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#latest toys 2022
devildeals1 · 2 years
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dobby0003 · 2 years
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Today delhi wle
Omm dimam dimmam dimm dim duu saste nasse tar chipak gye chatti se
Haye garmi 🥵♨️♨️♨️
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rosesbxrry · 1 year
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teddy bear.
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Pairing: Boyfriend! Heeseung X Girlfriend! Fem! Reader
Genre: Smut🔞(Minors DNI), established relationship AU!
Warnings: Dom! Heeseung, unprotected sex (wrap it up before you tap it), cream pie, teasing, cunnilingus, Heeseung using pet names on reader (princess/ baby/ angel), multiple orgasm, dirty talk, mixture of both praising and degradation, possessiveness (Heeseung being jealous over a teddy bear), Hopefully I didn’t miss out anything else  
Summary: You decided to take advantage of the Christmas holiday to introduce your long-time boyfriend to your parents. However, you didn't expect Heeseung to get jealous over a teddy bear you kept gifted by your ex. 
A Holiday Special: ➜ Heeseung
| ➜ Jay | ➜ Jake | ➜ Sunghoon |
Main masterlist
Word count: 4,165 words
a/n: Impulse decision for me to make a holiday/ Christmas special for the Hyung line! I will post the other’s every week in the month of December but since this was a last minute project that I made, Sunghoon’s part will probably be posted in the first week of January next year. Hope you all enjoy this little special gifts as a thank you for all the support in 2022! 
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For this year's Christmas holiday, you've decided to introduce your long-term boyfriend, Heeseung, to your parents after being consistently pestered by them for wanting to meet him for so long.
So, after clearing your's and Heeseung's schedule and buying the latest flight tickets to fly back to your hometown, the familiar scenery of the neighbourhood where you grew up passed through the windows of your parent's car as they drove the both of you to your childhood home from the airport.
The sight of the area enveloped in clear white snow, and the parachuting of snowflakes from the sky caused you to shiver a bit. It was not like you hated winter, but you preferred the warmth of a summer's day rather than damp, gloomy and freezing weather.
A hand places itself on your hands— Heeseung's long and lanky fingers intertwined with yours, yet when you look up at him beside you from the passenger's seat, he still pays attention to your mother's rambles with deep interest. His doe eyes stayed firm on her, and he nodded his head occasionally, which made you stifle a little laugh at how cute he looked.  
To say your parents were smitten by him was an understatement.
Who wouldn't be when he noticed every little detail about you? Even holding your hand when he knew you would be cold like it was second nature to him.
When you arrived at your parent's home, you made sure not to let your mother self-indulge in Heeseung's presence. When she moved to show him a collage of pictures she kept from when you were a child into your awkward teens, you knew it was time to make excuses about how tired you and Heeseung were from the trip in hopes of getting away.
"I didn't know you used to be a part of the choir?" Heeseung teased, helping to move the heavy luggage into your childhood bedroom so that the both of you would be staying while here.
"We all have our dark past," You replied, removing your puffed jacket. "It was either that or playing the triangle once in a 3-minute song at the back with only the heads of the kids at the front in sight."
"I think it was cute." He laughed, lying down on the bed with his eyes darting around the place. He reached back to grab a giant teddy bear sitting on the bed, placing it on his lap and playing with the red heart it was holding with the words I love you written on it.
Your eyes caught the scene, and immediately an idea popped into your head, leading you to smirk unnoticed by your boyfriend, who was oblivious to your upcoming scheme.
"Oh! That teddy bear brings back so many old memories," You nonchalantly mused, trying too hard to seem unbothered. He throws you a curious look, hugging the stuffed toy against his chest relaxedly.
"Why?"
"Oh, nothing, just that it was a gift from my ex during high school. Isn't it nice and fluffy?"
You saw him freeze at the corner of your eyes, the innocent grip around the teddy bear loosened at the new revelation that you still kept something from your ex— and he was hugging it.
You had never seen him so appalled by anything.
It's not often you get to make Heeseung jealous because it would often be the other way around, which is why you enjoyed deciphering every bit of reaction he was showing. You took the chance to steal the teddy bear from his embrace, watching his bottom lip pout and his eyes low at how you were affectionately cuddling it against your chest.
"That thing is not sleeping on the bed with us." He firmly said.
You scoffed, rolling your eyes at his demand. "Come on, and this gift was years ago! Look how nice of a cuddling buddy it can be for the winter night." You held the stuffed toy up for him to see; a soft pillow texture with the right size to hug, its head tilted to the side innocently as if it were not the source of his problem.
The look he gave the bear was murderous at best.
"Whatever. It’s not stepping a single foot near this bed." He curtly replied, frowning with his arms crossed around his chest to show his determination.
"Besides, why would you need it when you can cuddle with me instead?" He muttered under his breath with a slight spice that was hard to miss.
You wanted to laugh at how he was acting but kept it calm, continuing with the charade if it meant seeing him so uptight about the whole ordeal. You bit your lower lip, using every ounce of self-control not to break out of character, opting to show him a looped-sided grin which he did not appreciate.
After freshening up and pushing the whole thing behind, you had a great Christmas Eve dinner with your parents. In true fashion, they pry every detail from him— from how the both of you met, his studies and what his parents do for a living. Your boyfriend was a natural charmer for sure, answering the questions with his pearly white smile and galaxy-set eyes while throwing in some of his humour that sometimes, you eyed your parents for laughing a bit too much. But then again, it was a good reassurance to you that they have fallen for this man as much as you did.  
The night ended with some sweet desserts that your mother made and endless conversation filled in between the warm scent of cinnamon and apple at the dining table. The snowfall has quickly thickened outside, and the darkness has taken over the sky, but it didn't stop your parents from attending the communal Christmas event held by the neighbourhood right after.
So, as they left, you and Heeseung were left to do the dishes and clean the kitchen voluntarily.
"Do you think your parents like me?" Heeseung asked when you passed him the washed plate for him to dry. A disbelief looked crossed your face, wiping your head to the side to face him.
"Baby," You started. "I think they will probably cry when we leave, and I can reassure you that it's not because of their flesh and bone."  
Heeseung laughed, giving you a sheepish smile as you jokingly soaped the dirty plates a little too bitterly. In all honesty, he was a little worried about meeting your parents, which turned him into a nervous wreck, especially when he regarded you as the love of his life. He wanted to know if they were being nice out of obligation for their daughter's happiness instead of seeing him as someone they could trust.
However, hearing your words have lifted the burden and worries off his shoulder.
Heeseung leaned down to your level and pecked your lips abruptly, taking you by surprise that the spoon you were washing almost slipped out of your grasp. You looked up to give him a confused stare, the proximity of his face was close enough for you to feel bashful at the way he was fixated on your lips.
"What was that?" You questioned.
"I don't know." He answered honestly, but you recognized the sultry tone in the way he replied.
You observed how he was holding back a grin; his features were now agonizingly attractive from the way his Adam's apple bobbed to the slope of his nose, which reminded you how perfectly it fit between the spaces of your legs. You smiled back at him with equal anticipation.
"Maybe you should do it again." You challenged, and it was enough for him to swoop down to kiss you again, but this time, he held onto the side of your face to deepen it. You didn't care that your hands were still wet as you tangled your fingers between his locks of raven hair.
Your lips moved sensually before the intensity heightened as the two pairs of arms eagerly moved to caress each other's bodies. You could tell Heeseung was getting heated, his lips moving sloppily against yours; the wet sound emitted was erotic to your ears.
His hands that were once on your back slid down to rest on your ass, and he pulled the front of your body flushed against his own. Once you felt his stiff bulge, a loud moan erupted from your lips as he jerked his hips for more friction, feeling your pussy drooling at his desperate motion.
Fuck he felt so big. Your legs quiver at the thought.
Heeseung broke the kiss to drop forward close to the crook of your neck.
"When do you think your parents are going to be back?" His voice was hoarse, leaving soft and open kisses on the sensitive skin of your neck. You attempted to make sense of his question in your state but it proved to be difficult at how breathless he was making you feel.
"An hour or two at best." You swallowed, goosebumps blooming on your skin.
"Good."
That was the only word you heard from him; the next thing you knew, he was pulling you by the wrist towards the familiar direction of your upstairs bedroom.
The sound of the door banging close echoed in the room. Heeseung attached his moist lips back to yours in a feverish manner, his hands sliding under your shirt, and you shivered at the way his cold rings grazed your skin. The impact of your back hitting the soft mattress was expected, arching your back to aid him in taking off your shirt and bra hastily.
"God, you're so beautiful." He moaned, leaning down from his position on top of you to squeeze your breast. You whimpered when he played with your hardened nipples in between his thumb and index finger, your hands tugging on the ends of his shirt in a desperate attempt for him to realize you wanted it off.
"Heeseung...."  
He smirked at the way you called his name intensely, watching your mouth open agape to allow strings of sweet moans to escape when he flicked at your peaking nipples.
"Patience baby," He said as you watched him from below as he pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his lean physique and cut waistline that your hands achingly gravitate. Heeseung let out a content sigh, enjoying the sensation of your palms smoothing his abdomen to his chest, leaving a trail of searing stimulation on his skin.
"Let me take it slow, okay?"
He begins to caress the delicate curve of your clavicle with his hot tongue, his head moving in a downward motion and leaving a trail of saliva behind. A sharp gasp escapes your mouth when he reaches the swell of your breast before he inevitably sucked in a nipple, the tip of his tongue swiping back and forth over it, making your head spin at the amount of pleasure overwhelming your body.  
"Ah—fuck," You gritted out, feeling your pussy dampen that you had to squeeze your thighs together.
Heeseung continued to drag his tongue down, slowly tasting every inch of your skin as he said. The heat in your stomach grew hotter, your breath hitching higher as you realize he was getting closer to the one area you needed him the most.
Just the thought of his lips against your drenched folds tightens your grip on the wrinkled bed sheet, and the fact that his buttoned nose would be resting on your throbbing clit— fucking god, you would probably ascend to heaven at the mercy of it.
Heeseung let out an amused chuckle when you moaned loudly as he pulled off the last article of clothing on you. With your legs resting on his shoulders, his eyes gauged at how your folds were dripping with slick and the hunger he felt grew ferocious with only the thought of satiating it by burrowing his face between your lovely legs.
"So wet and needy for me," You felt his fiery gaze without looking at him, his fingers pulling your pussy apart to give him a better sight which elicits a soft moan. "—shit, look at this pretty clit mm? so swollen and perfect"
Your face was inflamed at his words because it was true; you felt every bone and cell in your body reacting to every touch, every movement and every sound he made that you were spilling an unimaginable amount of arousal from your core. Your brain was hazed with immense lust, with the last grain of sanity thrown out of the window.
You wanted him; you wanted him so much that it hurts.
Heeseung took advantage of your adorable and dishevelled state, caressing your inner thighs close to your pussy with the pads of his thumb.
"I can have a taste, can I?" His comment was coy, tilting his head innocently to the side as if he was not witnessing you falling apart.
He was torturing you with those Bambi eyes.
"Hee— please," You sobbed, a hand over your eyes as you were slowly running out of patience, completely bewitched body and soul by pleasure. "Please, I want you so fucking badly."
Heeseung was drinking up your desperate pleads, his crotch growing painfully tight against his pants the more you squirmed. Precum was slowly leaking out of his slit onto the fabric of his briefs, but his priority was to taste your sweet juices before he could settle his hard cock. He licked his lips, finally satisfied with getting off by your brazen mewls that it was time for you to receive your reward.
"Anything for my princess."
You threw your head back when he licked a stripe against your core; a mantra of curses escaped your lips as the wet muscles of his tongue drew out the intricacy of your folds. He made out with your pussy; nibbling, lapping and sucking on the sweet essence that infiltrated his senses until he couldn't have enough of your pussy on his face.
"oh my god—" You couldn't even finish your sentence as a whine erupted when you felt the tip of his nose nuzzled against your swollen clit. Electrifying pleasure shoots through underneath your skin that it tingled the more he bobbed his head to nudge on the sensitive nerve.
"Keep your legs open," His low growl vibrates into your folds, sending waves of bliss straight to the knot in your stomach, smacking his lips to savour how sloppy he was making you. He grips your thighs to make you stop squirming, pulling you down more towards his face.  
"Don't make me stop eating you out. You wouldn't like that, won't you?"
You can't let him do that. Never.
"No, no, no! Don't stop! please," You couldn't fathom whether he was acting serious or being a tease, but all you know is to obey his command instinctively, opening your legs wide for him to feel the smirk on his lips.
"Good girl," He praised, voice dripping with honey.
Your laboured panting reverberates as loud as the beating of your heart as he dives back into your core. His tongue and mouth moved so much faster and harder that you could barely catch your breath, making you thrust your hips relentlessly to gain more friction.
Every brush of his nose on your clit, every suction and graze of his tongue and lips on the slit of your cunt, setting the knot in your stomach a blaze more excruciating than before. You played with your erect nipples with the rhythm of his mouth with your head thrown back to let him enjoy the sight of you pleasuring yourself as you tried to reach the threshold of your release faster.
"Don't—stop— fuck! I'm gonna cum." You warned.
Heeseung made the final move to seal his lips around your swollen clit, suctioning pressure enough for you to release into his hot mouth. You cried out his name as your back arched, and the heat in your stomach finally came undone as waves of ecstasy got you trembling from head to toe. His mouth never ceases to move against your tender folds, making you ride your orgasm as he smooths a palm over your tense abdomen, adamant about making sure he drinks every bit of your sweet release.  
"Heeseung," Your voice quivered, bathing in the aftershock of your high as you glanced down at the male between your parted thighs.
His dark, intense eyes immediately zeroed in on you, taking a few more laps of your juices until he was satisfied, noticing how his eyes were dazed, as if he was in an enchanted state at just seeing you in the utmost pleasure.
"You did so well, angel," He leaned up to kiss you on the lips; a string of your cum mixed with his saliva was visible when he broke the exchange. He gently moves a stray hair away from your face and tucks it behind your ears. "Such a good girl cumming in my mouth."
A whispered litany of praises escaped his lips, caressing your neck with the bridge of his nose, letting your finger comb through his locks when your body finally registered the exhaustion creeping in from your orgasm. The domestic atmosphere settled in as he continued to nuzzle against your shoulder, feeling the comfortable weight of his body on top of yours.
"Feel better?" He rested his weight on his elbow to look at you properly. "You okay? I can run the shower for you, and we can rest up after."
You chuckled at his natural shift, reaching out to touch playfully the dangling silver earrings he wore. It was unfathomable to you that he could edge your deepest desire before turning into the softest and most endearing person seconds apart. His offer relaxes the tired muscles of your body, but you knew you couldn't end the night knowing that his release didn't ensue.
You shake your head, "I can't just leave you like this."
You watch his face contoured in pleasure when you palm your hand on his still-hard bulge; the friction causes him to erupt into a deep groan. With quick action, you massage his clothed cock, and the beautiful soft whines he emits sends waves of pleasure straight to your spent pussy.
Heeseung was too preoccupied with making you feel good that he didn't realize how needy he was with his release, grinding and humping his hips covetously against your hand to get the delicious waves of friction. You continued to grope his cock and squeeze the thick length until he was a panting mess straddling above you, observing how his eyes shut close, and his body jerked forward when you rubbed his head with your nails.
"But—"
"No buts," You cut him off, tugging his sweatpants down to expose the thin briefs underneath, and your mouth immediately watered at how huge the outline was. "I want you to fuck me with your big cock, Hee."
He opened his eyes, and you noted the sudden shift in the way his jaw clenched, the initial soft feature of his shyness wholly replaced with a feral-like gaze that would swallow you whole behind his wispy bangs. He played with the soft cushion of your lower lip, piercing eyes studying how your lips parted to allow the finger to enter sensually.
"I'm not gonna go easy on you baby," He swallowed thickly once your tongue coated his thumb with saliva, putting a bit of pressure on the roof of your mouth. "You might scream at the top of your lungs once I'm in."
"Don't worry," You sucked on his thumb innocently while never breaking eye contact, which thrills him even more. "Maybe you'll find out in a second that I like it that way."
Heeseung always prides himself on self-control, but something about the sight of you holding his writs to push his thumb deeper into the cavern of your mouth, your big eyes looking up at him through your lashes as the wet sound of you sucking grew sloppy— something snapped when he realized the other figure present in the room.
It didn't register your mind when he shoved the familiar teddy bear close to your face.
"Wha—"
"You said you wanna cuddle with it, right?"
He roughly pulled down his sweatpants to expose his manhood, allowing it to stand tall in all its glory against his abdomen. He stroked his engorged cock to spread the precum from the pink head to the underside of his veins; his tight balls bounced with every knead until his length was nice and lubricated.
At the same time, his other arm pulled you swiftly by the ankle, resting one leg over his shoulder. You shudder as the cold air hits your core, wide open for him to see your pussy that was already glistening.
"I'll make sure you'll hold it tight, so you better don't let go." You hold the teddy bear tight to your chin, moaning when the male rubs his head against your clit and along your wet folds.
A broken moan erupted from your throat, eyes rolling to the back of your head when he pushed into your slit. No matter how many times he had fucked your hole, you couldn't get enough of how euphoric the initial stretch was, feeling his large and throbbing cock against your hot walls.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." That was all you could utter when he bottomed out. Before you could adjust, he began to thrust in and out of you at a fast tempo, disregarding any grace and showing the ravenous resolve he meant.
You dug your fingernails harder against the teddy bear, tears welling up at the inner corners of your eyes, feeling like he was splitting you apart from the inside the harder he thrust.
“Ah!—wait, it's too—"
"I told you, didn't I?" With one grip on the thigh of your anchored leg and the other on your hips to keep you in place, Heeseung continued to piston his hips forward, ensuring he went all the way in and out at a ruthless pace. "I won't go easy on you, princess."
Heeseung spills his drool right where his cock meets your slit, giving him more power to thrust in swiftly and out sharply. As much as you were enjoying him deep inside you, the male let out soft agonizing grunts as well; your walls spasmed over his wide girth until he felt lightheaded. You felt so good around him that he projected it with every merciless lunge to chase down his high selfishly.
He glanced down at you and almost laughed at how you held the teddy bear close to your face, muffling your moans and crying that the sight enamoured him.
"Scream it out, baby," He growled. The mattress deep down behind your back as he pushes hard to allow his swollen head to hit the deepest part of your pussy. "Tell your precious teddy bear how much my cock makes you feel good— how much I can fuck this tight little cunt until you can't walk."
Fuck, you were tightening up with every dirty spite he spilt.
"Hee—Heeseung—ahhh," You plead. The familiar heated knot grows, and your second orgasm hangs by a thread, throwing your head back with your mouth agape. "I'm—I'm so close!"
"That's it, baby. Cum for me." He coaxed.
Your surroundings instantly melted away, spatial perception slipping through the cracks, and all you could focus on was the mind-blowing release that spiralled in your body. A few seconds later, Heeseung came after a few more thrusts with a loud groan as he filled you up with his hot cum, fucking you through your orgasm slowly until you could feel the mixed sticky arousal oozing out to drip down your inner thighs.
He collapsed beside you, and you could tell how exhausted yet buzzing the experience was. As coherency slowly registered in your mind and the adrenaline pumping arrested into a soft hum, Heeseung pulled you into his embrace in silent bliss, caressing your back delicately.
At that moment, you would have never thought that your Christmas trip to visit your parents would end up like this, but it beats the cold and the fact that your little scheme to rile him up ended up between your love-making session.
Which makes you realize—
"I lied, by the way."
Heeseung turned his head to face you with a confused look.
"The teddy bear was not from my ex," You explained, observing how his eyebrow furrowed to understand. "I bought it when I was twelve during a garage sale for like two bucks."
His face fell immediately, realization seeping into him.
"You're a menace to society." He groaned, throwing the teddy bear you were holding across the room in embarrassment as your amused laugh only depended seeing the pink flush on his ears, making this Christmas holiday an unforgettable memory for the both of you.
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@forjongseong, @skzenhalove, @duolingofanaccount, @sunnysunnysunnysunshine, @sunnyjayjays, @archangelaurii, @hwihwi0o0, @won-shine, @stnkyash, @yoursjaeyun​
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A Holiday Special: ➜ Heeseung
| ➜ Jay | ➜ Jake | ➜ Sunghoon |
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Private equity ghouls have a new way to steal from their investors
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Private equity is quite a racket. PE managers pile up other peoples’ money — pension funds, plutes, other pools of money — and then “invest” it (buying businesses, loading them with debt, cutting wages, lowering quality and setting traps for customers). For this, they get an annual fee — 2% — of the money they manage, and a bonus for any profits they make.
On top of this, private equity bosses get to use the carried interest tax loophole, a scam that lets them treat this ordinary income as a capital gain, so they can pay half the taxes that a working stiff would pay on a regular salary. If you don’t know much about carried interest, you might think it has to do with “interest” on a loan or a deposit, but it’s way weirder. “Carried interest” is a tax regime designed for 16th century sea captains and their “interest” in the cargo they “carried”:
https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest
Private equity is a cancer. Its profits come from buying productive firms, loading them with debt, abusing their suppliers, workers and customers, and driving them into ground, stiffing all of them — and the company’s creditors. The mafia have a name for this. They call it a “bust out”:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben
Private equity destroyed Toys R Us, Sears, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and many more companies beloved of Main Street, bled dry for Wall Street:
https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-06-02-days-of-plunder-morgenson-rosner-ballou-review/
And they’re coming for more. PE funds are “rolling up” thousands of Boomer-owned business as their owners retire. There’s a good chance that every funeral home, pet groomer and urgent care clinic within an hour’s drive of you is owned by a single PE firm. There’s 2.9m more Boomer-owned businesses going up for sale in the coming years, with 32m employees, and PE is set to buy ’em all:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/16/schumpeterian-terrorism/#deliberately-broken
PE funds get their money from “institutional investors.” It shouldn’t surprise you to learn they treat their investors no better than their creditors, nor the customers, employees or suppliers of the businesses they buy.
Pension funds, in particular, are the perennial suckers at the poker table. My parent’s pension fund, the Ontario Teachers’ Fund, are every grifter’s favorite patsy, losing $90m to Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency scam:
https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/about-us/news-and-insights/2022/ontario-teachers--statement-on-ftx/
Pension funds are neck-deep in private equity, paying steep fees for shitty returns. Imagine knowing that the reason you can’t afford your apartment anymore is your pension fund gambled with the private equity firm that bought your building and jacked up the rent — and still lost money:
https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/25/pluralistic-your-daily-link-dose-25-feb-2020/
But there’s no depth too low for PE looters to sink to. They’ve found an exciting new way to steal from their investors, a scam called a “continuation fund.” Writing in his latest newsletter, the great Matt Levine breaks it down:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/matt-levines-money-stuff-buyout-funds-buy-from-themselves
Here’s the deal: say you’re a PE guy who’s raised a $1b fund. That entitles you to a 2% annual “carry” on the fund: $20,000,000/year. But you’ve managed to buy and asset strip so many productive businesses that it’s now worth $5b. Your carry doesn’t go up fivefold. You could sell the company and collect your 20% commission — $800m — but you stop collecting that annual carry.
But what if you do both? Here’s how: you create a “continuation fund” — a fund that buys your old fund’s portfolio. Now you’ve got $5b under management and your carry quintuples, to $100m/year. Levine dryly notes that the FT calls this “a controversial type of transaction”:
https://www.ft.com/content/11549c33-b97d-468b-8990-e6fd64294f85
These deals “look like a pyramid scheme” — one fund flips its assets to another fund, with the same manager running both funds. It’s a way to make the pie bigger, but to decrease the share (in both real and proportional terms) going to the pension funds and other institutional investors who backed the fund.
A PE boss is supposed to be a fiduciary, with a legal requirement to do what’s best for their investors. But when the same PE manager is the buyer and the seller, and when the sale takes place without inviting any outside bidders, how can they possibly resolve their conflict of interest?
They can’t: 42% of continuation fund deals involve a sale at a value lower than the one that the PE fund told their investors the assets were worth. Now, this may sound weird — if a PE boss wants to set a high initial value for their fund in order to maximize their carry, why would they sell its assets to the new fund at a discount?
Here’s Levine’s theory: if you’re a PE guy going back to your investors for money to put in a new fund, you’re more likely to succeed if you can show that their getting a bargain. So you raise $1b, build it up to $5b, and then tell your investors they can buy the new fund for only $3b. Sure, they can get out — and lose big. Or they can take the deal, get the new fund at a 40% discount — and the PE boss gets $60m/year for the next ten years, instead of the $20m they were getting before the continuation fund deal.
PE is devouring the productive economy and making the world’s richest people even richer. The one bright light? The FTC and DoJ Antitrust Division just published new merger guidelines that would make the PE acquire/debt-load/asset-strip model illegal:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/07/ftc-doj-seek-comment-draft-merger-guidelines
The bad news is that some sneaky fuck just slipped a 20% FTC budget cut — $50m/year — into the new appropriations bill:
https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1681830706488438785
They’re scared, and they’re fighting dirty.
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I’m at San Diego Comic-Con!
Today (Jul 20) 16h: Signing, Tor Books booth #2802 (free advance copies of The Lost Cause — Nov 2023 — to the first 50 people!)
Tomorrow (Jul 21):
1030h: Wish They All Could be CA MCs, room 24ABC (panel)
12h: Signing, AA09
Sat, Jul 22 15h: The Worlds We Return To, room 23ABC (panel)
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If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/20/continuation-fraud/#buyout-groups
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[Image ID: An old Punch editorial cartoon depicting a bank-robber sticking up a group of businesspeople and workers. He wears a bandanna emblazoned with dollar-signs and a top-hat.]
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Two is Better Than One ~Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader x König Imagine~
Requested by anonymous:
Hi hi!! Can I please request something with Ghost and König with their gf who's like, kinda high maintenance and a crybaby? THANK YOU AND CONGRATS ON 5K
Summary: Both Ghost and König are back home to you. Even if you tend to be a little too much.
Author’s Note: When I tell you these men are so fine! I will literally let these men do anything to me. Also, why is this the only gif of them together? I'm hoping that the new Call of Duty game or at least the next one to follow the CoDMW2 (2022) will have more of König and Ghost together.
Reader’s Pronouns: She/Her
Warnings: polyamorous relationship, Ghost and König like each other romantically as well because why not, fluff with some angst in the end, praise kink in a way but nothing sexual
Side Note: This is a secondary blog. If you comment a question down below, I will not answer since this is not the main blog. Please send the question to my inbox if you want a response back!
Do not repost this anywhere!
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Ghost and König can both agree one one thing. The two of them would do anything for you. Even if it meant having to go to McDonalds at the dead of night just to get fries or run to the nearest store for some ice cream. No matter what, they would do anything for you.
So when they came back home to you, they were happy to just have a quiet day together. You all were in the living room as you snuggled against König on the couch, watching TikToks on your phone. Ghost sat in the recliner chair as he watched the latest football match.
As Ghost watched the match and König slept soundly holding you, the two didn't miss the sound of you sobbing. König woke up quickly before looking over at you.
"What's wrong?" Ghost asked you.
"It's just a sad TikTok," you frowned as you sobbed. Ghost let out a sigh before walking over and taking your phone out of your hand.
"No more for you for now," Ghost said.
"Simon!" You whined.
"No buts. Be a good girl and just cuddle with König. And later, I'll hold you while you watch TikToks again," Ghost ordered. You nodded before turning to König.
Whenever you and your boyfriends would go out, the two tend to be more protective of you from any dangers. The other thing they also tend to do is having to keep you away from all the things you would want for no reason.
"König! Can I please have this plushie?" You asked him as you held up a cute cow Squishmallow.
"You already have a lot of plush toys, meine Liebe (my love)," König tells you.
"Bitte (please)," you pouted at him. You had been practicing a few German words to practice to communicate with König.
"Nein, meine Liebe (no, my love)," König answered.
"But König!"
"If König says no, he says no," Ghost tells you from behind. You jumped a little from Ghost startling you. You turned over and looked up at your other boyfriend.
You gave Ghost the puppy eyes with a pout. You clutched the stuff toy against your chest as you stared up at Ghost. He could see the tears begin to form in your eyes, still always questioning on how you was able to do that.
"If we get this for you, then you're going to have to pay the price later," Ghost tells you. You nodded at him before smiling up at him.
"König."
"Ja?"
"Make sure she doesn't stray away from us," Ghost tells König.
"Come here."
You held onto König before the two of you headed to the aisle with the items you actually needed.
The worst part when it comes to the two or even just one of them having to leave for a mission. Before you three became a throuple, you had met the two when you were still an active solider on duty. However, due to a mission gone wrong, you were honorably discharged. But luckily, you three kept in touch and became a throuple.
"Do you have to go?" You asked, already sobbing a little.
"I'll try to come home as soon as possible," Ghost tells you.
"But then if you leave, then König will have to leave at one point as well," you started to sob.
"Darling, the sooner we go, the sooner we are able to come back," Ghost assures you as he held you in his arms.
"Promise me you'll come home safe," you tell him as you held onto him tightly.
"I promise. I'll come back home to the two of you," Ghost said.
"Liebe, he needs to go," König said. You nodded before pulling away from Ghost. Ghost quickly lifted his mask up a little before leaning down to kiss you quickly on the lips. You kissed him back, tasting a little of your salty tears.
"I love you," you tell him.
"I love you too. I'll see you soon okay?"
"Okay," you nodded. Ghost pulled away before looking over at König before giving him a kiss as well.
König held onto you as you both watch Ghost leave your shared home. You looked up at König before he picked you up. You wrapped your arms around him as he pressed his forehead against yours.
"Let's go watch some movies and have cuddles. Okay?" König asked. You nodded before resting your head onto his shoulder as he carried you over to the living room.
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The Tortured Poets Department
Strap on in kids, lets get this done before bed time..! 😂
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The Tortured Poets Department is the upcoming eleventh studio album from Taylor Swift, set for release on 19 April 2024. The surprise announcement came after her 13th Grammy win(Best Pop Vocal Album - Midnights) at the 66th Grammy Awards 4 February 2024.
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Track Listing Dive
Fortnight Nothing really for this at the moment. It means 2 weeks, but it is a Post Malone feature which I'm actually pretty excited for.
The Tortured Poets Department Potentially a shade track, potentially a bait and switch. 9 May 2022 GQ releases an interview with Joe Alwyn promoing his latest project Conversations With Friends. Firstly: "He tells me he still doesn’t get recognised in the street" - Everybody did not in fact want him. 💅 Secondly: "Soon after he was cast, a mutual friend created a WhatsApp group with him and Paul Mescal called The Tortured Man Club" I'm getting serious artbro vibes here...
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3. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys Blatant Cruel Summer call back here, Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price, you know that I bought it - Cruel Summer
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Taylor has been broken 9 times since Red (and only 1 before) All are haylor references.
📂 We learn to live with the pain, mosaic broken hearts - State Of Grace 📂 I never go alone and I don’t seem broken hearted - The Very First Night 📂 Took our broken hearts, put them in a drawer - Welcome To New York 📂 My broken bones are mending with all these nights we’re spending - King Of My Heart 📂 I was walking home on broken cobblestones just thinking of you - Betty 📂 If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it, will it patch your broken wings? - Betty 📂 My eclipsed sun, this has broken me down; My broken drum, you have beaten my heart - Hoax 📂 Looked up at me with honour and truth, broken and blue - The Great War 📂 Lock broken, slur spoken, wound open, game token - High Infidelity
Taylor has only been her muses favourite twice, once again haylor.
📂 Staring out the window like I’m not your favourite town, I’m New York City - False God 📂 You put me on and said I was your favourite - Cardigan
4. Down Bad To be down is to be unhappy, or depressed; unable to feel excited or energetic about anything. Taylor hasn't used this metaphor much at all before, but she has used the colour blue in a similar fashion. To be "Blue" is to be sad or depressed. Same meaning.
📂 Losing him was blue like I’d never known - Red 📂 My, my love had been frozen deep blue, but you painted me golden - Dancing With Our Hands Tied 📂 And it’s blue, the feeling I got - Cruel Summer 📂 My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue - Lover 📂 We’re so sad, we paint the town blue - Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince 📂 I blew things out of proportion, now you’re blue - Afterglow 📂 Don’t want no other shade of blue but you - Hoax 📂 Sapphire tears on my face, sadness became my whole sky - Bejewelled 📂 Looked up at me with honour and truth, broken and blue - The Great War 📂 Catastrophic blues, moving on was always easy for me to do - Hits Different
Taylor has sung about "Bad Boys" a lot. They are always a reference to one person.
📂 You look like bad news, I gotta have you - 22 📂 I can make the bad guys good for a weekend - Blank Space 📂 He’s so bad, but he does it so well - Wildest Dreams 📂 This love is good, this love is bad, this love is alive, back from the dead - This Love 📂 They say I did something bad, then why’s it feel so good? - I Did Something Bad 📂 You know I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you - So It Goes…
5. So Long, London I see a bait and switch incoming. Taylor had no business shading for your new girl is my clone lmao. Anywhoo, lets look at the meaning behind "So long" Taken from Merriam Webster:
So long, an expression of farewell, is a colloquialism that we take for granted as being a logical construction. It'll only be so long before you meet again, right? However, no senses of these two words actually add up to mean "good-bye." So where did it come from? Usage history of so long suggests it could be an Americanism. Early use is found in Walt Whitman's poem about death and leave-taking entitled "So long!", which was published in the 1860 edition of his Leaves of Grass. A friend of his hadn't heard it until he read the poem, and when he asked Whitman to define it, he called it "a salutation of departure, greatly used among sailors, sports, & prostitutes—the sense of it is till we meet again—conveying an inference somewhere, some how they will doubtless so meet—sooner or later."
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6. But Daddy I Love Him Obviously Question...? and Maroon did not create the desired wake up call so Taylor has decided to be a little bit more obvious this album. "But Daddy, I Love Him" is a quote from the 1989 movie The Little Mermaid.
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Taylor famously dressed as Arial for her New Years party in her New York apartment 31 December 2018. This is the same date Netflix launched the reputation stadium tour movie.
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In November 2019, dearest H hosted Saturday Night live. Let's take a look at some of the unreleased images from this shoot...
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Furthermore, we then have the infamous Tshirt just after the news was announced that H had to turn down the role of Prince Eric due to scheduling concerns. And I think we're all forgetting this tattoo..
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All things oceans and water seem to hold a key meaning for this "unspoken dialogue" here are a couple of key moments..
📂 Clear blue water, high tide came and brought you in - This Love 📂 I’d hold you as the water rushes in - Dancing With Our Hands Tied 📂 Eyes like sinking ships on waters so inviting, I almost jumped in - Gold Rush
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7. Fresh Out the Slammer This as track 7 makes me nervous...! Taylor has only mentioned Jail/Prison explicitly 3 times in her lyrics prior to this song. All haylor.
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📂 And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor - …Ready For It? 📂 It was the great escape, the prison break, the light of freedom on my face - Getaway Car 📂 I blew things out of proportion, now you’re blue, put you in jail for something you didn’t do - Afterglow
8. Florida!!! I'm sideeying this like no other. The 3 exclamation points are giving me ellipsis flashbacks, and the only other time's shes used ! in a song title are "Slut!" and Me!. Also weird connection but the I am nearly home account's first gift was Pastry Heaven in Florida!!! (still haven't been able to link that with anything yet, I'm mulling over a possible connection?)
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9. Guilty as Sin? This feels like an extention to the Bejewelled, Look What You Made Me Do, I Did Something Bad, Getaway Car, High Infidelity timeline. But also could be Willow coded?????
📂 I guess it’s the price I paid for seven years in heaven - Happiness 📂 It’s cool, that’s what I tell them, no rules in breakable heaven - Cruel Summer
10. Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
This has been posted a bit, but this is absolutely a reference to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American drama film based on the play of the same name, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The film was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, and won 5. The film's title alludes to the English novelist Virginia Woolf. She committed suicide at age 59 in 1941, leaving a note in which she expressed love for her husband Leonard Woolf and sorrow for the anguish she was causing him. Twenty years later, playwright Edward Albee corresponded with him, asking permission to use his late wife's name in the title of a new play. Albee described the inspiration for the title: I was in there [at a saloon in New York] having a beer one night, and I saw "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" scrawled in soap, I suppose, on this mirror. When I started to write the play it cropped up in my mind again. And of course, who's afraid of Virginia Woolf means who's afraid of the big bad wolf – who's afraid of living life without false illusions. And it did strike me as being a rather typical, university intellectual joke.
Edward Albee(playwright) has said that the title of the play "means who’s afraid of the big bad wolf … who’s afraid of living life without false illusions." Albee's characters create illusions to help them evade feelings of their own inadequacy this play also opposes the idea of a perfect American family and societal expectations as it "attacks the false optimism and myopic confidence of modern society"
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11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
12. Loml I mean because she wasn't clear enough referencing him earlier... I mean its only fair right, he released a song called Daylight. LOML (Internet slang) Initialism of love of my life. pps look at those carnations and roses 👀
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13. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart I'm thinking very YOYOK. Title doesn't give much away though..
14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived lol.
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15. The Alchemy Alchemy was a form of speculative thought that, among other aims, tried to transform base metals such as lead or copper into silver or gold. It also sought to discover cures for diseases and a way of extending life.
This is not the first time Taylor has referenced Alchemy, she had an alchemical heart symbol on her reputation acoustic jacket.
16. Clara Bow I'm very excited. There's probably 3 of us who knew who she was prior to the track listing! Clara was a 1920's ICON, here's some of her biography taken from The Guardian Bow was snubbed by the in-crowd, and for years after her heyday she would be nudged out of history. Her film career held more future sadness and scandal than she could have possibly imagined when she signed on the dotted line. Studio executives tried to manipulate her, calling her a “birdbrain” and a “dumbbell” while she continued to make them masses of money at the box office.
Her love life was far more thrilling and varied than the films she made, and there’s a reason why she negotiated not to have a morals clause in her Paramount contract.
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Bow’s physical and mental health issues (she had schizophrenia, like her mother) were exacerbated by the stresses of her fame, particularly the fallout from her notorious tell-all memoir in Photoplay and a lurid lawsuit brought by her former secretary.
Clara spoke of her most famous character: “All the time the flapper is laughing and dancing, there’s a feeling of tragedy underneath,” she said once. “She’s unhappy and disillusioned, and that’s what people sense.”
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17. The Manuscript Manuscript, an author's handwritten or typed text that has not yet been published. I feel like this could be rather unfiltered. I hope so.
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tokusaatsus · 1 year
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HOW YOU END UP ON A DATE WITH THEM
ft. kiryu kuro, sakuma rei, shiina niki
© tokusaatsus 2022
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warnings: none
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You’re set up on a blind date, except it starts out terribly–with you getting stood up. You are going to be having words with your friends about this later.
Kuro sees you sitting alone and ends up pretending to be your date in an attempt to save you from the crushing embarrassment he can see you stewing in. When he strolls over to you, the relief in your eyes is palpable and he doesn’t have the heart to brush you off after that.
He ends up taking you to a nearby fair. You stroll past various game stalls, where he makes multiple attempts to win you the plushies you’d been eyeing. He feels a sense of accomplishment when your eyes brighten at the sight of the cuddly soft toy in his arms, but there’s still that underlying guilt. He feels as though he’s somehow having taken advantage of you, even when you clutch the plushie to your chest. It intensifies when you insist on buying him a snack as thanks. Later, when he walks you home hand-in-hand under the stars, he can’t take it anymore, and it’s right there at your doorstep that Kuro confesses that he’s not your actual date.
You admit, a little embarrassed, that you knew all along–your friends weren’t foolish enough to leave you without a few descriptors of your supposed date–but you were having so much fun with him that you felt there was no right moment to let him know. You bow and tell him you’re sorry for taking advantage of him, keeping your gaze fixed on your feet.
There’s a moment of silence where you avoid eye-contact, when you hear a low chuckle. 
“If ya liked this one so much,” Kuro gives you a crooked smile. “Then how ‘bout we go on another one. This Saturday work for ya? I’ll pick ya up at 8?”
You nod, a little flustered. Just before he leaves, he presses a quick kiss to your cheek and adds, “Oh, and this time? I’m your actual date~”
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You and Rei get set up on the same blind date, something which was clearly Kaoru’s fault. After all, he’s the only point of contact between your friend group and Rei’s. You will be getting him back for this.
It’s a little awkward at first, when you sit at Café Cinnamon bored out of your mind, and look up to see the Sakuma Rei, ½ of UNDEAD’s main attractions, lowering himself to sit in the seat opposite you.
At your flabbergasted look, Rei lets out a nervous chuckle and says, “I think this might be my seat, Y/N-kun?” which answers absolutely nothing of the 50-plus questions swirling around in your brain.
However, as the date does go smoothly, despite your reservations. The two of you are able to have conversations, about work, about life after graduation, about your hobbies, and it ends up showing that you two have quite a lot in common! It’s actually–dare you say it–fun. Talking to Rei is nice. He’s an interesting conversation partner, filled with anecdotes about abroad, and you can tell he feels the same way about you.
You end up staying much longer than you were expecting. The Rei of UNDEAD differs quite a bit from the Rei you’ve come to know over the course of these few hours, and it’s interesting, learning where they overlap and where they separate. Who can blame you for wanting to stay longer? When a pretty boy gives you his undivided attention and listens to you ramble on about your latest hyperfixations, well…that kind of thing can make anyone’s ego swell.
The date comes to a close with a brief argument over who pays for the date, which you win, of course. Hesitantly, you turn to Rei as you add that, “You can pay for the next one, ‘kay, Sakuma-kun?” which is followed by a blink, and a goofy smile spreading across the self-proclaimed vampire’s face.
“Kukuku, but of course, Y/N-kun. It would be this old man’s pleasure to take you out again~”
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It isn’t an uncommon occurrence for you to be invited to go out on a date with Niki, except neither of you realise it’s a date. You call it a ‘friendly outing’, both inside your head and to others, and are treated to a lot of skeptical glances from your friends who aren’t quite certain if you’re pulling a fast one on them or if you’re just that stupid.
You’ve been on many of these ‘outings’ before, usually consisting of the two of you going window shopping where you hold hands and point out cute things that you think he’d like–or that you wish you could buy–followed by a date at a cook-your-own-meal restaurant where Niki takes the reins and conducts the meal with the skill of a chef. He feeds you the food he’s grilling, and it’s cute, honestly. You give off the vibes of a domestic couple, what with the way you eagerly light up as Niki holds his chopsticks to your mouth and how naturally you hold Niki’s hair out of his eyes so he can better see what he’s doing.
You go on like that for quite some time, actually, until some old lady chances upon the two of you strolling past and comments on what a “cute couple you two make”. She coos over you for a bit longer before going on her own merry way, oblivious to the bombshell she’s just dropped.
It’s then you start to realise that, yes, this does qualify as a date and the two of you have basically been dating already for the past few weeks.
After you get over the initial embarrassment, you realise there’s no need to act like this is your first date because, it’s not. You’ve basically been speedrunning the date process. At this point, you’ve practically been dating for over a month, which explains all the raised eyebrows from your friends. Oh, you’re never living this down, are you…?
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notes!
WC: 1k words
reze txt i’ve been procrastinating on this for. over a week now? i kinda hate myself tbh i was Supposed to write more but i Could Not bring myself to. i miss niki… anyways enjoy!! and stream honeycomb summer y’all <3
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random-mailbox · 7 months
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Random-Mailbox's Favorite Sailor Moon Fics - Week 52 - Crystal Tokyo
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Welcome to the final regularly planned post in this series, I felt would be fitting to end with Crystal Tokyo. I have a few more lists I'd like to make in the future, but I'm holding off on a couple of them until a few unfinished stories are completed. The lists wouldn't be the same without them. I really want to give credit to @floraone for suggesting this project in the first place. It has been so much fun for me to highlight a lot of amazing works in this fandom and I'm hoping it's helped bring new readers to these stories. Thank you to all of you for coming on this adventure with me! 
As always, my apologies in advance for spoiling some of these for you (Fic Titles are linked to either FFN or AO3 entries).
Royal Affairs - @master-ray5
When I first added this series to the list, it was a single one-shot. It has since grown to 7 connected chapters with plans for a full 20. Super fun and lemony read!
Come Back to Me - @idesofnovember
In this one-shot King Endymion is making impossible possible in his darkest hour, serving as a ray of hope for Usagi. 
Desperate Measures - @idesofnovember
Endymion comes up with a plan to get Neo Queen Serenity to forgive "him", as memories of things he "said and did" during break-up arc flood in.
Sleepless Nights - ElvisVF101
Kunzite helps King Endymion through an existential crisis, when he finds him alone on the balcony late at night.
“My Sister, the Queen” - @sailor-scribbles
This was one of the first stories I have ever read in this fandom and one of the few that deals with Shingo in Crystal Tokyo and his adjustment to the new family status. And it has adorable art!
These Games We Play: Chapter 10: Prank Gone Wrong - @allyunabridged
I saved this furniture-related ficlet for this post because I thought it was hilarious. While searching the attic for old toys, Minako discovers a rose chair that she feels HAS to be in Endymion's office instead.
Miscellaneous Works: Short Stories That Tumbled From Tumblr: Chapter 5: The King's New Clothes - @floraone and art by @nari20
There had to be a reason for King Endymion to start dressing in a lavender tuxedo with a cape, Mamoru always knew that. But what was the motive behind this decision?
Usamamo One-Word Prompts: Chapter 4: sweet - @smokingbomber
Ficlet about choices that had to be made and consequences of these decisions. And love. Mostly about love.
Cupcakes - @midnightdrops
Even the royal couple needs a day off on occasion. Especially when there is a promise of cupcakes involved.
UsaMamo 2022 | Book - @lilliebellfanfics
Neo Queen Serenity is very much out of patience waiting for King Endymion to finish his research at the library. And with them being now alone, what is there to do? 🤔🍋
A Royal Audience - @daikon1
Latest addition to the series, fresh from @usamamoweek2023. Neo Queen Serenity uses personal history to help usher in sweeping education reforms.
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Here are the links to the previous Tumblr posts in these series to explore more amazing works based on different themes - make sure to check them out if you haven't had a chance! (Click on the title name to go to the post):
Week 1 - Groundhog Day
Week 2 - Established Relationships
Week 3 - Sex Positivity
Week 4 - Unfinished Stories
Week 5 - Darker Stories
Week 6 - Potions 🧪
Week 7 - Reveals
Week 8 - 👻Halloween🎃
Week 9 - Wrong Perceptions
Week 10 - Non-Senshi AU
Week 11 - In-Progress Fics
Week 12 - Mutual Pining
Week 13 - Enemies to Lovers
Week 14 - Slow Burn
Week 15 - Christmas Part 1 - Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Santa!
Week 16 - Christmas Part 2
Week 17 - New Years
Week 18 - High School AU
Week 19 - Slice of Life
Week 20 - Coffee shop AU
Week 21 - Huddle for Warmth
Week 22 - Friends to Lovers
Week 23 - ❤️Valentines Day❤️
Week 24 - Do a Grouch a Favour Day (or Cheer Up Fics)
Week 25 - Soulmate AU
Week 26 - Amnesia Fics (and resources)
Week 27 - 🍀St Patrick's Day🍀
Week 28 - Fix it Fics
Week 29 - Prompt: Mug
Week 30 - Flowers
Week 31 - Traditions
Week 32 - Dreams
Week 33 - Friends
Week 34 - Body-Swap
Week 35 - Medical Assistance
Week 36 - Sex Pollen
Week 37 - Psychometry
Week 38 - What If
Week 39 - Missing Scenes Part I
Week 40 - Green Jacket
Week 41 - Dr Chiba
Week 42 - Birthdays
Week 43 - Fluff
Week 44 - First Kiss
Week 45 - Reviving Shitennou
Week 46 - Tutoring
Week 47 - Thunderstorms
Week 48 - Food
Week 49 - Proposals
Week 50 - Locked In
Week 51 - Furniture
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hdsudsfest · 1 year
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HD Sudsfest Week One
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It’s the first sudsy Sunday of November and you know what that means—our first weekly round up of 2022! Here at Suds HQ we have been absolutely blown away by the fantastic creations submitted. So if you haven’t had the chance to dip your toe into this year’s offerings, now’s your moment to jump in, the water’s fine! 🧼
[FIC] Under Giant Mountains by @wolfpants { E | 33.7k }
Harry doesn't know where he's going. Everyone else has their life paths figured out; he doesn't even know where his map is. Who'd have thought Draco Malfoy bathing in a Norwegian forest would be the guidepost Harry needed? In which Harry's trip to Norway to visit dragon-wrangler Ron introduces him to hikes from hell, mysterious natural magic, foraging, magical bathing, a new and bizarre friendship, and the frustrating, heady allure of his former nemesis turned sexy globetrotting field researcher.
❤️ "this is so evocatively written; both the claustrophobia of grimmauld and the expanse of Norway, what amazing contrasts. I want to read this slowly to appreciate the gorgeous details!!! But I know I shall fail!!!" —citrusses
❤️ "God, I can’t even say how much I enjoyed following Harry’s journey throughout this. It was beautiful to see him finding his way, with help and on his own." —virgosun
[ART] Not Again by @caroll-in { M | Digital Comic }
Not allowed a wand and being on house arrest in Malfoy Manor which magic is acting up and won't provide any tap water is a challenge but Draco makes it work. He takes advantage of the summer weather and resorts to bathing in the small stream running through the estate. Everything would be peachy if only his parole Auror would stop timing his monthly probation visits while Draco is en déshabillé.
❤️ "I am WRIGGLING with joy. I love it! Draco's rosy little butt! And Harry's little peekaboo action! And their happy little faces in the last panel! And the scenery is gorgeous." —acari
❤️ "AHHHHHHH!!! OMG OMG OMG!! This is perfect 😭😭😭 you always slay me. I love it so much. Thank you for creating and sharing and giving us something so amazing." —nv-md
[FIC] The Re-Fenestration of Potter by @cavendishbutterfly and @sorrybutblog { E | 7.5k }
Harry wants the Prophet reporters to stop following him and Draco wants Harry to stop climbing through his window at all hours of the night…even if he’s taken to leaving it open, just in case. Everything is bearable until they both get doused with Draco’s latest batch of Wolfsbane, and then suddenly nothing between the two of them is bearable at all.
❤️ "Omg! This is wonderful! So hot and tender and lovely! And the ending. I was squealing in glee for them!" —melrilielen
❤️ "Wolfy Draco is my favourite Draco. Fun, fun, fun, and a perfect pick me up on a gloomy November evening ❤️" —oriberry
[FIC] After sunlit days, one thing stays the same by flightinflame { T | 2k }
Harry wakes up sore after a full moon. Luckily, Draco is beside him, and knows how to handle it.
❤️ "This was so so so incredibly lovely, you managed to fit into a short scene of intimacy so many unspoken words and feelings, I almost felt like I wasn’t supposed to have this glimpse into their lives because it was so private, so sweet. Great job 💜💜💜" —artcele
❤️ "This was absolutely amazing…it really feels like love - REAL love. And that can be tough to manage, especially in a fantasy setting." —coffee-scribbles
[ART] Rubber Drakey by @crazybutgood { T | Origami Comic }
Harry just wanted to indulge Teddy with a bath toy in the tub. Instead, his evening turns out to be filled with lots of bubbles, a frantic phone call, and an angry duck in a bucket.
❤️ "I adore rubber duck!draco with my whole beating heart. I want to squish him (gently) so much asdghjkl. Hope Harry at least got a few “accidental” squeezes in the process😂 Your origami art comic concept blew my mind btw, you have such a creative soul." —vivantesopales
❤️ "This is so gorgeous!!! Cbg your art is so amazing! I love all of this so much! And it's such a cute story hahahaha ducky draco!!!!! 💜 thanks so much for sharing this wonderful art with us! Love your origami so much. 😍" —teacup-tai
[FIC] The Art of the Bath by brit_girl /@drarrysworlds { M | 23k }
As Draco’s housemate, Harry thought him falling asleep in the bath just once after a long shift at St Mungo’s was once too many. Obviously, the best thing for Harry to do was to keep him company, even if it was at odd, post-Healer-shift hours. What could he say? He was nothing if not a good friend.
❤️ "I'm screaming. This was too perfect and too sweet and just exactly what I needed. This is EXACTLY how I see them, I couldn't have written them better myself. God, just all the feels happening here. If I could leave a million Kudos I would."—VictorieintheSmallThings
❤️ "so frickin sweet! and written absolutely beautifully 💛💛" —pansysimp
[FIC] Meet Me in the Daylight by @krethes { E | 6k }
The war has been over for more than twenty years, but despite becoming Head Healer at St Mungo's, the shadows of Draco's past remain in the memories of his contemporaries. A horrible confrontation at the hospital sends Draco right back into his old inner demons, but Harry is there to ward them away and remind Draco that he's not the boy he once was. 
❤️ obsessed with your drarry and with you and this was amazing and you’re amazing. also apple tart having nothing on *this* tart? snorted out loud hahah —keysie
❤️ "I saw Krethes in my inbox, and I was excited, as usual. THEN I saw that it was DRARRY and I RAN here to read this absolute gem of a fic. Bravo bravo bravo SO enjoyable, thank you for sharing this with us!!! ♥️♥️♥️" —booktopus
[FIC] Baby, Kiss It Better by @fuckboyregulus { E | 8k }
Harry has been avoiding his team’s athletic healer for five years now, but a broken ankle requires him to ask for help from his former boarding school enemy, Draco. Has Draco changed? Have Harry’s feelings about him?
❤️"Harry radiating pain under Draco's spell hurts my heart. So stubborn. Love the idea of the bubble ice bath with added rubber ducky. It's too cute. I was all 👀👀👀 at the description of Harry's tattoos and piercings. Very nice! Welcome to the wonderful world of Drarry!" —acari
❤️"What a fantastic ending to a sizzling fic! I loved this! And congrats on your first Drarry! Welcome! Suds is a wonderful way to get an introduction. It's lovely to have you, and I hope you write more of them! Lovely job with this! <3" —lqtraintracks
[ART] 1000 Kisses Deep by @getawayfox { T | Digital Art }
Harry keeps visiting Draco’s soap shop, trying – and failing – to ask him out for dinner. A few fruitless weeks and unnecessary amounts of soap purchases later, Harry finally gets the courage to say the words. Of course, with his luck, something entirely else slips out. Fortunately, Draco doesn’t seem to mind.
❤️ "In love with this world you created here. Gorgeous. My heart is so full, it's just… beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us 💖💖" —rockingrobin69
❤️ "I absolutely adore this!! 🥺🥰 I couldn’t have imagined it any better!! Thank you for creating this wonderful art!! 💕" —cluelesspigeons
[FIC] Phoenix in the Fire by @lqtraintracks { E | 28k }
Harry never expected to have a hot summer fling with Draco Malfoy when he agreed to mind the castle with him. He also never expected that it would all have to end on August thirty-first. What happens when casual sex with Harry’s ex-enemy turns not casual after all? And how the hell is he going to stop Draco from making one of the biggest mistakes of his life?
❤️ "I love everything about this fic! Long hair desi harry and tattoos draco are a couple of my favorite things in general. The story was hot, sweet, and heartbreaking, and then so happy. The conflicting emotions fro.Draco, the desperation, it was all so well written and I may have shed a few tears. Thank you for sharing!!" —sunflowergirl28
❤️ "This fic was sweet and fun and lovely and I love Draco’s tattoos. Also this Harry like 🔥🔥🔥 damn. Thank you thank you!!!" —embrichard
Enjoy these incredible works in our Sudsfest 2022 Collection on Ao3!
weekly roundup header art by fictional, do not repost
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meownotgood · 1 year
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♡ lingerie / yae miko ♡
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♡ kinktober 2022 ♡
pairing: yae miko x fem!reader
word count: 1.5k
content: soft dom yae miko, teasing, fingering, pet names, yae’s favorite thing is seeing you in the finest lingerie money can buy
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this work contains explicit content intended for 18+ individuals. please read the tags and do not interact if you are a minor.
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Yae Miko likes to believe she has an eye for exquisite beauty. 
The intricate architecture and blossoming sakura trees of Grand Narukami Shrine are always managed exactly to her preferences. The shrine priestess' usually wear the same uniform, but Yae had her outfit specially tailored to her design. Same with her earrings; Yae made sure they were fitting of her vision — In more ways than one. 
Perhaps this desire for the finer things in life is what caused Yae to take a liking to you in the first place. A new young shrine maiden, shy and graceful, absolutely beautiful from head to toe. Yae was sure from the moment she laid eyes on you that you would prove to be amusing. Call it a fox's intuition. 
Well, it turns out she was right, because yes, Yae Miko definitely has an eye for everything beautiful, and she's certainly come across some beautiful things in her life. Yet, nothing she's ever seen compares to this. Nothing compares to you, settled in her lap, wearing the most divine lingerie set. 
It certainly cost Yae a pretty penny or two, but she can't say it wasn't worth it. This set in particular is the finest mora can buy, made out of the most expensive imported materials, sewn by some of the most experienced and sought after Inazuma tailors. For you, her latest play-thing, she was willing to spare no expense. 
Her hands hold your waist, massaging your skin, before they travel to your thighs, where she grabs and squeezes. It's difficult to tear your eyes away from her gaze. Yae always seems to look at you like you're something to possess, like she knows she can do anything and everything she wants with you — And she certainly will. Her lips twitch into the slightest smirk, and she cocks an eyebrow once she catches you staring. 
"You look simply magnificent, you know," Yae's hands move to your silk panties, where she toys with the pretty lace and neat bows. "I knew you would. The prettiest outfit is only fit for the prettiest girl in all of Inazuma, wouldn't you say?" 
Yae Miko freezes, hesitates for a moment, just so she can fully take in your reaction. She chuckles once an obvious look of embarrassment dawns on your face. 
You shuffle a bit on her lap, your voice weak when you choke out, "Lady Yae…" 
"Now, now. Be patient, my dear," Yae coos, and her earrings jingle when her ears playfully twitch, "I'll give you what you want as soon as I'm done admiring you." 
Yae is a bit of a troublemaker, and a total tease, but she isn't downright mean. So, she kindly offers you some relief. She gently shifts you on her lap until her thigh is slotted between your legs. Whether or not she'll taunt you if you decide to grind on her bare thigh is up in the air, but at least she's nice enough to give you the option. 
Her hands glide up your body, over your chest. Yae's touch is so delicate, yet firm. Clear with exactly what she wants, and what reaction she wishes to get out of you. Her fingers are long but dainty, her nails are painted a sparkly shade of pink. She cups your breasts through your bra and squeezes, grinning when you squeak in response. 
"My my, you're so sensitive here, aren't you? How adorable." 
Despite how badly you want them to, her hands never slip under your bra. She squeezes again, then takes one hand away to grip your chin between her fingers. "Come here, sweetheart," She whispers, dragging you in until her soft lips effortlessly connect with yours. 
Yae's kisses taste like her strawberry lip gloss. Even though she's set on teasing you, the way she kisses you is greedy, filled with her utter adoration for you. Proof that even if she doesn't front it, she desires you just as much as you desire her. 
She knows you're nervous: she can tell by the way you hesitantly kiss her back. So she's gentle, giving you the chance to get used to it. Her hand holds the back of your neck to keep you steady.
"That's it," She mumbles into your mouth when she feels you start to relax. Yae pulls you a little closer, finally deepening the kiss. And when she does, she is quickly kissing you breathless, enough to make you feel lightheaded when she sucks on your tongue and nibbles on your lip. 
She tastes so good, your body feels warm all over, and you can't help yourself from humping her thigh. The friction combined with her lips on yours is delicious. You whimper into Yae's mouth, and when she pulls apart from you, her face is flushed, but her expression is cocky as ever. 
"Oh, you're going to be the death of me, pretty girl." Yae uses her thumb to wipe the spit from your lips. Keeping her eyes locked on you the whole time, her fingers start to slip under the hem of your panties. "Tsk, tsk. What am I going to do with you? You're so needy." 
To your dismay, her fingers stop there. Just under your lingerie, not moving any further. You beg, "Lady Yae, please," 
"Hm? What is it that you want?" Yae replies, a teasing lilt in her voice, "Be good and tell me. It's not wise to keep secrets." 
What you want from her is definitely no secret, and you're sure Yae already knows. But of course, she's going to make you say it. 
You manage to choke out, "Want you to touch me, Miss Yae. Please?" 
"Touch you where, dear?" Yae's fingers travel down, just a little more. Your breath starts to quicken. "Right around here?" 
"Yes," You try to steady your harsh breathing, gulping, "Right there, please, I-"
Yae Miko grins. "You want me to touch your pretty pussy?" 
Yae doesn't give you the chance to answer. You cut your next response off with a gasp when her fingers start circling your clit. Her touch is perfect, determined. She knows exactly how to send you to heaven with every movement of her fingertips and she takes full advantage of that. A wave of electricity runs through your veins, your whole body relaxes. 
"Awe. You're so wet here. Must be so needy." Yae lifts you off of her thigh a bit to give her hand some more room. Her fingers slip down, toying with your cunt, teasing you and feeling how soaked you are. Your slick is dripping out onto her fingers, over her pretty nails and staining the lingerie. Yae will have to get them cleaned later… No. She'll buy you a new set. That's what you deserve, after all.
Yae teases your entrance with her finger and then, slowly and steadily, she presses a single slender finger inside of you, down to the knuckle; you take it easily, as if you were made to. Yae asks, "Is that enough? Or would you like another?" 
"Another, another…" You plead breathlessly, nodding your head. 
"Alright, dear," Yae pulls the first finger out, aligning both her ring and middle fingers with your entrance. "But I want to hear you nice and loud, okay? Be a good girl and tell me how amazing you're feeling." 
You don't need to be told twice. Yae shoves both fingers inside all the way, pressing them up against your sweet spot. You're already gone, babbling, "Miss Yae! Feels so good, so good…" 
She scissors them inside, curling them mercilessly against your walls. "So wet, so messy for me," She teases, smirking, "I want you to cum, can you do that for me?" 
That's all she needed to say before you're falling apart to her command, your cunt pulsing and tightening around her fingers as you finish. Her thumb finds your clit to rub tight circles. She admires your face, how beautiful you look and sound when you're cumming, the lingerie hugging every curve on your body so perfectly. You're simply ethereal. Like an angel. 
Once your body has slumped, Yae pulls her fingers out of you slowly, cooing, "You're alright, just relax," as you catch your breath. Her free hand comes to hold your back to support you. She brings her fingers to her mouth. You watch through heavy eyelids as she licks them clean, her tongue swirling and flicking around the digits. When she's done, she hums in amusement and comments. "So sweet. That may just be the sweetest thing I've ever tasted, in fact."
She cups your face in her warm palm. There's adoration in her eyes, but also a hint of something else. Something mischievous. Yae smiles and asks, "Are you okay?" 
"Mhmmm… I wanna keep going." 
"That's my girl." Yae leans in to whisper in your ear, "You're so beautiful in that lingerie, my love. But I'd like to see how stunning you look without it. What do you say?" 
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176 notes · View notes
nouklea · 9 months
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First: a note to all the amazing people publishing fics this week. You are all wonderful and this event is a real thrill. Now, yesterday, my brain decided to perform an emergency shutdown, making it really hard to read and write. It will probably last a couple of days. Therefore I just want to say I WILL read all of your fics and comment everything and reply to any comment I receive also, and I will write something worth posting for Day 8. But it might take a few days. Sorry for the delays.
Now, Day 6 of @weylerweek2023 was my nemesis! I first had that idea with the actor AU prompt where Tyler was a student in drama, Laurel a teacher who touches her students a little too much with the alibi of teaching them to act, and Wednesday being the light technician. I wanted Tyler to have a really sunny personality and play something really dark. I found this terrific play online: Killing You, by Joseph Arnone. I read the extract, bought the full text, and THIS WAS IT. Tyler HAD to be the serial killer in this play, talking to the victim he is about to kill. But there was no way for me to write the fic without inserting parts, if not the entire play text in the fic. So I sent an email to the author, but never got any answer.
So after a few days waiting in vain, I switch prompt and picked Fake Dating. I wrote a first fic, Impulsion. But a few days later, I re-read it and found it really cliché. So I wrote a second one, Double-date-with Dad. I had a light idea for this one, and the characters took me elsewhere, I'm not sure the plot really makes sence, but I give up!
So here are my two fics for Day 6 of @weylerweek2023, both with the Fake Dating Prompt.
Impulsion (2166 words) by nouklea Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Wednesday (TV 2022) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wednesday Addams/Tyler Galpin Characters: Wednesday Addams, Tyler Galpin Additional Tags: Weyler Week 2023, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Unlocked Hyde, Tyler Galpin thinks he's a normie, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers Summary: Wednesday is unsettled by a direct flirting attempt. Tyler comes to her help.
Double-date with Dad (7097 words) by nouklea Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Wednesday (TV 2022) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wednesday Addams/Tyler Galpin, Donovan Galpin & Tyler Galpin Characters: Wednesday Addams, Tyler Galpin, Donovan Galpin Additional Tags: Weyler Week 2023, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Marriage Proposal, Hyde Tyler Galpin, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 01, Established Relationship, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Past Violence Summary: Tyler had planned the perfect date for Wednesday, but everything is postponed when he discovers his dad is on a date.
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wouldntyou-liketoknow · 2 months
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Hi, do you take requests for x readers? Im really wanting some natemare x reader (they/she pronouns) fluffy cuddles maybe a cute date? Protective and mildly possessive Mare has my heart lol hes so precious and i love him, maybe its a date and Mare left to get drinks or something and a creep wouldnt leave y/n alone so Mare has to step in etc? Its okay if not that and its okay if you dont write x readers too ^-^ thanks :P
Call me Lyxie or Lyx ^-^
(for anon, ill be either Lyxie/Lyx or ^-^ anon if theyre free :P)
Weeeeell, this is a tiny bit awkward, considering the role I wrote Natemare into for Goretober 2022 (sue me, I took inspiration from FNAF lore.) But I'm still happy to write for him again! I really appreciate your patience. Hope it's okay!
(I am SO, SO, SO SORRY this took such an incredibly long time to post! The Goretober stuff and my last-minute Halloween Special Story had already been keeping me busy, AND THEN CHRISTMAS SEASON CAUGHT ME SO OFF-GUARD THAT MY HEAD IS STILL SPINNING FROM IRL CHAOS. I guess I should've expected that, because Christmas is always like that, but whatever.)
(Also, this is kind of my first time writing an x reader type story, or one specifically in a romantic sense, at least. So, sorry if this comes across a bit awkwardly 😅)
(Trigger Warnings: alcohol, eating/drinking, unwanted advances/creepy behavior, body horror, slight physical violence, strong language. Please let me know if I missed anything.)
___
You can be described as someone who’s skilled in rolling with the punches.
Now, rolling with the punches doesn’t always mean being able to understand things that really aren’t meant to be understood, but it seems you’ve got a certain knack. 
If you didn’t, then how else would you have found yourself in a nice relationship with a banshee-esque spirit?
Yeah, your and Mare’s first meeting had been a little awkward, considering you’d been sabotaging a cult that was trying to hold blood rituals in his adopted brother’s name, but you two still became fast friends afterwards. (‘Matter of fact, the adopted brother in question is a pretty chill guy, too. Shockingly chill for an eldritch abomination in disguise, at least.) 
Really, dating Mare has helped open up more of reality to you. Pretty much every aspect of the human world has a counterpart for no-so-human entities. (Yes, you sort of already knew about that, but thanks to Mare, you’ve been able to actually explore it for yourself.)
For example: the setting of your latest date. 
Holy Water Distilling Co. was one of many establishments owned and controlled in Phantom’s domain. 
By day, it was a tidy bar offering a pool table in one corner and a stage in the other. 
By night, it was. . .well, the same thing. The only parts of it to change were the clientele, as well as certain items on the menu. 
One particular evening, Mare just so happened to be up on the aforementioned stage, alongside a few of his musician-buddies. You, meanwhile, were seated at the counter, watching and listening as he performed.
(Not that you minded this arrangement. Mare’s affinity for music was what you initially bonded with him over, after all. You’d tagged along on his gigs before, and he’d never failed to make it a good time.)
Patiently waiting for him to wrap up his band’s last song so you two could enjoy the rest of the night together. . . 
“Y’know, it’s always easy to find some nice toys in this place,” an unfamiliar voice whispers from just a few seats away. “But I never thought I’d see a worthwhile human around here.” 
. . .and trying your absolute damnedest to ignore the stranger who just couldn’t seem to take a hint.
Similarly to Mare and Phantom, the stranger in question could almost pass for a human. Just not at the moment, since he’d obviously taken off whatever disguising veil he used (those were pretty popular among this crowd for many reasons). 
His eyes bulged from their sockets, lacking both pupils and irises. Just two orbs a little larger than the average tennis ball, coming in a shade of dark pink that looked more toxic than fluorescent, ever-so-slightly rolling around in his head as he stared at you. The grin he aimed in your direction would’ve been creepy even without his particular mouthful of oily-looking needle-teeth. 
You ground your jaw, feeling one of your hands curl into a fist on the bar counter. 
The bug-eyed stranger seemed to catch onto that body language. Though you didn’t look at him, your peripheral vision still allowed you to see how his smile fell. 
“What? I don’t get any gratitude for the compliment?” Mr. Bug-Eyes asked, his voice changing from smug to indignant in a heartbeat. 
“If you really think that being called a toy is a compliment,” you finally murmur in a clipped tone, “then you’re in for a rude awakening.”
“Oh, c’mon. I know what girls like,” Mr. Bug-Eyes retorted. “I’ll just never understand why you’re all so repressed.”
“I think you’re mistaking repression for self-respect,” you observed. 
You kept your focus on the stage, on Mare and his bandmates. You knew they were on their last song for the night’s performance. The music was winding down, but it was still awesome as ever. He’d asked for your help with lyrics and fine-tuning a good few times in the past, and that had been flattering enough.
But the fact that he was having such a good time singing the stuff that you helped him decide on. . .well, you weren’t sure when you’d stop riding that high, but you certainly weren’t complaining. 
“Fine, fine. I get it: you don’t want things to move so fast,” Mr. Bug-Eyes piped up again, nudging his bar stool a few inches closer to you. He didn’t seem to notice how you automatically nudged your own chair a few inches further away. “Can’t I just get your number, honey? It’s clear you need someone to talk to.”
“I’ve already got that covered,” you replied. “That’s how having friends works.” 
“That’s big talk for someone who’s here all alone,” Mr. Bug-Eyes sneered. 
You feel your knuckles turn white. “I’m not alone.”
“Well, if that’s the case, your company isn’t paying enough attention to you.”
“That’s none of your damn business,” you hiss, trying to keep your voice down. Yeah, you weren’t shy about potentially clocking this guy in the chin if he tried anything, but you still didn’t want to cause a scene. Not when Mare was wrapping up his gig, so close to finally coming offstage and continuing his date with you. “I already told you: I’m. Not. Interested. If you were half the guy you think you are, you would’ve left me alone after the first time.”
Mr. Bug-Eyes gave a melodramatic sigh, and a sickeningly sweet smell permeated the air around you. It almost instantly caused the first stage of a migraine to flare along the bridge of your nose. You shook your head, blinking as your eyes grew watery way faster than necessary.
A chill raced down your spine as you registered the weight of a hand on your head, ruffling your hair.
You jerked back, slapping it away. “Get away from me!”
The quick motion, combined with the smell, caused you to lose your balance. However, instead of collapsing onto the floor, you felt yourself being caught. Despite your now hazy vision, it took no time at all for you to recognize the colorful tattoos adorning your rescuer’s arms. 
Relief sliced through the awful type of adrenaline that was thrumming through your head. 
From there, things moved pretty fast. 
The environment around you was a blur as clouds of dark violet smoke poured from Mare’s eyes, from his mouth, through his skin itself.  
Mare guided one of your arms to rest along his shoulder, helping you to keep up with his pace. 
Cool nighttime air rushed past the two of you; you almost didn’t notice the deep whooshing sound of a heavy glass door being swung open. 
And before you knew it, you were suddenly sitting down again. The weight of Mare’s arm was still around your waist.
“Deep breaths. Take deep breaths,” Mare coached. There was a slight echo in his voice; his pitch seemed a bit all over the place. That always seemed to happen whenever he had too much energy, good or bad. 
You nodded, following those instructions. You raised a hand to knead at your temple. Then, after a moment of scrubbing at your eyes, you realized that you were now in a completely different part of the downtown area. If memory served, you were now a far distance away from Holy Water Distilling Co.
“Are you okay?” Mare asked, keeping a firm yet gentle hold on your hand. 
You finally looked over at him. His eyes were pitch-black, the purple tear tracks on his face now branching out like veins or tree roots. His skin had turned a deathly shade of gray; if you looked closely enough, you could almost see the shapes of his teeth and skull through the barrier. 
Despite his obvious anger, concern and fear were still present in his features. 
“I’m okay. I’m okay,” you eventually reassured him. Your head still felt a little funny, but now that you were away from the scent, your senses were much clearer. You didn’t hesitate to hug him, resting your head on his shoulder. He returned the gesture tenfold, sighing. 
The minutes dragged along, but you didn’t mind. 
“Whoever that idiot was, I think I’m gonna have to kill him,” Mare murmured after you pulled away. The edge in his voice had died down a bit, and his features were slowly but surely turning less ghoulish, but his eyes remained dark. 
“I won’t stop you,” you hummed, having long-since grown accustomed to his more monstrous side, “but could that wait a bit? Just until tomorrow?” 
Mare squinted at you, understandably incredulous. 
You shrugged. “I mean, you seemed really excited about the movie. The screening’s supposed to start in about. . .” You glanced down to check the clock on your phone, “. . .twenty minutes from now, I think.”
Mare’s eyes widened as a surprised snicker escaped his lips. “Priorities, priorities.”
You tilted your head as you rose from the sidewalk bench. “Consider it your reward for rescuing the damsel in distress.”
“Well, when you put it like that. . .” Mare was quick to follow, locking arms with you as you began strolling together.
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pocima · 4 months
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My top 10 favorite music projects of 2023 ૢ✧∘* ✧・゚
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Welcome to this list that 2 people were mildly anticipating tops, a list where I ramble about note sequences that give me a sense of enjoyment, which is essentially what this blog of mine is dedicated to. I’ve been on this site for more than a year now, I had the pleasure of interacting and chatting with my lovely mutuals who share my silly little interests, both here and on @akaneverse. At the end of last year, I simply uploaded a topster of my favorite albums and EPs, and this December, I’m taking my time to review said projects, and show them appreciation with words and expressions slightly bigger than “the production is so insane” and “BANGER”. This year has been good to me as a music enjoyer, with new releases from my longer-time faves and incredible new discoveries, some possibly becoming all-time faves, which will be mentioned in the post. Pitchfork, your bankruptcy is nearing. And yes, the GIF is a spoiler.
⑩ Ichijikikoku (EP) - Atarashii Gakko!
I can say I somewhat got into Japanese music this year and this anti-idol group with a school leader concept looking camp right in the eye were some of the first artists that caught my attention. Having accidentally come across them through snooping around a beloved mutual’s Spotify profile, the quality of their songs such as Pineapple Kryptonite, Nainainai and Freaks caught me off guard in a great way. Their discography offers various genres such as robotic chant-filled hyperpop, groovy city pop, alternative rock, hip-hop and their latest EP truly showcases their diversity and range. From Otona Blue, the funky pop song that was the push start for the girls to get their rightful recognition, to a revisit to their older rock sound, to their first club banger and more city pop hits, this EP presents what their music has to offer in a nutshell. 2023 treated the school leaders well as they both got their deserved success and delivered a well-rounded project along with other listen-worthy singles.
Favorite tracks: Otome no Bigaku and Giri Giri.
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⑨ 3 of Us (EP) - FLO
After taking the Internet’s ‘00s R&B revivalists and girl group appreciators by storm with their first EP Cardboard Box in 2022, this iconic trio went on an ongoing streak to constantly deliver the best and improve their music and skills. 3 of Us serves as lunchables before the upcoming full-course meal which is their debut album, and not so surprisingly considering the consistent high quality of the group’s releases, the snack surely is fulfilling. Two of the tunes were anticipated then-unreleased songs but the title track and the later added-on Suite Life were loved by us FLOlifers as well. The four songs showcase both the group’s incredible vocals and their empowering no-nonsense attitude. The title track is an anthem that shows the world the girls have each other’s backs, through a smooth execution of a humorous scenario of a guy simultaneously trying to toy with the 3 of them. FLO are real it girls, and this mini alone is definitely convincing of that enough.
Favorite tracks: what if I said all of them?
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⑧ MY World (EP) - aespa
aespa have long-ago established their cybergirl fighter Kwangya concept and a solid spot in the K-pop industry as a group with one of the strongest group identities, top-notch discographies and powerful vocals. I slowly fell in love with them in 2021 and they have been one of the very few anchors to my interest in K-pop lately. Through mismanagement and complete bs coming from their crappy record label, standing ten toes down with these girls and experiencing the comeback of the summer was 100% worth it. Though the label needs to pull themselves together a little for the creative direction of all of their groups, MY World offered aespa’s two different takes on the summer which somehow felt fresh and unique, still suiting the group and proving aespacore’s wide range. The music, however, gave the signature aespa sound we had missed because of the music drought. Reol and Slayyyter’s souls truly split into two each, possessing the four members and giving us the gritty, in-your-face EDM banger that is the lead single Spicy. Welcome to MY World, the mini’s pre-release single, on the other hand, is an orchestral, alluring alternative pop track, which is a genre I never knew I needed aespa to dip their toes into. Salty and Sweet is a package delivery for the MYs who are especially seated for aespa’s metallic hyperpop releases, while Thirsty is contemporary R&B with a bubbly aespacore twist to it and I’m Unhappy is a splendid hyperballad. No offense but had they left the basic and frankly flow-disrupting ballad ‘Til We Meet Again in the vault, the ranking of the EP would be higher on here, and this is my only criticism of the project music-wise. As I always say on aespa comeback release days: the girls did it again.
Favorite tracks: answer changes every 5 business days but right now I’m gonna go with Welcome to MY World and Spicy.
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⑦ Crying in the Carwash (EP) - Lolo Zouaï
I’ve been keeping up with Lolo Zouaï on the low (pun intended, see Encore) since the release day of her sophomore album PLAYGIRL but I might have to pay closer attention to her because of her elevated excellence showcased on this mini. Besides giving her more freedom over her work and artistic direction, returning to her independent artist days allowed her to wiggle more with her own feelings and experiences directly, as opposed to the personas she conveyed the story of PLAYGIRL through. Before the unveiling of the EP, the roll-out fully hooked me in with both the singles and mesmerizing visuals. Encore was the perfect earworm-y invitation to the era, and Crying in the Carwash showed us the rainy panorama none other than Lolo’s mind with soft, melancholic jungle drums as the track’s stand-out point. The rest of the three songs, sitting prettily in the middle, give us soulful R&B blessed with the artist’s gentle vocal runs and UK garage reminiscent of e-motions by Mura Masa and Erika de Casier. All in all, I can’t be the only one who can’t wait to see what Zouaï will have to offer with her future work.
Favorite track: Crying in the Carwash.
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⑥ ESFERA DE AMOR - Simona
Esfera de Amor? In “my top 10 favorite projects of the year”? More like “top 10 most slept on albums of the year”. I’m not saying this just because of my personal opinion or just by looking at the streaming numbers either. This project is worth checking out for everyone looking for ethereal, light, bubbly pop à la 4th gen K-pop girl group music. Simona took recent pop micro-trends such as the incorporation of house, UK garage, hyperpop, neo-reggaeton and baile funk, and shaped them up into her very own world of love. The record, while being a relatively easy listen and having the ability to appeal to a wider audience, keeps you attentive and never bored, with an intro that leaves the sense of time and reality behind to make room for dancing and a classy vintage-style interlude. At one stop you unwind, at the second you dance at midnight in your bedroom, and at another you’re an otherworldly romantic. Feel free to do whatever you please, because after all, you’re in a sphere of love where everything’s fine.
Favorite tracks: Adentro de Mí, Polidrama, Plush, Meloni and Llaga Verdadera.
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⑤ BB/ANG3L - Tinashe
Tinashe has been an impactful figure in modern R&B for nearly a decade now, with her resumé ranging from choreography material groovy bops to heartfelt, calmer, vocal-heavy songs. BB/ANG3L, in the musician’s own words, combines her past and her present, her darker debut day sound with her faster-paced, catchier, dreamy tunes. The songwriting keeps it real and personal: we go from a dramatic reflection on a toxic relationship, to wanting to be pampered and treated with respect and class, to more reflections and slowly letting go. In the music video for Talk To Me Nice, Tinashe peels away her former self and gets purified with the dripping water, getting down to her essence. (I will further elaborate on my newly found love for water concepts/metaphors in some next entries.) Thanks to producer Machinedrum, garage and dnb rhythms (can you tell those are my weaknesses yet?) are beautifully incorporated in two of the tracks, and the production is atmospheric and tastefully bleak throughout the entire tracklist. Keeping up with Tinashe’s releases for a good while, a couple of years in my case, remains a pleasure with this project of hers.
Favorite track: answer changes often once again and this time I’m picking Tightrope.
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④ Raven - Kelela
If there were courses on how to take breaks of long years after releasing a top-tier album and make an even more world-shaking, majestic comeback, Raven would be the diligently studied textbook. Though I personally can’t relate to the 6-year wait as I discovered Kelela at the beginning of this year, my commentary is unnecessary for one to know she is a legend whose impact on alternative R&B, dance music and neo-soul is not up for any questioning. While Raven has even more of a slower and sultrier side than before, the intimacy and maturity stays consistent whether we’re talking jungle, aurora-like synths or soothing orchestration. It’s a true, well-constructed and developed body of fruitful work, with seamless thought-out sequencing, an art that’s being kept alive by artists that rightfully value it. Motifs reappearing in her previous albums such as “all the way down”, “on the run”, “far away” make their returns, but in no way does anything feel repetitive or any less unique. The album cover art and the music videos for Washed Away and Enough for Love present us more water imagery that couldn’t have been any more suitable for the sultriness and haziness of the record. Raven is the deep melancholic ocean that you trust to wrap your body around, where you witness musical scenery that’s so breath-taking that you can barely tell if it’s real.
Favorite track: On the Run.
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Let’s get some honorable mentions out of the way before the top 3: Heaven knows by PinkPantheress (literally 11th place, Feelings was on repeat for like a week straight), My 21st Century Blues by Raye (robbed by the Scammys), Unlock My World by fromis_9 (if I make a best ‘23 K-pop b-side list Prom Night has a high spot secured), seOul collection by OnlyOneOf (I ignore the old tracks included in the album and candy bOmb is the K-pop b-side of the year) and Bébe Yana’s singles this year bc even though they’re not a body of work they’re too good not to get a shout-out. 
③ Code Ge4ss - 4s4ki
As I was getting into Japanese music in March, I suddenly wondered whether there was a full-fledged hyperpop or experimental electronic music scene in Japan. After a quick Google search, an interesting artist popped up, with the metallic cybercore aesthetic I’ve been craving more of on the cover art of her latest album called Killer in Neverland. Interesting album name, intriguing song titles too, and as soon as I heard Log Out she took it in my eyes, there and then. Listening to Killer in Neverland as a whole took my shock to another level. Who was this and why did her music satisfy my cravings to this extent? As I went through her discography in a day or two, I fell deeper and deeper in love with her enchanting production (she’s her very own producer, mind you), crunchy autotuned vocals that somehow sound magical, her risk-taking unique concepts, something in between camp and outright beautiful visuals, precisely crafted songwriting and artistry. She manages to be the perfect amount of fun, the perfect amount of edgy, the perfect amount of bright, the perfect amount of sharp, the perfect amount of real, the perfect amount of satirical, the perfect amount of joyful, the perfect amount of sad on each and every project of hers. What didn’t hit me like a truck at first, however, is her tremendous improvement as a musician in pretty much every aspect: production, songwriting, album cohesion, creative direction, visuals. Not until her latest album Code Ge4ss finally got released in late June.
I was confused at first at the Code Geass anime collab thing, I wasn’t exactly sure of the release date and whether 4s4ki was actually releasing yet another scrumptious FULL album not too long after I got into her. The album dropped, I was tuned in right at midnight and my already high expectations were surpassed. Banging (kicking if you will) Jersey club beats, birds chirping accompanying glitchy trap instrumentals, screams followed by almost Machine Girl-level noisy circuit board sorcery, samples of characters’ speeches over electro guitar riffs, a piano interlude paired with opera runs taken from the show, pacifying ballads which are a mix of acoustic guitar and hard-hitting pots-pans and 8-bit synths, all closed by surreal orchestration with the classic electronica touches of 4s4ki and collaborator producer Kotonohouse. I’m sure I’d appreciate the Code Geass-themed lyricism on an even deeper level if I hadn’t paused watching the anime after 5 episodes like the terrible TV consumer I am. What I can be certain about is that everything about this project feels genuine and from within because it IS genuine and from within. 4s4ki couldn’t have been a more suitable choice for this collaboration, she’s been a fan of the franchise since elementary school and very few emit the weird cyber-glitchcore internet baby aesthetics the way she does. The cover art is stunning and references the series once again, and the Shirley MV leaves us with calming visuals that may remind you of Welcome to MY World by aespa, which spoke to the aespa x 4s4ki truther in me.
As I was saying, this album is what really rubbed her major progress as an artist and musician in my face. We’ve gone such a long way from the calmer EDM-pop antics of Your Dreamland, for example, not even to mention the synth-pop balladry in her debut Gender. Every era of hers sonically gets increasingly complex and intense and ethereal, and in every body of work she leaves in a bigger, more intimate piece of her. There’s just so much personality in everything she puts out and presents. She built her sonic and artistic identity from the bottom to the top and even as a fan for less than a year, continuing to witness this makes me feel pure admiration. Words aren’t enough to properly express how I feel about her art but that won’t stop me from typing up paragraphs to try to get someone to understand me on this. People have various opinions on 4s4ki’s experimentation and self-expression, however what absolutely nobody can ever deny is that she’s a true artist, visionary and one of the most skilled producers of this generation. 2023 brought her both achievements and unfortunately some hardships, and I sincerely hope 2024 is kinder and even more generous to her. (She’s not done with taking over the year yet! Stream her new single Continue and stay tuned for winter again coming Dec 15.)
Favorite track: Eleven.
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② Fountain Baby - Amaarae
I touched upon my adoration for water imagery on my entries for BB/ANG3L and Raven but as you can see from the title, Fountain Baby took the theme to an entirely different level. The analogy potential of water is infinite as the fluidity, cadence, calmness, riptides, uncertainty, contradictions of water can very well be converted into the multi-faceted human emotion. The same water that you’re dependent on in order to live can poison you at an overload, the same water that rinses your body and soul can drown and choke you up when contacted with the wrong places. Fountain Baby expresses various moods and states of mind not only through concept visuals, but more importantly by sprinkling water euphemisms throughout the entire record: “fountain baby, wash her, make it wet”, “water on my neck, come make it warm”, “water from wine”, “water, it mix with the substance” being prominent examples. Amaarae chats love, sensuality, materialism and lastly, meeting your maker in a way other than passing away. She defines a “fountain baby” as “a person with endless charisma, someone that is abundant in their blessings and ultimately a blessed child of God.” The universe Fountain Baby resides in is essentially rich, delicate, cloudy and raw.
While water is a consistent element of the album, it was far from being Amaarae’s only source of inspiration. She draws on ‘00s pop staples Timbaland and Britney Spears, The Neptunes, Clipse (sampled in Counterfeit), Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott and diverse genres such as Afro-beats, classic and contemporary hip-hop, Americana punk rock and dance. The melting pot of live orchestra, harps, baile funk, tire whirring, R&B-infused shiny Afro-futurism, Japanese folk song samples, Chinese bow violins, Arabic scales, gunshot and cash register clicking sounds, mid-song switches that make you feel like the main character of a coming of age movie, glitter and sax and guitars creates a record that refuses to be boxed into one genre or label. A “clever alchemist” and “a chemist who fuses world music” are titles that are deservingly given to the artist for these reasons. The record has plenty of variety yet the sequence all comes together akin to a satisfying crossword. It’s lucrative and shimmery but has its child-like, playful side that’s a natural result of Amaarae getting in touch with her inner 8 year-old during the cultivation process. The music videos are all different but inseparable approaches to the Fountain Baby-verse. The MV for the first pre-release Reckless and Sweet is based on editorials and has a silky luxurious look, with direct hints at the album’s concept. Co-Star, the second pre-release, casts zodiac signs as racer-models and fast cars come running around in a competition, keeping the high fashion coded color grading and filming style. The music video for the lead single Wasted Eyes is heavily inspired by the film Rush Hour and pays homage to Japanese culture about as much as the song does (it’s worth to mention the song is co-written by the iconic Crystal Kay whose speech you can hear in it). The intricacy and planning of every aspect of this era is pop music at its peak. With Fountain Baby, Amaarae finds the epitome of pop perfection without special dedication to seeking it.
Favorite track: Wasted Eyes.
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① Ambrosia (EP) - Namasenda
Some projects make your jaw drop from the get-go, some others grow on you with some time. Ambrosia crept up on me the longer I kept it on repeat, all the way to being my favorite project of this year. I already enjoyed Namasenda’s previous songs such as Black Ops 2, Demonic and the pre-release single maserati. As I later found more about the background of the project, how its concept came together and read the translation of the lyrics to rosa, my love for the it multiplied. Right now if I were to describe the EP in two simple words, they would be “ethereal”, “gorgeous” and “atmospheric”. These words are used with way more power than you may realize this time.
Sonically, the already unique artist stays true to herself but the execution of her vision is somehow… better than her previous work. north star and deathrow bby are unorthodox but celestial perspectives on baile funk, the former being a siren-like intro-lude that lures you in and the latter having a slightly haunting catchy Europop inspired jingle feel, serving as closer out of the 4 songs. maserati is a fresh take on polished but cutting pop, while rosa is a divine ballad that takes you to a dream realm. “Unconditionally here / I mean what I promise / When the sky is completely pink”, she sings in her home language Swedish, over the Casey MQ co-produced blissful synths. Maybe it’s executive producer Simon on the Moon’s musical genius (he’s also to be thanked for his involvement in Natural Brown Prom Queen by Sudan Archives), maybe it’s Namasenda unveiling a more authentic side of herself and therefore causing the music to be the most authentic version of itself. This authenticity drips through the production, the visuals and the lyrics. The stark contrast between Ambrosia and the jeweled, metallic, extreme meta-pop in her previous work, specifically Unlimited Ammo, opens up a conversation on the future of hyperpop.
Besides the heavy, detail-embroidered production, the focus of hyperpop was pretty much always exaggerating the artificial aspects of pop music, such as vocal manipulation, heavy bass, deafening drums, unforgettable melodies and shallow lyrics. How long could one use these funnily unrealistic musical personas before wanting to face themselves and do a deeper, more pure dive on pop? This I-D article on PC Music (the record label pioneering the hyperpop scene) shutting down concludes with “Perhaps it’s time to get off the computer and rediscover the personal.” Indeed, we can’t exactly reach a verdict on whether “hyperpop” will become just another fad or not, but moving on from simply exaggerating pop to expanding, beautifying and authenticating its sound isn’t an inaccurate prediction. 4s4ki and Namasenda (who, by the way, parted ways with PCMus before Ambrosia) are two of the artists that embody the beautiful, complex hyperpop-transcendent sound and experimental electronic pop music is in good hands thanks to artists like them.
To finish off this entry, Ambrosia manages to pinpoint exactly what I like to hear, both characteristics that I mentioned and things you can’t really put into sentences, only listen to and let them sink in. The production is some of the most stunning I’ve ever heard in my life, the EP is cohesive despite the short 9-minute run time, the visuals are simple but creative and the craft is passionate and genuine. Next time somebody asks me about the music I like, I’m sending them this EP with no further elaboration as it summarizes my tastes like no other body of work ever has.
Favorite track: rosa, it also grew on me the most drastically.
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Now to end this post, every year gives me brand new outlooks on how I consume music and the details I notice, the things I pay attention to. 2023 was filled to the brim with musicians offering their own outlooks on how they create. I’m keeping my eye on the masterpieces that will come out of 2024 and I wonder how my interests will transform with me next year.
Hey @nayeonline (special thankies for indirectly fueling my writing process) and @timetravellingkitty, I wiggled my keyboard a bit 😗
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kaiwewi · 2 years
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🗹 MASTERLIST
This blog contains content not suitable for all audiences. Please take note of the trigger warnings and the following symbols: ❗= nsfw ⚡= spicy Requests are open; feedback and comments are always appreciated 😘💖 Let me know if you'd like to be added to one of my taglists!
To view all prompts, click here!
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SNIPPETS:
[I’m a Sucker for You] tw: blood, vampire Synopsis: a retired supervillain receives a long-expected visit from his vampire ex-nemesis.
[Of Monsters and Mondays] tw: family issues, implied abuse, religion, arson Synopsis: a teenage villain origin story: Sam’s life is about to change drastically, but one thing will always remain the same.
[Romanticide] tw: blood, gore, dead body, serial killer Synopsis: Crime Scene Photographer explores the villain’s latest murder scene.
⚡[Our Little Games] Synopsis: you’re the protagonist, playing a game of mutual seduction with the antagonist. To kiss, or not to kiss, that is the question.
⚡[A Game of Patience] tw: touch starvation Synopsis: you’re the protagonist, who fell into the antagonist's clutches. Now they'll be taking their sweet time toying with you.
❗[Sexual Harassment] tw: nsfw, non-con/dub-con (depending on interpretation) Synopsis: a morally questionable, possessive hero toys with their captive nemesis. The villain has mixed feelings about the situation.
❗[A Deal With the Devil] tw: nsfw, sex, abuse, non-con, implied self-harm Synopsis: Villain’s agreement with the warden of the local prison grants them any number of get-out-of-jail cards. But those don’t come free, and the price continues to rise.
[A Not-So-Friendly Reminder] tw: whump, creepy whumper, strangulation Synopsis: a terrified villain has an unpleasant encounter with a sadistic, possessive hero who’s all too eager to teach them a lesson.
[Game's Over] tw: whump, mentions of blood and injuries, implied character death Synopsis: the hero has one rule. The villain is about to learn what happens to those who disappoint.
[The Perks and Pitfalls of Immortality] tw: mention of blood, death, and being buried alive Synopsis: two weeks ago, the hero was murdered by Other Villain. Now he's alive again, and Villain needs answers.
[The Secret to a Happy Marriage] tw: fire, mild burns Synopsis: Supervillain gets challenged by a villain who might be a bit too overprotective of their heroic spouse.
[How Not to Interrogate Your Enemy] tw: kidnapping, drugs Synopsis: kidnapping Hero was a huge mistake. All Villain has to show for it is regret and a bad headache.
[Miscommunication] Synopsis: the hero seems to be preferring Other Villain’s company. Villain has a hard time accepting that.
[Beautiful Lies] Synopsis: when the hero is having a bad time, the villain is being suspiciously sympathetic. Their concern has to be fake… right?
[Shaked] Synopsis: under the right circumstances, ‘shaked’ is a word. Hero and Sidekick are having the time of their life. Villain is not amused.
[Emergency Contact] Synopsis: Villain receives an unexpected phone call that interrupts her peaceful tinkering session.
[A Room for Two] Written as a contribution to the 2022 Secret Santa community event! tw: captivity Synopsis: an insomniac hero and a lonely villain find themselves locked up together in Supervillain's guest room.
[Once Upon a Christmas Mission] Written as a contribution to the 2023 Secret Santa community event! Synopsis: Supervillain gives her second in command a new mission. The job, (un)fortunately, comes with a new teammate.
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Time After Time (Snippet#4) The [original] contains ambiguous pov and head-hopping. I rewrote this scene from each character's pov respectively, to improve clarity and character voice.      New versions  [hero version] [villain version] Synopsis: they are not friends anymore, and yet, when the hero is mourning their father’s death, the villain can’t bear to stand idly by.
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SERIES MASTERLISTS: Trigger warnings and synopses for the individual chapters of each series can be found on the more detailed series masterlists, accessible via the links below.
[Fame and Flourish] (Snippet#2) Series synopsis: the popular, undefeated, and lonely hero meets a curious villain with a carefree attitude and a tendency to overshare.
[Renegade Rescue Squad] Series synopsis: sometimes, even villains are in dire need of medical assistance. Fortunately, an unusual emergency crew is on call.
[Choice Misfits] Series synopsis: a year ago, Former Villain joined the Hero Agency. Their truce with the other heroes rests largely on mutual avoidance whenever possible – until the new sidekick disrupts the peace.
[Sharing is Caring] Series synopsis: Hero is missing a few days here, a few days there. Memory gaps would be upsetting enough, but then they learn that during their blackouts someone else is taking control of their body.
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thebardscipher · 22 days
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Latest two Dreamsnaps from me! Decor week was "Minnie Mouse's Festival of Hearts" so OF COURSE I had to use my Festival Square (again...but like its right there in the name...this is what I made the square for back in October of 2022...THIS!!) . I'm not entirely happy with this. I took SO MANY different versions of this photo and I wanted it in Medium graphics and with one of the filters on it that made the pinks pop out more BUT I FORGOT WHEN I DID THIS LAST MINUTE RETRY!! But I had sat there for three hours already that day and it was Tuesday and I was just so tired with trying to get a photo with Mickey and Minnie in it (Minnie was hanging out with me) and at least one or two others in it so it LOOKED like a fun little festive set up for the valley. Also I hit the 600 item limit and UGH!!! It was not going well for me dsjafdsfldshfjdhf I was not surprised when I got 600 moonstones for this one Fashion was "Savannah Style" and wanted a Lion King spin to it. This is what I threw together the first day and honestly stuck with because while I had a few other outfits that I thought would work (all of which were Wild Thornberry inspired outfits not gonna lie lmao) None topped this outfit in my opinion. Also I liked all the orange in this photo from the sunset, the outfit, the bird, and the flower. Unfortunately, also only got 600 moonstones. But I've been on a 600 moonstone streak since "Out of the Toy Box" so *shrugs* oh well, any moonstones is better than no moonstones.
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nysocboy · 9 days
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Gemstones Episode 3.1: Kelvin collects cocks, the Simpkins smirk, and Dusty Daniels flirts. With a Brazilian beefcake bonus.
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The Season 2 finale of The Righteous Gemstones  aired in February 2022.  Season 3 premieres in June 2023, sixteen months later, but the timeline in the Gemstone universe doesn't fit.  Plus personalities and back stories are different.  As with Season 2, it will be more profitable -- and more fun -- to enter fresh, pretending that we have never seen or heard of these people before.
Title: "For I Know the Plans I Have for You."  Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I hope so, because word on the street is that this season gets very dark.
Rogers County Fair, 2000:  The teenage Jesse Gemstone is announcing a demolition derby featuring his monster truck, the Redeemer, while his parents, megachurch pastor Eli Gemstone and his wife Aimee-Leigh, argue: the Redeemer is putting butts in seats, but is this really appropriate for a Christian ministry?   What are we going to do next, sell beer?  At that moment, a muscle hunk comes by selling beer!
Eli and Aimee-Leigh's three kids look very young, but according to the fan wiki, Jesse is 19, Judy is 15, and Kelvin is 9 or 10.
While Aimee-Leigh is off smoking a cigarette, May-May, a shabbily-dressed middle-aged woman, approaches, furious: "You pretend to be all sweet and caring, but I know the truth -- what you done to my family."  She attacks; Aimee-Leigh runs through the crowd, screaming for help, but May-May catches up and hits her with a wrench. As she lies bleeding on the ground, a car hits -- May-May! 
Eli Retires: Present day. Time to introduce the main conflicts of the season.  First up: the now-elderly Eli is hanging out with his Mason-like Cape and Pistol Society. They ask how he's enjoying his retirement.  Actually, he's only semi-retired: he's writing another autobiography and taking speaking engagements, but his kids are running the church. Gulp!  His friend: "You scared your kids are gonna blow it?"  
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Cut to Zion's Landing, the Gemstones' Christian-themed resort. The 42-year old Jesse and his crew confront Eli's driver.  In joke: his name is Walker!  He squealed to the press about the dwindling membership and donations since the kids took over, so they beat him up and fire him. Pretending to have never seen these characters before, I am shocked.  Christian ministers are often shady and hypocritical, but violent? What if someone sees?
A Cold Fish Kiss: Eli's second child, Judy, is now a famous singer.  She has just returned from a tour, and her husband BJ wants to snuggle, but she yells at him for pressuring her, gives him a "cold fish kiss," and runs out again.  Uh-oh, marital trouble.
Smut Busters: The primary conflict, judging from the amount of air time it gets: 32 or 33 -year old Kelvin, wearing a t-shirt that says "Smut Busters" above a splat of -- jizz?  -- is showing a giant novelty dildo to someone named Keefe. He exclaims with glee, "That is gonna hurt."  So he's gay, and Keefe is his boyfriend.  Who's the bottom?
We pan out to see kids examining a pile of sex toys, mostly dildos and butt plugs of various sizes and shapes, intended for gay men.  Notice the "Size Queen" dildo.   Hey, are these guys...gulp...pedos?
Psych!  Kelvin and Keefe are actually youth ministers, running a project called the Smut Busters.  They buy out the inventory of local adult stores, to force them into bankruptcy.  Wait -- anyone know basic economics?
The youth group kids, also in Smut Busters t-shirts, are just examining the latest haul.  Do they take the kids to the adult stores?  They wouldn't be allowed inside.  Besides,  "exposing children to sex" is a misdemeanor. 
They ask the kids and adult volunteer Taryn to join them in the Smut Buster chant: "No smut, no lust, no coconuts" (with a feminine hip wiggle). No one joins in.  
After extensive research, I conclude that "coconuts" doesn't have a symbolic meaning, except maybe to evoke testicles.  It was chosen for  its near-rhyme. The chant reflects the playground phrase "no butts, no cuts, no coconuts" (no cutting in line), and its variation, "No ifs, no buts, no coconuts" (no disagreeing).
Pretending to have never seen these characters before,  I conclude that they are a gay couple: notice how Kelvin plays with Keefe's nipple, an intimacy that platonic pals would not enjoy, how Keefe gets all bitchy around Taryn, and how most of the sex toys they buy are for gay men.  They can't conceive of something used by straight men as erotic: "There's a naked lady on the box.  Keefe, I said sexy, not disgusting!" 
So the main conflicts of the season will involve the transition of power, marital problems, and coming out. 
The Primitive Tribe: At church, the siblings are bragging about their missionary trip, where they brought Lasik Surgery to an isolated tribe in the Amazon. 
They are completely clueless; surgery to correct astigmatism must be the most trivial of the group's medical needs.  Plus the depiction of a "primitive tribe" veers uncomfortably close to racism.
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Old Slow-Eyes: Then Sunday dinner at Jason's Steak House. They argue about who is responsible for the decline in church members and donations since Eli stepped down, then about church leadership: Jesse thinks that he should be the sole leader, but the others think that they should lead together. 
How closeted are Kelvin and Keefe?  They are presented as the equivalent of the other couples, Jesse/Amber and Judy/BJ;  Jesse even refers to them as a unit. Plus Kelvin displays some feminine traits that anyone would pick up on instantly. Maybe they are out to the family, but closeted to the church. 
Jesse criticizes the Smut Buster project -- preventing truck drivers from getting "dick pills" but not doing anything to help the church.  Kelvin says that they have bought up the inventory of 16 porno shops along the I-95 corridor. Of course, they get to keep the dildos. This is a call-back to Season 2, when Jesse complained that Kelvin's God Squad, a collection of musclemen, was solely for "popping boners," his own erotic enjoyment, not to help the church.
Next on the agenda:  A wealthy donor, famous racecar driver Dusty Daniels (Shea Whigham, left) planned to bequeath his entire $200 million fortune to the church.  But now that Eli has stepped down, he will be going with the rival Simpkins family instead.  Uh-oh,  the church can't afford to lose this!
The Evil Simpkins:  The siblings visit Dusty at his private racetrack to convince him to change his mind, but he thinks that the Simpkins display more fraternal affection.  The Gemstones can't even hold hands properly (this will become important later).  
Kelvin keeps fiddling with a ring on his wedding-ring finger, to draw viewer attention to it. Are he and Keefe actually married?
The Simpkins arrive: two brothers and a sister, about the same age as the Gemstones.  They have no trouble holding hands! Plus they are self-made millionaire pastors -- they didn't inherit a dynasty..  
Shay Simpkins flirts with Dusty, so Judy says that she also finds him hot.  Kelvin nods his agreement.  Wait - how out is he?  Dusty, openly bisexual, returns the compliment: "All y'all look good, but this ain't about looks."  Kelvin: "That's a good thing because if it were, we'd win by a mile."  They flex and posture.
Ok, Dusty says, why don't you battle for me?  In stock cars. He's putting himself in a feminine role: traditionally suitors compete for the attention of a young lady. 
Jesse against Craig Simpkins, who claims that he has no experience. Uh-oh, he means he's not experienced in the basic stock cars used in NASCAR racing.  He's an expert in the more advanced Formula 1 cars.
There isn't even a race: Jesse stalls and then spins out.  The fortune goes to the Simpkins! 
The full review, with nude photos and explicit sexual discussions, is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends
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