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muzansfangs · 24 days

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i’m such a slut for ukitake and age gaps 😩

imagine him lusting after the reader, who is centuries younger than him. he’s technically old enough to be her father. he shouldn’t be feeling this way about her but he simply can’t help it. especially not after finding out she secretly has a thing for older men 😏😏

(bonus points if reader is his vice captain)

The Captain’s guilt.

Starring: Jushiro Ukitake x f!reader; mention to Isane, Rangiku, Shunsui and Yamamoto;

Format: one-shot;

Warnings: nsfw, language, masturbation, self-deprecating, dirty fantasy, age gaps but the reader is 21+, vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, creampie, shy!jushiro, struggling with feelings, unprotected sex, pussy drunk Jushiro, praise kink, dom!jushiro, sub!reader, use of alcohol, nipple play;

Plot: Your Captain is falling for you. Jushiro Ukitake, a noble shinigami, finds himself lusting after his young Lieutenant. Hiding his feelings and the effect you have on him is getting harder day by day. Your presence is intoxicating, but he tries his best not to ruin your relationship. When you end up confessing not only you are into older men, but you also have a crush on him, things take a turn. Nor you, neither him are surprised you ended up screaming his name in the middle of the night, after you offered to help him with work.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

“Good morning, Captain”.

Another day, another smile of yours, another boner he had to camouflage in his baggy robes, as you cluelessly waltzed into his bedroom with a silver tray in your hands to serve him breakfast. Stunning and loving, his Lieutenant, his downfall from the moral principles he had always slavishly followed. He could not control himself around you.

Whilst you knelt next to his futon, you poured some tea in a cup and blew on it to cool it down. When your eyes fluttered closed, Jushiro clenched the sheets in his hands, knuckles whitening for the firm grip as he cursed himself for wanting you. You looked like an angel, taking care of him motherly, as if you genuinely cared for him. Actually, you did, and he was aware of that. He could see it in the way you risked your life on the battlefield to watch his back, when he needed some time to rest, or in the way you looked for the best doctors in the Seireitei to get some medications for him.

If only you were older, or he was a tad younger. Souls aged slowly and, even though you were four hundred-years-old, you still looked like a young woman in her early twenties. He was much older than you. Jushiro was around, when Captain Yamamoto was a black-haired man who had recently fought back the Quincy King. He was still a kid, back then, but he was there.

He could be your father, but the flesh is weak. Or this is what Shunsui had always told him.

He was not the type to hook-up with women periodically like his best friend did. Right now, however, he really wished he had half of the guts and self-confidence the Captain of the Eighth Division had. Why? Just to have you in his arms, even briefly, a fleeting moment of bliss to let you know how ardently he desired you. Jushiro wondered if you knew he cared for you more than a Captain is supposed to for his underlings. What if you knew? What if your heart throbbed in your chest upon seeing him just like his did, when you entered his quarters?

Illusions. He was so delusional. You drove him insane. A medicine to cure his sickness, but a deadly poison to his heart. Life was not treating him kind.

“Captain?” you hesitantly said then, head tilted to the side, a knot forming between your eyebrows.

He had zoned out once again, apparently. Awesome, making a fool of himself in front of you had become his speciality. Jushiro cleared his throat, cheeks flushing as he realized you were holding the cup of tea out for him to grasp. His fingers brushed against yours, a nervous smile curving his lips upwards.

“Oh, thank you! — the white-haired man blurted out, hands wrapping around the warm cup as he shot you a grateful glance — It looks like I’m getting deaf too. It must he a pain dealing with this old man” he jested, bringing the cup to his lips and taking a small sip of it.

You chuckled, shifting onto your seat to push the tray aside “Old man? I’m sorry to contradict you, Captain, but you’re not old at all. Or, at least, you don’t look old” you said casually, watching the way the rational and placid man at your left lowered his cup from his mouth slowly, interested in your observation.

“Care to elaborate?” he asked you softly, admiring the way some rays of the sun set off the color of your hair, the features of your face, causing a warm feeling to engulf his lower abdomen. This was not good. You were there, merely complimenting him, reassuring him, and he was thinking about folding you in half underneath him like some damn Neanderthal.

A grin spread on your face, eyes straying away from his “Well, you might be older than most of the Captains and Lieutenants around, but you are a fairly handsome man. — you said, cheeks warming up as you tried to be discreet about the topic — I heard a lot of women praising your appearence, not just your charisma”.

The world seemed to stop revolving for a few seconds, but when you decided to add some other words to your already fluttering note, Jushiro wished the blanket was tick enough to conceal his pulsing cock from your attentive gaze.

“And I agree with them”.

You agreed. You thought he was handsome! You, the pretty girl he loved, the girl who was making him question his morals, the sweet girl he wanted to spend every night with really thought he was handsome. He felt lucky. His pale complexion left space to pinkish hues on his cheeks, his hand trembling as he settled his cup down not to spill the tea on the bed.

Jushiro leaned slightly forward, hands clumsily covering the small tent visible through the layers “R-Really? I don’t know what to say, but … Thanks, I guess. A boost of confidence every now and then is greatly appreciated” he stammered, but your eyes had been faster than his hands, your lips parting as you watched your Captain attempting to hide away his need from you.

How sweet of him. Ukitake Jushiro, your Captain, a man you admired, who had kind of watched you grow and who had trained you for years, was currently hot and bothered because of a couple of compliments. Your heart melted, a soft smile on your lips as you decided to leave some privacy to him. After all, he still had to finish his breakfast and the poor man was surely dealing with a rather uncomfortable problem right now.

You stood up, bowing your head reverentially “I have to attend the weekly Lieutenants meeting, Captain. See you later” you said, sparing him a last glance before leaving his room as normally as you possibly could.

If only you knew how reddish the tip of your Captain’s cock was, how terribly sorry he felt for feeling that way about you, how much he wished the thick white ropes of cum erupting from his member, as he jerked off were painting your tongue, instead of a tissue. He was obviously not better than Kyoraku and he was terrified at the mere thought of his cheeky friend realizing he was practically dying to be squashed by your thighs.

Spring days in the Seireitei meant peaceful nightly strolls for your Captain, but also a chance for you to catch up with your friends during your days off. What a coincidence you were sharing a few drinks with Rangiku and Isane in a pub not too distant from the park your Captain chose to spend his free time at. When Jushiro caught a glimpse of you, chattering with your fellow Lieutenants, drink in hand and exceptionally beautiful, he froze solid and decided it was better to change his path suppress his reiatsu not to draw your attention.

Two weeks had passed since the breakfast incident and he had tried his best not to create embarrassing situations in which you had to be stuck in a room with him alone. You had noticed he had been acting strangely, as of late, but confronting him about it was not a wise move. Who were you to make your Captain, a man you were devoted to, a man who carried himself with dignity, uncomfortable? Time would have fixed the situation, or you were confident things would have worked out just fine from now on.

Jushiro was about to turn his back and leave, when he heard the noisy Lieutenant of the Tenth Division ask you a spicy question “Kyoraku Shunsui. Smash, or pass?”.

He had no idea why he stood there in the shadows, feeling like a creep, as he awaited in trepidation for you to answer that stupid question. For some reason, though, it was important for him. He expected you to blend in with mass of girls swooning at Shunsui’s door and say you would have gladly shared your bed with him. He would have not blamed you for that. Every woman he knew had a thing for his best friend.

Still, you were his jewel. He did not want you to crave Shunsui. He wanted you to choose him. He was selfish, he knew his thoughts were impure and not appropriate. He was in no position to argue with you about the men you fancied.

“Pass” you curtly said, causing Rangiku and Isane to gasp and for Jushiro’s mood to brighten up again. He leaned his back against the wall, staring blankly at the Moon above him, electrified to hear you were not one of the numerous fangirls ready to kill to be Shunsui’s partner for the night.

Rangiku slammed her glass down onto the small table “Pass? Girl, you are the Dilfs’ fucker here! I expected you to throw your panties at him! What’s wrong now?” she piped out, voice too loud for your likings as you covered your face with your hands.

People were watching, obviously, snickering and shooting leering glances at your direction. Isane blushed, shaking her head as she snapped her fingers in front of Rangiku’s face to make her get a grip of herself.

“You drank too much! Lower your voice, people talk a lot!” Isane chided her, only for you to nod your head in agreement.

“I am not into Captain Shunsui, alright? Yeah, he is handsome and hilarious, but not my type” you clarified, folding your arms across your chest, causing the red-haired woman sitting across from you to squint her pale blue eyes suspiciously. She was not going to let this go easily. You were toasted.

She smirked “Oh, that’s interesting now… — she said, leaning towards you with an inquisitive gleam in her eyes — Who is your type then? Someone older than you for sure, but let’s see. Old man Yamamoto is decidely not on the list. May it be his Lieutenant, though?”.

Isane choked on her saké, coughing a few times in shock, while you kept an intense eye-contact with Rangiku “You are going to get us kicked out of this pub. Lower your damn voice” you warned her, as the waiter passing by your table gestured for you to restrain yourselves.

“Then speak up, girl. I have all night long and tons of important men to mention publicly. — she retorted, determined to make you confess who exactly was your crush — Say it, come on”.

“My Captain”.

You had not even realized you had blurted out that answer, until you saw your friends gape at you in genuine incredulity. It was not like they had not expected you to possibly fall for your charming Captain, but you had not been that reluctant to admit you had feelings for your superior. You did not imagine yourself having that conversation either, the urge to disappear into a black hole gnawing at your liver now. You took a swig of your drink, the burning sensation down your throat helping you to cope with your audacious confession.

“Have you two fucked?!” Rangiku inquired, only for the waiter to finally lose his temper and come at your table with a livid expression plastered over his face.

“You three! That’s enough, get out of here!”.

Giggling on your way out of the pub, you took the road opposite to the one where your Captain was finding shelter. Emerging from the darkness, he palmed his forehead, your words still ringing in his head like a pleasant song he could not stop thinking about. You liked him, you reciprocated his feelings. This did not make him less guilty for lusting after you, but it gave him the chance to act more confidently around you.

Enjoying the gentle breeze blowing through his long, white locks, Jushiro resumed his walk, head light as a feather, while relishing the thought of you in his embrace. For the night, he could forgive himself.

The next day came and with it some errands to run around the Soul Society. After being summoned by Captain Unohana, you were now entering your Captain’s quarters with a pile of documents to sign tightly pressed to your chest. Sighing, you were glad to find the door open. The fresh evening air provided a cool environment for Jushiro to work. It was not unusual for him to ask you to open the windows and leave the doors open on your way out.

Sitting at his desk, his haori draped over his broad shoulders, Jushiro was reading some reports about some Hollows causing troubles in the Rukongai. He would have not even acknowledged your presence, if you had not announced your arrival.

“Good evening, Captain! I’m coming in” you chimed, crossing the threshold with a small smile on your lips.

Jushiro flicked his eyes up from the papers, his lips mirroring yours in a soft smile that dropped at the sight of another stock of documents he was expected to check. Duties before anything, right?

“Ah, I see. It’s going to be a long night, I guess” he sadly realized, as you knelt down next to him and settled the files onto the desk.

“These are from the Fourth Division. — you explained, hands flatly splayed over the smooth wooden surface — You can’t stay up all night, Captain. You need to rest, or it might be detrimental for your health. With your permission, I would like to stay for the night and help you out”.

You were too sweet for him. He should have sent you away, denied your request, no matter how much he wanted to spend more time with you. He yearned for your company like a starving bear tasting honey and begging for more, striving to get to the top of the tree to reach the beehive and enjoy the nectar. However, it was night. Was he really ready to offer you a bed to sleep next to his one, once your eyelids were going to get heavy after tiring hours of work? He was going to die a painful death, admiring you and restraining himself from kissing every inch of your skin.

He had to refuse, but he knew you would protested. Therefore, he went to the extent to propose you a good compromise.

“I won’t let you work yourself to exhaustion. I will gladly accept your help for a few hours but, when it starts getting dark, you go back to your dorm” he suggested, tone placid but firm.

You shook your head, though, hand reaching for a brush and dipping it into the dark ink pot “I’m sorry, Captain Ukitake, but I will have to disobey your order and refuse your offer. — you calmly replied, signing the first document swiftly with your Captain sighing in defeat in the background — Now, let’s get this over with” you added, encouraging him by splitting the pile in halves and handing him one of them.

“You are way too lenient with me” Jushiro stated, before resuming his reading again.

And hours passed by. You chattered with your Captain, the pile of documents decreasing slowly but surely but you were not even close to be done yet. When dinner time came, you had a quick snack and persuaded your Captain to rest a little more than you did. Naturally, he promptly protested, but you ended up convincing him he would have been more proficient with some hours of sleep over his shoulders. Begrudgingly, he agreed and sleep found him easily.

While you worked, you lost the track of time. You forgot to wake him up as you had promised and you just kept on working until your back hurt. Glancing outside the window, the Moon greeted you and the clock indicated it was midnight. You were ready to grit your teeth and keep on pushing yourself to the limit, when you suddenly felt the familiar reiatsu of your Captain embrace you from behind. You straightened your back, eyes widening even so slightly, as his hands rested comfortably over the top of your shoudlers.

“I overslept. You should have called me” he pointed out lowly, gently, as you apologetically nodded your head and discarded the brush over the desk.

“I should have, but your health is more important than work to me” you objected, turning your head slightly to the side to meet his kind chestnut eyes. Jushiro was sitting right behind you, his large frame almost draped over your back like a blanket, as he grasped your wrist delicately and shook his head.

Goosebumps raised on the back of your neck, his chin grazing over the top of your head “It’s your turn to rest. Lean on me” he offered, causing your lower lip to quiver for the habit of opposing yourself to his kind offer.

But you were too tired to be helpful right now and you knew he was not going to let you continue for any longer.

“Ten minutes will be enough” you said, accomodating yourself, as he helped you lean your back against his chest, the sound of the fabric of your uniforms rustling in the friction was endearingly soothing. Just like his arms subtly snaking around your waist and your hands slithering over his bony ones, making your cheeks heat up exponentially.

You had never touched your Captain like that, albeit you wanted him to. You had played scenes like this one many times in your head, hoping he was going to do much more than simply hugging you. You needed more, you needed him. You wanted Jushiro with ever molecule of your body and, God, he desired you too. Your eyes fluttered close, his warm breath tickling your jawline, as his fingertips began to draw lazy patterns over your abdomen, trailing up towards your ribs and then stopping.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked you, his heartrate increasing notably. His hands itched to cup your breasts, to roll your hardening nipples between the pads of his fingers, to swallow your moans with his mouth. But without your consent, Jushiro was not going to go any further.

You arched your back, eyes opening again to peer up at him adoringly “Comfortable, you say? I’d dare to say I’m in Paradise” you whispered, smiling faintly, before your hands reached up to undo your shihakushō. Bold, you were pretty bold right now, under the gleaming eyes of your Captain.

You heard his breath hitch, his hands trembling when you grasped them to lead them to your breasts where he wanted to settle them “Don’t say a word. They’re needless. I want it, Captain. I’m tired to pretend” you murmured, head lolling back onto his shoulder as his large hands finally latched onto your mounds, gently squeezing them.

Your skin was like velvet at the touch, his own arousal causing him to buckle his hips up against your lower back. How shameful, how stupid of him to do such things to you, but you wanted it. His Lieutenant was begging him to go ahead and that night the kind and rational Captain Jushiro Ukitake lost his mind.

He gripped your hips firmly, forcing you to straddle his lap, his legs spreading yours wide, as he kept your back glued to his front. His fingers scambled to get rid of his own clothes, while you spared time by disrobing yourself too. Skin to skin, you were able to feel his hard rock abs graze your spine as he latched his lips over the crook of your neck.

You moaned, squeezing your eyes shut, while his hands went back to cup your breasts, stroking the hardening buds to elicit more whimpers from you. Your breath was uneven at this point, your mouth searching for his as you turned around and tugged down your pants, tired of waiting any longer.

Jushiro was awestruck, thumbs tracing your hipbones, as you rotated your hips over his “Kiss me, please” you whispered, your lips hovering over his, tempting the poor Captain to give you what you wanted. It was not too late to stop, he kept on repeating himself that, but he did not want to let you unsatisfied and the fire in his loins was consuming him too much to neglect his own need.

“Kissing you? I will do more than that” he whispered, capturing your lips in a feverish kiss. His arms wrapped around your torso, pulling you close to him, were a cage you did not want to be set free from. Jushiro was gentle, handling you with a care no man had ever showed you, even when his tongue delved into your mouth and his fingers slipped underneath the waistband of your underwear, eagerly searching for your engorging pearl.

Shockwaves of pleasure made your skin sizzle, your hands cupped his smooth cheeks, as you moaned softly. Jushiro kissed your forehead, his cock twitching in his pants, when your wetness met his fingers. All of this was for him, your heat was dripping because you craved him! He was lucky, oh he was such a lucky man.

“You are … That’s for me, right? You are so good, Y/N-san, you are doing amazing for me. I will repay you for that, my sweet girl. I promise” he whispered, his hair sticking to his forehead as his fingers finally slipped into your core.

You could not talk much, babbling small words out was all you did, your lips leaving wet kisses over his neck and collarbone to show him your gratitude and love for him. Your orgasm hit you in waves, your inner muscles spasming around his slender digits as he watched your labia smeared with your arousal as you reached your climax. You were stunning, his hand glistened in your orgasm, as he quickly yanked his pants down and you crawled towards his unmade bed, panting, awaiting for him to join you.

When his member, ramrod, pulsing, slapped against his navel, you gulped down at the impressive size hungrily pointing at you. If only people knew about this side of him, they would die at his feet. Ukitake Jushiro lacked nothing that Kyoraku Shunsui had. He was just a victim of fate. If it was not for his sickness, he would have been unstoppable. Pumping his shaft a few times in front of you, Jushiro groaned softly, hooded eyes searching yours.

“Would you look at me the same way, if you knew what I did in the privacy of my bedroom when you left that morning?” he asked you, only for you to shake your head and hoist your legs around his hips.

“Nothing would ever change my opinion of you. — you replied, the tip of his cock probing at your entrance — I love you, Jushiro” you whispered, nosing his cheek when he caged you to the bed with his strong arms.

“I wish I could tell you not to love me, but I am twice as guilty. Forgive me, if you can. I love you, I have loved you for too long to keep it to myself” he said, before entering you with a smooth thrust of his hips.

You let out a strained moan, your tight walls causing Jushiro to grunt in bliss, his brows furrowed as he pressed his forehead against yours. Bottoming out took him a few seconds. Making his way inside of you, he had the care to gradually conquer inches without bruising you in the process. Tenderly, he looked at your face, searching for any signs of discomfort. Once he found none, he pulled back enough to let his tip buried into your heat and slammed back into you a little more vigorously.

Melodic moans left your mouth, neck strained back, when he set out a slow and firm pace to hit the spot that made you wrap your legs tighter around him. His white hair seemed the beautiful and cold stalactites hanging from the roof of your barracks, when it snowed. Handsome and yours, Jushiro kissed the valley between your breasts, praises to your beauty and dedication rolling out of his tongue every now and then.

“Beautiful, you should have posed for a painter in the World of the Livings. — he stated, voice muffled by your skin, when he sucked onto your nipple — A pre-raphaelite, those colors would have suited you” he murmured, tongue tracing the bud as his hips snapped towards yours more urgently now.

Your moans had grown louder, sweaty skin smacking together creating a repetitive sound any passer-by would have recognized. But you were too lost into his eyes, in the way the Moon seemed to make his hair glow like an halo around his head, on the way his muscular body would have crashed yours, if he was not attentive.

“Jushiro, please, don’t stop! — you breathed out, a throaty moan leaving your lips, when he grabbed your ankles and set them on the top of his shoulders — I am about to come” you warned him, watching the man above you speed up his movements.

He should have been careful not to overdo himself, but how could he when he was literally drunk on you? Ah your words, oh God, they were driving him insane.

“Come for me, darling. Make me happy, come for me” he incited you, grasping your hands and pinning them to the sides of your head with his ones. Fingers locked together, Jushiro thrusted into you faster, hitting your sweet spot with a perfect aim. Impeccable, sinfully celestial, you reached your climax around him with a powerful orgasm.

As you twitched and tightened around him, Jushiro’s mind went blank. He was not going to be just your Captain, not anymore. His, you were going to be his, as he was going to be yours. Just Jushiro Ukitake, a man in love, not a member of the Gotei 13.

Lolling his head back, he spurted his seed into you, guttural groans erupting from his throat as he filled you. Even though he had always followed the moral codes of a noble warrior, Jushiro Ukitake knew he had to sin that night. He could not let you slip from his fingers.

Someone had told him he would have fallen for a woman, sooner of later.

Therefore, sitting on a windy hill next to his best friend Shunsui, a couple of days later, he said “I plead guilty, your honor”.

AUTHOR NOTE.

Hello there! Thanks to the anon who dropped this into my inbox. I did not realize how much I yearned to write for this man until I found myself writing this piece! Thanks!

As per usual, likes, comments and re-posts are welcomed!

Until then,

x o x o

TAGS: @dehemetera @han11dh @bakugosgirl01 @silent-spirits @coowayeoo

#ukitake jushiro x reader #ukitake x reader #ukitake smut #jushiro x reader #jushiro ukitake #bleach smut #bleach x reader

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sosuigeneris · 5 months

Text

Socialite Series: Cherry’s Master Post

Things that have helped me, that could help you. Here is a master list of my softmaxxing journey!

Body:

J*hn Bent*n’s workouts: Yes he’s an asshole but his workouts really do work. He used to train models and his workouts are life changing.

2. B-12 Lipo salines: These you can consume in a shot (like an injection) or in a saline (go to a GOOD DOCTOR for this). I prefer the saline, and my doctor recommended the 6 week course for me (one saline every week). It burns subQ fat and that was the main reason why I began using those. There is zero side effect to these, acc to my doc. edit: don’t really recommend these anymore. I’ll update this list when I finish my Emsculpt.

3. Diet: More protein, more vegetables, more water and lesser intake of carbs. Carbs are important but i used to over-consume them. Cutting down has helped me a lot. I also did a gut bacteria test (you basically sent a piece of your shit to a lab and they analyse it) to understand what foods worked for me and what didnt.

4. Probiotics for metabolism management

5. Measuring: I stopped tracking weight and began tracking body fat % instead. I feel that this works better for me.

6. Wood therapy: I KNOW. You lot will think its bogus but it helped me and im sticking to it, so there. There’s no wood therapy spa near me, so i ordered the wood therapy tools from amazon, plastic wrap, a waist trainer, almond oil. I looked up videos on wood therapy and lymphatic drainage, and i do it for about 5 mins on my tummy and thighs before my work outs, wrap my torso with plastic wrap, throw the waist trainer on top.

✨

Skin:

Accutane: this helped me tremendously with my acne and my skin is 95% blemish free now. If you are taking this, remember to be disciplined and regular.

Zero alcohol: I stopped drinking completely and its done my skin and health wonders.

Products: Sunscreen + Vitamin C combo in the AM. Retinol + moisturiser at night. Recommended by my dermat.

Hair removal: I refuse to shave because its so uncomfortable so i prefer to wax once in 2 months. Personally, when I began exfoliating my body twice a week - I use a scrub by the Body Shop - I noticed that the hair was growing back slower than it used to. I use a loofah for everyday too. I don’t believe in laser because it’s never just 6 sessions; you do have to have “maintenance” sessions as well post the 6.

Face sculpting: Gua sha on alternative nights. I dont know if this works or is placebo, but I felt like it did.

Body lotion every day. Twice a day sometimes. I swear, it makes you smell good and feel so soft.

Expensive make up: specially, foundation. I’m sorry, i know this could be controversial. But idk what cow semen Charlotte Tilbury puts in her make up, it seriously makes me glow. I’m yet to find a good drug store alternative. A while back, I stopped wearing concealer, and I began using a lighter shade of CT’s foundation as concealer over my normal shade. I feel that because the products are chemically the same, they blend better and don’t react and “peel.” Highly recommend that too. For the rest of my face like powder, blush, eyeliner, I do use normal drug store make up.

✨

Oral hygiene:

I used to have braces. After taking them off, I noticed a difference in my jaw.

Brush, floss, Listrine, tongue cleaner

Mild whitening. I think Hollywood level teeth whitening looks crazy and I want to look as “naturally” beautiful as possible.

✨

Hair care:

For hair growth: as recommended by my doc: minoxidil hair foam 5% w/w Tugain Foam.

High frequency wand before wash days on my scalp.

Moroccan hair oil. I use a tiny amount everyday on my ends after I finish my make up for the day and I swear it makes my hair shine like crazy.

I also got hair Botox done because i used to have curly but absolutely unmanageable hair. I tried to make it work for years but i gave up and caved in to having permanent straight hair and I love it.

I only shampoo twice a day so on days when i workout but don’t shampoo, i use hair perfume. I spray some of it on my brush and run it through my hair. I swear it works.

✨

Overall:

The colour palette theory seriously works. I didn’t realise that wearing the right colours can impact you so much.

Confidence is absolutely key. I seriously recommend going to a group class of some sort if you have the time and just mingling with random people. Social situations are important to gauge your “standing.”

Random but if you have a big nose: grow out your eyebrows / fill them in slightly thicker. I noticed that when I had thin eyebrows, my nose would stand out more but when I made them thicker, it balanced my face out better.

Steam iron your clothes before you wear them. You will look 100% put together.

*IF* you’re aesthetically challenged when it comes to picking clothes, use my rule of thumb: never wear any more than 3 colours at once (remember: IF you can’t put outfits together).

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offender42085 · 2 years

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Post 0471

William A Gregory, Florida inmate V19522, born 1983, lodged into jail in 2007 at age 24, and held until incarceration intake in 2011 at age 28. Initially sentenced to Death, but later resentenced to Life without parole.

Murder, Felon in possession of Ammo, Burglary, Cocaine Possession

April 2011

In April 2011, a Volusia County Circuit Judge sentenced William Gregory to death for the double-murder of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend near Flagler Beach in August 2007.

Gregory murdered Skyler Meekins, 17, and Daniel Dyer, 22, by shooting them in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun as they slept together in Meekins’s grandparents’ house on John Anderson Highway south of Flagler Beach on Aug. 21, 2007. He shot them as his 1-year-old daughter Kyla, whom he’d had with Skyler, slept in another room.

“William Arthur Gregory,” the judge intoned at the end of a 10-page order he read from the bench, “under the laws of the state of Florida, you have not only forfeited your right to live among us, you have forfeited your right to live at all.”

Gregory, 28 at the time that his sentence was pronounced, wearing a green and white striped jail suit and his legs shackled, had sat almost motionless throughout the judge’s reading of the order, flanked by a bailiff to his right and another behind him.

When the judge was ready to pronounce the sentence, after reading the long order, he asked Gregory to approach the bench. Gregory stood at the dais, a few feet from the judge. A deputy stood behind him, another stood to his right, a third stood to his left, next to Wood. Gregory appeared to whiten, and his eyes to redden, after the order. He was then fingerprinted and taken away.

A split jury recommended, in two 7-5 votes (one for each murder), that Gregory be put to death. In the phase of the trial where guilt is determined, the jury must be unanimous for a guilty verdict. Sentencing recommendations do not require a unanimous vote, nor is the judge bound by the recommendation, although if six or more people vote against the death penalty, it’s considered a recommendation for life. The recommendation for Gregory’s death sentence obtained through the bare majority of seven votes.

The Judge weighed a series of four aggravating factors against a longer set of mitigating factors, analyzing each in turn to conclude that “aggravating circumstances in this case far outweigh the mitigating circumstances. This court agrees with the jury’s recommendation that in weighing the aggravating circumstances against the mitigating circumstances, the scales of life and death tilt unquestioningly to the side of death.”

Mitigating factors included Gregory’s behavior “under the influence of extreme mental or emotional” stress, his impaired capacity to gauge the severity of his actions, his long-standing drug addiction, being raised by a single mother, being forced to watch his 6-year-old sister raped at knifepoint by a 14 year old when he was 8, and having had a generally dysfunctional childhood. The Judge, without diminishing the effects of the facts laid out, and conceding that “there is no question that he”–Gregory–“had a difficult childhood devoid of much positive guidance,” nevertheless gave each of these mitigating factors “slight weight.”

The night of the murders, Gregory consumed alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and “pills” but appeared to be functional “based on a series of calls that took place between 10:09 p.m. and 11:27 p.m. which were apparently made from his home,” the judge said. “The murders appear to have occurred at or around 1:30 a.m. the next morning.”

After the murders, Gregory took a swim, in his clothes, including his wallet and shoes, “in an apparent attempt to purge himself of shotgun residue,” the judge said. He then called 911, at 4:17 a.m., to report that he wanted to turn himself in for drug use, “a transparent attempt to create an alibi for the murders.”

The Judge systematically laid out the aggravating factors of the case to weigh them against–and outweigh–the mitigating facts. Those factors included Gregory’s prior felony conviction on a cocaine charge (attempted possession), though that factor was given only moderate weight; the heavier factor was the murders themselves, the burglary committed before the murder (the weapon Gregory used was in the house), and the “cold, calculated and premeditated” nature of the murders.

The judge summed up the various times Gregory, months before the murders, had threatened to “blow he head off” if his ex-girlfriend cheated on him, and that he’d kill whatever boyfriend she might have at the time as well. He then put his plan in action once he learned that Skyler Meekins was seeing Daniel Dyer.

“Once at the residence,” the judge read from the bench, “he entered the house surreptitiously, located the 12-gauge shotgun in a closet, located the shotgun shells on a shelf in the closet and loaded just two shells into the shotgun which was described as a weapon that was difficult to load. Mr. Gregory, at this point fully armed with a loaded weapon, passed by the separate rooms of Skyler Meekins’ grandmother and grandfather and went to the sleeping room which Skyler Meekins occupied where she and Daniel Dyer were cuddling while sleeping. It has been clearly established, without refutation, that he placed the loaded weapon at point blank range and aimed at the heads of the respective victims where he killed each of them in execution style with devastating shots to the heads of both victims in an act that was totally consistent with his earlier announced plan.”

At the end of his order, the judge wrote, in capital letters, “MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL.”

A brief, errant sob was heard in the courtroom, which was otherwise quiet.

Gregory has been in jail since 2007–mostly in the Flagler County jail, but briefly in jail in St. Johns and in Volusia County, where his trial was moved.

June 2013

In June 2013, the Florida Supreme Court announced a ruling on his appeals.

A jury had recommended Gregory be sentenced to death by a 7-5 vote. In any other state, Gregory would not have been sentenced to death as a result. Florida is one of only two states in the nation where a unanimous verdict for death is not required, even though state law requires verdicts for so much as shoplifting or marijuana possession to be unanimous for conviction. In Florida, a simple majority of jurors suffices for a death sentence recommendation. In Alabama, at least 10 of 12 jurors must recommend death for a capital sentence to be imposed.

Gregory raised five issues on appeal: That the trial court erred in denying his motion to disqualify the judge based on statements the judge made during a pretrial hearing; that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence threatening statements directed toward the victims made eight months before the murders by Gregory to a co-worker; that the court erred in admitting testimony from a witness who could not identify Gregory in court; that the court erred in admitting testimony about a statement Gregory made to one of the victims; and that the court erred in instructing the jury on and in finding that the murders were carried out with a cold, calculated and premeditated manner.

The most serious issue was a statement by Volusia County Circuit Judge William A. Parsons during a pre-trial hearing about the admissibility of certain evidence the state wanted to introduce.

Gregory argued that a statement he made eight months before the murders about killing “both of them” if his girlfriend ever cheated on him was too remote to be relevant. In response to this argument, Parsons stated: “My reaction here is that this is not remote at all, that it’s –while there is some time delay — and if he is, in fact, the one who committed the murder, it is quite prophetic in terms of what’s going to happen. So, you know, we’re not talking about ten years or five years or three years. We’re talking about just months before the breakup and then the alleged murder happened later on. Now, whether they can prove that he did this or not, that’s another matter, but it seems to me they are entitled to the benefit of trying to prove all the elements of the crime when one is premeditation, and this goes to that issue. So I’m going to . . . allow it.”

Gregory, according to court papers, argued that Parson’s use of the word “prophetic” to describe the statement indicates that the judge had already determined that Gregory was guilty.

The Supreme Court did not buy the argument.

“We conclude that this argument is unavailing because Gregory focuses on one word out of context without including the trial judge’s actual statement,” Chief Justice Ricky Polston wrote. “When read as a whole, it is clear that the judge used the word “prophetic” in relation to the State’s argument that Gregory’s statement was relevant to the issue of premeditation.”

The second issue was a related matter of bias. Gregory claimed that the judge, making a motion to have a recording played, said hearing Skyler’s voice in a recording would be “refreshing,” because she “has now been silenced.” In fact, Polston wrote, the word “refreshing” was never used. Instead, the trial judge stated that he found it “quite interesting” that the jury would be able to hear the victim’s voice. “The judge did not make any reference to Gregory being the one who ‘silenced’ the victim, nor did he comment on Gregory’s guilt or innocence,” Polston wrote. And the remarks were not made before a jury. Gregory argued that when the remarks were published in the press, they could have created a public prejudice against him. “However,” Polston continued, “Gregory raises no challenge to jury selection or composition or to pretrial publicity, and he provides no factual basis beyond the comments and news report attached to the motion itself to substantiate these claims.”

The three other challenges to his sentence Gregory raised related to the guilt phase of the trial, including the eight-month-old statement Gregory had made, which was used to substantiate a charge of premeditation. But precedent indicates that “there is no bright-line rule regarding the point at which a prior statement is so remote as to become irrelevant,” the court ruled. Gregory, in his appeal had relied on a Nevada case that did give “less relevance” to statements made in the remote past—but those statements in that case had been made six and 10 years before the murder under review.

Gregory also objected to testimony by an inmate who had been in jail with him, because the inmate never identified him in court. But the inmate had provided numerous other positive identifications of Gregory. His final objection was the hearsay use of statements made by the victim, and later reported by two state witnesses during trial. The victim, Daniel Dyer, had been either “I want to personally thank you for ruining my life,” or “I personally want to thank you for ruining my family.”

“We conclude that error, if any, in the admission of this testimony was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt,” Polston wrote, because “there is no reasonable possibility that any error in the admission of this testimony affected either the verdict of guilt or the imposition of the death penalty in this case.”

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction on all counts.

December 2017

In December 2017, Gregory was resentenced. The U.S. Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court has issued decisions from other cases that found Florida’s method of sentencing defendants to death unconstitutional.

Recommendations must now be unanimous. In Gregory’s case, the Supreme Court in August 2017 threw out his death sentence and returned the case to circuit court in Flagler County for a new sentencing phase.

A Circuit Court Judge commuted Gregory’s death sentence to life in prison without parole on both counts.

The state debated going through a retrial to seek a unanimous jury verdict. “We looked at the case and and consulted with the family,” Assistant State Attorney Jason Lewis said. “They did not want to go through the process again.” So the prosecution agreed to a commutation to a sentence of life without parole in what amounted to a hearing lasting all of five minutes.

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homeopathic-medicine · 4 months

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Whitening Injection Side Effects

In spite of all Whitening Injection Side Effects. That could result from whitening injections. That are injected so that the patient’s skin becomes fairer and brighter. It is such a popular trend among women. On the other hand, many people attracted to the speedy results. They can offer, yet we should well-informed about negative effects that these treatments may cause.

Introduction to Whitening Injections and Whitening Injection Side Effects

Whitenings injections are one type of the procedures. That lead to skin lightening / bleaching and are carried out using IV or IM injections. These are usually employed to address hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and other common skin problems caused by inequity in melanin production.

Popular Whitening Injection Ingredients

Hydroquinone

Whiteners often have hydroquinone among their active components. Inhibiting the production of melanin results in the depigmentation. Thereby leading to the lightening of skin. On the bright side, hydroquinone is effective as skin lightening agent. But the usage of it for a long period of time can lead to the irritated skin and condition of ochronosis. So, the bluish-black pigmentation appears.

Glutathione

In addition to Alpha arbutin, glutathione is also a vital product in whitening injections. It is a strong antioxidant and thought to be capable of preventing production of melanin hormone. Which is a cause of darkened skin. However, some people may get positive outcomes. When they use glutathione injections whereas others may develop side effects like allergy reactions or gastrointestinal uncomfortableness.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is considering an ingredient often add to infiltrating the injections for its antioxidant properties and its ability to stimulate collagen production as well. That is although generally thought safe, has the possibility of producing side effects as a result of intravenous shots at high doses. Such as nausea, diarrhea or kidney issues.

Humanizing the sentence: Common Whitening Injection Side Effects /Penetrations

Skin Irritation

Skin irritation is the most frequent side effect associated with the use of whitening injection injections. These effects could be the presence of redness, itching, or burning at the location of the injection. In certain instances, people may also find themselves suffering from swelling or inflammation as well.

Hypopigmentation

The case for hypopigmentation, which is a condition. That causes the skin to gradually turn white due to many injectables, may arise when these products abused. This will put the skin in a lightened tone relative to its natural tone and will be hard to revert it back to normal.

Hyperpigmentation

However, there could be the opposite effect, hyperpigmentation, or dark spots, developing with the use of the whitening injections. It may also happen as a result of unbalanced implantation of the administered substance or in the form of skin response to the therapy.

Kidney Damage

Concern that long-term usage of some of the whitening drug components such as glutathione in high doses may harm the kidneys has raised. This risk suggests that using such medicines under the supervision of qualified health care practitioner cannot over-emphasized.

Due to the scientifically-proven long-term effects of Whitening Injections. It’s vital to thoroughly know what they entail.

Dependency

A possibility of getting hook to the use of whitening injections is one of the long lasting consequences. Some people may develop tolerance towards the use of these skin treatments and may use the treatments excessively to keep a desired skin texture. This may continue and make such health risks.

Those who wear contact lenses are more susceptible to developing eye problems such as conjunctivitis or photokeratitis due to the high level of exposure to the sun.

In addition to those, Whitening injections may heighten skin sensitivity to UV radiation, probably resulting in the person getting more sunburn than she could otherwise could, or skin damage at worst. This highlights the role of sun protection measures toward sunscreen and avoidance of direct sun exposure for longer time frame.

Skin Thinning

The skin skin thin over time from frequent use of whitening serums might be the one that can easily be damaged leading to premature aging. Thats when there are quite a few problems. Which may include some fine lines, wrinkles, and even sagging skin among others.

Safety Precautions and Considerations

Consultation with a Dermatologist

One should go for a consultation of a dermatologist or healthcare professional before undergoing whitening injections. They can find out your skin type, expose the potential risk and benefit, and make the most appropriate choices for your special conditions.

Patch Test

In case of whitening injections. A patch test should be carried out previously, with the aim of determining the presence of allergic reactions or conceivable sensitivity towards the components used. This done in a two-stage process. Firstly, apply a small amount of the product to a small area of the skin and observe closely for any adverse reactions.

Monitoring

Healthcare provider’s intervention is the determining factor while undertaking bleach injections procedure. These periodic tests ensure. That there are no harms and the therapy plan reviewed on time.

Alternatives to Whitening Injections

Topical Treatments

Diverse means exist for skin lightening including creams, serums, and lotions which are all topical. These products commonly have such ingredients as kojic acid, arbutin, and licorice extract and act in a way. That inhibits melanin or stimulates skin cell turnover.

Lifestyle Changes

Getting your skin tone brightened and the appearance of dark spots and pigmentation issues reduced, besides maintaining a healthy diet, staying hydrated and protecting. our skin from harmful UV rays is also a solution.

Conclusion

While whitening injections may haunt your search for a quick outcome, remember also to balance the potential risks and benefits before undergoing such treatment. Becoming acquainted with side effects that are common and may even be long-term effects can help people choose wisely in their skincare routine.

FAQs

Are whitening injections safe?

Injections loaded with whitener ingredients may involve risks, e.g. skin irritation, hyperpigmentation, and kidney damage. Yet, you shouldn`t tamper with the medicine before consulting a healthcare professional.

For how long do peels from whitening injections work?

The period of the effects of the whitening injections are diverse and depend on the skin type of the individual. That the exact components of the injections, and the personal treatment course. Some persons will need subsequent adjuvant therapies to hold initial effects.

Can the bleaching injections injected be reversible?

Concerns may arise on the effects of whitening injections. For instance, some patients may complain of hypopigmentation (whitening of skin ranges) or hyperpigmentation (darkening of skin colors). Which may be reversed upon discontinuation of treatment and appropriate skincare measures. Nevertheless, the individual skin situation may be the factor.

Do not natural goods exist as an alternative?

Yes, there are indeed natural alternatives to whitening injections, like treating on the surface with products which contain ingredients like kojic acid, arbutin and vitamin C. That also with lifestyle changes such as staying away from the sun and eating healthy.

Does whitening injection have any bad effect? Will they cause damage to the teeth?

In order to guarantee the security of whitening injections, a trained healthcare professional. They should be consulted with, a patch test should be performed prior to the start of the treatment to eliminate the possibility of allergic reactions or skin sensitivities, and continuous monitoring. Should be done throughout the treatment period.

For more information, you can join us our Facebook page!

#health #health & fitness #health and wellness #health tips #healthcare #mental health

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owldiet · 1 year

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Glutathione Shots Near Me and Benefits in Skin Whitening

Want to lighten your skin tone in a speedy way without any possible side effects. In the cosmetology, there are different ways to achieve a whitened skin tone in successful way. Glutathione shots near me are one such option referred to as the “Mother of All Antioxidants”. This injection form that is given through IV provides benefits and side effect. Before you get the injection, it will be better to know about the benefits and possible side effects.

Glutathione is formulated of using glycine, cysteine and glutamic acid – produced by the liver and involved in varied biological functions. This injection form plays a key role in tissue growth and repair and in the creation of essential molecules and proteins. It also helps the immune system work properly.

Glutathione shots near me – the effective IV Therapy is beneficial in a number of ways, allowing your doctor to deliver beneficial nutrients directly into your bloodstream by bypassing the gastrointestinal tract. The amazing shot that is given through IV therapy ensures optimum benefits as they don’t break down on their way. According to doctors, glutathione shots near are effective that are done within 15 minutes.

There are a number of added benefits associated with the Glutathione shots near me. You have to search the right clinic near you where such types of treatment options are provided.

#Glutathione shots near me

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atamazglobal · 2 years

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Things To Know When Taking A Glutathione Skin Whitening Injection

Nowadays, everyone wants to look perfect and stunning, even in their 50s. For this, people opt for many treatments to keep their faces beautiful and awesome. Glutathione injections are accepted worldwide for skin lightening for their positive outcomes on the skin. Glutathione is an antioxidant shot for brighter skin. It supports removing radicals and toxins from the body to boost skin-lightening levels. Doctors and dermatologists from all over the world have often used Glutathione during skin treatments and therapies. The glutathione skin whitening injection is most prevalent due to the trend toward a more glowing complexion. Let's know more about what it does to the skin and what you must do while taking glutathione injections.

What Does Glutathione Do For Skin?

Glutathione not only benefits the skin but also has known effects on overall health. It can help you to achieve the desired look. Some of the positive outcomes of glutathione on the skin are listed below:

Effects on the Skin: Prevents the aging of the Skin. Reduces hyperpigmentation. Guards the body against harmful toxins. Supports the detoxification of the body. Regenerate vitamins C and E. Improves immunity.

How Long Does It Take Glutathione To Brighten Up The Skin? The effects begin showing on the light after 1 to 3 months at Light-medium Brown Skin.

The outcomes are evident 3 to 6 months after the treatment on Dark Brown Skin.

The effect starts showing on Very Dark Skin after 6 to 12 months. The noticeable results on Black Skin take a minimum of 18 months or more. The period of displaying the results also depends on the patient's metabolism and health.

Things to Consider While Taking A Glutathione Injection

Informing patients about what can and cannot be done with this treatment is equally important to ensure long-term safety and effectiveness. So what are the things you must know when taking Glutathione? Here you will get to know the things you should follow while taking glutathione injection:

Make Sure You Are A Good Candidate

Not everyone looking for a brighter skin tone is eligible for Glutathione. A medical diagnosis should be made first to see if the individual is medically suitable for this treatment. So make sure you go for a medical diagnosis before treatment.

Have Realistic Expectations

Taking a skin whitening injection doesn't mean you'll wake up fair the following day. This is not instant magical therapy. It takes time to attain a natural white color, so don't lose sight of realistic expectations. Wait at least two weeks before you comment on your skin color changes.

Make Sure you Know its Side Effects

Most doctors do not report serious side effects of this injection, only mild redness or bruising at the injection site, which is bearable and disappears within a few days. So you know about this thing and don't need to panic if this happens to you.

Have Some Ice Packs

Applying ice packs to the injection site can help relieve the side effects of mild redness and help you recover quickly. So you can use it after taking the injection.

Keep Up A Great Skincare Routine

Go for a good skin care regimen to increase the results. Apply medicated face oils and toners, and add enough protein and vitamins to your diet to enjoy exceptional fallouts.

Make Yourself Hydrated:

Take your hydration balance before or at any time after that. Drink at least seven-eight glasses of water daily to flush out toxins, increase blood flow, and improve skin tone.

Have Enough Information About Required

Doses of injections are different for each case; you need to consult a dermatologist to determine how many injections are needed for your skin tone.

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veworway · 2 years

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Cyberlink director suite code

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE FOR FREE#

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#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE PC#

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE FREE#

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE MAC#

It doesn’t understand FLAC or Apple lossless, but that’s hardly an issue within the suite, as video tracks never utilize those formats. The program handles most common files types including MP3, lossless WMA, compressed WMA, wave files up to 32-bits/192Khz and Ogg. It has surprisingly good noise reduction and can utilize VST effects–the industry standard for processing plug-ins. ColorDirector also has the same advanced automatic masque selection so you can color manipulate only sections of video, and it smartly tracks objects in motion.Īn easy interface, great FX, facile editing, and multi-channel audio support let AudioDirector 3 stand out from the crowd.ĪudioDirector 3 is a plain, but better-than-average wave editor that handles multiple files and up to 7.1 audio. Unfortunately, neither program allows you to collapse the options pane to gain more screen real estate. The ColorDirector interface is much like PhotoDirector 4’s, with an easy-to-use pane of options on the left side of the main window. This isn’t a problem within the suite because PowerDirector can take care of it, but if you’re buying the $130 standalone, you should be aware of this feature’s absence. I found no video stabilization like that included in PowerDirector 11. However, it also lets you to correct or enhance saturation, white balance, etc. Its raison d’être is to give your video a look-and-feel such as Silent Era (less distinct black and white), 80s Fab, 70s Flick, etc. New program ColorDirector can do that–even if you shot the film at 9 a.m.ĬolorDirector is a brand new program that handles color correction and color effects for video. Sunset always gives you the warmest feel to photos and memories.

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE PC#

It fared as well as the PC version in Connecticut-based artist Susie Klein’s hands-on, and in my own.

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE MAC#

All four editors are available as standalones for the PC however, PhotoDirector 4 is also available as a Mac standalone–one of CyberLink’s few. The program tags faces, uploads to social media sites, and is a good multi-purpose organizer. Never before has it been so easy to mislead your adoring public. Photo-vanity features abound in PhotoDirector 4, including a body shaper, eye enhancer, and teeth whitener, wrinkle remover. It’s pretty darn amazing, though it works best with objects in front of contiguous backgrounds (just sand, as opposed to both sand and ocean). Select the cow in the foreground blocking the shot, remove it, and it’s as if it were never in the shot. The first is reminiscent of Photoshop’s Magic Wand, but easier. The most impressive new features in PhotoDirector 4 are smart selection and content-aware removal. PhotoDirector 4 retains previous versions’ paneled interface with split-screen comparison, which makes editing and applying FX to photos a breeze.

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE MANUAL#

PhotoDirector 4’s manual adjustments may be applied globally or to regions defined with the program’s smart selection tools. Enter your CyberLink account username and password, and then click OK to start using CyberLink Cloud.CyberLink has expanded PowerDirector’s support for video cameras, added 4K/2K (4096 x 3072/2048 by 1080) video support, and now imports and exports the open-source Matroska (.MKV) container format. You will be prompted to sign in to CyberLink Cloud.

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE FREE#

Once you have redeemed your free one year subscription, you can now upload/download/produce effects and video to CyberLink Cloud. Click the Redeem CyberLink Cloud Now button when the dialog below displays.Enter the Product Key for PowerDirector 17 in the space provided and then click Submit.

#CYBERLINK DIRECTOR SUITE CODE FOR FREE#

If you do not have one, you can get one for free by registering on the same page. Within the Quick Start Guide that came with the retail box version of PowerDirector 17 You can redeem your free one year subscription to CyberLink Cloud storage by doing this:Ī. Your storage space will be available for one year from the date you redeem the service. If you purchased PowerDirector 17 Ultimate Suite/Ultimate/Ultra, you get a free subscription to the CyberLink Cloud service for one year, which includes 50/25 GB of cloud storage space depending on your version. The cloud storage will automatically activate once you subscribe to the 2 products. If you purchased Director Suite 365 or PowerDirector 365, you get 100GB free CyberLink Cloud service during subscription.

#Cyberlink director suite code

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magicpotions123 · 11 months

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Exploring the Advantages, Risks, and Costs of Glutathione Injections for Skin Whitening

Skin whitening has become quite a talked-about topic, with many people looking for ways to get fairer skin. One method that's gained popularity is using skin whitening injections, especially those with glutathione. In this article, we'll explore these injections, their benefits, potential side effects, and how much they cost in India.

What are Skin Whitening Injections?

Skin whitening injections, often called glutathione injections, are cosmetic procedures where glutathione, a powerful antioxidant found in the body, is given through the veins. These injections claim to make the skin lighter by reducing the pigment responsible for skin color, melanin.

Benefits of Glutathione Skin Whitening Injections:

Skin Lightening: Glutathione injections are believed to gradually make the skin fairer.

Reduced Pigmentation: They can help lessen issues like dark spots, acne scars, and hyperpigmentation.

Improved Skin Texture: Glutathione can make your skin smoother and more youthful.

Anti-Aging: Being an antioxidant, glutathione can fight free radicals and potentially reduce signs of aging, like fine lines and wrinkles.

Boosted Confidence: Achieving your desired skin tone can boost your confidence and self-esteem.

Potential Side Effects:

While these injections are generally safe, some side effects may include:

Skin Dryness: Some people may experience dry or flaky skin.

Allergic Reactions: Rarely, individuals may have allergies to the injection components.

Skin Sensitivity: Increased sensitivity to sunlight is possible, so proper sun protection is important.

Temporary Effects: The effects of glutathione injections aren't permanent and require maintenance.

Glutathione Injection Price in India:

The cost of glutathione injections in India can vary widely based on factors like the brand, dosage, and where you get them. On average, a single session can range from INR 2,000 to INR 5,000 or even more.

Conclusion:

Skin whitening injections, especially those with glutathione, have become a popular choice for those seeking fairer skin. While they offer benefits like lighter skin and improved texture, it's crucial to consider potential side effects and the need for ongoing maintenance. Before getting any skin whitening procedure, it's a good idea to consult with a qualified dermatologist or healthcare professional to ensure it's safe and suitable for your skin type.

#Glutathione injections #Skin lightening treatments #IV skin whitening #Melanin reduction #Skin pigmentation therapy #Intravenous whitening #Skin brightening procedure #Antioxidant injections #Hyperpigmentation treatments #Safe skin lightening #Vitamin C skin whitening #Collagen and whitening #Skin rejuvenation injections #Anti-melanin treatments #Benefits of skin lightening injections #Side effects of whitening shots #beauty

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terrence-silver · 2 years

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I'm sad and I need a fix-it one shot quick: Can you write something about beloved visiting Terry in jail in the aftermath of everything, as possibly the last remaining joy in Terry's life? 😔

Happiness relegated to a weekend.

And Terry Silver waits, oh does he ever wait.

One and the afternoon and the clock drags into oblivion.

He's like a wild animal in a cage.

He just replays the movie in his head. They were there by his side when his back hit the glass in the dojo and it smashed. They were there when he was on the floor, Cobra Kai printed shirts piling atop of him, thrown by his own students. The ingrates. They were they, scooting down, holding his hand, down on the ground beside him, protecting him with their body as the crowd left, the ambulance came in alongside the police. Devotion. There it was, in effect, as he was led away in cuffs and they could't let go of each other, embracing. Like something straight off of the silverscreen with two lovers at the end of some grand epic in black and white. The Larussos, all the brats and all the king's horses and men for all Terry knew watching. Maybe, in effect, Terry did win. He won something.

Happiness relegated to a weekend.

And when they arrive, he could practically imagine himself ramming his fist through the reinforced transparent barrier as he talks over the phone with light in human form, squeezing the handle so hard his joints practically whiten and go numb, purely so he could reach them and feel them. Happiness, happiness, happiness. Terry's heart soars to the point when time's up and you leave, the guards can barely muster to look at him. He's like something otherworldly. Something haunted. Like a blackhole that travelled too close to the sun's cosmic heat. How was it possible, that at his old age, after everything, all the wealth and money and success and excess, he doesn't recall when he was happiest? How is it possible that of all things, out of every moment in his life, he was happiest during visitation hours once a week?

#terry silver #kk3 #cobra kai #cobra kai season 5 #cobra kai season 5 spoilers #terry silver x reader #terry silver x beloved #tw; angst

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mustardyellowsunshine · 3 years

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When the End Comes, III

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2)

________________________________________________

Chapter 3: Bitter Water

Goddamn, her hand hurt. Were his abs made of granite or something?

Kagome flapped her throbbing hand as she ran, as though she could shake off the pain in her knuckles, and made a beeline for her car. She could see it now, the little gray Honda Fit that had essentially become her home. She was maybe a hundred feet away from it.

Willing her legs to move faster in a final burst of speed, Kagome didn’t even try to swerve around the people standing in her path: she clipped several shoulders and nearly shoved a man over without breaking her stride. Seventy feet became thirty feet became fifteen feet… Fumbling with the key fob in the pocket of her jeans, she felt a fluttering hope in the pit of her stomach. She was going to make it!

The headlights flashed twice as the car unlocked. Kagome stretched her arm forward, her fingers wrapping around the handle of the driver’s side door…

Just as the door started to swing open, a clawed hand shot out from behind her and slammed it closed again.

She yelped as she was none-too-gently shoved against the side of her car, her cheek pressed flat against the warm metal. A body pressed in behind her, and warm breath fanned the side of her face.

“Fucking hell,” the man snarled as his hands gripped both her wrists, pulling her arms behind her back. He wrestled the key fob from her clenched fingers, pocketed it in his jeans.

“I was wrong, you are stupid,” he grunted as he started lashing her wrists together with some kind of rope—it felt thick and almost elastic, like a bungee cord.

She tried to shove away from the car, tried to wrench her hands free. But he was so strong, it was like trying to muscle through a brick wall. His body kept her effortlessly pinned as he finished knotting the rope around her wrists.

Frustration and the sour bite of panic rose in her throat. Her stomach clenched hard. Her wrists were tied back-to-back, the knuckles of each hand pressed together, palms facing outward; the position twisted her forearms and elbows at an uncomfortable angle, limiting her arms' range of motion as effectively as the rope itself. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she grit her teeth.

“Right, how stupid of me,” she seethed, “to run away from a kidnapper.”

She felt him step back. His hand gripped her shoulder and he tugged her around to face him.

The silver of his hair nearly glowed in the afternoon light. His ears twitched, shifting atop his head as though analyzing every sound around them. His jaw—sharp and defined—looked tense, like he was trying not to grind his teeth. Those golden eyes were narrowed on her face.

But what struck Kagome instantly was the expression on his face. He didn’t look triumphant or sneering, wasn’t gloating down at her the way she’d expected. The way Naraku’s other hunters had looked at her when they’d caught her in the past. No, he was scowling at her as though he was considering a difficult crossword puzzle, sussing out a complicated riddle for which he was rapidly losing patience.

“Tch,” he snorted, “I’m the least of your problems. And that dumb fucking stunt you just pulled was as good as waving a neon sign at a couple of your bigger problems.”

He was yanking on her arm before she could think to respond, dragging her around to the passenger side of the car. He opened the passenger door and forced her inside, taking an extra spare moment to buckle her into the seat. In the time it took her to blink, he’d slammed the door and was already sliding into the driver’s seat, turning the key in the ignition.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she breathed out, tone curiously flat.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” he said, craning his head to look over his shoulder as he backed the car out into the street. In a matter of moments they were zipping down the road.

Sitting there, arms tied behind her back, watching a strange man drive her car—the only thing resembling a safe place left in her life—Kagome struggled to absorb the reality of the situation. She felt strangely detached from herself. The panic and anger she’d felt moments before were peripheral now—still present, but somehow remote, just on the fringes of her awareness—an odd numbness spreading through her in their wake.

So it surprised her—and him, judging by the way his body jolted in his seat—when a bark of laughter erupted from her throat, hollow and bitter. She said with hoarse resignation, “Why don’t you just kill me now?”

His eyes flicked to her, then back to the road in front of him. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. He said nothing.

Her left shoulder slumped against the car door, and she rested her temple on the window, staring listlessly at the passing buildings. “Honestly, you’d be doing me a favor at this point.”

“I’m not going to kill you,” he said, tone clipped and terse.

She laughed again. “Sure, that’s why you threatened to slice my throat.”

She kept her gaze on the window, but it sounded to her like he was scowling again when he replied, “I had to get us both out of there fast, and without drawing attention. Fear is a good motivator.” He paused, then added with unmistakable irritation, “You shot all that to hell, though. We’ll be lucky if we make it to the next town without trouble.”

Kagome lifted her head and turned to stare at him. Anger started bleeding through the numbness smothering her brain. “Oh, a thousand apologies for giving you trouble.”

“You gave yourself trouble, idiot.” A growl rumbled up from his chest, and he glared at the windshield in front of him. “Forget the people on the street—do you know how many goddamn cameras there are in public places? It won’t be hard for the right people to find footage of that spectacle you made. You think it’ll be hard for them to track you once they have it?”

She couldn’t do anything but stare at him in disbelief. “Spectacle I made? You abducted me! You tied me up! You—” She stopped, unable to speak around the anger brewing in her chest. Finally she growled low in her throat, “You’re the trouble! Stop with the damn act now. It’s insulting. I know you’re taking me to Naraku.”

He stiffened, arms noticeably tensing. The look he shot her could’ve pierced steel. “I don’t work for that fucking bastard.”

There came the hollow laugh from her throat again, raw and pained. “Right. Never heard that one before.” She felt a tear slide down her cheek, and couldn’t bring herself to care about the weakness it showed.

A beat passed. His voice was still rough, but it had an almost thoughtful quality when he said, “Been tricked by Naraku’s lackeys one too many times, huh?”

When she didn’t respond, he sighed and then said quietly, “Look, I don’t expect you to believe me. But I’m not taking you to Naraku. I swear it.”

They sat in silence for some time. She watched him carefully. His arms were still stiff, his grip on the steering wheel still tight. His eyes kept flicking up to the rearview mirror, despite the fact that traffic had thinned considerably when they reached the more rural outskirts of the suburbs. He certainly looked like someone expecting to be followed.

Why the hell would a hunter working for Naraku act so on edge? And after he’d already captured his quarry?

She didn’t believe him, not really... but eyeing him thoughtfully, she found herself saying, “Let’s pretend I believe you. If you’re not taking me to Naraku, then where are you taking me?”

Golden eyes met and held hers. “Somewhere safe.”

#Inuyasha #Inuyasha AU #Inuyasha fanfiction #InuKag #Inuyasha fanfic #my writing #When the End Comes

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madam-melon-meow · 4 years

Text

Bisexual Kyoshi is something that can be so personal, actually

Panel edit by @flagellasturbation

[image I.D. : An edit of a comic panel of avatar Kyoshi. On the left in the image is a close-up of Kyoshi from the torso up, contained within an upside-down trapezoid shape. She wears her full battle uniform of olive and emerald robes, dark gloves and bracers, and a golden headpiece in a fan-like shape. Her eyes are the same emerald shade as her robes, she has black hair billowing to the left edge of the image, and her black eyebrows have been dramatically lengthened by black face paint. Her face and neck are artificially whitened with chalky makeup, she has black winged eyeliner, red eyeshadow that sweeps upwards to her temples and down the sides of her nose, and red lipstick outlined in black. This is the classic Kyoshi makeup. Her arms are crossed, the left arm behind her head pointing a golden fan away from the viewer, the right arm extended in front of her face, another golden fan pointed towards the viewer. She appears to be looking upwards and towards the right of the image. Above Kyoshi’s eye level and in the top right of the image is a comic text box. It reads in all caps: “even avatar Kyoshi- who by all accounts loved men and women- was unable to effect any kind of real progress.” The background art and color has been replaced with the Bisexual Flag, a thick horizontal line of pink on top, stopping at Kyoshi’s cheek level, then a thinner line of purple ending at her shoulders, and a thick line of blue that extends to the bottom of the image. End I.D.]

(If someone does not find my image I.D. sufficient, please let me know. This is my first time trying to make such a thing, as i am a lurker, not a poster)

Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee, page 99 (text copy / pasted from the b&n ebook version)

““Are those . . . fire lilies?” he said, a wide, knowing grin spreading across his face.

Kyoshi flushed beet red. “Stop it,” she said.

“That’s right,” Yun said. “The Ember Island tourism minister brought a bunch when he visited two weeks ago. I can’t believe you simply shred the flowers once they dry out. I guess nothing goes to waste in this house.”

“Knock it off,” Kyoshi snapped. But it was too hard keeping the corners of her lips from curling upward.

“Knock what off?” he said, enjoying her reaction. “I’m just commenting on a fragrance I’ve come to particularly enjoy.”

It was an inside reference that only the two of them shared. Rangi didn’t know. She hadn’t been there in the gifting room eight months ago while Kyoshi arranged a vast quantity of fire lilies sent by an admiral in the Fire Navy, one of Hei-Ran’s friends.

Yun had spent the afternoon watching Kyoshi work. Against every scrap of her better judgment, she’d allowed him to lie down on the floor and rest his head in her lap while she plucked deformed leaves and trimmed stems to the right length. Had anyone caught the two of them like that, there would have been a scandal that not even the Avatar could have recovered from.

That day, entranced by Yun’s upside-down features dappled with the flower petals she’d teasingly sprinkled over his face, she’d almost leaned down and kissed him. And he knew it. Because he’d almost reached up and kissed her.

They never spoke of it afterward, the shared impulse that had nearly crashed both of their carriages. It was too . . . well, they each had their duties was a good way to put it. That moment did not fit anywhere among their responsibilities.

But since then, whenever the two of them were in the presence of fire lilies, Yun’s eyes would dart toward the flowers repeatedly until he was sure Kyoshi noticed. She would try unsuccessfully to keep a straight face, the heat coloring her neck, and he’d sigh as if to mourn what could have been.

Today was no different. With a wistful blush on his own cheeks, Yun stared her down until her defenses broke and she let out a giggle through her nose.

“There’s that beautiful smile,” he said. He pressed his heels into the floor, sliding up against the wall, and straightened his rumpled shirt. “Kyoshi, trust me when I say this: If it turns out not to be me, I’ll be glad it’s you.”

~~~~~~~~~

Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee, page 210 (text copy / pasted from the b&n ebook version)

“You think you don’t deserve peace and happiness and good things, but you do!” Rangi yelled. “You, Kyoshi! Not the Avatar, but you!”

She closed the distance and wrapped her arms around Kyoshi’s waist. The embrace was a clever way to hide her face.

“Do you have any idea how painful it’s been for me to follow you on this journey where you’re so determined to punish yourself?” she said. “Watching you treat yourself like an empty vessel for revenge, when I’ve known you since you were a servant girl who couldn’t bend a pebble? The Avatar can be reborn. But you can’t, Kyoshi. I don’t want to give you up to the next generation. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

Kyoshi realized she’d had it all wrong. Rangi was a true believer. But her greatest faith had been for her friends, not her assignment. She pulled Rangi in closer. She thought she heard a slight, contented sigh come from the other girl.

“I wish I could give you your due,” Rangi muttered after some time had passed. “The wisest teachers. Armies to defend you. A palace to live in.”

Kyoshi raised an eyebrow. “The Avatar gets a palace?”

“No, but you deserve one.”

“I don’t need it,” Kyoshi said. She smiled into Rangi’s hair, the soft strands caressing her lips. “And I don’t need an army. I have you.”

Psh,” Rangi scoffed. “A lot of good I’ve been so far. If I were better at my job you would never feel scared. Only loved. Adored by all.”

Kyoshi gently nudged Rangi’s chin upward. She could no more prevent herself from doing this than she could keep from breathing, living, fearing.

“I do feel loved,” she declared.

Rangi’s beautiful face shone in reflection. Kyoshi leaned in and kissed her.

A warm glow mapped Kyoshi’s veins. Eternity distilled in a single brush of skin. She thought she would never be more alive than now.

And then—

The shock of hands pushing her away. Kyoshi snapped out of her trance, aghast.

Rangi had flinched at the contact. Repelled her. Viscerally, reflexively.

Oh no. Oh no.

This couldn’t—not after everything they’d been through—this couldn’t be how it—

Kyoshi shut her eyes until they hurt. She wanted to shrink until she vanished within the cracks of the earth. She wanted to become dust and blow away in the wind.

But the sound of laughter pulled her back. Rangi was coughing, drowning herself with her own tears and mirth. She caught her breath and retook Kyoshi by the hips, turning to the side, offering up the smooth, unblemished skin of her throat.

“That side of my face is busted up, stupid,” she whispered in the darkness. “Kiss me where I’m not hurt.”

~~~~~

I include both these quotes because i've seen a few posts about the “gigantic lesbian” avatar, and although i am glad my sapphic sisters feel connected to Kyoshi (as well they should!), that doesn't mean i wish to simply be quiet on the matter of her textual bisexuality. I understand that not everyone has read her novels, nor has everyone read legend of Korra comics, but Kyoshi is *textually* bisexual.

Kyoshi had a loving romantic relationship with her firebending friend Rangi, but this does not erase her feelings for her earthbending friend Yun, even if neither of them were able to properly express it due to their respective “status”. (For context if you haven’t read, the masters believed that Yun was the avatar, and though he was bodyguarded by Rangi, and though Kyoshi was his servent, the three of them were simiar ages and thus close friends until the discovery of Kyoshi’s true ability destroyed their former lives). Hell, Kyoshi and Rangi do not become intimate until after fleeing their former lives. Who is to say what would have happened, had Yun not been captured by father glowworm ?

I know that there is a chance you will scoff at this, will write this off as comphet, accuse me of disproportionately weighting an almost-kiss with a true relationship, but these above quotes (as well as the comic panel from “the legend of korra: turf wars- part 1”) serve as proof that Kyoshi, “by all accounts loved men and women” (see panel directly below)

[image I.D. : the same comic panel as the edit above, this one without the bisexual flag edited in. Directly behind Kyoshi, within the upside-down trapezoid shape, is an olive to lime gradient, darker around her head and lighter near the bottom. Around and to the right in the image, outside of the trapezoid, is an aerial shot of buildings within an Earth Kingdom city, and what appears to be the lines of troops on the ground far below. the text box in the image is the same, but I have underlined the word “men” in blue, the word “and” in purple, and the word “women” in pink, to reflect the bisexual flag. End I.D.]

I am making such a big deal over this because Kyoshi is a massive figure, her long shadow cast over Aang’s life alongside Roku’s, and even before her novels came out there were often jokes about her “bloodthirsty” nature. I implore you to read the novels and see why Kyoshi believed in deadly justice at times, but also so you can see what a dynamic, loving, and beautiful character she is.

Some members of fandom have taken a “step on me” attitude towards Kyoshi, who has, even if the 7 feet tall thing is more fanon than canon, been explicitly described as “exceptionally tall”, and “towering” over others. This “strong woman who will break me and I thank them” attitude is one that butch &/or physically imposing sapphics, as well as trans women with similar statures to Kyoshi have expressed discomfort when applied to themselves and characters like them. I would love for more people to acknowledge her flaws and multi-faceted nature, that she is more than a “warrior goddess”, just as Aang is more than a living relic. Flattening her out to the easily-fetishable parts erases the depth of her character and the complexity of circumstances that led to the instances of deadly force.

There are very few bisexual characters in media, especially women, and especially in children’s media. Bisexual women have often been caricatured as loose, promiscuous, good for a threesome and not much else. (This is mot to say that i think any lesser of my fellow bisexuals who are proudly promiscious, nor can an actual live bisexual person be considered a stereotype for living their life, but media’s portayal of us as obsessed with desire is incredibly harmful). Knowing that a strong, beautiful, and important character in the avatar universe is a bisexual woman is amazing, even more so to have her first lady-love described in the novels with such care. F. C. Yee, the author of these novels, has my eternal gratitude. I sincerely hope that the new generation of fans, whether they are drawn to the cartoon or even the hypothetical live action show, will pick up these novels and discover the kind of bisexual character that I wish existed in my early days as a reader, and if a small fraction of them resonate with Kyoshi’s reciprocal on Yun and love for Rangi, then the world becomes a little bit brighter for it.

I mentioned her importance for the simple reason that Kyoshi IS important with the text of ATLA. As one of the avatars, she is one of the most historically important figures in that universe, one of the few avatars that Aang knows by name, and one of the only avatars to speak through his body. The fact that she has two whole novels to herself testifies to that effect, making her bisexual representation all the more important than a simple background character might be.

If or when the ATLA live action tv show occurs, we can expect some mention of Kyoshi. After all, there is a whole episode dedicated to exploring one of her missions, and the way that the descendants of her enemy have recolored history. It is my sincere desire that enough discussion is made about her canon bisexuality , that fandom trumphets it from the roof with as much force as crackshipping zukka, that when she does make it to the screen, there is some subtle nod in her bisexuality’s direction, even if it is something as meta as casting a bisexual actress for her. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

edit by @flagellasturbation

[image I.D. : An edit of a comic panel of avatar Kyoshi. This is like the first image, Kyoshi and the text box of the comic panel untouched, the background color and art replaced with the bisexual flag. However, this version has the words “by all accounts” blown up large and placed diagonally in the image, directly under Kyoshi’s face and stretching from one side of the image to the other. The bottom third of the image is similarly obscured, the words “men” , “and” , “women” blown up large enough to fill the panel and cover most of Kyoshi’s torso, as well as the purple and blue areas of the background flag. End I.D.]

#Avatar Kyoshi #Rangi #Yun #The Rise of Kyoshi #The Shadow of Kyoshi #father glowworm #bisexual

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somethingimworkingon · 4 years

Text

Zanele Muholi, Tate Modern

Walking into the Zanele Muholi exhibition at Tate Modern is like discovering another country.

In 2017 Muholi’s ongoing self-portrait series, Somnyama Ngonyama/Hail the Dark Lioness, was exhibited in London’s Autograph Gallery. In press reviews and posters on the tube that autumn, the images were unmissable and unmistakeable: stark black and white photographs of an impassive face crowned with Brillo pads or clothes pegs, festooned with vacuum cleaner hoses. At the time, Autograph wrote, the artist: “uses her body as a canvas to confront the politics of race and representation… Gazing defiantly at the camera, Muholi challenges the viewer’s perceptions while firmly asserting her cultural identity on her own terms: black, female, queer, African.”

Fast forward to 2020, and Tate Modern’s major Zanele Muholi exhibition. Visiting hours at the museum flicker in and out of existence as we navigate COVID lockdowns – now you can come! No, wait, sorry, you can’t. Try rebooking for a month’s time.

When I finally squeaked in, in early December, I expected more Dark Lionesses. I had a vague idea that Zanele Muholi was a bit like a South African Cindy Sherman.

I was wrong.

This exhibition shows the breadth of Muholi’s practice, of which the self-portraits are just one strand. The range and energy of the work is astounding. Especially given that in 2012 their studio was burgled and five years of work on hard drives was stolen.

Another mental adjustment: Muholi’s pronouns are they/them/theirs.

Born in Umlazi, South Africa, in 1972, at the height of Apartheid, Zanele’s father died when they were a baby and their mother, Bester, a domestic worker, had to leave her eight children for employment in a white household. Zanele was brought up by extended family. They started working as a hairdresser, then studied photography at Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, graduating in 2003, and going on to be awarded their MFA in Documentary Media from Ryerson University in Toronto in 2009.

On returning to South Africa they started to document the lives of the LGBTQI+ community.

Aftermath (2004)

The exhibition opens with a group of deceptively gentle images. In the first, Aftermath (2004), a torso is cropped from waist to knees, hands modestly clasped in front of Jockey shorts, a huge scar running down the person’s right leg almost like a piece of body art. In another, Ordeal (2003), hands wring out a cloth in an enamel basin of water placed on a floor. A third image shows a cropped, seated figure, again waist to thighs, hands folded in their lap, plastic hospital ties around their wrists. These pictures have a softness and beauty which completely belies the fact that their subjects are all survivors of sexual violence and “corrective rape”.

As the caption to the last picture, Hate crime survivor I, Case number (2004) explains, “Corrective rape is a term used to describe a hate crime in which a person is raped because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The intended consequence of such acts is to enforce heterosexuality and gender conformity.” This horrific practice is by no means unique to South Africa, but the term seems to have originated there – feminist activist Bernedette Muthien used it during an interview with Human Rights Watch in 2001 – and its effects on the community resonate throughout this exhibition.

Ordeal (2003)

They don’t, however, dominate. While the exhibition starts by showing the evils of intolerance of gender nonconformity, Muholi goes on to reclaim, elevate and celebrate that same nonconformity.

With Being (2006 – ongoing) we move on to photographs of naked bodies entwined – again tightly cropped, again soft black and white, but now without outside interference. They are sensual, personal, and owned. A series of portraits of two female lovers, Katlego Mashiloane and Nosipho Lavuta (2007) switches to colour and full figures. The couple sit entwined, laughing: they kiss, and bathe side by side standing in an enamel basin, in a warm, defiant echo of the scene in Ordeal (2003) across the room.

Katlego Mashiloane and Nosipho Lavuta, Ext.2, Lakeside, Johannesburg (2007)

The series Brave Beauties, started in 2014, is “a series of portraits of trans women, gender non-conforming and non-binary people. Many of them are also beauty pageant contestants.” The queer beauty pageant is many things: a celebration – and redefinition – of beauty, a declaration of independence by contestants, a challenge to “heteronormative and white supremacist cultures,” and an attempt, as Muholi puts it, “to change mind-sets in the communities [the contestants] live in, the same communities where they are most likely to be harassed or worse.”

Melissa Mbambo, Durban, South Beach (2017). Melissa Mbambo is a trans woman and beauty queen, Miss Gay South Africa 2017

Roxy Msizi Dlamini, Parktown, Johannesburg (2018)

Akeelah Gwala, Durban (2020)

These portraits are made collaboratively, Muholi and the subjects choosing clothing, location and poses together. Some of them, like the picture of Roxy Msizi Dlamini (2018) have the quality of a classic glamorous studio shot. Others, like Akeeleh Gwala, Durban (2020), posing in a bikini against a scruffy brick wall in what seems to be a deserted brick alleyway, are a reminder of the vulnerability of the subject. Akeelah Gwala’s “Testimony” in the exhibition catalogue says: “I am 24 years old. I am a transgender woman. Growing up was very difficult because your parents think this is a boy… I was raped when I was 16 years old…” The rapist, a well-known pastor, threatened Akeelah’s family, forcing them out of their home. Akeelah refers to Muholi as “Sir Muholi” and says, “I have taken part in several beauty pageants. I perform because as a Brave Beauty, it is important to be visible and make others know about us and respect us as human beings.”

Miss Lesbian I-VII, Amsterdam (2009)

The theme of beauty pageants also features in the series of self-portraits Miss Lesbian I-VII, Amsterdam (2009), where Muholi casts themself as a beauty queen, an early identification with the wider community prefiguring Brave Beauties. The 2009 series brings together several of Muholi’s themes: the beauty pageant and the fashion/fashion magazine world; who gets to perform and who gets to watch; who gets to choose what beauty means? And, as an aside that may sound trivial but isn’t, kitchen utensils as headgear.

As the exhibition unfolds, we discover other projects. Muholi describes themselves as a visual activist, and they have a large network of collaborators, including the collective Inkanyiso (“Light” or “Illuminate” in isiZulu), a non-profit organisation focused on queer visual activism. We see images documenting marches and protests, weddings and funerals, and “After Tears” – gatherings held after burials to celebrate the life of the lost loved one.

Nathi Dlamini at the After Tears of Muntu Masombuka’s funeral, KwaThema, Springs, Johannesburg (2014)

Death is a constant presence in Muholi’s community and work. The largest space in this exhibition is given to Faces and Phases (2006 – ongoing), a collection of portraits – 500, and counting. The images “celebrate, commemorate and archive the lives of Black lesbians, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.” People appear more than once. Some spots on the walls are empty, marking a portrait yet to be taken or a participant no longer there. One wall is dedicated to those who have passed away.

Not only is this a powerful and moving project, it’s an extraordinarily beautiful set of pictures. As are the last works in the show, the series that started in 2012: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness.

In this work, Muholi has darkened their skin and whitened their eyes, and composed the picture in the manner of a classical, perfectly-lit studio portrait, posing with found objects as “costume” – a footstool as a helmet, say. There is so much to unpick in these images – references to colonialism, Apartheid, to the politics of race and representation, to femininity and “women’s work”. Muholi presents us with a kaleidoscope of views of injustice, equal parts beautiful and brutal. The photographs were created in different parts of the world, at different times, combining what could almost be witty accessorising with intense cultural and political commentary.

Quinso, The Sails, Durban (2019)

The intellectual focus of every picture is slightly different. Zamile, KwaThema (2016) shows Muholi draped in a striped blanket, as used in South African prisons during Apartheid. In Quinso, The Sails, Durban (2019) Muholi’s hair is adorned with silvery Afro combs, a symbol of African and African diaspora cultural pride. In Nolwazi II, Nuoro, Italy (2015) their hair is stuffed with pens – a reference to the “pencil test” whereby, under Apartheid, if a pencil pushed into a person’s hair fell out they were “classified as white”.

Nolwazi II, Nuoro, Italy (2015)

As mentioned above, Muholi calls themselves a visual activist rather than an artist – though galleries, like Tate Modern, might beg to disagree. Walking through this exhibition, I came away with the impression that their work is on the intersection of art and documentary photography – but also that everything is documentary: everything is story telling, and bearing witness, and the place where “documenting the community” and “expressing oneself as an artist” is continually blurred.

Maybe it’s not just like discovering a new country: maybe Zanele Muholi is showing us a whole new world.

Zanele Muholi is at Tate Modern until May 31, 2021

#zanele muholi #tate modern

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ghostiesblog · 4 years

Text

Did the driver say go the other way and look for something better?

a Willie/Willex ficlet

tw: graphic descripition of a traffic accident, description of the effects of codeine

a/n: yikes, this is a lot. I’m full on projecting my chronic pain onto willie here and sometimes you just need to write a vent fic

---------

It was the cold of a rare winter day, biting into his skin. It was the hard stare that Caleb sent across the room whenever he was doing his job, sending his heart up into his throat. It was the regret, twisting his stomach.

At least it was not the regret that Caleb wanted him to feel.

Willie was supposed to regret sneaking away, regret chasing after Alex, regret telling the band everything he knew and betraying the only home he’d known since-

Instead, all Willie regretted is unknowingly playing right into Caleb’s hands, even trusting the charismatic guy with a swaying cape and the captivating hand gestures of someone who lived and died to build a performance on lies, trusting him enough to expect him to play fair to ever give without taking, taking, taking.

Taking souls.

Willie regretted not seeing sooner what was happening. Not realizing what he’d gotten himself and what he was dragging his new friends into.

He did not regret any of the things he’s done to remedy his actions. Even now, when he was feeling like he was dying all over again. When he was laying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling

Well, staring was really saying too much since all he could see was whitened out patches on blurry on blurry on blurry.

Like awful black goo, the pain was spreading from his head down his neck, into his hands, his chest, his hipbone.

It felt like, if he looked down, Willie would see dark red dripping from his fingers, leaking from his ears and building up in his eyes, clouding his vision like the pain was. His muscles sometimes twitched, almost as if there were tiny electric shocks attacking his nerves, challenging his reflexes (the reflexes that didn’t save him all those years ago).

Like a burn mark, Willie could still feel the imprint of the impact that took him out, sent him straight into Caleb’s net with the taste of the bitter hot concrete still lingering on his tongue.

Willie’s life had ended with a loud crash and a yell, though he wasn’t sure who it was that had shouted when he shot out into the street, the wind in his hair and a laugh bubbling in his chest that got stuck when the truck he didn’t register in time rammed into his side.

For a moment, he had felt nothing. Then the pain came rushing in, stabbing and burning, whitening out every other sensation he possibly could have. Since then, he hadn’t been without it.

The pain stuck around when Willie felt himself float away from the broken form on the pavement, when he was swallowed by black and spit out again on Sunset Boulevard.

The pain had been his only companion when he realized that no one saw him or heard him anymore, when the first lifer had passed through him and in the days (or weeks? months?) he had spent stumbling around disoriented, when he found that he could will his skateboard into existence as easy as nothing else was anymore, when he rolled through the streets that he used to frequent with his friends, it was always there, like a constant distress signal in the back of his mind.

The first time the pain dulled had been when the mysterious guy with the top hat, who he had vague memory of seeing in a magazine of his mom’s, stepped into his path and put a gentle hand on his cheek.

Caleb had introduced himself and told him about others like him, about a community, a place to stay if he’d only join him. Willie had been so drunk on the relief that he didn’t even ask what he was giving up in return.

He remembered the day he broke his arm for the first time. He recently learned to skate and was itching to try what the cool kids at the skate park were doing. He was reckless, as always, something that his mother had scolded him about when he trudged back home, kicking his board in front of him and holding tightly onto his throbbing right forearm.

They went to the hospital and when tears had started leaking out of the corners of Willie’s eyes, his mom kissed his forehead and called him brave and strong. His arm was put in a cast and they gave him painkillers to help with falling asleep.

The codeine in the paracetamol had made him feel drowsy, like his head was filled with cotton and the world was far away. That was the way Caleb made him feel when he took away some of the pain.

During his time at the club Willie was taught and worked. Caleb doled out his comforting, dulling touch freely during this time, with a heavy hand on the shoulder, a pat on the cheek, a straightening of the collar of his uniform.

After a while he even earned the privilege of skating freely around the streets of Hollywood. At this point, he was too numbed out to remember that he didn’t need anyone’s permission for that before. Before.

A rustle next to him made Willie start and he had the urge to push away, to scream, to hide how awful and rotten he was, until a heavenly cool hand slipped into his and held on tight, the first pleasant sensation he felt in what feels like eternity.

Alex.

“Hi”, he said in a low voice and Willie was thankful that he knew not to whisper, the sound too sharp for his sensitive ears during his episodes. He curled his fingers in response. A soft kiss to his temple felt like a relief, some of the tension leaving his face.

Willie had never been looking for perfect. His mom had loved him, endlessly but she had told him early on that the world wouldn’t be kind. Back in his day, the way he looked was enough to catch some bad attention.

He was determined to make the best of it. He skated without abandon, always a laugh and a whoop ready to burst out of him. He screamed, when it became too much. He screamed a lot, danced his heart out and broke into celebrities’ mansions despite it all.

Knowing Alex and breaking away from Caleb made his world brighter again. More real, more present. The pain too, with all of its ebbs and flows.

Willie turned his face towards where he knew Alex was without opening his eyes. He felt his boyfriend shift closer and then his hand, combing gently through Willies hair, soothing some of the fire that he felt in his body.

When he drifted away into sleep, he knew it would be alright.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #willie jatp #willex #alex mercer #might post this on ao3 if I like it enough tomorrow morning #basically everything hurst and i wish i had someone to hold my hand like alex does in this #fic

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 4 years

Text

Omertà👄13

Warnings: noncon sexual acts (intercourse); tags to be added throughout series

This is dark!Bucky and dark! Loki and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Your father was a bookie and taught you everything you know about numbers. After his death, you were taken on as a bookkeeper for Loki Laufeyson, resident crime boss in Manhattan. But can you keep your place in the background when a man from Brooklyn threatens to drag you to the forefront?

Note: Alright, I cranked it out. Here ya go!

Hope you enjoy it. Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

Steve got you back to the casino in one piece but you weren’t foolish enough to think it was because of your pathetic play with the pen. You suspected his behaviour hadn’t entirely been spontaneous. His boss surely had something to do with it though how, you couldn’t guess.

You waited in the office on the second floor for the delivery of the carelessly selected furniture. After the scene against the desk, you were less than interested in your actual purpose in the store. Your selection had been impulsive and rushed.

You helped the men as they set up the large wooden desk and the purple suede chair you tacked onto the purchase. There was also a set of simple arm chairs that you placed opposite each other around the low table preserved from the casino’s skeleton and the jade paperweight better used as a bludgeon.

You like the carved curlicues along the sides of the table and really didn’t mind the overall effect. It was much better than your former school-girlish set up in the antique shop. In fact, a third room had been cleared out to provide your own space though you noted that Bucky’s own separated you from Loki. A deliberate and heavy-handed move.

You locked your ledger in the second drawer as your irritated boss appeared and sneered at the mismatched set-up. You were thankful that he arrived alone. Though you suspected he did not feel the same. He crossed his arms as he refused to cross the threshold.

“It’s late,” He hissed.

You looked at him. He didn’t need to say anything else. His faced was drawn in a sharp scowl and his green eyes burned as they skittered around impatiently. You grabbed your bag and rounded the desk to meet him at the door.

“Thor?” You asked.

“Late. Still.” He turned and strode down the hallway, barely concerned about your presence as he did. “As always. I’m hardly surprised and yet I am entirely annoyed.”

You grumbled and followed him down the wide staircase to the foyer. The men continued their work, the hammering and drilling, as you passed. Outside, the air was cool and you could smell the water as its mist wafted over the boardwalk not far from the casino.

Silent, you dropped into the passenger seat of Loki’s car and he cleared his throat as he swung his long legs under the steering wheel. He shifted in the seat and shoved the keys in the ignition. His fingers tapped on the leather wheel before he turned the engine and roared away from the curb.

“Your little shopping spree,” He snarled. “How did that go?”

“It… went,” You sighed and leaned against the door. “I don’t dare ask about your own day.”

His knuckles whitened as he gripped the wheel even tighter and ignored a red light. He hissed as he kept his fiery gaze on the road ahead.

“That… imbecile…” He muttered. “And his damn one percent!”

You were quiet as you stared at the dashboard. You adjusted your bag in your lap and tangled your arm in the strap. You could smirk and say I told you so but that would do you no favour.

“I say one thing, he wants the other,” Loki continued. “As if I’m stupid enough not to realise it is all a joke to him. If I were to say the sky is blue, he’d declare it yellow. And--” Loki huffed and pulled a hand away from the wheel to smooth his hair. “You!”

Your eyes rounded in confusion as you peered over at him.

“I know he won’t leave you alone,” He growled. “He can’t leave my things alone. Like a child.”

You blinked and frowned. While his ire was mostly aimed at Bucky, you knew it would not be thrust upon him. You shook your head and turned back to the gaze out the windshield.

“And this business with the hotel rooms,” He carried on. “As if to keep us apart. To keep me from my toy.”

You hugged your bag tightly, growing irritated by his ranting. But his blatant disregard for you. The scabbed cut on your pelvis itched beneath your dress.

“Well, darling, he has only fed my appetite,” He smirked. “And I don’t care if the entire city should hear me sate it.”

“Christ,” You uttered as he pulled up to the front of the hotel.

As he did, a man in a dark blue jacket approached and stood in wait at the curb. Loki shot you a warning look as you opened your door. He neared the valet and handed him his keys with a curt order not to manhandle it and his room number.

You gave an apologetic smile to the employee and dug around in your bag. You fished out a fifty and offered it to him with a sorry before he could round the car.

You turned and found Loki with his arms crossed waiting by the hotel’s facade, the door held open by another man in a similar jacket. You hurried over, your heels loudly clicking across the walkway. He turned and preceded you as you struggled to keep up.

“I can pay my own way, darling,” He grumbled under his breath. “Speaking of.”

He held out his hand and you fished around for the black card. You slipped it into his palm as he swept over to the elevators and he quickly tucked it away. He hit the button and waited with his hand on his hip. He checked his phone and tutted under his breath.

“Fucking Thor,” He waved you forward as the doors slid open. “I swear.”

He got into the elevator with you and you watched his reflection in the doors as they closed. His eyes went to the ceiling as he roiled with anger and impatience. You didn’t see this turning out well. Your fears were confirmed as his gaze found your owned mirrored image and flared. His tongue poked out and the corner of his mouth curved.

He grabbed your elbow as the elevator dinged and he dragged you out with him. Your bag slipped down your other arm and you barely caught it before it hit the floor. You stumbled over your feet as he pulled out his room key and checked the number in the shiny folder.

He slipped the card out with two fingers and stopped before the suite at the end of the hallway. He flicked it along the slot and the light flashed a pale purple as the lock sounded. He pushed inward and as good as flung you inside. You caught yourself on the small table beneath the regal mirror, a doorway just beside it which led to a darkened bathroom.

The door closed with a decisive click and Loki brushed past you. You set your bag down and watched him pace the large suite as he removed his jacket. A kitchenette, a luscious living space, a polished dining set, and an immense sliding glass door led to the high balcony. Another doorway at the other end of the suite led to what you assumed was the bedroom.

Loki tugged at his tie as he neared the sofa and pulled out his phone once more. One hand worked at untangling his tie as the other typed out something on the screen. He dumped both on the table behind him and turned back to the cushions.

“Come on,” He pointed to the couch. “I’m not in the mood to argue.”

You hesitated before you walked across the marble floor and onto the rich rug. You stopped at the end of the sofa and shook your head.

“Why--”

“No. No.” He grabbed your upper arm and pulled you towards him. “This entire day has been one big argument, I’ll not have another. Especially with you, darling.”

He spun you to face the couch and shoved you harshly. Your knees hit the edge and you fell awkwardly onto the cushion. He pushed you down so that your chest was against the back of the sofa as his other hand hiked up your dress. You wriggled and reached back to slap him away. He caught your wrist and twisted cruelly.

“Must we continue like this?” He snarled. “My patience with you runs thinner and thinner, darling, and I become more inclined to…” He squeezed your wrist and bent your arm further up your back until you whined. “Really make you suffer.”

You whimpered and he kept a hold of your wrist.

“Now do you prefer I break your arm then fuck you, or just the latter?” He added more pressure and you cried out.

“Ah, stop, stop!” You pleaded. “Fuck, Loki! Stop! Okay, okay!”

He released you harshly and your arm shook as you drew it away. You shakily touched your skirt and drew it over your thigh. He ripped it up entirely to your waist and pushed you against the couch so that your arms were bent between you and the upholstery. Your arm still throbbed as the blood rushed back to your hand.

“Good girl,” He smacked your ass sharply and his long fingers crept beneath the elastic of your panties and tugged them down just as roughly.

He fumbled behind you and you heard the familiar metallic clink. You closed your eyes and hung your head. Maybe he would be quick. Ha, did it matter?

He stepped closer and you felt his smooth, swollen tip against your ass. He gripped your shoulder and bent you further. He guided himself down to your folds and rubbed along them. He growled and pushed into you without warning. You weren’t quite wet enough and it hurt. You bit into the heel of your hand as your other grasped the couch.

He rutted into you without pause. You grunted and gritted your teeth as you clung to the back of the sofa. He jerked your body with each thrust as his breaths grew heady. One hand kept hold of your shoulder as the other closed over your hip. His pelvis hit your ass with loud slaps and his groans sounded like bestial growls.

“Fuck,” He uttered as he sped up and dug his nails into your hip. “Come on, give me something.”

He slammed you back into him and you shuddered. You did your best to move your body in tandem with his. Your spine ached as he pounded into you harder and harder. You panted into the thick fabric of the sofa and clamped your lips shut as you held in the unbidden moans.

“Ah, shit. Darl--”

His voice died and he stopped suddenly, completely sheathed in you, as a knock came at the door. You lifted your head and he reluctantly slipped his hand from your shoulder. He pinched your ass as he pulled out of you. He took a breath and exhaled slowly.

“Fuck, must be our bags,” He stepped back and you carefully stood as he tucked his cock away and buckled his pants.

He found his jacket slung over a chair and pulled it on in an attempt to hide his unspent arousal. You pulled your panties up and straightened your skirt as you turned to sit on the sofa. You clasped your hands over your lap as you watched him near the door. He cursed again as he peered through the peephole.

He grabbed the handle and shook his head as he slowly opened it. You were just as uneasy as him to find Thor on the other side. The older brother wasted no time as he grinned and entered with a casual ‘hey’. He pushed past Loki as he looked around, his eyes falling on you as you tried to keep your cool.

“This is quite the room,” Thor mused as he came close. He turned back as he reached the couch and looked to his brother. “Everything you need, eh?”

He flopped onto the couch next to you and stretched his arm behind you.

“All the amenities,” He winked and his arm fell down onto your shoulders.

Loki squinted and sighed. He took the chair where his jacket had formerly resided and shifted awkwardly on the seat.

“You’re late.” Loki declared.

“Well, shit, I had a lot to do before I could just leave behind your business,” Thor retorted as he played with the sleeve of your dress. “You know, Heimdall flew all the way from London, all night, so you know, unlike you, I do allow my workers some degree of humanity. He took a nap before we could get all sorted.”

“A nap?” Loki rolled his eyes.

“You ever let your sweet bookkeeper sleep?” Thor asked as his arm hugged you. “I can’t say I would but…” He glanced over at you. “She looks tired, doesn’t she?”

You wriggled and tried to draw away. He was strong and you suspected his brother would do little to aid your escape. You glared at Loki and his lips thinned.

“Oh… oh, did I interrupt something?” Thor chuckled. “Well, don’t mind me, it’ll be like I’m not even here.”

“You’re repulsive,” Loki snorted. “I am certain you might acquire your own board for the night.”

“Front desk says they’re all booked up for the night.” Thor clung to you as his other large hand rested on his thigh and he rubbed his trousers with his finger tips. “So looks like we’ll be rooming together, brother, hmm? Just like when we were boys.”

“Hopefully not,” Loki sneered. “You will take her room, then.”

“Ah, no, I could not inconvenience the girl. I see you’ve already done so.” Thor insisted. “Beside, we do have much to discuss, wouldn’t you agree?”

Loki leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he steepled his fingers together and pressed his lips to them. His eyes bore into Thor and then flitted to you. He sat back and nodded.

“You’re right,” He said. “Darling, why don’t you go get settled in your rooms? I’ll send the porter with your bag when he arrives.”

You peeked over at Thor and slowly slid forward. You stood and his arm fell, his hand grazing your ass. You smoothed the front of your dress and cleared your throat.

“Alright.” Your legs felt unsteady as you swept to the entryway and scooped up your bag.

“It is business, brother,” Thor intoned. “Shouldn’t she stay?”

“We can go over numbers tomorrow,” Loki said. “And I would agree with you, she does look tired.” He looked over his shoulder and nodded. “Go on, darling. Enjoy your night. Alone.”

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bbrandy2002 · 4 years

Text

My Love

Chapter 13

Pairing: Liam x MC

Warnings: Violence, Language

Well, this is the final chapter before the epilogue. For a story I started last August and put away thinking no one would ever want to read, I was proven wrong. I cant imagine I will write another story that I love as much as this one. It turned into something I never planned and if you could see the original outline, it is nothing like this. But I appreciate you all so very much for sticking with it and willing to accept an out of the box plot line. I love each one of you who messaged, reblogged, liked, or commented...like seriously, it was my motivation to keep going and to do better.

A/N: Thank you to @mskaneko for the moodboard above. I saved it just for this chapter because it captures the heart of the main characters and this series so well.

And @burnsoslow I swear to God, you are the bestest friend I could ever have asked for. I'm sure you have just as much of yourself in this as I do. You've not only edited the hell out of this series, but literally dropped what you were doing to do so. There are portions you've written or just made better. I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH...EVER for brainstorming, your ideas, talking me out of my stupid ideas and cheering me on. I hope you always know how much I appreciate and value your friendship and help.

With her heart and mind racing in unison, Riley’s hand rapidly shifted the gears of Maxwell’s black Aston Martin Vulcan. Her knuckles whitened from their tight grip on the steering wheel as she pressed down harder on the gas pedal of the luxury sports car. The V12 engine roared with fervor when they sped up down a straight stretch of dark highway; the momentum caused both she and Maxwell to jerk back harshly into their plush leather seats. Her passenger’s disapproving glare and heavy groan had no effect on her. The only thing on her mind was the impending death that awaited her in the Cordonian harbor ahead.

Riley had no recollection of her first death, nor the physical pain her body experienced from the cyanide she had unwittingly ingested before bed weeks ago. The effects of the poison ravaged every cell in her body and hastily shut off her respiration. Those two tiny pills that Amanda had offered her that day to relieve a headache had consumed and destroyed the organs in her body in less than six minutes. If the message Olivia had revealed to her in a dream less than an hour ago was any indication, this second death would be twice as horrifying.

Recalling the heavenly conversation in her head with the apparently deceased Duchess of Lythikos, Riley saw an opportunity. If she were to believe Olivia’s prognostication and warnings and followed through with her former rival’s directions, was it possible her story could end differently? She had nothing left to lose and everything to gain by finding out. Her fear of dying for the second time, however, was staggering.

A devilish smirk curled Olivia’s bright red lips as she arched a sly brow. “It's time, Riley. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll do exactly as I tell you.”

Would this plan even work?

Shaking her head to dismiss the terror that threatened to overcome her, Riley flashed a glance over at Maxwell’s lap. His nimble fingers cautiously attached lead wires from an old cell phone into a c4 pipe bomb they had swiped from the armory. There were only two people she knew who had ever handled explosive devices: one she trusted — Olivia -- and the other she was astonished hadn’t already blown them up. “Maxwell, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Swiftly peeling off a strip of duct tape and biting it in half, he puckered his forehead in deep concentration and wound the strip carefully around the explosive contraption. Pausing a moment to inspect his work, his eyes shot back to her with a flash of uncertainty. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Driving through the entrance that led to the marina, Riley dimmed the car’s lights and pulled into the empty spot furthest away from the vast cluster of docked boats and yachts. Shutting off the engine, she bit the corner of her lower lip and stared blankly at the moonlight’s yellowish glow treading along the ripples of seawater in the distance. As much as she wanted to be brave and strong, believing it was the only way she could get through this, she wasn’t ready. How long would she struggle and claw her way for a single breath as the ache and emptiness in her lungs became something she could no longer fight for?

God, help me, she thought as she closed her eyes and the first stream of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Maxwell placed a comforting hand on her cold and trembling forearm. “Riley. You don’t have to do this. We can turn around right now and --”

“No!” She swiped roughly at the tears that flowed steadily. “I knew what I was getting myself into when I came back, Maxwell. This was always meant to be temporary, and I agreed to it knowing full well the repercussions of that decision. Olivia warned me: This is the only way to ensure Amalas doesn’t hurt Liam or Ellie after I’m … gone.”

Riley’s head fell back against the headrest, her chest rising and falling in rapid succession. She rolled her head sluggishly to the right to catch Maxwell’s worried eyes still fixated on her. She drew a shaky breath. “Promise me something, Max.” Her raspy voice was barely above a whisper, and he nodded back with his full attention. “Make sure when Liam gets here … well, just … just don’t let him get himself killed trying to save me. Can you promise me that?”

Maxwell ordinarily lived for intense moments of danger, but even this was beyond his level of comfort.

He turned away from her. Nothing made sense to him at that moment as he shook his head and gazed silently out his window, not knowing what to say to her. His best friend was minutes away from another death, and he was nowhere near ready to face her absence in his life again, especially one based on a dream. And somehow he could sense his friend knew more than she was telling him.

This was insane.

“Maxwell?” Riley pleaded. “Please.”

He spun his head back around to face her again, wanting nothing more than for her to change her mind and return to the palace. Unable to avoid her plea, he huffed with a half-hearted smile, “You already know I will. That’s not even something you have to ask.”

Riley breathed a heavy sigh of relief before reaching behind her seat for the leather satchel she brought. “Then let’s do this.”

Maxwell set the timer for 15 minutes, which would allow her enough time to walk to the small yacht where Amalas awaited Riley’s arrival and for the boat to pull away from the marina. The last thing they wanted was for someone innocent to be harmed when the pipe bomb detonated. Whatever plan Olivia had shared with Riley was clearly upsetting to the woman he thought of as a sister and yet, he trusted it. As Maxwell gently lowered the explosive into the bag she held open for him, he caught a tiny glimpse of hope behind the dread in her eyes that suggested this was bigger than he realized.

As Riley shrugged off her sweater and placed it inside the bag to conceal its contents, Maxwell noted the time on his watch. The minutes were passing by faster than she realized when she opened her door and gave her passenger a knowing look.

“You know what to do, right?”

Maxwell nodded. “Wait for Liam and Drake to get here. Search the port side of the boat after it explodes for you. Aaaand …” He smacked his forehead several times to remember the last point.

Riley’s brows bumped together in a scowl. “And don’t let anything happen to Liam!”

He threw his hands up. “Okay, okay, I got it!” Pausing for a moment, he watched Riley step out of the car and adjust the satchel on her shoulder. “Riley, wait!” he called before hurling himself across the console to look out the driver's side door.

She leaned down into the car. “What is it, Max?”

“Will I ever see you again?” His voice cracked.

Straining to hold back her own tears, Riley closed her eyes and took his sadness to heart. She wanted to give him the truthful answer: She didn’t know what the outcome would be, only that Olivia was working on it. There were a million things that could go wrong, and she had no control over the situation. She opened her eyes back up, barely able to make out Maxwell’s downcast face in the darkness, and smiled softly back at him. “I hope so.”

After closing the car door, she sucked in a deep breath and exhaled steadily to calm her nerves before making her way to the docks. As she made long strides towards the marina, she pulled out her phone and glared at the text message Amalas had sent to her with the location of her boat. She shut her phone off again, not wanting to trigger the explosive before it was ready.

Through trepidation, her heart pounded.

Through adrenaline, her body shook.

As waves crashed and sprayed along the shore, her senses heightened. She shivered from the cold sea air that swept over her bare arms causing her teeth to chatter. Tiny droplets of rain washed away the sheen of sweat that clung to her blanched face from her hairline down. No matter the outcome -- whether Olivia could find some way for her to stay or not -- she was going down on her terms. If the only thing that happened in the next few minutes was guaranteed protection for Liam and Ellie, Riley won.

“It’s about time you got here.”

Recognizing that voice from their many encounters in ballrooms and a Texas bar, Riley tossed a glance over her shoulder. The thin silhouette of power and intelligence stood with a hand on her jutted hip and a power suit that matched her over-inflated ego. Riley curled her lips while the weight of anticipation for revenge built in her chest.

Standing on the deck at the stern of her small yacht, Amalas cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t have all night, Amanda. Are you just going to stand there?”

Riley turned on her heels, clutching her stomach protectively, and stepped up the wooden planks that led to the deck of the yacht … and her destiny.

Amalas gestured for Riley to have a seat while she poured a glass of champagne for herself.

Riley the bag from her shoulder and placed it at her feet. Before taking a seat on the cushioned vinyl sectional that lined the railing of the boat, she swiped away the tiny drops of drizzle that had sprayed in under the canopied roof. She crossed her legs and tried to get comfortable. “So … you needed to see me?”

Amalas laughed wryly and placed the champagne back in the ice bucket. She took a sip and twisted around to face her adversary. “I did need to see you.” She lifted the glass to her lips and spoke coolly. “Queen Riley.”

Internally, Riley laughed at being called out. At this moment, it didn’t matter what Amalas knew, nor did it matter that Amalas thought she had the upper hand in the situation. You’ll be overcooked fish food in about five minutes, bitch. Riley shrugged her shoulders with a cocky grin. “I suppose my little secret is out of the bag. I assume you have a mole in my palace.”

Amalas chuckled sardonically as she casually took a seat on the opposite end of Riley. “Of course I have a mole in your palace. I had to see that my dear cousin was fulfilling her obligations. Imagine my surprise, though, to find out what that cocksucker, Neville, did to her … such a shame. But, I will say, it certainly helped that you and your king weren’t exactly discreet in your ... activities. And someone may or may not have overheard a discussion or two between your little squadron of BFFs.”

Riley felt the boat shudder under her feet as it pulled away slowly from the marina. She took in a deep breath and placed a hand over her tummy. Shit … this is it. Hold on, little one; we’ll be together soon. Everything was occurring quickly and exactly as Olivia had told her it would. Liam will be here soon.

She tilted her head to face Amalas, whose eyes swept over Riley’s shoulder. Before Riley could follow her gaze, a strap of leather wound tightly around her neck from behind, cutting off her airway. She instinctively tried to fight her way out of it but knew it was useless. Her bulging eyes watched Amalas smirk, swirl her champagne, and down the rest of her bubbly drink.

“I always win, Riley. Even if I have to kill you over and over again.”

The guard who was strangling Riley understood this statement as his order: “When you’re finished and the Queen of Cordonia is dead, toss her overboard.” The guard nodded as he continued to tighten the strap, and the Queen of Monterriso walked away, feeling confident of her victory.

____________________

Maxwell shuffled along the wet pavement, his watery eyes never once looking away from the yacht Riley boarded as it left the marina. He had never wanted to break down more than he did at that moment. Knowing that she was scared, that she was alone, and that she had just sailed off to her death -- it was too much for him.

And he had a front-row seat for all of it.

Frustrated that he was losing sight of the boat in the darkness, he cursed under his breath and considered hijacking a vessel to go after Riley himself. That was, until the screeching of tires in the distance pulled him away from his thoughts. He turned to see a truck speeding toward him. Maxwell knew exactly who it was and flailed his arms to catch their attention.

Liam jumped out before Drake had a chance to stop the vehicle completely. Barrelling towards Maxwell, his white button-up still stained with Neville’s blood, Liam was noticeably in full panic mode.

Skidding to a halt, Liam grabbed both of Maxwell’s arms and jerked him closer in desperation. “Where is she, Maxwell?”

He nodded to the open waters. “She left several minutes ago with Queen Amalas.”

Liam glanced out with his fist balled in his hair. “Fuck! Why the hell did you let her go?”

“I tried to stop her, Liam -- I swear it -- but she wouldn’t listen to me!”

Drake tugged on Liam’s elbow and pulled him away. “Come on. You can stand here and argue with Maxwell all night … or we can get a boat and go after her.”

Liam’s eyes darted around the marina until he set his sights on a cabin cruiser several rows over. He jerked away from Drake and hammered his feet in its direction. Hoisting himself up and over the railing, his friends following behind him, he banged frantically on the cabin door with both fists. Drake and Maxwell searched the aft deck for something to shatter the glass of the door with until the distinct click of a lock and a middle-aged man in nothing but his boxer shorts appeared in the doorway. The man appraised Liam and scowled. “Who the fuck do you think you are, banging on my door in the middle of the night?”

Liam pushed his way past the man, and Drake grabbed the occupant by his arm before he could go after him. “That’s the King of Cordonia. You can either get your ass off this boat now -- or I can put you off. Your choice.”

Maxwell unraveled the ropes from the cleats on the dock that secured the boat and made his way to the helm. Drake started the engine and maneuvered them away from the marina. Liam turned to Maxwell when he heard him approaching. “Which way do we need to go?”

The youngest Beaumont wasn’t entirely sure. Under the blanket of darkness, his sense of direction was skewed. Maxwell pointed in the path he last recalled, knowing that the explosive would ignite any second. “Head northwest … but there’s something you really need to know.”

Before Liam could respond, his breath hitched, and a sense of emptiness and a hollowness in his chest suddenly overcame him. It was like one of the greatest parts of himself had suddenly slipped away.

Again.

Liam didn’t need to ask himself what it was; he already knew. It was that same feeling he’d had in a chilly hospital room almost four months prior. And as much as he wanted to shake that feeling, to simply deny it was there ... the heart didn’t lie.

His love was gone.

She had returned, just as she wrote she would in the letter to him. Just as she told him from the very beginning would happen. Except this time, she was taking a tiny part of himself with her, one he hadn’t known they’d created until Drake showed him the final message Liam would ever receive from his beloved wife.

As a lone tear slipped down his cheek, he wept to himself, “Don’t be scared, love. I’m coming to get you. Both of you.”

_______

Riley’s arms fell listlessly to her sides. Her lungs now completely empty of oxygen and her heart no longer beating, the guard unraveled the strap from her neck, leaving behind a deep red ring on her pale skin.

Adhering to the orders issued to him, the guard lifted her lifeless form with ease. Her brown eyes were void of expression as they stared blankly into nothingness. Her head bounced loosely in his arms with each step closer to the railing. Without hesitation or compassion, he tossed her like a rag doll into the tranquil waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

The body clung to the surface, bobbing along with the gentle waves.

Riley’s soul departed from the shell she had inhabited: the body of her killer. For the first time in over a month, she felt like herself again. Her skin bronzed and her hair darkened. The flatness of hips and chest she had grown accustomed to grew curvier once again. An aura of radiance and warmth surrounded her.

Approaching the heavens from where she came, Riley smiled down at the tiny infant curled into her arms. If she didn’t know better, she would swear it was Ellie. ”Hello, you.”

“I see you finally made it.”

Riley chuckled. “Good to see you too, Olivia.”

Olivia crossed her arms and eyed the baby curiously. “I see you couldn’t keep Liam off you this time, either.”

A giggle escaped Riley’s lips as she looked down at the bundle again and caressed the soft downy curls that covered their tiny head.

She glanced back up to her friend. “I miss Liam and Ellie already. I love them so much, Olivia.”

The duchess placed a hand at the top of Riley’s back and guided her forward. “I know you do. The kind of love you shared together never goes away … I don’t entirely understand it, but I knew it was you in that ballroom by the way he looked at you. By the way you looked at him. It was slightly nauseating.”

“Just slightly?”

“Fine, it was thoroughly disgusting. Satisfied?”

Riley rolled her eyes in amusement and chuckled. “Even in death, you’re still the same Olivia Nevrakis we all know and love.”

Olivia waved her hand dismissively with a groan. “Well, this place is entirely too … cheerful and pleasant for my taste. I’ll have to oversee some changes to all this daily merriment.”

“Good luck with that,” Riley snickered. She stopped walking and turned to Olivia with a knowing look. “Soooo ... what happens now? Were you able to ... you know?”

Olivia looked to the lighted pathway. Riley followed her gaze with apprehension, her eyes demanding an answer to the question.

“It’s time to go, Riley.”

“Where?”

______________

Drake held tightly to the steering wheel as the boat hit a melee of turbulent swells. The explosion in the distance made it easier to track the location of Amalas’ boat, but the choppy waters were difficult to drive on.

Liam stood heartbroken but silent, wearily watching out the glass panel in the boat's front. The debris that burned and spread across the sea lit up the black sky. And directly before that rubble, according to Maxwell, he would find the body of a woman who meant nothing to him. She was just a temporary placeholder for the woman he loved with all of his heart and soul.

In his mind, he knew Riley and their baby had returned to join his mother. That finding the body that belonged to Amanda Talbert would be just that: Amanda.

Riley Brooks rested under an apple tree at the edge of the garden maze where he had laid her to rest months ago. She would forever belong to the ages.

She had returned to save him from his anguish. His despair and loneliness.

But mostly from himself.

And she left tonight, having saved him and their daughter from an evil plot.

What was it about his wife that she could defy life and death to save him? It didn’t surprise Liam; Riley had rescued him the first night they met. Now she had given her last breath to do so again.

The heat from the mangled, burning boat and its debris was intense. Drake steered as close to the rubble as was safe to do so and dropped the anchor.

Liam took a deep breath, feeling the weight of sorrow pressing against his chest and the hands of his friends’ comforting grasps on his shoulders.

The three men exited the cabin together and stepped onto the aft deck. Each man scanned the waters that were lit brightly by the soft glow of a thousand twinkling stars, a silvery moon, and the orange flickers of nearby flames. Even with Maxwell describing the area Riley told him they would find her, it was proving to be an impossible task.

But not one of them was willing to give up.

This woman wasn’t even Riley, but it didn’t matter. For Maxwell, Drake, and especially Liam, she was proof that what took place the last few weeks was real. That what they felt in their hearts was true.

“Liam!” Drake tapped his best friend's arm and pointed to remnants of boat pieces. ”I see her. Right there.”

Liam squinted, not really seeing what Drake was pointing to at first, until she finally came into view. He stood there, frozen, not wanting to see her like that, not ready to accept what was obvious now: Riley had left him again.

“I … I can get her, Liam,” Maxwell offered through a sniffle and a wispy cry. “I’ll be gentle.”

Liam smiled softly back at him and shook his head. “I know you would, Maxwell. I appreciate that.” He reached down and removed his shoes, tossing them to the side. “But this is something I feel I should do.”

Liam climbed over the railing and stepped off into the water under the watchful eye of his friends on board, who were ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.

Swimming through the serene waters that had a tinge of warmth from the surrounding fires, Liam made his way through the littered sea. All around him, black plumes of smoke billowed from pieces of fiberglass and plaster. The air was thick with the pungent odor of sulfurous diesel fuel.

He didn’t understand why these actions meant so much to him. Yes, this woman was proof of the spiritual connection he had shared with his late wife, but she was also the one who took her from him. Why did he feel so drawn to her at this moment? Why did he feel he had to be the one to rescue her from a watery grave? He could very well leave her there, knowing it was what she rightfully deserved for what she had done to Riley.

For what she had done to him.

Liam recognized her clothing as she lay still, face down, on the surface of the water. Wrapping one arm around her, he attempted to swim back but found it difficult to do with one arm. Drake, noticing this, tossed out a rope and held onto the other end. Liam wound his wrist around it and began the slow journey of being pulled back to the boat.

_________

“Where am I going, Olivia?” Riley asked with a toothy grin. “Am I staying here or were you able to help me?”

Olivia smoothed down her red sequin gown with a mischievous gleam in her bright green eyes. “Never underestimate a Nevrakis, Riley. I told you I would find a way for you to stay and ... I did.”

Shocked to hear those words, that she would return to her family and friends, Riley let out an elated sob. “Are … are you serious? I’m going back? I’m really going back?”

Olivia nodded. Her thin red lips twisted into a satisfied smile.”Yes. You’re going back.”

“And my baby too?”

“Package deal, Riley. And before you ask … this isn’t temporary. When you return, it’s a done deal. It’s final. The big guy doesn’t want to see you back here for a very long time.”

Riley laughed through her tears of joy. “I sure hope I don’t let him down, then.”

“Heh. Me too.” Olivia turned to face her, her features more solemn now. She motioned behind Riley. “Now ... Your Majesty, I believe it’s time for you to go. Liam’s waiting for you.”

Riley gave Olivia a small smile. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you for what you’ve done.”

“Don’t even bother trying.” The duchess shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m just sorry I’ll miss you two trying to explain all of this to people. I may have to sneak out of this joint and see what you come up with.”

Riley laughed before her expression grew more thoughtful. “Goodbye, Olivia.”

She smiled back affectionately. “Goodbye, Riley.”

____________

Drake and Maxwell reached over the rails and looped their arms around Liam, pulling him up to the deck.

Exhausted and gasping for a refreshing breath that didn’t include saltwater and ash, Liam collapsed to the floor. Amanda was still wrapped protectively in one arm, her face nestled against the crook of his neck.

Winded, Drake and Maxwell hunched over with their hands resting on their knees.

As the crackles and snaps of fires echoed softly in the background, a brilliant light glowed from the sky and illuminated Amanda with a golden haze.

With eyes wide and mouth agape, Maxwell fell to his knees, speechless. Drake took a half-step forward, his eyes full of astonishment and wonder.

Liam could feel the warmth against his skin and naturally angled his head toward it. As the light faded away, his blue eyes met her brown ones. It was the same two pairs of eyes that had locked on each other in a New York bar two years ago. They shared a silent gaze charged with emotion and passion. It both electrified him and made his heart flutter. Liam studied her eyes, her radiant smile, her face that was as beautiful as a sunrise.

She looked like his Riley. She felt like his Riley.

With his eyes brimming with tears and love, he swallowed over the lump in his throat and closed his eyes. “I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”

A sweet smile emerged on her lips, and she brushed her thumb over his damp cheek. “No, my love. You’re not dreaming.” Her voice spoke softly and tenderly. “Open your eyes, Liam.”

#liam x mc #liam x riley #the royal romance #trr #My Love #bbrandy2002 #king liam #Riley Brooks #tw suffocation #tw murder #tw death #tw strangulation #tw drowning

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