#fuck macroeconomics

[hella1975]

why do lecturers always pull an uno reverse on you it'll be like 'lecture 1: define gdp 🥵🙈😍' and then lecture 2 is 'now what if we were cheeky and analysed some complex macroeconomic policy😐' like what if we did not do that sara

#breaking students in easy means jack if ur just gonna immediately roundhouse kick them into the deep end #GET THAT PHILLIPS CURVE AWAY FROM ME #i literally fucking despise my macroeconomics lecturer she's the most jarring woman ive ever met #she literally has everyone's names memorised do you know how strange that is at university #my one friend missed a SINGLE seminar (for context i havent been to a single seminar) #and she ridiculed him for it #like he walked in and she was all 'seems like SOMEONE thinks they're too good for my seminars' and then proceeded #to make him teach the topic he'd skipped to the class #luckily my mate is very annoyingly clever so he made her look stupid bc he taught it fine but the point was still there #that her intention was to embarrass him #im literally too scared to go to her seminars/lectures bc i hate being called out on in econ bc i just completely blank #so my one saving grace is that she doesnt know my name #if she ever asks im fully going to lie to her #im in misery <3 i have my final exam on wednesday and it's worth 100% of the module <3 #hella goes to uni

[mu-qingfang-stan-account]

so in tgcf to become a martial god you have to cultivate a lot and/or do really heroic stuff and then pass a heavenly tribulation, right? whats the process for becoming a literature god? is it just like. getting a really good grade on the xianxia SAT (“civil exams”)? you fill in the last bubble on the xianxia scantron and then a bunch of lightning strikes your seat and then, bam! godhood! all your college civil service application prepwork gone COMPLETELY to waste—

#tfw u share boomer memes in the heavenly communication array #i knew a guy in high school that got a literal perfect grade on i think ap macroeconomics #not just a 5. an honest-to-fuck Correct On Every Single Question #the college board wrote a letter abt it and it was mounted on the bragging wall #and anyway. thats just what i picture the literature god heavenly tribulation to be like #OR MAYBE ITS LIKE A PHD THESIS DEFENSE #a bunch of senior literature gods come down and grill you abt your research

[221b-bitch-st]

things i think about while doing 19 homework assignments in one night (finals week baby)

i wonder if my coffee will taste good with honey

will i be able to get my assignments done if i load up on nyquil right now

if i drink coffee and take nyquil will i end up like that one kid on tumblr that time traveled through the school day

i have been working for 1 hour and i have 1 thing done, at this rate ill be done at noon tomorrow

why the fuck would i know what that means?

if i dont commit arson or murder in the next nine days ill give god $100

“hi callie!! how are you? where’s my blue boy? where are all the cats? we have five fucking cats in this house and- hi blue! hello pretty boy! aw, are you saying hi to your sister? are you being nice- no, blue, NO- goddamnit, i hate these fucking cats”

my prof gave me a 51/50 on an assignment with the comment “this is fine” im getting mixed signals

so my midterm was worth 30 points and i forgot to do it. my final is worth 30 extra credit points. so hypothetically, if i take my final, it wont matter that i forgot to take my midterm.

why the fuck would i know that.

FUCK YEAH

consider the following: shutting the fuck up

i have three major assignments due in 57 minutes im going to cry

i gave up after i finished my econ work. chemistry and algebra can suck my dick.

#august whispers #incorrect quotes #could be an incorrect quote if you try #college life #i fucking hate chemistry #chemistry #macroeconomic #algebra #finals

[songtwo]

Passed all my classes lets fucking go

#fuck macroeconomics and that 1 girl #and me . i will work on my redemption arc this summer #But no worries at lastttttttttttttttttttt

[3am-cheerios]

i know im tired and stressed and hormonal but fuck these classes

#my acct teacher sucks #and apparently macroeconomics is Not one of the subjects i can do online #but there is no inperson class this sem #and idk if i can switch without fucking up my completion rate #which is how i got here in the damn first place #IM GOING TO BED #kt gets edumacated

[zenithpng]

why must i suffer i didn't sign up for this (explicitly signed up for this)

#this is about ap classes #what fucking lunatic takes four in their senior year #a thousand curses upon ap macroeconomics #i hate this class #it's actually not hard but i am thoroughly incapable of paying attention #jet's talking again

[lottiecrabie]

What about cockwarming with line cook matty

is cockwarming in the lottiecrabie brand now😭

your father announced to you a few weeks ago that he was rebranding the franchise, completely scratching the menu and starting anew. you nodded vaguely along, biting on a pink highlighter as you copied a friend’s macroeconomics notes, neck deep in finals.

you should’ve listened more. you’re back at the restaurant for the summer again, and the whole world seems to have shifted beneath your feet. the dining room is skewed, the waitresses are new, and the menu is actually fucking different.

sure, it should be easy to learn, but something childish and petulant digs its heels in your brain, refusing change as it’s already slapped you in the face. you keep forgetting what kind of soups you serve, which ingredients compose the chickpea salad or if there’s parsley in the new green sauce.

thankfully, matty graciously offered to help you memorize it.

which you thought was a line, dabbing perfume on your pulse points and putting on a black lacy underwear under your skirt, entirely forgoing the bra. imagine your surprise when you arrive and the menu is actually printed out, scattered across his kitchen table.

you opt for seduction, kissing his neck and raking your hands through his unmade curls as he reminds you of the ten new entrees. his voice grows rough, but he’s undeterred by your efforts, even when you bite at his earlobe, vaguely humming, metal earring tasting bloody in your mouth.

annoyed, you double down, sitting on his knee and rubbing on his thigh, sighing every time the material of his jeans grazes your clit. still, matty ignores you, going on and on about gluten-free options. you grind quicker in answer, pleasure twisting around your belly, the very beginnings of relief peeking their noses through.

when you let a moan slip out, matty finally snaps. he lets out a groan of annoyance, frowning, unbuckling his belt in jerky moves. thrill climbs up your head. you bite your lip, trying to contain your smile in front of this very grumpy man.

‘you want my fucking dick so bad? there you go. sit on it.’

matty sneaks under your skirt, tossing your underwear aside, lowering you over his hard cock. you gasp, rolling your eyes back in your skull, giggling with striking euphoria. it’s instantaneous relief; it’s shortlived relief.

although you try to raise your hips up, matty presses a hand over one of them and locks you in place. cunt fluttering around him, you’re desperate to start moving already, but he’s unflappable.

‘now where were we?’ you cock your head, frowning at him, working brain swirling down your spine with each second he spends buried so thoroughly inside of you. matty nods. ‘ah, yes. vegan options.’ he tsks, ‘that’s bullshit to me, if you’re asking. a life without meat isn’t worth living.’ he smirks to you, snapping his hips into you once. pleasure immediately blooms in your belly, making you moan pathetically quickly. ‘bet you agree,’ matty continues, smug.

you think it’s it, now. that he’ll start moving. but he looks back to the menu, going over the beans patty, muttering his disdain of it as he does so. you stare at him incredulous. ‘you’re not kidding.’

‘what?’

you give him a deadpanned look, clenching around him. ‘you’re inside of me.’

he looks down at your joined bodies, smirking to himself. ‘yeah.’

again, he says nothing else. ‘so fuck me!’

‘we’re not done yet, princess.’ matty taps your ass in encouragement. ‘i said i was gonna help you.’ your lips narrow in a displeased line. he sees it, rolling his eyes. his fingers pinch your lips. ‘what’s this pout about? you think you deserve to fuck me?’

as if to make your point quite clear, you open your mouth, sucking two of his fingers into it, swirling your tongue around them. he groans, watching in wonder. ‘god, you’re so fucking filthy.’ he slips them out, saliva strings the tips of them. he taps his fingers on your lips, coating them in spit. ‘but i need you to be good and listen. can’t have my favorite waitress falling behind.’

you scowl, but let him talk your ears off about this godforsaken menu, which is officially your worst enemy. the act of paying attention is almost torturous when he’s this hard and big inside of you, unfairly still. when he reaches for a faraway paper, his cock digs into a sinful spot of you, and the shock is tectonic. your face breaks open. you drip on him, growing impossibly wetter through each minute move. your face flushes, falling into his shoulder, quietly mewling as he explains the desserts.

matty does manage to make the lesson engaging. when he’s finally done monologuing, he asks you to recite back the menu. the first few meals are hard to recall, but you get quite involved in this memorizing act once he starts rewarding a correct answer with slow circles on your clit, growing in rapidity every time you get one more right.

he takes your shirt off, throwing it on the floor carelessly. your naked breasts, pebbled from the razing pressure building inside of you, press against his chest. every time it rubs against his shirt, a shiver runs down your spine.

your breaths fall in quick successions, panting through the meal descriptions. the quicker he rubs at you, the harder it is to remember, the further away your orgasm seems to be. your eyebrows knit together, desperately trying to recall the last ingredient of the shrimp pasta.

you clench uselessly around him, over and over, practically begging for him to just fuck you. he doesn’t budge, cooing and encouraging even as you stumble on your words. his free hand rakes through your sweaty curls, pushing them beyond your shoulder, falling down to your nipples to twist one. you cry, scrunching your face close, mind wiping with any sense of coherence.

still, matty asks you to recall the twelve dessert options, and you think you might melt on him from the effort. small rolls of your hips start absentmindedly, and matty lets you have them indulgently.

when you finally name the very last cherry, matty grins down at you proudly, pinching your clit and biting down at a nipple. the orgasm wrecks you thoroughly in an instant, already unfairly close to your fingertips. you grin loosely, head falling back as you scream his name.

‘fuck, princess, you did so good,’ matty smiles. ‘was that so hard? is it so difficult being my good girl?’ you shake your head. ‘you deserve a treat.’

matty grips you by the waist. still buried deeply into you as he pushes off the menu, dropping you on the now free table. he doesn’t waste anytime; he fucks frantically into you, quick and hard as you cry for him, gripping his hand.

and, sure, now you know the menu front and back by heart. but you can’t say a single item off of it without blushing to your roots.

you wonder if matty did it on purpose.

#i own christianity chefs and cockwarming now #the crabie starter pack #linecook!au #blurb #ask #also this is kind of spoiling linecook lore a little🤭 #smut

[triviallytrue]

my (extremely simplistic) narrative of the past 8 years or so in tech is the entire industry spent the massive amounts of free money they got in the good macroeconomic climate searching for the next [iphone/google ad service/facebook ad service/AWS] and essentially came up empty.

amazon had alexa, facebook had meta, google had... whatever the fuck it is that google has, idk i can't keep track of all the shit they start and then kill, uber and lyft had self driving cars, innumerable startups had a billion other products, and none of these ideas really panned out. some of it was good enough to stay in business, but a lot of it was just setting money on fire.

but now everyone's running out of money to set on fire. the fundamentals are still there, all of [iphone/google ad service/facebook ad service/AWS] are still around and still insanely profitable, it's not like the industry is going to die or something. but i think people are sobering up a bit to the idea that the low-hanging fruit has been picked, which is kind of a funny position for an industry that likes to think of itself as the forefront of global innovation to be in.

the remaining unanswered question is mostly whether or not this LLM stuff pans out, and if so, to what degree

[veroniquesboutique]

Kinktober Day 16 - Double Penetration/Cuckholding

For Kinktober day 16!

Professor!Nanami Kento x Boyfriend!Satoru Gojo x AFAB!Reader

Content warnings: AFAB!reader, female reader, threesome MFM, double penetration, anal sex f-receiving, established relationship, cuckholdry, professor/student, implied age gap, fingering, unprotected creampie, subbiest Satoru ever made, cocky/mean Nanami Kento, pet names "pretty boy, doll, love, baby"

18+ Minors DNI!

More under the cut

Every time your boyfriend, Satoru Gojo, talked about the professor of your shared Intro to Macroeconomics class, he always started it the same way.

“I’m not gay, but Kento’s built like a fucking brick wall.”

“I’m not gay, but Professor Nanami’s eyes are crazy pretty in the sunlight.”

“I’m not gay, but did you see the way Nanami’s arm flexed in that shirt today? I felt my pussy throb, and I don’t even know what that means.”

You squinted your eyes at that statement, looking up from the textbook you were staring at laying open in front of you to where Gojo was slacking off on your bed.

“You know you can just compliment him, right? Like, you can just say he’s attractive.” You reached your hand up to ruffle his hair as he hung his head off the edge of the bed to look at you with his big, blue eyes. He gave you a small smirk and clicked his tongue at you.

“I don’t want you to be threatened.”

“Threatened!” You scoffed at him. “That would require him to want you,” you turned your attention back to your economics homework as it was his turn to scoff at you.

Conversations like that happen on and off, but there’s something about Professor Kento that Satoru just can’t shake; he’s genuinely never been like that before. You can’t say you blame him, though. That man is an absolute beast. He knows how to dress, how to bend and flex his large, muscular frame in the most flattering way, how to drop his voice and murmur when teaching you one-on-one, how to make a small gasp catch in your throat when he leans around you to collect your papers, point to the right part of the textbook, correct your work as you practice in class. It has made your heart stop before, and you can tell by the blush that covers Satoru’s face when the professor is too class that it stops his too.

You were particularly distracted by the way his blond hair fluttered in the soft classroom AC the one time he called you as the other students starting packing away their things.

“Would you be able to stay for a moment?” Nanami asked, and you let your eyes slide to Satoru before answering. His own marble eyes were giant at the request, and he gave you a small nod when he felt you staring. 

“Sure,” you shrugged, approaching his desk as the room emptied and the door shut close behind the last students.

“I just wanted to say that I was impressed by your last test score,” He murmured, shifting through the papers on his desk. You scoffed at the compliment, and you could feel the blush starting to burn up your neck to your face.

“That’s studying for you. I had a lot of help-”

“But you took the test yourself. That’s something,” He cut you off with a smirk, and the way it lit up his face made your heart drop into your stomach. You couldn’t push a thought out of your throat before he was holding out a paper to you. “I wanted to hand it back personally.”

You took the paper out of his hand, letting your eyes gaze over it and stopping on a suspicious 10 digit number at the top. It took an embarrassingly long amount of time for your brain to compute that it was his phone number.

When you looked back up at him, he was watching your face in an attempt to gauge your reaction.

“Just in case you ever…need anything,” He coughed out of his throat, and you realized that he might actually be uncomfortable, uncertain, embarrassed. 

“I….I have a boyfriend,” You felt the need to tell him. He smiled.

“Ah yeah,” His eyes shifted to the door then back to you. “Pretty boy. Well, if you ever get bored. Want something new. You know where to find me.”

And then you left, unsure what to do with the paper. 

Continued on AO3...

#cw sex mention #cw smut #fanfiction #kinktober 2023 #veroniquesboutique #x reader #x you #fem reader #female reader #smut #jjk anime #jjk #jjk x reader #jjk gojo #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #jjk smut #jujustsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #nanami x y/n #nanami kento #jjk nanami #nanami x reader #nanago #nanami x you #jujutsu nanami #kento nanami #nanami x gojo

[jayoonology]

𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 | 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝗮/𝗻 - yay!! First chapter out now guys!! I’m already half way done with the second chapter, my mind is running wild rn. this chapter is sort of long cause I wanted to get the basic concept out so we can move on with the story. it’s a bit confusing so if you guys have any questions lmk!! also sorry for the lack of soobin this chapter 💔💔

𝘄𝗰 - 7.3k

𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 | 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 ▷ | 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Something is wrong with you. Ever since winter term has started your memory has been a bit fuzzy. You could be in maths class and then suddenly you’re eating dinner at home. Like some weird time jump. At first, it started small, like jumping to the end of a lesson but as the days progress they’ve been getting further apart. One time you even jumped forward 2 days. To say that this is worrying will be an understatement. No matter how far you look for answers, you can’t seem to find anything; even google let you down. 

“Fuck, could it be that I’m dying?” You whisper to no one in particular. Nowadays all you think about during your conscious moments are the weird jumps in your memory. No. You shake your head. You couldn’t possibly be dying, your health otherwise has been perfectly fine. 

Could it be head trauma? No. You haven’t done anything dangerous..or maybe you have and you just can’t remember..? You groan into your hands, why is this happening to you? 

“Y/N?” You hear your teacher call out, immediately your head shoots up from your hands, almost forgetting that you were indeed in a lesson. The class muffles laughter as the teacher shakes his head. 

“Y/N, have you been paying attention?” 

“Uh..yeah I have.” 

Your economics teacher Mr Cho sighs, giving you another chance to fess up, “Have you really been paying attention?” 

You nod ‘yes’ even though it’s blatantly a lie and everyone knows it. It’s just too embarrassing to go back on what you said. Mr Cho shakes his head, “Alright, what are the main objectives of government macroeconomic policy?” 

Shit. You awkwardly stand up as your classmates make another poor attempt at stifling their child-like giggles. You shoot them a disgusted look, god what is this? primary school? 

“The..um.. the main objectives” you start, dragging your words as if it would do you any good, “The main objectives of the macroeconomic pol—"

RING RING RING 

YES! 

Saved by the bell. Before Mr Cho could even open his mouth, the students start packing away, some leaving the second the bell rang. You follow the lead, aimlessly throwing your pencils and notebook into your bag. You’ll sort it out later, you just need to get out of his classroom. 

But Lady Luck isn’t always on your side, “Y/N, can you stay back?” You hear Mr Cho say sternly. You’re screwed. You mentally facepalm, before slowly turning into dread. 

“Do I still need to answer your question?” You say sheepishly, playing with the straps of your backpack. 

“That’s not necessary.” He leans against his desk, crossing his arms before his chest, “Y/N, your final exams are approaching and you’ve been zoning out in your lessons.” 

“Mr Cho, this was just a one-time occurrence.” 

“I’ve spoken to your other teachers, you’ve been zoning out in your other lessons too.” He replies quickly, “Is there anything bothering you?” 

Yes. 

“No, nothing... I guess I’m just stressed about senior year.” He nods sympathetically. You briefly debate on whether you should tell Mr Cho about your memory gaps. But it’s fruitless, he’ll probably think you’re crazy. 

“I understand, but please—“ 

Click 

“Huh?” It happened again. You’ve jumped, secretly thankful that you didn’t have to hear Mr Cho’s speech about responsibility and school/life balance. 

You’re greeted with the soft early spring breeze. Sitting outside amid a blooming spring day surrounded by cherry blossoms is an enchanting experience, you’ve always thought so. You feel the gentle breeze blow past you, carrying the petals through the air. The breeze carries the sweet fragrance of the flowers and rustles their delicate petals, and the soft pink and white hues of the cherry blossom trees create a serene and peaceful ambience. The rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds add to the tranquillity of the moment. Maybe you could enjoy yourself in a different world. Right now all you can think about is your sanity. Are you truly losing it? From a distance, you spot your friend and classmate Beomgyu with his partner Cat.

“GYU!” You shout across the garden, catching their attention, you give them a small wave as you walk across. 

“Hey Y/N!” He greets you simply, offering you some of the crisps he was munching on. 

“Gyu what day is it?” 

“Uh.” He pauses, checking his smartwatch for the date, “3rd March, 12:47 PM” 

‘Okay good, so it’s still the same day...I just jumped a couple of hours.' you pull out your diary. You’ve been keeping note of how often you jump and how long the jump is. 

“Are you coming to the cafeteria with us?” Cat asks, you nod your head ‘yes’ following them inside with idle chatter. 

The cafeteria as usual was filled to the brim, you’d be lucky to find a seat here, especially during the cold spring afternoons. You pick up a random sandwich and some cookies, following your two friends. I guess a perk of going to an elite school is that the food lives up to the price. 

“Guys!” You hear a familiar voice call out. Huh Yunjin, your best friend since forever. You can’t even remember a time without her existing. One thing about Yunjin is that she has no shame, and you love that about her. She’s pretty easy to spot in the crowd, after all, she held an entire open table for you guys, yelling at whoever tried to sit on it. Happily, you walk towards the table, taking the seat in front of her, your other friends following suit. It doesn’t take long for the table to erupt with conversations. 

You couldn’t help but notice the empty seat next to you, “Yunjin.” You call out, “Where’s Kai?” 

“Kai’s over there with Kang Taehyun.” She says in between chewing, pointing to a table at the back of the cafeteria. 

You turn to find your best friend and Taehyun engaging in some pretty deep conversation, deep enough that Kai to still sits there instead of coming to eat lunch with you guys. 

“They’ve got some music project,” Beomgyu mentions, making you break your gaze from their table. 

You didn’t know much about Kang Taehyun. Sure, you’ve been in the same school since nursery but you’ve never really talked to him. He’s quiet in class and sort of just fades away from social situations. You try to think of the last time you talked to Taehyun. Was it during your primary school graduation? Was it last week when you asked to borrow a pencil? 

“What kind of music project?” Haechan asks, sipping on his orange juice. Beomgyu shrugs, “I’m not sure really.” 

“ANYWAYS-“ Sakura breaks the small silence that enveloped the table, “So then I was basically 1v1 him and I used the-"

Your eyes keep flickering to Kai and Taehyun, and you aren’t sure why. Seeing them talk is arising some kind of emotion in you, you can’t really place what it is. 

Just as you were internally debating to get up to go talk to them the bell rings, eliciting a groan from the table. 

“See you guys after lesson.” Your friends say to each other, picking their lunch trays to dispose of. You hastily grab your bag, walking towards Kai, who’s still talking to Taehyun like nothing happened. 

“Hey, Hyuka!” You greet your friend, breaking the conversation. Your eyes flicker to Taehyun, “Hey Taehyun.” He offers you a tight-lipped smile. 

“You ready to go to lesson?” You ask Kai, who stares at you bewildered, “Is lunch already over?” You nod. 

“Aw man, I didn’t get to even eat anything.” He groans, patting his stomach. Before you could say anything, Taehyun pulls out an energy bar from his bag, handing it to Kai. Excitedly the brunette thanked Taehyun, devouring the energy bar. 

“Taehyun, you’re in our biology class aren’t you?” You aren’t really sure why you asked, you know he’s in your class. Maybe because it’s too awkward to just hover over them in silence. He nods. 

“You should come sit with us Taehyun!” Kai bubbled, grabbing the penguin bag that you got him for his 18th birthday. Your eyes widen involuntarily, surprised at your friend’s suggestion. 

“No thanks, I wouldn’t want to be a bother,” Taehyun says, looking right at you. Shit. That was rude of you. You awkwardly look down at your feet, feeling incredibly called out. Thankfully, Kai being oblivious doesn’t notice anything different. 

“Please!” He begs, “You wouldn’t bother anyone! Right Y/N?” He beams at you. You nod quickly, trying to rectify the situation. 

“Yeah, you should sit with us.” You say too quickly, nodding profusely. 

“Okay.” He responds plainly, getting up from the table. Kai being the social creature he is fills you into the conversation he was having with Taehyun earlier. 

You learn that Taehyun’s on the football team and that he’s passionate about music. Of course, you learn this from Kai rather than Taehyun, who walks in silence, giving a subtle reaction now and then. 

Even as you sit down in the lab, Kai doesn’t stop talking about how cool Taehyun is and how he single handily wrote the lyrics for their music project. You take your seat in between Taehyun and Kai. 

“That’s so cool.” You respond, genuinely interested in their project, “Will I get to hear it after you’re done?” Hyuka nods excitedly, telling you his vision for the project. 

As the teacher walks in, the class falls into silence with occasional whisper every now and then. During the lesson, you can’t help but think you misread Taehyun. It was quite ignorant of you to think he was boring just because you never really interacted with him. 

“Okay class, I’ll be checking everyone’s homework now.” The teacher announces.

Wait what? 

Homework? You had homework? Your biology teacher was infamous for punishing people who don’t turn in their homework. Your head snaps to Kai, who calmly removes his homework from his file, “KAI WE HAD HOMEWORK?!” You whisper yell. 

“Yeah” he replies, “Have you not done it?” He smiles coyly. 

“No!” You exclaim, “I didn’t even know we had homework, when did she give us homework?” 

“Last week! You were sat right next to me.” He replies, laughing a little to himself. You narrow your eyes, Kai is always like this. He loves it when you forget about the homework, he says it’s funny to watch you get scolded. 

Hurryingly removing your memory jump diary from your bag, your fingers flip through the page looking for the right entry. “What day was it?” 

“27th February- what’s that journal?” He tries to glance over your shoulder. 

You mumble the date to yourself as you flicker through the pages. 27th February. You skipped the day entirely. No wonder you didn’t know about it. 

Taehyun doesn’t pay much attention to what you and Kai are talking about. As if in his own world, he removes his homework and calmly waits for the teacher to get to your shared table. 

“God, nowadays my memory has such weird jumps.” Taehyun involuntarily turns to you, as if some foreign subject controlled his body. 

“Jumps?” He finds himself asking you, you turn to him surprised. You didn’t think he was listening to your conversation. His eyes fall upon your diary. 

&lt;27-28th February I missed two whole days. The last thing I remember was walking home with Yunjin and suddenly I was in pe class on the 29th. This is the longest jump yet. I don’t exhibit any other symptoms. I still hear this clicky sound when I jump.>

“What do you mean by jumps?” Kai asks, intrigued by your unusual statement. You shut your diary, unaware that Taehyun has already read your entry. 

“I don’t know how to explain it—“ you try to say but are immediately cut off by Kai hugging you. “What are you doing?” You say whilst pushing him off. 

“Is that why you’ve been so spacey?” He exclaims, “You should take better care of your health! You shouldn’t stay up playing games with Sakura and Beomgyu!” 

You sigh to yourself. Just as you suspected, it would be illogical to tell your friends. As much as you love your friends and trust them with your life, they just wouldn’t believe you. You wouldn’t believe you either, this is something right out of a comic. 

Taehyun looks between you and Kai, the wheels in his brain turning. Could it be that-? Taehyun stopped his thought. 

“Y/N.” You looked at your teacher with dread. From your face alone she just knew you haven’t done your homework. “Detention after-school, do the homework 3 times.” You hang your head in defeat, accepting your punishment. 

Besides you, Kai laughs to himself, amused by you getting told off. You were too down to shut him up. 

“Don’t worry Y/N!” Kai pats your back sympathetically, “You can copy my homework. You’ll be done in an hour.” 

“Thanks.” You say sadly, there go your after-school plans. _____________________________As you expected, the library was empty after-school, and even the librarian wasn’t there. Kai’s homework was of no use to you, he got nearly every question wrong. Ultimately you were back at square one. Thankfully with the help of our supreme leader Google, the questions didn’t take you long. The only tedious task was writing it down multiple times. 

Before you knew it, the sun had already set. As you walk through the empty hallways of your school, you can't help but feel a sense of eerie solitude. The sun has started to set outside, casting long shadows through the windows and painting the rooms in a warm, golden light. 

You can hear the faint creaking of the floorboards as you make your way down the corridor, and the sound of your footsteps echoes through the stillness.

You find yourself looking into your classroom. The rows of desks and chairs are deserted, and the chalkboard at the front of the room is blank. There’s something weird about seeing an environment usually bustling with energy vacant. You gaze out the window, watching as the sun continues to dip lower in the sky, painting the clouds a brilliant shade of pink and orange.

As the minutes pass, the light in the room begins to fade, and the shadows grow longer. You can hear the occasional gust of wind outside, but otherwise, everything is still and silent. You can't help but feel a sense of unease as if you're being watched, but when you look around, there's no one there. 

You're walking down the hall, lost in thought when suddenly, you get a distinct feeling that someone is watching you. You turn your head, looking over your shoulder and scanning the area, but there's no one there. You shake your head, trying to dispel the feeling, but it persists. You can't shake the sensation that someone is following you, their gaze fixed on you.

You quicken your pace, turning a corner and almost running into a figure standing just beyond it. With all that sudden movement, your half-open bags decorates the floor with your books. You take a step back, your heart racing as you realize that it's Taehyun, standing there with a curious expression on his face.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he says with a smile, picking up your books and handing them over to you. 

You realise that he must be who has been watching you, and you feel a mix of relief and embarrassment. "It's okay," you reply, trying to calm your nerves. “What are you still doing at school?” 

“I was just working on the project in the music room,” Taehyun explains, the late afternoon rays beaming on his face. Your eyes light up, is Kai here too? Maybe you can complain about him giving you the wrong homework. 

“Is Hyuka here too?” 

“No, he left ages ago.” He replies cooly, adjusting his backpack. The awkwardness between the both of you was setting in. 

“I have to go home sooo...” you trail off, trying to find an opening to leave. He nods earnestly, “Me too.” 

“So...I’m going to go now.” You say awkwardly, rocking back and forth on your heels. 

“Y/N?” Taehyun calls out before you can leave, you sigh to yourself before turning back. “We should probably walk together.” He proposes, “It’s getting dark after all.” 

Defeated, you nod your head ‘yes’. 

The walk with Taehyun was awkward, to say the least. You try to make small talk but the words don't come out quite right, leaving you feeling even more uncomfortable. Taehyun was less than quiet today during lesson, it seemed like it was a chore for him to hang out with you and Kai. Why’s he being friendly now? 

“Uh, Taehyun?” You start awkwardly, there’s no easy way to ask the question you’re about to ask, “were you..uh.. following name after school?” 

Taehyun blinks at the accusation, unsure how to answer your question, “No, of course not.” He tried to play cool. You pierce your gaze through him, uncertain as to whether he was lying or not. 

The silence between you two was deafening, with every step feeling heavier than the last. The air is thick with unspoken thoughts and feelings that neither of you knows how to address. You find yourself shuffling your feet, fidgeting with your hands, and sneaking sidelong glances at each other, hoping for a sign that the other is feeling just as awkward as you are. 

“This is my house.” You say as you walk into the driveway. Taehyun nods softly before walking a few steps backwards. “See you tomorrow.” He waves, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking the other way.

You shut the front door quickly behind you. What the fuck. You take out your phone from your blazer pocket. 

‘I need to text Kai’ you think to yourself as you open up the chat between you. 

“I’m such an idiot.” You say to yourself, burying your face into your hands.

_____________________

“What if he’s vegan?” Beomgyu eyes the cookie jar. “Will I get to keep it then?”

“Shut up Beomgyu.” The sentence flows out of you so easily, it’s like second nature to ask Beomgyu to shut up. “Where does Taehyun usually hang out?” You ask, “Schools going to start soon, I don’t have long.”

“Probably the music room,” Cat responds to your question, dragging their boyfriend away from the cookies

You thank your friends and make your way to the music room. The halls are bustling with students rushing to their classes, laughing and chatting with their friends, and you have to navigate your way through the crowds to get where you need to go.

You weave in and out of groups of students, trying not to bump into anyone or get in their way. You can hear the sound of lockers slamming shut, backpacks rustling, and the occasional burst of laughter. The air is thick with the scent of perfume, cologne, and sweat, and the hum of voices fills your ears.

You keep your eyes focused ahead, trying to spot the music room amidst the chaos. You glance down at your watch, realizing that you're running out of time. You pick up your pace, dodging past groups of students and squeezing through narrow gaps.

As you get closer to the music room, the noise level starts to decrease, and you can hear the sound of someone practising on the piano. You quicken your step, and soon you're standing outside the door.

You take a deep breath and push open the door, stepping into the music room. The room is warm and cosy, with soft lighting and a comfortable atmosphere.

You feel a sense of uneasiness and nervousness. How are you going to apologise to him? Will he accept it?

As you enter, you notice that he is hunched over, his eyes fixed on something on his lap.

"Hey, sorry for yesterday, I didn't mean-" You stop mid-sentence as you realize what he's holding - your diary.

As you approach him, your eyes widen in disbelief as you realize that he has your diary in his hands, and is flipping through the pages. "Wait, is that my diary?"

Taehyun looks up, startled by your presence, and you can see the shame etched on his face. The feeling of betrayal and violation is overwhelming as you catch Taehyun reading your diary. It's a mix of shock and anger, and your mind is racing with questions. How did he find it? Why did he think it was okay to read it?

"What the hell are you doing?" You find yourself raising your voice at him, trying to grab the diary from his hands. He raises his arm higher, refusing to hand you the diary.

“Just let me read some more.” Taehyun reasons, “It’s not a big deal.” He clutches it tightly in his hands, you can see the defiance in his eyes.

Your head goes delirious in anger, NOT A BIG DEAL? This is your jumping diary, a book that has an account of every jump you’ve made these past couple of months. Taehyun probably thinks you’re crazy.

"Not a big deal? That’s MY diary.” You bark, You feel your blood boiling at his lack of respect for your privacy. You can't believe he thinks it's okay to keep something so personal without your permission. “You have no right to keep it."

You're not sure what to do - he's taller and stronger than you, and it's clear that he's not going to give up the diary without a fight.

You try to think of a way to outmanoeuvre him, to get the diary back without resorting to violence. You see an opening and lunge forward, but he's too quick, dodging out of the way and pushing you backwards.

You stumble and fall to the ground, but you're not about to give up. You scramble to your feet and lunge forward again, this time managing to get your hands on the diary. You pull it towards you, but he's still holding on, refusing to let go.

The two of you tug back and forth, the diary caught in the middle. You take a deep breath and focus all your energy on pulling the diary towards you. You can feel your muscles straining as you give it all you've got. Finally, the diary comes free, and you fall backwards, clutching it to your chest.

You let out a relieved laugh, “I knew there was something weird about you—“

Click

Not right now!! This is the worst timing ever. You can’t afford to now, you have to confront. Wait..why can’t you move? Your eyes dart across the room in a panic, everyone else seems normal. You sit frozen in your seat, unable to move your hands or body as if you are trapped in a prison of immobility. The weight of this invisible force presses down on you, making it impossible to reach for a pen or even shift in your chair. You desperately try to break free, but every muscle feels like it's been bound by ropes, leaving you completely powerless. From the corner of your eyes, you see Taehyun, who sits calmly as if the incident in the music room never happened.

The door to the classroom swings open, a sudden hush falls over the students. All eyes turn towards the entrance, eager to catch a glimpse of the new arrival. A moment later, a figure steps into the room, looking around at the sea of faces.

All eyes are fixed on him, drinking in the sight of his chiselled features and tall, broad-shouldered frame. The girls whisper excitedly to each other, giggling and batting their eyelashes, while the boys shoot envious glances at him. It's as if a celebrity has entered the room - everyone seems to be in awe of him. Even the teacher seems momentarily distracted, pausing mid-sentence to take in the newcomer. The atmosphere in the classroom has shifted, charged with a palpable energy of admiration and curiosity.

“Class, we have a new student.” Mr Cho’s voice breaks you back into reality. As you glance over at the new boy in your class, your eyes are immediately drawn to his height and the striking shade of blue in his hair. He towers over the other students, his frame commanding attention even as he tries to blend in. The boldness of his hair colour seems to match his confident demeanour, and you can't help but feel a sense of curiosity about him. You wonder what brought him to this school and what kind of person he is beyond his appearance. Despite his striking features, there's a sense of mystery around him that leaves you eager to learn more.

“Hello, I’m Choi Yeonjun.” The blue hair boy introduces himself, offering a small bow to the class. You can sense magnetic energy emanating from him, and you can't help but feel a little envious of his effortless charm. “Take a seat wherever you like Yeonjun.” Mr Cho smiles at the new boy.

Your heart skips a beat as the new boy approaches your desk, and then you're surprised as he chooses the seat right next to you. You feel a flush of nervous excitement as you catch his eye, noticing the way his electric blue hair seems to sparkle in the light. As he settles into his seat, you can't help but feel conscious of the way your own hair is a mess, and you quickly run your fingers through it in an attempt to tame it.

“Hi.” He smiles at you, extending out his hand. You subconsciously feel the gaze of all your classmates looking at you. Involuntarily, your hand reaches out to shake his.

Click

You let out a heavy breath. Good, you can move again. Your eye flickers back to Taehyun’s desk. He’s gone. Shit, where did he go?

You suddenly become aware that you've been holding Yeonjun's hand for too long.

What started as a casual touch has turned into an extended grasp, and you can feel the heat rising to your cheeks as you realize your mistake. You quickly release his hand, hoping he hasn't noticed the length of the contact. As you glance over at him, you see a faint smirk on his face, and you wonder if he's caught on to your embarrassment. You try to act as if nothing has happened, but your heart is still racing from the unexpected intimacy. You can't help but wonder what it would be like to hold his hand again, but you push the thought aside and focus on the task at hand.

"Oh, sorry," you say, quickly releasing his hand.

"It's okay," He replies, but you can tell he’s a little taken aback.

You feel a flush of embarrassment creep up your neck, and you can't meet his gaze.

Wait. This is not the time to get flustered by the new kid. You need to find Taehyun, where did he go?

As the lesson drags on, you can feel your frustration mounting. All you can think about is confronting Taehyun. You glance around the room, trying to come up with a plan. You know you can't just blurt out your feelings in the middle of class, but you can't wait until the end of the period either.

Finally, you decide to make a move. You quietly gather your things and begin to make your way to the door, hoping to catch your classmate in the hallway. As you inch closer to the exit, you feel a pang of guilt for leaving in the middle of the lesson, but your desire to confront him is too strong.

Just as you're about to slip out the door, Mr Cho calls out your name. You freeze, feeling a rush of panic. You turn to face him, trying to act casual, but you know you've been caught.

"Is everything okay?" Your teacher asks, his brow furrowed in concern.

You mumble a quick excuse about needing to use the restroom, hoping to buy yourself some time. But as you turn to leave, you can feel the eyes of your classmates on you, and you wonder if they suspect what's really going on.

The halls were deserted, and the only sounds were the echoes of your footsteps and the sound of your racing heartbeat. You knew that you were risking getting caught by one of the teachers or security guards, but you didn't care. All you could think about was finding Taehyun and getting your diary back.

As you made your way down the empty hallways, you kept your eyes peeled for any signs of life. You tried to move as quietly as possible, taking small, measured steps, and avoiding any loose floorboards or creaky spots. You could feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins, and your senses were on high alert.

As you rounded a corner, you heard footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hallway. You quickly ducked behind a row of lockers and held your breath, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't notice you. The footsteps came closer and closer, and you could see the shadow of a teacher approaching. You held your breath, trying not to make a sound, as the teacher passed by without noticing you.

You were not entirely sure where Taehyun was, but you knew he wasn’t stupid enough to go back to the music room. Where else would a teenager go if they were bunking lesson? The library?

After the teacher had passed, you quickly made your way down the hall towards the library. When you finally reached the library, you peeked through the window to see if anyone was inside. The room was dark and quiet, and you couldn't see anyone. Taking a deep breath, you slowly opened the door and slipped inside.

The library was dimly lit, and the only sound was the rustling of pages as students flipped through books. You scanned the room, looking for any sign of Taehyun. You couldn't see him at first, but then you caught a glimpse of a figure hiding behind a bookshelf. You made your way over to the bookshelf, and as you got closer, you could see that it was Taehyun.

“Taehyun.” You call out his name in a whisper yell, making sure not to raise your voice in a library. You don’t want to draw any attention to yourself.

“Y/N, look I can explain.” Taehyun tries to reason, stepping a few steps back. You could tell that he was sincere, and your anger began to dissipate. You took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

“Try to explain what? That you have no respect for my—“

“When you were in class did you feel like you couldn’t move?” He says suddenly, grabbing hold of your shoulders.

“What?”

“And then suddenly you shook Yeonjun’s hand even though you didn’t mean to?” Your head tilts back in confusion, how does he know? “Let me show you something.” He says, grabbing your arm and dragging you to the opposite bookshelf. He pulls out a book with a flowery cover from the top shelf, blowing the dust away.

“What’s this?” You puzzled, gently taking the book from him. You stare at the cover. Law of attraction, it read. The cover was simple, the typical cover of a romance manhwa.

“Just open it” He insists, so you do. Eagerly opened the book but as you flipped through the pages, you were confused to find that every page was completely blank.

You blinked, rubbed your eyes, and checked the cover to make sure you had the right book. “It’s empty.” You say. You were surprised, wondering what it could mean. But as you continued to flip through the pages, you see a couple of drawn panels. You blink in confusion. It can’t be, can it?

It was Yeonjun, standing in front of the classroom. No no. It isn’t Yeonjun… it’s just someone that looks just like him. Your eyes move on to the next panel where he sits down next to illustration of a girl with h/c hair, offering his hand to her. Wait..that happened to you…

You immediately flick back to the character page. It was clearer than day; An illustration of a tall boy with blue locks, Choi Yeonjun, main character. Your mouth hangs open..what is this? Next to him is a beautiful girl with long black hair, Yun Misun, main lead. Misun? Who’s she? You’ve never seen her around school before. On his left, there’s a illustration of a figure that had an alarming resemblance to you, L/N Y/N, second lead. SECOND LEAD? You’re the second lead?

Your head was starting to hurt. You imagined yourself pining for the main lead, trying to win his affection, but always falling short. You envisioned yourself in dramatic scenes, heartbroken and alone, as the main characters enjoyed their happily ever after. What is this? Second lead? How can you, L/N Y/N the most popular girl in school be the second lead?

“What is this?” You say, your voice barely audible. You feel like you’re going to be sick. “You’re trying to tell me we live in a manhwa?”

Taehyun nods his head slowly, “Look I know it’s a lot to take in, but at least you know you aren’t losing your mind.” He says, motioning you to sit down on the floor before you pass out. “Those weird memory gaps you’re having? It’s because of the time skips to start the actual story.”

“Why are there time skips only now?” You ask, sitting down beside him. “I haven’t had any of them before.”

“You have, we all have.” He answers, your furrow your brows in confusion, “Only now that you’re conscious, you can actually experience them.”

“This is making my head hurt.” You bury your head into your head in confusion, hoping this is all a bad dream.

You sit there in silence for a while, Taehyun remaining patient with you.

“So I’m the second lead?” You break the silence after you’ve calmed down a bit, looking at the strawberry-haired boy next to you. He nods. “How can I be the second lead?”

Taehyun lets out a small laugh, “Well it isn’t surprising you aren’t the main lead.” You glare at him, only causing him to laugh louder, eliciting glances from other students. “Think about it Y/N, you come from a rich happy background, you’re popular, you have like a hundred admires at school. Your character doesn’t have more depth than that.”

“What.” You sit straighter, “That’s so much depth, it shows that I’m multitalented. Who’s Misun anyway?”

“I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed her.” He laughs, “She’s the quiet girl in our art class, the one who creates those hyperrealistic paintings.”

You stare blankly at Taehyun, the girl still not ringing a bell. He sighs, “What I’m getting at is that Misun is a scholarship student, she’s an orphan, she works 3 jobs alongside going to school, she’s paying off her dead father's debt and lives with her abusive aunt.”

“She just sounds like too much emotional baggage.” You retort.

“She’s the typical female lead, this is a romance manhwa. It’s nothing if not cliches.” Taehyun explains.

‘Fair enough’ you thought. Your mind is racing at the possibility of actually being in a comic book. How can that even be possible?

As you sat inside the library, you felt a knot in your stomach as you spiralled into the rabbit hole of being in a manhwa, you realised you had so much more to ask Taehyun. You looked over at him, hoping to catch his attention, but the bell suddenly rang, signalling the start of the next lesson.

You hesitated for a moment, considering whether to tell him now or wait until lunch. With a sigh, you decided to wait, knowing that there would be more time to talk during your break.

You quickly said goodbye to Taehyun, asking him to meet you here during lunch and made your way to your next class, your mind still racing with thoughts about your recent discovery.

As you sat in class, your mind was elsewhere. You were still in disbelief after finding out that you were the second lead in a manhwa. It was a weird surreal feeling as if the lines between reality and fiction had been blurred. You had always been a fan of manhwas, but you never expected to find yourself as a character in one.

As the teacher droned on about history, you couldn't help but daydream about the manhwa. You imagined yourself in the pages, your character interacting with the main lead. But the more you thought about it, the more you realized the implications of being the second lead. It meant that you were destined to have your heart broken, to watch as the main lead found love with someone else.

The thought was crushing, and you felt a pang of sadness in your chest. It was one thing to read about heartbreak in a manhwa, but it was another to know that it was your own fate.

You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts. This was just a silly coincidence, you told yourself. But deep down, you couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed. The world seemed a little less real now.

Meanwhile, Taehyun sits still in the library, trying to go over everything he needs to tell you now that you know. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for you to wake up one day and find out you live in a manhwa, though he’s glad you took it well.

Taehyun can’t remember a time when he wasn’t conscious; aware of the reality of his fate. It started when he was 5 when he noticed that he kept being displaced; he’d be playing in the morning then all of sudden he’s being tucked into bed. And as all curious kids do, he asked his parents about it. They laughed, thinking it was just kids being kids but little did they know. At some point, Taehyun just accepted that this was his reality, a regular occurrence for him to be skipping through time.

He also remembers the first day he found manhwa, while he was in the library playing hide and seek with his friends. Some shiny shimmering object caught the corner of his eye, his curiosity persisted and he left his hiding spot to go find out what it was. It didn’t take long for little Taehyun to put two and two together, his suspicions were confirmed once he saw a sketch of himself on the character page Kang Taehyun, Yeonjun’s ally. An extra.

“Taehyun?” He snaps out of his daze, looking up to see your standing figure, with two cupcakes in your hands.

“Oh hey.” He smiles, motioning you to sit down. You hand him a cupcake.

“Did you not go back to class?” You ask, the pink-haired man shakes his head no, “Won’t people notice you’re gone?”

“No, I’m just an extra.” He says, biting into the cupcake. “This is really good.” He hums, going in for a larger second bite.

“How long have you known?” You ask abruptly, looking into his doe-like eyes.

“Since I was 5.” You gasp. How could he have not gone completely crazy? It had only been a couple of weeks for you and you were going crazy because you couldn’t tell your friends.

“And..and you haven’t told anyone?” You ask tentatively. He nods, not seeming bothered at all.

“Well except you of course.” He responds, “Who could I tell? People would think I’m crazy.” You find yourself agreeing with him, understanding where he’s coming from.

He notices your drop in mood and nudged you with his shoulder. Taehyun tries to lighten the mood and says, "It's not your fault. I'm pretty good at hiding my emotions."

You shake your head, feeling a sense of responsibility. "I’m sorry you had to go through that alone."

“Don’t worry about it.” He shoots you a small smile. “Now, I have a lot to tell you.” He changes the subject smoothly.

“That feeling where you’re being controlled and do stuff out of your free will is called the stage, like this morning with the new kid.” Taehyun explains, “Right now we’re in the shadow, we are free to do whatever we want to.”

“We can do anything we want?” You ask with shining eyes, your mind going wild with ideas. This means you could stay in bed longer, that you wouldn’t need to do your homework or hell- you don’t even need to come to school.

“Yeah basically. Nothing you do really has an effect. What you do in the shadow doesn’t translate to the stage.” He continues, brushing the stray hairs from his face again. “If you spilt coffee on yourself now, the stain would be gone when you’re on stage or when you jump.”

“So if I start dancing in class it won’t have an impact?” You propose, wanting to make sure your actions won’t have consequences. “People won’t remember after the scene changes?”

“Well..the rules are a bit fuzzy on that..” He trails off, “They tend to remember some things and sometimes they don’t. But that doesn’t mean you go around acting abnormal. They’ll start noticing if you keep acting up.”

“Ooooo, what did you do Taehyun?” You tease, playfully nudging him with your shoulder.

“Well I just found out I was in a manhwa, I had to test the waters.”

“What about conversations? If I talk to my friends about something, will they not remember in the next scene?” You ask, slightly worried. Did this mean you can’t make any new relationships with people?

“Again.. it depends. If you try to give them consciousness it won’t work right away. You’ll probably have to keep trying over and over again.” Taehyun answers, looking into your eyes. “It’s probably because it’s a foreign subject to them. Think of us as little computer programs. If you’re talking to them about something familiar like another classmate or a game you’re playing, they’ll remember because they’re coded for that. But if you try to give them consciousness it won’t compute.”

“Well, that’s okay! I’m persistent, I’ll make sure they’re conscious.” You laugh, trying to act nonchalant. But actually the thought of your friends being empty sort of terrified you. It means your relationship and years with them meant nothing.

“NO! You can’t do that!” He exclaims, causing a few heads to turn towards you.

You shoot the students an apologetic look before turning to Taehyun, “What, why not?”

“It’s dangerous. Have you not watched the Matrix?”

“Yeah I have—“

“So then you should understand. People have different personalities, they might not take it as well as we have, especially if they aren’t satisfied with their role.” He cuts you off, running his hands through his hair. “How would you feel if you woke up and found out you aren’t even an extra, you’re just some background character who has no impact? We are characters in a comic, our only function is to go along with the story.” He rants on. You sit quietly, taking in what he’s saying.

“My job is to support Yeonjun and yours is to be his love interest. Some people have no impact on the story. Like..your friends Sakura and Haechan! Can you imagine how they’ll feel if you tell them they have no meaning to their life? They’ll be heartbroken.” He finishes, his eyes glued to you.

“So you’re telling me it’s better they just live in ignorance?” You reply quickly. You understand where Taehyun is coming from but just the thought of you doing that to your friends makes you feel sick. It isn’t fair that you get to be aware and they don’t.

“At least that way they have a purpose. Promise me you won’t give anyone consciousness, it’s dangerous.” The look in Taehyun’s eyes tells you it’s not time to joke around. He means what he said and it’s best if you just agreed with him.

“Fine… I won’t.” You reluctantly agree. Maybe later when he calms down you can bring it up again? Then maybe he’ll see your point of view.

#LOA #txt #txt x reader #tomorrow by together #soobin #choi soobin #soobin x reader #choi soobin x reader #soobin x you #soobin x y/n #soobin layouts #soobin choi #txt x y/n #txt x you #non idol au #txt fluff #moa #choi soobin x you #choi soobin x y/n #soobin imagines #soobin headcanons #soobin tomorrow x together

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The antitrust Twilight Zone

Funeral homes were once dominated by local, family owned businesses. Today, odds are, your neighborhood funeral home is owned by Service Corporation International, which has bought hundreds of funeral homes (keeping the proprietor’s name over the door), jacking up prices and reaping vast profits.

Funeral homes are now one of America’s most predatory, vicious industries, and SCI uses the profits it gouges out of bereaved, reeling families to fuel more acquisitions — 121 more in 2021. SCI gets some economies of scale out of this consolidation, but that’s passed onto shareholders, not consumers. SCI charges 42% more than independent funeral homes.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/09/high-cost-of-dying/#memento-mori

SCI boasts about its pricing power to its investors, how it exploits people’s unwillingness to venture far from home to buy funeral services. If you buy all the funeral homes in a neighborhood, you have near-total control over the market. Despite these obvious problems, none of SCI’s acquisitions face any merger scrutiny, thanks to loopholes in antitrust law.

These loopholes have allowed the entire US productive economy to undergo mass consolidation, flying under regulatory radar. This affects industries as diverse as “hospital beds, magic mushrooms, youth addiction treatment centers, mobile home parks, nursing homes, physicians’ practices, local newspapers, or e-commerce sellers,” but it’s at its worst when it comes to services associated with trauma, where you don’t shop around.

Think of how Envision, a healthcare rollup, used the capital reserves of KKR, its private equity owner, to buy emergency rooms and ambulance services, elevating surprise billing to a grotesque art form. Their depravity knows no bounds: an unconscious, intubated woman with covid was needlessly flown 20 miles to another hospital, generating a $52k bill.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/14/unhealthy-finances/#steins-law

This is “the health equivalent of a carjacking,” and rollups spread surprise billing beyond emergency rooms to anesthesiologists, radiologists, family practice, dermatology and others. In the late 80s, 70% of MDs owned their practices. Today, 70% of docs work for a hospital or corporation.

How the actual fuck did this happen? Rollups take place in “antitrust’s Twilight Zone,” where a perfect storm of regulatory blindspots, demographic factors, macroeconomics, and remorseless cheating by the ultra-wealthy has laid waste to the American economy, torching much of the US’s productive capacity in an orgy of predatory, extractive, enshittifying mergers.

The processes that underpin this transformation aren’t actually very complicated, but they are closely interwoven and can be hard to wrap your head around. “The Roll-Up Economy: The Business of Consolidating Industries with Serial Acquisitions,” a new paper from The American Economic Liberties Project by Denise Hearn, Krista Brown, Taylor Sekhon and Erik Peinert does a superb job of breaking it down:

http://www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Serial-Acquisitions-Working-Paper-R4-2.pdf

The most obvious problem here is with the MergerScrutiny process, which is when competition regulators must be notified of proposed mergers and must give their approval before they can proceed. Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) merger scrutiny kicks in for mergers when the purchase price is $101m or more. A company that builds up a monopoly by acquiring hundreds of small businesses need never face merger scrutiny.

The high merger scrutiny threshold means that only a very few mergers are regulated: in 2021, out of 21,994 mergers, only 4,130 (<20%) were reported to the FTC. 2020 saw 16,723 mergers, with only 1.637 (>10%) being reported to the FTC.

Serial acquirers claim that the massive profits they extract by buying up and merging hundreds of businesses are the result of “efficiency” but a closer look at their marketplace conduct shows that most of those profits come from market power. Where efficiences are realized, they benefit shareholders, and are not shared with customers, who face higher prices as competition dwindles.

The serial acquisition bonanza is bad news for supply chains, wages, the small business ecosystem, inequality, and competition itself. Wherever we find concentrated industires, we find these under-the-radar rollups: out of 616 Big Tech acquisitions from 2010 to 2019, 94 (15%) of them came in for merger scrutiny.

The report’s authors quote FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter: “I think of serial acquisitions as a Pac-Man strategy. Each individual merger viewed independently may not seem to have significant impact. But the collective impact of hundreds of smaller acquisitions, can lead to a monopolistic behavior.”

It’s not just the FTC that recognizes the risks from rollups. Jonathan Kanter, the DoJ’s top antitrust enforcer has raised alarms about private equity strategies that are “designed to hollow out or roll-up an industry and essentially cash out. That business model is often very much at odds with the law and very much at odds with the competition we’re trying to protect.”

The DoJ’s interest is important. As with so many antitrust failures, the problem isn’t in the law, but in its enforcement. Section 7 of the Clayton Act prohibits serial acquisitions under its “incipient monopolization” standard. Acquisitions are banned “where the effect of such acquisition may be to substantially lessen competition between the corporation whose stock is so acquired and the corporation making the acquisition.” This incipiency standard was strengthened by the 1950 Celler-Kefauver Amendment.

The lawmakers who passed both acts were clear about their legislative intention — to block this kind of stealth monopoly formation. For decades, that’s how the law was enforced. For example, in 1966, the DoJ blocked Von’s from acquiring another grocer because the resulting merger would give Von’s 7.5% of the regional market. While Von’s is cited by pro-monopoly extremists as an example of how the old antitrust system was broken and petty, the DoJ’s logic was impeccable and sorely missed today: they were trying to prevent a rollup of the sort that plagues our modern economy.

As the Supremes wrote in 1963: “A fundamental purpose of [stronger incipiency standards was] to arrest the trend toward concentration, the tendency of monopoly, before the consumer’s alternatives disappeared through merger, and that purpose would be ill-served if the law stayed its hand until 10, or 20, or 30 [more firms were absorbed].”

But even though the incipiency standard remains on the books, its enforcement dwindled away to nothing, starting in the Reagan era, thanks to the Chicago School’s influence. The neoliberal economists of Chicago, led by the Nixonite criminal Robert Bork, counseled that most monopolies were “efficient” and the inefficient ones would self-correct when new businesses challenged them, and demanded a halt to antitrust enforcement.

In 1982, the DoJ’s merger guidelines were gutted, made toothless through the addition of a “safe harbor” rule. So long as a merger stayed below a certain threshold of market concentration, the DoJ promised not to look into it. In 2000, Clinton signed an amendment to the HSR Act that exempted transactions below $50m. In 2010, Obama’s DoJ expanded the safe harbor to exclude “[mergers that] are unlikely to have adverse competitive effects and ordinarily require no further analysis.”

These constitute a “blank check” for serial acquirers. Any investor who found a profitable strategy for serial acquisition could now operate with impunity, free from government interference, no matter how devastating these acquisitions were to the real economy.

Unfortunately for us, serial acquisitions are profitable. As an EY study put it: “the more acquisitive the company… the greater the value created…there is a strong pattern of shareholder value growth, correlating with frequent acquisitions.” Where does this value come from? “Efficiencies” are part of the story, but it’s a sideshow. The real action is in the power that consolidation gives over workers, suppliers and customers, as well as vast, irresistable gains from financial engineering.

In all, the authors identify five ways that rollups enrich investors:

I. low-risk expansion;

II. efficiencies of scale;

III. pricing power;

IV. buyer power;

V. valuation arbitrage.

The efficiency gains that rolled up firms enjoy often come at the expense of workers — these companies shed jobs and depress wages, and the savings aren’t passed on to customers, but rather returned to the business, which reinvests it in gobbling up more companies, firing more workers, and slashing survivors’ wages. Anything left over is passed on to the investors.

Consolidated sectors are hotbeds of fraud: take Heartland, which has rolled up small dental practices across America. Heartland promised dentists that it would free them from the drudgery of billing and administration but instead embarked on a campaign of phony Medicare billing, wage theft, and forcing unnecessary, painful procedures on children.

Heartland is no anomaly: dental rollups have actually killed children by subjecting them to multiple, unnecessary root-canals. These predatory businesses rely on Medicaid paying for these procedures, meaning that it’s only the poorest children who face these abuses:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/17/the-doctor-will-fleece-you-now/#pe-in-full-effect

A consolidated sector has lots of ways to rip off the public: they can “directly raise prices, bundle different products or services together, or attach new fees to existing products.” The epidemic of junk fees can be traced to consolidation.

Consolidators aren’t shy about this, either. The pitch-decks they send to investors and board members openly brag about “pricing power, gained through acquisitions and high switching costs, as a key strategy.”

Unsurprisingly, investors love consolidators. Not only can they gouge customers and cheat workers, but they also enjoy an incredible, obscure benefit in the form of “valuation arbitrage.”

When a business goes up for sale, its valuation (price) is calculated by multiplying its annual cashflow. For small businesses, the usual multiplier is 3–5x. For large businesses, it’s 10–20x or more. That means that the mere act of merging a small business with a large business can increase its valuation sevenfold or more!

Let’s break that down. A dental practice that grosses $1m/year is generally sold for $3–5m. But if Heartland buys the practice and merges it with its chain of baby-torturing, Medicaid-defrauding dental practices, the chain’s valuation goes up by $10–20m. That higher valuation means that Heartland can borrow more money at more favorable rates, and it means that when it flips the husks of these dental practices, it expects a 700% return.

This is why your local veterinarian has been enshittified. “A typical vet practice sells for 5–8x cashflow…American Veterinary Group [is] valued at as much as 21x cashflow…When a large consolidator buys a $1M cashflow clinic, it may cost them as little as $5M, while increasing the value of the consolidator by $21M. This has created a goldrush for veterinary consolidators.”

This free money for large consolidators means that even when there are better buyers — investors who want to maintain the quality and service the business offers — they can’t outbid the consolidators. The consolidators, expecting a 700% profit triggered by the mere act of changing the business’s ownership papers, can always afford to pay more than someone who merely wants to provide a good business at a fair price to their community.

To make this worse, an unprecedented number of small businesses are all up for sale at once. Half of US businesses are owned by Boomers who are ready to retire and exhausted by two major financial crises within a decade. 60% of Boomer-owned businesses — 2.9m businesses of 11 or so employees each, employing 32m people in all — are expected to sell in the coming decade.

If nothing changes, these businesses are likely to end up in the hands of consolidators. Since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, private equity firms and other looters have been awash in free money, courtesy of the Federal Reserve and Congress, who chose to bail out irresponsible and deceptive lenders, not the borrowers they preyed upon.

A decade of zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) helped PE grow to “staggering” size. Over that period, America’s 2,000 private equity firms raised buyout warchests totaling $2t. Today, private equity owned companies outnumber publicly traded firms by more than two to one.

Private equity is patient zero in the serial acquisition epidemic. The list of private equity rollup plays includes “comedy clubs, ad agencies, water bottles, local newspapers, and healthcare providers like hospitals, ERs, and nursing homes.”

Meanwhile, ZIRP left the nation’s pension funds desperate for returns on their investments, and these funds handed $480b to the private equity sector. If you have a pension, your retirement is being funded by investments that are destroying your industry, raising your rent, and turning the nursing home you’re doomed to into a charnel house.

The good news is that enforcers like Kanter have called time on the longstanding, bipartisan failure to use antitrust laws to block consolidation. Kanter told the NY Bar Association: “We have an obligation to enforce the antitrust laws as written by Congress, and we will challenge any merger where the effect ‘may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.’”

The FTC and the DOJ already have many tools they can use to end this epidemic.

They can revive the incipiency standard from Sec 7 of the Clayton Act, which bans mergers where “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.”

This allows regulators to “consider a broad range of price and non-price effects relevant to serial acquisitions, including the long-term business strategy of the acquirer, the current trend or prevalence of concentration or acquisitions in the industry, and the investment structure of the transactions”;

The FTC and DOJ can strengthen this by revising their merger guidelines to “incorporate a new section for industries or markets where there is a trend towards concentration.” They can get rid of Reagan’s 1982 safe harbor, and tear up the blank check for merger approval;

The FTC could institute a policy of immediately publishing merger filings, “the moment they are filed.”

Beyond this, the authors identify some key areas for legislative reform:

Exempt the FTC from the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, which currently blocks the FTC from requesting documents from “10 or more people” when it investigates a merger;

Subject any company “making more than 6 acquisitions per year valued at $70 million total or more” to “extra scrutiny under revised merger guidelines, regardless of the total size of the firm or the individual acquisitions”;

Treat all the companies owned by a PE fund as having the same owner, rather than allowing the fiction that a holding company is the owner of a business;

Force businesses seeking merger approval to provide “any investment materials, such as Private Placement Memorandums, Management or Lender Presentations, or any documents prepared for the purposes of soliciting investment. Such documents often plainly describe the anticompetitive roll-up or consolidation strategy of the acquiring firm”;

Also force them to provide “loan documentation to understand the acquisition plans of a company and its financing strategy;”

When companies are found to have violated antitrust, ban them from acquiring any other company for 3–5 years, and/or force them to get FTC pre-approval for all future acquisitions;

Reinvigorate enforcement of rules requiring that some categories of business (especially healthcare) be owned by licensed professionals;

Lower the threshold for notification of mergers;

Add a new notification requirement based on the number of transactions;

Fed agencies should automatically share merger documents with state attorneys general;

Extend civil and criminal antitrust penalties to “investment bankers, attorneys, consultants who usher through anticompetitive mergers.”

#pluralistic #american economic liberties project #jonathan kantor #doj #clayton act #hart-scott-rodino act #zirp #financial engineering #monopoly #consolidation #rollups #debt financing #private equity #hedge funds #serial acquirers #antitrust #incipiency standard #Celler-Kefauver Act #vons #brown shoe #boomers #silver wave #labor #monopsony #pricing power #kkr #envision #funeral homes #surprise billing #sci

[yooxoo13]

19.03.2024

Everything is going with the flow in my study related aspects but there is a storm in my social life at school. My classmates that used to be my friends hates me now and i dont give two fucks about it but it is mentally tiring to go to school and be in that toxic environment for hours. But nonetheless i gotta do what I need to. So whatever it takes.

Things I did:

Political science: Textbook reading

Human Geography: Human development -- textbook reading

Macroeconomics: solving practical questions (mostly numericals)

Song of the day: anything 4 u by LANY

Good luck to me for tmr.

#study with me #studyblr #studyblr community #study motivation #study space #political science #study aesthetic #study blog #study inspo #study stuff #study notes #student life #student #human geography #macroeconomics #textbook #reading #numerical

[greenhouse-studies]

Day 65 • 100 Days of Productivity

I don't have any pictures today because everything has been digital quizzes and research and I was working in bed instead of at my desk lol. Anyway, did my chapter 15 reading for modern western civ. It's about the 30 Years War and the rise of absolutism in Europe, which is the start of my favorite period of time to study. I've gotten some work done on Assignment 1 for history too. I'm writing about the difference between absolutism in France under Louis XIV versus enlightened absolutism in Prussia under Frederick the Great. I'm having so much fun researching it!

I also did my personal training session and my balance is completely fucked up right now. My POTS is also acting up so I'm struggling to catch my breath, have chest pain, my heart rate is high, and i'm very dizzy and lightheaded. I haven't fainted yet this week, which is good, but I've come close. But don't worry, I know what is my daily symptoms vs a stroke or other heart issue, and I've had a heart echo, EKG, and blood tests to make sure my heart can in fact function. I just have a moderate case of POTS lol.

Going to get a head start on my notes for next week in macroeconomics and history now!

🎶 hold me tight or don't - fall out boy 🎶

#studyblr #100 days of productivity #100dop #studentblr #studying #study #study motivation #study inspo #study inspiration #study blog #student life #uni student #university student #college student #collegeblr #uniblr #universityblr #greenhouse.txt #history #history student #history major

[theshadowrealmitself]

Finished my macroeconomics final 🥰 fucking kill me 🥰🥰🥰

#no fandom

[hussyknee]

Hey lovelies. A couple of you sent me asks about Lankan politics. First off - I'm really glad my posts are helping you, and I'm having a blast writing them! I'm going to take a break today and outline a thorough but simple explainer for your questions tomorrow. Still toying with the idea of making a series of them since there seem to be a surprising amount of Lankans on Tumblr now!

You can follow me to see them, or just follow the "Sri Lankan politics" "Sri Lankan protests" or "අරගලයට ජය!" (victory to the struggle) tags.

Meanwhile here are some great accounts on Twitter you can follow:

Marlon Ariyasinghe (Sinhalese) is the Assistant Editor of Himalistan, and one of the people who covered the protests in Colombo end to end. I'm seriously in awe of how much tear gas this man has inhaled, as have so many others, and how long he stays on the ground during incredibly dangerous situations.

Vajra Chandrasekera (Sinhalese) is an award-winning Sci-Fi writer, insanely well-read about our modern history and has a better grasp of political reality than most self-styled pundits, probably because he never presents himself as anything except a wordsmith and storyteller. Here's one that provides a lot of context for the location of Gotagogama back when it first went up in April. He also put together one of the most comprehensive donation threads (please help/ boost!)

Amalini De Sayrah is an amazing photojournalist with Groundviews, documenting the ground realities of Lanka's most marginalized with pathos, joy and sensitivity. Her Gotagogama photos are the best documentation of the protest village IMO

Ambika Sathkunanathan is the former Commissioner of the UN Human Rights Commission Sri Lanka and the Chairperson of the Neelan Tiruchevalam Trust. Her threads are a little more involved and academic than the others, but she's also one of the people who have spearheaded the fight for minority justice for years.

Amitha Arudpragasam (Tamil) independent policy analyst , who focuses on economics from the South Asian female perspective.

Saritha Irugalbandara (Sinhalese) is a feminist and LGBT researcher and activist, incisively analytical and acerbically witty. She was the one who put together this crisis relief fund (please, please donate!)

Maryam Azwer (Muslim) post-colonial academic and journalist who is one of the strongest media voices on feminist issues in the Sri Lankan Muslim community including Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act Reform.

Dr. Thusiyan Nandakumar (Tamil) Editor in chief of the Tamil Guardian and a long-time activist for Tamil self-determination in Sri Lanka. If you're Sinhalese you might have heard that he's an LTTE sympathizer. Speaking as a Sinhalese Buddhist, you really need to follow him and the Tamil Guardian learn about Tamil perspectives and understand the struggle for Tamil self-determination, which preceded the LTTE by decades and continues on today.

Rehana Thowfeek (Muslim) and Chayu Damsinghe (Sinhalese). They're *twitches* economists and neoliberals but what we're in right now is an economic crisis. Capitalism is a fuck, but this particular situation is the result of astounding levels of corruption and incompetence, which is in turn a result of ethno-fascism and dynastic politics. They make truly excellent and simplified threads on macroeconomics for novices and laymen, don't demonize socialism and welfare states, and their aims and ideals have a fair overlap with leftists.

Please note Sri Lankan and South Asian discourses on economics are not at all the same as the US's. The US's left is barely left of center; South Asia has an intractably socialist foundation that is disabled by poverty and corruption created by colonialism and neo-colonialism. Our countries are equally traumatized by communism, neoliberalism and crony capitalism.

That's your a starter pack for the young Sri Lankan/ Desi novice and world affairs nerd. There's hundreds of prominent journalists, researchers, activists, academics, analysts, writers and artists who have throwing themselves bodily at social injustice in Sri Lanka for decades, through one of South Asia's longest and bloodiest civil wars. You guys should have nothing but contempt for international journalists who parachute in and take over stories with less context than any local, instead of simply boosting the local journos who have been covering these stories for years and can out-write them any day of the week. If there's anything this hellscape has taught us, it's how utterly trash international news outlets are - Reuters, The Guardian, CNN, BCC, New York Times - worthless.

Always:

- try to find local newspapers and source

- amplify people who are directly impacted by the issues you want to know about instead of trying to "translate for an English speaking audience"

- never trust political and economic commentators who aren't actually in the country they're commenting on (looking at you Steve Hanke)

- especially never trust white people with fancy degrees who are "experts" on colonialism and racism.

_____

Notes:

I mentioned each one's ethnicity because 90% of Sri Lanka's problems was created by Sinhalese Buddhist ethnonationalist supremacy. The 26 year old civil war was a slow genocide of the Tamils of the North and East, with Muslims massacred by both sides.

Our surnames are so long because the Sinhalese and Tamil alphabets have a letter for every syllable. So names that are only five letters long for us get unravelled like an accordion in English.

#i am incapable of making short and sweet posts #oh well #sri lanka #sri lanka economic crisis #sri lanka politics #sri lanka protests #sri lanka resources #victory to the struggle! #අරගලයට ජය! #subaltern #south asia #current events #world news #colonialism #desi #knee of huss