#(not 2025. that's too soon alas)

[theinfinitedivides]

'alright, Ustaad ji, who is this tone deaf creature?' 'this is the great Saeeda Bai from Agra!' 'why would a woman from Lahore waste her time listening to a woman from Agra?' — ep 1 - the queen of heeramandi | heeramandi, 2024, dir. sanjay leela bhansali.

[graciewrote]

♡ Forever and Always

♡ LS2 x Vowels!Reader

♡ Inspired by the lovely @pucksandpower ly!!

♡ Likes and reblogs appreciated!

♡Reqs open!

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Staring at her screen in shock, Y/N looks at the signing announcement. Glancing at Logan, sat with a smile on his face, she frowns.

"Darling, did something happen?"

Turning to her boyfriend, "They signed Carlos, but-"

"Oh."

"Oh baby, he didnt tell you? Bastard."

"He's your father. He just probably didn't want to upset you."

"To hell with that, Logan. He was discussing a contract with you and fuckings signs Sainz! It's not fair. To play with someones dreams, their life, like that. He's an ass, my dad or not, he's an ass for that."

Looking at each other now, the pain in Logan's eyes is obvious.

She moves to comfort her love, the man she's loved for years.

He didn't tell her when he signed for Williams, or even when his contract was extended. He knew no matter what, she'd be there. A singular tear slips down his face. His girl more upset than him. He thought he was going to be getting another shot to prove himself, but alas the cards did not play that way.

Phone chiming as Oscar texts, asking if the couple are okay. One single message from her father. 'I'm sorry' is all he wrote.

She knows its a business at the end of the day, but how can one be expected to perform against a grid of 2024 cars, when he is racing one from 2023. When his own boss, future father-in-law is saying how much he wants to replace him. He never stood a chance, he was only a seat warmer. Logan's head is a mess. All that's running through his mind is how much he failed, every fuck up, every DNF, Australia, and the only light he sees is her. His Y/N.

No matter what his future holds, he has his girl.

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

Logan has all of summer break to wallow in sadness. Cuddled with Y/N, watching trashy TV. As quick as ever, Zandvoort rolls around, and he is dreading facing the media.

Luck is not on Logan's side, forced to be on the press conference with Carlos. However Oscar's there too!

Most of the press don't bother to ask him anything, just assuming he won't have a seat and has nothing to add.

Logan's heard things about team principles shitting on Vowels, and the way he's treating Logan.

"And to Logan-" shocks him out of his daydream, "How did your girlfriend react when she found out you hadn't resigned with Williams?"

Logan chuckled, "Uhm, actually, we found out at the same time, James and I had been discussing a contract, and discussing my performance. I had no idea he'd signed Carlos. So yeah, bit of a shock to us both."

"And did you know, Carlos, that James was discussing with Logan?" Everyone looks at Carlos now. His respone is immediate.

"At first yes, I knew Logan was still a contender, but then he'd said that it was just me. So I didn't sign knowing Logan was still discussing contracts"

"And what does everyone think of Andretti appealing the FOM desicion and winning, now they'll be joining the grid for the 2025 season?" Everyone looka shocked at the interviewers question. Everyone but Logan.

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

Qatar. Hot. Humid. Sweaty. That's what Y/N feels standing in the Williams garage. Still, she's there to support Logan. And that's what matters. However, she is suspicious. Hiding phone calls, changing his phone password which used to be their anniversary. Logan's become really skittish since Carlos' signing was announced. He won't be cheating on her, she's sure of that. She has two thoughts, he's either joining Mick in the second Andretti Porsche seat, or he's proposing soon. Focusing back on qualifying, she notices all purple sectors for a Williams, her Logan's Williams.

Last minute of Q1. P13. He's done it.

The garage cheers and she just beams with pride.

Logan makes it to Q3, ending up P6.

He's happy with it.

~~~~~~~~

December rolls around with no news on Andretti's other driver. It's a hot topic in the media. Some think it'll be a rookie, some say Kimi or Seb will come back.

Logan grins going into the media pen after his best quali yet. This is his moment. He has a point to make.

"Logan! P5! How're you feeling?" Logan loves being interviewed by Natalie Pinkham.

"Feeling good, car is handling well, I always love racing here. It feels even better knowing next year I got a new team behind me." Smirking, he knows Natalie will pick up what he means. He just needs her to ask.

"New team?" Bingo!

"Yeah, Andretti reached out to me after

Monza, and well, yeah I just had to take the offer! Racing with Mick, and along side him will be fun! He's a good driver. We both had a rough two seasons to start, but the only way is up!"

" Thank you Logan! And good luck!"

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

Sitting down, he glances at his phone.

Over 50 missed calls from his love.

"LOGAN HUNTER SARGEANT! I MIGHT JUST KILL YOU YET!" He knows she's not angry, upset he didn't tell her, but not angry.

"You know gold washes me out!"

He laughs, of course she makes a joke.

That's why he loves her, she knows him better than anyone.

"Marry me"

Shit. He had a whole plan. He was gonna take her to Venice. They love Venice.

"Yes. I found the ring, two weeks ago, but I know you Lo, you have a whole plan. So my answer is yes. When you ask me properly. It's yes."

Giggling they embrace and share a tender kiss. "I'm so proud of you. I love you Lo, forever and always"

"Forever and always baby, me and you against the world"

[pebblysand]

The Year I Finished Castles

As we all know, 2024 is now drawing to a close. It's been quite a year, hasn't it? For me, it's obviously also the year I finished castles. After four years of hard work and dedication, and joy, and sleepless nights, almost to the day, I finally wrote out "the end."

Still, the adventure is not quite yet over. I didn't expect this, but it turns out that saying goodbye has been a very gradual process for me. First, because writing-wise, while I had a lot of great plans for what I would do and write after, it's actually taken me a bit more time than I expected to fully move on. That's okay. I've had a bunch of health issues to sort out, as well as a lot of travelling and resting to do, and in between, sadly haven't written much. I'm hoping the new year will bring a new start, and that I'll get back in the flow of things.

Second, because incredibly, people are still reading, and discovering this fic. That's been incredible to witness. I thought it had plateau-ed but it definitely hasn't, and I still have a backlog of over thirty comments to answer, and perhaps I always will. As soon as I answer a batch, another keeps coming. This fills me with joy beyond belief and brings a smile to my face every single day.

Third, because a number of castles-y things are still ongoing. I'm keeping the Discord discussion open until the end of December. There is a podfic being recorded by the wonderful josnail on AO3, and people are now finding and enjoying this fic thanks to them. And, now, as I have teased a couple times on different platforms, I have a surprise for you. I really wanted to get this over to you before Christmas/the end of the year but alas, the proofs took ages to come, so here we are.

There's a book. A physical one. You can have it too!

It's beautiful. It's a labour of love. It's got illustrations and a cover and loads of different things I hope you will enjoy! I made it for me primarily, but I also made it for you.

So, how do I get it?

Please fill out this form.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. This is a gift from me to you, so you don’t need to pay anything. However, if you’d like to help with the costs, you can donate to my Ko-fi. To give you an idea, the printing fee is €25.90 per copy, and shipping fees range between €10 and €30, depending on where I ship it.

(If you are part of the tiktok/tumblr fanfiction police and want to explain to me why I'm awful for illegally printing/selling these and will kill fanfiction because Anne Rice's ghost will sue me, please go touch grass. my fic is not hugely popular, and i'm anticipating maybe thirty people ordering copies, tops. also, i'm a lawyer, well able to calculate my own legal liability/risks, and what you think about the monetisation of fanfic is most likely wrong.)

When is the deadline to order?

31 January 2025. 

How will this work?

I will order the books in batch to my place. I will then sign them/dedicate them, then ship them to you. I am doing this because 1) I think it's cooler if they're signed and 2) I'm very Type A and want to make sure each of them is perfect before you receive them.

Important: while I created the cover, picked out the chapter illustrations on Canva, and created the typeset myself, this is a private company I'm paying to bind and print the books. I am not hand-binding them. I neither have the skills nor the patience for this.

When will I receive my book?

I can't say for certain. I will be making the first order at 8pm GMT, Monday 9 December, and hopefully receive and ship out the first batch of copies by 21 December. Then, I will make a batch order every Friday until the end of January. Once I receive the books, I will sign them and ship them to you. If you live in Europe/UK, it will be quicker than if you live elsewhere. I am hoping/anticipating everyone will have their copy by end of February.

I have other questions...

Please send them to my ask box ❤️.

[jmdbjk]

Man at work.

 Apparently working more than we thought he was...

Kookie bought a pack of 500 straws so he could exercise his vocal chords because he saw Sam Smith do it. But alas, he didn’t think it was working for him. Nevertheless! they won’t go to waste! because he can slurp down his highball much faster using a straw...

This cute goofball is the global spokesperson for Calvin Klein jeans... he mentioned that the Calvin Klein video was up and he acted bashful about it. He did say when doing these types of endorsements as a group is one thing, but doing them personally on his own, the product must be something he personally endorses. And he also said he will be embarrassed when people speak to him about his ad images. Perception vs reality. 

He tells us he’s cleaned out his closet recently and only kept all his black clothes, but now he says he will wear Calvins now. One thing to look forward to... Calvin Klein clothing silhouettes are typically cut close to the body. Meaning they are not the oversized baggy things that we normally see on JK. Just sayin’! Bring on the airport fashion! 

He asks to please show Calvin Klein a lot of support. Check! Marked off the list! I believe that company is scrambling to actually have any merchandise in stock this week, right? They weren’t prepared. Mission accomplished, JK. 

For a few moments he thought he spoiled Jimin’s episode of Suchwita because he couldn’t find it on Youtube. Sus, Youtube. 

Aside from the adorable heart eyes he had and the knowing grins and outright laughter while he watched, Jungkook nodded when Jimin said if he could go to any point in time, past or future, he would choose 2025 when they would all be together again. Kookie nodded vigorously again and let out a deep, wistful sigh while watching that brief segment. Was he getting a little lump in his throat too, just like I was?

Yoongi then says “we all have an idea of what things will be like when we come back” and Jimin agrees and when Yoongi asks Jimin what he thinks it will be like, Jimin says “we’d all be back together after we’re done.” I am assuming he means military service, and that he is curious to know how it will be and that’s why he wants to go to that point in time. 

Jimin, we all want to fast forward to that time. None of us want you all to have to take this mandatory break and we all want it to be over with as soon as possible. 

When it was over, Kookie fixed himself a fresh drink, took a potty break and then sat wordlessly on the couch for at least 15 minutes listening to music and pondering the universe (it seemed). Songs he queued up: “12:45″ by Etham; “thoughtboutu” by Karencici; “Another Day” by Gervs; “Adrenaline” by Lauv; “Where Does the Love Go” by by María Isabel and Yeek and “Honeymoon” by Johnny Stimson.

He sweetly sang along to “Honeymoon.” That song has a similar vibe to “10,000 Hours” and I wish to god Kookie would create a song with that ambience because it would become one of those all time greatest hits.

JK read a few comments (FINALLY?) he randomly says he was wanting to look up Jimin’s lyrics...? Jungkook and his never-ending fight with his Apple TV commands ensues. And he finally finds what he’s looking for... the BigHit intro.

He proceeded to fanboi during Set Me Free Pt 2 even being a tad slack-jawed and droolly when the 2nd verse started and Jimin’s cheat sheet tattoos were on full display, JUST LIKE US! 

Done satisfying his need to know the lyric was “maze” and watching the entire video anyway, he quickly found a Jimin compilation video. Are you shitting me? 

Now, we all know how insidious the Youtube algorithm is. If you watch ONE video of any genre/topic... what happens? YT serves up several more from the same creator or same topic or genre. Watch a reaction video? Then a dozen videos by various Youtube reactors will be summoned. Watch a Korean street food video? Then you will see a dozen videos about Korean street food. FACTS!

Every time you go to Youtube after that it’s like trying to get rid of cockroaches. You spend some time hitting the “not interested/don’t show me this shit ever again” option or else that will be all you ever see forever and ever amen. 

So my point is, that Jimin compilation video was not random. Youtube isn’t a random platform, it is very articulated to deliver cocaine in video form straight to your brain in order to get you addicted so you keep coming back. 

Anyway. Kookie again was like a kid watching cartoons and Army comments were totally forgotten while he watched this fan made video. 

The evening full of Jimin, laughing at a fan made compilation video and a song that was playing called, “up at night”, by Kehlani featuring Justin Bieber, stirred something inside him and the lightning bolt of inspiration hit him and that was it. Game over for the live broadcast.

I’m glad he’s working. I’m glad he’s doing well. He’s still our Kookie and he still loves his Jiminie and the rest of his hyungs. 

[edai-crplpnk]

Hi, it’s me, the tagging menace. Please tell me more about this unnamed ShikaYoshi fic 👀

[link to the WIP game]

I wrote a chapter two years and a half ago and haven't touched it since then, but I fully intend on getting there eventually. I want to say it's my 2025 project but I already said that about the Shinki adoption fic lmao.

It's for my canon compliant/worldbuilding series. It's set during the year after the 3th War and follows Shikaku and Yoshino as they reunite, get together, and at least settle that they're going to have a child together. I'm not holly sure yet when it ends, if it's then or if maybe it continues until Shikamaru's birth? Unclear for now. But it's mostly a getting together fic.

Some facts:

ANBU Yoshino at the start

Chronically Ill Yoshino (hence why forecfully retired Yoshino for most of the fic, and she hates it thouroughly)

Yoshino having strong feelings about misogyny and ging to great length to substract herself from her abusice upbringing and the general expectation of society placed on her because she's a woman

Probably Shikaku shutting up so misogynistic jerk (his dad) too

Past Shikaku/Inoichi that Shikaku is majorly not over with while Inoichi is getting married to Ino's mother

Chouza being the unwilling witness and but friendly support of trainwreck Shikaku

Some clan politics

Ex-ANBU Shikaku

Yoshino bonding with Shikaku's lesbian aunt over shitty dads

Yoshino and Shikaku do beat each other up a little but it goes them some good

Yoshino keeps mocking him but alas he has a humiliation kink I fear

"I'll be honnest with you. I have to marry this year and get myself an heir. You can say no, but if you do, please say it now cause I'm gonna have to find someone else." "You don't sell it well." "Because I'm not trying to sell it. I respect you to much to lie to you. We both know this wouldn't be either of us' first choice, but this is what I have to offer, do you want it?"

It's angsty and badass and romantic and I will write it I promise.

As a bonus I offer ANBU Yoshino + tiny Kakashi snippet:

“The Fourth is calling for you.” Great. Precisely when she was starting to let herself anticipate the moment she would finally go back to the barracks and pass out for a while. “Why?” The man shrugs, evidently unbothered by the bite in her tone – rightfully so, it’s not really directed at him anyway. She can’t say she expected him to be either, it’s hard to find someone impressed by anything around here. Newbies at first, sure, but they all either grow a thicker skin quite quickly, or leave. (Or die.) As if on cue, the frail silhouette in the locker room on the other side of the corridor raises its porcelain mask towards them. It looks ridiculously oversized, even cut down to try and fit the tiny head behind it. Out of duty and in a building field with grown men chiselled for murder, he looks miserably young and small – which he is, more so even than when she joined the faction herself – yet he doesn’t look intimidated in the slightest, just curious sometimes, and, from what she’s heard, he’s been living up to his Cold-Blooded nickname for the few months he’s been here. He’ll go far. Or he’ll crash soon, she’s not certain yet. “Got a problem Fox?”

[imaginespazzi]

Bestie👋 We're back to routine/reality!

Happy 2025 :) How are you? Hope the rest of holidays were great and the new year is treating you well so far. Thought of your blog the other day in DFW 😅. (Sidenote but related, Lou and her family dog just melt my heart). My Xmas recap in brief - overall smooth travel, lots of fam time w eating and drinking too much on a regular basis, had no snow during the break yay, college bball and fb galore on tv, highlight gift was probably getting a helix piercing.

The in case you missed it portion:

https://www.tumblr.com/wintrrliqht/771452732561358849?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/bkristen/771236520640282624?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/ldapper/771237582627618816?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/lexipoo/770893626985365504/go-to-tim-tok?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/paiges-1vur/770939613672030208/the-cutest?source=share

Pleasant tea/lore: 👀 So eyebrows raised at recent stuff people are sharing re Lauren Betts. Also gotta say I feel more and more confident over time re Miles/Westbeld speculation (who Im willing to say are by far the most likable thing about ND).

Welp UConn wins their initial Big East contests and w/ no real injuries, so folks should take that for the time being huh. I def give grace for the games immediately before and after the holiday break tbh. Caught some of Texas/OU last night which was a good watch overall. And Michigan gave UCLA a pretty good run in their matchup new years day. Im so looking forward to Unrivaled starting up soon too! As a Mystics girly, I was especially excited to see Natasha Cloud and Shakira Austin playing together again, but alas Tash got moved to a different club late.

Alrighty thats about everything I can think of 😅 Best,

-☕️

Happy New Year Bestiiiiieeeeeee <3

I'm so good my love, how are you? I'm so glad to hear that you had a good Christmas and here's to a just as good 2025!

Awwww I love your incase you missed it section so much because even I didn't miss it, it's a chance to see my babies being all cutesie and adorable.

Loved the Betts tea and I'm really rooting for it to be true. I am completely sold on Olivia and Maddy and man what an attractive couple they are.

Yeah honestly, it's a blessing to be going through this season relatively injury-free (my poor Yanna bear aside) and that's something we shouldn't take for granted. Oklahoma does not move me at all I fear despite their ranking. Michigan just needs to give Syla a solid secondary player and I think they could make something shake in the next two years.

I was little underwhelmed by the Unrivaled jersey but considering that's literally the only they've disappointed me with, I'm very, very, very excited to watch the league unfold and as a former Storm fan, I'm so excited for the Jewell-Stewie combo again. If it wasn't clear, I will be supporting the Mist! Like my duo and Li-Li, how could I picky anyone else?

[othcrside]

@anchoragestarters saylor + ??? : january 1, early morning @ the 7-11

The fallout of New Year's Eve was normally something Saylor dreaded like clockwork every year. Alas, 2024 had proved eventful enough within itself and they narrowly avoided catastrophe for one of the few times in their thirty years of existence. After the clock struck midnight, they indulged in a whole bottle of red wine and a homemade pizza, making a mess of their kitchen as they danced around the kitchen isle and slid back and forth in their fuzzy socks. Pure bliss threaded through their veins as they realized this day, this new year, it was all theirs to claim. They didn't believe in resolutions, because they did more to stifle growth than encourage it in the young lily, but they did make a mental checklist of men to avoid from there on out. There could not be any ruinous repeats of the humiliation they suffered the year prior. That was all they'd asked for out of 2025 — that, and a package of powdered donuts from the 7-11. So, they made the drive and bought two packages and a cherry coke slushie, sauntering to the candy aisle so they could continue perusing until they'd finished their sugary breakfast. It seemed they might have spoken too soon about dodging catastrophe, however, as their lacking attentiveness sent them crashing against another customer and combusting their slushie all down the front of the stranger's clothes. "Oh, fuck!" they cursed loudly, glancing down instinctively at their own, thankfully untouched pajamas. "Goddammit, I just got that. You wanna wring your shirt out back into the cup? ... No, that's gross. Fuck. I can buy you a new one from the bin in here, but half of them look like they're for elderly tourists. I think I may have a spare Louis Vuitton jacket in my trunk?"

[kkarmalade]

Wow your photos look really great!…love the passion you put into it.

Are they up for sale? If so kindly message me directly on Tumblr 👍

Thanks. My photographic influences are relatively sparse in terms of demonstrative academic proficiencies. I've pieced together a novice's competence in terms of drawing and geometry by trying to absorb Barnstone's insights. I took a semester to deliberately and intensely study the mathematical relationship between, "intentional" forms and, "forms grown or derived from the substrate." I'm especially influenced by Mitchell Feigenbaum and Benoit Mandelbrot.

Many, "image makers" understand, "logistic organization" but I like to think, "every beautiful thing is already organized like that; your job is to seek that out with nothing short of divine madness and turn it into images that are interesting to look at..." I'm privileged that I started out playing musical instruments. Herzog's, "adequate images for the 21st century" will be visual jazz- we need only find our Charlie Parkers, Thelonious Monks; our Charlie Christians (!)

Select curated images will soon be available for select buyers. We have plans too of creating some materials for, "mass consumption" ala Warhol (t-shirts, patches, posters, ect...). I will update my blog as we approach release day in January 2025.

"Be smart like Harold Bloom. Read like Harold Bloom just don't be precisely like Harold Bloom. Be Wilde; "be a Man and follow me not.""

[bpd-girlie]

is it possible to do a reading about Wilbur that's similar to Shelby's?

a career reading for 2025? sure

I don't know what I was expecting here, maybe him sinking into despair? but alas...

the first card was the wheel of fortune, which to me in terms of career just tells me progress, moving forward, windows opening where doors were closed. the emperor reversed confirms this: a need for new, adventurous paths and novelty in his career (as well as a need to change the current job structure and coworkers, for some are unfaithful or untrustworthy)

the knight of pentacles and the knight of swords here are an odd combination to this as well, both talk about opportunities coming soon (very soon with the knight of swords in fact), but the knight of pentacles warns him not to stray too far away from his current path, for the current structure works just fine

the 3 of cups and the 4 of wands both also talk about opportunities coming through networking, and I feel something is going to shift as soon as February-March

the 6 of swords here is... an odd presence as well, but I feel it is tied with the emperor reversed + wheel of fortune, perhaps, because it tells him to leave what's old

all in all, career wise, I see 2025 as a year of changes, positive and fruitful ones at that. the 8 of wands reversed here tells me he's been through a lot of humbling, shame, guilt, his ego being crushed for the most part (no worries, it's still there, but not as big as before) and now it's his time to move forward-- which he will

now please someone tell him not to listen to the smiths and... David Bowie? has he been? my guides were like "this dude is showing symptoms of being pretentious in the Spotify activity bar" but I'm not crazy like that so I didn't check lmao

[crusherthedoctor]

Happy New Year! I need to eat something soon, I feel so sleepy.

Happy 2025 to you too. ^^

Alas, I am fully awake, so the 1st day of 2025 has been spent brainstorming more [REDACTED] (I will keep making this joke and that is a threat).

[juncojunk-o]

2024 Update

Hello everyone. Being the first day of a new year, I felt obligated to post an update on things given that I haven't posted in some time. I realize that this concerns very few people - perhaps it's a little arrogant of me to believe such a thing is warranted, yet here I am after all.

The year was a quick one, wasn't it? Or maybe it dragged on, don't you think? Paradoxically it was both as far as I'm concerned. I wrote a lot and despite my commission campaign being rather lacklustre, I drew quite a bit this year. I stumbled in some places, but pressed on in others. I look back at all the half baked ideas and flights of fancy I fumbled, but presently I am as I am. The future and its mysteries await.

For an unemployed individual, I find myself strung out and wishing I had more time. I finish one task and slot out 'its time' for something else. And for what? I really am a hopeless fool when I think of it. I digress, however; I'm full of melancholy and mingling emotions that have me ruminating on what lies ahead.

I ought to get to the point, oughtn't I? I guess I want to talk about my plans for this year.

My book is coming along well. I'm quite behind on posting as I'm becoming increasingly embroiled in its creation, but I intend to update soon enough.

Before that, I intend to unveil a secret project of mine. It's far from completion, and I ask for your patience. It is tied to my book in many ways - going forward, I think it could be a great way to foster a community around my work as a whole. I hope to have the various components of the project sorted out by the end of the month to have a surprise reveal at the beginning of February.

It should come as no surprise that the rest of the year will be largely dedicated to my writing; my New Year's Resolution was to have a 2nd draft completed by 2025. This will take a lot of effort, but I shall press on come Hell or high water. Or both. It's the least I can do for Teal.

Once I have a handle on this project of mine, I hope to complete any outstanding commissions and return to regular illustrations. I'm of the opinion this is ridiculous - unless I draw Aggretsuko fanart, my work is never well received - but I will strive towards improvement of my craft come Hell or high water. Or both. It's the least I can do for myself.

Should I have time, I possess a craving to produce music and restore the flame in my heart for 3D modelling. These are back-burner desires, but they are wants I've held for years now. Clearly I should pursue them, I just need to find the time. It's always about time, isn't it?

This year will be a busy one too. Many of my friends chose 2024 to get married. Money will be tight because of this and the ongoing economic crisis no one seems to want to deal with. If I'm lucky I can stay afloat financially until I can publish my novel (An incredible investment in itself, but I'll deal with that when I get there). While I do not exactly want the book to succeed financially - I would much rather people actually like the book and be inspired by my work than to 'succeed financially' - we live in a world where one requires capital to merely survive. Alas, I'll be staking my livelihood on this project of mine. A harrowing thought, isn't it?

I suppose that's enough rambling. If you made it this far, I can't thank you enough for reading my prattle. Keep your eyes peeled for future posts and I hope everyone enjoys my surprise project. Maybe a sneak peek would help? Let's see..

Here's a sketch! I'll leave you all with that.

Happy New Year, everyone. All the best in 2024.

[fernreads]

while shopping online, have you ever seen an option to pay in "interest-free" payments using a third party service? that's a spending scheme called "buy now, pay later" (BNPL). this article (below the cut + linked above) is a pretty good summary of many of the drawbacks of BNPL.

TLDR:

BNPL services like Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, and PayPal are integrated into the websites of many large retailers.

BNPL is structured as an installment loan, so it shows up on your credit score.

Because BNPL an installment loan and not a credit card, it is exempt from the Truth in Lending Act (TILA).

Almost all BNPL services charge significantly more in interest or late fees than traditional credit cards.

They also charge the vendor higher processing fees compared to credit cards. Because BNPL encourages people to spend more, big companies can afford to eat the cost, but small businesses can't.

The way financial firms sold consumer debt products used to be downright cute. In a 1978 commercial for a company called Access, for instance, an anthropomorphized Schoolhouse Rock!-esque character called Money appears with the business itself as a huge walking credit card. Money complains that he can’t cope with everything he needs to buy. “Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ll take care of the bills,” says Access, the “flexible friend.” “Aw thanks, Access. You’re a real friend,” Money replies.

Access, alas, no longer exists. Mastercard acquired and then retired the credit card brand in 1997. Since then, traditional credit card debt no longer seems distinctly cute, thanks to wider knowledge of its punishing interest rates and skepticism induced by the 2008 financial crisis.

Fear not! There is a new savvy spending scheme for the financially conscious millennial or Gen Zer: Buy now, pay later (BNPL). Companies like Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna market themselves as innovative new companies, creating financial freedom for all through flexible payment options. But it’s not a new concept, and at bottom, they’re even worse than credit cards.

INSTEAD OF PAYING for a purchase all at once or in monthly installments (plus interest), BNPLs typically offer four interest-free installments due every two weeks (though not always, as we’ll see below). While consumers take weeks or months to pay off the purchase, the BNPL lender fronts the bill to the retailer.

BNPL’s appeal is deceptively simple; Gen Z and millennials hate debt. A Klarna investor sheet cited an American Psychological Association survey which found that more millennials feared credit card debt than feared death and war. With BNPL, consumers avoid the psychological toll of interest with a product that’s just as easy to use as a credit card.

BNPL’s integration with online merchants is impressive too. Currently, there are millions of merchants worldwide accepting some form of BNPL payment, and with PayPal recently offering the service to any of its 32 million merchants with the click of a button, likely millions more very soon. Whether you’re shopping for last-minute gifts for the holidays, big-ticket electronics, or you came across an ad as you were tapping through Instagram stories, the setup is seamless. BNPL transactions have also begun to show up on credit reports, allowing customers to build credit.

Last year, 1 in 5 Americans used a BNPL lending scheme, and 1 in 3 who haven’t used BNPL expressed interest in using it in the future. By the end of 2022, almost half of Gen Z in the United States will have used a BNPL service once, and by 2025 BNPL transactions are predicted to amount to $760 billion worldwide, a 92 percent increase from 2019. That would mean 12 percent of all physical goods purchased online through a BNPL service.

BNPL loans have so far sidestepped Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) to ensure credit term transparency for consumers—mandating a universal language and format so consumers can understand the terms of the agreement they are entering. It also covers deceptive and inaccurate credit billing and credit card practices, and allows consumers to dispute fraudulent charges.

Although the recent updates to Regulation Z implemented additional consumer protections, and longer-term data collection for compliance purposes, BNPL loans are typically structured as installment loans, and Regulation Z does not apply to those types of credit products.

That concerns some policymakers. In a statement to the Prospect, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said, “We’ve seen how some buy now, pay later companies have used hidden fees and marketing to mislead consumers into taking on more debt than they can handle.”

There are a lot of hidden downsides, in fact. Klarna charges up to a 24.99 percent annual percentage rate (APR) for purchases on longer payment plans; Affirm charges up to a 30 percent APR for similar services. Afterpay doesn’t charge a traditional interest payment, but does slap on one late fee per late installment; however, the total amount of late fees charged won’t exceed 25 percent of the initial order value.

A financial adviser and host of the podcast She’s On the Money, Victoria Devine recalled in a 2019 episode, “I have people in the She’s On the Money community who have had their mortgages declined because they’ve forgotten to disclose that they have Afterpay debt because they didn’t see it as debt.”

On the business side, merchant fees are higher for BNPL lenders than credit card companies; BNPL lenders charge 1.5 to 7 percent, compared to credit card companies charging 1.3 to 3.5 percent, plus the payment processor’s cut. Despite the higher fees, retailers eat the costs because customers who use a BNPL service spend more than those who do not. Klarna told investors that when using BNPL, the average order value—the average amount spent by customers with a retailer—increased by 68 percent, alongside a 20 percent increase in shopping frequency. What’s more, those fees are passed on to customers through higher prices. According to a co-authored report by PYMNTS and Afterpay, 33 percent of businesses offering BNPL saw increased revenues from 2019 to 2020.

It’s common for people to take on more BNPL debt than they can afford, and that often means a black mark on one’s credit report. The smaller BNPL lender Laybuy reported almost half of its revenue in a six-month period came from late fees, while bigger players like Afterpay—which was recently acquired by founder and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block—reported that in 2020, $51.8 million of its $399 million in revenue came from the same source. The following year, CEO Magazine reported Afterpay’s revenue from late fees increasing to $99 million. Andrei Stadnik, a senior equity research analyst for Morgan Stanley, has developed models that predict Afterpay’s revenue from late fees will rise to $340 million by June 2023. According to the Australian Financial Review, if the periodic payment calculations used for credit cards were applied to Afterpay’s late fees, it’s an equivalent interest rate of 55 to 68 percent per year.

A report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund found that BNPL borrowers are often harmed by “hidden fees, interest and debt collection problems … consumers also face problems with customer service.”

Justin Baldwin, a 24-year-old living in East Lansing, Michigan, told the Prospect, “J​​ust using [Afterpay’s] service lowered my credit score 30 points.” He could afford the purchase outright but figured on-time payments would boost his credit score. “Ever since I saw [my credit score drop], I decided not to use those online layaway things.”

Functionally, BNPLs are a Wall Street devil’s brew of credit cards, layaway, and a sneaky end run around financial regulation, all in one. The industry’s potential growth is still in its infancy, but long-standing financial titans like Barclays have warned about the proliferation of BNPL services. Last year, the bank conducted a study among 2,000 BNPL users in the U.K., and the results are troubling. The average Gen Z BNPL user spent an average of £175.50 in monthly repayments (US$231), accounting for 20 percent of their monthly discretionary income. Perhaps even more telling, Barclays last year also announced a partnership with Amazon for installment options over £100, which would include interest over the payment period. If BNPLs really take off, financial incumbents will likely simply jump on the bandwagon.

“BNPL’s value should undoubtedly come as a warning sign to incumbent financial institutions, whose sole method of offering finance for eCommerce is the credit card or cumbersome online financing offers,” said the fintech research firm Kaleido Intelligence in a 2020 digital financing markets outlook report.

LAST YEAR, IN AN ATTEMPT to stop BNPL services from circumventing regulation, Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) sent a letter urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to take action governing the rise of BNPL products.

The letter stated, “Many BNPL providers structure these products in an effort to avoid certain consumer protection obligations under the Truth in Lending Act or the Military Lending Act, which generally apply to loans that are repayable in more than four installments or are subject to a finance charge.”

On December 16, 2021, the CFPB announced an inquiry into the leading BNPL companies. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said, “Buy now, pay later is the new version of the old layaway plan, but with modern, faster twists where the consumer gets the product immediately but gets the debt immediately too. We have ordered Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal, and Zip to submit information so that we can report to the public about industry practices and risks.” The report from each of the companies was due March 1, 2022, though none have been released thus far.

The CFPB had three main concerns: First, the ease with which consumers accumulate debt, thereby overextending themselves with several loans on multiple schedules. Second, regulatory arbitrage, referring to the consumer protection laws the companies may be evading, such as not providing dispute resolution protections, which credit cards provide, and identifying the rules the lenders follow in regard to late fees and policies. And lastly, the agency requested information on all five companies’ data-harvesting techniques to figure out practices around data collection, behavioral targeting, data monetization, and the risks consumers face when using BNPL services.

“Depending on the nature and scope of the entity and its involvement in BNPL lending,” a CFPB spokesperson told the Prospect, “some or all of [the agency’s] authorities may be available to constrain illegal activity and to facilitate compliance with federal consumer financial laws.”

Sen. Warren applauded the action. “CFPB is right to take a close look at these products to ensure that consumers are protected from predatory schemes,” she told the Prospect.

The U.K. is far ahead of U.S. regulation. Earlier this year, the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered BNPL companies to redraft their lending terms.

Afterpay claims it’s “helping people spend responsibly,” and Klarna says it’s committed to approaching “global challenges with a sense of urgency and great optimism … to build a better future for everyone.” But really, BNPL is just another version of the same potentially risky consumer debt that has been around for ages. As Sen. Warren told the Prospect, “Buy now, pay later plans provide big banks and fintech companies with new schemes to trick and trap consumers, burdening them with costly loans they can’t afford.”

BNPL has found most traction with younger people and millennials. But the supposed affordability is what entices Americans on the lower end of the income scale to the service; 53 percent said they couldn’t have afforded their purchase otherwise. Black consumers are also most likely to use BNPL for affordability reasons, with 51 percent citing affordability, compared to 36 percent of white consumers who used the service.

In a 2019 interview, Afterpay’s CEO Nick Molnar recalled the malaise of young adulthood following the 2008 financial crisis. His generational cohort abandoned credit cards and other traditional lines of credit, and that’s where he saw his opportunity—not by genuinely innovating, but by slapping a glossy coat of paint on the same old lending as before.

“That’s the entirety of financial services. That’s the old Volcker comment, that there have been no good financial innovations since the ATM,” Georgetown law professor Adam Levitin told the Prospect. “These are still either credit or payment products, whether you access it from your phone or computer or a 3×5 card, it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference.” Regulators are scrambling to catch up to this old playbook dressed up with a new cover.

[wherevermyway]

the FiVE:RACHA project (1/7) // black mirror AU // 18+

chapter one: freedom series navigation: [desktop] [mobile]

⚠ POTENTIAL TW: READ WITH CAUTION! ⚠ pairings: lee minho x kim seungmin | hwang hyunjin x lee felix x yang jeongin | bang chan x seo changbin x han jisung rating: explicit! 18+ warnings/tags: creator chose not to use archive warnings, descent into madness, horror, thriller, technological implants, blood and gore, alcohol abuse, some sexual content in later chapters but it’s not, like, smut. word count: 3,101 also on AO3

PS: i made a carrd for this. check it out if you’re interested!

originally posted: 26 december 2020

Several years ago, five men created a website for South Korea's international rap sensation, 3RACHA. The website, The FiVE:RACHA Project, was almost as popular as the group themselves. About two years after the website went live, FiVE:RACHA had the opportunity to meet 3RACHA.

Immediately after they meet, the members of FiVE:RACHA and 3RACHA go missing. The FiVE:RACHA Project website is down. Their Twitter account has been deactivated, and 3RACHA stops posting. A few months after their meetup, it was announced that 3RACHA had disbanded. Nobody knows what happened to either group.

Nobody knows, until now.

For some, modern day fame comes at a price that is too high to pay.

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction! any reference to persons in this work of fiction are purely coincidental. the characters referenced from Stray Kids are  interpretations loosely based on their personalities in the group and do  not represent the real people behind the personas. if this, or any of  the content included in the warnings above make you uncomfortable,  please stop reading now.

// note: with other darker stuff i post, i’m not totally sure i’ll post the entirety of this fic on tumblr. if not, i’ll do a little notice post for people interested to keep following it on AO3.

...Do you wish to proceed? To learn the truth of FiVE:RACHA and 3RACHA?

What is the true price of fame?

A Foreword:

Several years ago, there was a fan site, The FiVE:RACHA Project, dedicated to South Korea’s most famous rap group, 3RACHA. One day, it went down without notice. The site, as well as their Twitter account with over four million followers, was almost as well-known as the rap group itself.

3RACHA mysteriously disbanded several months after FiVE:RACHA went down. Nobody has seen or heard from the members of either group since the disbandment. There are several theories and myths surrounding the disappearances of both groups, but most of them are incorrect.

Be aware that, no, FiVE:RACHA did not go down because the site moderators were bored of 3RACHA. No, 3RACHA did not disband because Supreme Entertainment was about to collapse due to widespread fraud and their political scandals within the Korean government.

The stories of FiVE:RACHA and 3RACHA are very much deeply intertwined within each other, and the truth is uncomfortable to witness.

This novel’s authors, comprised of some of the most loyal fans of both groups, will remain anonymous and stay in hiding due to fear of being caught by the one responsible for the disappearances. An individual outside of our group found a Shinyu of someone involved in this, someone discarded in the Han River many years ago. How the implant survived with no living host for so long is beyond remarkable.

In case the Shinyu is defunct or replaced by the time you’re reading this, allow us to explain. The name comes from “close friend” in Japanese, likely as a play on words for how close the implant gets to its host, both physically and socially. The Shinyu was created in Tokyo in 2025; it is a small technological implant embedded under the skin of the right side of everyone’s temples.

Everyone has one placed at thirteen, and it encodes all of our visual, tactile, and auditory data, syncing it to our phones and uploading it to personal servers in the cloud. The data is encrypted, and requires access from both the Shinyu and the phone to decipher. It allows us to integrate technology into our daily lives, records our memories and important moments, but there is a price we all pay for this. Critics have been outspoken about this since its inception, but the governments never listened.

Alas, we digress. The Shinyu is vital to uncovering so much information that has been hidden and speculated on after all this time. Regardless of our personal opinions regarding the ethics of the device, we are grateful that we were able to obtain one of the implants. It has been vital to connect a lot of the missing pieces of the greater picture.

The authors have spent years decoding the information from this implant. Thanks to an anonymous source, we were able to obtain the personal computer of someone in FiVE:RACHA, personal cell phones of both groups, access to the database of Supreme Entertainment and its defunct myIdol data, some declassified legal information, and archives of both FiVE:RACHA and 3RACHA’s Twitter accounts.

Why have we chosen to extrapolate all of this data in the form of a novel? Perhaps we would like it to serve as a modern day parable for the plights of technology being so intricately interwoven between us all now. We, as humans, are now one with technology. Technology is literally embedded into us. It is astounding that technology allows us to interact so closely with famed idols now, beyond some barriers that critics have denounced for being inappropriate or unhealthy.

Some of us may pay the ultimate price for this.

Some of us, unfortunately, already have.

However interconnected we are with technology and how close we can get to those of which we idolize in society, though, humans will still crave entertainment. That is why this was written almost as a work of fiction. Those that pay attention to the story will be rewarded. Maybe not immediately, and maybe only after self-reflection, but readers will be rewarded. That much can be promised.

Above all else, we cannot stress enough that modern day fame and convenience comes at a price that is too high for some to pay. Stay safe, err on the side of caution. Disconnect from your Shinyu if you choose to proceed any further, because you never know who is watching.

— Curators of The FiVE:RACHA Project

One: Freedom

Nobody really knows who exactly manages FiVE:RACHA, just that it’s a group of five fans that run a fansite for the popular rap group 3RACHA. Their website is the most well-known and widely used out of the millions of fans that are out there. It always has live updates for the members: Bang Chan, Seo Changbin, and Han Jisung. There are daily paparazzi photos of at least one of them slapped up on the front page, embedded social media posts from each of the members updated as soon as they post, and hard-to-find facts about each of them.

Hell, one of the FiVE:RACHA members went through and coded up a section of the site dedicated to decoding natal charts for each of the members. Again, like most things about FiVE:RACHA, the source of this information was a mystery. Nobody’s sure exactly how they obtained 3RACHA’s birth times and locations. Some had speculated that it happened the same day the government had announced that there was a security breach of some of their databases, because the timing was oddly convenient.

To most casual fans, it sometimes felt really fucking weird to have so much information on idols readily available at their fingertips. However, to 3RACHA’s most dedicated, most obsessed fans, it was perfect. Exactly what they wanted. Their work seemed well-appreciated by the broader community, since the amount of Twitter followers FiVE:RACHA had was comparable to 3RACHA’s following, nearly half of their total count: 4,100,000 to 8,500,000.

There was nothing else that could compare to the controlled insanity that The FiVE:RACHA Project had to offer.

The FiVE:RACHA website was an international sensation, known to most 3RACHA fans, even those that opposed it. There was even a small, but growing, fanbase for the members of FiVE:RACHA, something that was slightly worrisome to them, but they had remained anonymous for so long, they weren’t really overtly concerned over it.

“This article is bullshit, man. ‘Controlled insanity’? None of this is controlled, it’s just insanity.”

Idle hums and trills of various electronics thrum in a dark room. Two young men stare at several computer monitors in a daze, lost in their own worlds as a ticker tape-like feed of coding and statistics flew past them on screen.“Let ‘em talk, dude,” the younger-looking man with blue hair scoots away from his computer and sighs. “Fuckin’ gossip rags. Anyway, I can’t stare at this CSS anymore. I can’t figure out why the embedded feeds are busted. Can you take over on this, Seung?”

The slightly older man with short, shaggy black hair rolls his neck, snapping some joints, not bothering to look away from his screens. “Yeah, yeah,” he stops poring over the article written about them on one screen, tabbing away to another. He cracks the knuckles in his fingers, and waves his hand in the air as he taps a couple of keys on his keyboard. “Go take a break, Jeongin. Hyunjin was looking for you, anyways. Probably got something good from a source of his, since he’s in one of his giddy moods.”

As Seungmin settles into his work, Jeongin chuckles as he stands up and stretches. He takes a couple steps over to the other computer desk and pats the older man on the back. “Thanks, dude,” he says with a smile and walks out of the server room, out into the hallway that leads into the open living room of their flat. The ambient humming of the room stops as he shuts the door, now replaced by the sound of his feet shuffling, the muffled noises echoing against the hardwood floor.

Five men all lived and worked in this large apartment together: Yang Jeongin, Kim Seungmin, Hwang Hyunjin, Lee Felix, and Lee Minho. Collectively, this was where they lived and breathed The FiVE:RACHA Project. Running the largest, most extensive fansite for South Korea’s most famous rap group, 3RACHA, was more than a full-time job. They all equally poured their hearts and souls into maintaining the website and their Twitter account. It proved to be almost too much for five people alone to handle as their shifts sometimes went from twelve hours and bled into sixteen, sometimes twenty-four hour shifts.

Minho, the leader, didn’t trust anyone but the original five to the project, however. Jeongin could hear the oldest man’s airy voice echo in his ears: “I trusted the four of you with this. Now, it’s devolved into something I don’t even recognize. There’s no way anyone deserves to see what we’ve done. Imagine if it got out that we were the ones in charge of this monstrosity?”

Jeongin glided into the kitchen, and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, eyeing the time. 13:36. He had another hour left of his shift, and he was exhausted after yesterday’s all-nighter. 33 hours of work, with only a small nap in between was rough on anyone, and he was starting to feel it, physically. His Shinyu Implant would ping him once every hour that he was very low on sleep, reminding him that it was unhealthy to go without sleep for so long and that he would not be able to drive. As he slinked his way to the fridge, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and yawned. He opened the fridge, the contents in the shelves of the door clattering as they abruptly shifted around.

The first thing he saw was a bottle of unsweetened coffee and, while he knew he shouldn’t drink caffeine within a few hours of hopeful sleep, Jeongin went against his instincts and reached for the bottle anyways. As he opened it, the cracking of the seal reverberated against all of the hard surfaces and sounded much louder than it should have, startling the man awake a bit.

He hated unsweetened coffee, but there was no way he would make it through another hour or so of coding maintenance without it. Jeongin polished off the entire bottle within seconds, grimacing in disgust the entire time. He tapped his right temple twice, and grumbled. “Set reminder, after work: grocery shopping. Have Hyunjin drive. Add to list: energy drinks. The good kind, none of that berry-flavoured shit.” A very faint, nearly inaudible ding responds after he’s done speaking, and Jeongin moves to discard the bottle into the recycling bin.

“Innie?” Almost as if the devil himself heard Jeongin’s request, a familiar voice rounded the corner of the kitchen. “Oh, good, I thought that was you. Anyway, you won’t believe the content I got from Yeji at Seoul Scoop, dude,” the lanky, beacon-like blond grins wildly at Jeongin, walking into the kitchen. “I actually got a photo of Chan and Changbin looking awfully close at KNECT’s backstage event a couple days ago. Think they were celebrating their recent win a little too hard.”

Hyunjin proudly slaps a grainy photo down on the countertop, where Changbin is sitting in Chan’s lap, arms wrapped around the older man’s neck. Sure, it could easily be explained away as friendly closeness, since everyone knew that all of the guys were very close friends, and the area was cramped. The photo, however, would cause a lot of panic within the community.

Jeongin smirked as he eyed the photo, taking it into his fingers and bringing it up close to his face. “The shippers are going to have a field day over this, you know.”

“I know,” Hyunjin shakes some of his hair out of his face as he arrogantly places a hand on his hip, shifting his weight to one side. “It’ll be great traffic for the site. I’ll have Seungmin put it on the front page later.” He takes a couple of steps closer to Jeongin and pulls the younger man to his chest, stroking his hair down. “I love you, but you look like shit. Why not call it a little early today?”

Jeongin shook his head, burying his nose into the older man’s shoulder, letting his eyes flutter shut with a sigh. “Seungmin and I are trying to fix a string of broken code that’s causing the social media feed to bug out a little bit. Definitely wanna have that fixed before we upload this.”

A clattering of keys startles both of the younger men, causing them to look behind Hyunjin. “Don’t worry about it, Jeongin,” a third voice speaks from the entrance of the kitchen. “Seriously, you worked really hard yesterday, and I’m sure we’ll manage. I’ll be sure to wake up Felix a little earlier and we’ll fix the coding.”

“You’re home early, Minho,” Jeongin chuckles once as he nods. “Figured you’d be stuck in the office for a few more hours.”

“Nah,” Minho dismissively waves his hand in the air as he walks over to the sink, rinsing his hands. “Seungmin called me earlier and said you were nodding off at your desk, asked me to come home early.”

A look of guilt washed over Jeongin’s face. “Shit, my bad.”

“Don’t apologize,” Minho smiles as he towels off his hands. “I appreciate all of the work you did yesterday; completely revamping the social media section was hard. But I can’t have you possibly miscode something and have it break the site because you’re running low on sleep. You’ve started getting pings, haven’t you?”

Jeongin sheepishly nods his head and mumbles an affirmation.

Hyunjin rolls his eyes and elbows the young man in the side. “I thought I told you to take a nap, dude?”

“I did!” Jeongin whines. “It was, like, a half-hour, though.”

Both Hyunjin and Minho roll their eyes at Jeongin. “Get out of here,” Minho scoffs, walking towards the server room. “Go to bed. I don’t wanna see you back in the server room until tomorrow morning.”

Jeongin opens his mouth to protest, but Hyunjin drags him away, up the stairs towards their bedroom. A ping comes from his implant, a transparent box popping up in the lower right-hand corner of his vision. The soft voice of the AI reverberates against his skull, allowing him to hear it as if it were a real voice whispering into his ear. It reads off the notification from his display.

“Movement away from workplace detected. Reminder: grocery shopping later, have Hyunjin drive. Would you like me to pull up your list?”

“No.” A low grumble comes up from Jeongin’s throat as he taps his temple twice to dismiss the notification. “Hyunjin,” he sighs, “we’ve gotta go grocery shopping.”

“You’re too tired,” Hyunjin shakes his finger without turning to look at Jeongin. “The grocery store will still be there tomorrow.”

“I’m out of my energy drinks, though,” the younger man protests.

Hyunjin smiles, opening the door to their bedroom and whispers. “I’ll be sure to get some for you. Go cuddle up with Felix and get some sleep.”

“Hyunjin, I—” Jeongin is cut off as the older man grabs his wrist, pulling him into his chest. They share a brief kiss before Hyunjin guides him into the bedroom.

“Shh, Lixie is sleeping.”

There’s a shuffling that comes from the bedsheets, and a sleepy voice grumbles. “Not anymore.”

“Aw, mornin’, babe,” Hyunjin says with a smile. “Sorry to wake you. Minho’s probably gonna come ask for you in a bit, anyways, though.”

Felix rolls over, sitting upright as he runs his hands through his brassy blond hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Jeongin sighs as he makes his way over to the bed, bringing an arm up to the blond and wrapping him in a lazy hug as he pulls them down to the bed.

The blond lets out a soft laugh. “Don’t worry about it, man,” he turns his head to face the bluenette and offers him a quick peck on the lips. “I couldn’t sleep much, anyways. Finding out about that myIdol rumour yesterday had my brain going kind of wild.”

“You heard about it too, huh?” Hyunjin says, colliding down onto the bed opposite of Felix. “Someone at Seoul Scoop told me about it this morning. It lets fans connect with their idols, like they’re actually directly messaging them.”

“That’s weird,” the bluenette sleepily grumbles into Felix’s shoulder.

“I think so, too.” Felix says with a frown as he nuzzles his head against Jeongin’s forehead, staring up into the ceiling.

Hyunjin shrugs with indifference. “I dunno, I think it’s pretty interesting.”

Jeongin lifts his head and stares down Hyunjin with a smirk. “You just want to pretend like Changbin cares about you.”

The older blond frowns as he flips off Jeongin. “Like you wouldn’t want Jisung to send you a ‘Have a wonderful day, bestie!’ message?”

The youngest member flops back down onto the bed. “Okay, that’s fair. It’s still weird, though. Seems so artificial and fake, I guess.”

“Well,” Hyunjin sits up, offering a hand out to Felix, “I’ll have more information on it tomorrow, probably. Why don’t you let yourself sleep for a while?” Felix takes the hand offered to him, and both men stand up. “Lixie and I will go out and get some groceries and get you those nasty energy drinks you like so much.”

Jeongin grumbles as he wiggles his way up to the pillows, half-asleep and irritated from the loss of warmth from Felix. “Just not the berry ones, okay?”

“I’ll see what we can do,” Hyunjin says with a smirk before he spins on his heel and walks out of the room. “Love you, Innie!”

“Don’t worry,” Felix leans down to kiss Jeongin’s forehead, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t get the kinds you hate. Let yourself actually sleep, too. We’ll make it all work out, okay?”

Jeongin mutters some sort of incoherent affirmation as he lets his heavy eyelids flutter shut. Seungmin would be able to fix the CSS by himself, he figured, trying not to worry too much about how broken small parts of the site were. He heard Felix say something else as he quickly faded off into sleep, but it didn’t register fully as he sank into the abyss.

There were a lot of sleepless nights ahead of them, whether FiVE:RACHA felt it coming or not.

[convergehrsolutions]

$15 Minimum Wage Would Boost Incomes, Trigger Job Cuts

While raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour would raise pay for roughly 27 million workers there are also drawbacks to this highly talked about decision.  Unfortunately it could lead to over 1 million job losses countrywide, according to Congressional Budget Office projections.  The Raise the Wage Act is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives later this month, and could raise the minimum wage as soon as 2024.  It has been since 2009 that we have had a federal minimum wage of $7.25, although a few states have since raised above that level. This bill was introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and would completely eliminate lower wages permitted for workers under the age of 20, workers with disabilities, and tipped workers. Those who are against the raise proposal have stated that it would be far too expensive for small-business owners, and that it is not realistic given the wide disparities in cost-of-living throughout the United States.  Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., has been working on a proposal to fix this problem.  She is looking to introduce a tax credit for small businesses to help them absorb the increase.

According to the Congressional Budget Office this raise would have a two pronged effect on low-wage workers in the United States. The first part would be that both earnings and family income would increase, helping lift families out of poverty. The second and more unfortunate effect is that many low-wage workers would become jobless thus dropping their families income and forcing them to fall below the poverty threshold. Overall job losses could rise to about 3.7 million if this minimum wage increase was put into action.  At the same time though roughly 17 million people would get a boost in their pay during an average week in 2025.  This would move the annual income for 1.3 million people above the poverty line.  With that being said, this increase would reduce business income and certainly raise prices for consumers.  

There are pros and cons to every decision made in Congress.  What they have to do is find a balance between each that would benefit as many Americans as possible while hurting as little as possible.  Obviously a decision that would hurt no one is impossible, so we must take into consideration what downfalls could come from raising the minimum wage.  Do the benefits outweigh the risks?  That’s the all-important question Congress must deal with at this time.  At Converge HR Solutions our skilled professionals have the ability to help ease the transition if this bill were to pass.  We are here to help.  Reach out to us at (610)-296-8550 or info@convergehrsolutions.com if you have any questions regarding the potential rise of the minimum wage and how it may affect your company.

[digicrunchpage]

Vice President may tell NASA to accelerate lunar landings

Enlarge / Vice President Mike Pence, center in Mission Control Houston, will oversee all space decisions made by the Trump administration. (credit: NASA)

One of the panelists who will appear at a National Space Council meeting next Tuesday said to expect "a few fireworks" during the discussion, which will focus on NASA's efforts to return humans to the Moon. The meeting of this council that oversees US spaceflight policy will be held in Hunstville, Ala., and led by Vice President Mike Pence.

University of Colorado Boulder astrophysicist Jack Burns, one of six speakers scheduled for the meeting, said the current timeline for NASA to send humans to the Moon lacks urgency. NASA has talked about landing its astronauts on the Moon before the end of the 2020s, and the president's budget proposal for the coming fiscal year allows for this to happen as early as 2028.

"The timeline is too slow, and that's one of the things that I'm going to be talking about next Tuesday," Burns said. If pushed, how soon could NASA put humans back on the Moon? The year 2025, Burns replied. "And I know some in the administration would like to do it even faster than that," he added. "We're going to see a few fireworks."

Read 13 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Vice President may tell NASA to accelerate lunar landings published first on https://medium.com/@HDDMagReview

[techbotic]

Vice President may tell NASA to accelerate lunar landings

Enlarge / Vice President Mike Pence, center in Mission Control Houston, will oversee all space decisions made by the Trump administration. (credit: NASA)

One of the panelists who will appear at a National Space Council meeting next Tuesday said to expect "a few fireworks" during the discussion, which will focus on NASA's efforts to return humans to the Moon. The meeting of this council that oversees US spaceflight policy will be held in Hunstville, Ala., and led by Vice President Mike Pence.

University of Colorado Boulder astrophysicist Jack Burns, one of six speakers scheduled for the meeting, said the current timeline for NASA to send humans to the Moon lacks urgency. NASA has talked about landing its astronauts on the Moon before the end of the 2020s, and the president's budget proposal for the coming fiscal year allows for this to happen as early as 2028.

"The timeline is too slow, and that's one of the things that I'm going to be talking about next Tuesday," Burns said. If pushed, how soon could NASA put humans back on the Moon? The year 2025, Burns replied. "And I know some in the administration would like to do it even faster than that," he added. "We're going to see a few fireworks."

Read 13 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Vice President may tell NASA to accelerate lunar landings published first on https://medium.com/@CPUCHamp