#starting commercial cleaning business

[newbusinessideas]

How to Start a Commercial Cleaning Business

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A commercial cleaning business provides services such as cleaning, pest control, fumigation, vacuuming, and more, through trained professionals. There is a high demand for cleaning services, both for residential and commercial properties, especially in urban areas, because, many individuals and companies require assistance in maintaining cleanliness in their properties. Also, due to urbanization,…

[lyncotek]

Introduction

This article will discover How Commercial Outdoor Entrance Mats Can Improve Safety. In industrial environments, retaining costs under control and visitor and worker safety paramount are crucial issues. Strategically setting outdoor entrance mats is one often-not-noted method that efficiently addresses both troubles. This mattress reduces the cost of maintenance and overhaul by preventing falls and spills by preserving the environment around indoors for longer

Understanding the Diversity of Commercial Outdoor Entrance Mats

There are numerous types of business outdoor entrance mats, each made to fit unique situations and necessities. Options starting from absorbent mats that take in moisture to scraper mats that successfully dispose of debris from footwear are to be had to meet any need. Aesthetic choices, weather, and foot traffic quantity are only a few of the factors to recollect even as choosing the correct mat.

Enhanced Safety with Commercial Outdoor Entrance Mats

The primary purpose of outside entrance mats is to improve safety by using reducing the threat of journeys, falls, and slips. This matting drastically decrease the hazard of mishaps by using imparting an extra traction-rich floor, particularly in damp or slick circumstances. They also keep footwear from being tracked interior and developing problems by collecting moisture and particles from shoes.

How Commercial Outdoor Entrance Mats Reduce Maintenance Costs

Over time, you may store quite a little cash on protection by investing in great outdoor front mats. These mats protect indoor flooring surfaces from dust and moisture at the entrance, increasing their durability and decreasing the want for common cleaning. By doing this, exertion fees are decreased and the demand for expensive cleaning resources and gear is reduced as nicely.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Commercial Outdoor Entrance Mats

When deciding on access mats for commercial locations, there are a few matters to not forget. These include elements together with placement and length to guarantee top-of-the-line insurance and efficacy, sturdiness to face up to sturdy foot visitors and awful weather, and customization selections to meet branding specifications.

Installation and Maintenance Tips

To maximize the use and durability of outside entrance mats, proper installation and maintenance are crucial. By using the counseled installation techniques, you could lessen the hazard of journeys and falls by ensuring the mats are firmly and flatly hooked up. Moreover, frequent upkeep and cleansing, such as vacuuming, shaking, and washing, contribute to their persevered efficacy.

Cost-Effectiveness and Return on Investment

Good entrance mats may be steeply-priced up the front, but in the long run, the benefits heaps outweigh the price. These mats provide corporations a robust go-back on funding because of the reality they minimize place and tear on interior surfaces, decrease the want for ground cleanings, and avoid injuries that could cause pricey legal responsibility claims.

Environmental Sustainability

Eco-friendly access mat solutions are developing in reputation as sustainability will become an extra considerable issue for companies. These mats, which might be lengthy-lasting and products of recycled substances, help business sustainability objectives in addition to making indoor space purifiers.

Future Trends in Entrance Mat Technology

It is anticipated that future developments in entrance mat generation will concentrate on improving effectiveness and overall performance. Mats with superior dirt and moisture retention and much less complex protection will quit result from material and design enhancements. Real-time mat overall performance monitoring and management also can be made possible via integration with clever building systems.

Conclusion

Commercial outdoor entrance mats play a crucial position in improving safety and decreasing preservation prices in business spaces. By preventing slips and falls, minimizing dirt and moisture access, and defensive indoor surfaces, those mats provide a cost-effective approach to commonplace facility management demanding situations.

FAQs

How do outdoor entrance mats improve safety?

Can entrance mats really reduce maintenance costs?

What types of materials are used in commercial entrance mats?

How often should outdoor entrance mats be cleaned?

Are there any regulations regarding entrance mats for commercial spaces?

[march10]

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[sreepadamangaraj]

The Janitorial Store is an organization that helps commercial business owners build successful businesses. We provide guidance, resources, training, and a community portal where you can engage and partner with other business owners like yourself!

[brunchable]

This is Your Boyfriend Mom? [3]

Pairings: Beefy Bucky Barnes x Our savage wittle boi Lucas x f!Reader.

Summary: It's Lucas' 7th Birthday and Bucky finally meets the Dad from Finance. Bucky also FINALLY got a haircut lmfao.

A/N: I will just keep posting Step-Dad Bucky content, this doesn't really have set plot, just cute and funny moments while Bucky navigates how to be a Dad.

The Night Before the Party

You were busy setting up the last of the birthday decorations when you heard the front door open. You didn’t think much of it at first, but then Lucas came sprinting into the living room, eyes wide, looking like he’d just seen a ghost.

“Mom!” he shouted, excitement and shock mixed in his voice. “Bucky’s back, and... uh, something’s wrong with him!”

You raised an eyebrow, turning toward the door just as Bucky strolled in, a smirk playing on his lips. You froze, your hands still holding the banner you were about to hang up.

Bucky had chopped his hair. Gone were the long, unruly locks he’d been hiding behind for months, replaced by a clean, short trim that made him look—well, if you were being honest—like he’d just walked off the set of a cologne commercial. Looking absolutely handsome.

“Wow, look at you. All... polished.” You blinked, trying to suppress a grin.

Before Bucky could respond, Lucas crossed his arms, pacing around him like a tiny detective on the case. “So, Mr. Metal Mop finally decided to join the human race, huh?”

“Really, Lucas?” Bucky sighed.

“Oh yeah. You’re like a whole new person,” Lucas continued, squinting at him. “Seriously, who are you, and what have you done with the walking disaster that usually lives here?”

You let out a snort of laughter as Bucky’s jaw twitched. “It’s just a haircut, kid.”

Lucas tilted his head, eyes narrowed as he pointed dramatically at Bucky’s head. “This? This is not just a haircut. This is a ‘I’m about to show everyone I’m the coolest guy at this party’ haircut.”

“What? No, it’s not! I’m not trying to show off.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow, smirking like a seasoned detective who’d just cracked the case wide open. “Oh really? ‘Cause you didn’t care about looking like a caveman until now, right before my party. Coincidence? I think not.”

“I just felt like a change, alright? This has nothing to do with the party. I’m not trying to outshine anyone.” Bucky crossed his arms, standing taller, trying to play it cool.

Lucas grinned wider. “Uh-huh. Sure. So, you just happened to get a haircut right before a big event? Not competitive at all?”

Bucky groaned, clearly trying to keep his cool. “I’m not trying to compete with anybody. I just thought I’d make things... easier for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, right. Easier. You know, if you wanted to look good for once, you could’ve just said so.” Lucas snorted, shaking his head.

Bucky’s jaw twitched as he quickly looked to you for backup, but you were too busy laughing to jump in.

Lucas leaned in dramatically, whispering, “You can relax, Bucky. We all know Mom doesn’t love you for your looks.”

You burst out laughing, clutching your sides as Bucky stared at Lucas, half-amused, half-offended.

“I’m not—,” Bucky started, running his hand over his hair again. “It’s just a haircut!”

“Oh, sure,” Lucas said, stepping closer, his face serious but his eyes full of mischief. “So it has nothing to do with the fact that Patrick’s gonna be here tomorrow? You’re not trying to look cooler than him? You know he works out, right?”

Bucky frowned, looking genuinely puzzled. “Patrick works out?”

Lucas shrugged. “Yup. I heard him mention it once. But hey, at least now you look like you can keep up.”

“Please. I don’t need a haircut to keep up with your Dad.” Bucky crossed his arms and scoffed.

Lucas smirked, still circling him. “Mmhmm. That’s why you’re all cleaned up—so you can make sure nobody at the party outshines you.”

You were practically doubled over at this point, tears streaming down your face from laughter.

“I’m not competing with anybody!” Bucky insisted, throwing his hands up.

“Right, because getting a ‘too cool for school’ haircut right before the party is totally not competitive.” Lucas grinned wider, seeing that he had Bucky cornered.

Bucky clenched his jaw, still trying to hold his ground. “This is a tactical haircut. Streamlined. It’s practical.”

Lucas grinned, clearly not buying it. “Oh, tactical, huh? Right. Is that what you’re gonna tell everyone tomorrow? ‘Hey, check out my tactical haircut. You like?’”

Bucky chuckles and points at Lucas, “Okay, that’s it. You’re done.”

Without warning, he lunged forward, scooping Lucas up and flipping him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Lucas squealed, laughing uncontrollably. “Bucky! Put me down!”

“Oh no,” Bucky said, shaking his head as he carried Lucas toward the couch. “You’re gonna sit here and think about your life choices.”

Lucas, still flailing and laughing, managed to gasp, “At least I didn’t need a haircut to look cool!”

Bucky plopped him down onto the couch, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re gonna pay for this tomorrow, kid. You just wait.”

Lucas grinned up at him, still breathless from laughing. “Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, give me a tactical timeout?”

“Unbelievable. You’re supposed to be on my side here.” Bucky glanced at you, exasperated but unable to hide his smile.

You finally managed to calm down enough to speak. “Oh no, I’m staying out of this. Lucas is absolutely right.”

Lucas beamed with pride as he gave you a thumbs-up. “See? Mom knows what’s up.”

Bucky groaned again, dropping down onto the couch beside Lucas. “Alright, fine. Have your fun tonight. Tomorrow, though, I’m stealing all your cake.”

Lucas gasped, feigning horror. “Not the cake!”

Bucky grinned, leaning back. “Oh yeah. Tactical move.”

× × × ×

The birthday party was in full swing, with kids running around, balloons everywhere, and Lucas at the center of it all. You were watching from a distance, laughing softly as Bucky awkwardly navigated the chaos. He was holding a cupcake in one hand, clearly out of his element, but smiling nonetheless. Everything was going smoothly.

The Avengers were scattered around, trying their best to blend in. Clint was at the snack table, sampling every kind of chip he could get his hands on. Tony was in full I’ve-paid-for-everything-here mode, handing out goodie bags like they were shares in Stark Industries. Nat and Steve were casually watching the kids play, exchanging side glances, while Sam was trying (and failing) to explain some complex game rules to a group of seven-year-olds.

Everything seemed perfect.

Until he arrived.

“Uh, hey,” Bucky muttered to you, nodding toward the door. “That’s, uh… him, right?”

You turned to see Lucas’ dad, Patrick, making his way into the party, looking a bit too put-together for a kids’ birthday—pressed suit, perfectly styled hair, and an aura of someone who had just closed a very important deal five minutes before arriving.

“Yep. That’s Patrick,” you said, trying not to laugh at the grimace on Bucky’s face.

Patrick spotted Lucas and waved. “Hey, buddy! Happy Birthday!” He strode over confidently, handing Lucas a brightly wrapped present.

Lucas opened it, pulling out a brand-new Nintendo Switch. He looked up at his dad and gave a polite smile. “Uh, thanks, Patrick.”

Bucky, still watching from a few feet away, cocked his head. “Why’s he callin’ him Patrick?”

You shrugged, whispering, “Lucas just started calling him that on his own. I think it confuses him.”

Patrick glanced over, finally noticing you and Bucky standing there. He smiled—though it was more of a tight-lipped one—and made his way over, extending his hand to Bucky.

“Hi, I’m Patrick. Lucas’ father,” he said, with an air of someone who’s used to introductions being brief and businesslike.

Bucky hesitated for half a second, staring at Patrick’s perfectly manicured hand like it might explode. Then he awkwardly wiped his own hand on his jeans before shaking it.

“Bucky. You know, the boyfriend.”

The words hung in the air like an awkward mist. Patrick’s smile twitched. “Ah, yes. The… boyfriend. Great to meet you.”

They stood there, shaking hands for what felt like five or ten seconds too long, neither one letting go, each one’s grip tightening ever so slightly. You watched from the side, holding back a laugh as the tension built.

Finally, Patrick cleared his throat and let go. “So, uh, how’s the party going?”

Bucky shrugged. “Good. You know, kids. Loud. Messy. Chaos.”

Patrick nodded, chuckling awkwardly. “Ah, yeah. Well, you know, in finance, things are a bit more... orderly.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Finance, huh? That sounds... fun.”

Patrick straightened his posture, clearly missing the sarcasm. “Oh, it’s very rewarding. Numbers, investments... making sure the market flows smoothly.”

Bucky blinked. “Yeah, I bet. I usually just stop markets by throwing people out windows.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Patrick stared at Bucky, unsure if that was a joke or a confession.

You stifled a laugh behind your hand. “So, how about that gift?” you asked, trying to change the subject. “Lucas, do you like it?”

Lucas, who had wandered over to Bucky’s side, gave a polite nod. “Uh, yeah. Thanks, Dad.”

Patrick smiled, clearly not noticing how forced Lucas’s enthusiasm was. “Glad you like it, buddy.”

As Patrick turned to talk to one of the other parents, Bucky crouched down next to Lucas and whispered, “Hey, what’s up, buddy? You don’t seem that excited.”

Lucas looked up at Bucky and sighed. “I already have a Switch. He bought me one for my 6th birthday. He just… forgot.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows, glancing between Lucas and Patrick, who was fidgeting with his phone. “Ah. I see.”

Patrick, overhearing, laughed nervously. “Well, uh, you can never have too many Switches, right?”

Bucky stood up, crossing his arms with a smirk. “Yeah. Or, you know, you could... I dunno, maybe remember what you got your kid for his birthday last year.”

Patrick blinked, clearly not sure whether Bucky was joking or not. “Well, you know, with finance and all... numbers just blur together sometimes. I have a lot on my plate.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Right. Numbers blur. Must be hard to forget when you’re counting millions.” His voice was laced with sarcasm.

Patrick chuckled, but it was the kind of chuckle people do when they’re uncomfortable. “Yeah, well… finance life.”

Bucky gave him a pointed look. “Yeah, but I bet remembering your kid’s birthday gifts doesn’t really blur with anything, does it?”

Patrick looked away, clearly flustered, mumbling something about "busyness" as he shifted awkwardly in his suit.

From the other side of the party, you could see Clint and Tony watching the exchange with amusement, whispering something to each other while Steve shook his head at the spectacle. Nat gave a sly smile in your direction, clearly picking up on the tension, while Sam made a “yikes” face, pretending to zip his lips as if to say, Yup, this is awkward.

You couldn’t hold it in any longer, and you let out a snort of laughter, patting Bucky on the arm. “Well, Lucas, now you can... switch between your Switches?”

Lucas looked up, a confused smile on his face, while Bucky chuckled softly under his breath. Patrick, however, just stood there, looking like he wished the earth would swallow him whole.

Patrick, cleared his throat and forced a smile. “So, Bucky, what did you get Lucas for his birthday?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, glancing at you for a second before smirking. “Oh, I didn’t go the ‘two-of-the-same-gift’ route,” he teased, earning a snicker from you.

Patrick’s forced smile faltered slightly, but he maintained his composure. “Right, but I’m sure you got him something nice.”

Bucky gave a nod, gesturing toward the corner of the room. “Got him a custom-built bow and arrow set.” He paused for effect. “You know, something a little more memorable.”

Patrick blinked, clearly caught off guard. “A… bow and arrow? For a seven-year-old?”

Bucky crossed his arms, still smirking. “Hey, I’ve got a friend who’s pretty good with those. Thought it might be a good skill to have. Besides, Lucas loved it.”

Patrick glanced over at Lucas, who was currently showing the bow set to Clint, who was eagerly demonstrating how to hold it properly. Lucas was grinning from ear to ear.

Patrick, trying to recover, chuckled awkwardly. “Well, I’m sure the Nintendo Switch will still get plenty of use.”

Bucky leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough so only Patrick could hear, a mischievous glint in his eye. “You know, if Lucas forgets he already has one.”

Patrick's smile tightened again as he awkwardly laughed, clearly regretting asking.

From the sidelines, you could see Tony and Sam observing the whole interaction with raised eyebrows. Tony leaned over to Sam, whispering, 

“I’m giving this five minutes before Finance Dad taps out.” 

Sam grinned, nodding in agreement.

× × × ×

The birthday cake was finally brought out, candles lit, and the room filled with the excited chatter of kids and adults alike. Lucas stood proudly at the center, his face glowing in the soft flicker of the seven candles. Everyone gathered around the table, cheering him on.

"Alright, everyone!" you called out, smiling down at Lucas. "On three! One… two… three! Make a wish, Lucas!"

Lucas squeezed his eyes shut and puffed out his cheeks before blowing out all seven candles in one swift breath. The room erupted into cheers, and you bent down to kiss the top of his head.

Just as the cheers started to die down, someone in the crowd—most likely Tony—yelled out, “Time for a family picture!”

The laughter and chatter quieted as you, Lucas, and Bucky moved toward the cake, ready for the photo. But, just as Bucky stepped up beside Lucas, Patrick appeared at the other side, standing just as close.

Both Bucky and Patrick froze, their eyes locking in an awkward stand-off. Neither moved, both unsure of what the protocol was in this moment. Patrick chuckled nervously, shifting on his feet.

“So… family picture, huh?” Patrick said with an awkward smile, trying to ease the tension.

“Yeah. Family picture,” Bucky replied, his tone flat, clearly unimpressed.

The two men stood on either side of Lucas, staring at each other, neither willing to give up the spot closest to the boy. Lucas, meanwhile, was too focused on choosing the biggest slice of cake to notice the tension brewing between the two.

Clint, who had been quietly observing the whole thing from the side, leaned over to Natasha and whispered, just loud enough to be heard by others, “Looks like someone's gotta blink first.”

Natasha smirked but said nothing, her eyes fixed on the scene in front of her.

Sensing the growing awkwardness, you tried to step in. “Um, you know what, why don’t we take a couple of pictures? That way, everyone gets in,” you suggested, hoping to break the standoff.

But neither Bucky nor Patrick moved. Instead, they both shuffled even closer to Lucas, determined to be the one standing right beside him. Patrick forced a smile, trying to mask his discomfort.

“Well, I mean... I’m his dad, so...” Patrick began, his voice light but strained.

“And I’m here every day,” Bucky shot back, his voice deadpan, arms crossing as if he was daring Patrick to push further.

They stared at each other, tension hanging in the air, both waiting for the other to step back. By now, the Avengers had all noticed. From the other side of the room, Tony leaned over to Sam, his voice a stage whisper that was impossible to miss.

“Who’s taking bets? This is about to get good,” Tony said, grinning.

Sam chuckled. “Ten bucks on Bucky. He’s got that murder stare locked and loaded.”

You let out an exasperated sigh, stepping forward before things got any more awkward. 

“Alright,” you said, laying down the final word. “Bucky, you can be in this one. Patrick, you’ll be in the next one.”

Both men blinked in surprise, caught off guard by your no-nonsense tone. Bucky gave a small, smug smile and slipped into place beside Lucas, casually throwing his arm around the boy’s shoulders.

Patrick nodded stiffly, his smile tight and forced. “Sounds fair.”

“Great,” Tony clapped his hands dramatically, clearly reveling in the tension. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road. Everyone say ‘awkward’!”

The camera flashed, capturing the moment, Bucky’s subtle triumphant grin beside Lucas, while Patrick stood to the side, looking like he was mentally calculating how soon he could make a polite exit.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

MIT libraries are thriving without Elsevier

I'm coming to BURNING MAN! On TUESDAY (Aug 27) at 1PM, I'm giving a talk called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE!" at PALENQUE NORTE (7&E). On WEDNESDAY (Aug 28) at NOON, I'm doing a "Talking Caterpillar" Q&A at LIMINAL LABS (830&C).

Once you learn about the "collective action problem," you start seeing it everywhere. Democrats – including elected officials – all wanted Biden to step down, but none of them wanted to be the first one to take a firm stand, so for months, his campaign limped on: a collective action problem.

Patent trolls use bullshit patents to shake down small businesses, demanding "license fees" that are high, but much lower than the cost of challenging the patent and getting it revoked. Collectively, it would be much cheaper for all the victims to band together and hire a fancy law firm to invalidate the patent, but individually, it makes sense for them all to pay. A collective action problem:

https://locusmag.com/2013/11/cory-doctorow-collective-action/

Musicians get royally screwed by Spotify. Collectively, it would make sense for all of them to boycott the platform, which would bring it to its knees and either make it pay more or put it out of business. Individually, any musician who pulls out of Spotify disappears from the horizon of most music fans, so they all hang in – a collective action problem:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/21/off-the-menu/#universally-loathed

Same goes for the businesses that get fucked out of 30% of their app revenues by Apple and Google's mobile business. Without all those apps, Apple and Google wouldn't have a business, but any single app that pulls out commits commercial suicide, so they all hang in there, paying a 30% vig:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/15/private-law/#thirty-percent-vig

That's also the case with Amazon sellers, who get rooked for 45-51 cents out of every dollar in platform junk fees, and whose prize for succeeding despite this is to have their product cloned by Amazon, which underprices them because it doesn't have to pay a 51% rake on every sale. Without third-party sellers there'd be no Amazon, but it's impossible to get millions of sellers to all pull out at once, so the Bezos crime family scoops up half of the ecommerce economy in bullshit fees:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

This is why one definition of "corruption" is a system with "concentrated gains and diffuse losses." The company that dumps toxic waste in your water supply reaps all the profits of externalizing its waste disposal costs. The people it poisons each bear a fraction of the cost of being poisoned. The environmental criminal has a fat warchest of ill-gotten gains to use to bribe officials and pay fancy lawyers to defend it in court. Its victims are each struggling with the health effects of the crimes, and even without that, they can't possibly match the polluter's resources. Eventually, the polluter spends enough money to convince the Supreme Court to overturn "Chevron deference" and makes it effectively impossible to win the right to clean water and air (or a planet that's not on fire):

https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/us-supreme-courts-chevron-deference-ruling-will-disrupt-climate-policy

Any time you encounter a shitty, outrageous racket that's stable over long timescales, chances are you're looking at a collective action problem. Certainly, that's the underlying pathology that preserves the scholarly publishing scam, which is one of the most grotesque, wasteful, disgusting frauds in our modern world (and that's saying something, because the field is crowded with many contenders).

Here's how the scholarly publishing scam works: academics do original scholarly research, funded by a mix of private grants, public funding, funding from their universities and other institutions, and private funds. These academics write up their funding and send it to a scholarly journal, usually one that's owned by a small number of firms that formed a scholarly publishing cartel by buying all the smaller publishers in a string of anticompetitive acquisitions. Then, other scholars review the submission, for free. More unpaid scholars do the work of editing the paper. The paper's author is sent a non-negotiable contract that requires them to permanently assign their copyright to the journal, again, for free. Finally, the paper is published, and the institution that paid the researcher to do the original research has to pay again – sometimes tens of thousands of dollars per year! – for the journal in which it appears.

The academic publishing cartel insists that the millions it extracts from academic institutions and the billions it reaps in profit are all in service to serving as neutral, rigorous gatekeepers who ensure that only the best scholarship makes it into print. This is flatly untrue. The "editorial process" the academic publishers take credit for is virtually nonexistent: almost everything they publish is virtually unchanged from the final submission format. They're not even typesetting the paper:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00799-018-0234-1

The vetting process for peer-review is a joke. Literally: an Australian academic managed to get his dog appointed to the editorial boards of seven journals:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/olivia-doll-predatory-journals

Far from guarding scientific publishing from scams and nonsense, the major journal publishers have stood up entire divisions devoted to pay-to-publish junk science. Elsevier – the largest scholarly publisher – operated a business unit that offered to publish fake journals full of unreveiwed "advertorial" papers written by pharma companies, packaged to look like a real journal:

https://web.archive.org/web/20090504075453/http://blog.bioethics.net/2009/05/merck-makes-phony-peerreview-journal/

Naturally, academics and their institutions hate this system. Not only is it purely parasitic on their labor, it also serves as a massive brake on scholarly progress, by excluding independent researchers, academics at small institutions, and scholars living in the global south from accessing the work of their peers. The publishers enforce this exclusion without mercy or proportion. Take Diego Gomez, a Colombian Masters candidate who faced eight years in prison for accessing a single paywalled academic paper:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/colombian-student-faces-prison-charges-sharing-academic-article-online

And of course, there's Aaron Swartz, the young activist and Harvard-affiliated computer scientist who was hounded to death after he accessed – but did not publish – papers from MIT's JSTOR library. Aaron had permission to access these papers, but JSTOR, MIT, and the prosecutors Stephen Heymann and Carmen Ortiz argued that because he used a small computer program to access the papers (rather than clicking on each link by hand) he had committed 13 felonies. They threatened him with more than 30 years in prison, and drew out the proceedings until Aaron was out of funds. Aaron hanged himself in 2013:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz

Academics know all this terrible stuff is going on, but they are trapped in a collective action problem. For an academic to advance in their field, they have to publish, and they have to get their work cited. Academics all try to publish in the big prestige journals – which also come with the highest price-tag for their institutions – because those are the journals other academics read, which means that getting published is top journal increases the likelihood that another academic will find and cite your work.

If academics could all agree to prioritize other journals for reading, then they could also prioritize other journals for submissions. If they could all prioritize other journals for submissions, they could all prioritize other journals for reading. Instead, they all hold one another hostage, through a wicked collective action problem that holds back science, starves their institutions of funding, and puts their colleagues at risk of imprisonment.

Despite this structural barrier, academics have fought tirelessly to escape the event horizon of scholarly publishing's monopoly black hole. They avidly supported "open access" publishers (most notably PLoS), and while these publishers carved out pockets for free-to-access, high quality work, the scholarly publishing cartel struck back with package deals that bundled their predatory "open access" journals in with their traditional journals. Academics had to pay twice for these journals: first, their institutions paid for the package that included them, then the scholars had to pay open access submission fees meant to cover the costs of editing, formatting, etc – all that stuff that basically doesn't exist.

Academics started putting "preprints" of their work on the web, and for a while, it looked like the big preprint archive sites could mount a credible challenge to the scholarly publishing cartel. So the cartel members bought the preprint sites, as when Elsevier bought out SSRN:

https://www.techdirt.com/2016/05/17/disappointing-elsevier-buys-open-access-academic-pre-publisher-ssrn/

Academics were elated in 2011, when Alexandra Elbakyan founded Sci-Hub, a shadow library that aims to make the entire corpus of scholarly work available without barrier, fear or favor:

https://sci-hub.ru/alexandra

Sci-Hub neutralized much of the collective action trap: once an article was available on Sci-Hub, it became much easier for other scholars to locate and cite, which reduced the case for paying for, or publishing in, the cartel's journals:

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.14979

The scholarly publishing cartel fought back viciously, suing Elbakyan and Sci-Hub for tens of millions of dollars. Elsevier targeted prepress sites like academia.edu with copyright threats, ordering them to remove scholarly papers that linked to Sci-Hub:

https://svpow.com/2013/12/06/elsevier-is-taking-down-papers-from-academia-edu/

This was extremely (if darkly) funny, because Elsevier's own publications are full of citations to Sci-Hub:

https://eve.gd/2019/08/03/elsevier-threatens-others-for-linking-to-sci-hub-but-does-it-itself/

Meanwhile, scholars kept the pressure up. Tens of thousands of scholars pledged to stop submitting their work to Elsevier:

http://thecostofknowledge.com/

Academics at the very tops of their fields publicly resigned from the editorial board of leading Elsevier journals, and published editorials calling the Elsevier model unethical:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2012/may/16/system-profit-access-research

And the New Scientist called the racket "indefensible," decrying the it as an industry that made restricting access to knowledge "more profitable than oil":

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032052-900-time-to-break-academic-publishings-stranglehold-on-research/

But the real progress came when academics convinced their institutions, rather than one another, to do something about these predator publishers. First came funders, private and public, who announced that they would only fund open access work:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06178-7

Winning over major funders cleared the way for open access advocates worked both the supply-side and the buy-side. In 2019, the entire University of California system announced it would be cutting all of its Elsevier subscriptions:

https://www.science.org/content/article/university-california-boycotts-publishing-giant-elsevier-over-journal-costs-and-open

Emboldened by the UC system's principled action, MIT followed suit in 2020, announcing that it would no longer send $2m every year to Elsevier:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/12/digital-feudalism/#nerdfight

It's been four years since MIT's decision to boycott Elsevier, and things are going great. The open access consortium SPARC just published a stocktaking of MIT libraries without Elsevier:

https://sparcopen.org/our-work/big-deal-knowledge-base/unbundling-profiles/mit-libraries/

How are MIT's academics getting by without Elsevier in the stacks? Just fine. If someone at MIT needs access to an Elsevier paper, they can usually access it by asking the researchers to email it to them, or by downloading it from the researcher's site or a prepress archive. When that fails, there's interlibrary loan, whereby other libraries will send articles to MIT's libraries within a day or two. For more pressing needs, the library buys access to individual papers through an on-demand service.

This is how things were predicted to go. The libraries used their own circulation data and the webservice Unsub to figure out what they were likely to lose by dropping Elsevier – it wasn't much!

https://unsub.org/

The MIT story shows how to break a collective action problem – through collective action! Individual scholarly boycotts did little to hurt Elsevier. Large-scale organized boycotts raised awareness, but Elsevier trundled on. Sci-Hub scared the shit out of Elsevier and raised awareness even further, but Elsevier had untold millions to spend on a campaign of legal terror against Sci-Hub and Elbakyan. But all of that, combined with high-profile defections, made it impossible for the big institutions to ignore the issue, and the funders joined the fight. Once the funders were on-side, the academic institutions could be dragged into the fight, too.

Now, Elsevier – and the cartel – is in serious danger. Automated tools – like the Authors Alliance termination of transfer tool – lets academics get the copyright to their papers back from the big journals so they can make them open access:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/26/take-it-back/

Unimaginably vast indices of all scholarly publishing serve as important adjuncts to direct access shadow libraries like Sci-Hub:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/28/clintons-ghost/#cornucopia-concordance

Collective action problems are never easy to solve, but they're impossible to address through atomized, individual action. It's only when we act as a collective that we can defeat the corruption – the concentrated gains and diffuse losses – that allow greedy, unscrupulous corporations to steal from us, wreck our lives and even imprison us.

Community voting for SXSW is live! If you wanna hear RIDA QADRI and me talk about how GIG WORKERS can DISENSHITTIFY their jobs with INTEROPERABILITY, VOTE FOR THIS ONE!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/16/the-public-sphere/#not-the-elsevier

[ikeuverse]

ICED CARAMEL — p.jongseong

PAIRING: jay x fem!reader  GENRES: fluff, slight angst  WC: 3.7k+

WARNINGS: light swearing, a bit of a stalker and inconvenient guy with jay (y/n put that guy in his place). and that's it, let me know if i've forgotten anything.

SYNOPSIS: it wasn't a problem for jay to memorize your order and the days of the week you drank each thing in the café he managed. the problem was creating feelings for a customer he didn't even know if she felt the same way.

NOTES: i've had this plot in mind for a while, but i didn't know which member of enhypen it could fit in with. thinking that it's been a while since i last wrote for jay, i decided to do this story, his. so enjoy, i hope you like it!

masterlist

An iced caramel almost every day of the week, except Friday, when it was an iced vanilla latte accompanied by a slice of cranberry cake.

Jay didn't know why he had decorated your order so meticulously. Maybe he knew, he just didn't want to admit it to himself. Even more so when his cousin – and also a cafeteria employee – was a pain in the ass every time you came in to spend the afternoon working.

"Your girlfriend's here" Sunghoon whispered as he closed the cash register, turning his body towards Jay and smiling broadly when he noticed his cousin's cheeks starting to take on a reddish tinge.

"She's not my girlfriend, asshole" Jay growled lowly and almost picked up the dishcloth to hit Sunghoon if it hadn't been for your presence near the counter.

"Hi."

Jay froze for a few seconds. The angelic voice and contagious smile you gave every afternoon you came in made the boy sigh just by existing in front of him.

"Hi, y/n" Sunghoon greeted you first, while the other still stared at you without saying anything "Same as always?"

"Yes, please" you said.

"Jay will take you to your desk in a moment" Sunghoon smiled back and let you walk away to your usual desk to sit down, picking up your work materials and focusing on your notebook.

Those few minutes of interaction felt like hours, because Jay only realized it when he felt Sunghoon's push against his body, bringing him out of the little trance he had entered without even realizing it.

"Stop acting like an idiot or she'll notice" he whispered.

"Realize what?" Jay whispered back.

It was then that Sunghoon let out a soft sigh, not wanting to attract the attention of the few customers in the café.

"That you're into her, Jongseong" he then rolled his eyes, preparing the iced caramel you always ordered since it was Wednesday.

You're into her. Sunghoon's words have echoed fervently in Jay's head countless times since he caught himself thinking about you.

It's not like it was your fault or his fault in the first place. Ever since Jay and Sunghoon decided to take over their grandfather's coffee shop, they've gotten to know the place's loyal customers. You arrived a few months after they took over, asking for Mr. Park, the nice little man who always served you the best-iced caramel in the area.

You had also recently moved into the building at the end of the street. The huge commercial building that Jay had seen you enter a few times after you left the coffee shop. You also chatted with him a lot of the time, since Sunghoon took care of the cashier and often cleaned up his cousin's mess in the kitchen. This gave Jay time to check out the customers – there were rarely more than three people there at the end of the day – so it was just you and one other woman there until closing time.

It was a rather pleasant routine, and it made Jay start fantasizing about your beauty and how your friendliness made him feel. Even Sunghoon wanted to admit that one day he heard his cousin whining because you'd gone to get coffee and hadn't stayed to talk.

"Maybe she's busy with work" Sunghoon tried to calm him down since he'd gotten the amount of sugar in the brownie wrong for the third time. Jay didn't want to lose another pastry because of a silly distraction.

Or not so silly when he started to notice how the conversations were getting longer. Sometimes both he and you forgot that you were working. You wouldn't respond properly to emails, while Jay would let Sunghoon take over the running of the establishment just to sit in front of you and talk for a long time.

You shouldn't treat a customer so intimately, Jongseong. He could hear his grandfather's voice very well if you were there. Surely Grandpa Park would take him out of the coffee shop and leave only Sunghoon there, as a form of punishment for making his cousin deal with everything while he sighed unconsciously at the figure of the wonderful woman in front of him.

"Take it to her and, please, act naturally" Sunghoon finished his coffee and closed the cup, handing it to Jay "Unless you're brave enough to propose…"

"That's not going to happen" Jay was quick to say.

"Then watch the coffee, or I'll take it out of your paycheck."

He wanted so badly to curse his cousin right then but settled for a small grimace as he watched Sunghoon serve two other customers.

Jay slowly walked up to the second floor of the café. It was more secluded and quieter than the entrance hall, which many people liked because of the view. You, in particular, preferred to stay in the corner of the small months of that place because it was more private and quiet. That way your work could be completed and, as a bonus, you'd get to spend a few minutes chatting with Jay.

That wasn't in your plans. Smiling like an idiot at one of the owners of the coffee shop you went to every day. It was unethical with his work and, above all, you could have been taking advantage of him as a customer since Jay was only being nice to you.

He could be like that with all his clients, you thought. You really wanted to sabotage yourself so you tried not to think about the guy so much. Big mistake. Because every time he came to deliver your coffee, staying for a chat, you found yourself deeper and deeper in the pit of desire. The wish that you could ask him out or simply tell him how beautiful he was.

Would that be so bad?

"Your iced caramel right here" Jay's voice made your thoughts fly away. A quick smile adorned his lips as he approached and, as soon as he placed the glass on the table, he pulled out a chair in front of you to sit down.

You took the drink quickly to feel the cold, caramelized taste go down your throat. It was as addictive as looking at Jay and that smile he was wearing.

"Busy day?" the boy asked after a few seconds in silence, just watching you sip your drink.

"And tiring" you put the glass down again "Not to mention it's stressing me out a bit."

"Do you want to share?"

You wanted so much to tell Jay what was bothering you. To tell him how you felt and why you were so stressed about everything that was happening, but fate had something else in store for you.

"Y/n" that voice gave you the creeps, that's for sure. You closed your eyes for a few seconds as you heard footsteps approaching.

"Terry" you tried to smile at the man as soon as you opened your eyes and saw his figure standing right behind Jay.

Terry looked at the boy sitting in front of him with apparent disgust as he looked back at you.

"Am I in the way of something?" Terry asked.

"Yes" you whispered.

"No" Jay said loudly, getting up from his chair and straightening his cafeteria apron "I was already leaving anyway."

"No, Jay…" your weak voice didn't give him a chance to hear you as you packed up your chair to leave.

"Bye y/n, enjoy your coffee."

He left so quickly that you didn't even manage to call him by his surname, let alone shout any syllables to make him understand that he could stay. So, now looking at Terry right in front of you, the man had a serious countenance that made you nauseous.

"Are you seeing that barista?" he sounded disgusted as he spoke.

"What if I am?" you retorted.

"Then it would be very decadent of you to deny me dinner, instead of agreeing to go out with this…"

"Look, Terry" you cut him off gently, even though he didn't deserve anything coming from you "If you've come here to say something about it, please, it's the place I like to work. I don't like being interrupted."

The man just nodded in agreement, waving a briefcase in his hands that you hadn't realized he was carrying until just then.

"I've come to give you this, the boss asked for it" Terry left it on the table where you were sitting "And maybe you and I…"

"Terry, please" you sighed loudly this time "No."

He shook his head once more, turning his lips into a thin line as he took a few steps back. Slowly walking away before saying goodbye to you and walking down the stairs of the café.

Terry stared angrily across the room at Jay as if he had done the most horrible thing in the world, before opening the door and leaving almost immediately.

Sunghoon, on the other hand, realized this and looked at his cousin, who had a serious look on his face. His eyebrows were knitted together in a scowl that he had seen only a few times on Jay.

"May I ask what happened upstairs?" he asked.

Jay just sighed, trying to ignore the fact that his heart was still racing and he had no idea what had happened upstairs since he had left. But something inside him was bothering him, Jay wanted not to feel that kind of thing.

"Just… Please…" he finished arranging the sweets in the display case, closing the glass and raising his body after he'd finished his work "From today onwards, it's up to you to bring the coffee to y/n's table, okay?"

Torturous weeks in which Jay didn't show up to deliver your coffee in person. You knew very well that it was because of Terry's appearance that day and how extremely unnecessary he was with Jay.

You wanted to ask if the man had said anything after he left, but he never even came to your table. Always ordered Sunghoon to hand over his things with the excuse that the movement was driving him crazy. Or that there were some sweets left to prepare, so he couldn't leave at the moment. Your mind was screaming at you to ask what was going on or if it was all in your head because it was affecting you much more than you wanted it to.

Friday, the day you ordered a slice of cranberry cake and Jay always made a joke that it was the cake that came out the least. That he, in particular, had never eaten a necessary and worthy piece except for tastings when he made the pastry. With Sunghoon's help, because he did like it, Jay wasn't a big fan of that cake.

And you were beginning not to want to ask if the result was that he didn't bring it. Not that you hated Sunghoon… Not at all! He was nice, and funny. It ran in the family, that's for sure. But there was something about Jay that you couldn't explain. Something that had ripped every fiber out of your body simply because you couldn't stop thinking about him, and that was only making it harder as he became more and more distant.

"I'll kill you, Terry" you said to yourself when, once again, you saw Sunghoon approaching with your request.

He seemed to guess that some question was meant for him, so the boy always answered something different than the last time. It was as if Sunghoon wrote down every answer he gave you so as not to repeat any and try to convince you that Jay was too busy.

"The macarons are a lot of work today" he smiled, taking the plate of cake from the tray along with his iced coffee of the day "Jay is very busy and…"

"Sunghoon, can I ask you something?" if it wasn't now, it wouldn't be ever again. You had to have the courage to ask, after all, what harm would it do? He could run away from your question or simply lie and walk away as if nothing had happened.

"Of course" he continued, smiling at you after your order had been placed on the table.

"Is Jay avoiding me because that man was here the other day?"

Yes.

"Not that I know of" Sunghoon wanted to abandon the intrusive voice in his mind to answer the obvious, but decided to stick to what he had promised his cousin "He's not avoiding you, it's just that—"

"Terry is absolutely nothing to me, Sunghoon" maybe they both thought that idiot was his boyfriend because he thought he could be something other than a work colleague. And an idiot who didn't know how to take an attack.

"No?" Sunghoon seemed surprised by that confession, making you laugh.

"He's just a jerk who thinks he's something to me" you took a piece of your pie to eat "Terry asked me out a few times, but I politely declined. Now he won't stop bothering me."

"He's an idiot" Sunghoon shrugged, making you laugh again.

So things were falling into place now and he could understand why the man had left with a frown the day he entered the coffee shop. Maybe he'd met Jay upstairs, thought of something and you'd blown him off after Jay came down.

"You know what, y/n?" Sunghoon pulled out the chair in front of you, sitting down just as Jay used to do when he took your order to the table. You paid close attention to everything the boy in front of you said, afraid of missing some important part of what he had to say "Both you and Jay are wasting your time."

"Hello? What… What do you mean?" luckily you took your time drinking your iced coffee, otherwise, you would have choked on Sunghoon's sincerity.

It was the boy's turn to laugh and relax as he leaned back in his chair.

"You know very well what I'm talking about" he tried to suppress a smile as he stared at his slice of porpoise being cut by the fork and you playing with the topping "That was a misunderstanding on account of that idiot… What's his name again?"

"Terry" you said.

"Yes, Terry" Sunghoon continued "And I think both you and Jay need to talk about this."

"And how am I supposed to do that if he's avoiding me?" you sighed, eating the cake you loved so much while looking at the other Park in front of you.

"Well, I can fix that next week" Sunghoon smiled, making you smile too as you finished chewing your cake to answer him.

"How will you do that?"

"I need to think about it because Jay is very difficult when he wants to be" he prepared to get up, greeting you before leaving "But I promise to help you both. I can't stand seeing my cousin and that scowl all day."

Waving to you, Sunghoon left to continue serving the other customers. Leaving you pensive and, strangely, looking forward to next week.

Jay felt like an idiot for having that kind of resentment towards you. He hardly knew what had happened, in fact, but seeing you walk into the cafeteria only made his chest tighten.

Why feel that way about someone he barely knew? Come on, Jongseong. You were just talking! He wanted to faithfully believe that it was just that, that he couldn't be fooled by someone who was a loyal – and incredibly beautiful – customer of his workplace.

It didn't help when Sunghoon made a point of calling you to the counter, taking longer than usual to take the weekly order that everyone already knew by heart. This could only be a huge joke on his cousin's part.

"Can you prepare y/n's coffee?" Sunghoon asked in a low voice. Jay shook his head and looked ahead, noticing that you were sitting at a table further away, but now downstairs and not upstairs as you usually did.

"Why? I'm busy and—"

"I need to attend to the tables upstairs, everything's full" that part wasn't a lie. But Sunghoon didn't have to tell him that he had already waited at half the tables and only had to take a bottle of water to a girl who had ordered without any hurry.

Jay didn't have much to deny you, after all, you were a customer and he couldn't afford to miss an order like that. So, preparing your iced caramel as he always did, he felt his fingers almost crack the plastic when the door opened, revealing Terry.

That man at whom Jay felt a sudden rage just from the exchange of glances between them.

Terry didn't even bother to say hello, walking over to the table where you were and sitting down without saying a word. Now, more than quickly, Jay had to finish your order and run to the table to give it to you. At least to find out what was going on and what Terry was doing there.

The iced caramel was prepared with care, even though the boy's nerves were on edge just to run to the table. As soon as he arrived, Jay hissed softly to get his and Terry's attention.

"Your iced caramel" Jay placed the glass on the table "Sunghoon is busy with the tables upstairs…"

"Thanks, Jay" you took a long sip of the drink, the familiar taste making your whole body relax as you looked at the boy and then at Terry "Aren't you leaving?"

Jay almost froze, thinking the question had been directed at him, but no. His eyes didn't leave Terry as the question was asked.

"We need to talk, y/n."

Your gaze soon met Jay's, he looked as lost as you because this wasn't part of Sunghoon's plans. You, in fact, had no idea what the other Park had prepared. And speaking of him, the boy's orbs were almost popping out when he saw Jay standing near your desk and Terry sitting right in front of you.

Sunghoon didn't think much of it and quickly went over to all of you to see what was going on.

"Hey, is everything all right with your order around here?" he asked.

"Yes," you smiled, "Terry was just leaving."

There was a short silence before he got ready to leave. He didn't wave or look back as he left the café in heavy, hurried steps, leaving you with the two Park baristas standing next to your table.

"Y/n… Are you okay?" Sunghoon asked.

"I have to go" for the first time all week, you left without finishing your coffee. Without saying goodbye to either of you and, what's more, without smiling as you always did when you walked through the door and waved to the guys at the counter.

"Go after her" Sunghoon turned quickly to his cousin.

"What? I—"

"Jay, go after her. Now!" he ordered so desperately that it was as if Sunghoon depended on it. And, of course, he did. Because his cousin's performance had gone downhill after that weather. You also didn't seem as cheerful as you always did, even on the most troubled days at work.

So he felt he had to do something, and he knew he'd made the right request as soon as Jay quickly untied his apron and ran out of the café. Almost tripping over his own feet as he tried to catch up.

Sunghoon could handle things on his own for a few minutes, he thought. Because if his cousin had asked him to run, Jay wasn't going to disobey. He wouldn't miss his chance even if he didn't think he had one.

"Y/n!" he shouted so loudly when he saw you cross the street to enter the huge corporate building on the other side.

To Jay's surprise, you turned around so quickly that you were only able to process the boy's presence when he had already crossed and stopped right in front of you.

He was panting, his hair tousled by the wind and the light jog. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to normalize his breathing and looked at you so closely that you wondered if you had ever been in such proximity before.

"Jay? Why are you here? Why… did you come running?"

You also tried to fight the urge to scream at the sight of him standing right in front of you. The smell of cologne invading your nostrils and realizing that you were completely right when, one night, you fantasized that he was annoyingly smelly.

And even more beautiful once he was bent over far enough, leaning his forehead against yours.

"I don't know what I'm doing here, to tell you the truth" he whispered so close that you couldn't tell if that slight breath of air was Jay's breathing or the wind off the street "I just felt like I needed to come."

"I guess you did the right thing, then."

If Jay didn't know why you'd run over there – or he did – you were going to pretend you didn't either because your hands went to his face to pull him closer, before you felt Jay's lips against yours.

That had been the perfect kiss for as long as you could remember. The way he managed to hold you, tangle his tongue in yours, and press his lips to yours… It was as if Jay's mouth had been made to kiss you. As if that moment had to happen that way.

After breathing became necessary for both of you, Jay made a point of still staying close to you after the kiss stopped, just feeling your breathing normalize against his mouth before laughing softly.

"What?" you asked, laughing along with him as Jay's hand slid slowly down your cheek.

"I never thought I'd like iced caramel like that…"

For a few seconds, you didn't understand what he meant, but as soon as Jay kissed you again, holding your face firmly between his hands, you knew.

The coffee he had prepared minutes before was on your lips, now being transferred to Jay. He knew it was your favorite, he knew iced caramel was famous for a reason. He just didn't know he'd get hooked on tasting it any other way.

© ikeuverse, 2023. do not copy, translate or steal my stories.

[f1bordeaux]

An Verstappen one with “Did you ever really care about me?” and “Please stay.” Thank you

If You Cared (Part 1) | mv1

It's been years since you've indulged in a vacation. What better time is there than summer? Your family, the beach house in Italy-it seems perfect. But, for things to be just like good old times, your family needs to invite his. So of course you are having mixed feelings as the boy who broke your heart re-enters your life like nothing happened. Warnings: None Pairing: Max Verstappen x Reader Word count: 2.1k Poetry style | Story style A/n: Hello! This story came to me as soon as I saw this request. I got so many ideas and I'm actually super excited to keep writing this. There will be more parts to follow, so keep a look out. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy! Part One|Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Part Five

You always longed for the familiarity of summer.

It was by far your favorite season. Something about the warmth, the life, the atmosphere, the memories-something about it all brought you comfort. You were head over heels in love with summer. Or perhaps it was just more exciting this year knowing that you would go on a real vacation for the first time in a long while. “Let’s visit the beach house this year,” your mom had suggested. “Sure there is probably some dust in the corners, but it’s nothing we can't sweep off.”

When thinking of summer memories, the beach house in Elba, Italy, was the primary setting for all of them. From the time you were born until the time you moved out, your family would spend a handful of weeks there, drinking up the sun and inviting friends to visit. You learnt to swim in the pool behind the summer house. You learnt to cook in the kitchen of the summer house. You had your first kiss in the living room of the summer house. Right, that. Something you preferred not to think or talk about.

“Mom!” you wrapped her in a hug the second you could. After moving away from home to pursue work, you rarely saw her in person. You rarely had time to cook yourself dinner let alone come home. It would be nice to get away for a month-just you, your mom, your dad, your brother and sister and the Italian shores of Elba.

“How was your flight, my baby?” She asked, pulling your backpack from off your shoulders.

“Which one? The one from New York to Florence or the one from Florence to Elba?” As a child you always made a fuss about how secluded Elba was. It’s a small, mountainous island off the west coast. A small airport, no larger than the biggest grocery store in town, was all they had to offer. They didn’t take commercial flights from New York. Nope, you had to get on a small, ten person airplane with five other people and fly over that way. It was nostalgic, truly.

Your mom rolled her eyes. “Still dramatic as ever.”

You shrugged, a smile stamped on your face. “What can I say?”

“Let's go, your dad is at home making dinner. It should be ready when we arrive.”

Your heart felt so full, so satisfied. You felt like a child again, like a little girl viewing the world from innocent eyes. Your mom was carrying your backpack, your dad was making dinner. You wondered if they’d offer to tuck you in at night. This is what you needed the most, and you didn’t even realize it until you were in the passenger seat of your mom’s rental car, watching the coast of the island roll by in the dimming sun. New York was busy. It was loud and dirty. Elba was quiet. It was beautiful and clean.

This summer, you told yourself. I’m not going to have a single worry, not a single care in the world.

“The Verstappen’s are coming by next week.”

You almost choked on your food. “What did he just say?” Dinner on the patio was already off to a ravishing start.

You don't notice it-too busy dabbing the corner of your mouth with a napkin-but your mother swatted at your brother who held a smirk on his lips. He knew it would bother you and he also knew that mom hadn’t told you yet. He loved being the bearer of bad news. He loved pestering his older sister.

“You know, Max’s family?” He pushed on. “The boy who left you for cars-”

“Luca.” Your mom cut him off. “Enough.”

Silence hung over the table like it was a light fixture. Your dad and sister said nothing and you knew it was because those two were in favor of the Verstappen’s coming to stay. Hell, your dad was probably the one to extend the invitation. You knew your sister would back him up because she loved Victoria-the younger sibling of the two Verstappen children. Your brother obviously didn’t care. He idolized Max and his racing. It seemed like your mother was the only one on your side.

“Was nobody going to tell me until Max knocked on our front door one day?” You asked, cutting at the food on your plate.

“Max probably won't even be able to make it,” your mother tries to reassure you. “The only ones who have confirmed it are Sophie and Victoria. Ooh-Victoria is bringing the babies so that should be fun-”

“Are you just trying to calm me down, mom?” Again, the silence made itself known. You spoke first, shaking your head with an upside down smile. “You know what? I don’t care. Max or not, I’m here to have a good summer. No childhood crush or-”

“Childhood boyfriend who broke your heart.” Your brother corrected you. You kicked him from under the table, exerting an ouch from him.

“No childhood drama is going to interfere.” You finished.

“She's gone crazy.” Your sister whispered to your dad. You kicked her too.

“I’m going to have a good summer. Nobody will ruin that for me.”

And in the beginning, you did have a good summer. You spent your first full day in Elba catching up on jet lag. When you finally decided to roll out of bed at two pm, you went to the beach with your sister. The two of you had a chance to catch up, sitting on the sand with a small array of fruits to eat while you spoke. The weather was perfect, the ocean was calming, and you were reminded of how much you loved your younger sister.

“What did you do for the big twenty-two?” You asked, referencing her birthday that had preceded about three weeks prior.

She shook her hand, the grapes in her palm shifting. She picked out a bruised one, adding it to a small pile of other undesirable fruits. “Went out with some friends. I had an exam due that day though, so most of it was spent in my room working on that.”

College. Something you tried your hardest to avoid. All was futile, though. After only a few weeks in New York you realized you’d need it. “Sounds fun. Were you mad you had to leave all your friends for the summer?”

“No,” She popped a grape in her mouth. “I was excited to come back to the beach house.”

“Me too.”

“Can I start a conversation without you getting mad at me, y/n?”

You sighed. “If you start by saying that, then no.”

“How are you going to react if Max really does show up on Monday?”

It was your turn to search through the handful of strawberries you had. One strawberry had a large hole. The rest looked fine, you thought. Max. Right, that's where the conversation was. Max Verstappen. Your first crush, your first kiss, your first-boyfriend? Was it ever that? Really, you didn’t know what it was and what it wasn’t. He was Max, and you were y/n. That was all the facts you knew surrounding the two of you.

“I’ll be nice. I have no reason not to be.” You finally responded.

Your sister peeled her sunglasses off her face. She looked at you amusingly through her brow. “No reason? Really?”

A shrug lifted your shoulders. “What? Max and I were never dating.”

“Sixteen-year-old you would say otherwise.”

“Sixteen year old me was delusional.” You looked at the ocean in front of you. You were just a delusional child, right? Max was your first kiss. Max was your biggest crush. Max did break your heart. It’s pretty damn hard to break someone's heart when you’re not together, no? “I don’t care about Max anymore. If he comes, he comes. If he doesn’t? Then so be it. I really don't care, Mia.”

“Alright,” She said dismissively. “I guess we’ll find out.”

The two of you wouldn’t find out for another five days. During your time-waiting for the possible arrival of Max and his mom and sister-you explored the city, you occupied the beaches, you read some books, you went out on the boat with your brother and dad. Life was calm. There were no obligations you had to fill, no tasks at hand, no work to be done. It was you, the Italian sun, the ocean and the breeze. You seriously considered moving there. Mom would let you have the beach house, right? How could she say no to the oldest?

All was good. All was calm.

“Max is here, y/n!” Luca swung open the patio door, yelling at you with a smirk. You were lying on a lounge chair next to your sister-the both of you only wearing swimsuits as you tried to tan. “He’s a fine specimen.”

You picked up your hat from the ground and threw it at your teenage brother. “Fuck off, Luca.”

“I’m serious! Max, Victoria and Sophie are here.”

You looked over at your sister. “Go inspect.” You instructed her.

She groaned, standing up from her chair and wandering inside, not before slapping Luca on the back of the head, however. The two of them shut the door, a waft of cold air swiping across your body before disappearing. There was soft music playing from a speaker near the pool. If a car pulled up, you wouldn’t have been able to hear it. Maybe they were here, but was Max seriously with them? Did you want him here? Would it actually be easier without him here or did you want some fun this summer? Did drama entertain you? Maybe you just wanted something nice to look at while you were here.

The back door slid open. You were lying face down, the sun warming your back. You didn’t bother looking up, assuming it was Mia coming to deliver the news to you. It would be better if she didn’t see your face while telling you. Maybe you would be disappointed at the answer-whatever it may be. “Well? Is he here?” You asked, voice muffled by the lounge chair.

“Is this your hat?”

You looked up so quickly that you pulled a muscle in your neck. “Fuck.” You whispered to yourself, rubbing your fingers over the pain. Did you curse to yourself because Max was standing right infront of you, your ball cap balancing off his index finger, or because of the pain? Both, you decided. It was for both reasons.

“I’ll leave it,” He set it on the table next to you. “Here.”

“Thanks.” You readjusted yourself, sitting up on the edge of the chair. He definitely got a much better view of you than he was hoping for. You were older now, almost by ten years. Sixteen year old you and twenty five year old you looked a lot different. He figured that out pretty quick.

“Good to see you, y/n.” He smiled before turning on his heel to go back inside. His back was broad, his shoulders looked stiff. He had some stubble, but it suited him. He looked-good? No. Stop thinking like that. He probably had a girlfriend or something. He was a rich, famous, Formula One driver. No way he was single walking around looking like that.

“Right.” Nobody was around to hear you say it. So, nobody was around to hear you follow it up with, “What the fuck.”

Hesitantly, you picked up your ball cap, slipping your ponytail through the back. You walked inside, scanning the room before making any more steps forward. Mia and Victoria were in the living room. Sure enough, Victoria had brought her two children and husband. Mia was emitting plenty of ‘aww’s’ and ‘that is so cute’s’. Max was bringing luggage in through the front door. Great, they're planning on staying. Your brother shot you a smirk from where he sat at the kitchen bar. Told ya’ so.

“Max, how’d you manage time off from F1?” Your mother asked.

“It’s summer break,” He said matter-of-factly. “I don’t race again until late August.”

“So you’ll be here for the three weeks you mother and sister will be?”

Please say no, please say no, please say- “I plan to, yes.”

The sliding door snaps behind you as you let go of it. Everyone turns to look at your bikini clad figure. Victoria exchanges a concerning glance with your sister. Victoria’s husband looks at her, confused as to why there is such a thick tension in the air.

“Y/n, go shower and get dressed, we’re all going to dinner in a bit.” Your mother said, her lips pressing into a thin smile.

“Right.” You said, weaving past all the bodies. “I’ll go do that.”

Oh what a summer this was playing out to be.

[astroismypassion]

✨PART OF FORTUNE IN SIGNS AND HOUSES SERIES: 6TH HOUSE✨

Credit goes to astrology blog @astroismypassion

ARIES PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Aries and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via fitness training, personal training, firefighting, law enforcement, emergency healthcare services, competitive sports, trading, stockbroking, automotive repair, mechanics, tech startups. You feel abundant when you come up with new, fresh ideas.

TAURUS PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Taurus and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via offering a service connected with pet sitting, tutoring or helping people to organise their kitchen, fridge, storage. You may also clean offices or make work environment more beautiful (for example putting on pictures, cleaning the computer). You feel the most abundant when you are stable on a daily basis and know what to expect from your daily schedule and when your work ethic, work relations are stable and grounded.

GEMINI PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Gemini and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via freelance journalism, you can write for newspapers, magazines, online publications. You can have abundance via starting a podcast or YouTube channel. You may offer translation, interpretation or language teaching services if you are multilingual. You feel abundant when you organise a networking event or a conference even. You could also blog about your profession or teach people about what is it that your job entails.

CANCER PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Cancer and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via blogging about topics related to home, family and well-being. You may start a blog or write for publications that focus on these areas. You would be an excellent planner! Planning and organising family-oriented events, such as weddings, birthday parties or even community gatherings in your local town. You could also offer pet sitting, dog walking or even start a pet grooming service.

LEO PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Leo and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via voice acting or doing voice-over work for commercials, animations or audiobooks. You will find fulfilment, joy, success and wealth in activities that promote mental and physical wellness. You might make organic make up or creams. You feel the most abundant when you incorporate hobbies, interests and passion into your daily life. You could also be a health advocate.

VIRGO PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via starting your own online store selling products related to your interests connected to books, tech gadgets or dietetics/nutrition. You can set up a shop on Shopify or Etsy. You experience wealth by providing consulting services in your area of expertise. You may be a travel blogger or write travel articles, but more so on a local level, maybe also connected with short-distance travel.

LIBRA PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Libra and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via providing recipes for lunches for working people, like easy DIY ideas. You may also create meal plans for school children. You can create wealth by selling prints, stock photos or offering photography services.

SCORPIO PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Scorpio and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via working in alternative medicine or wellness, becoming a financial advisor or running your own cleaning business or provide services for neighbours or in your local town. You can offer cleaning or yard work services to neighbours or in your local community.

SAGITTARIUS PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Sagittarius and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via working in non-profits, via wellness coaching, physical therapy, working in educational institutions, hospitality industry, tour guiding, working for airlines, travel blogging, working in media, especially related to educational content, travel, running a small business that involves sharing knowledge or providing specialized services.

CAPRICORN PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Capricorn and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via farming, gardening, manual labor and agriculture, management, administration, working with your hands, project management, quality control and research. You definitely need to ask for a promotion.

AQUARIUS PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Aquarius and Virgo Sun people in your life. You could make money via information technology, software development, working with cutting-edge technologies, via astronomy or astrology, via social enterprise, digital marketing, advocacy work, activism and community organizing, via renewable energy, sustainable development or green technologies.

PISCES PART OF FORTUNE IN THE 6TH HOUSE

You feel the most abundant when you have Pisces and Virgo Sun people in your life. You make money via tarot, healing, holistic medicine, work with elderly people or at a hotel. You could find success in making jewellery, specializing in anklets. You feel acquire wealth through counselling, psychotherapy, psychology, nursing, holistic therapies (like reiki or acupuncture), teaching meditation, drama/music therapy or dance/movement therapy, caregiving, hospice work, starting a creative arts studio, a holistic wellness center or socially conscious business.

Credit goes to astrology blog @astroismypassion

[marksmelodies]

switching my positions for you

idol chenle x fem reader

genre: fluff, bit of angst, smut

warnings: suggestive, kissing, mentions of sex, acts of sex

minors dni

———————————————————————————————

you and chenle had the day off today, which was the first time in so long that you both had the same day off, all you wanted to do was spend time with him. you woke up this morning and he was gone, leaving a note on the kitchen counter stating he went to the gym,once he got home he washed up and hopped on a game with some friends. you never wanted to seem clingy.. you knew chenle hated it but the truth is you are clingy you just hide it from him.

you and your boyfriend have very different love languages, chenle shows his love through gift giving and acts of service, you on the other hand needed physical touch and quality time,you understood that chenle had been busy for months on end with all the comebacks he’s participated in this year, that’s why you never bothered him when he would come home from work or spend his day off engulfing himself in things he likes such as gaming and watching sports. you just wished that he spent a little more time with you

he sits in his gaming chair with his headset on in your shared room every so often yelling at his teammates through the mic,you roll your eyes in annoyance as you sit on the couch with daegal

“ your dad is mean huh, he’s ignoring us” you tell the dog

finding things to do around the house only takes so long.. you’re out of things to clean or chores to do ,you gently open the door to your room causing no reaction from chenle as his eyes are glued onto the screen ,you walk behind him massaging his shoulders as he slides one side of his headset off of his ear

“ hey baby” he says looking up at you as you kiss his lips

“ hi le” you comb the back his hair with your fingers for a few seconds before grabbing clean clothes, as you undress yourself to get into the shower

a few hours have passed, you decided to cook dinner tonight

you hear chenle say his goodbyes as he logs off and walks out to the kitchen making your heart skip a beat in excitement,he approaches you snaking his hands around your waist as you chop up vegetables

“ hey”

you take a second to respond back to him

“ hi” you turn around smiling up at him

“ need any help my love” he asked

“ nope i’m all good here”

“ alright i’m gonna go watch the warriors game, it starts in five minutes” he says quickly pecking your lips as he pats your ass walking back into the bedroom

once you finish making dinner you decide to let chenle know the food is ready,walking into your room chenles lays on the bed shirtless with grey shorts as his arms are behind his head, it took everything in you to keep calm

“ dinners ready if you want it” you tell him

“ i’m not hungry yet, just leave a bowl for me in the fridge please ”

you give him a tight lipped smile and nod before closing the door on your way out,eating alone was something you hated yet here you are at the kitchen table eating your boyfriend’s favorite dish without him,eventually you had enough making your way to the room laying on the bed with him,you waited to say anything until a commercial came on

“ baby” you whine at him

“ hm” he looks at you rubbing your thigh

“ i’ve missed you”

“ i’m right here” he chuckles

“ yeah i know” you sigh

“ but i still miss you even when you are here”

he looks at you with furrowed brows, scooting you closer to his chest as he lays your head on it

“ you know i love you right?” he looks down at you

“mhm” you smile at him

as the game came back on his attention averted back to the tv,you scoot your body up a little kissing his collar bone inching up to the side of his neck,chenle says nothing he simply cranks his neck to the side allowing better access to kiss him as he hold your waist ,you lay back down on his chest tracing the outline of his abs and messing with the waistband of his boxers

chenle knows what you want it’s not hard to read you, he knows you like the back of his hand,he doesn’t say anything though, if you want him so bad you can figure out a way to get him yourself,he just sits there trying his best to focus on the game

“ babe can you turn the lights off there’s a glare on the screen” he asks

the room is now dark apart for the glowing tv in front of you enhancing your mood ever so slightly,continuing tracing shapes on his skin as your hand moves farther and farther down his body reaching his clothed dick,you crawl to the side of him taking off his shorts along with his boxers,his hardend cock hits his stomach as you begin stroking it with your hand

looking up at chenle as his eyes are on the screen watching his game as you lick his tip before wrapping your mouth around him bobbing your head up and down as you massage his balls

“ fuck” chenle whispers grabbing onto your hair as his eyes stay glued to the tv,before chenle can reach his high he pulls you off of his cock

“sit on it” he demands

making sure he can still see the tv you hover over his dick, back facing him as you sink down all the way

“ stay still for second baby don’t move yet” moving one of his hands up and down your waist

“ gotta tell the guys how well you treat me, letting me watch my game as you fuck yourself on my cock” he laughs bringing both hands to your hips slowly moving you up and down, moans escaping your mouth and you slam yourself into him

“ shit baby you’re gonna make me cum fast if you keep doing that” chenle exclaims, you turn your body around facing him as he plays with your titties,kissing him all over his shoulders and neck leaving slight marks where no one else can see them but you, you feel yourself tighten around him as you reach your high

“chenle” you moan his name,chenle reaches up and tucks your hair behind your ear “ i’m right here baby, you’re doing so good for me, taking me so well”

chenle pulls you off his member as he tells you to get on all fours facing the tv,ramming his dick back into with no warning causing you to scream as chenle bottoms out,leaving trails of kisses down your spine

“ fuck baby i’m gonna cum” he says pulling out flipping you around so he can finish on your tits,watching chenle above you jerking himself off to reach his high, finally he get closer as strings of cum shoot out onto your body

“ fuckkk” he groans as you watch his expression as he hits his climax

“ you’re so pretty when you cum lele” you lean up on your elbows kissing his lips as he milks the last of his cum out from his dick

“ i can definitely say the same about you pretty girl”

he gets a damp towel from the bathroom as he cleans the mess he made off your chest

“ let’s shower yeah?” he suggests

after you finish getting dressed you walk back into the bathroom where chenle stands in front of the mirror doing his skincare routine

“ babe can i talk to you” you hoist yourself up on the bathroom counter next to the sink

“ of course you can” he moves slightly so that he’s standing in between your legs as they gently swing back and forth

“ dont get mad though” you say looking up at him

“ just say it y/n you’re scaring me”

“ sometimes it hurts my feelings when you come home from a long day at work or have a day off and you spend it playing video games or watching basketball instead of spending time with me, i’m not saying you can’t do any of it at all, i- i just wish you’d spend a little extra time with me because you want to and not because i beg you for it” you look down at the floor. chenle lifts your chin so you’re looking back at him again, “ i’m sorry baby, i never realized that’s now you felt”

“ i don’t want to seem clingy, it’s just that i strive off your touch and spending time with you and you alone, i don’t get many chances to be with you all day everyday and i don’t want to take the days i do get with you for granted”

“ all you had to do was tell me my love, i would never get mad at you for communicating with me, i think sometimes you forget that even though we’ve been together for a long time this is my first relationship, i’m still learning. i’m sorry if i don’t pick up on hints that you drop, sometimes i can be an idiot” he chuckles

“ it’s okay lele, don’t apologize. i love you so much”

chenle places his hand on the side of your face and the other one on your waist as he kisses you passionately

“ i get off early tomorrow, how about i take you on a date hm?”

“ i would love that lele” chenle picks you up walking you out to the kitchen as he heats up his food you made for him

“ you made my favorite?” he asks shocked

“ of course i did, you mentioned how much you wanted it yesterday” he smiles at you kissing you repeatedly

“ i’m gonna marry you one day” he says

“ you better, i refuse to get married if it’s not with you”

he laughs putting his hands around your head

“ and why’s that?”

“ oh come on chenle you know why”

“ i just want to hear you say it” he taunts

“ because no one on this very earth could ever compare to you” you walking out of the kitchen knowing you just inflated his ego

“ and don’t you forget it mrs. zhong” chenle says slapping your ass on your way out ,rolling your eyes you try and hide the smile creeping onto your face.now laying in bed entangled in each others arms you look up at him

“ you better get me the most expensive ring” you joke

“ ugh i forgot you love me just for my money” he jokes back

“ oh yeah totally, sorry to break it to you but i would’ve ran for hills already if that’s what i was after, i don’t think i could’ve handled your loud ass mouth”

“ hey that was mean” he sulks

“ i’m joking”

“ no you’re not”

“ yeah no i’m not” you both burst out laughing as you lean in kissing his lips

“ but i love you and your loudness”

“ thanks babe i love you and your big ass head”

“ chenle baby you have no room to talk” you shove him slightly

“ come here” he pulls you closer tickling your sides as you squirm trying to get out of his reach

“ chenle stop i’m going to pee myself” you laugh he lets you go as you take your chances pulling him into you tickling him back

“ hey that’s not fair you tricked me” he laughs his adorable laugh that you love so much ,you both settle down, silence falls between you two as chenle traces his finger on the side of your cheek, you feel yourself slowly drifting off to sleep

“ ever since i was a kid, i was always busy with work, whether it was in china or abroad, i don’t remember the last time i could genuinely just be a kid, i had to grow up really fast at such a young age, but then i met you, we were just two stupid teenagers at the time but i fell so in love with you. you made me feel like a kid again, so carefree, i didn’t have to have a certain image around you, i could truly just be myself, i’m so lucky that i get to have the relationship i always wished for with the only girl i ever wanted” chenle kisses your head

“ i’m so lucky to have you too chenle, all i ever want to do in this lifetime is make you happy” chenle cuddles up to you laying his head on your chest and you lightly scratch his back

“ in cant wait to spend the rest of my life with you and get you pregnant and have a bunch of mini y/n running around, i cant wait to build a family with you.”

“ i cant wait either chenle i wouldn’t want a family with anyone else, but you do know our kids are going to be carbon copies of you, your genes are too strong” you laugh kissing him

“ i know sweetheart i just said it to make you feel better”

“ i’m happy we’ll have little chenles all over the place, they’ll be so cute, hopefully they don’t come with your stubbornness”

“ hm i don’t about that but i know we will make cute ass babies”

“ one day lele one day”

“ yeah, i gotta put a ring on it first” he says as you look up at him

“ you’ve been talking an awfully lot about marriage lately, you sure you’re not hinting something?” you say

“ i dunno maybe” he smiles kissing your nose

“ don’t play like that chenle” you yawn as you turn around and chenle does the same

“ goodnight my love”

“ goodnight sweet boy”

—————————————————————————

i LOVE writing for chenle so much!! thank you for reading <3

[thehistoriangirl]

Hey bestieee can I get uhhhhh.......what u think vik would like to get as a present for the holidays and what he would give reader in return

Hi bestie! Of course ^^ here is it, hope you like it <3

Loving Gifts

Viktor x Fem!(Artist!)Reader----1.2K----SFW

Tags: Established Relationship | Domestic Fluff | Slightly Suggestive at the end |

A dry, cold winter air flowed across the wide boulevards in the Commercial District, with Viktor adjusting the cozy red blanket around his neck to cover up his mouth and nose. With the sky rapidly tinted orange, he saw the Christmas lightning starting to turn on in each of the buildings around him.

He leaned against a wall, consulting the list tucked inside his pocket. 

-Dress (?)

-Custom jewelry  -> next anniversary. 

-Set of pastels (?)

Viktor had been cracking his brain to think about a gift for you ever since the coming of autumn. Last year, he had crafted you a lamp in the shape of a cherry tree, the one that was next to your drawing table, sending pink and golden hues around your atelier like in a perpetual dusk. 

This year, however, he had no idea what to give you, which made him feel quite anxious every time he entered a store, watching around the shelves to see if something caught his attention, like a call, only to end up with empty hands and another blow of gelid wind as he walked toward other business. 

What if he gave you something you didn’t like? He could imagine your eyes dropping slightly and the tense smile expanding your lips. For all the time you’d been together, Viktor had acquired the ability to read you like his favorite book.

He already had a little custom music box half-finished in his lab, kept inside the only drawer that held a key so you wouldn’t find it those times you liked to help him clean his workstation, waiting for Viktor to finish his job for the day. He snuck inside the Music Faculty to ask for a recording of the song that got you both together at the Academy Anniversary Foundation Gala two years ago when he gathered his courage to ask you for a dance.

Viktor smiled at the memory, the characteristic smell of oil and wood familiar as he entered the arts and crafts store you frequent, many of those visits with his arm interlocked in yours. 

The saleswoman smiled at him. “Hello, Sir, what can I help you with?” she said. “Is the Ma'am sick?”

“Ah—” he hung his lips ajar at the name ‘Ma’am’, because you two weren’t married, though you never corrected her, so, why would he? “No. I came here for her… eh, her Christmas gift.”

“Oh, of course!” She responded with a wide beam; her brown eyes squinted. “Do you have something in mind?”

Viktor looked around the clean and organized store, with wooden pencils and brushes, lines of canvas shown behind the counter, and a thousand rainbows shown in sets of crayons, pencils, pastels, and oil paintings.

“Yes. One of your set of pastels, please.” Viktor tapped his fingers along the handle of his cane, looking at the people walking hand by hand passing by him. He sighed, consulting his pocket watch. It was strange the way he’d grown to miss you, just comparable to how he yearned to keep inventing, to keep creating.

“Can you wrap it with newspaper?” he added. “She’s rather… curious, you see.” If you saw a box wrapped in gift paper, there was no doubt you’d start to peek. He thought you were just as mischievous as a cat. And just as adorable. 

“Of course, Sir.” For some minutes, the empty store filled with the sound of paper folding and tape being cut. “Here you have it. Careful, there. It’s heavier than it looks.”

“Thank you.” Viktor put the gift under his free arm, walking out of the store once he had paid.

The air hit even colder now that he had imagined how warm your embrace would be once he arrived home.

“But first,” he mumbled to himself, accommodating his beret and scarf before restarting his walk up the hill. “Let’s hide this in the lab.”

*~*~*~*

You put the photograph aside after watching it for the thousandth time, gently sliding it inside a book as you continue to paint the last details of Eve’s dress, the patches of clothes sewn into the fabric twin to the ones in little Viktor’s pants.

He looked so happy, standing between his parents with pride—you hoped you could mimic the childish delight on his face with your painting. Even if you weren’t good at restoring photos, why shouldn’t you replicate the image in your personal style?

Viktor had shown you the photo after some months of dating, getting it out of his notebook with its edges winkled and the paper thin for being held so much; the brown surface dotted with multiple stains. And yet, love kept emanating from it.

Now, Viktor would have the memory on a bigger canvas he could hang whenever he wished. You hoped he liked the gift, though it’ll be quite obvious wrapped under the tree once the painting was ready—you wished to give him only the best, just as he did with you. 

The brush slid against the canvas, wrist swaying to paint the thin decorative lines of the wallpaper inside his childhood home, the edge of a cold hearth behind the family tree, with Viktor sitting on a chair in the middle of his parents, the familiar toy boat in his lap. 

A smile grazed your face, looking at the round face of the small boy, amber eyes shining even in the now dim photograph. You were blessed with that gaze, too, every time he talked about his new projects and ideas, with the lamp on the nightstand giving his eyes a shine that could rival the stars.

Even when Viktor looked at you, a smile so big you could his adorable tooth gap.

You heard the entrance door creak open, settling your brush down in a vase with water.

“Moje láska, I’m home,” Viktor said, his voice muffled through the closed door of your studio. “Where are you, hmm?”

“I’m going!” You almost interrupted him, carrying the canvas toward the far end of the room, facing the closed window. 

Viktor was expecting you in the hallway, an eyebrow raised upon seeing your hands, and fingers stained with paint.

“Working still, my muse?” he muttered playfully, his hands intertwined with yours as he pulled you against him to give you a kiss on the forehead, then another on the cheek, to finally grace your lips with his own. 

You smiled, wrapping your arms around his shoulders to give him another, longer, kiss. 

“Yes, handsome,” you teased, poking his cheek that was starting to dust with a pink shade. 

“Should I let you work, then?” He hummed, his hands on your hips. “Wouldn’t like to delay your duties and get you in trouble.”

“Not at all. I only have to let the paint dry to start with the new layer tomorrow.” Tugging his hand, you pried away from the studio, so Viktor couldn’t ask to see the painting and spoil the surprise. “Come on, let’s have dinner together.”

Viktor chuckled, his thumb smudging a droplet of paint across the reverse of your palm. “Maybe I should bathe you first,” he said, eyes twinkling. “You’re always a masterpiece but today… eh, you have more paint on you.”

You laughed, one of your hands over Viktor’s. “Naughty.” Leaning closer to him, you pretended to smell him, scrunching your nose in a dramatic gesture. “You’re also very stinky.”

“That didn’t stop you from kissing me, did it?” His thumb circled your hip, fingers gently kneading the skin. “Not that I’m complaining, of course.”

“Never,” you giggled.

“Come on, my stinky dove,” Viktor teased, nuzzling his face against your hair. “Let’s draw a bath in the bathtub. I'm quite cold, so perhaps you could warm me up, yes?”

[jessica-larson]

Transform spaces with our Carpet Cleaning Business Plan—a brief blend of cleaning mastery, eco-friendly practices, and client delight. Join us in redefining the cleaning landscape, where each carpet becomes a story of freshness and satisfaction.

[bloop-bl00p]

Rewriting the Hollow Knight of Hazbin Hotel

So, am I the only one who finds it weird that Carmilla isn’t getting jumped by the higher class?

The girl has an arsenal of weapons that can kill Goetia’s members AND neutralize their powers. And she sells it at affordable prices? Stricker can buy those weapons for God’s sake! That’s how he kills Blue Bloods, shouldn't that ring a bell in the Royal Class?

It’s surprising that an uprising hasn't happened yet, some imps managed to build successful businesses (Bliztø, Crimson, Stricker, Barbie I guess?) imagine the disaster if one day they have enough of being treated as lesser and just happen to have enough money to arm a large population of imps.

I intended her to be Velvette's mother, but I changed my plan and turned her into my OC. One thing I don't like about Viv’s Hell is how small it looks. You're telling me that everyone either comes from somewhere in America or Europe, Nifty is the only Asian character, and Cherry Bomb is the only Australian but that’s not enough for me.

Add to that the fact that her POC characters are grey. Or that she simply doesn't add any features/accents that could help the audience guess which origin are her characters.

I know Velvette has an accent but that’s the only character who has one. They should have done more research to make everyone have a dialect at least as unique as Zestial.

Anyways, Carmilla is from South Africa. Don’t get mad at me, Viv’s Hell feels extremely small and I needed multiple POVs to diversify the backstory.

I want my Version of Hell to be a clash of multiple origins, musically speaking you can give the aggressive Spanish guitars to Vaga. Carmilla is associated with Kwela and Soul.

Nomsa Mbatha was born in 1959 and grew to be an impoverished black woman in South Africa during the apartheid, she eventually married gang members to survive.

The Gang was primarily focused on smuggling and economic activities and she participated as a new member when she got married. She partacked in smuggling weapons, drugs, and other contraband into prisons and served as well as an informant gathering intelligence from the outside world and relaying information to gang members in prison or on the streets. Nomsa also provided alibis. All of that is in exchange for protection and money to have a somewhat normal life.

She had her two daughters at 35, the two were twins. Nomsa interchanged between mother and Gang members and, unfortunately, had to bring the girls to do some of the dirty work.

The two girls died with their mother at 20 during a police raid. Nomsa was struck with guilt as she thought she was the reason Odette and Clara went to Hell with her.

In Hell, she renamed herself Induna and used her knowledge to start selling weapons, normal ones at first. Until she started commercializing Blessed Steels.

She didn’t get away with it, she was targeted by many Goetia members scared to lose their position of power since it’s the only thing that can kill them. It’s only through negotiation that she comes up with an arrangement with them with the help of Zestial who’s well-known and respected.

You need to be legally approved (A card to hold one in public) and only royal members have access to it Induna is the exception. The utilization is up to them once purchased.

The weapons are actually mostly harmless to The 72 Lesser Keys of Solomon. It’s the rest of the Goetia, their children who can be killed. The Seven Deadly Sins or The Other Fallen Angels are also safe.

Her employees usually seek the lost Angelic Weapons just right after extermination, they operate during the cleaning of roads and are trained to recognize blessed steel as they can't be noticed with metal detectors. They wear uniforms and it’s usually during these weapons harvesting that people follow them to steal from the company. It’s rare since her workers know how to fight but it happens and a small black market occurred from it, that’s where Stricker got his personal dagger. He also steals from the rich.

Details:

→ Nomsa speaks Zulu and Induna means leader of a group of warriors.

Nomsa means The Mother of Compassion and Mbatha can mean Protector. She’s a mother and the protector of her children.

→ The Twins work for their mother and she insists that they work indoors. One works to design the weapons, and the other tests them. Induna regularly trains them on how to fight and defend themselves.

→ Vaga worked for a few years with Induna and sees herself in her. She keeps her daughter safe the same way she tries to keep her brother out of danger.

My take on human Vaggie → here ←

Appearance:

Watch me fight my biggest enemies, front-facing, and side-profile. I feel like I messed up the head shape in the side profile.

Vivziepop when she learned it’s easy to moisturize and draw POC characters with actual features.

Anyway, I don’t really know what I want to do with her sinner's forms. I think I’m gonna make her a bear because Mommy Bear. I’ll keep the big paws as a way to say she has the weight of the people she killed on her hands. You could say…

“But she never killed anyone.”

Yes, but she still sold weapons that killed people later, willingly participating in a sin will get you to Hell.

That’s all for the rewrite.

[mncxbe]

Hello! I really enjoy your posts they are really nice to read or re-read! I was wondering if you could do Fyodor headcanons (you could add chuuya dazai and more if you’d like) but fyodor x Gn!reader headcanons and how they would get ready for the holidays? Maybe make gingerbread houses or set up lights together? Feel free to ignore! :3

your ask just made me realise how close Christmas is goddamn~ I loved writing this. hope you like it anon♡♡

🎁

𝑫𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒊, 𝑭𝒚𝒐𝒅𝒐𝒓, 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒐 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: fluff♡/ silly

°☆○

𝑭𝒚𝒐𝒅𝒐𝒓

☆ I'm gonna start off my saying that Fyodor most likely isn't particularly interested in the winter holidays, but he enjoys spending time with you. as long as he sees you smile, he's happy

☆ he's a big fan of baking; gingerbread, cupcakes with white and red frosting, deer shaped cookies. he loves it. although he doesn't always get involved, he spends hours on end by your side in the kitchen

☆ as for lights I think he likes those simple golden fairy lights; the flashy ones exhaust him fr

☆ hates to admit but he lowkey enjoys christmas movies; there's something extraordinary soothing about watching those sappy, same script films. it's a break in his routine

☆ I see him playing christmas music on the cello; but don't make him listen to commercial songs on the radio, he'll throw it out of the window

☆ he tells you stories about Russian christmas traditions or any other culture really

☆ he loves cuddling up to you under fluffy blankets while you two enjoy a cup of tea

☆ he's a sucker for the scent of oranges and cinnamon, so he'll buy some scented candles and place them around the house

𝑫𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒊

★ you guys know those advent calendars with little chocolates for each day of December? yea, he has one of those

★ Dazai has never had the luxury of doing such mundane things as a kid; the Port Mafia isn't exactly a place to celebrate Christmas. so he puts a lot of effort into everything

★ loves to hang colourful lights around the house and other little ornaments (striped socks, christmas globes with that fake, glittery snow)

★ one evening he shows up with cookie shapes and asks you to make gingerbread with him

★ a marathon with Christmas movies is a must; you two sprawled on the bed with a mug of hot chocolate while the films roll in the background

★ he kisses you under the mistletoe every morning to "practice for the Christmas evening kiss"

★ he definitely wears a santa hat or reindeer horns while decorating the house. and knows "All I want for Christmas is you" by heart (it started off as a joke but he can't stop)

★ keep the mulled wine away from him

𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒐

☆ because of work he's often too busy to help you decorate the place, but his heart swells with joy when he comes home one evening and finds your shared apartment nicely adorned with lights

☆ I feel like he also prefers more dimly lit lights, or even candles

☆ does his best to find time to bake something with you. he's a big fan of Panettone and sweetbread with sugar frosting

☆ buys you early presents for sure, to compensate for his absence

☆ look me in the eye and tell me this man doesn't wear fuzzy Christmas socks

☆ loves listening to jazzy music while you two spend time together. period

☆ he may not be that involved in the decorating process, but he does spend Christmas with you and does most of the cleaning after

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The surveillance advertising to financial fraud pipeline

Monday (October 2), I'll be in Boise to host an event with VE Schwab. On October 7–8, I'm in Milan to keynote Wired Nextfest.

Being watched sucks. Of all the parenting mistakes I've made, none haunt me more than the times my daughter caught me watching her while she was learning to do something, discovered she was being observed in a vulnerable moment, and abandoned her attempt:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2014/may/09/cybersecurity-begins-with-integrity-not-surveillance

It's hard to be your authentic self while you're under surveillance. For that reason alone, the rise and rise of the surveillance industry – an unholy public-private partnership between cops, spooks, and ad-tech scum – is a plague on humanity and a scourge on the Earth:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

But beyond the psychic damage surveillance metes out, there are immediate, concrete ways in which surveillance brings us to harm. Ad-tech follows us into abortion clinics and then sells the info to the cops back home in the forced birth states run by Handmaid's Tale LARPers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/29/no-i-in-uter-us/#egged-on

And even if you have the good fortune to live in a state whose motto isn't "There's no 'I" in uter-US," ad-tech also lets anti-abortion propagandists trick you into visiting fake "clinics" who defraud you into giving birth by running out the clock on terminating your pregnancy:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/15/paid-medical-disinformation/#crisis-pregnancy-centers

The commercial surveillance industry fuels SWATting, where sociopaths who don't like your internet opinions or are steamed because you beat them at Call of Duty trick the cops into thinking that there's an "active shooter" at your house, provoking the kind of American policing autoimmune reaction that can get you killed:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/14/us/swatting-sentence-casey-viner/index.html

There's just a lot of ways that compiling deep, nonconsensual, population-scale surveillance dossiers can bring safety and financial harm to the unwilling subjects of our experiment in digital spying. The wave of "business email compromises" (the infosec term for impersonating your boss to you and tricking you into cleaning out the company bank accounts)? They start with spear phishing, a phishing attack that uses personal information – bought from commercial sources or ganked from leaks – to craft a virtual Big Store con:

https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise

It's not just spear-phishers. There are plenty of financial predators who run petty grifts – stock swindles, identity theft, and other petty cons. These scams depend on commercial surveillance, both to target victims (e.g. buying Facebook ads targeting people struggling with medical debt and worried about losing their homes) and to run the con itself (by getting the information needed to pull of a successful identity theft).

In "Consumer Surveillance and Financial Fraud," a new National Bureau of Academic Research paper, a trio of business-school profs – Bo Bian (UBC), Michaela Pagel (WUSTL) and Huan Tang (Wharton) quantify the commercial surveillance industry's relationship to finance crimes:

https://www.nber.org/papers/w31692

The authors take advantage of a time-series of ZIP-code-accurate fraud complaint data from the Consumer Finance Protection Board, supplemented by complaints from the FTC, along with Apple's rollout of App Tracking Transparency, a change to app-based tracking on Apple mobile devices that turned of third-party commercial surveillance unless users explicitly opted into being spied on. More than 96% of Apple users blocked spying:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

In other words, they were able to see, neighborhood by neighborhood, what happened to financial fraud when users were able to block commercial surveillance.

What happened is, fraud plunged. Deprived of the raw material for committing fraud, criminals were substantially hampered in their ability to steal from internet users.

While this is something that security professionals have understood for years, this study puts some empirical spine into the large corpus of qualitative accounts of the surveillance-to-fraud pipeline.

As the authors note in their conclusion, this analysis is timely. Google has just rolled out a new surveillance system, the deceptively named "Privacy Sandbox," that every Chrome user is being opted in to unless they find and untick three separate preference tickboxes. You should find and untick these boxes:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/09/how-turn-googles-privacy-sandbox-ad-tracking-and-why-you-should

Google has spun, lied and bullied Privacy Sandbox into existence; whenever this program draws enough fire, they rename it (it used to be called FLoC). But as the Apple example showed, no one wants to be spied on – that's why Google makes you find and untick three boxes to opt out of this new form of surveillance.

There is no consensual basis for mass commercial surveillance. The story that "people don't mind ads so long as they're relevant" is a lie. But even if it was true, it wouldn't be enough, because beyond the harms to being our authentic selves that come from the knowledge that we're being observed, surveillance data is a crucial ingredient for all kinds of crime, harassment, and deception.

We can't rely on companies to spy on us responsibly. Apple may have blocked third-party app spying, but they effect nonconsensual, continuous surveillance of every Apple mobile device user, and lie about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

That's why we should ban commercial surveillance. We should outlaw surveillance advertising. Period:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/03/ban-online-behavioral-advertising

Contrary to the claims of surveillance profiteers, this wouldn't reduce the income to ad-supported news and other media – it would increase their revenues, by letting them place ads without relying on the surveillance troves assembled by the Google/Meta ad-tech duopoly, who take the majority of ad-revenue:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-ban-surveillance-advertising

We're 30 years into the commercial surveillance pandemic and Congress still hasn't passed a federal privacy law with a private right of action. But other agencies aren't waiting for Congress. The FTC and DoJ Antitrust Divsision have proposed new merger guidelines that allow regulators to consider privacy harms when companies merge:

https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FTC-2023-0043-1569

Think here of how Google devoured Fitbit and claimed massive troves of extremely personal data, much of which was collected because employers required workers to wear biometric trackers to get the best deal on health care:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/google-fitbit-merger-would-cement-googles-data-empire

Companies can't be trusted to collect, retain or use our personal data wisely. The right "balance" here is to simply ban that collection, without an explicit opt-in. The way this should work is that companies can't collect private data unless users hunt down and untick three "don't spy on me" boxes. After all, that's the standard that Google has set.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/29/ban-surveillance-ads/#sucker-funnel

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[claraghost22]

Commissions Open!

Yoah! I am now opening art commissions. I have thought of doing it for a while now, so I might as well get started. 

Please read all rules thoroughly and make sure to follow all of them. I want to make sure this is a smooth process that leaves everyone satisfied, but I apologize if I make any mistakes as I am new to this.

If you do commission me, I would like to preface with a thank you, and that I look forward to working with you! Hope you have a good day! 

Commission Rules:

What I Won’t Do:

No NSFW 

No Mechs 

No Extreme Gore (graphic deaths, organs everywhere, mass amounts of blood, etc.)

No Commercial Art 

Nothing Hateful 

No Self Harm or Suicide   

Payment:

Only accept PayPal

Half Payment Upfront 

Must Fill out Google Form 

DO NOT Claim Art as your own 

You are free to upload it but be sure to credit and link to my profile

I will not upload you work but may use it as for future portfolios 

Commission Details:

Basic Illustrations:  

Simple Lighting and Shading 

Flat Colors  

Limited (simplistic) Backgrounds 

Detailed Illustrations:

Fully Rendered 

Fully Fleshed Out Backgrounds  

Basic Comics:

Solid Colored Characters 

Limited (simplistic) Backgrounds 

No Lighting. Limited Shading 

Detailed Comics:

Fully Colored Characters

Full Backgrounds (depending on panel)

Detailed Lighting and Shading

Note - Stylization based on request 

Ex) sketchy line art vs clean

Ex) Colored vs Monochrome

Ex) Rotmnt esc style vs Personal style 

There are certain styles I replicate or can at a request but it will depend commission by commission 

Message me on here if you have any questions 

Google Form Link: