#and we will never let a CEO earn half a million a year while she denies funds for essential maintenance and strips out educational content

[raineydays411]

My Father's daughter pt 3

Tony Stark x daughter!reader

Summary: Back at the Tower, Y/n has a talk with Pepper.

a/n: ohhh another part finished!! some new characters will be revealed next part and i’m so great full for @social-media-imagines-by-me fir helping me create them💕💕

You were furious.

You stormed into your room and slammed the door, finding satisfaction in the loud bang it produced. You then ripped through your drawers and closet, pulling on some work out clothes and some gloves. You then marched out of the room, slamming the door again, startling Sam and Bucky who happened to be passing by.

"Geez kid, slam it a little harder I don't think it fell off the hinges yet." Sam jokes, but you were in no joking mood so you swirled around with fire in your eyes.

"You okay doll?" Bucky softly asks, pushing a frightened Sam to the side. You sigh, knowing it's not fair to take out your anger on them.

"Sorry Sam, it's just...my biological mom is here and wants me to move in with her."

"Oh..." Bucky says, not good with things like this, " Do you want me to like...kill her or..."

"NO" You laugh, " It's just I haven't seen her in nine years and she has the audacity to come up here like it's nothing?!"

Your anger returns, " She thinks that just because she pushed me out of her vagina"

The two men cringe at the words

"That she can just claim me? That's not how it works!" You shout, " And, she brought her fucking husband. The man she left us for! Who does that?!"

Bucky looks at Sam, mentally asking him what they should do. Sam just rolls his eyes and turns back to you.

"Come on kid, it looks like you wanna punch something."

and with that he lead you to the training room where Steve was training with Peter.

"Come on queens, you gotta stay on your feet" Steve k=jokes as he, again, trips Peter.

"Mr. Rogers, do you think we should take a break?" Peter pants.

You stride pass them, not bothering to say hi. They look at Sam and Bucky for an explanation and just get a shake of the head.

"Hey Y/n that's my punching" Steve started to say when he saw you throw a hard punch to the bag, "Nevermind..."

You ignore the group behind you, opting to pummel the poor punching bag in front of you.

Your mind flashes back to your mother and her words.

"A girl needs her mother"

*punch*

"Oh petal I wanted to call"

*punch* *punch*

"Come to Gotham. Meet your siblings!"

*BANG*

You look down to see the punching bag flew off the hook and is spilling sand on the floor. You were confused, as you knew you weren't strong enough to do that, not even when you were angry.

"Wow, I guess Cap didn't secure that hook again."

You jump, not expecting someone to be there, as you heard Sam, Bucky, Steve, and Peter leave. You turn to see Pepper there looking at the bag in surprise. You sigh, stepping away from the mess and taking off your gloves. You make your way to the bench and take a swig of water.

"Did you need something Pep?" You ask, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, i was just wondering if my kid was okay. But given the fact that you punched that bag like it would restore your honor.."

You knew you shouldn't have showed her Avatar.

"I'm assuming your not." She finishes.

You give her a half smile, looking down at your hands.

"Y/n" She says, " Talk to me."

You finally speak, "Why now?"

Pepper frowns, understanding that small phrase, ' I don't know."

"She's not my mother." You state, " She...she might have been once but now?"

Pepper nods," I love you."

You smile, the words reassuring you, " I love you too Pep."

"Come on, your messing up your manicure." She says with a smile, standing and extending a hand towards you. You feel your demnor soften and your mood lighten. Pepper always managed to make you feel better.

"Yeah okay..thanks." You say, taking her hand and letting her pull you from the bench, " Are you hungry? Cause I am>"

"Y/n we just ate!"

"Like an hour ago"

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

Days went by and you hadn't heard a peep from Christine. It was like she went off to lick her wounds and just decided not to reach out again.

Which didn't bother you one bit.

But apparently the universe wanted to fuck with you because when you came home from a day out with Peter, there was your mother, Bruce Wayne, and all six million of her fucking kids sitting on the couch.

"What the fuck?" You say causing the attention to turn to you.

"Language" Peter says, You smile softly at him before then turning to glare at Tony.

"Don't look at me, it was your moth-uh Peppers idea." Tony stumbled, looking rather uncomfortable sharing a drink with the man that his...wife? girlfriend?... whatever she was left him for.

"Pep what?" You asking, softening your glare because you'd be damned if you disrespected her.

"I just think it'd be best if we clear the air and get everything out on the table." Pepper said in that tone she uses when she's dealing with difficult people or the press. You called it her CEO tone.

"Now, go take your bags upstairs and wash up. And I'll pretend that you aren't an hour late"

"It was Peter's idea..." You mumbled and walking to the stairs that lead to the bed rooms.

"It was not!" Peter shouts following you to the rooms to help with the bags.

Christine watched as her daughter walked out of the room, playfully arguing with Peter. It was as if she were a whole different person, carefree and playful. Totally different from when she was glaring and stiff when talking to her. It broke her heart hearing Tony refer to Pepper as her Mother rather than Christine. But what did she expect?

Damian scoffed catching her attention, "Mother I do not see why you've dragged us here, that girl didn't even acknowledge us."

"Damian, enough" Bruce said, not looking away from his awkward conversation with Tony.

"Gee if only I could do that with our kids." Tony mutters into his drink.

"Does Y/n argue often?" Bruce asks trying to engage in conversation.

Tony laughs before fondly speaking, " Sort of. She isn't the type to back down when she thinks something is right. There was this one time I caught her arguing with one of my business partners about his "condescending tone and misogynistic attitude"."

""And did she apologize after?"

"Hell no. She glared at me and told me apologizing just for his ego would be demeaning her experiences as a woman. Although to be fair he was an asshole."

Bruce chuckles, " She sounds like a well rounded young woman. How old was she then?"

"Ah about 10, it was funny seeing this little girl argue in a Justin Bieber shirt argue about the patriarchy with a full grown man."

Bruce and Tony shared a laugh, picturing the scene.

"You must be very proud of her." Bruce mentions after they quieted down. Tony let a small smile escape.

" I am. She's had a rough life, and I..." Tony trails off, " She means everything to me. Without her...I don't think I'd be the same person I am today."

And with that, Tony downed his drink and stood, " Want another?"

Bruce smiled and accepted, watching Tony leave. He can tell that the man was close to his daughter. A bond that formed due to a loss, they both grew from it and grew closer. He understood, thinking about his own children.

Pepper and Christine were having a somewhat similar conversation, although it was a little more tense.

"So...Pepper-"

"Virginia." Pepper said, cutting her off.

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Virginia. Pepper is a nickname my family calls me."

"Oh. Okay, Virginia, how long have you known Y/n and Tony?"

"Oh about nine or so years. I was promoted to assistant when I saw how much of a mess Tony was." Pepper said casually.

Dick and Jason tensed, overhearing the tense conversation between the two mothers. But before Dick could interrupt Jason sat him back down.

"I wanna see what happens."

Christine continued, " And when did you become a..more permanent around the house?"

"When I saw that Y/n the one taking care of Tony." Pepper said in a serious tone, "She was the one making sure he didn't choke on his vomit and eating cereal as his flings walked out the room. Then he got kidnapped...and y/n was alone. So I made sure she’d never be alone again.”

Christine heart sank. She knew about the whole kidnapping thing. Why she didn't step in, she doesn't know. It's just another thing she regrets to this day.

Before Pepper could continue, she heard two sets of footsteps and voices

"All I'm saying is, if he looks at me funny, I'm fighting him and that's that."

"Yeah maybe not the best impression on..." Peter cuts off when they reach the living room. Eyes again on the two of you.

"Let's get this over with." You muttered, saying bye to Peter and making way over to the couch to sit next to Pepper.

"Y/n!" Christine says happily, " I'm glad you're here. We brought you something!"

She pulls out a box and she carefully hands it over to you.

You look at it suspiciously before getting a nudge from Pepper.

"Thank you." You grit out. Earning a glare from Damian and Cassandra.

You open the box to see...cupcakes.

"They're the peanut butter strawberry cupcakes you used to like. Remember? I used to bring them when I came to see you." Christine says, trying to bring up good memories.

You frown and close the box, " I'm allergic to strawberries."

Lie.

Pepper casts a glance towards you, "They look lovely, let me take them into the kitchen, I'll check on dinner."

And with that she takes the box and leaves into the kitchen. Leaving you and Tony alone.

"So...Stark" Damian started fixing his gaze on you.

"Yes, Wayne?" You said, matching his energy.

"What exactly is it you want from my mother?" He asks, earning a groan from his older brothers.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if she left me alone." You say with a straight face.

Christine frowns but before she says something Damian speaks up again.

"Tt, all this drama for the likes of you? It's honestly disappointing" He drawls, trying to get under your skin.

"Damian!" Christine scolded.

"Well, I apologize for not meeting your standards. I'd try harder if I cared what a toddler thought of me."

Jason let out a surprised chuckle while the rest of the family looked on in shock. Tony just rolled his eyes.

"I do not understand why Mother insists on rekindling her relationship with you. You obviously weren't worth the effort the first time around." He spits, causing the rest of the family to gasp.

You however, just laugh, " When you figure it out, let me know. It's probably the same reason she puts up with you."

Damian glares, about to start in again when Jason cuts him off " Shut up Demon. She got you man."

"Tt"

"I'm Jason, and anyone who can out that brat in check is good in my book." He says sending you a smirk.

You smile back, " I'm friends with Loki and Wade Wilson, I'm hardly affected by anything anymore." Your dad rolls his eyes again, he’s not exactly enthusiastic about your choice in friends.

You like this one. Probably the one you're gonna be able to stand in this family.

"Don't hog her Jason!" Dick shouts pushing him away before turning to smile at you, " Hi! I'm-"

"Dick Grayson. I know, you spilled your champagne on my dress a few years ago at a New Years gala." You say, still a little bitter about it.

"Oh. heh, right, sorry about that. Again." He says sheepishly.

You turn to Cassandra, " You're Cassandra. You and your friend cornered me in the bathroom."

Cassandra scowls and looks away.

Then you turned to Tim, " And you need to learn how to secure your fire walls better."

Tim looked at you confused, "Um excuse me?"

You smirked, " Just a suggestion. I assume you don't want people to know about your...bats in the attic?"

The whole family froze.

You knew? There was no way.

"Kid, are you hacking again?" Tony said exasperatedly, " You promised you'd stop after the last time."

"Hey it's not my fault Shuri didn't think about changing her password." You say defensively, “ and it’s not like you were complaining when you had me hack into SHEILDS databases”

“What was that!?” Pepper shouts from the kitchen.

“Heheh, nothing dear.” Tony shouts back then in a hushed voice scolds you, “ I gave you fifty bucks to keep that a secret.”

“I didn’t say what you had me retrieve.” You said smugly leaning back in your chair.

Bruce didn’t know how to feel.

On one hand, this teen that objectively hates his family, knows their biggest secret. She can singlehandedly destroy their family and expose them. And she has the means to.

But on the other, she’s a perfect fit for their family. She gets along with Jason, doesn’t let Damian get under her skin, and from the looks of it can definitely take care of herself. Only thing is, again, she hates his wife and by association, his family.

“I’m sorry, hacking? You know that’s illegal right?” Tim asks, still in shock that you got past his security systems.

You turn to him and in a bored tone replied , “Yeah? and?”

Tim stuttered for a bit before going quiet with a blush. It was adorable really.

You had to hold back a laugh, it was fun getting this stuffy family all riled up. Especially when you can see the disapproval in Christines face.

“Tony, you let our daughter participate in illegal activities??” Christine asks with a raised brow.

The table goes silent at the tone of her voice. Knowing that when she uses it someone is really in trouble.

But you roll your eyes because how are you supposed to know what that tone means?

“I let my daughter express herself in a ...healthy way. She knows her limits.” Tony replies cooly, taking a drink and looking back into the kitchen wondering where Pepper went.

”Obviously not. Tony she has no regard for the laws at all! You think i didn’t see the headlines last year?!”

Ah yes, last year you had a slight scandal where you may have punched a pap for trying to get a picture up your skirt but who wouldn’t?!

“ And you let her hang around criminals and terrorists?!”

You scoff, “ Oh please everyone in the Avengers was a criminal or terrorist at least once.”

“Not helping kid.” Tony says, “Christine, you and your family have no right to come into my home and judge my family. I’ve been civil. Hell maybe a little too much. Mainly because if I wasn’t, my wife—err Fiancée, would kill me.”

You snicker, earning a few glares.

“Look the point is, don’t tell me how to raise my daughter. Especially because I was doing it all alone.” Tony finishes with a sigh.

The table goes silent. You were getting tired of all the tense silences today.

“ Look.” You turn to Christine, “ I get that you probably feel guilty or something because you ditched me. And I appreciate that or whatever.”

You were not good at this.

“ But I don’t wanna live with you.”

Christine looks down sadly, “ Y/n I just...I just want to get to know you again. You’re my baby.”

Before you could answer you heard a crash come from the kitchen and smoke fill the rooms.

“ Pepper?!” You cough, “ Dad what’s happening?!”

“ I don’t know. Stay here” He says summoning his suit.

“FRIDAY?!” You shout, but not hearing the AI.

The Wayne’s all looked at each other in panic. They didn’t bring their suits, thinking it was just a dinner.

You turn to them and shout “ Come with me, and stay low!”

You start to lead them to the stair case, knowing that the rooms were relatively safe.

“Come on!” you yell when they don’t follow you.

Christine stands from her seat and makes to follow you before being stopped by Damian.

“Mother we cannot..”

“Damian, I’ve had about enough of you. Let’s go.” She says sternly and follows you. The rest of the family following behind as Bruce nudges Damian.

“ Come on son.”

“Father we don’t know where she’s leading us.” Damian says stubbornly.

“There’s nothing we can do right now.” he coughs.

The sounds of punching and the blasts come from the kitchen.

“Let’s go.”

They finally join the rest of the family. You have them crouched in the hallway.

“ This is James’ room. Dad had it modified just incase he was ever triggered into the Winter Solider again. No ones getting through this door when it’s locked.”

You usher them in.

“Come on Y/n” Christine says reaching a hand out to you.

You smirk, “ What? and miss all the action?”

You close the door and lock it before leaving. Laughing at their surprised faces.

The room is silent.

“ She’s awesome!” Jason says with a laugh.

[sheadre]

When Stars Collide (Jackson Wang x Reader) Part 1/2

Summary: Your girlband was disbanded but your dream of singing and dancing was too important to you to just give up after that. However, another company sees potential in you and signs you as their solo artist. One day, during recording your new song, a familiar face shows up.

Warnings: none, maybe a little bit of angst but totally fluffy especially at the end

Word count: 2816

That morning, you got up happily, finally you managed to sleep more than four hours now that the shooting of the new drama finished. You finally debuted as an actress however, you weren’t sure if that was a calling for you. The company made you audition for the role out of financial interests. Then you got a call from your manager telling you to go to the company for a meeting with the CEO.

It didn’t sound good with how your manager’s voice was nervous and shaking through the phone. Your girl-band, N3XUS debuted five years ago and you were the only one left who haven’t turned to acting and other options. You were always passionate about music and to be inspiration for others. You weren’t really appreciated in your group and the girls left you out from their group chat. When you arrived at the company, you spotted Lola, the only other foreigner girl in the band. She arrived from Japan and was spending most of her time there after debuting at her home as a solo artist. She was the only one who you were on friendly terms.

So when the CEO told everyone about his decision and slid the paper towards everyone which ended all of your contracts with the company, Lola was the only one who tried to comfort you a little bit before she had to catch her flight back to Japan. You weren’t really shocked to see the band reach an end. It was long due with how everyone only cared about themselves and their money. The other girls were only here for the shine and money while you assigned to be a trainee for the music. Dak-Ho, the manager pulled you to the side on the corridor after you left the meeting room, his expression showing how bad he felt for you to end up in this situation.

“(Name)… it will be hard but you were always more talented than any of the others” he sighed heavily. “So I decided to try at a few places and call a few people. Give a call to Ha-Neul, she’s a manager at XxxxxX Entertainment. I hope that she can help you in the future.”

With that, he said his goodbyes and left. You sighed and decided to return home, there was nothing much you could do at the moment. You stood in your kitchen, your phone on the counter and stared at it while gripping the edge of the counter top.

“You can do this…” you whispered to yourself. Your heart was beating so fast in your chest and chills ran down your spine. What should you say? ‘Hi, I’m (Name) from N3XUS and our company decided to fire us. Can I go over to your company and be your idol?’

“Arghhh!” you groaned and bumped your head against the counter. Your phone then started buzzing making you jump and shriek in surprise. Rolling your eyes at yourself you picked it up.

“(Name)? Are you there?” your mom spoke up making you jump again. You weren’t sure how you would tell her that you lost this time. She sacrificed so much just so you can chase after your dreams. It was especially hard after your dad died but she pushed on and earned the money to let you attend dance classes.

“Yeah, yeah…” you sighed. “How are you?”

“I’m okay but I really miss you” she replied making you smile. “When you can, please come home, sweetie.”

“I’ll try though I have this new project but I will try to take time off as soon as possible” you said with tears in your eyes. You couldn’t tell her. She deserved better from you, you needed to succeed after how much she gave up for you. You had to fight.

“Oh, sweetie, I understand but once you can come home I will make sure to make your favorite” your mom replied and you could hear the sadness in her voice. You made sure to tell her you loved her before you hung up and stared at your phone’s screen. Your lips pulled into a smile and your heart seemed to calm down as you tapped on the number of the manager Dak-Ho gave you.

Time skip ~

You sat on the corridor waiting for Ha-Neul with the news after your audition. You forgot how stressful an audition was but here you were trying all over again. You were used to your old company treating you badly, always choosing you only because they deemed your performance “okay” and because they had no one else who was good. Your heard the door open and close but you didn’t dare look up until Ha-Neul reached you.

“To be honest, the boss was quite surprised that you came here even if you already debuted a while ago” she sighed while she sat down next to you. She had a shoulder length cut hairstyle and a heart shaped face. Ha-Neul was about ten years older than you and had this kind mom vibe. “He was satisfied with your performance and would like to welcome you at the company as a solo artist…”

Your eyes widened in shock and a large grin broke out on your face splitting it in two. Then Ha-Neul put her hand up, her face staying serious as she looked you in the eyes.

“However, he has his conditions, (Name)… The company spent all the money on the newly debuted boyband and so we cannot afford to send you right away on stage. He said that he would have an easier job if you worked on a full album with your own songs so once you debut we can start selling your albums right away. You have about three months until everything will be arranged and you will be working with Sue.” Ha-Neul said calmly before she looked behind you and motioned for someone to come over to her.

“Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Sue, I will be your assistant” a girl around your age approached you with a shy smile on her face. You got up from your seat and grabbed her hand before bowing.

“Nice to meet you, Sue. I’m (Name).” you grinned at her. “Please take care of me.”

“I’ll let you talk things out” Ha-Neul smiled at you both before she left.

“I’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone, alright?” Sue spoke up again and you nodded before following her to the elevator.

However, the media quickly learnt about N3XUS’ end. You found yourself trying to avoid paparazzi while you tried your best to produce new songs. Fortunately, during your years as a member of N3XUS you quietly composed songs in the background and you had a lot to choose from. They needed adjustments and instrumentation but you were confident about them.

Sue was a fantastic help and she managed a lot of things on her own. Days passed by and you were still stuck with one last song you needed on the album. None of the songs you wrote and haven’t yet made their way on the album were good enough but you had only one week till your debut. You were singing the refrain in the recording room still thinking about what was missing but then you reached the part where you always got stuck and groaned disappointed.

“Why did you stop?” someone asked from behind the controls making you jump with a shriek.

After calming down, you looked up and tried to not blush seeing who the intruder was. Jackson Wang was looking back at you with a friendly smile while waving at you. He wore a yellow beanie and some comfy baggy T-shirt with sweatpants. You always had a crush on him and really hoped that you would meet him after you debuted with N3XUS. You quickly hurried out and greeted him.

“Nice to meet you too” he replied as he shook your hand, then he pointed at the microphone. “So? Why did you stop? It sounded great.”

“I… I think the song is missing something” you shrugged. “I just don’t really know what that is.”

“Can I see the lyrics?” Jackson asked pointing at the papers in your hand. You quickly gave it to him and pursed your lips in anticipation and nervousness. Jackson was a talented “veteran” in the field compared to you and his songs were all so good. To say you were shy was an understatement. You watched his handsome features for any indication of his opinions then Jackson’s lips pulled up into a half-smile and averted his gaze. “Please don’t stare at me like that.”

Your eyes widened at that but somehow your eyes were glued to his person. Was he being shy? What…? You forced yourself to look away from him by going to your bag and taking out your water bottle. Drinking some cool water helped you calm down a bit. When you turned back, Jackson was already sitting by the controls, pushing and pulling the small buttons as he started playing the song. Your song.

You watched him getting into the song, bobbing his head up and down and his left foot tapping the floor. Never in a million years would’ve you imagined to be in the same room as him. Then he started rapping right where you always got stuck and felt like there was missing something. Though Jackson got stuck too and leaned back in the chair while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“A rap part would fit here quite well…” he mumbled then turned to you. “You know… I need a song on my new album and I was about to record something today but… it would be great to collab. What do you think?”

“That sounds great” you nodded with a bright smile. “Do you want me to leave the studio to you? I can come back later to finish my other two songs.”

“No, no, we could work on this one” Jackson jumped up abruptly his hands shooting out from his sides like he wanted to grab you so he could stop you from leaving. Then he quickly put his arms down with a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was hoping that I could put your song on my album too if we collab… and maybe get something to eat later?”

You blinked surprised but nodded while chuckling. By the time you finished the song, you felt exhausted and wanted to sleep for the next two days. Getting to know each other better and making friends relieved the tension from you and maybe from Jackson too. You had no idea why he at certain moments seemed like he was shy around you. You remembered how big of a scandal it was a few years ago when his fiancée, the heiress of some large company cheated on him with an American rich guy who was the heir of some IT company. Jackson learnt about it from the magazines and the paparazzi who asked him about it. For months, he disappeared from any TV shows and only released music. You remembered how much in love he seemed to be back then.

You couldn’t understand why would someone cheat on this man, like he was almost perfect. He was funny and kind, had a large heart and cared about others around him much. Maybe that woman left him because she felt undeserving of him. You’ve heard about that feeling from other women and even some love songs were about that reason for cheating. You sipped on your green tea that was cooled by the many ice cubes you asked for at the little shop across the building. Jackson was an absolute gentleman, pulling out your seat for you and taking off your jacket for you when you arrived. The people in the shop seemed to be chill about Jackson’s presence which let you feel a little relieved.

“So, tell me something about you” you spoke up between two bites of your meal. He kept asking about you in the studio but he revealed little about himself. “I’m curious what the great Jackson Wang is doing after becoming world famous.”

You winked at him and laughed at his ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ look. He was a CEO at the age of twenty-eight it was pretty impressive, but he seemed like he didn’t care about it at all.

“That is a little bit exaggerated, I might have some international fans but K-pop and C-pop is not that known to people outside of Eastern Asia.” he shook his head after swallowing his bite. “Well… what do you want to know? Other than the fact that I’m fabulous and a great person.”

“And the humblest of them all” you poked his shoulder while laughing. It was a long time since you had something so laid back, something so nice like this. Ever since you entered the entertainment industry it felt lonely as hell. You hummed then. “Maybe tell me about your family. I saw an interview piece a long time ago where you were gushing about you mom. She must be really proud of you.”

“Yeah… she’s the best” he said with a fond expression on his face making you smile warmly at him. Jackson was easy to talk to and was really funny. You loved to listen to him talk and before you realized, it was quite late in the studio. So late that there was no bus you could catch to go home.

“Ah… How am I gonna get home?” you groaned when you looked up at the clock. “I’m afraid to call an Uber…”

“I can take you home” Jackson shrugged. “I have my car in the parking lot.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose” you shook your head to which he just rolled his eyes and grabbed your bag for you along with your hand pulling you towards the elevator. In the elevator, he kept holding your hand without realizing it and only let go when he took his car keys out of his pocket. His car was shiny and cool but wasn’t the most expensive one out there.

“I thought you owned the newest Porsche or Lamborgini…” you frowned confused once you were sitting inside making him laugh.

“Some people choose by the efficiency not by the look” Jackson replied. “Besides, I prefer this brand. Never let me down before.”

“It makes sense” you nodded. You quickly gave him your address and he pulled out of the parking lot. You leaned against the window and closed your eyes. His car smelled so good, clean and fresh… just like Jackson. Before you could really fall asleep, you arrived to your apartment complex. You yawned tiredly as you grabbed your bag meanwhile feeling Jackson’s eyes follow your every movement. Your hand was on the lock when you turned back and leaned over to him, kissing his cheek before whispering a ‘thank you’ to him. You left quietly and waved back from door with a bright smile.

Time skip ~

After your debut, the company wanted the two of you to make a videoclip from your collab. Quickly after that you were asked to perform it on stage in the new Idol Producer TV show. The two of you kept in touch through texts and funny Instagram posts which the internet quickly grew fond of and many people started shipping the two of you. The hype was big and when you appeared in the live stage of Idol Producer, people were screaming so loud you barely heard the music.

Then things quickly turned sour. Magazines released photos of Jackson hugging and cozying up with some Chinese actress in Shanghai. You had no idea how you should react or if you are supposed to react. Jackson had his life, he was a free man, he was free to date whoever he wanted to. Netizens though had a different idea. Many people turned against him and the actress, but Jackson was quickly forgiven by them a while later. Sue tried to make you watch the live stream he spoke about the issue but you refused to and kept on working hard.

Life a solo artist was everything you hoped for. You were free to do whatever music you wanted and the company only asked you to keep the dating down especially after the scandal you got dragged into. Jackson in the meantime kept messaging you even called you a few times but you never replied. You had to close him out of your life before you got dragged into the whole thing more. Your career was the first. Or at least that’s what you told yourself.

You felt stupid for hoping for something more. You never stood a chance against a shiny, super model looking actress like that Chinese woman.

To be continued…

[songtoyou]

Chapter 8: Wine Before Whiskey

Tolerate It

Paring: Modern!Tommy Shelby x Original Female Character

Story Rating: R (No minors should read this fic).

Word Count: 2,827

Warnings: None

Description: Tommy Shelby is the owner and CEO of Shelby Company Limited. Starting out as a Bookmaker, Tommy had big ideas to expand his riches. In the past ten years, the company has grown rapidly to expand its business ventures from bars to producing alcohol, manufacturing motor vehicle parts, and exporting. One of the richest men in Great Britain, Tommy Shelby, has it all. Unfortunately, the death of his wife, Grace, left the multi-millionaire mogul alone and depressed. He needed someone to fulfill his needs and deepest darkest desires.

A/N: I wanted Tommy and Rose to connect on a more personal level in this chapter. I wanted them to become comfortable with each other outside of the bedroom. I don’t want their relationship to be solely about sex. 

I do not permit my work to be posted on any other site without my permission.

Tag list: @owenniasstars​

Wine. A nice tall glass of wine. That is all Rose wanted to cap off the day. She decided not to respond to the text messages from her friends or mother. Rose was not in the mood to come up with some bullshit excuse for being photographed out with Tommy. Also, it was not their business, and she didn’t need to justify anything with an excuse.

With a glass of wine in hand, Rose sat on the couch in the living room with her feet up. As Rose flipped through the television, the front door opened and slammed shut.

When Rose saw Louis rush up the stairs, she called out to him, “Hey, Louis!” He ignored her. Sighing, Rose got up to follow her son upstairs.

“Louis,” she spoke through the door while knocking. “Is everything okay?” Still nothing. “Louis, honey, what is wrong? From the way you slammed the front door, you seem upset. Did something happen at school today?”

Louis opened his bedroom door to come face-to-face with his mother. “Did something happen at school today,” he said mockingly. “How about the fact that my mother was photographed out with a rumored gangster. Or the fact that some of my classmates are referring to you as one of Tommy Shelby’s whores. You know he has been rumored to date escorts mom. Did you not know when you first started seeing him? In fact, how did you even meet him in the first place?”

Shifting from one foot to the other, Rose looked down at the floor. She was too embarrassed to meet her son’s accusatory gaze. “All of that stuff, the rumors about Tommy, are just that, rumors.” Rose felt sick lying to her son. “And Tommy isn’t a gangster. He is a businessman.”

“That is not what I hear. There is a whole sub-Reddit about how he really earned his millions. I should show it to you. Maybe it would rethink your association with the man,” Louis rambled on. “How did you get introduced to him anyway? It isn’t like you both run in the same social circle.”

Rose sat down on the bed and drew her knees up. It was her way of buying time to formulate a believable response, or rather lie. Thankfully, she had already thought up different scenarios that would be the most believable.

“Do you remember that business trip I took with Linda back in March? It was to a conference up in Birmingham, the educators and practitioners conference,” she explained, which that part was actually the truth. She did go to a conference up north with her boss back in March. However, here comes the lie, “Well, Tommy was there as well. He just showed up unexpectedly. He wasn’t on the agenda, but he gave a speech, something about…I don’t know, I can’t remember. I wasn’t really paying attention. But it was at one of the social networking gatherings where I ran into him. We talked most of the night. He asked for my number, which I gave him, not thinking he would actually call. But we have been in contact for a while. It was only recently that we have gone on dates.” Again, all lies. Rose started to feel sick. She could feel bile began to rise in her throat.

Sighing, Louis folded his arms across his chest and leaned against his desk. He still wasn’t looking at his mother. “It’s all weird. You never really dated. Or not date so out in the open before.”

“Is one of the reasons why you’re upset with me dating is because of dad? Are you still hoping your dad and I get together?” Rose asked, concerned about what he would say. She wished Louis weren’t so hung up on the idea of her and Nick ending up together. It was never going to happen. 

He only shrugged. “Is it so wrong that a kid would want their parents to be together?”

There wasn’t much she could say to that concept. “How about we get pizza for dinner, okay,” she suggested hoping to move on from the subject.

“Fine. I got homework to finish up,” said Louis defeated. The look on his face broke Rose’s heart. 

“Alight. I’ll tell you when the pizza arrives. The usual?” she asked.

“The usual,” replied Louis nonchalantly while opening his school books and notebooks.

Rose left his room and walked down the stairs. She hated herself at that moment.

While Rose waited for the pizzas to arrive, she decided to send a quick text to Tommy.

As Tommy sat at his desk looking over contracts, it would be another late night at the office; he received Rose’s text. 

Rose: Tommy, we need to talk. Can I stop by your office around 3 PM tomorrow?

The message took him by surprise. He wasn’t expecting to hear from Rose or for her to ask to meet up with him.

Tommy: Yes, you can stop by. However, instead of 3:00, let’s meet at 4:00.

His reply back was his way of maintaining control. He found it rather amusing that Rose felt comfortable requesting, or rather ordering, Tommy for a meeting. Tommy was tempted to ask what the meeting would be about but didn’t really think too much of it. 

If the meeting turned out to be fruitless, he could end with Rose bent over his desk and punish her for wasting his precious time. The thought was already getting him hard. 

Leaning back in his chair, Tommy began to rub his hardness through his pants. Taking his cock out of his pants, he began to stroke back and forth. As Tommy continued to stroke, he only thought of Rose, which was unusual. Whenever Tommy was pleasuring himself alone, he would always think of Grace. He would picture his wife on her knees or bent over his desk or taking her up against the wall. It was always Grace.

But now, Tommy was picturing Rose. He saw her face clearly in his head. He imagined Rose under his desk pleasuring him with her mouth and hands. He wanted Rose bent over on his desk, taking her from behind, on the floor, the conference table, against the wall, and the floor. Tommy began to realize he wanted Rose all of the time.

At that thought. Tommy soon began to worry about why Rose asked for a meeting out of the blue. He began to wonder if she was regretting their arrangement due to being in the press. However, Tommy told Rose that being in the press was likely, and she appeared to understand that fact. No, something must have alarmed her. He would find out what it was. He would get it out of her one way or another. Tommy wasn’t going to let her go that easy. 

Friday! The day Father Time preferred to drag on and on. The hours on the clock appeared to move slower and slower, Rose noted. She was at work catching up on what she missed yesterday morning. It was the usual task; looking over budgets, setting up meetings, working on meeting agendas, finishing up the minutes from past meetings, and making sure the office was stocked with supplies. It was the same thing every day. Nothing changed, and the more she stayed at the job, the more fed up she became. Rose knew she needed to get out there and look for a better job. One that matched the college degree that she worked hard to obtain. A job that paid well where she would no longer have to be an escort to make a living. 

However, the money Tommy was offering to Rose was better than any standard 9 to 5 job could offer.

When 3:15 finally rolled around, Rose gathered her belongings and headed to meet Tommy. 

“Ms. Turner!” someone shouted at her. 

Thankfully, Rose knew that voice. She turned around to see Isaiah with a megawatt smile, waving her over to his car. 

“Let me guess, Tommy sent you to deliver me to him?” Rose questioned sarcastically. “And I told you to call me Rose.”

“Yes, he did, and yes, you did. Come on, we don’t want to be late,” Isaiah answered and opened the passenger door for Rose. She got in the car.

“You saw my son take the car this morning and let Tommy know, huh?”

“Yep,” was all Isaiah said and began to drive out of the College’s parking lot. 

With the way Isaiah drove, he managed to make it to the building that held Tommy’s office in half of the time. He smoothly moved the car around the building’s underground parking garage. 

“Okay, we are here. You can take the elevator to Tommy’s office,” he instructed and told Rose which floor to select.

“Thank you, Isaiah. I appreciate it. I figure Tommy is going to ask you to take me home?”

“That is to be determined. He might want to take you home himself. Have a nice evening, Rose. Take care,” said Isaiah and waved goodbye.

She selected the floor instructed by Isaiah and waited. Tommy was on the building’s top floor, so the elevator continuously stopped and let people on and off. When the elevator finally reached her destination, the doors opened. Rose only saw a few people pass by. There was no one at the front desk, so she stood by and waited until someone showed up.

Looking at her phone, it read 3:50. She still had ten minutes to spare. “Rose, hi. How are you?” She turned to see Andrew walk towards her. 

“Andrew, hi. I’m good. You?”

“Same. Can I get you some coffee or tea?” he asked. “Mr. Shelby is finishing up a call at the moment. Please, have a seat.”

“Okay. Water would actually be great, thanks.”

Andrew managed to get Rose’s water before Tommy emerged from his office. However, he was not alone. He was followed by a very tall and lanky man with a full beard and similar hairstyle to Tommy, but longer on top. 

“Arthur, continue to keep me posted on Changretta,” Rose heard Tommy whisper but pretended not to hear anything. She made it look like she was too preoccupied with her phone to notice the two men not far from her. 

“Esme is working on it, Tom. She is having trouble with a few firewalls, or whatever she called them, but assures she can crack ’em,” Arthur shared. “Said she would get a file on your desk by Monday.”

“Okay, good. That is good. I’ll talk to you later, brother,” Tommy responded, patting Arthur’s back.

Arthur said his goodbye and left for the elevators. Tommy turned towards Rose.

“Rose,” he spoke to get her attention. He motioned with his hand for her to follow him into the office. 

Closing the door behind him, Tommy told Rose to take a seat.

“Your text seemed rather…urgent,” Tommy began as he poured himself a whiskey. He offered on to Rose, but she declined. “Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, well…no, not really. I…uh…I don’t really know…” Rose began but was having trouble forming the words. “I don’t really…oh my God, it’s my son. He isn’t too keen on the idea of me ‘dating’ you. He saw the pictures. Apparently, some of the kids at school were making fun of him because of them. I have friends asking questions. Even my mom saw them, and I don’t talk to her at all. Everything has gotten out of hand. I mean, I wasn’t quite expecting this kind of outcome. It is a lot to take.”

Gulping down the whiskey, Tommy proceeded to pour another one for himself and one for Rose. 

“Drink,” he ordered, handing Rose the glass that held the amber color liquid, which she took and gulped it down. She placed the now empty glass on Tommy’s desk. “Feel better?” 

“Not really. Can I ask you something? It is kind of a personal question, but I’m asking you for some advice,” Rose asked and continued when Tommy gave her the go-ahead to proceed. “You have a kid yourself, a son. When I originally agreed to our deal, I never fully thought of the consequences that could occur. I didn’t think of how it would affect my child. To put it blankly, he is upset that I’m with you. It’s all about his stupid dad and wanting us to be together. So my question to you is, how do you go about lying to your child?”

Once again, Rose caught Tommy completely off guard with her question. That was not what he was expecting. The fact that she had the audacity to bring up his son didn’t even bother him as it would if it were anyone else. He was craving a cigarette at the moment. “My son, Charlie, spends most of his time at boarding school. He is only home on holidays and special occasions. When I have my son with me, he only wants to spend time with his cousins or me. He never really gave my ‘relationship’ with Lizzie much thought. To him, she was only daddy’s friend. Plus, the observation skills of an eight-year-old doesn’t quite compare to the observation skills of a sixteen-year-old.”

Tommy had a point, Rose thought. She motioned to him if she could refill her glass of whiskey. With Tommy’s go-ahead, she got up and poured herself a drink. This time Rose took small and sat back down.

Taking in a deep breath, Rose mentioned, “You’re lucky. It is so much easier when your kid is younger. They don’t ask so many questions or notice things that don’t add up. You can tell them pretty much anything, and they’d believe you. But when your kid gets older, prepare yourself for the questions he will no doubt ask.”

She looked up when Tommy sighed. He was leaning in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. “Charlie turned eight back in February. He is beginning to ask me questions about his mother, like where she was from and if we can visit the town, how we met, what made me attracted to her, all that stuff. The one question that scares me…” Tommy began, but Rose could sense hesitation. 

“He’s going to ask why did mummy have to die?” Rose finished for him. Tommy only nodded his head. “I don’t envy you on that part.”

Quite soon filled the office as Tommy and Rose sat in silence and sipping down whiskey. “Who was that guy that in here earlier?” Rose asked to kill the silence.

“That was my older brother, Arthur,” Tommy answered. “He and my younger brother, John, both own a couple of bars and clubs around England. They have been working on a new line of Peaky Blinders Vodka to go with our whiskey and gin brand.” 

“You really dabble in everything, don’t you. Where do you go from here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I should try my hand at politics, eh. An MP to go with my OBE” teased Tommy with an exceedingly rare boyish grin on his face. Rose noticed that Tommy’s smile was rather sweet and brightened his facial features. “Yeah, that is exactly what my family needs is me in politics.” 

Rose softly scoffed, “I don’t think we need any more millionaires in politics, no offense.”

“No offense taken,” Tommy chuckled and downed his drink. He got up to grab his jacket and swung it on. He took Rose’s glass and finished it for her. “Come on, let’s go.” 

Tommy grabbed Rose’s hand and pulled her up from the chair. “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to dinner. We can talk more there,” Tommy proposed and guided Rose out of the office. 

“I won’t be able to stay the night if that is what you were considering,” she stated while in the elevator.

“Not what I was considering,” uttered Tommy, honestly. He put his hands on Rose’s shoulder and turned her to face him. “Only dinner.”

“Only dinner?”

“Nothing more, nothing less,” Tommy replied, placing a soft kiss on Rose’s lips. He entwined his hand in Rose’s and walked her to his car.

He took Rose to Bar 61, London’s most famous Spanish tapas restaurant. When they were seated, Rose liked the relaxed and upbeat charm of the establishment. She was surprised that Tommy chose the place since it was more family-friendly rather than high-end/upscale. But the man before her was always full of surprises. They sat in a more secluded area of the restaurant where they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Tommy ordered a bottle of wine for them to share. He raised his glass for a toast. “What are we toasting?” Rose asked with a smile.

“How about to good health and new friends,” Tommy suggested and clinked his glass with Rose’s.

“And to new adventures,” Rose added, now with a sly smile on her face.

“To new adventures,” Tommy repeated, and they clinked their glass again.

[96thdayofrage]

Given that array of challenges, many HBCU advocates were hoping that Obama would do more to lift their fortunes. But his focus has been on improving college access and affordability for all students, not necessarily singling out HBCUs for special help.

Not that the administration has been totally deaf to the complaints. Officials restored the $85 million program for HBCUs with great fanfare a year after letting it expire. And overall federal funding for the nation’s HBCUs is up more than $1.5 billion a year during Obama’s nearly eight years in office to more than $4 billion. That total includes a half-billion-dollar increase in direct grant money, as well as increases in federal student grants and loans.

“I know some people place a caveat on that. They say grants and loans to all colleges went up even more,” said John S. Wilson, president of Morehouse College and former head of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. “But even if you accept that, a half-billion-dollar increase in grant money to 105 institutions is not trivial.”

Still, some HBCU advocates say the new money does not compensate for the damage done by other federal policy changes that hit HBCUs especially hard.

In 2011, education officials decided to tighten federal requirements for the Parent Plus loan program to prevent families from getting in over their heads with school debt.

The result was that many students, particularly those at HBCUs, found themselves being rejected for loans and unable to pay for college. The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) estimates that about 28,000 students at black colleges — nearly 10 percent of the students at HBCUs — lost their Parent Plus loans during the 2012-13 academic year. Some were rescued by emergency grants and scholarships. Many others were forced to transfer to local community colleges or other, less expensive schools. Still others had to drop out altogether.

“We just could not believe this was happening under a black president,” said Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Once the administration learned about the damage being wrought by the loan rejections, officials rushed to put together an appeals process. The vast majority of students who knew how to access it were successful in reversing loan denials. But many students never knew they could have the rejections reconsidered.

Two years later, the new credit standards were relaxed. But by then the damage was done. Advocates estimate that the loan problems cost HBCUs as much as $250 million.

The new policies coincided with a general drop in college enrollment as the recession ended and some students chose to work instead. But the decline was more pronounced at HBCUs. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of students attending HBCUs increased by more than 12 percent. But they declined after that, and have yet to recover to 2011 levels despite a recent enrollment spike. That trend is similar to a decline in the overall number of black students attending college, HBCU advocates noted.

Even as HBCUs were reeling from some Obama administration policies, Congress moved to reduce the number of semesters that low- and moderate-income students can receive federal Pell grants from 18 to 12. Lawmakers also limited the use of the grants to just two semesters a year, which became a burden for students who rely on summer school to make up credits.

Those changes had a disproportionate impact on HBCUs, where nearly three in four students receive Pell grants. Many HBCU students — like many low-income students at all schools — need to take remedial courses in college, and just a small share graduate in four years.

UNCF says some 36 percent of HBCU students graduate in six years — a low rate, but one that is little different from the 42 percent graduation rate for black students at all schools. Overall, 60 percent of students graduate within six years of starting at a four-year college, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

The president often raises the problems of low graduation rates and high loan default rates when discussing HBCUs, which has irritated some advocates.

As Obama was addressing a town hall meeting in New Orleans early this year, a Southern University student asked for advice on how to contend with people who view HBCUs as second-rate.

Obama invoked the proud tradition of HBCUs and said that he did not think that people looked down on the schools. But he went on to lament the HBCUs that are struggling with low graduation rates, adding: “We don’t want a situation in which young people are taking out loans, getting in debt, thinking that they’re going to get a great education and then halfway through they’re dropping out.”

Taylor, head of the Thurgood Marshall fund, said the president’s words were painful to hear. “That was not a response a president should have given. All those things hold true for community colleges, yet he wants to double down on funding them,” he said.

Last year, Obama unveiled a plan to make community college free for students nationwide. He later amended it because of an outcry from HBCU leaders and the proposal now includes HBCUs.

Taylor noted that like community colleges, HBCUs tend to take on high-risk students: first-generation college students who are often from low-income families and low-performing high schools. While many fail to graduate, those who do often thrive. Overall, HBCUs enroll less than 10 percent of black undergraduates, but produce about 18 percent of all bachelor’s degrees earned by African-Americans, according to the UNCF. Overall, 70 percent of black doctors and dentists, half of all black engineers and 35 percent of black attorneys are HBCU graduates, according to UNCF.

While Obama has faced some criticism from HBCU advocates, he also has received praise. Since taking office, his administration has increased the size of the maximum Pell Grant, broadened loan repayment programs, and lowered federal loan costs for students. All of that has helped black students.

“HBCUs are vital engines of economic growth and proven ladders of advancement for generations of African Americans, and this Administration remains committed to supporting and investing in HBCUs,” U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said in a statement. “While we are tremendously proud of our work to support HBCUs and their students, we recognize that there is more work ahead to ensure all students have the opportunities they deserve.”

Taylor said the Obamas missed an opportunity to boost HBCUs by not having their daughter Malia — who is set to attend Harvard next fall — be seen visiting an HBCU during her college search, as she was at universities including Columbia and Stanford.

“That would have been a huge lift,” Taylor said. “To me it was telling that his child did not tour a HBCU, at least openly.”

Still, others say that even given some missteps, the Obamas have been strong HBCU supporters. When Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, he donated $125,000 of the prize money to the UNCF. Meanwhile, he and Michelle Obama have repeatedly spoken at black colleges. Last spring, the first lady gave the commencement address at Jackson State University and Obama spoke to Howard University graduates. And on Tuesday, he will participate in a forum on sports, race and achievement sponsored by The Undefeated at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina.

“HBCUs need champions,” said Michael Lomax, the former president of Dillard University and CEO of the United Negro College Fund. “And I can’t think of two better champions for HBCUs than Michelle and Barack Obama. My expectation is that they will be able to do even more for HBCUs once they are out of office than they did while in office.”

[rj019]

The characters don't belong to me. All credits to Marvel or Disney or Stan Lee idk.

So this is my first ever Tumblr Post (人*´∀｀)｡*ﾟ+

Hope you guys will like it.. I'm new to this & I might make some mistakes so I hope you guys can understand and help me throughout my journey (◍•ᴗ•◍)

_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_

Title : Genius, YouTuber, Artist, Musician and Spider-Man

Fandom : MCU

Pairing : Starker(tony stark x peter parker)

Rating : Mature (NSFW, Sexual Content)

Prompt : Social Media

Summary :

Tony started crushing on a guy who is 5 years younger than him... And You all know who that is 😉 one and only Peter Parker.

And Peter has a very famous Youtube channel since he was 6. But he always wears mask in his videos to hide his face. He often mentions his crush on Tony Stark since he was 12 in his videos.

" CHAPTER - 0 "

The notes below are for the things that happened till Peter is 20 from when I'll actually start the story. I didn't wanted to get it all mixed up. So I wrote these so you guys can understand the AU better and how everything came to be and not get confused. It explains everything about Pete's social media, everyone's ages and which part of MCU is included and which is not, and the changes in the whole storyline. So these are must read it if you want to read the actual chapters. (☆▽☆)

Notes :

Tony is 25 year old in this and Pete is 20 and they're both certified geniuses. And they are both Bisexual.

Tony's perants are alive. Pete's uncle Ben is also alive.

Howard is a good parent and husband in this fic and he himself is a Bi so congrats!! No homophobia 🤗

Howard made Tony CEO of the company when he was 22 and only took semi retirement and only went to company once in a while to keep an eye on things. Tony graduated from MIT when he was 17 and then he started helping with company 😀

So Avengers and S. H. I. E. L. D. does exist in this AU but sheild isn't publicly known nor does anyone knows Avengers' real identity that includes Tony's😉 but that was just until New York battle.

Howard and Maria obviously knew about Tony being Iron Man. Tony told them after he came from Afghanistan and created the armor. There was no way to keep it hidden from them. Like all the parents they were reluctant to accept it as it will endanger his life but the accepted it at last.

Tony was kidnapped when he was 19 and when he went to Afganistan for his first ever deal without his father. And bla bla happened and he became Ironman and then he told his father about the Arc reactor tech and told him that there are many other things that can get their company to it's peak and asked him to stop the weapon business and Howard aslo thought about it cause after all he almost lost his one and only son (told ya he is good parent it this one) and then you know what happened 🙃

Howard is alive so no Obadiah Stane.. So no IM 1 events after he came from Afghanistan happened. They hid the fact that tony has arc reactor in his chest though. And world only knew that Iron Man is getting help from SI because of the arc reactor technology in the armor but they could never expect that it's Tony Stark himself. ( yeah yeah I know not very convincing but bear with it cause its a fiction right😅)

Papper, Rhodey and Tony are best friends from childhood cause their parents are friends. So he tell them about IM too. Papper works with him at SI as secretary for few years but when Tony turns 24, He suggest his father to make her CEO and he will be working and providing for Techs and important business deals. And Howard knows his son very well and that doing office stuff ain't getting to Tony plus his IM activities. And Papper was already doing more than half of his paper and meeting work so he makes Papper CEO. And yep Papper and Tony did try relationship but it just didn't clicked so they are still friends and no awkward feelings.

From IM 2, he did get palladium poisoning but he hid it from his family and friends. He did parties and drinking (but without the armor ofcourse) and Rhodey got really angry at his behaviour and recklessness and told him that he will beat him up with his own armour. And then Nat and Fury came and all that injection stuff.. after that he told his father about it and they worked together and made the new element and saved him. After that he apologized to everyone and told the truth and even made Rhodey War Machine suit and Rhodey helped him with it at Expo. Race incident doesn't happen. But Vanko still tried to get revenge by helping Hammer. So Stark expo incident still happened with drones only, not the War Machine armour.

I'll say IM 3 doesn't happen cause we don't have that much time you know fitting all IM parts and then 2 avangers part just within 6 years is impossible 😅

So after that NY invasion happened and Avangers got formed. People didn't know who they atually were just their alter egos and that also not everyone. People were really shocked and afraid after the battle so the government decided to make shield publicly known. Not all the information but just lil bit parts here and there to ensure everyone that there were people and organisation who were ready for something big like this. But it was still not enough to make people safe.

So then Avengers decided that they'll reveal their identities so people will know that there is a group of people who are there and capable enough to save them from something like this and it worked. They did got positive response. But it was uproar it the world. And they had to deal with media and fans. When the world got to know about Tony Stark being Iron Man, SI's PR department was in chaos.

All Avengers are around 24 to 30 except for Wanda and Pietro. They are 21. But they got into team after Ultron and yep Pietro survived.

Events of Captain America and CA : Winter Soldier did happen except for Bucky killing Tony's perants part. And they are both 30. Clint doesn't have secret wife and children (sorry Laura and kids) cause he is 25. Nat is 24. Papper and Rhodes are 27. Thor looks like 28 but is 1500 as we all know. Loki looks like he is 26 and yepp he was mind controlled by Chitauri but he was at Asgard during Age Of Ultron. Sam is 23. Scott is 25 and he is divorced and has a daughter. He is in relationship. Hope is 24. Bruce is 29. (These are their ages at the starting of the 1st chapter, from when I'll actually start writing the story.)

In NY invasion only original 6 were included in Avengers Initiative and after that they lived together too, at the Stark tower which was turned into Avengers Tower. Later Shield recruited others and they trained and did mission together but didn't live with the original 6.

Then Age Of Ultron happened and Vision Wanda and Pietro also joined. At that time they decided to move to the compound Tony built for them in upstate so everyone can live there.

And time period between these all events is smaller than in movies cause you now 6 years time period ain't that long to fit 'em all.

No CW or IW or Endgame happened.

Mary & Richard unfortunately had to die in plane crash 😅 when Pete was 5 so his uncle and aunt looked after him from then.

When Peter was struggling to recover from his parents death, May got an idea to help him *tada* a youtube channel to distract him because she knew Pete liked to watch things on YT. Pete was a genius and he was great at art too and he is an obvious cinnamon roll so she knew it will be a success and Pete will be distracted too. But she didn't want her nephew's face all over the internet if he gets popular and then can't have normal life so she helped him make his videos with him wearing a mask. So here's where Pete's YouTube journey started 🤭

Peter being an adorable and telented and a genius he is, he got famous on YT over the years and got millions of subscribers and views. He even made accounts on other social medias like Insta and Twitter stuff releted to his YT when he was 12 and it was success too he posted his art and photography their. ( His art and videos do contain his fanboying stuff and crushing on Tony Stark🤭)

And yes Pete is Spider-Man. He became SM when he was 13. Same radioactive spider at oscorp stuff but without Ben dying.

Ben has his own business which is good enough to have stable and cozy life with his wife and nephew. May is house wife and she likes to do volenteer work oftenly. They have two story house with a garden and a backyard. Nither too big nor too small.

Ben has always taught Pete about responsibility and righteousness. (With great powers comes great responsibilities.) So when Peter got his powers he decided to help people by being Spider-Man and looking out for little guy. After sometime he told Ben and May about it and they were at first hesitant but then they got over it and were proud of him and supported him.

After a year, it was getting too much at the same time... being at school, managing social media and YT channel, being Spider-Man and all.

Ben and May wanted him to have normal life so even if he was a genius and could graduate early, they still wanted him to complete high school and make friends. But let's be genuine nothing in life is gonna be normal so he told them about his plan to graduate early from both school and college. And he loved his YT and social media cause it helped him so he didn't wanted to stop that and to stop being SM is out of the picture. Ben and May understood him so they allowed him.

He took this opportunity to tell his only 2 and closest friends Ned and MJ about him being SM. He trusts them alot and they didn't disappoint him and even helped him with keeping his secret identity.

So he graduated from high school early, got full scholarship to MIT.

He was fifteen when he saw Iron Man first. He and Ned became fans but Tony was still his idol and his crush. He also started making fanarts about Iron Man on his account. He liked Dr.Banner's work too. He was only 20 when he wrote his thesis about gamma radiation and his books are awesome and he has 7 PhDs by the age of 25.

Peter earned a good amount from his YT channel and he still had money his perants left so he made one of the vacant room in the house his lab after he became SM and he makes videos in his lab after that about his inventions and experiments but ofcourse nothing regarding SM. He and Ned even made a cool SM suit with AI which they named Karen. (The one from the Homecoming) He got his AI inspiration from his Idol's AI called JARVIS. (Tony made JARVIS when he was at MIT and then used him for the company and his lab and he gave an interview about it. That's how Pete knows about it. Tony used Friday for his suits and IM releted activities after he became IM but then after AOU he used Friday for everything.)

Pete's YouTube videos are about everything and anything he loves to do since he was young. When he was young it was about his lil childish science experiments with help of Ben (ofcourse till he could it on his own) or his art or baking and cooking stuff with May and all but they all always wore the different different matching masks while making videos. When he became friends with Ned and MJ, he asked them to be there too. As he got older he started showing his genius brain cells in his experiments and invention. Same goes for his art, it started getting more and more detailed and he also got interested in composing music and songs and he eurned more followers. He even made his accounts unhackable so no one try to find out who he is after he became SM. He had so many happy moments with his family and friends while making his videos, that is why he kept his YT and accounts.

Shield doesn't know who the Spider-Man is. Pete found out about them cause he sensed someone (agents) following him during one of his patrols when he was 14. So he and Ned looked into it and his mind was blown when he found the organisation and all government behind it.

He wanted to know why they were after him cause he only helped people. So they hacked into Shield. He found out that they wanted to recruit him for something called Avangers Initiative and there he saw some other people's and superheroes' information too. (He didn't look into it because he knew that if he didn't anyone want to know his identity, they must not too and he had no right. ) But he knew it was not a good idea to join it cause then he will have to work for them do their missions and he didn't wanted to do that. He wanted to look out for little guy and help whoever, he can wherever he can. Plus he would have to reveal his identity and when they'll know he is so young, they'll try to stop him from being SM plus people close to him will get in danger. And they might even want to experiment on him so it was a big fat NO.

After that he took every cautious step to protect his identity and his aunt, uncle and his friends. He made a security system for their house and made a smart bracelet to communicate or send signal to each other if they were in danger. They all had one including himself. It looked simple and no one could tell it was actually for that.

When Newyork invasion happened, he was not there. He was at MIT for his PhD. He was so damn worried about Ben, May, Ned and MJ. The moment he heard the news he left for NY but by the time he got there the fight had been finished. So he directly went to check on May and Ben. He found them safe and was revealed. Then he called Ned and MJ to check on them and their families and found everyone was ok. After that he told May and Ben that he will go out and help people from the aftermath of the battle.

He stayed in NY for 2 weeks. In which he found out about the Avengers. He and Ned were shocked at the name and that it was the same Avengers Initiative stuff they read when they hacked into the sheild and Peter felt a pinch of guilt but it disappeared when he learnt that Avengers revealed their identities. He was in no condition to reveal his identity.

He was shocked when he learnt Avengers' identities especially Iron Man. He was like "how could I not understand that it had to be Tony.. there were all those connection like SI and no one is such a genius to make that kind of Tech except for his idol. He fell in love with Tony even more but he just thought it was some kind of superhero worship and teenage crush.

After that Ned and him being the 'nerds' as MJ calls them they are, they become fanboys and started to find out more thing about Avengers. Pete started to post more fanarts of them and he even made the reaction video of how he feels about Tony Stark being Iron Man and Bruce Banner being Hulk. Both his favourite scientists. He even made a song for Avengers. Which was total hit so he made more songs in the future.

Pete graduated from MIT even earlier than his Idol Tony Stark at the age of 16. He got his PHD in Biochemical Engineering at 17 and he wanted to get more Phds in Robotics, Nenotech Engeneering study and Astrophysics. (Which he did within next 2 years.) (Pete was 16 when NY invasion happened and 19 when Ultron happened)

And then Ultron happened, it was all over the news and all but Avangers once again saved the world. Pete was happy and revealed that there were Avengers to save them from world ending dangers but there gotta be someone down on the street too. Someone to help people from criminal and other dangers which may seem little in their or government's eye like Rhino, Doc Oct, Green Goblin, lizard, electro and many more with whom he fought. And he felt that his decision to not join Avengers Initiative was right. Though Shield was still eager to find out who he is like he will let them.

And then Homecoming happened except the part with Tony. ( But Peter doesn't go to homecoming because he graduated from high school )

As for the Ferry incident he saved everyone. He held the both part of ferry with his web and his strength ( Pete is very very strong in this fic ) till his latest Nenotech bot he invented arrived and held the ferry together and mend it. (Like Iron Man did. Just that it were bots who fixed the last part too. Where Tony flys around it and mend it.)

Peter had figured out the arc reactor technology a year and half ago but he didn't wanted any one to know cause it will attract the attention of many people and he didn't wanted that. That is also the reason he doesn't use his Nenotech suit he made. ( IW one ) But now that he has used his nenobots and his tech which was even better and cheaper, he knew for sure that it's going to fireback but he thought he'll take care of it later when he is not busy trying to capture a curtain alian tech loaded weapon selling Vulture.

Next day he had asked Karen to keep and eye over everything and at night Karen informed him about some movements at some abandoned warehouse. Then the whole warehouse dropping and plane crashing thing happened. He saved the Mr.stark's tech and averages stuff and weapons.

But now he will even have more attention but he then ask Karen to clear CCTV footage around the beach so no one knows about him leaving from the scene. He can only hope now. He'll have to lay low for now and even more careful.

_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_

Hope you guys will like it. I have thought so much for this fic. It's going to be exciting writing this.

[starshinegoblin]

Walking Right into Your Heart

Here’s your request @ruensroad for JinYi au where Jin Ling is CEO and Jingyi is a dog walker. In this AU. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng aren’t brother’s but friends from college. Oh and Jingyi is still cousins with Lan Wangji but they aren’t close at the start. Shizui is a Wei here with Wen Qing being his surrogate mother. Here’s the start of their love! It got away from me and thank you for being patient! 

///

Bloomp! Bloomp! Bloomp! Bloomp! 

Jingyi groaned sleepily waking up to the sound of rapid fire text message notifications on his phone. His sleep crusted eyes opening to see that the alarm clock read that it was barely after five in the morning. He grabbed the pillow placing it over his head in hopes of blocking out the sound. He didn’t need to look to know who it was. Just by the time of day was telling enough. Sizhui may be a man of few words like his father Lan Wangji but when it came to texting it was like he was truly his other father, Wei Wuxian’s, son. Now don’t get him wrong. He does love his best friend but he hadn’t gotten back home to his apartment till after two in the morning. 

The lack of bloomp sounds stirred him from his thoughts. He was just about to go back to sleep when his phone started ringing. Jingyi huffed in frustration before reaching out to palm the nightstand until he found his phone. He answered without checking the ID. 

“This better be good you, Wei demon. ” he croaked. 

“Jingyi?” A-Qing’s soft voice came through the phone instead of Sizhui’s, “Is this Jingyi?”

Jingyi quickly sat up letting the pillow roll off him. A-Qing is Sizhui’s girlfriend and it was rare for her to call him. He moved the phone away clearing his throat before trying again to speak, “Yes, it’s me.” 

“Hey, I’m calling you because we are currently at the hospital. Sizhui was in an accident.” She explained. 

“Which hospital is he at? What happened?” He asked tossing the blankets back getting out of bed. He grabbed his towel heading to the bathroom. He’d take a quick shower to wake up some more before heading to the hospital. 

“He’s at Gusu General and you don’t have to come. He just fell and broke his leg after dropping off one of his clients. That’s all. He should be home either today or tomorrow.” 

“I’m on my way.” He said hanging up. He liked A-Qing but he had a feeling in his gut that she was leaving something out. It hadn’t been the first time he’d caught her in a lie when it came to Sizhui. If it was just a broken leg they’d have set it and sent him home. He’d find out soon enough though he thought as he started stripping to get into the shower. 

Ten minutes later, Jingyi was fresh from his shower with a hoodie over his t-shirt and jeans with his converses. He put on his sunglasses as he stepped out of the elevator of his apartment building to the front entrance. He might be sipping a Monster Mean Bean but that didn’t mean he needed to be driving with barely two and a half hours of sleep in him. Thankfully his uber was waiting for him. 

“Gusu General please.” He said getting inside. An acknowledging nod had the car pulling out of the parking lot to his best friend. 

Jin Ling sighed loudly as he tossed the pen on his desk.  He leaned back in his chair resting his head against the top of the chair as he rubbed his face. That was the last of his paperwork declining the merger with Chang Industries. A deal that his grandfather had orchestrated in his schemes to get the company back from him after his parents had died. Thankfully, he’d been able to stop it. It’d taken him nearly a year to keep the Chang’s from taking his father’s business. The one that Jin Zixuan had built from the ground up without the help of Jin Guangshan. Jin Ling wouldn’t let it be taken from him. 

“Boss?” Rayne, his personal assistant called for him as she stepped into his office. A  look of annoyance on her face as she took in his appearance. He was still in yesterday’s outfit and there was day old take out boxes from last night’s dinner on the corner of his desk .  “I thought you said you were going home?”

“I did.” He replied sheepishly glancing at the open door to the small living quarters to her left. 

Her lips pursed approaching his desk reluctantly using her stiletto covered foot to push the trash can closer to the edge of the desk.“That’s not home, sir.” She stated as she took one of the unused napkins to push the take out boxes into the trash can. 

“I’ve been informed by Director Luo to send you send you home.” 

“But the Tang meeting.” 

“Has been moved Director Luo’s schedule. So has the Fang meeting and Wen meetings. In doing that allows for you to have the rest of the month off. So that you will be well rested for the Zhan meeting.” She replied going over to the coat rack plucking his coat off it. 

“Song is already downstairs isn’t he?” Jin Ling asked despite already knowing that his former personal assistant turned director because the woman was smart as hell and was a force to be reckoned with, Luo Qingyang, had everything in place for him. Realistically he knew nothing bad would happen but the anxiety was there. He sighed in resignation before standing up. 

“Yes, sir.” She nodded as he rounded the desk to allow her to help him into his jacket. 

“See you when I get back, Rayne.”

“You too, boss.” Rayne replied waving goodbye to him. 

So….I distinctly remember her saying it was - quote...nothing serious. Jingyi thought biting his the inside of his cheek to keep from scolding the woman. Said would woman was lazily lounging in the armchair munching on a bag of hot cheetos while Sizhui was on the phone with his father’s. 

His golden eyes taking in the sight of his best friend - who’s now in a room,with his leg in a cast with a bandage on his forehead and his arm wrapped up. Oh his phone? Yeah, that’d been smashed. So he was talking to his parents on the hospital phone. The woman claiming she couldn't bear to leave him. He sent a glare towards the to the woman as the responses to his father and the injuries told him that he’d been hit by a driver reaching down to grab their phone out of the floorboards. He’d been flung in the air and gravity aided in the sudden stop. 

Suddenly, she got a call before his temper got the best of him. “Oh, gege!” she practically screamed happily making Jingyi clinch his jaw. He wished she would just leave. 

Gege? he thought, Her parents made one before her? He mentally shivered at the thought as she wiped her cheetos dust stained hand on her jeans before getting up. 

“Bunny, I have to take this and if you want I can go get you a phone while I’m out.” she said with a forced sweet tone that sounded grating to Jingyi’s ears. Sizhui gave her a warm smile and nodded as she practically bounced out of the chair grabbing Sizhui’s wallet. Then fluttered out of the room.

“Oh thank god.” he thought he said in his mind but the sound of Sizhui smacking the bed made him realize he said it out loud. He quickly turned his head to look at Sizhui who gave him a knowing look. 

“I will dad. Yes, I’m going a new pho….I have A-Yi and A-Qing here with me. There is no need to fly...Okay...I love you.”

“Your mother coming?” He asked with a sigh. 

“No, but my dad’s are.” Sizhui replied. 

“That’s going to be interesting.” 

“Don’t be like that.” Sizhui scolded lightly.

“Sorry.” He apologized. 

“It’s okay.” Sizhui sighed. 

“What are you going to do about your clients?” Jingyi asked.

“I only have Fairy this week.” Sizhui replied from memory as he leaned his head back. His snapped opened as he leaned forward repeating, “I have fairy this week.”

“ My beloved sugar plum of a husky puppy?”

“She isn’t yours and hardly a puppy.”

“Cuteness trumps reality.” Jingyi replied tilting his nose up in the air. 

“What am I going to do?” Sizhui replied. “I don’t have his owner’s secretary’s number. The whole phone was crushed!” 

“I mean I could take care of her for you.” 

“No, I couldn’t…”

“Dude, you’re not asking and it’s just walking her on her normal route right? I’ve done that a million times with you two. Besides she knows me and you said you’ve never met her owner. Only spoke over the phone with his assistant. ” 

“Yes, but-”

“What?”

“What about your clients?” 

“Her routine is early in the morning. So that fits perfectly with my other clients.” 

“Are you sure?” Sizhui asked again. 

“Yes, and don’t even think about sending me the money. You know I don’t need it.”  Jingyi chided as he handed his phone to Sizhui to add Fairy’s information into his phone. 

Fuck. Jin Ling thought as he woke up to the sound of Fairy barking rather loudly. She sounded happy so it wasn’t an intruder.  It hadn’t been her barking that bothered him rather than the sharp pain to his head when he’d trying to sit up to go check on her. His body gifting him with a skull cracking headache after finally getting more than two or three hours of rest. He reached into the nightstand grabbing for the bottle of aspirin he keeps there. Popping two of them in his mouth then washing it down with tepid water from the glass that he left there last night. 

He tossed the bottle on the back in the drawer before getting up. Jin Ling gently rubbed his temples with both hands as he stepped out of his room walking towards the living room. He guessed that he’d probably left the blinds opening and Fairy had spotted a bird on the balcony of their penthouse. Though the idea faded as he stepped into the living room seeing a man crouched down scratching behind both of Fairy’s ears.

“How’s my favorite sugar plum?” The man childishly said to his dog earning a happy bark. 

“Apparently happy and her name is Fairy.” Jin Ling stated with a scratchy grumbling tone dripping with sarcasm making the other man jump and topple back onto his butt. The way his beloved husky was acting plus the clock on the wall told him that this was his dog walker. 

Jin Ling’s dark eyes taking in the sight of him. The man had dark brown hair cut short with a long bangs but not too long that it covered his beautiful whiskey colored eyes. He wore a jean jacket with an over sized grey sweater and a pair of jeans with black converses. 

“Uh, I think so too.” the man chuckled with a blush creeping up his neck from the sweater’s collar, “Stop sugar plum.” he said to Fairy ignoring him while gently pushing her off him to stand up, “You must be her owner. Since you’re home. I’ll just go.” He gestured towards the door. 

Jin Ling was about to agree but then he got another sharp pain. “Wait, If you don’t mind can you walk her today?” 

“Sure, thing. Let’s go sugar plum.” The man nodded heading out the door with Fairy and her leash before he could ask about why he was even here. Jin Ling huffed turning around. He’d worry about the cute dog wal...wait no…annoying dog walker later. He shook his head making it hurt even more. His head was busting and all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed. 

“Dude.” Jingyi said practically yelled into his phone the moment that Sizhui answered the phone. “Sugar Plum’s dad is hot.”

“How do you know that?” Sizhui asked with a worried tone.

“I went to go pick her up and he appeared in the living room. Lord, Sizhui. He’s hotter than the sun.” He happily answered.

“Jingyi!” 

“You should have seen him. That messy bed hair, the muscles, and the -”

“Don’t say another word and don’t you dare sleep with my client.” Sizhui replied with a warning tone. 

“Who said anything about sleeping?”

‘Jingyi.”

“Okay, Okay, I won’t.” Jingyi chuckled “But I can ogle right? Because he has a tattoo on his left pec is…”

“I’m out.” Sizhui replied hanging up. Jingyi couldn’t help but laugh sticking his phone in his pocket as he refocused on the walk. If he ran a bit with Fairy to try get the memory of her shirtless owner out of his head before going back no one else would know. 

[l000ey]

the queen and the jester → r.d

pairing; song mino x rae dara (ft. dong youngbae and mentions of lee chaerin, park bom, min hyorin and kwon jiyong)

summary; Red needs to forget everything and Mino wants to helps her

warning; bad language

note; yes, they fucked but Mino is not the only one Red has had sex with after her breakup with GD.....

2014

People smiled and laughed happily as they talked to their friends or acquaintances while Red was sitting there with a glass of the strongest alcohol she could have found in the bar of the huge hotel where they were celebrating the end of the year party. She sighed and turned to see her best friend when she felt that he was sitting next to she.

"Are you gonna stay like that all night?" The girl shrugged at the question. Taeyang sighed as he looked for Chaerin but she was very busy dancing with Hyorin and Bom, he made a face that showed his displeasure when he saw his leader dancing with that girl he had brought to the party.

He looked at the brunette only to realize that she was also looking at Jiyong and that model devouring in the middle of the dance floor. Dara sighed and drank another swallow from her glass. "I think I'll go home."

"But there is only one hour left for it to be New Year" With his right hand he gave a slight squeeze on her leg, trying to give her encouragement but she ignored it by going back to drink another drink "D, stay. Do not give him the satisfaction of seeing you wrong. "

"I think he's already satisfied enough." She pointed out how the girl intertwined her fingers in the rapper's hair and bit his lips. She let out a bitter laugh and stood up, alarming Youngbae.

"Uh, uh, where are you going?" He got up too when he saw her staggering, helped her sit down again.

"I need a cigarette, maybe two or three." She opened her purse and pulled out a packet of tobacco next to a cigarette lighter. The white-haired man sighed again before snatching the bag, earning a complaint from the best "Yah, give me that."

"No" He said curtly.

"Youngbae, please. I need to get out of here, I want to go home.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hid her face in his stomach, the singer growled looking for someone to help him with the twenty three years old baby. The only one who seemed to be in his five senses was the rapper of the group of boys who had debuted about a year ago, what was his name? Oh, yes, Mino.

"You" He pointed to the boy, who was sitting at a few tables beyond. The dark haired man frowned and pointed, Youngbae nodded "Come here."

"Yes, hyung?" Mino waved at him but Taeyang stopped him.

"I need your help, have you drunk?" The boy denied and he smiled "Perfect! Well, you're going to help Red get home. "

"Ah, I'm not so drunk." Red, who was watching them still sitting in her place, frowned annoyed. "I do not need a babysitter, Youngbae."

"Oh, believe me you need it." He handed the bag to the young man and helped his friend get up while she complained nonstop. Mino frowned without understanding anything, his sunbae looked sad and did not understand the reasons why she could be but nevertheless remained silent. The older one looked at him. "Help her get home and then come back if you want. If you do, I'll talk to the CEO to give you a solo album. "

Red rolled her eyes at the exaggerations of her best friend, snatched the bag from her hoobae and picked up a cigar ready to be smoked. She looked at the dark haired man "Are we going?"

"Eh, yes." He nodded quickly receiving her bag again and started to walk to get to it but his hyung's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Take care of her. She's not anybody, you know?” He nodded and started running toward the girl who had stopped at the door as soon as she realized he was not following her.

Both walked in silence through the hotel corridors until they reached the elevator. Red sighed as soon as Mino hit the button that would take them down.

“Mino”.

"Yes?" He turned quickly to see if she needed anything. He inspected her with his eyes, curious about his senior, but everything seemed fine with her, so he waited for her to speak.

"Can we go somewhere other than my house, please? I do not want to be there, I need fresh air.” She did not look at it for a second as she spoke, her eyes were lost on the floor of the elevator.

"But Taeyang hyung said that ..."

"I know what your hyung said, but I want to breathe and if you're going to be my babysitter at least does that for me." Her green eyes finally settled on him and all he could do was nod. He was afraid to screw everything and have her thrown him out of the agency. He approached the panel and pressed the button on the sixth floor making the girl look at him confused. "What are you doing?"

"I rented a room because I thought about drinking until I forgot my name so we can go there. You can smoke, there is a terrace. "He explained before leaving the wall and standing in front of the doors.

"Wow, I did not even think about asking for a room. Very clever, Song” The boy smiled at the words of the eldest and offered his hand to help her out of the elevator. They walked hand in hand to the room where Mino had to let her go to open the door. He let her pass first in a gentlemanly act. Red smiled to see the room, it was beautiful "You can go back to the party if you want, I will smoke a while and then I will go to my house. Do not miss the fun because of me. "

Mino laughed leaving the bag on one of the bedside tables after closing the door "It was not a fun party. It was pretty boring, I would say. I'll stay and when you want to leave I'll take you home. I promised hyung that I would take care of you."

"Well, thanks." She smiled at him, running the curtains so she could have access to the terrace. She turned around and looked at him still smiling. "And stop talking to me in a formal way, we've known each other for many years, I think we're close enough to talk to me like that."

He followed her to the terrace. "You're older than me and everyone knows you do not like honorific so I had to be respectful in some way." He watched her take off her heels and throw them away from her. He laughed thinking about how cute she was doing that pout looked when he saw the wonderful views of the Seoul night that the room had.

"Thank you for bringing me here." She looked at him, ignoring the fact that she had caught him looking at her and smiled at him and then looked again at the illuminated city. "It's just what I needed."

He followed her example and sat in the other chair. "I'm glad I was helpful."

Silence filtered again between the two, the only thing you could hear was the cigarette burn and music away from the party a couple of floors above. Dara sighed letting out the smoke, her sigh caught the attention of the rapper, who turned his head to look at her.

"C-can I ask you something?"

The brunette laughed "You've done it but yes, go ahead."

"Why are you so down? It's been a while since I've noticed it. You almost never smile and if you do it is a fake smile, you just drink and smoke and spend most of your time in your studio or at home "He looked at her worried" Is everything all right? "

Just as he said, she forced a smile, feeling her eyes watering so she looked away from him. Mino did not stop looking at her for a moment so, despite her effort to keep the tears out of sight, he saw her cry. He got up and knelt by her side while rubbing her arm trying to comfort her.

"Hey, it's fine. You can cry if you want. "He trailed his other hand down her back and hugged her while she hid her face in his chest. A few minutes later she stopped sobbing but both continued in the same position "Do you want to tell me what happened?".

"Jiyong and I have broken up and the son of a bitch has brought a slut to the party. He was eating her mouth in front of me!” She exclaimed and shrugged closer to the warm body of the boy" I know we're not together anymore and he's free to do whatever he wants but I do not know...show some respect at least? "

"He should have waited a little longer to take someone to an event at the company." The black-haired agreed, she nodded away from his arms causing a cold to immediately spread through his skin.

"Exact. Thank you.” She accepted the handkerchief for which Mino had entered the room and carefully cleaned her face but could not continue because the boy took it from her hands and began to clean it.

"Let me do it" he murmured and began to spread the silk over her skin carefully, with too much care, as if she were the most precious and weak thing that he could have in his hands and that he should take care of. "I think hyung is stupid, not only for today but for leaving you. He's crazy about leaving a queen like you without a king. "

Dara moved slightly away from his touch leaving his cleaning job in half. She looked into his eyes and frowned thinking about why the hell she should have fallen in love with Jiyong instead of Mino. Without realizing her lips were already glued to his and her body was sitting on his lap.

She moaned when his tongue entered her mouth. She quickly brought her hands to his hair, that hair so well combed and cut that since she had seen it had made her want to run her fingers through it and ruffle it. The fireworks began to explode in front of them and the shouts of happiness of their record companions sounded in the distance. 2015 had already arrived.

Mino broke the kiss by separating from her, very little but for them it felt like being millions of miles away from each other. He looked at her confused.

"Help me to forget him, please" She whispered and he, even knowing that this would bring consequences, nodded before returning to stick his lips with hers and get up with her in his arms. He walked with a determined step towards the room where he approached the bed and placed her gently on top of it.

Mino pulled away to take off his shoes while Dara unzipped her dress. He came quickly to her after he had discarded his jacket and kissed her again before helping her to get rid of that dress that looked very expensive although he did not regret to see that under the dress there was a fine lingerie. He bit his lower lip with such force that it seemed that at any moment he would bleed, the brunnette took him from his tie and pulled him closer to her. He joined her lips again while she unbuttoned his shirt. Mino's mind kept telling him that this was probably a dream and that he enjoyed it because he would never experience such a real dream again.

"Mino" She sighed his name when his lips took hold of the skin of her neck, he growled happy to hear his name leave her lips and continued sucking her smooth and soft skin. He spent minutes on each part of her body, did not leave a corner without kissing while whispering how beautiful she was making her sigh happily.

He pulled away from the skin of her stomach and looked at her, eyes closed and moaning for him. He smiled and went down to kiss her on the lips this time.

"Mino” She whispered again when the kiss broke.

"Yes?" He pulled their sweaty foreheads together as his hands danced around the curves of her body.

The look she gave him said too many things, said he would help her, that she needed love, that she missed her family, that she felt...empty but she did not say anything of that.

"Mino, fuck me." She said instead.

Hours later the boy looked at her back where that stupid tattoo rested while she slept soundly after her attempt to forget Kwon Jiyong. Mino grimaced without stop looking at the tattoo, that tattoo that was famous throughout Asia, that tattoo that symbolized the eternal love that the king and queen swore to have before all but that in the end it would only be a scar on the skin of the queen that would remember her for life to the king.

And Mino did not like that because he knew that this, what had just happened and for what she asked so much, would be nothing more than a secret story that would be between them and that soon she would run into the arms of the king as soon as he was, realized how stupid he is and asked for forgiveness. And then there would be him, the funny but lonely jester who loves the queen in secret like many others.

He sighed and turned around, ready to say goodbye to the beautiful but tragic night that had just passed in front of him.

[your-dietician]

A New Era Dawns In College Sports, As The NCAA Scrambles To Keep Up : NPR

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/ncaa-football/a-new-era-dawns-in-college-sports-as-the-ncaa-scrambles-to-keep-up-npr/

A New Era Dawns In College Sports, As The NCAA Scrambles To Keep Up : NPR

The March Madness logo on the court during the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. Soon, some college athletes can get money when using their name, image or likeness.

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

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Justin Casterline/Getty Images

The March Madness logo on the court during the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. Soon, some college athletes can get money when using their name, image or likeness.

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

A new era in college sports begins this week.

Following Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness — known by its abbreviation “NIL” — at least seven states will put into effect NIL laws, on Thursday. The laws allow athletes to make money for things like endorsement deals, signing autographs and social media content.

That’s been prohibited under NCAA rules, but now, the organization is in the process of reforming those rules. Especially after the recent Supreme Court decision weakened the NCAA’s long held, but increasingly outdated, notion of amateurism in college sports.

States take the lead

In 2019, California struck the first blow against the NCAA, in a very California way — a bill signing by Gov. Gavin Newsom on the set of Lebron James’ HBO show, The Shop.

The state’s Fair Pay to Play Act, the first NIL bill, reflected the growing discontent about the NCAA’s shaky ideal of amateurism, with so-called amateur athletes in the major sports generating vast revenues and not sharing in them.

For the NCAA, California signaled the start of a problem. A state-by-state patchwork of NIL laws would create recruiting advantages — athletes choosing schools in states allowing NIL payments — and thus create competitive imbalance.

Although critics say that imbalance has long existed in big time college sports.

But the NCAA failed to come up with a one-size-fits all plan. A vote set for January of this year was indefinitely delayed.

Now, the NCAA finally appears ready to act, but only after the states did.

“It’s the NCAA’s fault for not taking action,” said New Mexico State Sen. Mark Moores. The former college football player was the primary sponsor of his state’s NIL law, one of those going into effect Thursday, July 1.

“States are sovereign powers,” Moores said, “and when we see a situation that’s unfair and needs to be addressed, we’re going to use our ability to pass laws to address those issues.”

A payoff for hard work

With NIL, schools don’t pay athletes, third parties do. And New Mexico’s law is one of the least restrictive when it comes to compensation.

“The gold standard,” said longtime college athlete advocate Ramogi Huma.

Among other provisions, the statute lets athletes have their own shoe deals and allows third parties to pay for an athlete’s food, shelter and medical expenses.

New Mexico State sophomore basketball player Molly Kaiser says it’s amazing athletes will finally benefit from their name, and appropriate, she says, since they work hard to get their name out there.

“I’m honored to be a part of the start of that,” Kaiser said. “I think it’s going to be pretty cool, and now I can continue to make YouTube videos and actually profit off of it.”

18-year-old Kaiser says she was raised by a single mom and can envision sending NIL money back home.

“I think it’s all about trying to feed your family and making a way for them,” she said, “and not necessarily about us. At least for me.”

If University of Michigan basketball player Naz Hillmon decides to use the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA because of the pandemic, she’ll be able to take advantage of Michigan’s NIL law — it’s slated to go into effect in December of next year.

If she does, Hillmon has ideas.

Naz Hillmon #00 of the Michigan Wolverines is among the college athletes speaking out about new laws allowing them to cash in while playing in college.

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Naz Hillmon #00 of the Michigan Wolverines is among the college athletes speaking out about new laws allowing them to cash in while playing in college.

Elsa/Getty Images

“I would love to do some [basketball] camps,” she said, “whether they be in Ann Arbor or [her hometown] Cleveland. Just to be around in some way, give back to the community and kind of show my face and be appreciative of those who have helped me along the way.”

Hillmon also would like the chance to openly promote friends and family members.

“Some of them have businesses,” she said, “and [under current NCAA rules] I’m technically not allowed to promote them and say ‘go visit them.’ I have to word it in a certain way on my social media.”

In Los Angeles, USC quarterback Mo Hasan is hopeful. The lawmakers behind California’s Fair Pay to Play Act want to move up the law’s start date from 2023 to this September. Hasan, a podcast host, would still be in school and already he’s thinking in terms of NIL.

“I just got off the phone with a podcast network,” Hasan said last week. “They presented the opportunity to sign with them and partner with them in order to continue growing the podcast, and, generating revenue through advertisements.”

The money would “go to me,” he said, adding, “it would be historic because it’s never been done before on a student athlete level. So it’s really exciting to be on the frontier of this.”

Hasan confirms the NCAA’s fear that a patchwork of state NIL laws would affect recruiting.

“I think it’s a competitive advantage for sure,” he said. “If, you know, the state of Florida or the state of Texas (both have laws going into effect July 1) can offer these resources that the state of California can’t, that’s really hard to recruit against. You know, if I’m a top quarterback and I can make over one hundred thousand dollars at the University of Florida and I can’t make that at the University of Arizona, then that’s an easy decision in a lot of cases.”

Plenty of value in athletes

So what can athletes make in the NIL era?

A study in SSRN, the Social Science Research Network, on college athlete’s NIL value, found “the NCAA’S claimed position that student-athletes lack meaningful NIL value is false.”

Studying the potential for monetizing social media accounts, the easiest way to turn NIL rights into dollars, researchers estimated Trevor Lawrence’s Instagram account had a value of more than $330,000. Lawrence was the star quarterback at Clemson and top pick in this year’s NFL draft.

While football and men’s basketball players get much of the publicity in those two major revenue-generating sports, women are not left out of the equation. And in fact, potentially they could eclipse their male counterparts in NIL earnings.

Basing, again, on social media popularity, Axios noted that 8 of the top 10 most followed athletes in the Elite 8 rounds of this year’s men’s and women’s NCAA Division 1 basketball tournaments….were female players.

According to The Washington Post, other research found star athletes in women’s sports and Olympians now competing in college, could make up to half a million dollars a year in endorsements.

That’s big money of course. The majority of athletes, many in so-called non-revenue sports, doing camps and lessons, making occasional personal appearances, or working their social media, there’ll be more modest sums for sure.

You get what you put in

“The reality is, [making money off NIL opportunities] is just like anything else,” said Jim Cavale, CEO of the content-providing software platform INFLCR (pronounced “influencer”). “What you put in is what you get out. Any student-athlete who thinks this is just going be an automatic windfall of revenue, is insane.”

“You’re going to have to work at it. Some athletes will have to do less work than others, just like playing time. Some athletes are so gifted they can get on the field very easily and play and score and do well. Other athletes have to work a little harder. But everyone is going to have to put in some work.”

Cavale started his company in 2017, and is now using the last four years of connections and business to give INFLCR a leg up on the dozens of companies that’ve sprung up to take advantage of the NIL wave. Cavale says more than 100,000 athletes nationwide have the INFLCR app, which helps them manage their name, image and likeness opportunities.

Managing that business, doing the work to create their own brands, that’s a valuable lesson for any athlete, he says. From the star quarterback to the softball shortstop to the setter on the volleyball team.

“Even though they [may not make] a ton of money off NIL,” Cavale said, “it’s going to help them make the most of the network and surroundings they have while they’re playing. So they can start to make those connections and build the foundation for the rest of their lives. A lot of athletes, unfortunately, experience the side of the ball being deflated. The game’s over and nobody cares anymore. They don’t care they used to play. They don’t care you were this position on this team. You’re now an adult trying to make it in a very tough world. [So], get a head start.”

The NCAA plays catch up

The question remains, who will have the opportunities?

College athletes in at least seven states will as of July 1st. And it now appears all athletes will be included.

The NCAA’s quick game of catch up has the organization finally positioned to offer NIL rights nationwide.

Meetings last week led to the draft of an interim plan that, if approved, would take effect July 1.

Under the plan, athletes in the states with laws going into effect will follow those laws; in states without laws, schools can create their own NIL policies.

There still are prohibitions included in the NCAA’s plan, including NIL compensation can’t be tied to an athlete’s performance — not allowing, for instance, more NIL money for more points scored. The organization is trying to hold the line against pay for play, a bedrock of the amateurism model the NCAA has preached throughout its history.

But the model has been harder to defend as the money has boomed in big time college sports.

Indeed, last week the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stinging and unanimous ruling that the NCAA can’t limit athletes benefits that are linked to education. It was a narrow ruling but one that eviscerated the NCAA’s claim that it should be exempt from the nation’s antitrust laws because the athletes are amateurs.

The decision is expected to lead to future challenges to NCAA rules. Patrick Bradford, a veteran anti-trust lawyer based in New York City, was part of a group that filed an amicus brief supporting the athletes in the Supreme Court case. Particularly the African American athletes who comprise the majority of athletes in revenue-generating football and men’s basketball.

Bradford predicts the Supreme Court ruling has a lasting impact.

“I think it’s just a matter of time,” he said, “before the NCAA will have to divorce itself from regulating the economics of student athletes.”

For now, with its temporary NIL plan, the NCAA, which did not respond to a request for comment, is stepping back by allowing schools to create their own policies. But the association also says schools and athletes should adhere to the plan’s guidance “until such time that either federal legislation or NCAA rules are adopted.”

The NCAA Division 1 Board of Directors reportedly will meet Wednesday to make a final decision on the interim plan. If, as expected, the board approves it, the NIL policy would go into effect the next day.

Making the NCAA a partner, albeit belated, in a new era.

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Amendments - Part 2

I got a few requests to continue, so here’s part two to my enemies-to-lovers/fake marriage fic. Part 1 can be found here.

The phone on his desk buzzed, indicating an internal call. Peeta held up his finger, cutting off Seneca Crane mid-sentence, and hit the intercom button.

“Yes?” Peeta asked.

“Katniss is here with lunch,” his secretary replied. “I told her you were in a meeting, but she insisted.”

Peeta fiddled with his tie, the only sign that his fiancée’s name had triggered a nervous reaction. Negotiating deals worth millions of dollars was easy compared to a face-to-face conversation with Katniss.

“Please, send her in,” Peeta said.

At least this was a good power move. He’d focus on that. Sending Seneca away before their meeting was over would remind Seneca that he was lucky Peeta had agreed to a meeting in the first place. Peeta’s time was valuable, much more so than Seneca’s, or at least, that would be Seneca’s impression. Next, Peeta would ignore his messages for at least a week before agreeing to meet with him out of the office.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Peeta said in a tone that clearly said, I-don’t-give-a-fuck-if-you-do. “I haven’t had a meal alone with my fiancée in almost two weeks.”

This was true, although work was the culprit for only about half of these missed dinners.

He wanted to blame Prim. She had flown in for a brief visit, squeezing it in before her junior year of college started. Her next visit would be for the wedding in October.

Peeta had hoped having another person in the house would thaw Katniss’s icy behavior, but it hadn’t done much. For three nights, Katniss had stayed up long after Prim went to bed and woke before Prim or Peeta made it downstairs. He wasn’t sure if she had slept on the couch or in her bedroom, but she had carefully orchestrated it so Prim never noticed.

Prim’s visit was only for a few days though. The rest of the time, Katniss had either already eaten or she was out with Annie or Johanna by the time he arrived home. Finally, she was making a conscious effort to fit in and make friends all while completely ignoring him.

Two weeks ago, Peeta had driven home from his father’s retirement party with anticipation buzzing under his skin. He’d had to remind himself several times to watch the road as his gaze kept straying to Katniss’s thighs. As soon as they arrived home, Katniss headed upstairs without a word. He followed her, just in time to see her take a left at the top instead of a right. She disappeared into her bedroom and didn’t emerge for the rest of the night.

He had foolishly believed that something had changed between them after their hook-up in the bridal suite. Maybe something had. If anything, she seemed to loathe him even more.

“Of course,” Seneca said, standing up.

The door opened, and Katniss glided in on her four-inch heels, holding a bag of Chinese food.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” she said.

She was good at this when she tried to be. He should have her barge in on meetings more often.

“Of course not.” Peeta glanced at his watch, surprised to find that it was quarter to two. “I’m glad you brought something. I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Katniss set the bag of takeout down on Peeta’s desk. His gaze immediately dropped to her chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Seneca do the same. He clenched his jaw and with a curt goodbye, dismissed Seneca before Katniss could introduce herself.

Jesus. He needed to have a talk with Cinna about these dresses. The cut seemed to be getting lower while the hem grew higher. Katniss wore a black cardigan, but it did nothing to cover up her breasts. He was pretty sure she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Katniss pulled out two containers of food, setting one in front of her, and the other to the side of Peeta’s paperwork.

“What’d you order?” he asked.

“Boneless spare ribs for you.” As soon as she heard the door close, she shoved the container off his desk into the waiting trash can.

Peeta rested his hands on his desk and gave her a stern look. “That was mature.”

“Sorry. I thought wasting money was your idea of fun.”

Peeta sat down. He had known this was coming and there wasn’t much he could do about it other than let her complain. He didn’t have to make it easy though.

“Care to elaborate?” he asked.

“You bought Prim an apartment.”

He sighed. He knew she’d be upset, but he didn’t understand why. There had been a problem, and he had fixed it. Really, she should thank him.

“I take it she called you?”

Katniss marched around the desk. He spun to the side, and her legs bumped his. “She gave me the grand tour, actually. Floor to ceiling windows. A giant kitchen. A jacuzzi bathtub.”

Peeta couldn’t resist. “Was it not to her liking? We could remodel anything she wants.”

Katniss slammed her hand on his desk, rattling the cup of pens closer to the edge. “That is not the apartment of a twenty-year-old college student.”

“It is now.”

“What were you thinking?” She perched on the edge of his desk and rubbed her forehead. “She can’t stay there. I won’t allow it.”

He scooted closer to her. He rested a hand on her knee, but pulled it back at her death glare. “Where else is she supposed to go? I assume she told you the situation.”

“She did,” Katniss said. “What I don’t understand is why I didn’t hear about it until after you dropped a quarter of a million dollars.”

“You think that apartment only cost a quarter of a million? That’s so cute.”

She kicked his leg, and he grabbed her ankle, pulling it into his lap.

“It’s not like she sought me out to confide in me.  You were cooking dinner the night before she left, and I found her outside,” he said.

He had found Prim crying with her cell phone clenched in her hand. He could have snuck away. She hadn’t noticed him yet. But some weird urge to fix whatever was bothering her made him clear his throat. She explained that the three girls she had planned on living with had kicked her out of the group for some other girl who had decided at the last minute not to study abroad. According to the group, Prim was too uptight and obsessed with studying, and her request that they not throw parties during the week hindered their social life.

Prim didn’t have a back-up plan. There was nothing left on campus, and she couldn’t afford an apartment on her own. With only a few days before she returned to Boston, she needed to find another set of roommates with an available bedroom.

Peeta was confident she would have found something eventually, but she probably would have ended up in a bad neighborhood with even worse roommates. Besides, she didn’t need that kind of stress at the beginning of the school year. He was pretty sure Katniss was using part of her weekly allowance to pay Prim’s rent anyway, so what difference did it make if he spent the money all at once? After Prim earned her bachelor’s degree, she planned to remain in Boston and attend medical school there. Peeta’s solution made perfect sense. He’d buy her an apartment, a nice one, not too far from campus. Now her living situation was taken care of until she finished medical school, however many years that took. She didn’t have to worry about shitty roommates anymore. And when she was in the mood, she could definitely throw a killer party.

“Neither one of you thought to mention it to me?” Katniss asked with narrowed eyes.

He rubbed circles over her ankle, but her expression didn’t change.

“She asked me not to say anything. She didn’t want you to worry.”

“I’m her sister. It’s my job to worry.”

“I offered my help, and she took it. I knew she’d tell you eventually.”

“And what help did you offer exactly?”

His hand traveled an inch up her leg. He wanted to replace his fingers with his mouth. He wanted to kiss a trail up her thigh and find out if she had gone sans underwear with this dress too.

“I told her I know people in Boston, and I’d find her something quick.” At Katniss’s glare, he continued, “I do know people. I know a realtor.”

“You can’t bring Prim into this.” She threw up her hands  to demonstrate she could barely comprehend what “this” was. “What if we have a fight? What if you want to get back at me?”

He let go of her leg and stood up, once more crowding her personal space.

“I’ll just take away your allowance.” He swiped his thumb over her chin, and she batted his hand away.

“I’m serious, Peeta. What if one of us decides to break the contract? I can’t have Prim kicked out in the middle of the semester.”

While her words scared him, he kept his expression playful. There was an out included in the contract. He could cancel it at any time, send Katniss on her way with whatever money she had already received plus a small lump sum. If Katniss backed out, she’d lose everything.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “No matter what happens between us, that apartment is Prim’s until she no longer needs it.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He rolled his eyes, unsurprised at her cynicism. “Then write up one of those amendments you’re so fond of. We’ll add it in.”

Katniss pursed her lips as she considered this option. His hand dropped to her knee, but this time she didn’t shove him away. He grabbed her other knee too, gauging her reaction.

“I’m not going to kick your sister out onto the street. She can stay there until she graduates from medical school. I promise.”

Katniss tugged on his tie before letting the silk slip through her fingers. “What do you get out of it?”

“Besides a lucrative piece of real estate I hope to make a profit on when I sell it in a few years?” He skimmed the tops of her thighs before settling at the hem of her dress. “I was hoping to make Prim’s sister happy.”

She studied his face. “Are you trying to manipulate me?”

“No. I might be trying to punish you though…” He pressed a soft kiss beneath her ear. “It’s impossible to focus on work when all I can think about is going down on you.”

If she was surprised or turned on by his words, her face didn’t reflect it.

“That’s not my fault,” she said. “As CEO, you should be more focused on the workplace.”

He couldn’t help it. He was tired of fighting his attraction to this beautiful, infuriating woman. Her anger from earlier seemed to have dissipated. He might as well try.

“Maybe if you let me touch you, I could finally focus.”

She slipped her hands underneath his blazer, and he was transported back to the bridal suite. He didn’t understand why she had gotten cold feet or why she had been avoiding him, but maybe she had changed her mind again.

“Is that how this works? You spend an obscene amount of money on my sister, and I fall at your feet in gratitude?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“No. I want you to touch me because you want to. Not because you’re grateful or worried or feel obligated.”

“I don’t understand you,” she said.

Before he could ask for clarification, she pulled him into a kiss. He sucked on her tongue as he dragged his knuckles over her chest, his thumb catching her nipple through the thin fabric of her dress.

“You’re not wearing a bra, are you?” he asked.

“Course not,” she mumbled against his mouth. “Trashy girls don’t wear bras. How else are we supposed to find ourselves a rich husband?”

He laughed. “I’m pretty sure you were wearing a bra when we first met.”

“I’m surprised you noticed me with all those half-naked women offering you lap dances.”

He cupped her cheek and brushed her bottom lip with his thumb. “Of course I noticed you. How could I not?”

She ducked her head and focused on pulling off his blazer.

“Are you sure we should be doing this in your office?” she asked.

A thrill ran through him. He wasn’t sure what she meant by “this,” but he wanted to find out. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I can do whatever the hell I want now that I’m in charge.”

“Can you?” she asked with a smartass smile. She slipped off the desk and with a hand on his chest, forced him to take a couple of steps back. “I’m pretty sure you need permission.”

He knelt down in front of her, never breaking eye contact. “Katniss, can I please go down on you?”

She curled her fingers into his hair, forcing his head back. “Are you sure? Lunch is getting cold.”

“You mean your lunch is getting cold. Mine’s in the trash.” He ran his hand up her thigh, lifting up her dress, and kissed the skin he found hiding beneath. “I guess I can fish it out later.”

“That’s a sight I’d love to see. Peeta Mellark picking food out of the garbage.”

“I guess you’re rubbing off on me.”

She let go of his hair and backed up into his desk. He looked up, expecting a teasing smile and a carefully crafted insult, but he found a scowl instead.

“What?” he asked.

She shook her head before stomping toward the door. He stood up but remained behind his desk, not wanting to go after while sporting a hard-on.

“Katniss, wait! What did I--” The slam of his office door cut off the rest of his sentence.

He sank into his chair, dazed at the sudden change in mood. What had he done wrong now? He had said much worse things to her over the past few months, he was sure of it. And she always had a snide comment to fire back.

Unless…

Unless there was a grain of truth in what he had said. Oh, fuck. She had told him she grew up hungry and neglected. It was possible she had dug through the trash as a kid trying to scrounge up something to feed herself and Prim.

He immediately called her cell. It rang and rang and rang. He tried over and over again for the next few hours.

Eventually, her cell stopped ringing and cut directly to voicemail. He didn’t accomplish a single task for the rest of the day.

*

When he arrived home that night, he was surprised to find Katniss’s car in the driveway. It didn’t mean she was home though. It was possible Annie or Johanna had whisked her away.

It was half past six, earlier than he usually came home. He hoped to catch her before she hid from him, although the sound of his car often sent her skittering upstairs. To his surprise, she was at the dining room table eating dinner.

The barely there dress was gone. She wore skinny jeans and a green tank top, a sign that she planned to stay in for the rest of the evening. Her hair was woven into a thick braid that hung over her shoulder, a style he loved but wouldn’t allow for important dinners or parties. He must have stood staring too long because she spoke first.

“Your dinner’s in the oven. It shouldn’t be cold yet.”

He glanced at her plate. She was eating chicken parmesan over angel hair pasta, the meal he had requested Sae prepare for him. Katniss often told Sae not to worry about her and made her own meal. Eating the same thing was pretty rare.

“Thanks. Would you mind if I join you?” he asked.

She shrugged. “It’s your house.”

This was either an indictment or an admission of defeat. He couldn’t tell from her tone. He pulled his plate out of the oven, surprised to find steam still rising off the chicken, and sat across from her.

“Katniss,” he began. “About lunch today…”

“The caterer called,” she interrupted. “Everything is all set for your mother’s birthday dinner tomorrow night.”

He suppressed a groan at the reminder. Tomorrow was his mother’s fifty-ninth birthday. She had insisted on having dinner at Peeta’s house, so she could show off the new CEO to her friends. Peeta’s parents, Rye, Graham and his wife, Finnick and Annie, and a handful of Mrs. Mellark’s closest friends were coming to celebrate. He shuddered to think what next year would bring. While his mother privately agonized over her age, he knew she’d turn the milestone into a gigantic celebration.

He took a bite of the chicken and hummed in pleasure. “This is delicious.”

“You like it?”

“Sae always does a great job, but this is amazing.” He took another bite and then gestured at her plate. “Do you not like yours?”

“I do.” She tugged her plate closer as if worried he’d grab it from her.

They both ate in silence for a few minutes before he broached their lunchtime argument again. “Katniss, I really need to tell you--”

“Annie and I are going to the spa tomorrow morning. Is that okay?” she asked. “Just to get our nails done for the party.”

“You could get a massage,” he said. “Or a facial. Whatever you want.”

She shook her head and looked back down at her plate. “No, that’s fine.”

He couldn’t read her, and it was driving him crazy. She was acting much more subdued than usual. He didn’t like this watered down version of Katniss, so quiet and submissive.

He should have put that in the contract: Don’t change. No matter what idiotic thing I say, I like you just the way you are.

He probably should have added in a reminder for himself: don’t be a fucking coward. He didn’t push the issue about lunch or her strange behavior. He just sat and ate his dinner, and when she offered to clear his plate, he let her.

*

The next day, he walked out of the office at five o’clock on the dot, the earliest he had left in months. He needed enough time to get home, change, and make sure everything was perfect for his mother’s dinner. While he no longer cared about making his mother happy--honestly, he preferred to do the opposite of what she wanted--he knew she’d complain for years to come if he didn’t get tonight right.

He didn’t see Katniss when he came in, although he wasn’t surprised. She was either getting dressed or supervising the caterer. He went straight to his bedroom and stopped short at the sight of a framed picture of him and Katniss on his nightstand table. While guests weren’t allowed upstairs, he didn’t want Katniss’s separate bedroom to be obvious. He wouldn’t put it past Rye or his mother to snoop around. He had mentioned this to Katniss earlier in the week, and of course she had taken care of it. Her current book was on the other table, a few hair ties and bobby pins scattered next to it.

He knew if he checked his closest, he’d find her dresses hung up and her shoes in a careful line. He imagined her room empty of her personal effects, the bed made and waiting, as it hadn’t been slept in for months.

“Do I pass your inspection?” Katniss asked from the doorway.

Four inch heels. Perfectly manicured pale pink nails. A green dress with a lace overlay, two thin pieces of fabric crisscrossing over her lower back. Her hair was up, as usual, this time in a braid around the crown of her head.

He wanted to apologize for making her believe she had to ask him questions like that, for making her believe that she needed anything extra to stand out. He wanted to apologize for the heels and the weekly manicures and the dozens of bobby pins jammed into her hair.

Instead, he said, “You look gorgeous.”

She rolled her eyes. “Annie helped.”

“Do you think we can talk before dinner?”

She was already halfway out the door. “I’ve gotta get back to Annie.”

Peeta sighed and jumped in the shower where he tried and failed to keep from touching himself to the thought of bending Katniss over his work desk. After he dressed, he went into the kitchen to double check that the caterers were all set.

“Peeta!” Sae waved at him from behind the island in the center of the kitchen. While he had hired a catering service to make dinner and serve it tonight, he had trusted Sae with dessert. “The cake is all set. I’ve handed it off to the lady in charge. I think her name’s Effie.”

“Thank you,” Peeta said.

“I wanted to thank you for letting me take last night off on such short notice,” Sae said, grabbing Peeta’s hand.

Peeta froze, but Sae didn’t notice his surprise.

“My granddaughter's visit was a last minute surprise, but Katniss assured me it would be okay. She said she’d make sure you ate.” She patted Peeta’s cheek. “She’s such a sweet girl.”

“Yeah, she really is.”

“Have a good night.” Sae smiled once more before leaving through the back door.

Peeta stared straight ahead as he tried to work out what exactly had happened last night. Sae must have called Katniss to ask for the night off, not wanting to bother him at work. Of course Katniss would say yes, and Peeta would have too, if they had asked. Rather than order takeout or make something else, Katniss had prepared the meal Sae was supposed to. It wasn’t as if she was covering for Sae. She must have known Peeta would find out about Sae’s night off sooner or later.

He returned to the living room, intending to go upstairs and demand a conversation, but the doorbell rang.

Great. His mother was here.

*

Dinner went surprisingly well. Katniss was friendly and talkative, although she mostly stuck by Annie’s side. Whenever Mrs. Mellark sent a pointed question her way, she took it in stride. Peeta could tell Katniss was getting frustrated, but somehow, she kept on smiling. Finnick jumped in a couple of times with a joke to alleviate the tension. Peeta would have to thank him later.

It was after dinner, while the guests were sipping coffee and tea in the living room, that everything went to hell. The doorbell rang, Katniss answered it, and Cashmere walked in.

To Katniss’s credit, she greeted Cashmere with a smile before leaving her standing in the foyer. Mrs. Mellark was the one who hugged her and led her to the other guests and practically shoved her into Peeta’s lap.

“Sit next to Peeta,” Mrs. Mellark said, indicating the nonexistent space next to him on the couch.

Peeta stood, jaw clenched. “Yes, of course, please take my seat.”

He perched on the arm of Katniss’s chair and placed a hand on her back. He tried to silently convey that Cashmere’s appearance was not his doing, but Katniss wouldn’t look at him.

At some point during the conversation, Katniss disappeared. Fifteen minutes later, when a server announced it was time for dessert, she was nowhere to be found.

Peeta promised he’d be right back and they’d have cake as soon as he located Katniss. He assumed she had hidden upstairs for a few minutes of quiet. He checked his room first. Empty. He tried her room next. The door to the attached bathroom was closed, so he knocked.

“Katniss?” He waited. “Are you in there?”

The sound of the bedroom door quietly clicking shut startled him. He turned to find Cashmere.

“Now is not a good time,” he said.

“I should try again later then?” she asked. “Wait until you’re married?”

“Listen, I know we had our fun--”

“You didn’t seem to mind sleeping with me behind your fiancée’s back a couple of months ago. What’s changed?”

Peeta yanked on his tie. It felt like a noose around his neck, slowly constricting his airway. Once everyone left, he’d change into a pair of sweatpants, help Katniss pull the bobby pins out of her hair, and then they’d talk. He knew he could fix it if she would just give him the chance.

“I don’t want to be that guy anymore,” Peeta said. “I’m going to be faithful to my wife.”

“I seem to remember you saying that you had no interest in marriage for at least another five years,” Cashmere said. “Something’s changed.”

“I don’t know what to tell you or how to explain. Things are just different now.”

She walked over to him. He wanted to move away, but he stood his ground.

“I thought it’d be you and me walking down the aisle. I was waiting for you,” she said.

His heart sunk. He had never intended to lead her on or hurt her. He had made it very clear to her on more than one occasion that he was only interested in sex. “You know we weren’t like that. I told you--”

“I’m in love with you,” she said. “How could you not see that?” She grabbed his hands and laced their fingers together. “It’s not too late.”

The door opened, and Cashmere jumped away from him. Katniss stood in the doorway, her face empty of emotion.

“If you two are finished, it’s time to light the candles,” she said.

Cashmere had the decency to bow her head as she walked by Katniss and out the door.

“That wasn’t what it looked like,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter. Are you coming?”

She turned to head back into the hallway, but he grabbed her wrist. “Wait, I--”

“What do you want me to do?” she demanded. “Should I make a scene downstairs? Kick Cashmere out? Or do you want me to keep quiet? How do you want your fiancée to react?”

“You can react however you’d like. I’m not in charge of you.”

“Are you sure?”

He pulled her closer. “You’re not my pet.”

She yanked her hand away. “Don’t touch me. Let’s just go downstairs and finish this party.”

Fuck. She had no reason to believe he hadn’t been about to hook up with Cashmere. The only proof he had was his word. No wonder she couldn’t stand him. She thought he was still sleeping with Cashmere at the same time he was trying to get her into his bed.

He went downstairs and stopped short at the sight of his mother talking to Katniss. He couldn’t hear the conversation, but he could tell Katniss was close to snapping. Her shoulders were rigid. Her mouth was a thin line. He started toward them to interrupt whatever was about to happen, but he was too late.

Katniss threw her drink in Mrs. Mellark’s face.

“How dare you!” Mrs. Mellark screeched, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

Peeta didn’t stop. He threw an arm around Katniss as soon as he reached her. He tried to lead her out of the room, but she pushed him away before disappearing into the kitchen.

Everyone stared. For whatever reason, no one moved to get his mother a towel.

“Peeta, your fiancée is the most reprehensible girl I have ever met. She--”

“Hold that thought,” Peeta said. Before he went after Katniss, he shot Graham a look, and his brother nodded. As the kitchen door swung shut behind him, he heard Graham announce that cake was being served in the dining room.

Katniss’s empty wine glass was on the counter, but she wasn’t among the servers who continued to work and pretend that they hadn’t overheard everything. He went out back to the patio where he found Katniss standing by the pool, her heels kicked off into the grass.

“Hey,” he said as he approached.

She shot him a death glare, and he stopped a couple of feet away. He put up his hands. “Look, I’m not mad.”

“I don’t care if you’re mad! Maybe I’m mad. Maybe how you feel right now doesn’t matter. Did you ever consider that?”

“No,” he said in a small voice. He couldn’t remember the last time he had worried about someone else without first considering himself. “What did she say?”

“Besides the fact that she thinks I’m trailer trash and Cashmere would make a far better wife?” she demanded, fists clenched at her side. “I believe her exact words were ‘you can put lipstick on a pig, but…’”

Anger burned in his throat. He finally gave in and yanked his tie off. “I’m sorry, Katniss. I’m so sorry.”

“Why didn’t you propose to Cashmere? She would have said yes.” Katniss shook her head. “Wait. Never mind. I forgot you wanted a business arrangement, not a marriage.”

“Yes, I originally asked you because I wanted someone I could control.”

She froze, surprised at his honesty.

“I wanted to continue sleeping around and having fun and doing whatever the hell I wanted. But I also asked you because I like you. Because if I had to live with someone for two and a half years, I wanted it to be someone who made me happy.”

“You are the most selfish person I’ve ever met.”

She turned away from him and stared down into the pool, the water turned a soft blue green by the underwater lights.

“Do you want a boyfriend?”

This was the last thing he wanted to give her, but he couldn’t stand knowing she was absolutely miserable, and that he was the cause. Back in California, she’d been stuck. In a job she hated, in a shitty apartment, supporting her sister, and putting everyone else’s needs before her own. But she had been happy. He could see that now when he compared the way she looked at him tonight to the smile she had given him from behind the bar top all those months ago.

He didn’t just want to touch her. He wanted to take care of her, make her happy. He had thought she was trapped by her obligations, but at least she had chosen to take responsibility. Here, she didn’t have a choice. She had to bend to his every whim.

“What?” she asked.

“A boyfriend. I could bring the landscapers back. Hire one full-time.”

“Are you offering to pay someone to have sex with me?”

“I didn’t mean…” He sighed. “I just meant, if you wanted to see someone, you could. I know you’d be discreet.”

“That goes against the contract.”

“Fuck the contract. I wrote it. I can change whatever I want. Do you want a job? Do you want to go to school? Is there something you always wanted to do, but never had the time or money to pursue it?”

She looked down at the ground, at the grass peeking between her toes.

“C’mon, Katniss. I can’t imagine being a bartender was your ultimate dream.”

She shrugged. “I’ve always liked plants. Sometimes I thought about being a florist.”

“Okay. We’ll figure out what you need to do, and you’ll do it. Take classes. Get a license. Whatever has to be done.”

“Peeta…”

“You’re right. I’m really, really selfish. I’m way too selfish to let you leave now.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But you could. If that was what you wanted. You could leave now and keep everything: the money, the clothes, the jewelry. I’ll sign Prim’s apartment over to you.”

“I don’t understand you,” she said. “I signed the contract. I could walk away, and you wouldn’t have to give me a thing. You could tell Rye whatever you wanted. Make it my fault. Keep your job safe. Why all these changes now? Why offer all this?”

“I think I’m in love with you,” he said, moving closer. When she didn’t back away, he took her hands gently in his. “I’m sorry for the heels, and the nails, and policing every little thing about you. I don’t know why I was trying to turn you into the perfect little housewife when you’re so much more than that.”

She studied him for a long moment. “I do like you, you know. When you’re not being completely awful.”

“So you like me like seventy-five percent of the time?”

“That’s a little generous.”

He smiled, relieved that she had calmed down enough to deliver this little jab. “I swear to you that Cashmere and I were only talking upstairs. I haven’t touched anyone but you in almost two months.”

“Sucks for you,” she said. “At least I have a vibrator.”

He pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

“I’ll do whatever you want me to. Please, just stay a little longer. Give me another chance.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, and she relaxed against him.

“Okay,” she said.

He leaned back so he could see her face. “Does this mean I should call the landscapers or…?”

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “You really are a dick.”

The back door opened, and he turned to find his mother huffing a few feet away, her light blue dress stained a deep red.

“Peeta, I believe your fiancée owes me an apology.”

He wrapped an arm around Katniss’s shoulders. “Her name is Katniss, and I believe it’s the other way around.”

Mrs. Mellark’s eyes widened. “She has ruined this dress!”

“Dad will buy you a new one.”

“That’s not the point, she--”

“Either apologize or leave,” Peeta said. “Don’t came back until you figure out how to treat her with respect.”

“You can’t talk to me like that. I am your mother!”

“Happy Birthday, Mom. Have a good night.”

Mrs. Mellark spun around and stormed back into the house.

“Katniss, whatever happens next, whatever you decide to do, please don’t ever be nice to my mother.”

She leaned against his shoulder and laughed. “I can definitely manage that.”

*

After they said goodbye to the remaining guests, Peeta led Katniss upstairs to his bedroom.

“I’m burning this dress,” she announced as she dropped face first onto his bed.

“It’s that uncomfortable?” he asked, unbuttoning his shirt.

“It’s the lace. It’s rubbing the underside of my arms raw.” She flipped over and lifted her arms to demonstrate.

“No more lace. Got it.”

She yanked the dress off over her head and threw it in his general direction.

“You’re wearing underwear tonight,” he observed as he unbuckled his belt. Desire pooled low in his stomach as he studied the black thong that left very little to the imagination. The strapless bra she had on looked identical to the one she wore to his father’s retirement party.

“It’s been up my ass all night.”

“Another reason to go commando.”

She sighed. “I miss boyshorts.”

Peeta paused as he imagined Katniss’s ass in a pair of tiny boyshorts. “We should go shopping tomorrow.”

She ignored his comment and sat up against the headboard on what she had deemed her side of the bed. She plucked a bobby pin out of her hair.

“Do you want help with that?” He was down to his boxer briefs now, his pants and undershirt discarded on the floor.

“Sure.”

He sat on the bed and patted the space in front of him. She crawled over, giving him an excellent view of her breasts, and settled between his legs. He pulled one bobby pin after another out of her hair. She remained quiet as she leaned slightly forward, her fingers dancing over his thighs.

When he was sure there were none left, he unwove her braid, massaging her scalp as her hair fell around her shoulders. She hummed in pleasure.

“Did you make me dinner last night?” he asked.

“Oh.” She was quiet for a moment. “Sae needed the night off.”

“I know. She told me. You didn’t have to make me dinner. You could have just ordered takeout or left me to starve.”

“I shouldn’t have left your office the way I did.” She leaned back against his chest, her hair tickling his skin. “I know you didn’t mean anything by what you said. It was just...hard to hear.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault. It’s just something I’d rather not talk about. Making you dinner felt like an apology, I guess.”

“I’m still sorry I said it.” He dropped kisses along her shoulder, and she tightened her grip on his leg. “Do you think we could pick up where we left off in my office?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Selfish men make selfish lovers.”

“Now that’s untrue.” He dragged a finger over the outside of her underwear, and she shivered. “Let me prove it.”

“Wait.” She twisted around in his arms to face him. “This is either a business arrangement or a relationship. It can’t be both.”

He kissed her as he moved forward, gently laying her down on the mattress. “I choose a relationship.”

“That means no other women,” she said. “Actual commitment. Are you really ready for that?”

“I don’t cheat. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to put off marriage for as long as I possibly could. I knew when I settled down, that would be it. There wouldn’t be anyone else.”

“So no more contract,” she said. “If it’s going to be you and me, it’s going to be real.”

He hovered over her, relieved to find the smile he remembered from California on her face.

“Real,” he repeated. “I like the sound of that.”

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/instagram-prototypes-letting-igtv-creators-monetize-with-ads/

Instagram prototypes letting IGTV creators monetize with ads

Instagram may finally let IGTV video makers earn money 18 months after launching the longer-form content hub. Instagram confirms to TechCrunch that it has internally prototyped an Instagram Partner Program that would let creators earn money by showing advertisements along with their videos. By giving creators a sustainable and hands-off way to generate earnings from IGTV, they might be inspired to bring more and higher quality content to the destination.

The program could potentially work similarly to Facebook Watch, where video producers earn a 55% cut of revenue from “Ad Breaks” inserted into the middle of their content. There’s no word on what the revenue split would be for IGTV, but since Facebook tends to run all its ads across all its apps via the same buying interfaces, it might stick with the 55% approach that lets its say creators get the majority of cash earned.

Previously, Instagram only worked with a limited set of celebrities, paying “to offset small production costs” for IGTV content Bloomberg reported, but not offering a way to earn a profit. That left creators to look to sponsored content or product placement to generate cash, or to try to push their followers to platforms like YouTube where they could earn a reliable cut of ads.

A lack of monetization may have contributed to the absence of great content on IGTV. Many of the videos on the Popular page are low-grade rips of YouTube content or TV, or are clickbaity teasers. That in turn has led to mediocre view counts, only 7 million of Instagram’s billion-plus users downloading the standalone IGTV app, and Instagram dropping the homescreen button for opening IGTV.

That’s all disappointing considering TIkTok is blowing up on the back of more purposeful, storyboarded mobile video entertainment. Instagram has been looking at other ways to boost the quality of content users see, including today’s launch unfollow suggestions.

But today, reverse engineering master and perennial TechCrunch tipster Jane Manchun Wong tipped us off to the IGTV monetization prototype she dug out of the code of Instagram’s Android app. She tells TechCrunch she first saw signs of the program a week and ago and was then able to generate screenshots of the unreleased feature. It shows an “Instagram Partner Program” with “Monetization Tools”. This seems to be different from the old “Partner Program” for business tool developers.

Users who are deemed “Eligible” according to criteria we don’t have info about could choose to “Monetize Your IGTV Videos”. The screen explains that “You can earn money by runing short ads on your IGTV videos. When you monetize on IGTV, you agree to follow the Partner Program Monetization Policies.”

It’s not clear IGTV’s monetization policies would be different, but on Facebook, they require that users:

Follow all its normal Community Standards about decency

Share authentic content without misinformation, false news, clickbait, or sensationalism

Share original content they made themselves

Avoid restricted content categories including debated social issues, tragedy or conflict, objectionable activity, sexual or suggestive activity, strong language, explicit content, misleading medical information, and politics and government

Instagram confirmed to TechCrunch the authenticity of the prototype it’s been working on and provided the following statement “We continue to explore ways to help creators monetize with IGTV. We don’t have more details to share now, but we will as they develop further.”

Given the company is confirming this as a prototype rather than a feature being beta tested, there are no public mentions, and that there’s no Instagram Help Center information published about it, Instagram might not be testing the program externally yet. There’s still a chance Instagram could change directions and never launch the monetization program or alter it entirely before any eventual launch.

[Update: 11:40pm pacific: Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has commented on the new feature, replying to me here:

It’s no secret that we’ve been exploring this. We focused first on making sure the product had legs — else there would be little to monetize in the first place. IGTV is still in its early days, but it’s growing and so we’re exploring more ways to make it sustainable for creators.

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) February 7, 2020

Mosseri’s argument is that monetization hadn’t started sooner because Instagram wanted to ensure there was enough content to monetize. But Instagram had the money and scale to experiment much sooner, and could have attracted that content to monetize by dangling payment.

IGTV has improved with time as more influencers and publishers get the hang of vertical mid-length video. However, there remains a fair amount of low-quality, unoriginal, overly captioned, meme-style videos promoted on its “Popular” page, at least for me. Few come to its defense.]

It’s no secret that we’ve been exploring this. We focused first on making sure the product had legs — else there would be little to monetize in the first place. IGTV is still in its early days, but it’s growing and so we’re exploring more ways to make it sustainable for creators.

Creator monetization has been a slow-going evolution on many of the major social networks. While YouTube was early to the space with ads, it as well as Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat are now testing an array of ways for influencers to earn money. Those include ads splits, subscriptions to exclusive content, tipping, connections to brands for sponsorship, merchandise sales, and more.

Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier and Nico Grant reported this week that Instagram brought in $20 billion in revenue during 2019. It gets to keep that revenue since it currently doesn’t split any with creators. That contrasts with YouTube, which says it took in $15.1 billion in 2019 revenue this week in the first time it’s revealed the stat, though it has to pay out a substantial portion to creators. With Instagram now running ads in feed, Explore, and Stories, only IGTV and Direct remain as major surfaces lacking ads.

Social apps are wising up that if they want to keep their creators from straying to competitors and bringing fans with them, they need to offer ways for people to turn their passion for creating content into a profession. IGTV spent a year and a half trying to get video makers to volunteer for free, and the result wasn’t entertaining enough. Now Instagram seems ready to share the proceeds if they can bring in viewers together.

[un-enfant-immature]

Blue Prism acquires UK’s Thoughtonomy for up to $100M to expand its RPA platform with more AI

Robotic process automation — which lets organizations shift repetitive back office tasks to machines to complete — has been a hot area of growth in the world of enterprise IT, and now one of the companies that’s making waves in the area has acquired a smaller startup to continue extending its capabilities.

Blue Prism, which helped coin the term RPA when it was founded back in 2001, has announced that it is buying Thoughtonomy, which has built a cloud-based AI engine that delivers RPA-based solutions on an SaaS framework. Blue Prism is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange — where its market cap is around £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) and in a statement to the market alongside its half-year earnings, it said it would be paying up to £80 million ($100 million) for the firm.

The deal is coming in a combination of cash and stock: £12.5 million payable on completion of the deal, £23 million in shares payable on completion of the deal, up to £20 million payable a year after the deal closes; up to £4.5 million in cash after 18 months, and a final £20 million on the second anniversary of the deal closing, in shares. Thoughtonomy had never raised outside funding, although that was not for lack of interest:

“We’ve had approaches on a daily basis since the intelligent automation market has exploded,” said Terry Walby, CEO and founder of Thoughtonomy, in an interview, “but getting the best outcome for the company and our customers is not just about taking money and headlines [touting] our valuation.”

The acquisition comes about six months after Blue Prism announced that it would be raising around $130 million (£100 million) to continue growing at a time when RPA is getting a lot of attention in the market. Linda Dotts, the company’s SVP of global partner strategy and programs, today confirmed that it did raise that money, and that part of the proceeds of that are being used to make the Thoughtonomy acquisition. She also confirmed that it would be looking at other opportunities, a sign that we are likely going to see at least a little more consolidation in this space.

On the same day that it had announced that fundraise, Blue Prism also unveiled a new AI initiative, working with partners to execute on that. And indeed that is what it is getting with Thoughtonomy. The companies were already working together before this — Thoughtonomy’s other key partners are companies like Microsoft’s Azure and Google Cloud, used to deliver its services — and according to Walby, the idea is that his startup will be helping Blue Prism get its services to the next level of where RPA is going.

“We provide architectural support and add intelligence,” he said in an interview. “Our platform addresses activities that require understanding or interpretation, and so it expands the use cases for RPA beyond structured processes.”

That’s notable given the position of Blue Prism within the RPA landscape. The company is one of the more legacy providers — one of the consequences of being an early mover — and while that gives it a clear advantage of showing it has staying power, in the world of software that can be a more challenging sell when younger companies are building tech from scratch on newer frameworks. (UiPath, which has made major inroads into RPA both in terms of its customer and partner growth, as well as in terms of its funding, is one example.)

And in a market that is still seeing growth (read: companies often operate at a loss to invest in that growth), its ups and downs are there for everyone to see and scrutinise. In its half-year earnings that it posted today, its negative EBITDA margin widened, while group revenues only inched up slightly to £41.6 million and monthly recurring revenues were flat. The longer term picture is a little more interesting, though, with total customer numbers up 91 percent over the same period a year ago.

[labourpress]

Jeremy Corbyn first speech of the 2017 General Election campaign

***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

 Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, will today deliver his first speech of the 2017 General Election campaign at Church House, saying:

The dividing lines in this election could not be clearer from the outset. It is the Conservatives, the party of privilege and the richest, versus the Labour Party, the party that is standing up for working people to improve the lives of all. 

It is the establishment versus the people  and it is our historic duty to make sure that the people prevail.  A duty for all of us here today, the duty of every Labour MP, a duty for our half a million members - including the 2,500 who have joined in the last 24 hours.

Much of the media and establishment are saying that this election is a foregone conclusion.

They think there are rules in politics, which if you don’t follow by doffing your cap to powerful people, accepting that things can’t really change, then you can’t win.

But of course, they do not want us to win. Because when we win it is the people, not the powerful, who win.

The nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer, the builder, the office worker, the student, the carer win. We all win.

It is the establishment that complains I don’t play the rules: by which they mean their rules. We can’t win, they say, because we don’t play their game.

We don’t fit in their cosy club. We ‘re not obsessed with the tittle-tattle of Westminster or Brussels. We don’t accept that it is natural for Britain to be governed by a ruling elite, the City and the tax-dodgers, and we don’t accept that the British people just have to take what they’re given, that they don’t deserve better.

And in a sense, the establishment and their followers in the media are quite right. I don’t play by their rules. And if a Labour Government is elected on 8 June, then we won’t play by their rules either. 

They are yesterday’s rules, set by failed political and corporate elites we should be consigning to the past.

It is these rules that have allowed a cosy cartel to rig the system in favour of a few powerful and wealthy individuals and corporations.

It is a rigged system set up by the wealth extractors, for the wealth extractors. 

But things can, and they will, change.

Britain needs a Labour government that is prepared to fight for people in every part of the country, our towns, villages, as well as big cities.

A Labour government that isn’t scared to take on the cosy cartels that are hoarding this country’s wealth for themselves. It needs a government that will use that wealth to invest in people’s lives in every community to build a better future for every person who lives here.

Because the Conservatives, drunk on a failed ideology, are hell bent on cutting every public service they get their hands on, and they will use all of the divide-and-rule tricks of the Lynton Crosby trade to keep their rigged system intact.

Don’t be angry at the privatisers profiting from our public services, they whisper, be angry instead at the migrant worker just trying to make a better life.

Don’t be angry at the government ministers running down our schools and hospitals, they tell us, be angry instead at the disabled woman or the unemployed man.

It is the rigged economy the Tories are protecting that Labour is committed to challenging. We will not let the elite extract wealth from the pockets of ordinary working people any longer.

So many people in modern Britain do what seems like the right thing to do. They get jobs, they spend all day working hard, they save to buy their own home, they raise children, they look after elderly or sick relatives. And yet, at the end of it, they get almost nothing left over as a reward.

Compare their lives with the multinational corporations and the gilded elite who hide their money in the Cayman Islands because the Conservatives are too morally bankrupt to take them on.

Labour in power will end this racket and make sure that everybody pays their taxes which fund our public services.

We will overturn this rigged system. For all Theresa May’s warm words on the steps of Downing Street the Conservatives will never do any such thing. 

 Seven years of broken promises show us that on pay, the deficit, the NHS, our schools, our environment.

It was their wealthy friends in the City who crashed our economy. How dare they ruin the economy with their recklessness and greed and then punish those who had nothing to do with it? It was not pensioners, nurses, the low or averaged paid workers or carers who crashed the economy.

The Conservatives boast of record numbers of jobs. But what good is that if people in work are getting poorer and don’t share in the profits of that economy while the Conservatives look after the wealthy few?  Our offer is to tackle elderly poverty and loneliness, invest in our economy, NHS and schools, to improve rights at work and the ten pound living wage. 

Britain is the sixth richest economy in the world. The people of Britain must share in that wealth.

If I were Southern Rail or Philip Green, I’d be worried about a Labour Government.

If I were Mike Ashley or the CEO of a tax avoiding multinational corporation, I’d want to see a Tory victory.

Why? Because those are the people who are monopolising the wealth that should be shared by each and every one of us in this country.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, has a contribution to make and a life to lead. Poverty and homelessness are a disaster for the individual and a loss to all of us. 

It is wealth that should belong to the majority and not a tiny minority.

Labour is the party that will put the interests of the majority first, while the Tories only really care about those who already have so much.  

That is why we will prove the establishment experts wrong and change the direction of this election. Because the British people know that they are the true wealth creators, held back by a system rigged for the wealth extractors.

Theresa May will insist that this is an election about Brexit. She will try to downplay the issues that affect people’s lives every day and instead turn the election into an ego trip about her own failing leadership and the machinations of the coming negotiations in Brussels.

It is only Labour that will focus on what kind of country we want to have after Brexit.

In the coming weeks Labour will lay out our policies to unlock opportunities for every single person in this country.

We will focus on giving people real control over their own lives  and make sure that everybody reaps a just reward for the work that they do.

We will no longer allow those at the top to leach off of those who bust their guts on zero hours contracts or those forced to make sacrifices to pay their mortgage or their rent.

Instead of the country’s wealth being hidden in tax havens  we will put it in the hands of the people of Britain as they are the ones who earned it.

In this election Labour will lead the movement to make that change. 

We will build a new economy, worthy of the 21st century and we will build a country for the many not the few.

[technicalsolutions88]

Instagram may finally let IGTV video makers earn money 18 months after launching the longer-form content hub. Instagram confirms to TechCrunch that it has internally prototyped an Instagram Partner Program that would let creators earn money by showing advertisements along with their videos. By giving creators a sustainable and hands-off way to generate earnings from IGTV, they might be inspired to bring more and higher quality content to the destination.

The program could potentially work similarly to Facebook Watch, where video producers earn a 55% cut of revenue from “Ad Breaks” inserted into the middle of their content. There’s no word on what the revenue split would be for IGTV, but since Facebook tends to run all its ads across all its apps via the same buying interfaces, it might stick with the 55% approach that lets its say creators get the majority of cash earned.

Previously, Instagram only worked with a limited set of celebrities, paying “to offset small production costs” for IGTV content Bloomberg reported, but not offering a way to earn a profit. That left creators to look to sponsored content or product placement to generate cash, or to try to push their followers to platforms like YouTube where they could earn a reliable cut of ads.

A lack of monetization may have contributed to the absence of great content on IGTV. Many of the videos on the Popular page are low-grade rips of YouTube content or TV, or are clickbaity teasers. That in turn has led to mediocre view counts, only 7 million of Instagram’s billion-plus users downloading the standalone IGTV app, and Instagram dropping the homescreen button for opening IGTV.

That’s all disappointing considering TIkTok is blowing up on the back of more purposeful, storyboarded mobile video entertainment. Instagram has been looking at other ways to boost the quality of content users see, including today’s launch unfollow suggestions.

Instagram drops IGTV button, but only 1% downloaded the app

But today, reverse engineering master and perennial TechCrunch tipster Jane Manchun Wong tipped us off to the IGTV monetization prototype she dug out of the code of Instagram’s Android app. She tells TechCrunch she first saw signs of the program a week and ago and was then able to generate screenshots of the unreleased feature. It shows an “Instagram Partner Program” with “Monetization Tools”. This seems to be different from the old “Partner Program” for business tool developers.

Users who are deemed “Eligible” according to criteria we don’t have info about could choose to “Monetize Your IGTV Videos”. The screen explains that “You can earn money by runing short ads on your IGTV videos. When you monetize on IGTV, you agree to follow the Partner Program Monetization Policies.”

It’s not clear IGTV’s monetization policies would be different, but on Facebook, they require that users:

Follow all its normal Community Standards about decency

Share authentic content without misinformation, false news, clickbait, or sensationalism

Share original content they made themselves

Avoid restricted content categories including debated social issues, tragedy or conflict, objectionable activity, sexual or suggestive activity, strong language, explicit content, misleading medical information, and politics and government

Instagram confirmed to TechCrunch the authenticity of the prototype it’s been working on and provided the following statement “We continue to explore ways to help creators monetize with IGTV. We don’t have more details to share now, but we will as they develop further.”

Given the company is confirming this as a prototype rather than a feature being beta tested, there are no public mentions, and that there’s no Instagram Help Center information published about it, Instagram might not be testing the program externally yet. There’s still a chance Instagram could change directions and never launch the monetization program or alter it entirely before any eventual launch.

[Update: 11:40pm pacific: Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has commented on the new feature, replying to me here:

It’s no secret that we’ve been exploring this. We focused first on making sure the product had legs — else there would be little to monetize in the first place. IGTV is still in its early days, but it’s growing and so we’re exploring more ways to make it sustainable for creators.

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) February 7, 2020

Mosseri’s argument is that monetization hadn’t started sooner because Instagram wanted to ensure there was enough content to monetize. But Instagram had the money and scale to experiment much sooner, and could have attracted that content to monetize by dangling payment.

IGTV has improved with time as more influencers and publishers get the hang of vertical mid-length video. However, there remains a fair amount of low-quality, unoriginal, overly captioned, meme-style videos promoted on its “Popular” page, at least for me. Few come to its defense.]

It’s no secret that we’ve been exploring this. We focused first on making sure the product had legs — else there would be little to monetize in the first place. IGTV is still in its early days, but it’s growing and so we’re exploring more ways to make it sustainable for creators.

Creator monetization has been a slow-going evolution on many of the major social networks. While YouTube was early to the space with ads, it as well as Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat are now testing an array of ways for influencers to earn money. Those include ads splits, subscriptions to exclusive content, tipping, connections to brands for sponsorship, merchandise sales, and more.

Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier and Nico Grant reported this week that Instagram brought in $20 billion in revenue during 2019. It gets to keep that revenue since it currently doesn’t split any with creators. That contrasts with YouTube, which says it took in $15.1 billion in 2019 revenue this week in the first time it’s revealed the stat, though it has to pay out a substantial portion to creators. With Instagram now running ads in feed, Explore, and Stories, only IGTV and Direct remain as major surfaces lacking ads.

Social apps are wising up that if they want to keep their creators from straying to competitors and bringing fans with them, they need to offer ways for people to turn their passion for creating content into a profession. IGTV spent a year and a half trying to get video makers to volunteer for free, and the result wasn’t entertaining enough. Now Instagram seems ready to share the proceeds if they can bring in viewers together.

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[dinafbrownil]

The Deep Divide: State Borders Create Medicaid Haves And Have-Nots

ST. LOUIS — Patricia Powers went a few years without health insurance and couldn’t afford regular doctor visits. So she had no idea cancerous tumors were silently growing in both of her breasts.

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If Powers lived just across the Mississippi River in Illinois, she would have qualified for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income residents that 36 states and the District of Columbia decided to expand under the Affordable Care Act. But Missouri politicians chose not to expand it — a decision some groups are trying to reverse by getting signatures to put the option on the 2020 ballot.

Powers’ predicament reflects an odd twist in the way the health care law has played out: State borders have become arbitrary dividing lines between Medicaid’s haves and have-nots, with Americans in similar financial straits facing vastly different health care fortunes. This affects everything from whether diseases are caught early to whether people can stay well enough to work.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The ACA, passed in 2010, called for extending Medicaid to all Americans earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level, around $17,000 annually for an individual. But the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 let states choose whether to expand Medicaid. Illinois did, bringing an additional 650,000-plus people onto its rolls. Missouri did not, and today about 200,000 of its residents are like Powers, stuck in this geographic gap.

Powers briefly thought about moving to another state, just to be able to get Medicaid. “You ask yourself: Where do you go? What do you do?” said Powers, who was in her early 60s when diagnosed. “Do I look at what’s happening in Illinois, right across the river?”

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A recent University of Michigan study found Medicaid expansion substantially reduced mortality rates from 2014 to 2017. The researchers said Illinois averted 345 deaths annually while Missouri had 194 additional deaths each year. The same trends held for other side-by-side states such as Kentucky (did expand) and Tennessee (did not), New Mexico (did) and Texas (did not).

Dr. Karen Joynt Maddox, co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at Washington University in St. Louis, said health care providers in her border city see how the coverage differences affect people. When treating Medicaid patients from Illinois, she said, doctors know procedures, equipment and medicines will likely be covered. With uninsured Missourians, they must consider whether patients can afford even follow-up medications after heart attacks.

Nonetheless, Medicaid expansion faces significant opposition in Missouri, a red state led by a Republican governor with GOP supermajorities in both legislative chambers.

Patrick Ishmael, director of government accountability for the Show-Me Institute, a Missouri free-market think tank, said offering Medicaid to people with incomes above the poverty level would drain resources from the state’s underserved poor and push up taxpayer costs. Though the federal government pays 90% of the cost of the expansion coverage, he said, Missourians contribute to that through their federal taxes. Medicaid already accounts for about a third of the state’s budget, which he said puts pressure on other priorities, like education.

“Missouri and other states need to think about whether they are a government that provides health care or a health care provider that sometimes governs,” he said.

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A Missouri Story

Powers, a minister in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood, used to get health insurance through her husband’s job selling lumber and hardware. After he was disabled in 2009, their coverage continued on and off for a while, and her husband eventually received Medicare, the federal insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities. But Powers had no insurance starting in 2012 as the couple struggled on, at most, $1,500 a month.

Medicaid wasn’t an option for her. Missouri could have opened the program to more adults as early as 2010, in preparation for the health care law’s expanded coverage taking effect in 2014. Without the ACA’s expansion, adults who aren’t 65 or older or disabled don’t qualify, no matter how low their income. Missouri’s program generally covers only pregnant women and children from low-income families, parents with incomes about 22% of the federal poverty level and people who are poor and blind, disabled or 65 or older.

Powers and her husband earned too little for her to qualify for subsidies on the federal ACA marketplace, so she couldn’t afford to buy her own plan. And without insurance, Powers never saw doctors for routine health visits or screenings. She stopped taking her prescribed medications for high blood pressure and anxiety — until she could no longer do without her anti-anxiety medicine, Lexapro.

In early 2016, she discovered a place to get help when she gave her friend a ride to a St. Louis clinic for the uninsured called Casa de Salud, where health services cost less than $30.

Powers figured she’d ask about getting back onto Lexapro there. She got a thorough checkup. The doctor found a walnut-sized lump in her right breast, and a mammogram found a tumor the size of a grain of rice in her left. A clinic caseworker helped her sign up for a Medicaid program for breast cancer patients. She underwent surgery in April 2016, then had 35 radiation treatments and took follow-up medications.

She kept thinking she could have found the cancer earlier if only she had insurance. That would have meant less treatment and lower costs for taxpayers, who ended up footing the bill anyway. Research shows breast cancer in its earliest stage can cost half as much to treat as in later stages.

“Even if you didn’t care about the human cost, you should care about the economic cost,” said Jorge Riopedre, president and CEO of Casa de Salud. “Treating a disease at its first stage is always going to be much cheaper than treating it at its advanced stage.”

An Illinois Story

In neighboring Illinois, getting Medicaid through the expansion helped Matt Bednarowicz avoid debilitating medical debt after a motorcycle crash. He was able to go back to work after he was injured while delivering a package in mid-May 2018.

The wreck crushed his left foot, requiring doctors to insert pins in it. Without Medicaid, he would have faced thousands of dollars in medical bills.

“The debt would have been greater than I could comprehend overcoming,” said Bednarowicz, who is now 29.

His Medicaid kicked in “just in the nick of time” to cover the surgery, he said. It also allowed him to get psychiatric help for depression. More than a year later, he’s able to get around well — even jog — and works as a caretaker for an elderly man.

Having insurance helps people like Bednarowicz stay productive, said Riopedre.

“The person who gets sick can’t work, can’t support his or her family, can’t be a consumer and buy goods. If they’re not working, they can’t pay taxes,” Riopedre said. “It just is a tidal wave of downstream effects that if we can’t get it right, it’s going to have repercussions across the nation.”

Amid Controversy, Future Uncertain For Missouri

As the ballot measure push continues, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, recently created a task force to look into expanding Medicaid through a waiver allowing states to skip some federal requirements. His office referred questions to the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services, which in turn referred them to the Department of Social Services. Rebecca Woelfel, a spokeswoman for that agency, said the department doesn’t typically comment on potential ballot issues.

Ishmael, of the Show-Me Institute, said he hopes expansion doesn’t happen. He said the Medicaid system overall is wasteful, with outcomes often not fully justifying the expense. The cost of an expansion would depend on how it’s structured, he said, but “it could be a real budget-buster.”

The impact of an expansion on Missouri’s budget remains unclear. A February analysis by researchers at Washington University estimated it would be “approximately revenue-neutral.” But their estimates range widely for the first year depending on enrollment and other factors, from up to $95 million in savings for Missouri’s Medicaid program to costing $42 million more than not expanding.

Powers, whose husband died last year, said she fully supports Medicaid expansion.

But whatever happens, especially now that she’s suffering from heart failure, she’s grateful she won’t have to worry about being uninsured again. At 66, she’s now old enough for Medicare.

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/the-deep-divide-state-borders-create-medicaid-haves-and-have-nots/

[endenogatai]

Blue Prism acquires UK’s Thoughtonomy for up to $100M to expand its RPA platform with more AI

Robotic process automation — which lets organizations shift repetitive back office tasks to machines to complete — has been a hot area of growth in the world of enterprise IT, and now one of the companies that’s making waves in the area has acquired a smaller startup to continue extending its capabilities.

Blue Prism, which helped coin the term RPA when it was founded back in 2001, has announced that it is buying Thoughtonomy, which has built a cloud-based AI engine that delivers RPA-based solutions on an SaaS framework. Blue Prism is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange — where its market cap is around £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) and in a statement to the market alongside its half-year earnings, it said it would be paying up to £80 million ($100 million) for the firm.

The deal is coming in a combination of cash and stock: £12.5 million payable on completion of the deal, £23 million in shares payable on completion of the deal, up to £20 million payable a year after the deal closes; up to £4.5 million in cash after 18 months, and a final £20 million on the second anniversary of the deal closing, in shares. Thoughtonomy had never raised outside funding, although that was not for lack of interest:

“We’ve had approaches on a daily basis since the intelligent automation market has exploded,” said Terry Walby, CEO and founder of Thoughtonomy, in an interview, “but getting the best outcome for the company and our customers is not just about taking money and headlines [touting] our valuation.”

The acquisition comes about six months after Blue Prism announced that it would be raising around $130 million (£100 million) to continue growing at a time when RPA is getting a lot of attention in the market. Linda Dotts, the company’s SVP of global partner strategy and programs, today confirmed that it did raise that money, and that part of the proceeds of that are being used to make the Thoughtonomy acquisition. She also confirmed that it would be looking at other opportunities, a sign that we are likely going to see at least a little more consolidation in this space.

On the same day that it had announced that fundraise, Blue Prism also unveiled a new AI initiative, working with partners to execute on that. And indeed that is what it is getting with Thoughtonomy. The companies were already working together before this — Thoughtonomy’s other key partners are companies like Microsoft’s Azure and Google Cloud, used to deliver its services — and according to Walby, the idea is that his startup will be helping Blue Prism get its services to the next level of where RPA is going.

“We provide architectural support and add intelligence,” he said in an interview. “Our platform addresses activities that require understanding or interpretation, and so it expands the use cases for RPA beyond structured processes.”

That’s notable given the position of Blue Prism within the RPA landscape. The company is one of the more legacy providers — one of the consequences of being an early mover — and while that gives it a clear advantage of showing it has staying power, in the world of software that can be a more challenging sell when younger companies are building tech from scratch on newer frameworks. (UiPath, which has made major inroads into RPA both in terms of its customer and partner growth, as well as in terms of its funding, is one example.)

And in a market that is still seeing growth (read: companies often operate at a loss to invest in that growth), its ups and downs are there for everyone to see and scrutinise. In its half-year earnings that it posted today, its negative EBITDA margin widened, while group revenues only inched up slightly to £41.6 million and monthly recurring revenues were flat. The longer term picture is a little more interesting, though, with total customer numbers up 91 percent over the same period a year ago.

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