#floor sawing south australia

[yinandyanglifestyle]

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha

by: Icie

One thing to know about me, I was an interior design major back in my home country. I absolutely sucked at it, but I fell in love with Art History. In that minor, our professors taught us about different art styles through the ages and bit by bit I saw the progress of art through the ages. I loved the OG Gothic Style, Romanesque, was disillusioned with Baroque and Rococo from the west... It was too Western focused and it didn't interest me as much (because I was an Asian kid) until we got towards the end of the 19th century where the grandparents of weebs (of which I am a part of) hailed from and Japonisme was a thing. Japonisme inspired so much beautiful art and it triggered a domino effect that ultimately led to Art Nouveau where Alphonse Mucha was a main character.

This was it. My favourite art style! I can never go back to loving other art styles after discovering Art Nouveau. It spoke to me about how feminine it was and it awakened something from my mostly masculine soul. I wanted to see more of these beautiful girls surrounded by flowers and stars, wearing kimono-inspired clothes in pretty pastels. The macaroni hair only added to the romanticism of it all. This is what love is like, but in art form!

Fast forward to 2024, The Mucha Foundation collaborated with the Art Gallery of New South Wales to host over 200 of this master's works which was "the most comprehensive exhibition ever seen in Australia of this visionary artist's work". I had to see it. I needed to see it! I am a big fan of Mucha and Art Nouveau, and one of my dreams was to go to Paris, Brussels, and Prague for all of the beautiful swirly-whirlies. Being a Brisbanite, I was exited. Please come to my city! Please, please, please! But AGNSW said "sorry, it's exclusive to Sydney."

Dammit. It's off to Sydney I go. I donned my Sailor Moon dress, packed my bag for a 3 day trip with my partner just so I could see this legend's works and boy, I was not disappointed. I learned to love Mucha and his works even more. We landed in Sydney, didn't check in our hotel, and went straight to the main quest:

Outside, they had this big banner of Mucha's name. Inside was this glorious area that showcased Summer (left) and Rose (right). Oh wait, the exhibit is next door. So we went to the more modern building, down two floors, bought tickets, and enjoyed the art.

In the newer building next door, I was treated to pre-art nouveau Mucha. We learned about what his life was like before his popularity. He designed some clothes for a theatre, hung out with everyone's buddy Paul Gaugin, Ludek Marold and Annah the Javanese. The tour guide said, "if he wasn't a painter, he would've been a great photographer".

Then we were treated to the meat of the exhibit: the Sarah Bernhardt stuff, his lithographs, his sketches, but what struck me most were his concept art to reality. (Excuse my phone's shadow. For some reason, AGNSW decided to put these works on a 45° angle under bright lights. The girl beside me even said "fucking glare!" and I wholeheartedly agreed.)

We were treated to so many wonderful works and I cried when I saw parts of Le Pater. I'm an atheist but this made me think that maybe there is a god. Maybe. But still, beautiful artwork that left me speechless.

I got to stand next to my favourite work of his: White Star. Joy!

At the end of the exhibit, the tour guide talked about how Mucha who was somewhat influenced by Japan, now influenced Japan. Now we come full circle with anime and manga characters depicted in art nouveau styled paintings and posters. Oh boy, we had our Lord Yoshitaka Amano's works in the gallery as well. I was so lucky to see works of my two favourite artists in one day!

It was almost 2PM by the time we finished the tour. We spent at least 4 hours in the gallery after landing just because I fangirled and was willing to spend money on Mucha. Yeah, I bought stuff. A reproduction of Alphonse Mucha's original "Documents Decoratifs" which focused more on his industrial design work (jewellery, cutlery, furniture etc) which I rarely see on the internet, a set of badges and make-up from Japanese brand MilleFée.

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha and it was worth it. I end this rabid fangirling with the parting words of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' tour guide: Mucha's style has never been as well loved and as well represented as it is in Japan.

[chrizztopher97]

WARNING: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

DOM!Chan, SUB!FemReader, swearing, oral, piv, protected sex, marking, breast play, praise, jealous behaviour (Chan), name calling (babygirl, darling, good girl, cutie, darling), fluff.

You, Y/N Lee, and your brother, Alexander, finally arrived to your new University.

Universal University, situated in Melbourne, a brand new place where international students could finally gather from all around the world and find their own path. They can study anything and everything they want, they choose their own courses and can always change path based on their own accord. Celebrities would also study and attend there, some open about it and others asking for the private VIP zone to not get disturbed.

"You think we'll find lots of celebrities here?" Your older brother questioned, his hands still on the wheel as he looked for a place to park the car.

"Who knows, for all I've gathered from the pamphlet of the uni, many people got switched to this building for practical reasons so.. why not." You answered as you rummaged inside your handbag to get the map of the university premises.

Once again you've looked at the entire map, it felt as if you would enter an entire city rather than just a mere campus.

"Holy shit, look at the entrance baby sis." Alexander's voice caught your attention making you gaze up from the paper you were holding.

"Damn, feels like royalty." You joked as he finally parked the car.

The ten hours ride suddenly felt non-existent on your shoulders but you knew your brother would end up falling asleep by the time he got inside his dorm room.

"Thank God we returned in Australia earlier." You murmured stepping out of the vehicle, hanging your handbag on your shoulder.

"Yeah, we definitely took the right call. If we didn't catch that flight from Seoul..." he mumbled opening the trunk of the car.

"We would have probably missed the chance of resting back home in Sydney before the ride." You giggled shaking your head as you got your luggage.

"Not only that." He spoke as he took his baggage. "We wouldn't have had the time to send our stuff right here. Imagine the trouble in moving around with all those boxes while we tried to find our rooms." He said closing the trunk and locking the car.

"For real, specially because I easily get lost." You pouted making him laugh profusely.

Joking around as you walked the long path of the entrance, you took in the surroundings. The fresh air engulfing your body, hair brushed by the delicate wind. You inhaled deeply and smiled.

The campus definitely looked way bigger than what the map designed. The main building being the place where you'll be studying, on the right a huge cafeteria as big as a 3 Star Michelin restaurant, right next to it the dormitory looking like a huge apartment building, right next to it the health care building with a pharmacy and some doctors as per instructed in the pamphlet and then, as if it wasn't enough, a gym. You also read there would be some stadiums for sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, etch...

"Where was the lobby to get our room keys and stuff?" Alexander's voice brought you back from your trance as you looked around.

Your gaze swifted from the green trees to the map. "In the main building." You mumbled pointing at the big sign.

You silently thanked the person who opened this campus for putting signs in front of the buildings or else you would have ended up in the cafeteria instead of your dorm room.

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After getting your room keys and the floor number you walked to the dormitories, aiming at the still opened elevator that was right in front of you.

As you saw it slowly closing, you called out politely. "One sec, please."

Thankfully whoever was in put their hand in the semi closed door and held it still, leaving you space to enter. Unknowingly thanking with a small bow as per habit for all the time you've lived in Seoul, South Korea, you entered.

Squeezing inside the elevator, you put yourself right in the corner, perfectly fitting as you didn't really excell in height. You despised that characteristic of yours but it did come in handy in these kind of situations.

"Press floor eight, if you didn't." You whispered as you nudged your brother's arm making him pointing at the button already pressed.

"Can't wait to take a shower and doze off." He mumbled resting his arm on your head making you look up to him and shook his arm off.

"I'm not an arm holder." You scoffed him off as you yawned. "But lucky you, I'll probably be wide awake even though I've slept what? Two hours?" You whined stretching your arms up.

Once the elevator arrived to your floor, you exited and thanked once again the guys that were slowly walking out the lift right behind you.

"Wow!" You exclaimed looking at the huge window that showed a forest outside.

More than the scenery, you were more surprised at how the first wow came out, reminding you of the way Bang Chan would say it. Making you unknowingly giggle at the thought.

Yes, you were a STAY since God's Menu era even though you used to listen to Stray Kids and 3RACHA music since pre debut, you just didn't have much time to get into details but when you did, it felt like diving into an ocean of affection, laughter and fun.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Once in front of your dorm room, you turned around and gave a light hug to your brother who kissed your head before turning and going to his room right in front of yours.

Unlocking the room, you heard the water coming from the shower running, giving you signal that your roommate would be already there.

Taking off your shoes, you walked barefoot to the empty bed, probably the one you'll be sleeping from now on.

Without waiting a second, you put on your earpods and knocked softly at the door of the bathroom.

"Hi, I'm Y/N. Your roommate. Take your time in the bathroom, we can introduce ourselves later." You spoke nicely as you tied your hair in a tiny ponytail.

After connecting your pods you listened to music as you unpacked your boxes. Humming from time to time, you put the last frame on your nightstand, a picture of Channie smiling towards your way to give you the best of the good mornings.

Sighing deeply you finally adjusted your painting supplies in the small desk in front of your bed, right next to the small library.

"I guess this should be it." You mumbled looking at the empty boxes sighing at the idea of having to fix your clothes inside the wooden wardrobe.

"Shoulda have started with the clothes first.." You whispered to yourself as you opened the closet's doors, closing the ones occupied.

Once you settled all your clothes, you made a quick call to your brother.

"You sleepin', Alex?" You questioned while fixing an outfit to wear to dinner.

"Restin'.. Took a good shower after settling in. Tell me whenever you're ready for dinner." He whispered quietly, as if he tried his best to not fall asleep on you.

"Call you when I'm ready. Rest well, bro." You mumbled taking your bathroom beauty case and closing the call.

Finally the bathroom door opened revealing your roommate. It took you a while to take in the information of the face in front of yours. You look behind at your posters and then back at your roommate.

"Hey, you must be my roommate." The guy said with his deep voice as he dried his hair with a towel.

Nodding you shook your head and moved your hand ahead. "Nice to meet you, I'm Y/N Lee." You smiled warmly as he looked at you.

"That must be why." He chuckled shaking your hand. "Felix Lee." He introduced himself taking a glance behind, staring at your wall adorned with frames of Stray Kids. "But I'm pretty sure you already know." He joked pointing at a picture of himself.

"I can take them down if you feel uncomfortable." You instantly answered, hoping he wouldn't feel any negative vibe from it.

"I don't mind at all." Shaking his head he went to sit on his bed.

After chatting for a few seconds you went inside the bathroom so you could freshen up.

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Wrapped in a towel you went outside the bathroom and without looking around, you grabbed your outfit and lingerie.

"You remember only things you want, uh?" You cursed your brain as you closed the bathroom door behind you.

Drying your short, curly hair with a towel, you dressed up in your black cargo pants and a gold silky tanktop. Making sure to fix your nipple piercings the best way you could inside your laced bra.

Once completely ready you took your phone and texted your brother.

You: "Ready."

Spraying your Black Musk fragrance you put on your boots and looked around in case you missed anything.

"Going out as well?" Your roommate voice caught your attention.

"Yup. Gon' have dinner with my brother." You responded looking at him, who was also ready to go out.

"I guess we'll catch up later then." He mumbled opening the door so the both of you could step out.

Nodding you waved at him and pulled your brother by the wrist. "I'm famished."

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Walking side by side with him, you couldn't stop thinking at the fact that your roommate was one of the members of that boy group you loved so much. You've silently thanked the secretaries that mixed the details and thought that you and Felix were siblings. For some reasons he always gave the aura of being your bestie if you've ever got to know him personally.

"Oh, guess who's my roomie?" Alex caught your attention as you walked the long path to the cafeteria.

You looked at him, definitely curious and puzzled but didn't reply. Waiting for him to reveal it.

"That Kim Seungmin of your favourite boy band." He whispered to your ear, making you halt in your steps.

"No way!" You exclaimed.

"Mine is Felix." You confessed as you returned to your steps.

"What a match." He chuckled wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

Chit chatting you finally arrived at the cafeteria. Entering you gasped, almost loudly. It was like an Expo. Sections with flags of every country that served their own food.

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You were sitting on the bench, looking outside the window as you mindlessly ate your food and listened to your brother's rumbling.

"Care if we join you?" A deep voice brings you out of your trance.

"Felix, of cour.." You turned your gaze to the blond haired guy that was talking to you, your brain processing the other seven guys. Eyes fixed on him. "..se" you finished your sentence, trying to break away your staring.

Hearing a giggle coming from your brother, you kicked him under the table making him laugh.

Trying to keep it cool, you just smiled from time to time, your ears slightly alerted at every noise making you kinda itchy.

"So, Y/N.." Felix spoke to you, making you look up from your table.

"Yeah?" Setting the steel chopsticks on the napkin, you mumbled unknowingly using your silly face. :]

"This is your brother, correct?" He questioned pointing at Alex.

"Ah, yes. Alexander is my brother." You nodded.

As you reached for your cup, another hand reached out.

"Ah sorry, is this yours?" You giggled looking besides you only to see him.

Straightening your shoulders, you almost chocked on nothing.

"It's fine. No worries." He spoke softly, a smile forming on his lips.

Your eyes unable to look away. His curly hair falling on his forehead in such messy yet so curate curls, his eyes beaming and glowing under the lights, his nose scrunched softly as his plush, plump, soft, definitely kissable and sweet, tender lips were forming a smile. His cheeks looking so squishy with those cute and adorable dimples showing.

"I see now." Felix voice mumbled making your brother laugh once again.

You turned around, face front looking at Alex and Felix in the eyes.

"You two, shut it." You mouthed, trying to not look suspicious.

"We're all chatting yet we didn't even properly introduced each other." Changbin said, making your heart ache at his adorable English accent.

"Ah, I'm Y/N Lee and this is my brother Lee Yoonchan Alexander." You proceeded in handing out your hand to him.

Handshake after handshake, your hand almost visibly trembled making you reach for your thigh to grip on with your nails so that no one would notice your hand shaking. Specially him.

"I'm Bahng Christopher Chahn but you can call me Chris if you want." His sweet and so gentle voice spoke. His eyes fixed on yours as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"You're not dropping it, uh?" Felix giggled looking over at you making you blush as you delicately and definitely unwillingly retracted your hand from that handshake.

"It's not so unnoticeable, come on." You joked pointing at your tattoo.

It was the Stray Kids' compass with small SKZOO scattered as stars.

"Oh, a STAY?" Minho clapped his hands, making you smile.

"Fuck yeah." You flexed your phone case making him chuckle.

'How cute' you thought. You always loved his laugh.

"You two give off way different vibes." Seungmin said, looking at you and then at your brother.

"Ah.. that's 'cause I was adopted." You simply explained making them gasp.

"How come you two look alike?" Jeongin questioned shocked.

"Do we?" You questioned puzzled as you looked at Alex.

"Ah, I have no idea baby sis. We've been together for years that I even forgot you were adopted." He chuckled patting your hand.

After explaining your background, making them curious and nod at every word you said, they almost jumped on you as they thought it was so hard for you.

"Y'all, I am happy I got adopted. I closed my relationship with my blood." You halted your hands as if to make them relax.

"Well, family is where your heart belongs." Chris mumbled understanding.

"And home is where your heart belongs." You answered, eyes looking at him for more than a minute before looking at the others.

For some reason, you just couldn't hide it but you did wonder if he caught up on it.

Finishing your meal, you stood up and decided to grab dessert. Taking your tray, you excused yourself as you passed among Christopher, Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin's legs. Clueless of anything, you just went to grab whatever you craved.

In the meantime, Chris eyes lingered on you more than you could ever imagine.

"You might want to let it pass. She doesn't even notice the way she moves nor how she is." Alexander spoke as he shook his head, as he looked at Chan for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Changbin spoke after clearing his throat.

"She was never this, how to say, hot." Taking a pause for a moment to formulate his sentence. "She used to look cute back when she was 20 years old." He explained about the time you used to look before establishing in Seoul. "Then she started going to the gym, exercising like an obsessed, then the piercings and tattoos. Not that I mind but as I didn't grow up with her, I could definitely see her change." He continued. "To not mention how she moves and walks, she is truly clueless." As he spoke he looked at you on your way back to the table. "I'm pretty sure she thinks she's not attractive so that's why she doesn't notice the way she moves around so attractively." He explained and went silent as you arrived at the table.

Setting the tray on the table, you put it in the middle, as if sharing it with Chris. Your breath hitting his neck, your breats softly brushing against his back.

"Excuse me once again." You mumbled walking around and stepping between their legs. Your ass facing their faces.

"Gosh." You could hear Chris whisper, making you puzzled as you sat back on your seat.

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Back in your dorm room, after passing the night with the guys, you found yourself sitting on your bed and Felix there, looking at you as if begging you to spill the tea.

"Fine!" You mumbled fidgeting with your fingers. "I might have had a thing for him but today, that I finally met him, I just realised I do have solid feelings for him." You whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear from the next door.

Yes, his dorm room was right next to yours.

"Want me to set you up?" He questioned making you instantly blush.

"Oh, I can't do that." You shook your head, feeling guilty.

"I'd love to but I can't.." You mumbled.

You always thought that even if there was the slightest chance of meeting him and have a personal acquaintance with him, you would never be able to be a burden to him, to his work, to... STAY. As one, you saw many sides of the fandom. Some would be thrilled of seeing Stray Kids dating but there are some that scare you, even though you didn't care about the hate of others.

"Just know that whenever, I can always bring your name up with him." He whispered, his voice casually sounding deeper at night. "Casually asking if his eyes ever lingered on you." He teased ruffling your hair.

Shaking your head you softly hit him with your Bbokari pillow.

The night passed with you playing some videogames together and chit chatting.

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A couple of months passed and you were thrilled of the upcoming holidays. Today it would have been your last pottery and painting lesson for the semester and you just couldn't wait. The reason.. your best friend was going to be your muse. You always hinted something that happened with him in your paintings but for today's portray you had free volition on whatever you wanted to draw. No guidelines nor censorship. Your creativity only.

"Ready for pottery, babygirl?" Chris poked your cheek as you walked around with your supplies for the art lesson afterwards.

Babygirl was one of the pet names he loved to call you with. As you two got to know each other, you found out that you were more similar than what you already known. From your facial habits to your hand movements. Even when you had fun doing choreographies and singing with the members, you would catch yourself moving or making the same expressions as him. You loved it.

"Cutie, you there?" He flicked your nose making you bite his finger.

"Yes, Chris. I'm ready." You pouted as you sipped on your boba.

"You okay?" He questioned, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you softly.

"Yeah, just thinking." You mumbled looking on your phone realising the day.

"Shit." You gasped almost choking on your drink.

"What? What happened?" Chris questioned looking at you puzzled.

"I have a date with Justin." You mumbled wanting to slam your head against the wall.

"Ah, I see. That guy." He mumbled trying not to sound weird to your ears. Not that you noticed anyways, he always sounded like that whenever you mentioned guys in general.

As you kept on walking to find the classroom, you couldn't stop thinking about how you didn't even want to go on that date. Justin seemed like a cute and funny guy but he definitely didn't set your heart ablaze. The only one for you was still Chris but you just didn't know what to do with him. You just secretly put on a line to not cross by yourself. If he ever did, you would have gladly erased it.

During pottery, your eyes laid on his arms. He would always use short sleeved arms and would always position himself in front of you so that you could chat. He always thought you looked there just to know what he makes or how to use your own hands on your own crafting. It made it so easy for you to stare at his hands, at him.

His hands and wrists freed from his jewelry, making his veins pop out even more. Eyes fixed on his dirtied, calloused and long fingers, his wide thumb making you lick on your own lips as your imagination went far ahead in time.

"Your mug is slightly crushed, darling." Chris teased making you blink twice before noticing.

"Fuck." You cursed as you laughed.

"Here.." Standing up, he sat on the spot unused of the chair you were sitting on. "Let me help you, yeah?" He mumbled moving his arms between your sides, his face resting on your shoulder as he moved his hands with yours. "This is your eight mug and you still can't get it good at the first try, uh?" He teased, his hot breath hitting on your skin.

'Ask yourself two questions.' You thought as you looked at his thumbs caressing the back of your hands. 'You're too distracting.'

His fingers moving along with yours as you crafted the mug you'll cherish forever. His chest moving at every inhale and exhale he took, brushing against your back. Biting your lower lip, your eyebrows twitched as you fought your best to not close your thighs. Gulping down you felt the way his lap moved on the sides of your legs.

"Good girl, just like that." He whispered retracting his hands from yours.

Your mind coming to your senses as he stood up, making you feel empty. You looked at the mug and smiled.

"Where are you going?" You questioned almost begging him to sit there and hold you once again.

It wouldn't have been a first anyways. You would always watch movies together, cuddling, fall asleep together, sometimes staying up all night at your shared balcony to talk and hug. You never kissed once, even when you were drunk with him, you would always feel sober in some aspects. You would remind your drunk self to never kiss him, never strip in front of him, never bring out naughty jokes that you would normally do when you're sober. Naughtiness and flirting was normal between you but you always knew when to stop.

Not wanting to make it hard for him.

"But it's complete." He whined looking at his own bowl that was left uncompleted.

"Carve it for me, please?" You pouted cutely as you looked up at him, blinking a few times.

"Ugh.." He groaned shaking his head, sitting back behind you.

As he took a carving knife, he looked at you, waiting for your orders.

'Fuck, I can't just resist that face of your's.' Chris thought, as he kept it cool.

After all he was used to hide his emotions, hide his expressions so that others wouldn't know what went through his head.

"Draw me Wolf Chan, please." You poked his inner thigh making him jolt.

"Oh-ho, you want me to carve you myself?" He teased, his lips brushing on your ear.

"You surely serve the best for later." He whispered, nose stroking against your cheek.

"Remember that you share the same classes with people that could also be your fans." You whispered poking his thigh once again.

'The more you do that, the more I can't resist it.' He thought, eyes lingering on yours before he started carving what you asked him to.

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Finally it was time for your date with Justin. You got ready, a dark magnetic blue tanktop, and tech pants, on your feet your Star Hike Converse that you let Hyunjin turn it into a personal customised official Stray Kids merch. Taking your varsity jacket and your handbag, you got out.

Once at the cafeteria, you had dinner with Justin, the first time you've ever ate dinner without your brother or Chris.

The conversation was barely moving, you didn't really match but you just kept your other nice personality. It felt rather suffocating not being able to be yourself, your unfiltered self that you'd want your other half to see, to learn, to enjoy... To love.

After some time, as you walked at the campus' park, you looked around and sighed softly.

"What a nice weather, the breeze is amazing." You said, your eyes staring at the leaves moving.

"Not really my kind of weather." Justin chuckled, making you close your eyes.

'Don't mind it...' You thought. 'Suck it up, it's just the first date.'

As you conversated with Justin, not really enjoying how he never said he enjoyed anything you liked. Chris was hiding behind a tree, listening to whatever that guy was saying.

"Summer is my favourite season. I always go to the beach and have fun." Justin spoke making Chris' mouth twitch in anger.

'She loves fall and spring. Not summer, you dumbass.' He silently cursed at the guy.

"Ah, I see." You smiled nodding as you bent down to grab a fallen leaf.

The moment the guy's eyes laid on your ass, Chris clenched his jaw. Fist closed in a punch ready to be thrown.

'Eyes off.' He thought as his head twitched in anger.

The guy looked at you as you rummaged inside your handbag, you felt something weird so you turned around and looked at it from inside, slightly under the streetlights.

"Alex..." You cursed him as you found what he previously slid inside your bag when he was in your room.

A condom.

'As if I'm gonna do anything with this dude...' You thought.

"Would you like to.. spend the night together?" Justin's voice brought your mind back to your conversation.

Christopher from behind the tree on the verge of throwing his fists at him. Eyes burning him from afar.

"Know each other better..." The blond guy mumbled. "Physically..." He whispered in your ear making you look up to him.

The moment you were about to push the guy aside, loud steps came from behind you.

"She's not interested." A voice you well recognised spoke, making you turn around.

"And you are?" Justin questioned smirking, as if insinuating that a random dude came just to get you.

"Her fucking best friend." Not a second later his fist came in contact with Justin's face.

"Minho, what are you doing?!" You exclaimed pushing him from his chest.

Christopher fists relaxing as he saw his bandmate approaching you before he did. Making it easier to not mess it completely up between you and him.

"Now, you either leave or I'll beat you once again." Minho spoke harshly as he looked at that guy with hatred.

"Whatever." The guy scoffed and left.

You turned around and hinted Minho to take a seat on the bench near a tree.

"What are you doing here?" You questioned in disbelief.

"I came to hear that the guy you had a date with today, went on a date last night as well." He spouted. Fists hitting the wooden bench.

"I was about to turn him down anyways." You mumbled.

"Just... date him." He whispered looking at you. "He will surely treat you better and will definitely never pull any kind of bullshit like any other guy would." Bringing you into a hug, he caressed your hair.

"You know I can't..." You whispered, head falling on his shoulder.

"Fuck that. Fuck any other guy." Minho mumbled sighing.

Christopher, still listening from behind the tree was confused, puzzled from your conversation. He never thought you were already interested in someone else. He always thought you didn't think of dating up until now. He always thought that your remarks about some guys were just words. Silently he retreated and went to his dorm room.

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Once there, he took off his clothes and wore some sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt. He grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and went to the balcony, looking at the forest up ahead.

"She had someone in her mind all this time and she didn't tell me?" Chris questioned to himself.

"If Minho even told her to ask that guy... then he must be good for her..." Puzzled he leaned in and lowered his head.

"Hey..." A soft voice came from behind.

Chan turned around and saw you. Not wanting to let you know that he knew all about your date, he smiled at you. You could easily tell that he wasn't feeling good.

"How was the date?" He questioned leaning at the balcony's barricade.

"We weren't a match." You just replied, taking a place right besides him.

"Wanna talk about it?" He questioned, wrapping an arm on your shoulders.

"Just, meh.." You didn't know what to tell. "I just thought that if I went on a date with someone, I'd forget about my feelings for this one guy but I just got reminded how much I fucking love him." You explained, as you looked ahead.

The moon was shining so brightly. The full moon was covering you both, wrapping you under it's light.

Christopher standing right behind you, held his hands on the barricade, clenching his fingers around it. His arms flexing as he pressed his chest against your back. His crotch brushing against your ass making you blush.

"Can I know this guy's name?" He questioned, sounding annoyed by this new information he learnt about.

Resting your head against his chest, you looked up to him. Tired of pretending you just let it out. "You really didn't notice?"

"I'm pretty dense when it comes to that, babygirl." He whispered against your skin.

"You should know that." His eyes looking at you.

A look so tender and sweet that it made you melt on his body.

'How could I even think of dating someone else?' You thought as your eyes lingered on his.

"You're either that naive or... you just like teasing me..." You whispered, your eyes swifting their gaze on his plush lips.

"Baby, enlighten me." He whispered taking a step forward, pressing his body onto yours.

"Chris..." You whispered closing your eyes. "You should have known by now."

"Is it one of us?" He questioned softly.

Nodding silently, you could feel him against your ass.

"You're so mean..." You whispered, opening your eyes staring into his eyes.

"Am I?" His voice deeper as he lowered his tone.

"You're so damn mean..." Your voice turning even softer.

"I'll fight him, whoever it is." He mumbled turning you around.

After trying to give him hints as you kept on talking, before going to sleep, you decided to drop a bomb on him.

Taking off your laced panties you threw them his way before going inside and closing the door of the balcony.

"He should catch up to that, right?" You questioned, face all heated and red as you looked at Felix in disbelief.

"If he doesn't get it, then he's lost it." He mumbled handling you some water.

"Ah, you okay if I go somewhere for a moment?" Felix questioned putting his phone inside his pockets.

"Don't worry about me." You mumbled going to the bathroom.

Cleaning yourself, you sprayed some of your natural rose essential scent all around your body and then wrapped your silky robe around your curves. Coming outside of the bathroom, you noticed Chan standing up from your bed pulling you into his embrace. Lips pressed onto yours making your tensed body melt into his arms.

"You should have given me those panties months ago, babygirl." He whispered kissing you once more.

"You oblivious." You whispered into the kiss.

As you always thought, his lips were definitely sweet, tasty and kissable.

"You should have known my feelings too..." He whispered, brows furrowed as he desperately kissed your lips.

As your lips crushed against each other, your tongues roamed around each other's mouth. Feeling tingly, you clenched your fingers around the cloth of his shirt. In response he grabbed you and sat back on your mattress, seating you onto his lap. Making him groan under you.

You could feel it. He was hard. This was the first time he didn't move away from you which made you unknowingly bite his lower lip, making him grunt inside your mouth.

"Fuck baby..." Holding you by your hips, his prints gripped on your body through the thinnest layer of your robe.

One of your hands reached on your bag, looking for something and pulling it out. You pulled away from his lips and looked at him.

"Do you wanna...?" You questioned showing him the condom in your hands.

His lips parted, hands lingering on you. He looked at you and buckled up under you, making you gulping down a moan. That was enough for you to set aside the condom and get rid off of his shirt.

As your lips connected once more, he opened your robe and let it fall on the floor. A hand of his sliding on your ass, groping it firmly while the other cupped one of your tits, massaging it softly.

"God you're so fucking sexy." He moaned into your mouth.

Sensing that tingling feeling between your legs, you instinctively grinded onto him making him moan once again into your mouth making you bite his lips once again.

Breathless, he left a wet trail of kisses against your skin, from your jaw to your breasts. One pierced nipple caught between his lips while the other was teased with his thumb.

Head thrown back, you moaned silently in his embrace. "Chris..."

Feeling too excited, you pulled back from his embrace and slid between his lap.

"What are yo-mhm.." Looking at you placing your hands on his thighs, kissing his inner thigh through the cloth of his sweatpants.

Slowly moving your hands upwards, you looked at his naked torso, memorising every line on his abdomen, memorising the way his chest flexed everytime you caressed his body.

Freeing him of his clothing, your eyes lingered on his member. It was way bigger than you expected. As you stared at it, Chris looked at you, twitching at the sight of your eyes on him. At the sight of your naked body finally revealed to his eyes.

Licking your lips, you licked the shaft of his dick, hands placed on both of his lap, caressing and softly scratching his skin.

"Shit... baby.." Gulping down, he looked at you.

Your eyes glancing right into his brown irises as you went down on him. Your head bopping down in a slow pace making him clench his fingers around the sheets. Feeling precum on your tongue, you deep-throated him, a hand of his moving on your head, caressing your scalp as guiding you on his long, wide, hard and veiny length.

"Just like that, babygirl..." Breathing heavily, he moved his hips meeting your throat.

Throat fucking you, he kept his eyes on yours. Taking in every aspect of your expressions.

Oh, how he always wanted to be inside your mouth.

While the both of you oblivious about each other's feelings, you happened to always chat during bed time while a hand was busy on your body, making you crave one another every next morning you saw each other.

Moving your head up and down, up and down, he found himself releasing deep inside your mouth. Making you dig your nails in his thighs.

"God.. you're definitely soul snatching.." He whispered in his orgasm making you gulp down and take the wrapping of the condom between your teeth, opening it.

"Soul snatching?" You questioned with a smirk as you put the rubber between your lips.

"Something me and the others say whenever you get corndogs." He mumbled pulling up his head looking right at you.

With a puzzled look he parted lips to speak but you cut him off by deep-throating him to wrap the condom around his hardness.

"Gosh, that was so damn sexy." He whispered looking at your body sitting onto his lap.

Rubbing his cock against your wet cunt, you slowly began sitting onto him. Taking him inch by inch. Lips parted you let out soft moanings escape your lips and you finally adjusted to his length.

"You're definitely bigger than my ex." You mumbled making him twitch inside you.

Hands on your hips, he guided your slow movements, enjoying the feeling of being inside of you. Biting on his lips, he leaned in to kiss your neck.

Your eyes looking deep into his movements, mouth opened in breathy gasps as you moved onto him.

"You lucky you're wearing a condom.." You whispered into his ear. "Or else, you would never be able to take it out.." Licking and nibbling on his earlobe, you kept on riding his hardness slowly.

He couldn't help but chuckle at your comment, a mix of surprise and amusement filling his eyes as he looked into yours.

"Well, you know what they say about condoms.. They prevent babies, but not the fun." His hands reached around your hips and started moving them in rhythm with your thrusts, his breath hitting your ear as he spoke.

Steadying your hands on his shoulders, you chuckled at his comment. With a smirk on your lips you kissed his neck before blowing your warm breath against his ear.

"You're the only guy I've ever swallowed." Wanting to tease him, you confessed a little secret of yours.

He couldn't help but let out a laugh, his free hand reaching up to toy with your breasts as you distracted him with your tease. "Yeah.. It's not every day a girl swallows a k-pop idol."

Your confession surprised him slightly, so he replied playfully. "But honestly. I'm more than proud that you chose to do that." His hands slightly pinching your pierced nipples, pushing you deeper onto him as he spoke.

Chuckling you started moving in wave motions as if to toy with his dick inside. Lips parted you plated a kiss under his eyes. "I mean, I've never swallowed even my ex." Touching his biceps, you groped them as you kept on riding him.

With that being said, he gripped on your ass cheeks and started slamming himself harder inside of you making you gasp and bite on his shoulder.

"Fu-uhck!" As you kept your nails deep into his skin, he threw his head back as his cock slammed in and out, in and out. Non-stop.

Balls deep inside you, he moaned as you both found your movements in synch. Without announcing it, he kissed your lips and whispered. "Look at me, babygirl."

Eyes on his, lips parted in moans you both found your release as you reached you first ever orgasm.

Because yeah, your ex had a nice dick but he never knew how to actually satisfy you.

Your lips crushed as you ate each other's moans. After riding through your high, he pulled out and embraced you moving your bodies in the middle of the mattress right after he threw away the used condom.

Cuddling and kissing, you both relaxed on each other embrace.

"I love you, my lady." Chris whispered into your ear.

"I love you more, Chris." You whispered kissing his lips.

Holding each other in a warm and soft hug, you both dozed off with a smile on your faces and marks all over your bodies.

[fishfingersalad]

The foretold fic of Connie and South helping Wash bleach his hair for the first time! Includes Wash and Lina as siblings.

Fic under the cut

Lunch was a rather boring affair with York away on a mission and North on shore leave with his sister. If you asked Wash who was more likely to come back injured, he couldn’t tell you. The man was abruptly jolted out of his musings by something slamming down onto the table in front of him.

“‘Sup loser”

Wash sighed and turned to the voice, “Hi South. I thought you were supposed to be Austria or something”

South dramatically threw herself down on the bench next to him, “Firstly, it was Australia, second, I got sent home early for an attempted assault of an officer,” She flipped her hair out of her face. “Thirdly you now owe me thirty dollars.”

“THIRTY DOLLARS??? What- I- Why??” 

“Thirty dollars Australian, not American, and,” she gently threw a plastic shopping bag onto the table, “I heard you were thinking about going blond”

Wash shot up so fast he almost fell off the bench “How do you know about that? You weren’t even in the room?? I don’t even think you were on the ship?!?”

South waved her hand ambiguously “You told Ohio who told Connie who told me, and I needed to pick up some dye to redo my tips anyway. So, wanna do your hair?”

Wash considered it for a minute. Getting hair products outside of shampoo while in space was hard, plus the only other people he knew who dyed their hair were Vera and Carolina. He’d listened to Vera complaining about getting chemical burns on her scalp so he didn’t exactly trust her skills, and asking Carolina for help seemed like a good way to end up on the training room floor. It looked like South was, unfortunately, his best bet.

He sighed, “Yeah, sure. Why not.”

A slightly manic grin spread across South’s face before she spun around and yelled across the mess hall, “HEY CONNIE! HE SAID YES!”

Connie turned and yelled back “WAIT REALLY?!”

“YEAH, GET OVER HERE! WE GOTTA DO IT BEFORE HE WIMPS OUT!”

Someone, probably Georgia judging by the voice, shouted, “SHUT THE FUCK UP ASSHOLES, I’M TRYNA EAT”

As he stared at the women's twin smirks, Wash got the feeling he may have made the wrong decision. He sighed, resigned to his fate. “Can I atleast finish my lunch first?”

Half an hour later saw Wash sitting on a bench in the women's showers wearing an old torn shirt he’d stolen from Maine. South was shaking a bottle with something blue in it, while Connie was gently finger combing his hair. Wash turned his head towards South, “Remind me why both of you need to be here again?”

South smirked again, “‘Cause I’ve been dying my own hair since I was like thirteen, and Connie knows how to cut hair so if we fuck up she can atleast make you look decent.”

Connie reached over to smack South on the arm, “I’ll have you know I used to bleach and dye my hair all the time. I probably have more experience with bleach than you, Miss natural blonde.”

Wash almost dropped the box of pink hair dye he was looking over, “Wait, seriously? You with coloured hair?”

Connie laughed, “Yes, seriously. I was really into scene and emo culture, I’ll show you some pictures sometime.”

South slammed the bottle on the sink a couple of times before going back to shaking it, “What like, teased hair, raccoon tail dye, all that?”

“Yep! Bright pink and green too.”

“No way!” South tilted the bottle a bit before walking over to Wash and Connie,“Heads up Wash, this is gonna smell like cat piss and itch a bit. If it starts burning, wash it out.”

“Wha-” His words were cut off by the odd feeling of a thick liquid on his hair. True to South’s word he felt a tingling feeling on his scalp, it was uncomfortable but not painful. He did have to resist the urge to scratch it as the blond woman rubbed it into his hair.

“Y’know,” South started, “We’re probably gonna have some leftover bleach, Wash’s hair is pretty short… Connie, how ‘bout we bring back the old hairstyle?”

“Are you asking if I wanna bleach some of my hair again?”

South shrugged, “I mean, why not? We’ve got all the materials.”

Connie pondered it a second before nodding, “Yeah sure, probably no raccoon stripes this time though”

“Hell yeah! Wash is just about done now.”

Wash suddenly zoned back in, “I am?”

“Connie, flick his cheek for me and then sit your ass down next to him so I can bleach yours” Connie happily obliged, “Wash, grab that plastic bag and put it over your hair”

Wash tilted his head, thinking maybe he heard her wrong “What? Why?”

“D’you wanna question me, or do you want your hair to be bleached properly?” Wash silently complied. “So, Connie, where do you want me to bleach?”

Connie eventually settled on bleaching the shaved part of her hair for the effect of, as South put it, ‘a sickass hot pink undercut’. The packaging said they had to wait half an hour before washing out their hair, none of them particularly felt like wandering around with plastic on their hair so the three of them were sitting on the tiled bathroom floor and gossiping. They were halfway through Connie telling them about how she accidentally walked in on Florida and Wyoming in a storage closet when the alarm on South’s watch went off.

The two of them with bleach in their hair went to separate stalls to rinse it out. Together, Wash and Connie turned to look at themselves in the mirror. 

Connie turned a little to look at her now blonde undercut from a different angle, “Y’know I think it looks good! How about you, Wash?”

Wash stared at his reflection for a second before turning to the third person in the room, “South”

“Yeah?”

“...”

“...”

“South, why is my hair ORANGE?!?” Connie tried to muffle her giggles for a moment before giving up and beginning to laugh so hard she had to gasp for breath.

“Well, Wash. You have dark hair. Like really dark. It's- pfft- it’s not gonna go blond in one round of bleaching”

Wash looked at her, his face full of betrayal, “We have to do this AGAIN?”

South just shrugged “I mean, I thought we might. There’s a reason I bought two boxes of bleach.”

“We should- we should wait another- pffft- another day or two before bleaching it aga- again” Connie was just about rolling on the floor.

“I’M GONNA HAVE ORANGE HAIR FOR A FEW DAYS?!?”

“Awww cheer up Wash,” South punched his shoulder, “You’ll be right”

Wash just pouted at her.

Two days later, the three of them were back in the bathroom, rinsing out their hair again. The girls hair with pink dye, Wash’s with a second round of bleach. Wash was hesitant about looking in the mirror, but both the girls' hair looked amazing, and Connies assured him that his did too. Taking a deep breath, he turned to his reflection. It looked… familiar. He felt a gentle smile come over his face. A hand reached out and ruffled his hair “Seems like you like it, if that dopey grin is anything to go off of”

Wash whacked the hand, “Oh piss off South.”

The woman shrugged and smiled her crooked smirk, “If it’s too yellow I can always message North to pick up some toner”

“No, no, it’s good! Yours is too.” As Wash was talking, Connie reached over to fluff his hair. “What is it with you guys and my hair!”

Connie stuck her tongue out at him, “You wear your helmet all the time! We hardly ever get to see it!”

All three of them snapped their heads towards the door as it was thrown open. Carolina walked in and paused for a second before noticing the three by the mirrors. 

“You three, what are you- Wash? Why are you in the women's bathroom? I-” You could practically see the moment her brain processed what she was seeing,“South, Ct, could you two… give us a minute?”

“Sure thing boss,” South saluted her sarcastically before clapping Wash on the shoulder, “Try not to die, Rookie.”

The door closed behind the women as they left, most likely to try and eavesdrop.

Carolina looked almost shocked, she briefly reached out her hand towards him before dropping it again, “Your- your hair, it’s-”

“D’you… like it?”

“You look… you look just like mom…”

Wash reached up a hand and ran it through his still drying hair, “Yeah that was kinda my intention. Dad’s gonna hate it.”

“Dad hates everything, I wouldn’t worry about that,” She sighed and looked away for a moment before walking over to lean against the sinks next to him, “It suits you y’know?”

Wash leant his head against Carolina's shoulder, “Thanks, that- that means a lot.”

She gently ruffled his hair, “Yeah, I know. I know.”

[blubushie]

any bush stories you’d be interested in sharing?? Definitely not taking notes and using those said notes to help me better write sniper cough cough,, also genuinely interested!! Grew up in north-west wilderness and whatnot, would love to hear about what it’s like down in Australia!

I am genuinely honoured you're using me as inspiration! Here's some stories from Australia:

I've seen UFOs and other unexplainable lights multiple times.

Once when I was out in the bush I had a yahoo (basically Australian sasquatch) walk up to my camp. Scared me shitless, I screamed like a little girl, and then I threw the yam I was eating at him. He picked it up and walked off back into the bush. That happened almost three years ago and I'm not sure if my meat had gone bad and I was hallucinating but I told my Aboriginal mate about it and he just said I'm lucky the fucker didn't eat me because "They don't care for white fellas much."

Heard singing voices in an abandoned gold mine I was exploring like a dumb cunt. I ran out screaming when I heard a loud bang deeper in the mine.

Saw a bloke watching me from a window at Gwalia, which is an abandoned town with no residents (they all moved to nearby Leonora when the gold mine in Gwalia ran dry). I entered the home and no one was in there. Scared me shitless.

Once while camping near Uluru I had a young Aboriginal bloke (couldn't have been older than 16) walk up to me wearing nothing but a fucking loincloth in 4c weather. Keep in mind Uluru is fucking flat, there's no way this kid could have snuck up on me from 5 clicks away without me seeing him in the middle of the fucking night. He said he was from Anapala in South Aus (it hasn't been called Anapala since the 1970s when it was renamed Pukatja) and he had a Pitjantjatjara accent. He also had ritual scars on his arms which suggested he was a little older than he said he was. He said he hadn't eaten in a few days so I shared my rabbit with him. I let him sleep in my swag and when I woke up in the morning he was gone. No tracks, nothing. Disappeared into thin air. Absolutely convinced I met a fucking ghost.

Thought I was going to be eaten by a dropbear once. It was a flying fox. Still feel like an idiot for that one.

Found the tracks of a large cat (puma-sized, as wide as my palm) alongside a streambed in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. They were fresh tracks since it rained a day earlier. I felt like I was being watched and got the fuck out of there.

I was chased 10km through Boulia by the Min Min Lights. I'm driving down the highway and there's these fucking lights behind me, I floor it because I think it's the cops, they keep following, Matilda's engine starts smoking so I pull over because I'm not going to blow my van's engine. Finally I pull over and the lights are just hovering about three metres off the ground, these fiery orbs. Scared me half to death and I got back in Matilda and kept driving. Eventually the lights just fizzled out and disappeared. I've only been back to Boulia once and I was on guard the entire time.

Once was surrounded by a pack of dingos (4-5 individuals) for an entire night. I had my rifle across my lap and my knife ready. Didn't get a wink of sleep. It's terrifying when you're the prey for once.

Had to bandage my arm with the rag I use for wiping down my rifle because a blackheaded python slithered into my engine in WA and snapped onto my arm when I tried lugging it out in the morning. I've since gotten a new rag for the rifle.

Woke up one morning to Misty going off like a frog in a sock. Turns out I had a bandy-bandy in me fucking swag. That was fun trying to get it out (bandy-bandys are elapids related to cobras, but their small fangs and low venom output means they're one of Australia's least deadly venomous snakes).

Stepped on an eastern brown while hunting in QLD. Leather boots saved me life. The fact I don't take Misty with me when I hunt saved hers.

Back in January I fell out of a tree while hunting, landing on my back, and pissed blood for a week. Figured I'd either be fine or lose a kidney. Honestly I've fallen out of trees more times than I can count. Eucalyptus doesn't hold weight very well.

Two years or so ago I was bitten by a metre-long saltwater crocodile while helping biologists do a survey in Kakadu. I've still got the scars on my left arm from where the cunt grabbed me. Little shit.

Got me foot stomped by a cow while helping a mate muster cattle.

Watched Polly up in Daly Waters kick a cunt once during a pub brawl that made it outside.

Had my hat chewed on by Blackface at that same pub. The hat escaped unscathed.

Once got into a tug-a-war over a pig I shot with a fucking perentie. Took me twenty minutes to trek up to where the pig was and when I got there the fucking perentie had its head buried up to its shoulders in the bloody carcass. The perentie didn't bite me but Lord knows it tried.

Burned my chest when a spent casing ejected and landed in my fucking shirt. I'm left-handed and shoot left-handed. My rifle is impossible to find with a left-handed bolt, so the casings eject across my body instead of away from me, and it landed in my shirt. I now wear undershirts when I work because that shit hurt. Thankfully it didn't leave a scar.

Nicked my wrist on the broadhead of an arrow once by accident.

Before I got my boots I had a piece of razor wire wedge itself into my shoe and slit my ankle open. It got infected, of course. Cleaned it with whisky and spent the next five minutes swearing a blue streak. It healed but I've got a scar.

Stung by a jellyfish on my hand when I was a kid. Did it again on my foot a few years ago. Luckily no scars, just felt like a massive bee sting.

Every time I hit a bump while driving I have some dust come down from the roof from a few years ago when I accidentally left a window cracked during a dust storm.

Was in WA when it snowed in 2021 during the night. Went to bed freezing and woke up to a white blanket.

Was tackled by a kangaroo while hunting once.

Got my name because I was a dumb cunt and went bushwalking and didn't bring enough water. I was dying of dehydration and living off nothing but bugs and my own piss for two days. Finally found a pond of the clearest water you'd ever see. Drank probably 3 litres, refilled my canteens. Had complete ego death and I walked out of the bush as a new person with a new name.

Once in the middle of the night up in Kakadu I was just sitting at my campfire as blokes do, it was foggy as shit, and out of the fog walks the most beautiful horse I've ever seen. This bastard was snow white with the prettiest brown eyes. He walks up to my fire, snorts, sniffs around at my tuckerbag, looks at me, and then just walks off back into the fog. Brumbies are fucking skittish so it was a magical moment.

Had a kookaburra steal a piece of jerky right out of my hand.

Dingos. So many dingos. Once shot a dingo in NSW—terrible shot on my part, I still feel terrible for it. The wind was higher than I would've liked and the bullet ended up too far back so it wasn't an immediate kill. His mates came over to check out the row and I watched through my scope as they started ripping him apart. I put another bullet in him because nothing deserves that. The second shot didn't miss.

Been in more pubfights than I can count. I don't start them.

Stepped on a kangaroo eyeball once by accident. Scrub your boots when you're done hunting because nothing will get the smell of summer-baked kangaroo brains out of your house.

Once killed two roos with one bullet.

CALIFORNIA: When I was eight years old my dad and I were hunting in NorCal and it'd rained the night before. We came across a streambed (keep in mind this was -2c weather) with footprints in it. These footprints were massive, about 40cm from heel to toe and wide as sin. They were accompanied by much smaller footprints about half that length. There's no way in hell someone with 40cm feet would be out there in -6c weather WITH A CHILD walking BAREFOOT through freezing water 8km from the nearest road between the time it rained (which would've washed away any prints) and sunrise. Dad and I found them at sunrise. Both of us are convinced we found fucking bigfoot footprints.

CALIFORNIA: Was stalked by a mountain lion for 1.5km.

[moonlightndaydreams]

Deep End - Part 1

available on Ao3 here

Part 1: 1.7k words

Characters: OFC Aura, Minho, Han

Summary: AU/ Minho is the new accountant at Aura's work, and he's got his sights set on her. But what happens when her ex Han comes back into the picture.

Workplace romance with a blast from the past for Aura.

Warnings for part 1: Course language, embarrassment. This is really just setting up the story. More warnings to come in the next parts.

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

Aura sat at her desk trying to concentrate on the audio list for this week’s podcasts that she was meant to be giving the go-ahead.

“Brazilian” exclaimed a voice over on the left. Was Hyunjin bringing up waxing again?

“He is definitely from South America.” he continued telling Binnie over on the right.

“You’re wrong, Hyunjin. He is Korean. He has a Korean name.” Binnie replied. Binnie was alway the voice of reason. Always observant and straight to the point.

“I wonder if he speaks Spanish?” Hyunjin raised his eyebrows hopefully. The two young men giggled like school girls. Hyunjin currently had a thing for men from South America.

Thats it, thought Aura. Who were they talking about? What had she missed?

“Who’s Brazilian?” Aura looked up from the screen. 

Hyunjin looked at Aura in a way that indicated that she must be working too hard if she didn’t know.

“The new guy for Accounts? They’ve got a new manager.” Hyunjin cooed.

“Oh, you mean Minho? Lee Minho. Or Minho Lee if you are in Australia. He’s Korean.” Aura offered.

“We know how Korean names work. Me and Jinnie are Korean if you haven’t forgotten.” Binnie reminded her. 

Aura rolled her eyes. She knew who Hyunjin was talking about. She hadn’t seen him yet but rumour had it that he was very business-like and mysterious, apparently. She saw his name in the group email of new starters and Meg in HR told her about “the handsome new Korean guy”. 

Hyunjin exasperated and huffed dramatically “No, Sarah said he is absolutely from Brazil! He just happens to have a Korean name.” he looked indignant “Or maybe he’s from Mexico, I don’t know.” He added losing his confidence. 

Aura shook her head at Hyunjin.

A sharp knock on their open door interrupted them before Aura had a chance to respond to Hyunjin’s absurdity.

All three looked up and Aura could swear she heard Hyunjin take in a quick breath from the surprise. 

A man Aura had never seen before, in his twenties, very handsome, clearly Asian, and serious looking, entered the room with a booklet of papers in his hand. 

Oh my God was this the man they were talking about? 

“Oh hello” Aura smiled and greeted the man. Act professional , she told herself. She waited for him to speak, to find out what he wanted. Hyunjin and Binnie sat smirking silently with keen expressions.

“Is this the podcast producing department?” he asked coldly. 

“Ah yes.” Aura continued to smile through gritted teeth. He strode across the office floor and stuck a hand full of papers at her.

“I believe these papers are yours. Your assistant must have put these in the accounts documentation.” He held out a what looked to be one of Aura’s clients podcast season playlists.

How the hell did they get there? Aura wondered. And what assistant? The didn’t have any assistants in her department. The penny dropped and Aura took a sideways glance at Hyunjin, who was awkwardly pretending to be busying himself in his folder. 

Aura looked back up at the man, thanked him kindly, and took the papers from his hand. Wordlessly, he headed back to the door, pausing in the doorway. He turned his head back and said coldly “My family is from Korea, by the way.” Then simply left. How much had he actually heard? But Aura noticed a hint of humour behind his expression even if he spoke with disdain. 

“Whooahh” Binnie let out that breathe, had he’d been holding it this whole time? 

Aura turned her gaze Hyunjin. He looked up. “What?” he shrugged and tried to sound innocent. 

“Oh my God, Hyunjin, I cant believe you took confidential client documentation that obviously would lead to this office, and planted it in his work! Do you know how unprofessional we look?” Aura tried so hard to sound stern, but her friend’s antics and the length he sometimes went with his elaborate plans always amused Aura and, to be honest, it’s one of the things she loved most about him. He’s got guts, that boy. Guts and a naivety, or was it immaturity? He was the newest of the trio, her, Binnie and Hyunjin. He fit their little team of three just perfectly. Aura chuckled to herself and turned her focus back to work.

“Well we got the info we needed.” Hyunjin chimed back, satisfied. 

“But now he must think we are gossips.” Binnie added. 

Aura and Hyunjin shook their heads smiling. 

———————————

Much to Hyunjin’s dismay, they didn’t see Minho for another two days, when it was time for a staff meeting.

“Okay, everyone. Listen up,” Christopher Bahng didn’t look, nor sound like a CEO, but he was the boss here at SKZ. He was young. The women loved him, so did the men, but he was always professional with his interactions. His suit made him look more “Mafia Gangster” than and “Office Boss”, but he was kind, fair and had one of the best sense of humours in the building. Everyone called him Chris.

“I want to introduce you to Minho Lee, our new Manager Accountant.” A buzz of hellos filled the room. Minho responded with curt nods, but held an expression that was hard to read.

“Shit, he’s cold looking isn’t he? Look how dark his eyes are.” whispered Felix, from IT. Hyunjin nodded in agreement. But Aura thought he looked more nervous than anything else. What could be interpreted as cold or having a “resting bitch face” as Hyunjin described it later, really didn’t seem that way to her at all. “Maybe he’s shy?” she offered her colleagues, but they seemed to think he looked indignant and snobby.

She watched Minho curiously. He was rather attractive. His sandy brown hair was perfectly styled. His suit looked quite expensive for a accounting manager. Her eyes drifted over his body. He seemed to be strong, but not buff like Binnie was. Hmmm. Yes, Aura liked what she saw.

“Put your tongue away, Aura.” Binnie smacked her in the arm. Aura quickly looked up from Minho’s chest to his face, locking eyes with him. Oh fuck. He’d caught her checking him out and he was staring at her. She felt her cheeks flush, and she cleared her throat returning her attention to their CEO pretending she knew what he was talking about.

———————————

It was 8.00pm. Everyone was gone for the night but Aura remained at her desk. She had to sort these last scheduling debacles out. What a fucking nightmare. But she was almost done.

“Okay” last one, she said to herself, and clicked the little x on her screen.

She leaned back in her chair, reached her hands over her head and let out a loud a squeal as she stretched her muscles.

Sitting back up, she grabbed her phone and popped on Spotify. As the music started up she opened up her podcast uploading software and began to queue the episodes she that needed to go out.

Feeling as though she was finally finished for the day, and since no one else was around, she thought she’d let her hair down so to speak and have a bit of a sing along - hairbrush-in-the-bedroom style. Well her office space was like a second home and she felt just as comfortable here as she does in her home. 

Exo’s “Love Shot” played loudly through her office. As the chorus began, Aura slid back her chair dramatically, and stood up theatrically and began to sing and dance the choreography, as sexy as she could.

————————————

————————————

But not everybody had gone home. Minho was working back too. His office lights low and in deep concentration. He was tired. He leaned back in his chair and let out a big sigh, closing his eyes. He turned back to his screen to continue with his work, when his concentration was disturbed.

Where the hell was that music coming from? Why the hell was anyone still here?

He got up from his chair and headed out of the office into the hallway. He wasn’t upset or angry, but he was intrigued. He passed the conference rooms stopping outside the source of where the music was coming from. The podcaster’s office. He stood at the glass window, quietly, and saw Aura body rolling like rent was due. Minho smirked and laughed quietly. She looked so happy. And fun. His eyes skimmed over her body, drinking in her curves. He found himself standing there longer than he intended. He knew she would be so embarrassed if she saw him, so he stayed quiet to watch. Aura came across as upfront, but kind, a little sarcastic, but not - this. This was amusing. This was sexy.

Should he walk in, interrupt? He wondered. He’d already walked in on her and the those men gossiping about his origins. She’d tried to play that so cool. He nearly didn’t say anything at all at the time. It really was none of their business where he was from. But he didn’t want to come across as difficult or cold. He wasn’t that way at all, even though that seemed to be people’s impression of him in the past.

He wondered if she knew that he had been well aware of the little plan of Hyunjin’s when he put their work in his pile of work? 

——————————

Aura was so absorbed in singing and dancing that she didn't notice the person looking through the glass window at her. The song was almost done when she turned and caught the slightest glimpse of a figure move past.

She stopped dead in her tracks, completely freaking out on the inside. Someone else was in the building, and that that someone could have seen her. Who was she kidding, there’s no way they didn’t seen her.

She quietly moved to the office entrance and poked her head around the door. There walking up the corridor in the shadows was Minho. Oh my fucking God. Aura could have died. Of all people why him? How much did he see? Oh fuck!

Embarrassed as all hell, Aura quickly turned off the music, packed up her things in record timing and stealthily crept out of the building. She wanted to shrivel up and die.

Read Part 2 here

@lyramundana

@2chopsticks2eyes

@channieandhisgoonsquad

[intheshadowofwar]

The Boundless Sea

Sydney

11 June 2023

We headed into Sydney at about 9am this morning with a fairly full raft of activities.

The first of these, which we arrived to at 10, was the Hyde Park Convict Barracks. This barracks was built by order of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1817, and today a statue of him stands across the road from the building, gesturing towards it. I can’t help but wonder if Macquarie would appreciate the somewhat dodgy statue of himself showing off the prison he built, but maybe that’s just me. Hyde Park Barracks is a thoroughly modern museum, in that it uses audio guides instead of placards. I generally can’t stand audio guides, but I soon worked out that I could just read the subtitles on the ipod thing they gave us, so it wasn’t a dealbreaker. The museum now includes a major focus on the effects of colonisation and the convict system on the indigenous peoples of New South Wales, which I quite appreciated. The one thing I might have liked more about was a little more information on the guards; but I appreciate that this is specifically a museum about the convicts, not the soldiers.

After the barracks, we walked through Hyde Park to the Anzac Memorial. This is Sydney and New South Wales’ primary war memorial, opened in the 1930s to commemorate the First World War. It’s not quite as grand as Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance - few things are - but it is still a magnificent structure and well worth a visit. The statue of the prostrate man in the Hall of Silence - positioned under the Hall of Memory, and visible through a hole in the floor which they call the Well of Contemplation - is particularly striking. Most war-related sculptures, at least in the post-WWI period, tend to be horizontal. Here, the prostrated man is vertical - the language of mourning.

Behind the Hall of Memory and down the stairs is the Hall of Service. The walls here are lined with soil samples from every town in New South Wales that has sent soldiers to war. There’s a circle on the floor, under a skylight, with more soil - these from the battlefields on which soldiers from New South Wales have fought. This goes as far back as the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s, but frontier conflict isn’t represented.

After visiting the Anzac Memorial, we proceeded by train to Circular Quay, and after stopping for a quick drink, caught the Manly Ferry out to Manly. This took us past the Martello tower at Fort Denison, upon which a young Charles Lightoller raised the Boer flag as a prank in the early 1900s, and the naval base at Garden Island. Both Canberra-class helicopter carriers were in port - these are the largest warships Australia has operated since the decommissioning of the carrier HMAS Melbourne. On the port side of the ferry, as one approaches the heads, the foremast of the cruiser HMAS Sydney (the first one) can be seen on the shore. To starboard, one can gaze out through the heads to the Pacific - from here, the sea is almost unbroken until you reach South America.

It is somewhere northeast of here that HMAS Australia lies on the seabed, decommissioned and scuttled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. Australia was a battlecruiser - the same class as the unfortunate Indefatigable. She missed Jutland due to damage from a collision with the third member of the class, HMS New Zealand, and thus never saw a major combat action. Her existence, however, deterred German raiders from sailing too close to Australia during the war (although I’d argue that it was actually the entry of the Japanese into the war that really coerced the Germans into fleeing the Pacific altogether.)

We lunched in Manly, and I took a look at the war memorial there - possibly Australia’s oldest, erected before the war had even ended in 1916. I had a look at the beach, too, but it was absolutely packed. We caught the ferry back at around 3pm, and then returned to Hurstville by train.

The real journey begins tomorrow - we leave early for Sydney airport, and then we have the long, long flight via Bangkok to Heathrow. This will be a long undertaking, but I’m not certain there will be much to write about - but I shall make a valiant effort regardless.

[e350tb]

Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia by Frank Bongiorno

Politicians are not held in high regard these days. A short while after the 2022 Australian Election, I read an article on the Conversation about the financial and mental health effects on politicians who had lost re-election campaigns. The comments were so uniformly unsympathetic that one might have thought the author was writing about serial killers or sexual offenders. An MP might have had suicidal thoughts after an election? Well, fuck ‘em, they’re a politician. This disregard was neither surprising nor entirely incomprehensible - the dethroned Scott Morrison government had become connected in the minds of the electorate with corruption, cronyism, arrogance and a lack of empathy, and it’s conservative leanings placed it in the same court as Trump and Johnson, both of whom were generally regarded in Australia (at least among Labor and Green circles) as deeply disreputable.

Dreamers and Schemers is a timely reminder of the humanity of our politicians - even the most disreputable. While one might be tempted to neatly sort Morrison into the ‘schemer’ category and his opponent Anthony Albanese into that of a ‘dreamer,’ Bongiorno demonstrates that most politicians fell somewhere in between. More than that, he delves into the history of Australian political culture, a world where geopolitical events and economic shocks might not affect your vote as much as where you live and what your community is. Bongiorno’s Australian history is one of utopian nationalist movements that saw no contradiction in championing egalitarianism and demanding white ethnic purity, powerful union movements broken by sectarianism, and conflict between high-minded ideals and the need to work with machine politics. It is about the surprisingly deep political history of a country that most foreign people probably wouldn’t associate with politics at all.

Stretching from prehistory to Covid, Bongiorno has given himself an exceptionally large period to cover, and it is a testament to his abilities that it rarely feels like he is glossing or rushing over something. He even finds time to highlight some of the oddballs of Australian political life; from the newspaper editor turned politician who once drunkenly urinated on the floor of state parliament, to the Minister for Justice suspected of murdering his political rivals, to the evangelical who decided that the Second Coming of Jesus was going to happen in South Australia, there is certainly no shortage of colourful characters in this book. While readers will probably detect a Labor tilt from Bongiorno, his praise and criticism is even handed, and none of his judgements feel unfair - although partisans of Jack Lang and Joh Bjelke-Petersen may disagree with me.

Perhaps most importantly, Dreamers and Schemers is an extremely readable book. Bongiorno’s writing style is empathetic with a sharp wit that doesn’t overstate it’s welcome - if I could describe it in one word, it would be ‘cheery.’ Some of it even got a laugh out of me, which is rare when I’m reading history - though that may be because I normally read about war, which tends to be lacking in the comedy department.

For both those who know nothing of Australian political history and those who have been into politics - and in politics - for years, I wholeheartedly and unreservedly recommend Dreamers and Schemers. It was a delight to read, and it’s one I’ll definitely come back to.

[wainswright]

I looked up from the darkened basement. The roof had fallen in, letting in the silver bright moonlight, which as usual lit enough through the always cloudless skies to navigate the ruins of the institute without having to see if I could use the last of the camp’s dwindling resources. As I looked up I saw the thin trails of tree branches held still against the graying sky in the same unnatural way all branches held still in the Breach, only looking the same as a forest from a distance, but every leaf an extension of the branch, stiff and frozen in reality. The line of ants I had been following moved in monotonous lines fell into spiraling patterns as I got closer, another pattern of nature just following the edges of the real world, like the beetles and spiders I had found manifested in this place, eventually coming to gather in large piles and dying, as if reaching the end of a programmed life cycle. Always the same choices, always the same strict paths. The piles of the dead bugs grew out in neatly defined spirals, spilling across the floor to where I had entered the last room, the only hint of how long this process had been reoccurring present in the familiar way the spirals slowly crept north to south, bigger on the north end, smaller in the south. The same mathematical progression of the coordinates the whales kept disappearing to, if you added up the drift of currents to the beaches, while the breach in Australia slowly crept up- a countdown until the final patterns would sync.

[eandamj]

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 16-17 April 2024

We left our hotel in Taihiti at 1.30am on 15 April for a 4am flight. We flew to Auckland, New Zealand first and then immediately transferred to a flight to Melbourne, Australia. As we had crossed the International Dateline on the first flight we flew to Melbourne on the 16 April. The 15 April was lost!

As we arrived at our hotel in Melbourne by midday on the 16th April, we had the rest of the day and all day on the 17th to explore the city. Melbourne as a whole is very spread out but the city centre has many high rise buildings. The Yarra River runs through the centre of the city and the Southbank area reminded us of London with huge numbers of restaurants and has Arts facilities. Here is a view from the riverbank:

There seem to be a great number of newish tower blocks and there is some quirky architecture. The river and the parks and green spaces make it an attractive city centre:

This was a view from Alexandra Gardens:

The city has a variety of older architecture but there is no obvious issue with building a major high rise building next to a Victorian building. This was St Paul’s Cathedral next to modern buildings. It is not as hemmed in as some older buildings:

We used trams a great deal to get around the city. The central area has a free tram service! We had drinks and a wonderful meal out on the south bank area on the 16th with an old colleague and her husband who have lived in Melbourne for over 30 years.

On the morning of the 17th we took the tram to visit the Port Melbourne area. The beach looked lovely, but was empty given that summer seems over with Autumn arriving. We did note a school PE lesson using the beach area:

On our return to the city centre we decided to seek out some of the specific older buildings in the city. We found the old city’s swimming baths:

And here is the old prison with skyscrapers nearby:

Here is the Victoria State Parliament House:

In Fitzroy gardens we saw Captain Cook’s cottage which turns out to be his parents’ cottage moved from the UK to Melbourne! Although it was built in the UK in the middle of the 1700s and therefore claims to be the oldest building in Australia, it has only been in Australia since the 1930s!!!

We finished our afternoon with a visit to the Skydeck in the Eureka tower for a view of the city from a height. The view from the 88th floor was spectacular. We thought this view of the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue for the Australian Open Tennis Tournament and other Olympic sports facilities was great as dusk arrived:

And the Government House in the middle of the Royal Botanic Gardens looked striking:

[pohtiongho]

Unintentional Incidents

Unintentional Incidents

by

Tiong Ho Poh

Copyright 2016 Tiong Ho Poh

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or used in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews, scholarly journals, blogs, and noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Johnny and Basil were in the same class and graduated from the same university abroad.  One day Johnny called up and said he was on his way to report duty in Australia and would like to drop in to have a cup of tea with Basil. Basil invited him to stay with the family because he had an extra room.  Johnny thought it was a great idea. He dropped in and met Basil in the office, and later came to stay with the family for one night. The next morning, it was also his time to leave.

The children had all gone off to schools and the husband too had gone out to work and would  not be back  until the evening. Johnny and Jenny were the only people in the house. She served him the breakfast, hot coffee and others. She was also having coffee with him, sitting on his side.  She could see the erected penis under the thin cotton shorts he was wearing.  She cast a look at that protruded cloth. Johnny knew she was watching. He stood up, put his arms around her. Her silk sarong skirt which was only tucked above the nipples, went loose and dropped gently to the floor, leaving her totally naked as she had not put on an underwear.

In South East Asia, the sarong is used widely and as far as sex is concerned, it is a quick and convenient apparel. During kissing the lady just shakes her body and the whole piece drops on the floor because she only ties it with one knot on her breast!

She either ties a single knot on her breast or gathers many folds on the upper portion of the sarong and tucks them between her breast and the fabric. So when the man is busy sucking her tongue, he can lightly pull one end of the knot and the sarong will naturally drop off. Or he simply unfold the tucked in portion and the sarong will drop too. Because of the tropical heat, most ladies actually don't put on the panties when they are in or around their own house.

No man can stand it. Johnny put his mouth on hers and pushed his tongue in. She did not refuse.  He pushed her on the floor and she opened her legs wide, surely a sign of approval. He went in and started to push in and out. She squealed with pleasure. He then sucked her throat, her nipples and then went down on her cunt.  After that he went up to her mouth again and sucked her tongue and blew off all the sperm into her. She loved the warm sperms running inside her.  Isn’t it ashamed that her own husband was not able to give her such pleasure, after so many years of marriage?

“If you don’t mention it, nobody will ever know about this,”  Johnny assured her when it was over, with her still under him.

“I know. I would have done it with my own fingers in my own room, if you had not done it for me. I knew your dick was flicking under the table, as I saw the protruded portion on the cloth. I love this explosive feeling, and fantasying. My muscles moved and vibrated.”

 “Just wash it and forget about it. If your husband finds out I’m in great trouble,” Johnny continued.

“You think I’m so stupid as to let him know about this?”

“You’re a beautiful lady.  Most men will not be able to refuse it if they have the chance, to kiss you, suck your tongue and go inside you. I knew you would not object because you were casting looks at my projected portion under the table. Am I the first man you gave this chance, apart from your husband?”

“You are the lucky one.”

“Why have all the other men never asked for it, or they have to ask for it ?”

“They had no chance because my husband or the children were always around. One guy wanted to take me up into a hotel room, but all the staff in the hotel knew me.  This is a small town. I did not want to take the risk.”

“You really enjoyed it with me, as if you never had this experience before. Why?” 

“The contractors dealing with Basil’s company always provide him with wine, women and free foods. When he reached home at night, he had no more time and energy for me. I only enjoyed it with him once or twice a month.”

“Why don’t you take up the case and divorce him?”

“I can’t because we are Chinese, We don’t want to hurt the children and our reputation. I am used to this by now. Can you give me another time before you fly off today?” 

“Definitely, I would love it. But please tell me what you want so that I can really help you?”

“OK, later on. Can you make it within three hours from now?”

“No problem, I will try.”

“Don’t be shy, just tell me what you want?”

“I want you to suck my tongue, my neck, nipples, and my cunt down to my ankle. Can you suck and lick like that before going in? Please don’t suck hard on the neck, because there will be marks coming out.”

“I will do as you want. Let’s rest for the next two hours.”

 “Do you have some body lotion which I can use to massage your body?”

She went out to the pharmacy to buy one bottle, recommended by the pharmacist. After lunch they had to do it fast because the children would be back by 3.00 o’clock.  Both of them took a bathe and then rubbed the bodies dry. She laid totally naked on her bed with a towel under her and Johnny removed all his clothes and started to do his duty.  He mixed plenty Australian honey with the lotion. She had never had this other experience. No words can describe it. Isn’t this the reason why many rich men’s wives run off with their husbands’ workers?

 After the thirty minutes message, Johnny began to have an erection. He started to lick and kiss her all over the body for the next ten minutes, as promised.  It was the first time someone rubbed honey into her cunt and licked it. Johnny then got on her and started to pump again.  One orgasm came after another. She was lucky. Many women never had this experience.  She told Johnny to stop working and pulled out. She took the huge dick in her palms, kissed it and put it in her mouth to such it. It was sweet because of the honey.  She told Johnny that his dick was longer and bigger than what Basil had.

So eventually Johnny had to stop, with her tongue still in his mouth and the dick still inside her. She had to watch the time because the mess must be cleaned up before the children come home and the towel washed properly.

When the children came home, they had their lunch and then they went in the family car to fetch Basil and to send Johnny  to the airport. Jenny behaved naturally at the airport when they children told Johnny: “Uncle, please come again.”

“Bye, everybody, please visit me in Australia, during you next school holiday.”

There was no need to fly to Australia as we were told few weeks later Basil had been posted to work off shore, coming home for rest every two weeks. It was up to Johnny to decide how many times he wanted to return. Later on we heard Jenny had to go for jab every three months so that she would not get pregnant.

After plenty visits and many orgasms for more than a year.  Jenny had to fight with Johnny regarding sending Helen to Australia for higher studies.

“Why should  she  go there? We have schools which are just as good in Singapore?” Johnny wanted to know.

“Yes, I know. But we want her to have a change of environment which will improve her life.  She has to see more of this world to grow up to be a better person. She needs the exposure,” Jenny argued.

After many weeks of tug-o-war, Johnny agreed.  So Helen took up her higher studies in Australia, where most Singaporeans still thought was  an advantage.  It was indeed more enjoyable there, with the newly found freedom and the changes on environment.  However, things cropped up in the most unexpected way. 

One night as Johnny was pumping Jenny in the room, Helen came in, wishing to talk to her mother. She was shocked to see her mother in the arms of Johnny, both totally naked, and she was having an orgasm.  Johnny stood up and pulled Helen into his arms and began to kiss her on the lips, and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She was too shocked to push him away, partly as she too enjoyed it tremendously. The mother did not response. Johnny pulled up her blouse, unzipped her bras, pulled down her jeans, and then the satin panties.  She was motionless, but enjoyed his tongue inside her mouth. Her vagina was getting wet. Johnny could see it. 

“Why are you shivering now? Is it your first time?  Don’t worry.  It won’t hurt,” Johnny couldn’t believe it.

She nodded her head.  Johnny led her to the bed and went inside her,  the blood was flowing slowly on the bed sheet. He kept on pumping her and ejaculated inside her with her tongue still in his mouth. She had an ecstasy.  He pulled out and went to his own room.  Johnny could only ejaculate into one of them.  How do you treat two ladies equally? The  ladies lay on the bed watching the ceiling and then Helen went on.

“Why didn’t you stop him, mother?  I may get pregnant.”

“Why? Didn’t you enjoy it?  Why didn’t you leave immediately after seeing us on the bed? You have to give it to somebody one day, why not now? You are going to medical school next year.  It doesn’t matter if you conceive now. Why didn’t you give it to that Singapore boyfriend? ”

“We only kissed, and massaged each other, and I only allowed him to put his fingers inside.  He told me to allow him go inside my mouth. So he ejaculated inside my mouth and he was happy. I was not sure if I wanted to marry him. He also enjoyed being sucked and licked by me on his implement.”

“Why are you unfaithful to father?”

“Didn’t he spend most of his time with the office girls and those women provided by the contractors? I am leaving tomorrow morning and Johnny asked for it once, before I go off. I am just like any other lady, I need it.  Does it hurt anyone? Moreover, Johnny said he wanted to marry you.”

“What is his age?”

“40. He has two sons in England but he had divorced his wife. He said if you marry him, you would be an Australian citizen and you pay local tuition fees.  Isn’t this a good deal?”

“Why did he divorce his wife?”

“He was working offshore on a three-month rotation basis. His wife brought in the ex-boyfriend.  Poor woman. It must be very hard on her?”

“What would happen if I don’t marry him?”

“I will drug your foods and drinks and make sure you eventually love him. He wants you and he also wants me.  You are my daughter. Can’t you stand it? Whenever he wants to do it, please never refuse him. He is good at it and I’m sure you will love it. Just like he did it few minutes ago.  Didn’t he satisfy you? Why were you shivering when he undressed you?”

“His dick was very long and big. I never saw one like that before, and I thought it was going to be painful. It was about seven inches long with a diameter of about 1.5 inch.  Thanks God, there was only slight pain when the hymen was broken. That hymen was actually pulled out by his head of the implement. It’s still on the bed. As he was pushing in and out of me, I had a deep form of release, an explosive feeling. I could feel my muscles moving and vibrating. I wished it could go on forever.”

“Your vagina can enlarge. You see. You are both fated to be together. That guy who took you out for more than  two years did not make it. He gave that chance to Johnny. Is this luck?”

“If I still refuse him, what can you do?”

“I have to help you. Do you know that in China they used herbs to increase lady libido, more than 3000 years ago?”

“How did they do it?”

“They soaked the herbs  in a bathtub for about an hour, and then they asked the lady to lie in the tub for at least 15 minutes. After that she came out and rub herself dry. Within the next hour she would go crazy if a man was not available. Another method was to steam some herbs, collect the essence and mix it with tea or coffee. There was no taste.  It was effective on every woman, within 30 minutes.”

“Why did the men have to do this?”

“They kidnapped or bought those girls from the country side. Those girls were frightened and angry. So they would not corporate during the sex session. The men would not enjoy it. Naturally they needed the girls to build up the sex drive so that they would never refuse.”

“Please tell me if you love dad?”

“Why not?”

“Then why are you having affair with Johnny?”

“It was your dad’s parents who asked me to marry him.  He was at that time very busy with other girls. But his parents did not approve his choice. The parents wanted him to raise a family. I thought it was a good idea. I too wanted a family, and I needed assistance from a man. So I agreed to the marriage.”

“Have you ever fantasized another person when daddy was making love to you?”

“Yes. I often thought of the classmate who had it with me for the first time. We went for a picnic on the beach which was an isolated place. There were huge rocks and boulders, each about 20 feet high, with a diameter of about 15 feet, on the seashore. We were swimming in the sea for about half an hour. It was around noon and was very hot. So we came to the shore and sat in a shade by the side of a boulder, enjoying  the gentle breaking sound of the waves as they arrived at the  shore.  Behind us there was the richness of vegetation and the variety of different types of trees, mostly planted  with wild scape of native plants. Hawks circled and swooped down suddenly from the sky.  Other birds also soared high above us in circle.  What were they looking for? There was the tangle of vines in the woods. It was beautiful. Maybe it was the long time under the hot sun that was giving him the sexual urge. He suddenly pressed me on the sand and removed my swimming suit. I did not refuse. I could have pushed him away if I wanted to. He climbed on me. I was already very wet down there.  The next thing I knew, his dick was inside me. He kissed me on the lips and I automatically put both my hands on his back pulling him hard on me. He stopped kissing and said he loved me.  That was the only time so far I heard a person said he loved me.  If he had not intruded inside, would he still say he love me?”

End

[alliedcreation]

Demand for Dark Stone Market is Expected to Increase at a CAGR of 4.8% by 2032

 “Dark Stone Market," The dark stone market size was valued at $3.7 billion in 2022, and is estimated to reach $5.8 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2023 to 2032. The rising need for home renovation and replacement is one of the major factors projected to fuel the global dark stone market growth. According to a January 2021 Harvard Joint Centre for Housing Studies report, the growth of house remodeling and repair expenditures is expected to increase from 3.5% at the end of 2020 to 3.8% by end of 2021 based on the most current Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA). Similar to this, representatives from the National Association of Home Builders' IBSx virtual event in February 2021 predicted that remodeling spending on owner-occupied single-family homes is anticipated to rise by 4% in 2021 and another 2% in 2022. Remodeling and refurbishment are variables that are expected to fuel the natural stone industry's profitable growth during the forecast period. Additionally, the growing consumer spending on home remodeling is boosting the demand for dark stones globally.

Global demand for dark stones is projected to rise significantly as a result of the rising demand from developing countries. As a result of rising government investments in infrastructure development and expanding FDI in nations like China, India, and Indonesia, there are more commercial real estate projects predicted to fuel the growth of the dark stone market. According to Savills India, the need for data center real estate will increase by 15 to 18 million square feet by 2025. "FDI in the real estate sector (including construction development & activities) stood at $55.5 billion from April 2000-December 2022," according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).

Request For Sample :- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/75125

According to the dark stone market analysis, the market is segmented on the basis of type, application, end user, and region. By type, the market is segregated into marble, granite, limestone, and others. On the basis of application, it is segmented into flooring, memorial arts, wall cladding, and others. Depending on the end user, the dark stone market is categorized into residential and commercial. Region-wise, the market is analyzed across North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and the rest of Asia-Pacific), and LAMEA (Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the rest of LAMEA).

As per the dark stone market forecast, the granite segment dominated the market, accounting for 42.4% of the dark stone market share in 2022 and is expected to sustain its dominance during the forecast period. Dark granite is frequently used for worktops, backsplashes, and bathroom vanities in residential buildings. It can be a magnificent focal point in these rooms due to its rich color and distinctive patterns. The flooring, fireplace surrounds, and outdoor paving made of dark granite give the overall design a polished aspect.

Depending on the end user, the commercial was the leading segment in 2022. The increase in investments in commercial real estate developments in developing countries like China and India is a major factor in the expansion of dark stone in the commercial sector. China saw a $24.8 billion increase in real estate investment in 2022. The IBEF reports that "the Government has allowed FDI of up to 100% for townships and settlements development projects."

Region-wise, Asia-Pacific was the leading market in 2022. The substantial increase in expenditures made in the industrialization and urbanization of rural areas in developing nations such as China and India had a significant impact on the development of the dark stone market in the area. "FDI in the real estate sector (including construction development & activities) stood at $55.5 billion from April 2000-December 2022," according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). Blackstone, a private market investor that has invested $50 billion in the Indian real estate market, also plans to invest an additional $22 billion by 2030. As a result, it is anticipated that rising real estate investment in developing nations would serve as the primary growth driver for the dark stone market demand in the near future.

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The key players operating in the global dark stone industry are constantly engaged in strategic developments such as partnerships, joint ventures, acquisitions, and mergers to exploit the prevailing dark stone market opportunities. Business expansion, acquisition, and collaboration have emerged as key strategies among the market players to strengthen their position and achieve growth in the long term. The major players operating in the market include Marble Trend, Polycor, Inc., Brachot-Hermant NV, Coldspring, Stone Source, LLC., Antolini Luigi and C. S.p.a., Pokarna Limited, UGM Surfaces, Tripura Stones Pvt. Ltd., Aravali India Marbles and Granites, Stoneville USA, Inc. Aro Granite Industries Ltd., Stone Group International, Bhandari Marble Group, and Levantina Y Asociados de Minerales, S.A.

Key findings of the study

The dark stone market was valued at $3,652.2 million in 2022 and is estimated to reach $5,816.2 million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. On the basis of type, the limestone segment is estimated to witness the fastest growth, registering a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period. By application, the flooring segment dominated the market in 2022, accounting for 35.6% of the market share. As per end user, the residential segment is estimated to witness the fastest growth, registering a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period. According to region, the U.S. was the most prominent market in North America in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period.

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[informationandcommunication]

Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market – Forecast (2022 – 2027)

Flame Retardants for Aerospace Plastics Market size is estimated to reach US$ 21.2 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Flame retardants are chemical compounds that are added to polymers like polyphthalamide, epoxy resin, carbon fiber reinforced polymer to make them fire-resisting. The plastics made with the integration of such flame retardants like aluminum hydroxide with polymers make it withstand high temperature, hence making it ideal for an aerospace application that requires high-temperature resistance in outer space. Some plastic like Carbon fiber reinforced plastics is a major user of flame retardants and it has various aerospace applications from the cockpit to the empennage. Hence drivers for flame retardant for an aerospace plastic market that positively impacts its growth are rapid demand for lightweight & cost-effective material in aerospace applications, growing safety concerns relating to the flammability of aerospace components made from conventional materials like metal, wood. However, as the flame retardants are highly toxic, so therefore the regulations imposed by the government organizations like U.S Environment Protection Agency relating to their usage have hampered the growth of flame retardants for aerospace plastics industry.

COVID-19 Impact

COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted the flame retardant for the aerospace plastic market on a global level, as the restrictions and lockdown imposed by governments all across the globe caused a shortage of labor, decrease in the supply of spare parts due to import-exports restriction, and shutdown of various production plants. Hence all this hampered the productivity of the aerospace sector and reduced the demand for new aircraft. For instance, as per the 2021 report of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Global business jet deliveries declined 20.4% to 644 aircraft in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the 2021 finance report of Boeing, the company saw 40% less funding towards new aircraft deliveries in 2020 compared to 2019, and also the company reduced production of aircrafts 787s & 777s while halting production of 737max. As there was a decrease in the demand and production of new aircraft, hence this reduced demand for flame retardant plastics like carbon fiber reinforced plastics that are highly used for making aircraft bodies. Hence such reductions have negatively impacted the flame retardant for the aerospace plastic market.

Report Coverage

The report: “Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market – Forecast (2022 – 2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Functional Anti-Static Additive Market.

By Flame Retardant Type – Metal Hydroxide (Aluminum Hydroxide, Magnesium Hydroxide), Boron Compounds, Phosphorous based (Organophosphorus, Halogenated flame retardant), Melamine based, Others (Silicon-based, Phosphates based). By Application Type - Interior components, Aircraft Fuselage, Engine Pylons, Access doors, Aircraft Flooring, Wings Edges, Others. By Aircraft Type – Military, Heavy Aircraft (Commercial Airliner, Cargo), General Aviation (Light Weighted, Helicopter), Others. By Geography - North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Rest of South America), Rest of the World (Middle East, Africa).

Key Takeaways

Usage of innovative manufacturing techniques like additive manufacturing, in which aircraft parts can be produced using less material thereby making aircraft light weighted & high performance has provided growth opportunities in flame retardants for the aerospace plastic market.

Europe dominates the flame retardants for the aerospace plastic market, as the region has countries like the UK, France, Germany, Spain showing a significant increase in their air commute, new orders for aircraft and components.

With the demand for commercial aircraft continuously growing especially in developing markets, so this has led to an increase in demand for smart new materials, electric propulsion, evolving technologies. Hence such new demands will replace the usage of metal by flame retardants plastics in the commercial aircraft segment.

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Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market Segment – By Flame Retardant Type

Metal Hydroxide held the largest part in flame retardant for an aerospace plastic market in 2021, with a share of over 30%. This is owing to factors like aluminum hydroxide which is commonly used as flame retardant has a very low rate of flame spreading, heat release, smoke production, it is cost-effective, corrosion-resistant and its coating creates phosphorous rich crosslink-aromatic char which provides smoke suppression. Hence it is widely used in commercial aircraft segment in edges of wings or tails, lip skin of nacelle. In 2021 Airbus received an order of 255 new A321neo aircraft from U.S private equity firm Indigo Partners, and in December 2021, Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corporation provided an order of 111 aircraft to Airbus covering Airbus models like A220, A320, A330, A350. With the increase in demand for new commercial aircraft, the usage of fire-resistant materials in such aircraft will increase, thereby promoting demands of metal hydroxides like aluminum hydroxide as flame retardants in the aerospace industry.

Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market Segment – By Application

Aircraft fuselage held the largest share in flame retardants for an aerospace plastics market in 2021, with a share of over 40%. This can be attributed to factors like the usage of polymers including carbon fiber reinforced polymer whose mixture with flame retardants creates carbon fiber reinforced plastics that has unique properties like it does not corrode as metals do, less maintenance cost, high strength & stiffness and is low weighted. Hence due to such unique properties, it has high aerospace application in making aircraft fuselage and less maintenance means more flight time, thereby making carbon fiber planes more profitable. For instance in 2021, 50% of the main body of the new generation, 777max of Boeing consists of carbon reinforced fiber plastic which makes aircraft light weighted and fuel-efficient. The company plans to introduce such material in other passenger aircraft like 737 MAX, whose production is aimed to increase up to 31% in 2021. The increase in usage of such highly engineered plastics will positively impact the flame retardant for the aerospace plastic market.

Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market Segment – By Aircraft Type

Heavy aircraft held the largest share in flame retardants for the aerospace plastics market in 2021, with a share of over 35%. This is owing to factors like, increase in the production rate of heavy aircraft types like a commercial airliner in major aircraft manufacturers like Airbus, Raytheon Technologies, United Aircraft Corporation, Boeing, etc. owing to an increase in domestic and international traveling volume. For instance, in 2021, Boeing delivered 79 commercial aircraft in the second quarter compared to 20 deliveries in 2020, showing an increase of 79%, while Airbus delivered 172 aircraft in the second quarter in 2021 compared to 72 in 2020, showing an increase of 54%. Hence with the increase in the demand for heavy aircraft like a commercial airliner, the demand for effective materials like aluminum hydroxide that as flame retardant can be used in carbon fiber planes will also increase, thereby showing a positive impact on flame retardant for the aerospace plastic market.

Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market Segment – By Geography

Europe held the largest share in flame retardant for the aerospace plastic market in 2021, with a share of over 40%. This is owing to factors like the region headquartering of one of the largest aircraft manufacturers i.e., Airbus that has more than 12 manufacturing sites in Europe in countries like the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Hence with the increase in demand for defense & commercial aircraft and their components in the region, the demand for flame retardants to be used in such aircraft components will increase. For instance, in 2021 Airbus increased the production rate of A320 Family aircraft from 43 aircraft in Q3 to 45 in Q4 in the production plant in France, Germany, Toulouse, and it increased the monthly production rate of A322 from 5 to 6 aircraft per month in Montreal, Quebec, Mobile. Hence with such an increase in the production rate of European countries, the demand for flame retardants to be used in them would also increase thereby positively impacting the flame retardants for the aerospace plastic market in the European region.

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Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market Drivers

Rapid demand for lightweight material

Commercial air transport is growing rapidly in developing markets like India and with new aircraft replacing old ones, the demand for lightweight and cost-effective material like carbon fiber reinforced plastic has increased as such materials have low maintenance and provide proper weight management in aircraft. Hence it is for this reason that various companies like Boeing, Airbus has started replacing the metallic structure of their aircraft with carbon fiber reinforced plastic, and more innovative material like polyamides, polycarbonates are also being used in interior components, seat covers, etc. For instance, in 2021 the majority of construction in a new fleet of commercial aircraft like Airbus350 consisted of a composite material like carbon fiber reinforced plastic and other advanced materials due to which A350 successfully reduced the airframe maintenance cost by 40% and it delivered 25% less operating cost to operators in upper widebody market segment. As carbon fiber planes require less maintenance, so they would be used more flight time.

The growing importance of flame retardants in the aviation sector

Confined and compact spaces in aircraft make it imperative to minimize fire hazards, as flammability is considered a major cause of aircraft accidents. Hence this major problem can be prevented by proper utilization of flame retardant fibrous material that would be used in aircraft design, manufacturing, and in its interior furnishing. Hence such material has good chemical strength, resists smoke gas toxicity and the coating of flame retardants enables it to withstand high temperature. With the growing safety concern in the aerospace sector, the demand for such flame retardant fibrous material like carbon fiber reinforced plastic has increased, and due to technological advancements, flame retardants of various types are being introduced in the market by major manufacturers. For instance, in 2021 RTP Company launched a new series of flame retardant products that can be used application in air handling spaces, LANXESS launched a glass fiber reinforced plastic compound made of 92% sustainable raw material.

Flame Retardant for Aerospace Plastic Market Challenges

Stringent Regulations laid by Organizations

Flame retardants though require flame resisting benefits when applied to materials, but consist of chemicals which when exposed to the human body can have adverse health effects. Hence it causes cancer, impacts the immune system, neurologic dysfunction, and endocrine thyroid disruption. Hence to prevent the adverse impact of flame retardant on human or animal life, certain regulations have been laid down by governments and organizations. For instance, in January 2021, U.S Environment Protection Agency issued phenol, isopropylated phosphate, or PIP 3:1 rule under the Toxic Substance Control Act, which restricts the industrial usage of flame retardants. Moreover, in October 2019 European Union adopted regulation 2019/2021 a package of eco-design requirements for electronic displays, which would restrict the usage of halogenated flame retardants in plastic enclosures. Hence such restrictions have hampered the usage of flame retardants in aerospace plastics.

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Flame Retardants for Aerospace Plastics industry outlook

The companies to develop a strong regional presence and strengthen their market position, continuously engage in mergers and acquisitions. Flame Retardants for Aerospace Plastics top 10 companies

PolyOne Corporation

RTP Company

Israel Chemicals

Royal DSM

Huber Engineered Material

LANXESS

Clariant Corporation

Solvay

DIC Corporation

Rio Tinto

Recent Developments

In 2021, Clariant Corporation announced its establishment flame retardants production facility in China for expansion of its Exolit OP flame retardants. By establishing local production capacity, Clariant greatly enhances the speed at which it can provide solutions to its customers in China.

in 2021, LANXESS signed a contract to acquire Solvay U.S phosphorous additives business. Hence such acquisition will enable the company to increase the production of flame retardants in the North American region.

Relevant Reports

Non-Halogenated Flame Retardant Chemicals Market Report Code – CMR 66963

Alumina Trihydrate (ATH) Flame Retardant Market Report Code – CMR 1014

For more Chemicals and Materials related reports, please click here

[freefartexpert]

Increasing Adoption of Robots in the Manufacturing Sector

Increasing Adoption of Robots in the Manufacturing Sector The adoption of industrial robots has increased exponentially during the last decade due to their benefits, such as high productivity, consistent speed & quality, improved workplace safety, and better floor space utilization. According to the World Robotics 2021 Industrial Robots report published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), a record 3 million industrial robots operated in factories worldwide, with an increase of 10% from 2020. The sale of new robots grew slightly at 0.5% despite the global pandemic, with 384,000 units shipped globally in 2020.

The IFR estimated global robot installations to rebound strongly and grow by 27% in 2022, exceeding the record level achieved in 2021. A new record of 486,800 units was installed globally in 2022 – an increase of 27% compared to 2021. Asia/Australia saw the largest growth in demand: installations were up 33%, reaching 354,500 units. The Americas increased by 27%, with 49,400 units sold. Europe saw double-digit growth of 15%, with 78,000 units installed.

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Robotics and control systems are the pillars of automation. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1 million robots were used in Asia in 2018, making it a global leader in robotics. Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, the U.S., Belgium, and Luxembourg are world leaders in robotics and automation. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), Singapore had the highest density of robots in 2019, with 918 units per 10,000 employees in the electronics industry. South Korea (868 units per 10,000 employees) came second, followed by Japan (365 units) and Germany (346 units). China’s manufacturing sector reached a robot density of 140 units per 10,000 employees in 2018. Japan is the global leader in robot manufacturing, delivering 45% of the global supply. Many industries, such as healthcare, agriculture, food & beverage, manufacturing, and processing, use robots to perform critical and time-consuming tasks with ease & convenience. Medical robots are being increasingly adopted in the healthcare industry. Advanced surgical robotics offers benefits, including short hospitalization after surgeries and less pain and discomfort. The automotive industry uses industrial robots for assembly line applications such as welding, painting, assembly, pick & place, packaging & labeling, and product inspection.

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Industrial robots can perform tasks precisely and work 24x7. Robots are deployed using learning models to reduce human errors and fatigue. Hence, the demand for robots is increasing across the process & discrete industries. Industrial robots can perform multiple tasks with consistent speed and quality. They do not require the same floor space as humans, so the extra space can be utilized for other production processes.

As technology evolves, robots are getting increasingly energy-efficient and easy to deploy across various industries. Mobile robots are equipped with navigation systems, allowing them to interact with other robots and systems. Robots are also entering new markets, including textiles, wood products, and plastics. Hence, the increasing adoption of robots in the manufacturing sector drives the growth of the industrial robotics market.

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[scully1998]

["Earlier, I referred to David Feinberg's writing as sadistic. As a fan of his writing, I think we both know what that makes me.

In the thirtynothing performance, I mentioned that David accused everyone in ACT UP of having failed. Often, older audience members would approach me after the show and say "Oh, I was there that night. It was horrible." Eventually, I found footage of the speech at the New York Public Library. David looks like he's already dead.

"I'm going to be nice for, like, five minutes, and then I'm going to switch to real nasty."

He's sitting in front of the crowd, reading from papers. You can hear the audience shuffling anxiously.

"These are all the ACT UP T-shirts I've bought over the past few years. I'm donating them back to ACT UP."

He tosses a garbage bag of shirts onto the floor.

"This is probably the last time I'm going to be here." He takes a photo of the audience with a disposable camera. "Joe Keenan's gay episode of Frasier is on tomorrow. Okay, that's it. This is called 'ACT UP NEW YORK'S FAILURES SINCE THE DEATH OF ROBERT RAFSKY'. Can everybody hear me?"

They can.

He launches into a diatribe about how ACT UP New York has become too politically correct, losing its focus on actually saving, he says, "our friends' lives."

He screams: "I AM A TOTALLY SELF-ABSORBED, NARCISSISTIC PIG. I DON'T CARE ABOUT LATEX DENTAL DAMS IN EL SALVADOR. I DON'T CARE ABOUT AIDS IN AFRICA, ASIA, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ANTARCTICA, OR SOUTH AMERICA.

"I AM A CORPSE," he says. And that's what I see: a withering, decaying corpse, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"I am no longer fighting with ACT UP," he says, finally. "If ACT UP continues in this fashion, it may as well be plowed over into the same mass grave that is already overflowing with the rotting corpses of our friends who hav. Died. Of. AIDS. And if anyone applauds, they are just applauding their own stupidity. Thank you. I have to go now."

He pauses.

"I have to go. I don't want to talk to anybody."

He starts gathering his things. "I've had it."

There's an exhausted silence while he gets up, tottering to his feet like some kind of homicidal marionette. As he hobbles out of the room, he says, oozing sarcasm, "Thank you for your attention."

I hear Avram's soft voice in the audience calling out, "Thank you, David." And another repeats, "Thank you."

It's a horror movie.

What's most terrifying is how clearly the disease had corroded not just his body but his moral center. This was a guy who had been committed to activism for years, not just to save his own life but to save the lives of everyone infected with the virus. He had been arrested in demonstrations that were focused only on women with HIV; that suggests to me that he wasn't a fundamentally self-centered person. Not totally, not irredeemably. The rapid approach of death did that to him. Death brought him to that place of desperation, cruelty, selfishness.

When I saw that footage for the first time, it made me bolt from the library like I was running from a monster. Walking is hard enough with chronic fatigue syndrome—I don't run unless I'm fleeing for my life. It was freezing, raining, and late. At night, when it rains in New York, the water and darkness wash off any sense of the contemporary. Dark, cold, rainy Manhattan could be any year. I was walking through everyone's New York, hearing David screaming in my head. I felt a dull pain throughout my body. On the subway, my jaw was clenched shut. When I got to my apartment, I walked in circled around my room, head down, fingers stretched out. I watched TV obsessively, miserably. I wanted to bathe in television to scrub David out of my brain. I didn't talk to anyone. I didn't leave my apartment. I didn't write about the experience. I didn't write anything for a month. All I really remember is that feeling. My body, changed.

Earlier this year, I started a new trauma therapy, where I'm supposed to write for twenty minutes every day in the voice of the pettiest, meanest, most immature versions of myself, and then destroy the paper I was writing on. The idea is, that if I release all of the thoughts and feelings I'm repressing, then my body will somehow become healthier. The first few months are supposed to be pretty rocky. Sure enough, the things I write terrify me. But the sensation in my body is familiar. Eventually, I realize I recognize the voice on the page. It's David. Or: David and I are both that voice. Or: David and I both have that voice deep inside ourselves. Or: we all have that voice deep inside ourselves. And:

What will we do with it?"]

dan fishback, from jason & david, from between certain death and a possible future, edited by mattilda bernstein sycamore, 2021

[fuzzypenguintheorist]

Concrete cutting is the core material used in the building industry. It’s primarily used for making the floors, the foundation, and in most cases, the walls of the house as well. In its simplest form, concrete is just a mixture of ground rocks and aggregates. Once it hardens, concrete creates a very solid structure that prevents it from deteriorating due to wear and tear. Concrete is widely used in the building industry because it’s very sturdy and can be molded into numerous different shapes.

At National Contracting, we offer top of the line concrete grinding and cutting services. When it comes to concrete cutting in Adelaide, we are arguably the best company in the entire region. Having been in this industry for the better part of two decades, we have worked on a very large number of different projects. Our expert concrete cutters and professionals have worked with a host of building companies as well as with private homeowners. We have been providing a number of high-quality services along the way.