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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 months

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Surveillance pricing

THIS WEEKEND (June 7–9), I'm in AMHERST, NEW YORK to keynote the 25th Annual Media Ecology Association Convention and accept the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.

Correction, 7 June 2024: The initial version of this article erroneously described Jeffrey Roper as the founder of ATPCO. He benefited from ATPCO, but did not co-found it. The initial version of this article called ATPCO "an illegal airline price-fixing service"; while ATPCO provides information that the airlines use to set prices, it does not set prices itself, and while the DOJ investigated the company, they did not pursue a judgment declaring the service to be illegal. I regret the error.

Noted anti-capitalist agitator Adam Smith had it right: "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

Despite being a raving commie loon, Smith's observation was so undeniably true that regulators, policymakers, and economists couldn't help but acknowledge that it was true. The trustbusting era was defined by this idea: if we let the number of companies in a sector get too small, or if we let one or a few companies get too big, they'll eventually start to rig prices.

What's more, once an industry contracts corporate gigantism, it will become too big to jail, able to outspend and overpower the regulators charged with reining in its cheating. Anyone who believes Smith's self-evident maxim had to accept its conclusion: that companies had to be kept smaller than the state that regulated them. This wasn't about "punishing bigness" – it was the necessary precondition for a functioning market economy.

We kept companies small for the same reason that we limited the height of skyscrapers: not because we opposed height, or failed to appreciate the value of a really good penthouse view – rather, to keep the building from falling over and wrecking all the adjacent buildings and the lives of the people inside them.

Starting in the neoliberal era – Carter, then Reagan – we changed our tune. We liked big business. A business that got big was doing something right. It was perverse to shut down our best companies. Instead, we'd simply ban big companies from rigging prices. This was called the "consumer welfare" theory of antitrust. It was a total failure.

40 years later, nearly every industry is dominated by a handful of companies, and these companies price-gouge us with abandon. Worse, they use their gigantic ripoff winnings to fill war-chests that fund the corruption of democracy, capturing regulators so that they can rip us off even more, while ignoring labor, privacy and environmental law and ducking taxes.

It turns out that keeping gigantic, opaque, complex corporations honest is really hard. They have so many ways to shuffle money around that it's nearly impossible to figure out what they're doing. Digitalization makes things a million times worse, because computers allow businesses to alter their processes so they operate differently for every customer, and even for every interaction.

This is Dieselgate times a billion: VW rigged its cars to detect when they were undergoing emissions testing and switch to a less polluting, more compliant mode. But when they were on the open road, they spewed lethal quantities of toxic gas, killing people by the thousands. Computers don't make corporate leaders more evil, but they let evil corporate leaders execute far more complex and nefarious plans. Digitalization is a corporate moral hazard, making it just too easy and tempting to rig the game.

That's why Toyota, the largest car-maker in the world, just did Dieselgate again, more than a decade later. Digitalization is a temptation no giant company can resist:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wwj1p2wdyo

For forty years, pro-monopoly cheerleaders insisted that we could allow companies to grow to unimaginable scale and still prevent cheating. They passed rules banning companies from explicitly forming agreements to rig prices. About ten seconds later, new middlemen popped up offering "information brokerages" that helped companies rig prices without talking to one another.

Take Agri Stats: the country's hyperconcentrated meatpacking industry pays Agri Stats to "consult on prices." They provide Agri Stats with a list of their prices, and then Agri Stats suggests changes based on its analysis. What does that analysis consist of? Comparing the company's prices to its competitors, who are also Agri Stats customers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/04/dont-let-your-meat-loaf/#meaty-beaty-big-and-bouncy

In other words, Agri Stats finds the highest price for each product in the sector, then "advises" all the companies with lower prices to raise their prices to the "competitive" level, creating a one-way ratchet that sends the price of food higher and higher.

More and more sectors have an Agri Stats, and digitalization has made this price-gouging system faster, more efficient, and accessible to sectors with less concentration. Landlords, for example, have tapped into Realpage, a "data broker" that the same thing to your rent that Agri Stats does to meat prices. Realpage requires the landlords who sign up for its service to accept its "recommendations" on minimum rents, ensuring that prices only go up:

https://popular.info/p/feds-raid-corporate-landlord-escalating

Writing for The American Prospect, Luke Goldstein lays out the many ways in which these digital intermediaries have supercharged the business of price-rigging:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-06-05-three-algorithms-in-a-room/

Goldstein identifies a kind of patient zero for this ripoff epidemic: Jeffrey Roper, a former Alaska Air exec who benefited from a service that helps airlines set prices. ATPCO was investigated by the DOJ in the 1990s, but the enforcers lost their nerve and settled with the company, which agreed to apply some ornamental fig-leafs to its collusion-machine. Even those cosmetic changes were seemingly a bridge too far Roper, who left the US.

But he came back to serve as Realpage's "principal scientist" – the architect of a nationwide scheme to make rental housing vastly more expensive. For Roper, the barrier to low rents was empathy: landlords felt stirrings of shame when they made shelter unaffordable to working people. Roper called these people "idiots" who sentimentality "costs the whole system."

Sticking a rent-gouging computer between landlords and the people whose lives they ruin is a classic "accountability sink," as described in Dan Davies' new book "The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions – and How The World Lost its Mind":

https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/

It's a form of "empiricism washing": if computers are working in the abstract realm of pure numbers, they're just moving the objective facts of the quantitative realm into the squishy, imperfect qualitative world. Davies' interview on Trashfuture is excellent:

https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.com/e/fire-sale-at-the-accountability-store-feat-dan-davies/

To rig prices, an industry has to solve three problems: the problem of coming to an agreement to fix prices (economists call this "the collective action problem"); the problem of coming up with a price; and the problem of actually changing prices from moment to moment. This is the ripoff triangle, and like a triangle, it has many stable configurations.

The more concentrated an industry is, the easier it is to decide to rig prices. But if the industry has the benefit of digitalization, it can swap the flexibility and speed of computers for the low collective action costs from concentration. For example, grocers that switch to e-ink shelf tags can make instantaneous price-changes, meaning that every price change is less consequential – if sales fall off after a price-hike, the company can lower them again at the press of a button. That means they can collude less explicitly but still raise prices:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/26/glitchbread/#electronic-shelf-tags

My name for this digital flexibility is "twiddling." Businesses with digital back-ends can alter their "business logic" from second to second, and present different prices, payouts, rankings and other key parts of the deal to every supplier or customer they interact with:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

Not only does twiddling make it easier to rip off suppliers, workers and customers, it also makes these crimes harder to detect. Twiddling made Dieselgate possible, and it also underpinned "Greyball," Uber's secret strategy of refusing to send cars to pick up transportation regulators who would then be able to see firsthand how many laws the company was violating:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-authorities.html

Twiddling is so easy that it has brought price-fixing to smaller companies and less concentrated sectors, though the biggest companies still commit crimes on a scale that put these bit-players to shame. In The Prospect, David Dayen investigates the "personalized pricing" ripoff that has turned every transaction into a potential crime-scene:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-06-04-one-person-one-price/

"Personalized pricing" is the idea that everything you buy should be priced based on analysis of commercial surveillance data that predicts the maximum amount you are willing to pay.

Proponents of this idea – like Harvard's Pricing Lab with its "Billion Prices Project" – insist that this isn't a way to rip you off. Instead, it lets companies lower prices for people who have less ability to pay:

https://thebillionpricesproject.com/

This kind of weaponized credulity is totally on-brand for the pro-monopoly revolution. It's the same wishful thinking that led regulators to encourage monopolies while insisting that it would be possible to prevent "bad" monopolies from raising prices. And, as with monopolies, "personalized pricing" leads to an overall increase in prices. In econspeak, it is a "transfer of wealth from consumer to the seller."

"Personalized pricing" is one of those cuddly euphemisms that should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. A more apt name for this practice is surveillance pricing, because the "personalization" depends on the vast underground empire of nonconsensual data-harvesting, a gnarly hairball of ad-tech companies, data-brokers, and digital devices with built-in surveillance, from smart speakers to cars:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/12/market-failure/#car-wars

Much of this surveillance would be impractical, because no one wants their car, printer, speaker, watch, phone, or insulin-pump to spy on them. The flexibility of digital computers means that users always have the technical ability to change how these gadgets work, so they no longer spy on their users. But an explosion of IP law has made this kind of modification illegal:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

This is why apps are ground zero for surveillance pricing. The web is an open platform, and web-browsers are legal to modify. The majority of web users have installed ad-blockers that interfere with the surveillance that makes surveillance pricing possible:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But apps are a closed platform, and reverse-engineering and modifying an app is a literal felony – several felonies, in fact. An app is just a web-page skinned with enough IP to make it a felony to modify it to protect your consumer, privacy or labor rights:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/07/treacherous-computing/#rewilding-the-internet

(Google is leading a charge to turn the web into the kind of enshittifier's paradise that apps represent, blocking the use of privacy plugins and proposing changes to browser architecture that would allow them to felonize modifying a browser without permission:)

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

Apps are a twiddler's playground. Not only can they "customize" every interaction you have with them, but they can block you (or researchers seeking to help you) from recording and analyzing the app's activities. Worse: digital transactions are intimate, contained to the palm of your hand. The grocer whose e-ink shelf-tags flicker and reprice their offerings every few seconds can be collectively observed by people who are in the same place and can start a conversation about, say, whether to come back that night a throw a brick through the store's window to express their displeasure. A digital transaction is a lonely thing, atomized and intrinsically shielded from a public response.

That shielding is hugely important. The public hates surveillance pricing. Time and again, through all of American history, there have been massive and consequential revolts against the idea that every price should be different for every buyer. The Interstate Commerce Commission was founded after Grangers rose up against the rail companies' use of "personalized pricing" to gouge farmers.

Companies know this, which is why surveillance pricing happens in secret. Over and over, every day, you are being gouged through surveillance pricing. The sellers you interact with won't tell you about it, so to root out this practice, we have to look at the B2B sales-pitches from the companies that sell twiddling tools.

One of these companies is Plexure, partly owned by McDonald's, which provides the surveillance-pricing back-ends for McD's, Ikea, 7-Eleven, White Castle and others – basically, any time a company gives you a hard-sell to order via its apps rather than its storefronts or its website, you should assume you're getting twiddled, hard.

These companies use the enshittification playbook to trap you into using their apps. First, they offer discounts to customers who order through their apps – then, once the customers are fully committed to shopping via app, they introduce surveillance pricing and start to jack up the prices.

For example, Plexure boasts that it can predict what day a given customer is getting paid on and use that information to raise prices on all the goods the customer shops for on that day, on the assumption that you're willing to pay more when you've got a healthy bank balance.

The surveillance pricing industry represents another reason for everything you use to spy on you – any data your "smart" TV or Nest thermostat or Ring doorbell can steal from you can be readily monetized – just sell it to a surveillance pricing company, which will use it to figure out how to charge you more for everything you buy, from rent to Happy Meals.

But the vast market for surveillance data is also a potential weakness for the industry. Put frankly: the commercial surveillance industry has a lot of enemies. The only thing it has going for it is that so many of these enemies don't know that what's they're really upset about is surveillance.

Some people are upset because they think Facebook made Grampy into a Qanon. Others, because they think Insta gave their kid anorexia. Some think Tiktok is brainwashing millennials into quoting Osama bin Laden. Some are upset because the cops use Google location data to round up Black Lives Matter protesters, or Jan 6 insurrectionists. Some are angry about deepfake porn. Some are angry because Black people are targeted with ads for overpriced loans or colleges:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/04/meta_ad_algorithm_discrimination/

And some people are angry because surveillance feeds surveillance pricing. The thing is, whatever else all these people are angry about, they're all angry about surveillance. Are you angry that ad-tech is stealing a 51% share of news revenue? You're actually angry about surveillance. Are you angry that "AI" is being used to automatically reject resumes on racial, age or gender grounds? You're actually angry about surveillance.

There's a very useful analogy here to the history of the ecology movement. As James Boyle has long said, before the term "ecology" came along, there were people who cared about a lot of issues that seemed unconnected. You care about owls, I care about the ozone layer. What's the connection between charismatic nocturnal avians and the gaseous composition of the upper atmosphere? The term ecology took a thousand issues and welded them together into one movement.

That's what's on the horizon for privacy. The US hasn't had a new federal consumer privacy law since 1988, when Congress acted to ban video-store clerks from telling the newspapers what VHS cassettes you were renting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Privacy_Protection_Act

We are desperately overdue for a new consumer privacy law, but every time this comes up, the pro-surveillance coalition defeats the effort. but as people who care about conspiratorialism, kids' mental health, spying by foreign adversaries, phishing and fraud, and surveillance pricing all come together, they will be an unbeatable coalition:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/06/privacy-first/#but-not-just-privacy

Meanwhile, the US government is actually starting to take on these ripoff artists. The FTC is working to shut down data-brokers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

The FBI is raiding landlords to build a case against Frontpage and other rent price-fixers:

https://popular.info/p/feds-raid-corporate-landlord-escalating

Agri Stats is facing a DoJ lawsuit:

https://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/market-news/agri-stats-loses-motions-to-transfer-dismiss-in-doj-antitrust-case

Not every federal agency has gotten the message, though. Trump's Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell – whom Biden kept on the job – has been hiking interest rates in a bid to reduce our purchasing power by making millions of Americans poorer and/or unemployed. He's doing this to fight inflation, on the theory that inflation is being cause by us being too well-off, and therefore trying to buy more goods than are for sale.

But of course, interest rates are inflationary: when interest rates go up, it gets more expensive to pay your credit card bills, lease your car, and pay a mortgage. And where we see the price of goods shooting up, there's abundant evidence that this is the result of greedflation – companies jacking up their prices and blaming inflation. Interest rate hawks say that greedflation is impossible: if one company raises its prices, its competitors will swoop in and steal their customers with lower prices.

Maybe they would do that – if they didn't have a toolbox full of algorithmic twiddling options and a deep trove of surveillance data that let them all raise prices together:

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-06-05-time-for-fed-to-meet-ftc/

Someone needs to read some Adam Smith to Chairman Powell: "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

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/2024/06/05/your-price-named/#privacy-first-again

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

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

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moonstruckme · 1 year

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James Potter x Reader where reader is in a different house (Hufflepuff if you don’t mind) and she ends up on the receiving end of one of their pranks which makes her angry so she avoids James and the other marauders, forcing him to grovel/beg for forgiveness? Thank you so much xoxo

Hi, thanks for your request! This got a bit long haha, but I enjoyed writing it and hope you enjoy reading :)

cw: mentions of blood

James Potter x Hufflepuff!reader ♡ 1.8k words

Though no one tells him it’s happening, Remus sees the prank coming from a mile away.

Primarily, this is because James and Sirius appear to be playing an entirely ordinary game of frisbee. Just tossing it back and forth, no hexes or nifflers or anything. A simple pastime between two boys on a lovely warm afternoon.

Secondly, they haven’t asked Remus to join them. While they know from experience he’s content to read his book in the grass, they always make a point to ask just to be sure Remus doesn’t feel excluded. The fact that they haven’t suggests that they’re well aware that whatever they’re up to, Remus will want no part in it.

Lastly and most importantly, James Potter has the worst poker face Remus has ever known.

When the curly-haired boy slyly drops the frisbee they’ve been using into his bag, trading it for another, he can hardly keep the giddiness from his face. Which is probably why, when he tosses it well away from his companion and towards a crowd of gathered students, Sirius is the one who has to say, with theatrical volume and distress, “Merlin, can somebody grab that?”

Remus watches warily as several students turn to track the progress of the disk as it sails overhead, and after a moment one breaks away, chasing after it. Remus feels a pang of sympathy for you, your yellow and black scarf flying behind you as you run, needing no further evidence than the eager look in James’ eyes to know that you’ve fallen for a trap.

You jump up to grab it out of the air, beaming in triumph for a moment before a yelp escapes you. You fling your catch to the ground, cradling your hand as the fanged frisbee twitches and snarls at your feet.

“Shit,” he hears Sirius breathe, and the excitement is gone from his and James’ expressions as they jog over to you, Remus standing to follow them.

You pick your head up as they approach, eyes wet but fierce.

“What the hell?” you snarl, and Remus realizes with a stab of concern that there’s a small puddle of blood forming in your palm. “You’ve begun targeting your stupid pranks at anyone who’s dumb enough to help you now? How’s that funny?”

Remus looks at his friends in bewilderment, aggrieved on your behalf but unable to believe they’d do something so cruel. The fanged frisbee—a cheap trick, which really should be banned in Remus’ opinion—twitches closer to your ankle, and Sirius flicks his wand at it, its teeth retracting as it goes silent and motionless.

“We…I charmed it so its teeth would be dull and harmless.” James scrubs a hand through his hair, at a loss. “It was only supposed to scare you, not hurt you.”

You shake your head at him disbelievingly and bite your lip, face reddening as the pain sets in. James steps closer to you, blocking you from view of the small crowd of gawking students, none of whom, Remus notes with some bitterness, have come to help you or see if you’re okay.

“I’m really sorry,” James says softly. “Let me help.” But when he reaches for your hand, you step back, holding it close to your chest.

“Just leave me out of your fun in the future, yeah?” you hiss, stalking inside.

James looks pained as he watches you go, and though Remus doesn’t begrudge you your justified anger, he feels for his good-natured friend. It had been an honest mistake, though the cost turned out to be far higher than either of his friends had expected. But knowing James, he’ll find some way to make it right.

“Sorry, mate. They can’t all be winners.” Sirius claps him on the back, and Remus knows his light tone is more to make James feel better than it is true carelessness. Sirius is loyal that way; he’d probably lock you in a broom closet rather than have you upset James again.

“It wasn’t meant to hurt anyone,” James says quietly.

Sirius’ smile is unfaltering, though Remus spies the worry in his eyes. “She’ll get over it. C’mon, there’s still time to go into Hogsmeade if we hurry.”

And though Remus hopes you’ll feel better soon, he knows it will take James a long time to get over it himself.

James shuffles from foot to foot, feeling silly and anxious as he waits for someone to leave the Hufflepuff dorms so he can go inside. He’s fairly sure you’re supposed to have potions together, but you hadn’t shown up to class, and though James had kept an eye out all day in the hallways, he’d never spotted you. He’d thought he’d caught a glimpse of you in the great hall during lunch, but you’d darted out of sight before he could be sure, and then there’d been no sign of you at dinner. Luckily, it had only taken a quick consultation of the map he shared with his friends to find out that you’d holed up in the Hufflepuff common room, so here he was, draped in his invisibility cloak and fidgeting like a nervous date at your front door.

The door creaks open, and James slips in before it can shut, the exiting Hufflepuff shivering slightly at the breeze he makes whisking by them. It’s not difficult to spot you where you’re sitting painting your nails, lips pursed just slightly in concentration. The common room is mostly empty as other students enjoy the nice weather outside, and James is grateful for the privacy as he takes off the cloak and goes to sit beside your feet where they’re stretched out on the couch.

You look up at the intrusion and startle to find James, pulling your feet closer to you reflexively. He hopes it’s an instinct to make room for him and not to protect yourself from him, though given recent events he could hardly blame you for the latter.

“What’re you—how did you get in here?” you ask, eyes darting between James and the door in bafflement.

Never mind that. “You weren’t at dinner,” James says, holding out his small stolen dish of chicken curry, “so I thought you might be hungry. Sorry, it’s barely warm now.”

You take it from him suspiciously, careful of your wet nails, and James feels a stab of guilt at the sight of your bandaged hand.

“I’m really sorry about yesterday,” he goes on, throat burning with shame. “I know I’ve already said it, but it was supposed to be harmless. I wasn’t careful enough.”

You don’t look at him, not rejecting his apology but not quite accepting it either. “Pomphrey fixed it good as new anyways, so we can just say it never happened.”

James appreciates the attempt to ease his conscience, but your kindness only makes him feel that much more villainous. This would be so simple if you were one of those pureblood gits, or even just a bit ruder, but you’re you, and that’s so much worse.

“Can I see it?” he asks softly, and you hesitate only a moment before scooting a bit closer and extending your hand to him, palm up.

James unwraps the bandage with care, keeping one eye on your face to ensure he’s not hurting you, and so he notices the faint blush that colors your cheeks as he cradles your hand in his. The last layer of your dressing falls away, revealing three tiny white scars. Though they’re healed over, he hisses in sympathy, drawing your hand further towards him protectively but forgetting you’re attached to it.

Your inhale is soft as you lean forward awkwardly, and James huffs a laugh at his enduring idiocy. “Sorry, love,” he says, letting you lean back. He doesn’t let go of your hand, though. “Were they deep?”

You give a one-shouldered shrug, as though it’s nothing to you. James worries you’re putting on a performance of exaggerated blasé for his benefit. “They bled a lot, but a charm sealed them up quickly enough.”

James nods, remembering with sickening clarity the blood that had pooled in your palm and dripped from between your fingers.

“I’m glad,” James says, and it doesn’t feel like enough. Nothing feels like enough. But he can’t stop himself, even if it’s all inadequate. “I’m really sorry.”

You sigh, and James knows enough about you to guess that being upset is exhausting you. It isn’t in your nature; you’re someone who always has a kind word for everyone, who he’s seen lend your quill to a student that forgot theirs and offer them an understanding smile when they broke it, who would rather spend all day avoiding James than let him feel the wrath of your grudge.

Your very warranted grudge, by the way.

It’s terrible luck that someone as sweet as you was on the receiving end of his mistake. But, as you’d pointed out, that was how the prank was designed, wasn’t it? Though James and Sirius hadn’t thought that part through at the time, the victim was always going to be whoever stepped forward to help. Normally it might not matter, but they’d gotten so caught up in the excitement of trying out their new toy that James had somehow gotten the spell wrong. And as a result, you’d been forced to pay a price for your kindness and his incompetence.

“It’s okay,” you say.

“It’s not,” James insists. “And I can’t fix it, but let me do something else. I can do your potions’ homework for the rest of the year, I can give you my dessert every night, I can…I can sneak into Hogsmeade and bring you whatever you want, anytime you ask, I can…what?”

You’re smiling at him, and it’s familiarly lovely but, James can’t help but think, entirely undeserved.

“I don’t need any favors from you, James,” you say, and he realizes it’s the first time you’ve said his name. It’s not a long name, but somehow your voice gives it a cadence he quite likes. “Just be more careful, okay? I ended up fine, but next time someone might not.”

“There won’t be a next time,” he promises swiftly, and means it. “But sweetheart—” if he notices how you soften at the endearment, he doesn’t mention it “—you’ve gotta let me make it up to you somehow.”

You sigh again, though it’s lighter this time, seemingly both exasperated and amused by his persistence. After a moment spent within your own head, you ask, “Could you help me study for the potions exam next week?”

“Yes!” James grins eagerly. “Of course. That’s a start. How’s tomorrow after class? I’ll bring study snacks as well, and we can make it a regular thing, if you like.”

He’d like to make it a regular thing, debt or not.

You smile. “Tomorrow is perfect. And can I call in another favor right now?”

If James weren’t sitting, he’d buckle at the knees in relief. “Yes. I’m at your service.”

“Can you tell me how you got into the Hufflepuff common room?”

“That,” he says smoothly, “is just one in my arsenal of skills now at your disposal.”

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magz · 5 months

Text

Palestine related news summary from LetsTalkPalestine, May 1 to May 4, 2024.

[Ways to help, sources, and more: LetsTalkPalestine Linktree]

May 1.

(Instagram reel of UCLA protest. Includes footage of treating n washing a pro-palestine protestors' bloody head)

Day 208

🇨🇴 Colombia to cut diplomatic ties w/ Israel

•⁠ ⁠33 killed, 57 injured in the last 24 hours. Real number likely higher

⚖️ US lobbying ICC not to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, after Israel's threat to respond by retaliating against Palestinian Authority for sparking ICC investigation

🇫🇷 France denies selling weapons to Israel used in Gaza, claiming what's sold will be re-exported to 3rd countries via Israel, but did supply Israeli Iron Dome defense system

🇹🇷 Turkey set to follow Columbia & Nicaragua by joining South Africa's ICJ case against Israel

🎓 Zionist mob attacked Palestine protestors at UCLA w/ fireworks & pepper spray for 3 hours, police didn’t intervene (📹👆). Columbia & CUNY asked NYPD to raid & arrest 280+ student protestors. New encampments across UK, Tunisia & Canada

🚚 First aid trucks enter through Beit Hanoon crossing to north Gaza despite Israel's promise to open 1 month ago. Nearly half of aid convoys to north Gaza denied by Israel.

May 2.

(Instagram post, news update. The Israeli occupation has killed Palestinian Dr. Adnan Al-Barash.)

Day 209

• 28 Palestinians killed, 51 injured in last 24 hours. Note that the toll is underreported.

🏥 Dr. Adnan al Barash killed in captivity after IOF abducted him in Dec (📷👆)— 496 medical personnel killed in Gaza + 309 in captivity

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia arrests many for anti-Israel online posts, incl. an executive & media figure. Timing suspicious w/ reports of renewed normalization talks

• IOF attacks aid convoy, killing 1

🇹🇷 Turkey stops all trade w/ Israel after banning 54 exports to Israel

🇺🇸 US House pass “antisemitism awareness” bill using repressive IHRA definition of antisemitism despite antisemitism covered in anti-discrimination law. Why is IHRA definition problematic? See tinyurl.com/ynsfy8sx

• IOF airstrike in central Gaza killed 5, incl. a child

🪨 37m tons of rubble in Gaza, heavy contamination w/ unexploded ammunition & 800,000 tons of asbestos

🎓 Columbia & Emory University face federal investigation for anti-Muslim discrimination, reports of doxing & harassment

May 3.

Day 210

• World Press Freedom Day: Israel killed 100+ journalists since Oct 7 + holding 53 captive

• 26 killed, 51 injured in the last 24 hours. Note the toll is underreported.

• Israel attack on Rafah killed 7, incl. a mother & her children — the children’s bodies were shredded by the airstrikes

🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago recognizes the State of Palestine as West Bank & Gaza

🇬🇧 UK sanctions 2 Israeli groups + 4 settlers for violence in West Bank, warns of more sanctions if no Israeli action against settler attacks

• Israeli strike on Bureij camp killed 5, incl. a child

💰 UN estimates cost to rebuild Gaza at $40bn; more than post-WWII reconstruction

🎓 Goldsmiths University students in London win & obtain demands after occupying library — @ goldsmithsforpalestine on instagram for details

🎓 University encampments for Gaza go global spreading to 🇨🇦 🇮🇳 🇳🇿 🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇯🇵 🇰🇼 🇱🇧 🇹🇳 🇯🇴. US crackdown w/ 2,200 students arrested

• Iran-backed Bahraini militia launches attack at southern Israeli port Eilat

May 4.

Day 211

✝️ Israel blocks entry of many Palestinian Christians to Jerusalem for Holy Saturday celebrations

•⁠ 32 Palestinians killed, 41 injured in Gaza in last 24 hours. Toll underreported

•⁠ ⁠IOF killed 5+ in 15-hour siege on Tulkarem (West Bank) & clashes with Hamas resistance fighters. IOF targeted fighters’ homes w/ women & kids inside, demolished homes trapping many under rubble

•⁠ ⁠Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 11 incl. 3 in bombings of tents in Rafah

•⁠ Head of UN WFP says north Gaza experiencing “full-blown famine” and it’s only a matter of time before south Gaza faces same level of starvation

🇫🇷 British-Palestinian @ dr.ghassan.as denied entry to France for Senate address as witness of Gaza Genocide as Germany put year-long ban on his entry to Europe (Schengen)

🇺🇸 88 US lawmakers warn Biden that Israeli aid blockade violates US ‘foreign assistance’ law

•⁠ IOF abducts 5 overnight in West Bank

🎓 Uni encampments spread to Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Cuba & Costa Rica

#on palestine #palestine #letstalkpalestine #text post #o post #magz upload #sij

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girliism · 1 month

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senior year was all you and your best friends art and patrick dreamed out. but since you’re threesome became a twosome senior was not what you dreamed.

art spent the first month ignoring you and patrick which was hard given you all had the same classes. patrick was trying to pretend it didn’t hurt him as much as it did but you can only pretend for so long.

the two of you were at his house doing homework. patrick sitting on his bed and you in his squeaky desk chair. “can please stop squeaking.” patrick said very annoyed. you stop your movement. “sorry” you mumble. patrick sighs upset at himself for his outburst. “i didn’t burst at you tennis just sucked today.” you spin around in your chair and crawl onto the bed to take place in his lap. “what happened?” you question pushing your forehead against his. “art traded me for someone else to double with.” art and patrick have been double partners since forever. they never switched not even when patrick kissed art when they were 12 and art punced him in the face and didn’t talk to him for weeks.

you were getting sick of the silent treatment. you missed your best friend you missed art. you missed being with the both of them.

“ok class, today i don’t feel like teaching you so we’re gonna play dodgeball. girls to the left boys to the right.” dodgeball was supposed to be banned in school for promoting violence but your gym teacher could care less. “have we as a society been pushed so far back that you must still separate us by gender in game used as an excuse to be violent.” some girl in class complained. your gym teacher got in her face. “either get to the left or fail my class. now remember nothing below the waist and nothing above the neck.” his whistle rang throughout the gym, and your body moved faster than your mind immediately picking up the ball and chucking it at arts face. “oh my god.” you rush over to him. “what the fuck?” art’s holding his bleeding nose. “what did i just say! jesus someone get this kid to the nurse.” “i’ll do it.”

the two of you walk side by side to the nurse in complete silence.

“you’re our third dodgeball incident this week. hold this i’ll be back.” the nurse leaves. the ticking from the clock cuts through the silence. “so um, how was your summer? is your grandma doing better?” you speak first. “it was fine and my grandma’s fine too. she asked about you and pat.” art’s voice was muffled by the tissue he held on her face. “what did you tell her.” art cocked his head up at you. “that the two of you ripped my heart out and stomped on it.” he said sarcastically. the two of you. art realized this summer that’s his feeling about you and patrick were a lot more complicated. maybe he wasn’t completely upset that you guys were sneaking around maybe it was the fact you guys were doing it without him.

you kicked art in his shin. “ow! will you please stop hurting me.” he lightly kicked you back. “will you please stop being so annoying about this or does a nearly lifelong friendship mean nothing to you?” art wants to forgive you guys it kills him inside, watching the two of laughing and hanging out when it’s usely the three of you. “i’m not ready for that yet.” the nurse walks back in. you and art just staring at each lips saying nothing but eyes saying so much.

“boyfriend.” you smile walking out of your house to patrick’s car. “girlfriend. you ready.” patrick hooks his arm around your neck placing a kiss on your cheek. it was senior ditch day and something you guys always wanted to do for senior ditch day was to go paintballing.

“you guys get an hour in the arena if you run out of paint balloons there’s extra room on the side.” the worker instructed us. “room for one more?” a voice says behind you. “art.” you and patrick say in unison surprised but happy to see he came. picking up on the weird tension the worker added. “also no sex in the arena.” the three of you share a look before heading in.

it’s been five minutes and no one has moved. each seated behind their own pillar waiting for the other to move. “will someone please throw a balloon.” you huff. “i’ll go first. art why don’t you stop being such a jealous pussy.” patrick chucked a ballon at art hitting his arm with paint. “why couldn’t you keep it in your pants.” art threw a ballon back hitting patrick leg. “why can’t we just have a fun time.” it’s your turn to throw ballons at them. “not until he admits that he’s jealous.” patrick steps out into the open. “what the hell would i have to be jealous of.” art steps out too. the two standing face to face. you peak your head up to watch the interaction. “i’m glad you traded doubles partners with me, now i don’t have to do all the work.” patrick stares at art. “only cause you can’t breathe without all the attention being on you.” art smashes a ballon right in the middle of patrick’s chest. “you little shit.” patrick tackles art.

patrick and art roll around on the ground fighting like children. “maybe if you weren’t so scared of your own feelings you would be with us instead of moping around like a lost puppy.” patrick says rolling on top of art pinning him down. art knees him in the back cause patrick to fall over. “fuck you, you don’t know anything.” sick of the both of them fighting you come out from your hiding spot. “would the two of you shut up.” one of them accidentally knocks you in the ankle causing you to fall on top joining in on the rolling. “and what about you huh kissing both of us and making everything confused.” patrick accuses, elbow digging into your side. “don’t blame this on me. it not my fault i want both of you.” the three of you stop rolling and lay on your backs looking up at the sky.

“what does that mean.” art ask even though he knew exactly what it meant. “means she wants to date both of us. freak.” patrick says adding the last part jokingly. you punch his arm. “but you can’t date two people just because you can’t make up your mind.” you groan coving your face. “that not what i meant.” you whisper. the implication of your words float through the air. “oh. i mean i wouldn’t mind you know dating both of you.” patrick understood first cause he too has thought about it. this was all too much for art. “you guys are insane.” art stands up staring down at you and patrick still on the ground. “why are we the insane ones? what’s insane is still after all these years you ignore what you feel for me.” patrick scoffs getting up to confront art. art feels like he can’t breathe and he breaks down crying. “shut up. i don’t have feelings for you i-i can’t.” you and patrick pull him in for a hug letting him cry out everything he’s been bottling up since middle school. “it’s ok art.” you whisper squeezing him tight. “my dad would kill me.” art speaks. “we’ll take care of you.” patrick says. the three up you stand there for a while just hugging before going to get milkshakes.

it took a while for art to get comfortable with the whole throuple thing. you guys told yours and patrick’s parents but were waiting tell you were in college to tell art’s parents though his mom had a feeling. “it’s so good to see the three of you together again.” arts mom set a plate of cookies in front of you guys before leaving you to eat them. she turned around suddenly remembering she had to tell art to call his grandma later but stopped when she saw how the three of you huddled together. your arm looped lightly with arts and how patrick ruffled his hair letting his hand linger longer than normal.

days blended into months and before you know it you and art were pack his car up to drive to stanford for early set up. “you know it’s not to late to join us pat.” you say wrapping you arms around his waist. “yeah i’m sure your dad has contacts there he could get you in easily.” art adds slamming the truck shut coming up to hug you from behind sandwiching you in between them. “as tempting as that sounds i fear life on the road to the pro tennis league is calling me.” you and art pout breaking away from him. “you’ll come visit us right.” patrick looks offended you’d even ask. “my two favorite people in one place together, i’m gonna be there every weekend.” patrick places soft kisses on yours and arts lips before pulls you guys into a hug. “call me when you get there.” you tell him ok getting in the passenger seat and art in the drives as you ride off sticking your hands out the window to waving until your out of sight.

maybe adulthood won’t be so bad now.

(and that is the end. the throuple continues to live happy and healthy forever ☺️.)

#girliism #challengers #art donaldson #patrick zweig x reader #patrick zweig #art donaldson x reader #challengers au #boy bsf!artrick

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specialagentlokitty · 8 months

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Rick Grimes x reader - so perfect

Hello👋👋 Rick fluff where he comes home and just sees reader hanging out with the kids. And he just stops and watches them, thinking how lucky he is to have her. Please and thank you. Love your work btw❤❤❤. - @hoodiepandaninja16 💜

Holding Judith in your arms, you looked at Carl as he threw a tennis ball against the side of the house, catching it in his hand to throw it again.

“Carl?”

He looked over, stopping what he was doing.

“If you keep throwing that at all wall, you’re gonna break a hole in it eventually.”

He chuckled a little, looking at the tennis ball.

“Sorry, guess I got lost thinking.”

“Hey, not me you need to be sorry too, that poor house has been getting beat on for at least an hour.”

He laughed again, walking over to you, letting you place a hand on his head, and he rested his head on your shoulder.

“What’s going on?” You asked quietly.

He sighed a little bit, offering you nothing more than just a shrug.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just thinking about a lot of stuff you know? Sometimes it’s hard not to when it’s all you can do.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nah.”

You nodded, letting him move away from you and over to the front of the house where he sat down, so you did the same.

Placing Judith on the porch next to you, and Carl handed her his tennis ball.

“That’s fine, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. But if you do you know I’ll listen.”

“Thanks (Y/N).”

You smiled at him, and you leant back on your hands, looking at the skies that were threatening to downpour at any moment.

It was still sunny, but the clouds were rolling in quickly, and given the thunder that was in the distance it would be here soon.

“Do you think dad will make it back before the storm hits?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“You really don’t lie don’t you? Could’ve at least tried to lie for me.” Carl mocked.

You laughed a little, grinning down at him.

“Nope, what’s the point. The truth will come out eventually, whether you want it to or not, by lying your just wasting your own time.”

“Do you think he’ll be alright?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Carl nodded his head, he believed you.

Judith rolled the ball and you caught it before it went down the steps, rolled it gently back over to you and she giggled.

She pushed it back, so you once again pushed it back.

“Can you go through my bag and find my deck of cards?” You asked.

“Yeah, why?” Carl asked back.

“We’re gonna be stuck inside soon, May as well find some way to pass the time.”

You did try to keep them outside for as long as possible, but when it started to rain you decided to bring them inside.

Carl was insistent that he wanted to wait by the gate, but you wouldn’t let him.

So, you all sat on the floor of the living room, music coming from the stereo that you had put on.

Judith sat in your lap, and you tried teaching Carl how to play poker.

“Seriously, how is this in any way helpful?”

“It’s not, it’s just fun as hell.”

He grinned a little at you.

“Dad’s gonna hate you trying to teach me this, you know that right?”

“I could teach you how to throw them.”

“Like throwing stars?”

You nodded and he immediately sat up.

“Hell yes.”

“Hey, language. I’m an adult you’re not, your dad will kick my ass if he finds out.”

“Our secret?” Carl grinned.

You hummed, thinking for a moment as you studied with narrowed eyes.

“I used to cheat at poker in Las Vegas and was was banned from returning.”

“What?”

“You tell your dad that I’ll tell him you swear when he’s not around.”

You held your hand out and Carl grinned, shaking your hand.

“Deal.”

You let go, and you picked up one of the play cards, looking at the apple you had set on the table not long before.

Aiming, you threw the card, it curved a little in the air but lodged itself into the apple.

“Holy shit…”

“Hey! Just because I said I wouldn’t tell doesn’t mean you can keep doing it!”

“Show me again.”

While Judith slept on the couch you taught Carl some of the tricks of the trade you had learnt over time.

Carl was pretty quick with picking some of them up, others not so much, but the card throwing was his new favourite.

You had ran out of apples to throw them at, so you went to throwing them into his hat instead.

“Where did you learn this?”

“I spent a lot of time in Vegas kid, you pick up a lot of things in a place like that.”

“Did you have a gambling problem or something?”

You rolled your eyes.

“No, I was a professional gambler. Well, fraudster I guess, we worked as a team, taking casinos for all they were worth, using all the tricks, same with street hustling.”

“So, just a petty criminal then.”

“Ouch, petty? I’ll have you know I was wanted in over half the states for this shit.”

“And… you’re with my dad, who’s a cop?”

“Yeah that crap doesn’t matter now, what’s he gonna do, arrest me?”

“Yeah you’ve got a point.”

You handed him a couple more cards, looking to Edith as she moved.

Getting up, you held your arms out to her and picked her up, holding her in one arm as you slapped the card Carl threw back at him.

“I’m going to feed her, you want anything?”

“Yeah, I’ll help.”

You guys made dinner, setting a plate aside for Rick, just in case he came back that night.

While Carl spent time with his sister you washed up and made your way back inside to see him dancing around the living room with her.

“You call that dancing?”

You laughed a little, and you swept Judith into your arms.

“First, it’s always gentlemanly to bow.”

You did a small bow, and he did the same thing, and then you held your palm out to him.

“Put your palm on mine.”

He did, and you began teaching him the steps to a simple dance you had learned a long time ago.

Because of the thunder, you didn’t hear the door opening, and Rick stood against doorway, crossing his arms as he watched the tree of you.

Judith was giggling each time you turned around.

“Where did you learn to dance like this?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that I actually did drama when I was your age? Specialised in Shakespeare.”

“So… like a million years ago?”

“Ouch, okay, you know what Carl Grimes, I thought we were friends, but we’re not.”

He laughed, and you heard a laugh from behind you.

Both of you turned over and he walked over to his dad.

You walked over, handing Rick his daughter back and you smiled at him, gesturing to the kitchen.

“Food ready for you, just need to heat it up.”

“Thanks, I’ll get her to bed then I will.”

“I’ll heat it, you do what you have to do.” You smiled.

Rick went upstairs with Carl, and you went into the kitchen to heat up his dinner for him.

While he was up there he grabbed a shower, changing into some fresh clothes while you were setting his plate on the table.

He came back downstairs, and you were cleaning the kitchen, humming a little to yourself.

He sat down, his chin resting on his hand as he just watched you.

This whole time since the prison you had been with him, you had helped him, supported him, never questioning any of the choices he made.

You had complete faith in him, and here you were, looking after his children for him even though you didn’t have too.

After everything he had done, Rick wasn’t sure how he still had somebody like you.

He had no clue what he did to even deserve somebody like you.

Yet here you were, standing right in front of him, as if the whole world was perfect, and in that moment he could have sworn it was.

“Teach me that dance.”

You turned around, looking at him, then the food he hadn’t touched.

“Eat, then asked again.”

He chuckled, quickly eating his dinner, washing up after himself and he walked into the living room where you were sat.

“Now will you teach me the dance?”

You smiled, getting up.

“First, the gentleman thing to do is bow.”

You bowed, snd he copied you.

You held up your hand, and he placed his palm over yours.

Whatever move you made he did the same thing, his eyes locked with yours as you both slowly danced.

This was it, this was perfect, his eyes focused on yours, everything else seeming nothing but background noise.

Rick slowly moved his hand, intertwining your fingers with his, and he smiled softly, warm eyes focused on yours.

He held a nervous breath as he watched you, and you smiled softly back, copying him

#the walking dead #the walking dead x reader #the walking dead x you #the walking dead x y/n #the walking dead imagine #twd #twd x reader #twd x you #twd x y/n #twd imagine #Rick grimes #rick grimes x reader #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x y/n #rick grimes imagine

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periwinkla · 5 months

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Phoenix's careful wording in 4-1

I noticed something about 4-1, Turnabout Trump. Phoenix uses very careful wording. He never outright lies, mostly misdirects. Like when he's asked if the locket is his, and he says the locket has his daughter's photo inside. But the most important misdirection here is about the forged card. He never shows it as actual evidence from the crime scene: if you look carefully at his words, he actually shows it as evidence of the reason why the killer would have taken the card. He's even meticulous about verb choices. In the ENG ver,, he even outright says the card is his. Everyone simply assumes. Also Apollo, unknowingly, doesn't present it as evidence from the crime scene, either. Anyway, here are some parts I found particularly incriminating. JP text beside ENG for comparison's sake. I'll only provide translation for the relevant parts (or the parts that differ between versions). But as you can see, the misdirection is there in the JP version as well. Disclaimer : I only studied Japanese for a little while. AA dialogue is pretty simple though. Also English isn't my native language either. Feel free to correct me on anything wrong here. Also note that I'm not trying to make the translations sound natural, I'm mostly trying to explain what the words are saying, sometimes I'll be more literal than others. Translation =/= localization. Translation notes and musings are in small text.

Judge いかがですかな？　弁護人。 Well, Mr. Justice? カードがスリ替えられて、持ち去られた“理由”‥‥ The question of why the killer would swap out a card has been raised. そのコンキョを提示できますか？ Can you point to a reason? Apollo (‥‥どうやら、　ここが“勝負どころ”だ！） (…It's now or never!) なぜ、カードはスリ替えられたのか‥‥。 Naze, kaado wa surikaerareta no ka... The defense would like to present evidence to the court… Naze, kaado wa surikaerareta no ka... Why the card was switched... 弁護側は、その“理由”を提示したいと思います。 Bengogawa wa, sono "riyuu" o teiji shitai to omoimasu. Evidence showing the reason why a card was swapped out! Bengogawa wa, sono "riyuu" o teiji shitai to omoimasu. The defense would like to present that "reason".

Judge これは‥‥まさか！ Could… this be…!? 現場から持ち去られた “５枚目のＡ”ですかッ！ Could this be the missing fifth ace!? Kristoph ば‥‥バカな！なぜ‥‥なぜ、キミが‥‥ In-Inconceivable! How could you… そんなものを持っているのだッ！ What are you doing with that card!? Apollo そ、それは‥‥その。（なんだ、このあわてようは‥‥） Um, well, that's the thing… (Why's Mr. Gavin so upset?) （アヤシイ女の子からもらった、　ただのアヤシイカードなのに） (Ayashii onna no ko kara moratta, tada no ayashii kaado na noni) (It's just a fishy card from some fishy girl…) (Ayashii onna no ko kara moratta, tada no ayashii kaado na noni) It's just a suspicious card given by a suspicious girl... Apollo doesn't even understand the weight of the card when he presents it. He's just doing what Phoenix is pointing him to. He thinks it's just a suspicious card, and he's only using it to provide a "reason". At first, I was confused by this, because he seemed convinced later on that the card was real. But it appears that at first, he was indeed suspicious of it. It's just as the trial goes on, he's manipulated to think the card is indeed real. Because he trusts Mr. Wright, which *seems* to say it's real. Phoenix そのカードはね。あの晩、事件の後‥‥ 《ボルハチ》で、ぼくが拾ったんだよ。 Sono kaado wa ne. Ano ban, jiken no ato... "Boruhachi" de, boku ga hirotta n da yo. Oh, that card? It's mine. That is, I picked it up at the Borscht Bowl Club that night after the murder had occurred. カードは商売道具だからね。 ‥‥ムスメにわたしておいたんだ。 Kaado wa shoubai dougu dakara ne. ...Musume ni watashite oita n da. I gave it to my daughter. Cards are her stock and trade, after all. In the ENG, 'It's mine' is actually an addition. Maybe to drive the point home more? The rest is the same though.

Phoenix じゃ、ハナシをつづけようか。 Ja, hanashi o tsuzukeyou ka. Allow me to elaborate. Ja, hanashi o tsuzukeyou ka. Well then, let's continue this discussion? (fun fact: hanashi can also be traslated as 'story', or even 'fable', you could say hanashi is the noun version of the verb hanasu (to talk, tell) so it's basically anything you 'talk' about) この“血痕”が原因だったとしたら、どうでしょう。 Kono "kekkan" ga gen'in datta to shitara, dou deshou. What if this trace of blood was the reason? Kono "kekkan" ga gen'in datta to shitara, dou deshou. (what) If this ''bloodstain'' was the cause... what do you think? The 'dou deshou' is usually also traslated as 'what do you think?' - it's used after you make a statement and you want to ask for the other person's opinion. But mostly it's a rethoric question. 'What about it?' would also fit. Also interesting how "bloodstain" is in quotation marks...

Phoenix 現場写真‥‥被害者の頭部をもう一度、よく見てください。 Take another look at the photo… and at the victim's head. 犯行の瞬間、帽子は床に落ちて、このとおり‥‥ At the moment of the crime, his hat fell to the floor… ひとすじの血が、後頭部に向かって流れています。 …and a trickle of blood ran from his forehead down the back of his head. この血が、一滴。カードに落ちた。 ‥‥そうは考えられないでしょうか。 Kono chi ga, hitoshizuku. Kaado ni ochita. ...Sou wa kangaerarenai deshou ka. Couldn't a drop of that blood have fallen on one of the cards? Kono chi ga, hitoshizuku. Kaado ni ochita. ...Sou wa kangaerarenai deshou ka. This blood, this drop. Fell on the card. ...Is that unthinkable? / ...Is that unimaginable? He's basically proposing a theory. Not said the card in Apollo's hand is actually the one. Apollo カードに、血が‥‥ Kaado ni, chi ga... I suppose… Kaado ni, chi ga... On the card, the blood (fell)... Apollo is following along with what he's saying. Phoenix ハンニンは、それをかくすためにカードを持ち去ったのです。 Hannin wa, sore o kakusu tame ni kaado o mochisatta no desu. The killer then took the card to hide the blood. Fun choice of words. 'no desu' = 'the explaination is that...' or, in this case: 'the explaination would be...' This is the more literal translation just to make it more obvious how he phrases it: The culprit, in order to hide that he took the card the explaination would be So in a way that it's actually comprehensible: The explaination would be that the culprit took the card in order to hide that (the blood).

Kristoph 成歩堂！　キミも一度は法廷に立ったオトコだ。 Wright! Regardless of how you wasted the last seven years, you used to be a lawyer! 証拠品を隠すことが、どれだけ大きな“罪”であるか‥‥ You know what a serious crime it is to conceal evidence! Phoenix そのギロンはあとだよ、先生。それよりも‥‥ Sono giron wa ato da yo, sensei. Sore yori mo... Oh, we can discuss the finer points of our legal system later… Found it funny how he calls him 'sensei' but in a way that is very mccking. 'Sensei' means someone who is masterful/very knowledgeable in something, in this context, law. He says 'Let's leave that discussion for later, sensei. More importantly...' これで、きみの疑問に答えるコトができたようだね。 Kore de, kimi no gimon ni kotaeru koto ga dekita you da ne. What's important now is that I've answered your question. Kore de, kimi no gimon ni kotaeru koto ga dekita you da ne. And with that, I was able to answer your question, wasn't I? Basically says the same thing, but uses 'dekiru' = 'to be able to' Kristoph な。なんのコトですか？ Wh-What are you talking about? Phoenix ハンニンがカードを持ち去った“理由”だよ。 Hannin ga kaado o mochisatta "riyuu" da yo. You wanted to know why the killer would have taken a card from the crime scene. Hannin ga kaado o mochisatta "riyuu" da yo. The "reason" the culprit took the card. カードに残った、１滴の血。 Kaado ni nokotta, hitoshizuku no chi. And now, I've told you. A drop of blood, it feel on the card. (That was why) 彼にとっては“致命的”だった。 ‥‥だから、持ち去った。 Kare ni totte wa "chimeiteki" datta. ...Dakara, mochisatta. That one drop of blood would have been decisive evidence, you see. Kare ni totte wa "chimeiteki" datta. ...Dakara, mochisatta. For him, that (the drop of blood) was 'fatal'. ...So, he took it.

Overall, the word choice in both JP and ENG is very careful, but in different ways since... obviously they're different languages with different idiosyncrasies. In conclusion....

Phoenix basically treated the card not as evidence from a crime scene, but more of an example, a recreation, a construction. Never said that was the actual card. Made people assume. Didn't correct them. So... he manipulated their thoughts. He's like 'oh, you want to know the reason? well, let's see, why would the killer take the card...? well maybe it had incriminating evidence on it - oh what kind of evidence? look at this card here - see this drop of blood? what if the blood fell from the victim's head on the card? so he had to take it - because it would have made it obvious the killer entered from the secret passage and how the murder actually happened' Something that breaks my heart immensly about all this is that Apollo is so adamant at the start of the trial that Mr. Wright would never lie... and he's furious and heartbroken that he basically manipulated him (and everyone else), instead. Phoenix literally couldn't lie anyway, because then Apollo would have known. If you think about it, it's kind of how Engarde was able to lie to Phoenix even though he had the magatama. He purposefully and meticulously manipulated people to think the evidence was real, without ever saying it. Putting the words in other people's mouths. (Also... at least to me, this seems a very prosecutor-like tactic. Perhaps even Von Karma-like.)

Why does he even tell Apollo that he forged it? (He didn't have to.) Because he felt guilty. Apollo asks how he can call himself an attorney and he tells him he, in fact, doesn't call himself one. Doesn't have the right to. Phoenix isn't a liar - he says so himself after the trial, he never lied - but he sure is a manipulator here. But he does feel guilty. He lets Apollo punch him. And he smiles. I think this shows how even when we believe that what we're doing is wrong, we might do it anyways. Out of desperation, anyone might cave and go against their own morals.

#ace attorney #phoenix wright #apollo justice #kristoph gavin #ace attorney apollo justice #musings #aa musings #aa localization

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iamgonnagetyouback · 4 days

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𝟷.𝟸𝚔 || 𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆

♡ ︎ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: You assume Luke and Jess are sexist when they say you can't assemble a chair.

♡ ︎ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: None except loads of fluff

♡ ︎ꜱʜɪᴘ: Jess Mariano x reader

It was a busy day at Luke’s Diner. The place was packed, and Luke, always a stickler for doing things himself, had accepted a delivery of new chairs that needed to be assembled. Naturally, Lorelai had dragged you in with the promise of coffee and pancakes, which quickly turned into you offering to help.

"Okay, so these are the parts," you said, staring down at the instruction sheet in front of you. "This doesn't look too bad."

Lorelai leaned in, glancing over your shoulder. "You say that now, but just wait until you're drowning in screws and bolts."

"Great, so optimistic," you replied sarcastically, rolling your eyes.

As you started unpacking the parts, Luke wandered over. "Y/N, you sure you got this? These chairs are heavy. I usually handle this kind of thing myself."

You frowned, pausing mid-screw. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Luke blinked, confused. "I just mean, you know… It’s heavy lifting."

Your frown deepened, and Lorelai was already smirking, sensing the impending storm.

"That’s so sexist of you, Luke!" you said, standing up straighter, putting your hands on your hips. "What? You think just because I’m a woman, I can’t handle it?"

Luke stammered, "No, no! I didn’t say that—"

You cut him off, pointing the screwdriver in his direction. "Yes, you did! You basically just said, 'Y/N, you can’t do it.' So rude."

Just then, Jess strolled in from the storage room, looking as nonchalant as ever, a book tucked under his arm. "What’s going on here?"

You spun around to face him. "Jess! Defend my honor!"

Jess quirked a brow, glancing between you and Luke. "From what?"

"From Luke's blatant sexism!" you exclaimed. "He doesn't think I can assemble these chairs."

Luke muttered something about his words being taken out of context, but you ignored him.

Jess chuckled, leaning against the counter. "Well… to be fair, I don’t think you can do it either."

You stared at him, aghast. "Excuse me? Are you guys just going to assume that a woman can’t do this?"

His lips quirked up into that infuriatingly smug smile he was so good at. "It's not about being a woman or not. A woman can definitely do it," he said, pausing dramatically, "but you? I’m not so sure."

Your jaw dropped, and you grabbed the nearest thing—an old magazine from the table—and swatted him with it. "You're the worst! Take it back!"

Jess dodged the hit with a smirk, not even trying to hide his amusement. "You’re cute when you're mad, you know that?"

"Oh, you think so?" You raised the magazine again, your eyes narrowing. "Well, get ready because I'm about to become fucking adorable."

Jess laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay! I'm just kidding. Jeez, Cherry."

Lorelai, watching the whole interaction with great interest, nudged Luke. "See? They're made for each other."

Luke grunted. "They're made for driving me crazy."

You crossed your arms, glaring at Jess. "You're gonna help me finish these chairs, Mariano, or I'll make sure you regret it."

Jess shrugged, still grinning. "Sure, whatever you say. Just… try not to break anything."

You shot him a withering look, but inside, you couldn't help the little flutter of excitement you always got when Jess teased you like this. He was impossible, and yet, you wouldn’t trade it for the world.

As you two got to work—Jess actually offering helpful tips here and there—Lorelai sighed dramatically from the booth. "I give it six months before these two are married."

Luke glanced at her, unimpressed. "I give it two weeks before they’re banned from this diner."

You and Jess exchanged a quick look as you muttered, "Fine," giving Jess another playful shove as he handed you the next screw. "But I’m still mad at you."

Jess leaned in, his voice soft and teasing. "You look adorable when you’re mad."

You huffed, trying not to smile. "I hate you."

"Sure you do," he whispered, grinning as he bumped your shoulder, "and I think you're adorable too."

I am having a cherry flavored lollipop right now and I just realized Jess is MADE to say the nickname 'cherry'. 🍒

#𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐎 #𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 <𝟑 #jess gilmore girls #jess mariano #jess mariano x reader #jess mariano fluff

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 6 months

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Hello, how are you doing, and have you eaten yet? I found your post when I was looking for ror post and I really love the Isekai cafe reader!

Can I please request when the first time these ror characters first find her restaurant? They probably expecting a threat, but instead find it is a restaurant run by reader. After talking to reader and finding out about how the place come to be, they ordered a dish/beverage/dessert, which ends up as their favourite food/drinks/dessert but they end always visiting not only for the food because they were worried for reader being alone in the restaurant all day and tending to a lot of people.

Poseidon, Hades , Odin and Thor for the Gods

Adam, Lu Bu, Jack, Buddha and Sasaki for the human side please!

-You couldn’t help but smile, looking around your restaurant, it was such a warm and cozy feeling, there were seats everywhere, a fully stocked kitchen will all sorts of toys, and now all you needed was customers!!

-When the front door appeared all over Valhalla, some in seemingly random places, like in the center of a large field, many thought that it was an enemy attack, as the magic was unknown, even to someone like Odin who was so well versed in magic!

-Many approached the various doors cautiously, not all at the same time of course, weapon in hand, preparing for a fight on the other side of the door.

-When they opened it, they weren’t expecting to see a restaurant. They were even more shocked when you, a child, walked out from the kitchen, beaming brightly at them, “Welcome to my restaurant!”

-They couldn’t understand it, how could a child like you perform teleportation magic like this, how were you running a restaurant by yourself, and where was your family?!

-With each question they had another lined up! Nothing made sense!

-They knew that you had died, as you wouldn’t be in Valhalla otherwise, but when asked by Odin, your first guest ever, “What is this place?” you just beamed brightly, your hands on your hips, “This is my restaurant, this is what I got for my wish when I died!”

-That… did very little to clear things up but you ushered each guest to a table, asking if they wanted anything to eat or drink after providing them with a menu.

-It was one thing for you to be running this restaurant on your own, but when you took their order, something they made from more shock than anything, they didn’t anticipate you going into the kitchen and cooking it yourself!!

-He couldn’t help but peek into the kitchen, worried about you, but you looked like a pro, like you had been doing it for years!!

-The food was immaculate, the plating was stunning, the taste was out of this world, it was unlike anything they had ever had before!

-You were stunned to learn that your guests were actual gods or people from history, historical figures and warriors, and that your doors were opening all over their home of Valhalla!!

-You were in disbelief, meeting these new and strange individuals, who became regulars, getting pretty much the same thing each time they visited, except for Loki, who got something new each time, as he wanted to taste many different dishes.

-The doors never seemed to appear in the same place, but they appeared each day, so you got new people all the time.

-There was only one rule for your restaurant, no fighting- which made your place a neutral zone, there would be no fighting, or you would ban them, then they couldn’t enter ever again!! They couldn’t miss out on food this good and seeing someone so bright and warm as you.

-As time went on and you gained more customers day by day, except for the two days off you take a week, you gained so many new friends, you had never imagined having this many friends before, but you wouldn’t trade it or your restaurant for the world!

-They also learned of your past, how you had died so young, and you were given this restaurant, and you would remain inside it, being unable to leave, until you found a family you would feel safe with.

-You just had no idea that it was much closer than you thought!

-Poseidon- Gambas al Ajillo with various white wines with mini fruit tart for dessert

-Hades- Filet Mignon with various wines with Opera Cake for dessert

-Odin- Buttered lobster roll with Filet Mignon and honey toast for dessert

-Thor- T-bone steak with baked potato and chilled ale

-Lu Bu- T-bone steak with a full rack of beef ribs, no veggies and no sweets

-Adam- apple pie a la mode with caramel drizzle

-Jack- apple and cheddar pie with hot tea; sometimes will get a chicken pot pie

-Buddha- various desserts, will try several different types with each visit

-Kojiro- Unadon (grilled eel rice bowl) with melon bread for dessert

#record of ragnarok #ror x reader #ror poseidon #ror hades #ror odin #ror thor #ror lu bu #ror adam #ror jack the ripper #ror buddha #ror kojiro sasaki

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cheolsfae · 8 months

Text

𓆦 Skz as your best friend

Requested: nope

Genre: fluff

Warning(s): none

Reblogs are appreciated

Bang Chan

The dude would constantly harass you.

Like a sibling type of friendship.

Sometimes, you would start it by messing up his just finished styled hair

The type to rough house with you, the fake punching, the silly wrestling, the whole nine!

Just a big pain in the ass to you but you wouldn’t trade him for the world

He’s there whenever you need him though! Yeah he likes to goof but you need support and he’s got your back 110%!

Even when you don’t make the right decisions lmao

Minho

The type to be disappointed in you (like a dad) when you get back with that one toxic ex.

"If they make you cry again, I'm not helping you pick up the pieces again."

And then proceeds to help pick up the pieces again. . .

He's the "I told you so" type about it too!

He helps clean your messy room when you aren't feeling well mentally, physically, or both. 💕

Changbin

Wrestling boy # 2

But like more in a cute type of way because he is him duhh lmaoo

Becomes a big baby when you hang out with another one of your friends more than him.

You went out shopping with Seungmin for a few hours? He’s pouting and claiming you like Seungmin more than him.

Obviously not true, Changbin is your best friend! No one can take his place!

Hyunjin

Messages you every unnecessary thing that pops up in his head.

"You have no choice. You're going to reuse my socks so you can suffer athletes foot with me."

The energy is very much reciprocated on your end. "Ew gross, I don't want athletes foot from you."

It's a kind of codependent relationship, very rarely does anyone find you guys separated!

"Where's y/n?" "My partner in crime? The love of my life? The peanut butter to my jelly? Their in the bathroom."

Jisung

Gopher! That's the best way to describe it.

This man disappears from you anywhere from a week to almost a month and then he pops back up like nothing happened

And when he comes back, he's right there telling you all the crazy stories he's been through in such a short period of time.

One time, the two of you had gotten together just to catch up.

He told you that he'd gotten lost in Canada and somehow wound up in Mexico.

Just a little messy stories

Always comes back with the best stories!

Felix

The type to give you things that remind him of you.

He bought you a little gnome because it was a part of some inside joke you guys had from years ago

Constant sleepovers because it's also a small codependent relationship

Neither of you can cook very well, baking? yeah. But cooking? Absolutely not.

So much so that the oldest members banned from doing it because of the amount of times you guys set off the fire alarm.

Seungmin

Also the type to roast your ass.

But not just about you going back to your ex.

The dude would make fun of that one time you mispronounced a word 5 years ago and still laughs his ass off about it

Remember the time you fell in the parking lot of the grocery store? He definitely does!

"You should have seen the way you landed!"

"That was 10 years ago! Let it go!"

Jeongin

The chillest type relationship

Y'all could just be rotting in bed together and you're having the time of your life together

But you guys communicate through looks whenever something funny or otherwise happens.

No words, just looks

Ideal type of friendship though

#stray kids fluff #stray kids smut #stray kids scenarios #stray kids reactions #stray kids #yang jeongin #kim seungmin #lee yongbok #lee felix #skz felix #han skz #han jisung #hwang hyunjin #seo changbin #lee know #lee minho #christopher bang #bang chan

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atzjieun · 1 month

Text

awkward silence

summary | jieun meets a familiar face when visiting her friends

circa | november 2021

contains | 1.5k words, fluff, 2ji are awkward as hell😭

notes | the story of how jisung asked for her number!

Admittedly, Jieun didn’t like being back in the JYP building.

She’d been so excited when her manager announced that she was to do a collab with Chaeryeong. Her first few practices had been on her own as she learned the choreo, but now that she was familiar with it, practices had been shifted to be joint so they could work on specific spacing together.

Although she loved being able to spend time with her friend again, she wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to go back to her old company. The very walls of the practice room brought her back to her trainee days, a time riddled with constant stress and fears about her future. It was a constant reminder of how things used to be, the cycle of doubt in her own choices. While years later, she could look back and be proud of how far she’d come since then, her skin still crawled with unease just from being inside.

“Jieunie, the instructor said we can take a break for a bit!” Chaeryeong said excitedly as she walked back into the room. Jieun, who had been laying on the ground, grinned as she rolled over and pushed herself closer to the center of the room. Chaeryeong took a seat beside her, handing the girl a water bottle.

“Thank god, I couldn’t dance another step even if I tried,” she joked, gratefully taking it and unscrewing the cap.

“I think she was extra mean today because you raised her expectations. I mean, you are ATEEZ’s main dancer,” Chaeryeong teased. “Really, I want to know though. What is it like having to live with 8 men?”

Jieun giggled at the emphasis on men, the word laced with the slightest hint of disgust. “Honestly, it’s not as bad as you’d think. It’s like when I was living at home with Jihoon-oppa, except my members can actually cook.”

“Sounds nice,” Chaeryeong said, a slight wistful tone in her voice. “Still, it would’ve been fun if we could’ve debuted together.”

“Maybe in another universe I’m a member of Itzy.” Jieun smiled softly. “But I’m happy as I am now. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Chaeryeong nodded before slumping down to the ground and dramatically laying out her arms. “Ah, the cold floor is so nice. I don’t want to dance anymore.” She raised her head, looking over. “You said your manager’s going to bring food, right?”

Jieun grinned, nodding. “She said she’d be back a bit before we’re supposed to finish.” She glanced at the clock, letting out a quiet sigh. “So…in an hour.”

Chaeryeong let out a dramatic groan as she rolled over, now faced down on the ground. “I want chicken.”

“Me too.” With a heave, Jieun pulled herself to her feet, shaking out the pins and needles in her legs. “I’ll be back, I’m just going to the bathroom.”

“You still remember where it is?” Chaeryeong asked from where she laid.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Jieun made her way out of the practice room, closing the door behind her as she stepped out into the hallway. The light above her flickered, a slight buzzing noise filling the air. Yup. That checked out.

The hallways were eerily quiet as she walked through the building, save for the muffled music leaking out of a couple practice rooms that she passed. As she rounded a corner, Jieun found her path suddenly blocked by another figure, causing her to flinch.

“Oh, I’m so sorry-” She looked up, eyes widening as she made eye contact with the person in front of her. “Jisung?”

The boy took a step back out of surprise, eyebrows raised when he caught sight of her. “Jieun? What are you doing here?” Panic immediately took over his expression as he began to backtrack. “I mean- not that you’re not welcome here. You were a trainee before me after all, and it’s not like you’re banned or anything-” Noticing the smile on her face, Jisung immediately shut his mouth, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks.

“It’s ok,” she said with a small nod. “I was just practicing with Chaeryeong for our collab stage.”

“Oh! Nice, that’s cool. I was working on some music with Channie-hyung and Changbin-hyung.”

The two stood in place for a couple seconds, the silence between them growing more uncomfortable as time went on. Jisung glanced off into the distance while Jieun stared at the ground, shifting her feet.

“I was just wondering-”

“Sorry, I’m just-”

They both cut off, laughing awkwardly.

“Sorry, you go first,” Jieun said.

“No, it’s ok. You first.” He shook his head. “What were you wondering?”

Jieun swallowed, raising her head slightly though still not meeting his gaze. “You help produce all of Stray Kids’ music, right?”

Although slightly taken aback by the question, Jisung nodded. “Yeah, some of the members help too but it’s mostly me, Channie-hyung and Changbin-hyung. We were a trio called 3racha before we debuted.”

“I like the pun,” she said, earning a smile from the boy.

“You do some songwriting for ATEEZ too, don’t you?”

She nodded. “A bit. I usually give feedback for my own parts, but our producers make the final decisions. Hongjoong-oppa and Mingi-oppa are a lot more involved than I am.”

“Didn’t you write and produce Eternal Sunshine though?” Upon seeing her shocked expression, Jisung let out a single nervous laugh. “It’s a really good song. I think it should’ve won the title track vote, personally.”

Jieun stared at him with wide eyes, mouth hanging open. She broke out of her trance after a couple seconds, blinking as she shook her head.

“Ah, thank you.” She smiled shyly. “I don’t have my own studio space, so it was just something I made on my laptop a long time ago. It would’ve never actually seen the light of day if Yeosang-oppa didn’t convince me to show it to our producers.”

“I just recently got my own studio space!” Jisung said enthusiastically. “I hope you can get your own studio soon. It really does make a difference at times.”

Jieun nodded wistfully. “Sounds nice.”

The boy frowned, his mouth straightening into a tight line as though he was trying to think of what to say next.

“If you wanted…I could show you sometime?”

Jieun’s eyes widened as she stared at him with a flustered expression. He opened his mouth, about to backtrack, though she spoke up before he had a chance.

“Sure, if it’s ok.” The corners of her lips tilted upward as she looked up at the boy, meeting his gaze.

“Oh, great, uh- I can give you my number-” he swallowed, letting out a small chuckle. “You know, so we can arrange the… tour.”

Jieun reached into her pocket to grab her phone, quickly noticing its absence.

“Shoot, I think I left my phone back in the practice room.”

“That’s ok!” Jisung pulled out his own phone. He looked down at it for a couple seconds before glancing toward the girl and holding it out to her.

Hesitantly, she took the phone from his hand, inputting her phone number. Jisung gave a short nod as she handed his phone back, quickly saving the contact before putting it back in his pocket.

“Sorry, I think I should go now,” Jieun said, smiling sheepishly. “I was on my way to the bathroom and Chaeryeong’s probably wondering where I am.”

“Oh! Sorry, yeah.” The boy immediately stepped to the side, allowing her to pass. “It was nice seeing you again, Jieun. I’ll message you later so you know it’s me.”

“It was nice seeing you too!” Jieun gave a short bow before moving past him to continue on her way.

Though as Jieun walked down the hallway, she felt a pair of eyes on her back. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Jisung standing in the same place he’d been, though only for a second, as the boy immediately turned and started walking away when she looked back. She smiled, heat rising to her cheeks as she continued on her way.

“What took you so long?” Chaeryeong asked the moment she walked into the practice room.

“Sorry, turns out I don’t remember this place as well as I thought I did.” Jieun laughed awkwardly. “Hey, have you seen my phone?”

Chaeryeong nodded as she walked over to the desk where Jieun’s phone had been sitting since the start of practice. As she grabbed it, the screen suddenly lit up with a new notification that Chaeryeong immediately noticed. A smirk spread across the girl’s face as she handed extended her arm out to Jieun.

“Why’s Jisung-oppa texting you?” she asked innocently, blinking over at the girl. Jieun took the phone out of her hand, turning away as blood rushed to her face.

“I saw him in the hallway,” she answered, looking down at the notification.

Unknown Number: Hi! Unknown Number: It’s me Unknown Number: Jisung Unknown Number: 🙂

“Oh my god. Song Jieun, are you blushing?”

“No!” Jieun turned around, walking over to where her bag laid and quickly stuffing her phone inside. “We should get back to practice now. Minju-unnie will be back soon with food.”

With a knowing look, Chaeryeong gave a single nod as she went to start the music. Jieun stared at herself in the mirror, fighting the smile that threatened to spread across her face as she reminded herself to respond to the message when practice was over.

taglist: @teezingsiyeon @moonkyeom

#jieun.story #9th member of ateez #ateez 9th member #ateez addition #fake kpop idol #kpop oc #fictional kpop idol #fictional kpop oc #kpop addition #ateez oc #ateez imagines

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mariacallous · 5 months

Text

More US workers will soon be free to leave their employers to work for rivals, thanks to a new federal rule that will block the long-standing practice of locking in workers with noncompete agreements.

The US Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday issued a final rule that bans most noncompetes nationwide. The agency estimated that by allowing people more freedom, the change would lead to the creation of 8,500 new businesses annually, an average annual pay increase of $524 for workers, lower health care costs, and as many as 29,000 more patents each year for the next decade.

The FTC says about one in five US workers are bound by contract clauses that prevent them from taking new jobs from a competitor, or starting their own competing businesses, for some period of time. The agreements can trap workers and slow career advancement and wage increases—two things workers often achieve by hopping jobs.

The agreements also disproportionately affect workers in tech and certain other roles: 36 percent of engineers and architects work under noncompetes, as do 35 percent of workers in computer and math fields, according to research from the Universities of Maryland and Michigan.

Under the FTC’s new rule, “tech workers will probably experience a rise in the outside opportunities that they face,” says Evan Starr, an associate professor of business at the University of Maryland who worked on the research. “They’ll have more freedom to work where they want; they will be more likely to be paid higher wages.”

Opponents of noncompetes say they hurt workers by keeping them in lower-waged jobs and also stifle innovation, preventing people from starting their own businesses or putting innovative ideas into practice. Noncompete supporters argue that the arrangements encourage investment in staff and protect trade secrets. But recent research from Starr indicates that banning noncompetes hasn’t led to an increase in trade secret litigation.

The new FTC rule has a carve-out to keep existing noncompetes for senior executives in place. But it blocks companies from creating new noncompetes for these high-level workers. The rule is due to take effect in about four months, but it’s expected to face challenges. Two commissioners who voted against the rule saw it as overstepping the FTC’s power. The US Chamber of Commerce quickly announced after the rule passed that it will sue to try to block it.

Several states, including tech hub California, have already banned enforcement of noncompetes. But a recent tidal shift has seen the issue resonate in dozens of states. In the 2023 legislative session, 38 states introduced 81 bills that sought to ban or restrict enforcement of noncompetes. California’s long-established law is seen as part of the reason Silicon Valley became a hub for innovation, while Massachusetts’s once-similar tech corridor didn’t soar in the same way.

Tech executive Daniel Powers has battled noncompetes twice in his career. In 2010, IBM tried to delay his move from New York to Seattle to work for Amazon Web Services, the online retailer’s cloud division, by a year. The parties settled on Powers taking six months off. Fortunately for Powers, Amazon agreed to pay him even while he couldn’t work.

Two years later, the tables turned. When Powers attempted to take a job with Google Cloud, Amazon sued him, saying he had agreed not to work for one of its competitors within 18 months of leaving. The incident drew headlines as the first noncompete case Amazon had brought against someone inside fast-growing AWS, Powers recalls.

Powers had to move to California—where noncompetes aren’t legal—for the new gig, and his attorney told him to get there as soon as possible. By living in a different state, the lawsuit could be tried in federal court, where his attorney felt Amazon had less of an advantage compared to Washington state court. A federal judge ended up siding with Powers, and he lost only about three months of work at Google while the case played out.

Amazon, IBM, and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Had Powers not received discounted legal help over the years, he says, he could have easily spent over $100,000 battling noncompetes. “It’s just not fair to the employees,” says Powers, who now runs cloud advisory firm What's Next Consulting. “When I won, I got hundreds of emails and texts from Amazon employees thanking me for beating them.”

People in Washington state who want to leave one of the tech giants often must have difficult conversations with their families, advisers, and potential new employer about the risks of litigation and potentially being without a paycheck for a long stretch. Powers estimates that he has aided over 200 former Amazon and IBM colleagues in the process. California workers have no such concerns. “It’s just, ‘OK, goodbye,’” Powers says. “There’s nothing companies can do about it.”

If the new FTC rule ends up in front of the US Supreme Court, he says, his message to the justices will be simple. “Taking away a person’s ability to work in an industry they are trained in, have skills in, and have been in is a massive disservice to the employee,” Powers says. “It’s not the right thing to do to have these agreements.”

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rarepears · 2 years

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In a shen twins au do you think sy is desperate to protect his brothers reputation so he doesn’t blacken further and give reasons for his imprisonment? Would sy get along with lqg as someone who could protect them against lbh or would be get pissed at this guy who keeps making his brother’s rep worse? Also sy vs sqh trying to steer the plot to stay alive lol

In a Shen twins AU, there's no reason why it can't be Shen Yuan that becomes the Qing Jing peak lord Shen Qingqiu instead of Shen Jiu.

Now, it's not that Shen Yuan was more ambitious or more talented than Shen Jiu. Pft, can you imagine Shen Yuan being that motivated to even pursue the spot of head disciple?!

Nah, instead Shen Yuan got the spotlight just through being Shen Jiu's identical twin. It's precisely Shen Jiu's talents (and hard work, but no one on Qing Jing calls it hard work since that implies any old commoner can be just as skilled as a noble-born child) that caught the eye of the old Qing Jing peak lord and yes, it was Shen Jiu that was the head disciple and the selected successor.

Shen Yuan panicked, okay?! He couldn't let his beloved twin become a human stick. Despite all of his twin's prickly faults, Shen Yuan loved the idiot cactus of a human. So... with his knowledge of PIDW, he might had initiated letters with the imperial palace, traded some of the protagonist's future treasures to earn a couple favors of high ranking eunuchs and then even the fucking emperor himself - surely the protagonist wouldn't be so stingy as to begrudge his biggest fan from helping himself to a couple items? - and that's how Shen Yuan won his brother a position as Grand Tutor (and unofficial advisor) to the Crown Prince.

Normally it was Huan Hua that held such strong ties to the imperial throne; most certainly it wasn't Cang Qiong. Thus, when the previous generation of Cang Qiong heard of all of Shen Yuan's hard efforts winning the sect such a opportunity, they were more than delighted to ship Shen Jiu off to be Grand Tutor instead. After all, there was a ready made replacement (cough Shen Yuan) for Qing Jing!

Was Shen Jiu pissed? Yes.

Did Shen Jiu feel betrayed by his twin? Yes, but only shortly because unlike Yue Qingyuan, Shen Yuan knows the importance of communicating. Well, not that Shen Yuan told the truth; instead, he told his Jiu-ge about how he thought that his very ambitious twin would appreciate the chance and influence to craft future bills and laws and maybe get the ball started on banning slavery... Shen Yuan wasn't ambitious or crafty enough to achieve such a thing, but he knew his twin had the skills!

At the end of the day, Shen Yuan is an excellent bootlicker and his bootlicking complimenting skills work on even Shen Jiu. And with Shen Jiu removed from Cang Qiong, Shen Jiu doesn't blacken further with the false promises of having a "family" of martial siblings in the form of fellow peak lords; Shen Jiu knows from the get go that the imperial government is full of vipers and the importance of reputation when it comes to influencing all the ambitious political ambitions that have awakened inside of him.

[Follow #a shen twins au where shen yuan becomes the qing jing peak lord and shen jiu becomes an imperial tutor to the crown prince for more]

#this post turned into full on rambling and i don't think i even made sense at the end of it #svsss #svsss ideas #svsss au #scum villain self saving system #shen jiu #shen qingqiu #shen yuan #proud immortal demon way #a shen twins au where shen yuan becomes the qing jing peak lord and shen jiu becomes an imperial tutor to the crown prince

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xuchiya · 3 months

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"Chapter 8: Yeosang saves the day!" || kang yeosang [a mini-series]

|| next: chapter 9 || if you haven't read the previous chapter, here's the masterlist.

genre: non!idol yeosang. fluff. angst. violence. mentions: gun. knives. attempt murder/kidnapping. blood. anxiety attack.

"my lady as much as I want to drive that ... chariot as our runaway vehicle ... you're on your own."

"KANG YEOSANG?!"

The next few weeks were a blur of chaos and confusion. The company's stock prices plummeted, partnerships that once seemed rock-solid began to crumble without explanation— pulling out in just a phone call. Having Karina looking at you with a down look as the call from one of the investors had suddenly stopped cooperating with your corporations, and rumours of illegal activities swirled around your family’s business like a dark cloud.

You groan, clicking the exit button with so much frustration after reading the article. It is false information, so much malice in each word and not even a hint of truth, “Karina…”

“Yes lady?” She bows her head which you did wave off a little bit, “One please don’t bow and second, can you look for this resource and take it down? If they did not for the next 24 hours, file a case for my lawyer.”

She nodded, looking at her tablet before walking to her desk.

At first, you tried to manage the crisis, believing it to be a series of unfortunate coincidences. But as more partnerships retreated and the media started publishing scathing articles, your confusion turned into despair. The articles were brutal, accusing the company of engaging in illegal trades and using banned substances to manipulate partnerships. Your father's once-stellar reputation was being dragged through the mud, and by association, so was yours.

Then all of these articles suggested that you had admitted to feeling overwhelmed and distrusting your team. It painted a picture of a leader who was losing control and questioning the loyalty of those around her. Daniel's seemingly innocent questions from that fateful night now twisted into damning evidence against you. Each day brought a new wave of bad news, and with every plummet of the stock prices, your father's temper flared hotter. His frustration grew with every lost partnership and damaging headline. The tension in the office was palpable, a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

Then, the final blow: a paparazzi photo of you and Yeosang at a carnival, taken out of context and blown into a full-blown scandal. The headlines screamed about inappropriate relationships and misuse of company resources.

Your heart drops, feeling your face drain from its natural color as you stare at the headline of you and Yeosang. It was undeniably you in the photo, the angle looks like you both are in an intimate position and moment. It killed from the inside on how people can manipulate their words with just one photo and boom! There goes the story and accusations. It was a harmless date— a unwind and relaxing day for you that you were forever thankful for Yeosang.

It enrages you how people find ways to bring you down after seeing you so high up and above them but nothing can beat your father’s fury was immediate and unrestrained. A knock on your office door divided your attention, “Yes?”

Karina’s head poke in with a troubled look, “Lady … your father is looking for you.” You already know how these will go down and you are ready.

Or so you thought.

"You think this is a game?!" he shouted, slamming his fists on the desk as the latest scandalous newspaper hit it. "Do you have any idea what you've done to our reputation? First all the percentages did not only drop by five percent but it went down to twenty?!" His nose was flared, if mythical creatures are true then he represents a raging dragon— ready to burn anything in crisp. Maybe including you, if mercy is in his dictionary.

“We can still make this work! It is not yet too late to talk to the media–..”

“Silence!” His voice echoes throughout the room making you immediately shut your mouth.

He moved around his desk, smacking his hand on the big whiteboard attached to the wall far left to his desk where various numbers and pictures of the company displayed, “Not only that but your great grandfather’s partnership?! Do you know how long he worked hard to earn their trust to invest in this corporation?!”

“I have talk them through— I insisted…–”

“Yet nothing works! … And this—” He suddenly pulled out a bunch of photos, throwing them on the floor. Your eyes focus on the two familiar figures. A different angle between you and Yeosang at the carnival. A stolen photo.

"I was just trying to unwind, Father! It was one night—"

"One night? Look at the damage!" He picked up the newspaper and waved it in your face, the headline blaring your name alongside scandalous accusations. "Our partners are pulling out, our stock is crashing, and now this! The media is having a field day with our family's name."

You stood your ground, but your voice wavered. "I didn’t do anything wrong. I do not know where all of these are rooted but I have contacted Seonghwa and Jeonghan about all of these and they are taking care of them! Mr. Kim is still with us— we should be grateful for him and sticking with us! And Yeosang, dad — he is just my bodyguard."

"Just your bodyguard?" His voice rose to a fever pitch. "This isn’t just about you anymore. This is about the entire company, our legacy. Yes! I am grateful to Mr. Kim but it does not change anything! How could you be so careless?! Every day, we are losing millions! Our reputation is in tatters, and all because you couldn’t handle all these on your hands and keep your personal life out of the public eye!"

His words started to get hurt each time he opened his mouth. It went one ear out to the other yet it left a stinging pain all down to your body and mostly down to your heart. You have never thought you would end up in this situation, a time and moment where you wish that if you did this or that— anything would counter this situation.

Tears stung your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. Your breath ragged from keeping your emotions inside, "I'm not the one causing these problems. There's something else going on here, something we’re not seeing. Father please."

"Stop making excuses!" His face was red with rage, veins bulging in his neck. "You think this is a conspiracy? It's your incompetence! You need to get your act together and fix this. Now."

You watch his figure retreat back to his desk, opening one button of his coat; gaze hard as he look outside his window before turning back to you and speaking those words you never thought he would spat on you out of rage,

“How can I be so proud of you when all you do is fail and disappoint me all the time.”

The weight of his words crushed you, and without another word, you turned and fled out of the office. Karin and Mingi called after you, but you ignored them, running through the building and out into the bustling city streets. You didn’t stop running until the company building was a distant silhouette behind you, bumping into strangers each time it blurs and fresh salty tears stream down your face.

Your heart raced when a car screeched to a halt in front of you, the driver leaning out of the window to yell profanities. But you barely registered his words, your mind a chaotic swirl of emotions. You kept running, desperate to find somewhere, anywhere, where you could find peace. Panting, you find yourself lost in the maze of the city— Just like Shibuya Prefecture, it is crowded with pedestrians while you stand in the middle of the throng, feeling like you are drowning in a sea of faces. Your makeup was ruined, hair disheveled, and your spirit shattered.

If calling a name like a mantra would bring back those people you deeply love and are attached to, you would have done it a thousand times but your mouth never opens and only hope it would come on its own to save you.

On queue, rainfall started to drop on top of your head and sooner you were drenched from head to toe. Clothes clinging to your skin, a puff of air leaving your lips as the coldness turns your body into the depths of numbness; the weather and the season soon changing, drastically.

“My lady?” It was as if hope and the mantra you kept saying inside your head and the agony cannons to those who can feel your pain and sorrow, finally answered. As you spun on your heavy feet, you were faced with a confused Yeosang.

He stood there also drenching from head to toe, his hair down and unkept and his normal uniform you usually saw in him now replaced by a hoodie and dark jeans. Under his arm is his helmet.

“Y-Yeosang?” you shakily walked towards him, fighting the part of your mind that insisted this was just a cruel trick but when he moved towards you and held your hand; pulling suddenly close to his chest as the sound of the beep of a car echoes your ears but what you heard the most is how fast is heart beats on your ear.

“I’ll take you it that nothing good happen and you’ll get sick so I'll bring you back to mine.” You did not speak further nor did Yeosang speak more. Without a word, he reached out and took your hand, his grip firm and reassuring. As he led you through the crowded streets, his body became a protective shield, ensuring no one bumped into you. He subtly maneuvered himself to block the view of any passerby who might recognize you, keeping you hidden from prying eyes and potential scandal.

His presence was a barrier against the chaos, a constant, calming force amid the storm. With every step, you felt a little more secure, knowing Yeosang was there, guiding you away from the prying public and the relentless pressures that had been consuming you.

When you reached the shop, you heard him click his tongue in annoyance as he turned around with a contemplated look, lips pressed into thin lines, “Just a slight problem…”

You sniffed a little bit as your eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, “Why?”

“Well I did not expect to see you nor would we bump into each other so … I did not bring my extra helmet and my home is at least 6 or 7 blocks down from here.” You shake your head already seeing the wheels in his brain turning, “Yeosang I can literally hear your thoughts and we are not going down the street with me having no helmet on!”

He chuckles, unbuckling the strap of the helmet and placing it on your head, as he leans down on the visor area, staring at you with a playful look , “Yeah?”

,,,,

“KANG YEOSANG! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!” You held on to Yeosang tightly as he accelerated more than the usual speed required in the city, Yeosang suddenly pulls front part of the motorbike up in the air— a wheelie— making you yelp and hold on to dear life and call more saints inside your head,

“Come on my lady! Are you ready?!”

“Argh! Let's get over it!” You could only hear Yeosang laugh through the harsh wind as he waves through past the cars then benking to turn down the street. He turned to you and you could visibly see his birthmark and the crinkles in his eyes— his wet hair swishing on the wind as he turned back around, “That’s my lady!”

Even with the roaring wind underneath the helmet, you felt your heart skipping a beat as you glance at him through the side mirrors. With all the chaos happening in just minutes, you had totally forgotten what happened back in the corporation and the harsh words of your father; you may be labelled as a delusion but Yeosang’s presence had diminished any sort of negative out of your life and being able to see him after months of his resignation.

You were beyond happy and over the moon relief to see him even in the midst of the crowd. It was like fate brought you back to him when you needed him (and probably him needing you the most).

Surprisingly and fortunately, after calling whatever saint you have on your mind left your lips; you arrive at his apartment safe and sound. You hop off the motorbike (with shaking legs) with his help, and remove his helmet, you hear the motorbike turning off with his soft chuckles, “Get used to it, my lady.”

You turned to him with a blank look, “Get used to it?! You swerve each of those cars, beat the red light multiple times and manage to enrage a cop?! Plus you have no gahd damn helmet on! So hell to the no!” He chuckles, taking the helmet from you. You huff making your hair blow away from your face. Your reaction was satisfying in Yeosang’s end as he watches you mumble about being dangerous while taming your wild hair, your golden-brown skin glistening under the lamppost before turning to him.

“Yeo … we’re gonna get sick.” That snapped him out of his thoughts and cleared his throat to brush off his awkwardness. He swung his leg out of his motorbike, tucking his helmet under his arm, the same arm was a black plastic bag; using his free hand, he grabbed your hand and walked towards the elevator.

After pressing the 8th floor button, he leans on the silver bar and blows out a relieved breath. Catching your eye, he flashes a charming smirk. "Over here," he says, gesturing with an open arm. You hesitate for a beat, unsure of his sudden boldness. He seems to sense your apprehension, shaking his head with a playful smile. Reaching out, he gently takes your arm and pulls you closer, holding you loosely against his side.

You tilt your head to peek up at him, a questioning "Yeo?" escaping your lips.

He meets your gaze, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes. He notices a flicker of something in your expression – maybe not discomfort, but a touch of confusion. This earns him a soft chuckle. "Well, with no prying eyes or stuffy protocols around," he murmurs, voice dropping a playful octave, "I finally get to have you close like this."

“What–”

Before you can even stammer out a response, he cuts you off with a teasing grin. "My brilliant lady," he continues, "imagine this – all day you navigate the corporate jungle, juggling numbers, percentages, and intricate company collaborations. You strategize for a dozen objectives, and on top of that, you manage to be a star student, a certified magna cum laude, no less! But..." he trails off dramatically, leaning closer to you to which in your instinct, moving your head backwards, "do you have even the slightest clue what 'boyfriend' means?"

His teasing question sends a blush creeping up your cheeks at his unexpected praise and playful accusation. You cannot deny nor confirm anything about that last statement— sure your sister have set you up once in a while but you reject the thought of having to meet up with a stranger to fulfil your delusions or fantasies yet here you are in a situation where you couldn’t even breathe much air as how close you are to him or think of what to do next.

“I—” With the sound of the elevator ‘ding’, you took this chance to pull yourself away from him and burn yourself at the other corner of the elevator as a few more people stepped inside. It created a small distance between the two of you yet you could still feel his eyes on you and still feel those cheeks burning.

It took a while to get to Yeosang’s floor, As he brought you inside his apartment; he let you in first before closing the door behind him and the sensory lights open to help you see through the darkness of the hallway before entering the main room. As you were both removing your (semi-wet) shoes on the floor, you were greeted by a small white puff ball– barking oddly similar to a squeaky toy.

Half of your body spun to see a maltese almost just the same height as Yeosang’s ankles. Tail wagging excitedly upon seeing his owner, looking up to him with its tongue out. “Hello Pom Pom.” The maltese— Pom Pom barks before scurrying away, hoping to get the message to play with him although with your sudden presence it whimpers in surprise before running off, disappearing somewhere else.

“Oh? I didn’t mean to scare her away.” Yeosang chuckles, grabbing a towel that was hanging off his chair and tossing it to you to which you catch it poorly and get caught up in your face. He moves towards the kitchen and pulls out two mugs, “Don’t worry, he always does that whenever Yunho and Seonghwa visit— he always runs away looking for his sister for back up. And even in his tiny form, he bites a lot.”

You smile hearing the cuteness of his dog until you realise what he had mentioned, brows furrowed in confusion, “Hold on— his sister? You have two dogs?” He nodded and to prove that he was telling the truth, the ‘sister’ walked in. You have to hold on two of the dining chairs on how you were suddenly terrified, knees buckling.

A sleek shadow slipped through the hallway. Unlike the playful Maltese, she'd described, this newcomer was all sharp angles and coiled muscle. A Doberman Pinscher, its coat a glistening black, stalked into the room. Its powerful legs moved with a silent grace that belied its formidable size. Ears, cropped to sharp points, twitched with alertness, and intelligent brown eyes scanned the room, settling on you with an intensity that sent a shiver down your spine. The Doberman paused, head held high, its powerful chest barely brushing the doorway. It wasn't snarling or growling, but its presence alone radiated a primal confidence that made the air crackle with tension.

“Y-Yeo…” You heard him move behind you, holding two cups of tea. You went behind him, slightly shaking “Don’t worry. She doesn’t bite.” And set the mugs on top of the table before turning to you, “I’ll give some clothes while you shower, they’ll be on the bed.” You nodded, sitting down at the couch (using his towel so the couch wouldn’t drench), sipping on the tea he made. He walks towards the bedroom, his footsteps echoing softly against the wooden floor. You watch as the Doberman steps further into the room, each step deliberate, its eyes never leaving you. The atmosphere seems to tighten, the silence punctuated only by the distant hum of the refrigerator and the faint drip of water from the sink.

You weren’t able to take care of any sort of pet inside the manor since and you quote, “a filth inside the manor”. You shake your head as a small smile crept up your lips as you took notice of Pom Pom nibbling on the carpet, head wagging side to side until too much force caught her flying next to his sister’s foot; The Doberman scoff, pushing Pom Pom back on his feet using her nose.

The maltese yelp before returning back to nibbling the carpet, at the same time, Yeosang walks back in, “You can take a shower now, my lady.”

It had started raining— storming— rather outside, you could see some tree branches hitting the window, rain splashing on the window plus the harsh wind but your attention was on the tv as Mario kart was on it. You groan, falling back as another round, another defeat; turning to look at Yeosang, he is smiling at the ranks as he takes a shot before refilling it and then giving it to you.

Since the beginning of the game, Yeosang challenges you to drink up each time he wins the game yet at the end, it was him drinking the rest of the 2 bottles he bought from the store (a while ago before he saw you on the street). Yeosang, for the past hours since you had crashed into his place, reminded you of a place back in the Philippines. Your mom’s “kubo”.

The small hut that is made out of natural sources and a traditional Filipino house. The smell and lightweight of bamboo abundance aromas the entire house, most especially when it rains, the coldness that turns into a comfort and will lull you to sleep as you laid down on a soft mattress and the Nipa Palm leaves,, the way it is woven together and then when it’s night time, a rope to separate the leaves to stargaze.

It felt like that. It felt like home. He felt like home.

“... hey, you okay?” You were snapped out of your thoughts by a warm hand above yours. You blink several times before gazing at Yeosang; his eyes were glossy with curiosity and weariness. He knew what state you are in—I mean, who wouldn’t be able to rest if day by day your corporation goes down including the never ending rumours and articles spreading online and people talk as if they were a victim of the business nor were there to witness the bad side of the corporation—he is respecting your space and sanity until you spoke up about your situation. He knew how hard it is, he knew how it must be a huge burden for you as the heir and the CEO of the corporation.

You inhaled, giving him a small yet tight smile feeling the small fur in your palm—Pom Pom placing himself in between your leg and by your hip were preoccupied by Suchan, the Doberman. “Yeah … just a lot in my mind.”

He nodded, leaning back on the couch. You sit side by side, watching the preview rounds show in the t.v as background noise adding the sound of the storm has lulled your body to a relaxed state yet your mind doesn’t cooperate. Yeosang turns his head to the side, eyeing your side profile before you turn to face him also, catching by surprise but mask it with a natural look, although his cheeks were red.

“... Do you think everything will turn out good in the end?” You whisper, fingers ghosting on the fur of Suchan. She huffs curling closer to you as she naps beside your hip.

Yeosang sighs softly, “Every problem has its own solution and every solution has a different answer.” You both were silent, letting the noises accumulate some kind of sound besides the tension between you both, “But…”

You listen closely, “But what?”

Yeosang reaches over, taking your hand in his large one, “But you have to come up with your own, not everything solves with the given solution.”

“But will it end well?” He sighs, playing with your fingers before clasping them tightly in his hand; your heart soaring up to your cheeks creating a red burning hue all over them, “I guarantee you that if it's good or bad, everything still has a solution to end something in a different path.”

You look down, watching his fingers intertwined with yours. The contact feels intimate, like a promise. "Will I be okay?" The question slips out, meant for your mind only, yet it finds voice in the quiet room. Yeosang squeezes your hand gently but firmly, his eyes searching yours. "Only you can answer that, my lady."

Tears prick at the corners of your eyes, and you try to blink them away, but a few escape, tracing silent paths down your cheeks. "I'm so scared, Yeosang," you admit, your voice barely above a whisper. "Everything feels like-- no, everything is falling apart, and I don't know if I'm strong enough to hold it all together."

He shifts closer, his presence a solid, reassuring anchor in your turbulent sea of emotions. "You are stronger than you think," he murmurs, his thumb gently wiping away a tear. "I've seen you face challenges that would break others. You have a resilience that inspires those around you."

You shake your head, the weight of doubt and fear pressing heavily on your chest. "But what if I fail? What if I can't find the right solution?"

Yeosang's grip tightens, his eyes locking onto yours with unwavering determination. "Then you'll try again. And again, if you have to. Failure isn't the end; it's just another step towards finding the answer. And you won't be alone. I'll be here, every step of the way."

A small, tentative smile tugs at your lips, gratitude swelling in your heart. "Thank you," you whisper, your voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for believing in me, even when I can't believe in myself."

Yeosang finds himself leaning in, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead— probably something out of his personality and something to blame to Wooyoung the next time he sees him back in his province. But his actions melted you and your heart and it melted him too, seeing what he did felt right after all.

"Always, my lady. Always."

You close your eyes, savoring the moment, the warmth of his touch, and the comfort of his words. For the first time in what feels like forever, a spark of hope flickers within you. The road ahead is uncertain, but with Yeosang by your side, you feel a glimmer of strength returning. As the silence settles back over you, Suchan's soft snoring filling the room, you allow yourself to believe, just for a moment, that everything might turn out okay in the end.

taglist: @yeosangsbabygirlsblog, @hi-kariii,@ateez-atiny380

#ateez #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #ateez fanfic #ateez fluff #ateez yeosang #yeosang #kang yeosang #yeosang x reader #kang yeosang x reader #yeosang au #ateez fanfiction #ateez atiny #ateez au #Spotify

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