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mimiplaysgames · 6 years

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A Rush of Blood to the Head (4/6)

Pairing: Terra/Aqua Rating: T Word Count: 7,895

Summary: Faced with what he has to do, Terra learns that darkness doesn’t matter when it comes to saving the one he loves.

A/N: It’s been a long, long time. I haven’t been well, but I’ve been slowly recovering. I’ve poured a lot of my sadness into this one, and it’s been so relieving to finally finish it and put it out there. Here comes saving Aquanort. Next will be two chapters worth of reconciliation and introspection, and I honestly can’t wait to get to them.

This Dream I’ve Freed

Terra couldn’t find Ventus, and if he did, he’d kill him.

The back entrance of the academy was a large, open room. Long windows situated high on the walls above him embraced the room with so much sun, there wasn’t a shadow to be found except his own. Rough, sky-blue ceramic tiles led the way to tall garden gates. They were gold and elaborate in design that featured vines twisted from the center outward. And they were open. Ventus must have headed for the Master’s beloved gardens, which boasted the most colorful flowers in the Land of Departure.

This back room had a number of large sinks mounted on the walls, normally spent washing off dirt and mud. It was often the case the three students explored the trails out in the fields beyond, and they’d be damned if the Master allowed them to dirty the pristine hallway floors within the castle. Terra approached one, and finally looked at himself in the mirror.

He had already noticed most of the scrawls and doodles that were on his arms. Some of them were cartoonish monsters, inked in black marker. Others were teases and mean words. “Loser” in particular was huge, scribbled across the entirety of his forearm. A doodle of what appeared to be Ventus wielding a large sword was on the other.

Worst of all was a three-worded sentence, written underneath his right tricep: “Terra loves Aqua.” Complete with a large heart bordering them. His most guarded secret on display.

But the mirror showed him one more – a thin, curly mustache traced above his lips.

“What happened to you?” he heard Aqua say, followed by a giggle. No doubt she saw the mustache as she flashed a half-cocked smile, suppressing a laugh. “You should grow out facial hair. It’d look good on you.”

His first instinct was to keep his tricep close to him, so that she wouldn’t see the incriminating evidence.

“I was sparring with Ven.” He turned the sink on, and began to wash his forearms - though it was more important that he kept calm and collected so she wouldn’t suspect anything. “Him and his ridiculous spells.”

“Of course, it’s Ven we’re talking about.” She leaned on the edge of the sink, her free hand rested on her hip. “He used Sleep on the Master once, just so that he could procrastinate on an essay.”

“Tell me the Master still didn’t find out about that.”

“He never did,” she said uncomfortably, as if she was guilty for even knowing about it. “But you’re avoiding my question.”

“Ven cast Stop on me,” he said, eyeing the doodles, “and did all this while I was frozen.”

Aqua lifted her hand to her mouth to disguise her snort, but there was no way she was able to hide how funny she thought it was. Perhaps putting up with the doodles was worth it, just to see her this way: eyes squinting and watering, cheeks puffed, smile wide. Beautiful.

Not that he could ever tell her he’d be willing to go that far to make her laugh. “Wait until he does it to you, and see how you’ll feel.”

She lifted her hands up, as if in surrender. “Okay, I’ll stop. I swear,” she said, a few straggling chuckles escaping her lips.

He wiped his face with water, specifically with his left hand so the love message wouldn’t get exposed. “Well, if you see Ven, send him my way.”

“Ah,” she smacked her lips and shook a finger, which was expected. “That means I have to play babysitter and get in between you two.” She waved her arm dismissively when he flashed her a look of disapproval. “You’ll both thank me later when I spare you from being grounded. I won’t clean up after you guys, either.”

He knew why she would say that. The last time he and Ventus exchanged revenge pranks, the kitchen was destroyed. Explosive, ground shattering magic. Most of the evidence blamed Terra for the destruction, but the Master scolded Ventus for being provocative. They were both grounded and tasked with rebuilding it.

“I’ll give him nothing more than a noogie, I promise,” he said.

“Oh, please.” She made her way to the garden gates, her hand tracing their vinyl architecture. “Knowing the two of you, the library will be next.”

To her, it was probably nothing more than a typical day of preventing some accident. But he had surely averted a crisis as she walked away. Finally relaxed, he rubbed soap and water onto his tricep, the heart streaking black ink down his skin.

He stood up from his bed and immediately checked his nightstand - just to be sure it was still there, safe.

It was exactly where he left it before he went to sleep the night before. Her blue Wayfinder, perfect in condition and reflecting a bright radiance with its deep hue. Next to it was his own: broken, with a crack on one of the wings of the star. The silver border on that side was dislodged and severely bent, sticking straight out. He found it in this state the day he reunited with his armor, though he was grateful it wasn’t in worse condition from these odd thirteen years. As much as he treasured his orange Wayfinder, and as much as having it in his possession made him feel more complete, it really paled in comparison to hers.

For the last couple of weeks, he checked to see if hers was still there every single morning with the same desperation. He checked it every hour when he hung it around his neck - because losing it was by far a harsher reality than the one he was living now.

He sighed a breath of relief, and gazed out of his bedroom window at the mountains beyond. The sun didn’t shine as much as it used to in the Land of Departure. At least that was what it seemed to Terra. There was always a possibility that he didn’t remember it right. It was overcast, the clouds moving so slowly he was sure there was no wind blowing. It reminded him of the stillness in the castle - which he hated the most apart from the silence. Apart from the fact that she wasn’t here.

Terra flipped his legs over the side of his bed. Most of the castle had been destroyed the day the Master died, but his bedroom was as messy as it used to be. Like he left it on a typical day, and simply forgot to come back. His room was a relic: proof he had a life before Xehanort.

Clothes littered on the floor, across chairs, and stacked in corners. Papers scattered on the desk. Books hiding in random spots nearly everywhere. One particular book he had completely forgotten about: The Tales of Robin Hood, which donned a withered cover depicting a fox and a bear wearing tunics and hats. They had bows and arrows, and excitable smiles, looking forward to whatever rich lion they got to plunder next. The pages were yellowed, undisturbed by anything but time and an obsessed nine-year-old boy who used to read it every month in his young life. Inside the cover as an unevenly written claim of possession: This book belongs to Terra.

Robin Hood was the perfect hero the people needed to free them from tyranny. Smart, resourceful, witty, compassionate.

A nine-year-old Terra dreamed of becoming a Keyblade Master so he, too, could help other people and live the same example.

A twenty-year-old Terra sat on the edge of his bed in his dilapidated childhood home, with nothing to show for it.

It was with his own hands, after all, that the worlds were in danger. His body at worst was a weapon, at best was living its own life when Xehanort was in control of it. Like he was wearing a suit. Yet Terra remembered nothing of these long years. He knew that Xehanort was the perpetrator for the hordes of Heartless that were threatening the entire multi-verse. Every person who has turned into a monster was blood on his own hands. But he didn’t know how often he tinkered in a lab. What kinds of chemicals he played with. Exactly what he did when he experimented on others. If he killed or tortured people. The clothes he wore. Who he talked to and what about. What he ate and if any of it made him sick. When he slept and when he pulled all-nighters. If other people touched him. If other women were involved.

Terra knew he shouldn’t dwell on such thoughts, especially with no proof of the tinier details. But there came the cologne Xehanort would wear: a stench of patchouli, invading his nose. It didn’t matter how often he washed himself, somehow that smell always lingered. He already knew his body did things he didn’t want to do, and he didn’t need the reminder.

He grabbed her Wayfinder because under no circumstances would he leave the room without it. Gently placing it on his bathroom sink, he tore his clothes off and threw himself under the boiling water of his shower. He allowed his skin to burn away, hoping that this time it would stick. That all traces of Xehanort and that nauseating cologne would be incinerated for good this time. He scrubbed it raw, just to be extra certain. And he stood there, allowing the minutes to fly by as the water trickled down his skin, until he was convinced he was clean. Steam filled the entirety of the bathroom, and he only relaxed when the last sensations he felt were his own sweat coming down and the aroma of his sandalwood products clogging his nose.

His mirror was completely fogged up when he turned the water off. The skin all over his torso and arms was red from his scrubbing. But he was cleansed for now. The first order of business was to put on a clean shirt – this one a dark gray – before untying the clasp of her Wayfinder and drawing it around his neck. Its blue brilliance was flashy in comparison to anything he wore, but he was fine with that. This was the end of shower number one for the day – normally he would take three. Two if he was out for too long.

Finished and dressed, and with his bent orange Wayfinder in his pocket, Terra left his room and passed by hers. He knew it was better if he continued along and not go in. He knew it. But he couldn’t help himself – like a moth to a flame, he wondered if he preferred to torture himself, and opened the door.

Her bedroom, too, was untouched by anything.

She was always a neat and orderly person. Her desk was arranged and organized, books stacked neatly in a pile. Quills and pencils in their cases. Her work desk is mostly bare, because anything she had were stored in her drawers. A craft desk was right by it, and it was also tidy, with only a sewing machine to show for it and the rest of her supplies and trinkets organized in boxes.

She also fancied herself as the type of student that stayed out of trouble. Her dresser stood tall, no nicks or scratches into the wood like his own, because she actually followed the rules and never swung her practice weapons in her bedroom. On top of it was a collection of decorations, one of which was a sculpted dolphin that he made out of wood. He made it as a birthday gift. Maybe for her twelfth birthday? Or eleventh?

Her bed was made and the technique of it was pristine. As if she left early that morning, and would be back later that night.

Terra stared into her room. It was a fossil, sure, but proof that she used that sewing machine, and wrote essays on her desk. That he had a best friend growing up. He gently closed her door, caressing it as though it was precious.

Passing by Ventus’ room, he heard faint snoring. Peeking inside, he saw the boy sprawled out on his bed, one arm hanging off the edge, and the other thrown over his forehead. His breathing was deep and rhythmic through his open mouth, a bit of drool slipping out.

This bedroom could be best described as organized chaos: Ventus wasn’t a messy person, but his haven was a treasure trove of all the trinkets, clothes, décor, and gifts that Terra and Aqua had brought to him from their travels. One from each world they had visited. So while he had beads hanging from his lamp post, numerous tapestries covering his walls, and too many miniature statues propped on his desk, everything had a place. It was neat – just cluttered.

Ventus woke up the same boy he was thirteen years ago, unaware of anything that had happened. When he was told about what happened to the Master and Aqua, Terra found himself enduring crying fits and raging smacks on his chest. What on earth where you doing all this time, Terra? How could you have let all this happen? Ventus had screamed that day. Turning Castle Oblivion back into the way it used to be was a silently awkward experience, and it took several days before Ventus could finally start to act his normal self again.

It didn’t take long for Ventus to say he was sorry. It was comforting to know that he wasn’t hated, but Terra knew he was at fault anyway, and didn’t think he deserved the apologies. But this was in the past now. Watching his little brother, sleeping peacefully as though everything was normal, was soothing. A member of his family was back home, safe. If Ventus could find an inner tranquility to sleep through the night, then maybe it was a good omen for what was to come.

Not that Ventus would ever let Terra walk away without whining about how annoying that was, if he was caught watching over him like that. I’m not a child anymore, Terra.

The castle was so quiet that no other sound existed to smother any noise Terra would make, so he closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. Ventus could think he slept like a respectable adult today. A bullet dodged.

Days in the castle demanded too much attention and care. When they weren’t out doing missions or hunting Heartless, they spent their time fixing. And fixing. And fixing some more. But it was never enough, and the repairs were done too slowly to make that much of a difference.

The lounge area, where they used to spend time studying, hanging out, and making blanket forts together, had its outer wall completely blown open. The water damage from thirteen years’ worth of thunderstorms left behind veins of black mold that cracked through the plaster, and most of the furniture was missing.

Far too many rooms to count had the ceilings collapsed inside. The vast majority of the floors were cracked, so all of the tiles had to be replaced. Some of the outer towers were completely gone. They found one of them sprawled out over a waterfall some miles below, trees already growing through the rubble.

Some hallways, particularly the ones leading to the back of the castle, were blocked by rubble, though Terra has gotten far enough in clearing one of them. The main staircase of the west wing had also fallen completely apart, and they couldn’t use it to reach the upper floors. He passed by a cardboard box of paintings, all standing straight as if in a file. These paintings, all of them either gifts given to Eraqus by his friends or were heirlooms from Masters of the past, were displaced.

Terra could find new walls to hang them up – but that meant it wouldn’t be home anymore. Home meant that these paintings were to be hung where they used to be. Anywhere else was a poor excuse of one. So they sat there for now, waiting to return to their proper places.

The Master’s study was spared from any real damage, though it looked as though an earthquake had shuffled it: bookshelves turned over, furniture out of place, dust and soot shot out from the fireplace. The messiest of all was the large, dark mahogany desk, with all the books, letters, and scattered around as though the table threw its own contents out in a fit. The windows were thankfully still intact, overlooking the back area of the castle. The Master used to watch his gardens grow from here. Now, the gardens were overtaken with weeds and patches of dry dirt.

This room was the most important – Terra wanted to arrange it back exactly the way it was, but he had too much work ahead of him. It didn’t smell of the Master anymore, merely something that was empty and void of any real life. Yet despite the horrendous mess, it was still so familiar.

Terra could picture the Master sitting at his desk, the morning sun shining through the windows as he whittled away at another letter with his pen, a mug of coffee close by. Smiling up at him behind that bushy mustache, his voice warm and content.

Good morning, Terra. I hope your dreams were pleasant. May the rest of your day be brighter.

Eraqus always greeted everyone each day with that phrase. What Terra would give to hear it now.

He opened the Master’s leather-bound journal where he logged his daily messages. Eraqus had the most legible, impeccable form for handwriting, as though he made it an art of his own. His cursive strokes were carefully crafted over years of perfecting the technique, as though he made sure to respect every thought that passed through his own mind.

Terra had read the last three entries to his Master’s log several times – remnants of his final thoughts and plans the day of his death. To see if he could feel what the Master felt in those final hours.

He turned over several pages where he went through his own entries. His handwriting was scratchy and uneven, as though he stayed a child. He picked up a quill and dipped it into fresh ink, then gazed over to the message-globe on the desk. It was a magical object, with a curved base that held a spinning, metallic, semicircular apparatus, and a tight golden harp string down the middle. When plucked, the string set off a vibration that summoned the apparatus to spin and blur until a glowing sphere took its place. The Master used this for receiving and sending messages in private.

Since coming back to the castle, Terra logged inquiries, cries for help, and everything in between that was sent to the Land of Departure since the Master’s death. They served as notes for worlds he would visit, to see if he could still save them. He wrote the date for the newest entry, the sender of the latest message, and some notes.

This new message was the exact dispatch he’d been waiting for.

Terra knew that today was going to be different, but difficult. He’d better get started.

Hurrying over to the kitchen, he filled a pot with flour, beef broth, and salt, and started boiling. Terra didn’t memorize recipes for stews – they were simple enough to make. But it wasn’t like he made them as delicious as Aqua’s. Potatoes, carrots, and onions, but these barely did anything to add a complex taste, and Ventus had complained enough about the bland food. He sprawled out different seasonings and stared at them for a while after gently adding slabs of beef into the pot. Paprika, a sprinkle of it. Perhaps Aqua would have added more for flavor, so he dumped a portion. Then he cut garlic. She probably would have relied on these the most, so he cut some more. Peppers – the more, the merrier. A hefty sum of cayenne.

Anything to make it flavorful. Aqua would have poured a mouthful of spices, right?

The kitchen was baked in an aroma that burned his eyes when Ventus approached the dining table.

“Morning, buddy,” Terra said. He tried to sound cheerful, and hoped it was successful.

Ventus mumbled an attempt at a greeting while rubbing his eyes, and waddled over to his chair.

Terra added a small amount of milk and stirred into the stew in order to tame it, before pouring a bowl of it in front of his friend. “This will certainly clear the sinuses.”

Ventus took one look at it. “Another stew.”

“I promise this will pack a punch.” Terra poured himself a bowl and sat at the head of the table. A pause. He wanted to at least start the day right. “I hope your dreams were pleasant, Ven. May the rest of your day be brighter.”

It sounded unnatural, coming from his lips. He didn’t know if he should mimic his Master’s enunciations, or if he should give it his own personality.

Ventus gazed at him, giving a sad smile while he nodded to himself. “With practice, it will sound better.” He meant it as a joke, but it came out morose.

Teasing was good. It was a form of affection that was appreciated. But some things have changed since their reunion. Normally, Ventus would nag him about the constant showering, but he didn’t.

He never teased about the fact that Aqua’s Wayfinder was always found around Terra’s neck, either. Terra didn’t take this as a sign of resentment, but one of respect.

The two boys picked at their food, the clash between spoon and bowl ringing in the hushed dining room as they slurped. Ventus sniffled, the intense amount of spices making his nose run.

There wasn’t an easy way to bring it up – the conversation about “the plan” was one that usually got tense. The Master would be entirely disappointed with what they were aiming to do. Lectures of how imperative it was to protect people, and how forbidden it was to ever use the Keyblade against the heart of another lingered in his mind. It was a path to darkness, but it was their best shot at getting her back. The best course of action, then, was to just get it over with.

“I got a message back from Yen Sid’s tower,” Terra said. “The good fairies agreed to meet us at Enchanted Dominion.”

Ventus shot a look up from his bowl, his attention caught. “Okay. But why there?”

Terra swirled his spoon into his stew. “I need to apologize to Princess Aurora,” he said slowly. They knew what he was talking about, and neither of them were going to go into detail as to why. “I also need to ask her a few questions.”

“To execute the plan,” There was a sense of bitterness in Ventus’ tone. He wasn’t alone, because both of them hated what they were going to do. “So I’ll just train with the fairies there?”

Terra took a long breath, looked at his friend straight in the eye, and kept his voice low. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. It isn’t pretty, seeing Aqua the way she is.”

“I want to help.” Ventus leaned forward with a fist on the table, his eyes glaring with determination. “I need to.”

“Okay,” Terra said with a small smile. Part of him felt relieved. “You’re better with the tricksy stuff anyway. We’ll head out as soon as breakfast is finished.”

Ventus gave out a half-hearted chuckle, not used to being trusted so much. He must be anxious about it, too. He said so before. While he fiddled more with his food, Terra reached out and held him firmly on the shoulder, in a manner meant to be comforting.

“When you see Aqua,” he told Ventus, “make sure to smile at her. Can you do that for me?”

It was late afternoon in San Fransokyo when they arrived. The sun cast out a warm, orange hue over the vast metropolis, which normally would host millions of hustling people. But not today.

Today, Heartless and data corruption overtook the city, and the people have evacuated. Some citizens have equipped themselves with the machinery to fight back, and were flying across the skies as they battled against armies of darkness.

The young Xehanort was in town. This alone interested Terra, but what convinced the both of them to come after their excursion in Enchanted Dominion was a short message from Sora: She’s here.

Terra and Ventus tracked down the time traveler. And she was, in fact, there with him - down an empty street, blocks away from the warfare Sora was leading against hordes of large Heartless.

Sneaking through a nearby alleyway and hiding behind opposing dumpsters, they were still too far away to eavesdrop on what the two cloaked Organization members were discussing. Aqua had her arms crossed, not giving Xehanort much of the respect to look at him while she answered his requests. They talked on, as if they had no idea about the combat that was happening streets away.

Ventus, crouching behind his dumpster and looking over his shoulder, let out a sigh when he saw her. But he did well to keep those feelings in.

Her hair was nearly white now, but what was most unsettling were her facial expressions. Some were worn on her face with familiarity – boredom, anticipation, annoyance. But when she smiled, it was bizarre. It was devilish, it was cocky.

“Sometimes, I wasn’t sure which Aqua I was dealing with,” Terra said in a hushed voice. His throat was constricted, his heart pounding so hard it was about to burst out and bleed over. Even though he had seen her like this before, it was still just as unbearable as the first time.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I can’t tell if it’s Aqua, if it’s Xehanort… or strangely, if it’s both of them…” his voice trailed off. When he was the one possessed, he had no control. But there were still voices he heard in the darkness, constantly keeping him quiet and asleep, telling him to give up. Was it the same for her? Was she better at fighting them off, or was she constantly losing every day?

He held her Wayfinder, resting on his chest. “You know Aqua is a slow burner when she gets angry.”

Ventus shrugged, smirking. “Sometimes.”

Terra couldn’t help himself but let out a chuckle. “Well, this Aqua acts like she’s doused in gasoline. Any small thing you say can make her explode - if she sets off at all. Her moods change in seconds, and you never know how she will react.”

“You talk about her like she’s a completely different person.”

“I…” He stroked her Wayfinder with his thumb, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I’m not sure what to make of her, honestly.” He just wished she was back to normal.

A shadow grew and formed an archway behind her, an incredibly large man wearing the same robe stepping out from it. Shoulder-length white hair, dark-skinned, barrel-chested, more than a head taller than her, with Terra’s face.

Ventus leaned onto his dumpster and squinted his eyes to get a closer look. “Who the heck is that?”

The replacement. It was shocking at first, like seeing a mirror image but one that had a lifeform of its own. Almost like an out of body experience. But his expressions were different too. Terra was sure he didn’t look like that when he smiled.

Either way, this Aqua had a new Terra of her own.

“Ugh…” Ventus shuddered. “I hope I never get a clone made out me, that’s creepy.”

He might have said that too loud. Aqua turned her head their direction, and they ducked back against the walls of the alleyway as fast as they could. They held their breaths, and inched their knees to their chests, as if to completely disappear behind the cover of the dumpsters.

They waited several seconds like this before Terra slowly inched forward, trying to hear if someone was approaching. Silence. He risked a peek.

“Sorry,” he heard Ventus whisper. “Did she see us?”

It seemed she hadn’t. The Terra-clone was moving his mouth, Xehanort attentive to his words. A half-cocked smile showed itself on her face, as if she found what he said only mildly funny.

Aqua said something, reaching her hand to touch the elbow of the clone. He gazed upon her, but this expression – this one – was perfectly readable. He did his best to remain calm, but a creeping smile and a glint in his eyes showed that he relished her touch.

Terra could relate to what that felt like and whipped his head back behind the dumpster. Put simply, he couldn’t bear to watch her touch that man. Losing her to darkness was devastating. But Terra was certain that his chest became several pounds heavier, and that his heart was nearly choked out of him because he also lost her to a substitute.

“You okay?” Ventus asked. He was leaning against his dumpster, but he was watching Terra with such concern and sympathy. “They’re leaving.”

He told himself that he would survive this, and reluctantly looked over his shoulder again. She led the clone through a newly opened corridor of darkness. They left behind Xehanort, who barked orders as they faded away.

“She’s gone. What now?” Ventus let out a sharp sigh.

What now, indeed. A vessel for Master Xehanort, Aqua was certainly a threat to all worlds. Yet she was entirely unstable. The younger one was an anomaly, protected by his own powerful magic and time travel. He was a haunting and was just as much of a menace (and perhaps more so) because of her condition. To protect this world, they all have to go down.

Terra knew on some level, this was about revenge, too. Though he didn’t care if this was unsightly for a proper Keyblade wielder anymore.

“We need to get her alone if we’re going to do anything,” Terra finally said, watching the younger Xehanort start to walk away. “But we also have a duty as Keyblade wielders…

“Ven, listen.” They looked into each other’s eyes, as if discussing a matter of military importance. “I need you to be my surprise factor. You should find a spot higher up on these skyscrapers, but not too far. I’m going to ambush Xehanort, and you need to be ready for my signal so you can strike him from above.”

“What about Aqua?”

“With him out of the way, we can focus on separating her from the other one.” Terra leaned forward and grabbed Ventus by the shoulder, his stare more intense as he needed this last message to stick. “I need you to wait for my call.”

He needed to protect Ventus, and would rather have use him as a finishing blow than keep him around too long in the heat of battle.

Ventus nodded immediately, his eyes full of resolve. “You can count on me.”

With that, the boy hopped over through an open window, disappearing into an unfurnished building where he started to climb up stairs. Terra stepped out of the alleyway, briskly following his target. But he made no effort to keep quiet.

Xehanort stopped in his tracks and faced him. If he was surprised, he made good effort not to show it. “The last time you and I spoke,” he began, his eyes narrowing in amusement and his smirk broadening, “you said I’d be afraid of you upon our next meeting.”

Terra said nothing in return, but instead summoned his Master’s Defender. It was lighter in weight than his own Keyblade, but it packed a magical punch that protected him more efficiently from severe attacks. It was a formidable weapon, but it had more to do with wielding the love for his lost ones. With her Wayfinder and Eraqus’ Keyblade, he would still have a hold onto light - even if he didn’t think he had any left for himself anymore.

“You failed,” Xehanort continued.

He succeeded. He failed. He heard both from the same, twisted man and it meant nothing. The one thing that was necessary was to shove that smug face right into the concrete.

“I know for a fact that today, you’ll see the end of yourself,” Terra said, perhaps too confidently.

No, he could risk being cocky. He also had Ventus by his side.

Xehanort called for his own Keyblade, unique in its design and barely resembling the old man’s. “Need I remind you this is why you’d fall so easily as a victim to darkness? You’ve served your purpose well as a preservative for long enough. Yet you are such a weakling.”

There was no time to spit a smart retort over being such a disappointment. Xehanort warped to close the gap between them, and he kept this level of aggression throughout.

Terra was kept constantly on his feet to dodge each strike toward him. A strong magic user who loved to rely on deception, Xehanort particularly enjoyed zipping in between positions, just to get Terra to lean one direction so he could be struck from behind. It kept him on the edge of a puppet’s string, and he was played like a cat attempting to strike a fly. Xehanort was fast, his magic damaging.

But his strikes were weak. All that was needed was for Terra to endure. Dodge, endure. Wait for the opportune moment.

Until their Keyblades clashed. Terra, of course, was stronger, and was able to push Xehanort back. Now that the previous rhythm had been interrupted, the tables had turned and Terra took this opportunity to get more aggressive. To create his own flow in between Xehanort’s teleportations, and throw counter-strikes.

What was left was to maneuver Xehanort close enough to Ventus’ building. He’d let his friend, his comrade, his brother, do the rest.

And he almost had his victory, until she called out –

“Enough.”

Aqua casually strolled up to them, the sway in her walk self-assured, her face not impressed with what she had seen.

This was bad. It wasn’t about going up against two incredibly powerful opponents. Rather, Terra simply refused to raise a finger on her body. He wouldn’t ask Ventus to do the same, either. He prepared his fighting stance, ready to summon his glider so he could escape. Yet, he couldn’t keep his eyes away. It had been a while since he last saw her, and to think of leaving her behind... Yet… what if he had no choice?

He kept his grip on his Master’s Keyblade.

Xehanort glared at her. “Where is Xemnas?”

“We’ve got trouble.” She crossed her arms as she took her place by Xehanort’s side. She glanced at Terra for merely a short second, but kept her focus on her partner. Her stare was unwavering, like a cat watching prey.

“Enough to incapacitate him?” He almost sounded disbelieving. But his eyes contorted with frustration and he huffed. “We’ll disable the Keyblade wielder here, then. Ventus would then be completely unprotected.”

That last statement was an attempt at arousing Terra’s anger, but it didn’t work. He just couldn’t focus.

Her stare. She stared at Xehanort as if she was studying him. It was deadpan and placid, like she was losing herself in his face, and each moment she kept relaxed and stayed silent, Terra knew. This was the face of someone who was ready to throw herself into the abyss.

She nonchalantly waved her arm around, her palm open. Shot from it was a gathering of lightning bolts so powerful that it sent Xehanort flying across the street, crashing into the wall of a building. He fell onto the ground, his body laying lifelessly. His Keyblade dissipated, leaving him defenseless and unconscious.

She flexed her fingers vigorously. Ventus was still watching, waiting for a cue. But Terra couldn’t allow this to turn into a fight. He was desperate to know if she was safe and okay, yet he was terrified of speaking. How unpredictable was she going to be this time? What did any of this mean?

“Going rogue?” he finally asked, as if giving her a friendly question.

“Taking out the trash.” She sounded like herself, but her voice was deeper. It was tired, yet full of spite. “I’ve no need for those who’ve hurt me.” With those last two words, she finally looked at him, her gold eyes piercing.

He shook his head. “I’m not going to fight you, Aqua.”

Her face shuddered, as if she was processing an insult. She cocked her head to the side. “How courteous of you to consider my feelings,” she said through her teeth, sarcasm oozing through.

“I don’t want to be your enemy.”

Her eyes widened, and he swore he could see her pupils shrinking. She started to stride toward him with such nerve that it looked like she was preparing herself to slap him.

“Enemies,” she said mockingly, “friends. It’s too late for them to matter anymore.”

With that, she waved her hand to flash a set of threatening bolts his way. He blocked them, but it forced him to stagger backward. Even with the magical boost the Defender provided, it wasn’t a match for her power and mastery over spells.

Terra held his open palm to the ground, as if commanding a dog to stay. A cue to stand ground. Ventus shouldn’t swoop in to help him. Not now. Not yet.

“Who are you signaling to?” She threw another wave of bolts. He blocked again, but barely matched her speed. This time, he stumbled.

“Don’t mock me,” she growled. “Fight back!”

Her next wave hit him directly. The electricity gripped his entire body and stabbed him several times. His heart beat terribly and quickly, as if begging to be taken out or it would die. But he stood his ground. Allowed the dark energy of her magic to channel through his body and toward the Keyblade, using it as a conductor. Enduring the pain, whimpering from it.

When it was over, he immediately reached for her Wayfinder. It was still intact. He finally remembered to breathe.

“Did it hurt?” he heard her ask.

Then it dawned on him. The shock she sent Xehanort took him out of the ring completely in one swoop. He wondered if she was the trouble that fell on Xemnas.

But her attack this time didn’t even compare in power. She was holding back on him, just to see him wince.

“I get it now,” he said, his voice shaking. He started to tremble, unsure if he wanted to hear what he was going to say. Scared of how she would react. “You want me to feel pain.”

She pursed her lips.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” he continued. “You want me to hurt.” He raised his voice. “Well it does. I am miserable every day. I can’t stand to see you this way. I can’t stand to be away from you, and I hate that I still exist while you continue to suffer for my sake!”

Her brows furrowed and her eyes started to tear, as if she realized something horrific. She grabbed her left arm rapidly, as if she was suffering intense pain. Her grip was so strong, it twisted the fabric of her cloak.

“You should have left me to rot in the Realm of Darkness, Aqua. I would have at least found some peace knowing you were safe.” He stopped yelling, but it was a struggle to keep his voice even. “So yes, it does hurt. Does that make you feel better?”

Her breath was shallow and she didn’t let go of her grip on herself. She leaned into her arm, as if seeking comfort for herself. She shook her head. “No. It doesn’t.”

Terra sighed, willfully ignoring the soreness throughout his whole body, and how tight his chest felt. He stepped forward and reached his hand out. “Come with us, then. Come home.” He caught a sob before it left him. “We just want you to get better.”

“Get better.” She said it in a way to mimic him. Her eyes scattered the ground and darted in many directions around her. What was going through her mind?

He couldn’t ask her. Aqua had this look of gloom, as if suddenly being told the most devastating secret only she could hear. She let go of her grip and clutched her fist at her heart. Shaking, she whimpered, and collapsed backward.

“Aqua!” he gasped, running toward her and dropping the Defender on the ground. He cradled her in his arms, holding her firmly so she’d stop trembling. She looked into his eyes, her own wide in fear. She groaned through closed lips, trying so hard to speak to him but couldn’t.

Her hands shook violently, yet she managed to pull one of her gloves off. The tips of her fingers were bright red, the rest of her arm a burnt violet. It was unsightly, and- was she turning inhuman? It took her a lot of effort, but she raised it to touch his cheek.

Her fingers were deathly cold, hardened, and scaly. Like a lizard’s skin. She cupped his cheek, her thumb feeling the width of his face. He reached to hold her hand in his, which was still so petite in comparison. He held it tenderly, trying to warm it up, yet mortified of shattering her to pieces if he squeezed too tightly.

“Terra!” Ventus landed on the ground and skidded over to where they were. “Whoa,” he said when he saw the state of her skin, “did that happen to you?”

“No,” he said, not taking his gaze away from her. She held it in return, searching his eyes as if finding a reason to continue on. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We stick to the plan,” he said without missing a beat. There was nothing else that they knew to do, and she needed help now.

Aqua continued to stare up at him, like a child gazing through the window of a candy store. She didn’t acknowledge Ventus’ presence at all, and it made him wonder whether she was truly conscious of what she was looking at.

“Hey,” he called to her with a soft smile, “Ven’s here. Look.” He gently coaxed her hand over and pointed his finger.

She blinked and slowly followed his lead, as though it took her a while to comprehend what she was doing.

“Hey, Aqua,” Ventus said, though his voice was completely shaken by nerves. He smiled, albeit it was forced and intimidated, and he shot several sideways glances toward Terra as if to beg for instructions on what to do.

At the sight of his smile, her eyes widened and she moaned with awe. She reached out to touch him, and he took her hand with both of his own.

“We’re finally together again,” he said, keeping a grin up and trying not break down. “Terra kind of sucks with cooking and it’s too quiet. I’ve missed you, Aqua. We both have.”

She whimpered in response, her eyes watery.

Xehanort was still unconscious, sprawled out on the ground. They’d better get this over with, before any reinforcements threaten to take her back again.

“We’re going to help you, Aqua,” Terra said, and she returned her golden eyes back to him, softening when looking into his. He adjusted his arms so that her head was supported better, to make her more comfortable. “It’s not going to hurt. Okay? You’re not going to feel a single little thing.” His breathing deepened. This sucked. But it had to be done. “Trust me.”

She blinked several times in response, the twitch in her brows almost begging for some salvation.

“Ven is going to put you into a very deep sleep.”

Her pupils dilated, and in desperation she grabbed onto his shirt, her strength so fragile that she scratched him through the fabric. Her face quivered furiously, and she finally managed to move her mouth to speak.

“Don’t leave me,” she pleaded. Her voice was hoarse, shaky, and barely audible.

He took her hand and carried it over her Wayfinder, safely resting on his chest. “I will be by your side the entire time, Aqua. I promise.”

He meant it. It was a promise he made for himself, as well.

Eventually she nodded, though her head waggled a bit and made circular movements.

Terra gestured toward his comrade with his head, a blessing to finally start.

Ventus intertwined his fingers together, attempting to steady his breathing. Like someone willing themselves to do something they were frightened of, he finally summoned his Keyblade in his left hand, and pet the top of her crown with his right. Hovering the Keyblade over her forehead, he closed his eyes and calmed himself. He didn’t say anything, but eventually the Wayward Wind glowed with a soft blue light. This was the spell he learned from the good fairies.

Her eyes fluttered and relaxed, gently shutting as the tension in her entire body released. She leaned more into Terra’s embrace, as if she knew she was protected.

“You did good, Ven,” Terra said, nodding in approval and encouragement.

Ventus withdrew his Keyblade, gulping. He looked as though he was slightly nauseous.

If she was going to be stuck with the gradient blue-to-white hair after this was over, she’d still be stunning. Terra brushed the hair off her face, stroking the skin of her forehead before going to her cheek. Her face was still soft, yet not as warm as it should be. She looked peaceful and carefree in her sleep, and deservedly so.

“Terra?”

Ventus shifted uncomfortably, looking back toward Xehanort for signs of movement. It was dusk now. They were taking too long.

“Right.” The Master’s Keyblade laid by itself on the ground, but Terra wouldn’t dare taint it. It would have been disrespectful in his memory.

He summoned his own Keyblade, which was used to do the forbidden once before. Wielders were supposed to be protectors of light and hearts. Even when manipulated and forced by an evil witch, Terra remembered what it felt like to pull a heart out of a body, which was a terrible and forbidden act. To wield the power to mess with a person’s life.

Now he was faced with the choice to do it again, but toward the person he cared about most. What kind of Keyblade Master could he ever be if he was doing the things that would make someone like Xehanort pleased?

He could ask for her forgiveness, but this was just an addition to the list of things he needed pardon for.

He could tell her he loved her again, but that was a pain that stabbed hard. A sober Aqua may still leave him after all.

But none of that mattered. He still owed her freedom, and he would go that far to grant it.

Without anything meaningful to say, Terra aimed his Keyblade toward her chest, and called for two hearts.

#terraqua #terra #aquanort #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kh fanfic #ventus #young xehanort #angst #truthfully i am terrified of sharing this #my symptoms are still firing and it's so hard #but here is some of my garbage #i hope it's at least enjoyable #my fic

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our-dailyimpact · 4 years

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10 SURE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY BY VICKI ROBIN AND JOE DOMINGUEZ

1. Don’t Go Shopping

If you don’t go shopping, you won’t spend money. Of course, if you need something from the store, go and buy it. But don’t just go shopping. About 53 percent of groceries and 47 percent of hardware-store purchases are “spur of the moment.”4 Indeed, shopping—at malls and online—is one of our favorite national pastimes.

More than the simple act of acquiring needed goods and services, shopping attempts to fill (but fails, since we have to shop so often) myriad needs: for socializing and time structuring, for a reward after a job well done, for an antidepressant, for esteem-boosting, self-assertion, status and nurturing. An alien anthropologist might conclude that the mall is our place of worship, and shopping the central ritual of communion with our deity. Lewis Lapham observes, “We express our longing for the ineffable in the wolfishness of our appetite... The feasts of consumption thus become rituals of communion.”5 Consumption seems to be our favorite high, our nationally sanctioned addiction, the all-American form of substance abuse. So don’t go shopping. And while you’re at it, stay away from advertising that whets your appetite for stuff you don’t want. And for pity’s sake don’t tune in to the Home Shopping Network, and the like. You may be saving more than money. You may be saving your sanity, not to speak of your soul.

2. Live Within Your Means

This notion is so outmoded that some readers might not even know what it signifies. To live within your means is to buy only what you can prudently afford, to avoid debt unless you have an assurance that you will be able to pay it promptly and always to have something put away for a rainy day. It was quite a fashionable way to live a couple of short generations ago, before we started living beyond our means. There are two sides to the coin of living beyond your means. The shiny side is that you can have everything you want right now. The tarnished side is that you will pay for it with your life. Buying on credit, from cars to houses to vacations, often results in paying three times the purchase price. Is going to Hawaii for two weeks this year worth working perhaps four additional months next year to pay it off? This doesn’t mean you have to cut up all your credit cards—you just have to avoid using them as much as possible. We recognize that credit cards can be a way to put food on the table for those who unexpectedly hit hard times. But in general, it’s important to distinguish between necessity and indulgence so you have as little debt as possible to pay off. Living within your means suggests that you wait until you have the money before you buy something. This gives you the benefit of avoiding interest charges. It also gives you a waiting period during which you may well discover that you don’t want some of those things after all. He who hesitates saves money. The bright side of living within your means is that you will use and enjoy what you have and harvest a full measure of fulfillment from it, whether it’s your old car, your old coat, or your old house. It also means that you can weather the economic bad times when they come—which they will.

3. Take Care of What You Have

There is one thing we all have that we want to last a long time: our bodies. Simple attention to the proven preventive practices will save you lots of money. Flossing and brushing your teeth, for example, could save thousands in dental bills. And eating what you know agrees with your body (judging by your energy, not by your taste buds) may save you thousands in expensive procedures—not to mention your life. Extend this principle to all your possessions. Regular oil changes are known to extend the life of your car. Cleaning your tools extends their life. (How many hairdryers and vacuum cleaners have choked to death on hairballs?) Dusting your refrigerator coils saves energy and could save your refrigerator. One big difference between living beings and machines is that machines are not self-healing. If you ignore a headache it will probably go away. If you ignore a funny noise in your engine you could throw a rod, burn out a water pump, or otherwise incur major (and costly) damage. Many of us have lived with excess for so many years that it no longer occurs to us to maintain what we have. “There’s always more where that came from,” we tell ourselves. But more costs money. And more may not, in the long run, be available.

4. Wear It Out

What’s the last item you wore out? If it weren’t for the fashion industry (and boredom) we could all enjoy the same basic wardrobe for many years. Survey your possessions. Are you simply upgrading or duplicating last year’s electronic equipment, furniture, kitchenware, carpeting, and linens, or are you truly wearing them out? Think about how much money you would save if you simply decided to use things even 20 percent longer. If you usually replace your towels every two years, try replacing them every two and a half years. If you trade-in your car every three years, try extending that to four. If you buy a new coat every other winter, see whether every third winter would do just as well. And when you’re about to buy something, ask yourself, “Do I already have one of these that is in perfectly usable condition?” Another way to save money is to ask, before trashing something, whether there might be another way to use part or all of it. Old letters and e-mails become scrap paper. Old dishcloths become cleaning rags. Old magazines become art materials. Old grocery bags become . . . grocery bags again, or garbage bags. A word of caution to the already frugal. Using something until you wear it out does not mean using it until it wears you out. If you must continually fiddle with a lamp to make it work and you’ve already tried repairing it, it may not be worth your life energy to coax it along for another year. If your car is taking you for a ride, costing more hours in tinkering (or more money in repairs) than it’s giving you in service, buy a newer one. If your knee joints are suffering from running shoes that have lost their bounce, it would be cheaper to buy a new pair (on sale) than to have knee surgery.

5. Do It Yourself

Can you change the oil in your car? Fix a plumbing leak? Do your taxes? Make your gifts? Change the tire on your bicycle? Bake a cake from scratch? Build a bookshelf? Refinish furniture? Plant a garden? Hem a pair of pants? Cut your family’s hair? Form your nonprofit corporation? It used to be that we learned basic life skills from our parents in the process of growing up. Then the Industrial Revolution put our parents in factories and, after the passing of child labor and mandatory public education laws, put us in schools. Next our grandparents were put in rest homes, removing the people who traditionally taught life skills to the children while the parents worked. Eventually home economics and shop classes had to be incorporated in the curriculum as supplements to the ever-decreasing skill-nourishment we got at home. By the 1970s it was no longer fashionable for mothers to stay at home with their children. By the 1980s many couples assumed it wasn’t even possible, economically, for either parent to stay home with their children. Is it any wonder that the only way we know how to take care of ourselves in the twenty-first century is to be consumers of goods and services provided by others? To reverse that trend, just ask yourself, when you’re about to hire an expert: “Can I do this myself? What would it take to learn how? Would it be a useful skill to know?” In the context of a fast-paced, high-tech life a “do-it-yourself” orientation might seem quaint, but most humans, throughout history and on the planet today, are far more able than most of us to make and provide for themselves what they need for daily living—and many experts think that we’ll be thrown back on our resources increase in the coming decades. Years ago, when Suzie T. was young and lived in Fiji with her doctor husband for several months, she was embarrassed by how the native Fijians seemed to revere them. She tried to diminish their respect to an appropriate level, but they would have none of it. Then she discovered that since they made—and could repair—every single thing they depended on to live, they assumed that Suzie and Bill made their transistor radio, watch, and typewriter. They were unable to understand that no, these were made by others and Suzie had no idea how. Basic living and survival skills can be learned through Web sites, adult education classes, extension agents, and, last but not least, books. Every breakdown can be used as an opportunity for learning and empowerment. What you can’t do, or choose not to do, you can hire others to do and tag along for the ride. Every bit of your energy invested in solving these breakdowns not only teaches you something you need to know for the next time but helps prevent mistakes and reduces the bill. One FIer tells the story of how her heating system failed one winter. Three companies sent out repair people to assess the problem and make a bid. Each one told her with absolute certainty what the problem was. Unfortunately, each told her a different story. So she cracked the books, meditated on the Rube Goldberg maze of pipes, came to an educated guess, and chose the company that came closest to her analysis, thus saving herself hundreds of dollars of unnecessary and possibly destructive work. By staying with the repairman and observing his work she also was able to avert a few more expensive mistakes and to save (expensive) time by doing some of the simpler tasks. A typical working couple might have paid ten times what she did to have the job done and then felt fortunate to have two paychecks “since the cost of living in the modern world is so high.”

6. Anticipate Your Needs

Forethought in purchasing can bring tremendous savings. With enough lead time you will inevitably see the items you need to go on sale by the time you need them—at 20 to 50 percent under the usual price. Keep current on Web discounts and catalogs and sale flyers of national and local catalog merchandisers. Read the sale ads in the Sunday paper. If you have access to the Internet, type “discount merchandise” or “price comparison” into your Web browser and find the current meta sites that allow you to comparison shop. Online auctions allow you to see the prices discounters and warehouses might be offering. Watch for seasonal bargains such as January and August “white sales,” holiday sales (such as Memorial Day and Labor Day), year-end clearance sales, and back-to-school sales—but be sure these are real sales. By simply observing the poor condition of your car’s left rear tire while it still has some life left, you can anticipate a need. By simply being aware of this need you will naturally notice the phenomenal tire sale that will appear in the sports section of your Sunday newspaper three weeks from now—and you’ll know it’s a phenomenal sale because you have been watching prices. In the shorter term, shopping at the corner convenience store can be expensive. Anticipating your needs—that you’ll be wanting evening snacks, that you’ll run out of milk mid-week or that you’ll need paper for your printer—can eliminate running out to the corner store to pick up these items. Instead you can purchase them during your supermarket shopping or on a run to the office supply store. This can result in significant savings. Anticipating your needs also eliminates one of the biggest threats to your frugality—impulse buying. If you haven’t anticipated needing something when you leave your house at 3:05, chances are you don’t need it at 3:10 when you’re standing at the gazingus-pin counter at the corner store. We’re not saying you should buy only things that are on your premeditated shopping list (although that isn’t such a bad idea for compulsive shoppers); we are saying that you must be scrupulously honest when you’re out and about. Saying, “I anticipate needing this,” as you’re drooling over a left-handed veeblefitzer or cashmere sweater is not the same as having already anticipated needing one and recognizing that this particular one is a bargain. Remember the corollary to Parkinson’s Law (“The work expands to fit the time allowed for its completion”): “Needs expand to encompass whatever you want to buy on impulse.”

7. Research Value, Quality, Durability, Multiple Use and Price

Research your purchases. The print and online editions of Consumer Reports and other Web sites and publications give excellent evaluations and comparisons of almost everything you might buy—and they can be fun just to read. Decide what features are most important to you. Don’t just be a bargain junkie and automatically buy the cheapest item available. Durability might be critical for something you plan to use daily for twenty years. One obvious way of saving money is to spend less on each item you buy, but it’s equally true that spending $40 on a tool that lasts ten years instead of buying a $30 one that will need to be replaced in five years will save you $20 in the long run. Multiple-use is also a factor. Buying one item for $10 that will serve the purpose of four different $5 items will net you a savings of $10. One heavy-duty kitchen pot can (and perhaps should) replace half a dozen specialty appliances like a rice cooker, a crockpot, a Dutch oven, a deep-fat fryer, a paella pan, and a spaghetti cooker. So, if you expect to be using an item, buying for durability and multiple purposes can be a good savings technique. But if you’ll be using the item only occasionally you may not want to spend the extra dollars on a high-quality product. Knowing what your needs are and knowing the whole range of what is available will allow you to choose the right item. Besides reading consumer magazines and Web sites, you can evaluate quality by developing a sharp eye and carefully examining what you are buying. Are the seams in a piece of clothing ample? Are the edges finished? Is the fabric durable? Is it washable or will you be paying dry-cleaning bills to keep it clean? Are the screws holding the appliance together sturdy enough for the job? Is the material strong or flimsy? Is the furniture nailed, stapled or screwed? Here is where you will become an expert materialist—knowing materials so well that you can read the probable longevity of an item the way a forester can read the age and history of a fallen tree. This is the opposite of crass materialism. This might not be as uplifting as standing in a redwood grove, but it is respecting the wonder of creation in its way. Everything you purchase has its origin in the earth. Everything. Knowing the wear patterns of aluminum versus stainless steel is honoring the earth every bit as much as lobbying for stronger environmental protection laws. Changing yourself and changing the system go hand in hand. By the same token, engaging only in personal strategies is inadequate. We all need to become active citizens and to encourage our local, state, and federal governments to provide high-quality public transportation, public schools, public hospitals, universal sickness-care insurance and other basics so that we can all be frugal together —and decrease gobs of personal spending.

8. Buy It for Less

If you’ve spent any time in the marketplace, you know you can pay a lot of different prices for the same item. Things don’t cost what they cost. They cost what you pay. Where you get the item and how much you pay often relates more to questions of values and convenience rather than differences in quality. All things being equal, however, the goal is usually to get it as cheaply as possible. The following section contains a few tips on how to do that. Comparison-shop by phone: Where do you shop and how did you choose it? Is it where you’ve always shopped? At the mall closest to your home? Where your friends shop? Where advertising or status-seeking has told you is the only place to shop? We research products via the Internet, compare prices there too, but try to buy locally—and for big items always do. For those items we comparison shop via the telephone. Once we know what we want, we phone around for the best price. The more educated you are about the product and the more specific you can be about the exact make or model you want, the more successful your bargain-hunting will be. You will be amazed at the range of prices quoted for the same item. If you prefer doing business with a particular store or supplier, phone-shop for the best price and then ask your favorite vendor if he or she can match it. Seven years before writing the first edition of this book, after much research, we decided we wanted a Toyota Tercel with a four-wheel drive. We then called every dealership within 100 miles—and shaved 33 percent off the highest bid by purchasing a demonstrator (a deluxe model with everything but air-conditioning) that had 3,600 miles on it. Seven years and 100,000 miles later, nothing had gone wrong. Seven years before this edition, the author pulled the same trick with a Honda Insight, at that time the most fuel-efficient hybrid car on the road. The new car was $24,000. One dealer offered a right-off-the-showroom-floor-but-2001 model for $16,800. A few calls later a new right-off the-showroom-floor 2002 model was offered by another dealer for $16,000. A similar 33 percent savings. Some things never change. Like phone comparison shopping. Bargain: You can ask for discounts for paying cash. You can ask for discounts for less-than-perfect items. You can ask for the sale price even if the sale begins tomorrow or ended yesterday. You can ask for further discounts on items already marked down. You can ask for discounts if you buy several items at the same time. You can ask for discounts anywhere, anytime. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Haggling is a time-honored tradition. The list price of any consumer item is usually inflated. As soon as you hear the words, “The list price is . . . you should say, “Yes, but what is your price?” According to Jim Dacyczyn you should be able to shave 24 percent off the sticker price for a car, but this strategy applies to more than houses, cars, and other major purchases. You have nothing to lose by asking for a discount at any store—from your local hardware store to a clothing emporium. A case in point was our recent outing to buy new running shoes. A $95 (list price) pair was sitting on the manager’s special rack with no price. They fit perfectly. We asked a salesman what they would cost. “$39.99,” he replied. “Would you take $30?” we asked. Surveying what he had left, he said, “Twenty-eight dollars.” We could have pointed out that haggling etiquette suggests that his counteroffer be higher, not lower, than ours. But we were astute enough just to shut our mouths, open our wallet and take advantage of a great bargain. By the way, this strategy works best at independently-owned stores where the owner has more authority to make instant decisions. So if the chain store has it for less, at least give the independent, local store owner a chance to meet the price. Buy it used: Reexamine your attitudes about buying used items. Most of us live in “used” houses—someone else probably built your home and inaugurated the shower, toilet, fridge, and more. Many of us drive used cars; if you define your needs and research prices via online sales outlets (like Cars.com, craigslist and AutoTrader.com in the United States)—or use a purchasing agent—you can certainly save a bundle. But what about everything else? If you are a thrift store or garage-sale addict, look at whether you are saving money or whether you are buying items you don’t need just because they’re “such a bargain.” But if you wouldn’t be caught dead in a Salvation Army thrift store, look around your town: thrift stores have become fashionable emporiums. Clothing, kitchenware, furniture, drapes—all can be found in thrift stores, and you may be surprised at the high quality of many of them. Donating brand-new items to thrift stores is one way that shopaholics justify excess purchases. If you just can’t bring yourself to shop at thrift stores, consider consignment shops. The prices are higher, but the quality is consistently high as well. In our experience, thrift stores are best for clothing, but garage sales are cheaper (and more reliable) for appliances, furniture, and household items. If you’re an early bird (arriving before the sellers have even had their morning coffee) you can often find exceptional buys—unless you get shoo-ed away because you are too early. On the other hand, the later in the day you go to a garage sale, the more eager the people will be to get rid of the stuff for a song.“Swap meets” and “flea markets” are two names for the same event—weekend open-air bazaars where you’ll find merchants of every stripe displaying their wares: shrewd hucksters, collectors of every kind and families hoping to unload their excess before moving across the country. Just as when you shop at discounters, you have to know your prices. Some clever nomads are working the flea-market circuit who will sell you tools, clothing, housewares, and other items for more than you’d pay at the shopping mall. In recent years, eBay and other online auctions have become a craze and helped move buying used from tacky to smart.

9. Meet Your Needs Differently

The principle of substitution says that there are hundreds if not thousands of ways to meet a need. Traditional economics would have you believe that more, better, or different stuff can satisfy almost any need and is just a credit card swipe away. But who says frugal pleasures are less pleasurable because they are less pricey? For example, what’s the best way to lift your spirits? An antidepressant? Running? Cognitive therapy? A change of scenery? Going to a funny movie? Helping someone in a worse pickle? Retail therapy? Which works best for you? Do you have just one strategy or many different ones? When you feel depleted, where do you turn? Rest? Exercise? Caffeine? Therapy (retail or talk)? TV? In other words, there’s a difference between needs and the strategies we use to “satisfy” those needs. The Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef has studied needs and the strategies that satisfy them. He found that across time and culture the following needs are universal: subsistence, protection (safety), affection, understanding (making sense of life), participation (being part of some social process), recreation (in the sense of leisure, time to reflect or idleness), creation (making things), identity (who you are) and freedom (choosing for oneself). If these needs are not met, to some degree, in your life, likely you’ll feel dissatisfied and search for something to satisfy that longing. The consumer culture would say, “Shop!” Your habit patterns would say, “When I feel this way, I always. . . .” But let’s take one of these needs and see how to meet it by widening your repertoire of how needs can be met and then choosing the strategy (or strategies) that fits best. One of the universal needs Max-Neef identified is “freedom.” Freedom is the need for autonomy (making your own choices according to your own best lights) and independence (doing what you will, apart from the demands or expectations of others). In America, freedom has become deeply tied to mobility—getting in something with wheels (or wings) and going away. It’s also connected with not having to share with anyone, so you can have access to everything you want whenever you want. It is also linked to any product that will let you ignore the consequences of your actions—from antiaging cream to credit cards. Of course we are freedom-loving people—all people are! But here’s a substitution exercise I’ve run about freedom... If when I think “freedom” I think “travel,” what am I looking for? What values or desires lie behind that core need? Often it’s novelty and stimulation and getting out of daily and sometimes deadening routines. It’s needing some aimlessness and idleness in contrast to my norm of purposefulness. It’s learning—new languages, cultures, facts. Meeting new people. A slower pace with less stress. Swimming in a different set of assumptions, getting jolted out of narrow-mindedness. Tasting new foods. Indulging in a novel during a long flight. It’s being out of town and unavailable for all the meetings and decisions that tend to whittle down my store of daily joy. But do I need to travel to faraway places to experience these things? Remember, substitution as a frugality strategy isn’t about downgrading pleasure. It’s about ensuring that I get precisely what I am seeking at half the cost—or no cost at all. I’m not limiting myself (waaa!), I’m focusing on myself (yum!). Freedom from my daily routines might involve letting go of rigid standards (let the house be less clean), some burdensome responsibilities (don’t always say yes to those requesting my help), and some entrenched habits (why not go out to eat with friends more often)? With rising gas prices, people are traveling locally—seeing the sights within a day’s drive—and discovering exotic people and places nearby. Staying closer to home also reveals some hidden treasures in your backyard, or over the backyard fence—like your beautiful flower garden or your neighbor’s interesting stories. Stay put long enough and the details and delights of where you have become more evident. See, substitution isn’t deprivation, it’s about getting creative. Substitution also reminds us that consumption is rooted in changing a feeling state, which is a signal that a need isn’t being filled. We feel hungry so we eat to have a feeling of satisfaction. We feel lonely so we join a club or make a date to feel connected. We feel bored so we go to a movie or read a magazine or go on a trip to feel enlivened. As Max-Neef points out, most of our needs are not material! Substitution says, “When you feel a desire to shop, take time to trace it back to the need and ask if creativity rather than consumption might best fill it.” Donella Meadows cuts to the heart of it in Beyond the Limits: People don’t need enormous cars, they need respect. They don’t need closets full of clothes, they need to feel attractive and they need excitement and variety and beauty. People don’t need electronic equipment; they need something worthwhile to do with their lives. People need identity, community, challenge, acknowledgment, love, and joy. To try to fill these needs with material things is to set up an unquenchable appetite for false solutions to real and never-satisfied problems. The resulting psychological emptiness is one of the major forces behind the desire for material growth. Substitution isn’t a limitation. It’s liberation. It’s letting go of assumptions and habits, looking at the richness of reality and picking from the smorgasbord of pleasures available right in front of your nose.

10. Follow the Nine Steps of This Program

The steps of this program have been successfully followed by hundreds of thousands of people. These people have found that doing all the steps leads to a transformed experience of money and the material world. It’s the transformation, not the tips, that saves them money. Mild shopping addictions evaporate. Self-denial and self-indulgence both yield to self-awareness, which ends up being a much bigger pleasure. You can use this program as a series of tips or advice, or you can let it work its magic by doing the steps. They are a whole-system approach to money and stuff that changes your habits by changing your way of seeing. All the steps matter. They synergize to spur you on.

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New Post has been published on https://atticusblog.com/the-best-gadgets-of-2017-so-far/

The Best Gadgets of 2017 (So Far)

Our definition of a device for the purposes of this text is truly the high-quality techy stuff that you’ll need to reveal off for your friends. Who doesn’t love devices? We’ve already taken a study all the satisfactory laptops, tablets, and smartphones of 2017 to this point, but there are some awesome devices out of doors of those categories that have been released in 2017 so far.

The system global is still run through CES we still haven’t yet visible the release of all of the exciting and quirky devices that had been shown off in advance this 12 months.

So right here are the 5 first-rate devices to be released in 2017 thus far:

At $a hundred and fifty, the SmartFeeder isn’t always an impulse purchase, and it doesn’t do a whole lot beyond its number one characteristic to appeal to a huge market of purchasers. It’s additionally intended for use for a single pet, that means that if you have more than one cat or dog, you have got to shop for additional feeders, which causes the charge to balloon quickly.

But, in case you’re an unmarried pet family and inquisitive about smart domestic technology, the Petnet SmartFeeder does an excellent task with its main goal: feeding your puppy the right quantity of meals at the time you specify, irrespective of what.—Eric Walters Ruggedly constructed, with clean lines and an effortless weight, the LG Watch Sport is really a watch that announces something. It has all of the capabilities you need for everyday wear and running out, but comes up quick in battery lifestyles. Considering that caveat, the Sport is close to being my favorite Android Wear watch, despite the fact that it isn’t the selection for traveling or virtually long days.—Jason D’Aprile

Promotional Power Banks: Choosing the Best Custom Corporate Gifts

People these days always need to live connected whenever and wherever they’re. May it be for personal or commercial enterprise motives, all of us wants to be connected may also or not it’s the Internet or telephone maximum specifically for humans within the corporate global wherein time is usually of the essence.

Even with the progress of era, this era has but to increase devices that could stay powered up forever, as a consequence the need for standby power that might be used each time and everywhere. This is the purpose why strength banks have to emerge as a primary necessity in this day age, a handy device that one could not in all likelihood stay without, and a super custom company gifts for individuals who are always on the go.

It isn’t sufficient to go for pretty much another transportable phone chargers. It needs to also be custom-made for its to hold the logo of the corporation. These devices end up the extension of the organization’s identification and it is going to be the symbol of the employer’s gratitude to its recipients, may additionally its customers who have patronized the employer’s merchandise or companions inside the organization’s operation. The equal common sense also applies for gadgets which might be used to sell a business enterprise. Custom promotional objects are very powerful in accomplishing out the target consumer demographics and are very helpful in terms of logo retention.

Given these types of, the business enterprise should make certain that the energy banks need to be custom-made to hold the logo of the agency or any indicator of the organization’s emblem.

Another crucial aspect that wishes to be taken into consideration is the specification of the strength bank. It should be able to suit the desires of the target recipient.

The most fundamental specification that needs to be taken into consideration is the electric rate that the batteries of the electricity financial institution can keep. This is commonly represented by mAh or milliampere-hour. This techy device relies on the to be had the power it has in its garage. Thus, preferably, the better strength that it could keep, the greater reliable it’s far on the subject of long hours of utilization.

History of Gadgets

The records of gadgets span as a long way again as humanity itself – seeing that hominids commenced growing gear to make their lives simpler. Humans have always created gadgets and home equipment with unique practical purposes that had been, to begin with, the concept of as novelties, due to unfamiliarity with and initial unwillingness to accept the technology. Today, industry has augmented the creation of recent devices, even as certain retailers, along with Brookstone and Richard Thalheimer’s RichardSolo.Com, specialize in popularizing them.

What well-known inventors Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Leonardo da Vinci, among others, had in not unusual turned into foresight. They understood that a lifetime spent gambling with what others viewed as toys and senseless devices might, in the end, bring about the integral generation. From simply that small group, the foundation for electricity, communications, film, and flight changed into laid due to their gadgets, which obviously possessed extra cost than a novelty.

Perhaps one of the earliest, most well-known gadgets created is the wheel, many millennia in the past. Take a trip for your vehicle and witness how truly revolutionary one of this machine have become and what sort of we now depend on it for transportation. A greater current device, the Apple iPhone, appears to be the beginning ranges of yet every other machine grew to become the necessity in an effort to reshape communications.

“The iPhone may additionally sooner or later be looked upon because the tool that began the second revolution in computing

Desktop computing became the primary revolution. Hand-held computing will one day be deemed as the second revolution, and the iPhone is the product that started out it.” -Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.Com

All gadgets had been now not created same

In truth, most innovations are built on the most recent generation. The global of gadgets is tired; gadgets fall into certainly one of 4 categories: mechanical, digital, programmable, and application. Mechanical gadgets encompass the wheel, as well as later developments which include the pulley, the bicycle, the sailboat, the thermometer and the type. Following the advent of strength, gadgets were taken to a new stage as investors began to discover extraordinary makes use of for the newly harnessed electricity. The tv, radio and quartz watch are examples of electronic gadgets. After energy, investors toyed around with electronic facts thru microprocessor, beginning an age of programmable devices which includes computer systems, and later, MP3 gamers and the iPhone. Application gadgets consist of iTunes, Microsoft Office and other PC applications that customize our experience with programmable devices.

Far From the Madding Crowd – An Analysis of Death in Thomas Hardy’s Novel

Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd is a 19th-century novel set in a provincial society

The concern of dying within the narrative is represented with the aid of the murder of Sergeant Troy and the tragic cease of his lover Fanny Robin. This article seems on the loss of life of Fanny, exploring numerous narrative techniques and literary devices Hardy employs, in addition to assessing sure genres the radical will be considered to belong.

Far from the Madding Crowd to start with appears to be a typical 19th-century realist novel

However, a deeper evaluation could display the multitude of genres subtly included into its cautiously built framework. It is this taken into consideration mixture of popular literary bureaucracy, consisting of the pastoral tale, classical tragedy and comedian romance, which make contributions in large part to the novel’s enduring attraction, undermining any dismissive categorization of realist fiction. Consequently, it is tough to determine exactly to which genre Hardy’s novel might potentially belong.

One of the literary devices Hardy utilizes most regularly is imagery

Far from the Ma a unique rich in intensely descriptive detail, a function that isn’t always merely arbitrary but as a substitute bureaucracy a part of a powerful pictorial design, drawing drastically from the visual arts. Most of the chapters inside the tale are of a rather episodic nature, in part implied via every of them being named. ‘On Casterbridge Highway’ info Fanny Robin’s lonely trek to the workhouse in which she eventually passes away. As with numerous others, this chapter features as a type of set piece, with Fanny’s arduous journey being framed almost as though it had been a scene from a painting, with the author’s prose style now and again alluding to the educational vernacular of pictorial art.

This painterly language manifests itself in a ramification of guises, the primary on this chapter being the description of Casterbridge Highway, which the reader is informed of as being “now indistinct amid the penumbra of night time” (XL, p.258). The use of the word ‘penumbra’ is common of Hardy’s inventive sensibility, wherein various results of mild and gradations of coloration are employed to delineate positive characters and gadgets, along with the use of complicated framing and shifting views, all of this growing a complicated visual choreography. Contrast is likewise obvious inside the description of the city of Casterbridge as a “luminosity acting the brighter” in terms of the “circumscribing darkness” of the “moonless and starless night time” (XL, p.258).

Hardy’s imagistic design has much in common with the impressionist painting contemporary of his day and is perhaps maximum considerably evinced on this specific scene whilst Fanny catches a glimpse of a girl in a passing carriage. Although Fanny simplest saw her face momentarily, it’s far nevertheless defined in near detail: “the general contours were flexuous and childlike but the finer lineaments had all started to be sharp and thin” (XL, p.258). What impressionist painting and Hardy’s prose appear to percentage is a nice of a notion that suggests a fleeting apprehension of a sure item or occasion rather than a studied and settled an account.

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IPL 2017 Fantasy Tips (updated): SRH vs GL and MI vs KKR

With Mustafizur Rahman nevertheless not available for selection, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have genuinely no purpose to exchange their playing XI. The controversial picks – Moises Henriques, Ben Slicing, and Rashid Khan – all did greater than sufficient to justify their spot. The Lions, however, confirmed why I stated they are a bottom 4 crew this yr.

The first-class they might do is drop considered one of their distant places bats – most probably, James Roy – for James Faulkner/Andrew Tye, which isn’t always going to have tons of an impact, either. As referred to inside the preceding Lions’ article, their remote places bats are extraordinarily prone to exceptional spin bowling, which changed into proved via Kuldeep Yadav at Rajkot. It could be worse had they hung on to one of the many possibilities that Raina provided and Sunil Narine been his usual self. Sunrisers have an equally capable bowling attack to exploit this weakness.

If Rashid Khan receives his length right these days, the game might be over very quickly for the Suresh Raina-led aspect. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s new ball skill could be a threat, too. Upload Ashish Nehra, Bipul Sharma, Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting to it, you will have as desirable an aid cast as you may ask for.Myth Elements: Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, and Yuvraj Singh – all regarded in good touch inside the suit in opposition to RCB, however, you can’t deliver all of them, can you? Henriques is if he’s one of the five most important bowling options, but by using the looks of it, he sincerely isn’t. With Rohit Sharma suffering for shape

Robin Uthappa’s demotion, Ambati Rayudu’s injury and the unavailability of Indian batsmen like Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli, Dhawan and Yuvraj come again into contention. Between the two, Dhawan is both less expensive and bats better up the order, so I’ve determined to go with him. This in shape, in particular, ought to provide huge returns, given how badly the Lions bowled towards KKR.Rashid Khan’s leg-spin will be too much to handle for the Lions, and therefore I convey him in as nicely. The best Lions’ player who’s well worth selecting is Suresh Raina, however, I will carry him to his subsequent sport and he wasn’t precisely at ease in opposition to the Knight Riders both

IPL Laser Therapy: Learn the Pros and Cons of IPL Laser Therapy

Without question lasers and various light-emitting devices can help reduce signs of aging and fade symptoms of sun damage. With so many IPL laser processes available, understanding the fundamentals about each is crucial to making the fine decision to your worries.ipl laser treatment

A Complex Subject matter

The topic of lasers, intense pulse mild (IPL), or different varieties of pores and skin resurfacing is Complex. If you’ve been doing your homework, you’ve got probably determined a middle of complicated, technical information that is tough to decipher. Determining which IPL laser or mild treatment to get may be further Complex by way of entrepreneurs making unrealistic claims and promises. So, it is important to find a dermatologist who’s clean about the pros and cons and about the enhancements you could expect to peer.

Two Styles of strategies

Lasers and IPL laser remedies are both ablative or non-ablative. Non-ablative treatments goal the decrease layers of pores and skin, at the same time as ablative treatments target both the floor and the lower layers of pores and skin. The system you pick out depends on the effects you’re searching out and what kind of threat you’re willing to take.

Ablative lasers can:

Make a good sized distinction in the appearance of wrinkles, significantly fade pores and skin discolorations, erase years of sun harm by replacing broken skin with healthier pores and skin. Risks from ablative procedures include:

Swelling, scabbing, oozing, bleeding, flaking, redness, large inflammation that calls for an extended time to heal, and long-time period pores and skin discoloration and scarring. After ablative laser treatment, the pores and skin oozes, bleeds, and crusts. It takes approximately Two weeks earlier than you will look even vaguely ordinary. In case you chose an ablative treatment, observe post-op care commands cautiously. Inconsistency or incomplete care can cause infection, postpone restoration, and increase inflammation.

Non-ablative resurfacing inclusive of IPL laser therapy has none of the facet outcomes associated with ablative resurfacing. But, it doesn’t produce the same dramatic outcomes as ablative resurfacing does. And a couple of remedies are required for the maximum important final results. The gain for non-ablative resurfacing is its minimum downtime.

Non-ablative lasers can:

Dispose of a few pores and skin discolorations, improve and potentially remove redness, enhance minor wrinkles and first-class lines, and stimulate collagen manufacturing after repeated remedies. Risks from non-ablative approaches encompass:

Why Transforming IAM To CIAM Is An Asymptotic Fantasy

It has been greater than 1/2 a decade due to the fact that people are looking to understand the principles of IAM and cIAM. There is very less consciousness about identification control and it is able to be hard to apprehend the difference between eIAM (agency identification and get right of entry to control) and cIAM (customer identity and access management). It’s been quite a long term in view that people are looking to clean the difference among eIAM and cIAM, however, all efforts appeared worthless. So, let’s make things clearer and permit’s be on the same grounds. The writing at the wall is formidable and clean.

“It is difficult to transform eIAM to cIAM”

Do you need to recognize why? There are a few data which I’m going to display however before that permit’s brush up a few identity management concepts.

Identity: Described

Anything which enables to identify yourself in a bodily world can be termed as identity. Typically, government Id cards are used for satisfying the cause. As a result, an identity card is issued for the reason of allowing a few privileged get admission to a rightful character and it can be utilized in diverse segments of society.

Digital identity: Defined

Virtual identity is your on-line reputation. It enables to discover yourself as someone in the real world. someone may additionally have multiple Virtual identities in keeping with his or her needs. however, Virtual identities are most effective entertained for a particular website or a community because of this that a Gmail e-mail deal with can only be recognized in Google community. Subsequently, a Virtual identity (a person) receives approval to get entry to the internet site. This is how a website plays the authentication process.

Get admission to Described

When you get internal a premises to utilize its sources, It’s miles known as gaining get right of entry to. Furthermore, the sensitivity of information decides the degree of permission provided. So, public information are is straightforward to access inclusive of facts on websites at the same time as non-public messages which include emails want special authorization (that is referred to as login). Ana hit login is the proof for the validation of someone.

Introduction to agency identification and access control

Enterprise identification gets entry to and management is a technology which is utilized in the organization for inner employees, contractors, and companions. The procedure consists of offering identities, authenticating identities and then imparting them get right of entry to sources. As the name implies, the era is concentrated to internal personnel and other participants associated with an agency. The generation focuses on the security aspects in an agency along with restricting sources to in-house personnel, supplying get admission to personnel and other contributors consistent with their profile and helping them to collaborate to work with each other. Subsequently, corporation IAM promotes security in an agency.

Introduction to patron identification and get right of entry to management

Purchaser identity management essentially concentrates on cease-users. They may be intended for clients that are absolutely constructed on one of a kind structure i.E. purchaser centered. Many different elements are added to cIAM to make it capable of dealing with actual-time challenges. It follows the perfect balance between assembly wishes of purchasers and perspectives of an enterprise. allow’s discuss those views in short to get extra insight about cIAM.

IPL 4 Match Report: Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Deccan Chargers

Match performed on April eleven, 2011

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Toss gained by means of KKR, who elected to bat

First Innings (KKR):

Strength Play Overs (1-6):

Kallis persisted his true shape from wherein he left off towards CSK within the beginning sport. At the stop of six overs, KKR had been forty nine/0, with Kallis on 29, and his beginning partner Bisla on 18. DC used Steyn in a 2-over spell and the South African pacer changed into unlucky when Bisla was dropped in his 2nd over via Ishant Sharma at third guy. However that hazard apart, KKR seemed solid.kkr private equity

1/2-manner Mark:

After 10 overs, KKR had reached sixty five/1, having misplaced Bisla LBW to Mishra for 19. Ojha changed into also bowling properly, and among the spinners, they’d conceded simply 15 runs in four overs. Gambhir’s fanatics could have been relieved to see the batsman walking in at variety 3. Gambhir had dropped himself down the order against CSK, a decision that arguably fees KKR a sport they should have otherwise gained.

Fifteen Over Level:

KKR had reached 118/2, having lost Kallis in Duminy’s first over for a strong fifty-three. With Gambhir on 18 off 11 balls and Tiwary, continuing his amazing shape from the CSK recreation, on 21 off thirteen balls, KKR had constructed a platform to launch the final assault.

Slog Overs (sixteen – 20):

Mishra bowled brilliantly to disregard Gambhir within the 17th over and that delivered Yusuf Pathan to the crease. Pathan did no longer disappoint his fans and plundered 10 runs in Steyn’s next over that fee DC 15 runs. However, Steyn had the last snigger when he brushed off Pathan off the final ball of the innings.

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Original M/M Search!

Hello, everyone! My name is Wren, I'm 24 and have been RPing for over 10 years now. I have a few plot cravings that I'm dying to try out, so I decided to make a search for it! I'm looking for someone 20+ who would be interested in original, m/m plots. As far as writing goes, I write 3rd person past tense. I usually write around 800 -- 1,800+ words. I can definitely write more or a little less, but most of the time I mirror what I'm given! I'm looking for a partner who falls close to the same range. Basically, 3-4 decent sized paragraphs. I'm an artist and currently work from home, so I'm available at least to chat most of the time. I'm in the CST time zone (US) and will usually get to at least one reply every 1-3 days. Occasionally it may be closer to once a week. It really depends, but I'll always let you know if there's going to be a delay! I only write m/m pairings (side characters can be whatever gender/sexuality) and all characters must be 18+. I do enjoy smut, however I prefer more plot to smut, or at least an even 50/50. My only kink limits are the more extreme things (toilet anything, beastiality, bloodplay, incest, underaged characters, Mpreg, ABO dynamics, etc). I'll always let you know if I'm uncomfortable with something! I prefer to let our characters develop naturally, but I don't typically like strict top/bottom dynamics. I could be swayed to play a more strict sub in certain plots, if you're more comfortable with that. We can discuss it! I’m also down for having multiple characters and couples in one RP, if the story calls for it. Email only for the RP! I also have a Discord I can give you, if you prefer that for chatting OOC~ When you email me, let me know a little about you and any characters or plot ideas you may have. Feel free to ask me any questions, too! Now, onto the fun! _________ These are just some basic plot ideas and themes. If you have any of your own ideas, feel free to tell me them! • MC is a guardian angel originally sent to Earth as a test: make your assigned human's greatest wish come true, or be cast out from heaven and become a demon. When he realized the test was nearly impossible to complete and that he actually didn't like being an angel that much, he gave up. Now, while waiting for his time to be up and slowly losing feathers from his wings, he spends most of his days hanging around demons. These demons are fun loving, wild, and sent to Earth to cause chaos. YC is one of these demons, whose taken an interest in MC. Maybe they already know each other, or not. Maybe MC finds out he has a chance to actually complete his mission and return to heaven, and has to decide whether or not to do it. Maybe YC tries to help with that mission. Or maybe MC starts helping the demons with their chaos spreading. Maybe there's a bigger conspiracy going on, involving both heaven and hell. There's a lot of options! I'm also down for having more characters, be they demons, angels, guardian angels, humans, or anything else! • Enemies to lovers, hate sex, power struggles, awkward moments as genuine feelings start to form. A detective and a criminal? A cop and a prostitute? Rival musicians? Rival students in a dark academia setting? Two feuding gods or demigods? • A detective (YC) is put undercover in a seedy part of town and meets a surly ex-med student running a shady business (MC). They start up a strange, informant-with-benefits relationship while unravelling a dark mystery in the city. • A drug addict (MC) looking for a new lease on life ends up striking a deal with a wealthy businessman (YC), who is an ex-addict himself. He’ll help this poor guy get clean and allow him to stay at his place, as long as he does whatever he tells him to along the way. Maybe this charming tycoon isn’t as proper as he seems to be on the surface. • A futuristic, cyberpunk type world. A futuristic Robin Hood ends up falling for the son of one of the city’s wealthiest men, who he was trying to rob? A delivery driver unwittingly gets pulled into a complex plot to overthrow the government? Two hackers electronically rob big businesses to supply their own wild lifestyle? • Original superheroes and super villains! Or anti-heroes, anti-villains, vigilantes, etc. Basically, people with superpowers doing cool superpower, action things. • Original characters in the Star Wars universe! We could do something action oriented with high stakes, an epic space adventure, or a simple slice-of-life story that just so happens to take place in the universe. I'm up for anything! • Horror/crime. Two friends/a group of friends reunite to solve an old mystery that still haunts them? An elite college is plagued by murder after gruesome murder, which our characters are caught up in and must solve? In a small town, weird things keep happening and our characters try to find out why? If any of these ideas sound interesting, shoot me an email! Tell me about yourself, your interests, and any plot or character ideas you may have! Contact me at: [email protected]

#oc rp #multiple paragraph #long term #short term #literate #action #adventure #fantasy #horror #modern #original #romance #scifi #slice of life #submission

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webpostingpro-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Webpostingpro

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IPL 2017 Fantasy Tips (updated): SRH vs GL and MI vs KKR

IPL Laser Therapy: Learn the Pros and Cons of IPL Laser Therapy

A Complex Subject matter

Two Styles of strategies

Ablative lasers can:

Non-ablative lasers can:

Why Transforming IAM To CIAM Is An Asymptotic Fantasy

“It is difficult to transform eIAM to cIAM”

Do you need to recognize why? There are a few data which I’m going to display however before that permit’s brush up a few identity management concepts.

Identity: Described

Digital identity: Defined

Get admission to Described

Introduction to agency identification and access control

Introduction to patron identification and get right of entry to management

IPL 4 Match Report: Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Deccan Chargers

Match performed on April eleven, 2011

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Toss gained by means of KKR, who elected to bat

First Innings (KKR):

Strength Play Overs (1-6):

1/2-manner Mark:

Fifteen Over Level:

Slog Overs (sixteen – 20):

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