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candy-and-writing · 4 years

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Mr. Brightside

Request by @mmmmm-11: Can I request a Cap fic in which he's pretty cold to the reader because he really doesn't know how to process his feelings and there is some jealously their in feeling both sides and then the smut 😅🤩

Warnings: 18+, smut, unprotected sex, oral sex, fingering, jealous! Steve, Steve is low-key a dick

A/n: so this took way longer than I meant it to and it's also a lot longer than anticipated. Thank you so much for requesting this!! I had so much fun writing this piece

I am NOT responsible for your media content consumption. This work is not intended for those under the age of 18 due to explicit sexual content and/or dark themes. By reading this work you agree that you are at least 18 years of age. I do not consent to have my work posted on any third party app or website; if you are seeing this work anywhere other than tumblr and archiveofourown, it has been reposted without my permission.

Steve was silent as you sat in the back of the quinjet, your forehead bloody and uniform pulled down to your torso as Bruce tended to the bullet hole gaping in your shoulder. His shoulders were tense, his features drawn into a scowl as he glared at you, stewing in his own anger.

You knew you fucked up, if the blood seeping out of your shoulder and the burning building you barely escaped was any confirmation. Steve huffed, his hands slamming down on the table placed in the middle of the jet.

You had grown used to this—the sudden flip of his mood with you. Ever since you first joined, he was cold and angry with you. It didn't matter if all you did was try to make him happy, there was always something you did that made him annoyed with you. You had learned long ago how to hold yourself up against the angry super-soldier.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Steve suddenly shouted at you, his loud tone sending a dull throb through your temples. "I gave you an order, you could've blown the mission!"

"I was going after Strucker," you groaned, wincing as Bruce pressed a rag against your wound. "I didn't see the detonator. I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' isn't gonna cut it, Y/n. You compromised the mission. You're lucky I cut him off or else you'd in a lot more trouble."

"I get it, Cap, I do, but can we talk about this later. . . when I'm not bleeding out?" Your vision was blurring and your body was feeling alarmingly numb.

"No, we're gonna talk about this now."

"Steve," Bruce cut in, "I think Y/n is right. Maybe we can talk about this when she feels better?"

Steve's jaw clenched. He was quiet for a moment, and you were worried he was going to explode on you again. He looked over his shoulder, where the rest of the team was watching, and sighed. "Fine."

You let out a breath as he walked to the front of the jet. You leaned back, resting your head on the wall as you closed your eyes.

You left Bruce's lab an hour after you landed, your bullet wound all but healed and given painkillers for your concussion. You were still a little dizzy as you wobbled back to your room when you ran into Steve. He was wearing a slim workout shirt that looked two sizes too small and dark sweatpants, probably heading to the gym. You straightened your shoulders, bracing yourself. He looked you over, scowling before he pushed past you.

You stood there for a moment, shocked he hadn't started screaming at you the second he saw you. You blinked, jogging after him. "Steve, wait!"

He stopped, looking down at you as you stood in front of him. You let out a breath, your world spinning.

"I'm sorry," you said. "I should've listened to you. I should've waited for backup and I didn't and it almost cost us Strucker. I'm sorry."

Steve didn't say anything. He looked at you, irritation gnawing at his features. He mumbled out a small, "It's fine," before turning away.

You bit the inside of your cheek to distract you from the pang in your chest. You should be used to it by now—his aloofness. That didn't mean it still didn't sting, though.

You had no idea what you did to make Captain America hate you. Hell, you didn't think he had the capability to hate anyone. When you first joined the team, scared and defensive, you were just there to follow orders—because Fury had not-so-subtly given you an ultimatum that threatened your life. You were good at what you did, you were good at following orders. You stood in the background and did what people told you to do. Being a HYDRA pawn will do that to you.

But then people opened up to you. Bucky was the first one—being the former Winter Soldier, he knew what it was like to have your life taken away by HYDRA. And for some reason, he trusted you, even if you hadn't spoken a word to him. Natasha and Clint were next, then Tony, and soon the whole team treated you like you were apart of their family. But Steve didn't. You'd been with the team for months, and you were no closer to him than you were to that automatic corkscrew in the kitchen that you could never get to work.

You showered, changed, and sat on your bed for exactly twenty seconds before you realized you were done. If Steve wasn't going to tell you what his problem was, maybe someone else could.

You walked into the lounge area, finding Bucky and Sam squabbling over the remote.

"C'mon, man," Sam argued. "I got a recorded episode of the Voice that is callin' my name!"

"Watch it in your room, Wilson. The Great British Baking Show is on and I'm already watching it."

You smirked to yourself, moving to stand in front of them until one of them finally noticed you. It was your best tactic with the two of them, waiting patiently until they were done with. . . whatever they were doing. You rested your hands at your sides, eyebrow quirking when Sam called Bucky's hair 'greasy', which highly offended Bucky.

Bucky had just pulled the remote out of Sam's hands when he finally saw you. "Oh, hey, doll. How long ya' been standing there?"

You shrugged. "Not important. . . can I talk to you?"

Bucky kicked Sam out of the lounge area, who dragged himself out of the room mumbling to himself about his show. You sat down beside Bucky, crossing your legs and folding your hands in your lap.

"So," Bucky ran a hand through his hair, " what did you want to talk about?"

You chewed on the inside of your cheek for a moment, looking down at your hands as you asked the question that had been haunting you since you arrived at the Compound. "Why does Steve hate me?"

Bucky blinked, then started chuckling. You frowned.

"What?"

"You think—" he paused, sucking in a breath. "Well, I don't blame you. He hasn't exactly been kind to you, has he?"

You scoffed. "No, he hasn't. Did I do something? Is. . . is it because of what I used to do—you know—before this?"

"No, doll, it's not that. Trust me."

You weren't convinced. "Are you sure? Because—"

"Trust me, Y/n, I'm sure." Bucky smiled at you. A teasing smile, like he knew something you didn't.

"Well, can you tell me what's going on, then?" you sighed. "Because I'm getting a little tired of the cold shoulder."

Bucky pursed his lips, his eyes squinting slightly like he was thinking. You stared at him, waiting for his answer.

"You know the party Tony's throwing tomorrow?" Bucky said suddenly.

You frowned, not seeing what that had to do with the conversation. "Yeah. . . ?"

"All you have to do is show up. And wear something cute."

You raised an eyebrow, a smile breaking your lips amidst your confusion. "Don't I always, Soldat?"

You had managed to avoid Steve's austere glare until the party. You knew he would be there for professional appearances, being Captain America and all.

You had shuffled the dress up your body—the silky black fabric tickling your thigh. You stood in front of your mirror, back facing the glass as you struggled to turn your head at the right angle and tie the criss-cross strings racing down your back. This dress had been Natasha's, but had grown too small for her, so she gave it to you. She and Wanda did that with many of their clothes, seeing as how when you showed up at the Compound you had half a duffel bag of clothes to your name—all of which you'd stolen from different shops.

You had opted to leave your hair down, letting your locks fall past your shoulders in loose curls. You did your makeup in record time, finishing the look off with a red velvet lipstick.

Dragging your hair over one shoulder, you clipped the pearl choker necklace Tony had given you for Christmas around your neck, letting it rest on your collar. You weren't expecting anything from anyone for Christmas—you'd never even celebrated Christmas before coming onto the team. Tony's gifts were personal, whether they be deep and meaningful or jokingly hilarious. As he handed you a long, thin box, he had apologized—you were so quiet and reclusive he wasn't sure what you wanted, so he bought you this necklace. That was the first time you hugged Tony.

Slipping on a pair of sleek black heels, you looked yourself over in the mirror once more before leaving your room. You could hear the commotion of the party from your area of the living quarters, music echoing off the walls and people dressed in button-down shirts and fancy dresses.

As you stepped down the stairs, your eyes fell on Bucky, who was playing pool with Steve and Sam. Steve was smiling, laughing at something Sam had said as he sunk the ball into the corner pocket. You smiled to yourself, ignoring the pang of jealousy you felt in your chest. Why couldn't he smile like that at you?

Bucky had noticed you descending the stairs, perking up. He said something to Steve, walking off towards you. Steve frowned, his gaze following Bucky's path when his eyes landed on you. His shoulders stiffened and he shifted on his feet as looked back at Sam. You met Bucky in the middle of the room, giving him a small smile.

"Damn, doll," Bucky smirked. "You look good." You chuckled, cheeks heating up.

"Well," you looked down at your dress, "you said to wear something cute. What exactly do you have planned?"

"You'll see." He laughed at the scowl you gave him. He grabbed two cocktails from a wandering server, handing one to you. "Here—have a drink and come join us."

"Oh, no, I shouldn't. Steve looks like he's enjoying himself and. . . I'd hate to ruin his good mood." Your gaze turned sad without you even realized. Bucky wanted to smack Steve upside the head all over again—he was hurting you, alienating you and all you were trying to do was be a part of the team.

"You won't, trust me. Please? Sam keeps bragging about being the best pool player of his squadron and I'm having a hard time not punching him in his big mouth. It'd be nice to have someone around who isn't on their high-horse."

You giggled, struggling to take a sip of your drink. "Fine, but he starts chastising me, I'm out."

You followed Bucky back to the pool table, Steve glaring daggers at you and Bucky as the soldier picked up his cue stick.

You weren't sure how long you watched the boys play pool, but four drinks later you were tipsy and almost oblivious to Steve's lingering stare. Bucky knocked the eight ball into a corner pocket, yelling out a shout of victory as he won the game. Sam rolled his eyes.

Someone stood beside you and cleared their throat, prompting you to turn your head. Thor stood next to you, his hair pulled away from his face and donning a long red coat and dark wash jeans.

"Lady Y/n." He smiled at you, holding his hand out as you blushed. You always blushed when he called you that. "Would you care for a dance?"

"Uh—" You looked over at Bucky, who was smirking. He tilted his head, motioning for you to go. Your eyes wandered up at Steve, who looked like he was about ready to throttle Thor. He really did hate the idea of his team socializing with you. Smiling to yourself, you looked back at Thor. "Actually, I'd love to."

You walked off with Thor, stopping just before you left their line of sight. It was petty, what you were doing—using Thor to deliberately piss off your Captain. But he didn't leave you much of a choice. Thor rested his hand on your waist, his large fingers brushing against your bare back. You shivered, putting your hand on his shoulder. He held your other hand as you two swayed to the music.

"You look lovely tonight, Y/n," Thor said, looking down at you through his eyelashes. You thought your cheeks were warm from the alcohol, but after that comment, your face was burning. You were sure your cheeks were a bright red.

"Th-thank you," you stuttered. You cleared your throat. "You. . . uh—you look nice, too. I like your jacket."

Thor chuckled. "You do not have to be so nervous, Y/n. It is only a dance."

"Yeah, well, I've never really danced before. . . like actually danced. I've danced for missions before, but things never really ended well for my partner."

"Well, I do hope things end better for me."

You giggled. "Well, I haven't been hired to kill you, so I think you're good." You nervously laughed at your joke, hoping it wasn't as awkward as you thought it was.

You danced with Thor until he invited to get a drink with him. You sat at the bar, nursing a cocktail Natasha made for you while Thor was telling you about the time he battled a pack of trolls in the mountains of Svartalfheim.

When the party was over, you were still talking to Thor. You thanked him for dancing with you, making sure to tell Bucky goodnight. You walked up the staircase, heading toward your room when you stopped. Steve stood in front of your door, arms crossed and frowning.

"Steve?" He turned his head, meeting your confused gaze. "Can I. . . can I help you with something?"

"We need to talk," he said curtly.

"O-Okay." You were overtly aware of the click of your heels as you opened your door for him, letting him enter your room. You carefully let the door slide closed behind you, staring at Steve. "Do you want anything to drink? I can get you a glass of water? Or I think I still have some beer Bucky left in the fridge?"

That had been the wrong thing to say. You watched his eyes darken, lips curling into a snarl as he shoved you up against your wall. His grip on your biceps was borderline painful, his nose inches from yours and you could feel his hot breath fanning your face.

"Don't talk about Bucky. Not now."

You swallowed thickly, Steve watching the line of your throat. "Okay, I won't. I'm sorry."

You fell silent, stuck staring at Steve's features. The barely-there green in his eyes, the crease of his eyebrows, the lines of his frown, his lips. You didn't realize he was doing the same to you until his breathing calmed. You licked your lips nervously, Steve staring at the dart of your tongue. And then his lips were on yours.

You stood frozen—shocked—for only a moment before closing your eyes and moving your lips against his. He let go of your arms, letting you wrap them around his neck and pulling him closer, moaning into his mouth. His tongue darted into your mouth, kissing you like you've never been kissed until you were breathless and had to pull away.

Your lips were red and swollen, eyes closed as you rested your hands on Steve's chest, playing with a button on his shirt.

"Steve—"

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, voice husky. "I'm sorry I've been so mean to you. I just—I didn't know how to deal with my feelings about you."

"Shut up," you breathed. "And kiss me."

His lips crashed onto yours again, his hands on your hips as he pulled you closer into his body. The kiss was needy and possessive, the intensity of it almost frightening, the raw need and hunger behind his actions overwhelming you.

His mouth moved down your jaw, leaving a trail of sloppy kisses down your neck. You fumbled behind you, undoing your dress and letting it pool at your feet. He picked you up effortlessly and you wrapped your legs around his narrow waist, hands cupping his face. He tossed you down on your bed, ripping open his blue button-down and throwing it on the floor. He pulled the white undershirt over his head, dropping it with his shirt while you kicked off your heels.

He crawled up the bed, hovering over you as he leaned down to kiss you. Just a quick peck before he moved to kiss your collar bone, his hands roaming up your thighs. One hand reached under you and you arched your back, letting him unclip your bra and slide the straps off your shoulders. He kissed along the skin he exposed, pulling the fabric down past your breasts.

He mouthed at the soft swell of your chest, sucking a red mark into your skin. He pinched your nipple lightly, rolling it between his forefinger and thumb and you jumped, arching your back. You inhaled a sharp, shaky breath when Steve popped a nipple into his mouth, his tongue lapping over the bud and swirling it around.

He continued to work down your body, kissing lower and lower and sucking marks into your skin at random intervals. He sucked a bruise in the divot between your ribs, one above your belly button, and one just above your underwear. As he peeled your lace panties off your legs and dropped them on the floor, he kissed back up your leg, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of your thigh.

You were panting, squirming as his lips met just shy of where you needed them most. You almost screamed when his tongue finally connected with your little bud. He used the tip of his tongue first, just circling your clit as you whined, his thick finger slipping into your center. He pumped his finger in and out of you leisurely, suckling at your bundle of nerves before he quickly added a second finger.

You continued this until you were right on the precipice of orgasm, and when his fingers curled and brushed against that spot inside of you, your moan broke in your throat. The taut rubber band in your stomach snapped, muscles spasming as your head fell back against your pillows, Steve licking up your mess.

Steve moved up your body and kissed you, your release coating his face and you could taste yourself on his tongue. His hands went to your hips and he suddenly flipped you so you were straddling his thighs. You deepened the kiss, your hands coming up to cup his cheeks as Steve adjusted his length to meet your center, letting you slide onto him at your own pace.

He was large. Thick and long and your tight heat clutched around him in a marvelous way and he wasn't even halfway in. Steve had broken the kiss, leaning back and his eyes fluttering shut as he marveled in the feel of you clutching him like a vice.

"Shit, sweetheart," he panted. "You feel so good."

You bottomed out, letting yourself adjust to his size before you rocked forward. You both moaned. Your clit rubbed against his pelvis as you rolled your hips harder, your hands falling to his chest for stability. His hands rested on your waist, letting you move as you desired.

"St—Steve," you whimpered, picking up your pace. The tip of his length hit a certain spot inside you and you gasped, your nails digging into his skin, his body moving in tandem with yours.

You were unbelievably close. Steve hugged you close to his chest, his lips meeting your breast as he mouthed at your nipple, groaning as he ran his hands up and down your sides. He worked his way up your neck, sucking your sensitive skin as he thrust his hips up into you and that was all it took before you were coming. You cried out his name, gasping and whimpering as your head fell into the crook of his neck.

"Fuck!" Steve groaned, thrusting several more times as your walls hugged him and he stiffened inside you, throwing his head back as he growled, his cock pulsating as he came.

Panting, he carefully laid you next to him, admiring your blissed-out gaze as he pulled your blankets over the two of you, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. You smiled at him, your lipstick smeared as you opened your eyes.

"So I guess this is what Bucky was talking about?" you asked, mostly to yourself.

"What do you mean?"

"I talk to Bucky yesterday after I ran into you, I thought he might know what was going on with you. He just kinda laughed at me and told me you didn't hate me. . . . Did he know? About how you felt?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, he did."

You chewed on your lip in thought. "He said he had a plan. That during the party—oh m.y God."

"What?"

"Thor. Thor was the plan." You looked up at Steve. "Bucky knew you would get jealous so he asked Thor to dance with me."

Steve laughed. "In my defense, Thor was getting way too handsy."

You giggled. "Remind me to make Bucky some cookies tomorrow."

Steve rolled over you, caging you in his arms as he grinned down at you. Your eyebrow arched playfully. He bent down and kissed you, your hands coming up to run along his pecs. He pulled away, his smile sparkling even in the darkness of your room. You swooned, knowing that his smile was something you would never tire of seeing.

"Sleep," Steve told you. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

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kuwaitwebdevelopment98 · 3 years

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Why Your Business Should Upgrade to a Responsive Web Design Sooner Rather Than Later

Why should my business have a responsive web design?

Responsive web design has become the go-to solution for businesses who want a user friendly interface and higher customer retention. If your company has come this far without taking advantage of all the benefits it has to offer, you may have already begun to see lower visitor numbers and a disappointing conversion rate.

As a responsible business owner, you'll probably need convincing before paying to upgrade your web presence to one that includes responsive design. However, by opting in you'll soon see a return on investment that will make it worthwhile. In a nutshell, responsive design is just better than what has gone before and in order to keep up with the competition, you'll need it too.

Responsive web design is crucial for the majority of businesses because it allows your users to achieve their goals quickly and smoothly. The important elements of your website can be pulled up on a smart phone and appear as a fully functional version of the original, complete with all the utility you'd offer to customers on a laptop or desktop computer. If you fail to provide a mobile-friendly experience like this for your visitors they won't hang around, they'll simply click away and complete the action or purchase on a rival site.

Unhappy customers are not good for business and neither is going up against a major search engine. Google have recently confirmed what many insiders have suspected for some time - sites that are not optimised for multiple users will slip down their search rankings. Google bases their rankings on how useful a page is for the query a user has entered, plus the utility of the site - for example, can a user complete the action they would like to?

Your page may be completely relevant to their search, but if visitors cannot access the content easily across a number of devices, your site may receive a less than positive review and be placed lower in the search results. If your company is reduced to a second or third page entry you'll lose a considerable amount of traffic, as people naturally select links from the first page.

Google have also pointed out that companies which have a single responsive website - rather than one standard and one mobile version - are far easier for their bots to discover, because there is just one URL. click here now Kuwait Web Development

If your site is responsive and ready to service mobile customers, you can take advantage of many tools and helpful apps like the click-to-call button, this enables a web user to make a voice call to your company immediately. Potential customers can also read reviews about your business or even find you in a busy place using Google Maps, both keenly relevant to the needs of mobile users.

Branding is one of the ways in which we build a relationship of trust with a customer and keep them coming back for more of the same. This is pertinent to responsive design for two reasons, firstly, people do not feel confident in a site they cannot easily navigate and second, in order to create a uniform brand you'll need responsive design to produce a consistent web appearance; however your clients reach you.

In today's market there are only a handful of reasons why a company may choose to stick with static design on their web page. Those who do not rely in any significant way on web traffic to drive sales, or those who have few competitors, or those who have already looked into responsive design and found it was not right for them. For everyone else, if you want to stay ahead of the curve, responsive design is the only way forward for your website.

Responsive web design features

Until recently web designers created different pages depending on where they would be viewed, a tablet for example has a different screen resolution to a laptop, and so the content would be optimised for viewing on that particular device.

However, responsive web design has revolutionised the way in which users look at the internet, it has created an across the board experience allowing us to view pages on a PC, smart phone or notebook in exactly the same way. When they build a site, designers use the same coding on any number of resolutions, giving every device the same degree of functionality.

Responsive web designers believe that their clients' web pages should be accessible to every visitor, giving them an optimal experience, regardless of the device they using. This kind of intelligent response to a web user's actions keeps your company relevant in an ever changing online market place; it boosts your e-commerce figures and makes visiting your site an enjoyable experience.

In technical terms there are three key features of responsive web design, the secret ingredient is generally considered to be media queries. These are filters added on to the CSS or Cascading Style Sheets, affecting the look and feel of any individual page. CSS is a highly useful tool for web designers, but by tagging on a media queries adaption, the process of resizing, rendering and orienting a page becomes far easier.

Another linchpin of responsive design is the flexible layout, this is based on a grid formation, ideal for formatting margins, positioning the key elements of a page and getting the spacing just right. This means a designer is not limited to a certain number of columns, they can choose as many or as few as is appropriate for the page. A flexible layout also removes the need to work out the layouts and text size based on pixels.

Instead, designers use percentages which enable them to adopt a far more fluid approach to producing each page. Pixels work well in photographic images, but are a clumsy tool to use over a number of devices. One pixel may be expressed as three dots on a phone, but ten dots on a desktop, changing the quality of an image considerably between devices.

The third component of responsive design involves the use of CSS or a dynamic resizing function to create flexible images, videos and other content. Text can flow relatively easily as the containing area resizes, but in order to spread this across more complex segments, web designers need to use different techniques. Dynamic resizing gives a web designer greater control over how a page behaves and enables them to add or remove components as needed.

Taken a whole, these multiple technologies mean visitors can enjoy the feeling of familiarity, regardless of what device they happen to be using, or will be using in the future.

When a mobile user changes from landscape to portrait mode, the intuitive design will ensure the page gets bigger or smaller. Furthermore, each element, be it an image, textbox or video will also resize itself to correspond with the different dimensions.

If you have ever tried to access a website and discovered that it was almost impossible to navigate around without shrinking and enlarging the text or buttons, you'll understand why responsive design is considered good practice for the majority of website owners.

Responsive web design Vs Mobile web design

Until quite recently, mobile web design was considered far more relevant to modern consumers than it's responsive counterpart, this approach sees designers using smart phones as a starting point and upgrading the technology progressively, through to notepads, desktop computers and beyond. This method meant that companies needed two websites, one for their mobile pages and one for PC users.

In the early golden years of mobile web design, there were a number of reasons why experts thought that web applications should always be designed first for use on a mobile device. Most important of these was the prevalence of smart phones and the fact that their popularity was continuing to skyrocket. By creating a platform that favoured these millions of users, companies could promote their service or product to what was seen as the next generation of computing consumers.

Secondly, mobile design was said to foster a cleaner concept without room for extraneous elements or unnecessary page clutter. In a screen the size of that on a mobile phone, there simply is not enough room to crowbar in extra buttons and widgets - instead, a design team had to focus on what was actually needed. By giving users a clear route to what they want, it was assumed that their experience would be better, faster, leave them more inclined to return or convert them into a paying customer.

Mobile applications were thought to have far more utility than PC based software, what users expected from their laptop paled in comparison to the capabilities offered on smart phones. From a digital compass, to gyroscopic effects, touch screen inputs and voice control, designers hoped to build on these tools to produce modern web design that was not limited by the constraints of a PC.

Although there are pros and cons for the adoption of a mobile site to run parallel to a main site, responsively designed pages are ideal for retailers who want a robust, homogenous website with plenty of utility for every user. A single site also simplifies marketing campaigns; there is only a need to manage one site and one SEO strategy. Therefore, a website which features responsive design can save companies time and money, but also provide a seamless, convenient way for customers to shop.

Responsive web design statistics

When a team of designers build you a responsive website you know it will adapt intuitively to whatever device it is accessed from, but where is the evidence that proves this is a factor in commercial success?

The content marketing company, Brand Point, found that over 90% of consumers buying decisions are affected by visual elements. In other words, if people land on your site and like the look of the place, they are more likely to stay and buy.

Screen resolutions are changing all the time as new devices reach the market, web developers Spyderweb found that in 2010 there were just 97 unique screen resolution sizes, but by 2013 that figure had leapt to 232. The only way of tackling this increase is to have a responsive website that is optimised for every customer, whatever device they favour.

Customers are driven away by high wait times and pages that take too long to appear; even way back in 2009, 47% of people expected a load time of just two seconds on a webpage. In a study carried out by cloud service providers, Akamai, it was also found that 40% of web users clicked away if they had not gained access to a page within 3 seconds. That is a pretty slim window of opportunity, and it's fair to assume that people's expectations have increased since this study was compiled.

Although external factors like a lack of Wi-Fi or 4G can also affect wait times, the importance of speed for business sites cannot be underestimated. Wed designers can write code for your responsive site that makes it selectively load the elements needed, or even bring in graphics at a later stage.

Design matters because it can have a huge impact on the number of new visitors to your pages, these are people who have reached you through typing in a specific search criteria and decided to click on the link to your site. Web designers, Domain7, have reported that in the case of their client Regent College, there was a leap of 99% in unique visitors after a revamp of their responsive web design.

If your mobile pages leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth of your visitors, they are far less likely to view your entire organisation favourably, and they'll tell their friends. Industry experts at the Search Engine Journal discovered that 57% of people would never recommend a company that had poorly designed pages, strengthening the case for a consistent web strategy that performs the way your customers want it to - wherever they happen to be.

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vishalkhatri9825 · 4 years

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Trending online industries post Covid-19 outbreak

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a game-changing event for many of us. It has changed our way of living from the way we behave to the way we perceive things. Some of our old habits were replaced with new ones. This unexpected yet an adverse shift has impacted our regular routine. Few of the industries saw major setback while for some the results saw exponential positive result. In the wake of an outbreak, everything went online ranging from doctor’s appointment, schooling to office work and workouts too. People worked, learned, grasped, exercised, leaned, relaxed and also took medical care while being at home online during Covid-19, they have gotten themselves used to or rather adjusted themselves at home.

Social distancing is a new norm to follow. Keeping that aspect in mind, how far has the digitalization moved into our life. It is hard to realize how people will return to brick-and-mortar alternatives.

In this article, we are going talk about new trends shaping up for the business; how much was and can be accomplished at home. We will discuss some of the set up created or accelerated due to Covid-19.

1. E-commerce industry:

It is not an old story when we were physically reaching the market for purchasing our home essentials, be it the grocery or any other household equipments. Going or moving to the retail store or small regular provisional store not only solved the requirement but it gradually became an outing spots too. Window shopping had become regular practice to many either on daily basis or the weekend times. But with covid-19 pandemic, these things got dormant. People could not move from their respective home, specially the aged ones or the homes with children. However, with the continuous progress in digitalization, e-commerce industry was being used maximum during the pandemic. Online shopping was the agenda for everyone, it not only solved the purpose of just virtual shopping but few of the routine tasks were also accomplished through it. Khatriji is one of such online portal where recharge of mobile, DTH and datacard can be done quickly from its website. Similarly, your utility bill payment for electricity, gas pipeline, landline, broadband and insurance premium can also be paid from Khatriji At the same time, one is able to view too many options virtually from many of these app or website, can choose to buy things as per their requirement just like going physically to the store. With COVID-19 around, the E-commerce industry proved to be blessing in disguise to many and is currently the one of the leading industry now.

2.Education Industry:

It appears as if children are caged at home from long time, they are missing their school environment. Though, digital education has seen sudden growth in this period. Most of the schools have tried various online teaching platforms to fit their environment. Giving assignments and taking exam was the biggest challenge faced by schools. At times, it was tough to make students understand the concept, the pre-recorded videos were used often with multiple options and animation to represent the concept. Asking kids to wear uniform during online classes led to another dispute among parent and school disciplinary. However, with such troubles on board, schools are yet trying to manage their curriculum despite being in such adequate situation. Ed-tech platforms like Byju’s, Vendantu and many more educational app and website are eating up the market while few of the school online app or websites are also on the roll.

3.Health-care Industry:

We all had almost forgotten ourselves in the busy schedules prior the pandemic. Our hobbies, likes, dislike were all being lost. We could not recall the time when we had actually taken care of our body and mind well. But this pandemic allowed to us to look upon our health despite in negative times. There were webinar, workout session held regularly. Motivational content, healthy diets, mind management, exercises or yoga has increased exponentially. Tremendous usage of such platforms suggest that people have begun taking care for themselves. But with such health related discussion, it is essential to keep the balance of energy flow in our body. Khatriji Bio Energy Neodymium Gold Card is considered as an alternative medicine that helps in body healing if kept in contact with human body on daily basis to some extent. Apart from this, people used mobile for online education and binge watching movies and web series. With prolong exposure to mobile or tablet, it is necessary to realize that mobile phone emits radiations that are harmful to human body. However, Khatriji has a solution to that. Khatriji Mobile Radiation Protection Chip acts as a safeguard against such harmful radiation. With such handy products available online from Khatriji’s

Originally Article published : Trending online industries post Covid-19 outbreak

#ecommerce industry #health care industry #khatriji #education industry

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partyanimal167 · 5 years

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Your Local Starbucks- Gajevy

Levy had to be imagining things. Like honestly. There was no way...

Get your answer sis. Period.

Honestly, it took Levy awhile to realize what was going on. She always went to Starbucks around the same time since starting university. The first time, she nearly died when she saw the heavily pierced man working behind the counter. As she waited in line, she watched as he barked orders at the staff yet was somewhat gentle with customers. Despite this, Levy was nervous to place her order.

I knew I should have ordered from the app while walking here. However, when it was her turn to order, another employee took her order as the large man disappeared in the back. Levy would admit that she was relieved though in the days to come she grew a little curious about the man.

About the second or third time around, she was able to meet the man. Well…sort of. Again, forgetting to utilize the app, she got a good look at him while waiting in line. He was huge. Like tall height and large muscles. He seemed to look naturally mean no matter what he was saying and possibly grew even more aggressive when speaking Spanish into the headset for the drive-thru. He just seemed out of place. Like he should be working at a mechanic shop, not a coffee shop.

For some reason, while Levy was placing her order, he seemed quiet. Maybe he could smell her fear as she looked into those red eyes. He barely said a word once she placed her order unlike with the customers from before. He simply said, “Alright.” Levy wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t that. After a ten-minute wait, Levy received her drink and was on her way back to her dorm.

Did the sizes get bigger? Levy was a caffeine-fiend and made herself order the small size, yet for some reason her drinks seemed bigger than they were a couple months ago. Her imagination got the best of her, and she thought that the large man had been slipping her deal out of sympathy. Maybe she did have that permanent exhausted look in her eyes from studying. However, the rare occasions that she didn’t see the man, her drinks still appeared larger than before. If Levy wasn’t so anxious about interacting with people, she would have asked an employee. Starbucks’ website provided no insight either.

On her birthday, she went to get her free drink. This time she knew she ordered a small, so when presented with the largest strawberry crème frappuccino she’s ever seen in her life, Levy knew something was up. She had ordered ahead with the app and saw scribbled, ‘Happy Birthday Shrimp.’ Levy blushed. There were only three workers, including the large man, there but he was busy arguing in Spanish about how he couldn’t remake a drink again for the fifth time since the customer wouldn’t say what was wrong.

Levy decided to sit outside and read for once to enjoy her treat. She read for a while when she was interrupted by a large gasp. She looked up from her book and saw the other two workers looking at her excitedly. She looked confusingly at the two women gossiping. She could only hear, “That’s the girl!” in a loud whisper.

One of them grew bold and approached her. “Hey girl, sorry if we looked rude talking about you. It’s just that you never stick around after getting your drink.” Levy blushed immediately embarrassed and even more confused. “Hey, hey, don’t freak out. Sorry. Working in the industry, you kinda notice little quirks about regulars.”

The second woman spoke up. “We were just shocked to see you. Our shift manager, the lug with all the piercings, totally has a crush on you.”

“I mean you are so cute!” the first woman squeaked.

“Anyway, like lowkey some tea, he insisted that any time you were here to give you a size up if you ordered a small—which you always do. Oop! That probably sounded creepy.” The other woman covered her mouth and snickered.

Levy was beaming at this point. The two were talking so fast that she had no idea what to make of anything there were saying. “Sis, you need to go in there and ask Gajeel what’s up cause we been watching this charade for months. Get an answer sis. Period.”

Levy couldn’t say a word. She simply nodded and continued to drink her drink while the women left her to process their words. Gajeel was his name, but the rest about him crushing on her was not believable. Levy usually went when it was busy; there was no way he could have noticed her all those times. Sure, it was true that the drink sizes were larger, but maybe that was to prevent waste.

She sighed. She didn’t know what to make of any of that. Thankfully, her phone buzzed and she saw a text from her roommate/best friend about her birthday plans. It was definitely enough to put this whole Starbucks-guy business to the side.

~~~

This could not be happening…

Levy sat at her favorite Cuban sandwich bar and from the corner of her eye saw ‘Starbucks-guy’ walk in with her roomie’s boyfriend—Natsu.

Levy patted on Lucy’s arm hard. “Oh my god, Lucy that’s him!”

Her friend looked her confusingly. “Girl what?”

“Starbucks-guy!” She loudly whispered.

Lucy’s eyes exploded. She immediately turned to the man and blurted out. “Gajeel, you work at Starbucks?”

Levy wanted to die then and there. Why did Lucy have to put him out there like that. Her best hope was that he wouldn’t have actually recognized her and that the two women’s words were false. She wanted to melt on the spot. This was the most awkward birthday ever.

The man was out of his uniform and looked at Lucy in shock. “How did you-,” he then stopped and saw Levy sitting beside her. His eyes were huge. “Oh shit.”

~~~

Yeah there’s going to be part two. I got the idea from this guy who gave me a larger size t the couple times I’ve been. I doubt he has any romantic advances like Gajeel, but it’s a fun idea. Hope you like this so far. (Btw, I’ve never worked for Starbucks so don’t hold that against me lol)

#fairy tail #starbucks #fanfiction #gajeel redfox #levy mcgarden #ftfanfics #gajevy #au #mine #partyanimal167

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webtasarimciweb-blog · 5 years

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Why Your Business Should Upgrade to a Responsive Web Design Sooner Rather Than Later

Why should my business have a responsive web design?

Responsive web design features

Taken a whole, these multiple technologies mean visitors can enjoy the feeling of familiarity, regardless of what device they happen to be using, or will be using in the future.

Responsive web design Vs Mobile web design

Responsive web design statistics

Author

Duncan Maund is the CEO of Mediatopia a professional web design and development company in Bristol, UK. Duncan kocaeli web tasarım helps small and medium sized businesses with customised websites and online marketing.

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ranjeetacademy-blog · 5 years

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Newest Trends for Designing a Website

When a website becomes your business identity, it’s important to make it perfect and the first clause of the perfect website is its perfect design. Your website represents your business’s visual outlook. An eye-soothing design is equally important like the responsive web design. Web world is ever changing. There is only one constant in the world of web design and development and that is transform. Changing is a trend which you have to follow to survive the race.

Here are some of the latest trends we have sorted out for you. We bet you’ll love this:

Single page website The concept continuing itself from the previous year. But it’s been proved that the single page-long scrolling web format is here to stay in few more years. A possible explanation to it is that users are so accustomed to vertical scrolling that it’s actually become unreasonable to split the content in several parts on separate pages – users have to make extra effort to get the full content.

Use photo background Another design which is in trend and you should try it for your own site, is the background photo. For quite some time centers around photography become quite popular. Pioneered by fashion brands and photographers, this design approach is now successfully used virtually in almost every industry. Photo backgrounds are great for branding and presentation purposes when your main objective is to make a strong visual statement. This is why it’s used so often by fashion brands, travel companies, and many others creative workers.

Hidden menu Adopting design for smaller screens has also affected how menus are displayed and with space being at a premium, fly out, slide out and hidden menus are becoming more popular across the board. It’s all about bringing an app-like feel to an whole site.

Flat design Flat design is one of our personal favorites. It is how it sounds, design by using objects that are uniform in color or appearance. It’s a minimalist approach to design. A few years back, textures were very popular. Now, with mobile devices and responsive design, it is harder to make these textures work well across multiple devices. Flat design gives the feel of layers and depth with flatter colors and minimalist design techniques. This way it’s much easier to make the design work on multiple devices.

Brick like format The format is also related to flat design concept. This trend generally introduces a brick-like design, kind of grid featuring blocks of solid color coupled with blocks of photos or text. Users and designers stick with it because of its simplicity. The contrast between blocks of colors and images/text blocks create a strong visual interest which usually stimulates users to explore more.

Parallax Parallax is a design and coding trend that is very popular nowadays. Parallax means two or more parallel objects moving at different speeds.” Parallax scrolling technique is used to break up the linear monotony of a website by having various objects scroll at different paces. Parallax will really become much more popular as more modern browsers support it, but even now there are already a lot of beautifully designed sites utilizing parallax scrolling. But this is the one thing you want to be very careful with. Sometimes the effect can be a little huge to your audience. But rather than that, it is visually compelling and can add motion to a site without using Flash or video. Parallax will give the appearance how the background is moving at a different rate than the foreground of a page.

Ghost button Ghost buttons are those transparent empty buttons bordered with a very thin line and containing light. They are usually in sans-serif font. You have definitely seen them over the last year, and you can certainly expect to see more.

Simplicity is best As far as possible make it simple. Eliminate unnecessary concept and pages. You should not overwhelm your viewers by giving multiple choices. Rely more on design rather content. It will drive more conversation. Use large visual heading for make it attractive.

Typography Nowadays typography is in trend. Sometime back, designers had their limitation for using typefaces, as they had standard typefaces available in their computers. But those days are gone. Web font foundries such as Google fonts and Type kit allow you to use a virtually unlimited number of fonts for your web design. Designers have been taking advantage of this opportunity for some time now, and more and more sites are built with strong attention paid to typography.

Your website’s first and foremost criteria should be you audience. Website design shouldn’t be a matter of what one individual thinks is cool. Your design serves a purpose. Think about your audience’s needs. Use these techniques above to fulfil their demand. Design can be fun; it can be interesting or even ground breaking. But, always make sure it supports your goals.

If you are looking for the best Web Development and Digital Graphics Designing Company in Udaipur, then you should go with Ranjeet Computer Academy.

Mobile No: +91-9460324253, +91-8239991144

Website: http://www.ranjeetcomputeracademy.com/

#webdesign #web development #graphic design

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bffhreprise · 5 years

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Entry 268

After leaving the boarding bridge from the plane, I pulled out my phone to double-check the instructions. This all felt so weird to me. If I didn’t trust Jarod, I’d have never accepted the invitation for his bachelor party. The free, first class flight for a vacation covered by James seemed too good to be true, given that he was such a public figure to gamers, but I was part of his guild and didn’t believe Jarod would endanger me.

Still, who provides a phone app with such detail directions, including course-plotted maps, for a weekend vacation? Just how organized were these people? Well, Jarod was a bit ridiculous in his schemes. In any other game, our guild’s coordination would be impossible, but I really doubted many people had mastered Ancient Tribes of Earth’s system as Jarod had.

The map’s directions matched the signs for baggage claim, so I followed them. Supposedly, there would be a car waiting for me right outside. Whoever prepared the maps had even placed a car symbol there, changing colors for the car route. Finally spotting my bag, I grabbed it and headed out. I frowned, only seeing a limo near the door. What was I supposed to be looking for?

“Lake, come on! Don’t make us wait all day.” called Jarod.

I recognized his smiling face from convention pictures. “We’ve got a limo?’ I questioned, realizing as I said the words that it made sense. These people were rich. Okay, so renting a limo for a bachelor party wasn’t exactly uncommon either, but I still hadn’t expected it.

“I’ll take care of your bags.” stated a girl from behind me.

I blinked, staring at the tiny, beautiful girl dressed as a maid.

“Mila’s with us. Hand over the bags and get inside already. We’ve got a schedule!” insisted Jarod, still grinning.

I heard other people laughing from inside. Was everyone else here? I passed off the bags, feeling a little guilty, but the maid girl acted like they were weightless, easily lifting my large, check-in bag and walking around me.

The door for the limo opened as I approached, and I saw James sitting on the other side of Jarod with Aaliyah on his lap. I reminded myself to breathe as I was trying not to freak out. That adorable half-pint with her messy, blonde hair and large, blue eyes had created the most incredible game on the planet, and she was here with us.

The vehicle was in motion before I snapped out of my daze. “Would you mind if I get an autograph later?” I asked, ignoring the laughter.

“Check the app, Lake. She scheduled an autograph time between paintballing and dancing.” asserted Jesse.

Finally seeing faces to match all of the voices was different. I never knew how beautiful Jesse was when she smiled. James, Jarod, and Brandon didn’t even need to speak to be recognizable, despite Brandon having a stand-in at the convention. His red hair was obvious. I knew Shaurya instantly, as the only Indian male in the car. That left Alec and Damien, but I was confident that the older-looking, blond-haired guy was Damien.

As we chatted on our way, I became even more confident in my assessment and started to relax more. This was just like we chatted in game, save that Brandon, James, and Aaliyah were talking directly with me at times. Brandon was the most over-bearing of the guild Generals, but he obviously deferred to James, even in real life. I could understand why.

James was a large man with the face of a model. He came across as even more charming in real life than he had in interviews and on the game, which was really saying something. The other girls were obviously into him, but I had known they were straight.

We ate a light lunch at a local diner, not wanting to be too stuffed during paintballing. I wondered if any of these people had tried it before? My bet was on James, Jarod, and Damien. They’d quickly find out that I knew a bit about it as well.

On the way to the paintball center, Aaliyah gave a short lecture over what was about to happen. Special uniforms were already waiting for us there, so we’d be able to change clothes. We were entered into several team-vs-team fights. To my surprise, Aaliyah was planning on competing too. Did they even allow people her size to play? Wasn’t she really young? Her website claimed she was twelve, but she didn’t look it. Even twelve seemed young for this.

When the first match started, I quickly felt like a novice. The teams we were competing against were amazing compared with the ones I had fought before. Who were these people? I was stunned to find out we had won. Jarod, James, and even Aaliyah were still alive. Between matches, we talked about what had gone wrong, and Jarod gave us a new battle strategy.

Seeing the Generals move in real life was a bit awe-inspiring. They were like video game characters who stepped out into the world to mercilessly destroy our enemies. I had seen people shoot while flipping through the air in movies, but seeing Jarod do that in real life was distracting enough that I forgot to get down. By the fourth match, I was really determined not to get out, even knowing that I couldn’t keep up with these people. Little Aaliyah was surprisingly hard for enemies to hit, and she never seemed to miss. Her skills were probably the freakiest.

Only on the way to the clubs did I find out that we had been up against actual military teams… and won. James had expected us to win, and explained this his company did martial arts training daily. I still didn’t understand how they were so good with paintball guns!

The only big surprise to hit me while we were out clubbing was that Aaliyah was the one with a VIP pass into all the ones we hit. I found some cute girls while we were out, and certainly had a good time being treated like some sort of celebrity. Finding out that we were sleeping on an enormous yacht didn’t even faze me by that point. Of course, I was too tired to really care where I slept.

I had some pretty crazy dreams and felt a bit disoriented when I woke up, but I had no complaints when I smelled breakfast. During the night, the yacht made its way clear to the Bahamas!

A bit of video gaming started right after breakfast, using some super high-spec laptops. I was amazed at how fast our connection was, but again… rich people.

“When you told me the girls had nabbed Marco, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed.” claimed Jarod just before biting into another macaroni and cheese hors d’oeuvres at lunch. “Poor guy doesn’t know what he’s missing. Aaliyah and Mila really have things covered.”

Mila certainly knew how to move. I danced with her a little last night, but she was another one whose focus was mostly on James. He had quickly stolen the show at the clubs.

“Surprisingly, I actually did have some input as well.” replied James defensively.

Jarod laughed and said, “I’m sure, but this is still crazy!”

“Who’s Marco?” questioned Shaurya.

“Marco’s one of our friends and James’ chef. The guy’s cooking is off the hook!” exclaimed Brandon, grinning widely.

“He’s my friend too.” insisted James.

“Oh, Master, no one would question that you consider Marco a friend.” stated Mila, smiling at him. She always referred to him as “Master”, which was a bit unnerving.

“Does she always call you, ‘Master’?” questioned Jesse, looking as confused by it as I felt.

“Of course! He is my master.” replied Mila, still smiling. “I was made to serve him after all.”

“Huh?” asked Jesse.

“My mind was created by mother.” explained Mila, nodding toward Aaliyah. “And my body was then constructed as a joint effort between mother, Jarod, and me.”

“Wow. Thumbs up to you, sir.” teased Damien, winking at Jarod.

“I’m still confused. Are you saying that you’re a machine?” I questioned, feeling like I missed some joke.

“She’s my baby girl!” exclaimed Aaliyah as she grinned at me and patted Mila’s arm.

“She’s really not joking.” insisted Jarod. “Mila, mind giving them a little demonstration? Maybe comment to them on the laptops?”

A message appeared on my laptop as an overlay above Ancient Tribes of Earth, saying, “Hello, Lake. I hope you’ll believe the truth after a few small demonstrations.” My eyes shot to Mila and back to my screen.

Several of the others were laughing and grinning, but this was…

“I also can control this vessel.” claimed Mila. The yacht’s motor suddenly turned on with no one at the controls. Mila simply smiled.

“This is completely insane, but cool!” exclaimed Marlin, her long, black hair flowing in the wind as she grinned.

“Mila’s an incredible friend and exceptionally talented, so don’t underestimate her.” warned Jarod.

“I won’t, but where did you get the idea for the design? She’s hot!” insisted Damien.

Smiling and nodding at him, Mila said, “My master answered a series of questions to determine preferences, which led to the form you see here. I will admit to slightly resembling his girlfriend, whom you know as Eseld.”

“Sorry, Mila, but I’d say more than slightly.” argued Brandon with a laugh.

Frowning, Mila told him “As mother would say…” Then she stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed even harder, but she was smiling again.

“These laptops are pretty amazing.” commented Alec, who seemed to take Mila being an android in stride. “Have you guys logged in yet?”

I had to admit that Aaliyah had created numerous highly sophisticated AIs for her game, so creating one to function in real life wasn’t that much of a stretch, but I never guessed that she wasn’t human.

“Make sure the name at the bottom is right before you get too far into it.” stated Jarod. “They’re yours to keep.”

I wasn’t the only one completely floored by that statement, quickly checking the bottom of my machine. In the center, there was a plate with a hologram of my character, Agnimitra, saying,

“To Lake

May this serve you for a couple good years of gaming. Thanks for attending my party.

-Jarod”

“I designed the operating system, though mother personally created the port for Ancient Tribes of Earth. The hardware was a joint project between Jarod and me.” claimed Mila.

“James, did you hear that?” asked Marlin.

“Sure did.” he replied, seeming amused.

“Oh, he doesn’t get to keep his. Don’t want Mila jealous.” teased Jarod.

Mila’s smile widened as she said, “I wouldn’t mind. Think of Master’s gentle caress as he touches the keys. Imagine his deft strokes across the touchpad. Even if he activated the motion controls, I would follow his every hand movement as if I were the air through which he moved.”

“Yes, Mila can be a flirt. Please don’t read into things.” stated James as he watched her.

“Sure, James. Not sayin’ a thing.” teased Jesse.

“Whatever floats your boat!” added Damien, also smiling.

Brandon was obviously amused as he said, “He’s actually being serious. His girlfriend’s got a bit of a temper.”

“Let’s get started, shall we?” suggested James to change the subject.

We had met up in the game to explore a dungeon after breakfast. Hopefully, we’d finish before dinner. This was one unique vacation.

#Best Friend For Hire Reprise #Best #Friend #For #Hire #Reprise #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

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tcshearts · 6 years

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Session 1 (the Hunt), Chapter 1 - Phoenix

Content Warning: Death, PTSD

“Fuck this.” I mutter under my breath, bouncing my pencil against my knee. “I’m done studying for today.”

I slam my book shut and grumble. History is bad enough when it’s just boring, but when it’s boring and inaccurate it’s insufferable. Everyone gets it wrong, but they all think they have it right. I guess history truly is written by the victors. I know I sound bitter, but you would be too if you had to read a textbook about how your entire family was murdered by a psychopath.

I go to my dresser and pull open the bottom drawer, pushing aside some sweats and shorts to reveal a false bottom. I push on it slightly and lift it up just enough so I can grab what’s inside. I pull out a modified gas mask, painted and thinned out slightly, a deep black cloak and a cheap cell phone. The phone is a burner that I should probably get around to replacing soon, while the mask and cloak are just so I can conceal my identity without having to transcend sooner than I absolutely must.

I shove the mask and cloak into my backpack and put my password into the phone, opening the texting app and clicking on the group chat at the very top of the app. I quickly type a message and pace around my tiny dorm room waiting anxiously for a notification. Finally, a reply comes.

Me: Need to blow off steam. Anyone up for sparring?

Chimera: I would love to, but I have homework. Sorry, Phe…

Me: No worries.

I sigh and angrily toss my phone onto my bed. I need to get out of this dorm in the worst way, and I don’t want to have to go looking for a petty criminal just to clear my head. I feel my rage swelling within me, begging me, ordering me even, to transcend. To transform from the simple, quiet Rachel into the powerful and confident Phoenix. To burn the book and the person who wrote it to the ground. I try to push these thoughts to the back of my mind, I take one breath, then another, then a third, feeling the anger subside just slightly. I glance out the window at my school’s courtyard. I swear, sometimes Archduke Valentin’s Boarding School seems more like a prison, but it’s allegedly the best school money can buy.

I look out at the courtyard, standing still and empty, a few lights from lampposts in the courtyard provide the faint light in the winter evening. There’s no snow, if there were things might actually look cheery. Everything feels cold and still, everything feels dead. The city has no life or substance, the city feels abandoned on nights like this. People certainly aren’t my favorite thing, but a dead, empty city isn’t better.

I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the window, shrugging. I’m about as plain and unassuming as possible, nobody would ever guess that I’m a superhero when I’m not at school, and if they did, I’m pretty sure Phoenix would be the last person they assumed I was. I look at my face, I have relatively average features, a small slightly upturned nose with chapped lips and dull brown eyes beneath small glasses. My cheeks are fairly pale and my whole face tends to lack color, I’m light skinned so that isn’t a huge surprise, but I lack the rosy cheeks or colorful eyes that some people have. I look at my hair, long, straight, and dirty blonde, it sits at the middle of my back. I don’t usually like to put my hair up and today is no exception. I’ve been lucky enough to have fairly low-maintenance hair, which is one of the few blessings I try to be thankful for. I look down at my clothes, a plain black tee shirt, and blue jeans. I’m just thankful that it’s still the weekend and I don’t have to put on that awful uniform until tomorrow.

I’m pulled out of my self-analysis by another notification from my burner phone.

Dragon: sure

Dragon: in 20

Dragon: where

Me: Roof of the old bank?

Dragon: cool

I roll my eyes slightly at Dragon’s texts. I struggle to understand how someone as intelligent as her, whose power is literally fueled by her own intelligence, texts in the jumbled, punctuation-free way she does. She’s mentioned a few times that it saves her a few seconds and she’s usually distracted with her work when she’s texting, but it just seems unusual to me. I brush it off and breath a sigh of relief, grabbing my bag, leaving the room and eventually, the school.

I walk a few blocks until I hit a park that’s fairly dense with trees. I double check to make sure I’m not being followed and that nobody happens to be idly watching me and am relieved to be totally alone. I duck behind a tree and quickly pull my glasses off, put them in their case and tuck them in my bag. I don’t have to take them off to wear my mask, but it’s certainly more comfortable. I only really need the glasses to read anyway, my vision is a little worse without them, but I can manage walking a few blocks. I pull the mask on and secure the strap around my head, making sure I can see somewhat clearly out of the paint-stained lenses. Once I’m at least somewhat satisfied with my mediocre and obscured vision. I pull the cloak out of my backpack and pull it over my shoulders, struggling a little to get it over the hose of the mask. I pull the hood up, double and triple checking that all my hair is covered by the black hood. I sling the backpack back over my shoulders and continue my walk towards the old bank. It would be much easier to just transcend and fly there, but not only would it waste energy for sparring, it would also probably cause a scene that I really don’t need right now.

I climb around the back of the old bank, a relic of about four years ago, just like the rest of the old town. This was where the remain great superheroes made a last stand against Archduke Valentin and his forces. Every single hero involved in that fight was killed and this ruined bank stands as a monument to their failure. The bank was an unusual place to fight, but it’s where the heroes got pushed to and cornered. Patriot, the last to fall, managed to kill three villains by himself before he was finally killed. They were all burned in corpse piles by Valentin’s regime, their names have been all but scrubbed from the history books.

I find the old rickety fire escape as best I can with my impaired vision and pull it down to me. I climb up to the top of the bank in a few seconds. I’m surprised this fire escape hasn’t totally broken based on how rickety it is, but for some reason, it’s hanging in there. There’s probably a metaphor for what I’m doing in there somewhere, but fuck that.

I stand on the top of the bank and wait for Dragon, she usually tends to be a few minutes late. If she doesn’t have her head in a book, she’s stumbled onto some old website that hasn’t be taken down or she’s working on some new machine or pill. The girl’s a genius, even without her powers upping her intelligence, but she does have a tendency to get lost in her projects.

As I’m waiting, I notice white flakes landing on the lenses of my mask, I jump back and raise my fists, ready to transcend. It takes me a few seconds until I register that it’s just snow and I finally let my guard down. I let out a staggered breath and hold out my hand as I let the snow fall onto it. It’s light, the first snow of winter, but all it does is add to the eerie haunted mood that resonates through this city. My thoughts are broken by a voice from behind me.

“You sure know how to pick places to hang out Phoenix.” I hear Dragon say, I jump back and tense up for a moment, but Dragon’s voice is distinct and easy to ground myself on.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on me you know. That’s a really good way to get burned.” I reply, only half meaning it.

“Oh please, like you could even start to melt through my scales.”

“So you do jokes now?”

“Why not? This place is thoroughly fucking creepy, so I might as well try to lighten the mood.”

“Welcome to Old Town, it’s not exactly pretty.”

“Fuck. I can’t believe they just left all this standing.”

“They want a reminder of what happens to rebels. I know a thing or two about that.” I touch my side gingerly, Dragon nods grimly at me.

“It still hurts?”

“Occasionally, not often and not nearly as bad as the first year.”

“That’s not good, could be nerve damage.”

“Of course it could, that’s all I fucking need.”

“I’m sorry, do you want to talk about something else?”

“We’re here to fight, let’s fucking fight.”

I turn my whole body to Dragon, getting a good look at her. She’s dressed in a white mask, a mix of rubber and metal that covers her face completely. She wears a light blue, nearly white cloak, similar in style to my black cloak.

“You sure you want to do this now? Wanna take a second to cool off first?”

“Nope. This is the only way I know how to do it.”

I channel the rage I feel, all the anger and hatred I have for Heatstroke for burning me so badly, for killing my family, for ruining my entire life. All the anger and hatred I have for the heroes who failed, and the villains who saw fit to end their lives for standing up for what they believed in. All the anger I have at this world that I can’t fight back against as Rachel. I feel the anger burn up in my chest and boil over, sending a burning sensation all through my body. I see flames appear from seemingly nowhere and wash over my arms, replacing the soft fabric of my cloak and tee shirt with hard black leather armor with a red accent and covering my bare hands with matching gloves a black emblem covered in red flame appears on the back of my gloves. The same changes occur for my chest, an emblem appearing on my leather chest piece. I feel the leather armor pushing up to protect my neck, covering it completely. I watch as my jeans are transformed into black leather pants with the same red accents and the same emblem on my belt. My boots transform into soft shoes, almost similar to that of a jester. They’re soft and flexible, incredibly easy to move and run in, I feel as if all of the skin beneath my armor is turning to pure flame, just wildfire contained in a human shape. I feel fire reforming my muscles, giving them a supernatural strength and agility, and giving them a muscle memory it would take years or decades to master. I feel my mask becoming a solid black face mask with a grey bar of metal along my eyes. The lenses of my mask disappear, and my eyes along with them, leaving empty black sockets visible through the metal of the mask. I’m blinded for half a second before two balls of fire replace my eyes, I can see through them with flawless vision, far better than my usual vision, even with glasses. I feel the straps of the mask solidify themselves and become nearly unbreakable. The final part of the transformation is my hair, the cloak burns off of my head in one fluid motion as my long, straight, dirty blond hair turns into bright red, curly hair made of pure fire. My curls fall effortlessly, slightly shorter and just to my shoulders. They don’t burn me, but they’d burn anyone who got remotely close to my hair. I stand still and take a few big breaths, feeling the power of The Cinder course through me.

I glance over at Dragon, watching as she starts to transcend. White scales, a mix of ice and chitin, begin to cover her arms, once they reach her hands they grow quickly and become sharp claws. The chitin continues to cover her chest and travel down her legs, turning her feet into similar claws to those on her hands. A large tail bursts forth from the base of her spine as two large wings start to grow from her back, growing to a full, impressive wingspan in a matter of seconds. The scales keep growing up her neck and within a few moments her mask is gone, replaced by a full draconic muzzle and snout, an impressive row of teeth clearly visible, even at a distance. Her eyes shift back and place themselves on the side of her face. Her cloak finally fades as the scales completely cover her and her hair disappears. As a human, she is a few inches shorter than my 5’7 frame, but now she’s well over eight feet tall. She nods at me and smirks, as well as she can as an icy reptile anyway.

“Alright, let’s do it then.” She bellows, her voice is slightly deeper and carries a guttural resonance.

“Gladly.” I say, assuming a fighting stance.

I charge forward at Dragon, taking a few steps before calling on my increased strength and agility to jump high into the air, using a jet of flame to propel myself higher. Dragon’s ready for me and flies up to intercept me, I let her get close enough to just barely touch me with her claws before I send a circle of flame out from my mid-section, blowing her back and giving me some space as I land back on the roof. Dragon recovers quickly and swoops down for me and I’m barely able to dodge out of the way. I generate my own wings of flame just under my arms and use them to soar after her. She goes higher, going into the clouds. I know that the higher I follow, the more of a disadvantage I’m at, but I need to keep the offensive pressure on her. I let out a few torrents of flame, firing blindly into the clouds.

I feel strong claws grab me from behind, forcing me down towards the ground with them. Dragon pushes me down to the roof and holds me there, pinning me.

“Too aggressive,” Dragon says. “In the air, I have the advantage. Force me down. Don’t let me dictate the terms of the fight. You’re the aggressor, you need to have the upper hand, otherwise, you’re just being reckless.”

I struggle against her, but without being able to move my hands it’s hard to get any fire going. I always have a way out of situations like this though. I take a deep breath and call on my ability to enter The Cinder State. I feel my body fade away, slipping from Dragon’s grasp. My body becomes little more than a hot wind as I disappear completely. I can’t feel anything, but I’m generally aware of where I am as I position myself behind Dragon. I would normally take a second or two to charge more flame against an opponent, but Dragon knows what my power can do, and I have to catch her before she’s ready.

I drop out of my cinder state and land on Dragon’s back, letting a blast of fire loose onto the top of her head. I pull back and unleash another torrent of flame, feeling the anger build inside me. I am so fucking tired of being held down, I am so fucking tired of being ruled by the people who killed my family, I am so fucking tired of knowing I’m going to die for nothing, I am so fuckin-

“Phoenix!” I hear Dragon call out and pull me from my anger fueled state. “I said I give up, three times.”

I look down at Dragon, she has scorch marks covering her head and back. She’s cowering behind a shield of ice and shaking out of pain, fear or anger, maybe a combination of the three. I get off Dragon’s back and take three deep breaths, feeling my anger burn off and dissipate.

“You lost control.” Dragon says.

“Yeah. I’m sorry.” I say, looking away.

“You could have really hurt me.”

“I know. It won’t happen again.”

“You need to keep your anger under control. What if you end up hurting someone or even killing them? Someone who doesn’t fucking deserve it.”

“That won’t happen. My power is fueled by anger, sometimes it can be hard to control, but I’m stronger than it. I control my anger, it doesn’t control me.”

“Usually I believe you, but you seem different today. Angrier, more aggressive.”

“It’s been a rough fucking week. I’m sorry.”

I take a seat on the rooftop and look over the ruins of Old Town. I sigh and let out a deep breath before de-transcending, sending my powers away and turning back into mundane, human Rachel. I check to ensure that my hood and mask are still secure and then look back at Dragon.

“I should have been better. I need to control my anger. I knew I was mad tonight and I shouldn’t have asked you here. I should know I couldn’t control myself. I’m sorry.” I say.

Dragon de-transcends herself and walks towards me, taking a seat next to me on the roof. She is silent for a moment before looking at me.

“I’m your friend you know. At least I try to be as much as I can. I don’t know who you are behind the mask, and I can respect that you don’t want me to, but I’d like to think we’re still friends. I can help you, I can be there for you. Just open up to me, please, tell me what’s wrong.”

I sigh and take a second to think, can I tell her what’s really bothering me? She knows I’m a Flamewake and that my entire family was killed, but if I tell her we’re about to study that in history, I’m going to show my hand and tell her exactly what year I’m in. Can I afford to have Dragon know that?

“It’s just, this sucks, you know? The world I grew up in so different from the one I live in now. When I was a kid everything seemed full of hope and life. Now everything just seems still and dead. I know, we lost and the Archduke gets his way, but it just sucks. Someone born just now, they have no idea what our world used to look like, but we had to watch our world fall apart and we couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.” I say, looking out across the old and dead horizon.

“I know. I’m sorry Phoenix. I didn’t have powers when the Archduke took over. My parents and I were separated a few years ago, they got on a train and… I never saw them again. The next thing I know, I’m being told that I have to attend a boarding school in Oru. I felt powerless and helpless, I wanted to fight, but it would still be almost a year until I was touched by Ienath and became Dragon. I can’t imagine what it was like having powers when the Archduke took over.”

“After the fight with Heatstroke, I was laid out pretty bad. I was taken in by a family friend to recover and by the time I felt well enough to fight again, we had already lost. I gave up the hero thing for a while, but I couldn’t just do nothing. I’m not going down without a fight.”

“Neither am I.”

There’s an awkward pause for just a moment as the snow falls onto our masks and hoods. I take a deep breath and drum my fingers on the edge of the roof.

“And… I’ve been forced to relive what happened to my family, again and again, almost every year at school.” I say, letting the words hang there for a minute.

“I’m… I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about it? What really happened, not the version our history books tell us.” She asks.

“Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“As long as you want to tell it.”

“Okay, then settle in. I’ll tell you the whole thing.”

—

I cross my legs and close my eyes, trying to center myself. True rage never dissipates, especially not from a Flamewake, but if I’m going to stay in control while recounting this, I need to hold my anger back. I take three deep breaths and focus on the rage in my heart, calming it, spreading it through my limbs and into the ground. I take another deep breath and open my eyes, looking over at Dragon.

“I assume you know about Heatstroke. How he went to fight the Archduke with Nova, my mom. Nobody is totally sure what happened there, but all we know is that my mom died and Heatstroke came out of there changed and evil.” I start, quelling the building anger inside of me.

“Of course. It’s framed a little different now, but I remember the news reports.” She says.

“Well, Heatstroke went on the warpath, hurting and killing other heroes, stealing weapons, even executing civilians. My grandfather, Wildfire, could no longer ignore what he was doing and with the help of my cousin Bonfire and my uncle Fuego, who both had abilities that could track him, our whole family cornered him in a warehouse hideout. All forty-two living members of my family went to bring him to justice. I was the youngest, at twelve.”

“They let you come?”

“Yes. He killed my mom, they weren’t stopping me. My older brother, Blaze, he tried to talk me out of it, but I needed to be there. Anyway, we showed up at this warehouse and maybe twenty people came charging out of the building with guns and tire irons. They didn’t even get close before my family put them down. Nobody even got scratched. Bonfire, who could see heat signatures, was able to identify where he was in the building and we all headed there. Blaze tried to talk me into going home, but I didn’t listen.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, but, your cousin could see heat signatures? Just her? Don’t you all have the same powers?”

“No. Our benefactor is the same, The Cinder. They’re the spirit of fire and rage. But our powers are slightly different. Every member of my family is touched by The Cinder, either by birth or marriage. We all have the power to create and control fire, however, we all have a special unique power. My power is the ability to go into my ‘Cinder State’, where I can’t touch or be touched by anything and I can move unimpeded. Heatstroke has the ability to teleport through fire. Bonfire was born blind, when she transcended she could see via heat signatures. The Cinder saw fit to give her sight.”

“I see. Sorry, I just knew that both you and Heatstroke can both basically teleport, so I made an assumption.”

“I understand. Anyway, we followed Bonfire and she lead us right to him. He was waiting for us, on a fucking throne made out of pumice stone. My grandfather fought him for a while and the rest of us started acting on our plan. Those of us who were better at creating powerful fire, like me, started making it as fast as we could. Those of us who were better at controlling fire, like my brother, started calling all the fire to a central point, forming a massive fireball. My grandfather called the fire forth and covered Heatstroke in it. We had the idea that if we hit him hard enough, fast enough, he couldn’t teleport away. We were wrong. He was able to teleport as soon as the flame made contact. For a second, we thought we had won, but then the fireball started to turn black. Then my brother grabbed me and used his special power, an unbreakable shield of fire, to protect us just before it exploded. Almost half of my family was instantly turned to ash by the blast.”

I hesitate for a second, feeling the anger build in me again. Begging me to transcend and hunt him down, to get revenge for what he did. I let out a deep breath and try to regain my composure.

“The rest of them burned to death. Nobody even survived the blast except for my brother and I. He tried talking to us, Heatstroke, he told said he was ‘glad it was just us now.’ Zi-uh-Blaze tried to fight him. Heatstroke burned him half to death with a wave of his hand and turned his head to ash right in front of me. I tried to fight back, I told him to go fuck himself and used my power to get behind him and try to take him out, but he was ready and channeled my flame through himself and harmlessly into the ground. He hit me once, and I was down. He just had to slap me and I was down. He told me that ‘they’ wanted me alive, wanted one Flamewake to serve as a reminder. Then he… He grabbed my sides and held me in place while he called ash and flame to his hands and… well. He left me with a permanent reminder. He left me with these fucking burn scars running down the length of both my sides. Then he made me watch as he burned the corpses of my family to nothing but ash. Said he was doing me a favor. ‘If the medics and police could identify even one body, they’d figure out your civilian identity.’ to quote him exactly. Then he was gone, I was alone. The last Flamewake, laying on the ground and sobbing in pain. It took less than ten minutes for him to kill my entire family. I’m going to get my revenge.”

“I know.” Dragon says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to help you. He’s going to pay.”

“He better.”

“Phoenix, do you ever worry you’re too close to this? That… that you are letting your desire for revenge get in the way of the mission?”

“Fuck no. I wasn’t gonna stay home then, and I sure as hell am not going to now. Besides, you and Chimera wouldn’t stand a chance without me.”

“We can get help, we’ll talk to Kitsune. if you could give her any secrets on your father she coul-”

“He is not my father!” I scream in her masked face. I stand up, letting out a deep breath and storming towards the fire escape.

“I’m sorry… Phoenix, I…” she says, looking at me sheepishly.

“He’s not my father. My father died with my mother the day they fought the Archduke. When he joined the Archduke’s regime, he stopped being my father. Is that clear?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“It’s… it’s okay. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I know I may be a little reckless, but I’m also one of the strongest ‘heroes’ still willing to fight. When we face Heatstroke, you’ll need me.”

“I know. The day we face him is coming. I’m this close to locating his base of operations. As soon as we do, this is over.”

“It’s never over.” I mutter.

We don’t say much for the rest of the night, we just watch the snow fall for a bit before silently going our separate ways. We don’t need to speak, the inevitably of our fate is something we both accepted a long time ago. That’s why we just focus on the next mission until we fail one. After that, well, after that there are no more missions.

We aren’t going to succeed, we both know it, but we aren’t going to go down quietly.

A/N: This chapter was originally posted on my website: https://darkhearts.art.blog/2018/09/11/session-1-chapter-1-phoenix/ If there is interest here, I’ll be transfering more of the story to my tumblr. Thanks so much for reading, if you liked it, leave a note or ask a question and let me know. That means a lot.

#Dark Hearts #Web Serial #Series #Dystopian #Sci-fi #Superhero #Writing #Author #Chapter One #Phoenix #Dragon #to be continued

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