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spinster-sisters · 3 years

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Sunflower. Final LTY

warnings: smut and general sexy times, also cheating so theres that

a.n: Hey guys this took 2 days to write but i will say after finishing this that consent is sexy

also this is longer than i intended

ALSO IVE SAID IT BEFORE AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN THIS WHOLE RELATIONSHIP IS FUCKED AND NOT AN EXAMPLE OF A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP

REPOST FROM MY OLD BLOG

You are sitting on the corner of a couch in a dark hazy room, you held your knees to your chest and your head lulled onto the back of the couch. There was music floating gently in and out of your ears, you couldn’t make out the lyrics over the soft hum of chatter in the room but you are much too drunk to care. Your body seemed too heavy to move, but once again, you didn’t mind at all. You shifted your eyes slowly around the room observing the human-shaped masses moving about the apartment or slumped into chairs like you. Normally you would feel anxious to be this vulnerable in a room this crowded, but not now. This wasn’t a “party” exactly, more of a throwback that escalated more than anyone thought it would, but still, there was nobody here who you wouldn’t call a friend. Of course, that includes him. You had always hung around in similar circles so it wasn’t surprising that he was here. But It left a sour taste in your mouth to think of the last time you came face to face.

“Fuckkkkk,” groaning you finally forced your body into a more upright position. Your body was protesting madly as the weight of gravity seemed about 10 times more powerful than average. There was a dull ache in your back as a result of the position you previously lay in so you hunched your back forward to try and work out the knots. Your eyelids were just as heavy as your head as you lifted them to scan the room more severely once more. Who were you looking for? you could have sworn that just a few seconds ago you were looking for someone. But none of the figures in front of you seemed to be what you wanted.

You didn’t have time to continue this train of thought before the fuzz in your brain lulled you back onto the couch once more. Your eyes remained open, drifting in and out of focus in one spot on the opposite side of the room. It wasn’t until one of the figures began moving your way could they seem to take in an image. Who was this guy? your drunk brain asked itself. “I think I know him,” you thought as a small pout of concentration crossed your face as the man got closer and closer. It wasn’t until he was standing directly in front of you, smiling at your clearly amusing look of confusion, that you were finally able to place his face. The pout was swapped for a drunken smile.

“Jaehyuuun!” you called slurring the final syllable of his name lifting your arms into the air. Gravity brought your arms crashing back down onto the couch beside you and you were about to push off the couch in an effort to stand up before Jaehyun placed a gentle hand on your shoulder pushing you back down.

“Don’t try,” His smile widened, “You’re just going to fall over"

You only half registered his words and were repeating them over and over in your brain trying to make some sense of them.

"you’re going to…You’re going-…You’re going tooooooo….” your mind trailed off once again

During this time Jaehyun took it upon himself to sit down next to you. The dip in the sofa through your balance through a loop and you almost toppled onto the floor again, saved only by the wild flailing of your arms in the process. As you resituated your self cross-legged on the couch facing the man, all thoughts once again seemed to leave your head once again. Your mouth hung open the slightest bit trying to regain the thoughts that occupied your head moments ago. You raked your eyes up and down the smiling man grasping at straws of thought, and for the first time, you noticed the glass situated in his left hand. He pushed the glass twords you.

“Here I think you’ll need this to get home tonight” The kind smile still not leaving his somewhat blurry face. It was only after his words did you realize how thirsty you were and how dry your lips are. you practically lunged for the drink, grabbing it with both hands to steady yourself and taking large gulps. The water was cool and gave some relief to your spinning head as you sat back, letting the half-full glass rest lazily on your leg. Your eyes filtered around the room once again before they came to rest on him as they always seemed to do.

“Taeyong,” seemed to be the only thought your brain could hold onto at the moment.

Even in the dark and smokey room, he glowed. There was a thin sheen of sweet on his body (It was very hot in the room) but to what would have been a surprise had your drunk brain realized it, he looked remarkably sober. Your eyes drifted in and out of focus once again vaguely in the direction of him.

Jaehyun turned to follow your gaze. When he saw the target his dimples pushed themselves forward into a smile before he shook his head and turned back to you, giving your dazed face a once over then pushing himself off the couch.

You noticed his actions for the first time after this sudden movement and adjusted your head to look up at him, frowning once again. An arm (Which turned out to be yours) lifted to grasp onto the man’s arm.

“Where?” was the only thing you could slur out at the moment.

“Just to walk around” He reasoned politely with your now drooping form. His words sounded distant and foggy, but you understood them none the less and nodded exaggeratedly before releasing your grip on his forearm.

Jaehyun turned to leave, leaving you in a similar position to before he arrived. The glass that he handed you was now empty and rolling smoothly from your hand onto the carpeted floor where it landed with a soft clunk.

You sat there for what seemed like hours but was likely only a few minutes. The shapes around you moved gently as the moments ticked by. Every breath you took seemed to hum in your whole body just as slow as the minuted ticked by. Your eyes slowly shut once again, mind trailing to and from the sounds of the people, and your breathing became heavier and heavier.

“hmm” your brain though.

“I’m sleeeeeepy” you drawl in your head.

Just as your mind was about to drift into something like sleep, your body was shifted once again by the couch dipping beside you. There was a buzzing in the front of your head as your eyes forced themselves open once again.

This time you had no problem focusing on the person before you, and the sour taste you felt earlier returned as well as your pout. It was Taeyong. He was looking at you with a scrutinizing gaze. Your face blushed as the heat began building in your body, as it always did when he looked at your for too long or too hard. Taeyongs eyebrow raised slightly at your expression. He reached out a hand. His warm palm landed on your already burning cheek. Your mind was swirling once again as if you took two more shots. It continued to swirl with indistinguishable thoughts as his mouth moved to form words. It took your brain several moments to realize he was speaking to you and you only caught the tail end of his sentence.

“-doing, baby?"

Confusion spread through your features once again, making it clear you had not understood his words. Taeyong didn’t seem to mind that as he didn’t repeat his words, only allowing his hand to fall to your jean-clad knee which was still cross-legged in front of you on the couch. Its heat radiated from the spot just as it did when it was on your face. Taeyong scooched closer to you and shifted his hand to the underside of your knee to extend the leg over his lap. Your body responded without your mind by heaving the other leg to rest over him as well.

His eyes shifted forward to face the room as his fingers began swirling figure eights over your leg. His touch was soothing the furrow on your brow as you relaxed slowly from his touch, your body sinking lower and lower into the couch.

The water Jaehyun gave you earlier seemed to be allowing glimpses of clarity in your head as for the first time you realized how late it must be getting. You were beginning to lull back into your drowsy state, with the added comfort of the soft touch on your leg. But it seemed Taeyong had different plans. However slow your mind was at the moment it took you no time at all to recognize the feeling of his hand sliding up your leg. You watched the hands journey and instinctively squeezed your legs together as his hand drifted up your body leaving a buzzing trail all the way. It came to rest at the top of your thigh, where your hip met the base of your leg. Your eyes finally snapped to his own where they still looked out into the somewhat crowded room. One finger tapped on the spot, wordlessly commanding you to allow him access to your core should he so desire.

Taeyong seemed to be toying with the idea of acting farther by rubbing his hand slowly from the outside of your leg to the inside of your thigh, one finger brushing repeatedly against the seam of your jeans that ran along your hot core, which twitched every time he did so. It was clear that he could feel the reaction your body gave him, and the smirk that made its way onto his lips was evidence enough. Taeyong, though he regularly asserted his "ownership” over you by leaving dark unmistakable marks on your neck and chest and bruises on your hips from his tight grip, was usually strongly against even sitting next to you in public, much less shove his hand down your pants. The tiny sober part of your brain spoke in a quiet voice in your head.

“Do you want Taeyong to finger you in front of all your friends?” Your mind went back and forth between the two options as his hand sank lower, coming to rest securely between your now slightly pulsing heated and your thigh, rubbing his pinky slightly up and down creating friction so close to where your body wanted it. He was waiting. Waiting for you to inevitably say or do something that would allow him to continue, solidifying that he had you in his grasp once again.

It was clear the turmoil in your head was causing you a lot of distress. It was clear he made up his mind about wanting this, to do whatever he was going to do here and now. But you were still on the fence, you would normally follow his lead no questions asked and a good part of you wanted to see where this was going. But nevertheless, the sober part of your brain seemed to be growing louder and louder with each passing second, playing his last words to you over and over in your head. How many of them were true? all if it? None of it? Which did you prefer? your head swam with there questions, going back and forth to many times to count.

Finally, it was clear to you which side had won. You shook your head, clearing your thoughts. The room had finally come completely into focus, all of the noise and chatter returned to your ears. Pushing your self up with your hands you swung your legs away from him. The spot where his hand had been felt stingingly empty, but with your head now clear the only thought that occupied your head now was those moments a few nights before.

“you know what the best part is? It will fucking stay that way, cuz I know that right now you are just eating up all the attention I am giving you aren’t you, you pathetic bitch!”

You heard the small noise of surprise that escaped him as you pushed your self away from the couch. Taking the room with a new stride your located your target and moved to meet them. Jaehyun stood with a few friends talking causally. He turned to look at you when you reached the small pack where the conversation came to a pause.

“Hey, I understand if you don’t want to but I think I had a bit too much to drink and I don’t think I should go home alone, would you take me?” You asked with a plastered smile on your face. This honestly wasn’t true, you felt more awake and aware at this moment than you had in years, but walking around alone at night didn’t sound like fun. You know Jaehyun thought he was being subtle when his eyes flicked over to the man still sat on the couch, but you caught it none the less. They flicked back to you, gave you a once over, and then he smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, sure. I was going to leave anyway.” He spoke in his usual powerful yet soft voice. You had a feeling this was a lie but now was not the time.

Jaehyun was the first to move, taking a step forward, placing a hand on your lower back as he passed, and lead you through the hazy room to the exit. The two of you maneuvered through the room and around furniture before landing at the front door. Jaehyun reached out and opened the door, wide enough for the both of you to step through. In those moments that the door closed behind you, you braved one last look at Taeyong who still sat dumbfounded on the couch.

“Not so pathetic now am I,” You thought triumphantly as the door clicked shut.

———–

That night that Jaehyun walked you home, would turn into many. And as the school year drew to a close and graduation approached you found yourself in a new relationship. The first stable one you have had since high school. Jaehyun, who was once best friends with Taeyong, seemed to have no problem leaving that part of your lives behind and neither did your friends. They all saw Jaehyun as a massive improvement in both temper and manner, and you had to say you agree. You still saw Taeyong from time to time, it’s not as if you didn’t still have many friends in common, but they were rarely extended longer than a quick glance in each other’s direction. It would be a lie to say that a part of you didn’t want to run to him, but then in those moments, Jaehyun would appear in your apartment carrying take out a rented movie and those thoughts would leave as quickly as they came.

Jaehyun was just better for you, his kisses were sweeter and his eyes kinder. Enough so that on the day of your graduation it was him that earned a hardy handshake from your father and a kiss on the cheek from your mother. At that point, you had only been dating him for a few months, but he seemed perfectly content appeasing your parent’s dreams for an ideal son in law.

And that was 4 years ago. You and Jaehyun had moved to New York not long after the end of your time in college, both of you only briefly spending the summer with your parents and saying your last goodbyes to your childhood homes. You don’t know why you choose to stay with Jaehyun during this time, but it leads you to your perfectly content life you have here today. You are now 26, engaged to the man who took you home those years ago, living in a decently sized apartment in a nice neighborhood, with a good job you have held for the past 2 years, and everything in your life was perfectly content.

Jaehyun had proposed earlier that year at the restaurant you went on your first night in New York, and though no plans have been made as of yet it has not stopped your mother from absolutely gushing over the two of you calling constantly to check up on “any possible new developments” As it happens, your parents love Jaehyun just as much as the day they met him face to face. Your heart warmed when you thought of your life, a wonderful man, a good job and a promising future in both. Job is best summarized as a traveling salesman for a larger company in the city. You spent the majority of your time at the office, making calls and setting up meetings with clients, but about 2 weekends a month you would fly out to a different part of the world to meet up with your clients and make sales. It really was the perfect job for you, as it rarely ever went wrong.

Accept for today, however. You had missed your initial arranged flight in business class and had to pay out of pocket to reach your destination in the least comfortable and most noisy part of the plane, and as your flight was to pairs, it wasn’t exactly a short ride. After arriving, very jetlagged and in need of a nice bed, your luggage was lost at the airport and you had to stay well into the night trying to find your things. After finally giving up on the search you made your way to the hotel, only to find that this particular hotel did not allow guests t check-in past 11 pm. (A stupid rule honestly) and you would have to wait till morning. With your phone on its last few percentages, and stranded in a foreign city you staggard your way into a small cramped bar at the end of a street, planning on finding a place to charge your phone enough to find a cheap motel for the night.

Your bones cracked as you landed yourself in a barstool and the end of the bar. the only things you had with you were the items in your carry on and a note from the front desk of the hotel on when to arrive the next morning to check-in. The cushion of the seat was soft and plushy but it did nothing to soothe the aching in your body. You cant speak french, so when the bartender approached you, you only gestured vaguely to the now-dead phone in your hands. It seems the round looking old man understood as pointed to an outlet at the end of the bar.

All of the stools around you were empty, so you felt comfortable enough to put your bag down to plug in your phone. It was after you saw your phone flash a blue blinking light did you allow yourself to relax onto the bar. Yours propped your head up with your hand to look around the room. It was nice enough, seemed clean and no one looked suspicious. But despite these things you could help but feel restless. You continued to shift in your seat and glance around the room.

Soon the tinkling of the bell that signified the arrival of a new customer sounded. You looked up at the sound, but the figure who entered could not be seen through the small crowd of older men sitting by the door. Your eyes drooped slightly and closed, finally feeling the weight of the day. A few seconds passed before a hand landed on yours.

Your eyes flung open as you yanked your hand away. After the initial shock, you looked to where your hand once lay, where the new one still sat waiting. The hand was eerily familiar.

No, there was no way.

Your eyes quickly followed the slope of the arm, up to the face that only visited you in your most private thoughts.

Taeyong stood before you.

He kept his eyes on your own as he lowered himself onto the stool next to you. His eyes bore into you, in the same way, they had before, and with the same intensity, they never seemed to shed. You still sat rigid in your seat, mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. Your eyes broke the stare when the flicked over to your phone that was still charging on the wooden bar. Your first reaction was to call Jaehyun, but your brain stopped itself before making the move. He would be asleep anyway. You looked back to Taeyong and allowed yourself to really see him for the first time.

It was his smell that hit you first and filled the air around you, and it clouded your other senses just as it always had done. He wasn’t the tallest man in the world, yet his commanding presence allowed him to loom over everyone no matter their height. It briefly occurred to you that you could just get up and leave, but it was this same domineering energy that enticed you to stay rooted in your seat. He was dressed nice, in a crisp button-down and slacks, and his hair was styled neatly to the side allowing his whole face to be visible in the dim lighting of the bar. And he glowed just as radiantly as always.

Whatever intensity that you were using to study his face, he was returning to you with equal vigor as his eyes raked down your figure several times.

Finally, he was the first to speak.

“How are you” he spoke, much more casually than the situation required. He turned to face the bartender and waved him down.

“Umm, Ok?” You forced out much too long after he asked the question.

“Good, good. I'mdoing well myself."

Taeyongs voice sounded like you were old friends catching up at a weekly brunch, and quite frankly it pissed you off. Who was he to sit down and act like you hadn’t seen him in years or that the memories were good ones? You turned in your seat to face him with your whole body, one hand still plastered on the hardwood. You sat up a bit straighter.

"Wait a minute, hold on- what exactly are you doing?-” The words built-in force and volume as you continued. Taeyong, who never had any trouble reading you, placed a feather-light hand on your once again. Your hand twitched in response but did not pull away. You could feel the familiar heat he gave you start to burn in the places where his hand made contact. And yes, he succeeded in quieting you.

The bartender approached, spoke a few words in french to Taeyong, and to your great surprise Taeyong responded in french as well. Though you don’t know exactly what was said, it was easy to guess as the older man moved to begin making whatever Taeyong had ordered. He now turned his attention back to you and raised an eyebrow, encouraging you to continue.

And after a moment you followed the instruction. You took a deep breath and spoke,

“How are you here right now?” seemed to be the best way to phrase your confusion.

“I live here now,” He said plainly, as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“How?” was what you went with next.

“Well, after graduation I got an internship at a global bank. After 3 years, they needed someone in Paris, so I came. And here I have been for the past year.” once again far too casual for your liking. you thought of asking what he was doing in this particular bar on this particular night before it occurred to you that bankers often worked strange hours.

“So you have been living in Paris for a year? And I am just now hearing about this?"

"Did you want to know?"

His words were heavy. Much heavier than their initial meaning, and he looked at you with a kind of genuine curiosity you had never seen in him before. The honest answer was kind of. At the beginning of your time in New York, you would often find your self wondering what became of Taeyong. You still spoke to many of the old friends you made in college and had subtly expressed this interest to those closest to you. You almost expected them to tell you if anything big happened to the man. Nevertheless, you shook your head no.

He gave you a look that simply said "You can’t lie to me” but he didn’t push the subject any further.

“So what have you been doing?” He asked back in his casual tone, taking a sip of one of the drinks the bartender had just places in front of the two of you. You were in no way here to get drunk but decided to sip on the drink nevertheless. You stared straight forward, placing both hands on the bar as you responded.

“Um, working mostly. Here on business, you know?” You tried speaking in the same casual tone, but it sounded much to forced to be genuine.

“Right,” He responded. It sounded somewhat distracted. Out of curiosity you looked back at him and found him staring intently at your left hand, or at the ring would be a better way to put it. You don’t know why but you felt slightly embarrassed. You flushed a little and shifted your hand away from his gaze. He seemed to finally realize he was staring and looked up to meet your eyes.

“So you are-"

"engaged, yeah” It felt extremely wrong to let him say that word, so you beat him to it. He arches an eyebrow inquisitively and asked.

“To?”

You didn’t want to admit it. Your life in New York seemed so far away right now and the last thing you wanted was for Taeyong to be aware of it. Your head dropped to stare at the wood grain as you responded.

“Uhh, Jaehyun” You didn’t know what to expect from his reaction, so you spoke hesitantly and barely above a whisper.

“Ah”

There was a flash of something dark in his eyes, and for a second he looked much more like the man you knew back in college. But he did not seem to want to speak about it anymore. Instead, he took another deeper drink, and you followed suit. The two of you sat in a tension-filled silence for several minutes. The hum of noise from the bar patrons was not enough to drown off the thoughts racing through your head. You glanced up at Taeyong for a moment. He looked deep in thought, and it was this that made you noticed how different he was. He looked fuller, his eyes and cheeks looked less sunken in and his body a tad bit more toned than he was before, and most of all his glow was different. Before it was a red haze that made your heart race, and now it was a golden glow that stoped all thoughts. These differences would have been indistinguishable to the untrained eye, but you, who had spent so long gushing over every inch of him could spot them clear as day. You probably knew his face better then he knew it himself.

It was here that it occurred to you that you were likely a bit different as well, in what ways you did not know, but you had a suspicion he could point them out. Taeyong moved to speak and was only able to get the first few words out.

“Look, I-” The tone of his voice was enough to tell you what he was going to say, and it was too unlike him for your liking

“Taeyong please don’t apologize” You could explain why but you wanted those memories of him to be intact, and if he apologized it would change the way you saw those moments together. He looked taken aback but pressed on.

“I just want you to know, that you meant more to me back then than you will probably ever know.” He took another drink and looked straight ahead. You found this to be a hard revelation to follow.

“Funny way of showing it” you murmured more to yourself than to him. But he heard you nonetheless and followed up his previous words.

“I am aware that I was awful, and you won’t catch me making excuses for the way I acted. I was selfish and cruel to everyone in my life. I always wanted more than I had, even if I couldn’t stand the idea of losing something. I guess the best way to put it is that I wanted you to need me but I didn’t want to need you.”

His words were genuine, that you could tell. But you didn’t know if they made you feel any better. All they seemed to do was prove that you weren’t enough for him. This seemed to show on your face, and Taeyong was oh so good and reading you. He did not speak, he just reached out and grabbed your hand tightly. His warm fingers burned in comparison to the cold metal of your ring. But you could only seem to focus on the heat. His hand firmly grounded you in your place when your head felt like you were going to float away.

After a few more moments he lifted his hand just enough to gently circle his fingers over the back of your hand. The action felt so familiar. He always had a habit of “Petting” your, whether it is your hand or your face. You suppose this just proves he isn’t that different from back then after all. The things he did that made your heart ache for him remained the same.

His hand began ghosting it was up your arm, leaving a gentle buzz wherever he touched. Your heart fluttered, which it hasn’t done in a long time. Fuck. Why is it that he still had this power over you, even when he wasn’t trying. It wasn’t fair. You had always known that he would always have a place in your heart. But you never knew how large of a part it was until his hand moved onto your back rubbing it in circles. You leaned into his touch.

With his other hand, he finished the rest of his drink.

“Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep?” He asked, finally addressing how late it was.

“My hotel won’t let me check-in.” You replied distantly feeling the tickle of his hand. He looked conflicted for a moment then spoke.

“You can stay at my apartment for the night if you would like.”

You both knew what would happen if you said yes. There was no way it wouldn’t. You thought of Jaehyun, and how good he had been to you, and how he would feel if he knew that you had even seen Taeyong. You mulled it over for several minutes. But the soothing hand on your back somehow pushed all thoughts of your fiance from your mind.

Finally, you took one last swig from your drink.

“I would like that."

——-

it did not take long after that. Taeyong paid for the drinks, insisting after you pulled out your wallet. The two of you exited the bar, hand in hand which felt a tab bit too natural.

When you arrived in the apartment (a verrry nice apartment) there was very little pretending. You removed your shoes as he had done and waited for his command. At this point, you had submitted to the idea of needing him. He just filled you with a desire that no one else could. Taeyong reattached your hands and lead you over his shoulder, through the dark rooms. Every step forward left you with more and more anticipation, you needed this so much.

The door to his bedroom was pushed open. It was large and elegant. Beautiful furnishing and a soft glow emanated from the lamp next to his bed. But you weren’t paying much attention to the room, instead, you were watching him. From the view of his back, you could tell just how much he wanted this too. He released your hand and continued to walk forward, rolling his shoulders as he did so. He is so beautiful, even when you couldn’t see his face. you felt a magnetic pull to him, leading your next actions. Taeyong moved onto his bed, he situated himself on in the middle, his back resting on the headboard. He looked at you so intently, so expectantly, as though he could see right through your clothes. Which, you had to remind yourself, he had seen you completely bare before, many times.

"Will you strip for me, baby?” He phrased it like a question, though there was no doubt you would do it. The only nickname was enough to bring your to your knees, but you stayed standing. He didn’t tell you to kneel. The first layer to come off was your sweater, which concealed the thin shirt you had on underneath. Next was the shirt itself which you did not hesitate to pull over your head. You suddenly thought of the tattoo on your ribs, the one that had angered him so much before. Your breath hitched, not wanting him to leave you again. But he showed no sign of anger. Instead, his desire only grew in his eyes.

The bra you chose for the day was nothing special, just a plain pink color, but he looked at you like you are the only thing in the world. His eyes were hungry and needy, willing you to move faster. But his actions did not betray his composure, but you could see the outline of his dick starting to strain itself against his slacks. And if your brain was functioning properly you would have noticed how your mouth watered.

“keep going Baby, its been so long since I’ve seen your body.” He cooed at you.

You unbuckled your pants and slid them down your legs and stepped out of them. You were dangerously close to throwing yourself at him but more than anything you wanted to obey. You unclasped your bra and let it fall to the floor. Your naked chest was now bare. The cold air nipped at your skin, causing your nipples to harden. You blushed a little dusting of pink, that only burned brighter at his next words.

“I wanna see your pussy baby” He remained, growing somewhat impatient. The words caused heat to flood to your core making it wetter and stickier than before. You hooked your finger into the waistband of your panties and pulled them down. His smirk grew into a wild smile and the sight of arousal glistening on your heat. Taeyong used his finger to motion you onto the bed and you followed quickly. Your body was burning with both slight embarrassment and desire, but with your ruined panties still hanging from your finger you clambered onto the bed. You kneeled in front of his relaxed fully dressed figure. And though he was situated below you, you felt so small as his eyes raked up and down your body. His wicked smile never left his face as he reached out and took the soaked pink panties from your hand. He held them tightly in his hand and motioned you to straddle his waist. Which you did obediently. Your pussy was now resting directly on the tent in his slacks dampening the fabric. He groaned out slightly at the feeling.

“Your so wet Baby, your dripping on me. Who made you this wet baby.” He spoke in a coddling voice, as his hands came to rest on your naked hips, swirling from there down to your ass, giving it a tight squeeze before trailing back to their original position, never letting go of your panties. You squeaked in response to the invading touch.

“Baby, that’s not an answer”

“It’s you,” you said in a small voice.

“Speak up baby, I can hear you” He teased. Rolling his sinful hips into yours. The rough surface of his pants rubbed against your clit and you nearly choked.

“It’s you Taeyong” you spoke with a little more force. This seemed to appease him.

“That’s right, me, not anyone else.” He spoke definitively. You knew what he meant. He was referring to Jaehyun, who is likely just waking up to go to work about now.

His words were eerily familiar. Your mind flashed back to the night when he first saw your tattoo and the screaming match that took place. He had spoken to you the same way. Possessive, reminding you who had all of your desire, who could make you feel better than anyone else and how much you needed him.

But you didn’t have time to think about that because Taeyong attached himself to your lips with his own pillowy ones. The sensation of kissing Taeyong was just as intoxicating as it always had been. He took the lead and pried open your mouth with his tongue. His hands firmed their grip on your waist, and the wet spot from your panties felt sticky against your side. His tongue slipped it’s way inside your mouth, exploring it in the way he had always done before. He even tasted the same.

Your mind was going cloudy as your mouths moved in sync. Just as you had found your rhythm Taeyong broke the kiss. He practically threw you onto your back and move to loom over you. You yelped loudly in surprise, but once again he did not give you time to react before folding your legs to your chest and holding them in place. His entire attention was focused on your glistening pussy, raking his eyes over it over and over again. He leaned back only long enough to set your panties down at the top of the bed, before returning to the previous position. Using one had to keep your legs in place he used the other to brush over the sticky surface, which twitches at the touch.

“Aw, baby, look how pretty your little cunt is.” He remarked before sliding his middle finger into your hole. You moaned loudly, not expecting the feeling of being entered so soon. The juices from your arousal eased his way as he pumped the finger in and out.

“Still so tight to, when was the last time anyone fucked your right?” He asked, but did not expect an answer through the moans as he dived into your core, his tongue finding its purchase on your swollen clit. You squirmed violently in his grip, keening and mewling all the while.

“Too long apparently” He mused coming away from your cunt just long enough to say the words, before diving back in swirling his tongue around your folds, his finger still pumping quickly letting more juices flow. In those brief moments, you could see his face, it was already dripping with your arousal making his lips look plumper than before if possible.

He continued the ministration with intensity, adding another finger into your hole, and occasionally nibbling slightly at your flesh. You practically screaming yourself hoarse as time went on. You were so aroused you could feel the juice the wasn’t lapped up by Taeyongs Tounge drip onto the bedcovers below you.

’“You’re making such a mess” He growled into your core. The vibrations from his words traveled into and up your body, causing you to latch your hands into his hair. Without breaking his stride Taeyong momentarily released your legs only long enough to detach your hands from his hair and hold them by the wrist together, then using the same arm hold your legs back in position. The slight discomfort was nothing compared to the burning in your tummy, which was knotting itself tightly waiting to come undone.

“Tae-” you were going to inform him in your now hoarse voice that you were going to cum any minute, however, he beat you to the punch once again.

“Trust me, baby, I know"

of course, he did.

Your movements were now much more restricted but you could only writhe when he pushed a third long finger into you stretching the limits of your cunt. He continued to suck on your bud harshly, but it was the feeling of the three fingers moving inside you at a deliberate pace, pushing against your walls oh so deliciously that caused the knot in your stomach to snap. You came hard, your entire body convulsed as Taeyongs finger pumped you through the feeling, drawing out the waves of pleasure radiating from your pussy. Your eyes squeezed shut as you cried out in a broken voice.

To soon the feeling passed. You lay there damn near lifeless, but that didn’t stop Taeyong from lapping up all of the arousal from your cunt, which twitched in sensitivity every time his tongue made contact. You involuntarily moved away from his mouth, but he wouldn’t let you move until he had lapped up every last drop. Finally, he gave you the relief of moving away. The tightness you had been holding finally releasing. You opened your eyes just enough to see him lean back on his heels and slip each glistening finger into his mouth, one by one, and suck them clean. You burned with embarrassment and tried to hide your face, but you had nowhere to hide with your hands still being restricted. Finally, he looked directly into your flushed face and gave you a lopsided smile, his face still covered in a sticky gleam.

"Sorry baby, you just taste so good.”

After his words, he finally released you from his arms. Your legs were a little sore, but you couldn’t care less. You were exhausted enough to fall asleep where you lay, but of course, Taeyong wouldn’t allow that.

Finally, Taeyong unbuttoned his shirt and threw it away. You were so transfixed by him. He was just so god damn beautiful and looked radiant in the dim light. You were so busy staring you barely noticed him undo his pants and pull his dick out his boxers. It looked painfully hard and red, and you moved to sit up to take it in your hand, but you were pushed back down. Taeyong pumped his dick a few times, spreading the precum down his length making it shine.

“Ah, ah, ah Baby. No time for that, I need to remind you how it feels to be fuck by someone who knows what they are doing.” The subtle jab did not go unnoticed. But fuck if you thought about it for more than a second with the anticipation of being filled up, rose in you once again. Taeyong pushed your legs up once again, and though your joints protested you did not.

He gave his dick one more pump, before leaning over you and lining himself up with your entrance. He leaned especially close into your ear, speaking into the shell of it and whispered.

“Do you want me, Baby? Want me to fuck you like you deserve"

The words flooded your aching heat with arousal once again.

"Yes please, fill me up Tae, please” the last word came out more like a whisper than anything, but he heard you nonetheless. And he did not need to be told twice. In one powerful thrust, he pushed all the way into you. You didn’t have to voice to cry out but instead released a sicking mewl.

“Fuck” was the only thing that came out of his mouth before he pulled out and repeated the action. Slowly he built up a steady pace. It was not as fast or rough as you expected, but more of a steady deep movement, but it left you breathless nonetheless. Every single movement stretched your walls, and you would feel every inch of him moving in and out. It was blissful. You could have stayed like that forever. But the need for release was growing in you with every thrust. It seemed like Taeyong agreed, picking up the pace and angling himself to hit the special spot inside you with every thrust.

Now you were keening with every thrust, releasing a whimper every time. in your current position, you couldn’t move to meet his thrust but you could wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer, which he didn’t seem to mind. The weight of his body was heavy on yours, and you could feel the muscles in his shoulders tighten beneath your fingers.

“aw, baby, you feel so fucking good. You like the way I fuck you?” he asked in your ear. You only moaned in response, trying your hardest to stay composed. but that didn’t last long when Taeyongs hand came down to rub circles into your swollen and abused clit. It hurt, but in such a pleasurable way. You threw your head back.

“You gonna cum already baby?” he asked, the rasp you recognized so well returning to his voice.

“yes, gonna cum…..” was all that you could force out. Your stomach was clenched so tight you felt like your pussy was trying to keep his cock inside you. You felt so good and full.

“Its ok baby, you can cum” He punctuated his statement with a particularly hard thrust that reached deep inside you.

And not long after you felt yourself unravel for a second time, only this time it lasted much longer. The waves of pleasure didn’t stop coming as he milked the feeling of your walls clenching and pulsing around him. His cock was throbbing too, just as much as your walls.

“Aw, baby you feel- feel so fucking good"

those were his last words before releasing inside you. You could feel the oversensitivity seeping in and you could hear the cum squelching out of you as he rode out his own orgasm before pulling out.

You both lay there panting for a bit, holding onto the moments before one of you would move. This time you did it first, pushing yourself up onto your arms and looking at the heavenly sweat coated man laying on top of you. Taeyong took one last deep breath before pushing himself up as well. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on your temple before speaking.

"let’s get cleaned up.”

The drew you a bath and helped relaxed your aching body. When you were clean it was him that dressed you in your discarded shirt on the floor.

That night you fell asleep in his bed, with his naked back pressed firmly against yours, and his arms wrapped tightly around your body.

In the morning you awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside the window. You heard his gentle breathing in your ear, still, sound asleep. The clock on the nightstand read 7:24. You were expected to check into your hotel in an hour. You looked down at yourself as you sat up. The ring on your finger glinted mockingly, sighing you got to your feet. You would rather not be here for the inevitable conversation when he wakes up.

You moved quickly around the room, gathering your things and dressing yourself fully. There was one problem, you couldn’t find your underwear. After searching for a few more minutes and a scare from Taeyongs stirring you gave up on the idea of getting them back and left.

Going back to the life that you turned your back on that night.

#nct smut #taeyong smut #nct scenarios #nct timestamps #taeyong scenarios

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khaliasama · 5 years

Text

A Bizarre Bazaar Run by Buzzing Buds

“Now, we’ve been over this a thousand times. You remember how to dock the ship, correct?” Zodvin asked from behind the pilot’s chair. He gripped the back of the once plush chair and dug his blunted talons into the long worn leather. The saggy skin that made up his outrageous frill began to lift and puff to reflex his nervous state as the battered shop came closer into view.

“Has it ever crossed your mind that the more you hover, the more pressure you place upon Possum’s shoulders?” Sobok retorted as he sauntered into the view. He joined his hunched over partner by the pilot’s chair, green eyes glued to their target destination.

“Possum can do it! Possum good pilot!” the ysoki in question piped up from the seat. The old leather chair had numerous, thick books stacked atop the cushion just to allow the rodent the ability to peek over the much-too-tall dashboard.

Without looking away, Sobok reached over and grasped Possum’s skull between his thumb and first two fingers. He gently turned their head back toward the front. “Eyes forward, always,” he reaffirmed with a low hiss.

“Right, right,” Possum replied, nodding enthusiastically the moment his parent had retraced his hand. Their big, black ears flopped up and down by the constant movement.

“Steady now...” Zodvin mumbled from behind the chair.

Their destination was a crafted structure mounted on a cluster of asteroids. Crude looking thrusters jutted out from the sides and beneath the haphazard looking building. They puttered to life once or twice. They weren’t there for movement, morso to keep the structure from drifting away. While the metal building was clearly made to resemble any other generic shop found on other planets, it still held a distinct resemblance to an old insect hive.

Above the entrance hung the structure’s namesake: Buzzar. It was written with neon letters that in no way, shape, or form resembled one another. The logo was a complete mismash of style as if each letter had been scrounged up from a different location.

Possum was able to navigate their home ship that was more built for a hulking vesk opposed to a tiny ysoki like themself straight into the rickety docking port offered by Buzzar. Zodvin flinched upon hearing metal scraping against metal. The ship came to a halt with a jerk, nearly sending the green-scaled Zodvin to the floor had he not been attached already to the pilot’s seat. As the ship powered down, Possum turned to look up at Sobok, eyes bright with excitement.

“Possum did it!” the exclaimed.

“Indeed,” Sobok replied, finally tearing his eyes away. He turned on his heel and walked toward the main exit. “From what I gathered, this area is still relatively untouched from the sudden influx of universe tearings. That doesn’t mean we should let our guards down.”

Possum hopped out of the pilot seat and landed on the metal flooring with a loud thump. They bounded after the cobra-like vesk, hot on his heels. Zodvin followed soon after, scrambling to his feet to chase the other two down.

“You think this place will ever get hit?” Zodvin asked as they descended the ramp. He cringed upon seeing the sides of their ship. It had suffered a few scrapes from the docking.

“Anything’s possible in this climate. I’d say something along the lines of ‘I hope not,’ but it’s hard to be optimistic with the events settling before us thus far,” Sobok responded. He crossed his arms behind his back and walked with purpose toward Buzzar’s entrance.

Possum had taken the lead already, bursting past their parents with little effort. This would mark their third visit to this strange sight out in the middle of space. They paused before the gaping entrance and sat back on their haunches, tilting their head upward until they nearly fell backwards from the sheer height that towered before them.

The building was shaped from long sheets of metal warped and wrapped around one another to produce a conal shape. Some of the material looked fresh while other parts looked like it had been scraped up from the bottom of a barrel. Possum’s ears twitched as it heard the electrical current flicker through the letters that made up the building’s namesake.

Their parents caught up and walked past, dipping underneath the roof of the entrance and coming upon the main doorway - the only nicely crafted part of the whole building. The doors shimmered chrome and looked brand new. Possum jumped onto Sobok’s leg and clamored up his body until they nestled in the the massive hood of their jacket as the two vesks triggered the motion sensor and walked through the metal doors. They opened and closed with a familiar whoosh, whisking the trio into a decompression chamber.

After a few minutes of waiting, they were cleared to enter Buzzar, and as per usual, it was a lackluster sight. The organization of the shelves and stock was questionable at best. Guns, rifles, and other weapons hung on the walls with no particular structure to how they were grouped. Bins of rocks and scraps of metal were left out in the open. It was nothing short of a mess.

Enough of the clutter had been cleared to allow for a large desk to be placed in the center of the main floor, manned by a single shirren. He possessed a long, centipede-like neck and head. The dim lighting reflected off his dark brown exoskeleton. As the trio approached, the shirren’s orange antennae began to twist and twitch.

“Friends!” came a cheerful greeting that projected into the trio’s minds.

Possum sat up in their makeshift nest. “Friend!” they yelled into the stillness of the messy shop. Their voice was the only one to echo off the dark and dusty walls.

“Yes, yes! It’s wonderful to see you again, little fuzzy friend.” The shirren clicked his mandibles and splayed his hands atop the countertop, brushing aside bits of a radio that had been taken apart.

“Possum! My name is Possum!” the ysoki continued, practically barking from Sobok’s jacket hood.

“My apologies, Possum. You chose that name and I should be mindful of that choice!”

“This place looks as rundown as the last time we saw it, Nact,” Zodvin mumbled as he approached the counter. He swiped a green finger along the desks edge and lifted the dusty pad closer to his eyes. His face scrunched with mild disgust upon further inspection. “Have any of you ever thought about cleaning the place up a bit? No wonder you guys hardly see much business out here.”

Nact tilted his head, eyes unblinking as he stared up at the frilled vesk. “We do clean.”

“Not enough! Look at this place...there’s shit everywhere!”

“But of course! It’s a shop!”

Zodvin pinched the bridge of his snout. “That’s not...no proper shop looks like this.”

Nact’s bright orange antenna twitched at the response. “I suppose we can afford to dust a little more,” he admitted.

Sobok cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the other two. “As enthralling as your conversation about excessive dust build up is, that isn’t the sole reason we decided to visit,” he stated. He rummaged about in his pocket before procuring a piece of metal and placing it on the desk. The light caught the chrome sheen of the surface as he slid it forward.

“We pulled apart an old, abandoned freighter. Wondered if you could use the scrap,” Sobok continued as he kept his eyes trained on the shirren before him.

Nact grasped the scrap between his clawed hands and brought it closer to his face. His head tilted to the left than right as his antenna caressed the worn metal. A few moments passed before he pushed it toward his mandibles and chewed on the piece. With a satisfied hum, Nact placed the scrap back upon the desk.

“We can work with this! Not the best condition, but not the worst either,” he hummed in their minds as he dipped out of view.

“We’ll bring the rest in, then,” Sobok replied before tilting his head to glance over his shoulder. “Possum, why don’t you go find the others while we do that? I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.”

“But Possum want to help!” the ysoki exclaimed, sitting up in protest.

“And we appreciate the help, but Possum is scrawny in comparison,” Zodvin chimed in as he lifted Possum from their perch and set them on the ground.

“K’sen and Thil are upstairs sorting gun parts,” Nact chimed in, though he still hadn’t reappeared from his temporary hiding spot.

“Go on, now. We have boring adult stuff to talk about,” Zodvin said, nuding Possum with his foot.

With a soft grumble, Possum hoped away from the main gathering point and set themselves to scurrying up the nearby stairs. Navigating a building meant for larger folk would have been more difficult if Possum weren’t naturally adept at scaling all sorts of obstacles. Their legs couldn’t comfortably climb the massive set of stairs laid out before them, but Possum cleared this hurdle by hopping up each step with little effort. They sneezed on the way up; the amount of dust present tickled their sensitive nose.

Unused scrap metal seemed to be the biggest commodity the trio of shirren collected in their shop, making it look more like a hoarder’s paradise opposed to a facility used to buy and sell goods. Upon reaching the second floor, Possum paused their movements and lifted their ears. This floor was as flat and open as the last, but far more cluttered. Mismatched armor hung on mannequins of all shapes and sizes. They each lacked any kind of head shape, seemingly torn or eaten away by time.

Toward the far back, Possum’s ears caught movement. They bounded in the direction, hopping over empty ammo cartridges and pass a fuel tank. “Possum here!” the announced, stepping into view and spotting the other two shirren that shared business responsibility within Buzzar.

The two in question looked up, mandibles clicking and antenna feeling the air. The one closest to Possum was the taller of the two. They were beetle-like in nature with a shimmering iridescent carapace that seemed to change color each time they shifted under the dim light.

“Possum!” they called into the ysoki’s mind. “What a pleasant surprise!” They turned toward the other shirren, waving one of their clawed hands in the process. “Look, dear, it’s Possum!”

The final shirren tilted her head. She was the most traditional looking out of the trio of Buzzar with her heavily locust-like appearance. “I see that. Did you bring more scrap for us?” she called into their head.

“Yep! They bring it in while Possum told to come find you,” Possum replied as they pushed a nearby stool over and hopped onto it. Their feet dangled high above the ground as their body only covered maybe half of the stool’s surface. “What keep Thil and K’sen busy?”

“Sorting!” Thil, the iridescent beetle, chirped in Possum’s mind. “We’re a bit behind on shoring this place up.”

“How many others visit?” Possum asked.

“Can’t say it’s a whole lot,” K’sen, the locust-looking shirren, admitted. “If it weren’t for your parents helping us, we’d be gonners.”

“Why no big visits?” Possum continued. They began to kick their legs, watching how the shirren meticulously worked sorting gun parts into all kinds of piles. As they glanced over each small stack, they couldn’t help but wonder what the thought process was as nothing seemed to have a coherent pattern. If they squinted hard enough, they could maybe assume assume the choices were based on color.

K’sen shrugged, eyes focused on the work before her. “Competition for one thing. It could be argued that bigger chains do our job better, but they don’t have the same charm we do.”

“We’ve tried spreading the word, but people seem to be actively avoiding this area lately,” Thil added. “Almost as if something drove them off.”

Possum tilted their head. “What makes Thil say that?”

The long, segmented antenna that Thil sported grew still as the shirren fell into deep thought. “Just a feeling.”

“Not this again,” K’sen sighed in Possum’s mind. She paused her movements as she looked up at her partner. “You’ve been on about this for a while.”

“About what?” Possum interjected.

The somewhat cheery atmosphere had turned more chilly. The shirren glanced at each other before looking to Possum.

“Don’t worry about it, Possum. It’s nothing,” Thil tried to reassure the ysoki.

Possum tilted their head, dark eyes looking over the brightly colored shirren with intense curiosity. The two resumed their work, dropping into a comfortable silence once more. Possum didn’t try to press the issue. They had a feeling if they tried to continue the conversation, it would only end up with their friends becoming irritable. Wanting to avoid that outcome, Possum let themselves embrace the silence.

Twenty minutes passed with sparse conversation before Possum’s ears perked up at the sound of heavy footsteps ascending the nearby flight of stairs. They turned their head toward the source of the noise and spotted Zodvin’s green head poking above the numerous mounds of scraps.

“Possum! It’s time to go!” he called.

Possum hopped off the stool and pushed it back to its original spot. “Bye, bye!” the shouted at the shirren as they hopped off toward their parent. When the frilled vesk came into view, Possum jumped at him and climbed up his body. They found a perch on his shoulders.

“Ready to go?” Zodvin asked as he made his way back down the stairs.

“Uh-huh! Parents bring everything in?” Possum asked.

“Yep. We’re good to go.”

“Have good conversation?”

“Have great conversation.”

“Great!!” Possum chirped as they stepped back onto the first floor.

Nact had resumed his tinkering with the old, taken apart radio. Sobok awaited their return by the entrance. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Upon spotting the two, he pushed himself away and dropped his posture.

“Bye, Nact! See next time!” Possum called to the centipede before disappearing from the shop. They received an equally cheerful response.

As the trio approached their ship, Possum became antsy with energy. “Possum can drive again?” they asked, looking between Zodvin and Sobok.

An immediate reply wasn’t given, causing them to deflate a little. “Sure, Possum. Just be careful,” Zodvin finally said.

Possum tugged on the hanging skin that made up Zodvin’s frill. “Dad okay?”

“What? Yeah, Possum, don’t worry. Just a little tired from hauling a bunch of shit in.”

Something about his response made Possum frown. The entrance to their ship opened up and Possum hopped off of Zodvin’s shoulders. They ran up the ramp, far ahead of their parents, and straight into the ship. The state of their interior was a stark contrast to what lied within Buzzar. While the shirren owned shop had a clear layer of dust inhabiting every corner, the vesk ship was near spotless. Possum hopped into the pilot seat and eagerly awaited their parents’ arrival.

Normally, the two vesk were just as eager to board and blast off, but their movements now seemed sluggish and careful. The shift in mood was noticeable to Possum. “Where we go?” they called to the vesk as they stepped into view.

“Hmm...not sure yet. We’ll figure that out once we get a ways out of here,” Sobok said offhandedly.

Possum tilted their head again, large ears flopping over with the movement. “Dad okay?”

Sobok patted Possum’s head. “Dad fine,” he said with a smile.

The ship ignited to life, engines roaring like a massive beast. They pulled away from the quirky shirren shop attached to a cluster of asteroids and watched it grow smaller and smaller. The horribly mismatched letter signs were the last things to wink out of sight.

#khalia attempts writing #possum #it's starfinder related

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patriotsnet · 3 years

Text

Why Some Republicans Are Feeling Shame

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-some-republicans-are-feeling-shame/

Why Some Republicans Are Feeling Shame

Who Are These People

Why some conservatives feel targeted by social media companies

Earlier this week, as the challenge by congressional Republicans of the choice of electors by six states loomed ahead of us, I shared with my spouse how miserably dispirited I had become as an American citizen. The realization weighed heavily on me that I have nothing in common with nearly half the electorate in this country: not my social values and attitudes; not my political beliefs and allegiances; not the value that my ethical sensibilities place on rationality, cooperation and the common good; not even my fundamental moral principles.

I cannot relate to these others, nor do I want to. I already know what they represent, and what they represent, I despise. I feel alienated from them. They make me feel that I am a stranger in my own homeland. I suppose the alienation felt is mutual between us. But I cannot reach out to them. Like addicts, they need to recognize and claim their own demons and crawl away from them. Neither I nor anybody else can do that for them. This may be a harsh and uncharitable comparison. But I would be dishonest with myself to think and to say otherwise.;

Steven Pokorny, Urbandale

Senate Republicans Are Bathed In Shame

Theres no impartial justice, just protection of Trump at all costs.

By Frank Bruni

Opinion Columnist

The impeachment trial of Donald John Trump began on Thursday when John Roberts, the chief justice of the United States, directed all of the senators to stand and raise their right hands. Ever since I cant get two questions out of my head.

The first: How in Gods name and it was in Gods name can the Republicans who have already decided to acquit President Trump take a solemn oath to administer impartial justice? Theyre partial to the core, unabashedly so, as their united march toward a foregone conclusion shows. A mind-meld this ironclad isnt a reflection of facts. Its a triumph of factionalism.

The majority of the partys senators have said outright or clearly signaled that they have no intention of finding the president guilty and removing him from office. Yapping lap dogs like Lindsey Graham and obedient manservants like Mitch McConnell have gone further, mocking the whole impeachment process.

So the oath they took: How does that work? Did they cross the fingers on their left hands? Do they reason that American politics has reached a nadir of such fundamental hypocrisy and overweening partisanship that no one regards that pledge as anything but window dressing?

If there were nothing to this, why would Trump stonewall Congress to the extent that he has? Thats not how the innocent act.

A pathological liar, Cruz called Trump.

What To Watch For

It is highly unlikely Cruz or Hawley will resign or be forced out, but their political prospects both within and outside the senate appeared to have dimmed. In addition to alienating possible donors, one anonymous Republican senator told Politico the caucus would face a reckoning over Hawley and Cruz.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are There In The Senate

Think Republicans Are Disconnected From Reality It’s Even Worse Among Liberals

A new survey found Democrats live with less political diversity despite being more tolerant of it with startling results

In a surprising new national survey, members of each major American political party were asked what they imagined to be the beliefs held by members of the other. The survey asked Democrats: How many Republicans believe that racism is still a problem in America today? Democrats guessed 50%. Its actually 79%. The survey asked Republicans how many Democrats believe most police are bad people. Republicans estimated half; its really 15%.

The survey, published by the thinktank More in Common as part of its Hidden Tribes of America project, was based on a sample of more than 2,000 people. One of the studys findings: the wilder a persons guess as to what the other party is thinking, the more likely they are to also personally disparage members of the opposite party as mean, selfish or bad. Not only do the two parties diverge on a great many issues, they also disagree on what they disagree on.

This effect, the report says, is so strong that Democrats without a high school diploma are three times more accurate than those with a postgraduate degree. And the more politically engaged a person is, the greater the distortion.

Should the US participate in the Paris climate accord and reduce greenhouse gas emissions regardless of what other countries do? A majority of voters in both parties said yes.

Our Very Right To Vote Under Fire

The foundation of the American democracy is the absolute right of the people to choose their own leaders through the ballot box. Historians label this the sovereignty of the people. We are our own authority, in the decision-making process of the state and in the maintenance of order.

This absolute right of the people is under severe attack. Many of our fellow citizens believe that votes legitimately cast and counted are illegitimate. I do not know how or even if we will return to a culture of trust in the sovereignty of the people, and if we cannot go back, how will American democracy survive?

;Karen Merrick, Guttenberg

Recommended Reading: Why Do Republicans Still Back Trump

Hes Destroyed Conservatism: The Republican Case Against Trumps Gop

Stuart Stevens was a winning GOP operative. Now he feels terrible about what hes done to the country.

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Link Copied

Michael Grunwald is a senior staff writer for;Politico Magazine.

Stuart Stevens spent four decades helping Republicansa lot of Republicanswin. Hes one of the most successful political operatives of his generation, crafting ads and devising strategies for President George W. Bush, Republican presidential nominees Mitt Romney and Bob Dole, and dozens of GOP governors, senators and congressmen. He didnt win every race, but he thinks he had the best won-lost record in Republican campaign world.

And now he feels terrible about it.

Stevens now believes the Republican Party is, not to put too fine a point on it, a malign force jeopardizing the survival of American democracy. Hes written a searing apologia of a book called It Was All a Lie that compares his lifelong party to the Mafia, to Bernie Madoffs fraud scheme, to the segregationist movement, even to the Nazis. Hes pretty disillusioned.

It Was All a Lie is really about the party that spawned Trump and now marches in near-lockstep behind himthe party to which 67-year-old Stevens has devoted his career. The GOPs abject surrender to its unorthodox and unconservative leader was a surprise to Stevens, but he has concluded that he shouldnt have been surprised.

Aboard Mitt Romney’s campaign plane in Sept. 2012, senior adviser Stuart Stevens speaks to the press. | AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Hart Is Doing The Right Thing

I know Rita Hart personally and in my experience, she is the kind of person who is always trying to do the right thing, even if its difficult and an uphill battle.

Hart would likely win if just the uncounted 22 ballots were counted, but she is going a step further to ensure everyone can be confident in the election outcome by asking for a full recount. In a situation like this, a bipartisan commission in the U.S. House will likely ask the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office to conduct the recount so we can trust that politics will not interfere with the review of the election.

It is commendable that Hart is fighting to protect our sacred right to vote and the trustworthiness of our elections. Every vote must be counted to ensure Iowans continue to have confidence in their election system. Count every vote

;Maria Dickmann, Davenport

Also Check: How Many Registered Republicans In Illinois

Executive Action Is A Slippery Slope

The rationale given by the editorial board Jan. 3 to have Joe Biden issue executive orders to undo Donald Trumps executive orders is that some issues are too important to just wait for Congress. ;

Im sure this was the belief of Barack Obama when he issued his orders and the belief of Trump when he issued his orders. In other words, this rationale could be employed by any president at any time and it poses a real danger to the separation of legislative power and executive power provided by the U.S. Constitution. ;

Do the board members really want to combine these powers in the office of the presidency ?

Lonny Wilson,;West Des Moines

Democrats Werent Violent But Chose A Different Dishonorable Path

Why Do We Feel Shame?

I agree with the Jan. 7 letter Shame, shame, with the closing statement, This is one of the saddest days in our history.

And yes, when Trump won in 2016 there was no mob violence by Democrats. There was just four years of disbelief by the Democrats that Trump won and four years of trying to impeach him.

William D. Blohm, Carroll

Read Also: Who Makes More Money Democrats Or Republicans

Why Some Republicans Are Feeling Shame

Back in the fall, when Donald Trump dubbed Jeb Bush low-energy, Carlos Gimenez grew a little concerned. By last month, when Marco Rubio and Trump engaged in childish name-calling, the Republican mayor of Miami-Dade County thought the GOP presidential race had gotten out of hand. Now, after a tawdry week that has focused on the wives of Trump and Ted Cruz, Gimenez is certain that the race has moved totally out of bounds.

Politics is a contact sport, Gimenez said, but there should be contact in other ways.

Gimenez is watching with disgust, as are many Republicans across the country, as his partys presidential race turns into a tabloid talk show. After a winter that featured anatomical insults, violent clashes at rallies, and fierce accusations of lying and dirty tricks, Republicans say the past week has been particularly dispiriting.

At a moment when the party had hoped to turn its attention to;a general-election matchup against Hillary Clinton, Republicans were instead caught in;an;uncomfortable back-and-forth over allegations of adultery and jabs at the physical appearance of the wives of Trump and Cruz.

That dispute took on renewed vigor Sunday, when the two candidates went at it again on the morning shows.

Dont forget, I call him Lying Ted. I call him that because nobody that Ive known Ive known a lot tougher people over the years in business, but Ive never known anybody that lied like Ted Cruz, Trump said.

Republicans Said President Obama Would Raise Taxes Sky High

It never happened. Income taxes for over 95% of Americans remained the same or lower than they were before Obama was elected. The only people whose income taxes increased were those who make more than $400,000 per year, and their taxes rose only 3%. For most Americans, taxes are still lower now than they were under Reagan.

Don’t Miss: Can Republicans Vote In The Democratic Primary In South Carolina

Conflict Over Health Vs The Economy

Masks are also linked to the broader debate about the disease threat from the coronavirus versus and the devastating impact that social distancing has had on our economy. This controversy again has fallen out on political lines, with the right placing a relatively greater emphasis than the left on the need to restart the economy.

Within this debate, some may see masks as playing up the disease side of this balancing act, while those who don’t wear masks might be seen as prioritizing a swift return to normalcy over concerns about health and safety.

Why Republican Voters Say Theres No Way In Hell Trump Lost

By Brad Brooks, Nathan Layne, Tim Reid

12 Min Read

SUNDOWN, Texas – Brett Fryar is a middle-class Republican. A 50-year-old chiropractor in this west Texas town, he owns a small business. He has two undergraduate degrees and a masters degree, in organic chemistry. He attends Southcrest Baptist Church in nearby Lubbock.

Fryar didnt much like Donald Trump at first, during the U.S. presidents 2016 campaign. He voted for Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the Republican primaries.

Now, Fryar says he would go to war for Trump. He has joined the newly formed South Plains Patriots, a group of a few hundred members that includes a reactionary force of about three dozen – including Fryar and his son, Caleb – who conduct firearms training.

Nothing will convince Fryar and many others here in Sundown – including the towns mayor, another Patriots member – that Democrat Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 presidential election fairly. They believe Trumps stream of election-fraud allegations and say theyre preparing for the possibility of a civil war with the American political left.

If President Trump comes out and says: Guys, I have irrefutable proof of fraud, the courts wont listen, and Im now calling on Americans to take up arms, we would go, said Fryar, wearing a button-down shirt, pressed slacks and a paisley tie during a recent interview at his office.

This is dystopian, Light said. America could fracture.

THERES JUST NO WAY

NO WAY IN HELL

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Are Running For President

Republicans Said Waterboarding And Other Forms Of Enhanced Interrogation Are Not Torture And Are Necessary In Fighting Islamic Extremism

In reality, waterboarding and other forms of enhanced interrogation that inflict pain, suffering, or fear of death are outlawed by US law, the US Constitution, and international treaties. Japanese soldiers after World War II were prosecuted by the United States for war crimes because of their use of waterboarding on American POWs.

Professional interrogators have known for decades that torture is the most ineffective and unreliable method of getting accurate information. People being tortured say anything to get the torture to end but will not likely tell the truth.

An FBI interrogator named Ali Soufan was able to get al Qaeda terrorist Abu Zubaydah to reveal crucial information without the use of torture. When CIA interrogators started using waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation methods, Zubaydah stopped cooperating and gave his interrogators false information.

Far from being necessary in the fight against terrorism, torture is completely unreliable and counter-productive in obtaining useful information.

Shame Can Last A Lifetime If We Let It

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Shame is one of the hardest emotions to talk about. It can also be the hardest emotion to recognize in ourselves, and it can feel the most painful. So, what is shame and how do we know if were feeling it?

Shame is often confused with embarrassment or guilt. Embarrassment arises when the way we want people to see us isnt the way they do. We want people to think were cool, but then we walk out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to our shoe. The feeling usually doesnt last long. Guilt arises when we think weve broken societys or our own moral code. We feel guilty when we lie, for example. Guilt can last a long time, but we usually know that well feel better when we come clean.

Shame can last a lifetime if we let it. It isnt caused by a single event, but an amassing of wounds to our self-worth. We feel guilty when we think weve done something wrong and embarrassed or humiliated when weve erred in public. But we feel shame when we think we are wrong. We may feel powerless to change whatever it is that makes us feel it, which then leads us to feel even more of it. Shame can feel unfixable, because it binds to all emotions. So even when we feel good, we can feel shamelike we dont deserve it.

Its never too late. Love yourself and forgive yourself. Begin today.

Read Also: How Many Registered Republicans Are In The United States

Senator Grassley Was It Worth It

Dear Senator Grassley:

It was impossible to not see the events of Jan. 6 as inevitable.;Some in your Republican Party are assigning blame to the president, acknowledging the role he played. ;

The blame for the;insurrection, loss of life, and the tenuous state of our democracy lies elsewhere.;Truth be known, anyone paying attention knew who Mr. Donald Trump was, and remains: a lawless, narcissistic, racist, immoral, and corrupt human being.;More could be said. ;

Perhaps it is time for you to accept responsibility for the indisputable role you played in empowering this despot.;The examples of his malfeasance in office are legion. ;

You had a chance to put an end to;Trump’s tyranny when you cast your senatorial vote after House impeachment.;The evidence of his offense could not have been clearer,;ignored by you and everyone in your party,;save for Sen. Mitt Romney, your own former presidential nominee. ;

Repercussions of your cowardice, including the treatment of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a whistle-blower, which you made a career off pretending to protect, are too numerous to count.;Your tepid statements supporting other whistle-blowers who were also subjected to vicious attacks, and the rarity of public admonitions of these and other wrongdoings, are a disgrace to your office. ;;

Nevertheless, you certainly have achieved what must have been foremost in your agenda.;You personally helped to pack the Supreme Court, and countless other lifetime appointments have been confirmed. ;

Republicans Claim That Raising The Minimum Wage Would Kill Jobs And Hurt The Economy

Why are Shame & Trauma so Connected?

There is far more evidence to the contrary. Cities and states that have higher minimum wages tend to have better rates of job creation and economic growth.

Detailed analyses show that job losses due to increases in the minimum wage are almost negligible compared to the economic benefits of higher wages. Previous increases in the minimum wage have never resulted in the dire consequences that Republicans have predicted.

Republicans have accused President Obama of “cutting defense spending to the bone”. This chart of 2014 discretionary spending firmly disproves that argument.

Also Check: How Many Senate Seats Do The Republicans Have Right Now

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sciencespies · 3 years

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There’s Only One Way To Beat The Speed Of Light

https://sciencespies.com/news/theres-only-one-way-to-beat-the-speed-of-light/

There’s Only One Way To Beat The Speed Of Light

In our Universe, there are a few rules that everything must obey. Energy, momentum, and angular momentum are always conserved whenever any two quanta interact. The physics of any system of particles moving forward in time is identical to the physics of that same system reflected in a mirror, with particles exchanged for antiparticles, where the direction of time is reversed. And there’s an ultimate cosmic speed limit that applies to every object: nothing can ever exceed the speed of light, and nothing with mass can ever reach that vaunted speed.

Over the years, people have developed very clever schemes to try and circumvent this last limit. Theoretically, they’ve introduced tachyons as hypothetical particles that could exceed the speed of light, but tachyons are required to have imaginary masses, and do not physically exist. Within General Relativity, sufficiently warped space could create alternative, shortened pathways over what light must traverse, but our physical Universe has no known wormholes. And while quantum entanglement can create “spooky” action at a distance, no information is ever transmitted faster than light.

But there is one way to beat the speed of light: enter any medium other than a perfect vacuum. Here’s the physics of how it works.

Light is nothing more than an electromagnetic wave, with in-phase oscillating electric and magnetic … [+] fields perpendicular to the direction of light’s propagation. The shorter the wavelength, the more energetic the photon, but the more susceptible it is to changes in the speed of light through a medium.

And1mu / Wikimedia Commons

Light, you have to remember, is an electromagnetic wave. Sure, it also behaves as a particle, but when we’re talking about its propagation speed, it’s far more useful to think of it not only as a wave, but as a wave of oscillating, in-phase electric and magnetic fields. When it travels through the vacuum of space, there’s nothing to restrict those fields from traveling with the amplitude they’d naturally choose, defined by the wave’s energy, frequency, and wavelength. (Which are all related.)

But when light travels through a medium — that is, any region where electric charges (and possibly electric currents) are present — those electric and magnetic fields encounter some level of resistance to their free propagation. Of all the things that are free to change or remain the same, the property of light that remains constant is its frequency as it moves from vacuum to medium, from a medium into vacuum, or from one medium to another.

If the frequency stays the same, however, that means the wavelength must change, and since frequency multiplied by wavelength equals speed, that means the speed of light must change as the medium you’re propagating through changes.

Schematic animation of a continuous beam of light being dispersed by a prism. Note how the wave … [+] nature of light is both consistent with and a deeper explanation of the fact that white light can be broken up into differing colors.

Wikimedia Commons user LucasVB

One spectacular demonstration of this is the refraction of light as it passes through a prism. White light — like sunlight — is made up of light of a continuous, wide variety of wavelengths. Longer wavelengths, like red light, possess smaller frequencies, while shorter wavelengths, like blue light, possess larger frequencies. In a vacuum, all wavelengths travel at the same speed: frequency multiplied by wavelength equals the speed of light. The bluer wavelengths have more energy, and so their electric and magnetic fields are stronger than the redder wavelength light.

When you pass this light through a dispersive medium like a prism, all of the different wavelengths respond slightly differently. The more energy you have in your electric and magnetic fields, the greater the effect they experience from passing through a medium. The frequency of all light remains unchanged, but the wavelength of higher-energy light shortens by a greater amount than lower-energy light.

As a result, even though all light travels slower through a medium than vacuum, redder light slows by a slightly smaller amount than blue light, leading to many fascinating optical phenomena, such as the existence of rainbows as sunlight breaks into different wavelengths as it passes through water drops and droplets.

When light transitions from vacuum (or air) into a water droplet, it first refracts, then reflects … [+] off of the back, and at last refracts back into vacuum (or air). The angle that the incoming light makes with the outgoing light always peaks at an angle of 42 degrees, explaining why rainbows always make the same angle on the sky.

KES47 / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

In the vacuum of space, however, light has no choice — irrespective of its wavelength or frequency — but to travel at one speed and one speed only: the speed of light in a vacuum. This is also the speed that any form of pure radiation, such as gravitational radiation, must travel at, and also the speed, under the laws of relativity, that any massless particle must travel at.

But most particles in the Universe have mass, and as a result, they have to follow slightly different rules. If you have mass, the speed of light in a vacuum is still your ultimate speed limit, but rather than being compelled to travel at that speed, it’s instead a limit that you can never attain; you can only approach it.

The more energy you put into your massive particle, the closer it can move to the speed of light, but it must always travel more slowly. The most energetic particles ever made on Earth, which are protons at the Large Hadron Collider, can travel incredibly close to the speed of light in a vacuum: 299,792,455 meters-per-second, or 99.999999% the speed of light.

Time dilation (L) and length contraction (R) show how time appears to run slower and distances … [+] appear to get smaller the closer you move to the speed of light. As you approach the speed of light, clocks dilate towards time not passing at all, while distances contract down to infinitesimal amounts.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS USERS ZAYANI (L) AND JROBBINS59 (R)

No matter how much energy we pump into those particles, we can only add more “9s” to the right of that decimal place, however. We can never reach the speed of light.

Or, more accurately, we can never reach the speed of light in a vacuum. That is, the ultimate cosmic speed limit, of 299,792,458 m/s is unattainable for massive particles, and simultaneously is the speed that all massless particles must travel at.

But what happens, then, if we travel not through a vacuum, but through a medium instead? As it turns out, when light travels through a medium, its electric and magnetic fields feel the effects of the matter that they pass through. This has the effect, when light enters a medium, of immediately changing the speed at which light travels. This is why, when you watch light enter or leave a medium, or transition from one medium to another, it appears to bend. The light, while free to propagate unrestricted in a vacuum, has its propagation speed and its wavelength depend heavily on the properties of the medium it travels through.

Light passing from a negligible medium through a dense medium, exhibiting refraction. Light comes in … [+] from the lower right, strikes the prism and partially reflects (top), while the remainder is transmitted through the prism (center). The light that passes through the prism appears to bend, as it travels at a slower speed than the light traveling through air did earlier. When it re-emerged from the prism, it refracts once again, returning to its original speed.

Wikimedia Commons user Spigget

However, particles suffer a different fate. If a high-energy particle that was originally passing through a vacuum suddenly finds itself traveling through a medium, its behavior will be different than that of light.

First off, it won’t experience an immediate change in momentum or energy, as the electric and magnetic forces acting on it — which change its momentum over time — are negligible compared to the amount of momentum it already possesses. Rather than bending instantly, as light appears to, its trajectory changes can only proceed in a gradual fashion. When particles first enter a medium, they continue moving with roughly the same properties, including the same speed, as before they entered.

Second, the big events that can change a particle’s trajectory in a medium are almost all direct interactions: collisions with other particles. These scattering events are tremendously important in particle physics experiments, as the products of these collisions enable us to reconstruct whatever it is that occurred back at the collision point. When a fast-moving particle collides with a set of stationary ones, we call these “fixed target” experiments, and they’re used in everything from creating neutrino beams to giving rise to antimatter particles that are critical for exploring certain properties of nature.

Here, a proton beam is shot at a deuterium target in the LUNA experiment. The rate of nuclear fusion … [+] at various temperatures helped reveal the deuterium-proton cross-section, which was the most uncertain term in the equations used to compute and understand the net abundances that would arise at the end of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Fixed-target experiments have many applications in particle physics.

LUNA Collaboration/Gran Sasso

But the most interesting fact is this: particles that move slower than light in a vacuum, but faster than light in the medium that they enter, are actually breaking the speed of light. This is the one and only real, physical way that particles can exceed the speed of light. They can’t ever exceed the speed of light in a vacuum, but can exceed it in a medium. And when they do, something fascinating occurs: a special type of radiation — Cherenkov radiation — gets emitted.

Named for its discoverer, Pavel Cherenkov, it’s one of those physics effects that was first noted experimentally, before it was ever predicted. Cherenkov was studying radioactive samples that had been prepared, and some of them were being stored in water. The radioactive preparations seemed to emit a faint, bluish-hued light, and even though Cherenkov was studying luminescence — where gamma-rays would excite these solutions, which would then emit visible light when they de-excited — he was quickly able to conclude that this light had a preferred direction. It wasn’t a fluorescent phenomenon, but something else entirely.

Today, that same blue glow can be seen in the water tanks surrounding nuclear reactors: Cherenkov radiation.

Reactor nuclear experimental RA-6 (Republica Argentina 6), en marcha, showing the characteristic … [+] Cherenkov radiation from the faster-than-light-in-water particles emitted. As these particle travel faster than light does in this medium, they emit radiation to shed energy and momentum, which they’ll continue to do until they drop below the speed of light.

Centro Atomico Bariloche, via Pieck Darío

Where does this radiation come from?

When you have a very fast particle traveling through a medium, that particle will generally be charged, and the medium itself is made up of positive (atomic nuclei) and negative (electrons) charges. The charged particle, as it travels through this medium, has a chance of colliding with one of the particles in there, but since atoms are mostly empty space, the odds of a collision are relatively low over short distances.

Instead, the particle has an effect on the medium that it travels through: it causes the particles in the medium to polarize — where like charges repel and opposite charges attract — in response to the charged particle that’s passing through. Once the charged particle is out of the way, however, those electrons return back to their ground state, and those transitions cause the emission of light. Specifically, they cause the emission of blue light in a cone-like shape, where the geometry of the cone depends on the particle’s speed and the speed of light in that particular medium.

This animation showcases what happens when a relativistic, charged particle moves faster than light … [+] in a medium. The interactions cause the particle to emit a cone of radiation known as Cherenkov radiation, which is dependent on the speed and energy of the incident particle. Detecting the properties of this radiation is an enormously useful and widespread technique in experimental particle physics.

vlastni dilo / H. Seldon / public domain

This is an enormously important property in particle physics, as it’s this very process that allows us to detect the elusive neutrino at all. Neutrinos hardly ever interact with matter at all. However, on the rare occasions that they do, they only impart their energy to one other particle.

What we can do, therefore, is to build an enormous tank of very pure liquid: liquid that doesn’t radioactively decay or emit other high-energy particles. We can shield it very well from cosmic rays, natural radioactivity, and all sorts of other contaminating sources. And then, we can line the outside of this tank with what are known as photomultiplier tubes: tubes that can detect a single photon, triggering a cascade of electronic reactions enabling us to know where, when, and in what direction a photon came from.

With large enough detectors, we can determine many properties about every neutrino that interacts with a particle in these tanks. The Cherenkov radiation that results, produced so long as the particle “kicked” by the neutrino exceeds the speed of light in that liquid, is an incredibly useful tool for measuring the properties of these ghostly cosmic particles.

A neutrino event, identifiable by the rings of Cerenkov radiation that show up along the … [+] photomultiplier tubes lining the detector walls, showcase the successful methodology of neutrino astronomy and leveraging the use of Cherenkov radiation. This image shows multiple events, and is part of the suite of experiments paving our way to a greater understanding of neutrinos.

Super Kamiokande collaboration

The discovery and understanding of Cherenkov radiation was revolutionary in many ways, but it also led to a frightening application in the early days of laboratory particle physics experiments. A beam of energetic particles leaves no optical signature as it travels through air, but will cause the emission of this blue light if it passes through a medium where it travels faster than light in that medium. Physicists used to close one eye and stick their head in the path of the beam; if the beam was on, they’d see a “flash” of light due to the Cherenkov radiation generated in their eye, confirming that the beam was on. (Needless to say, this process was discontinued with the advent of radiation safety training.)

Still, despite all the advances that have occurred in physics over the intervening generations, the only way we know of to beat the speed of light is to find yourself a medium where you can slow that light down. We can only exceed that speed in a medium, and if we do, this telltale blue glow — which provides a tremendous amount of information about the interaction that gave rise to it — is our data-rich reward. Until warp drive or tachyons become a reality, the Cherenkov glow is the #1 way to go!

#News

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aowanders-blog · 4 years

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Trump vs Corona Virus

In light of current events and the seeming resurgence of the virus and the complete absence of a coherent national strategy to resolve, execute or implement anything resembling a solution for the NATION. I’m overwhelmed in a state of confusion.

Corona Virus Breeds Compassion

Ninety five days ago 330 Million Americans united under a common goal for the benefit of our society. Some of us needed more convincing than others, but in the end all of us “individuals” agreed to do what was right for the “majority” of humanity.

It was a wonderful display of unity. Unfethered kindness and endless generosity. Even from the government. Which stepped in and swiftly dispersed money that so many of us desperately needed to carry us through these trying times.

It was unbelievable! People were actually doing the right thing, and not just for friends, family and coworkers. People were extending their kindness and generosity to complete strangers in need.

The coronavirus was bringing out the best in humanity! But as the saying goes,”All good things must come to end.” Which is why I am publicizing today’s journal entry. Because the generous kind acts we’ve grown accoustomed to over the last couple of months have come to a complete hault.

Minneapolis Ground Zero

Civil unrest has replaced compassion with unfocused chaos. Lashing out at any target within arms reach. Creating symbolism out of trivial brands and products just so theres another log to throw on the fire.

I understand where the root of this frustration begin with an overzealous power tripping authority abusing police officer. Who was so detached from reality he couldn’t even comprehend a lifeless body wasn’t a threat to him any more.

Unfocused Protesting

What I don’t understand is what is the end goal here? Race vs race? #civilwar USA becomes 50 individual nations?

Who is actually in charge here? Trump? State governors? The kid who burnt the cop station? The group that wants to change the label on my syrup bottle? Is it the neighborhood that just renamed my rice? Is it the support group that’s going to help me understand why Elmer Fudd cant hunt wabbits anymore? Is it the CEO of Amazon who is now censoring what I can choose to watch? Is it the kids partying in the Seattle barracade?

What’s really confusing is that there are so many blind followers in the herd completely unaware that what they actually want isn’t what they are fighting for.

Defund The Police

Instead of griping over the past why not placate for longterm solutions instead of temporary victories? Why demand police reform when all that is required is a change in the language?

Simple Police Reform

If a federal law was passed that said, “No victim no police interaction,” I would be willing to bet without even looking up the stats that every one of these unarmed riot inciting murders would have never happened!

When you say #defundthepolice do you mean let’s go back to 6 shooters on our hips, or do you mean refocus the police to actually protect and serve while politicians delete outdated laws and start passing laws that are for our benefit and protection?

Do we really need an armed police officer to show up at a traffic accident to oversee driver information exchanges? Does society really need armed individuals patrolling our streets for cracked windshields?

How will society endure without having anyone to call for boats causing a wake? People playing in a public park after sunset? Hiking off trail with their dog unleashed in a National Park or any other VICTIMLESS REVENUE GENERATING INFRACTION OF THE LAW that nobody dead or alive actually cares about including the police enforcing them!

Coronavirus Raises Minimum Wage

What really needs the focus of unilateral reform is a National Minimum wage that is high enough to meet todays cost of living?

I’ve lived in more places than most people have had the chance to read about in their lives. I’ve seen the best of our country, and the worst of our country.

I dont actually believe the root of our society’s problems is “systematic racism,” and I dont think you do you either.

The problem that I believe these protestor’s are trying to fight for is not being able to chase down their dreams because the cost of living in todays society is so high that it takes FIVE DECADES of survival skills to navigate your financial responsibilities.

Stop The Struggle

How are you supposed to get ahead in life when you spend majority of life spinning your wheels in neutral? What are you supposed to do with a full time job that pays less than poverty?

Theres a saying that I’ve heard from locals in every tourist town I go to,”You either have 3 houses or 3 jobs in todays world.”

How is that proportiantely acceptable in todays world? Being poor shouldn’t be probable cause for police interaction! Driving a beat up vehicle shouldn’t put you on a police officers radar! Changing lanes without a blinker shouldn’t warrant an armed person to investigate!

I don’t know the exact number, but I would be willing to bet 90% of all police interaction stem from a traffic infraction in a poor neighborhood! There is no reason an armed invidividual needs to enforce traffic infractions!

Just like your skin color shouldn’t define your class!

Which is what I believe the problem is in society. We have allowed police departments to dictate their existence through melodramatic justifications. We have allowed police officers to justify their funding through targeted patrols. Which inevitably leads to poor neighborhoods because its more likely to find traffic infractions in neighborhoods that can’t afford vehicle upkeeps. Regardless of race. It’s a simple numbers game, but are we funding the police to protect and serve or to play the odds?

Do we really need armed police forces patrolling for seat belt violations? The better question is do we really need double punishment for traffic infractions? Did you know that 3 speeding tickets in twelve months equals a suspended license? Are you aware that public transportation doesn’t exist in majority of the towns in America?

How do you expect people to be a productive member of society in todays world without reliable transportation? How do you expect them to educate themselves or better themselves if they can’t get to school? How do you expect them to pay for vehicle registration if they can’t get to work?

The DMV is the Devil

Before we go to far down this rabbit hole I can tell you from first hand experience that the DMV/DMS literally DESTROYS lives on a daily basis! Based off of police interaction in poor neighborhoods, and if the federal government would raise the National minimum wage to $25/hour which is what it costs to live in America in 2020 majority of society’s problems would cease to exist!

People wouldn’t be side hustling in illegal activities just to keep roof over their heads. If a full time job would pay a liveable wage careers wouldn’t be an extinct animal. There wouldn’t be fraudelent online posting every other ad if people could afford the products and services of America with their paycheck! The internet wouldn’t be our generations gold rush if companies could be content with millions in profits instead of billions!

How to Save $20,000 in 90 days

The list of examples is infinite and could sprawl throughout society, but it would all come back to the cost of living in todays world! If 2 million Americans weren’t given that extra $600/week from the American government how big of a fiascle would this Pandemic have been with 2 million people only making $1,200/month for 3 months? How desperate would people have gotten with no money in their pocket and no toilet paper in the stores? How many businesses would be closed for good? How violent would these protest really have gotten had people been starving before seeing George Floyd’s death?

Its time to overhaul America, but we need to focus that makeover. We need to steer the direction of our future towards a longterm solution. Removing statues and changing food labels isn’t the key to enhancing the quality of life. From 22 years of travel I belive society’s frustration is based solely on financial responsbilities. Rent is too high. Paychecks are too low. Vacations are for the wealthy!

If theres not going to be a national leader that’s going to step in to guide society in the right direction. Than its time for a new leader. A leader thats going to heal the country by forcing every employer to pay a livable wage! So that the bottom half of society can delete their frustrations of desires and chase their dreams. If this is truly the greatest country on Earth, and you can be anything you want to be than how come after 50 years of working most Americans still have no safety net?

This is my journal entry for the day. Which I usually don’t post for public consumption, but the answer is always NO if you never ask.

Take this time to self reflect, game plan and strategize a longterm solution for the change you want to see in the world for yourself and society. While systemic racism is unacceptable I think society’s current frustrations reside a couple layers deeper! Let me know what you think in the comments below.

CoronaVirus/Covid 19 Journal Day 95 – Civil Unrest Recap Trump vs Corona Virus In light of current events and the seeming resurgence of the virus and the complete absence of a coherent national strategy to resolve, execute or implement anything resembling a solution for the NATION.

#American Protests #Be the change you want to see #Black Lives Matter #Defund the Police #George Floyd #Minneapolis Police #National Minimum Wage

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Valorant is set for inevitable success, but there’s still room to improve • Eurogamer.net

Expect it to be huge. Valorant, Riot Games’ tactical, abilities- and weapons-based shooter, is finally out in the wild, and it’s arrived off the back of a frankly massive “closed” beta. Some of those numbers, like the outrageous watch times and concurrent viewers on Twitch, are artificially inflated – namely by Riot’s “drops” system of handing out beta keys to random viewers of streams – but the player numbers aren’t. There’s good reason for it.

For starters, I’m not sure I’ve played a game that feels as ground-up optimised for its own purpose as Valorant. This is a game that makes its case through competency. It has the best servers (are we numb to the words “128-tick” yet?), the most optimal art style, an aggressive, proprietary anti-cheat system and a team behind it that feels frankly obsessed with proving its pedigree. It’s a statement, Riot Games standing up and saying “this is what we can do”.

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The good news for us is, for the most part, that means Valorant is an exceptionally well-made game. It’s gunplay might not outright surpass the precision of Counter Strike, but it certainly matches it, and while it might not beat Call of Duty or Halo for the pure satisfaction of firing a weapon, in this case that’s sort of besides the point. There are settings for reticule sizes, shapes and colours. There are exact damage stats displayed on the weapon-choice screen that detail head, body, and limb damage – including at different ranges – and bullet-point accurate rates of fire for every firing mode a gun has. Much like Counter Strike – and Valorant really is very close to Counter Strike – precision rules above all.

That emphasis comes through on just about every aspect of the game. The use of sound is excellent, and mastering that becomes an essential part of any successful player’s game. I found weapons a tad loud in the beta, but otherwise it’s perfectly pitched. You’ll need to juggle walking and running at the right moments, which often leads to brilliantly teeth-clenched moments as you inch towards a doorway or a corner, trading silence for being visually exposed. At higher levels maybe you’ll use the sound of your own footsteps for bait. Abilities are what sets it apart, but most abilities are “support” focused in one way or another: they’re about vision, terrain, zoning, initiating, and control, as opposed to raw damage.

There are 4 maps at launch. They’re wonderfully designed in terms of flow and competition, but are lacking a little life.

There’s some room for improvement with them. While a lot of abilities can be used quite creatively – Sage can create a solid, temporary wall, but also stand on top of it as she creates it, raising her and any others nearby up to gain a unique sightline – it feels like there’s a fair bit of repetition. There are one or two too many large, block-colour orbs of smoke, and walls of damage-dealing fire or poison, given such a small roster of agents. I’d like to see Riot get a bit more creative with these as new agents are released – sound and movement speed feel like they could do with some ability attention, for instance. That said, they still complement the gunplay brilliantly, and I’ve seen the occasional bit of cross-character teamwork at my lowly level of play already. At competitive levels there’s huge potential.

Valorant’s biggest obstacle, though, is one that we’ve talked about before. It needs to get much, much better at managing the behaviour of its own players. Toxicity hasn’t quite reached the heights of that in League of Legends, I’d say, but it’s significantly worse than competitors like Apex Legends or Rainbow Six Siege, and that’s only heightened by the emphasis on voice chat, something that inherently alienates certain sections of the community and exposes them, often, to instant abuse if they decide to pipe up. It’s also emphasised by the game’s own tension. As thrilling as a clutch win may be, losing a single round can be miserable if you’re on the receiving end of some bile. For a studio that has such a long history of waging the war on in-game abuse I’ve found the lack of robust, proactive measures in the preview, the beta, and now the early days of the full game extremely disappointing, and frankly naive.

New players now get these messages on startup, including prompts to set up voice chat as you like it. It’s a good first step, but the game could do with a carrot as well as threats of the stick.

There are other things to look out for, over the coming weeks and months after launch. Valorant lacks character. The world – the sky, the surroundings, the general sense of place – feels overly still and empty, like you’re running around a city after everyone’s gone to the rapture. Characters themselves are a little under characterised – the quips of Londoner Phoenix were the only memorable ones for me, of the ten in the game, and at no point does the game get close to the vivaciousness of Overwatch. The “Vanguard” anti-cheat system is ruffling some feathers because of just how aggressive it is: it’s a separate program on your PC, and if it’s not running when the game starts you’re asked to reboot your entire computer to try again. Monetisation, I’m sure, will evolve over time too. At the time of writing there are no loot boxes, for those worried about modern gaming’s bogeyman, but despite some reports of promises not to include them, when we spoke lead producer Anna Donlon told me “not right now” – although emphasised that anything affecting gameplay would always remain sacrosanct.

None of those worries, however, will be enough to really slow Valorant down. This is a game with everything pulling in the same direction, to quite a remarkable degree, and with the maker of the biggest game in the world behind it. It’s an enormously satisfying game to feel yourself getting better at and to win. In most areas, right down to the breadth of in-game training options or depth of menu settings, it is enormously conscious of what you the player might want. It is also, most importantly, just very good fun – it just needs to remind some players of that.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/06/valorant-is-set-for-inevitable-success-but-theres-still-room-to-improve-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=valorant-is-set-for-inevitable-success-but-theres-still-room-to-improve-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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freefollowerstool · 5 years

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filipeteimuraz · 5 years

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How to Start Using Instagram to Grow Your Small Business

Every business needs an active social media presence. This statement holds true whether you have a small, medium, or large company. In fact, it’s more important for smaller businesses than large ones.

Big brands like Apple and Nike are already household names. If they stop using social media right now, they’ll probably still generate sales.

But you can’t make a sale to people who don’t know who you are yet. Just like you can’t rely only on foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar store, if you operate online, you can’t rely solely on people navigating to your website.

That’s why you need Instagram as a marketing tool.

Honestly, if you’re not currently using Instagram, you’re behind: 71% of businesses are already using Instagram as a marketing channel. But it’s not too late to get started. That’s the inspiration for this guide.

According to Instagram’s user data, 80% of accounts follow a business. It’s obvious that people are willing to follow and engage with brands on Instagram. The key for you as a small business marketer is to figure out how to take advantage of this opportunity to drive growth for your company. This article explains some beginner strategies to stimulate business growth on Instagram and teach you ways to convert your followers into customers. If you’ve created an Instagram profile, but it isn’t active or effective, you can benefit from this information too.

Promote your profile with your existing customers

When you start your account, it’ll come with zero followers. It can be a little discouraging to start from zero, but you don’t have to start from scratch. Rather than trying to get random followers who don’t know who you are and don’t know anything about your brand, turn to your existing customers.

Start with your email subscribers. Check out how MeUndies signs off its marketing emails.

The CTA here is to follow MeUndies on Instagram.

Your email list isn’t the only place to recruit current customers to Instagram. You can promote your profile on your other marketing channels as well:

YouTube videos

website

blog posts

other social media profiles

purchase receipts

in-store signs

Take a look at how Shady Rays uses its website to get more followers on Instagram.

The social media feed showcases their most recent Instagram uploads. If you click on any of the photos here, it will bring you to that image on Instagram. There’s also a direct link and a CTA to follow Shady Rays on Instagram.

Showcase your products

Now that you’ve got followers, let’s take a look a the reason they’re following your profile. Coupons? Sales? Let’s look at the top reasons why people follow brands on social media.

The number one reason people follow brands is because they’re interested in that brand’s products and services. That reason ranks higher than promotions and incentives. So while it’s not a bad idea to give people an incentive to follow your profile with an exclusive discount or another offer like that, research shows that more people follow a brand out of interest alone.

That means it’s definitely OK to show them your products.In fact, 65% of the top performing posts on Instagram featured a product. (This is a great chance for you to generate sales for a new product release.)

But, you don’t want to oversell on Instagram: 58% of users think it’s annoying when brands post too many promotions. So, showcase your products, but do so sparingly.

Take advantage of shoppable posts

It’s one thing to show products to your consumers. But Instagram gives businesses the opportunity to sell products directly through their platform. Shoppable posts take our last strategy one step further.

60% of people use Instagram to find new products and 75% of those take action after viewing a post. Those actions can lead to conversions, especially if you use shoppable posts.

Here’s an example from Western Rise of a shoppable post.

It’s just a regular photo. But the promoted product is tagged. The tag includes the name of the product and the price. When a user clicks on the link, they are directed to a product page where they can buy that product.

This is far more efficient than what businesses had to do before this feature: In the past, brands would have to post about a product and then say things like, “find this on our website,” or “link in bio.” Way too many steps. Plus, if you had to use the one link in your bio, you couldn’t promote more than one item at the same time. Shoppable posts have way less friction and increase your chances of driving conversions.

You can also run shoppable stories. It’s the same approach: simply tag products in your story instead of your profile.

If you haven’t used this tactic before and need some help setting them shoppable posts, refer to our complete guide on how to increase ecommerce sales with shoppable posts on Instagram.

Tag a purposeful location

Next up, location tags. If you haven’t been using location tags, you aren’t maximizing your potential engagement. Just look at the effect that a simple location tag can have on your metrics.

Posts with location tags have more engagement.

There are a few reasons for this. First, tagging the location can make your post more visible on the popular page for people in that area. Second, people who are viewing that specific location on Instagram have a better chance of seeing your post.

The great part about location tagging is that you don’t actually need to be in that area you’re tagging to tag it. Let’s say you run a Boston-based company that sells bathing suits. You’re probably not going to be selling bathing suits to many locals in that area during the winter months. And you’re probably not going to increase your engagement all that much by tagging a bathing suit picture in Harvard Square. Instead, you can upload photos of your products on Instagram and tag warmer locations, like Miami or San Diego. This will lead to higher engagement rates, which will increase your social following, brand awareness, and chances that people will buy your products.

Add photos with faces

Let’s continue talking about engagement. Photos of products alone don’t perform as well as photos with faces. In fact, photos with faces generate 38% more likes than posts without a face. Furthermore, posts with faces get 32% more comments. The more people engage with your posts, the greater your chance of driving conversions that will ultimately help your small business grow.

Here’s another example of a shoppable post from PX Clothing that includes a face in the photo.

This is more effective than posting the duffle bag by itself without a face in the photo.

Partner with social influencers

When it comes to influencer marketing, Instagram leads the way for brand collaborations with social influencers.

Your competitors might already be using this strategy. Now is your chance to jump on board to keep up with them. If you’ve never done this before and you don’t know where to get started, you can use our guide on the top platforms for effectively managing social influencers.

You’ll want to find influencers that have a strong following within a specific niche that speaks to your target audience. For example, let’s say you’re targeting women in New York City between the ages of 24 and 35. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be looking for influencers who fit that profile. Instead, you’ll want to find an influencer who has lots of followers that fit your target market. These resources will help you get connected with influencers in the right industry that will reach your target audience.

Run ads to generate leads and sales

Depending on your marketing budget, Instagram ads can be a suitable strategy for you to consider. If you’ve run Facebook ads in the past, you’re already familiar with how this works — Facebook owns Instagram and the two platforms use the same ad manager. You can choose your target audience, location, and budget.

The great part about advertising on Instagram is that you can have ads run in multiple formats.

photo ads

video ads

carousel ads

collection ads

story ads

If you run story ads on Instagram, you’ll want to leverage the “swipe up” feature. Here’s an example from Olivers Apparel of what that looks like:

The “shop now” CTA at the bottom of this sponsored story takes users directly to a landing page where they can purchase the pants being advertised. This can definitely help increase conversion rates because it eliminates additional steps in the purchase process.

Encourage UGC

Another way to grow your business on Instagram is with user-generated content.

82% of consumers say that user-generated content is valuable to them during the purchase process. 48% of people say they discover new brands and products as a result of UGC. When customers get exposed to UGC, brand engagement increases by 28%.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is with contests.

This is one of our favorite strategies for several reasons. First, it helps you get more followers. For one of your followers to enter a contest, they’ll need to upload a photo to their own profile and tag your brand. In doing this, it increases the exposure to all of their followers, who may not currently know your brand or follow your profile. This added exposure will entice more people to follow you on Instagram. That’s because UGC is memorable and trusted.

People who see a user-generated photo on Instagram have a 4.5% greater chance of converting. If they interact with the post, such as liking it or commenting on it, they are 9.6% more likely to convert.

Engage your followers

It’s important for you to connect with your Instagram following. Now that you’ve found so many new ways to get followers, likes, and comments. You don’t want to lose those relationships.

Reply to their comments. Answer direct messages. If you don’t do this, you’re not providing the appropriate customer service needed to drive business growth. On the other hand, using Instagram to improve your customer service will definitely help your business grow.

Here’s what will happen if you ignore customers on social media.

People expect brands to respond within four hours after they reach out on social media. The average response time is ten hours. 35% of consumers say that social media is their top choice for customer care, yet 89% of social media messages are ignored by brands.

Don’t let this happen to you. If you’re having trouble managing all of your Instagram messages with other social media comments, our favorite time-saving social media marketing tools can help.

Conclusion

As a small business owner, you need to establish an active presence on Instagram to grow your company. If you’re starting from scratch or don’t have many followers right now, turn to your existing customers to build a following on your profile.

Use Instagram to showcase your products. Drive sales directly with shoppable posts.

Find ways to increase your engagement, such as tagging your location, uploading photos with faces, and leveraging relationships with social influencers.

You can also run ads to generate brand awareness, increase your followers, and drive sales.

Create campaigns that encourage user-generated content, which will increase your reach in a trusted and memorable way.

Don’t ignore customers when they reach out to your brand with comments and direct messages.

How are you using Instagram to drive growth for your small business?

http://www.quicksprout.com/2018/12/31/how-to-start-using-instagram-to-grow-your-small-business/ Read more here - http://review-and-bonuss.blogspot.com/2019/01/how-to-start-using-instagram-to-grow.html

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topicprinter · 6 years

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I saw there was a post on this recently, and after reading the comments saw there was some good advice, and some bad. In today’s world online and social media marketing are becoming not only important, but actual tools to increase revenue and profit. There’s a bunch of ways to grow an IG account, and a bunch of ways to tank one. This will be a long post, so I’ll try and break into bits. Apologies for mobileSorry guys, I know I'm super late on this, I've just been really busy the past couple months. Here you go, and please don't hesitate to reach out for specific help or advice. Also I'm sure I missed some points, so feel free to add your experience. Just be very careful about using suggestions. Saw some advice in the comments on my last post that was good, and some that was bad. Do your research, and be careful. Have at itUNDERSTANDING THE AUDIENCEIt really doesn't matter all that much what you're using your IG account for, whether it's to sell a product, to increase brand awareness, to create connections, or just to generate hype, if you don't understand your audience. Know the consumers you're trying to target and what kind of things they like and follow. Do your research, google searches, ask random people on the street, ask friends and family what they think and how would they feel. As with all things marketing, the most important step is to put yourself into their shoes and think strategically the best way to engage with themTHE IMPORTANT THING IS TO COME AT IT WITH A STRATEGY. Each post is an opportunity to gain followers. Your waves of followers will come from quality posts, so make sure you attack each post with a strategy and a hungry mentality. If you're on this sub, y'all are fucking sharks. Be a shark.THE ALGORITHMIn all honesty, we don’t really know what the algorithm is, but understanding how it works is far more important. Basically, like Facebook, Instagram has a formula that ranks its content (posts) in the feed and in the explore page (more on the explore page later). It has variables such as time of post, total likes and comments, hashtags, location, details on the account that posted, and even includes software to recognize what is in each post, and boost or demote it that way. Therefore, if you tend to only like pictures that have luxury cars in them, IG will boost those pictures in your feed. If you only pics of food or dogs, IG will boost pics of food or dogs in your feed and explore page. Each account has a slightly different algorithm in this regard.This is why it’s important first of all to understand your target audience, and get in their shoes, not yours. So if your product is a technology that primarily benefits middle aged woman, but you only post pictures of the technology, you won’t do as well as if you posted pictures that were applicable and likeable by middle aged woman. Like and comments are your direct assessment of your post. If your audience like it, they’ll engage with you. If not, they won’t.Also the algorithm changes every few months, so what worked last year or even last quarter, probably won't work the exact same way now.POST FREQUENCYSome of the comments on the previous post touched on this, but gave some poor advice. Do NOT listen to anyone who tells you you have to post as frequently as you can or post twice a day no exceptions. This is shit advice. Anyone who makes a sweeping rule is clearly not a real entrepreneur, or at least not a very good one. Theres more than way to skin a cat.In general, posting twice a day is a safe option. Once a day, isn't bad either, 3x a day can work. I've had success with even posting 3x a week. I would say somewhere between 3-20x a week. But make sure you aren't oversaturating your feed. You can easily bother your followers by making too many low quality posts. Quality over quantity every time. I know this probably sounds vague, but the important thing to remember is each account is different and unique. Please feel free to ask questions specific to you in the comments and I bet as a community we can really give some good advice.TIME OF POSTPretty simple here. 12-9pm EST tends to be best. 12, 3, and 9 specifically. This is when most people tend to be on IG. Sorry if you're international, but I would suggest a quick google search looking for best times to post on IG. Generally speaking, Sunday tends to be the least engaging day of the week, but I've still found plenty of success these days.CONTENTQuality content is so important to have. There are three types of posts you can make on Instagram. Just a regular picture, a video, or a gallery post, meaning multiple selections where the user has to swipe in order to see the full post. Generally speaking, videos that are 10-30 second long will perform best, but this is absolutely not a rule of thumb. All posts that have a clear resolution, aren't cropped weird, and are professional are capable of performing well. People are forgoing their websites to only use an Instagram page for their business. Therefore, you have to use professional and quality content on your page. I've only had one post that was blurry that performed well, and it was in the middle of a good week (all other posts were getting thousands, and some tens of thousands of likes and engagements). IG boosts accounts that show consistent positive results.I know that it can be hard to find quality content to post, so if you have questions in this regard specific to your account or business, let me know in the comments.Otherwise, there are a couple apps that let you pull down other profile's posts off the app. I like Grab the best, but it is a bit clunky to use. Buffer lets you do reposts, but I've had a lot of bad experience with Buffer, but one of my mentors has really loved it, so you can try it out and decide for yourself.Always tag people in your posts as well. Instagram lets you tag up to 20 accounts in one post, and you can now tag in videos too! this is awesome. So find influencers in your niche and tag them. Find big accounts related to your niche, and tag them. Find pages your audience follows, and tag them.We also need to discuss the concept of a powerlike. A powerlike is when someone with a big following likes your picture and engages with you. Your post is then much more likely to be displayed in their followers feeds and explore pages. Certain accounts likes have more value than others, so use this to your advantage.EXPLORE PAGEYour ultimate goal through organic growth is to consistently get on the explore page and get promoted this way. The explore page is the page you access through the little magnifying glass at the bottom of the mobile app, or the compass when using desktop (don't use desktop, IG's desktop sucks). It shows suggestions to you based on your previous likes and comments and who you follow. This is a great way to utilize OUTSIDE ENGAGEMENT, which I'll get to later.HASHTAGSProbably the best improvement you can make on your content is the correct use of hashtags. Each post can have up to 30, so use 30. I also suggest “hiding” them in the comments section by posting them as a comment, but there’s no evidence to support that this truly makes a difference. Use hashtags relevant to your niche. If you’re niche is in to cars, but your using hashtags like #hairstylistlove or #cutedogsoninstagram, IG will actually tank you for incorrectly “gaming” the algorithm.There’s a couple of strategies you can use. 10/10/10 is a good start. Basically, there are big hashtags (over 500,000 posts), medium hashtags (50k-500k posts), and small hashtags (under 50k). You’ll see these ranges vary depending on who you ask, but for 10/10/10, I like these ranges. 10/10/10 basically means to use 10 big hashtags, 10 small, and 10 medium sized ones to properly market your post. Pretty simple. There’s also 25/5, and all smalls. In this case I’d use 25 hashtags under 100,000 and 5 over, or all hashtags under 100,000.The important thing with hashtags is to keep experimenting and find what works. Not all posts are going to do well in a good set of hashtags, and not all good posts require a good set of hashtags to do well. Ik that sounds confusing and tricky, but if you take the time, and put effort into making quality content, Instagram will reward you. They want people to USE the app, to SPEND TIME using their product. The more you use it the more you’ll gain.Geotagging is using a hashtag specifically related to your area. So for example #beverlyhills90210 or #minneapolisweather. These can be great if you're specifically trying to grow your brand in an area.Tagstealing is a term I use, but basically, it means going into the explore page and searching a hashtag relevant to your niche. Find a post that performs well compared to that profile's usual posts. So if someone posts a picture and it gets 500 likes when all their other posts get 50, use the hashtags that they did. They already gamed the algorithm and did the hard part for you.SHADOWBANNINGThis is a widely misunderstood concept and its important that we cover it in its own section. Shadowbanning is where Instagram bans certain hashtags from showing your posts in the explore page. usually these hashtags are porn related or can be porn related. So for example, #petite is banned and won't show results when searched. You can just Google banned hashtags checker and find free online tools that determine whether or not something is banned.Shadowbanning is NOT however, Instagram demoting your posts for whatever reason. it is strictly related to hashtagsCAPTIONSCaptions are the voice of your posts. It gives you an opportunity to share your opinion, connect with your audience, drive engagement, or really determine the direction of your post. I almost always recommend having a call to action ("let me know what you think in the comments below") to help drive engagement on your posts. Encourage people to want to interact with you, but don't be desperate. That shit turns people off. Some people have long winded, winding stories as captions, while others have maybe a sentence at most. It really depends on you and who you are. Be genuine and real with your audience, and they'll respond to that. Never try to do something just for the likes, always attack IG with the mindset of being yourself and putting your best content and effort into the page.You can use hashtags here, or you can post them in the comments section. I like utilizing the comments method because it "tricks" the algorithm by showing your post as having an extra comment right away.LOCATIONThis is a tricky one but can greatly be used to your benefit. This mainly affects the explore page. Basically, you want to use a location that garners a lot of activity, and more importantly, people on their phones. Stadiums, famous malls, public monuments, or popular Instagram spots are good locations to use. I’ve had mixed results when using restaurants. If you’re trying to grow in a specific city this is wonderful. But make sure you get a little more specific, if you’re just going to do a certain city. Use a neighborhood instead, i.e. Brooklyn not New York, Beverly Hill not Los Angeles.OTHER TOOLS BESIDES POSTSThis is going to be things like Stories, Live, IGTV. Instagram wants you to use the app, so that they can make more money off of ads. Therefore, they're going to boost you for using the other aspects of the app. Post stories once a day or 5x a week, as a general rule of thumb. An easy strategy with stories is to just do reposts on similar accounts and encourage them to engage with you. Minimal effort for decent reward. also turning the camera around and showing you, talking into the camera, showing your workspace, or you in the field is great as well. More effort, but also probably more reward. Live feed maybe once or twice a week, or more, if you have the content/activity. Things like talks, lectures, videos, lessons etc. Sometimes you can do giveaways exclusive for your live viewers. This encourages viewers to come back consistently and engage in your live stream. IGTV is the newest tool here, but I've best seen it used and used it in the form of interviews, similar to a podcast, or in lectures or announcements. Amanda Bucci has a really great use of stories, live, and IGTV, so check her out for inspiration. These are now so much more important for gaining followers. Make sure you're using hashtags and tagging people in your stories etc as well.OUTSIDE ENGAGEMENTThis is where you'll really separate your account and make huge strides in growth. I grew an account from 3k followers to 10k in 3 months throug this. You should be spending 30 mins to an hour a day, going out and liking and commenting on other people's posts, to help drive engagement to your page. If you haven't noticed by now, the key word in IG is engagement, and you have to give if you wanna get. You can open a post in the explore page, like it, leave a comment that opens/starts a conversation, and move on in literally less than 10 seconds. Great, swipe right, and do it again. and again. and again and again and again for 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after each post. I've seen this strategy work, but also doing this multiple times throughout the day. Experiment and find what works for you. Each account is different and unique. Each method is going to be different and unique. More than one way to skin a cat.Also make sure that youre replying to all your comments on your posts. This will not only increase loyalty and motivation among your followers, but also trick the algorithm. if you get three comments on a post, and reply to all of them, you now have 6 instead of 3. Always be engaging and active with your followers, and try to reach out to other accounts in your niche and bring them in.I saw a question about bots and stuff, there are plenty of bots on instagram. If they leave a comment, then leave a generous reply, and ignore, unless they respond and seem to be more than just automated. Bots are another follow, but having a group of loyal active followers will grow your account much faster than a bunch of bots who don't engage.DONTsDon't buy followers. Most of them tend to be bots, or the wrong type of followers, and won't engage with you at all. Instagram tries to ban these accounts, which could negatively affect yours. Organic growth is infinitely more valuable than buying followers.Don't forget about it or give up. Stay consistent. IG rewards consistency. If you keep at it, you'll eventually break through. Ik trust me, it is very tough and difficult, but can be very rewarding as well.Don't post just to post. Make sure each post has care and effort. Think of it like a new baby each time. You are shaping and raising your baby to give it the best possible opportunity to succeed. If you have a kid just to have a kid and don't put care into, it's going to turn out like shit. Be diligentDOSConsider paying to boost your posts. Get a couple of posts to perform really well, and consider spending 10 or 15 bucks on each post. This can easily bring you a thousand or more followers, depending on your account and history.Do consider reaching out to influencers, asking for help, or a shoutout. This is a livelihood for a lot of people, and they will want to gain off your following as well. Most of the time, it's win win.Engage engage engage. If you come away with one thing from this, it's that engagement is key in Instagram, and you need to find ways to drive engagement on your page. Experiment, try new things, have multiple accounts and cross promote.That sums up the generals guys, but I know that I missed plenty. Please please don't hesitate to bring up any issue or question you have, through either comments or PM. Im super busy right now, but will try to get to all of them. I've worked with single person accounts in past and helped people grow over 100k followers. Currently, I'm working as CMO at a startup, and have experience in all things marketing and sales. I'm looking to get into coaching/consulting, and would love to use you as a guinea pig.Take care, and best wishes

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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skattuhbrain-blog · 6 years

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Roll with it

been making music for several years now and everyday that world gets tighter and tighter. For years its been something that feels unobtainable. Maybe it is? But theres more to it? at least now anyway. But is it? these combative sentences are direct stems from an internal battle that i face and from what i can believe other artists around the world think to. Not to go to far back in the world of music but i’ll use an artist like slick rick for example. this is an artist who came up in the world without the expansive internet and without a direct social feed into the vast communities around the globe. Needless to say, he did very well and made a massive claim for himself as a don in the hip hop community. for me he is perfect format for where we are right now. he has a product that we can digest and he has an appeal that we can grab to. gold teeth, and eye patch, simply a swagger that radiates a room. he did this through the feeds at the time. “mtv”. his iconic music videos with a pea cocking presence made you want more. on the edge of your seat to see whats next. Other artist can be referenced in this same world. NWA,TUPAC,BIGGIE. The names you have come to respect as leaders STILL in this game. other artist circled at the feet of these titans and artist under those acts fought for 2 minutes on stage or 20 people to see them at open mics but these are the names that suffered at the hands of a small world. where your voice could really go in some cases as far as the next street over. going farther back before the mtv generation Rollingstones magazine gave the world insight into communities and cultures that would be unknown without. There has always been a means for sharing creation. Its an understanding that when you've come to the realization that its not necessarily you but rather the targeted masses you may go easier on yourself, but in turn may begin to resent those your reach out to. Theres something interesting about that resentment though. whats interesting is that, the resentment you feel is really a coping tool. its way to validate yourself, and protect the creation that you may have worked weeks, months, years on. Theres a true calm that will wash over when you take down the guard on your music but rather you go crazy with what you're putting out there in the ether. Now what I'm saying is obvious, but id be lying to anyone who reads this if i were to say i wasn't at a time “the entitled artist”. What our generation is in, and what others have faced but ours is now extremely hightened, is the umbrella of instant gratification. This is a pressure that can drive one to end it all. But biding the time you have, and appreciation the fact that your brain can utilize all parts to create something from nothing is a moment that will always cause euphoria. There are artist in the south florida area and of course around the country that from a first hand perspective share this “model”. A prime example is Liberty cities own Denzel Curry. he's an artist that has been on the seen for years now, every year theres an evolution in his performances, his creations. But, you can always go back and find the online freestyles, the early performances at mixmasters studios. These are trials and tribulations that dealt with ones consistency. theres hurdles one has to overcome before finally getting to see that gratification. The world will continue to get tighter with artist as music evolves, populations and increase and technology connects us more and more. When it all comes down to it the creatives who just don't stop doing it for them will stand the test of time and will get their dues back.

-skattuhbrain

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benchgenderstudies · 7 years

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Unresponsive Trump OSHA/followup

Dear David Schmidt

I am contacting you about failed response and action related to a letter sent to OSHA secretary Dougherty in April. The contents of this letter are enclosed below and they were sent in USPS express mail. There is no American Citizen in the means of employment that is outside the protection of OSHA's stated purpose in Title 29 Chapter 15 Section 651. That also means that women and minors in the fashion industry conditionally employed for specifically self destructive dieting and exercise addiction are victims of neglect, abuse and faulty instruction.

I have raised this matter with the George W Bush administration and Obama Administration without movement. Edwin Foulke Jr referred the matter to the private sector CFDA who have proven themselves incapable of sound regulation. The Obama administration made no response from OSHA. Howard Shapiro mistook his excuse as credible to say because no mention was made in a 1970 document of body mass index that a 1998 accepted parameter could not be applied. OIG also minced that horse jockeys had a high incidence of eating disorders and weren't regulated either. Well, theres two groups at risk of eating disorders and nobody efforts improving that. I have never heard an average male aspire to be a horse jockey. The fashion model has a core influence on womens presumptions of beauty that well groomed horseparasites don't.

My address of OSHA began in 2007 and United States could have been on the map as an originator of regulation. Instead it stood idle while other countries took a lead role. How was I effected. This faggot country I was assisting its/my people among ignored my contribution. Following France's fake regulation at 18.0 BMI , Harvard columnists were granted an article to name OSHA the agency with the shortcoming of regulation. Dr. Bryn Austin and Dr Katherine Record wrote the article "Paris Thin". Link enclosed

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302950

There's no test to prove eating disorders are caused by fashion because its not a disease. Its a socialized class level gender role defined specifically by the fashion model industry and designers. Mainly they are homosexual male designers projecting their lusts of a gay male twink on the female body I(Its gay illness that can be slurred.rightly). The history of fashion modeling compels the link on its own. Disordered eating, fasting, behaviors of exercise addiction, drunkorexia,chain smoking the pounds away, and diets to offset the immune system. Much of this is contained in the comments below. OSHA regulation 1910.262 is lacking detail for the many more jobs of the fashion industry as well as all the female centric jobs yet lacking in its mention. Lets get on that.

If I just saw President Donald Trump semi defend the White Nationalists he should be atleast aware the same fashionistas he protected Ivanka from should be restrained from ruining other young peoples lives as well. The outlet of gay male fashionista design is a toxic dysmorphia being projected upon and sickening women models and their emulating fans. Its a step the republican party opted to ignore when trying to defend marriage. The evidence was all in the open. If gay was unnatural , the fashion industry was where to exploit at cause of eating disorders of current visionary designers.

I can be reached at this email or 37 Bench LaneLehighton, PA 18235

5703865855

The change I request made1)models must be at least 19.2 BMI of a stature that fits in a size 8 dress. This effectively eliminates/bans haute couture as a purveyor of anorexic idealization. France's standard of 18.0 BMI is still in the pathogenic range of being underweight and poorly applied without a minimum stature within acceptable range not to fool the metric

2)Parental correlation of employment. An employer may not demand unhealthy or risky behaviors of diet, exercise or additional factors straying illegal or odd (using IVs for meals) for conditional employment. If a parent would be found for abuse and neglect then also would be an employer for the same. The industry may not create women even through photomanipulation to those ends either.

3) The minor will not be asked to alter her growth rate for any reason and will be enabled a normal growth curve up through age 27.

4)Fit models are a specific type of model known to inhabit the designers studios and tend to be even further emaciated than runway models. 'Fitmodels are a term by the designers wants of a dress shape and in no way suggest a healthy lifestyle. Neither shall they be catered to a designers preference against their wellbeing. The designer must be charged for endangering health and demanded counseling for dysmorphia.

5)Models may not consider themselves nutritionists nor attempt to counsel weight loss through media or otherwise. Weightloss is not a credible means of conditioning the body. No diet has ever credibly offset atrophy. Exercise in and of itself is required at all times and exercise requires proper and balanced food that fad diets historically lack.

6)Fashion media may not consider itself a purveyor of health or dietary advice nor will it intend to target minors with such advice and must be limited to Age 18 or older consumers. The link between target marketed fashion media and body dissatisfaction that would sell such diet products is a historical blemish of the industry. This doesn't qualify for free speech limitation because fashion media do not restrict or deny access to the garment itself. The conditions of the garment access are purely financial and physically distorted against a minors wellbeings

7a)While not related to OSHA , I suggest sanctions against france and european countries harboring unregulated haute couture designers and enabling models putting themselves at personal risk in front of children seeing her fame as sadistically motivated.

7b)Holding former US LABOR Solicitor M Patricia Smith and New York Department of Labor culpable for the endangerment of children since 2009. Smith deliberately circumvented the means of anti eating disorder legislation and general inspection of the fashion industry of new york. She failed to hire experts in the field of eating disorders to evaluate the very local New York City entertainment industry applicants and employees. The result of her negligence was girls as young as 14 being hired to walk the runway and presented as a norm of mature female stature. M Patricia Smith then prevented my gathering of information via FOIA as to why OSHA was failing to regulate. David Michaels , former OSHA director also failed to act to those ends.

//How does this effect me. America has an expert in the field of eating disorders. That would be me.The people benefit from my keeping their kids off unnecessary antidepressants they wouldn't need for body dissatisfaction.My directives will be understood .. starting with FBI. The effect of the fashion industry crosses state lines. They have a duty to act on threat foreign or domestic and have not. To conclude the point, credit and fame leads to accommodations and fiscal opportunities that has since delayed my completion of 3 patent applications; requiring legal assistance.

I feel I have given a substantial detail to the means and reasons of why I am writing this letter to comply with standards of protocol. If you would require more information, do not hesitate to ask. When I wrote courteously USgovernment did nothing. See the truth, abide the truth and respect the truth for it exists greater than the path of this country's steering. Responses from Donald Trump, Dorothy Dougherty and HHS Secretary Price are required and they will all say "we will regulate fashion,Sir." Cheers

Michael Bench,MEP,GCERT

-----------------------------------------

OSHA

Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave, NW

Washington DC 20210

Dear DAS/ OSHA Director Dorothy Dougherty

I congratulate you on your appointment to the OSHA secretary position. Of equal importance of this accomplishment raises the purpose I contact you declaring a necessary regulation of the fashion model industry. Since 2007 I have called on OSHA to this duty and Edwin Foulke Jr immediately deferred to the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He deferred to the private sector. The CFDA has not shown a timely interest to establish credible regulation or itself a dependable body. I refuse any suggestion of self regulation valid.

The united states delay in recognizing the problem of fashion was a larger blunder in ignoring the health problems of Americans. There is a trail of medical bills for drug rehabs, street drug stimulant abuse, suicide attempts and grief counseling, unnecessary antidepressants treating physical immuno -depression caused by crash diets, body dissatisfaction and anxiolytics, alcoholism, and overshopping leading back to the fashion industry. Crash diets cause women to lose a dependable activity linked relationship with their clothing size due to supplements and “thinness tricks’. The united states government is not waiting on further data from Scientists. The united states government is waiting to mature a respectable identity that its seated plutocrats prioritize above self-involved two party dramatics

If the anorexic look prescribed by Haute Couture designers is truly ‘Feminist”, then he only appeals the female body when she is most like himself. The arl Lagerfelds and Hedi Slimanes sexualized the under-developed female body as a cudgel of consumerism.

Are there penalties for 'anime’ pornography that depict underage sex? If yes I will refer to the anorexic status as sexualizing an emulated underage female.. sometimes without clothes in promotions.

If it was not already known, most couture designers are gay males. When the female no longer maintains the nymphoid, emulated male, lean appearance she’s tossed out. She’s no longer beautiful for the industry when she’s mature enough to not be androgynous .. when she’s 100% recognized as woman. Haute couture is not Feminist for it shuns the female body through most of her lifespan. On this I must also raise a clear prognosis of body dysmorphia card against gay males. Conditionally employing females to abuse their identity just appearing in their runway shows is unethical. The French government also has fiscal duties to pay for concealing the practices of the couture genre of fashion. The Donald Trump administration should not delay an aggressive move on this point of foreign policy.

The models are not contacting OSHA for protection for they are willing participants. Fashion models of couture are mental invalids; some form of attention needing creature positioning themselves in front of youth with addictive personality traits. They tolerate the intolerable for money. The addictive personality rewards itself through fame and the people drawn to modeling must be deemed suspect not only for eating disorders but also complicit psychological traits of masochism. While new models are entirely subject to personal morality, their exposure to the industry’s absent sense of limits cannot continue. It’s a corrupting force.

Fashion media employees are also empty of morality. The Vogue editors will let unhealthy industry practices continue and then make huge profits on their tell-all book. Former Australian Vogue Editor Kirstie Clements is one of those grifters. An International Business Times piece about Clement’s book “ The Vogue Factor” by Nadine Deninno revealed the runway model thinness is not even the most severe conditions of the industry. Does New York City health board or New York Labor bother to look?

One model during a show revealed to Clements that her flat mate was a fit model and in the hospital most days with an IV in her arm. This is the exerpt :

is a “fit model,” which are models used directly in designer ateliers to act as the mannequin while designers work on creations in the studio. This flat mate, according to the model, is “in hospital on a drip a lot of the time,” referring to intravenous therapy, to keep herself nearly two-dimensionally skinny.

Clements wrote: “That the ideal body shape used as a starting point for a collection should be a female on the brink of hospitalization from starvation is frightening.” She added that a “dubious achievement” of this nature, “all in the quest to fit into a Balenciaga sample” size, comes with severe side effects such as mood swings, extreme fatigue, binge-eating and self-harm.

http://www.ibtimes.com/vogue-editor-says-models-think-its-ok-faint-food-deprivation-eat-tissues-go-hospital-drips-be-paris

The designer is present. His most near model is sickly and she is sickly from his preference in sizing. That’s all there is .. Fashion causes disordered eating. Fashion caused this consumer strain of body dysmorphia. Women are being distorted by madmen having no concern of a females wellbeing. Much of the disordered eating crisis is the usual female target audience as far back as 1600s Europe. Upperclass fashion was also a form of body modification. In most states you must be 18 or have parents permission by 16 to get a body piercing. The fashion based anorexia is a form of uneducated body modification in a form it cannot be: on terms of someone else’s ideals. Is it sexual ambivalence or conceit? What it is is cheap. Cheap on sample dress fabrics to an unrealistic frugality.

I don’t actually attribute being cheap to their real delusion.,It’s the “I’m going to leave a pretty corpse and I don’t care about eating till I’m dead” type of stubborn narcissism fuel. Across the luxury industry are parrots who pad their identity through movies. Billionaire heiress Daphne Guinness is one of them. None other than Karl Lagerfeld himself , quoted “ curves are out’, can be seen exhibiting his personal style as a pilgrims corpse for most of the past decade. If Homosexuality isn’t directly an affliction, then among homosexuality are couture sadists. An obsessive self contentment creating the ultimate non female .. or dead female from a live fame glutton. I don’t register that as karma. She followed other models into the industry with too positive an opinion of the work.

Refer to the quote just a bit earlier. If the studio fitting model is the ideal stature for the designer, realistically we have starvation tactics hurting the girls that needed employer assistance the most. There are smaller girls so conforming to the smallest dress doesn’t hurt them as much as an average size 8 or 10 model having no assistance from her industry agency who agreed to get her the job. Her looks got her in the door. What is being propositioned for employment…. are. not. her. looks. Not even DNA models of New York can see past their own company name to protect their models. Absurd. Its called Phenotype. They signed it. They have to protect it.

I request your immediate assistance to regulate the fashion industry. All who seek to discontinue or obstruct that regulation among you or in the private sector are to immediately be charged with child and public endangerment. Please inform me of their identity for I will have sharp words with them. I am making this most immediate in your career at OSHA for it needs the most attention. No other human can better expertly decide that for this nation. Enclosed are tentative list of recommended regulations to extend 1910.262 for including the fashion model career to regulation. Any career not being covered by OSHA is a Citizen not being protected by OSHA. Department of Labor OIG and Government Accountability Office have already failed for any legitimacy from 2009-2013.

I at this time will also report M Patricia Smith , Former US Solicitor and Former New York Labor Commissioner for willful failure of duty to protect youth from the fashion industry, willful neglect and contributing to the neglect of minor-employees during her time as Labor Commissioner circa the year 2009. Her lack of oversite led to girls as young as 14 being exposed to the corrosive atmosphere fashion modeling is made of.

David Michaels , and Edwin Foulke Jr, .. your predecessors, each are faulty to those matters. FBI will now again be called upon to arrest David Michaels for said charges whether they like it or not.

Regards,

Michael Bench, MEP, GCERT

4/26/2017

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ralphmorgan-blog1 · 7 years

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Acko is an ambitious digital play to disrupt Indias $10B insurance industry

Acko is an under-the-radar startup that wants to disrupt Indias insurance industry through a digital-only model. This week it stuck its head above the parapet and announced that it has raised $30 million to get started on its bold plan.

Founded by Varun Dua, the man behindinsurance comparison siteCoverfox, Acko is designed as a wholly digital take on insurance in India. The company isan independent general insuranceprovider that is wholly digital.Beyond operating online and without the expense of a brick and mortar footprint, Acko is aiming to unbundle insurance in India to make it both more affordable and relevant to consumers.

India is a fairly nascent insurance market [with the same]traditional carriers that weve seen for decades, CEO Dua told TechCrunch in an interview. Acko will be the first internet-only carrier.

Taking insurance in India online

Inspired by models such as Lemonade and Oscar Health in the U.S. and Direct Line in the UK, Dua sees a huge opportunity to tap intodigital totake a shot at the current market which is estimated to be worth over $10 billion annually and reacha new segment of consumers who have been left out to date.

The system ofdistribution in India does not provide information on the user at all. Theres not enough data to underwrite accurately on a real-time basis, Duasaid. Sales are mostly offline and flat pricing, usually [insurance firms] dont know much about a customer before underwriting him.

The Acko CEObelieves his firm can offer a 30-40 percent discounton incumbents by pricing its policies more accurately by gatheringinformation and data online. Thats in addition to cost savings by operating without a physical presence.

We will probably start off taking away existing [insurance rivals] customers, he added. Its a relatively easier market because people are moving online year on year. That gives us the early pickings, [but we] will probably be launching smaller and unique products that dont exist today later.

In particular, he foresees opportunity around segment-specific insurance policies that can be sold online. That could include, for example, pregnancy insurance, or policies for ride-sharing companies. Beyond selling on the Acko website, the plan is to link arms with partners who already have relationships with consumers for example an e-commerce store selling baby items, or the ride-sharing firm itself.

In a recent report, EY forecast that Indias insurance market is poised for a strong growth despite concerns around reaching new customers:

Despite strong improvement in penetration and density in the last 10 years, India largely remains an under-penetrated market. The market today is primarily dependent on push, tax incentives and mandatory buying for sales. There is very little customer pull, which will come from growing financial awareness and increasing savings and disposable income.

Thats a majorfocus for Acko.

We want to make insurance so straightforward that consumers dont need to talk to multiple people to get advice or fill up forms. Consumers should be able to access low prices in one click based on their risk profile, and be confident that at a press of a button their claim will get paid in the fastest possible time, Dua added in a statement.

Big name backers and big plans

To get started, Acko has raised $30 million from a range of top names that include VC firms Accel, SAIF Partners and Catamaran Ventures. Its angel investors include Venk Krishnan and Subba Rao of NuVentures, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, Hemendra Kothari of DSP Blackrock, founder and chairman of Hexaware Atul Nishar, and ex-investment baker and Arpwood Capital founder Rajeev Gupta.

Beyond that, Dua teased that there are undisclosed global insurance groups that own a stake of the business. Their names wont be revealed for another month or so, but their presence has helped give the startup credibility in an industry that values corporate institutions.

Acko has received an R1 license and is currently awaitingitsR2 license which has been applied for with Indiasinsurance authority. Dua anticipates that the final nod should come within three months, leaving the company ready to open its doors and launch products for consumers before the end of September this year.

The initial plan is to be active in three or four cities until Acko has shown thatthe claims pieces is something we able to control and optimize, according to Dua.

The team, which is currently around 20 people, is likely to grow to 45-50 by the year end, to help Dua hit his ambitious targets.

We believe we should do close to $40 million in premiums over first year, Dua said. On a five-year perspective, we wouldlove to reach anything from $500 million in premiums.