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*lays seductively on a piano* hey, if you wanna find an interesting read for people craving some Roxas content, i have a massive wip fic over on my ao3 that im getting ready to drop two big updates for in the next month or two wink wink.
it's a completely platonic fic about Roxas and his oddball connection to Ventus after the events of kh3. it's very long. it's already longer than a lord of the rings book.
#kingdom hearts#stormy weather#roxas#ventus#simply go read it youll be very impressed#i bring this up also bc I like to poke and nudge the story in front of people when im getting ready to update it.#to put into perspective how much I have ready to update#i wrote 3/4ths of ch 12.#and ive had scattered paragraphs from ch 11 to piece together for about a year now#im updating.... finally
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Whenever the sun is hiding
“And I wish that she’s you. If we have met a little bit sooner I’d marry you. Why can’t it be you?”
Pairing: General!Kun x warrior!female reader, Mulan AU, enemies to lovers Genre: SMUT, FLUFF, angst? WC: 3,750k Warnings: this story is so asian because it is a Mulan AU, this is a time where women are allowed to be warriors, mentions of heavy training bc they’re warriors, cheating but... youll get it once you read it, unprotected sex, mentions of fingering, mentions of Kun fantasizing about the reader fucking him, fingering, a lot of kisses, slight exhibitionism, mentions of other idols A/N: NOT PROOFREAD. I’ll fix it once I have time. I just watched the new Mulan movie, (yes the one that was boycotted) and it was amazing. To the one who requested this... I’m sorry if you’re not asian, :( but I hope you still read and love this.
Under the scorching sun in the middle of summer, warriors are trained to be prepared of what lies ahead. The power of the enemy is quickly growing by every second and the young warriors of China, and it’s very young, new and ambitious general is not going to slack off until his nation is safe.
That is why he is very hard and strict with how he teaches the warriors assigned to him. So strict that every woman in his battalion went home after the first few days of training. Except you.
It is your incredible will and perseverance to bring honor to your family that’s making you stay and helping you go through each hard training everyday. And who would have thought that your perseverance and driven soul will make general Qian Kun hate you to the core.
But that’s not the only reason why he hates you.
One beautiful night after your night duty when you thought everyone was asleep, you took a bath on the river and enjoyed your time alone. Releasing your feminine side by smiling while watching the moon, catching flowers that fell on water and tuck one behind your ears. You were beautiful, the general thought.
So beautiful that he almost did not realized that he was peeking now and accidentally saw your breasts the moment you went out of water. He then quickly hid behind a big rock, careful not to make a sound and careful not to be caught. That night, he touched himself while thinking about you.
And that is why general Qian Kun hated you. Because despite being a successful general in his very young age, he’s still a man who can’t have a decent fuck when he sure knew he needed one. You make him sin even though he’s already engaged and every time he touch himself with you in his mind, he will always feel so guilty afterwards.
Who wouldn’t hate you for that?
“Wake up, wake up my general”
There’s that soft toned wake up call again with a faint image of a woman on top of him, blurry because of the sunlight behind her that hurts Kun’s eyes and made him squint, but he knew he was dreaming.
And then he woke up.
It’s that dream again. The dream of his future wife who had been matched to him a day before he left for his duty as general. What a pity. It doesn’t look that much, but Kun was so excited to meet her in person. But the girl has been visiting her in his dreams, and that’s why he knew that this marriage is a good idea. This marriage will be beautiful, she will be beautiful and he will have a quiet married life after this duty of his.
Kun got up from his comfort and asked his assistant if you had gone home already and coward away. “No general, Y/n was seen during the morning run,” the soldier answered.
“Bring her to me, I want to talk to her,” Kun ordered and then stretched is body before putting on his robe and sit on his chair, waiting for your presence.
“General, L/N Y/N is here,” the soldier announced and Kun commanded you to enter right away.
It was nice on the generals tent, cozy and not hot like the tent you use together with the others. His things were neatly placed, and he is staring right at you now.
“From now on you will go last with everything. Last in line, last to shower, last to rest after training. Except during meals, you’re first during meals but don’t eat with other men. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir!” Of course it was clear to you but you never know why? Did you do something wrong?
But the real reason is, after what happened the other night, the incident in the river, Kun can’t risk the other men to be distracted by you. Some men in the battalion are already matched and ready to marry when they get home, just like him. So he can’t tolerate sin now and raise cheaters during this training .
Or maybe he simply just wanted to protect you.
For you it’s alright if you’re always last, what’s more important is you’re not last when it comes to skills and fighting. You were always doing great in the field, and the general was always impressed by what you’re showing. He just can’t say it out loud because it will hurt his pride. But who cares if he agrees, you’re not giving up and that’s what’s important.
Knowing that you’re last to take a shower and to clean yourself in the river, Kun can’t contain himself even though he has been avoiding you for weeks now. Yes. Weeks. But all his great efforts are coming to waste because at the end of the day, he will end up thinking about you and well, fantasize about you fucking him instead of resting.
“Maybe you like her and deep inside it’s not just weird fantasies after all,” the second general, Lucas, said to Kun while he is busy washing his hair.
“Did you forget that I’m matched already and she’s waiting for me to return home?” Kun frustratingly answered back.
“No, I did not forget that. But you don’t know this fiancé of yours, and you have never seen her or touched her,”
“Sure I did. In my dreams”
“That doesn’t count you moron. Look, if fantasising is not enough for you maybe just ask her-“
“You’re the moron, you know I can’t do that. I can lose my rank as general,”
“Let me finish first” Lucas held up his big hand and waited his friend to shut up, “Ask her truthfully, be clear with your intentions. After all, she’s a girl too and maybe she needs what you have been wanting too,” Lucas explained and left for he is done taking a bath.
Turns out Lucas was right. Whenever you take a bath in the river alone, and made sure that no one is watching, you touch yourself quickly and relieve your stress in a corner. Imagining a man whose fingers are deep inside you and imagining that you two are in a hurry so others won’t catch you.
Then after a good orgasm, you just feel silly and desperate. Why do I do this to myself, you murmured.
“Next time do it behind that rock,”
A familiar voice startled you and instantly made you shy. Did he saw you touch yourself? How much did he saw or hear? Why is he here? Did he do this on purpose? Of all people, why the general?
“I’m sorry general. I should get going...” you said with shy eyes, covering your still wet body with your thin robe and avoiding the general’s gaze that melts you instantly.
“Can you join me?” he stopped you from walking away from him, holding you by the elbow. A gesture that you can read easily. The general is not joking and he meant every word he said.
By the time he left you to go in the middle of the river, you haven’t made up your mind but you aren’t leaving yet as if you wanted to accept his offer and see what goes after. What are expecting? A kiss? A good talk? A good fuck? Why does he want me to join him?
All these questions ran through your mind as you slowly untie your robe and let it fall on the ground, walking slowly towards to the handsome man waiting for you under the moon and stars in the middle if a cold river.
Whatever happens, happens.
“So this is your decision?” He asked you calmly, with a soft smile that you have never seen him wear. “We will never speak of this whenever the sun is up,”
You nodded slowly and he came close, grabbing you by the waist and lifting you underwater so you could lock your legs around him.
“Tell me, are you matched?” he asked, looking so handsome in his damped hair.
“I am,” you answered weakly but you already got lost in his eyes.
“All the more reason to hide what we have,” he said and started kissing your neck that felt so good. Suddenly the cold water became warm, or that’s just Kun sharing an unfamiliar heat to you.
Slowly, he walked towards the big rock he talked about earlier. Feeling the water gush to your body and his hand soothing your butt underwater while making small talk. Everything feels so wrong but so good at this moment that you can only let out soft moans and listen to his groans as he was busy kissing you and kept on touching your body. Kissing your breast and licking your nipples like you were some kind of cold treat on a summer day, and you did not miss how his tongue felt around your sensitive areas.
“General-“
“Kun. Call me Kun whenever were alone,” he whispers and started nibbling your earlobe. His hands started to roam on your inner thighs, holding you with one hand and readying himself to make his first move. “Don’t make a sound,” he said and kissed you on the lips. Deep and with tongue that you became speechless and all you can do is shut your eyes close and feel this two fingers go inside your cunt. In and out you feel him under water but it sadly it doesn’t do the job.
“I think it’s the water,” he stopped and groaned quietly, his frustration was obvious. Is he really desperate to fuck tonight? “Let’s go to my tent, what do you think?” he asks you.
“N-no. That’s too much. We can get caught, I think I’m fine for tonight-“
He cut you off with a smirk and chuckle, “No were not. Were not going to get caught and were certainly not yet done for the night, unless you really want to. I can’t force you,” and again, he gave you freedom to choose. But whenever he’s like this you can’t help but feel like you’re throwing yourself to him. You just stared at his eyes and traced his soft lips using your thumb.
“Lead the way,” you said. And you witnessed him smile from ear to ear.
Quiet and very careful, you and Kun walked towards his tent and made sure that no one will see you together. Good thing the coast is clear and if anyones is awake, they should be guarding the place like a hawk. The moment you’re both inside his cozy tent, he blew the candle so no one would see your silhouettes, and of course, you did not make any sound.
He walked you towards his bed and slowly undid your robe, swiftly removing it and making you lie comfortably on his bed. He removed his robe and went on top of you immediately, staying in between your legs while he spreads kisses on your body. But you swear, you wanted to see his cock to inspect whether it’s big or can it fit?
“Don’t worry, you will feel it in a moment. And it will answer all your questions,” he smirked in between kissing your left breast while kneading the other. “Do you like kisses?” He asks as he spreads some around your body all the way down to your cunt, teasing it with a few licks.
“Now I do,” you smiled and answered his question. Reaching for his head to rake away his hair and to see how his tongue works.
Incredible. As expected and you wish you could make a sound.
Kun went back up to you, searching for your eyes under the very minimal light, “You should be kissed often, and by someone who knows how” he whispered and placed a soft kiss on your lips.
“Is that an invitation for tomorrow night?” You joked and smiled through the feeling of him finally spreading your legs open and making you feel his cock slide up and down your wet slit, again, teasing you and preparing you for what’s yet to come.
“If you let me kiss you everyday then I’m considered the luckiest man on Earth”
Such sweet words you thought. But such sweet words are not easily said if you don’t like the person you’re with. In other words, you don’t know if he actually mean it or is he just trying to be sweet because he’s about to fuck you senseless now?
“Ugh- it wont go in,” he said frustrated but still quiet. He’s that big and you are that tight.
“Ahh- fuck I wasn’t ready” you almost screamed the moment he put two fingers in your hole to prep you more, making you wetter by every second.
“Fuck its huge,” you informed him when Kun finally manage to put a few inches inside. He just chuckled and lowered himself to kiss your neck, whispering, “its not yet even halfway in,” he said in a very sexy way that just took your breath away.
But before he fucks you properly, he made sure he’s looking directly to you not missing the way you will react when he finally move. And when he finally did you furrowed your brows and parted your lips shamelessly, letting out small sounds that’s for yourselves only. You look and sounded so beautiful and irresistible Kun thought and he knew right then and there that he will be addicted to you. Almost to the point of he can’t let you go.
“Please don’t get me pregnant,” you plead and hold on tightly to his shoulders and kiss him even more deeply.
“I wont” he said and spread your legs even more for a new angle. Finally giving you hard and piercing thrust that you don’t have any choice but to accept them.
The night continued as you two forget the world outside the tent. He did a lot of things to you. Completely maximizing his time before the sun appears. After the first wave of your sexual activity, to your surprise he flipped you on your stomach and made you arched your back beautifully. Spreading kisses on your back while he kneads your breast from behind, pinching your nipples and giving them a great squeeze from time to time... as he fucks you harder from behind that if anyone is listening outside they will already know what you two are doing in the dark.
And just as you thought that he’s done with you, for his final move tonight, his grand finale, he made you cum using his tongue with two fingers inside your cunt and his other hand busy kneading one of your breast.
“Your legs are shaking uncontrollably, are you fine?” He was teasing you. If you have the energy to punch him you would gladly do it but now you really can’t.
While you two were enjoying the quietness of the night, you snuggle beside Kun while he wraps his arms around you. Both staring blankly in the ceiling and both replaying what happened earlier in your minds.
“I don’t feel guilty, I hope you do too” he said out of nowhere.
“Surprisingly I don’t feel guilty either,” you tighten your embrace to him.
“Is that an acceptance for my invitation for tomorrow night?” He smiled. You didn’t answer him for it was far too obvious already.
By the time you and Kun parted ways before the sun comes up, you both instantly felt incomplete. Why? You managed to get back to your tent quietly and went to sleep immediately, Kun did the same thing but right now as you sleep like a baby, Kun was having a nightmare.
Not exactly a nightmare. But it was for Kun. His fiancé visited him again in his dreams, and even though he knew it was just a dream, he still felt ashamed that he cheated.
On the next day, as expected he was back on his usual cold and strict image like he wasn’t inside you last night. But as much as everything was bothering you and your mind was out of focus the whole day, you didn’t let your guard down still did what you had to do during your training.
“A fucking tiring day don’t you think?” Your friend Hendery whined and flopped to his side of the bed. “You were out late last night. Stargazing again?”
“Y-yes, I saw different stars last night,” you said with a smirk, confident that your friend won’t get it.
And as you did stargazed near the river that night and endured the cold, you waited for a pair of arms to finally keep you warm. And his lips, to kiss your tiredness away. But to your disappointment, he never came.
He didn’t came the next night. Or the night after that. And even the following nights. Until you got the news that he left the camp and went back to the city for serious business for a few days.
“You were just a past time Y/n. The general played you and how come you were such a fool believing that he actually like you” you frustratingly murmured to yourself while you thrown rocks at the river angrily.
“Tss. You should be kissed often, and by someone who knows how” you said mimicking his words before throwing another rock, “where’s my fucking kisses now!”
“I can give them to you know if you want it,”
Finally, the person you hated so much showed up. “Well, it’s too late- general, welcome back” you bowed and gave him respect even though you know he don’t deserve it.
“I’m sorry. Please don’t be like that,” he let go of his horse and reached out to you for a hug but you avoided his touch. “Let me explain and let me make it up to you,”
You shook your head ‘no’ without looking at him. And Kun knew that this was his last card, his last chance to make it right. “I like you and that’s the truth. I realized that now during our time away, and I understand why you feel like this. I’m sorry. Will you please forgive me,”
“You’re general Qian Kun, don’t beg for my forgiveness-“
“I’m not a general right now, I’m just a normal man asking for forgive to the girl I like,” he breathed in deeply and let it out heavily, “My guilt got the best in me for the past days but now... it’s clear that I can’t lose you. Not yet and not like this”
After that night, better days came in, forgiveness was given and everything felt a lot lighter. You and Kun stopped fucking just for the sake of feeding each other’s lust and actually taking time building your relationship. Secretly. But you told him that when it’s time to go home, you should part ways and bring honor to your families by marrying the people waiting for the both of you. He did not answer you.
Of course that didn’t stop Kun from falling in love, because even though you two are in the middle of a war zone and a very sticky situation, it was a beautiful time to be in love.
And when the war between the enemies was settled, Kun wasn’t so happy upon hearing the news because this means its time to go home and get married.
After you and Kun made love in his tent for a couple of times tonight, with tired and sweaty bodies you did not care and still cling to each other.
“Tell me about your match, is he handsome like me?” He asked you out of nowhere which is alarming because he never opened this kind of topic before.
“I haven’t seen him. I left before I could meet him. But I heard that he’s brave and he can do a lot of things and that he loves his mother very much.
How about yours?”
“I don’t know anything about her she visits me in my dreams but I never see her face clearly,”
“And?” you asked because it’s obvious that he’s holding something back.
“And I wish that she’s you. If we have met a little bit sooner I’d marry you. Why can’t it be you?”
“Why? because of sex?” You asked slightly offended.
“No, no don’t get me wrong I think about you even when the sun is shining brightly in the sky or whenever you have clothes on or your body is covered in armor and your face is full of dirt. I admire your natural strength and drive.”
“This is wrong. We agreed to go home with honor” you turned your back against him and thought about what he said.
“Tell me why is this wrong? We love each other-“
“Were engaged to different people... Kun, are you hearing yourself”
“You don't marry someone you can live with, you marry the person you cannot live without and Y/n, I can’t live without you” he explained sternly. Already mad but that didn’t stopped him from covering your exposed body with his blanket and leave a soft kiss on your shoulder.
“This right here, what we have now, it’s everything I wanted and more. In fact, I could die right now, Y/n. I'm just... happy. I've never felt this before. I'm just exactly where I want to be” he whispered but he sounded so frustrated still. “In the end I’ll respect your decision. But I’m not marrying someone I don’t know, someone that’s not you, I would rather die in war,”
If Kun was being honest, he thought you would chose him over someone you don’t know. He was beyond heartbroken when you told him you wanted to go home and thanked him for everything that he taught you in the field. Not even one mention of the special things you shared whenever the sun is hiding. And on top of that, you called him general before you say your goodbye.
And on your wedding day. You were wearing a traditional chinese wedding dress and wearing a beautiful smile because finally you will meet what your ancestors have matched you with.
But just like that cold night beside the river, you waited and waited and waited.... for nothing. For your groom did not show up.
For Kun did not attend his own wedding not knowing that you were the bride.
You were both completely clueless that you were meant to be.
#nsckickback#neosmutcollective#nct-writers#cznnet#neowritingsnet#kpopcape#nct smu#wayv smu#kun smut#wayv kun smut#kun x reader#qian kun#wayv kun x reader#wayv#wayv x reader#qian kun x reader#kun fluff#kun angst#qian kun smut
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Enhypen as dates they would take you on <3
tags: gn!reader, established relationship au, fluff, bf! enha
members: all members !!
wc: 400-800ish for each member ?? this is very long uh I’m sorry I got carried away
a/n: hi, welcome to my first piece of writing on this blog 😁😁 I tried to write so that these matched the members and their personalities the most! Also as this is my first post any interaction is so cherished 🥺 but anyways,, I hope you enjoy :D
open to read
Heeseung
he would take you to so many fun places!!
Your dates would consist of going bowling together, theme parks, a walk in the park — you can count on having a fun time with heeseung!
He would just want to impress you );
He’s be always so attentive to you and remember even the littlest of details about you
You’d be in a shop together looking around and he’ll tap your shoulder, showing you a lace shirt that you instantly fall in love with
It’s just your style!
You’d ask him how he knew you would like it, to which he would simply mumble with, “you told me a few months ago that you like shirts like this.”
You’d just stand in shock like :ooo
Not even you remember telling him that ):
Please he loves you so much, if it’s something that you tell him you like or don’t like, he’ll immediately store it in his memory! He wants to know so much more about you 🥺
Your dates are definitely what you look forward to whenever you see him!!
As much as you love fun day outs with him, you also love your chiller night dates at him <3
Meeting each other late at night after practice? A must!! No way can you let your hee go home alone when he’s the last leaving the practice room after a long day ):<
You would often surprise him by showing up at belift at ungodly hours, and as much as he would scold you with a light frown for coming to see him when it’s already half past midnight,,
You still always catch that small little smile he has whenever you do surprise him hehe
to be aware of just the fact that youre there? is enough for him. you ground him and its especially those spontaneous dates youll throw upon him and inevitably show him without the words uttered that you care for him and you love him?
those are secretley his fave (: but he doesnt have to tell you that - youve already guessed :D
But at the same time on those late night after-practice dates he just wants to make sure that you’re not staying up too late all the time just to make sure he’s doing okay after practice, his y/nnie needs their sleep too ):
And what you’ll do together? Eat ramen of course!!
Although these little late night dates with him usually dont last no longer than an hour, he still treasures them so dearly in his heart ):
Hee sometimes needs a lot of love and assurance, even if he doesn’t mention it
And you’re the best at making him feel better instantly 🥺
but we seriously cant forget about your daytime dates too! each date of yours is always filled with so so many jokes and giggles that your hearts burn with longing for the other whenever you part ways ):
i can see that he’ll even store the memory of your dates even weeks after they’ve happened - he’ll store those memories of you; all in his heart (and the polaroid he took of you in the back of his phonecase 😳) and tucked close.
Jake
as for dates, to me he seems the type to be into really spontaneous and random things!! He’d love going somewhere fun or just simply randomly travelling with you without a destination!
He especially loves to sneak out of the dorm late at night and meet you at you and his favourite park.
It’s located at the top of a really tall hill, and you’ll both spend hours sitting on the swings, chatting away with little care for the rest of the world or the time as you both simply giggle at each other’s jokes and contentedly talk about anything and everything; watching the city lights glow from hundreds of metres below you
He’d offer you his jacket when the temperature drops by a few degrees suddenly
You’d be like no!! It’s okay you should also stay warm, I’m okay 🥺
But then because he is such a sweetheart he’d huff and sit next to you on the swing, making the single-seater far too cramped as he tries to supply you with his body heat if that’s the only way that you’ll accept not freezing to death 😠
But then you’ll both slip due to there not being enough space for both of you on the wing, and your both fall flat down on your butts lmao
You’d both freeze, staring at each other blankly on the floor
but then you’d both crack up and laugh for the longest time — hushing each other in-between giggles from the fear of maybe you were being a bit too loud and could wake some people up?
But then you’d both fall into giggling messes once again as you blame each other for causing the other to fall down ):
You’d eventually sit together huddled on a bench, sitting in silence and simply staring out at seoul’s twinkling night lights as you share his leather jacket: heavy and warm as it drapes across you and his’ shoulders
But eventually you’d both finally head home! — your eyelids soon growing too heavy and both of you afraid of accidentally falling asleep at a park at 1am lmfao
idk why but i can just see a lot of late-night dates with jake,, such as
baking cookies together at 1am???? probably has happened twice already in your relationship aha 😁
honestly you both spend so much time together casually that you end up arguing on whether that time where he randomly showed up at your house wanting to make relationship bracelets together was really a date or not lmao
he is also so <3 so incredibly sweet too though uGH. he is a sweetheart and like heeseung he will remember every little detail of you which will be useful for when he comes up with more date ideas in the future (
on dates such as eating at a restaurant together he will always bring you flowers like the gentleman he is.
it’s kinda funny because when youre both on a date together alone with no other people around you both become complete crackheads
but when meeting in front of others he acts so mature and serious suddenly lmao ??
but honestly he just trusts and loves you so so much that he doesnt even feel like he needs to act a certain way or try to become someone complteley different on a date just to impress you
but its okay because you love the duality of jake sim <3
someone get me him pls. i want one </3
Jay
With jay, shopping dates ??? yes of course (;
he’d simply love taking you out either down a road with many well-known clothing brands or maybe even the mall, entering several clothing stores with you
he never mentions it, but its obvious how much he simply adores seeing you wear the clothes he picks out for you :D
oh and matching couple outfits are obviously always chosen whenever you go out on these fashion dates!!
he will pick out a selection of items he thinks will look good on you, and - to admit it to himself: he does a pretty good damn job
tell me why this boy will get so flustered whenever he sees you walk out of the changing room,, looking so pretty in what he chose for you ??
he’d also one day surprise you on a date with matching couple bracelets :D
you’ll get so excited and he’ll get so shy and try to hide his smile as you compliment how good his sense of style is !! and as much as he denies the fact that he’s blushing you luckily do manage to snap some pics as evidence of the rosy colour in his cheeks hehe
and especially earlier on in the relationship, he’ll always try his best and prepare cute little dates for you both )): and the members would tease him to DEATH for how unbelievably soft and considerate he is when doing things for you when he is so cranky towards them lmfao
chill dates (:
walking in the park together, getting ice cream, going for late night drives and listening to music together </3 with jay it never has to be complicated
Just as long as he gets to be with you, talk with you and touch you then that’s more than enough for him (: he just likes to be in your company
and Idk why I can just see this but he wILL have playground dates with you. dont question it
Because like ?? hanging out on the swings or climbing frame of a kids park at 11PM when there’s no one else there but you both?? Talking and swinging quietly next to each other? very romantic to me hmm
Yes <3
he will stare at you as he silently swings a back and forth a little; brushing the hair out of your face and looking at you with so so much love in his eyes it’s unbelievable
he especially loves just relaxing with you. watching a show on the tv together while cuddling and staying close to each other is something he loves
hearing your giggles and listening to you talk while engaging in teasing banter where he’ll pretend to think the things you say are stupid by scoffing and rolling his eyes when in reality his heart is swelling and he’s trying so hard not to laugh at how cute you are?
shut UP
those are definitely one of his favourite types of dates with you
he’ll constantly try to impress you and will be willing to try so many different things with you
i can see him as either being openly interested about going on typical couple dates together such as painting or eating at romantic restaurants,, or every time you mention something of the sort he’ll be groaning at yet another mention of the ‘couple bucket list’ you had created lol
but actually he’s secretly really excited for that couple mug-painting session you booked for you both. but he will never tell you that 😳
in conclusion, with jay it really never has to be something complex for you both to enjoy your dates <3 he just loves being in your company, even if its one of those nights where you both share no words between the cuddling and content sighs and various little soft kisses he presses to your forehead.
sunghoon
with sunghoon gOSH
whatever you two get up to, it’d be so so soft and gentle and perfect and just ):
he would always ask the members what to take you out on as a date and you bet his naver search history would consist of questions like ‘what does my s/o like’ and ‘where should i take out my partner on a date’ lmao
he just wants to make you happy and comfy ):
dates with him are usually really cute!! Like going to cafes, going ice skating etc!
But you’d also love those dates at home with him, giggling shyly as you both sit together and watch a film 🥺
he LOVES those dates! he always gets so shy whenever he comes over and it takes him a little while to get comfortable enough with you to even hold your hand pls
So when he one day pulls you in closer from where you’re sitting side by side on the couch,, bringing you closer and tucking you under his arm ??
You’re so so surprised, and you feel your heart clench a little at how gentle he is with you and how he’s finally opening up ):
And from then on,, he only will become more and more comfortable with you!!! To the point where he’ll start pouting a lil when you don’t snuggle up next to him on the sofa like you usually do );
So cuddle dates with hoon? Yes you bet they’re his fave!!
and then when its quickly approaching your 100 days anniversary, he’ll be wracking his brains for so long trying to decide what to do for you
but then it will hit him like a light bulb switching on!
he’ll suddenly remember you mentioning this specific thing that you really liked and would want to do one day, and guess what he would plan for u both!!
he’d prepare 💔💔 a picnic 💔💔 for you 💔💔
ugh youre so lucky
he’d text you the day before your anniversary telling you to expect to go on a date with him the day after and to dress up prettily :D
he’d wake up super early on the day of the date, preparing all of your favourite foods and meals into a cute lil basket ):
and when you finally both meet at a really rEALLY pretty secluded area that you somehow had no idea existed despite you living in the area for so long - you’d maybe start tearing up??
because your boyfriend is so so sweet and you never saw this coming from him at all ):
and he’d just stand there shyly in front of the picnic he set up, hand at the back of his head and looking down; cute lil blush tainting his cheeks from how nervous he is!
but then you’d run over and give him a big, big hug, exxclaiming how much you appreciate what he did for you and how youre so so incredibly sorry for not bringing him something as well to celebrate your anniversary (you were dying inside fo guilt please!! how could u forget to get him something when he went out of his way like this for you )): )
but he’d simply shake his head, smiling and not minding at all
because if he gets to see you happy, gets to see those twinkling eyes of yours that just stare up at him with so so much love before bringing him in for a sweet kiss - then he simply doesnt mind at all.
r u crying at this like i am lol
sunoo
sunoo absoloutely adores you.
and he cant stay away from you !! lmao
you’ll leave after a date and ten minutes after youve arrived you’ll get a text from him saying how much he already misses you and wants to see his bun again ):
but its okay!! because y’all would meet up again really soon again :D
sunoo really doesnt mind what you both do together, he just loves being in your company !! if he’s doing something with you, its certain that he will have so much fun and be so so comfy!
you often like to go to cinemas together, watching a film
film/drama marathons are also something that you both do very very often as a date! he loves it when you hug him tight and throw a leg over his as you both lie down in his dorm bed/your bed, watching something on your laptop
he is very very cuddly and whenever you both do have cuddle dates/sessions (which is all the time btw) he’ll like it when you absentmindedly play with his fingers or stroke your hands through his hair soothingly
and then he’ll complain and whine when you stop lmao
seriously though, without a question if either of you meet at either his dorm or your house - its always: ‘so what are we gonna watch?��
he also likes doing very very cute couple-y activities with you! of course he does,, youre his baby ):
(he’s more YOUR baby actually - but he doesnt need to know about that shh hehe)
funfair dates where you will go on a ferris wheels and eat cotton candy together? sharing a kiss when you reach the top? yes! and so is going to those sets designed for couples to take cute photos together as a lil photoshoot!
he is so so sweet with you ):
and has it been mentioned yet that you’ll go on food dates? this is a very obvious date you both do very often !!
going to food markets and trying out different street foods from different vendors? yes.
having mini dates at the korean convinience store late at night where you’ll both sit by the window and eat tteokbokki & ramen together? yes.
its all honestly really really chill, but he also knows when to be serious when he needs to (:
he’ll take you out to the your favourite restaurants often!
and whenever youre celebrating something he’ll take you to a really good and famous restaurant with mouth-watering food, and you’ll be left wondering for the longest time how on earth he managed to get a seat in since its always so booked
or ordering take-out is good too :D
in conclusion (because i just realised how long this is help 😭): dates with sunoo are always a variety of fun activities which always leave you feeling tired yet so, so happy and content at the end of the day !!
he loves you so much <3
Jungwon
Since you both go to the same school, a lot of your little dates are actually spent there
He’s pretty shy with you at times,, but when you’re both alone it’s then that dates with him are usually so so goofy and silly; days filled with his teasing and your eye rolls and giggles.
Meeting at the rooftop before school to simply talk and giggle and drink chocolate milk? Yes.
Staying after school for small study sessions in the library? Yes.
With jungwon, you’re not able to see him as much between school and him being an idol, so every little moment together means so much to both of you ):
To me jungwon also seems like a cuddler!!! cause like?? Have you seen him ?? Tell me he doesn’t look so soft
So, dates at home when he’s free where you can both cuddle together in your bed while eating and doing homework? They’re so so cosy,, and definitely your favourite kinda dates!! not to mention that your parents absolutely adore him too
With jungwon, lots of lil spontaneous dates are definitely his and yours trademark (‘:
He’ll turn up at your house randomly with a grin and dimple poking at his cheek, holding a bag of convenience store food and asking you if you want to go on a date with him even if it’s 10pm and dark outside lmfao
And then he’ll take you to an arcade!
You’ll be the only ones there and he’s keep flexing about how he’s going to win you this cat plush from the claw machine because he says it looks like him
He’d try several times and end up spending almost 8,000 won on the machine trying to win you this plush and at this point he’s already making up several excuses about how oh, ‘it’s rigged’ or ‘give me one more chance I will get it this time!!’
You’d giggle at how he grows flustered, gently asking him if you could have a go for fun, sighing and with him and agreeing on the fact that the claw machine is definitely rigged
You’d complain together; scolding the machine and asking it to please be nice and stop ruining your date when it’s then that the claw actually picks up a plush and you’re both like ;oo
You’d both stay stood in shock as the cat plush is dropped into the receiving box, before laughing loudly
He’d stand there flustered, blush tainting his cheek before he just walks away 🚶🏻♂️
You’d quickly pick up the cat plush and chase after him, giggles tumbling out your lips
and uhm after that you beTTER go check up on your boy and see if his ego wasnt too damaged by that 😤
so of course you’d wrap your arms around him from behind, tucking your face into the back of his neck ): and pressing gentle kisses where you know he’s ticklish until he finally relents, a small grin and dimple lighting up his face
and phEW because you thought he was upset ): but he laughs and says youre better at the claw machine than he is so,, all good dont worry !! 🥺
It’d end up being him taking the cat plush home, which you both name ‘jungwon-two’ because of how much it actually looks like him 😭
Expect many references and inside jokes to that date and jungwon-two in the future
and tbh you love dates with won so so much. theyre so fun plus they’re always secret.
and whenever you’re out doing whatever the hell you both get up to,
It’s like there is no one else in the world. It’s just you, and him, and the blooming you both feel in your chests.
Niki
I don’t know but I can just see niki as being so romantic
You’re both young, and although niki is the biggest dork and always likes to play around and make jokes 24/7 - he’s also so mature compared to the other boys your age
So would he take you out to a date where he’d set up classically romantic candles and rose petals for you both to eat at for your 1 month anniversary? Yes ):
And you’d be so speechless and shocked as you blush quietly and thank him before he‘s accidentally knocking over his glass of water all over the table cloth and you’re laughing out loud
But expect every other date with him to be filled with so so much food and comfort!
He’d feel so comfy around you, and really the only word he thinks is perfectly able to describe you is home. He thinks you feel like home to him.
So he’d show you all of this favourite things, the things closest to his heart and you can’t help but feel your own heart clench at how much you adore this boy
He’d take you out to traditional Japanese restaurants and show you his favourite foods from back home and teach you the customs of how to eat sushi
You’d 100% be so so interested and excited whenever he reveals to you a vulnerable part of him, and he’d stare at you so lovingly as he kisses your cheek, blushing and smiling like the 15 year old he is
Ugh ): niki ):
Dance dates!!
You claim you can’t dance to save your life LMFAO (or maybe you can 😳?) but he only grins shyly instead as he takes you to a small dance studio he rented (he didn’t want to take you the belift building where there would be other people - he’d want you to feel completely comfortable).
You’d simply stand there with your mouth dropped open as you watch him freestyle to a random song he put on like it’s nothing
You’d spend the day getting taught some moves by him and although you’re sure you look like a cat getting electrocuted, he still smiles and nods and even claps, giving you compliments and teasing remarks
Overall, dates with niki are so so fun and goofy and perfect. You feel your heart swell every time he takes you out on another little adventure, feeling so complete and carefree between his warm hugs, jokes and words that he has to say to you
(’:
#enhypen headcanons#enhypen fluff#enhypen reactions#enhypen scenarios#enhypen imagines#enhypen fic#enhypen sunghoon#enhypen jake#enhypen ot7#enhypen sunoo#enhypen heeseung#enhypen jungwon#kpop imagines
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This Soul of Mine Pt 2
Main Incubus Otto x Reader (Incubus Axel and Oscar x Reader in later parts!)
18+ (also in later parts)
(Mentions of Rape but only passing, as Incubus are Male Demons who feed off sex, most of them are NOT kind Swedes.)
PART 3
-
You ran your hands over your hair once more, trying to hide a yawn as you listened to Father James’ sermon.
Fuck was this boring. Of course you had to be shipped to this honky tonk town, and attend mass with your beloved aunt. There was nothing wrong with your aunt of course, you loved her to death, but you would have preferred not to be involved in any of this-
“Oh, what a beautiful passage, don’t you find Y/N?” Your aunt whispered to you, smiling a tired old smile. You loved her.
“Yes, it was very beautiful.” You acquiesced, accepting the hand she put on your knee.
It was only when your aunt stood to go greet Father James did you notice the woman sitting beside you, jumping out of your skin.
Her eyes wrinkled, sharp blue eyes surrounded by black Kohl watching you as she pushed her white hair back.
“Am I that ugly, child? I thought I looked half decent today when I stepped out.” She laughed, elegantly hiding her teeth as she laughed. You had never seen her in your life, eyes taking in as much detail as you could.
“Oh god no, Im so sorry ma’am, you surprised me is all. You look great today.” You said, hoping she wouldn’t mention any of this to your aunt, or possibly even to Father James.
Her gaze was steady and unblinking. It was terrifying, if you could honestly say so. She looked like she was reading your thoughts, or more like, not being able to with how badly she frowned.
“My, I must say, I dont recall ever meeting you here, Miss..?”
“Y/N!” You supplied, shaking the hand she offered-
Her grip on your hand turned harsh, visibly not the strength of a old lady like her-
“My, nothing? Oh what fun. Tell me child, have you met any... beings, as of late, that haven’t gotten out of your head?” She asked quietly, releasing your hand from her crushing grip, patting her dress as if she needed it.
Her words were smooth, but they cut you deep, as if she could-
“Read minds? Yes, you’ve mentioned that already, but that seems to be all.” She whispered, huffing loudly as if she was angry, sitting too close all of a sudden. You had to escape, you had to get out-
“Dear, I think you should sit down and breath. I am not going to harm you, I am only here to... guide you, we shall say.” The old woman continued, smiling as you did as told and sat back beside her, listening as Father James started his sermon again. Your aunt sat at the front, the traitor, unaware of what was happening.
“You smell like him, you know. He imprinted on you, by accident mind you, but still, it is quite dangerous for your kind.” She was smiling so widely that you were sure now that she wasn’t human, eyes brightening a bit more.
“W-what do you mean?” You tried, voice too weak to summon anything other than the whisper that escaped you. It didn’t matter though it seemed, she had heard you perfectly well, brushing back her white curls, pretending to listen to the sermon, nodding.
“Oh darling, the man you met the other night. Tall, equally white hair, most likely drop dead gorgeous?” She suddenly looked 50 years younger as she turned to look at you, red lipstick clashing with her paling white skin.
“He touched you, didn’t he?” It came out from between her lips sounding cold, but her wide fluorescent blue eyes said different, curiosity shining brightly in them. Nothing felt right. You felt like you couldn’t breath, feeling as if nothing of this was real-
“I touched him. I bumped into him and he picked me up.” You shot back, surprising her as you tried to regain a semblance of power, remembering the dazed man’s surprised and kind eyes.
“What an interesting turn of events! I must say, I am impressed. Not only have you made his brothers and the Incubi world turn upside down, your also partly invulnerable to Succubi powers.” She seriously noted, scooting closer as if she could see the answer in your eyes. Something brushed against your ankle, but you ignored it, captivated by her gaze.
Nothing of what she was saying made sense, Incubi? Succubi? Childrens tales, nothing more than a silly tale told by the church to children... right? No, it was surely the Host wafer that your aunt had given you that was rotten and poisoned you. Yeah, that was surely it.
God, if only-
“Honestly, a rotten Host wafer.” She huffed as she turned her gaze away, rolling her eyes.
“Look darling, Incubi are exactly like mortal men; stupid, handsome, and driven by sex.” She looked mentally exhausted all of a sudden, rubbing at her temples, revealing a scar on her forehead in the shape of a round. The elder woman rose gracefully, her eyes back to the now dull blue they had been at the start, combing over your form one last time.
“If you truly wish to summon him, do so through your desire for him, either for protection or for... assistance, in personal matters.. He will most likely find his way to you within the following hour. You will need him just as much as he needs you.” She finished, turning as if to leave, lingering as you watched her.
“What is that saying again? ‘Speak now or forever hold your peace’? Spit it out.”
“I- ma’am, I appreciate all of this advice.. but if I may ask... who are you?” You asked, knowing deep down what the answer was. You had felt it, felt it between your ribs, in your beating heart. Her fluorescent blue eyes and never-ending knowledge of your inner thoughts were far from normal, and so was the cigarette she magicked before your eyes, watching you as if she had just struck gold.
“I am.. The Handler. I am the Succubus Ruler of all Incubi and Succubi.” She walked away from you then, looking confidently forward as she exited the church, lighting the cigarette between the final pews.
-
-
Finally elated to be done with Father James’ sermon, you stepped out of the Church to await your aunt-
“Y/N L/N?” Came the voice of a man, smooth, young but deep, accent reminding you of-
You turned hurriedly in excitement, heart racing until your eyes met with a platinum blond haired man, resembling the man who had occupied your mind ever since. Mild disappointment floored you until the old woman’s words came to mind:
He had imprinted on you, it was dangerous for humans, this was most likely another being of his kind.
“Ouh, that hurts cutie, I can smell the disappointment from here! I simply wanted to come meet my brother’s- Hey!” Said the man, grinning like a cat until you turned and sprinted with all of your might away, away, away.
-
Otto found himself looking down at the box of homemade cookies, cringing at the Church’s name. It shouldn’t be anywhere near your name, defiling such a beautiful name like yours was a crime.
He felt petty, reaching out and dragging a long sharp nail against the sticker, careful to not cross out your own name by accident-
“Your acting ridiculous Otto.” Came Axel’s teasing voice, surprised as he watched Otto jump out of his skin for what seemed to be the 70th time this week. What was going on?
“Are you.. okay, brother? You dont seem to be well.” Axel asked after a beat, knowing he had to confront him about it. For the first time in all of their lives, Otto seemed unfocused, out of it, mind drifting and constantly asking them to repeat themselves. They didn’t mind it much, but something was wrong. It had to be-
“Im sorry Axel. I...I keep feeling this... tug, of sorts.” Otto quietly muttered as he stared down once again at the sticker, entranced. It unnerved Axel for a moment before realizing this was serious, this was important. He walked over to his brother slowly, tail swishing out of anxiousness, feeling entirely out of his depths.
“Otto?” Axel asked softly as his clawed fingers met his brothers skin, receiving no answer for a long moment.
“Go see her, maybe after you do, youll stop feeling it. Maybe shes calling for you.” Axel said after a beat, deciding to comfort him brother instead of further pushing him into despair. Even if nothing would amount from an Incubus pining for a mortal. He smirked as he watched Otto turn to him, disbelief written all over his face.
“You dont understand brother-“ Otto tried before Axel waved his hand, not wanting to listen to the ‘why’.
“No, you’re right, I really dont, but if you really think you are her soulmate, shouldn’t you be going to see her?” Axel asked his brother, smelling his despair turn into agitated excitement. He smirked, watching and listening as Otto ran out of the house.
No matter how Oscar or he felt, and no matter what happened, Axel came to a conclusion as the distinct lingering scent of Otto’s desperate yearning met his nose:
He would support his brother in his ridiculous endeavour to win your favour, no matter what.
Where was Oscar anyways?
#Incubus Swedes#Incubus Otto#the swedes#ikea mafia#tua swedes#the swedes x reader#umbrella academy swedes#tua the handler#tua axel#tua otto#tua oscar#otto x reader#Demons#jossambird fic
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(Sorry if this is late and also short, I’ve just been. Especially tired recently? I have No Energy and it’s very bleh.) It being a human construct is weird when you think about it, because almost everything about our society hinges on it? But that’s beside the point and entirely too existential for my mind right now. Anyways, the idea of their powers waking up is definitely a cool one! (Nyanon, 1/6)
And I could even see it working along the lines of Dazai’s ability negating whatever erases someone’s memory once you return to the “real world?” And Kyouka sees the corpses and is like “something evil happened here,” and then Atsushi leans out from behind the wall because he’s hello he knows all about that- And then Kyouka tries to fucking stab him like “eVIL SPIRIT BEGONE.” It’s an interesting first meeting. (Nyanon, 2/6)
As for Dazai being the only one to remember- On a funnier note, please consider his “godDAMNIT” feeling when he realizes that he has to work it through Atsushi’s poor self esteem and density that he does, in fact, like him again. Meanwhile Oda and Ango have no fucking clue what’s going on? Dazai since when were you in love??? Alternatively, “YOU FEEL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE WHO DOESNT KNOW YOU EXIST?!?” if he gushed about Atsushi to them. (Nyanon, 3/6)
Of course he can do it though, he’ll simply demand payment in embarrassing Atsushi with affection and hugs. And aaahhh I can picture them as tiny little kiddos curled up under a window, talking about how unreal it feels- And eventually it becomes about how cute the cats are, and how nice Fukuzawa is, and eventually it’s just chatter like “I wonder what’s for breakfast tomorrow” and “let’s ask him to let us help.” Fukuzawa overhears and almost cries. (Nyanon, 4/6)
Then they make him breakfast in bed and a homemade card on Father’s Day and he actually does cry. I’m sorry I just. Love papa Fukuzawa. But anyways, asdfghjkl I could also see her doing that, ten bucks says Dazai or Ranpo (or Both) taught her. Now all three of them meme together, all the time. Onto the next Concept, though: Consider, every couple of days, the entire ADA sitting down to play one of those tabletop, DnD-style games. (Nyanon, 5/6)
The sheer chaos of how ridiculous some of the characters are (IE- Ranpo or Yosano), and how serious some are (IE- Kyouka or Kunikida), all the way to Dazai’s characters, who are a mixed bag of surprising depth and “are you fucking with me” impressions. Please also imagine poor Atsushi as the DM, because I feel like he’d love being able to put all the fantasy inspiration from books he read as a kid to use. (Nyanon, 6/6)
(im sorry youre feeling real tired recently, though i do relate but STILL. please take care and if youre feeling very bleh maybe talk to your therapist about it?? i hope youll feel better soon!! im cheering on you) also i do understand why time is very essential, the more complex and advanced society becomes the more we gotta be dependable on time
dazai realising he gotta be atsushis personal coach and therapist once more to finally get his feelings through atsushis dense head:
OH GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDD oda and ango being very surprised when they get to know that dazai loved someone all this time. imagine, they probably thought his ability to love romantically was not even there,
FUKUZAWA CRYING OVER THE KIDS FINALLY TRUSTING HIM MORE AAAAA atsushi and kyouka would be SO loyal though and be his ride or die because of that. fukuzawa knows his coworkers will cave in when dazai or ranpo walks in and tricks/pressures them into giving him free food but if he puts atsushi or kyouka on the counter?? theyre as unshakable as a mountain
ranpo: b- kyouka: no ranpo: kyouka: ranpo: please? kyouka: ill spit god in the face before i agree to partake in your crimes
ive never played dnd, all i know is that you create your character and,,,do stuff?? very fantasy ish uwu!!
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Another Brick In The Wall: Chapter 8
a/n: Effusive thanks to @hollyethecurious for the artwork! I love it so much! Thanks also to everyone for reading, commenting, kudos-ing, and reblogging! I'm so pleased by the way people have been engaging with this story. Love you all xxx
Summary: Emma Swan, sheriff’s daughter, mayor’s niece, quarterback’s girlfriend, is the undisputed princess of Storybrooke High. She is smart and confident and used to getting what she wants. What she wants is Killian Jones, the new boy in school. But Killian is not easily manipulated, and reluctant to allow the dark secrets in his past to touch the girl he is rapidly falling in love with.
Rating: T
Read it on AO3: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8
Tags for: @darkcolinodonorgasm @jennjenn615 and @resident-of-storybrooke
Chapter 8:
Killian was out of school for a week, for a “mental health break” he called it with a chuckle, apparently a term he’d gotten from Dr Hopper. He saw the psychiatrist daily during this break and spent the rest of his time at the harbour with Liam, working on their boat, reading, playing his guitar, and talking with his brother about everything that had happened.
“We’ve hashed it all out in excruciating detail,” he told Emma as they sat together in the boat’s cabin, she working on her college essays while he practiced a new song. “It’s such a relief to be able to really talk to Liam again. There was a time when we had no secrets between us. He showed me all the information he had collected on Milah and her situation. Apparently her divorce is almost finalised and next month she’s starting a job teaching English in Japan.” He smiled. “She’ll like that, a chance to travel. What she always wanted.”
“Hmmmph,” said Emma, glaring at the screen of her laptop as she typed rapidly.
“Swan,” he admonished, giving her a mock scowl as he strummed a chord at her.
Emma slammed her hands down on the keyboard. “Killian, I just don’t know how you can be so forgiving after what she did to you.”
He set the guitar aside and his expression became serious. “I have to be, don’t you see?” he asked, looking at her intently. “I can’t hold on to my anger or it will eat me alive. I didn’t even realise how angry I was until Dr Hopper helped me see it, and how by not acknowledging it, allowing myself to feel it, and then letting it go, I was only hurting myself. Besides, I did genuinely care about Milah, and I’m glad she’s finally in a place where she can be happy.”
“Hmmmmph.” Emma concentrated on deleting the gibberish she’d produced by her attack on the keyboard.
“A place that doesn’t include me,” said Killian brightly, picking up the guitar again and plucking out a cheery tune. “That’s good, isn’t it Swan?”
“I suppose so,” she grumbled. “Though I’d still prefer if the place was dark and scary and full of nettles.” He laughed heartily at that and she couldn’t hold back an answering smile. “Hey, I’m nearly done with this, will you read it over and make sure it’s okay? Just check my grammar and punctuation and stuff.”
“Of course, love, though I’m sure it’s already brilliant.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freed from the weight of his worry and guilt, Killian gradually began to smile more easily, and his witty, teasing nature (“cheeky git,” Liam called him, his voice irritated but with a relief so profound it bordered on joy in his eyes) came more readily to the fore. When he returned to school the following Monday, he moved through the halls with a swagger that Emma had never seen on him before. Unlike the arrogant, bullying one that Neal always had Killian’s evoked a simple self-assurance that she had to concede looked really good on him. Despite how much emotional baggage he still had to work through he clearly wasn’t burdened by shame anymore, and equally clearly did not intend to take any crap from anyone.
This made itself evident that morning when he shut his locker and turned towards his first class, only to find himself confronted by Felix and Rufio.
“Really, chaps?” he said, raising an eyebrow at them. “You couldn’t even wait until after school so you could chuck me into the bins, like proper high school bullies?”
This mockery went clean over the other boys’ heads, and they continued to block his path, trying to look intimidating while also trying not to be intimidated by Killian’s calm demeanor and his amused expression.
Felix, the sligtly cleverer of the two, suspected he was being laughed at but couldn’t put his finger on why. He didn’t like it.
Bristling, he sneered at Killian. “Bet you think you’ve won,” he snarled. “Now that Neal’s in jail and out of the way. Now you can move in on Emma like you did on that—” he broke off as Killian stepped into his space. There wasn’t much difference in height between them, but somehow Felix had the impression of Killian towering over him, his face calm but his eyes darkly furious, and for once in his life he felt a stab of genuine fear.
“I’m only going to say this once,” growled Killian in the new, lower register his voice had taken on more often of late, “So you’d better listen carefully. Your mate Neal is a criminal, and not even a good one. He’s in jail because he’s stupid, and that’s nothing to do with me. I have no doubt it’s where he’d always have ended up eventually. Bit of advice: If you’re going to steal confidential information, don’t take pictures of the evidence on your phone, and definitely don’t then show those pictures to the sheriff’s daughter. Neal got what he deserved. I now consider this matter closed, and if you or anyone else—” he raised his voice so that the rapidly assmbling crowd of onlookers could all hear, “—tries to take it any further, you will not care for the repercussions.”
Felix wasn’t sure what “repercussions” were, but the hint of repressed violence in Killian’s manner made him keen not to find out. He had always been content to follow Neal, less out of respect for the other boy than a simple unwillingness to make a thing out of Neal’s belligerent insistence that he should be the one in charge, but he’d always sensed that there wasn’t much substance underneath Neal’s bluster. Killian however didn’t bluster. He simply stated facts, and Felix could tell that he was not the sort of person to make a threat he couldn’t back up with action. Perhaps it was time to step out of Neal’s shadow, thought Felix, and take over leadership of their little gang. He certainly couldn’t do a worse job of it than Neal had, and escalating a pointless conflict with a guy who looked prepared to fight dirty if necessary was much more Neal’s style than Felix’s. He nodded at Killian, and stepped back. Rufio looked surprised but followed his lead.
Killian nodded back then transferred his glare to the crowd of onlookers, which had grown considerably in the past thirty seconds and now included Emma and Ruby, he could see out of the corner of his eye. “As for what you may have heard about me,” he said, loudly enough for all to hear. “It’s all true.” He smirked for a moment as a gasp went through the crowd, then his expression hardened. “It’s also no one’s business but mine, and those in whom I choose to confide. This is all I have to say on the subject. Now, if you’ll all excuse me I don’t wish to be late for class.” He slung his satchel over his shoulder and headed down the hall, turning his head briefly to shoot Emma a wink. People moved aside to let him pass and as soon as he had turned the corner furious whispering erupted in his wake.
Ruby pursed her lips. “I may have underestimated him,” she remarked.
Emma’s heart was pounding, a familiar occurrence where Killian was concerned, but this time it felt different. She’d been worried about how he would react to the ineveitable curiosity and questions from their classmates, but this smooth handling of a potentially explosive situation instead of calming her fears instead filled her with the wild desire to run after him, to fling herself into his arms and kiss them both breathless.
“He’s just so wonderful,” she sighed, and Ruby laughed.
“Down, girl,” she teased. “I’ll grant you this one’s worth your time, unlike the douchemaster general, but remember we’re in school. No one wants to see that.”
Emma rolled her eyes and gave her friend a shove, but the butterflies continued rhumba-ing around her insides, this time accompanied by an odd, hollow sort of ache as she remembered her resolution not to pursue Killian anymore. She was now all but certain that she loved him, that beyond the hot, tingly sensation she always felt in his presence lay a profound devotion. She would do anything for him, sacrifice anything to give him what he needed, and that terrified her. For the first time in her life Emma felt vulnerable, exposed, as though her chest were torn open and her heart lain bare to the mercies of fate and one gorgeous, troubled boy. She hated it. Even knowing that Killian would never intentionally hurt her was no consolation when the truth was that he could hurt her simply by caring deeply for her as a friend. If that was all she could ever have from him she would take it, she knew, without pushing for more, but it would be a wound on her heart that would never heal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“He’s a bully,” shrugged Killian at lunchtime, when Emma, this time accompanied by a very inquisitive Ruby, found him in the library. “Bullies are just cowards at their core, and cowards are easy to intimidate. He won’t do anything because he won’t want to call my bluff. I might not be able to back it up but he’ll be too scared to risk finding out.”
“And what would you have done if he had called your bluff?” inquired Ruby.
Killian shrugged again. “Probably got the shit kicked out of me.”
“Would you have, though?” Ruby pressed, watching him through narrowed eyes.
He returned her stare with a look of wide-eyed innocence. “There were two of them to only one of me. Seems inevitable.”
“Does it?” Ruby’s disbelief was almost palpable, and having fenced with Killian for months now Emma shared her friend’s suspicion that he was deliberately underplaying his fighting skills.
“Let’s hope we never have to find out,” said Killian with a small smile, in a tone of voice that made it clear he would answer no more questions on the subject. “I quite like my face arranged the way it is.”
“It is a nice face,” said Ruby with a wolfish grin that widened as Killian’s ears turned pink. “But I didn’t come here just to flatter you. Victor asked me to ask you if he could have your phone number.”
“My number?” Killian blinked in surprise.
“Yeah, there’s some concert in Portland and he doesn’t have anyone to go with and he thought you might be interested.”
“Um, sure, I guess.” Killian rattled off the number and Ruby sent Victor a text. A minute later his phone buzzed and he looked at it, snorting as he read the message. “Bit of a wanker, your boyfriend,” he remarked to Ruby.
“I don’t know what that is but I’m somehow sure that Victor is one,” smirked Ruby. “Is that gonna be a problem?”
“Not at all, I’m rather fond of wankers,” said Killian absently as he typed his reply. “My brother is one, after all.” His phone buzzed again almost instantly and he raised an eyebrow at what he read on it.
“Ems, I think maybe we should leave the boys to their chat,” said Ruby, and as much as she hated to sacrifice free time with Killian, from the way he was fixated on his phone, his expression almost gleeful as he typed rapidly, Emma had to admit she was probably right.
“Okay,” she said. “See you in class in a few minutes, Killian. And maybe hang out after school?”
“Hmmm? Oh, I have an appointment with Dr Hopper at four, but I can text you when I’m done.”
“Okay.” She smiled at him but his attention was back on his phone, so she followed Ruby out of the library trying not to feel too disgruntled. Killian should have other friends, she told herelf firmly, male ones who shared his interests. That was normal, and he could use some normal in his life right now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next few weeks, things at school settled back into a routine, albeit one that was markedly different than it had been. Neal had been officially arrested after David’s investigation, charged with burglary, theft, and theft of a medical record, and was facing up to five years in prison. His parents had put up their house as collateral to pay his bail, but weren’t allowing him to return to school.
“Not much point when he’ll just go straight back to the slammer after he’s sentenced,” said Ruby viciously. “So much for that football scholarship he was so cocky about.”
Emma tried to find some compassion for Neal and what was basically the wreck and ruin of his future, but couldn’t dredge up a single particle of it. He had committed several felonies for no other reason than to stick it to Killian for outsmarting him and for becoming her friend, and he’d committed them flagrantly and with no thought to the consequences. He’d probably thought there wouldn’t be any consequences. Killian was right: Neal deserved everything that was coming to him, if only for being so colossally, arrogantly stupid.
People still whispered about Killian as he walked through the halls but true to character he paid little attention. He did, however, gradually began to open up more and allow more of himself to show through his defences, willingly participating in classes and talking to people other than Emma and Ruby. By the time finals week arrived had actually made a few friends.
Killian reflected wryly that in a twisted sort of way Neal had done him a favour. With all his secrets now out on the open he was free to embrace the opportunity for a new life he’d found in Storybrooke. Not that there had been anything particularly wrong with the old life, at least since his father had finally left. He’d been a mean old drunk, Brennan Jones, and by the time he’d been forced to flee his creditors for good, stealing a boat from Bristol harbour and melting into the offshore underworld, his sons had been glad to see the back of him. Killian thought about what he himself had been like back then, before Milah, and even though it had only been about a year since he’d first become involved with her so much had changed both in his circumstances and in himself, he feared that hopeful, enthusiastic boy was lost forever. Who exactly had taken his place was the question Killian had asked himself daily for weeks now, and he still wasn’t sure how to answer it. He’d become so used to holding everything in, to keeping such a tight rein on his thoughts and feelings that letting them out, accepting that it was okay to express them had become almost unbelievably difficult. The only person he felt even remotely comfortable being fully himself with aside from Liam was Emma, whose support and friendship remained unwavering as he bumbled and struggled thorough the reclamation of his life, and he remained intensely grateful for it.
Only one thing about Emma troubled him-- that she no longer seemed to be interested in anything beyond his friendship. All the little hints and cues she had been giving him since they’d met were suddenly gone, and while he was relieved to be free of the added stress of constantly resisting something that part of him desperately wanted, he couldn’t help wondering if there was a darker motivation for this abrupt about-face. Perhaps, whispered an evil little voice in his head, Emma was actually more disgusted by his past than she let on and was simply too kind to tell him directly. Maybe the thought of him touching her turned her stomach now. He certainly couldn’t blame her if it did.
“What do you want from your relationship with Emma?” asked Dr Hopper one afternoon, after Killian had finally brought himself to mention the change in her behaviour. “Do you want it to be romantic?”
Killian frowned, struggling to sort through the complex tangle of his feelings about and for Emma. “I don’t want a romantic relationship with anyone,” he said finally. “I still feel too messed up for anything like that. But I— I’m still really attracted to her. I think about her all the time, about how we kissed at her party, and I want to kiss her again pretty much constantly, but then I remember Milah and how I thought I felt about her, and I just—”
“You don’t trust your judgement.”
“Yeah.”
“Killian, it’s important for you to remember that you have a much more equal relationship with Emma than you ever did with Milah.”
“Equal, with Emma?” Killian snorted. “You have met her, right?”
Dr Hopper smiled patiently. “I understand that you feel she’s beyond your reach, and that’s a separate issue, but what I mean by equal is that she’s your age and at your stage of life. With Milah you were constantly struggling to relate to her life and her experiences, and when you couldn’t you attempted to make up for that by offering her the affection and sexual attention she craved. You forced yourself to offer these things even though you didn’t genuinely feel them because you feared the consequences of not offering them. But with Emma there is no need to manufacture anything. She is placing no demands on you and therefore any attraction and affection you feel for her is genuine.”
“But what should I do about it?”
“Why should you have to do anything? You said you’re not ready for a romantic relationship, and that’s fine. Let yourself heal. The process is slow and frustrating, but believe me you are making progress. Let your feelings for Emma and your relationship with her develop at a pace that is comfortable for you. From what you’ve said it sounds like she will still be there when, if, you’re ready for more.”
“It’s more than likely she no longer wants more. And even if she did, what happens when she meets someone who isn’t so hopelessly fucked up? Then where does that leave me?”
“Why don’t you worry about that if —not when— it happens?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the last day before winter break, Emma nervously approached Killian’s locker and handed him an invitation to her parents’ annual Christmas party addressed to him and Liam.
“It’s just a thing they do every year for their friends and our neighbours,” she began to ramble as he examined the card, certain he would refuse and wanting to delay that painful moment. “My mom loves to entertain, and my dad says it’s good for building a rapport between law enforcement and the community, and—”
“Swan,” interrupted Killian, giving her that soft, indulgent look that said he knew exactly what she was thinking. “I’m sure we’d love to attend. Thank you for inviting us.”
The butterflies soared in a grand jeté, and she felt like she was flying with them. “Great,” she said trying to keep her voice calm, “I guess I’ll see you then.”
Her delighted smile made his breath catch, and his answering grin set her heart galloping. Their eyes met and held, and as the end of semester chaos whirled around them they stood a breath apart, swathed in frustrated yearning and brittle tension, the only two people in the world.
Then the final bell rang, and they leapt apart, Emma smoothing her skirt with shaking hands while Killian ran his own trembling fingers through his hair.
“So, onion rings at Granny’s?” ventured Emma, wanting to kick herself for making him nervous again, after all her resolutions, hoping desperately he wouldn’t pull away.
Killian sighed in relief, tinged with a hint of disappointment. Granny’s was safe. “Sounds perfect, love,” he said.
#cs au ff#high school au#teenage captain swan#captain duckling#lieutenant duckling#another brick in the wall#profdanglaisstuff
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Why did the Townsville Council go against its own advice and divert more than $200 000 away from local workers on a failed development and give it to a company associated with the collapse of that development? Its a murky tale indeed in the matter of the Allure Apartments and its illegally stacked Body Corporate, the connections of its controlling company and the councils inexplicable actions in denying relief to local contractors being sent to the wall. Also the member for Kennedy gets all countrified in a the week saw the birth of NQ latest music offering, BobKat and the Kattertonics And the Astonisher takes a punt, with iditorJenna Cairney sinking a dainty slipper into Mayor Mullets ribs and thus having two bob each way for the next campaigning year. And The Magpie says sorry to Bulletin reporter Clare Armstrong, but pokes the Rupert bear for demanding immunity from criticism for her. But first Members And Music Never The Twain Should Meet There is a saying that there are those things youll always remember, and there are those your will never forget and theres a difference. The whole nation is trying to expunge the memory of loopy Craig Emerson and his off-key, flat mutilation of the Skyhooks Horror Movie, very unsuccessfully reworked as No Whyalla Wipeout. Now, Bob Katter has proven again that a feisty speech in the house or senate is very different to having musical delusions in public. He has released a video of his cover of Bad Moon Rising, which clearly demonstrates that small catchy line does not an opus make and should be left at that. Bentley couldnt resist.
If curling your toes up in embarrassment is you idea of fun, here, help yourself.But if you want to see how nit can be done with real wit and style, check out David Templetons Christmas farewell to WA parliament. Some can, some cant, but those who cant cant understand that. The Allure Of Nepotism
Solarus, with the Allure under construction behind it. Back in March, The Pie reported the following regarding Peter Bega, his family and their interesting dealings regarding the Allure development at the rear of the Solarus units on Palmer Street. Peter Bega had a controlling interest in buying the Allure construction site (the one behind Solarus) for a bargain price from his original company, which he put in liquidation. Council apparently granted the new Allure development company a rebate of around $190,000 of fees paid on the original Solarus/Allure development which went into receivership. Some locals believe this money should have been paid to the liquidators and not to a company in which the Bega family was involved Begas son, Matthew, has been involved in two other companies associated with the Allure development, both of which were put in liquidation but he is now involved in Allure Events, which operates from a function centre. These premises were originally meetings rooms in the Allure building and controlled by the Allure body corporate, but council gave approval for it to become a function centre WITHOUT the need to lodge a material change of use application. The question of how a common area was transferred into the ownership of a private company connected to the Bega family remains a question that perhaps Transparent Jenny can answer for us. The stench is wafting all the way down the creek, and it aint rotten fish. Well, subsequently, another heavy-hitting judicial body has use industrial strength Airwick to clear the air of the Bega pestilence. The judgement, from the impressively titled Adjudicator of the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management, has comprehensively spiked a nasty little scheme involving a network of members of the Bega family and some friends.
In simple terms, when Peter Bega went bankrupt and was forced to put the Solarius Apartment project into liquidation (it was finished by another group), he did some fancy financial footwork and managed to transfer the adjacent Allure Apartments to another company controlled by his son Mathew, but in which he clearly had an interest, despite being bankrupt. Consequently, through illegal stacking of Allures body corporate, Mathew Bega, acting as the letting agent for Allure, effectively appropriated the common area of complex an area which in any such development is there for the use, benefit and enjoyment of all unit owners and tenants. Bega converted it into a function centre which they operated for their own personal gain. Now, old mate The Adjudicator for the Commissioner (etc) has comprehensively knocked that on head, ruling that all the Bega family members and associates, who were not transparently linked to each other in their dealings in this matter, were not eligible to sit on the Body Corporate committee and has made null and void the whole scheme. But The Townsville Council Has Some Questions To Answer In All This BUT some serious questions arise regarding Townsville Council and its dealings with the Begas, particularly the Allure Apartments. The basic history of the development is: 23/10/2007 Development Application approved for Solarus and Allure buildings 22/10/2007 Infrastructure charges of $1,053,574.35 paid for the Solarus/Allure development - Peter Bega (Glen Alpine) goes bankrupt leaving the Solarus building half finished and the Allure building only at the foundations stage - Another builder is brought in to complete the Solarus building - Matthew Bega and associates buy the Allure foundations - TCC gives the new developer a string of concessions including a rebate of $194,000 paid for the original Allure building (see other details in CCC complaint attached) - TCC gives approval for Allure Events (Matthew Bega) to transform the common area meeting rooms in the Allure complex to a commercial function room, run by a private business, without the need for a Material Change of Use application and approval - Matthew Bega, relatives and associates act as letting agents for the Allure apartments without legitimate authorisation (see adjudicators order) - Adjudicators order reveals that Peter Bega, while bankrupt, was directly involved in the Allure management Adjudicators order reveals that Matthew Bega, his wife, relatives and associates were not eligible to sit on the body corporate committee which approved a transfer the letting authorisation and services contract to Allure Hotel and Apartments P/L and later a transfer to Allure Townsville Accommodation P/L. The questions now being asked by observers is both the amount of the subsequent rebate paid to the Allure developers, and the fact that it was paid to the new company and not the liquidators for the Glen Alpine company which paid the money into the council in the first place. Many local sub-contractors suffered greatly from the Glen Alpine collapse, and it is understood that several went out of business because of it. The council rebate payment to the Allure company instead of the liquidators was in fact made against the recommendation of its own bureaucrats. This excerpt from an internal email from the TCC Planning assessment unit dated May 16 2014.
But despite this clear assessment, here, without explanation, is what was decided four months later in a clear request to double the refund to the Bega company.
Now, the way The Pie reads it, the original 50% rebate was correct, because the development did not fall within the core CBD area, as outlined in red on this map.
But shortly afterwards, the goal posts were shifted so all developments in an ill-defined area surrounding the CBD were to get the core 100% rebate. However, for some reason, although the deal was done according to the rules existing at the time, the council officer decided that not only would the Allure developer get any refund rather than the Glen Alpine liquidators and thus the affected sub-contractors, but it would be DOUBLE what had been originally agreed. The words thankfully, it was not much later that is simply astounding it smacks of a lazy, close-enough-is-good-enough attitude covering up an error. But who said it was an error, surely someone must have given a directive to go against the earlier recommendation that the refund go to the liquidators? Not only who, but why? Dont bother asking the councils Legal Dept, which airily replied to one complaint about the refund along the lines of insolvency, bankrupts and transfers between companies is nothing to do with us, those are commercial matters that dont concern us. This from the legal arm of an entity that is supposed to be looking after ratepayer interests (not to mention local sub-contracting employers and businessmen). So there you are folks, the council is apparently happy to do business with questionable and economically dangerous white shoe brigadiers. A Touch Of Serendipity During The Week Last Wednesday, The Pie posted this in comments. HEY, The Pie well knows that some blinkered folk dont like this blogs occasional look at Donald Trump, but heres an article where the underlying principles have a strong resonance for our local scene.Here, in one single opening sentence is the overriding reason why Donald Trump has got away with it so far. And the truism about fragmentary journalism applies everywhere particularly in this town, and to our mayor.
That is one of the best explanatory openers nailing one of the problems with many running stories everywhere we get lost in the connecting of dots and forget where we actually are and the effect has wide ranging truth far beyond the White Houses Agent Orange. It even reaches lil ol Townsville.So it was with genuine astonishment that The Magpie read todays editorial in the Bulletin.
A well argued, well thought out joining of disparate dots. Of course there was some covering of Editor Cairneys cloaca like that bit of total self-incrimination when the editor wrote about Mayor Mullet escaping lightly from her policy U-turns mdear, the reason she escaped lightly was because the paper of which you are the boss was either asleep on the job, totally comprised and in bed with mayor and councillors, or at that stage, didnt realise Jenny Hill was going to be such a bad bet heading into 2019. No pressure applied at the time, no inquiring journalism, just massive indifference and laziness. And well also leave aside the unfortunate description of The Impaler as high achieving well, yes, but not the way you mean it but well respected? Thats a credibility killer if ever there was. And of course, the bit about key members of the community (oh, gosh, wait did you mean The Magpie?) are concerned about the future direction of the council is a day late and a dollar short businesses have been wetting their pants for years now over the Walker Street incompetence and above all inconsistency (see the Allure story). And their concerns have been regularly reported here. But small mercies and all that, there are definite signs that the worst excesses of the paper are being toned down. But have you ever considered what damage to do to credibility when we see on pages 2 and 3 of the paper
no news, just ads, a total sellout of journalistic and editorial integrity. And you want us to take you seriously. Some way to go yet. Same Goes For 7 News Most interesting claim of the week goes to Seven reporter Ben Downie and his report on the what Seven describes as the new state of the art disaster centre which was appropriately opened by Mayor Mullet who used the occasion to take her new hairdo out for a spin. Mr Downie excitedly tells us, along with stats on the amount off steel and concrete that went into the building, that the new centre has back-up supplies in case of power failure in the form of 34 million litres of water and 60 million litres of diesel. 60 million litres, eh, Ben? Thats the equivalent of around 25 Olympic swimming pools, mate. And would cost around $85 million. Just how theres room for the back-up water about another dozen Olympic pools is a puzzle of which you dont enlighten us. An Apology To Bulletin Reporter Clare Armstrong In last weeks Magpies Nest, acting on information from normally reliable sources I wrote a piece that suggested that Townsville Bulletin reporter Clare Armstrong was having an affair with the councils media man Anthony Templeton. This was incorrect, and I now accept that no such relationship exists, or as far as I know, ever did exist and I accept Ms Armstrongs assurances via a News Corp lawyer that she has never had any liaison with Mr Templeton she has known him only as a work colleague at the Courier Mail and in his present position with the Townsville City Council, on whose matters she regularly reports. Ms Armstrong understandably is upset with the suggestion, and I apologise unreservedly for any distress I have caused her, her partner and her family. The relevant offending sections of the blog and the few resulting comments have now been deleted. Malcolm Weatherup That is sincerely said, The Magpie seriously castigates himself for falling into error by breaking his long-standing rule that private lives of those that appear in this blog remain just that private unless they impact on the community in some way. But that said, let us now turn our attention to one Gina McWilliams, who rejoices in the title of Senior Legal Counsel for News Corpse. It was from this lady that the finger-wagging Concerns Notice was sent, with a loose assessment of the facts and long bow conclusions hinting that punishment awaits that made one imagine involved a car battery, wet towels and a set of nipple clips. Ms McWilliams four page missive was couched in that over-written florid style of legalese, beloved of lawyers the world over and sounding like it was written by someone with a plum in their mouth and a carrot up their rectum. (Figurative only, Ms Williamson, only figurative.) And geez, she made some very hurtful and inaccurate assertions about The Magpie, too. For instance, she insists that I wrote that the mistakenly supposed coupling was in order for Ms Armstrong to get stories for the paper. At no time did I ascribe any motive to Ms Armstrongs supposed actions in the now-proven false matter, and I most certainly did not suggest that any fling (a fling that didnt happen) was in order to get stories. My dear Ms McWilliams, anyone who knows this town and you obviously dont - would immediately see the nonsense in that. There would be absolutely no need to put oneself out to get the council PR flak to feed the subservient paper the usual half-truth tripe that Mr Templeton incessantly peddles. Not even a chaste stolen kiss on the cheek let alone a full blown tumble in the hay would be necessary for a gusher of highly selective, mayoral-boosting flapdoodle to come tumbling into the Astonishers in-box, the usual farrago which is usually printed without question. But just to reiterate, it didnt happen, and I again apologise for saying it did. The Magpie cant help but note the sloppy subbing the has become typical of News publications appears to even infect lawyers letters from News, in this instance, what is known as a double-up.
And my only comment on that is, you can take me to court on that one any day you like, Gina, old gal. It has for so long also applied to almost all journos, particularly the Holt Street appointed editors at the paper who bend to a local power club agenda in these matters. Theres a lot of other flannel in there too, but a couple of final matters. In item 7, you demand that You delete any comment made to the Website after publication of the apology which is derogatory to Ms Armstrong in any way for a period of six months from the date off the acceptance of this offer. I clearly and unequivocally refuse this typical News Corpse attempt to stifle public debate or criticism of the performance of the Townsville Bulletin and its staff the idea is that Ms Armstongs professional performance is off limits is totally unacceptable. She has a public voice and if her editor is to be believed, what is said in the paper leads debate in the community and sets the news agenda. You may rest assured that any attempt by anybody swaying public opinion in an unfair manner will always be challenged in this blog. Before you piss off for the day to tell your metrosexual mates over soy chia lattes with a twist about this silly old geezer your gunna nail in Townsville (where, Ginny dear? Oh, how quaint), lets be crystal clear: I will never agree to forfeit the right of reply to anything in the Townsville Bulletin so as to inform and defend this community from the trepidations of this rapacious, biased paper that I believe has greatly damaged the social fabric and general well being of our community. And that right to criticiseincludes Ms Armstong in her professional capacity, should her professional behaviour merit a derogatory comment. I am feeling deeply offended by some of your suggestions, and am greatly hurt and distressed, as are those close to me - my cat even gone of its milk, and Rover is getting about with lowered gaze - and unless you apologise for your egregious suggestions and threats, I just might sue you and Nation-wide News for harassment, hurt and defamation oh, just a sec, been there done that dont think Ill bother again. This Week In Trumpistan And we begin with one of the cleverest graphic depictions of just where this destructive man-child is at the moment.
. Well, thats all been very interesting, be sure to join in the comments section for your say, but be very careful what you say. AND NO COMMENTS REGARDING MS ARMSTRONG AND LAST WEEKS INCORRECT STORY WILL BE PUBLISHED. http://www.townsvillemagpie.com.au/the-allure-of-nepotism-authorities-nip-a-scam-in-the-bud-but-was-the-townsville-council-involved-walker-street-faces-some-tricky-questions/
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Who The Fuck Writes A Ten-Page Rant?????
Also on ao3
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Chapter 5: Dave Is Just A Huge Flustered Mess
You were just finished updating your SBaHJ comics when you saw that your sister was pestering you.
-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] --
TT: Hello, Dave.
TG: whats up rose
TT: I would like to invite you to go with me on an outing to a certain clothing store.
TG: for the last time i dont want to get a suit and theres nothing you can do to make me go TG: what do i even need a suit for TG: i never go anywhere fancy enough to warrant wearing a suit TG: theyre also uncomfortable as hell TG: all itchy and scratchy and constricting and shit
TT: You only think that because you’ve only worn cheap suits. TT: And besides, I can easily convince you to come with me.
TG: bullshit TG: there is absolutely nothing you could say or do that could possibly make me go with you TG: ill chain myself to the inside of my room TG: you cant possibly break the lock even if you had ten thousand locksmiths TG: theyre all going to be like TG: miss lalonde why are you trying so fucking hard to get this guy out of his room TG: why cant you just leave him alone TG: and youll go on this spiel about how i need a suit TG: theyll be ten thousand miles away in a goddamn flash TG: knowing that suits are awful as fuck TG: so no rose TG: there couldnt possibly be even a single thing that could make me move an inch to go with you to a store to get a suit
TT: It’s a very nice store. TT: There is a plethora of clothing items to chose from there. TT: There also happens to be a cute boy who works there.
TG: … TG: … TG: … TG: how cute TG: like are we talking astronomical levels of cute TG: like one wrong move could set my heart aflame TG: or is he passing a random stranger and giving them a spare glance cute
TT: He has messy hair, small horns, and he looks like he could be able to give you the best hugs imaginable.
TG: my bloodpusher is already in hyperdrive TG: where do i sign up TG: i mean TG: nope still not going TG: i refuse TG: no matter how cute that guy sounds TG: i absolutely refuse
TT: You’ll come with me eventually. TT: No matter how much I have to wear you down.
TG: wow way to sound super creepy TG: why are you even so insistent on me going to this store anyway TG: youve never been this insistant before TG: even pulled out the cute guy thing on me TG: i bet you just made up that guy to try and get me to come
TT: I assure you that he is, in fact, as real as you and me. TT: And why I am so insistent on you going is of none of your concern.
TG: is there a cute girl who works there and youre just using me as an excuse to see her again
TT: ...
TG: holy shit TG: you really do have a crush on her TG: whats her name TG: come on rose TG: you cant avoid the question forever TG: tell me tell me tell me tell me TG: at least tell me what she looks like good god TG: okay you got me TG: if you tell me her name and what she looks like i swear that i will go with you to the store TG: ill even let you get me a suit
TT: What do you swear on?
TG: i swear on the monkey paw in my dead things collection
TT: A dangerous item to swear on. TT: I’ll accept it. TT: The contract is sealed. My blood has been used to finalize it.
TG: goddamn it rose just tell me who your crush is
TT: As if you don’t ramble on for an even lengthier amount of time than I did. TT: But I suppose I will hold my side of our deal. TT: Her name is Kanaya, and she owns the store I was speaking about. TT: She, by far, has one of the best fashion senses I have ever seen. TT: She’s intelligent and can analyze with the best of them. TT: She’s extraordinarily well-read, and the theories she has are like nothing I’ve ever heard. TT: Her horns are like daggers, her hair like silk. I could only dream of her lifting me off into the sunset. TT: Oh. TT: I seem to have gotten a little bit carried away there.
TG: holy shit rose thats probably one of the gayest things ive read in a while
TT: Yes, well, prose aside, you are now obligated to go with me to the store Kanaya owns. TT: I get to see Kanaya again, and you get a suit. TT: I’m killing two birds with one stone. TT: Not only that, but you get to meet a cute troll.
TG: clearly the only upside TG: anyway what time is this place open TG: because i would like to get this over and done with as soon as possible
TT: Good. TT: I’ll come over to pick you up in twenty minutes.
-- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] --
You decide to edit one of your videos during that time, and soon you hear the ring of your doorbell.
Your get up to answer the door, and there is your sister looking more dressed up than usual.
“You’re dressed up. Trying to impress Kanaya?” You tease.
“Oh, silence. It’s not like you didn’t get dressed better than usual because I informed you that the boy working at the store was cute.”
“Okay, okay! Uncle! I admit it. I took five minutes of my time to look slightly better than normal, but at least I’m able to admit that.”
“I’m going to put the radio on.” Rose said, putting on obnoxious pop music that you both have heard a hundred times.
“If you don’t think I can easily talk over this poor excuse for good music then you have clearly underestimated my ability to ramble on for hours upon hours on end to even myself. There doesn’t even have to be anyone there. I’ll just be over here vomiting any stray thought I have out onto the ground where anyone can see it.Now I have to clean up all this fucking vomit on the floor because it's stinking up the room, and wow. I completely forgot where I was going with any of this.
“We’re here.” Rose suddenly commented.
You stared at her for a solid thirty seconds.
“You played me for a goddamn fool.” You finally say. Rose simply smirked all knowing like as the two of you got out the car.
The two of you went into the store, which, oddly enough, smelled a lot like rosemary.
The store was colorful and seemed to have nearly any article of clothing a person could want. There was also a sign that advised against licking the clothes, which reminded you of Terezi.
But, the moment your eyes wondered over to the register, your heart stopped. It stopped and then sped up to double time. You think you forgot to breathe.
You think what Rose told you wasn’t nearly enough to properly prepare you for how cute this troll was. Saying that he was astronomically cute was the most major understatement anyone could ever possibly make.
And Rose was pulling you toward him. Oh god, do you look okay? Would you even be able to talk to him? Come on, Dave. Take a deep breath. Be cool.
“Hello, Karkat.” Rose greeted.
“Hello, Miss Lalonde. What do you need?”
“Polite as ever, but you can just call me Rose. However, I did come here for more than just exchanging pleasantries. I would like to see Kanaya about getting my brother, Dave, here a suit.”
“Alright. I’ll go get her for you.” Karkat left and soon afterward an elegant looking woman came out with Karkat.
“If you’ll come with me, I can get you measured.” The woman said.
“Thank you.” Rose responded, and the two of you went to the back with Kanaya.
You can’t believe you’re being forced to get measured with your sister and Kanaya flirting up a storm. It was honestly extremely embarrassing.
At long last, you were done being measured, and you bolted out of the room after telling Rose that she could pick out whatever kind of suit she wants. This may or may not have been a good decision on your part, but you were just glad you didn’t have to see your sister make goo-goo eyes at Kanaya for another minute.
However, you were now back in the store part of the store where the cute guy was. You had no idea how to even begin interacting with him, so you decided to look through the store. To be fair, the clothes looked like they were really well made, so you ended up picking a few items that you genuinely wanted to buy.
When you began making your way to the register, you were revisited with the problem of how to talk to the cute boy there.
You were already going towards the counter, so it wasn’t like you could just go back and look through the store some more, so you resigned yourself to your death.
“Um, yeah, I’d like to buy this if you would be so kind. You know, because these clothes are actually super cool, and they seem really well made, not that I would know anything, but based on what my sister says about the store, the clothes are exactly as choice as I think they are. Clearly, they are the best clothes sold from here to the ends of the universe. That’s how fantastic they are, holy shit, you know? Oh, shit, I’m rambling a lot, aren’t I? I do that a lot, especially if I’m nervous. I swear I’m not actually nervous. You’re just really cute. Fuck. Okay, just forget I called you cute, not that you aren’t. You are extremely attractive and cute, and shit, I probably sound super creepy right now. I swear I didn’t mean to. I-”
You went quiet when he began to laugh. You just stood there in a dumbstruck silence while he laughed. Eventually, he stopped and spoke.
“Oh my god. When you came in here, I just thought you were some kind of insufferable prick, but you’re actually nervous, so I guess I thought wrong.”
You weren’t really able to respond due to being caught off guard by the laughter. The sound of footsteps came closer until the door was slammed open.
“I heard laughter, Karkat, what is it that you are laughing at?” Kanaya questioned.
“Did you just run over here because you heard me laugh?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you have a customer to work with?”
“Yes, but you do not genuinely laugh similarly to that quite nearly as often enough, so I decided to come over to where you were to find out what caused you to laugh so uproariously. However, all I see is Rose’s brother, who I have been informed has a very poor sense of humor that is based heavily in the art of irony.”
“Are you saying I’m not funny?” You finally manage to say something, and, of course, it isn’t even to the troll you were flustered over.
“Although I am incapable of being absolutely certain of the fact due to my not knowing you very well, but the way Rose described your humor left much to be desired.”
“Kanaya, you really should be getting back to talking to Rose.” Karkat said.
“All right, all right. But you will talk to me later, correct?”
“Of course I will.”
Kanaya left, and Karkat turned to face Dave.
“Wow. I can’t believe my own flesh and blood would betray me like this. What kind of sibling even tells someone else that her dear brother has a shitty sense of humor. And Kanaya over there just ripped me a fucking new one, holy shit.”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s just her sense of humor shining through.” Karkat responded. “Now could you please pay for the clothes you just bought?”
“Oh! Yeah, alright.” You fumble for your wallet and give him your credit card to pay for the items. He neatly puts them in a bag and hands them to you along with the receipt.
You take a moment to write your chumhandle down on the receipt, along with a little message saying to be sure to contact you.
Rose finally comes out of the room where Kanaya was.
“Are you ready to leave, Dave?”
“Hell fucking yeah, I am.”
Before the two of you leave, you ‘accidentally’ leave the receipt with Karkat, and you can hear him yelling at you once you leave the store.
“So, how was your meeting with Karkat?”
“Come one, Rose. You know I’m suave as shit. Smoother than butter, that’s what I say. People spread me and they’re like, ‘holy shit I can’t believe how fucking smooth this is.’ That’s how goddamned smooth I am and how I was.”
“Is that code for you becoming a flustered mess around any cute guy you meet?”
“Shut up.”
“Did you at least get his contact information or give him your own?” Rose questioned.
“Yeah, I wrote my chumhandle on the receipt and left it there. I have no idea if he will actually message me or anything. Probably not based on how much of a mess I was.”
“So that’s why he was yelling at us when we left. But you can try to hold on to some semblance of hope that he will willingly contact you.”
“I guess that’s better than nothing, but I am not going to expect much.”
Once you got home, you got on the computer to pester Terezi.
-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] --
TG: tz holy shit i need to tell you something
GC: WH4T 1S 1T D4V3?
TG: i just met this guy okay
TG: super cute and i even made him laugh like holy fuck
TG: and all i was doing was rambling on for forever like i usually do
TG: especially because he was extremely cute and my brain just couldnt compute with the cuteness
TG: and he just started laughing
TG: and then the owner of the fucking store came running to see what was so funny
TG: apparently he doesnt laugh much
TG: and then she insulted my sense of humor
TG: like why do you have to ripe on a dudes humor like that
GC: HOW B4D W4S TH3 BURN?
TG: it was so fucking bad
TG: had to get cold water poured on it immediately afterwards
TG: went to the hospital and i was on the emergency track
TG: thats how fucking bad it was
GC: 1 C4NT B3L1V3 SOM3ON3 4CTU4LLY D1D TH4T
TG: i know right
GC: BUT ON 4 S1D3 NOT3
GC: HOW CUT3 W4S TH3 BOY AND HOW MUCH OF 4 M3SS OF YOURS3LF D1D YOU M4K3?
TG: the guy was extremely cute
TG: massively cute
TG: so cute that im gonna have to look up synonyms of cute merely to give you the basic rundown of how cute he is
TG: endearing adorable lovable sweet lovely appealing engaging delightful dear darling winning winsome attractive pretty good looking handsome attractive gorgeous
TG: some of these dont really make sense but you get the idea
TG: this boys cuteness is nothing to be trifled with
GC: H3 SOUNDS D3L1C1OUS
GC: D1D YOU G3T H1S NUMB3R
GC: OR P3ST3RCHUM H4NDL3 OR TROLL H4NDL3
GC: WH4T3V3R H3 US3S
TG: i gave him my pesterchum handle but i dont even know if he will even bother messaging me
TG: or shit if he even uses pesterchum or trollian or whatever
GC: H3 PROBABLY DO3S
GC: MOST P3OPL3 DO B3C4US3 1TS E4SY TO US3
GC: 4ND 1 COULD NOT S33 WHY H3 WOULDNT W4NT TO CONT4CT YOU
GC: BOTH B3CAUS3 YOU 4R3 SUP3R COOL 4ND B3C4USE 1 4M BL1ND 4ND TH3R3FOR3 C4NT S33
TG: shit i guess youre right as always pyrope
GC: 1TS 4 SP3C14LTY OF M1N3 >:]
GC: B31NG R1GHT TH4T 1S
TG: solid facts are being brought up here
TG: completely frozen and strong enough to stay as a goddamned solid or however the fuck that works
TG: facts that cant even be disputed like at all
TG: because that would be just blasphemy
TG: anyway im kind of hungry so im going to go eat
TG: see ya tz
GC: SM3LL YOU L4T3R COOL K1D
-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] --
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Hi! Can I have career reading? A♑️💛
Hello A🐝! For you I have pulled the upright Queen of Wands, upright Ace of Swords and reversed Five of Pentacles.
I get the overall sense that you maybe interested in a career in communications. Something with marketing, advertising or overall business, just CEO things! The appearance of the Queen of Wands in a career reading is absolutely phenomenal. Also with the Ace of Swords and the Queen of Wands, it shows that you indeed have the potential to become the Boss or in a leadership position. You may be a bit of a social butterfly and quite charismatic, which only ehances your ability to successfully achieve in any Communications career. You are extremely self aware of how to make ends meet and you really know how to get what you want! This of course is a wonderful thing just make sure you arent trampling others or overlooking other areas of your life while purseuing such a career. The Queen of Wands also encourages this communication career because she is all about making powerful connections that help put her name out there into the world. With this career you will find that you naturally shine bright, you inspire others and that you have the power to achieve anything your heart ultimately desires. And even the Queen of Wands helps you relish in all that attention, its important to really come back down to earth and connect with the side of yourself that you don’t usually reveal to others. With you being a Capricorn, you take your ambitions VERY seriously and I really do understand that. However you must remember to nourish yourself so that you are able to bounce back and make productive, money moves. Now with the reversed Five of Pentacles this does indicate that there was maybe a time in your life where you suffered a major finicial loss or you may have left a job (or even got let go) and have been since then afraid to return back to a career. The reversed Five of Pentacles is here to remind you that you will be relieved of these problems. You also feel that despite money, there are other areas of your life where you feel you have experienced loss or you simply dont have enough of. You are worthy, even if you are not wealthy. Perhaps you feel hesitant to treat yourself or spend money in general because of this loss. OR this can also mean another thing. You maybe spending an excessive amount of money on luxurious items that really bring you no kind of fulfillment. You really have to sit down and think about your expenses, what you can afford and what is WORTH splurging on. However, the Ace of Swords indicates that there will be some kind of breakthrough that will take you out of this constant state of worry. You will maybe get a job or move higher up in your job. The Ace of Swords also talks about clarity! You maybe finally seeing the light within a negative situation. This clarity can also be enhanced through regular meditation or yoga or manifestations. The more you make it clear to the Universe the kind of rewards that you want, the more the Universe will reward you accordingly. I feel like once you are able to move on, you will be like a ball of refreshing energy within this career. Youll feel more creative and will want to express yourself now more than ever. And this career could potentially be Communications because once again the Ace of Swords discusses clarity within your words. You may want to take public speaking classes or enhance your writing skills. And finally, the Ace of Swords represents power. You have the power and you have the control. You are bright, extremely intelligent, intriguing, ambitious and cutting edge. You have the ability to make long lasting impressions. Overall, regardless of the career path you take, I feel you will be very successful!
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Exploring the Connections Between Your Social Life and Your Financial Life
This is the seventh entry in an eight part series exploring the connections between your finances and other areas of your life. A few weeks ago, I started a series exploring the connections between personal finance and the other spheres of my life. The first entry covered the connections between ones physical life and financial life, the second entry covered the connections between ones mental and spiritual life and financial life, the third entry covered the connections between ones intellectual life and financial life, the fourth entry covered the connections between ones marital life and financial life, the fifth entry covered the connections between ones parental life and financial life, the sixth entry covered the connections between ones professional life and financial life, and today were looking at ones social life and financial life. As noted in the first entry, I tend to view life as a bunch of spheres, or areas of focus. I really like Michael Hyatts list of nine such spheres: physical, mental/spiritual, intellectual, social, marital, parental, avocational (hobbies), vocational, and financial they cover much of what life is all about. Ive come to view these spheres as deeply interconnected, in that success in one sphere is usually linked in some significant ways to success in other spheres (and failures are similarly connected) and that knowing the connections can help people figure out how to succeed in both areas at once. Today, were going to look at the social sphere and how it connects to ones financial life. What Is Social Life? Social life simply refers to the time you spend with other people simply because you enjoy spending time with them and get value out of that time. It encompasses time spent with family, time spent with friends, and time spent in situations where youre getting to know people. This might seem like a common sense definition, but theres actually a lot going on here. Does social media count here? Does interacting with someone online count as actual social behavior? If so, is it weakly social? For me, digital communication with people really only counts as social if its oriented toward spending actual face to face time with that person in the future. For example, if Im looking at a Facebook picture of someone I havent seen in ten years, thats not really social, but if Im talking to someone on Twitter about a game night were going to have next week, thats definitely social. There are many deep connections between ones social life and ones financial life. Here are a few of the key ones. Not having a social life leads to negative health consequences and significant expenses. The social sphere tends to be one of the two areas of life (along with avocational) where people often let it dwindle until its almost gone, then lament the disappearance of that sphere. People are more lonely today than they have been in centuries (if not ever) and that decay of social lives has a lot of profound negative health consequences. In short, if you allow your social life to drift away because youre too engrossed in other areas of life, youll likely find at some point that youre struggling with loneliness, and persistent loneliness is very problematic for ones physical and mental health over the long term. Maintaining your social sphere inherently helps maintain your physical and mental health spheres, which in turn helps your financial life. Your social circle deeply influences your spending choices. Its often said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Im not quite sure thats true, but I do believe that our closest friends and family members have a large impact on how we view the world, what things were exposed to, and what things we think about. Thus, by extension, our social lives impact our financial lives by the spending choices were guided to (or away from) by our social influences. I personally find it very valuable to cultivate social relationships with people who encourage me to make smart spending choices. Friends who are always nudging me to spend have a profound negative impact on my financial life, whereas friends whose company I can enjoy without any spending pressure tend to have a lifting effect on my finances. Friends who are frugal by nature improve my own frugality; big spending friends nudge me toward spending too much myself. We can get trapped in a desire to spend money to impress our friends and acquaintances, often those outside of our most immediate social circle. We want to keep up with the Joneses. We want to have the burst of social cachet that comes with having the cool new thing. We want to be the nicely dressed one in the group, or at least not be the one that is talked about as being shabby. In truth, this is just the spotlight effect in action; because we think about ourselves so much, we over-assume how much others think about us. Yet, many of us find ourselves influenced by these thoughts, overinflating what others might think of us. Its good practice to stop worrying what other people think and instead behave as we would like to be treated, but thats often easier said than done. Friends can help greatly when you need to borrow something or have a major task to accomplish (like moving). Friends can be incredibly useful when you need something in a pinch. Whether its a cup of sugar, a foot in the door at a job, a truck to haul a couch, or an afternoon of help getting ready to move, friends can make all the difference and keep you from spending money on services and products (and theyll likely make the activity more interesting anyway). Naturally, this comes with some expectation of reciprocation, so it means taking on a helpful role in the lives of friends as well. Here are five low cost strategies I use for maintaining and improving my own social life. Strategy #1 Keep Room in Your Life for Social Activity As I noted earlier, it can be very easy to let our social life dwindle away in the face of all of the demands of our other spheres of life. Our health, our jobs, our marriages, our immediate family all of that stuff often takes priority over having a good social life, and so well steal time here and time there from our friends and social connections until, one day, we wake up and realize those connections have dwindled away, and were feeling lonely. Not only is loneliness a bad destination, we also miss out on a lot of fulfillment along the path to loneliness if we let our social lives be sacrificed at the altar of career and family and Netflix and smartphones. Dont let that happen. Block off time on your calendar each week for social events. Make sure youre doing at least something that involves interacting face to face with people that you dont have to interact with (meaning people outside of your professional, marital, and parental spheres). It can be anything you want it to be. It can be a dinner party. It can be a dinner out with friends. It can be a community event. It can be a meeting of a group or organization of some kind. It just needs to be something where you go there with the intent of interacting with others (or people come to you with the intent of interacting). Do this on a weekly basis at the absolute very least, and ideally more often than that. More importantly, block off time on your calendar for these things, and do that each week. Dont let these things slide by, because thats a direct road to a dwindling and disappearing social life and a bout with loneliness. If I look ahead at the next few days and dont have something social on it, Im either looking at the community calendar or Im contacting some friends so that theres something social on there. Strategy #2 Be Proactive in Terms of Meeting People While people might come to you socially by calling you up and texting you and contacting you and inviting you, you cant rely on that for social contact. Its not reliable, and many friendships will fade quickly if you rely on it due to short term scheduling difficulties, introverted natures, missed communications, and so on. If you want to have a social life, you have to be proactive in terms of meeting people (to begin the process of building new friendships) and also maintaining the friendships you have. You cant just expect people to come to you. You cant expect everyone to always have the ideas and always ask you. You cant expect people to keep asking if you have to say no with any regularity. It simply wont happen outside of maybe one or two super close friends. Theyll get the vibe that you dont want to associate with them any more and theyll fade out rather quickly. If you want to grow your social circle and your social life, those people are not going to come knocking on your door. Theyre not going to run into you on the sidewalk. You have to go out there and find them. For me, this means being involved in the community. This means putting in the work to find groups to be a part of so that I have people with at least some common interest to associate with. This means putting away my introverted tendencies and actually talking to new people, which can be hard for me. Its not easy. Its much easier to just look at my phone or read a book. Its also got a high failure rate I dont just go to one event and click with tons of people and suddenly have tons of friends. At the same time, its incredibly rewarding. I have more good friends at this point in my life than I ever have, as well as more acquaintances and people I know and who know me. Thats not a typical thing for an American male approaching middle age. How does this happen? Its simple, and it has just a few pieces to it. First of all, I go to lots of community events that seem interesting to me, and I dont go there with the intent to just stand around. I go to participate. I go to talk to people because I know that the other people there are like-minded and have at least some overlap with me (we live in roughly the same area and have at least some overlapping interests). I dive into lots of little sub-groups. Second, when I go there, I make it a point to be social. I use everything Ive learned from Dale Carnegie (heres a summary) and make a sincere effort to get to know people. If I click at all with someone, I usually find them on social media and follow up in the next day or two with something meaningful (more than just HI! REMEMBER ME!?). The vast majority of people I meet dont click deeply, and thats fine. Over time, some of those people do grow into friendly acquaintances and sometimes eventually blossom into friendships. The key is to find groups and community events youre comfortable with and enjoy. Strategy #3 Plan the Social Events and Invite People To Go One thing Ive found is that social contact sometimes fades because no one takes the initiative to plan anything. Often, this is due to a sense of misguided politeness as they feel like they dont want to push whatever idea they have on others, and sometimes its due to a sense of being overly busy and feeling overwhelmed. Quite often, people just want a clear invitation and a sense that theyre personally invited and wanted at the event. If you want to be social, be that person that starts the event. Come up with something to do and invite people to it. Make the plans, so that its just a matter of the other people showing up. Want to have a game day? Plan one, set a date, invite some people. Want to have a dinner party? Plan one, set a date, invite some people. Want to have a movie night? Plan one, set a date, invite some people. Sure, some will say no. Sure, some others might just no-show. Thats going to happen, and its usually not a slight to you. Forgive it to an extent, unless it becomes a long streak of nos or no-shows, in which case you might want to just do something with that person one on one. Dont just assume that the person doesnt want to be friends with you any more instead, assume that the person is struggling with something, because thats much more often the case, or maybe theyre just disorganized. Let them show you that the friendship is over directly if thats the direction they want to go on dont just assume that it is because the other person has some challenge in their life. You wont always have to do this well, for some friends you might because theyre apprehensive about the planning for some reason but youre almost always better off picking the thing and the time and the place and just inviting people rather than trying to get everyone to fish for ideas. Step up and be the social leader. Strategy #4 Make One-on-One Contact and Catching Up with Friends Into a Routine Over the course of every few months, I make it a goal to touch base in some direct one-on-one way with everyone in my social circle. Ill send them a one on one text just checking in on them (a Hey, how you doin? kind of thing) or Ill stop by some place where I know theyll be and have a chat with them or Ill plan on having lunch with them. My goal with these things isnt to talk about myself, but to find out how theyre doing, especially if I havent seen them lately. Are they doing okay? Whats going on in their life? Do they maybe need someone to talk to? Friendships ebb and flow all the time, but its easy for a friendship to just fade away not due to intent, but due to a natural low point in the relationship when youre both busy with other things at the moment. Maintaining that thread keeps the friendship alive and allows it to bloom again in the future, and it quite often will. As I write this, I cant help but think of several friendships in my life for which this is true. I have friends that live far away that I contact fairly regularly in a deliberate one-on-one fashion, just to see how theyre doing. I can also think of several cases where friendships that would have otherwise faded gradually grew into something deeply valuable again. I do this rather mechanically by using smartphone reminders and such. I dont want to accidentally forget about a friend and let that friendship die, so I set a reminder to keep in touch every month or every other month. My phone tells me to get in touch with Person X again and then I follow through. It works really well. Strategy #5 When a Friend or Acquaintance Needs Help, Do It (Especially If Its a Multiplier) If a friend needs help and I can reasonably give that help, I give it, no questions asked. I dont expect anything in return. Dont I feel used or unappreciated? Nope, not a bit. I choose to help. It is my choice. No one is making me do it. I would feel used if I was forced or manipulated into it, but thats a different situation entirely. What I find is that, if I use this policy, a lot of simultaneous good things happen. For starters, that friend that Im helping is almost always in a better place because of my help. Their life is better, and a rising tide lifts all boats. That friend is usually appreciative, and the friendship we have is strengthened because of it. The opportunity to help is often fun, and it usually feels good. That friend usually thinks highly of me, and that often comes up when Im not around. Again, this isnt an always thing, but its a usually thing. A friend that youve helped without any need of reciprocation is usually going to say good stuff about you when youre not there. Also, when I do need help and send out a call for it, a lot of people are willing to help me because they know Ive jumped up to help them in the past. Again, this isnt a universal thing, but if I help ten friends and then I need help, Im likely to get an offer from at least a few of them. Its worth noting that the best opportunities to help friends are what I call multipliers. Those are situations where the value of the help to your friend is many multiples of what it cost you to help. For example, spending a few hours helping your friend move boxes so they dont have to hire a moving service when they give you some pizza and a drink and you have some laughs and conversation together is a big win. Putting in a good word for a friend when theyre trying to get a job is a big win. Giving a key piece of advice regarding something you know a lot about is a big win. Those should always be given, as it lifts your friends boat quite high with little effort from you. Final Thoughts Your social life is a valuable part of your personal happiness, as well as a key support for your physical and mental health. It has many connections to your financial life as well. Thus, supporting your social life is incredibly important. The big ingredients in a healthy social life are time and attention. Set aside some time and some attention for your social relationships and youll find that youre paid back with far more value that you ever would have expected. Good luck! https://www.thesimpledollar.com/exploring-the-connections-between-your-social-life-and-your-financial-life/
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The Basics of Building an Intent-Based Keyword List
Posted by TheMozTeam
This post was originally published on the STAT blog.
In this article, we're taking a deep dive into search intent.
It's a topic we've covered before with some depth. This STAT whitepaper looked at how SERP features respond to intent, and a few bonus blog posts broke things down even further and examined how individual intent modifiers impact SERP features, the kind of content that Google serves at each stage of intent, and how you can set up your very own search intent projects. (And look out for Seer's very own Scott Taft's upcoming post this week on how to use STAT and Power BI to create your very own search intent dashboard.)
Search intent is the new demographics, so it only made sense to get up close and personal with it. Of course, in order to bag all those juicy search intent tidbits, we needed a great intent-based keyword list. Here’s how you can get your hands on one of those.
Gather your core keywords
First, before you can even think about intent, you need to have a solid foundation of core keywords in place. These are the products, features, and/or services that you’ll build your search intent funnel around.
But goodness knows that keyword list-building is more of an art than a science, and even the greatest writers (hi, Homer) needed to invoke the muses (hey, Calliope) for inspiration, so if staring at your website isn’t getting the creative juices flowing, you can look to a few different places for help.
Snag some good suggestions from keyword research tools
Lots of folks like to use the Google Keyword Planner to help them get started. Ubersuggest and Yoast’s Google Suggest Expander will also help add keywords to your arsenal. And Answer The Public gives you all of that, and beautifully visualized to boot.
Simply plunk in a keyword and watch the suggestions pour in. Just remember to be critical of these auto-generated lists, as odd choices sometimes slip into the mix. For example, apparently we should add [free phones] to our list of [rank tracking] keywords. Huh.
Spot inspiration on the SERPs
Two straight-from-the-SERP resources that we love for keyword research are the “People also ask” box and related searches. These queries are Google-vetted and plentiful, and also give you some insight into how the search engine giant links topics.
If you’re a STAT client, you can generate reports that will give you every question in a PAA box (before it gets infinite), as well as each of the eight related searches at the bottom of a SERP. Run the reports for a couple of days and you’ll get a quick sense of which questions and queries Google favours for your existing keyword set.
A quick note about language & location
When you’re in the UK, you push a pram, not a stroller; you don’t wear a sweater, you wear a jumper. This is all to say that if you’re in the business of global tracking, it’s important to keep different countries’ word choices in mind. Even if you’re not creating content with them, it’s good to see if you’re appearing for the terms your global searchers are using.
Add your intent modifiers
Now it’s time to tackle the intent bit of your keyword list. And this bit is going to require drawing some lines in the sand because the modifiers that occupy each intent category can be highly subjective — does “best” apply transactional intent instead of commercial?
We’ve put together a loose guideline below, but the bottom line is that intent should be structured and classified in a way that makes sense to your business. And if you’re stuck for modifiers to marry to your core keywords, here’s a list of 50+ to help with the coupling.
Informational intent
The searcher has identified a need and is looking for the best solution. These keywords are the core keywords from your earlier hard work, plus every question you think your searchers might have if they’re unfamiliar with your product or services.
Your informational queries might look something like:
[product name]
what is [product name]
how does [product name] work
how do I use [product name]
Commercial intent
At this stage, the searcher has zeroed in on a solution and is looking into all the different options available to them. They’re doing comparative research and are interested in specific requirements and features.
For our research, we used best, compare, deals, new, online, refurbished, reviews, shop, top, and used.
Your commercial queries might look something like:
best [product name]
[product name] reviews
compare [product name]
what is the top [product name]
[colour/style/size] [product name]
Transactional intent (including local and navigational intent)
Transactional queries are the most likely to convert and generally include terms that revolve around price, brand, and location, which is why navigational and local intent are nestled within this stage of the intent funnel.
For our research, we used affordable, buy, cheap, cost, coupon, free shipping, and price.
Your transactional queries might look something like:
how much does [product name] cost
[product name] in [location]
order [product name] online
[product name] near me
affordable [brand name] [product name]
A tip if you want to speed things up
A super quick way to add modifiers to your keywords and save your typing fingers is by using a keyword mixer like this one. Just don’t forget that using computer programs for human-speak means you’ll have to give them the ol’ once-over to make sure they still make sense.
Audit your list
Now that you’ve reached for the stars and got yourself a huge list of keywords, it’s time to bring things back down to reality and see which ones you’ll actually want to keep around.
No two audits are going to look the same, but here are a few considerations you’ll want to keep in mind when whittling your keywords down to the best of the bunch.
Relevance. Are your keywords represented on your site? Do they point to optimized pages
Search volume. Are you after highly searched terms or looking to build an audience? You can get the SV goods from the Google Keyword Planner.
Opportunity. How many clicks and impressions are your keywords raking in? While not comprehensive (thanks, Not Provided), you can gather some of this info by digging into Google Search Console.
Competition. What other websites are ranking for your keywords? Are you up against SERP monsters like Amazon? What about paid advertising like shopping boxes? How much SERP space are they taking up? Your friendly SERP analytics platform withshare of voice capabilities (hi!) can help you understand your search landscape.
Difficulty. How easy is your keyword going to be to win? Search volume can give you a rough idea — the higher the search volume, the stiffer the competition is likely to be — but for a different approach, Moz’s Keyword Explorer has a Difficulty score that takes Page Authority, Domain Authority, and projected click-through-rate into account.
By now, you should have a pretty solid plan of attack to create an intent-based keyword list of your very own to love, nurture, and cherish.
If, before you jump headlong into it, you’re curious what a good chunk of this is going to looks like in practice, give this excellent article by Russ Jones a read, or drop us a line. We’re always keen to show folks why tracking keywords at scale is the best way to uncover intent-based insights.
Read on, readers!
More in our search intent series:
Whitepaper: Whitepaper: Using search intent to connect with consumers
How SERP features respond to intent modifiers
How Google dishes out content by search intent
A guide to setting up your very own search intent projects
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!
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What You’ll find it Like Relationship A Can anyone learn to sing.
Develop Into A Top Blogger: Tips You Should Know
Blogging may be an extremely fun, and maybe profitable, use of the Internet for you teach yourself sing You will discover many different sites online which can help you obtain started as being a blogger. This information will either teach you to make your website better or learn how to make a blog. Have a fantastic time!
Be certain your blog site uses SEO, or search engine optimization. To draw in your target market, you desire your blog to demonstrate up in search results for the topics you focus on. Select a small group of keywords, and make sure they can be found in the title and body of articles or content in order that you attract a huge number of visitors.
Usually do not copy another person’s work. When you plagiarize, you may lose any sense of credibility you had built up. While even an amateur writer can see success in blogging, showing your passion through unique content is the only method to reach your goals.
As you develop your website, think of buying your own domain name of your as opposed to utilizing free sites. Domains are very cheap, but do wonders for your personal professionalism. It is usually smart to purchase a domain address suitable for your blog. There are free sites around, but they’ll likely have a URL that doesn’t communicate what your blog is focused on.
Be authentic. Don’t try and impress readers with simply how much you already know or help it become appear you are perfectly familiar with your topic.
Let readers know that you are honest and look like transparent. This has to be done consistently. Blogging is around expression and uniqueness. Don’t shoot for perfection this can be a total waste of time. Just attempt to improve yourself through your blogs. Everyone makes mistakes, and if you make one, it’s not the conclusion of the world. You are unique and no one is such as you.
Invite other bloggers that have found success to create guest blog posts in your blog. This can be the best way to improve the caliber of your blog’s content. Additionally, you will experience an enhancement in readership as a result of fans of the guest blogger stopping by to take a look at the blog. You are able to ask a number of customers to provide guest posts that will help you to formulate a very high quality blog.
Read and reply to the feedback given on the post without letting it effect you emotionally. Irrespective of the topic, someone is usually going to have something essential to say. Those who are constructive can be used to increase your blog. Just respond politely to destructive and negative comments and move on. You will appear to be the mature one, which will only grow the quantity of readers of your blog.
As you have seen, there are several actions to take to produce your website more lucrative. Take advantage of the ideas here and you may have a blog that you and your visitors enjoy. Make better use of those suggestions to improve the standard of your blog’s content and help it distinguish itself from similar blogs..
The post What You’ll find it Like Relationship A Can anyone learn to sing. appeared first on Thrilling Beliefs.
from Thrilling Beliefs http://www.luftschlosser.net/what-youll-find-it-like-relationship-a-can-anyone-learn-to-sing/
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What Do You Know about Social Media?
Joan CurtisWhat end You experience about group Media?Business thingamajig | july 4s 9, 2009What do fmovies online know backward social media? Before you answer that question, authorize me confess you that you experience more tan you may think. civil media is simply something else way for us to communicate and connect with one another. If you are a smart communicator and find out the function of connections, you already know a lot around social media. What execute you know about familiar media? Before you justification that question, let me tell you that you know extra than you may think. Social media is simply another fashion for New World to advertise and connect with one another. If you are a brilliant communicator and understand the power of connections, you already notice a area about civil media.Ashton Kutcher said separate persons speech can be as impressive as an entire media network, already he exceed 1 much followers on Twitter, annihilation CNN. grandfather described this achievement as the democratization of the media. I have to wonder. Wasnt the disclosure democratized before? What makes it now a commonwealth because one man jar reach 1 million people?Perhaps democracy and democratization are the untrue words (even though it sounds catchy). What communal media acquire done is unleash the power of communication and connection one person at a time. Communicating one-on-one always had a capable effect on us because it permit us to connect with one another. Everything you read and hear about social media requires connection and architecture relationships. recognize when conversation consisted of three choices?1. Face-to-Face2. Telephone3. Handwritten letterWhen given the above-mentioned three choices, we preferred face-to-face interactions when we knew we had to make a special network with someone. Telephone associate happened at we move not demand as much intimacy or when orbit prevented Columbia from generating face-to-face contact. We recur to the letter as the nadir personal design of communication.Today, we have many also choices. Nonetheless, our decision-making process debris the same. How much connection, whence much familiarity do we need in order to communicate our message? CNN does not care around intimacy; they care round getting the news broadcasted to crowded people at once. Amazingly, social radio also broadcasts news in much the same way CNN does. But, as the authority comes from a friend, a follower, or a connection we are further likely to believe it. In the past we could divine the communicator during a face-to-face interaction to opt truth. Today, we requirement depend upon building affair that create trust and that devise believability. available is what we do know around social media:1. Our youthful people are connected. Todays youth recognize social media; they animate and breathe it each one day. They use the tools as ways to share with their friends. As kids, we nearly new the telephone. Todays kids use germ phones and MySpace. meanwhile you invest the unit phone with MySpace, you get Twitter. To several young person, the potential of Twitter is a no brainer.2. Social correspondence brings on two-way communication. Where E-message was one-way communication that was generally not instantaneous, Twitter is two-way and instant. Furthermore, with Twitter you can have current two-way transmission with nearly thousands of people at once. 3. Social television enables community to deepen connections and relationships. I could correlate with you quickly ended email. But, through Facebook I learn what you look like, what you like to do on Sunday afternoon, who your favorite character are, and where you love to eat. Through Facebook, I find out that your dog enjoy been sick or your child gained a leading honor at school. Through Facebook I learn who you are and what makes you tick.4. familiar media is here to stay. dramaturgic way we are communicating is in a defiant change and that development centers on social media. Traditional proclamation and announcement media precondition adapt to this state-of-the-art step-child. contemporary fact, van Williams, co-founder of Twitter, said, Journalists who grasp the new media will thrive; those that dont wont. 5. Social news is oblige changes in marketing and sales. dramaturgic way we discover, evaluate and buy products and services is experiencing a major insurgency. Word of mouth asset come not from the neighborhood pharmacist but from what our friends confess us on Facebook or what we hear on Twitter. 6. Ashton Kutcher taught Columbia that the way we hear backward news and events is also dynamic through the social media. The matter that CNN wants 1 million devotee tells that a primary network admit the function of a social networking tool alike Twitter. What are the things we do not know about social media?1. Where is social media taking us? Where will we be in 5 years? by no means one acquire a clue.2. Which correspondence tools will survive? Is Twitter a passing fad? Will the little bird be feed by the big cat, Google? MySpace is then on the decline. What about Facebook? My intuition is that each of these means will treasure the good niche. MySpace will survive for the very young. Twitter in some pattern will remain for fast message category communication world-wide.3. How will social news affect advertising, public relations, marketing, and sales? My guess is that broadcast, intrusive spread as we know it today, will not survive. For any products (not many) it will go on in a few form. Social media adds a modern component to the buying mix. By doing so, traditional selling efforts duty adapt. turn will parade us by means of and who will survive.4. Whats next? We instantly have filigree 2.0 which means an interactive Web. Its great more likable to read a blog in which you jar comment thaw to study a immovable website. because that sense blogs have soared in popularity. What will screen 3.0 or 2.5 or whatever look like? tick sure there are a few gurus out there who can division what they see in their clear-cut balls. But, for highest of New World it detritus a mystery. The objection is to be ready. Two things we bottle count on: we are on the cusp and theres also to come.As a media expert, all this annoy me. familiar media administer new moment to convey and to connect. climactic fun sector is joining the party. What are you linger for? forthwith that you know that you move know thing about cordial media, and you further know that no one knows whats next, move join us! See you on Twitter.Joan Curtis, EdD is creator of Total Communications Coaching where she specializes in helping smart, capable star move advanced in their careers by becoming able communicators. mother has trained numerous laboratory on submission skills. madam also administer personal teach to grant people to be productive public speakers. She is the creator of the newly liberated book, admonishing Sticky Situations at Work: Communication key for prosperity in the Workplace, enroll more at http://www.managingstickysituationsatwork.com/.Join her virtual group, Speak jump for Success, and convert a vigorous speaker in six weeks! Youll get tips as well as group cornerstone that will propel your speaking success. Learn more at http://www.totalcommunicationscoach.com/teleclasses.htm
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What Do You Know about Social Media?
loan CurtisWhat Do You perceive about Social Media?Business piece | July 9, 2009What do you know round social media? Before you answer that question, let me disclose you that you recognize more then you can do think. group media is simply something else way for us to communicate and connect with one another. If you are a smart communicator and recognize the talent of connections, you earlier know a lot in reverse social media. What accomplish you recognize about familiar media? back you key that question, let me tell you that you know other than you may think. Social news is openly another way for us to convey and connect with one another. assuming that you are a bold communicator and understand the power of connections, you already notice a field about civil media.Ashton Kutcher said specific persons voice can be as influential as an entire disclosure network, earlier he outperform 1 much followers on Twitter, beating CNN. He described this achievement as the democratization of the media. I have to wonder. Wasnt the radio democratized before? What manufacture it directly a suffrage because one man jar reach 1 million people?Perhaps democracy and democratization are the bad words (even though it sounds catchy). What cordial media include done is unleash the power of communication and connection one person at a time. Communicating one-on-one always had a influential effect on us being it empower us to connect with one another. Everything you read and hear about social correspondence requires relation and building relationships. get when connection free online movies of three choices?1. Face-to-Face2. Telephone3. Handwritten letterWhen given the above-mentioned three choices, we tabbed face-to-face interactions when we knew we had to make a special relation with someone. Telephone contact happened although we accomplish not right as full intimacy or when span prevented America from manufacturing face-to-face contact. We run to the letter as the last personal system of communication.Today, we have many further choices. Nonetheless, our decision-making process detritus the same. How full connection, by means of much confidence do we need in order to communicate our message? CNN does not care backward intimacy; they care about getting the news broadcasted to crowded people at once. Amazingly, social news also broadcasts news in much the same form CNN does. But, over the dawning comes from a friend, a follower, or a connection we are further likely to believe it. In the past we could eyeball the communicator during a face-to-face reciprocal action to regulate truth. Today, we requirement depend simultaneous building accord that organize trust and that set up believability. attending is what we complete know round social media:1. Our new people are connected. Todays youth get social media; they alive and sniff it without exception day. They use the tools as ways to share with their friends. As kids, we not new the telephone. Todays daughter use unit phones and MySpace. When you bring the unit phone with MySpace, you get Twitter. To all young person, the influence of Twitter is a no brainer.2. Social correspondence brings on two-way communication. Where E-message was one-way communication that was regularly not instantaneous, Twitter is two-way and instant. Furthermore, with Twitter you jar have instant two-way connection with virtually thousands of people at once. 3. Social correspondence enables society to excavate connections and relationships. I could correspond with you quickly through email. But, through Facebook I learn what you look like, what you like to do on Sunday afternoon, who your favorite player are, and where you love to eat. Through Facebook, I find out that your dog include been disordered or your child won a primary honor at school. complete Facebook I learn who you are and what makes you tick.4. Social media is here to stay. The way we are connect is in a subversive change and that advance centers on social media. Traditional proclamation and publication media prerequisite adapt to this state-of-the-art step-child. fly fact, Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, said, Journalists who embrace the state-of-the-art media will thrive; those that injunction wont. 5. Social correspondence is charge changes in marketing and sales. dramaturgic way we discover, evaluate and purchase products and services is experiencing a major insurgency. Word of mouth buy come not from the neighborhood pharmacist but from what our friends mention us on Facebook or what we hear on Twitter. 6. Ashton Kutcher taught New World that the way we hear around news and events is also growing through the social media. The law that CNN wants 1 million adherent tells that a major network admit the potential of a social networking tool cognate Twitter. What are the things we do not know backward social media?1. Where is social news taking us? Where will we be in 5 years? No one include a clue.2. Which media tools will survive? last Twitter a passing fad? Will the little bird be feed by the big cat, Google? MySpace is once on the decline. What about Facebook? My impression is that each of these tools will find the appropriate niche. MySpace will survive for the very young. Twitter in some form will handle for current message description communication world-wide.3. How will social radio affect advertising, public relations, marketing, and sales? My guess is that broadcast, intrusive spread as we know it today, will not survive. For any products (not many) it will advance in some form. cordial media adds a modern component to the buying mix. By doing so, traditional commerce efforts requisite adapt. point will appearance us after what precedent and who will survive.4. Whats next? We now have cobweb 2.0 which means an interactive Web. Its abundant more lovable to scan a blog in which you vessel comment thin to scan a static website. considering that reason blogs have soared in popularity. What will cobweb 3.0 or 2.5 or whatever review like? Im sure there are a bit gurus out there who can stake what they see in their pellucid balls. But, for maximum of America it remains a mystery. The objection is to be ready. Two goods we package count on: we are on the cusp and theres new to come.As a means expert, all this annoy me. Social media administer new opportunities to connect and to connect. dramaturgic fun sector is marry the party. What are you watch for? forthwith that you know that you execute know being about group media, and you again know that no one knows whats next, get join us! See you on Twitter.Joan Curtis, EdD is benefactor of Total Communications Coaching where she specializes in helping smart, capable star move before in their careers by becoming proficient communicators. madam has trained numerous plant on presentation skills. sister also contribute personal train to grant people to be dynamic public speakers. She is the columnist of the newly let go book, admonishing Sticky Situations at Work: Communication key for prosperity in the Workplace, pick up more at http://www.managingstickysituationsatwork.com/.Join her virtual group, Speak increase for Success, and metamorphose a influential speaker in six weeks! Youll get tips as well as group support that will propel your speaking success. Learn further at http://www.totalcommunicationscoach.com/teleclasses.htm
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What Do You Know about Social Media?
join CurtisWhat accomplish You appreciate about communal Media?Business thing | jury 9, 2009What do you know in reverse social media? Before you answer that question, license me disclose you that you recognize more thin you be authorized think. group media is simply something else way for us to communicate and connect with one another. If you are a smart communicator and get the function of connections, you already know a lot about social media. What execute you appreciate about cordial media? previously you key that question, let me tell you that you know more than you may think. Social news is honestly another style for Columbia to connect and connect with one another. in case that you are a smart communicator and understand the power of connections, you already perceive a field about familiar media.Ashton Kutcher said sole persons speech can be as impressive as an entire disclosure network, formerly he outperform 1 total followers on Twitter, annihilation CNN. father described this achievement as the democratization of the media. I have to wonder. Wasnt the correspondence democratized before? What compose it now a justice because one man can reach 1 million people?Perhaps democracy and democratization are the inaccurate words (even though it sounds catchy). What group media acquire done is unleash the power of communication and connection one person at a time. Communicating one-on-one always had a forceful effect on us over it implement us to connect with one another. Everything you read and hear round social media requires relation and construction relationships. recognize when transmission consisted of three choices?1. Face-to-Face2. Telephone3. Handwritten letterWhen given the particular three choices, we preferred face-to-face interactions when we knew we had to make a special connection with someone. Telephone connections happened during we move not commitment as great intimacy or when area prevented Columbia watch free movies originating face-to-face contact. We devote to the letter as the gutter personal style of communication.Today, we have many extra choices. Nonetheless, our decision-making process remains the same. How abundant connection, whereby much understanding do we need in order to communicate our message? CNN does not care around intimacy; they care around getting the news broadcasted to bountiful people at once. Amazingly, social disclosure also broadcasts news in much the same form CNN does. But, because the origin comes from a friend, a follower, or a connection we are other likely to believe it. In the past we could verify the communicator during a face-to-face intercommunication to determine truth. Today, we precondition depend beginning with building marriage that create trust and that spawn believability. present is what we accomplish know in reverse social media:1. Our new people are connected. Todays youth understands social media; they aware and sigh it each one day. They use the tools as ways to share with their friends. As kids, we worn the telephone. Todays youth use unit phones and MySpace. When you bring the cell phone with MySpace, you get Twitter. To any young person, the capability of Twitter is a no brainer.2. Social television brings on two-way communication. Where email was one-way communication that was usually not instantaneous, Twitter is two-way and instant. Furthermore, with Twitter you vessel have prompt two-way communication with nearly thousands of people at once. 3. Social media enables family to extend connections and relationships. I could resemble with you quickly complete email. But, through Facebook I get what you look like, what you like to do on Sunday afternoon, who your favorite star are, and where you love to eat. Through Facebook, I find out that your dog get been incurable or your child gained a primary honor at school. ended Facebook I learn who you are and what makes you tick.4. group media is here to stay. climactic way we are advertise is in a subversive change and that adjustment centers on social media. Traditional advertising and announcement media precondition adapt to this modern step-child. swank fact, elan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, said, Journalists who clinch the new media will thrive; the particular that restriction wont. 5. Social radio is forcing changes in marketing and sales. climactic way we discover, evaluate and acquisition products and services is experiencing a major insurgency. Word of mouth acquisition come not from the neighborhood pharmacist but from what our friends reveal us on Facebook or what we hear on Twitter. 6. Ashton Kutcher taught Land of Liberty that the way we hear about news and events is also growing through the social media. The case that CNN wants 1 million participant tells that a primary network perceive the talent of a social networking tool like Twitter. What are the things we do not know back social media?1. Where is social correspondence taking us? Where will we be in 5 years? by no means one receive a clue.2. Which disclosure tools will survive? last Twitter a passing fad? Will the little bird be chew by the big cat, Google? MySpace is already on the decline. What about Facebook? My inkling is that each of these engine will treasure the honest niche. MySpace will withstand for the very young. Twitter in some design will withstand for instant message type communication world-wide.3. How will social radio affect advertising, public relations, marketing, and sales? My guess is that broadcast, intrusive proclamation as we know it today, will not survive. For a few products (not many) it will go on in a few form. group media figure a modern component to the marketing mix. away doing so, traditional marketing efforts must adapt. point will parade us how and who will survive.4. Whats next? We straightaway have Web 2.0 which means an interactive Web. Its scads more intriguing to study a blog in which you jar comment that to scan a fixed website. considering that reason blogs have soared in popularity. What will cobweb 3.0 or 2.5 or whatever look like? pulse sure there are a few gurus out there who can interest what they see in their limpid balls. But, for most of New World it leavings a mystery. The protest is to be ready. Two things we bottle count on: we are on the cusp and theres more to come.As a route expert, all this energize me. civil media administer new opportunities to convey and to connect. affecting fun section is accompany the party. What are you await for? immediately that you know that you move know being about civil media, and you further know that no one knows whats next, get join us! See you on Twitter.Joan Curtis, EdD is patron of Total Communications Coaching where she specializes in helping smart, capable pro move along in their careers by becoming experienced communicators. sister has learned numerous factory on show skills. sister also bring personal hone to allow people to be productive public speakers. She is the producer of the newly discharged book, admonishing Sticky Situations at Work: Communication code for achievement in the Workplace, read more at http://www.managingstickysituationsatwork.com/.Join her virtual group, Speak increase for Success, and convert a effective speaker in six weeks! Youll receive tips as well as group support that will propel your speaking success. Learn extra at http://www.totalcommunicationscoach.com/teleclasses.htm
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What Do You Know about Social Media?
Jo free online movies n CurtisWhat complete You experience about group Media?Business substance | july 4s 9, 2009What do you know around social media? Before you answer that question, grant me mention you that you perceive more than you can think. group media is simply a different person way for us to communicate and connect with one another. If you are a smart communicator and read the power of connections, you then know a lot in reverse social media. What complete you appreciate about cordial media? ahead you remark that question, let me tell you that you know new than you may think. Social television is openly another fashion for U.S. to convey and connect with one another. conceding that you are a bold communicator and understand the power of connections, you already experience a lot about social media.Ashton Kutcher said separate persons voice can be as influential as an entire media network, once he exceed 1 million followers on Twitter, annihilation CNN. grandfather described this achievement as the democratization of the media. I have to wonder. Wasnt the media democratized before? What makes it straightaway a freedom because one man vessel reach 1 million people?Perhaps democracy and democratization are the untrue words (even though it sounds catchy). What communal media enjoy done is unleash the power of communication and connection one person at a time. Communicating one-on-one always had a dominant effect on us for it empower us to connect with one another. Everything you read and hear back social correspondence requires contact and construction relationships. Remember when communication consisted of three choices?1. Face-to-Face2. Telephone3. Handwritten letterWhen given these three choices, we named face-to-face interactions when we knew we had to make a special network with someone. Telephone relation happened when we accomplish not right as abundant intimacy or when area prevented U.S. from generating face-to-face contact. We recur to the letter as the infinitesimal personal form of communication.Today, we have many further choices. Nonetheless, our decision-making process remnant the same. How scads connection, whence much friendship do we need in order to communicate our message? CNN does not care back intimacy; they care around getting the news broadcasted to countless people at once. Amazingly, social media also broadcasts news in much the same way CNN does. But, as the authority comes from a friend, a follower, or a connection we are new likely to believe it. In the past we could find out the communicator during a face-to-face synergy to resolve truth. Today, we requirement depend beginning with building communication that create trust and that create believability. Here is what we do know around social media:1. Our inexperienced people are connected. Todays youth understands social media; they living and breathe it each one day. They use the tools as ways to share with their friends. As kids, we recycled the telephone. Todays daughter use germ phones and MySpace. although you set the egg phone with MySpace, you get Twitter. To either young person, the potential of Twitter is a no brainer.2. Social radio brings on two-way communication. Where E-message was one-way communication that was usually not instantaneous, Twitter is two-way and instant. Furthermore, with Twitter you jar have current two-way intelligence with around thousands of people at once. 3. Social media enables society to expand connections and relationships. I could correlate with you quickly ended email. But, through Facebook I pick up what you look like, what you like to do on Sunday afternoon, who your favorite star are, and where you love to eat. Through Facebook, I find out that your dog get been down or your child triumphed a dominant honor at school. complete Facebook I learn who you are and what makes you tick.4. communal media is here to stay. climactic way we are connect is in a defiant change and that adjustment centers on social media. Traditional advertising and broadcast media requisite adapt to this modern step-child. trig fact, elan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, said, Journalists who embrace the different media will thrive; the above-mentioned that injunction wont. 5. Social television is charge changes in marketing and sales. The way we discover, evaluate and buy products and services is experiencing a major insurgency. Word of mouth booty come not from the neighborhood pharmacist but from what our friends tell us on Facebook or what we hear on Twitter. 6. Ashton Kutcher taught Columbia that the way we hear round news and events is also uncertain through the social media. The fact that CNN wants 1 million patron tells that a large-scale network admit the power of a social networking tool cognate Twitter. What are the things we do not know round social media?1. Where is social television taking us? Where will we be in 5 years? No one has a clue.2. Which correspondence tools will survive? Is Twitter a passing fad? Will the little feathered creature be feed by the big cat, Google? MySpace is earlier on the decline. What about Facebook? My impression is that each of these means will bargain the honest niche. MySpace will last for the very young. Twitter in some fashion will recover for contemporary message category communication world-wide.3. How will social radio affect advertising, public relations, marketing, and sales? My guess is that broadcast, intrusive pitch as we know it today, will not survive. For a few products (not many) it will extend in part of form. civil media count a late component to the selling mix. away doing so, traditional retailing efforts prerequisite adapt. generation will program us whence and who will survive.4. Whats next? We now have filigree 2.0 which means an interactive Web. Its great more fascinating to scan a blog in which you vessel comment then to study a immovable website. because that saneness blogs have soared in popularity. What will Web 3.0 or 2.5 or whatever peek like? pulsation sure there are any gurus out there who can share what they see in their lucid balls. But, for largest of us it detritus a mystery. The ultimatum is to be ready. Two things we jar count on: we are on the cusp and theres other to come.As a route expert, all this annoy me. communal media provides new event to communicate and to connect. breathtaking fun section is clamp the party. What are you watch for? forthwith that you know that you move know commodity about communal media, and you further know that no one knows whats next, materialize join us! See you on Twitter.Joan Curtis, EdD is creator of Total Communications Coaching where she specializes in helping smart, capable specialist move along in their careers by becoming experienced communicators. sister has directed numerous laboratory on presentation skills. sister also equip personal teach to grant people to be effective public speakers. She is the creator of the newly let go book, Managing Sticky Situations at Work: Communication Secrets for advance in the Workplace, pick up more at http://www.managingstickysituationsatwork.com/.Join her virtual group, Speak increase for Success, and come a influential speaker in six weeks! Youll receive tips as well as group buttress that will propel your speaking success. Learn further at http://www.totalcommunicationscoach.com/teleclasses.htm
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