#in the words of austin butler: tell me how great i am and touch me fjskfhdj

[fangirlwithasweettooth]

I’d like to thank ovulation week for making me feel hot as fuck even in the frumpiest of outfits you’re a real one girl 🤍

[nextlevelstupidity]

"tell me how great I am and touch me" - Austin. Butler on his love language being physical touch and words of affirmation like I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL BE DO GOOD TO YOU.

[that-one-anxious-mango]

You Understand.

Summary: You feel you must be honest with Austin about something before either of you venture further.

Contents: Fluff Ofc! Mentions of virginity and loss of virginity. Overall just a good ole' fashion comfort fic (our favorite).

Pairing: Austin Butler x Black Reader

A/N: Hi! Long time no see! I'm very happy to be posting the first installment of the new year, and I am very excited for what it brings for all of us. I hope you enjoy.

P.S: Everyone PLEASE feel free to comment, I absolutely love reading them and it helps to motivate me to keep going with the series. Also don't shy, re-blog, like, and share if you care! Much love! * hugs*

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“ I can’t believe you don’t like cotton candy. This almost feels like a crime.” Austin goofed, pointing to the small thing of strawberry cotton candy in his hand.

You snorted, “ I can’t believe you do. It’s all nice and dandy until it deflates or melts on your fingers. After that it’s gross.” 

" Plus, I prefer a nice fat funnel cake with all the fixings." You added.

“ You call it gross, and I call it the natural sacrifices one has to make for their favorite fair food. “ He wiggled his eyebrows and took a bite of the sugary confection.

You giggled at how cute he looked and even managed to take out your phone with your free hand to snap a picture of the happy cotton candy boy.

The two of you continued to laugh and joke along the Santa Monica Pier until you came to a comfortable pause of silence. 

That’s when your heart sank at the realization that this was the perfect time to tell him what had been on your mind and heart the last couple of days. You’d even consulted your friends beforehand to make sure the time was right. Once they agreed you knew exactly what had to be done.

So right here, right now, you were going to rip the band-aid clean off in hopes it wouldn’t bleed. 

“ So….” You swung his hand in yours, “ I hate to put some weight on the mood since I know we’re having such a good time.” You started. 

“ Yeah..” Austin replied, tossing his now empty cotton candy paper in a nearby trash.

“ And I can say that these last couple weeks with you have been great, honestly. But I feel like before we continue whatever this is that we’re doing, I need to let you know something because I don’t wanna lead you on.” You said, twisting at the bracelets on your wrist. 

“ Uh huh.” He encouraged me, beginning to feel a bit nervous now. 

“ As you recall, the other night when you came over to return my copy of The Policeman, upon your departure during our goodbyes things got a little spicy an- “ 

Austin immediately went to into apology,  “Again, I’m really sorry about that I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything I jus-”

Quickly you held a hand up to stop him, “ Please. It’s okay. You apologized more than enough the other night. Just wait a second and hear me out, okay. “

He nodded. 

“  As I was saying. Things got a little steamy. Let me just mention again that nothing happened that I didn’t want to. But the thing is….” 

You paused gathering your words right in your brain…

“ I guess I’m trying to figure out a way to say this without sounding completely vulgar.” You rub your now sun-kissed arm as if you're trying to brush the nerves out of your body. 

Austin’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “ Oh. Uh, well. I mean..just say it. Honesty is the best policy and I’m sure I can handle it.”

“ Yeah? “

“ Yeah.” He quickly replied, curious to see what you’d spun in your mind so obscene that you felt like you couldn’t speak.

You cleared your throat, “Okay. Fine. Here it goes..” 

“ With the way that you kissed me that night with your lips, clung your hands onto the edges of my hips, and the sounds I had to suppress from the deepest part of my being when your hand accidentally brushed against my…lower half. I had half the mind to offer for you to stay the night at my place just so that we could “ accidentally”  keep touching each other in many, many different places all night. “ You divulged. 

At your confession Austin's eyebrows shot up and he could feel his body begin to heat the same way it did that spoken of night, you could tell this by the soft peony color that collected on the surface of his cheeks and the way he looked away to watch the wheel turn on the Ferris wheel. 

You did your best to hide the shy twisted grin on your lips that came from knowing that you’d made him blush. 

When he turned back you could see the cheesiest smile play on his lips , “ I see. Well thank you for your honesty..it’s much appreciated.”

“ You’re welcome.” You gulped, “ So, with that being said I want you to know that while I’m not opposed to us taking our-”

“ Relationship.” Austin offered up.

It was your turn to raise your eyebrows at him. You hadn’t expected him to so casually throw out the R in this conversation. But remembering the words of your friends ringing in your mind you decided to play it cool and test the waters, “ Right. Well, let me just say that no one has asked me to be their girlfriend yet so….” 

“ I’m working on it. “ He said, you noticed the small bit to his lips and willed yourself to try and keep your mind focused. 

“ We’ll see.” You casually replied before continuing with your intended statement, “ But something you should know is….” 

You found the words getting stuck in your throat, but when you looked his gentle smile you found the courage to keep going. 

“ You should know that I am a virgin.” You confessed, “ And it is by choice.” 

“ AND, before you say anything. NO! It’s not because I couldn’t have had sex with someone or because people weren’t interested. Or because something’s wrong with me. But because I believe that sex is an intimate exchange of love between two people and I want my first time to be with someone I love and I know is in love with me.” You affirmed. 

      “ If that’s something that bothers you or you think it’s weird or whatever, then this is where we should just call this now so we can both leave this…thing…while still being friends.” You finished, looking out toward the pier in an act to distract yourself from how hard you could feel your heart beating in your chest. 

It was silent for a moment after you finished, and with each passing moment you were preparing yourself for the age old speech every man gave when he couldn’t get what he wanted from a woman.

It’s not you, it’s me. 

When really they wanted to say: “ It’s not me, it’s you and the fact you won’t put out.” 

Eventually his voice broke out among the chatters of people and whirl of the wind,  “ Well, again. Thank you for being honest with me. I really do appreciate it.” Austin began.

“ No problem.” You nodded, arms folded across your chest, as you still tried your best to hide your absolutely nerve ridden body.

“ As far as your…confession goes, I want you to know that you being a-

“ Virgin.” You quickly interjected, “ I’m a virgin.” 

A laugh was stifled from Austin, “ Yes, a virgin. You being a virgin doesn’t bother me any at all.”

You quickly quirked an eyebrow at him, “ Really? “ 

“ Truly.” He smiled, “ Your choice that you’ve made for your body is entirely your own. And I respect and admire your decision.” 

“ Admire? “ 

That’s a first.

“ Yeah. I admire your reasoning behind your choice. Especially since I felt like when it was my time I didn’t exactly lose mine the way one should have. I was younger and shy. Felt the peer pressure from some people my age, so I just went ahead and did it to say I did it.”  He opened up. 

You were stunned a bit at his honesty. No guy you’d ever come across had opened up to you like this, especially about something so intimate. All it did was make you grow more curious to continue exploring just what kind of species of man you were dealing with.

You shook your head, “ God, I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can tell you from experience I know what that’s like and it’s hard.” 

Growing up around the people you did, all through middle school and high school you were ridiculed about being a “ prude “ or a “ prissy princess who thinks she’s better than everyone “ all because you kept your virginity to yourself.

He smiled, “ Thank you. But don’t go feeling too bad. I eventually had the chance to actually make love to someone and have it mean something. Which is all I can ever wish for you and  anyone else.”

You nodded, “ Right. Well thanks for being so cool about it. Lord knows you’re the first guy this conversation has ever actually gone pleasant with. I appreciate your understanding.” 

Austin didn’t hesitate, “ Of course. You gotta know that I’m not in this for something as simple as sex. As people we both could walk out into the world and find that anywhere.”

“ I’m here because as cliche as it may sound, I’ve never met anyone like you before. And I really enjoy spending time with you and picking your brain. And if one day AFTER I ask you officially to be my girlfriend, you decide you wanna take things up a notch that's fine. If not, that's fine too because that's not the most important thing going on here.” He reached out to regrasp your hand in his and give it a tight squeeze.

You look over directly at him to hold the gaze from his eyes and couldn’t help but catch that familiar feeling that made you all warm and gooey.

It was then you could confirm that you REALLY liked him, like truly were infatuated with the man before you. 

“ Well, I guess we’ll just have to see what happens, huh? “ You said.

“ I guess.” Austin smiled.

“ Good.” You whispered.

“ Great.” He replied, making you both bust into a fit of giggles. 

“ Since we have that settled. “ Austin abruptly stopped in front of the ring toss stand, “ I believe I promised you, young lady. A stuffed cow, and I see the most handsome one hanging from this booth.” He pointed to the adorable white and blue spotted cow plush hanging from the stall.

You couldn’t stop the shrill that invaded your voice, “ Oh My Gosh! Austin, he's adorable.” 

“ I know. He’ll look even cuter in your arms. C’mon honey let’s go.” He happily ushered the two of you over to the booth and into your future together.  

[atombombbibunny]

Love In An Elevator - Austin Butler x Y/N 18+

Summary: A game of 20 questions while stuck in an elevator can only go well, right?

Pairings: Austin Butler - Y/N

AN: Hi hi this is my first super smutty thing I've ever written so sorry if its crap, also its unedited cause i just want it out already.

Warnings: Please please please! If you are not over 18 DNI, I do check and I do block. unprotected sex (stay safe plz) handjob, breeding kink? some smutty questions.

words: 2738

Love in an elevator

The first time you had sex it was sweet and slow; it was passionate and hot. He showed you what to do, how to move, he played music in the background and lit candles

The second time was the complete opposite.

You were leaving your apartment with your friend Austin, the two of you decided to meet up early at your place before going to see some other friends. Once you got into the elevator you pressed the button for the garage. “I’m telling you we’re only two blocks from the place.” Austin argued as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his whole body against the wall. The doors closed while you rolled your eyes. “And I’m telling you, its way too hot outside for me to walk anywhere.” The elevator began to move.

Austin sucked his teeth and scoffed at your dramatics. Before you had a chance to remind him of the time, he dragged you to Disneyland on the hottest day of the year causing you to pass out the elevator lurched before coming to a complete stop. Austin stood his calm demeanor gone.

“Oh you have got to be kidding.” You groaned, you continued to press the emergency button whilst taking your phone out of your purse, only to be met with no service. “Oh my god, this is like something out of a movie.” You sighed rubbing a hand on your face, trying to hold back your panic.

Austin touched your arm getting you to stop mashing the button that rang out an annoying ring. “Hey, hey, its going to be alright. You hit that button at least 50 times.” You let out a light laugh. “I’m sure someone is on their way." He reassured.

You released the breath you didn’t realize you were holding and dropped your shoulders. “You’re right, you’re right.” You agreed. Austin stepped around the whole elevator, you silently moved out of his way as he sized the small space up.

“Wanna play 20 questions?” You tilted your head and raised and eyebrow. “What are we 14?” Austin began to sit on the floor. “No.” He dragged out. “But we will be here for a bit, and it will kill some time.” He motioned for you to sit across from him. You sighed and sat down crossing your legs. “You start.” You ordered as you looked around the small enclosure.

Austin went back to being calm in an attempt to keep you calm and relaxed. “Alright, what your biggest fear?” You laughed as you motioned around you. “This.” Austin stuck out his lip and pouted slightly, you chuckled. “Oh course being with you helps.” Austin smirked before nodding towards you. “You’re turn.”

It went like this for a while, asking the basic clean questions before the two of you ran out of niceties. Austin was a lot more sexually active than you, that didn’t mean you weren’t dirty minded. “You’re telling me you’ve never gotten off to a movie scene?” You gaped; Austin shook his head while laughing. “No, was I supposed to, am I not truly a man?”

You giggled. “Come on, wedding crashers had some steamy scenes” You announced before realizing what you were saying, a smirk spread across Austin’s face. “Was that on yours?” Your face completely flushed. “Is that the question for your turn?” You asked hoping he would drop it. “No.” Austin said all to quickly. “what’s your definition of great sex?” you could feel your face getting hotter, maybe it was just getting hot in this small space, you could see a tinge of red on Austin’s cheeks as well. You swallowed hard before letting the truth slide out. “Well, I’ve only really had sex once.” You mutter as you look away.

You weren’t very open about your sexual activity, not many friends knew you were a virgin till a year ago, and that though you enjoyed the sex you felt like you wasted that time. The previous man hurt you terrible not long later. You knew virginity was something created to keep girls from having a lot of sex, but you still thought it was a special occasion, only to get your heart shattered.

Austin continued to open and close his mouth; you knew you made things awkward, but he was the one who asked.

“Same question?” You asked attempting to fill the silence but also unable to think of a new question. Austin stammered for a second before answering. “I guess, I love passion that turns into burning skin and all you can hear is each others breathing, touching each other everywhere you can grab.” His eyes burned into your face as you watched him explain, you breath became heavy, and you wanted to curse being stuck in the elevator but couldn’t.

“Dirty talk is a good addition as well.” He joked his eyes filling with a smile, you let out a laugh. You were happy he was the one to break the thick tension that was building. You checked your phone to see it had already been an hour. “When it someone going to get here?” You muttered putting your phone back, your heart began to pound. “What if no one comes?” You looked at Austin to see him already shifting to sit next to you. “Whoa, its okay. These things take time, we’ll be alright.” He placed his hand over yours.

He was a bit scared inside, but it would never be something he’d show. He needed to keep you relaxed.  

You closed your eyes and tried to breathe properly to calm your heart rate.

“You’ve really only had sex once?” you heard Austin ask beside you, you opened one eye to look at him. “What? Why is that so bad?” Austin raised his hands removing it from your hand. “Woah, never said it was.” He defended. “Its just.” You cocked and eyebrow at him. “Just?” Austin motioned to you. “You’re you.” You opened both eyes to laugh at him. “What does that even mean?” You argued.

Austin let out a light chuckle. “Come one Y/N, you’ve seen you in a mirror, right?” You felt your heart beat a little faster, this time for a different reason. “Shut up.” You mock laughing still. “I’m serious, but whatever don’t take the compliment. Your turn.” He said attempting to get back to the game.

You glanced around the elevator. “Ever do it in an elevator?” Austin threw his head back in laughter. “No.” You smiled at him. “What about in public in general?” He shook his head at you. “That’s two questions, you’re breaking the rules.” You snickered “We’re also way past 20 questions, I think the rules don’t apply anymore.” Austin smiled at you before dropping his head. “Yeah, in public I have.”

His answer wasn’t exactly expected, it had a tingle run up your spine. “Where?” you breathed out, Austin turned to face you to see your shocked but curious expression. He wanted to taunt you for your curiosity but decided against it. “It was just a bathroom on a set once.” You nodded like you could relate to him. “I think it would be pretty interesting to do it in an elevator though.” He added and your stomach flipped. “Yeah?” You could barely contain yourself with his answer, crossing your legs over each other.

“Yeah.” He looked around before he landed back on you, you couldn’t help yourself as you closed the small space between the two of you, your lips landing on his. It wasn’t the perfect kiss, his mouth was slightly open, but God his lips were as soft as always you dreamed.

You pulled back shocked at your own actions. “Austin, I-“ Your lips were quickly pulled into a hard kiss, his hands reaching to rest on your cheeks. His lips covered yours as he held you close to him; your mind was swirling.

“Austin.” You muttered on his lips in between kisses, he hummed. “What are we doing?” You asked, barely a whisper. “What come natural.” He answered before lightly nipping at your bottom lip, you shuddered at the bite, you weren’t fully aware of your movements till you were crawling into his lap straddling him.

“We’re being stupid.” You say inching as close to him as possible. His hands landed on your hips, gripping you hard as his lips moved from your jaw to your neck. “Can’t argue with that.” He growled against your sensitive skin causing you to gasp, your hands gripped his wrists and your hips ground down against him.

Austin let out a low groan at the feeling of your grinding on his, his head resting against your shoulder, his hands moved with you encouraging you to continue. You could feel how hard he was through his jeans, and you couldn’t help the small moan the escaped your lips, feeling yourself get wet at the knowledge that you were the one doing this to him.

“Y/N” He muttered against your shoulder. You pulled back to take him in, his lips were red and swollen, his hair a mess and his eyes were darker. Your heart pounded in your chest as you pulled your shirt off, his eyes widened as he took you in, on hand leaving your hip to massage your breast, his fingers grazing inside to swipe your nipple, you head fell back at the feeling of his fingers.

His other and moved to the button of your shorts, all you could do was watch and it popped open, you lifted your let instinctively helping him in the process of sliding it of your leg. Your breath was heavy as you lowered your hands to undo his pants, fiddling with the button and zipper. Austin watched you this time completely taken in by your movements before his hand landed in your hair, pushing you back to his lips, it was heavy his tongue forcing its way into your mouth. You gripped his shirt tightly as you rested your core back against his member.

It was pulsating against you causing you to moan into your kiss, you pulled back from him your confidence growing slightly as you pulled back his waistband, setting his cock free. It was big, bigger than what you had, had in the past. It twitched and all you could do was stare at it. Austin was breathless as his finger looped into your panties and pulled them down.

Lifting you let once more allowing them to slide down one leg, you looked at him, his pupils were blown as you placed your hand around his large shaft, he hissed at the contact at first before letting his head fall back on the wall. “Y/N. fuck.” He groaned, you began to slide your hand up and down. You wanted nothing more but to taste him, but you didn’t know how much time you had with him in here. You leaned back up to position yourself over him but before you could move to much Austin’s thumb moved to press against your clit.

You let out a loud moan from the feeling of his finger on your bundle of nerves, one finger slid between your wet lips. “Fuck, you’re this wet for me?” he asked, your head dropped forward, his other hand cupped your still covered breast, his fingers fighting to get in to roll your nipple in between his fingers. “Oh god.” You groaned out your teeth clenching together in pleasure. Your voice was barely a whisper as you leaned towards his ear. “Austin, fuck me.” You begged as you forced your hips forward guiding his cock through your slick folds, you could feel his precum slid over you.

Austin let out a guttural groan as he positioned himself at your entrance, he paused for a second, capturing you lips with his once more as he placed a hand on your lower back, moving you to press onto him. You feel as his tip slide into you, your wall clenching around him as you let out a whine, trying to adjust to his size. “Austin.” You gasp.

Austin pressed gentle kisses into the hot skin of your neck. “Mm, I know.” He was trying to comfort you, his mind going blank as you sunk onto him slowly. “Fuck, you’re really tight.” His hand moved from you back, back your waist were he squeezed hard. You sink a bit more, taking in a sharp breath realizing he’s still not fully in you. “Hurts a bit.” You muttered, the pleasure luckily being more than the pain.

“Not used to such a big cock hey?” you felt yourself clench at his words. “N-no” you respond, your hands tightly gripped his shirt as he finally bottomed out inside you, you both let out breath moans, your hand running up into his hair and gripping it. “Oh fuck.” Austin utterers feeling you tighten against him. He wants nothing more but to go animalistic on you, but he holds back.

You let out a needy whine as you attempt to move. “Help me, Austin.” You plead the coil in your stomach tightening at the full feeling. Austin lifts you up a bit as he slides down to the ground a bit more before gripping your hips with both hands, almost lifting you completely off of him before handing you slide back down. The feeling of him completely filling you out almost becomes unbearable as he moves you slowly a few more times.

Soon he thrusts up into you, meeting you as you slide down his cock. You throw your head back in complete pleasure as he hits a spot that feelings like heaven, he beings to speed up his movements till all you can hear is the slapping of skin as your breasts bounce with each thrust. You close your eyes gripping at his chest. “Talk to me.” You cry. Austin groans at your request, his fingers squeezing you tighter, most likely leaving bruises. “Fuck, you’re doing so good.” He tells you, his tip kissing your cervix sending a bit a of pain down your back, only making you love this more.

“You were made to take my cock; your pussy was made just for me.” He says thrusting into you harder, losing his control and fucking up into you as hard as he can. You can barely keep track of your breathing. “Wanna cum in this pussy, wanted to for so fucking long.” He confesses catching you off guard as you watch his eyes fill with lust, the bright blue of his eyes almost completely gone. “Austin.” You whisper as you feel yourself tighten around him. “P-please cum in me.” You beg, the coil feels so tight like it will burst at any second. Austin groans loudly and growls at your acceptance, his thumb finds his way to your clit again rubbing shapes against you.

You let out a scream as you body shakes. “A-Austin, God. I’m going to cum.” Austin’s hand slides up to your ribs, his hand exploring every inch of you. “Yes baby, cum on my cock.” With his permission you lose yourself in your orgasm as it tips over, your hands bundle as your knuckles turn white, you whole body spasms as constant waves hit your cunt, you feel yourself pulse around his cock only bringing you more pleasure. Austin loses himself at the feeling of you cumming around him and his thrust begin to get messier but harder, you swear you can feel him in your stomach as he presses himself into you as much as possible. Hot streaks fill your pussy as his cock pulses in you, “God dammit baby.” He growls as he empties himself into your cunt.

Almost like magic the elevator surges and begins to move again, you quickly climbed off of Austin, dressing yourself as he laid there attempting to get his breathing steady, you could feel his cum sliding down your leg as you stood up. Austin quickly did his pants back up as the elevator continued to move down. He stood before cornering you to press soft kisses against your lips and ears.

The doors finally opened to the garage but before you could move to leave Austin pressed the button to your floor. “If you think I’m done with you already, you’re out of your mind.” He growled into your ear as the doors closed once more.

[average-guy-reviews]

Elvis (2022)

Everybody knows who Elvis Presley is, and everyone knows his story...or do they? This film removed that certainty very quickly as it made me realise that I knew only the surface of the tale. The water below that surface is much deeper and darker than most people probably realise.

This is not a light telling of the glory of Elvis. This is a dark, gritty, look at the underbelly of the beast that was the life of the King of Rock and Roll.

Starring Austin Butler, as the eponymous star, and Tom Hanks, as 'Colonel' Tom Parker, the story is told of the rise of Elvis from his roots in the slums of Memphis to the highest of heights, and on.

Austin Butler's performance is flawless, riding the rollercoaster of joy and pain, nightmares and dreams, that was the life of the King. There are times in the film where it is easy to forget that it's a 'movie', and not a fly on the wall piece. To put it into perspective there is a section near the end when it switches from movie footage to actual footage of Elvis and, at first, I was hard pressed to notice the change. That is how perfectly Butler nails his role.

Tom Hanks is excellent as always, though I find it impossible to think of a role that he has done where he has been even the remotest bit a villain. And yet here he is just that. In his own words in the film he is "a conman out to empty the pockets of the rubes" who sees Elvis merely as a sideshow attraction. Something he can use to empty those pockets, and all the way through he lives by that mantra. Hanks plays the nuances of Parker with all the skills he has. Sometimes he's a good influence, other times he's the devil on the shoulder, yet all along he is only out for himself. Tom Hanks is a master of his craft, and this may be one of his greatest performances.

Baz Lurhmann has given us a masterpiece of movie making. The direction is on point at all times, the performances he gets out of the entire cast are believable and entrancing. His choices of shots, and setting, all of it is just absolutely spot on. If you knew who Lurhmann was, but didn't know he'd directed this you'd be able to tell quickly, and that is in no way a criticism.

The supporting cast is just excellent, particularly Olivia DeJonge, as Priscilla, and Dacre Montgomery and Luke Bracey. I cannot think of a single performance in the film that i could point to as 'not good', and certainly none that were bad.

Elvis has been in my life from the very day I was born. I knew going into this that it was either going to be the worst dross I had ever seen or a spectacle of epic proportions. I'm pleased to say it was very much the latter. I normally dislike biopics because they tend to soft soap the person, and give everything a rosy tint. This film shied away from that and is, for me, a much better watch for it.

Despite walking out with tears running down my cheeks, and a heavy heart, I am 100% going to see this again. As I rose from my seat I'm not ashamed to say that I touched my heart and said thank you to the King.

This is a film that tells the dark side of the story of, arguably, one of the most famous people of all time, certainly one of the biggest influences in music history, and it is a great, great, film. I'm not going to break my scoring system but if any film was going to do that it would be this. This is a straight 10/10, with a full recommendation to go watch it.

[rbrown2019-blog]

Why the Golden State Warriors will NOT win the 2019 NBA Championship

 Edit 1: 4/20

Yes, you read it here. The Warriors will not complete their ever so wanted 3-peat, nor do I think they will even make it to the NBA finals. I believe that the Houston Rockets or the Milwaukee Bucks have the greatest chance of taking down the defending champions. In this blog, I am going to break down the starting lineup match-ups, as well as each teams’ offensive and defensive play-style.

Rockets vs Warriors

How will the Rockets beat the Warriors? The Pick and Roll. Clearly, the Warriors can’t handle the Clippers’ Lou Williams isolation ball/pick and roll game, as he lead the Clippers charge putting up a 36 points-11 assists stat line in Game Two AT the Oracle. If the Warriors can’t stop the Clippers’ offensive moves, please explain to me how they will be able to stop James Harden and Chris Paul? With Demarcus Cousins now being ruled out for the rest of the playoffs, you might have better defense with Andrew Bogut. But let’s not forget about that 3 point line, the true reason why the Rockets are so deadly. As a team in the regular season, they averaged a total of 16, made 3s per game; second being the Milwaukee Bucks at 13.5 (NBA Stats). 

Edit 2: 4/21 Continuation of Rockets Analysis

Running the offense through James Harden and Chris Paul opens up so many opportunities for them to score, as well as the other 3 or 4 guys on the court, all ready to shoot. Double teamed? Kick it out to Eric Gordon or P.J Tucker. The Warriors are protecting the 3? Lob it up to Clint Capela or Kenneth Faried. Thus, the Rockets just have too many weapons in their starting 5 and off the bench that can torch the Warriors on any given night.

Now yes, The Warriors have their big 4 in Durant, Curry, Klay, and Draymond. And yes, the Rockets don’t have the greatest defense. The big difference is, the Warriors do not really have that guy to throw the lob to, now that Demarcus Cousins is out. When they set up their own pick and roll, they can easily attack coverages such as switches and hard hedges, just like the Rockets. Their one big piece they now lack is a big man to throw the lob to on the roll. Draymond Green, an undersized 6′7 forward is a great option, but I believe he won’t match up against the Rockets bigs, (please prove me wrong). The Warriors do indeed have a man named Kevin Durant, who can get you 30 on any given night. I truly believe he is the X Factor to this series, and it all depends on how many shots he wants to take a game. He needs to quiet the media and haters and prove to them that this is his team, not Curry’s. 

EDIT 3, 5/3: Warriors vs Rockets: Games 1-3

Wow. All I have to say. This has been a very entertaining series, from on the court to off the court. If you are an NBA fan, you couldn't ask for anything more, except if you are James Harden or the Rockets. Yes the Warriors are up 2-1 in the series, but the big ref scandal on not knowing their own rule they created a couple of seasons ago about closing out on a player is absolutely ridiculous. Mr. Scott Foster was the main target for this blame, since it was in his zone. The problem was, none of the refs attempted to call it, even if it was in his zone. There were many occurrences of it, mainly that James Harden was apart of. He is known for initiating contact with a defender, but the Warriors players gave him nowhere to land after he shot. Though the Rockets are still in this series, a stolen game at the Oracle will come up big down the road.

Throughout the series, we have seen tempers flare, terrible acting, and Steve Kerr doing absolutely nothing this whole series except trolling the internet and the Houston Rockets. Very funny, but we all know the Warriors could win it all with any head coach. Harsh words, but give the ball to Kevin Durant- just like they did in the 4th quarter of game 3- and watch magic happen. It is unbelievable how good of a player he is. He can do it all, and I do truly believe it is HIS team. Steph Curry may be a fan favorite, but KD is showing up day in and day out, just look at his playoff numbers, he is averaging 36 points on 51 percent shooting. Like I said, Kevin Durant is truly the X factor for the Warriors, it all depends on how many shots he takes, and how many shots they let him take in a row. This man is the definition of streaky, and the Warriors have yet to use him to his full potential.

Edit #4, 5/5: Warriors vs Rockets Games 4 and 5

As the series has gone on, we have seen a lot more flopping, acting, and numerous maneuvers in order to exploit the referees and get a call. These games in my eyes are turning into plays, while each act is a quarter. You never know what is going to happen next from these guys. #BringBack90sBasketball . Now if you know 90s basketball you may think I am contradicting myself saying I do not like trash talk and miniature fights in basketball, but I am trying to say that these days the refs immediately blow their whistles for a technical if you stare someone down, or talk trash a player. This whole series has been a prime example of what I explained above, and it needs to stop.

Despite the flopping and complaining, we got to see Kevin Durant and James Harden both take over in Game 4, and it was a fun scoring battle to watch. James Harden ended up scoring 38 points, while KD led his team in scoring with 34. A great battle between each of these players in the fourth quarter, but the Rockets ended up tying up the series 2-2 after some missed clutched three pointers by Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. 

Steph Curry. Has yet to REALLY show up for his team yet. Yes he is still putting up great numbers, but not MVP type of numbers we expect to see from this man. From the missed layups and the wide open threes, Curry has really struggled to put the ball in the net when his team needs it, ESPECIALLY in the fourth quarter. I will give say though he was the main reason why the Warriors brought home game 5 after KDs calf strain. But now since KD is ruled out for the series, Steph Curry really needs to start finding his shot quick in order to avoid elimination from the playoffs. I wouldn't say Austin Rivers, Shumpert, and Cp3 are 100 percent locking Steph up, but they have definitely made a major contribution to his struggles.

Edit #5, 5/7: Could the Raptors be a new rival? 

Never thought I would say this, but the Raptors are actually looking great in the PLAYOFFS. We all know Kawhi Leonard has been putting his team on his back and making up for the “Playoff Lowry” jokes that have been happening, but Marc Gasol and Pascal Siakam have really stepped up their game. Gasol has been rock solid offensively, and has really stepped up defensively when it comes to guarding the post or contesting shots. Not to mention, Marc Gasol is creating shots for his teammates, and taking a major gap out of the equation that the Raptors have of depth in the front-court. Also, Paskal Siakam has continued to show us why he will be a offensive and defensive star for many years to come. He is averaging 22 points per game, 1 steal, 1 block, and 7 rebounds a game. Those are some amazing stats coming from a player who averaged 7 points last season in the playoffs. Hats off to both of these guys, as well as the rest of the Raptors role players, for shutting down the Sixers offense.

Kawhi Leonard. The Raptors 100 percent made the right move by bringing him and Danny Green over to the 6. I couldn't be more proud of him, after sitting out a whole season due to his situation with the Spurs, he has been the second or third best player right now in the NBA. He has greatly handled Jimmy Butler and the Sixers defense, averaging 31 points this postseason, to go with an effective field goal percentage (EFG) of 61.2 percent. Not to mention, his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) has been 31.2, which is off the charts. As the article I linked said it, he is a Defensive player of the year putting up 30 points a game; that deserves comparisons to the Greatest of all Time, Michael Jordan. We will see if he can continue this high level play, especially against teams like the Bucks, and if they can get to the NBA finals, the Western Conference. 

Edit 6 5/8: How the Blazers can Defeat the Warriors

We all remember Damian Lillard telling reporters he believe the Blazers will win the series in 6 games. That turned into a meme real quick. Now that the Warriors have lost: some of their firepower on defense, the new weapons the Blazers have added, and the emerging of a superstar back-court in Dame and CJ, the Blazers truly match-up with these high flying defending champions. They will need to make a little magic happen-especially at the Oracle Arena- if they want to take this series and advance to the NBA finals assuming they beat the Nuggets.

First off, Damian Lillard has been the definition of clutch, along with Steph Curry. In my eyes, we are seeing the number 1 and number 2 point guard duel each other in the Western Conference Finals. Dame and CJ need to be able to out-shoot their perimeter based offensive, or this series will go downhill very fast. Portland will also need to use their size effectively to counter post touches from Kevin Durant. This will easily be their greatest challenge of the series, because we know both team’s back-courts can score at ease, but can Nurkic and Aminu shut down the best pure scorer in the league. Otherwise, I see the Warriors not having the biggest problem against this Blazers squad.

Edit 7 5/9: The Nuggets Bigs’ are the Key

This blog is turning out to be talking about each team left in the playoffs and talking about how they have a chance on taking down the defending champions. I am totally ok with it, but from a readers standpoint, it may seem very annoying. This Nuggets team really succeeded in the regular season, though then again, it is the regular season. The main key to their success was their ball movement, and their patience. Unlike the Rockets- and for some games the Warriors- the Nuggets use the whole 24 seconds given to them most of the time in order to get a shot off. The fast pace threes are greater than twos game the Warriors play is not their type of game. The Nuggets need to make sure their game is being played, and they are not rushing.

Taking a look at their roster, they are led by the 7 foot point guard/center Jokic, key role players in Will Barton, Garry Harris, and Paul Millsap. Finally, they have an emerging star in Jamal Murray. I love and been loving this mans game ever sine his days in Kentucky; a high flying, electric, fun to watch and impossible to hate player. I see his game very similar to Damian Lillard, the man he is going up against right now in the Western Conference Semifinals. It has been very fun to see both of them go at each other. 

Getting back on track, the Warriors lack the size and depth of bigs on their squad, so if Millsap and Jokic will have a field day going against Draymond and Looney if the Nuggets give them post touches. If the post isn't working, both of these big man are great play-makers, and are willing to set another player up for an open shot. On defense, the Nuggets might have a tough time guarding perimeter shots and the pick and roll/pop offense the Warriors run. Though this team has some great defenders in Will Barton and Garry Harris-who will need to be constantly on Curry and Thompson- they must protect the perimeter and be ok to give up lobs and post-up baskets. The Warriors do not completely live and die by the three, and are willing to distribute the ball, so the Nuggets need to be aware of the extra pass and weak side ball screens and cuts the Warriors do to free Curry and Klay. As for Durant, he will get his shot no matter what, but the Nuggets need to make sure they double team him in the post, preferably with their two bigs.

Edit 8 5/10: The Rockets are sent home

Despite Kevin Durant being ruled out for Game 6, the Warriors took the series after a dominating performance by the Warriors back-court Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. I am truly happy for them, both of them started to find their shot and consistency that they have been burning the NBA with during the regular season. Though lets not get ahead of ourselves here, Curry did score 0 points in the first half, and Klay Thompson got off to a decent start. Despite that the game was still neck and neck in the 1st half. Yes, the Rockets deserved to lose this one. Though, from what I watched, there is nobody truly to blame. As Jonathan Fiegen puts it in his article reflecting on the game, James Harden did not fail. He did not succeed, either. No one can claim that he did in another loss, another season ending in frustration. But as much as many will blame him for the latest playoff loss and use it to define him as had been promised even before the game began in the event of a Rockets loss, if he is to be ripped now, they are talking about games of his past. This is a perfect explanation of tonight's game in terms of a Rocket fan’s shoe. I would though argue they should have been up by more at halftime due to the offensive struggle the Warriors had, but not every game is winnable.

 Edit 9 5/11: Bucks Analysis

This is the team I expect to be in the NBA finals, and now that the Rockets are gone, the team I want to win it all (in case you didn't know or infer from my previous edits, I don’t really like the Warriors). I am now going to break down the match-ups, and how I think the Bucks can really take advantage of the Warriors fast paced, high flying offense.

Currently, all I know is that Kevin Durant's leg is going to be re-examined in a week, but I am going to assume that he is going to play in the NBA finals. That will be Giannis’ or maybe Kris Middleton's assignment. As I have said for the past teams, Kevin Durant will get his shot, the Bucks just need to make sure that the shots that they give him are not full isolation plays ran for him. As for the back-court, I am really confident that Bledsoe and Middleton have the defensive ability to lock up Curry and Thompson. Both of them are solid defenders who have the ability to guard such of players. 

The Giannis Durant match-up is one for the century. Two freaks of nature dueling out with one another for the championship (assuming that is the finals match-up). Both of these players are in their MVP form, and certainly showing it these playoffs, but I believe Durant has the slight edge over him due to his experience in these very intense situations. I fear is the lack of experience this team has. The NBA Playoffs are a whole different type of basketball, not to mention that the NBA finals are the best of the best basketball. We will see if Giannis can continue to perform how he has been all season. Otherwise, the Warriors are most likely seeing a 3-peat.

This is an English Project, I am not a professional blogger nor do I have any experience in blogging. I will continue to update this blog as the playoffs go on, as that is one of the requirements for getting full credit.

[adgradlife]

Meet This Year's Stickell Internship Program Recipients

Every year, junior students from across the country are nominated to be a part of the prestigious Vance and Betty Lee Stickell Student Internship Program. Established by the Los Angeles Times and the American Advertising Federation (AAF) in 1988, the Stickell Internship program strives to “raise awareness and understanding of the advertising processes and business ethics among future advertising professionals by providing real-world, hands-on experience at top firms in the integrated marketing communication industry,” according to their website.

“We have been nominating and successfully placing students in Stickell Fellowships for as far back as I can remember,” said Lisa Dobias, AFF sponsor and senior lecturer. “Because we so regularly have students chosen for this honor it can be easy to forget that being selected for this exclusive program from among all AAF student chapters across the country is truly one of the highest honors advertising and PR students can receive. Our students are simply that amazing, so much so that in some years, as is the case this year, we have two students selected for Stickell from among hundreds of applicants across the country.”

Continuing the UT legacy will be Natalie Myers and Sid Subramaniam, both third-year advertising majors in the TexasMedia sequence, as well as officers for the Texas Advertising Group (TAG). Natalie and Sid were two of twenty students selected to be a part of this year’s Stickell Internship class and will be spending their summers in San Francisco and New York City respectively. We recently met up with both of them and asked a few questions about their summers and what they are looking forward to most!

Natalie Myers

Q: Tell me more about the Vance and Betty Lee Stickell Student Internship Program.

“The Vance and Betty Lee Stickell Student Internship Program places outstanding juniors with a paid, 10-week summer internship in media organizations, advertising agencies and brands. At the beginning of January, your AFF sponsor nominates you (in this case, it was Lisa Dobias) and from there you submit an application packet with a variety of letters, essays and other requirements. Prior to being nominated, I had slightly heard of Stickell from me stalking Marisa Price’s career path to no end. When Lisa nominated me, I was unbelievably shocked and didn’t think it was real for the longest time. I immediately called my parents and started crying - I am quite the happy crier. From here, about a month and a half later, I got a confirmation email from Dr. John Murphy, solidifying my placement at BSSP. Once again, I called my parents immediately, only this time, happy balling.”

Q: Where are you going to be working this summer and what will you be doing?

“This summer I will work on the media team at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners in San Francisco! Whoohoo! I will come back permeating West Coast vibes. I cannot express how excited and grateful I am for this opportunity.”

Q: What you most excited for living in San Francisco this summer?

“I am most excited to live in a different, amazing city. I have had it in my mind to get out of Texas this summer and it’s finally happening. (I have this pre-planned exact life timeline/expectations so according to that, I am right on schedule!) I am excited to learn and be a part of the culture of the city, meet new, interesting people and actually work on client projects and to make a difference at BSSP while I am there. I still have to navigate my ferry/light rail route across the bridge everyday. I’ll keep y’all posted!”

Q: Do you know what projects or clients you will be working on it?

“As of right now, I do not know. I have talked with previous BSSP Stickell interns and they couldn’t stop raving about their experience with the agency. They talked of ownership and responsibility of work, as well as the unmatched culture and people that make up the agency. I have a lot to look forward to!”

Q: What interests you most about advertising?

“At the absolute core of what we know as advertising is the human impact. At the core of all media and advertising decisions, a human decides which path to take. A human says yes or no to a big question. It is a gut response. That human connection and interaction is the center of our advertising world. The psychology behind human decisions and consumer purchase paths is relevant and beautiful. I am obsessed with this industry because of how real, relevant and true it is. We have helped shape today’s culture, connecting brands and consumers, establishing relationships that touch people at unique, smart contact points. So simply put, what interests me most about advertising is the way that it connects people to people, maintaining this presence of honesty, raw truth and openness.”

Lisa Dobias, senior lecturer and co-founder of TexasMedia, said:

“The best way to describe Natalie is fearless. She literally is among the first in classes or outside meetings to step up and take on tasks yet is professional beyond her years. Natalie always seems to show just the right combination of pushing the boundaries while maintaining control, and she is simply a pleasure to work with. It is easy to see why she is so well respected among her peers and is such a great fit for Stickell.”

Q: Overall what are you looking forward to most?

“Overall, I am looking for another perspective. I am looking to see this world through another’s lens. I acknowledge that others have so much more experience than I do. I want to learn from their mistakes, making my own along the way. I am looking forward to a new city and having to be comfortable being uncomfortable, forcing myself out of my comfort zone. I want to continue to flesh out my media passion point. I have never been a ‘media planning’ intern before, so this will be an eye-opening and reconfirming experience for me. I am forever grateful.”

Sid Subramaniam

Q: Where are you going to be working at this summer?

“This summer I’ll be working at Giant Spoon LLC’s NYC location.”

Q: Do you know what you will be doing yet? Or what clients you will be working on?

“I’ll be working as a media intern, but have been told by Giant Spoon that we’ll be in the midst of activating some new brands in the summertime. Some of their clients include the NY Times, Google, LEGO City, GE, and NBC.”

Q: What are you most excited for living in New York City?

“In one word, culture. I’ll be living and working in East Village, Manhattan, which is known as the birthplace of punk rock and a haven for artists and poets. I’m hoping the environment can fuel some original and creative media executions on my part. Austin has a very strong culture itself, but I’m curious to observe and engage in something vastly different.”

Q: How did you find out about the Vance and Betty Lee Stickell Student Internship Program?

“When I was the membership & recruitment officer for the Texas Advertising Group, my President and Vice President, Blake Balser and Marisa Price, were both nominated and selected for the Stickell Student Internship. This was essentially how I found out about the program. It was after my election as TAG’s president, and my acceptance into the TexasMedia program, that both myself and my VP, Natalie Myers, were nominated for the internship by Lisa Dobias.”

Lisa Dobias, AAF sponsor, said:

“Sid is confident, eager, and modest, but more than anything he is the voice of reason regardless of the circumstances. No matter what the challenge, Sid remains both calm and proactive. From serving as TAG President, to taking 18 hours and being a Moody Mentor, all the while leading in his TexasMedia groups, Sid continuously seems to have so much on his plate, yet he does it all seamlessly and always with a huge smile on his face. I am thrilled Sid will represent us in Stickell this year.”

Q: Overall, what are you looking forward to most?

“I tend to do my best work when I’m amongst teams and crowds. NYC seems like the bustling environment where I want to begin my venture into the agency lifestyle. So far I’ve interned at both media channels and start-ups in the ATX area, but this will be my first agency-side internship. As it’s an independent shop with intriguing clients, I’m really looking forward to understand the more subtle parts of working at an agency; the things you can only learn on the job.”

[epchapman89]

Michelle Johnson Of The Chocolate Barista: The Sprudge Interview

Back in January, Sprudge announced our reader-selected winners for the 8th Annual Sprudgie Awards, honoring the best and brightest in global coffee. We were thrilled with our reader’s selections this seasons, especially for the all-important final award of the evening, the award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.

Past Outstanding Achievement awardees have been global organizers (Third Wave Wichteln founders Markus Reuter, André Krüger, and Thorsten Keller), industry leaders gone too soon (Jim Karr), trendsetting entrepreneurs (Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee / Go Get Em Tiger), event visionaries (Gerra Harrigan, for her work with the Mid-Atlantic Northeast Coffee Conference), competition mavens (Marcus Boni for his work in the 2011 US Barista Championship cycle), and influential green coffee buyers (Aleco Chigounis, Stephen Vick). But never before has the award been given to a working barista.

That changed in 2016 when Michelle Johnson—a Phoenix coffee professional, competition barista, publisher and speaker—was selected by our readers for this distinguished honor. Johnson’s work as the author of The Chocolate Barista has resulted in some of the most thoughtful coffee writing of 2016—an honor for which she was also nominated—especially for essays like Clearing Eggshells and A Word on Inclusion and Representation. These works, along with her ongoing work as a coffee professional and her daily content via Instagram and Twitter, resulted in a body of work we felt most certainly deserved recognition in the 2016 Sprudgies. Happily, our readers agreed.

We caught up with Michelle a few months on from receiving this award, to check in on what she’s got planned next for the Chocolate Barista, and to reflect on the challenges and opportunities she faces on her own path through a life in coffee. Sprudge co-founder Zachary Carlsen spoke with Michelle Johnson digitally from Phoenix.

Hey, Michelle! Thanks for talking with me. You’re the first working barista to win a Sprudgie Award for the Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence—what does this mean to you?

That’s so crazy to think about, and I hope I’m not the last! Since baristas haven’t received this award before, I always thought it was unattainable. It goes to show the impact baristas can have on the industry as a whole. Baristas are just as important to the grand scheme of coffee as other roles along the supply chain. We are an extremely valuable part of the overall coffee market and what we do for our guests and each other should be recognized!

You are also a competition level barista, and we’ve covered your routines several times over the last few seasons. What do you like about competing?

Oh, competition. I love to hate and hate to love competition (laughs). But I enjoy it because it forces me to improve my technical skill every time and each year, I try to focus on one thing to improve upon. I made huge progress in my palette development and discerning tasting notes with this last competition, so that was a personal win for me. Other than that, competition is a great excuse to see a ton of people I don’t get to see that often, make new friends, and turn all the way up at the parties!

In your routine in Austin you said, “If there’s something that has the power to make a positive change around the world, it’s coffee.” Can you expand on that?

The coffee industry is really young in comparison to tea, beer, and wine–specialty coffee is younger than them all. What sets coffee apart, though, is its accessibility. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting coffee from a high-end coffee shop or McDonald’s, it’s accessible at varying price points, giving it an innumerable amount of reach.

We are already creating and improving systems to make coffee sustainable for the people cultivating it, but what I wanted to focus on in my routine is the retail side of it. The barista’s ability to promote positivity is truly endless. It could be in the interactions they have with customers. It can come from coffee community efforts to promote wellness and self-care or even connecting with outside communities for everyone’s benefit. (i.e. volunteering, serving coffee at a rally, etc.) There’s no right or wrong way to do it, but this industry, along all parts of the supply chain, has that ability to do some really amazing work and set an example. So, let’s do it!

How did your website The Chocolate Barista get started?

I’ve had the idea for The Chocolate Barista since late 2014, right around my first time competing at the Big Western Regional Barista Competition in Palm Springs. I was in college at the time so the focus was going to be about juggling school, my passion for my career in coffee, and working to bring together the Phoenix coffee community. I put the idea off for a year, dropped out of college in that time, and decided to shift the focus towards lifestyle blogging but as a barista. I still wanted to focus on what was going on in here in Phoenix and plan to shed more light on our growing community! My good friends, Kristine Morgan and Alex Leiphart really helped put a fire under me to finally get going with their work on the website video (a new one is coming out soon) and overall branding, respectively.

I always had it in mind to bring up my experiences as a Black woman in the industry, and I’ll be honest and share that I wasn’t prepared to make that a focus. The overwhelming support I received after the Black Cup of Excellence post and over time, seeing how these conversations have affected the industry and helped Black and brown people within it gain voice helped me realize the importance of it all. I mean, this is my life! Of course it’s important, but everyone tiptoes around the race conversation and I got tired of it. So, here I am raising hell (laughs).

How do you plan on expanding The Chocolate Barista as a platform?

I have so much that I want to do, it’s ridiculous. I have major issues with project managing myself and jumping the gun on my ideas, but I’m learning! Something that’s really important to me is making sure my walk matches my talk. I want to do something! I have some really cool events in the works that are local to Phoenix and beyond. I’m in the preliminary stages of exploring product development that’s inclusive and also for the cause. I’m also looking into non-profit work that isn’t necessarily by The Chocolate Barista as a brand, but will help empower and inspire career advancement for people of color in the coffee industry. I’m only one woman, but I want to do it all!

You have started speaking at events like Tamper Tantrum. What have your talks been about and how has the response been?

So far, Tamper Tantrum NYC has been the only event where I’ve spoken and it was life-changing. That talk was about laying the groundwork for diversity to grow and flourish within the coffee industry. I touched on changes we could make to our hiring practices, implicit biases we have towards people that may affect hiring and customer service, coffee’s role in gentrification, and tokenization. It was a sobering talk, for sure, but the response to it has been extremely positive. I’ve had multiple people tell me they’ve used that talk to guide them as they open up or make changes at their own shops. That’s been really rewarding.

Will you be speaking at any more engagements in 2017?

I don’t have any planned yet, but I want to do more! Hit me up!

Who is your coffee hero?

Lem Butler. The first time I remember meeting Lem was years ago when I was at a Counter Culture course back in DC. I didn’t say anything to him but I just remember thinking about how cool he was. His visibility in the coffee industry has been inspiring to me and paved a way for me to do coffee the way I want to do it. I saw him again in Kansas City last year and I was starstruck. But we got to talk a little bit about being Black in coffee and it was refreshing to have a short conversation about it with him. He’s so tight.

If you could make coffee for anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Barry Jenkins. Because he already gets it! We all saw that Four Barrel video he made and the photo of him, his Chemex, and Baratza grinder. I’d LOVE to nerd out about home brewing with him. Maybe he’ll cast me as a barista in his next film.

Thank you, Michelle. 

Top photos by Zaida Dedolph.

The post Michelle Johnson Of The Chocolate Barista: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

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