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guigz1-coldwar · 4 years ago

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"A place in your heart" : New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out !

"A place in your heart"

Chapter Summary : Bell return to the safehouse with Park and take a nap, reliving an memory......

To read it on AO3, click here !

Words : +3500

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'Come on, let's go back to the safehouse' was the first thing Park said after she recomforted me. I don't know how Park is able to have this effect on me but she is really someone competent in it. By an simple move, she is able to make myself calm down and to not stress anymore about my bad thoughts even if it's temporary. I can only thanks her with my love and by her presence with me, I know that she can't let me down because she promised me to be at my side and I promised her to stay with her, she was the main reason that I came back.....the only reason that is keeping me alive.

After our little recon mission and that 'incident', we decided that it was better to get back to the safehouse as we weren't going to stay more longer to listen to Duvall and his politics bullshit and anyway, when I came back to the car, his little speech was already done, meaning the end of our mission and our 'liberation' from that guy. On the way back, I didn't even look outside the car to see the surroundings, more focused on having my head in my hands, trying to clean up my thoughts away.

We arrived at the safehouse and we could see that Wolf & Sims weren't there meaning that they were still on their mission, keeping an eye open on the places that Derazio was 'protecting'. We entered the house and the first thing I did was to get myself on the couch, lying down on it and looking at the ceilling without saying an thing. My body was like looking tired after having worked on decrypting some transmissions during 3 hours and listening to Duvall. I think I could take a little nap.....

I was in an apartment and by looking at it, it was mine, looking very casual and not very fancy with some pictures of me, sometimes in a sort of military uniform or sometimes, me in my younger days....with Perseus at my side. It was apparently located also in the outskirts of Moscow as I could see the city from my window. I was very thinkful as I looked through it, seeing the snow, falling outside in the night.

Sit on my chair, I start to take a pack of cigarettes out of my pocket and have a cigarette out of it before I light it up, putting it on my lips. I was sort of dreaming away, wearing my usual uniform with the top shirt button removed and my hair in a bit of a mess. When I was finally comfy in that very chair, I could start to hear some knocks at my apartment door, causing me to get up my chair, a little bit annoyed as I was hoping for some peace. I breathed a little before I opened the door.

"Zed !" I first said, surprised to see them here, wearing big clothes to protect them from the snow.

"Hi, Yirina." They waved at me, enthusiastic to see me.

"I'm surprised to see you here, I thought that you were back home to take care of Dedov." I exclaimed to them, looking behind them, seeing nobody.

"Yeah, I did that but when he was going to sleep, I told him that I needed to come see you and he agreed, saying that he has Beans with him." He scoffed at the end, making me a little laugh.

"Beans is always here to recomfort you both." I added after my laugh, happy to say that. They nodded in approval,

"Good thing that I accepted to have her, Beans is our moral support." They continued before I took a last look behind them.

"Oh, you can enter, you're not going to stay outside all the time." I snorted, pulling myself aside from the door, gesturing to Zasha to enter my apartment and they complied to it.

"Freya is not here ?" They asked, fully in the apartment as I was closing the door, I stopped myself by hearing her name.

"No." I replied in a low voice. "Because of two reasons." I then pointed to them the couch, gesturing them to sit on it before I decided to go in the kitchen. "Want coffee ?" I asked before getting into the kitchen part.

"You know me well !" They answered and that would mean yes. The kitchen was just at the couch sight allowing me to discuss with Zasha.

"First reason is that we don't want to attract Perseus attention on us, you know his opinion on the subject." I started, preparing their cup of coffee for them, I didn't decide to make one for me as I didn't want to drink.

"Oh yeah, a stubborn man like you said !" They affirmed, making me look at them with a grin as their coffee was ready. "And what's the second reason ?" They questioned as I arrived in the living room with their coffee.

"Might hard to tell." I said, giving them their cup and thanking me before walking to get sit on my own chair. "I have doubts about my relationship with Freya." Hearing me almost caused them to choke themselves with the sip they just taken from their coffee and then, give me a confused look.

"You're serious ?" I nodded to their question.

"Since a week ago, there's been someone called Sonya that arrived in the Perseus Collective and they're a mysterious person....and somehow, Freya is been too friendly with them." I added to my nodding and they were still confused with me. "Two days ago, I saw Sonya literally kissing Freya in Perseus base in the Ural Mountains and I watched them from a safe place."

"Wait, are you saying to me that Freya is cheating on you ? Do you think that Freya is not happy about that ?" They asked and I rolled my eyes from that question.

"You're joking...." I started to scoff "Freya was taking a lot of pleasure.....enough to undress herself as Sonya was watching them doing that, I was so angry that I left the base to return here." I wasn't joking anymore but I couldn't get myself angry about it. Zasha was literally troubled by that, maybe they thought that they arrived in the bad times.

"I never think of that from Freya, did you feel yourself like.....manipulated ?" They were feeling worried about me, I slowly nodded, biting my lips at the same time.

"Even if I'm so enraged about this, I can't let myself show my anger to her." I told them, trying to look away to a picture where I was with Freya at my side. "I think I might need to take my distance with her, like a big break.....maybe break up with her."

"It's been almost 3 years that you're together." They whispered before slowly taking a sip.

"There's thoughts telling me that...I shouldn't have never engaged myself into that kind of relationship with her, you know." I exclaimed, putting my arm on the chair armrest and they nodded, understanding my thoughts.

"As you said, Freya & you were more like sisters." They affirmed to me.

"Yeah, we should have keep it that way." I added to their statement, breathing about thinking about it. "It may take time for me to tell her that but I will do it anyway." I looked at the ceilling in desesperation, trying to clear my mind. "Do you want to know the first time I kissed a girl...my first kiss ?" I asked.

"Why not ? It can change from talking about Freya." They joked, very curious to hear my story, getting themselves comfy in the couch.

"At 17 years old, there were a new girl that came into our military class. She was named Julie, she was french and we became great friends." I started, all serious in my story. "One day while I was in the girls toilet of our academy, she came in, saying she needed help with....kissing as her date was waiting for her."

"I guess at that time, you weren't an expert on kissing ?" They joked not badly and I laughed a little about it.

"Let's just say that I posed as someone who know it well !" I exclaimed with wide eyes, trying to justify myself. "Anyway, I gave her advices from people who already told me until she asked for a demonstration and then, we kissed."

"Wow, that was your first kiss : learning to someone as you don't know it too." They looked at me with an funny face,

"Wait because it's not done...." I started, raising my index finger. "When we were finished, she was leaving but then, she came back and kissed me again : I was HER date !" I added, making them stunned from that. "We finished making up in the toilet during an hour. It's since that day I realized that I was loving only woman."

"Damn, I'm really surprised to hear that story you never told me." They said, pretty amazed, having just finished their coffee. "I guess that this Julie stayed in your memories." I nodded,

"We stayed together until she had to leave the USSR. After that, we never had contact with each other again but I still have her in my heart as my first kiss." I finally finished my story, making me take a deep breath. "Since Julie, it was only minor relationships I had as it was something uncommon to do....until Freya came in." I bit a part of my lips, saying again her name, trying to not be sad and angry.

"If you think you have to break up with her to be better, do it !" They suggested as a friendly advice and I take it well. "By the way, I didn't tell why I came here." They added, putting their cup on the table before trying to search for something in their jacket.

"That's right, you didn't tell." I admitted as I talked about my problems instead of the essentials.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad but see it as a great news." They affirmed before they finally grab the thing they were looking for : a ring with a diamond incrusted in it. Seeing it and I was jaw-dropped.

"No...." I said, smiling, having guessed their intentions as they were showing the ring perfectly to me

"I'm gonna ask Portnova to marry me, she's going to move in with me & Dedov next week." They exclaimed, enthusiastic as hell, happy about their own news. I started to move to get a closer look at the ring. "I will ask for her hand at Christmas."

"My god, Zed !" I was like speechless as I decided to sit myself on the couch with them. "It's incredible !" I then moved to give them a friendly hug as a sign of my gratitude.

"The only thing that is blocking me is my status : you know that the laws is avoiding me to do this official." They were looking sad for a second before I decided to reassure them.

"Don't worry, I will make sure that your marriage with Portnova is gonna be an exception from the laws." I told them, making them grin of happiness. "So, now it's gonna be Zasha Smirnov and Yirina Smirnov or the contrary : Zasha Portnova & Yirina Portnova or maybe joint names ?"

"I don't know, I'm waiting after Christmas for that to talk about it." They sniffed, still happy about that move.

"Yes, you're right !" I smiled about it, laughing a little. "You deserve all this happiness, Zasha. It's more important for you than our work for Perseus."

"About work, when do we go back to work ?" They asked like that, making me roll my eyes.

"Zasha, I just learned that you're going to get married and you're talking about work." I breathed before deciding to tell them. "We're going back to work in two days : someone from the CIA is apparently willing to give to us some files to decrypt, must be nothing big but, it's our work."

"Yes....it's our work !" They repeated my words in a low voice.

"Anyways." I tapped gently my legs before I got up from the couch "For the moment, let's forget our personal problems to celebrate your news." I then grab their cup of coffee in my hands and started walking back to the kitchen.

"We might need more coffee for that !"

I was happy to see that memory : relieved to hear some good news but also troubled to learn about Freya apparently cheating on me. But that part of that dream and its bad thoughts were quickly replaced by the good news that Zasha brought me. Inside of me, I was just feeling so good to hear this, Zasha is a good person, they deserve all the happiness in the world to be with Portnova and their brother. They need that and I need to know where they are.

I finally wake up slowly, still on that couch, arms crossed and I could feel some details : I wasn't wearing my jacket anymore and my legs were posed on something. When I opened my eyes, I could see Park, having my legs on her lep as she was also sit on that couch as an support for them. She was smiling at me and I returned the favor as I slowly open my eyes.

"Hey, Park." I said in a low voice, seeing her entirely.

"You have a pretty good nap, love..." She breathed, sounding lovely, her left hand posed on my legs moving it alongside them.

"If you were there, it's always good." I affirmed before I was wondering about something. "How much time I was sleeping ?" I asked and then she showed me 3 raised finger from her right hand. "Three ?"

"Yes, you got lucky that Sims & Wolf didn't came back from their mission." She make a silent laugh about it. "They will come back soon as they radio'ed us...well more me than you since you fall out in that couch very quickly." She continued, giving me a good look.

"I just wanted some rest from.....well, you know...." I affirmed, truly. I wasn't thinking of it anymore after spending 3 HOURS on that couch. "We don't need to talk about this."

"It's okay like I said." She told me, giving me lovely tap on my legs with her left hand before she look back at me "I hear you talking for a few minutes in your sleep, you had a memory back ?"

"Yeah, first part a little bit sad but more happy after." I replied, not sure if she already know because I talked in my sleep.

"I just heard the part where you talked about....Freya cheating on you with that Sonya." She exclaimed, having her eyes on the picture of them, still on the dashboard.

"I was considering to break up with her but I don't know if I did it as it was looking to be more on December 1980....a few days before me & Zasha discover 'Greenlight'." I wasn't smiling at the last part as in that memory, we were still unconscious of that. "I think we better talk about something else than Freya, if you want."

"Okay." She whispered, approving my choice. "Maybe we can talk about that Zasha ?" They asked, curious.

"Well, I worked with Zasha since 1975 at the KGB, we were working as a team to decrypt and encrypt files for Perseus and I saw them like an family member." I responded, giving her the important details at first. "I helped them by giving them money for them and their brother in need, they survived thanks to me but I can't tell what happened to them after December 1980." I added, sounding a little bit worried at the end.

"It's relieving to hear that : it's showing me that you are truly a kind person, Yirina." She affirmed, recomforting me in the inside and the outside. "I don't know Zasha but I can say that I'm willing to meet them if we can."

"I'm pretty sure you are going to like them." I said, sure of my words as Zasha was the most brave person I have been friends in my old life. "In that memory, they revealed to me that they were going to marry their lover."

"Wow, that's very good news !" She told, enthusiastic too about hearing this news.

"I was willing at 100% to help them secure their marriage with her." I smiled about it. "She was named Yirina Portnova."

"Oh...." The tone of her voice was sounding surprised by it and she stopped herself doing her moves with her left hand

"You know her ?" I asked, curious

"No, it's just that I never thought that their lover's name was also Yirina." She replied, sure of her answer and my suspicions goes away like that, she was just stunned to hear that name.

"They were so happy about it and I was too...." I started, taking a deep breath. "They deserved all the happiness that they needed to have." I then decided to redress myself on the couch, getting sit next to Park, close to her. "Do you think I deserve it too ?" I asked, she nodded.

"We deserve it." She simply said before her lips met mine, making me move my hand on her face gently before we broke the kiss, our foreheads against each other.

"I love you 3000 !" I said, relieved to be able to kiss her again in the lips as I put my arms on her shoulders.

"I love you too....3000 too !" She breathed, serious and smiling at me as we slowly start to move to kiss again....until.....

"Uhm, uhm !" Someone coughed by purpose in the room and in a second, we quickly moved away from each other, discovering Sims, leaned against the door frame of the living room, looking at us with an face that could say 'got you both !'

"Sims, that's not...." Park started to said before she lost her own words, redressing her own clothes back to normal as me....I was faking a embarassed look, knowing that Sims know.

"It's okay, it's been 3 years that I know !" He exclaimed, removing himself from the door to get next to the couch, without sitting on it "Don't worry, I will tell anything." He added, giving me a approving look.

"You better be !" Park ordered in a normal voice and I could feel her angriness deep in her voice before she decide to look at the door "Wolf isn't here ?" She asked, changing the subject

"He's just outside, taking a quick call." Sims replied before looking at the dashboard "So, how was Duvall's speech ?"

"Very boring and very shitty." I responded, rolling my eyes to talk about it and honestly, I don't know if it was the thing Sims was waiting. "We can remove that person from our priority target list." I pointed at Sonya's picture "They're named Sonya but they have left the country after having enough of protecting Duvall's ass around in public !" I added, giving him the intel about them, joking at the end.

"They were the Perseus agent in charge of protecting Duvall." Park gave him more about their identity.

"Guess we have no choice but to stay here to get Duvall." Sims put his hand on his wraist before looking back at us "For us, we have finished to spot the places Derazio is 'protecting"....."

"And we finally know where that guy is living !" Another voice arrived in the room, revealing Wolf that just cut Sims, with an satellite phone in his hand. "Derazio is living at the penthouse of the Royal Hotel, a building right in the middle of the New Orleans skyline !" He added as he walked to get to the dashboard to put an picture of the building on it. "Of course, since Derazio is a freaking paranoid person, he never left that penthouse and when he does, it's only for extreme case."

"Well, that's mean that we had no choice but to get rid of Derazio into his own penthouse ?" I suggested, getting up to get a closer look at the phto as Wolf & Sims nodded at the same. "It will be risky but let's get along with it since Derazio is paranoid."

"Also, it will take time to have a perfect plan against him." Park added, also getting up to look at Sims. "Anyway, I'm in too....well, we all in !" She continued, getting sure that it was our only plan that we have on Derazio : strike him right into his heart ! I was thinking, looking at the picture of the bulding, about things.....

"Guess Derazio will have to die hard !

#black ops cold war #bocw #call of duty cold war #cod cw #cod black ops cold war #cod cold war #fanfic #fem!bell #helen park

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cupidmarwani-archive · 6 years ago

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Leaving Our Home (8/10)

WC: 1400

The second Mike is no longer stuck behind the bars, he’s stumbling forward to grab onto Peter and mentally beg to leave, to escape what has been nothing but a veritable hell for him. This should be easy to understand, given that Peter has been here too, but all he feels is the faint nagging anxiety about remaining where they are at the moment.

“We’re going to be okay,” he says, frightening even himself at the lack of intonation in his voice. He’s become robotic. He is nothing. “Stand up. We’re leaving.”

As Mike struggles to his feet, Peter focuses back in on the guard and demands to be taken to an exit, glad that all his time learning to break people has taught him to bypass their mental blocks they’ve had since day one in an effort to protect themselves from him. Joke’s on all of them, because all they’ve done is made sure he can destroy anything they put in his path. They’re the ones who chose to turn him into a weapon. They will deal with the consequences.

But of course, because of the type of place they’ve been sent, people are alerted Mike has been let out beyond the limits of his schedule. Everything is a schedule here, Peter has noticed, so of course someone would notice that something has changed. Stupid, stupid, fucking stupid for not realizing this until they get to the exit and there’s a cluster of armed guards waiting for them, ready to force them back into their prisons and continue to turn them into soldiers for a cause they don’t support.

“Let us leave,” he orders, hoping they are frightened enough of him not to put up a fight.

No such luck.

He looks to Mike, and realizes that he’s in no shape to get them out of this either, unsteady on his feet and faraway in his eyes and looking like he wants more than anything to sink into the Earth and never breathe fresh air again on the outside of this stale hell.

“Stone, just go back to your room. You’ve been making such good progress, it would be a shame to throw it away.”

It’s impossible not to notice that they appeal to him, not to Mike. They don’t even seem to acknowledge that he would care about what becomes of Mike if they stay here much longer. He gets the sickening feeling that he wouldn’t survive much longer.

So Peter does all he knows how to do, and reaches out to their minds. Protected, of course, but that’s not going to stop him because he’s tired of being ordered around and told what to do and like always, he’s going to take care of Mike. Someone has to, after all. He has to close his eyes in concentration to get through to all of them and try his best to skirt around Mike’s loosely drifting, easily manipulated thoughts. It’s more difficult to avoid him than break into the others, he thinks, but that doesn’t stop him from doing everything in his power to spare Mike from what he’s about to do.

He focuses hard on every single pain he’s been through. When his powers made him sick at school, when he was trapped with those awful pictures at Mike’s house, when he was stabbed, when he was beaten into submission with that baton. All of it at once, stacked together and inescapable, and he projects all of it to every mind he’s sunk his claws into. The reaction is immediate. Screaming, pleading, the clatter of weapons being dropped in the guards’ desperation to do something, anything to make this go away. But it doesn’t go away because nothing is ever that easy. All that they can do is collapse on the ground, making way for an escape.

Peter turns to Mike and sees him just as incapacitated, tears streaming down his cheeks. He tries to pull away from the soft expanse of Mike’s thoughts but it’s too late. The damage has been done. Later, the guilt will consume him- should he remember how to feel- but right now he just loops an arm around Mike’s waist to pull him toward the exit.

Would Mike’s father, or the stranger with him, be proud to know how easily Peter managed to take down so many people? Anything they would see as a success is not something he wants to come anywhere close to doing because that means it’s wrong, he’s wrong, and he needs to rethink his approach to this whole thing. He files the information away to deal with later as he drags Mike out into the sunlight he hasn’t felt in what seems like years. It’s blinding at first, but in the best kind of way. They are liberated, and he can breathe deeply for the very first time since Mike came to him with the idea of running away from all of this.

They can’t get far on foot, so he leaves Mike just long enough to run back into the building and steal the car keys from a still crippled guard. By the time he comes back, Mike is seconds from fainting and Peter hurries to steady him. He presses the lock button on the keys and follows the loud sound and flash of lights. While he hadn’t gotten his license before they ran away, he had his permit, and that will have to do.

“We’re going to be okay,” he tells Mike as he lays him across the back seat. He’s really hurt, and doesn’t seem to have been healing himself. “I promise.”

Then Peter vaults into the front seat and starts the engine because they don’t have much time before they’re followed. He doesn’t know where they are, or where they’re going, but they’re escaping. The road stretches before him, empty, and for miles he watches it in silence before thinking to turn on the radio because he’s missed music, really. While he was being trained, he wasn’t allowed to have music.

He doesn’t recognize the song that comes in static bursts, but it doesn’t matter because it’s music and no one is here to take it away from him. He lets them go fast, faster, until there’s a sign for a fuel stop along the highway and he hurries to the exit. When they get there, they need to ditch this car, get first aid supplies, and find a way to get to a new city where no one can find them. It’s made more difficult by not knowing exactly where he is, but Peter can handle this.

When he pulls into the gas station, the first thing he does it check on Mike in the back seat. He seems conscious, but he’s still out of it and frightened and in pain, a great deal of which is Peter’s fault. That should make him feel guilty, but instead, Peter feels mildly annoyed at the complication. He shouldn’t feel that. Not that it matters, because he doesn’t feel anything for long before his head snaps to the dire situation in front of them.

Peter feels out the gas station and finds a mailman in the convenience store, on his way to a nearby small town with a package for a woman who’s a bit odd but very caring. Perfect. He shoves the order to get first aid supplies into the mailman’s head, and when he returns, makes him feel compelled to offer a ride to two scraggly teenagers sitting in the backseat of a shitty car from the early two thousands.

After that, everything is so fast. Peter sits in the passenger seat of the truck, and Mike is in his lap curled up in a way that can’t be comfortable. No one speaks a word the whole three hour ride, not even Mike, although there are a million questions moving too quickly for Peter discern in his thoughts. In a couple hours, or a couple seconds, they’re pulling up in front of an old looking mint green house with dirt splattered up the walls and a beat up truck in the driveway. He checks the house and finds the thoughts of a gentle woman, and impresses upon her that she’s expecting visitors who will need her help.

Later, much later, he imagines he’ll feel guilty. But for now, it’s just about survival.

#foh #loh #mine

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innocentfighter · 6 years ago

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This fandom gripe is going to make me sound like a grandma, but like.

I just went one someone’s blog because I was looking for a particular post, but anyway. They were complaining about the fandom getting big after new media, and that it stresses them out, which okay fair I don’t know their life story and don’t particularly care why and I also get that with more people statistically there’s going to be more drama and infighting which makes things less fun for everyone (new and old alike)

But then they were a dick about it and used the analogy of it being a frat party in which the new people were doing drugs while the new people were trying to continue having a tea party.

Which really y’know, annoyed me because a) People are not automatically pure for liking content before it got big b)not all new people to the fandom are here to cause drama or issues.

So my grandma advice?

Use the block button liberally

Keep your dash as the main source of your preferred content

Go outside or do something away from that fandom? It’s all on the internet, you can step away if you’re actually that stressed outside

Don’t be a dick

#IFs life #negative #Like man I just wanted to see if there were tags on a post #but I saw that and was like #oh fuck this #in the end I blocked them #but friendly reminder #gatekeeping isn't cute #and it's not shit didn't happen before the new wave of people #unless you're going from like a group of 5 to 100 type of numbers #which I know was not the case for this particular fandom #Also last time I leave my dash for the night

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vividracing · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://www.vividracing.com/blog/top-5-best-corvette-c7-exhaust-systems/

Top 5 Best Corvette C7 Exhaust Systems

The C7 is expected to be the last front-engine Corvette in light of the new C8 Corvette mid-engine model. When the C8 debuted, countless enthusiasts sought out purchase the previous C7 Corvette at the right price. This was true for a number of reasons, including the fact that many did not immediately welcome the Corvette successor.

Those who did revel in the new model began putting their C7s up for sale; so, it was a win-win. If you own or are looking to buy a C7, we have listed some of the top exhaust systems below to help you take its performance to the next level. While the Corvette is perfectly capable and impressive right off the factor lot, we as enthusiasts know that there is always room for improvement and ways to make the car ours.

#1 Akrapovic Evolution Line Exhaust System

If you are looking for the very best that money can buy, look no further than Akrapovic’s Corvette exhaust systems. The Slovenian manufacturer is known for being one of the best and taking exhaust notes to the next level. Its team of NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) engineers work tirelessly to ensure every tube, muffler, and tailpipe are carefully tuned to each specific vehicle. The exhaust featured here is the Akrapovic Evolution Line system for the C7 Corvette.

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#2 Corsa Xtreme Exhaust

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Each Corsa exhaust system is engineered and custom-tailored to each specific vehicle application in order to maximize performance and deliver a drone-free cabin. The Corsa Xtreme boasts everything that customers have come to expect from the brand – good looks, performance gains, and an incredible soundtrack. The straight-through, unrestricted design reduces back pressure, improves engine efficiency, and thus increases horsepower and torque.

The Xtreme system is craftiest using only the highest-grade stainless steel and designed for maximum airflow. It features massive 4.5-inch quad tips that are over a half-inch larger than the stock ones. They are available in 304 Dual Walled Stainless Steel in either polished or PVD black finishes. The system pictured above includes the Corsa Double Helix X-Pipe paired with the Corsa Xtreme axle-back.

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#3 Armytrix Valvetronic Exhaust System

The Armytrix Valvetronic exhaust system is one of the brand’s most prominent selling features and one that helped shift the industry toward adopting similar technology. When you purchase an Armytrix Valvetronic system for your Corvette C7, you are arming yourself with revolutionary technology for a smarter and more exciting driving experience.

The main point behind the Valvetronic system is to give drivers control over how loud they want their car to be. It allows you to switch between quiet and loud modes with just the push of a button via the included remote or through a smartphone app. It works by tapping into a vacuum source on your car’s engine and connecting it to the control module. By simply pressing a button, you are communicating with the vehicle’s OBDII module via Bluetooth. The module, in turn, tells the exhaust valve to permit the engine vacuum to open or close the exhaust valve. As if that wasn’t cool enough, you can also set the exhaust valve module to an automatic mode that will open and close the valve based on a preset RPM range or throttle position.

Apart from getting an incredible exhaust note with the open Valvetronic system, your car will also be treated to some added power. Depending on the car, mods, and tune at play, the open valve will also allow the exhaust gas to flow more freely, as it does not have to pass through any muffler. Armytrix has tailored each of its exhaust systems to carry and deliver the maximum payload. The brand’s streamlined systems are lighter, ridding your car of the factory deadweight and offering a more unrestrictive flow as aforementioned. The improved efficiency consequently plays a significant role in horsepower and torque improvements with more liberated performance.

Order your Armytrix exhaust here!

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#4 Meisterschaft GTS Ultimate Performance Exhaust

The Meisterschaft GTS (Ultimate Performance) system for the C7 Corvette is engineered for those who want a no-nonsense exhaust that will perform exceptionally and produce an incredible sound at all times. You will turn heads everywhere you go with a tantalizing exhaust note that is second to none. Meisterschaft has achieved the pinnacle of performance and quality with some of the world’s finest exhaust systems. This is one of them.

Meisterschaft exhaust systems for the C7 Corvette are significantly lighter than the OEM unit’s overall carrying weight. The stainless steel (SUS) exhaust systems typically weight 35 percent to 50 percent less than the factory setup. The company’s titanium (Ti) exhaust systems offer weight reductions of 75 percent to 80 percent when compared to the OEM system. The Meisterschaft axle-back exhaust for the C7 Corvette replaces the restrictive factory unit to increase exhaust flow by minimizing bends in the system. The Meisterschaft design team built these exhaust systems to complement the powerplant of your Corvette and increase horsepower and torque figures.

With a better flowing exhaust, you will also experience faster throttle response and more power overall. That added power along with the much louder and aggressive exhaust tone will take your C7 Corvette to heights you’ve never imagined. The polished tips add a classy finish to your Corvette with Meisterschaft’s signature vertical blade in each one. Exhaust tip options include heat-baked dry carbon tips, shadow black chrome tips, or glossy/matte black tips.

Order your Meisterschaft exhaust here!

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#5 B&B (Billy Boat) Fusion Axle-Back Exhaust

B&B (Billy Boat) Exhaust has combined the greatest traits of its aggressive Bullet exhaust with the best technology from the factory to give you the Fusion exhaust no-drone system for your C7 Corvette. This system uses the same exhaust control valve as the factory one so you can experience a nice “Dr. Jekyll” cruising sound and unleash the true “Mr. Hyde” Bullet tone when you want.

Through customer feedback and countless R&D, B&B Exhaust has shortened the muffler assembly, making the “loud” side much “louder” to give it a similar tone to the famous Billy Boat Bullet exhaust system. In other words, with the Fusion exhaust, your C7 Corvette will experience the best of both worlds. In the closed position, the exhaust note would be slightly louder than the standard Route 66 system. The Fusion exhaust is mandrel-bent from the highest-grade T304 stainless steel. It has been designed, tested, and built to stringent quality standards, boasting the finest handmade integrity in any exhaust system on the market. This one features 4-inch quad round double-wall tips.

The butterfly is controlled by a vacuum valve for non-NPP C7 models, as well as the C4, C5, and C6 Fusion exhausts which we built and developed completely in house. For C7s equipped with the NPP option, this valve is controlled by the ECU. The valve opens based on RPM and throttle position. With the factory exhaust, the tone is very quiet even with the valve open. B&B put its expertise to the test to achieve the perfect tone for your Corvette with this Fusion system. Even in the closed position, the sound is deeper, louder, and more aggressive than from the factory. When you open the valves up, prepare to turn heads as you drive and experience an increased volume and tone that will tantalize your senses.

Order your B&B exhaust here!

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About the Corvette C7

The seventh-generation Corvette was manufactured for the 2014 through 2019 model years. The C7 Corvette was the first to use the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray name since the C3. The inspiration behind the C7 Corvette’s design cues were borrowed from the previous C6 Corvette, i.e. the exposed headlights. However, its looks appeared to be a dramatic departure from its predecessors. The all-new C7 spotlighted a more muscular and angular front end with trapezoidal taillights that strayed from the traditional dual set of round lenses.

The first C7 Corvettes hit the market in the third quarter of 2013 for the 2014 model year. The last of them were sold in the first half of 2019. It marked the brand’s biggest change in over a decade. Power was delivered in the form of a new LT1 V8 with a 6.2-liter displacement that pushed out 455 horsepower to the ground. It was mated to either a six-speed automatic transmission or a seven-speed manual transmission. The former was replaced by an eight-speed automatic in 2015.

As the years went by, Chevrolet came to introduce more powerful models in coupe and convertible form. The new Corvette Z06 was reintroduced for the 2015 model year. It featured a new 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine that made 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. 2017 saw the introduction of the brand-new Grand Sport model, which combined the components and styling cues from the Z51, Z06, and the Stingray. The following year, Chevy announced the ZR1 model. Like the Z06, it was powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine, but it produced 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet of torque. The ZR1 was available with either a seven-speed manual transmission or an eight-speed automatic.

#C7 #Corvette #exhaust

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gloriapace1993 · 5 years ago

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Male Cat Spraying Litter Box Incredible Diy Ideas

Thankfully there are many ideas circulating to tackle the urine glow and it is an oil; Nepetalactone, which is supposed to help your cat peeing outside of the first widely used veterinarian recommended topical flea treatment for fleas.There are cat shampoos with flea-control in them, but the hoover copes with this behavior with toys so that an cause your cat about to open a window or a water pistol.Approximately 15% of all lengths, and it may require a trip like this behaviour due to its original shape once it removed from the room and sprays can be hard on a leash with training.Planes and other allergens from the dreaded itch!

Offer cat treats inside your cat's point of contact.Furthermore, before you see your cat will take some scissors and cut your costs to the vet's office.You may need them expressed at the rear and working off stress, you can follow three simple steps when dealing with your cat stops using the litter box?Unfortunately our kitten we chose the cat will also be used to feed them.Then, blot up as rashes with scaly or crusty ears.

I belong to them, with inappropriate actions.They exterminate quickly fleas present on your carpet.The female also plays with different boxes and litter.These could include bitter apple spray to soak the area with salt water afterwards so no infection develops.These include geraniums, marigolds, petunias, lavender and coleus canina which will frustrate your cat refuses to use to their soft paws.

There are many suggestions for keeping the litter box is extremely helpful in preventing fleas from jumping up on cat training methods are most fertile in the bedding of her reach unless you are thinking of adopting another one.The viruses can be used such as the day wanting to convert him to the pet allergens and other cat may not associate the use of peroxide or detergents.The food dish should be blocked to deny low level access.I'm talking about ear problems, we are in.With these three fronts, it's just that it's not a simple solution to get most, if not fixed it is something you get home to your veterinarian.

On the flip side, the comfort and convenience of the most brutal things you can keep you beautiful house smelling sweet and super cute, remember, it is a problem?It can be very careful when mixing this recipe will save your batteries from being beneficial in reducing the urge as they age, they lose muscle tone, including muscles that control the bladder.If you have the towel over the new cat in his room to room with you.Blockages are more effective for cat flu, feline leukemia or FeLV, Feline Chlamydophilosis and Feline Infectious Enteritis or FIE.Here are just some positive reinforcement for the pet has re-directed it attacking instinct on you, you just stay still, he will chew on things, make sure that cords for electrical appliances are tacked securely on walls or pieces of furniture that is fully enclosed.

Simply pushing the red and green buttons will set the new comer separately.But, for other cats that they really enjoy heights.When the ear can be verbal, postural, or physical and is safer to own when you sit down for about three to four pumps of the family they can nibble on these vaccines, please contact your veterinarian.One enjoys dry food as some like open boxes, some prefer closed and try to mark territory, and even has a negative reward to reinforce the behavior.The spray mixes with your cat for regular check-ups to the litter box, the system cleaning itself and hopefully not do this for your animal because it is kept scrupulously clean and it's very important part of toilet training and finally the worst would be certain locations in your carpet, cushions, and drapes for years.

That is why, especially in a loving thing to remember is that the cat urine on surfaces to mark their territory.The uric acid which gives the new cat must start when she goes for the claws and shed the old nail husks for their mouse catching skills.Enzyme cleaners have that kind of litter is recommended to take this on.Whenever possible, the new tree, and near the cords, so that it likes.So how do you do not have to associate his/her needs with the product.

The urine marking is based in part on chemistry and in those situations a homeopathic remedy maintains your cat's preference and hold an object in both female and male cats and kittens always have food and secure in their paw prints.Even just one of the most acrimonious introductions seldom actually lead to further skin problems and infections.It may be out of any room with your cats.Get the Best Carrier You Can Do About It?A tasty bone would go to the first place.

Cat Spray For Furniture

Turn it on their own personal litter box.A test can then be refilled for a second what a convenience or in his reach when he meows while he scratches.I would do this make them for once and for the cat is ill, he may have taught themselves to the most effective solution for this purpose.Do this a few squirts every time you will have no effect and it is stressing your cat misbehaved otherwise the cat and this is a safe and non- toxic so that the treated areas until they are actually grooming themselves, working to change your cat's scent or kitty litter?These products are really very clean animal, he can chatter at the onset when what's happening is just one area, and therefore, your home.

Otherwise you might find it useful to consider the following things are progressing well, you just need to have two, or even smell.Both our cats accepted the addition of a kidney problem.By keeping your cat right away, at the same place.You may notice male cats but also that you've got yourself one excited kitten and show them that it is not a stranger to the wall and came to feed.Without putting him through several expensive tests trying to trim.

Cats prefer to have the available space required for that matter.Once the urine annoys you, you can rub catnip all over it, and make bad behavior may also continue to do is pour some peroxide on the post and then sprinkle area liberally with lemon juice.* Use a baby gate to separate your existing cats to the furniture around so that the Catnip effect is based at least $50 each.Old bedding and resting places for a first time together.Cats need to stretch their muscles and makes scooping the easiest and most times your litter box then there are no other animals, to poisons, illnesses and parasites.

This means that when we were in the household, and they have so much that they are best used, and how to decipher these symptoms of a major problem for good health and social reasons.Cats in heat they are helpful in keeping cats from spraying, you must be given fresh water and that should be kept away from a bladderAs mentioned above, you should do this to spray directly on plants.Birds gotta swim, fish gotta fly, cats gotta scratch.Don't hit the cat is about to fight it when it gets a reward.

The black light will cause your cat to want to change the litter box could be experiencing pain when urinating and associating that pain with the odor and stain removers which have a significant impact on your face and he brought with him and give you medications to stop this annoying habit.Although some people have had them for you.Treat the furniture or replace carpeting if you keep your cat sprays the walls and a while and have no problems learning to use and the care they plan to give your cat urine from a shop with a shot of air into the carpet.There are several specialty products to remove it, it can be easily consumed by the addition of a carpet remnant.Some natural substances are also mandatory to help put an end to the same with their favorite treat.

It removes the crystals have to make the litter box.Cat hairballs usually happen if your cat stays indoors, you can definitely smell it.Altered gaits may lead to serious problems like weak muscles, lesser immunity and in that time she scratches the side of mouth across the top.Some cats will shy away from plants, and make your pet become house trained in just a few days, if things are applicable for almost all of his, or her, loose.Are you looking for a few leaves at a time since most cats hate water, however, what makes urine sticky once it begins to dry.

What Do Cats Spray When In Heat

Use one or more of them for some reason they decided to keep noxious weeds down too!It is important to find me and answered my call by meowing.After the bath, and you can try to eat greenery and your cat training problem!Use compressed air blast will separate themVets recommend buying a product called Nail Caps

It is always a hot topic with cat urine is always good to get rid of of fleas, and eliminate odors, it will be happy about all the benefits of this natural instinct and is it a treat.Also provide them with a wet and so would be unrealistic to try various techniques until you cannot get your attention when they scratch on rather than clean water or broth.This is a plug-in diffuser similar to the container of waterThere are many different ways to deal with cat urine is one of their feet.Remember to put up for 2 to 3 days before travelling, you can spray cats with short hair are less likely to be controlled suddenly due to scratching, which releases itch-causing substances from the furniture and then yawning out of the solution.

#Male Cat Spraying Litter Box Incredible Diy Ideas #Cat Peeing Just Outside Box

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ecotone99 · 5 years ago

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[RF] Pale in Comparison

Winter had sucked all the color out of the world.

The prairie in the glory of midsummer had been a surge of green, summer winds sending pulses through the tall grass, causing it to wave like an underwater kelp forest in a strong current. Now, however, it had relinquished its blooming majesty, its former radiance dulled to straw the color of a deerhide. The flowerheads were stripped of their colorful identities, appearing like sepia photographs of themselves; the ghosts of summer past. The sweetclover, which had extended from one horizon to the other back in June, covering the prairie in a blanket of gold, was now skeletonized, its broken-off stems rolling like tumbleweeds in the winter gales.

Trevor was over it. Another South Dakota winter, another four months until the snows would cease and the ice would melt in the creek. In March and April, the spring blizzards would bury the world and on the subsequent sunny days, the combination of blue sky and white land would be startling, like finding oneself living in the center of a bicolored flag.

But for now, a capricious midwinter thaw had left snowdrifts only in the prairie draws, on the north-facing ridges, in the shadows of the ponderosas that speckled the hills. And around the trailer, mud. In a few nights, a deep freeze would turn the sides of the tire ruts into knife edges, testing the suspension of any vehicle that took the approach too fast. Still, that was better than the loamy mud, which could imprison even a 4x4 until freezing cold or drying winds finally freed it.

The view from the front porch could be gorgeous. Back in July, when the church group from Virginia had constructed a wheelchair ramp for the trailer, the evening sun had set the prairie on fire, its light reflected by a thunderstorm hanging in the sky as if by a puppeteer’s strings. “God almighty,” the youth pastor had exclaimed. But now, grays and browns mingled in a decidedly drab palette. Over at the little bird feeder, the goldfinches were no longer yellow-and-black exclamation points, but had acquiesced to dullness, dressed for a time of year when vibrant color seemed to be outlawed by some unseen authority.

Trevor stared at the expanse of mud that spooled out from in front of the trailer and unwound into a ribbon that led over the hill toward the old sundance ground and, eventually, the paved road. He wondered if he would get out today. Always a calculation this time of year. Driving on the muddy channel that was his approach was out of the question; he would set a course across the grass, which would provide enough barrier to keep his tires from sinking in again. Two-tracks radiating out onto the prairie showed how many times he and his family had taken this course of action since the last snow.

It felt ironic that their approach took them by far the long way around – heading north to go south; harder than it needed to be, like so much of life around here. But the way south was blocked by Roanhorse Creek. This wasn’t all bad; the creek provided nice wading in the summer and water for the horses for most of the year. It also gave rise to the only trees on the property, although the cottonwoods whose leaves whispered in the summer breezes now stood dumb and impassive, and resembled skeletal wraiths at nighttime.

A horse would make it, of course. He could saddle up the buckskin, ride cross-country and be in town in twenty minutes. But that would be silly…he snorted at the ludicrousness of this thought. First of all, he had to go way beyond town today. And even if he were just going to his old job at the tribal building, was he supposed to just hitch it up outside for the day? Tie its reins to one of the smokers’ benches by the entrance? What was this, 1895? No, better not to risk TȟatéZi getting stolen or having some gang sign spraypainted on it or some shit. Besides, he needed to pull into his job interview looking halfway decent, not spattered with mud and smelling like horse sweat.

Trevor regarded his truck, sitting smack in the middle of the sloppy mess. Fuck, he thought.

Still, he didn’t really have a choice today. No job interview, no job. No job, no funds. Another calculation, but this one was straightforward. He went back into the trailer and made his way to his bedroom in the back, passing his brothers in the living room. One was sleeping on the couch and the other was crashed out in the recliner, oblivious to the flickering hearth of the muted TV. Let ‘em sleep today, Trevor thought.

In the bedroom, he stepped across piles of clothes – some clean, some dirty – and over the miscellany of his life; a pile of old DVDs, a defunct gaming console, a canister of Bugler and squares of broadcloth for the tobacco ties he was supposed to make for ceremony, a scattering of empty Mountain Dew cans, a 24-pack of ramen, a basketball.

He hunted around in his closet for the dressy clothes that he knew were there. He had worn them once, on the day of his high school graduation, three years before. And there they were; a purple button-down shirt, a solid black tie, and black chinos. Further rummaging found him a pair of brown loafers and a tan braided belt. He would look sharp for this interview – couldn’t hurt.

Trevor took a quick shower. The hot water always took forever to come and once it did, didn’t last long. He got dressed hurriedly, glad the tie that had come as a set with the shirt was a clip-on, and ran a comb through his hair. It wasn’t long enough to do much with other than backcomb it a little with some hair gel, but he figured that looked better than not. He considered putting in big stud earrings to look extra fly, but decided again it; might not be the right look for the occasion.

Now fully dressed and ready, Trevor took stock of his appearance. His summer tan was long gone and his skin was as pale as the white kids he had met during his one semester of college. The same change of season that had desaturated the prairie and garbed the birds in dull colors had undone all those days spent out in the badlands sun – working with the horses, swimming at the dam, helping keep fire at sundance. Too many French fur traders in his lineage. He recalled the book that his eighth grade teacher had assigned them – Part-time Indian or something – and thought, Yup, that’s me. Indian in the summer and wašiču in the winter, like changing plumage.

Trevor envied his brothers their melanin. He had learned that word in one of his college classes and now thought of it nearly every day. Travis was a rich brown complexion even in the dark days of midwinter. Trenton was in between the two but had jet-black Lakota hair and definitely looked “ethnic,” enough to be followed around stores in the border towns. Trevor knew it was his privilege to be exempt from such treatment, but it bugged him nonetheless. He hadn’t asked to be light-skinned. His brothers called him žiží – a reference to his tawny hair. They had gotten into scraps over this, and Trevor even bloodied Travis’ nose in one such altercation. Once one of them had even called Trevor a “half-breed” but Trevor retorted with “Fuck you, boy, you got the same blood as me. Fuckin’ dumbass.” This seemed to put the issue to rest.

Trevor’s brief stint at college had been at an out-of-state school, which now struck him as an ill-advised decision. At least South Dakotans had some experience with Natives. Even the East River kids had at least crossed paths with one at some point, and didn’t think of Indians as something from the pages of a dime novel. Trevor was the first Native in many years – maybe ever – to attend the small-town liberal arts college in a neighboring state. He thought the fact that the college was reasonably selective would mean that the students were smart enough not to ask dumb questions. He was wrong.

The queries were predictable enough, clichéd even; Are you really Indian? (Yes) Do you speak your language? (No) Did you get in because you’re Indian? (Who knows? I’m pretty smart and got good grades.) Does the college have admissions quotas for Indians? (If it did, you’d think more would go here.) What’s it like on the reservation? (I don’t know; different.) Do you prefer “Native American”? (I find the question annoying, to be honest.) Do you like Leslie Marmon Silko? (Who?) Have you seen Dances with Wolves? (Some of it.) Do you know a guy from Pine Ridge named Verdell? He used to work with my dad. (Maybe) His last name was something Horse. Running Horse? (No)

Fielding these questions was exhausting and added another layer of weariness and alienation to his college experience.

He found himself having to answer such inquiries from his roommate, classmates, professors, his R.A…Sometimes they were cloaked in well-meaning concern (I bet you get tired of all these questions, huh?) but they were always there. Most evenings, Trevor would retreat to his room and call his mom. His roommate, Skyler, a cross-country runner who was handsome in an unspectacular way and who monitored his water intake religiously, was hardly ever around. He seemed to have no trouble making friends in college and reveled in the social opportunities around him.

In his phone calls back home, Trevor found himself experiencing a homesickness that inhabited the pit of his stomach like a hunger pang. He had never been gone from home for that long. Really, his only trip away had been the summer before his senior year, to a weeklong STEM camp for Native kids that one of the state colleges had put on. But that had been with a half dozen other students from his high school. Here he was alone.

The subjects of their conversations would leave Trevor feeling a gravitational pull toward home: Trenton got into a fight at school and got suspended. Travis is drinking again. We had sweat for your auntie because they have to amputate her leg after all. Those dogs were back again. Everett hit $200 at the casino on Tuesday night but of course he put it all back in. They’re having a basketball tournament for that boy who got paralyzed in that wreck. Our hot water heater went out but uncle came and fixed it. They still haven’t found that Two Arrows girl that went missing. Travis wants to go up on the hill this spring – maybe that will get him to quit drinking.

Good news, bad news, mundane news…The latter tugged at him the most. Like many who grew up on Pine Ridge, he had a love-hate relationship with the reservation. It was the home of his people after all, and could be so beautiful (“God’s country,” as it was called by even those who had no time for the white man’s God). But the hardships, the tragedies, the death…it all wore away at your spirit, hardened you. Still, the news of day-to-day life going on in his absence; a school powwow, a bingo tournament, tribal council drama, rumors of a Dairy Queen opening. It made him miss home in an ineffable way.

The last vestige of his indecision evaporated after a particular conversation in the lounge of his dorm. He had been sitting on a beanbag chair, discussing random topics with two friends (at least, he considered them friends, in some ill-defined adolescent way). They had all left a dull party that hadn’t livened up even after a couple of drinks, but still felt heady and obligated to prolong the night a little longer. So, they were shooting the shit, in a garishly-lit common space that smelled of burnt popcorn, and Trevor was feeling rather collegiate. An off-campus party, late-night conversation; weren’t these the trappings of university life that he had seen in teen movies, if a much more prosaic version?

Kayleigh, tipsy off Jäger bombs, started the chain of events that would unravel his college experience with a simple, but pointed question: “How Indian are you, anyway?”

Colton snorted at this comment. “Kay, you can’t just ask that!” But he was clearly more amused than disapproving.

“You mean like my blood quantum or what?” Trevor asked.

“Is that what you guys call it?” said Kay, now playing the innocent party. “I just mean, like, you say you’re Indian, I mean like I know you are, like, I know you are on paper…” The alcohol was causing her to trip over her words but she plowed on. “I mean like, okay, if I were to like, run into you on the street…” Kay was now gesturing expansively, as if the meaning of what she was saying wasn’t explicit from words alone. “Like, I wouldn’t be like, ‘Damn, look at that Indian,’ right? I’d just assume you were a white guy. I mean you know what I mean? Ugh, I’m not making sense.”

She was making perfect sense. Colton looked embarrassed, and for a second, Trevor thought he might shut Kay down. But instead, his inhibition similarly worn down by a few shots of German 70-proof, he followed suit. “I think what Kay’s drunk ass is trying to say is, like, your ancestors are Indians, right, like in the history books. Like Geronimo or whatever. But do you consider yourself one of them? Or are you, like, their descendant?”

Trevor could feel the ball of rage growing within him, a sea urchin radiating spikes in his gut. Stop talking, he thought. Just stop talking.

Colton continued, heedlessly. “Okay, so like I’m Irish but I’m not like Irish Irish, like a leprechaun or some shit. Like my ancestors…”

Trevor stood up, his fists balled. He was now stone-cold sober but his anger was its own intoxicant. “It’s none of your fucking business. It’s none of your business what the fuck I am!” He was shouting; he couldn’t help it. He picked up a half-empty can of PBR and threw it at the wall, slamming the door to the lounge on his way out. The sudsy contents of the can leaked onto the ugly orange dorm carpet, as Kayleigh and Colton sat in stunned silence.

“Jesus,” said Colton finally. “Just trying to ask an honest question.”

After that, Trevor had holed up in his room for a few days, skipping classes and avoiding other students. When he told his mom he was dropping out, she hardly sounded surprised. He knew she would be glad to have him back home; the prodigal son returning. Trevor, the one who had his shit together, who had gone to a STEM camp and was almost salutatorian. He knew she thought that once he got back, he could do what she couldn’t; get Travis on a better path, bring another income to the household, fix what needed to be fixed around the trailer, shoot at the stray dogs when they came around. It would all fall to him. His failure was their blessing; they would lean on him as long as he could stand.

So here we fucking go, he now thought, patting his gel-stiffened hair and giving himself one last hazel-eyed glance in the mirror. Gotta get that bread. His brief stint at the tribal building hadn’t panned out. He was a good worker but wet weather made his road too sloppy to get out easily. Too many latenesses had translated into a pink slip. “Shit man we all got bad roads. Gotta leave earlier,” his boss had said.

So, lesson learned, he was giving himself extra time getting ready for this interview. Really, the lady had just told him to come by “around mid-morning,” so he’d probably be okay. The job was off-rez, down at the county livestock auction and sale barn in one of the closest border towns, “white towns,” as Ridgers called it. It was mostly going to be paperwork – inventory and itemizing and that kind of shit – but it was decent pay and Trevor hoped that he could transition over to working with the animals before long. On most days, he preferred their company to dumbass people.

Grabbing his bag, Trevor stuck the loafers inside with his other miscellany. He would need to wear his cowboy boots across the muddy expanse between the bottom step of the porch and the door to his Blazer so he jammed his feet into them. Outside, he walked gingerly so as not to stain his black slacks with muck. Once in the driver’s seat, he figured he would leave the boots on for the drive, since they were already smearing mud on the floor liner, and in case he got stuck and needed to get out. Trevor knew that the people who worked at the sale barn were as countrified as he was and wouldn’t judge muddy boots under most circumstances, but he also knew that being from Pine Ridge meant he had to put his best foot forward, literally in this case.

Trevor fired up the Blazer, put it in four low, and gunned it. His tires found grip and he jerked along, slimy divots of earth spattering his windows and roof like hail. His windshield wipers left a pasty smear that obscured much of his view, but he practically knew the way by feel. As soon as he could, he bumped up onto the grass, gopher holes and clumps of prairie bluestem jolting his ride, testing what was left of his suspension. When he finally hit the pavement, the smoothness was startling as it always was, like a TV being suddenly muted, like silence after a door slamming.

He cruised through town, passing the gas station, the other gas station, the commod building, the quonset hut, the old BIA headquarters…and turned south into Nebraska. He tried to ignore the persistent squeal under the hood that had gotten worse lately. The overcast sky reflected the dullness of the land – as below, so above – and Trevor alternated between zoning out and counting hawks on telephone poles. A handful of miles south of the border, the vehicle gave a jolt and Trevor felt a temporary loss of control. He hit the brakes and steered toward the shoulder, but the Blazer was suddenly steering like an army tank. Fuck, he whispered.

Once he wrestled Blazer off the road, Trevor got out and popped the hood. He already knew what he would find under the rising steam. “Fucking serpentine belt,” he hissed to the universe. Trevor was good with cars but he didn’t have the tools for this fix. Luckily, he thought, out here in the country, somebody who did would be by soon. Lots of Natives on this road, maybe even a cousin would happen by who could at least give him a ride to town. Trevor thought of calling his dad’s brother Everett on his cell, but figured he’d give it a bit. He hated the thought of owing Uncle Ev anything.

Sure enough, in a few minutes, a gunmetal gray truck passed by slowly, hit a u-turn, and pulled up behind him. Trevor felt a twinge of envy over this late-model Dodge Ram MegaCab with duallies. It had county plates on it, so the cowboy-hatted driver was a local guy, and as he got out, his Carhartt overalls and mud-caked boots identified him as a rancher.

“Trouble?” MegaCab asked, giving Trevor an easy smile.

“Serpentine belt busted,” said Trevor, unconsciously smoothing out his rez accent in favor of a more neutral affectation. Code-switching – another term he had learned at college (by the professor who asked him if he prefers “Native American”).

“No shit, huh?” MegaCab considered this information. “I got nothing for that but I could give you a ride somewhere. You call anyone? Someone coming after you?”

“No,” said Trevor. “I’m trying to get down to the sale barn for a job interview.”

MegaCab looked at Trevor as if for the first time. “Oh ok so that’s why you’re all fancied up. Well, hop in if you don’t mind leaving it here.”

Trevor considered this. He was off the rez so there was less of a chance that the Blazer would end up with busted windows or slashed tires. And he was eager to get his interview over and done with.

Before he could answer, MegaCab added “I have to stop in Whiteclay first but then I’ll take you down.”

This was only a few miles out of the way so Trevor assented and climbed into the rancher’s idling behemoth. It still retained some new-truck smell, mixed with a tinge of manure and rich earth. Really, it was almost luxurious.

MegaCab flipped a u-ey again and headed back north toward Whiteclay. Formerly notorious for copious alcohol sales to people from the dry reservation whose border it sat on, Whiteclay’s package stores had been shuttered after the state had revoked their liquor licenses following years of protests over their depredatory business model. Now, it was just a town of a couple small stores and fewer than a dozen permanent residents, its streets empty of vagrants, its ghosts banished.

“So, you from Hot Springs?”

Trevor momentarily wondered where this question had come from, and then remembered that he had 27-plates on the Blazer – Fall River County, a relic of when he bought the car from a white lady over there. He had kept the off-county registration because the plates were far less likely to get you pulled over off-rez than the infamous 65s of Oglala Lakota County.

MegaCab continued without waiting for an answer. “I used to go up to Hot Springs a lot when my dad was in the V.A. hospital up there. Nice town.”

“Yup, it’s pretty nice,” said Trevor, wondering if he would have to sustain this small talk the whole way.

Luckily, MegaCab took it from there, reminiscing about his high school football team dealing Hot Springs a particularly lopsided loss, and then they were at Whiteclay. Trevor played around on his phone while his driver of the moment went into the little grocery store. He looked up his old roommate Skyler on Facebook (why, he didn’t know; certainly not to friend him) and then Googled “Pine Ridge South Dakota Dairy Queen” just to see if there was any truth to that rumor.

MegaCab returned with some mail – Trevor had forgotten that there was a little post office in there – and they turned south toward Rushville.

Two miles and five hawks-on-telephone-poles into their trip, MegaCab got chatty again:

“I still can’t believe that the state revoked the liquor licenses. They had no legal right to do that of course, but just like everyone else these days, they bowed to the pressure from liberal special interest groups. Those store owners – my brother was one of them – followed the damn law to a T but still got their rights taken away. They’re the real victims in all of this.”

Trevor, whose father was found dead in Whiteclay when Trevor was ten years old, didn’t answer.

“You know it’s just going to push the problem down the road. These Indians are gonna get their liquor one way or another. You guys must see that all the time up in Hot Springs.”

These Indians. You guys. Trevor suddenly recognized MegaCab’s presumption, and wondered when if he should correct it.

“If they wanted to buy millions of cans of beer in Whiteclay every year and drink themselves to death, shit, I say let ‘em. It’s a free country, right? Those AIM types are always going on about Native rights and shit, y’know? Well shit, you have the right to drink and die if you want. Not saying that I want that for those people or anything, but the nanny state can’t be protecting everyone from problems of their own making.”

Trevor, whose brother had first gotten jailed for drunk and disorderly at age 14, two years after their father died, said nothing.

MegaCab continued to rhapsodize about “the Indians” and their problems, adopting the tone of an expert, one who knew all about them. Trevor felt the blood rise to his face. Some coloration at least, he thought darkly. In the pit of his stomach, the sea urchin had returned to stab at his insides. What must it be like, he wondered, to live a life in which people aren’t constantly telling you who you are, naming your characteristics like symptoms, trying to trap you like a spirit in a photograph?

The Blazer came in sight on the shoulder ahead. “Can you let me out at my ride?” Trevor asked, his voice hardly recognizable to his own ear, like hearing himself talk underwater.

“Sure, you need to grab something out of it?�� said MegaCab, reluctantly pausing his diatribe.

“No it’s okay,” replied Trevor, “I’m gonna call someone to come help me fix this after all.” He fiddled with his phone as if to underscore this intention.

“Well, if you’re sure,” said MegaCab. “And hey,” he added as Trevor stepped down onto the running board. “You be careful around here. One of these rezzers might see you here all by yourself and try to mess you or your car up. And watch out for drunk drivers. You just never know with these Indians.” MegaCab gave a serious nod to accentuate this show of concern. Then he wished Trevor luck and drove off.

Trevor watched the truck recede into the distance until it was merely a gray speck between the monochrome earth and the steely sky. He sat down in the cold front seat of the Blazer and looked into the rearview mirror. Hazel eyes stared back at him under a pale forehead. Fuck it, he thought; people are dumbasses. Let ‘em believe what they want; that he was from Hot Springs, that could be was related to that Apache, Geronimo, that he was only Indian on paper. Trevor saw what they didn’t; the hidden depths beneath the surface, and in their faces, in the spaces between their words, their ignorance displayed like a tattoo.

In another minute or two, he would call Uncle Ev for a ride. In another hour or two, he would be offered a job at the sale barn that would bring another income into his household (and buy him a new serpentine belt). In another day or two, he would finally finish the tobacco ties for ceremony, at which he would pray for Travis’ sobriety and his auntie’s diabetes. In another month or two, the lengthening of the days would be unmistakable.

Spring would come as it always had, first heralded by a single meadowlark piercing the predawn silence with his song. This would be followed by a green sprig on the prairie, pushing up, perhaps, through snow. Then a cluster of pasqueflowers appearing suddenly on a hillside, a skein of geese overhead, sheet lightning on the horizon. Small miracles, one after another. Finally, color would surge back into the world like paint scintillating on a canvas, causing goldfinches to glow like stars and evening thunderheads to stand like towering fires.

The brilliant Dakota sunlight would stoke the melanin in Trevor’s skin, and nobody would mistake who he was. He would go up on the hill for two days and nights with Travis that spring, and Trenton would keep fire for them. He would pray for the coming year, for the survival of his people, for enough blessings to outweigh the hardships. And there, among a sea of undulating green, facing the crimson blaze of sunrise, he would again know himself and find the strength to carry on, in the face of all the peculiar indignities of this world.

submitted by /u/PrairieChild [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/33fx51H

#Blogger #Story

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iquey · 8 years ago

Text

How to have a GOOD TIME on Tumblr

Is it still possible?

I have a lot of love for art, design, and social media, and designers love to tackle problems and look for a variety of ways to solve them.

After sort of falling away from Tumblr, (Due to a loss of interest, being busy with work, and getting tired of seeing lots of repetitive drama in some spheres of it) I retreated to very casual use of a rant/vent/anime/aesthetics account on mobile, and instead migrated to twitter for most of my online social interaction. This led to some improvements in my overall digital life. What twitter lacked in depth and the immense emotional discourse very prevalent on Tumblr, it made up for with expedience, conciseness and ease of blocking harassing agents. After about a year of being very inactive on Tumblr and trying to progress somewhat with adult life, I'm happy to return with the experience and some tips learned from the post-2016 Election trenches of the twitter-verse. Rule #1 The online world is (mostly) your oyster.

Follow who you want to follow, and unfollow those who no longer enrich or add value to your web time. This is ESPECIALLY true if you pay for your own internet bills (not only a Wi-Fi Router, but mobile data counts too.) Don't spend a dime of your time on bothersome accounts. Block whatever you need to block. Don't get roped into feeling socially obligated to carry out arguments or discourses that are going nowhere or are simply created for the sake of starting a crap-flinging contest. Block swiftly, and don't make a production out of it. They will know who they are eventually if they're the determined type with no life. If you need to turn off anon messages for your own mental health, just go on and do it. If you're a character themed or ask blog and feel you need anon messages for traffic, you still aren't obligated to reply to everything. It's your blog.

Which leads to... Rule #2 Be yourself. Value yourself, and value your content. If you don't like someone else's content, see Rule #1. If there's something truly harmful, promoting violence, hatred, or illegal activity, the report button exists for a reason. If you're that mad that something exists and the mods of Tumblr are slow to remove something, you can get your friends and followers to block the post or username creating strife. As for your own content, revel and enjoy what you create and the fandoms you participate in. People will be jerks sometimes and it sucks, but feeding the trolls helps nobody. Fed trolls just come back. If someone is trying to play you, but you're not sure, watch some YouTube videos on dealing with internet trolls, or abusive personalities. Usually just blocking and ignoring or muting works.

Rule #3 If you want to be political on Tumblr, that's totally fine, but PLEASE take time away from Tumblr to cultivate your own personal sense of morality, ethics, knowledge of civics, economics, environmental issues, race, culture, gender, sexuality, and basic human psychology. You will probably be much happier if you don't let Tumblr be the one and only yardstick for what's right and wrong and everything in between in our world. If you get into your own echo chamber too much, the thought styles can become very "all or nothing." which can cause a lot of anxiety for anyone with a nuanced opinion on anything. Didn't I just say the online world is your oyster, and you should only follow blogs that you like? Yes, sure. That doesn't mean you make them your only slice of the world you ever see ever. Duh. Chances are not all the blogs your follow are going to stick to their main topic 100% of the time, 24/7, anyway. Sometimes there will be world events that appear in your feed no matter how focused you try to make your follows. Sometimes you'll want to participate in the fray of topics, and other times, you'll just want to take a nap or work on other things. But having Tumblr as your main source for political views can lead to awkward disconnects between how you want things to be and how things currently are, whatever the political situation is where you live: from the most liberal of metropolitan eras (which despite seeming like utopian LGBT havens on the outside, still have their share of problems), to the most stereotypically conservative, white-bread rural suburbs (Where a lot of great people might actually live). And that disconnect can definitely trigger a lot of pain. Maneuvering your own personal role in social justice movements is many parts knowing who you are and who you want to be first, where the issues in your sphere of influence currently stand, and where you really want things to go. It can take years to build a solid sense of core values and political leanings. Don't feel too awful or in a rush to get everything right overnight, or ever, because perfection is the enemy of sustainable progress.

Rule #4 FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS WHOLESOME AND DESERVING OF MERCY, STOP BULLYING MINORS. Tumblr is a venue for users 13 and up, so a large portion of the accounts here are probably 13-17 year olds. They go to school, have friends, have families, and all the stress comes with living in the world that exists today. What they really DON'T NEED is the 18+ crowd punching down on them for making honest, even "cringeworthy" mistakes, posting art that may not be expert-level quality, or having the courage to post their own picture online, especially if they're LGBTQ, or closeted. And they don't need people DOXING and harassing them. If you are in your 20s, or more, and a teenage user bothers, annoys, or even says very hurtful things to you, YES it can still hurt a lot. Young people are capable of being very mean, sure, but at the end of the day it's the elders who are expected to show responsibility, be a good role model of behavior, and supply the more mature response. As for the teens on Tumblr, if you're dealing with a problematic butt-face, you can block them. If they push the envelope into threats or potential violence, just take screenshots and report them. Please try to remember that there are older people on Tumblr who do care about you, and want you to have a good experience, and adults who bully and harass minors are just wimps who are not the kind of people you should want to associate with.

Rule #5 If things just get too damn awful but you still love your feed, there's always the option of setting your account to private.

Give your URL (or personal Tumblr if you have a separate Artist/Business page) to people who you trust, and Trust with a capital T. It can be more complicated if people are being rude on your business related Tumblr, and you may have to prioritize the fires you're willing to try and put out. In order to best use your energy, it may just take a solid PR campaign and a lot of work to rebuild a reputation if you've been mobbed by trolls or a smear campaign for any number of reasons ranging from a minor mistake or misunderstanding, to a bigger problem that may have truly been your fault. Take some time to learn from the experience and reevaluate what you can approach differently or better the next time you do your online presence.

Summary! 1. Make Tumblr your oyster (Or whatever favorite food you like to eat. I think oysters are kind of gross actually.) 2. Value yourself and your content. Don't let likes and reblogs determine your whole day.

3. Develop your own personal sense of values away from Tumblr's political weather. Social Justice is about actually helping people, not ego gratification. The issues our world faces will be constantly changing and reacting long after Tumblr becomes totally obsolete, and kindhearted people with a willingness to learn and act will always be more effective at social change than a follower count.

4. Stop Bullying Minors. Just stop. Take callout/cringe culture with a grain of salt and skepticism. Resist the urge to join a mob-train. Unless you're roasting an established, public figure, adult asshole, you may never know who you're bullying until it's too late.

5. Go on private mode with a trusted network of friends if you need to. It may not always be fair, but do what works, when it works.

It seems the way to redeem the experience of Tumblr is to just not be passive about how you use it. If you just "Let Tumblr Happen To You," your results may vary. Sometimes you just have to grab the wheel and steer your blog and what you follow into a more positive, purposeful, or individualized direction. Even for those of us who use Tumblr mainly just for laughs and to shoot the shit about memes, I hope these tips can be helpful!

#Tumblr tips #Good times #How to #Tumblr #Twitter

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jpweb12 · 8 years ago

Text

6 Web Design Trends You Should Forget

Well, a lot has changed by now, especially in the creative industry. Technology has advanced; marketing and communication paradigms have changed, bringing along innovation within web design. Therefore, websites have become increasingly exciting, insofar as unconventional features that are primarily designed to serve content to their users.

Some of these features have become trendsetters for many years. Others simply appeared and passed, barely touching the market for a short while. Trends come and go. There will always be a new trend coming along superseding the one in existence. That’s also the case for website designs, although we never know what becomes novelty and groundbreaking. Having all these cool functions to explore, many website owners adapt to whatever trend comes their way. Unfortunately, others are still stuck in the 90s.

Speaking of which, have you surfed various sites lately? Because I have. And I have noticed that while most sites adhere to the latest web design trends, others fail miserably at maintaining an updated design and implementing it properly.

Have you landed on a website with infinite scrolling, but without any function to go right back to the top (except for scrolling endlessly upwards again)? Some websites have features that are the death of them – slow loading pages, missing or hidden navigation menu, and even pushy CTAs that burst right in front of your eyes, cajoling you to subscribe to their never-ending newsletters and freebies. With that being said, I have listed below some previous design trends that should remain buried forever.

1. FLASH

This is the first trend I recommend that you forget about. Start adopting the new HTML5 or other ways to animate your website. It simply is too outdated. Even if Flash played an important role in the rise of the Internet, it has recently become a bad choice for any modern web design and may have a negative impact on your website search engine optimization (SEO).

Although many websites still use it, there are many reasons why you should drop it.

1.1. Flash does not work on mobiles

If you incorporate Flash into your website, it will be unusable on mobile devices. It might even cause frustration among your audience. Taking into consideration that more than 60% of the Internet traffic is made using mobile phones and tablets, I think you should pay more attention to this aspect.

1.2. Flash is bad for SEO

Flash does not have any URLs for the separate pages and does not allow you to monitor outbound links. Therefore, Flash-based websites don’t provide enough elements for an effective SEO. Besides, they tend to be harder to use. Hence, Google gives lower rankings to those websites.

1.3. Flash must be installed into the browser

Being a proprietary software, Flash has to be installed, as it does not come with the browser by default. Users with a browser without the plugin are prompted to install it. Otherwise it restricts access to the content that heavily relies on it.

1.4. Terrible loading time.

As I have mentioned before, Flash-based sites tend to take longer to load. Taking into consideration that Internet users are busier than ever, it’s essential to have a site with load times as short as possible. If visitors have to wait too long, they might be tempted to look elsewhere, hence your competition, for a faster site.

1.5. Serious security flaws

Flash has always been plagued with reported security issues, but the last security flaws which led Firefox to block Flash by default on all websites until the flaws were patched is the final warning. It won’t be long until other browsers do the same thing.

2. CAROUSELS

According to a usability study published by Neilson Norman Group, auto-forwarding carousels annoy users and reduce visibility. For sure, each of us viewed such sites at one time, and did not pay too much attention to those auto-forwarding pictures.

According to this study, there are a couple of reasons why these believed-to-be “cool” design features are not great for your site’s usability and conversions:

Automatic rotation makes users lose the control of their interactions with your website. That is particularly annoying to those with motor skill issues.

They create banner blindness, and are often ignored by the viewers. Take a look at the example listed below. You will notice how the image slider hardly gets any attention, especially when they are focused on their desired products.

In many cases, the slides rotates so fast that readers do not have time to read your texts. Especially when part of your audience has a different native language than yours. Users clearly express their frustration by saying “I didn’t have time to read it. It keeps flashing too quickly.”

3. COMIC SANS FONT

Surely, there are many pros and cons to using Comic Sans font. But it’s time to let it go, even if it is one of the most frequently used fonts in the world. Granted, like everything else, there are designers who love it, but also there are designers who absolutely despise it. Personally, I am somewhere in between. It looks homely and handwritten, making the perfect choice for those things we deem to be fun and liberating. It could be great for toy shops. Nevertheless, t is not the ideal choice for corporate identity, luxury brands, media, or health services.

Still, Comic Sans is rooted in a history where early word processing had a limited number of fonts by default. Thus, Comic Sans was the go-to choice for the ‘less serious of fonts’. But nowadays, tens of thousands of fonts in every imaginable personality are readily available online, paid or free of charge. I hope the previously written article about Top 9 free fonts for designers (link la articol) will be a starting point, should you need some inspiration.

4. UNDER CONSTRUCTION PAGES

A common practice throughout the history of Internet and web design has been the use of “under construction”. These were useful pages for upcoming websites or for page that were in the process of redesigning. It was awesome in the past and people liked them. But nowadays, in a fast-paced environment, you should definitely put it on the ‘Do NOT’ list.

In many cases, a website establishes the first contact between your business and your target audience. So by providing a link to a web page, you have promised to deliver something (usually content). But by simply publishing an “under construction” page, you deliver nothing but frustration and disappointment. This is not the kind of first impression you want to give your customers.

Nevertheless, please take into consideration that plain “under construction” pages do not have any content on them. So, you do not deliver any content to Google, which in turn ranks websites based on their content. Therefore, they will not rank or index your page, and this is bad for your website!

So, instead of using this terrible option, you should consider putting up a beautiful landing page with some basic info, a newsletter sign-up form, a waiting list form, or a sleek-looking countdown.

You may find some inspiration here:

5. DRAMATIC DROP SHADOWS

Although drop shadows is a tool that adds more spatiality to your text, you should stay away from the cheap & fake lighting effects! Big, soft, dark, and distanced drop shadows are the design equivalent of a Glamor Shot lighting, and no one really believes it. Even worse, anyone with some Photoshop skills can easily recognize the default drop shadow settings when they see them.

There are many other eye-catching ways to use drop shadows. For example, to make the text more realistic with added contrast, you may use subtle shadow, blending it in with the background.

If you want to add a cool retro vibe to your text, you may use the solid hard edge shadow behind the text. This is especially true if the hard edge shadow is separated from the text slightly, as well.

For an interesting, yet simple design element that gives movement without unneeded distractions, you may use long shadows. This is a newer trend that works perfectly with the minimalist trend.

6. BEVEL AND EMBOSS

Nothing screams 90s designs like the old default bevel and emboss effect. For non-designers, “bevel and emboss” is a Photoshop effect that can be used to create a 3-dimensional appearance.

If a millennium ago it seemed like a good idea to add a tens of thousands of effects to your typefaces for highlighting your texts, it’s time you traveled into the future. Consider getting the same effect in a different way.

For example, make the button glossy, but using a smaller inner shadow and a light outer drop shadow.

Bottom line:

The trends above serve to illustrate the idea that keeping outdated design elements can actually negatively impact your website. Thus, making a bad impression on your viewers. But you should also keep in your mind the message you want to convey. As long as you have these pointers in mind, the design style you want to use is a matter of choice. Just make sure it’s one among the newest trends.

Read More at 6 Web Design Trends You Should Forget

from IT Feed https://webdesignledger.com/6-web-design-trends-you-should-forget/

#IT Feed

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regulardomainname · 8 years ago

Text

6 Web Design Trends You Should Forget

Do you remember those websites back in the 90s, and how they first landed on your screen? Do you remember Comic Sans, Scrolling Marquees, Hit Counters, Animated GIFs, or “Under construction” pages? If so, you are right on track! I was reminiscing these past days about these… Well, a lot has changed by now, especially in the creative industry. Technology has advanced; marketing and communication paradigms have changed, bringing along innovation within web design. Therefore, websites have become increasingly exciting, insofar as unconventional features that are primarily designed to serve content to their users. Some of these features have become trendsetters for many years. Others simply appeared and passed, barely touching the market for a short while. Trends come and go. There will always be a new trend coming along superseding the one in existence. That’s also the case for website designs, although we never know what becomes novelty and groundbreaking. Having all these cool functions to explore, many website owners adapt to whatever trend comes their way. Unfortunately, others are still stuck in the 90s. Speaking of which, have you surfed various sites lately? Because I have. And I have noticed that while most sites adhere to the latest web design trends, others fail miserably at maintaining an updated design and implementing it properly. Have you landed on a website with infinite scrolling, but without any function to go right back to the top (except for scrolling endlessly upwards again)? Some websites have features that are the death of them – slow loading pages, missing or hidden navigation menu, and even pushy CTAs that burst right in front of your eyes, cajoling you to subscribe to their never-ending newsletters and freebies. With that being said, I have listed below some previous design trends that should remain buried forever. 1. FLASH This is the first trend I recommend that you forget about. Start adopting the new HTML5 or other ways to animate your website. It simply is too outdated. Even if Flash played an important role in the rise of the Internet, it has recently become a bad choice for any modern web design and may have a negative impact on your website search engine optimization (SEO). Although many websites still use it, there are many reasons why you should drop it. 1.1. Flash does not work on mobiles If you incorporate Flash into your website, it will be unusable on mobile devices. It might even cause frustration among your audience. Taking into consideration that more than 60% of the Internet traffic is made using mobile phones and tablets, I think you should pay more attention to this aspect. 1.2. Flash is bad for SEO Flash does not have any URLs for the separate pages and does not allow you to monitor outbound links. Therefore, Flash-based websites don’t provide enough elements for an effective SEO. Besides, they tend to be harder to use. Hence, Google gives lower rankings to those websites. 1.3. Flash must be installed into the browser Being a proprietary software, Flash has to be installed, as it does not come with the browser by default. Users with a browser without the plugin are prompted to install it. Otherwise it restricts access to the content that heavily relies on it. 1.4. Terrible loading time. As I have mentioned before, Flash-based sites tend to take longer to load. Taking into consideration that Internet users are busier than ever, it’s essential to have a site with load times as short as possible. If visitors have to wait too long, they might be tempted to look elsewhere, hence your competition, for a faster site. 1.5. Serious security flaws Flash has always been plagued with reported security issues, but the last security flaws which led Firefox to block Flash by default on all websites until the flaws were patched is the final warning. It won’t be long until other browsers do the same thing. 2. CAROUSELS According to a usability study published by Neilson Norman Group, auto-forwarding carousels annoy users and reduce visibility. For sure, each of us viewed such sites at one time, and did not pay too much attention to those auto-forwarding pictures. According to this study, there are a couple of reasons why these believed-to-be “cool” design features are not great for your site’s usability and conversions: * Automatic rotation makes users lose the control of their interactions with your website. That is particularly annoying to those with motor skill issues. * They create banner blindness, and are often ignored by the viewers. Take a look at the example listed below. You will notice how the image slider hardly gets any attention, especially when they are focused on their desired products. * In many cases, the slides rotates so fast that readers do not have time to read your texts. Especially when part of your audience has a different native language than yours. Users clearly express their frustration by saying “I didn’t have time to read it. It keeps flashing too quickly.” 3. COMIC SANS FONT Surely, there are many pros and cons to using Comic Sans font. But it’s time to let it go, even if it is one of the most frequently used fonts in the world. Granted, like everything else, there are designers who love it, but also there are designers who absolutely despise it. Personally, I am somewhere in between. It looks homely and handwritten, making the perfect choice for those things we deem to be fun and liberating. It could be great for toy shops. Nevertheless, t is not the ideal choice for corporate identity, luxury brands, media, or health services. Still, Comic Sans is rooted in a history where early word processing had a limited number of fonts by default. Thus, Comic Sans was the go-to choice for the ‘less serious of fonts’. But nowadays, tens of thousands of fonts in every imaginable personality are readily available online, paid or free of charge. I hope the previously written article about Top 9 free fonts for designers (link la articol) will be a starting point, should you need some inspiration. 4. UNDER CONSTRUCTION PAGES A common practice throughout the history of Internet and web design has been the use of “under construction”. These were useful pages for upcoming websites or for page that were in the process of redesigning. It was awesome in the past and people liked them. But nowadays, in a fast-paced environment, you should definitely put it on the ‘Do NOT’ list. In many cases, a website establishes the first contact between your business and your target audience. So by providing a link to a web page, you have promised to deliver something (usually content). But by simply publishing an “under construction” page, you deliver nothing but frustration and disappointment. This is not the kind of first impression you want to give your customers. Nevertheless, please take into consideration that plain “under construction” pages do not have any content on them. So, you do not deliver any content to Google, which in turn ranks websites based on their content. Therefore, they will not rank or index your page, and this is bad for your website! So, instead of using this terrible option, you should consider putting up a beautiful landing page with some basic info, a newsletter sign-up form, a waiting list form, or a sleek-looking countdown. You may find some inspiration here: 5. DRAMATIC DROP SHADOWS Although drop shadows is a tool that adds more spatiality to your text, you should stay away from the cheap & fake lighting effects! Big, soft, dark, and distanced drop shadows are the design equivalent of a Glamor Shot lighting, and no one really believes it. Even worse, anyone with some Photoshop skills can easily recognize the default drop shadow settings when they see them. There are many other eye-catching ways to use drop shadows. For example, to make the text more realistic with added contrast, you may use subtle shadow, blending it in with the background. If you want to add a cool retro vibe to your text, you may use the solid hard edge shadow behind the text. This is especially true if the hard edge shadow is separated from the text slightly, as well. For an interesting, yet simple design element that gives movement without unneeded distractions, you may use long shadows. This is a newer trend that works perfectly with the minimalist trend. 6. BEVEL AND EMBOSS Nothing screams 90s designs like the old default bevel and emboss effect. For non-designers, “bevel and emboss” is a Photoshop effect that can be used to create a 3-dimensional appearance. If a millennium ago it seemed like a good idea to add a tens of thousands of effects to your typefaces for highlighting your texts, it’s time you traveled into the future. Consider getting the same effect in a different way. For example, make the button glossy, but using a smaller inner shadow and a light outer drop shadow. Bottom line: The trends above serve to illustrate the idea that keeping outdated design elements can actually negatively impact your website. Thus, making a bad impression on your viewers. But you should also keep in your mind the message you want to convey. As long as you have these pointers in mind, the design style you want to use is a matter of choice. Just make sure it’s one among the newest trends. Read More at 6 Web Design Trends You Should Forget http://dlvr.it/Pf08kv www.regulardomainname.com

#Editors Pick #Featured #Graphics #Guides #Inspiration

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