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wonusite · 2 years

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The Only Exception

❝ Your university’s star football player doesn’t understand why you don’t want anything to do with him. Several humiliating rejections later, Mingyu is more determined than ever to change your mind about him. Chaos and confusing feelings ensue. ❞

pairing: kim mingyu x female reader

genre: college au, jock au, fluff, smut

word count: 6.4k

warnings: jock!gyu, art major!reader, rich girl!reader, protective bestie!cheol (lowkey he’s kind of a cockblock but we luv him anyway), big dick!gyu, mingyu is an absolute SIMP, reader likes to play hot and cold, pining, nude portraits, drinking, praising, begging, oral (f receiving), unprotected sex, multiple creampies, overstimulation, pussy drunk!gyu, cock drunk!reader

a/n: the biggest thanks to hoe nonny for coming up with this brilliant idea. minors dni!!!

There’s not a lot that can hurt Mingyu’s pride.

As a tall, handsome guy (who also happens to be an extremely likable star athlete), he doesn’t have much to be insecure about. But now, as he’s staring at perhaps the prettiest girl he’s ever laid his eyes on, he feels like he’s been knocked down several pegs.

It all started when he heard your name in the locker room. If Mingyu thought about it clearly, that’s exactly when he became invested in you without knowing what you even looked like. It’s not like he could be entirely blamed since you had rejected the entire offensive line plus the running back and wide receiver—a.k.a two of his closest friends.

Maybe he should’ve just minded his own business when he heard Seokmin’s loud laughter, but he didn’t. He had to see what was funny enough for that infectious laughter to overpower most of the noise in the locker room.

Apparently, both Chan and Soonyoung had been rejected by some art major who didn’t care that they were easy on the eyes and beasts on the field. Normally, Mingyu wouldn’t care so much about some unknown girl, but his interest was piqued when he found out you had some sort of aversion not only to football players, but to all jocks. No one could figure out why you had such a disinterest in guys who played sports, and that mystery had been the topic of the team’s locker room talk for weeks.

To say it was odd for Mingyu to become fixated with someone he hadn’t even seen was an understatement, but again, it was impossible not to when so many of his friends kept talking about you like you were an untouchable being. Which he would come to find out was next to true.

Mingyu isn’t sure why he feels the need to prove that he can pull you. Maybe he likes the vindication of being perceived as this heartthrob with infinite charm, or maybe he liked the picture of you that Chan had showed him a little too much. Either way, he feels very confident about his ability to woo you.

This confidence doesn’t falter even when Seokmin points you out at the crowded party his frat is hosting. Mingyu has to take a second to compose himself because your photos do not do you justice. You’re decked out in a designer crop top and a tiny little skirt that barely covers your ass, and man, he’s never wanted to be sandwiched between two thighs more than he does now.

“Maybe you should save yourself the embarrassment and give your attention to a girl who actually wants it.” Seokmin says as they watch you take a shot with the captain of the cheer team.

Mingyu only scoffs at his friend and tells him to watch how it’s done before he walks to where you are.

“Hey.” His voice comes out smooth and suave, as usual. “I’m Mingyu.”

A foreign feeling consumes him when you turn around and set your pretty eyes on him. The usual heat and interest he gets from girls isn’t there, and it throws him off a bit. You only nod at him and offer a halfhearted nice to meet you before turning your back to him. To say Mingyu is absolutely flustered and at a loss for words is an understatement. Even the girl by your side can’t seem to believe that you don’t care for Mingyu’s attention.

“Um,” she nervously plays with her necklace when she notices Mingyu has no intention of leaving. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.”

You roll your eyes and turn to the beefy jock with a sigh. It’s not like he isn’t one of the most attractive guys you’ve ever seen, but you know his type. After spending all of high school dating jocks, you were pretty much over them. This fine specimen of a man wasn’t going to change your mind about it, either.

Mingyu sees a pretty frown lining your lips and all he wants to do is kiss it off. He licks his lips and clears his throat before trying again. “I’m the quarterback of—”

“Our school’s football team. I know.” You finish for him. “I’ve seen you play. You’re really good.”

It’s a compliment, he knows it is, but the dismissal in your voice makes it seem like you couldn’t be any more unimpressed.

“Do you want to take a shot with me?” He asks after a beat of awkward silence.

You tilt your head in contemplation. With a smile that all but screams rejection, you gently shake your head. “I’m good—”

Before you could finish, a deep voice cuts you off.

“No, she doesn’t.”

Mingyu furrows his eyebrows when he sees one of the point guards of the basketball team come out of no where to step between you two with a mean glare on his face. Choi Seungcheol is looking at him like he’s two seconds away from throttling him. A million and one questions are running through his mind because from what he’d heard, you did not get with jocks, but clearly, there was something more between you and the guy who’s looking like he’s about to commit a crime.

“My bad, bro. She didn’t mention she had a boyfriend.”

“She doesn’t, but that doesn’t give you the right to be a creep.”

At this point Mingyu feels like he’s in some sort of alternate universe where he’s become the ugly duckling because what the fuck? He can’t even say anything as Seungcheol tugs you away, but not before giving him one last vaporizing glare.

“Bye, Mingyu!” You call over your shoulder with a wave.

He doesn’t know if your friendly farewell makes him feel better or worse.

Mingyu spends the rest of his night—the rest of his week, really—thinking about you. No wonder his teammates couldn’t stop talking about you after you rejected them. The way you made your casual disinterest seem like a biting rejection was jarring, and he’d never experienced anything like it before.

Honestly, it’s probably why he can’t seem to get rid of this need to win you over. He’s probably lost his damn mind, but it feels kind of nice that you didn’t immediately throw yourself at his feet. And so, Mingyu decides that he’ll be the exception for the no jock thing you have going on.

Because he feels so confident of his ability to change your mind, he underestimates how hard getting close to you will actually be.

Every time he sees you, that stupid point guard is by your side. Mingyu can’t come within two feet of you because Seungcheol is always there to drag you away or straight up tell him to go away. It’s so frustrating to him because all he wants is a chance to talk to you, and the more he’s prevented from doing so, the more he feels this unrelenting need to.

And he does finally get that chance, but it doesn’t exactly go the way he plans.

Mingyu usually hates going to grab coffee for his frat members because they’re all so picky for no reason. Soonyoung is the worst of them all, always whining when he unintentionally gets the orders wrong. Now, he’s made sure to ask the group chat to send in their exact orders just as he’s stepping in line.

It’s nothing short of amazing that Mingyu manages to balance nine coffees in his hands. It would’ve been even more amazing if he had actually managed to make it out of the door with them.

As soon as he starts to walk away, he missteps and is flung forward with enough force to spill the drinks on some unsuspecting person. Unfortunately for him, it’s not just any person, it’s the person, and he’s really at a loss.

“Oh my god.”

The stressed words don’t even come from you, rather from your horrified friend, Boo Seungkwan. And Mingyu can’t really blame him because you’re literally wearing a white bodysuit.

“Sorry—Sorry!” Mingyu splutters, feeling like his face is on fire.

What he hates is that you don’t actually react like any other person would. You only give him a look that’s a mixture of pity and amusement.

“It’s Céline!” His appalled voice squeaks. “Céline!”

Because his heart is beating so harshly in his ears, Mingyu misunderstands Seungkwan’s words. “I-I can explain to your friend what happened—I’ll even pay for the dry cleaning!”

Then something unexpected happens.

You laugh.

It’s the prettiest sound he’s ever heard, and he almost feels like his humiliation is worth it. Almost.

“What? What are you going on about? I’m talking about Céline—the brand. AKA the clothes she’s wearing right now. They’re worth like—”

“It’s fine.” You say as Seungkwan hands you a fistful of napkins. “It was an accident. Let’s just go.”

Mingyu looks at you in wonder while your friend only looks at you incredulously. It’s not like you were the materialistic type (despite being a trust fund baby), but you were acting too calm for Seungkwan’s taste. He eyes you suspiciously before scoffing. The look you have in your eyes is annoyingly familiar.

“Fine.” He says before he lowers his voice as he leans into your ear. “I know he’s cute, but come on! Look at your outfit!”

The flustered boy isn’t at quiet as he thinks, and Mingyu would’ve felt flattered, but again, you gave no reaction. Not one he wanted, anyway. You only rolled your eyes and frowned at your friend. “Shut up!” You hissed. “He’s not my type. I just feel bad for him.”

And you do, but you feel more sorry for yourself because you know you won’t have enough time to go back home and change before your next class. You finish blotting the the wet stain on your chest before you dig inside your purse. Mingyu notices the flashy bag is also from a designer brand, and for a moment he fears that you’re going to make him pay for your clothes. He wonders if you’ll take pity on him because he obviously can’t afford to pay for it.

Or maybe you’d agree to a payment plan.

When you hand him several large bills and tell him to buy more coffees before walking away, he thinks he’d rather pay for your clothes. At least that way he wouldn’t have to feel the biting feeling of your disregard.

After the embarrassing encounter, Mingyu is quick to find out everything there is to know about you (well as much as your reserved self has been willing to put out, anyway). After stalking all your social media accounts and asking around, he finds out you’re a rich girl from the other side of the country that is fairly new around the area. Also, it’s quite clear to everyone that you have a self-appointed body guard by the name of Choi Seungcheol—who apparently has known you since high school.

Aside from the fact that you’re an art major, Mingyu doesn’t know what kind of things you’re into. This wouldn’t normally faze him so much, but with you he obviously has to count on something other than his looks and status in order to get to know you in the way he wants.

By the grace of some higher power, Mingyu finally gets his chance when he drops his marketing class to transfer into a web design course.

The first thing he notices when he walks into the lecture hall is a pretty designer bag with it’s even prettier owner digging through it. Mingyu doesn’t notice the large smile that breaks out into his face, but the people around him certainly do.

“Hi, Y/N.”

You look up just as your hand wraps around your favorite lip gloss. It’s very ironic how your heart stutters at the sight of the six foot something jock standing over you despite being so adamant in denying your growing attraction to him. To be fair, Kim Mingyu is so insanely attractive that it’s only a natural human response to feel a little heat at the sight of him. You’re quick to school your expression as you offer him a greeting in return.

Mingyu’s smile doesn’t falter even as you ignore him to apply the sparkly lip gloss that makes your lips look much more irresistible than they already do. “Is this seat taken?”

You don’t look away from the small mirror in your hand. As much as you’d like to lie to him, you know it won’t get him to leave you alone. “No.”

It’s not a big win, but a win nonetheless. Mingyu is quick to slide into the chair beside yours, already exuding major golden retriever energy. You have to hide your smile because this large guy is too cute for his own good. You doubt he even knows it.

“Listen… I’m really sorry I spilled coffee on you the other day. Let me make it up to you—”

“It’s just clothes.” You tell him sincerely. “And you already said sorry, so we’re cool.”

Of course it’s not the response he’s looking for, but it is a way in. Mingyu grins at you. “So, friends?”

It would’ve been easy to tell him that you have all the friends you need, but something inside you refuses to be the one to wipe that stupidly endearing grin off his face. So you purse your lips and reluctantly nod, fighting a smile when the giant next to you visibly brightens at your response.

You ignore the jerk in your chest and pretend that you don’t feel like you’ve just signed a deal with the devil.

“Seungkwan says you’re this close to fucking Kim Mingyu.”

You look up from your phone to see less than a centimeter of space between Seungcheol’s thumb and index finger. He’s raising one of his prominent brows at you, silently demanding an explanation. The expression on his face would’ve been funny to you if you didn’t feel so called out. Which is insane because there’s literally nothing going on between you and the stupidly endearing jock who has taken to following you around.

“Seungkwan has the perception of a fucking ant.”

Your words sound like moronic nonsense even to you, but it’s your only line of defense right now. If you slipped up even the slightest bit, then your best friend would know that you kind of sort of felt attracted to Mingyu.

“Yeah? Then why is he lurking around here like he’s just waiting for me to leave?” Seungcheol nods toward the tall jock who’s trying very hard to be inconspicuous but is failing miserably.

It’s physically painful for you to be so endeared by Mingyu. Especially when you notice that he has two coffees in his hands. You’re sure Seungcheol notices this too, but luckily for you he doesn’t comment on it. Instead he’s only giving you that inquisitive stare that he gets when he’s about to force an answer out of you.

“I don’t know!” You lie like you’re not aware that Mingyu is waiting for you so you two can walk to class together. “Who cares about that, anyway? You still haven’t given me an answer about helping out in my figure sculpture class.”

This is enough to get Cheol to get off the Mingyu thing and turn bright red. “I’m not posing nude for a bunch of strangers! I don’t even know why you feel so comfortable with potentially drawing… all of me.”

You roll your eyes. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. I think you forget that I’m the one who cleaned you up at Vernon’s graduation party.”

Seungcheol grimaces but doesn’t try to refute your words. Instead he tells you he’ll be by after your class and leaves quickly. Belatedly, you realize he still didn’t give you a straight answer.

“What’s wrong?”

You don’t realize you’re scowling until you see the frown on Mingyu’s own face. The genuine concern always has your stupid heart acting up like it’s about to jump out of your chest and into the jock’s grasp.

“Nothing. Seungcheol’s just the ultimate meanie.” You say as he silently hands you the coffee that’s meant for you. “But you know all about that.”

Mingyu offers you a laugh because it’s true. There’s a reason he kept a distance whenever he saw your best friend was around. He’s just happy that you don’t actually seem to mind his company despite not wanting him in that way.

Of course that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop trying. Especially after what he finds when you let him look at your sketchbook that you always have on you.

When Mingyu stumbles on not one, but several beautifully drawn portraits, he can’t stop himself from commenting on it. The burning feeling growing in his chest forces him to, much to his chagrin.

“You have a lot of drawings of Seungcheol.” He says as he continues to flip the pages only to find more sketches of the point guard. “Like a lot.”

Mingyu knows he sounds like he’s extremely jealous, which, to be fair, he is.

You spare the large football player a glance as he continuous to flip through the many sketches you have of your best friend. His pout is probably one of the cutest things you’ve ever seen, and you can’t understand how someone so fatally attractive can resemble an adorable puppy.

“Yeah.” You answer mindlessly as you get back to your online shopping. “He’s pretty so I draw him a lot.”

Mingyu refuses to acknowledge the bile that rises up his throat when you call Seungcheol pretty. It’s not like you’re wrong, but he wishes you would say something to the same effect about him. He decides to sulk quietly until he stumbles on a particularly racy drawing of that stupid basketball player you call your best friend.

“Did you draw him naked!?”

You look up at the loud screech, feeling a wave of embarrassment come over you when you realize that almost everyone in the room had turned to stare at you. All you can do is shake your head and slap Mingyu’s beefy arm. You’re too irritated to think about how hard and big he is.

“What are you talking about?” You hiss at him.

He silently shows you the drawing of a shirtless Seungcheol you did a few months ago. You hadn’t even drawn the bottom half, but you had purposely sketched his v-line kind of low as if he had been naked. It almost makes you laugh, but instead you only roll your eyes.

“He was wearing pants. And even if he had been naked, it would’ve been purely artistic.”

You sound sincere, but jealousy always clouds reason. “Purely artistic? Are you sure?”

“I don’t fuck my friends.” You say as you snatch the book back from him. “That’s why I’ll never fuck you.”

Mingyu might’ve felt like you were being serious, but he catches the imperceptible waver in your voice. He smirks to himself as he leans back in his seat. You don’t notice the smugness radiating from him because soon your professor is starting the class.

It was only a matter of time before you gave into him, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure it happened sooner rather than later.

You feel like the universe is laughing at you.

There’s a good possibility that this is just all a coincidence, but you know Kim Mingyu. He did this on purpose.

“Why haven’t you started?”

You grit your teeth and resist the urge to snap at Jeonghan. It’s not his fault the jock that has been the (secret) object of your fantasies is standing twelve feet away from you, posing completely naked.

“I mean, I can’t really blame you. This new model is fucking hot.”

“He’s okay.” You manage to mutter as you finally pick up your pencil to start sketching.

You almost feel like walking out, but you know that if you do, you’ll never hear the end of it from your friend or the stupidly attractive guy you’re about to draw. This would’ve been easier if Mingyu wasn’t so perfectly sculpted. Every ridge and muscle was so prominent and sexy that you had a vague urge to just go up there and lick him.

This included his cock. God, was it pretty. The long, veiny organ between his legs was also thick—the kind of thick that had you wondering if you would be able to fully wrap your hand around it.

You couldn’t even imagine what it would look like if he was hard.

This is perhaps the most distracted you’ve ever been while drawing, and you fucking hate it. As if hiding your blatant desire wasn’t hard enough, Mingyu just has to stare directly at you the entire time he’s posing. You angrily lick your lips, shifting in your seat to try and subtly relieve the throbbing you feel in your cunt. The universe is definitely laughing at you because the satin thong you chose to wear is already completely soiled.

You grit you teeth and start with the outline of his tall figure, trying your hardest not to hide behind your canvas while also trying not to stare too much. It’s a double edged sword that you don’t know how to handle, and you feel like you’re seconds away from getting cut.

Mingyu has never felt his confidence fall so low in his entire life.

Sure, he knows you’re in class and this assignment is for a grade, but how can you have no reaction at all? Your pretty eyes hold no traces of heat or desire whenever you look at him then back to your canvas. The muted expression on your cute face is also killing him because it seems almost unimpressed.

He feels like he’s back at that frat party all over again.

The most pathetic part is that he’s trying his hardest to not get an erection. Even if you don’t seem to be fazed by the sight of his naked body, there’s a large part of him that’s extremely turned on just knowing that you’re drawing every part of him.

“His dick is so pretty.” You hear the girl next to you sigh dreamily.

It makes you want to throttle her because she’s right. Mingyu has the prettiest cock you’ve ever seen on a man, and you’re pretty sure that if you’re forced to look at it any longer, you’re going to ruin your jeans.

By the time your class ends, you feel like you’re two seconds away from crying because of how horny you feel. The ache between your legs has never been this bad, and you need to get home so you can take care of yourself with your shiny new toy that came in the mail a few days ago.

Unfortunately, Mingyu—who’s now wearing a fucking robe—decides to put a damper on your would be plans. You have to control your expression because the asshole just looks so good in a robe, and now that you know what’s beneath it, you know you won’t be able to keep up your facade for much longer.

“So what did you think?”

His grin is that same one that you became endeared with long ago, but now it just fuels the burning in your core. Fuck. You need to get away from him immediately.

“Your pose was very good for an amateur. I’m surprised maintained it the entire time.”

Mingyu is both delighted and disappointed by your answer. And before he can say anything else, he sees your eyes light up as you look behind him. “Cheol!”

You skip over to your best friend who’s waiting for you by the door with his signature scowl firm in place. Mingyu can’t hide his frown as you leave without even saying bye.

“It seems to me like you’ve made no progress.”

Mingyu isn’t a violent guy. He prefers to resolve things by talking, but man does he want to rip Seokmin’s tongue out right now. It’s not like he’s actually angry at his friend, but he can’t stand the fact that you’re in his frat house, completely ignoring him. When he invited you, he thought you’d at least come up and say hi, but you seemed more interested in talking to Joshua fucking Hong—a.k.a Mr. I Lost My Virginity To My Hot Cheerleader Girlfriend.

When he sees you laugh at something the nerd says, again, he just snaps and walks into the kitchen where you two are. Once again, Mingyu feels like he’s been dropped into an alternate universe because how the hell does the chemist have more game than him?

“Joshy.” His voice is deceptively cheerful. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

His friend’s boyfriend only rolls his eyes. “I was forced to come. We’re going to leave soon, though.”

Within seconds, Josh is able to pick up on the tension between you and Mingyu. He’s heard all about how the jock is practically in love with you from his lovely girlfriend. Usually, Josh has no interest in the affairs of others, but Mingyu is the one who basically made his relationship happen. And he’ll probably never be able to repay him in full, however, what he was about to do would be a good start.

“But Y/N wants to stay a little longer. You’re cool to take her home, right?”

Mingyu thinks you’ll protest, but to his surprise you’re looking at him expectantly. He mechanically nods, not taking his eyes off you even when Josh announces that he’s leaving.

“Why haven’t you said anything to me all night?” Is the first thing he says when Josh is out of earshot.

His cute pout is doing things to you, and you wish you could blame it on the alcohol coursing through your veins. “You saw me, but you didn’t say hi either. Guess you don’t like me as much as I thought you did.”

Mingyu frowns and backs you into the counter, effectively trapping you by putting both of his arms on either side of your body. He leans close until your faces are inches apart.

“Baby, I don’t think you actually realize how much I like you.”

Your heart pounds at the pet name, and you wonder if he can hear it over the loud music. It’s a miracle that your next words come out strong and with some conviction. “Yeah? Well, when I feel like having a pity fuck, I’ll let you know.”

Mingyu only smirks and leans back. He trails a hand down your arm and gently grips your pinky and ring finger. “Dance with me?”

Just as you’re about to say yes, Seungcheol and Seungkwan enter the kitchen. Unlike you’re expecting, Mingyu doesn’t let go of you. Instead he steps a bit closer to you as your friends approach. You feel hot all over, and you aren’t too sure if it has to do with the hunk beside you, Seungkwan’s Cheshire Cat grin, or Seungcheol’s piercing glare.

“Y/N.” Seungkwan breaks the silence. “We’re leaving soon. Are you coming?”

“No.” You say, leaning back into Mingyu. “I’ll text you guys when I get home, though.”

The tension thickens, but luckily for you, your friends accept your answer. You furrow your eyebrows when you Seungcheol whispers something in Mingyu’s ear before leaving the kitchen with your other friend in toe. You ask Mingyu what was said but he only gives you that pretty smile of his and pulls you away to the living room.

You don’t realize how the time flies until you get a text from Seungkwan asking if you’ve made it home safely. By now, the drinks you had are wearing off, and you’re ready to go home. You type out your response before telling Mingyu that you’re going to get and Uber so he doesn’t have to worry about taking you home since he had a few drinks as well.

“I’m not letting you go alone.” He says as he follows you outside.

“Okay. Just spend the night with me then.”

Mingyu waits for you to say you’re not being serious, but it never comes. His heart pounds as he follows you into the car. It gets worse when you wrap an arm around his own and place your hand over his. All he can feel is your warmth as you snuggle into him, seemingly not fazed by the intimacy of your actions.

It all feels like a dream to him when you guide him up to your luxury apartment. He’s awed with how spacious and lavish it is.

“Gyu.”

His heart stutters at the nickname, and immediately he snaps his attention to you like an obedient puppy. “Yeah?”

“I’m in the mood for a pity fuck.”

You two stare at each other, and for the first time, Mingyu sees a carnal heat in you shining eyes. He swallows thickly, feeling his cock twitch. “You’re drunk—”

“I had a couple of drinks hours ago. Are you going to fuck me or do I have to take care of myself?”

You’re not sure how you got to this point, but you hardly care. Mingyu’s large hands feel too good against your hot skin for you to focus on anything else. He’s taking his time to feel up the length of your legs, and you briefly wonder if this is his way of getting his pay back for all the times you told him you didn’t want to fuck him.

“Gyu...”

God, he’ll never get tired of hearing you call him that.

“What is it, baby?” He coos against your thigh, gently nipping at the skin.

You’re already trembling for him and he has yet to touch you where he's been dying to. Still, he wants to savor this moment for as long as he can.

“Fuck, please just do something. Anything!”

Vaguely, you have this thought that maybe you’re being a little too needy and desperate, but just the thought of having those pretty lips wrapped around your clit and bringing you to ecstasy has you literally dripping all over the sheets.

“If you tell me that,” he pauses and looks up at you with a grin, pretty canines on full display. “Then it kind of seems like this isn’t just a pity fuck.”

You whine out in frustration, and Mingyu is sure he’s never seen a hotter sight. Your reactions and arousal is all evidence of the desire you’ve been denying that you have for him. And once you admit it, he’s going to absolutely ruin you.

“You know it’s not.” You say through a frustrated groan. “So just eat me out already!”

Mingyu complies with a smug laugh, but his laughter is soon replaced by an animalistic groan when he gets a taste of your juices. He’s gentle with his movements at first, but as soon as he sees the starry-eyes look you’re giving him, he dives in like a starved man.

“Fuh-Fuck!” You moan out, grinding your cunt onto his tongue with a neediness that has his cock throbbing in desire.

The lower half of his face is covered in your juices, and the sight is enough to get you to clench on his tongue. His hands push your thighs farther apart as he shoves his tongue deeper into your aching cunt. He harshly pulls you toward him, encouraging your needy humps against his face.

“This all for me, princess?” He teases, his voice sending vibrations straight to your clit.

Your fingers trail down your naked body until they latch on to his dark hair as your dripping pussy clenches around his tongue. He pulls back a bit when you don’t immediately answer him.

“I asked you a question, baby. You already too fucked out to answer me? I haven’t even started yet.”

He doesn’t give you a chance to answer before he dives back in to where you need him the most. Desire ignites in his veins as his cock is twitching and leaking on your silk sheets. Mingyu groans against you as you chant his name like a mantra. He thinks he’ll go crazy when you meet every swipe of his tongue with an eager grind of your hips.

Lewd squelching noises fill the room as he fucks you with the muscle, lazily blinking up at you when your hips grind against his face. “Such a sweet pussy. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Desire is thick in his voice as you arch into his mouth. “Mingyu!”

You feel like your head is swimming when his tongue splits through your folds, slurping at the slick that’s gathered between them before he’s dragging it up to roll over your clit. The sight of Mingyu so fucked out on your taste, eyes rolling back like it’s his first taste of heaven only makes you feel even better.

He closes his lips around your bud, suckling languidly until more pretty moans are spilling from your mouth. Your clit starts to feel firmer when he flattens his tongue against it, messy with his spit and your arousal. Mingyu thinks heaven does exist, and it’s between your thighs. When he looks up to see your head thrown back in pleasure, moaning for him, he knows that if he’s in heaven then you’re definitely an angel.

“Mingyu!”

His cock seeps with precum at the first taste of your cream on his tongue. The entire lower half of his face glistens with your juices as he laps up everything you give to him so eagerly. Mingyu doesn’t stop his movements until the aftershocks of pleasure feel like they burn you with each kitten lick he gives your cunt.

“Gyu.” You breathe out, gently pushing his head away. “I need your cock.”

When he rises up and sits back, you salivate at the sight of his hard, throbbing cock. You think you might be in love with the sight. “Fuck.” You groan as you trail your hands up his hard body while licking your lips. “You don’t know how bad I’ve wanted to fuck you since I saw you naked.”

Mingyu hides the smirk growing on his face with a pout. “That’s the only time?”

“No, but fuck. You’re so hot. Just wait until I finish my portrait of you, then you’ll know.”

That’s all it takes for him to smash his lips on to yours, messily running his tongue against your lower lip. You swallow each other’s moans, both needy and desperate with your movements. He slips an arm under your waist, tugging you closer to him as he slowly teasing your messy entrance with his weeping cock.

Mingyu keeps kissing you deeply, tongue licking into your mouth possessively. He’s overwhelmed with the smell and taste of you, and he just knows that after this he won’t ever be able to let you go.

“Oh fuck.”

Your moan when he slowly eases his cock inside you nearly have Mingyu coming right then and there. Your sweet pussy us sucking him in, clamping down on him and massaging his aching dick with your velvety walls. He feels like he’s drunk as he starts to roll his hips into you, giant balls gently hitting your ass.

The gentleness of his movements have your head swimming, and you can’t help it buck your hips up to meet his thrusts. Mingyu is obsessed with how well your tight cunt is taking his cock. His eyes are wide with unadulterated adoration as you moan out his name and use all your strength to pull him closer to you.

“Fuck, baby. You’re taking my cock so good.” He groans as he sets a rougher pace. “Best pussy I’ve ever had. Wanted you for so long.”

The way your cunt squeezes him only makes him fuck you harder, loving the sight of your tits bouncing with every harsh thrust he gives you. His hips are rolling into you desperately, chasing the friction the warm walls of your dripping cunt offers him, squeezing him in until it’s almost hard to move.

Mingyu angles his hips to slam his cock into the spot that has you seeing stars. You let out a loud cry as you gush around him, coating his dick and balls with your juices. It almost feels like you’re suffocating his cock, but he doesn’t slow his pace.

“Fucking love your dick, Gyu!”

Your moans soon turn into incoherent cries when he slips a hand down to rub circles on your swollen pussy. The actions push you over the edge, and Mingyu can’t contain his loud moan when your orgasm coats his cock.

“That’s it, baby. Cream all over my cock.”

You don’t care that you’re starting to feel delirious from how Mingyu keeps fucking you. The feeling of his cock slamming into you feels too good. Mingyu’s loud moan when he finally releases his hot cum inside you.

Mingyu’s thrusts don’t stop. He fucks him cum back into you, aching cock still chasing another high. The sight of you gone dumb on his cock has him pushing up your legs up to your chest, both of you groaning at the new angle that allows him to fuck you deeper. The wet slapping sound from your mixed releases fills your room, and all you can focus on is how his cock is splitting you open.

“Look at how dumb you get for my cock.” Mingyu says through his groans. “I knew you wanted to fuck me this whole time.”

You manage to smirk at him. “Not as bad as you wanted to fuck me.”

His thrusts get harsher and sharper. You can only mewl at the feeling, knowing you’re on the brink of coming again. Mingyu’s throbbing cock drags against your hot cunt, twitching sporadically when you softly mewl his name. The sound shoots straight to his dick as he lets out another groan.

“That’s right, princess. And now I’m never letting you go.”

You let out a wanton moan at his words. “Gyu, I’m gonna—”

You’re cut off by your own cry of ecstasy. Just the sight of you coating his pelvic area with your orgasm is enough to trigger his own. Mingyu shoots ropes of sticky cum inside you, stuffing you full of his seed until it leaks out and drips on to your sheets. He half collapses on top of you, not putting his full wait on you.

“I’m being serious.” Mingyu says as he pulls out of you and rolls you over so you’re on top of him. “I don’t plan on letting you go.”

You smile sleepily against his broad chest. “I don’t plan to, either. You’re my only exception.”

taglist: @duolingofanaccount @felix-3002 @junhui-recs @asjkdk @dani41 @kageyama-i-want-tobiors @ohwonwoo @dokwiyomie

#svthub #mingyu smut #svt smut #mingyu x reader #seventeen smut #kim mingyu smut #svt x reader #mingyu x you #seventeen x reader #mingyu imagines #svt imagines #mingyu fic #mingyu fanfic #svt fic #svt fanfic #seventeen fic

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phenakistoskope · 9 months

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There is a difference between Bollywood and Bombay cinema?

listen, subcontinental cinema began in bombay; the very first exhibition of the lumieres' cinematographe was held there in 1896, a few months after its debut in paris, 1895. this event predates the discursive existence of bollywood and hollywood. shree pundalik and raja harishchandra, the films that are generally considered the very first subcontinental features were also exhibited there first.

subcontinental cinema under british colonialism was produced in certain metropolitan centers such as lahore, hyderabad, and calcutta; bombay was just one of them. in 1947, when the indian nation state was formally inaugurated, the idea of a "national cinema" began forming, but given the cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of the indian union, this was quite untenable. regional popular cinemas flourished well into the 1950, 60s, 70s, and 80s and various art cinemas began taking shape alongside.

under the economy that i'm going to completely elide as "nehruvian "socialism"" bombay cinema focused on broadly "socialist" themes, think of awara (1951), do beegha zameen (1953), pyaasa (1957), all of which focus on inequality in indian economy and society from different perspectives. these films were peppered in with historical dramas, and adaptations from literature, but the original stories tended towards socialist realism. reformist films centering the family generally waxed poetic on the need to reform the family, but i haven't seen enough of these to really comment on them.

the biggest hit of the 70s, sholay (1975) was about two criminals, posited as heroes fighting gabbar singh who was attacking village folk. deewar (1975) also had two heroes, and the stakes were the two brothers' father's reputation; the father in question was a trade union leader accused of corruption.

"alternative cinema" included mani kaul's uski roti (1969) and Duvidha (1973) both of which were situated away from the city. then there's sayeed mirza and his city films, most of them set in bombay; arvind desai ki ajeeb dastan (1978), albert pinto ko gussa kyun aata hain (1980), saleem langre pe mat ro (1989) which are all extremely socialist films, albert pinto was set in the times of the bombay textiles strike of 1982 and literally quotes marx at one point. my point is that bombay cinema prior to liberalization was varied in its themes and representations, and it wasn't interested in being a "national cinema" very much, it was either interested in maximizing its domestic profits or being high art. note that these are all hindi language films, produced in bombay, or at least using capital from bombay. pyaasa, interestingly enough is set in calcutta, but it was filmed in bombay!

then we come to the 1990s, and i think the ur example of the bollywood film is dilwale dulhania le jayenge (1995) which, in stark contrast to the cinema that preceded it, centered two NRIs, simran and raj, who meet abroad, but epitomize their love in india, and go back to england (america?) as indians with indian culture. this begins a long saga of films originating largely in bombay that target a global audience of both indians and foreigners, in order to export an idea of india to the world. this is crucial for a rapidly neoliberalizing economy, and it coincides with the rise of the hindu right. gradually, urdu recedes from dialogue, the hindi is sankritized and cut with english, the indian family is at the center in a way that's very different for the social reform films of the 50s and 60s. dil chahta hai (2001) happens, where good little indian boys go to indian college, but their careers take them abroad. swadesh (2004) is about shah rukh khan learning that he's needed in india to solve its problems and leaves a job at NASA.

these are incidental, anecdotal illustrations of the differences in narrative for these separate eras of cinema, but let me ground it economically and say that bollywood cinema seeks investments and profits from abroad as well as acclaim and viewership from domestic audiences, in a way that the bombay cinema before it did not, despite the success of shree 420 (1955) in the soviet union; there were outliers, there always have been.

there's also a lot to say about narrative and style in bombay cinema (incredibly diverse) and bollywood cinema (very specific use of hollywood continuity, intercut with musical sequences, also drawn from hollywood). essentially, the histories, political economies, and aesthetics of these cinemas are too differentiated to consider them the same. bombay cinema is further internally differentiated, and that's a different story altogether. look, i could write a monograph on this, but that would take time, so let me add some reading material that will elucidate this without sounding quite as fragmented.

bollywood and globalization: indian popular cinema, nation, and diaspora, rini bhattacharya mehta and rajeshwari v. pandharipande (eds)

ideology of the hindi film: a historical construction, madhav prasad

the 'bollywoodization' of the indian cinema: cultural nationalism in a global arena, ashish rajadhyaksha

the globalization of bollywood: an ethnography of non-elite audiences in india, shakuntala rao

indian film, erik barnouw and s. krishnaswamy (this one's a straight history of subcontinental cinema up to the 60s, nothing to do with bollywood, it's just important because the word bollywood never comes up in it despite the heavy focus on hindi films from bombay, illustrating my point)

#does this sound insane?#probably #this has been an effortpost #phenakistoskope.txt

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the-scarlet-witch-22 · 9 months

Text

Love and Liabilities: Chapter Two (Agatha Harkness/Fem!Reader)

Summary: The weekend before your last year of law schools begins, you celebrate the end of your summer associate position, where you meet an intriguing woman at the bar.

Word Count: 6.6k

Tags: 18+ Minors Do Not Engage!! Smut, dirty talk, light degradation kink

A/N: Hello! I’ll be in rehearsals this weekend so I’m updating a few days early. This chapter, as well as the next few, will be set in the past and marked accordingly. Thank you so much to everyone who read chapter one, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! If you’d like to be added to the tag-list let me know. As always, I hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think. 🩵

Tag-List: @aggieslittleslut @gilmorelivie @ris-ris-mind @sabstance-blog

Ten Years Prior

There was something so enticing about law school. Every attorney you ever met would warn you not to pursue law. It was their biggest regret, they would bemoan, and share horror stories of mountain high piles of readings and difficult exams that would slowly weed out the unworthy. The hundreds of thousands of dollars you would invest that wouldn’t guarantee you to pass the ever dreaded Bar Exam. The world of law was much like a game of cat and mouse; with the law student being the meek mouse and the demanding law professors and your fellow students as the prowling cats. Despite the many, many, many warnings, you ignored them.

You were the first person in your family to decide you wanted to be an attorney, so you were shocked to learn the vast majority of your classmates already had major ins to some of the top law firms in the country. It didn’t seem to matter that you received a top LSAT score, or that you were also accepted into one of the top law schools in the country, just like them. None of that mattered, you were already hundreds of steps behind everyone else. So, you conditioned yourself to work even harder. Endless hours of studying in the library, attending every office hour your professors would offer, taking any opportunity you could to network with any attorney who would reply to you on LinkedIn.

There was an even more alluring pull for you to get into corporate law, or “Big Law.” It wasn’t just the temptingly sky-high salary, or the perks that came with working for a major firm, it was the reputation. The attorneys who worked in corporate law were practically guaranteed a job in whatever other field or firm they wanted to move to next, due to the prestigious reputation they’d previously acquired. Unfortunately, you were competing against the majority of your classmates, most of whom had those direct family connections. Your ambition would always get the better of you, as it merely made you work even harder.

Eventually it paid off, as you received a summer associate position at the end of your second year at the top corporate law firm in Manhattan, Stark & Strange. You spent your summer working alongside some of the more powerful attorneys in the industry, and received paychecks that were larger than anything you had ever seen prior. The firm paid for an Uber Black to take you to and from your shoebox law school apartment, and even gave you a free gym membership. Practically every meal was comped, as you were wined and dined at restaurants where the bill cost more than your rent. It was a foreign world to you, the grueling hours made up for by designer handbags and any luxury you never dreamed of being able to afford, especially not on a summer associate’s salary.

You made a point to stay as late as they needed, and always volunteered to assist various attorneys with whatever work they needed done. Most of it was grunt work, like looking over a contract for typos, or printing hundreds of documents, but you soaked everything up like a sponge. Despite the many hours you spent at the firm, you hardly ever saw the men whose names were on the building, Tony Stark and Stephen Strange. But, you were making good connections with a few of the other attorneys.

Maria Hill, one of the senior attorneys, usually requested for you to assist her on projects. She was only slightly terrifying, and practically ran the firm like the Navy. But, she was extremely knowledgeable and always made a point to introduce you to anyone she deemed important enough. Towards the end of the summer you were working on a tedious editing assignment from one of the junior attorneys, when Maria sent you an email to stop by her office before the end of the day. This wasn’t entirely unusual, as she sometimes wanted your help with a last minute deal, and she would almost always DoorDash whatever meal you wanted if you stayed long enough.

Once you finally finished your assignment, you packed up your belongings and made your way to the top floor where Maria’s office was located. Stark & Strange was a towering skyscraper in the center of Manhattan. Even though you were in a smaller office with a few of the other summer associates, you still had a breathtaking view of the skyline. Many called the design a waste of time and money, but those people clearly never met Tony Stark. No expense was spared when designing the project, and Maria told you it took over a decade to complete. But, when you’re a multimillionaire attorney, money was but a mere object. The hallways were becoming more familiar as the weeks passed, and it was a bittersweet feeling when you remembered your time was almost up.

The door to Maria’s office was slightly ajar, but you still knocked and waited for her curt response for you to enter. She was sitting at her desk, her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun, glasses hanging low on her face as she appeared to be typing. Her office was one of your favorites, it was so open and had a comfortable atmosphere. She had a variety of plants placed throughout the room, and you figured she must have a green thumb, but her paralegal once quietly shared how Maria often committed one of the worst sins of gardening…overwatering. You awkwardly stood near the doorway, contemplating if you should come back when she appeared to be less busy.

As if she sensed your hesitation, she gently shut her laptop, and placed her glasses on the desk, looking up at you. “Sorry about that, Stephen needed a contract updated before tonight.” She motioned to an empty chair. “Come, sit.”

Taking a seat, you nervously folded your hands across your lap, setting your bag on the ground next to your feet. “So, you wanted to see me?”

“I did,” Maria confirmed, giving you a curious glance. “Your last day is tomorrow, right?”

You nodded, and felt a twinge of sadness at the thought. “My first day of classes is next Monday.”

Maria hummed, a thoughtful appearance on her face. “This is your last year of school?”

“Yes ma’am,” You replied, unsure of why she was asking you this.

“Tony and Stephen like to take out a select group of the summer associates every year for celebratory drinks,” Maria explained, and you swore you saw her roll her eyes ever so slightly before adding, “It’s mostly an excuse for Tony to brag more about the firm, but the drinks are free, and strong.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, you didn’t realize they were having another dinner. “Oh, well that sounds nice.”

Maria nodded before continuing talking. “They usually ask the senior attorneys to each invite one of the summer associates, and my pick was you.”

You felt your eyes widen, she picked you? Shaking your nerves aside, you gave her a wide smile. “Thank you so much, Ms. Hill. I’m honored.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Maria insisted, standing up and motioning for you to join her. “I know I’ve asked a lot of you this summer, but you rose to the challenge.”

Lightly blushing, you waited for her to grab her briefcase before you followed her out of the office. “I didn’t mind, I actually really enjoyed all of it.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Maria said, and she seemed sincere. “I believe Tony made the reservation for eight o’clock, but I’ll send you the details in the morning. Thank you again, I’ve appreciated your help.”

The elevator doors opened and you bid her farewell, as she went down the hallway to see if her wife was still working or was wrapping up. You could hardly believe it, sure you were sad that your summer was just about up, but you were one of the few associates selected for a special night out with all of the top attorneys and partners. A few of your classmates told you the partners would occasionally extend job offers to the top performing summer associates for when they graduated and passed The Bar, but you knew there was a slim chance of that happening to you.

Your last day flew by. You weren’t assigned much actual “work”, instead you spent most of the day chatting with the other summer associates and a few of the junior attorneys. Before you knew it, you were signing out for the last time, and handing in your key card and laptop on your way out. Maria had her paralegal forward you all the details, the bar they selected was yet another establishment you normally wouldn’t be able to afford, The Raines Law Room at The William Hotel. One of your roommates went there once with her parents, and gushed about how pretty and unique the space was, so you were excited to see it for yourself. The firm had allotted you one more Uber on their card, and you fully intended to use it.

The drive was surprisingly short, as traffic was relatively light for a Friday night. You sent your roommates a text reminding them that you’d be out late, before focusing your attention out the window. It had almost been three years since you moved to New York for law school, against your parents wishes, and you were still in awe of it. Yes, it was filthy, and there were rats and cockroaches galore, but every major city was dirty. New York was full of history and culture; there were thousands of places to explore, and millions of other people who were trying to find where they fit into this beautiful, messy story. You couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

You arrived at the bar just before eight, you had a habit of needing to be early for every social function you attended. The Raines Law Room was everything your roommate described, and even more so in person. It wasn’t the usual type of bar you’d go to, and it was broken up into multiple rooms with the actual bar in the center of it all. Many of the rooms were furnished with bookcases and cozy, expensive furniture that reminded you of a library. It didn’t take you long to find your group, as Tony had apparently rented one of the private rooms. There were only around twenty people in attendance, Maria wasn’t kidding when she told you it would be a small gathering. You recognized two of the other associates who had been invited, Kate Bishop and Yelena Belova, and you gave them a friendly wave.

Maria was in the corner of the room, sitting on one of the couches with her wife, Natasha Romanov. You’d only briefly encountered the redhead, as she did a lot of international travel for the firm. They were speaking with Tony Stark, the latter who appeared to be at the end of telling a very animated story. Maria noticed you lingering, and waved you over once Tony finished talking. You awkwardly made your way over, trying not to trip in the process; you’d always been terribly clumsy. There was an empty spot next to Maria, so you took a seat.

“I’m glad you could make it,” Maria warmly greeted you. “Do you remember my wife, Natasha?”

“Of course, it’s great to see you again,” You said to the woman sitting on the other side of Maria.

Natasha offered you a small smile, wrapping her arm around Maria’s shoulder. “Maria’s been telling me all summer how much of a help you’ve been, and believe me, she doesn’t praise just anyone.”

Maria nudged Natasha’s shoulder. “That’s not true, I just have high expectations, unlike someone.”

Natasha playfully rolled her eyes. “Right, of course dear.” She turned to Tony, who was scrolling through his phone. “Have you met Maria’s young mentee, Stark?”

He looked up at the mention of his name, and his eyes landed on you. “Oh right, I remember you. Maria’s been raving about you for the past few months, and Natasha’s right, that’s a pretty rare occurrence for her.”

Maria glared at him, clearly unamused. “Funny as always, Tony.”

Sticking out his hand, you took it and gave it a firm shake. “Thank you so much for the opportunity this summer, Mr. Stark. I’ve learned so much.”

Tony waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t mention it. Have you met my other platonic, legal half? He’s probably lurking around here somewhere.”

“Most likely avoiding you,” Natasha quipped to Tony, her eyes scanning the room. “Looks like he’s over by my sister.”

Her sister? You turned your head to look around the room, until you saw Stephen lightly conversing with Yelena. You didn’t realize she was Natasha’s sister, and Natasha seemed to note your confusion.

“Yelena doesn’t like people to know we’re related,” Natasha explained, her tone more gentle as her eyes were locked on her sister. “She thinks people will say she only got the position because I work here.”

“Well she’s not entirely wrong,” Tony offered, ignoring the glare Natasha gave him, before wildly waving his arms to get Stephen’s attention. It didn’t take long for Stephen to notice, and you watched him frown.

“Did you need something, Tony?” Stephen questioned, annoyance clear by his tone.

“Well you keep lecturing me on not offering the summer associates jobs without you being present,” Tony pointed out, “God forbid I have any fun.”

“I only told you that because you once tried to convince half of them they could only have the job if they signed a contract saying they could only refer to you as their Overlord,” Stephen pointed out, and Natasha briefly snickered before Maria shot her a disapproving look.

“It was a joke!” Tony exclaimed, pointing at you. “Back me up here, if I told you that, you would know I was joking, right?”

“Um…” You trailed off, your brain replaying what he had just said to Stephen about jobs. “I’d probably have to read the contract first.”

Tony sighed, “The world isn’t what it used to be. Fine then, Strange, you’re up.”

Stephen sat down next to Tony, and just like the latter did, he stuck his hand out for you to shake. “It’s nice to formally meet you. Maria’s kept us up to date on all the work you’ve been completing. How have you enjoyed your summer at the firm?”

“It’s been the most wonderful opportunity,” You raved, wondering if this conversation was heading where you desperately hoped it was. “I’m so grateful for everything I’ve learned.”

Stephen nodded, “We’re always happy to see our summer associates take the opportunity to use all of the resources we have available. Now, at the end of every summer, we like to ask our senior attorneys if they would like to refer anyone for a job. Maria, as well as a handful of others, all recommended you.”

Your brain short circuited, not quite believing what you were hearing. “You’re offering me a job?”

“We’d like to invite you to join the firm as a junior associate once you’ve graduated and passed The Bar,” Stephen continued, and you felt faint. “It’s a written offer that we can send to you on Monday morning.”

“That you’ll have one of the paralegals email out on Monday morning,” Tony corrected him before looking back to you. “What do you say? Do you want to join the greatest firm in the city? The salary is competitive, of course. Full benefits and all.”

Natasha snickered again, only this time Maria didn’t try to stop her, and you remembered how Maria mentioned Tony liked to take this time to brag. There were so many emotions swirling around in your head, but you were mostly in shock.

Stephen seemed to notice you were overwhelmed. “You can take the weekend to think it over, and take a look at the offer on Monday. I’m sure this is a lot to take in all at once.”

You nodded, grateful for that. “Thank you so much, Mr. Strange, Mr. Stark. I’m so thankful for the opportunity.”

“We’ll talk on Monday,” Tony reiterated, standing up, and practically dragged Stephen with him. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you so much,” You acknowledged Maria, who had been quietly conversing with Natasha. “I honestly can’t believe this is really happening.”

“You deserve it,” Maria insisted, relaxing ever so slightly against Natasha. “Congratulations, and I hope we’ll be working together again next summer.”

“You’re getting soft in your old age,” Natasha lightly teased her wife, giving you a wink. “Congratulations, and good luck on your final year of school.”

You thanked them both for a final time, before letting them have some privacy. There were still so many thoughts rushing through your brain, and the room was so bright and so loud, you needed to clear your head. As you started walking out of the room, you entered the main bar and decided that you didn’t need to clear your head, you needed a drink. The bar was fairly quiet, with a few patrons scattered throughout the room. You made your way to an empty stool, and waited for the bartender to finish making a drink before you ordered a vodka tonic.

There was hardly anyone else sitting at the bar, except for a woman a few stools down from you. She had dark brown hair, tucked behind her ears, and she was sipping on a glass of some variety of red wine. From a quick glance, you could see she was reading something on her phone, and you watched the frown lines on her forehead deepen every so often as she continued to scroll. The bartender came back with your drink, and you thanked him before taking a small sip.

“Come here often?” An unfamiliar voice asked, and you curiously turned your head to find the woman a few stools down was now staring at you.

“I beg your pardon?” You replied in confusion, wondering if she was talking to you.

The woman arched an eyebrow at you, and you felt your cheeks flush under her heated gaze. She stayed in her seat, but her eyes remained locked on yours. “Some people would call that a pick up line, but not you apparently.”

“Do you often hit on strangers in a bar?” You questioned, watching her take a sip of her wine.

“Well if you came and sat next to me, you wouldn’t be much of a stranger,” The woman countered, and patted the bar stool next to her.

This was crazy, you reasoned with yourself. This woman could be a lunatic, or a serial killer. But she was looking at you with an expression you couldn’t decipher, and her eyes were so blue that you could feel yourself slowly getting lost in them. Before you fully realized what you were doing, you scooted over until you were sitting next to her. Her red lips turned up in a smirk, and she shut her phone off, placing it in her bag. There was something so intriguing about her, but you couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“So what brings a pretty little thing like yourself here on a Friday night?” She asked curiously, her eyes hungrily searching yours, and you could feel your cheeks begin to darken at her words. You weren’t used to anyone looking at you the way she was.

“Um, I’m here for a work event,” You said quietly, unsure of how much information you were willing to share with a stranger. “An internship event, rather. What about you?”

The woman nodded, taking another sip of wine. “Mmm, this and that. I’m staying at The William for a few nights while my place gets redecorated,” There was a sparkling glint in her eyes as she added, “And there’s a rather spectacular view of the city from my room.”

The color deepened in your cheeks, and you chose to take a rather large sip of your drink. “Oh, that’s…interesting.”

“Isn’t it though,” The woman agreed, and you watched her fingers lightly twirl around the glass in her hand. “I never got your name, darling.”

“You didn’t ask,” You pointed out, and she smirked at you.

“Feisty thing, aren’t you?” She guessed, gracefully scooting her stool closer to yours, looking at you expectantly.

There was something so addictive about the way she was staring at you, and it made you lower your guard as you told her your name. She let out another low hum, and repeated it back to you, saying it nice and slowly, drawing out each syllable. At this point, she was close enough that you could smell her perfume. The rich notes of vanilla and lavender swirled together through your senses, and you felt yourself becoming more and more distracted. Taking another large sip of your drink, you realized it was nearly empty. The woman also seemed to notice, as she waved the bartender over.

“What are you drinking, dear?” She asked, her voice sweet like honey.

“A vodka tonic,” You replied, and she slid your empty glass towards the bartender.

“Another one of those, please, as well as a Pinot Noir. Put her drinks on my tab,” She instructed the bartender, ignoring your protest that you could pay for your own drinks.

“Don’t be silly,” She gently chided you, one of her hands moving up to brush your hair out of your face. “You have gorgeous eyes, has anyone ever told you that?”

Every compliment was leaving you more flustered than the last, and you had no idea how she was having this strong of an effect on you. It was the alcohol, your brain reasoned, that had to be it. “No, not really,” You replied, your voice growing more timid.

The woman let out a disapproving tsk, her fingers lingering on your face before slowly pulling away. “Disappointing, but not surprising.”

The bartender returned at that moment with your drinks, and you mumbled a quiet thank you, hoping this would give you some liquid courage. You realized at that moment she never told you her name.

Clearing your throat, you did your best not to sound as intimated as you were. She was this beautiful, sort of menacing, and slightly strange woman. You didn’t want to humiliate yourself. “You know, for someone who hounded me for my name, it’s a little odd you never told me yours.”

The woman smirked again, and you thought you saw her lick her lips. “You never asked, dear,” she pointed out, and her fingers reached out to lightly brush yours. “I’m Agnes.”

Her touch, light as it was, felt like a shock of electricity coursing through your system. You kept waiting for her to let go of your hand, but instead she gently turned it so your palm was visible, and began tracing patterns on it as she sipped her wine.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Agnes,” You said, your courage slowly disappearing, and you weren’t sure what it was that you wanted from her, you just knew you didn’t want her to stop touching you.

Agnes laughed, the rich sound ringing deliciously in your ears. “Believe me, honey, the pleasure is all mine.”

The hand stroking your palm began to make its way up your arm, and you were embarrassed by the goosebumps you felt by having her hands on you. Agnes also seemed to notice this reaction, and she was looking as if she wanted to eat you alive. She leaned in closer to you, her breath hot on your ear as she whispered, “I don’t normally do this, but I’d love to continue this discussion in my hotel room. Would you care to join me?”

It would seem tonight was just full of surprises. Her face was so close to yours, and your brain was still actively short circuiting. You’d barely spent any time with this woman, and you only knew her first name, but it didn’t matter. It was clear what this was, a one night stand. This didn’t have to mean anything, and you were riding a high from your job offer; you didn’t want it to mean anything. All you knew was that her breath was hot in your ear, and her fingers were lightly gripping your arm, and you wanted more. No, you needed more. You needed her.

Fearing you wouldn’t be able to produce any actual words, you wordlessly nodded in agreement. Agnes proceeded to close out her tab, and you made a quick note of the Black AmEx card the bartender returned to her. She guided you out of the room, her hand grazing your lower back. You felt like you were floating, and the only thing grounding you to reality was the feel of her fingers stroking your back, slowly moving lower with every step you took.

Upon reaching the elevators, Agnes waited for you to enter before following, and pressed the button for her floor. As soon as the doors closed, it was as if a switch went off. Her hands were all over you, and within a moment you were against the wall of the elevator. While her right hand stayed pressed against your back, moving down to grab at your ass, her left moved up to gently cup your cheek, forcing you to look at her. Her eyes began to darken with arousal, and before you could even process what was happening she kissed you.

You’d been kissed before, and you thought you knew how good it could be, but that was nothing compared to the feel of her lips against yours. She kissed you with fervor, like a woman starving and you were her salvation. Her lips were so soft and smooth against your own, it was addictive. As she lightly slapped your ass, bringing you impossibly closer to her, you let out a moan and she took that opportunity to slip her tongue between your lips. She tasted faintly of Pinot Noir, and you eagerly allowed her to dominate your mouth. Her hips jutted against yours, creating just enough friction for you to imagine how much better it would feel to have more.

The elevator dinged, signaling you were at her floor, and she reluctantly broke your kiss. You let out a quiet whine and Agnes chuckled, leaning in to whisper, “Patience, honey. My room is right down the hallway.”

She nearly had to drag you along, as your legs were starting to shake, and the walk to her room seemed endless. When you finally reached it, she hurriedly tapped her keycard to unlock the door. Yanking you inside, she slammed your back against the door, capturing your lips in a heated kiss. Wasting no time, she began messing with the clasp of your dress, and as it became undone she helped you out of it, leaving you in your bra and panties. The older woman let out a low growl, and pulled you flush against her. Moving you towards the bed, she nearly tore your bra and panties off in the process, before laying you flat on your back.

She straddled your hips, and when you attempted to move your hands up to her waist she swatted them back down. “Be a good girl and behave,” Agnes warned lightly. “I’d hate to have to restrain you.”

You couldn’t stop the moan that left your lips at that threat. Agnes smirked again, taking her shirt off and tossing it across the room, revealing a lacy dark purple bra. She leaned down and kissed you again, lightly biting your lower lip, causing you to groan into her mouth. It felt like she was all around you, but you needed more. You always prided yourself on your patience, but you were quickly losing it. Her lips left yours to trail down your jaw and the side of your neck, stopping near your collarbone. She began to leave hot, wet kisses along it, before biting down on the flesh at the base of your neck and sucking.

“Fuck,” You cried out at the sensation, and you heard her let out a low hum in response, keeping up her ministrations.

She left dozens of marks on you, and you were too lost in the haze of how good she felt to remember you were starting classes in two days. Her hands were relentless, moving all over your body. As her lips began to alternate attention between your breasts, her right hand moved between your thighs, and you both moaned as she felt how wet you were.

“Is all this for me, baby?” She murmured, raising her head up to yours, using two fingers to lightly tease your aching pussy. “What a pretty girl, dripping for me.”

Moaning, you arched your hips up, she was so close and you needed her fingers inside, filling you. “Please, Agnes.”

Letting out a low tutting noise, she pulled her fingers back. You whined, louder this time, and her responding grin sent a shiver down your spine. “Please what, honey? Tell me what you want.”

“Fuck me,” You begged, desperate to feel her fingers on you again. “Please, fuck me.”

“Good girl,” Agnes praised you, roughly thrusting two fingers inside you, going deeper than you normally could on your own.

Her fingers were so long, and so good, as she set a fast pace, twisting and hitting all of the sweet spots in you. You could barely breathe, all you could focus on was how good it felt to have her fucking you. Her thumb rubbed gentle circles on your clit, and the added stimulation made you cry out. You were soaked, the movement of her fingers taking you created an obscenely filthy sound that filled the room. It didn’t take long until you felt a familiar unraveling, signaling you were close to orgasming.

“Such a good little whore, you’re taking me so well,” Agnes cooed and you felt yourself clench at her words. “Do you like this? Do you like having me fuck your tight little cunt?”

“Oh my fucking-” You cried out, but were cut off as she chose that moment to add a third finger, expertly curling them and bringing you that much closer to your release.

“That’s it, slut,” Agnes growled, fucking you even harder. “Fuck, you feel so fucking good around my fingers.”

“Agnes, please,” You whined, needing to feel yourself come undone. “Please I need…”

Agnes smirked, not relenting in her efforts, and began to leave kisses around the edge of your mouth. “What do you need, baby? Use your words for me.”

“Need to come, please. I need to come,” You babbled, as she took you higher and higher with every thrust of her fingers, and your words caused the older woman to groan.

“Come on my fingers, sweetheart,” Agnes ordered, and you felt yourself lose focus as the pleasure overcame you.

It was mind numbingly good, and you barely recognized the scream that left your throat. All you could feel were her fingers inside you, gently coaxing you through your orgasm. Her fingers slowly stilled, and you felt yourself pulse around them as her thumb gently eased off your clit. Pressing a sweet, slow kiss against your lips, Agnes pulled her fingers out, causing you to whine at how empty you felt.

“You took me so well,” Agnes purred, and you felt yourself drip even more at her words. “Such a slutty little pussy, you can’t even form complete sentences when I’m fucking you.”

You groaned, the filth spewing out of her mouth was a major turn on for you. “It’s not my fault you’re turning my brain into mush.”

Agnes fake pouted at you. “Oh, poor baby,” She mocked, pressing her hips against yours. “It’s a good thing you don’t need to use that little brain while I’m fucking you.”

“Want to taste you,” You moaned out, the idea just popping into your head. “Please.”

“Oh? You want to eat me out, baby?” Agnes questioned, her eyes growing darker yet still from arousal. “Do you want me to ride that pretty little face?”

“Fuck yes,” You begged, causing Agnes to chuckle before taking off her pants and panties, and moving you closer to the headboard before she straddled your face.

You could smell her; the scent was musky and sweet and you were salivating, sticking your tongue out in anticipation. Agnes rested one hand on the headboard and the other in your hair, slowly lowering herself onto your mouth. You wasted no time, licking and sucking, tasting her arousal. The guttural moan she let out spurred you on, eager to please her. She tasted so fucking good, and your tongue lapped up as much of her as you could. Her fingers tightened in your hair as she began to rock against your face, and you moaned against her as she roughly tugged.

“Fuck, you’re such a good girl, baby,” Agnes panted as she moved her hips faster. “You’re doing so well. Such a good job. Suck on my clit.”

Ever hoping to please her, you switched to swirling your tongue around her clit before sucking, hard. The moan she let out, louder than before, was entrancing. Her fingers kept your head in place as she rode your face, and you could sense her getting closer to the edge. Your tongue teased her entrance, slowly pushing inside and Agnes let out a loud hiss, encouraging you to go deeper.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Fuck,” Agnes began to grind down, getting closer with every thrust of your tongue. “Such a sweet fucking mouth. Do you want me to come all over that pretty face?”

Nodding against her, you sucked and licked, thoroughly enjoying being used by her. It wasn’t long before she began to shudder, hips thrusting even harder against your face as she let herself go. She tugged on your head as she lost herself in the throes of pleasure, and you never saw something quite so beautiful. Her eyes were closed, head back as she let out several loud grunts, the sound causing you to twitch. You moaned at the taste of her cum, eager to get as much as you could. Her hips slowly stopped, and she gave herself a moment before lifting herself off of you, collapsing on the bed. She immediately pulled you closer, wrapping her arms around you. Her body was flush against yours, and you relished at the feeling of her tits pressed against your back. She was so soft, and so warm; every part of her felt like heaven to you.

She began to nuzzle your neck, pressing gentle kisses against your skin. “Fuck that was so good. Thank you, honey.”

“It was my pleasure,” You drawled out, growing more tired with every word you spoke, slowly feeling yourself drift off.

Agnes murmured something to you, but you were too far gone to hear what she said. The last thing you remembered was the feel of her body curled up around you as you finally passed out from exhaustion. You weren’t sure how long you slept, for when you finally woke up the room was filled with bright sunlight, causing you to wince. It didn’t take you long to realize you were alone, and the already large bed felt ten sizes too big. A part of you wondered if Agnes was in the bathroom, but when you eventually made it out of bed you realized she was gone. The room was completely empty, save for you and your clothes from last night.

You weren’t entirely sure what you had expected, it was a one night stand after all. But, you had assumed she would at least still be there in the morning when you woke up. Shaking those thoughts aside, you rushed to pick up your clothes and get dressed. As you were putting on your clothes, you noticed a small folded up note with your name on it on the bedside table. You slipped your heels back on before grabbing it, and was slightly disappointed to see how short it was.

Thanks again for a great night. -A

Well, at least she left you something. You crumpled the note and stuck it in your purse, leaving the room without a second thought. The next two days were spent in a daze, trying to get everything ready for the start of classes. Your roommates were thrilled to hear about your job offer, and even more intrigued to hear of your night out with an older woman. You kept the details to a minimum, as you always kept those things more private, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. By the time Sunday night rolled around you were absolutely spent. You had just finished marking up your planner for the next few weeks with your class schedule, and double checked the time for your first class as you set your alarm for bed before finally drifting to sleep.

Unfortunately, the exhaustion from the last few days made you sleep through your alarms, which almost never happened. But, after hearing your alarms go off one after another, one of your roommates came to check on you, the knocking on your door sent you shooting out of bed. You rushed through the apartment, throwing your laptop and books in your bag. As you were getting dressed, your eyes landed on the hickeys all over your neck, and you groaned. Great. Despite it still being summer, and extremely hot in the city, you wore a lightweight turtleneck. The lecture halls and library were usually freezing, so this wouldn’t seem too out of place to anyone.

Luckily your apartment was only a few blocks away from campus, and it never took you more than ten minutes to get there. You kept obsessively checking your watch, hoping to make it to your first class in time. Finally, you reached the correct building, and pulled up the class schedule on your phone to check which room you were in. Whipping around the corner, you spotted the door at the far end of the hallway. With one minute to go, you passed other students and professors, not a thought in your mind besides making it through those doors. Reaching the lecture hall, you opened the doors and went inside.The hall was relatively full, and as you searched for an empty seat you heard your professor begin to speak.

“Welcome to Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Criminal Practice.”

Wait a second, you knew that voice. How did you know that voice? You looked up, finding the last person you ever expected to run into, and you almost fell out of your chair. Standing there on the floor of the lecture hall was a strikingly familiar woman. It was the same woman from the other night, Agnes. Her messy dark brown hair was pulled back into an updo, and she wore an expensive looking black pantsuit. She was pulling up a slideshow on the laptop, so her back was turned, but it was her. You knew it was her. The strange thing was you didn’t remember reading her first name on the syllabus that had been sent out a few weeks prior.

After she finished projecting the slideshow, she turned her focus to the crowded lecture hall. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Agatha Harkness,” Her eyes scanned the room, until they eventually landed on you, and you watched her freeze, before quickly regaining her composure. “And I’ll be your professor for the semester.”

Fuck.

#agatha harkness x reader #agatha harkness #wandavision au #marvel au #agatha harkness smut #agatha harkness fanfiction #agatha all along #lawyer au

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kopilot-pop · 5 months

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hi, about the yunjin starbucks controversy.

i’m gonna try to be as fair as possible talking about this controversy, but i’ll be honest i’m leaning more on yunjin’s side. i’ve been getting several requests on yunjin and i feel like i need to get this off my chest every time i see her name on my page.

let’s start off with the facts: yunjin was caught drinking starbucks in Korea (in front of the company building.)

I thought she drank it on a post or somethrong but no, it was just a few pixels of a low quality picture fans took. And that’s my first minor problem; she wasn’t on live, it wasn’t a post, it was a few milliseconds of pixels. But I get the ‘performative activism’ controversy, it DOES feel like she’s hiding it.

However, my take is that she just got out from her car, and wanna know a little fun fact? Most snacks and drinks that all idols are seen eating are most likely bought by their managers. And it’s a fact that Koreans aren’t currently boycotting Starbucks as actively as western foreigners are. So my thought the first time I saw the picture was that. The manager probably just bought coffee from whatever shop was closest, and handed it to her.

But I do understand how that can feel like reaching so I did some more research .

The biggest thing I have to so called ‘defend’ Yunjin is that Starbucks Korea is completely separate from International Starbucks (source: ChosunBiz).

In 2021, 67.5% of Starbucks was comepletely bought by E-Mart (a branch of Shinsegae), and the rest 32.5% was bought by a Singaporean investment comapny (GIC).

So oh, Starbucks Korea has no affiliations with the part of Starbucks that sues their worker’s union.

However, I can make the argument that Yunjin could influence others to ignore the boycott and buy Starbucks. Is it true that she has several international fans and alot of impressionable fans? Yes.

But then we have to go back to our first argument; it was a few milliseconds of a low quality video.

And after finding that out, I started to feel like all the people commenting about “starbucks queen💕” and “omg whats your starbucks order?” is the problem.

YOU guys are the one promoting Starbucks at this point. Do you understand?

I’m not saying don’t hold someone accountable, no, but I’m saying the comments aren’t fucking helping.

Don’t get me wrong, I do live in Korea, and I have been actively avoiding purchasing from them because I saw a few posts on twitter referencing it. I based an activity on a twitter post. And wanna know when I figured out WHY I was supposed to boycott exactly?

After I deleted Twitter because of the stress I got from the app.

That’s when I finally found out about the BDS list, found out oh, Puma is on the list, McDonalds is an even bigger problem than Starbucks (directly supplying food to soldiers), HP APPARENTLY SUPPLIES TECH FOR THE ISRAEL GOVERNMENT, and oh wow! Starbucks isn’t even on the list because theres not enough proof that they financially fund Israel.

In conclusion, the people preaching about how Yunjin is a performative activist is such hypocrites themselves

It’s clear that while some of the comments and criticisms are genuine, trying to hold a person accountable, but its also clear that the repeat of the same mocking comments of Yunjin is just performative and for attention and likes.

That’s what pisses me off. People who don’t give a shit about Palestine, and people even if they do support Palestine not even doinng the bare minimum amount of research just having fun mocking (not criticizing) a person when a tiny bit of wrong doing is shown.

Please, go look in the mirror, and i dont like saying this but go touch grass, do your own research, dont base off your whole ideology on a reddit post or a twitter, tumblr post, read different variety of news articles from several companies, and THEN make your decision on a situation. Not only Starbucks, not only on Yunjin, but on several other ones too.

Media literacy. Look it up.

#talk #huh yunjin #yunjin #starbucks #south korea #kpop #lesserafim #le sserafim #free palestine

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soular-sisters · 4 months

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Gemini Season: Talkin’ For Hours 🗣️

hey guys, happy gemini season! 💗 amongst the many wonderful things the twin sign represents such as intelligence, flexibility, curiosity, & humor…. communication seems to be the major theme above all. our gems (gemini babies) love to connect & socialize through conversation very much, it stimulates their mind & therefore speaks to their soul. with that being said, gemini in our charts can show us what we love to chat about. **note: this is not the only placement that shows our communication, but it does show some of our favorite topics of conversation.

🗣️ Gemini in the 1st House: I love talking about self-improvement, personality traits you value in yourself, how to enhance your self-image, & ways to connect to your physical body (such as exercise, grounding techniques, etc.).

**you may love talking to: fitness gurus & people who have a strong sense of self.

🗣️ Gemini in the 2nd House: I love talking about how to grow your money, ways to invest in yourself, your favorite foods, & the glamorous part of life (luxurious hotels, expensive restaurants, etc.).

**you may love talking to: financially wise people & beauty gurus.

🗣️ Gemini in the 3rd House: I love talking about your community (can be where your live or even your community of like-minded people), your favorite works of writing, updates in your friend group, & lessons you’ve learned in life.

**you may love talking to: your social group & your classmates.

🗣️ Gemini in the 4th House: I love talking about your family, things that bring you comfort (comfort foods, comfort movies, etc.), your childhood memories, & your hometown.

**you may love talking to: your relatives & your childhood friends.

🗣️ Gemini in the 5th House: I love talking about your children, your creative interests (writing, films, etc.), wild dating stories, & your favorite trends in fashion.

**you may love talking to: your romantic interests & people who inspire your creatively.

🗣️ Gemini in the 6th House: I love talking about mental health, the latest trends in health and wellness, crazy work stories, & habits you want to improve (waking up earlier, eating healthier, etc.).

**you may love talking to: your coworkers & people who encourage you to live a healthy lifestyle.

🗣️ Gemini in the 7th House: I love talking about your favorite relationships, good ways to balance conflict, your ideal partner traits, & your romantic fantasies (where you want to get married, your dream relationship, etc.).

**you may love talking to: your significant other & your best friend.

🗣️ Gemini in the 8th House: I love talking about your intimate experiences, occult subjects (tarot, divination, etc.), your turn-ons, & taboo secrets people share with you.

**you may love talking to: your intimate partners & spiritual gurus.

🗣️ Gemini in the 9th House: I love talking about adventure ideas (beautiful hikes, scenic routes, etc.), philosophical theories, foreign cultures, & places you want to explore.

**you may love talking to: foreign people & well-studied philosophers.

🗣️ Gemini in the 10th House: I love talking about your career, your reputation, personal career goals you want to reach (promotions, higher pay, etc.), & ways to improve your public image.

**you may love talking to: your boss & your business partners.

🗣️ Gemini in the 11th House: I love talking about your friendships, positive social movements that matter to you, your biggest dreams (career dreams, ideal life, etc.), & ways you want to make good change in the world.

**you may love talking to: your friends & social organizations.

🗣️ Gemini in the 12th House: I love talking about healing, spiritual conversations (intuition, the metaphysical, etc.), your hidden feelings, & the meaning of your dreams.

**you may love talking to: the spirit realm & energy healers.

thank you so much for all your love & support! 🤍 also, we are currently running an astro giveaway!!!! winners will receive free personalized chart descriptions & tarot readings. click here to follow the instructions to enter astro giveaway 🔮

i appreciate all of the love on my creative instagram: @dredivinecreates 🤍

#astrology #zodiac #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces #gemini season #gemini in the houses #astro

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forsetti · 2 months

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On Calls For Pres. Biden To Step Aside: Know The Players And Motives Tossing aside one of the most progressive presidents in fifty years because you are afraid they might not win an election is just plain stupid without a really, really, really solid backup plan. It is even stupider if you look at who is pushing for him to step aside and their motives. Here are the main groups calling for Pres. Biden to step away from running against Trump in November and why:

1-Republicans. Republicans know Biden is the biggest threat to them getting back the White House and enacting their batshit crazy policy agenda. They want nothing more than to not run against Pres. Biden because not only does he have the track record of beating Trump before but has an amazing economic record to run on. If you ever want to understand who Republicans view as their political threat, all you have to do is look at who they are attacking. They were going after Hillary for three years prior to 2016. The entire Benghazi witch hunt had no other purpose than to damage her electorally. Every single hearing about Hunter Biden, the border, the Biden Crime Family,… is nothing more than dog and pony hearings to dampen Democratic and Independent voter enthusiasm.

2-The Media. Trump’s non-stop crazy train administration was a goldmine for media outlets. Every day there was a new outrage, wild-ass rant, something that brought eyes to screens which translates to selling ad time/space. The Biden administration is efficient and boring. No scandals, except the ones Republicans gin up that turn up nothing. No rants. No chaos. No real controversy. Just plain old boring governance which is great for the country but bad for a business model that relies on shock, drama, and negativity. “Dems in disarray,” has been a media cottage industry since Bill Clinton was in office. If you don’t understand the financial motivation for why the media constantly derides Democrats for the slightest misstep while ignoring Republican malfeasance, you are probably likely to fall for their own brand of political propaganda.

It should tell you something that major news outlets have come out demanding Pres. Biden step aside for not looking good on camera during one ninety-minute debate but not a single one has asked the same of the candidate who was found guilty of sexual assault, found guilty of thirty-four felony charges, misspeaks dozens of times at every rally, and goes off on wild, illogical, batshit crazy tangents, and is tied to child sexual abuse via Jeffery Epstein. That they are not treating Trump with the same non-stop demands to step aside as they are Pres. Biden should tell you something about their motives.

3-Bad Foreign Actors. Russia wants nothing more than for Biden to lose the election. He is their biggest threat to taking over Ukraine and pushing their influence farther into Western Europe. NATO is stronger now and has more members than at any time in its history. This is the last thing Putin wants. Russia has been actively pushing propaganda online to influence U.S. elections for some time but really have ramped it up the past few election cycles.

Russia targets Republicans by fueling rage over culture war topics like abortion, immigration, racial violence, and the decline of Western, Christian norms. They also target liberals by trying to divide them over issues they care about Israel/Palestine, LGBTQI rights, Bernie vs Clinton, Bernie v Biden, DNC v “real progressives,”… They want liberals at each other’s throats because, if unified, the left is the largest voting bloc in America. Conservatives are electoral dinosaurs but they maintain power through gerrymandering, voter suppression, and liberals being more invested in their petty arguments than voting Republicans out of office.

4-Sandernistas. There is still a good-sized faction of people on the left who are still upset about Bernie Sanders not being the nominee in 2016 or in 2020. They are especially mad at what they deem as “establishment Dems,” screwing over Sanders in 2020 starting with the South Carolina primary. What they really are upset about is black voters, predominately female black voters, denying their White Progressive Savior his rightful spot at the head of the ticket. Because Pres. Biden was the one who benefited from this minority voting bloc in 2020, tearing him down and taking him out is a passion project for a lot of so-called “progressives.”

These “progressives,” are under the disillusion that if the Democratic Party fails far enough, hard enough, they will be able rebuild it in their own, perfectly progressive image. They never explain how this magical transformation will happen, they just take it as a matter of faith. Of course, anyone who understands American history and basic civics knows if/when conservatives have ultimate power, they will make sure they never lose another election.

These “progressives,” are the worst kind of progressive. They are often white, middle to upper-class liberals who view politics as a game because they are usually shielded from the consequences of the electoral decisions. If you are a middle/upper-class white, male progressive, very few, if any of Trump’s actions when he was in office affected you directly. The same cannot be said about the progressive voters who overwhelmingly supported Hillary in 2016 and Joe in 2020. They have the most skin in the game, have the most to lose and they vote accordingly. For white dudebros to step in and demand Pres. Biden step aside is a direct “fuck you” to the most loyal part of the base which has the most to lose if Trump is reelected.

Never mind this group has NEVER accomplished a damn thing politically other than cost many good Democrats to lose and decades and decades of progressive policy and law wiped out. They are as adamant about their political skills as they are it is always someone else’s fault when the find-out portion of their fuck around actions comes to fruition.

5-Progressives suffering from 2016 PTSD. This is the one group I can actually relate to and sympathize with. Hillary's loss in 2016 was a major shock to a lot of people. This shock was compounded because not only were we denied the first female president, but we got a lying, narcissistic, misogynist man-child in her place who went about rolling back decades of hard-earned progressive policies and turning the Supreme Court into a right-wing arm of the Federalist Society.

For those of us who lived through 2016, there is no election data that will make us feel good or at ease. It also makes us hyper-vigilant about anything and everything that can be seen as a negative towards the nominee. The second anything bad happens, whether factual or not, a lot of people in this group take the flight instead of the fight option which is associated with PTSD.

Being overly anxious and hyper-vigilant are not necessarily bad unless they lead to bad decisions.

There is only one sure way to make sure Trump is not reelected. Vote for the candidate running against him. Period. Full fucking stop.

If you aren’t willing to do this, for whatever reason you tell yourself, then you will be directly responsible for the very thing you claim is a politically existential moment. Stop listening and parroting Republican talking points. Stop allowing the media to determine who you should vote for. Stop listening to butt-hurt progressives who have no record of political success about what those who do should/shouldn’t do. Stop acting like frightened little bunnies whenever someone says something negative about successful Democratic leaders. Stop automatically going into flight mode when something goes wrong or something negative is said. Fight.

If you aren’t willing to fight, and I’m not talking about inter-party fighting (that time came and went,) for women’s rights, minority rights, safe air/water/food, climate policies, democracy… then you really aren’t as progressive as you tell yourself and others. You are a big reason why we are even in this situation. Whether you like Pres. Biden or think he is too old really isn’t the pertinent issue if you really care about the things you say you do. As long as Pres. Biden is willing to fight like hell for progressive policies and prevent Republicans from turning the country into a white supremacist, misogynist, oligarchy, you should be doing the same.

I don’t know what is going to happen between now and election day. Neither does anyone else. The one thing I am 100% positive about is if Trump does win, the people on the left who have spent the majority of their time and energy railing against the Democratic Party and Pres. Biden will blame anyone and everyone other than themselves. If Pres. Biden wins reelection, these same people will claim their childish hissy fits are what led him to “change course,” enabling him to win. Their view of personal responsibility for election outcomes is some fucked up “No True Scotsman,” bullshit. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING ever counts against their political beliefs and views.

I know some people reading this will wonder why I spend so much time and energy railing against the left. The answer is really simple-I fully expect the people on the right to be bad-faith actors who are hell-bent on destroying any and all progressive policies and candidates. I don’t, and shouldn’t expect the same from people who claim to be political allies. You can't claim to be a member of Team Good™ if your behaviors and actions help Team Bad™.

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kp777 · 3 months

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By Jessica Corbett

Common Dreams

June 20, 2024

"Right-wing billionaires hoped an obscure legal case would blow up the tax code to avoid paying what they owe, but this effort failed," said the Democratic senator after the Moore v. United States decision.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among the economic justice advocates cheering Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a tax on Americans with shares of certain foreign corporations—a win for the Massachusetts Democrat and other wealth tax advocates.

"Right-wing billionaires hoped an obscure legal case would blow up the tax code to avoid paying what they owe, but this effort failed at the Supreme Court," Warren said in response to the 7-2 ruling in Moore v. United States. "The fight goes on to tax the rich, pass a wealth tax on ultra-millionaires and billionaires, and make the system more fair."

Although the narrow decision doesn't explicitly affirm the constitutionality of federal wealth tax proposals from congressional progressives including Warren, court watchers had feared a ruling in favor of Charles and Kathleen Moore—a Washington couple who challenged the mandatory repatriation tax (MRT) in Republicans' 2017 tax law—would disrupt efforts to impose such policies.

The high court heard the case in December. Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday delivered the majority opinion that the MRT "does not exceed Congress' constitutional authority." He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberals. Justice Amy Coney Barrett concurred in the judgment, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, who had faced calls to sit this case out.

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas—who has provoked pressure to recuse himself from multiple cases or even leave the court by accepting and not reporting gifts from ultrarich Republicans—dissented, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch. Thomas argued "the Moores are correct" that "a tax on unrealized investment gains is not a tax on 'incomes' within the meaning of the 16th Amendment, and it therefore cannot be imposed 'without apportionment among the several states.'"

The Roosevelt Institute and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) warned in a September report that a decision siding with the Moores could have led nearly 400 multinational corporations to collectively receive more than $270 billion in tax relief.

"Today's ruling is a win for anyone who didn't shelter income in offshore tax havens before 2018," ITEP executive director Amy Hanauer said Thursday. "It preserves close to $300 billion of tax revenue paid by some of the biggest and most profitable corporations in human history."

"If the court had retroactively repealed this one-time tax, any other way of making up the resulting shortfall would have fallen far more heavily on middle-and-low-income families and small businesses," she added. "The Supreme Court also could have taken an activist turn of the worst kind by preemptively ruling federal wealth taxes unconstitutional today. To its credit, the court did not do so."

Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens similarly called the ruling "great news," adding that "next year, there is nothing standing in Congress' way to make the wealthy pay up."

Meanwhile, Morris Pearl, chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, had a more mixed response, saying that "we are relieved that the Supreme Court chose not to overreach in its Moore v. U.S. decision. The plaintiffs' patently absurd argument, based on incorrect and seemingly fabricated facts, threatened to upend the tax code and preemptively declare taxes on wealth and unrealized capital gains unconstitutional. The court chose not to do so."

"But we remain deeply alarmed for two reasons. First, it is now evident that four Supreme Court justices are enthralled by the influence of billionaires. In their concurring opinion, Justices Barrett and Alito asserted that unrealized capital gains cannot be taxed, as did Thomas and Gorsuch in their dissent, which said there is a realization requirement for income tax," Pearl said. "These justices have now signaled their intention to declare taxes on wealth and unrealized capital gains unconstitutional."

"Second, the Supreme Court should never have agreed to hear this case in the first place," he continued. "Billionaires are shamelessly buying influence on the Court. While seven Justices rejected this specific attempt by plutocrats to avoid their patriotic duty, this does not change the fact that several members of the Supreme Court have corrupt relationships with billionaire benefactors looking to purchase outcomes on the court."

This post has been updated with comment from the Patriotic Millionaires.

#elizabeth warren #groundwork collaborative #institute on taxation and economic policy #moore v. united states #tax the rich #taxation #wealth tax

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other-shades-of-sapphire · 1 month

Text

How to get over a heartbreak – Hyunjin

Hyunjin x barista Jinsol, circa August 2023

While struggling amidst his post-breakup daze, Hyunjin found himself an unexpected helping hand.

There were plenty of reasons why Hyunjin loved being around Changbin, but one of the biggest was because the hyung never failed to make him laugh – which he desperately needed after his godawful breakup the week before.

"Seriously, Hyunjin-ah?" he said when he went to inspect Hyunjin's room, like he said he would if he hadn't seen Hyunjin come out of it within the first twenty-four hours after the breakup. "Any more than this and I'd have to call the Department of Health and tell them that this room is chronically invested by some sort of a foreign pest."

Hyunjin laughed at this. It was his first since he'd come home from his last ever date with his girlfriend – well, ex-girlfriend now, he supposed.

"Seriously, Hyunjin-ah?" Changbin also said on the time when he spotted Hyunjin bringing in delivery boxes full of art supplies. "You've been overshopping art supplies for almost a month now. Have a look around your room – while you still can anyway, before it transforms into an overloaded art supplies storage and you can't really see anything anymore."

Hyunjin also laughed at this, but he knew the hyung got a point. But how could he not keep buying art supplies when it was really the only remaining source of the scent that reminded him of his girlfriend – ex-girlfriend?

She was an artist just like him, though a professional one at that; with an actual art degree working for an art museum while making art herself as a side gig. They'd often spent time making art together, him with his canvases and brushes and her with whatever tools she was feeling because she was an all-rounder who loved working with different tools and materials, from paint to fabric to clay to pretty much everything. Hence the permanent scent of art supplies on her, which honestly only made him love her even more.

Despite the constant laughs Changbin was providing, Hyunjin knew he was starting to show some concerning behaviors. He also knew that both Chris and Minho had specifically asked Changbin to shadow Hyunjin for the time being and keep a careful eye on him. The younger hyung was doing a great job at it, to which Hyunjin felt grateful because who knew what other concerning behaviors he might do otherwise. And true to his suspicion, when Changbin left him unsupervised that one day, Hyunjin found himself going back to the café he used to frequent with his (ex)girlfriend.

His heart panged at the oh-so-familiar ding of the small bell above the wooden-and-glass door he was pushing. He dragged his feet to the counter, meaning to just order an iced americano to go since he was already here anyway, but then found himself saying to the barista: "Flat white, but extra white."

Another pang at his heart. It was her favorite drink, the same one she almost always ordered whenever they went here (which was often). Hyunjin remembered laughing at it the very first time he'd heard her order the unusual coffee.

"What does that even mean?"

She'd explained it to him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Just a regular flat white, but instead of a 50:50 ratio between the espresso and milk, make it 60:40."

"Doesn't that make it a latte, though? Why don't you just order a latte?"

"It's very much not a latte, Hwang. A latte would be closer to 70:30, or 80:20 even. So it's a flat white, but extra white."

It was a recurring argument between the two of them; he'd kept teasing her to just order a latte and she'd insisted that it was in fact not what she wanted, even after almost three years into their relationship. He missed arguing with her, he realized – as if it was not the most obvious thing in the world. He also missed how she called him Hwang whenever they're out in public.

He also missed her.

"You come alone and order her drink. You guys are not together anymore?"

Hyunjin snapped out of his reverie at the comment. It came from the barista, the same one who'd taken his flat white, but extra white order. She was staring at him with a mildly curious look, a perfect balance between interest and indifference, through a mildly cold pair of black eyes. He raised an eyebrow. "You recognized the order?"

The barista let out a snort. "Within my years working here, she's the only person who orders a flat white, but extra white, ever. Kind of hard not to remember. Also," she added after a second of pause, as if an afterthought, "within my years working here, you're one of the very few idols I've had as a customer. Kind of hard not to remember you, too."

The second bit of her sentence surprised him. So she knew he was an idol, but had never done anything about it – not a nosy question, not a request for autograph or pictures, nada. That was rare. Also, "You have other idols coming here too?"

"You're dodging my question," she pointed out – which, to be fair, Hyunjin did. "So you guys broke up, didn't you?"

Hyunjin had a half mind to snap a mean "none of your business" retort, but then decided against. "Yeah," he simply said instead.

Something on her cold pair of black eyes seemed to soften at his answer. "Come sit by the counter," she said.

Hyunjin blinked. "Pardon?"

"Come sit by the counter," the barista repeated patiently. "I've had my fair share of experience helping other people get over heartbreaks. I might be able to help you, too."

"Who says I haven't gotten over the heartbreak yet?"

Another snort, though this time it sounded more like a sigh. "Dude, you're here of all places, where you used to hang out with her, ordering the drink she used to order, of all the other drinks you could order. I think it's a fair guess."

"Fair enough," he muttered.

She made a gesture towards the empty high table next to the register. "Well?"

The proposition sounded vague and Hyunjin wondered if he should be careful about it, but something about her – the softness in her eyes, the nonchalance in her gesture, even the deadpan of her tone – told him she was being genuine enough for him to trust her. So he decided to go with his heart rather than his head – something he hardly ever did, being a T for most of his life – and went to sit by the counter, waiting for the barista to finish his flat white, but extra white while thinking that if something happened, he had Changbin's number on his speed dial.

"Okay," the barista said minutes later, setting down his coffee in front of him. "Do tell me, how bad is it?"

"The flat white? I haven't tried it," Hyunjin said dryly, in his half-hearted attempt to crack a joke.

She glared at him. "Ha ha, so funny. Meant the breakup, pretty boy."

Hyunjin sipped his coffee – which, he had to admit albeit reluctantly, indeed sat just in between a regular flat white and a latte, just like his (ex)girlfriend insisted this whole time – before answering; just as an excuse to delay, because he really didn't have to think about the answer. "It was awful. There were lots of yelling it's like a screaming match. And the worst part of it is that it's nobody's fault, not really." He then proceeded to tell the barista about how his (ex)girlfriend had told him that she didn't think the two of them were going to work together because they're both artists and she needed someone with more stability to anchor her. It's a well-practiced story at this point, since he'd told it numerous times; to his members, his friends, his mother, his manager.

The barista listened attentively the whole time, giving him genuine and well-timed nods and frowns, made a soft hissing sound when he was done. "It really sounds awful. And how are you now?"

It was another well-practiced story because his members, his friends, his mother, and his manager had also asked him the very same question. Hyunjin gave the barista the same answer he gave the rest; he didn't think he's already fine at the moment, but he believed he would be soon. Just needed a little bit more time to adjust and ease back to life without his (ex)girlfriend.

This time, the barista mostly gave him nods, seemingly understanding what he's going through. Maybe she had gone through a couple of heartbreaks herself so she could relate. "How was it?" she asked next, this time in a softer voice. "Your relationship with her?"

The question took Hyunjin aback a little because none of his members, his friends, his mother, or his manager had asked him that. Primarily because they were there the entire time and Hyunjin had told them earful after earful of how their relationship was going as it was going, not post-breakup. He took a moment to take another sip of his coffee while considering his answer, then decided to start with, "It's amazing."

He recalled how they'd first met at an art gallery, eyeing the same piece of painting. She'd been the first one to strike up a conversation, asking him his thought on the painting – which Hyunjin had shared all too happily because no one ever asked him such question before and he usually had tons of thoughts on art which he was more than willing to share with anyone.

Her eye had gone impossibly wide at his answer. "No way, that's exactly what I thought too!"

Hyunjin had called her bluff, saying she only said that to avoid sharing her real thought about the painting. She'd challenged him back, pulling him to the next painting and shared her interpretation of the art piece first – which, coincidentally, was also overly similar to what Hyunjin had thought himself.

"See? I wasn't lying!" she'd said. "We really see these paintings through a similar point of view. How cute."

Hyunjin couldn't help but think that she was cute, too.

They'd gone to countless of museum and art gallery dates, for obvious reasons. They'd also spent countless of dates sketch-hunting and painting too, again for obvious reasons. "I guess you can say that we understand each other's art really well," Hyunjin told the barista.

"Is that the only thing that was amazing about her, though? Your shared interest of art!"

"Yah, it's way more than a shared interest of art," Hyunjin exclaimed, feeling a little offended. "And no, she's amazing in so many other ways." Like how she seemed to always be able to tell whenever he had a bad day, and knew precisely what to do to cheer him up without having to ask or be asked. And how she would crack dry jokes and remarks during a movie or drama, to which he always laughed because it always sounded funny to him. And how Kkami seemed to really like her too, and how she always made sure to have bags of treats for Kkami whenever she came to visit. "It's in the little things, really," he concluded with a smile.

Then the realization set heavily above him: he wouldn't be able to have those little things anymore, now that they're not together anymore. Not that it hadn't hit him before, it's just –

A box of tissue came to his view; he looked up and saw the barista pushing the box across the table to him, and suddenly realized that his eyes had indeed gone watery. "Hits different, doesn't it?" she asked in the same soft voice from before.

Hyunjin took a sheet of tissue, muttering a thank you, and tapped the corner of his eyes before the pooling tears had the chance to roll down. "How do you know?"

"Told you, I've helped people with heartbreaks. The key is to get them to talk about either three of those questions; how was the breakup, how are they, and how was the relationship before it ended. Chances are, they've only talked about, or focused on, one or two out of the three, and it's usually the remaining ones that'll help them get better." She offered him a small, sympathetic smile. "Is it getting better?"

Hyunjin pondered for a moment. "It is," he finally realized. Maybe talking about his ex-girlfriend's good things did help him make a little more peace with her departure from his life. "Thank you."

At the moment, the bell above the café's door dinged – and Hyunjin couldn't help but notice that this time it didn't give him a pang to his heart like it did before.

"Hyunjin-ah!"

Hyunjin turned in his seat and saw the familiar figures of Changbin and Minho approaching him. "Told you he would be here," Minho was telling Changbin.

As they arrived at both of Hyunjin's side, Changbin put both hands on both of his shoulders and shook him. "Hyunjin-ah, as much as I'm happy to see you out of that pest-invested room of yours, you can't just leave and not tell me anything!"

Hyunjin grimaced; he did not tell anyone where he was going. "Sorry, I'll shoot you a text next time."

The barista watched the banter with a small smile. "I'll leave then, now that you have other people to watch over you."

As she turned to go back to the register – which, during the entire "session" they were having, was manned by one of her colleagues – Hyunjin decided to follow his heart for the second time today. "Wait! Can I get your number?"

It earned him a two-way surprised glare, from the her and Minho on his side. "Just in case I need some more help getting over this heartbreak," Hyunjin added hastily.

The smile came back to her face, this time a little wider and brighter. "Alright." She took out a pen and paper from her apron's pocket, scribbled down, and handed it to Hyunjin. He took a quick glance before she left. Jinsol, her handwriting said. "Thank you, Jinsol."

Jinsol smiled and finally walked away, back to her station behind the register.

"What was that?" Minho asked, still wearing the same surprised look from before, only this time layered with curiosity and a bit of suspicion.

Hyunjin shrugged. "I made a friend."

"Good for you," Changbin said rather cheerfully. He really seemed to be happy seeing Hyunjin finally got out of his pest-invested room after nearly a week of wallowing in there. "Now let's go home, Hyunjinnie. We can grab your favorite sushi takeout on our way back."

"A friend," Minho repeated as they walked towards the door, noticing Hyunjin turning back one last time to throw Jinsol a smile. "Alright, I'm keeping an eye on this friend, Hyunjin-ah. Just in case."

Finally, the debut fic of Hwang Hyunjin! His story took the longest for me to unravel, lots of back and forth and scraped drafts, but at long last here we are. Shoutout to @silverstarburst who noticed his absence and made the time to leave a comment, hope you enjoy this!

coming up next

Find the collage of Hyunjin & Jinsol and the rest of Stray Kids here!

#stray kids #skz #stray kids fanfic #skz fanfic #stray kids fic #skz fic #stray kids angst #skz angst #stray kids fluff #skz fluff #hyunjin #hwang hyunjin #skz hyunjin #stray kids hyunjin #hyunjin angst #hwang hyunjin angst #hyunjin fluff #hwang hyunjin fluff

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ofallthingsnasty · 2 years

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henlooo!! i read ur post abt manipulator kaiser and oliver. (i’m already 20 btw) what would be their reaction if their foreign!s/o tries to escape from them and go home to their country? would they hunt them down or would they just let them go?

hello hello haha 🤗 tbh I've only thought about Kaiser with a foreign darling so far because that really tickles me - but Oliver as well? Interesting thought 👀

word count: 1k goes with this thirst post here

tags: yandere, emotional manipulation

I think neither one is the 'hunting down' type (Shidou or even Barou, however...) - but Kaiser, in my opinion, will not hesitate to utilize his fame. Soccer is really popular here in Germany and I know a fair share of players and their partners even though I am absolutely not invested in the Bundesliga and the likes. You leaving and in such an abrupt way? Basically overnight? That's going to be all over the yellow press, no doubt. He is one of Germany's best players and he won't have to lift a finger to get all eyes on your 'break-up' (Of course they don't know that you basically fled, don’t know what he’s really like behind the scenes-). The media circus will be a lot for you. You'll definitely have to go private or even delete all your socials because of the sheer amount of hate you will get (if he let you run your own, of course. He might just be the type to insist on him curating those for you, never mind the fact that you could be located through those). Your face is all you see the moment you open any European news site, aside from the more serious ones. The media will most likely smear you - and maybe even turn on you fully once Kaiser drops a few calculated words. Everyone will speculate why you left like you did, will try to analyze yours and Kaiser’s relationship until they’ve found a plausible reason. You’re better off ditching the internet or the media all together for a little while. As for Kaiser, would he ask you for forgiveness, knock on your door one night or just straight up snatch you up? Oh, no. He's too proud for that, even though he is positively seething. He's angry, first and foremost, angry that you could be so ungrateful, that you would just leave him, a goddamn superstar. You were supposed to worship him like the rest of them, not run for the hills the moment he got a little too comfortable. But I can actually see Ness sniffing your location out and paying you a tearful visit, harping on your feelings, telling you how much of a mess Kaiser is without you, how he can be so difficult but, really, he only acted the way he did because he loves you- He’ll put on his sweetest face, the biggest teary eyes. When you don't fall for it, he will turn downright nasty and berate you for it, threaten you. Don't you know what level of influence Kaiser has, how much money he has to waste? You think some measly borders will stop that? He can turn your life into hell even from a continent away, you'll see. Ness will play the errand boy for Kaiser happily - and he'll mean every word he'll say. Disloyalty towards Kaiser is just something he won’t stand. I think he'd leave you to mull over it - waiting to see if you can be scared into crawling back. But if you still don’t come back, Kaiser will make Ness’ threats come true until you do, paranoid and destitute. He can absolutely pull some strings - and he will.

Oliver doesn't have the same tools available to him - not that he isn't famous, just not as much as Kaiser - your break-up will probably be picked up by some tabloids and fans online but it won't make the waves it does with Kaiser. But forcing you back with his influence is not his style, anyways. No, Oliver will make you take him back. Willingly. I think he'd grin and bear the ‘break-up’, on the outside. He won't lose his cool over this, even though it's bothering him a lot. He'll throw himself into his work, his team, keeps that laissez-fair attitude as if his life depends on it. I don't see him as the type to come up with an intricate plan to get you back but he'll let you cool off a little and bets on your poor, little brain smoothing things over for him in retrospect. He won't pick up anyone during this time to get back at you or to make you jealous - he'll be on his best behavior, won't be mentioning the 'break-up' anywhere, won't utter a word of contempt into your direction, won't even go out to party that much. For his standards, he's turning into somewhat of a golden boy - but it really is just a ploy. To make you see how much you've changed him. To make you see how heart-broken he is. Due to his charade, you’ll probably think yourself safe - until he turns up at your door one day, with the biggest apologetic smile on his face. It’s so jarring, it actually stuns you into silence. He’ll show you just how much of a talker he can be - for hours and hours he’ll lay it on thick, won’t spare a single, oh-so-sad detail. And it’s so easy to let yourself fall for his charms again - it wasn’t all that bad, right? You’ve loved him, still kind of do - the old wounds have scarred over, the pain long gone. And with the way he eyes you, still tired from his travels, like some kicked puppy, his attention solely focused on you... You can feel a familiar tug at your heart again and before you know it, you find yourself doubting your past self. Maybe you just overreacted at times? Maybe you could have poured yourself more into the relationship, could have given him more - shown him just how much you loved him. It’s an ugly feeling of doubt, of uncertainty, of longing. Before you know it, you’ll see the relationship through a different lense and him in a much softer light - how lucky you are, then, that he is here to stay for a little while, just until you can sort your feelings out. And this time, he’s serious - and willing to show you with a shiny ring on your finger.

#blue lock x reader #yandere blue lock #oliver aiku x reader #michael kaiser x reader #yandere oliver aiku #yandere michael kaiser

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poomphuripan · 3 months

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Given that we're halfway through the series, how well do you think msi is doing ?

hi nonnie

because i'm an overthinker and msi is on my mind 24/7 so i have interpreted this question into three different ways and i'll be answer all three below.

1. how well do you think msi is doing (in terms of portraying the characters and the plot of the original novel, speaking on a personal capacity)?

this series leaves me on the edge of my seat every damn week. everything is WORKING FOR ME. i love the character designs, the adaptational changes, the pacing... my only grievance? occasionally i absolutely detest their hairstyles (whoever hairstyled sol and joe for sol's mv should get fired, real). i also dislike the fact that they usually layer ming's outfits, when i think they should just let him wear one layer of shirt for example in this behind the scene still for that confrontation scene he's just wearing a black shirt but it looks soooo goood, this picture most likely taken when they're rehearsing.

but let's go through bit by bit

character designs: i think like other novel readers, i was a bit wary of the toning down/softening of novel!yanmingxiu, but i think it worked in favor of the series as a visual medium, coupled with them also making joe seemingly more naive than novel!zhouxiang. it balances well to have a not as cruel ming with a puppy-like/happy go luck joe 1.0. i really like in a recent reaction video where up, poom and porsche were reacting to ep.7, poom says he's happy to see so many people curse ming because it meant that he's doing well playing a scum male lead and praised up for playing such a compelling "bad" character because he thinks if it weren't for a such scum ml, his character 'joe' wouldn't come off as pitiful.

adaptational changes: i understand that translating a novel to series is a huge challenge, especially since thai series does not have a tendency to insert inner thoughts as much as japanese series does or the way audiodrama can do so but my stand in is doing so well utilising the flashbacks or blocking/cinematography to showcase the emotions of these characters so i've been loving most changes so far. they're also making changes that i love to see (novel!yan ming xiu throwing a tv remote at zhou xiang when he said something that upset him, reading that i was like bruh was that necessary?!?!!?!?).

pacing: it's really good, with my only grievance being they should make the eps longer in length. contrary to the complaints i'm seeing about how they're making audience wait to long until the huge reveal, i think it's fair and i'd actually like to see ming grovel a bit more before finding out that joe 2.0 is joe 1.0 because or else it wouldn't make sense to me why he would be so invested in getting invovlved with joe 2.0 if he wasn. most eps so far have been condensed from 10 chapters, with the biggest exception being ep 7 being adapted from 16 chapters (chapter 60-75) but i like that they simplified that plot with tharn/novel!tanyin without completely eliminating it. perhaps the only thing i regret being left out is ming crying out to joe's name after having sex with joe 2.0 but since the series went with ming not having sex with joe 2.0 in ep 7 yet so we didn't get it. anyway, ready for more ming/blind master shenanigans this week.

2. how well do you think msi is doing (with chinese fans/novel fans)?

so just recently, the weibo supertopic of my stand in hit 23,000 followers and the douban score for my stand in hit 8.8 (it debuted with a 6.8 score in the first ep btw). while douban scores for bl/foreign dramas tend to bit higher than the average scores for cdramas, this is still a huge feat considering how it's being adapted from a popular danmei novel and how bad the initial reception to the casting announcement was. it is HUGE!

after last week's episode the scores really skyrocketed due to the two scenes, the hotel verbal fight scene and the back reveal. it's also a relief to see how both scenes are well received because they're very different from how they were executed in the novel, so i think this is a good sign of how novel fans have warmed up to the adaptation changes (if anyone is interested, feel free to read chap 73 for that confrontation and chap 74+75 for the back reveal).

also cfans seem to really be into up poompat's portrayal of yan ming xiu these days, most are ready to forgive him while simultaneously still want to watch him suffer for the rest of the series. everyone and their mother loves poom as joe/zhou xiang but they have been loving and praising poom since ep 1 so that's not really new.

3. how well do you think msi is doing (in terms of trending, general viewership and popularity)

i think my stand in is doing crazy well considering its genre (dogblood drama featuring a scum male lead). regarding trending, the number of tweets is increasing weekly and it's stable at 4th/5th place like every week and considering is up against TWO QL series of two popular established branded pairings (EngLot with Love Bully, GemFourth with My Love Mix Up TH) and the hottest lakorn series of the year (Dhevaprom), I think it's already achieving the best possible results in terms of trending (cfans are also wishing that my stand in would be more popular considering how dramatically dogblood and lakorn-coded MSI is ಥ_ಥ)

But I think it's more important for iQIYI that it's ranking #1 worldwide iQIYI consecutively for the last seven weeks since its their "first" Thai original (i actually thought My Dear Gangster Oppa is their first, turns out not 😅). Being up against all those beautiful costume/historical cdramas and still ranking #1??????

also i can't speak on behalf of other fans but the sole fact that the main topic on my twitter timeline every weekend is how pitiful joe is/how terrible ming is/how up and poom are DELIVERING the breakthrough performances of their careers? i think regardless of the end result of this series, it's definitely a remarkable BL series of 2024 and i'd honestly call it the dark horse among the 2024 BL releases considering how lowkey and underwhelmed the initial hype it had.

i hope some of this answers your question 😭😭😭😭 if i had misunderstood your question though, feel free to send another ask. I LOVEEEEE talking about my stand in.

#my stand in #my stand in the series #claire replies

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frozen10fanzine · 6 months

Text

Frozen Through the Years

Yearly Spotlight: 2019

Written by @toriofthetrees

After six long years, 2019 saw the release of the long-anticipated sequel, Frozen II.

The lead-up up to the release was intense to say the least.

The first teaser trailer premiered in February, opening with Elsa on a black-sand beach stripped down to her bare essentials, barefoot, ready to take on a raging sea. She attempted twice to cross the torrential waters before the trailer turned to Anna’s shock of hundreds of diamond-shaped glass covered in strange symbols, taking over Arendelle. Following closely behind were several moments of Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and Anna taking on dangerous challenges, and a show of strange, foreign magic. All of this was centered around this new, mysterious setting known only at the time as an autumnal forest.

It gave just enough of a preview to hook millions.

The trailer was viewed and downloaded several million times on Twitter and YouTube within a short amount of time. In the fandom, a storm of news, posts, speculation, and discussions broke out over several platforms, too chaotic to keep track of. The months that followed the teaser were absolutely brimming with excitement! Across cinemas, television, and the internet—both in the US and internationally—came many trailers, sneak peaks, and posters about the upcoming movie. Alongside this came leaks as well, all of it sparking speculation in the fandom over what the plot of the movie could be.

Countless books about Frozen II came onto the market before the film was even released, notably without the end of the film printed within their pages. This lead to fans in many locations to protest the shops selling these books, wanting their money back.

Most of these protests lead to no results.

Success for Disney Studios, specifically. contributed to the exposure for Frozen II. ~In March, Disney invested billions of US dollars in company acquisitions across the film and TV industry, creating the most powerful media company in the world in the USA. ~This was the year of the 6th Disney D23 Expo, the biggest Disney fan event of the year! It was held on August 23–25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, showcasing news and pictures around all the new Disney parks, resorts—and movies! Including Frozen II! ~On November 12, 2019, Disney launched its streaming platform Disney+ in several countries ~2019 ultimately proved to be Disney's most successful cinema year to date, regardless of which new film was released!

All of this led up to the release of Frozen II on November 20, 2019 in most countries (unfortunately some countries had to wait until the beginning of January).

This new installment to Elsa and Anna’s story saw the sisters and their found family making a long trek away from Arendelle… in order to save it. Mysterious magics send them up north to the Enchanted Forest, that is covered in an impenetrable mist. Yet, it parts for them. The deeper they go into the forest, the more they discover about themselves, their family, the spirits, Arendelle… so that only one thing can be said for certain: Nothing will ever be the same again.

This film was polarizing.

In the cultural zeitgeist, it was a massive success like its predecessor, exceeding Frozen as the highest grossing animated film of all time. It received mostly positive reviews and it would go on to be nominated for multiple awards, including an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The Disney merchandising machinery was running at full speed and earned the company many more millions within a short amount of time. The limited edition dolls were sold out on the same day as release! However, it notably did not have the same cultural reach that its predecessor had. “Into the Unknown,” to many, was not comparable to “Let it Go.” And the film was nominated aplenty, but never actually received any awards.

However, it was within the fandom that this polarization was seen the clearest.

Frozen II made good on its promise that nothing would ever be the same for these characters. The sisters, though still as close as ever, no longer lived under the same roof by the end of the film. Elsa abdicated her crown for her duties as the Fifth Spirit and Guardian of the Enchanted Forest, while Anna took over as Queen of Arendelle. This separation, whilst to some was a step-up for the sisters, others saw as a step back. This debate rages in the fandom to this day, and many, many fans on Tumblr, Reddit, and other social media prefer Frozen to its sequel.

The fandom did gain some new content, including the addition of multiple ships. There were two that were rather popular. The first was Agduna (Agnarr/Iduna), which came about because of the major focus Frozen II had on them, the sisters’ parents. The second was Elsamaren (Elsa/Honeymaren), which came about because Honeymaren had a minor, but important interaction with Elsa in the film that sent her on the right path to Ahtohallan.

Just as Frozen II’s main theme—change—impacted the sisters, so to it did the fandom. The polarizing effect of the film lead to quite passionate arguments over its content. However, the fandom did not get any smaller or lose any passion. People continued to create, debate, discuss, and post about Frozen and Frozen II. In interviews, the cast and crew said that Frozen II was made to grow up with the audience who were there when the first film was released in theaters. With that in mind, the fandom no longer looked like it did when Frozen first came out.

Things change.

But we can still all agree on one thing: We love Frozen 💕

Stay Tuned For More

👆🏻 Click above if you want to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Frozen. The due date is April 12, 2024.

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

#frozen #frozen10 #frozen 2 #anna #sven #elsa #olaf #olaf's frozen adventure #ofa #water has memory #frozen fever #frozen 10th anniversary #for you #fyp #tumblr fyp #yearly spotlight

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nico-esoterica · 5 months

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youtube

ASTRO INSIGHT: Her releasing this shortly after the New Moon in Taurus in her 1H is a great idea on its own but if you combine that with Jupiter and Uranus there trining her outer planets and MC in her 9th, it's spelling out 'localizing the foreign' and appealing to a larger non-western audience. She really does love Japan, lol. With the New Moon trining her Ascendant and Venus, this will go down as possibly the greatest she's ever looked or it'll be up there. And with her Uranus and Neptune being hit, it being unique and creative will be celebrated opposed to slept on. Because she's given us surreal before (the Young Thug feature song) but that wasn't as appreciated.

CULTURAL WATCH: This is what creatives can learn -- From now on, THIS is how you will be expected to move. Be inspired. Meaning, a la with Pluto in Aqua settling for good in December, that the name of the game is individuality. Hyper-individuality. Being unique and standing out. Since the first decan of Aquarius occupies Venus and it'll be in that range for several years, this, imo, represents a creative renaissance of artists who've been on the outskirts or rejected who are moving the culture by doing their own thing and investing in themselves and their craft. We're not going to be moved by who's the biggest or most popular but who's being the most authentic and true to themselves. And who's 'relatability' is organic.

Despite waves of incel weebs criticizing Megan for years for not being a 'real' anime or gamer nerd, one of the many ways she stands out is by showing off this side of her personality that isn't inherently based on being likable. She's not trying to gain accolades or clout by being into nerd shit. It's something she's been into for years and now that it's clear to people that this is actually who she is and because she's under a better company that most likely gives her more creative control (the astro checks out rn at least), she's setting a standard which says that you benefit the MOST by being yourself.

Money helps but you're gonna get it easier in the times we're in by distinguishing yourself from the rest. Specializing. Aquarius is for the weirdos, rebels, and odd ones out. That's in but in an underground sort of way. Anti-mainstream. What'll be in is developing a healthy and supportive fanbase that'll be smaller but loyal, consistent, and resilient.

#celebrity astrology #astrology #megan thee stallion #megan thee stallion astrology #Youtube

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mariacallous · 5 months

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The end of TikTok has begun. As the dust settles from a week of shockingly fast legislative action by the US Congress, it’s clear that TikTok next year will look much different from the TikTok we’re using today.

When President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion dollar foreign aid package on Wednesday, it brought to life a nightmare that has haunted TikTok for more than four years. If TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, refuses to divest its stakes in the company, the United States will ban the app nationwide. The signing started the clock, giving TikTok 270 days to find a new owner. (As The Washington Post’s Cristiano Lima-Strong noted, TikTok’s time will run out the day before Inauguration Day 2025.)

There are a few ways this could all shake out. An American company or private equity fund could buy TikTok and its powerful recommendation algorithm. Or, a buyer might have to accept just the bones of the platform without that algorithmic muscle; The Information reported on Thursday that ByteDance has already started gaming out what a sale without the algorithm would look like. Or, perhaps no buyer can be found and TikTok goes poof.

Unless TikTok or a horde of its users were to somehow win a lawsuit challenging the law signed this week—a lawsuit the company has already said it plans to file—all the potential outcomes lead to an app that is dramatically different.

If a US tech company were to, miraculously, buy out the app and algorithm from ByteDance, it’ll likely integrate the app into its own products and services. But I doubt we’ll ever see a “TikTok by Meta.” Meta and other tech giants have come under intense antitrust scrutiny in recent years. If any company with a big social platform were to gobble up one of its top competitors, that would set off alarms at the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission.

Microsoft has suggested that it has an interest in buying TikTok, and it might be one of the app’s only viable choices for a buyer. Microsoft’s biggest subsidiary otherwise is, well, LinkedIn—and can we even call LinkedIn a TikTok rival with a straight face?

Separately, if, say, a private equity firm like Blackstone were to purchase TikTok without its much-envied algorithm, rebuilding the heart of the app could be difficult. A company without a deep bench of algorithmic wizards on hand likely wouldn’t have the expertise to quickly reengineer a feed-based social media platform from scratch. If they tried, I doubt the results would be pretty.

And if there’s no new owner? Well, I guess we’re left with YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. TikTok’s popularity in the US forced Google and Meta to invest in vertical video, but those platforms mostly cater to the younger “Skibidi Toilet” generation. They wouldn’t easily fill a TikTok-shaped gap on the US internet.

Still, the law passed this week may not stand for much longer. In a statement calling it unconstitutional, TikTok seemed confident that the law could be overturned. “We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail,” a TikTok spokesperson said on Wednesday. The company used a similar argument last year to win an injunction blocking a ban passed in Montana.

Regardless of how this lawsuit plays out, TikTok will be different. The question is just what kind of “different” that will be.

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levok · 1 year

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Patiently waiting for Omar's summertalk translation by our kind Swedish speaking friends 🧘🏻‍♀️

Let me google translate it for you <3 - after the jump (I havent read it through for errors)

There is a before and an after.

Before….then I had a music career. First as a member of Scandinavia's biggest boy band and then as a solo artist.

…I was on my way.

Since…. apparently some idiot in Wuhan ate a bat and I ended up behind.

The pandemic.

Everything was closed and turned off.

There were no studios to go to. No offices to have meetings. It was like that for everyone, but then and there it felt like it was mostly for me. It sucked.

I had no job, no one needed me, no one wanted to see me. I got depressed, everything was just shit.

Lying paralyzed at home in the rickety apartment in Barkarby where I was staying with a friend. I slept in a mini bed, we had no living room, no comfortable chair to sit on and it was quite dirty.

What choices did I have?

I could start studying at the high school.

Or I could smear myself in dog food and throw myself in with the pit bull terriers, that sounded better.

Not a chance I'm going back to school-hell.

Then, through my friend Felicia, who is an actress, I heard about a casting for a new TV series. It was a crime series created for Viaplay, "Lyckoviken".

Now that the music career was over, maybe I should invest in becoming an actress? The role was made for me. A singing guy with a guitar, foreign accent, around 21 years old. It's me. Except for the guitar, but I could learn some chords and try to look like I'm good as shit.

Now everything would turn around.

After the casting, Felicia and I got to audition one more time because they liked us. They liked me.

Then I just waited for them to call from the production and say that I would play one of the main roles in the series "Lyckoviken".

At first they didn't call.

But then…. they didn't call either.

The only text I received during these gray days was from my friend with whom I lived.

It said: "I'm breaking up with you as a friend."

What the fuck? Most unclear. I have to move out of here, what the hell is going on?!

But the role, it was mine... until Felicia called and said that someone else would play me, or I mean play the role that I wanted.

I cried.

I cried when I called my mother in Spain.

I cried when she answered.

"Mother my life is over. I'm 22 and it's all over. I can't handle anything, I don't get anything."

Mom gets sad. But she doesn't show it. She has taken me from Venezuela to Sweden. She has done everything for me and for me to succeed in my dream, my artist career. She has fought for me to succeed in what she herself once dreamed of but could not realize.

She says, in Spanish: “Omarcito. Now I want you to stop crying. Take a shower, fix your hair, put on your best outfit and hit the town and show the world your face. You are going to make this day the greatest. You should feel your best, look good and meet your best friends. Don't hide at home. If life hits you, get back up and show life your face.”

"Sal y muestra tu cara a la vida."

Go out and show life your face….

Yes, mother. That's exactly what I'm going to do.

MUSIC: Azul – Cristian Castro

Mother,

I don't remember my first years, surely no one does. But you have told us about our time together. About dad, who drank. Quite often he was scary and dangerous. That he used to kidnap me sometimes and no one knew where he took me. We lived in a baby blue house in a beautiful town called Puerto La Cruz. It is located on the coast, right on the Caribbean with lots of white beaches in Venezuela.

One day we came home and dad had pulled. He took everything with him. He must have had help, because the only thing left was a mattress, a painting depicting you mother, and my gold necklace, which was probably dropped on the floor on the way out. That was all that was left. And so I, as luck would have it.

Dad never came back, but the family on your side was there, especially grandma. The women in the family always showed up after the men left. There are some men who have actually been good in my family, a few. But women have always been strong. Time after time, they have lost everything, and then they have struggled and organized and worked to make sure that the children and the family have a good life and a roof over their heads.

I remember Grandma, and I've missed her ever since she passed away. She turned 50, it was cancer.

Grandma was the worst fashionista. Always makeup, head to toe beautiful, always high heels.

Mom says grandma couldn't walk without heels, then her feet hurt. Grandma and her husband were self-employed. They had a guard company and access to weapons. Grandma knew exactly how to use them.

You stood there in the ruins of your life mom, but grandma helped you get back on your feet, and me.

Then you had to fight to make our lives work. You worked long hours, and luckily we met a girl, Rosita. Her family came from the high mountains, where the poorer families live.

She became the daughter that you, mother, never had. She moved in with us and took care of me while you were away. I liked her so much, we used to steal mangoes from the neighbor and eat them with lots of adobo. It is a salt seasoning.

While you were trying to put our life back together, Dad put our house up for sale. He totally messed with us, messed with you living in the house with his and your child. We didn't even know about it.

One day grandma drove us home, and the house was locked with a big padlock. We saw some women moving inside our house, they were cleaning. Grandma took out the gun, aimed at the lock and shot it to pieces. Weapons drawn, she entered, the women threw their hands in the air and shouted that they knew nothing. Then they ran away, across the asphalt, without even taking their shoes with them.

It became a fucking war with lawyers. In the end we actually got to stay.

(Short break)

Cut to - we had a good time. I had my own bed. A separate room filled with lots of toys.

We even had a dog.

But life must have been so hard for you mom.

I understand that. I see it, and I hear it, and I believe you, mother you must believe me - for me it was a wonderful time, perhaps the best of my life.

I was so loved. You, great-grandmother and all her children, my uncles and aunts, cousins and the whole family. You loved me. I loved you.

In grandma's big red house we had family dinners and parties. Grandma had her own animals that roamed freely everywhere. Turtles, two swans who were very dangerous though and always chased me and my cousin Ahimee when we were out playing.

We also mustn't forget Grandma's pet monkey, Panchito. Everyone hated that monkey, it was a pig to a monkey, it threw mangoes at us and peed on the food. Grandma protected the monkey with her life and would beat whoever tried to harm the monkey.

Grandma loved to sing and dance, just like everyone else in the family, but she was a fucking superstar.

And maybe she put a ray of her talent in me.

Someone lifted me onto the table and shouted: "Cheer for the artist Omarcito!" I sang, threw off my diaper and danced. You think I'm drifting but it's actually true. Someday you might get to see pictures.

I felt so good in Venezuela, was the happiest kid in the world.

My childhood was a web, a pattern of love, light, music and warmth.

But in my life there are also other patterns.

I had a crappy dad. Dad had a crappy dad. Mom had a crappy dad.. Grandma had a crappy dad. Great grandma had a crap dad.

Listen, mom, that's enough! I promise I'll be the first to break the pattern.

MUSIC: A Puro Dolor – Son by Four

I have a few memories from when I first came to Sweden.

Everything is like blurry fragments, or puzzle pieces that my brain can't quite put together into a complete picture.

When we land, it's summer, and it feels like...nothing at all. It's a beautiful summer day, not as hot as at home but still quite nice.

And there he stands, Tomas.

He stands there and receives us.

To me it is unclear who he is, he is just Tomas. A new friend.

He had visited us in Venezuela a couple of months before so that we could get to know him and he would get to know mother, me and the whole family. He was liked by all.

Now I get to see his car, a red Volvo. I'm not that impressed with the car, but it's red, it's nice.

We get into the car. I get in the back seat and fall asleep, my memory goes out there.

When I wake up, I'm lying on a sofa bed in an apartment. It feels like I slept for three days. Or some puzzle pieces are missing. But this is where we will live now, in this apartment, in this city called Karlstad.

Mom and Thomas lean over me, they hold a giant stuffed snake over my face and I start laughing. They are so quirky. That snake is mine now. Love that it's like three times as tall as me.

Now the fragments come a little closer.

Over time I realized that mother and Tomas were in love. They hugged and laughed a lot together. Tomas started to become a bit like a father figure to me. It was a bit hard to take in because I hadn't grown up with a father, and not being able to talk and understand him didn't make it any easier at first. But I felt safe with Tomas. He was funny, kind and he made up funny things with us. He was there every day, it was something new for me. Something I would get used to.

After only a month from the time we landed in Sweden, there was a wedding. I had to help mom choose a wedding dress. We both agreed it would be a white dress. I specifically wanted her to have a little crown in her hair, like Disney princesses have. That's exactly how it happened.

It was a nice summer day. The wedding was outdoors, at Toma's mother's house. She had the most beautiful plot I have ever seen. There was the scent of flowers everywhere you went. Mom and I loved their plot and I couldn't stop adventuring.

At the wedding I was allowed to eat as many strawberries as I wanted. I have never eaten as many strawberries as I did that day. They were so red and juicy. After a while I was the only one who looked like a little drunk, shirt unbuttoned and soaked, dirty pants, messy face and hair a mess. Then out of nowhere, torrential rain.

There was panic, people tried to save the food and cake, mother's white dress got dirty and stuck to her body. The grass was super slippery and people were slipping around. It just got crazy. Then we stood under the balcony roof for the rest of the wedding.

It was still a nice day as I remember it.

Hope the bride and groom also feel the same way as I do.

All in all it was a nice time.

My first month in Sweden.

MUSIC: Mama – Omar Rudberg

When I was little, I had a lot of fantasies. I made movies in my head. I pretended to be every superhero I had just seen on film and I fought bad guys.

I loved dinosaurs. When I didn't have toys, I played with my hands. I made a dinosaur with one hand and another with the other.

Then it just sounded….pshoo…chee….they were fighting. They have the hell of a fight. One flies into the rock wall, others fall and get stuck with their teeth in the ground.

It was at such a weird level that Tomas thought they should take me to a child psychologist, just check me out to be safe.

Mom was stressed. She wanted me to be a healthy kid. But to be absolutely sure that I was really healthy, they sent me to a child psychologist. She had lots of nice toys. We hung out for an hour or so and we became very good friends. I don't know how we talked, maybe she knew Spanish, but we clicked. Then mother came, she was very worried.

The psychologist said: "You must never laugh at or play with Omar's fantasies, because he is a healthy kid. He is a child, let him be and let him live in his little world, because he will be happy and well.”

So there was nothing wrong with me.

And honestly, I needed my fantasies, because the first time here was alone.

We wanted to become Swedish citizens, but I wasn't allowed to start school. Officially, we were here as tourists and did not yet have a residence permit.

I missed over a year of school.

So it was pretty much mom and me.

Tomas worked every day.

If we had gone to a foreign country on the other side of the world, just mom and me, then you have to stick together. And we did.

We went out every day on discovery trips to get to know Sweden and Karlstad.

It was summer but the weather wasn't as hot as at home, but it was still chill.

Something that mom and I noticed was how calm and quiet it was in Karlstad compared to where we came from. Not a lot of traffic, no honking cars, no loud music anywhere, no one standing and shouting at each other in the middle of people. Yes, it was much quieter here. It felt safer for both me and mother, but often it also got a bit boring.

One day I got a dragon, a green dragon. It had dragon wings and a dragon face. I had never had a kite before.

Outside the apartment was a tall grass hill.

I went all the way up and tried to get my kite to take off. In front of the hill there was a kindergarten, and a great many children were playing there. I remember the feeling so strongly, I watched them and really wanted to be there. But I was not part of their world.

It was difficult to get the dragon up. Sometimes it flew a few meters but then it crashed.

If I ran fast, it went better. Downstairs from the kindergarten, I used to hear the other children being called in for snack, but I ran on the hill.

It did nothing.

I was alone, but it didn't matter. I understood that my time had not come yet, but maybe soon? There will surely come a day when the kindergarten teacher will call: "Omar, you have to come in now, isn't it?" And I would say: "My name is actually Omaar!"

In Venezuela I had also attended kindergarten. There you start learning things early. Learned to spell and write when I was about three years old. And I had a lot of friends. There was even a girl that I had a crush on. So I knew that I am also someone who can be someone's friend.

And now we also had the psychologist, what did she say? "Omar is a healthy kid."

The wind caught hold of the kite, and suddenly it took off. Loud, fucking loud. It jerked a little to the sides and tried to tear itself away. But I held the string, and it was I who steered the kite, however it danced with the winds. On a grassy hill in Karlstad, I was in charge.

Omarcito, a kid with a lot of imagination. Who tames dragons.

MUSIC: Te Quiero - Barney

I learned Swedish quickly. Absorbed in me the language without doubt. I began to notice that my mother often asked me, "What does this mean?" What does this email say?” or "Can you help me write a text message?"

Tomas only spoke Swedish to me. And with mother, for her to learn.

I started to think it was cool with Swedish.

It became so cool that I stopped speaking Spanish with my mother.

She didn't like it, not at all. One day everything turned around, she exploded.

“We are from Venezuela and our language is Spanish!”

"From now on, I won't understand if you speak Swedish to me."

She stopped answering me when I addressed her in the wrong language. When I asked for water in Swedish, she just looked at me.

I got mad, she thought she was stupid. “Can you please stop?”

She absolutely did not stop.

“Yo no hablo sueco Omar. Check my hair. Check my face. I'm not from here”.

It was her way of keeping me close to our roots. She was afraid that I would forget the language and lose our common origin, and perhaps even more our common background. She didn't want to lose me. She didn't want me to lose myself.

We were in Sweden but we were something other than Swedes. I soon understood that, not only from mother but from everywhere.

Here I was different. I didn't know the language, my hair was curly, I had a different style and I was fat brown. As a child I was very brown.

So even though I was scolded by my mother for becoming too Swedish, I was not Swedish among Swedes. But when we went to visit relatives in Venezuela, I was suddenly Swedish.

In Venezuela, my cousins did my mining. "Have you gone and become a gringo now or not? What the hell do you sound like? Gringo, gringooooo hahaha”, I kept hearing. Got teased for losing the Venezuelan way of being quick in the mouth.

So now I became sensitive and easy to push down.

Went crying to mom several times.

“They say I'm a gringo. I was born here.”

"But what's the problem, you like to speak Swedish." Then get on with it,” she said.

I didn't place anywhere. Now I was the dragon and no one was holding the string.

MUSIC: Amparito – Maracaibo 15

Maybe it was because I didn't place anywhere that I started taking places?

I was an outsider, but I didn't hide.

I sang and danced and at the age of ten I started performing and competing in talent contests.

Mother was a dance teacher and had started her own business. She had great dance classes.

She herself had had dreams of becoming an artist, but above all an actor when she was younger.

I got to join her classes and dance with her and all her students. Helped choreograph and cleaned up both before and after her classes.

I became very good friends with a group of girls in one of her dance classes. They were a group the same age as me.

Mom coached me. Helped me choreograph light dance steps and with staging that I would run on stage.

She and Tomas used to drive me to the races. My goal was to be in Talang on TV4, never missed an episode.

And I actually dared to apply, I was accepted to take part in a selection when I was ten years old.

But after my first attempt at Talang in a shopping center somewhere in Sweden, I didn't make it. I had danced like Michael Jackson, was dressed like him, it was Billie Jean. They didn't choose me, but I was still happy, because afterwards the jury said I was good.

Mom knew how to top our act to make it better. She didn't give up. I would move on. She found out that the week after, Talang had an audition in Jönköping. This time I wasn't just going to dance. Now I would sing and dance. There was a lot of snow on the roads and I remember we were stressed and late.

Mom happened to drive the wrong way. We rode in a minivan and slid on the snow like ice skates.

But we make it just in time, mom asks them to please let me perform and do my audition. They say my name and the crowd cheers. The music starts.

It's Livin' La Vida Loca with Ricky Martin on top volume.

The audience screams.

I dance my way onto the stage, shake my shoulders, wiggle my hips and create chaos.

Walks off stage suffering from stomach cramps. I'm in a lot of pain and I'm lying on my mother's lap, it's probably the nerves and the tension.

But I have moved on. I'm going to be on TV, for the first time!

MUSIC: Livin' La Vida Loca – Ricky Martin

I went to a school in Åsa. Located about 40 minutes outside Gothenburg. The school consisted of only Swedish kids. Everyone would be the same, that was important.

But I lived in a bubble where sometimes I was a star, sometimes I fought villains. My imagination was as wild as ever.

Soon my performance in Talang would be broadcast on TV. My debut in front of the big audience. I proudly went up to the principal to ask for help with the marketing.

“Hello,” I said.

"Hello," she said, looking at me curiously.

"Well, on Friday I'll be in Talent on TV."

"Okay."

"Can't you say it over the speakers so the whole school can hear it?"

I was the only guy who did gay things like singing and dancing and thought it would be cool to get a shoutout from the principal. So fat.

"Absolutely," she said.

"Yes!"

"But then I think you should say it into the microphone yourself."

"Huh!"

Never in my entire life that I should stand there and everyone should hear me when I say I should be on TV.

I was constantly teased for the way I looked and for what I did, and I got comments all the time and some called me the n-word. Sorry but how sick is that? To use that word against any human being at all

Besides that, I'm not even black, but brown. I am Hispanic. But I guess I was the brownest thing they had seen in Åsa.

Interesting how children of that age have learned such words.

Guess it comes from home. Big side eye…

Anyway. The headmaster stood his ground.

"You're welcome to tell the school you're going to be on TV, but I won't."

"Well...I'll think about it"

I left there. Thought of everyone who would hear. The nines would hear my voice. The nines! So I was in the fourth grade and we were probably 200 students at that school.

I decided to screw it up, but then I regretted it.

I was still annoyed.

It couldn't get worse, rather only better because everyone knew they could see me on TV soon.

And because I got a shoutout from the principal.

I got up again later that day and said I was done thinking.

“I do it myself.”

"Good," said the headmaster.

"Then you press this button, then the microphone turns on and when I say NOW, then you can start talking."

I pressed the button and heard ding ding. Felt like it could be heard in all the classrooms, the dining hall, the gymnasium, the whole world would now stop what they were doing to listen to me. Felt my pulse increase. I kind of had heart palpitations.

"Now," said the headmaster.

“Hello, this is Omar. I'm in Talang on Friday. Everyone can turn on TV4 and watch it. Bye."

The principal smiled at me and looked happy.

"Thanks," I said and ran as fast as I could to my class. I was filled with adrenaline. I was so happy. Felt so cool.

When I enter the classroom, everyone looks at me.

“Did you hear?”

Everyone was so happy and thought it was so cool.

No one had ever been allowed to speak into the principal's microphone. This was big.

I had made it through, or maybe I would make it through.

In any case, it shouldn't get any worse now.

I hoped so anyway.

MUSIC: Happier – Omar Rudberg

The reactions in the school after Talang were great at first.

A short while.

But… it was quickly forgotten.

Left were the maids.

But I kept doing my thing, even though no one understood what I was doing.

I had to start going to a singing teacher, Marie Jakobsson. I developed quickly. With her I got to sing in a studio for the first time ever. With reverb and headphones. It was a sick feeling.

From her I learned that there was a man named Lasse who had talent contests.

There, at Lasse's competitions, they had discovered, among others, Eric Saade and Molly Sandén.

That's what I've been told anyway.

I was a big fan of Eric and knew all his songs.

I entered, and won, in the same year, all three of their biggest competitions.

It was big.

It went well now.

For a boy of 12 years.

One day our home phone rang and mom forced me to answer.

I hated answering the home phone.

I got so mad when I had to answer. I thought it was a disturbance.

Well, at least I got to answer this time too.

Mom stood and grinned.

Thomas too.

There was something strange in the air.

And then something completely insane happens.

"Hello."

“Well Omar! How's it going? It's Eric Saade calling.”

I'm going to be a Duracell bunny. Jumping around the whole house like an idiot. Jagr completely in shock. I turn questioningly towards mother, who is filming with a mobile phone, it is shaking because she is laughing so much. Looking at Thomas who is also about to fall over with laughter.

To Eric, who called, I don't say much. Maybe just: "hey...hey".

“I wonder if you want to perform with me. There is a gala on television called Kristallen.”

I probably didn't get many words out on the phone, but...

Then we stood there a while later. Dressed exactly the same, we performed together at the Crystal Gala in 2011.

It was the best thing that ever happened to me!

When I got back to school, everyone knew what had happened. It felt like it was the talk of the year.

People turned, stared, there was talk.

Everything was different. But not exactly better.

A guy who always argued with me came up and said:

“Have you been with that Eric. You know he's peddo right? Everyone says that.”

"You understand that he is a peddo and a gay. You are too, aren't you? Fucking gays.”

No, I didn't immediately become a poppie. The equation was very simple: The bigger the appearance, the scarier the school.

I came home crying a lot of times, and it got to the point where I wanted to stop singing. But it was too late now. I had gone outside the mold, pushed boundaries. There was absolutely no turning back, no way I could get them to accept me as one of them.

Mom supported me.

"Do you like to sing Omar?"

"But I don't want any more..."

“But do you LIKE to sing? Do you love to perform?”

“Yes… but…”

"Then we will continue to do what we love together!"

And the cow was right. Why would I give up what I loved, to fit in with those I really didn't love? And we had fought hard to get here, mother and I.

But everyday life was a pain. There were many that I was afraid of. Both boys and girls. Even got a smack here and there. In the end, I hated my school.

I started seventh grade and finally had to change schools, to a bigger school in Kungsbacka. And now I could start seventh grade as who I was, an artist, or at least a guy who liked to dance and sing.

But I still find it strange that I have to change schools, just because I wanted to be something. Isn't that why you go to school?

MUSIC: Diamonds - Rihanna

New school and new classmates. It started well. I got a reboot. No one would push me down. The only thing that was similar to my old school was all the looks, but the looks were different, more curious now. It felt like they knew who I was, though I didn't understand how.

Guess it was because of Talent and the Crystal, but I don't know.

I ended up in a music and art class where everyone had the same interests as me. Loved all my new friends and loved our music lessons.

Mom had filmed all my performances and put it all on Youtube. Thanks to her I was discovered.

A newly started record company from Stockholm contacted my parents. They wanted to start a boy band.

Cool. But unexpectedly.

I never thought I'd be in a boy band. I was always solo.

But a boy band was interesting, and I had already won all the competitions, so why not try?

I didn't say anything to anyone. I wanted to keep this to myself. I was tired of beautiful dreams at school being shot down by taunts and comments. Without telling anyone at school, I went to Stockholm. There I meet the other boys who will also be in the boy band. I was wearing some ugly sweater, purple cap, purple shoes. The boys must have thought I looked funny. They were Stockholm boys, blonde and tall. Fat sweet.

I was terrified. Hadn't really had such good experiences with guys in groups right away.

But I noticed pretty quickly that they were kind. There was something different about them. I thought they were cool. We got to dance together, and hang out all day. They were professional dancers so I struggled a bit but I learned quickly. Then I had to sing Justin Bieber's song "As Long as You Love Me" in a studio because the record company wanted to see if I could sing. It went well. But at school, no one knew what I was doing. Even when I was accepted and became a member of the boy band The Fooo, I didn't tell anyone.

MUSIC: Build a Girl – The Fooo

At school, there is talk of Justin Bieber coming to Sweden. It's his "Believe tour". He will have three fat gigs at the Avicii Arena. People are crazy tagged. Like all the girls at school are going to Stockholm to see Justin. I'm the one who was tagged the most. Secretly.

Concert week is here. Everyone is going to Stockholm. But I have to leave earlier. We're going to scratch and I've taken the day off from school.

"I'm leaving now, see you!", I say to my classmates.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Justin Bieber concert?"

"Now?"

"Yes, I'll scratch with my band."

“What the hell are you talking about?”

"I'm Justin Bieber's band, we're going to be on stage."

People really thought I was joking. I understand them, I didn't believe it myself.

I can't put into words how sick this time was. It was unreasonable. This kind of thing doesn't happen?

We became the band The Fooo and were now to perform for the first time together as Justin Bieber's band. In Avicii Arena. Three nights in a row.

Nobody knew who we were, nobody knew we existed. No one had heard us, not even ourselves. Although we had scratched hard the days before on our dance and on our song

The fans scream, the whole arena shakes and the curtain on the stage opens.

I'm checking on the boys.

We all smile. Now it's happening.

And we drive. So we meat, all of us.

It will be chaos.

Thanks to the three nights at Avici Arena, we become the new big thing.

The Fooo shows up, and there's chaos and screaming and hysteria.

MUSIC: All Around the World - Justin Bieber

The Fooo was just over five years of tumult.

In 2017 we did our last tour together and then the story ended.

But, what a fairy tale.

We became stars from day one.

After a year as a group we had our first own tour. After two years we sold out the Avicii Arena. We won a Grammy, we won MTV awards, toured throughout the Nordics and the USA.

It was the best I knew. I had so much fun.

We ended up in a hurricane.

It started when I was 14. I was just a kid. It was for fun, it wasn't work, not at first anyway. But then it became more and more serious. Often I could stop taking responsibility.

I got grumpy and grumpy when we scratched for hours and I was hungry.

“You have to be professional, Omar.”

No, I screwed up.

“I don't have to do anything. I am completely exhausted in my body, and I want to eat mother's food, I just want to go home.”

I went to school on weekdays and traveled to Stockholm every Friday and home late on Sunday. Every week, over, over and over.

I traveled by myself. The first few times it was scary. Didn't know anything about Stockholm and was afraid of missing the trains. I had no accommodation. In the beginning I had to live with strangers. I don't know how mum managed to get accommodation, it was probably a friend of a friend. Sometimes I felt really bad and I was scared at night because I didn't know the people I slept with.

But I'm still grateful that they let me sleep over there. Never went back to the same places though, so it was always new. Mom could never relax in the beginning either. But then after a while I had to live with the boys. One weekend at Felix's, another at Oscar's and then at Ogge's. It was much safer. I could finally breathe.

One person you only heard about at the new record company was Ola Håkansson. You never got to meet him. Who is this Ola Håkansson? You only heard his name and we boys saw in front of us a mafia king sitting in some office with a lot of cash on the table and sunglasses.

But at a parents' meeting with the other people responsible for the band, Ola joined for the first time. There he found out, via my mother who was very upset, that I had nowhere to live. That I often lived with strangers. Then and there everything changed.

I became a small part of Håkansson's family. I got to live at Ola's, Anna's and their children's house. People with big hearts. It was such a great time. So many great moments. So many discussions at the dinner table and so much bickering you got to witness. (Omar laughs.)

I remember when I accidentally threw Anna's specially made zucchini pasta in the food waste grinder just before dinner. I thought it was rubbish. (Omar laughs.) Five minutes later she asked, "Have you seen my zucchini pasta...it was just here?"

The panic that hit me, fuck my liiife.

And of course I had to admit what I had done. She just sighed and looked very tired. She must have really wanted that zucchini pasta, damn it!

I lived with them for four years. Mom and I will be forever grateful. They are our family, and will be forever.

And I had my friends in the band. We were all children, who eventually became boys, together. Maybe not adults, but we matured, a little.

Fooo started when I was 14 and stopped right when I came of age. It became my youth.

When the band shut down, I was suddenly alone with all the decisions.

I knew exactly what to do. I wanted to sing in English and Spanish.

But then I realized that nobody listens to Latin American music here.

It was a difficult time.

I was lost. I was unemployed and making music that no one listened to.

No, after Fooo, it didn't turn out the way I imagined the first year.

Not second or third either.

I really wanted to take over the world.

But the world wasn't that interested.

Or, rather, the universe had other plans for me.

MUSIC: Oh Susie - Secret Service

So… winter is coming. You know that cold winter of 2019, I didn't get the role in "The Bay of Happiness", my music career was dead and my friend broke up with me as a friend.

"Show life your face," said mother.

I tried. After my outburst on the phone, I went into town and had a chill day with my friends.

And winter became spring, and spring became summer.

I enrolled in a high school, it didn't feel like a privilege, more like a punishment. But what could I do, there was nothing else for me. Didn't want to start working in a cafe, I was afraid of being seen as a failed artist.

It's a real shame, because I would have easily wanted to work in a café instead of studying high school.

Ending with me moving in with another friend, Raul, in Hammarby Sjöstad. In the world's smallest apartment that we shared for three months, we hung out together with my best friend Joel. It was furnished and there was both a TV and a comfortable sofa.

Time sped up, I was dragged along.

And it sounds weird, trigger warning, but my best summer ever rolled around. The world was closed, there was a pandemic and restrictions. But I hung out with all my friends, there were maybe ten of us. We saw each other every day that summer. We really only had time and each other.

In June, my friend Felicia, who was also one of the gang and who had previously tipped me off about "Lyckoviken", told me that she was applying for a new Swedish TV series.

"Damn, what's that?"

"It's a new youth series for Netflix."

"Whoah?! What is it about?"

"I'm not really allowed to say, but it's about a Swedish prince who starts at a boarding school and sort of meets a guy and they fall in love. Ah, it's like a gay love story.”

“How do I get in there? I will have the role of a prince.”

MUSIC: Simon's Song (from Young Royals) – Omar Rudberg

In August, the same sweet summer, I am in Åsa to visit my mother. Sitting on the beach watching the dance class she leads.

I am calm and enjoying the afternoon sun. The program is going badly, I have to admit. Of the two tasks we have received, I am behind with...two. The teacher's tone begins to sharpen.

I also don't have a job or other concrete plans worth leaning a future towards.

I've been to maybe ten casting meetings, costume tests, callbacks and filmed a whole day with the film crew and Edvin for the TV series Young Royals. Been thinking about this series 24/7 for over a month. Came every time they called me, put up with everything they want, gave everything I have. For me, this was life and death. I had managed to become friends with Edvin, who was to play the prince. I understood that the first time I saw him, that it would be him. He is young and extremely experienced. But I could be the secret love. We have test filmed at Hillerska. Picked flowers and held each other's hair.

But why don't they say anything? Why am I not getting a notification?

I lay down on the beach and look up at the afternoon sun. Hear how mom starts rounding off with calm music and stretching movements with her students. She thanks them for today. She looks at me and smiles.

Then my phone rings.

"Hey Omar, how's the situation, is it good or not?", says the familiar voice from the production.

"Yes that is good. Is it now happening or, have I received it or not?”

"You, don't tell anyone I said this, but, you've been offered the role of Simon."

A few weeks earlier I would have screamed myself to death with joy, but not now. This is how it was meant to be.

"I know," I just say.

We end the conversation and I laugh. As much of relief as of joy. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that I had landed my first role as an actor. My mother waves off her last students. She comes walking across the beach. We will bathe. She looks at me and notices that I'm happy. She knows what I'm going to say. She knew I would get that call today.

"I got the role of mother."

"Le mostraste tu cara a la vida mi hijo."

"You showed life your face my son."

Yes mom, I did.

#omar rudberg #sommarprat

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