#please take away that news industry in general is just bad

[notbroadwaybound]

I've been probably too quiet on the Israel / Palestine conflict other than a few pro-Palestine reblogs but last night was my breaking point I think.

I'm just so tired of the both-siding going on in the mainstream US. I watched Jon Stewart's bit on it last night and I was like oh he usually tells it like it is but he was doing the same conflating all of Palestine with Hamas and acting like Israel and Palestine were equally to blame for this / equally suffering.

Then for some godforsaken reason I decided to watch the Joe Biden Seth Meyers interview and whereas I appreciate Seth for at least asking him about the horrific images coming out of Gaza (even if he still kind of downplayed it) I was horrified at Joe Biden proudly calling himself a zionist and saying nowhere is safe for Jewish people other than Israel. Made me want to destory my tv. I had to turn it off immediately.

I'm just so tired and sick of the needless suffering and war crimes being committed by Israel and having everyone go around like normal or worse acting like Palestine is equally or MORE to blame.

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 17, Unanswered - Pt. 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, 🤮, really corny made up headlines that I am disproportionally proud of.

Word Count: 1.6k

Previously On...: The night of the gala, you had a heart-to-heart with Steve, and it seems like he understands that there will never be anything more between you than friendship. Bucky's off on a raid, and you're still sick as a dog.

A/N: Cue the sitcom-level misunderstandings and miscommunications! Onward toward shenanigans! Just kidding! It's gonna be angst!

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when I update, please enable notifications from my Blog page!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Sadly, tag list is closed; Tumblr will not let me add anyone new. If you want to be notified when I update, please Follow me for Notifications!) @jmeelee @cazellen @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @blackhawkfanatic @buckybarnessimpp @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff @angelbabyyy99 @keylimebeag @maybefoxysouls @vicmc624 @j23r23 @wintercrows @crist1216 @cjand10 @pattiemac1@les-sel @dottirose @winterslove1917 @harperkenobi @ivet4 @casey1-2007 @mrsevans90 @steeph-aniie @bean-bean2000 @beanbagbitch @peachiestevie @wintrsoldrluvr @shadowzena43

Tumblr will not let me directly tag the following: @marcswife21 @erelierraceala @jupiter-107 @doublejeon @hiqhkey @unaxv @brookeleclerc

As soon as you woke up the next morning, you were in the bathroom, throwing up once again. You were very much over this, thank you. Maybe you should go down to med bay and get checked out. You’d do it if you were still feeling poorly by the end of the day.

You went to the sink to rinse out your mouth and nearly jumped when you caught sight of yourself in the mirror– sleeping in your makeup had not done you any favors, that was obvious now. You looked like a rabid raccoon with the way your mascara had smeared around your eyes and your lipstick had smudged around your mouth. Grumbling to yourself, you hopped into the shower, hoping to wash away all traces of the trash panda that had taken you over down the drain. 

When you finished, you decided you had earned yourself a rest break, so you dressed in your comfiest of loungewear and flopped yourself back down on your bed. Picking  your phone, you checked to see if Bucky had texted you to let you know the raid had been successful, and he was safe once again.

Before you could check your messages, however, you were bombarded by a barrage of Google alerts for your name. When you’d taken on the position of Stark Industries CTO, you’d set up the alert for yourself, wanting to keep an eye on any and all news items that might pertain to you, just in case some nosey reporter decided to go digging for information about your past you’d rather have stayed buried. Thus far, you’d managed to keep yourself out of the spotlight.

All that seemed to have changed overnight. You were met with headline after ridiculous headline, each accompanied by photos of you and Steve, taken without your knowledge, from the night before:

“Love in the Lab? Captain America Spotted Getting Cozy with Stark Industries CTO!”

“Sizzling Speculation: Is Captain America Courting Stark Industries' Chief Techie?”

“Behind the Shield: Captain America's Covert Romance with Stark Industries' Techno Prodigy!”

“Avengers Assemble... for Love? Captain America Linked to Stark Industries' Brainiac!”

The photos themselves were ridiculous; carefully selected snapshots of innocuous moments cropped to look far more scandalous without proper context than they really were. Steve leaning in to speak in your ear with his hand on your elbow; you and Steve dancing; Steve holding you up when you almost fell, which looked a lot like he was about to lean in to kiss you; you and Steve looking cozy in conversation on the sofa; Steve’s hand at the small of your back as he led you out of the banquet room.  Fortunately, because of the full face of makeup you were wearing, you didn’t feel like you looked much like your everyday self, but it was still unmistakably you.

You scanned some of the articles, looking to see what sort of bullshit they’d come up with to sell this absolute garbage.

“‘I can’t say for sure that they were together,’ said one male guest at the gala, who asked to have his name withheld, ‘but there were many, many men who approached her throughout the evening, and she rebuffed every single one of them, except for the Captain!’”

“One of our sources reported that ‘100% without a doubt, Captain Rogers and Ms. (Y/L/N) left the gala together, and Captain Rogers couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of her! Let’s just say they left fairly early, and neither one seemed to find their way back to the party.’ Is it possible the two were engaging in a private celebration all their own?”

“An anonymous source inside Avengers’ Tower told our reporter that ‘Ms. (Y/L/N) has been involved with a certain super soldier for quite some time now. They tried to keep it secret for awhile, but everyone here knows they’re an item, and they are very much in love.’”

“Captain Rogers and Ms. (Y/L/N) were unavailable for comment. Perhaps they’ve yet to emerge from last night’s love nest.”

You tossed your phone onto your bed and let out an annoyed groan. Wonderful. Now you’d have to get a hold of the company’s PR team and spend the rest of the day coming up with a statement refuting the reports to give to the press. Oh well. At least you and Bucky could have a good laugh about it when he got home.

Oh shit– Bucky. There was a small chance he might come across one of these articles, and you wanted to give him a heads up before he had an opportunity to let his insecurities get the better of him and spiral. He had to know how ridiculous the entire situation was.

You picked your phone back up and hit the button to call him, but it went straight to voicemail. Odd, but not completely out of nowhere; he was probably somewhere with shitty service. You began speaking at the beep.

“Hey, baby. I just wanted to give you a heads up– I woke up to a string of garbage headlines implying that Steve and I are together, but I just want to assure you that is absolutely not the case. The entire thing is a fucking nightmare. We were both at the gala, and he kept me company for a little while. We just talked and danced a little bit, and he helped me out when I was feeling dizzy. Still sick, by the way. Threw up again this morning and I— sorry, off topic. Anyway, I did talk to him about his feelings for me, and reminded him that I only see him as a friend, like family. I think he took it well. No tears, at least, and he wasn’t mad. He said he just wants us both to be happy.” You paused for a minute as you considered Steve’s words from the night before. 

“I want us to be happy, too, Buck. I think I’m ready to try again when you get home, if you want. I miss you. Not just because you’re not here right now, but I miss us. I love you too much to waste any more time not being with you.  So, let’s do that, okay? Let’s start over. Stay safe and come back to me, Barnes. I love you.”

You ended the call and decided to text him, too, just to be on the safe side. A call might not be able to go through, but a text might.

>> Hey– just left you a voicemail. There’s a bunch of stories about me and Steve going around the internet that are all complete and total bullshit.

>> Gotta meet with PR to put out a statement. Wanted you to hear it from me before you saw it online or something.

>> I’m so sorry if it stresses you out– it’s stressing *me* out.

>> I hope you know that I would *never* betray you like that. 

>> Be safe, my love. I can’t wait for you to get home. I think I’m ready to try us again if you are.

You sat there, staring at your phone for several long minutes, as though you could will him to respond to you, but the text thread remained dormant. You tried calling him a few more times, but each call went straight to voicemail.

Meanwhile, it seemed like everyone you knew who wasn’t Bucky was trying to get in touch with you to ask you what the fuck was going on– and even more people you didn’t know; reception had left you several harried messages asking how you wanted to field requests for comment from at least two dozen reporters. Wanda was lamenting that she and Vision were away at the shore for the weekend and couldn’t be part of the excitement, and Nat swore that if she wasn’t horrifically hungover, she’d be in your room grilling you for information as you spoke. 

“There’s no information to grill for, Natty,” you assured her. You rubbed your forehead– now, in addition to your nausea and persistent fatigue, you had the pleasure of a pounding headache, as well. “We danced, like, three quarters of a song, I almost passed out, he helped me stay upright, and we talked. I told him there was never going to be anything more between us than friendship, and he walked me to my room so I wouldn’t faint on the way. He left me at my door.”

“What does Barnes think about all of this?” she asked you, and you could hear the smirk in her voice, hangover or not.

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “I tried calling him a hundred times to talk to him about it, but I keep getting sent straight to voicemail.”

“Well, I wouldn’t get too riled up about it,” Nat said. “There’s swaths of areas of Russia that don’t have cell service. Besides,” she added, “you’re not the one that can’t be trusted. If he doesn’t believe you, he’s got a lot of fucking nerve.”

You couldn’t disagree with that. “Yeah,” you sighed, “you’re right. I just wish I could reach him, at least to know he’s safe.”

“Eh, don’t worry about Barnes,” Nat said. “His head’s almost as hard as his arm. He’ll be fine.”

You had to begrudgingly agree to that, though his silence continued to unnerve you. You said your goodbyes to Nat and checked the time on your phone screen. Your meeting with the head of PR was in about fifteen minutes; might as well start heading down now. The sooner you could find a way out of this mess, the better.

<- Previous Chapter / Next Part ->

[fairyofsilence]

RISING STAR | 1/7 | THAT’S THE INDUSTRY, BABY SERIES |

Pairing: Producer!Namjoon x Trainee!Reader

Warnings (there's important trigger warnings mentioned, read each one of them carefully and proceed with caution): +18, Yandere, grooming, age gap (reader is 19 while Namjoon is 31), cursing, extreme abuse of power, manipulation, reader has a bad relationship with her mother, self-deprecation, reader has a low self esteem, mentions of unhealthy diets, mentions of toxic beauty standards, both explicit and non explicit sexual scenes; oral sex (m and f reciving), fingering, spanking, protected sex, sex in the work place, loss of virginity, mentions of blood, slight dubcon (she agrees to have sex after he coaxes her into it), mentions of aftercare, mentions of sex, recording of sexual acts without a partner's knowledge, blackmail, forced relationships.

Summary: It's the opportunity of a lifetime, everything you have ever wished for has been presented to you on a silver platter, becoming the next rising star of the critically acclaimed producer Kim Namjoon was a dream come true.

Too bad you are to naive to confuse a nightmare for a blessing.

I don't agree nor condone any of the actions made by any of the characters throughout the story, I also do not belive that any of the members of BTS would act this way or have this type of behaviour, this story it's fiction and it's written with the sole purpose of entertainment.

Word count:  11.3 k

This is the first of seven parts for the That's the industry, baby series, you cand find my main masterlist here. The stories can be read as one shots, the stories just take place in the same universe.

Hello again! It’s been a while, believe me I know, and I also know I’ve been announcing this fic since practically a year now but get this: I’m a depressed college student who loves to procrastinate, but I shit you not tonight I said “fuck it” and finished this enitre fic in eight hours, this is extreamly unedited and I’m posting this at 6 a.m, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to edit this until June but until then please enjoy and let me know what you think! I created this series because I’ve always been shocked at the ammount of disgusting things the entertainment industry has try to hide from the general public, and this series will tackle most of that, withouth more introductions, here’s the first of them, enjoy!

EDITED ON 05/27/2023

You haven’t moved an inch since you’ve put your eyes on the board.

 You’re trembling, you can feel the air starting to leave your lungs, but you don’t seem able to take a breath because you feel like if you so much as blink, the announcement will disappear from the board, and it all just be an illusion.

 But it’s not an illusion, you’re actually looking at the announcement on the board right now, the letters are big, bright, and bold, and there’s no doubt that what you’re looking at now is your name next to the word “Congratulations.”

 “Congratulations Y/N Y/L/N, you won!

You’ve been chosen as Rkive records new rising star.

For more details, check the inbox on your email in which you’ve been send the instructions on what to do next.”

 All sound seemed to quiet down, you couldn’t hear a single thing except a striking white noise ringing on your ears, and although you can feel some of the trainees jumping around trying to congratulate you, you can’t seem to do anything right now, your body is paralyzed, your eyes fill up with tears and you feel as if your heart had gone all the way up to your throat.

 You’ve won, you’re finally going to debut, Kim Namjoon had chosen you.

 It feels surreal, you’ve been waiting for this moment, four years to be exact, and it has finally going to happen, your biggest dream was just a day away from becoming true, a small laugh leaves your mouth at the thought, you’ve made it, you finally made it happen.

 Reality comes back to you in the form of a hug, you realize the person who’s hugging you is Soowon, one of the newest trainees who, after you got her out of trouble with the singing coach, decided to attach herself to you and proclaim the two of you as best friends, she seems more excited than you right now, jumping around while trying to not break the hug, somehow you manage to wrap your arms around her, giving her a weird side hug, but she doesn’t seem to mind, in fact, she seems even more excited after you returned the hug.

 “You did it! I know you would win” She says after hugging me a little bit tighter “It was only a matter of time before this happened, you’ve been working so hard” You feel a tear rolling down your cheek after her words, you finally turn around to return the energy of the hug and while rubbing your back, she whispers onto your ear “I know you’ll be the biggest star of this company Y/N, I’ve known it since the day we met”

 You allow yourself to feel the praise and hugs from your fellow trainees because you know that once you step a foot inside of your apartment, you know that your biggest obstacle from you reaching your dreams is waiting for you inside, so just for a few more hours, you let yourself be happy, because you know that when she finds out about the news you received today, a light argument is the best thing you can’t expect.

Your mother is already at your apartment by the time you got home, and that was the first weird thing you noticed.

The second was that she made dinner, your mother never makes dinner, she always works until late in the night and you’ve survived on rice and instant ramen because of that, but tonight she seems to gone all out, there’s even meat at the table for god sake, and that’s how you know there’s only two reasons behind this happening; she was either fired or she got a new, better paying job, and you’ll be very surprised if it ends up being the latter.

 She has never been good at maintaining a job, and for someone who’s been poor her whole life, she doesn’t seem to understand that to maintain a job is to be quiet, the workers should never complain to their bosses, at least, that’s what you’ve learned during your time in the company.

 She notices your presence after you stand in the entrance for a while, then again, it’s not hard to do so, your apartment is not big enough for you to go unnoticed anyway, she turns off the stove and walks up to you with a smile, greeting you excitedly.

 “Hi sweetheart, sit down please, I’m just going to bring out some plates, okay?” You don’t say anything, but she doesn’t seem to mind the lack of response, turning away from you to grab two plates from the small kitchen cabinet while you set down your backpack and take a seat on the floor in front of the small table, your palms begin to sweat as you mentally prepare to tell your mother about the news, which you’re sure she won’t take kindly.

“How was your day? You usually come back earlier than this, I told you that this trainee stuff cannot interfere with school” And there she goes, you can even seat down in peace for five minutes before she starts listing all the stupid reasons why you should be a trainee, but today you won’t take any criticism from her, actually, today you’ll prove her just how wrong she’s been.

“It was great, I have good news actually” Your voice loses power for a bit, but you pull through it, your mother sits down and seems curious about the news for once.

“Yeah? What is it? You’re finally leaving that company for good? They’re the reason you got two years behind in school” Your eye twitches at her remark but you ignore her before dropping the bomb.

“No, it’s the opposite actually” Her eyebrows raise at that, and she looks at you expectantly before you say, “I’m signing my contract tomorrow, I’m going to debut soon.”

 The silence that follows after your words seems to last an eternity.

 Your mother puts her utensils down, she licks her lips and lets out a deep sigh after a few seconds, she doesn’t like this at all.

 “I was expecting good news” Her words feel like a dagger piercing right through your heart, but you maintain your posture, you can’t let her, and her hurtful words get to you.

“This is good news mom, don’t you understand? I wasn’t sign to a small company, Bangtan signed me, Kim Namjoon chose me” Your mother makes eye contact, and it makes you falter for a second, she always knows how to bring you down when you’re finally going up.

“Who put those ideas on your head? That Kim Namjoon that you always talk about?” Before you can even talk back she cuts you off before adding “Sweetheart, I thought you were smarter than this, when man want something, they’ll say anything to get you” You hate when she does this, when she makes you feel small, making you think you’re stupid without even listening to what you have to say, you hate her.

“First of all, I’m meeting him for the first time tomorrow, so no mother, he hasn’t been putting any ideas on me, and also, why are you acting so shocked at this? I’ve been training for years, you know that it was bound to happen, I’ve been working so hard for this moment to come and the only thing you can say is something negative, can you just say ‘congratulations’ at least? This is something important to me, can you at least pretend that you’re happy for me?” Your voice breaks by the end and instead of listening to your concerns, your mother decides to do what she does best; get defensive after you call her out.

“Why do you always just assume the worst of me darling? I’m just expressing my concern as your mother, is it wrong to be worried about who my daughter is going to be spending so much time with?” Her tone just manages to push you over the edge every time, you don’t even realize you’re crying until a teardrop land on your lap, you’re quick to wipe your tears before she gets the satisfaction of knowing she can affect you so much, you make eye contact with her before responding.

“Why can you just be happy for me mom?” You’re tired of arguing, but as usual, she doesn’t notice how you feel.

"I'm just worried about you, darling. You know that the career you want is risky. What if they change their minds and leave you without warning? What if you get injured before you even have a chance to perform? And what if they decide you're not good-looking enough after a few years? Have you thought about what you'll do then?" The venomous words spill out of her mouth so effortlessly that you're taken aback. Even your mother seems surprised by what she just said, but she doesn't backtrack or apologize. She only looks at you with a guilty expression, her eyes betraying her harsh tone. You let out a bitter chuckle before responding.

“You know what mom? I don’t think you’re worried” you say, your eyes fixed on your hands in your lap before voicing the thoughts that have been on your mind for a long time “I think you’re jealous” The silence in the room was so prominent you could hear a pin drop “I know you were young when you had me and I’m sorry I screwed up your life, but your misery is not my fault, I have to live my own life and make my own path, and being an idol is the path that I chose, so I’ll let things clear for you, you either accept my choices without any type of criticism or I’ll have to leave this place” You stand up and before she can respond, you leave her with this; “although, after signing my contract, I might just leave either way” with that, you make your way to your shared bedroom, not having the courage to say anything after your fight.

Later that night, you noticed your mother quietly slipping into bed, assuming you were already asleep. However, you struggled to find peace, tossing and turning as your thoughts continued to plague you. Every time you tried to close your eyes; you could only see the look on your mother's face after your confrontation. The night stretched on endlessly, and despite your efforts to find rest, sleep eluded you. The weight of guilt lay heavy on your heart, and you knew that the rift between you and your mother had only grown wider. Your once-fragile relationship now seemed completely shattered. However, you were resolute in your decision to pursue your career and follow your dreams. While the thought of losing your mother was painful, the thought of losing this opportunity would have been even worse. With this assurance, you finally managed to drift off into unconsciousness, with the hope that tomorrow you’ll be able to forget about the tough time you went through tonight.

You don’t think you’ve ever been more nervous than you are right now.

 You can feel the cold sweat forming on the crown of your forehead, your body feels like a quivering mass of jelly, the subtle trembles barely perceptible to anyone but you, a physical manifestation of your own nervousness, you’ll be biting your nails too if you could, but ever since receiving the most shocking news of your life you don’t think there’s anything left for you to bite off.

 Today, if everything goes according to plan, you’ll become the newest artist under Rkive’s music records, the most prestigious record label in the entire country, owned by one of the most acclaimed producers of the decade, and your own personal God, Kim Namjoon.

 As you step into Rkive's gleaming headquarters, the air is charged with an indescribable energy. You can practically feel the prestige of the company pulsing through the walls, and the faint sound of music drifting through the halls is enough to send shivers down your spine. You check your phone for the last time just to make sure you got everything down, the instructions they gave you were simple, but your anxiety makes you feel hyperaware of everything, taking a deep breath while closing your eyes you try to calm yourself down, chill the hell out, you say to yourself, you’re going to weird him out, granted, Namjoon might not be weirded out by you but he’ll definitely would think you aren’t ready for this and that’s not the case at all, you've worked so hard for this opportunity, and you won't let your anxiety get in the way now that you're so close to being signed, especially by someone like Namjoon, and given his reputation, being signed by him would be the ultimate validation of your hard work and talent.

 Kim Namjoon isn’t an easy man to impress, because not only has he worked with the biggest stars in the industry, but also, any music related award you can think of; he most likely already has won at least two of those, and if his experience wasn’t intimidating enough, his unwavering commitment to achieving perfection on every aspect of his music is both impressive and intimidating, commanding respect from those around him, and you definitely respect him, in fact, there's no one in the world that you look up more than Namjoon, you want to impress him, make him remember who you are, make him wish he had discover you sooner, you want your idol to want you as desperately as you want him, and you won’t leave this building until you accomplish that.

 As you approach the front desk, the receptionist glances up at you with raised eyebrows, silently urging you to speak. Though her harsh glare could be intimidating, you're determined to stay focused on the reason you’re here. You won't let her nasty glare affect you, not even a little bit.

 You take a deep breath and greet her politely, "Hi." Even though she might be looking down on you, you refuse to be rude. You state your business clearly, "My name is Y/N, and I have a meeting with Mr. Kim Namjoon today in his studio."

At the mention of his name, her glare softens up a bit, but still looks annoyed, with a monotone voice, she says “Wait for just a second please” before reaching for the telephone on the desk, it’s only a matter of seconds after calling when the other line picks up, they exchange a couple of words that you can’t decipher and after she hangs up, she looks back at you with a fake smile before standing up, she speaks with a more cheerful tone this time “Mr. Kim’s assistant is coming down to escort you to his studio, please wait for a moment, you’re welcome to sit down in the lounge as you wait” the receptionist points at the small waiting lounge that’s right in front of the elevators, you whisper her a small thank you before making your way over there, sitting down on the individual sleek black leather couch, impatiently waiting for his assistant to come out of one the elevators.

After sitting there for just a few minutes, you begin to feel very out of place, everything in this building looks, feels, and even smells expensive, and somehow here you are, a nameless trainee with second hand bought clothes, with the smallest, cheapest purse which you keep holding on tightly into your lap, shrinking into yourself more each minute that passes by.

You’ve never had a high self-esteem, but it seems the small bit of confidence you’ve had has disappear after knowing that you’ve won the contest and you will be meeting Kim Namjoon in person, you’re scared, your mind tormenting you with all the “what if?” questions, what if he decides you’re not actually the one?, what if he thinks you’re not good enough?

 What if?, what if?, what if?

 Before you can think about any more ways on how this whole thing could go wrong, the small ding sound of the elevator pulls you away from your thoughts, you’re quick to stand up and soon after that, a short, petite woman steps out of the elevator, her eyes find you quickly after coming out and a small smile appears on her face as she approaches you, clutching a clipboard on her hands.

 “Hi!” Her cheerful tone catches you by surprise, but you smile nevertheless “You’re Y/N right?” you answer her with a small nod, which she ends up mimicking before talking again “I’m Sohee, I’m Namjoon’s assistant, do you have everything we asked you to bring?” you respond with a small ‘yes’ before making a gesture towards your bag, she nods again before signaling the elevator “Follow me please, I’ll take you to his studio so you can talk for a bit before signing” You’re quick to follow her request by stepping into the elevator next to her, she presses the button of the 14th floor and you both wait until the doors close and the elevator starts running, Sohee turns to you and smiles before asking “Nervous?” You let out a small laugh before answering.

“Very, I can’t believe this is happening right now” Your palms begin to sweat, and she laughs as you wipe your hands on your pants, you decide to redirect the conversation towards her “So, how long have you’ve been working for him?” Sohee’s eyes widen up a little bit after your question, she seems genuinely surprised by your interest, but she answers either way.

“Three years next month, my best friend got me this job actually, it’s sort of a long story but to keep things short, she works with Kim Taehyung, he told her about Namjoon needing an assistant and that’s how I landed here” She speaks very fast and you have a hard time catching what she’s saying, but before you can respond, the elevator comes to a stop and the doors begin to open, you’re welcomed by a similar lounge than the one in the reception, only that this lounge had a large plaque that read “Rkive Music Records” in a beautiful gold color, the letters engraved in a pitch-black tone, if you though the lobby looked expensive, Namjoon’s floor was a whole different level.

 “Follow me please, I’ll lead you to his office, he’s already waiting for you” Her words make you shiver, you can’t believe it’s finally happening, the excitement is making your legs shake and you can barely breath as you make your way through the long hallway, passing the small reception desk and several doors of what you can assume are different studios.

 Sohee comes an abrupt stop, causing you to hold your breath until she turns to look at you and with a bright smile, she gestures the door right in front of you, which holds a sleek, platinum plaque with Kim Namjoon’s name engraved on it, you gulp and letting out a deep sigh, she says “This is it, good luck!” She holds up two thumbs and you let a nervous laugh at her antics, she leaves quietly and just like that you’re left on your own, with a shaky hand, you reach to know on the studio’s door, you only have to wait for a couple of seconds, but you’re anxiety is making it seem like time going slower than it actually is, you’re beginning to lose your mind until finally, the door handle turns and you’re face to face with the person you’ve never thought you’ll ever see this close, Kim Namjoon stands right in front of you, with a big smile on his face, his dimples only making him look even more attractive, his dark hair is pulled back and he’s wearing all black, he looks hot and he knows it, that’s what makes him more dangerous, it seems like an eternity before he opens his mouth and says, “Well hello there” His deep voice makes you even more nervous, “You must be Y/N, please, come in” Granted, he chose you as the winner of the contest, he must know your name, it’s logical, but your inner fan cannot believe your idol just said your name so casually, you compose yourself before you answer him with an enthusiastic nod, not forgetting to bow before anything, Namjoon let’s out a chuckle before leaning against the wall to make room for you to walk in, you’re quick to follow, entering his studio while a timid “Thank you” leaves your lips.

 The first thing you notice about his studio is how big it is, you had expected nothing less than this, giving that he’s the owner of this record label, but it still doesn’t make it any less shocking, you almost feel ashamed of the fact that his studio seems to be bigger than your shared apartment with your mom. When you first walk in, there’s a small hallway that leads you to the main part of his studio, but instead of a wall, there’s a huge glass to showcase his biggest accomplishments, his awards are perfectly lined up in multiple shelves and there’s some of his biggest songs displayed with as either platinum or gold records, some of the movies he has produced the soundtrack of are also displayed by a frame with the poster on it, you don’t realize you stopped following him until he reached out to tap you in the shoulder, you turned to look at him and you found him with a teasing smirk on his face, you give him a shy smile in return.

 “Sorry, I was just admiring everything" Your face feels hot, and he lets out a deep chuckle that makes you shiver, his presence alone makes you nervous, and having him smiling and talking to you with that deep voice of his was making you crazy.

"Don't worry, it’s a bit overwhelming isn’t it?” You nod and Namjoon imitates the action “Hobi says that all the time when he comes by” The casual mention of such a huge star makes your eyes go wide and it doesn’t go unnoticed by him, he smiles widely and you could swear he mouthed the word cute, but you couldn’t tell if you were just imagining things or if it actually happened, so you only smiled and continued to follow him through the hallway.

 And if you thought the hallway was something, you weren’t prepared to see his actual studio, in fact, you couldn’t even process your surroundings because Namjoon put his right hand on your lower back, a weird feeling washed all over you but noticing he was guiding you to a small sofa, you turned to look at him and he only gestured with his other hand for you to take a seat, suddenly, your nerves made you feel silly, of course he was just being nice, you were just paranoid.

 “Please take a seat and get comfortable, it’s going to be a pretty long session” Namjoon chuckles after that and you let out an awkward laugh.

 His studio was so intimidating, you couldn't even sit down in peace without thinking you'll probably break something that cost more than your apartment, sensing your nervousness, Namjoon puts his hand on your shoulders while giving you a reassuring smile.

 "Don’t panic, everything's going well" You give him a small nod, and he turns his back after you finally seem to catch your breath, walking towards what seems to be a mini fridge "Would you like something to drink? I have water, some energy drinks" Namjoon pauses and looks up at you with a teasing smile, his dimples full on display, this man would be the death for you "I have beer as well, if you can handle it" He raises an eyebrow and it makes you giggle, Namjoon seems to love your reaction, but he waits patiently for your answer, you compose yourself and finally give him an answer.

“Water is fine, thank you” Your voice is barely audible, but you don’t stutter so you consider that a win, Namjoon nods and pulls two water bottles from the mini fridge, and makes his way to his chair after closing the door.

“So, let’s start talking business, shall we?” Namjoon says after handing you the bottle and sitting down in a chair, the only thing between you and him being the small coffee table where a leather folder lays over it, as well as two fancy looking pens.

“Okay” You agree, and Namjoon’s aura seems to take a shift, exuding power and knowledge, two things you very much lack off.

“So, I’m assuming that you read the contract when you entered the contest, right?” His gaze is so intense it makes you grip on the edge of your skirt tightly, responding with a nod because you know that your voice will give out if you try to speak right now, Namjoon takes your answer before continuing, “Basically, the contract says that we’re making an EP, you will be making all types of promotions and you will be making a music video for the main track, I have some songs ready and while I personally think the artist should have an input on the songs, we were given only two months to deliver a full EP, so as soon as you sign we’ll begin to work, okay?” Your enthusiastic nod makes him smile “Perfect, do you have any concerns about the contract? You should ask questions before signing, you know?” That makes you genuinely laugh, and Namjoon seems happy he has eased your mood a little.

“The contract is only for an EP, right?” Your tone is a bit steadier and Namjoon nods before explaining.

“Yes, but I’m sure your EP will be a success, which means a more permanent contract” Namjoon can sense you tensing up at the probability, so he surprisingly, reaches out to squeeze your thigh before adding “Someone as talented as you shouldn’t be worried about that, your debut will go better than you expect, I’ll make sure of that” His words feel like a soft blanket, providing comfort to your worries, the current position of his hand makes you nervous, but you pay it no mind as you nod and smile, Namjoon is just being friendly, there’s nothing to be scared about.

“So, what about management? Who is going to be my manager?” Your question makes him smile and you’re shocked to the core when his index finger rises up to point at himself, there’s no fucking way “But Mr. Kim, you’ve never- “Namjoon cuts you off before you can finish your sentence.

“There’s a first time for everything, right?” You’re speechless and Namjoon takes your silence as a cue to keep talking, “You know, when I saw your audition, I was starstruck, I even got mad at the management because how in the fuck have they kept you training for so long? Such a talented person deserves to be seen by the whole world” His dragon shaped eyes look directly into yours and you’re left breathless by his praise, hearing those words coming from his mouth seemed unreal “I wanted to be in control of your debut because while this people might have underappreciated your talent, I saw your potential right from the start” His praise makes you feel dizzy and you can’t believe what’s happening right now, you can barely register him reaching out for one of the pens at the table, putting in one of your palms before he asks “What do you think then, would you give me the chance to make you the star you’re meant to be?” You almost feel hypnotized, slowly nodding your head while gripping the expensive pen on your hand, Namjoon’s smile almost seems to shine as he hands you the leather folder containing the contract, you read quickly through the pages before reaching the final one, where your name is beneath a long line, waiting only for your signature, because Namjoon had already signed this.

 With a trembling hand and with a deep sigh, you put the folder on your lap and click on the small button on the pen, you only pause for a second before signing the contract, you’re still in the clouds even after looking at your signature on the strikingly white paper, you lift your head only to see Namjoon looking at you with mischief written all over his face, his eyes seem to hide something you can’t quite decipher, but he soon opens his mind to let you know exactly what his thoughts are.

 “Don’t worry darling, I’ll make sure you become the biggest star this company has ever seen.”

 You knew that becoming an artist was never going to be an easy job, but the amount of times you’ve stayed working late this week alone was ridiculous, turns out, the rumors about Namjoon’s work ethic were true, his perfectionism was driving you insane, the amount of times he had asked you to start a song all over again because he wasn’t a ‘100% sure’ if he like the way you sounded almost made you bang your head against the recording booth wall, but you didn’t, you stayed put, only smiling and responding by putting your thumbs up until he gave you the sign to get ready to start recording again. You sang until your throat became sore, you danced until you stopped feeling your limbs, the fatigue was quickly catching up to you and everything started to pile up fast, you needed to memorize all lyrics and choreographies in less than two months without mentioning all the physical changes the agency was demanding from you, your mother’s words ringing loudly through your ears every time you were reminded to not eat until you were done for the day and even then, your single daily meal would barely make you feel full, you had to control your hunger by eating a small bowl of ice cubes and drinking water.

 You were in the verge of a breakdown when one night after your first month of working together, Namjoon had finally told you that you did great and that you could come out to join him while he worked, you were so caught up with singing your heart out that you didn’t realized that Namjoon had ordered dinner for the two of you, you thanked him by giving him a small bow and a tired smile, he only gestured her to sit down and to eat, and you did exactly that, pulling your chair closer to him before sitting down, to which you could see from the corner of your eye that he smirk at your actions.

 “I didn’t ask for what you liked but I supposed that you can’t go wrong with McDonald’s” Namjoon said while putting his earphones down to his neck and grabbing his own dinner, you made a hand gesture to let him know that it’s fine, McDonald’s right now seems like heaven to your starved stomach.

“It’s okay, you shouldn't worry about me, I would’ve eaten something at home” You dig into some fries and Namjoon sends you a look you can’t quite comprehend.

“Nonsense, how can I not worry about you? Don’t think I haven’t noticed about the stupid diets the company is forcing you to do” You freeze at his words and Namjoon lets out a deep sigh before adding “You should’ve told me before; I would’ve done something earlier” His concern makes you feel guilty, so you try to make excuses to make him (and yourself) feel better.

“They’re just making sure I look good before the filming starts, I have to look my best before debuting, you know that” You can’t even look at him while you’re talking, you don’t know if it’s your shitty diet or Namjoon’s words that make you lose your appetite, but he wasn’t content with your answer, pulling his chair even closer to you, forcing you to finally look at him in the eye for the first time tonight.

“It’s bullshit, you already look perfect to me” His words make your heart jump “And besides, if you don’t eat well, you won’t have enough energy for the live performances, so you better start eating good after today, you got that?” You haven’t even noticed than Namjoon’s hand has made it’s way to one of your thighs, whilst your knees were faintly brushing against his, his sudden closeness catches you off guard, but you make no effort to separate yourself from him.

 During this past month, you have started to catch up on some patterns, patterns that make you feel somewhat uneasy, because while you know it might just be your imagination, you can’t help but to realize how isolated you’ve become after you started to work on your EP, you haven’t spoken to any of your fellow trainee friends because, according to Namjoon, they might be jealous of your upcoming debut so you must focus on yourself right now, which is a fancier way of telling you to not speak to them, besides that, the only interactions you get outside of the building is with your mother, which, after your fight, your relationship with her now consisted on greeting each other at night and leaving the apartment before either one of you woke up, and while you talked with Sohee every now and then, the only constant human interaction you had for the past month has been with Namjoon, and while your silly crush on him remains very much alive, you can’t help but to feel like something isn’t right, his lingering touches make you jump every time it happens, and some of the things he says makes you feel uncomfortable, but you’ve blame it all on your nerves, the deadlines are approaching too fast and Namjoon is only trying to make things easier for you, it makes you feel ungrateful to doubt on him like this but you can’t help it, he’s a man with too much power and you think it’s only natural for someone in your position to feel like this.

 You brush off your inner dilemma when Namjoon asks you if you want to listen to your last recording, passing you a pair of headphones and waiting until you’ve put them before playing it, you’re soon welcomed by the perfect instrumental before hearing your voice through the headphones, no matter how many times you’ve done this by now, listening to your own voice feels just as exciting as the first time, the unfinished song quickly comes to an end, you and Namjoon continue to talk about minor details until you pause the conversation to drink some water, your focus on the large screen on Namjoon’s mixing table makes you unaware of the intense stare he has set on you.

 “Do you have a boyfriend?” Namjoon’s unexpected question takes you by surprise, and stare at the screen in shock before you can answer him.

“What?” You let an awkward laugh out as you look in his direction, his expression being unable to read. Your brain still can't comprehend a reasoning behind his question or why he would be interested in such meaningless matters, but he was your boss now, and you didn’t want to make him mad at you just because you felt a little uncomfortable by his question, so you responded “I don’t have a boyfriend, I never had one actually” You’re anxious and that makes you share more information than what he has asked for, however, he seems to take this information as if it was exactly what he needed to know, he leans back in his chair and gives you a teasing smile after your confession.

“Now that I can’t believe it” You're about to protest in your defense but he finishes what he wanted to say before you get a single word out of your mouth “A beautiful girl like you has never had a boyfriend? That just can’t be true” His smile grows bigger as you get more flustered by his compliments, his hand reaches out towards your hair and tucks the loose strand that covered one side of your face, caressing your cheek with his long fingers as you lean into his touch, welcoming his soft touch after longing for it for what felt like an eternity "I'm convinced now that boys your age simply cannot see a real women even if it’s right in front of them” Namjoon seems to thrive on the effect he has caused in you after you let out a shy giggle at his words, how does he always know what’s the right thing to say?, you feel so giddy inside you feel like you might burst with how happy you felt after hearing those words come out of his lips, did Namjoon really see you as a woman? You simply cannot believe it, a man like him would never set his sight on such a meaningless, young, and stupid girl like you, no, a man like him needed a mature and sophisticated woman who matched his good looks and graceful nature.

“You don’t mean that” Your lack of confidence makes you take distance from him by standing up and trying to walk away from him, but Namjoon seemed to have different plans.

 You gasped loudly as he spined you around before picking you up so easily and placing you over his mixing table, it was a little uncomfortable giving that you were sitting over so many buttons, but right now that didn't bother you in the slightest, especially now that his mouth has quickly found it’s way on yours, the two of you sharing a such a messy kiss that will make you feel ashamed if you were on your right mind, he bites your bottom lip and you let out a small whimper at his actions, Namjoon separates from you only after your lips are red and swollen,  you’re too far gone to notice him parting your legs open with his large hands, looking at you dead in the eyes as he slowly sinks down on his knees and you could help but to stare at him in shock.

 Kim Namjoon, the man who’s technically your boss and the man you have fantasized about for years, is getting down on his knees to pleasure you.

 "Namjoon, what are you.." He raises a single finger motioning you to be quiet and you quickly follow his command, he keeps looking at you as his hands make their way to your ass, gripping it tightly as you let out a soundless gasp.

"Don't you want it baby? I see the way you look at me" His deep voice lures you, his experience showing through on how easily he got you longing for more, his eyes leave yours as he starts kissing up from your knee to your inner thigh, giving you  goosebumps all over "Your pretty eyes light up whenever you see me, it drives me crazy, I can’t hold myself back any longer" He's the one that’s driving you crazy, touching you in ways no one ever has, making you feel desired, willing to give you all the pleasure you can take "Let me do this beautiful, let me taste that pretty pussy of yours" His crude words make you moan as his mouth gets closer to your cunt, you can't this anymore, you need him, as his hands start to grip your underwear, you softly grip his hair and make him look up at you, the sight of him is sinful, messy hair, his dragon eyes filled with lust and his beautiful lips are swollen after the kiss you shared, you need him so bad, you cradled his face in your hands as you speak.

"I just-I've never" You're so desperate for him you can't even form a proper sentence, he chuckles darkly and starts to pull at your underwear, the action making you even more anxious, and without thinking straight, you spit out the truth behind your nervousness "I'm a virgin" His antics stop and his eyes gleam with mischief, although he stopped his movements, his hands didn't move from their position.

"Do you want me to stop then? I would understand if you wanted to, but…" He takes a deep breath while he buries his face onto your inner thigh, you run your fingers through his hair before he speaks again "I really want to eat you out" Namjoon's word send a wave of shivers down your spine and while you’re scared shitless, you don't really feel like it's the right decision to deny a men like him the opportunity to pleasure a little nobody like yourself.

"I want that too" You whisper loud enough for him to hear and the dimples that appeared after you said that made you think that it was completely worth it to ignore your fears.

“I’ll be taking this off then” Namjoon’s deep voice gives you goosebumps as he pulls down your underwear, slowly dragging them down your legs until they hit your ankles, taking them off completely after that.

 You’re shaking and he hasn’t even done anything yet.

 His hands continue to brush up and down your hips, before making its way to the back of your thighs, gripping them tightly, opening your legs just a tiny bit more before starting to kiss on your inner thighs, your hands instantly reaching out to his hair, gripping it tightly at the roots, Namjoon lets out a deep groan that makes you shiver, his touch becomes rougher after your antics, bruising the inside of your thighs as his tongue lapped on your clit, you couldn’t recognize the sound that came out of your mouth, you’re moans becoming louder as his lips latch onto your clit, you can feel his fingers starting to tease your entrance, collecting your slick before pushing a single finger inside, he continues to make out with your cunt before easing a second finger inside you, and your brain stops working as soon as he easily finds your sensitive spot, pushing his fingers in and out quickly, making your eyes closing harshly and your thighs trap him as you let out a scream before coming on his tongue, your legs shaking as he greedily laps your orgasm, he doesn’t stop until you whimper in pain and pull at his hair trying to separate his mouth from you, Namjoon looks sinful with his lips glistening with your slick, you can’t help but moan as you look at him, his hands make their way to your neck and he harshly pulls you into a kiss, it’s so messy and you’re loving it, your small hands caress his back and after a while Namjoon ends the kiss while brushing your hair with his fingers, looking into your eyes before smiling.

 “You’re such a good girl baby, cumming into my tongue like that” His words make you blush, you’re face gets warmer and he laughs at your reaction “Don’t be shy now baby, not after you screamed my name like that” You hide your face into his chest from the embarrassment, and Namjoon continues to laugh as he embraces you in a tight hug.

This only last for a couple of minutes before he turns his head towards you, his mouth being dangerously close to your ear before whispering; “You know, good girls also return the favor” His words make you gulp and you know that it’s only fair what he’s asking for, hell, if it was any other man, he probably would’ve expected you to get on your knees without giving anything in return, and besides, you’re truly wondering how does Kim Namjoon taste like.

“I’ve never done it before” The deep groan that leaves his lips makes you tremble; he gives you a small kiss before smiling down at you.

“Don’t worry darling, I’ll be guiding you ok?” You nod before standing up while holding hands with him, Namjoon takes a step back before sitting down on his chair and the look on his face makes your legs feel like jelly, with a low, deep voice, he commands “Get on your knees for me baby.”

Taking a step forward so your body fits inside his open legs, you slowly sink down onto your knees, Namjoon lazily motions at his crotch before saying “Go on then, pull my cock out.”

 Your nerves make your hands shake as you reach for his belt, unbuckling him with minimal effort was well as unbuttoning his pants with ease, Namjoon seems desperate with the way he’s helping you by dragging his pants mid down his thighs, his hard cock hitting his lower stomach, making your mouth water at the sinful sight, Namjoon smiles at your reaction “Take it with your hands baby, c’mon” your small hand reaches out to touch him and Namjoon lets out a hiss before adding; “Suck on my tip baby”.

 Gradually, with Namjoon’s help you soon started to set a slow peace, making him lose his mind at the sight.

 Your pretty young self on your knees, mouth full of his cock, gagging all over him making him go feral, he doesn't know why he's losing his mind this bad, truthfully, this isn't the best blowjob he's ever had, but it's the fact that it's your first time doing this, making him the only men who's ever gotten to see you like this makes his hips buckle into your mouth making you gag even louder, and he can't help but to let out a deep groan while gripping your hair even tighter. He must completely ruin you now, he needs to mark you so that every man knows who’s doing this to you, that you did everything you could to please him and him only, that you belong to him, forever.

 Your lazy blowjob only last for a couple more minutes before Namjoon decides he’s had enough, with a single pull of your hair, he forces you to separate your mouth from his cock, a trail of saliva connecting you to his tip, Namjoon has never seen something so hot in his life.

 You look up to him expectantly, and you can only let a small yelp after his strong arms push you up until your standing onto your shaky legs.

 He roughly bends you over his mixing table, his equipment making you feel slightly uncomfortable giving the position he had chosen but you stay put, not wanting to disappoint him, he coos at you for being so obedient and quietly apologizes is he has hurt you, you appreciate his concern and decide to wiggle your hips at him in anticipation, Namjoon laughs and spanks your ass, making you squeal and jump at the unexpected action, you feel him leaving his position behind you, you try to look for him without leaving the position he has put you in and you find him looking through one of his drawers, he's probably looking for a condom, you thought, and your suspicions turn to be correct, the platinum package shining under his studio lights, you can feel the anticipation running through your veins, you're about to have sex for the first time with none other than Kim Namjoon, you were one lucky bitch.

 While you feel excited, you're also anxious, what if he's not satisfied with what you have to offer? How can you compete with the types of women that have been like this with him? What if you're not enough for him?

 You're panicking and Namjoon only notices after taking a condom out of the box, he walks up at you and quickly wraps his arms around your waist and begins to shush you after your breathing starts to rapidly increase.

 "Relax baby, I'm not doing anything you don't want me to" He whispers into your hair and then gives you several pecks, his actions relaxing you only briefly before you start panicking again.

"I just… What if you don't like me afterwards?" You whisper pitifully while a single tear rolls down your cheek, Namjoon holds you even tighter after that.

"Oh baby, I feel like it's the opposite" His arms lift you enough so that he can kiss your cheek, helping you clear your negative headspace for a bit "I don't think having you just once it's going to be enough for me" You turn your head to look at him just to find him already staring at you, with one look you could tell that he means what he said, and that it's what makes you give in, you nod your head a couple of times and bend over the mixing table again, taking a deep breath and clutching at the border of his keyboard, you gain the courage to ask for what you want.

"Take me Namjoon, I want to be yours" You try to sound as sensual as you can but you don't think it worked giving how much your voice was trembling, but Namjoon savored each word that you just said, silly girl, of course you'll do anything to please him, and now that he knows he's going to be the first man to claim you, he's sure now that he won't let any other man taint you the same way he's going to.

 Coating his fingers with the remains of your previous orgasm, he starts by stretching you by inserting a single finger inside, your walls almost instantly gripping his finger tight  as you let out a loud moan, look at yourself, being such a good whore for him, he's going to reward you for being so good for him but right now the only thing on his mind is fucking you, so he quickly sets up his peace and starts to finger you, adding another finger inside and having his palm rub directly onto your clit, knowing that with your inexperience, this would probably be enough for you to cum once more.

 You couldn't even try to hold in your screams, everything felt like it was too much but also felt like it wasn't enough, you couldn't understand if you needed him to stop or to go even faster, his long fingers pumping into you and reaching all the right places, making you moan and close your eyes in pleasure, at this point you didn't even know your own name, the only thing you knew is that when he plugged a third finger inside of you, you were not going to last any longer.

 "Oh god! Namjoon, please-I, please" You couldn't even form a sentence, you wanted to tell him how desperate you were to cum, yet words came out of your mouth like a bunch of gibberish, you reach out to grip his arm and Namjoon was thrilled watching you struggle, the effect he has on you it's almost comical to him.

"It's alright baby, I know what you're trying to say," His other hand reaches out to roughly grab onto your breast and you're right there, needing that extra push to finally let go, and his next words are the push that make you climax "Cum on my fingers like the good girl I know you are".

 You felt like your soul left your body, if the first orgasm felt good, this one was heavenly, waves of pleasure rolling through your body in ways you couldn't describe, Namjoon stops his ministration but doesn't pull his fingers out, relishing how your release is coating his fingers as you're panting for air, he delivers a series of kisses into the back of your neck and lets you take several breaths before letting go of your body for a brief moment, you're about to ask him why he's pulling away but then you hear the sound of his pants drop into the floor, he rubs your lower back as he reaches for the condom, you look over your shoulder to find him ripping the package open and when noticing you having your eyes on him, he smirks as he rolls up the condom onto his length, you gulp as you're reminded that everything about Namjoon is huge, he doesn't take his eyes off of you as he finally positions himself behind you and rubs your hips as a form of reassurance, you smile at him and try to lift your hips a bit more, slightly rubbing your cunt against his cock, Namjoon hisses and spanks your ass after that, you let out whimper and his hands grip onto your hips.

 "Dirty girl, I'm trying to be nice to you and here you are, rubbing yourself all over me” His hand rubs your ass as he drags his cock up and down your opening, teasing you as he barely pushes in before backing out, repeating the action until he finally pushes in, filling you to the hilt, you whimper at the unfamiliar feeling and Namjoon shushes you at the sound “Sorry baby, does it hurt too much?” His voice flatters and you think he’s also having a tough time by containing himself like this, his struggle making you feel better.

“Doesn’t hurt, just feels weird” You weren’t lying, while Namjoon was on the bigger side, you were also wet enough and stretched for him, you only needed a couple of minutes before saying “You can move now.”

 It only took him a moment before grabbing your hips tightly and started to rapidly thrust into you, his actions making you grip the table for dear life as his movements quickly became all too much, with each snap of his hips, your body sunk into too a much deeper pleasure, your breast starting to bounce at the same time his hips slammed into your ass, you couldn’t control the screams that left your mouth with all the pleasure you were experiencing now.

 “Namjoon, fuck-baby” You don’t even understand what you’re saying, especially as Namjoon’s hands leave your hips as one of them reaches out for your throat and the other one reaches out for your clit, his fingers making fast circular motions that make you grip on his wrist, you have no force left to stop him from overstimulating you, you’re forced to take everything he gives you.

“It’s alright my love, cum for me, cum on my cock like the dirty slut you are” His degrading words only make you wetter, your legs shake and your body spams uncontrollably as you cum, your tight walls making it impossible to Namjoon to hold his own orgasm in, he comes hard clutches you tightly into his arms, slowly thrusting into you until his cock turns soft, only then he pulls out from you.

He looks down only to be greeted by the sight of your wet cunt, both of your thighs covered in a deep crimson shade, Namjoon chuckles darkly at this, he takes out the condom and discards it into the trash can before taking you in his arms, bringing you to lay down on his large dark sofa with him, you’re too far gone to notice his sinister smile as he looks into the top right corner of his studio, where the faint sight of a red blinking dot can be seen only for those who look for it, and Namjoon knew exactly where to look.

 He was after all, the person that set it right there.

The first time you stepped into the Bangtan building, you expected to be stared at, nobody knew who you were and being a stranger to them you couldn’t expect them to not be curious about you, plus, the stares started decreasing after they found out who you were and why you were there all of the sudden, but right now, the back of your head was burning with the amount of people looking shamelessly at you, and it wasn’t just the fact they were all staring, it was the fact that their looks were full of hatred, they were looking down at you and you don’t have a single clue of why would they do that, you’ve never been mean to any of the staff, you start to overthink in the middle of the hallway before you realize the reason why they could be staring, shit, do they know what happened last night between you and Namjoon? No, you quickly say to yourself, that’s impossible, no one else was in the floor when you and Namjoon got out of the studio until late hours of the night, he took you to his house, where you repeated what you did in his studio all over again in the late night, and in the early morning as well, but there still isn’t an explanation on why everyone had suddenly turned on you like this.

 For the last month, walking into Namjoon’s studio always felt like you were coming into the place you belonged, a safe space where you could be free and be yourself around him, but today, it felt like you were walking into your death sentence, you didn’t want to believe everyone found out because of last night, that couldn’t be true, right? Maybe Namjoon told Sohee that you were together now, and she probably spread the word around the label, right? Namjoon would never betray your trust like this, right?

 Wrong.

 You don’t find Namjoon in his studio, instead, you find a laptop on top of his mixing table, the screen is turned off but the sound it’s making and the turn on button being lit up tells you that it’s on, you take a seat in your usual chair but the sticky note over the screen makes you want to snoop in a little bit.

 “Here you go Hyung, and don’t worry about anything, it looks and sounds amazing ;)” What could it be? Namjoon didn’t say anything about working on anything else besides your EP, and he also said he wasn’t compromised with any projects right now, so you doubted this was about work, what could this be?, the curiosity got the best of you, so you move your fingers around the touchpad until the screen lit up.

 You didn’t want to look into his stuff without permission, but you were so curious about what this could be. The screen showed a video player with no thumb nail on it, so you pressed play and waited for the video to show.

 How badly you wish you didn’t do it.

The first thing you hear is a moan, your moan, it’s loud and it’s filthy, your eyes fill with tears as you realize what’s going on.

 It’s a video from last night, and not only does the video show everything that happened last night, but your face is also very visible, the quality doesn’t let it up to speculation.

 Namjoon recorded you having sex with him, and he made sure your face was visible on the entire video.

 You’re too horrified watching the video play to notice the presence of that man behind you, you only notice after him getting close enough to catch his shadow onto the screen.

 “Namjoon, what is this?” You could barely speak, air seemed to abandon your lungs after what you just watched, the most vulnerable and intimate moment in your life, captured on video like it meant nothing. You turn around to face him while Namjoon keeps a neutral expression despite your distress, the man you’ve come to know, and love was nowhere to be found, in his place was this mean and coldhearted man who doesn’t seem to realize how much he’s hurting you.

“What do you mean darling?” You don’t even realize you’re standing up and he’s in front of you now, his tone being so condescending that it makes you feel disgusted, he traps you into his arms and forced you to look at him in the eyes by harshly gripping your chin up, his mocking smirk breaking your heart when you realize that he doesn’t want to comfort you like he has done so many times before, right now, Namjoon is making fun of you “Don’t you like it? Because personally I loved it, it really captured how well you took me last night, how you were a good little slut just for me” A heart wrenching sob left your mouth and Namjoon tsk at you while shaking his head, his evil smirk doesn’t leave his face for a second “What’s the matter baby? You don’t like me calling you a slut? You didn’t seem to mind that nickname last night” He has the audacity to laugh at you and instinctively you begin to weakly try to break free from his hold, tears streaming down your face.

“How could you do this to me?! Fuck you!” Each time you try to get out of Namjoon’s tight hold and run as far as you could from him, his grip only became tighter, so tight that it started to hurt, you let out a pained whimper, but Namjoon didn’t seem to care at all, gripping your chin even harsher this time.

“And where do you think you’re going baby, huh?” You can’t stand his fucking tone anymore, you need to get out of here, now.

“You won’t get away with this, I’m going to tell everyone what you did!” You try to stay firm, but every time Namjoon laughs you seem to get smaller and smaller, his mocking tone making you feel dumb.

“Yeah baby? What exactly are you going to say?” He spins you so that you’re facing his laptop and keeps a tight grip on your waist with one hand as he presses play once more with his other hand, the lewd sounds from last night echoing his studio, making a new set of tears appear into your eyes, you closed your eyes while shaking your head, Namjoon grips you by the hair while forcing you to watch the awful video, you whimper as you are forced to relive what you thought was an intimate moment and  you’re horrified realizing it’s anything but that. “You look pretty willing to me, in fact, if we go back to it you can even hear you begging for me” Another sob leaves your lips and Namjoon kisses your cheek after hearing your distress “Aw, don’t cry sweetheart, it’s not like you think, this wasn’t meant to hurt you” He tries to wipe your tears off but you swat his hand before it comes close to your face “Why are you so mad at this? I thought you would like it” You're in a daze right now, and his words only make you feel more confused. How could he think that you will like this? He invaded your privacy and betrayed your trust by unknowingly filming you in the most intimate moment of your life, Namjoon seems to sense your confusion and lets out a small cooing noise.

“Oh baby, you really don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this, don’t you? I had to make sure you didn’t chicken out on me, I can’t let you go that easy, not after waiting too long to have you” His words only confuse you even more and you’re left with more questions than with answers.

“How could you possibly met me before this?” Your voice was barely audible at this point, but you know he heard you just fine, your throat closing up even more when he laughs while not breaking eye contact, before all this mess, Namjoon’s presence was already intimidating, but right now is downright terrifying, you can feel your legs giving out when he comes closer to you, gently cradling your face in his hands, more tears rolling down your cheeks as he begins to speak again.

“Oh darling, you’ve always been so eager, so gullible” The confusion your feeling must be visible to him because he lets a small tsk whilst grabbing a small strand of your bangs to push it behind your ear, his playful tone doesn’t leave his voice.

“It was a mere casualty really, Hoseok asked me to come to the main Bangtan building after one of his rehearsals, but on my way to his practice room, I saw a group of trainees in the smallest dancing studio in the building, dancing to the same part of a song over and over again, most of them messing up every time, except for one” Your entire body freezes and you feel like you might collapse at any moment, this can’t be happening, this isn’t the way things should be going now “I knew from the moment I saw you were going to be a star, and when I started to find out more about you, let me just say I was delighted with what I learned” You need to run, you have to get out of here, but before you can even make a run for it, Namjoon holds you tightly into his arms before he says “I don’t think that’s a good idea baby, you don’t this video to end up in the wrong hands, do you?” Your eyes widen up in fear at the mere though and Namjoon has the audacity to laugh at this “My career will remain intact after this, it might even become good publicity for me, but yours? Oh darling, this will be your downfall, a trainee fucking her producer to assure her success, that’s just low” You violently shake your head at his words.

“That’s not true! That’s not what happened, and you know that!” You’re yelling but no matter how loud you yell, it doesn’t seem like he can hear you, he only brushes you off with an uninterested look.

“I know that darling, but other people don’t, I know you’re a hard working girl who’s fought to be in this position, but they won’t see it that way, if their looking at you like scum now just thinking that we might be dating, imagine how they’ll treat you when they found out you let me fuck you so easily” You can’t control the heartbreaking sob that comes out of your mouth, and Namjoon coos at your pathetic attempt to make him feel guilty, pushing your head into his chest as he embraces you in a hug “Oh but don’t cry baby, I won’t let that happen to you, your my little superstar aren’t you? As long as you stay with me, I’ll make all your dreams come true” His loving and caring tone doesn’t give you butterflies in your stomach anymore, it only makes you feel like you want to puke, and although his actions say otherwise, you’re left with the only option you have left: you believe him, what else can you do after all? No matter what you do, every choice will make you lose, but one will make you lose everything you’ve worked hard for, while the other will make you lose your dignity, and frankly, you don’t know which one is worst.

 Namjoon continues to hug you, his hold feels like poison now, who you once considered the man of your dreams has become your biggest nightmare in the blink of an eye and there’s nothing you can do to get away from him now, he kisses you harshly, your tears coming in the way but he seems to be great at ignoring them, and as he deepens out the kiss, there’s only one thought that bitterly crosses through your mind.

 You should’ve listened to your mother when you had the chance.

[mauvecherie-writes]

Roses Can Be Pink.

pairing: Rue Bennett x Black FOC!Monique.

Euphoria AU.

summary: parties can be fun with the right person.

tags: 18+ MINORS DNI, smut, wlw, euphoria AU, rue is over 21, rue is in recovery, instant connections, fingering, oral sex, mention of toys.

notes: this is the first time I’ve written queer content in a long, long time so when I say I’m RUSTY, I mean it! This one is dedicated to my best girl @melodicheauxxo I love you and I hope you love it!

word count: 1.8K

tip jar 💕 taglist 💕

“Aren’t you glad you came to the party? You’re having fun aren’t you.” Your friend, Sammie

gloats as she hands you a glass of wine spritz. You roll your eyes trying to refuse a smile from spreading across your face. You gently shrug your shoulders before bringing your glass close to your mouth.

“It’s aight, don’t get too big headed. I could leave any time to go enjoy Bob’s Burgers.” You say before taking a sip of your drink, the cool liquid soothing your throat. She rolls her eyes before linking her arm with yours and pulling you the rest of the people away from the kitchen.

It was more of a kickback than an outright party with some old college buddies. It’s been over a year since graduating from film school and you have been working in the industry since, doing what you love and you met most of the people here through college except for your best friend - who was currently dragging you to meet some new people.

Entering the room, there’s a few people already inside with an anime you’re unfamiliar with playing on the tv as they huddled close as they played UNO.

“Hey guys!” Sammie breaks their concentration and brings it to you guys as you stand underneath the door frame. There’s one person who immediately draws your attention though. Their honey brown curls unruly but they fall perfectly around her face and rest on her shoulders. Her eyes trail down your body as she leans back into the couch. They come back to your face and a smile is hidden behind her cup as you bashfully break eye contact and squirm beside Sammie.

“This is my best friend Monique! She finally left her house and grace us with her presence.”

“I’m not that bad.” You nudge her shoulder. “I’ve been busy.” You defend yourself with a smile and a roll of your eyes - a habit you happen to always do around her. You love Sammie and it’s not like you were avoiding her on purpose but her parties (parties in general) always overwhelm you so typically just stay away from them.

“Whatever!” She replies before she smiles, taking your hand and sitting you close to the woman you had been eyeing up. The warmth of your blush still tainting your cheeks. You’re a little tense but you take in her soft yet musky scent as you try to lean back into the couch.

“Please keep my friend entertained and comfortable. I’ll be back for her later.” Sammie winked at you before leaving you with the small group. You’re not a shy person so the introductions are swift and quick but the lady sitting beside you is causing your nervousness to spike which isn’t normal.

What’s worse, you think she can notice the affect she’s having on you.

“I’m Rue.” Her voice is soft and melodious. It’s kind of low in pitch but it suits her perfectly. You scold yourself for thinking too much about how her voice sounds but you can’t help it but the instant attraction is wrecking you.

“Nice to meet you.” You shake her hand that was in front of her. Like her voice, her skin is so soft, her fingers are long and slender but her nails are neatly trimmed, painted black. Absentmindedly you lick your lips thinking about her fingers and god you’re such a creep, you’ve just met her and your mind is already going there.

Fortunately the rest of the night, things go really well. The conversation flows so naturally between the two of you that you couldn’t believe you’ve only met today. She’s a friend of Maddy’s who works with Sammie and have been since childhood really and in not so many words, she had let you know that she wasn’t much of a drinker anymore due to previous substance issues from her past. She had been sipping on cranberry and blackberry juice all night as to not draw attention to herself. People were nosy and if they saw her drinking from a red solo cup, she knew no one was going to ask questions.

At some point of the night, you decide to give Rue a tour of your friend’s house finally reaching the guest room that’s your designated room wherever you slept over.

“So what made you choose film?” Rue asks you as you guys had settled on the floor, rolling a ball to each other as the muffled music from the party filtered into your room.

“I love the arts you know? I live for them. They’ve changed and influenced my life and I just felt like I want to be a part of that you know? Like being a part of something that influence change and be positive in someone’s life is a great deal.” As you speak so passionately you could feel her eyes on you which doesn’t stop the feelings she’s enticing within you. It was so strange to get such a visceral reaction to Rue and for the most part, the last few hours have been heavenly.

“Why are you staring at me.” You whisper. You chew on your bottom lip as you let your body fall to one side.

“I like watching you talk.” Rue answers candidly. “You become really animated and there’s this glow to you that makes you more attractive than I already think you are.”

You hold onto your cheeks as your shoulders pull up bashfully.

“Don’t get shy on me.” Rue licks her lips as she pulls your hands away from your face. You still turn your head away from her but with her fingers, she directs your gaze back onto hers. Rue’s eyes are sparkling in the dark as you bear into each other’s souls. The connection that you’re feeling towards her could not be denied.

“Do you feel that?” She asks as she intertwines your fingers with hers, pulling you closer to her body. You shift your bodies so that your legs are overlapping each other and the warmth of your core is radiating onto her thigh.

“Yeah.” You whisper. “I thought I was going a little crazy but I feel so … good around you, it’s insane.” Rue chuckles at your response as she cups your chubby cheeks and rubs your skin with the pad of her thumbs.

“Can I kiss you Monique? I really, really want to kiss you.”

“Yes. Please.” You breathe out before you can utter something else, her lips are on yours. Your stomach erupts in a fever of flatters, nervousness swimming in your veins as your eyes close as your softly kiss her back. However, as the kiss deepens, the lesser you were nervous and enjoyed the kiss. Slow and passionate, in no rush whatsoever and it makes you feel desired. Your hands trail down from the back of her neck to her waist and you pull on her tighter, wanting to feel more of her.

Her tongue swirls around yours which sends a shiver down your spine and your cunt clenches around nothing as your arousal sparks your body into a frenzy of need, a need Rue easily picks up on.

“Lay down.” She whispers to you and you follow the instruction without hesitation. Rue brings your legs to your waist, caressing your thighs as she hovers above you.

“Can I go on?” She asks and you inaudibly nod your head. You’re quiet as she strips your trousers and panties away from your body. “Fuck. I knew your pussy would be so beautiful.” She rasps as her hands travel back up your thighs and her thumbs part your heated core. A shiver runs down your spine as your cunt aches, you wanted more, you anticipate the next move. Rue slides the straps of your cami top down until your breasts are exposed.

Her long fingers tease and pinch your nipples which causes you to squirm. Begging for attention, Rue leans forward and wraps her lips around your areola and shoves two fingers into your cunt. Your gasp at the intrusion is loud but you welcome her finger nonetheless.

“You’re so tight.” Rue mumbles against your chest as you whimper and roll your hips. Her fingers move a bit faster, the sound of your wetness beginning to echo within the confines of your room. Your self control was slowly beginning to slip as Rue fucks you nice and hard with her fingers to the point of orgasm.

“What!-.” You exclaim as Rue suddenly withdraw her fingers from your pussy.

“I need to taste you.” She whispers before she brings her drenched fingers to her mouth. Rue sucks on her digits feverishly which turns you even more. She drops her fingers away from her mouth before she quickly shifts so that her face is hovering closer to your pussy. You try and look down at Rue but with her fingers tracing the opening of your pussy, your head falls back and your eyes close shut.

“Rue, I need you. Please.” You beg.

“Don’t worry baby, I got you.” With that, she wraps her lips around your clit which causes a loud moan to ring out from you. Her tongue is warm as she laps at your cunt.

It had been a while for you but the way Rue was making you feel, wreaked your brain but you didn’t focus on it too much as you ride her face with abandon. She’s eating you so good and you were losing your breath trying to keep up with her pace. Rue rolls her tongue around your clit over and over again before pushing her fingers back into your pussy and stroking your g-spot with hoe she curled her digits.

“Oh shit! I’m gonna cum!” Your hips are rolling to the pace of her fingers thrusting in and out of you. You fear suffocating her but your high is creeping near as you focus on your orgasm. A third finger is introduced which causes you to cry out even louder. You’re desperate now and you can’t stop yourself as you use her to reach your climax. The stretch of her fingers deepen your cunt and her tongue on your clit is sending you into overdrive.

Your release slams against you full force and your thighs threaten to close around her head but Rue keeps them from collapsing around her head by pressing one of your thighs down with her arm. She doesn’t pull away from you as she continues to lick you clean.

Your body trembles with aftershocks of pleasure as Rue finally moves away from your pussy and trails her lips back up your body. She captures your mouth and you moan softly tasting yourself on her lips. The kiss moves slow and sweet with your tongues clashing against each other as your core begs for more.

“You got any toys I can use on you in here?” Rue asks you which causes your cheeks to warm in slight embarrassment.

“Yeah.” You admit.

“Bring them out, I’m not done with you just yet.” Rue whispers. “Want to explore every part of you.”

@dhlfastestlap @queenshikongo3 @kindan3rdy951 @ricciardosheart @lewiscrown @sarah-ev @mercedesjpg @playgurlxoxo @scorpiobleue @leilaxaliel @amorestevens @nomnombibblenibble @honey-prinxess @ohkapten @aisharmi @bahatibloom @chaneajoyyy @melodicheauxxo @olyvoyl @paradisehamilton @lewisthot @mimihopie @blowmymbackout @write-fromthe-start

[wiccawrites]

KINNPORSCHE BODYSWAP AU ||

AU where kinnporsche are sons of two of Thailand's most affluent families!! The Theerapanyakuls are old rich but recently struggling -- they've got a good name but their business isn't as flourishing as it once was and it's steadily shrinking. On the other hand, the Kittisawats are new rich. They made it big in the software industry just a decade ago and now they're easily one of the richest families in the country.

Kinn and Porsche are both next in line to inherit their respective businesses but the way they were raised are night and day. Kinn was raised under Korn's iron hand and he's a middle child to top it all off. Meanwhile Porsche is smart but generally unserious -- he's outgoing and a free spirit!

They grew up as rivals. Porsche has gone out of his way to tease Kinn ever since they were little. Kinn is one of the few people that can get Porsche to take things seriously -- mostly because Porsche likes competing with Kinn and trying to see if he can ruin Kinn's day by winning.

Anyway Something Happens™ (idk what, let's say the gay stars align for now) and they end up switching bodies with no way of switching back. 

This is a problem because Kinn's engaged to be married in a week and there is no fucking way Porsche is sleeping with Kinn's blander-than-hotel-wallpaper fiance. He's adamant about it and he doesn't understand how Kinn could throw his whole life away for a business. 

Kinn honestly didn't like his fiance as well but Korn had been breathing down his neck about getting married for the sake of expanding the business for literal years now. And his fiance was from a really good background. If he breaks off the engagement, especially this late in the game, he'll disgrace the family name. He tells Porsche as much. 

That's when Porsche gets the idea. 

Since they're in each other's bodies, Porsche can just break the engagement off as Kinn. He thinks that if he delivers an impassioned speech standing up for himself (well, for Kinn technically), Korn will eventually have to understand.

After all, Porsche knew he had a way with words. What could go wrong? 

A lot, apparently. 

Porsche does as planned during Kinn's engagement party and Korn is livid. He's never seen the man turn that shade of red before. Korn is a breath away from publicly disowning Kinn until the real Kinn takes Porsche's hand and apologizes for not being brave enough to do the right thing. 

Suddenly, Porsche catches himself looking at Kinn. He's grateful they can see each other for who they truly are because it would be weird if Porsche looked at Kinn and instead saw himself right now.

Because Kinn is making up a story about how he and Porsche have been secretly dating on and off for years and throughout Kinn's engagement. And he's being loud about it. People are staring. In fact, Porsche is sure the only reason no one is doing anything is because the story is, well, it's juicy.

"Please believe me when I say it's all my fault for being a coward," Kinn says in a tone that has everyone hanging onto his every word. He turns to Porsche, and then he gets on one knee. "Kinn, I'm sorry for taking so long to realize that you're the person I've been waiting for all my life. You're the one who loves me, and I'm the one who loves you most. Will you marry me?"

Porsche wonders how the fuck Kinn came up with all this shit on the spot. 

Because it's genius.

The Kittisawats were currently the third richest family in Thailand. Korn would be a fool to force his son to go through with his existing engagement now. Not to mention, the press would eat the whole romance angle up. And being engaged would give Kinn and Porsche the chance to cover for each other while they figure out how the fuck they can go back to their own bodies.

God, Kinn was brilliant. Porsche could kiss him.

Porsche blinks. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea at all. Everyone was watching. The better they sold this lie, the more time they'd get to fix things.

Throwing all caution to the wind, Porsche kneels so that he and Kinn are eye-to-eye. A relieved smile breaks through his face as he loops his arms around Kinn's shoulders.

"Yes," Porsche whispers before he seals their lips together.

If his heart skips a few beats, that's only because he's never been into public displays of affection.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Hirogaru Sky Impressions (2/5)

Full starting team now assembled. Yay~!

That said, I'm going to keep this "short" as I'm not feeling well. Also got some other things I need to finish but I can't concentrate on that if I don't get this post done and out of the way first.

Overall, the season is continuing to be a very delightful watch. I'm pleased with the pacing and that the writers are diligent about not giving away too much of the main plot just yet. There will be a proper time to dive into that later.

In the meantime, dedicating all the fillers to further fleshing out the Cures and building their team rapport and bonds with each other are exactly what we should always see from Precure.

Sora certainly holds the MC role the most prominently out of all her friends since her arc is tied closely to the main plot. So it's just a matter of waiting until the story returns to that for her arc to move forward. Namely, the reason behind the conflict between Skyland and the Undergu Empire (aka this season's lore), what Ellee-chan's significance is in the grand scheme of things and where the hell Captain Shalala is.

Though I think most of us have already theorized that her sudden disappearance is a setup for the eventual reveal that she is actually in league with the villains and will re-emerge as the third general. Or perhaps even the big bad boss because c'mon, you don't hire a veteran seiyuu like Mitsuki Saiga for only two or so episodes and call it a day.

Villain roles are mostly performed by well-established seiyuu in the industry so we can definitely expect Shalala to return in a fashion that would shake Sora's core beliefs (i.e. the broken pedestal trope). Which will then push her to re-evaluate what it means to be a true hero and come back even stronger after recovering from the shock.

On another note, I have my doubts whether Shalala is really the boss because the superior we heard Kabaton conversing with in ep 11 is actually voiced by Takako Honda, another veteran, and not Mitsuki Saiga.

...maybe Shalala is playing a double agent in order to get close to the Undergu leader and get rid of the threat once and for all that way?

Possible. But we don't have enough clues or evidence to confirm that yet so we'll just have to wait.

On another note, I like that they're doing something new again with this season by having the villain generals retire from their post right after their last defeat. Not sure if Kabaton will return as an ally in later episodes or not but it was heartwarming to see him turn over a new leaf and aim for a new and better purpose after he's been spared from death.

Back to the Cures.

Sora and Mashiro's friendship is just beautiful to behold. Thanks to Sora's arc being set aside for the moment, there's more time to focus on developing their relationship. Noticeably, it's during these fillers that Sora has increasingly become the one to support Mashiro rather than the other way around while Mashiro takes her own lead in finding her own path and discovering what she wants to do and what her dreams are (so yes, she isn't a Cure without a personal story arc, that's such a relief!).

Their partnership is quite balanced in that respect and I couldn't be happier.

Adding onto it, they're continuing to pay tribute to the original Futari Wa pair through Sora and Mashiro this way without disrupting the team camaraderie which is also a plus.

Tsubasa and Ageha as the beta pair provide very fun interactions, too, and I think I favor them over Sora and Mashiro. Whereas Sora and Mashiro are best friends who strive to do their best for each other, Tsubasa and Ageha have a more sibling dynamic between them with all the fond teasing and nagging.

The only complaint I have about them is their duo attack.

I mean yea, Wing looks so cool in his phoenix form (I'm calling it that, you can't stop me) but that shouldn't be a trade off for Butterfly getting all the lines while he becomes her nuclear pudgy mount.

I'm afraid that for all the progressiveness Toei has shown with HiroSky, they're still too chicken to go the full mile with the changes they implemented just yet.

We took two steps forward by finally including a male member to the main team...but took one step back with them still placing more importance on the girl cuz it's easier to sell her than the boy when their positions should be equal.

Granted, it's just one stock footage that only lasts about a minute but...it just bugs me, that's all.

That said, Butterfly's debut was omg, so awesome?!

The whole transformation sequence captured Ageha's vivacious personality perfectly.

She was already more than qualified to become Precure with her natural confidence and heroic drive. To see her slip right into the call like a duck taking to water (or er, a butterfly to the air) and then proceed to kick utter ass in her alter ego form...

Absolutely WONDERFUL.

I also love that though they constantly refer to Ageha as an adult and regularly show her dedication to her studies and jobs, they don't let her duties be the only things that define her.

Yes, she is mature and responsible but she's also living her best life and enjoying herself right now. She's interested in fashion, make up and has other personal interests outside her aspirations. She looks out for the kids who are younger than her while also having fun alongside them.

Yes, she's 18 and still in her youth but the point about Ageha/Butterfly's character is that there's no limit on choosing what you want for yourself. Just like how gender should not be an obstacle to becoming a magical girl (the metaphor for one's dreams and wishes), age shouldn't be one either.

Wear the accessories you want, pursue the hobbies you like, dance and sing without a care in the world.

As long as you're not hurting anyone, do what you find is fulfilling for you and do it without shame. You can be 30, 50, or 80 years old and that shouldn't matter in loving what you love.

Be like Ageha.

Act your age but don't be that. Be yourself foremost.

And that's all for now, I guess.

I suspect that midseason Cure debut will happen sometime before ep 30 so that we can have the ultimate forms + whole group power up attack around ep 40.

And then the remaining 8 episodes will center more or less around the main plot.

K, bye for now.

[gaykarstaagforever]

Another fun editorial from my "favorite" publication, Business Insider.

This was written by the 57 year old rich man who founded it and is currently the CEO. But notice how the choice of picture tries to trick you into thinking a hot younger woman wrote it.

Which is odd, because BI can, and does!, hire hot younger women to write crap like this, all the time. Traditionally targeting Millenials. But I guess our persistent refusal to get knocked up has finally driven BI off to go harass our younger siblings. And Old Henry just couldn't contain himself around all these new young empty wombs anymore.

I read it to see why exactly, on a planet with too many people and too little affordable houses, this rich white man is so upset that people under 40 aren't breeding like they used to. He doesn't give a good reason, just something about how "giving children life" is brave. Which it isn't, by any definition of the word.

What he does take pains to do is explain why all our reasons for refusing to breed are bullshit. Well, he doesn't say it so harshly. Because obviously he's figured out that Elon Musk ordering white people to provide babies for his new crazy experiments isn't a method that's working. So Henry soft-pedals it. He admits war and climate change and political chaos are real, but not THAT real (I have no idea; you figure it out). But even if they are, and I'm paraphrasing here, don't worry, some heretofore unknown wizard or Superman shall appear and fix everything. So no worries, ladies! Be filled with seed!

What Henry doesn't seem to understand is that climate change and general violent chaos may be two of the stated reasons people have for not having kids, but aren't the only ones, or even the major ones. Most people who aren't as mostly-gay and mostly-asexual as myself are under the constant pressures of horniness and family expectations to not let the coming doom of the world at-large change their stances on condom usage.

People avoid having kids because of a perceived lack of support for their personal child-rearing, be it financial or social. If they are having issues with long-term commitment or financial security, they aren't going to sign up for 20+ years of raising another human being. And because we aren't willful idiots, we know financial security is ALSO a big reason people have problems maintaining long-term relationships.

Henry, no one under 40 is going to have kids if they know they're going to have to find a new apartment or a new job, in a new place, every 3 to 6 years. That instability is what is frosting everyone's nethers. And that isn't a philosophical problem, that is a systemic capitalism problem.

That guys like Henry caused. Because Old Henry here had to pay $4 million to the US Government back in 2003 for tricking people into investing in shitty 1990s dot-coms he knew were about to fall apart. He is banned from trading securities and working in the financial services industry anymore because of this.

People don't have babies on a roller-coaster, Henry. And you help build that roller-coaster. They aren't breeding because of YOU, you idiot. So you're hardly in a position to be lecturing anyone about how they aren't doing enough bareback.

...Also, back to the question of why old rich men like Henry Blodget are so worried about "population decline," a thing that isn't a thing. Sans him actually giving the game away, I'm free to speculate, and I will. This is probably that thing where he's worried about America's garbage social security system getting even more pointless without enough young people to steal from to pay the bills. Which is, AGAIN, only a problem because guys like Henry engineered both it and the economy in such ways that it is. They made a joke of a system that runs on bad stupid rules and now blame us for not following those rules. And one of those rules is "you (white people) all need to breed like rabbits," because every system these people make, including their religions, has that same weird rule.

Because these are weird, bad people. Who do financial crimes.

And that's why we don't listen to them.

[jmdbjk]

Let’s go hard

How y’all been? Y’all still out there? I’ve been kinda busy, hence absent from here, but I’m always watching... waiting... where tf is that Jimin photo folio??? PJMs are MAD I tell you! Phew! I am excited to see something too but the timing is probably tricky with the Busan concert weeks away and all the “pre-show” stuff going on. 

Talk about going hard though: a bunch of content was dropped today/tonight/last night. Jin’s Bangtan Bomb of him attending those movie premiers... I really loved seeing how he handled all that. And it still surprises me how uncomfortable he is even though I know this would be in-line with his personality. And now that I think about it, I have never before been exposed to these intimate behind the scenes details from such a global superstar being so candid about such things. It is new and refreshing and makes me love Jin and BTS in general even more. 

Hobi’s Crush collab, Rush Hour, is killin’ it. So far every single 2022 BTS collab has been fire. Rush Hour is on all my playlists as is Sexy Nukim along with Bad Decisions (especially the acoustic version), Left and Right, That That and of course With You. Am I forgetting any? Anyway, the choreo pays heavy homage to BTS choreo and at the end of the Rush Hour MV, Hobi does a little bow out/salute while the lyrics are “get up, give it to, this is Crush Hour”... I am not familiar with Crush but they say this is his comeback after being discharged from the military. 

[Mic Drop amongst the several BTS choreo that make an appearance in Rush Hour MV]

I love the way every single collab allows the presence of a BTS member to lift up the other artist to the world like a once hidden gem, now shining bright for the entire planet to take notice. I love that so much! BTS STILL doing for the South Korean entertainment industry what no one else can do!

Really, the only one that might be an exception is the PSY/SUGA collab, PSY led the way for BTS. That is my personal opinion. Though PSY was already  known outside South Korea, SUGA on That That expanded that audience by millions.

And now to the main event of this post:

FINALLY! English subs are up on Jimin’s WeLive. Of course I’ve already read other translations but it’s nice to finally see the “official” subtitles (whether they are entirely accurate or not) and I like to actually see his facial expressions and body language as he says what he says. That important context is totally lost whenever you just read the translations on Twitter.

But the general vibe is that Jimin is fine. He says he’s been living an emotionally even-keeled and peaceful existence, working on his music and then vegging out as his lazy-couch-potato-self at home.

From some of the things he said about his state of mind in the past, he had some anxiety going on back then, we’ve known that, but now he really seems to have that under control. He made a wavy up and down motion while he was talking about “before.” He has said in the past that when he started running back in 2021, it helped him a lot mentally. My takeaways: 2020 did a number on him mentally. He struggled mightily. In 2021 he discovered running helped his anxiety and he has since changed his lifestyle for the better. Then he made a straight-line motion to show us how he feels these days. All good things. I am very proud of him. 

He mentioned several times that he wants to be pretty for us all the time and for a long time in the future and this is why he takes care of his body and appearance. He’s been eating healthy and working out. He said: “I am an idol.” So, please understand that Jimin takes his vocation seriously. He lives to be an idol and he does what he feels he needs to do in order to maintain the level of “idol” that he wants to be. I know his constant talk about his weight and appearance don’t always sit well with some. I think it is just Jimin reassuring us that he knows what he’s doing and not to worry about him and this is why he cares so much about his weight and appearance.

But he is concerned that he’s not danced in a while and says he needs to get back into that. I have zero doubt he’ll have no problems brushing off the rust. He mentioned maybe dancing or dance lessons being the focus of his next WeLive. HELL YEAH! Bring Jungkook with you, Jimin! and have one of y’all’s late night dance practices like you used to do! Seriously though, I would love to see them do various dance styles and moves and then talk about the differences and their thoughts about doing them. 

And the pole dancing... I’ve seen a few videos of a male pole dancer and it really is very graceful and lovely and omg the strength required to be able to do those moves...just wow. I hope Jimin somehow sees these videos and really does consider trying it because if anyone can pull it off, it would be him. I would love to see his spin (har har pun) on pole dancing.

He talked about getting braces (and that he is sort of over it) and that he has another wisdom tooth to get out but also, being at the dentist gives him “out of body experience” anxiety (cries). 

He read one of the comments during the live that was something about the commenter being only 5 years old when BTS debuted and though Jimin questioned that a 5 year old could understand the deep lyrics of their music at that time, Jimin did the math, determined the commenter’s age (about 14) and him being 28, he said 14 years is not that big of a difference. Now, I’ve seen a few people raise an eyebrow at this (putting that mildly, it was antis looking for anything to latch on to in order to be hateful) but when I saw Jimin say this, my interpretation was that he meant the young Army’s age was not out of line for being a fan, just like someone who would be 14 years OLDER than he. Armys are ALL AGES and he knows that.

Then Tae hops into the comments and flexes his “I will make them update Weverse to have the ability to do simultaneous broadcasts.” I’m sure the Weverse developers shit their pants when they saw him say that. YOU GO KIM TAEHYUNG! MAKE IT SO!

Jimin said he wants to show us his music that he’s working on but it’s not a simple process. He said coming in to work really is his passion these days, as he put it... “coming to the company is like clocking out, not clocking in.” So that tells me he is really enjoying what he’s doing and to him, it’s not work, it’s his passion. I love that for him and I’m glad he said it out loud.

Then the whole moon tattoo “reveal/not a reveal” HAHAHAHAHA! Wow though, kudos to artist @ArizzoStudios on Twitter for being THE CHOSEN ONE that Tae showed to Jimin and then Jimin following through with the inspiration to get the other moons tattooed on his back. Just wow. I cannot wait to see them. I am also so thrilled that he is even bringing up such personal things like his tattoos. We’ve never heard such open talk about them before. We’ve come a long way from Jungkook hiding all of his tattoos with long sleeves and tape to now showing HD photos of them on social media and Jimin talking about them openly and how they came to be. 

He tried to give us a peek of the moons. That’s when someone said “go easy, Jimin” and he laughed! “It’s my body so I will go hard if I want to!” HA!

He talked about how long his hair had gotten and of course, that he had permed it supposedly right before he came on the live, and then he made the remark that last time he cut it short (right before the Las Vegas concerts), he had some self reflection on why he did that, but he didn’t share why, but sounded like he was going to try to maintain it at a longer length for the time being. I love long hair Jimin.

He gave us some insight into how he feels about Instagram versus other social media like Weverse. The difficulty for him with Instagram is that he feels like he is just uploading images into a photo album because he gets no feedback on it (since comments are turned off). We know its possible on Weverse for him to have real communication with Army and on Twitter, he can see comments on his posts. For us, we like that he is shielded on Instagram from the toxicity that exists, but at the same time, he is prevented from seeing anything positive as well. Maybe he will learn how to write captions for his IG posts or post stories and therefore feel like he is able to communicate a little more there. My other takeaway from this information coming from him is that Park Jimin has no need for social media. Only Jimin of BTS needs it. If he was using social media for his own personal use on accounts that we no nothing about, then he would be more at ease and fluent using them. 

He promised he would come around again this weekend, maybe we will see him again in a few hours!

Also. You know...Jimin saying he will get Tae to come on live with him and also ask Jungkook as well. I’ve been thinking... I want to try to express my thoughts on how I see he and Tae relate to each other versus how I see Jimin and Jungkook’s relationship. Both very different relationships. But has it all been said before already? Is it worth another post? 

Something random that caught my attention: Jimin absentmindedly hummed 7 notes of a tune and then later 5 notes of something… clues to new music he has floating around in his head maybe? I guess time will tell.  

[yourreddancer]

sign the petition to foil Manchin’s dirty side deal

In a major speech I recently expressed my strong opposition to the so-called Manchin "side deal" that the fossil fuel industry is pushing to make it easier for them to pollute the environment and destroy the planet. Basically, at a time when the United States and the entire world are reeling from the devastating impacts of climate change, it is insane to be increasing fossil fuel production and carbon emissions.

As the father of four and the grandfather of seven, I very much wish that I did not have to say this. But the most serious challenge facing our country and the entire world today far and away is the existential threat of climate change. That’s not just Bernie Sanders talking. That’s what the scientific community is telling us in a virtually unanimous voice.

The latest report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is very clear and it is very foreboding. If the United States, China and the rest of the world do not act extremely aggressively in cutting carbon emissions, our planet will face enormous and irreversible damage. In fact, the world that we will be leaving our children and future generations will be increasingly unhealthy and uninhabitable.

But the truth is we don’t need another study to tell us that.

The American people and people throughout the world are seeing the devastating impact climate change is having on their communities and their families with their own eyes. And please understand that everything that we are seeing today will likely become worse, much worse, in the years to come.

Just take a look around at what’s happening right now in the United States and around the world:

The past eight years have been the hottest years in recorded history.

The western half of the U.S. is experiencing its worst drought in over 1,200 years.

Right now California, Nevada and Utah are experiencing record-breaking heat.

Historic rainfall and devastating floods took place over a 5-week stretch this summer in eastern Kentucky; eastern Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Death Valley, California; and Dallas, Texas. These are supposed to be one in a thousand year torrential rainfalls.

Right now, Europe is experiencing its worst drought in over 500 years.

A massive heat wave in Spain and Portugal killed more than 2,000 people in July.

Historically hot weather in London and China literally melted bridges, airplane runways and rooftops. Let me repeat that: the extremely hot weather in London and China this summer literally melted bridges, rooftops and airplane runways.

Record-breaking forest fires in Europe have already burned 1.6 million acres of land – 56% more than the previous record set in 2017 – over eight times the size of New York City.

Record-breaking drought in China has caused parts of the Yangtze River to completely dry up. This is the third largest river in the world and the source of drinking water for 400 million people.

Catastrophic rainfall and massive floods have been going on for weeks in Pakistan killing at least 1,200 and displacing 10 million people as one-third of Pakistan is now underwater.

And if all of this is not sobering enough, a glacier in Antarctica that scientists have dubbed “the doomsday glacier” has been in “rapid retreat” and is melting much faster than previous predictions. Without this glacier and its supporting ice shelves, sea levels could rise by three to ten feet which could cause entire coastal communities to flood and go under water forever. We are talking here about major, major cities around the United States and across the globe that could be underwater in the coming decades. Think about the mass dislocation, turmoil and international tensions that these migrations will have.

And on and on it goes.

In the past, a series of climate disasters like these might have seemed like a silly plot in a bad movie about the apocalypse. Unfortunately, however, this is not a movie. This is reality. This is what we are experiencing right in front of us. And, again, this entire scenario will likely become worse, much, much worse if the United States, China and the rest of the world do not act together to break our dependence on fossil fuel.

Let us be clear: If the entire planet, led by the largest economy in the world, the United States of America, does not get its act together, we will see more devastating and extreme heat. We will see more floods, more rising sea levels, more extreme weather disturbances, more ocean acidification, more drought, more famine, more disease, and more human suffering.

And today, to all of my colleagues who have children and grandchildren, I ask you to think about what they will say when they look you in the eyes and ask why did you allow this to happen?

We know that climate change is real. We know that climate change is caused by carbon emissions. We know that climate change is already causing devastating destruction throughout the world. We know that if we don’t rapidly transform our energy system away from fossil fuels towards energy efficiency and renewable energy the situation will only become worse, much worse and our planet will face irreparable and irreversible harm.

That is the reality that we face today. And yet, given all that we know, given all that the scientists are telling us, what is the United States Congress about to do?

It is seriously considering legislation to provide a huge giveaway to Big Oil to drill, produce and sell more fossil fuels.

Really? At a time when climate change is threatening the very existence of the planet, why would anybody be talking about substantially increasing carbon emissions and expanding fossil fuel production in the United States? What kind of message does this send to the people of our own country and to suffering people all over the world?

Like every other member of the Senate I have a pretty good understanding of how politics works. Like every other Senator I understand what campaign contributions are about, what lobbyists do, and the extraordinary power of the fossil fuel industry to push the legislation they want.

But I beg of my colleagues that, at this moment, when the future of the world is literally at stake, that we have the courage to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and to tell them, and the politicians they sponsor, that the future of the planet is more important than their short-term profits.

In the coming weeks and months, the Senate has a fundamental choice to make.

We can listen to the fossil fuel industry and climate deniers who are spending huge amounts of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to pass this dirty side deal.

Or we can listen to the scientists and the environmental community who are telling us loudly and clearly to reject this side deal and eliminate the $15 billion in tax breaks and subsidies Congress is already providing to big oil and gas companies each and every year.

While the legislative text of this side deal has not been made public, according to a one-page summary that was released last month, this bill would make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to receive permits to complete some of the dirtiest and most polluting oil and gas projects in America.

Specifically, this deal would approve the $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline – a 303-mile fracked gas pipeline spanning from West Virginia to Virginia and potentially on to North Carolina. We’re talking about a pipeline that would generate emissions equivalent to 37 coal plants or over 27 million cars each and every year.

It is hard for me to understand why anyone who is concerned about climate change would consider for one second voting to approve a pipeline that would be equivalent to putting 27 million more cars on the road each and every year.

On August 24th, over 650 environmental and civil rights organizations wrote a letter to Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi urging them to reject this side deal. This letter was signed by the Sierra Club, the Sunrise Movement, Friends of the Earth, Physicians for Social Responsibility, 350.org, Greenpeace, Public Citizen, People’s Action and the NAACP.

And here is what that letter says:

“On behalf of 653 frontline communities and environmental...organizations representing millions of members and supporters nationwide, we are writing to express our strenuous opposition to any additional fossil fuel giveaways. Alarming proposals have been referenced by Senator Manchin, in a short memo, and in legislative language that was clearly drafted in consultation with the American Petroleum Institute (API). It has been reported that Manchin has demanded these handouts to the fossil fuel industry as a further price for his vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which already included large giveaways to polluters. We call on you to unequivocally reject any effort to promote fossil fuels, advance unproven technologies, and weaken our core environmental laws…This fossil fuel wish list is a cruel and direct attack on environmental justice communities and the climate. This legislation would truncate and hollow-out the environmental review process, weaken Tribal consultations, and make it far harder for frontline communities to have their voices heard by gutting bedrock protections in the National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Water Act…Supporting this legislation would represent a profound betrayal of frontline communities and constituents across the country who have called on you to…advance a just, renewable energy future.”

I could not agree more.

I should also add that at least 59 of our colleagues in the House of Representatives will soon be releasing a letter expressing strong opposition to this side deal. Let me quote from that letter:

“According to media reports, there is agreement to advance a series of anti-environmental and anti-environmental justice provisions through the House, at the behest of the American Petroleum Institute (API). These destructive provisions will allow polluting manufacturing and energy development projects to be rushed through before the families who are forced to live near them are even aware of the plans … We remain deeply concerned that these serious and detrimental permitting provisions will significantly and disproportionately impact low-income communities, indigenous communities, and communities of color. The inclusion of these provisions in a continuing resolution, or any other must-pass legislation, would silence the voices of frontline and environmental justice communities by insulating them from scrutiny. Such a move would force Members to choose between protecting EJ communities from further pollution or funding the government. We urge you to ensure that these provisions are kept out of a continuing resolution or any other must-pass legislation this year.”

Today, I am urging all of my colleagues to stand with the 650 organizations and 59 Members of Congress and reject this dirty side deal.

Please sign my petition to show where you stand:

Add your name to my petition to tell Congress to reject the Manchin dirty side deal that would make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to pollute the environment and destroy the planet.

Let me repeat again: For the sake of our children, our grandchildren and future generations we have got to make it clear to the fossil fuel industry that their short-term profits are not more important than the future of our planet.

Thank you for reading.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

[limetameta]

Firecracker AU

Y'all I had this weird ass au idea where Kimblee never gets LET OUT of prison. Like he serves his time and for good behaviour and budget cuts they release him early, like 30ish years or so after ishval. So Kimblee's a lot calmer, a lot more patient. A lot more well-read, like in the 30 years he's had a lot of time to read a lot of material. Mainly Amestrian poetry. Amestrian because he's in an Amestrian prison and if he wants to be an anti-patriot he should've gotten arrested in an Aerugonian prison or a Drachman gulag. Yet Kimblee doesn't complain. He'll take whatever he can, just so he doesn't lose his mind.

Because of the arrays fading away and getting chipped due to the industrial soap filled with chemicals that have, over time, eaten away at the lines - he cannot use alchemy. After being given a chance (with like 10 guns aimed at him) to demonstrate that he's safe to be around with without shackles, his life becomes much less complicated. The guard who had to help Kimblee around with everyday tasks because of the shackles is crying tears of joy that that part of his life is over. Kimblee, too, is rather emotional that he can wash his own hair. Among other things ;) ehehe

So, now he's out of prison. The Promised Day still happened. The day was saved. Grumman became Fuhrer, but when it was time for Mustang to overtake him and send every Ishval Civil War veteran to the firing range - he got sidelined by General Armstrong, or rather the new Fuhrer Armstrong. And General Armstrong's not about to do something so idealistic as kill off good men and women because Roy Mustang feels bad.

Kimblee's out, though, and he's not going to stay long in Central City. There is nothing there for him anymore. He's lost his rank, his position in the military, and he is honestly fed-up with Amestris. But first he's got to visit his family - or rather the graves and see if they left him anything he can sell and pay his way to a different country. Most likely Aerugo. The man really wants to go to the beach.

He gets in a cab that's going to take him to the train station and he's going to leave central city forever. He's a civilian now, stripped of his rank and title. The only thing he's got on him is the State Alchemist pocket watch that he was told he couldn't have back, not even as a souvenir, so he just handed it to the Warden. The only suit he had, white, very, very faded and moth-eaten in places.

The arrays on his hands are faded, barely noticeable. Grey hairs have marred his scalp. He looks aged. Much more docile than he's ever been. The philosopher's stone has kept him company as a good and diligent friend. Within these 30 years, he's even learned to speak back when spoken to by the suffering souls.

But that's neither here nor there.

What's important is that when he gets inside that cab, he hears a lot of shouting and guns firing. Nothing to see here, he thinks, Central City is as crazy as ever. This doesn't concern me.

It begins concerning him when the object of the shootout runs towards their cab, opens the back door, and jumps inside the backseat, shouting: ''DRIVE, DRIVE, DRIVE!'' To really make matters worse, she takes out a State Alchemist pocket watch and adds: ''MILITARY BUSINESS, DRIVE!''

''Drive to the train station, please.'' Kimblee says to the driver. ''I was here first, after all.''

''Yeah, yeah, train station's good!'' The woman says.

As they're driving, the woman asks him where he's headed. Kimblee doesn't see fit to lie to a military personnel (if a bit eccentric not to be wearing a uniform, though perhaps it's all part of a covert operation?): ''West City, miss?'' He trails off. Are State Alchemists still the rank of a Major or has that been abolished? Is she a private? A special operative?

''Oh, sorry, sorry!'' The woman laughs. She puts away the pocket watch, fumbling with it how a newfound fowl fumbles to walk. Once this is done she grins widely, and what a big, precocious smile - it reminds him of someone, but he's so awful with names. Faces he can remember still, but his ability to keep the names of people inside his head is a deteriorating one. The woman outstretches her hand to him from the backseat and says: ''Name's Elicia.''

Kimblee turns from the front seat, smiles, and shakes her hand: ''It's a pleasure to meet you, Elicia. I'm Solf.'' He's not the Crimson Lotus Alchemist anymore, he's not Major Kimblee, he's simply Solf now.

''Well, Solf, would you mind terribly if I accompanied you West?'' Elicia asks him, drumming her fingers at the head of Kimblee's seat. ''I'm a bit wanted in these parts and going somewhere to lay low might do me a world of good.''

Kimblee's an uncomplicated man, really. What you see is what you get with him. ''I can hardly stop you from purchasing your own ticket and sitting next to me on the train.''

Elicia grins. And again that smile reminds him of someone. But he's so bad with names, now. It'll come to him. It has to.

************** On the train, Kimblee's watching how little Elicia knows to work the pocket watch, how she continuously fumbles with it. He can't help but air out his curiosity: ''The State Alchemist pocket watch isn't yours, is it, Elicia?''

She's dangling it off of her finger. ''Nope. I stole it off of one of my brothers. It sure comes in handy.''

Solf laughs. ''You're a real firecracker, aren't you?''

Elicia snaps her fingers and gives him two thumbs up. The pocket watch clatters to the ground. ''Oh no.'' She says, quickly, ''Ed's going to kill me if I break it!'

[inthememetime]

Cyberpunk!Amity Park where Ectoplasm and Ghosts are seen as a source of power, where they are captured and then stuffed into a reactor to be used as a power source. The process strips away everything the ghosts had and were previously but provides the town with clean energy, however at Amity Park grows in size it becomes more energy hungry which means it requires more Ectoplasm-based source material.

The Fenton Family, of which Danny and Jazmine are the current heirs of, brought about this revolutionary development when James Jackson Fenton the First discovered the technology to capture and draw power from ghosts previously capture. Danny and Jazmine are the children of James Jackson Fenton IV and Madeline Penelope Fenton (nee Walker).

Following an accident with one of the Fenton's latest generation of industrial ghost portals, Danny is transformed into a Halfa and discovers just how bad his family had profited on the suffering of the spirits of the dead.

Buddy! I was wondering where you went off to.

Hooooo boi. I don't think I'm equipped to write that rn (I'm starting to struggle with H(a)unted thanks to me mental health getting better for once) but it's an awesome idea! If someone else writes it, please tag me so I can read it!

I think it could go two ways; Grimdark which I don't like a lot of, where it's just endless suffering, OR

Danny has probably been told all his life:

Ghosts don't feel pain

They don't notice what we're doing because they don't feel pain

OR a mix of the first two and : they're evil anyway, so why bother?

When he dies, he has to come to terms with this:

His parents, his sister, his ancestors, and he are all VERY wrong.

Ghosts DO feel pain, they DO notice what's happening, and they're not evil- at least, not all of them. Most of them are just understandably angry.

Because this is Danny:

He isn't content with hiding his head in the sand. He actively tries to persuade people of his new realizations

He breaks or sabotages equipment and regularly frees ghosts

^as both Fenton and Phantom.

I think in this case, Vlad would actually be an ally. He doesn't need to be any less manipulative or cruel, by the way; Vlad's more bloodthirsty and underhanded tactics would probably get a lot done.

They can even hate eachother, if you wanted, but I think it would eventually turn into badger cereal, because they are the only ones who understand both worlds, and they're working together.

I think this story would be wrong with a Grimdark ending. I think there could be four good/ok ones though:

Bittersweet separation- they destroy all the technology and notes needed to create ghost portals and everyone who knows how to create them is either Vlad, Danny, or dead.

Mile in another shoes- they take the town and force it into the GZ. The only thing protecting them from ghosts are Phantom, Plasmius, and a flimsy ghost shield. And the more they refuse to listen to the ghosts, the less Plasmius in particular is interested in protecting them.

Tolerance- I think this would lead to a sequel, but they have and keep a tense truce. Amity Park finds a new power source, but neither side is able to forget what they did.

Good end (minus the Fentons)- the people of Amity Park are understandably horrified by what they've been doing unknowingly, and fight against the Fentons. The Fentons do not walk away from this one- either dead or imprisoned depending on if they understood what was happening to the ghosts.

[shytastemakerthing]

Hi! Could I please get a romantic twst matchup when you have the chance?

Personality: introverted, extremely independent, confident, decisive, optimistic, even-tempered, easygoing, good sense of humor, playful, mischievous, curious, intelligent, noncompetitive // arrogant, careless, risk-taking, blunt, generally not facially expressive, distant / doesn't care for getting close to many people, nosey, rebellious

Likes: cats, sweets, cool weather, thrill-seeking activities, lazy days, lattes, drawing/painting, traveling, piercings and tattoos

Dislikes: pessimism, rigidity (in personality or environment), conformity, feeling restricted, having to be responsible for other people, useless authority figures, boredom

Misc: I NTJ-A, 7w8; clumsy; loves puns; a big foodie; accidentally misuses slang or phrases bc I can never remember how they go (e.g. "let's bust this popsicle stand" when it should be "blow this popsicle stand"); a bit of a troublemaker/rulebreaker, does not shy away from conflict (might purposefully start some); enjoys learning foreign languages; enjoys learning and practicing new skills and can pick them up fairly easily; prone to being a bit directionless in life but is go-with-the-flow enough that it typically isn't an issue; very prone to bad luck or unfortunate incidents but remains optimistic and tries to find the humor in most situations; has many piercings (5 in one ear, 4 + an industrial in the other, navel piercing)

(appearance if you decide to use it: 5'1 / 155cm, curvy but somewhat slender, round cheeks w/ a dimple on right cheek, button nose, green eyes, ash brown wavy hair but i dye my hair often and i never seem to keep it at one length, i like having either really long or really short hair)

A/N: Thank you so much for your request! I do hope that you like it!

Honorable mentions for this matchup go to Deuce, Ace, Epel, Ruggie, and Floyd!

I match you with........

Rook Hunt

• Not going to lie, the start of this relationship was rocky, to say at the best. Between both of your personalities, how Rook is on a daily basis, and your more introverted behavior, it was a stumbly start, but yoi guys made it in the end.

• You were an enigma to the hunter. Everything about you just radiated deadly beauty, from your extremely independent and easy going nature, to how you often mismatched wording in popular phrases. You could say he had his eyes on you from the start.

• Upon hearing that you enjoy learning foreign languages, he is overjoyed! Do come over to Pomefiore or he could even come to you and you have your own personal French teacher. You'll be perfect and fluent in no time under his guidance.

• Thrill seeking activities are one of his favorite times with you! Perhaps a good old game of hunter vs prey? We can all guess as yo who is who in this scenario. Nothing more thrill seeking than having a literal hunter hunt and track you down as you try to escape (in a non creepy way).

• The fact you love and enjoy learning new skills makes his heart swell! Would you like to try your hand at archery? If your French lessons are anything to go by, he is a fantastic teacher.

• Despite being in one of the more rules ridden houses, though not as bad as Heartslabyul, Rook is not really a man of conformity. While he is in the dorm known for its beauty, grace, and elegance, he was once a student in Savanaclaw, from thr Afterglow Savana, an avid hunter, he is one who does his own thing when he wants too. He loves to embrace this side of you and is very supportive.

• Say if there is a lazy day, most likely a weekend where he js free from his vice dormleader duties and all of his schoolwork is caught up on..... and he's not out stalking other students, he can be found at your side. If you are drawing or painting on one of these said days, he would happily be your muse! What pose would you like him in? What would you like him to wear? Shall he bring you a fresh latte before you begin? He is at your beck and call!

• There are often times where he indulges indulges your food choices, many times under the radar of Vil's ever watching gaze. He would pop a vein if he found out of his vice dormleaders secret food outings with you. But he always makes up for it with plenty of activity later on. Maybe you'll like to join him?

• Overall. Rook loves you for you, he would never want anything about you to change. Everything is perfect about you in his eyes. Indulging in these foods of yours, being your muse for a new painting, taking you to get another piercing ot tattoo and helping you decide what to get, he just basks in your presence and there is nowhere else he would rather be!

[readitnreap]

Blood Lines Clean Chapter 16 Uploaded!

It had only been three weeks since Terzo was pulled off stage. Sister Imperator and the Cardinal showed up not long after and everything since has been a disaster.

The ghouls and the Ministry adapt to a new headliner for Project Ghost while Terzo uncovers conspiracies running long and deep. Copia is simply happy to be included until he begins to realize what lies ahead for him.

Read the full thing on a03, chapter 16 under the cut!

As opposed to much of the Church she so adored, Imperator was a very early riser. There was something about the slow spreading of color at the horizon that energized her. Something in the way the air felt when so much of the world around her was still unconscious and tucked away that just tickled her soul.

She sat at her desk, hair down and dressed only in gold and white pyjamas. The steam from her coffee was an industrial smoke stack, eager to power and nourish her inner nuclear reactor. The TV across the room was on, low volume, a news channel whispering of evil and vile things like sweet words of affirmation. She was mostly focused on her tablet, however, the itinerary for the day.

There was a fair amount to do prior to the Binding that evening, and she still had not given Terzo an answer on his attendance. Primo and Secundo would be there of course, but Terzo was generally a problem. With Copia being tested (in more ways than one) she was not sure she could risk one of Terzo’s stunts. She wasn’t sure exactly how much power the Third would have over the ghouls during the ceremony but she wouldn’t put it past him to order them around until the last possible second.

She paused in her tapping to take a deep sip of black and peppermint coffee. A small worry whistled in the back of her mind about Copia, her secret son. She had mostly let him learn and grow on his own (partly to not show nepotism and call her entire plan into question) but now she feared she should have done more. He was prepared in no way for what was about to transpire. She trusted his bloodline and his innate power to guide his way but he was so… 

Unique.

She set her cup down and glanced up at the TV. Maybe having Terzo present as a kind of pressure or antagonist would be good for Copia. He was so eager to please that it made him trip over his own feet, but if he felt a real threat looming maybe it would steady his footing. Trial by fire and being thrown to the wolves and such.

Deciding that’s what she would do, Imperator quickly finished her breakfast. Other duties could wait—Copia’s Binding was the most important thing right now. She would permit Terzo attendance but warn him to be on his best behavior. Either way she assumed it would have the same effect on Copia.

As she dressed and applied a small amount of makeup she again felt a pang of maternal ache for the Cardinal. Things were about to move very fast for her awkward little Copia, she knew he would be able to keep up but the strain would be immense. 

She did feel bad that the upcoming stunt would likely only further the gap between him and his only real friend. She recalled a twelve-year-old Copia at the Abbey in Italy, eagerly shifting through the mail for letters from Terzo. The two spent the majority of the year in those pre-teen years writing letters. Copia had even kept Terzo’s letters all these years, if her memory served. She knew they had both attempted to get Secundo in on the outlet but he’d refused. 

Deciding to try and appeal to Terzo’s ever changing whims, Imperator had opted for a very dark gray pants suit and a deep royal purple undershirt, with shoes to match. Regardless of her attire or her motive she would be in for a battle of wit and tongues with the man, but she’d discovered long ago that he was more like his father than he liked to admit. By dressing even just slightly in a way that referenced or complimented the Emeritus, she would be given leeway and a bit more respect.

Stepping out of her room she was immediately greeted by the breathless face of a Sibling of Sin. They bowed low, shoulders shaking from nerves.

“What could already been wrong so early in the morning?” Imperator groaned.

“C-cardinal Copia has asked me to inform you he will be spending the day reflecting, Sister. He does not wish to be bothered by-by anyone all day,” they looked up slowly to meet Imperator’s eyes, “he mentioned you specifically, Sister.”

“Hmph,” Imperator sneered and waved dismissively at the Sibling. “I suppose that’s fine. He does have a big evening ahead of him. Thank you, Sibling.”

Relieved they did not receive backlash for being an ill messenger, the Sibling smiled and nodded. They turned away and swiftly rejoined a waiting cluster of black and white dressed initiates. A few of them met Imperator’s eyes and nodded—she recognized none of them. The American initiates were always so… wide-eyed and eager to please.

The blond wove her way towards the center of the Church and the Papal Suites. The Emeritus’ did not have their usual stream of visitors, gawkers and errand Siblings lining the hallways. Imperator assumed it was due to the early hour and was glad to have missed the rabid traffic. Even Nihil frequently had guests. 

The entrance to Terzo’s quarters was through a long hallway, decorated with intricately framed articles, magazine covers, etc from Terzo’s time as front liner of Ghost. He had done more for them than his brothers, that was certain, but Imperator knew Copia would not be in the Third’s shadow long.

She did not bother knocking as she reached the door, as was a typical protocol for her. She was used to seeing all the Emeritus in various states of undress and indecency. They’d all learned either to stop and address her quickly so she would leave, or continue as they were and answer her at leisure. Either way they recognized her position in the church and no demands were made.

“Brother Terzo?” she called as she stepped into the room, quietly but not softly. She was relieved to find him awake, if lounging and semi-alert on his couch. He appeared to be nude based upon his bare chest and the small glimpse of thigh she could see under his purple Grucifix blanket. His face still bore the marks of a fight with her son and she felt her stomach flutter with pride.

Terzo glanced over from his reclined position and raised an eyebrow. He snatch the remote off the coffee table before him and muted his softly singing radio.

“To what do I owe this early displeasure?” he purred in stiff English, indicating Imperator should seat herself across the room from him.

Imperator opened her mouth and started forward when a light clattering in the kitchenette caught her by surprise. Glancing over she was expecting to see a young Sister or a fit Brother, but was again caught a little off-guard by the unmistakable visage of a ghoul. He was one of the larger ghouls and as she stared at him his form solidified into the ensemble she was familiar with. As the silver mask settled over his face Imperator could have sworn she saw him sneer.

“Right,” she sighed in annoyance and crossed the room, “I’m here regarding your request.”

“Request?” Terzo asked in mock ignorance. 

“To attend the Binding Ritual tonight,” Imperator was not in the mood to play games. She sat and crossed her legs, relaxing into the plush leather couch.

Terzo did sneer, noticeably. He moved his eyes from Imperator’s as the ghoul moved up beside him, holding out a steaming hot mug of something that smelled awful.

“Va bene, e?” the Third held the mug under his chin a moment, breathing deeply.

“Why are you interested in attending?” Imperator pressed, watching the ghoul watch her. “You have no part in this, surely it will just bore you.”

“You’re taking away my ghouls, Sister,” Terzo said dangerously, “stripping me of my amici più stretti. I’d like to be present for this coupe.”

“It’s hardly a coupe,” Imperator watched Terzo sip the beverage, unsure how he stomached it when it smelled like a moldy basement. “It’s necessary. It’s just what has to happen.”

“Odd how you seem to be the only one who feels that way, vecchia,” Terzo’s eyes sparkled with dissent. He glanced momentarily to Aether, moving in the kitchenette again.

“Answer my question, please,” the woman narrowed her eyes but kept her demeanor relaxed. 

“I told you. I have a vested interest in the continuation of Project Ghost, and no small amount of sentimenti affettuosi for the well being of the ghouls,” to punctuate this Terzo shifted into a seated position. He made sure to exaggerate his struggles, the lingering pain and soreness from his fevered and passionate mating with Aether which had only ended mere hours ago. He let his blanket slip as well, pooling into his lap to reveal a series of bite marks along his neck and a single stripe of four claws across his abdomen.

“The state of you,” Imperator acknowledged, shaking her head as she took in the presented flesh. “Transferring the ghouls into Copia’s command won’t affect your extra-curricular activities, Brother. Unless there is some strange and unspoken chastity between ghouls and their owners.”

“Ask Secundo,” Terzo chuckled, wincing in earnest. “I just want to see what Copia is capable of.”

“You know what he’s capable of. You’ve been friends for—”

“No. Stai zitto,” Terzo interrupted shortly, setting his mug down aggressively. “I knew him, I knew Copia. This—this imposter you’ve brought back is not the fratello I wrote to in Italy. You have poisoned his mind and shackled some kind of power onto him.”

“A vicious accusation, Terzo, but incorrect I assure you. I have done nothing but nurture Copia towards his full potential.”

“Vedremo, vecchia,” the Emeritus turned his head to watch Aether approach. The ghoul seated himself at the far end of the couch Terzo occupied. “Are you telling me my request is being granted?” Terzo stretched out his legs into Aether’s lap.

“Yes,” Imperator uncrossed her legs, “under one condition.”

“Parlare,” Terzo waved Imperator on. Aether began to rub his ankles and calves.

“You are not to interrupt the Ritual. I cannot afford any delays and if you, or something you happen to do, leads to failure…”

Terzo lifted both eyebrows as Imperator’s voice took on a dark tone. She looked to be searching for a polite way to say she would kick Terzo’s ass, something he was actually interested to see.

“--it won’t end well for you,” Imperator settled after a tense moment.

“It won’t end well for the Cardinale,” Terzo chuckled. “But I understand. Parteciperò solo con i miei occhi, nel bene e nel male.”

“Good. I’m glad we had this talk,” Imperator clapped her hands on her thighs and stood. 

“Oh, Sister, one last thing,” it was Terzo’s turn to put on a tone of dark conspiracy and threat. He paused until Imperator met his mis-matched gaze, his white eye seeming to glisten and glow. 

“Make it quick, I’m very busy.”

Terzo reached into a magazine which had been lying next to his mug the duration of the conversation. It was a Church sanctioned magazine, one that likely adorned every room in the Ministry. He slid out a single piece of paper and held it out for Imperator.

The woman snapped the paper from between Terzo’s fingers. She only had to read two words before she realized what she was looking at. Her mind spun out of control for a second as she tried to consider all that this could mean. Why, in Lucifer’s name, did Terzo have Copia’s file? She could not keep the slight surprise from her gaze as she looked back up at the Emeritus.

“I’d like confirmation that my request to breed your little stallion is approved?” Terzo’s eyes sparkled with mischief even as Imperator leaned in. He kept an air of forced innocence to his features as Imperator roughly, angrily, indicated his position with Aether.

“Enjoy this while you can, you little shit,” she hissed. Terzo’s raucous laughter followed her into the hall.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Frenchie army here. about that anon asking about racism/kpop in France, honestly I don’t have much to add I share your thoughts BMT.does racism play a part in kpop not being more popular here?Probably. is that the main reason? No, don’t think so. I think it’s much more complex than that and i am personal.there’s an important asian community in France (mostly chinese), the Korean community is tiny and concentrated in the capital city. The average French person doesn’t know much about Asia and Asian cultures in general and even less about SK. Sometimes it just boils down to a very simple reason imo:it’s far away, we don’t have much connections/a shared history, our cultures are extremely different, the language is also very different etc also I guess most people aren’t really interested in getting to know more nor have the time/the ressources to dive into a whole new culture, as sad as it is. I’ve got many friends who aren’t interested in kpop because of its reputation, they don’t know much but are influenced by stereotypes, think it’s too heavily manufactured, and that’s it. Or some just don’t vibe with it, same way I have no interest in latin music for ex because it’s just not my thing in general. Also, to me it doesn’t seem like the kpop industry makes much efforts to develop in Europe. It’s still very much a niche thing here as BMT explained. Outside of East Asia, the big kpop labels seem to focus primarily on the US market- understandably, it’s the biggest and most influential one. As BMT said it’s also closely correlated to your age range and the platforms you’re engaging with.so if racism might play a part in why it’s not popular over there, it’s probably not the main reason imo. (Sorry for my crappy English btw! typical frenchie lmao)

Hey anon, thanks for coming back and bringing some more background info on the general audience and the communities. I think your point about not having a connection to it is important. Not the main reason, but it's one relevant aspect. And it's not like France doesn't welcome K-Pop. As PPTM said in her reblog, a lot of events and concerts were held in France, but it's also true that Europe at large is not a big market for this genre. And you're also right, because K-Pop does focus more on the US-market. In the case of France or other countries, this is a topic that would be better understood from a historical point of view and it would take a lot of time and work for me to bring that background, especially since my history knowledge of France hasn't been polished in a while. Yes, racism is a part of how white French people look at other cultures. And not just France. I'm not telling this for you anon because I'm sure you know this better than me, but the history of colonialism and subsequently post-colonialism, plays a big part here. And France colonized some parts of Africa and Asia as well - what was called Indochina. And in the postcolonialist era and due to migration, other cultures were beginning a quite difficult process of integration that ended up being reflected in art as well and what became mainstream and what not. In film studies, I read about Beur Cinema, especially the movement that started in the 80s - film about shared colonial experiences and cultures.

What I'm trying to say in very simplistic terms (if anyone wants to know more, you can do a little research about it), is that France is not a white homogenous country in which the citizens are mostly racist towards an East Asian country and that's why K-Pop didn't reach there as well. The issue is way more complicated and nuanced and I bet there are some studies and research articles on the K-Pop scene in France for those who are interested in this topic.

*For the original asker who wanted my opinion and that of anon, I hope this helps. And for you, Frenchie anon, please forgive me for my bad, under researched attempt at talking about French culture and colonialism. I mostly used some left over information in my brain from some other areas of research.

[imaginespazzi]

Hi hi hi!

Reporting live and procrastinating responsibilities :). So heres my rundown, pretty much matchy matchy w yours, naturally: Generally the video vibes almost 💯 fit with the allegations 🙃. Please bear w the rambling thoughts in no particular order. Im not sure how one could possibly cohesively recap ALL THAT lol. Ok it blows my mind how much they personally had to catch up on w one another! God damn babes, you havent talked much if at all in nearly a month. Again it screams that there was more of a relationship (ending poorly).. Even friends moving apart prob wouldve had more contact over that time. Sometimes I wonder how they dont realize what they reveal by what they leave ~unsaid/not explained! Though G’s “really bad breakup” comment felt weighted given their situation. To me much of the injury discussion came across as carry over from the In The Mirror. With G making a point to say nice things (good memories of playing together;tearing up when Liz got hurt; not being wholly herself as a player w/out Kitley;the frustration at team reaction after the game following the injury; belief that Liz will recover/be drafted etc.). And G’s words still feel to me like a way of her dealing with some guilt which she cant quite yet express or process. Especially considering her adding stuff about being w the Kitley fam lately and helping move Liz’s stuff ha. If a person ever questioned something going down between L&G, I’ll say alarm bells went off when L described her night following the injury and staying over w Cayla. In such a low moment, poor girlie really couldnt manage being at her own place thats shared w one of her closest pals. Ooof. However, on the whole, they sounded more comfortable at times than I expected. In fact the convo sometimes got surprisingly open and loose - gals dont tell me that we had a bit of liquid courage before recording. ;) And it did stand out to me that L asked the “fans” on multiple occasions to just be decent and grateful for what they had + be understanding of decision making under the situation, but stopped short of telling people to leave G alone (which, given everything we’re led to believe, fair play hun). My big takeaway was that they seem to be taking this time of big adjustment as also a new beginning to possibly recover a friendship. Clearly theres still issues to work thru, but perhaps theyve reached a more settled/amicable place? Or at least were just able to deal w each other long enough to provide us all w a semi closure pod 😐. But heres hoping for more future content, as they hinted at! Oh and as someone who works w/in college athletics, I was very sympathetic to their comments throughout re change. Its a crazy industry, stuff happens in the blink of an eye and you do just have to deal with that ish. The harsh reality of the current state of things is that one rarely gets a neat, happy closure.

Happy Sunday to you bestie, hope its fantastic! -☕️

Reporting live and procrastinating is so real, like me asf fr fr.

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. Like they seemed so out of the loop when it came to each other's life and that's just so weird to me? I mean I get it could just be regular friends drifting but that wasn't the ~vibe~ at all to me and maybe again it's the allegations bias but it was just very much giving exes.

Hardcore agree with the Georgia stuff because I thought some of what she was saying felt a bit like an overcompensation, an apology of sorts to make up in a way for anything else that *might* have happened. Honestly Georgia being so nice, no shade, doesn't really fit the dynamic from before where sometimes Georgia's snark was just mean to me really.

Every new bit of info/content, I just continue to feel terrible for Liz. And I think her staying at Cayla's really gave away the depth of how much has happened between her and Georgia. And again yeah it could be a friend breakup but it just feel a little too serious for that.

Obviously I don't know a timeline, if there even is one, but this podcast gave me the vibes that if they were together, it's actually been a decent while since they broke up and are now in a place where they can co-exist in an amicable manner. I don't know if we'll ever get another podcast or if they'll actually be able to be in a genuine friendship again but I think they're in a good enough place and I do love that for them.

[astroexaminer]

Astro-Inspiration for Saturday, April 22, 2023 ~ Happy Earth Day!!! 

The sky has shifted the energy during the past few days (I’ve been away enjoying surf, sand, and food on Amelia Island, Ga.) To catch you up... just in case you weren’t paying attention - this year, at 12:12 am ET on April 20 there was a second New Moon in Aries (the first took place on March 21.) This second New Moon was a hybrid new moon solar eclipse. According to “EarthSky,” hybrid eclipses are rare and occur only a few times a century. The next hybrid eclipse will be in 2031.

 Additionally... 

The eclipse took place at 29 ° 50’ Aries. The 29th degree of any sign is said to be the anaretic degree. An anaretic degree is often considered a “degree of fate.” That doesn’t mean bad, but it does indicate events happening that are beyond your control. An eclipse, at this degree, can trigger massive developments and events in the world, and you can see all sorts of changes happening around the world when this occurs. Things have reached a crisis point. This was a very intense New Moon eclipse. 

The eclipse is also holding hands with Jupiter, the greater benefic in Aries, and out-of-sign Square Pluto in Aquarius. Bare this in mind... chaos and conflict have the potential to generate opportunities for growth, empowerment, and transformation. This eclipse was a harbinger of change and moving toward the unknown. 

A few minutes after the eclipse, the Moon entered Taurus. A few hours later, the Sun entered Taurus. Mercury stationed retrograde in Taurus on Friday, April 21, making this an important time to be aware of what’s coming up for you... but also for extending yourself the gift of pausing, refining, reflecting, and making critical adjustments. Now is not the time to act; it’s time to process and recalibrate before moving forward. 

And all of the led up to today... Earth Day! It will be difficult to celebrate Earth Day while ignoring the daunting reality of climate change... mass extinctions, the bad behavior of corporate actors, and the public’s unspoken facilitation of environmental devastation. Today the sky urges you to take an honest look at what is and what needs fixing. Then adjust your tactics and lifestyle in the interest of preserving the planet. The good news... you're likely to have a natural inclination to gather information and talk about anything and everything that's happening to our planet.  So, even if you don’t consider yourself an environmentalist, it’s wise to consider the impact your actions or inactions are having on Mother Earth. On a more positive note, look up tonight and enjoy the beauty of nature. The Crescent Moon and Venus will be in the western sky.

 Today’s Quote

“It comes as no surprise that money talks, even when it comes to climate change. Governments hold the key to transforming our economy by empowering green business practices as the ethical and lucrative option. Clean energy jobs provide earnings +25% of the national median wage, yet our governments continue to incentivize technology, damaging our future. The fossil fuel industry profits over $5.9 trillion annually (and rising). It’s time to make our voices heard and get our government leaders to launch the sustainability revolution TODAY!”  ~ Visit earthday.org/earth-day-2023

Today’s Sky

Moon enters Gemini at 6:10 am ET. Moon in Gemini Trine Pluto in Aquarius, Square Saturn in Pisces, SemiSextile Jupiter in Aries. 

The sky speaks to you if you let it. Every day it delivers a message that each person hears in a uniquely different way. This is not personal or predictive astrology; it's creative astrology meant to help you understand and align your mind, body, and spirit with the unique soul vibration of each passing day.

 To quote Joseph Campbell: “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”

 I hope you enjoy and your life is enriched by these Astro-inspirations.

Thanks for reading. Please like and follow Patricia Lantz, Astrologer