#thoughts and feedback appreciated

[theculturedmarxist]

Speculations on Trump

From a thread on leftypol concerning US politics where the question of what the Trump admin is trying to accomplish with tariffs came up, and I tried to answer with some hopefully educated speculation. Indents will be anon posts and below them will be my responses. The posts themselves can be found in situ here and here.

Adding a cut, because long.

>but fold to what? what does the USA want?

It's hard to tell at this point. Federalizing Canada and Greenland seem like bizarre plays, but they might make some sense in light of the failure of project Ukraine.

I think in the ideal liberal timeline, Hillary wins in 2016, kicks off war with Russia, which it of course loses because it's a gas station with nukes run by a petty tyrant that no one likes. The liberals take over Russia, break it up, and nato enjoy the spoils of cheap Russian resources while gearing up for war with China along the same lines.

Trump's election throws a spanner in that and then coronavirus also delays things til 2022. War were declared, but the sanctions and proud Ukrainian warriors don't have the desired effect and now Russia is in a position of strength not seen since the cold war. And that's kind of it really, because with Ukraine likely to disappear in the next year or so there really isn't any other country on Russia's border that serves as a suitable proxy to try this all again.

There's been a lot of talk recently about the Arctic being the next "competition zone" with Russia, which seems likely as climate change accelerates. Melting ice is going to raise sea levels, displacing millions, while also opening up more of the North to settlement and exploitation. Greenland and Canada are both tempting targets because neither have very large populations in comparison to the US, nor any real means of resistance.

Securing control over Russia's resources was imperative for the US because as we're seeing with the fallout from the European economy being cut off from them, they're pretty essential for Europe's economy viability. That along with the development of BRICS and the Belt and Road threatened to undermine American domination there, and without that they can pretty much kiss competing in Asia and Africa goodbye. NATO is trying extremely hard right now to tamp down political movements seeking to normalize relations with Russia for this reason. If Europe just goes back to buying Russian gas then every single facet of project Ukraine has been a complete and total humiliation and failure.

So for the United States, there are only two real choices: give up and acquiesce to the new multi polar reality, or double down on trying to maintain its hegemony. Personally I think Washington is fundamentally incapable of the former, which leaves only the latter choice.

In that case, the US has to more ruthlessly exploit it's "native resources" in North and South America. In that vein the moves towards Canada, Greenland, and Panama make total sense. Greenland has a population of 50k people, and the past two years in Gaza have shown what the US is willing to do if some ice skating natives decide to make an issue of it. Canada also is vast with who knows how many trillions of dollars worth of future iphones under the permafrost. Panama is probably the most aggressive move though, because the ultimate purpose of that would be to shut the Chinese out, but it's also a potentially mighty barrier to migrants trying to escape the havoc I feel pretty confident is about to be unleashed south of it.

So tl;dr, to answer your question, it gets the raw materials to continue waging its war for supremacy tightening its grip on north and south America.

>Likely the US is going to give Greenland the same status that Micronesia has currently with the US. this will give it everything the US wants out of Greenland without the hassle of dealing with another Puerto Rico. The US will likely annex all the Prairie provinces, British Columbia and North Canada. This gives all the access to the Artic that the US wants and a direct connection to Alaska. Canada will be just Ontario. Quebec will be independent as well and the Maritime provinces will be annexed or form its own country as a tax haven.

Doesn't sound unreasonable. I think I differ with you on Greenland only because I picture the gringo settlers expecting full statehood for their trouble, but who knows at this point?

>that makes some sort of sense, i just have trouble believing that trump is thinking it through like that. or musk.

I agree, and personally I don't think he is. I'd put my money on this being the brainchild of someone else in the menagerie of interests he's assembled and placed himself at the head of, though I couldn't say who. I keep meaning to look into the Project 2025 document to see if there might be some answers or clues there, but the fucking thing is a thousand pages long.

>That whole post fails to answer the question of what squeezing mexico and canada aims to accomplish, if anything it loosens america's grip over mexico and forces it to approach china and the rest of south america. there's no negotiations on the table, trump has dismissed them all, and there's little to gain in terms of net influence abroad. also the greenland stuff is a continuation from 2019 policy, he had expressed interest in outright buying it if possible, though he was met with laughter. it's obvious that the permafrost is melting and they want to use greenland as a trade route. I genuinely think Trump's particular vision of the world is making him think all these policies are total slamdunks.

>The whole point of NAFTA/USMCA is "getting the resources", this is like wanting to drink a milkshake in the straw and deciding that the best path of action to accelerate this process is poking holes all over the straw. The US trade deals are worth shit, everyone will want to negotiate with the smart people in the room now, the chinese.

>what resources is it getting from mexico by destroying its economy?

I can only speculate, but which economy do you think is going to cry uncle first, the United States or Mexico? I'm not an expert on the Mexican economy, but the impression that I've gotten is that NAFTA has made it into an export economy, but then what? Saying they'll appeal to China is fine, but what exactly do they have to offer it? Can Mexico produce goods more cheaply? Then why would China undermine their own industries by buying them? And do you think the US would stand idly by while their industry which they spent years painstakingly moving to Mexico suddenly serves a new master?

At this point all I can guess is that the point is to hurt Mexico to such a degree that America can dictate new terms in their relationship. It seems like over the past decade the Mexican government has been taking a more independent stance, and Mexican workers have been winning better conditions for themselves. One of the goals of nafta was to move US industry to a place where wages and protections for workers were as close to nothing as possible. Putting the Mexicans "back in their place" might be part of this new relationship.

And beyond that, the US is faced with several contradictory needs. Primarily the Ukraine conflict has demonstrated a pressing need to reindustrialize. Its domestic politics make this untenable I think. American industrial workers would expect industrial wages, and furthermore raises the specter of what the bourgeoisie fear most and have been trying to kill for the past century: an organized and militant industrial proletariat. But to give you an example, Toyota is building an EV battery plant in my state. Starting wages for the production line without prior experience is double what any other factory work is offering here, and maintenance makes even more than that. Covid sent wages rapidly rising, and Biden spent much of his term trying to reverse that. That's to say nothing about how the company is making extensive outlays in the name of education, and how the sheer size of the factory and everything meant to service it will transform the region if all goes to plan.

But the sort of reindustrialization that would be needed to compete with Russia on bomb or shell production would be even more extensive. With profitability being the overall concern for the private contractors that will inevitably take up such a thing, American workers and infrastructure simply won't do I think. You need a much cheaper work force and one that's imminently disposable in the face of the inevitable accidents that will come with cut corners and cost saving measures. Displacing industry there might also have the added "benefit" of placing jobs outside of America's borders, attracting migrant workers there instead of to the US itself.

At this point, I think that's what I'd put my money on, that this is an effort to subjugate Mexico in the name of American industrial policy.

>idk anon >wouldn't continual industrial outsourcing to mexico be a little too hard to jive with drumpf's whole image/message?

I suppose, but at the same time I don't know how much it would matter. For the average American voter, the expectations are so low already that it seems like a lot of Trump's supporters are celebrating just the prospect of being able to say "retard" again.

So on the one hand you might get showpieces like Toyota's battery plant or that chip plant they're trying to build in Arizona (?), and on the other the dangerous, essential stuff is sent to Mexico.

>unless they try to dismember mexico and break up the northern states where a lot of the industry is to create a couple of little comprador states but there's been no mention of that

I don't know if I'd put it past them either. I think it was back in Bush's admin that there were talks of sending troops into Mexico to fight the cartels, and that kind of talk has cropped up again recently. Trump has sent some troops to the border, which seems like overkill to handle simple migrants. Maybe it could end up in a Syria sort of situation with US troops deployed across the border and these states under de facto US control while being ostensibly still under Mexican jurisdiction.

Personally I think the stakes have become existential for the American bourgeoisie. The loss of the status quo threatens to upset everything in the US, which has become so thoroughly brittle and rotten that I don't know if it can withstand a significant enough shock. Under these circumstances I don't think anything can be definitively ruled out.

>Yeah but mexico is already crying uncle, that's the thing, right? If there were any concessions to extract, including hammering the extensive cheap labor force in Mexico, they would've done so already, even pinko leaders won't hesitate to slam workers in the face of economic collapse. So maybe they want to subjugate Mexico, deal, but what little industry the US has left has been spread across the entire north american block, the inmediate effect will be a collapse of industry across the continent, setting back reindustrialization efforts, not further. I do think you're spot on with Trump wanting the US to reindustrialize, what I think is missing here is that the Trump's timeline is unrealistically short, and they're collapsing their sphere of influence to advance this plan. It's not that Mexico will want to approach China, is that the rest of the world will look at more consistent conditions offered by China now that America's word is equal to trash and vomit, and without a local cheap labor force, and no one wanting to be left to dry like Mexico and Canada, the US is going to struggle rebuilding their supply chain. No doubt will Mexico collapse miserably first, but in the long term, the US gives a lot more than it gains in terms of hegemony.

>Yeah but mexico is already crying uncle, that's the thing, right? If there were any concessions to extract, including hammering the extensive cheap labor force in Mexico, they would've done so already, even pinko leaders won't hesitate to slam workers in the face of economic collapse.

In the last thread there was a Twitter post I think about Trump saying that the tariffs aren't about concessions, so that raises a couple possibilities

1. We don't take Trump the Liar at his word. They are in fact about concessions. But if that's the case, and Mexico is already willing to concede, then what? Just get what you came for and call it a day.

Or, what Trump is trying to extract is so big that while Mexico is willing to negotiate, they won't give Trump what he wants without significantly more pain. What this could be I can't begin to guess at this point.

2. It actually isn't about concessions, and the pain is the point. The actual intention is to crash the economy with no survivors. This seems insane at first glance, but I think it fits given the circumstances and what we're seeing from the Trump administration.

The US is embroiled in a number of crises right now which are intractable without major changes.

For one, it must reindustrialize. The conflict with Ukraine has shown that the military edge that the US enjoyed over its competitors has evaporated, and this can only be remedied with increased military production. However, this is for all intents and purposes impossible at this point.

1. The US government has been shaped in such a way that its only means of doing so is the public/private partnership. 2. The private contractors don't want to increase production because that cuts into their profits. 3. Even with the government footing the bill, American labor costs would make such production unprofitable.

And that last part is I think the major fulcrum all this is turning on. As far as the bourgeoisie as a class are concerned, domestic reindustrialization is nothing short of a class defeat. American workers would expect factory work to be well paid, and reintroducing large scale, well paid factory work to the American economy risks undermining bourgeois class domination. If Americans are going to work, it's going to have to be on the cheap.

This seems to contradict the stated goal of the Trump Administration of ridding the US of its migrant workers. They function to keep wages and prices low, so getting rid of them seems to be working against that. The Biden admin struggled with the inflation caused by companies increasing prices to take advantage of rising wages caused by covid. Their response was to increase worker suffering, cut benefits and subsidies in order to force more people back into the labor market to try and drive wages down. Needless to say it didn't work.

But there are already reports of crop harvests going uncollected because migrants have either been deported or are hiding from fear of it. That means that Americans are the only ones left to do these jobs. However, they won't/can't take these jobs because they're unsustainable. You can't survive on picking tomatoes for 80c an hour. Wages can't rise to fix this because that would cause a rise in prices, and all other wages would have to rise as well to compensate. Regardless, this work has to be done.

The Republican solution to this kind of situation is to increase worker suffering until they have no choice but to take whatever they can get. So Trump's admin intends to cut social security, medicaid, snap, any sort of prole support that might give any lazy bastard an excuse not to get out and earn a living, and crashing the economy might just play into that as well. The US didn't have any problems industrializing in the 19th century, right? So all we have to do is return to 19th century conditions. No social security, no osha, no labor board. The final victory over the hated New Deal.

>So maybe they want to subjugate Mexico, deal, but what little industry the US has left has been spread across the entire north american block, the inmediate effect will be a collapse of industry across the continent, setting back reindustrialization efforts, not further. I do think you're spot on with Trump wanting the US to reindustrialize, what I think is missing here is that the Trump's timeline is unrealistically short, and they're collapsing their sphere of influence to advance this plan.

It is unrealistically short if Trump is expecting to accomplish all this within his term, but I'm not sure that he is. I think this is supported by the drastic purges that we're seeing him carry out through the government right now.

I think he learned a hard lesson in his first term, namely that the president has the power to set policy, but not the power to carry it out. Basically, whenever he tried to deviate from the Project For A New American Century, he was betrayed, stonewalled, or undermined by "the deep state," or in other words the federal bureaucracy. That institutional inertia is what guarantees continuity of government between administrations, ensuring that long term goals like destroying Russia or whatever carry on regardless of who is president. I think this past election was a struggle between old PFANAC die hards and Trump's coterie which see it as dead in the water. They're still committed to us hegemony, but have to go about it on a different tack, and the first step towards that is purging the government of those bearing the standard of the old cause.

So destroying the economy will be a mess, and it will negatively effect many of Trump's supporters, but in the calculus of him and his cabinet I don't think that matters. I think that the way Trump is looking at it, he'll be vindicated by history as the president that cleared away all the detritus and laid the foundations for MAGA.

My reasoning is that yeah, this will create a huge crisis now, but Trump isn't worried about the consequences. Other people will be left holding the bag. The Republicans will take the brunt of voter displeasure, and the Democrats will score a rebound victory in the next couple elections, but as a party and a class they are fundamentally incapable of dealing with the problems that will result, and inevitably the Republicans will get back into power, with the intended results of the crash having run their course and Americans being more destitute and desperate than ever, and ready to work in whatever job they can get, however dirty, dangerous, or destructive. This should coincide with the completion of at least some of the desired construction projects, like ammunition factories.

>It's not that Mexico will want to approach China, is that the rest of the world will look at more consistent conditions offered by China now that America's word is equal to trash and vomit, and without a local cheap labor force, and no one wanting to be left to dry like Mexico and Canada, the US is going to struggle rebuilding their supply chain. No doubt will Mexico collapse miserably first, but in the long term, the US gives a lot more than it gains in terms of hegemony.

I think you're right to some extent, but in the Republican view that restructuring of supply chains is absolutely necessary.

A world where the US can't unilaterally dictate policy is one the Republicans absolutely don't want to live in. Having to negotiate and honor their word is tantamount to surrendering to the new multipolar order.

However, certain adjustments must be made in respect to the multipolar situation if only because carrying on as things are is a losing prospect. Similar to how Russian gas have Russia de facto control over Europe's economy, Chinese commodities function the same way. The US can't fight China with the expectation that a stop in the flow of essential goods will collapse the US in a matter of weeks.

So from their warmongering perspective, whatever pain they experience NOW in the course of securing their ability to wage war is much preferable to the pain of total defeat if things continue as they are. As things stand, the US is losing ground in every sphere of conflict.

Europe: They're in the process of losing the Ukraine war and the economic fallout from it is generating anti NATO discontent that it is resorting to increasingly draconian methods to tamp down. Europe can't compete economically with the burden of American gas prices, and if the anti nato political groups have their way they'll be buying Russian gas very soon with Europe slipping out of their orbit.

Africa: Old colonialist structures conducive to American domination of the continent are being undermined or swept away and the US is being outcompeted there by Russia, China, and Turkey.

Asia: China is set to eclipse the US in virtually every metric, if it hasn't already. As things stand there's no way for American auto makers to compete with China's $10,000 EVs. Deepseek alone has basically upended the entire US tech industry. Like you mentioned before, China is an increasingly attractive partner to all the countries the US and nato have spent decades exploiting and bombing, which is practically everyone.

So in the face of all that and them doubling down on imperialism, I think their only recourse is to renew the Monroe Doctrine. Consolidate power in North America while tightening their grip on South America, with the intention of making it an anti BRICS reserve. Mexico will be transformed into a buffer state to absorb refugees from Operation Condor II. Panama seized in order to deny transit to Chinese ships, but also to serve as a bulwark between Central and South America, cutting them off and stymieing refugees/blowback from the south as it works to prise Brazil out of BRICS and bring Venezuela back into line.

The alternative is for America to be "defeated," and it's way of life "destroyed" by having to adjust their ways or even, quelle horreur, learn from these backwards, godless foreigners with their satanic cultures and barbarisms like mandatory holidays, universal healthcare, and worst of all social accountability, and if it comes to that I think they'd just as soon bathe the world in nuclear hellfire.

[polillamielera]

silly group games ⭐

Original Drawing below :3

(ignore the smudged gouache and pencil, i'm very messy)

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Hogwarts AU [pt.7]

"Fenton, Daniel!"

Tim freezes in his seat. His stomach sinks down what feels like all the way to his toes, and it takes an incredible amount of effort to turn his head towards the High Table, where Deputy Headmistress is holding the Sorting Hat, ready for the next first-year to approach her.

The Great Hall is solemnly quiet - as much as it can be, when there's over a hundred people in here, all eager for a chance to catch up after the summer break. Tim hated it when it was his turn to go up and be the center of attention. All those whispers, and muffled snickers, and studying gazes on him, it's like they made his skin itch.

Danny, on a stark contrast, seems to be completely at ease with that, though. He walks up to the front and climbs on the wooden stool with little grace, but he is smiling. He even winks at someone at the Gryffindor table, getting a few chuckles from all around the Hall for his cheeky behavior.

Tim can't take his eyes off him.

He is taller now, which is unsurprising given that it's been more than two years since they've last seen each other. His hair is short, even if it's still a mess on top of his head. But, what's more, he looks.... less round, if that makes sense. His chin is sharper than before, kind of like Mr. Masters'. And the black, unmarked yet robes of the school uniform hang from his shoulders like he's a coat rack and not a human.

The stern woman that greeted them all at the entrance - Professor McGonagall, as she introduced herself - carefully drops the Hat over Danny's head. It tips down, covering the boy's eyes, and-

Tim slowly releases a breath he didn't know he was holding.

It doesn't help the tight, suffocating knot of guilt in his stomach, but at least he is breathing again, so that's good.

How do you forget about a whole ass person?! Because that's exactly what Tim did, he forgot, like Danny's entire existence completely slipped his mind. Which is absolutely mad, and Tim really, really wants to run up and apologize, even if he is not sure what exactly for.

On a second thought, he thinks he knows how, to be honest.

Breaking his leg a week after his ninth birthday, as it turned out, also broke his whole life into 'before' and 'after', and the 'after' was a thousand times more interesting than 'before'. Wayne manor was nothing like his home, no empty halls and cold white curtains, no silence filling his life, no boring, identical days spent in the library. Instead, there was a kitchen where Alfred - who refused to be addressed as Mr. Pennyworth quite insistently - kept bickering with the house elves, and the polished dark railings of the grand staircase that were very fun to slide down, and racing Dick through the hallways, or, sometimes, flying with him above the manor grounds. There was Jason, who read books just for the fun of it and not because he wanted to learn something useful specifically - makes sense for him to be a Ravenclaw - and Bruce, who pouted like a kid every time Tim called him Mr. Wayne, and the portraits of Wayne ancestors who all had an opinion on everything, and three owls, and a secret passageway in the drawing room, and a grumpy ghost in the attic, and Ace, and-

Just everything 'after' was loads better than 'before'.

Which doesn't really excuse Tim from forgetting a person. If anything, it kind of makes him feel even more guilty. Because Danny, even if he was from 'before', was still amazing, and Tim should have... done something. He is not sure what, but definitely not just forget about him.

There are whispers breaking out in the Hall now, Tim notices. It's been almost a minute already, and the Sorting Hat still has not announced a House for Danny, instead grimacing and scrunching its wrinkled face. Which is not that odd if Professor McGonagall's calm face is to prove it, but it hasn't taken its time with anyone else yet.

Someone nudges Tim with an elbow from his left, and when he turns, there's a bulky boy with a crooked, unpleasantly toothy smile, looking at him.

"Your friend?" He asks, and it takes Tim a moment to actually think about the answer. Is he?..

However, before he gets to come to any answer at all, the Hat finally speaks, "HUFFLEPUFF!" And Tim promptly shuts his mouth. No matter his personal opinion on Danny, it's considered uncouth for a Slytherin to be friends with a Hufflepuff. A Ravenclaw friend is acceptable, but the only thing worse than a badger is a lion.

So, at least for now, Tim gives the only answer that is expected of him. Meaning, he winces and huffs, "I'd rather eat a slug," and turns away to watch the table full of black and yellow and laughs and smiles cheer for their new arrival as Deputy Headmistress calls for one Foley, Tucker.

He is still the Heir to Drake family, meaning that even as a first-year in Hogwarts, he needs to keep up with his reputation. Besides, to be fair, he is not even sure if his answer would have been 'yes'. Or if it could have been 'yes' because, in order to figure that out, he'd need to talk to Danny first, and that's-

Well.

Maybe he should think about it later.

Tucker Foley gets to join the Ravenclaw table, and then there are Valerie Gray, Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan all going into Gryffindor in a row, which is met with roaring applause that gets louder and louder with every new arrival. It kind of makes Tim's head hurt a little.

But, just as he is about to turn back around - it can't hurt to get to know his housemates as soon as possible - he catches a glimpse of another familiar face and stops short.

She is not wearing pink anymore, and, just like Danny, her face looks a lot sharper now, but he would recognize that violently violet glare anywhere.

"Manson, Samantha," Sure enough, Professor McGonagall calls next, and the Hat takes less than a split second on her head to pronounce her a Slytherin. Tim's housemates clap and cheer their welcome, but Sam's gaze is all but zeroed on Tim for the whole time, and it kind of makes him want to shrink down and hide under the table.

"Long time no see, Drake," she drawls as soon as she sits down at his side. Then, just when Tim is opening his mouth to answer, she adds, "Or, should I say, Drake-Wayne?"

"You'd know how to address me, Manson, if you cared to listen when the names were called," he snaps without even thinking, "Other names than yours, that is."

It's not that he is ashamed of associating with Waynes or anything. He is actually rather proud of it. What irritates him is the obvious distaste that the girl shows at him, and the fact that he is not sure if it's because he is, although unofficially, one of the Waynes, or because she is craving some kind of revenge after he ignored Danny, or because of something else entirely.

"I don't pay attention to things that hold no importance," Manson brushes him off with a scoff, her chin held high.

Yeah, okay, he really does need to talk to Danny. Because he likes Danny, or at least because he liked him when he was seven, and because Danny is the only nice person in their year that Tim knows.

And because he also knows that he still absolutely doesn't like Samantha Manson, and he just might be friends with a Hufflepuff in order to spite her.

—☆—☆—☆—

We all know how the Great Hall looks, but hey, making an aesthetic is a tradition now:

Tim, Danny, and Sam:

[Picrew]

Jazz (Gryffindor, fourth-year), Jason (Ravenclaw, fourth-year), and Dick (Gryffindor, seventh-year):

[Picrew]

—☆—☆—☆—

Notes that turned into rambling and got long again:

A month or so later, Tim makes the mistake of calling Sam 'violent violet' out loud, in the presence of other Slytherins. It sticks with her for the rest of her Hogwarts years. She doesn't like it at first, mostly because she doesn't like Tim and he was the first one to call her so, but she later grows fond of the nickname.

If you didn't catch that by the names mentioned, this is set in 1989, two years before Harry Potter shows up in Hogwarts. So, other first-years of importance that went unmentioned in text were Weasley twins, Cedric Diggory, Cassius Warrington, and Stephanie Brown, who is a Hufflepuff now, by the way. I considered putting her in Gryffindor (because, admittedly, she is very brave), but decided against it because in my head, her first and foremost character trait is loyalty to her own beliefs.

While Hufflepuffs are usually portrayed as kind and timid, I believe that what this House values most is a strong will and the desire to do what is fair and just. Hufflepuffs set a goal and reach it even when the world is against them, fight for it even when their hands bleed. Hufflepuffs stand up when they are knocked down, no matter how many times they have to. If Gryffindor is fire, Slytherin is water, and Ravenclaw is air, then Hufflepuff is earth. It's a mountain, a stone, a power that you don't pay attention to most times. You don't notice how hard the ground you're standing on is until you try digging it with your bare hands.

Steph might not be your 'traditional Hufflepuff', but she is hell-bent on getting her way.

Also, I think it's funny to have her and Danny in the same House. Also also, I think it's even funnier to have Steph bemoaning how her House colors are absolutely clashing with her regular clothes and acessories, which are all shades of purple.

By the way, that guy who asked Tim if Danny is his friend was Marcus Flint.

[<- part 6 | part 8 ->]

[diyasgarden]

take me to church (or at least to eden) features brief mentions of blades and blood, read at your own risk!

It wasn’t the season for apples. While the heat was finally mellowing down into something more tranquil, the trees remained a deep green and the days long. At most you could see an apple bud or two, if you knew where to look at all, but nothing ready to be picked. Not for a couple more weeks at least.

It’s how Tashi knew you were lying about the pie in the first place.

“Picked each one?”

“Yeah”

She laughs, a sound that borders somewhere between a chuckle and a scoff, as the smell of the cinnamon once again overtakes her senses. It had hit her when you opened the front door to let her in, and now standing by your side at the kitchen counter, pie right in-front of you both, the rich scent of the dish seems to be the only thing her mind can clearly process. Well, besides the blatant lie.

The lie itself wasn’t surprising, nor upsetting for that matter. It wouldn’t make a difference if you really did pick each apple for the pie like you said, or if you bought them, (like she knows you did). It was this constant game she didn’t understand. The back and forth, that feels like a some sort of baiting. Every conversation and moment spent in your presence defined by the contorted urge to pull out a reaction from her.

She couldn’t tell if you were this way with everyone. From the handful of times she remembers you talking to another kid in class or lingering around the church after service, the memory is too tame. Nothing but quiet glances accompanied by an occasional word. The radiating unease from the people around you more memorable than anything you had said or done. This clever, innately carefree version of yourself diluted in the presence of others. Maybe the white lies and random nonsense pushed them away, or maybe you never even bothered to try these games with them in the first place. She had no way of truly understanding why your solitude had somehow morphed to include her, and frankly she decided that it wasn’t important. At least, not in the face of your behavior itself.

“You’re thinking too much," you say, head shaking. A barely noticeable action, that comes off like instinct. She can hear the laugh, lingering behind your words, but the slight shake of your head remains a reprimand nonetheless. Not cruel, but rather perversely pleased at the fact her mind has jumped to accuse you of lying at all.

When the laugh finally makes it’s way past your lips, it’s an airy sound. Unburdened in the way it sinks into the smirk on your face. She watches the joy travel down your body, as you press the knife into the pie, hand haphazardly inching towards heel. She wants to scoff at your words, but the sound never comes.

You pull the knife away from the slice you’ve cut for yourself, bringing your thumb up to your lips, to lick bit of filling that’s gotten on to it. It takes the blade in your grasp close to your face, nearly scratching the softness of your cheek. Once again, a careless action. It crosses her mind, that it could be intentional. That you were seconds away from purposely running the blade against your skin, trying to make a cut deep enough to reach your cheekbone or scrape enough skin off to be concerning. Yet you do neither, rather placing it down by the pie, and reaching for the fork laid a little farther down the counter.

“Want some?” you ask, fork prodding at the crust on the slice. It’s still in the dish with the rest of the pie, with you pushing off the flaky golden brown to the side. Her eyes gravitate to the slices of apple browned in the filling, he warm, spiced smell becoming stronger. “Take a bite,” you repeat, fork pressing into the flesh of it.

Her gaze follows the fork as you bring it to your lips, greeted with a smirk by the time her eyes reach your face. You keep the metal prongs in between your lips longer than necessary, holding it there as you swallow. Her eyes meet yours, and she can recognize the invitation instantly.

Your brows arch up, playful and questioning. She looks back to the pie, still steaming from it's time in the oven. It’s heat has somehow merged with the smell, enclosing you both in the moment.

“C’mon” you laugh, pulling the fork from your lips back to the dish. The slices pile smoothly as you push it into the pie. A slight spin of your wrist to make sure it all stays on as you lift the fork up, holding it out for her to take. “One bite,” you repeat, pushing it forward.

There is another laugh stuck in your throat. She can hear it. A low drum held back by your words. She looks down at the pie, tracing the delicate billows of the smoke as it rises towards her, still accompanied by the spice of cinnamon and nutmeg. It moves to the beat of the premature vibrations of your restrained laugh, ringing in her ears as she reaches for the fork. Only growing louder when she puts it all in her mouth.

She feels a sting of heat against the inside of her cheek, as she bites down on the tender fold of the apple piece. Not hot enough to burn, but enough so to make the blood rush to her head. As it reaches her tongue, the disorientation only grows alongside the intensity of the cinnamon itself. The spice too concentrated, drowning out any hint of supposed sweetness. Her vision blurs as it all comes together at once. It feels dry in her mouth, even with the thick syrup of caramelized brown sugar coating each piece. Stuck, she thinks, stuck in her throat.

She forces herself to swallow, her body reacting with a cough. A choked noise that feels like a tremor in under her skin, against the sensation of the apples slowly moving down her throat. The aftershocks linger in her body, as her visions clears enough to properly look you in the face.

You only laugh in response.

author's note: because mel once asked us to write fics based on hozier's take me to church, and @grimsonandclover told me to keep writing with religious imagery... thought, i'd kill two birds with one stone. not long by any standard, but you may see these themes pop up again in a more developed piece in the future....

taglist: @tacobacoyeet @imperishablereverie @jordiemeow @ellaynaonsaturn @fawnnpaws @girliism @cha11engers @sinnamongirls @ghostgirl-22 @pittsick @lvve-talks @newrochellechallenger2019 @tigerlilywl @compress1repress @glassmermaids @blastzachilles @voidsuites @artstennisracket @asheepinfrance @cursedfiles @jclolz22 @apatheticrater @jesuistrestriste @glennussy @eldhani @deadpoetssss @lacelottie

[auriidae]

me when my comments happen to be read by creators whose stuff i like!!

[oscahpitlane]

i do × landoscar

[neowonderland]

Summary: You're not responsive anymore so Xiaojun thinks of a way to help

Pairings: Xiaojun x reader

Warnings: 18+, noncon, kidnapping

Wc: 0.7k

Dark Content, Minor please DNI

Disclaimer: this is a work of pure fiction. I do not condone the actions of any characters in this story and the actions do not reflect the idols in any way.

You're not responsive anymore.

It's not like you were that responsive to Xiaojun when he first brought you here either, not responding to his attempts to comfort and talk to you. You ignored Xiaojun, refusing to even look at him, much less talk to him. You would struggle against his hold when he tried to comfort you.

But at least during those times Xiaojun could tell that you were listening to him even if you didn't respond. He could tell you had some life left in you, some will to continue living and to escape from this place.

Now, your eyes are glassy and unfocused as if your mind wasn't fully there. Instead of fighting against Xiaojun’s attempts to comfort you, you lay still in his hold. You're obedient and Xiaojun likes that, but it's as if you're a shell of your former self and Xiaojun hates to see you so lifeless. You don't laugh, you don't smile, you don't converse, you don't react.

It hurts Xiaojun to see you this way, so he does some research on how to help you.

It's not long until he stumbles across the realization that you're probably depressed, that you probably have some sort of chemical imbalance in your brain. You're missing chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, things that help you feel happy and regulate your mood.

Xiaojun knows you don't love him, you don't want to be here with him, that you don't want his touch, but he decides that this is for your own good.

Xiaojun is gentle when he lays you down on your shared bed. He's never touched you like how he's planning on before, always holding himself back from doing more. But if giving you an orgasm to help release the chemicals you need to feel happy again, he's more than willing to do so.

‘It’s for their own good,’ is what Xiaojun tells himself as he undresses you and as he runs his fingers across your bare skin, trying to engrain the feeling of your body against his fingers in his mind. Xiaojun hovers over you, eyes drinking in your body and blank expression.

You don't react to Xiaojun undressing you, eyes still glazed over and mind hazy, your mind not fully processing what was happening.

You don't fully process Xiaojun sucking on your chest, hot tongue laving over your nipples and exposed skin. You don't fully process Xiaojun sucking hickies on your skin, trailing down until he reaches right above your sex. You don't fully process Xiaojun uncapping a bottle of lube and drenching his fingers in it.

It's not until Xiaojun’s fingers prod at your entrance that you realize exactly what's going to happen.

“Xiaojun, no.” You mumble, attempting to pull your legs away from him. But Xiaojun grasps your ankle, dragging you closer towards him.

“It's for your own good. You need this. You'll feel better after this, I promise.” Xiaojun says, dipping his finger into your entrance.

It feels uncomfortable and foreign, you're not all aroused by this. It feels even worse when he starts pumping his finger out of you, adding more lube to your hole as he continues. You can feel your eyes beginning to tear up as your discomfort continues to build.

“Xiaojun, stop. Not now, I don't want this, please.” You protest, tears beginning to fall.

Xiaojun shushes you, watching your expressing as he adds in another finger and curls them. Xiaojun let's your tears flow, heart hurting as he listens to your choked sobs.

He could tell your body was slowly accepting him, unwillingly relaxing around his fingers.

It's when Xiaojun hits a spot within you that you tense up and let out a choked moan that he believes that he's making progress. Xiaojun abuses that spot repeatedly, causing your toes to curl and for you to bite your lip to prevent your moans from escaping. Xiaojun runs his thumb across your cheek, wiping away your tears, whispering how well you were doing and that it would be over soon.

It isn't long until your orgasm hits you hard, mind reeling as you cum around his fingers. Xiaojun removes his fingers from you, smiling while smoothing back your hair and giving you a gentle kiss on the lips. It's intimate and it makes your stomach churn.

“That wasn't so bad is it? Now, could you give me another one?”

[cryptid-teapot]

Cal Kestis

credit for the reference to @animatedjen

[shortbreadly]

*goes back in time and kicks a chair* don’t you guys just love shotgunshipping?

[nyssasatelier]

Two things:

1. YOU ARE GORGEOUS 😍

2. YOUR POSEIDON IS ALSO GORGEOUS THAT I WOULD GIVE HIM EVEN MYSELF AS OFFER

Bonus:

[eywaseclipse]

Don’t get mad at me, but I see far more potential for an unrequited love, slow burn, grumpy reluctant Tsu’tey mini series rather than the one shot requested. If anyone has other ideas I’m open to that as well

[neobastard]

another pet day, another NC capsule

the team is definitely listening to criticism though because the special outfit in this capsule is one item instead of being split up into different wearable pieces

[violetmuses]

WIP - Excerpt 📝

Spellbound - R. Reigns 🖤

Fandom: WWE 

Character: Roman Reigns 

Pairing: Roman Reigns + Female Reader 

@trippinsorrows @mikaylathenerd5

=====

No amount of genuine solitude can fade out the current silence that drifted around the large-scale mansion.

Evenings would lurk beyond shadows. 

Unable to sleep in this king-size bed, Roman Reigns watched moonlight that gleamed outdoors as loneliness crept in. 

Facing the digital clock that waited on his nightstand, late hours blinked red. 

Shirtless as tribal ink would scale his muscular frame,  long and dark hair topped another messy bun when exhaustion hallowed deep brown eyes. 

Damn. The pathetic feeling of isolation held back his train of thought once more.

For so many reasons, Reigns might always stand alone. 

[scoldingdarjeeling]

Am I turning into the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland?

Every time some random Tumblr account starts following me — no likes, no reblogs, just... appears — I’m like: What in the bot-phishing, OnlyFans-fronting scam is this?

Also, shout-out to the stans who follow creators’ blogs just to hoard reblogs from bigger names — not like the blog itself is posting actual content or anything. Wouldn’t want to support that. 🫠

[never-rxne]

to everyone who sent such supportive and kind words about my aroace projections into my writing i want to genuinely thank you so much because i have never been happier writing for sevika

[yoroshiu]

"I don't care if I don't have the power to use the keyblade. I hope that, through me, everyone's hearts will become stronger." - Sora (KH: 3D)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making Kingdom Hearts Stuff Until KH4 Comes Out (Day 133)