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kimnjss · 4 years

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get even | ksj

⤑ series: sugar free

⤑ genre: angst, rich!jin x artist!reader, college au.

⤑ rating: explicit

⤑ word count: 4.4K

⤑ warnings: humilation (it’s not a kink here tho), suggestive topics, nudity... (this lowkey pretty tame, ngl).

⤑ A/N: a little late, but i literally just finished this and did like a half ass job editing it, buuut i really wanted to get this out bc OHMYGOD (you’ll see) - don’t forget to let me know what you think, your feedback is my favorite! x

A bet. The second the words left Yuna's lips you felt your blood begin to boil. Was that what all of this was? Why Jin had been so persistent to be around you, to get you to like him... so he could win a measly 100 bucks from his friends. That was it?

You felt sick to the stomach, on the verge of screaming at the top of your lung. How could you allow yourself to be so stupid? To not be able to see past the cheap facade, protect yourself like you had done countless times before. To think you were slowly starting to melt, starting to see yourself becoming comfortable around him. Smiling a bit too wide when texting him into the late hours of the night, moving a little too fast when his name was lighting up your screen.

He had been playing you for a fool this entire time and the only thing you could think of was how could you get even. At this point, he had no idea that you were on to him. Still thought that everything was going according to his plan, boy was he wrong. You were going to get him back, flip the tables so he was the one left licking his wounds. Who the hell did he think he was?

The idea came to you a few hours after hanging up with Yuna. The anger that had blinded you earlier finally subsiding enough for you to properly check the messages that had been flooding your inbox in the time since. Most of which were from the group chat of your best friends. Making a mental note to tell Yoongi about his role in this bet as well, you immediately clicked on the latest message from Jin.

[15:59] seokjin: did you pick a movie for tonight, yet?? i saw something you might like.

Instantly you're scoffing at the reminder that you were supposed to be out with this man in a little over an hour. You had actually been looking forward to this date, a more relaxed setting where you two could truly be yourselves around each other. The hell with that now.

Quickly, you were typing back your response. Ignoring the fact that it was coming in three hours too late. He could wait. If he felt like he could use you as a ploy in this stupid game with his friends. Then he could wait a few hours for your reply.

[18:12] to seokjin: oooh, surprise me then! im getting ready right now, see you in a bit?

Rolling your eyes at your overly enthusiastic you're standing from your position on your bed, moving to your dresser to pick something to wear tonight.

When you were in your early teens and just getting to know Namjoon and his friends, not a day would go by without an argument between you and Jungkook to take place. He always felt the need to try and one-up you, always had an opinion on what you were saying, and never believed you were as smart as him.

The fact you got into your shared middle school solely on recommendation had nothing to do with his thought conclusion. Anyway, something that young Jungkook found extremely amusing was pranking. Loved the thought of tricking someone to the point of them getting upset only for him to shout: 'Relax, it's just a prank.' It was his favorite pass time, especially when you were involved.

Quickly, you were picking up on his tactics and soon enough you were able to counter all of his 'well thought out' deceptions in a way he was the one with the egg on his face in the end. Fast forward years later, you and Jungkook hardly argued as much and he found more interested in girls than pranks... but that didn't mean you forgot how to play along.

The forced learned deception would be applied tonight. How dare that boy think he could pull a fast one on you and get off scratch free? Yeah, right. There was going to be hell to pay. And you were going to make sure of it.

Despite the fact, this was only a movie date and you could pretty much dress down when sitting in a dark room for hours, what you wore held a big part of your plan for tonight. Of course, you didn't want to make it obvious that your goal was to turn heads. Something subtle but undeniably sexy that his jaw was dropping at the first sight of you.

It had been a while since you wore your bright red mini skirt and it fit tighter than you remembered. Deciding the tightness fit the theme of tonight, you're tucking your long sleeve black turtleneck into the skirt; admiring the way the form-fitting material highlights the natural curves of your body.

A large heart belt to give your waist that extra snatch and short black boots to tie it all together. Yeah, this guy is not going to know what hit him once he caught sight of you – you were sure of that much.

Makeup had never really been something that you cared a whole lot for. Loved the way a bare face felt as opposed to being caked up for hours. Tonight was an exception though, you had to play the part, right?

One short, way too detailed YouTube tutorial later, and you're being interrupted by the knock on your front door. With a final swipe of lip gloss onto your softened lips, you're moving from the mirror to answer the door.

“Oh! Are you early or am I running late?” Jin stands on the other door, a large hoodie covering his slender figure and black jeans clinging to his legs. He eyes you shamelessly, seeming to have missed the words that had just left your lips. Bingo! “Here come in, I'm almost done,” You're turning, leading him into your house acting as if you hadn't noticed the way his eyes dropped when he thought your back was too him.

Too freaking easy. Guys were too easy, it was sad.

Just for good measure, you lead him to your couch; delicate fingers wrapped around his wrist. You're gesturing him to sit with a gentle tug of his wrist and his body moves accordingly, eyes never once lifting from you.

“I'll just be another minute,” You promise, watching as he pushes a smile on his face before nodding. You make your way down the corridor and into your bedroom, honestly finished with getting ready but not against making the boy sweat for a little bit.

Ten full minutes pass by of you just sat on your bed, scrolling through your phone before you're deciding that it was time to go. Jin stands as soon as you're exiting the room, composure back in check – that familiar smug look settled on his features once again. He spares you only a single glance as if he hadn't been full-on drooling when you first had opened the door.

“You ready?” His voice sounds deeper than you remember and you can't help but wonder if he was forcing it in hopes to impress you. Not caring much to mull over the question, you're nodding your head. The heels of your boots clack against the hardwood floor as you move to meet his side.

Jin thoughtlessly slides his arm around your waist, a simple gesture that pulls an annoying reaction from you. He leads you out of the front door, waiting patiently on the steps as you lock up.

“No, Minho?” You're asking, noticing the absence of the shiny SUV parked on the curb. Jin is shaking his head, digging into his front pockets for something you can only assume is a key due to the metallic jingle filling your ears. “Gave him the night off... it's just me and you,” He grins and you smile back, of course, your master plan in mind and in no way a natural reaction to the sight of his contagious smile.

He's pulling a silver key from his pocket, clicking the remote and you nearly jump at the sound of the beep. Bright lights illuminating the headlights of the sport's car parked just a few feet from your building. “Is that your car!?” Wondering out loud and neglecting to check the excitement in your tone.

Jin watches with a knowing grin as you make your way over to the vehicle, cautious palms sliding over the fresh paint. You couldn't believe what you were staring at. A 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia in the shade midnight black; an all-red leather interior... were you going to be sitting in that? This was what he was going to be taking you to the movies in?

“It's nice, right? Got it for my birthday last year... a little bored of it now, though.” You hear the cocky tone of his voice, the 'I'm-so-much-richer-than-you' twang that has your blood boiling. With a roll of your eyes, hands now stiff and dropping to your side you step back.

“It's alright,” You say with a shrug, pulling the passenger's side door open and sliding in before he even has the chance to reach for it. No point in keeping up with his fake gentlemen facade, you could very well open your own doors.

Despite your slight shift in mood, Jin is still smiling. Not thinking twice about you not letting him open up the door you and sliding in on his side. Instantly, he's pulling his seat belt on; twisting the key in the ignition and you melt at the hum of the engine coming to life.

“What's the movie you picked?” You're asking as a few moments of silence passed, the only sound that had filled the car in the past eight minutes was the radio that he liked to keep on low for some reason.

His gaze is shooting in your direction, eyes wide as if he hadn't expected to hear your voice just then. You offer up a gentle smile, blinking your eyes cutely up at him as you wait for his response. Jin's adam's apple bobs as he turns his attention back onto the road.

“It. Have you already gone? It came out a few weeks ago,”

You're shaking your head, ignoring the fact that if you had been the one to choose the movie for tonight – that would have been your choice. Even if you had already seen it, horror films were at the top of your list of faves... which was weird, because you had it on pretty good standing that Jin wasn't into scary movies.

Either way, it wasn't like you planned on having him pay all that much attention to the movie in the first place.

As expected, Jin paid for both your ticket and his. He purchased a large bucket of popcorn for the two of you to share and a couple of drinks to counter to salty effects of the treat. What a shame he was actually a douche bag, otherwise you would've swooned at his catering.

Seats smartly chosen in the back row, where you could see the entire movie screen clearly but avoid being spotted by the other moviegoers. With the risk of being obvious, you lifted the armrest that divided your two seats long before the movie had started. Forty minutes in and several popcorn jerking jumps after, you were taking advantage of your early decision.

“It's a bit cold in here, don't you think?” You spoke with a pout, eyes lifting to grasp his attention. He was staring at you, head shaking in a nod and you could tell he was searching his mind for ways to make you more comfortable. How sweet. “Should we sit a bit closer?” Voice laced with velvet, you're already scooting over the gap before he can disagree.

Not like he planned to, the moment Jin's realizing what's going on; he's moving to close any left space between you two. His arm lifting to wrap around your shoulders as he tucks your body into his side. The movement so fluid and natural that you can't help but wonder how many times he's pulled the same move – no prompting needed.

A few moments passed with your body cradled in his arms, his warmth surrounding you, and the strong scent of his cologne intoxicating you. You had noticed this the first time the two of you went out, Jin was well put together in his clothes and he always smelt so good. Not sure what it was, but the way that he smelt never failed to make your stomach flip.

But it wasn't the time for that. Right now, it was time to put your perfect revenge plan into action. Delicately, the tips of his fingers ran over the swell of his chest, admiring the way the muscle felt underneath your digits. Dropping your hand lower, you spread your palm against his abs.

He had been so invested in the movie during your initial contact, that he hadn't noticed the feeling of your fingers on his chest... or chose not to acknowledge it. Now that you were tracing the ridges of his abs, his eyes were on you, slightly wide as he tried to figure exactly what you were playing at.

You shot him an innocent smile, the tip of your index finger running over the curve of his bellybutton. Flinching at the contact, he blinked hard; breath caught in his throat as he waited. “I never knew you were so... strong,” Voice coming out in a purr, the tip of your finger trailing up the middle of his stomach.

Jin visibly gulped, confusion dancing over his brow as he shifted beside you. Not sure how to react to your sudden shift in behavior. You didn't care to slow down, to explain it to him – this was what he wanted, right?

“I'm finding it so hard to pay attention to the movie,” Scooting closer to him, your hand drops down onto his thigh. Giving the muscle a light squeeze as you lean your body up, lips inches from his pink ears. “Do you want to know why?” You whispered, lips gently brushing over his lobe.

“W-why?” He cleared his throat, fidgeting in his seat; trying to avoid looking in your direction. If he was to turn his head, your lips would be mere inches apart. Just a simple twitch forward and you'd be kissing. No way he'd be able to keep his cool if that were to happen, so he kept his gaze forward. Not risking it.

Fine with you, you weren't done playing. Thumb rubbing circles into the fabric of his pants, mouth closing around his earlobe. You felt him shudder, making a smirk rise on your lips. “I can't stop thinking about you... all the things we could be doing instead of being cooped up in here...”

Jin was no fool, not the one to waste any time. If you were acting like this, saying that you were down there was no way he was going to pass up an opportunity like this. He'd just catch the movie when it came out on Netflix. “Should we go then?” He's mustering up all the courage he can manage to turn his head, dark eyes finding yours in the dim-lit room.

A bit surprised with his quick agreement, you're not letting it show on your face. You're grinning at his words, standing from your seat, and taking hold of his hand. Jin allows you to pull him up from his seated position, his hand landing on your hip. “Wait, slow down.” He's whispering, being considerate to the people scattered you.

“You sure?” Head nodding before you had a chance to mull over his thought process in checking up at you. Reaching for his free hand, you're wiggling out of his grasp and tugging him behind you out of the theater.

Both of you moving so fast, laughter slipping past his lips at your haste and you can't help but join in. You can feel the gaze of the people around you, but you don't care. Don't even bother to present an apology too wrapped up in enjoying yourself and trying to push away the warmth rising in your chest. Now wasn't the time for that.

Jin's stopping you the second the cool night air is hitting your exposed skin. His hand twisting in your grasp until he's able to take hold of your hand. Easily, he's pulling your body into his and flashing you that heart-stopping smile of his. Chests pressed together, breaths mixing and you hadn't realized you had been breathing so heavily before.

Your heart hammers against your chest as you stare up at him, his eyes searching yours. He's slow with the way he closes the negative space between the two of you, his hands lifting to cup your cheeks. And he's leaning in, lips finding yours... the smile breaking onto your lips before you have the chance to fight it.

He's kissing you so slowly and delicately as if you were made of glass. Hands cool against your heated cheeks and you can feel his smile over your mouth. It was all becoming too much, your heart getting too involved over a stupid kiss... this was not part of the plan!

You're pulling away at the feeling of his thumbs brushing against your cheeks, looking up at him with your lip caught between your teeth; trying to look as sexy as possible in this situation. “Come on, we'll have much more fun once we're alone...” Discreet in the way you gesture to the family of five that were making their way into the theater.

Jin's following you without a word, the grin never falling from his plump lips. He's leading you this time, quick steps are taken to his car where he opens your door for you. You get comfortable against the seats, watching as he jogs around to the other side to slide in beside you.

All giddy and smiley, excited that he was about to get some. That he was about to win this stupid bet he and his friends thought would be a good idea... boy, he had no idea what was coming.

Thick laughter leaves your lips as you stumble into your bedroom with tangled feet. Jin's lips haven't left your skin since you were pushing your front door shut, fingers gripping at your hips, eagerly drumming at the exposed skin. He's turning your body to gently push you back against the door, lips dropping to capture yours.

“Don't think... I'll... get tired, of kissing you,” He breaths out deeply, sentence carelessly strewn together his sole focus was the way he was moving his tongue in your mouth. And a skillful tongue it was, too bad this couldn't go all that far – you'd love to know how that tongue in other places...

You're kissing him back with just as much fervor, hands sliding down the front of his shirt until you can grip the hem of the shirt. Slowly you drag it up, inch by inch revealing his well worked on torso to ghosts of your bedroom. He's pulling back then, hands reaching for yours to assist you in his disrobing.

A moment is spared to admire just what he had been hiding underneath all that fabric. Oh, what a shame... Leaning on your toes, you're taking his lips in another lingering kiss careful not to push too far. Plan would go to shit if you were allowing yourself to get lost in his soft kisses.

Easily, you move from your position against the door. Jin watches you the entire short walk to your bed, body turning so he can get a better look at you. You make a show of the way you climb toward your headboard, bare legs crossed as you look up at him. Beckoning him over with your finger, Jin is quick to spring to action, all but running over to the edge of your bed.

He's waiting, noticing how you stopped him just before he was about to climb into bed right on top of you. If only. What a shame. Jin's eyes drop to your thighs, catching the way you rub them together as your teeth nibble at your lower lip. “Take your pants off,” The command coming out whiner than you had hoped but Jin's hands are quick. His eyes on you the whole time he's unfastening his belt and dropping his pants to his ankles.

You're careful not to let your eyes bulge at the sight of the size of his erection, straining against his boxers and just begging for some attention. A rub. A suck. Something. If circumstances were different, you would've been on your knees by now. Begging for a taste. What a shame.

“These too,” The finger you had began to nibble at falls from your mouth, arm extending until you're able to reach him. You trace the tip of your finger over his covered shaft because, fuck... you can't help yourself.

Jin shudders, mouth dropping and you can swear you see his dick twitch underneath the fabric. “You're fucking perfect.” He groans, quick to pull his bottoms down his legs, not even reacting to the way his cock bobs free, slapping against his hipbone. Fuck, he was huge, unbelievably thick, and beautifully veiny. Whoever said God was fair...

Swinging your legs toward the edge of the bed, you're reaching for his hip; pulling his body toward you gently. Forcing your eyes from his pretty cock up to his face. Ignoring the urge to wrap your lips around the tip, just a taste. That couldn't hurt, right? “You think I'm perfect?” There's sincerity in your voice, still not over the initial shock felt when the compliment was falling from his lips.

You couldn't lose your head now, though. Not when you were already so close to your goal. Jin is nodding his head without a second thought and you're grinning, leaning back just a bit so you can get a better look at his face.

“Worth a hundred bucks?”

His eyes turn to moons the moment your words are registering. “W-what? How do you... how do you know about that?” He's stepping back just as you're shooting up from your bed.

“What do you mean how do I know!? How could you try to humiliate me like that!?” You had spent so much time planning and re-planning your revenge that you hadn't put any time into thinking of what you were going to say once the jig was up. Mostly because you were so hurt by what he had done and you couldn't think of a way to express that without punching him a good one.

“I mean-,” You're moving around the room, collecting the clothes that he had carelessly thrown down in the mindset he was going to become a richer man tonight. “Who even does something like that!? Is making a quick buck really that important to you?” You felt yourself holding back, wanted to ask how dare he make you like him just to turn out to be like any other guy.

No way were you going to let him know that his stupid prank was working in any way, though. Keeping the little fact that you were falling for it to yourself was best. “It wasn't like that, Yn! Really.” He's half trying to explain himself to you and half focused on just what the hell you're doing with his clothes. Large hand covering his junk, no longer feeling confident in his nudity.

“Then what was it like, Jin?” You're turning, quick, not realizing that he had been standing right behind you. “Because from what I understand is that you and your friends thought it would be fun to put a price tag on my sex life and who knows how many other girls you're fucking with,” That, had been something that you forced yourself not to consider... but not the words were falling from your lips and realization was hitting.

“It's just you! I mean... please, just hear me out. There aren't any other girls, and-,” You're cutting him off with a lift of his hand. Not really in the mood to be lied to. So ready to get him out of your face so you could be alone with all that you were feeling. “I don't want to hear it. I really don't. You're disgusting, Seokjin.” Your last words are delivered slowly and with your eyes staring into his.

“Yn-” He starts, but stops when he notices your backward steps toward your bedroom window. You push it open without any strain, lifting his clothes. “W-wait, what are you doing!?” He looks panicked as you toss his clothes out of the window, slamming it shut after you see them hit the ground.

“Why would you go and do something like that!?” He's pissed, you can tell... but you don't care. You're done with him. Gave him the thirty seconds of distraught that he earned and now you were over it. For the most part. You'd work it out. It hadn't been that long since the two of you started hanging out. It wouldn't be that hard to get your shit together.

“Hm, I wonder.” You mock with a roll of your eyes, you're passing him crossing your bedroom to reach your bathroom. “You can let yourself out,” There finality in your tone and you mean it, not bothered if you never saw him again after this.

“You're not even going to let me explain?” He sure is talkative for a dude clutching his junk while his designer garments soaked in mud. “There's nothing to explain. Get out.” There's a droop in his shoulders following the sternness of your words. He's making his way toward your door with slow steps and you feel your heart crunch.

Hated that it had to be like that, that he had to be like the rest of them. That you even bothered to give him a chance in the first place. It was so clear to you in the beginning, but you thought to give him the benefit of doubt, wanted him to be different... everyone was the same.

“To think I was starting to change my opinion about you,” The words slip without your full intention. He's turning to look at you, but you're quick with the way you pull the bathroom door shut. Not having it in you to actually watch him walk out.

– rich, spoiled and a bit of a womanizer. but underneath all of that, there’s a heart of gold. and no matter how determined she is to reject him, he won’t stop trying until she sees he’s kinda sweet.

↲ masterlist ↳

taglist: @randomkoalablog @smoljams @dee-ehn @jaiuneamesolitaiire @lilacdreams-00 @sw33tnight @bangtansonyeondayyyum @okblve @jinhitwhore @tae165 @hellotherehoneybee @bangtansbun @betysotelo18 @cherriigguk @koostime @kooinluv @butterflylion @kookiesjoonies @uxwi @honeyoongles @imajiningseokjin @amoreguk @beeeb05 @tommasauras @bluefaeriefury @butterflylion @withlovestudyblr @samros95 @korkanswers @houseofarmanto @soulstaes @thesunisup-theskyisblue @jinsearth @aizuwusho @moonb0yy @tan-dulset @8sjaf @mini-coop25 @marifujioka @sunskook @elliemeetsevil @ratking101 @leovaldezisfire

A/N: timestamps are important throughout the fic!! if you want to be added to the taglist, send me an ask! also if you asked to be on the taglist and aren’t on there, it’s because tumblr sometimes doesn’t let me tag ppl for some reason.

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prettymunchkin · 1 year

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Architectural Facade Design Tips for Better Utility

Increasing clientele flow

All public structures, including shopping centres, hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, theme parks, etc., must have an eye-catching façade. For instance, facades made of fibreglass and other transparent materials enable passersby to see the inside of a restaurant, its menu, and even satisfied patrons, among other things. They are drawn to this and are compelled to enter.

Heightened privacy

Maintaining privacy is essential to the smooth operation of many different organisations, including banks, security offices, government agencies, and military quarters. Such structures can have facades made of mirror glass, stained glass, steel panelling, cement, solid marble, and other materials. These structures can be made more attractive by adding decorative steel panels, sculpted cement, etc.

Product Exposure

Window shopping is crucial when it comes to retail establishments. These stores must have facade architectural systems that assist in displaying the products to onlookers. This enables potential customers to view the products and draws additional people into the store.

Making yourself stand out from the competition

Your building's appearance could make you stand out from the crowd and beat out the competition. Having a unique and attractive appearance could encourage customers to enter your establishment. When your building is near a popular tourist destination or there are numerous rival buildings in the same neighbourhood, it is crucial to have a distinctive appearance. Hotels and resorts typically fall into this category. Your building may become more easily recognisable, simple to find, and popular for recommendations and conversation if it has a lovely view.

Concern for the environment

The two parts of your building that can be used to benefit the environment are the roof and the facade. You can lower your costs and carbon footprints by installing solar panels on your roof and facade. Systems for the exterior facade can also regulate the climate. When it's hot outside, closing them can help keep your building cool; when it's cold outside, leaving them open will allow the building to naturally warm up and receive plenty of light. You may be able to reduce your heating and lighting expenses as a result.

#alfa facade #Alfa facade blog #glass facade #facade #facade glazing company #upvc sliding doors & windows #Curtain Wall Glazing Services #utility #facade system & glazing services #structural glass glazing services #wall panelling services #sliding glass door manufacturers

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alfafacadespvtltd · 7 months

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Dear All,

Greetings for the day!

We are looking for .........

1. SR. ACCOUNTS MANAGER

15 + Years of Experience

Education: CA / ICWA

2. SR. FACADE DESIGNER

15 + Years of Experience

Experience in Facade Industries.

3. SAFETY OFFICER

10 + Years of Experience

Education: ADIS

(Products: Curtain Walls, Semi-unitized glazing, Unitized glazing, Aluminium composite panels, Aluminium doors and windows, Aluminium railing, Domes, Canopies, and Skylights).

Salary: As per industry standards.

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daily-coloring · 3 years

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XLR8R Influences Podcast 21: Krust - SoundCloud

Listen to XLR8R Influences Podcast 21: Krust by XLR8R on #SoundCloud

01. Ghost Face Killah “Iron Maiden” (Epic Records)

02. King Crimson “21st Century Schizoid Man” (Island)

03. Liquid Liquid “Cavern” (Mo’ Wax)

04. Fatback Band “Wicki Wacky” (Polydor)

05. Led Zeppelin “Dazed and Confused” (Atlantic)

06. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force “Planet Rock” (Tommy Boy)

07. T La Rock “It’s Yours” (Def Jam)

08. Gary Numan “Films” (Remastered 2009) (The First Recordings)

09. Liquid Liquid “Optimo EP” (99 Records)

10. ESG “UFO” (99 Records)

11. Cerrone “Rocket In The Pocket” (Extended Breaks) (Breaks & Beats)

12. The S.O.S. Band “Just Be Good to Me” (Taboo Records)

13. Talking Heads “Once In a Lifetime” (Sire)

14. Kraftwerk “Tour de France” (2009 Remaster) (Parlophone)

15. Yellow Magic Orchestra “Firecracker (1978) (Alfa)

16. Ghost Face Killah “Incarcerated Scarfaces” (Loud Records)

17. Wally Badarou “Mambo” (Island)

18. Gary Numan “Cars” (Remastered 2009) (The First Recordings)

19. Nitro Deluxe “This Brutal House” (Cooltempo)

20. Hashim “Al-Naafyish” (The Soul) [It’s Time!] (Cutting Records)

21. Section Vingt Cinq “Oyo Achel Ada” (Factory Benelux)

22. ESG “Moody” (99 Records)

23. Nicolette “The Dove Song” (Shut Up And Dance)

24. Adamski & Seal “Killer” (MCA)

25. Carlton “Do You Dream” (Acapella) (FFRR)

26. Adonis ‎”No Way Back” (Vocal Mix) (TRAX Records)

27. Fingers Inc. “Can You Feel It” (Jack Tracks)

28. Philip Glass “Facades” (CBS)

29. Mtume “Tie Me Up” (Epic)

30. Section 25 “Hit” (Factory)

31. Public Enemy “Rebel Without a Pause” (Def Jam)

32. Death Grips “Inanimate Sensation” (Harvest)

33. Suicide “Ghost Rider” (1977) (Red Star Records)

34. The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” (Parlophone)

35. Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” (Are Made of This) (RCA)

36. Boney M “Rasputin” (Hansa)

37. Wu Tang Clan “Triumph” (feat. CappaDonna) (BMG)

38. The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” (Apple Records)

39. ESG “Dance” (99 Records)

#eurythmics #cerrone #talking heads #dj krust #dj mix #kraftwerk #nicolette #shut up and dance #SoundCloud

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joemuggs · 4 years

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DO YOU SUFFER FROM SPYMANIA?

It’s the 25th anniversary of the Spymania label, and to celebrate it they have released a record of unreleased tracks. It’s brilliant, you should buy it. In 2016 I wrote a history of the messy, messed-up, but brilliant Brighton scene that they found their feet in. Sadly it got lost in the archiving of the Red Bull Music Academy site, but I’ve still got the text, so here it is. And to prove I was there, here is me, in an inexplicably bad shirt, with the Spymania crew and friends:

Some Spymanians - far left is Hardy Spymania, next to him in blue t-shirt is Paddington Breaks, third from right leaning forward is MDK and that’s me in the bad shirt on the right.

25th Anniversary EP by SONGBIRD & WAFTA

From the town's 18th century genesis as a playground for aristocrats, Brighton has always been a space for outrageous hedonism. Being the closest point to London on the English south coast makes it an obvious place for escape and misbehaviour. With that has always come something grittier and grottier though. It's no coincidence that the best known fictional depictions of Brighton feature razor-carrying petty gangsters (Brighton Rock) and running street battles and hurried back-alley knee-tremblers (Quadrophenia). The novelist Keith Waterhouse famously said “Brighton always looks like a town helping police with their enquiries” – and it still does. Behind its facade of homeopaths, holidaymakers, students and media folk, it hides rampant corruption and organised crime, a heroin economy to match any British city, and sprawling estates that are among the country's poorest.

In the heat of the 1990s rave fervour when the world and its dog came down to Brighton to party their way through untold seven-day weekends, all of this ambiguity was expressed via a rather different electronic scene. While the superclubs along the seafront pumped to the sounds of handbag house, trance and big beat, hidden away in the nooks and crannies a techno style formed that became known on the European underground simply as “the Brighton sound” – and around it sprouted odd rave and electronica mutations that, though they might have seemed pisstakey or bloody-minded at the time, would alter the course of electronic music for a long time to come. All of this was surrounded by a dense web of art, theory, satire, in-jokes and meat-flinging cabaret, that could be perplexing, even off-putting, but has left a huge creative legacy from a tiny scene that punched way, way above its weight.

This scene of malcontents and squarepegs was by definition loose-knit – but if there was a centre to it, it was Cristian Vogel. Originally from the south Midlands, he and his friend Si Begg already had experience putting out cassette releases and primitive music software hacks (with the Cabbage Head Collective) before he came to Sussex University to study 20th Century Music in 1992. With a head full of Stockhausen and rave tapes, he was boshing out the techno, and by the end of 1994 had two releases on Dave Clarke's Magnetic North label and was resident at the Acid Box club nights in a little sticky-floored upstairs venue in Brighton's North Lanes.

This was the period when techno and hardcore were still part-fused, and along with headliners like Carl Cox and Luke Slater you could expect to hear Belgian hoover noises full-pelt gabber rolled into the more “intelligent” beats, all with nothing but relentless strobes and smoke to intensify the experience. It's a sign of how intense it was that the “chillout” in the backroom consisted of Richie Hawtin tunes playing and Tetsuo: Iron Man being shown on a couple of TVs, and felt genuinely laid back in comparison to the dancefloor. It could be shoulder-to-shoulder packed, or have ten people raving away, but it was pretty much always guaranteed to deliver mental obliteration. It's precisely this delirium you can hear in key early releases like Vogel's “Ninjah” or Tobias Schmidt's “Minus One”.

Si Begg and friends

Cristian, together with Si Begg founded Mosquito Records around this point, around which a motley crew of producers of monstrously banging but sonically razor sharp techno gathered. Neil Landstrumm, Tobias Schmidt (an ingenious pseudonym for one Toby Smith), Ibrahim Alfa and Russ Gabriel, as well as Begg and Vogel themselves, all released in the first couple of years. They were closely allied with the Scottish techno scene, notably through Landstrum but also the Sativae label run by Dave Tarrida and Steve Glenncross, and played to seething crowds north of the border, as well as absolutely huge ones in Germany, Poland and further afield. Yet even though the audiences were tiny back on the south coast, the local brand was inescapable: indeed Si Begg, who lived in London right through the nineties, recalls with some bafflement seeing untold German flyers with “BRIGHTON TECHNO” in big letters under his name.

All of this was great, but taken alone could simply have been another local flavour on the international techno scene. The four-to-the-floor certainly remained the heartbeat of the scene as The Acid Box became The Box, which became Defunkt, which became Freekin' The Frame, and the techno dons kept coming through: Blake Baxter, Shake Shakir, Claude Young, Beltram, Weatherall, Surgeon, Bandulu... but very quickly, things became about more than just that. There was a strongly disruptive element from the beginning in the form of a close alliance with the Brighton “clench” of the Church Of The SubGenius. If you don't know about the Church, that's a whole other rabbit hole to fall down, but for our purposes it's enough to know that the local bunch existed on the fringes of freeparty soundsystem culture and subverted its tendencies to crypto-mystical bollocks, and were big on collage and stencil graffiti, heavy punning streams of consciousness (“Bulldada” in the SubGenius parlance), mischief disguised as culture and vice versa.

Heavily influenced by this SubGenius mischief was Mat Consume, in-house designer, computer animator and frequent back-room DJ for the Vogel-related axis. His art, brain-bent ranting and noisily experimental sets became a vital part of the identity of the scene, helping coalesce obsessions with punk and Situationism and ambivalent embrace of digital progress among Vogel and compadres to the point where when they formed an umbrella organisation for their activities it was natural to call it No Future. Held loosely together by Vogel's partner and manager Emma Sola this acted as a booking agency for various acts, but just as much felt like a chaotic but fiercely independent joint art project between Vogel, Sola and Consume, throwing ideas and aesthetic forms out into the underground and forging alliances with equally bloody-minded creators.

Emma Sola

These included the likes of Canadian filmmaker and stencil artist Pablo Fiasco; animators and sound artists Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt aka Semiconductor; non-techno eclecticist club collectives Mufflewuffle and Slack; the combative cabaret night That Stupid Club which would feature subcultural saboteurs like Stewart Home, Dennis Cooper and The Divine David; and another more rave-influenced cabaret night called Monkey's Lounge full of spoken word, off-colour comedy, offal-flinging and pints-of-piss-drinking, run and compered by... um... me (under the names Rimmington Snuffporn Esq and DJ Dead, with help from my music production and DJ partner Jeffrey Disastronaut). It was at a Monkey's Lounge session that Consume physically pushed Jamie Lidell – already widely known as a wildly innovative techno producer via the Subhead collective and their Growth parties – on stage with the house band Balzac, immediately kickstarting a long running residency as their singer and marking the beginning of a performing career that still continues.

Tom “Squarepusher” Jenkinson and Hardy Spymania

Possibly the most important alliance of all, though, was with the Spymania crew. Their social circle was a motley bunch of Londoners, Midlanders and most notably a large contingent from Chelmsford, Essex. Many of the latter had been to school with Tom Jenkinson, a musician known originally as Stereotype and then, when the Spymania label itself was formed by Paul Fowler and brighton-based Hardy Finn, as Squarepusher. Their ethos was preposterous in all ways, fuelled by unstable fusions of questing intellects and Essex swagger. As teenagers they first congregated around a Chelmsford club night called Club Trout, run by future scene mainstay Jane Mitchell (and later exported to Brighton as Smooth But Halibut); they smoked themselves sarcastic to early tapes made by their friends Cassetteboy; everything they did was shot through with skater-stoner-hardcore-raver pisstake attitude. Their rickety old website, which remains live today, still gives a hint of all this. http://www.spymania.com/pgs/hardcore.html

Yet these were musical connoisseurs too, assiduously collecting hip hop, acid, Detroit techno, British electronica, and especially in the case of Martin “MDK” Wood, death metal, gindcore and anarcho punk. This pile-up of musical expertise and sarky dicking about was there from the first release, Squarepusher's Conumber EP – which featured everything from a track that was nothing more than a timestretched Jenkinson asking “can anyone lend me a fiver” to the jungle-acid fusions that would literally redefine how electronica was made from the Aphex Twin on down for the rest of the 1990s. The Spymania records that followed touched on illbient mismatched time signatures, Drexciyan electro-funk, Deicide samples, eerily blissed out atmospherics, Cassetteboy's peurile genius (via offshoot label Barry's Bootlegs), and a dozen more awkward twists and turns besides, always brain-frying, always funny, never settling on any sound that offered the casual listener an easy handle on what was going on.

A standardly Dada Spymania cover

This added up to a refreshing antidote to the chin-fondling seriousness and purism of much of the electronica scene. And when Finn, Wood and friends went raving at the Acid Box, they naturally found a kindred spirit in Mat Consume who would design almost all the Spymania sleeves, their grainy photocopy style a counterpoint to the garish clashing computer images and animated dancing baby skeletons of his No Future work. They in turn helped inspire Consume, with the urbane Lynton Million (a university friend of Jamie Lidell's), to set up Trash Records.

Trash was a label that would take the horrible and confrontational side of the scene to extremes, with anger and ugliness from label mainstays including DJ Paedofile, Chuck Shite and Shit & Cheap (aka Consume & Landstrumm – sample track name: “SuckingCocksForFishheads”), as well as impossibly intricate turns from the likes of Liddell and another Chelmsfordian Squarepusher contemporary and Rephlex recording artist, Matt Yee-King. Si Begg, too, was close to the Spymania team, and launched the rather more good-natured but equally ridiculous Noodles family of labels, featuring a slew of collaborations and AKAs (including Hardy Spymania's pleasingly literal Barry Pseudonym) from the No Future and Spymania families.

It was a messy and disparate little scene. The bulk of the rave action took place in the big clubs of Germany and the rest of Europe, but the creative processes were at least as much about what happened in smoky shared flats and workshops in Brighton's tatty backstreets as they were about big dancefloors. Vogel once described his metier as “the drug pub rant”, and a lot of work sprung from precisely these. Continually, though, the bulk of Brighton club culture, from the seafront clubs to the free parties on the beaches and Downs, tended to look askance at the belligerence and deliberate obfuscations of the No Future axis, or more often simply ignore it all. Perhaps the glorious cresting of the first wave of activity, and probably this scene's peak visibility in Brighton full stop, was at the Brighton Dance Parade of 1997. This attempt to replicate Berlin's Love Parade was never to be repeated – hippie mismanagement and Brighton's endemic corruption saw to that – but for one day only the ravers had their literal day in the sun.

The Trash crew: top - Consume, Hunter & Million / middle - Million & Consume / bottom - Cristian Vogel & Million

There, among floats pumping out free party trance and funky house, the No Future bus – stencilled all over by Pablo Fiasco with pictures of dead rock stars, and with a stunningly crsip rig playing weaponised techno whose angles and curves were a thousand times sharper and more present than any other music on the day – stood out like a septic thumb. This was also the year that Vogel's musical partnership with Lidell began in earnest – with Lidell's furious remix of Vogel's “(Don't) Take More”, which remains a brain-damage anthem to this day in some quarters, and their first release as the mutant electronic funk duo Super_Collider, “Darn (Cold Way O Loving)”. The latter track, amazingly, emerged on a major label, thanks to it being signed by Skint parent label Loaded, in turn licensed through Sony. It was a year to wave the freak flag high.

Despite untold hard drugs, fights and the incestuous nature of a town as small as Brighton, the scene and the various record labels involved remained vigorous and continued to diversify right through the last years of the nineties and into the new millennium. Super_Collider released one album on Loaded, and another on Rise Robots Rise, the label created by Vogel and Sola for ever more varied output including Catalan girl-punk and German dancehall. Lidell's ultra-experimental first solo album, Muddlin Gear, came out as a joint venture between Spymania and WARP in 2000, accompanied by deranged artwork and live films by Pablo Fiasco. Bands increasingly became part of the mix: whispering neo-Krautrockers Fujiya & Miyagi (on Paul Spymania's Massive Advance imprint), the terrifying Wevie Stonder (who he managed) and space-pop group Chungking (which I was in for a couple of years, and whose multi-instrumentalist James Stephenson played bass for Super_Collider live, creating a Chelmsford rhythm section with Matt Yee-King on drums - both of these two had also been in the aforementioned Balzac too).

No Future’s logo, designed with typical aggression by Consume

There were prominent fans too. John Peel asked the Trash collective to open Meltdown Festival in 1998. Thom Yorke and Radiohead's resident artist Stanley Donwood designed t-shirts for No Future. Vogel is namechecked on the Sabres Of Paradise Haunted Dancehall album, and Andrew Weatherall would frequently call him up, dumbfounded at his latest sonic advances. One memorable 1999 awayday for the Freekin' The Frame club to The End in London saw Róisín Murphy jumping on stage after the live Super_Collider show to duet with Lidell on an impromptu version of “Once in a Lifetime”, a very young Kieran Hebden repping UK garage, Chicks On Speed shouting their hearts out, and Chris Cunningham playing long segments of white noise to puzzled ravers, as well as sets from various No Future / Spymania stalwarts.

Inevitably, like all but the very biggest musical scenes, the micro-one in Brighton dissipated as people grew up, fucked up, or moved on – but its echoes continue. Vogel and Landstrumm continue to be significant forces in electronic music, both as influences on the post-Blawan generation and as musicians in their own right. Si Begg is a respected sound designer and composer. Matt Yee-King runs the computer music course at Goldsmiths college, and is a big noise on the “Algorave” scene. Paul Spymania is an artist manager and agent, and along with Scuba, brought dubstep to Berlin in the legendary Sub:Stance sessions. Semiconductor became artists in residence for NASA, among many other extraordinary commissions. Jamie Lidell supported Elton John. Consume is in Bristol, currently working on a giant mural of DJ Derek. Lynton Million lives on a small island, selling whisky. Ibrahim Alfa took several sharp diversions that are an epic tale in their own right, and is only now picking up where he left off with a Workshop issue of his “lost” album Once Upon a Time in Brighton. And so it goes on...

Unlike some electronic scenes, the one in Brighton was never particularly chic (although it certainly had massive cultural cachet in a few countries if not at home), and its records don't necessarily fetch silly money on discogs (like that's a measure of value, right?). But out of a tiny techno club and its committed few regulars grew something that filled an entire decade with utterly extraordinary art, music, humour and ideas, and which still has relevance and resonance for smart creative minds many years on. Those messy, aggro, awkward bunch of ravers and jokers somehow managed to hold it together just enough to build a creative world entirely of their own, with its own rules and its own distinctive identity: what more can artists hope for?

This history is dedicated to James Phillips, a vital part of this scene and always 100% one of the good guys. RIP

Some tunes:

Cristian Vogel: Ninjah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ydOFHo9JtI

Tobias Schmidt: Minus One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YjozNVF7_I

MDK: Sound of Saturday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV3KQHGxmcg

Subhead: Ruction (produced by Jamie Lidell) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5vNX_ylRQM

Squarepusher: Sarcacid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IY6cvGnVCA

Cristian Vogel: Bite & Scratch (Blake Baxter Detroit Mix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXIB7I3D7ss

DJ Paedofile: I was Rise in Clouds https://youtu.be/WcyrrAwqaQY

Buckfunk 3000 (Si Begg): Future Shock Planet Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp4b6PE0FkY

Cristian Vogel: Sarcastically Tempered Powers http://youtu.be/Q2G3204pfkY

Yee King: Goodnight Toby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbnZuv3xHog

Super_Collider: Darn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh2kauFcGpw

No Future at Brighton Love Parade: https://vimeo.com/119001501

#brighton #rave #techno #electronica #drill'n'bass #spymania #wonky techno #experimental music #subgenius #maniacs #too much marijuana #white lightning

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niccolocraxxi · 4 years

Text

❛ BETTY LOU GOT A NEW PAIR OF SHOES ❜ — OCTOBER ‘58

Nick had checked his watch twice in the last thirty seconds. Then a third time within forty-five. It was all he could do to somehow quell his impatience as he waited for his wife in the nearby boutique. When that wasn’t enough, he took what was probably his hundredth look up at the vaulted, glass and iron ceiling of the legendary Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of, if not the oldest shopping mall in the world. It was as if he was looking through the glass up into Heaven and upon God’s face, asking Why me? knowing that an answer would not come. He should’ve known better, and would not normally have been as impatient as he was except his hands were filled with countless bags at this point that were starting to weigh him down. Each one was a different color and had a different luxury brand emblazoned across it. The contents of each bag varied, too. There were dresses, shoes, boots, purses, jewelry, you name it. His new wife had already spent almost five grand and they’d only been there a couple of hours. Only two of the bags — two! — were his and they were each filled with a couple of jackets and a couple pairs of sunglasses. Expensive, sure, but nothing compared to Faye’s new things, which they’d surely have to ship home separately. It didn’t help that Nick was also getting hungry. Another reason he was impatient, bordering on anxious was because they had a lunch reservation at Savini, one of the oldest restaurants he had ever heard of. They’d skipped their normal brunch in anticipation of the reservation and now he was starting to feel it. He’d been looking forward to it all morning, but especially during the 90-minute drive from Lake Como to Milan. Nick actually got them there quicker than that, putting the Alfa Romeo they rented through their hotel to the test. He’d also done it while Faye gave him a very discreet blowjob during part of the trip — in a convertible, no less! — which he was especially proud of. Eventually, he gave up on checking the time and counting the seconds before his wife rejoined him and instead forced himself to take in his beautiful surroundings. Again. Directly above, the sunlight came in bright through the glass dome, lighting the arcade’s intricately designed facades of creams, pinks, and golds. Nick still couldn’t tell if the Galleria was three stories or four, he just knew that it was high. To his left, in the distance, he could see the impressive archway that led out onto the Piazza Del Duomo. To his right, a similar archway led to the Piazza Della Scala. He and Faye had yet to explore either, but maybe after lunch, assuming there’d be a lunch at all. In his escalating annoyance, he was now starting to wonder if she’d blown him because she knew she’d be making him wait for hours while she went around shopping at every store; even the ones that sold things he knew she didn’t like. Nick knew she was calculated enough to do that, but then he wondered if his impatience and boredom was just leading him down a path of paranoia. After spending what seemed like forever contemplating on that, he tortured himself by looking longingly at Savini just across the arcade. Even if he couldn’t see it past the small sea of tourists and Milanese, he could still smell it, which didn’t help things. He really could’ve used a smoke, too, but bags. He just sighed instead. Being stubborn, Nick didn’t bother admitting to himself that he’d rarely felt impatient or annoyed during their Honeymoon thus far, which was nothing short of miraculous. They were a couple weeks into it now and they’d worked themselves into some semblance of a routine. Since they usually started every morning fucking each other once or twice, brunches had become their thing. On their more active days, they’d go explore the lake and the surrounding villages, or go be pampered in the hotel’s spa. On their lazier days, they’d stay in and fuck or sleep while keeping the drapes or the doors themselves wide open to keep the lake as a backdrop. At night, they were active again. Usually, a late dinner with a stop at the hotel bar either before or after. Then it was dancing or entertaining in the hotel lounge with other Honeymooners and visitors. Aided by drink, cocaine, or both, they were usually back in their suite sometime around midnight, ready to fuck into the early morning hours. Rinse and repeat. Despite the semblance of a routine, Nick had yet to complain. He was happily married again, to a beautiful woman, and they were both taking their time enjoying the many pleasures their month away from work and business had to offer. Routine or not, there were far worse ways to spend a month-long Honeymoon. Like helplessly standing in the middle of the beautiful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II while your wife takes her sweet ass time shopping while your stomach is growling and your lunch reservation is pending.

#╟ ❛ betty lou got a new pair of shoes ❜#╟ october '58 #╟ v.#022

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life-of-architecture · 5 years

Photo

Kraków kościół Najświętszego Serca Jezusowego (jezuicki) zbudowany w latach 1909-1921 architekt: Franciszek Mączyński foto z 11 września 2017

Greckie litery Alfa i Omega - mozaika na attyce frontowej fasady, według rysunku Franciszka Mączyńskiego, 1911 r.

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Kraków, Poland Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Jesuitic) built in 1909-1921 architect: Franciszek Mączyński taken on 11 September 2017

Greek letters Alpha and Omega - a mosaic on the gable of the main facade, by a drawing of Franciszek Mączyński, 1911.

#architecture #photographers on tumblr #original photography #Europe #Poland #Polska #Kraków #Krakow #Cracow #Modernism #mosaics #brick #Greek alphabet #symbols #allegories #religious symbolism #Christianity #symbols in art #Alpha and Omega

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boredfaneliza · 5 years

Text

Libahunt 3.something Alfori: 666 Shades of Purple Part 2

Ummm oops? Uhh enjoy this I guess while I cry over Chapter 35 afterwards.

Words: 2125 (holy shit-)

“I swear I’m going to get my hands on Grigori.” Alfa grumbled with her arms crossed. “I’ll cut out his lips if I have to!”

“At least you didn’t have a tongue on tongue action.” Arcia giggled. That only made their leader groan out more. “Also, has anyone seen Maeve?” Nobody answered, but some whispered in question. All of them say no or shake their heads. “Are you kidding me? They must’ve saw something then unless—”

“Grigori took them away.”

—

Sheets almost felled off the bed when Maeve woke up. It’s a simple room with a nightstand and a drawer. The bed they’re lying on is soft and made out of silk. The pillow isn’t hard either. They were about to freaked out, but have to calm down.

Who took them here? Probably Grigori. What happened? The chains dragged their body away from the group. When did it happened? Maybe an hour ago. How did it happened? Maybe when they’re distracted by the kiss. Where are they now? Not prison, but it gives bad vibes. Why? That they don’t know yet.

“I see you’re awake.” A dark elf came into the room while holding clothes on their arm. “Grigori would like to see you. Please change into these clothes since it’s appropriate for the meeting.” They hand them the clothes before leaving the room.

“Please don’t tell me it’s a dress…” Maeve unfolded the clothes and revealed a long, gray dress in long sleeves. “Goddammit.” Despite their protests and grumbling. They reluctantly put it on with some struggles. The only thing they kept wearing was their sweatpants underneath the dress. Now, Maeve’s at least comfortable.

Knock, knock.

“Are you finished?” Someone behind the door asked. Maeve had to yell out ‘yeah’. The elf lets themselves in. “Great, now you must follow me to the diner room.” They walked out of the room and went down to the east hallway. Some valuables here and there. Maeve could steal them one day once the battle is over.

The elf and Maeve arrived at the huge door that is at least 6 foot. The elf opened the door for Maeve, so they went in as the door closes behind them. Totally not creepy at all.

Grigori is standing there. His eyes are focus on the window, but the reflection of Maeve let him know they’re here. He turned around. His face is still emotionless, but stern enough to send goosebumps. Thank god they used to be in J ROTC or their legs give out. He’s still wearing his long clothes, but the chains still linger.

“Why am I here?” Maeve breaks the tense silence. “I’m just a person who has special powers. I’m no demon nor edgy elves.”

“You’re only here for us and them. We need you for our plan.”

“So, you’re saying I’m bait?”

“Perhaps unless you’re willing to join my force. I heard you’re against social rules and society.” He gives a small, gentle smile despite being a facade. Maeve did have a conversation with Arcia about it. Native species shouldn’t be treated less than it should be. But at least make a notice about it instead of war. That sounds boring to her plus she’ll get tired of fighting eventually. “You’ll be captained of our group after what happened to our previous one.” Oh, yeah, the demon boyfriend. Too bad he wants to kill humans.

“And if I say no?”

“You’ll know it.”

“Can I comment on something.” Grigori gave his nod for Maeve to continue. “I just realized you’re selfish. You’re not doing this for anyone who also wanted freedom. All of this is because you wanted to get back on the Council of what they done to you and your lover. I know taking out on anger isn’t always gonna solve your problems.”

“You don’t know anything about me.” Grigori snarled at them. His eyes are now ice—cold with a strong glare, but they were unaffected. “You’re just a simple hunter who is meant to hunt down on the native species. You don’t know the torture I’ve been through. I pity your clan since there’s only small percentage of you.”

“I don’t, but I can see the guilt in your eyes when you almost hurt Alfa.”

“So? Anyways, you and I are similar.”

“I’m just a kid from New Jersey and I don’t know any—”

Chains miss Maeve by the side. That must’ve hurt his ego or something, but wouldn’t affect Grigori if Craig says it? Who knows?

“I’ll let you think about your answer unless you want to do it now. You have 24 hours until you made your final decision. Our situation right now is we’re at war at the moment.” Grigori answered. “Here’s a gift to remind you.” He hands her an hourglass. “You may leave Miss Evermore.”

“Don’t bring up my dead gender.” Maeve left the room with their hand clutching the hourglass. Their footsteps echoed throughout the hallway with glass—stained windows. At least it looks cool despite being probably stolen. They’re tempted to throw the hourglass to the window, but their gut is telling them not to do it.

Maeve arrived in their room and shut the door behind them and set the hourglass down one of the small tables. They took off their dress and find some of their old clothes lying on the bed. It’s an old band t—shirt and next to it is a pair of black arm warmers. They put it on and look into the mirror.

“I don’t look so bad.” Maeve complimented. They tugged the strand of black hair behind their ear. The reflection of the eyes of blue and yellow shined. They thought about wearing blue eye contacts, but it’s probably expansive. “I have to get out of here.”

Besides the mirror is a wardrobe, but when Maeve look inside. There're few nightgowns, dresses, a jewelry box, and a pair of boots. Inside the drawer is more shoes, jewelry, a sack, and rope? They took the sack, which they also took the pair of boots and rope, and close the wardrobe door.

The sand is still going down on the desk that has candles near the bed. The bed has white sheets and white pillows. Fireplace flickers with fire. A huge painting hangs over the bed including the chandelier. There’s a huge, brown chest in front of the bed. They opened the chest to find a few items. A short sword with a satchel, potions, and the morning star.

“Oh, hell yeah! It’s from Castlevania!” Maeve exclaimed as they grab it. How did Grigori get this sweet weapon? They didn’t know he watched anime, but it’s cool enough that he or dark elves left it here for them. They put the potions in the sack and equip the weapons. Maeve takes off their bracelet filled with crystals and rocks. “Now time to wake up him.”

—

The boy put his pencil down and let the black cat lied on his lap. The cat purred with delight as the boy patted against his fur. His collar with a bell rings two times, and he sighs. He nodded and the cat disappeared with a black smoke trailing on his lap.

—

“What do you need?” The black cat groaned before jumping on the white bed. “Cause this better be important. Also, what is this weird aura? This is new.”

“That’s because we’re in another dimension. I need to get out of here before I either died or be brainwashed until I’m thrown away in the drain.”

“That wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Levi. You know the deal between you and mom.” This only made him groaned in response.

“Fine.” The bed underneath him is opening a huge hole. “Hopped in.” He jumped in with Maeve following him.

Thump

Maeve and Levi’s feet landed on the pavement. A building with a sign that says ‘Test Your Luck’. Maeve assumed it’s the bar that the other gang hang out. Not to mention that they and Arcia were there to get information.

Luckily, they weren’t suspicious because Arcia is a journalist and says she’s capable of magic. That almost convinced the bartender before not wanting to deal with the drama. They feel him.

“Is anyone there you know? Also, I’m starving.”

“Probably the bartender and I don’t know if Arcia is there. You literally order a box of pizza with mom’s card a while ago.” Maeve responded while walking towards the bar. “Let’s hope his group of friends isn’t there.” Maeve learns this from Kingdom Hearts where Donald Duck says ‘Don’t get involved.’ and it’s also true in history as well. They opened the door and revealed the group dancing to Warriors.

They didn’t notice the two. Maeve had to shove themselves in without bumping into anyone. They somehow made it past them and went into one of the guest bedrooms. They dropped the bag and lied down on the bed. It’s so comfortable. Soon after they felled asleep with Levi curling up on their stomach.

“Grigori! How could you?!” Alfa cried out. Her fists are clenched before summoning her war hammer and almost hit him, but his chains got hold of it.

“It’s the law Alfa. You should know how it works and you shouldn’t get involved.”

“I thought you were my friend!”

“Since when?” Grigori turn his back toward from Alfa before flying away. His white wings stretched upwards and wind breezed through it. There was something on his cheek, but he wipes it away.

He shouldn’t get involved.

Maeve sits up from the bed. Sweat dripping down on their forehead. They put their hand against it then groans.

“Why do I get the weird dreams?”

“You can cry about your fever dream later. Everyone left and there're demons and elves outside. They’re trying to break in.” Levi mentioned.

“It’s time.” They walked out of the bedroom door and approached the front door. Banging can be heard from the other side. “Now, get ready Levi.” He nodded. His body form into a bigger version of himself except he’s more bloody. Maeve took out the morning star and takes a deep breath. Their skin glowed gold. They kicked down the door.

Bubbles coming out of the small bottle burst. Inside of it is a greenish liquid with a few leaves. A tanned hand was holding it, but she put it in a purse. Arcia pour a jug of water into the cauldron and threw a few shards of glass. Then she put some various of items in it. The last thing she put in was a strand of black hair. Bubbles were forming and swirls around when she mixed it.

“Oh hear my call, hear my call, hear my call. Please show me the face of Maeve Evermore. Show me Goddess Mira!” Arcia shouted as she mixed. The swirls are becoming more huge than before. It becomes clear and reveal a face of a person with long black hair. “Thank you.” Arcia smiled. Some tears were dripping down on her cheek.

“Any luck?” Cyrus asked. He walks into the tent and look over her shoulder. “Hey, it finally works.” the cauldron shows Maeve fighting through a group of demons and elves. There was a huge cat fighting beside them. “I didn’t know Levi was here.”

“I didn't know either, but that’s a good thing because Maeve can handle them self. However, they’re going to need help. Tell the group that I would be going after them.” Aria grabbed her bag and broom. She walked out of the tent as Cyrus followed her. She hopped on the broom and it floated. “We’ll be back.” Then she flew away.

Arcia’s blonde pigtails flew through the rushing wind. Her hands tighten on the broom and blue eyes gazed over the forest land, but the trees blocked the view. She lowered herself, avoiding the branches despite some sticks stick into her hair. Arcia's head turns around before flying into the deep forest and past the trees.

“Fuck you Grigori!” A voice came from the right of her. Arcia flies towards that direction. Once she arrived, Maeve is holding some kind of whip and facing Grigori with chains behind his back. They’re drawing attention causing the group to look at them, but some of them got distracted with the fighting. Ohm was there. It appears that he didn’t mind. “You fight just like your mom!” Their insults never change.

“How about you be quiet!” The chains went straight through where’s they’re standing.

“No!” Arcia hears herself yelling as she flew towards them. All she could remember something pulling out of her body almost empty, but it stayed. Causing her lose grip and her boy leaning over.

It’s all black.

Oops, it’s a cliffhanger. i realize it’s more of my ocs in Libahunt, but Maeve says “We’re in another dimension.” Weird. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and wait for part 3 <3

#libahunt???#alfa-angel #alfa #grigori #alfori #eliza writes #crack ship

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rockislandadultreads · 2 years

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Historical Fiction: WWI Stories

A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum

This is at once an epic love story and a heart-pounding journey across WWI-era Russia, about an ambitious young doctor and her scientist brother in a race against Einstein to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and the Czar's army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision. Since their parents drowned fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs: to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan. Can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much? Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both. As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance.

At Summer's End by Courtney Ellis

When an ambitious female artist accepts an unexpected commission at a powerful earl's country estate in 1920s England, she finds his war-torn family crumbling under the weight of long-kept secrets. From debut author Courtney Ellis comes a captivating novel about finding the courage to heal after the ravages of war. Alberta Preston accepts the commission of a lifetime when she receives an invitation from the Earl of Wakeford to spend a summer painting at His Lordship's country home, Castle Braemore. Bertie imagines her residence at the prodigious estate will finally enable her to embark on a professional career and prove her worth as an artist, regardless of her gender. Upon her arrival, however, Bertie finds the opulent Braemore and its inhabitants diminished by the Great War. The earl has been living in isolation since returning from the trenches, locked away in his rooms and hiding battle scars behind a prosthetic mask. While his younger siblings eagerly welcome Bertie into their world, she soon sees chips in that world's gilded facade. As she and the earl develop an unexpected bond, Bertie becomes deeply entangled in the pain and secrets she discovers hidden within Castle Braemore and the hearts of its residents.

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop, Anna Moschovakis (Translator)

Alfa Ndiaye is a Senegalese man who, never before having left his village, finds himself fighting as a so-called “Chocolat” soldier with the French army during World War I. When his friend Mademba Diop, in the same regiment, is seriously injured in battle, Diop begs Alfa to kill him and spare him the pain of a long and agonizing death in No Man’s Land. Unable to commit this mercy killing, madness creeps into Alfa’s mind as he comes to see this refusal as a cruel moment of cowardice. Anxious to avenge the death of his friend and find forgiveness for himself, he begins a macabre ritual: every night he sneaks across enemy lines to find and murder a blue-eyed German soldier, and every night he returns to base, unharmed, with the German’s severed hand. At first his comrades look at Alfa’s deeds with admiration, but soon rumors begin to circulate that this super soldier isn’t a hero, but a sorcerer, a soul-eater. Plans are hatched to get Alfa away from the front, and to separate him from his growing collection of hands, but how does one reason with a demon, and how far will Alfa go to make amends to his dead friend? Peppered with bullets and black magic, this remarkable novel fills in a forgotten chapter in the history of World War I. Blending oral storytelling traditions with the gritty, day-to-day, journalistic horror of life in the trenches, David Diop's At Night All Blood is Black is a dazzling tale of a man’s descent into madness.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption. 1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister. 1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, code name Alice, the "queen of spies", who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose. Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.

#historical fiction #World War I #WWI #to read #tbr #Book Recommendations #reading recommendations #war stories #war fiction #Library Books #book recs #highly recommend #history #historical #historical books

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