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randomshyperson · 2 years

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New Romantics - Chapter One - Wanda Maximoff Series

Summary: Trapped in a loveless relationship that has cost her friendships, Wanda watches her senior year of school turn upside down after a party. She will make new friends and may end up learning that not every relationship is doomed to failure.

Warnings: (+16), straight and toxic relationships, making out, underage drinking, language, co-dependency, conversations about insecurity and self-worth, attempted romantic comedy, unrequited love at first, friends to lovers. | Words: 4.236k

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Chapter One - Parties and Makeups

“The global mentality is moving toward free world trade and increased market liberalism. A world full of opportunities. A world where dreams can come true. It sounds fantastic, and it is fantastic. For a very small percentage of us. But for the vast, poor majority, the capitalist system only means one thing: death and suffering. While we live out our days thoughtlessly and stuff ourselves with cheap food. The poor people of the earth struggle in factories. Wages are forced down to the minimum, while the work hours keep increasing. Unionization is illegal, and the working conditions are intolerable. Before applauding freedom, we must remember one thing: Our over-consuming society stands on the shoulders of the coffee beans from Peru. We gorge on cheap food produced by underpaid children hands from India[...]”

Novi Grad, Monday, 1:00 pm.

"So what do you think?"

Wanda licked her lips, trying to choose the right words to define the monologue her boyfriend has been reading the last few minutes. Vision stares at her in anticipation.

"It's smart." She says, and he gives a soft laugh.

"Is that all? Don't you think I should change something?"

She sighs, shrugging. "I don't know, it's just good." She murmurs, thinking for a moment before adding. "Maybe exclude cheap food? You used it twice..."

Vision leans over to look at the paper. "No, you see, because that's a technique to emphasize the idea I picked up..."

Wanda stopped listening - Yes, she hated doing it, especially at how often it happened. But her attention was diverted to the other side of the courtyard, where a group of girls was leaving the school building. Most of them didn't notice that Wanda was watching, but one of them did. Eve, once she realized it, assumed an icy expression that made Wanda's stomach churn. The girl next to her was Jean Grey, and as soon as she followed her friend's gaze, she raised her middle finger in Wanda's direction before continuing walking.

Wanda swallowed dryly and looked away. Vision cleared his throat, waving in front of his girlfriend's eyes to attract her attention.

"Hey, don't let that get to you." He tried, leaning in to peck her cheek. "Okay?"

"Forget about it." Wanda forced a smile, kissing him. Vision smiled, enjoying the closure of the subject much more than she did since the one who had to deal with the free hatred was not him. The boy pulled away a little to take a breath before deepening the kiss, but a sheet of paper was placed between their faces and caused them both to jump away.

"No more making out my sister." It was Pietro, shoving the test in their faces. He wasn't alone, Clint Barton was with him, and he was the first to greet Vision. Pietro leaned on the railing behind where they were standing, "How did you go in the Geography assignment?"

Clint greeted Wanda with a kiss on the cheek, and Vision answered the older twin with a proud smile, "I got an A+."

"Typical." Pietro retorted chuckling. "What about you, sestra?"

Wanda sighs, gripping the handle of her backpack tighter as if the crumpled test at the bottom was going to jump out and give away her lie. "Hmm, I got a C minus."

The trio made sounds of trouble, and Wanda rolled her eyes. Pietro gave a little chuckle. "Papa will be so disappointed..." He teased, receiving an impatient sigh in return.

"What about you? Did you get an A?" She inquired. Pietro chuckled.

"No, but I'm an athlete." He reasoned. "I don't need the brains when I have the muscles." The boys thought it was funny but Wanda rolled her eyes at the foolishness.

"Okay, Pietro, keep believing that one."

"Better than having neither..." He teased low, and Clint pulled him out of the range when Wanda threatened to push him into the railing. Vision laughed, holding his girlfriend by the waist.

"We're going to Barton, see you later?" Vision announces, and she takes her attention from her brother who walked a few feet with Clint to the boy in front of her.

"I thought you were going over to my place."

Vision shrugs. "I went to your house yesterday, Wanda. And the day before, and before, and before..."

"I get it." She cuts in with a clumsy laugh. She kisses him quickly. "Call me later?"

He smiles, nodding before kissing her intensely. Pietro gets in the way again, asking him to hurry up. Vision leaves with the boys, and Wanda stands at the school entrance, alone for a few minutes even after they have turned the corner.

Novi Grad, Monday, 8:00 pm.

"Don't forget to feed little Chaos, that stinky cat."

Wanda smiled at her father's message, typing that she had already done so before turning her face to the other side of the bed, where an orange cat was sleeping heavily. She reached out, and scratched him behind the ears, receiving a purr in return.

"Papa is being mean, you smell good, Chaos." She says to the kitten, who doesn't wake up. Then sounds of door and keys ring out in the apartment, and Wanda leaves her cell phone on the mattress before getting up and leaving the bedroom.

Pietro is dropping off his shoes in the doorway. "Hey, good evening. Is Papa home yet?"

She denies it, hands in her sweatshirt pockets. "Double shift. Were you at Barton until now?"

The boy chuckled shortly, letting his jacket hang down and turning his back to go to the kitchen. "Ne (no), I left hours ago."

Wanda frowned, the image of Vision chatting messages and unanswered calls in her head. "Vis left too? I tried calling him..."

"I don't babysit your boyfriend, Wanda." Pietro cuts her off from the refrigerator door, and she swallows dryly ready to leave the kitchen. He regrets his aggressiveness and sighs. "I left early because Crystal wanted to talk. Or rather, fight. I'm sorry for taking it out on you."

Wanda shakes her head. "No problem. Are you guys okay?"

Pietro takes out the dinner saved for him to heat up in the microwave, shrugging. "She dumped me for the ninth time, but she didn't throw anything at me this time so I'd say that was progress."

Wanda sighs. "What was the problem now?"

He chuckles, rolling his eyes. "I don't know, she saw me talking to the new girl at school and thought I was being too nice. She's as hot as she is crazy."

"Don't be sexist Pietro, it doesn't make you any cooler." Wanda retorts turning her back on him, and the twin rolls his eyes again, focusing on dinner.

Wanda returns to her room, and Chaos is stretching out on her bed. He's lying on top of her cell phone now, and she has to push him slightly to get the device. She tries to call, but Vision doesn't answer like all the other times.

Before she can go back to watching the paused video classes on her laptop, there is someone on her porch.

Wanda rushes over to help her boyfriend get inside.

"Weird, it seems to have gotten harder to do that." He comments on the small tear in his jeans made by the railing and Wanda laughs lightly.

"Maybe you just need to exercise more." She teases, making him chuckle. He kisses her, pushing his way inside, but Wanda pulls away with the excuse that she is helping him take off his backpack and jacket. When he sits down on the bed to pet Chaos before kicking the cat out of the room, Wanda asks. "Where were you?"

Vision begins removing his shoes. "At Barton's."

"Until so late?"

The boy lets out a confused laugh, raising an eyebrow at her. "You know his mother is never home to care. Pretty much like your daddy..."

"I tried calling you." She insists.

He sighs wearily. "My cell phone died."

"Clint didn't have a charger?"

Vision laughs. "No, Wanda, he couldn't find it or whatever. What's this, huh? Some kind of interrogation?"

She swallows dryly, looking away, "No, I just... I was worried."

"Well, don't be, I'm right here." He retorts with a smile. "And you, well, you're quite far away..."

She laughs shortly, moving closer to sit on his lap. He is the one who initiates the kiss, and she cuts him off when she is starting to get out of breath. "Let me get the door." She gasps as she gets up, and Vision just nods.

But when Wanda returns, he notices the study items next to the laptop on the bed, and there is a test with a red note in his hands, and a little smile on his face. "I thought you said you got a C minus, Miss."

Wanda snatched the paper from his hand with rosy cheeks to the red F who seemed to mock her as much as her boyfriend. "Shut up." She says, and he gives up tormenting her when she kisses him again.

Novi Grad, Wednesday, 9:30 am.

"Hey, Wanda."

The greeting comes accompanied by a tap on the shoulder because the brunette is wearing headphones. Wanda pulls out both items at once, looking at her colleague, Darcy Lewis, with curiosity.

"Hi, Darcy, good morning."

The one with glasses smiles. "Are you going to the welcome party on Friday? You didn't confirm the invitation on Facebook, and Jane is being a bit uptight about the organization. She and Thor are taking care of the drinks." Wanda superficially recognized the names mentioned, they were popular people at school, but they were not her friends. She looked at the book - Dracula - in her lap for a second before turning back to Darcy.

"I don't know, I'll probably..."

"What, be reading on a Friday night?" The girl interrupts with teasing, but not mean smile. "You know, I have nothing against interesting habits, but the welcome party is the first opportunity to meet new friends at the very beginning of the year. This, and also to show the spirit of solidarity with the new freshmen who will fund our graduation. It’s important they know who you are, even if you have chosen to adopt the position of the emo geek of this school. Right?”

Wanda hesitates, half unsure of what to say about the whole thing. Before she can think how to respond, Jane - who was addressing other tables in the study area - approaches Darcy.

"Can you believe Thor told me that Loki just texted that he's taking some friends? What part of Students only did he not understand? The principal won't be happy to hear that they had strangers at the party." Jane blurts out angrily, offering a forced smile of greeting to Wanda before returning to typing on her cell phone. Darcy clears her throat.

"The end of the world really." Murmurs the one with the glasses. "See you Friday, Maximoff?"

"I think so." Wanda retorts, and Darcy smiles, offering her a wink before leaving with her friend.

Wanda doesn't have much time to get back to reading in peace. The class bell soon rings, and she has to collect her unfinished book to get to the next class.

Novi Grad, Wednesday, 5:41 pm.

Watching Vision play soccer with his friends is never fun, but Wanda doesn't complain anyway.

She busies herself with her book, finding it definitely more interesting than watching the boys, and it is only at the first break that Vision interrupts her.

She complains about the kiss because he is sweaty.

"You look pretty when you're focused, you know that?" he compliments, hands resting at her side. She twitches her nose.

"Am I not pretty at other times?"

He chuckles. "Don't be silly, being pretty is your greatest talent." He retorts, and she forces a smile, trying not to look bothered by the phrase. He doesn't notice, moving away to get a bottle of water.

The soccer field is not empty, but Wanda doesn't know the kids there besides Clint, and her twin obviously. She has seen some of them, but they were Vis's friends and not hers. So she has a big empty space around her in the stands.

Stealing glances at the surrounding groups of friends and couples, Wanda sighs before turning her gaze back to her boyfriend.

"Vis, will you go with me to the school welcome party?"

He makes a confused face, finishing a large sip of water before retorting, "That cheesy thing? Why do you even want to go to that, we've never attended it before."

She frowns softly. "It's not cheesy. It's important that the freshmen get to know us now, they are responsible for over half of the fundraising for the graduation trip-"

"Didn't your father say he was going to pay for yours?" He interrupts her with a raised eyebrow.

Wanda sighs. "Yes, but I'm not going to think only of myself-"

"I have money too." He cuts in again shrugging. "Clint works, Pietro is your brother so he's insured too. You don't have to care about a dumb party full of brats, Wanda." He mocks with a chuckle, leaning in to kiss her, but Wanda turns her face away. Vis doesn't notice, distracted by the boys rushing him to get back to playing, and Wanda sighs at the thought that he almost never notices anything that bothers her.

"I just think it would be nice to meet new people." She murmurs, and he sighs, looking down at the field and nodding that he's going already.

"Well, I guess we could drop in for a few hours, free booze is a nice thing..." He suggests, and her face immediately lights up. Vis extends a hand to her strands of hair. "But you have to do something for me."

She frowns. "What?"

"Can my brother spend Easter with us?"

Wanda's excited expression drops. "Seriously? Can I bring mine?" She retorts wryly and angrily, closing the book. Vision sighs helplessly.

"Baby, come on..." She rolls her eyes, starting to put things away. "Hey, I know I said I didn't want anyone bothering us, but Dad grounded Tony and I don't want to leave him alone for the whole holiday..."

"If Tony would stop screwing up he wouldn't be grounded." Wanda retorts now standing up, with her backpack in her hands. Vision chuckles, making puppy dog eyes at her.

"Please, darling. A party for a party." He negotiates, and she rolls her eyes.

"Okay, fine." She agrees, and he grins, grabbing her by the waist to spin her in the air despite her protests. With the delay, Clint approaches them, just as sweaty as his friend.

"Come on man, you two can hook up after the game." Says the boy, busy with the water as Vision lets go of Wanda with little grace, who pulls down the hem of her skirt with her cheeks slightly flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm celebrating, Wanda has agreed to let Tony spend Easter at her family Cabin." Vision tells. Wanda wryly chuckles:

"Maybe you'd like to come too, it seems the holiday for two has turned into a holiday for everyone."

Clint chuckles, wiping his mouth before commenting, "How did he convince you, Maximoff?"

She sighs. "He's taking me to the welcoming party on Friday." She says, and Vision shrugs, but Clint frowns.

"Friday? Don't you have that fancy dinner with your dad and the uni people? You haven't shut up about it for months." Clint recalls and Vision puts his hand to his head.

"Oh, shit, it's true. Baby, I completely forgot..."

"Whatever." She says wearily with her hands in the air lightly. "See you tomorrow, Clint." He said leaving, and Vision patted the back of his friend's head before following his girlfriend.

Novi Grad, Friday, 07:12 pm.

"I'm already at the restaurant, good thing I wore a suit. Try to go to the party, it will be good for you."

Wanda reread the message for the ninth time, trying to understand what in the last sentence bothered her so much. She sighed, looking at the little Chaos adjusting himself on her bed.

"What do you think, buddy? Do you think I should go to a stupid party?" She asks the cat, who doesn't even meow back.

Wanda risks checking Instagram, only to be bombarded with pictures in her feed about the school party, which grew in popularity apparently because Loki wasn't the only one who took other than students.

She glanced around her messy room, and at the paused sitcom on her laptop. The Addams Family was not being efficient in distracting her tonight. Vision was at a dinner party with her father's contacts from Europe's top universities, Pietro was sleeping over at Crystal's because they got back together the day before, and Clint was supposed to be working. And there were no other friends.

Wanda forced herself to her feet. She could do this. New friends at a party, right? It shouldn't be that hard.

She got ready in record time and changed from her comfortable sweatshirt into a wine-colored cotton dress. Maybe it didn't scream friendly energy, but it definitely made her look pretty.

Chaos meowed at her when she stood in front of the mirror, and Wanda thought she was good to go. She texted to Vision that she was going to have fun knowing he wasn't going to answer tonight before she left.

Novi Grad, Friday, 08:40 pm.

Music from the loudspeakers echoed throughout the room. The welcoming committee did a good job, because they had booked the whole night at the Panther Club, two blocks away from the school, and the place was completely full.

Wanda managed to get in at the ticket booth with her school ID and was given a different wristband for being of legal age. She imagined that this would guarantee alcoholic drinks for her inside the bar, but she doubted very much that anyone was respecting these rules of the amount of drunk freshmen around.

She was trying to have a good time. She didn't rely too much on the colorful drink that the bartender said was alcohol-free and decided to enjoy the Club's trademark live music show.

It wasn't exactly her idea of fun, being around hundreds of drunken teenagers, but Wanda tried to ignore the discomfort of her own boots to dance a little.

It was not a good idea.

She returned to the bar area after three songs way too long for the good health of her toes and was considering leaving when she recognized the red-haired figure only a few feet away.

Jean was waiting for her drink, and saw Wanda out of the corner of her eye, assuming a defensive posture.

"Hi." Wanda greeted, receiving only an icy stare in return before the redhead looked forward again. Wanda sighed, "Jean, please. You can't ignore me forever."

"Not forever, it's already senior year." She retorts coldly, turning her body toward Wanda, one arm resting on the counter. The brunette swallows dryly, but the redhead smiles wickedly, the other hand reaching out to push the strands of brown hair behind the smaller girl's shoulder. "What do you want from me, Maximoff? A chance to stab my back, too?"

Wanda tenses her jaw, her eyes burning. "Please don't be like this." She pleads and takes on courage. "I miss you, you know. And Eve... Please just say something."

Jean licks her lips and tucks a strand of hair behind Wanda's ear before lowering her hands. She looks her in the eyes.

"Next time, try to use less eyeliner. You're looking like a slut." She declares, turning away before Wanda can really process what was said to her.

She feels her throat tighten with the urge to start crying and takes a deep breath. And then she feels a presence behind her.

"Very nice friend you have." Ironizes an unknown voice. Wanda turns around and is surprised by a slightly familiar face.

You smile and stare back at her. "Did you know that girls who call others girls sluts are statically more likely to get chlamydia?"

Wanda frowns slightly. "Really?"

You grin "No, but it would be fun karma." You say, and it is her turn to chuckle. You then extend your hand to her. "I'm Y/N, we're in the same Literature class."

"Oh, that's right. The new girl." Wanda murmurs finally realizing where she recognizes the face from. "I'm Wanda."

"I know." You retort biting back a smile and when she blinks curiously, you half-heartedly clarify, "Your brother, Pietro, right? He's been very considerate of the new students, even the ones who aren't freshmen. He pointed you out in the courtyard once."

Wanda nods, a little out of frame. She wasn't very good at socializing, especially with those she thought were kind of attractive.

You noticed her distance and cleared your throat. "Just for the record, Wanda, and well, I'm no makeup expert but..." You extended your hand again, this time to her face, wiping with the tip of your finger a bit of eyeliner smeared by the tear she let fall. "I wouldn't say you look slutly, I'd say you look quite beautiful."

You compliment, and Wanda feels a shiver spread through her body. So surprised by her own reaction, she can barely smile back when you do so in farewell, leaving the bar.

She decides to run to the bathroom and check her makeup even though her legs are still shaking a little.

The sound of the party is muffled inside, and Wanda sighs as she sees her own reflection. She wants to believe what you said, but since Jean treated her like that, it's been a little difficult.

With a wet piece of paper, she carefully removes the eyeliner, and just as she is finishing, she hears a soft cry coming from one of the booths.

Worried, Wanda throws the paper in the trash and follows the sound. "Hello?" she needs to call out another two times for the girl to sniffle and answer.

"Hey."

"Sorry to bother you, but are you okay?" It's kind of a silly question to ask someone who is crying in the bathroom, but it's the best that Wanda handles. And the girl seems to enjoy the kindness.

"Yeah, just... it's stupid." She replies in a small voice.

"Can you open the door for me for a minute?" There is a pause, but the keyhole unlocks and the girl pushes the door slightly. Wanda offers her an understanding expression and pulls her by the hand. "Come, I can help with the smudged makeup." The girl agrees to be led out of the booth, to the sinks. "I'm Wanda, by the way."

"I know, your brother is pretty popular." Mumbles the other one sniffling softly. Wanda smiles, "I'm Yelena. Can you call someone for me? The team captain?"

"Oh, sure." Wanda assures, kind of getting the impression that the girl is kicking her out, kind of uncomfortable with the attention.

She leaves Yelena and heads back to the party, spending a good ten minutes asking about this team captain to the people around - most of them too drunk to know - until finally one of the third-year girls points to a tall boy at the back of the club. "The only captain I know is Steve Rogers, sweetie. That pretty boy over there."

Wanda approached him in a circle of people, it was as uncomfortable as she expected. Steve, at least, seemed like a nice guy and followed her with some concern about that girl crying in the bathroom.

But when Wanda returned, Yelena was not alone. Another blonde girl was finishing helping her with her make-up.

"[...] you and Kate need to stop this push and pull, that's what I think." Advised the stranger. Yelena sighed.

"She left me crying in a bathroom, I'll never speak to her again."

"Come on Yelena..."

"Sorry." Wanda interrupts the interaction with Steve trailing behind her. "I brought your friend, Yelena. The team captain."

The two look at her as if she is crazy. Yelena points to the other, "This is my friend. Carol Danvers, captain of the basketball team."

Steve nods. "What's up, Carol?" he greeted her with a smile half confused by the whole thing.

"Oh, I didn't know we had more than one...team." Wanda mumbles clumsily, and Yelena sighs half impatiently.

"Look, thanks anyway, it's the thought that counts. But we were in the middle of a conversation here..."

"God, you're so rude when you're mad at Kate." Carol complains. "Come on, Natasha was looking for you. Thanks again, sweetie." The blonde pulls her friend out of the bathroom, and Wanda decides she has had enough for the night.

She makes her way out of the bar, but on the street, she realizes that Steve Rogers has followed her the whole way.

"Hey, sorry, are you Jarvis Stark's girlfriend?" He asks and she takes her time assimilating her boyfriend's real name instead of the nickname everyone has used since elementary school.

"Yeah, why?"

Steve smiles awkwardly. "Any chance you have his brother's number?"

Wanda has a good few seconds of pure surprise before muttering that she really wasn't talking to Tony. The blond gets a little disappointed but forces a smile.

"Sorry, see you at school." She babbles, honestly tired from this night.

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #elizabeth olsen x reader #new romantics #skamverse collection #alt er love series

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swissboyhisch · 1 year

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The Aussie Snack Experience

Pairing: Nico Hischier x Aussie!Reader

Summary: As a marketing idea, you get to feature in a video with Nico trying snacks from your home country.

Word Count: 1637

Warnings: Alcohol. A little bit of an AU as Devs and Rangers aren't apart of the global series.

A/N: Another to the Nico x Aussie!Reader series

THE MASTERLIST JOIN THE TAGLIST HOCKEY DISCORD

You had been missing home a little and asked your family to send a box of Australian snacks and drinks. Unsurprisingly, your parents sent you multiple huge boxes, much bigger than you had ever expected. Lollies, biscuits, chocolate. Soft drink, alcohol, milo. So many things from your childhood. Luckily you had a whole team of hockey players you could share with.

When the news had gotten to Anna in the Media department about your delivery, she asked you if you were willing to do a video with Nico. Apparently the idea of Nico trying Australian snacks and drinks was a good marketing idea. Especially since New Jersey was one of the teams just announced as a part of the Global pre-season games in Melbourne.

For once, you accompanied Nico to the arena one this day with your boxes of Australian stuff in the back of the car. Jack had picked you both up. Meaning he got roped into help carrying the boxes into the room where Anna had set up the video production. You two were setting up while the boys had morning skate.

“Did your parents actually send you all this?” Anna questioned as she unpacked the drinks box.

You hummed as you pulled out the little bags of different flavours of Shapes. So many things. “Yeah, I was feeling a little homesick. Missing some snacks.”

“And even alcohol?”

“Yep!” You respond as Anna holds up a four pack of cruisers. “Those are my favourite. They sent me a heap of them thankfully.”

As training neared the end, you prepared the fairy bread. The slices of white bread slathered with butter and the Hundreds & Thousands on top. The perfect kids party food. Anna had set up a table of food off camera. As you and Nico would sit in frame, Anna would bring one plate of food or a drink for us to try. Well Nico to try.

“Heya babe,” Nico hummed, coming to join you on the couch. His hair was wet from his shower. All shaggy just like you liked it.

“Hey sexy.”

A flush coloured his cheeks at the comment. Nico pressed a kiss to your cheek as the media crew set up the equipment. Majority of it was done, just final touches before you all started the shoot. Nico was going to start off the video with a little welcome.

“Hi, my name Nico Hischier and I’m here with my Australian girlfriend (Y/N),” Nico starts off. “As preparation for the Global series in Melbourne, (Y/N) has brought in a heap of Australian snacks for me to try. Some I may have already had, some I haven’t.”

“I tried to make it so it’s mostly the ones you have,” You add.

Nico waved over to Anna, “Anna is going to bring in the snacks for us.”

“Snack one!”

Anna brought over a plate of Tim Tams, just the plain ones. You got excited at the sight. Since receiving the box, you haven’t actually eaten anything so you couldn’t wait.

“I’ve had these!” Nico exclaimed happily, immediately grabbing one and takinging a bite.

You follow his actions, taking a bite from the biscuit and savouring the taste. “Do you remember what they’re called?”

“Uhhh, Tim Tams yeah?” You clap happily, giving him a smooch on the cheek as a reward. He laughs, “Is that my reward, a kiss for every right guess on what they’re called?”

“That wasn’t a part of the plan but I guess we could fit that in.”

The next thing was a glass of milk which confused Nico. Anna put two glasses down before the pair of you. You knew exactly what it was for and it was something you haven’t done since you were a child.

“Uh…”

You laughed, “Time of a Tim Tam Slam.”

“You’ve never told me about this,” Nico argues.

Without telling him anything, you grab another biscuit and bite the two opposite corners. You dunk it a little in the lactose-free milk and suck like it’s a straw. Nico just watched on, confused as hell.

“It makes it taste like chocolate milk,” You reveal, nodding for Nico to try his own.

You watched as the Swiss tentatively bit off the corners and sucked up the milk. His eyes widened when he tasted the milk.

“That tastes really good,” He comments.

You nod in agreement, “Now bite the Tim Tam.”

To you, the best part of the Tim Tam Slam was eating the biscuit after. The mushy biscuit. Sounds gross but it was so good. Anna brings out the next snack which is fairy bread.

“Is this the fairy bread?” Nico asks, examining the plate.

“The best party food of all time.”

“Isn’t a children’s party food?”

You scoff, “I had this at my 18th birthday party thank you very much.”

Nico was tentative when he picked up a slice of bread. Spilling the Hundreds & Thousands over his lap. You giggled, taking your own piece and taking a bite. It took you back to your birthday where you and your best friend just ate the whole plate while drinking cruisers and cob loaf.

“Can we have a drink to wash this down?” You ask, smirking at Anna.

That was the code word you had sorted out earlier for Anna to bring out two of the cruisers. Both of them are your favourite flavour, Zesty Lemon & Lime. Nico saw them before they made it into frame. He lit up, having had Cruisers before as you loved drinking them when you went home for the off season.

Nico immediately grabbed one, as did you, and clinked glasses. He took a sip happily. “These are Vodka Cruisers.”

“Like White Claws but better,” You add, taking another swig.

“Lemon and Lime is probably the best flavour,” Nico comments.

You grin, “You take after me.”

Nico grabbed your legs, lifting them to rest them over his lap. You two made yourselves comfy which Anna loved. The fans were going to eat this up. Nico liked to keep you hidden, to himself. But this was a gold mine of content.

“Do you have any Shapes on that table?” Nico asks, peering over behind the camera.

At the request, Anna brings over multiple little bags of all the flavours of Shapes. Nico immediately went for the Pizza flavour. It was your favourite too. Then the door opened revealing Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer.

“Snacks?” The youngest asked, heading straight for the table.

Anna suspected this would happen at some point. The team couldn’t help themselves but annoy whoever was on media duty. “If you want snacks, go sit with (Y/N) and Nico in front of the camera and introduce yourselves.”

Both of the boys excitedly sat in front of the couch like little kids. Your hand came to pat Jack’s head while Nico flicked the back of Mercer’s head.

“Seriously you two?” Nico huffed.

“Leave them,” You laugh, nodding to Anna to bring out more snacks.

“Hi! My name is Jack Hughes and this is Dawson Mercer. We’re joining our parents to try Australian snacks from Mum’s home country.”

Dawson nodded, “What he said.”

The next to be brought out to the table was a bowl of favourites. Jack grabbed the Crunchy, Dawson grabbed a Flake, Nico went for a Boost and you grabbed a Picnic. Jack opened his, making the flakes of chocolate land all over his lap. Dawson just pissed himself laughing at his friend.

“They’re your favourite, yeah?” Nico asked, nodding to the chocolate in your hand. Trying to ignore the children in front of you two.

You nod, taking a bite. “Behind Chomps.”

“Chomp?” Jack questions.

At those words, Anna threw a couple bars of Chomp at you guys. You and Nico both caught yours but watching Jack and Dawson getting hit in the head cracked the you guys up. Jack looked like a deer in the headlights when he felt the bump before it landed in his lap. You didn’t waste any time though. Tearing into the bar and biting at the crunchy, caramel, wafer and chocolate treat.

“Yo these are great,” Jack stated, chewing still.

You slap him up the back of his head, “Eat with your mouth closed Jackson!”

“My name isn’t Jackson,” he argued.

“Don’t argue with Mum.”

Nico rolled his eyes, “Love that we just suddenly have kids.”

You just picked up your cruiser again and skulled it. It’s better to deal with these two when drunk. Anna finally stopped laughing long enough to bring out lamingtons. Jack didn’t bother waiting, going immediately for the food.

“What’s this?” Dawson asked you.

You take one and offer it to Nico. He smiled, taking a bite of the dessert then pressing a little kiss to your lips. You hum at the taste coating your lips.

“A chocolate lamington,” Nico answers for you.

In response to his words, you press a kiss to his cheek once more. “Neeks is right.”

“You guys want to wrap it up?” Anna suggests to you.

Jack and Dawson weren’t even paying attention anymore, Just grabbing at the different snacks on the table. Luckily Jack was driving you and Nico as you both had drunk a couple cruisers through the duration of the filming. It wasn’t a game day which was why he was allowed to drink.

You decided to do the outro as the two younger boys didn’t give a shit about the video. Nico was being clingy, holding you to him. “Thanks for watching me feed the boys Australian snacks. Make sure you guys come see the boys play against the Rangers in Melbourne on the 23rd and 24th of September. You may even catch a glimpse of me somewhere in the stadium. Peace out.”

“Bye!” The boys shout, waving at the camera. “See you in Australia!”

TAGLIST:

@findapenny @mp0625 @hischierhaze @11zegras @lvrzegras @francesfarhadi @cixrosie @daisysthings @jayrami3

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liaromancewriter · 1 year

Text

Love Bites

Premise: Ethan and Cassie get a little carried away in their sex capades.

Book: Open Heart (post series) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Mature – NSFW. Tropes: Public Places. Gala. Words: 2,325

A/N: This fic is for 2 anon prompt requests. Submission for @choicesprompts Smutember, prompt 10 (caught in the act); for @choicesseptemberchallenge2023 day 21 (kiss). I'm also using @choicesflashfics week 49, prompt 1 and 3 (in bold).

The glittering lights of the ballroom sparkled like stars in the painted ceiling above. Soft music from a string quartet tucked away in a little alcove mingled with the din of a crowd.

The conversations around the room jumped from stock market tips to the vagrancy of the global economy to an auction at Sotheby’s for a priceless piece of art.

Ethan Ramsey eavesdropped on the people behind him and wondered how priceless the artwork was given it was on auction, which, by its very definition, required one to put a price on an object.

He leaned against a column, sipping a passable Scotch, and watched his girlfriend work the room. Dr. Valentine could triage a level one emergency in the middle of the night, but Cassie Valentine was made for settings like this.

A designer gown that teased as much as it revealed, hair expertly styled and make-up that highlighted her green eyes and red lips. She blended in with Manhattan’s glitterati as if she belonged. But then again, this was her world as much as Edenbrook was.

Cassie could, and did, straddle two worlds with aplomb. Ethan envied that about her.

He could schmooze if absolutely pushed under the pain of death, but he always felt awkward doing it. Like he was wearing shoes two sizes too big.

Cassie wore a shimmering black dress with a sweetheart neckline that hugged her curves. Her arms were bare and cuffed with more diamonds. And when she moved, he spied glimpses of silky white thighs. Earlier this afternoon, those same legs had been locked around his ass.

A teardrop diamond pendant was framed between her cleavage, just below the dip at the base of her throat. It caught the glint of the chandeliers. He briefly lost himself in an erotic fantasy where his lips sucked deep at the sensitive spot on the side of her neck as her throaty cries echoed around him.

He smirked into his drink at the thought of crossing the carpeted floor, taking her in his arms and marking her in front of everyone. That would show them who she was going home with tonight.

Especially one of her exes who’d almost ruined the evening before it began with the lascivious way he stared at her breasts and hips. Ethan wanted to applaud when Cassie stared the other man down until he escaped with a flimsy excuse.

Ethan reflected that Asshole the Third, Max’s nickname for the other man, was well deserved.

“Thought I’d find you lurking in the corner,” Cassie said charmingly as she floated toward him on high heels, a champagne flute in one hand.

“Don’t blame me,” Ethan quipped with a wry grin. “Your brother deserted me for a sultry redhead. Or maybe it was the luscious brunette.”

Cassie’s brows knit in annoyance, and she turned around to look for Max in the crowded ballroom. She huffed when her search proved unsuccessful and turned back, moving closer. Her floral scent tantalized his senses, and he inhaled deeply, feeling lightheaded.

“You take my breath away every time I see you,” he murmured into her ear, lightly biting the edge of her earlobe. “My patience is wearing thin. Let’s get out of here.”

Cassie sipped her champagne and threw him an amused look above the rim of her glass.

“All in good time, babe,” she winked. “My mom would never forgive me if we left before the main event.”

Handing her empty glass to a passing server, Cassie nestled against him and hooked one arm around his back. She planted light kisses along his jawline, little nips and bites that she soothed with her tongue.

“I already thanked you earlier for accompanying me this weekend,” she said between kisses. “But I feel this sacrifice deserves an extra spicy reward.” She bit the corner of his lips. “If you’re up for a sexy dare, that is?”

Ethan’s ears perked up at the salacious proposition, and he met the challenge in her eyes with one of his own.

“I’m not the one protesting whenever I fuck you against my apartment’s windows,” he lowered his voice, the words deliberately crude to gauge how serious she was.

She scoffed but didn’t deny the accusation. With a quick glance around to make sure no one was paying attention to them, she placed a hand on his arm and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“Meet me in the corner cloakroom. Five minutes.”

Ethan blushed when he realized she was deadly serious. He watched her hips swing enticingly as she navigated the crowds toward the exit. Suddenly, his collar felt tight, and he tugged it away from his neck.

Anticipation had him practically panting. He started to follow Cassie when Max stepped into his path.

“Have you seen my sister?” he asked, glancing on either side before looking at Ethan, puzzled. “Your face is flushed. You okay?”

Ethan nodded, resisting the urge to tug at his collar again, and prayed the younger man wouldn’t press the issue.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” Max said with a shrug, taking Ethan at his word. “Come on. He’s by the bar.”

Stuck, Ethan followed Max to the other side of the room. He glanced at the exit Cassie had taken and sincerely hoped she was still in the mood when he joined her.

Fifteen minutes later, he shifted anxiously on his feet, trapped between Max, the CEO of a new health center focused on diagnostics, and the curse of social niceties. The conversation with the other man was fascinating, and he would have been entirely present in any other circumstances. But not when his girlfriend was waiting to be fucked.

When his phone buzzed against his chest, he reached into the pocket and looked down at the screen. He didn’t need a Cypher to decode the three questions mark in Cassie’s text.

“I’m sorry,” he said apologetically at the two men before him. “This is important.” He indicated the phone in his hand, shading the screen from Max’s shrewd gaze. “I need to make a phone call.”

Ethan hastily escaped, his long strides covering the length of the ballroom, a man on a critical mission. He marched down the long hallway, ignoring the guests mingling in the relative quiet of the foyer.

The corner cloakroom wasn’t being used for the event, and the window was shuttered. It looked dark and deserted.

Figuring Cassie had given up on him and returned to the gala, Ethan started to turn away when a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him into the darkened room.

“Finally!” Cassie muttered. He could hear the pout in her voice. “I thought I was going to have to handle things myself.”

It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting from the hall coming through the wooden slats of the roll-up window.

“Blame your brother,” Ethan grunted, his hands rough as he gripped her elbows and lifted her against the wall.

“You seem to be blaming Max for many things today,” Cassie said, exasperated.

“Scold me later,” he said, covering her body with his.

His mouth descended upon hers, swallowing whatever Cassie was about to say. His lips coaxed hers open to the thrust of his tongue, desperate in his need for her. With a moan, she pressed against him, her fingers digging into his hips.

Their breathing became labored as their kisses became greedy, hungry and ravenous. Cassie sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, lightly catching it between her teeth. It stung, and he tasted blood.

Ethan cupped her jaw in one hand, gripping it tight to hold her in place, and lowered his mouth to kiss the dip at the base of her throat. He cuffed her wrists in one hand and raised her arms, keeping them flush against the wall. The movement thrust her cleavage out.

Recalling his earlier fantasy, Ethan pushed the top of her dress down and buried his face between her naked breasts. He savored the sexy sounds she uttered as he licked and sucked her nipples, biting the edge just enough for her desire-filled eyes to snap open.

He could feel the tremors coursing through her body and released her hands. He reached under the skirt of her dress to grip her ass, lifting her hips until she locked her legs around his thighs. The fabric of her dress draped over his arms as he shoved the skirt away and stared heatedly at the lacy triangle covering her crotch.

Cassie’s fingers fumbled with his belt, unbuckling it and unzipping him. She thrust her hands inside his underwear to cup him. Her fingers gently wrapped around his thick length and released him from his pants, pumping once, twice, and stroking the tip with her thumb. He rocked himself, sliding into her grasp, grunting his need as words failed him.

He nibbled kisses along Cassie’s jaw and down her throat. Below, his fingers stroked her core, teasing the tender folds. His thumb pressed against the top of her sex, and she squirmed, her hands falling to the side.

“Please, please, please,” she begged, rubbing against him.

Ethan sucked hard on the tendon in her neck, his teeth scraping the sensitive skin, and she jumped.

“Stop!” Cassie pushed him back as she slapped a hand where his lips had been.

Ethan shook his head to clear the haze of lust clouding his mind. He saw tears prick the corner of her eyes, but they didn’t fall.

“Let me look,” he said gently and removed her hand. “Crap.”

“Double crap,” Cassie said with a dismayed glance.

They stared at the redness on her neck from the hickey and the light impressions of his teeth around its edges. He remembered thinking earlier how he’d like to mark her. But it had been an idle thought. He’d never want to embarrass her in front of her family.

“Ethan, I can’t go back to the gala looking like this,” she cried out, almost in tears.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said, placing his palm along the side of her face, his thumb stroking her cheekbones. “I got carried away.”

“We both did,” Cassie said, sighing deeply. “What are we going to do?”

Ethan started to respond, but Cassie shushed him.

They heard voices outside and stared in alarm at the unlocked door. They tried to scramble apart while tugging at the bodice of Cassie’s dress, but the door suddenly swung inward before they could do anything.

For a second, light from the hallway shone directly on their tangled bodies and then two people appeared in the doorway. They wore the hotel uniform and had a rolling coat rack behind them. He didn’t recognize the man, but the woman had been manning the other cloakroom when they arrived.

Ethan pressed himself against Cassie’s front to protect her modesty, but it was obvious from the shocked looks on their faces that they’d gotten quite an eyeful. He realized then that Cassie wasn’t the only one exposed. His dick hung out from the opening in his dress pants.

“Shut the door,” Ethan barked when the pair remained frozen in the doorway.

His shout seemed to do the trick as the two workers hurriedly slammed the door shut.

“Wow. You put the fear of Doctor Ramsey in them,” Cassie said, giggling.

She adjusted the bodice of her dress, shaking the folds of her skirt to remove any creases. Ethan smiled ruefully and tucked himself away, gently zipping up and buckling his belt.

His eyes darkened as they fell on the love bite.

“Do you want to head back to the hotel?” he asked, peering intently at her.

“We can’t,” she reminded him, pushing herself off the wall. “Let me think.”

She started pacing the small space, seemingly in a conversation with herself. Ethan wanted to interrupt, but he knew her well enough by now to not do that.

“Okay, I have a solution,” Cassie said, folding her arms in front of her. “I checked my shawl into the cloakroom when we arrived. I can wrap that around my neck and shoulders. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them I’m cold. Max will suspect something’s up but won’t say anything.”

“Let’s go get your shawl,” Ethan said with a nod to indicate his agreement with the plan. “Facing that cloakroom attendant again can’t be any more embarrassing than what already transpired.”

“Oh, no, Dr. Ramsey,” Cassie said with a tsk, moving away from Ethan. “You gave me the hickey. Ergo, you’re going to get my shawl while I wait here. I’m not stepping foot outside this room until I’m presentable.”

Marching down the hallway to do as she demanded, Ethan grumbled internally that it was her idea to make out in the empty cloakroom. But, he reasoned, they wouldn’t need to cover up if he hadn’t lost control. So, he owed her.

He and the attendant avoided eye contact during the entire interaction, and Ethan wondered what had happened to his once-sedate life.

The old him would have never been in this situation, pretending the woman across from him hadn’t just caught him ravishing his girlfriend in public with a few hundred esteemed guests mingling close enough to hear but for the music.

Later, he escorted Cassie back to the ballroom, the shawl firmly ensconced around her neck. It looked strange, given the circumstances, but they had no choice.

“Hey, where have you guys been?” Max called out from a short distance away, clearly on the lookout for them.

Cassie kept a straight face as her brother started toward them. She glanced sideways at Ethan, and they shared a conspiratorial wink.

Ethan grinned wickedly as Cassie walked over to meet Max in the middle. A sedate life was overrated, he thought. With Cassie around, he’d never be bored. She wouldn’t let him. And that was better than any medical mystery he’d ever solved.

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

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @genevievemd @headoverheelsforramsey @lucy-268 @jamespotterthefirst @jerzwriter @lady-calypso @mainstreetreader @peonierose @potionsprefect @queencarb @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @socalwriterbee @takemyopenheart @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @midnightmelodiz

Ethan & Cassie only: @cariantha @custaroonie @hopelessromantic1352 @mrs-ramsey @youlookappropriate

#open heart #open heart choices #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #choices fanfics #open heart fanfics #choices fanfiction #open heart fanfiction #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week #ethan ramsey x cassie valentine #writers on tumblr

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aramonta · 21 days

Text

[ ni ni, cis-woman, she/her ] Look who just landed! ARAMONTA XIA WEI , I sure hope you packed all you need. Perhaps you’re not worried as the HEAD OF INTERPLANETARY MARKETS of REDROCK (INVESTMENT COMPANY). The city has plenty of spots for a 33 year old SIGHIR like you. You’ll be known in the city soon enough as THE SPEAR PILLAR, being ASSIDUOUS and SELF-CENTERED.

OOC INFO

Ven, PST, she/they

Muse’s Name(s): Aramonta Xia Wei, Reyna Jazmyn Dizon

Tagging System: HERE

Intro: HERE

STATISTICS

Full Name: Aramonta Xia Wei, 煒霞

Nickname: Monty

Date of Birth: November 1, 2372

Gender: Cis-woman

Pronouns: She/her

Sexual Orientation: Questioning

Romantic Orientation: Questioning

Current Age: 33

Modification: SIGHIR

Affiliation: Unaffiliated

Birthplace: New Jakarta, Mars

Current Neighbourhood: Sora

Occupation: Head of Interplanetary Markets of REDROCK, a multinational, multi-planet, near-galactic investment company

Known Languages: Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesian, Japanese, English, Arabic, French

APPEARANCE

Faceclaim: Ni Ni

Height: 5'7"

Eye Colour: Reddish Brown, her near-constant Sighir usage leaves a red colour, like a filter or sometimes a luster, over her brown irises

Hair Colour: Dark

Clothing Style: loves silk, soft and breezy, custom designed clothing, often defaults to business casual/formal, has so many suit variants, reserves dresses and gowns for galas, doesn't understand dressing down, monogrammed everything

Jewelry: multiple rings on both hands, hand chains as everyday fashion, earrings for specific situations, necklace made from family heirloom gold, nipple stuff (cause she was curious and still doesn't understand the hype)

Tattoos: N/A

Marks/Scars: Scarification of three phoenixes over her spine (an homage to Bixia Yuanjun, the Chinese Taoist Goddess of the dawn, childbirth, and destiny)

Modifications: N/A

Scent/Fragrance: Tom Ford Myrrhe Mystère

PERSONALITY

Positive Traits: driven, passionate, adaptable, confident

Neutral Traits: pragmatic, amoral, reserved, realistic

Negative Traits: apathetic, impatient, unsympathetic

Peeves: Scraping silverware, loud people, meetings that should have been an email, being late

Fears: Society’s ruin, failure, losing her fish

Skills: business acumen & development, analytical reasoning, risk management, professionalism, rapport building

Goals: Hostile takeover of Redrock, social stability

FAVOURITES

Likes: Dumdum the goldfish and Alastair the Koi, numbers, watching popcorn pop

Dislikes: Wasting time, condensation that appears on food after you put it in the fridge/leftovers, doctors/hospitals

Hobbies: Football, Piloting, Meditation, Collecting Archival fashion

Habits: Using SIGHIR for pain transference, forgetting to drink water, keeping snacks in her pockets

One Cherished Item: Dumdum

OVERVIEW

Her father was a rags-to-riches story, who started as a boots-on-the-ground terraformer who rose up the ranks to become the President and CEO of the ASPECT company. Its name is an acronym for AeroSPace, Exploration, Colonization, and Terraforming. ASPECT made significant contributions to Mars colonization, habitation, and terraformation. Her mother became the CFO of REDROCK and was from a family with deep roots in global business which naturally evolved and scaled up to the interplanetary stage. When they met, she was charmed by the silver fox and it didn’t take long for them to embark on a journey to become a family. Aramonta had a warm upbringing and had never been without her parents’ love. She was free to find her direction and experience things independently, but her parents’ busy careers often left her without their gentle guidance. Maybe that was why things sometimes slipped through the cracks of their attention and they missed the initial signs of her illness. She was three when she wished she could tell her nanny that breathing made everything feel like knives stabbing inside of her whole body, but she couldn’t find the words through her screams or sobs. She thought that the pain would never stop, but just as the nanny was ready to call her parents, it did. While she caught her breath, she realized that her nanny was screaming in her stead, and for the first time, her eyes took on their reddish sheen. When her parents came home, they removed the hysterical caretaker and did their best to find a suitable replacement but each one afterwards suffered the same fate. This strange recurring situation wasn’t problematic for the Wei family. Instead, it was a complicated inconvenience. Through a series of secretive tests, Aramonta’s parents learned of her SIGHIR nature and recognized her need for stand-ins. They readily, and at one point, desperately, found staff members appropriate for her condition to buy more time. Still, this solution was nothing close to a permanent cure and not without lasting repercussions. Pain was an excellent teacher but Aramonta couldn't remember the last time she took a lesson from pain in the form of a first-hand experience. While her body tore itself apart, she largely lived her life painlessly by callously utilizing others to move toward the extremes and redefine expectations. Her parents, unable to part with their cherished daughter, did little to limit her. As part of her masquerade, she continued the family legacy and became an emerging leader in finance. Aramonta was quickly named the poster child for bridging the wealth gap and creating accessible avenues for financial well-being. Optically, she was a young and fit thirty-something uniquely positioned to change systems and influence industries toward equitable solutions. However, reality as she understood it was fundamentally unjust, and despite its imperfection, as her parents put it, it was still worth saving. Resources were limited and the systems to procure them were fragile, so her real purpose was to maintain the systems to ensure society's existence while selling market manipulation in a pretty box as inequity reduction. Raised by the belief that she could do anything, she met her family’s greatest expectations and exceeded them. She was already wearing shoes thought to never be filled by her so all that was next was to carry worlds on her shoulders. Between the tasks of caring for society and her race against time, the latter terrified her. After all, who could replace her?

FUN FACTS

The Spear Pillar refers to a spear in Shinto mythology, that was used to create a bridge between heaven and earth.

Dumdum the goldfish is an oranda goldfish with a multi-coloured cap that makes it look dog-like. She received Dumdum from her mother. Alastair the koi fish was given to her by her father. Every birthday, all she asks from her parents is for a fish. She has fish on Earth, in space, on ships, and on Mars.

She has a Filipino nanny turned personal chef named Magdalena Santos, or Maggie for short. Monty respectfully calls her Nanay Maggie, with Nanay meaning "mother" in Tagalog, her nanny's native tongue. She has managed to survive Monty's sighir.

She also has a butler named Walter. He typically handles the less-than-savoury tasks that would leave Nanay Maggie sick.

#about — aramonta #ignitedintro #ignitedtask01 #ooc [i'll return to make a better banner some other time. shakes fist]

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behind-the-screen-of-bangtan · 2 years

Text

SUGA (슈가)

Real name: 민윤기 (Min Yoongi)

Birth date: 09 March 1993

Home city: Daegu

Former stage name: Gloss (....-2013)

Studio name: Genius Lab

Instagram account

BU character: Min YoonGi

BT21 character: Shooky

Biography

SUGA started as an underground rapper and producer in Daegu. In 2013, he came to Seoul and got into Big Hit where he debuted. At first not really interested in being an idol, he still worked hard to become one while still keeping an hand in the composition and production of BTS songs. Acknowledged by his peers, he collaborated on a lot of artists’ songs be it as a rapper or as a producer

For a more complete biography, you can check these ressources:

biography from the volume 2 of the Japan Official Fanclub magazine (trans by kocchi, Kimmy Yang, ktaebwi)

compilation of biographical info from different interviews

pre-debut History

DJ Booth’s article about his philosophy

SUGA has also shared tidbits of his daily life:

[VLOG] Fishing for time... (2019)

목공방 VLOG (woodworking shop) (2022) (Instagram post)

Birthday albums: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

Recommendations

Music

Spotify playlist

You can find Youtube playlists of the songs he shared on Spotify and on Twitter or during interviews.

Books/Movies/Series/Anime

Google sheet of his recommendations

Solo activity

Music (discography)

“All I Do Is Win” (2013)

Rap Monster, Suga & 진 - “어른아이” (Childish Adult) (2013)

"Dream Money” (2013)

“싸이하누월 MIX Final” (INST) (2013)

Agust D (2016) (see this post)

Suran - “WINE (오늘 취하면) (Feat.Changmo) (창모) (Prod. SUGA)” (2017)

“So Far Away (SUGA, 진, 정국 Ver.)” (gift for the Festa, 2017)

RM, SUGA, j-hope - 땡 (Daeng) (for the Festa, 2018)

Epik High - “노땡큐 (No Thanxxx) ft. MINO, SIMON DOMINIC, THE QUIETT” (cameo at the end, 2018)

“Seesaw X I NEED U REMIX” (2018)

LeeSoRa - “Song Request (Feat. SUGA of BTS)” (2019)

D-2 (2019) (see this post)

헤이즈 (Heize) - “We don't talk together (Feat. 기리보이 (Giriboy)) (Prod. SUGA)” (2019)

Halsey - “SUGA's Interlude” (2019)

IU(아이유) - “eight(에잇) (Prod.&Feat. SUGA of BTS)” (2020)

MAX - “Blueberry Eyes (feat. SUGA of BTS)” (2020)

Over The Horizon By SUGA Of BTS (for Samsung, 2021)

ØMI - “You (Prod. SUGA of BTS)” (2021)

Juice WRLD - “Girl Of My Dreams (with Suga from BTS)“ (2021)

Jung Kook (정국) - ”Stay Alive (Prod. SUGA of BTS)” (OST for the 7FATES: CHAKHO webcomic, 2022)

PSY - “That That (prod. & feat. SUGA of BTS)” (2022)

--- Chapter 2 ---

Over the Horizon 2022 by SUGA of BTS (for Samsung, 2022)

D-DAY (2023) (see this post)

Halsey - “Lilith (Diablo IV Anthem)” feat. SUGA (2023)

For more details about the songs that don’t have their own post, I listed all the info I had here. For Chapter 2 songs, please check here.

Shows

꿀 FM 06.13 (Kkul FM) (2014, anchor)

he’s the official DJ for all BTS radio shows. During the spring of 2020, he did 9 episodes of DJ’s SUGA Honey FM 06.13 on Vlive (now on Weverse): first episode, with RM, with Jin, with V, with j-hope, with Jimin, with Jung Kook, with BTS

화개장터 (Hwagae Market) (2015, anchor)

pre-open

episode 0 [ 대국민사과방송 ] (national apology broadcast)

episode 1 [ 요지부동 ] (try to not react)

episode 1.5 [ 벌칙수행 ] (penalty execution)

SOPE 👨‍❤️‍👨필리핀에 오다! (Came to the Philippines!)

솝 꿀피부를 부탁해😆 (Please take care of my honey-soft skin)

해체 발표 (disbandment announcement) for April Fools

슈취타 (Suchwita) (2022, anchor)

Youtube playlist

The title of the show is in reference to his song “Daechwita”

The goal of the show is to have honest discussions with a guest while drinking alcohol

SUGA’s Instagram posts: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5

Weverse Magazine: “K-pop musicians are changing the talk show format”

Brands endorsement

Global ambassador for Valentino (2023): official tweets, SUGA’s Instagram post, #2

Ambassador for the NBA (2023): tweet announcement, official tweets, announcement on the NBA website

Magazines

Marie Claire Korea May issue (2023): teaser tweet, tweets, Youtube videos, interview, SUGA’s Instagram post #1, #2, #3

VOGUE JAPAN August issue (2023): tweets, interview

GQ Korea October issue (2023)

Interviews

BE comeback interview: “I'm grateful that there are still unvisited areas in the world of music”

Butter release interview: “This is the only thing I know how to really do”

Proof release interview: “I hope they’re excited for everything so I can give their life meaning each and every day”

Trivia

SUGA used to play a BTS fansite named 슈가의 시선 (SUGA’s sight). You can still find some of his tweets here, here and here, notably the “Photograph by SUGA” series, as well as blog posts:

Spring

Work

Members

Incheon International Airport and Thailand (those 2 were shot during the first NOW photobook filming)

“Just One Day”

BTS 1st anniversary.

He loves and used to play basketball. The two intros he made for the 화양연화 series, “Intro: 화양연화“ and “Intro: Never Mind”, have elements reminding of the game, be it in the beat, the lyrics or the video. While in the United States, he took the occasion to visit several teams.

He forms the group Sope with j-hope. As this subunit, they made the show 화개장터 (Hwagae market) and the Japanese song “Otsukare”.

#SUGA #Min Yoongi

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digiroadsabhisheksaini · 4 months

Text

Initiatives for Sustainability in the Soft Drinks Industry

The Global Soft Drinks Market has grown dramatically over the past few decades due to consumer demand for novel and diverse beverages. Notwithstanding, this development accompanies a significant ecological impression, inciting driving organisations to embrace manageability drives pointed toward moderating their effect. This blog investigates the particular supportability techniques in the virus drink market, featuring the advantages, difficulties, and future development scope.

The Drive Towards Manageability

Global Soft Drinks Market Overview:

The Soft Drinks market volume is estimated to be approximately US$470.57 billion in 2024 and US$961.73 billion in 2034, with a projected growth rate of 6.50%.The market is dominated by various segments such as carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), juices, bottled water, energy drinks, and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Carbonated soft drinks, including cola, lemon-lime, and orange flavours, continue to hold a significant share of the market, although there has been a shift towards healthier alternatives such as bottled water and functional beverages.

Water Stewardship

Water is a basic asset for the sodas business, both as a fixing and in the creation cycle. The business faces expanding examination over water use, particularly in water-pushed locales. Organisations like Nestlé Waters have carried out complete water stewardship programs. Nestlé's "Partnership for Water Stewardship" accreditation guarantees feasible water the board rehearses at their offices, advancing the preservation of nearby water sources.

Carbon Impression Decrease

The carbon impression of the soda pops industry is one more point of convergence of supportability endeavours. The creation, transportation, and refrigeration of drinks contribute fundamentally to ozone harming substance emanations. Organisations are putting resources into sustainable power, further developing energy productivity, and upgrading coordinated factors to lessen their carbon impression. For example, PepsiCo expects to accomplish net-zero emanations by 2040, with in-between time focuses on lessening outright ozone depleting substance discharges by 40% by 2030.

Advantages of Manageability Drives

Improved Brand Dependability

Customers are progressively eco-cognizant, inclining toward brands that focus on maintainability. Green initiatives have the potential to increase customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. As indicated by a 2023 Nielsen report, 73% of worldwide buyers would or likely change their utilisation propensities to decrease their natural effect.

Cost Reserve funds

While the underlying interest in manageable practices can be high, the drawn out cost reserve funds are significant. Productive water and energy use diminish functional expenses. Reusing drives can likewise decrease the expense of natural substances, adding to a more manageable production network.

Administrative Consistence

As state run administrations overall fix natural guidelines, being proactive in maintainability can guarantee consistency and stay away from possible fines and limitations. The European Association's Single-Use Plastics Order, for example, commands a huge decrease in single-utilise plastic items by 2026, making early consistency profitable.

Obstacles to Sustainability Implementation A High Initial Investment Making the switch to sustainable practices requires a substantial initial investment. From new hardware for reusing cycles to environmentally friendly power establishments, the expenses can be restrictive for more modest organisations in the Worldwide Soda pops Market.

Mechanical Limits

Current innovation can restrict the plausibility of some maintainability drives. For instance, while biodegradable plastics are a promising other option, they are not yet broadly feasible for a wide range of drink bundling because of cost and strength concerns.

Complexity of the Supply Chain It is difficult to guarantee sustainability throughout the entire supply chain. It requires coordination with providers, wholesalers, and retailers, a large number of whom might have various needs and capacities. Accomplishing full straightforwardness and responsibility is a huge test.

Future Development Extension

Development in Bundling

The eventual fate of the virus drink market lies in creative bundling arrangements. Biodegradable and compostable bundling materials are being developed, with the possibility to upset the business. Organisations are additionally investigating reusable bundling models, for example, refillable glass bottles and high level stores bring plants back.

Computerised Answers for Proficiency

Computerised change can upgrade supportability by further developing inventory network productivity and decreasing waste. Brilliant coordinated operations, controlled by simulated intelligence and IoT, can streamline conveyance courses, lessen fuel utilisation, and limit outflows. Blockchain innovation can give straightforwardness and detectability, guaranteeing mindful obtaining and creation rehearses.

Cooperative Endeavours

Joint effort across the business is fundamental for accomplishing manageability objectives. Drives like the Drink Business Natural Roundtable (Casket) unite organisations to share best practices and drive aggregate activity towards maintainability.

Buyer Commitment

Drawing in shoppers in supportability endeavours can drive tremendous change. Instructive missions about reusing, decreasing waste, and picking maintainable items can enable shoppers to settle on eco-accommodating decisions, intensifying the effect of corporate drives.

End

The Worldwide Sodas Market is at a crucial place where supportability isn't simply a decision however a need. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages when it comes to moving toward a sustainable future. By putting resources into imaginative arrangements, encouraging joint effort, and connecting with shoppers, the soda pops industry can lead the way in making a more reasonable world. There is a lot of room for growth in the future, and there are a lot of new ideas and ways to make things better that could never end. This will help the industry survive while protecting the planet.

#global soft drinks market

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leebird-simmer · 2 years

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Psychomotor Stimulants: Cocaine

Cocaine and amphetamines belong to a class of drugs called psychomotor stimulants, which increase motor behavior, elevate a person’s mood, increase alertness and arousal, and cause behavioral excitement.

Cocaine: Background & History

- Cocaine is an alkaloid found in the leaves of the shrub Erythroxylon coca.

- It is native to South America and is cultivated in the northern and central Andes Mountains.

- The practice of chewing coca leaves began as early as 5000 years ago.

Map of principal coca-growing regions of South America

Bolivian miners chewing coca

- Cocaine was first isolated (extracted from coca leaves) in 1859 by German chemist Albert Niemann.

- Cocaine use became popular as many doctors and scientists lauded its properties.

- Sigmund Freud, who used the drug himself, was the first to broadly promote cocaine as a tonic to cure depression and sexual impotence. He declared that it was non-addictive.

- Cocaine also become popular in the USA and was used in many medications.

- In 1886, Coca-Cola was introduced, containing caffeine and cocaine. It was marketed as an alternative to alcohol as the temperance movement gained strength.

- Public pressure forced the Coca-Cola company to remove cocaine from the soft drink in 1903.

- Cocaine abuse became widespread. President Taft declared it to be “public enemy number one” in 1910.

- The 1914 Harrison Narcotic Act prohibited inclusion of cocaine (and opium) in over-the-counter medicines and specified other restrictions on import and sale.

- Today cocaine is a Schedule II drug.

- In the 1970s, cocaine use by snorting or IV injection increased. It emerged as the fashionable new drug for entertainers and business people.

- In the 1980s, smoking crack cocaine has driven a new epidemic of cocaine use.

- After cannabis, cocaine is the most frequently used (illegal) drug on a global scale.

Preparation of Cocaine

- The cocaine alkaloid is extracted from coca leaves and then converted to a hydrochloride (HCl) salt and crystallized.

- Cocaine HCl is water-soluble and thus can be taken orally, intranasally (snorting), or by IV injection.

- It is not heat-stable, and cannot be smoked.

(left) prepared cocaine; (right) coca plant

- Cocaine HCl can be transformed into cocaine freebase.

- Freebase cocaine is “freed” from its natural salt.

- Crack cocaine is a lower quality freebase AKA less pure. The dried, hardened chunks make popping sounds when heated (which is why they call it “rock”).

- Freebase and crack can be vaporized through heating; those vapors are then inhaled.

- The term freebasing refers to smoking cocaine.

- Because the effects occur much faster, it’s more addictive.

- Crack can damage the lungs.

Pharmokinetics of Cocaine: Absorption

- Extremely rapid absorption occurs with IV injection and smoking (peak in seconds to minutes)

- Absorption is slower with snorting and oral use (peak in 30-60 minutes)

Pharmokinetics of Cocaine: Distribution

- Cocaine is sufficiently lipophilic (fat-soluble) that it passes readily through the blood-brain barrier.

- Rapid entry into the brain is believed to be an important factor in the strong addictive properties of crack cocaine.

Pharmokinetics of Cocaine: Metabolism

- Cocaine is broken down by enzymes in the blood and liver and is rapidly eliminated, with a half-life ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 hours.

- The “high” lasts only about 30 minutes.

- Breakdown products persist and can be detected in the urine for several days.

Pharmacodynamics: Behavioral Effects of Cocaine

- Typical aspects of the cocaine “high” are feelings of exhilaration and euphoria, a sense of well-being, enhanced alertness, heightened energy, and great self-confidence.

- Increased sociability and talkativeness

- Heightened sexual interest and performance

{note: if you have a penis, cocaine is very likely to make it flaccid, regardless of how psychologically ready you are for sex. so...keep that in mind.}

- Anger (increased aggression may contribute to the street violence associated with cocaine use)

- Appetite suppression (anorexia)

- Insomnia

- Severe effects are most likely with high dosages, particularly in chronic users:

Hostility

Extreme violence

Incoherent speech

Paranoia

Restlessness

Tactile hallucinations (”coke bugs”)

Mechanisms of Cocaine Action: Monoamine transporters

- Most of cocaine’s actions can be explained by its ability to block reuptake of three transmitters: dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

- These transmitters are cleared from the synaptic cleft by membrane transporters. Cocaine binds to the transporters and inhibits their function.

- Inhibition of the transporters leads to increased neurotransmitter levels in the synaptic cleft and a corresponding increase in transmission at the affected synapses.

- Cocaine binds most strongly (with highest affinity) to the serotonin transporter --> the dopamine transporter --> the norepinephrine transporter

- Blocking dopamine reuptake appears to be most important for cocaine’s stimulating, reinforcing, and addictive properties.

Mechanisms of Cocaine Action: The Reward System

- Nucleus accumbens dopamine has been implicated in cocaine reward using paradigms that test for drug-seeking behavior as a model of relapse. (VTA --> NAcc)

- Reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior in previously extinguished rats can be stimulated by microinjection of dopamine receptor agonists directly into the nucleus accumbens.

Pharmacodynamics: Physiological Effects of Cocaine

Local anesthesia

At high concentrations, cocaine inhibits voltage-gated Na+ channels in axons, blocking nerve conduction.

When applied locally, it acts as a local anesthetic by preventing transmission of signals along sensory nerves.

Cocaine is used by health care professionals to temporarily numb the lining of the mouth, nose, and throat (mucous membranes) before minor surgeries, biopsies, etc.

Other, non-addictive, local anesthetics - procaine (Novocain) and lidocaine (Xylocaine) - were developed from cocaine.

Sympathomimetic effects

- Cocaine is sympathomimetic; it produces symptoms of sympathetic nervous system activation: increased heart rate, vasoconstriction, hypertension, hyperthermia

- At low doses, these changes are usually not harmful to the individual. High doses, however, can be toxic or even fatal.

Overdose

- Can result from sniffing, inhaling, IV injection, etc.

- Disturbance of the heart and blood vessel system, resulting in...

high blood pressure

stroke

heart attack

- Increased core temperature

- Renal failure

- Psychosis, agitation

- Repeated convulsions, which can happen in such quick succession that consciousness cannot be restored.

Treatments

There is no specific pharmacological antidote for cocaine overdose, but strategies include:

Benzodiazepines, to reduce agitation and produce relaxation

Nitroglycerin or beta-blockers, to reduce blood pressure and relieve chest pain

Anti-psychotics

Cooling with a fan or water misting

Long-term health effects of cocaine

- Snorting cocaine:

Lost sense of smell

Nosebleeds

Chronically inflamed, runny nose

Damage to the walls of the nasal cavity

- Smoking crack

Lung damage

Worsening of asthma

- Cocaine reduces blood flow in the gastrointestinal tract, which can lead to tears and ulcerations.

- Many chronic cocaine users lose their appetite and experience significant weight loss and malnourishment.

- Toxic effects on the heart and cardiovascular system

- Increased risk of stroke

Drug Interactions

Alcohol or other depressants are sometimes taken along with cocaine to “take the edge off” the extreme arousal produced by cocaine.

- Cocaine when mixed with alcohol produces a unique metabolite called cocaethylene, which has activity similar to cocaine, but has a longer half-life.

- “Speedball” = mixture of cocaine and heroin

Aim is to increase “rush” and reduce negative effects

Danger of delayed opioid overdose

Danger of stroke and heart attack

Chronic Cocaine Exposure

- Most individuals who try cocaine do not progress to a pattern of abuse or dependence.

- About 10-15% of initial users develop a habit.

- People usually start cocaine by snorting. Some people have a strong anxiety response and do not try it again.

- Other factors that discourage habitual use include cost and availability, social and legal consequences, fear of addiction

{note: I have tried coke that was $40 a gram and coke that was $120 a gram and coke that was somewhere in between. Cheap, stepped-on coke made me feel tired and nauseous. Expensive, fish-scale coke was pleasant, but not quite euphoric. The anxiety usually happened at price points in the middle. Typically I would do one, maybe two lines over the course of the evening. I have not had coke in many years and would not care to try it again; the risks heavily outweigh the rewards, in my mind.}

- The stimulating, euphoric, and confidence-enhancing effects are powerful reinforcers in the early stages.

- Crack smoking or IV injection have greater abuse potential.

- Some individuals develop a pattern of cocaine binges, episodic bouts of repeated use lasting hours to days with little or no sleep. Afterwards, an abstinence syndrome occurs.

- Chronic exposure to psychostimulants can lead to tolerance (pharmacodynamics and behavioral).

- In humans, cocaine’s euphoric effects tend to show tolerance, which would contribute to increased drug-taking in an attempt to recapture the level of pleasure experienced during earlier episodes of use.

- The reverse effect, sensitization, is also seen. Just a few exposures to cocaine or amphetamine can produce an increased responsiveness that lasts for weeks, months, or even up to a year.

- Continuous cocaine infusion into rats causes tolerance to the locomotor-stimulating effect; once-daily injections lead to behavioral sensitization, shown by enhanced stereotyped behaviors.

- Although cocaine withdrawal is rarely serious, it produces a number of very unpleasant side effects. Symptoms generally only last for about a week or two and may include the following:

depression

fatigue

exhaustion

increased appetite

unpleasant dreams

difficulty concentrating

intense craving for cocaine

Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder

- Presently there are no FDA-approved medications to treat cocaine addiction.

- Consequently, National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) is working aggressively to identify and test new medications to treat cocaine addiction safely and effectively.

- While many have shown effectiveness in animal models, none are currently licensed for medical use due to unacceptable side effects and/or lack of therapeutic efficacy.

Search for New Therapeutics

- Various dopaminergic drugs, including receptor agonists, antagonists, and uptake inhibitors are being studied.

- Several compounds that compete with cocaine for access to the dopamine transporter show promise.

- Other drugs being studied target other neurotransmitters, including serotonin.

Repurposing Existing Drugs

- Modafinil: narcolepsy drug that acts as a selective (and weak) dopamine reuptake inhibitor

- Disulfiram (Antabuse) has produced the most consistent reductions in cocaine abuse:

popular drug for treating alcoholism

produces unpleasant symptoms after taking cocaine, such as anxiety

Scientists do not yet know exactly how disulfiram reduces cocaine use, though its effects may be related to its ability to inhibit an enzyme that converts dopamine to norephinephrine.

Behavioral and Psychosocial Therapies

- Typically conducted as outpatient programs

- Psychosocial treatment programs involve individual, group, or family counseling designed to educate the user, promote behavioral change, and alleviate problems caused by cocaine abuse.

- Twelve-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous are also available.

#drugs and behavior #neuroscience #my notes #study blog

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strangemusictriumph · 2 years

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Caffeine Market - Forecast ( 2022-2027)

The Caffeine Market size is estimated to reach $23.3 billion by 2027 and it is poised to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% over the forecast period of 2022-2027. Caffeine's expanding uses in numerous end-use industries, such as cosmetics and food and beverages, are likely to boost caffeine industry demand. And increased caffeine consumption to treat diseases such as colon, liver and colorectal cancers is fueling the caffeine market size. Caffeine is a white crystalline powder that is extracted from plants. It is known as a drug that stimulates the nervous system in the pharmaceutical industry. Caffeine levels in cocoa beans range from 0.1 to 0.7 percent. Caffeine can also be found in small levels in the skin that surrounds cocoa beans. Caffeine derivatives made from synthetic sources are known as synthesized caffeine. Unlike natural caffeine, which is derived from coffee, tea, cocoa leaves and other natural sources, synthetic caffeine is created in a laboratory using a variety of chemical components. Urea and cyanoacetic acid are the major synthetic substances that are utilized to make synthetic caffeine.

Caffeine Market Report Coverage

The “Caffeine Market Forecast (2022-2027)" by Industry ARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments in the Caffeine Market.

By Type - Natural Caffeine and Synthesized Caffeine.

By End-user - Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, Flavors & Fragrances, Skin Care Products and Others.

by Distribution Channel - Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Discount Stores, Specialty Stores, E-commerce, and Others.

By Geography - North America (the U.S., Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, United Kingdom (UK), France, Italy, Spain, Russia and the Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (China, Japan India, South Korea, Australia & New Zealand and Rest of Asia Pacific), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Rest of South America) and Rest of the World (the Middle East and Africa).

Key Takeaways

Individuals' increasing intake of caffeinated beverages is a crucial driver driving the global caffeine industry forward.

Furthermore, rising health awareness and increased participation in sports and physical activities are driving global market size.

Caffeine's expanding uses in numerous end-use industries, such as cosmetics and food and beverages, are likely to boost caffeine industry demand.

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Caffeine Market Segmentation Analysis - by Type

The Caffeine Market based on type can be further segmented into Natural Caffeine & Synthesized Caffeine. The Natural Caffeine segment held a dominant market share in the year 2021. Natural coffee is in high demand owing to the numerous health benefits it provides. For instance, it's high in antioxidants like polyphenols, flavonoids and catechins. It acts by preventing adenosine receptors in the brain from functioning. This prevents the brain from recognizing that it is weary, which is why caffeine is so good at combating tiredness and assisting in staying awake. However, Synthetic caffeine is poised to be the fastest-growing, with a CAGR of 8.4% over the forecast period of 2022-2027. The demand for the product is being driven by rising consumer preferences for instant energy drinks. Moreover, Synthetic caffeine is high in antioxidants and is predicted to gain popularity in the near future as people's reliance on rapid energy items grows.

Caffeine Market Segmentation Analysis- by End User

The Caffeine Market based on type can be further segmented into Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, Flavors & Fragrances, Skin Care Products and Others. The Food & Beverages segment held a dominant market share in the year 2021. This is mainly attributed to rising consumer demand for caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee and soft drinks. However, Flavors & Fragrances is poised to be the fastest-growing, with a CAGR of 9.5% over the forecast period of 2022-2027 owing to the rising popularity of caffeine in fragrances among customers. Caffeine flavor and fragrance compounds come in a variety of forms, including synthetic substances as well as coffee extract. Caffeine is a popular scented candle scent and it's even been utilized to generate muskier undertones in a number of perfumes and colognes. Caffeine energizing properties have made it popular as a room deodorizer and it has also been employed in a variety of "novelty" fragrance items.

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Caffeine Market Segmentation Analysis - by Geography

Based on Geography the Caffeine market can be divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and the Rest of the World based on geography. Asia-Pacific held a dominant market share of 31% in 2021 owing to the focus of cosmetic manufacturers in the region on launching products with natural ingredients. However, owing to the rising consumption of caffeinated beverages in the region, the North American caffeine market is likely to rise at a substantial rate during the forecast period. Furthermore, caffeine is a common element in weight-loss products. As a result, increased obesity rates in the region will increase caffeine demand over the projection period. Obesity is predicted to increase national healthcare costs in the U.S. by US$149 billion a year, according to the Trust for America's Health, a Washington, D.C.-based health policy organization.

Caffeine Market Drivers

Growing Demand for Caffeine-Based Nutritional Drinks is Boosting the Market Growth

Coffee consumption has risen throughout South and East Asia and this expanding market is likely to fuel the caffeine industry. In most Asia Pacific countries, including China and India, busy lifestyles and longer working hours have contributed to an increase in caffeine use to combat drowsiness and exhaustion. For instance, according to ICO’s annual report published in 2019, coffee consumption in South and East Asia has grown at a pace of 6 percent in the last 25 years. According to the USDA, around 80% of adults in the United States consume caffeine on a daily basis each year. Moreover, key manufacturers in the industry are developing new caffeinated goods in response to increased demand for organic meals thus enhancing caffeine market share.

Caffeine's Increasing Use in Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Industries is Propelling the Caffeine Market Size Forward

Caffeine is extensively used throughout the pharmaceutical and personal care industries as an ingredient. Increased usage of coffee-flavored personal care products is expected to boost the caffeine market demand. For example, according to L'Oreal S.A.'s quarterly report released in April 2020, skincare-focused brands including Kiehl's, Lancôme and Helena Rubinstein beat the company's other luxury brands in the first quarter of 2020. The personal care brand caffeine is mostly based on cocoa beans. It has already reached cult status in the Indian D2C beauty market, having sold over 10 million goods. The business is no stranger to the 'world's first club,' which debuted the world's first coffee bean-shaped bathing bar in late 2020 (patent pending in India). As a result of skincare firms focusing on personal hygiene and cleansing products, demand for cosmetic chemicals like caffeine is predicted to rise.

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Caffeine Market Challenges

The Detrimental Effects of Excessive Caffeine Consumption are Impeding Caffeine Market Share.

Over consumption of caffeine causes negative effects such as restlessness, insomnia, headaches, dizziness, dehydration and anxiety. These adverse effects prompted customers to seek out healthier caffeinated substitutes. Ginseng, pomegranate juice, maca, baobab and reishi are just a few of the caffeine substitutes. The FDA has found that 400 mg per day roughly 4 or 5 cups of coffee is not typically associated with dangerous or damaging effects in healthy people, but that exceeding this amount can have harmful implications. According to Mayoclinic, The US Food and Drug Administration has warned that caffeine in powder or liquid form can contain hazardous quantities of caffeine. Each teaspoon of caffeine powder is about the same as 28 cups of coffee. Furthermore, food ingredients industry players are focusing on creating items that may replace caffeine in food products, which is projected to limit caffeine market growth.

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Caffeine Industry Outlook

Product launches, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and geographical expansions are key strategies adopted by players in the Caffeine Market. The top 10 Caffeine Market companies are-

BASF SE

CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited

Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.

Aarti Healthcare Ltd.

Jilin Shulan Synthetic Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.

Kudos Chemie Limited

Spectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp.

Tianjin Zhong'an Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Taj Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Bakul Group

Recent Developments

In September 2019, Bawls Acquisition LLC (a soft drink manufacturing firm based in the United States) added BAWLS Guarana's Cherry Cola to its premium line of highly caffeinated sodas. BAWLS Guarana's current collection of caffeinated sodas includes Orange, Cherry, Root Beer, BAWLS Zero and Ginger, among others.

In August 2019, Atomo Coffee Inc. revealed that it has received US$ 2.6 million in funding to produce the world's first molecular coffee made without the use of beans. By reverse-engineering coffee beans, the startup hopes to halt deforestation.

In March 2019, the Coca-Cola Company released Coca-Cola Energy, an energy drink. In Hungary and Spain, the product was released. Caffeine was derived from natural sources, such as vitamin B and guarana extracts, in this energy drink.

For more Food and Beverage Market reports, please click here

#Caffeine Market Price #Caffeine Market Size #Caffeine Market trends #Caffeine Market share #Caffeine Market analysis

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researchnreports · 2 years

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#Global Soft Drinks Concentrate Market

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hospitalitymanagement · 14 hours

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Exploring the World of International Hotel Management: A Career Guide

The global hotel management industry is diverse and exciting, offering a wide range of career advancement opportunities across all continents. As globalization continues to transform the industry, the hotel sector remains at the forefront of innovation and growth. A career in hotel management is not just a chance to work in a variety of countries—it also equips individuals with transferable skills in customer service, management, and operations. Whether you're passionate about exclusive properties, boutique hotels, or even setting up your own business, the field of hotel management presents endless possibilities. Pursuing a hospitality management course in Kolkata can provide the foundational knowledge and practical training to succeed in this thriving global industry.

What is International Hotel Management?

International hotel management is the process of managing the operation of resorts, hotels, and other establishments related to hospitality in different countries or regions. It includes overseeing everything from guest services, housekeeping, food and drink operations, advertising, and financials. As the manager, you're accountable for ensuring that the hotel operates efficiently and profitably and also providing excellent customer service to an array of audiences.

International hotel management poses particular problems. It is essential to be flexible and adaptable to diverse cultural and business settings and customer expectations. Communication skills with a multicultural clientele and workforce are crucial. Internationality also adds the appearance of a prestigious and exciting position and allows for exposure to the latest trends and developments in the field of hospitality.

The Role of Education and Training

The world of hotel management usually requires a solid educational background. The majority of professionals start with a special diploma or a degree in hotel administration. These programs offer a comprehensive education in both the academic as well as practical elements of the hospitality industry, such as management of financials, leadership in human resources, and marketing.

If you live in or around Kolkata and the surrounding areas, pursuing a diploma in Hotel Management in Kolkata provides a wonderful starting point. Kolkata has a number of well-known institutes that emphasize the practical aspect of training, which allows students to gain invaluable experience in the industry. The programs usually involve internships and opportunities for placements, which can provide a clear way to secure employment at the top resorts and hotels in India as well as abroad.

Key Skills Required for a Successful Career

The path to success in Hotel management demands a blend of soft and technical capabilities. The most important abilities desired in this field are:

Leadership: Hotel managers need to effectively lead large teams, making decisions that affect the entire facility. Good leadership is about motivating staff, resolving issues, and maintaining a positive workplace.

communication: Whether you're dealing with staff, guests or suppliers, excellent communication skills are vital. This is especially important when dealing with international customers, in which language and cultural variations can be a challenge.

Customer Services: Providing exceptional customer service is the core of the hospitality business. Hotel managers must ensure that guests enjoy an enjoyable and memorable experience that leads to loyalty and a higher likelihood of repeat business.

Financial savvy: The management of the hotel's financials, including budgeting, forecasting, and cost control, is essential to ensuring profitability. An understanding of the financial management process helps managers make informed business choices.

Flexibility: Working in different countries requires navigating a variety of laws, market trends and customer preferences. Being flexible and open to change is crucial for success in the world of international hotel management.

Career Opportunities in International Hotel Management

The hospitality industry is expanding rapidly, which means there is a need for more skilled hotel managers. The opportunities for this profession vary from operations to roles on the executive level. A few of the possible pathways to a career include:

General Manager: A general manager manages the hotel's operations and ensures that the hotel operates smoothly and meets revenue goals. They are accountable for overseeing everything from staffing to guest satisfaction.

Food and Beverage Director: This role focuses on overseeing the beverages and food operations in hotels, including bars and restaurants, along with catering and service. Careful attention to detail as well as an understanding of the latest trends in food and drink are vital.

Front Office Administrator Front office managers are the initial point for guests to contact, and the manager is responsible for ensuring that check-in and check-out, along with other guests' services, go smoothly.

Management of Sales and Marketing: Responsible for promoting the hotel and drawing guests in, this sales and marketing team play crucial roles in generating the business. International hotel chains typically look for executives with previous expertise in international markets.

Revenue Manager The management of revenue involves analyzing trends and data to optimize pricing for hotels and improve profits. This is a very important job that requires solid analytical abilities.

Suppose you are thinking about the possibility of a career in the hospitality industry. In that case, it is recommended that you enrol in the hospitality management program in Kolkata, which will give you the foundational knowledge that can assist you in securing the positions you want to be in. These courses typically feature international case studies, which prepare participants for the international character of the business.

Working Abroad: The International Hotel Manager's Experience

The most thrilling aspect of an international career in Hotel management involves the possibility of working internationally. Destinations: Hotels operate worldwide, and highly skilled managers are frequently sought-after for positions in exotic destinations, including bustling cities and peaceful beaches. Cultures. A job in a different nation offers exposure to new ways of doing business, cultures, and professional networks, all of which contribute to your career and personal development.

In addition, having an international background can make you more appealing to employers. Many hotels are seeking leaders with an international view and the ability to meet the different needs of staff and guests. The experience gained from different countries assists in building a robust portfolio, which gives you a competitive edge in the competitive job market.

Choosing the Right Institution for Hotel Management

The best school to pursue your education is an important element in establishing the foundation for a successful career in the field of hotel management. It's crucial to pick an institution that is not only a top school of education but also offers practical education and connections to industry.

Suppose you're searching for the top hotel management institute in kolkata. In that case, it is essential to take into consideration factors like the program, faculty expertise in the field, internship opportunities, and collaborations with the industry. The most reputable institutes take an integrated approach to learning, mixing classes with real-world experience.

Conclusion

A career in hotel management that spans the globe provides a wide range of opportunities to those enthusiastic about travel and hospitality. From working in luxury hotels to overseeing operations across the globe, many opportunities are available. If you have proper education and experience and a dedication to excellence, you could embark on a fascinating adventure in one of the most exciting and rapidly growing fields.

#top hotel management institute in Kolkata #hospitality management course in kolkata #Diploma in Hotel Management in Kolkata

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