#and if anyone has the money and resources to push the visuals? it’s them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

not-goldy · 10 months

Note

Jokers are just jk biased dimwits if they care about jm you could have seen them taking stance for jm, his achievements are being stolen and given to jk we ain't telling you to post stuff against jk we are telling you to stand for jm, you are using him for fantasies atleast give some support to him in return too

Thats fair but I don't think anyone can steal JIMIN'S ACHIEVEMENTS. They certainly can try.

HIS MERE EXISTENCE IS AN ACHIEVEMENT

He is the most hard working idol in allllllllllll Kpop.

Undisputed. Unchallenged.

When he says, THIS IS JIMIN- HE MEANS THIS IS YOUR KING BITCHES. PARK FREAKING JIMIN! ROOKIE BIBLE BEAUTY GODDESS DANCE KING.

He knows WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE TABLE.

NO ONE CAN TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HIM.

His mere existence is a work of art and everything he does is just- perfect.

He's a trailblazer. Pace setter. And He sets records.

Sure that record can be broken and has been broken by him and other artists so what? HAVE YOU SEEN HIS COME BACK???

Watch out for his come back.

You think people would move heaven and hell just so they can say they beat his record if he hadn't set the record so high????

He is the standard. He will forever be the standard.

Personally I admire whoever tries to beat his records because I know it's no small feet.

This is his playground and you better slay or go home.

Look what he did with the little budget he has.

That's what makes him great. That's what makes him an excellent achiever. NO ONE CAN STEAL THAT FROM HIM.

The boys from BTS are the best in the game- every single one of them and they bring the pressure. They were great before the fame before the resources was thrown at them and they are great without those resources.

Park Jimin certainly holds his own.

I'm sorry but he's not losing.

I take offense at that.

I'm looking forward to his comeback. If this is what he can do with little investment and company backing he will bust the crust open if he gets the resources.

He has proven worthy of every single investment and I know he has investors lined up. He can only go big from here.

I don't want to bring Jungkook into this but with all the money thrown at him be better prove to investors he is worth it and my God has he proven that!!!!

Investors don't care about achievements. They care about turning a profit on their investments. The bigger the risk the bigger the reward.

I think hybe should TREAT THEM EQUALLY. give them an equal budget and equal company backing. If they are discriminating against certain members and playing favoratism they don't need me to tell them that's wrong. They know they deadass wrong for that.

And it would make so much sense for the members affected by their blatant favoritism to drop them. They made hybe hybe. They can take their large following and social currency to the millions of companies trying to poach them.

Jimin is worth the investment. It's a shame if anyone can't see that. It's a shame hybe doesn't treat him like he is worth the investment.

My job as a fun is to focus on supporting his music his career.

I fail to believe a company that's exploited his image his body his sexuality and pushed him to produce some of the masterpieces of all time, visually vocally and performance wise- I'm talking Promise, Filter, Serendipity, Blackswan- that this same company is underestimating him.

A company that knew to tell him to expose his body to screaming fans, who take pride in the fact he bruises and bleeds through the pain rehearsing for hours, starving himself singing till his throat hurts- that this is the same company telling him someone else is worth the investment not him.

We either don't know the whole story and can't see the full picture or Jimin is stuck in a Stockholm syndrome dynamic with that company.

I like to think Jimin is holding out for after MS to go full on global domination mode. And I like to think hybe is saving up for him for after MS when he does a proper comeback. If not hybe has a lot of explaining to do because it's glaringly obvious they've put more resources into other members than him.

That's a fact. We can cry about, rant about it, send trucks- it does make a difference because it's better to let hybe know we on to them and won't tolerate this discrimination if it's deliberate on their part. The truck sender stans are so on point for this. It's the most effective way of holding hybe accountable.

The rants and buzz is also great in creating awareness to the situation and having media sites pick up the story will put enough pressure on hybe.

But do we have to be toxic while doing so? Mentally abusing a member is not standing up for anyone. It goes against everything Park Jimin stands for. Especially since he himself gets traumatized by other stans and over the stupidest things.

Be a good human. How about that accountability? Who's gonna hold us accountable for being a shitty human beings? We should care about our stans but we shouldn't lose our humanity in the process.

I just like to wait it out to see what the end game is.

I'm here. Gathering reciepts for the day of reckoning.

39 notes · View notes

marketingprofitmedia · 4 months

Text

AITravelSite Review – Create Automated Travel Affiliate Website in Seconds

Welcome to my AITravelSite Review Post, This is a genuine user-based AITravelSite review where I will discuss the features, upgrades, demo, price, and bonuses, how AITravelSite can benefit you, and my own personal opinion. AI-Powered Software Creates A Completely Automated, Self-Updating Travel Affiliate Website In Less Than 60 Seconds With just a click, you can instantly load 700,000+ hotels, 4,000 airlines, 40,000+ top places to visit, and 100,000+ car parks, all automatically embedded with your affiliate link.

The travel bug has bitten us all at some point. But for some, the wanderlust extends beyond personal exploration and ignites a passion for sharing the joy of travel with others. This passion fuels the ever-growing travel affiliate marketing industry. However, building a successful travel website from scratch can be a daunting task, demanding technical know-how and content creation skills. AITravelSite, a revolutionary platform that leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform travel affiliate marketing. This innovative tool empowers anyone, regardless of technical background, to create a professional-looking travel website brimming with no coding experience.

AITravelSite Review: What Is AITravelSite?

AITravelSite is a cloud-based platform that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline the creation and management of travel affiliate websites. It boasts a drag-and-drop interface, allowing users with no prior coding experience to build visually appealing and feature-rich travel websites.

The platform integrates with a vast database of travel resources, including hotels, airlines, car rentals, and attractions. This allows AITravelSite to automatically populate your website with relevant travel deals and offerings.

AITravelSite Review: Overview

Creator: Rick NG

Product: AITravelSite

Date Of Launch: 2024-Jun-06

Time Of Launch: 11:00 EDT

Front-End Price: $17 (One-time payment)

Official Website: Click Here To Access

Niche: Tools And Software

Support: Effective Response

Discount: Get The Best Discount Right Here!

Recommended: Highly Recommended

Bonuses: Huge Bonuses

Rating: 9.5/10

Skill Level Required: All Levels

Discount Code: “AITRAVEL3” Get $3 OFF Instantly!

Refund: YES, 30 Days Money-Back Guarantee

<<>> Click Here & Get Access Now AITravelSite Discount Price Here <<>>

AITravelSite Review: About Authors

This offer Rick NG is the creator of AITravelSite. He is a renowned developer, known for his successful product launches. His concept for AITravelSite derives from a desire to help people and organizations seamlessly capture their audiences and achieve results. Rick’s dedication to excellence and pushing the limits of what is possible with AI distinguish him as a forerunner in the fields of digital marketing and new technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

He earned a reputation via lots of launches, including AI Beast, Easy Faceless Vid-Review Builder, eBGenius, EBFusion, AIFlipBook, AICourseSite, AIBookSite, EazySitePro, EBStore, EazyFlipBook, CBSitePro, SportSitePro, SiteTravelPro, and many others.

AITravelSite Review: Features

AI-powered software activates your own travel site with just one click

Target up to 1.4 billion travelers and drive them to your website on complete autopilot

Get started immediately to create your first travel affiliate site

Pay once, profit forever without any restrictions

100% hosted on reliable cloud server and optimized for seamless mobile usage

No age, skill, or experience requirements

100% legal and ethical

World Class customer support

30-day money-back guarantee

AITravelSite Review: How Does It Work?

Start Your Own Travel Affiliate Site In 3 Easy Steps

Step #1:

Step #2:

Enter Your Site Name

Step #3:

Watch As The App Instantly Creates A Completely Automated Travel Affiliate Site Loaded With 700,000+ Hotels, 4,000 Airlines, 40,000+ Top Places To Visit, 100,000+ Car Parkings In Less Than 60 Seconds.

<<>> Click Here & Get Access Now AITravelSite Discount Price Here <<>>

AITravelSite Review: Can Do For You

Instantly load your site with: 700,000+ hotels, 4,000+ airlines, 40,000+ top places to visit, 100,000+ car parkings

Automatically loaded travel affiliate site with extensive travel content

Beautifully designed, mobile-responsive sites

Visitors can make online bookings on mobile and tablet

100% self-updating: automatically updates prices, reviews, images, etc.

No maintenance needed; site updates on autopilot

DFY Blog Builder with built-in ChatGPT technology for unique, relevant blog posts

Blog posts automatically drip-fed daily

Supports WordPress site with AITravelSite plugin and WP theme

Hosting and domain included at no cost

24-hour premium support for any questions

Comprehensive training and tutorials with articles, videos, and FAQs to help you get started and solve problems independently

AITravelSite Review: Verify User Feedback

AITravelSite Review: Who Should Use It?

Affiliate Marketers

Digital Product Sellers

Freelancers

Business Owners

Entrepreneurs

Bloggers & Website owners

Email Marketers

Social Media Marketers

Online Courses and eBooks

E-Commerce Store Owners

And Many Others

AITravelSite Review: OTO’s And Pricing

Front End: AITravelSite ($17)

OTO 1: AITravelSite Advanced ($37)

OTO 2: AITravellSite Unlimited ($37)

OTO 3: AITravelSite StoreStream ($37)

OTO 4: AITravellSite Done-For-You ($97)

OTO 5: AITravelSite Agency ($127)

<<>> Click Here & Get Access Now AITravelSite Discount Price Here <<>>

AITravelSite Review: My Special Unique Bonus Bundle

My Special Unique Bonus Bundle will be visible on your access page as an Affiliate Bonus Button on WarriorPlus immediately after purchase.

And before ending my honest AITravelSite Review, I told you that I would give you my very own unique PFTSES formula for Free.

AITravelSite Review: Free Bonuses

Bonus 1: AITravelSite TrafficManagerPro App (WORTH $297)

AITravelSite TrafficManager Pro App (manage your website traffic from one dashboard) With this You will be able to manage the Internet traffic on your website and to enhance it.

You may:

see statistics on users browsing your website;

see statistics on web crawler;

inform Google, Bing, etc. when your site is updated;

geolocate the visits on your site;

configure your statistics cookies to be in conformity with the CNIL regulations;

configure Google Analytics;

add sitemap.xml information on your website

Bonus 2: AITravelSite PageBuilderPro App (WORTH $397)

AITravelSite PageBuilder Pro App is an amazing app for building one page in a few minutes. With this app you can create an unlimited landing page with more features options. Unlimited One Page, Unlimited Block, Parallax Effects, Gallery Included, Portfolio Included, DEMO XML INCLUDED, Fully Responsive, Logo Position: Left/right, Sticky Menu: On/Off, Custom SEO, Custom Menu, Custom Background for first block: Gallery with 7 different spinner / Image/color/Youtube Video, Custom Background: Image/color/Youtube Video, Custom Pattern Background, Custom Opacity Background, Custom Logo, Custom Favicon, Custom Font Style, Custom Menu: Block/WP-Menu, Set a landing page as homepage

Bonus 3: AITravelSite AutoSpinnerPro App (WORTH $197)

This is a great software for re-writing an already existing post and automatically converting it into a fresh new content for you in any niche online. It spins any content you input and make it become an original post to still get top ranking on your blog. And most importantly, prevent you from getting penalized for copying anyone’s content. It derives new contents by replacing words and phrases by its synonyms on autopilot using its built-in synonyms database or optionally using one of the best spinning services APIs.

AITravelSite Review: Demo Video

Just Watch The AITravelSite Demo Video Down Below To Get All The Details:

>>For More Details Click Here<<

AITravelSite Review: Money Back Guarantee

Try AITravelSite System at Zero-Risk 30 Day Unconditional 100% Money Back Guarantee

If you’ve read this far, it means you understand and value the special chance we’re giving you. We also saw this huge chance and made AITravelSite to take advantage of it without any safeguards. We know that not everyone is willing to take as many risks as we are, though. So, to make sure you’re fully happy with AITravelSite, we’ve added a 30-day money-back promise. Send us a message if AITravelSite doesn’t live up to your hopes in any way, and you’ll get your money back.

<<>> Click Here & Get Access Now AITravelSite Discount Price Here <<>>

AITravelSite Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

Effortless Website Creation: Build a travel website in minutes with drag-and-drop simplicity, perfect for beginners.

Content Powerhouse: Access a vast travel database and AI-powered blog builder to keep your website brimming with fresh content.

Monetization Made Easy: Leverage affiliate marketing, banner ads, and native advertising to turn your travel passion into profits.

Cons:

You cannot use this product without an active internet connection.

In fact, I haven’t yet discovered any other problems with AITravelSite.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Q. Is AITravelSite a cloud-based software?

Yes, we pride ourselves on being 100% cloud-based & supremely reliable. You can access AITravelSite from anywhere and start making MASSIVE commissions selling holidays & vacations. Simply select the device of your choice (MAC, Windows, or even your Mobile) and begin.

Q. Is AITravelSite a popular software with marketers?

Oh absolutely, you will be amazed at how many marketers are using and loving AITravelSite. We’ve added their feedback to this site, simply scroll up to read it for yourself.

Q. Do we have to pay a monthly subscription fee to access AITravelSite?

Right now… NO! But after this special offer ends, users will have to pay a monthly fee to access AITravelSite which they can currently get at a ONE-TIME cost.

Q. What are the minimum experience and skills required to use AITravelSite?

You don’t have to be a seasoned marketer or a technical genius to create your Travel Affiliate Website! AITravelSite is 100% beginner-friendly. Our automated software does everything for you. You simply profit!

Q. Is training & support included?

Yes. When you buy AITravelSite today, you can also easily access our step-by-step training resources. Our technical experts are available for you 24X7 for any queries that you may have.

AITravelSite Review: My Recommendation

AITravelSite isn’t a magic bullet for travel affiliate marketing success, but it’s a powerful tool that streamlines website creation and content management. For those new to the game or intimidated by technical aspects, AITravelSite offers a user-friendly and cost-effective way to launch a travel website. However, building a thriving travel affiliate business requires a comprehensive marketing strategy and ongoing content optimization. Weigh the pros and cons to determine if AITravelSite is the springboard that propels you towards your travel affiliate marketing goals.

<<>> Click Here & Get Access Now AITravelSite Discount Price Here <<>>

Check Out My Previous Reviews: TubeGorilla Review, AI Pilot Review, LernX Review, AI Partner & Profit Review, WP Emails Review, GamPAL Review, & Opus Review.

Thank for reading my AITravelSite Review till the end. Hope it will help you to make purchase decision perfectly.

Disclaimer: This AITravelSite review is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Before making a purchase decision, we recommend conducting your own research and exploring the software.

Note: Yes, this is a paid software, however the one-time fee is $17 for lifetime.

1 note · View note

alyjojo · 5 months

Text

Thinking of You - May 👩🏿‍🍳2024 - Sagittarius

Whole of their energy towards Sagittarius: 5 Wands

Feelings: 9 Cups

Intentions: The Hermit & The Magician

Actions: Wheel of Fortune

This one seems platonic, related. A grandparent, parent, boss even. Like they don’t want to “get rid of you” per say, but you could be financially dependent on them in some way, and I’m getting the visual of a baby bird 🐦 being pushed out of the nest. Like, figure out your life bird. I won’t be here forever. They see your energy as very young, pretty indulgent, you could have a tendency for selfishness or just…not the most responsible energy. Not like *them*, right? Assuming this is a parent. A boss even. You’re not the hardass type and that’s kinda what they want from you. Take control. Lead. Make changes. Be a strong & independent person, an adult basically. They feel like it’s time to pay the piper for the things you’ve been doing, giving away time, resources, brain space or what have you - to only the things *you* want to. There’s no necessity here, a schedule, budget, or priority list, I’m thinking that’s probably what this person is after. They may not be too keen on your social groups either, if they all act like this. I don’t get a partying vibe overall, but maybe for one person there’s a drinking/using crowd.

Intentions are taking some needed time to think over how they want to approach this with you - 10 Pentacles being the goal. Whatever it is may piss you off, there could be some sort of disciplinary measures involved with The Emperor here. This is a very proud person, they tend to do things the “right” way - in their mind, and they have no room for this foolery, whatever it is you’ve done idk - it doesn’t say. In action, they’re going to give things some time and let you prove it to them? Prove you’re responsible or serious about whatever is going on here, there could also be a written agreement, a ticket, a write-up or disciplinary measure, some sort of document involved in their plan. I don’t think this will be resolved this month, but for the future there is some kind of plan of agreement awaiting you, and it will take real effort - but it’s only because in their mind, they’re balancing the scales and being fair to everyone involved. It’s possible someone gets sick or dealing with an illness this month, maybe they or you having to step up more.

Oracles:

Pride 👑

Self Esteem - Self Worth - Ego

Messages:

Their side:

- Curvy boy/girl

- What other people say matters too much to me

Your side:

- Forever Young

- Red Flag 🚩

Possible signs:

Heavy Virgo, Pisces, Sagittarius, Aries, Leo

If you’re dealing with:

Judgment is either your own regarding your people, feeling unsure of how other people judge you (if they do), or relationships they have left your life for whatever reason - and whether those can come back to life now that something has changed. Or is it done with and there’s no going back at this point?

Aries - moving slow because they don’t know what to do about this or you, could be this person with The Emperor 🐢

Taurus - stressed & worried over money, something they’re/you’re buying, a new financial opportunity of some kind

Gemini - making a decision quietly but isn’t sharing that that is with anyone just yet

Cancer - doesn’t speak to you, has no hope of healing this connection, could stalk you though

Leo - someone you work with possibly, if there’s been an issue then they forgive you - or anyone else there’s been an issue with

Virgo - consciously moving on or moving away

Libra - acts super supportive but isn’t, says they’re going to do things but doesn’t

Scorpio - feels a deep connection - but not love

Sagittarius - feels like they have no choice but to stop giving to you, like it’s your fault, or they legitimately don’t have a choice

Capricorn - patient with your in & out bs, seems to look forward to whenever you’re “in”

Aquarius - single, independent, reflective and quiet, doing their own thing 💯

Pisces - doesn’t know what to even say to you

#Sagittarius #thinking of you #may 2024 #astrology #zodiac signs #free tarot #tarot reading

1 note · View note

ai-estonian-videos · 5 months

Text

Revolutionizing Content Creation: Estonian AI Video Generator

Introduction:

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized various industries, from healthcare to finance. Now, the Estonian AI Video Generator is taking the content creation world by storm. This groundbreaking technology has the potential to transform the way videos are produced, making it easier and more efficient for businesses and individuals to create engaging and high-quality content. In this article, we will explore the Estonian AI Video Generator and its impact on the content creation landscape.

The Rise of AI in Content Creation:

Content creation has always been a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. From scriptwriting to filming, editing to distribution, every step requires careful planning and execution. However, with advancements in AI technology, the landscape is rapidly changing. AI-powered tools like the Estonian AI Video Generator are making it possible to automate various stages of the content creation process, saving time and effort for creators.

How Does the Estonian AI Video Generator Work?

The Estonian AI Video Generator is a cutting-edge technology that utilizes deep learning algorithms to analyze video and audio data. By understanding the visual and auditory elements, the AI system can generate highly realistic videos that mimic human-like movements, expressions, and speech. This technology has been trained on a vast amount of data, allowing it to generate content that is both visually appealing and contextually relevant.

Benefits of the Estonian AI Video Generator:

Time and Cost Efficiency: The traditional content creation process can take weeks or even months to complete, requiring a significant investment of time and money. With the Estonian AI Video Generator, businesses and individuals can streamline the process, reducing production time and costs significantly.

Customization and Personalization: The AI Video Generator allows users to customize and personalize their videos according to their specific requirements. Whether it's changing the background, adding special effects, or modifying the script, the technology offers endless possibilities for creativity and flexibility.

Accessibility and Inclusivity: Historically, video production has been limited to those with technical expertise and access to expensive equipment. However, the Estonian AI Video Generator democratizes content creation by putting the power of video production into the hands of anyone with a computer and internet connection. This inclusivity allows for a diverse range of voices and perspectives to be heard.

Faster Turnaround Time: The AI Video Generator can generate videos in a matter of minutes, eliminating the need for lengthy post-production processes. This allows businesses to respond quickly to market demands and stay ahead of their competition.

Enhanced Creativity: By automating repetitive tasks, the Estonian AI Video Generator frees up creators' time and energy to focus on more creative aspects of content creation. This enables them to explore new ideas, experiment with different styles, and push the boundaries of their creativity.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations:

While the Estonian AI Video Generator offers numerous benefits, there are also challenges and ethical considerations to be mindful of. The technology raises questions about the authenticity and credibility of content, as videos generated by AI can be manipulated to deceive viewers. Additionally, there are concerns about copyright infringement and the potential impact on the job market for video production professionals.

Conclusion:

The Estonian AI Video Generator is revolutionizing content creation by offering a faster, more accessible, and cost-effective solution. As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect further improvements in the quality and capabilities of video generation. While there are ethical considerations to address, the potential for creativity and innovation in content creation is immense. The Estonian AI Video Generator represents a significant step forward in the evolution of AI and its impact on the media industry.

#art

1 note · View note

fractyll123 · 1 year

Text

Get the Best Price on NYC Culture & Arts Magazine Subscription Featuring Fractal Art

New York City has long been the hub of diverse cultural offerings. From Broadway shows to museums and galleries, the city is renowned for its vibrant arts scene. With so much happening in the cultural sphere, keeping up with the latest trends and happenings can be a daunting task. That's where NYC culture magazines come in.

nyc culture magazine

One such magazine is NY Arts Magazine. Founded in 1984, the magazine has been covering the contemporary art world for over three decades. Its editorial mission is to showcase new and emerging artists, as well as established artists who are pushing the boundaries of contemporary art. NY Arts Magazine covers a wide range of art forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, and performance art.

Subscribing to NY Arts Magazine is an excellent way to stay up-to-date with the latest happenings in the New York art world. Whether you're an artist, collector, or simply an art enthusiast, the magazine offers insightful articles, reviews, and interviews with some of the most prominent figures in the contemporary art scene. You can subscribe to NY Arts Magazine through their website or through various subscription services.

Of course, there are other NYC culture magazines available as well. Some popular options include Time Out New York, New York Magazine, and Art in America. Each of these publications offers a unique perspective on the city's culture scene, and they're all worth considering for anyone looking to stay informed.

If you're looking for the best price for a new York magazine subscription, there are several ways to save money. Many subscription services offer discounts for new subscribers or for longer-term subscriptions. Additionally, you can often find discounts by searching for promo codes online.

best price for new york magazine subscription

But culture isn't just about visual arts. In recent years, the term "culture" has expanded to include a broader range of creative expressions, from music to fashion and beyond. This is where Fractal Art comes in.

Fractal Art is a form of digital art that uses mathematical algorithms to create complex, often intricate patterns. The term "fractal" refers to the repeating patterns found in nature, such as the branching of trees or the shape of a snowflake. Fractal Art takes these patterns and transforms them into stunning works of art that are both beautiful and thought-provoking.

fractyll.com is a leading platform for Fractal Art, showcasing some of the most innovative and exciting artists working in the field today. The site features a range of works, from abstract compositions to more representational pieces, all created using fractal algorithms.

Fractyll is not just a platform for artists; it's also a community for those who appreciate and support Fractal Art. The site features interviews with artists, reviews of exhibitions, and news about the latest developments in the field. Whether you're an artist, collector, or simply a fan of digital art, Fractyll is an excellent resource for staying up-to-date with the world of Fractal Art.

In conclusion, NYC culture magazines are an essential resource for anyone interested in the city's vibrant arts scene. Whether you're interested in visual arts, music, or fashion, there's a publication out there that's right for you. And when it comes to Fractal Art, Fractyll.com is the place to be. So, subscribe to your favorite NYC culture magazine today and start exploring the city's rich cultural offerings. Visit us at http://fractyll.com/

0 notes

cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

[CN] Victor’s Patio Date (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

MC: It’s finally over!

I stretch, basking in the warm afternoon sunlight.

MC: The air-conditioning in the meeting room was so strong. I almost sneezed...

Victor: That’s why you held your breath till your face turned red?

MC: I did not...

I want to retort, but both our phones vibrate at the same time.

Curious, I tap and open the message. The sender is Ronan. The beginning of the message reads: “Inviting Mr Victor and Miss MC...”

[Note: If you don't know who Ronan is, check out Victor’s Understanding the Human World date before continuing]

Victor: To attend an appointment on the sky garden of the CR Building, a subsidiary company of LFG, after three days, at 7pm.

Victor softly reads the bottom half of the message aloud - he has received the same message.

MC: I remember that Ronan invited internationally renowned architects to build the film sets for his new movie. It should be this sky garden then? Since he has invited us, could it have something to do with the new movie?

Victor: We’ll know when we get there.

He looks at the phone in his hand indifferently. Despite his expression, it seems he already has an answer.

Three days later.

Victor and I reach the CR Building punctually.

Ronan: The two of you are here. Come, the movie preview is on the top floor.

Without much idle chat, we exchange greetings, and he enthusiastically leads us to the elevator.

MC: The shoot has already been completed? That’s pretty fast.

Ronan: Mm, the shoot this time went really smoothly. Whether in the capacity of a friend, or the biggest investor, I want the both of you to be the first few to see my movie.

MC: Why did I receive an invitation too...

Hearing my soft confusion, Ronan laughs loudly while he responds.

Ronan: When we were shooting Dévotion, it was only because of your cooperation that I could shoot a romantic and poetic Chinese wedding. Also, the movie this time was largely inspired by the two of you, so inviting you is definitely reasonable. For example, Victor revealed that, to him, you are actually...

Victor: Often impudent, and require improvement in time management. But once you slow down, your work capabilities have indeed improved quite a bit.

MC: ...why do I feel like what you told Ronan had nothing to do with my work capabilities.

I arch my eyebrows, not wanting to show signs of weakness. I toss a grimace towards Victor.

Before phrases in my mind such as “a woman’s instincts are very accurate” leave my mouth, Ronan starts laughing as he watches us from the side.

Ding--

Along with a soft ring, the elevator halts steadily at the highest level of the building. The exquisite sky garden greets my vision as the elevator doors open slowly.

Green trees display their leaves on mid-air platforms, and flowers of differing colours are scattered around, decorating the area.

The course of a river is guided by steel, flowing into a waterfall, gathering into a river, and slowly flowing around the trees and flowers.

Victor: The movie preview will start in ten minutes. How much longer do you plan to dillydally?

As though he isn’t drawn to the view at all, Victor simply holds his hand out in front of me.

MC: Yes, yes. As expected of the Mr CEO who has seen the big world - displaying an unchanging expression even after seeing such a view.

I hold onto his hand readily, and subtly lean against his side a little more.

The corners of Victor’s lips seem to curl upwards slightly. He accommodates to my footsteps, and we head to the venue together.

The movie preview is extremely successful.

Summarising the legend of the sky garden, Ronan illustrated a story of the male lead’s struggle at the end of the world, looking for an oasis.

And the climax of the story occurred at this very sky garden--

Lights and shadows merged with drifting flower petals, the last green leaf, and the last water source at the very end of the world...

Apart from the excellent narrative, the visual effects from the film alone gives one unparalleled enjoyment.

After the movie ends, I can’t help but give a standing ovation.

A few members of the audience, who were immersed in the movie like I was, send their cheers to the directors and actors.

MC: As expected of Ronan’s movie - it’s really brilliant.

Victor: Mm. It’s his usual standard.

Although Victor says this, he isn’t stingy with his applause.

MC: There’s a really immersive feeling knowing that we’re in the most beautiful scene of the movie...

Victor: Let’s go then.

Right after the words land, my palm is already encased in warmth.

Victor: To look at the garden you’ve been thinking about in your heart since just now.

MC: Okay! It’s a rare opportunity to walk into the beautiful scenery crafted by world-class directors and architects. If we don’t take a proper look, it’d be such a pity.

Victor: In that case, follow me and don’t let go of my hand again.

MC: Anyway, no matter where I am, you’ll always find me in the end. I won’t get lost.

We stand up, and I smile while holding onto his hand tightly.

He lets out a soft laugh. Maybe it’s my misperception, but the night seems to become gentler along with him.

I hear the sound of gurgling water in my ears, and red corn poppies bloom among the shadows of trees.

My fingers brush against the tips of bushes, and I feel the branches carrying the coolness of night.

MC: Sigh... it’s a shame that this place would be torn down after a while. And it’s such a beautiful set-up designed by a famous architect...

The more we stroll in the garden, the more I feel sorry for its impending disappearance.

Victor: You really can’t bear to see it gone?

MC: In the bustling city, such a garden is just too precious.

The corners of Victor’s lips lift in response to my words. He responds calmly.

Victor: The garden will be retained, and will become a cafe open to the public in the long-term.

MC: So in the future... it will also be LFG’s property?!

Victor doesn’t comment.

Victor: Once the movie preview is over, there will be a gradual adjustment of the layout and decor.

MC: ...it’s really nice to have money.

Victor: That’s your biggest takeaway after watching the preview?

MC: Of course not. I have very deep thoughts regarding this movie!

Victor arches his brows, as though waiting for my “deep thoughts” and review.

I clear my throat, temporarily tossing aside my feelings towards capitalism. In my mind, I start recalling the images from the movie.

MC: In Ronan’s movie, the lead keeps searching for an “oasis” in order to settle down and have sustenance. Every person needs his own “oasis”. It’s only when one has a foothold and a place to rest can he continually move forward.

Victor: Looks like you really watched it seriously.

MC: Which is why I’m very surprised by your decision to retain this garden. Perhaps it can become an oasis for busy people in this bustling city.

Victor: If it’s possible, that would be best.

MC: You don't think such an idea is overly vague or idealistic?

Victor: You can only move forward with some resources. This is the same for everyone. Moreover, it’s only when you have a goal in mind and know where you’re heading towards, can you walk far, and walk steadily.

I run a few steps in front, then turn around to stick out my tongue at him.

MC: Are we here to participate in the movie preview, or to do an inspection with you?

Victor: Watch where you’re going.

Slightly resigned, Victor pushes aside some branches sticking out along the path. He reaches out and pulls me back to his side.

Suddenly, a different view from the slender and delicate poppies enters my vision.

MC: Roses!

I blink. In one corner of the garden, in replacement of poppies, crimson roses bloom warmly under the moonlight.

At the side, there are even a few bean bags and a small coffee table.

In the luxurious and majestic garden, the roses, while sharing the same colour as poppies, add a different style to the courtyard.

My thoughts drift to the rose-scented town I had once taken a slow walk with him in.

[Note: This is a reference to Victor’s Magnificent Date]

I can’t help but smile and ask Victor a question.

MC: Is this one of the methods to attract visitors and raise property value?

Victor: Yes.

Victor admits it matter-of-factly, but there’s a smile in his eyes.

Victor: Ronan’s team insisted on adding different understandings of this theme in order to portray a richer definition of an “oasis”. Since they asked for my opinion, I naturally gave them my view.

Standing under the warm yellow street lamp, Victor’s expression looks exceptionally tender.

Victor: From what I see, the result isn’t bad.

There is a subtle sweet aroma of roses in the air. I sit comfortably on a bean bag, asking Victor with a grin:

MC: What other adjustments will be made?

Dressed in a well-ironed suit, Victor is also half-lying on the bean bag, looking somewhat languid. The aura surrounding him has become much more gentle.

It’s as though we aren’t at a bustling movie preview, or a sky garden on the top floor of a building.

It’s just a normal weekend evening, in a small courtyard belonging to us, as we shed off the week’s worth of fatigue.

I can’t help but think of the afternoon he slept in front of me, and remember the day he had revealed an almost imperceptible state of relaxation to me.

[Note: This is a reference to Victor’s Return Home Date]

Victor: You look like you have a lot of thoughts?

MC: Of course I do! I’ve been to various shooting locations, and have met mature producers with differing styles. Apart from that, I’m also a contemporary member of society with a delicate mind and good aesthetic sense. Which is why I’m clearer than anyone else about what a stressed worker needs most in terms of external care. Just look - even my house is very warm, right?

Victor: If you can change your habit of leaving things lying around, it might be considered a “warm” house.

MC: This is called “integrating with the masses” - it’s a small beauty in life.

Recalling the earlier topic, I stand up, pulling Victor as we head to the inner area of the park.

MC: For example, I think this place could have a few more elegant seats.

I point at the hanging rattan chair underneath the flower stand.

MC: That way, visitors would be more comfortable when sitting down. Also, this path we walked on - although it looks very pretty in the movie, it’s easy to get hooked by bushes at the side. If it weren’t for your words just now, I would have definitely bumped into it. Also...

I look towards the trail lined with trees on both sides, leading towards the centre of the park.

MC: Maybe this is just my selfish thought, and has nothing to do with increasing practicality or comfort. However, if I had a choice, I would change these trees to Platanus trees.

Several strands of shock flash across Victor’s dark eyes. Then, he opens his mouth to ask in slight amusement:

Victor: Why is that so?

MC: Legend says that the Hanging Gardens was created by the king of Babylon for his wife who was suffering from homesickness.

[Note: Platanus trees were part of the Hanging Gardens. Platanus trees, also known as Oriental Plane Trees, are a frequent motif featured in Classical Chinese poetry as an embodiment of sorrowful sentiments due to its autumnal shedding of leaves]

I walk along the small trail, staring at the poppies swaying in the wind.

I wonder if that king, all those thousands of years ago, carried such a heart - wanting to give such a luxurious gift to the person he loved.

MC: No matter what others may say, I also wish to leave the best things to the person most important to me. To build an oasis within his sight and touch where he can have a peace of mind. You’ve left a corner of the camellia garden for me, so I also wish to give you a small trail lined with Platanus trees.

[Note: This is a reference to Victor’s Maze date, which is available in EN]

I raise my head with a smile, not caring that my cheeks have already heated up. I observe Victor’s dark coloured eyes carefully, and tell him what’s in my heart calmly and sincerely.

Victor pauses for a moment. Apart from surprise, his eyes also contain an undercurrent of a deeper and heavier emotion.

Victor: With so many ideas, not letting you write a proposal to collaborate with the design team would be a waste of talent. When exactly did you learn to say such things?

In the end, all his emotions culminate into his usual ridicule, which is more tender than usual.

Curling his fingers, he taps me on the forehead with some affection.

MC: If you feel happy, you can just say it directly, really.

Victor: And when did you hear me say that?

MC: I felt it!

While laughing, I step onto the stairs, looking at the blooming poppy flowerbed.

The flowerbed, which is suspended in mid-air, is the highest point of the garden. It is held up firmly by chains above the pool.

MC: Do you feel like I’m especially thoughtful and especially cute right now?

Victor: I only feel that you’re especially childish.

While Victor says this, he walks up to the stairs and holds onto my hand.

Victor: And that you’re truly a dummy.

It is only when he draws nearer that I can clearly see the upward curve of his lips.

Apart from the faraway lights and the water under us, his eyes also reflect my brilliantly smiling face.

The flowerbed sways back and forth in small motions.

Sitting here, I not only have a panoramic view of the garden, but can also overlook the entirety of Loveland City.

In the distance, the city lights are scattered around, artificial light sources forming another galaxy on earth.

MC: Victor, you once said that you would look at Loveland City from a height whenever you’re in a bad mood. I think I can understand something I didn’t think of before!

Victor: What do you understand this time?

MC: This garden on the top level of the building, where you can overlook Loveland City, is perhaps your oasis. Now that I think about it, everything I said just now was unnecessary, right?

Recalling my eloquent suggestions to Victor earlier, I start feeling slightly embarrassed.

Victor: Looks like you still don’t know anything.

MC: Tell me - what should I know then?

Supporting myself on the flowerbed with one hand, I grin, turning around to ask him.

The suspended flowerbed sways violently from my sudden movement. Only then do I remember that there are only a few fulcrums holding up the flower bed.

With an unstable footing, I subconsciously reach out to clutch onto Victor, trying to maintain my balance. However, I still fall against the flower bed, hurting my shoulder blade.

Victor: You’re being impatient again.

[Note: There isn’t a direct translation of the phrase used here, 毛毛躁躁 (”mao mao zao zao”), but it conveys the idea of doing things hurriedly and inattentively]

His voice resounds very close to me. I open my eyes, and directly meet his line of sight.

Because of my sudden movement, Victor has also been pulled towards me.

One of his hands is wrapped around the back of my head, preventing me from hitting it. Another hand is at my ear, holding me steady.

Right now, this action seems to be imprisoning me between the fresh flowers and himself.

MC: S...sorry, I’ll pay more attention next time...

I stammer, my heart rate speeding up.

Victor: You said this the last time as well.

The heat from summer has not fully dissipated. Humidity lingers in the air.

The poppies in the garden bloom quietly, and the night is warm. It’s as though everything I see and feel have become gentle.

Even Victor’s eyes and outline grow blurry from the light and shadows, encasing him in a layer of tenderness.

Our sudden proximity causes my heart rate to accelerate, and it feels like my thoughts have been stuck in place.

I avert my gaze, slightly guilty. I raise my palm to put some distance between us.

MC: We’re about done with the viewing. The dinner is about to begin, so we should head down... I remember it’s one level below?

Victor: ...do you know that your ability to change the topic is very poor.

Victor sighs softly, then gently shifts his hand away from the back of my head.

When the warmth belonging to him vanishes, a sense of longing floods my heart.

It’s as though I have awakened from a charming dream surrounded by warm currents, returning to reality once again.

But in the next second, the warmth I’m most familiar with envelops my wrist.

Looking into his dark eyes, I think I must have truly misunderstood.

Whether it’s the Babylonian king from thousands of years ago, or any other ordinary person, the thing people truly want isn’t the view from their memory. It’s the person they want to share the view with.

Victor: I’m going to answer your question from just now. Listen carefully.

Victor: The words you said are not unnecessary.

Victor: And I am indeed very happy.

Victor shifts upwards, encircling me in front of him again.

He is so close that the entire world seems to be condensed into his pair of eyes.

The fountain spurts at regular intervals, shattering the calm of the water. Water vapour floating in the air refracts light, caging us in a colourful curtain of light.

Victor: Just now, someone eloquently mentioned wanting to build an oasis within my sight and touch. And now you’re so anxious - where do you want to run off to?

Perhaps the temperature of the evening is overly gentle, and the light from the water is too fine. I’m unable to see what emotions lie in Victor’s eyes.

As the distance between us closes, I can clearly see every gentle quiver of his eyelashes, and can feel the heat from every lingering breath from our noses.

His lips move slightly, as though wanting to say something to me.

Before he can speak, the fountain spurts again. This time, the cool water happens to spray onto us.

MC: Ah...

I want to hurriedly straighten up and dry Victor, but a gentle yet irresistible pressure pushes me back down.

The water columns from the fountain change, forming into different heights and shapes. Scattered droplets of water patter on us like light rain.

Victor’s hair, which has always been tidied meticulously, droops slightly because of the water droplets.

The slender poppies beside us sway slightly. Water vapour condenses on the flower petals, dripping down along the body of the flower.

Victor: No need to care about that. Having you here is enough.

His slightly hoarse voice brushes against my ear along with his breath. It circles past the nape of my neck, evoking a certain numbness.

Victor’s body temperature continuously travels to my wrist, entering my heart.

Victor: My “oasis”... has already belonged to me since a very long time ago.

🌹

Phone Call: here

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc victor

288 notes · View notes

16woodsequ · 3 years

Note

Can you tell us headcannons/scenes from fic ideas you have had but have gave up on?

I do have a few ideas for fics that I either thought about writing but changed my mind, or have, but didn’t ever really plan on writing. This is mostly because the ideas are very angsty and while I like thinking about them, I think they might be super depressing to write.

Hallucinations

One idea I like playing around with is the idea that Steve started to hallucinate Bucky after he came out of the ice. I probably won’t write this fic, because I am not sure if visual hallucinations commonly work by having just one person following someone around and talking to them. I don’t know enough about having hallucinations to feel comfortable using it as a means of telling a story.

But anyway, if you remember my rant about the cabin SHIELD sends Steve to, I imagine that he started hallucinating Bucky either during or after that. Of course, he wouldn’t tell anyone about it because he would be worried about getting labelled as crazy and sent back to somewhere like the cabin or worse.

I think the hallucination of Bucky would be a personification of Steve’s own thoughts and feelings, so at times Bucky would be comforting and friendly. But other times he could be cruel and blame Steve for letting him die (because Steve blames himself,) or point out all his flaws.

Since I headcanon that Steve knows about the bugs in his apartment, he wouldn’t be able to risk talking to Bucky except when alone outside, or in the bathroom. (Which Bucky would take full advantage off.)

I don’t think he would hallucinate Bucky constantly, but Bucky would show up regularly. I think the first time Bucky showed up, Steve was doing something like cooking, and he hears Bucky’s voice saying ‘I’d like some of that’, and he responds without thinking—before his whole body freezes and he realises what has just happened.

Steve knows that hallucinations are not normal, and that he isn’t okay. But he doesn’t want to tell anyone, and part of him guiltily doesn’t want the hallucinations to stop (something that Bucky calls him out on sometimes, because again, he is basically Steve’s own thoughts, which would be hard to deal with sometimes.)

Bucky doesn’t show up while Steve is on missions, which is important because otherwise Steve would definitely be a liability. Also, it is important, because eventually Steve is going to be fighting the Winter Soldier, and the mask is going to come off, and Steve is going to get a shock of a lifetime.

I imagine that after Hill brings Steve and the others to see Fury, Steve locks himself in the bathroom for a while and rants with hallucination-Bucky, trying to figure out if what he saw was actually real. Since Steve has been hallucinating Bucky for a while, he isn’t sure if he can trust his senses. But he argues that he has never seen Bucky during a fight like that, and why would he hallucinate Bucky’s face on someone like that? He has always seen Bucky as his 40s-self, so why would he see someone with long hair and a metal arm?

(Bucky argues that Steve hasn’t eaten or slept properly for several days, and could just be crazier than usual, and if he is wrong, he could be putting everyone in danger. And, isn’t the fact that he is busy talking to himself in the bathroom alone, a sign that he isn’t really stable? The man didn’t even know who Bucky was, how can Steve claim that he is Bucky?)

In the end, Steve decides that he can’t risk not believing that the Winter Soldier is Bucky, and he decides to treat him like it is Bucky, until he is proven otherwise.

I’m not sure if the hallucinations would stop after Steve finds Bucky, and Steve may or may not finally tell Sam about his hallucinations while they are searching for Bucky.

Some more angsty stories I probably won’t write have to do with self-harm and suicidal tendencies/attempts by Steve, so I’ll put that under the cut line.

Suicidal tendencies

I do have a general headcanon that Steve was suicidal back in the 30s-40s. I imagine it was soon after his Ma died. Steve would have grown up being told he was a burden from one source or another, and he probably felt guilty that he wasn’t able to get his mother more care during her illness.

I can see him getting very depressed and listless after her death, especially if he is in-between jobs, and can’t seem to get another one. I headcanon he lived with Bucky, and Bucky would be working to try to pay the rent, and Steve would start to think it would just be better if he weren’t there taken up money and resources.

I think it would take some time before Steve actually decides that he should kill himself, but the idea would slowly grow more and more intrusive. Eventually he would convince himself that everybody would be better off if he were dead. (Especially since, with his illnesses, he has probably been told he is going to die young anyways. Might as well get is over with.)

For this, I headcanon that he planned to jump off the Brooklyn bridge. I’ve looked at pictures, and heard stories, so I think it is possible for him to do that. On the day that he planned it, he waited for Bucky to go to work, and then he put away all his things in the apartment, and wrote a note for Bucky to leave on the table. In the note, he mentions where his body will probably be found.

He goes out, and first stops by Mrs. Barnes to say goodbye to her (although she doesn’t know that.) It starts raining as he begins walking down to the Brooklyn bridge. I don’t know how far it would be from where he lived, but he wouldn’t really be concerned about the distance.

Meanwhile, Bucky happens to come home early. At first he is confused by Steve not being home, but then he sees the note on the table, and reads it with growing horror. Since Steve mentioned where he was going, Bucky dashes out of the house, hoping against hope that he isn’t too late.

It is pouring rain by now, and there is almost nobody on the bridge because of the weather. Steve is right by the railing when Bucky gets there, and he’s kind of out of it since he isn’t in a good place right now. Bucky ends up tackling him and Steve is shocked to see him.

Bucky is, of course, terrified and angry, and he yells at Steve because he is so scared. Steve just breaks down and they eventually make it home. I don’t think suicide was really talked about a lot back then, so neither of them would really know what to do, and it would probably sit between them like an elephant in the room for a while.

Eventually the tension would snap and Steve would probably yell about why he is better off dead, and Bucky would yell back how wrong he is about that. I can imagine Steve saying something like “You know I’ll be dead by thirty anyways. You know what the doctor says.”

And then Bucky grabs his shoulders desperately and just goes. “No! No. They keep sayin’ that, and you always prove them wrong. Who cares what they say? You gotta prove ‘em wrong. You’re going to live till your one hundred, ya hear? Promise me.”

And then Steve would stare wide-eyed at him, and stutter out a promise.

Steve wouldn’t try to kill himself again in the 40s, but that promise would become important after he wakes up from the ice.

When Steve wakes up in the ice, I imagine his depression hit even worse, and it was even harder for him to resist his intrusive, suicidal thoughts. And, when he wakes up from the ice, he is technically 94 years old. So he resigns himself to leaving six more years. He decides he can live six more years before he kills himself. He doesn’t know if he ages anyways, and the thought of living like this forever is horrifying, but he can do six years. He can keep his promise to Bucky and last six more years.

Of course, intrusive thoughts are very hard to resist, so I imagine Steve got close to making another attempt in the two years after he woke up, but he was either interrupted or managed to talk himself down.

And then, eventually he finds Bucky again, and that focus helps push away the thoughts for the time being.

I always imagine though, that while in Wakanda, Bucky remembers Steve trying to kill himself when they were younger, and he confronts Steve about it. That is when they are finally able to have an open conversation about what Steve felt, and what Bucky felt, and where each of them are mentally now.

Self-harm

This was a fic that I actually planned to write. I have a WIP that was going to introduce this eventually.

The idea was that after Steve woke up from the ice, he slowly began to self-harm to deal with all his anxious, repressed emotions. It would start out small—digging his nails into his fists, and arms to try to focus/calm down etc—before eventually it would evolve to cutting.

Steve is very careful to hide it, and his super healing helps. I headcanoned that he used a pocketknife that Bucky gave him during the war (one of the only things of his that he has, besides his compass). He always keeps it on him, and he develops a sort of anxious tick were he unconsciously brushes his hand over his pocket when he is feeling stressed, just to reassure himself that the knife is there if he needs it.

He knows that self-harm isn’t healthy, but he avoids thinking about it. He justifies the fact that he heals quickly, and doesn’t scar. It hardly matters, right?

I usually headcanon that Sam finds out about the self-harm while they are tracking down Bucky. Once Sam finds out, Steve does try to work on quitting, but it is a two steps forward, one step back process for him. He starts carrying around elastic bands in his gear belt so that he can use those when he has an urge.

Usually I don’t have any of the other Avengers find out—although Steve might tell Bucky once they get to Wakanda. Once Infinity War came out, I headcanoned that Steve really wanted to keep from self-harming after Sam and Bucky died, because he knew they would want him to, so he asked Natasha to hang onto his knife for him. She didn’t know why he asked that, but she could tell it was important.

When I first thought about writing this story, it appealed to me because I wanted to write a self-harm story that should the slow progression Steve’s self-harm took.

The main reason I don’t think I will write this story anymore is because it will probably be depressing for a long time. In order to do the slow-burn right, we’d have to follow Steve’s headspace for a while, so it would be a long time before he got any help. I still like this idea, but I probably won’t write it.

I hope you enjoyed those fic ideas! Hopefully it wasn’t too depressing. If you want to chat with me more about this ideas, feel free!

Headcanon masterpost

37 notes · View notes

shadow-scenarios · 4 years

Text

Date Headcanons | Everyone

Thought I’d write something for everyone so that I can get used to it & you can see my style of writing.

- Nexus.

Joker { Akira Kurusu }

✧ Akira is definitely the type of partner who indulges in more casual dates. Although he has the money & resources in order to do something more classy due to his moonlighting as a Phantom Thief, he prefers more quaint locations where both himself & his partner can enjoy each other’s company instead of the location.

✧ He fundamentally believes that if he can enjoy himself around his significant other without needing to spend vast amounts of money, he’s found someone he can rely on for life. His life is naturally very very stressful so he finds solace in moments where he can simply be himself.

✧ During the date itself, he is the epitome of a gentleman { he does have max Charm, after all! }. Offering to pay for the meal; blatantly flirting but not crossing any unspoken boundaries; Casual touches of affection to fluster them. All in all, Akira simply enjoys having company that’s not related to Phantom Thief business & having someone who doesn’t only want to see him in order to seek out comfort.

Skull { Ryuji Sakamoto }

✧ Another one who likes casual dates. However, he is much less formal about it. Although confident on the outside, on the inside he is very nervous about a date. Ryuji is of the opinion that if he cannot be himself during a date, it would not feel natural. So, he takes his significant other places that seem like fun.

✧ Being the athletic type, Ryuji encourages his significant other to run with him. It is rather cathartic and good training. Starting out with shorter routes, they would be encouraged by him all throughout. Afterwards, there’s a high chance that the two of them would head out for ramen together as a ‘ treat ’.

✧ Other ideas would include the arcade or simply heading to his house. Introducing his partner to his mother is a key part of the relationship, since he desperately wants them to like each other { it wouldn’t be difficult, Ryuji’s mother is just as sweet as his son!! }.

Panther { Ann Takamaki }

✧ There are two types of dates with Ann: Food dates & Fashion dates.

✧ Food dates are usually more common. They consist of going to a restaurant she recommends or finding a dessert and ordering two. Ann encourages her significant other to try new things & expand their horizons much like how she’s trying to strengthen her heart.

✧ Fashion dates occur when Ann’s side job as a model comes into play. If she is in need of new clothes for a particular style or wants to try something new, it is likely to be turned into a date.

✧ Ann knows exactly what fits the body type of her partner & clothes that would make them look good. She wants them to be able to express themselves and feel good about it at the same time!!

✧ In return, all that is asked of them is that they honestly critique the clothing choices she has selected out for herself { she looks great in everything though }.

Fox { Yusuke Kitagawa }

✧ Yusuke’s interpretation of dates is... Strange. No matter what, it has to be visually stimulating & help inspire him in his career of art. He would die for art without a second thought and that reflects in his choices of location.

✧ For example, Inokashira Park is a perfect spot. It costs little money, has beautiful scenery & has a relaxing atmosphere. Throughout the entire experience, there is small gestures of casual affection. Not enough for people to be staring but just enough for it to be noticeable by them.

✧{ After his scuffle with searching for true beauty with Akira, he learns a little more about social ettique & how the boat ride they took could have been misinterpreted as a date. }

✧ However... Sometimes he forgets that going to places costs money. If a local art museum has a special showing, Yusuke will buy two tickets impulsively & invite his significant other to the event. Then he’ll be crushed by the reality of the train fares.

Queen { Makoto Niijima }

✧ At first, Makoto has no idea how to plan a date. She would definitely flunk a test about love, so to speak. However, it is very endearing. Study dates would be the most common, where they could go over any material either of them didn’t understand in classes. She prides herself over being able to assist her significant other.

✧ Once she becomes more adapted to stereotypical teenage life, there is a higher likelyhood of more outdoorsy dates. Her favourite spot is Chinatown because of all the vastly different stores and foods.

✧ She finds it a relaxing experience to people watch. Usually it’s done through the window of a cafe where she offhandedly comments about how different people are dressed & how they interact with each other. Makoto is very insightful.

Oracle { Futaba Sakura }

✧ Going anywhere is mostly out of the question. Futaba struggles with socialising & although she is trying her best to open up a little more, it will be an ongoing process.

✧ Playing video games until 3am or talking about the latest manga edition released from the comfort of her bedroom is one of her favourite things to do with a significant other. It is the one time where she feels comfortable to talk & even if they do not quite understand every thing she is saying, she is very happy to go into depth and explain.

✧ However, there would be one or two occasions where Futaba wants to push herself & go out somewhere. Beforehand, Sojiro would be lecturing her partner about keeping her safe & making sure she’s okay but wishes the two of them a good time.

✧ Although there’s moments where Futaba is overstimulated & needs a break, it is a fun experience! Akihabara is definitely a good place to start & buying a game as a reward for braving it will earn them a beaming smile of sunshine.

Noir { Haru Okumura }

✧ Haru has very few qualms about spending extravagant amounts of money on a single date. She thinks like a celebrity & aims to impress her significant other. Just because she spends a lot of money does not mean she is not thoughtful, though. Most dates will be something her significant other has mentioned interest in. She pays attention!!

✧ Throughout the entire outing, she is not afraid to initiate physical contact. Holding hands is a common & subtle gesture that she never really achieved with her previous marriage so she cherishes gentle intimacy.

✧ However, it eventually becomes known that she prefers cheaper & more heart-to-heart style dates. Making a picnic for her partner with the vegetables / fruits from her garden brings unparalleled joy. Especially when they give advice and talk about the taste & how they could improve. Her dream is to run a homegrown café after all!!

Crow { Goro Akechi }

✧ Akechi is either the most gentlemanly man anyone has ever been on a date with or he wants to unwind from a stressful day. Dates are few & far between with his particularly busy schedule, alongside the influence of his female fans bothering him particularly turns him off the idea most of the time.

✧ So, there are two solutions: Dates that are indoors so that no one knows where they are & incredibly extravagant dates that the media cannot gain access to.

✧ Indoor ones usually involve attending the Jazz Club in Kichijoji. It is a relaxing place with few people to bother his significant other, since there are few that know about the place. Throughout the entire occasion, he makes light conversation and is hesitant about accepting physical contact for fear of his reputation but eventually settles on taking his gloves off and interlocking hands with them.

✧ The other solution is usually reserved for special occasions. Although Akechi is wealthy due to his work as a detective, he is more deliberate with his purchases and understands the value of money. In these situations, he intentionally plays up his role as a detective prince & is even more suave than Akira. There is a lot of flirtation in a very polite manner, almost as if testing the waters.

✧ Although he genuinely enjoys these sessions, it is his job to play the role of a prince, even for his significant other. Akechi is practised at pretending.

Violet { Sumire Yoshizawa }

✧ Incredibly flustered at first, no matter what happens. Every step with her is filled with stuttering & a face the same colour as her hair but she’s willing to try her best!!

✧ Absolutely wants her significant other to come to her routines & competitions. If they are not there, she feels incomplete. It throws her game off which in turn creates more issues in the future.

✧{ At some point, her coach comes to speak to them and essentially demands they be at every session so Sumire can achieve her best. }

✧ Sumire also really likes different scenery. The aquarium in Shinagawa is a breathtaking sight from her perspective. No pressure to perform & the ability simply be herself allows for a much more natural date.

{ Yuuki Mishima }

✧ Mishima is much like Futaba in that he would prefer a date indoors. Although he is more confident after everything that happened with Kamoshida, he is still more shocked that he actually has a significant other.

✧ Most of his spare time when not doing schoolwork is spent on running the Phansite so when Mishima wants to spend time with them, he prefers low energy activities at home such as watching a movie with snacks or sitting & talking together.

✧ If he ever attempted to take them out somewhere, it would be adorable. There would be a lot of doting on them and ensuring that they’re having a good time & he needs this validation because of his self esteem issues. { Telling Mishima that the date was fun or that they enjoyed it will result in an adorable smile & red face }.

{ Hifumi Togo }

✧ Much like Yusuke, Hifumi enjoys dates with her significant other that are practical. If there’s a new book on some of the lastest Shogi techniques, she’ll take them to the bookstore in Jinbocho & make a date out of it.

✧ Although she sometimes struggles to articulate her feelings properly, it is often made up for with the purchase of a gift. Nothing expensive since she is still a high school student but instead something deeply personal that will mean a lot, such as a piece of jewellery or a particular book they are interested in.

✧ Also loves going to the church in Kanda for a practice game. Even if they are not very good at Shogi, she’ll teach them how to play and encourages them to develop their own style of play. After each game, she analyses all of the different moves used in that game & how they changed the game.

Word Count: 1.7k

Publish Date: 25.09.20

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p5r #persona 5 x reader #akira kurusu x reader #ryuji x reader #ann x reader #yusuke x reader #makoto x reader #futaba x reader #haru x reader #akechi x reader #sumire x reader #mishima x reader #hifumi x reader #persona 5 imagines

180 notes · View notes

twilightofthejedi · 3 years

Text

chapter 2 of "sorry to my unknown lover" is up!

read on ao3 here

read chapter 1 on ao3 here and on tumblr here

chapter summary:

He is still watching his own blood settle on the ground when Vincenzo groans, stirring. Han-seok looks down at one of the shards of glass, how it turns reflective in the light. He sees his own smirk, and looks up.

It all starts now.

read under the cut below

chapter 2: prometheus

Jang Han-seok slips his phone into his pocket. It had been almost child’s play getting his personal effects back after his brief stint in jail, and he has no intention of returning.

Not when he has who he wants right in front of him.

He looks down at the great Vincenzo Cassano, unconscious and tied to a chair. His hair is matted with his own blood, and there is glass embedded in his knees. Han-seok bends to take out the glass, and wraps the wounds with cloth. It wouldn’t do to have Vincenzo’s wounds get infected too early. He does, after all, want him to be conscious for the next part of his plan.

At first, as he had watched Vincenzo and Cha-young banter easily on the sidewalk outside the plaza, bitter green jealousy twisting his stomach like acid, he had considered taking Cha-young instead. Wouldn’t it be nice to toy with Vincenzo from afar, dangling things like Cha-young’s glittery earrings in front of him, forcing him to come to her and scream in fear for her life?

It would, but he had realized that he didn’t need Cha-young to toy with Vincenzo. He could do that from two feet away from him, in a warehouse with nobody around them for miles.

Funny, really, how many abandoned warehouses there are, with nobody to care about them or even think twice about the screams coming from them.

The screams that he has every intention of pulling from Vincenzo.

He picks up one of the glass shards that he had pulled from Vincenzo, and runs his finger along the jagged edge of it. It pricks his finger, and the blood catches the industrial lighting overhead. He watches idly as the blood beads up and falls to the ground. It sits there, staining the gray concrete a dull brown.

It all starts now.

“Noona , I can help.”

Both Cha-young and Mr. Nam look up with a start, and see Jang Han-seo standing there, shirt rumpled and tie askew. He is holding a computer and some sort of device, and his eyes are bloodshot.

She can only stare at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I got the text from hyungnim, too. That is what’s going on, right?” He looks in between them, eyes darting like he is nervous. Cha-young remembers a flippant line in Han-seo’s folder in the guillotine file: He was abused and tortured by his older brother for years, and resultant drug addiction , takes in Han-seo’s slightly shaking fingers, and decides to take a chance.

“What did he say in his message to you?” Mr. Nam says, seemingly reading her mind. He beckons Han-seo closer, and pulls out a chair for him to sink into. Han-seo unlocks his phone and sets it on the table, along with the computer and mysterious gadget. The message is nearly identical to the one that she had received but in context, significantly more terrifying: Hi Han-seo. Did you miss me? You can’t get rid of me that easily, little brother.

The picture and its caption are different, too. The picture is of a man’s hand, presumably Han-seok’s, holding a bloody watch, Vincenzo’s bare, pale wrist in the blurry background. Mr. Nam inhales sharply at the sight, and Cha-young impatiently clicks to the caption.

One more.

Cha-young has read her former hoobae ’s folder in the File; she knows what the watch signifies. For a second, she is standing outside a makgeolli shop on a rainy night, a clear plastic umbrella falling from her fingers that have suddenly gone numb, and pushing past bystanders who have gathered to watch; dispassionate, uncaring, apathetic bystanders watching one man die and another struggle to live, and sees the hundreds of sticky notes that had been stuck to the wall for months until she finally allowed herself to take them down. She stands up abruptly, and the other two men stumble to their feet after her.

“Byeonhosa-nim ?” Mr. Nam asks tentatively.

“Han-seo, what’s the laptop for?”

“Do you know where hyung is right now?” he asks abruptly. They both shake their heads. In the past few hours, Cha-young and Mr. Nam have come up with a plan for what to do when they find Han-seok, but they have been stumped on how to find him. It wasn’t like he had conveniently called them that they could track his phone, and surveillance footage courtesy of Mi-ri and Agent Ahn hadn’t turned up anything useful.

“I didn’t think so,” Han-seo continues. “You both know about his practice of collecting watches, right?” Cha-young exchanges a glance with Mr. Nam, who turns a delicate shade of green. She nods.

“ Hyungnim likes to wear the watches that he collects. He switches them around, wears a different one everyday. Never even matches them to his outfit. It’s ridiculous.” Han-seo trails off, rambling about sports watch and black suit, and Cha-young realizes she needs to steer the conversation back to relevancy.

“Han-seok has no fashion sense. So?” she asks, feeling her patience fray with every passing second. With every passing second Vincenzo could be getting tortured, or dying, or both at the same time.

Cha-young owns exactly one black hanbok . She has worn it three times in her life. First to her mother’s funeral, standing silently in the funeral parlor, fuming when her father stepped out to take a call from a client. The next time was nearly ten years later, for her father’s funeral. Then she had felt nothing, just a cold sea of emptiness, right until she saw the picture of them both at her law school graduation, at which point she had been punctured like a balloon, or a plant cell with too much water intake. The last and most recent time was at Vincenzo’s mother’s funeral. Then she had felt a bone deep sorrow, and a dizzying feeling of inevitability, like this was going to be the rest of her life. Going to funerals of people taken from her much too soon.

She refuses, however, to take out that hanbok again. Let it collect dust on its hanger in her closet. Let it fade with time. She refuses to lose anyone else, and she refuses to lose Vincenzo.

She’ll be damned if she lets Jang Han-seok change that.

“So,” Han-seo says, typing on the laptop. “I installed trackers in all of the watches. I’m finding his current location right now.” He looks up at them. “He will try to control the action from now on. His plan is probably to keep baiting you, noona , with pieces of information about Vin- hyung to keep you dependent on him. But now that we know where he is, we can confront him on our own terms. I mean, your terms. Because it’s your plan.” he finishes slightly awkwardly.

He turns the laptop to face them, and she and Mr. Nam crouch down to see. The blip on the screen is pointing to a warehouse over twenty miles outside of Seoul, which makes sense.

Cha-young looks both of her companions in the eye. “Let’s get to work.”

“Had a nice rest?”

Vincenzo leans back in the hard wooden chair he is strapped to. “It’s not first class, but it’ll do, I suppose.”

In front of him, Jang Han-seok sneers. Vincenzo just stares at him patiently. His initial few seconds when he woke up had remained unknown to his captor. He had lain there, still and silent, breathing evenly, to try and get a feel for his situation. Once he had deduced that there was only one person with him, and that they weren’t in the city, he had allowed himself to groan and let Han-seok know that he was awake. Now that his eyes are open and he has swept the area and can visualize it in his mind’s eye, he has nothing else to do other than let Han-seok show his hand.

After all, Jang Han-seok is nothing if not dependably predictable.

True to form, Han-seok stands abruptly. “Shall we take a picture? I’m sure sunbae would love to see how you’re doing right now.”

“I’m sure you’ve already sent her a picture, but go ahead.”

His captor narrows his eyes at him, and then strides away, out of sight. Vincenzo takes the opportunity to close his eyes and collect his thoughts. It’s been far too long since he was kidnapped. The last time was two years ago, when he woke up and found himself in a vineyard in Sicily, bound hand and foot.

He had burned the entire place down, as well as everyone in it.

Now, however, he cannot recklessly escape, or else he will lead Cha-young right into a trap. He has no doubt that she will find him and bring the right people and use the right resources to rescue him.

He knows this. He knows the competency of everyone that he has worked with for the past few months.

Over the past fifteen years, he has carried out more illegal acts than he can remember. He has burned, stolen, framed, defamed, and killed and killed and killed. He has not regretted much of it, save for one thing. Collateral.

Vincenzo knows that his actions after coming to Korea are in somewhat of a gray area. Yes, they are illegal, and very much dangerous, but they are justified . They are a means to a very much honorable end, and he doesn’t regret them. No, what he regrets is the collateral. Before, the word collateral had served as nothing more than a clinical way to refer to the people that got hurt in the crossfire. Collateral was a number, a number of people, an amount of money needed to fix it, statistics on a page in il capo’s ledger that got crossed off with a fountain pen, the book shut before the ink finished drying.

However, he still remembers straightening to his feet, his pointer finger still stained with fresh blood after tracing the letter C into the rapidly spreading bloodstain on the floor. He had scanned the area, because there was nothing that the capo hated more than loose ends on a job. When he had looked into the car, he had inhaled sharply, because there was a child cowering in the backseat, curled around a worn stuffed animal.

But now, collateral is the faces of people that he does not want to see gone. Against his will, he has become fond of every person living in Geumga Plaza, who has told him, with shining eyes, that he had given them something to fight for. They have all been living from day to day, not expecting much of the days to come, and now they veritably shine in their daily lives.

It’s like someone lit a fire underneath them, and once that fire was lit, no one could dare to extinguish it.

He shifts in his chair, and prepares to wait for Jang Han-seok to come back. Cha-young will come for him, and they will rain hell upon the world after that.

Until then, Vincenzo has no problem in being the one who dared to light up the world. The one who stepped down to earth, a fistful of flames in his palm. The one who bestowed heat and light and warmth and life to the world.

He does not regret his past actions, for he has kindled flames from smothered embers, and no one can put them out. For this, he will gladly be their fallen Titan, their Prometheus.

#vincenzo #chayenzo #vincenzo cassano #hong cha young #jang han seo #jang han seok #chayenzo fanfic #my writing #my fic

19 notes · View notes

cfdiamonds · 4 years

Text

[ ARON PIPER, CIS GENDERED MAN, HE/HIM ] shh ! LEOCADIO SYNDER, the TWENTY-TWO year old SECOND year ECONOMICS major from MADRID, SPAIN, is known as a DIAMOND around here. HE was invited to join because OF HIS PERSISTENCE AND HIS FATHER WAS IN THE SOCIETY, and now, they’re here to stay. HE reminds me of A LEGION OF STAFF CONSTANTLY AT YOUR SERVICE, A WARDROBE FILLED WITH THE FINEST MATERIAL, + EXPENSIVE RINGS ON EACH OF HIS FINGERS.

helloooo!! it’s been a long time coming but i’m finally excited to be here and join in on this super cool story the admins and all of you have created! i’m lia, i’m 23 and i go by she/her and they/them pronouns, so feel free to use either of them. i was going to make a graphic and a google doc but i’ve got plans with my family to watch a movie tonight, so until i can make the time i hope his app is enough!

a past and character reflection.

you were born into success and luxury, the only child of two glencore billionaires — a diversified natural resource company. the synders are responsible for the marketing of lead and make a little over a billion dollars each year. all they’ve ever known was their jobs and their money, leaving little room for anything more than that, especially the addition of a child. the nannies changed your diapers and the maid picked up your toys, while the butler handled the broken glass splayed across the marble flooring from one of your daily tantrums. they bit their tongues because you were raised to view yourself as extraordinary living in a world of the ordinary. despite this, these people meant more to you than the ones who brought you into the world. you had a mother that asked you how your day went and then immediately turned her attention back to her phone or laptop, checking off that mental to-do-list that made her believe the question was enough effort. you had a father that saw you as weak and continuously pushed you past your limits, focusing on every little flaw you had and giving you no choice but to be better. you became so conflicted between your drive to be the best and your need for love, that anger became your method of coping. even the lightest of offenses were met with your spite and you glorified material things as if it were the only thing that mattered in the world. even at the tender age of ten, power was the one thing that kept you driven.

growing up, you never had any real or close friendships. the people that you called your friends were just more people that you could benefit from — the children from rich and influential families that spanned the globe. regardless of your rude and cold exterior, they still found reason to look up to you like you were their leader, be it an inheritance from your father’s charisma or your mother’s sophistication — because everything you had, you had to thank them for right? you knew exactly how to draw people in and use them until you didn’t need them anymore, kicking them to the curb the second their time ran out. the kids that excelled in school got you the highest grade, the kids that excelled in sports helped you become captain of their teams, and the kids that assisted you in breaking the rules always took the fall. and yet, no matter how hard you proved yourself as this apex predator, your parents saw you as inferior. they always told you to work smarter not harder, but when you did, it still wasn’t enough. what more could you take from the world? it had nothing left to give you.

the next chapter in your life became your second chance to prove yourself, but this time with a different method to your persistence. just as your parents did, you’d build yourself from the ground up, not taking whatever you wanted but fighting to obtain it. you already had the determination to do what had to be done to reach your goals, now all you needed to do was make it yourself. you enter your first year at strathmore university and you never take what you need to succeed, you push yourself until you earn it. every time the fates fight against you and you feel hopeless in meeting these high expectations you and your parents have made for you, you grasp onto the anguish of that ten year old boy yearning for approval and press forward with your strength. you still hold onto that cunning aspect of your character but this time, it’s something you keep hidden beneath the surface — away from prying eyes. you slip up once or twice, but it’s never enough to allow others to see you for who you truly are. you join several clubs even though you barely have the time, slipping your name into the minds of those spanning the entirety of the campus. you maintain one of the highest grades in your classes through dedication and hard work, scoffing at the students that request your assistance … they don’t deserve your help. not now anyway. not while you fight to be noticed in a place filled to the brim with excellent minds. not while you await your invitation to the society, the first step at proving that you can be great just like them. just like your parents.

on the society

upon arriving at strathmore university, leo became obsessive in his studies and joined many clubs to assist in his quest of standing out amongst the other first years. unbeknownst to many though, he also did this in hopes of earning a spot in the secret society. this is because his father had been in the society when he was young and in order to prove his potential, this was an organization he knew he had to be involved in. despite not knowing what the society was like or what they were about, he knew that they existed because of his father but that’s the extent of his knowledge on it.

when he was finally given his chance thanks to the diamond opal, leo became passionate about his spot and willing to do whatever means necessary to keep his spot. he takes advice willingly ( but goes against it if he believes they’re wrong ) and pushes to lead in some situations, not letting anyone or anything stand in the way of his goals. although he mainly does everything for his parents, whether they will ever notice or not, it is also for himself and his desire to be something great ( something he outwardly believes he already is but has struggled with internally for a long time ). leo wants to be the best prodigy and opal that the society has ever seen, and visualizes himself as the diadem when he builds himself up to that point.

when it comes to poppy nighmore, leo is more intrigued than he is worried about the reason for her disappearance. if those within the society that knew poppy are upset about her disappearance, leo is willing to take initiative in trying to solve the mystery. he will take risks and push limits in order to find information, but does so for selfish gain than anything else. he believes that he may prove himself as a worthy and necessary addition to the opal society if he continues researching and physically proving he cares. it also gives him a chance to show the others that he is capable of big things.

wanted connections.

as i read about your characters i’ll be able to generate a bit more ideas when directly plotting with each of you! these are just the ideas i have coming into the group, so if you do not see your character fitting them, worry not! we can brainstorm<3

his soft spot — the person that leo can’t seem to say no to no matter how hard he tries. his entire life he has felt little to no remorse in his conquest for power, no matter who he trampled along the way but suddenly, out of nowhere, the world presented him with this person and every time they’re around, every ounce of him becomes vulnerable. when they tell him to do something or to behave a certain way, he seldom disobeys. if they happen to be in the room when he’s behaving as he normally does, he avoids their eyes in fear of backing down. in a way, this person in his anchor that protects him from himself.

his adversary — the person that gives leo a run for his money, testing him and pushing him every step of the way. they bear too many similarities to get along and compete over even the littlest of things. when one says yes, the other says no. the steve rogers to his tony stark. the thor to his loki.

fellow rich kids — those he knew by association prior to strathmore university or the society. they all understand each other because they grew up in similar conditions, where material things were the forms of love they received as children. they understand the lifestyle and flock together, regardless of whether or not they actually like each other. they board a private jet and escape real life for a weekend, only to return like nothing had happened come monday morning.

his best friend — leo doesn’t know it yet, perhaps neither of them do, but this person is his best friend. close relationships of any kind are foreign concepts to leo because he had, in his opinion, more important things to focus on as he grew up. love doesn’t exist in his world. so by his words, he trusts this person the most and is constantly inviting them around with him. he would never call it as it is in fear of cutting them loose and never feeling an ounce of remorse, but he’s acknowledged it in his head once or twice. this person is like the sibling he’s never had.

his mistake — in leo’s first year, he befriended this person and the pair eventually started to see each other romantically. however, leo wronged them somehow and now that he’s in the society with them, he realizes how big of a mistake he made hurting them. perhaps he fell back into old habits and made their acquaintance with the intention of gaining something, maybe in a class or by their personal influence in the world / at school, and they eventually found out about it. just an angsty exes plot.

his mentor — the diamond that took him as their prodigy. leo takes the dynamic between them incredibly serious and is willing and ready to do whatever they ask of him in order to prove they made the right choice taking him under their wing. he understands that his place in the society must not be taken for granted and so he treats it as a passion, rather than just another club around campus. he rarely does something society related without first receiving the opinion of the opal, but he also would ignore their opinion if he feels they are the one that’s wrong. this is business as usual and leo is their prodigy knowing that if all goes as planned, he will have their seat in the future.

#𝓁𝑒𝑜𝒸𝒶𝒹𝒾𝑜 𝓈𝓎𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 〳 ⑉ introduction.#opalsintro #i sweat i'll have a stats / more in depth bio / wanted connection list soon okay #and by sweat i mean swear #sweating too though because all of you are so cool ? catch my leg on fire more like catch my heart on fire #nobody read these tags

19 notes · View notes

tealin · 4 years

Text

Basler to the Beardmore 2: Errands

As always, no matter what Tumblr does with it, this post is available in its intended presentation at twirlynoodle.com/blog along with the rest of my Antarctic travel diary.

On this flight to the heart of Antarctica, I was only a hanger-on. We had two errands to run before entertaining me and my historical interests, the most important of which was restocking a fuel depot at the base of the Transantarctic Mountains.

There are many busy science teams in Antarctica, and while some renewable energy sources are starting to be used, the fact is that everything runs on a reliable supply of fossil fuels, mostly petrol. The aircraft that keep people and their essentials moving around the continent have a network of fuel depots, both for relay stops and for emergencies. Contrary to some conspiracy theories, anyone can fly to and around Antarctica if they have the money and resources to get there, and many do. As the national science programmes have a very tight margin, and their fuel depots are expensive to maintain, they cannot afford jet-setters raiding their supplies, so the locations of these depots are kept secret. Therefore I am not going to tell you where our first stop was. The chances of a private pilot reading this blog are slim, but it may be possible to deduce from my photos where this particular cache is: if you are that outlier, I hereby ask you please to do the decent thing and leave the fuel alone – or if you absolutely must access it, then let the USAP know what you've taken and make good on it as soon as you can. Everyone in Antarctica looks out for each other, and that includes you. OK? OK.

So, we've taken off, and done our acrobatics to get the skis up, and are now facing a couple of hours' flight time before we reach our primary destination. There is, quite frankly, nothing between Williams Field and the Transantarctic Mountains, besides hundreds of miles of the Ross Ice Shelf. This was known as 'The Barrier' to the early explorers, because when James Clark Ross sailed down to explore in 1840 it was a great while wall that prevented his ships from going any further. In later years it wasn't so much a barrier as a highway – clear and flat, and not much off sea level, it provided a route deep into the high latitudes without the perils of the high windy Polar Plateau. Among people who frequently travel out there, it is sometimes referred to as 'the Flat White' – my impression is that this term came from the Kiwis, and the espresso drink of the same name is also antipodean in origin, so I wonder which came first. It is undeniably Flat, and White (though the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals makes it look anything from peachy to periwinkle, depending on the angle), but none of its various names communicate just how big it is.

I have flown over the Canadian tundra many times, and over the Greenland ice cap, but the view from 35,000 feet is like looking at satellite view in Google Maps compared to flying at cloud level, where the parallax with the horizon gives you a much keener sense of distance. The Barrier is BIG. In fact, 'big' is too small a word to communicate it. 'Massive', 'mammoth', and 'gargantuan' are more melodramatic than descriptive. Its vastness puts all of human consciousness, never mind vocabulary, in proper perspective. For my money, it outdoes the night sky as a visual approximation of infinity.

Getting a sense of its size, especially in a still photo, is difficult without an object for scale. For your education and my good fortune, we happened to fly over the RAID convoy as they made their way from the Minna Bluff site to where the Ross Ice Shelf meets the Antarctic continent. Rapid Access Ice Drilling has been supporting various scientific projects for a few years now, whether their interest is in the ice itself (its trapped air gives a record of Earth's atmosphere in millennia past) or what's underneath (marine environments far removed from the open sea; the bed of an accelerating glacier). Their units are about the size of a shipping container, and are pulled by enormous tractors, so if they are this dwarfed by the Flat White, imagine how much more puny a sledge party would be.

Before too much longer we were at the depot. Landing at an Antarctic field airstrip is even more complicated than taking off: we circled once, to do a visual check, then skimmed it with the skis to make sure no hidden crevasses had opened up since the last time someone landed here, then finally touched down for real on the third go-round. The plane crew rapidly got to work unloading the fuel drums; I offered to help but was assured I wasn't needed, so spent the time taking photographs and mucking around in the snow.

The first thing that struck me was how beautiful the mountains were in colour. The best photos I've seen of them have been black and white, so the rich variety in shades was remarkable. What you can't see in this small photo was how the lighter rock was banded with strata of blue-grey and orange-brown sandstone, giving it a luxurious marbled effect.

I've read a lot about how conditions on the Barrier are so much different than on the coast. This was far deeper into it than I was ever expecting to set foot, but I was surprised how tame it was. Now, it was an idyllically calm and sunny day – had it been any different we would not have been there – so the only time I realised that it was actually much colder than McMurdo was when a slight breeze wafted past my bare hand and broke the warm spell that the sunshine had cast.

What was different was the snow. Around McMurdo, the snowbanks which did build up had been repeatedly blown over with volcanic dust which warmed up in the sun and made the snow gritty, icy, and rotten – if you live in a snowy city, think of the texture of snowbanks alongside busy roads. Out here, there was nothing but snow, all the way down to where it became ice – powder blown off the mountains, maybe even off the Polar Plateau, deposited here to be compacted in the sun and polished by the wind. The crust made by these processes was smooth and, in many places, thick enough to support my weight, so I hardly left a footprint – a 'good pulling surface' as sledgers would have it – but without warning there would be a thin spot where my foot would break through and sink in the sugar-like snow below.

Before long, the crew had finished their restock, and playtime was over. After our exciting takeoff manoeuvres, we started climbing the mountains to the second of our tasks for the day.

The Transantarctic Mountains, according to our pilot, are still something of a mystery. They are a very high mountain range, but unlike the Rockies for example, they show little or no sign of buckling or other geological forces – they seem to have been lifted whole, keeping their layers of sandstone and coal and fossil-rich deposits mostly flat, with occasional intrusions of igneous rock. The range acts as a sort of massively oversized dyke, holding back the miles-deep polar ice cap from spilling over West Antarctica, the Ross Ice Shelf, and the Ross Sea, as the mountains cross the continent.

Ice appears to be solid, but it actually behaves more like a stiff jelly or fondant icing – if it finds a change in altitude it will flow, very slowly, downhill. This is what a glacier is: snow gets deposited over many years without melting, turns to ice, and when its volume can no longer be held at elevation, starts to creep down the valley. The ice of the Polar Plateau finds gaps in the Transantarctic Mountains and pushes through them, forming glaciers which pour out onto the Ross Sea and, merging, form the Ross Ice Shelf. The Beardmore Glacier is one of the largest of these, but there are hundreds of smaller ones, and many tributary glaciers that feed these. In flying over the lower Transantarctic Mountains, there were plenty of opportunities to see ice dynamics at work:

Our destination was up near the head of a narrow glacier, where it broadened out into a snowy plain called the Bowden Névé – névé being a term for young snow which has not yet compacted into glacial ice but is in a position to do so. This was CTAM (pronounced see-tam), a geology camp established to be a hub for teams doing work in the Central TransAntarctic Mountains. The névé afforded an open, soft, flat place to land planes carrying supplies and people, who could then move on to less accessible places overland. At least, it did, until a wind event a few years ago scoured deep furrows in the landing strip.

As we flew over, doing the visual check, I was astonished the site could be spotted at all, as it was only a small clutch of bamboo poles in the vast expanse.

Having proven that the landing strip was landable, the next task was to see what condition the building was in. What building, you ask? Why, the one completely covered in snow, under the markers. Once upon a time it was a couple of modules standing on the surface of the glacier, but Antarctica gradually swallowed them up, so now one has to dig down through the snow to reach the roof hatch, eight feet above the floor.

On the way from the Basler to the camp site, I was treated to one signature snow effect I had missed out on, at the depot. 'The Barrier Hush' is frequently mentioned in journals: it was described as a 'whoosh' or a 'hush-shh-shhhh' that sighed out from underneath the walker as he broke through the top crust into a pocket of air underneath, where the loose snow had settled after the top crust was formed. The pocket could sometimes extend quite a long way from where the crust was broken and the sound followed the exchange of air as far as it went. It would startle the ponies and excite the dogs, until they learned there was nothing to chase and catch.

I was walking some way behind the plane crew as they made for the camp with shovels, and suddenly heard what I thought was a small whirlwind – a sharp and intense, almost whistling sound that seemed to race across my path. This being the sort of place one would expect to see dust devils (or snow devils, I suppose they would be) I looked around to see where it was, but the air was as still up here as it had been down on the ice shelf. It was only after the second or third time it happened that I realised what it was – it was so completely not how I had imagined the Barrier Hush to sound. If you make a little whirlwind sound by whisper-whistling whshwshywshwhwwsh with your lips really quickly, that's what it sounded like. Having heard it, now, I can completely understand how the dogs would have thought there was a small creature scurrying around under the snow. It sounded much more animate than it had been described. I felt so lucky to be let into that secret.

The crew got the hatch open and the first of them climbed down into the pitch darkness to report everything OK. The rest followed, and invited me along, but I am not the most coordinated travelling artist, and couldn't see a way down for me that didn't end in a concussion. So I stayed above while they explored the submerged camp, and enjoyed the view. It was really spectacular – not just the stunning mountains but the thin, brittle blue of the sky and the hardness of the sunlight, as if the whole world were a taut drumskin.

And, best of all, from here the horizon was the Polar Plateau – another Flat White stretching to the South Pole and beyond.

#antarctica #travel #basler #dc3 #CTAM #air freight #mountains #transantarctic mountains #bowden neve #geology #field camp #photos

58 notes · View notes

akathecentimetre · 5 years

Note

Hey there, so I really like history as a subject, and I'm pretty good at it. The thing is, I don't know what my career options would be if I studied it, or if I would be able to make money. My parents are heavily discouraging me from taking it as a major. As a 'historian' in training' what's your take? Thank you

Hi there! Sorry for the delay, ‘tis the hectic season…

Oh man, I have so many thoughts for you. Full disclosure: this is something I have worked on a LOT over the course of my graduate career both at my uni and on a national level; most of my advice, however, comes from a PhD candidate’s perspective and may not be directly helpful to an undergraduate, and I should also emphasize that everything I can say on this is very firmly based on the U.S. market only. That being said, a lot of what I can say can be universally applied, so here we go -

The number of history undergraduates in the U.S. has plummeted in the last decade or so, from it previously being one of the most popular majors. There are many interacting reasons for this: a changeover from older to younger, better-trained, energetic professors who draw in and retain students has been very slow to occur, partly because of a lack of a mandatory retirement age; the humanities have been systematically demonized and minimized in favor of the development of STEM subjects, to the occasional benefit of students of color and women but to the detriment of critical public discourse and historical perspective on current events; with many liberal arts colleges going under financially and the enormous expansion of academic bureaucracy everywhere, resources are definitely being diverted away from social and human studies towards fields which are perceived to pay better or perceived, as mentioned in the article above, as being more ‘practical.’ (We do need a ton more healthcare workers/specialists, but that’s a different conversation to have.) But now I feel like quoting a certain Jedi Master: everything your parents say is wrong. Let’s dive into why being a historian is a positive thing for you both as a person and as a professional -

You will be a good reader. As you learn to decipher documents and efficiently and thoroughly read secondary literature, you will develop a particular talent for understanding what is important about any piece of writing or evidence (and this can go for visual and aural evidence as well). This will serve you well in any position in which you are collecting/collating information and reporting to colleagues or superiors, and evaluating the worth of resources. Specific example - editorial staff at publishing houses either private or academic, magazines, etc.

You will be a good writer. This will get you a good job at tons of places; don’t underestimate it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been astonished (not in a punitive way, of course, but definitely with a sense of befuddlement) by how badly some of my Ivy-league students can write. Good writing is hard, good writing is rare, and good writing is a breath of fresh air to any employer who puts a high premium upon it in their staff. History in principle is the study of change; history in practice is presenting information in a logical, interesting, and persuasive manner. Any sort of institution which asks you to write reports, summaries, copy, etc. etc. will appreciate your skills.

You will be a good researcher. This sounds like a given, but it’s an underappreciated and vital skill. Historians work as consultants. Historians work in government - almost every department has an Office of the Historian - and in companies, writing company histories and maintaining institutional archives. A strong research profile will also serve you well if you want to go on to work in museum studies and in libraries public or private/academic. As a historian, you will know not just where to find information, but what questions you have to ask to get to the answer of how to tackle, deconstruct, and solve a problem. This is relevant to almost any career path.

You will provide perspective. Historians react to current events in newspapers and online - not just on politics, but culture as well (my favorite article of this week is about the historicity of The Aeronauts). Historians act as expert witnesses in court proceedings. Historians write books, good books, not just meant for academic audiences but for millions upon millions of readers who need thoughtful, intelligent respite from the present. Historians work for thinktanks, providing policy analysis and development (a colleague of mine is an expert on current events of war in Mali and works for multiple thinktanks and organizations because of it). Historians work for nonprofits or lobbying groups on issues of poverty, environmental safety, climate change, and minority and indigenous rights. In a world when Texas school textbooks push the states’ rights narrative, historians remind us that the Civil War was about slavery. Historians remind us that women and people of color have always existed. In this time and world where STEM subjects are (supposedly) flooding the job market, we need careful historical perspective more than ever. We need useful reactions to the 2016 election, to the immigration travesties on display at the southern border, to the strengthening of right-wing parties in Europe - and history classes, or thoughtfully historical classes on philosophy and political science, are one of the few places STEM and business students gain the basic ability to participate in those conversations. [One of my brightest and most wonderful students from last year, just to provide an anecdote, is an astrophysics major who complained to me in a friendly conversation this semester that she never got the chance to talk about ‘deep’ things anymore once she had passed through our uni’s centralized general curriculum, which has a heavy focus on humanities subjects.]

You will be an educator. Teaching is a profession which has myriad challenges in and of itself, but in my experience of working with educators there is a desperate need for secondary-school teachers in particular to have actual content training in history as opposed to simply being pushed into classrooms with degrees which focus only on pedagogical technique. If teaching is a vocation you are actually interested in, getting a history degree is not a bad place to start at all. And elementary/high schools aside, you will be teaching someone something in every interaction you have concerning your subject of choice. Social media is a really important venue now for historians to get their work out into the world and correct misconceptions in the public sphere, and is a place where you can hone a public and instructive voice. You could also be involved in educational policy, assessment/test development (my husband’s field, with a PhD in History from NYU), or educational activism.

If some of this sounds kind of woolly and abstract, that’s because it is. Putting yourself out there on the job market is literally a marketing game, and it can feel really silly to take your experience of 'Two years of being a Teaching Assistant for European History 1500-1750’ and mutate it to 'Facilitated group discussions, evaluated written work from students [clients], and ran content training sessions on complex subjects.’ But this sort of translation is just another skill - one that can be learned, improved, and manipulated to whatever situation you need it to fit.

Will you make money? That’s a question only you can answer, because only you know what you think is enough money. That being said, many of the types of careers I’ve mentioned already are not low-paying; in my experience expertise is, if you find the right workplace and the rewarding path, usually pretty well-remunerated.

Specific advice? Hone your craft. Curate an active public presence as a historian, an expert, a patient teacher, and as as person enthusiastic about your subject. Read everything and anything. Acknowledge and insist upon complexity, and celebrate it when you can.

And finally - will any of what I’ve said here make it easy? No, because no job search and no university experience is easy these days. It’s a crazy world and there are a lot of awful companies, bosses, and projects out there. But I do very firmly believe that you can find something, somewhere, that will suit your skills, and, hopefully, your passions too.

Resources for you: the American Historical Association has a breakdown of their skills-based approach to the job market, reports on the job market(s) for history PhDs collectively called ‘Where Historians Work,’ and a mentorship program, Career Contacts, which could connect you with professional historians in various workplaces. There is a very active community of historians on Twitter; search for #twitterstorians. For historians who identify as female, Women Also Know History is a newer site which collates #herstorian bios and publications to make it easier for journalists to contact them for expert opinions. ImaginePhD provides career development tools and exercises for graduate students, but could probably be applied to undergrads as well. The Gilder Lehrman Institute is one of the premier nonprofits which develops and promotes historical training for secondary school teachers and classroom resources (U.S. history only). Job listings are available via the AHA, the National Council on Public History, and the IHE, as well as the usual job sites. And there’s an awful lot more out there, of course - anyone who reads or reblogs this post is welcome to add field-specific or resource-specific info.

I hope this helps, Anon, or at least provides you with a way to argue in favor of it to your parents if it comes to that. Chin up!

#replies #anon #history #academia #education #career diversity #grad school #Caz rambles

142 notes · View notes

cindylouwho-2 · 4 years

Text

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, August 19, 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles, podcasts, videos and infographics I came across since the late July report, although some may be older than that.

Please note I am taking the next week off, starting tomorrow (Aug. 19), so I might be a little slow in replying to any comments.

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

USPS has become the focus of investigations due to reported mail slowdowns. Some small businesses who rely on USPS to deliver are suffering. “The longer the policy has been in effect, the worse the backlog gets.” As of today (August 18), the postmaster says they will rollback the changes until after the election in November. This is a rapidly-moving story in part due to the push for voting by mail, and should concern anyone who ships to US customers using regular mail (as opposed to couriers). Meanwhile, they plan to temporarily raise commercial rates during the holiday shopping season, but retail rates will not change.

Ecommerce sales are still up year over year. "Before Covid-19 hit the US in March, e-commerce made up roughly 12% of retail sales in the country. That figure grew as states issued shelter-in-place orders that shut stores and kept shoppers at home, creating tailwinds for a company like Amazon. But even as states have begun to reopen, e-commerce has remained elevated, according to Bank of America data."..."The Economist used Google search traffic for hints of how lifestyles are changing and found users are still searching terms related to cooking, crafts, and exercise above pre-pandemic rates. There has been a noticeable spike in interest around such products as gardening supplies, baking flour, and Crocs." The UK is still seeing a good increase despite the ease in reduction in lockdown restrictions. The growth is slowing a bit in the US, though.

Half of US small businesses fail in the first year (and other stats on small business).

It’s been second quarter report season, covering company performance from April to June 2020. Here are results for major companies involved in ecommerce in some way (comparisons are year-over-year):

Amazon US: sales up 40%

eBay: sales up 26%

Etsy: sales up $146% [click the link to read my summary]

Facebook: revenue up 11%

Google: revenue down 2%

PayPal: revenue up 22%

Pinterest: revenue up 4%; active users up 39%

Shopify: revenue up 97%

Walmart [2nd quarter ran May to July]: ecommerce sales up 97%, same-store sales up 9.3%

ETSY NEWS

Admin are now posting a monthly update thread, in case you fear you have missed anything. This is how they chose to announce that non-seller accounts can no longer post in the forum. Since those account owners can still read the forum, that doesn’t mean you can call out your customers now.

Sadly, there wasn’t much media coverage of Etsy’s nearly-annual billing screw up, but this one did get some attention.

Etsy continues to get good media coverage for masks, including masks for your dolls. They also apparently got a decent slice of Google ranking for various pandemic-related searches in May [scroll down to the “Protection and Prevention” section].

However, Etsy is getting some bad press (along with Amazon), for allowing QAnon merchandise, because “the FBI has warned of the movement's potential to incite domestic terrorism.” Etsy replied to a request for comment saying that “that product listings associated with certain movements are allowed as long as they don't violate the company's seller or prohibited items policies, which ban items that promote hate or that could incite violence. The company said it is continually reviewing items on the site and could remove items in the future if they're found to violate Etsy's policies.”

More search trends on Etsy, this time kids’ items. I love how they think tie-dye was a ‘90s thing and not a ‘60-70s thing LOL. “a 318% increase in searches for kids tie-dye items...71% increase in searches for dinosaur wall art or decor*, and a 37% increase in searches for school of fish items….we’ve seen kid-friendly crafts spike in popularity, with searches for DIY kits for kids up 336%.”

Also, the holiday trends guide is out. “With the holidays approaching, and most shopping happening online, more shoppers will be looking for your help to make the season feel special.” The report is lengthy, covering Halloween to New Year’s, and most listing categories, while pointing out the possible pandemic changes to the usual trends. There is also an accompanying podcast with transcript.

Speaking of the holiday season, here are Etsy’s tips for shops. Note that it is a bit late, as businesses need to have their holiday items posted no later than July if they want to be eligible for most fall media coverage. Almost every point refers to an Etsy tool or feature, some of them costing you money, so use this as a very broad guideline & be careful to read between the lines.

They are still rolling out Etsy Payments to more countries: Morocco & Israel are the most recent. Note that Etsy Payments is not yet compulsory in these new countries.

Etsy Ads once again has graphs. Do you find them useful? (I haven’t run ads at all this year, so I can’t check.)

Sendle is the latest shipping company to have a label integration with Etsy shops.

Etsy asked US sellers to lobby their reps for more support for small business and other initiatives in the pandemic aid package.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

Google has stated that content on tabs is indexed and contributes to ranking as if it were on the page instead, but yet another test demonstrates that tabs may limit you.

Due to the pandemic, Google has delayed finalizing mobile-first indexing until March 2021. (They originally announced it would be finished this September.) That means you have more time to update your website’s mobile version, ideally with responsive design.

Site speed does matter to SEO, and Google is now asking some searchers how fast certain sites loaded for them.

User comments on your products, blog posts and website can help you improve your SEO. The article suggests ways of getting that feedback, and ways to use it. [I’ve even had buyers give me new keywords to describe my items, in their messages and reviews.]

Getting links back to your site is important to SEO, but don’t annoy people while doing it. [sort of humour & sort of a rant, but does give some useful background on why backlinks matter.] Internal links also matter.

There are some special tricks for food/recipe SEO, including structured data and even a WordPress plugin.

Another WordPress plugin: submit any new or updated pages to Bing to be automatically re/indexed.

Do your keyword research before setting up your website’s sections and sub-sections, as they should serve the buyer experience, not your perception of it. Same with choosing which pages link to each other.

SEOs are still trying to work out what happened with recent Google algorithm changes. Search Engine Journal claims that the May update was at least in part about demoting sites that had out-of-date or inaccurate information, so they suggest getting rid of the bad content on your site, or at least updating it. “Content pruning” has some advocates, but I wouldn’t worry about investing tons of time in this unless you have tons of time to spend. Just get rid of the blog posts that were wildly wrong, and the out-of-date filler. If you have a lot of sold out products, redirect those to relevant active pages.

Meanwhile, a “glitch” on August 10 led people to think there was a massive Google algorithm update happening, but it all got fixed in less than a day.

If you are behind on Google search news, here is a 7 minute video [with time stamped subtopics & resources links listed below], direct from Google.

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails)

It’s tough to get started in social media if you don’t know the terminology, so here’s a list of the basic definitions you can consult if you get lost when reading.

Don’t know how to blog? There are formulas you can use; here are eight options, nicely laid out, with downloadable templates. Don’t forget to figure out what your audience wants to read. And make sure you avoid these common blogging mistakes.

If you have an email list but do not know how to take advantage of all the bells & whistles the companies (MailChimp, Constant Contact etc.) offer you, here are 4 ways to segment your lists. You can then send different offers or newsletters to different segments.

You can optimize your social posts for people with visual impairments; excellent tips here.

By the time you read this, the TikTok mess will likely have changed again, but here is an article on Trump’s order to prohibit US companies from doing business with TikTok owner ByteDance if the platform is not sold by September 15.

Instagram has released its TikTok challenger, Reels, in more countries.

Instagram is now offering a fundraising option, although it is a slow launch with some beta testing in the US, UK & Ireland to start.

Here are step-by-step instructions on setting up your “Shop on Instagram.”

Pinterest says that searches around self-care & wellness have spiked during the pandemic lockdowns. “Pinterest has recently seen the highest searches ever around mental wellness ideas including meditation (+44%), gratitude (+60%) and positivity (+42%) that jumped from February to May….Pinterest says that searches for ‘starting a new business’ are up 35% on average, as are searches for ‘future life goals’ (2x), ‘life bucket list’ (+65%), ‘family goals future’ (+30%) and ‘future house goals’ (+78%).” There were also some searches clearly about spending more time at home: “Productive morning routine (up 6x), Exercise routine at home (up 12x), Self care night routine (up 7x)”

LinkedIn has a new algorithm; here’s how to make it work for you. [Many of these tips also apply to social media in general.]

Spotify is now doing “video podcasts”. Apparently a lot of their podcasters already did a video version of the Spotify podcasts, but had to publish it elsewhere up until now.

Twitter now admits it is considering offering subscriptions to shore up its revenue numbers. “Shares of Twitter rose 4% in early trading Thursday following the earnings results....Twitter's growth plans are under close scrutiny as many advertisers pull back due to the pandemic. On Thursday, Twitter reported second-quarter ad revenues of $562 million, a 23% decrease compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has also been hit by advertisers participating in an ad boycott of social media, linked to the nationwide racial justice protests.” Also, the recent hack is not helping them.

That said, it is still possible to market using Twitter, and here are some of the basics.

YouTube is no longer sending email updates when a channel you follow posts new content.

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS)

Ad spend has increased again as lockdowns end, in some cases beating last year by a decent margin.

The Buy on Google program is ending its commission fees. Participants will also be able to integrate their PayPal and/or Shopify payment options. As often is the case, they are starting with the US first, but plan on rolling it out to more countries in the future. There are more details here, and a review here (with some of the drawbacks).

Google Product Ads are now showing the item’s “material” on the listing card (before you click). If you are doing your own feed for your website, you may have the ability to add the attributes needed for the details to show up.

If you find Google Ads too expensive, consider buying search ads on Bing.

eBay is experimenting with showing ads mixed in with unpaid listings; placement would depend on the same algorithm.

Here’s a new guide to Facebook Ads [videos & text]

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

Bing has launched a new version of Webmaster Tools.

There are ways to reduce the amount of traffic that Google Analytics designates as “direct traffic”; here are 15 of them.

Currently in closed beta testing, the Google Search Console now has an “Insights” function, just like Google Analytics. I’ve found the GA one useful for telling me things I don’t always look at, so crossing my fingers that they release this to everyone soon.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Shopify helped many businesses stay open during pandemic lockdowns, giving it the boost to start competing with the likes of Amazon in ecommerce. “Shopify merchants that had previously or entirely relied on brick-and-mortar sales would later report they were able revive nearly 95% of that revenue online.”

eBay started rolling out its Managed Payments system to more sellers worldwide on July 20th. Things seem to be going slowly, with some confusion.

But eBay is also having a 25th anniversary party for sellers on September 25th; don’t forget to register.

Walmart is still delaying its new subscription model to challenge Amazon Prime, Walmart+.

Amazon in the UK has launched a “Face mask store” part of the website. I haven’t seen this on other versions of Amazon. They’ve also increased some fees for some UK sellers, based on the new UK digital tax. And they are launching a site & presence in Sweden.

The Competition Bureau of Canada has launched an investigation of Amazon’s treatment of third-party sellers. “The bureau is asking any person or business that has conducted sales via Amazon.ca to contact them if they have any insights into the issues it is investigating.“

Amazon Prime Day has been postponed to later dates this year, starting with India on August 6-7. The remaining countries will apparently be announced soon.

If you use WooCommerce, here are a bunch of free plugins, with brief descriptions.

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

Buyers do not all make purchase decisions the same way; Google uses its massive collection of data and some new studies to provide some examples. “Worldwide, search interest for “best” has far outpaced search interest for “cheap.”

It’s cheaper to keep repeat buyers than it is to find new ones; here are 16 ways to do that. One of my favourites is ““proactively providing information on how to avoid problems or get more out of your product” creates a 32% average lift to repurchase or recommend.”

It seems that researchers can never produce enough marketing guides on Gen Z and millennials.

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour)

I see a lot of new sellers, and some older sellers, confused about the idea of a business plan. HubSpot not only explains them, but also provides a downloadable template.

If you are thinking of changing careers, or just want to add skills to better run your current business, Google has many different courses, some of which they offer for free.

There are ways you can increase your productivity without (usually) working more hours. “A study published by John Pencavel of Standford University found that how much employees get done takes a sharp drop after 50 hours of work in a week, and even more drastically after 55 hours. The study found that employees working 70 hours per week actually produce nothing more in those extra 15 hours...taking a power nap in the middle of the day can help you process new information and even learn new skills.”

#SEO #seo tips #etsy #contentmarketing #ecommerce #smallbiz #ecommercetips #social media

2 notes · View notes

brightsun-and-darkmidnight · 4 years

Text

A Touch of Lost Time

TITLE: A Touch of Lost Time

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: chapter 6 / 6 Final

AUTHOR: brightsun-and-darkmidnight

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: For the Val's 500 challenge for ABO prompt.

@marvelgirlonamarvelworld

RATING: Explicit.

NOTES/WARNINGS: ABO au. Mates. Knotting.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Loki

1- voice -she can literally tell him to do anything

2- touch -how they touch will set the other up for arousal. (In the beginning they can barely hold hands. They seem very distant in public and it is odd for everyone to see them barely dance with the other.)

3- sight -her eyes relax him.

4- smell -loves to have her close so he can smell her. He especially loves her scent when she doesn't know he is there. She gets too worked up when he touches her and all he can smell is her heat.

5- taste -has no effect on him. It is a sense of touch so he likes it but only marks her for claims.

Character Katla

1- sight -as she is the omega his looks, his body language, will tell her everything she needs to know about how he is thinking.

3- smell -his scent relaxes her. Even if he is aggressive. Especially if he is defending her.

4- taste -she loves to taste his skin, especially when he is scenting her and even more so after he was working out. (He bares more marks from her than she has of his. It's odd for an alpha to be marked so much...especially since they do not touch the other in public)

5- voice -"such a shame we need permission to continue.' Has no outstanding effect on her but his voice sounds like heaven and is soft velvet on her ears.

My Ao3: brightsun_and_darkmidnight

*FINALLY..Read the warnings. Once you agree you can handle it...

~ ~ ENJOY ~ ~

Katla smiled at Elisk then glanced at Loki. At Loki's nod she hugged Elisk and laughed as he held on too tight in a brotherly hug.

Elisk teased as he gestured to her. "You look different. No twigs and grass in your hair. A dress with no paint marks on it."

Katla felt excitement surge through her as Elisk showed her small collection of paints. "Thank you! Thank you so much for getting this for me."

Elisk took the paints from her as she started to hold them close to her. "Ah. No. Nonono. You have to take care of these dresses. You also have a big night."

Katla clasped her hands in front of her and looked forward to some personal time with her paint.

Loki stood beside her and she looked at his caring smile. "Do you want to show me any of your work?"

Katla stumbled over her words. "Well I am not very good I really didn't have the right materials.." She stopped once Elisk pulled out her box of finished paintings. "Those are some I finished…"

She played with her dress as Loki opened the box and looked inside. His initial reaction was confusion then turned to curiosity as he picked a rock for further inspection. She noticed he was really intrigued with the rocks, then he picked a leaf, smiling at her. Katla blushed at his admiring gaze.

"I have never seen something like these."

"I never had much money for paper…"

Loki held a leaf up. "You are resourceful. I think this is better than paper. You used the shape of the leaves and rocks to make the painting 3D. It's brilliant."

Elisk spoke up after clearing his throat. "Yes, well. I am curious about what she will do with better supplies."

Katla shrugged feeling more pressure being put on her through higher expectations. "Anyway… how have you been?"

"Obviously got kicked out of our old pack…" Elisk shrugged back. "Otherwise. Just wondering around the palace. I got a few different job options. I am thinking of going with being an assistant in the kitchen."

Katla laughed, rolling her eyes. "You can't cook."

Elisk laughed. "Your right but in a way I will be linked to the food. I'm going to be a hunter." He smiled proudly.

Katla smiled warmly. "Fishing?"

Elisk grinned with a nod. He looked to Loki, "thank you for the help."

Loki nodded. "You will be indirectly apart of my pack as a worker of the castle so you will have to be taught some things."

Katla glanced at the time as Loki did. She felt her stomach drop and her nerves get the better of her. Loki held her hand and then went to rest on her clothed back.

Loki smiled at her. "We need to get ready."

Katla waved to Elisk. "It was nice seeing you… talk later I guess."

Elisk grinned. "Don't trip."

Katla glared at Elisk as Loki guided her to their room, "very funny…"

She heard Elisk state. "I thought it was."

---

Katla held onto Loki's arm as her life depended on it. She despised group gatherings and now she was in the enormous grand hall… in the center of attention.

Loki patted her hand and smiled down at her, "you are doing great."

Katla turned her head away from the crowd and whispered. "Loki… I can't remember anyone."

Loki smiled and whispered into her ear. "We can go over everything later. Do not worry about anything."

Katla nodded and then smiled as the next group wished them a good future and congratulated them. It was dizzying how many people Loki knew and it was concerning how many expected her to remember them as well. The really hard discussions were when everyone was dancing but Loki and Katla. Ofcourse, they danced when needed but Katla needed a few moments without her gloves. She was not used to wearing heavy metal and silks that trapped all warmth.

Katla felt Loki's eyes burn her, she turned to him with a smile but he excused them from another story telling of how they met. She was guided by Loki's hand on her lower back, all the way to the outside. The cool air hit Katla and she sighed in relief but kept walking until she sat at a bench.

Loki moved to hold her hands but rested them on her knee. "How are you feeling?"

Katla pulled at the chest piece. "This is so hot. And this silk-can you see my sweat?" Katla tried to look for damp spots but found none.

Loki laughed but then tried to hide his amusement. "No. I can not. The best materials do not get wet easily."

Katla puffed her cheeks before blowing out the hot air. "Nice to know. I guess." She looked at Loki since he was staring at her with an odd look. "What? Oh no… can you smell how bad I am?"

Loki smiled. "Well no one else should be able to, but I know your scent."

Katla wrinkled her nose and apologized.

"Nothing to apologize. We are mates, we are better tuned to the other than anyone else that is in our lives. I sensed your distress so I took you away from there."

Katla smiled. "I am okay now. Thank you for the break. I didn't know how to ask for a moment in a polite manner…"

Loki stared into her eyes, using his welcoming body language as he spoke in a calm tone. "If you ever need anything, you come to me. You do not need to say anything in some sort of manner. I will make sure you get what you ask."

Katla put her gloves back on and held his hand as she stood. "We should get back to the party. Just a few more hours. Then you are going to scent me after a bath and hold me till I fall asleep."

Loki placed her hand on his arm and smiled proudly, "I can handle that."

---

While after the party and the morning was fun… Katla had even more lessons of how to be royalty. Loki used some of his seder for illustrations and visual examples. He mostly showed the people they met last night, as she saw them in their attire. She was thankful for such detailed lessons.

There were more celebrations that put Katla's lessons to the test. There were only a few minor mistakes but nothing terrible. Odin had mentioned in intricate and twisted wording that Katla was actually good for the Odin house. It made Loki upset that Odin had to speak in riddles with compliments but he assured Katla it was a good thing to come from the Alfather.

Katla was able to use the best paints and materials that Asgard could get for her, even lessons on how to use everything.

However, Katla was walking along the small steam in search for rocks. Her feet were bare welcoming the cold water and the little pinches and pokes from the uneven ground. Her dress was soaked up to her knees and the cool breeze washed over her face.

She gasped as something splashed right in front of her as she was bent over to get a pretty rock. Her hair was now a wet mess.

Elisk laughed loudly and Katla turned to splash him. Loki was laughing but stayed still, not afraid of the water at all. As it usually happened, Katla left her hand picked rocks in Loki's care as she chased her friend around. Elisk shrieked once Katla tackled him, then it turned into a tickling war -to which Katla begged Loki to save her… and Loki's response was to grab her and throw her in the water.

She pushed her wet hair from her face and glared at him. "I said help me! Not throw me in the water!"

Loki smiled sweetly, "I did help you. I got you away from Elisk and got you back to searching for your rocks."

Katla huffed, then splashed Loki. She giggled at the look he gave her then innocently picked up a rock. She smiled, holding it up for Loki to see. "Thank you for the help Loki. This one is a keeper."

Loki playfully rolled his eyes. "Of course it is…" he looked to the sky and announced, "a few more minutes. Then we go back to the palace. It is getting colder."

Elisk and Loki packed the horses as Katla picked a few more pebbles.

Loki stood close but did not touch her, "did you get a good collection?"

Katla smiled over her shoulder. "I think I have."

Loki snickered. "I am sure what you create will further the nature painting trend you started. The traditional teachers are having to learn your ways instead of you learning theirs."

Katla giggled. "It is a shame anyone can go into nature and find their canvases now."

Katla saw Loki shift from wanting to touch her but neither of them gave into the desire.

Elisk grunted. "Before this turns awkward. We should go. ..ya know so you guys can scent before dinner. In private." Elisk walked swiftly to his horse without another word.

"Let's not make this awkward again…" Katla blushed and went to her own horse.

Katla paused once she noticed Loki look at her odd. He leaned towards her and she stayed still but watched him curiously.

He smiled at her and she whispered a quiet, "what?"

Loki grinned. "You are going to smell like me for a while."

Katla looked at him in question but then understood. "Oh. I'm finally?..."

Loki nodded with a huge grin. "This does not mean you get out of scenting habits."

Katla blushed as Elisk announced he was leaving.

#val’s500challenge #brightsun-and-darkmidnight #a touch of lost time #chapter 6 #loki #a/b/o universe #a/b/o #A/B/O verse #a/b/o au

6 notes · View notes

houseofvans · 5 years

Photo

SKETCHY BEHAVIORS | INTERVIEW WITH LAUREN YS

From large scale murals to multi-layered works on canvas, LA based artist Lauren YS’s art captures everything from the female experience, addressing topics like sexuality, death, aliens, monsters, and the occult. Her works are complex much like her own experiences, so we’re super stoked to find out more about what drives her, who and what inspires her, and what challenges and advice she has for our readers in this awesome Sketchy Behaviors interview..

Take the leap!

Photographs courtesy of the artist.

Introduce yourself. Hey! I’m Lauren YS - Hmm, something you might not know … I used to play ice hockey and my favorite candy are Peach O’s. I am a really good listener, but that also means I hate being interrupted. I dream, often, about being underwater.

Tell folks a little about your artwork and what do you love to make works about? I make work about the female experience, sexuality, identity, space, aliens, heritage, death, monsters, nature, emotions, natural phenomena, the occult and whatever else I might be obsessing about. I like slimy creatures, kitsch, psychedelia, sex and Halloween, and mixing repulsion with attraction. I want the viewer to feel unsettled as much as engaged. I make things in an effort to try to process the beautiful shit rocket that is the world around me.

When did art become something you were aware you could do for a living or as a career you wanted to pursue? I have always been making art, but I never thought it was possible to support oneself as an artist: It seemed really out of reach or surreal. It wasn’t until I had already been fully freelance for a year before I realized I was actually doing it. I think it’s just something that comes out of necessity, it’s like – if I want to keep making art as much as possible at the rate I am living, then damn, I’m going to learn how to make money off of it.

What’s a typical studio day for you like? I tend to work nocturnally. I’ll paint through the night and sleep through the day and watch horror movies, listen to podcasts about art, serial killers and cults, and eat anywhere from 1-2 sacks of tangerines every day. I like to really plow through paintings as well, it’s hard for me to stop working on something once I start. After about three weeks in the studio like this, your mind starts to wander off into deep strange places, and that’s when the really good stuff comes out.

What’s your studio or creative space like? What do you keep around to constantly motivate or inspire you? I have always worked best in a bit of “artistic chaos”–I like to fill my space with odds and ends, knick-knacks, items from my travels, talismans. I believe in the power of objects. I love my lava lamp and need to buy seven more. I also have this drawing I made of an Asian grandma screaming “DRAW, MOTHERFUCKER” which I plan to make into a screen print and give to all my artist friends.

When working on a body of paintings and works for a show, what is your process like? How long does it typically take you to complete a painting from start to finish? Depending on the size of the gallery, it can take anywhere from 2-6-10 months to create a show, given that it is often punctuated by mural tours and big projects to pay the bills. I like to work on lots of pieces at the same time, so generally it’ll take a few days to a week or two to finish a piece. I am trying to get better at reworking pieces rather than just pushing through them one by one. Workflow is still sorting itself out. I also make a ton of pieces that end up being nixed from the final show. I am very prolific but also very psychotic.

Not only do you work on canvas, but you are also known for some of your amazing murals! When did you start going from painting on a regular scale to large scale works? What’s your process like for mapping out these large works? Well shucks, thank you! I started painting murals around 2013, which was a sort of natural transition because I wanted to work bigger and bigger, I wanted to travel and be in the sun and use giant machines to make my art. I actually started learning color from using spray paint. I freehand everything because I like to feel independent of projectors or machines, especially if I’m in a foreign country or don’t have time or resources.

It makes me feel empowered to be able to make big things on my own. Maybe that comes from growing up under the common experience girls have, especially asian girls, where you’re expected to be small and quiet and obedient. I have always worked in active aggression against that stereotype.

Is there a medium you’d love to get your hands on, but yet to have the chance too? And what are your go-to materials? I’d really love to learn how to use an airbrush, a la Sorayama. Outside of 2D I am dying to get back into stop motion animation. My favorite brand of spray paint is Montana Black (high pressure forever!), and I use a wide variety of acrylics and gouache in my paintings, specifically the Holbein gouaches from Japan.

What do you love about where you live, and what is the art community like in your area? I never thought I’d move to LA, but I’ve been really enjoying it here. I’m a communal living person (been in and out of communities for about 9 years) and I am lucky to have found somewhere that fits with my work ethic (intense) and social vibe (weird). I like to be able to work alone while still having people bustling around and making things all the time. It helps me to feel like I’m not dead or a total solipsist.

I’ve also found that the artists in LA–especially the female artists–have proven to be really kind, generous and welcoming. There’s a lot of room for weirdos here; it might take a while to find them, but they’re here. We also have a one-eyed cat, did I mention that?

Who are some artists you’re inspired by and have influenced you throughout the years? I’m a big fan of dark/psychedelic/erotic artists like Keiichi Tanaami, Suehiro Maruo, Sorayama and the whole Ero Guro movement. I also love Goya’s dark paintings and the sculpture work of Bernini. Some contemporary artists I’ve been into lately are Christian Rex Van Minnen, David Altmejd, Robin Francesca Williams and the fabric sculptures of Do Ho-Suh. Jamie Hewlett, Swoon, Andrew Hem, Aryz. I find that my taste changes constantly and I am always thirsty for different influences.

What’s been the most challenging part of your art career? What’s been the most rewarding? What do you do to keep the balance? Something really challenging has been learning how to trust myself while growing in the industry and balancing business, work and travel. It’s a really solid test: moving to a new city, providing for yourself, going on tour, shifting from place to place, managing gallery work and mural work, all while protecting and nurturing your own ambition and positivity, and not feed into the shitstorm of capitalism and social media past what is required of you.

The muralist life is not for the faint of heart. I would hardly say that I keep any type of “balance”–art is my life and there isn’t much room for anything else, and that’s how I like it. It is the most rewarding thing to look around and feel like you’ve created something new and good and powerful, all on your own terms. It is similarly rewarding to feel the need to level up - I enjoy feeling stressed arguably more than I enjoy feeling accomplished.

What would your dream collaboration be? What do you enjoy most about collaborations with other artists or clients? I would love to do something with Takashi Murakami and/or his gallery (Kaikai Kiki Gallery). There’s also this amazing Australian animator named Felix Colgrave whose work I’ve been obsessed with lately, I’d love to find a way to make an animated short with him! I love collaborating - especially on mural work - because it’s such a cool experience to be able to intermingle your visual world with someone else’s. Working with ONEQ in Hawaii this year was really great, she had so many suggestions and ideas from out of left field that made me rethink my own work as well. It also forces you to relinquish some control on the way you work, and reflect on the basic joys of making shit in the first place.

If you could paint a portrait of anyone living or dead, who would you choose and why? I really want to do a tripped out portrait of Yayoi Kusama or Bjork or maybe Steve Buscemi—all heroes of mine.

What’s your advice to folks who see what you do and want to pursue art as a career? I would say, go at it as hard as you possibly can! Make sure you really enjoy doing it! Not all parts of painting murals are glamorous (actually, few are) and it’s important to truly love every part of it if you’re going to commit your life to it.

This means: hustling walls, handling machinery, travel, people, logistics, finding somewhere to pee, dealing with unexpected bullshit, not complaining, being comfortable handling yourself in dangerous situations, being independent and resourceful, etc. I have reservations about artists who genuinely don’t seem to enjoy all the elements of mural painting going too deep into it. But if it’s something you love, there’s nothing better.

What are your FAVORITE Vans? I’ve been rocking the classic authentic Vans in black/burgundy as paint shoes for years now. But I also love the Sk8-Hi boys in burgundy… I never wear them because I’m too scared to get paint on them, haha!

What other artists would you love to see interviewed for Sketchy Behaviors? I’m currently really into Andrea Wan, Louise Zhang and Caratoes. It would also be really cool if you covered a GNC or trans artist, like Nomi Chi or Laughing Loone!

What’s next for you that you can share? My first book is coming out this year with Von Zos, and I’m also going to be designing a tarot deck with them. April is my first mural tour in several months; I’ll be hopping from Australia - Guam - Peru, and then moving around South America for a while, trying to practice my spanish. After that, I’ll be starting work on my next big show, scheduled for a city in Asia, which I’m really, really excited about - keep an eye out!

FOLLOW LAUREN YS | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | SHOP

#Art #Vans #Vans Girls #Vans Art #Sketchy Behaviors #Interview #Lauren YS

422 notes · View notes