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foreficfandom · 4 years

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Mystic Messenger - Buying MC A Gift

– Zen –

For years, Zen dreamed of buying his love a classic, dainty necklace, romantically delivered in a box all wrapped up in a silk bow. And now he has you! A chance to fulfill this boyfriend dream of his!

He tends to kind of, enforce an image of cuteness on you, even if it’s not your aesthetic. He just likes his love to be innocent and girly. It’s okay if you’re not, he loves you just as much. But when he buys you things, it almost always swings in that direction ‘cause he’s a little unconsciously stubborn like that.

So he checks his savings and decides that, yep, he’s got enough to splurge a bit, and buys a gold heart necklace. It wasn’t luxurious, nor designer, it was just this teeny 24k gold pendent on a gold-colored chain. The best he could afford at the moment. He asks the store to gift wrap it with the most ‘romantic ribbon’ they have available.

The two of you go on one of your many lunch dates, where Zen has to tuck his hair underneath a hat to make sure the both of you aren’t hassled, and you eat sandwiches with coffee in a cute little shop.

He slides the box over to you, and there’s this huge smile on his face when you open it to fawn over your gift.

“It’s only a small thing, but I hope you like it. One day, I’ll be rich enough to afford what you deserve, jagiya.”

He reaches over and pulls your hair aside to put it around your neck. You touch it with your fingers. It’s all just like his old fantasies. Zen’s romantic dream #35329 fulfilled!

Romantic dream #35330 was when you eventually mentioned to someone in passing, “Oh this necklace? My boyfriend bought it for me.” He just about melted.

– Yoosung –

For many years, Yoosung didn’t have much money to his name. But he still wanted to buy you gifts because he couldn’t stop thinking about you? Every day he’d daydream about the two of you, about what kind of stuff you’d like to do?? He’d pass by windows of shops and think, “Would MC like this?”

Once he decided to start giving you gifts, he’d kind of freak out a bit because he was worried he’d give you something stupid. He googled for ideas, and talked to Zen, but couldn’t decide what sort of trinkets to shower you with.

He couldn’t afford good chocolates, and he didn’t know how to buy clothing for another person without going up to you and being like, “Oh, by the way, MC ... what’s your shirt size? Asking for a friend - wait no that’s not what I meant -”

One day, he walks into a bookstore to shop for more mechanical pencils, and by coincidence found large selections of gift items. There’s scented candles! Creative desk toys! Gag gifts of flavored bubble gum and imported mints!

He ends up choosing what he thought was the cutest. You’d like cute things, right? Cute stuff is universally cheery, so he’d thought you’d enjoy the character-designed set of highlighter markers.

Turns out that yes, you did enjoy them, and he puffs up with pride all day because yay!! He did a boyfriend thing!

His later gifts were of similar caliber, like sticker sheets or pretty notepads. And later, he finally branches out of the bookstore and looks as jewelry, chocolate boxes, and flower bouquets. Regardless of what he chose, you always loved them.

– Jaehee –

Most of her ‘gifts’ tend to be of the practical bend. Like stuff for the house both of you end up using, or a set of nice socks because she remembered you mentioning that you needed to replenish your stock.

Not the most romantic gifts, but arguably more appreciated because of how useful they were. Jaehee’s your Functional Adult™ girlfriend and it brings you plenty of joy.

But sometimes she’s compelled to be more whimsical. Her job at C&R didn’t leave her with nothing, and the cafe’s been going so well her wallet’s been more stacked than ever before. So it didn’t take much for her to walk into that gourmet chocolate boutique and purchase a sample box of their best truffles.

Managing your own small business means evenings are usually free. You and Jaehee enjoy a homemade meal, and settle down to drink some beer and watch dramas. Before you can relax completely, she goes, “Oh, I remembered something,” goes to the bedroom, and walks out with a small paper bag.

“Just a little thing I bought earlier today. I saw it and thought of you.” You opened to reveal your chocolates, your smile making Jaehee’s eyes light up.

You insisted she share them with you, but she refused. She got a smaller box especially to avoid you wanting to share a portion with her. The two of you share most of her gifts already, this is intended to be for you and only you.

So instead you enjoyed your chocolates, biting them in half and showing Jaehee how the chefs filled each one, and discussing the flavors. It gave her inspiration for a new seasonal mocha blend for the cafe!

– Jumin –

Rip in fucking pieces your old commoner life. If a month doesn’t go by where Jumin doesn’t try get you at least two designer items, the world is ending.

Salvatore handbags. Jewelry from Prada. Balmain dresses. Vuitton shoes. Gourmet boxed strawberries, giant influencer sets of luxury makeup, oh Valentino is producing these cute teddy bears for some reason? Here’s five.

He’s pretty unpredictable about it, too. Some days, he comes home from a business trip with only one piece for you, for which you’re almost thankful for the lack of a heart attack. And sometimes, he just ups and gets you a car or something, or five new Saint Laurent blouses.

Depending on who you are, it can get pretty overwhelming, or even troubling. All this worth sitting in your room, and is it even towards a productive cause? You remember the days when your family had to struggle with debt and insurance and student loans, you think of all you know who have to deal with eviction and EBT cards, you think of those who starve or die from sickness because they have no money.

You try to explain to Jumin that all this excess is so ... it’s too much. “But my love, I just want to spoil you,” he says.

“Then spend more time with me. Don’t blow all this money on material things. I want you.”

That’s a harder thing for Jumin to grant. He’s a perfectionist when it comes to his work, and it’s an internal struggle for him to forgo his crowded schedule to make room for you.

But it’s a gift that rewards you both. Jumin’s time clears up a bit more, and he stops trying to bury you in luxury you don’t need. You get to wake up next to him more, and spend afternoons and evenings and nights with him. It’s the best gift he could ever give you.

– Saeyoung –

No, this is not a shitpost. This boy gifts you a fucking gun. Which, depending on who you are, could even spark an argument where Saeyoung insists strongly that he just wants to keep you safe. Carrying guns is highly illegal in South Korea, but since when did Saeyoung care about the law?

You woke up one morning to Saeyoung already five hours deep into his work, because his sleep schedule is still fucked up even though he’s no longer part of the agency. A strange black box was next to your handbag, and you opened it to reveal a small plastic pistol with ammo cartridges.

“It should be small enough to fit in your purse. Keep the safety on unless you want to shoot. Stay safe, baby - S”

Saeyoung already gives you crazy gifts of robot cats, automatic night lights, talking dolls, and even at one point a taser. But this was crossing a line. If you got caught with this in your purse, it’d be a legal disaster.

Now granted, Saeyoung didn’t actually intend for you to be carrying a concealed firearm whenever you go to the cornerstore to buy milk. He just kinda thought it’d be an extra precaution during more troubled times. Being slightly sleep deprived and hopped up on soda at the time didn’t help his decision making.

You wait until he leaves his hacker den to testily shove the gun under his nose and demand an explanation. He pleads his case, and tries to insist that he was only thinking of your safety.

If you’re not comfortable carrying the gun around, he helps you tuck it away in an accessible part of the bunker.

“Please, baby, just let me know you’re protected.” He hugs you, and you thank him for his thoughtfulness. Even if its a bit weird.

– Saeran –

His Ray alter would have scoured the globe for anything you asked of him. Saeran today still wants to spoil you as much as he can. Which, as his life slowly stabilizes, begins to grow in opportunity.

Like his brother, he makes tech for you. Mostly software, such as tricking out your laptop to have firewall defense that no money could buy, or hotwiring your phone to run quicker and faster than new.

His money begins to flow in from freelance work, and he starts to look for more classically romantic gifts. First, it was bouquets of flowers he’d surprise you with, then it was little wrapped boxes of macaroons, and then he would shop for crystal jewelry and expensive perfumes.

He wanted to pursue that ‘princess’ image. He no longer tried to force you into it, but instead let it inspire his romantic bent. Every holiday or occasion that allowed for the slightest excuse for gift giving, and he was guaranteed to give you something or another. On Chuseok, he gave you a silk shawl. For Halloween, it was a large box of decorated sweets. On Christmas, it was a pressed flower pendent. New Years was a smart watch that he reprogrammed.

And on random occasions, he’ll still come home with a large bouquet of carefully arranged flowers, or perhaps a new potted plant to decorate the house.

You always reward him with a kiss, and it makes him feel really appreciated. A bit of loving normalcy in his otherwise troubled life.

– Jihyun –

While Jumin tends to be very ostentatious with his wealth, Jumin is a lot more reserved. He may not buy you Chanel coats on a whim, but he still shells out quite large amounts of money for dinner at a fancy restaurant, or a beautiful hand-printed silk scarf he bought while working in Shanghai.

When he buys you smaller gifts, he picks up things from co-ops and other independent, artsy places, usually while he’s running other errands. He’d be shopping for kitchen gadgets and touring the wellness section, and he spotted this beautiful set of bath salts that he’d thought you enjoy. Or, he’s on his way back from the gym and passed a natural produce boutique, and saw a gorgeous gift box of unique tea mixes.

He’s a believer of sustainable living, so most of what he buys he tries to put his money towards ethical practices. So if you’re getting something from him, expect it to be natural-grade, vegan, fair-trade, etc. Whether its a bag of candied oranges, or a pearl necklace.

He likes to be spontaneous with his casual trinkets, and traditional when it comes to occasions. You never know if he’s gonna come back from grocery shopping with a scented candle for you, but it’s for sure that he’s got some special bracelet or hair barrettes for Valentine’s.

To him, these are all just evidences of his newfound peace and tranquility. There’s nothing like being out and about, seeing something, and being able to go, “Hm! I wonder if my love would like this?” So it propels him to buy it and test out the hypothesis. And it almost always results in your smile, which to him is the best reward.

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger imagines #mysme #mysme zen #Yoosung Kim #jaehee kang #jumin han #saeyoung choi #saeran choi #jihyun kim

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bangtanbullies · 6 years

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face me (there’s love in my eyes)

not a smidgen of smut. and literally no one asked. but mc has a bit of a panic attack and there is an attempted drugging and subsequent violence. read cautiously and enjoy if you can.

yoongi | reader

mature language

4,339 words

There are forty-two muscles in the human face and Yoongi must be using half at them to smile at you. It's not his usual crinkled nose and toothy grin, no. This one shines through mock seriousness and curls the corners of his lips in barely concealed amusement. Joy plumps his face like botox ‘till he looks positively cherubic.

Tonight, the two of you are having some banter, trading witty remarks like playing cards in this crowded bar, slapping down shot glasses like aces of spades with vigor. Your quips are wrapped in dry humor, which, coming from anyone else might rub him wrong, might feel grating like sandpaper, but with you, he quite likes the burn in the back of his throat, accompanied with the tickle of laughter he fights not to release.

You don't drink often, but when you do it's usually never out in public with a bunch of strangers, let alone in a place quite like this.

One wouldn't think this establishment would be directly below a cute little cafe shop that was usually packed by young school girls or the busy working class that swarmed the streets until sundown. The juxtaposition was very appealing, most likely the intended effect, after all. The contrast between the two was impressive as hell, but anyone who'd seen their co-owners, Jin and Namjoon together, would find it terribly fitting.

Its hip hop styling added to the vibe, complementing 90’s American hip hop and r&b tracks playing from high definition speakers strategically placed around so no one could escape the heavy bass. The pallet here was striking colors, heavy on the black and red while upstair’s aesthetic depended on gentle pastels. Further in was a lounge area with black leather furniture over by the wall adorned with the greatest hip hop records of all times.

This wasn’t quite a club, though on a Friday like tonight it was packed like one.

You and your date had taken the last few available seats at the bar, right up with Jin who was serving drinks without seeming to get a break from the ever needy customers.

You wince at your latest sip of liquor, laughing at yourself for even thinking it’d be a good idea to get the same thing Yoongi had ordered. Figures he’d like the hard stuff. You push it out of sight, with no real thought behind your actions, obviously.

Yoongi’s been testing your knowledge of rap music now, laughing every time you bluffed your way through a song, rapping your knuckles on the bar in faux recognition. “I know this one!”

“Yeah? Whats the name?”

You shake your head and shrug your shoulders. “I don't remember the name, I remember the flow, man. The, like, feel.” You giggle. “Feel me?”

He nods, all mock understanding. “Yep, totally, —” but his gaze is sliding elsewhere, and the warmth in his face seems to drain away all at once.

There are forty-two muscles in the human face, and Yoongi uses all of them when he sees someone slip something into your drink.

It's an instant of change, corruption that spreads through the bloodstream, something that happens in a millisecond—rage.

The exact shift of his facial features is devastatingly beautiful, the type of thing you don't get to really appreciate in the moment. Your mind will selectively remember the cruelty in his eyes as his pupils dilate, as his brows furrow instead—the tightening of his jaw, the soft blush on his cheeks fading with any trace of that youthful amusement from before. His face contorts into something savage, beastly—faster than your eyes can follow. When Yoongi shoots past you to rip the man next to you out off his stool, you almost choke on a gasp.

"Woah, man! What are you doing?"

Your eyes widen—Yoongi's got him by the lapels, ivory fingers crushing camo print jacket in a tight grip. He doesn't seem to be in any rush to verbally answer the startled question thrown at him. Like he'd prefer his fist to do the talking. It's obvious that he's strung with tension, his body seemingly shaking with rage. The proposed violence sends dominos falling down one by one, every patron in the room catching onto the change in energy.

Everyone's frozen. A few murmurs buzz around you but you can't make out anything clear.

You slide out of your chair. "Yoongi," you try. You take a step forward.

A strong hand curls around your upper arm. The startled squeak you make is completely involuntary.

Yoongi's head snaps over to you. "Get your hand off of her, Namjoon.”

"I just don’t want her to get too close, okay?" He lets go nonetheless, but doesn't lessen the proximity between the two of you, like he's prepared to pull you out of danger at any moment.

You frown up at him. He’s doing that awkward thing with his face that should probably be a smile. This imitation doesn't look even remotely similar.

He takes a deep breath, close enough to you that you can hear it rattle in his chest. The movement makes his loose t-shirt rustle and a waft of cologne hits your nose. It aids in masking the adrenaline in your veins only a little bit. "He tried to put something in her drink." And it’s said so emptily, you wonder if you'd misheard. "W-what no! He's crazy! I swear I was just minding my own business—" Which is when Yoongi decks him right in the mouth. The kid slides to the floor in a sloppy heap. Yoongi's only at his level for a moment, down on his haunches. "Don't you fucking lie." He hefts him back up to his original place, back pressed against the bar with enough force to bruise.

The kid (and there’s no way you’d think of him as a man—he looks too fucking young) seems sick with fear, sweaty and nearly green. He doesn't say anything, only swallows thickly. His saliva must go down like cough syrup in his throat, fear leaving its mark nasty on the back of his tongue. His brown eyes, glossy with tears, dart back and forth for help. Or a quick getaway. He looks impossibly smaller in that moment, anxiety molding him into panicked prey, the initial indignation, instinctual defensiveness literally knocked out of him. Something ridiculous is decimating all common sense in your head. It feels like sympathy. "You ain't going anywhere." Jin springs into action. He comes from around the bar quickly. Yoongi pulls him forward, then shoves him again. The kid cries out. His voice cracks and to you that makes him seem even younger. To Yoongi that means he's only half as scared as he should be. "Fucking answer me, you coward. What the fuck were you planning to do, huh? You like drugging girls so they can't defend themselves? Is that it?" That makes your skin crawl.

"I know roofies are meant to be undetectable which is why I can't see or smell any trace of it, but..." Jin’s got your abandoned glass dangling between well groomed fingers. Yoongi is quick to cut in. "Maybe if I shove the entire thing down his throat we'll see the effect—" "Jungkookie,”Jin calls. “Did you see anything?"

"I fucking saw him do it!—" and it's scathing, but Jin doesn't flinch. He's as calm as ever. So is his patient gaze as he says "I believe you, Yoongi." Jungkook clears his throat. And you rip your eyes off of the kid’s face to check him out. Kook’s part of security here, you recall, which you always seem to forget, but with the way he’s standing at the main entrance, in all black with his back to the wall, he really seems to fit the bill today. He must’ve been scanning the room all night, you realize. Probable saw it all. "He was starin' at her the whole time, hyung. I saw him walk in right behind ____, thinking he was her friend or something. But then she didn't seem to pay him any mind so I figured they must've not known each other after all."

You hadn’t noticed anyone even walking behind you. Had he been following you all along, since you got off of work and started taking the ten minute walk over here?

Jin's gaze slides over to the stranger, considering.

"Check his clothes." Yoongi shoves his hand down the boy's pocket invasively, digging around roughly until he finds something. What he pulls out is a very small baggy of pills. There’s a sticker on it. Something green—a dragon is what it looks like. You suck in a deep breath. Namjoon mutters a curse.

Yoongi tosses them over his shoulder and Jin plucks them from the air. He clicks his tongue. “No doubt about it.” The tiny bag rustles as he swipes a thumb over the contents. He smacks the boy’s forehead with it, who flinches away. “Who gave you these?”

“J-just s-s-some guy,” he squeaks. Some portion of that sympathy you had before dies.

You can't call the triumphant curve of Yoongi’s lips a smile per se. Those type of things should reach the eyes, warm one's face into something bright, nudge skin into welcoming valleys and crevices. The juxtaposition of the look on Yoongi's face at this moment and earlier tonight is disturbing. In them, you see anticipation in its darkest shade. Barely contained violence stuffed in an empty gaze meets trembling pupils. You're glad it isn't you meeting that stare. You fight the urge to ruin the tension, to open your trap, to say something to that might possibly help the situation at hand. But the moment to intercede slips from your grasp. “Do you even know where you are right now? They didn’t tell you? Or were you dumb enough not to care?”

They're close enough that Yoongi really doesn't have to lean in any closer but he does anyways. Their proximity looks almost intimate and the illusion is teased even further when you spot his lips start to move close to the stranger's ear, whispering words not meant for anyone in this room but the young man. All you get from it is the cutting edge of consonants on pretty pink lips when he enunciates the ugliest words. It's not hard to guess what's said, the nature of the threat. Especially, when the blood drains from the smaller male’s face.

Especially when hot liquid seeps from his groin, staining his jeans an even darker color at the same time a shaky whine vibrates through his bloodless lips. Noise erupts. A disgusted groan probably made by the poor soul who'd have to clean up the mess later invites a few grossed out exclamations and laughter. A displeased tsk from Seokjin is almost buried under the morbidly amused chatter that blossoms around the room. "Jesus Christ," Namjoon spits. And you don't really think Yoongi realizes the kid has already fainted from terror when his grip completely slackens and the kid falls straight to the floor with a dull thump. You decide right then and there that you do not like the sound of heavy limbs obeying to gravity like that. It could be pure second hand embarrassment that keeps you from looking at him. It might be some cluster of disgust, pity, shame, guilt. All of them climb into your lung cavity like wild things, using the chamber of your rib cage as monkey bars to hang from. The extra weight is suffocating. You plant your gaze at the dart target on the far wall, nerves shot to hell, coincidentally meeting Jungkook's gaze. Even with thick arms folded across his chest imposingly, he somehow still manages to look winsome and cute. He's watching you with a curious glint in his eyes, seeing what you'll do next, obviously gauging your reaction. Namjoon steals your focus with a hand at the small of your back, steadying you. You roll your gaze up to meet his and he returns the contact, mouthing a question. Are you okay?

Which means you probably look as good as you feel.

And since there isn’t an answer to that question you’d like to admit, opting out of a response seems like the most appealing thing to do. Instead you choose to check back on the scene at hand, immediately regretting it when you do. Jin's crouched down, and from what it looks like, has poured the contents of your barely touched drink onto the assailant's face. The latter sputters awake, eyes comically wide while he looks up and past the older man’s head. Something inside of you chips away when a guttural sound, purely animalistic in its fear, vibrates from his chest upon seeing Yoongi's face. Terror laces every word like a foreign accent. "Please don't hurt me, pleasepleaseplease, I didn't know, I didn't know what they were for, I swear it I didn't. I swear to God—" "Quiet," Yoongi says disinterestedly.

"I just checked his ID. The little shit isn't even old enough to be served alcohol," says Jin. He tosses it over his shoulder to Namjoon who pulls it open with practiced ease and holds it down in front of you for you to see.

"Old enough to be held accountable for what he's done,” Namjoon adds.

"Tried to do.”

"The intent was there, hyung. This was just a failed attempt." “I know. That isn't what I'm saying.” Plastic crinkles as the little baggy of pills are crushed in Seokjin grasp. "Cops would be bad for business." Lee Minseok, seventeen years of age, curls into a fetal position. You watch on, morbidly fascinated at this public humiliation.

“Who said anything about police?” Yoongi says. You agree, but somehow you think for entirely different reasons.

Jin stands to his full height and lowers his voice to a near whisper. “We can't deal with things like we used to. This isn't some underground place, it's a legally owned building.” The words sound recycled.

“No one here would say anything if we just—”

“This town is different. These people don't go by our code, we can't assume—

“Close up early, then.”

“Yoongi—”

“Excuse me,” and you don't mean for your voice to crack like a wuss but it does. The three boys turn wide eyed to look at you as if they'd forgotten you were there. Two employees wearing shirts with Monster’s Delights logos on their left breast approach and begin to heft Lee Minseok off the floor. They don't go anywhere though, like they’re waiting for more instructions.

One speaks up. “What do we do with him?”

You clear your throat, and cock a hip, the safety of bravado pulled from your arsenal of defense mechanisms. “Shouldn’t I get a say in that?” and that sounded bitter, maybe even angry but due to the circumstances—pretty damn appropriate.

Jin sighs. “You do. You do. I'm sorry. We should’ve considered your feeling on this, ___.” He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs again. “This is a mess. Just...what do you want to happen here? You're in control.”

This is one of the few things you don't overthink.

“Let him go,” you say like it's the simplest thing. Namjoon startles next to you, quick to jump in but, “The cops can't really do anything because he didn't actually succeed in drugging me, thanks to Yoongi.” Your gaze is trained somewhere near the ground but even still you can feel his eyes burning a hole into the side of your head. “And like you said, Jin, they'd be bad for the business.” You shift your weight onto your other foot. “In all honesty, I think this is punishment enough.”

“I agree,” says Namjoon. “If the bruises he's sure to be sporting isn't enough to teach him a lesson, then I think pissing his pants in front of a hundred people will work just fine.”

“Agreed,” you exhale.

Jin seems to relax at this. A part of you is pleased to not have caused even more of an inconvenience to him. He's a good guy and a good boss. You don't want to bring bad luck here.

You plaster a smile onto your face. “Well, it's getting late. I'm...gonna leave now.”

“I'm really sorry this happened, ___.” And he does look sorry.

“No, it's my fault. I should’ve kept my eyes on my own drink.”

“No. It isn't your fault. At all. And you're welcome back here at any time, okay? Even if you don't want to just know that you're welcome.” For some reason that makes a lump form in your threat. You walk forward and grab his hand, smooth, warm, and huge. His other squeezes around yours once, just a quick pulse and it's amazing how so much kindness can travel through his touch into yours like current on a wire.

“Hyung, this guy’s heavy.” Jin seems to prickle a bit at the interruption before sighing in defeat.

And he looks it, you think. Skinny and lanky, but very tall. Just dead weight. January 18th, 2001, you recall from his ID. What happened in his seventeen years of life that turned him into the kind of person that could put street-run sleeping pills into someone’s drink.

That spike of distress returns. It isn't even fear, really. It's something much more complex—a certain combination of chemicals in your head with old memories that set you off, alters your perception of events like a change of filter. You don't want to see him differently though and that's the problem.

Even so… The boy's nose was bleeding and Yoongi got him pretty good on the countertop. He could have a broken rib. You glance up at Jin who seems to be debating options in his head. You're about to suggest something pretty far fetched like medical aid when Yoongi speaks.

“Throw him out back. He’ll leave if he comes to.”

You check his face for the first time in too long. Was that “if” wishful thinking or an adequate assumption?

He catches you looking, fierce protectiveness surprisingly leaving room for a gentle fondness in his gaze. Your heart skips a beat to dodge the ones his eyes throw at you.

He holds out a slightly bruised hand. Jin gently releases yours to give you an option to go to him. You don’t.

Yoongi’s hand falls limp to his side, fingers dangling. He shoves a fist into the pocket of his jacket and looks to the floor. He furrows his brows. "Namjoon, would you take ___ home, please?" "Of course—" You roll your eyes. "Thanks, Namjoon. But Yoongi's right here." You smile a little, and Namjoon returns it. He's happy with you, you can tell. Like he approves of how you're handling the situation. "You heard the lady." Without another word you grab Yoongi's hand and walk out of there, stopping only to give Namjoon a partial hug in appreciation. You pat Jungkook’s arm when you go by him.

The walk from the bar up to the main street isn’t bad. Yoongi keeps you talking, asking questions about your classes and your latest hobbies and you indulge him. You need the normal. But when the conversation falls into comfortable silence you can't help but wonder. What could've happened had no one seen, if Yoongi would have left earlier, if things would've gone according to that scumbags plan and something ugly climbs up your chest like vomit and you fight the sob down with a hand to your mouth. Breathing through your nose, too fast to be safe. A group of boys make a ruckus across the street and it occurs to you he could've had friends, he could've taken you somewhere and you'd be drugged and dazed, defenseless— It's claustrophobic, the feeling of being trapped in your body, in your own head and the blackness behind your eyes don't help. You open them, needing to see some scenery but only meeting cracked cement. When'd you get so close to the ground? "Hey, hey, ___? Take some deep breaths, okay? Just keep breathin' in and out, in from your nose, out from your mouth.” Like you were some newbie to the whole respiration thing.

You hate being babied. “Yoongi," and there's a part of you internally cringing at the raspiness of your voice. You'd hold out a hand but everything's shaking and tingling and your body doesn't feel like yours anymore.

“You're fine, you're safe. I got you. I'm right here, you’re okay.” It takes a moment for your eyes to focus but when they do, he's the first thing that becomes clear. His lips are in a cute pout, like a crestfallen kitty, all of this in front of you less than a foot away.

It's comin to you now, the both of you are crouched down in the middle of sidewalk on a Friday night. You throw out your hands and he pulls you to a standing position with no effort. You take your nails through your hair and crane your neck back, pat away a few more teardrop from the corner of your eyes and look at Yoongi. He looks adorably worried, almost antsy at being unable to touch you for so long. But he did a good thing, playing it safe. Had to be careful not to make things worse by touching you when your were like that.

It's you offering a hand since the few feet of distance between you has him at an arm's length. Your fingers tangle together and you draw him to you. He lets it happen like his body was born for that kind of inertia, such movements that lead him to you will remain that way, consistently, unless you say otherwise. Or something along those lines.

He sounds out of breath too when he grumbles, "You okay now? You fuckin’ scared me.”

“I scared you?” you blurt. He looks away.

“I'm sorry about that I just—”.

“No. Don't apologize. You haven't wronged me in any of way.” He searches your face for something.

“I just thought with, like, how pissed I got and everything…” He lets your mind fill in the blank.

“That it'd be a turn off?”

He bites back a smile. “Yeah. A turn off.”

You lick your lips and press them together, a pleased grin trying to slide its way onto your face. “I don't like violence, Yoongi. But I'd say you're anger was pretty justified.”

He says the next words like it’s something he isn’t sure he should admit. “I'm ain't gonna lie. I wanted to do worse.”

You nod, still maintaining eye contact. “I'm glad you didn't.”

He blows out a breath. “Any chance you wanna see me again after tonight? ‘Cause I had fun.” Then he furrows his brows. “Before that last bit, of course.”

“Of course,” you echo. “You know, Yoongi, as long as we stay on the same page I think this—” and here you gesture between the both of you,”—we’ll be okay.”

And he doesn't say anything to that, just smiles to himself. Hair being tousled by the late night breeze, cheeks dusted pink—who’s this sheepish young man, with the endearing smile? Where was he back there, you wonder. This is a shade of Yoongi on the opposite side of the spectrum, so different than the one filled with bloodlust and rage from earlier.

You didn’t lie. Violence is not something you fuck with. Too many ugly things in this world as it is, who needs senseless fighting to top it off.

You aren’t a saint, though. And though authorities would’ve taught the kid a lesson, nothing scares boys straight better than a good ass whooping, unfortunately. Especially those with no respect for the law. Even more so for the ones with no respect for a woman’s body.

The words of Jin and Yoongi come to mind, which conjures more questions as to what side of the law they’re on. What lines were they willing to cross tonight and for whose sake?

You aren’t a saint. Neither are you a fool. The threat to your wellbeing wasn’t the only thing they were concerned with.

You’d definitely ask. ‘Cause leaving these types of things go unasked would only leave unwanted surprises in the future.

He laces his fingers with yours. The two of you fall into step on the way back to your place in silence, and in your peripheral you catch him surveying the surroundings, watching drunken youth walk sloppily through the streets in small clusters. He’s concentrated, or seems like it, so you don't think he’d notice you staring at him. His gaze cuts to yours suddenly. You cut off the ocular eye contact with a slight turn of your head, wrinkling your nose in embarrassment at being caught as you feign interest in a new bougie, overpriced apartments complex on the other side of the road. The amused sound he makes is throaty, barely loud enough for you to hear it, like maybe you weren’t meant to.

“What are your plans for the weekend?” You ask, boldly.

He looks surprised, but pleased that you asked. “I don't have any.”

“Do you wanna keep it that way?” Which would be perfectly understandable. Some folks need those two days of freedom more than people realize.

He makes a soft noise in disagreement.

“We could hang out then, listen to new music, watch a movie or something.”

“M’down. My place is shit but I got nice speakers. There’s this album I’ve been meaning to listen to for weeks now. But my mind wasn’t in the right place to listen to it.”

You can’t help but grin. “Is it now?”

“Yeah,” he says through plumped cheeks, all shy and smiley. “‘Cause of you, I think.”

You laugh, because the happy tension in your chest demands to be released somehow.

Though it’s not like you could’ve silently swallowed down the surge of joy even if you wanted to. Things tend to be like that with Yoongi by your side.

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carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich · 4 years

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Diabolik Lovers Born to Die Carla Tsukinami Animate Bonus CD Summary

Sorry for the wait everyone! I tried my best but please remember I’m still learning Japanese so I apologise for any mistakes!

The CD starts with Carla coming into your room. You asks him if there’s something wrong, and he tells you that isn’t the case and that he’s there because it’s your birthday.

He says that from your expression, it seems as though you’d forgotten. Regardless of whether you’d remembered or not, it’s your birthday and so Carla’s going to celebrate it.

He asks why you’re surprised and then explains that as he’s a founder, he doesn’t intend to be a rude man who doesn’t express his thanks, as he’s doing it in return for you celebrating his birthday. Carla also says that he wants to celebrate your birthday because you’re the woman he loves.

He tells you that the two of you are going to the human world and you’re surprised by this but he says you should leave everything to him.

You travel to a busy shopping mall and Carla remarks that it’s been a while since you’ve been to the human world and asks if you’ve missed it. You tell him that you’ve happy being with him and he chuckles and says that’s not a bad answer.

He announces that to make today an unforgettable day, the first thing you’re going to do is to go and get a photo sticker*. You’re surprised and he says that human women like this sort of thing.

The two of you go to the game centre to get the photo sticker. Carla puts the money into the machine but he doesn’t really know how to use it. He ends up selecting the whitening mode as it seems like the most simple.

The machine tells you you have to select the backgrounds for your photos and you have to explain this to Carla as he doesn’t understand what you’re doing. He tells you to choose whichever ones you like.

The two of you go to take the pictures and he points out where the camera is and tells you to look at it, however while he’s speaking the camera goes off (as it’s on a timer) and catches him off guard.

You get to take another photo, you strike a pose and this time the photo is a success.

Next you get to decorate your photos before you print them. You decorate one picture while Carla does the other. He’s not quite sure what to do at first and then notices that the machine has a count down and so he has to finish quickly, meaning he doesn’t have time to think about it. Carla then proceeds to furiously decorate the photo (I really can’t do the audio justice here, it’s very funny).

Finally you print your stickers, and you tell Carla that his decorations are cute. He says he chose a stamp he thought you’d like.

Next he tells you that you’re going to go to karaoke.

There’s a time skip to after you’ve been to karaoke for three hours. Carla comments that there weren’t any demon world songs available so he had no choice but to perform using the tambourine (I’m dying at imagining this). He asks why you were surprised at this and you tell him it was unexpected. Carla tells you that although it was his first time doing karaoke, it wasn’t bad at all and if you wanted to, then you could do it again. He asks if you enjoyed yourself and you tell him you did.

You ask why he chose to get photo stickers and go to karaoke and he explains that they’re things normal high school students do, but as you live with him in Banmaden, you don’t get the chance to do them. As today is special, he wanted to give you the opportunity to enjoy them.

He doesn’t have any particular interest in karaoke or photo stickers but he still enjoyed today too. He wants to be together with you.

Carla says happy birthday to you and asks that from now on, you let him always celebrate your birthday.

* So what Carla’s referring to here is purikura. If you haven’t heard of it, they’re these photo booths that are found in Japanese arcades, where you select some poses for however many people you’re taking the photos with, take the pictures in the booth and then move to a separate booth to decorate your pictures with digital stickers/graffiti/effects etc. Finally you get to print your photos on sticker paper in a layout that you’ve selected. It’s a lot of fun to do with friends so I’d highly recommend it if you get the chance to go to Tokyo ^^

Also if you’re interested, I’ve done a summary of Shin’s BTD bonus CD here.

#summary #Carla Tsukinami #own post #This CD is so funny #listening to Carla getting confused over the photo sticker machine adhdkfhl #I found this harder than Shin's as although Shin speaks faster his grammar structures are much easier #I could often get what Carla was saying but not how to articulate it in English

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maddiviner · 7 years

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The World of Grimoires, Part II: Choose Your Weapons!

If you’re going to have your very own grimoire, you’ve got to start with some raw materials. These will vary depending on what style of grimoire you have in mind, how you’d like to organize, and what you want it to look like.

Fancy?

Many, many witches over the years have told me the held off on beginning a grimoire until they could find “just the right book” to write it in and just the right tools to write with. Nine times out of ten, the most coveted blank books for grimoires are giant leather (or faux-leather) tomes that resemble something you’d see in a fantasy novel about witches.

Many also want to write in these books with quill pens dipped in magical scented ink, another old-fashioned technique normally seen nowadays in fantasy fiction. I’ll admit that I longed for such things myself when I was just starting my first grimoire, and have felt pangs of wonderment at the thought of owning them many times sense.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting that sort of setup, but anyone will tell you that it’s a bit impractical. Giant leather tomes are expensive and easy ruined by stray splotches of ink. Quill pens are difficult to work with at first, and require much practice to use correctly. Magical scented ink is nice, but can, again, be pricy, even if you make your own.

This is compounded by the fact that many new and experienced witches (including myself at times) have a sort of neatness obsession when it comes to their grimoire, wanting it to be perfect from the start and forever, with not a single splotch of ink out of place.

It often seems that, the nicer and more expensive the notebook or journal, the more perfect and neat we’d like it to be. Given how easy it is to completely ruin a new and expensive leather journal if you’re slinging around magical scented ink from a brand-new quill pen, you can see how this problem snowballs into quite a conundrum.

I won’t tell anyone not to buy an eldritch-looking leather-bound journal if they want, but I will say this: expect imperfections, especially in your very first grimoire. You’ll be getting your feet wet with the concept and are bound to make plenty of mistakes.

Regardless of what notebook or journal you get (if any), make sure it’s something you’re comfortable making mistakes in. It’s pretty horrible to see someone get a nice notebook, spill some ink or rip a page, and shelve the entire thing, afraid to touch it again.

A far better option than a very expensive blank book would be a moderately-priced undated journal such as a Moleskine or other more elaborate creations.I’ve made it no secret which publisher of blank journals I prefer, and have written at length about why I tend to choose Peter Pauper Press journals. These undeniably won’t please everyone, though, and there are many other publishers creating beautiful blank journals.

If you choose something like that, don’t buy it for appearance alone - consider if it’s well-made and will stand the test of time. One thing I always check is that the price sticker is removable and doesn’t leave much residue on the cover. Not everyone will care about this, but I find it neater that way.

I do recommend checking to see if the paper is of good quality. Cheap paper can lead to pens bleeding through, doesn’t handle markers and other decorating tools well, and can overall ruin your grimoire. I’m not saying you need extremely expensive high-quality paper, but just check to make sure it’s thick enough not to experience bleed-through.

Utilitarian?

Many witches prefer a more utilitarian approach, out of necessity or other concerns. This can involve a wide range of materials, and is often quite a bit more discreet than a giant leather book and quill pen. This is advantageous for those who’d rather not attract unnecessary attention to their practices. In truth, a grimoire can look like whatever you want, provided it gets the job done, and this includes appearing completely ordinary, like a normal notebook where you’d find a shopping list or accounting information.

Some are fine using a simple spiral-bound notebook available at any dollar store as their grimoire. If discretion is the most pressing concern, a normal college rule notebook is likely the best bet, but I caution against buying something poorly-made or with very thin paper, especially if you plan on decorating the inside later on.

Another option would be a packet of binder paper and a three-ring binder with tabs. You can create sections in the binder according to subject or whatever other organizational feature you might want to use. A binder has the advantage of being easily reorganized, removing and adding pages when necessary to create the grimoire’s intended structure.

If you want this feature, but still crave an old-fashioned leather-ish look, some suppliers online sell elaborately-decorated binders to suit that aesthetic. Another option is to buy good-quality printer paper and a hole punch. Then, you can actually print digital grimoire pages from your computer and insert them into your binder. If you have a particularly good printer, you can even add elaborate images and colorful decorations with clipart, public domain paintings, and other available artwork. You can even make your own in Photoshop or another program.

Digital?

Printing a grimoire is a great option that plenty of witches use, but just as many prefer to keep their grimoire wholly digital, existing only on the computer itself. If you struggle with handwriting or are simply more comfortable typing, either of these are wonderful ideas.

For a wholly-digital grimoire, I recommend an app like Google Docs, and I also recommend that you separate each entry or section into its own file, and organize them into folders for easy sorting. Google Docs has the advantage of being accessible from almost anywhere.

Another idea would be to purchase a small but high-volume USB drive to contain your grimoire. Some shops even sell rather beautiful USB drives that can be worn as jewelry. I personally know a technowitch who chose this route, and now keeps their grimoire in a small USB locket around their neck.

Increasingly, some witches are using blog sites such as Tumblr to create digital grimoires. If you go this route, be sure that the site you choose has an option to password protect your blog or, if not, that you’re comfortable sharing everything you’ll be writing there with the world.

Open grimoire blogs are quite an amazing and useful trend to have developed recently, particularly on sites where it’s easy to share content, like Tumblr’s reblogging system. These are great because they allow for you to quickly consolidate information provided by others into a sort of digital scrapbook that can be studied later or as needed.

If you create an open grimoire blog, please give credit where credit is due in everything you post. If you copy an incantation from a book, cite the book and author. If you include content (such as spells and rituals) made by other witches online, be sure they’re okay with their work being included in your grimoire.

And, give them the courtesy of linking back to their site when you post it. After all, you’d want them to do the same for you, and, truth be told, you can get into legal trouble for plagiarism. It’s rare, but it can happen, so it’s best to be honest, ask bloggers for their permission if necessary, and always credit them.

One of the advantages of a digital grimoire is that it’s quite easy to add images, and there are many beautiful public domain works of art you can use to illustrate your entries. If you’re good with Photoshop or a similar program, you can also create your own images there, too. If you have any skill with HTML/CSS3 at all, or are just good at copying and pasting, you can style the overall layout of your digital blog grimoire to your heart’s content, as well, using custom theming options available for most blog platforms.

I Have a Pen…

Last but not least, it’s important to consider the writing utensil you’ll be using for your grimoire. You needn’t have one specifically dedicated to that purpose unless you want, but you want to choose a pen that flows nicely, is legible, and doesn’t splotch the pages. For many, a simple ballpoint will do, but I tend to prefer felt tip or fountain pens, myself. If you decide to dedicate a certain pen just for your grimoire, you’ll probably want one that’s refillable and not meant to be just tossed after the ink runs out.

If you’re interested in custom inks (including magical scented inks!), investing in a fountain pen could be a good decision. These pens are easy to use and leave your grimoire with lines similar to what you’d get from a quill pen. Look for one that specifies it comes with a “converter;” this is a small gizmo which will allow you to fill the pen with custom ink, including colors you could mix yourself.

You can purchase scented inks, including stock formulas like Dove’s Blood Ink, from many metaphysical shops. You can even try mixing your own! Many websites and books give instructions for doing so, and I in particular recommend the ink formulas described in Scott Cunningham’s book, The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, and Brews. Make sure whatever ink you’re getting doesn’t bleed through the paper.

Beyond pens, what else might you need? If you plan on illustrating your grimoire, art supplies are a must. If you’re already an artist, you probably have your favored medium on-hand already, but if not, I suggest researching various illustration tools and choosing the one best fitting your personal aesthetic.

Keep practicality in mind, though. I, for example, adore watercolor, but rarely use it in my grimoires because it causes the pages to curl. Instead, I use soft pastels to illustrate over and around what I’ve already written. I’ve only just recently started illustrating the pages at all - all of my previous grimoires stretching back to high school were strictly writing with an occasional diagram.

While I’m not much of an artist, I do find it very soothing to add color to the pages of my grimoire, and the pastels blend to the point where they leave my writing visible beneath them. It’s a bit like a coloring book, but with no lines to worry about, just endless gradients of relaxing colors. This is great for me, as I often need to de-stress and do something fun after I’ve finished studying or writing for the day.

I’ll sometimes draw small illustrations, but they’re quite simple so far. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, I have dyskinesia and my hands shake sometimes, making fine motions difficult. Still, I hope to learn more about art techniques in the future as I work further on these grimoires, and make them more adorned and beautiful as time goes on.

If you’re unsure what art medium is right for you, I suggest researching and, if possible, trying several. There are also a lot of resources for choosing markers, colored pencils, watercolors and other supplies to be found, oddly enough, on sites about bullet journaling. Bullet journaling, while normally quite simple, does often involve illustration, so the “bujo” crowd is knowledgeable about such things.

#magick #witchcraft #witch #grimoire #book of shadows #eliza.txt

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zhangsan111111 · 5 years

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medproish · 6 years

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In a sickening concession to bad copyright law and Microsoft’s bottom line over basic technical truths and common sense, Eric Lundgren will spend 15 months in prison for selling discs that let people reinstall Windows on licensed machines. A federal appeals court this week upheld the sentence handed down in ignorance by a Florida district judge, for a crime the man never committed.

Now, to be clear, Lundgren did commit a crime, and admitted as much — but not the crime he was convicted for, the crime Microsoft alleges he did, the crime that carries a year-plus prison term. Here’s what happened.

In 2012 feds seized a shipment of discs, which they determined were counterfeit copies of Windows, heading to the U.S., where they were to be sold to retailers by Lundgren. U.S. Prosecutors, backed by Microsoft’s experts, put him on the hook for about $8.3 million — the retail price of Windows multiplied by the number of discs seized.

The only problem with that was that these weren’t counterfeit copies of Windows, and they were worth almost nothing. The confusion is understandable — here’s why.

When you buy a computer, baked into the cost of that computer is usually a license for the software on it — for instance, Windows. And included with that computer is often a disc that, should you have to reinstall that OS for whatever reason (virus infection, general slowdown), allows you to do so. This installation only works, of course, if you feed it your license key, which you’ll probably find on a sticker attached to your computer, its “Certificate of Authenticity.”

But what if you lose that disc? Fortunately, all those years Microsoft itself provided disc images, files that you could use to burn a new copy of the disc at no cost. Look, you can still do it, and you used to be able to get one without a license key. In fact that’s how many Windows installs were created — buy a license key directly from Microsoft or some reseller, then download and burn the install disc yourself.

Of course, if you don’t have a DVD burner (remember, this was a while back — these days you’d use a USB drive), you’d have to get one from a friend who has one, a licensed refurbisher, or your manufacturer (for instance, Dell or Lenovo) for a fee.

This option is still available, and very handy — I’ve used it many times.

What Lundgren did was have thousands of these recovery discs printed so that repair and refurbishing shops could sell them for cheap to anyone who can’t make their own. No need to go call Alienware customer service, just go to a computer store and grab a disc for a couple bucks.

Lundgren, by the way, is not some scammer looking to fleece a few people and make a quick buck. He has been a major figure on the e-waste scene, working to minimize the toxic wages of planned obsolescence and running a company of 100 to responsibly refurbish or recycle old computers and other devices.

His actual crime, which he pleaded guilty to, was counterfeiting the packaging to make the discs pass for Dell-branded ones.

But the fundamental idea that this was counterfeit software, with all that implies, is simply wrong.

Software vs. license

The whole thing revolves around the fact that Microsoft — and every other software maker — doesn’t just plain sell software; they sell licenses to that software. Because software can easily be copied from computer to computer, piracy is easy if you make a program that anyone can just install. It’s more effective to distribute the software itself freely, but only unlock it for use with a special one-off code sold to the customer: a license, or product key.

When you buy a “copy” of Windows, you’re really buying a license to use Windows, not the bits and bytes that make up the OS. The company literally provided up to date disc images of Windows on its website! You could easily install it using those. But without a license key, the OS won’t work properly; it’ll nag you, remove functionality and may shut down entirely. No one would confuse this with a licensed copy of the OS.

This distinction between software and license is a fine one, but important. Not just for overarching discussions of copyright law and where it fails us as technology moves beyond the severely dated DMCA. Because in this case it’s the difference between a box of Windows recovery discs being worth millions of dollars, as prosecutors originally said they were, and being worth essentially nothing, which is what an expert witness and advocates countered.

More importantly, it’s the difference between someone getting 15 months in prison for a nonviolent crime harming no one and causing no actual financial loss, and getting a suitable punishment for counterfeiting labels.

A Microsoft representative told me, reasonably enough, that they want customers to be able to trust their software. So going after counterfeiters is a high priority. After all, if you buy a cheap, fake DVD of Windows on eBay and it turns out the disc has been pre-loaded with malware, that’s bad news for the consumer and hurts the Microsoft brand. Makes sense.

It said in an official statement (then provided an updated one later, which is at the end of the article):

We participate in cases like these because counterfeit software exposes our customers to malware and other forms of cybercrime. There are responsible ways to refurbish computers and save waste, but Mr. Lundgren intentionally deceived people about the software they were buying and put their security at risk.

First, it is worth mentioning that the court record is replete with tests showing these discs were perfectly normal copies of software that Microsoft provides for free. Prosecutors went through the entire install process several times and encountered nothing unusual — in fact, their arguments rely on the fact that these were perfect copies, not a compromised one. This may not affect Microsoft’s reasoning for pursuing the case, but it sure has a bearing on this one.

Lundgren deceived people that this was an official disc from Dell, certainly. That’s a crime and he admitted to it right off the bat. But from what I can tell, the discs were indistinguishable from Dell discs except for inconsistencies in the packaging. There’s nothing in the record to think otherwise. I was told Microsoft declined to look into whether the discs might have had malware because it would have no bearing on the case, which strikes me as ridiculous. It would be trivial to check the integrity and contents of a disc Microsoft itself provides the data for, and malware or the like would provide evidence of criminal intent by Lundgren or his supplier.

If on the other hand the discs were identical to those they are meant to imitate, we would expect to hear little about their content except that they are functional, which is what we see in the record.

From the court records, the discs seized produced ordinary Windows installs when tested by multiple parties.

Furthermore: People weren’t buying software, let alone “counterfeit software.” The discs in question are at best “unauthorized” copies of software provided for free by Microsoft, not really a term that carries a lot of legal or even rhetorical weight. I could make a recovery disc, then make another for my friend who doesn’t have a DVD burner. Is that copy authorized or not? And how could it be unauthorized if it’s an image made available to users specifically for the purpose of burning recovery discs? How can it be counterfeit if it’s just a copy of that image? Furthermore, how can it be “pirated” if the business model requires the end user to purchase a license key to activate the product?

If the data on the disc is worth anything at all, why does Microsoft provide it for free? There was in fact no piracy because no license to use the software, which amounts to the entire value of the software, was ever sold.

What damage?

But how, then, could this freely available software produce damage in the millions, as first alleged, and later in the hundreds of thousands?

What Microsoft alleged, when it became clear that the data on the discs was worth precisely nothing without a license key, as evidenced by its own free distribution thereof, was that the discs Lundgren was selling were intended to short-circuit its official refurbishment program.

That’s the official registered refurbisher program where a company might buy old laptops, wipe them and contact Microsoft saying “Hey, give us 12 Windows 7 Home licenses,” which are then provided for a deep discount — $20-40 each, down from the full retail price of hundreds. It encourages reuse of perfectly good hardware and keeps costs down, both of which are solid goals.

Every disc Lundgren sold to refurbishers, Microsoft argued, caused $20-40 (times .75, the profit ratio) of lost OS sales because it would be used in place of the official licensing process. A simplified version of this ($25 times 28,000 units) was the basis for the $700,000 figure used in part to determine the severity of his crime and sentence.

There are several things wrong with this assertion:

Lundgren was not necessarily selling these discs to refurbishers for use in refurbishing computers — the discs would be perfectly useful to any Dell owner who walked in and wanted a recovery disc for their own purposes. The government case rests on an assumption that was not demonstrated by any testimony or evidence.

The discs are not what Microsoft charges for. As already established, the disc and the data on it are provided for free. Anyone could download a copy and make their own, including refurbishers. Microsoft charges for a license to activate the software on the disc. The discs themselves are just an easy way to move data around. There’s no reason why refurbishers would not buy discs from Lundgren and order licenses from Microsoft.

Dell computers (and most computers from dealers) come with a Certificate of Authenticity with a corresponding Windows product key. So if intentions are to be considered, fundamentally these discs were intended for sale to and use by authorized, licensed users of the OS.

Furthermore, since many computers come with COAs, if the refurbishers decide to skip getting a new license use a given computer’s COA, that is not the fault of Lundgren, and could easily be accomplished with the free software Microsoft itself provides.

That process — using the COA instead of buying a new license — is not permitted by Microsoft and is murky copyright-wise. But in this case the defendants say it was admitted by U.S. prosecutors that the COA “belongs” to the hardware, not the first buyer. The alternative is that, for example, if I sold a computer to a friend with Windows installed, he would be required to buy a new copy of Windows to install over the first, which is absurd.

Naturally no actual damage was actually done. The damage is entirely theoretical and incorrect at that. A copy of Windows cannot be sold because it is freely provided; only a license key can be sold, and those sales are what Microsoft alleges were affected — but Lundgren neither had nor sold any license keys.

In fact an expert witness, Glenn Weadock, who had previously been involved in a 2001 government antitrust case against Microsoft, appeared in court to argue these very points.

Weadock was asked what the value of the discs is without a license or COA. “Zero or near zero,” he said. The value is a “convenience factor,” he said, in that someone can use a pre-made disc instead of burning their own or having the manufacturer provide it.

Real damage

This fact, a difference between selling a license that activates a piece of software and provides its real value, and the distribution of the software itself — again, provided for free to any asker — was completely ignored by the courts:

The government’s expert testified that the lowest amount Microsoft charges buyers in the relevant market—the small registered computer refurbisher market—was $25 per disc. Although the defense expert testified that discs containing the relevant Microsoft OS software had little or no value when unaccompanied by a product key or license, the district court explicitly stated that it did not find that testimony to be credible.

As I’ve already established, discs are free; $25 is the price of the license accompanying the disc. Again, a fine but very important distinction.

Weadock’s testimony and all arguments along these lines were disregarded by the judges, who decided that the “infringing item” “is or appears to be a reasonably informed purchaser to be, identical or substantially equivalent to the infringed item.”

This isfundamentally wrong.

The “infringing” item is a disc. The “infringed” item is a license. The ones confusing the two aren’t purchasers but the judges in this case, with Microsoft’s help.

“[Defendants] cannot claim that Microsoft suffered minimal pecuniary injury,” wrote the judges in the ruling affirming the previous court’s sentencing. “Microsoft lost the sale of its software as a direct consequence of the defendants’ actions.”

Microsoft does not sell discs. It sells licenses.

Lundgren did not sell licenses. He sold discs.

These are two different things with different values and different circumstances.

I don’t know how I can make this any more clear. Right now a man is going to prison for 15 months because these judges didn’t understand basic concepts of the modern software ecosystem. Fifteen months! In prison!

What would a reasonable punishment be for counterfeiting labels to put on software anyone can download for free? I couldn’t say. That would be for a court to decide. Possibly, based on Lundgren’s suggestion that if damages had to be calculated, that $4 per disc was more realistic, he would still face time. But instead the court has made an ignorant decision based on corporate misinformation that will deprive someone of more than a year of his life — not to mention all the time and money that has been spent explaining these things to deaf ears for the last few years.

Microsoft cannot claim that it was merely a victim or bystander here. It has worked with the FBI and prosecutors the whole time pursuing criminal charges for which the defendant could face years in prison. And as you can see, those charges are wildly overstated and produced a sentence far more serious than Lundgren’s actual crime warranted.

The company could at any point have changed its testimony to reflect the facts of the matter. It could have corrected the judges that the infringing and infringed items are strictly speaking completely different things, a fact it knows and understands, since it sells one for hundreds and gives the other away. It could have cautioned the prosecution that copyright law in this case produces a punishment completely out of proportion with the crime, or pursued a civil case on separate lines.

This case has been ongoing for years and Microsoft has supported it from start to finish; it has as much sentenced Lundgren to prison for a crime he didn’t commit as the fools of judges it convinced of its great “pecuniary loss.” I expect the company to push back against this idea, saying that it only had consumers’ best interests in mind, but the bad-faith arguments we have seen above, and which I have heard directly from Microsoft, seem to suggest it was in fact looking for a strong judgment at any cost to deter others.

If it was possible that Microsoft was not aware how bad the optics on this case are, they’ve been warned over and over as the case has worn on. Now that Lundgren is going to prison it seems reasonable to say that his imprisonment is as much a Microsoft product as the OS it accused him wrongly of pirating.

Update: Microsoft later provided an second statement:

Microsoft actively supports efforts to address e-waste and has worked with responsible e-recyclers to recycle more than 11 million kilograms of e-waste since 2006. Unlike most e-recyclers, Mr. Lundgren sought out counterfeit software which he disguised as legitimate and sold to other refurbishers. This counterfeit software exposes people who purchase recycled PCs to malware and other forms of cybercrime, which puts their security at risk and ultimately hurts the market for recycled products.

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roseacisco · 6 years

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How Microsoft helped imprison a man for ‘counterfeiting’ software it gives away for free

In 2012 feds seized a shipment of discs, which they determined were counterfeit copies of Windows, heading to the U.S. where they were to be sold to retailers by Lundgren. U.S. Prosecutors, backed by Microsoft’s experts, put him on the hook for about $8.3 million — the retail price of Windows multiplied by the number of discs seized.

The only problem with that was that these weren’t counterfeit copies of Windows, and they were worth almost nothing. The confusion is understandable — here’s why.

This option is still available, and very handy — I’ve used it many times.

His actual crime, which he pleaded guilty to, was counterfeiting the packaging to make the discs pass for Dell-branded ones.

But the fundamental idea that this was counterfeit software, with all that implies, is simply wrong.

Software vs. license

When you buy a “copy” of Windows, you’re really buying a license to use Windows, not the bits and bytes that make up the OS. The company literally provided up to date disc images of Windows on its website! You could easily install it using those. But without a license key, the OS won’t work properly; it’ll nag you, remove functionality, and may shut down entirely. No one would confuse this with a licensed copy of the OS.

It said in an official statement:

From the court records, the discs seized produced ordinary Windows installs when tested by multiple parties.

Furthermore: people weren’t buying software, let alone “counterfeit software.” The discs in question are at best “unauthorized” copies of software provided for free by Microsoft, not really a term that carries a lot of legal or even rhetorical weight. I could make a recovery disc, then make another for my friend who doesn’t have a DVD burner. Is that copy authorized or not? And how could it be unauthorized if it’s an image made available to users specifically for the purpose of burning recovery discs? How can it be counterfeit if it’s just a copy of that image? Furthermore, how can it be “pirated” if the business model requires the end user to purchase a license key to activate the product?

What damage?

But how, then, could this freely available software produce damage in the millions, as first alleged, and later in the hundreds of thousands?

That’s the official registered refurbisher program where a company might buy old laptops, wipe them, and contact Microsoft saying “Hey, give us 12 Windows 7 Home licenses,” which are then provided for a deep discount — $20-40 each, down from the full retail price of hundreds. It encourages reuse of perfectly good hardware and keeps costs down, both of which are solid goals.

Every disc Lundgren sold to refurbishers, Microsoft argued, caused $20-40 (times .75, the profit ratio) of lost OS sales because it would be used in place of the official licensing process. This was the basis for the $700,000 figure used in part to determine the severity of his crime.

There are several things wrong with this statement, so I’m putting them in bullet points.

In fact an expert witness, Glenn Weadock, who had previously been involved in a 2001 government antitrust case against Microsoft, appeared in court to argue these very points.

Real damage

As I’ve already established, discs are free. $25 is the price of the license accompanying the disc. Again, a fine but very important distinction.

This is fundamentally wrong.

The “infringing” item is a disc. The “infringed” item is a license. The ones confusing the two aren’t purchasers but the judges in this case, with Microsoft’s help.

Microsoft does not sell discs. It sells licenses.

Lundgren did not sell licenses. He sold discs.

These are two different things with different values and different circumstances.

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virtualfaceengineer · 6 years

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Top Guidelines Of Wedding stationery

Your Essential Wedding Stationery Checklist

When you are looking for wedding stationery, there are particular products which are very important (like the actual wedding invitation itself, the RSVP card, wishing well card, etc.) high are a couple of stuff are optional plus the replacement for ask them to is determined by the wedding you're intending, this, formality, theme plus more. It is really your choice whether you determine to include them all or merely opt for a few. All a similar, you need to you must do everything commensurate with a similar style throughout. Here is your essential wedding stationery help guide to aid you in getting knowledgable in what stationery you may have to order.

Engagement Announcements

Part from the groundwork you must lay for ones wedding may be the announcement of your respective engagement. This is when you let everyone understand the big news and possibly give your friends and family a glimpse of what's into the future. Some couples skip engagement announcements within their wedding stationery. But in case you wish to include them, ensure that they reflect your personality being a couple. Be as traditional or as modern as you want. Since understanding the exact theme of your respective wedding can be past an acceptable limit away now, you may have the invitations designed as outlined by that which you feel is right for the second. Engagement invitations don't necessarily should match the theme of the wedding or perhaps your wedding stationery, thus you've room to behave a little different if desired.

Save the Date Cards

Save the Date Cards serve to be a prelude towards the formal wedding stationery which you will give your invited guests in the event the details from the wedding have already been looked after. Save the Date cards contain basic info on wedding ceremony such as location and date on the wedding. Specific venue details could be saved to the actual wedding invitation in the future. Save the Date cards are ideally sent at the very least 6 months beforehand to allow for guests a chance to manage their schedules beforehand. These are particularly helpful while you are using a destination wedding and guests must fly in using locations. Save the Date cards can reflect exactly the same colors or theme for ones wedding, when you have chosen the theme as soon as the Save the Date cards are mailed.

Wedding Invitations

The wedding invitation could be the formal invitation you're going to send to your invited guests no less than about six weeks prior for the wedding. The wording about the invites will include names on the special couple (naturally), who's hosting the party (either bride as well as the groom or even the parents of either bride or groom), location on the big event and reception, plus more. You can also incorporate a dress code within the invitation if you've got one, along with a RSVP date will also be included towards the bottom with the invitation.

RSVP/ Acceptance Cards

Including RSVP Cards together with your invitations a very good idea, because they allow guests to only communicate their acceptances. RSVP cards usually contain lines where guests can write their names along with the number attending, and it is possible to also incorporate a space for guests to put in writing their special dietary requirements when they have any.

Popular RSVP card styles include creating a small insert card placed in a very self-addressed envelope or else, a postcard style RSVP card can also be another excellent idea.

Wishing Well Card

A Wedding Wishing Well might be setup at the wedding ceremony reception for guests to deliver their gifts of funding in the envelope. A Wishing Well Card is frequently inserted together with the invitations and deliver to guests. Many view prepaid cards for an accepted means of offering guests a cash wedding gift option. This is a practical solution to creating a bridal registry the way it essentially offers a couple with flexibility to use your gift and often, will greatly help with settling the cost in the wedding. Usually people decide to print a great little poem for their wishing well cards, asking guests to contribute towards the wedding with the gift of greenbacks.

Escort Cards

Escort cards they fit near to the main entrance with the reception venue and are also accustomed to escort guests on their designated table. Upon their arrival, guests seek out names, obtain their cards and proceed with their tables. Escort cards may reflect your wedding reception theme and can be put along with wedding mementos.

Place Cards

Save yourself and you and your guests the hassle of finding their seats within the reception by utilizing place cards. These cards they fit about the tables in front in the seat of each one guest permit them know their designated seating. Place cards can be found in handy with the catering staff by method of identifying guests as well as their selection of menu.

Table Cards

Table cards can be used as helping your friends and relatives identify their tables. These cards traditionally carry numbers that match those around the escort cards, but you are able to put your creativity at the office, by putting something unique like symbols or names or through the use of different colors (complementary along with your wedding theme) about the table cards.

Thank You Cards

Show your gratitude to everyone the wedding guests present on the wedding day. Send them thanks cards after wedding ceremony is finished, to allow them recognize how much their presence supposed to you. Thank you cards must be sent few weeks after the marriage or if you'll be able to, soon after you've got received a great gift. Give them to everyone who came for a wedding, including members of one's wedding party, suppliers and vendors.

Affordable Wedding Invitations For the special day

One on the first tasks the pair has to take a look at once you have engaged is the fact wedding invitations. These ought to be done once the date and venue are already chosen. This sets a dark tone for that wedding and gives the guests a sneak-peek to what the theme and/or colors will be. By giving your friends and relatives this sneak-peek, you're helping them morph it into a bit easier to find wedding gifts. This is part in the reason why the top invitations are an important part in the wedding.

It can be very easy to relieve on the costs in the invitation whilst keeping the look of elegance. You can certainly buy blank invitations that you possibly can print yourself in the home. As long since you have a very good printer, a good amount of ink, and judge a stylish font, your guests will probably be none the wiser. It could possibly be quite difficult to share with a professionally printed invitation within a printed at your home.

If you have to add a personal touch to your invitations, you might also hand make them.

In today’s craft stores you will find a wide selection of lovely, themed, and chic papers. You could also find matching ribbons, stamps, stickers, and also other notions right on your theme and colors. Make sure to research and even checkout your neighborhood big box stores because they could have a craft section and possess lower prices. The possibilities are endless with your own individual creativity. Guests will unquestionably appreciate in which you touches you've added to your invitations and won't realize that these were cost-effective too.

Another idea for affordable invitations is to design your individual invitation and take it to many print shop. This option may very well be less expensive than you would imagine. Depending about the season, some might even be competent to offer a discount.

Make sure you obtain an estimate before purchasing this route. That will offer you an idea in the cost involved so when this might be the way you should go. You could also read the price return address labels since this could save you time addressing covers.

Be guaranteed to also check out the area wedding planners and bridal boutiques. They often carry catalogs of invitations. It is possible which you might find a design you need that has been discontinued and you may get a huge discount on or they may have special designs that are marked down. This is an execllent strategy for finding affordable invitations. Remember to certain that your too. There are many sites that cater specifically to weddings and the've beautiful invitations available for sale too. They normally have unique designs or they will help you develop made to be specific to your theme.

Affordable wedding stationery are available and they also don't need to be low quality. Take your time acquire the very best around and have about discounts or specials. You never know after that happen or what you need to find if you can't ask.

Details

A Guide To Choosing Your Wedding Stationery

The collection of wedding stationery available could be over-whelming when you begin planning your wedding day! In this article, I will break it on to different categories that will help you, if you are making your stationery or choosing from the countless ranges of handcrafted or printed stationery available! You may not should order each of the detailed wedding stationery as it might stop applicable on your type of wedding. Or you may want to order many of wedding ceremony stationery and handcraft a few of your items!

Save the date

Save the date cards are particularly useful if you're having a wedding in a popular time of the year, like bank holiday weekends, or Summer, Easter or Christmas anybody often book their holidays. Save the date cards may be sent when you've got your wedding reception booked, but ordinarily nearly year prior to the wedding to ensure that people can put your date inside their diary. These cards appear in various forms, including magnets, postcards and tags. Make sure for anyone who is sending a Save the date card to someone, that you'll be likely to would like them to wait your wedding day sometime soon!

Wedding Invitations

Wedding Invitations also come in various sizes and shapes from scrolls to invitations printed on balloons!!!! Enjoy browsing the plethora of invitations available, both printed and handmade prior to you making your selection. Most stationery companies will give you a sample either at no cost or even for a little fee. If you can not find anything, certain areas will give you a bespoke design service where they may discuss the wedding themes and scheme along with you and design a married relationship invitation or number of stationery specifically you. If you like a pair of wedding stationery however it is within the wrong scheme or maybe you would love something changing, email the corporation and inquire! Most are going to be willing to make their wedding stationery in several colours or adapt an element available for you.

Remember permitting one invitation per household plus some extra for mistakes or last second invitations!!! Wedding Invitations tend to be mailed 90 days ahead of the wedding allowing guests time and energy to reply and also the couple time for it to finalise arrangements. Some couples decide to send their invitations before this if their wedding falls after a busy month or year.

Evening Invitations

These invitations are for the people individuals who a person inviting on your ceremony but they are coming for your evening celebrations. Most evening celebrations begin following the speeches and you will choose getting in touch with reduce your cake in daytime or save that to the arrival of your respective evening guests.

Again, allow one invitation per household and some extra for mistakes or very last minute invitations!

Information sheet/card

Most couples elect to send an info sheet or card using their wedding invites to support their guests inside planning with their day. This information normally includes hotel, bed and breakfast choices, taxi numbers and many others. Some couples decide to place all of this facts about a web site and easily are the URL into their invitations to allow them to employ a minimalist look for their invitations. If you decide to make this happen, understand that Great Grandad Bob may not have access to the internet so guarantee the elderly are allowed for! The information sheet could also contain information regarding your order through the day, whether confetti is permitted, any particular dress code (e.g. if wedding is black tie, fancy dress outfits!), information on any organised transport, directions and what time the presentation will finish. Some couples also elect to acknowledge details in their gift .

Here

RSVP cards

You may want to put an RSVP card together with your wedding reception invitation where guests can state their intention to visit the wedding and then vegetarian or another dietary requirements. Some couples even include a stamped addressed envelope for his or her guests even though this is not entirely necessary. Remember to clearly state your RSVP date to ensure that you can finalise arrangements with the wedding venue and together with your suppliers.

Order of service/Order through the day

Order of Service cards are most favored each time a religious ceremony has taken place and may list the Hymns (as well as the words), The Entrance with the Bride, Readings, The Marriage, Signing with the Register, The Address, The Benediction and The Recessional.

Order in the Day cards are often used at civil ceremonies to detail precisely what is planning to be happening every day and also the timings e.g wedding and reception, welcome drinks/canapes, photographs, wedding breakfast, cake cutting, speeches, first dance, end of celebrations therefore, the guests are sensitive to what on earth is happening1

Table cards/Menu cards

Table cards sit for the centre from the wedding breakfast tables so guests can discover their seat easily. Tables can be numbered or named and guests utilize table or seating prefer to find their name and which table they are seated at. This is not always necessary with a really small wedding. Sometimes the table card will likely feature the menu from the wedding breakfast or this might be over a separate card.

Camera Cards

Some couples opt to have disposable cameras on the wedding breakfast tables to enable them to later compensate for the many fun how they didn?t see! Camera cards may be linked to remind guests to utilize the flash (and wind you on!) along with instructions on the best places to leave the digital camera if this has been used.

Place cards

Place cards are utilized so a guest can locate for their table whereabouts they are going to be sitting. These change from a tent fold card into a personalised keyring! Allow one place card per guest.

Table plan/Seating plan

A seating plan shows design in the room and details which guest is sat where! These vary in proportions and is usually made on card and framed or on artists canvas block. Check along with your venue which they have facilities to produce a table plan.

Favour boxes/bags

Favours are the traditional five sugared almonds symbolising Health, Wealth, Happiness, Long Life and Fertility to miniature perfumes, chocolate truffles and keyrings!

Favour boxes are typically accessible to match your wedding reception stationery or some companies could make you something to co-ordinate. You can combine your favours with place cards with the help of a tag with all the guests name!

Thank you cards (Bridal Party)

You can order Thank You cards for the basic from most wedding stationery companies. Most places will personalise the crooks to add the name from the recipient plus the date of your wedding reception. These cards may be presented to Bridesmaids, Parents on the Bride and Groom, Best Men, Ushers, Flower Girls, Readers and so forth.

To my Husband/Wife on Our special day card

You could send a card within the morning of your wedding day for your future husband or wife to inform them simply how much you're looking forward for your special day. Most companies will personalise prepaid credit cards with names and dates to suit your needs!

https://www.zestprinting.co.uk/wedding-stationery/

Important Information for Buying Wedding Invitations

There couple of important details comprehending when choosing wedding stationery. If you're shopping for invitations, you can certainly get confused by all on the terminology, etiquette and available styles. Other waste a wedding invitation by way of example Save the Date cards, table cards and hang cards should be decided on too. Both the level of information as well as the presentation from your information also must be nailed down. Considering all from your choices to be generated, choosing invitations can be confusing and stressful too.

Just for getting this to process a little easier, take a examine the following checklist of knowledge you have to know for buying invitations:

1. How many wedding stationery do you need? Wedding invitations are pricey, this means you certainly should never order many. On the other hand, you must not run out and have absolutely to re-order, which will end up costing you more cash in setup fees and shipping. Before you order your invitations, go on a seat together with your guest list and count up the volume of invitations you will need to send out. A few guidelines: - several get one invitation - a number of living together buy one invitation - adult roommates each obtain own invitation - adult children dealing with parents should each obtain own invitation - children under the age of 18 may very well be included around the parents invitation - some who don?t live together each obtain own invitation

2. Which components of wedding stationery do you wish to order? Wedding invitations have several pieces which will all be bought because you or obtained a la carte. In addition, you'll discover other components of wedding stationery that you could or may well not want to purchase. The most popular wedding stationery includes: - Wedding invitation - Inner envelope - Outer envelope - Response Card and Envelope - Reception Card once the reception is held somewhere apart in the ceremony - Save the Date cards for away guests or even the ones which need a large amount of advance notice - Table Cards are printed using a table number for any table - Place Cards tell your invited guests where they're seated - Programs - Menu Cards - Thank You Cards Obviously, there's no need to order these, yet it is useful to know very well what both are.

3. Invitation Etiquette ? the Words Contemporary wedding stationery are much freer in terms through the words that are printed about the invitation. If you should adhere for the most traditional and formal wedding invitation, you will discover tutorials and templates online to help you word your invitations properly. More importantly, though, you'll need to supply the wording that you simply would like printed within your invitation any time you order them, so that you should determine what you're likely to have printed across the invitation before selecting them.

4. When in the big event you order your invitations? Invitations must be sent out about 6-8 weeks ahead of the wedding date to produce people time to plan. Your order will typically take about four in order to six weeks to arrive this means you should order the marriage invitation at the least 12 weeks prior to wedding and that means you've the perfect time to address them and acquire them submitted time.

5. How much do you plan to speculate for your wedding stationery? Many couples plan to take a position about 2% in the wedding budget on their wedding stationery, including postage. It is necessary to have a reasoning behind your budget for wedding stationery before you commence looking so that you just could choose invitations inside your finances range.

6. Get acquainted with all the terminology It?s beneficial to know some through the terminology utilised in printing if you're looking at wedding stationery. This is not even near an exhaustive wedding invitation glossary, nonetheless it will help you will get started. Border ? a design throughout the edge in the invitation. It may be printed or embossed Deckle Edge ? an irregular edge that appears almost torn like homemade paper Die-cut ? paper that's cut in to a distinctive shape or outline Ecru ? an off-white neutral color that's popular for formal stationery Embossing ? a printing technique that causes a raised surface Envelope Liners ? inner envelopes or linings for the inside on the outer invitation envelope Flat Cards or Panel Cards ? only 1, unfolded card used just as one invitation

7. What are the wedding ceremony colors? If you should coordinate your wedding stationery with the marriage colors, you should know what those colors are. Most traditional and formal wedding stationery don?t include color, however it could be an essential consideration for contemporary wedding stationery.

How Do You Choose Wedding Invitation Wording

Wedding invitation wording is actually important, and ultizing the correct wedding etiquette is important. You will find which the web is loaded with wedding invitation wording samples which will assist you to for getting some great ideas. But how do you know which wording will probably be best suited in your case personally?

It's actually fairly simple. The first will be to select the wording that can go with all the theme in the wedding. It's a similar theory since the wedding invitation design. You are not planning to choose a casual design for almost any formal wedding, right? So you must select formal wording for virtually every formal wedding and casual wording for almost any casual wedding.

When you begin searching through the world wide web for some samples along with other arrangements of wording you'll easily discover there are so many variations and combinations of wording that you just could use on your invitations. The most important thing is always that you make using the invitation wording that you desire the most that many closely fits your liking.

Write up several drafts and initiate playing around with some in the samples that you just simply find online, be sure that you simply're applying all in the information so that you simply could get the total effect in the items it appears and may seem like.

When you're in search of wedding invitation wording samples you should put in the sort of wedding you're having from the search too. For example if you're developing a formal wedding then type formal wedding invitation wording samples in the search. A simple wedding type simple wedding invitation wording samples, and so on and the like. This can help to limit pursuit. Your time is quite valuable currently, so any small bit will help.

Using the most beneficial wording will need you a small amount of time, and one in the best ways to ensure that what you've come a record of is befitting for you is usually to sit on it for virtually any couple of days. So wait several days and after that read it again, and pay attention to clearly loudly too. If you still appreciate it a few days later its that which you should decide on.

I needed to touch base on something that may also be important. In today's world it's not longer the parents which might be throwing wedding, or maybe the parents could possibly be divorced and remarried, and often now wedding ceremony couple are throwing their unique wedding. The wording for each and every of these situations will likely be different. So this is one thing which you ought to be aware of if you are trying to find the most effective wording. I am sorry in the wedding that just made things a bit more difficult for you personally personally, yet it's important.

Your wedding is a crucial event within your life and you also deserve to have the most beneficial of everything. Take your time with all on the decisions and do your foremost not to stress out. I realize that is certainly often easier said then done.

Choosing The Perfect Wedding Invitations

If you organize a relatively traditional or formal invitations should reflect your really reflect this. You would not want to use bold colors, but would certainly be with a number of, which remain greatly conventional and complex. If you're selecting the invitations, it will also be necessary in your case personally to remember that numerous guests can get the invitation such as a physical memento of your wedding, shall choose to hold fit.

Now which you simply learn how to include wedding colors and theme in the invitations, it may allow time for that wedding budget expenses will be. Each and everyone wants a relationship budget as elements accumulate so quickly. In case you still have no idea of how much money you should invest in the stationery, now could be the time available for you personally to learn.

Wedding invitations can make expensive alternative. It's really not the invitations, the price so much, it really would be the fact there are many common parts in the wedding invitation and has now a different price. The basics consist through the invitation, reply card, reception card together while using thanks notes. You might also use a path-cards, save the date cards or magnets (for days intervals commitment), and set cards. It all accumulates.

It is time in your case personally to model your individual wedding invitation to seem. Your wedding invitation need to be your wedding day that reflect colors, theme and ambience. As an example, you might get to make usage of the wedding colors or theme to generate your invitation. Yet another excellent idea is usually to express an invite to make the decision the atmosphere and the feeling in the marriage match. You do not needRequest an invitation to many contemporary stylish wedding or perhaps a formal invitation to have an informal affair.

It 's better to treat first if your marriage might be potentially viewed as modern or traditional. In the ceremony of your marriage falls into two categories you wish, think about wedding stationery, this feeling can be similar to.

Brides who decide to create an elegant standard or conventional ought to get wedding stationery wedding use. The invitations will often have black print on white or colored paper mild.

However, if you find that an organizing committee yet another contemporary wedding invitation colors are fairly limitless. It can not uncommon nowadays to invitations, green, red along with black are obtained. Contemporary wedding stationery can also own graphics and photos, this specific not really necessary.

Now that you just simply be inclined, perhaps, something to essentially determine it time for you personally personally to get in places you're purchasing. Try to correct the 1st layer a lot of people want something close. There is basically a lot towards position within a print store, talking towards staff and designers and discover a design book for being said.

If you won't have to use them or do not have suitable suppliers in your area always decide, you will discover usually buy mail and World Wide Web Stationery Retail, make use of. To purchase email and world-wide-web suppliers most often have to select at a lively catalog with pictures of any and every model available. Countless ways to offer word choices as soon as the invitations to deliver together with other etiquette issues. Choose the most beneficial supplier, by thebest invitation available for you personally at a price that you can reside with.

How to Work Out a Suitable Budget for Wedding Stationery

Some wedding planners recommended that you spend around 2 to 4% of one's total budget in your wedding stationery. This may be practical, however, the treatment depends of what sort of wedding you happen to be having and the way many guests you will see. Once you consider your complete requirements you budget might appear unrealistic.

For example in case your wedding budget it 7000 your plan for wedding stationery are going to be between 140 and 280.

I have outlined approximate costs per part of wedding stationery so that you can offer you a practical method to plan your finances.

Save the Dates - These start about 1.00 and will increase to 2.75. Save the dates are employed in advance within your wedding invitations.

Wedding/Evening Invitations - These are by far the most varied in price from around 1.20 to 5.00. Although luxury invitations may be about the 10 mark or over. Average costs are around 2.00 to 3.50 per wedding invite.

Reply Cards/Thank You Cards - These start at about 1.00 and climb to 2.50. Most wedding stationers will likely be able to suit your reply or thanks a lot cards in your chosen invitations.

Orders of Service/Orders on the Day/Menus - Prices begin from 2.00 and get higher to 6.00. These may be considerably more expensive compared to the rest within your wedding stationery. This is because of these complexity, particularly with orders of service. Orders or service might need extra proofing and frequently require extra inserts.

If you happen to be using a Civil Ceremony then orders of service are certainly not required therefore decreasing the total cost of your respective wedding stationery budget. However, some couples opt to have an investment in the day as an alternative. An order in the day outlines the day's events and what time they may happen.

Place Cards - This item of stationery is usually priced between 0.40 and 1.00 per place card. These are being used for sit-down meals being a seating aid. They are usually put together with a table plan.

Table Plans - These are employed to aid the seating of your respective guests. They are usually placed near to the entrance of just inside from the wedding dinner room. Prices start at about 65 and get higher to about 200

Wedding stationery Packages

Zest digital printing services includes wedding stationery designs that can be co-ordinated with other wedding stationery such as table plans, menus, RSVP cards and thank you cards.

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