#back to scheduled Hunter headshots

[yumpher]

Go my Hunter, show them your moves

[cybrasigilism]

The Blood Hive (SquidJackets AU World Swap WILDERNESS POST)

warnings: drug mentions | typical yellowjackets stuff | SQUID GAME X YELLOWJACKETS CROSSOVER | this is my interpretation of these characters, please be respectful even if my opinions on the characters differ from your own

A/N: we’ll be back to scheduled programming shortly, but since we got the soccer team roles out of the way, it’s only appropriate that i discuss their roles in the wilderness now. i’m lowkey considering writing a detailed fic about this because i love love LOVE this AU of mine :P

ENJOY!

𐂂 THE VITAL THREE 𐂂

seon-nyeo: the profit.

her faith allowed her to be the first feel connected to the “wilderness”, and due to her psyche breaking in two from the trauma of the crash— she genuinely believes the wilderness is an entity. (consider her the lottie of this world, minus the schizophrenia) she has good intentions, but when she learns of a teammate who has access to hallucinogenic drugs, she finds a gateway for the others to “connect” with the wilderness too.

cho hyun-ju + kang dae-ho: the hunters.

the team knew that they would need the most reliable people to be the ones entrusted with supplying sustenance while they awaited their rescue, thus the responsibility fell on hyun-ju and dae-ho. the former excelled as the hunter, clear headshots every single time; the latter on the other hand, seemed to struggle with the concept of killing the animals. after the two collectively decided dae-ho wasn’t the right fit for a hunter’s position, he stepped down and hyun-ju went solo.

kim young-mi: the medic.

having learned the tricks of the trade from a first aid course provided by the university pre-crash, young-mi was the only choice for the position of designated medic in the eyes of the team. at first, she panicked at being the only one equipped with the skills to head such a daunting task, but with hyun-ju’s help, she became more confident in her work and aided the group’s injuries to the best of her ability post-crash. there’s just one problem though, jun-hee is pregnant— and the first aide course doesn’t teach you to deliver a baby.

—————————

seong gi-hun (former coach)

when the team first crash lands, they all look to gi-hun for guidance. however, unfortunately for gi-hun, bad things keep coincidentally happening under his advisory: the flight recorder being mysteriously smashed, rationing going haywire, disagreements turned physical etc. the group takes this as a sign that gi-hun is no longer fit to lead them, and he is essentially de-throned and forced to take a backseat to in-ho, who was always there to deescalate the bad situations that arose. gi-hun isn’t so convinced that in-ho is the miracle leader everyone else is making him out to be, but thanks to the circumstances before him, anyone could chalk that feeling up to jealousy.

hwang in-ho (acclaimed group leader)

after continuously swooping in to “clean up” gi-hun’s mistakes during his brief time as the head of the group, in-house is revered as the group’s new leader. situations lined up in his favour and he now has the control over the group that he didn’t pre-crash. unbeknownst to everybody else, in-ho is not the fantastic, fearless leader that he’s cracking himself up to be. appearances can be deceiving, and that holds true with coach hwang in-ho— now that’s he’s gained their trust, there’s nothing he cannot do.

choi “thanos” su-bong + nam-gyu

for the first bit of time post-crash, their biggest purpose was to stir the pot and make it everyone else’s problem that they didn’t want to be there. at worst, they were nuisances who got shut down by se-mi or hyun-ju when their limits had been pushed by the nonsensical tomfoolery these boys start up. things start to amp up when thanos becomes a person of interest to seon-nyeo, who believes that his hallucinogenic substances can act as a gateway for “wilderness connection”.

kim jun-hee

out of anyone on this team, jun-hee may have it the worst— she’s pregnant out in these woods. and as if to be a cherry on top of the big fuck you sundae, the father, myung-gi, is present. normally, that would be a good thing, but jun-hee isn’t exactly myung-gi’s biggest fan as of late. thanks to his loud mouth, she’s had a hard time at the university with people having misconstrued opinions of her, so she’s going to be on the defensive for her time here seeing as from her perspective, she only has herself and no one else to rely on.

lee myung-gi

myung-gi does not have luck on his side, apparently he never did to begin with. the one time he actually was lucky in any regard was in his relationship with jun-hee, and he still managed to screw that up. now, these two were stranded in the wilderness together, and while she isn’t interested in being around him to any degree— myung-gi sees this as an opportunity to patch things up. he wants to take ownership of jun-hee’s pregnancy alongside her, but with his track record you can’t blame jun-hee for being skeptical.

se-mi

she may be the most understanding of all the players in the crash to everyone’s grievances. she rolls her eyes at the beseeching of thanos and nam-gyu, sure, but she is also the first person to extend a helping hand to jun-hee— despite her (jun-hee) beliefs that everyone looked down on her. se-mi also works alongside hyun-ju to help young-mi adjust to the medic position that was swiftly thrust upon her, and she actively sticks her neck out for min-su when thanos and nam-gyu ironically tease him for being scared.

gyeong-su

gyeong-su is not built for the wilderness, to be sure. he knows this, so he stays close to thanos because he views him as being “stronger”, even with all that complaining in the beginning. he knows that he can’t help much with hunting or scavenging, but gyeong-su still tries his best to keep spirits high in hopes of rescue one day coming for them.

park min-su

at first, the team looked upon min-su as being the one least likely to survive should help take longer than expected to come, but he’s managed to make it far in the wilderness living. he proved himself as a talented tracker when the team got lost on their way back to the crash site from the lake, and he also helped the girls scavenge for berries during the warmer seasons. min-su proved to be more useful in a survival situation than on the literal playing field— which surprised everybody involved.

IM SO HAPPY THAT THERES PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THIS AU, if you have any questions at all regarding this story let me know!

as usual, any constructive criticism/advice on how i can improve my writing is appreciated and requested! have a amazing day/night lovelies 💋

tags: @gongyoosgf @kouzih @strangelife122 @agornotsworld @kvstjwonnie @room-722 @marymustdie @pink-apples001 @fiicalapsiholoaga @wonestro @luvlyfandoms @putrescentpoet

[jayjaymorgan]

Shattered Past - Part V

Author’s Note : Please remember that English isn't my native language, so there might be some mistakes and stuff. I hope you all like it, have a great day/night!

TW : bar fight, description of violence, animal deaths, Rex curses like once

The Empire didn’t make any new barriers and control outpost, so the trip to Vanqor was calm and with no delay. They landed on schedule and were able to met with Hondo before noon to discuss the payment and unload the cargo. The pirate thanked them for their help and invited them to join him at one of the bars, on his treat.

At first Hunter was against it, mainly because of Omega, but after some convincing and reminders that Omega is already an adult he agreed, although he made his brothers promise that they won’t get wasted and don’t start any drunken fights. The bar was crowded and loud, so it took them a moment to make their way towards the bar counter. Omega took off her helmet and sat down on one of the chairs, but the rest waited with showing their faces. Hunter looked around, making sure that they’re safe. He spotted someone in the very far corner of the room, someone who didn’t look like they were a part of Hondo’s gang. They were sitting alone, a mask covered their face and they appeared to be cleaning a hunter knife. They were wearing a gray scavenger’s outfit, but with armor and many unique features, like a small axe and a machete on their back. “Who’s that?” he asked the pirate quietly. “We don’t really know. They showed up a couple of days ago, didn’t say anything and never showed their face.” Hondo didn’t even look up from his drink. “They’re harmless, unless you piss them off.” The clone was just about to ask what happens when you do that, but just then he heard a loud crash and screams behind him. He turned around and saw Omega hitting one of the pirates in the face, knocking him out. It took him a moment to realize what’s happening : the said pirate tried to grab her by the waist and wouldn’t leave her alone, so she knocked him out cold and upset some of his friends. They got up and started advancing towards her, but before they could get closer Wrecker stepped in and pushed one of them away. This really angered the rest and just a few seconds later there was a pandemonium. Crosshair jumped on the counter and started throwing bottles at the crowd while Wrecker grabbed a table and swung it around, knocking the pirates to the ground. Tech hid behind Cross, trying to not get involved in the fight as much as possible and just watched his brother score another headshot. Omega just stood by the wall, looking at the chaos she accidentally created. Hunter didn’t even know what to say : he just observed as his brothers wrecked the place while Hondo took another swig from a bottle, completely ignoring the havoc. Rex staggered back when one of the pirates slammed his fist into his shoulder. He punched the attacker in the gut and pushed him to the ground. He turned around at the sound of footsteps and a body slammed into him. He hit a table with thundering crash and groaned in pain, but quickly got up and kicked the man in his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out. Then, all of the sudden, he heard a gun reload behind him. He turned around, heart beating fast, and saw one of the gang’s members aiming at him. Just before he pulled the trigger a person appeared from nowhere, grabbed his hand and pushed it down, making him shoot the ground instead of the clone. It took Rex a second to realize that the person defending him was the masked individual Hunter asked about earlier. They punched the pirate in the throat with their elbow, snatched the gun from his hand and hit him with it in the head before turning to Rex. He stared at them for a moment, not knowing what to do, but then another pirate jumped forward and hit the masked person on the side of their head, shattering one of the goggles’ lenses. They grunted and stumbled back, it was now Rex’s time to help them. He tried to run up to them and help them, but someone grabbed him from behind and held him back. Another pirate stepped out from the crowd, holding a hunter knife in his hand, ready to stab the clone. At that very moment there was a loud humming sound and a blue light illuminated the room, making everyone turn around to where it was coming from. The masked person was standing there, holding a blue lightsaber and glancing at the people around them angrily. The pirate holding Rex let him go, stumbling back and trying to put as much distance as possible between him and them. It was dead silent, you could hear a pin drop. Finally, after what felt like eternity, the individual slowly made their way through the room, the lightsaber still ignited. The pirates scattered, gasping and whispering in fear as they walked by, reaching the door. They looked back one last time, scanning the room, before walking out and slamming the door behind them, leaving everyone in a daze. Rex was one of the first people to come to his senses. He quickly ran up to his brothers and sister, checking if everyone was okay and proposing that they get out of there before the gang’s members collect themselves. They agreed and quickly exited the bar, looking around cautiously. Rex saw his savior in the distance, walking out from the small town and heading south.

And then, a wild idea came to his mind.

…

“They’re a Jedi, they might know something.” said Rex, trying to convince his brother to let him go and investigate. “Please, you don’t have to go with me, I just want to know if...” “Absolutely no, I forbid it!” Hunter wasn’t hearing any of it, he just continued walking towards the Stalker. “It’s too dangerous. First of all : they could be someone who killed a Jedi and kept the lightsaber or simply bought it at the black market...” “The blade wasn’t black! If a non-force user wields it, the blade turns black. The one at the bar was blue.” “Even if they are or were a Jedi, it doesn’t make them less dangerous.” “Please!” Rex insisted. “You would do the same if you were in my shoes...” “I’m trying to do what’s the best for the team!” “Hunter, let him go.” Omega said, walking up to them, Crosshair following her. “Like he said, you would do the same in a situation like this, so please let him go.” “I agree with Omega on that one.” Crosshair added before Hunter could say anything. “I can go with him, make sure that he doesn’t get killed or something. And even if you say no we can just ignore it.” “Fine!” the man finally gave in. “But if something bad happens, you two will have only yourselves to blame.” “Great, we’ll take the speeder bikes.”

Less than a minute later both of the men were heading in the direction where they saw the mysterious person go. The bikes’ engines roared as they drove past scattered shipwrecks, bigger rocks and canyons. “Thank, Cross.” said Rex through the radio in his helmet, glancing at his brother. “Don’t mention it. And keep your eyes on the road.” Rex felt a smile creep on his lips, then looked back at the road. Even though Cross acted like a dick most of the time he knew that deep down his vod was a big softie. He would never say it out loud of course, mainly because he didn’t want to get murdered in his sleep. The sniper was bad at talking about emotions, so he spoke through simple actions such as making sure that his brothers didn’t skip meals and drank enough water. “There!” Crosshair called out, pointing at something ahead of them. He could see a trail of smoke in the sky, probably from a campfire. “Let’s check it out.” They drove down a rocky slope, carefully maneuvering the bikes around obstacles. They saw a small camp, which consisted of a tent, a campfire and an old but sturdy-looking Y-wing. The person from the bar was sitting near the fire, minding their own business. At the sound of approaching vehicles they jumped to their feet, turned around and took out the lightsaber, igniting it. The clones braked with a skid a couple of meters away from them, slowly got off the bikes and glanced at each other, not really knowing what to do. “Let me handle this.” Rex whispered through the radio. “Go ahead, it was your idea after all.” “Alright, here goes nothing...” he took a step forward, raising his hands slightly, showing the masked individual that he’s not armed. “We mean no harm!” he said, taking another step towards them. “We just want to ask you a couple of questions, that’s all.” He reached up to take off his helmet, but before he could do that they suddenly charged at him, the blade cutting through the air with a loud humming noise. “Watch out!” Crosshair took out his sniper rifle, preparing to shoot the attacker. Rex jumped back, tripped on a rock and fell on the ground. The blade missed him by mere centimeters, blinding him for a moment. When his eyes recovered from the bright flash he got up, reaching for his own weapon. He gripped his gun tightly and spun around, but what he saw made him stop in his tracks. The Jedi wasn’t attacking them – they were fighting with a gundark, who tried to snuck behind the clones and attack them. It roared in pain as they cut off one of its arms, making it stumble back. Rex saw another one in the corner of his eye, so he reloaded his gun and shot the creature in the head, ending its life. “Cross, get down!” he screamed as a third one emerged from behind a big pile of rocks and started running towards the sniper. His brother listened and ducked, giving Rex enough space to shoot. He aimed and pulled the trigger, but at this very moment the gun’s mechanism jammed. The weapon fired with a delay that couldn’t last more than a second and instead of hitting the gundark’s head it only grazed its side. The carnivore growled and changed its target, now running at Rex and baring its teeth. The clone pulled the trigger once again, but this time the gun didn’t fire at all. “Shit!” he yelled and hit the gun with the palm of his hand, trying to fix it. The second one was back at the ship in Tech’s lab, he promised to fix it but probably forgot to do so and give it back to him. Crosshair, seeing that his brother is in danger, jumped to his feet and fired at the creature, hitting its side. It slowed the gundark, but didn’t stop it. The beast leapt at him, tackling the clone to the ground. The force knocked the air out of his lungs, for a moment he saw stars. He grabbed the carnivore by its throat before it could bite into his, gathered all his strength and tried to push it away. He saw Crosshair running in his direction, the sniper couldn’t risk shooting his brother by accident, but he wouldn’t make it on time. Rex wasn’t strong enough to push the gundark away, which was getting closer and closer to his neck. The clone was ready to accept his fate when all of the sudden a blue light flashed before his eyes. A few seconds later the decapitated head of the beast fell on the ground next to Rex, its dead eyes staring at him. He grunted in pain when the rest of the body dropped on him with all its weight, making it difficult to breathe. The masked person turned off their lightsaber and pushed the gundark with their foot, shoving it off of Rex. When the man sat up they extended their arm, wanting to help him get up. For a moment Rex stared at their hand, unsure of what to do. He slowly reached out and took their hand, surprised by how strong and cold it was. They pulled him up to his feet and made eye contact with him before turning away. It gave the clone an opportunity to take a closer look at their eye through the shattered visor of their goggles. They had beautiful blue eyes that reminded him of someone very dear to him. The person he thought of had the same breathtaking eyes that looked like the sky during a sunny day. After a moment he realized that he was staring. He quickly looked away and let go of their hand, embarrassed. “Thanks... for saving me.” he said, then glanced at Crosshair, who was checking if there were any gundarks left. “We came here to ask you a few questions, we saw you at the bar and I thought...” “Look out!” Rex looked up and saw another beast charging at them but it was too late to jump out of its way. They were knocked to the ground, hard. The clone hit his head on a rock and heard the visor in his helmet break. The glass cut his forehead, he hissed in pain when blood started dripping down his face, making it hard to see. He got up and looked around, spotting the Jedi. They were trying to hit the animal with their lightsaber, but it was moving too fast. It grabbed them with one of its four arms and tossed them away, making them drop the weapon. They hit the ground with so much force that Rex could swear he heard a bone snap followed by a scream of pain. The gundark was now slowly advancing towards them, ready to pounce. They tried to crawl away from the carnivore on their back while clutching their left side, but they couldn’t. Just when the gundark jumped there was a loud beeping noise that sounded like an extremely angry droid. A gray R2 unit, that looked to be made of several others’ droids’ parts, emerged from behind the ship, sparkling electricity at the creature. It was enough to get its attention and draw it away from the masked person, giving them the opportunity to collect themselves and get up, but it was a matter of time before the carnivore lost interest and started attacking them once again. Rex grabbed the dropped lightsaber, but Crosshair was faster. He reloaded his sniper : it was time to finish it. He aimed and fired, hitting the creature in the heart. It roared and fell to the ground, almost crushing the droid. It let out a series of annoyed beeps and quickly approached the Jedi, like it was checking if they were alright. Rex breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at the weapon he was holding, ready to return it to the owner. 

But the moment he looked at the lightsaber a little bit closer, he realized something.

He knew that hilt.

It was Anakin’s.

[crystalessenceswrites]

Burden of the Survivors- Chapter Two

Burden of the Survivors

Pairing: Din Djarin x fem!reader Rating: T (at the moment- subject to change) Warnings: swearing, canon-typical violence *no spoilers- takes place in Season 1 timeline* Summary: Mando works alone- except for when the absolutely can’t. There are few people Din trusts – trusts as in he doesn’t expect a viroblade in the back the second he’s turned around. She’s one of them. Just as cautious and nearly as tight lipped about her past as he is, Din doesn’t mind her around too much. A/N: My inspiration is a fickle thing, I’ve been swinging back and forth between Shadows and BotS for a few weeks now. Finally got enough to sit down and finish this chapter, so cheers to that.

[Masterlist] [Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three] Cross-posted to AO3

Chapter Two

When Vero found you, you were nothing but a pickpocket on the lower-level streets of Coruscant-the byproduct of the horrors of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire. You were nearing sixteen and beginning to lose your touch. When you were younger-and smaller-it was easier to weave through crowds and avoid attention. Puberty and a growth spurt made it much more difficult for the teenage you to blend in. You made it work, you had to if you wanted to get by, but it took twice as much work to get folks to look the other way. Ever observant Vero caught on quick but said you had potential, just not as a street thief. The alabaster skinned theelin approached you with a job, a job that paid more than you could scrounge up in two weeks selling your stolen treasures. All you had to do was deliver a small parcel to a pilot friend of his at a docking station a few levels up without getting caught by the city guard before the pilot was scheduled to leave in two hours. It seemed easy enough and you desperately needed the credits. The last thing on your mind was what was in the package you carried. You knew better than to stick your nose where it did not belong, especially when you were getting paid. That decision changed your life.

The job was a test to see if you were capable and trustworthy enough to bring on for a real job as a runner, and you passed with flying colors. Vero took you under his wing and had you running smuggled goods and other products all over Coruscant. It was a reckless job, you knew that-even as a child-but it kept a roof over your head and food in your belly at a time in your life when you had forgotten what that was like. You were one of many street kids on Coruscant that had to turn to life in the underworld to get by, but you thank the Maker you ended up with the one crew on Coruscant that had some small sense of morals.

Vero worked for Shan Tillis, who had grown up on the streets of Corellia himself. Shan was sympathetic, smuggling had been his way out of the gutter, and he offered you that same opportunity. It had not taken long for Shan and the others to realize you were too smart and too quick on your feet to just move goods, that you and your brain could be used elsewhere. So, they taught you. Kom and Redarr, Shan’s lead muscle heads, taught you how to fight and how to fight dirty. Sola bought you your first proper viroblade (you’d nicked one years ago but it was made for hands much larger than yours so you’d always been rather clumsy with it) and taught you every trick in the book she knew, every weak spot on the body, how to wound but not kill and where to bleed someone out the fastest. Her lessons were always your favorite. Tala taught you how to pilot every kind of ship you could get your hands on, and how to hotwire a landspeeder- Vero was not thrilled when he discovered that lesson had been performed on his precious baby.

Everything that made you into the infamous bounty hunter you were now had been taught to you by that crew. Every cautious tick had been drilled into you by Kom and Vero. Redarr had schooled you on blasters, made you practice in-between jobs on how to take them apart and put them back together with your eyes closed. Zena taught you how to read people and how to know when a deal was about to go south.

Shan imparted you with the most practical wisdom of them all. How to know when you’re fucked.

This job seems pretty fucked to you.

The Mandalorian is silent as the two of you settle on the ridge above the compound. Scope out, he looks over the cluster of buildings. Even from a distance you’ve already counted ten nikto out and about, and you can safely assume they’re all heavily armed.

You tighten the various straps and holsters on your person before slipping your tactical mask into place. The contraption covers the lower half of your face and has always been more for the intimidation factor than much else. Redarr had gifted it to you all those years ago as more of joke than practical gear but you’d grown attached. Between the mask and its voice modulator, your hood and dark, nondescript clothes you could remained relatively anonymous when you wanted to, which was most of the time.

“If we come along the east side I think I can make it up to the roof without being seen, provide you with a little more cover.” You did always prefer the higher ground.

Mando nods, continuing to scan the scene, “there’s two on the northwest corner you’ll have to manage.”

Your scoff crackles through the modulator, “they won’t be an issue.”

He grunts before his head snaps back towards the edge of the compound, “shit. Bounty droid.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You whip out your own scope, focusing in on where Mando was watching. Sure enough, you spot an IG unit bounty droid making its way up to the group of nikto lingering outside.

“Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild Protocol Waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset.”

You roll your eyes as the shooting starts. Droids had to have figured out by now it was never that easy. If it was, anyone with a blaster could join the guild.

The droid has a handle on the gunfight, but you groan as you watch the compound go into lockdown, all the blast doors slam shut before the last shot is fired.

“Droids.” Mando snaps as he stands, one hand clenched around the hilt of a blaster.

You jump up, following behind him. Again, with the acting first, thinking second.

As you approach the encampment Mando jerks his head up, “you take the topside.”

“Gladly.”

You scramble up the side of the building with relative ease, there are plenty of odd pipes and vents that make convenient grips as you haul yourself and up over the lip of the roof. When the droid had ruined any chance at a surprise attack, you’d lost sight of the two guards on the roof. You keep your rifle aimed in their last known direction as you settle onto your stomach, ready to cover Mando as needed.

“Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild Protocol Waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset,” the droid repeats.

Maker they really have no learning curve.

“IG unit! Stand down!”

The bounty droid has split second reaction times, shooting at what you can safely assume is Mando when he groans from somewhere down below and out of view. “We’re in the Guild!”

“So I suggest you stand down before you take a bolt to the brains, droid.”

Your quip draws the droid’s attention to your vantage point on the roof.

“You are Guild members? I thought I was the only one on assignment.”

“That makes two of us,” Mando grumbles. “So much for the element of surprise.”

That was a kriffing understatement.

“Sadly, I must ask for your fob. I have already issued the writ of seizure. The bounty is mine.”

“Unless I’m mistaken, you are, as of yet, empty-handed.”

“This is true.”

You have to restrain your eye rolling to keep monitoring the roofline.

“I have a suggestion.”

“Proceed.”

“We split the reward.”

How many people was he going to offer to share your credits with? This was beginning to get out of hand.

“This is acceptable.”

Well considering how much Mando hated droid he at least knew how to manage them considerably well.

“Great. Now let’s regroup, out of harm’s way, and form a plan.”

You were sorely doubting that the droid was capable of forming a decent plan or following whatever you and Mando came up with, but it was worth a shot considering the situation had become even more fucked thanks to him.

“I will of course receive the reputation merits associated with the mission.”

“Is this really the time?” You shout down at the pair.

Mando seems to have the same idea, “can we talk about this later?”

“I require an answer if I am to proceed-”

An orange head pops into view on the roof across from you, “we’ve got company!”

The nikto takes a shot at the droid, “oh, no. Alert. Alert. Alert.”

Whole lot of help this one was. You land a headshot just as the doors of the compound slide open, more soldiers swarming out, blasters drawn.

“Let’s go!” Mando dives for cover and the droid follows after.

Your spot affords you a decent line of sight into the courtyard but there’s more of them then you thought there would be out in the middle of nowhere guarding who knows what you were after. It takes you picking off three of them before they realize you’re shooting at them from above. There’s a flurry of shouting and pointing in your direction and Mando makes a run for the main set of blast doors at the back of the courtyard. You were going to have friends on the roof soon. Lucky you.

Rolling back you jump to your feet, taking a couple pot shots into the courtyard as you make for the far end of the roof. The droid is a decent shot, covering Mando’s mad dash while you focus on the nikto popping up across the roof. One hauls himself over the edge to your left, making a swipe at yours leg with his blaster. The loud crunch of your boot to his skull cuts through the blaster fire around you as the body falls into courtyard. Gross. Two more appear out of thin air, their shots barely missing your head. Losing your blaster you duck and roll, knocking both over as you draw a viroblade from your thigh holster. Neither have time to react before you’re on them, each taking one clean slice to the neck.

Mando and the IG unit have made it to the main door as you duck behind some ventilation equipment at the northwest corner of the building. You appear to have control of the roof for now, but you can see the soldiers in the courtyard beginning to regroup. They have Mando and the bounty droid pinned. Shit. You can hear Mando’s modulated shouts from below but you can’t quite make out what he’s going on about. Hopefully he’s chewing out the dumbass droid who go you into this mess.

The IG unit steps out again, laying out a spread of blaster fire that doesn’t seem to do much. The nikto have plenty of coverage behind debris and the series of pillars lining the courtyard. Their numbers also seem to be steadily growing. Just how many of them were set up out here? Who needed this many bodyguards? It was nearly a small army. The IG unit cannot keep up with the incoming blaster fire, even with your help from above.

Your stomach drops as you catch sight of another incoming nikto on a hover blaster at the encampment entrance. You were all fucked. All you can do is hope Mando’s found good cover down there as you drop to your stomach, bracing behind the ventilation unit. The nikto lets it rip, covering the area with a spray of bolts. Most sound like they’re striking below you, focused on where you assume Mando and the droid are hiding.

Then as suddenly as it started the gun stops. Poking your head out you watch as the nikto is flung backwards and Mando yanks the blaster to him. You thank the Maker for whatever good fortune he earned for that to work. It takes only moments for Mando to swing the blaster around and mow down the rest of the small army.

“Well done,” the IG unit cuts through the eerie silence following the blaster fire. “I will disengage self-destruct initiative.”

“Wait, you guys can self-destruct?” Seemed a bit counterintuitive.

Mando’s visor snaps to where you’re hanging over the edge of the roof, looking for a spot to climb down. He wordlessly offers you a hand and you toss your pack and blaster down to him. Its not too high up so you simply ease over the edge and drop to the ground, ignoring the harsh jolt to your knees.

“Manufactures protocol dictates I cannot be captured; thus I have a self-destruct initiative.”

So the droid could have killed you all if had deemed the situation too risky. Great. You’re glad you hadn’t been aware of that during the shootout.

Mando helps the droid back to its feet. “You know, you’re not so bad. For a droid.”

Had hell frozen over? Mando was as droid adverse as they got, and now he was complimenting one? The universe must be ending.

“Agreed.”

“That blaster hit looks nasty. You okay?”

“Running a quick diagnostic… it has missed my central wiring harness.”

“Is that good?”

“Yes.”

Mando glances back to you, “good?”

“Never better,” you grin. This could have gone significantly worse, so you had no room to complain at the moment.

“Well, now we just need to get the door open.”

The way Mando’s helmet whips back to the large blaster makes you groan. There were easier, less messy ways to go about things. You don’t attempt to talk the hunter out of it, he most likely wouldn’t listen to you anyways. It almost looks like he has fun shooting out the blast door until in collapses inwards.

You all take tentative steps inside the compound. One head appears around a far corner to the right. Mando’s quick draw has him downed before anyone blinks. “Anyone else?”

As if any survivors were going to offer themselves up to be shot.

“I’ll clear the west side,” you offer and Mando nods before heading off with the bounty droid in the opposite direction.

An unnerving silence settles over you as you stalk down the halls of the mysterious compound. The small army camped here had been prepared and well supplied. There are crates upon crates of food stuffs, weapons and ammunition. Some places are nearly packed floor to ceiling with it. What exactly was going on out here? How did they get all this out here in the middle of nowhere?

You worry your necklace pendant with one hand, an unconscious gesture you have yet to train yourself out of. Something was not right about this job, or at least more than normal. Over the years your own morals had morphed to accommodate your line of work. You worked for the guild and were often paid by unsavory individuals, but that was what you did to survive, and you refused to let that get to you. This however was picking at an old wound, long forgotten.

Another shot echoes through the compound and you find yourself racing back towards Mando and the droid, blaster held at the ready. Swinging around a corner you find Mando standing over a small floating pod, the bounty droid smoking out of its “head” on the floor. Maybe he didn’t want to split the bounty after all.

“Mando?” Your voice seems to cut through whatever trance the hunter was under, head snapping back towards you. “What happened?”

His shoulders drop, the tension seeming to fall away at your appearance. “He was going to kill the bounty.”

“I thought you said the client specified they wanted it alive if at all possible.”

Mando nods, “they did say that.”

That gnawing sense of dreads returns. Stepping up next to Mando you glance down into the pod-which appears to be functioning as some kind of traveling pram-and are greeted with wide dark eyes and pointy green ears.

Oh Maker no…

[mentalmars]

Gearbox bringing the Mayhem back with Mayhem Mode 2.0

Mayhem Mode Once you complete Borderlands 3’s main story campaign, you can activate Mayhem Mode. By activating the terminal on Sanctuary III, you can adjust the difficulty level and with that increase the loot. However, not everything about Mayhem Mode was received with open arms. Random modifiers that destroy character builds wasn’t the way to go. Therefore that Gearbox Software is working on a new version of Mayhem Mode. This 2.0 version needs to bring the challenge while being fun and rewarding. Mayhem Mode 2.0 The revised Mayhem Mode is scheduled to go live in March. It will get UI support which means you’ll be able to change your Mayhem level via your ECHO device rather than needing to return to the console aboard Sanctuary III. There also will be new Mayhem Modifiers that change gameplay more dramatically, Mayhem playlists, new rewards, and additional levels of Mayhem to work through. During the Borderlands Show, it was mentioned that they will focus on buffs only instead of nerfing your character. Additional Mayhem Levels Mayhem Mode 2.0 will add 10 Mayhem Levels to the game. You can get better loot in each additional Mayhem level to help you on your way during the next difficulty tier. Mayhem Weapons Loot that drops in Mayhem Mode 2.0 will receive a small damage increase depending on the Mayhem level. You can compare it to the OverPower (OP) levels from Borderlands 2. You can get a max level weapon with for example a Mayhem “5” buff on it. This boost should make the weapon viable on Mayhem 5 and get you started on Mayhem 6. Currently, some weapons lack the damage output to be useful at the higher Mayhem settings. These Mayhem Weapons will get you back into that loot grind for the perfect item. Mayhem Weapons was mentioned in an article on Gamer.nl, therefore, I followed up with Austin from Gearbox for more information. Mayhem Modifiers Mayhem Mode 2.0 will introduce 25 new modifiers into the game. These will dramatically change up the gameplay. Big Head Mode: This modifier makes everyone’s heads noticeably larger. It increasing the overall size of the headshot hitbox for both your enemies and your own Vault Hunter. The Floor is Lava: This modifier will keep you on the move. Because if you stand still a lava pool will start to appear underneath your feet. Personally, I would love to see a “Torgue Fiesta”, enemies explode on death. Or a “Paintball Mode”, where bulletholes are replaced with colorful ink splatters (weapons deal less damage, loot is increased). Maybe they can do some cool things by adjusting the gravity.  – MentalMars

Continue reading on https://mentalmars.com/game-news/gearbox-bringing-the-mayhem-back-with-mayhem-mode-2-0/

[unifiedsocialblog]

How to Spot a Fake LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn, the powerful networking platform for business professionals, has exploded in growth over the past few years. However, with its rapid expansion, LinkedIn – like all other social media platforms – has experienced the growing problem with fake profiles.

In too many cases, the scammer has pieced together information from other profiles along with a good-looking photo, in an attempt to make the request look legitimate. But connecting with a fake LinkedIn profile can give scammers access to important and powerful information about you, such as details about your history, company and professional contacts.

That information can be used to craft detailed and believable phishing and other scams. Because of this threat, it’s best to know how to spot fake LinkedIn profiles and to make sure you don’t connect with them. Note: much of this can be translated to other social profiles such as Facebook.

Fake LinkedIn profiles are often believable because at least one of your genuine network connections has accepted the invitation to connect with the fake profile.

Nine Indicators on How to Spot a Fake LinkedIn Profile

Having said that, here are nine red flags that the profile you’re looking at or being asked to connect with many not be real.

1. Fake Photos

All too often fake profiles are accompanied by ridiculously good-looking model-quality photos. Often, scammers will use the photo of a lesser-known actor or actress or a picture of well know public figure. Other scammers use photos of real people, but not the “person” in the profile and sometimes create multiple fake LinkedIn profiles utilizing the same picture.

If you’re suspicious or not sure about a photo, there’s an easy way to check its authenticity. Simply do a reverse image search using TinEye, Bing or Google’s Reverse Image Search. These search engines will show you where else the image has been used online.

Here’s a great example of a fake photo: “Alex Flood” lives in the United Kingdom and is a Travel Writer and Photographer. Previously, he was a “Marketing Recruitment Consultant” (a fairly vague job description), but the tip-off is his photo:

Alex’s photo is actually that of a model. A quick search on TinEye shows where the scammer got his profile pic:

Images of celebrities are also a good giveaway, as are images of women in suggestive looking poses. A dead ringer for a fake profile is one where the image is of a woman but the profile has a man’s name, or vice versa.

 – Melonie Dodaro

2. Incomplete Profile

One common denominator of fake LinkedIn accounts is the lack of any real information about the individual. If there is information, it is often in the form of mostly generic statements that lack any specificity in the summary and experience sections.

Genuine profiles of real people typically include a mixture of personal details such as causes, volunteering, hobbies, education, recommendations and the use of the first person when writing the Summary or Experience sections. Many fake profiles don’t bother to add personal information but keep their “profiles” at a bare-bones with minimum information.

In addition, generic job titles can also be a tip-off. If you get a suspicious request from someone with the simple job title of “Manager,” that should trip your Spidey senses to investigate further.

3. Limited Connections (often under 100)

A genuine profile will have a good mix of people and profiles among its connections so if you find a profile with either all the same or all opposite gender people with fake looking profile pictures, steer clear.

Checking out mutual friends from a connection request is another helpful tool in checking the validity of a LinkedIn profile. Some of today’s fake profiles look so real that even the smartest of social media users may be fooled.

Fake profiles can have several hundred connections already as well as a handful of Skill Endorsements. They also usually belong to several groups and follow a couple of companies and influencers.

 – Melonie Dodaro

4. Fake Name

The name used will often be generic in nature or that of a very famous and attractive person, like that of an actor, actress or television personality. Some more clever hackers will use the name of a more obscure actor or actress that wouldn’t be as known to most of those on LinkedIn.

5. Poor Spelling & Grammar

In many fake profiles, there are some clear presentation errors, such as misspellings and poor grammar. Often, the first name is displayed in all capital letters or all lowercase letters, which is not a protocol for presenting your name on a professional network. Also, odd spellings of common names, colloquial spellings of company names in the work history, or other typos in the profile should be a red flag.

6. Suspicious Work History

Not everybody who receives an education from a prestigious university gets a great job. But if a profile lists that type of education, yet the work history is that of someone with more of a “menial” job, it should at least make you think twice about the profile and whether to connect with that person. If the trajectory of work experience seems odd or off, it probably is.

Also, a growing number of fake LinkedIn profiles are related to recruiters, as that service appears to be a plausible reason to connect with someone you don’t know. Check other work experience and facets or – better yet – look for their current employer elsewhere online and see if the person with the suspect profile does, in fact, work there.

7. Suspect Connection Requests

If you get a request from Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Richard Branson or someone else who isn’t likely to send you a LinkedIn request, I can assure you it’s not them, but a scammer.

Less obvious are those have figured out how to pose as authentic, boring, cubicle-office dwellers.

According to USA Today, last fall hackers stole and posted over three terabytes of files from a music video in a breach that began with a single phishing attack through LinkedIn. The group OurMine claimed responsibility.

You should always spend a moment investigating before you click accept.

8. Lack of Engagement

Social media is designed to foster two-way conversation so those accounts that do not interact with others are often phony. One tipoff is accounts that feature very little in the way of updates and content and lack any real conversations or engagement with other community members.

Another common sign of a fake account is one that does not tend to have anyone following the account back.

9. Pitches for Great Business Opportunities or Jobs

While job hunters use LinkedIn to connect with former colleagues and potential employers, scammers also use the service to find targets. So, as a LinkedIn user, also be on the lookout for suspicious “recruiters” and job offers.

According to the Better Business Bureau, the scam often begins when you get a LinkedIn message asking you to apply for a job. The message comes from someone who appears to be a recruiter and their LinkedIn profile looks real. You may even have several connections in common.

From here, the scam has a couple of variations. Sometimes, the message contains a link that appears to point to an online job application. You are supposed to upload your resume and may be asked to provide personal information – which can range from your address to Social Security/Social Insurance Number. Other times, you respond to the message and are “hired” for the job. Then, you are asked to pay upfront for training and/or others expenses.

No matter how the scam unfolds, the job never materializes. The scammer simply takes the money or information and disappears and those who share any personal information run the risk of being victimized by identity theft.

What I Look for Before Accepting a LinkedIn Connection Request

Here’s some of the checks I have in place when deciding whether or not to accept a connection request.

Your profile includes a headshot and not a stock image or logo.

Your headline is professional.

Your profile, especially your headline is free of typos.

You have at least 500+ connections. More than anything this tells me you didn’t just throw up a fake account this past week.

You have a completed summary section sharing a little about who you are.

Your profile is relatively complete.

You’ve engaged with one my posts or with me on another social network.

You are not promoting yourself as a LION. Read: Why I Don’t Connect with LIONs on LinkedIn.

Your profile is free of suspicious inconsistencies.

When You Come Across a Fake LinkedIn Profile…

If and when you do come across a fake profile, you can also report it to LinkedIn. Click Report / Block to file the report and the reason, and help keep LinkedIn as a safe networking platform for you and your connections.

Conclusion

It’s unrealistic for business professionals to keep a closed profile when social media is a resource for finding potential prospects and new connections. You just need to be careful and filter through the types of people you want to connect to.

But by using common sense and utilizing the suggestions make here in How to Spot a Fake LinkedIn Profile, you’ll be well equipped to avoid scammers and phishing schemes that seek to rob you of your identity and professional contacts.

As you learn how to spot a fake LinkedIn profile and report it, you’ll not only avoid the pitfalls of connecting with the wrong people, but you’ll also help the LinkedIn community and your fellow business professionals keep the site safer for everyone and a place where your business can thrive.

If you would like help with LinkedIn strategies for your business, click here to schedule a time to chat about your goals and how we can help you achieve them.

The post How to Spot a Fake LinkedIn Profile appeared first on Top Dog Social Media.

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[teritcrawfordca]

How to Use LinkedIn to Grow Your Small Business

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET.  This is excerpted from my recent interview with BrynneTillman – How to Use LinkedIn to Grow Your Small Business. She is an Amazon bestselling author of The LinkedIn Sales Playbook: a Tactical Guide to Social Selling has helped tens of thousands of sales professionals leverage LinkedIn for business development. As a career sales professional herself, Brynne bridges the gap between traditional sales, networking and social media…For more info log on to her website:  http://www.socialsaleslink.com

 SMALLBIZLADY:  Brynne, I understand that this is your 3rd book – what is different about this one? http://LinkedinBook.info

Brynne Tillman: The LinkedIn Sales Playbook – a tactical guide – it is what to do and what to say on a daily basis.  It also comes with 11 videos to guide the reader through profile building, prospecting and thought leadership.  This book is as granular as you can get when it comes to the steps needed to leverage LinkedIn for growing your business. It has every step-by-step you need to do on a daily and weekly basis, all the messaging templates needed and recommended cadence of workflow.

SmallBizLady: You mention the profile, what do you recommend people do to make their LinkedIn profile pop?

Brynne Tillman: First you want to look at your profile from your buyer’s perspective. Make sure you are a resource not a resume.  Provide value to your reader, make them interested and curious to want to learn more about how you can help them.  All they care about is how you can help them. And, most importantly, lead to your solution not with your solution.

SmallBizLady: What are some ways entrepreneurs can provide value to their LinkedIn connections from their profile?

Brynne Tillman: Draw them in with a branded banner, great headshot and a headline that is your value proposition not title.  Talk about your buyers’ challenges, offer vendor agnostic insights that matter to your buyer and a CTA.  A CTA can be an invitation to download powerful content or a request for a phone call.  Include case studies and client success stories to your summary and experience sections.

SmallBizLady: Most people aren’t using LinkedIn for prospecting, why do you see it as the #1 sales tool?

Brynne Tillman:  8 out of 10 people that you hand your business card to will look you up on LinkedIn before they get to your website.  First of all it is the largest database of professionals in the world, with insights around title, company etc.  Next, you are able to identify who in your network can connect you with buyers and stakeholders.  You can quickly identify and gain access to all the stakeholders makers inside of your targeted accounts.

SmallBizLady: Once these people connect with you on LinkedIn what should you do?

Brynne Tillman: Start a conversation, offer value and begin to build rapport – just like the real world.  Send welcome messages and personalize them. Learn about your connection before engaging.

SmallBizLady: You said to customize messaging, but it is time consuming to start a new note every time, any suggestions?

Brynne Tillman: Write the templates w/fill in the blank and save them. I use Chrome ext AutoTextLink.com – game changer.  Sending LinkedIn connection invite w/o a note is like walking up to someone, handing them your card & walking away. Customizing a note when connecting is foundational to successful social selling. Let them know how you found them, why you thought it makes sense to connect and even offer them value through content. Send a welcome message once they connect helps move the conversation forward, leads to converting to a phone call.

 SmallBizLady: What other LinkedIn features do you teach about in your book http://Linkedinbook.info?

Brynne Tillman: To engage with people who viewed your profile. Look at it as caller ID – if you’d call back, than connect.  The LinkedIn Sales Playbook covers how to use and combine Twitter and LinkedIn to attract, teach and engage your targeted audience.  And, peek into Sales Navigator by using this premium feature in ways that transform your sales efforts.

SmallBizLady: Your book talks about curating and sharing content – how would you recommend people do this?

Brynne Tillman: Start with the right tools. I use Feedly.com to save content and Hootlet.com to schedule & share.  Next find good content – and when you do save it to Feedly or schedule it right from Chrome.  Make sure you are sharing content that your buyers care about and don’t water it down with noise.  LinkedIn is different than twitter – unless you have original content keep shares to 3 times a day.

SmallBizLady: You said original content, I know LinkedIn has their own blogging platform, why should people use it?

Brynne Tillman:  First, LinkedIn is the 5th most indexed site by Google, your LinkedIn blog posts will be found in searches.  LinkedIn blog posts tend to get more traffic than those that are on website blogs.  You can repurpose blogs as well – if you have older content, freshen it up and publish it on LinkedIn.

SmallBizLady: How can entrepreneurs find the right people on LinkedIn?

Brynne Tillman:  On free version they have to build out search strings to find the targeted buyers http://bit.ly/2obyRdH.  A search string can look like: (Sales OR Marketing) AND (“Vice President OR Director).  You can then filter down on the right to shared connections, company name, location etc.  This will deliver a list of targeted buyers that fit the criteria you are looking for.

SmallBizLady: Should people pay for Sales Navigator?

Brynne Tillman: Sales Navigator is like a gym membership – many pay and don’t show up, and that won’t work.  If you do show up a few times a week to Sales Navigator with a plan in place – you will get in shape.  I think LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator is one of the most powerful tools available to hunters and farmers.  You can save leads and customize your newsfeed, so engaging with the right people is easy.  You can search your connection’s connections and ask for warm introductions to targeted buyers.  And, you can tag and take notes on prospects and clients for better organization.

SmallBizLady: Tell us about your book and why it will be helpful to entrepreneurs and sales professionals?

Brynne Tillman: The LinkedIn Sales Playbook: A Tactical Guide to Social Selling is what to do and what to say daily.  It comes with 11 videos that guide takes people through the strategy and navigation.  You will be successful if you follow the simple steps.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9 pm ET; follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter.

Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/1hZeIlz

The post How to Use LinkedIn to Grow Your Small Business appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss.

from Teri Crawford Business Tips http://succeedasyourownboss.com/use-linkedin-grow-small-business/