#industrial led strip light

[nordusk]

You can instantly see the bright, white glow of LED lighting by switching a light switch. Solid-state LED lights have become increasingly common during the past ten years, gradually replacing conventional fluorescent and incandescent lamps. But why are LED lights being adopted so widely? In this blog post, we will explore the factors that have led to the rise of LED lighting. Before diving into the discussion, if you are looking for the best place to Buy LED Lights Online in India, reach out to Nordusk LED today.

[iprolight]

iPRO Light is your reliable LED lights supplier engaged in providing energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs, making them a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and save money

[drivinmeinsane]

K + touching + 34

※ Prompt: Touches // 34. Washing the other's body // K x GN!Reader ※ Word count: 1168 ※ Author's Note: I threw my 400 word limit right out of the window with this one, but that's alright.

A knock on the front door rouses you from the couch. Leaving the television playing, you cross the small studio apartment and cautiously peer through the peephole. You can make out the blurred shape of your neighbor from down the hall through the aged glass.

Surprised, you immediately flip the lock and open the door. Whatever reasoning has led him to your doorstep must be important. He never makes social calls.

“Hey, wh—” the words die in your mouth once you catch proper sight of your unexpected visitor.

You’re no stranger to seeing K at his worst—filthy with gore and oil tainted, barren soil—but the state of him now gives you pause. He is hunched over, clearly favoring one side. The replicant has had a rough night. Most of them are.

They run him hard at the precinct, you know. The whole damn city is aware of what the LAPD gets up to with their skinners. You’ve lost count of how many times you’ve accompanied him up the stairs after crossing paths with him on the streets when you both are off work, patiently taking the ascent step by step while he struggles to not let on how severely his job weighs both on his mind and his body. He pays the toll for his existence every moment he’s alive, but doesn’t everyone who has been left behind on this spinning rock?

K doesn’t make an attempt to smile. He merely stares at you with tired eyes.

“My shower is broken. I…” he pauses, rolls the words over his tongue like a broken marble, considers how much he can ask for, “was hoping I could use yours. Please.”

“Of course,” you agree immediately.

Stepping back to give him space, you gesture for him to come in. As he passes by, you realize that he is not wearing his jacket, only a grimy t-shirt and pants. His boots look hastily tied, sloppy. He must have redressed in his dirty clothes once he realized he wasn’t going to get clean at his place. His hands are empty. The replicant must have expected to be turned down.

You turn. K is clearly waiting for permission to move around the small unit. The overhead light catches an abrasion on the side of his cheek, gleaming off the fresh blood. It draws attention to the battered state of him.

It makes your heart ache.

“Won’t the water pressure hurt? It’ll take a few cycles to get all of that off.”

His response to your concern is to shrug. He is too used to the expectation of pain to give it more than a passing thought. A flash of discomfort tightens the corners of his eyes with the casual movement. Barely aware of your own actions, worry overtakes you and you move into his space. Your hand hovers over the slope of his shoulder, not quite resting on the dark mess soaked into the fabric of his shirt. It doesn’t all look to be industrial grime. K doesn’t sway away from your closeness, even as you hear his breath catch once before settling back in its steady pattern.

“I can do it,” you offer, unthinkingly.

“You can do what?” His voice is soft in that characteristic way of his, hard edges smoothed off into something helplessly vulnerable. It reminds you that he was created to be broken.

“Wash you.” At his non-response, you add, “It’ll hurt less.”

A sigh. The shift of his boots on the tile floor. He is careful to not step on your rug lest he mark it. You’re sure he can sense how badly you want to help him. K was made to pick up on human cues. Finally—

“Alright.”

As you lead the officer into the cramped space of the bathroom, you try to not feel like he’s the one doing you a favor. You drag a threadbare towel off the shelf and drape it in the bottom of the shower to pad the inhospitable plastic before gathering a battered bucket. The handle has long since been lost to time.

At your side, K strips with a resignedly methodical practice you don’t want to think about. He is not shy about exposing his body to you, giving the air of this being a familiar request. It makes something nameless and acidic coat your mouth. He is careful to fold his removed clothing and set it neatly aside.

Naked, the replicant lowers himself to his knees onto the thinly padded shower floor. Once seated, he interlaces his fingers and bows his head. He waits patiently for you to finish filling the bucket at the sink and gather a scrap of towel to use a rag. The ‘9 is the picture of practiced supplication. Someone really has trained him for more than just killing his own kind.

You find your own place on the floor outside of the shower. You wet the cloth and rub a bar of soap over it to form a lather. With nothing else left to do but swallow down your nervousness, you start the process of getting him clean.

He lets out a sharp exhale, as if punched, when the first contact between you is made. Steeling yourself, you pass the cloth over his uninjured shoulder. You’re careful to keep your touch gentle. Grime slicks down his arm in soap-swirled trails.

“You don’t have to do this,” K offers. His eyes are squeezed shut and he’s trembling. His knuckles are going white from how tightly he’s gripping onto his own fingers.

“I don’t,” you agree. “I’ll stop if you want me to.”

The replicant shakes his head. “I don’t.”

And so you continue, careful around his bruises and scrapes. You gently work the rag over his short hair, soaping it. Chasing the cloth with your hand, you work your fingers through the strands. Your fingertips brush over his scalp. Unconsciously, you’re sure, the replicant is pressing into your touch. It makes you wonder when he’s last been handled with kindness untainted by any other motive.

Has he ever? you think, disquieted.

Your chain of thought is interrupted by a sudden, heaving shudder. K attempts to smother a desperate noise behind his clenched jaw, curling in on himself even further. You realize then that he is crying. Tears are escaping from behind his closed eyelids and joining the water speckled across his upper thighs. This had been too much. At the realization, you drop the washcloth. It lands on the floor with a wet thud. It’s loud over the muffled sounds of the replicant in front of you.

Not caring about how wet your shirt gets, you lean forward and wrap your arms around him. He turns in towards you as if he were a plant in one of the Wallace greenhouses reaching towards the glow of the artificial light. K allows himself to accept the comfort.

Neither of you speak while he sobs himself ragged in the freely offered shelter of your body.

[jmdbjk]

Wow.

I can't leave to enjoy a few days vacation without the world falling apart?

Hybe vs. Min HeeJin. Not on anyone's bingo card this year. I have not caught up on everything but who tipped off Hybe about her dastardly plans? The timing of it all... and her little extemporaneous skit she did for a press conference was perhaps part of her plan to turn public opinion in her favor? She claims to have invented kpop or at least made it what it is today but out the other side of her mouth says she hates idol culture?

Hybe's not here to play, they will not be nice. I see no benefit to her for showing us the not so pretty side of the idol industry. Maybe that's her problem, she can't see what she's doing because she's too far into it. Thirty years in the business will make you lose your objectivity. She has no idea she is coming across as a greedy, spoiled, entitled, manipulative, narcissistic, emotional female in a male dominated industry. Basically a nut case.

The lady had a tremendous opportunity to perhaps take ownership of her company in due time, become a great example for female leadership in a country where corporate culture is steeped in chaebolism. Instead she squandered that and thinks she will come out on top. Did she miss the Hybe vs. SM Entertainment episode from last year?

Anyway.

RM's new album! RPWP!

The Monochrome pop up store is doing well!

Jin will be back after 6 Fridays!

In other news. I went to Las Vegas. This is what I saw:

The Bellagio Fountains. They're huge. The Bellagio is SWANK. I looked for Jimin in Dior and Tiffany, Hobi in the Louis Vuitton store, Namjoon in the Bottega Veneta store, but none of them were in there. There was no Calvin Klein store.

When Hobi, JK and Tae were there watching the fountains dance to Dynamite, they were standing here:

Passed by Allegiant Stadium a few times. It's huge.

Drove out to Seven Magic Mountains. I am happy to report the lowest boulders had no writing or graffiti. They were amazingly huge as you can see.

Joon's pic of the above rocks:

Went to AREA 15 and it was HUGE and amazing! It's impossible to show everything that its about, there are multiple buildings and installations and activities, gift shops, bars, etc. We went into the Omega Mart (mega art) experience which led to a maze of fantastically created chambers, each different from the last one, all pulsing with animated lights, texture walls, ceilings and floors.

And ate at Hobak Korean BBQ. We couldn't find out which tables the members of BTS sat at but I got a pic of the Butter album they all signed. There were other autographs from other famous Korean celebs but the BTS signatures were displayed in a more prominent place on the wall.

We also scoped out The Sphere. Also HUGE. The concert space is arena sized. I don't know who was playing there that night but the parking lot was filling up.

We also walked the Strip.

The Fremont Street Experience. That's an animated video screen overhead with ziplines running through the length of it. It's two blocks of casinos, restaurants and gift shops. People are also doing busking and shows at street level.

Hoover Dam, view of the dam from the highway bridge and view of the highway bridge from the dam. Spent a few minutes on the Arizona side.

Hiked in the desert. Saw cactus and wildlife. Drank a lot of water.

Drove to the Mojave Desert Preserve in California just to say we did.

We hated leaving. It was a fun trip. But damn, I have so much stuff to catch up on now. Hiatus my ass.

If Vegas is on the BTS comeback tour I promise I will be there this time.

We gambled at the airport on our way out. The slot machines were next to our gate. And in the baggage claim area. But as you can see, its not just about gambling there.

In case you didn't get it, everything in Vegas is HUUUGGE and FARRRR. Walk a lot, spend a lot of money.

Overall, Las Vegas was clean, the people were extremely friendly and welcoming of course, they might be teaching hospitality as a school subject there, I don't know.

[soyeonsbabygirl]

Kiss Marks

Seo Soojin X Reader

Warning; Mentions of alleged bullying scandal, eluded feelings of anxiety and slight depression please don’t read if these are any triggers to you 💕

Your girlfriend’s signature look is red lips. This is no secret of course. You remember when you guys first debuted together as well as the pain you felt when she left the group. You missed waking up to her arms holding you, luckily you were able to leave the dorm to get an apartment with her.

You were still in (G)-IDLE , the girls agreeing to help hide your relationship with Soojin. The girls still all kept in touch with her and you were still able to date her in secret. The day she came back to the industry as a soloist was big. Not just for her but to you as well, you secretly supported her, going to her fan signs, buying her albums whenever you could, and more.

Her solo debut was a big success. At first people hated on her which broke her heart angering you. As many haters she had, she had way more supporters blowing up her music video of AGASSY making you happy.

Fast forward to now, you were waiting in her dressing room with flowers to surprise her. You were so proud of her you couldn’t even explain it. One thing that stayed the same about Soojin was her signature red lips. She always had red lipstick on , and it always left a mark on your face making her smirk since it was her way of claiming you to the world.

When she saw you in her dressing room with flowers she squealed smiling, she went over to you accepting the flowers giving you a kiss on the cheek. It left a kiss mark making you giggle, her eyes quickly went to your lips as she put the flowers down. Her hands made their way to your hips as she pulled you close to her kissing you.

You smiled into the kiss as your hands cupped her face, when you both pulled away for a second her gaze darkened as she saw the lipstick transfer to your lips. “You’re so pretty, I love you.” You didn’t get a chance to respond as her lips were back on yours. She led you to the couch in her dressing room as she laid you down on your back.

She stripped you of your clothes as she kissed down your neck nipping it as well. You moaned with each kiss she left you hands holding her head. “You’ve supported me through everything, any time I cried you were there, whenever I was sad you were there, I’m so happy we were able to stay despite everything.”

She said between kisses, her lipstick staining your neck. She kissed your chest, leaving more lipstick marks on your tits as well as hickeys making you moan. She moved down your tummy leaving kiss marks everywhere, you bit your lip as you watched her. “Please Jin Jin…I need you so badly..” you whined making her chuckle as she went to your pussy.

She saw how you were already a bit damp just from what she did making her smirk. She gave your pussy light kisses making you moan as you watched her lipstick leaves marks. She went down to your thighs leaving kisses there as she kissed your inner thighs. Each kiss she left made you even wetter , what made you get even more wet was when you saw the kiss marks she left on you.

When she made her way back your pussy she stared at it in adoration pressing kisses to it, as well as blowing on it lightly. You squirmed as you felt her breath on your clit and then her tongue. You moaned as she began to leave little kitten licks teasing you slightly. The moans you let out were breathy and you continued to enjoy the feeling of her tongue on your cunt.

She latched her lips to your pussy as she bang to suck it enjoying how you taste. You mewled your legs locked around her keeping her in place as she placed a hand on your tummy keeping you from squirming. She swirled her tongue on your clit as well as sucking leaving lipstick marks on your pussy making her suck harder and swirl her tongue faster.

She wanted to thank you for everything you’ve ever done for her in this journey. Whether it was days where she didn’t wanna leave bed, days where she felt big waves of anxiety preparing for her solo debut, you were there to help her. This was her way of showing her gratitude towards you. You moaned her name signaling you were close as you thrashed slightly making her hold your lower body in place as she seemed to go faster from this.

You let out more moans squeezing your eyes shut as your orgasm approached. Your body shook as you came hands gripping her hair as she lapped up all your juices. She pulled away wiping her lips as she came back up to your lips kissing you as you giggled slightly. She peppered your face in kisses leaving kiss marks all over.

She let out a content sigh as she rested her head on your chest. Anything could happen, but as long as she had you with her: she’d be ok.

-

-

Fluffy caring gratitude sex with Soojin is what we all need as a way to celebrate her coming back to us. I’m happy our beautiful girl was able to come back and faced with love and support (even though there was negativity at first). Definitely can’t wait to see what else she’ll put out for us 💕

[obligatoryidolblog]

Casting Call (Seonghwa One Shot)

Genre: smut, kinda silly

Pairing: Seonghwa/reader

Warnings: unprotected sex, sex work industry, oral, cum eating, premature ejaculation

Summary: Seonghwa is on the receiving end of of one hell of an offer while on the street. He definitely got more than he bargained for, but perhaps it is all worth it.

A/N: This is a complete rewrite and rework of a blurb I wrote before.

How the hell had he gotten himself into this? Seonghwa licked his dry lips, his heartbeat racing as he looked in the mirror at his oiled, bared torso. Everything had happened so fast. Only a few hours ago he had been perusing the stalls at an outdoor market, laughing at the screen of his phone as he facetimed his friend, showing the sillier counterfeit items and poor translations. 

He hadn’t had the chance to end the facetime call when the woman had approached him, and that had been his big mistake. Once his best friend heard the woman ask him if he would be willing to be in a film they were shooting, he knew he wouldn’t be allowed to say no. And then the addition of it being an… adult film? The tinny laughter from his phone speaker was all it took to goad him into saying yes. 

At least he chose to remember it that way. It was easier than accepting and unpacking the idea that her words, her daring eyes, her lingering light touch on his forearm, all had him ready to say yes to whatever she had asked, already feeling a stir in his groin of blood rushing at the feline curl to her lips when she mentioned that she was choosing her partner for the ‘film’ herself this time, as part of the concept. She had chosen him. And lord above, that made him hard. He was more than ready as she took his hand, leading him towards a large building a few blocks back. He had rung off the facetime call with flushing cheeks, red ears, and a cocky smile. 

After leading him in, the woman had left him with a man who was introduced as the director, and it had all gone sideways from there, the sexy intrigue lost to the cold reality that he had agreed to fuck her on camera for the world to see. What if his mother found out about this? He had been led to a sterile, cold room to be tested for STDs, informed that this concept had no room for condoms, and his blood pressure had skyrocketed as the needle pierced his skin, akin to the reality pricking along his spine. Seonghwa was a careful man. Never had he fucked a woman raw. So many firsts in one day. 

His hands had started to tremble when he was taken to a dressing room, and an older woman with a matronly figure and smile told him to strip. This was no longer sexy in any way. She continued to give him that grandmother’s grin, telling him to not be shy, she was going to help him get ready, and he was certain that he had never been more shriveled at the idea of a woman asking him to disrobe ever in his life. Slowly, he pulled off his shirt, and the sweet older woman’s smile-lined eyes went sharp as she stepped up and began fussing over the slight dusting of body hair that marked his well-built body. 

He began tugging down his jeans with a reddened face, but froze when she spun and called for wax. But she was nothing if not efficient. Before he could make another noise, she had him stripped fully, laid on a table, and was running warm wax over his torso and down to the base of his cock. Thankfully he had kept himself neatly trimmed around the base, which they deemed acceptable. The warm wax felt almost comforting for a moment. Then the smiling woman grasped one lifted edge and yanked. Seonghwa was pretty sure he levitated off the table she had him laid on. 

The rest of the preparation was a haze after that, being oiled, his hair styled, makeup lightly applied. None of that could break through the pure fucking elation he felt that his balls weren’t going to be treated to the torture of waxing. The haze lifted as he stood looking into this mirror, wondering what the hell had just happened. He hadn’t even seen the woman who had enticed him into this since she left him with the director. He wasn’t so sure she was worth all this, no matter how hot she had been. 

After a long moment, the director called him to set. He stepped under the hot lights, looking at the bed in front of him that looked far too normal, far too much like any hotel room, and felt the oil on his skin begin to sizzle. A small laugh sounded from behind him, and he turned to find her. That woman stood in front of him, wrapped in a towel similar to the one he had draped around his hips, and suddenly, yeah. She was worth it. Fucking hell, was she worth it. Her makeup was almost imperceptible, her skin glowing under the lights, her body showing natural curves holding up the towel as she smiled at him with that sense of promise once more. 

“Okay,” the director called, stepping up to them and clapping his hands together, drawing Seonghwa’s attention away from the angel before him. “I don’t think anyone has explained the concept for this scene to you. I know you’re an amateur, so let’s clarify a few things and set some ground rules.”

Nodding, Seonghwa tried to give the most professional image he could while standing in nothing but a towel and coated in oil with his dick starting to stir to life. The eyes on him had surprisingly not made him nervous; in fact he felt a thread of excitement work its way through his veins at the thought of all these people watching him fuck this woman. That was… new. 

“So,” the director went on, “We are a newer production company, and we pride ourselves in specializing in making content specifically for the softer viewer. We do not make the pump-and-dump spectacles that are the norm. This starts with our star, and she is our star in every way, choosing her mate. She will be in control of every bit of this scene, understood?”

A shot of excitement ran through Seonghwa at these words, unfamiliar to him but drawing more blood to his hardening cock. He nodded quickly, giving her a shy smile. He had always been the one in control in sexual situations, but the idea of handing over that power to this woman had need rushing through his veins. 

“Good,” the director replied with a nod of his own, “This will be simple. It will not be fast, it will not be violent, unless she wishes it. Now, as an amateur, a few rules.”

Trying to focus on this through the lust riding him, lest he fuck up, Seonghwa chewed his lower lip. 

“First, you only touch what she tells you to. Second, we want you to be vocal. No hiding moans, no trying to be stoic. The viewers want to hear you. Third, most importantly,” the director looked stern here, “You don’t finish until we are ready to film it. If you get close, you will signal to us and we will pause until you can go again. Got it?”

A shaky inhale was followed by a rough, “Got it.”

Lord, he hoped he could make good on that. The idea of edging himself with this woman over and over was almost more than he could take. The concept of edging had never held much appeal to him before, but now? Fuck, he was already so hard. And the woman next to him saw the growing tent in his towel and giggled, then gave him a reassuring smile. 

“I think he’s got it,” she said to the director, then turning to take his now shaking hand, drawing him to the bed. 

He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding as she dropped her towel, her ass coming into view, and then turning to give him a smile so deceptively innocent that he almost forgot that she was nude and about to fuck him. Warm hands landed gently on the towel gripped tightly in his fist, and she asked with her eyes if she could remove it. Swallowing his nerves, he nodded, letting go. Distantly, he heard the director calling for action, heard people beginning the business of filming, but his entire focus was on the woman before him winking, pleased at his acquiescence. The towel was slowly unwound from his hips, and his twitching cock appeared, precum pearling at the tip.

His eyes dropped closed, head falling back as she slid a hand down his slick torso to the base of his dick, gripping it finally. All at once he found himself fully appreciating the waxing of his skin, the fresh skin sensitive to her light touch. But all of that was washed away in the pleasure of her oiled hand sliding over the shaft of his cock. Fuck. He should’ve jerked off at least once before this, to stave off cumming so fast. Her skilled hand slid over his reddened tip and he bit back a curse, moaning loudly and fisting his hands to keep from gripping her wrist.

“I-” he bit out, feeling his cheeks flame, “I need a minute. Just… fuck.”

She chuckled softly and he kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see her laugh at him for already being on the edge of cumming. Her hand moved to cup his balls, and he felt her step closer, her breasts brushing at his chest, nearly unmanning himself. 

“I think he needs to prep,” she called, he assumed to the director, “He’s a sensitive one. Let me help him out real fast.”

Seonghwa’s eyes popped open at that and he found her giving him that curled, feline smile once more as the director sighed, waving a hand and saying, “Go ahead. It’ll save us from having to run so many takes.”

Before Seonghwa could grasp what was happening the woman had turned him, shoving him to the bed. She crawled up him, and his head threw back once more as her lips left a burning trail up from his hips to his ear. 

“I want to enjoy this. You’re not the only one that is excited,” she murmured into his ear, leaving hot kisses up his neck, his back bowing as her thighs straddled his hips, the soft flesh holding him still. 

Sitting up, she slid her hands over his chest, biting her lip as she took in the sight of him below her, hunger apparent. The view of her atop him, knowing she had chosen him out of all the other men walking the streets of this part of the city, knowing that she wanted this as much as he did, had Seonghwa rutting up, lost in the need to bury himself into her. She took one of his wrists in her warm hand and pulled it to the juncture of her thighs, running his fingertips over her folds, wetting them with her desire. He moaned, feeling how wet she already was, how her clit rubbed roughly against his fingers, her head tipping back as he moaned out her pleasure at being touched. 

Precum slid down the shaft of his cock at the sound, his hips grinding the hard length against her ass, and she took the hint, running his hand up her slick torso, over her breast, up to her neck, then slipping his wet fingers in her mouth. As he grunted at the heat of her mouth engulfing his digits, she raised up, and gripped his cock, angling it and lowering herself onto him. His hips jerked, burying deep into her as he cried out at the tight pressure of her around his length. 

“I… I won’t last long,” he cried out desperately, shame lost to the sheer fucking heaven of her pussy cradling him deep in her.

She replied with a hard suck to his fingers, then placed them back to her clit, demanding, “Get me off, too.”

He rubbed wet circles on her clit, biting out curses as she began to ride him sinuously, her body writhing atop him, her hips working serpentine magic as he felt himself hit every part of her insides. Fuck. He was going to cum, and cum hard. Pride and gratefulness gripped him, and he opened his eyes to find her running her hands over her body, cupping her own breasts then sliding up to lift her hair from her neck, her head tipping back. The pure carnality of her tipped him, and he found himself thrusting up into her, his fingers on her clit moving faster, finding the spots that made her quake above him and working them. 

Before long, he felt her begin to tighten around him, and he bit his lip hard, gathering every bit of willpower to not break the rules, to not flip them both and pound into her with abandon, fuck the hot cum boiling up from his balls deep into her. Instead, he gripped her hip with the hand not furiously working her now twitching clit, and angled her to hit her spot with each thrust. Frantically, she rode him faster, and all control was lost. Seonghwa bowed off the bed, his hips thrusting up into her as deep as he could go as he unloaded himself into her, his hot cum hitting the deepest parts of her, drawing a shudder through her body. She clamped down around him, cumming hard in tandem with him, the clenching of her milking more cum from him than he ever thought possible. 

He felt their mixed juices pool beneath him as the high of his orgasm began to fade, and faster than he wanted, she lifted off of him. He only had a moment to mourn the loss of her heat, though. She crawled up him, placing her dripping opening at his lips, her breath coming fast still.

��Clean it up,” she murmured in a breathless voice, gripping his hair, “Get all that cum out.”

He felt a hard groan come from deep in his chest at her words, and before he could second guess it at all, his mouth attached to her, his tongue sliding into her still clenching sheathe, gathering their combined cum, not even registering the taste, lost in the pure experience. He barely registered a set of warm hands wiping his cock clean and stroking it slowly back to hardness. All he could focus on was the warm slick of her sliding across his lips, the taste of his cum and hers as he used lips and tongue to clean her fully. Alternating between licking deep into her walls, his lips pressing against her in the most intimate kiss, and working his mouth over her clit, sucking gently at it, he felt her begin to shake above him, her orgasm rising again through the overstimulation. 

Taking the chance, he placed his hands on her thighs, holding her to him as he feverishly ate her out, bringing her to orgasm once more with a hard suck to her clit, then fucking into her shivering opening with his tongue as he rode out her climax, drawing it out as much as he could. When she finally lifted herself from his hungry mouth, he looked up to find her staring down at him in wonder, seeming entranced by the sight of his face coated in her release. 

“I knew I chose well, but damn,” she murmured, the sounds of the filming around them returning to his reddening ears as she slid off of him, falling to lay next to him, panting, trying to catch her breath. 

A shy smile of triumph that graced his lips was turned into a choked giggle as the voice of the director called out, “Okay guys, that was hot and we got it all on film. But can we get back to the concept?”

[skzstoryvault]

Into the Earth (Hyunjin, we'll see if spicy)

Hyunjin x f!reader

multi-chapter fic

AU

happens a few years in the future

Hyunjin is in his post-idol era. Working as an artist and fashion icon.

Warnings: mentions of scamming, dishonesty, abusive people and various kinds of abuse, parasites (and not the Bong Joon Ho clever kind), misogyny (but not Hyunjin!), ageism. More to be added with later chapters.

This is in no way meant as a commentary on the real persons depicted here. They all deserve the world.

Please be kind.

Please do not report this post. If it's not your thing, just scroll away.

If you're underage, please scroll on, there is nothing for you here.

If you enjoy this story and are reading along, I would love to hear your comments in the replies, reblogs or DMs - however you feel most comfortable.

Like I mentioned, this story is finished, but I will slightly change its course based on the way the chapters are received.

Story title is inspired by a Lorna Shore song I saw this on @jeonginsleftcheek 's series "The Sun to Me" and it seemed like a fun idea. I hope my choices of music won't scare people away so here is a song that goes with this chapter.

Part 1 - Escape

Detox. That shit isn’t real and never works the way they advertise it, but looking at his life, Hyunjin knows he’s overdue for a massive one. His work and the life he built around it brought him here, to this point - which means it was his choices, one by one, made impulsively, independent from one another, that, in turn, led him along the way so…

He won’t blame himself. That’s the first step. Guilt is not productive. Responsibility is, and Hyunjin feels he’s neglected himself too much lately. Looking around, anyone would say he is where he wants to be, with a degree of freedom enviable to most people. He has an apartment in Paris, in a beautiful arrondissement, far removed from the more mundane realities of the City of Lights. He is a working, successful, sought-after artist with weekly events and his paintings sell for hundreds of thousands of euro. Still, on the inside, he feels abandoned and cold. After completing his mandatory military service in Korea, he returned to idol life, but something was missing. His spark was somehow extinguished while away. Being made to crawl and toil, being stripped of his identifying features to be made to conform to the army codes and regulations left an ugly mark on Hyunjin’s soul and he realised he could not shake it off or heal it over. Some people are simply not designed for violence and war, nor are they made to bend the knee before institutional brainwashing and conformism culture. When the industry didn’t want him back, he had art to fall back on. And fashion too, although that was largely depending on his idol status. He’s still a Versace and Cartier house ambassador, but the other brands he had deals with backed out. In fairness, he did age, objectively, and to some, that is the biggest flaw anyone can have, no matter how iconic they are. It stung to receive the polite missives informing him his contracts would not be removed. Although Hyunjin felt it was wholly unfair, since the only way he could prevent ageing was to die young (in which case he would be of much less use to the brands), he noticed he did not take the rejections as hard as he expected. The older he got, the more he liked himself and the man he woke up to being every day. Away from other people’s ideals and expectations, Hyunjin liked how his mature self was shaping up.  There was a time when the life of partying, drugs and sex with famous and attractive people tried to pull him into its vortex, but Hyunjin’s natural shyness and sensitivity made him stay away, genuinely afraid that he would lose himself and make some colossal mistakes for his life - like become an addict, get an STD, get someone pregnant or fall in love with the wrong person for him. Staying home in Korea was not an option, since his parents were bugging him to get married and have kids because he was at the age when most people back home were welcoming their second child. But nothing felt right. That hurt, because he felt like Korea was his home, but the people around him were doing their darndest to prove him otherwise.

So Hyunjin fled and sought refuge in Paris. Sometimes, the city had Felix in it, and the short days spent with his favourite human in the whole world made his loneliness more bearable. Felix was writing, producing and performing all over the world, modelling and appearing in fashion edits for the biggest magazines, and he seemed to be doing alright, although he too had taken his hyungs’ leaving for the military service extremely hard.

And while he was able to recognise and stay away from life’s most frequent traps, Hyunjin still managed to back himself into a corner - his art began to feel like work, routine intervened, people he met on the daily didn’t want to know him for him, just for his fame and aura.

This morning, while still in bed and scrolling on Instagram, he clicked on an ad from the firm he buys his fresh fruit from. It’s a neat system, a monthly subscription of whatever bio fruit, veg and other, homemade products are in season at the small farms that are members of this website.

CrowdFarming.com - Hyunjin has been a subscriber for two years now; he has a few adopted olive, mango, clementine and pomegranate trees he regularly gets sent fruit from, aside from his monthly subscription box. And now, thanks to the ad, he learned that he can go and visit his trees because some farms allow the tree parents to do so. There’s also a pop-up with “we’re hiring” and Hyunjin had a look there too, but they are looking for farm hands. Still, it stayed with him and the idea gnaws at his subconscious even now.

The more he thinks about it, the more he loves it. He can run away. Ask his concierge to take his mail and that’s about it. He doesn’t even have plants in his apartment, since he travels so much, so there’s not much to think about if he wants to be spontaneous. He also doesn’t like to think about the fact that he has no roots anywhere and he has no idea how to put that emptiness into words in order to share it with other humans and maybe ask for help. So fleeing makes sense again. He at least made sure that dropping off the radar won’t come back to bite him in the ass later, so he can’t be accused of making dumb decisions. Impulsive? Yes. But not lacking foresight.

He leaves his Cartier necklaces and rings on the bathroom shelf above the sink. When he sees himself in the mirror, he avoids his own eyes and he sighs before grabbing scissors and cutting his wolf cut shorter. It still covers his eyes artistically, but it won’t bother him or get in the way for a while.

Rummaging through his wardrobe, he has to dig a lot until he finds something that’s not designer and super expensive or flashy-looking. He can barely put together an outfit. Hyunjin sighs again, shaking his head at how shallow his life looks under closer inspection. He ends up going to Miniprix and buying a few flannel shirts, undershirts and briefs, ratty jeans, a good pair of boots and a trucker hat. This should last him until he arrives at his destination. Plus, he wants to travel light.

He has only a few things to take care of, so that the people who make money off of him don’t panic and send out search parties or get the Interpol involved. Then, in the morning, at 5, he catches a plane to Spain. Part 2

[doctorkinktraveller]

The sign over the door said “Associated Industries”, but @little-bred-riding-slut knew better. As she pressed the doorbell, she remembered the names people had used for the place online: “The baby factory”, “Pussy Pounding Inc” and some had even referred to it in glowing terms as “The Rape Room”. The thought of those reviews made her pussy leak, it was all so naughty.

She had absorbed every word of the 5 star reviews and glowing testimonials on the website, she was going to have a lot of fun here.

The door opened and a handsome older man in a well tailored suit greeted her with an enquiring “@little-bred-riding-slut ?” She replied with a simple “yes”. He gestured for her to come in as he stepped behind a reception desk.

He pulled a form with her name on it from a folder on the desk and read it in front of her.

“So you have booked for 2 full days & nights”

She nodded

“No specific limits, just safewords if needed”

She smiled, “I couldn’t think of anything I didn’t want to try”- He smiled back, “OK, we will try a lot, but if any of it is too much just use the safe word or shake your head and I will stop immediately”.

He turned back to the form, “No Contraception at all, you want us to breed you?” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Well I can see why I got this gig,” he continued “I’m Steve by the way. I will be your partner for the next 2 days”. - “Oh yes”, she enthused “I want the risk, I might ask you to pull out if I get scared though”.

Taking her hand he kissed it in an old fashioned way and then said “That is your prerogative, but I hope you don’t, putting a baby in you would be a real privilege. Now if you could just sign the disclaimer, here and here.” As she did he asked her “The safe word you were given?”.

“Angel Juice,” she replied immediately. He laughed, “it seems the computer has a sense of humor because we are going to get a lot of juice out of you angel”. She laughed with him as her pussy pulsed from the thoughts it conjured up. “Now where to start…mmm I think The Rape Rack would be perfect”.

He took her by the hand and led her to a door halfway along the corridor behind reception. The whole thing was turning her on so much she was glad she had decided against the thong or going commando. She needed something with a proper gusset to stop the juice running down her legs, as it were they were already soaked through and nothing had happened.

Fuck she was horny! She followed him into the room which looked very bare with bright lights and white walls. “It’s not very homely,” he said, noticing her reaction, “but the light is for video and the rest is wiped clean because sluts like you tend to squirt everywhere”.

“Video?” she asked with surprise in her voice.

“Oh yes, we record everything for everyone’s security. Though we can live stream you to the internet if you like”. Her clit pulsed at the thought of people watching her degradation. “I would like that” she whispered, ashamed of her own perversion.

He took his phone from his pocket, worked the screen and a few seconds later said “There we are, already got 30 regulars watching. I expect we shall get up to around 30,000. Curvy girls are always so popular.”

“Now strip you little @little-bred-riding-slutt”, there was an air of command in his voice and she complied immediately, draping the clothes over a chair in the corner. He stood watching her as she slowly removed her clothes. She noticed the bulge growing in his trousers. “I fucking love my job” he said with a smile.

Once she was completely naked he walked up to her. Grabbed a handful of her hair, pulled her head back and kissed her deeply, the passion and intensity of the kiss flooded through her. The fingers of his other hand immediately invaded her cunt, slipping easily into her wetness.

He broke the kiss and held her head back as he finger fucked her hard and fast. She was overcome with emotions. Kirsten couldn’t believe the way he treated her, like she was his property, an object he owned, a plaything.

This was how she needed to be treated, it was exactly what she had wanted for a very long time indeed. In less than a minute her body was convulsing and cumming on his skilled fingers. Each shudder through her body causing her hair to be pulled and the pain caused her to cum harder and harder. She screamed with the climax. He kept going though, even after a hard cum there was to be no respite. No sooner had her legs stopped shaking from one orgasm than her next climax was approaching. “Squirt you fucking filthy whore”, he said in her ear.

That was enough to cause her to convulse with excitement and her cunt juice to squirt all over the floor like the dirty slags she had watched on porn hub. He let her collapse into his arms and lowered her to the chair. He wandered over and checked his phone.

“Ohh 27,000 already. You are popular”, he said with a smile. She liked his smile.

“Let's check the comments:”

“She needs breeding” -- “you lucky bastard, wish I could knock up a girl like that”

“Wish I could be her” -- “Her tits look great, will look better full of milk”

“Bring her back at nine months, she is going to look so sexy full of baby” -- He smiled at her, “Seems they really do like you, I can’t blame them”.

He slid open a panel in the wall and pulled out a strange contraption. It was a metal frame with leather pads on arms that could be moved around independently. “This”, he said theatrically “is the breeding bench. Though I like to think of it as the Rape Rack, because once you are on here you are going to be helpless and I can do what I want with you”. He adjusted two pads and told her to kneel on them.

Then moved a larger pad for her tummy and got her to lay across that. Two for her elbows and a final one under her chin. It was as though she was kneeling on all fours but suspended off the floor by the rape rack.

Rape Rack, why did that name turn her on? It shouldn’t if she was a nice girl but somehow the thought of being helpless and used by this older man made her cunt drip again. He strapped her down in place she was completely helpless. Unable to move, she started to wonder if this was such a good idea.

He moved in front of her and adjusted her position so that her face was level with the bulge in his trousers. He rubbed his covered cock across her lips and she groaned. She could feel it, smell it but she needed to taste it.

He moved behind her and adjusted her position so his cock would line up with her cunt hole. Whilst he was there he forced a finger into her tight little arsehole “looks tight, I’m going to have fun stretching that” he said as though she were a brainless fuckdoll, which was really all she was now. He walked around in front of her and checked his phone again.

“Oh 85,000 that's a record, more comments”

“breed the bitch”

“cream her cunt”

“Can I eat her out after?”

“Lets see your cock”

“Oh well best not disappoint your audience” he said as he removed his clothes. As his cock sprung free she gasped. It was a good size, 6 or 7 inches but it was thick - really thick. She loved the look of the shiny head popping out from his foreskin. God it looked delicious. “Open wide”, he commanded and she immediately complied.

His thick cock slid down her throat in one move. He held it deep down her throat as she gagged and choked on it, her throat convulsing on his cock in a way that clearly pleased him.

She looked up with her eyes pleading for breath but a cruel smile passed across his face and he reached down and held her nose shut. She struggled for breath, pulling at her restraints. She felt her consciousness ebbing away and her eyes rolled back into her head.

Finally he released her nose and pulled his cock out letting her gasp frantically for breath, her face a total mess of spit & dribble.

He grabbed the phone “A quarter of a million viewers”. He showed her the screen with all the comments on it.

“What a great cock sucker”

“Now knock her up”

“Breed the bitch”

He smiled “Well a quarter of a million people can’t be wrong. It’s time I made you a mom”. Walking round behind her, she lost sight of him for a minute but then she felt the warmth of his cock head against her pussy lips.

She expected him to go slow at first but it was not to be, he slammed into her, his thick hot flesh driving deep into her cunt. He pulled out and then slammed back in, she winced slightly as his cock head banged against her cervix. “Oh god yes” she cried. Something primeval inside her was being awakened, it was the need to breed. His pounding makes the desire for her impregnation stronger.

Every time his cock slammed inside her she craved his seed deep in her womb, this was what she wanted more than anything. She found herself screaming. “Do it you bastard, knock me up”

“Fill my cunt”

“Breed me”

This drove him on, slamming faster and harder into her fuck hole. Her words just became moans and groans as she lost control of her higher functions all she could manage was a “nuurrrgghh” as the most intense climax she had ever felt crashed over her like a tsunami of pleasure.

She begged for his seed. His cock swelled inside her, he plowed in deep and held his cock right against her cervix.

She felt the pulses as wave after wave of potent sperm splashed her insides and he roared with pleasure.

As his cock exploded inside her she just knew her defenseless egg would soon be fertilized. They stayed coupled together for a minute or two as he made sure all his seed was delivered to her receptive womb.

Finally he pulled out and she watched him walk over to his phone, his perfect cock still hard and shiny with their combined juices. “Ohh a 4.995 out of 5 rating, looks like you are very popular amongst our ... .wow..625,000 viewers. You are... internet famous girl”.

He absent mindedly stroked his cock.

“Looks like they want anal next” he said with a smile.

“That’s good because so do I,” she said as she smiled back at him.

It was going to be a perfect weekend.

[runningfrom2am]

achilles heel - IV: maybe it's the lighting

summary:

Grace is the very opposite of her brother in every way. when she finally moves onto campus at UNC Chapel Hill, she feels like she gets to be her own person, make her own friends, and hopefully start a promising career in the museum industry, and maybe, one day, get married to her high school sweetheart and live the American dream for herself. Rafe Cameron however, upon their very first meeting, throws a wrench in her very perfect plan.

tags/warnings:

rafe cameron x fem!oc, rafe is giving very much homewrecker, fanon!rafe (kinda), college!au, friends to lovers, slow-burn (maybe?), minimal oc description, drug and alcohol use, mostly unedited, (these tags are not exhaustive, lmk if i should add anything!)

wc: 3k

my master list

series masterlist

requests

January 8th, 2019

Grace sat alone in her dorm, staring down the laptop and open textbook on her desk, seemingly taunting her. She's already well ahead, but so far her college experience has proven to her that it will never be enough.

Her phone vibrates on the desk next to her and she quickly picks it up, thankful for the excuse to take a break.

unknown number: 'coming tn?'

It must be Rafe.

g: still undecided

She quickly replies, then changes his contact name.

r: well if it influences your decision, i've got a bottle of malibu with your name on it

g: ooh that actually might change my mind

r: you know where to find it !

Grace puts her phone down on her desk instead of replying, looking at the time and turning in her chair to look at her closet, trying to figure out what she was going to wear.

When Grace gets there, after riding her bike down side streets and back paths to hide from any car that may contain Nate, she hides her bike by their back fence and walks up to the front door. Does she knock? The music is already loud and there's loads of people around so she doubts it, settling for opening it and walking in.

There's already people everywhere, and the lights are off with colourful flashing LED strip lights lining every edge of the ceiling. Somehow, Grace finds herself breathing a sigh of relief when she realizes it would be difficult for Nate to pick her out in this.

"Hey! Grace!" She hears her name, and quickly Rafe is at her side. "I'm glad you made it!"

"Hey! Uh- is Nate here yet?" Grace replies, looking up at the boy standing next to her.

"I don't think so, no." Rafe assures her, a smirk pulling on his lips as he brings his cup up to his lips. "Why? You didn't ask?"

"No- I figured what he doesn't know can't worry him." Grace shrugs.

"Ah, gotcha. Come on. I've got your drinks upstairs." He puts his arm behind her back, ushering her upstairs without touching her. Although, it would be so easy to just let his hand brush across the unintentionally exposed skin of her back between her crop top and her skirt.

Rafe fumbled with the buttons on his door, eventually getting it open and gesturing for her to follow him in before shutting it. "Uh, one sec-" He says, digging through a few paper bags from the liquor store before pulling out a bottle of Malibu and a six-pack of mountain dew.

"My favourite!" Grace claps excitedly, holding out her hands to take them from him. "Did Ben send you out for these? I'll pay you back."

"Nah, don't worry about it." Rafe waves her off as he passes them over. "Looks disgusting- by the way. You need a cup?"

Grace puts her bag and drinks down on his bed, digging through her tote bag for her empty cup. "I brought one, I'm good." She replies, holding it up to show him before screwing off the lid. "And don't knock it 'til you try it. Seriously- I was skeptical too."

"If you say so." Rafe chuckles, shaking his head at her as she opens a can and pours it into her cup, then adding what was probably more than a couple shots of Malibu to top it off. She screws the lid back on and mixes it with the straw, holding the cup out to him.

Rafe reaches out and takes it, side-eying her as he does, hesitantly taking a sip. His eyes widen and he nods, handing it back. "Okay- I'll eat my words. That's pretty good."

"I know, right?" Grace grins, taking the first sip herself. "It's a dangerous drink, though." She muses, looking around the room they find themselves in, the lighting a stark difference from the rest of the house. It's well-lit, and more clean than she expected from any room in a frat house. Definitely cleaner than her brothers, if she's making assumptions based on his room back at home. "I like your room." She thinks out loud.

"Oh, thanks," Rafe replies, looking around as well. "You came on a good day. I cleaned earlier this week."

"Hey, would you mind if I left my stuff in here? I don't really want to carry my bag around." Grace asks, moving her bag from the bed to the floor, along with her drinks.

Rafe nods. "Yeah! Totally. The door code is 2-0-0-7 if you need to come in without me for anything." He explains, opening the door for them to head back out.

"Who was born that year?" Grace asks, tilting her head as she looks up at him, making her way into the hallway.

"Uh, my sister, Wheezie."

"You have a sister? That's sweet!" Grace smiles, scanning the hall and downstairs for the familiar face of her boyfriend.

"I've got two, actually. Sarah is only a couple of years younger than me." Rafe explains, laughing a little as he can tell she's not paying much attention, too focused on looking over every face she can find. "Want to play pong? We've got a table out back, he's likely to come in the front." He suggests.

"Oh! Yeah, that sounds good." Grace nods, following him down the stairs and to the back door, dodging drunk people the whole way.

"Grace you made it! Are you gonna play?" She's greeted by her brother, standing at the end of the table just setting up some cups, clearly already at least tipsy.

Grace takes a sip out of her cup and nods. "Sweet! Dream team back at it again." He grins, coming over and being careful not to kick anyone's drinks on the ground.

"Hey, no way- home team advantage. I want Grace." Rafe protests, laughing and giving Ben a gentle shove back.

"I don't care, we'll play a few anyways I think, yeah?" Grace giggles and her brother relents, sighing dramatically.

"Fine, just say you hate me next time, Gigi." He jokes, making her roll her eyes.

"Woah, Gigi?" Rafe asks, raising an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Don't get any ideas- he only calls me that because I hate it." Grace insists. "Let's just shoot for first turn, yeah?" She changes the subject, stepping to the opposite end of the table from her brother.

They didn't end up changing teams, after Rafe and Grace beat Ben and Kelce on the first go, then the second, and then the third. "New and improved dream team! Let's go!" Rafe smiles, holding both his hands up for the girl to high-five him after Kelce misses their redemption shot for the fourth time. Grace laughs as she smacks her hands against his, and she doesn't even notice as he folds their fingers together, holding onto her hands for probably longer than he should have.

"Ben! Buddy!" Grace freezes when she hears a familiar voice coming from inside. Luckily they were on the side of the table that wasn't visible from the glass patio door or windows, and she looks between Rafe and her brother in a panic.

"Shit- that him?" Rafe asks in a loud whisper, and doesn't give her time to answer before he's hauling her off the porch with their entangled hands, ducking down behind a bush as she quickly follows.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Ben says, trying to be polite. Just like he promised his sister.

"Not much." Nate shrugs, Grace and Rafe watching from behind the large plant and trying to stay out of sight. "You, uh, playing by yourselves out here?" He chuckles, gesturing to the empty side of the table.

"No, dude, Rafe was just-" Kelce says, looking around to try and spot the two of them as they quickly duck down farther.

"He went to grab another drink, don't know where Alex went, though." Ben cuts him off, dropping a random name of another guy on their team.

"Right, yeah. They should be back in a minute." Kelce agrees hesitantly, catching on now.

"Sorry, man, Kelce, this is my sister's boyfriend. Nate." Ben introduces him, giving him a look of 'don't snitch on her, she's not supposed to be here'.

Kelce nods. "Gotcha, nice to meet you, man. I'm Kelce." He glances briefly down at the bush their friends were hiding behind.

"C'mon, let's go around..." Rafe whispers, letting go of her hand and gesturing for her to follow as they crawl around the siding, just out of sight from the porch light.

Grace giggles, stumbling as they can fully stand up beside the wall. "Why did you hide? This isn't your problem."

"For fun." Rafe shrugs, smiling down at her. He can't help but admire how the streetlights reflect of her eyes and land on her face in all the right places. "We're the dream team, your chances are better if we stick together."

"You're probably right, I don't know shit about this house." Grace laughs, shaking her head and glancing back around the corner.

"Bet you wish you visited Ben once or twice now, huh?" Rafe smirks, leaning against the wall.

"Maybe a little," Grace admits, looking up at him again. God, how is she just noticing now how handsome this guy is? Maybe it's the lighting. No, it’s definitely the drinks.

"C'mon, let's go around the front and we'll get you a refill, yeah?" Rafe suggests and Grace nods, simultaneously shaking herself out of her thoughts. He grabs her hand and pulls her around to the front, both of them crouching and peaking in the windows before entering through the front door. Now the house is much more crowded, and Grace is sure if she let go of Rafe she would lose him in a minute, so she holds tighter onto his hand as he leads her towards the stairs.

Grace looks towards the back door, seeing Nate come back in and he's instantly heading in their direction, looking around for one or more of his friends from class. "Rafe- Rafe!" She shouts over the music, tapping his arm with her free hand, and pointing to Nate who's getting much closer when he turns to look at her.

Rafe's quick to open a closet door next to them, shoving her in and following suit, quickly closing the door. It's tight in there, and their pressed chest to chest, and Grace is surprised she can hear both of them breathing over the loud music just outside the door.

"How long do we wait?" Grace whispers as she crouches down as best she can to put her cup down, despite the impossibility that anyone could hear them anyways.

"I don't know, should be good in a minute or two," Rafe whispers back, focussing on trying to make out the shape of her face and features in the dark once she stands back up. He can faintly make out her cheekbones, her long eyelashes, he can kind of see her nose too, based on that. Then her lips. Not so much that he can see them, more that he can feel her breath on his neck; thanks to their height difference.

"Okay, yeah." Grace whispers back, nodding and accidentally hitting Rafe's chin with her forehead. "Ow! Oops- oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She laughs quietly, instantly covering her mouth with her hands.

"It's fine, its fine." Rafe laughs back, reaching up and rubbing his chin. "Are you okay? I feel like that hurt you more than me."

"Oh my god, Rafe, I'm the one who just domed you with my big ass forehead." Grace giggles, shaking her head- more mindfully this time as she covers her face with her hands.

"No, no you're good. It's fine." He insists. "Also, your forehead is not that big." He teases her, laughing quietly.

"Oh, gee, thanks, Rafe."

"Yeah, you're welcome." Rafe smirks, looking down at her.

"I think we're probably good." Grace says, leaning down to pick up her cup again, losing her balance and falling against the wall in the small space. "Jesus christ, how did Harry Potter live like this..." She mutters, trying to brush off her clothes, worried that this closet in a frat house hasn't been properly cleaned in decades.

"I have no idea..." Rafe chuckles, cracking the door open and stepping out as Grace stands up, practically falling out after him. She stabilizes herself, looking down at her shirt to make sure its not as dirty as she thought, brushing off some stray dust from the wall as she takes a long sip out of her straw. "Grace?" Her head snaps up as she hears her name, the straw quickly dropping out of her mouth as she sees her boyfriend standing in front of her. Of course he would be right outside the door. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Rafe makes a nervous face as he looks between the two of them, cringing at the state of her, her dirty clothes and messy hair from crawling through the bushes. He knows what this looks like. "Hey, Nate, right? Nice to meet you, man." He decides to intervene, holding a hand out to him to shake.

Nate ignores him, only briefly sparing him a glare before returning his eyes to Grace. "What were you doing... in the closet?" He asks, looking over her and into the open closet door.

"Oh! Uh, I just, well-" One thing about Grace is that she's a bad liar, but even telling the truth wouldn't do her any favours this time.

"You know what? I don't want to know. You guys have fun." Nate scoffs, shoving past Rafe and walking towards the door.

"Wait! Nathan, wait! I can explain! I swear it's not what you think-" Grace calls after him, quickly following behind him out the door.

"Okay, fine. Fine, Grace. Tell me your excuse." Nathan sighs as they get outside, turning to face her.

"I-" Grace sighs, looking down. "I was hiding from you. I just didn't want you to be worried about me, I wanted to have fun and I didn't want to rain on your parade, or whatever, so I just thought it would be better if you didn't know I was here."

"Right." Nate nods, clearly not believing her. "So you were hiding in a ten square foot closet, with your brothers frat buddy, so I wouldn't worry about you? Am I understanding that correctly?"

"Yes, yes. Exactly. Babe, I swear that's the truth." Grace pleads, hoping he'll believe her. "I wouldn't ever cheat on you, you know that."

"Oh, fuck off, Grace." Nate says angrily, balling up his fists. "Do you think I'm stupid? Seriously? God you are so anserine sometimes! I can't take it anymore! I'm honestly relieved that you're cheating on me- I can hardly function when you talk about stupid, absolutely daft garbage all the time! You act like you're smarter than me- which is honestly laughable!" He snaps, and Grace's hope fades as he speaks. She doesn't know what to say, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Nate, I- I didn't know you felt that way..." She says, voice shaking. "Why didn't you say something?"

"No- you don't get to talk to her like that. Get out of here, man. You and your stupid, entitled engineering buddies are banned." Rafe steps in suddenly, standing at Grace's side as he glares at her boyfriend.

Nate rolls his eyes, laughing sarcastically and shaking his head. "Yeah, whatever. You can have her." He waves them off dismissively, stepping down the porch stairs and walking off into the street.

Rafe looks over at Grace, who is just staring at him as he walks away, chin wobbling while she resists bursting into tears. "Hey, hey its okay. Come here..." He says, pulling her into a hug and holding her head against his chest. This is when she breaks. She sobs into his chest, holding tightly onto the front of his shirt.

"We'll get you up to my room, then I'll go get Ben. Okay?" He suggests, rubbing her back and pulling away, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You- you don't understand." Grace sniffles, trying to take deep breaths. "He's my person. We're meant to be together, we're meant to get married and have a life together, and, and-" She chokes out, starting to shake again as she sobs. "Oh god, I just don't know what I did to fuck it up so badly." She tries to explain, leaning into him again and squeezing her eyes shut.

"You didn't do anything, Grace. It wasn't you. He shouldn’t talk about you like that, he’s just a dick." Rafe mumbles, wrapping his arms around her again. "I think I should get Ben- just come back inside with me, okay?"

Grace is quick to shut that idea down. "No, Ben is just.. Ben is just going to say 'thank god' and make fun of it, I can't tell him. He won't get it."

"Okay, okay. I won't tell him." Rafe assures her quickly, looking around now at the luckily empty front lawn. He doesn't know what to do, but he's thankful that at least there's no one around to witness this.

He's never comforted anyone before, not really, especially not a drunk girl at a party. Typically he'd turn up his nose and look the other way, but this time feels so different. He'd do anything he could to help- especially if that included chasing Nate down and beating him to a pulp and leaving him on the sidewalk to die. Something tells him Grace doesn’t want that, though.

“Would you like another drink? Will that help?” Rafe chuckles, pulling away slightly to look down at her as she nods. It’s the best he could offer her, knowing he doesn’t know how to help. Usually his best method is a new drink.

“My cup is almost empty..” She sniffles, trying to laugh despite her feeling true heartbreak, for the first time ever.

“Okay, come on. We’ll get you another.” Rafe chuckles, guiding her back inside with his hand placed gently on her lower back.

taglist: @newbooksmell777, @tahliac11, @slut4drudy, @madelynie, @angelw33dz, @mutual-mendes, @winterrrnight, @sadfury, @totalswag, @peachprairie (as always reply or message me to be added or removed!)

[kimsj90]

HAZBIN HOTEL REWORKING (Worldbuilding)

It’s been a while since I haven’t posted anything due to work.

Let me phrase something about this: The worldbuilding of Hazbin Hotel needs a lot of changes, and I mean, a lot. There are much inconsistencies to explain much more behind the whole facade of Heaven and Hell, like how the souls work, how both Heaven and Hell operates, as well as how Extermination - but we will call that ‘Annual Purge’ - work.

Worldbuilding is something I really want to explore more, especially that I am a Hazbin Pilot Fanatic (Like I have been there since 2019, and I can call out some inconsistencies, but the dynamics were pretty fine just there could be something to flesh out) and the Hunicast Enjoyer. I would love to give credit to my friend for her contribution to remaking the worldbuilding.

I would love to thank @pyresol for helping me in this. Don’t worry, it is too long, so I’ll dissect everything.

HELL

Yes. I will try fixing the system of hell as much as possible, so consider having changes to be acquired in this.

As we all know, Hell is a place that is separated from God. I took inspiration of Hell from one of Dante Allighieri’s Divine Comedy ‘Inferno’, since it’s kind of an obvious place in that novel, but I added some of the twists, so it can be at least interesting.

There are two realms of Hell: Limbo and Dis.

Limbo

Limbo is located at the very top of the inverted pyramid, perhaps by looking at the chart above. These are the temporary places for the sinners, but not some of the native, hellborns, etc. Just like in Purgatorio, it was also split into 7 realms, which is based on the 7 deadly sins, so of course, not all Sinners belong to the Pride Ring. It is spreading everywhere due to what sins they committed in the mortal realm. Limbo is based on United Kingdom, and it's led in the constitutional Monarchy - while the House of Magne (or technically, Lucifer and Lilith) were the highest and mainly the Monarch of Limbo, both House of Bel and House of Goetia were in charge/ hold the power to shape Limbo.

Devildom from Obey Me (one otome game I played since Pandemic) will be a main inspiration for Limbo; since Hell is away from God, no light will come through, only darkness.

The heirarchy of Limbo are the following from Highest to Lowest:

Highest: House of Magne (Lucifer, Charlotte, Lilith),

2nd: House of Bel and House of Goetia

3rd: 7 princes of sins

4th: Overlords/ contractor

5th: Native hellborns

Lowest: Sinners

House

The three Houses consists of: - House of Magne: Lucifer, Charlotte, and Lilith - House of Bel: Baal and Astarte - House of Goetia: Paimon

7 Princes + Realms of Sins:

Pride: - Lucifer - personification of Pride (CODED: PURPLE)

- Realm: Rococo Era

Envy: - Leviathan - personification of Envy (CODED: GREEN)

- Realm: Meditteranean Sea, and District

Wrath: - Satan - personification of Wrath (CODED: RED)

- Realm - Texas Ranch

Greed:

- Mammon - personification of Greed (CODED: YELLOW)

- Realm: Industrial Period (1800s England)

Gluttony:

- Beelzebub - personification of Gluttony (CODED: ORANGE)

- Realm: Food Market, Predator Garden (Lady Peony’s territory), and Bee Hives

Sloth:

- Belphegor - personification of Sloth (CODED: LIGHT BLUE)

- Realm: Simulation

Lust:

- Belphegor - personification of Sloth (CODED: BLUE)

- Realm: Brothels, Bars

In this version, sinners are the lowest of them all, despite working and living the same normal life as the Native Hellborns. The difference is the sinners were pretty limited to the following:

No access to migration to different realms

Inability to reproduce children with another sinner (adoption is kind of acceptable there)

Their rights were stripped

Sinners who are in a contract with the overlord will lose their autonomy

No access to the mortal world

No magical abilities - unless they made a deal, they can acquire that to a certain extent

Marriage with a sinner and a native is considered taboo by the law (punishable by forced separation)

Sinners were in a form of everything they loathed or were forced to relive the same experience when they were human, whether is using the other person's identity, animal-like features, or anything related to their own character. It was the punishment God gave to them to experience the real suffering from their own consequences (hence the whole God created hell to separate the saints and vulnerable from the wicked people). The colors are coded on their design accents.

Sinners have their limited lifespan, so they are considered the most vulnerable to being killed by 'the Poison that gives them permanent death' from the Annihilators.

What are the Annihilators?

It is my version of Viv’s Exorcists) The annihilators were in charge of ripping the sinner's heart in Limbo, and detect the aroma of sins they committed both in Limbo and Earth, and they will be placed under a certain realm/punishment ((only the most severe punishment))

———

[mineglowaustralia]

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[yuseirra]

Kamiki DOES have some sort of power that can ruin people's futures,

He really should be that god who should have originally "led people into goodness" but flipped 180 degrees because Ai died. That just works PERFECTLY with so many things he's been doing.

That's how Aqua was so convinced he could ruin Ruby's future if he were to be alive!

Fatal had lyrics like "burnt eyes, stripped feathers, creative fallen-ness", "you have given me a fatal flaw, selfish giant star, ruined lives", this guy got FLAWED because people had his wife killed.

That character can't BE a normal human being. Your normal person can't possibly do the things he is said to have achieved in a logical sense. That character is a god that's gone mad from losing his wife because look, why does Ai get a lyric like she's a "reincarnation of a star", is said to "have become a star", says herself that "she might as well be a real goddess with worshippers"(novel). She's a god too and they were a couple...

They are gods who blessed the entertainment industry who came to the human realm and reincarnated as people to experience it for themselves... And Kamiki is looking for remnants of his wife left within the star eyes of people she bestowed on others as a blessing, as "love". He wants his wife(Ai) and her love back. And he would have been able to really stay with her and feel her forever the way he wished if none of this mess happened.

That's how I see it. I think that's what the songs are going for. How ELSE can these things even be explained? It even matches up with both their names!! Love of a star and God & Light. That guy'(god)s been collecting the love(light from the white star eyes) to find ways of reuniting with his wife, that's their story!! He's indeed, getting his wife back through this. And Ai's like, oh no he's gone down the wrong path he needs help-and requested help but, since Sarutahiko has a tale where he ACTUALLY DROWNS, I guess they drowned him like that lore. That's also a throwback to the myths.

How are they going to explain this story OTHERWISE while incorporating all these ideas altogether? I don't see it any other way, these elements never had to exist. However, it gives out a BETTER message if this really is how it is!! What point would there be to have Ai love a murderer with some insane logic, it doesn't even make coherent sense, a person can't possibly achieve what he's done unless they have superpowers anyway, there's been!! Ideas! That gods DO exist in the onk universe, we see a girl floating on water. Communicating with a boy who's going through a near death experience somehow, bringing back souls from the dead.

Then these guys SHOULD be ones too more than anyone else in the series because without it being that way? It makes LESS SENSE.

I just see this.. In a really obvious sense, if this ISN'T IT, then I really have no idea what I can take away from this piece either because I don't see any good message coming out of it. I wouldn't understand just why this story is written like this.

[neutralgray]

A Synthesized History: An Amateur Comparison of the Perspectives between the "Patriot's," the "People's," & The "True" History of the United States - Part 18

Full Essay Guide link: XX

(Patriot - Chapter 21 | People - Chapter 23-24 | True - Chapter 35)

The "New Democrat" and American Moral Relativism

Since the end of the second world war, the United States enacted policies of foreign intervention that were wrapped in vaguely humanitarian notions while actually destabilizing 3rd world countries (often already struggling), and collecting any wealth worth taking. The Vietnam war helped highlight what did and did not work about these policies, aiding the U.S. in the efficiency of its questionable foreign intervention. During the Gulf War, under George H. W. Bush, the lessons the U.S. learned from Vietnam were clear:

Rather than go it alone and face scrutiny, the U.S. mobilized a massive international alliance that approved of the invasion

Rather than deploying troops gradually in waves, an overwhelming force was deployed from the start

A clear and concise objective aided in defining a clear exit strategy

Thomas Jefferson once called the nation an "empire of liberty," and that empire was always getting better at being one.

Opinions on Bush were favorable following the Gulf War, but the recession of 1991-1992 and the rescinding of his "no new taxes" campaign promise caused him to be alienated by his own party and lose voter appeal. Following the high deficit spending strategies of Reagan and Bush, people wanted to go in a new direction. Enter William (Bill) Clinton-- the next elected president of the United States.

Bill Clinton was the "new" democrat, a term which suggested significant change in the ideals of the democratic party. Due to the conservative renaissance recently experienced at this point in time, democrats began adopting more middle or right-leaning political takes in order to capture voter interest, such as unregulated freedom of trade, industry, and economic growth. Clinton won the election by lampooning the economy inherited by Bush, but applied policies that would have been fitting for a Republican presidency, such as his as answers to crime and social welfare programs.

Clinton's administration was dedicated to a balanced budget, which meant slashing "non-essentials," just as his republican predecessors had. Social welfare programs such the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) were stripped of their usefulness by new laws and policies such as the ill-named "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act" of 1996. This act reduced welfare benefits and outlined strict limitations, but did shockingly little to provide the "work opportunities" the name suggested. Some big cities, such as New York, had more people on unemployment than there were employment opportunities even available.

Clinton also wanted to appear "tough on crime." The Republican party had been understood as the "law and order" ticket since Nixon's appeal to the silent majority, and it continued to be a point of contention among voters and politicians alike. In 1993 a religious cult in Waco, Texas, known as the Branch Davidians gave Clinton his chance to be "tough." A failed search warrant for weapons led to a siege between the cult members and the FBI. After weeks of negotiations failed to make any progress, the FBI pleaded its case to the president who ultimately gave the FBI the green-light to storm the cult's compound. The unfortunate outcome was that the compound caught fire in the chaos and 86 people wound up dead: 4 federal agents and 82 cult members, at least 20 of whom were children. While negotiations had been failing, the result of the attack made critics question if the body count was worth the enforcement of order.

In 1994 Clinton and Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (often simply referred to as the "Crime Bill"), and two years later passed the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. This new series of laws expanded the death penalty to a new range of crimes, limited appeals, and decreased the time between conviction and execution. New guidelines for narcotics (especially in regards to crack cocaine) had severe punishments, such as harsh mandatory minimum sentencing. Federal parole was eliminated and a new "3 strike" system was implemented for repeat offenders. A 3rd felony conviction would earn one life in prison. The bill also provided for over $8 billion in prison funding. Just as with social welfare reforms, though, this series of laws did nothing to address the potential reasons for those crimes or provide aid to communities in which crime might be more rampant. A disproportionate amount of Americans in jail became unemployed roughly a month before their arrest and with these laws in place, jail was an even more likely outcome for many.

Clinton also railed against immigration during his presidency. Immigrants had been an easy target to rally against because as non-voters, their interest largely didn't matter. Dismissing their interests allowed Clinton to emphasize his "America first" attitude and served as another way in which the "new" democrat was now identical to their Republican opponents. Welfare benefits were cut from immigrants, requiring them to be full citizens to continue receiving aid. Thousands of border guards were added to the Mexican/American border. A component of the Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act also allowed the deportation of immigrants convicted of a crime, regardless of the nature of that crime or the amount of time since the crime had been committed.

While Clinton generally targeted social welfare programs, he also reduced the military budget somewhat, with an extensive plan of continuing to reduce it over time. Despite this reduction plan, Clinton had the U.S. military involved in more combat hostilities than any peacetime president before him.

The United States intervened in a civil war in Somalia after an attack by the Somali National Alliance resulted in 25 dead United Nations peacekeepers. U.S. forces led attacks in the region to capture the head chairman of the SNA, General Mohamed Aidid. He remained uncaptured and would later be killed in 1996 by a rival group.

After war broke out in the Balkans among the fractured republics of what was once the nation of Yugoslavia, the U.N. stepped in to attempt brokering peace. The conflict was among Bosnia's Serbs, Croats, and Muslims, who were waging ethnic war against one another. When initial negotiations failed, the U.S. went with its standard tactics of aerial bombardment, backed by the United Nations. This killed in civilians in droves. In 1995 a peace agreement known as the Dayton Accords was reached, though there is doubt if the bombing strategy that led to the deaths of many non-combatants was a necessary step in achieving that peace.

Clinton's administration also continued heavy support of the nation of Israel in the middle eastern region. Israel asserted its "right" to exist, which put it in direct conflict with the region's fundamentalist militant Muslim groups. The support of Israel coupled with the U.S. deaths and failures in Somalia emboldened groups such as al-Qaeda to declare war on the United States. Osama Bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda, declared this war for three reasons:

Continued U.S. military presence near holy sites such as Mecca and Medina

One-sided support of Israel's occupation of Palestine, which lived on the land before the modern state of Israel had been formed

Strict economic sanctions on Iraq that had been held since the Gulf War in 1991, which were causing undue suffering

Groups such as this were already proving their ability to strike and destabilize, as demonstrated by the al-Qaeda connected 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, which resulted in 6 deaths and over 1000 injuries. Clinton's administration responded to terrorist attacks like this by considering it a law enforcement issue.

Even when the United States was not intervening in foreign affairs, weapons sales to smaller countries would often end up in the hands of warlords who engaged in systemic murder for their bids at power. This indirectly tied the U.S. to regional instability regardless of potential policy intent. In May of 1994, the Baltimore Sun reported that U.S. foreign weapon sales made the country over $32 billion dollars, which was more than twice the $15 billion those sales made in 1992. By 1997, the U.S. was selling more weapons abroad than all other nations combined.

Clinton, once attacked as a "draft dodger" for going out of his way to be saved from service in Vietnam, now wanted to present himself as an unquestionable military man. Besides the various international conflicts under Clinton, the U.S. also had multiple opportunities to turn away from the militaristic, but the powers refused. An international agreement to halt the production of land mines became popular. Many advocates emphasized the dangers of forgotten land mines and the many who had been killed years or even decades after the mines had been left behind. The United States refused to agree. When the Red Cross organization (a humanitarian group) urged governments to prohibit cluster bombs in war, the United States refused. In 1999, the United Nations proposed a permanent international war crimes court. Fearing that some of their prominent military leaders would be culpable under this court, the United States refused.

With the many Republican leanings of the "new" democrat, it was difficult to tell just what distinguished this new center-right philosophy from Republicans other than the name. Clinton did attempt some key policy changes that may be described as "left," though. For one, Clinton did propose some measure of healthcare reform. At this point in world history, the United States was the richest country in the world but did not have universal healthcare benefits like many other industrialized 1st world nations. This attempt was killed off by Republicans, conservative democrats, and insurance lobbyists who all demonized universal healthcare. Potential flaws or shortcomings in a universal healthcare system were stuck under a microscope, but no serious revisions or changes to the current (lack of a) system were considered. Second, Clinton attempted to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military. This effort ended up resulting in the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" compromise, which was a policy dictating that a serviceman's sexuality would not be asked for or disclosed for any reason. Being caught in gay acts would still get one discharged, however.

While Clinton's goal to manage an effective budget was not a particularly original goal, Clinton was the only president in decades that left the office with a budget surplus. That surplus stood at $236 billion dollars by the year 2000 and he cut the federal debt by $500 billion by the time he left office. Other key variables also led to the relatively successful economy of the 1990's.

Computer companies and tech startups grew exponentially due to the public's increasing knowledge and use of the internet, and by 1999, traffic and internet bandwidth usage was doubling every 3 months. There had never been such a historically quick rise of an entire industry, even when considering the massive production and industrial growth of the early 20th century. International trade had also grown, with the U.S. extending into territories that had previously been controlled by the now-defunct Soviet Union. Low energy and oil prices were a consequence of the Gulf War in '91, which also contributed to factors of a booming economy.

Despite the wealth accumulation and production that would indicate a successful economy, that success was not felt by everyone. Wealth was unstable in this decade, with only 34 of the 100 top companies in 1990 still being on that list by 1999. There was also a 25% turnover rate in big multinational firms, which were often predominantly American. Wages increased in some areas but 80% of all income increases between 1980-2000 went to the top 1% of the wealthy. Thousands of jobs left the United States once the Clinton administration established the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA dissolved trading barriers among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and brought more wealth into the country. However, the wealth entering the country did not necessarily mean it was entering the economy, as is evidenced by the continued massive salary growths of company executives. Meanwhile, jobs that were previously American left for Mexico and the spending power of the middle and lower class was decreasing. People who were employed may have been making "more" in terms of the dollar amount made, but that money carried them less than it had in previous decades. In 1998, the Bureau of Labor Statistics wing of the U.S. Census Bureau determined that 1 out of 3 people worked at or below the poverty level. Between 1990-1998, there was a 95% increase in people filing for bankruptcy, with medical bills often being a frequent factor. For minority populations, these statistics were always worse. Economic suffering at different class and race levels led to compounded suffering among multiple metrics, with one morbid example being the infant mortality rate of black infants being twice as high as white infants.

The 90's, as many decades before it, saw frequent protest movements. These protests did not usually carry the national fervor of the 20's or the 60's, but they were a cry for help for people who felt the country was suffering. These movements culminated in a massive gathering of protestors in Seattle, Washington in 1999. Seattle was the meeting place for the World Trade Organization, which was convening to launch a new series of trade agreements for the next millennium. Protestors included independent consumers, religious groups, labor unions, environmental groups, women's' groups, and more. These groups all shared a common cause against the WTO, whom they saw as a figure for wealth and labor exploitation. The fear was that an expansion of WTO agreements would lead to further human rights violations and suffering. The protest crowds were an estimated 40000, dwarfing any economic organization protest in U.S. history before it and completely overshadowing the trade discussions. In response, officials of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund made declarations committing themselves to the wellness conditions of their workers and cited a general concern for the environment.

During this decade, changes in how Americans consumed and engaged with news also began to take root. For instance, politicians such as Newt Gingrinch found massive popularity on AM radio broadcasting, appealing to conservative voters who had since mobilized as a political force in the 80's. Gingrinch is often credited as the man responsible for breaking a 40+ year democrat hold on the House of Representatives. His success in radio spawned many imitators. Broadcasts like Gingrinch's were sometimes accused of creating an "atmosphere of hate" which was supposedly responsible for inciting disasters such as the Oklahoma City Bombing of 1993, which led to the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.

The rise of the internet as an accessible digital social-scape also gave individuals the ability to report on events before "official" channels reported the news. This amateur reporting led to new communities that investigated news outside of mainstream media narratives. While often conspiratorial, these amateur reports sometimes forced mainstream media channels to cover a story once that story had gained traction online.

Clinton faced criticisms like any president had, but played to keep a moderate appeal. That mainstream appeal was the whole point of the "new democrat" image. To achieve this, Clinton made a career of straddling back and forth between policies associated with either the Republican or Democrat parties, and attempting to establish bipartisan support. His appointed judges to the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, were selected because they were considered moderates. Despite this attempted image, though, the president's own behaviors would reek controversy on his administration.

In 1994, Paula Corbin Jones filed a civil lawsuit against Bill Clinton, citing sexual harassment during an event in 1991. This suit led to a series of investigations into the Clintons', which illuminated more extramarital affairs. Another individual, Juanita Broaddrick, came forward and accused the president of raping her in 1978, when Clinton was the attorney general of Arkansas. Lastly, an affair was discovered between Clinton and a young adult intern at the White House. Clinton denied that the affair happened, but when his DNA was discovered on the dress of the intern, any plausible deniability the president had was gone. He addressed the nation and apologized, but the damage to his reputation was already done.

Impeachment proceedings began, with the president being accused of obstruction of justice and lying under oath. The impeachment trial died in the Senate, with neither charge reaching the required amount of votes to oust Clinton from office. He remained president for the remainder of his second term.

The crimes levied against the president were clearly no joke and, if presumed true, are crimes worthy of condemning Clinton's moral character. The absurdity, however, is highlighted in the fact that it was these accusations which ignited the media into a firestorm against the president. The bombings of civilians in other countries did not ignite media outrage. The manufacturing and continued selling of weapons to warlords did not ignite media outrage. The suffering of the poor and destitute which was made worse by Clinton's crime bill did not ignite media outrage. The blood and deaths of people in faraway territories had no bearing on average everyday American life. It was the potential of the president being a womanizer, though, that created a lasting controversy which overshadowed his terms as president. This is not to make light of accusations of rape and sexual exploitation, but to highlight the way in which the other barbaric crimes of this world leader were just accepted as "typical." The bombing of foreign countries and the advance of economic trade over the potential human rights that trade may violate were seen as part of the job.

Perhaps it's simple human psychology-- those foreign places were far away and thus not relevant to the average citizen's lived experience. They didn't have the necessary context to care. The resulting moral discrepancy, however, did not match the supposed religious and moral values of what the average American seemed to believe. In 1980, Gallup polls found that 80% of Americans believed in a religious "final judgement." Over 90% claimed to pray and 84% claimed to believe that Jesus was God or the son of God. There was a general rise in non-denominational Christianity across the country. Hispanic immigrants who came over were often Catholic. New youth ministries appealed to teenagers nationwide. These poll results emphasized that despite centuries of growth, the United States of America still had a strong Christian heart underneath the modern politics. The most common responses to Clinton's scandals seemed to undercut that, though. The humanitarian worries were dismissed in favor of the sensationalized, and the entertaining stories were reported over the factual. It was all morally relative.

One other point of national debate during Clinton's administration was the topic of gun control. The United States had (and has) a zealous fervor for gun rights and ownership. The second amendment grants the rights to "bear arms" and this topic was being re-examined in national discussions. The Brady Bill of 1998 required federal background checks for firearm purchases, and imposed a brief waiting period. This act came under some fire for putting restrictions on American rights but the overall relevance of this bill in the national debate was quickly swept away by something much worse the following year.

On April 20, 1999, two twelfth grade students entered their school, Columbine High, and massacred 12 other students and a teacher. Their motives were inconclusive but irrelevant for the larger discussion at hand. The Columbine High School Massacre ignited a fierce debate on whether or not the average person should have the right to easily access weapons with high fire power and significant destructive capabilities. The massacre is also often blamed for the rise of copycat shootings that would plague the United States for the following decades. Despite the national debate over this topic, little changed in the way of gun access. Policy responses to the shooting generally focused on school security and planned police responding to shooting situations.

The legacy of the Clinton administration is thus: a growing economy, bigger disparity between the wealthy and everyone else, more foreign death, and sex scandals that outraged American media more than anything else the president had done. When Bill Clinton left office in early 2001, the United States now found itself in a new millennium. The turn of the millennia invited optimism and the idea of a "new future" focused on progress and digital advancement. Unfortunately, for whatever promises that new future may have held, the consequence of decades of American foreign policy was about to make itself known, and cast a looming shadow on the remainder of American history to this day.

Final Thoughts:

It's surreal being at this point. Up to now I've been studying this history with the eyes of a learner wanting to contextualize how my country was shaped. I wanted to understand the nuances of centuries of politics and how those shadows still weigh on modern issues. But now I am at a point where I was alive for this history. I was born in 1994 so I was a child when most of this was happening, but yet I was here for it. I have reached my personal place in American history.

It's quite shocking to me just how much of the modern political landscape can be contextualized and viewed through the lens of all the history I've thus far absorbed. Even more shocking, I remember being a child and experiencing the shock of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I remember living through the myriad of changes that happened in this country as a direct result of those attacks. So much of modern political discourse echoes with these remnants of the past, and yet I've not even touched the most infamous and truly fundamental shift in the American empire.

For the actual text, all of the books were useful in compiling this narrative driven re-telling of American history in the 1990's. Maybe I'm being generous, but for the first time in a while, I believe all the text from all the books gave me an equally generous amount of angles with which to understand this decade of political change.

Howard Zinn had an odd chapter during these segments. Chapter 23 of A People's History breaks away from the narrative format and becomes more a political opinion essay. He emphasizes the importance of resistance movements, even when contained. He argues that for too long, our understanding of history has emphasized statesmanship and understated revolt. Class consciousness and rebellion have been the true driving forces of humanitarian change. Even when they fail, they prove the peoples' ability to mobilize and help each other when institutions fail to step in or step in only to make matters worse. I appreciated this perspective. If I were to review the book solely as a mechanical text, I would argue the placement of the chapter may be a bit strange. All of his points feel like they may have been better saved for the afterward-- that final point to emphasize the importance of examining a "grassroots" lens of history. But ultimately, it matters little. The placement may be strange, but the substance is poignant and hopeful.

I think I will save my continued political musings for my final final thoughts, which will come after part 19. I don't want to repeat myself too much, and I'm too close to end to slow down now.

[draconic-absurdism]

INTRO TO XORRYADDANS

Xorryaddans, or Xors, are a group of 5 sub-species of alien who evolved as apex predators in various niches on their home-planet. In order: diggers (vok'unek), fighters (ro'riku), gliders (vi'ivivek), jumpers (zi'ijikek), and runners (vaveer)*. Also pictured is a cityscape on their current planet, New Xorrya.

Their ocular organ is set inside their skull above their mouths. Their bones and skin function as one-way glass. This allows them to see almost 360 degrees without moving their heads. When bright light hits their head right, you can vaguely see the outline of their skull and "eye" inside their skin.

*The terms are approximate translations; their language is made up of an incredibly complex set of clicks, chirps, teeth clacks, and other sounds that can be made without a tongue. Humans would not be able to properly pronounce words from their language!

Story under the readmore:

Xorryaddan society quickly industrialized and formed into classes, and capitalist societies drove much of the wildlife to extinction within a few hundred years. Ads lined the streets, and corporations plastered their logos over the night sky. Work was hard, and pay was little. They had to quickly evolve to subsist off of ionizing radiation from nuclear waste, rather than consuming solid food. The greed of the wealthy eventually led to the total collapse of the ecosystem, and eventually, the end of the world.

Hundreds of thousands of workers hijacked billionaires' airships, locating a safe new planet with plenty of radiation to feed on: they called it New Xorrya (pictured), a planet so radioactive that the only other thing living on it were various types of radiotrophic fungi.

New Xorrya is the closest planet to the sun in the same solar system as Daeji and Pyrexia. It's a rotation-locked planet, unbearably hot on the sun-facing side and unbearably cold on the other, so Xors settled on the strip of perpetual twilight. New Xorrya provided an unexpected opportunity to restart and create a new, better society.

Xors continued to develop their technology, but this time without a profit motive. Quick and accessible public transportation between walkable cities. The ability to vote on local issues on secure mobile devices, built to be convenient rather than addictive and ad-filled. Massive housing complexes that are both communal and provide ample private spaces. In-depth storytelling and history lessons told through video games, virtual reality, and technically impressive performances with practical effects.

But they still mourn for their lost world. When called upon, they will assist other worlds in overcoming a capitalist ruling class and saving their ecosystems. They spread the message: we were a rare exception, most of you will not get a second chance. You must protect your planet. All power to the people.