#and that’s not to even touch the political or economic part of it

[padfootastic]

i just want to put it out there that sirius black is scary as fuck from a purely physical point of view.

he’s tall as shit, has been since fifth year when he got his growth spurt, and he has tendency to loom over most people.

there’s also the matter of his poker face—it’s impeccable, untouchable. can make anyone feel like him stuck to the bottom of his shoe. he learnt it from the best in house black and it’s his default. there’s a reason people are afraid of approaching him, and are slightly awed by james’ ability to unconditionally do so at all times.

his magic is ridiculously sentient. it swirls around him at all times, often feeling suffocating to those near him. he doesn’t even notice how it swells with his emotions, rising in his defence without him having to call it. at times, it can feel like a brick wall, that’s how powerful it is. and it’s cold. people have been known to shiver and turn into metaphorical icicles around him.

and he’s also just intimidating in a—social capital way ykno? so much money, training, and status. it shows. he could be dressed in a potato sack and he’d still reek of royalty. which is essentially what the blacks are.

and this is it u don’t take padfoot into account. this fuckoff huge Grim who’s literally an omen of death, easily twice the size of any human around him, just bounding around with sharp canines on display and malice in his eyes. it’s the easiest thing to piss ur pants when u come into contact w him.

#sirius black #james potter #goes without saying most of these are hcs #not the height thing tho that’s just canon #(and what inspired this too lol) #i was just thinking of how sirius is physically imposing #and how u don’t need to be built like a truck for it #bc james is. but he’s not threatening. he is slightly intimidating in that he commands authority #but people aren’t *scared* of him #sirius tho? #people cross the road to avoid him #and this is just him as is #when he actually starts dressing up and shit #it’s worse #some of my fav sirius descriptions in fics are just when they’re describing his power lol #pura khada ho jaata hai ngl #bc he just??? has so much?!? of it?? #and that’s not to even touch the political or economic part of it #idk man he’s just hot all around bc of how powerful and this scary he is #also re sirius’ height; one of my fav posts on this hellsite will forever be the nba player sirius one lmao #v v accurate i think #pen’s notes

[transmutationisms]

from a non-academic, i find parts of comphet to be useful (heterosexuality becomes compulsory when you’re raised in a heterosexual society) but the foundations . suck. what do we do with theories like this, that have touched on a truth but also carry a lot of garbage? can we separate the truth from the founder?

i have to be slightly pedantic and say that i don't think rich's essay is an example of this phenomenon. my central issue with her formulation is its bioessentialist assumptions about human sex and therefore also sexuality. if i say "capitalism includes economic mechanisms that enforce heterosexual behaviour and exclude other possibilities", then what i mean by "heterosexual" is plainly not the same as what rich means—and for this reason i would seldom formulate the statement this way, without clarifying that i am talking about the enforcement of heterosexuality as a part of the creation and defence of sex/gender categories themselves. so rich and i do not actually agree on the very fundamental premises of this paper! rich was not the first or only person to point out that economic mechanisms as well as resultant social norms enforce heterosexual pairings; i actually don't even think the essay does a very clear job of interrogating the relationship between labour, economy, and the creation of sex/gender; she means something different and essentialist to what i mean by sex and sexuality; and i think her proposed responses to the phenomenon she identifies as 'compulsory heterosexuality' are uninteresting because they mainly propose psychological answers to a problem arising from conditions of political economy. so, in regards to this specific paper, i am actually totally comfortable just saying that it's not a useful formulation, and i don't feel a need to rescue elements of it.

in general, i do know what you're talking about, and i think there's a false dichotomy here: as though we must either discard an idea entirely if it has elements we dislike, or we accept it on the condition that we can plausibly claim these elements and their author are irrelevant. these are not comprehensive options. instead, i would posit that every theory, hypothesis, or idea is laden with context, including values held and assumptions made by their progenitors. the point is not to find a mythical 'objective' truth unburdened by human bias or mistakes; this is impossible. instead, i think we need to take seriously the elements of an idea that we object to. why are they there? what sorts of assumptions or arguments motivate them, and are those actually separable from whatever we like in the idea? if so, can we be clear about which aspects of the theory are still useful or applicable, and where it is that the objectionable elements arise? and if we can identify these points, then what might we propose instead? this is all much more useful, imo, than either waiting for a perfect morally unimpeachable theory or trying to 'accept' a theory without grappling with its origins (political, social, intellectual).

a recent example that you might find interesting as a kind of case study is j lorand matory's book the fetish revisited, which argues that the 'fetish' concept in freud's and marx's work drew from their respective understandings of afro-atlantic gods. in other words, when marx said capitalists "fetishise" commodities or freud spoke about sexual "fetishism", they were each claiming that viewing an object as agentive, meaning-laden in itself (ie, devoid of the context of human meaning-making as a social and political activity) was comparable to 'primitive' and delusory religious practices.

matory's point here isn't that we should reject marx's entire contribution to political economy because he was racist, nor is it that we can somehow accept parts of what marx said by just excising any racist bits. rather, matory asks us to grapple seriously with the role that marx's anthropologically inflected racism plays in his ideas, and what limitations it imposes on them. why is it that marx could identify the commodity as being discursively abstracted and 'fetishised', but did not apply this understanding to other ideas and objects in a consistent way? and how is his understanding of this process of 'fetishisation' shaped by his beliefs about afro-atlantic peoples, and their 'intelligence' or civilisational achievements in comparison to northwestern europeans'? by this critique matory is able to nuance the fetish concept, and to argue that marx's formulation of it was both reductive and inconsistently applied (analogously to how freud viewed only some sexuality as 'fetishistic'). it is true in some sense that capital and the commodity are reified and abstracted in a manner comparable to the creation of a metaphysical entity, but what we get from matory is both a better, more nuanced understanding of this process of meaning-making (incl. a challenge to the racist idea of afro-atlantic gods as simply a result of inferior intelligence or cultural development), and the critical point that if this is fetishism, then we must understand a lot more human discourse and activity as hinging on fetishisation.

the answer of what we do with the shitty or poorly formulated parts of a theory won't always be the same, obviously; this is a dialogue we probably need to have (and then have again) every time we evaluate an idea or theory. but i hope this gives you some jumping-off points to consider, and an idea of what it might look like to grapple with ideas as things inherently shaped by people—and our biases and assumptions and failings—without assuming that means we can or should just discard them any time those failings show through. the point is not to waste time trying to find something objective, but to understand the subjective in its context and with its strengths and limitations, and then to decide from there what use we can or should make of it.

#marx #adrienne rich

[peachypinkygloss]

money is success — kth

Son of a powerful business owner, Taehyung rules the society, strictly surrounding himself with rich people. Money is his success, his greatest pride. Too immersed in his work, he doesn't realize the love story he's missing on until it's gone.

➝ pairing: rich kid!taehyung x rich kid/fem!reader (ft. seokjin)

➝ genre: childhood friends to lovers, friends with benefits, high society au, unrequited love, angst, smut

➝ word count: 10.4k

➝ warnings: reader's a brat, tae's kinda mean but he loves her (he won't admit it though), he's also a brotherly figure to her, daddy jin (he's like the devil in disguise but idc he's hot), age difference, insecurity, possessiveness, dom tae/sub reader, degradation and praising, sir kink, sensory deprivation, unprotected sex, oral (m), orgasm denial, tummy bulging, thigh riding, monster cock...?, facial.

a.n.: i talk too much

playing: Hanging High & National Anthem

You are not a woman that any guy could handle, that's obvious. Even Taehyung himself wonders how he still hasn't lost his sanity by being by your side so often. Sure, not all women are delicate and polite, but can you not be dramatic for at least one night? It's becoming a habit of yours at this point.

"Doll, can you please calm down?" Taehyung asks you in a stern voice, still octaves lower than yours, but serious enough for you to listen to him.

It's a weak attempt to get you go down the stairs because the only thing you decide to hear right now is the sound of your own voice. If Taehyung didn't know you attended theatre class in high school, he would maybe believe in your act at the moment.

"I'm not your doll, Kim Taehyung!" You shout, throwing your little tantrum in the middle of the stairs that lead to Taehyung's bedroom. Your words resonate through the immensity of his house, so big you actually imagine yourself on the scene, above everyone so they can all lay their eyes on you.

Maybe the alcohol in your blood also influences your actions, but your personality is responsible for the most part. You're also mad about something else, something really stupid in Taehyung's opinion, but that's why you're acting like you're the queen of the world. Up those stairs, nobody can touch you, no one is strong enough to get to you and stop you.

Not even Taehyung, who doesn't bother to walk the few stairs that separate you both from each other. In reality, it's all just an illusion because everyone knows that he's more powerful, more serious, richer, stronger... more everything than you.

"You might think I am! Bringing me to all those boring parties..." Your arms move everywhere as you talk, trying to emphasize your words, to bring more effect to your speech, but you just look silly up those stairs in your skimpy short dress. "Exhibiting me to your business partners, or whatever their names were, because of my money. You want to impress them... show that you can get a girl like me at your arm."

You point a finger to your chest, narrowing your eyes at Taehyung as your other hand stays on your hip. Oh, he knows you could hurt him really badly if you wanted to, but luckily for him, you would never. As bratty as you seem, you're his little puppy to whom he can do whatever he wants.

"Okay, I want you to come down stairs right now, am I being clear?" You pretend to be thinking about his question - even though it's an order, shifting your gaze to the side and biting down on your bottom lip.

Taehyung feels himself getting more and more annoyed as the time passes, wondering how he got himself stuck with a brat like you. The story is not complicated; two powerful families, one son and one daughter becoming friends through an economic alliance between their rich parents.

So he knows why he is in this situation. He's taking care of you because if not, who else would? Not you, that's for sure. You're too irresponsible for that, too immature to comprehend the real world.

You finally sigh, and Taehyung thinks you will comply, but nothing's that easy with you. "No, I don't think so," you say with an exaggerated pout on your lips and you flick your hair behind your shoulder.

"If you don't-"

You cut him off right away, not afraid of his threats at all. "You will count to three, Taehyungie? Is that what you'll do? Hmm?" You bat your eyelashes, smiling deviously when you notice that your remark makes him angrier. "Will you spank me, Sir? Will you make me scream your name so loud it's gonna be the only thing I can remember?" You mock him, using the same words he loves to tell you in bed.

You feel so powerful at the top of your tower, but Taehyung will make sure that you fall from it very hard so you understand who's superior here.

When he's about to retort, you run up the stairs, not looking once behind you. You don't want to listen to him and you won't as well. You like being chased, that's something Taehyung noticed about you since you two were teenagers.

Boys come to you - not the opposite. It caused you to suffer from the stupidness of some jocks, only seeing you as a body, as a girl who baldly needs male attention.

This habit of acting hard to get is a façade, though. Or maybe you just really like Taehyung, letting him use you however he wants because he's the only man who truly knows you. Inside and outside out, he knows every part of you, even the ones you try to hide.

He calls your name, expecting you to come back, but you don't. He sighs and decides to follow you, giving in to your whims. If someone has to put you back into your place, it has to be him. Hard to handle, but never for too long...

He approaches his bedroom, the door is already wide open. You're probably in there, doing whatever your bratty self wants to at the moment. Perhaps going through his closet, discarding his neatly folded clothes on the floor, opening his drawers, shuffling through his box of expensive jewelry. Making a mess of his room because you cannot stand how Taehyung's life is so organized while yours seems to be nothing but a black hole.

Engulfing everything, leaving nothing behind but empty places. Like your heart and your family.

When he enters, it is exactly how he imagined it. You are acting childish, and sometimes he feels like he's your older brother, having to scold his little sister. The only difference here is that he fucks you and he's not your brother by any means, just two years older than you.

His eyes lay on your figure coming out of the bathroom, perceiving your pair of heels on the tiled floor near the bath. He should be upset, but he's not, not really. That's how it is every time, and you never fail to get your frustration out on him and he surely doesn't miss to fuck the attitude out of you later.

Being friends with the daughter of a rich CEO has its advantages and disadvantages. One being the reputation that comes with it, and the other the outburst of rage that little body of a woman can create. You are important to him, too, but why should he care about his emotions when they usually bring bad things?

"Do you care about me?" Your question makes his eyebrows lift up by surprise. Are you really asking him that? A silly little question that doesn't even deserve to be asked as the answer is so obvious.

You look at him with desperation in your eyes, anger going down while sadness is taking over.

"Don't be so silly, doll."

"Answer me!" You yell and Taehyung's breath is cut short.

He remains calm while you're freaking out for some reason. You couldn't think he didn't care about you, could you? Solely because he brings you to his business parties. Maybe you're right, maybe it has an exhibit aspect to make you follow him around so you can tell everyone your name and that it's associated with his.

"I do," he steps closer and you have to raise up your head to look at him, "A lot."

"I don't believe you," you say rapidly after, just to contradict him.

He eyes you up and down, taking his time to respond, making you languish for him. You're frail compared to him, and you keep your head up no matter what, only lowering it when he asks you to submit.

Taehyung is the only person on this planet to know your weaknesses and despite everything, he never uses them against you. You're naturally submissive, that's all. If he's forcing something out of you it's certainly not the pathetic little moans you make when he pounds his dick into your hole.

He cups your face, holding it tightly, his fingers pressing on each one of your cheeks. "Then don't. Why would I give a shit?" He shifts his hand over your throat, enveloping it with his large palm. You say nothing and swallow your pride, him feeling the movement under his hand. "Undress and lay on the bed. Don't make me repeat myself or I will severely make you regret your little tantrum of earlier."

"Yes, Sir."

He keeps you close for an extra second, boring his eyes into yours, lacing his dominant aura over your poor little body. Eventually, he lets you go. He hears you breathing heavily, heart beating as fast as the flapping of a humming bird's wings.

He scans his room, seeing his clothes scattered all over his floor and his shoes off the shelves. What a fucking brat. Begging for his attention when his eyes never leave you, never. He gives you everything he has; his time, his care, his love, his cock. Still not enough.

He walks to his closet, letting you time to get naked and execute what he asked you to do. He bends down, picking up a pair of trousers that was previously folded perfectly before being thrown on the floor carelessly. He folds it again, placing it on the shelf. He looks around him, sighing in exasperation.

He then opens his ties' drawer that didn't get destroyed by you, fortunately. He takes two of them, laying them on his open palm. He comes back to you and he's satisfied to see you totally naked, sitting on the middle of the bed.

You crawl over the edge when he stands in front of it, waiting to tell you further instructions. "Give me your wrists." When you do, he passes the cloth under them and then over, finally tying them together. He pulls on it to verify the knot is strong enough and uses his second tie to band your eyes.

Though, you flinch away before he can. "No, please..." You mumble, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Stop being such a brat, I'm tired of your nasty attitude," he grabs your bicep to pull you closer, tying his tie behind your head. You're deprived of your most essential sense and even though it's not the first time he has done this to you, you're still disoriented and afraid.

"Sir, please," you beg him, but it's useless at this point. He has you in his grip, he can do whatever he wants and you have no right to complain.

He takes a hold of your jaw again and his grip is tight, hurting you, leaving an indelible mark. But you don't mind, not at all.

"You're going to let me use your little body however I want without complaining," he's looking at you, but of course, you can't do the same. It makes him feel good. You have such a powerful name, yet you're a submissive little girl with him. Your status means nothing in a moment like this. "Do you understand, doll?"

He glances at your mouth and he can't help but inserts two fingers in, slowly pushing your lips apart from each other. He presses his digits down on your tongue, covering them in your spit. He loves your mouth, so annoying, but when he puts it to good use, it's perfect.

You nod, closing your lips around his slender fingers. "Good," he says lowly, just loud enough for you to hear. His digits don't stay long in your mouth, he pulls them out when he feels like you will finally listen to him. He taps your cheek, wetting it with your own saliva. You flinch slightly, your head tilting to the side.

He backs away and you whine, disliking the fact you can't feel him against you anymore. The only hint that lets you know Taehyung's there is the clanking of his belt buckle.

This sound always makes your breath go erratic and your heart drum in your chest. You know what that means and the thought of having his dick down your throat does something to you. A wave of heat goes between your legs, clenching your thighs to feel some type of friction since Taehyung is not providing you anything.

"Tonight was important for me," he begins, skillfully unbuttoning and unzipping his pants. Goosebumps travel all along your body, anticipation creeping into you. "You knew it pertinently..." He continues, summarizing your evening in a calm tone, tricking you into thinking he might be gentle with you.

He likes to do that; luring you in to better break you after. Love comes with pain and no relationship can be perfect. There's always a crack somewhere, huge or small, that can't be repaired unless you replace it.

But sometimes you don't want to replace it because you're simply emotionally attached to it. Then, the crack stays forever, but we learn to ignore it or to work with it. That's how Taehyung does it with you, he works with your flaws.

"You look pretty beside me, don't you think?" He asks and you nod, giving a positive answer to his question. He tugs on his boxers, freeing his thick cock out. You don't see it, but you sense it. "Right, you're so beautiful, why wouldn't I want to show you to my colleagues?"

He steps closer and grips his base, guiding it toward your face. He swipes the mushroom head across your lips and you taste his pre-cum on your tongue.

"I- I don't know, I'm sorry," you mumble against his dick, feeling small and vulnerable under him. If you thought being pathetic would endear him, you're wrong.

He chuckles, laughing at you, at your lack of responsiveness. Starting the night by roaring like a tigress and ending it by meowing like a kitten. Pathetic, yes, but not smart.

"Why do I even bother asking you," he wonders, talking to himself rather than to you. "You have no brain." He concludes the talk with that, pinching your nose between his thumb and index finger.

You're forced to open your mouth, chasing the air as it was stopped from entering your nostrils. A trick he learned in the early days of being sexually active with women, especially with the ones that refused to obey. He quickly operated it on you, finding its utility indispensable since you have the habit of not listening to him.

He pushes his cock into your mouth with his other hand, making you take a mouthful of it. Your mouth expends to accommodate the sheer size of his erection, weighing on your tongue, stuffing you full of himself.

You inevitably choke around it, he's too big for your poor little mouth. You might be sassy, but you never understood how to properly suck a cock. You're too dumb for that. And you're not a people pleaser, obviously, but it's not much of an issue for Taehyung. If you can't do it, he'll do it himself.

Nonetheless, you still try, opening your mouth to welcome him in. He lets go of your nose and you eagerly breathe through it. You flatten your tongue underneath him and drool doesn't miss to drip down your chin, making a mess.

He always stays in long enough for you to not be able to breathe correctly anymore, wanting to feel your throat contract around him. Despite your airflow being restricted, you don't pull him out or tap his thigh. You endure the intrusion of his girth in your mouth because that's what you're meant to do.

He grits his teeth, loving the warmth and the wetness of your mouth, enjoying every second until you finally gag repeatedly around him. He takes a handful of your hair, pulling on it to get his cock away from you. A strand of saliva connects your lips to his swollen tip and you cough, your throat burning painfully.

It drives him crazy having you so weak under his grip. Your tiny body kneeling in front of him, shaking and aching - you don't complain, as he ordered you not to. You love that as much as he does.

"So fragile, but you still want to be seen as strong," he observes, noting the clenching of your thighs and the wetness pooling from between your legs. "You're not meant to be in charge, puppy."

He directs his penis between your lips once again, sliding in just nicely. Tight, but that's how he likes it. His tip brushes the back of your throat and his dick twitches happily, buried deep into your mouth. He uses your face as a flesh light, bouncing your head on him as he pleases.

Taehyung groans, throwing his head back while still having his eyes down on you, "You're meant to be my cumslut, doll. That's all, only my little bitch who follows me around."

You hum around his cock, agreeing with him. What is the point of denying when clearly, you spend all of your time with Taehyung, never leaving his side as he's the only reason why you wake up every day.

His fingers pass through your hair, brushing it down and gripping them in his fist. He guides your mouth slowly and you move your head at his desired pace. His growing pubic hair sting your lips each time you reach the base of his dick, your nose pressing against his pelvis.

"Ah, shit-" he grunts and he can't stand the layers of clothes he has on his shoulders any longer. "Keep moving your head, baby..." He says breathlessly, his hand leaving your hair to remove his blazer off him. The clothing falls on the floor in a thud, joining your dress and panties.

It's more difficult than you thought sucking a cock as long as Taehyung's while being blindfolded. You balance yourself forward with your hands, holding on the edge of the bed, his tie still around your wrists.

You move your head up and down over his hard erection, eliciting deep moans from him. He rapidly unbuttons his white shirt, throwing it away as soon as possible.

You're sucking his dick so messily, eagerly engulfing the whole length into your mouth as if Taehyung was going to disappear. That's how he knows his cock is the only one you've ever tasted because you eat his like it's your first meal, staining the outline of your mouth with your drool.

He lets you work for some time, looking down at his shaft going in and out of your mouth, glistening in your spit. You feel the veins under your lips and the hardness of his cock on your tongue, so long it has you bobbing your head until the muscles of your neck hurt.

"You're fucking hungry, slow down a lil' bit. You're going to choke," he warns you mockingly, but he's genuinely concerned that you're going to suffocate around his cock at this rhythm.

You take a break as his tip remains in your mouth and you suckle gently on it. You lick it, taking a breath between each one. Taehyung loses interest even though you mean every lick you're giving to his pretty cock.

Taehyung exhales loudly, almost as dramatic as your tantrum of before. "Useless," he insults you, his voice sounding like a whisper. He places his hand over your throat and thrusts into your mouth as he brings your head closer to his crotch.

You whine, but the noise is muffled by his thick cock into your mouth. He tightens his grip around your neck, loving the gagging sounds your throat is producing.

But then, he pushes you away by your throat, slipping out of your warm and wet mouth. You're lost for a second, panting as you wait for something else to happen. Taehyung lifts his cock up against his toned stomach and forces your head down toward the base of his shaft.

"Suck my balls," he breathes out.

You part your lips and suck up one of his balls into your mouth gently, knowing that this area is fragile. It feels heavy on your tongue, but you love it. The spiky hair tingles your lips and skin, your ears graced by the sounds of Taehyung's grunts. You coat his balls in your spit and the tip of your nose brushes against his wet cock.

Your back is aching from behind arched like this and your limbs feel sore as well, the blood not circulating well. Fortunately for you, he decides he's finished with your mouth as he pulls your head away from his crotch.

He pushes you against the mattress and a little gasp leaves you, his action taking you by surprise. He undresses from his bottoms, now as equally naked as you. His knees dip into the bed as he straddles you, but you move back on your butt despite the fire burning at the pit of your stomach.

Your back meets Taehyung's pillows and you can't run away anymore, totally at his mercy. "Taehyung-" His name comes shakily out of your mouth, sensing his body hovering over yours. You're a little mouse caught under a big cat's paw.

"What did you call me?" His tone is menacing, daring you to make another mistake.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I'm- I'm just nervous..." You admit shyly, keeping your arms close to your chest.

He eyes your body up and down and he softens, seeing your legs shaking. He flattens his palm over your heart, feeling it thundering in your chest. His touch warms you and you remember why you love him so much even if he doesn't feel the same for you.

He cares, it would be simpler if he just didn't. This way, you wouldn't have a reason to love him.

"It's okay," he murmurs, tracing the outline of your breast and running his fingers down your cleavage to then softly caress your tummy. It goes up and down rapidly and he finds it amazing how all of your other senses are more sensitive, flinching every time he lays his hand on you.

He positions himself between your legs, bending down over you and placing his arms on each side of your shoulders. His breath fans across your face and you slightly frown your eyebrows, silently begging for him to pamper you in kisses.

He notices you searching for his lips, extending your neck toward him. He can't reject you, not when you look as pathetic as right now. So he dives in, settling his pillowy lips down on yours. You're relieved, kissing him like nothing else matters.

You whine during your exchange, stroking Taehyung's chest with your small, tied up hands. He lets you touch him, liking the way your nails scratch his burning skin, leaving white trails behind you. He takes a hold of your jaw, always needing to have control over you even when you're trapped under his larger body.

He tilts his head to the side, deepening the kiss, dominating you with his tongue in your mouth. It's a short exchange, but it feels like the contrary; it's everything you needed, a pure and gentle sign of love.

Just when the butterflies in your stomach were happily flapping their wings, he breaks the kiss. He sits back on his heels and holds the back of your thighs up, pushing them toward your chest. Your cunt is completely exposed to him, glistening from your juices.

He licks his lips at the sight, your pussy just seems so delectable right now. He can't resist from having a taste and dips his fingers through your folds, collecting some of your arousal on his digits. He brings them to his mouth and he sucks them clean, furrowing his eyebrows when he tastes you on his tongue. Always so sweet.

"Sir, please, can you-" You stop yourself when his palm lands harshly on your pussy, rubbing so deliciously your puffy clit and splattering your juices everywhere on his bed sheets.

"You only speak when talked to, baby." Normally, he allows you to speak and scream whenever you want, but guess tonight isn't one of those usual nights. So you seal your mouth shut, not wanting to go against him again.

He reports his attention in between your legs, slapping his tip on your clit, making you squirm as whimpers leave your mouth. He circles your hole with his cock, playing with your pussy lips and swiping his mushroom head between them. You clench your walls and Taehyung notices it, watching your little pussy quivering helplessly.

He finally settles down, pushing in, stretching you out around his long and thick cock. You gasp, your mouth hanging open, and arch your back, this one lifting from the mattress.

"Mmh-!" You refrain yourself from saying anything because usually you would say his name, but you don't want to anger Taehyung even more. You would like to sink your nails in his back to inflict him the pain he's putting on you right now, but your wrists are still attached together.

"Fuck," he moans into the crook of your neck, his soft hair tickling your face. "Always so tight. No one's fucking this pussy beside me, am I right, doll?" He stays buried inside of you, balls touching your ass, so you can get used to his size.

His cock is long and curvy, pulsating in the comfort of your velvety walls. No lubricant needed, just your wetness. This is how Taehyung likes it, raw and sensual, wanting to feel your pussy clenching around his dick.

"No one..." You confirm, locking your legs behind his back. "Only you, Sir," you whisper the words he wanted to hear, amplifying the possessiveness he has toward you.

"Good girl," he groans, giving you a deep hip thrust, claiming your pussy - your whole body and mind - as his own. "Only me..." He repeats, so the both of you remember that you're his, no matter what.

With that, he begins pounding hard into you, but so slowly it makes you question the real meaning of his touches. Is it just for the sake of having sex? Or does he also feel the connection between you two?

But for Taehyung, fucking doesn't have to be fast - where's the true pleasure in that?

When he slides in, his cock grazes your bud of nerves and hits the magic spot inside of you that makes you see stars. He rolls his hips against you swiftly and you want to grip his butt, scratch his honey skin, impregnate your odour on him. As much as you love being his, you wish you could call him yours, too.

You raise your arms, incapable of keeping them for you anymore, and search for Taehyung's face, finding it pretty quickly. You run your fingers on him, deciphering his nose and lips under your digits. He grunts, but doesn't stop you, rocking his hips against yours.

A little gasp escapes from your lips as Taehyung bites your finger that was tracing the shape of his bottom lip, trapping the digit between his teeth. He doesn't force, only holds it, and your stomach flutters.

You pull on your finger and he loosens his jaw, letting you go. You resume your previous actions, going up to his hair and gripping it, pulling on strands of hair. He grasps your arm and passes your tied up hands over his head, settling down around his neck. You moan contently, loving having Taehyung's chest flush against yours, the position squishing your breasts between your two bodies.

He sucks on a patch of skin on your neck, licking and biting it. His tip can't stop leaking pre-cum, so happy to be in your tight, wet cunt, impatiently waiting to blow his load into your sloppy pussy. Wet sounds fill the room, occasionally accompanied by the noise of his balls slapping against your ass.

You're whining while Taehyung is moaning, hissing when he thrusts in, feeling your walls closing around him. You pull on the hair at the nap of his neck, scratching his scalp by the same occasion. It feels animalistic, all the grunts and pants, his cock fucking your little hole restlessly to satisfy both of your sexual needs.

"Mmh, fuck. You're so wet, baby," he mumbles against your neck, his hot breath tickling your skin, sending shivers all over your body. "Soaking wet..." He rasps out, holding your hips tightly, long fingers digging in your flesh.

One of his hands moves up to your face while the other stays on your hip and he pulls up your blindfold, allowing you to set your gaze on him, finally able to see him. You blink up at him in awe, your heartbeat accelerating when Taehyung's face is centimetres away from yours.

"Never disobey me again, please, fuck-" He places his forehead against yours, looking into your eyes before he closes them, his mouth hanging open. He's in ecstasy, bucking his hips into yours, sliding balls deep into your little quivering hole.

Your thighs shake beside his torso, both from staying up for a long time and the orgasm threatening to arrive. You don't respond and he hopes it's only because the pleasure is too overwhelming and not because that's something you can't promise him.

Instead, you push his head toward you and catch his lips, moaning into the kiss. He devours your mouth, not letting you a second to breathe, giving you open-mouthed kisses everywhere. His big hand travels along your body, sliding down between your tits and caressing your belly, where he's pleasantly surprised to feel the tip of his cock bulging in.

He pushes down on your tummy and you moan out into his mouth, nails sinking into his neck, leaving small crescent forms. He breaks the kiss, but keeps his sweaty forehead against yours, both panting onto each other's faces.

"God, do you feel that, puppy?" He asks in a husky voice, but sounding almost whiny, as if this situation is slowly destroying his sanity - in a good way.

You lazily look down and Taehyung shifts his hand to the side, letting you see what he is talking about. He pushes in and you get the glimpse of his cock moving in your belly. He watches it too, groaning like an animal at the sight.

"So big..." You add on, dizzy and a little dumb from Taehyung's dick fucking your leaking pussy.

He only hums, replacing his hand over the bulge in your tummy. He could get off just at that thought, being so deep into you he almost reaches your belly button.

After all this time, you never left his side. He's the one who possesses your first kiss, your virginity, your heart and your literal soul. If you leave, then you say goodbye to all of those. So when it hurts the most, you push him to his limits because that's the only way you can have his attention on you, feel like everything he took from you wasn't a loss.

"Taehyung, Taehyung..." You exclaim under your breath and he snaps his eyes up at you, ready to smack your ass, but the next words you say dissuade him from doing it. "Please, I love you," you whine out, tears forming at the corners of your eyes and pussy contracting around his thick cock. "Love you too much..."

He knows it, and yet, you're stupid enough to confess it over and over again. Even though he'll always keep his feelings locked in cage, destroying the key after, yours encourage him to fuck you harder.

He picks up your hips, settling you at the perfect level for him to hit your sweet spot repeatedly, never missing a beat. "Oh, I'm sure you do, baby," Taehyung clashes his hips against yours, making you slide up on the bed from the intensity of his thrusts. He keeps you close, handling your hips down on his hard cock.

"Oh! Tae-" Your voice breaks, ending into a sinful moan, eyes rolling back into your skull.

Because of his tie sealing your wrists together, Taehyung can't sit up, but he hovers over you slightly, enough for him to pound into your messy cunt mercilessly. It has you melting into his hands, his fingerprints inked into your skin, your neck butchered by his previous love bites.

"Shit, I'm close," he exhales heavily, hissing and gritting his teeth as if he's full of anger, but the knot at the pit of his stomach is only tightening, making him clench his jaw. His abs flex, thighs tensing up, hands shaking.

Your release is approaching too, but something tells you Taehyung's intentions are not in your favour.

He thrusts in and out fast until he comes to a halt, burying himself in you, pelvis flushed against your clit. "Ah, fuck, fuck..." He groans and with a twitch of his long cock, he shoots his hot cum into your little pussy. Loads of it come out of his wet tip, painting your walls white, marking his territory.

He pants, looking into your eyes, seeing the worry passing through them. He doesn't react when you call his name, pulling on strands of hair, squirming around. He gives a weak thrust, milking himself dry.

"Taehyung, keep going!" You pout, thumping your feet against the mattress. "Please-" He shuts you up by a kiss, opening and closing his mouth over yours, distracting you while he slips his softening penis out of your cunt.

He backs away and removes your arms from around his neck, quickly untying the knot. He rolls to the side, discarding his tie somewhere on the floor of his bedroom. He doesn't think too much about it before passing an arm around your waist, bringing you against his chest.

You accept his embrace, laying your face against his burning skin. The lights are turned off and this is what concludes your night with Taehyung. You close your eyelids and your tears roll down your cheeks. You cry silently after checking that he's deep into sleep.

Early in the morning, you escape Taehyung's bed. You put your clothes back on, leaving the room on your tiptoes, but of course, he was awake all this time.

"Don't forget that we're attending the Grand opening of Min's society tomorrow night," he says, his eyes still closed. "Put something green on."

You want to say 'fuck off', but you only huff, closing the door in a thud behind you.

You're wearing a short green dress with thin straps, four inches black stilettos and the smallest purse you've ever carried. You followed Taehyung's orders to the letter, despite your will not to. Green suits you the best and you wouldn't have matched his pretty custom made suit.

Entering the elevator, you press the button that will take you to the eleventh floor. What is there on the eleventh floor? You don't know and that's not something you care about at the moment.

Just when the doors are about to close, a hand sneaks in, making the doors open again. You frown, wondering who would want to escape the Grand opening at the same time as you.

The figure of a beautiful tall man is revealed to you, a fluffy head of black hair parted in the middle. Thick and sharp eyebrows, heart-shaped lips, broad shoulders... This man has everything for him. Who is he?

He smiles when he sees you, not a polite one, but a smile that lets you know he's already aware of who you are. It disconcerts you that this stranger may know you when you have no clue of what his name can be. A friend of the host? Taehyung's colleague? Or just another rich man who got his fortune from his father?

Though he seems old, much more mature and experienced than you, there is something jovial about his gaze. Something playful, something that warns you he won't bore you out.

As he joins you into the elevator, he checks the buttons and notices the blue light around the eleventh. He leaves it like that, leaning his back against the wall, shoving his large hands into his pockets.

He turns his head in your direction, smirking when you don't dare looking his way. The doors finally close, trapping you alone with this handsome stranger. "You're Kim Taehyung's girlfriend, aren't you?" His voice is not as deep as you would have thought, but it's still manly and really soft.

So he knows you. You wonder what he heard about you, good or bad things?

"I wouldn't say that I am." Because if you were, you would be at his arm right now, at the head of your father's company. You would be a hard and serious worker, leading your business to success and blah-blah-blah.

You would be exactly like him, but you're not.

"Hmm, I see. Hard to handle," he states, not having to talk to you more to understand what kind of attitude you have.

"Excuse me, do I know you, old man?" You turn around, which makes the man smirk, exactly what he wanted you to do. You bark, but don't bite. Everything's always an act.

He tsks, stepping closer to you. You have your arms crossed over your chest, trying to look intimidating, but you just remind him of a child puffing out her chest to appear stronger. "Old man? Oh, sweetheart, how old do you think I am?"

You narrow your eyes at him, pretending to scan his face, as if you really think he's that old. Hardly thirty-five, that's for sure. "I don't know, probably forty," you bluff, making him laugh heartedly. "Only creeps follow women into an elevator."

He shakes his head, chuckling as he licks his lips, bending down to have his eyes on the same level as yours. "I'm twice your age, little girl. You better show me some respect or I'll make you regret acting like a fucking bitch with me," he grasps your bicep and before he can do anything else, a ting resonates in the elevator.

He makes your heart accelerate and your breath quicken, swallowing as he holds eye contact with you. It's like with Taehyung, but something is consequently different with this man. He doesn't have empathy for you, he doesn't know your barriers and he certainly doesn't care about you.

This feeling is new and thrilling. You like it, you're curious to see where you can go, how further he'll bring you into Hell.

The only place Taehyung has ever made you discover is Heaven, the sadness and loneliness of it. A magnificent white paradise, but so silent and empty it makes you hate it more and more each time.

As if he realized what he was doing, he straightens his back and moves away from you. He eyes the panel, pressing the first button, the one leading to the indoor parking. The eleventh floor is long forgotten, somewhere you'll never step into anymore.

"What's your name?" You ask normally, like he didn't just threaten you. But you know how men like him function. Their words mean nothing, only their actions will let you know what they expect from you.

"Seokjin," he responds mindlessly as he searches for something in his pocket. "But for you, it's Mr. Kim," he pulls out his car keys, raising up his gaze to check on which level you're on; the fifth.

You bite down on your lip at that, your pussy already mewling. You think you heard his name before, one of Mr. Min's most faithful friends. You wonder why he's leaving the opening then, but it doesn't matter anymore as the elevator's doors open, the familiar ting signalling you you're on the parking lot floor.

"Does Mr. Kim want me to keep him company?" You flirt, completely oblivious to the future consequences your nasty tongue will bring you.

You follow Seokjin behind, him looking over his shoulder to send you a smirk. You pass in front of Taehyung's car and you feel a little bit guilty, but you rapidly erase this feeling. You don't own him shit.

You watch his tall figure walking and you can't help but find him so powerful. His age is still a mystery to you, but you have a clue that he's at least ten years older than you. It excites you so much, you've never been with a man like Seokjin before. Well, you've never been with that many men in your life, but still.

"Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend, little girl?" He presses a button on his car key, unlocking his car's doors from afar. The lights of a white Mercedes turn on. It looks brand new as you can see Seokjin's reflection on the body.

"Taehyung's not my boyfriend," you grumble, rolling your eyes. "And I don't have to be with him twenty-four seven. I'm a big girl," you stop walking when he does too, turning around to face you. "Where are you going?"

He tilts his head to the side, finding you particularly curious. Even after calling you a bitch, you still crave his attention. "Home," he fidgets with his keys, his long fingers passing through the metal loops, making them turn around on his finger.

"Kids and wife waiting for you?" You toddle toward him, slowly closing the distance between you two.

He scoffs before answering. "I don't have a wife, and surely not kids," he eyes you closely, watching the corners of your mouth lift into a smug smile.

"My presence won't be such a bother then, right?"

Arms around Seokjin's neck, you hump his thigh like a deprived virgin, whining and moaning so loudly you're sure the neighbours can hear you. Oh, why does doing something wrong feels so good?

He gropes your breasts, gritting his teeth at the filthy view you're offering him. The material of his trousers rubs deliciously against your pussy and as he tenses up the muscles of his thigh, that's when you think you see stars.

"Oh! Mr. Kim..." You can't believe you're still not calling this man by his beautiful name, but you get it. Well, you think you get it because how unfair is it to refuse you from calling him by his own name during sex?

No names, no attachments, no feelings.

A stupid girl like you dry humping a man in his thirties while Taehyung must be searching for you right now, how unconscious have you become? Love makes you do crazy things.

He slaps your butt, leaving his handprint behind, and you moan at the stinging pain. You're totally naked and Seokjin only has his cock out, stroking it as he watches you rut your hips on his thigh.

He's long, really fucking long, but not as thick as Taehyung. You know this dick has seen so many pussies before you and will see more after. You normally don't do things like that, fucking men you didn't know about hours ago, but it's clearly in your attitude to do things out of impulsivity.

"Mmh, look at this," his free hand lays on your waist, no need to guide you as you move your hips up and down on his thigh greedily. "Fucking my thigh like you never got dicked before..." He observes and you can't deny the fact that your pussy's on fire. You're so horny it doesn't even make sense.

Surely it's because Taehyung left you hanging high as a punishment, your poor clit throbbing and begging for a little bit of attention. You didn't even masturbate, you don't really know why, maybe because it wouldn't have been the same.

So all your frustration has builded up in your tummy, only waiting for a gentleman to give you a hand. It should've been Taehyung, it should have... You'd have probably got on your knees and begged him to just put that dick inside your cunt. Yeah, you'd have done that or something similar at least.

But you fell upon a beautiful man and it doesn't matter whether or not your encounter was planned. Seokjin was there, Taehyung was not.

"Rub that wet pussy on me, little girl, go on," Seokjin encourages you and your eyes roll back in your skull, breathy moans escaping your mouth. He gently and slowly runs his hand on his length, the loose skin folding on itself.

"Y-Yes... Feels so good," you whine out, pulling on the hair at the nape of his neck. He groans at the pain, gritting his teeth like an animal. "Mr. Kim, I'm really... really close," you announce to the man, closing your eyes and throwing your head back.

His slender fingers dig into the flesh of your waist, nails sinking in as well. He grips his cock tightly at the base, stopping his strokes as he lays his hooded eyes on your fucked up face. "Little slut, you have no shame, do you?" He encircles your waist with his strong arm, pulling your naked chest flushed against his.

As you hump him, your nipples brush against the material of his white shirt, making your stomach clench. He kneads your ass with his big palm, teasing your little asshole with his middle finger. You shiver from his actions, hiding your face in the crook of his neck.

His cock twitches and he can't wait to shove it down your throat. You chase your orgasm, feeling the pleasure bubbling in your belly. You rut your hips frantically against his thigh, his pants now fully soaked from your juices. You hope he doesn't mind having his expensive clothes stained.

"Cumming for another man... I pray for you he doesn't find out," he whispers in your ear, laughing cruelly after. "Come on, princess, show me how much of a big girl you are..." Seokjin has no remorse, that's for sure. Only the most evil people enjoy seeing others suffer.

At the moment, you have no remorse at all as well. You want your release and that's it.

"Mmh-!" Spasms take over you, thighs and arms shaking, humping Seokjin like there's no tomorrow. "Oh, my God!" You mumble in the crook of his neck, hips stuttering as your orgasm explodes in you.

You feel your heartbeat in your bud of nerves, telling you just how good of an orgasm it was.

"You ruined my pants... You're lucky I like you," he lets go of his cock to grip the back of your neck, pulling you upwards. "Because normally, I wouldn't let that slide." His expression is unreadable, or he just doesn't have any emotion. You think the latter option is more accurate.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kim," you apologize and pout, crunching his shirt between your fists on his shoulders.

He presses his fingers on each side of your neck, applying more pressure as he observes your face contorts in pain. It's as if he analyses your reactions, noting how your eyebrows furrow when his thumb digs forcefully on your jugular.

It feels like a predator playing with his prey, watching it suffer in pain before eating it. He said he would let it slide, but apparently Seokjin isn't good at sticking to his words.

"Mr. Kim-" You call him, small pearls falling from your eyes. His gaze follows the tear rolling down your cheek, hanging down on your jaw. The pressure slowly disappears as he looks back up at you, his grip leaving your neck.

"On your knees, princess. I'm not done with you," he orders and you nod repeatedly, getting down from his lap. "I hope you know how to suck a cock because if you don't, I'll be obligated to fuck your mouth," he says as he settles his elbow against the armrest, rubbing his chin between his index and thumb. "And I'm not known to be particularly gentle..."

You position yourself between his legs, glancing up at him with uncertain eyes. It's not that you don't know, it's just that Taehyung never taught you and it's not like you could've practiced with other boys. He always takes control of your mouth and rarely lets you do it on your own.

So you doubt your skills will impress Seokjin, but you wish it'll be enough for him to not face fuck you, especially if he's particularly rough.

You've barely laid your eyes on his enormous cock that he already takes a handful of your hair in his fist. "Don't make me wait, little girl," he pushes you closer until your head is shoved onto his crotch. You feel his hard erection straining across your face, long and pulsating angrily.

You whimper a little, trying to back away, but he holds your face in place. "Mr. Kim, I can't-" Your lips graze his dick as you speak and this position is really not comfy for you.

"Are you telling me a slutty bitch like you can't take a dick in her mouth?" He asks severely, eyes filled with burning anger. Or is it desire? You shake your head the best you can from side to side, swallowing as you feel small and totally defenceless under him. "Then fucking do it."

He doesn't need to tell you twice, surely not while looking at you so menacingly.

You open your mouth and close it, giving kisses to his beautiful length. You do so until you're met with his tip, pre-cum spilling on your lips. His hand grips at your scalp, tightening his fist around your hair, making you wince in pain.

You swirl your tongue around his mushroom head, passing your pink muscle over the slit, smearing the pre-cum and your drool over his hard cock. You play with the tip because you don't want to engulf the whole thing in your mouth, you're not even sure you can.

You're used to Taehyung's cock, but Seokjin's is too long, it almost surpasses the height of your head. Nonetheless, you suckle the head, trying to keep the man entertained. You move your head accordingly to your licks, licking the underside of his shaft and then going up to put the tip back in your mouth.

"Scared to take the whole thing in your mouth, little girl?" He questions you, his voice surprisingly soft. "I understand, it's not everyday that you see someone like me..." He smirks and you look up, meeting his devious gaze.

Your forearms are placed beside his thighs, which part wider as he forces your head down on him when you didn't expect him to. You whine around him, protesting, but you know it's useless. He holds your head firmly over his erect penis and you're too weak to escape his grip.

"Shh, pretty girl. Take my cock," he says calmly and it would be almost soothing if you weren't focusing on breathing through your nose as he sinks himself in the warmth of your mouth. "I told you I would fuck it if you weren't capable of sucking me off."

Your jaw stretches open, letting Seokjin penetrate your mouth so slowly your eyes start to water again. He pushes you down and you don't even have him whole in your mouth that the tip of his cock teases the back of your throat. You gag around him and you're scared you'll throw up.

"Guess I'll have to work with that..." He sighs in exasperation, but he understands he can't go further if he doesn't want you to die of asphyxia around his dick.

He then yanks your head up by your hair and you gasp for air, tears running down your cheeks. You try to get a proper breathing, but Seokjin pulls you down before you can. He slides between your lips, his cock totally smooth from your saliva. You form fists beside his thighs, scrunching your eyes shut and enduring the painful intrusion of his penis inside your mouth.

He plants his feet on the wooden floor and raises his hips, thrusting in and out of you. Slurping sounds are heard as well as Seokjin's grunts and hisses. He uses you as he desires, fucking your face and ignoring your cries while he grits his teeth from the overwhelming pleasure building in his stomach.

"Relax your jaw, fuck, that's why it's painful..." He instructs you and you tense down the muscles of your jaw, allowing a smoother entering of your mouth for his long cock.

Your lips never touch his pubic hair and your chin occasionally brushes his balls as they move up from Seokjin's thrusts. You really want it to be less painful, but you come to realize that maybe your mouth is just not made for sucking cocks.

But the men you have had sex with always manage to take you the way they want it anyway no matter how difficult it is for you to accommodate to their sizes.

You hollow your cheeks, one of the few things Taehyung taught, and you hope it makes Seokjin feel good. The little moan he produces tells you that he does, so you keep on hollowing your cheeks.

He fucks your throat until he feels his balls tightening and his cock twitching inside your mouth. "Shit, filthy girl... You're not as bad as I thought," he rasps out, passing his long fingers through your tangled hair.

The more he pushes into you, the closer your nose is to his pelvis. You swallow him despite the burning you feel in your throat, you're sure it'll be sore by tomorrow.

"A-ah, fuck," he moans and that's when he pulls out of your mouth, standing up on his feet.

Your heart accelerates as he towers over you with his full height, cock in hand ready to shoot his cum everywhere on your body. He's still fully dressed, totally intimidating you. You look so helpless down on your knees before a man so much older and so dominating.

It scares you and you really want to find Taehyung's warmth and care at the moment. It was fun at the beginning because you were angry and upset, but now, you see that Seokjin is just a man using you for your body and naivety.

His hooded eyes don't leave your little figure sitting on the floor as he runs his hand up and down his huge dick. Seokjin wants to ruin you, break you, only to toss you after on the street when he'll be done with you. He's cruel and you only realize it now because a man as powerful as him knows how to hide his double personality.

He brings your head over to him, his cock hovering over your face. He fucks his fist, going impressionably fast. He directs his erection toward your face, aligning it perfectly so he can cum where he wants it.

"Open," he grumbles the word out and you pull out your tongue, flattening it against your chin. He groans and his hips stutter as he feels the knot in his stomach tightening.

And then a hot liquid lands on your face and you blink several times while he shoots his cum on you, marking you in his seeds. He milks himself dry, painting your cheeks and tongue white of his release.

When he lets go of your head, Seokjin looks at you and he almost chuckles at how you seem completely pathetic. Covered in his cum, core leaking on your thighs and hair in a nest. Your makeup is not any better, all smudged up on your face.

You look like a whore. An expensive one, he'll be generous, but Seokjin doesn't pay for sex, he never does. He doesn't have to because lost and frustrated little girls like you throw themselves at his feet. He doesn't need to say anything.

After that, you don't stay with him, you don't sleep in the same bed as him, you don't even get a glass of water for your poor throat. You take your things and you get out.

At least he called a cab for you.

"His little girlfriend is kinda dumb, but you can do whatever you want with that mouth, Goddamn."

That phrase wouldn't leave Taehyung's mind since this morning when he heard Seokjin saying it. And it's infuriating him how he imagines the scene, how he pictures it so easily...

"Get in the fucking car," his eyes are literal daggers, fire glinting in them, making anyone who looks at him shiver in fear.

But not you.

"No! Tell me where we are going!" You yell, thumping your feet like a child.

His nostrils flare as he breathes furiously, fists clenching by his sides. He really wants to hold it in, but it's so difficult, so fucking difficult when you refuse to obey.

"Get. In."

"No, I'm not-" You squeak when your feet leave the ground as Taehyung throws you over his shoulder, securing your body with an arm over the back of your thighs.

He yanks the passenger's door open and you tightly holds the fabric of his vest between your fingers, legs dangling in the air. He bends down and lays you on the leather seat, shutting the door just when you're about to open your mouth again.

Taehyung gets around his car, entering the driver's side. He joins you in and he doesn't grant you one glance. He's mad, really mad.

"Put your seatbelt on," he orders as he adjusts the rear mirror. "Now." He says even more severely, sending you the first glimpse of the night, but it's cold and full of anger.

You quickly put on your seatbelt while he does the same, turning the key and making the car's engine roars. It's not loud enough to cover the beating of your heart, feeling it thundering in your rid cage, threatening to explode.

Taehyung pulls out of the parking lot, reaching the road in a few steering wheel strokes. He uses one hand to turn the wheel, doing it swiftly and precisely. He has a clear idea of where to go, and when he doesn't stop for the red light you understand you're in deep shit.

"Taehyung! Are you unconscious!?" You yell, your eyes widening and eyebrows furrowing when you notice the kilometres per hour increasing as his foot weighs on the speed pedal.

You look back and forth between him and the road in front of you. He dodges the cars, passing through gaps, not even bothering to turn on the flashers.

"Since when are you giving older men head?" He growls through his teeth, eyes focused on the road.

He turns the wheel hastily as he was getting too close to a car and your two bodies follow the movement of the car, balancing to the side before going back in place when Taehyung gets back in line.

"W-What?" You breathe out, too weak to talk louder. Luckily, he hears you despite the loud roaring of the engine.

"Kim Seokjin, out of all people," he sends his venom at you, fire dancing in his eyes. "You picked this piece of shit," he isn't screaming, but it feels like it with the way his tone sounds so furious and uncontrollable.

You think it was just a matter of fact until he would find out, but you thought that maybe he would dismiss it like he always does with you.

"You always open your mouth, never close it," he states, taking a road that leads you both out of the city. "Oh, no, that's right... The only time I don't hear you is when you have your fucking mouth around a literal stranger's dick!" He slams his palm against the steering wheel, the ambiance in the car becoming heavier.

He has to turn on his headlights as you two enter a road where there is no street lamp. You glimpse at the dashboard, your breath now erratic. 110km/h, 120km/h, 150km/h...

"The second I don't give you attention you go turn around older men like a fucking dog in heat," his words are sharp, cutting through your heart. "Is that why you offer your body to other men? Is that fucking why!?" He barks and you close your eyes, pearls falling on your face.

But your heart is stronger than that.

"No!" You scream, the sound making Taehyung tightens his grip around the wheel, knuckles turning white. "I'm not a fucking dog, I'm not a whore or a pathetic dumb bitch!" You affirm loudly, turning your head around to look at him.

You curse yourself for finding him beautiful, loving the crease between his eyebrows, the way his jaw clenches, wishing he could only be yours and no one else.

Fuck his money, fuck his dad, fuck his business partners, fuck his company worth million of dollars.

"Then what are you, huh? Tell me, smarthead," he laughs, but not because it's funny, because he's nervous he's not right this time.

He's asking it, playing stupid as if he doesn't already know the truth, as if you didn't tell him before.

"I'm in love with you, Taehyung! That's what I am, okay! I'm in love... with you," you desperately say the last two words and just like that, his muscles tense down. Just like that he calms down, realizes his mistake. "And I want you to love me, too."

He slows down, raises his foot from the gas pedal, as a road sign appears afar in the dark; max 70km/h. You've come back to the city and Taehyung's little race comes to an end.

The ride back to the parking lot is silent, no one daring to say a word. When Taehyung parks the car, you unbuckle your seatbelt and quickly reach for the door's handle. You get out and he follows you, walking around to finally face you.

You're crying and he's not. Your heart compresses in your chest and you place a hand over it, feeling it screaming and beating incessantly. Him, he only feels guilty.

He's started a fire in you only to watch your heart burn in front of him. He always knew you like him, it was pretty obvious even since you two were children. His attention slowly drifted off of you as he grew older, taking an interest in working with his dad, enjoying earning money and the esteem of many people.

You stayed by his side anyway, even when money was more important than you.

"Doll, listen, I'm-" He stops when you raise an arm in front of him.

You pass by him, walking away as you leave him wondering why did he act like such an asshole for years.

#bts fic #bts scenarios #bts smut #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts imagines #taehyung drabble #taehyung fanfiction #taehyung fanfic #taehyung imagines #taehyung smut #taehyung x reader #bts x reader #seokjin x reader #seokjin smut

[olderthannetfic]

I know this isn't usually your thing because its not about fandom really but politics. I'm scared how acceptable violent language against "bad people" is right now in left spaces and I'm worried it means I'm a centrist or something. I'm queer and life is scary rn so i know why people are hurt and afraid but I don't think saying wanting someone to be murdered is ok even if you think the person is truly horrible. But maybe I'm just being fragile? I don't have a lot of experience with this.

--

Unfortunately, this is absolutely a fandom thing and I rant about it often.

No, becoming the worst part of your fascist enemies will not protect you or make your political movement successful. Fandom puritywankers are generally also US-flavor fake Lefties who know nothing about economic theory but think authoritarianism is great.

Thinking that "bad people" is a real and immutable category is inherently politically dangerous. To get shit done, you need to be able to identify acceptable compromises and groups that are compatible but different vs. ones that are too toxic to touch.

The black and white thinking of a child will not effect political change.

It has nothing to do with being a centrist.

It also has nothing to do with fragility. You may be feeling fragile, and understandably so, but I am not. Seeing wishes for violence doesn't upset me: it bores me.

If people send stupidass death threats in my notes because ~ooh~ the issue is just ~that important~, they get blocked because toddlers have no place in a reasonable discussion between adults. This should be the norm in fandom spaces.

[qqueenofhades]

Hi just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to thoughtfully respond to these anon messages. I work in dc w a fairly wonky set and i cant overstate how haunted the DC Professional Thought Havers are by the spectre of the "low propensity voter." I think these ppl (myself included LOL) thought we had everything figured out ahead of the 2016 elections and then never recovered from the way it ended up going......i feel like in all the years that followed.....the liberal bubbles.....the coastal elites.......the hillbilly elegies......the real america....the ohio diners....the pennsylvania diners.......the polls......the 2020 horserace....while part of an earnest attempt to understand What Happened, were primarily self-indulgent, self-flagellation for being "out of touch" bc of a self-diagnosed "elite" status that then turned into ANOTHER myopic view of the world, just opposite, where the "libs" are hapless and everyone else remotely to the left are primarily victims to the unstoppable supernatural forces of the Right. Then in 2020 the narrative flipped AGAIN and once again, instead of taking the opportunity to expand a worldview and having the bravery to confront their own shortcomings, the opinion havers and wonks and beltway pressers have decided to groupthink their way into writing off democracy altogether. Its BEYOND frustrating to see! Like damn volunteer at a soup kitchen or smthn instead of being obsessed w the fact that i vote lol

Yes, and there are several reasons for that. First, despite all the factors that contributed to Trump's shock win in 2016 (anti-Clintonism, white backlash to Obama, general low voter enthusiasm, Russian disinformation, etc) we should never forget that until James Comey decided to announce 10 days before the election that he was reopening the EEEEEEEMAILS case, even though we all knew there was nothing there, she was leading fairly comfortably in the polls. And while we will never know how the 2016 election would have gone without that, which imho was one of the most unforgivable acts of blatant sabotage by a public official in American history, it's also true that we saw her poll averages start sliding almost in real time, as people who hadn't really been keen on voting for her anyway decided firmly not to and Trump was able to scrape out 16,000 votes across PA, MI, and WI to take the Electoral College. Which... we all remember how we felt that night, right? (Or in my case, early morning, since I was overseas?) We don't, we really, really don't want to feel that way again. Just saying.

As such, the media (which had already beat up Clinton nonstop during the BUT HER EEEEEMAILS saga) drastically overcorrected and as you say, began writing endless angsty handwringing pieces about Trump Voters in Rural Ohio Diners and giving endless sympathetic airtime to how "economically left behind" they felt, regardless of the fact that open racism, especially Obama backlash, was and remains the principal animating feature of Republican politics (since their only economic platform is that which makes very rich people even richer and Democratic economic policies are the only ones actually targeted at helping ordinary people). The hangover was so strong that even when Democrats had a massive 2018 midterm result and flipped the House blue for the first time since the post-ACA backlash lost it in 2010, the Conventional Wisdom was now beyond any doubt that Democrats were doomed for a generation or something, and not that Trump had squeaked out a fluky win (while losing the popular vote) due to endless Russian/Comey/third party-etc interference and wasn't actually that powerful. Even in 2020 when Biden was leading fairly steadily and things were going to hell with Covid, etc. etc. TRUMP IS UNSTOPPABLE, TRUMP IS GOING TO WIN.

(And now. Like. I know Trump thinks Trump won in 2020, as do a large majority of his cultists, but that doesn't mean he did.)

Even after that, when Roe went down in 2022, that made no difference to the RED WAVE COMING!!! narrative, and the amount of smug white male pundits insisting that abortion just wasn't very important and people weren't going to base their entire vote on it reached truly disgusting levels. We're now seeing the same thing with the constant "people won't vote for democracy and/or abortion rights" blast, when as you say, this narrative has just been completely made the fuck up by a lot of groupthinking DC media who are determined that this time, Trump really is going to win and then they get to be principled chroniclers in opposition or something. Not to mention, the basic principle of "democracy and abortion rights are good" do in fact win by thumping margins every time they're on the ballot, including in deep red states. But there is literally not a single piece of empirical evidence despite the massive amounts of it supporting the truth (i.e. that Democrats are doing historically well in competitive elections since 2018 and there's not really a major reason to think this will change in 2024) that will get the media to change the "Democrats in disarray and Biden Iz Doomed" horserace BS they so love. They don't like Biden because he's boring and competent and just does the job without being insane, because it's totally a great idea to treat American government like a reality show! (Recall the infamous comment by the CBS CEO who literally said that Trump was bad for America but great for CBS, because he pulled in high ratings and therefore lots of money and visibility for CBS. We live in the worst timeline.)

As such, the mainstream media has a vendetta against Biden, is determined that this time Trump is super definitely going to win and everyone will see how genius they are, and not-so-secretly wants Trump back because a) he's good for money and ratings, and b) because the media conglomerations are owned by oligarchs who have a vested interest in making sure that Democrats and their policies never get too popular. Notice how the once self-proclaimed centrist independent Elon Musk has turned into a rabidly alt-right fanboy ever since the Democrats really got serious about taxing billionaires as a key part of their platform. Likewise, insisting that Biden Iz Doomed makes Democrats nervous (and thus more likely to tune in) and Republicans gleeful (and thus more likely to tune in), so there's literally no incentive for the media to even try to report things accurately. You could create a very different narrative of the 2024 election if you just remotely bothered to write about things that have actually happened as they have actually taken place, rather than bending over backward to insist that Biden being four years older than Trump is a worse crime than 91 felony indictments, 2 impeachments, 1 insurrection, 450 million dollars and counting in punitive jury verdicts, more major criminal trials coming down the pipe, and just demonstrably being the worst human being alive in so many ways. I mean. Wow.

The good news, as I said in my other post, is that when people actually vote, these utter bullshit narratives get routinely blown out of the water, and that's a good thing. Because it turns out that unlike Super Smart Beltway Pundits' Super Smart Predictions, the average American does actually like democracy and freedom for women to make their own personal healthcare decisions, and they vote accordingly. So while yes, it's being made harrowingly much harder than it needs to be because of how much the media simply refuses to report that basic fact, and there is no amount of evidence that will convince them otherwise, at least we're trending in the right direction and, if we all pull our weight, can do it one more time. I realized the other day that I hadn't heard a fucking peep about Ron DeSantis in the last two months, and oh, how glorious it was. I yearn beyond words for the day (God willing, soon) when the same is true of Trump as well.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

[chrismcleanswife]

Heya there writer!! <3

I was hoping for some good Alejandro headcanons?

Maybe when Owen broke the plane (ya know, when he opened the hole in the economical class) and Alejandro saving reader??

I truly like the concept of reader being Chris' 13 y/o niece and the fear she suddenly developed to the touch of other people so I'd love to see that reader in the ask! (That making the ask platonic ofc)! Maybe reader becoming comfy around Alejandro after that? Mhm, how does that sound? ^^

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨 & 𝟏𝟑 𝐲/𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬' 𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫!

𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚊, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚏𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍/𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝

♥☁ -> You were still scared of almost everyone.

♥☁ -> Since what happened with Duncan at tdi you weren't able to be at peace with anyone that wasn't your uncle (Chris), Chef and Trent.

♥☁ -> They were the only ones who made you feel safe.

♥☁ -> Anyways that didn't mean that you weren't nice and kind to others.

♥☁ -> So as soon as your uncle gave you permission, you were running towards the "economical class" part of the not-so-safe airplane you were in right now.

♥☁ -> You wanted to meet again with those chaotic teenagers with whom you spend almost 8 weeks in that TV show.

♥☁ -> Anyways, you were surprised when you saw a new member among the crew.

♥☁ -> He was... handsome looking, but you didn't trust him that much, Justin was a plain cheating asshole after all...

♥☁ -> Anyways, you got yourself into the room and waved at everyone happily, most of them screaming with excitement when they saw you again (since you didn't appear at season 2 at all).

♥☁ -> ❝May I ask who are you, señorita?❞ you heard the new boy say, you turned your head towards him and smiled sweetly at him, you didn't trust him yet but he seemed like a polite person so you thought It wouldn't hurt anybody If you returned that politeness.

♥☁ -> ❝My name's Y/N❞ you said with a little smile.

♥☁ -> The new boy looked like he was about to talk again so you were quick to add ❝Y/N McLean❞ you finally said with a proud smile.

♥☁ -> the boy's smile changed into a surprised expression ❝Wait what-? Chris has a daughter?❞ he asked to the air as a reaction to the sudden confusion.

♥☁ -> ❝Nope! She is his niece! Isn't she adorable????❞ squealed Izzy from her seat, looking at you with a smile which you gladly returned.

♥☁ -> ❝Well, he then is lucky to have her❞ said the boy, getting up from his position and walking your way.

♥☁ -> ❝My name's Alejandro❞ he said, holding his hand out for you to take, gesture that made you flinch violently and take a few steps back as a reflex ❝Woah! tranquila pequeña, I have 0 intentions to hurt you❞ he said, quickly taking his hand back as a way to not scare you more.

♥☁ -> ❝Don't blame yourself boy, blame Duncan❞ Noah said without even bothering to lift his eyes from the book.

♥☁ -> You assumed it was time for an explanation and so you walked to talk with DJ, LeShawna and Lindsay, three of your favourite "campers" now turned into "passengers"

♥☁ -> ❝What did he do?❞ asked Alejandro, taking a seat next to Noah, wanting to get comfortable for the answers.

♥☁ -> ❝Mhm... let's say he threw her across the dodgeball court and made her scared of everyone besides Trent, Chris and Chef❞ explained quite calmly the boy, looking with disinterest at the Spanish guy next to him.

♥☁ -> ❝hermano, that's messed up!❞ he exclaimed in a low tone while Noah just shrugged, marking the conversation as an ended interaction.

♥☁ -> ❝Did he truly do that?❞ murmured Alejandro, now turning his head to Bridgette, whom only nodded while she bit her lip to his response, still feeling kinda guilty of making you wake Duncan up.

♥☁ -> You were now talking with DJ about how you were now taking care of a cuddly cat that your uncle let you bring to the airplane and just when he was about to ask you to bring it to him so he could see it the airplane started to tremble.

♥☁ -> Your eyes went wide as your body trembled but stepped away quite abruptly when DJ tried to steady your body with his hands.

♥☁ -> When you turned your head right you saw how Owen was dancing, making the plane shake in a not-so-safe way.

♥☁ -> In a blink, a before "repaired" hole broke again, sucking everything on the plane, and you being the only person standing in the middle of the "room" were an easy victim.

♥☁ -> You screamed in panic as your body flew out of the plane, you barely being able to hold onto the outline of the hole, gaining a deep cut from the shiny metal in exchange.

♥☁ -> The tears started running down your face as your heartbeat overshadowed any posible noise, your hands hurting so much as you tried your best to stay attached to the outline of the hole, seeing your short life flashing before your eyes.

♥☁ -> ❝Take my hand, quick!!!❞ a male voice shouted and you opened your eyes to see Alejandro being held by half of the time while he was holding his hand out for you to take.

♥☁ -> You wasted no time in taking his hand in a strong grip, feeling the relief overcoming your body as soon as you felt him tug your body towards the inside of the airplane again.

♥☁ -> As soon as you were inside of the plane again you bursted into tears while holding onto dear life to Alejandro, quickly staining his T-Shirt with the blood from your injured hands.

♥☁ -> Alejandro engulfed you in a thight hug, letting you get his T-Shirt wet with your tears as he also tried his best to shoothe you.

♥☁ -> God, why would everything happen to you???

♥☁ -> Alejandro started slowly and steadily rocking his body back and forth, while you trembled within his arms.

♥☁ -> Everyone was worried sick about you, and Leshawna was scolding Owen for having such a shitty idea.

♥☁ -> After a pair of minutes, when your sobs became much more muffled and the grip you had on the Spanish boy became less thight Alejandro separated your still slightly shaking body from his and asked to the air if someone had band aids.

♥☁ -> Harold was quick to lift his hand in the air.

♥☁ -> He lent Alejandro a pair of Ninja-Themed band aids and the boy carefully put them on the cuts you had on your palms, giving a kiss to each one after that.

♥☁ -> You giggled at his actions but when he was about to leave to go search for Chris next to DJ he felt how you griped his arm.

♥☁ -> He turned to you quite confused, but when he saw the desperate look on your eyes and how you tried to vocalise what you were trying to tell him he just hummed with a small smile and put his arm around your shoulder, keeping you close to him.

♥☁ -> His smile increased when he saw how relaxed you got when you were able to stay in contact with your savior.

♥☁ -> Alejandro was smiling sweetly on the outside while walking in search of Chris to tell him what happened, but in the inside he was grinning evily.

♥☁ -> You were a naive thing that needed shelter, and you were lucky that he truly liked you and didn't find you annoying (as he seems to find everyone in the plane, except Heather which he finds as a good competence), and now that you trusted him to the point of not flinching when he touched you he was going to use that as an advantadge.

♥☁ -> Of course he wouldn't dare to hurt your feelings or betray you because he has felt that at a similar age of yours and he doesn't want you to feel how he felt (or even worse), but he'll use your trust as a way to convince other of his "good intentions" and also use you as a way of making himself look like a dad and to cajole the girls so that he makes them believe they'll look as a great mother and that way make them fall even harder for him, and later use that to his advantage.

♥☁ -> Anyways, in the meanwhile it would not hurt him if he truly took care of you and let you stick around since you seem to like and trust him that much, maybe that way he can also manage to repair the injury that Duncan left that day so solely vivid in your heart...

#Total Drama #Total Drama x reader #Total Drama World Tour #Total Drama World Tour x reader #tdwt x reader #Alejandro x reader #tdwt Alejandro #tdwt Alejandro x reader #Chris' niece reader series #Chris McLean x reader #Owen x reader #Bridgette x reader #Gwen x reader #Tyler x reader

[blackhairedjjun]

flowers of every color | 8. sweet peas

overall summary: when your father is assigned as the new head gardener to the royal family, you are also tasked with helping him maintain the castle's many gardens and extensive floral arrangements. by chance you find yourself crossing paths with the "ice-cold" crown prince, choi yeonjun... who turns out to be not as ice-cold as everyone says he is.

chapter summary: yeonjun's engagement starts to speed up. despite the end of your friendship with him, you somehow make amends with the other two princes.

word count: 2.1k

warnings: none? less angst than the previous 2 chapters but still some of it

author's notes included at the end!

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yeonjun hates how easy it is for him to act indifferent these days.

his tea has gone cold and queen hwayoung is blabbering away about some recent economic development in her kingdom, yet her words simply go in one ear and come out the other. her daughter, princess ajin, sits stiffly across him, the lemon tart on her plate barely touched. she’s hardly said a word all afternoon, offering only a few polite words when spoken to, and when she looks at yeonjun her face is a mask. these teatime sessions are supposed to be a way for him to get to know her, yet she remains as impenetrable as ever.

in response he offers little more than standard courtesy. if the princess is only interested in him as a political tool, then why even bother to open himself up to her?

“what do you think of the tarts, your majesty?” he says. “our kitchen makes fine pastries.”

“they’re delicious.” princess ajin’s voice doesn’t even change in tone.

queen hwayoung nods. “and what say you on the tea we brought? our farmers grow the finest tea leaves served in royal courts and noble houses all over. i like to think that whenever we serve our tea to distinguished guests such as yourself, you share in the privilege of being part of our heritage.”

“that’s... a lot of meaning to place on tea.”

the queen frowns. “it’s a meaning that brings us might. besides, it’s not any different from placing silly meanings in, say, flowers.”

yeonjun presses his lips together. he would argue that it isn’t silly, and in fact the meanings that placed on flowers have brought people together 一 he would know firsthand. but he thinks of you, of the vase sitting empty in his room for weeks, and of the striped carnations you ultimately filled it with as a final message, and he realizes that flowers are just as capable of separating people as they are of binding them.

“i guess you’re right, your majesty. and the tea is delicious.”

“and this was a good tea break,” princess ajin adds, as if reading from an invisible cue.

yeonjun nods. he glances at the half-eaten tart on his own plate and remembers the key lime pie he asked beomgyu to deliver to you. he realizes that he never found out if you liked it, or if it even reached you in the first place. tea with you was always more lively, even if you did nothing more than sit next to him, your side nestled against his, as you listen to him chatter about his day. an ache tugs at his heart at the memory.

perhaps those days with you were always meant to come to an end. they certainly would if he marries princess ajin, and they would too if he were married off to any other royal or aristocratic figure. perhaps you did him a small mercy by ending things quickly on your terms to save him from the heartache of being forced apart.

but even if it were a mercy, it certainly doesn’t feel like one.

queen hwayoung clears her throat and yeonjun is shaken out of his thoughts. “things are going smoothly, aren’t they? i haven’t heard any objections from you or my daughter, after all.” she is smiling but her eyes are narrowed. “i take this as a positive development. perhaps it is time to hasten preparations for a wedding?”

yeonjun’s eyes widen. he glances at princess ajin and her expression remains exactly the same.

“i don’t think being hasty is such a good idea, your majesty一”

the queen sighs. “i am not being too hasty, i believe. i am simply reading the signs of an advantageous marriage.” she glances down at her daughter. “don’t you think so, my dear?”

the princess nods and smiles. yeonjun can’t tell if it’s genuine or not.

“and your majesty, do remind me to place the rest of the house of choi on the guest list, yes? i hear that their delegates are leaving soon. i do not want them to miss out on a momentous occasion.”

一

while tending to the marigolds at the front entrance one day, you notice two carts parked to the side partially filled with suitcases. at first you don’t think much of it 一 guests come and go to the castle all the time 一 but when you pass them by on your way to the greenhouse, you notice that some of the suitcases in both carts are embossed with the house of choi insignia. your interest is piqued. when you walk up to the suitcases for a closer look, you see that the crests are not identical to the ones found around the castle; rather, they look like the alternate versions that soobin and beomgyu have on their coats.

ah, you realize. the members of the other branches are heading back home soon.

for the past few days you’ve felt numb, keeping to yourself and sticking to your daily tasks, but the sight of the crests causes a bit of sadness to hang over you. for the first time in weeks you think back on your time with the three princes. in your mind you still hear beomgyu’s raucuous laughter after scoring a point against soobin at football, or the light in soobin’s eyes as he rambles about his favorite adventure novels. you remember how kindly they treated you and how readily they welcomed you as one of their own friends.

you didn’t mean to push them away, but since they were always around yeonjun, the end of your friendship with him inadvertently meant the end of your friendship with them too. the guilt creeps at you as you head back to the greenhouse, your heart now heavy.

as the days pass, you see more and more signs of the other branches’ impending departure. you deliver some more herbs to the kitchen and spot the menu taped to one of the walls, recognizing some of the dishes as specialties from the central and eastern regions. you see more and more of the branches’ guest advisors roaming the hallways, idly chatting and laughing with court officials, catching up with old friends one last time. when you pass by the carriages again, you see even more luggage piled up.

you consider saying hello to soobin and beomgyu one last time and apologizing them for getting them into the mess that you made. you don’t want their last memories of you to be bittersweet, after all. yet when you imagine what the encounter might be like, you freeze; you don’t know if they will forgive you or accept your farewell. in the greenhouse you contemplate preparing two pots of sweet peas for them, flowers of goodbye to send them off and wish them well, and you get as far as setting aside two earthen pots and filling them with soil. but when the time comes to actually fill them with blooms, you hesitate.

despite your hesitation, you run into them anyway.

one afternoon, as you head back to the greenhouse, you pass by the open meadows and hear the familiar shouts of a badminton game in progress. you stop in your tracks to watch beomgyu pick up the shuttlecock and lob it at soobin, and for a while you smile to yourself as they hit it back and forth, back and forth, running and teasing each other the whole time. beomgyu tries his best to distract or startle soobin by making loud noises whenever the shuttlecock flies his way, yet soobin manages to keep his focus... until he misjudges his swing and the shuttlecock ends up bouncing off his nose.

you laugh at the sight and the game comes to a halt.

the shuttlecock is forgotten on the grass as both boys turn to you. soobin looks at you with narrowed eyes, as if watching a suspicious stranger instead of an old friend, and you want to crumple into yourself at his gaze. you remember the conversation you had with him: it’s been a really long time since yeonjun opened himself up to someone and it’s doing him good, so thanks for being there for him. 

you turn instead to beomgyu, whose gaze is more neutral but tinged with hesitation. still, the younger choi trudges through the meadow towards you, ignoring soobin’s look of scrutiny. he wrings his hands for a bit while saying nothing, but manages to pull himself together and look you in the eye.

“so, uh... we haven’t heard from you in a while,” he says.

again you feel like crumpling into yourself.

“yeah... i know.” you shift your weight from one foot to the other. “i’m really sor一”

“do you want to play with us?”

you blink. the last thing you expected was an invitation to join them, not after avoiding them and especially not after what you did to yeonjun. soobin seems to share your sentiment, his mouth agape as he shoots beomgyu a confused stare. but beomgyu glances back at him and nods, instantly communicating something; when soobin turns back to you, he looks a little less suspicious and gives you a nod too.

beomgyu turns to you again with a polite smile. “so, how about it?”

then it clicks in your head: this is a tentative truce. they want to test the waters with you, see if you can be trusted again, but first beomgyu needs everyone to calm down and put down their walls. when you realize this you stop shifting your weight as the energy in you changes. you’re being given a second chance, and you need to seize it.

“sure, i’ll join you,” you say.

you jog over to them and beomgyu hands you a spare racquet. soobin sits the game out 一 you can tell that he still feels uneasy about you, and you don’t blame him. you take your position as beomgyu picks up the shuttlecock and prepares to serve.

the game begins.

the first few points are short and uneventful, going back and forth between you and beomgyu without flair. but at 3-3, you somehow end up in a long rally — you try to smash, he nearly dives to send it back, you scramble to hit, he screams as he miraculously picks it up, you try to smash again, he screams even louder and lobs the shot, you send it back just in time, but it’s too high and he smashes it down on your side with an almighty yell.

“HAH! I’M WINNING!” he shouts as he waves his racquet above his head like a flag. you’re out of breath from the rally but you still find it in you to cheer.

even soobin is laughing and clapping. “you finally have a worthy opponent.”

“yeah! i never have long rallies with you, hyung!”

the rest of the game is just as exciting. you and beomgyu struggle for each point, chasing after the shuttlecock and screaming with each hit, and soobin gets on his feet to serve as referee. that turns out to be a good thing, because beomgyu starts to challenge all of your clean smashes as out of bounds just to mess with your head. but you don’t mind either way; you’re breathless and smiling and truly happy and it feels like old times all over again.

the two of you are in the middle of another long rally before beomgyu interrupts the point. “hyung! do you want to join us? yeonjun hyung!”

you turn around and see yeonjun for the first time since your argument. you’re far enough from him that you can see his whole posture and the way his shoulders are noticeably slumped. whatever lightness you felt starts to disappear as your chest tightens and the guilt floods back in.

but oh, something good still blooms in you at the sight of him.

he turns in your direction with an empty stare. “i can’t. i’m busy.”

with that, he marches off.

you open your mouth to call for him but all you do is choke back a sob. your racquet falls from your hand and, in a daze, you stare at the spot where yeonjun stood. you barely register beomgyu jogging over to you and talking.

“let’s stop the game for now, okay?”

you nod, not even moving to face him.

“i’ll go after hyung,” you hear soobin say as he starts to walk out of the meadow. he glances at beomgyu, then at you: “you really need to work things out.”

notes:

this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous ones, and actually this + chapter 9 were originally supposed to be one chapter. but since the second half was getting long i decided to make it into its own chapter instead.

at this point i've pretty much drafted the rest of the story, so the plan for the rest of the fic is this: there will be two more regular chapters, followed by the two alternate endings. since the story is ending soon i'm closing the taglist on wednesday, may 31, 12am utc+8. if you want to be added please send me an ask before then!

taglist (closes may 31 12am utc+8) @seosalad @lilplilplilp @yeonboy @pyuae @hyuneyeon @strawbrinkofdeath @yushiu @mazeinthemoon @banggyu0308 @shytubatu @kyaneosprincess @agustdiv1ne @whippedforbeomgyu @justineasian @skywithf1 @wrongbathroom

#txt x reader #yeonjun x reader #txt x you #yeonjun x you #choi yeonjun x reader #kpop x reader #txt imagines #kpop imagines #yeonjun imagines #txt angst #txt fluff #yeonjun angst #yeonjun fluff #tomorrow x together imagines #txt fic #txt fanfic #bhj originals #fic:flowers of every color

[max1461]

I think there are three large classes of socialist concern, which are not reducible to each other and which require different types of solutions. I would describe them as follows:

Distributional concerns — Markets tend towards inequality, and thus even in times of abundance fail to allocate resources to people who need them.

Concerns over autonomy — Private control of resources, especially when it is highly concentrated, comes at the cost of the autonomy of those who don't control the resources. As a significant special case of this, private control of the means of production deprives workers of autonomy over their own work, which constitutes most of their waking lives. Concentration of property in the hands of the few leaves most people with no choice but to sell their labor, turning them into workers deprived of autonomy in the above sense.

Humanistic concerns — Markets optimize for specific outcomes and, furthermore, the desirable properties of market economies are predicated on the existence of firms which optimize for profit. In both cases these optimization procedures are premature; they do not factor in the full human condition and thus come at the cost of many things which people find desirable.

In my view, a successful socialist program must at least attempt to address all three of these concerns. Often when debating other socialists, I feel that they err by focusing on some of these concerns to the exclusion of the others.

I have listed these concerns in order of how difficult I believe them to be to solve. Concern (1) can, in fact, be solved relatively easily even within a liberal economic system, by implementing massive redistributive taxes that equalize wealth. I want to stress that this proposal is still radical by the standards of any nation on earth today, but a solution is easy to imagine. And all these problems are interrelated; solving (1), for instance, would go a long way towards remedying (2).

Concern (2) can also, I think, be solved or at least greatly mitigated under a market framework, though not a classical liberal one. Replacing private firms wholesale with worker co-ops would go along way towards addressing (2), and in combination with the above solution for (1) provides I think the easiest to conceptualize vision of what a workable socialist (socialist enough) economy might look like.

Concern (3) is by far the hardest to address—it is in essence just the alignment problem as applied to economic systems. Suffice it to say, the problem remains open.

A common theme I see in debates between certain (usually more liberal-leaning) practically-minded socialists and certain (usually more radical) utopian-minded socialists is that the practical socialist will propose some solution that aims to address (1) and (2), and the more utopian-minded socialist will respond with vague and often not particularly coherent accusations of insufficient radicalism. The practical socialist will often then reply by dismissing the utopian's criticisms as nothing but hot air, as unserious radical posturing. But I think this represents an unfortunate misunderstanding. That utopian is often pointing at something real, even if it is articulated in a way that offends more pragmatic sensibilities. Concern (3) touches on every part of human life, I think it's fair to say, and though the habit of incoherently blaming everything that goes wrong on capitalism is not that useful, it doesn't point at nothing.

The alignment problem is not solved in the general case, but there are things we can change about a system to try and make it more aligned with specific, known goals. So the job of a good socialist (or really, anyone interested in any kind of political reform) should then be to listen to the ways in which people are dissatisfied with their lives, even when articulated poorly, and try to accrue an understanding of the most recurrent and significant ways in which the present system fails to satisfy people. Then you can look for specific tweaks that will more readily accommodate the things people in fact seem to want. But crucially, this task in empirical—you cannot come upon the most desirable tweaks rationally. It's also empirical in a way that is difficult to approach with any kind of scientific rigor. You have to listen to people, and try to understand them on their own terms. You have to try to understand where people are coming from even if they phrase things in a way that you very much dislike, a way that irritates you or makes you feel threatened.

As I've said before, "listen to marginalized voices" is oft-misused, but not actually incorrect as a description of the practical obligations of anyone who wants to consider themself a leftist.

#society

[2goldensnitches]

Genuine question, what is the difference between a american liberal/neo-liberal and a american "leftist". Like, what do the terms mean to you, personally

American “leftists” are easy: out of touch, refuse to acknowledge their privileges (lmao), “politics” based on vibes and contrarianism that segues into outright malice, worship at the altar of theory with no real thought put into historical application or material reality.

American Neoliberals are much harder to define and a big part of the difficulty comes from how rhetoric poisoned the term has become, and because even so-called proponents don’t quite know how to define it either. You’ve got the neolibs who call themselves that based purely on it being a supposed antithesis to communism (which is imho a useless definition and useless vibes based politics as well), who usually turn out to be crazy red-blooded maga ghouls; then you’ve got the people who are confused between it and social liberalism, and then you’ve got the scholars and the economists, and even they can’t quite agree on whether “pure keynesian doctrine” or hayek or friedman should be the leading school of neoliberal thought.

If my dad had gotten his way and shuttled me off to economics school at CIDE or ITAM i would have been able to give you a more detailed answer, sorry

#asks

[awakenedsalamander]

would you be willing to speak moron the Technocracy? you have very interesting takes on it and I would like to know more

Happily!

So to me the Technocracy (in its 20th and 21 century incarnations, anyway, the early Technocracy/Order of Reason is different in some significant respects) represents a view of the world that is divorced from anything other than data and hard facts. This viewpoint is not exclusive to scientism, the paradigm I discussed in my recent post on the Technocracy, and is in fact an arguable core of pragmatism itself— there are times when it is essential to put aside ideals, emotions, and speculation and work only with what you can tangibly interact with. Sometimes, you have to put aside how the world should or could be, and work only with what it provably, unquestionably is.

But if you’ve ever discussed politics with someone who keeps insisting “well, that’s just how the world is,” rather than engaging with new ways of thinking or unconventional ideals, you’ll probably have realized that this way of looking at things can be profoundly limiting.

(Incidentally, this is why I think there’s the tendency to align most Technocrats with Stasis/The Weaver— the paradigm of technology itself can be Dynamic, Entropic, and Questing in a lot of cases, but the way the Technocracy uses it is broadly static, I think.)

Let’s use an example here, and talk about climate change. There’s a tendency to view the people most effectively driving climate change— the executives who profit off it, the lobbyists and politicians who sustain it, the demagogues and conspiracists who argue against its reality— as malevolent. They know what they’re doing, they know how it hurts the world and the people who inhabit, and they’re fine with it. Maybe some of them even enjoy it. This is basically the tack Werewolf: The Apocalypse takes with Pentex, for instance.

And that view is, to a larger extent than I think is remotely comfortable, true. Reckoning with the truth in that is part of what makes Werewolf fun, and it’s also one of the drivers on Mage’s own Nephandi.

But, I think it’s also true that most of the people responsible for ecological collapse don’t see themselves as doing anything wrong, and are instead able to just elide the details of the morality and ramifications of their industry/system/ambition and focus purely on the benefit. As said earlier, that is sometimes necessary— in an immediate crisis it can even be a godsend— but in the long-term and on a wider scale it can be quite damaging.

See, if you focus only on quantifiable data, there’s a way to look at climate change as kind of a trade-off you make for important numbers to go up. Industrialization is, economically speaking, incredibly beneficial, the advancement of technology improves not only wealth, but also security, communication, and even quality of life, and from the point of view of certain fields (at least as they currently exist) like agriculture, commercial shipping, energy production, and so on, the policies that really combat the bad effects of climate change would be disastrous! Can’t we afford a few more degrees Celsius for all that?

And if you want to get really dark, there’s the fact that wealthy countries and their oligarchs are going to be the least affected by natural disasters, resource conflicts, and pandemics. It won’t be easy, sure, but nothing ever is, and from a realpolitik standpoint, if other nations (which are potential threats after all) suffer those bad effects more than you do, then maybe weathering the storm is tactically viable…

So all in all, don’t pump the brakes, and certainly don’t reinvent the wheel here! We’ve got a good thing going, and it could be chaos to stop it! Hell, with all the benefits we’re getting, we might even invent some gadget or technique to solve the worst of it.

But of course, this misses so much. In the same way that topics I wanted to touch on, like algorithmic culture and automation, may have valuable benefits from certain points of view, you have to look at the whole picture. With climate change, you already see mass extinctions, and no amount of restorative cloning is going to reverse the ecological damage there. We’re going to see an increase in displacement and homelessness by disasters and the need for people to relocate from dangerous areas, which will ruin lives, if not end them. To say nothing of the inhumanity of allowing suffering on this scale when something can be done about it, right now!

But how do you prove that “ecological damage,” “ruined lives,” and “inhumanity” are worse than the loss of trillions+ of dollars which we’d have to spend to avoid them? It’s apples to oranges— no, it’s the abstract to the concrete. If someone only wants to think about the numbers, then there’s at least a debate. There’s cost benefit analysis and logistic comparison— but not action.

Now, I am simplifying significantly here. There are many reasons that climate change and other societal crises aren’t addressed beyond scientism, or political inertia, or even just greed and selfishness. To name a few, we also struggle against ignorance, against fear, against exhaustion, against bigotry, against the unknown. It’s not so simple. One of the problems with the worldview I’m attacking is its tendency to simplify things by smoothing over the issues, so I don’t want to do that.

But I do think that the biggest issues in our society can’t be tackled with cold math and a focus on what nets the best cost-to-benefit ratio. I think in a lot of cases, that kind of thinking— which, to bring it back to the point, is the kind of thinking the Technocracy embodies— is what got us these issues in the first place.

God, was this too serious for a World of Darkness discussion?

Anyway, thanks for the question! I appreciate the chance to analyze the topic.

#mage the ascension #wod #world of darkness #essay? #ramblings #also #I know it was a typo #but ‘would you be willing to speak moron’ is a hilarious phrase #and I thank you for it #the technocratic union #technocracy

[rederiswrites]

Ok, I swear, this one's for the people who DON'T follow K-pop, and only know BTS as some Korean boyband that uses a lot of autotune. Just to highlight some things I'm currently enjoying the hell out of from their careers. Lemme start with some context.

So in Korea, Idol is a job above and beyond just performing onstage. You are meant to be a product. An object for adoration, specifically trained and cultivated to create the sort of parasocial relationship that sells out shows and merchandise. It is fucking rigorous. It usually involves substantial economic hardship unless and until you're one of the handful of groups that makes it big. It's also blatantly predatory, and idols are chosen when they're literally kids, at most 18 usually.

Your contract with the label frequently specifies that you're not allowed to swear, smoke, date, or generally do anything not squeaky clean anywhere you might be seen, which, since they've got cameras shoved up your ass and bolted to your bed, is everywhere. Merely touching a person of the opposite sex can set off a whole scandal and get you (or the poor unfortunate you breathed near) a huge pile of hate. They're also perfectly aware that they're "just" idols, just boybands or girl bands, to a lot of people, and not considered serious musicians, even in their own country.

Idols also have a pretty short shelf-life. Korean beauty standards are, as far as I can tell, even more youth-obsessed than in the US. The oldest female artists are like, 34. There's like, one woman over 30 for every twenty under 20. Men's careers often founder on their mandated military service, which is roughly two years (depending on branch). They've got to serve that by the time they're 30.

BTS got extensions, because they're a statistically significant percent of the entire South Korean GDP. But now the elder members have got to do their service, no way around it. Kim Seokjin (Jin) went in a couple months ago, Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) a few days ago. So the group is on hiatus, there's no helping it.

That was the background. What happens now is the fun part.

The Korean government played politics, bouncing back and forth on "should idols big enough get exemptions" for years, specifically namedropping and using BTS as a political toy. BTS themselves didn't comment on any of it, and played their cards very close to their chest and said nothing about their military service. Then they did a huge concert in Busan, Korea, where they resurrected an old rap cipher which involves chanting "Fuck you I don't care, you can't control my shit", performed it with such fire that it looked like they were legit about to start a riot, and then the next week announced that they were going on hiatus and Jin was entering the military.

Since then, let's see: nearly every member has at least posted a shirtless photo, and the three youngest members have done entire photoshoots (and in one case a music video) shirtless. Jimin released a single titled "Set Me Free"--not terribly subtle--and a photoshoot he made a point of saying he'd designed from the ground up, which is SOAKED in queer symbology. I have to emphasize that these choices are all MUCH more significant than they would be in the US. Min Yoongi put an entire album full of rage and violent imagery and painful intimacy and swearing, and smoked and shot people and performed self-harm in his music videos. J Hope released an album full of dark driving rhythms utterly unlike his previous work, and broke sales records as a solo star at Lollapalooza, even while still singing and rapping primarily in Korean.

Some of the members are quieter, clearly a bit unmoored without the thing that has shaped and dictated their entire adult lives, but they're also shrugging off the idol image with deep relief. Namjoon is philosophizing and being extremely frank about mental struggles and crying on camera. Jungkook is having regular almost uncomfortably intimate lives, where he just sings along with the music or folds his laundry or even just smiles sleepily at the camera for a while. Who the hell knows what Taehyung does. Exactly as he pleases, probably, but definitely while wearing thousands of dollars of fashion and looking like the prince of the dark sidhe.

I was looking forward to this. Not to the military service, of course. As a non-Korean, I'm well aware that it's none of my damn business, but of course I don't like it. But I was looking forward to these guys slipping the leash and having lives and careers beyond the chains of idolhood. And it's been pretty awesome so far.

#BTS #K pop

[phoenixyfriend]

Worldbuilding: The ASPIRE Method (Introduction)

Read here

Now available to all patrons!

I will likely make a version of this available in full on tumblr for free at some point. However, as this is currently my only source of income, I would like to keep it limited to just patrons. If you are a patron, please do not share to large groups of people; encourage them to subscribe (even just a dollar a month!) instead.

Preview:

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

Introduction

So you’ve figured out your main character. You’ve designed an alien species and planet, or you’ve reinvented the vampire, or you’ve just set up your latest fantasy world. Maybe your characters are purely human. You’ve got a few cities named, a few maps, and a basic idea of how you want society to work… mostly.

It’s time to start building your world.

--

There are many ways to approach worldbuilding, especially when you dabble in both original fiction and derivative.

One of my preferred approaches is what I refer to as the ASPIRE method. It is derived from the PERSIA method of historical analysis, a tool taught in the International Baccalaureate and American AP courses.

A – Arts S – Social P – Political I – Intellectual R – Religion E – Economic

I’ll be going through these in order and providing both historical and fictional examples of how they apply.

A key part of this tool is to remember that any aspect of a society is influenced by any or all of the others. Any aspect you want to analyze will be through multiple lenses, and the process of building your world will be influenced by all of these.

Not every story needs to have incredibly complex worldbuilding, but the more complex you want it to be, the more use you will get out of this tool. It is somewhat biased towards a Western perspective, as I grew up in the United States.

The Power of the ASPIRE Method

Why should you use this format to develop your fictional setting?

I hesitate to describe any approach to a creative act as ‘should.’ What I do believe is that this is a process worth attempting, to see if it is one that helps you understand your own setting, and finding the possible loopholes that your readers may find distracting.

This is a process that is primarily structured to help you break down what makes for a society, and build it up on the basis of what makes for a society or culture in a real world. The bones are built on an analysis method for historical studies, and so this creative method works heavily through analysis and formalization. You very likely are already thinking of some of these things—you may have decided that this is a monarchy, in a temperate climate, following a polytheistic religion—but this process helps you refine what you’ve already decided on, and then build out the logical consequences or expansions of those decisions.

What this allows you to do is take your vague thoughts or bare bones, and build on them until you have something that, even if you do not include it in your narrative, will hold up if you do touch on one of them, or will let you hide those little easter eggs that an eagle-eyed reader will delight in. Who doesn’t enjoy recognizing that an author did research on a subject close to the reader’s heart, even if it’s just noticing that two seemingly unrelated details mean a third, cohesive thing that suggests a wider world of thought in the background?

Why is the method based on these six topics?

As mentioned, this is a reformatting of a tool that I learned as a student in high school. There are things that are invariable facts in your story, like how your main species reproduces, or what your geography and basic weather are, but the things we build on those basics are all based on the ways that people interact with one another, and that is a different beast.

I believe that a world that has thought put into the ways its people function socially will feel more ‘real’ than one that has an extensive and complex rulebook for the laws of magic or the geological history. This will vary by the genre and the consumer, because a geologist playing a tabletop game with complex magic rules will likely prefer the latter, but for someone that is consuming a narrative, character interaction is a central part of the draw.

Society is just the wider net of interaction.

The nature of a society, and thus of the world you build, is in how people relate to one another and to the world around them. These things are either greatly formalized, like politics or academia, or vague and often undefinable, like arts and social dynamics. Others are somewhere in between, like economics and religion.

Most elements of society fall into more than one of these fields. Something like fashion or textbook design will be impacted by all six in obvious ways. Other things, like banking interest rates or agricultural trade, are obviously in one field, with less obvious ties to the others.

We as a society are rarely, if ever, without connection to one another.

We communicate thoughts and feelings in words and pictures.

We find ways to be better than each other, just as often as we find ways to better each other.

We set rules and regulations for our safety, and find people who do that as a job so the rest of us can focus on making the things we need to survive.

We learn, and invent, and teach.

We find things we can’t explain, in our minds and in our worlds, and come together to tell stories of something bigger than what we can see.

We take what we have, turn it into something new, hoard and share and trade, and tell ourselves that innovation is built on the backs of the search for more capital.

(You may want to put a pin in that one.)

This is all a very flowery way to say that humans are a communal species, and the ways in which we build and then define that community mean something.

(Continue on Patreon)

#creative writing #world building #writing guides #tutorials #worldbuilding #Phoenix Patreon #Patreon #Phoenix Files #original work

[xxxdragonfucker69xxx]

I'M BEHIND SCHEDULE

HOUR IN BLACK, PART THREE : THE UNDERWORLD

im skimming really fast because CHARMS have already dropped and i need to get there

!! the outline: lethe and the sea of shadows, but now islands jut out from it which are afterlives. some afterlives are ritual afterlives formed by funerary ceremony and ancestor worship, some are primeval afterlives about the manner of your death. big change! it's full of ghosts, who you mostly know. ghosts aren't their full living selves, death takes a lot from them and theyre defined by their passions and grow weirder after death,

soulsteel.....

phantom beasts! vesper-wolves and pyre-maggots.... cool

prehuman ghosts! omg even dragon king ghosts.... yes yes yes

the history of the underworld is so incredible. im usually sort of tepid on these sections, even though i like the idea of having a history, but for whatever reason this one is soooo cool to me

stygian archipelago!!!

"Bereft of stable stars or predictable trade winds, ghostly sailors develop other means of charting  their course, whether following in the wake of phantom leviathans, piloting their ships under the  auspice of oracular trances, or reconciling the movements of the Calendar of Setesh with local  geomancy" BANGIN!!!!

the old laws are so fascinating to e... the little hints have me a little bit obsessed. man imagine playing stories like the fallen london stories about correspondence and discordance but to repair the old laws... mmm

ugh i looove the different aterlives so much

whispers... and the labyrinth

"Specters in the thrall of Thundering Dissolution join their minds  with his in the Symphony of Omnipresence, a psychic whirlpool that shears away the borders  between their consciousnesses" oh y god i have to use this shit somehow

stygia!!! hot damn... extreme politics at the heart of the underworld

i have a soft spot for the calendar of setesh ever since i made The Wheel And Weight of Grinding Time Crushes All Beneath Its Passage, an abyssal obsessed with hijacking the calendar via pirate radio to install a new constellation

"Each district’s boundaries are reinforced on the first day of each year with a ceremonial  procession. The regent must touch each of the district’s ancient boundary-stones, and shifting  those stones as part of the rite allows one district to expand at another’s expense. Whoever  completes the procession is the regent; regents surround themselves with bodyguards to prevent  coups during that vulnerable time. " OH my fucking god. what a heist movie. holy shit

GFKDNGDSG GENTRIFIED BY THE SILVER PRINCE

theres a whole subsection for the sewers. this is worldbuilding.

culture... architecture... a dole of black bread and white cheese...

"Weeds signify  persistence and thriving in the Underworld; a dandelion represents passage into Lethe. Fish  symbolize ghosts, while a fishhook means either love or money, depending on who you ask. And  blood — or, indeed, anything crimson — holds many meanings depending on context, including  power, food, artistic fervor, endings, new beginnings, and Creation itself." why was this made specifically to caer to me

"A few places  specialize in stoking negative emotions, luring perverse customers with discordant choirs,  noisome odors, or the like. Several wineshops on Seawall offer bone-dry hardtack and skunked  beer; the Kudzu Bell’s boarding house specializes in stale bread, mildewed cheese, and  vegetables boiled into a sulfurous mass." oh my god

"Some ghosts hoard coins whose psychic residue resonates with their own feelings; money  changers sort obols by emotion for arbitrage." to me this is what exalted is about. this is what no other game has. lets take a wacky fantasy concept and do irl economics about it

:000 mausoleums! places where prayer distills down and bathes ghosts... sort of like a pseudo manse?

....huh! people heard of stygia as a heaven, expected to go there as a ritual afterlife, and now there are spots in stygia for them

collegia! the ultimate in dark academia. ghosts who keep ancient traditions and skills, and are doing quite a lot of politics about it

and the mansions, which are pimeval afterlives of sudden death. these and the collegia alone give stygia such incredible depth already

"In the Underworld’s first days, the Resplendent Mansion stood  foremost among its peers, comprised of a host of Exalted and other  heroic ghosts who’d died in battle against the world’s makers. But  new members slowed to a trickle, then stopped entirely before the  First Age’s end. Today, their ancient seat atop Shining Hill stands all  but empty, inhabited by a few reclusive timeworn ghosts and a host  of guardian spirits and automata." .... so now that primordials and neverborn are out in the world beefing again someone might suddenly take up that seat huh

oh wow i love the transcendent course as a cult. it feels so, ironically, alive. and the DUAL MONARCHS

"The Incarnadine Path was Stygia’s native religion before the Dual Monarchs. Its creed reveres  the River of Blood as the literal and metaphorical lifeblood of Creation and Underworld alike.  Ghosts of the Mansions find a sense of superiority in their ancient ties to the faith, while the  collegia uphold it in opposition to the Transcendent Course. Its stronghold is the rust-red steeple  of the Cruor, where Incarnadine blood-priests sacrifice animals brought at great difficulty from  the living world to anoint the faithful in gore. Since Stygia’s founding, the Cruor’s priests have  been a law unto themselves, offering sanctuary to fugitives; the Signatories show little respect  for these traditions, but citywide rioting the last time the Legion Sanguinary violated Cruor  sanctuary makes them cautious." MORE CULTS. MORE

and now the stygian pact, with thirteen signatories, wich do not correspond to al deathlords! which i thought was fun. skull pirate aikeret! fathom hermit puppet for the underwater eemi!!! ukhala enlightened-in-blood... i am free on thursday... white thyrsus the youth pastor for a cult to a ghost-eating forest, sesim ruseka the bird bitch. god frankly any of these guys would be fun deathlords as well

WOW namtar is fun

ok im gonna cut myself off before dari of the mists... charms one day i will reach you...

#hour in black

[hello-nichya-here]

not a shipping ask but more a country-based,

i applied for exchange and decided to stay in Europe (for now, purposefully vague for privacy) and there was an option to go to Brazil which some people choose.

i remember you saying in one separate ask that Brazil is truly a country that you must prepare for properly before going there and i am curious about that? if you have already replied please just link me xoxo

Here's the things you absolutely gotta know before moving to Brazil:

1 - Unless you're a literal refugee of war or of a country that is absolutely economically destroyed or you are OBSCENELY rich, you don't actually want to do that. Go live literally anywhere else.

Here's the things you absolutely gotta know before you visit Brazil.

1 - The heat WILL get very close to killing you, or at the very least make you wish you were dead. Yes, even during winter. People end up in the hospital because of it all the time. Unless a brazilian specifically told you "Bring warm clothes when going to this place at this time of the year" assume you'll forget what cold weather even is, and even then you should still bring summer clothes just in case.

2 - Trying to get a tan is suicide. Focus on protecting yourself from the sun, especially at the beach. Again, people end up at the hospital for that stuff all time - severe burns, fever, and anything that touches your skin WILL hurt like a bitch.

3 - Mosquitos. Mosquitos everywhere. Lots of them transmiting diseases that will make all your bones hurt and your guts bleed. Depending on what part of the country you're visiting you might even have to get a ton of vaccines before being allowed there.

4 - If you see literally any animal species you're not familiar with, avoid it. Depending on the region of the country, stay the fuck away from any spider, even a tiny one that looks harmless. If you're going into a forest region, especially the amazon, assume everything there can and will kill you.

5 - If you visit the amazon or the pantanal, do not go on your own. You're not Indiana Jones. You WILL get lost and die. Avoid any and all shady tourist guides, even if you can't really explain why you think they're shady, unless you want to get kidnapped. Do NOT get into any river without double-checking with someone familiar with the region if that particular one is free of any fish that can kill you AND isn't guaranteed to sweep you away until you drown.

6 - Do not walk around wearing anything expensive or talking/texting/doing anything on your phone, and if you have a bag, purse or backpack, keep it very close to you at all times. If someone is trying to rob you, shut up and give them all they're asking for. This tip is extra important if you're going to Rio de Janeiro.

7 - If you want to go to a non-pacified favela: Don't.

8 - If you want to voice your opinion about Brazil's politics to a brazilian you just met: Don't.

9 - If you want to go out at night by yourself: DON'T.

10 - If you go to Rio, trying asking a brazilian stuff like "How much does a taxi from the airport to the hotel usually cost?" or keep an eye on the GPS if you're taking an uber to make sure the driver isn't deliberately taking a longer path. Cariocas are infamous for finding ways of taking a bit of extra money from gringos that don't know any better.

11 - EVERYTHING IS EXPENSIVE AS FUCK. Yes, even if your country's money is worth a million times more than Brazil's money.

12 - If you're going to a beach, specially in the northeast of the country, and there's no one else around, do NOT go in the water unless you want to be eaten by a shark.

13 - If you're not basically a proffesional at surfing and want to go practice in the beaches that have the biggest waves: Don't. If you want to try your luck on amazonian waters: DON'T.

14 - If you're going to São Paulo, prepare to be stuck in traffic for a long, long, long, LONG time.

15 - If you want/need to go to the cops for literally any reason, especially in places like Rio, talk to a brazilian first (friend, host, lady at the hotel check in) and tell them what the problem is. A lot of the police forces here can be useless at best and VERY hostile towards any living at worst, so going to a local first so they can either go to the police station with you or solve your problem without getting the cops involved at all is often the safest choice.

16 - If you've ever been to Argentina before, say you like Brazil more even if it's a lie.

17 - If you went to São Paulo after going to Rio, say to everyone there that you like São Paulo more. If you went to Rio after having already been to São Paulo, say to everyone there you like Rio more.

18 - Brazilians WILL try to trick you into saying obscene stuff while trying to teach you a few words in portuguese. Double-check everything you were taught before saying it to a stranger.

#asks #brazil #brasil

[frostiifae]

So, I dunno, thoughts about Witch from Mercury (including spoilers under readmore, so, y'know), because it seems like it's a cool thing to do, i guess. Maybe made more or less interesting because this is the first Gundam series I've actually paid full attention to.

In short, it's good! It's very good. But, I dunno, can't give it top marks as an alltime favorite. There are lots of superficial problems that probably mattered much more to me than they would to the average viewer, and like, you could argue that they just aren't even problems, I guess.

The biggest thing I can criticize without spoiling much of anything is that it dangles a lot over your head and then waits a long time to resolve almost any of it. It's tough for people who get anxiety, like me : ). No, that's not why I'm writing this post. This isn't a coping mechanism. Fuck off.

To reiterate, though, on the whole: good. Good show. Good stuff. Don't click "keep reading" unless you want to read a fucking novel, OK?

I have to say I think the strongest character of the show bar none is Prospera, but at the same time, she showcases the recurring problems I have with the show: firstly, that they spend way too long making Prospera sound sinister without you understanding at all why, and secondly, that it's a real shame we didn't get to learn more about her feelings and why (and how?) she'd gone to all of this trouble. I understand her goal in the abstract is to "create a world where Eri can exist", but it's not clear how exactly she intends to do that, and maybe it's just me, but those practical details can be really important in selling me on an idea.

Even so, I adore her. I adore the way she possesses so much influence over the plot despite having very little economic or political power herself - she just understands people, she understands what's at stake, and she understands how to manipulate things to get what she wants. I was so delighted to learn about her true motivation, imagine a girl kicking her feet and squealing as Prospera taunts Miorine about hearing the voices of her past that are urging her to seek vengeance. I wish she could have done more. I also wish she looked better. That helmet fucking sucked, dudes. C'mon.

I really want to say kind things about Suletta and Miorine, too - they had lovely character arcs in both seasons, Miorine in particular was a joy to have on screen at all times - but, ultimately, I also found them both very frustrating. The most engaging members of the cast by and large were side characters, my personal favorites being Chuchu, Nika, and Norea. (I guess Guel turned out pretty okay too.) It was a joy watching Norea go off the fucking deep end, even if her portrayal was a little shallow until it was a smidge too late; her final fight was beautiful and touching, especially the part where she went on a massive rampage and killed a lot of innocent people. I love me a hot girl who's a violent mass murderer.

Jokes aside; I found both of the main characters frustrating, but for different reasons. Suletta was the less frustrating of the two. Throughout season 1 I kept cringing at her total powerlessness within the narrative, which I know is kind of the point, but that doesn't mean I have to like it; at least in season 2 she develops a thin veneer of agency, and more to the point, the writers demonstrate that her lack of actual agency is in fact horrifying and not some kind of endearing country-bumpkin quirk, but it feels like it takes a long time before she can finally actually engage in the world she lives in.

To be clear, I don't just mean "she can decide for herself what she wants to do", that's her final arc, I know, I get it; more what I mean is, it feels like Suletta exists in a totally different show, an entirely different setting, for 75% of the show's runtime. She's not just clueless about all of the business politics and Earth vs Space racism; she's immune to it, it simply doesn't affect her, even when it badly hurts people she cares about, because she's unable to comprehend it, and can abstract away any threat behind Aerial's cockpit and duel herself to safety without ever understanding what was even at stake.

It's like Ender's Game but Ender himself never actually participates in any of the school politics, he just kinda is a prodigy in his own corner while the real story happens around him. If you're going to create a character who is powerless in the narrative, don't then shield her in the cockpit of a Gundam for the entire show, you know? If you're going to threaten me with her inability to understand what is going on, make good on that threat!! It just felt wasteful. She spent 16 episodes being a joke that we keep hoping will make Miorine smile, 2 episodes being depressed, and then the last 6 episodes being an actual character, and the tragedy is that I really liked that character and wish she'd been around for longer.

Miorine was much more fun, but also, much more frustrating. I wasn't especially into her character early in season 1, but she was at least a bitch in a fun (and highly sympathetic) way, and unlike Suletta she grew into a real character very fast, and got to spend the whole show actually having a meaningful impact on events around her. It was great! I have a few very small gripes about things she does - like the way she chooses to cut Suletta loose. I understand she's doing it for Suletta's safety, and I understand she's doing it because she believes Suletta won't be able to comprehend that reasoning - after all, their whole arc in season 1 was about depending on each other, and Miorine is being pressured into going back on her promise.

On the one hand, though, I feel like it was weird of her not even to try. At least try to explain to Suletta, listen, things are getting worse, you are going to get hurt, I don't want that, I need you to stop being Holder for your sake. You could even twist the knife further by having Suletta react with heartbreak but willingly agree when Prospera doubles down and tells her to do as Miorine says - imagine how betrayed and disgusted with herself Miorine would feel! For them to leave her completely in the dark, for her to fully betray Suletta with no warning and no attempted justification at all - and especially for Suletta to not question that - it just felt weird.

On the other hand, though, I'm really shocked and disappointed that Miorine didn't express more guilt over that decision. Given that her arc in season 1 revolves around recognizing that relying on Suletta is what makes Suletta happy, and she cares enough about Suletta to give her that kind of trust, you can't tell me that - even if she really believes it's necessary - she can just turn around and betray Suletta like she does and feel no remorse over it.

Overall this is a larger problem I have with Miorine; we don't get enough time with her feelings, so when everything finally collapses and she has a meltdown, it doesn't sell very well. I wanna be clear: I'll open the door myself is one of my favorite moments in the whole show, and that's why I'm sad. It could have been so much more, if we had had more time to see Miorine's heartache over what she did to her best friend, not to mention how tense and uncertain she must have been handing her full trust to Prospera, or leading a negotiation to Earth with the weight of Gundam's history resting squarely on her shoulders. I love cool, calm, reserved characters who can handle tense interpersonal conflict with a stern decisiveness. Miorine should be a slam dunk for me. But the best part about those characters is seeing behind the mask, even if only for little bits at a time, and there's just not enough.

Honestly, though, it's hard for me to hold anything against season 2 especially, because I think most of what frustrates me comes down to there not being enough time, and holy fuck, does that season go hard. I'm very ready to believe that there was all kinds of stuff cut from S2 because the sheer volume of things happening was so much. It's a shame to think that it's let down by its own density, that there was just too much happening to fit all of it into 12 episodes without a few things being left behind. There wasn't time for Miorine to introspect, there wasn't time for Miorine and Suletta to develop their relationship, there wasn't time for Prospera to get even more unhinged and weird, there wasn't time to examine how we could actually improve the world and its troubles, we just had too much to do. It's an unenviable position to be in, and I think it's fair to say the show does a great job with what it has.

Umm. Is there anything else? I could talk about the dudes. I could gush about Norea and Sophie, I guess, but I doubt I have anything particularly interesting to add there, I'm sure the takes "Norea is hot" and "I wish they could have been more toxic yuri on screen" are lukewarm at best. I could talk about Eri, I suppose, but I don't feel really strongly about her - I think she's weird, her presence as a character is very strange, the fact that she was a protagonist is weird, and just like with everything else, I think it comes down to a lack of time to be able to really get into understanding her. I can't say it's a mistake, really, so that'll just stay a mystery, and it's one I don't especially care to solve anyway. She can stay a weirdo for all I care.

Uh, I think that's kinda all? Oh, what, robot designs? Uh, Aerial over Calibarn, don't @ me. They're both sick tho.

#gundam #mobile suit gundam #witch from mercury #it's really funny how ellie couldn't wait like ONE day to reblog that srw wfm theories post. like really honey #it's okay though with full context yeah that's all pretty accurate #and like. realistically. what was spoiled even. like she said; the big space laser had to show up eventually #OH shit there was one other thing! Uhh I think it's a fucking crime everyone wants to make Suletta kinda masc coded. #Hyperfemme Suletta from the ED animation was a fucking goddess. I love her #Suletta and Miorine should both wear dresses to prom. Mio wears enough suits for work

[catofadifferentcolor]

Random Harry Potter Thoughts (1/?): Writing Implements

I'm a huge fan of documentaries, which is why I found myself wondering while watching a series on Medieval Life why Hogwarts uses quills and parchment.

There's obvious aesthetic reasons, especially if you want to write about a magical culture that is separate culturally and politically from the modern muggle world, and which seems to have had no meaningful changes since the introduction the Hogwarts Express.

And yet parchment is incredibly difficult to make. You have to prepare the untanned skins of sheep, goats, and cows in a laborious process that takes muggles days, if not weeks, for a single hide. Undoubtably magic can make that process faster, but it still leaves the question of where the magical world is getting enough animal hide to meet their daily needs. It could take a herd of up to 300 cows to produce enough parchment for a Bible - how many would be needed to produce the many books published by the Wizarding World each year, not to mention provide for the educational needs of all of the students enrolled in Hogwarts? And if these books aren't printed on parchment, why insist on its use for letters, homework, and notes? (And I would point out, The Daily Prophet appears to be printed on muggle newsprint.)

Then there are the quills. Even assuming magic makes it so each quill lasts longer than a muggle version would and doesn't require the same amount of sharpening, they're still not very good writing implements. Again, even assuming magic can reduce the need to stop and refill ink, it's a rather slower going than even a dip pen and requires specialized education to use - which naturally puts muggle-born and muggle-raised students at a disadvantage. Add on to this that most birds can only provide 10-12 good-quality quills a season and a student can be expected to lose that many in a single year... and now you're talking about massive flocks of birds as well which must be maintained to ensure the Wizarding World can write on all its parchment.

Perhaps the Malfoy family built their wealth supplying this market, and all those peacocks are just the prettiest part of the many flocks which must be needed for the day to day needs of the population.

Granted, much of this could be offloaded to the muggle sector, but who in the muggle world makes parchment on a commercial scale these days? And even if Wizards are just buying the untanned skins, there's still a massive magical industry that has to back it up - how many Hogwarts graduates are needed to fuel it? - to say nothing about the brows this will surly raise among muggle animal rights groups.

And this doesn't even touch on ink-making to supply all those quills - and all the potioneers or enchanters that must be needed to give them their magical properties.

So I think in the course of this rant I found my answer: economics. Enough Wizards must be involved in the sale, production, and maintenance of the parchment, quill, and ink industries that to change to muggle methods would disrupt a number of - potentially economically and politically powerful - livelihoods. You can couch it in tradition, dress it up in politics, and spend your days simply saying this is what we've always done, but in the end money talks.

#harry potter #hp #wizarding society #wizarding world #hogwarts #parchment #quill pen #ink #writing #rant #thoughts #writing implements #pen #handwriting #economics of the Wizarding world