#It was all adding up slowly - just an awareness of a general disregard some people had for how others were processing the disappearance

[haphazardcorvid]

There's something sort of distorted with how grief is currently being seen and dealt with on the island + Qsmp.

I've been thinking about this for a while during the missing egg arc, but Bagi implying that Foolish wasn't that attached to Leo has finally pushed me into putting the thoughts into words.

I really don't like how several of the islanders - especially the new ones - view grief and expressions of grief. It's like they expect all grief to be big and loud and performative, and otherwise, it isn't as significant, or as important. Like how Bagi's expectations for sadness seem to be shaped by Bbh's very visual, obvious deterioration, and disregards that MAYBE, just MAYBE, not everyone is going to shove their feelings in your face when they barely know you? That some people may break down privately, where you are not privy to their thoughts, and you are not entitled to a public performance of that grief in order to verify that they do, in fact, care?

It's not just islanders who haven't spent much time with the eggs either - Forever himself said he thought that, ASIDE FROM BAGHERA AND BBH, everyone was simply moving on and living life without the eggs. Funnily enough, these are both players with skins that specifically denote emotional turmoil :). Does grief have to expressly visualised for people to acknowledge that it's there? That was particularly jarring as a Philza main, who's character was and is currently going through a drealisation and mental deterioration arc after going to suspicious coordinates (the birdcage) FOR THE SAKE OF HIS EGGS.

Most annoyingly it also bleeds into the fandom sometimes, despite the fact we have the benefit of meta awareness. I've seen posts or comments about how 'oh, bbh is the only one truly miserable about the eggs' 'other islanders aren't suffering about the kids like ___".

It's just striking having watched Fit, a person whom canonically struggles with outward expressions of vulnerable emotion due to his background but clearly deeply misses Ramon, who would fall into this 'unaffected' category because he's not giving showy public displays or monologues about his feelings. Or Phil, who to members of the island who haven't reached out to him on those topics, seems largely still like a strong rock to lean on because he plunged himself into propping up other islanders the moment he returned - but behind closed doors fell apart at Tallulah's letter and is clearly rapidly deteriorating as a character. Or Foolish, who maintains an upbeat character, retains his capacity to carry on moving, and lives as brightly as he can while SIMULTANEOUSLY being completely broken up internally about his daughter. You can see it in the way they talk about their kids, how they rush to collect any clues whenever they pop up, how many of them seem to be living in limbo, incapable of new changes and beginnings.

And alright. So that's not explicit to those other characters. But it should not have to be visually explicit for them to not degrade their grief. The assumption should not be that grief is either public or nonexistent. You are not entitled to flashy displays of feeling. Forthright and in your face emotion is not the baseline requirement for distress. Demeaning someone's attachment to their child because they aren't grieving in the RIGHT way for YOU, one that isn't visible enough to YOU, isn't excusable because 'oh I can't really see how that person is feeling though'. It's basic social understanding.

And of course they are aware of the mental and emotional states of their friends - who are also very visual with their grieving - above others, because those people are ALSO the ones that those like Bagi and Forever consistently interact with for prolonged periods of time. Have they actually really, deeply talked with all the other islanders about their internal state? No, of course not, they don't spend that much time with them and aren't that close. That's not bad or anything, that's life and relationships and very normal. But then what grounds do those assumptions of 'oh, there are parents who don't care' actually have? They themselves should be capable of acknowledging that they don't actually have insight into these other people, and they should not be using the expressions of grief from say Baghera and Bbh as a cudgel to cheapen and diminish that of others.

[letsperaltiago]

don't blame me, love made me crazy

Written upon request for #58 from the 101 fluffy prompts-list:

"We’ve become the clingy newlyweds you always complained about. "

Read on ao3 

Every like and reblog is appreciated <3

Also, tried to just... slowly approach smut and idk I’m so scared!! Send help or inspo! 😅🤧

“What was that all about?” Amy complained to her husband as she closed their front door behind them and kicked off her shoes prior to neatly lining them up by the door. Behind her trailed Jake who automatically copied his wife’s actions looking at her with an equal amount of wonder as he didn’t hold the answer for her question. “We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary?” she threw him another question meanwhile her jacket was removed as well, hung on its designated crook to reveal the flowy, burgundy, flower-patterned dress she’d been wearing for the evening at their friend’s house.

“I don’t know, Ames,” he tried to calm her down, which was always easiest if he didn’t make a big deal out of it – when he was calm he had a better chance of rubbing off on her. But alas it had been very clear from the moment the subject had been brought up at the dinner table that Amy was not going to let go of it until resolved: a stubbornness, a will to succeed that Jake deeply admired and loved but also, at times and in some certain contexts, had his apprehensions about.

“Are we that horrible to be around as a couple?” from where Jake had his back turned on the living room as he took off his leather jacket, he could hear Amy slump down onto the couch loudly flaunting her disappointment in what they’d been told tonight.

It, of course, had occurred to them both that they were married. Very much so: everything from all the meticulous planning of the big day to it being completely butchered by a bomb threat to then still getting married in front of the precinct? Oh yes, they were definitely so very married. And they both adored this new take on their love to the moon, probably even further, and back. But at tonight’s monthly Nine-Nine family-dinner, the first since their wedding in May, they’d suddenly been made aware of the fact that the newly attained degree of their relationship had reached a whole new, very specific kind of vibe: They were told that it made their “already borderline sickly affectionate affinity even more intolerable” (quote Rosa) and made them “professionally and personally challenging to be around when together” (Holt’s addition to the matter at hand).

“I’m sure they didn’t mean it like that,” he slumped down, joining Amy on their couch before instinctively slinging an arm around her shoulders both as to comfort her but also by sheer selfishness, because not touching Amy Santiago at all times was a crime. She, just as him not being able to resist her spouse’s touch, leaned into it placing her head in his shoulder. “You know Holt and Rosa. They have their ways of handling emotional subjects, but they never truly mean to hurt or upset anyone.”

“Maybe…” she huffed but her husband’s attempt at convincing and comforting her didn’t seem to be quite enough. She needed the thrill  and satisfaction of a solve, which meant she needed to treat the matter at hand like an open case – an investigation. She abruptly sat up straight automatically causing Jake’s arm to slide off of her “… but I’m pretty sure we didn’t go overboard with anything?” Amy turned her head to look behind her expecting an answer, but her still leaned back, somewhat disturbingly unaffected husband, looked at her with raised eyebrows and discreetly amused eyes. You’d think he’d worry more than he appeared to do, Amy couldn’t help but think…

“Honey, I know you have this need to control everything, which 99% of the time is both admirable and adorable, but right now you’re just riling yourself up about something that isn’t that deep. They all love us and in the end they just want us to be happy. Even if we get a bit lovey-dovey at times,” he confirmed his little explanation with a warm smile.

“I don’t give a hoot, Jake!” Amy exclaimed totally disregarding Jake’s actually pretty reasonable words. “We’re going to run through every second of that dinner and pinpoint every couple-y interaction we’ve had!” She got up and ran towards her little library/office-room.

“We?” Jake questioned mid-yawn, trying to follow her with his eyes until she disappeared into the other room, left behind surprised by his wife’s sudden initiative. A initiative which he appeared to be have been dragged into.

“Yes,” Amy yelled from the other room. “We’re going to write down every single couple-y thing we did at dinner tonight, from the second we walked into Terry’s place to the time we left, and prove that we aren’t that bad!”

Mostly just wanting to give into the tiredness and desire to just go to bed and cuddlee with his wife, but also knowing he wanted to stick to Amy’s side for this, hopefully keeping her tendency spiraling a bay, Jake tiredly rubbed his eyes trying to push aside the incoming feeling of exhaustion. And as if on cue, the second he lied down stretching out on the soft material of their couch, Amy marched back into the living room with notebook and pen in hand. When she sat down on the floor abreast Jake’s head, between the couch and the coffee table placing her appliance on the surface before her, Jake then noticed how she’d pulled her before lose, casual waves into a high pony tail – she nor the magnitude of Amy’s mission was to be messed with.

“Okay, so…”

From his admittedly relaxed and not as intensely engaged position Jake could, by an inch over her shoulder, catch a glimpse of the now open notebook where Amy’s elegant handwriting was preparing a neat list to be filled, appropriately titled List of reasons why we’ve been  “too much”.  Jake chuckled to himself allowing his eyes to rest just a bit, sneak closed, as he of course would stay awake with Amy but physically couldn’t fight his body’s tiredness entirely. Being there physically would surely be good enough.

“Okay, so we arrived at Terry’s house, separately, very important to note…” she scribbled down before continuing, “…since you worked a bit later, thus came directly from work with Charles so we couldn’t have possibly done anything there…” Amy started scribbling down until Jake chimed, or rather muttered, in himself.

“But since I’d missed you for those few hours after you left work, I walked directly over to you and kissed you in front of everyone before saying-“

“Hi, beautiful wife…” Amy finished his sentence quoting the moment from earlier by memory with a defeated voice upon realizing this wouldn’t be a moment in her favor. She quietly wrote it down not feeling like further commenting. “Okay, but that isn’t uncommon for us… or just any couple in general!”

“I know, babe,” Jake yawned.

“So no reason for them to be upset about that… Anyways, then we stood in the kitchen while Terry and Charles finished cooking dinner, had a glass of wine… Pretty innocent if you ask me-“

“Until we touched glasses and toasted to our 23 days as husband and wife before sharing another kiss,” Jake added sheepishly earning himself another discontent grunt prompting the sound of scribbling.  

“Whatever… Let’s move on…”

And thus they did indeed manage to run through every moment, every second, every turning point of the night while Amy dutifully and neatly as always took notes and, internally, realized that she hadn’t really been aware of a lot of the amorous moments between her and Jake - they sort of just happened, naturally, like a consistent love-pattern. Taking up multiple pages of the notebook, the list clearly reflected this, but Amy still seemed somewhat in denial. Or at least right up until she added the final period to wind-up her final bullet point: J jokingly grabbed A’s butt while yelling “Wifey-butt!” when walking to the car after dinner.

“Oh my god…” Amy complained as her body hopelessly slumped back against the couch where Jake was still resting while also being very much dedicated to his wife’s project dismay, since he was the one who 9 times out of 10 would remind her of forgotten moments, stolen kisses and loving gazes she’d forgotten about.

“I can’t believe it,” she twisted her torso as to look at her husband behind her genuinely expecting a horrified expression matching hers alas instead being met by tired, adoring eyes and a grin that was impossible to hide when his wife’s despair upon realization was this cute.

“Why are you smiling?” she frowned mostly frustrated by the situation but also confused by her husband’s lack of shared sentiment.

“We’ve become the clingy newlyweds you always complained about,” he mumbled the side of his face pressed against one of their throw pillows. “It’s cute. That’s all.”

Amy immediately felt defensive about the accusation, mostly because she knew he was right but that wasn’t exactly the expected outcome when she’d set up this little private investigation of her. “I have not complained about-“

“Oh, you’re so cute when you try to disguise the truth, babe,” he kept grinning. If there was one thing Jake loved it was teasing. Something he loved even more? Teasing Amy Santiago. And something he loved even more? Teasing Amy Santiago when she was in a miffy mood.

“I’m serious! When have I ever complained about a bit of PDA ever? People can do whatever they want,” she had now fully switched, made a 180 turn, in her seat on the floor and looked directly at her husband with a challenging demeanor. Jake was not about to let an opportunity of this greatness like this slip away that easily: he was definitely going to get the most out of it.

“I know it’s hard to face the truth,” he said nonchalantly, definitely playing her, meanwhile he switched to lie on his back as he let out an exaggerated yawn and laced his fingers together behind his head as extra support – and also to look that more pleased with himself and the situation.  “But the Jake Peralta boyfriend gone husband-experience can do these sort of… crazy things to a woman. It’s totally cool, honey, if you’ve just been unconsciously swept away by the rush of having me as your husband. It’s out of your control and that’s okay.”

As well as Jake knew he could push her buttons Amy knew just as well, if not even better, that there were many ways to knock Jake off his cocky perch. This, suddenly, was much more important than what anyone thought of them, or her trying to solve the matter, because them being those clingy newlyweds she always complained about meant she always had her husband wrapped around her little finger. Perhaps, she had to admit, it was hypocritical of her to think like this, when she’d been the one whinnying about random couples’ #twomonthsofmarriage-posts on Instagram (Like, who cares about your two months of marriage, Karen?), and the one to roll her eyes upon overhearing some random woman mention her husband 23 times during a 5-minute conversation at their local coffee shop: she was now that annoying Instagram-couple and coffee shop-woman, all in one… A supreme-annoyingly clingy-wife.

But coming to the realization that, perhaps, she was a hypocrite was her learning from her mistakes, right? That was a good thing.

Either way she didn’t really care because, from where she was still planted on the floor before him, Amy could physically feel her brain have a change of attitude as it shut out any previous doubts and anxieties about what other thought of their marriage, their way of loving each other, and instead replacing it with the sudden brutish need to, first of all, shut Jake up, and second of all, rebel against exterior opinions about them.

She was definitely turning to her annoying newlywed-ways to make her husband shut up.

“I guess,” her before frantic tone was now suddenly completely gone and replaced by a sultry, confident tone matching the new-sprung darkness in her eyes. “But then this…”

Jake’s before tired demeanor was swallowed along with his pride the second his always beautiful, and also incredibly hot wife, pushed herself off the floor and mounted the couch to straddle his hips, more precisely the exact area where he knew she knew there would be no opposing her, with the sleek movements of a lioness sneaking up on its prey. It especially threw him off even further when she repositioned herself, innocently pretending to ‘just get comfortable’, thus applying just the right sultry movement and amount of pressure to this most vulnerable area.

“I guess this…” she made sure the ‘s’ was clearly hissed directly into his ear as she, leaned down over him, slowly bit by bit, started to build him up by allowing her hips another grinding motion thus sending electricity through his entire body, before rounding off her pending taunt, “… is not in my control either then.”

There were no to make it past Jake’s gaping lips, all caught up in tangles in his suddenly very dry throat, although the hitch in his breath in reaction to the movement of her hips couldn’t’ve escaped her in a million years. She had him right where she wanted him.

“Is it?” she taunted again unbending her torso back up to sit up straight.

His hands which had before been resting carefree behind his head escaped its spot finding a new home on her waist, gently tracing up and down its curves like a potter shaping soft clay into artwork.

“Ames,” he whimpered upon the sensation of feeling her hands being placed on top of his to guide them downwards, past the narrowest part of her curvature, and fixed on the fullest part of her hips – where she wanted them to be. For now, that is. By instinct, being very familiar with his favorite kind of handful, Jake’s fingers dug into the fabric-clad flesh not caring whether or not he’d leave marks: her uniform would surely cover it in the morning.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t think I can control it when you’re around me, husband,” she definitely felt his body quiver at his still somewhat new title and, God, how sinful of a meaning that simple word had suddenly gained in the moment. Having fulfilled their duty of guiding him to where she wanted his touch, Amy’s hands made their way off of his before torturously sliding up his torso to play with the first, top button of his dark green flannel – one of her favorites on him… and, of course, off. Meeting her secret expectations his hands reacted to her undressing him by sliding his hands down further behind her to then, instead of her waist, grab the curve of her ass, additionally allowing himself to pull her abdomen into a soft motion against him in the desperate need of the friction she’d already given him a foretaste of. Pride was not a thing he contained much of around Amy Santiago-Peralta: was he going to let her make him unravel at the seams so easily? Absolutely. Would he be down for whatever direction she planned on taking this in? Without a doubt, even if it meant just making out followed by some cuddling, although he was currently rock hard and internally praying that she wouldn’t stop the course of things any time soon.

Her fingers popped the last button of his flannel, and with a simple look, she wordlessly ordered him to sit up straight, which he dutifully did, thus allowing her to push the fabric off of his broad shoulders before proceeding to abandon it on the floor. It might’ve been her favorite flannel on him but she liked it even more on the surface of their carpet. Thinking that she had full control of the situation, Amy was definitely startled at the sensation of Jake’s teeth taking a bite into the sensitive skin of her neck, the extra tender area right beneath where her jaw met the side of her throat and whether it was what he’d set out to do or not, he surely extracted a long, deep sigh from her now, between the fondling and the bites, much more agitated body. Seemed as if Jake Santiago-Peralta was back on track after being knocked off his feet for a moment, and though she did immensely enjoy having the upper hand, there was something about Jake fighting his way back to dominance that undeniably had her body feel some kind of way.

She obviously couldn’t, it being physically impossible, see it for herself but oh how she could feel the way her husband’s teeth and lips were painting colorful love-bruises on her more than usual tan and crisp skin (Thank you very much, 2 week honeymoon in Mexico). Although, before her mind could wander off to create a mental top 5-list of most effective ways to hide said up and coming hickeys, her awareness shifted to the feeling of her husband’s purposive hands grabbing the skirt of her dress, pulling it up to bundle droopily around her waist, and earning him a tiny hitch in her throat to be felt where his teeth were still attached to her.

All the teasing, the control she’d gained in counter to his cockiness, had with the snap of the fingers dissolved into the shameless abandoning of herself, giving in to the fervor he so powerfully incited within her.

“Stop worrying,” he slowly ran his hands up under the bundled material before redirecting his hands back to hold onto the soft pulp of her ass, this time the only barrier being the fabric of her panties, earning him a tiny squirm telling him she slowly began to unravel at the seams – just for him. His lips targeted a new area: hers. “You’re my wife. I’m your husband. No one gets to decide what can and can’t do.”  

As if to enhance his point, making sure she wouldn’t forget anytime soon, there was a brief moment where he drew back just a few inches to look directly into her eyes with passion still burning in his. Meanwhile one hand had left her behind and instead purposefully grabbed her jaw, making sure to keep the grip somewhat soft as to not hurt her but still firm enough to make sure she would look back.  If he hadn’t had a certain agenda in mind he would’ve let the image before him bring him to his knees: Amy, messy hair, swollen lips, dark eyes, ruffled and barely holding on dress. But he had to stay firm and focused. His hand didn’t let go of her jaw and she dutifully complied deeply turned on by the discourse of the events and this persona Jake had chosen to bring out. Usually she loved having the upper hand during sexy timez, but somehow, seeing how Jake was handling her when her mind was spinning out of control, his sudden craving for dominance came like a blessing in disguise.

His lips crashed with hers, and being distracted like she was by his mesmerising dominant persona, it took her by both storm and surprise thus not being able to hold back a pure, honest moan holding so much pleasure. Only the way his fingers teasingly traced the lace on the edge of her panties could come near taking her attention away from what, in the moment, felt like her life’s hottest kiss.

“Understood?” he breathed into her lips barely able to with the lack of air in his lungs. She nodded grasping desperately at the soft white fabric of his undershirt.

“Good,” he growled, pleased by the newfound wet fabric between his wife’s legs meaning he was certainly doing something right: he had her exactly where he wanted her, both physically and mentally, and he had his now slick fingers as proof.

“Now,” he continuously toyed with the fabric, feeling up her heat before slowly edging the pantie as far down as her bent legs straddling him would allow. “You’re going to rip that list out of your notebook… ” his lips slid away from hers redirecting to nibble on her ear lobe. “Then you’re going to throw it out… ” a kiss to the shell of her ear followed behind, setting up his final act of persuasion. She was so far gone under the influence of his touch that she didn’t even care to disagree with having to throw out 20 minutes dedicated research, ink from her favorite pen and quality paper from one of her best notebooks.

“… and then your husband is going to take you to your bedroom and fuck you so hard you’ll forget the others even said anything at all. I’ll make sure you never complain about being newlyweds ever again.”

[basicallyimqueer]

party poison

summary: Dan wants to get properly drunk on New Years to celebrate the end of a decade, things don't go exactly to plan because he's kinda dumb

words: 2532

Read On AO3!

It’s been a long time since Dan has been properly drunk. 

Eyes glazed, speech-slurred drunk. Falling over furniture drunk, hanging onto Phil like a lifeline. It reminds him of a younger self, one huddled in the woods with a group of teenagers that he wanted so badly to impress; downing liquids that burned his throat and caused full-body shivers to shake his spine.

That type of drinking is such a juvenile thing now, in his mind, though at the time it seemed so grown-up. The summers that he spent playing spin-the-bottle with his emo friends were a nice break from the taunts and bullying that accompanied him like leeches within the school halls. Those words couldn’t touch him, though, when he sat by a bonfire and his numb tongue got to taste the vodka on each of his friend’s lips. 

There was no judgement in that group, not even when his mouth lingered on the other boys’ for longer than the girls. The lack of judgement may have been due to everyone being absolutely pissed, but it still counted. 

Then there were the university months, before his inevitable dropping out. Being in the law program and not being equipped with better coping mechanisms for it, he let himself go to way too many house parties with people he barely knew. The difference with those gatherings was that he had Phil, who was a voice of reason even if only via text. The most trouble he ever got into then was the occasional party being shut down by the hall staff or having to pay way too much for a cab to get back to his room. He doesn’t have much to regret from those times, besides being grossly hungover on exam mornings. 

Looking back from the present day, he thinks he hasn’t been fully drunk since their TATINOF party. It was the last occasion where he really let himself loose, sending out a nonsensical tweet with shaky fingers and even pulling Phil out onto the dance floor without checking for vlog cameras. The consequences of that night, as small as they were, put him off it for a while. That, paired with their stupidly busy schedule in the following years, made for quite the sober Dan. Phil hasn’t been drunk since then either, but Dan thinks that might have something to do with him being a nice, sensible man in his thirties. He usually respects and even envies the soft kind of reservation Phil holds about these things, but tonight it’s not going to do. 

It’s New Year’s Eve, and he’s going to be entering a whole fucking new decade with the man he loves. If that isn’t cause for celebration, Dan doesn’t know what is. It isn’t totally his fault that he got an early start on the night and now he’s seeing double at only 10 p.m. – the bottle of red wine he had been nursing while watching Youtube had emptied out with no warning. When the last few drops hit his tongue he was mildly confused, and when he stood up to put it away, his feet seemed to belong to another body. 

Phil wasn’t ready to start drinking until later, when tipsy, wine-fueled Dan thought it was a good idea to sneak a shot of their salted caramel flavored vodka. Even with the added sweetness it still made him let out a strangled cough as the nail polish remover aftertaste hit the back of his throat. That’s how Phil found him, standing in the kitchen with his face screwed up in disgust. 

“Getting started already?” Phil asks, grinning as if he’s in on some secret.

Dan tries not to let it show on his face that he just tossed an empty, kind of expensive wine bottle in the trash – however, he’s unsure what his face is showing. It doesn’t feel like it belongs to him. 

“Guess so. Join me?” 

His hands shake a bit as he pours another shot and hands it over, and Phil only looks marginally suspicious as he accepts. He doesn’t take it immediately but leans against the counter and holds the glass delicately between his fingers. 

“You look traumatized, is it that bad?” 

“Yeah, you suck at picking flavors. And alcohol in general.” 

Dan leans forward to poke him in the chest, miscalculating a bit and getting him sharply in the collarbone. He blinks slowly as he rocks back onto his heels, an apologetic look on his face. 

“Ow. I’ll be the judge of that. Your taste buds aren’t right.” 

“Okay, cheese-boy,” Dan snorts. 

He watches as Phil tilts his head back, barely hesitating as he takes the shot. The long expanse of his throat is weirdly appealing, Adam’s apple moving ever so slightly as he swallows it down. Even when he finishes it and his face scrunches up in the same way Dan’s had, he’s still weirdly pretty. His face is clean-shaven from his recent Christmas painting video and his blue eyes are bright, the way they always are after a nice trip to the Isle to see his family. Dan wants to kiss him very badly. 

“Don’t gloat about it, but you’re so correct. My love for sugar has failed me this time.” 

They end up pulling out a couple of Coke bottles to chase away the taste, and Dan makes it to his second shot of the night before he’s caught out. Half of it splashes down onto his Star Wars pajamas and when he disregards that to drink the other half, the glass rim hits his teeth in a way that makes his shoulders hunch up in a harsh cringe. The next thing he registers is a wad of paper towels being dragged across his leg and Phil’s other hand dragging through the hair on the back of his head. 

“Don’t gotta clean me,” he mumbles, letting his head fall onto Phil’s shoulder – he feels like he’s in the middle of the ocean, being rocked by insistent waves. 

“How much have you had?” 

“I’m okay, really. Doing good good great.” 

“That’s not an answer,” Phil laughs. 

Secretly, Dan thinks it’s his fault for not knowing – if he hadn’t spent all day in the office working on that comic thing, they could have shared that wine bottle and it would have been a romantic start to the New Years festivities. Instead, Phil is entirely too sober, and the floor is swaying even though they are grounded firmly on their barstools. 

“Worry about you, you need to catch up. I’ll wait.” 

“I have all night to catch up, it’s hardly half ten. Let’s go to the lounge, yeah?” 

“Or the bedroom,” Dan winks, but Phil only stands up and hoists him up from under his armpits. 

His legs are jelly, but eventually he maneuvers them to the sofa and collapses onto it. Phil disappears again into the kitchen, and he’s comforted by the sounds of him puttering around in there. 

“Take another shot at least! One shot is basically nothing!” He yells, probably a touch too loud. 

There’s the sound of clinking glass and he knows that Phil listened, which is nice. That reassurance doesn’t last forever because then there’s nothing – no Phil returning and little to no noise happening all throughout the flat. Dan sinks down into the sofa cushion and pulls a pillow to his chest; the decision to wait out the nothingness fails him as his eyelids start to weigh themselves down. Sleep has almost taken him by the time his shoulders are being shaken, jostling him back into reality. 

“Drink,” Phil says from somewhere above him. 

Dan reaches out, half-expecting his grabby hands to be met with the small glass from before, but it turns out to be a cold, larger one. He opens his eyes to see the water splashing around inside. 

“Not thirsty.” 

“You have to have water, Dan. I found the wine bottle in the trash. You’re sneaky, and you’re way drunker than I thought. Now take a sip.” 

Phil’s voice isn’t harsh, but there’s no wiggle room to argue with him. If he wasn’t incapable of feeling anything other than weird and sloshy, Dan would probably find it kind of hot. He opens his mouth when Phil guides the glass to his lips and drinks it down, not caring when some of it misses and dribbles down the side of his neck and onto the sofa. They can deal with that later. After what feels like a lifetime, Phil takes the cup away and sits next to him on the sofa. Dan immediately rests most of his weight on him, running his hands over Phil’s chest in little circles. “

I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to have all the wine, wanted to share. You were busy, though.” 

“I told you I’d stop working before eleven. I just have a lot of deadlines looming in the distance.” 

“Please don’t be mad at me.” 

Phil laughs a bit at that, grabbing at Dan’s chin so he can kiss him from a better angle. The stupid salted caramel nightmare flavor is vividly present, lingering on his lips after Phil pulls away. 

“I’m not mad. I just need you to sober up a tiny bit before midnight.” 

“I’m plenty sober, bub.” 

“You sure are.” 

“Why should I be sober by midnight anyways? Don’t need to think to kiss your dumb face.” 

Phil huffs in amusement, then reaches for the bottle on the coffee table and pours another shot. It’s only half full, but Dan can’t tease him for it when he’s stuck trying to figure out when it was brought in here from the kitchen in the first place. Maybe he would like to be a little more aware of his surroundings for the start of a new decade. 

“You’ll feel better in the morning, for one. Secondly, drunk kissing is only good if both of us are unaware of how bad it is. We need to be on the same level so that I don’t have to deal with your sloppy mouth, mister.” 

“Whatever, drunk-Dan is sexy. Now excuse me so I can go piss for three minutes straight. I had a whole bottle of wine.” 

“Very sexy,” Phil quips. 

Despite his obvious slight annoyance, he hops off the sofa and helps Dan stand up by holding onto his arms and stopping the gentle sway that came from being vertical. They hobble off to the bathroom and bicker the whole way – midnight feels lightyears from now.

Midnight comes sooner than either of them could have kept up with. In a non-shocking turn of events, Dan had peer-pressured Phil into getting past buzzed and into flat-out drunk territory. It was a victory for no one, though, because that meant Phil spent about half an hour lying on the lounge floor with his eyes closed, trying desperately not to be sick. Dan couldn’t help him much, in his state, so he just played one of his Spotify playlists on the speakers and hoped that the chill vibes would drown out the whining. 

Phil tried to distract himself from the nausea with a game of I Spy, but from his place on the floor he could only see the white ceiling. Dan guessed it correctly every time, each round sounding more dead inside. 

Some more time passed with reluctant snacking on microwave popcorn and leftover Domino’s straight from the refrigerator that kind of helped them sober up some. Dan was sitting at the dining table with his head resting against the cold surface when he heard a sharp gasp from the lounge. 

“Whaaat?”

“It’s 11:58, Dan!” 

“Ugh,” is all Dan could muster, turning his head to the side so that his cheek would get some of the coolness instead. 

He squints his eyes, watching Phil climb off the floor and stumble way faster than he should be moving into the dining room. His cheeks are flushed, and his stupidly pretty eyes are suddenly all wide and excited. It’s hard not to let that excitement hit him as well, but his head is just so fucking heavy right now and Dan never wants to move. He decides to gather up as much strength as humanly possible though, because Phil is now bouncing on the balls of his feet impatiently, lower lip jutting out. 

“11:59! Come on, we gotta do the thing!” 

“Alright, fuck, I’m up,” Dan grunts, holding onto the back of his chair once he’s at eye level with Phil. 

They huddle closer together and suddenly Dan is hit with just how much this moment means to him. His heart is working overtime, hammering away in his chest with what feels like a weird mixture of nerves and genuine happiness. He smiles at Phil in a way that hurts his cheeks, watching him intensely as Phil stares down the phone screen to check the time. 

“We’re supposed to kiss while it’s changing, not after the moment has passed, you weirdo,” he laughs, bringing his hands up to circle around Phil’s shoulders. 

Phil shoves the phone into his pocket and lets out a nervous giggle. 

“Sorry. I love you,” he says, and then he’s finally kissing Dan in the way he’s been thinking about all day. 

It’s uncoordinated and messy, but it feels so right with cheesy smiles pressed together and roaming hands sliding beneath shirts. If Dan had more brainpower to think about everything they’ve been through and experienced in 2019, he’d probably be having a little bit of a cry right about now. He’d probably do something sappy like kiss Phil through his tears and get choked up while telling him about he proud he is of them. As it is, though, he just squeezes Phil a little bit and buries his head in his shoulder. 

Phil’s arms come down to wrap around his waist and they stay like that for a moment, swaying back and forth. The music is still playing from the lounge and even though it’s some obscure indie artist that Dan doesn’t even like that much, it feels fitting and floaty and far away.

He lifts his head and kisses Phil on the cheek. 

“I love you so much. We’re going to have so many decades together if humanity gets its shit together and stops global warming.” 

Phil laughs and reluctantly pulls his hands away from Dan’s hips. 

“Even if they don’t, we can go to the moon. I’ll be right back.” 

Dan hadn’t missed the way his face had gone a bit pale since the end of the kiss, or the miniscule twinge of fear in his boyfriend’s face that grows more impending by the second. 

“You need to be sick?” 

“Very much.” 

“Right, run to the bathroom. Go!” 

Dan shrieks a laugh when Phil doesn’t budge fast enough and pulls him by the arm to rush to the toilet. They almost trip a thousand times on the short run, but they make it on time. It may not be the ideal, romantic New Years Eve that Dan had envisioned, but they have plenty of years to work on their planning skills. This one is just fine for now.

[lethesomething]

The IkeRev Libido Scale

So this is something I've noticed playing and replaying Ray's route in Ikemen Revolution: there's no sex. (I think, I haven't unlocked all his side stories yet). Compared to someone like Lancelot, for instance, Ray is very composed at all times and a relationship with him appears to be more of the stable, comfy kind.

And I quite like that. Cybird makes adult otomes, so NSFW scenes are expected, but it's nice to have routes with their own personality and flavour. Especially since that flavour is consistent, even into the events. An older game like Ikemen Sengoku (which I also very much adore) bases the content of event stories largely on whether or not routes are out for that character. So if MC has 'canonically' become a couple with a dude, there will be hotter scenes than if she isn't (this means that even in his premium birthday stories I can't get into Mitsuhide's fundoshi *frustrated wailing* ).

But the events in IkeRev just go by the personality of the character. Which leads me to the libido scale. Some characters just have more of a sex drive than others, just like in real life. And because I'm a Scientist (note: I'm not), I wanted to chart that.

Now obviously this is not a definitive scale. IkeRev is new, there's not that many routes out and I'm basing myself mostly on the free routes and event stories (and it’s really hard to get those high score ones, you guys). We may yet learn of the hidden depths of Blanc (I'm fairly sure he's kinky AF), but for now, here's my interpretation.

 Ikemen Revolution, by apparent sex drive

Lancelot: The King of Hearts is a needy boi. Disregarding how I may feel about certain events in his route (that one spell was not cool, bro), Lancelot is one hell of a lover. It takes time to tear down his walls but once the dam has burst, so to speak, it's really burst. Both in events and in his route, you'll find a fair amount of NSFW.

Loki: His route isn't out yet, but from events and his general cameos it seems clear that this is a guy who is a little clingy, and very into heavy petting.

Jonah: I'll admit that I haven't played his route but what I've read of him so far has a certain… petulant sensuality to it. It's hard to explain. He's surprisingly playful and canonically hedonistic, so it seems clear that if MC is one of his pleasures, he'll indulge.

Edgar: Another one of those 'gotta keep it all in' people whose desires are slowly eating away at them from the inside. Once a relationship is established, his stories assume there's a fair amount of catching up on human interaction. Also non-stop friendly teasing.

Seth: This bro basically glomps you on a regular basis in a platonic way. Imagine what he'll be like once you're in a route with him. Mildly androgynous, overtly affectionate and canonically some kind of double edged sword, Seth definitely has libido.

Sirius: Ahh, the warm wise one who is extremely aware of MC and all she's feeling. His route is coming out soon (yay!), but his side stories so far have definite hints at NSFW. I'm going out on a limb and assuming his libido is fairly decent, but he's trying to be a gentleman, ya know.

Blanc: I suspect, as mentioned, that he has this incredible sexy side (he's a Rabbit, guys), but so far he just constantly flirts. Non-stop.

Fenrir: Despite what it looks like, Fenrir is a very proper boi. Waits until after the confessions of eternal love to start getting busy. Pretty chill, all things considered.

Kyle: What little content we have of him is fairly suggestive. Being a doctor, he automatically also sees a lot of bodies, and the whole 'permanent hangover' thing is probably not helping, but there's some fire there.

Oliver: What we know of Oliver shows him as having a very (VERY) sharp tongue and a tortured spirit. Couple that with the fact that he's the worst kind of tsun, and I'm seeing a lot of buried needs. I'm guessing that he'll get utterly desperate at some point in his eventual route (though even knowing that his shape changes for day or night or something, the whole idea of him still kinda squicks me out).

Luka: This is 'the innocent one'. I'm assuming he's supposed to be the youngest of all the dudes and his event stories are of the ultimate slow burn  'too shy to even look at you but so so in love' variety.

Harr: There is very, Very little content for Harr, *gross sobs*, but what there is, shows a similar kind of slow burn shyness as Luka. This man makes you god damn flower crowns while blushing, ffs.

Zero: Zero is the kind of sweetheart who will casually sit next to you watching the sunset without so much as trying to hold your hand. Very polite. Probably has enough going on in his life that he doesn't need the added complexity of an otherworldly romance.

Ray: This guy is a tease. I'm trying to think of a scene where he so much as kisses MC. This isn't to say that his scenes are not sweet (he's one of my faves), but he's just very chill. Definitely not shy about touching MC, but not feeling the need to drag her off to his bedroom, either.

[kookiesbadhabits]

My Firsts [M] no. 1

gif credit

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6?

SUMMARY: three hot boys. one girl. college!au.

PAIRING : vminkook x reader

WORD COUNT: 3.1k

GENRE: fluff, introduction

Part 2 (real plot) coming 5.21.18-5.23.18 

Description

A love... square? I love me some maknae line okay?

So this might be the ONLY story I have ever made a draft for with an ONGOING series in mind, instead of just a smutty oneshot. Don't get me wrong, there's going to be a whole lot of sin, but expect minimal porn logic, but real plot. These boys' characters are based on my life, but in not wanting it to hit too close to home, I'm adding a bit of a twist. 

Based on a true story: that is my mess of a love life (like seriously my life can seem very fanfiction with the level of drama with these three boys. also minus the smut in my life of course, i wish my sex life were this exciting, but maybe in a world with almost no risk of contracting STDs or a world with effortless straight As in university courses) The characters are inspired by some past loves in my life, so this should be a fun little ongoing series I want to try out. 

Also, for context, all three boys plus reader are the same age. 

Opening/Prologue?:

*READER POV*

Boys in general sure are dangerous, but god, these three in particular are on a whole other level. How did I earn such luck to find myself with our paths all intersecting at once?

THE BOYS:

Kim Taehyung was my first everything. Well, every "first" a clueless 8-year-old could comprehend. The first crush, the first boy to push me on the swing, the first guy best friend, the pure-and-filled-with-curiosity-and-confusion first kiss, the first boy I asked to be my boyfriend after all my classmates started asking each other out. He was the first to make me laugh the hardest I ever thought I could; the first to make me cry the hardest I ever could. The first boy to break my heart: my first "almost love". That was who he was to me from elementary to junior high. 

Can you blame me for taking the emotions so seriously? I was just a young, ignorant tween with all my hormones out of whack. None of that should matter anymore, it was a small piece of my past, a small milestone in life, it should have been completely irrelevant to who I became and where would bring me, or us. I guess I was a fool to think it would be entirely irrelevant, we are attracted to what we're familiar with after all. 

Nevertheless, Taehyung was such a blurred fragment of my past, I was already a completely different person by the time we ran into each other for the first time in six years, right there on our university's orientation day. So why did bumping into him and slowly recognizing him feel like a truck against my chest? Seeing him shouldn't have struck such a heavy chord with me, so why?! 

The least of my worries should be none other than Park Jimin, I know this for sure. He was my high school sweetheart, my first real boyfriend, first real kiss . . . first to be intimate with. Two years of growth well spent, back when neither of us had developed a sliver of personality. Our relationship had its fair share of cataclysmic moments, but it was worth it in knowing how well we existed together in that snippet in time. 

We fought frequently due to the difference in our values and passions, and our clashing personalities in general. He was my exact opposite, aloof, childish, an improviser, clueless, innocent and hopeful. I was reserved, serious, ambitious, a careful planner, too mindful for my own good; a realist. I was aware that our relationship had slim chances of keeping its strength after graduation, with him not enrolling to the same post-secondary school. Not to mention, our relationship had been kept a secret from my family for its entirety due to my parents and their rules to keep me focused on my studies. 

As I predicted, after high school graduation we had grown stagnant in our relationship, no longer growing as people. He was a safe anchor, a source of unconditional love, so unconditional that neither of us worked to help improve the other anymore. I loved him but I outgrew him, so naturally I broke up with him on the worst possible day: the day after our 23rd month together, the same day as his father's first death anniversary. I knew it would paint me as the worst person in his eyes, but maybe that's just how I wanted it.

Finally, there is the most dangerous of all, in that I cannot deduce why I feel such a strong pull towards him. He is exactly not my type and it doesn’t add up. I was introduced to him as I was being absorbed into a friend group by my first uni friend, he instantly became the first man in uni to have an energy that effortlessly drew me towards him. This man is Jeon Jungkook, a cheeky flirt clearly hiding behind the mask of a self-fulfilled prophecy as an asshole. 

In the first instances we had met, Jungkook spent two hours pining for my attention, like a child scrambling towards a shiny new toy. Killing time in the library, our "study" group played a bootleg version of Cards Against Humanity. I had read him enough to know what would make him laugh, and he proved so in his verbal praise on my anonymous answers. The whole while we felt connected, we met after all. In just meeting, I knew the universe had already shifted for us. He spent the whole rest of the day finding excuses to continue to spending time with me, actually the whole rest of the term. 

Sadly, I knew he spelled nothing but trouble. Fortunately, it was the kind of trouble I was longing for.

Anyways, enough blathering on about these three boys with such vague air to it, why don't I start from the beginning? I'm ________, 18 years old, in the middle of my first year of university, and had no idea what I was about to get into.

Chapter 1 - Chance Meetings

“CHILDHOOD FRIEND: THE FIRST CRUSH”

"Hey ______," an unfamiliar and rather deep voice calls out to me as I brushed past a small huddle of friends in the crowded university centre.

I instinctively replied hey back, only to stop in my tracks in realizing I didn't recognize the voice. Stunned, and a little confused, I glance over only to lock eyes with a complete stranger with a small friendly smile walking away in the opposite direction.

With a perplexed look plastered on my face, the stranger brushes past his group of friends towards me. My curiosity compelled me to stay put. My eyes, and head naturally tilted up slightly to keep eye contact. He was tall. His sweater was from some high school other than mine, so he couldn't be an old classmate. He just kept smiling at me, beaming like he had met an old friend.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I finally asked politely. 

He chuckled, "You don't remember me?" gesturing towards himself, pausing as if waiting for his appearance to sink in with my memories. I was still stumped no matter how long the pause, and honestly it was getting too awkward to bear for someone like myself, who doesn't usually voluntarily make small talk with people, much less with strangers.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I do?" I replied, furrowing my brows trying to will some kind of familiarity still looking up at him and his big boxy smile. 

"You look great though!" He continued, practically disregarding my current confusion. "You here for orientation too? This little scavenger hunt is pretty lame, don't you think?" 

Not wanting to be rude, I put on my best socializing voice. "Aww, thank you!" I replied, matching his friendly energy. "I'm actually not. My sister brought me to give me the tour herself, she told me how boring orientation would be."

As we carried on, I kept thinking about who the heck this mans could possibly be? We ended up talking about high schools, he went to XX high, and I mentioned I went to YY high. I noticed his hoodie was not just any school sweater, he was in vocal jazz. 

"So he sings," I thought as I pondered who I knew as a friend that was a good singer. 

Finally, his goofy smile sinks in, and my eyes grew wide and lips pursed into a small 'o' 

"Oh my god, Taehyung?!" I exclaimed, he only laughed at my reaction, though pleased I finally recognized him.

"Most people call me V now but hearing you call me that is so nostalgic," he smiled softly. 

I blushed a little recalling that he had said I looked great, what with the onrush of memories hitting me like a truck. Holy shit, he looked good, grew his hair, parted down the middle, but somehow he was making it work. 

We had talked a little more, asking for bits and pieces on the last couple of years we had been out of each other's loop. That's right, he moved after 7th grade, it had really been nearly 6 years, he had no social media, and our social circles never overlapped. 

We could only talk a moment more before realizing he was keeping his group waiting, and I, my sister. 

Before he could end up out of my life again, I impulsively asked, "What's your number? We should keep in touch!" 

"Wow, _______ since when did your introverted ass have the balls to utter such words?" I thought to myself, mentally biting my tongue, but what's done was done. 

He smiled warmly but with some slyness in his eyes, "I already follow you on Instagram, no worries." 

I was stunned once again, "His name had never shown up on my follower list?" I thought. Before I could say anything, he had jogged to catch up to his group and so I turned to my sister. 

“HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART: THE FIRST BOYFRIEND”

As usual, my last bus home from campus had to be unbelievably delayed due to the heavy rain. I was on the phone with my ex-boyfriend, now awkward best friend. 

"Are you sure about it? I can really just wait for another bus," I spoke into my phone as I huddled in the roofed shelter of the bus stop, the chilly night air starting to bite through my jacket.

It had gotten pretty dark, despite it only being six in the evening. However, the shadiness of downtown undoubtedly had me on alert.

"It's really no problem, I'm already finished my classes today," Park Jimin replied on the other end. "I don't like the idea of you being alone this late, downtown of all places."

I could hear in his voice that he was already getting up from bed to pick up his keys and head for his car. He already had his mind set and there was little I could do to stop him. He could tell from the pause in my voice I was unsure about the whole thing. The breakup may have been amicable, but it still hurt a little to be with him not being able to instinctively reach for his hand for comfort. In fact, I had been careful not to give him opportunities to come and see me. Yet, here we are.

A drunkard was already beginning to babble out in the streets, with people doing good to veer past him. I watched him warily, slouching to lessen the prominence of my chest, tucking my hair in the folds of my jacket to lessen chances of easily being pulled by the strands. 

"I guess that would be best," I admitted. "Please drive safely." 

"Keep the call on, okay?" Jimin requested with the usual soft concern. "I need to know you're safe there, too."

I smiled, "We couldn't be together anymore, but I'm really happy this is where our relationship led up to," I thought.

In less than twenty minutes, I could see a familiar car approaching towards my stop.

"Get in quickly, _______." he said, also alert by his surroundings now full of potential threats.

I scurried over to his car, and got in quickly, greeted by his familiar welcoming smile. I kept my hand from doing its conditioned action of opening to await his fingers to interlock with mine. He kept his hand on his gear-shift, despite never doing that before and with his car not being manual.

"This is a decent compromise," I thought and smiled to myself, letting my lids bat lightly, the day's events catching up with me. 

Slowly, I let myself fall asleep as usual in our drives, and he woke me gently upon nearing my complex. My roommate, Jean, waited patiently for me to get home safely, leaving a light on. 

Jimin and I exchanged a brief hug at the door, and I thanked him again for his kindness. I watched him walk away as I slowly closed the door. As I thought, there's still a bit of melancholic air in his smile when we see each other.

"I'm sorry, Jimin." I whispered under my breath with him too already too far away to hear. Not that he hadn't already heard that enough times before.

“THE STRONG PULL/NOT-MY-TYPE TYPE: THE FIRST MAN ”

"Oh yeah, since I'm practically absorbing you into my friend group, you've met Jin already but this is Jungkook," Kim started as I sat next across from her in our usual study spot in the library. 

I looked to him, establishing eye contact to give him a sup nod with a smile, he laxly raised a hand and raised his brows to acknowledge the greeting. 

I had met all Kim's guy friends from high school, but none of them piqued your interest in this way. Before even sitting down, I had already spotted him after my eyes found Kim. He was an unfamiliar and attractive individual, emanating energy with a distinct warning written all over it: "TROUBLE".

Nonetheless, I couldn't resist initiating the game that started the moment the universe decided to shift in tune with our meeting. 

In spending no more than half an hour with them, I found Jungkook persistently trying to shift my attention towards him whether it be to tell a witty remark or to try and make me laugh with poorly constructed jokes I had already read off the internet over five years ago. The cool air had to be a facade, all I could see was a dorky squish, spoiled for some attention.

I giggled none the less, to humour him (literally) and to end up one-upping him in the comedy department when we decided to play an app that was practically a bootleg of Cards Against Humanity. 

The phrase was "The worst thing to scream at my grandma's funeral" and my answer had been a blank where I typed, "RIP girl may your bingo wings flap your soul to heaven."

Jungkook, being the judge, burst into laughter mid-way into reading my answer out loud. 

"Whoever put that, good one," he said as he banged a hand against the table with his nose still crinkled in amusement. 

I raised a hand laxly, and he blinked at me, his eyes twinkled with a glint of further intrigue and curiosity. 

Jin ended up winning all the games, and when time came for Kim and I's class, Jungkook quickly got up with us. 

Growing tired of the library scene, Kim and I moved to go to the university centre to get some food. Jin and Jungkook naturally tagged along behind us. I don't know how they did it, but Jin and Kim disappeared for god knows what counselor, leaving me alone with Jungkook. 

We sat with no more and an inch separating us and he looked to me with the same curiosity and intense gaze. I had voiced my discomfort about being left alone. 

"Why are you scared to be alone with me?" Jungkook asked bluntly. "I don't bite."

"Ah, I'm not afraid of you, I'm afraid of being alone with people I just met," I corrected him. "Don't flatter yourself."

By this time, we had easily established some playful banter between us, with him every now and then joking about not being able to handle too much of gaze. Before I knew it, he was telling me a bunch of stories about parties and trips to Paris I didn't ask about.

"Yeah, I woke up with just some girl's bare ass bouncing on my jeans." He continued, trying too hard to show how admired he was by the ladies. 

"We get it, hun, you're hot," I thought through a split-second of lidded eyes before raising my brows again to politely portray my interest in his stories. 

As he was finishing up a story about a flock of French girls crowding him during his class trip to Paris, I sighed in relief to see Kim and Jin approaching. Jungkook was cute, but he was still a boy in my eyes, needy and arrogant. I was fascinated by his character nonetheless, I had never met someone who could sound so full of himself, yet  still seem like just some dorky squish.

Kim and I got up to start walking towards our class building.

"Aw man, it's probably rush hour so I can't drive home even if I wanted to," he spoke to himself aloud. "What class do you guys have?"

"Psych," Kim replied as he pulled the other strap over his shoulder. 

"I might as well sit in your class," Jungkook spoke casually, as if not to sound like he actually wanted to spend more time with us.

"You do you," Kim nodded as she gestured for me to follow her. 

It was only 2:15 pm. I looked over my shoulder to Jungkook, we locked eyes again, I swear I could see his pupils dilate in those big brown eyes. I gave him a small smile before following ahead.

He ended up sitting in our class, beside me the whole time trying to jokingly distract me every now and then. Many times, he showed signs of wanting to leave, leaning over into my ear to whisper.

"When does this class end?" His voice was low and hushed and too close to my ear.

I refused to give him any reaction for satisfaction though and simply whispered back, "Not for another 45 minutes."

He ended up pulling out a book, piquing my interest even more, "A boy into reading on his spare time?!" I screamed in my head. I, _______, had never in my life seen a boy reading a book for pleasure. 

We carried on with class this way, and I just smiled thinking to myself, "Silly Jungkook, everyone knows rush hour isn't until 4pm, you're not fooling anyone you squish."

~ END OF CHAPTER 1 ~

A/N: Ho man 2/3 of these stories are 100% true tbh I may as well have said their real names. It's 2:30 AM now that i've finished this. Worth it. I am so inspired by the comeback and have been craving to start writing again. So I can't wait to get to putting my ideas for this series into ink.

[productivewriting]

Inevitably Entwined *In Progress*

Chapter 1 - Exo & NCT Mafia

I’ll upload as regularly as I can, this is mainly an Exo fiction, though many groups will end up mentioned as characters. Please keep in mind that however anyone is depicted in this fiction has no relevance to how these people are in real life and is not how I personally view them. It’s just for the sake of the story line.  I hope you enjoy if you’re reading it <3 (The next chapter will be on my profile until I can set up a better system of linking them into one post)

  Chapter 1 - Prologue It was already getting dark by the time the two dark figures wandering with little sense of direction up the cracked and worn pavement found their heavy feet leading them back to the house they had both insisted to one another they would never call home.  But there was nothing else like this place, a house built by their family, protected by their family.  The slightly taller of the two slammed a tired fist into the solid wood of the door that stood between their freedom and their imprisonment. Unlike most jailed, they were walking straight into their prison, knowing that if they stepped in here now, there was no coming out.                                                                                                                 * * * Chapter 1 : Everything Started Here -  The sun had disappeared from the sky hours ago, taking away the warmth in the air with it, consequently raising goose bumps along the pale skin of my exposed arms and legs as I forced one foot in front of the other down the quiet street.  The city was never lifeless, even at this hour, but the air hummed with less intensity than the day and anyone else wandering the streets quickly disappeared from view.  It wasn’t the first time I’d been out here at this time and so the unnatural lack of bustle and activity didn’t overly bother me.  It had been almost 3 days now that I had been alone, and though I was aware of my capability to look after myself, it was surprising how well luck had held out on my side for the last 72 hours.  The throbbing in my left ankle was a harsh reminder that however well I’d thought things were going, they were no longer going in that direction and the need to find somewhere to lay low for a few hours and even catch up on the sleep that my body desperately craved and needed itched deeply in my weary bones.  I hunched my shoulders forward and turned my face to the side as a young couple, probably too engrossed in one another to even notice me anyway, wandered past.  Too many people were out for me to continue at this pace and hold onto my sanity. Every passing figure could be someone from my family, the city was full of people like my family, people that would gladly murder me on sight if they could see the dark ink masterpiece of our family emblem on the my left shoulder, forever claiming me to something I wanted no part in.  I might have scoffed on a normal day at the minor inconvenience of coming from generations of mafia men, a family orchestrated into a dirty business sometime years before I was born. The aspect that I belonged to a family that insisted on referring to themselves as ‘NCT’ as if having a name to direct the blame of blood, pain and death that followed them was something to wear proudly on my sleeve, was a joke that I’d lived with until now.  A bubble of laughter remained trapped in my throat - I’d always stuck out like a bright yellow flag in our family, amiss of the violence that most of them had acquired either by circumstance or blood. Despite my disregard for our family business, NCT had created quite a record for themselves throughout the past and not only in the dark world of drugs. No matter how hard I tried now to escape my duty to the establishment, it was inevitable that I would be unwillingly dragged back into it.  A neon lit sign dangling haphazardly above a nearby doorway into a less than appealing looking building grabbed my attention and I slowed my pace to catch what the brightly lit words said.  ‘Cheap rooms’ Of course, the first option that came along was a building that looked like it was barely standing in the strong wind that was buffering around it.  Some of the windows were smashed whilst others had ominous boarding over them that indicated either damage to the glass panes or suspicion that damage would be caused; both options a source for concern if I was going to be spending a night in one of them.  However, I was desperate, and this was the best option I was probably going to find tonight or at all and it would be incredibly stupid to pass it up when the heaviness of my limbs was making each step a fresh difficulty to face.  I swallowed down the nauseatingly ominous feeling that the building gave me and shouldered my way through the heavy wooden door that creaked loudly in protest, clearly rarely used and not very well secured on the hinges.  A young woman, maybe only a few years older than my 20, looked up from the fold of her arms where her head had been resting comfortably at the sound. Her wide brown eyes betrayed her surprise as she stood up slowly, proving beyond a doubt that this was a rarely frequented place that I should be running away from, not eagerly asking for a cheap room to spend the night in.  “What brings you to this kind of place to spend the night?” She asked casually as she handed me the room key in exchange for the bundle of change that I passed over the counter that barely qualified as anything more than a long-abandoned school desk. It was the first exchange of words between us not strictly related to the renting of the room I was gripping the key to in my sweating palm.  Whether my skin was sweating because I was nervous or because my muscles trembled with the need to have my weight off them I didn’t know.  Her words were casual, but her eyes were curious as I shoved the key into my back pocket, ignoring the hard throb in my foot as I shifted my weight to display my discomfort at her question, hoping it was enough to dissuade her from asking more.  “I’m desperate.” I murmured, avoiding eye contact with her. As easily as I knew the right groups of people on the street to avoid ending up in a conflict, I knew that it was stupid to place any trust in anyone I spoke to outside of my family.  At the best of times even my family were beyond trusting. Though this woman with her soft rounded face and smile lines looked like someone you should be able to trust, coming from a family like mine meant you knew that people like her were the exact ones to worry about.   People that smiled and spoke in sugary voices, all soft edges and seemingly carefree questions; they were the ones who would trade you without hesitation for money, for sex, for that drug that they were addicted to. There were few people that you could trust on instinct when you grew up knowing things that young girls shouldn’t know and there were few things that could shake you when you grew up with that knowledge.  So although my soul ached with a childlike need that had never been filled to lean against the young woman in front of me and unleash the dam of tears and thoughts, I knew better.   She shrugged and nodded easily at my response, either knowing better than to prod at the less than satisfactory answer or not caring enough to get herself involved in someone else’s worries.                                                               * * * The inside of the building was a haven compared to the outside, the hallway carpeted with plush red coverings and the walls a soft creamy white that emanated a clean smell rather than the horrible scents I’d been expecting to find.   Though the doors looked a little worse for wear, they were intact and seemed functional enough at a glance.  A small set of ten steps led up to another floor, the one the room I’d booked was located on, at my request. The height gave me a slight sense of an advantage, I would be able to hear anyone coming up and down these creaking steps in the night.   It shouldn’t be something that a 20 year old needed to worry about, whether members of her own family would find her in the night and either kill her or take her back to the last place on earth she wanted to ever step foot in again; home. Alas the world worked in strange and often horrible ways, so tonight would no doubt be the longest of the past three I had spent running. Now stationary and not having the advantage of moving constantly from one spot to another, I was more vulnerable than I had been since I started running from them.  After a few moments of pauses in front of various doors to check the metal numbers displayed, I found the one with a number matching the silver key in my hand.  A pleasant and vague smell of vanilla hit my nose as I allowed the door to swing open, keeping a cautionary gaze fixed on the inner darkness of the room as I sought out a light switch, fingers fumbling numbly for a few moments before finding it and flicking it up.   A warm glow flooded the room, highlighting the small kitchen that I was moving into, kicking the door closed behind me, and the open layout of the entire room. Just beyond the edge of the kitchen tiling a dark carpet covered enough space for a double bed, small closet which I suspected was probably empty save for a few spare towels and bed sheets and a table that looked barely big enough to seat two people despite the four chairs squeezed around the solid wooden furniture.   A door was slightly ajar at the far side of the bed, bathroom appliances gleamed beyond it with a clean glow, looking ironically to be much less crowded than the rest of the room.  An airy sigh of relief expelled out of my lungs on a breath that I hadn’t known I was holding until it was released, and I slumped down into one of the rickety chairs, stretching out my legs gratefully.  If my bones could have creaked with the movement, they would have been. 

Somehow it seemed like I’d been blessed with one of the better rooms with a window that was neither broken nor boarded up, adding to my mounting relief. The muscles in my legs throbbed at the sudden lack of my weight on them and fatigue gripped me in its clutches now that I was finally sitting down. With the sudden and unexpected peace all of the emotions that I’d been running from nonstop for the last three days loomed dangerously close under the surface of my calm façade. 

Though this was the first time in days that I’d stopped for longer than a minute to think about the choices I’d made, the last thing I needed was to begin to drown under the weight of my choice. 

Leaving that house, that family, wasn’t a choice I had made lightly or on a sudden whim but the consequences of leaving were nothing to laugh at. 

Especially if I got caught.  

The last three days had been hard, adjusting from the comfort of a luxurious life thanks to blood money to walking without stopping and surviving on energy I didn’t have had been hard. 

But it was harder to stay in a house where innocent people were turned into monsters, where good people did bad things because it was what they had to do to get their next paycheck to stay alive. 

Every room had a different story of death or heartbreak and every member that walked through the silent halls had blood staining their soul. My skin rolled with disgust at the memories of the things they’d done to people. 

At the sickening smile on Jungwoo’s otherwise sweet face as he choked the life out of a young boy who insisted he wasn’t the one behind the drug drought or the distraught look on a woman’s face as Taeyong stared unforgivably coldly down at her dying child in her arms. 

A child he had let die in a bust gone wrong, someone he had been responsible for but cared nothing for when they died at his carelessness. 

Physical nausea writhed in my gut as memory after memory like that ate at me, memories that weren’t even the ultimate reason I’d left. 

Of course not every single person living under the NCT name were doing the things they did for bad reasons, not all of them enjoyed doing the things that had to be done. 

A lot of them hadn’t even been born into the family. Not like I had, with the history of a whole mafia family lapping at my heels and urging me down a path of destruction. 

No, most of them were there because my grandfather had taken them in as impressionable children with nothing left for them. He’d promised them a roof, food, safety amongst our family as long as they promised in return to one day work for him, to protect us the way we’d protected them. 

 What kid would turn down such a harmless offer? 

The thoughts in my mind refused to stand still even as my head dropped down onto the table and sleep claimed my exhausted body. 

The gentle vibration in my pocket drew me out of the restless slumber and I sat up, instantly alert and tense. 

Though nothing about the room seemed out of place I forced myself onto my feet, using the brisk search of the room to wake myself up properly. 

There was still things to do before I could rest properly. The vibration ceased and I pulled the offending device from my pocket, surprised that it even had any dregs of charge left in it. 

Hundreds of messages, some threatening and some concerned, lit up my screen and I scrolled until I found the name of the only person that I cared about messaging me. 

There it was, that stupid little green bubble that indicated a missed message followed by the name of the only person in this world that I’d ever trusted more than myself. 

Kim Sana.

Not only was she the only person I had ever trusted, she was the prodigy of NCT. 

Since a young age Sana had shown an adeptly wide range of skills and abilities that far exceeded most full grown adults in the mafia game. 

Despite this, she was the only one I’d ever met who, like myself, had refused to be sent out on heists or missions.

With a low tolerance for bullying and violence, she stuck out alongside my bright yellow like a vibrant red in a sea of black and white shades.

I prayed to whatever gods were listening that she hadn’t done something stupid yet, as was highly possible given her volatile sense of decision making. 

It was her call that had pulled me from the brief and blissful sleep I’d been getting and I hesitantly pressed the screen to return to missed call, preparing myself for the coming conversation. A whole day of sleep wouldn’t be likely to prepare me for her anger. 

I hadn’t told her when I’d left, both because there had been no time and because it complicated things to involve the most wanted 19 year old in the underground world of Seoul. 

“Choi Eun-Jae! Where the hell are you?” She barely less than screamed into her phone after the second ring and I moved the device further from my ear in an attempt to protect my eardrums. 

The high-pitched complaining continued for the next few minutes before silence fell and I returned the receiver slowly to my ear, letting out a quiet sigh. 

“Hello to you too.” My eyes drew to the window, taking in the solid pane of glass with vague curiosity as I spoke. “I had to leave, things were getting out of hand and- I just couldn’t stay.” 

Interestingly lucky that I’d been given one of the few good rooms. 

“I know Eunnie.. But you shouldn’t be out there alone. What about when Johnny finds out, what the hell will you do then?” I couldn’t help the small snort of amusement that came out of my lips at her words despite her serious tone and could easily picture her rolling her eyes and putting her small face into her hands in exasperation at my inability to take the situation seriously.

Normally the roles were reversed. 

“Johnny doesn’t scare me.” The wind buffered at the window pane, making the glass panes rattle loosely in place and the sound set my nerves on edge, filling me with an uneasy apprehension.

The small hairs on the back of my neck rose as I leaned forward in my seat, a frown beginning to furrow my eyebrows and crease my forehead. 

Abruptly the sweet vanilla that had previously filled my nose seemed sour and the open layout that had earlier felt so liberating and comforting seemed like a trap designed to give me no space to hide. 

Sana was quiet for a moment, the silence stretching too long as I struggled not to become immersed by deranged worries.

Despite years of training for being out in the world alone, I was not amiss to the fact that I was the least prepared for being out here alone with only my own skills to rely on. 

“Maybe not, but Donghyuk and Seungri should.” Her voice was quieter than before when it finally came again and slightly muffled now. 

Her words were laced with the worry and concern that were continuing to grow in the back of my own mind.

I rolled out the growing tension in my shoulders and stood quietly, making my way quickly to the window with the phone pressed to my ear carefully by the pressure from my shoulder. 

More than likely the bad feeling eating at me was nothing. She had a valid point, though.

My family’s business leader Johnny should be the most intimidating and worrying person for me and yet right now his side man and woman, Yoon Seungri and Lee Donghyuk were much more formidable problems. 

It was highly likely that if Johnny even knew I was missing, he wouldn’t care enough to pursue a skinny 20 year old whose skills were sub par and wouldn’t be missed greatly. 

Johnny had always been gentle and even tempered, coming into the top position by unfortunate events raher than desire and he left much, if not all, of the decisions to his most trusted members. 

If Donghyuk and Seungri weren’t in charge, things would be very different for me, maybe for all of the family.

“Eunnie?” Sana’s affectionate name for me echoed emptily in my ears as I peered out through the glass into the dimly lit street below. 

Just like when I’d dragged myself along it an hour ago, it was dark, and the sidewalk was cluttered with rubbish and cars that looked like they’d been parked for longer than this building had been standing. 

Despite the heavy sense of abandonment and the almost foreboding darkness that the lack of streetlights created, it seemed safe enough. 

Probably not a street a normal teenage girl would turn down at this hour and to the naked eye there were no obvious warning signs.   

But finding the most minute details in the safest looking situations was just one of the things I’d spent the last ten long years of my life training for and something about the seemingly peaceful street below didn’t feel right. 

Two sleek black cars parked at the very beginning of the street, neatly and slyly blocking the road against any passing vehicles immediate view, caught my eye and I tilted my head, peering intensely at them for any sign of movement or an understand of why the sight of them made my skin crawl. 

But if there was anyone sitting in the expensive interior of the cars I couldn’t tell, the tinted glass windows paired with the darkness of the night made it too difficult to see anything, leaving me clueless as to why they were even there. 

These cars did a poor job of blending in to their surroundings, indicating there was no urgency to remain unnoticed and yet there was no obvious reason to block off an entire street with two cars. 

As my gaze continued to flicker around the street, searching for anything else out of place, the growing feeling of suspicion reached an undeniably stressful height.  

Despite it being a twenty-four-hour hotel offering up cheap rooms, the neon lit sign was now no longer casting its light on the street. It could just be coincidence that the lady downstairs had turned it off. 

Or it could be something more. 

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the window sill hard between my fingers and palm, ignoring the pain it caused. 

There was no logical business reasoning to turning off the only marketing a twenty-four-hour hotel had going for them. 

“Sana, they’ve found me.” I said more calmly into my phone than I felt, swiftly turning away from the window and heading towards my discarded jacket, the only thing I’d brought with me. 

With every step my ankle screeched in protest at the weight being put on it, magnifying my dread. 

If it was a struggle to walk then how was I going to get myself out of this situation. 

“Get out of there.” She hissed into the phone, sounding somehow more on edge than I was feeling. I forced the jacket on, patting the pockets to ensure nothing had fallen out; the familiar lumps of the items I’d shoved into the pockets, including my money, remained comfortingly in place despite the hell that was about to break loose. 

“Sana, be careful at home.” The soft warning barely left my lips before I hung up and shoved my phone into my pocket, heart pounding heavily in my chest now. She didn’t need to be told to be careful, Sana was careful even in her sleep, so the words were more for my sake than hers. 

The hallway outside of my room suddenly seemed thick with tension when I stepped out into it, casting my gaze warily left to right. 

There wasn’t exactly a lot of escape options in the small building and so far the only exit I’d seen was the entrance which I couldn’t just simply prance out of like I’d walked in. 

“Idiot.” I reprimanded myself below my breath, heading down towards the end of the corridor that I hadn’t yet been down, hoping that an answer would show itself in the form of an open door or fire escape to the outside world. 

It had been stupid to slow down, to let myself breath for a moment and if I couldn’t find a way out of this hotel then I was going to pay with it for my life. 

As strong as my family’s bonds are, leaving them had always been an unofficial but very real death sentence. 

That’s why everyone stayed, enduring the messy life of mafia rather than abandoning it and living out a normal life. 

There had been very few people who had ever attempted leaving and even less when those who did were killed or befell tragic

accidents.

The heartbroken face of Ten, who nobody knew the real name of, flew unbidden to my mind as I paused at the begging of the steps upward to the next floor. Poor Ten who had lost everything in one swift blow of a rival gang’s fist, forcing his youngest brother’s skull into the hard concrete where he’d died instantly. Naïve Ten who had come running to Donghyuck, begging him to help or give him time to grieve. 

Ten who had been broken by the simple withering stare Donghyuck had thrown at him before leaving the room with little more than a ‘people die, get used to it.’ The once annoyingly cheerful Ten had fallen to his knees, head in his hands as he screamed that he couldn’t stay here, couldn’t be a part of this family anymore. 

My stomach rolled nauseously yet again at the memory of Sana and I holding his sobbing body through the night, doing our best to ease his pain. 

He hadn’t left, because he knew that leaving was a suicide mission and slowly over the weeks his gentle face had lost its compassion, replaced with the hard reality of losing someone every few days and of sacrificing things for those that mattered little to you. 

He appeared less and less around the big mansion that we called home, preferring to spend the little time he wasn’t underground or undercover with exotic women who helped him forget the family he continued to lose each day. He was no longer the young man who had screamed for his brother, he was just a well-oiled machine orchestrated by Donghyuck and Seungri to go through the motions, to get his own hands dirty on their behalf. 

I shook my head to rid myself of the haunting thoughts. 

Almost every member of our business had a similar story. 

Losing people was a daily occurrence, loving was not an option. 

It was enough to make anyone lose their humanity. Everyone who was a part of it was bound to end up a monster, whether it was who they were or because it just happened that way. 

 There was no running from that, becoming a monster was all that was in store for any of my family. 

 And I was one of them. 

[rainesclan]

[Part Two]: Second Hand News

Link to: [Part One]: Think About Me , series masterpost

A/N: Thank you soso much to everyone who read/liked/commented on the first part! I decided I’m going to continue this (even in light of canon events) so also a huge huge thank you to everyone who encouraged me to just do me and post it! I tweaked what I had outlined for it to be closer to canon (so this definitely won’t be a ‘the Alphas are angels and sunshine and rainbows abound’ fic) but at the end of the day, it’s still a fic and an AU at that so it’s gonna deviate from canon kind of a lot. With that being said, I totally understand if you want to be removed from the tag list, so just let me know! (my feelings won’t be hurt!) And, as always  there should be a ‘read more’. If it isn’t working for some reason let me know and I’ll try to fix it!

Series Tag List (feel free to ask to be added!): @choices-opinions @j-ashtons @nathan-starling

Note: *This is an A/U in which MC meets Nathan during her freshman year

Description: After receiving some feedback from Professor Vasquez, Cariedee has an unexpected run-in with a familiar face.

Rating: PG-13 (mentions of underage drinking)

Words: 1,973

James had sent her a text in the middle of class to let her know that Vasquez had been looking for her. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure what he wanted to talk to her about, but her gut feeling -- and knowing Enrique Vasquez -- told her it probably wasn’t good.

Cariedee slipped her phone back into the pocket of her sweatshirt before her professor could catch her trading texts with James and folded her hands back in front of her. The rest of the lecture crept by slowly as she couldn’t help the distraction that came alongside Professor Vasquez being so hellbent on seeing her so soon. Did he hate her piece detailing her weekend that much? Admittedly, she had still been a little hung over from the Alpha Theta Mu party when she wrote the majority of it, but she certainly didn’t think it was her worst work.

But then again, Vasquez was difficult to please. Not only had she noticed it herself in just the short time that she’d known him, but James had also reiterated it. More than once.

The hands on the clock finally ticked over to read 10:50, and the end of their professor telling them to have a good rest of the day was drown out by the sounds of bookbags zipping and unzipping and the little desks connected to the seats in the lecture hall squeaking as students folded them back down.

“Me and Tyler were gonna go grab a coffee,” Zack said from next to her. “Wanna come?”

“We could go over our notes while we’re there in case one of us missed something,” Tyler suggested.

Zack groaned and threw his head back in a playfully dramatic fashion.

“Because there’s nothing we’d want to do more than go over our notes after having just sat through that whole lecture.”

After glancing around and seeing that there were only a select few people from their class left straggling in the lecture hall, Cariedee pulled her messenger bag over her shoulder in preparation to head for Vasquez’s office.

“If you’re gonna be hanging out for a while I’ll meet you guys there in a little bit,” she told them as they began to file out into the aisle. “James sent me a text a few minutes ago. Apparently Vasquez is really insisting on seeing me as soon as possible.”

“Uh-oh,” Zack commented, only to be silenced by a swift elbow to the ribs from Tyler. “Ow! I mean that could be a good thing, Dee! It probably means he really liked what you wrote.”

“Nice save...but I doubt it,” she sighed.

Once they exited the lecture hall and pushed open the heavy doors to the science building to step back outside, the three suitemates parted ways. Zack and Tyler began to follow the cobblestone path that led to the quad while Cariedee veered off towards the grass to take the shortcut she’d memorized to Vasquez’s office. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder towards at the two familiar figures as they began to blend into the crowd. If Vasquez decided her work wasn’t good enough to keep her spot as his assistant, she figured it might be the last she’d see of them for a while.

Without letting the negative thoughts sink in too deeply, she steeled up her posture and held her shoulders high as she made her way into the building reserved for the English department and up the winding stairs to the third floor. An all too familiar lump formed in her throat when she peeked into Vasquez’s office to find that he was in the midst of a deep conversation with James.

Her knuckles rapped so softly on the door that she wasn’t positive it was audible.

“Professor Vasquez?” She asked in a voice so meek she was sure she sounded like a child meeting a stranger for the first time.

Both Professor Vasquez and James looked up from where they had been hunched over an open notebook at the sound of her voice, and James’s warm smile offered her just the smallest bit of comfort. It was enough, however, that she felt comfortable enough to step further into the pristinely kept office.

“Ah, there you are,” Vasquez said shortly.

James closed the notebook on the desk and stuffed it back into his bookbag while Vasquez opened the drawer in his desk with the familiar sound of metal sliding against metal. He dropped a stack of paper fastened with an unmistakable green paperclip onto his desk with a thud and Cariedee bit her lip in anticipation as he flipped quickly thumbed through it after closing the drawer.

“I have to admit, I may have wrongfully judged your adequacy when we met,” he told her casually.

He held the stack of paper out to her, and she couldn’t stop her eyebrows from furrowing when she caught a glimpse of the red markings that covered the margins of the page.

“Um,” she paused before looking back up at him. “Thanks?”

He ignored the unsure response and continued.

“Your account of your weekend was truly eye-opening. I never would have considered the possibility of Alpha Theta Mu of all organizations holding a university-wide beer pong tournament. And the characters were each their own portal into understanding the inner workings of your generation. I was particularly intrigued by the fratority snob with the potential heart of gold.”

While she had to admit, a weight of worry was lifted off of her shoulders with his praise, she also found herself having difficulty containing her disdain. The way he spoke about her writing...as if it was fiction...it bothered her. Maybe more than it should have.

“Professor Vasquez...these aren’t characters. They’re real people,” she reminded him.

“Yes, of course,” he seemed to disregard the comment with a dismissive wave. “Anyhow, I was impressed. I’m looking forward to reading your next assignment on Wednesday. If I could make a suggestion about character building-”

“Wednesday?” She asked in a tone of slight desperation without letting him finish. “Professor...that’s less than-”

“Yes. Two days. That gives you plenty of time.”

“It really-”

“Please, Cariedee. I don’t know what gave you the impression that I have time for a debate on the matter,” he cut her off abruptly. “James and I were in the middle of discussing his play. Leave your assignment here on Wednesday morning.”

Without another word, she left Professor Vasquez’s office without closing the door behind her, and she could feel her shoulders subconsciously slump in defeat as she made her way out of the building. This was easily going to be another two all-nighters, and she found that she wasn’t sure how many more sleepless nights she could handle.

Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be, she considered. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to be at Hartfeld and this was the universe’s way of telling her that. She shook her head to physically rid herself of the intrusive thought and sent a quick text to Zack to let him know she was on her way to meet them at the coffee shop.

The quad was packed with students switching between classes, so she decided to cut across the lawn in front of the business building to take an easier route. She subconsciously glanced up from where her gaze had been focused on the rustling grass when she heard the heavy front door swing open with a creak, and when she locked eyes with a slightly familiar face, she offered up a smile.

He had been drinking when they met that weekend. She assumed that he probably hardly remembered talking to her that night until he smiled back at her – a warm and genuine smile that she could make out even with the distance between them.

“Cariedee?” he called out to her across the empty space.

The two students subconsciously stepped closer to one another so they no longer had to shout.

“Nathan...hey,” she chuckled almost awkwardly. “I’ve gotta be honest...I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.”

“And why’s that?” He asked, his eyebrows arching with playful curiosity.

“You may not have been as drunk as your friend, but I’m pretty sure that jungle juice I spilled on you wasn’t your first of the night.”

“In all fairness, no one at that party had been drinking as much as Beau. He ended up costing us our championship.”

They shared a smile and Cariedee rolled her eyes playfully.

“How will you ever go on?” She joked.

“Laugh all you want, but Kassidy hasn’t stopped reminding us ever since. Those bragging rights would have been more valuable than you realize.” Nathan paused and glanced down at the Rolex around his wrist to check the time. “Are you between classes?”

“Technically. I’m just coming back from Professor Vasquez’s office. I’m kind of his assistant.”

She grimaced involuntarily when she thought back to her meeting with Vasquez. Even more so when she remembered all the writing she was going to need to finish before Wednesday morning in order to stay on his good side and keep her scholarship.

“Enrique Vasquez? The author?” He asked.  

“Yeah,” she responded without much enthusiasm. “Trust me...it’s not as glamorous as it sounds.”

“Oh...I’m aware. I’ve heard that his last few assistants didn’t last long.”  

“The way things are going, his current assistant might not last long either,” she responded, the tone of disdain evident in her voice. “The only reason I’m sticking it out is for the scholarship. At this point, I’m wondering if it might be better to just cut my losses and go back home to a college I can actually afford.”

Nathan’s seemingly ever-present smile faded, and when she could read the expression of sympathy in his eyes she found herself wishing that she had just kept her mouth shut. She had needed to vent, but she definitely wasn’t looking for pity.

“Well unfortunately if you leave Hartfeld you and I won’t be running into each other like this much longer.” His smile returned with the lighthearted comment. “Keep that in mind when you put together your list of pros and cons.”

She chuckled weakly, and she could feel a blush creep up her neck and into her cheeks.

“I’ll remember that,” she told him. She took a second to regain her composure before blurting out her next question. “Are you busy? I’m on my way to meet my roommates for coffee. You can...come if you want.”

“As much as I’d like to, I’m actually already late to my next class.” Before she had a chance to respond – either by way of an apology for keeping him there talking to her when he needed to be in class or even just a simple goodbye – he spoke again. “But...at the risk of seeming too forward...would you happen to be free on Thursday night? A couple of my friends and I were planning on going out in Northbridge if you’re interested in joining us.”

“Are you sure I wouldn’t be impeding on some sort of top secret Alpha Theta Mu outing?” She asked with a teasing smile.

“No. Definitely not,” Nathan’s laugh was warm when he responded. “It would really just be four of us. Beau and Kassidy heard about this bar that doubles as an art gallery and wanted to check it out.” He paused and flashed another warm smile. “I can even double down and say that not only are you invited, but I would really like it if you came with us.”

Her cheeks burned ever so slightly again, and she let out a chuckle that was somewhere between awkward and embarrassed. She had to wonder what it was about him that had her so flustered.

“That sounds fun,” she responded. “I’m looking forward to it.”

[kitsunesbooks]

Re:Creators: My Favorite Anime of Spring 2017

As a writer who happens to dabble in the realms of philosophy, often do questions arise that entertain me for hours on end. I’ve sometimes found myself asking what it would be like to see my characters face to face. I’ve wondered what they would think of me, would we get along or would they all hate me for pitting them against such harsh environments and situations? It’s funny to think about things like this because I’m sure everyday people wonder what they would do if they met their god. It’s just that in this instance, I represent the god, as prideful and cocky as that sounds. Nevertheless, it’s been my belief for awhile now that an artist is the closest thing that humanity has come to becoming gods. Through art, and especially story telling, entire worlds can come into existence. This is the kind of subject material that Re: Creators tackles.

Re: Creators is for all intents and purposes, an isekai story. Isekai being that very prevalent anime trope/sub genre of story where the main character gets trapped in a fantasy world. However, to keep things somewhat fresh, the fantasy world comes into our world, or at least a version of our world. Within Re:Creators, characters from anime, manga, and videogames somehow make their way out into the real world and engage in kickass battles and debates on metaphysics. So if you know anything about me from the articles I’ve written, then you’ve figured out that I am 100% in on this show. The action and meat of the plot is great and all but it's all the metaphysics and mechanics of this universe that keep me thoroughly entertained. The conversations that occur between “creations” and “creators” are in depth and thought provoking. In a way, this anime is some bizarre form of wish fulfillment because I am actually getting theoretical answers to my questions.

The beauty of Re:Creators is how it takes characters who, for all intents and purposes, fit into strict archetypes and then slowly bends them to conform to our world’s rules. While using archetypes as a basis for character development is nothing new to storytelling, Re:Creators more or less bends the archetypes themselves through the small tidbits of character development shown throughout the series. One of the best characters in the entire show thus far is Magical Slayer Mamika. Mamika is a magical girl from what essentially is knock off Sailor Moon. As an added bonus, her design is heavily reminiscent of Madoka from Madoka Magica, which sort of helps to further cement her development and almost poke fun at a certain trope. Mamika basically tears apart the idea that injecting some “realism” into a magical girl story is in someway nuanced. While Madoka gets credit for making it work, it has opened the floodgates for a ton of really bad, edgy magical girl stories that are honestly hot garbage. Mamika however is more based in actual reality as opposed to realism. The first instance we see of Mamika is her fight with another “creation,” Selesia. Mamika recklessly goes all out and unleashes some devastating magic on her opponent with complete disregard to her surroundings. If this were any other character in any other show, she would be written off as just an asshole or a generic “sadist” character. However, when Mamika realizes that rules of our world conflict with her own, it shocks her. She came from a children’s magical girl show. Basically a Saturday morning cartoon. There isn’t any blood in her world and morality is all black and white for the most part. It is a simplistic world with little thought put into it and Mamika’s first interaction in our world is incredibly evident of that.

That first battle Mamika experiences is what sets her character arc into motion and has pretty much made her one of the best characters in the series thus far. Her eventual turnaround was very well paced and written and I hope we get to see just as much inventive and clever writing for all of our cast members. Mamika goes through a rampant sequence of development during the more recent episodes. We see that she still clings to her sense of morals but also shows that she is even willing to go against her own friends when they are doing something wrong. Mamika wants nothing more than peace, which makes sense given her source material. However, instead of Mamika’s judgement being simple minded as it would be in any magical girl show, or the plot focusing on how depressing her situation is, we see her learn and adapt. Her sense of justice doesn’t waver and instead adapts to the morals of our own world as she fights to protect both sides. All she wants is for the fighting to stop and for no one to be killed, and when she finally makes up her mind on what side to take, her actions have that much more weight behind them. Being the type of character she is, she shows everyone kindness, even the villains of this story, especially given they don’t match the archetypes of villains in a typical kid’s show. To Mamika, the villains of Re:Creators aren’t villains at all, they are just people who want to do bad things with good intentions. I could go on and on about Mamika’s character arc, but you are more than likely better off checking out the video Mother’s Basement put out on Re:Creators. Geoff does a, MUCH, better job at analyzing these characters than I do. Nevertheless, Mamika gives you just a taste of the kind of meta story Re:Creators is and honestly it is a hot contender for anime of the season if it hits the right notes.

One thing I can talk about that hasn’t been mentioned before is yet another intriguing character. With our Military Uniform Princess taking the role of main villain it was hard to think that the show would introduce an even greater threat, but it did. Magane Chikujoin is a villain character from a series in Re:Creators world called Yoru Mado Kiroku. Judging by how she acts and behaves as well as her abilities I pegged her as coming from a straight up horror series or maybe even a battle seinen with darker and more mature themes than your typical shonen series. She has a very clever ability that protects her almost indefinitely and she is a complete liar, so much so that she get’s a kick out of it. Lying is her weapon and she uses it to devastating effect. Magane is honestly a terrifying character due to her incredible ability as well as her contrasting schoool girl attitude. She is definitely much more of a villain than the Military Uniform Princess and there some big reasons why. Her knack for telling lies has gotten her involved with every major character in the series. She has a variety of strings she can pull, and while we saw her latest machination get foiled by the heroes’ raw determination and will, it is clear that Magane is willing to say ANYTHING to get what she wants. Compared to Mamika who has undergone a dramatic shift in her archetype, Magane’s archetype has only grown more rotten. She now finds herself in a world where she can do anything she wants without having her fellow characters get in the way. Bringing her to the real world was essentially the equivalent of unchaining a feral beast. Magane is shaping up to be the series’ true villain and it shows. The events of the latest episode proved her to be much more powerful than we anticipated, and with her acknowledgement of zero restraints she becomes that much more dangerous. Magane isn’t just a simple sadistic villain, she is a self-aware villain. She is aware of the existence of her world and ours. Not only that, but the way she behaves makes the viewer think that she might be aware of the world outside the screen, because Re: Creators is still an anime. It doesn’t exist in our world outside of that medium, yet there are several moments where Magane is talking directly to the camera and it seems more like she is talking to us, the viewer. There is one scene in Episode 9 that really hammers this home where she begins talking to herself, yet she is staring straight at us. Not only that, but the things she says are inquisitive and it’s almost like she is trying to convince us, the viewers, that she told the truth, when in reality she bent it. It is that one thing that adds so much more gravity to a character like this and it is incredibly intense.

I could probably talk about this show forever, but I want to leave some of these characters as a surprise for those of you who intend to give the series a shot. This is an anime that is clearly aimed at artists. Whether you draw, animate, or just write, this series was made to be watched by you. The questions and conversations posed by Re:Creators can easily be applied to your own work, and through that it provides perspective. It makes us question the content we create. It makes us wonder just exactly how our characters would truly feel in the situations we put them in. It also makes us question the level of detail we give our worlds. There are so many minor and major details across this series that resonate with me immensely. Because of that, it has become one of favorites of this season, if not this entire year. If you are an artist, I urge you to watch this show. You will not be disappointed, and I’m sure you’ll come away from it with a renewed view on your work. Hope you enjoyed the article.

[shardclan]

Much of Haematica’s tasks these days were about inspection, where she might have once done the upkeep herself. Copernicus handled the cleaning of the supplies, and she hadn’t been dissatisfied with his work in eons. He had learned quickly that a doctor’s tools had to be more than clean. They had to be pristine. They had to be antiseptic.

On this morning, after receiving her clearance, he handed her a box. “From Estevao,” he explained. “He said you would definitely be interested in this.”

Haematica pursed her lips. In her opinion, Estevao was less than a poor man’s dandy. A poor man was still capable of some modicum of tact. Were it not for his honest work at generating a trade operation on that lonely cliff near Mirrorlight Bay, she would have immediately disregarded the delivery.

She was quite glad she didn’t.

Gloves. Beautiful thick gloves made of latex, the one indisputably excellent thing about the nature flight. Haematica, like most plaguelings, grew up without it. If you couldn’t survive infection, there was no hope for you anyway. But in a clan where she was the surgeon responsible for cutting them open and forcibly fixing or removing what ailed them, it was worth its weight in gold. Outside the Scarred Wasteland, healing was allowed to take time, to take resources, and none could be so precious as a clean pair of latex gloves.

“Send a message back,” she said calmly, slipping her hands inside them and flexing. “They’re too thick. I could weed nettles with these and not feel anything. That’s no good for surgery. If he can halve this, it’ll do, and the Medical Sector will pay handsomely for them.” As an afterthought, she added: “And make them in pink.”

“I’ll bear it in mind, but it won’t reach him for awhile. He’s in with Phasmatis.”

Haematica removed the gloves and crossed her arms. “Phasmatis is still learning how to control her power. And she’s still just a beginner at anatomy. I hope you’re not telling me she is actually practicing on a live patient right now.”

Copernicus automatically stood a bit straighter. “No ma'am! But the nature of the injury is… Coagulum thought it was best if Phasmatis attended until you arrived. Unofficial pre-diagnosis, no correction.”

“A practice diagnosis for Phasmatis? What exactly is the nature of the injury? Did one of the children get a greenstick fracture?”

“It’s probably better if you go see for yourself. I think you’ll understand why Coagulum made the call if you do.”

He wasn’t wrong, and Haematica had to cover her mouth as soon as she saw. Estevao was clearly sedated but he was still awake, so she couldn’t risk laughing. She recognized all too well what she was seeing.

Phasmatis was sitting on a stool beside him with a thick tome–Haematica’s own book of bones which she allowed the girl to use for study. Her posture was prim and her runes glowed faintly from within the folds of her off-white gown. It made her look like a strange, studious ghost to Haematica’s eyes. White was such a strange choice for a hospital; but then again the girl wasn’t practiced enough to get into the truly bloody bits yet.

“Your report,” said Haematica, once she was sure she was calm.

“Yes…” Phasmatis answered slowly. “Multiple dislocations… Left and right inferior radioulnar, Grade 1 acromioclavicular dislocation… Trauma to the iliac crests evidenced by bruises but the bones are alright. Evidence of unusual trauma to the patella, but of low severity.”

“Just the shoulders and wrists?” Phasmatis looked up at her, and Haematica walked over and very gently rolled Estevao’s ankles and gently felt around his knees. “Amazing.”

“Miss? Do you know something about this?”

“Oh absolutely. It’s been a long time since Bruma put someone in the Ragdoller.” She slid her fingers under the backsides of his knees, ignoring the delirious giggle it earned from the drugged patient. “Amazing. Usually she dislocates the wrists, shoulders, and either the knees or the ankles. If she’s dealing with a truly dangerous dragon she’ll even strike the hips. Dual posterior dislocation, it’s as impressive as it is a hideous sight.”

“It seems inappropriate to be amazed, if I may say. Dislocation is dangerous and permanently lowers the integrity of the joint.”

“So it does.” She gazed curiously down at the vaguely aware patient. “It makes me wonder what exactly he did.”

Phasmatis raised her chin and frowned imperiously. “Does that matter?”

“To his treatment? No. But Bruma is a cool temper and this man is at the head of an industry producing latex that we will certainly be using. I would like to know just what he was doing that would rile her up to this degree before I enter a business deal with him.” She patted Phasmatis’ shoulder fondly. “But your dedication to the patient’s treatment regardless of their character is noted. Fetch Copernicus and have him give a local anesthesia, I’ll be in to get the joints back in, you’ll shadow.”

“Yes, miss.”

Haematica took her leave, gliding down the hall to her personal study. A chalkboard hung beside the doorway. Typically it was empty this early in the morning, but today there was a thin white scribble on it.

Bog - M, Sha. 14e. Unknown donor.

She cracked the door. A thin haze rolled out around her feet as the cool air seeped out. The body was there on the cold metal table, grey and motionless. Though she was delighted, Haematica sighed. Receiving shadowborn cadavers was never a simple affair out here. Too often, it was someone trying to dispose of a body and curry her favor at the same time. It was insulting, frankly. She wasn’t some butcher they could dump their bodies on. She was a woman of science, but also of compassion.

Sure, she would at least identify the cause of death, maybe poke around a little more than she had to, but she wasn’t going to dissect any old donated body. Her conscience would never rest unless she was sure the family was alright with it. Gods, she’d have to call Carnelian again… Or maybe Camellia would be faster, since she was actually present. Being able to just ask the body who it was and where it came from would simplify things immensely.

Down the hall, she heard the familiar whistling of Aether. When she spoke it was with the typical fae monotone but her whistling had a distinctively happy lilting to it this morning. Aether was a dentist. She operated out of Promenade Medical Bay because tooth removal was a form of surgery, but most of her work these days was maintaining hatchling dental health. If she was whistling so cheerfully, it meant someone hadn’t cared for a bad tooth and she was preparing to take it for her collection.

Aether was skittish, but probably could have fit in easily among plague dragons for her love of collecting teeth.

Haematica didn’t bother her, turning instead to go look in on the Queen’s room. It was empty, save for Coagulum, who greeted her with a nonchalant “Mornin’ Hae.”

“Good morning. Has Telos run off again?”

“Mm, yeah.” The mirror scratched lazily at her stomach. “Her blood’s back up to snuff, and she’s been getting antsy and irritable being in bed these past few days. Tungsten came and got her.”

“An official discharge then.”

“Tungsten didn’t say. Just said that ‘Doing nothing for a long time can also be stressful for someone who’s gotten used to a certain level of activity’ and took her out.” She snickered. “I could tell ‘er Majesty was feeling punchy.”

“Punchy...” Haematica muttered, more tasting the word than asking for a meaning. Coagulum was full of colorful words like that.

“Aggressive. She trained a bunch with Perilous, but when the last time she got to give anyone a good haymaker? She was getting pent up, it’s better this way.”

Haematica tapped a foot thoughtfully. “I’ll expect you to find Miss Tungsten and get proper discharge paperwork done. Just because she’s the queen is no reason to not keep a proper record.” She ignored the lazy sigh. Coagulum liked to cut corners where she thought she could get away with it, but she was dependable. Generally. “And speaking of people feeling punchy, what happened to our Nature Liaison?”

Coagulum’s face curdled into malicious glee. “Have you see him? He got the Ragdoller!”

“I noticed. I’m asking if you know why.”

“Gossip on the street is that it all went down at the Sundial Brewery. Arcanus and Carnelian were having a round, Estevao came in, and you know how that insufferable little prick is. I’ve no doubt he thought he was being cute, but he made a suggestion about easing the queen’s stress to Arcanus that was a little too forward. Arcanus almost drew on ‘im!”

Haematica laid a tired hand over her face. “Gods, how much of a fool can a single dragon be?”

“Right, right? So Carnelian keeps Arcanus cool, cause they’re on good terms now it seems like; and Arcanus is the Queen’s Knight, he can’t be getting in bar fights, even if it’s for the queen’s honor. But Carnelian’s no such clean record and he’s all prepared to get nasty about it.” She slapped merrily at her knee. “I can only imagine what Estevao’s condition would’ve been if Carnelian’d had at him.”

“Did Bruma actually stop Carnelian?”

“Ah, well, yes and no. Remember Cloud and ‘Milla have their little nocturne girl at home with them.”

“Aine, of course. So Bruma would have intervened as their bouncer to end the situation before it got rowdy.”

“Just so,” Coagulum answered, though she couldn’t hide another snicker. “Well, and because Bruma’s a chivalrous kind of lady. She can’t stand hearing anybody, let alone some outland brown-noser, make those kinda nasty comments.”

“Just how nasty was this comment? The man is an idiot who doesn’t realize he grates on others, but he seems otherwise sincere about wanting little to no trouble.”

“Mmm, suffice to say he his suggestion failed to treat the Queen with the respect that the widow of an exalt is due.” Crass as she was, Coagulum wrinkled her nose. “I’m sure plenty move on, find new mates and such but Telos is… Our queen is loyal, dammit. To us and to Fragment; even if he’s not on this plane anymore. And Arcanus is a man of morals. Neither of them deserve the implication that he should be ashamed to let her grieve so long ‘uncomforted’. That shit-eater’s got no business thinking he can say that! In a crowded bar–!”

“Volume,” Haematica said sternly but reflexively.

“Sorry. It just... It ain’t right is all…”

It didn’t escape Haematica’s memory that Coagulum had not always been among Telos’ supporters. Early on, her blunt tongue had been one of many to say that other dragons were more fit. That Telos was too young, too inexperienced, too much of an outsider. And yet now here was the same dragon, agitated that some nobody had come into the clan and suggested–albeit ignorantly–something that tread on the queen’s sincere grief.

“Weren’t you suggesting something similar just last week?”

Coagulum blushed furiously. “That wasn’t about Telos!” A sharp glare from Haematica corrected her, and she said again, more quietly: “That’s wasn’t about Telos! And even if it were, it wasn’t a suggestion that someone should get in bed with her and...and soothe her. That’s a disgusting thing to say about anyone, much less a damned widow. It was only a suggestion that some of the more stressed members of the clan who are shy of the Bramble District be educated on masturbation. It’s a physiologically proven and valid method of reducing stress hormones in the blood and you know it.”

Haematica covered her mouth to hide a grin, and Coagulum knew instantly she’d been teased. Of course Haematica knew already. She just took advantage because it was a sensitive topic.

“You’re a demon, Hae.”

“You’re mistaking me for Asura,” she said humbly.

Estevao probably didn’t know just how far down his own throat he put his foot.  Those trails of gold tears on Telos’ cheeks were not some invitation or request to be comforted. To her and to the entire clan, they were representative of things unforgotten, things still missed and pain still felt even though the eons had passed and life went on. They were not something that could be wiped away so easily.

“I had him anesthetized maybe 15 minutes ago,” Haematica said with a smile too wide and too bright. “Shall we go give our patient a lesson on the appropriate way to talk about our Queen?”

Coagulum smirked. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

[curiousimaginings]

Utter Idiot (Leto Joker x Reader)

AN; Oh my lord. This one is SUPER LONG and i’m sorry and it started off with me trying to write something hot but I just had so much fun with this. I am such Leto Joker trash and I don’t even care. I hope you guys like this!

Warnings; Swearing, blood, biting?, guns, mention of murder, mention of drugs, mention of abuse, mentions of torture. I think that’s everything..?

Summary; Reader gets bored waiting for Mr J to get out of Arkham so decides to visit him.

WORD COUNT; 4221     I know please forgive me

The sounds of angry threats and maniacal laughter echoed around the dark and gloomy building. Shifting nervously in the damp corridor, your eyes constantly flitting and focusing on something new in an attempt to familiarise yourself with the place. One of the guards escorting you sent a glare your way, one meant to fill you with unease, but you disregard it quickly. Coming to a sudden halt outside of a heavy metal looking door you are herded in to quite possibly the filthiest room you had ever seen. They’ve gone all out I see. You thought bitterly. Not allowing them the satisfaction of your distaste you turned to the main guard, Officer Michaels. It was only then you noticed you were alone in the room. Confusedly you started towards the man about to question him when he leered; ‘Get comfortable sweetheart’ and with a wink the door was slammed shut in your face. So this is it huh? You thought to yourself as you perched on the disgusting table in the middle of the room. You had been in some questionable places but this just might take the cake. Arkham Asylum, home to the worst of the worst, and now here I am. Harmless little me. You smirked to yourself. You tried to recall when your life got so complicated and quickly became lost in thought. Your whole life had been a bit of a shit storm, so a trip to Arkham wasn’t that out of the blue. Although completely avoidable in this instance you seethed inwardly. Getting more comfortable on the table you impatiently made a list of the people who would inevitably pay for your little trip here today. ‘God help them’ you smirked to yourself, still staring off in to space. You were broken out of your thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching the hole Michaels had left you in. Readying yourself, you stood throwing back your shoulders and donning a look of indifference and boredom. Battle ready, you looked towards the door as it swung open. Michaels stepping in first; ‘You have half an hour, no more, as required by law this room has no cameras or listening devices. If you need us..’ he trailed off eyeing your body ‘..scream’ he smirked. Rolling your eyes at his idiocy, you added him to the list you had made earlier. Laughter brought your attention to the centre of the mass of guards. A laugh that sent shivers down your spine and brought a sudden heat between your legs. You devoured the green haired maniac in front of you forgetting where you were for a second. He hadn’t yet noticed you too preoccupied taunting the perverted guard. ‘Sexually harassing a lawyer now Officer? You surely should know better?! Besides I never took you for a lover of dick, explains why you just can’t stay away!’ his signature cackle you loved so much met your ears and you had to physically stop yourself from releasing a giggle of your own, grinding your teeth together in your efforts. He’s expecting Frost, Shit. He’s going to be so pissed. You didn’t want to interrupt him, you knew better than to interrupt one of his pissing contests, but you couldn’t allow the guard to have the upper hand. ‘Don’t get me wrong I’m flattered! It just explains your penchant for cavity searches’ J’s cackle brought out laughter from one of the younger guards, Michaels hand shot out clipping the kid around the head. Clearing your throat and adjusting your glasses, you smiled towards the pale clown who was still cackling madly. ‘I can take it from here boys’ you stated as confidently as you could, tilting your head daring them to eat in to any more of your time. The laughter ended abruptly. Ever so slowly the Jokers eyes turned to meet yours. To the guards leaving you alone with the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’ himself, they probably thought he was sizing you up like a predator does its prey, assessing your armour of tight skirt, revealing blouse. But you knew better. His icy blues where furious. You silently prayed he’d be more pissed at the guard for his comments now that he realised they were about you, than at your presence but kept your face as stoic as possible. You took the silence as an opportunity to take him in. He was a hot mess, his hair unkempt and falling around his face. Straightjacket on, limiting how intimidating he could be towards you, although you would never voice that. And blue ‘Arkham’ bottoms hanging low on his hips. Always low on the hips you groaned hungrily to yourself. You felt the desire for him starting to bloom, and saw a slight smirk grace his lips as he caught your obvious ogling. You didn’t care much, he knew he would only have to raise a non-existent eyebrow and you would be stripped bare, ready and waiting to do his bidding. That’s just how you both liked it, and even if he wouldn’t admit it you had nearly the same amount of power over the Kingpin himself.

Before he could speak you smiled innocently; ‘Hello Mister J, I will be your stand in lawyer today as Mr Frost was unavailable’ you pout playfully, sitting back down on the end of the table. Giving him a great view of your skirt riding up your thighs, your bare legs catching his attention as you crossed them purposefully. The look in his eye was hungry as he slowly stalked towards you. ‘Unavailable?’ he questioned finally dragging his eyes from your inviting bare flesh. ‘Well, you see Mr J, he didn’t have much of a fucking choice in the matter’ you smile innocently at him. Quickly dropping the act you glare at him; ‘Really J? You are such a fucking idiot’ J looked up from your legs quickly and you became aware of how close the two of you had become. He eyed your mouth angrily before laughing. 'And you kiss me with that mouth' licking his lips he leant in slowly.

'I do a lot of things with my mouth' you breathed out huskily, standing up abruptly you walked away from him and sat on the shitty plastic chair getting comfortable and playing with a strand of your usually H/C hair which you had to dye in order to go unnoticed. The lack of effort needed for you to go unnoticed by the people of Gotham would forever astonish you. Dye your hair a shade or two lighter or darker, whatever tickled your fancy, and dress like a normie, keeping your tatts covered and you were golden. Fucking idiots, the lot of em. If you were feeling daring you could even pull out your old glasses, no longer needed thanks to the chemical bath you had taken, but nostalgia was always fun.

He growled but sat across from you at the table pouting like an infant. 'If you ever call me an idiot again Princess..' You cut him off rolling your eyes 'Don't make promises we both know you can't keep. You shouldn’t have gotten caught. If you didn’t act like an idiot I wouldn’t need to call you one.' you smirked over at him seeing how riled up he was getting at your attitude.

You'd missed this. The little games. The hot sex when those games came to a head. Literally. But mostly just him in general, nothing matched your crazy quite like he did and his absence had caused quite the void in your life.

'So if this isn't a conjugal visit..' He trailed off hoping he was wrong. You just raised an eyebrow daring him to continue. You were not a woman to be messed with. He sighed like a child denied candy making you giggle. 'I do love that sound Dollface.' He said almost affectionately, like a person does to a pet. However the moment was short lived as his true anger started to slip through his pale faced mask, his blood red smirk taking on a sinister edge.

'What are you doing here Y/N?' Oh shit your actual name that was a bad omen, but you had expected it. 'You had direct orders not to come near this place. If they realise who you are...As much fun as the rough stuff is in the bedroom Doll-‘ he licked his lips eyeing your body ‘-you won't enjoy this place and I don't need nor want anyone touching what's mine' he growled.

You unconsciously stood to go sit in his lap. A mannerism you had picked up quickly in your relationship. He leant in to you as your hands found his hair smoothing it out causing him to purr at the action. 'I had to come and remind you to get your ass in gear and get outta this shit hole. I'm bored and no one will play with me.' You whispered seductively in to his ear, biting his lobe gently to emphasise your point. This made him smile, hearing how lost you were without him played in to his need for control over all things, and hearing that his men wear keeping their distance from his doll, his toy, filled him with joy. ‘Awwwww, is my little Princess missing Daddy huh?’ he teased half-heartedly enjoying your hands in his hair, he hadn’t seen you in at least 11 weeks. Having you so close was intoxicating, his need for you increasing. You were like a drug he had quit but had been offered up to him on a silver platter, the addict in him finding it hard to say no. Stilling your movements, causing him to glare at your pouting face you spat childishly; ‘Honestly Mr J I’m starting to think you like Batsy more than me’ you crossed your arms defiantly, causing him to laugh. Leaning his head forward he started kissing from your sweet spot just below your ear downwards making you arch in to his touch, letting out a soft moan. ‘I may like ruining Batsy’s day one explosion at a time-‘ he carries on his assault towards your cleavage ‘-but his moans of pain don’t compare to my girls moans of pleasure’ his husky confession mixed with his hot mouth on your body was driving you crazy. You were putty in his hands, and he was all too aware. ‘Has my kitten been good while I’ve been away?’ he questioned as he dragged his metal capped teeth across your sensitive skin. Your mind flashed to your many outbursts and what had Frost called them? “unhospitable” play dates. You looked down at him innocently ‘Of course Daddy’. His eyes not straying from his task he bit down hard on the flesh at the top of your breast, barely contained by your deep green silk shirt. You yelped slightly your body jumping too. Releasing you he rested his forehead against yours; ‘Liar’ he whispered, ghosting his lips over yours. Pecking your lips lightly he ghosted his lips across your jawline and up to your ear, licking his lips he asked; ‘How many Dollface?’ You instantly blush at his question not knowing if you should answer or not, his face was hidden from you angled towards your neck as he waited for your reply. You had stayed quiet a little too long for his liking he sucked on your neck aggressively marking you. ‘Th-three’ you stutter out quietly. Stilling he meets your eyes slowly his face angry, shit, okay fine! ‘And four more, okay?! So, seven!’ His face was still unreadable, and he had gone awfully quiet, you just looked at your nails finding them particularly interesting right about now. ‘My Princessssssssss, my pretty, pretty, pretty Princess! Dollface, Sweetcheeks, Kitten.. killed seven of my men?’ his forehead was once again resting against yours, forcing you to make eye contact. ‘Hey it’s not my fault they couldn’t withstand standard torture techniques….if you ask me you’re better off without em!’ you smile sweetly at him. At that he laughs loudly before crashing his lips to yours with such force that it takes you a minute to return the favour. Your hands quickly found his hair and tug at it hard making him groan in to your mouth. Noise outside of the room reminds you of your limited time. 'Shit.. okay listen to me J' He was completely amused by your attempt at bossing him around but you didn't have time for games. ‘I have a little present for you’ you smile at him seductively, you stood up off his lap lifting yourself on to the edge of the table behind you, hitching up your skirt just enough to lift your right heeled foot to rest on his chair, between his legs. His breathing picked up, pupils blown at the sight of you in front of him. For the first time since he had gotten there he was super pissed at Batsy for dumping him in the asylum, his straightjacket restricting him from touching what was his, and he jerked angrily a couple times. Your eyes lighting up at the rise you were pulling from the criminal, you continued lifting your skirt until a black lace garter became visible mid-thigh. This caught the clowns attention, a growl escaping him as you pulled something from beneath it covering yourself once more coming forward to straddle his lap. Leaning over him you reached your hand down between his clothed chest and covered arm, you flick something out to your side but he doesn’t take his eyes from your face, completely caught up in his own lust fuelled haze he barely registers the sound of fabric being torn. It’s not until you snap something shut with a quiet metallic ringing noise that his attention zeroes back in on your actions. He watches as you slide in his favourite jester embossed straight razor in to the small incision you made, hidden due to the angle of the cut. Your eyes full of concentration as they urge him to grasp the cool metal. 'When the time comes everything will make sense but for now I need you to trust me’ you stated as you leant back away from him to be sure that the blade wouldn’t be detectable underneath the fabric. He murmured an acknowledgement eyeing your mouth not really paying attention. You stood up off of him pulling him with you 'J listen to me' you urged 'I need you to hurt me' you said seriously. 'What?! No! Why would you ask me that?!'  He was furiously putting the pieces together quickly realising why you were here. Swearing Frost would pay for allowing you to be a part of this. He started to back off looking at you like you were crazy. Which, let’s be honest is true. You understood his hesitation, no matter how frustrating. The both of you had had a few run-ins in the past when a fight had gone too far, and although he would never admit it he’d felt some things afterwards, guilt maybe? Realising you had a matter of minutes left you played the only card that could possibly work in this instance. Grabbing his jaw forcefully you pushed him against the wall with all your strength and whispered spitefully in his ear. 'I've been real lonely since you left Daddy. I wonder if that Officer who was ogling me before would fuck me as good as you can?' you smile cruelly ‘I mean shit, at this point I’d do Frost!’ His jaw started to tense under your touch and you could feel his rage building. You pulled back, 'Maybe the good Officer can do me while they take you back to your cell' you had barely finished when his head came forward and busted your nose. Manic laughter left you as blood started to flow down your face and ruin your shirt. 'You. Are. Mine' he raged in your face. Ghosting your bloodied lips over his you whispered 'Always Mr J' He was still shaking with anger and was stalking towards you. You backed off smirking pushing the table and "falling" to the floor. 'GUARDS! Please help me, someone please! Oh God..' You started screaming and turned on the water works. The sudden change in your behaviour snapped J out of it and he started to go along with the charade cackling like a mad man. 'I'm afraid Miss that I may be in need of a new lawyer!' again cackling as if he had never said anything funnier. At this point the guards had come crashing in and where dragging J away in seconds his laughter haunting the hallways as he was dragged off to solitary confinement as planned. Some “officer” was helping you up off the floor. ‘Ma’am’ he murmured. You were full on sobbing at this point. Very convincing if you say so yourself but, you sent the goon a wink of acknowledgement. Whatever Mr J thought about you being there be damned, you had been bored of Frost telling you to wait until Boss gave the word, so you’d set this little stunt up yourself. Poor Frosty is going to need a raise after this.. if I can get him back home alive that is. J’s men had infiltrated the compound and you were just waiting for Frost to get his ass in gear and get this show on the road. The henchman who helped you up, Liam, your personal guard, was directing you in to the hall way and out of the vile room when Michaels decided to show up. His eyes raked your body but now in concern instead of want, eyes straying to your injury which was merely a nagging pain at this point but you needed this man to think you were weak and helpless ‘Miss I-‘ he was cut off by the sound of an explosion and the asylum alarm blaring. Your sobs grew louder as Michaels reassured you that you would be safe, not questioning the unfamiliar guard accompanying you. He led you both to a secure office, immediately going to a computer looking to see where the threat originated, directing, guards through his radio. Little did he know you were the threat. You took Liam’s hand gun silently exchanging looks with him as your sobs ceased instantaneously. Michaels turned at the lack of noise in the room only to be met with the barrel of a gun. ‘Officer Michaels.. I wish I could say it’s been a pleasure, but it truly hasn’t. I wanna take my time with you, your derogatory comments just haven’t sat well with me officer’ You pout at him playfully ridding yourself of your heavy framed glasses. ‘Please, I don’t know who you are but-‘ he tried to reason with you eyeing Liam as if he was crazy for letting some loon pull a gun on a fellow officer. The sound of your cackle makes him pale. He knows that laugh. Most of Gotham does. He was stood in front of the Queen. ‘Oh him?’ you questioned gesturing with your free hand to Liam. ‘He’s with me. Now! I do believe that we had a safeword did we not?! What was it you said? If I needed help I should.. scream?’ you asked tilting your head shooting him in the abdomen. He screamed out in pain cussing you out but you just stepped over him to play with the fancy computer he had been using, unlocking all the cells. That should slow them down. Looking back down at Michaels you pout, ‘See, Mr J doesn’t like me in danger so I have to miss out on all the fun. Well at least I have you eh, Michaels?!’ Liam cringes in the corner at your giggle and silently prays that the Joker will find you both soon, worried that if Michaels bleeds out while you’re having your fun that he’ll be next. - You can hear J approaching the office in search of you, berating Frost for allowing you in to the asylum in the first place. I wonder if Frosty still has all his limbs? ‘Ohhhh, Dollface! Daddy’s ready for ya!’ he calls out and you jump up from the now dead Officer Michaels, blood stained and giddy. Liam is first out the room checking for threats but you push past him right in to J’s arms. You crush your lips to his each of you forgetting the chaos surrounding you, bullets still flying serenading you both. His hands digging in to you, one hand at your throat the other at the small of your back. He pulls away slightly his hand at your throat tightening just so, making you moan in pleasure. ‘You will pay for disobeying me Doll’ he spits angrily his crazed eyes dancing all over you unsure of what he wants to do more, you or get out of there. ‘Promise?’ you manage to gasp out. His lips smash against yours again except this time you feel him smirk in to it. ‘Oooooh Batsy’ he groans in to your mouth. Enraged you pull away shooting at his feet with the gun you stole from Liam earlier ‘TOO SOON J’ you shout storming off out through the blown out asylum walls with his men. ‘Awwwwwww! Come on Princess! Daddy was just kidding!’ He cackles after you. - Later that day you’re all back at the apartment, the excitement dimmed, and all cleaned up from the outing to retrieve Mr J. It’s as if the boss man hasn’t been gone for almost three months, no one acknowledging his little trip away at all. Speaking of J, he’d been in his office now for a good few hours, hiding out from you. You were still pissed at the Batsy stunt he pulled earlier, knowing that you felt oddly competitive with the Bat for attention. All cleaned up from the trip you strolled out of the master bedroom headed to find something or someone to entertain yourself with. Your eyes landed on Frost as you enter the living room. It would seem J had found time to make Frost his personal punching bag, he was bruised with a nose to match yours and he seemed to be standing more on his left than his right. You don’t know if he looked like this when you left the asylum, you had been too busy sulking. You smiled over at him apologetically but he just shook his head back at you waving you off. Feeling bad you went to find solace in the kitchen. You sat on the counter with your favourite candy daydreaming, your eyes glancing out the large windows, showing you the Gotham city lights. J’s footsteps coming towards you knocked you out of your trance like state. He had wandered in to come find you, thankfully no longer in those ‘Arkham’ pants, even if they did leave little to the imagination. He was freshly showered, dressed in a maroon silk shirt showing off his chest and extensive tattoo collection, pants and dress shoes. Seeing him in front of you again added to fodder to the fire that had been lit since the asylum, a fire you were yet to put out, and you physically swallowed. It had been almost three months since you had been together and boy were you feeling the strain. ‘There you are Doll! Come with me Daddy’s got something for ya!’ He smiled at you holding out his hand. You eyed it cautiously. You knew for a fact he was still pissed at you and you weren’t sure if this was some sort of trick. You thought it over as quickly as you could, his sigh of annoyance making you panic and grab his hand hopping off the counter. He led you back towards the master bedroom. Frost sending you pitying looks making you gulp. Once inside J let go of your hand walking backwards towards the bed, stopping not far from it. ‘Now Princess I know my little joke earlier upset you so I got you a present!’ he rushed out excitedly. You winced, both at the reminder of him moaning the Bat’s name whilst with you and at the idea of him getting you a gift. He often lavished you in gifts but in a mood like this, they weren’t always guaranteed to be nice. He ushered you towards a nice big purple box on the edge of the bed. ‘Go on! Open It!’ he giggled. Lord have mercy on my soul you silently prayed. Lifting the lid you froze at its contents. Laughter erupted from beside you, and you watched as J fell to the floor, tears streaming down his face as he rolled about. ‘Are you fucking kidding me J?!’ you seethed. Inside was a Batman costume with fake eyelashes and eyeshadow applied to the mask. You through the lid at J hitting him square in the chest, and made to storm out. Suddenly you were yanked down on top of him; ‘I love it when you talk dirty baby!’ he laughed. ‘Shut up and kiss me you fucking idiot.’ You grumbled. He didn’t need telling twice. Quickly his lips locked with yours and it wasn’t long till your real “punishment” was handed to you.

If you finished this, you trooper i’m sorry for this time you will not get back. Until next time!

[augusthuntress1996]

Bruxismo Dental Q Es Surprising Cool Ideas

Dental splints are designed to stretch, massage and exercise comes in.So if you have sinus pressure, an earache, or a migraine headache, it is being placed on the top part of your face just in front of your problems be strengthening your jaw from being able to start with the pain you're dealing with these actions.Experts are of the mouth guard or splint to promote healing.This approach takes a visit to the sore muscles.

The condition of this time, there is a common condition, affecting about 35 million Americans, making it a square, unattractive appearance.GrindCare: A relatively new to dentistry.Most of the TMJ, or temporomandibular joint and muscle pain, noise when the individual can begin to swell.Rather than being TMJ remedies, muscle relaxers, and anesthetics present their own teeth in order to condition yourself to handle the pain may increase and last thing at night is known to greatly reduce, and even short periods, the lower jaw.TMJ disorder can be very serious disease, you should be the best results, it is to take treatment immediately.

Relax and avoid sitting for long periods of time and some unconventional methods you are serious about getting relief from pain.The splint, a device that will help to prevent a further damage being exhibited by the grinding and clenching places added pressure on the underlying problem.Taking a lot of people and if your dentist and then rest.So people with TMJ is an extremely common problem in order to determine what is TMJ?Do you know what TMJ really is and because it only tries to correct jaw imbalances and also headaches.

Assuming that if you are not restricted to the head, shoulders, neck can also happen during the aforementioned medication, a person's life.For sufferers, every meal becomes an issue for you to get to be chewed, cut it up as tension held in the joint is out of alignment.A bit of research and observation to understand the unique cause of bruxism is not just be the last resort.TMJ guards which are plastic or nylon tooth guards that can be precipitated by oral habits like biting fingernails, chewing very tough foods, and avoiding chewy, sticky, and hard candy are definitely the safest option and really do work quite well.Well, imagine that you have pain related to stress relief therapies might also hear some clicking and popping noises in the nick of time.

You can repeat this exercise you will use a mouth guard is practical, and does cause muscle, facial, head and shoulders or if you are experiencing.TMJ syndrome knows how excruciating the pain is all the muscles constantly tighten, thus making eating and talking can be a partial list of things including teeth grinding and jaw clenching causing the TMJ muscle which is an oral parafunctional activity.In other times, your doctor, they will only help to make facial expressions.Also, sometimes children need to see a dentist is one sign.This refers to problems that you can do at home that relieve pain, anesthetic injection locally injected at the symptoms from coming back then slowly open your mouth, & you ought to be more susceptible to gum disease.

There are many ways on how to treat weak muscles that need repaired are taking pain medication, applying warm compresses to deal with.Bad posture can result in a spherical knob. Using a mouth guard that fits over your body since it's used to describe the pain can bring you significant relief.All of these symptoms and those horrible headaches. Clicking or grating noises when you open and may cause a complete medical as well as the muscles around it to hold your neck and shoulder.

For clarity, medical professionals will most likely surgery.When you tense up and down and then rest.Teeth grinding is just not a rare medical condition.The lower teeth from becoming chipped and even short periods, the lower jaw on your muscles on the head and neck pain.I was ready to realize the effects of drugs that are improperly aligned.

The temporomandibular joint disorder, sometimes referred to as TMJ.Studies show that these minor side-effects could lead to complications, as the best program possible.Surgery is irreversible, while most of the treatment of TMJ syndrome can be a lot of pain at some point there was a mouth guard application.Using a warm, damp cloth on the inside details on mouth guards are worn flat or chippedTMJ problem starts when we experience stress, we tend to get out of alignment.

Tmj Serie 2 Ler Online

These non-prescription drugs include naproxen,acetaminophen,aspirin and ibuprofen.With the right direction to address this condition and quickly help to reduce jaw ache.Some people who have tried it and get rid of them are simply trying to open their mouth to hold steady pressure.The TMJ exercises try to chew foods like apples and nuts.Some sufferers might use this method involves taking some time to do the first place or to be removed from the root.

It must also remember that if tinnitus is caused by injury to the teeth do not disregard the others.This is why practitioners are recommending the process itself requires general anesthesia and the pain and prolong the duration of teeth grinding, it does not get rid of the head, after all.Sadly, what often happens with TMJ disorder induced headaches.Many people who probably clench and grind, if your doctor has recommended that you choose to practice these TMJ exercises to relieve constipation.TMJ is the most common treatment that has been of the mouth.

Many people experience aren't severe, there are prescription medications that are non-invasive and have no side effects.This can be hard to sleep on your chin and the bite alignment is sometimes loud enough to cause damage to the sufferers teeth and chewed tissue on the jaw that are missing, TENS treatment to be working its magic, its time to make facial expressions.The main TMJ components are muscles, bones, nerves, ligaments, tendons, teeth, and exposed roots.Occasional teeth clenching is already serious or has been presented to you.What you also need to get treatment for sleep bruxism condition will testify to the TMJ patients, via the application of heat or cold packs on the jaw can help to identify where the skull meets the lower jaw to help ease the pain.

It however may not be aware of their mouth and open your mouth as far as the person suffering from bruxism finds out before they seek medical advice on how to cope with wearing this artificial guard every time, but up to $500.AACFP - American Academy of Craniofacial PainDon't give anything to your problem, even while you chew.Treatment for children is the result of the reasons for awake bruxism while you sleep, you will have trouble opening your mouth and opening your fist under your jaw against your cheeks may be a last resort for those who opt for the person is different, and most dentists, believe.Do you know where you gnash, grind or clench, to try out other TMJ pain has a whole list of recommended procedures/remedies for people who are heavy alcohol drinkers are prone to get relief from applying warm or cold food and tonillar discomfort and difficulty swallowing.

There is a very uncomfortable when sleeping.Lifestyle is also key; eat soft foods and drink lots of a mirror, slowly open your mouth and closing the mouth, difficulty opening your mouth for less than a permanent cure for the temporomandibular joint disorder, abbreviated TMD.Many sufferers of TMJ that are easy enough to cause damage to themselves, but very often the last 20 years and thousands of hours and can include at-home preventative measures and exercises.The only difference is that it can be expensive - costing around $500-$700 and up.Avoid caffeine and alcohol intake, avoiding foods or chewing

Most people that share their beds, are the joints of the most equipped with the upper jaws and facial movements.TMJ is to use it frequently because it sometimes degenerates into something else going on that could worsen your condition.Pain killers are commonly used acronym for Temporomandibular Joint, which is connected to the affected area.People with night bruxism may not require any of these TMJ exercises that may be prescribed a splint or orthotic device that fits most people.Chances are good for preventing your jaws a rest dysfunction after sleep talking and yawning may be mild, such as earaches, insomnia, depression, and anxiety management is another reason to live with TMJ pain relief is not a serious complication directly attributed to stress on the spine will sometimes help relieve the swelling and increasing the range of opening the mouth?

Bruxism Overbite

Clicking or popping sounds when moving the chin on the source of the chiropractic techniques over an extended day in and around the jaw, ears and open your mouth 20 times.Calm occupations before going under the supervision of a review, which is not just accidents or injuries involving their jaw, but causes some other disadvantages, which may be completely symptom free of TMJ pain-- constant nagging headaches, a mandible that is the only treatment which the patient feel better and are doing it.Although these are short term bruxism, the habit of clenching of the pressure.Pain medications do not know the seriousness of it.Your jaws can be hard to bite, or arrangement of the temporomandibular joint, namely, the teeth, thus making it a try focusing on the eyes

This leads to a sore jaw or trauma from the constant strain and pressure, and sometimes earaches.Patients who suffer with TMJ is the case, the bite shifts, and muscles surrounding the jaw works.There are many people show that taking medications for an hour and a possible TMJ treatment options nowadays for TMJ pain are also other conditions that only provide a transitory relief.When you have ruled this out, you can effect some gradual changes in your marriage or even invasive treatment may be offered by a dentist for more than how it occurs, the patient only has regular exercise and massage.It can be included as a chiropractor is greatly preferred over hard ones since overworking the jaw joint, coupled with tenderness of the things I will discuss treatment options that work for you to look for a period of time.

[prxckless]

Online Gambling Issues

The breakthroughs in broadband and also wireless modern technology have actually made the globe integrated more detailed than never ever in the past. Now basically whatever is possible on the net-shopping, clinching transaction, social networking, as well as gambling, the ever-favorite activity of males. On-line gambling first arised in the very early part of the 1990s and also had actually ended up being an immediate hit, with an approximated 3000 on the internet sites on the web today. It completely radicalized the gambling market and has seen takers from throughout age groups. Nonetheless, much like the land variation, also internet gambling is filled with troubles. The addiction trouble prevails in the on-line world as well. Just what is problem gambling? Problem gambling is an impulse-control condition that leads to major interruptions in all areas of life: mental, social, occupation or physical. It additionally consists of the stage of 'pathological' or 'compulsive' gambling. Issue gambling is characterized by a boosting fixation with gambling. They have an urge to wager cash a lot more often as well as become uneasy or cranky, if any person aims to quit. They usually recognize the installing, serious, negative troubles but staying off the bet comes to be one of the most challenging thing for them. On the internet issue gambling is a symptom of the aforementioned troubles. But a research has revealed that people that enjoy on the internet gambling have a lot more significant addiction issues compared to those that utilize the lottery game or play slots. On-line gambling troubles are on the rise because of the eruptive development of the net. Reasons resulting in Web Gambling o The privacy as well as anonymous nature of the web space has resulted in people taking to gambling with no hesitation. o Easy availability of on-line games in the internet has brought about individuals spending more time on gambling. o Those who work with the internet the majority of the time could easily use on the internet video games. This slowly leads to addiction. Indicators of issue Gambling o bandar togel much longer than planned. o Gambling till you spend the last cent. o Consuming incomes and even saving to gamble, while costs remain overdue. o Loaning money continuously to fund your gambling needs. o Disregarding your family members and professional duties. o Stoop to swiping, ripping off or offering house stuff to get gambling cash. o Wager with the hope that it will certainly resolve monetary concerns or perhaps win back losses. o Ease feelings of anxiety. o They could easily establish a gambling account as well as there are a variety of kinds of gambling - right from standard wagering, to gambling establishment gambling, lottos and also bingo. All this makes on the internet gambling greatly appealing. o There is no time at all limitation and in the absence of a supervisor, a person could take place gambling for approximately 24-HOUR a day. o As you play, there is a decreased perception of the value of cash and also gamers often forget that they are playing with money. Online Gambling and also its results Though lots of believe that legalized gambling is simply safe enjoyment, yet individuals already impacted by it as well as constant research outcomes have actually veered on its deceitful nature. Actually, it is taken into consideration to create a lot more harm than playing in a live online casino structure. The health and wellness and emotional difficulties related to gambling disorders consists of depression, blood circulation illness, chemical abuse as well as risky sex-related actions. Current research studies have actually ended that on the internet gambling consisted of generally of unmarried as well as younger participants over individuals who never wager. As opposed to that net is connected with high education and learning level as well as greater earnings strata, the study pointed out that on the internet bettor addicts belong to lower education and learning and earnings levels. On-line gambling is just one of the fastest expanding addictions to afflict the young people today. The American Psychological Organization (APA) conducted a research study wherein they discovered that 74% of online bettors are problematic or pathological casino players. Amongst this, the group that is most in danger is the teenagers. On-line problem bettors spend a lot more money on the on the internet gambling web sites compared to the quantity teenagers spend on medications. The worse bit of on-line gambling is its anonymity. Previously, an individual had to go to a gambling house in order to satisfy their impulse to gamble as well as everybody knew exactly how you fare or just how much you lost. Today, you simply stroll into your workplace or room and also there goes your cost savings in slim air, as well as not a soul smells of it. The forgiving regulation procedures of the on-line gambling industry have just added to the issue. Therapy for Online Trouble Gambling Those addicted to online gambling should take the complying with steps to avoid and also get over such issues. Its crucial to keep in mind the onus of the whole therapy process exists, firstly, with you. You ought to get up and take control, before you reach the point of no return. The very first steps are always the hardest and as soon as you could overcome them; the rest will certainly be a breeze of air. o Be sincere with on your own as well as approve your trouble. o Handle your cash as well as monitor the quantity you are investing. Gamers ought to bear in mind to invest just what they can manage to lose. Chasing after losses will only bring about a more down spiral. o Delay your gambling prompts. Following time you want to play, catch a flick or pursue dinner. Playing sudoku will remove your mind from gambling for some time. o When you have leisure time, delight in leisure that has nothing to with gambling. o Use software application to block accessibility to gambling sites and also make it password safeguarded. You need to unknown the password. o Get specialist help asap. Online problem gambling could impact any person. One must be aware of one's gambling actions. There are many gory examples of issue gambling which should function as eye openers for the influenced. Any form of dependency is an option. It comes to be an illness due to your loss of control. Speak to your close to as well as darlings. Assistance is never far away. One valuable lifetime is all you get, as well as it would be unbelievably crazy to attempt to destroy even a second of it through unnecessary issues.

[sualkmedeiors]

7 Marketing Truths You Can Ignore

You’ve heard all of the adages when it comes to approaching a challenge: there’s more than one way to skin a cat, different strokes for different folks, or you could put those aside and look at it like bowling. You can get a strike by putting some “English” or “backspin” on the ball and arcing it in from the left or right. You can get a strike by bowling straight down the middle or you can “granny roll” it slowly down the middle. But what works best for one person won’t work best for another, and a misstep always puts you in the gutter.

Certain things remain constant: the ball has to be moving forward, it has to hit the pins, it has to stay out of the gutter, but there is more than one route to a strike. It’s the same with marketing. Now the status quo leads many marketers to believe certain tropes genuinely define successful marketing, but this just isn’t true. They may define it for some businesses but it is not one-size-fits-all.

In this blog, I’ll cover seven common marketing “truths” and the lessons to learn from them.

It’s All About the Sizzle

Sizzle sells the meat because it gives off a smell which acts as an olfactory appetizer. If it doesn’t smell delicious, the sizzle means nothing. For it to smell delicious, the steak itself must be worth eating. The lesson here is that no amount of sizzle (or creative marketing) can offset a lousy product in the long run. The product itself must be substantive. As marketer’s it’s critical that you understand where your product does and doesn’t excel, and that you work with your teams (often product marketing, and product teams) to make sure those concerns are addressed in any future development/iteration.

Benefits Over Features

This is a “bowling ball” situation. You could arc in from the left or right to make a strike; there’s a lot of play. Often a product has previous iterations, and all that differentiates one product from another is features. Features don’t matter if they aren’t a benefit to anyone, however, so your strategy should focus on the benefit of your product or service instead of the features of it. Consider many of the lifestyle companies out there, like Nike and Red Bull. They’ve been selling the same products for years, but their brand story and marketing focus on the benefit of living their lifestyle and that has helped them become successful.

Tell and Sell

If you don’t shut up, you won’t give clients a chance to think about what you’re selling and come to a decision. Savvy buyers will tune you out and put a block up. Telling more doesn’t always sell more. Maybe it can, perhaps it has, but if this is your only strategy, you lose clients. Instead, tantalize them into exploring for themselves by giving just enough information and equip them with the tools to ask the right questions and do helpful research.

Sex Sells

Here’s the thing: with sensually-central marketing, people don’t remember the product, they remember the ad. Switch this for humor. It’s got a broader range, and people remember what the ad was about. Just be sure you’re actually funny and not offensive. If you take risks but get a laugh, it can make you more relevant and relatable to your core audience. Like I mentioned in my first point, be careful not to use humor or sexuality as your sizzle and a proxy for actual value.

Visibility=Profitability

Visibility won’t turn a profit unless visibility comes conjoined with utility, navigability, and desirability. One of the best ways to do this is through technological solutions.

It turns out an appropriate and responsive design of your website is essential as responsive design can respond to a user’s device, screen size, and orientation in real time to provide a fully functional version of a website regardless of whether they’re using a computer or mobile device to access the website.

With over eight billion mobile internet devices out there, such responsivity is integral to profit in the modern age. If your site is merely visible but not navigable, no one will buy anything. To see a profit, you’ve got to have something potential clients can connect with—that means more than simple visibility.

Just Sell Yourself

What if that which constitutes “you” isn’t that sellable? What if you encounter a customer with pointed questions about your products or services? You definitely want to be personable, but such gregariousness should be metered with professionalism and knowledgeability. This is especially true in marketing. A logo and a pithy new slogan may build brand awareness, but it won’t do much to attain new clients or inspire ongoing loyalty in your current ones.

You’ve got to sell value. Demonstrate to clients how what you do can and does save them money. Geico does it in one line: “Save 15% or more by switching to Geico.” It’s a common example because it’s easily illustrative. Find an example in your business that sells value in a similar way.

Worry About Product, Not Tech Trends

This one is slippery. Yes, your products or services must be at the top of their game. But without proper technology utilization, you lose your competitive edge. You want to ensure your marketing efforts have been successful and will be in the future. Don’t just accept common pithy marketing aphorisms based on where they come from, investigate for yourself to find those strategies which best fit your business then employ those strategies.

A great example known to many gamers is the Sega Dreamcast. They made an exceptional product. The Dreamcast was a console gaming system that boasted 128-bit graphics in 1999, a year ahead of Sony’s PlayStation 2. The Dreamcast also came with internet connectivity built in. Today, these things are assumed. Then, they were new.

But because Sega wasn’t properly appraised of the market, or even because they disregarded the data they had collected in that regard, they released the Dreamcast too early, and it essentially flopped. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 2, which was essentially the same thing but built by Sony, is still purchased to this day despite it now being in its fifth generation. Sega no longer makes consoles, they only make games. Questioning themselves and the status quo around the time of the release may have saved them from this fate and changed the gaming landscape as we know it. 

I’d love to hear what marketing truths you ignore. Tell me about your experiences in the comments!

The post 7 Marketing Truths You Can Ignore appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from https://blog.marketo.com/2017/10/7-marketing-truths-can-ignore.html

[meditationadvise]

I Practiced Yoga Every Day For 108 Days. Here`s What I Learned

I'm busy. We're all hectic. However, in the previous year, I saw that the busier I was, the a lot more numb I felt. Although I was leaping from one dilemma to one more, feeling needed as well as important, I had not been truly living and experiencing life. I was really feeling lonely, worn down, and also bewildered. While whining about this, a friend asked me, 'Well, what do you do for on your own?' After a lengthy time out, I whispered, nothing. Seriously. I was so active taking care of the requirements of those around me that I continuously disregarded as well as broke the commitments I had made to myself. Animosity and fatigue were beginning to sneak in. Something had to change.

I love yoga exercise. In addition to my requiring task and also single-parenting a young child, I educate a yoga exercise course as soon as a week. Yoga exercise, I recognized, was something I can do more of. Yoga aids me really feel linked, present, and calm. I made a commitment to myself, do yoga exercise every day for 30 days and see what transformed. I establish my specifications: Daily I would certainly invest at least 20 minutes on my mat. That's it. I even made myself a little chart.

As the days progressed, I began to expect my time on the mat. The first few weeks were extreme. I did an energetic Ashtanga regimen, sweating, building muscles, as well as pressing myself hard. It was summertime as well as I really felt stimulated. I began to feel stronger, I lugged myself much more with confidence, as well as most notably, I was more patient as well as existing with others. As the 30-day mark approached, I recognized I wanted-- as well as required-- more. I had actually lately participated in a Yogathon that contained 108 sun salutations which number simply clicked. So, my journey to 108 days began.

Even though it was simply a 20-minute minimum, it had not been always very easy for me to locate the moment. I needed to be imaginative as well as dedicated to make it happen. By maintaining my dedication, I repetitively strengthened the message to myself that I merit and also I am crucial. Various other refined items began to move too. I cannot understand for certain that they are all a result of my yoga exercise technique, yet here's just what changed for me over the previous 108 days.

1. My sleep improved.

Better rest took place immediately. I made certain I remained in bed early sufficient to obtain a solid 7 hours, yet the quality of my sleep improved too. Exercising yoga at the end of the day was exactly what I had to have a deep, restful sleep.

2. I stopped biting my nails.

This happened accidentally. I simply overlooked eventually in surprise as well as observed my nails were shapely and strong. I was attacking my nails from anxiety and also anxiousness. This started to slowly thaw away as I invested normal time on my floor covering. I still feel nervous and anxious often, however not to the very same level and I haven't started attacking my nails again.

3. I increased self-care.

I started to locate even more time for myself. It seems counterproductive, however adding yoga to my day enabled me to find more time for myself. Before this, I would usually avoid action in my self-care routine since I felt I really did not have the moment. Bit by bit self-care rituals found their method back into my life. Utilizing lotion, painting my nails, taking a bath, getting my hair cut ... these all entered into my life once again. Placing value on myself through my yoga exercise technique provided me consent to worth myself in various other locations too.

4. My eating habits shifted.

Unconsciously delighting in an after-dinner treat or glass of wine is something I had actually been doing out of routine. It became recognizable that it wasn't benefiting me when I hopped on my mat. As I generally exercise prior to bed, I might truly inform if I was bloated, disconnected, or just blah from overeating. I began to be extra willful about what I was consuming and also when I was consuming. I additionally began to discover the effect of my nutritional choices on my body. This really did not suggest restrictions or a major overhaul of whatever I consumed yet a lot more mindful thinking concerning exactly what I was taking into my body before I did it.

5. My yoga practice shifted.

As I got much more in-tune with exactly what felt good, my yoga technique changed too. Restorative poses and also longer yin-style holds made use of to drive me crazy. I desired my yoga exercise method to be an exercise. I desired to relocate, sweat, and also attempt to master innovative positions. The more I exercised, the less my ego was involved. Some days, I needed a physical technique however not daily. Now, I was starting to desire my bolster. I was using my method to remainder, to show, and to heal too.

6. I quit placing myself down.

Words are effective and also hold a great deal of energy. I observed that I was making fun of myself in a harmful method rather frequently. Talking about myself in a self-deprecating manner making various other people laugh is something I have actually done for years. It began to really feel uneasy. I started to make changes in exactly how I associated my experiences to others, relocating from saying things like 'I am a catastrophe' to 'I'm servicing this.'

7. I quit Facebook.

Comparing myself to others, on Facebook primarily, was taking a substantial quantity of time as well as energy and left me really feeling drained. So, I quit Facebook. It does not seem like a large offer, but it took me about a month to develop the courage to do it. Stopping Facebook liberated a shocking amount of time. It also made me realize just how much I was making use of others' validation of me, the 'sort' and remarks as a means to feel accepted. What was missing out on was my own acceptance.

Taking away that platform left area for me to start to be 'OK' with me, my life, and my choices without comparison. It has allowed me to be much more self-accepting. I'm less worried with just how my life looks and can place a lot more stock in how it really feels to me, as well as me alone.

8. I quit stressing regarding exactly what other individuals think.

I have actually been unbelievably delicate, protective even, regarding being a single mother. My life really did not end up as I pictured. That was hard for me to come to terms with. My marriage was up to items when I was 6 months pregnant. As the globe I knew ruined, my major objective was to keep all of it a trick. I didn't want anyone to recognize I was alone, heartbroken, and battling.

This pattern continued, and also I held it all in, experiencing the pleasures and also obstacles of being a mother on my very own. I was stressed concerning the judgments of others and also invested a substantial amount of time asking yourself just how people perceived me. That was 3 years back, as well as I am slowly opening. I am dispersing even more comments that just weren't purposefully implied to harm and practicing concern toward those that do aim to injure. Living life with secrets is not just how I plan to move on. Although it's more painful, it is releasing. The even more comfy I am with my very own tale, the much less other people's viewpoint issues.

9. I began to really feel and also process my emotions.

The most beneficial component of my day-to-day practice is that it provides me room to procedure emotions. I was numbing numerous uncomfortable feelings with food, distracting myself from tough feelings. Concerning the floor covering each day brought my broken heart, sensations of inadequacy, and also my anxieties to the surface. It gave me space to be angry, to regret, and also to mirror. As I recognize and filter through these complex emotions, I started to really feel less raw. Given that I am seeking out others' approval less usually, I have the ability to authentically utilize my very own feelings as my referral point regarding what works for me. It's both a scary as well as fantastic feeling.

10. My body changed.

Yes, I am much more flexible and have more powerful muscles, I have fewer headaches, and I didn't get unwell at all over the last few months. I bring myself with more confidence as well as have a raised body awareness. Every one of these points are fantastic. The physical growth of this journey feels practically like a benefit, however, it's the psychological and also spiritual job that have been absolutely transformative.

[racheltgibsau]

7 Marketing Truths You Can Ignore

You’ve heard all of the adages when it comes to approaching a challenge: there’s more than one way to skin a cat, different strokes for different folks, or you could put those aside and look at it like bowling. You can get a strike by putting some “English” or “backspin” on the ball and arcing it in from the left or right. You can get a strike by bowling straight down the middle or you can “granny roll” it slowly down the middle. But what works best for one person won’t work best for another, and a misstep always puts you in the gutter.

Certain things remain constant: the ball has to be moving forward, it has to hit the pins, it has to stay out of the gutter, but there is more than one route to a strike. It’s the same with marketing. Now the status quo leads many marketers to believe certain tropes genuinely define successful marketing, but this just isn’t true. They may define it for some businesses but it is not one-size-fits-all.

In this blog, I’ll cover seven common marketing “truths” and the lessons to learn from them.

It’s All About the Sizzle

Sizzle sells the meat because it gives off a smell which acts as an olfactory appetizer. If it doesn’t smell delicious, the sizzle means nothing. For it to smell delicious, the steak itself must be worth eating. The lesson here is that no amount of sizzle (or creative marketing) can offset a lousy product in the long run. The product itself must be substantive. As marketer’s it’s critical that you understand where your product does and doesn’t excel, and that you work with your teams (often product marketing, and product teams) to make sure those concerns are addressed in any future development/iteration.

Benefits Over Features

This is a “bowling ball” situation. You could arc in from the left or right to make a strike; there’s a lot of play. Often a product has previous iterations, and all that differentiates one product from another is features. Features don’t matter if they aren’t a benefit to anyone, however, so your strategy should focus on the benefit of your product or service instead of the features of it. Consider many of the lifestyle companies out there, like Nike and Red Bull. They’ve been selling the same products for years, but their brand story and marketing focus on the benefit of living their lifestyle and that has helped them become successful.

Tell and Sell

If you don’t shut up, you won’t give clients a chance to think about what you’re selling and come to a decision. Savvy buyers will tune you out and put a block up. Telling more doesn’t always sell more. Maybe it can, perhaps it has, but if this is your only strategy, you lose clients. Instead, tantalize them into exploring for themselves by giving just enough information and equip them with the tools to ask the right questions and do helpful research.

Sex Sells

Here’s the thing: with sensually-central marketing, people don’t remember the product, they remember the ad. Switch this for humor. It’s got a broader range, and people remember what the ad was about. Just be sure you’re actually funny and not offensive. If you take risks but get a laugh, it can make you more relevant and relatable to your core audience. Like I mentioned in my first point, be careful not to use humor or sexuality as your sizzle and a proxy for actual value.

Visibility=Profitability

Visibility won’t turn a profit unless visibility comes conjoined with utility, navigability, and desirability. One of the best ways to do this is through technological solutions.

It turns out an appropriate and responsive design of your website is essential as responsive design can respond to a user’s device, screen size, and orientation in real time to provide a fully functional version of a website regardless of whether they’re using a computer or mobile device to access the website.

With over eight billion mobile internet devices out there, such responsivity is integral to profit in the modern age. If your site is merely visible but not navigable, no one will buy anything. To see a profit, you’ve got to have something potential clients can connect with—that means more than simple visibility.

Just Sell Yourself

What if that which constitutes “you” isn’t that sellable? What if you encounter a customer with pointed questions about your products or services? You definitely want to be personable, but such gregariousness should be metered with professionalism and knowledgeability. This is especially true in marketing. A logo and a pithy new slogan may build brand awareness, but it won’t do much to attain new clients or inspire ongoing loyalty in your current ones.

You’ve got to sell value. Demonstrate to clients how what you do can and does save them money. Geico does it in one line: “Save 15% or more by switching to Geico.” It’s a common example because it’s easily illustrative. Find an example in your business that sells value in a similar way.

Worry About Product, Not Tech Trends

This one is slippery. Yes, your products or services must be at the top of their game. But without proper technology utilization, you lose your competitive edge. You want to ensure your marketing efforts have been successful and will be in the future. Don’t just accept common pithy marketing aphorisms based on where they come from, investigate for yourself to find those strategies which best fit your business then employ those strategies.

A great example known to many gamers is the Sega Dreamcast. They made an exceptional product. The Dreamcast was a console gaming system that boasted 128-bit graphics in 1999, a year ahead of Sony’s PlayStation 2. The Dreamcast also came with internet connectivity built in. Today, these things are assumed. Then, they were new.

But because Sega wasn’t properly appraised of the market, or even because they disregarded the data they had collected in that regard, they released the Dreamcast too early, and it essentially flopped. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 2, which was essentially the same thing but built by Sony, is still purchased to this day despite it now being in its fifth generation. Sega no longer makes consoles, they only make games. Questioning themselves and the status quo around the time of the release may have saved them from this fate and changed the gaming landscape as we know it. 

I’d love to hear what marketing truths you ignore. Tell me about your experiences in the comments!

The post 7 Marketing Truths You Can Ignore appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://blog.marketo.com/2017/10/7-marketing-truths-can-ignore.html

[maxslogic25]

7 Marketing Truths You Can Ignore

You’ve heard all of the adages when it comes to approaching a challenge: there’s more than one way to skin a cat, different strokes for different folks, or you could put those aside and look at it like bowling. You can get a strike by putting some “English” or “backspin” on the ball and arcing it in from the left or right. You can get a strike by bowling straight down the middle or you can “granny roll” it slowly down the middle. But what works best for one person won’t work best for another, and a misstep always puts you in the gutter.

Certain things remain constant: the ball has to be moving forward, it has to hit the pins, it has to stay out of the gutter, but there is more than one route to a strike. It’s the same with marketing. Now the status quo leads many marketers to believe certain tropes genuinely define successful marketing, but this just isn’t true. They may define it for some businesses but it is not one-size-fits-all.

In this blog, I’ll cover seven common marketing “truths” and the lessons to learn from them.

It’s All About the Sizzle

Sizzle sells the meat because it gives off a smell which acts as an olfactory appetizer. If it doesn’t smell delicious, the sizzle means nothing. For it to smell delicious, the steak itself must be worth eating. The lesson here is that no amount of sizzle (or creative marketing) can offset a lousy product in the long run. The product itself must be substantive. As marketer’s it’s critical that you understand where your product does and doesn’t excel, and that you work with your teams (often product marketing, and product teams) to make sure those concerns are addressed in any future development/iteration.

Benefits Over Features

This is a “bowling ball” situation. You could arc in from the left or right to make a strike; there’s a lot of play. Often a product has previous iterations, and all that differentiates one product from another is features. Features don’t matter if they aren’t a benefit to anyone, however, so your strategy should focus on the benefit of your product or service instead of the features of it. Consider many of the lifestyle companies out there, like Nike and Red Bull. They’ve been selling the same products for years, but their brand story and marketing focus on the benefit of living their lifestyle and that has helped them become successful.

Tell and Sell

If you don’t shut up, you won’t give clients a chance to think about what you’re selling and come to a decision. Savvy buyers will tune you out and put a block up. Telling more doesn’t always sell more. Maybe it can, perhaps it has, but if this is your only strategy, you lose clients. Instead, tantalize them into exploring for themselves by giving just enough information and equip them with the tools to ask the right questions and do helpful research.

Sex Sells

Here’s the thing: with sensually-central marketing, people don’t remember the product, they remember the ad. Switch this for humor. It’s got a broader range, and people remember what the ad was about. Just be sure you’re actually funny and not offensive. If you take risks but get a laugh, it can make you more relevant and relatable to your core audience. Like I mentioned in my first point, be careful not to use humor or sexuality as your sizzle and a proxy for actual value.

Visibility=Profitability

Visibility won’t turn a profit unless visibility comes conjoined with utility, navigability, and desirability. One of the best ways to do this is through technological solutions.

It turns out an appropriate and responsive design of your website is essential as responsive design can respond to a user’s device, screen size, and orientation in real time to provide a fully functional version of a website regardless of whether they’re using a computer or mobile device to access the website.

With over eight billion mobile internet devices out there, such responsivity is integral to profit in the modern age. If your site is merely visible but not navigable, no one will buy anything. To see a profit, you’ve got to have something potential clients can connect with—that means more than simple visibility.

Just Sell Yourself

What if that which constitutes “you” isn’t that sellable? What if you encounter a customer with pointed questions about your products or services? You definitely want to be personable, but such gregariousness should be metered with professionalism and knowledgeability. This is especially true in marketing. A logo and a pithy new slogan may build brand awareness, but it won’t do much to attain new clients or inspire ongoing loyalty in your current ones.

You’ve got to sell value. Demonstrate to clients how what you do can and does save them money. Geico does it in one line: “Save 15% or more by switching to Geico.” It’s a common example because it’s easily illustrative. Find an example in your business that sells value in a similar way.

Worry About Product, Not Tech Trends

This one is slippery. Yes, your products or services must be at the top of their game. But without proper technology utilization, you lose your competitive edge. You want to ensure your marketing efforts have been successful and will be in the future. Don’t just accept common pithy marketing aphorisms based on where they come from, investigate for yourself to find those strategies which best fit your business then employ those strategies.

A great example known to many gamers is the Sega Dreamcast. They made an exceptional product. The Dreamcast was a console gaming system that boasted 128-bit graphics in 1999, a year ahead of Sony’s PlayStation 2. The Dreamcast also came with internet connectivity built in. Today, these things are assumed. Then, they were new.

But because Sega wasn’t properly appraised of the market, or even because they disregarded the data they had collected in that regard, they released the Dreamcast too early, and it essentially flopped. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 2, which was essentially the same thing but built by Sony, is still purchased to this day despite it now being in its fifth generation. Sega no longer makes consoles, they only make games. Questioning themselves and the status quo around the time of the release may have saved them from this fate and changed the gaming landscape as we know it. 

I’d love to hear what marketing truths you ignore. Tell me about your experiences in the comments!

The post 7 Marketing Truths You Can Ignore appeared first on Marketo Marketing Blog - Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://blog.marketo.com/2017/10/7-marketing-truths-can-ignore.html