias eaton x reader #four x reader #divergent #theo james

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jjiwo0n · 2 months

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Enhypen hyung line and what i think their kinks would be!

Warnings : smut MDNI!, rough sex, pet names

Creator's note : its fucking cringe imo, but ill let yall judge<3

Lee Heeseung ! :

Size kink

I think that Heeseung would be very much into the size kink, like bro, imagine youre just walking outside and youre in front of him, he would literally look at that little ass walking and slightly jiggling (unless u got no cake) he would get MEGA turned on, he would pull you to the alleyway and fuck you while calling you his precious cum doll and he would say things like "oh my god.. Youre so small.." Or "youre so tight and thats perfect for both me and my cock." Like damn, man i wish

Park Jongseong ! :

Hair Pulling

Like nah, Jay and hair pulling thats literally an amazing combo. Imagine youre on your all fours as hes pounding onto you, you just cant do this anymore and his your face into the pillow, as you were gripping onto the sheets you felt a hand on your head, fingers slowly gripping onto your soft hair as you felt a sharp pull, Jay pulled your head back so he can both see your fucked face and hear your moans while hes groaning out "holy fuck. Youre so pretty like that.." While he spit into your mouth.

Sim Jake ! :

Dirty talk

It looks like our boy loves dirty talking. Hes doing so everywhere, everytime. Even if youre both in a bus he'll put his hand on your thigh and say all the dirty stuff he would do to you right over there. "Oh baby.. I could really eat you right now.." "Baby doll.. I really want to fuck you right here in front of these people.. I really want them to see whe the fuck owns you." He would be saying all these stuff while his hand was getting much closer to your clothed wet pussy. Until you stopped him from what he was doing and made him wait till yall get home

Park Sunghoon ! :

Spanking

Every fucking chance he gets he would fucking spank you or just outside as a joke, but when yall fucking he'll be rough with you as fuck, your ass full of red marks of his hands. After that of course he would cuddle you and be sorry. But would is he tho?? He loved the was you were moaning at the pain so.. Believe me or not he won't feel sorry

#jay smut #enha smut #enhypen smut #heeseung hard hours #sunghoon smut #enhypen reactions #jake smut #heeseung smut #Spotify

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rainagainstthewindowatnight · 8 months

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sisters in television and film

camille & amma - sharp objects (2018) / katniss & prim - the hunger games : mockingjay part one (2014) / spencer & melissa - pretty little liars (2010-2017) / daphne & eloise - bridgerton (2020-present) / jo & amy - little women (2019) / elizabeth & jane - pride and prejudice (2005) / tori & trina - victorious (2010-2014) / haley & alex - modern family (2009-2020) / cassie & lexi - euphoria (2019-present) / natasha & yelena - black widow (2021)

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shalomszn · 4 months

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˗ ˏˋ eye contact. | college stu au

shuri x blk!fem!reader | fluff! | drabble

summary : just a little eye contact with a pretty girl, what that can lead to? (Description of being madly in love)

a/n : just something I think about while listening to this song 🤭

Your focus was on the professor’s voice, his words on explaining the human anatomy. Fingers typing on your keyboard to drop down the notes on your laptop, then your gaze slowly went back to the professor.

It has always been like this, never a distraction was caused. There’s only 3 things will get your attention during class, which is the professor, your laptop, and maybe some documents on the table. Never caring about the people in the same room as you.

But this girl with short curls, sharp jawline, and a tall figure seemed to made an exception. Whenever the professor seemed to ask a question, she’ll answer in with full confidence, and later on, get it correct.

You sat by at a cafe on campus, studying for your finals. But your mind doesn’t want to put the attention on it, instead, it started wandering over that girl in class. You groaned in frustration, taking your glasses off hoping you could focus.

And failed. You even start to suspect do you like her, but all you know from her is that she’s a beautiful woman. That’s not worth to be a distraction from class, and again, you tried to find your ways back to focusing on your studies.

As usual, you show up to class, pay attention, and do what a student would do.

Putting your full attention on the professor’s words, as you try to understand how he explains everything. There it goes again, the girl. Your gaze slowly move from your laptop screen, to her, sitting in the next row.

Whats surprising is that she seemed to notice your gaze, and she seemed to been staring at you for quite a while. Her beautiful brown eyes, her face originally in your direction, immediately changing the moment you decided to take a glance at her.

Her side profile now displays, as her eyes started to scan at random objects. Taking a pen, and looking at it like it’s her first time discovering about a pen. She looks at it like it’s a beautiful and precious diamond.

You started blushing slightly, and you place a hand to cover your smile while you lean back to chuckle softly at her reaction. Your heart was fluttering, blossoms were blooming in your stomach, butterflies dancing in your heart. You tried to hold in your soft smile and went back to the class, but oh, how hard is it when those few seconds of eye contact literally became a core memory to you.

Your gaze started to slowly go back to her, she was grinning like an idiot. Her face resting on her palm, as her gaze maybe on the laptop screen, but she seems like she was thinking of something.

Class ended, and what you’ve learnt? nothing, but realised the seemingly cocky girl could also blush. You may had learnt nothing, or understood anything during class, but at least you did share a few seconds of eye contact with that beautiful girl right?

But what comes next to is unexpected, you were packing to leave the classroom, but she approached you, oh that soft and raspy voice.

“Hey…I’ve been noticing you in class for a few times, and you’re really beautiful.”

beautiful?

You giggled sweetly, and moved around in your seat, as you look up at her through your curls,

“you’re really beautiful too.” When you open your eyes from the small laugh to look at her. She literally lost her focus while holding the eye contact with you, your pupils were reflecting a sparkly light, your lips curved into a sweet smile, your long curls around your head.

“thanks…do you mind if I get your number?”

“yeah…sure” she handed you her phone, and you typed your phone number in also adding your name to the contact name. She took it back, and look at the name. “y/n?”

“mhm. well now since you got my name…what’s yours?” You showed that smile again, while looking up at her waiting for her response. There was a long pause, like really long. And that made you tilting your head and touching her forearm asking her what’s wrong.

“Oh uhm, I’m shuri.”

“Shuri…sweet name you got.”

She chuckled from that, ‘well that was hot’ you thought. Looking at her smile, as you snapped out of the trance.

“you’re so fine.”

“oh really?” You asked and giggling again, while packing your stuff. “Yeah…like hella fine.”

“I swear if you keep giving me these compliments, my heart will die from a heart attack.” You said jokingly, getting up from your seat, and the height comparison wasn’t that obvious but it was.

“Well I’m just saying how beautiful you are, is it my fault now?” She softly said, while looking at you like you’re the only girl in this world. Like you’re the pen she was looking at earlier during class. “no…never was. tell me more in the texts.” You softly said ready to leave and go for your next class, when she licked her lips and smiled at you

“text me alright?

“I sure will…y/n.”

And that’s when you left the class with a smile on your face.

#queen shuri #shuri fluff #shuri x reader #shuri fanfiction #shuri smut #shuri udaku #shuri x fem!reader #princess shuri #shuri black panther #shuri fic

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w-izxrdwheezes · 3 months

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STRESS RELIEF

wakatoshi ushijima & satori tendou x fem reader

a oneshot where friends always share

warnings : pure smut underneath the cut

it was wrong on so many levels, it was depraved and dirty. yet as you make eye contact with your boyfriend’s deep red eyes; you can’t help but let your own roll to the back of your skull.

his wrist moves lazily, languish strokes that stutter when his fingers brush against his sensitive head. pupils blown out wide as he watches you from the corner of the room. teeth chewing down upon chapped lips as he sucks in a sharp breath, eyes closing for a moment as he watches you moan and writhe beneath another man

you want to reach out for him, desperately plea that you’re not enjoying this at all and that nobody can make you feel good but him — but that would be a blatant lie

the man above you has a bruising grip on your hips, his lower half practically slamming into you as he uses you as stress relief.

your hands grip at his wrist and forearms, trying to ground yourself from the overwhelming sensation of being so full; you’d never been fucked like this before.

the one fucking you is unfamiliar, brows furrowed as he concentrates on letting some steam off after a rough day, it was clear he was viewing you as nothing more than an object at this point, but with how every thrust he made was sending your head dizzy, you couldn’t find it in you to complain

your gaze flickers away from the guy atop of you and instead towards the familiar sight of your partner, whose eyes were half-lidded with lust as he listens to you whine for him “tori, tell him t’ slow down please, please! can’t take it”

tendou’s lips pull into a condescending grin as you whimper, helpless against the large guy who was ignorant to the futile attempts at pushing him away you made; your heart not really in it as you let your tongue loll out slightly as his hips angled upwards.

“y’hear that wakatoshi? m’ angel says it’s too much for her” your pussy instinctively throbs at the sound of your boyfriend’s voice, brows furrowing as you hear ushijima groan from the sensation

wakatoshi ushijima was actually no stranger to you at all, but when you had been thrown into this new scenario with him and your partner, it was hard for him not to seem unfamiliar; especially when he was treating you so rough. a huge 180 from the usual gentle giant you had supposed satori’s best friend to be.

a large hand strokes the side of your face, eyes fluttering open to meet ushijima’s own dark pair, his gaze was softer now, more familiar than the deep scowl he had been wearing moments prior

his thrusts seem to follow suit in his gentleness, the headboard no longer slamming against the wall like before, instead he apologises pressing a softer kiss just to the side of your mouth.

“sorry, i just got carried away” he confesses, and your eyes flicker towards your chuckling boyfriend in the corner, his eyes watching hungrily as his bestfriend continues to slowly grind into you, your mind turning to mush slightly as the slick sounds of your bodies coming together continue to fill the room.

you nod feebly, suddenly feeling shy under the gaze of both men “s’ okay, just not so hard, you’re too big.”

satori snorts from the corner of the room, a lazy grin on his features as he continues fucking up into his own fist “gotta be gentle with her, she’s not used to being treated like a slut” ushijima hums, gaze trained on where he and you were connected, smirking at the white ring that was left around the base of his cock.

what tendou had said was true too, when he and you were together it was never as dirty as this, he would never say anything degrading. instead only endless praise tumbling from his lips as he practically worshipped your body

but this? this was entirely different, you felt like you were being ruined by wakatoshi, his cock so big that it ached slightly as he pressed against your cervix. it didn’t help that the way he was treating you before made you feel as though you were unable to think, looking at you as nothing more than an object he could use to make himself feel better.

you felt slightly guilty for liking how he made you feel too.

the sensation of ushijima pressing down on your stomach makes you whine, pulled from your thoughts as he continues to move in and out of you

“holy shit don’t tell me..”

tendou is almost giddy as he watches now, him and ushijima looking to one another as wakatoshi sucks in a breath “can see where i’m fucking her tendou” you gasp as he sends a harsher thrust up into you, his voice practically pathetic as he pushes down on your stomach in awe

tendou has to stop the movement of his wrist for a moment, the sentence alone making him feel all the more sensitive.

you can’t help the moans that leave you as ushijima picks up his pace once again, a simple “sorry i can’t help it” leaving his lips as he groans, eyes trained on where your stomach bulges from the imprint of his dick

hands push and claw at his forearms as tears collect on your lashline, the sensation almost too much as you whine about how he was “too deep.” yet your needy moans don’t stop as tendou encourages you from his seat to the side “you can take him my love, just gotta touch that pretty pussy n you can cum yeah?”

the sound of skin slapping against skin is so lewd, wet shlick echoes filling the room as you whimper out loudly, head nodding as you eagerly listen to your boyfriend’s words. fingers fumbling as you push them into your own mouth, eyes trained on satori’s own red pair as you let your tongue push against them, saliva pooling and dripping around them before bringing them down to your core.

your broken moans stutter into a gasp at the first contact of your fingertips to your clit, ushijima hissing a breath through his teeth as he feels you clench down around him “feels good when she gets all tight like that doesn’t it?” satori groans out, hips moving upwards to meet the eager strokes of his hand

“yeah, god how is she this tight?” your toes curl from the praise, a desperate whine for more leaving your lips as you let your fingers rub messy circles against yourself. the way they were speaking as if you weren’t even there made your stomach tighten slightly, a coil winding up from the overwhelming pleasure of being absolutely wrecked by your boyfriend’s best friend.

tendou catches on the way your hips begin to stuttering up to meet ushijima’s hard thrust’s, free hand clawing at the large man’s muscular forearm, nails indenting into the skin as he winces from the sting, he knew you were close to coming around his friend’s cock now, and it made his cock twitch desperately at the idea

“toshi, need more” you gasp out, practically panting as your hips grind against him “you’re so big!”

ushijima nearly whimpers at the sound of your desperate cry, fingers pressing into the skin of your hips as he tries not to cum first. “you gotta see how pretty she is when she cums” tendou speaks up again, ushijima almost forgetting about his presence as he focuses on the way your cunt tries to keep him close

“tori” you cry out once more, lip wobbling as you turn your head towards him, wanting him to come over and kiss you, touch you, whatever. you just needed him close

he seems to understand this too, standing from his seat, hand still wrapped around his cock as he stands in front of you now “what is it baby, don’t you wanna cum?” his free hand strokes the soft skin of your cheek, thumb pulling your lower lip down as you desperately nod

“just love you s’much” his grin widens at this, a condescending glint in his eye as he watches your eyes roll back from a particularly rough thrust from wakatoshi. “i know baby. know you love wakatoshi’s cock too, don’t you?” he teases, and you have to restrain yourself from cumming as you feel wakatoshi angle his hips upwards once again

“isn’t she a good girl wakatoshi? even while you’re fucking her, she’s tryna show me how much she loves me” ushijima chuckles at the idea of it, when he worded it like that it made you look stupid “sure you’re not just a cockhungry slut beautiful?” tendou coo’s and you immediately shake your head no, a broken sob leaving you as you desperately fight off your orgasm.

“no, m’ not tori! m’ your girl, i love you s’ much!” ushijima takes your denial as a challenge, thrusts growing harsher as he continues to angle towards the spot that was making your brain fog over.

tendou scoffs once again, cutting off your attempt at rambling out more confessions of love by pushing his cock past your open lips “i know baby, you’re my girl” he agrees, eyes practically in hearts as your teary gaze meets his own, tongue dragging along his length as you bring him further into your mouth

ushijima moans at the sight, feeling his orgasm approaching as you start to twitch around him, eyes rolling back as you suckle on your boyfriends tip, a needy repetitive mutter of “m gonna cum!” leaving your lips as you instead start stroking him, back arching off of the bed as you finally feel that coil snap

you can’t help the loud moans that escape you as your other hand digs into ushijima’s arm, his own desperate pants growing louder as he feels you clench around him; watching as your body writhes slightly as he continues pushing deeper.

“good girl, doing so well” tendou praises as he thrusts into your fist, ushijima shutting his eyes tight as he focuses on the way you feel cumming beneath him, it was a sensation he wanted to imprint into his memory forever.

his thrusts slow down however as you desperately cry out about it being “too much” your skin shining with a sheen layer of sweat as your chest rapidly rises and falls. panting, you try catch your breath

and when ushijima pulls out, you can’t help but mourn the loss slightly.

tendou leans down to press a kiss against your lips, hand returning to his own cock as he watches your gaze begin to lazily blink open and closed

grinning as he watches ushijima peel off the condom, groaning lowly at the feeling, tendou walks towards him, offering his hand “want me to help?”

ushijima chews on his lip as he thinks for a moment, nodding as he catches your tired yet eager gaze

tendou is slow as he moves forwards, a hand gently reaching up to the taller males face as he pulls him in for a kiss, you press your aching thighs together at the sight of the two attractive men sighing into one another’s mouths, tongues skilfully pushing and pulling against the others

ushijima shudders as tendou presses their abdomens together now, large slender hands wrapping around not only his own but also wakatoshi’s large cock as they both sigh in relief

you can’t help but watch as the two men stroke their cocks together, tips rubbing against one another as their hips stutter up.

ushijima’s lip is pulled between his teeth as his brows furrow, shuddering slightly as he mutters out a curse “shit” tendou is smiling as he watches his friend groan, his head tilting back slightly as he closes his eyes to savour the feeling.

“who knew this would feel so good huh?” you chuckle at tendou’s words, sleepy eyes trained on the way their cocks rubbed together, ushijima’s twitching slightly as he likely neared his finish. “you can cum if you wanna toshi’” his dark gaze flits over to your own as he nods, sucking in a breath as he lets tendou continue jacking the two of them off

his brows furrow, chest panting as he finally allows himself to give in, a quick warning leaving him before cum splatters against his own and tendou’s chest, your boyfriend following shortly after with a quick “fuck” the pair of them leaning against one another as satori pulls his hand away so as to not overstimulate them both.

you smile tiredly up at the pair as they both pant, tendou falling gracelessly onto the bed as he smirks up at wakatoshi “i told you it would be a good stress relief” both you and ushijima chuckle at this, your eyes rolling as you shuffle over to scratch your fingers against your boyfriends bright red buzzcut, you’d seen pictures of what he’d looked like before he buzzed it all and felt upset that you wouldn’t get to feel that too.

“thank you” ushijima begins, ears red as he finally takes a breather “both of you” you grin up at the flustered man, tendou patting the space on the bed beside him in gesture for him to sit. “it’s all good wakatoshi, hey if you win this next big game maybe she’ll let you do her raw next time”

your skin buzzed with the promise of this happening again, wakatoshi seemingly thinking a similar thing as he grinned; uncharacteristically excitable from the newfound motive

and when he and his team won their next match, well you and tendou were sure to keep your side of the deal.

#haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu thirsts #haikyu x reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu smut #tendou satori #tendou x reader #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima x reader

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