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newmusickarl · 1 year

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5-9’s Album of the Month Podcast – Episode 3 Out Now, Episode 4 Coming Soon!

Just a reminder that the latest episode of the 5-9 Album of the Month Podcast is now available, reviewing some of the best albums we heard in March. As ever I take a seat alongside 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt and Check This Out’s Kiley Larsen to review five high profile album releases from the past month in music, and ultimately name one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion. With some divided opinions between us, which one reigned supreme?

Then for our April review episode dropping in early May, the five albums we will be discussing are:

Language by Circles Around The Sun

Fuse by Everything But The Girl

72 Seasons by Metallica

First Two Pages of Frankenstein by The National

Garden Party by Rose City Band (Poll winner!)

If you want to listen to the latest episode simply click the link below, but also be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram and Twitter for more news and polls relating to the podcast, along with other great content like film reviews, sports articles and more.

Listen to the March 2023 episode here

Album & EP Recommendations

A Kiss For The Whole World by Enter Shikari

I feel like I say this every time Enter Shikari bring out a new record, but they really are one of a kind. When they first released their incredible debut Take To The Skies back in 2007, the euphoric collision of trance and metal was unlike anything I had ever heard. As a teenager at the time that record was everything and whilst many (including shamefully myself initially) wrote them off as surely being a flash in the pan, the St Albans quartet have just gone from strength to strength.

Across six brilliant albums, their rave/metal fusion has since evolved to include more elements of grime, pop and punk, whilst their lyrical messages both social and political have also grown in scope alongside their sonic ambitions. Their musical journey has been nothing short of a triumph and album number seven feels like them taking stock of just how far they’ve come.

When we last heard from the Shikari boys, it was at the height of lockdown when they were found revelling in the abyss on their most ambitious outing to date - Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible. Now with A Kiss For The Whole World, it’s like the band have re-emerged from those depths, this time filled with hope, positivity and gratitude. There’s a sense of optimism in the songs here, with the band also referencing their previous work multiple times (“You’re still standing like a statue” on the title track, “Wish I was back at the Dreamer’s Hotel” on Jailbreak and “I went to live outside to find myself” on Giant Pacific Octopus to name just a few easter eggs).

It presents an interesting dynamic at the heart of the record, almost like the band know how dire the world is right now, but on the flip side they are just so grateful for their fans and the career that they’ve been able to have until now. With these contrasting emotions driving forward the writing, it all makes for a thrilling 30-minute listen that’s impactful yet joyous, and also plays out like a love letter to their fans.

The kitchen sink of ideas thrown at Nothing Is True… has also been refined a bit more this time too, with this album seamlessly flowing from one track to the next. As ever with Shikari, the singles for the record sound better in the context of the whole, as electronically-charged thumper (Pls) Set Me On Fire and motivational anthem It Hurts both hit much harder now. Leap Into the Lightning is then a dubstep-induced message of encouragement to make bold choices, whilst Dead Wood is a string-tinged adaptation of Pinocchio, with Shikari seemingly getting in on the Hollywood trend of revisiting that story but of course doing it in their own unique way.

If Dead Wood is their Pinocchio then Jailbreak is their Papillion, as the band repeat their mantra “I hope I keep hope intact” during the euphoric outro. It’s already one of my favourite Shikari songs and it leads seamlessly into Prodigy-inspired banger Bloodshot. As great as the main part of that song is, the Coda for the track that follows may be one of the most beautiful arrangements the band have ever put to record – an utterly stunning orchestral composition that successfully brings out all the goosebumps. It all then gets brought to a rousing climax with the poignant closing two-parter Giant Pacific Octopus, where frontman Rou Reynolds questions “I don’t know you anymore - or maybe I never did?”

When I get asked what Enter Shikari’s best album is or am asked for suggestions on where someone should start with their catalogue, I always struggle to find an answer. The reality is each new album is always as good as the last one, with the band yet to deliver a misfire across their 15+ years doing this - even when their batshit crazy, genre-bending sound is almost tailor made to serve up a misstep or two. With each new release and each new triumph my respect and admiration for the band only grows stronger and it seems with A Kiss For The Whole World, the feeling is mutual. One of Britain’s most underrated bands and I really hope they finally get their first number one album later today – fingers crossed!

Listen here

MTV Unplugged (Live) by Twenty One Pilots

Whilst not for everyone, I’ll be the first to admit I love these MTV Unplugged sessions. From Nirvana serving up an all-time classic live album with theirs back in the mid-90s, to incredible recent releases from some of my own favourites like Placebo and Tash Sultana, these sessions have given us some great music over the years. So when I saw that mainstream superstars Twenty One Pilots had released their own MTV Unplugged live album, I was naturally intrigued as to what they might do with the concept.

As opposed to simply taking the easy route and busting out a few acoustic versions for fans, the duo of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun instead use the Unplugged concept to present their live show in an interesting new format. Rather than just using a pre-recorded track as they would normally, the pair use hands-free looping and sampling to build their songs out in front of the crowd in real time – even using the audience themselves at points as their instruments. Not only that, but the arrangements of their biggest hits have been reworked, some mashed up together whilst others simply remixed into a new alternate version.

Altogether it makes for a fascinating 30-minute listen, with the duo using the audience members as their drum kit on a cool mashup of Ride / Nico And The Niners, whilst also elsewhere serving up awesome live versions of Shy Away and Stressed Out. However, the pair save the best moment for last, combining two of their best songs in Car Radio and Heathens into a spectacular grand finale.

Listen here

Exotico by Temples

If you are looking for a summer indie rock record bursting with catchy melodies, glistening guitar solos and trippy instrumentals, then look no further. English Psych-rockers Temples recently returned with their dazzling new album, Exotico, which is just a whole heap of fun.

Drawing shades to the likes of Tame Impala, MGMT and Life Is Yours-era Foals but with that vintage 70s psychedelic sound, this is Temples at their bold, cinematic best. Single Gamma Rays already feels like it could be one of the songs of the summer, whilst the title track plays out like the soundtrack to a futuristic Western. The first third of the record really is all killer and no filler, with early favourite Oval Stones boasting the catchiest orient-inspired groove.

Of course, at 16 tracks and pretty much an hour in length, the less patient few may find listening to Exotico front to back in one sitting a bit of a challenge, especially within the current trend of shorter 30–40-minute albums. However, Temples do reward those who stay the course, with the hypnotic synths of Giallo, the mesmerising tropical guitars of Inner Space and the paranormal sonic vortex that is penultimate track Afterlife, just some of the delights in the latter half of the record.

I’m already finding a lot to enjoy in this new Temples record, and I can’t wait to return to it on those hazy summer days that are (hopefully UK weather!) coming up.

Listen here

Forever Means EP by Angel Olsen

And on the shortplay front, American singer-songwriter Angel Olsen recently returned with a spellbinding new four track, 15-minute listen. Opener Nothing’s Free is my personal highlight, a haunting ballad centred around Olsen’s soft vocals with a light jazz-blues inspired arrangement. Once those horns arrive towards the back-end, you’re sure to be swept away.

The title track also leaves a big impression, featuring a simple guitar backing and Olsen’s aching falsetto vocals with some slight shades to the late, great Jeff Buckley. The folksy Time Bandits is equally gorgeous, before Holding On offers up the fist-pump-the-air, triumphantly defiant finale, full of big rock guitars as Olsen heartbreakingly sings “Couldn’t see the light you brought to me, now you’re gone and I can see.” An excellent EP that continues Olsen’s typically fantastic recent output.

Listen here

Garden Party by Rose City Band

“There’s no better way to describe Rose City Band, and this new record especially, as the tightest, most enjoyable first set the Grateful Dead would perform in the late-70s - one in which we’re treated to the best freeform guitar interplay that’s still reigned in before the sun sets on a second set full of surprises. “Porch Boogie” invites the dirt churners to groove as Paul Hasenburg’s keys work (phenomenal throughout the album) fills the gaps of Johnson’s psychedelic solos.

As much as Earth Trip fit the times in which it was crafted, Garden Party returns to the carefree picnic days of Summerlong and builds upon that feeling for their best record. Letting the Rose City Band catalog breathe on the road has opened the door to the complete capabilities of Johnson’s vision for the project, and his supporting cast is absolutely locked in right now.”

Read Kiley Larsen’s full review here

Listen here

Also worth checking out: 72 Seasons by Metallica, Fuse by Everything But The Girl, Plus Ultra by Chappaqua Wrestling, Multitudes by Feist, Intellectual Property by Waterparks, Big Picture by Fenne Lily, Stay Teenage EP by Billy Tibbals

Tracks of the Week

Couldn’t Make It Up by Ben Howard

Two years since his last release Collections From The Whiteout, singer-songwriter Ben Howard has announced his new album Is It? will be released fairly imminently this coming June. With Ben you never really know what to expect from his albums other than they are usually a fascinating listen, but he’s given us a bit of insight to the album’s possible direction with this jangly summer number that will serve as the album’s opening track.

Listen here

A Child’s Question, August by PJ Harvey

Also announcing a new album this week is the legendary Polly Jean Harvey, whose tenth album will be coming this July and is titled I Inside the Old Year Dying. Interestingly it will also be her first independent release since 1992, having recently signed with Partisan Records. In her own words, “the album is about searching, looking – the intensity of first love, and seeking meaning.” The first taste is A Child’s Question, August, a typically stirring folk track led by ritual-like drumming and Polly’s choral voice.

Listen here

The Score by Grian Chatten

The Fontaines D.C. frontman also made a splash this week, releasing his debut solo single - The Score. There’s no official word on a full length yet, but this first taste of what Chatten’s solo material could deliver is mighty intriguing, a sunkissed and string-tinged acoustic number written on a lustful night in Madrid.

Listen here

Mermaids by Florence & The Machine

Last Friday, Florence quite unceremoniously reissued her acclaimed 2022 album Dance Fever, this time titled The Complete Edition and featuring a couple of reworked versions and a few new tracks. One of these new tracks is Mermaids and it is already one of my favourite Florence & The Machine tracks. Powered by rumbling horns, exquisitely written lyrics and an anthemic refrain of “Cheerful Oblivion”, it’s a phenomenal track that I can’t quite believe didn’t make the original album cut.

Listen here

This Is A Photograph II by Kevin Morby

One of my Top 20 Albums of 2022, Kevin Morby’s This Is A Photograph was an incredible project, autobiographical and reminiscent whilst also sonically invigorating. Now, the Texan singer-songwriter is releasing a new companion project to that record, titled More Photographs (A Continuum). The album will feature reworkings as well as completely new songs, with this first taste a sort of a mix of the two – a funky and cinematic sequel to the original album’s brilliant title track.

Listen here

Love Make A Fool (Orchestral Version) by James

Mancunian indie legends James have begun their much-anticipated new tour this week, where they will be joined by a full orchestra and gospel choir on all dates. Alongside the tour their new orchestrated record Be Opened By The Wonderful is due out in early June, celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary. Although it will predominantly feature reworked versions of their greatest hits, there is also this new gorgeous new track, Love Make A Fool. Wonderfully arranged with poignant lyrics, it serves as a welcome reminder as to just how James have managed to still endure after all this time.

Listen here

Double Fantasy by The Weeknd featuring Future

It won’t be long now until The Weeknd’s HBO show The Idol hits our screens, due to premiere this June. Naturally I’m expecting the show to have a killer soundtrack, and this atmospheric, neon-soaked collaboration with Future is a good indicator that my expectations are correct.

Listen here

Mother by George FitzGerald & SYML

Hot off the back of his brilliant 2022 album Stellar Drifting, electronic musician George FitGerald has announced a new four track EP titled Not As I will be arriving this June. Mother is the first single from the project, a beautifully ambient groove featuring American musician SYML on vocal duties.

Listen here

High Life by Bloc Party

It has become tradition for indie legends Bloc Party to release a standalone single following the release of an album, with gems like Two More Years, Flux and One More Chance gifted to fans over the years. Whilst High Life isn’t quite to that standard, it’s a great upbeat summer tune with a danceable central guitar riff and a catchy chorus.

Listen here

Children by Opus Kink

A band who released my EP of the Year in 2022 with ‘Til The Stream Runs Dry, ska-punk outfit Opus Kink have a new EP on the way in May titled My Eyes Brother! Children is one of three tracks to have been released from the project so far and is my current favourite, a wonderfully maddening sensual barrage of snarling vocals and cacophonous trumpets.

Listen here

The Analyst by pecq

And finally this week, electro indie duo pecq have recently released their latest single from their forthcoming EP, Amnesia’s Ritual, which is due out in early May. Offering unique, entirely self-produced soundscapes, pecq blend ambient electronics, ethereal vocals and field recordings into tracks that are quite special. The Analyst is a perfect example of this, and a good way of introducing you to their dreamy sound.

Listen here

Also worth checking out: Ribs by Rachel Chinouriri, Don’t Let Me Down by Gus Dapperton & BENEE, Rescued by Foo Fighters,The Canary Trainer by Smashing Pumpkins, Jealousy by The Xcerts, Three Drums by Four Tet, Time (is a healer) by Keir, Life Is Yours (Dan Carey Dub) by Foals

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2023 tracks through my Best of 2023 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.

Add the playlist to your library here

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roo-bastmoon · 2 years

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BTS TUTORIAL: MuBeat app

The MuBeat app is used for Music Core Global pre-voting. You can download it for free in the App Store.

Set up your profile and select BTS as the group you champion.

You watch videos or play mini missions to collect “Heart Beats” (which are basically voting tickets), and then you spend those to vote for your favorite artists during various polls and competitions.

From the homepage, click the voting icon on the bottom ribbon (or from store page, click 'vote') to go to the Show! Music Core voting page.

You can watch 30-second ads up to 15 times in one 24-hour period. For every ad you watch all the way through, you get 3 heart beats. Then it resets and you have to wait until the next day.

It’s pretty straight forward once you get the lay of the land. Click on Store or Voting icon. Go to the Get Beats tab. Watch video ads. When it’s finished, click X that says Reward Granted to get out of the ad.

You can also participate in mission ads by clicking on the Mission Ad and then Participate in the Mission.

There are also quizzes, and you can find the answer to those tests each day by follow Mubeat Quiz Answers on Twitter!

NOTE: Your votes sometimes expire after a set amount of time (like 90 days). Some folks like to hold onto their voting tickets until right before the end of a voting period to sweep a victory; others like to spend their max votes every day to secure a good lead. I’m too new at this to understand the best strategy. I literally do whatever the voting accounts on Twitter tell me to do because they've been at it for years.

You can also purchase in-app Star Beats to use in voting, but, I’m too poor to even explore the option.

Additionally, you can watch stage clips from the chart and improve your favorite idol's rank by streaming. Every video that you watch is reflected on all Mubeat Charts.

At the right time, like when Jimin is up for a project or award, you cast your votes for that. It works pretty much the same way on all these voting apps, but it takes a little bit to figure out where to click around and how to do things. Give yourself some time to experiment.

I recommend following these accounts for good advice:

VOTE FOR PJM

BTS ARMY

If you are a visual learner, here are short YouTube tutorials that walk you through what to do.

youtube

Also this one:

youtube

So look, we will have FACE goals around voting apps, too, because Jimin will appear on shows and be ranked accordingly:

But don’t let yourself stress out to the point where you feel overwhelmed. You don’t have to turn on notifications; you don’t have to allow this app to spam your email. Just click through once a day and passively let short ads play on mute... Gather up your beats, and vote for Jimin / BTS when they are up for important awards. I plan to just do this on my lunch break every day.

DISCLAIMER:

I am a Dope Old Person and have been ARMY since January 2022. So I still have a lot to learn.

I’m making mini-tutorials for people like me who are comfy with technology but totally new to voting, streaming, and buying Kpop stuff.

If you know of better, more up-to-date information, please comment or DM me so I can make sure I’m not spreading misinfo. Please be polite about it, though—we are on the same team!

Feel free to apply whatever you learn here to other BTS members and other artists; I’m Jimin-biased so I am focused on helping Jimin at this moment in time, but I’m OT7 so rest assured I’ll put my shoulder to the wheel for all our members!

#BTS_Tutorials #jimin #park jimin #face by jimin #jikook #Mubeat #Youtube

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jessicanomics · 6 months

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tl;dr I have a love-hate relationship with TurboTax.

TurboTax is sleek and auto-imports forms, but be ready to pay. I suggest you try other websites like FreeTaxUSA or Cash App if you want to shop around your tax filing fee.

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A letter to TurboTax and anyone who uses online tax software,

I remember when you were on a CD. Every January during my formative years, my dad would wait until the coupons came out and we ventured to Office Max to buy our annual tax software. We even filled out the mail-in rebate forms, because that's what good taxpayers do. How else were we going to fund the Beanie Baby investment strategy I was pitching?

Fast forward, TurboTax is now a sleek website that tricks you for a moment into thinking taxes may be cool. After asking for an EIN and Document number from your annual tax statements, your 1099-B and 1099-DIV are automatically imported (including all those numbers in a tiny font like 199A Dividends or Foreign Tax Credit.)

Just like TurboTax grew up, your taxes just sprouted 3 more forms, and that's going to cost you in software fees. I'd be curious to run a poll: Did you pay any foreign tax this year? Most folks would be surprised to know that their answer is 'Yes' due to their investments in mutual funds or indexed investments.

All of a sudden, now your easy 1040 tax return needs to claim a foreign tax credit, and you feel like a CD in an Airdrop world.

TurboTax fees are a source of moral dilemma for me every tax season. I've seen returns that had 0.59 cents in foreign taxes trigger an $80 add-on to the TurboTax return fee. Also, I hope you didn't pick up that side hustle to crawl out of poverty; this adds a Schedule C and will cost you. TurboTax charges by type of form, and certain "extra" forms bring you to the next level of pricing. I especially find issue with this when the form is the Retirement Savings Credit, which is a tax credit for low-mid-income people who save for retirement via an IRA or 401k. If you are filing this form, chances are good your finances aren't in great shape. And here comes TurboTax, charging you extra.

I get it, I'm a for-profit corporate accountant. On paper, this is a great revenue strategy because you can advertise that a simple federal return is free. To be fair, if you are someone who has a 1040 and applies for the Earned Income Credit (tax credit for the poorest who have jobs), you can file for free (if you're lucky enough to get past all of TurboTax's tricks to get you to upgrade).

It feels like whack-a-mole trying to click through to file without accidentally upgrading. Every third page TurboTax asks, "ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY MORE?" effectively negging you with the words 'audit defense' while filling out your tax return. As If my palms aren't sweating enough, bring up the idea of an IRS audit and see if I want 'protection'. It feels like I'm hiring TurboTax to be my heavy.

God forbid you make a mistake and upgrade; it's going to be a challenge to go back. TurboTax makes you delete your entire return if you want to downgrade.

So why the letter? Because taxes are intimidating, and you simultaneously make it much easier to complete them with your sleek, well-designed software, but then you add a layer of mind games with the constant pop-ups to upgrade.

What is the solution? TurboTax remains the sleekest tax software out there, but it comes at a high and misleading cost. I recommend trying some other websites to calculate your taxes. It may be an adjustment and take more time to input all of your personal details up front, but you may be saving money in the long run by switching software now.

Hot Tip: do your taxes in TurboTax anyway and see what their fee is. Then, do your taxes again in the second software. You know you're right if the tax due/refund on both is the same. Then you can feel confident filing in the cheaper program.

Further Reading:

This is not tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction. This is a personal opinion only, and not one representative of any other party's opinions.

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cleoselene · 8 months

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Do you, like me, hate the Electoral College? Do you, like me, realize that changing the US Constitution is incredibly difficult as it requires approval of 2/3 of US states? This doesn't mean it's not worth doing, of course, but it's a long-term solution.

A lot of edgelords on the internet get Big Mad when you ask them to do the absolute Bare Minimum: vote. Why they get mad about it, I don't know *cough they're paid by Putin cough*, probably because they're fucking morons, but it's not really worth arguing with them about it. People who are trying to discourage you from voting are not acting in your interest. People who lived before us suffered and died so women and people of color had access to the polls, if for no other reason, we are failing them and the sacrifices they made for us if we fail to use our franchise. And that's just asshole behavior. Don't be an asshole.

Anyway, there is a more immediate solution:

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Compact ensures that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election. The Compact is a state-based approach that preserves the Electoral College, state control of elections, and the power of the states to control how the President is elected. The National Popular Vote bill has been enacted by 17 jurisdictions possessing 205 electoral votes, including 4 small states (DE, HI, RI, VT), 9 medium-sized states (CO, CT, MD, MA, MN, NJ, NM, OR, WA), 3 big states (CA, IL, NY), and the District of Columbia. The bill will take effect when enacted by states with 65 more electoral votes. The bill has passed at least one chamber in 8 additional states with 78 more electoral votes (AR, AZ, ME, MI, NC, NV, OK, VA). A total of 3,705 state legislators from all 50 states have endorsed it.

Click on the site to learn more about it. Also, check out the very informative Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

This is for all the other people in my "please vote" post saying "you aren't doing anything about the broken system." Well, not true. But guess what: doing something about the broken system without violence still requires voting. And please tell me we are still in a place where we don't think violent revolution is the answer, because when you go that route, you are openly saying you are ready to sacrifice sick and disabled people, LIKE ME.

#electoral college #national popular vote compact

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icinch · 1 year

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How to Build an Email List from Nothing and Get 1,000 Subscribers in Just 7 Days

New Post has been published on https://www.cinchhomebiz.com/how-to-build-an-email-list-from-nothing-and-get-1000-subscribers-in-just-7-days/

How to Build an Email List from Nothing and Get 1,000 Subscribers in Just 7 Days

Can you pick a topic, build a list of 1,000 and even promote your first product in just 7 days? Yes! Here’s how…

First of course is to choose your topic or niche. If you want a head start, pick something that will interest your friends – preferably both your friends in real life and your social media friends. Let’s say you’re interested in marketing, and you’ve got some business friends in your hometown as well as more business friends online. This is a good topic choice to hit the ground running.

Next, reach out to those friends you already have a relationship with. Let them know about your new endeavor. In our example case, you might write the following:

Hey George,

Quick question for you: I’m starting a new project where I give out the latest marketing tips for small businesses like yours on how to cheaply get more customers.

Traditional advertising just isn’t cutting it anymore, and we need alternatives that don’t cost a lot and flat out work.

Anyway, thought you might be interested.

I’ll be emailing the latest ‘how-to’ info as I find it.

Want me to include you?

Jill

When they reply back, manually add them to your list. Yes, this takes a little effort, but it’s an excellent way to get started. Go through your phone, email and social media contacts and get as many people as you can this way. Don’t stop until you have a bare minimum of 50. 100 is better.

Next step – create a contest for your new subscribers.

Brainstorm a list of 3 to 5 things you could give to the winner of your contest.

Do a quick poll of your list to see which of those 3 to 5 items they would most like.

Put up a giveaway page and announce it to your list. Use one of the contest sites to make this easy. Your goal is to get them to share it with everyone.

In our example, you might write something like:

Thanks for joining me in my new project!

To kick things off, I’m giving away the book, “How to Get More Customers Than You Need.”

In fact, I’m giving away 5 of them!

And since this email is only going out to 100 people, your odds of winning are pretty darn good.

Here’s what you need to do:

Enter the giveaway by clicking here to leave your email address.

Take the special link you get when you register, and share it with your friends to improve your own odds of winning.

For every friend of yours that joins, you get another entry. Good?

Great! Here’s the link.

Jill

You might be concerned about the cost of the prize(s). You can either give away something you own or have rights to, or you can get a sponsor who gives their products away in exchange for you promoting them to your growing list. Or you can simply buy them yourself.

The point is, don’t let obstacles get in your way. There’s always going to be something – web hosting, web design, copywriting, etc., that tries to throw up a roadblock to slow you down or even stop you in your tracks. Don’t let it. Just keep moving forward and tackle each bump in the road as you get to it.

The main thing is to always stay focused on your objective. In this case, it’s 1,000 subscribers in 7 days, followed by the immediate promotion of your first product. (And don’t sweat this part, either. If you don’t have a product, I have two work-arounds for you coming up.)

Continue to promote your contest. Let other list owners know, let blogs know, let the world know about your contest. If you get one good list owner to tell their list about your contest, that alone can snowball into a thousand subscribers. Remember, those who enter the contest can then promote their own link for more entries, thus further increasing your list size.

The next step is key: Immediately start building rapport and delivering great content to your list. Give them exactly what you promised and a whole lot more. What you send them is of course going to depend on your niche. Just make sure it is info they can use to solve problems and you will do well.

Also inject humor when you can, write like you’re having a conversation with your best friend and enjoy yourself. If you’re having fun creating content, your list is having fun reading or watching it. That’s right – recording videos for your list is a great idea and can work to build rapport far faster than simply sending emails.

Finally it’s time to promote your first product. If you don’t already have a product of your own that fits this list, don’t worry about it. Choose something that your list wants and be an affiliate for that product. If you don’t know what your list wants, take a poll.

And here’s an even better technique than promoting an affiliate product – sell a product you haven’t even created yet. That’s right. Take a poll to find out exactly what they want. Then sell it to them. Let them know if it’s a book or video series or what. Let them know exactly what’s in it for them. Let them know that if you don’t get “x” amount of orders, you won’t make it. And lastly, let them know that because they are preordering before it’s even made, they get special bonuses and / or a special discount. Make it an offer they cannot refuse.

Just think: If you get 50 sales from your new list for $30 each, that’s $1,500 for a product you haven’t even created yet. Your results will vary.

Things to remember:

Your friends want to help you. Sometimes it’s easier to ask strangers for help than it is your friends and family. But the people who know you are the ones who will join your list first and promote your contest first. They get the ball rolling for you because they want to see you succeed.

Don’t hide. Yes, you can email until you’re blue in the face, and you will get results. You can also pick up the phone and call people to let them know about your new endeavor. Guaranteed, those you call will be far more likely to promote your contest and buy your product.

You might even randomly call people from your list just to thank them for joining. They will be blown away. In fact, send out an email to your list telling them you will call them on Skype for a 2 minute chat if they like – just reply with their Skype ID and you’ll call. Even those who don’t answer will be intrigued that you would do something like that. It shows you are a real person who wants to make real connections. And that counts for a lot.

You can also send private messages to people on your list through Facebook and Gmail if they have a Gmail address. Ask what kind of help they might need and what they want to accomplish.

If you want to make more sales of your first product, wait another week or two before promoting to build more trust with your list. Build rapport. Build a relationship. THEN promote your new product or future new product. Sales will likely double the amount you would make by promoting after just the first week.

Continue to build your list. 1,000 subscribers is a good start. Now go for 3,000. You can do it. In fact, it gets easier and easier as you go. Do lots of guest blogging – it’s a great way to list build.

Create a list-building incentive that drives people wild. This will take some brainstorming, but the perfect incentive is one that people would gladly and eagerly pay for with real money. When you figure out what this is for your niche, your list building will skyrocket.

Don’t get lazy. Building a good list quickly takes effort. Building rapport with that list takes even more effort. But in the end it can pay off big. VERY big.

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theperfectandhonestreview · 2 years

Text

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makeste · 3 years

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BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

#bnha 313 #midoriya izuku #lady nagant #bnha meta #deku meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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the-shiftshop · 3 years

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One Touch - Part 1

Inspired by @dark-limbo. Might want to check this blog out!

DISCLAIMER: This story might not focus on character development and plot. The story you’re about to read will solely focus on having fun with writing erotic stories. Nevertheless, this story will be filled with foreplay, intimacy and sex, a lot of sex. If straight forward stories are not your thing, I apologize, but otherwise you want to enjoy reading intimate scenes, then welcome and hop on.

This story, One Touch, will also be interactive in a way where the most votes in the poll below will be followed in the next chapter. Enjoy

TO VOTE FOR THE POLL FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER, CLICK HERE

All I need is one touch. Just one touch to take control of anyone I want. Just one touch to make them do what I ask them to. I’ve been training with this new found power for over a year now, thanks to that Guide to Hypnosis book that I’ve bought for a very good price.

I’ve been hypnotizing my way throughout my sophomore year. My freshman year had not been that great and through making people do what I want, I’ve been getting great scores that made me catch up with my grades. Just one touch, I make my professors alter my grade, or make my homework, or make them think that they’ve been taking care of me and it’s their job to make sure I do great in school. I’ve been getting free coffee in the university café since the start of my sophomore year. Just one touch to make the manager think I’m their special costumer.

So far I have almost done everything that I have always wanted with hypnosis, except one that I have been craving since I’ve learned about hypnosis. No, it’s not about getting famous. It’s not about robbing a bank and getting away with it with hypnosis. It’s not about getting revenge on people who did me wrong.

It’s intimacy.

I may have touched other people’s hands, arms or shoulders, but even my own body is touch deprived. I’ve been wanting someone to touch me, grope me, kiss me, make them do whatever I ask them to. Now with this power, I can finally make anyone have intense intimacy with me. I’ve trained for over a year for this. I can’t let every attempt fail and make them weirded out, or let people know I can hypnotize anyone I want.

So far, I’ve tried this once with my roommate, Robert.

It was our finals in sophomore. Robert is sitting on his bed, studying for our exams. Looking somewhat stressed, groaning while flipping through the pages of the print-outs which he borrowed from me, and then scrolling through his laptop. I should have been studying as well, but there was something I’ve been focusing on other than studying. Still nervous if this will work, my heart beating fast.

To be honest, I’m not really that attracted to Robert. I find him cute, muscular and all, but I have never considered having sex with him, but so far he’s the only one available right now.

“I’m tired!” Robert complained and dropped my print-outs on the floor. This gave me an opportunity not to miss. I quickly grabbed my print-outs from the floor.

“Dude. Told you to take care of my stuff.” I said, standing up.

“Sorry, man. I’m just super stressed with this one. I give up.” He said, lying down.

I handed out my print-outs to him which at first, he ignored. “Robert, just grab this already.”

“Nah! Let me sleep.” He replied.

Not losing hope, I placed a hand on his arm. Just touching his arm made a significant change, which is always a hint that he’s already in trance. As soon as I touched his skin, he took a deep breathe and his breathing went slower, introducing him to a much relaxed state. I grinned, thinking the first step worked.

“Sit back up.” I said, he followed.

“Why not, let me give you a massage on my bed? Stand up and go to my bed, then lie on your chest.”

“Sure. I think I need a massage.” He replied in his usual tone

This is common with people I control. They’ll just follow whatever I ask them as if they have their free will. They still act like themselves, talk and reply in affirmation to whatever I ask them to do.

Robert grabbed his phone and dove to my bed.

He started scrolling through his phone and then stopped for a while to look at me.

“What’chu waiting for?” He asked, smiling at me, excited for his massage.

I moved near beside his hip, my left leg above the bed in a position where I can give him a massage with me beside him. I started massaging his back. That was the time I have been that close to Robert. I have never touched any part of his body, heck even a pat on the back, or a man hug. I have shook his hand when we first men in freshmen year, but that was when I don’t know about hypnosis yet.

“Feeling good already?” I asked him. I knew I have not been properly massaging him, but with just this question, he groaned in pleasure.

“Yeah, man. That feels great.”

I couldn’t wait that long anymore. I moved my hands on his exposed skin once more and he look another deep breath.

“Kiss me.” Just a simple command.

He sat back up and without wasting any second, he pulled me by my head and placed his lips on mine. He was not doing anything else but a smack. I nervously moved a hand to his crotch. He was not hard at all. That was just a smack. I pulled away and he was just staring at me, not saying anything. I moved my hand to his perk nipples and teased them through his shirt.

“How does this feel?” I asked.

“Nothing at all.” He replied.

“Then it’ll start feeling great every second.” I stared in his eyes.

He started to blush. With a pinch, he adjusted himself on my bed, then gave a very soft moan. I placed another hand on his other nipple which drove him moaning hard.

“How does this feel?”

“It feels weird, man, but... They’ve never been this sensitive before...” He ended with another moan. I can see his cock finally bulging through his shorts.

“Let me touch you down there.” I said.

“Anything you want.” He agreed so I moved my right hand to his hard on.

“Horny?”

“So much. You’re so good...” Again, he ended with a moan.

“Why not play with mine too?” I removed my hand from his nipples but kept the other hand on his cock just to give his arms space to touch me too.

“Sure thing...” He was looking away from me but his hand went to my own hard on. “You’re hard too... Damn you’re big.”

“You wanna see?”

“Yeah.”

This time, my heartbeats got so fast that I may faint in no time. I relaxed myself for a while first, but his hand touching my cock is just droving me to a much aroused state.

“Let me see yours too.” I said.

He immediately pulled his cock out his shorts. He grabbed my hand and guided it to his shaft which again made him moan hard. His other hand pulled on my shorts to make my cock peek out.

“This might be too much to ask but...” He trailed off, I stared at him as he look away. He’s obviously super shy right now too. His cheeks are burning red. Still, he brought himself to his own courage. “Can you stroke me more?” He asked.

“If you’ll let me sit above you, I’ll stroke you more.”

He nodded and let his head fall back as I stroke him more. I moved closer to him, sat on his lap as I stroke him with one hand. My other hand pulled his face closer to mine. I stared him in the eye, but he tries to look away in embarrassment.

“No need to be embarrassed here. You’ve been confused about your sexuality ever since you’ve met me. I’m just trying to help you find the true you.”

“The true me...” His face blanked out for a bit as his memories adjust, with his moans still being consistent, then he came back to his senses once more.

“Look at me in the eye.” I commanded, he followed. “Look at my lips. Look at my body.” I followed. “There’s no need to be shy around me. You should even be thankful that I’m helping you release stress.”

“I am... very thankful...” He said in between moans. “Fuck, this feels so good.” He exclaimed, switching his focus from my eyes, lips and my body. “I’m gonna cum... Do it faster.”

“Touch my body.” I said, his hands move into my shirt.

I stroke him harder. Feeling his muscle tense a lot, seeing his views bulge against his skin. Before he release, I gave him one last command.

“You’ve been keeping that in for weeks now. That’s gonna be a huge load.”

“Y-Yeah! Yeah, it will! Oh fuck!” He screamed as he finally blew his load all over our clothes. I watched as a torrent of cum blow all over his chest, face and hair. Some even went into his mouth. After a few seconds, he stopped. Panting, he stared at me. He looks so cute and erotic at the same time. I wanted my release too.

“Come here.” I pulled him close and kiss him deep. He followed suit and let out tongues intertwine. His arms hugging me, our clothes and body sticky with cum. We continued as I grind my own cock against him. It didn’t take long as I was already near my limit just by looking at Robert like this, I came too.

After all of that, I asked him to join me in the shower. I let him clean me, touch my body, then I cleaned him back. In the end, we got dressed and went back to our own businesses.

“Hey.” Robert called. “Thanks for the massage.”

I chuckled. “You’ll be coming back for more after this finals.”

“I will be” He agreed.

And that was the first time I had sex with anymore. Although, there wasn’t any penetration, I’ve been satisfied. Thanks to just one touch.

Finals had ended. Robert and I went separate ways for a while and went to our own families. It will take us 2 or 3 months until we meet again, but that’s not really disappointing.

I’m planning to enjoy the break with any men that I see, take control over them, dominate them or get dominated by them. Make then my own puppets while they think they’re doing everything in their own accord.

Thanks to that first time, I now feel confident, I think I can finally try getting any men naked.

-------------- Thank you everyone stopping by. If the poll does not appear below, click on the link to lead you to the poll website!

https://www.opinionstage.com/theshiftshop/who-should-appear-next

#mind control #One Touch

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skepticbeliever-bookclub · 3 years

Text

Hello again, shippers & readers!

March came in hot for us this year so we thought we'd do a little Spring Cleaning and by that, we mean we went into our very diverse selection on our nominations page and had our members choose the one they've been dying to put in the running again. After a close poll and some very last minute tie breakers, our choice for this week wound up being ready if it happens with you by sarcasticfishes.

This fic is one of those cozy little journeys people write home about when it comes to reading Shane and Ryan falling for one another and it references a very particular quirk of Ryan's that we've only seen grow in sensitivity as the years wear on making this fic and its premise a very timeless classic.

Rating: E

Summary: It’s not a thing. Ryan’s just a little… touch-starved. Intimacy-starved.

Shane passes behind him when he’s sitting at his desk, idly touches Ryan’s shoulder, thumb brushing the curve of his neck — and goosebumps erupt down the length of Ryan’s arms.

Book Club Thoughts

I think [the author] really did something when they set about reminding us that Shane's voice is great for listening to him ramble even before we were beset by meandering commentaries

Other than the incredible softness, I feel like this fic has some sort of a timeless quality

Lying on the floor during the power outage is just so good. The atmosphere there. Vulnerable and soft, and just them. And then wrist touching!

I also really dig just like Ryan knowing what he wants as it gets there. It’s the easy click.

it's such a small thing but i LOVE the formatting of this fic for the voice memos. it's just so immersive and wonderful and is the sorta thing that immediately ensnares me in a fic.

im such a sucker for casual, growing affections that you don't even realise are going to lead to more than just platonic feelings

i adore the vibe of ryan listening to the message 3 times but not actually listening to what shane's saying. it's classic ryan in a way that's both funny and tender. like he's enjoying shane's voice so much he forgets to listen for content

I can't believe this fic is as short as it is, it feels like it contains multitudes, like it's got a whole ass love story packed into such a small and wonderful package

the line in the last recording "I hope it’s something good." i just love because he betrays just the tiniest bit of doubt but he also knows that its going to be great

there’s so much left unsaid here, which i love? we dont see their first kiss! we come into the scene in the middle of it which i think is a great choice and just emphasises how natural this all is for them, how it’s not a huge leap from where they are already

THIS FIC. Is one of my favorites. There is nothing that I love more than a gradual build up of touch.

like, when people just stay together because they feel good n right in the world! And we know that shyan is like that, n it was just really cool to see the author basically expand on that

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

#shyan #shyan fic #skeptic believer #otp: we took an oath #read of the week #touch-starved #sbbbookclub

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confessionsofa-roleplayer · 3 years

Note

I recently returned to tumblr after (x) amount of months of not being here on a new oc of mine. Most of the people I knew are either inactive or have not followed me back on my OC (used to play a semi-popular canon?) and i'm having trouble getting follows/followbacks from strangers in the tags as well. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. My rules page is accessible and not hard to read, same with my about. My graphics are pretty good and i don't overformat. I currently have 45 followers after about a week of my blog being public. however, i get 1, maybe 2 notes if i'm lucky on my calls and promos, but my inbox is empty always and my draft box is too. i'm proactive: i send asks when I see memes on my dash from my mutuals, but sometimes they're just not even answered. im starving for interactions but all my attempts at reaching out go flat. what do i do?

So, once upon a time I worked in the marketing department for a major museum in my area. I took a lot of good things away from that job, but one of the things I remember most clearly is when it came to sending out emails, etc. we were taught to never expect more than 10% of people to open it. Sometimes we'd get as much as 12%, but not often. And of the 10% who actually read what we sent, even less actually took the time to engage with the email by clicking links, or taking polls, or whatever.

I sort of look at roleplaying the same way. Having 45 followers doesn't mean they're all going to engage with you. And when you think about the 10% rule, 2-3 people engaging with your blog out of 45 sounds close to what you're dealing with right now. (And engagement can really feel like pulling teeth when you're an OC - especially in certain fandoms.) I know that feeling well.

So, my immediate response is to tell you to find more people to follow, anon. I know that's not always easy, especially in particular fandoms, but especially when you're just starting out, following more blogs will help you get yourself out there. It's also a good idea to branch out into different areas, if you can. If you're in a fandom, try following blogs in fandoms where a crossover might be easy to pull off. If you're not in a fandom, follow blogs in any fandoms where you think your OC could easily fit. And then make sure you do a little write up for your OC in that fandom, so when those blogs come to check your muse out, they can get a clear idea of how your muse exists in their world.

You've already said you're interacting with the blogs you follow, and that's a good way to get people to notice and pay attention. Do it for OOC as well as IC things. People generally like to talk about themselves and their muses - show them you're interested in things beyond just a thread, and they're likely to feel more comfortable with you. In that regard, you don't have to wait for an OOC meme to come along. Read through someone's bio, and then go into their ask box. Offer them a compliment on some aspect of their muse that you enjoy, and then ask a question or two. Show them you're interested.

I think that's a good way to get started, but can our followers offer the anon any other good ideas for getting more interactions going?

~ Mod MJ ~

#advice #anonymous #answered

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the-headbop-wraith · 4 years

Text

3 _ 40 _ The Land Time Forgot

Part 2

Before the Mystery Skulls could begin officially on their new assignment, they swung by headquarters office and met with security. Temporary passes went to each member, even the Mystery hound. Once the park was shut down fully and the cleaning crews made the final rounds, the crew took one assigned golf cart over to the Land that Time Forgot attraction. Arthur was issued the keys, and he was the one grumbling about coming out to do this gig.

“Just pretend we’ve been called off holiday for an emergency exorcism,” Lewis, once again, tried to appeal for optimism.

Arthur held the staff access open for his crew. The corridor extending within dark and though the emergency lamps buzzed active, only afforded so much light for them to navigate by. They had backpacks with essential supplies loaded up, flashlight torches among the essential gear, but for the time the trope worked with the shoddy light and let their eyes acclimate.

“I’m goin’ through with this, right?” Arthur snapped. “You go, I follow. Let me have my bitchin’ gripes, okay.”

Mystery set a paw on his knee and yipped.

Through the corridor Vivi led the way, with Mystery behind her, and Arthur with Lewis trailing. “We have maps,” she stated, “but we’ll take a patrol and get our orientation.” She swung around and pointed to Arthur. “Make sure walkies are on.”

Arthur placed a hand on his chest. “I, turn my walkie-talkie off? Never.” He pinched his thumb and forefinger together, and whispered to Lewis, “I turn it down super-duper, itty-bitty low.”

“Maybe don’t confess that.”

The entirety of the ride was inactive and still, like browsing through the clothing section of a store alone, while the mannequins judged your every move. Though the animatronic dinosaurs were not immediately visible, their watchful gaze was felt by the members of the Mystery crew. No draft skittered through the interior building, and despite the abundance of foliage, there was an unnatural ambiance in the dearth of nocturnal presence. Everything about the attraction became otherworldly, detached from an established norm prevalent in the former active day – wherein lights and sound ran rampant. The isolated world of the ride was by perception boundless, yet sterile and contained like an ordinary jelly jar fitted with twigs and a bit of soil to appease a small insect or lizard.

After making the rounds of the ride, the group placed themselves at the loading dock. The carts sat on their tracks within the suspended dividers, where guests could stand to climb in or out of the carts. The dull gleam of an emergency light draped its light over the collected members. Mystery leapt into one buggy and put his paws on the front handlebars.

Yap!

Arthur pulled out a folded page and slapped it to the hood of the buggy. “Okay, fifteen animatronics. All chillin’, save for one.”

“Allo,” Lewis presumed. “Won’t stop, can’t stop. Any idea where our dino-terror might be off to?” Vivi shifted at his side, digging around in her backpack.

“There’s no tellin’ how much truth there is to Mr. Klayton’s story.” She clicked on a torch, but quickly shut it off. “But he’ll likely respond to light or sound, and movement.”

“Like a real T-Rex,” Arthur groused.

“Precisely,” she whispered. “We’ll trust it responds strongly to light, over sound. So be very quiet. Arthur.”

Arthur glared. “Why’re you picking on me?”

Lewis poked his shoulder. “You scream. Very loud. Alerts our foes. Not good.”

Vivi came around to Arthur’s side and clicked on her light, though she kept a had capped to its side. “Our first order of business is determine how much control can be managed over this mechanical nuisance, wouldn’t you say?”

Arthur nodded. “Yeah. Good start.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’ll depend on what’s bugging Allo, or what’s controlling him. That’ll give us a foundation for what we’re dealing with.”

Lewis whistled, and Mystery gave a soft yip. The dog came over to his group and waltzed around them. “Let’s get a move on then. Get this thing flushed out, and see what it’ll do.”

“I’d rather not,” Arthur whimpered.

Vivi pointed to him. “You and Lewis then. You brave boys, see what you can figure out about the deactivated animatronics.” She turned away, studying the abyss of the ride interior. “You wanna start from the exit or entrance?”

“Exit,” Lewis vouched. “You and Mystery then? What’ll you two get up to?” Arthur was already folding up the page, and began rummaging through his own backpack.

“We’ll see about coercing Allo out.” She adjusted her backpack and moved her hand a little off the flashlight. “Don’t worry about us. We won’t get into any excitement without permission.”

Lewis started after her. “But Vii, that’s dangerous!”

From a considerable distance, she called back, “Turn on your walkie! We’ll meet you back here!”

Lewis sighed, and reached around to his backpack for the volume switch. “En un buen comienzo, no es así.” He clicked the transmitter. “Viiiii….” Arthur grabbed him by the sleeve and began dragging him.

“We’ll meet them middle way on the track. The sooner we start, the quicker we can finish.” He spoke, hushed. “But make too much noise, that dino will zero in on us.”

Once released, Lewis hopped off the end of the loading slab and followed. “You have no escrúpulos about this?”

Arthur grumbled under his breath. “Let’s set the record straight, she saved your butt today. Don’t forget that.”

When they moved beyond the range of walls and certified fortifications to guide them toward the world outside, the attraction became more unsettling as the artificial jungle scenery enclosed and thickened around them. High and in the distance, a red sign blazed faithfully above the gloomy fronds towering, but it seemed a mocking landmark, enticing misguided travelers. A lure on an angler fish, while unknown perils lurking like jagged teeth ready to ensnare the gullible.

Trekking within the thicket was monotonous, given that Arthur examined each and all of the inactive puppets dotted throughout the foliage. This task was made possible due to an interesting and terrifying feature of the animatronics; a mirror in the eyes reflected light, similarly to genuine nocturnal animals. By setting the flashlight to their face, it illuminated the eyes and singled out where each machine was if within the appropriate range.

“I’m getting jumpscared trying to find the chill pacifists,” Arthur muttered. He held a clipboard in both hands, while Lewis held a torch. The two sifted among the plastic and cloth replicated plants, working closer to the giant carnotaurus. The animatronic gazed into the endless black, a sentinel. “That thing is a ship with teeth.”

The two stood beneath it, dwarfed.

“Can you imagine if this ONE was running around?” Lewis whispered, but a little too loud. He capped his flashlight. “The damage it’d do.”

Arthur stumbled forward, but Lewis caught him before he could fall. He grumbled about the uneven floor, where fabricated vegetation lay tattered. “Damn. Yeh. Another tally for human interference.” They made the remainder of the way to the column legs. “I haven’t seen all the entrances or exits, but it’d be more practical for them to access a machine with mobility security.” Lewis moved away from him, taking the light with him.

“Here’s another penny for your thoughts.” Lewis aimed the torch down on the carnotaurus feet and prodded the claws with his sneaker. “Allo shredded those fences and bit a poll in two.”

Arthur knelt, the clipboard balanced on his thigh. “Yeah, I was there. Well, sorta. What’re you getting’ at?”

“The wood was reduced to toothpicks. Toothpicks.” Lewis applied more pressure to the claw. “Klayton said the animatronics were made nerfed, so they wouldn’t damage each other if they get into a ‘brawl’.” He did air quotes, momentarily redirecting the slice of light through the canopy. “And to prevent them from tearing up the set. But all the animatronics we’ve looked at, have pliable rubber claws. The toes here, too.”

Arthur wrote onto the notebook pinned to his clipboard. “Good catch. So, our feathered nightmare can’t be a part of this attraction. The question now, where did he come from?”

“Or when he arri—” Arthur leapt up and capped a hand over his mouth.

“Shh!” He went into alert mode, spiked hair standing on end and eyes dissecting the area over-and-over. “The light,” he hissed. Lewis shut the light off. In the blanket of null and sensory deprivation, Arthur uttered, “Yu hear that?”

Lewis wouldn’t dare move, aside from rove through the daunting gloom with his limited visual capacity. However, he trusted Arthur’s perception, there was good reason to be alarmed. Also, Arthur was rarely wrong. For a short time, nothing trickled through to suggest a presence or any direct threat. Then, a faint but ambiguous rustling – it was impossible to determine the direction. He tugged Arthur’s hand down.

“Vivi? Mystery?” he squeaked. The sounds ceased. Not good. “Let’s go this way.” He pushed Arthur sideways. “I hope that thing doesn’t see in infrared.”

“Don’t jinx it— ARGH!” Arthur twisted around, his legs became tangled with Lewis’ ankles and the two collapsed. This incident was to their benefit, when the allosaur launched its snout through the shrubbery and snapped on empty air. “RETREAT!” He took off running, but more shredded, decorative texture in the terrain sent Arthur crashing in a stringy-bean heap.

Lewis rolled aside and plucked up a rock. “You stop that right now!” He brought the suspiciously light rock down on Allo’s head, which succeeded in destroying the fake plaster prop between his palms. The Allosaur seemed to blink off the assault. “I pictured that going a lot differently in my head….”

The allosaur swung its head back and screamed a prehistoric yowl. Lewis grabbed the flashlight he dropped and staggered backwards, mind churning through the benefits of turning tail and running versus trying to face the machine. Bottom line, he needed something to slow it down with. The team studied the machine, it’s many malfunctions, and how to locate the thing….

But forgot to devise the certified way to incapacitate it! And it was going to require more than dropping an anvil on its head.

With a piercing snarl the allosaur thrust its jaws out, cutting the distance between it and Lewis in mere seconds. Its teeth clamped down on soft material and it began thrashing, hissing, and snorting.

Arthur released the chunk of fake palm trunk he swung into Allo’s teeth and back peddled. “I’m all for solving this case lickety-split, but we won’t do much of that in traction.” He snatched away Lewis’ flashlight and searched the ground, until he spied the notebook with the clipboard.

“Valid point.” Lewis began after Arthur, springing over a cracked log. “Vivi!”

“Viv-vi!” Arthur hollered. “Where’s the road?” He jammed the notebook in the backpack and fitted it safely to his spine. One more shield between him and teeth!

Lewis bolted between two close standing trees. “Keep running, the track winds around here. We’ll intercept with them, we gotta! Vivi!”

A fearsome wail shot through the once silent theme ride. Despite the ground Arthur and Lewis covered, the noises of cracking timber and thumping footsteps propelled after them from the oppressive gloom. The thunder and rumble gained, growing intense and closing fast.

Arthur barely dodged a set of small standing dinosaurs, emotionless and motionless in the dark. “Help us, we’re gunna DAI!”

There was absolutely no way some hulking, mechanical nightmare could navigate the staged scenery without alerting her or her companion. The slightest movement issued rustling or crinkling, from the material used to fabricate soil and lush greenery, to the low hanging branches lumped by carefully sculpted cloth, and the canopy high above. Everything smelled artificial and tinged with dust, it reminded her of offices with the fake plants that hung around forever. Not the nice ones that looked real, but the very fake, obvious fake plants with plastic stems and ratty cloth soil with the green Styrofoam base. It was likely more impressive with the lights and sound ambiance of living things, even if artificial. She wished they had a chance to go through the ride and see what it was like.

“Hello!” Vivi called. “Rawr! Rawr-rawr!” Then, she paused and listened. Not an echo nor a snort. Would the animatronic snort? In all the excitement that day she didn’t see much of it in action, aside from its retreating tail end. “That’s ‘I love you’ in dinosaur!”

Bark. Mystery kept his tone low, while he slunk beneath some fern leaves.

“Machines need love too.” She swung her flashlight through the faux grove, a thick haze of dust swirled through the blue beam. “Echo!”

Mystery’s eyes glint as he rolled them. He trotted ahead, sniffing at the ground. It was spongy and soft, a layer of plant fiber set above sand or wood chips.

“Any leads?”

Woof. He toed at a fake collection of rocks – them being fake because they were glued together.

“Maybe the therma frost broke it for good.” She snuck around a tree trunk, the structure made of cement and rock hard. A lush green, petrified tree. “I hope not, I was looking forward to cracking this case.” The light she flashed through the depths of interwoven branches, and wiggled it swiftly like a strobe.

Mystery yipped.

“Therma, perma. What’s the differ—ENCE!” She froze, her light caught the burning glare of twin orbs suspended three meters above the floor. “Mystery….”

Mystery gave a noisy snort and inched forward, but wiht caution. His ears straight, eyes intense.

Vivi let the light trail down. “Hmm?” She swung the light down and up. “Oh, that one’s way too big.”

Borf. Mystery trotted the remainder of the way, with Vivi in tow.

“That looks like a mini-Rex. Baby T-Rex?” she posed. She went up and touched the underside of the belly. “The eyes glow. That’s nice to know.” She continued prodding the mini-Rex. “Squishy.”

Mystery yapped. When she turned a light on him, the hound nodded aside and resumed his trek.

“You gotta admit, they are cool. For cheesy attractions.” Vivi whistled, as loudly as she could muster. Sometimes she would give a hoop, or a holler. “Aside from the technicians, no one else is probably allowed this close to them. Except for Allo nuisance, he does his own thing.” She took a deep breath and gave her loudest yell yet.

Mystery stopped in his tracks and gave her the widest-eyed stare.

Vivi aimed the torch through the brush, listening. “Where could it be? We don’t have the time to search half the park this night.”

A few yards away, Mystery padded up a decorative slanted log and perched at the peak. Nothing to the right, nothing to the left. Yip! He leapt off and landed beside Vivi. He grumbled under his breath and barked.

“Let’s wait ‘til we meet up with them. We might cross paths on the way there.” It would be a while before they returned to the entrance of the ride, but somewhere they had to cross paths with the Allosaur. That is, if the machine was still within the attraction, or within sensory range to her dino-summons. She was beginning to doubt it remained inside the attraction, if like Mr. Klayton indicated, it was becoming more mobile. That was going to be a problem.

“If we can’t draw it out,” she began, “we can’t devise a way to coax it, or restrain it. It shredded a fence just fine, but maybe we can tangle it up in a good net?”

Yarf.

“Cliché. But effective.” A sound from the rear startled her. She whipped around with the flashlight, holding steady and listening. It wasn’t a sound, was it? The fake foliage settling as they passed, nothing ominous or pursuing. “A snare?” She flashed the light over the tree branches. “Hmm. But what sort of cable and how much tension?”

Mystery whined.

“I want to get with Arthur on that.” She turned her light and recoiled! An ominous and hulking shape crouched behind a flowering palm plant. A stegosaur, or something. It stood on four short, but column legs. “I don’t trust the owner, or Ms. Attorney Lady. But I wanna catch him in a lie, and try getting a read if he’s into something shady or….”

The walkie-talkie crackled against her backpack, squealing with a surge of static and muffled yammering, all of what might’ve been voices.

“Or if he’s not very bright,” she ended, in sigh. She unclipped the communicator and snapped the send button. “Lewis! That you?”

“AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“Lewis.” She snapped the device away when a roar ripped through.

Mystery sat down and gave his ear a well-deserved scratch.

“Talk to me, boys! What’s happened?” She picked up with a run, the beam of her torch bounded across the uneven terrain and across elephant ear leaves. “I think I know what’s going on, but are you okay?” Mystery caught up at her side, his collar rattling in rapid succession with his zipping stride.

In the background and distant, Arthur came through chattering up a panicked storm, “It found us! We’re bein’ chased— WeWereSoFuckingCarefulThisIsUtterBullShit!”

“Language Arthur!”

“My gods, Lewis! We’re gunna DAI!” The communicator gave a dramatic, electrical wail as Vivi toggled the relay switch.

“Okay! Okay! We’re on our way, don’t panic!”

Bark!

“Who’s panicking?” Arthur wailed. “We’re being chased! We’re so lost, and we’re being chased!”

Lewis hollered through, loud and clear, “Where are you!”

“Not at the entrance.” One of the animatronics was in her path, once again freaking her out – what with all the noises churning through the communicator. “Find your way to the backside! I don’t know where we are! Can you make it to the back? This place is a box, we can follow along the wall—”

A response was not forthcoming, not for her. Lewis gasped, speech labored, “Watch out!” Following came snippets of silence, with patches of Arthur screaming and the Allosaur shrieking. Some sort of distinctive weight thumped, almost vibrating the walkie-talkie in her palm. There was some cussing in there and harsh scuffling. The screech of the Dinosaur became intense, until it was right there in the communicator.

“What’s happening?” Vivi halted in her tracks and listened through the device, terse and powerless.

Mystery shot by, his barks fading as he tore through the pseudo jungle. Vivi resumed in a job, leaping logs and some sort of small animal puppet. The whole time, the communicator was treacherous and silent.

“Hang in there! Mystery and I got your trail!” When she snapped her finger off the transmitter, Arthur’s voice punched through:

“This was a bad idea! I told you guys, didn’t I say? I called it! One Hundred Percent CALLED IT! I’m a fucking seer! AYYYEEEEEE!”

RAAARRR!

“Just shut up and run!” Lewis snarled.

How far the Allosaur was behind them, this was hard to say. It followed with intense, single-minded focus, pronouncing the diminishing stretch by cavernous bellows. The duo was in some horrendous video game level with an instant game over, snapping at their heels.

The jittering beams of their flashlight flickered across the thick fibrous carpet, revealing snags and gleaming across sinister disasters hidden among the shadows. Though, neither Arthur or Lewis paid much mind to the ground beneath them – except to save them from colliding with a low branch – focus was averted high above, to the bright mocking glare of the EXIT sign. It was a beacon in the night, the easiest recognizable landmark in the abyss of the hellish attraction.

“Hang in there! Mystery and I got your trail!” crackled through the radio Lewis gripped, the plastic creaked under intense pressure.

He toggled the transmitter, “THANK YOU!” He was having a hard time keeping up with Arthur, despite inspiration being super motivating.

The Allosaur gave a peeling shriek, the noise of it vibrating in Lewis’ ears, growing louder and more deafening. It was right at his backside.

Lewis scrapped between two narrow trees, nearly getting wedged in the narrow space. A rebounding Thunk! echoed, and the Allosaur hissed. But the sound of it did drift away. However, he did not stop to look or spare a thought, he recovered his speed and tried to catch up with Arthur. He pinpointed him by the sporadic patches of yellow light flittering through the shrubs, and managed to catch his stride.

“Pepper!” he panted.

“Kingsman!” Lewis vaulted over a rock.

“Nice day at the office!”

“Marvelous! Absolutamente asombroso!”

“Technically, it’s nighttime.”

Lewis exhaled, “True!”

A thundering screech crashed through the plastic flora somewhere to the left. The Allosaur was gaining, due to the fact it was not a living animal. On the other hand, Lewis and Arthur ran on fumes.

“The Exit, there should be a door!” Lewis huffed. The red beacon was neigh ninety degrees airborne, a few more meters they should come to the boarders of the building.

The line of his light did hit a sheer and solid surface, which by the explanation of his light revealed a rugged boarder of stone standing at about ten or eleven feet. Well above his height clearance. But there was no clean cut wall, no slate, and no irrefutable explanation of exit. Nothing but a cliff face.

Being more spry and agile, Arthur flew up the wall like a squirrel. He chucked his light up, his hands caught grips with practiced ease and with a small bit of leverage propelled himself skyward.

That looked easy! Lewis jammed the flashlight between his teeth and felt for a handhold. His fingers easily found a knot, he braced his foot and—

Fell backwards. With a hunk of cheap plaster gripped in his hands.

“Lewis!” Arthur set his light down on his teammate, and hissed, “What the FACK?! Get up here!”

Lewis bit down on his flashlight and scrambled to his feet. From his safe perch, Arthur held the light steady while Lewis took another fixture of the coarse wall and shoved his toes into niche. He managed to ease himself up a foot or so, but applying too much weight and the crappy Styrofoam snapped. The outer layer was stiff and scrapped his knuckles when he came down. Lewis looked up at Arthur and they locked eyes.

“AAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The Allosaur shrieked. Arthur turned his light up, catching the eye sheen of the animatronic as it barreled through the fake jungle. “Oh my god! Um, Don’t move! I’ll get help!”

Lewis spat out the flashlight. “Arthur?” The Allosaur expelled another echoing howl. He turned, angling his light through the thicket. “Arthur!” The soft yellow light that drenched him, was now gone. Lewis had never felt so alone, so utterly betrayed. “ARTHUR!”

The thundering parade of the Allosaur hurtled toward his focal point, everywhere it went the plants rustled and crashed. It snarled, the sounds of its violent procession closing in on him. It must have infrared vision!

Lewis pressed his back against the cold fake rock. The Allosaur bounded through the thicket, the frayed ends of his light brushed against its snout. It closed in with terrible swiftness, weaving around artificial plants, but never once detracting for more than a millisecond. Lewis began inching away, if he timed it right, it might just shatter its CPU. But his timing had to be impeccable.

A blissful light drenched his shoulders, along with a stringy long rope thing. Likely a vine prop. The tale end of Arthur’s hoot, “—Tight!” Came through, and Lewis had enough foresight to piece together the full phrase. Without delay he dropped his flashlight and grabbed the rope.

The Allosaur barreled forward, chewing through the remaining few feet, teeth glittering in the spotlight Arthur cast. Lewis braced himself, he wasn’t sure what for. A Tarzan themed holler peeled from above high, and Lewis shot up at rocket speed. The angle of the line zipped him across the upper edge of the plaster cliff face. He cleared it but barely, his jeans scrapped eliciting a sharp yelp. Out somewhere across the open air, the Tarzan yowl waned in its descent.

Then Arthur really started screaming.

Lewis had to release the vine thing, or he would have gotten skinned on the concrete surface of the floor he was on. He crawled to the edge, and peering down tried to make sense of the swaying murk below. A succession of snarling poured forth of the large, black heap; it thrashed and swept into a stray flash of the yellow beam Arthur held. He thought this was clear indication where Arthur wound up, but the light cut off. He heaved off his backpack and dug through the folders and tools, until his palms clasped the large cylinder camping lamp.

“I did NOT THINK THIS THROUGH!”

He clicked the light on and turned it down. There was Arthur, running around the erratic animatronic. The dinosaur roved in circles, shaking and snapping, not fully invested in chasing the yellow blur. After affording a brief examination, he recognized the actual issue. The other end of the rope was snagged between its teeth, and the animatronic was fighting to cut it free. The line was tangled somewhere, this provided by how every time the Allosaur went to turn on Arthur, it’s head snapped sideways.

“Arthur!” he hooted. “ArthurArthurArthurArthur!” He dashed along the edge of the cliff flailing the flashlight around. “Get over here ya dweeb!”

The rope at last snapped with a grueling CRACK! and the Allosaur swept its snout towards the tiptoeing figure. A peeling shriek, something like an EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE shot out of Arthur as he did a one-eighty and charged out into the jungle thicket.

A rumbling snarl thundered out as the Allosaur resumed its chase, it’s tail flashing out of sight within the shrubbery.

Lewis stamped his foot. “Damnit!”

Meanwhile, Arthur was running for his life. Several times he nearly stumbled or lost his footing. Though he had the advantage of choosing a tight pathway difficult for Allo to pursue, the animatronic was not distracted by a second target. It was able to lay full focus on him, and track him with crazed efficiency. Or frenzy. He managed to catch his second wind in the meager intermission, but his muscles were giving out. Running on the spongey floor was strenuous, and the Allosaur’s grating call was closing in. If it got a clean opening, it would have its jaws on his neck.

There! He took a sharp right, in the line of sight of Allo. The dinosaur lunged, but Arthur already tucked into a stunt roll. Its feet trounced the earth right behind his shoulders, but he kept going until he was back on his feet. At no more than two meters there was some shadow, and bent – what he guessed would be roots – the trees weren’t real. But that black, unmistakable, hollowed space – there was no mistake on what that was. He’d stake his life on it, as he was about to.

The roots were concrete, hard as stone, bent and arched around a gouged hollow beneath the fake tree. Arthur clambered through the wedge, with the Allosaur not more than a breath behind his feet. His immediate thought was, ‘How deep is this!’ He smacked his flashlight against the wall and the light doused, the space around him blacked out. His hands prodded the walls seeking space or drafts, he jammed his elbows and shoulders at every inch, pushing further away from the hissing hydraulics of the Allosaur as it snapped and worked its way after him.

He felt the walls and ceiling, using his legs to kick for any missed crease that might afford an exit. There was nothing but concrete on all sides – left, right, up, and down – solid, unyielding.

“SHIT!”

The Allosaur snapped its jaws inches from his knee. “Fuck you!” Arthur tried kicking its snout, however ineffective it was. The machine twisted its neck and squeezed in further, the servos in its jaws whirling. It wouldn’t help, even if he wasn’t exhausted. He had nowhere to go—

Something snagged his collar and yanked him upward. He gave a little sob.

“Gotcha! I got ya Artie!” Lewis heaved him out of the hollow between the knotted roots, and dropped him on the ground. “You okay?” He adjusted the camping light, checking Arthur over, making sure he was in one piece.

“Yes, fuck! That was too close!” Arthur gave his own body a full pat down. All there, except for the gash in his vest where he fell earlier. All the stuffing on that side fell out. “It almost turned me into bubblegum!” He got onto his feet and paced a bit, before stopping to hunch over and set his palms to his knees. He just needed to breathe a moment.

“Take it easy now, you’re fine.” Arthur took a noisy breath and gargled. “Smooth, climbing into that… what is this? A burrow?” Lewis turned his light onto the opening, where he hauled Arthur out.

“I don’t give a toot what it is.” Arthur rounded the side of the tree, but cautiously. The Allosaur was still being raucous, snarling and grunting. It sounded like they had some time to catch their breath. “Probably for those lil dinosaur thingies. Are they chickens? The small nuggets.”

Lewis quirked his brow and shined the light across his face. “Raptors?”

“Chicken tenders,” Arthur insisted. Lewis came over with the light and stood beside him, observing as the Allosaur persisted with its struggles. And failed to free itself.

“It’s… not getting loose, huh? It’s stuck.” He shined the light lower, against the backside and shoulders of the unruly thing. It was surreal, watching the rubber suit cover on the dinos backside jiggle, but not ripple like the way muscles should. As muscles would, if on a real animal. For most of the night they were running from this thing, and it felt very real, like a hunting predator. Not some deranged AI, or whatever went off with it. Nonetheless dangerous, but creepy and sinister.

“Y’know what,” Lewis went on, stunned, “I think you caught it!”

Arthur gasped. “NO!” He leaned a little closer, but wouldn’t get too close. “No! Really? I did it? I did it! The case is over!” He throws his arms up. “WHOO! I am a mastermind!”

“Don’t get too hyped,” Lewis warned. “We caught it, but we still don’t know what’s up with it, or if someone is controlling it.”

“CASE CLOSED!” Arthur hooted. “Our contract said we have only gotta catch it! Done deal!”

Lewis chuckled and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Por el amor de…” he sighed. “Y’know, lemme be honest, I thought you bailed back there. On that cliff.”

Arthur dropped his arms and gave Lewis a befuddled stare. He winced when Lewis shined the light his way. “What! What kind of loser do you take me for? Abandoning my best bro. Get outta here.” Lewis laughed.

“It was pretty stupid.” He turned the light back onto the Allo. “I have a habit of overestimating myself, getting in over my head. You guys… always come back, and keep me outta trouble.”

Arthur shrugged. “Eh, we’re even now. Right?”

“Right.” He held up his fist. Arthur smirked, and returned the fist bump.

The Allosaur gave a grating wail, gears grind in its neck as the body twisted, the rear legs shoved at the padded terrain. At the cement roots, they crackled and squealed. With another shriek, the Allosaur ripped its shoulders free – a flint of light ignited off the Allosaur’s neck.

“Shit!” Lewis backed up, and pulled Arthur with him.

“Fuck a balloon!”

The Allosaur hauled its arms and neck free, the cement barrier that once caged it snapped apart. Lewis swung his light on the dinosaur, the beam momentarily illuminated a space on its arm torn open, revealing foam and inner padding. It was fleeting, and before Arthur or Lewis could react to what would happen next, the dinosaur veered aside and charged off. Disappearing into the fake foliage of the eerily silent jungle. The thundering footfalls and rustling shrubbery diluted after seconds, until once more silence tormented the fabricated fauna sprawling abundant.

Arthur dropped, but Lewis caught him before he collapsed entirely. The taller figure held onto his friend, and used his other arm to pat his back. Arthur sniffled and shuddered.

“There-there. We knew it was way too easy.”

“We never get a freebee!”

Off somewhere, echoing yaps rebounded through the area. Lewis gave a holler, and reached down to take up the camping lamp. “Over here!” He swung the light around, flashing the vibrant rosy beam through the clutter of petri-timber. “We’re okay!”

“No we’re not!”

Lewis sighed. “We’re in one piece!”

“Yeah!”

Soon, the panting rasp of a dog threaded its way towards the two. Once Lewis was able to interpret the direction, he hauled Arthur with him toward his teammates. “Vivi?”

“Yeppers!” she called. She was not far from the dogy gasping. “You got away from it?” The swaying blue beam preceded the clopping footfalls as she raced to them, out of breath and hair frazzled. “What happened? You’re both okay?” Upon seeing Arthur hanging off Lewis, she handed her flashlight off to Mystery and knelt before him.

“He’s in a little shock.”

Arthur whimpered, “It got away.” Vivi scrunched up her face.

“That’s… not something I expected to hear from you.”

Arthur brought his hands to his head. “No! We managed to trap it—”

Vivi turned her eyes up to Lewis. “You caught it!”

“Eh,” Lewis shrugged. “Isn’t that past-tense?” He moved down the slope, guiding the path with his lamp. “Temporarily snared.”

Vivi groaned, “I miss all the fun stuff!” Arthur balked.

The group examined over the area, inside the warren and the arched cement tree roots, decorative fantasy décor for the ride-goers. Vivi took interest in the snapped root ends, where the rebar stuck out, warped and shattered.

Vivi poked the corrupt end of rebar. “Can we decide how much gauge of cable to use, when we need to catch it?”

Arthur stood nearby, gazing off into the thicket with Lewis’ lamp flittering through the grove. “Sure. I don’t think it’ll have that much tensile strength in its hydraulics.” He perked his lips and nodded his head. “But we’ll work on how to keep it from tearing loose later. We kinda fucked up figurin’ how we’ll get it into the trap, though.”

Lewis was crouched, giving Mystery’s shoulders a rub while the dog laid on the floor resting. “True. But we can vouch that Mr. Allo is on someone’s payroll.” He perked, and stood. “Did you see, Art? It did rip its skin cover, on its arm.”

Arthur didn’t answer immediately, vouching to listen and study the perimeter. “We can try shorting it, given if the interior wiring isn’t insulated. That’s no guarantee.” He patted his own arm. “Insulation takes time to incorporate, and costs extra. It would also bulk out the equipment. So, we can think of that as an alternative, if getting it to behave doesn’t work.”

Vivi stretched and gave a yawn. “Okay, we have some intel to work with. It seems like time to call it a night, sound good?”

“You won’t hear a complaint from me,” Arthur chimed. “Stick a fork in me.” He was already walking away, with Mystery hurrying after. Lewis grabbed up his backpack and followed.

“The Allo might need to recharge,” Lewis mentioned. He took Vivi’s hand, and helped her up a loose fitted slope. “Each animatronic has a battery life for a few days, but we don’t know how long our friend has been running amuck. That might be the reason it took off.”

Vivi adjusted the light between her hands. “We’ll snoop around the park in the morning, try and find where it went and build our game plan. Did you guys hear me, I was making a lot of noise. That thing didn’t give a truck about Mystery or me.”

Ruff!

“I didn’t hear ya, but I’ll take your word for it” Lewis affirmed. “Someone has access to the Allo controls.”

Vivi stroked her chin. “Someone that knows we’re investigating the park.”

Together, Lewis and Vivi did a dramatic, “Hmm….” Simultaneously.

Arthur yawned and rubbed his face. “Can you guys draw up accusations tomorrow? After we’ve slept on it.”

Woof.

Together, the Mystery Skulls navigated their way through the fabricated jungle, trading stories on the encounter with the Allosaur and their escape. At one point Arthur stopped midsentence and in his tracks, then turned the camping lamp around the area they were currently within.

“Where the fuck are we?”

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