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tthael · 4 years

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Hi, english is not my first language so if I don't make any sense you know why. I'm sorry if i gave you the wrong impression with my ask.I've never read the book so "the shape" of these characters for me personally comes from the movie where Richie is gay. I've recently found out that people that read the book consider him bi. That's why when i read a fic where it's not explicitly stated i always wonder. I saw that you have a tumblr so i was like why not ask.

Hi nonny! Thank you for coming back to clarify, I’m sorry for the defensive tone of my response. Thank you very much for reading my stuff. Nothing about the phrasing of your question was what made me respond that way, just the topic, because I know it’s a hot button issue in fandom at the moment. Nobody wants to be responsible for erasing a sexual minority or a canonical sexual identity--and while in the book Richie’s sexuality is only coded, I’ve been told that André Muschietti explicitly stated that the film portrayal of Richie is gay. So of course, I think that film!Richie is portrayed as gay, and if I were to write Richie based on the film alone, I most likely would write him as gay.

The thing is, I don’t really write exclusively film!Richie. I think that there’s a very rich vein of characterization to be found in the book, which is of course door-stoppingly long, and compared to the limited amount of screentime the movies could spend on each of the Losers, not to mention the changes to their backgrounds the films made (looking at you, tween!Ben who suddenly morphs into adult!Mike), I like to pull from the greatest evidence pool available. That’s why I like to include the teenage werewolf, I like to include Stan’s bird book of North America, I like to include Eddie’s fascination with cars and trains and other mechanical transportation, I like to include Bev’s mother as having been alive during Bev’s childhood, I like to include Ben’s outrunning the track team out of spite, I like to include Bill’s uncanny charisma and his compelling nature, and I like to include Mike with a kinder more curious childhood than he’s allowed in the film. Also, I studied literature in college and I’m just more comfortable with analyzing that than I am analyzing film.

I also really liked the film casting for the adult Losers! It’s very shallow of me but I like how they look, I think they’re all very attractive, and I’m more interested in writing with their physicalities in mind than I am in, say, the actors for the 1990s miniseries. This is a personal preference, just because I myself do not enjoy Bill’s ponytail or Richie’s mustache or Bev as a brunette. I’ve also only ever seen clips of the miniseries. And honestly, I like Bill Hader as Richie in glasses, despite book!Richie wanting to wear contacts as an adult; I find without glasses I have difficulty perceiving him as the character. So I can’t claim to be a book purist--I like writing about the 2016 setting and those are mostly the faces of the Losers I see in my head. I tweak them sometimes--I don’t think I’ve written Richie with blue eyes yet, for example.

So I blend the canons when I decide what to draw on for the fic. That means that, for me, unless it’s explicitly stated, I probably don’t have an intention one way or the other when I write Richie’s sexuality. So far I’ve always written him as a man who loves men, and always as involved and in love with Eddie. I know that for some people that won’t be good enough, that for some people it’s very important to them to see their characters explicitly identify as one label or the other, but I’m afraid that just isn’t a priority for me in my portrayals.

This is informed by 2 things: 1) I like to write the Losers as 40-year-old adults in 2016, and we know that Richie produces a host of problematic content in his career. This of course shouldn’t mean that my portrayal of Richie /should/ be problematic and that’s not my intention--instead, I’m suggesting that when I write Richie, I write a lot about self-loathing and internalized homophobia, and so I focus a lot more on his attraction to men, which in my fic he’s usually not comfortable with, than any potential/past attraction to women. Of course I don’t feel that self-loathing is the necessary response to same-sex attraction, but I also think of the Losers as adults of a certain age who might not always be accurate or thoughtful in discussing the changing world of sexual identities (finding words for them specifically, filling the lexical gap).

I wrote a scene in Things That Happen After Eddie Lives where Richie runs across a gender non-conforming person and initially reads them as female, but then during the conversation remembers that isn’t always the case these days and switch to trying to avoid pronouns for them or trying to refer to them with gender neutral pronouns. But Richie and Eddie still call Jordan and Sarah lesbians, without asking whether they’re a romantic pairing of two bisexual people, or without considering that Jordan might be a man. Richie even wonders if “girlfriend” is being used romantically or platonically the way that women of previous generations do. I have a bead on Jordan’s and Sarah’s identity--but only because Jordan’s me! I think that, as a man born in 1976, growing up extremely closeted, and never engaging in the wider discussion around LGBTQ culture in a constructive way, Richie might be prone to simplification. This, of course, doesn’t mean I’m opposed to a Richie who openly identifies as strictly gay or strictly bi!

2) The second thing that informs the ambiguity of my portrayal of Richie’s sexuality is my own experience with my sexuality and gender. I am closeted in real life. In recent years I have tried a number of identities that, at the time, I believed to fit, but the labels were never clear-cut for me. I am coming to accept, slowly, that in the same way the physical body doesn’t grow to exact neat clean specifications, I might never be able to describe myself accurately and totally in one term. That’s all that I’m willing to share about my experience at this time. My personal philosophy is much like the one Eddie professes when he comes out in Indelicate: it doesn’t seem important to me that people know my preferences unless I’m a) sleeping with them or b) actively dating and trying to put myself out there.

Again, some people have completely different experiences! For some people being closeted is intolerable and having an identity--a word for what they are--really helps them self-actualize and live their truth! For some people, they’re very excited about their identity and participate in Pride events and take joy in asserting that this is who they are to the world! For some people, they never have the awareness that this or that idle feeling might mean they actually /don’t/ fit with how the world sees them. And while I’m a great advocate of self-exploration (comes of being vain as I am), some people don’t do that, and that’s fine!

I know that ambiguity is not a neutral answer when it comes to these questions. In the summer of 2019 when the Good Omens miniseries was released, many fans reached out to author Neil Gaiman asking for confirmation that the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley were gay. Gaiman said, “Theirs is a love story.” He said, “They’re not human and I can’t ascribe human sexual identity to them.” He said, “My coauthor is deceased and I can’t make such confirmations without him.” (These are not direct quotes and I don’t have sources, I’m sorry, it’s been a year.) This was not satisfactory to all parties. For some people explicit confirmation of that gender identity is important. And why shouldn’t it be? Their own is important to them.

But I’m from a school of literary analysis where I welcome different interpretations of my works, which are in this case of course derivative and dependent on evidence from the canons I draw on. I write Richie in love with Eddie, and that’s enough for me. If it’s not for the reader, either I feel there’s ample room to interpret my Richie the way they prefer--not just limited to gay or bi! After the first sex scene in TTHAEL Richie is stunned by how he enjoyed that far more than any other sexual encounter he’s ever had, and I think that’s welcome to interpretations of Richie with demisexuality /or/ Richie just finally having fulfilling sex with a man because he’s gay or bi /OR/ Richie has had good sex before but this was just WAY better because he likes sex better when he’s in love with his partner. And every portrayal of Richie I write is slightly different, so Richie from Indelicate might have different sexual attraction/orientation than Richie from Automatic - Mechanical - Pneumatic or Richie from TTHAEL. BUT I don’t want to say that my interpretation is the only valid one--just know that when I write Richie, I write him as a man in love with another man. If I were to write a story about Richie involved with someone other than Eddie, I would tag for it up front.

Again, I know this is a very long answer and probably not as concise or clear as you might like it to be. Thank you so much for coming back around to explain your logic, I apologize for my wariness the first time around, thank you for asking these questions in good faith. “Why not ask” is of course the simplest way to settle an issue and I don’t want to discourage anyone from asking me questions about my fic. If there are other things you have questions about, please don’t hesitate to ask, either here or by sending me a private message, I don’t mind either way.

#my fic #things that happen after eddie lives #tthael #now what i'm gonna say may sound indelicate #indelicate #nwigsmsi #automatic - mechanical - pneumatic #a-m-p #Anonymous

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abunchofbadchoices · 6 years

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Michael's Song

HSS Michael x MC (Jordan) in Midnight Sun AU

*Disclaimer: Most of the lines and scenes I got from the movie the Midnight Sun and all the rights belongs to the creators and writers, as well as the characters from PB. This is merely a converted fan fiction*

Part Seven

They let their feet guide them to wherever they go. The town is silent, but not in a creepy silence kind of way. Just the kind of quiet when you can able to clear your mind and feel at least a bit of peace.

Somehow, the two of them ended up by the shipyard which is, of course, empty at midnight. His uncle's boat was located to the private area, where most luxury boats and yachts are place. Michael got them in without problem as he had access to the gates and together, they walk down the path and passed by different kinds of boats.

The wind is cool, but not too freezing. Jordan's wavy blonde hair gets blown by the breeze from time to time but not enough to mess it. She looks at the dark sky, eyes closed in bliss as she inhale the fresh salty breeze coming from the sea.

Michael had been recording their little trip with his digital camera. Then smiles at the sight of happiness on her face, glad to have brought her to the place he goes to when he needs some peace, so he made sure it was all caught in the cam.

"I-I don't get it." Jordan suddenly turns to face him and the camera, blushing. "How could they just take your scholarship away?"

Ah, yes. Their latest topic of conversation : College. Michael brought her up to speed about what he has been doing, about football and about wanting to go into filming, when she noticed him recording the party earlier.

It was rare for him to tell a story, much less something that has left a bitter taste in his mouth, but there was something about Jordan that makes it easy to open up a little.

He paused the camera and looks down as they walk, his left shoulder suddenly feels like tingling at the memory. "Well, I had to have a surgery, and they didn't think I could ever play again. No more scholarship meant no more Berkeley. It was probably my only choice of place to go to, away from here."

Jordan nods slowly, understanding etched on her beautiful face. "I'm really sorry."

"Yeah."

He feels sorry for himself too, if he wasn't too busy thinking how he brought it all to himself, or how he was fooled by his so-called friend.

"So, how did you do it?" She asks deliberately, in a careful yet soft voice. "How did you hurt yourself?"

"It was just a freak accident. You know, I fell down some stairs and... that's not true." Michael paused, then stops to look her in the eye. He wants to see it in those innocent green orbs as soon as he tells her the truth. He wants to see the same judgemental gleam everyone gives him when they hear about it. "That's kind of what I tell everybody."

Jordan knits her eyebrows, an indication that she was being thoughtful and sympathetic. But she stays quiet and let him continue.

"I got really drunk one night at my friend Brian's house. It was his birthday and we're all having a drinking game, just the school team. We all agreed he can give all the dares and well... He dared me to jump off the roof into the pool. I clipped the edge with my shoulder." He let out a humorless chuckle, remembering his father's raging disappointment. His coach's regretful voice when he told him he can no longer play. "I'm such an idiot. I don't wanna be that guy, you know?"

A few steps passed. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Jordan look up at him with a gentle smile. She shakes her head. "Then don't be."

That was all he needed to hear. He hates long talks about having faith and listening to fake promises that everything is going to work itself out.

There, Jordan doesn't seem to feel the need to promise or reassure him, she knows it was all out of their hands. It was her calming presence that gives all the reassurance he needed.

"You know," she starts. "My mom used to take me here when I was little."

"Really?" He smiles.

It was the first bit of personal story she ever shared that night. Jordan is a big mystery, giving very little information about herself or what she does every day. All she ever told him was that she isn't available during the daytime and as much curious as he is, he never asks 'cause he trusts her to tell him at some point.

Jordan points to a spot by the harbor, a huge cleared space overlooking the sea. "She sat me right... there. And, um, she tried to teach me how to play the guitar. Actually, this watch was hers." The girl held up her wrist, where a gold watch was wrapped and complementing her pale flawless skin. "I spent so much time looking at this thing on her hand, and..." Her smile turns wistful. "Uh, she died when I was little. She was in a car accident."

"I'm... I'm so sorry," Michael frowns, worried he had totally blew their night off. "You know, we can go someplace--"

"No. No, no." Jordan shakes her head quickly. "No, I'm...I'm good. "

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. I promise."

Michael offers his hand. "You wanna see something cool?"

His uncle's boat was only a few meters down the pathway so Michael lead the girl to the private sailing boat where he practically spends all his time since summer starts.

"Ta-da!" He spreads his arms, jumping on board which sways gently on its spot.

Jordan's eyes widen. "This is yours?"

"No. But it's something I'm taking care of for the summer. It's a Jespersen 53."

"Wow..."

Michael reached out and she let him help her up to the deck as well. He watched her balancing awkwardly on her feet and smirks. "One of these days we could take her for a sail around the harbor. We can watch the sun set."

Jordan holds onto a metal support beam and smiles up at Michael. But the last sentence he uttered just registered in her mind and suddenly, she felt a huge lump on her throat.

Michael wants to go on sailing with her to watch the sunset. Out on the sea. It was probably the most romantic idea she ever heard if only she can be able to make it come true.

Which is impossible, unless she wants to achieve a grade-A cancer that will probably wipe off any chance of ever going to sailing ever again. Jordan pretends to watch the sea. She doesn't want Michael to see that she can never go with him on those trips. Not as long as there is sunlight involved. Hell, he doesn't even know what the main problem is.

Just tell him, dammit! Her mind and conscience keeps on scolding her.

No, no. She can't... She doesn't want to. What if Michael starts seeing her more like a fragile sick creature than the funny awkward Jordan he had always known?

"That sounds... perfect." She says instead.

Michael leans down from the elevated deck he is standing on and press his lips softly on her. Jordan reaches up and put his hands on his shoulder, pulling him closer as she responded to the gentle kiss in a deliberate manner.

You see, Jordan had never kissed anyone before, not this way. Surely, those kisses all over Maria's face that she used to give her when she feels like annoying her wouldn't have counted.

It feels like forever, their lips melting to each other like they were meant to be that way. A smile tugs the corner of her lips and when they pulled away, Michael has the same smile on his face.

▪️▪️▪️

Luckily, the pickup truck decided to die just a house away from the Lee's house.

The engine rumbled and groaned before completely stalling in the middle of the road. Michael fumbled on the steering wheel. "Um, just, let me get out of..."

He tries once more, there was a brief groan then the engine died all over again. Jordan grinned, studying the guy's face which looks a bit redder than usual. Oh, he's embarrassed. It only makes her smile for more.

"Sorry." He says, sounding sheepish but not at all surprised.

They sit in silence for a few awkward moments. Jordan bites her lip. "So, what are you gonna do this year, now that you're not going to Berkeley?"

"Well, first I'm gonna get a new truck." Michael quipped. They chuckle. "Or not, I have my motorcycle anyway. And then I'm gonna drive across the country. You know, I've been in the football field my entire life and I haven't get to see much else, so..." He looks at her, noting the downcast look on her face. The beautiful smile gone. "Um, what are you gonna do--"

"I'm not doing anything." Jordan says immediately, shaking her head. "I'm just gonna take some online courses, I think. But... I'll just be here." I cannot leave anyway, she wanted to add. I cannot go across the country or have vacation under the sun...like a normal girl.

"I, uh... I meant what are you doing tomorrow?" Michael clarified. The shock on the girl's face made him laugh.

"Oh, God..." She slapped her forehead, but she is also laughing. A hint of hesitation passed through her face for a second. "Um... I... I'm busy during the day, but I can be free tomorrow night."

"That's perfect. I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"Okay." Jordan flashed him with her signature beam before jumping out the door. She made it a few feet away before she stopped as if she forgot something and run back to the window. "I have something to tell you." Concern filled his chest at the look of panic in her eyes. She sighed heavily then let out a guilty smile. "I don't actually have a hamster."

Michael grinned, not at all surprised. In fact he didn't even try hide it. "No shit."

As if satisfied, the girl waved her hand then run to her house.

From the inside, Scott watched his daughter get off a blue pick-up truck. He glances at his watch and sees it was almost three in the morning. A couple more hours and Jordan might have reach the morning sunlight.

This was exactly what Dr. Maddox had warned him about. The age when his daughter will no longer be contained inside the house and meet people that will trigger some issue on her condition.

The truck isn't Maria's. Jordan didn't went home with her best friend just like what they always talked about.

He couldn't help but feel threatened.

▪️▪️▪️

That morning, Maria lies on Jordan's bed, with the latter has been using her stomach as a pillow while she strummed lazily on her guitar.

It was moments like this that she feels closer to the blonde. No parties, no other friends... No Michael. Just the two of them having a lazy morning with no plans to think about.

Last night had been the first time Maria really enjoyed a wild party. She threw caution to the wind and let herself lose, probably had drunk more alcohol than she ever had her entire high school years. It was also a bonus fun that Jordan adjusted rather quickly to the party and managed to gain some more friends.

And today, well, they have nothing to do.

A beep sounded from her phone and Maria put down her book. She opened the message and smirk at joke that was sent to her.

Jordan glances up, eyes narrowing suspiciously. She had noticed Maria had been texting a lot that morning. "Who are you texting?"

"No one." The dark-haired girl casually turns of the screen and dump her phone.

"Maria..." She put her guitar on the side of the bed and shifts on the bed to face her friend. "Who are you texting?"

Maria closes her eyes and winced at her soft voice then whispers almost inaudibly. "Caleb."

"Um? I can't hear you when you're whispering..."

"Caleb!" She repeated. Somehow she feels guilty for the other things that happened in the party. It is true that alcohol makes people lose control sometimes. "I made out with Caleb!"

Maria groans, face completely red as she buries her face on the pillows in shame. At some point during the night, in the middle of the dance floor, she and Caleb ended up dancing on a particularly sexy song. Then stuffs happen. After that Maria felt like getting sick because Caleb isn't exactly the one she was thinking off during their...uh, moment.

She tried looking for Jordan, but neither her best friend nor Michael were nowhere in the party. So she rushed to get home by herself.

Now, Caleb had been texting her all morning. However rude it might be, Maria admitted she wasn't attracted to him as she is already liking someone. Which led to the guy teasing her and coercing her to tell him who the lucky person is.

"No!" Jordan cooed, but her chuckles betrayed her voice. "He's really really really cute. And he totally likes you."

Maria stayed buried on the pillows and after a few minutes, she felt arms wrapping around her and cuddling her. The blonde nuzzles on the back of her neck, which tickles but she tried to ignore it.

"By the way," Jordan speaks close to her ear, her breathe sending shivers down her neck. "Can I tell my dad that I'm going over to your house tonight, so I can go hangout with Michael?"

What??

In a micro-second, Maria is sitting on her butt and looking at her best friend pointedly. "You're asking me to help you lie to your father so you can hang out with a guy?"

Jordan pouts.

"Ugh. I'm telling him you'll be having a sleepover to my house." She conceded anyway. She is totally powerless when it comes to pouts.

▪️▪️▪️

#playchoices #choices #high school story #hss #hss book 1 #hss book 2 #hss book 3 #maria flores #michael harrison #michael x mc #caleb mitchell #maria x mc

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transgenderteensurvivalguide · 7 years

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(1/6) In advance, sorry if this sounds clipped but I'm rewriting an 11 part ask because that's just too much and it feels like it would be rude to send such a long question. Somehow it's still long. So my background is: mostly used to aro and ace communities, don't have much experience with the lgbt+ community at large (trying to work on that), the way the aro/ace communities break concepts like attraction down really helped me figure out what my orientation was. Questioning my gender now and

(2/6) having a hard time finding resources that help me clarify my feelings instead of making me even more confused. I started researching thinking that they would be similar to aro and ace resources, going to the root of things and saying “What even is attraction, let’s define it” and breaking it down into chunks instead of trying to tackle the whole thing at once (see the split attraction model). Instead I found many lists of labels and pronouns, trans 101 that was at the same time too basic (3/6) and not basic enough, and “Gender is a feeling, masculinity/femininity/androgyny/etc are feelings too, no one can tell you what your gender is but you”. My request isn’t for anyone to tell me what my gender is, I’ll figure that out myself. But I feel I’m lacking the tools to do it. So does anyone have any resources, be they articles/blogs/life experiences and stories written by trans people/etc that breaks things like the feelings of gender as a whole, masculinity, femininity, androgyny,(4/6) agender, and dysphoria down (not coded behaviors or presentation, but what they actually FEEL like. These are the things that I’m most confused about and most want some sort of answer or definition for) in the style aro/ace resources do for attraction/orientation? To figure this out I need some sort of starting point or foothold or anchor for this instead of “it’s a feeling” when I don’t know what that feeling could be. But “Nobody can tell you what you are” sounds much more like defeat(5/6) than freedom to me rn. I’ve heard it said that gender is experienced differently by everyone, and if it’s really just some nebulous unidentifiable feeling that literally cannot be put into words then I can learn to live with the fact I’ll just never understand it, but… it just seems like there HAS to be some sort of commonality in the feeling of gender, the feeling of femininity/masculinity/all the rest that could be prevalent enough to say what that feeling IS and used to help people (6/6) figure out better who they are and who they want to be. For the ones like me who don’t even know what they’re feeling or what they want to be, just that they don’t want to feel like they do now.

Kii says:You’ve got a lot here, and you’re right. Gender is really confusing, and it really is something that 100 different people will give you 100 different answers about. Some people do feel their gender is best described by more visible aspects, such as behaviors, clothing, desired body, hobbies, etc, but some people don’t, and for them, it is just a feeling that isn’t describable, they just know internally what gender they are and can’t always explain why.

However, just because there are feelings doesn’t mean that everyone’s feelings are the same, like the commonality you’re mentioning. You know the old “how do we know that your green is the same as my green?” Two people could be seeing the exact same item, both agree that it’s green, but how does anyone know that if I saw the same item through your eyes, I would still call it green? Your eyes might be structured completely differently than mine. Your green might be my purple, etc. I think the same goes for the words “masculine” and “feminine”- I can give you words that I associate with each, but a lot of people might disagree.

Think of a person that you consider to be very masculine (whether they ID as a man or not)- why do you see them as masculine? Is it because of how they dress? What their body looks like? Because they like cars, sports, etc? How they act or other elements of their personality? Do the same for someone who you feel is very feminine (whether they ID as a woman or not). How is your “masculine” person different than your “feminine” person?

Androgyny is usually described as the intersection or mix of masculinity and femininity, so to figure out what you associate with androgyny, you kind of have to figure that out first.

We have a whole page about dysphoria, since that’s a more concrete concept. There are lots of descriptions there on how different people describe dysphoria and how it feels.

We also have this post, which a lot of people have tried to make helpful to questioning people, as well as this ask where various mods described what gender feels like to them.

Harper Says:I would also suggest a broader understanding of gender (and sexuality). You’re looking for a commonality that is not found uniformly in lived/expressed experiences - perhaps you might find it fleetingly, strangely, but I doubt it will come with much uniform clarity. The assumption that there has to be a commonality, a universality, is one that potentially assumes a (purely) medical/psychological account of gender and sexuality. Experiences of gender will necessarily intersect with other forms of systematic oppression: race, disability, and so on; and so each account of gendered experience has to be uncommon.Try instead understanding gender as part of a wider system of oppression rigged to benefit white cis men. In this, bodies, activities, sexualities, (and many other things) are codified and performed within a system of oppression. This is the way as far as I, and many other thinkers, understand gender. When you ask for gender as “not coded behaviors or presentation, but what they actually FEEL like” I think you misunderstand that gender is easily and always both. The performances, the risks, the transgressions, that commonly make up transgender experiences are inescapably coded behaviours - we don’t live in a society that isn’t oppressive. That is why there is such fear and thrill in a trans woman shaving her legs for the first time, or a trans man using the men’s bathroom for the first time. The emotion and feeling wouldn’t be there if such transgressions weren’t coded in a system of oppression that frowns upon such behaviours. Gender is always on some level something that is done and the doing is bound up with being. To strive for a definition that reduces one to the other or excludes one or the other is as far as I understand it, a misunderstanding, and this is perhaps where your confusion comes from.With this understanding I would then say that it is not very surprising that you’re finding dead-ends and confusion by trying to parse an understanding of gender through split-attraction model type thinking. This is a relatively recent way of thinking about sexuality within the LGBT community, (one that I personally find no stock in), butting up against around thirty years of queer feminist thought, and a whole history of LGBT lives and experiences. You will probably find that trying to think through gender in ace/aro modes of thought is an impossible task without this appreciation of transgender history or an understanding of heterosexuality as the oppressive action of gender.I’m not surprised then, that you find defeat instead of freedom; for many, gender is something that is survived. Freedom can only come with the abolition of gender, that is the end of the “material, social, and economic dominance of men and exploitation of women” (Escalante). So to speak of a commonality, perhaps start reading about how these oppressive systems work. Understanding all of this is not an easy task. Below I’ll feed a few pointers on a theoretical level, and as such can throw up inaccessible language. My hope is that if you do struggle with any of it, from here you can google keywords and hopefully find more sources that suit you better.For the theoretical exploration of such see: Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble, and Monique Wittig’s The Straight Mind and Other Essays (see One is Not Born a Woman - I haven’t yet managed to find a pdf for the whole book). Or key words: material feminism, Butler, gender performance, heterosexuality, the straight mind. CW: (this will be quite broad but I know Wittig talks about:) pornography, sexual harassment, slavery.For an account of gender which explores these concepts see Susan Stryker’s My Words to Victor Frankenstein…. In this Stryker mixes a lived personal experience with gender as a trans woman alongside theoretical musings. Key words: transfeminism, transgender studies, transgender rage. CW: surgery, suicide, TERF stuff, pregnancy, birth.I would also recommend investing yourself in transgender voices and histories, so you can see how a varied approach to gender throughout history has been undertaken and lived. How complexities and contradictions have been embodied and embraced complexly by trans individuals. See Paris is Burning for what has become an important moment in LGBT cinema and history. CW death, accounts of violence, mentions of surgery, talk about sex.Also check out One From the Vaults a trans history podcast by Morgan M. Page. (Also available on iTunes, etc. I think.) In this engrossing podcast, Page tells the stories of various trans - or at least gender transgressive - people throughout history, including clips of them, letters, interviews, etc.. It comes with “all the dirt, gossip, and glamour from trans history” and so shows the variety of our trans ancestors throughout history, good and bad, happy and sad; encompassing all different ways of doing gender and different ways of being.In terms of your own personal questioning of gender, I would do as I advised here. Do gender: evoke man, evoke woman, evoke neither. Try things out, see what you feel. Explore yourself and your own embodiment and explore the feelings that arise out of this. At the end of the day, gender isn’t something that originates from books and articles, it is lived and done out in the world.I wish you the very best on your journey!

#harper says #Anonymous #kii says #caps #what is gender #wittig #butler #split attraction model #transfeminism #long post #questioning #trans history #trans media

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spockandawe · 7 years

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Challenge character number two.... Getaway. I’m so curious about this. Because I think I can feel him well enough to write a variety of scenarios, but pinning him down with words about how he works seems so much harder. It should be fun!

First, largely leaving the Tailgate thing out of here. That was a romance rather than a sex, and it was also a romance undertaken with a very clear GOAL driving everything. I’m going to stick to things more general than that, because otherwise I’d have to be clarifying every answer with an extra bit for ‘and if he and tailgate hooked up then--’ (something I’m also happy to discuss! but it would make this ask meme much longer, and much more unpleasant)

And okay, so a Getaway thing that’s going to be popping up throughout this is the idea of like... low instinctive empathy, which doesn’t have to be negative! Despite what he did with that in canon :P But where someone like Drift or Thundercracker is very deeply tuned in to their partner’s needs and is adapting to match and please, Getaway cares in a more intellectual sense. He can still feel very strongly, but the emotions don’t just hit him out of nowhere, the emotions are there because he’s decided to care about you. If that makes sense. I’m hoping I can express this reasonably in the answers :P

On that note, he isn’t especially a cuddler. He’ll stick around, he’ll be close and attentive and paying attention, but he isn’t going to go for full-contact affection time. He’ll maybe go for some light touching, like hand-holding, but for the most part he’s going to just stick to physical closeness.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Trickyyyyyy. Always, this one is so tricky. I’m going to say that when he’s with a person he really trusts and likes (like maybe Skids), he enjoys having someone hook their hands in his curvy shoulder things and move him around. When you’ve got a rope harness on your torso and someone grabs the ropes, they can MOVE YOU like whoa. I think he’d enjoy being manhandled in a similar way, but again, only with someone he’s very comfortable giving that much control to. and on other people, I’m going to say he takes a lot of enjoyment in what mouths can do.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Okay, oh man, I’m going to save this one for the O, but I actually have an idea I like a lot for this.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

HMMM. I’m having trouble seeing him keeping... sexy secrets. Maybe he’d play it coy on some of the more extreme stuff he’s experimented with, or who he’s had as partners (and/or how many partners).

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

PLENTY. Not that he’s about all sex all the time. But sex is nice and it feels good, and you don’t have to be in love with someone to have sex. As long as all parties are having a good time, why NOT have sex? I will say that... probably not everyone he’s slept with has had such a cavalier attitude re: emotional attachment, and he’s proven that he knows how to perform romance very well. If he has something he wants, he can be plenty manipulative. But I don’t think he’s ever set out to use anyone for sex. If he was tuned in hardcore to reactions a la Drift, there would maybe be times he’d have pulled away sooner from someone getting invested or making calls that are clearly causing them emotional distress. But to a large extent, he thinks that everyone is adults, people are allowed to make their own bad decisions without it being his fault, and he hasn’t ever set out to cause harm through these hookups.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

HMM hm hm. I want to say he likes riding someone, but I can’t say why. Or being ridden? Something about where you are in relation to the other person. Still with your arrays right together, but with enough space to see and touch without being pressed right together.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Not too-too serious, but goofy isn’t right. He’s got very dry humor a lot of the time, and I think he’d be pretty well in that space. He’s not going out of his way to be funny, but he’ll make little humorous asides, and keep things fairly laid back.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Definitely well-groomed! He’s a fancy boy. Not FANCY-fancy, but he’s got a nice Look going on and he knows it, and he keeps himself polished up nice.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Ahhh, this is where we get into tricky words things with the low empathy. Because he’ll be very close and attentive, even if he’s got no emotional attachment at all. Because it’s the best way to make sure the sex turns out good. He can do the motions of romance just fine, because it’s an easy script that makes it easy for the other person to react well. I want to say.... he generally doesn’t want people getting too attached to him. So he doesn’t act out romance if he thinks someone is going to believe it. And there are definitely some people who will enjoy it in the moment without taking it to MEAN things. But there’s a middle ground of people that he thinks can handle it and then take it very seriously. He’s gotten decent at calibrating for that with time, and he can usually manage the closeness without romance if he thinks that’s what a scene needs.

But if you are one of His People...... hmm how to words this. There’s a special flavor of really I-mean-this intimacy that fits into a romantic place, and isn’t romance. Like, let’s use Skids as an example. Getaway can be a little less tightly controlled and/or controlling, take his hands off the steering wheel, and be a bit more laid-back and open. He might be relaxed with most partners, but that isn’t the same as laid-back. He can communicate a little more of the cold reasoning of people-tick-like-this without it poisoning the scene or making Skids think poorly of him, because they’re already very comfortable with each other. I don’t know if I’m communicating that right, but there’s a layer of performance he can drop. That performance isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just a tool plenty of people have to make life go smoothly. But there’s a lot to be said for having someone where you can let it go and let things unfold more organically.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Honestly, I don’t think much, mainly because he’d rather seek out casual partners :P He doesn’t mind jacking off, but sex with other people is more rewarding on the whole, and he isn’t exactly putting emotional labor into it (and he’s trying to pick out people who will approach it from a similar place. one, because it makes his life easier. but two, avoiding hurting people makes his life easier, and he’s doing a kind thing, just with some very practical reasoning behind it).

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

All the kinks? :V No, but I can see him being pretty thorough in exploring the available kink space, and the way he thinks, I can see him finding an angle to be into just about anything. I can see him enjoying being tied up a lot, whether it’s about just letting the restraint happen, or about being a difficult-ass rope bunny who will get out of any tie and make things as hard as possible for his dom.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

I’mmmmm going to say bedrooms, just for the sake of convenience. Sex in an empty meeting room is fun, sure, but in a bedroom there’s less chance of having your fun interrupted, there’s a ready-made place to relax when you’re done, and whoever’s bedroom it is, if that person has any toys, that’s probably where they’re stored.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Hedonism? :P No, but... sex feels good. He likes things that feel good. Why not regularly seek out this thing that feels good? His drive is probably a bit higher with one of His People than it is when he’s on his own, because he likes spending time with people he cares about, but he likes having sex on the regular in any situation.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

I think he’s got minimal interest in being humiliated, because he has a hard time getting into it. Either he’s not believing the insults or they just feel silly, it’s just not clicking. And he doesn’t tend to enjoy doing the humiliation either, or any kind of serious negative patter. That little delay between instinctive and cognitive empathy can make it difficult to tell where the line for too-mean is, and it’s more enjoyable to have a scene that won’t derail than to have the other person red out (or have to make the call to end the scene yourself). He’s also probably tried the robot version of unsanitary and it’s not really for him, but he’s willing to give it a spin in the right circumstances.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

WELL. He’s a little lacking in the lips department, so the easy answer would be to say he likes receiving best. And he does like it, but also, I invite you to imagine someone kneeling over him, either grinding on his face with their valve, or jacking off with their spike against his face. And either way, coming all over him. His face makes a very nice canvas for that kind of thing, and if he has a partner who wants to do that, it’s usually pretty great seeing their reaction when they look down at their handiwork.

P = Pace (Are they fats and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

He moves at a decent clip, but calling it fast is a bit much. He’ll take his time with the more elaborate kink setups, because rushing through those is a bit of a waste. But especially if he’s not emotionally invested in the person he’s having sex with, he doesn’t see much point in drawing it out unnecessarily.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Quickies can be pretty darn hot. He enjoys them a lot, even if they’re not a total substitute for full-on sex. Especially since it’s hard to work real kink play into a quickie, and even if you do, there’s not much time to savor it.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Oh goodness yes, he’s interested in at least trying the full scope of everything, and he’s definitely experimented with some Weird Stuff in the process. Not all of it was for him, but he can find an angle to enjoy most things. And since he’s had positive experiences with experimenting in the past, yeah, he’s definitely down to experiment if anyone has something new to try.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

He’s got good self-control, so he can last long if he wants to. If he has the option, he’d prefer to have a session with multiple overloads, just to get the most out of the experience.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

SO many toys. He doesn’t use them much solo, because he doesn’t do much solo, but he’s plenty happy to either use them on his partners or have his partners use them on him. I want to say he collects toys to cover a large range of play options without being redundant, so like, not having lots of dildos that do basically the same thing, he’d rather get different toys for different types of play.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He very much likes to tease. You can get some really hot reactions out of people when you do that, and oh my goodness, someone begging is really, really hot. He enjoys the control and the types of reactions the control gets him. He enjoys this both from a partner-centric scene, where he’s edging them personally and is very involved, and for more distant scenes, where you’re just a toy, toys don’t get to overload. Perform well and maybe I’ll do you a favor. There’s so many variances on the basic teasing script, and he enjoys playing with all of them.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He’s mostly pretty quiet, but if you can break him down enough, he makes some PRETTY noises. He probably won’t clue you in on how to do that unless he cares about you on a personal level and trusts you a lot, but him offering you that information is a pretty nice gesture of trust, coming from him.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Okay, but it’s really funny to imagine him having a lot of experience with predicament bondage before his imprisonment on board the Lost Light. Maybe even with erotic de-limbing, given that these are robots and robots can do whatever you want them to do. But that prison setup pinged me as predicament bondage even before I started thinking about Getaway and kink things.

#getaway #transformers #mtmte #maccadam #nsfw//#ask meme

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How to take full advantage and benefit from the last 10 days of Ramadan? How to take full advantage and benefit from the last part of Ramadan ? Though all parts of Ramadan are full of blessings and rewards, its last ten days hold a special status reflected in the recommendations and practices of the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, and his companions. I will focus here on three major practices of the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, and his companions during these days. 1-Praying in the last ten nights of Ramadan Al-Bukhari and Muslim record from 'Aishah that during the last ten days of Ramadan, the Messenger of Allah would wake his wives up during the night and then remain apart from them (that is, being busy in acts of worship). A narration in Muslim states: "He would strive [to do acts of worship] during the last ten days of Ramadan more than he would at any other time." Aisha reported that With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers. [Bukhari] 2-Performing I`tikaf in the Masjid (seclusion in the Mosque) Before going to the essential of this last section, let us stop by one of the great Imam of ahl Assunnah wal jama`ah, one of the greatest revivers of the Da`wah and the methodology of the Salaf, Shaikhul-Islam Shamsuddeen Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah who will give us a brain storming admonition. He says (rahimahu Allah) in Zaad al Ma`aad fi hadyi khairi al `ibaab : "Since the hearts' rectitude and firmness upon the path towards Allah the Most High, rests upon directing it solely upon Allaah and causing it to turn and give all its attention to Allaah the Most High. Since the disorder of the heart cannot be rectified except by turning to Allaah the Most High, and its disorder will be increased by eating and drinking too much, mixing with the people excessively, speaking profusely and sleeping too much. These will cause it to wander into every valley, and cut it off from its path to Allah, weaken it, divert it or put a halt to it. >From the Mercy of the Mighty and Most Merciful is that He has prescribed for them fasting , which will cut off the excesses of eating and drinking, and empties the hear of its desires which divert it on its journey to Allah the Most High. He prescribed it in due proportion as will be appropriate and will benefit the servant, with regard to this world and the Hereafter, and does not harm him, nor damage what is beneficial for him. He also prescribed i`tikaf for them, by which is intended that the heart is fully occupied with Allah, the Most High, concentrated upon Him alone, and cut off from preoccupation with the creation. Rather it is engrossed with Him alone, the One free of all defects, such that remembering Him, loving Him and turning to Him takes the place of all anxieties of the heart and its suggestions, such that he is able to overcome them. Thus all his concerns are for Him. His thoughts are all of remembrance of Him, and thinking of how to attain His Pleasure and what will cause nearness to Him. This leads him to feel contented with Allah instead of the people, so that prepares him for being at peace with Him alone on the day of loneliness in the grave, when there is no one else to give comfort, nor anyone to grant solace except Him. So this is the greater goal of I'tikaf" The book Zaad al Ma`aad as well as all other books of Ibn al-Qayyim are just peaces of art that every Muslim should read. Al-hamdu liLLAH there is a great effort among the followers and revivers of the methodology of the Salaf in translating these books into English. Some of them or part of them are already available. You may want to contact the bookstore of al-Qur'an was-Sunnah Society of North America [USA] or al-Hidaya Publishing in UK. I`tikaf is the seclusion and staying in the mosque with the intention of becoming closer to Allah. This was the practise of the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, during the last ten days of Ramadan especially. He would do it during other months as well. 'Aisha reported that the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, used to practice I`tikaf in the last ten nights of Ramadan and used to say, "Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan" [Bukhari] Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu said: "Allah's Messenger, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, used to perform i`tikaf for ten days every Ramadan, then when it was the year in which he was taken (died), he performed I`tikaf for twenty days. [Bukhari] 'Aisha reported that the Prophet,salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, used to practice I`tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan till he died and then his wives used to practice I`tikaf after him. [Bukhari] `Aishah radhiya Allahu `anha also reported that the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, "Used to perform i'tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan until Allah the Mighty and Majestic, took him. [Bukhari and Muslim] Al-Bukhari records from Abu Said that the Prophet (S) said: "Whoever makes I`tikaf with me is to make I'tikaf during the last ten [nights]." This Sunnah of the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, has been abandoned by many Muslims and it is worth reviving it in this era. Sayyid Sabiq says in Fiqhus-Sunnah : The sunnah or preferred i`tikaf has no specific time limit. It can be fulfilled by staying in the mosque with the intention of making i`tikaf for a long or short time. The reward will be according to how long one stays in the mosque. If one leaves the mosque and then returns, he should renew his intention to perform itikaf. Ya'la ibn Umayyah said: "I secluded myself in the mosque for some time for I`tikaf." 'Ata told him: "That is I`tikaf, as long as you secluded yourself there." One who is performing Sunnah (like in Ramadan) i'tikaf (i.e. not the obligatory one that is made after a vow) may end his i`tikaf at any time, even if it is before the period he intended to stay. 'Aishah related that if the Prophet intended to make itikaf, he would pray the morning prayer and begin it. One time he wanted to make i`tikaf during the last ten nights of Ramadan, and he ordered his tent to be set up. Aishah reported: "When I saw that, I ordered my tent to be set up, and some of the Prophet's wives followed suit. When he [the Prophet] prayed the morning prayer, he saw all of the tents, and said: "What is this?" They said: "We are seeking obedience [to Allah and His Messenger]." Then he ordered his tent and those of his wives to be taken down, and he delayed his i`tikaf to the first ten days [of Shawwal]."[Bukhari] The fact that the Messenger of Allah ordered [his and] his wives' tents to be struck down and [he himself left and] asked them to leave the i`tikaf after they have made the intention for it shows that they discarded the i`tikaf after they had begun it. ([] in this small paragraph are some additional comments to clarify things). It is preferred for the one who is making I`tikaf to perform many supererogatory acts of worship and to occupy himself with prayers, reciting the Qur'an, glorifying and praising Allah, extolling His oneness and His greatness, asking His forgiveness, sending salutations on the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and supplicating Allah - that is, all actions that bring one closer to Allah. Included among these actions is studying and reading books of tafsir and hadith, books on the lives of the Prophets, upon whom be peace, books of fiqh, and so on. It is also preferred to set up a small tent in the courtyard of the mosque as the Prophet did. Permissible Acts for the Mu`takif (the person performing I`tikaf) The following acts are permissible for one who is making I'tikaf (1) The Person may leave his place of I`tikaf to bid farewell to his wife and a Woman can visit her husband who is in I`tikaf} Safiyyah, radhiya Allahu `anha said : The prophet salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, was making i`tikaf [in the last ten nights of Ramadan], so I came to visit him at night [and his wives were with him and then departed]. I talked with him for a while, then I stood up to leave, [so he said:"Do not hurry for I will accompany you",. He stood along with me to accompany me back -and her dwelling was in the house of Usaamah Ibn Zayd [until when he came to the door of the mosque near the door of Umm Salamah], two men of the Ansaar were passing by, when they saw the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, they hastened by, so the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said : "Be at your ease for she is Safiyyah bintu Huyayy." So they said:" 'SubhanAllah, O Messenger of Allah! [we did not have any doubt about you].' He said: "Indeed Shaytan circulates in the son of Adam just as blood circulates, and I feared that he would insert an evil thought" -or he said : "something - into your hearts" [Bukhari and Muslim, in [] are additional narrations from Abu Dawud] (2) Combing and cutting one's hair, clipping one's nails, cleaning one's body, wearing nice clothes or wearing perfume are all permissible. 'Aishah reported: "The Prophet was Performing itikaf and he would put his head out through the opening to my room and I would clean [or comb in one narration] his hair. I was menstruating at the time." [al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud]. (3) The person may go out for some need that he must perform. 'Aishah reported: "When the Prophet Performed I`tikaf, he brought his head close to me so I could comb his hair, and he would not enter the house except to fulfill the needs a person has." [al-Bukhari, and Muslim]. Ibn al-Mundhir says: "The scholars agree that the one who performs itikaf may leave the mosque in order to answer the call of nature, for this is something that he personally must perform, and he cannot do it in the mosque. Also, if he needs to eat or drink and there is no one to bring him his food, he may leave to get it. If one needs to vomit, he may leave the mosque to do so. For anything that he must do but cannot do in the mosque, he can leave it, and such acts will not void his itikaf, even if they take a long time. Examples of these types of acts would include washing one's self from sexual defilement and cleaning his body or clothes from impurities." (4) The person may eat, drink, and sleep in the mosque, and he should also keep it clean. Actions that Nullify the I`tikaf If a person performs one of the following acts, his I`tikaf will be nullified: (1) Intentionally leaving the mosque without any need to do so, even if it is for just a short time. In such a case, one would not be staying in the mosque, which is one of the principles of I`tikaf. (2) Abandoning belief in Islam, as this would nullify all acts of worship. If you ascribe a partner to Allah, your work will fail and you will be among the losers. (3) Losing one's reason due to insanity or drunkenness, or the onset of menstruation or post-childbirth bleeding, all of which disqualifies a person for itikaf. (4) Sexual intercourse. Allah says [in meaning]: "But do not associate with your wives while you are in seclusion (I`tikaf) in the mosques. Those are Limits (set by) Allah. Approach not nigh thereto. Thus does Allah make clear His Signs to men: that they may learn self-restraint. [al-Baqara; 2:187] I`tikaf is not restricted to men only, women also can do it : 'Aisha (the wife of the Prophet) reported that the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, used to practice I`tikaf in the last ten days of Ramadan till he died and then his wives used to practice I`tikaf after him.[Bukhari] Dear Sister! when reading this do not forget the modesty and the Hijab of the wife of the Prophet (S) that you should observe if you intend to perform I`tikaf. 3-Seeking Laylatul-Qadr (the Night of Decree) It is the greatest night of the year like the Day of `Arafah is the greatest day of the year. It is a night about which Allah reveled a full Surah, Suratul-Qadr [97:1-5] and the 3rd to the 6th verses of Surat ad-Dukhan [44:3-6] It is the night when the Qur'an was reveled. It is the night when the Message (the Final and seal of all messages) sent to Mohammad, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, started It is the night when the light, that would illuminate mankind to the end of life, started It is the night when every matter of ordainment is decreed Allah says in what can be translated as : "Verily! We have sent it (this Qur'aan) down in the Night of Decree (Lailatul-Qadr). And what will make you know what the Night of Decree is? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. Therein descend the angels and the Rooh (ie. Jibreel [Gabriel]) by Allaah's Permission with all Decrees, Peace! until the appearance of dawn." [97:1-5] and in Surat ad-Dukhan : "We sent it (this Qur'aan) down on a blessed Night. Verily, We are ever warning (mankind of Our Torment). Therein (that Night) is decreed every matter of ordainment. Amran (i.e. a command or this Qur'aan or His Decree of every matter) from Us. Verily, We are ever sending (the Messenger). (As) a Mercy from your Lord. Verily! He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. [44:3-6] A person who misses Laylatul-Qadr is really a deprived person! Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said " The blessed month has come to you. Allah has made fasting during it obligatory upon you. During it the gates to Paradise are opened and the gates of Hellfire are locked, and the devils are chained. There is a night [during this month] which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its good is really deprived [of something great]. [Ahmad, an-Nisa'i and al-Bayhaqi] One who misses this blessed night then he has missed much good for no one misses it except one from whom it is withheld. Therefore it is recommended that the Muslim who is eager to be obedient to Allaah should stand in Prayer during this night out of Eemaan and hoping for the great reward, since if he does this, Allaah will forgive his previous sins (1). What happens to the person who witnesses Laylatul-Qadr? and what should one do? Abu Hurairah Radhiya Allahu `anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said : "Whoever stands (in prayer) in Lailatul-Qadr out of Eemaan (faith and sincerity) and seeking reward then his previous sins are forgiven". [Bukhari] It is recommended to supplicate a lot during this night, it is reported from our mother 'Aishah radhiya Allahu `anha, that she said: "O Messenger of Allah! What if I knew which night Lailatul-Qadr was, then what should I say in it?" He said.- "Say.- (Allahumma innaka 'affuwwun tuhibbul 'afwa fa'fu 'annee.) "O Allaah You are The One Who pardons greatly, and loves to pardon, so pardon me.". [at-Tirmithi and Ibn Majah with a Sahih Isnad] When is Laylatul-Qadr ? It is preferred to seek this night during the last ten odd nights of Ramadan, as the Prophet salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam,, strove his best in seeking it during that time. We have already mentioned that the Prophet would stay up during the last ten nights, would wake his wives, and then would remain apart from them to worship. Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet,salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said, "Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan ,' on the night when nine or seven or five nights remain out of the last ten nights of Ramadan (i.e. 21, 23, 25, respectively)." [Bukhari] `Aishah radhiya Allahu `anha said: "Allah's Messenger used to practice I`itikaf in the last ten nights and say: 'Seek out Lailatul-Qadr in the (odd nights) of the last ten of Ramadan." [Bukhari and Muslim] However if the servant is too weak or unable, then he should at least not let the last seven pass him by, due to what is reported from Ibn 'Umar, who said: Allah's Messenger said: "Seek it in the last ten, and if one of you is too weak or unable then let him not allow that to make him miss the final seven.' [Bukhari and Muslim] This explains his saying: "I see that your dreams are in agreement (that it is in the last seven) so he who wishes to seek it out then let him seek it in the last seven.' [Bukhari and Muslim] It is known from the Sunnah, that knowledge of the exact night upon which Lailatul-Qadr falls was taken up because the people argued, 'Ubaadah ibn as- Saamit, radiyalloahu 'anhu, said: The Prophet came out intending to tell us about Lailatul-Qadr, however two men were arguing and he said: "I come out to inform you about Lailatul-Qadr but so and so, and, so and so were arguing, so it was raised up, and perhaps that is better for you, so seek it on the (twenty) ninth and the (twenty) seventh and the (twenty) fifth.'[Bukhari] Some of the ahadeeth indicate that Lailatul-Qadr is in the last ten nights, while others indicate that it is in the odd nights of the last ten, so the first are general and the second more particular, and the particular has to be given priority over the general. Other ahadeeth state that it is in the last seven - and these are restricted by mention of one who is too weak or unable. So there is no confusion, all the ahadeeth agree and are not contradictory. In conclusion: The Muslim should seek out Lailatui-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten: the night of the twenty-first, the twenty-third, the twenty-fifth, the twenty-seventh and the twenty-ninth. If he is too weak or unable to seek it out in all the odd nights, then let him seek it out in the odd nights of the of seven: the night of the twenty-fifth, the twenty-seventh and the twenty-ninth And Allah knows best. (1) What are the signs of laylatul-Qadr? Allaah's Messenger , salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, described the morning after Lailatul-Qadr, so that the Muslim may know which day it is. From Ubayy, radhiya Allahu 'anhu, who said: that he, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said: "On the morning following Lailatui-Qadr the sun rises not having any rays, as if it were a brass dish, until it rises up."[Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmithi and Ibn Majah] Abu Hurairah, radhiya Allahu 'anhu, said : "We were discussing Lailatul-Qadr in the presence of Allah's Messenger so he said : 'Which of you remembers [the night] when the moon arose and was like half a plate?... [Muslim] Ibn 'Abbaas, radhiya Allahu 'anhuma, said: Allaah's Messenger, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said: "Lailatul-Qadr is calm and pleasant, neither hot nor cold, the sun arises on its morning being feeble and red." [at-Tayaalisee, Ibn Khuzaimah and al-Bazzaar with a Hasan Isnad] We pray to Allah All Mighty Most Merciful to bless us this Ramadan by witnessing Laylatul-Qadr. http://www.ahmad-sanusi-husain.com/2012/08/how-to-take-full-advantage-and-benefit.html

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ahmadsanusimalaysia · 5 years

Link

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calciseptinefic · 7 years

Text

solo and pair

Yuuri!!! On Ice || Victor Nikiforov/Yuuri Katsuki || Hasetsu, Part X notes: also available on ao3. warnings: allusions to polyamory

part ix

A month after Victor's injury when the cherry blossoms bloom, Nishigori and Yuuko quietly marry in a small ceremony at Yuuri's family inn.

"God," Nishigori swears as he and Yuuri wait. They are on the elevated porch on the backside of Yutopia, where the building opens up to a small rock garden and a proud sakura tree that twists pink over the neutral gray stones. "I'm so fuckin' nervous."

Nishigori fiddles with his plain cufflinks. He is dressed in a nice black suit that emphasizes his wide shoulders and powerful thighs. Unlike Yuuri's, Nishigori's suit is new; Yuuri has worn the same jacket and straight-legged slacks to formal events since he was fourteen.

"Dumb, right?" Nishigori mumbles, as though trying to justify his nervousness. "I've performed in front of an audience for years. In front of strangers. I never got stage-fright. But now? When all I'm gonna do is exchange rings and say I do?" He snorts. "I'm terrified."

Yuuri hums, unable to respond. He is oddly nervous as well, though he cannot tell if it is because of his empathy for Nishigori or because any sort of formal event gives him anxiety.

"I mean, it's just my family. Her family. You." Nishigori's broad hands tremble as his fingers twist and twist and twist his cufflinks around. The fidgeting is so contrary to Nishigori's normally confident character that the need to comfort him wells up inside Yuuri. It is not something that Yuuri does often or does well, so when he puts his hand on the curve of Nishigori's bicep, he does so stiffly.

"She's your soulmate," Yuuri says, as it is the deepest comfort he can imagine. "You're meant to be."

Yuuri does not know how he expects Nishigori to react, but it definitely is not for Nishigori to bark out a laugh. The sudden, sharp noise startles Yuuri and his hand jerks away from Nishigori's arm.

"Sorry," Nishigori laughs when he sees the shock on Yuuri's face. "That's just so you, you know. To bring that up."

Yuuri's shock becomes confusion. The transition must show plainly because Nishigori laughs again, though this time less harshly.

"I know how you feel about soulmates," Nishigori elaborates. He deliberately taps his stomach, just to the side of his belly button where his mark rests. "And I'm not saying that it's not… fate or destiny or whatever, but it's… I don't love Yuuko because she's my soulmate. I love Yuuko because she's Yuuko."

Unsure of Nishigori's distinction, Yuuri haltingly says, "But she is your soulmate."

Nishigori is quiet for a moment as he regards Yuuri. Then, abruptly and seemingly non-sequitur, he admits, "I was jealous of you."

"What?" Yuuri asks.

"Before Yuuko and I matched," Nishigori clarifies. "Well, I was jealous after for awhile after that too. You were—you are—a much better skater than I am and Yuuko was—is—so proud of you. It felt like… it felt like all she ever did was talk about you and how good you were. Are. And after we matched—well, not all marks are romantic, and not all matches are good matches. Our dynamic didn't really change and Yuuko—you know she doesn't put a lot of stock into the whole mythos, especially considering that her parents aren't matched."

Yuuri blinks. He knew about Yuuko's parents—everyone did— but he had not known how Yuuko felt about soul marks. Now that he thinks about it, Yuuri cannot recall a time outside her match with Nishigori and her manifestation that she spoke about them.

"I used to have nightmares that you would manifest with the same mark." Nishigori chuckles in the easy, self-deprecating way people joke about old fears. "I would dream that we would go to a mark inspector and find out that mine was actually the wrong color or was smaller on one side, and that you and Yuuko were the right match. That's why I was such a dick to you when you manifested. I knew you had this big-ass thing on your chest, but a part of me felt like I needed to see it to be sure."

Unconsciously, Yuuri presses his palm to his sternum, where the center of his mark is concentrated.

"It's—" Yuuri tries to say. "It's not—"

"I know," says Nishigori gently. "For awhile I thought you might reject your mark and—well, Yuuko and I talked about what we would do if you wanted to…"

Nishigori stops to gesture meaningfully between him and Yuuri, and it takes a moment for Yuuri to realize the implication. When he does, he turns bright red and gasps an involuntary, "Oh."

Then, after another moment, Yuuri says, "Oh."

"Yeah," Nishigori affirms. "Yuuko and I haven't changed our minds, but we both know it's… hypothetical. You just—you've always treated your mark with such reverence that we knew you would never accept anyone but Vi—but your, uhh, your match. So. We never…"

Nishigori shrugs. In the wake of his confession, Yuuri has never been more painfully aware of how much taller and bigger the other man is. Even at seventeen, Yuuri still hasn't hit his finally growth spurt; he is short, thin, and bony, with narrow hips and stick-like limbs. His hard-earned muscle is sparse next to Nishigori's power and his angles look awkward when compared to Yuuko's curves.

"Oh," Yuuri says for a third time.

"I didn't meant to make you uncomfortable," Nishigori assures. Yuuri's face, neck, and ears are on fire. "I just wanted to…" Nishigori heaves a sigh. "I don't know what I wanted."

Nishigori's fingers are back on his cufflinks and—when Yuuri dares to glance at his expression—there's a blush on the flat planes of his face that matches the cherry blossoms and the color of his soul mark. It makes Yuuri think of when they were children, when Yuuri still struggled not to cry every time he fell, when Nishigori dragged him up from the ice and said a little nastily, "It's not a big deal."

There had been pink on Nishigori's cheeks then, too.

"Thank you, Takeshi," Yuuri murmurs as he presses the tips of his fingers to Nishigori's heavy knuckles. The touch is light, more of an impression than a sensation, but the bareness of it still pacifies Nishigori's agitated hands. "I'm glad you told me."

Their gazes meet. Nishigori's eyes are darker than Yuuri's—so brown they are almost black—but in the spring sunlight Yuuri can see the normally invisible edge where Nishigori's iris meets his pupil. Perhaps this is why it is not hard for Yuuri to hold Nishigori's stare. Yuuri can feel the heat lingering beneath his skin, but it is inconsequential to the warmth in his heart.

"Yeah," Nishigori says. "So am I."

Yuuri and Nishigori fall into silence after the confession. It is oddly comfortable, given the nature of what has been said. Yuuri never thought he would be on the receiving end of such affection, as his short stature, his long hours at the ice skating rink, and his anti-social nature aren't conducive towards popularity.

It should unsettle him.

It does not.

The quiet is interrupted an indeterminable amount of time later, when Nishigori's second oldest brother, Takeru, taps on the wooden frame of the shoji screen behind them. "Hey," he says. His voice is as deep as Nishigori's. "We're ready. Are you?"

Next to Yuuri, Nishigori inhales. Shakes the nervousness from his shoulders. Exhales. Says, "As I'll ever be," and grins when Takeru smirks at him.

The ceremony is held in a banquet room on the first floor, where the sliding doors are opened to the new green of spring and the cumulus-dotted blue sky above. Most of the family members have already been seated on metal fold-up chairs that Yuuri and Mari arranged that morning. Their murmured conversations come to a halt as Nishigori and Yuuko approach from opposite sides of the hallway, and meet.

"Hi," Nishigori whispers, low enough that Yuuri—who trails closely behind Nishigori—has a difficult time hearing it. "You look beautiful."

Yuuko is dressed in a traditional shiromuku, a white silk kimono embroidered with white cranes in flight. Her hair is up in an elaborate series of curls and accented with a golden wisteria hairpin that hangs down the side of her face and neck. She is as beautiful as Yuuri has ever seen her, but it is the glowing radiance of her smile that outshines everything else.

"I'm happy," Yuuko whispers back.

The ceremony itself does not last long, as it is neither religious nor traditional. The eldest Nishigori brother, Takeda, a lawyer who lives in Saga, is the celebrant. His speech is original and unfamiliar, removed from the common ordinations recited in movies and on television shows. The word 'soulmate' is only used once and given no significance, but that hardly matters when Nishigori and Yuuko cannot look away from one another.

Yuuri's throat tightens constricts when they recite their personalized vows. Nishigori's is about his vague hopes for the future that he hopes they'll build together while Yuuko's is an anecdote about the first time she realized she loved him. It surprises Yuuri when Yuuko talks about something he remembers. They were children then, before any of them manifested, and Yuuri had always thought Yuuko had been annoyed with Nishigori during the train ride to one of their competitions.

Love, Yuuri supposes, is odd like that.

When their vows are finished and they exchange rings, Nishigori and Yuuko end the ceremony with an unprompted kiss. It is short, tender, and difficult to watch. Yuuri almost looks away—but then Nishigori pulls away, bundles Yuuko into his burly arms, and lifts her off the ground. She shrieks at the unexpected motion and grips his shoulders.

"Takeshi!" she squeals.

Nishigori laughs and spins Yuuko around as effortlessly as though they were on the ice. The weighted edge of her shiromuku nearly clips one of their relatives in the face.

"Alright, alright," Takeda says over the minor chaos. "Takeshi—bring your wife over here. I need you to sign this certificate so I can register your marriage with municipal office."

After the ceremony, the two family migrate into the main area of the inn. Yuuko's family is much smaller than Nishigori's. Yuuko is an only child, as is her mother, and her father's twin brother is unmarried. Nishigori, on the other hand, is the youngest of four, and in addition to his mother and father, he has three sets of aunts and uncles, several cousins, his maternal grandparents and his paternal grandmother, a sister-in-law and two nephews. Yuuri is the only person in the group who is not related to the newlyweds by neither blood nor marriage. For a moment, Yuuri stands at the threshold and stares at the sea of faces, unsure of where he should sit.

He is saved from his indecision when a petite hand curls into his own.

"Come on, Yuuri," Yuuko encourages. "Sit with me and Takeshi."

Yuuko does not wait for Yuuri to respond. She simply tugs him into motion and guides him to the square, center table. The navy cushion she sits down on has been at Yutopia for as long as Yuuri can remember.

"I didn't say it earlier," Yuuri murmurs once he also sits down, arranging his limbs into the smallest and least awkward configuration he can manage. Then he bows his head and says, quite formally, "Congratulations on your marriage."

Yuuri's words are meet with silence and—after several painful seconds—Yuuri lifts his head to meet Yuuko's eyes. He cannot decipher the emotion he sees nor understand why Yuuko sounds a little sad when she says, "Oh, Yuuri. Always so polite."

It baffles Yuuri, yet before he can begin to parse out the meaning of her words, Nishigori jostles him.

"Don't overthink it," Nishigori warns as he plops down on Yuuko's right, directly across the table. His smile is wide and captivating and warm. "We're here to have a good time, and that's it."

"A good time," Yuuri repeats somewhat cautiously. He looks between Nishigori and Yuuko, then further out at their families, and they beyond that, to Mari leaning against the doorjamb in her maroon work clothes. Her gaze is faraway, but Yuuri thinks that, if she caught his stare, she would give a small, encouraging nod. So Yuuri breathes deep. Steadies himself and his nerves. Says, "I can do that."

"Thatta boy," Nishigori cheers.

part xi

#fandom: yuri!!! on ice #pairing: victor nikiforov/yuuri katsuki #rated: m #victuuri #yoi

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theriannation · 8 years

Text

Cringe Worthy Cringe Transcript

Video Available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/pxxhSajqnzY

Shannon: Welcome to Therian Nation. I'm your host Shannon Jackson.

George: And I'm your host George Ross. We felt like doing something a little different today.

Shannon: There has been an increase in cringe videos and antikin blogs ridiculing Therians and Otherkin. Those videos are filled with false and misleading information. Yet, this is unfortunately where a large portion of the general public is getting their first impression of us.

George: In response, Therian Nation thought we should point out what's wrong with these videos and correct the misconceptions found in them.

(Opening and Title screen)

George: Let's just get right in to analyzing the content of cringe videos and blogs.

Shannon: Parroting and Unoriginal Content. From video to video or blog to blog, the content is always the same. These haters like to copy each other. This way, they don't need to spend time researching, learning, finding, or creating their own content. The last three or four videos that I've personally seen were almost identical to each other, but repeating false and misleading information doesn't make it true.

George: Questionable and Unreliable Sources. When cringe videos and antikin use sources like Wikipedia and sensational news, it means that they are criticizing something which they don't understand. They don't care to learn either. Their only goal is to humiliate and offend.

Shannon: Use of Unrelated Content and No Links to Sources Clips of completely unrelated subcultures or events are often thrown in to purposefully confuse the audience about Therianthropy and Otherkinity. In truth, the Otherkin and Therianthrope communities are filled with well thought out essays about our experiences. But antikin would never share links to those sources. They wouldn't want to provide that information because their audience might actually decide to make their own informed decision about Therians and Otherkin.

George: Content Edited and Out of Context. Cringe videos generally use short clips that are heavily edited to be out of context. This tactic is used to confuse the audience because they don't get the full story. Clarifying points are often omitted in cringe videos in an effort to distort the concepts that Therians and Otherkin are trying to get across.

Shannon: Use of Fake Troll Accounts for Misrepresentation and Overgeneralization.

Fake troll blogs are used because antikin want to falsely represent hundreds if not thousands of unique individuals within the Therian and Otherkin communities. In truth, one Therian or Otherkin that is singled out in a cringe video does not represent all of us. One individual's views on a Tumblr blog does not indicate that every Therian or Otherkin believes the same or behaves the same. One person's views only represents that individual. Unfortunately, it's hard to get the general public to understand that.

George: Dramatized and Sensationalized Content. When we recorded this, all of the cringe videos at the time had used only the Nano cat girl video and a VICE article “Otherkin Are People Too; They Just Identify as Nonhuman”. The problem with media like this is that it's always dramatized and sensationalized in an effort to get views. And the makers of cringe videos have further sensationalized it by insulting and mocking us.

Shannon: Use of Shock Content. VICE and other media outlets choose information and edit their stories to shock the audience. They don't care about representing us in a truthful manner. Stories are exaggerated and embellished in an attempt to catch the audience's attention and get higher ratings and more views. Media and cringe video creators and anti-kin blogs always pick young, gullible, possibly vulnerable people as well.

George: No Range of Content and Use of Only Extreme Examples. Creators of cringe videos generally use the most extreme examples that can be found, usually of young children. Clips of younger individuals are used because antikin can't accept that the Otherkin and Therianthrope communities are also made up of adults. The creators of these videos fail to find content that is representative of our communities.

Shannon: Cringe Creators and Anti-kin Seek Attention. If they weren't seeking attention, they wouldn't be creating this kind of content that degrades and insults a group of people who simply fall outside of societal norms. They do this while claiming that Therians and Otherkin are the ones seeking attention. Projection is a common occurrence in cringe videos and antikin blogs.

I'd also like to point out that cringe videos usually get more views than content created by Therians or Otherkin. I guess people just don't want to hear the truth about us from us because it's really not that interesting. So just remember that if you watch a cringe video, they are only using the most extreme examples that they can find to get themselves attention at our expense.

You may be wondering, “If you're not seeking attention then why are you on the internet?” Maybe you haven't noticed, but everything takes place on the internet now. It's an easy way to communicate and keep in touch.

Therians and Otherkin kept more to ourselves on private forums during the 1990's and early 2000's. Yes. these subcultures were taking place long before Tumblr, which antikin lie about and refuse to accept. Unfortunately, forums move too slowly for the younger generations and so discussion moved to Facebook and other social media sites including Tumblr. This was a natural progression.

The majority of Therians and Otherkin do not put our essays and experiences on Tumblr to seek attention from the public. We share our experiences there so that it's easier for our fellow Therians and Otherkin to find it. We didn't want cringe videos to screen capture our blogs and videos without permission.

Cringe videos and antikin blogs are created by bullies, bored kids and bored adults. Seriously, the adults who are doing this should know better than to pick on kids and teens who are going through the natural process of discovering who they are. However, cringe videos creators and antikin do it to get attention at our expense. And sadly, a large number of people enjoy watching a person hurl insults and hatred at other human beings.

George: Now, we would like to cover some of the main misconceptions repeated in every cringe video and antikin blog.

“You can't use the internet if you're an animal. You can't type with paws.”

No surprise there. We are physically human. We were physically human yesterday, and the day before, and we have been physically human our entire lives. We will remain physically human for the duration of our lives. No denying that. I suppose all the anti-kin making cringe videos want an award for pointing out the obvious.

People who say this clearly have a fundamental misunderstanding of what Therianthropy and Otherkinity really are. This is about experiencing life as a human and also as something nonhuman. Yes, it's strange, but that doesn't mean that we aren't going to be thankful for and enjoy and take advantage of the human life we have been given.

“Otherkin are all mentally ill and should seek help.”

We do not have delusions of physically being another creature or of having transformed into that creature. Therefore, Modern Therianthropy and Otherkinity are not mental illnesses or clinical lycanthropy.

Quote Card: First and foremost, if you are not a psychologist or psychiatrist, you are not qualified to diagnose mental illnesses.

George: “If you think you're an animal, you should commit and go live in the woods.” or “You're not an animal. You wouldn't survive in the wilderness.”

While many Therians and Otherkin do wish that they could live off-grid and be more self-sufficient, this is not unique to Therians or Otherkin. Plenty of regular people have chosen that lifestyle. Therians and Otherkin may express a love for the outdoors. This is also not unique to us. Average people are enthusiastic about hiking and camping and roughing it for a while.

Also, it's not impossible for humans to learn to survive in the wilderness for extended periods of time, but this takes years of learning bushcraft and preparing yourself mentally and physically. Because most Therians and Otherkin are busy with school or working or both, not all of us have the time or resources necessary to pursue learning bushcraft. There are some Therians and Otherkin who are not interested in the outdoors at all. We know that we are humans, and we can appreciate the comforts of human society.

Shannon: My most favorite quotes from anti-kin must be “You can't have the soul of an animal!” and “Being an otherkin is not scientifically recognized, so it’s bullshit.”

Quote Card: We can experience phenomena without them being scientifically understood or proven. There are plenty of mental, cognitive, behavioral, social, natural, etc. phenomena that can be experienced or observed that science doesn’t completely understand yet.

Anyone is welcome to have a personal opinion that animals don't have souls or that animal souls can't be in human bodies or that souls don't exist at all. The existence of souls has neither been proven or disproved. We'll be keeping our own personal opinions and personal beliefs. We won't be changing them just because someone out there doesn't like them or agree with them.

On that note, some Therians and Otherkin believe that we might have atypical neuropsychology causing us to interpret aspects of our lives as nonhuman. This is just a hypothesis of course. But if there are some differences in our brain structure or brain function, then hate and insults can’t change that about us either. And just be to clear, atypical neuropsychology or atypical physiology does not equal mental disorder. It just means that our brains might not function or be structured like what is considered average.

While science has not verified the existence of souls, or verified any of our communities' psychological hypotheses, scientists have recognized and written about Therianthropes and Otherkin. Links to those in the description to some of those articles.

Quote Card: If studied properly by knowledgeable professionals and scientists, there are many Therianthropes and Otherkin who are willing to accept the findings related to our non-human experiences, even if those findings were to be different from the way we have previously thought about and understood Therianthropy and Otherkinity.

George: Our advice for dealing with the people who create cringe videos and antikin blogs is to simply ignore them. Don't give them the attention that they are seeking. Lack of attention will hopefully make them bored of the subject and they will move on.

Shannon: If you must engage with antikin, try to stay calm and use proper English and grammar. Have some sources ready too.

George: To all of my fellow Therianthropes, animal-people, and Otherkin, be true to yourself. Stay strong.

Shannon: Leave us a comment and let us know what else cringe videos and anti-kin get wrong. Therian Nation is researching methods to help you decide for yourself whether or not you a Therianthrope, and we're also putting together information about how to discover your theriotype.

George: There's a lot more to it than meditation! Subscribe to stay informed and remember to click the bell to receive channel notifications.

Shannon: Thank you for watching.

See the end of the video for a few bloopers.

Sources

Project Shift - http://project-shift.net/

Werelibrary - http://werelibrary.com/

Therian Wiki - http://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Therian Timeline - http://theriantimeline.com/

“An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community” Timothy Grivell , Helen Clegg & Elizabeth C. Roxburgh (2014) Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262685394_An_Interpretative_Phenomenological_Analysis_of_Identity_in_the_Therian_Community

Bricker, Natalie, "Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model" (2016). Senior Theses. http://publications.lakeforest.edu/seniortheses/63/

“Understanding the Otherkin”, Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, The Daily Dot, Feb 22, 2015. http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/11866/otherkin-tumblr-definition-pronouns/

“Born in the wrong species” Nano the cat girl original video, January 26, 2016 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWeBunPiIzo

“Otherkin Are People Too; They Just Identify as Nonhuman” VICE, July 16, 2015. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/from-dragons-to-foxes-the-otherkin-community-believes-you-can-be-whatever-you-want-to-be

Hasty Generalization https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/100/Hasty_Generalization

“Applause 7” by Free Sound Effects - https://www.freesoundeffects.com/free-sounds/applause-10033/

“Award Icon” by Free Icons PNG - http://www.freeiconspng.com/free-images/award-icon-32903

#therian #otherkin #anti-kin #cringe

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adapted-batteries · 8 years

Text

Day 7: Free Day

Finally, here’s that fic I’ve been talking about for the past week or so.

“Dooooggg Boooiii”

Fandom: The Librarians

Rating: General audiences/sfw, a little language in one bit

Ships: Jazekiel, mention of Fleve

Word count: 5339

also posted on my Ao3

Summary: Ezekiel struggles with lingering effects after being cured of his lycanthropy, and Stone offers to help. Set after episode 2 of season 3 “And the Fangs of Death.”

_____

It’s been about a month since the whole “werewolf” ordeal. Of course there was teasing when the full moon came around a couple weeks after that mission, mostly from Stone, but it’s not like Ezekiel went full dog or anything. Maybe he had been a bit irritable, but the wolfsbane tea had cured him, like it was supposed to, well mostly anyway.

There were some impulses that lingered, like weird desires for belly rubs or ear scratches (not that he asked anyone to do that). He collected sticks that one time they were in the forest, and didn’t realize it until they got back, dumping them all out of his backpack onto the table in the Annex. Perhaps it was a bit unnecessary for him to dive into that mud puddle when they got attacked by actual ninjas in Beijing, and weirdly enough he didn’t want to shower right away. That stupid blue rubber ball Stone had became the bane of his existence; his focus would zero in on it, and he’d actually chase it if Stone threw it, though Jenkins banned him from doing that in the Annex when he broke a light.

Of course that didn’t stop Stone from taking that damn ball on missions. Thankfully he didn’t bring it out while they were working, but Stone had his fun afterwards. After the last mission, Stone brought out the rubber ball when they went to a bar, right as Ezekiel attempted to hit up a girl, keeping it low enough in his lap that she couldn’t see, but Ezekiel could. The girl probably thought he was wasted by his sudden distraction and walked away, either disgusted or suddenly uninterested.

“Dude, that was not cool,” Ezekiel hissed. Stone was clearly drunk enough that he was ignoring personal boundaries.

“It’s still there?” Stone said, mildly shocked that it worked.

“Yeah it’s still there, it’s not gone away and it’s been at least a month now,” Ezekiel snapped. “The least you could do is lay off. It’s annoying.”

Stone looked down at his drink, like a kid scolded by a parent. “S...sorry, I didn't mean...it was just a joke,” he stammered, ears going red in embarrassment.

Ezekiel hadn’t drank as much as Stone had, but he was still a little buzzed. Now all he could think about was the werewolf incident. “Do you think the wolfsbane didn’t work?” he suddenly asked Stone.

The drunk man’s head snapped up. “Well...uh...I don’t know, actually. We could go ask Jenkins?”

“Yeah, let’s go ask him,” Ezekiel decided, getting up from his barstool and dragging Stone by the arm to the exit.

Fortunately, Jenkins was still up, reading something at a desk. He merely looked up over his reading glasses when the two somewhat clumsily entered.

“Late night history or magic question?” he asked dryly. “Or maybe you didn’t want me to have one peaceful night to myself.”

“Uh actually, yes, magic question,” Ezekiel responded, ignoring the sarcasm.

Jenkins sat up, not expecting them to answer seriously. “Well then...what is it?”

“Is it possible that my werewolf-ness won’t completely go away?” Ezekiel asked. Jenkins sighed, closed the book, and stood up, walking towards the main table constantly littered with historical documents.

“For some people, the wolfsbane doesn’t eradicate the lycanthropy completely,” the immortal knight said as he thumbed through some old manuscript.

“But you said it was a cure,” Ezekiel countered.

“Well, it mostly is. It will keep you from completely turning, and you can’t infect anyone via biting either. It made your lycanthropy inert, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely gone,” Jenkins clarified. “It will take time for your body to revert back to your human self, especially where it affects your neural tissue.”

“So he’s stuck with dog brain?” Stone snorted, seemingly forgetting the bar incident until Ezekiel glared at him.

Jenkins just rolled his eyes, uninterested in the petty teasing. “In theory, you can drink more wolfsbane, with some other things, but I gave you the most your body could handle initially. If that didn’t get rid of most of the lycanthropy, there’s not too much else that will.”

At first Ezekiel thought that “time” meant a few weeks, maybe another month, but after two months, it was still there. He could control it more now, not give in to the impulses so much, but that ball still got to him. Stone didn't bring it out much anymore, which was nice, until he did again.

They were doing their various studying in the Annex for a new mission the clipping book sent them on (fair folk showing up around an Irish university, causing issues and occasionally taking people). Ezekiel lounged at one of the desks, feet up, searching through old blueprints and local geographical maps. Stone leaned over an old leather-bound book at the main table, absorbing folklore, and Flynn was upstairs doing the same thing. The girls had gone to do reconnaissance in the town nearby, and Jenkins was in his lab, working on some protection charms.

By pure luck, Ezekiel looked up the exact moment Stone pulled the ball out from under some papers, apparently a subconscious act since he still seemed totally absorbed in the reading. All thought flew to the back of Ezekiel's mind as Stone squeezed and rolled it around on the desk, not realizing the torture Ezekiel felt. No, focus, he chided himself, to no avail. He fought himself for several minutes until the worst thing happened: he whined. That finally startled Stone from the book, especially as Ezekiel shot up from his desk, hand still over his mouth, running through the double doors.

Stone looked up to the balcony; Flynn must've been somewhere against the back wall oblivious to Ezekiel’s speedy exit. He then looked around the Annex, at the desk, trying to figure out what made Ezekiel leave, a question easily answered as soon as he looked down at his right hand. “Shit,” he mumbled, stuffing it in his pocket as he stood up, chasing after Ezekiel.

Once outside the Annex, Stone saw him running up into the park across the street. Stone stayed back, giving him space, calmly walking up to the bridge pillar he had went behind. Ezekiel sat against it, elbows on his knees, head in his hands.

“You alright?” Stone asked softly.

Ezekiel didn't look up. “Do I look alright to you?”

Without answering, Stone sat down next to him, waiting until Ezekiel looked up. He then took out the ball, studying it like it was a specimen. “How do you feel when you see this? Before your annoyance at your reaction, what do you first feel?”

“I feel, well, excited, focused, I forget what I’m thinking about,” Ezekiel answered, breathing uneasily as he looked at the ball. Stone then put it back in his pocket; Ezekiel slumped forward, hugging his knees. “It’s so hard to keep it all at bay. You don’t know how much I want to do “dog things” all the time, it’s unbearable.”

“I didn’t know it was still affecting you so bad still,” Stone responded. “I didn't even realize I had the ball out until you left.”

Ezekiel glanced back at him, judging how sincere Stone seemed, before looking towards some trees. “It’s not like you could do anything about it.”

“That doesn’t mean I didn't want to know. Maybe we can find something,” Stone countered.

“If Jenkins couldn’t, how could we?” Ezekiel sighed in defeat.

“Well that’s a stupid question,” Stone snorted, prompting Ezekiel to look at him.

“I...I know,” Ezekiel said, too lazy to keep the pain off his face.

“Look. If you need somewhere to cool off, I’m sure there’s something the Library can do. You don’t have to suffer alone,” Stone suggested. He looked pretty serious about helping Ezekiel.

“You sound like some counselor,” Ezekiel laughed bitterly.

“That’s apparently what you need right now,” Stone quipped, raising his eyebrows.

“No I-” Ezekiel stopped himself from shutting off again. “Well I guess I do.”

“And if you need someone to throw the ball, well, I wouldn't mind obliging,” Stone added, cracking a smile.

Ezekiel gave a small smile back “Just don't let Jenkins catch you or he'll kick you out of the Annex,” Ezekiel cautioned jokingly.

Stone chuckled, then went serious again. “What all does “dog things” entail?”

“Uh, well, the fetch thing is pretty obvious,” he started, suddenly embarrassed.

“And?” Stone prodded.

“Um, there's, uh, an annoying desire to be petted,” Ezekiel continued. Stone raised his eyebrows again, biting back a smile. “God, this is stupid. I shouldn't have said anythi-”

“No, it's not!” Stone cut him off. Ezekiel looked at him, confused. “I mean I'd…” he trailed off.

“What, you'd pet me?” Ezekiel scoffed, thinking Stone was pulling his leg for another laugh. That is, until he really saw the sincerity, and the blush, on Stone’s face. “You're...actually serious?”

“Forget it,” Stone said, flustered. He started to stand up but Ezekiel grabbed his arm.

“No, don't leave,” Ezekiel said as he pulled him back down. He didn't have to pull much, Stone seemed eager to stay. “Can I take you up on that offer?”

“You really want me to?” Stone asked, watching him.

“Well you're still here, aren't you?” Ezekiel answered. That earned a smile from Stone.

“So, um, how do you want to do this?” Stone questioned.

“Head first, no belly rubs or anything, it's too soon for that,” Ezekiel chuckled nervously. Stone laughed under his breath and nodded.

After a few seconds of silence, Stone hesitantly reached up to Ezekiel's head, watching him intently. Ezekiel tried his best not to seem so eager, but quickly found himself leaning into Stone’s hand as it ran through his hair. “Is that good?” Stone asked him.

“Mhmmm,” Ezekiel breathed, eyes fluttering closed. Stone failed at biting back a laugh. “Hey, don’t mock me, or you don’t get to do this again.”

“I’m not,” Stone paused, sighing before continuing, “it’s...you’re really cute right now.”

Ezekiel opened his eyes, mouth slightly open. “I...didn’t know you felt that way,” he muttered, suddenly looking away.

“You didn’t? Really?” Stone said in disbelief. “Didn’t notice I basically went out of my way to touch you?” He nodded to his hand still in Ezekiel's hair to emphasize his point.

“I thought that was just you,” Ezekiel countered. “And the whole teasing for months, that really threw me off.” Stone was about to say something, but Ezekiel continued. “I guess you were the first to take care of me after I got bit.”

Stone chuckled. “It's been longer than months.” He moved his hand from the back of Ezekiel's head to behind his ear.

“Oh,” was all Ezekiel could manage before a smile appeared on his face, eyes half closed.

“If I'd known earlier, I would've jumped at the chance to do this,” Stone hummed, clearly enjoying himself just as much as Ezekiel was.

“Should've asked instead of teasing me then, hm?” Ezekiel quipped, a smug look on his face.

“I'm sorry, alright?” Stone spread his hand out so he could get both behind Ezekiel’s ear and the back of his neck. “Does this make up for it?”

“Ah, yeah, mostly,” he stuttered, melting under Stone's hand, eyes closing again.

“Mostly?” Stone questioned, eyebrow arched.

“One time isn't gonna cut it,” Ezekiel responded, opening one eye to look at Stone. “Not after months of torture.”

“Fair enough,” Stone said.

“Stone?! Jones?!” a voice called from the entrance to the Annex, Flynn. “I heard footsteps leaving a bit ago. The girls are back, time to go over things.”

Ezekiel’s eyes shot open, panic on his face. “Hey, it’s fine,” Stone soothed, giving him one last scratch behind the ear. “It’s not like he knows why we left.” With a smile he stood up, offering a hand to Ezekiel.

“Don’t tell anyone, ok?” Ezekiel said, trying his best to compose himself once he was on his feet. He didn’t let go of Stone’s hand, though, and Stone didn’t drop his either.

Stone smiled, shaking his head. “I would never.” Turning around partially so his voice would carry back to Flynn, Stone responded, “We’re coming!” He then turned back to Ezekiel, biting his lip like he was thinking about something.

“We should head back,” Ezekiel said, trying to get Stone to move. Not that he didn’t want to spend the rest of the day out here with him, but Stone’s look dripped affection, and he didn’t think he could last long under it.

“Yeah, but before we go,” Stone started, a corner of his mouth curling up like he had a surprise. He looked around before locking eyes with Ezekiel again, closing the already small space between them. Ezekiel watched him with almost nervous anticipation, watching Stone’s eyes dip to his lips then back up to make eye contact, asking a silent question.

Ezekiel had already been way more vulnerable today than he preferred, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t wanted to kiss the cowboy ever since he met him, so Ezekiel answered Stone with his own lips. Sadly they didn’t get long as Flynn called for them again. “Guys?!?”

Stone pulled away, albeit reluctantly. “Probably should go now,” he said, voice lower than it had been before. He chuckled at the slightly dazed look on Ezekiel’s face. Ezekiel nodded, still not letting go of his hand, so Stone turned, pulling Ezekiel with him. When Flynn was in view, marching up the slight hill to find them, Ezekiel dropped their hands. Stone glanced at him, giving a sympathetic look, before replying to Flynn. “We were coming, alright? No need to hunt us down.”

“You were sure taking your time about it,” Flynn quipped, looking at both of them. Ezekiel tensed, thinking Flynn was going to say something, but thankfully Flynn added, “Cassandra found some runes running all throughout the town, over doors and on foundations.” He was already turned back around, walking down the hill to the Annex. “As you know, the town existed centuries before the university did, and didn’t incorporate the protection runes, leaving the campus open to the fey.”

“So we have a reverse Wexler situation?” Ezekiel asked, trying to sound casual.

Flynn turned looked behind himself at Ezekiel, brain processing the analogy. “Um, yeah, in a way,” Flynn responded, looking forward again as they crossed the empty street. “A little more complicated though, and not Lovecraftian.”

Once inside, the team devised a plan, gathered supplies, and used the backdoor early the next day. Ezekiel acted like nothing happened the day before, but he noticed Stone watched him more than usual. Thankfully the plan went relatively well, safety runes in place around the campus, and some bargains were made for people who got stuck in the fey.

When they got back to the Annex, it was only two in the afternoon. Ezekiel was tempted to call it a day and go home, but Stone’s persistent eye had made his urges even harder to control it seemed. As everyone started going their separate ways to relax, he pulled Stone to the side. “Hey, you said the Library had a room we could use,” he whispered, trying to act casual, and failing miserably.

“I said ‘probably,’ but we could go hunting for one, if ya want,” Stone responded, voice low, but not a whisper.

“Hey, Stone, Jones, wanna go get a drink?” Flynn asked. The boys look up, startled, thinking everyone had left.

“Uh,” Stone started, glancing at Ezekiel who literally gave him puppy dog eyes. Eve, however, had a much more annoyed look aimed at Flynn. “I think I’m gonna turn in early, ya know. Busy day and all.”

“Oh,” Flynn said, pausing when Eve tapped his elbow, “yeah, on second thought that’s probably a good idea. See you two tomorrow!” He then offered his arm to Eve, and the two walked out the double doors.

“Alright, let’s go hunting,” Stone smirked to Ezekiel, offering his arm to him to mimic Flynn. Ezekiel gives him a slightly confused look, but takes it anyway.

They made their way to the wall of doors, unsure of which to open. “Why don't we label these?” Ezekiel said, hand hovering over a metallic door.

“No! Don't open that one!” Stone shouted, pulling Ezekiel away by the shoulders. “That's the sunroom...the literal sunroom.”

“See?” Ezekiel commented.

Stone just smiled at him. “I'll be sure to pass it on to Jenkins.” Determined to find something useful, Stone turned right, opening a door every so often. After several minutes and not really useful rooms like “rock room” (a load of rocks on displays), “cave room” (possibly a backdoor to a cavern, but it was dark and there was squeaking so they promptly shut that door), and what looked to be a long abandoned “insect room” (based on dust and empty spots for displays, and the ominously empty habitat tanks), they came to a simple oak door with words inscribed on it.

“What one requires, I shall provide. What does that mean?” Ezekiel said.

Stone stared at the door, thinking hard, before he laughed. The laugh confused Ezekiel even more. “Of course the Library has it's own room of requirement,” Stone clarified, still chuckling to himself.

“What, like from Harry Potter?” Ezekiel asked. He wasn’t gonna get an answer out of Stone though; the cowboy was suddenly really giddy.

“Ok so what type of room do you want? Think about it, then open the door,” Stone instructed, grin on his face.

Ezekiel concentrated for a moment, looking at the door, then reached for the metal door handle. Before he touched it, he looked back to Stone. “Don’t joke, ok?”

“This was my idea...I’m not here to make you a laughing stock,” Stone replied, mildly exasperated. Ezekiel opened his mouth, but instead shook his head and grabbed the handle.

The door swung towards them with unnecessary creeking, revealing a long room with indoor running track material on the floor, walls of simple cinderblock, and lights set inside the ceiling. Against the right wall near the door was a rack with various types of balls, along with some rope and rubber toys.

Ezekiel stepped in first, with Stone close behind. “Woah.”

“So I guess you wanna play fetch?” Stone said as he looked at the rack.

“Uh, yeah,” Ezekiel responded, distracted. If he had a tail, he would’ve been wagging it so hard.

“Which one would ya like first?” Stone asked, watching Ezekiel with amusement.

Ezekiel’s eyes flicked over the whole rack several times. “I can’t pick, I dunno, you pick one.”

“Well,” Stone started, pulling out the rubber ball from his pocket, “I still got this.” Ezekiel’s eyes zeroed in on the ball, mouth slightly open again. Stone smiled, pulling his arm back, ready to throw, pausing to toy with Ezekiel.

“Oh come on, just throw it already,” Ezekiel complained, not quite a whine.

With a snort, Stone threw the ball as hard as he could, and Ezekiel went flying after it. The room actually expanded as his throw reached the far wall, tripping up Ezekiel for a moment before he continued his chase. To Stone’s amusement and mild disgust, he slid down on his knees, grabbing the ball with his teeth before sprinting back to Stone.

“Um, do you have to use your mouth?” Stone asked when he returned. He stuck his hand out anyway for Ezekiel to drop it. He barely had the ball in his teeth, jaw open as wide as he could.

Once he dropped the ball, Ezekiel stretched his jaw, massaging one side. “I couldn't help it, but I’m not gonna do that again.”

“You wanna switch to something else, or keep the ball?” Stone asked as he wiped the ball off on his jeans.

“One more with this, then I wanna try out the tennis ball,” Ezekiel answered, knees bent and ready to run. Stone obliged, throwing just as hard as last time. Ezekiel returned with the ball in hand this time, breathing quicker than before.

After going through a few of the different balls, Ezekiel jogged over to the rack, sweat dripping off his face. “I wanna do one of these rope ones,” he said, picking up a two-foot white rope with knots at either end.

“So like tug-o-war or throwing?” Stone asked, eyeing up the rope.

“Tug-o-war, but like don’t rip out my teeth please,” Ezekiel responded, biting down on one end of the rope.

“Uh, alright.” Stone hesitantly reached out, taking his end of the rope in one hand. “Don’t go at it too hard from your end either.” Ezekiel nodded, rope still in his mouth, then braced himself, pulling slightly at the rope. Stone tensed as well, giving a bit more resistance. After a few moments Ezekiel pulled harder from his end, growling slightly. “Oh, there’s more in ya,” Stone teased, pulling a bit harder. The corners of Ezekiel’s mouth curled up as he growled again and pulled harder. Stone didn’t increase his pull, but he wiggled the rope, giving in to Ezekiel’s pull a bit.

After a few rounds of tug-o-war, switching ropes each time, Ezekiel was dripping sweat. Stone was a bit sweaty as well, but nowhere near as much as Ezekiel. As Ezekiel wiped sweat off his forehead, a small table with two glasses of water appeared next to them. “I can’t believe we haven’t found this room before,” Ezekiel said as he downed the water.

“I’m surprised you hadn’t found this,” Stone replied, drinking water as well.

“I...actually never went this far, at least not after I found my side entrance,” Ezekiel answered. “And when the Library was mixing everything up, kind of halted explorations.”

Stone nodded in understanding. “So what do you want to do now?”

“Um, a shower would be nice,” Ezekiel started. The room shifted; the far wall suddenly much nearer, with two doors in it.

“Well I don’t think you need me to do that...I’m not scrubbing you with flea shampoo,” Stone snickered.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes, but his ears went redder than they were from exertion. “No, but, if you still want to-” Stone’s eyes went wide, but Ezekiel continued, “After I shower, I wouldn’t mind a...pet sesh.”

Stone relaxed a bit, but still chuckled. “Is that what we’re calling it now? ‘Pet sesh’?”

“What else would you call it?” Ezekiel retorted.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe just cuddling? I mean that’s how I’d describe having the family dog next to me or on my lap while I pet ‘em,” Stone answered.

“I’m not getting on your lap,” Ezekiel scoffed, mildly joking.

“That’s entirely up to you to choose,” Stone added, completely serious.

“I’m, uh, gonna get in the shower then,” Ezekiel stammered, backing towards the doors.

“You do that, I’ll just wait here,” Stone replied, giving him a smile. “Take your time, darlin’.”

Ezekiel’s eyes went wide at the pet name; he gave Stone a weak smile before disappearing behind the door. He didn’t have a hard time relaxing in the shower. The Library was apparently really good at doing exactly what Ezekiel imagined, which was one of those super fancy showers with six body jets, rainfall shower head, stone tiles, and even a loofa.

While Ezekiel showered, Stone sneaked out of the room, making his way to the locker room next to the combat training room. He wasn’t sure about the room of requirement, but the locker room did have magic to keep it and its contents clean. Lucky for Ezekiel, he had his sweats in there. By the time he returned to the room of requirement, Ezekiel hadn’t gotten out yet.

“You havin’ a good time in there?” he asked to the pleasant sounding water.

“I know you left,” is all Ezekiel said.

“I wasn’t tryin’ very hard,” Stone countered.

“Sure you weren’t,” Ezekiel laughed from the shower.

“Anyway, I got a change of clothes for you, so you don’t have to wear your sweaty clothes. They’re my workout sweats, clean of course,” Stone said.

The water shut off as the bottom foot foot or so of the door disappeared, revealing Ezekiel’s feet. “You can hand them under.” Once the clothes were transferred, he added a meek thanks.

A few minutes later, Ezekiel stepped out. The sweats were quite big on him, but he looked comfy. The wall behind him shifted, removing the doors and leaving Ezekiel's pile of clothes on the floor. “This room is amazing,” Ezekiel said as he stepped, barefoot, toward the center. He concentrated for a few moments, making the room shift again.

The room became much darker, lit only by a flickering fire in a stone fireplace in the left wall. A plush-looking couch materialized in front of the fireplace as the walls shifted to dark wood paneling, and the floor changed from running track material into soft, light beige carpet.

“Ok this is amazing,” Ezekiel said as he surveyed his mind's creation.

“Um, where'd you come up with this?” Stone asked looking around the room as well.

“A house I broke into a long time ago had a den like this,” Ezekiel replied as he walked over to the couch and plopped down.

“It is cozy,” Stone added, sitting down next to Ezekiel, leaving a good half of a foot in between them. “So, uh, same as last time?”

Ezekiel shifted in his seat, sitting sideways so he could face Stone. “Yeah.”

Suddenly hesitant like the day before, Stone reached out, weaving his fingers through Ezekiel’s somewhat damp hair. Ezekiel’s eyes fluttered closed, content smile appearing on his face. He looked so relaxed, content, happy, that after a few minutes Stone quit petting, leaving his hand around the side and back of Ezekiel’s neck. Ezekiel’s eyes opened at his stop, a concerned look appearing on his face. “What’s wrong?”

Stone stared at him for a moment before realizing he needed to respond. “No, nothin’,” Stone stammers, flashing a smile at Ezekiel, before leaning towards him. He paused several inches from Ezekiel’s face, expression suddenly serious. “Is this ok?”

Ezekiel furrowed his brows at him. “Why would it not be ok? I haven’t told you to stop.”

“I’d rather have an explicit ‘yes’ than just go off you not stopping me,” Stone sighed.

Ezekiel was truly touched by Stone’s care. “I’ve not had that before,” he mumbled.

Now it was Stone’s turn give a look of almost pity. “Well I’m not gonna do anythin’ without your ok, ok?” He lowered his head slightly, waiting for Ezekiel to respond.

“Ok,” Ezekiel answered, mock exasperation in his voice. “You’re more than allowed to kiss me.”

“Heh, that’s more like it,” Stone replied, closing the distance between them. Ezekiel was shocked about how caring, how gentle Stone suddenly was. It’s not that he didn’t think Stone capable of it, but Ezekiel didn’t usually have it “gentle” like this; it was a whole new thing for him.

The exhaustion of the day finally hit Ezekiel after a few minutes. He pulled away, but not far, smiling at Stone. “I’d like some more petting,” he stated as he laid out on the couch, head on Stone’s lap, watching the fire.

“Alright,” Stone chuckled, letting him get settled before resuming the petting. Ezekiel hummed, content. “Can I go past shoulders?” Stone checked in with him.

“Yeah,” Ezekiel sighed, breathing growing quite regular.

Stone let one of his hands run up and down Ezekiel’s arm slowly, massaging a little bit, knowing full well he was putting Ezekiel to sleep. He silently thanked Ezekiel’s imagination for conjuring up the comfiest couch he’d ever sat on as he felt himself being lulled by the crackling fire.

They probably would've slept the whole night if Jenkins hadn't opened the door. “What the-” the immortal said as he stepped inside. “So this is where you two went.”

Stone jumped, shaking Ezekiel awake and pushing him off his lap. “What are you doing here?” Stone demanded as he stood, trying but failing at being nonchalant.

“I happen to live here…” Jenkins deadpanned. He was wearing a plush looking robe over some pajama bottoms, and slippers.

Ezekiel became aware of the new situation as he sat up. “How come you never told us about this?” he asked, not even bothering to look embarrassed like Stone was.

“Well, this is a big reason,” Jenkins answered. “I would like to go to sleep myself, without roommates preferably.”

“There's no bedrooms in the Annex?” Stone asked, curious.

“The Library was not intended to be lived in. It's a workplace first. I just happened to adapt it to my needs,” Jenkins replied. Ezekiel didn't seem like he was going to move on his own, so Stone grabbed him by the upper arm, pushing him towards the door. “At least get his shoes,” Jenkins sighed, looking at Ezekiel's clothes still sitting in a pile on the floor.

“I would like those,” Ezekiel yawned, walking on his own to his things. He slipped the shoes on, not bothering with socks, and scooped up the rest. He then walked towards the door, Stone following behind him.

“Goodnight, boys,” Jenkins nodded, ushering them out of the room. “Don't forget to lock up behind yourselves.” As soon as they stepped back into the Library, the door creaky swung shut on its own.

“Well that was weird,” Ezekiel said as they started walking back to the Annex.

“That was the only weird thing?” Stone teased, still a little tense from Jenkins’ sudden appearance. Ezekiel only glanced at him from the corner of his eye in response.

They stayed silent the rest of the way until they were standing outside the entrance. It was night now; Ezekiel's phone said it was almost 1 am. “I can give ya a ride home, if ya want,” Stone offered as they walked to his pickup truck parked on the side of the road.

“Can I come home with you?” Ezekiel blurted, streetlights thankfully not bright enough to show his sudden blush.

“Don't ya think it's a little early for that?” Stone asked.

“Well I never thought whatever...this..is, was normal,” Ezekiel retorted, using his head to motion in between them since his arms were occupied. “And that doesn't mean we do anything, either. I just,” he paused, looking down at his clothes, “sleeping alone doesn't seem as great of an option after that.”

Stone stared at him for a moment, studying him carefully, before shrugging. “If that's what you want, then I'm more than happy to oblige,” Stone answered. “I just want to make sure you're fully on board with whatever we do.” For a split second Stone thought Ezekiel was tearing up, but he quickly forgot as Ezekiel kissed him, short but meaningful. “Alrighty then,” Stone started when Ezekiel pulled away. He smiled at him before turning around to unlock his truck door. Ezekiel stood there, unmoving. “Well, come on then, I'm more than ready to go back to sleep.”

“Sleep sounds amazing,” Ezekiel replied as he walked around to the passenger door, opening it and tossing his clothes in the middle before sliding in himself. Stone had already gotten in on the driver's side and was fiddling with the seatbelt. “You're a really good petter,” Ezekiel said as he put his own seatbelt on.

“Uh, thanks?” Stone said, a little thrown by the compliment as he started his truck. Before he shifted into drive, he looked over at Ezekiel, almost seductive but not quite. “Maybe when we get home you can have some more.”

“I hope that's a promise,” Ezekiel snorted, amused at Stone's expression.

“It can be if you want it to,” Stone returned, lowering his voice.

“Then hurry up and carry me off to bed, cowboy,” Ezekiel practically purred. Ezekiel's sudden shift in intensity made Stone flustered.

“As you wish,” Stone replied with a bow of his head, punctuated by a wink. He then shifted into drive, more than ready to get home.

#EJAW 2017 #ezekiel jones #jacob stone #jazekiel #post were!Ezekiel #Dooooggg Boooiii #jenkins #And the Fangs of death #3x02 #the librarians fic #the librarians #flynn writes

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carasueachterberg · 5 years

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It would be very easy to keep Flannery. I’d love to foster fail and make her a permanent part of our pack.

Undoubtably, she fits in here just fine. All of us love her, even Gracie, which is saying something since Gracie has no patience or welcome to offer any of our foster dogs.

Flannery is endlessly entertaining – the much needed comedy relief time and again. Between regular attempts to catch her own tail, spinning herself silly, and her unbounded enthusiasm for EVERYTHING, she can lighten a mood and bring a smile every day.

She is my constant companion, even outside, never straying far and racing back to me at the first word.

I have a weak spot for those overly enthusiastic, joyous, into-everyone’s-business kind of dogs. So, naturally, I love her.

BUT, Flannery is too much dog to settle for third-string dog in a busy dog-shuffling foster family. She deserves to be the star of the show. At our house, her high-energy must be sequestered when new foster dogs arrive, as they are nervous enough. Lucky for us, she doesn’t mind her crate and races to it whenever instructed. But the huge heart inside this tiny dog deserves better.

So, yes people, she is still available for adoption, no matter how many Frankery pictures I post.

She will need the just-right family. Someone who can manage her. Someone who ‘gets’ her because maybe that person is kind of a quirky person themselves.

The reason we all get along so well with Flannery is we accept her as she is—a happy conundrum who will waggle a greeting and then nip the hand that reaches for her. Like a cat that will indulge you petting it for a few minutes and then bite you, Flannery will occasionally communicate her limit with her mouth. Thankfully, these bites are rarely hard.

Flannery is a tiny alpha dog who is MUCH bigger in her own mind. I know that if I try to forcefully make her do anything – give up the toy she stole from Frankie, move her out of the way, or trim her toenails, she will likely nip me with or without a warning growl. So I offer her a different toy to get her to drop the one she so unfairly took from Frankie (he never puts up a fight), I lure her where I want her with a treat (she will do pretty much ANYTHING at high-speed if there is a treat involved), and I leave the toenail clipping to the professionals (and walk her on the pavement to keep them under control).

photo by Nancy Slattery

The bottom line is Flannery will not be bossed. And she needs to believe that she is the boss, even if she isn’t.

When people meet her, I tell them not to be fooled by her enthusiastic greeting. Do not offer your fingers to her face – she will nip. Let her excitement dissipate and later you can probably touch her without getting nipped. Training this nipping habit out of her is not something I can do because a) she never nips anyone in our family and b) I can’t really ask people to come over and let Flannery nip/not-nip them so that I can teach her.

The best tactic, which seems to be working, is to not give Flannery what she wants – attention from the new people—until she has settled. It generally takes Flannery longer than most visitors like the UPS guy or the friend picking up her flowers sticks around, so the easiest policy for all involved with Flannery is to look but don’t touch.

Here, I want to clarify, that in my presence her nips have never broken the skin of her victims. I know (first hand) that they do indeed hurt, but rarely is there ever any permanent damage.

Both of her returns, though, were for biting. And thus, she does have a ‘bite addendum’ attached to her adoption contract and she cannot be adopted out to families with young children. (Which is a shame because she had the opportunity to meet some little people on Sunday and was beyond happy – repeatedly licking their faces even as they obediently didn’t touch her as instructed.)

What will become of Flannery?

I think she’d make an awesome competitive agility dog; I haven’t met a more intense people-pleasing, treat-motivated, endlessly-energetic dog. (Frankie and I are taking agility and many, many times as I watch him happily lumber through an obstacle, I think – Flannery would ROCK agility.)

I have to believe that one day the adoption magic will happen for her. Someone, somewhere will see her face and recognize their dog. They will be able to see past her bad habits and love her despite her quirks. They won’t mind ‘managing’ her and be rewarded a hundred fold by this loving, nippy, silly, smart, absolutely joyful dog.

photo by Nancy Slattery

If you or someone you know, would like to apply to adopt Flannery, click here.

Thanks for reading!

If you’d like to know more about my blogs and books, visit CaraWrites.com or subscribe to my occasional e-newsletter.

If you’d like to know more about the book, Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs, visit AnotherGoodDog.org, where you can find more pictures of the dogs from the book (and some of their happily-ever-after stories), information on fostering, and what you can do right now to help shelter animals! You can also purchase a signed copy or several other items whose profits benefit shelter dogs!

If you’d like to know how you can volunteer, foster, adopt or donate with OPH, click here. And if you’d like more pictures and videos of my foster dogs past and present, be sure to join the Another Good Dog Facebook group.

I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to comment here on the blog, email [email protected] or connect with me on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram.

Best,

Cara

Released August 2018 from Pegasus Books and available now

This quirky pup just might need a quirky (and big-hearted) adopter. #hardtoadopt #fosterdog #lookingforlove It would be very easy to keep Flannery. I’d love to foster fail and make her a permanent part of our pack.

#adoptable dogs #difficult dogs #dog rescue #dogbite #dogs #fosterdog #funny dog #hard to adopt #quirky dog

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readersforum · 6 years

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How to Use Google Calendar: 18 Features That'll Make You More Productive

New Post has been published on https://www.readersforum.tk/how-to-use-google-calendar-18-features-thatll-make-you-more-productive/

How to Use Google Calendar: 18 Features That'll Make You More Productive

Some things you think will be simple actually end up getting really complex. Google knows this all to well, which is why it recently rolled out a brand new Google Calendar — and plenty of nifty features to go with it.

While a few features in the latest Google Calendar aren’t new, they have changed somewhat. Still other features you might not know exist at all. Let’s go over all of them to make your life a little easier.

Your Google Calendar comes with your personal Gmail address, and you won’t believe how simple it is to use and set up. But if you work at a company that uses its own Google Calendar, you suddenly have to find out how best to integrate your personal calendar with your weekly meeting schedule.

Google Calendar can start to feel a lot less simple the more events you have on your agenda. Luckily, there are some cool hacks and under-the-radar features you can use to make your life in Google Calendar much easier to organize.

Below are 18 of our favorite tips, tricks, and features available in Google Calendar.

18 Google Calendar Features That’ll Make You More Productive

1. Create new calendars for different parts of your life.

When you first start out on Google Calendar, you’re given one calendar to start with — it’s the one with your name under “My calendars,” as shown in the screenshot below.

So, if you want to use your calendar for multiple purposes — like managing your actual schedule, planning periods of focused work time, and scheduling repeating reminders — you only have one place to do it. But when you’re only working with one calendar, all of those things get treated equally — meaning you can’t quickly and easily pull up the non-repetitive, important tasks you have for the day.

To combat this, just create a new calendar for each part of your life you’d like to keep track of on your Google Calendar.

How to Use This Feature

To create a new calendar, click the little plus sign (+) next to “My calendars,” and you’ll see the option, “New calendar.” Select this option, name your new calendar, give it a description and time zone, and voilà — you’ve got yourself another calendar.

Pro Tip: You can even color-code each calendar to make it easy for you to pick out what you’ve got to do each day.

2. Schedule meetings with groups using “Find a time” or “Suggested times.”

Do you ever need to arrange a meeting with several people who have busy schedules? It can be really annoying to try to figure out when you’re all free. Thankfully, Google Calendar actually has two features that can do the heavy lifting for you: “Suggested times” or “Find a time.”

How to Use This Feature

To use either of these two options, first make sure you’ve added everyone to the event who needs to attend. Then, if you’d like Google to suggest a time for you to meet, simply select the “Suggested times” link below your guests’ names. A dropdown window will appear with a list of times when every meeting guest, including you, is available with no conflicts.

“Find a time” is the other way to quickly find a time that works for every guest included on the meeting invitation. To use this feature, choose the tab next to “Event details” called “Find a time,” and you’ll see everyone’s schedules side-by-side for the day of your intended meeting. When you see a time when none of your guests have conflicts, click this line of the calendar to highlight the time and press “Save” at the top of your Calendar.

Pro tip: you can also use a free product like HubSpot Meetings to easily schedule meetings without back-and-forth emails.

3. Hide your event details.

Sometimes, the meetings you host or attend are sensitive in nature. Keep in mind, however, that a closed door isn’t the only way for others to know what’s going on inside. The event’s details in Google Calendar can also reveal more to the rest of the office than you’d like.

To ensure you have as much privacy as you need during more sensitive meetings, set your event to “Private.” This makes it so nobody viewing your weekly schedule sees the details of the event — meeting name, attendees, attachments, and so forth. By default, the public label on the event block will simply be, “Busy.”

How to Use This Feature

To privatize the details of certain events on your calendar, click the event from your calendar view and select the pencil icon to edit the event’s details. In the window that appears, find the briefcase icon just above the event description field.

With the first field set to “Busy,” click into the second field and select “Private” from the dropdown, as shown below. Hit the blue “Save” button at the top of your screen and you’ll be all set.

4. Add a Google Hangout to your event.

Need to easily set up a face-to-face remote meeting? Just click the link to “Add video call,” and Google will set up hangout for your event attendees to use. (Learn more about Google Hangouts here.)

5. Add attachments.

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself attending meetings that require me to reference a relevant document. Maybe we’re all working off one Google Doc, or perhaps we’re pouring over an intricate spreadsheet.

Regardless, it’s best to make sure all meeting attendees have the materials they need before the meeting begins so they don’t have to go hunting in their inboxes for it. Google Calendar can help you do this, allowing you to attach documents directly to the event for guests to open and review.

How to Use This Feature

To attach a document to your event, click on your event block from the calendar view and select the pencil icon to edit the event, as shown below.

Once you’re in the event’s edit screen, look for a paper clip icon right above the description section, as shown in the screenshot below. Click this icon and a large window will appear where you can upload files to attach directly from your Google Drive.

Pro tip: When you reach the upload window, you can toggle to the “My Drive” tab to attach Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides that already exist in your Google Drive. Or, you can click the “Upload” tab on the far left of the window to attach offline files from your computer.

6. Enable your world clock.

Do you work with teammates who live around the world? You might find it’s difficult to figure out what time is appropriate to schedule meetings with them. Fortunately, you can — by enabling “World Clock” in your Google Calendar settings.

How to Use This Feature

To quickly check multiple time zones when arranging meetings, click the gear icon on the top-righthand corner of your calendar view. These are your settings. Then, navigate to the “World clock” section, check the first blue box, and select the time zones you want to see from your calendar view.

Once you’ve chosen the time zones you want, return to your calendar view and you’ll see the following on your Google Calendar’s lefthand sidebar:

7. Enable working hours.

Not everyone is a 9-to-5 worker, but they might work quite a bit with those who are. If you have an unconventional work schedule that none of your colleagues seem to remember, this feature is for you.

“Working Hours” is a setting that alerts people if they try to add you to a meeting that lies outside a range of hours set by you in Google Calendar. Hey, it beats having to hit “Decline” and then follow up with the meeting organizer to remind them you’re unavailable during that time.

How to Use This Feature

To enable specific working hours on your Google Calendar, click the gear icon from your calendar view to access your settings. Navigate to the “Working Hours” section, as shown below. Here, you’ll be able to specify when you’re in and out of work each day of the week.

8. Email event guests.

Remember the time you tried to email a large group of people about an event? Maybe you were trying to coordinate a team outing — or just let everyone know they should bring their laptops to the all-hands meeting. Regardless, I’ll bet it was annoying to figure out who was actually going to the event and ensure you didn’t forget anyone.

Well, this Google Calendar feature will come in handy next time.

How to Use This Feature

As long as you’ve added everyone to the event that needs to go, you can easily email everyone in the group by clicking on the event block from your calendar view and clicking the envelope icon.

Once you click on the envelope icon inside the event block, an email compose box will appear. Simply type in your message, type in the email addresses of the people you want to receive it, and hit send.

9. Add specific meeting locations.

I wish I’d known about this feature the last time I got coffee with a someone in downtown Boston. We agreed to meet at Starbucks … but thanks to the multitude of Starbucks locations in Boston, our conversation went something like this:

“Okay, so let’s meet at the one on State Street,” I said.

“Oh, the one by the Court House?” he asked.

“Well, it’s kinda by the Court House, but further down State Street,” I replied.

“Oh, you mean the one by Downtown Crossing?” he clarified.

How to Use This Feature

The logistics of a meeting can get fuzzy without a specific address or conference room. Thankfully, Google Calendar has a feature that’ll fix all that. Instead of having the back-and-forth, I could’ve just sent my friend a calendar invitation with the specific address in the “Where” box. It integrates with Google Maps so it’s super easy to figure out where you’re meeting and how to get there.

10. Use desktop notifications.

As you probably can tell by now, I love Google Calendar … but there is one feature of which I am not a fan.

If you have your Google Calendar open as a tab in your browser when it’s 10 minutes before your next event, the 10-minute warning interrupts everything you’re doing and takes over your screen. Forget about what you were working on — Google Calendar will suddenly surface its tab with a big pop-up alert coupled with an annoying sound. It’s the worst.

Luckily, there’s a setting in Google Calendar that you can use to make notifications much less annoying: “Desktop notifications.” Rather than interrupting your work, you’ll see a much gentler box slide in from the top-righthand corner of your computer screen, displaying the name of the event that’s 10 minutes away.

How to Use This Feature

To enable “Desktop notifications” in Google Calendar, click into your settings using the gear icon on the top-righthand corner in your calendar view. Scroll down to “Event settings” and click the “Notifications” box, as shown below.

By default, your notifications might be set as “Alerts,” causing each event’s 10-minute warning to hijack your computer screen. Instead, select “Desktop notifications,” return to your calendar view, and you will have successfully enabled gentler meeting notifications.

11. Change the event notification time.

In the previous tip, you learned how to soften the notifications you receive in advance of a meeting. But did you also know you can change the number of minutes before the event you want to be notified?

How to Use This Feature

By default, Google will notify you 10 minutes before the event’s start time. To change this warning time for a particular event, click on the event from your calendar view, and select the pencil icon to edit the event’s settings.

In the event details, find the bell icon just below the video conferencing line. Hover your cursor over the box listed “10” and toggle up and down using the small arrow keys that appear to the right to change the number of minutes in advance you want to be notified. As you can see below, you can tell Google to notify you hours, days, or weeks in advance, too.

Pro tip: To the left of the “10,” you can change “Notification” to “Email” if you’d rather be told about upcoming meetings via email instead of a desktop notification.

12. Arrange appointment slots.

Ever thought about incorporating “office hours” so other folks in your company can book time with you? Maybe you’re a part-time consultant with limited hours to book meetings, or want to limit the times your team can book time with you to certain times of day.

If any of the above scenarios resonate with you, think about using Google’s Appointment slots.

Google’s Appointment slots allow you carve out specific times of day on your calendar and then share these times with select people via a private calendar link. When these people click the link, they can schedule meetings with you at any of the times you carved out for them.

If your link recipients find a time they like, all they have to do is select it to book a private event with you, including all the information they’d need for the meeting.

How to Use This Feature

To set up your own Appointment slots, start by clicking anywhere in your calendar view to create an event. When the event options appear, click “Appointment slots,” as shown below at the very top of the window. Set the date range of the slots you’d like to open up for appointments, as well as how long each appointment should be by default next to “Slots with duration.”

If you’d like more control over your Appointments, click “More Options,” and you’ll be taken to the window shown below. Click “This calendar’s appointment page” for the link you can then share with those whom you’re willing to arrange appointments.

13. Browse calendars of interest.

Want to make sure you’re keeping track of holidays in other countries, your favorite sports team’s schedule, or just the time the sun rises and sets each day? You’ll find these calendars (and more) on your Google Calendar’s lefthand sidebar.

How to Use This Feature

To browse and add interesting calendars, click the plus sign (+) next to “Add a coworker’s calendar.” Then, choose “Browse calendars of interest.” From there, choose the calendars you’d like to subscribe to.

14. Implement a custom view.

When you first set up your calendar, you’ll have the option to view it as a week, month, the next 4 days, or as an agenda. That “4 days” option? You can switch that out with a different interval in your “Custom view” options.

How to Use This Feature

To adjust the number of days you see in your calendar view, click into your settings using the gear icon on the top-righthand corner of your screen. Scroll down to “View options.” Click “Set custom view” and select how many days you want to see at one time from your calendar view, as shown below.

You can also make quicker, more general adjustments to your user interface right from your calendar view. Next to your settings’ gear icon, you’ll see a box that, by default, might say “Week.” Click it to reveal a dropdown menu where you can customize your view further, as shown below.

15. Share your calendars with others.

If you’re using Google Apps for your company, you can also control who sees your calendar, what they see, and whether they have permissions to edit it. (If you have an assistant, this tip will be very important to remember.) You can also make your calendar public, if you wish.

How to Use This Feature

To change your sharing settings, click on the plus sign (+) next to the preferred calendar and choose “Settings and sharing,” as shown below.

Then, you’ll be taken to the page shown below. Here, you can choose to do any of the following:

Make the calendar public.

Choose to show event details to everyone in your company, or just free/busy information.

Add someone to your calendar and choose their individual permissions (see all details, make changes to events, hide all details, etc).

When you’re done, click the back arrow on the top-lefthand corner of your screen to return to your calendar view. Google will automatically save your new calendar settings.

16. Use keyboard shortcuts.

Are you looking to really streamline your Google Calendar efforts? Google Calendar’s got a ton of keyboard shortcuts to use, such as:

t = Move your calendar view to today

c = Create an event

q = Quick Add an event

Check out the full list here.

17. Sync meetings with your CRM.

Use a CRM daily? It can be annoying to back and forth between your Google Calendar and your CRM. Instead, dive into your CRM settings to see if there’s an existing integration with Google Calendar.

HubSpot CRM users, you’re in luck — it’s quick and easy to set up this integration. Learn how to do this here.

18. Sync your calendar with your marketing software.

And if you want to make your Google Calendar align even more with your marketing activities, you can even integrate it with your marketing software.

For HubSpot customers, you can use Zapier to set up some pretty nifty workflows, such as creating a social media message every time an event starts. Check out this page for more on how you can set up that integration, as well as some ideas for ways you can integrate the two.

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onlinemarketingsystemworld-blog · 6 years

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Why Facebook Deserves Over $10 Billion

Yahoo! have actually remained in talks with Facebook for over a year currently as well as apparently recently got reluctant at Facebook's $1 billion asking rate but as I will certainly describe here Yahoo! have missed out on an outright deal.

Facebook have 18 million users, plenty. Nevertheless MySpace has 100 million + and sold for a simple $580 million to News Corp's in 2005. YouTube sold to Google for a reported $1.65 billion in 2006 but it offers over 100 million video clip's a day as well as has more than 25 million visitors a month. So what makes Facebook so important? It obtains relatively massive website traffic levels but out par with YouTube or MySpace. Despite currently being readily available to anyone it started life as an exclusive network for pupils (you required an academic email to register) and this is still its main customer group.

So where's the cash?

Currently Facebook displays traditional banner marketing on customers' homepages as well as picked pages through the website. Adverts are unobtrusive and random in so much as they're not targeted at any specific individual- they're simply served to the whole website on a random basis. Facebook are doing ok from this plan on the basis of the variety of page perceptions they receive, although in truth they're keeping advertising and marketing at a minimum in order to accumulate the value of the site for its eventual sale which will certainly probably happen in 2007/8. Smart guys!

The power of details

Register with Facebook and also quickly you could find yourself distributing significant quantities of useful individual info. Think about it ... Facebook understand your name, they recognize exactly how old you are (actually your D.O.B which is definitely more valuable as I'll go on to clarify), they know if you're male or female, they recognize your hometown, your postcode if you choose to give it away (although I question many individuals pick this), they know if you're single, in a connection (as well as that with), wed, divorced etc, they understand your sexual orientation. Ok so you can answer all these inquiries as honestly, dishonestly or vaguely as you like yet from what I've seen individuals gladly give exact info regarding themselves as it's their friends as well as possible buddies that are going to see it- and no person else right?

However just what else do Facebook recognize? Well they know where you mosted likely to school, where you function, more sinisterly your religious and political views. From this we can start to accumulate a rather beneficial market account. As I'm informing Facebook I could too inform you I'm Male, 22 (born in August), Straight, in a connection, conventional, atheist from Brighton, England. Mosted likely to school at Blatchington Mill Second, college at a location called BHASVIC, University at Bournemouth. From this information we can draw more assumptions- I reside in Brighton and based upon the area of my institutions catchment area we could rather accurately map areas in Brighton I find out about, visit, as well as reside in (assume Google maps API). I'm a directly; conservative from a reasonably well-off location in full time employment as a result I'm most likely white, center course with a respectable non reusable revenue.

So exactly what else? Facebook know what you resemble, they possibly know what you used to look like a few years ago too. Probably most considerably they understand that your buddies are, they recognize just how you recognize them, they understand when you speak with them, just what they appear like and also eventually they know precisely the very same information about them as they learn about you- you're interests, suches as and dislikes as well as your buddies tastes too.

They understand your email address, so they understand if you make use of Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and so on. They recognize your telephone number so they could very easily work out your phone service provider. They have your IP address so they might exercise your ISP. They recognize where you've reached the site from so they recognize what online search engine you use (get in Yahoo! As well as Google to the bidding process battle), what internet browser you're on, they know if you're aesthetically impaired or have finding out impairments from the setups on your web browser.

Facebook know when I'm visiting and also from where so they understand the hrs I work, if I'm making use of the web at the office, the web pages I leave Facebook to visit or the web pages I originate from so they understand just what other websites I check out. I could establish my present condition and inform Facebook precisely what I'm doing or really feeling right this 2nd.

Ok so you get the picture by now, one last point though, is your Facebook password the same as your email account password, your internet as well as telephone banking password, each password you utilize in your life (because until I wrote this blog post mine was!) how much even more info do you want to hand out?

What's the risk here?

Genuinely it's very slim. Facebook are a nice lot of individuals as well as a great website, I like using it as well as in spite of understanding just what I learn about info safety and so on I choose to distribute a large chunk of the info I have actually spoken about here.

Yahoo! And Facebook

So if Yahoo!, Google or god forbid Microsoft effectively purchase Facebook (as I say I'm fairly confident this will certainly occur this year) the Orwellian lucid desire recommended by this blog post ends up being a continuous headache. Imagine a firm who have actually made billions and also controlled the fastest growing market in the world by developing algorithms which creep hundreds of countless pages of arbitrary information (the web) and classify that details with the supreme goal of matching it to businesses and offering marketing.

The search algorithm let loose on Facebook

Imagine the online search engine let loose on Facebook. An algorithm tuned to choose profile details (John, born 13.08.84). Map it to search phrases in individual rate of interests i.e. football, Manchester United. Plot your location on a map i.e. Brighton, England. Comply with links to your closest pals with comparable interests i.e. Bob and also Dave who live round the corner as well as serve me an advert something like:

Pleased birthday for next week John.

Did you recognize its Dave's birthday celebration the week after?

Why not publication tickets for Brighton and also Hove Albion vs. Manchester united on 12.08.07

Visit this site to book now and obtain 3 tickets for the price of 2 (why not ask bob to find along- he sustains Brighton and also you have not talked in a while).

Schedule today as well as we'll offer you a half price limousine from your house to the video game with trashy-limo's. com.

Now that's powerful advertising as well as it's simply nearby. If Facebook has 25 million signed up individuals by the time it's sold, half of which see each day that's a minimum 12.5 million web page impressions a day. Serve the advert above at $1 a click (which is much less than its worth based upon the current AdWords CPC design) expect a click with price of as much as 10% based on the exact nature of the marketing which's $1.2 million minimum a day- virtually $ 1/2 a billion a year. Grow that individual group to 50 million (reasonable if Google or Yahoo! can use their existing individual database) and also offer advertisement room on an affiliate basis claim the football tickets at $300 with a 10% affiliate kickback and also a 10% conversion price =$ 3 per user x 25 million users =$ 75 million a day or $2737500000 in year 1! OK allows not obtain brought away individuals aren't mosting likely to spend $300 each day yet the logics there therefore the money.

Will the audience except it?

Much better quality marketing indicates much less advertising- less web sites rammed with banners so you can not discover exactly what you're looking for, much less popups, less low quality items. This is the primary driving force behind the success of search advertising programs and account based marketing is already in position with Google's individualized search returning extra targeted AdWords advertisements compared to previously possible. If it falls under the hands of Microsoft then individuals could be more careful yet with the picture of Google or Yahoo! and Facebook account details is considered as soft details as the business does not sell you products directly as well as he solution is complimentary. It's the method the internet is going and also I believe it's where we'll remain in 5 years.

Identification theft

The factor I've been making tediously through this article is that we ought to be extra mindful concerning just what information we give up and also to whom. If the net was an area it would certainly be Nazi Germany and also Facebook would certainly be the Gestapo! Social energies like Facebook are afforded the kind of fortunate details fascist federal governments everywhere would certainly and have actually killed for. We moan concerning identity cards being presented in the UK (actually there's several Facebook groups committed to the reason) but we gladly surrender personal details to a number of college geeks in the states that are ultimately intending on offering our details to the highest bidder (the value of any website is based upon the volume, top quality and quantity of info they have regarding their web traffic- however finest of good luck to them) possibly to the business that currently control the majority of world business systems with the home windows system.

This blog post is not implied to scare- it's simply an acknowledgment of the power of new web modern technologies, their possibly applications as well as to pose the inquiry- if your Facebook pals are your actual pals shouldn't they understand your birthday celebration? Are Facebook actually going to buy you a present?!

#Facebook #Social Media

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trendaboutmalware6-blog · 7 years

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Virus Databases Update Kaspersky Lab Official Weblog

You all know that the planet is moving towards technology and there are a lot of innovations of new gadgets and Wise devices in the technical market. World Possible is a Nonprofit Organization with a mission to connect offline learners to the world's knowledge. They work to make sure that anybody can access the best educational resources from the web anytime, anywhere, even if they do not have an World wide web connection. But, I could ignore that tips. I could give this virus an enticing name, like 'britney-spears-wedding-clip. mpeg' to fool folks into thinking it's a video. If I have been to email it to a victim and if he clicked on it and did not have up-to-date anti-virus computer software, then disaster would strike his computer. The virus would activate. It would quietly attain into the victim's Microsoft Windows operating program and insert new commands telling the laptop to erase its own difficult drive. Responding to an web discussion final year Facebook Android engineer Franci Penov attempted to clarify why their app required such a higher level of control more than users' phones. Join Lenny to expand your incident response and malware analysis talent-set mac antivirus and understand how to turn publicly available data about adversaries and their malicious applications into beneficial intelligence. If far more than one particular person utilizes your Computer, it's a negative thought to let them all share the very same user account. If nothing else, it will be difficult to keep any documents you create separately, but mixing other files and settings can also make Windows a lot more difficult to use. Make positive that you have a clean method: update antivirus software program install, run a virus scan in Windows Protected Mode clear out short-term Internet files and other temporary data. Totally free Mac antivirus software offers fundamental antivirus protection, but typically lacks the extras such as a firewall, identity protection, parental controls and e mail monitoring that you get with paid-for safety suites. 3 The next option is to determine whether you want to ‘protect' your tweets. Generally, when you send a tweet, anyone with access to the net can see it by merely seeking at your Twitter account's webpage. Nonetheless, if you want your tweets to be seen only by the folks who follow you, go to ‘Settings', then click on ‘Security and privacy', then ‘Tweet privacy' and, finally, ‘Protect my tweets'. Tiny and simple, Panda Cloud Antivirus is a lightweight tool which offers free true-time antivirus protection, and can be utilised alongside several other safety tools with out issues. Great point! Microsoft Windows eight topped the Which? anti-virus test. We put the biggest names in security software via a rigourous set of tests to see how they deal with threats and how simple they are to use. He said: 'The organization that hosts the email account which the ransomware asks you to contact has closed the account. There is no way to get files back. There are firewalls and anti-virus software obtainable for free on the Web as effectively as a lot of alternatives for acquire. One more tip is to make good connections within your regional security community, as nicely as the on-line neighborhood. This opens up a number of avenues of help like correlation of malware samples, potential training opportunities, and details on new vulnerabilities or exploits. Apple's in-built functions in macOS, such as XProtect and Gatekeeper, do a excellent job at fending off most on the web threats. Nonetheless, you must nevertheless workout caution when you download or set up programs. And, you may possibly want to get a best-good quality cost-free or paid-for Mac antivirus system to get some additional protection. The business added that it applied the exact same security requirements and maintained the same levels of access as other safety vendors, and reiterated that it was willing to make its supply code, threat detection rules and software program updates accessible for audit by independent authorities.

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pettyprincessuk · 7 years

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Something Familiar ~ Chapter One

Summary: Chris is an Agender individual who is adopted into the Reid family. It shows the everyday life as Chris adjusts to their new family and the new problems that arise. This story is heavily inspired by the Ouran High school Host Club.

Word Count: 3,708

It was easy for anyone to see that the twins were in their own little world. In fact, Zeke and Florence had, and still continue to, described themselves as 'loners.' It had always been just the two of them – as far as they were concerned they only needed each other - they didn't need other people. People that could hurt them seemed illogical to have, they were fine on their own.

Florence was the eldest of the two, they were almost completely identical, the differences between them were usually unnoticed. All anyone ever noticed was the identical features in which they shared. Since people had struggles defining who was who, they both styled their hair differently. Florence opted to style his hair with the parted on the left, his hair sleek and maintained. Zeke, however, parted his hair on the right and left it to be messy.

"I have to tell you something, it's important." Zeke looked up at their father who had just interrupted them from the game they were playing.

"Oh?" Florence was urging their father to continue, knowing he had the tendency to take forever to actually speak at times.

"I spoke to your mother already and she's agreed to it, besides it's already happened so it's too late for you to reject it..." He paused, "I met a girl on my business trip,"

"Are you waiting for someone?" The man sat down next to the brunette. They remembered seeing his face many times throughout the day as he walked through the park in an expensive looking suit. They turned and smiled. He noticed the smile didn't reach her eyes but, didn't mention it.

"No." They paused, "You've been past me quite a few times today, busy day?"

"You could say that. I've had business meetings all day. You're pretty observant." He complimented, " So why have you been sitting here all day?"

"I didn't want to stay there." They were vague, he wondered if they were in trouble.

"School? Home? Sorry, I don't mean to intrude."

"The orphanage, I just hate it there, the kids are loud and my grades are dropping because of them."

"Oh... I'm sorry." What was he supposed to say? " I know I'm a stranger but, you can talk to me. What were your parents like?" They smiled.

"My mother, she died when I was 5, was wonderful. She was a hard-working lawyer, one that truly stood for justice. Even when she was ill, she kept always smiling."

"Your mother was smart."

"She was, my father raised me after she died. He worked hard too, he had to take on multiple jobs just to be able to keep us living. He didn't let the stress bother him though, he wouldn't even let me get a part time job to help us out. He was really supportive of me too, he was so proud when I told him where I was going to study."

"He was a good father, why was he proud?"

"I had gotten a scholarship to Ritchell, it's super hard to get into when you're poor."

"So you're one of the scholarship students I heard about?"

"You heard of me? How?"

"The chairman is a good friend of mine, his son and mine both attend the school. You're very intelligent to be there."

"Oh... well, I don't think I will be there for much longer."

The two of them continued to talk until it was nearly sunset, the man introduced himself as Anthony and Chris told him her name in return as he walked her back to the orphanage. Chris departed to her room and he left to go back to the hotel in which he was staying. He couldn't stop thinking about Chris, they were clearly smart but, the orphanage was pulling her down. He picked up his phone and discussed adopting another child with his wife. She practically accepted right away, she had been wanting a daughter.

The next day, he returned to the orphanage with the papers that he would need.

"Can I help you?" The woman at the reception desk asked.

"I would like to adopt, where would I go?"

"Do you have the papers you need?" He nodded and was directed to an office. Inside was a man he presumed interviewed people who wanted to adopt.

"Do you have children?"

"I have 2 sons, twins."

"Are you financially stable?"

"Very." He showed the woman his business card amplifying that he meant it. The question continued on as the woman investigated if Anthony would be suitable for adopting.

"Thank you for your time, I find you'd be a suitable person to adopt, would you like to visit the children and choose someone to adopt?"

"I want to adopt Chris, I think they're a remarkable teen and would like to help them strive."

"That's wonderful, I'll inform them to pack up all her belongings now, are you ready to take them home right away?"

"Yes, the mansion has plenty of rooms available and my wife already knows about this."

The woman left to inform Chris, Anthony could feel his heart pounding with happiness. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this, he just hoped the boys wouldn't reject her.

Later on, all the details had been set out and Chris was on her way to her new home with Anthony. They were shocked to hear the news but, nevertheless agreed to it, they were beyond excited.

When they arrived she waited in the hallway listening to her new adoptive father tell his sons about her. They fiddled with the hem of her jumper as the nerves got to her. They weren't even sure what they were nervous about, They had already met the twins before, They were in their class. Suppose becoming your classmate's sibling all of a sudden gives you a reason to be nervous though. They looked up as they heard the final line being said, her queue to enter. The maid opened the door for her, allowing her to walk in.

"Hello Zeke," They greeted the twin slouched lazily over the sofa with a smile, "Hey Florence," they also greeted the twin sat neatly, "I'm Chris."

"Hey." The twins replied back before they realized what had just happened. " How did you do that?"

Chris tilted their head in confusion, all she said was hello. Florence noticed the scrunched up look on their face.

" How could you tell us apart? Not even our parents can do that." He clarified for them.

"Really? It's not exactly hard... Let's see. Florence tends to sit with a better posture than Zeke. Zeke sits with his feet up on the table a lot." They laughed. "Plus, Florence, you have a broader jaw-line than Zeke does."

"That's amazing." Zeke was in awe. "I don;t think having you as a sibling will be too bad."

The remainder of the night was spent with Chris reading a book for English class. The twins were supposed to be reading it too but, Chris didn't bother saying anything since they knew the twins had excellent grades.

"Chris!" They woke up the sounds of someone banging on their door. They groaned and looked at the clock. 5 am. Seriously?

"Ugh... I don't even need to be awake for another hour." They mumbled in their tired state.

"Chris, wake up!"

Reluctantly they forced themselves out of the warm cocoon of the duvet and instead put on the dressing gown that was draped over the end of the bed. They walked to the door, more like dragged themselves to the door, and opened it. Florence and Zeke stood in front of them with a uniform in Zeke's hand. The uniform consisted of sleek black pants, a white collared shirt with a dark navy tie and a matching blazer. Chris didn't fail to notice the cosmetic bag, comb and hair scissors that Florence was holding.

"Seriously?" They muttered. "Is this necessary?"

Zeke nodded.

"You're our sibling now. You need to be as presentable as a Reid is."

"You don't want to ruin our family's reputation, do you?" Florence added.

Though the wording was harsh the twins spoke in a tone they suggested they were half joking. Still, Chris agreed to what they said and allowed the twins to work their magic.

Their long hair was brushed thoroughly before Zeke started to clip up sections of it. He suggested they had their hair cut shorter, passing just below the shoulders to make it easier to maintain. Zeke eventually finished cutting their hair with the look finished off with a wispy full fringe that gently framed their face.

"If you would like it shorter, I think you'd be able to pull off a pixie cut. I'll be more than happy to cut it for you again."

"Thanks, Zeke. This is really nice."

Their thickly rimmed glasses were taken away and replaced with contact lenses. Chris didn't even want to ask how they had gotten their prescription - it seemed rich people are capable of anything, Florence applied very little brown eyeshadow to their lash line and blended it up and out to subtly bring out their eyes. To finish the whole new look, the twins told them to go change into the uniform.

Once the twins were satisfied with Chris' transformation, and they had all ate, they set off to school in the Mercedes.

Chris walked into homeroom following behind Zeke and Florence. They sat down and shortly after their form tutor arrived.

"Ah, I didn't know we were expecting a new student. Will you please come up front and introduce yourself?" Their tutor said as soon as she noticed Chris.

"Caroline, I've been here since the beginning of the year... I'm Chris."

The room was filled with whispers, did the whole class just think there was a new student?

"My apologies, Chris. You looked like a completely new student." Chris simply nodded to accept the apology.

The morning classes passed as usual. Chris received full marks on their Shakespeare essay and on the latest maths test.

During lunch, they were approached by many students asking where the sudden transformation had come from. It caused them to freeze up. They had this kind of attention in their last school and they hated it. She looked at Florence, trying to indicate that they wanted him to help them out of the situation.

" I suppose you should be thanking Zeke and I." Florence's voice drew the attention of the students towards him. "Our sibling is cuter than you realized, right?"

"Sib- Sibling?" The class president, Ryan, was the first to react to Florence's words. Chris was surprised as well. They'd presumed the twins would've kept it quiet for as long as they could. Chris was wrong.

"Yeah." Zeke spoke as if it was old news that everyone should know by now. " What about them being our sibling?"

Chris spoke up, explaining about the adoption, being careful to leave out any details she didn't wish to share. The students were accepting of it, not really judging them for being adopted.

"Hey, Chris." Florence poked them drawing their attention to him during their history class. They side glanced him just enough to indicate they were listening. "You're coming to our club with us after school, right?"

They spoke quietly,

"I have to go to the library to study. I'm here on a scholarship and I have to keep my grades at the top of the class if I don't want to lose that."

"Study in the club room, I can guarantee it'll be quieter than any of the libraries here." He promised, pointing out that the libraries were always full of rowdy rich kids who used the place to socialize.

"Okay."

The lessons finished for the day. Chris considered leaving the class before the twins noticed and just walking back to the mansion but, it was too late. Two arms latched onto theirs; one belonging to Florence and the other, Zeke's; and dragged them along to the club room. The club was held in one of the smaller halls - the same hall that was used for year group assemblies rather than the assemblies held for the whole school. The doors were an ivory white shade with gold handles that shone as if there was a ray of the sun inside them. The twins opened the door, inside was an array of tables - off the left-hand side was fancy China cups, tea pots and a selection of finger food - off to the right was a group of attractive males; the club members.

"Florence, Zeke, you're fully aware that guests are not allowed in before the club officially opens." The man was the second tallest in the group, his dark brown locks curled around his face framing it and his thick brows rimmed his eyes in a way that perfectly brought out his icy blue eyes.

"Can't we make an exception?" Another male, a blond man with bright green eyes, practically whined. "Look how cute she is."

"I'm not a girl..."

"If you want to stay then you can." the blond man approached them getting dangerously close.

"They're off limits, Cody." Chris scoffed at Zeke. Over protective or what?

"Benji, they're not a guest. This is the honor student and our sibling." Florence smirked.

"So you're Benji? and you're Cody?" Chris quickly moved the conversation along.

"You remembered!" Cody beamed, Chris had to wonder if he was always this enthusiastic.

"I'm Chris Reid." They explained that they were Agender and used they/them pronouns. The club members nodded along noting what pronouns to use. "I was adopted so I'm Florence and Zeke's sibling now."

Cody blinked trying to take in what was just said. The others, a short male with mousey brown hair that flicked to the left and a tall man with dark hair cut extremely short that it was only a few millimetres off from being considered a buzz cut, and of course Benji, were shocked.

"I think we should introduce ourselves to Chris," The short male spoke up, "I'm Luciell Platt, I'm a third-year student." He smiled, his mouth stretching wide across his face.

"I'm Hadrian. Third-year." The man was quiet in a very endearing way.

"You already know I'm Cody. Cody Dunn if you must know. Second-year student and this is-"

"I'm Benjamin. Vice President of the club and also a second-year. People call me Ben or Benji."

"I'll introduce myself once more. I'm Chris, I'm a first-year."

"I don't think I've seen you around Ritchell before, have I?" Cody asked intrigued by the new face before him.

"I came here on a scholarship. I've been here for a month already." They explained. Most students that came to Ritchell, most meaning everyone par them, had attended Ritchell since they were 4 years old as the school worked as an elevator system where students moved up into rather than coming from different schools.

"No way! You're the honour student?"

"I had sai-"

"I didn't think a commoner could be this beautiful."

A hand rose and sharply smacked Cody across the face leaving a red mark on his cheek.

"Excuse you. What was that."

"I sai-"

"Don't even think of saying that again. How dare you presume my background has anything to do with my looks."

"Interesting..." Benji commentated "It seems Chris doesn't know who they're talking to."

"Oh Ben, you're mistaken there. I'm fully aware that Cody here is the Chairman's son. That isn't going to stop me from defending myself when I feel insulted." They paused. "Still I guess I appreciate the back-handed compliment.

"You know, if they come to the club every day we might get some male customers." Luciel pointed out.

"Hmm, perhaps we will..." Benji turned to Chris, "Are you interested?

"In flirting with people for money? Sorry, but that isn't my style... besides I don't think my girlfriend would appreciate that very much."

"Girlfriend?" Zeke and Florence asked simultaneously. "How come we weren't told about her?"

"I moved into the mansion yesterday. Don't act like we've known each other for years. You two don't need to know my whole life story. It's not necessary information, is it?"

"Of course, it is." Zeke laughed before he and Florence started to take turns to bombard them with questions, "What's her name?"

"Have you got a photo?"

"How long have you two been together?"

"Calm down. I'll answer your questions. Her name is Mika." Chris took out her phone and showed them all the phone screen, "She's the red haired one next to me. We've been dating for two years." They explained, "Anyway, besides that, when does this club open?"

"Oh crap, we need to open now." Benji rushed the boys to get into their positions as he opened the doors to let the ladies in. As he was doing so, Chris made their way to the window and sat on the ledge. They had their math paper beside them. As they tried to solve the algebraic problems, they kept getting stuck on one of the questions.

The doors were opened and the men chorused a "welcome" to the ladies that entered.the room filled with murmurs as the ladies tried to figure out how Chris had gotten into the club room before the club had started,

"Why can't I be in the club before you start, Cody?" The short girl's voice was one with an irritating high pitch that hurt your ears.

"My apologies, Chris is only allowed in on the grounds of being Zeke and Florence's sibling." Fortunately, the girl accepted Benji's explanation.

Chris was soon absorbed in their studies once more, they were currently trying to figure out how the quadratic formula was supposed to be applied to the question.

"Chris?" They looked up to see Hadrian standing in front of them. "The answer is two, not four. you added here instead of subtracting." He pointed to the 2nd question.

"Oh right. Thank you, Hadrian. You're finished with your guests?"

"Club finished." He told them. Sure enough, all that remained were the members and an array of dirty cups that were waiting to be cleaned.

The Reid Mansion was in every sense of the word 'fancy,' from the hallway with the golden chandelier made with the rarest gemstones, to the library that was filled with thousands upon thousands of books on bookshelves carved from the finest mahogany. When Anthony, Chris's adoptive father had shown them the library, they were in awe.

"You're free to read any of the books whenever you wish. I have a large collection of classic English literature if you are interested."

"I love them, I particularly enjoyed 'The Picture of Dorian Grey' and 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." They beamed.

Chris spent the rest of the evening in the library browsing through the books. They found books on Law that they would definitely be reading to help with their studies.

Dinner was a 3-course event with pumpkin soup to start, roasted duck in an orange sauce for the main and a crème brûlée for dessert.

"Thank you for the meal." Chris smiled at Jennifer, their adoptive mother. The smile was returned as Jennifer told Chris that all the thanks should be given to their chef, Miss South. Chris mentally noted that and told themselves that they would thank Miss South later.

Soon, they all retired to do as they each pleased. Zeke and Florence went to the game room where they trolled people on their favourite platform as if they were 12-year-olds. Their father went to his office to take an important call and their mother went to bathe.

Chris picked up 2 of the dirty plates off of the table and carried them to the kitchen, Before long, they had cleared the table and were filling the sink with hot, soapy water. They put a few dishes into the basin, but made sure not to over fill, and began to clean.

"Oh!" A voice from behind caused them to jump. "There's no need for you to do that."

"It's okay, I really don't mind doing housework. Besides, I'm thankful I got to eat the delicious meals made by Miss South. I should show my gratitude."

"No-one has ever thanked me before..."

"Well thank you very much, Miss South."

"Please call me Emma." The woman smiled, she was around 30 and had dark brown hair that was styled in a low hanging bun."

"Sure, Emma. Call me Chris."

Emma smiled at Chris, this was the first times she had really spoken to a member of the household outside of getting work orders. She found it was pleasant. Emma picked up a dirty dish and started to clean. She washed and Chris dried them. The two of them made quick work as they spoke about each other's interests.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Emma."

As Chris walked out of the kitchen, they were grabbed by the twins.

"What were you doing in the kitchen?" Florence asked.

"Talking to Emma. Now, will you let me go so I can shower?"

Zeke smirked, his mouth stretching across his face as a thought entered his mind.

"Can I join you?" He joked. Chris shoved Zeke away and sent him a death glare that made him make the gap between them all that much bigger.

"I know that was a joke but, are you not forgetting I have a girlfriend, you fucking perv."

"Are you sure you weren't lying so people wouldn't flirt with you?" Florence teased, however, Chris was not in the mood for it. Chris pulled out their phone and started to call their girlfriend, making sure they had the phone on loud speaker.

"Hey, baby." A feminine voice answered in a bright tone.

"Mim I've not seen you for ages, I miss you~"

"I miss you too, I want to see you so badly right now."

"Want to meet at the park?"

"Really?"

"Really, I have some people I want to introduce to you. It's okay if they come, right?"

"Of course, babe. I can't wait to see you. I'm leaving my apartment right now, okay. I love you~"

"I love you too, darling. I'll be there soon."

#Dee.Story #writing

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marie85marketing · 7 years

Text

Quality Over Quantity: Repurpose Your Best Ideas and Distribute Them Far and Wide

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but …

Your audience does not need your ideas.

Sorry to disappoint you.

It’s true though.

Your audience is exposed to plenty of ideas. Everywhere they turn online and offline, they are bombarded with ideas. Ideas, ideas, ideas. Mostly filler and fluff.

Think about yourself. Do you need any more ideas to consume and consider?

No.

What you need are someone’s best ideas. And what your audience needs — in fact, all that your audience needs — are your best ideas.

The ideas that cut through the crap and clutter to make a difference

The ideas you’ve thought through, spent time with, and sculpted

The ideas that are closer to finished products than initial impressions

And you should invest more time distributing these premium ideas further and wider, in different ways and in different places. You shouldn’t simply hit Publish and then run to the next idea.

This way you can meet more of your current audience members where they are and you increase the likelihood of reaching potential audience members with your best work.

Let me show you an example of how I’m doing this on one of my sites …

It all starts with a blog post

Given my responsibilities here at Rainmaker Digital, and being a new dad, I don’t have a ton of extra capacity for side projects.

So when I do have an idea worth sharing over at The Assembly Call, I want to maximize the impact and distribution of that good idea. I can’t afford to spin my wheels.

In the immortal words of Sweet Brown:

“Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

This is why I’ve shifted my strategy and begun taking one well-thought-out idea and repurposing it into several different types of content, distributed in many different places.

The idea is given birth in a blog post. Why? Because I do my best thinking when I’m writing.

Writing forces me to clarify my thoughts in a way that I’m never able to by simply ruminating, or even talking.

I need to sit down, think, write, edit, think a little more, edit a little more, and chisel the idea from rough stone into something smooth and polished.

A lot of the fluff, filler, clutter, and crap gets removed, and then I feel much more comfortable turning the idea loose in the world.

(This process also makes me more prepared to speak extemporaneously about the topic in the future — a very useful side benefit for a project that involves a podcast and radio show.)

You may be different. You may thrive working it all out in your head. You may find that you clarify your ideas best by talking them out. I urge you to learn what works best for you and follow it.

But for me, it starts with writing. Hence why I began a blogging series titled “3-Point Shot” — where, basically, I take a topic of interest to IU basketball fans and come up with three useful observations about it. Simple. Consistent. Repeatable.

Sometimes I know what the observations will be before I start writing. But usually the process of conducting basic research, and then synthesizing it into three clearly articulated ideas, reveals new insights that are useful to me and, in turn, to my audience.

I write the first draft. Sometimes I rewrite or rearrange parts. Then I edit and proofread. Soon thereafter I hit Publish. The entire process usually takes 60–75 minutes.

Now I have a blog post, usually in the 1,000–1,250 word vicinity, that I can distribute via social media, use to attract search traffic, and send to our email list.

One piece. One format. A few distribution channels.

All done? Hardly. I’m actually just getting started.

The beautiful part of this strategy is that the most difficult and time-intensive part is now done. I developed a high-quality idea — it’s not just something I slapped together in 15 minutes as a cheap traffic grab.

Next, it’s time to leverage this fully-formed idea into a blitzkrieg of distribution.

The blog post becomes a podcast episode (and video!)

Keep in mind as we go through this example that the specific steps and channels that work for me over at The Assembly Call may not necessarily be the steps that you need to take.

That site is built around a podcast, and we’re also trying to grow our YouTube audience. Therefore, getting content out to our podcast audience and publishing more content to our YouTube channel are priorities. That might not be true for you.

But the big idea that I’m describing here — combining the power of quality over quantity with repurposing and smart, widespread distribution — will work for you. Just take the basic principles and apply them to your situation.

The next basic principle for me is this: turn the blog post into a podcast episode … and there just so happens to be a way that I can do that while simultaneously creating a video version too. Score!

When time is of the essence (and when isn’t it?), you have to take any chance you can to work smarter, not harder.

So here’s what I do:

Double-check my microphone cables and settings, and do a test recording. (Always, always, always do a test recording!)

Open up my Assembly Call episode template in GarageBand, so I can record locally.

Create a YouTube Live Event to broadcast the recording live.

Open up the blog post in a web browser, so I have it ready for reference.

Tweet out the link to the YouTube Live Event, so anyone who is interested can watch the live recording. (For what it’s worth, I’ve never had fewer than 16 people watch live online, and occasionally that number is up in the 50s and 60s.)

Hit Record in GarageBand, hit Start Broadcast on the YouTube Live Event, welcome the audience, and start reading the blog post.

From time to time while reading, I’ll interject something extra — the kind of comment that might have been a footnote to the written piece. But for the most part I just read the blog post verbatim, trying to sound as casual and conversational as I can.

I was worried when I first starting doing this that our podcast and YouTube audiences wouldn’t be too enthused about this content since it’s just me (without my co-hosts) and I’m basically just reading something they could get on the blog.

My worries proved to be unfounded. The response has been unequivocally positive.

I’ve received numerous tweets and emails thanking me for finding a way to deliver this written content in the preferred consumption medium for podcast listeners, which make up the majority of our audience. These folks would never get to see or hear the content otherwise.

And it is so easy to do. The entire time investment to record and post the podcast is about 30–35 minutes:

5 minutes to set up

15–20 minutes to record

10 minutes to publish the podcast (the YouTube Live Event is automatically archived on our YouTube channel for on-demand viewing)

Furthermore, while our blog posts only publish in one place — our blog — we are set up to distribute our podcast episodes far and wide, with only a few button clicks required.

Every episode goes to:

iTunes

Google Play

TuneIn Radio

Stitcher

iHeartRadio

Spreaker

SoundCloud

This doesn’t even account for the many individual podcast apps that scrape places like iTunes for podcast feeds. (For example, I use Podcast Addict on my Android device, and The Assembly Call is available there even though I never signed up or submitted it there.)

And here’s a fun, little side benefit …

One of my favorite bonuses about tweeting out links to podcast episodes over blog posts is that people can consume the content right there in their Twitter feed.

Look at this tweet. All someone has to do is hit the play button, and the episode will play right there in the Twitter feed. Less friction, less distance between my audience being intrigued and then actually consuming my content.

Turn one quality blog post into a traffic and attention engine

So if you’re scoring at home, we’ve now gone from one blog post, one distribution channel, and a few traffic sources to:

A blog post

A podcast episode

A video

At least 11 different distribution channels

Countless traffic sources

And here’s the crazy thing … it could be more.

I could:

Repurpose the blog post someplace like Medium, or as a guest post

Create a slide presentation for SlideShare

Find additional video channels besides YouTube

Extract clips of the audio for a service like Clammr

Make clips or GIFs from the video to post in visual channels like Instagram

And on and on.

The main reasons I don’t do those are a) time and b) because I’d get diminishing returns.

I’ve tried to be strategic about investing the limited time and effort resources I have for this project into the channels that will deliver the best and most immediate returns. SlideShare, for example, isn’t going to do much for a sports audience, but it may be a great option for you.

What’s been the impact of all this? It’s only been a month, but already:

I added 400 new email subscribers

We doubled our YouTube subscribers (in just a month!)

Traffic to our blog increased by 31.91 percent

Podcast downloads in just March of 2017 (the majority of which was during the off-season, when attention is usually lower) were nearly equal to the combined total of January and February

What you should do next

Ask yourself if you’re maximizing the distribution of your best ideas.

Not your best blog posts, but your best ideas.

Because if you have an idea that’s a winner, but it’s only distributed via text as a blog post, then you’re missing out on a wide range of additional attraction options.

Can you turn your blog post into an audio recording? Can you then turn that audio recording into a video — even if you just use a fixed image rather than filming yourself (like I do here)?

Or, if you have a great podcast episode, can you go the other way and turn it into a blog post? If you already create transcripts for your podcast episodes, this is incredibly simple to do.

The bottom line is that rather than focusing on the quantity of the content you publish, you should invest more time in creating fewer, higher quality pieces of content … and then find efficient, scalable ways to distribute these high-quality pieces to as many nooks and crannies of the web as you can.

You’ll reach more people with your best ideas in the way they’re most comfortable consuming content.

And there’s no better way to build an audience and authority, brick by brick, than that.

The post Quality Over Quantity: Repurpose Your Best Ideas and Distribute Them Far and Wide appeared first on Copyblogger.

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