#sure there are people who fake such. however there have been NUMEROUS studies showing that the reason why they do that (1/4)

[poolboyservice]

no full offense, but why the fuck is r/fakedisordercringe still a thing?

[connectparanormal]

Ectoplasm and Ghosts

Ectoplasm and ghosts are two strange phenomena that have been puzzling people for hundreds of years. Ectoplasm is a term that gained popularity in the late 1800s and early 1900s for a strange substance that is said to be made during spiritualist séances. People claim that this substance materializes, frequently emerging from a person's body, and believe it to be a form of psychic energy. Conversely, people believe that ghosts represent the spirits or souls of deceased individuals who have not yet transitioned to the afterlife. Instead, they stay in the real world and often show up as apparitions. Ectoplasm is believed to be the medium through which spirits communicate with the living world. People often discussed ectoplasm during séances as a means for ghosts to manifest in the physical world. People believed that this substance, typically depicted as a whitish, partially clear, and occasionally glowing substance, allowed spirits to communicate more directly with the participants in the séance. A lot of people believed that ectoplasm could take on different shapes, like faces, hands, and even whole bodies, showing that ghosts were real. The Roman writer Agapetus Pulcher in the 1st century AD is believed to be the first person to write about ectoplasm.

People say that photographs and reports from witnesses in the early 1900s are proof of ectoplasm and its link to ghosts. These pictures often depict people surrounded by or erupting ectoplasmic matter, sometimes resembling ghostly faces or figures. Many people saw these pictures and were very interested in them, which made individuals believe in the supernatural and in ghosts stronger. However, they also faced skepticism and intense scrutiny. Later, they discovered that many of these pictures were fakes. They used cheesecloth, cotton, and other things to make it look like ectoplasm. Spiritualists continued to believe in ectoplasm and its role in ghostly appearances despite numerous attempts to disprove the idea. Some individuals argued that the rare and fragile nature of the substance made it difficult to study and prevented its production in controlled environments. According to credible members of the scientific community, including some who said they had seen ectoplasm directly, personal stories and anecdotes added to the ongoing debate. Around the middle of the 20th century, new technology and stricter scientific methods made people even less sure about ectoplasm, and it became less common in spiritualist practices. With improvements in photos, lighting, and forensic science, it became harder for fake events to trick people. Investigators used more advanced methods to find trickery, which disproved many claims that were once thought to be true. In the end, this meant that ectoplasm became less important to most spiritualists.

In modern times, people are still interested in ectoplasm and ghosts, but more for fun than scientific reasons. Horror movies, books, and TV shows often use ectoplasm as a ghostly material to enhance the mystery and creepiness of the ghosts. People are still interested in the future and the unknown, which is why ghosts are still a popular theme in fiction and folklore. Despite its historical and cultural significance, most scientists dismiss ectoplasm as mere fiction. The idea of ectoplasm takes us back to a time when the lines between science and the supernatural weren't as clear. Back then, people's search for answers to life's questions led to a wide range of beliefs and practices. Whether perceived as real or as symbols of the past, ghosts continue to pique people's interest. They represent our desire to connect with things that are beyond our senses. Together, ectoplasm and ghosts represent a time in history when people were deeply interested in exploring the unknown, showing how belief and doubt are always at odds with each other.

[ghosthunthq]

BFU: “The Mysterious Death of Dr. Eugene Davis”

Buzzfeed Unsolved True Crime

“The Mysterious Death of Dr. Eugene Davis”

Aeternus.Flamma

000

  Prompt: ghost hunt but make it buzzfeed unsolved!AU (it can be with or without Gene being alive) i think that would be entertaining    Submitted by Anonymous

000

  [Intro music plays]

  RYAN: [Narration] Today on Buzzfeed Unsolved, we discuss the mysterious death of Dr. Eugene Davis. 

  SHANE: Eugene? 

  RYAN: Yeah, Eugene. 

  SHANE: I only know, like, one other Eugene. When was this? 

  RYAN: Like, recent. If you’d let me get through the intro… 

SHANE: Fine, fine. Go on. 

  RYAN: As I was saying, today we discuss the mysterious death of Dr. Eugene Davis, one of the most renowned mediums of our time. 

  SHANE: Medium. Right. 

  RYAN: Yes, medium. Dr. Davis, known as Gene to his family, has been called the perfect medium–no other person has thus far been able to so accurately communicate with other spirits. Not only could he channel on near demand, but he also showed, on numerous occasions, speaking fluently in languages he did not know. 

SHANE: Oh, sure. Like that can’t be faked. This bullshit has been literally faked for hundreds of years. Picking up a few lines in French isn’t exactly convincing. I’ve said it before. All psychics are bullshit.

  RYAN: Yeah, fine, maybe not. But how about entire conversations with loved ones in Russian? Or Arabic? Can–can you do that? 

  SHANE: Just cause–okay, well, you can learn languages. There are people out there who have learned dozens of languages over their life–

  RYAN: Did I mention he was sixteen?

  SHANE: …

  RYAN: Yeah, think about that a bit more. He’s seventeen and apparently he fluently speaks, uh, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean…  English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, Russian, Arabic… Like, people have tried to disprove this kid and–

  SHANE: Wait you, said Dr. Eugene Davis. 

  RYAN: Yeah–

  SHANE: Doctor? 

  RYAN: We’ll get to that. 

  SHANE: Yeah. Okay. I call bullshit now. This is already ridiculous. 

  RYAN: It gets weirder. 

  SHANE: Of course it does. 

RYAN: [Narration] Dr. Davis’s sad story starts when he was a child, found in an American orphanage by famous parapsychologists, Martin and Luella Davis. The Davises adopted Gene and his brother, despite them showing know signs of speaking English. 

  SHANE: Martin and Luella didn’t speak English??

  RYAN: No, Gene and his brother. They only spoke Japanese to one another. 

  SHANE: … They only spoke Japanese?

  RYAN: Well, yeah, they’re Japanese, or, their parents were. 

  SHANE: You–uh–so he’s a psychic, Japanese child found in an American orphanage?

  RYAN: Yeah. And he’s adopted by a British couple. 

  SHANE: Oh, they’re British?

  RYAN: Yeah, they’re, like, the British version of the Warren’s–don’t roll your eyes. 

  SHANE: I thought this wasn’t the ghost season. 

  RYAN: It’s not–well, yeah, it’s not. 

  SHANE: There are ghosts involved, aren’t there?

  RYAN: …

  SHANE: This is great. 

  RYAN: [Narration] Gene and his brother Oliver, and no, those weren’t their birth names, but I couldn’t find those, were adopted by the parapsychologists and moved to the UK. From a young age, the brothers showed signs of having unique abilities. 

  SHANE: Both of them? The brother too?

  RYAN: Uh, yeah. Oliver Davis, also a doctor by the way, has given demonstrations using psychokinesis, or PK. Telekinesis basically. Move shit with his mind. 

  SHANE: Interesting… And how old is he?

  RYAN: They’re twins. 

  SHANE: Tw–twins! You’re kidding me!

  RYAN: No, no that’s for real. 

  SHANE: So, you have two creepy children, freaking twins, in an orphanage, and they’re apparently psychic? This isn’t real life. This is a plot to a B movie. 

  RYAN: I don’t know what to tell you. I can show you the videos. 

  SHANE: Shopped. 

  RYAN: There’s–there’s a death certificate–

  SHANE: I’m not saying this kid didn’t die, I’m saying that this is a hot, steaming pile of–

  RYAN: Alright, alright, I get it. Let me get to his death. 

  SHANE: Fine. 

  RYAN: After jointly publishing a dissertation and receiving their honorary doctorates, Gene and his brother were accepted to Cambridge University. Before starting his study, Gene decided to travel to Japan, though accounts as to why he did so vary. What may have been a pilgrimage to visit distant relatives unfortunately turned disastrous as Gene disappeared. 

  SHANE: Was he traveling alone?

  RYAN: Yes. 

  SHANE: Who lets a sixteen year old travel alone, especially overseas?

  RYAN: Okay, well, one, if you’re going to do it, Japan’s the one place to do it, it’s pretty safe. Two, he had contacts he was visiting. It wasn’t like he was just wandering around completely alone, he just didn’t have the same person traveling with him the whole time. They have records of him, you know, like visiting schools, meeting with colleagues and stuff. He was apparently very personable and made friends easily. 

  SHANE: Yeah, well, that’s how people get killed. And based on how this is going–well there you go. 

  RYAN: [Narration] Gene Davis was last seen leaving the home of a friend one night. He left on foot, intending to walk back to the ryokan that he was staying at in the area. However, he never made it to his destination. Despite police being called very quickly, it would take months before his body was recovered. 

  SHANE: Okay, I guess I take it back. He at least had friends who called the cops, when, what, he didn’t text them back?

  RYAN: Actually…

  SHANE: Oh they didn’t? Okay, nevermind. Suspicious. 

  RYAN: So, his brother was the one who called the cops. 

  SHANE: His brother? But he didn’t go to Japan.

RYAN: No, he didn’t. 

  SHANE: ….

  RYAN: [Narration] Though he couldn’t say how he knew to call the cops, Gene’s brother, Oliver, called anyhow and insisted that they do a check on his brother at the ryokan. When they arrived, the proprietors confirmed that they hadn’t seen the teen. It took a few days before Gene’s friends came forward, having no idea he was missing in the first place. 

  SHANE: More psychic shit?

RYAN: Uh, yeah, psychic… stuff. It was never publicly declared, but like, yeah, apparently Oliver had like, I dunno, psychic visions and knew something happened to his brother.

  SHANE: Well–okay. 

  RYAN: You don’t actually sound that angry at that. 

  SHANE: No, I guess… Twins right? I mean, I may not believe in the oogie boogie crap, but there has been, you know, weird things between children. Weren’t there, like, those sisters? And they only talked to each other, but then decided one had to die…?

  RYAN: Yeah, the Gibbons. The Silent Twins. 

  SHANE: There you go. Another weird twin story. 

  RYAN: Actually–okay, well, we’ll get into that. After nearly six months of searching, Oliver Davis ultimately recovered the body of his brother, who was found at the bottom of a lake in the countryside. He traveled to Japan and worked under a pseudonym, using family money to pay divers to search bodies of water. 

  SHANE: A lake? How did he–why did he–you know what, nevermind. Psychic. Right. 

  RYAN: Right. He, uh, saw his brother, I guess, drown. 

  SHANE: But psychic-ly. 

  RYAN: Yeah. 

  SHANE: Okay. 

  RYAN: Autopsy notes say that Gene was likely hit, uh, twice, by a car, and then tossed into the water while he was still alive. 

  SHANE: Jesus. Twice? What, did someone back up and hit him again?

  RYAN: Actually, it seemed like he was hit and then someone reversed and backed over him. Based on breaks or something, I don’t know. I’m not an expert. But yeah, seems like at least the second one was intentional. He still wasn’t dead, though, and maybe could have survived. 

  SHANE: Until he was thrown into the water? That’s horrible. That seems intentional, or like, the worst person in the world getting into an accident. What kind of person could do that? It’s like stupid teenagers at the start of a horror movie–actually I’m pretty sure that is the start to a horror movie. 

  RYAN: Yeah, it’s terrible. 

  SHANE: And sixteen. Awful. Psychic shit or not, awful.

  RYAN: It’s time to dive into theories on what happened to the young Dr. Eugene Davis. 

  RYAN: [Narration] Our first theory, and the most believable, is simply that Gene was hit on a dark road while walking back to his ryokan. The driver, finding themselves in a predicament, either backed up to see what they hit or intentionally did so in a state of panic. Regardless, it’s quite possible they believed that the teen was dead, and instead of calling the police, dumped the body in one of the numerous lakes in the area. The idea that it was simply an accident seems to have gained the most traction as there are no other serious suspects at this time. 

  SHANE: It’s unfortunate, but I guess I can see how it could have happened. It’s crazy that someone with such an insane background could meet such a munade end. Like, I thought for sure you would say it was ghosts or aliens. 

  RYAN: We still have two more theories. 

  SHANE: Of course we do.

  RYAN: [Narration] The second theory has started circulating since the recovery of Gene’s body. Many people found the fact that Gene’s brother simply knew about the death to be suspicious. Some speculations, especially from skeptics of the psychics, believe that Oliver orchestrated the death of his brother. Both brothers proved to be highly intelligent, to the point where they’ve been called prodigies, and it wouldn’t be impossible for someone so cunning to plan such an elaborate ruse. 

  SHANE: Hm… Okay. I guess that’s possible… Do we–do we know anything about this Oliver? Why would he murder his brother? Like, is there any substance to this theory?

  RYAN: Yeah, so, first, apparently, despite being twins, their personalities were night and day. Whereas Gene was pretty popular and, like, charismatic, his brother was–is, he’s still alive–not. So, it could have been jealousy. But, also, you’ve also mentioned the Silent Sisters–who agreed that one of them needed to die for the other to live. 

  SHANE: So, what, they were in on it together? If so, kinda seems like they picked the wrong brother. 

  RYAN: Yeah, kinda. Another popular theory for the whole, Oliver killed his brother concept, is that, much like the Fox sisters–who, if you don’t know, are some of the most famous ‘spiritualists’ in history–Gene wanted to confess that their psychic powers were fake. When one of the Fox sisters did that in the 1800’s, it ruined them. Maybe Oliver wasn’t willing to give up the clout that they had built off of their supposed abilities. 

  SHANE: That’s it. That’s the one. 

  RYAN: You like that one?

  SHANE: Yeah. That makes a hell of a lotta sense. Sure, hit and run, maybe. But yeah, this Oliver seems suspicious. I’m on team: their powers were fake, Gene had a conscience, and as he was growing out of his teenage years, he wanted to leave it behind. Seems about right. 

  RYAN: Yeah–yeah, okay. Seeing the history of other psychic siblings… yeah, I can see how this makes sense. 

  SHANE: What happened to Oliver?

  RYAN: Uh, well he’s still teaching at–

  SHANE: He’s teaching?

  RYAN: Yeah, like I said, prodigy. He’s been back to Japan a few times–recently he made the paper because he was involved in a fire on the island of Poveglia in Italy. 

  SHANE: So he’s an arsonist now?

  RYAN: No, no, apparently there was a ghost hunt that went wrong and–

  SHANE: He’s a ghost hunter?

  RYAN: Okay, this is–this is a story for another time–the Ciao Poveglia mystery is–you know what, I’m just going to stop now. It’s a whole thing. Look into it. 

  SHANE: Okay. Fine. Last theory?

  RYAN: [Narration] Our final theory is that Gene’s dealings with the afterlife came back to haunt him. Though no one can be certain exactly what Gene was doing, some true crime enthusiasts have put together a trail of his last known whereabouts in Japan. Supposedly, the trail can be traced back to a well known politician. Some believe that the spirits of individuals wronged by the politician spoke to Gene and he was working on gathering evidence to provide to the authorities. 

  SHANE: The spirits spoke to him. Right. Of course. Are there any scandals behind this politician? 

  RYAN: Uh–no. None. Well, there are rumors, but the, like, Redditors can’t even really settle on who the person is. So, it’s probably a bust. 

  SHANE: Could you imagine if that was true? Or like, you know, he thought it was true? And this kid just walked into the police station and said, I–I know that the, uh, prime minister killed and, uh, ate someone. How do I know? The ghosts told me! Dude would have been locked up so fast… 

  RYAN: Yeah, probably. It… doesn’t have a lot of credit behind it. 

  RYAN: [Narration] In the end, what actually happened to Dr. Eugene Davis, one of the most accomplished spiritualists of our time, will remain unsolved.

  SHANE: Look, whatever happened, and whatever… skills… he might have had… it’s still unfortunate that someone died so young. It’s a shame. 

RYAN: I’m guessing that I could show you all of his public research, and you would still never believe me. 

  SHANE: Uh… yeah that–that’s probably accurate. 

  RYAN: Wouldn’t it be pretty cool if we like, ran into Oliver on one of our investigations? Like, we just ended up at the same location?

SHANE: I mean, you did just offer up a theory that he’s a killer and I did agree with you. So. You know, no? Not because of any psychic stuff, but because we just trashed him online on a channel with a few million subscribers. 

  RYAN: Good point. Well. I’m sure that will never happen. [Outro Music Plays.]

000

  Notes: please don’t ask me how far I have driven to see one of the few, live BFU shows. I’m a Watcher patreon and own MOST of their BFU/Watcher merch. It’s like this prompt was made for me. I’m working on a BFU Supernatural/GH fic now. Ciao Poveglia is referenced. Please check out the cleaned up, slightly updated version on AO3. 

  Ever your servant, 

  Aeternus.Flamma

[gyougherea]

you know what honestly i wanna talk more about my nina lore headcanon let's gooooooo

putting it under a keep reading because WOW this was long. i wanna hear your thoughts though if you have any! either with a reply to this, an ask, a DM, etc.

it's a first draft of anything detailed on my nina backstory, so i'm sorry if it's a bit clunky or missing some details haha ^^;

Before Nina was The Killer, she was Nina Emilia Moreno, the shy introverted college undergraduate double-majoring in Forensic Chemistry and Psychological Science.

Nina was surprisingly a very high-performing student. While she was never an Ivy League student, she was still in the top 1% of all students nationally in terms of academic performance.

Outside of schoolwork, Nina's passion was true crime. Something always intrigued her about the psychology behind a serial killer along with the open-endedness of unsolved cases. Her first serial killer of interest was the Killer Clown, John Wayne Gacy.

Nina ended up getting an internship with a forensics team at 20, but instead of doing actual forensics they usually put her on paperwork duty. She eventually heard talk at work of an ominous unknown killer at large --- dubbed the Glasgow Killer --- who apparently already had 5 victims in the area in the past two weeks alone, not counting the strings of murders in other places from the same supposed killer. This piqued Nina's interest, and she tried asking if she could help with the case, but was ultimately shut down.

Nina doesn't take no for an answer when it comes to her interests. She secretly got copies of every case file on victims of the Glasgow Killer, along with any additional information about the killer or who it could possibly be. Any free time Nina had was dedicated to solving the case on her own so she could stick it to her employers.

This motive, unfortunately, did not stay the same. Eventually Nina was... oddly touched by how passionate the killer seemed to their craft. Practically no information was ever found on this killer over their reign of terror, even in other states where they had attacked, and the victims were all branded with a smile carved into their faces. The gimmick and the mystery of identity sparked something in Nina's mind. She was curious about who this person was. She wanted to meet this person.

By the time class started back up after summer, Nina's few friends noticed she was becoming a shut-in at this point; she stopped attending classes regularly, ruining her perfect attendance record, and when she did attend she had this exhausted yet crazed look on her face. They tried to confront her about this, but she pushed it off as "just a lot of work recently, that's all". They didn't believe her, but they knew she wasn't the type to hide anything unless she really wouldn't budge on it (considering otherwise she was an incredibly open book).

Nina's girlfriend at the time tried confronting her, too, but the concerned intervention turned into a fight for the couple, Nina breaking off the relationship and claiming that her girlfriend was trying to suppress her aspirations. The two stopped talking to each other entirely after that.

Eventually, Nina's obsession became infatuation. What started off as a journal of notes taken about the case and her thoughts on it ended up becoming messy scribbles of her fantasizing about running away with the most notorious serial killer of her generation. She had a near-perfect understanding of the killer's style of murder and all of the patterns present in the strings of crimes. It was almost like she was becoming one with the Glasgow Killer.

At one point she tried inflicting the smile onto herself as a way to show herself (and the potential killer) her loyalty, but another girl in her dorm's hall had walked into the bathroom at the same time and almost called the police on her. In a panic, Nina tried to silence the girl and the girl ended up slipping, her head slamming into the corner of the sink. She didn't respond when Nina shook her, so Nina took her to her room as fast as she could, hoping she wouldn't get spotted. Thankfully she didn't, since it was very late at night, and Nina dropped the girl onto the ground. Nina did a check on the body, and it had a pulse still... but she knew that the girl would probably still call the cops on her. Would they take away her internship? Would they send her to a psychiatric facility? Would it take her away from this case she so desperately needed to study? Nina's mind then trailed somewhere... evil.

Nina snuck out of her dorm, body and "tools" in grasp, and booked it for her car. She threw the body in the trunk before driving off to the nearest forest. Once there, she went deep into the trees and set the body down again before pulling out a pocket knife. A normal person would have realized their mistake way before this and just faced the consequences of their accident. However, Nina was not that. Nina wanted to show the world just how well she knew the Glasgow Killer, inside and out. She killed the girl in the exact way her beloved would have, before booking it back to her car and to campus to head back to her dorm and pretend nothing happened.

But it isn't easy to pretend. Over the next few days, people started wondering where the girl --- Cassidy McEvoy, as Nina learned --- had gone. Nina didn't feel remorse for her crime, but she knew people would find out. Eventually they found the body, becoming the sixth "Glasgow Killer" victim. Nina then realized she made one fatal flaw in her actions: she had left fingerprints on the body. Nina knew she had to get on the move before the forensics people found out.

Nina swiftly packed up her room to leave, claiming it was because she was "scared of the killer on the loose". Thankfully, a handful of other people also got the same idea, so she didn't look too suspicious. She dropped out of university and left her internship with practically no notice before skipping town and spending the night one town over in a cheap motel under a fake name. While there she pondered what to do with her life. Her school, her job, her friends, her girlfriend, all gone because of her obsession with this one serial killer. All she was really good at was mimicking the killer's crimes.

... Wait. That gave her an idea.

All she had through all of this was the Glasgow Killer. In a fucked up sort of way, Nina felt that this murderer was the only one who she could truly relate to. She even wanted to run away with them... so what was stopping her? She had nothing else to lose.

Something in her brain had finally snapped. She was going to flatter him on the highest level: imitation.

Nina became the second Glasgow Killer. Sure, there were copycats, but all of them were distinctly not the real one. Nina's kills, on the other hand, fit the exact descriptions of the official murders. She was indistinguishable.

Except when her past came to bite her in the ass. Nina had been tracked via her license plate and a few places' security cameras, and one day the police showed up to the motel and pinned her to the floor of her room, handcuffing her and escorting her immediately to the police station where they frantically interrogated her for numerous hours before stopping when they found her belongings. The police had stayed back in the hotel and searched the room only to find the copies of the case files, along with her notebook detailing her spiral into a love obsession with the Glasgow Killer. The cops called her sick, a true evil, worse than the actual killer, that all copycats were scum of the earth.

They still arrested Nina, but the real killer was still at large, and Nina knew this. Thankfully for her, the place she was being held in wasn't the most secure, and she managed to break out the night before her trial. By the time morning came, Nina had already managed to hitch herself a ride to the state over after disguising herself as someone else. After that, she went off the map. No cop was able to locate her, but she had a massive bounty on her head: nationally wanted, high level target, and the state she used to live in along with all of the surrounding states were forced into lockdown for an entire month.

Nina spent this time changing up her aesthetic. She was always a fan of scene, but she used to dress very... opposite of that. Pastel sweater, leggings, fuzzy boots; she looked like the 2012 basic girl stereotype. She managed to have packages delivered to various houses with special instructions not to knock, and then she'd intercept the product before the owner would find it. She went from a calmer look to a spunky scene outfit. If you're going to be wanted, why not look your best when they finally catch you for your mugshot?

She also had taken to heart what the cops had said. They were right; an exact copycat was dumb. Plus, the real Glasgow Killer wouldn't see her standing out as much as she wanted. No, instead she wanted to add her own spin on it.

By her "own spin", she meant leaving love letters to the killer. Hearts in jars, notes written in blood, bodies arranged and disfigured to make heart shapes; you name it, she left it. This was her love letter to the Glasgow Killer. All of this was for them, and she hoped one day she would find them.

Her biggest current leads are a handful of survivors in the New England area; it looked like the Glasgow Killer had moved locations ever since Nina's debacle. She hopes to gather any information on the killer's appearance from these victims' testimonies, but also plans on paying them a personal visit. Amongst these supposed survivors is a man named Jeffrey Woods, and it looks like he's Nina's next visit. If only she knew what she was about to discover...

[rosebloodcat]

BNHA/AHIT Idea

I’ve had a crossover (multi? Look, it could have a third put in, but that’s just because of how much of a nerd I am for a specific fandom) kicking around in my head for a while now and I need it OUT. I just can’t try to write it myself right now. But it’s refusing to just sit back and let me work on other stuff.

Therefore, I’m releasing this idea into the universe just so it will finally leave me alone. (Because I have PROJECTS RIGHT NOW. Projects that will hopefully give me INCOME!!!) I have thought of numerous little details for it, but I just don’t have time to devote to it right now. If you want to write it, go for it!! Please! I will happily read it if you do!

The base idea is A Hat in Time getting mixed with My Hero Academia, specifically focusing around a Reincarnated Snatcher in the BNHA universe. Who becomes a Villain/Vigilante without really meaning to.

(It’ll make sense when I explain, I promise.)

We know Snatcher is a ghost (and the fandom collectively agrees that he’s also the Prince), so it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that eventually Snatcher would decide/choose to move on.

Maybe he’s tired of ruling the forest. Maybe something’s happened to the forest to make him staying seem unneeded. Maybe Vanessa’s finally passed away (she’s powerful, but I don’t think she’s immortal? Not terribly important) and he doesn’t need to protect the forest from her anymore.

Whatever the reason, he’s found his peace and moves on.

Cut to another planet/world/universe in the future where he’s been reborn into the world of Quirks, but doesn’t have one himself. But he does have powers of his own.

Magic!

It could be an HP-style community, it could be video game-style magical world hidden in a non-magical one, or something else entirely. But, either way, Snatcher has magic and has actually bee taught about how it works and how to use it.

(And maybe he’s been having issues? For it seeming Dark when he really gets into using it?)

He’s gotten stuck in a bad/not great situation, being forced into a loveless relationship and getting forced into a role/box he doesn’t want to be in. He wants out, but he’s either dismissed or too polite/nervous/trying to not get in a worse situation (harking back to his origins as the Prince) that he can’t get out.

Eventually, the pressure reaches a point where something in him snaps, and he lashes out with the Dark powers he’s been trying to keep hidden.

After which he passes out, and ends up remembering his past self as The Prince and as the Snatcher. He sees that he’s getting shoved into a parallel of his life with Vanessa and goes “Oh peck no.” and gets his butt out of there.

So he plunges into the non-magic world, which is full of powers and Heroes and makes it surprisingly easy to bend in. At first anyways.

He quickly finds he’s got a few problems, since he lacks a lot of the documentation/records mundane people need to have. So he uses his magic and his knowledge of (his current world’s) law to forge the documents he needs. He manages to contact other magic-people to finalize his works and builds a believable fake identity that close enough to his actual one to pass under the radar.

He even gets the right papers to get him into Law School. (So he can actually finish it this time.)

But, some how, knowledge of what he did gets out.

He gets contacted by one of the people he knew (whom he’d trusted enough to tell that he was getting out of there) saying that someone wanted him to do the same for them.

He (reluctantly) agrees to do it, and tells them to give the pseudonym “Snatcher” to the person looking for him. And creates a disguise to keep his real identity from being recognized. His disguise includes a mask of the permanently smiling face he’d had as a ghost.

It slowly escalates from there, until the “Soul Snatcher” becomes a whispered name in the Underground. Someone that you can go to escape whatever you’re stuck/trapped with now.

(He has limits/standards. Only helping the people he wants, which are usually people stuck in similar situations to his own. AKA people trying to Abusive, controlling environments or trying to bring people who’ve screwed them over to justice. It makes him a vigilante, of sorts. But he can also be pretty terrifying/cruel too. Especially to people who try to lie to him, or are the criminals he’s been asked to help reveal.)

(His title also became “Soul Snatcher” because of the rumored “cost” to his work. He doesn’t actually take souls, but he gets metaphorical/poetic about what his costumers have to pay so that he can be sure that they won’t try to rat him out. He actually come from an Equivalent Exchange view, but based more on what he’s doing means to the person in question.)

(Like getting a new Identity means “killing off” the old one. So it gets worded as “A life for a Life.”)

He crafts two separate persona’s to keep from being caught by Heroes or the Police.

Prince- His harmless seeming, good-natured self . The nice guy who was studying law, and always ready to lend a hand to his neighbors. He’d absolutely do pro-bono cases for people in dire straights and really sticky situations. He’s the kind of person everyone likes/trusts. Very Pro-Quirkless due to being “nearly quirkless” himself. His “Quirk” lets him breathe life back into wilted/dying plants. (I got the idea for that from a fanfic where Snatcher, when he was alive, had the power to make plants/flower grow when he touched them.) (Feel free to use your own ideas for his powers if you don’t like this idea.)

The Soul Snatcher (or just Snatcher)- Basically his flippant, forceful self from the start of AHIT. He’s a bit of a showman, but also very crafty and very obviously out for himself. He can be sly too. Making contracts tends to feel a lot like making a deal with the devil. (He kind of has a Ursula-vibe to his act.) But he’s also very harsh, and can be downright cruel to people who break their contracts or try to betray him. He uses most of the same powers he had as a ghost, and sometimes the magic/energy he uses can coat his body and change him to look like his ghostly self. (His powers stayed with him because of how he used them back then, and the souls he’d absorbed/eaten. It kinda became a permanent part of his own soul, and carried over because of that.) (There’s also a side effect of him being very light-sensitive when he uses them. If he actually changes to become ghost-like, the light can even hurt him. This is mostly because of how shadow-like he is.)

Thanks to the persona’s, he’s able to keep his two identities separate and is relatively assured that no one would be able to connect the two together. Meaning he can live however he likes without trouble.

Even then, he tries to steer clear of the Heroes and Villains, seeing both as more trouble than they’re worth.

(But that doesn’t mean he ignores the various laws surrounding them. As a Lawyer, there’s no guarantee he won’t get hired for a case involving them.)

He could get involved with Izuku as Prince, either as a neighbor or as a case. (Maybe Inko gets tired of all the crap her little boy’s been put through and hires him to sue the school for discrimination? It’s a thought.) And he takes the quirkless kid under his wing to help him out.

(Maybe Izuku could remind him of Hat or Bow? Not majorly, but just enough that he wants to look out for him.)

Or he could have some close calls with Heroes looking to capture the Soul Snatcher and eventually gets caught. And somehow ends up as an insider/informant for a hero/hero agency.

Or it could be both!

Maybe with Nedzu figuring out that he was escaping a bad situation, that he was helping other do the same, and that he possibly wasn’t even a legal citizen for the area. Maybe even mentioning that it would deal serious damage to his identity/reputation if it got out that he’s Snatcher. And the harm it could do to people he knew/was helping/had helped.

So he reluctantly goes along with it.

And that’s pretty much the end of my thoughts on this idea.

There’s a chance of other reborn AHIT characters showing up (like Vanessa, Hat and Bow, Conductor or Groves, etc) but I have no thoughts for that. But now the idea is down and out of my head. So if anyone wants to try making this story, you are welcome to it!!

And if you want anymore thoughts I’ve had, don’t be afraid to ask.

[meerhummal]

No Fans, Empty Stands

Fan’s encouragement affects player performances, every sport is complete with fans, who really make sports mean something

Image via Unsplash

Having an enormous crowd in your support will obviously set you on fire, that’s how important fans are to numerous sports. The noise they create the atmosphere they generate and the coordinated mass mentality of them sometimes is unbelievable, Fans are really crucial part to a football team as Scottish Jock Stein said “Football without fans is noting” is actually a term where a number of players agree with.

Existence of fans change football stadiums into magical places to make the heart sour and also transforms the game. Their engagement, banners, chants, anthems, slogans and reactions to the game truly motivates athletes, In fact players are always prepared to present their best versions in front of them, during a 90 minutes game many ups and downs pass through but fans keep on applauding players in that time, sometimes when the home team is leading and dominating the game it’s really enjoyable for players who try to maintain that rhythm and keep pushing hard to win the game, However if sometimes you’ve conceded a goal and gone behind thinking of a comeback; this is where the fans can raise you up.

A study by the times has shown that home teams score more goals rather than away teams (approximately 37% more) because the home fans expects them to go out and attack and players do fulfil their expectations, Also noted that the referee will probably take decisions in favor of the team who has got a huge and loud crowd backing them. Players always try to find inventive ideas to entertain the audience by showing their agility, magical footwork, spectacular finishing and also “signature moves” after scoring a goal and this is how beautiful football is with fans in the stands.

In an imaginary world the thought is almost impossible for football lovers to watch or play football without fans in a stadium, Meanwhile football associations all around the world had suspended footballing events because of the spread of coronavirus pandemic in Mid-March of 2020, In England all Premier League, EFL, WSL, FAW football and European leagues were postponed till April, in the view of fact that matches played in February and March assisted the spread of COVID-19 as more people contracted coronavirus while attending football matches in stadiums this resulted rise in cases and deaths which later announced utmost caution ought to be applied on reopening of football events, it wasn’t only a peril for fans but players as well in the stadium.

Following stats display the confirmed cases by number of matches played in March:

How pandemic affected football

After a severe first spell of covid-19 football was set to restart in June and all the matches according to the rules and restrictions would be played behind closed doors. It was not what everyone needed but many clubs had already suffered enough financial crisis, a restart was must needed for them but the fans were only bounded to screens and live commentaries to enjoy the relaunch of football.

Coronavirus entirely changed football as new on-pitch rules were applied to the resumption such as 5 substitutions during 90 minutes, no handshakes neither hugs before and after the game, no spitting anywhere, football being sanitized and players weren’t allowed to exchange jerseys after 90 minutes. That’s not it! Rules were also applied off the pitch for players and management like social distancing inside dressing rooms and on benches, sitting in the kit-rooms and on the benches with facemasks on, pre-game and post-match interviews were managed with pyle microphone pole, minimize close contact between all people during pre-match warm-ups and less interaction with match officials and away team players after the game.

It made viewers feel something tedious about the game; things were missing in those 90 minutes, goal celebrations were limited to smiles, usual fist or elbow bumps, fingers pointing sky, knee slides and thumbs-up from face masked substitutes to whoop it up.

Playing without Fans

Image via Las Angeles Times

Crowdless games make you feel like watching training or a showmatch in ground with clear noises of players interacting and guiding each other though “Performing” might be difficult for lads without hearing the roar of thousand fans on first whistle and no one in stands to boost player’s energy in last quarter of the game they have to be self-motivated throughout the game. Football pundits also claim that dearth of fans in stadium might affect player’s focus and even efforts during the game, but yet there are few benefits for players while having no fans around them such as less fear of lose mainly playing in front of public which might help them to play a bit relax because those hundreds of eyes won’t be watching them, it is also helpful for defenders if their team conceded a goal because of a tactical mistake.

The atmosphere when players walk out of the tunnel hanging high-fives of fans for players, emerging colorful smoke and flares in stands, raining splashing beer when goal has been scored, hugging strangers in jollity, jumping on seats, exchanging crisp high-fives between fans was absent somewhere in that adversity. As Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud told ESPN. "It is really strange at first, and then you try to get used to it. It has less charm to play with no fans. Also, the pitch feels much bigger with no fans in the stadium! It is crazy to say because it is the same pitch, but it does feel bigger! But at least the managers are happy because now we can hear easily everything they tell us, even when they don't shout!

It was actually difficult to judge how good the game was with no noise you dribble pass two defenders and produce a wonderful pass, hit the crossbar or score a stunner but it feels like nothing happened! An awkward silence all over the stadium and this is the moment where you realize how vital the presence of fans is.

Watching El Clasico, London derbies, Merseyside derby, rivalries and Champions league football without fans nearly made football lovers cry, recently witnessing the GOAT’s of football Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo competing each other in Champions league after a long period since CR7 left Spanish football (La Liga) was held behind closed doors as well.

Virtual Crowd

Image via gettyimages

After attempts of bringing fans back the governing bodies realized it is a pure danger of contracting the virus again. Here! The idea of fake fans (virtual crowd) was brought in, the art of virtual crowd was landed to upgrade watching experiences for viewers watching from screens and sound option with slogans and continuous buzzing noise which might work for players too.

The British and German broadcasters were first to try it out, the auto made reactions at the key moments of match was just a try to give it an original feel. Fan’s faces on the cardboard cut outs were also previewed, fans were allowed to purchase cardboards and upload their pictures on it through this the stands were filled once again but this time with immobilized fans.

Financial crisis of Football Clubs

Every day passed without fans this season football leagues lost more than a hundred millions resulting damage to both local and national economy, this also affects the employment prospect as hundred thousand plus employer’s duties rely on matchday activities.

Financial troubles to any club is a worst nightmare for its supporters. Due to the outbreak fans weren’t allowed to visit stadiums which clarifies that no amount earned through parking tickets, food and merchandise, additionally no revenue generated from inside stadium sponsorships.

Top flight football club Arsenal has also struggled monetarily firing around 150 staff members during the hard time of pandemic the club was able to pull through and continue because of the sponsorships they had, and many other big names as well handle it with pay cuts of player’s salary.

Houseful stadiums again?

Image via ecnmy.org

After all tough periods in nine months, players and viewers were desperate to see spectators coming back in the stands to cheer respective teams, it means alike victory for government’s fight against coronavirus, although due to the restrictions all football clubs weren’t allowed to bring fans back but some major teams were fortunate enough to have loving fans back.

According to the orders only 2000 spectators were allowed to attend games inside of stadiums, which was on “first come, first served” criteria, covering more than a half of the capacity of stadium.

Fans still have to obey the rules given by the government: Facemasks must be worn while whirling around but not on seats, No away team supporters were allowed, Sanitizing at stations inside the ground, Singing and chanting was allowed but no physical contact, fans cannot confront, social distancing while sitting on seats and strict stewards to look after the fans whoever breaks any rule will be thrown out.

This is for sure the beginning to fill the stands with crowd and catch the joy back once again, at least now when the ball hits the post the crowd reactions will be at that moment, not after few seconds like virtual technology used to have. Through all this situations one thing displayed clearly that how much you train or build yourself, “You still need cheers or people backing you to hit the stage with an astonishing performance”.

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Unfortunately, the human body attempts to be creative and also when testosterone is on the surge, it has a tendency to increase estrogen also. Sometimes even at a quicker rate, due to this throughout PCT it is important to block estrogen from aromatizing to make sure that adverse effects such as Gyno and even muscular tissue loss don't occur. RAD-140 is most generally made use of at 5-20mg each day, with 10mg daily being the most common for 6-12 weeks. During this time people have actually reported huge increases in strength along with 10-15lbs of muscular tissue from the initial cycle. The normal dose for efficiency enhancement is 2-10mg daily for 4-8 weeks. The average results from this are 7-10lbs of LBM, excellent increases in toughness and little to no fat loss.

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Discover moreSARMs UK supplements are an exciting course of supplements which operate as options to prohormones for those trying to find something more powerful than a natural testosterone booster. These "Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators" work by intensifying androgen degrees in the body which leads to huge rises in efficiency and also recovery. Here's where to get SARMS muscle building supplements in our online shop. Over the past 5 years, online searches for SARMs (or "discerning androgen receptor modulators", including andarine and ostarine) have actually been rising gradually. Utilized this to maintain strength on cut, however really enabled me to boost weight on all workouts at maintenance calories, this functions like a mild PH, it is a terrific alternative anabolic.

Across the board, SARMs are considered safer than steroids consequently. Additionally, they're considered relatively risk-free just because scientists haven't discover red flags that raise alarm system regarding these compounds for human consumption. Men and women young and old have participated in various professional studies, taking different SARMs at various dosages for study purposes recorded in clinical journals. The muscle growth promoted by SARMs is what makes them interesting bodybuilders, professional athletes, as well as guys or females wishing to reduce weight. Nevertheless, research study recommends SARMs can additionally assist protect against osteoporosis and also help people who have it.

Unlike prohormones and also steroids, which bodybuilders have generally utilized, SARMs don't aromatize. The elevated estrogen that follows the increase in testosterone from steroids is what triggers their harmful side effects. SARMS increase testosterone differently that does not boost estrogen and lead to estrogen-related problems.

Albeit, just the highest dosage of LG was examined, it seems to be crucial searching for and needs to be explored in the future studies. Alternatively, testosterone supplementation has actually been shown to increase muscle mass toughness in men and also to avoid muscle mass degeneration in orchidectomized male mice (14-- 17). Although valuable effects on sex-related function, individual distress, and also blood lipids were observed in postmenopausal women, management of testosterone in females is questionable considering that lasting studies are doing not have to prove safety and security. In guys, testosterone supplements is associated with a boosted threat of breathing, cardiac, and also dermatologic negative effects. Bone and joint disorders account for about one-third of illness as well as health problem of the senior in industrial nations and also continue to reveal an upward pattern. Subsequently, the threat of falls has increased, and also cracks are ending up being an extra common injury.

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Umisen Yamasen by Mizusawa Nana

From Touken Ranbu light novel “Novel & Illustration Anthology -Sakura-” I previously translated one chapter and I decided to post another. Neither English nor Japanese are my first languages, so I apologize for any mistake.

*Support the artists by buying the novel/anthologies.

Umisen Yamasen Story: Mizusawa Nana Illustration: Furuya Moko

At the citadel, strategy study meetings are held regularly.

In preparation for real combat, they exchange opinions regarding tactics and strategies.

The touken danshi are numerous, therefore for such meetings a few people are selected by master.

Today, the seven people gathered are Kasen Kanesada, Souza Samonji, Nikkari Aoe, Hachisuka Kotetsu, Kashuu Kiyomitsu, Yamatonokami Yasusada and Ookurikara.

“Don't you think it's unrefined to stay indoors for a strategy meeting on such a nice day?  I can't feel even an ounce of elegance. Moreover, I can't grasp why Master is not here.”

After Kasen Kanesada muttered, voices of dissatisfaction overflowed one by one.

"I don't have a lot of experience in combat...... So why does everybody want me to serve them. Like that man……"

Souza Samonji sighed while putting the back of his hand on his forehead, expressing anguish.

”Since we came because of Master's invitation, do we have to talk about killing and being killed? I think it's better to talk about touching and being touched."

Nikkari Aoe babbled while smiling cheerfully.

"Kill the enemy! Isn't that all? As long as me –who's an authentic work– is here, such a meeting shouldn't be necessary, really...  since we are not fakes..."

Hachisuka Kotetsu muttered, evidently displeased.

"I don't like summer battles~. My hair gets drenched with sweat, it doesn't look cute anymore~."

They had been there for five minutes. Up to this point there hasn't been even one remark of combat insight.

"............"

Ookurikara didn't say anything, he just started expressionlessly at the other's faces.

At that moment the last person arrived suddenly.

"Ah, did you start already? I'm sorry, I'm late! I couldn't find Kane-san's favorite obi, so it became late when I was looking for it!”

Scratching the back of his head, Horikawa Kunihiro arrived looking slightly ashamed.

“Don’t worry. We just gathered. Since we are all here, shall we start now?”

Yamatonokami Yasusada said gently.  The mole under his eyes added grace to his smile. With that, the strategy study meeting with the eight sword warriors started. However—.

"I absolutely recommend the echelon formation. After all, isn't that formation graceful? Because the essence of Japan is its asymmetric foundation. Ultimately, fighting requires an elegant core.  Don't you think so?”

“Is a formation necessary in the first place? Isn't the outcome the same whether we have one or not? Because it never turns out the way one expects......"

"I don't mind the smell of blood. But in my opinion, crane wing formation sounds good. Because we can embrace the enemy and kill them instantly. Huhu..."

"I like the horizontal formation. That formation seems fair, it's what I feel. After all I have to show the enemy that the extremely coward counterfeits are different from me."

"Kane-san had said he liked the fish scale formation. So, isn't the fish scale formation good?”

"What? Formations? Eh, which one is the cutest, I wonder~? Square formation?"

Kashuu Kiyomitsu stared at the list of formations on top of the desk while he rested his cheek on his hand.

It should've been a discussion concerning an effective formation, but all that comes out are such opinions.

Since all of them had strong opinions, nothing could be concluded at all.

There was no intention in settling the argument at all.

The study session started nearly an hour ago.

Ookurikara pressed his lips tighter than they were already.

“…......…”

He was thinking on how to intervene and interrupt the conversation, but he couldn't stop his mouth from turning down at the corners.

Meanwhile, Yamatonokami Yasusada –who only observed in silence– opened his mouth.  

"It's nice to listen to everyone's opinions like this. I know everyone has different point of views. But, can we get to a conclusion already? We have to submit a report to Master.”

Ookurikara stared at Yamatonokami Yasusada. He always thought of him as someone with a modest attitude who doesn't stand out, so he was surprised by his accurate opinion.

‘I see, it's not necessary to speak harshly,’ he softy nodded to himself.

He doesn't like to get along with others, but he's impressed at the things that he can learn from others.

Anyway regarding to getting to a conclusion, Ookurikara glanced around. However—

"What a formation needs is elegance, elegance. That's why echelon formation. As a work of art, that is nonnegotiable."

"It doesn't matter what we choose, it doesn't has anything to do with this caged bird...... ahh...…"

"I think the crane wings formation is the best one. As the enemy gathers, we can just punish them together, right?

"To have a direct confrontation, it’s obvious it should be the horizontal formation. Honestly, how many times do I have to say the same thing?"

"Kane-san prefers the fish scale formation. So, isn't that one good?"

"The square formation is good! It's really the cutest~!”

As expected, no one paid attention at all.

(This went too far, I can't even differentiate the stories)

Ookurikara unintentionally raised a loud 'straight man' voice to himself.

But nobody noticed, everyone kept talking about their own thing.

"By the way, how is the schedule of this month's poetry competition going?”

"These feelings can only be understood by caged birds, surely......"

"As expected, when someone laughs, they smile too. Yes, yes."

"Honestly, that's why you're not authentic..."

"Did you eat lunch already, Kane-san? I hope you're not being fussy about it..."

"Cuteness is justice~!”

As the stories were told several times, the topic of formations was gone somewhere far away already.

(Good grief, they now started with irrelevant stories.)

The voice of Ookurikara's heart was getting louder. Wondering if he had to keep dealing with this joke until night fell, he was attacked by an uneasy feeling.

So, Ookurikara stood up to try to give his opinion.

Then, all of a sudden, the sound of the tatami being hit with great force resounded right next to him.

Everybody turned their eyes to the person who made the noise. That person was Yamatonokami Yasusada.

He raised his –previously hidden– face to hit the tatami, glaring at everyone in order.

"Oraa! That's enough! Until when you're gonna keep repeating the same boring things? Do you want to lose your head so much? Ahh, who it’s going to be? You, who only opens his mouth to say 'elegance'? Or you, the wanna-be beautiful courtesan? Or you, who only spews pervert words? Or you, who's like an idiot that can't stop talking about what he doesn't know with your 'counterfeit, counterfeit'? Or you, who can't shut up about Kane, Kane, Kane, Kane? Or you, who's trying to spread cuteness around the world? Who it’s gonna be? Come on, tell me!”

Those unimaginable words came out from such a sweet-looking face without hesitation.

The hall that was loud until now fell completely silent.

Speechless, Ookurikara opened his eyes.

Come to think of it, when they were in the same team in the front lines a while ago, he saw Yamatonokami Yasusada yelling "oraora" while he charged in. It looks like it was too much, so he erased it from his memory.

"Oraoraoraa, what's wrong? Who? Just tell me, kittens."

Afterwards, the study session that couldn't be concluded, was settled with a well reasoned exchange in the blink of an eye and then brought to a close.

As he left the hall, Ookurikara muttered idly without thinking.

"I really don't want to get friendly with others......”

End.

[weddinginisrael4]

Looking for Your Wedding Wedding photographer - Wedding Photos Styles Explained

אטרקציות וזיקוקים לאירועים

You may have chosen your night out, booked your wedding venue and started looking for dresses. Now contemplating a wedding photographer. Various of styles of marriage ceremony photography out there, glasses are designed people in the industry could possibly know these versions inside out that they be confusing to get couples. Remember also that not only thinking of picking a style of picture taking, but different types of wedding ceremony photography can make numerous demands on your moment on your wedding day.

אטרקציות וזיקוקים לאירועים

Taking the style of photos you want at your marriage boils down to some things. What variety of images you want, how much time you want to spend by having a photographer on your event, and most importantly of their your own personality and additionally comfort in front of the camcorder.

There are plenty of different digital photography buzzwords out there. Traditional, editorial, artistic or even contemporary are just a couple. Perhaps more confusingly they are used by various photographers in different techniques. Ultimately it is around couples to demand plenty of questions in addition to do plenty of study before picking a wedding photographer, and to rely on visiting full set of snap shots from completed wedding parties Do not rely on the top five or half a dozen shots from quite a few weddings to make a personal preference.

Wedding photography types are a compromise relating to producing fantastic operate and keeping to the timetable. A professional photographer might produce fantastic photos, but if perhaps he takes to much time to produce them probably you won't enjoy the working experience.

Traditional (or Posed) Wedding Photography

Lots of people think of traditional big event photography as continual stuffy group images where everyone appears to be stiff as a snowboard. Worse still, various collections of people manage to go on forever. I'm sure there is a fashion to get down on conventional wedding photography, even so the actual working assembly is still the same for the majority wedding photographers. The snap shots may be more attractive but the actual knowledge on the day with the bride and groom is very comparable.

There is always a business off between the variety of work a photography does and the time frame it takes to capture it. More proper posed photographs requires longer to set up along with achieve. Any shooter who produces productive posed work will be needing a certain amount of time to yield his best get the job done. It is important that you acquire much time he will desire, and work out the best way it will fit into the afternoon. There are photographers exactly who spend a couple of hours concerning formal shots. You need to are happy with issuing over that long on your wedding day. For everybody who is not that cozy in front of the camera you might find this type of photography much harder. A good photographer will help you and set you at your efficiency but for many individuals it might still seem slightly daunting.

Reportage Wedding ceremony Photography (Wedding Photojournalism)

If traditional is focused on posed photographs, subsequently reportage wedding taking photographs is the opposite. This relies on capturing events as they happen, and is particularly more like a soar on the wall documented. This form of marriage ceremony photography means that this photographer spends nearly all of his time in the setting, and so has become ever more popular with couples. A wedding are also increasingly not as much formal than they will used to be. Documentary wedding ceremony photography demands some other skill set from customary wedding photography therefore you have to make sure that a person's photographer has the suitable photographic background allowing it to show you full a wedding to back this particular up. Wedding photojournalism is more in regards to a complete set of illustrations or photos from the whole daytime than a set of endless weeks of frustration highlights. There are photography addicts out there who will join the latest bandwagon in order to gain business, but still make use of the same old style these people always have. Wedding photojournalism is all about anticipation together with being in the appropriate place at the perfect time. It is not on the subject of closely directing consumers, so it puts quite a few traditional wedding photographers close to their skill set. There are numerous less ethical photography fans who will use the most current buzzwords to improve their particular search engine presence, but nonetheless shoot the same fatigued old pictures.

In case you are reticent about your photo taken, marriage photojournalism is probably your better choice. The picture taking happens without you undoubtedly realizing and you'll appear your natural top.

Although these two techniques might appear polar opposites, in reality a large number of wedding photographers will offer a good blend of these two varieties. There are not many big event photojournalists who usually do not shoot at least a lot of formal photographs and additionally traditional wedding photographers definitely will shoot informal snap shots as well. Find out what quantity of each a wedding photographer likes to shoot, in addition to better still ask them what exactly they like to fire the most - it’s likely that this is what they are most effective at.

Vintage Marriage Photography

Vintage marriage ceremony photography is a type that has been coming into fashion recently, but in a number of ways its a hardcore one one to measure. Vintage can mean something from using ancient film cameras in the course of some of the wedding to be able to just a different procedure for post production to create 'vintage' looking digital camera files. There are some wonderful photographers out there, however that if you are getting files that are very much edited in a specified style, you function the risk of your shots looking rather out dated a few years later. Merely was hiring a classic style photographer, Exercise would want at least many of the wedding shot upon film, I'm not just a huge fan associated with faking things. Like always ask inquiries, see examples along with make an informed conclusion.

Editorial Wedding Digital photography

This wedding variety is inspired from the fashion editorials from glossy magazines, from it's best it can provide fantastic high-end shots. To produce this systematically on a wedding day your photographer needs to be extremely organised, and could possibly need an tool to help set up examples of the shots in advance, even if that would depend on her / his style. Do your research to ensure that the time requirements of this type of shoot remain in your plans. In case you really like this type of photos but don't plan to devote too much time going without running shoes on your wedding day, think about booking a separate snapshot session after the wedding ceremony. Often describes being trash or enjoy the dress shoot, other photo session can be the best way to get the big day you want and the images you'll love with no losing a huge hunk of your wedding day. What's more, it means that you along with your photographer can find the ideal time of day for ones right light and you just have scope designed for rescheduling if it's preparing with rain. In a great many countries, particularly the YOU AND ME, high end wedding digital photography is evolving to three shoots: a engagement shoot, cherished day, and a editorial session. Usually do not necessarily think that all this has to be done a single day.

Artistic or simply Fine Art Wedding Taking photographs

Essentially an progress of traditional marriage photography, this type of taking photographs offers a contemporary adopt the traditional set of presented photographs, although most are both terms which are somewhat over utilized by the photographic city, so again shop around. At its perfect this genre will produce moving charming images, but some shooters can over make use of same poses, the program can feel a lttle bit impersonal. Ask to work out lots of shoots and be afraid to reviews your own ideas at the pre-wedding meeting.

[metaphorical-love-for-a-car]

Man Out Of Time-- Brian May x Reader

Prompt; none!

Warnings; language

Word Count; 1.8k

Notes; This is an idea that I’ve been toying around with for a while. I’m not too fond of the ending, though :/

Almost everyone has a soulmate, somewhere out in the world. There are numerous ways to discover your soulmate. Some people just have one symbol or sign, while others have multiple. Brian May was one of those. He was born with a ‘soulmark’ on his forearm. It was a constellation, and when connected, it resembled a guitar. He then received his second sign as an adult. Brian didn’t notice until someone— Roger Taylor, one of Brian’s closest friends— had pointed it out. Brian hadn’t aged since he was eighteen. At first, the idea excited him. Not aging would allow him plenty of time to find his soulmate, and they would be able to grow old together. However, as the years went on, Brian grew to resent his inability to age. He had to sit by and watch as his friends began to grow gray and find their soulmates. He’d be a liar to say he didn’t wonder if finding his supposed soulmate was worth living like this. Instead of doing anything he would later on regret, Brian expressed his emotions through music, writing songs like Who Wants To Live Forever.

As much as you wanted to find your soulmate, you put it on the back-burner. You, quite literally, had all the time in the world to track them down. Much to your friend’s annoyance, you just continued living your life as normal. “Seriously? You’re not going to do anything to try to find them?” You glanced up from your laptop.

“You know that’s not true. I look! I’m just not dedicating all of my time and energy into it.” Your friend raised their brow at you, causing you to scoff. “Look, it’ll happen when it’s meant to be. And I’m a travel journalist. I meet lots of people. One of them is bound to be my soulmate.” Your friend groaned and sat down next to you.

“Can I at least do one of those soulmate search things?” You pursed your lips. “You know, where you upload a picture of your soulmark, and it scans the internet for anyone that has one similar to yours.” You sighed, knowing that they wouldn’t give up on the subject.

“Fine, but if there’s a fee, you’re paying for it.” Your friend cheered before snatching your laptop from your grip. You warily watched them type away. They snapped a few pictures of your forearm and put them into the computer. The two of you watched the loading bar slowly inch its way across the screen. You couldn’t deny that you were anxiously awaiting the results, curious to see what it would bring up. Chewing on your lip, your eyes quickly skimmed the results as soon as they appeared. Your eyes widened as your jaw dropped. This couldn’t be real. It had to be a scam or some sort of spoof.

“No fucking way. Brian May?” Your friend’s voice was barely above a whisper. They turned to look at you with the same shocked expression that you were wearing. A smile crept across their face. “Oh my god! You have a famous soulmate, who’s also hot as hell!” they screeched. You shook your head.

“There’s no way. Give me the laptop. I wanna see their ‘evidence.’” You pulled the laptop back into your lap and started scrolling down the webpage. It felt as if your heart started hammering harder with each picture you inspected. His soulmark did resemble yours. But still… you couldn’t bring yourself to believe it.

“You’ve got to reach out to him! DM him on Twitter or something.” You looked at them as if they were crazy.

“What? No! I can’t do that. Besides, he probably wouldn’t even read it.”

“You won’t know unless you try.” You stared at your phone, which was sitting on the coffee table in front of you. After a few moments of internal debate, you finally gave it. Your friend was right. What did you have to lose?

It was late, but sleep seemed far away. Brian’s mind was running in a million different directions as he stared at the ceiling above his bed. Sleepless nights weren’t uncommon for the guitarist. He rubbed his face with a sigh. Brian reached over towards the nightstand, pulling his phone from the charger. He opened and closed several apps before finally settling on Twitter. With nothing better to do, he started scrolling through his timeline, occasionally liking or retweeting something. A notification popped up and caught his eye. Every once in a while, Brian would read and respond to a fan’s message. He tapped on the notification, and his brows furrowed as he read the message.

You drummed your fingers on your thigh, anticipation killing both you and your friend. The two of you had been waiting for what seemed like forever for a response. You were skeptical about the whole situation, but there was still a part of you that held onto the hope of a possibility. As soon as your phone buzzed, you snatched it up. Your friend peered over your shoulder, watching you open up Twitter with wide eyes. “As much as I’d like to say that I’ve finally stumbled across my soulmate, I can’t trust a photo someone sent me online. You never know what has been edited. Flattered by the effort, though. Bri,” You read the message aloud. You locked your phone, setting it back down. Without warning, your friend started shaking your shoulders.

“Oh my god, (Y/N)! Don’t you see what this means?” they shouted. You opened your mouth, but they didn’t give you a chance to respond. “Brian said that he would like to believe he finally found his soulmate. That means your soulmarks match!” Your breath got caught in your throat. This couldn’t be real. There was absolutely no way.

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do about it? He clearly doesn’t believe me, and I honestly don’t blame him for it. He probably gets random ass messages like this all the time.” Your friend pursed their lips and hummed. Their face suddenly lit up.

“Idea! Ask him to Skype you.” You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, as if he would do that,” you scoffed. They poked your shoulder, urging you to just do it. You leaned your head back and groaned dramatically. “Okay, okay. Give me the phone.”

Brian raised a brow as he read the newest message. He was surprised. Most fans would try to convince him that they were his soulmate, but this one seemed to understand his hesitations and sent him their Skype information in an attempt to prove that it wasn’t fake. He debated on whether he should go through with it or just ignore it. With his curiosity getting the better of him, Brian decided to make a fake Skype account to use for this occasion.

You were munching on a bag of Cheetos, waiting to see if anything would happen. When your phone lit up, you nearly started choking. “Holy shit. Is that him? Do you think it’s him?” Your friend picked up your phone and snorted, showing you the username that was displayed on the screen— definitelynotbrianmay.

“At least he has a sense of humor. Hurry up and answer it before he changes his mind.” They tossed you the phone. You quickly wiped your mouth off and ran a hand through your hair, hoping that you looked somewhat presentable. Your friend flashed you a smile and a thumbs up before you swiped to answer.

You sucked in a breath and tried not to pass out. This was actually happening, and you were struggling to wrap your mind about it. There he was, musical genius Brian May, skyping you. “Hi,” you awkwardly greeted. He grinned, giving you a small wave.

“Hello.” The two of you stared at each other for a moment, not really sure what to say next.

“Oh my god. You’re insufferable. Just show him your damn arm already,” your friend called out from their spot on the other side of the room. A nervous laugh shook your shoulders.

“Yeah, right, sorry.” You held up your arm and angled your phone in order to show him the markings on your forearm. “See? One hundred percent genuine. Gifted to me by the universe itself.”

Brian’s face inched closer to the screen. His eyes briefly narrowed before widening again. He leaned back, opening then closing his mouth. Brian just couldn’t get any words to form. His mind was blank. After all these years, he had finally found you, his soulmate. You found yourself holding your breath as you studied his facial expressions. You just wanted him to say something, anything. You would have rather him say “Nope, not real. Leave me alone.” than just sit there like he was. Brian’s posture straightened as he looked at the screen with a serious expression.

“When can we meet?”

You sat at a small table in a cozy café. You bounced your leg and chewed on your lip, nervousness taking control of your entire being. Your friend patted your shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be fine. And if you need anything, I’ll be lurking about. Incognito, of course.” You raised a brow and started to ask what that was supposed to mean, but they just put a finger against their lips. “It won’t be incognito if you know.” They glanced up at the window, and a smile spread across their lips. “Looks like he’s here. Have fun!” Your friend scurried away, leaving you to flounder on your own.

When Brian walked in, you waved him over. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him. His hair was even curlier in person. Brain took the seat across from you. You could already feel yourself blushing, and all he had done was smile. Christ, this was going to be a long day.

Brian was looking at your arm. “Can I?” he awkwardly asked. You nodded, turning your arm over. He gently traced the constellation that was spread across your forearm. Brian took your hand into his before glancing up at you through his lashes. “Can’t tell you how much of a relief it is, to have finally found you.” Your smile widened as he pressed a light kiss to your knuckles. “I’d like to take you out tonight and get to know you better.” He paused, lowering his voice to a whisper. “That way, we won’t have an audience.” Brian glanced over to the side. You followed his gaze, only to discover your friend sitting not to far off with a fake mustache, large sunglasses, and a fedora. You snorted and quickly covered your mouth to keep yourself from laughing. When they realized that they had been spotted, they quickly held up a newspaper with two, painfully obvious, eye holes cut out. Brian made no attempt to hide his laughter, and you just shook your head at their antics.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

“If it makes you feel any better, my friends would have probably done worse.”

Tag LIst;

@mothermercuryy @mmmmmitslikeadiseaseson @loveofmychips

[wwhkimseokjin]

highway to hell - chapter 3

pairings: bts x reader (bit of member x member too)

genres: seven deadly sins!au, devil bangtan!au, fluff, angst, smut

warnings: future smut, violence, death, swearing, NSFW, literal hell

summary: Y/N had always been the perfect daughter, the perfect student, the light in people’s life. She had always believed that she would never do anything wrong, be a perfect little angel. Until her life turns upside down, and she meets seven very handsome, very dangerous men.

The last two weeks had gone by quicker than Y/N had realized. Getting accustomed to university had been rough. Getting to sleep when there were no morning classes? Utter heaven. On the other hand, having to drag yourself up after a long night with your friends as someone forgot about their early schedule? Not exactly ideal. But alas, that was the way of the university life. Y/N promised herself to enjoy these days though, before the dreaded no-sleep, caffeine-inhaling days would commence.

Two individuals were still present on her mind however, Jeon Jeongguk and the blond stranger - who she now knew as Kim Taehyung. Her days would’ve been a tad bit more tranquil, if she hadn’t constantly been on the lookout for the two boys. To be frank, it was almost like they had disappeared. But according to Y/N’s newly acquired friend Yein - self-declared gossiper of the campus - it wasn’t actually that odd. Y/N had met Yein at another party, which she had foolishly attended, hopeful to see the boys once more. There the two girls had struck up a conversation, realizing they had a few mutual friends. But the small talk had soon turned into gossip, and a familiar name had struck Y/N’s ears. Jeon Jeongguk.

From there the conversation had steered onto him, and the rest of his friends. Because apparently there wasn’t just those two. There was seven of them. Yein had clearly noticed the look on Y/N’s face, for she instantly delved into a extensive description of the seven individuals. Apparently, it was “shocking” that Y/N didn’t know about them yet, as quote on quote Everyone knows the seven, that’s like, their whole image, but Yein would kindly let it pass since she was new. If Y/N had to be frank, “the seven” honestly just sounded like a truly bad boy band. Momentarily after Yein had started talking about them though, a peculiar feeling had crept over Y/N, like she was being observed. She had looked around, but no one was watching them, so she promptly blamed it on having too much to drink. After Yein’s whole speech, Y/N was sure, that she was more than knowledgeable about the subject: Jeongguk and friends.

There was Kim Taehyung, the blond man that had ensnared Y/N. He was apparently the most popular, pretty much being friends with everyone he encountered. But you shouldn’t let that fool you, underneath the sweet mask, he was a flirt. Taehyung had, according to Yein, slept with over half of the girls at the school. That did hurt a bit to hear, but Y/N wasn’t that surprised over it, considering you could practically sense the sex oozing from him. He was, surprisingly enough, a pretty decent friend, (that is, if you weren’t on his ‘to bed’- list), but you shouldn’t always be certain of the sweet nothings he would whisper in your ear.

Next on the agenda was his best friend, Jeon Jeongguk. The one Yein had dubbed “the cute, reserved guy, who definitely watches anime instead of studying”. (Also the one Jihyo had declared unspeakable of) He wasn’t the most outgoing apparently, but that didn’t mean, that he didn’t get around. Referencing Taehyung’s metaphorical ‘to bed’-list, rumor had it, Jeon Jeongguk genuinely had one. Maybe not precisely a list over the people he was going to bed, but that didn’t transform the fact that the boy very much so, had a register of names around campus. Also, well-known words from him consisted of That’s mine, I’m not sharing, and one Y/N could resonate with deeply, Hey, are you going to eat that? It was a mystery how the ate as much as he did, and still had a body like the gods.

Then there was Park Jimin, a Sophomore like Taehyung. He was “the cutest in the group” and immensely talented in his major which, to Y/N’s surprise, was dance. She had never encountered someone who had such a major, but seemingly Jimin wasn’t the only one in the group majoring in dancing. A certain Jung Hoseok also had dance as his major, but more on him ahead. Jimin was cute but sexy, had an amazing body, his personality was amazing and so on it went. You had to be lacking in the brain cell apartment if you hadn’t understood who Yein’s favorite was. It wasn’t like she was trying to disguise the obvious crush she had on him. Y/N had inquired about his bad qualities, since it seemed to be a recurring tendency, that the boys had at least one personality trait that wasn’t exactly ideal. But no, no, someone as flawless as Park Jimin “couldn’t possibly have anything bad about him”. And then Yein moved to the next one. Kim Namjoon.

Namjoon was the cleverest of the bunch, being in the lead in all his classes and a favorite to the professors. But apparently, he wasn’t content being one of the greatest, he had to be the greatest. He constantly desired more, and it was especially satisfying for him, if receiving number one, meant beating someone else to the ground. All in all, he gets what he wishes for. You worked hard to win this debate? Suck it, Kim Namjoon wants to win this. And each time someone takes something from him, he comes swooping in and takes it from them with a power even sturdier than before. What Yein described as his extreme ambition and determination, seemed more and more comparable towards an unhealthy greediness to Y/N.

Then there was Jung Hoseok. As previously mentioned, he was majoring in dance too. Y/N admired both him and Jimin, herself not exactly being gifted in the area of dance. Moving on, Yein described him to be a complete sweetheart. He would always aid his friends, was awfully extroverted and could light up a whole room with his smile. Nevertheless, you had to tread wisely around Hoseok, he seemingly had vendetta against everything that didn’t go his way or went as planned. He had broken a guy’s nose once, because the dude kept messing up his dance steps. After that, everybody walked on eggshells round Hoseok, which in hindsight seemed to piss him off even more. People learned to just settle with whatever Hoseok wanted - but not too much, or he would get angry too…

Second-to-last was Min Yoongi. Yein claimed that he was typically the scariest out of the group (when Hoseok hadn’t preferred to wake up with a complete hatred for everyone and everything). He hadn’t actually done anything for people to fear him, it was just sort of an automatic response when you met him. He gave off an aura that said “you could die right now, and I would continue with my nap” – if you could describe a person like that. Min Yoongi just didn’t care. He was generally the one that disappeared the most, gone for weeks at a time, not even bothering to show up to his classes. If you questioned him about it, he would give his signature glare, and folks usually left him alone afterwards. On top of that, he would hardly ever be seen out with his friends, and the six other boys would continually claim he was taking a nap. Either Yoongi adored snoozing his life away or the boy was jammed in some shady shit – or perhaps both.  

At last, there was the Great Kim Seokjin. The boy had an appearance prettier than all the girls at university combined – and he knew. Seokjin could possibly be quite pleasant to hang out with, and a great deal of people on campus spoke of him as the dream boyfriend everybody wished for. Yein said she would approve, if it wasn’t the circumstance, that Kim Seokjin couldn’t go five fucking minutes without speaking about himself. It was like he had trained over numerous years, to be so good at sneaking compliments for himself into every single pompous, arrogant, self-absorbed sentence that left his infuriatingly pretty mouth.

Yein practically had to gasp in air after her amazingly passionate outburst about Kim Seokjin, and Y/N opted to take a sip of her beverage, instead of questioning the topic any longer. Y/N always told herself to never judge a book by its cover. She always believed people were good and kind, but in all honesty, she didn’t really get why these seven boys were so popular at school, they all sounded horrid honestly. But then she was reminded of Taehyung, and how even after hearing about him from Yein, Y/N already yearned for their next meeting. 

She had never really assumed she would be one of those girls pining after guys, that they knew would leave them in the end, but perhaps she was. Yein claimed that it was like dark magic. Those boys drew everyone in, and spit them back out again, after they were through with them. You didn’t choose to come into their life, they picked who they desired, and they had nothing against breaking a couple of hearts when they threw people out of their life again.

“Seriously, you think you know them! Turns out they are someone completely different, I don’t even think they have a real self! They’re all like a bunch of devils with too much confidence. Expect for Jimin of course! He shouldn’t hang out with them, he…” Yein continued to ramble on, but Y/N wasn’t listening any longer. She believed she had seen a tuft of blond locks out of the corner of her eye. But disappointment shortly filled her, as the room turned out to be vacant of both Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jeongguk.

•

After copious amount of begging, had Jihyo finally succeeded in dragging Y/N out of their dorms, but only after the promise of lunch on Jihyo’s side. Walking across campus, the two girls discussed where to consume their next meal, a heated dispute between pizza and burgers.

“Hey, what if we just mix them! A pizzaburger, a purger!” Y/N looked at the other female with repulsion, before fake gagging at her. “You are out of this world Park Jihyo, truly” Both snickered, before Jihyo halted completely and let out a stifled groan, puzzling Y/N.

“Don’t look to the side, Jeon Jeongguk and the freaks are sitting there.” Regardless of the notice, Y/N still twisted her head to gaze at the boys. Only four out of seven were present, but she didn’t really mind, only gawking at Taehyung. He hadn’t seen her yet – not that she desired him to see her salivate stupidly – but the guy across of him had caught her eyes.

Now, if she hadn’t listened to Yein’s painful rants about him, Y/N would undoubtedly have been clueless about who she was sharing excruciatingly awkward eye contact with, but there was no denying it. That was definitely Park Jimin. Y/N would rather not disclose, that viewing the boy, she didn’t have a doubt where Yein’s crush derived from. Jimin was endearing; his cheeks prodding out slightly and his eyes scrunched. Sadly enough, had his continuous gaze at her, made the other guys present, alert of her too.

Swiftly turning her head, Y/N pleaded that Taehyung hadn’t realized it was her. But by the widening of Jihyo’s eyes and the indistinct sound of footsteps behind them, it would appear her prayers hadn’t been heard. Turning around, Y/N came face to face with the grinning face of Kim Taehyung. That stupidly attractive face. Considering what she now knew about him, she shouldn’t surrender to him so effortlessly, but as the boy in front of her presented a huge smile, she couldn’t help but dissolve.

“I haven’t seen you around, princess” Jihyo shuffled awkwardly beside them, and Y/N turned to give her a panicked expression, inaudibly asking for aid. Jihyo raised her hands slightly, as to say, ‘What am I supposed to do!’, before catching Taehyung’s eyes and abruptly starting to murmur incoherently about how she had to go. Y/N looked at her staggered, confused about why her friend would abandon her, but Jihyo only gave her look to say Sorry, before turning to tread away. Y/N was dumbfounded over the bizarre exchange but remembered the boy behind her. When she turned around to stare at him again, he hadn’t shifted, and was still blatantly ogling her.

“I think- Maybe I- I probably need to go after her…?” Y/N stammered, evading making eye-contact with the striking flirt in front of her. “Just stay a bit, princess. She won’t mind. Alright?” Taehyung draped his arm over her shoulder, directing her over to the three other males, who appeared to have resumed their previous conversation. Damn her helplessness. Damn her inability to say no. And Damn Kim Taehyung.

She inserted herself in between Taehyung and the other guy, while being embarrassingly aware about the multiple sets of eyes on her. Bracing herself, Y/N elevated her gaze slightly, only to encounter the eyes of Jeon Jeongguk. He was looking her up and down, practically like she was a meal offered to him, which – not to lie – made her greatly uncomfortable. Possibly Jihyo hadn’t been so mistaken about him. The other guy beside her, was unexpectedly offering her a smile. He had a mole dotted just above his upper lip, and his cheeks displayed cute dimples.

“Y/N” She looked at Taehyung once more, finding him pointing to her, as to introduce her to the others. Then he began pointing at them one by one, identifying them. “Hoseok. Jimin. Jeongguk. There you go” Y/N smiled awkwardly at them, rubbing her neck, feeling warm under their gazes. She heard Taehyung chuckle behind her, almost like he relished in her uncomfortable suffering. Well, this wasn’t awkward at all.

Only after almost three excruciating minutes of agonizing silence, decided Y/N, that she really needed to find Jihyo. Coughing softly, she gazed towards Taehyung, making an explanation about how she had possibly forgot to turn off the oven. He quirked an eyebrow at her, before allowing her to depart. Standing up to press a kiss to her forehead as a farewell, and his smug expression came forth again, after seeing her stiffened and panicked state. A hasty goodbye was ushered, and Y/N quickly made her way towards the direction Jihyo had went.

All four of them observed the girl hastily making her exit, and Hoseok chuckled before adding a slight remark. “She does know, that the dorms are the other way, right?” Taehyung turned to stare at him, both grinning. “Yup” He sat down again, fishing up his phone, before being interrupted by a dainty voice. “Why did you introduce us? It’s not like she’s anything special, you’ll forget her name soon enough.” Jimin’s eyes were pointed at the boy, and he huffed slightly before crossing his arms. “Calm down, Jiminie” Taehyung winked at him, before bending over to tousle his hair. “I don’t like her” No one in the group was surprised about the comment. “You never like any of our partners” Jimin glared slightly at Jeongguk but didn’t contradict the statement. “I don’t like when you touch them. They don’t deserve you. They’re nobody” Jimin seethed inaudibly, glaring at Jeongguk and Taehyung. Hoseok clicked his tongue and snickered at his three juniors. “Watch out, pretty boy, you’re turning a bit green” Jimin snapped his head towards him but chose to remain quiet. He wasn’t up for a quarrel today, and even though Hoseok seemed content right now, Jimin wouldn’t put it past him, that he wouldn’t mind delivering a few punches if someone talked back.

Taehyung eased the tension by patting Jimin on the back and laughing. “Don’t worry, darling. I practically had her the moment we met. I’m only toying a bit, she’s too innocent to say no. I’ll have a new one by the weeks end” He leaned back again, and their previous conversation issued once again.

Tags: @d-noona @rottenratatouille @bts-edits-bitch @chims-kookies💕

[shinglescat]

Previous or  all stories at once.

I wanted to make separate parts, but guess what.

They left their horses near the cave under the embassy in the sake of convenience and security; Visenya was left in charge of their horses, hidden in tall bushes. She was told to stay at home, but instead caught up with them past Dragon Bridge later. The trio talked her into going back to her parents, naively thinking she'd be there safe and away from the trouble, but she foolishly did the exact opposite, tailing them instead. They had to come up with with an important mission then, such as keeping the horses safe, "as they will need their steeds in the best shape to escape soon", when in reality no one really wanted to babysit the girl. According the plan, Meltem went on her own, listening to the reports from the men through some crystal shards from the Void that Mark happened to know how to make. He went to that odd place and recovered three pieces for everyone except Visenya. Because Visenya should've been out of picture. But she's not. - How do these shards work exactly? - he heard from Aspen numerous times along the way. - Do I look like a scientist? - Mark replied every time in annoyed tone, - Quantum entanglement, I believe. Before Aspen could open his mouth one more time, elf groaned, interrupting him altogether. - Listen, smartass, if you want to study these rocks, be my guest. They just work, and I don't care how exactly they do it. They had a good laugh back at home with these things: all three separated, dispersing throughout the city, just to test their connection and to actually learn how to use the pieces. The shards required squeezing in hand to go online, warming up in the process. One doesn't have to actually talk with their mouth during the session, just think the message for it to be transported to the receiver; all three pieces are also connected between each other, so it doesn't really matter who the actual addressee is. "Meltem, would you be so kind to get that sweet roll for me?"  Mark thought, another thought appearing in the background then, as he reached out to his butt,  "Fuck my ass is itchy...",  he instantly caught the thought, closing his eyes with his hand, face red, too late to do anything about that, as he heard an explosion of laughter somewhere in the distance. "Don't worry, I've got some hair growing on my boobs, it's worse if you see it," was heard in return, to which he snickered,  "...I... I didn't mean to send that". Obviously the shards caught and forwarded all the thoughts they could hear. The men went inside with Maurice's invitation, ready to guide Meltem through. It was also in their interest to keep anyone from discovering a break in should the things go south. They both agreed on splitting up inside, covering twice more ground than together. One should be monitoring the inner courtyard, while the other stays in the main building, being on lookout for any sound of trouble for Meltem. - Fuck, you look gorgeous, - the elf noted, looking over his companion once again. Gods won't let him lie, the man looked magnificent and regal. Compared to Mark's plain attire of black dress, cape and veil, Aspen's outfit was majestic, more suitable to a breton prince. - Thanks, - the man replied, adding, - No need to say that in nineteenth time. - I seriously can't get over it, fuck me, - Mark just couldn't shut up, totally lovestruck, - Wait, did you really count that? - and the man just shrugged his shoulders, only nodding once in answer.

The guard at the gate checked their invitations, making sure they're genuine: a couple right before them got apprehended for handing over forged papers; the lady started screaming and demanding to meet the emissary herself, but was arrested instead; her companion managed to keep his cool, however both were led somewhere from the view. Probably for interrogation. Hopefully not for their demise. Mark got nervous, but didn't let that show. - Welcome to the Masquerade, gentlemen, - the soldier had a fake smile of sheer politeness, handing the papers back to Mark, ordering the guards behind him to open the gate for them. Elf made the first step inside the outer courtyard, followed by the man behind. The amount of guard there was insane, more suitable for a very important international meeting than to a simple masquerade party. He tried to look around himself as discreetly as possible, counting the number of guards and noting possible places to use as a cover if something goes wrong. - What's with the guard? - he asked quietly in the air, as the man caught up with him, - Twenty soldiers here, three wizard. It's overkill for a party. - Why do you even bother? - A bit suspicious, don't you think? - elf looked back at Aspen, - Like if they are expecting someone of importance or even looking for trouble. - You are being paranoid, - Mark received a condescending pat on the shoulder, winching at the man, before stopping altogether to studying the embassy from the bottom to the top. There was nothing worth of attention.

It was already crowded inside, ladies and gents dancing around the hall in their exquisite masks and party dresses, gossiping and laughing to each other; servants running around them. Where did the emissary even managed to find all these people? They definitely belong to either Cyrodiil or High Rock, but definitely not Skyrim. - Care to dance? - he heard from the nonchalant man. Elf grunted. - Yeah, two dudes dancing together, a sight to behold, - Mark hissed, - Dance to that old lady in the corner instead, - he pointed at one of the fancy looking ladies, seemingly bored with everything, - I'll eavesdrop a little.

- Your loss, - Aspen said, moving towards the said lady, asking her for a dance. Mark found a place to sit near the drinks, people already drunk. He heard them talk some gibberish, mostly lewd stuff, and he couldn't care less if he hadn't heard a familiar name. Esmir. What was about her? He relaxed, leaning against the wall, trying to understand their nonsense, picking up random lines. "She's got a nice ass", he heard, "And a nice set of tits for an old hag," the drunkard told to his buddy, hanging on his shoulders, "And the, eh, that walking cupboard?" his buddy asked, "I'll fuck him in his ear, the fuckhead asks for it," he gulped his poison, before continuing, "Bet I'll bend her over her desk this night, spread her cheeks real good and..." Ew. Mark couldn't listen to this anymore, concern growing rapidly. It's not like the chat between two drunkards would hurt his feeling considering they were talking about his grandmother and her bodyguard, it was just... too lewd for his taste. He couldn't handle this talk with his friends without blushing into Oblivion, and now this. Even worse. Even worse if he imagines it. He felt pity towards Orlan, imagining him getting wrecked into the ear Mark managed to bite off ages ago. Before he got back to his feet, Mark reached to the inner pocket, squeezing the shard in his hand. It went warm right away, allowing him to transfer newly found information to Meltem. - Esmir's here somewhere, lapdog with her, - he addressed to the woman, sneaking somewhere in another building. - I know, - he heard in his head in return, - Just saw them going outside. - Did you find the archives yet? It's probably somewhere upstairs. - No, I'm yet to get there. I have to go. With that connection ended, and shard went cold. Aspen probably heard their conversation too; elf noticed him near the same woman that's been whispering something into his ear with a lewd expression on her face. Something twisted unpleasantly in his stomach as he approached the pair.

- Can I borrow him? - Mark uttered, smiling to the lady with a fake smile, making a bow before her. - Oh! Look at you, sweetheart! Of course! Just don't forget to bring him back, we still have a matter to discuss, - a vulgar smile on her face as she slapped bottom of the ashen haired man with her hand. The elf opened his mouth and closed it again in disbelief, as Aspen himself dragged him away into the crowd, swaying him gently.

- Did you offer her to bend her over a table too? - he hissed at the man. - Excuse me? Jealous much? Mark shook his head in disbelief.

- I've heard some drunkards talk about my grandmother a moment ago, - elf explained quietly, looking at the man, - This was the reason I... borrowed you from your lady over there, - he looked over Aspen's shoulder, standing on his tippy toes: she waved her fingers at him, sending an air kiss, - that's incluned on bending you over a table instead, ew, - elf took him by his arm and away from her view, - My grandmother is here somewhere.

- I heard that. What's your plan then? - As before, you go to the inner courtyard and monitor the situation from there. - "I" go? - Aspen smirked. - Yes, unless you want to get raped in a closet, - Mark pointed at the closet door nearby, squinting angrily, - You heard Meltem, Esmir's somewhere outside. - That esteemed woman actually proposed an orgy after the party, - he said nonchalantly, as the elf in front of him let out another "EW!" sound, - Whatever you say, boss, - the man grinned, patting the elf on the shoulder before heading to the exit to the inner courtyard.

Mark was left alone in the room full of strangers.

...

The crowd outside cheered as fireworks went off, loud clapping and joyous howling all around; masks sparkling and twinkling under the dark night skies that were filled with the most beautiful adornment today, somehow even more magnificent that ever - stars. She's yet to see a masquerade more beautiful that this, no, even better - this was the best night she's ever seen. She hurried into the crowd, blending in with dancing people, spinning round with merry men and women, as the music went on and on. Marvelous atmosphere made her drunk, crave for more, as she was carried around in this living, shining current of hundreds and thousands of gleaming faces. The girl couldn't believe her friends wanted her to miss all of this, such a celebration.

She laughed as someone took her by her hands, taking her deeper and deeper into the eye of the storm. She danced like she's never danced before, feeling alive, yet unreal. Dozens of hands reaching out to her like if she was a distant bright star, illuminating the darkness with the light of her heart. The brightness, the happiness; she was radiating it all, making everyone around her cheer with overwhelming love. She's never been more happy than today, forgetting her worries under thousands of lights, intoxicated with everlasting joy.

"Visenya," - she heard someone call her name, - "Visenya," - she turned her head around, smiling to caressing hands, feeling tired already with a pleasant bliss. The white haired man, like a prince, stood out among the crowd, reaching out for her. She stretched her arm to him, letting him to carry her away from the joyous storm and into the quiet of the night.

She couldn't think of how she missed the fresh air, breathing in until until her lungs started aching. The drunkenness soon began to fade, as she recognized the concerned man in front of her, still smiling at him. - Are you alright? - he asked, still holding her by her hands. - Are you my knight? - she giggled, - Yes, I am, - she couldn't hold back herself anymore, bursting with a strong feeling of love for everyone around her; she hugged him, going limp, - I've never been better, - the girl snuggled into Aspen's shoulder, breathing in his scent.

- You were told to wait us with the horses, - he said, barely catching the limp girl, - You shouldn't be here. - But it's... so amazing here, I couldn't wait any longer... 

The man lowered himself to look the girl in the eyes.

- You are drugged..., - her pupils dilated, not reacting to light anymore, - Let's go, hold on to me. He was about to carry her, but someone took him by his arm, effectively stopping in his tracks.

- Hello, young man, -  the woman smiled at them wickedly, - young lady, - she bowed with her head, - Do you mind to make me a company this lone yet charming evening?

- I must apologize, my lady, - Aspen refused, - My companion is not feeling well, we have to go, - he picked her up, carrying in his arms, but someone big appeared right in front of him.

- I'm afraid you are not going anywhere, - the woman behind him said, reaching for his shoulder and turning him around; he had to let go of the girl gently lowering her on her feet. Elf lady signed to someone, as the two were forcefully grabbed and taken after the her. It took a long minute for Aspen to realize who was this woman.

Esmir.

He tried to reach to the Void shard in his pocket, to warn his companions, but a soldier suddenly yanked Aspen's arm too hard, and it fell on the ground, shattering on the impact, shiny stone becoming dull in a blink of a eye.

...

She tried to interrogate the girl first, but it didn't work out - the kid was drunk with that drug those noble asshats managed to spray all around the courtyard - instead she switched over to the man that seemingly cared for her in his own way, a total stranger wouldn't give a dog's shit about some random intoxicated girl roaming the party.

- How does he look? His costume. Mask. Answer, - the woman crossed her arms on her chest, looking at Aspen. She asked this for the fourth time already, no reaction whatsoever, - Orlan? - she looked at the giant wood elf, making a nod with her head.

The elf took hold of the girl, twisting her arm, grabbing one of her fingers. - Talk. Otherwise he'll break them one by one. The man stayed silent, not looking at the girl, probably calculating their chances of survival. - Is it really worth dying for a petty kid? - the general asked nobody. A loud sound of crack followed shortly after. Visenya screamed in pain.

- Think again if you're going to be silent this long night, - Esmir rounded the table, grabbing weeping girl by her jaw, - Costume? Mask? Or maybe I should ask her again? - she looked at Visenya, all of a sudden getting a knife out of nowhere, stabbing her in her injured hand. The girl cried even louder, her scream probably echoing all around the embassy. The woman waited a moment, before twisting the knife in girl's stabbing wound, elf holding her steadily.

- He wears a veil, - the man finally spoke, looking at the grimace of agony on Visenya's face, - Black dress, black and red cape with a silver chain, - he sighed. Esmir looked at her general. - Bring him here, now, - and the giant cupboard of an elf left the room, - Anyone else with you? - "no," was heard in return, - Alright then, - she pulled the girl off the floor, taking a good look of her face, - Who was this dumb of you to take the girl with you? I can recognize this face from miles away, be damn that old punk, - Esmir shoved her to the side, making her way to Aspen, grabbing him by his jaw, - Shame, you have a good set of genes even for a human. You'd be a good Altmer otherwise. You are going to be a great addition to our breeding facility. Visenya was barely conscious from the pain in her hand, drugs still lingering in her bloodstream, intoxication made everything harder for her. She looked at her hand one more time, wincing, before pulling the blade out. She cried aloud, as it felt to the floor; the elf lady glanced at her, diverting her attention back to the man again, speaking of vile; so open and careless, totally unprotected without that monster of hers. The girl could've swore the drunkenness made he bold, as she quietly picked up the knife back in her good hand. Visenya moved slowly, nauseous from all that's happened to her in within a span of an hour, before rushing forward, blade pointed somewhere in the center of old hag's back. The woman stopped her mid flight, catching her by her hand, magic cracking in the air. Esmir snatched knife from her hands in one swift move, driving it into girl's belly, violently pushing it forward. She pulled it out then, thrusting it instead in the side of her neck, leaving it there. Visenya whined, choking on her blood as it escaped her mouth, life fading from her eyes. The man couldn't do anything but watch her die, frozen in space by the unleashed magic, as the body of the girl fell to the floor.

Anger filled Esmir. She kicked the lying body into the side time and time again, losing herself for a moment of frenzy. - Get them out of here! - she shrieked, commanding to someone behind the door, wrath fuming around her, as four soldiers carried both of them out of the room, trail of blood following Visenya's body, - And keep the girl alive for a couple more hours, I am going to need her, - Esmir tucked loose hair back into place, her breathing erratic, - Insolent little bitch...

She took a sit behind her table, trying to relax. She preferred Orlan getting his hands bloody for her, but still enjoyed bloodletting herself. It reminded her of her old days, when she used to do it all herself. The girl's move was reckless, she could've gotten out of here in one piece and alive. But she had to try to attack her from behind. How quaint. Esmir would lie if she said she didn't enjoy it though, however she would've liked to avoid unnecessary confrontation, otherwise her grandson wouldn't follow her back to Summerset. She can't afford herself to lose another grandchild, now that Livaen was kidnapped. The Prince becomes more and more desperate. She caught her thoughts drifting towards the red headed whore once more. Oh, if it wasn't for Markus, she'd gut her right there with her own hands, skin her alive. The woman smiled to the thought. - Sire, - she heard, and Orlan dragged someone inside the room, face familiar yet unknown; skin of gold, eyes of silver, brows knitted; high cheekbones, sharp jawline, plump yet small lips. She didn't let it known, but she was highly impressed: her grandson's grown up looking rather princely. And what a pleasant surprise, he was actually wearing the colors and style of her house.

Esmir smiled. - Hello, Markus, - she raised her hands in greetings, - I wouldn't ever guess you've grown up to be such an exemplar of our race, - her voice sounded more satisfied than she'd like it to be, - Would you enlighten me, what brought you here?

The elf looked around the room, noticing a trail of blood, heart starting to race in his chest. Who did she injured? - Whose blood this is? - he asked instead, voice cold.

- Oh, this is? Don't bother yourself, it's of no importance, - Esmir got to her feet, making her way to Mark, - You definitely didn't get here in full parade just to hug your grandmother, did you? - she reached his face with her hand, stroking the cheekbone.

- Livaen, where is she? - Mark preferred not to waste their time with courtesies, choosing rather a direct approach. The look on Esmir's face changed. She was more concerned now against her own volition. - She's fine, - the only thing she said, voice stern. - Yeah, - he looked her straight into the eyes, - Talk of bullshit. Esmir made a growling sound, alien for her behavior. This night was definitely too bizarre for her liking. - Ever wondered about your parents? - she smirked, changing the subject in a completely different direction. Mark raised his brow in question, trying to seem ignorant, yet shiver running down his spine. He was ready to ask what this has to do with Livaen's disappearance, but was interrupted with crystal shard from the Void getting warm in his inner pocket. "Mark, we have an emergency", he heard in his head a voice, “We had to leave you behind", Meltem sounded distressed, “I have Livaen's whereabouts, but you're on your own now. Get out of there. Go to Riften and lay low, wait for us and don't do anything stupid, we will get to you when we can... I'm sorry”, she said with unmanageable sadness in her voice. What was that all about? He was about to open his mouth, when Esmir continued her speech. - My poor child, you still have no idea, have you?, - she snickered, but when she was about to say something else, some lieutenant has entered the room, breathing heavily.

- Someone broke in into the archives, sire. They stole the dossier. The prisoners are also gone. Esmir fell silent, processing the information she's just received, emotions on her face changing quickly. It was the right moment to escape, Mark thought to himself, backing off a little.

- Where are you going? - Orlan spoke, still keeping the kid in place with his giant palms. It was now or never. Mark turned around, facing the elf. He stretched out his arm, trying to reach his face. Orlan was confused, unaware of what's about to happen. The closer kid's hand got, the more sparks formed around it. - Knock him out, you idiot! - Esmir suddenly shouted at her general, as the bosmer grabbed kid's arm only to be bit through the glove as the spell went off. It was too late to do anything about that. The woman barely had any time set up a ward, as the explosion hit hard, sending everyone in the room in the air, stone crumbling, wood and fabric catching flames. She was stupid enough to forget about this rather annoying ability of her grandson to make explosions out of any magic outbursts. She should've cut this potential when he was too young to do anything about it.

The flames engulfed the building, as Mark rushed down the stairs, his head aching. The explosion has thrown him out of the room, helping with getting out of there in a way. He didn't met much resistance yet on his way out, mostly because he caught everyone here off guard. The explosion probably hadn't killed Orlan, and his death wasn't his goal, he simply wanted to set the place on fire, to get himself proper distraction and barrier against the soldiers that are about to chase him at any moment; they will definitely run towards Esmir's office first where they will actually receive their catch and retrieve order.

He heard shouts. The soldiers were on his trail. He couldn't just escape to the Void, he needed some time to prepare. There was also no place for him to hide, as the trail of Orlan's blood marked his path. The best option was to run forward and never look back, make the dungeon collapse behind him too, he thought to himself as he fell of the ladder to the cave under the Embassy.

The adrenaline was still rushing down his veins as he made another turn in the cave. The same turn it seemed. He was lost; the dread was quickly devouring him, his senses crying out loud to stop and give up, surrender to the pursuers. Panic overtook him, thoughts running around his head like roaches as shouts and footsteps were getting closer. There is no way out of here, he thought again, succumbing to the terror. But he needs to go forward, he said to himself again, his cousin needs him, especially now that Meltem has the information about her. He can't give up now, not yet. He didn't notice how he got on the ground; his mind becoming clearer with each new breath, tunnel vision starting to disappear. The sounds of chase weren't so close actually, and he could swear he heard a sea somewhere near. Mark got to his feet, still trembling in horror, making slow steps towards the sound; he wanted to speed up, his legs unable to produce any more power now that the adrenaline is washing out . They actually started aching badly, and his whole body hurt from the explosion - he managed to hit a corner with the nape of his neck when the shock wave knocked him from his feet, and that fall of the ladder - he probably injured something too. The sound of waves was getting closer; after one last corner and one last push through the throbbing pain in his muscles he exited the cave, collapsing on the beach. He heard a neigh near him, but his whole body just refused to move yet.

They left a horse for him to get out at least. - Hey, neigh-neigh, fuck, come here, - he called the horse, unable to come up with horse noises, - Yeah, come here, - he smiled as the animal obediently approached him. Mark reached out for the saddle, pulling himself in place. It was hard as the horse kept moving around, probably scared with the explosion and shouts coming from the embassy. He finally got in the seat, almost lying one the horse's back with no energy left. - Just go, - he told the animal, getting the reins in hands, heels kicking it into its sides, commanding the horse to run. Mark couldn't hold any longer, losing and gaining his consciousness every couple of minutes.

 ...

- Meltem, I'm so sorry, - the woman lowered her head to look at the girl in her arms, her voice faint. The bandage on her neck already soaked in red. The bumpy road must've woken her up. She felt tingling in her nose again, tears filling her eyelids. 

- Shhhh, don't talk, - Meltem said, grabbing her firmer, pressing her to herself, smiling as softly as she could, - Don't talk, - she tried to disguise her shaking voice, as she was ready to burst to tears. But she can't let herself do it, not in front of the poor girl. She must not see her cry. The woman found them in the torture chamber, through which she attempted to escape. No one noticed her presence yet, so she had to hurry. She had no time to warn anyone, nor search for her companions. But it happened she came across two of them. For some unknown reason they both were in a cage, with an elven mage casting spells upon Visenya. What was she doing in there when she had to guard the horses, Meltem questioned herself. The closer she got, the more concerned she became. She crouched in shadows closer to the guard, suddenly grabbing him by his throat, making him stop whatever he's been doing. - Let him go, - she heard a familiar voice, belonging to the ashen haired man. She allowed herself to look down at him, him pointing at Visenya covered in blood, her skin pale, lips completely drained of color. She couldn't hold herself, letting loose of the mage. Meltem dropped to her knees, barely able to contain herself. The elf resumed sustaining her while Aspen seemingly tended to her mortal wounds, trying to stitch cut flesh together with a thread and a needle. Te man told her of what happened to them both. Meltem got quickly got angered, yelling at him in desperation for making her suffer, but ultimately she knew he's not the one to blame here, but the girl herself, who refused to listen to anyone, her own foolishness brought her to her demise. Meltem let a single tear run down his cheek, as she commanded Aspen to take the mage hostage to keep the girl alive for the time being. They weren't wizards, nor possessed any kind of magic; Mark was nowhere to be found, and he was the only one who could keep her alive with those explosions of his, so all that was left for them is to take the thalmor elf prisoner and hope for the best. There was a physician in Solitude, who used to tend to wounds worse than that. Now she was their the only beacon in this sea of darkness, their Polaris. She nearly forgot to tell Mark that their mission was over, and they had to leave him in a hurry. As they were almost out of sight of the embassy, they heard a loud bang, fire erupting from the hill. She wanted to reach out to him if he was okay, he couldn't loose another kid, but her hands were already busy with dying girl. Aspen couldn't contact him either, his shard shattered upon encounter with the guard. - I don't wanna die, - was heard again in a seemingly quiet night, so that even Aspen turned around to look at the girl, - I so don't wanna die, - Visenya cried with dry tears, blood running down her mouth. The woman couldn't hold back herself anymore, hugging her, pressing her closely to herself. She pressed her forehead against hers, feeling cold of her skin. She tried to breath steadily, to warm her frozen face at least for a tiny bit, tears falling on pale skin. Meltem took hold of her good hand, already cold as severe winter, squeezing it gently, feeling barely noticeable heartbeat. - Hold on just a little while longer, - she sang quietly with a smile, voice trembling, loudly swallowing her tears, - Everything will be alright, - Meltem kissed her, not willing to let her go. She squeezed her gently once again, letting go of horse reins, holding on the back of the running animal with only legs, just to calm the girl, to comfort her. The woman let her go, looking at her face again, only to find out, Visenya was already gone. She didn’t hold back herself anymore.

...

Mark woke up in a moving carriage, sun bursting through the windows. He had no idea how he got there, nor who picked him up. The last thing he remembered is passing out on a horse on somewhere along the road to Dragon Bridge.

- Ah, I see you've awaken, - he heard someone's familiar cheerful voice and looked into speaker's direction. The dark elf was situated in front of him, completely covered in furs. Only now Mark has noticed how cold it was inside. He looked around himself, puzzled, - Oh, don't look so confused, I've picked you up on my way from the party, - Maurice smiled, passing a bottle of something to Mark. He had to sniff it before drinking whatever's inside, to what dunmer noticed with a smirk on his lips, - Worry not! It's not poisoned. - It's not what I meant, - he said in low and hoarse voice, wheezing sounds heard from his throat, sick from being exposed to the cold for a long time. He sniffed it again, only to find notes of honey, berries and alcohol. Mark winced, handing over the drink back to dunmer. - Well, alright then, - the elf shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip from the bottle. Mark covered himself better with furs, noticing the wild pain in his bones. He could probably guess the amount of bruises he had after the explosion. His whole body was throbbing as if someone tried to beat him to death, slightest move making his muscles ache.   - Where..., - he wanted to ask something, but his throat got dried out, - Where are we?

- The Pale, - answered elf, getting himself comfy, - You did quite a mess up there, I had to change plans quick, - Mark glanced at him, question in his eyes, - Thalmor patrols everywhere in imperial-controlled holds, looking for you and your friends, - Maurice answered darkly, - You don't want to get in trouble, do you? - Mark looked outside again. There was a town in the distance, but it wasn't their goal apparently, - We barely made it out of Haafingar and Hjaalmarch. - Thanks for picking me up, - elf said, closing the eyes again. He really meant it.

[goodticklebrain]

Q&A August: Christy Burgess of the Robinson Shakespeare Company

It’s the final week of Q&A August! Let me take  you back to 2016, to my first ever Shakespeare Theatre Association conference, hosted by Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. It was the last day, and the morning’s warm-up session was being conducted by Christy Burgess and the Robinson Shakespeare Company, a community Shakespeare program for school-aged kids.  After several rounds of fun theatre games, Christy asked her students if any of them wanted to perform some Shakespeare for this objectively intimidating roomful of seasoned, experienced, and elite Shakespeare practitioners and educators.

Every single hand flew up into the air.

After some negotiation, a tiny girl in a pink dress, probably not more than nine or ten years old, stood up. Awww, this is so cute. Is she going to do Puck’s “If we shadows have offended” epil— NOPE. She narrowed her eyes and spat out Cloten’s “meanest garment” speech from Cymbeline with all the vitriol of a rejected privileged white man. My jaw literally dropped. HOW was this possible?

The answer was Christy Burgess. I’d actually met Christy the year before, when I drove down to  South Bend to see a couple shows at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, and she immediately overwhelmed me (in a good way) with her energy, enthusiasm, and passion not just for teaching kids Shakespeare, but for giving them ownership of Shakespeare. Every single one of her students believes that Shakespeare is theirs. I’ll never forget Christy telling me what her students’ reaction was upon meeting a professional Shakespeare company: “Oh, you do Shakespeare too? That’s cute... WE  do Shakespeare.”

On a more personal level, Christy helped shepherd me through the impostor syndrome I suffered from while attending my first conference, giving me the confidence to find my place in the Shakespeare community without constantly apologizing for being “just someone who draws stupid stick figures”. Christy builds people up, and the world is better for it.

1. Who are you? Why Shakespeare?

My name is Christy Burgess and I am the director of the Robinson Shakespeare Company.  I am a teacher, director, and have most recently been christened “Shakespeare Maven” by my friend Julia.

Why Shakespeare? There are so many reasons for “why Shakespeare”.  The Robinson Shakespeare Company starts in 3rd grade and the first day of our 3rd-6th grade class is one of my favorite all year.  Many of our young actors have waited since kindergarten watching their older siblings or young adults they admire go through the program.  The anticipation and excitement on that first day of class is palpable, because they finally get to do Shakespeare.  It’s also become something that is a little subversive.  There are times when our kids are told “you don’t really like Shakespeare” or “shouldn’t you be playing sports?”, which has the effect of “don’t tell me what I’m supposed to like!”

In a meeting, someone asked one of my students “Why Shakespeare?”  She told a story I hadn’t heard before.  It was right after her father passed, before she went back to school.  She was walking around the track at her high school and passed an elderly white couple.  The woman said to her “shouldn’t you be in school?” to which her husband responded “Mary, don’t you know that’s how people get shot?”

This young woman said “when people walk by me, they might think I’m a hood or a thug, but Shakespeare is mine, something no one can take away from me.”  

When we study plays from Eugene O’Neil or Arthur Miller, it’s the world through their eyes, but when we play Shakespeare, it’s the world through OUR eyes.

2. What moment(s) in Shakespeare always make you laugh?

Scene 3.4 in Twelfth Night always cracks me up!  There’s something about the most non-threatening duel letter from Sir Andrew to Cesario/Olivia and the forced fight that is always funny.

Mya interjects: “Is’t so saucy?” is one of my favorite lines in Shakespeare. It’s such a stupid joke. I don’t care. I love it.

3. What's a favorite Shakespearean performance anecdote?

Every now and then there’s Shakespeare magic.

When I was teaching and directing in Alaska with the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre, I had made a comment to my young actors about performing in the rain.  I’m pretty sure they prayed for rain, because our last performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor, it POURED.  The audience ran for cover, but nothing could erase the looks of glee on the actor’s faces.  Falstaff’s line, “let the sky rain potatoes”, pretty much said it all!

In 2017, the Robinson Shakespeare Company (RSC*) was invited, and traveled, to England to perform in Stratford-upon-Avon the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Shakespeare Garden.  The New Place recently opened and we discovered that we were the first group to perform there….if the weather held out.  There were numerous sunshine dances (involving jazz hands), prayers, and wishes.  The day of the performance, there was a storm coming right for us.  It was the closest thing to magic I’ve seen.  It was as if the storm was around us.  In videos, you can see the wind whipping the costume and the slightest drizzle of rain, but we made it!

*I know, I know, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Reduced Shakespeare Company, etc. I like to think of us as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s distant (many times removed), scrappy cousins that will be revealed if we do a deep dive on our genealogy chart.

This memory might be tinged with jet lag, because during the same trip I sat in-between two 12 year olds, who only fell asleep 30 minutes before landing.  When we arrived in Stratford, we were met by the incredible Cait Fannin-Peel (my Shakespeare wife and hero).  Our bed and breakfasts weren’t ready yet, so she took us on a tour of Shakespeare’s Birthplace.  They have an amazing little stage in-between the house and the giftshop where actors were performing bits of Shakespeare.  Cait asked if we would like to perform something.  Jet lagged, sleep deprived, and thrilled, it took about 30 seconds to plan out the opening to Cymbeline and start performing it.  Tourists surrounded us with their cameras and applauded when the scene was done.  It felt amazing as a director of young people to see them confident on stage in a setting that was incredibly different from what they were used to.  We have video evidence!

4. What's one of the more unusual Shakespearean interpretations you've either seen or would like to see?

Bart Sher’s Cymbeline at Intiman changed me.  The set was simple; a red raked stage, but by being so, it didn’t need massive set changes, we were with the story the entire time.  The production was funny, moving, and stunning.

I’m frustrated by Shakespeare that tries to distract you from thinking it is Shakespeare.  I’ve been in, or seen productions, where it’s like “look at these live animals” or “explosions” or “a fake ice rink that isn’t integral to the plot and is really slick in the rain, but look, people are ice skating for 30 seconds” that are unnecessary.  I believe you should be able to wear black clothes on a blank stage and get the story across; everything else is just icing.  If not, it’s not good Shakespeare.

Mya interjects: I am broadly in agreement with Christy here, except that I desperately want MORE live animals on stage. Dogs. Goats. Rabbits. Gerbils. I don’t care if they’re not textually supported.

5. What's one of your favorite Shakespearean "hidden gems"?

I don’t know if it’s a hidden gem, but I love Henry IV, Part 1 and 2.  I think it’s such a loss when they’re combined, because they are both stellar plays for different reasons.  Yes, Henry IV, Part 1 has all the action, but Henry IV, Part 2 has phenomenal speeches and you get to see just how devious Falstaff is.  Food for powder, anyone?

6. What passages from Shakespeare have stayed with you?

This quote from Romeo and Juliet is how I feel about teaching.  During the school week, I am in 24 classes in the South Bend community, mostly in Title 1 schools.  Last year, Tuesdays were long days.  I would teach six classes at a middle school, plus an after-school program, then direct the RSC.  That was approximately 190 kids and the day lasted from 9 am-9 pm.  It wasn’t, however, so bad, because I work with really great kids.  I feel what I give to them, they give back and the days don’t feel long.

“the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.”

Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, 2.2

Also “bless you fair shrew” which I say to my dog all the time when she sneezes.  

Mya interjects: BLESS YOU FAIR SHREW THAT’S THE BEST I LOVE IT

7. What Shakespeare plays have changed for you?

The first time I saw Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, I was twelve and locked myself in the bathroom and cried.  Seriously though, who didn’t?  Do you have a heart of stone???

Mya interjects: Yes. :P

During our 2017 trip, we took our RSC to see the REAL RSC’s Titus Andronicus.  Blanche McIntyre is a badass director.  It’s easy to dismiss, Titus, but she found depth, and urgency.  The show made our company better.  

My actors still refer to the performance when we talk about high stakes and urgency.

8. What Shakespearean character or characters do you identify the most with?

I love Viola.  She goes on such a journey and her “make me a willow cabin at your gate” speech moves me every time.  We don’t get to pick who we love.  I’m really lucky that I have a sweetheart who loves me, Shakespeare nerdiness and all.

If I could be a character?  Henry V.

9. Where can we find out more about you? Are there any projects/events you would like us to check out?

You can find more about us on our Facebook page, Instagram, and our website.

Notre Dame Magazine put together a gorgeous website that chronicled the six months they had a reporter with us as well as our adventures to England!

(Back to Mya) Thanks so much to Christy for answering my questions, but, even more importantly, for raising the next generation of Shakespeareans. I, for one, welcome our new Shakespearean overlords.

COMING THURSDAY: It’s two-for-one day with the bard bros behind one of my favorite Shakespeare podcasts!

[internetreputationcost-blog]

Online reputation management Strategies

Online reputation management refers to the influencing and also controlling of an individual's or team's online reputation. Initially a public relationships term, the development of the internet and also social networks, together with reputation administration firms, have made search engine result a core component of an individual's or group's online reputation. Online reputation management, in some cases abbreviated as ORM, concentrates on the management of product as well as service search website outcomes.

online reputation management focuses on the monitoring of product and solution search engine result within the digital space. A range of digital markets and also on the internet areas like e-Bay, Amazon and also Alibaba have ORM systems constructed in, as well as making use of reliable control nodes these can minimize the danger as well as shield systems from possible misuses and also misuses by destructive nodes in decentralized overlay networks.

The most popular controls for off-line credibility administration consist of social duty, media exposure, news release in print media as well as sponsorship among relevant devices. Track record is a social construct based upon the point of view other individuals hold about an individual or point. Before the internet was established, consumers wishing to find out about a business had few choices.

A firm's online reputation relied on personal experience. [] A business expanded and broadened based on the market's assumption of the brand. Public connections was created to manage the picture and build the credibility of a company or person. [] The concept was initially produced to broaden public connections beyond media connections.

Originally, public relations included published media, events and also networking campaigns. In 1998, Google was started. The appeal of the net presented brand-new advertising and marketing and also branding chances. Where when reporters were the main resource of media web content, blog sites, review sites as well as social networks offered a voice to customers despite credentials.

ORM consists of standard reputation techniques of public relations however likewise concentrates on developing a lasting credibility technique that corresponds across all web-based channels and systems. ORM includes search engine reputation management which is developed to counter adverse search results and also boost positive material. Some services have actually adopted dishonest ways to wrongly boost their track records.

Online Reputation Management - Sayles ...

Reputation administration (sometimes referred to as rep administration or ORM) is the practice of trying to shape public assumption of a person or organization by influencing info concerning that entity, primarily online. What demands this shaping of understandings being the role of consumers in any organisation as well as the cognisance of just how much if disregarded these assumptions may damage a company's performance any time of the year, a threat no entrepreneur or business exec can manage.

A significant part of reputation administration entails reducing unfavorable search outcomes, while highlighting positive ones. For organisations, online reputation monitoring usually includes an attempt to bridge the space in between just how a firm regards itself and also just how others watch it. A fast-growing self-control and corporate need, credibility administration is extensively recognized as an important intangible possession which can be among one of the most essential resources of one-upmanship in a fiercely competitive market, and with firms continuously under boosted examination from business neighborhood, regulatory authorities, and also company governance guard dogs great reputation monitoring methods remain to aid companies deal with this scrutiny.

Excellent track record management practices are likewise vital in assisting any type of entity manage personnel confidence as a control device on public understandings which if weakened and also overlooked can be costly, which in the future may cripple employee confidence, a threat no company would certainly attempt check out as staff morale is one of one of the most crucial motorists of firm efficiency.

Online Reputation Management Company ...

A class activity lawsuit was submitted by the law office Beasley Allen against Taco Bell. The suit was willingly withdrawn with Beasley Allen mentioning that "From the beginning of this situation, we specified that if Taco Bell would make sure adjustments pertaining to disclosure as well as marketing of its 'seasoned beef' item, the instance could be dismissed." Taco Bell reacted to the instance being taken out by releasing a track record administration project entitled "Would certainly it eliminate you to claim you're sorry?" that ran ads in different information outlets in print and online, which tried to accentuate the volunteer withdrawal of the instance.

Some of the methods used by track record administration companies consist of: Improving the tagging and also seo of company-published products, such as white papers and favorable consumer endorsements in order to push down adverse content. Publishing original, positive sites and also social media accounts, with the objective of exceeding negative results in a search.

Submitting lawful take-down demands if someone believes they have been reviled. Obtaining states of business or person on third-party sites that rate highly on Google. Creating fake, positive reviews of the private or service to counteract negative ones. Using spambots and denial-of-service strikes to compel websites with damaging web content off the internet totally. [] Astroturfing third-party websites by creating confidential accounts that produce positive evaluations or lash out versus negative ones.

Eliminating on the internet cup shots. Proactively reacting to public criticism originating from current modifications. Eliminating or subduing images that are embarrassing or break copyright. Speaking to Wikipedia editors to get rid of supposedly wrong information from the Wikipedia pages of companies they stand for. The technique of track record monitoring increases numerous moral concerns. It is widely disagreed upon where the line for disclosure, astroturfing, and also censorship ought to be attracted.

The direct exposure of underhanded online reputation monitoring can itself be risky to the credibility of a firm that tries it. Some companies technique moral kinds of track record monitoring. Google considers there to be nothing naturally wrong with reputation management, and also also introduced a toolset in 2011 for users to check their on-line identification and request the removal of undesirable content.

For instance, they might avoid individuals that dedicated violent criminal offenses who are wanting to push information regarding their criminal offenses lower on search engine result. In 2010 a research study showed that Naymz, one of the first Internet 2.0 solutions to provide energies for Online Reputation Management (ORM), had actually created a method to examine the online track record of its participants (RepScore) that was instead very easy to deceive.

Since December 2017, Naymz was closed down. In 2015, the online merchant Amazon.com taken legal action against 1,114 people who were paid to publish fake luxury testimonials for products. These reviews were created utilizing an internet site for Macrotasking, Fiverr. com. Several various other business use phony Yelp and also Facebook evaluations, and one journalist collected first-class testimonials for an organisation that does not exist, from social media sites accounts that have likewise provided extremely positive testimonials to "a chiropractor in Arizona, a beauty parlor in London, a limousine firm in North Carolina, a real estate agent in Texas, as well as a locksmith professional in Florida, among other distant organisations".

The lawsuit had comparable language and also the defendant accepted the injunction by the plaintiff, which enabled the reputation monitoring firm to issue takedown notices to Google, Yelp, Leagle, Ripoff Report, different news sites, and other internet sites. " 9 Online Reputation Management Services Business owners can Attain on their own". Fetched 11 May 2016.

Singh, Munindar (2000 ). " A social mechanism of credibility administration in digital neighborhoods" (PDF). Cooperative Details Representatives IV-The Future of Info Brokers in Cyberspace. Lecture Notes in Computer Scientific Research. 1860. Springer. pp. 154165. CiteSeerX. doi:10.1007/ 978-3-540-45012-2_15. ISBN 978-3-540-67703-1. Mudhakar Srivatsa; Li Xiong; Ling Liu (2005 ). (PDF). WWW '05 Proceedings of the 14th global seminar on Web.

Hall, R. 1992. The Strategic Evaluation of Intangible Resources. Strateg. Handle. J. 13( 2) 135 (What's in a Name? Track Record Structure and also Business Approach, Fombrun, Charles; Shanley, Mark, Academy of Management Journal; Jun 1990; 33, 2; ABI/INFORM Worldwide, pp239 240.) S. Jai, Shankar (June 1, 1999). "Credibility is everything". New Straits Times (Malaysia).

( 2001 ). "Online reputation administration: the brand-new face of company public relations?". Public Relations Evaluation. 27 (3 ): 247261. doi:10.1016/ S0363-8111( 01 )00085-6. John Tozzi (April 30, 2008). " Do Reputation Management Services Work?". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved August 3, 2012. Bilton, Nick (April 4, 2011). " The Expanding Company of Online Reputation Management". The New York City Times. Gotten June 12, 2012.

" Study: ebay.com vendors pc gaming the track record system?". CNET. Recovered July 14, 2012. " What is credibility administration? - Interpretation from WhatIs.com". WhatIs.com. Gotten 2015-12-01. Sepandar D. Kamvar; Mario T. Schlosser; Hector Garcia-Molina. (PDF). WWW '03 Proceedings of the 12th global meeting on Internet. doi:10.1145/ 775152.775242. Milo, Moryt (2013-05-17). " Terrific Companies Lean Onward, Respond Rapid".

Fetched 2013-09-05. Lieb, Rebecca (July 10, 2012). " Just How Your Content Method Is Essential For Track Record Management". MarketingLand. Obtained June 12, 2012. "MT Masterclass - Online reputation monitoring". Monitoring Today. May 1, 2007. Weigelt, K., as well as C. Camerer (1988 ). "Online reputation and also company method: An evaluation of recent concept and applications." Strategic Management Journal 9: 443-454.

( 2003 ). 'How to be an excellent director?', Wall Road Journal, 241, pp. R1R4). Cravens, Karen S.; Oliver, Elizabeth Goad (1 July 2006). "Workers: The key web link to corporate reputation management". Organisation Horizons. 49 (4 ): 293302. doi:10.1016/ j.bushor. 2005.10.006. " Alabama's Beasley Allen law practice drops match versus Taco Bell over 'seasoned beef' cases".

Retrieved 2016-06-13. " With Legal action Over, Taco Bell's Mystery Meat Is An Enigma No More". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-06-13. Macedo, Diane (2011-04-26). " Taco Bell Still Has Beef With Company That Went Down Legal Action Fox Information". Fox Information. Retrieved 2016-06-13. Resnick, Paul; Zeckhause, Richard (May 2, 2001). "Count on among complete strangers in internet deals: Empirical evaluation of ebay.com's credibility system".

CiteSeerX. Spencer, Stephan (September 12, 2007). " DIY reputation management". CBS Interactive. Recovered August 3, 2012. Thomas Hoffman (February 12, 2008). " Online reputation management is warm-- however is it honest?". John Amato. Fetched August 3, 2012. Kinzie, Susan; Ellen Nakashima (July 2, 2007). " Employing Pros to Fine-tune Your Google Picture".

Fetched July 12, 2012. Krazit, Tom (January 11, 2011). " A guide on online reputation management". CNET. Obtained July 13, 2012. Thompson, Nicholas (June 23, 2003). " More Companies Pay Noted to Their 'Word of Mouse' Reputation". The New York City Times. Recovered July 13, 2012. " Published mug shots: A constant tip of one man's past".

Obtained 27 September 2015. Giovinco, Steven W. " Photo Online Reputation Administration: What It Is, And Why You Must Treatment". Medium.com. Medium. Gotten 9 May 2015. Holiday, Ryan (August 28, 2012). " Just how to fix your Wikipedia issue". Lot of money. Recovered November 30, 2015. Farmer, Yanick (2018-01-02). " Honest Decision Making and also Track Record Monitoring in Public Relations" (PDF).

Online reputation Management ...

33 (1 ): 213. doi:10.1080/ 23736992.2017.1401931. ISSN 2373-6992. " Online reputation management: Glitzkrieg". Economic expert Group. March 10, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2012. Kessler, Sarah (June 16, 2011). " Google Launches Tool for Online Reputation Management". Mashable. Obtained July 13, 2012. Lazzari, Marco (2010 ). IADIS International Seminar e-Society 2010. Porto. pp. 519522. ISBN 978-972-8939-07-6. " Don't Be Tricked by Fake Online Reviews Part II Krebs on Protection".

Tuttle, Brad. " Amazon Info Claim Against Writers of Phony Online Reviews". MONEY.com. Gani, Aisha. " Amazon.com files a claim against 1,000 'fake reviewers'". the Guardian. " I produced a fake business and also purchased it a remarkable online track record". Combination. Volokh, Eugene; Paul Alan Levy (10 October 2016). " Lots of questionable litigation, with missing offenders, focus on obtaining web pages taken down or deindexed".

Online Reputation Management (ORM ...

There are a great deal of misunderstandings regarding online reputation management. Some people assume it's just social networks surveillance, while others believe it has something to do with public connections, and also still others essentially have no suggestion just how it can impact company and sales. In this overview, I'm mosting likely to describe the role of online reputation management in today's business and media landscape.

Simply a couple of years earlier, the web was very various. Business were not appealing customers but just marketing to a passive target market; people can not reveal their voice in a powerful means, and the total interaction landscape was really "leading down." The situation has significantly altered. Today, web sites are no more fixed brochures.

And regular communications on socials media are vital to any kind of company success. Regardless of the size of your company, they (prospects, clients, clientsanyone as well as, possibly, everyone) are speaking about you. They are tweeting regarding your most recent item, leaving a discuss your blog site, publishing a Facebook update concerning their client experience, as well as a lot more.

[sugarbabykendi]

Beginners Luck?

I’m madly new to the sugar world/bowl, I’ve been an observer and admirer for a few years now and thought to myself “why don’t you finally go for it, you technically have nothing to lose”.

Shit, I have quite a lot to lose lol, but I’m so good at this lying to myself thing that I actually believe myself when I lie to others, like when I lie to my parents about where I am going, when I lied to my friend about not pursuing this sugar dating thing and when I lied to myself that I was ready to do this.

I made a profile on seeking arrangement despite the numerous amount of posts that say not to bother due to the number of salt daddies and fake people on there. I decided to try my luck considering I live in a small country and I have a concentrated number of possible sugar daddies to my disposal. I used a fake name generator to come up with a name to go with my fake ass back story — I literally made up a character to portray when sugaring (I know I’m a genius or whatever 💁🏾‍♀️)

Kendi sounded perfect for my South African girl next door character. I wanted my sugar baby persona to be similar to mine but I wanted her to be more confident and literate, I wanted her to show some class and be the girl that turns heads for a reason. Obviously she was a uni student just like me, studying marketing because that’s what I know best, and she was looking for someone to mentor her, sponsor her, spoil her and help make her dreams come true.

One of the first guys that messaged me initiated the conversation about getting to know me and seeing where things could go, we took the conversation off of SA onto kik and I got to know more of him. An accountant/financial advisor, who used to be a lecturer, has a PhD, worked as a cruise manager for years (meaning he travelled for a living). Like honestly I could even possibly have a crush on this guy. After getting to know a bit about eachother I suggested a quick coffee date to talk about what we were both after, we met ten minutes away from my uni campus and surprisingly in a very public area.

Everything checked out and he paid for my food and we parted ways. We didn’t get to discuss money arrangements however, this made me nervous because the whole point of this was to get $$$ and we hadn’t discussed it. I think it’s cause I was really nervous to bring it up, I had read many posts and tips on tumblr about how to bring up the money convo but I just couldn’t do it. So when he brought it up himself and offered to take me out to dinner, you bet a bitch was excited! Unlucky me, we had a communication breakdown and we didn’t go on a date — he left me on read for two weeks 🙄

This Sunday afternoon however was different, we met up a little bit last minute — straight after church for me — and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We shared a small platter and I could’ve sworn I regocnised our waitress from somewhere. We had a good conversation and I was way too worried bout eating like a pig I only ate a little bit. We left an hour later and decided to go back to his place — I know you’re probably thinking “dumb bitch! Why the fuck are you going home with him? He could rape you or hurt you or even leave you stranded! What are you doing?!” I wish I could say I thought the same things too but I genuinely didn’t. I am positive I broke down this mans walls to the point that he’s truely vulnerable around me. I don’t trust him with my life but because he’s a father or really young kids and he’s always trying to make sure I’m okay, I knew deep down that he couldn’t hurt me. I also genuinely did want to see what his house was like, after all he lived up north of the city which is the fancy and rich people homes, houses in the north shore cost over 2million dollars.

We spent time chilling at his home, talking about his kids and things we both enjoy. This was really easy for me, if I closed my eyes and imagined my uni crush in front of me I could’ve sworn I would’ve been ultimately enjoying spending time with this man. Unfortunately he has a major dad bod, is bald and he’s roughly 5’8” meaning he’s not y’all enough for me to even feel remotely attracted to. When he kissed me I could taste the faint taste of cigarettes on his breath and I wanted to die a little bit. I am a good kisser — I have no doubts in my kissing abilities — so I put on a really good show and kissed that man like I actually liked it. His brain is attractive but the rest of him can be recycled. He gave me $300 and I went home feeling a little richer. Now I want to ask for an allowance or else a raise to $500 minimum. Imma tell him I’m quitting one of my jobs which will be hard for me to manage (he thinks I have two jobs and I’m a full time student when in reality I have no jobs and I just study full time).

So yea. That’s the tea on my first sugar daddy and how I’m being a complete fool with him lol. I guess because he’s my first sugar daddy experience and he’s a good guy I can practice on him and get an understanding of who I really want to be in the sugar bowl.

[soulofatiny]

No Fear, I’m Here... Ch.2: Fellaz

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genre: enemies to lovers, assassin, & mafia!au

word count: 3.7k

warning: none yet but it is an assassin au...

a|n: ***IMPORTANT PLEASE READ*** For those who have read Ch.1, I’ve made some minor changes. Previously, y/n’s affiliation was YG and the ceo of YG. However, I recently caught up with all the news surrounding the company at the moment, and I do not feel comfortable using his name. Therefore, “YG Banks” will be changed to “ZG” and the Boss’ name “Yang” will be changed to “Zang”. I apologize for this odd change but I just felt it was necessary. Thank you and happy reading!

Ch.3

masterlist

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“Nana! Listen to me! You killed me here on October 24, 2011. You. Killed. Me. You have taken my life and you will take others’ lives and feel no remorse doing it. You don’t feel any emotions and you will not feel any emotions except fear. Fear for your life. You will always and forever fear that someone is out there to take your life instead.”

You jolt awake hyperventilating. Cold sweat soaking the strands of your hair and goosebumps marking your body. You felt bile creeping up your throat and ran to the bathroom for its release. “So much for resting before a job…” This wasn’t anything necessarily new in your life. You’ve had the exact same dream numerous times in the past, never knowing what it meant. All you could see in your dream was always a body covered in blood, the face blurred out and the same voice that keeps telling you the same thing every time…

“You killed me.”

You most likely did.

“Fear for your life.”

You are.

You never knew when exactly you’ll have that dream so it was always either a hit or a miss of a dreamless night whenever you slept. Today, however, was definitely a miss. Actually, it’s been a miss the past couple of weeks and it’s getting to the point where you stay up to avoid that dream... It was definitely a bad idea to try to get some rest before a job...but you were getting desperate.

You groaned looking at the clock that read 7:00 p.m. “How fitting,” you thought. Nana is your codename, translating from the Japanese number, 7. It was assigned to you when you first arrived at ZG, being the 7th to arrive and used a fake name, [y/n] whenever it required you to give a name outside of the organization. Much like what you had to do for Yeosang.

7:03 p.m...You still had some time before you head to Fellaz, so you decided to take a shower. Whether if it’s to cleanse the cold sweat clinging to your body or the limited memories that haunted you, you didn’t know. You just needed to feel some sort of relief either way and not think about what’s going to happen in the next couple of hours. Stripping off your clothing, you stepped into the shower. Immediately feeling your tense shoulders ease upon the contact of the warm water and your mind began to wander back to when you first joined the organization.

∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘11 years ago∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘∘

“The 7th one is supposed to arrive today. She finished her phase one training and should be ready for phase two. Eight through ten will be arriving the next day after her.”

“How about one through six?”

“They’re all displaying positive results. After seven through ten adjusts, I believe we’ll be able to go into phase three within the next 3 years.”

ZG nodded, “Then we’ll hold the initiation officially on October 24, 2011. No delays. Do not disappoint me, Mino.” And with that, Mino followed escorted his boss to his chauffeur waiting for him outside. Mino was in charge of running the phase two-training smoothly to ensure that everything will go according to the boss’ initiation program. He bowed deeply as the chauffeur drove his boss away from the facility. As Mino walked back inside, one of the workers notified him of your arrival. “Finally…”

You were told that you’ve graduated from phase one, where trainees were educated until they surpass the advanced level in all subjects of math, language, geography, analytical thinking while simultaneously receiving physical training that consisted various martial arts/combat styles, artillery, and blade training. There were many that started from birth, being raised in the facility nursery and officially start training once they learn how to walk and there were others that begin around toddler age but you couldn’t remember when you’ve started. Despite receiving the training from top tier educators, some simply may not possess the potential to be selected for ZG’s special program and were usually terminated. Which obviously isn’t you because you are currently blindfolded and being transferred via car to the building of phase two. They’ve never let you go beyond the walls that completed the perimeter of your first training building. You’ve heard stories of some trying to risk going beyond the walls and were immediately terminated. You felt the vehicle stop and the door opened with someone grabbing your arm to guide you out. You couldn’t see anything but you could hear at least two different footsteps excluding your own. You all kept on walking for a good while until you all halted and waited until a voice startled you. “Take your blindfold off.” You complied and immediately faced with a man perhaps in his 20’s but what caught your attention was his sharp eyes, almost snake-like and threatening aura that sent your body shivering in anxiousness. “You’re the 7th to arrive. If we wanted to address specifically at you, we’ll refer to you as ‘Nana’. How old are you?” You stood in silence and Mino was about to lose his patience until he remembered why “Speak.”

“I was told that I’m ten-years-old.”

“I see. I expect you to make it until phase three. My workers will guide you to meet your new educator. Do not disappoint me or you will be terminated.”

You immediately bowed deeply and Mino walked away. You looked up and saw the two men now exposed free from your blindfolds who presumably are Mino’s workers. One of the men signaled for you to walk and you complied. The building seemed sterile and the long hallways glistened with the fluorescent lights reflecting the glossy white floors, very much designed like your previous facility. You continued to walk, passing by many doors until the man in front of you stopped and pointed at the door of the room you’ll be residing. Before they both turned to leave you, you bowed deeply to show your acknowledgment. You were taught that you were allowed to bow to anyone in a higher up position than you at any given time, but were not allowed to speak before given permission. The two men nodded and walked away, leaving you to your new training. Until you could no longer see them, you finally knocked on the door. The door opened revealing a woman that had the corners of her mouth turned upwards and caught you off guard. From your previous studies, you’ve learned that this is what people would call a smile but it’s the first time you’ve witnessed one in person, how peculiar. “Hi! You must be Nana! We were expecting you! Come in, come in!” You bowed to indicate your greeting and walked in. The woman’s voice was loud in volume and she was still smiling. It looked painful for her cheeks but she continued, “I’m your head educator of phase two-training! Things will be very different from your phase one-training. First off, while you’re in this building, you do not need to ask for permission to speak. Just follow the basic speech mannerism that you’ve learned from your previous training but do so with your will of speaking.” You waited until she continued to speak but realized that she was waiting for you to speak so you mumbled a small, “Yes.” That was the very first time you spoke without permission and it honestly felt strange in your stomach. The woman stared at you, writing something down on her clipboard and smiled even harder, something you didn’t think was possible. “Perfect! Secondly, here, you will learn about emotions and try to enhance the stimulation of your feelings! I’m sure you must be confused but this is all very exciting and I can’t wait until you meet your family member!”

Confused…? Exciting…? Family…? You were familiar with the vocabulary from your studies but never heard them used in a sentence. Suddenly, the strange feeling in your stomach growing larger. The woman looked at you cautiously, “Ah, I’m sorry. You must be overwhelmed! You feel something in your stomach, don’t you?” You widen your eyes, “Y-yes…how did you know?” “Ah just right now! I just surprised you! You see, human emotions aren’t that hard to stimulate. You just need to understand which emotion is which. But don’t worry. You’ll get used it soon. Also, thank you for speaking first.”

You felt surprised yet once again. You got thanked for speaking… it was peculiar and overwhelming but you could even dare to say that you liked the feeling of tying all of these emotions being put in action. Your new teacher smiled softer until she spoke again, “Now follow me! It’s time to meet your family member! Here, you are assigned to a sibling. You both will play, have meals together, and hold conversations much like families in real life.” She pauses to take a quick look at her clipboard and continued, “Ah yes, your assigned family member is number 3! I see you go by the Japanese translation, but number 3 will be the Korean translation ‘Set’. Set is a male so looks like you have gained a brother!”

You decided to speak up softly, “May I ask a question?” The woman stared at you, wrote something down again, and answered, “Yes, of course!” Looking away from the clipboard but continued to write as you spoke, “Why are different translations used to refer Set and I’s numbers?” “There will actually be ten of you coming to phase two in total, numbers eight through ten will be arriving tomorrow. They will all have different translations for their numbers as well. I know you all learned multiple languages during your phase one training so it will help increase brain activity by mixing in different languages for daily use. At least that is what Boss Zang insisted. Honestly, it doesn’t make much sense to me but we just go with it,” ending her blurb with a wink. “Now, come on! Let’s go meet your brother!”

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You felt the water in your shower turning cold, indicating that it was probably time for you to get out.

Brother…...you had a brother. Set? You couldn’t remember what happened to him…. but now’s not the time to ponder upon it. It’s nearing 8 p.m. so you quickly dry your hair, pulling it up into a high ponytail with two shorter strands of hair framing the sides of your face perfectly. You decided to wear some makeup with a darker shade of eyeshadow that accentuated your eye color more. Opening your wardrobe, you sorted and changed into a short black satin dress and leather jacket, that matched with your heeled black thigh high boots. You open another wardrobe that wasn’t for your clothes but the inside filled with various sorts of weaponry.

It’s a jazz club…it’ll be loud but not loud enough to use a gun. You could always put a silencer on, but it was honestly a hassle to carry. Ultimately, you decided on two shorter blades that laid on your forearms, hidden well by your leather jacket. Although you exceeded in any weapon, you still exceeded with blades a little more. It was easy to carry, silent to kill, and easier to aim with the contact being closer. You didn’t think you would need it but you also decided to wear a thigh holster carrying your pistol, that hid underneath your dress just enough. It’s good to take precautions... You took one last look in the mirror, before heading out. Not too much, yet bold enough to charm people as you walk by. Perfect.

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Your heels clacked as you walked down the dimly lit alleyway, feeling the chilly wind sweep across the sides of your neck and thighs. You stopped, finally reaching to the bright illuminated sign of your destination placed on the wall of the brick building that read, “Fellaz”. The structure of the wall was old, to say the least. The bricks were definitely run down that seemed to be barely clinging to its assigned spot and the two metal doors that was seemingly intimidating in size. You pulled the handle on one of the doors, ignoring the sudden contact with the cold metal on the palm of your hand, and smoothly walked in. The door closed behind you, its heavy weight allowing it to do so automatically. However, instead of entering a room, you were only met with a stairway that led directly downstairs, immediately noticing a surveillance camera planted on the ceiling that was directly facing towards the entrance. Without hesitating, you began to walk down the steps, smelling a faint aroma of coffee and hearing the subtle sounds of brass instruments. Stepping your final step, you were surprised to see a modern chic cafe that contrasted greatly from the outer appearance of the building you saw only a few minutes ago. You examined the interior and were immediately connected with jazz music that came from the four men playing on the center stage at the very back of the room. The right side occupied the drink bar that was attended by a bartender, smalls candles were lit positioned on top of the round dining tables that were placed sporadically across the rest of the remaining area. Yunho was nowhere to be found, but you still had roughly 30 hours left to accomplish your task so there wasn’t any need to worry. You usually gather more information on the beginning portion of your timeframe, taking in the lifestyle they lived in completely,  and then finish them accordingly. Which is what you’re about to do as you sat on one of the unoccupied stools at the drink bar counter, the bartender smiling at you as you took your seat. He was handsome, really handsome. His blonde hair that swept over his forehead defined his strong facial features beautifully. “Scotch on the rocks, thank you,” you placed your order as you gave a small charming smile back.

“Ah, you must be new here. I’m sorry, we don’t sell alcohol, just coffee.”

“No alcohol? at a club?”

The bartender chuckled, “Yeah, I know. Strange right? My friend actually opened this place. Something about wanting people to appreciate music to the full capacity while being sober…blah blah blah….but I think it’s just because he’s a lightweight.” You chuckled at the bartender’s straightforward remark over his friend, “Well then, I would like an iced americano, um-“

“Seonghwa. Call me Seonghwa, and one iced americano on the house for?-“

“y/n, thank you.” With that, Seonghwa gave you a quick wink and started working on the espresso machine. Very flirtatious, you noted. It didn’t take long for Seonghwa to hand you your beverage since everyone that was sitting at the bar left to join the dining area. You nodded your head to thank him, getting ready to speak until Seonghwa beat you to it. “So y/n, what’s a charming young lady such as yourself doing at a small unknown jazz club like Fellas,” he asked as he took a sip of his own latte. You took a sip of your own drink before answering, “Ah, I have a strong love for music so my coworker recommended me this place. I’m glad I came. The place is beautiful and the musicians are extremely skilled.”  You weren’t exactly lying. The sounds of the instruments that reached to your ear calmed and soothed you completely despite what you’re going to do in the next day or two. Seonghwa nodded in understanding as he looked towards the stage fondly where the four men continued to play, “I agree. I’m honestly really proud to call them my friends.” “Is that so? Tell me more about them,” you leaned forward to show your interest.

“Hmm let’s see. The one playing the drums with the ash hair is Wooyoung. He’s almost as loud as he plays, but you can tell he’s passionate about everything he does. The tall one playing the saxophone is Mingi, he told me he first started to play the sax since he was in elementary. The one with the dark hair with red highlights playing the piano, that’s San. He seems really serious right now, but he’s actually a really cheerful guy. He’s only ever this serious if he’s ever in the zone. And then lastly, the one playing the violin, that’s Jongho. He’s the youngest out of our friend group and he actually sings really well. He’s almost too talented even though he’s the youngest.”

As Seonghwa finished his description, you could evidently see how much he adored them. “You said your friend group…are there more who also plays like them?”

“Oh no, there’s actually eight of us in total. Half plays while the other half simply appreciates the music,” Seonghwa said while laughing. You shared your laugh with him until a voice caught both you and Seonghwa’s attention. Your heart sped up slightly when you turned to see who it was. “Excuse me miss, is this seat taken-“ he asked in a lulling tone. “No, please go ahead,” you answered as you made eye contact, taking a full view of his face and soft yet prominent features.

It’s Yunho.

Yunho smiled upon your approval as he sat next to you and then looked at Seonghwa who was already looking at him, “Hey, hyung. Who’s this?”

“This is our newcomer, y/n.”

“Newcomer, huh?” Yunho questioned. You could feel his curiosity. They knew each other… You looked between the two men and asked, “Are you both acquainted with each other?”

“Yeah, this is actually one of the guys in our friend group that I talked about earlier,” Seonghwa answered and Yunho immediately looked at you.

“You both talked about me, huh?”

You would think he was suspicious but you couldn’t sense that aura coming from him…only his strong and confident presence that probed you, making you want to leave the scene but you continued, “Yeah, I’ve heard you also admire music? Seonghwa and I talked about how wonderful this place is-“

“Really? That’s fantastic,” Yunho said while cutting you off, the words he spoke not matching with the sarcastic tone in his voice. You tried to fight off throwing a glare at his domineering attitude but he continued, “So that explains why you’re sitting here, by yourself on a Tuesday night being nosy and snatching information from my good friend here? Because of your love for the aesthetics and music hmm?” You accidentally slipped away from your composure for a moment and shot a venomous glare at him until you caught yourself. You never lose your composure. Especially not by a couple of cheap words but Yunho’s spiteful demeanor was truly testing you. Yunho also looked at you with cold eyes, fully aware that he was pissing you off to the point where you lost it for a split second. “Guys please not at the cafe… Yunho, the boss said to welcome her, not piss her off,” Seonghwa scolded at Yunho, the tone of his voice changing slightly as well. Boss…he said, boss... This was a trap and you had to get out of there. Within that short moment, many scenarios ran through your head, trying to calculate which would outcome your survival. Should you kill them both now? But if you do, there’s still four of their men still waiting behind you on the center stage. They continued to play their instruments but you could undoubtedly feel their attention on the three of you. Plus, this is their territory…who knows how many more people that are sitting in the dining area are actually disguised as one of them, or worse, all of them. Yunho was resting his head on his propped hand, looking completely unfazed. Maybe you could at least strike the both of them and exit just fast enough- “Will you relax? I can sense you’re overwhelmed but it’s overwhelming me too,” Yunho spoke cutting the silence, his words not matching his actions yet once again. “We’ve been told that we’re not allowed to kill-“

Now.

You swung both of your arms, sliding your blades out within only a split second. Yunho was startled slightly but moved just as fast and grabbed both of your arms that was aiming to slice both Yunho and Seonghwa’s neck, restricting your movements. You grazed Yunho’s cheek, blood slowly trickling down his cheek but he managed to stop your other arm just in time before it was only a centimeter away from reaching Seonghwa’s artery. Yunho maintained his hold on your arms, still immobilizing you. His face only a few inches away but his cold eyes reached yours even deeper. His voice husky and lowered an entire octave, “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted… we’re not allowed to kill you but I just might considering I don’t remember the last time I followed rules-“

“Yunho, stop,” Seonghwa said, completely unaffected. Yunho, clearly angry, raised his voice, “Hyung, this bitch cut my cheek which by the way, wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have to look after your ass too.” Seonghwa chuckled at his last remark, “You know I’m not the fastest.” Then Seonghwa turned to you and smiled, “Forgive Yunho. He has his moods sometimes, but he means no disrespect-“

“She tried to kill us, so why can’t we kill her?” Yunho said emphasizing each word full of spite, but he knew he wouldn’t receive an answer from Seonghwa so he turned to face you again, “Tell your bastard of a boss, that we don’t want or need you on our team.”

Wait, what..? What did he mean by on their team…?

Your thoughts were cut off when your phone suddenly rang. By the specific ringtone, you could tell it was your boss calling you. You knew Yunho wasn’t letting go of your arms any time soon so you brought your foot up and kicked him directly at his crotch. Yunho immediately winced in pain, freeing your arms, with Seonghwa trying to stabilize him stretching his arms over the counter. You turned around heard Yunho in the background cursing at you and swearing that he’s going to end your life but you ignored him and answered your call, “Boss.”

“Retreat your mission and come see me immediately. Things have changed...”

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e|n: I hope this chapter wasn’t too confusing because I’ve made some minor changes (as stated in the beginning) We’ve almost officially met all of the members! I hope you’ll continue to read to see Nana meeting all of them. You’ll definitely see more interaction with the members in the next chapter. If you have any questions or need any clarifications, just ask! Thanks for reading and please leave feedback so I’ll know where I can improve :)