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bonny-kookoo · 3 years

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Ready Player 01 | JJK x Reader | 🔞❤️☁️

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Genre: dystopia!AU, former Game developer!Jk, former pro gamer!JK, former IT specialist!Reader, former programmer!Reader, romance, Smut, slight cyberpunk elements

Warnings/tags: injustice, forcefully controlled public, violence (police/government officials against citizens), unfair powerplay, interrogation, tech talk, Jungkook be antisocial as FUCK but so is the reader lmao wbk, fear of physical contact (Haphephobia), past trauma and mentions of a bad childhood, insomnia, crime, smut because yes it’s me hello my content isn't kiddy-proof in the first place what yall want from me I'm not sure, but that’s waaY at the end ya know, friends to lovers, a slightly sassy AI but we love her, reader struggles with emotions, I mean same tbh, they're both so sweet tho I cant, not proofread because let me live

Summary: there’s a war going on; silent, but it’s there. Media has been strictly become controlled and regulated- to the point of making it illegal to own a TV or phone with internet access without a valid license. But there’s always some people that will try to break free from the controlling force.

"-a new age. This is a new year. And remember; we're doing this for the greater good. Until tomorrow." The news reporter stops talking after she somberly looks somewhere behind the camera that is pointed at her.

Your room is dark- the TV brightness on it's lowest setting so you can see what's going on- but outside, no one can see the light shining in your tiny apartment. Investing in blackout curtains had really paid off at the end of the day.

You don't want to get caught.

There's an announcement van driving past your window; the tiny slits in your curtains where the light from outside can creep its way inside brightening a bit as the headlights pass your windows. Something is spoken, and by now everyone knows the routine speech.

"Electricity will be shut down in five minutes. We advice to save all progress immediately- and we wish a good nights rest. Electricity will be shut down in five minutes..-" It repeats, over and over, counting down the minutes. You slowly move into your kitchen, opening one of the loose floor tiles to turn on your own emergency electricity system. With well practiced movements you close the tile again, moving the rug over it as you walk back into your living room, swiftly sliding the TV behind your wardrobe to make it disappear. As if on cue; there's a knock at your door.

The same as always. Routine. Two times, loud and clear. You don't even have to look through the peephole to know what awaits behind it.

"Yes?" You ask, rubbing your eyes as if you had been already asleep. The officer behind the door nods at you shortly, a mild smile on his face as he looks down at you.

"We didn't mean to wake you miss. Just routine, as usual." He says, peeking into your apartment to look for any electronics still running. It's pitch black however- so he simply nods, as his colleague notes something into his tablet. "We wish a good nights rest miss. Again, sorry for intruding." He apologizes, and you nod, closing the door.

Only when the street lights turn dark, do you move from your bed.

"Creator." The AI voice chimes up, her voice greeting you as as you lift the tile on the floor again- your phone connecting to the AI to show information you instantly decode and note down inside your head. "Player01 has just connected." The voice states, and you sit down on your cold kitchen flooring, smiling a little. "He has sent a message. Would you like me to play it?" The voice asks, and you take a deep breath.

"Yes." You say, and there's a small sound indicating the start of the voice message. A male voice is head.

"Hey, whats up?" He asks, and you can hear something in the background- maybe an empty can or something similar. "I uh.. I'm on my way. Should I bring anything? Ah wait, I know the answer to that.." He says, chuckling at the end of his sentence, and you can hear him zip up his jacket as he moves around. "Yeah uh.. just text or something, I'll bring stuff over. Can't have you starve." He ends, and the AI speaks up again.

"Would you like to repeat the message?" She asks, and you shake your head at her; a signal the artificial intelligence has come to detect quite well. "Should I archive it?" She questions again, and this time, you nod- something your invisible assistant can pick up due to motion sensoring.

"Send him a message." You say. "Tell him: I only need you. Get yourself here in one piece and I'm happy. And I'm very capable of taking care of myself." You state, and your phone shows a small loading message- indicating that the voice is doing as you said. It chimes up after a moment. "Thanks Kana." You say.

"No problem creator. Would you like for me to run through the databases now?" She asks, and you nod, a smile on your face. "Database search in progress. Estimated time: sixteen minutes and eighteen seconds." You huff out a breath as you look at the tiny display on your arm; tiny, yet powerful as it's your way of keeping Kana- your AI assistent- close at all times. Tonight, there would seem to be a lot to dig through.

They really added a lot of content these days.

It's not the door that makes you notice that there's a visitor after a while- He never uses it anyways for some reason. You're sitting on your kitchen floor with a small cup of tea in your hands- kept hot inside a slightly beaten-looking thermos can since you can't use to water boiler at night. Using anything other than Kana would cause a spike the police would be sure to notice; and you're not ready to get caught yet.

Not tonight.

It's a boy who, after a moment, opens the unclosed kitchen window to climb in; his combat boots getting a little snow and dirt from the outside into your apartment as his 80's looking jacket makes distinctive noises as it brushes against the sides of your window. His blonde hair has grown out a bit these days you notice- the roots clearly showing. It's a little wet and slightly curly from the moisture. It must be snowing outside- or maybe it had. You couldn't know for sure.

You never left your apartment.

He closes the window after slipping on the tiles inside a little, the plastic bags noisy as he almost drops them- sheepishly taking off his boots as he smiles at you. His socks are different from one another- but that's another thing so distinctive and just so.. him. He's his own person, always has been; it's what brought you two together, after all. You both stood out against the 'regular public' these days; with his brightly almost white-bleached hair he was like an albino in a sea of crows.

But you knew he didn't need that to stand out to you.

You can still remember the first few times the boy in front of you has visited you; the times where he had just dyed his hair to rebel out, or when he pierced your ears in exchange for you to do it to him as well. It was like you had made a blood pact in your kitchen that night- you had somehow gotten closer, formed a little more than just a simple companionship in order to riot against the law. He began growing close. Gave you a nickname. Began calling you his player 2. Began calling you his 'ace'. He had explained that he thought of it from memories of his gaming days; the two fighting teams always called red and blue, and one of his favorite weapons having that nickname- simply because it always 'saved his ass last minute'. He had rambled on about his last tournament after that, eyes sparkling and cheeks round from cold noodles.

You had become friends.

"hey." He says after sitting close across from you on the cold floor; the opened tile and Kana's core exposed to you two, the only source of light apart from your bracelet. The colorful LED's paint marks on his face and illuminate his features to you; but it does the same to you from his point of view. It's a familiar sight. "How are you?" He asks, almost shyly, but you know that's not what's bothering him.

"Hey Jungkook." You simply say with the hint of a smile, as you answer him. "Haven't slept well these days but, what's new I guess." You chuckle, and Jungkook smiles too- though a glimpse of concern is still shown your way. He knows however that forcing you to sleep won't do much good- your insomnia was too bad to really conquer it in a day or two just by taking naps.

And also; who was he to talk about solving personal issues.

"Have you seen the most recent reports?" You ask him, and the boy somberly shakes his head.

"I was unable to." He states. "They were patrolling close to my apartment complex because there had been someone reporting a Glitcher today." A 'glitcher'- a slang word now commonly used for people like Jungkook and you. People who went against the nightly routines, people who tried to trick the system by using electricity at night, owning media, consuming it, or dealing with it. It somehow became worse than underground drugs. "They pulled him out at around twelve or so- but they seemed too on edge the entire day, so I didn't risk it." He says, and you nod. Jungkook had always been a very good person when it came to calculating risk versus reward. He was good at reading people too- even though he didn't interact much, he got out of his apartment a lot more than you did. "Anything important?" He asks, and you shrug.

"There was a report that China and Japan were still on edge- with the chinese government arguing that they would soon start with 'more drastic measures to get things under proper control', whatever that means." You say, and Jungkooks brows furrow as he starts to pick on the skin of his jaw. "Let's just hope the flood doesn't throw us under the sea as well if it escalates I guess.." You say, and the boy across from you nods.

"Creator." Kana's voice chimes up, making Jungkook look up before remembering that the only source would be your bracelet, which you look at as well. "My scan of your body shows that you have not consumed a sufficient amount of calories today. I recommend a meal in the next five to eight minutes to avoid malnutrition." She says, and you groan. "I take this as a form of verbal communication. Running data search..." She says, as Jungkook looks at you; thoroughly amused by the teasing banter between the AI and his friend. "My data search concludes that you are annoyed, creator. I have only stated a fact however-" She continues, and Jungkook steps in.

"I've brought some leftovers from my dinner today we can eat." He says, pulling out some plastic containers as he moves to get proper cutlery out of your drawers. He makes sure to push them towards you, making sure to nod with a smile as you nod and thank him a little embarrassed. "It's nothing. You know I love you too much to let you starve!" He states with a grin, bunny teeth on full display as bitterness creeps up your throat- something you make sure to swallow down before beginning to eat.

Because the kind of love he's talking about right now, is not the kind of love you want him to feel for you.

"You forgot to give it a proper validation there-" He points out as you type away. "Otherwise it will just run instantly, and everything at once. That could crash older systems, and we know that V95 uses an older laptop, so we should take that into account." He says, and you nod, clicking back to the spot Jungkook is talking about.

This is what you're both good for.

Writing code for you had always been something you did with a passion- simply because you were good at it. Numbers and short phrases were something you could remember with ease; but you never had to think much about the visual aspect of programs in your department back when you were able to work for a simple programming company. You had simply always been tasked to program security systems and automatically updating firmware, or simple AI's for factory robots. Jungkook however had been all about the visuals; he had been programming games after all. That's why you two fit so well together in this scene. Whenever he would be in complete awe of the broad knowledge you had about official guidelines and security breaches, of staying undetected and unseen while still gaining as much as possible from every single line of code, he could always throw in his input to make sure the program you were both writing and updating for the glitch community was easy to use and simple enough so it could run smoothly on as many systems as possible. Be it phone, laptops, PC's- you two made it possible.

This program was connecting Glitchers all over the globe- and with yours and Jungkooks knowledge, you made it almost invisible. And even if it was somehow detected; there was no possible way to track down any of it's users.

The fact that you had to hide a simple program from the government made you sigh.

"Okay. Yeah I think that fixed the bug." He says, and looks at your arm- at Kana. "Oh, by the way, Kana?" he asks, and the chime gives him the cue to talk. "I heard you had a bug-fix too recently." He says, and the AI chimes again.

"I did, Player01." The AI answers. "The addition of code to my current program has proven to significantly increase my ability to observe and save more data." The female voice answers, and Jungkook grins. "You are happy, Player01." She states, and he nods.

"I am." He says.

"Why is that?" The AI asks, and Jungkook shrugs.

"I'm just happy you're doing well. Someone has to take care of ace when I'm not close by, yeah?" He states, and you try not to react to it. Jungkook is by now used to your more stoic expression; you're not too emotional and barely let things get under your skin. You've been hurt before, he knows this even if you never told him- he can see it in the way you hide inside the safety of your home, how you're so cold on the outside but still clinging onto him. Sometimes he wishes he could touch you; run his hand over your head to ruffle your hair like in those cheesy movies, hold your hand, or simply give you some reassurance in the form of a gentle hand on your back whenever you struggle.

But he's got his own demons, and they love clinging onto him just as much.

"V95 has connected to voice chat. Would you like to talk to him?" Kana states, ripping him out of his thoughts as he watches you nod.

"JK? Y/N?" A deep voice asks.

"We're here. Heard there was a raid close to you?" Jungkook asks, and he can see you grow a bit more serious at that. "Are you okay?" He adds, and V answers, although quite.. tired?

"I'm good. They got Jimin though." He states, and you sigh, running a hand through your hair as you stand up, frustrated. Jungkook knows you're trying to calm down by pacing. He doesn't mind. "They didn't officially arrest him, took him for 'questioning' though. We know what that's about." He states somberly, and Jungkook takes a deep breath.

"Jimin is a master manipulator V. He'll get himself out of it, I'm sure." Jungkook tries to reassure, but it doesn't gain him much than a hum from Taehyung on the other end of the line. "What about Sleeper?" He asks, and a chuckle is heard.

"He's been checking the videofeed from inside the past few nights. He said he's send some of the big bites to Ace though?" He says, and Jungkook looks over at your form.

"Yeah I've seen it." You simply say, though Jungkook grows uncomfortable with the way you're suddenly standing there. You're a little hunched, biting the skin on your thumb as you look at the tiles as if they suddenly began to move. He knows himself that things inside the 'rehabilitation centers' weren't all that nice to see- but you rarely ever displayed so much distress over it. "Let's just hope Jimin get's his ass out of this situation. We can't afford to loose him." You say, and V stays silent before he sighs.

"Yeah. I tell sleeper you've seen the stuff. Oh, and our prince charming has asked for a date with Ace. Again." Taehyung chuckles, and you groan- while Jungkook can't help but clench his jaw. Kim Seokjin was a very good asset to the team; with connections reaching deep inside the government and his position as a former lawyer- but he still hated his guts.

You didn't need to waste your time dating. You were totally capable of taking care of yourself, you had even said it personally! And for anything else Jungkook would provide for you. You didn't need anyone else than him.

He was totally not jealous of him.

"Can he not use our underground connections for that circus?" You say. "I don't even go grocery shopping, why would I want to go on a fucking date?" You mumble, sitting down next to Jungkook as you take a spoonful of rice. Jungkook feels a weird sense of satisfaction about the situation.

"Who knows." Taehyung says. "Alright, 10 Minute mark- I'll hear from you two soon. Take care." He says, and you both say your goodbyes before the line goes silent.

Although Jungkook hates physical contact, he likes keeping you close.

His heart is melting like chocolate as he notes the way your hand grips his jacket tightly as the two of you walk through town to get your license renewed- a way of holding onto him, and he somehow wishes it could be his hand. He knows yours would fit so perfectly in his, and yet he can't bring himself to do it.

His body is not cooperating.

He remembers vividly how his fear had developed; with his father and mother both being dramatically overworked and overwhelmed with having a kid at a young age, they had no idea how to make a child behave. Every second touch would bruise, every time he had been held would be force.

And at some point, he started to dislike physical touch completely.

It had just been like his growing interest in freelance climbing- the way he would walk and jump high over the heads of unsuspecting people, away from all judgemental gazes they'd throw his way for behaving the way he did. Only when the wind could hit him freely, only when he couldn't make out faces of anyone down below, only when he was high up- that was when he felt safe. The ground below had nothing of interest for him, no point in going down, as his apartment was located on the top floor of the complex. Jungkook never took the elevator, always the stairs.

He liked being reminded how high he lived.

And yet, there's one thing that pulls him down, brings his feet to the earth below, calls him like a siren song. It's you, hidden away from everyone's sight inside your tiny home, just as troubled and judged as himself.

He'd fallen in love with you the second you told him his name.

It had been a rainy night, his clothes drying on your heater as he was wrapped in two of your blankets; the smell of your fabric softener and something so typically you surrounding him like a mother's hug would a child. It had given him a feeling of comfort he had never quite experienced before, and it had also been the first time he had imagined what it would be like to hug you.

To have you close.

He had explained to you why he had freaked out when you reached for his arm to steady him when he almost fell inside your apartment through your window; had apologized and bowed his head in shame until you had simply shrugged.

"You don't have to justify yourself to anyone, Jungkookie." You had said. Jungkookie. "You're you. And I like you." You had said, not looking at him as you typed in some code to Kana's internal system.

His heart had warmed up at that.

And while you had accepted him, he had accepted you just as much. While at first caught off guard by your quiet and sometimes harsh way of treating him, he had also gotten to know just how gentle and delicately you treated the ones you loved. You were a loyal person, always going out of your way to be helpful, and silently basking in praise any time it was directed at you.

He loved that view. The way your cheeks would grow warm, how your eyes would sparkle; and he loved most of all, that he had been, according to Taehyung who was the second closest to you, the only one to see you smile.

You even laughed with him.

It filled him with pride to know that you were able to let go around him, even if it was just a little. It made him feel like he did something huge. It helped him sleep at night knowing that you were trusting him enough to let down your guard a little.

And it hurt him even worse knowing that he couldn't do the same thing for you.

He was a coward-

and you deserved a hero.

"Ace?" He asked, slipping through your window as he noticed the apartment silent and dark. Nothing greeted him. "..Ace?" He tried again, maybe you were asleep? But your apartment was quiet, empty, nothing spoke of your presence. Dishes were in the sink, a cup of water left untouched on the counter, and something inside of him churned painfully at the way this looked. He checked the kitchen tile, sliding it to the side like he's seen you do it countless of times.

It was dark.

Instead, he was greeted by a post it note. "Underneath the bed. Take care." Was all it read. He stood up, pushing your bed away from the wall noticing how your carpet had been torn a little. And as he lifted the cut flap of carpet, there was an envelope.

Your watch. A small in-ear piece, and your old IT-identification, folded.

A noise outside your hallway made his head snap up as he pushed the bed back into place, making an escape for it as he climbed outside the window, watch safely inside his jacket as he climbed back up on top of a building, before he examined it further, turning it on, after putting the earpiece in.

"Hello, Jungkook." Kana greeted him, and it felt weird to hear the AI say his name like that. "Creator has advised me to answer all questions you might have, and assist you from here on." She said, and Jungkook simply put the watch on, making his way to his own apartment.

"What happened?" He asked, his face serious as he walked.

"At around 6:12 O'clock, creator was taken into further questioning regarding illegal possession and knowledge of classified information and technological equipment. She had shown no resistance and complied with authorities. My observations however showed that she was taken with more force than necessary." Kana explained. Jungkook shook his head. "She had prepared for this instance during the night, approximately twenty-six minutes after you had left."

"She knew?!" He suddenly said, shutting his apartment door violently as he started to pace around, throwing his jacket on the couch. "Why didn't she contact me?"

"Analysis; your body shows signs of-" Kana started, but Jungkook interrupted.

"Shut up. Why didn't she tell me?" He asks again, and Kana seems to hesitate for a moment.

"Considering her close relationship to you, she probably wanted to not get you involved." She stated, and Jungkook sighed, sitting down on his couch as he gripped his hair. He should've stayed. Hell, it wasn't the first time he wanted to stay. He had dreamed of staying over, of fucking living with you for months to no end by now, but he was a coward. And this was his paycheck.

"Kana." He said lowly, and the small tune gave him the cue to talk. "Contact V95. Tell him it's urgent. We got an emergency." He says.

"I can't watch this." He says, jumping up and holding onto his head as to not punch his wall, unable to go through the videofeed of your interrogation room.

There's not much to see, but Jungkook knows that's simply because they haven't had the time to see to you yet. You and him knew best what really happened in these rooms, and he hated knowing that deep down they wouldn't go easy on you simply because you were a young woman. It didn't matter to them.

He'd seen teenagers way younger than you and him getting the rough treatment before- and elderly didn't get spared either.

The government bragged about having everything in order; yet they couldn't even control their own law enforcement it seemed. When he really thought back on his history lessons in school, not much had changed at all.

The world was still in utter chaos.

His palm shuts his laptop harshly- earning a tiny chime from the AI he’s already forgotten shares his home with him now. “I suggest that you practice care in treating your electronics to-“ he groans, successfully shutting it off at that. “Why are you frustrated?” It- she? Asks, and he sits down.

“I don’t know how to help her.” He admits in shame, thinking back to the footage of your hidden camera; the way they had pushed you to the ground, before grabbing you, leading you out of your apartment a few minutes away from him. “I don’t know what I should do.” He says.

There’s a bit of silence, until the AI speaks up again. “Do you have a romantic interest in my creator?” She asks, and his head snaps up at that.

“What the fuck? Why would you ask me this?!” He barks, unsure where to look since he can only hear the voice.

“I have observed both my creator and your behaviors; you seem to have a very deep rooted interest in each others well-being and opinions. This is commonly found in partnerships. I was only asking you to confirm if my assumption is correct.”

He’s silent for a moment, until he speaks again, watching the announcement van pass his window; voices dull and unintelligible though the walls and windows. “It’s no use anyways. Who wants someone they can’t even shake hands with?” He sighs, looking into his lap again. He hates that he’s like this; that even though he very much loves and adores you, there’s no magic moment that makes him forget- even though he craves the contact, he can’t do it. Every time he’s close to you, he knows that he could simply hug you; or let you rest your head on his shoulder, like in romantic movies. He wants to hold your hand, wipe your tears- but his body won’t cooperate. He can’t do it.

Not even with you.

“Creator seems very comfortable with you.” The AI states. “I have been asked to archive all text messages and phone calls of you two recently. When I asked for a reason, she claimed she would need it someday- I was unsure what she meant.” Jungkook furrows his brow, raising his head again. “Sometimes, when creator is deeply upset, she has the habit of playing some of the recordings of you singing, or reminding her to take care. My research has shown that it slows down her heartbeat to a more normal level and also improves her insomnia.” Jungkooks eyes widen at that.

Does that mean.. that you like him back?

"Kana, fuck- cut the feed." He says, agitated.

"Are you sure?" She asks, and he sighs, before yelling his frustration out, sitting down to take a deep breath. He slowly shook his head no. He couldn't let all your hard work go to waste like this.

He couldn't stay a coward.

"Jungkook, it appears to be that the creator is being let go." Kana suddenly chimes up, and Jungkook rushes to his pc setup to see for himself. And she's right- your arm is being held tightly, and something is being said to you, but your hands are no longer chained to the chair- you're free.

What just happened?

Jungkook sometimes really hates himself for being the way he is.

There's no sugarcoating it that you need comfort now more than ever, even though you don't openly show it to him. He can see it in the way you're still biting your nails, he can see it in your eyes which never stay on one point for too long. And he can definitely see it in the bruises on your upper arm, and the cut on your lower lip where you had bitten in anger and frustration. He wants to comfort you, he knows you'd let him- and yet he can't move any closer than where he is right now; only the length of his palm of space between you two. And yet it's like his joints are locked into place. He can't touch you.

What if he hurts you?

And it dawns on him right then and there while he watches you drink your can of overly sweet soda while typing your code like second nature, that he's not scared of you hurting him. He's scared of doing to you, what's been done to him. Because deep down he is aware that his parents never had bad intentions, never hated him or wanted him to suffer; they were simply unsure and not at all confident in how to really care for a child. They had been caught off guard and gotten overwhelmed by the sudden shift in their situation that they never truly knew what to do. And nowadays he felt like he was simply heading down the same road.

He was starting to feel like he was becoming just like them.

"Hm?" You ask him, ripping him out of his thoughts as he looks at you, your eyes wide and worried as you put down your almost empty can of soda. "What is it?" You ask him, and he wants to scream. He wants to throw a fit like a child at the way you seem to worry for him every time you should worry for yourself. He's a coward, he's useless, he's everything you don't need nor deserve in his eyes, and yet you always look at him like he's the main character of your favorite movie.

If he was, he was sure he'd be merely a sidekick- because you deserved to be the focus of every story told in his eyes. And if you weren't included in the tale, he knew he didn't want to ever know about it.

He swallows, before he manages to make his hand move, finger pointing at your arm where a green-ish bruise already formed. "Does it hurt?" He asks, and he's not even sure if he's asking you about the bruise, of if he's asking something else. He doesn't know what he's saying, doesn't even know if he's asking you or himself.

"No." You answer, and he looks at you, searching for any hint of a lie in your eyes. But he only sees that slight smile, lips turned a little, almost unnoticeable. But its there, he can see it, and he wants to print it into his mind to never forget it. You were so observant, knew him so well, that he was almost certain you knew of his inner fight and what he really meant with his blurted out question. "Are you okay?" You ask him, and he swallows again, eyes stinging with unshed tears as his body grows rigid like an unoiled machine, only moving with as much force as he can manage to come up with. His breathing is heavy as his eyes can't leave the spot on your arm, and your watch him with wide eyes as his shaking hand slowly reaches out.

He doesn't know what he expects to really happen.

Maybe like those electric shocks you get when someone had rubbed their socks on a carpet before touching someone else. Maybe he had expected to recoil instantly. Maybe he had expected nothing- but he was suddenly in a rush the moment his fingertip touched your warm skin, delicate, soft, everything his rough hands weren't.

And you were still as prey in front of a wolf.

But the wolf in this scenario was holding his breath while his tears finally fell. He wants to speak, but he can't, he doesn't know how to ask for something when he doesn't even know if he wants it.

But suddenly he moves again, his palm now resting fully against your upper arm, shaking, as it moves over the length of it, softly, as he imprints the way your soft skin feels. "Jungkook.." You whisper out, and he suddenly snaps, leans forward, his legs on either side of your body as he snakes his arms around you from behind, pulling you close to his chest. You can feel him shake as he holds you, his cheek resting against your back and you don't care about his tears staining your shirt as he suddenly cries openly and possibly for the first time since he was a mere child.

He's unsure, overwhelmed, because you're so warm, you smell so nice, you're so soft, and he can't let go, doesn't want to let go. He whines out as you turn a bit as he thinks you're moving away but you're simply placing your legs over his as you sit in his lap, hugging him back as you make sure to give him a gentle squeeze.

He calms down after a long while of simply existing. Of breathing you in, of feeling you. "You're right." He whispers into your neck, and you can't help but shiver, leaning into his hug.

"It doesn't hurt at all."

"You know, I get why you come up here." You comment, as Jungkook makes sure to hold your hand tightly in his, your feet dangling off the edge of the building you're sitting on top of. "It's nice." You say.

He's not listening that well though.

All he can really do is watch your face, illuminated by the neon lights of the city, hair swaying in the wind as you look down below. He doesn't quite know what you two really are, doesn't know how long it will take him to really come out of his shell and give you the love you deserve, but he's trying. He's fighting, he's left his cowardly self behind.

He want's to change.

And not just for you alone, because while he hates seeing you hurt, he knows what you two are doing- what all of you are doing- is for the greater good.

Jungkook hates your ideas sometimes.

Simply because he knows they will work, but also end up with you getting into danger at the end of it. And just like now, all he can do really is hope that you make it out as he keeps a watchful eye on your movements from above, giving you directions via Kana as you sometimes trip and stumble a little.

You're not a very active person; running wasn't really your thing.

Fuck, you were basically a hermit, the most you walked around was from your bedroom into the kitchen!

But then again, sacrifices had to be made somewhere. And Jungkook really admired you; because every time he thought that you had reached your limit, you would face it head first and break through it.

"Ace, try and somehow get to higher ground. They're caging you in from all sides." He urgently tells you as he watches police chase you down the roads, pushing citizens aside to not loose sight of you.

The plan had been simple. Gain all the attention so Taehyung could infect one of the police station's servers with a new worm, giving you all a better and easier access to any data and communication of the area. Jungkook couldn't play the bate well enough; and you had been on their radar already, making you the best option to gain their interest quickly enough.

Although Jungkook hated that part.

"Come on, ah fuck it." He grits out, jumping down to grab a ladder, making his way to a nearby area he could pull you up. There was no way you could reach any of the fire ladders yourself, and by now, things were getting too hot for him to risk anything. "Here!" He barks out, not thinking twice about grabbing your hand and helping you upwards, trying not to worry too much about your heavy breathing. And then there's it.

A pop, loud, followed by another, and another, and another. You're suddenly falling, scraping your knees on the ground below as he can't catch you, too startled by the fact that they had actually decided to shoot to react quick enough. "Fuck!" He says, eyes wide and pupils blown as he looks at you.

"Jungkook, why the fuck aren't you running?!" You yell at him, a scratch on the top of your left cheek as you push his leg away from you- the only thing you can reach. "Go!" You bark again, and he growls out something, before he manages to pull you onto his back, adrenaline not letting his brain process what he's doing.

He can't just leave you.

"Taehyung, get out, Ace has been shot. Whatever was uploaded has to be enough." He says via the in-ear piece, doesn't wait for a response. He still gets it.

"Fuck, what?! Okay okay, I'm out" He says, and Jungkook can only catch a glimpse of the older man leaving the building via the backside entrance. He's only concerned with getting you somewhere safe.

"Urgh." You groan, slowly sitting up on Jungkooks couch. "I mean, I know paintball hurts, but rubber bullets? Jesus.." You complain, while Jungkook looks at you with a dark expression. "What?" You ask him, and he huffs.

"You sound like you haven't almost been killed yesterday." He grimly says, and you shrug. "Stop. I'm serious." He tells you, and you let yourself fall back down onto his couch.

"Whatever. At least we killed their communication." You say, closing your eyes. "Must've at least pissed them off." You say.

"Kana." Jungkook suddenly says, waiting for the familiar sound to tell him she's active. "Shut down for now." He says, and you sit up, hissing instantly at the sudden movement.

"Hey- ah fuck!" You say, as you watch on your bracelet how Kana complies; shutting down. "Why would you do that?" You say in an offended matter, before you grow quiet, watching him go onto his knees in front of you, as he lets his head rest on top of your lap.

"I just want.. you to myself. Just.." He mumbles, and you slowly bring your hand to his hair. "Just for a moment." He says, and you sigh. Jungkook had been under a lot of stress recently, you no doubt being the main cause of most of it recently. So you simply let him be, as he closed his eyes. "Y/N?" He asks suddenly, and you answer him. "I love you." He says, and your body stops moving.

What?

"It's okay if you don't." He says, not moving from his spot, and neither opening his eyes. "I mean it. I only want you to know." He explains further. "Because I.. couldn't fucking live with myself if something happened to you, and I've never told you." He admits, and you can't help but stare at him. Jungkook looked down on himself so much that it was sometimes frustrating to see; simply because you saw him as such an amazing human being with countless talents and beautiful flaws.

You knew you couldn't muster up the strength to actually answer him; not so spontaneously. You weren't that expressive, you couldn't communicate as freely and colorful as he could. All your words seemed black and white to you, mixing into grey and mundane sentences while his words seemed to bloom into the most amazing paintings. He had a way of charming those around him- and he didn't even know.

You slowly leaned down instead, moving his hair to the side as you placed a feather-light kiss to the top of his cheek, close to his eye.

You hoped he would somehow understand you.

And as he moved again, looking at you with eyes that sparkled brighter than any city's skyline ever could, you knew he did.

He'd always understand you, no matter how you communicated with him.

You didn't need words to understand each other.

The shy kiss you two shared, bathed in the purple glow of the neon lights outside his window, spoke enough.

"You should try and sleep." Jungkook tells you, taking away your can of soda as you whine at him. "No buts. Come on, I'll finish this for you." He says, and you let him take over the keyboard of your laptop. It's something you really only let him get away with- anyone else would've probably lost a finger or two trying to touch your work.

You don't trust anyone but him at this point.

"I know that Kana snitched." You comment, as you lean your back against his shoulder. He chuckles. "Can't believe my own creation goes behind my back like that." You mumble, and Jungkook has a light tune to his voice as he speaks.

"Well, it's a good thing though." He tells you. "I worry about you." He says.

"Ugh come on, you know that's not the part I meant." You laugh, and he grins.

"Oh, you mean the part where you listen to my crappy ass singing to help you sleep?" He tells you with a teasing undertone. "No wonder you got insomnia trying to find rest to that." He chuckles, and you playfully hit his thigh.

"Shut up, your voice is nice." You say, and he's glad your eyes are closed, and you can't see him blush.

Somehow, moments like these re-energized him again. Because it proved to him that there was still a piece of that innocent and untainted you inside that thick shell you had put up to protect yourself. And considering that you let him see you like that made his pride grow taller than any of the skyscrapers of his city.

Maybe one day the two of you will have a future together that won't be so difficult and unfair like your current one was. Maybe one day, you both will have changed enough to teach the next generation about what you've overcome.

But then again; living in the moment seemed to fit a lot better in his eyes, as he watched you sleep soundly against his shoulder.

Yeah, this moment was more than enough for now.

The world won't change over night- you both know that. All of you know that. But small things were starting to make a difference here and there; for example, the letter you held towards Jungkook as his eyes widened.

"..and we have officially decided that we no longer want to participate in the case against the defendant. The result of this agreement is that all charges against Y/N L/N have been dismissed and are no longer being investigated." He reads out loud, almost whispering as if saying it too loud could make it a lie. "They let you go?" He asks, and you nod, the small bandaid on your cheek making you look even cuter in his eyes as you shrug.

"Jimin had reached out too. They've let him go home as well." You say. and Jungkook huffs out in disbelief.

After infecting the police station with the worm you had all worked on, you had scared the entire country enough to take a step back from the overall aggressive tone. It wasn't much- but it meant that they knew you were there. You existed, and you were not bowing down.

You were still untamed.

Jungkook smiled brightly as he put the letter down to the side, reaching out to you to pull you onto his lap. He simply holds you for a moment, his lips kissing the skin of your shoulder as if in a trance. "I love you." He tells you, and you smile, squeezing him a bit in your arms. "I really do." He assures you, and you nod.

You don't answer him, and he doesn't seem to mind as he leans back from you, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he grins, hands holding your face so delicately as he places a kiss onto your lips, making you close your eyes as he breaks away from you, letting you rest your head against his shoulder.

He's still not letting anyone very physically close other than you; he's still scared of going out and around like everyone else. You're still rather hiding inside his apartment- both of your apartment now- and you still have trouble sleeping.

But Jungkook keeps the nightmares away.

And you make him brave in exchange.

It's really weird to hear the sound of a radio nowadays.

Things are still far from normal- but recently, citizens had been given radios to listen to public broadcast again. It only played crappy music with some rare good tracks here and there, but it was better than nothing.

Jungkook couldn't help but think that your breathless voice was far more entertaining than any music station he can remember from his youth.

While he hates touching other people, even friends and family, he can't help but feel a rush whenever he touches you.

His hands can't stop on one specific spot, can't seem to stay still even for a moment as his lips nip and suck at the flesh of your neck and shoulder, marking what's his, visualizing that you really belong to him. He bears the same mark on his collarbone from last night, and he should have been satisfied, but even an early morning couldn't keep him away from you.

The rain hit the window harshly, but he didn't notice at all. All his eyes could see was your form underneath him, skin glowing as he moves above you, euphoria filling his veins as he can't look away from where you're connected, where his cock disappears inside of you over and over and over again.

"I love you." He breathes out as he comes undone, holding you close, resting his head against your shoulder, as you hold onto his arms, a smile, a genuine and big smile thrown his way as he can't help but smile along.

"I love you too, Jungkook." You say, and he chuckles.

The radio in the background still playing, as you lay in each others' arms.

(c)Bonny-Kookoo. Please stop reposting my content on AO3 thinking I won't find it. I'm literally everywhere you clowns.

To everyone else: Thank you for reading this mess- I really apologize for the messy storyline, but I just wanted to put this out before the entire thing escaped me again and I would end up struggling to find my way back into it (cough cough flashback to mean lmao). I promise to somewhat post more regularly. Thank you for your kind words and for sticking with me!

#bts imagine #bts #bts fanfic #jungkook imagine #bts fic #bts smut #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook #bts reactions

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only-johnny-deppp · 3 years

Photo

“Whatever I’ve gone through, I’ve gone through. But, ultimately, this particular arena of my life has been so absurd...”

Johnny Depp’s NEW INTERVIEW!

Last saturday, August 14, The UK Times, released a new interview with Johnny for the Sunday Times section. It was realized sometime earlier this month, in London, probably on the same day he and Andrew Levitas were recording for the Q&A for the “Minamata” release in UK. This is Johnny’s first interview since the UK trials in London last year, and released three years after Johnny’s major interview for the British GQ Magazine. Here Johnny and Andrew Levitas speaks about “Minamata”, his future as actor and a thing or two about his personal life, although he cannot talk about the court case.

For those who couldn’t read yet, here is the FULL interview: Enjoy.

***

“I’M BEING BOYCOTTED BY HOLLYWOOD”

Johnny Depp has a new film out this week. In the opening scene his character, the real-life photographer W Eugene Smith, says, “I’m done. I’m tired. My body is older than I am. I’m always in goddam pain. I can’t trust my f***ing dick any more. Constantly in a foul mood. Even the drugs bore me.”

I ask Depp if Smith’s despair resonated with him. Depp stops. Rocks back and forth. “That’s interesting,” he replies with painful hesitation.

“I didn’t approach playing Smith in that way… Although you bring your toolbox to work and use what is available. Having experienced...” He stops again. Depp takes any questions that might refer to his calamitous libel case last year slowly, in a mumbly, croaking drawl. “A surreal five years…”

In the film Smith needs to revive his reputation. In real life Depp’s task is even more daunting. Thanks to the judgment, everyone can call him a “wife-beater”. Now he must convince a Hollywood still convulsed by #MeToo that he’s not toxic — and that any attempt to rebuild his career is a risk worth taking. This is Depp’s first interview since the case.

We are speaking over Zoom, Depp in his London home, in front of a gold-framed painting. The 58-year-old is wearing a lot of clothes. Earrings. Floppy hat. Sunglasses. Bandana. Scarf. Checked shirt over a T-shirt with an indiscernible slogan. If you saw him on the Tube*, you might think he was off to work at the London Dungeon*, to play most of the characters.

PS. For those who are not familiar with British words: * Tube = British slang for London Underground, the subway trains. * London Dungeon = is a walk-through experience that recreates scenes from London's scary history in a mixture of live actors, special effects and rides.

Depp resumes, talking in broken sentences about the new film, Minamata, in which Smith, via Life magazine, exposes the brutal mercury poisoning of Japanese villagers in the early 1970s.

“How do we do this?” he asks rhetorically, meaning how to speak about the elephant in the Zoom. “Well, there’s no way one can’t recognise the absurdity of the mathematics.” He grins. “If you know what I mean?” No. “Absurdity of media mathematics.” He talks in riddles. “Whatever I’ve gone through, I’ve gone through. But, ultimately, this particular arena of my life has been so absurd...”

He trails off again. He is holding a big brown roll-up of some sort. “What the people in Minamata dealt with? People who suffered with Covid? A lot of people lost lives. Children sick...Ill. Ultimately, in answer to your question? Yeah, you use what you’ve got. But what I’ve been through? That’s like getting scratched by a kitten. Comparatively.”

Last July, I went to the High Court in London to watch Depp on another screen — a video from the socially distanced court where the Hollywood star was losing a libel action against The Sun after it called him a “wife-beater”. It was the grottiest showbiz trial of the century. There were photos of the actor passed out in a foetal slump, socks on show. One lengthy exchange involved faeces. Another urination, inside or outside a house, after a violent night with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

This had all been going on for a while. In 2016 Heard applied for a temporary restraining order against him. The couple had long endured a narcotic, booze-filled, childish relationship, but that does not matter — 12 incidents levelled against Depp were proved, said the judge, and abuse is abuse, regardless of how badly they both behaved. Depp wanted to appeal, but the court said no. Next April in the US he has a $50 million defamation case against Heard relating to an opinion piece she wrote about being the victim of domestic abuse. It may be his last roll of the dice.

In the 1990s Depp was a sensitive heart-throb. Cooler than DiCaprio, edgier than Pitt. In this past year he has been stripped of his status and dignity. On day three of the trial Sasha Wass QC, representing The Sun, asked Depp about daubing a penis on a painting. He could not remember. “That would be quite a big thing, painting a penis on a picture?” Wass asked. “Quite a big thing?” Depp asked.

It was a well-delivered line, but Depp was on show. Performing. Now he is more timid, less lucid. His people say he cannot talk about the court case given the looming US trial, yet it hangs over everything. The director of Minamata, Andrew Levitas, is also on our call — as a pub trivia aside, Levitas is married to the Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins.

The two men clearly get on. “With regards to journalism, it was important for us to put across in the film the power of truth,” Levitas says. Depp nods. “The responsibility of journalists to look after citizens of the world. [Our film] coincided with the moment important publications had to put Raquel Welch on a cover to get enough eyeballs to sell enough ads in order to put something meaningful inside. A result of that is clickbait — it’s destroying the purpose of journalism,” Levitas continues.

“You said it beautifully,” says Depp, one of the world’s most pinned-up men, who built a career on magazine covers. “I couldn’t say it better than that.”

Last month Levitas wrote to MGM, which bought Minamata for the US market but decided not to release it. He accused MGM of being concerned that “the personal issues of an actor in the film could reflect negatively upon them”. Then the letter got really strong. Levitas accused MGM of failing in its “moral obligation” to release the film and said it needed to explain to the victims “why you think an actor’s personal life is more important than their dead children”. He then attached Smith’s photos of ghastly deformities that shocked the world 50 years ago.

“It’s important that the movie gets seen and supported,” Levitas says. “And if I get an inkling it’s not going to be, it’s my responsibility to say so. Where it goes from there? I don’t know. But we have responsibility to these victims . . .”

You can see why he’s passionate. The film is good. MGM bought the film because it is good. Depp is good too. He disappears into the role, far from his more recent pantomime parts. It’s being released worldwide, just not in the actor’s homeland.

Depp, who also produced the film, interrupts. “We looked these people in the eyeballs and promised we would not be exploitative. That the film would be respectful. I believe that we’ve kept our end of the bargain, but those who came in later should also maintain theirs.”

“Some films touch people,” he adds. “And this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things. And for anything…” He pauses, as he does. “For Hollywood’s boycott of, erm, me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?” He trails off. “But, you know, I’m moving towards where I need to go to make all that…” Again, he trails off. “To bring things to light.”

The fact, as I think Depp knows, is that for his career, the court that matters is not one of law, but public opinion. On social media, where a lot of minds are made up, Depp’s good reputation will always outweigh the bad, thanks to his frequently blinkered fans.

Outside the High Court, as Heard arrived, I saw Natasha, 30, yell: “Get hit by a truck, Amber!” She is extreme, but the persistent way his fans demand that others think their idol is a saint shows a career revival will happen. After all, most filmgoers do not follow his private life at all. To them, he is Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands. To them, he is a star — and a star can take an awful lot of heat before it burns out.

“They have always been my employers,” Depp says of his fans. “They are all our employers. They buy tickets, merchandise. They made all of those studios rich, but they forgot that a long time ago. I certainly haven’t. I’m proud of these people, because of what they are trying to say, which is the truth. The truth they’re trying to get out since it doesn’t in more mainstream publications. It’s a long road that sometimes gets clunky. Sometimes just plain stupid. But they stayed on the ride with me and it’s for them I will fight. Always, to the end. Whatever it may be.”

Depp will talk like this for ever — about his “truth”. Minamata is the last film Depp has listed on the industry site IMDb, where actors usually have half a dozen in development. So, yes, fans of the actor can see Depp in a new role now — it is a return, but is it a relaunch? The film was finished in 2019, way before last year’s court case. Is that it? His last film? He thinks and looks off to his bookshelves, at biographies of Betjeman and Olivier.

“Er...no,” he says, eventually. “No. No. Actually, I look forward to the next few films I make to be my first films, in a way. Because once you’ve...Well, look. The way they wrote it in The Wizard of Oz is that when you see behind the curtain, it’s not him. When you see behind the curtain, there’s a whole lot of motherf***ers squished into one spot. All praying that you don’t look at them. And notice them.”

I would ask him to explain, but I am not sure he is an explainer. Watch this space, I guess, but he is already taking a first step back. After we speak, it is announced Depp is getting the coveted Donostia award at the San Sebastian Film Festival next month. Some people are just too famous to fail.

~ Interview by Jonathan Dean, in London, for The Times UK (released on August 14, 2021)

#Johnny Depp #New Interview #Interview #Minamata #Justice For Johnny Depp #I Believe Him #Johnny Depp is Innocent #The Times UK

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vcsecretgifts · 3 years

Text

Snap shot in time

From: @auburnandamberangel

Merry Christmas @plopofcolour Qotd era Khayman and Armand interaction on the Night Island. Hope you like ^u^

~~~

Armand watched Khayman looking at his upper terrace garden, the plants benefiting not only from the sunshine but also the seaspray. The cacti, the large Saguaros with their armed tall appearance especially had captured the ancients fascination. The silhouettes classic to many a western. They weren’t indigenous to Egypt, effectively a new world plant, and certainly capturing this until recently slumbering vampire. Perhaps as they too were long lived, slow in maturing. He had his cameras slung over his neck and shoulder wanting to capture the bloom on one of them, a first. He recorded all of them on this island. Mementos.

Khayman was a very good guest, polite, and surprisingly unaloof compared to other vampires of a similar age. ‘Mr manners leaves their bodies after the first few thousand years!’ Daniel had observed dryly not to long ago as they say in said same garden, watching the waves. Sitting on the stone steps, snuggly between Daniels stretched out legs. Barely dead himself, so manys ways appeared rude by his modern standards. “Not all are…impolite.” Daniel had nodded, smiling almost as if he’d read his mind and knew he was thinking of the Egyptian. Which was impossible, he just people watched very well. And surely he was an expert in Armand observations by now.

“Ahh but Khayman was nice as a human, not many airs on him plus he’s sweet on you. So you’re the last person he’d be short with.” Interestingly not too much jealousy in that statement. A small possessive kiss to the top of his head, caressing of his arms about his waist. Their guests came and went, things were more peaceful minus some of their vampire brethren. Peaceful between them even. Born in a time of crisis, his home even invaded it wasn’t ideal for them even with a notorious nosey parker like his fledgling. He’d borne so much strain at his hands before being turned, it worried Armand. Sometimes they fought as he instinctually pulled back.

“The fact he’s easy on the eye doesn’t hurt much either does it.” Daniel added laughter in his voice. Teasing. Armand smiled despite himself turning his head. “But I’m famous for a penchant for blondes darling aren’t I.”

“Except Louis.” His beloved kissing his dimples. And others he’d best not mention. Not eager to quote that book at him right now.

“Hmmmm. Nice to not always be predictable then.” Kissing Daniels matching smile. It had ended up being a very good evening that night. Allowing himself to bask in the glow of the memory of it.

Khayman found the sea soothing, the air fresh and the garden a magical oasis. A small movement betrayed his hosts presence, rare to not have an exuberant Daniel or hesitant brooding Marius in orbiting attendance around Armand. Moths to this ’cherubs’ - seraphin now surely more apts flame- A ethereal beauty no matter the flowery language. In his time one destined to be blessed by the gods. A soul just as full of substance as his appearance. To think without her, the mother waking he’d probably not have crossed paths with this one. So artful at cloaking his presence. Deep in thought he was looking at him, but not really seeing him. Caught in a recollection. Unguarded he looked so young, in the eyes the depth and knowledge in them gave his age away. This was the way with their kind. Trapped in their making, the soul grew seen through the orbs alone. Somehow still warmth there, if the mood was right. A miracle considering the heartache had been through in so far centuries. He would do much to make sure he didn’t make those eyes cold. Watching this former coven master navigate so many vampires in his sanctuary, first love mingling with last. Struck by the poise. The former parents guardian, the Roman made said face light up and close down in equal measure. Not his place to intervene ofcourse, though tempting. Best to announce his presence, so Armand didn’t feel too exposed.

“Armand, good evening. Was there something I can aid you with?” Smooth heavily accented voice totally interrupting his reverie. “Did you want private time in your garden?” Previously observed vampire catching him unawares, hoping he hadn’t left himself open to scrutiny thoughts wise. His mind usually locked up tight, some of the first brood lacked finesse with the mind gift, it coming to them later. But what they lacked in finesse, could be made up by brute force alone. Being Marius’ blood line vicariously provided some civility that otherwise may not exist, for a not even five hundred year old former cult coven leader. Ageism was alive and well in their surviving group from Akashas cull. As if age always came with wisdom… Khayman had been gentle and respectful in his manner towards him. Armand appreciated this from his most recent friend. He saw him as he was, no judgement.

“No not at all. I take pleasure in seeing enjoyment from my garden. The cacti have you in their thrall I see.” Genuine smile to the ancient. Moving closer. The garden lit by coloured uplights here and there to make it appealing.

“They are exotic to my old eyes, yes. Beautiful yet dangerous. So like us I feel.” Small smile back. “Your a gracious host, I know it’s not in most of your nature’s to live on mass for long. You’ve been patient where you could have been firm. Silent when you could have spoken.” Khaymans turn to watch and enjoy the view that had nothing to do with the garden, but more it’s creator.

“Ah well, tact or diplomacy is something I’ve always had to have. Never to speak unless it improves the silence or my position in it.” Being quite open now in this admission. Unusually candid for himself truly. He didn’t think he’d regret it in this situation.

“The lone jackel is a hard role to break, though it’s served you well.” The ancient replied. Looking back at the cacti. “How old is this one then?”

“This one is around seventy years. It’s the first year it’s flowered, you’re lucky to have witnessed it.” Itching to take a picture of the flower, and perhaps Khayman too if he was truthful with himself. Just incase his stay was brief and centuries passed until another meeting of minds. “But they can live to around one hundred and seventy five perhaps even two hundred years. Not bad for a desert dweller.”

Khayman eyed the camera, that was the term wasn’t it. One of the magical picture capturers. “You’ll record it with this?” He hadn’t tried anything new in a while. Armand was patient, the best person to ask to try. “How?” He uttered before he had time to edit.

Inquisitive and open to instruction, not your average elder. Refreshing like the sea breeze. “I need a tripod, unless you can hold it steady as a rock. I’ll do both.” Zipping inside and then back out to get it. “I’ll need a long exposure to make the most of the moon light, and a flash for my close ups. The window inside opens for the picked time, the light hits the film and makes an imprint like an eye I suppose but in reverse, or inverse a negative. We can use the darkroom next.” Twinkle in his eye as he saw the ancients eyes widen. “The Polaroid develops as you shake it.” It must sound odd to the others ears.

“Witchcraft then. I’m an apprentice to a modern sorcerer.” Pleased by the laugh this comment brought from Armand.

“Usually I’m called bewitching. But I’ve been accused of worse.” Daniels words echoing in his head, pleased he didn’t blush as easily as said youngblood.

Gingerly taking the camera and going still, statue like as he could. A trick you learnt which came easily with age. Though it usually unnerved younger immortals. *Direct me as if I’m a tripod.* He said is the mind voice. Armands softer hands aiming the slr camera for a closeup. Physical contact was a luxury being a nomad rarely afforded.

Hearing the snap of the inner workings, turning of the spool. With each shot, the flash singing. Armand liked this process, methodical, practised yet still room for error and surprise. *Move back a little so I can get a portrait of it. Perhaps one of and for you to take with you?* Because people leave - eventually. This was always a possibility. Sentiment came with a cost, this he always knew.

A photo to keep. An anchor would be good for times Khayman felt unsteady. Stronger by the year, but wispy in his soul sometimes. A welcome light in the Night Island Villa, to concentrate on. *Yes. A portrait of plant, myself and it’s guardian even better.*

Warm glance, nodding his answer. “This also has a cable to take a photograph at a distance. A bellow balloon, a tube and a metal press.” Screwing it into the button. Then retrieving it from the taller elder. Fixing this on the tripod via it’s own foot. Let’s set ourselves up. Standing and leaning into the framing arms of the cactus, as if the plant was behind them, reaching to hold them close.

Khayman followed the younger ones lead. Moving in closer and realising he could smell Armands hair. Wondering if this was his shampoo or just his natural scent. Vampires sometimes exuded a odour that was unique to them, a spice in the blood perhaps. Marius had made him, imbued with donations by Akasha during his guardianship. Perhaps he had smelt like this in Venice as a mortal. Not something he could easily ask the child of two millennia. Nor share a want to share his blood to strengthen those below a thousand in their coven, truthfully only this one piqued his interest.

Armand had the cord behind his back to depress at just the right moment. Khaymans strong heartrate was hard to ignore so close. “Ready. One two three.” Not using cheese, referring to a dairy product as slang for smiling usually put older vampires in a spin. So a countdown better. Not flinching at the flash or the next long exposure. “Always take more than one for practicality.” Moving to replace the lens cap and concentrate on the Polaroid camera in front of him now. “Arguably this one is like magic.” He stated with a smile. “As Daniel can attest I took so many in our early years here.” Boxes and boxes of them, indulgent expression on his face. He was rich, but some things were priceless that had little monetary value in his collection. “Strike your next pose. Make yourself comfortable.”

Khayman liked Daniel. He was full of life, and hoped that energy didn’t turn downwards into madness. Knowing Armand was concerned with this too, any elder making a first fledgling would be - especially one as fond of forward planning as his host. Smiling nervous about doing something wrong. Hoping irrationally it wasn’t magic, as magic never bode well. Flash and snap. Painless. Wondering what the twins back in Sonomo thought of this new family, Mekare learning after her travelling the wilderness. Focus on Jesse, their link to Miriam.

Armand handed the Polaroid by its framed white bottom edge to the elder. “Now shake it, and you’ll slowly appear.” Charmed by Khaymans expression, bouyed one so old could still feel the wonder of the new. Despite intermittent sleeps. Hope for all of them surely. Watching Khayman watching the photograph as it developed. “What do you think?”

Bit by bit the image appeared - the dark background shading in firstly, the bright green cacti appearing next with its vibrant blooms. Then the paled by time figure, a smile all for the taker. Now one such photo of Armand with or without himself would be wondrous. “A fine picture.” So excited he placed kisses on Armands cheeks stopping before he daren’t put any on those rosy lips. Moving faster than he usually did, enveloping the younger vampire in a hug would perhaps be too much of a liberty. They had time. “One of us next, yes?”

Armand didn’t have time to start at the sudden movement of the ancient. Stealing himself to be squeezed, fortunate it didn’t come to pass. Khayman smelt inviting though, heady blood from their fount. Marius would be jealous no doubt. But he wasn’t here was he. Attending to Pandora, a promise of a return soon. As ever time would tell. Trying not to stare at Khaymans lips. “Yes. An instant portrait next.” Glad of someone who gave as much as he took.

#2020 VC Secret Santa #VC #Vampire Chronicles #submission #plopofcolour #auburnandamberangel

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purplesurveys · 3 years

Text

1010

survey from diggitydoo

Have you ever felt a baby kick? Yes, when my mom was pregnant with my brother. What color pants/shorts are you wearing? I’m only wearing a duster gown; no shorts underneath. I just got it last night, actually - my mom wanted to donate clothes to victims of a recent fire incident in Manila and so she asked my sister and I to sort through our closets for clothes we were willing to give away. My sister ended up giving away a comfy-looking duster gown that she never even wore and even smelled brand new to boot. It ended up in my hands, ha. But apart from that we gave away a lot of stuff that aren’t old uniforms or costumes (which is what most people tend to ‘donate’, ugh), so we just hope they end up with people who really need them. When is the last time you did something truly fun, and what was it? Last night I went on our org’s Discord server and we played Jackbox games for around an hour or so. It was my first time to socialize again after around two months and I really, really needed that moment. I even met the org’s newest roster of applicants for this semester, which was neat. :) What was the scariest moment of your life? Men terrorizing me or near-car crashes I’ve had.

Have you ever heard of Leonard Cohen? The name is familiar, but that’s the most I know.

Pancakes or flapjacks? I guess pancakes, since I don’t even know what flapjacks are. What kind of computer are you on? It’s a laptop. Do you eat Chinese food? If so, what's your favorite dish? For sure. Pork buns or minced pork with eggplant. With century egg on the side, yum. What are you usually doing at midnight? Either passed out or desperately trying to sleep because I don’t want to lose any more hours of sleep and risk being cranky for the whole of the next day. Have you ever developed feelings for a friend, but you were already with someone? No. The worst thing that’s happened was being someone’s ball date (and unbeknownst to me, they apparently had feelings for me at the time) while I was already with someone. If so, how did it turn out? He figured it out by himself, which I still feel bad about. But the timing was super off and I just couldn’t find a moment to sit him down and set the record straight...ah well. It was just super complicated at the time. Give me your brief definition of love. My favorite love-related quote is “Love never says ‘I have done enough’” and for the longest time, that has been my guiding principle when it comes to it. Definitely a tad bit cheesy, but telling myself that over and over makes it easier to continue loving the people I care for and be patient with them when they’re being asses. Gab included, then and now. What is the most beautiful part of the human body, male or female? It differs for everyone but I’m a thigh girl through and through. What kind of shoes do you wear? Uh...various ones? I have sneakers, flats, heels, flip-flops, probably a couple more kinds that I can’t place at the moment. What is the worst thing you've ever done when you were really angry? Resorting to physical violence. I was a kid constantly exposed to violence in my old home, and at the time I genuinely thought that’s how most things were settled or pacified. I still feel like shit about it to this day, and my backstory isn’t an excuse at all; but the past is the past and I’ve been trying to make up for it by being a much more gentle angry person in the last few years. Are there any pills you take on a daily basis? If so, what? Nope. Do you like the smell of coconuts? For some reason I can’t stand anything coconut (which is a damn shame considering I’m Filipino) but I love dishes with heaps of coconut milk in them, like curry. That’s the one coconut-related thing I enjoy, but otherwise I’ve never learned to appreciate the taste and smell of buko juice, coconut shavings, coconut pies, and everything else coconut. What is the heaviest you think you can lift? From what my old PE class showed me, around 70 to 80 lbs. Do you take Tums? Idk what that is so I guess I don’t. Have you ever walked on a pier at the beach? I’m not sure if I’ve been to a pier before. I bet it feels wonderful and freeing and I’d love to visit one; but I also can’t keep myself from associating piers with the recurring image of Jennifer Connelly’s character standing on one from Requiem for a Dream. How about under one? No. At what age do you first remember feeling butterflies in your stomach around someone? Not sure if it was 11 or 12, but it was definitely one of those years. Do you feel that way around anyone now? Yeah, if they allowed me to see them. But I’m shut out now so I haven’t had that sensation in a while.

Do you ever talk to yourself or think deep thoughts while on the toilet? No. Do you ever sing to yourself? Sure. I’m sure most people do every once in a while. What is a sound that relaxes you? Ocean waves have never failed. How hard has it been to reach your main goal in life? ‘Main goal’ sounds so overwhelming; I make it a point to avoid one overarching goal and instead make little goals and plans here and there depending on where I am in life. Do you remember the song about hoes in different area codes? Never heard of it. What is your main heritage? Filipino. What kind of pickles do you prefer, if you like pickles? I hate pickles. What kind of cheese do you prefer, if you like cheese? Mozzarella and feta are my faves, but I love cheese and am willing to be adventurous when it comes to it. If you could have a sea creature as a pet, what would you want? Eh, they can stay in the sea where they can actually survive. I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to keeping fish as pets. How about a farm animal? Probably pig. So, do you have hoes in different area codes? No, and ew. What is the most annoying song you can think of that came out recently? Haven’t been exposed to a lot of new music lately and the songs I do get to hear on the radio whenever I drive are actually pretty good. This totally doesn’t answer your question but my favorites so far have been Birthday by Disclosure, Kehlani, and Syd; and Plain by Benee, Lily Allen, and Flo Milli. What is a song that you hate to admit you like? Any Kanye song I like. What inspires you to get off your bum and do something productive? Not wanting to go into another downward spiral. Do you ever use Urban Dictionary? Extremely rarely. I only do when there’s a new slang I’m completely unfamiliar with. Do you find the definitions on there to be generally funny or stupid? Stupid for the most part. I find them too immature or vulgar, but that’s one of the points of the website so I guess I’m just not in their target audience lol. What comes to your mind when you hear the word 'transformation'? Uh, the Transformer robots.

What was something you regularly played with as a child? My cousins’ toy soldiers.

Have you ever given in to peer pressure? Eh, a few times. If so, what did you do? I’ve been pulled to drinking sessions here and there when I really shouldn’t be drinking because I had an important test tomorrow or something else was happening the next day that was just as significant. What part of your body have you had the most problems with in your life? Teeth, I’m pretty sure. I’ve had braces, needed a tooth extracted, gotten a cavity, and gone through a severe toothache.

Do a lot of people check you out when you're in public? Idk I never look around because being aware of it would just freak me out and make me feel like I’m naked. What is a good name for a turtle? Would depend on their personality. And this applies to all kinds of pets, at least for me. I don’t decide on their names until I have a good grasp of their attitude. Can you imitate any accents well? If so, which one(s)? Stereotypical Filipino mom and valley girl. Do you like having your ear nibbled on? Sure. What makes a good kisser a good kisser? I’ve only kissed one person so I’m not the best judge for this; but I always like it when my lower lip is tugged or grazed on. How many times a year do you have a family thing? This is a little vague for me. Do you mean get-togethers? Giant-ass reunions? Movie nights? Game nights? What are the best things to put in a smoothie? I only like one kind of smoothie and it’s sold by a local joint – and I think I’ve already shared this before but that smoothie of theirs that I like has “apple, banana, cinnamon, oats, coco sugar, chia seeds, greens, and soy milk,” according to their menu. So I guess those are the best ingredients for me, ha. Do you ever eat with your eyes closed and just focus on the taste? When I find something extremely delicious, yeah. What do you dislike most about where you live right now? For the most part I can’t wait to get out of suburban residential villages. I’d love to finally experience living in a condo in a super busy and active city. Has anyone ever given you a rose/roses? Yes.

Are you watching your weight? Not really. I’m trying to gain pounds though, if anything. I haven’t eaten much in the last two months. Have you ever become really good friends with someone you found online? I trust y’all with my life, so that’s one. Apart from Tumblr, the best friends I made were probably the people in the AJ/Punk fandom, back when I had a stan account on Twitter. I don’t remember most of their names now and we fizzled out pretty quickly when both parts of the ship left WWE, but I look back on that period with fondness. Those people made high school a lot easier for me. What makes your best friend your best friend? She doesn’t care whether I’m on top of the world with happiness or completely self-destructive and crying my eyes out; she has always been present. Do you have a drunk uncle? *rolls eyes* We don’t wanna open up that can of worms... Do you hear weird noises in your house at night? Nope. What is something you do that is generally more like something the opposite sex does? Based on personal experience and not to come off as sexist, but it’s liking wrestling. I have never met a girl in real life who has even the most remote interest in pro wrestling or can tell me who Hulk Hogan is. And the ones I’ve had discussions with - from shallow/casual to in-depth - have all been guys. Seeing girls who are into wrestling is like finding a rare Pokemon, at least in real life. What is the girliest thing you do, if you're a girl? Idk. What is the coolest tattoo you've ever seen? Probably the spork tattoo of Josh, a crew member from Good Mythical Morning. It’s just a line tattoo. Of a spork. On his arm. But he managed to make it so goddamn fascinating lmao; and apparently, as I learned just now, it has a pretty touching backstory to it too, which makes it a million times cooler. Have you ever created anything artistic that you're proud of? If so, what? I’ve never finished any of the crafts I bought. Never finished a coloring book page much less an entire coloring book, a painting, a gem painting...it’s something I’ll have to bring my butt to do one of these days. I can’t imagine how fulfilling it would feel. Do you only eat the middle of the oreo, if you eat oreos? I eat the whole thing but I honestly find Oreos too sweet and I’ve always much rather preferred Oreo-flavored stuff instead of the actual cookies.

Do you know anyone with a huge ego? My mom. If so, is there anything else about them you actually like? She’s fed me for 22 years and gave me an education, I guess. Though it’s something I appreciate more so than like. Have you ever used a racial slur, even jokingly? Probably as a dumb kid, when historical context wasn’t a thing to me yet. I still wince thinking about it, but I suppose what matters is being better and more responsible moving forward. Do you have any friends who are more like siblings to you? Angela and to some extent Andi.

If so, what about them do you like most? They are both understanding when it comes to me - almost to a fault. What do you like on your hotdogs, if you eat hotdogs? When you say ‘hotdogs’ here, it refers to the sausages itself. The sandwich kind of hotdog isn’t super popular here. What is everyone else in your house doing right now? My siblings are still resting in their rooms; my dad is preparing for work, I think. What is the most money you've ever had at one time? Something like P10,000 or P15,000 when my mom needed me to pay for something in cash. How long do you think it would take you to run a mile? Idk, maybe 10 minutes. I won’t be fast, that’s for sure. Look down. What do you see? My legs and the pillow I’m sitting on. What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable? Right now, probably my failed relationship. I haven’t gotten to the sharing stage yet and remotely thinking about it gets my voice all shaky. What is a subject you can talk on and on about and not get sick of it? Paramore. What kind of mood were you in most of today? It’s only 7:52 AM. My only mood so far is just woke up. Has anyone ever walked in on you naked? Yeah. Because people in this damn house never knock. Tell me an inside joke you have with someone. The word ‘ariba.’ What is the worst thing someone could do to you emotionally? Break my trust. So simple but it packs a punch. What is the worst thing you've ever done to someone emotionally? Idk if I’ve ever been that aggressive. When I want to do something destructive towards someone I always end up asking what it would feel like if the action was done to me, and it’s always been enough to sway me away from doing the thing. How do you feel now about the first person you ever dated? Sad. How about the last person (your last ex)? Same person. What is the best invention ever invented? Air conditioners.

What is something that needs to be invented? Portable air conditioners. What always makes you burp? My burps come randomly. What are you doing tomorrow? It’s my last weekend before my new job, soooooooo...I’ll be bumming around for my last two days of freedom.

#survey #surveys

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deruel · 4 years

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I think the evolution of internet culture and the stressors that have come with it have gone down hill. They've gone down hill because the internet is, in my eyes, no longer safe space. Many may argue that it wasn't to begin with, but hear me out.

At the beginning, when we (gen z) were preteens and found our way onto the internet, we were exposed to things we never thought about before. We were able to show our creative sides with drawing and writing, have fun with friends by playing video games, and meet new people who liked what we liked. It was really nice! My overall experience online around that age was a great experience and I'm very happy I was able to have that.

We all sort of started to develop a universal internet culture from this. We would inherit online slang and abbreviations as soon as we learned what they meant, and developed our own texting 'styles' as we chatted with more people. We wanted to portray our personalities and emotions online.

Now, I could go on about how such a small and well intended thing ended up being the downfall of many friendships and the creator of many people's anxieties. People started to get into the habit of texting like that. We started to think that oh, if we don't text like this, they may thing some thing is wrong. If we don't respond like this, they might read our words wrong. But it's more than just that. Everything started to be 'wrong'.

Instead of drawing for fun and being happy that your friends liked it, we started drawing for popularity and attention. Drawing became a competition. We would look at our friends drawings and go 'if I do what they do, I'll get more clout'. Sharing our art with people became a new norm. This shouldn't really be a bad thing, but in the age of 'I spent 7 hours on this piece and someone looks at it for 4 seconds and moved on', it is. These drawings have no worth. Our creations no longer hold the value they used to, when there were less people and a closer knit community.

The same goes for influencers and popular gamers. Influencers really are just regular people. Like you and me. They make mistakes, and respond to these mitakes depending on how they're like as a person. And this effects how many people? 3, 4 million? Millions of people start to rave over something one person does, the internet is in chaos for a day, drama blogs are going CRAZY, apology videos are expected, we're all watching. The world of opinions has now become the world of facts in our eyes.

Artists? Problematic. Writers? Problematic. Gamers? Problematic. Content creators? Problematic. Beauty gurus? Problematic. Problems problems problems. It seems like everything online nowadays has a problem, or will develop one in the near future. Because our whole LIVES are on here now.

Not to mention, our privacy has gotten so invaded it's laughable. Every single site I've gone on for the past month has had an annoying pop up asking to turn off ad blocker or to enable cookies. Algorithms are getting smarter and smarter on every platform and it's very concerning. I'll be vocally talking about a carrot cake recipe to my mom and go to Google for an answer and before I even type anything, 'carrot cake recipe' is suggested to me.

Not only are we not in the same place we were as kids, we're in a more stressful place. Peer pressure, social anxieties, responsibilities and public images. This didn't exist at all. Back then we were all nobodies on the internet messing around doing our own silly little things. Now eyes are watching our every move, good or bad. And I'm pretty tired of it.

#txt #long post #rant #sorry i had to get that out #is this all just my experience?#i know i say 'we' a lot #does anyone else feel the same way? i dunno

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adhd-clones · 4 years

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Can you talk more about the 277th? I really love your clones (and your incredible art) and I've been enamored with the idea of a low-combat cleanup/occupation/probationary/first assignment type legion since I started watching Clone Wars, so I was really excited to see your stuff about the 277th and I would love to learn more!!

Oh thank you! :D Honestly I was pretty taken with the idea of a legion that doesn’t see as much active battlefronts, because there’s always some part of an army that has to stick around and make sure the initial battle was worth it, right? Plus I want my boys to be safe lol

This got long so I’m going to stick it under a read more!

So in the earliest days of the war when things were still being sorted out, the 277th did see more active fighting, because, hey, they’re still getting a handle on things, there’s maybe not so many worlds that need relief/occupation type stuff yet

Jedi General Kee An’Tah objected to the idea of fighting and being a general, but at the same time he knew that his skills would be needed. He didn’t take command of the 277th immediately, he came along later once they were established as a cleanup type legion

Kee’s skills lie in interpersonal communications and politics, and he has a very nurturing and practical mindset, so he’s perfect for heading relief and rebuilding type stuff

Think of what the Wolfpack did in that one episode where they brought supplies to the Aleena; that’s basically what the 277th does but on a long-term basis. They’ll be stationed in the same place for weeks and sometimes months at a time

Usually they have some overlap with whichever legions first were on the planet fighting off the Sepratists. Some units from the previous legion will be temporarily left behind to hand things over and assist for a little bit before the 277th takes over completely

The 277th does have a lot of ‘veteran’ clones! These guys are almost always slightly higher ranking, like sergeants, lieutenants, captains, etc. They know the drill, so they break in the shinies to their first taste of real action

once troopers are confident in their skills/start seeking promotions, they’re more likely to transfer out to other legions, though many of them do stay, of course

The 277th can also sometimes be a bit of a dumping ground for problem troops (such as Breakaway). If you have a wild card that you can’t entirely trust on the front lines, why not plop them down somewhere that they aren’t as likely to get their fellow troops killed?

Breakaway is actually a transfer from a penal battalion, where he was sent to serve out his punishment for insubordination (and more on penal battalions HERE! I’m fascinated by the concept and have adopted it into my own personal headcanon collection)

Because they tend to be stationed in one place longer, it’s not uncommon for troops in the 277th to develop friendships with the locals. It’s technically not allowed, but the troops do keep trinkets that they find or are given

They’re also exposed to more food! This is how Berry gets access to new types of fruit lol, he befriends literally everyone and they give him food

They have a lot more practical experience in construction and diplomacy than your average troop, because they get more hands on experience! Also they tend to pick up smatterings of local language wherever they go

the local slang within the 277th is... very unique because of all the garbled up vocabulary picked up from various planets

#KC answers #277th #I need to start tagging that #my stuff #lesbi-enderman

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possiblyimbiassed · 4 years

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What happened to Sherlock? Part VIII - The Sign of the Hetero Norm (2)

This is the second installment of my meta about the significance of Mary in BBC Sherlock and hypothesis #8 in this meta series; that John is not the father of Mary’s baby. It follows directly on the first installment, which you can read here.

(For the record, I’ll also repeat the disclaimer: My suspicion here only concerns John’s biological offspring. It would still be possible that John, and perhaps also Sherlock, might father the child - if it exists - by adoption. It does not exclude a metaphorical reading where the baby represents, for example, Sherlock’s and John’s relationship. i also want to stress that this hypothesis is an attempt at logical reasoning based on observations in the show and in ACD canon; it’s not meant to be ‘gossipy’ and has nothing to do with whether I would actually like to see this happen or not - that’s a whole other story. ;) )

Mary’s background and canon similarities

The first time Sherlock meets Mary in TEH, he deduces a series of things about her, most of which we haven’t seen explained this far. But there’s one thing in particular that seems to stand out to him: that she’s a liar.

In HLV we learn that Mary has lied about her background to John, and she keeps lying and deceiving in S4. But even if HLV and S4 aren’t ‘real’, and Assassin!Mary only exists in Sherlock’s imagination, this doesn’t mean that his first deduction was wrong; the fact that Mary’s lying trait is repeated later seems to indicate that it’s important. Mary might be lying about other things instead. Like, for example, about who’s the father of her baby. (Continued under the cut)

Some other deductions in this scene might also be significant; that Mary ‘bakes her own bread’ might refer to the idiom ‘a bun in the oven’, slang for being pregnant. A hint that John will not be responsible for her later pregnancy?

Another ‘feature of interest’ about Mary is her possible US connection. America is definitely a recurring theme in BBC Sherlock; the US or ‘America’ is referred to over 20 times throughout the show. These references occur on a plethora of different occasions, and in three specific circumstances the CIA is mentioned. In one of them (HLV) we learn from Magnussen that Mary has been doing “wet jobs for the CIA”. Sherlock also suspects that while Mary’s accent is English, Mary herself is not. So, Mary might have some kind of connection to America - at least in Sherlock’s mind. The idea is hinted at, but never developed.

Mary Morstan’s British background may be described in canon, but ACD’s original stories contain even more US references than BBC Sherlock. Big parts of the novels A Study in Scarlet (STUD) and The Valley of Fear (VALL) take place in America, and many characters have connections to the US - the most prominent of them perhaps Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia (SCAN), who was born in New Jersey.

The Noble Bachelor (NOBL) is particularly interesting in this context. In the beginning of the story, Watson points out that it happened “a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street”. I believe this talk of Watson’s marriage might be significant mirror-wise. The case in NOBL is about a bride - an American woman - who disappears directly after marrying the British nobleman Robert St. Simon, because she learns during the wedding ceremony that her beloved former husband, who she thought was dead, is still alive.

(X) The bride doesn’t reveal this during the wedding, but an hour later she is gone. So legally she was still married, and the new marriage to the nobleman would therefor be nullified - hence the story title of ‘bachelor’, I believe. On Lestrade’s questions about the case, Holmes answers:

“Just one hint to you, Lestrade,” drawled Holmes before his rival vanished; “I will tell you the true solution of the matter. Lady St. Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been, any such person.”

This is, more or less, the role I think Mary Watson plays in canon after SIGN; she’s a myth, a heteronormative façade (see reasoning in the first installment of this meta). In fact, I don’t think she ever appears in canon under the name Mary Watson (please correct me if I’m wrong). Now, if Sherlock’s deductions about Mary’s background in HLV would be true (in spite of all the other things about this episode that might be his mere imagination), that Mary Morstan is a false name and she has lied about her background, this would technically also nullify her marriage to John, wouldn’t it? You can hardly marry someone who doesn’t exist. ;)

There’s also a literal hint in TAB that Mary might soon be on the run, just like the bride in NOBL:

In this scene, in the midst of Sherlock’s Victorian Mind Palace dream, Watson is suddenly dressed as the modern John and seems more angry than worried about Mary’s disappearance. So I can’t help wondering: Does Sherlock foresee this outcome from his subconscious deductions about Mary and the baby?

A possibly vengeful bride

In TSoT we learn more about Martha Hudson’s late husband Frank, when Martha talks to both Sherlock and John separately about how “marriage changes you as a person”. Her marriage was like a “whirlwind” at first, which Martha felt “swept away” by. Her best friend Margaret seemed to have been devastated and left the wedding early. But we also learn that Frank Hudson ran a drug cartel, was sentenced for murder and had several other women, that Martha found out about after they had moved to Florida, USA. Martha was actually relieved when he was arrested for “blowing someone’s head off”. From ASiP we also know that Sherlock was the one who made sure Frank was executed (by lethal injection according to TSoT).

There seems to be something still missing from the plot narrative here, though; in what way was Frank’s death beneficial to Martha? And I can’t help wondering why the Frank Hudson case is even brought to our attention? Why give us these details that don’t quite make logical sense, and then nothing more? And why are we being told, again and again, that “marriage changes you as a person”?

In ACD canon there’s nothing about Mrs Hudson’s husband, as far as I know. There is, however, a sailor named Hudson in The Gloria Scott (GLOR), who comes to blackmail Holmes’ friend Victor Trevor’s father and threaten him with exposing him to public shame and dishonour by revealing his criminal past. Hudson manages to literally frighten Mr Trevor to death. In The Five Orange Pips (FIVE) there’s also a mentioning of someone named Hudson, who is associated with the KKK. So even if Mrs Hudson’s criminal husband in BBC Sherlock is non-canonical, the existence of at least two criminals named Hudson is clearly canon.

Anyway, what has all this to do with Mary? Well, this is very much speculation of course (and not originally my idea; I'm pretty sure someone has posted a theory about it - I just can’t find the reference at the moment. Please alert me if you know who, so I can give proper credits!): What if Mary is Frank Hudson’s daughter and her mother is one of those “other women”? And what if she’s out for some kind of revenge against Sherlock, who made sure her father was killed? After all, the whole Victorian part of TAB - which we know happens in Sherlock’s Mind Palace, where he goes back to solve a case by first solving an older one - is focused on vengeful brides (’Un-Dead’, as it seems - I see you there, Dracula! ;) ). The Emelia Ricoletti case also has clear connections to America.

Could Mary have hired a ‘consulting criminal’ (Jim) and got the advise that burning Sherlock’s heart out by marrying John would be the best way to take revenge on him? Or could she even be paid by Jim to fake a marriage?

Just speculating, as I said… :)

The revelation at the wedding

One of the strongest arguments for the baby not being John’s is, I think, the scene at the wedding reception in TSoT, where Sherlock deduces Mary’s pregnancy. At the revelation, both John and Mary look terrified, like they’ve seen a ghost or something:

Seeing as these guys had lived together at least for a year, their panic reaction doesn’t quite make sense to me - especially since they’re both trained in medicine! If Mary wasn’t even medically tested yet, why panic? Why would Sherlock’s ‘deduction’ seem more reliable to her than her own knowledge of the matter? After all, she had morning sickness. How many women in this world need a male detective (rather than a doctor) to tell them that they’re pregnant? I think Mary rather looks like someone being caught lying, with dire consequences to expect. John doesn’t expect this and seems totally shocked. Neither of them appears happy about the revelation. I think the sum of the couple’s reactions fits better into a scenario where Mary has been cheating on John, and is therefore not protesting at John’s negative behaviour regarding the pregnancy. But she knows she is (or might be) pregnant and has perhaps tried to hide it to John.

Mary is a smart person, and must definitely know what Sherlock actually means to John. She has seen his grieving for a long time and also witnessed his violent reaction once Sherlock returns. She even teases both John and Sherlock about their obsession with each other. Why isn’t she jealous? How can she go on and marry someone who is clearly in love with someone else, and who actually pays her very little attention in comparison? There’s something fishy there...

And what about John himself? There’s an entry on the blog where John Watson’s deductive reasoning skills seem to reach a new low mark (which is a bit strange, seeing as he has been working together with Sherlock Holmes for years at this point):

In short: Sherlock helps a same-sex couple to get together by showing one of them a path out of her arranged marriage. This woman has been threatened with exposure; an abusive person who is out for her money has literally blackmailed her to marry a man and choose a heteronormative life. But John’s conclusion is still this: “I swear that my forthcoming wedding has softened Sherlock.” “Naturally, I assumed it was because he saw me and Mary together and just wanted to make someone else happy.” So John is utterly convinced that his own, heterosexual marriage plans are what inspired Sherlock to help this gay couple out of an arranged, heteronormative marriage? Sherlock, who has been against all John’s girlfriends so far and also clearly stated from the beginning that girlfriends are “not really my area”? Good thinking, John -- not! :)))

And still John seems utterly surprised and terrified when his good, happily married heterosexual wife turns out to be pregnant, after living together with him for a year? Hmm...

Why the “why” is more important than the “how”

I’m going to go out on another tangent of speculation here, just to illustrate the extent to which I think heteronormativity increasingly rules this show, but also how I believe Sherlock’s and John’s emotions play into it. Even if Sherlock seems to have no prejudices regarding gay couples (as demonstrated by the blog case above), when it comes to John and him, I believe Sherlock has bought the hetero norm hook, sink and line. And ‘Mary’ is a metaphor for this, becoming more and more blatantly obvious as the show goes on. To Sherlock, she symbolises exactly “what John needs”: an ‘ordinary’ life and marriage with an interesting but ‘ordinary’ woman. But Sherlock’s subconscious is telling him something different about her, which I think he fails to fully recognise, no matter how much psychological evidence his mind collects.

And the main problem is Sherlock’s repression of emotions; this problem is at the same time cause and effect. His unwillingness to show or talk about his emotions towards John makes him appear as a cold-hearted person, mostly called a ‘sociopath’ or ‘psychopath’. Which makes John not want to risk the stigma of coming out, or even recognise his own feelings to himself. Adhering to the hetero norm is much safer, and it allows John to escape from his emotional dilemma in an unsatisfactory and hypocritical way: to marry a woman whom he hardly even knows. Which in turn makes Sherlock believe that John living with a woman is the only reasonable option. And so on and so forth, until eternity. The example below is from TEH, John’s reaction to Sherlock’s return.

JOHN: Now, you let me grieve, hmm? How could you do that?

Sherlock doesn’t respond to this, but tries to avert the question by talking about John’s moustache. What could John, in his highly emotional state, possibly make of this? This is where he becomes violent, and Sherlock doesn’t defend himself. John grabs Sherlock and punches him (which is confirmed by his blogpost about this: “He genuinely thought it would be funny to surprise me. I think he was more surprised when I nutted him.”). And it goes on and on:

JOHN: You know, for a genius you can be remarkably thick. SHERLOCK: What? JOHN: I don’t care how you faked it, Sherlock. I wanna know why.

I think John makes it very clear in TEH that - unlike Watson in canon’s EMPT - he is not interested to know how Sherlock survived the Fall. John doesn’t give a rat’s fart about the method he used to fake his own death, neither is he interested in knowing why Sherlock found it necessary to fake his death to Moriarty and his henchmen. But Sherlock doesn’t get this because the question is entirely emotional; John could just as well have asked ”Why did you force me to live without you for two years; why did you abandon me? Don’t you care about me, didn’t you even miss me?”. But he doesn’t ask this out loud, since neither of these guys are honest about their feelings - not even to themselves, as it seems. And apparently it totally escapes John’s conscious mind that Sherlock might have had an emotional reason to come back precisely to interrupt his proposal to someone else.

I suspect (speculation again) that the ‘why’ of John going on to marry Mary after Sherlock’s return was not only about convincing himself that he needed a “normal” life and submitting to the hetero norm because John is closeted. It was at least just as much about punishing Sherlock on an emotional level, letting this ‘sociopath’ know exactly how it feels to be abandoned, not knowing if the other even missed him. It was revenge and punishment in their eternal, on-going game with emotions, where neither of them is letting his guard down to show vulnerability towards the other. But this was probably subconscious and nothing John would freely admit to. Consciously, this arrangement allowed John to simply register that Sherlock apparently was fairly OK with things, since he even went on to organize John’s wedding. Thus, John could reason, his feelings for Sherlock couldn’t be requited anyway.

I also suspect, however, that the concept of ’Mary’, as we see this character from HLV and onwards, is Sherlock’s way of punishing himself for abandoning John. The wedding planning and the ‘vow’ in TSoT, in my view, was a very special sort of self-harm, where Sherlock tried to sacrifice himself to pay off his emotional debt for having hurt John, by doing his utmost for John to be happy with his choice.

But apparently this wasn’t enough, so when ‘Mary’ shoots Sherlock in HLV, even this is (supposedly) Sherlock’s own fault. I think ‘Mary’s shooting Sherlock symbolises the blow to the heart that Sherlock received on the wedding. But why was this a ‘blow’, one might ask, if Sherlock himself was prepared for the marriage and even helped planning the wedding? Well, there was a second blow on the wedding reception, wasn’t it? (Just as there were two murder attempts depicted in TSoT; one before the wedding and another during the wedding reception). The second blow was when Sherlock deduced Mary’s pregnancy. Because a child would most probably cement John’s relationship with Mary forever. Not only would the baby’s presence be an obstacle for John spending any time with Sherlock; it would also erase any attempt from Sherlock to confess his feelings to John in the future, since it would make him guilty of disrupting a family involving a third, innocent little person.

Mary definitely works as an internalised hetero norm. In his own view, Sherlock has no value, and he doesn’t deserve John. Thus, ’Mary’ is needed to keep John happy, and comes back to haunt Sherlock’s mind, even after she’s (supposedly) dead. No matter what atrocities she commits, ’Mary’ is always excused by Sherlock. In many ways, she’s the new ’Sherlock’: solving crimes, being passionate, leading John into adventures, using disguises, speaking (supposed) words of wisdom and even dressing like Sherlock. She fills in an empty space that Sherlock refuses to fill in himself, because a) he doesn’t consider himself worthy and b) he wants to avoid ‘Sentiment’. Instead of facing reality and try to do something about it, Sherlock tries to have a place in John’s life through ‘Mary’ and other invented avatars.

I think John makes it clear on his blog that he does not intend to forgive Sherlock any time soon: “Turns out he’d faked his death because Moriarty had threatened those close to him. Including me. He’d gone into hiding, happy to leave me and everyone else thinking he was dead. He’d done it to save us but he hadn’t trusted us enough to tell us what was really going on. Not sure I’ll ever truly forgive him for that but as the saying goes, life goes on.”

But then he’s back to talking about the cases and his own motivation to keep his friend after all: “So I ignored him and got on with my life. But God, it was dull. I knew he was back. I knew that he was out there having the time of his life and I was… working”. The image John gives is actually that he keeps hanging out with this ’sociopath’ for the sole reason that he can’t resist the danger, the ’thrill of the chase’. In other words; Sherlock seems to be right in HLV when he claims John to be a sort of adrenaline junkie who craves danger and therefore needs a dangerous wife (to replace Sherlock, who is not good for him because he’s a real junkie and a man to boot, but he doesn’t say this).

John’s ’deeper’ question of why rather than how in TEH (which doesn’t apply to Sherlock’s supposedly ’scientific’ world view where emotions always are a problem risking to bias his conclusions) has its complete repetition in TLD. Once again Sherlock tries to convince John that he can predict the future. Sherlock expects to impress John with the explanation of how:

JOHN: How did you know?

In fact, I think a great deal of what we see in TLD is Sherlock’s mental repetitions of what happened between him and John after his ‘return from the dead’ in TEH. However, in TLD (as in all the episodes from S3 and onwards) John is not impressed by Sherlock’s intellectual shenanigans; he hasn’t seemed to be for a long time, but especially not after the treason Fall. In TLD John may have started by asking “how”, but in the end he just wants to know why Sherlock has lured him to come to his rescue when he’s in trouble.

JOHN: Never mind how. He’s dying to tell us that. I want to know why.

Sherlock tries to explain that he needs John’s help with a case because he ‘can’t do it alone’. But John doesn’t buy it this time either; his disbelief and judgment of Sherlock is even harder and more emphasised than in TEH. And this is, i believe, the key question; to answer it honestly Sherlock has to talk about his feelings, show his emotional vulnerability. Which he still isn’t ready for. So this is why ‘Mary’ and 'Rosie’ keep popping up until the end of TFP; they stand for Sherlock’s heteronormative alibi to avoid talking about feelings. Even if Sherlock comes a long way with hugging John in TLD and hugging Eurus in TFP - basically to comfort them - he still hasn’t told anybody about his own feelings, has he?

Sherlock ’had chips’ with ’Faith’. (Dinner!) But we never see him eat anything, he just goes on impressing Faith by telling her about how his deductions about her private life work. It’s the scientific ”how” rather than the more emotional ”why”.

I’ve also been wondering about Mary’s traveling around the world in TST, ’on the role of a dice’ when she learns that Ajay is after her. This is the cold assassin who tried to kill Sherlock and lied to her husband about her background, and yet she is suddenly ”moving the target away” from John - why? In HLV Mary claimed that the truth would break John and therefore he could never know that she lied to him. What’s actually going on here? To me this seems more like Sherlock trying to justify to himself his own fake suicide and his following absence for two years in order to ’protect John’ from Moriarty’s network. The whole ‘Mary-the-hero’ plot line is an indulgence in Sentiment, complete with self-sacrifice and a tearful self-absolving note. But this over-romanticized scenario gives Sherlock no satisfaction, since it ends with John’s grief and sorrow and alienation. Conclusive discovery: escape is no solution; it just postpones the problem.

OK, this has been a looong meta, and a bit speculative. For the finish, I’d just like to summarise a bit about Hypothesis #8 and why I suspect that John is not the father of Mary’s baby. Here’s my TL;DR:

John wasn’t even aware on the wedding that Mary might be pregnant - and he’s a ‘bloody doctor’!

None of them seems happy when Sherlock deduces Mary’s pregnancy; Mary appears shocked that he noticed it and John seems shocked before the unexpected task of fathering a child

Their relationship doesn’t strike me as honest and genuine on either side; they’re not really into each other

Mary is a liar who conceals her background to John

It’s suspicious (but also canon consistent) that Mary encourages John to spend a lot of time with someone she should know that he’s in love with; why would she want to start a family with such a guy?

David seems to remain too close to Mary for being an ordinary ‘ex’; he might actually be the father of the baby!

The Watsons have no children in canon

Rosie in S4 doesn’t strike me as a real character (Mary’s pregnancy in S3 might still be ‘real’, though)

The whole concept of John’s wife is a heteronormative façade (which goes for canon as well); why then would John’s fatherhood be real?

And, finally, just one more thing that occurs to me:

The baby is a perfect plot device to keep John and Mary together in a modern time when divorce is common, and also to keep Sherlock guilt-ridden about confessing his feelings. A revelation that John is not the father would likely mean a breakup of the couple, with the possibilities that this would open for the ‘Johnlock’ option. ;)

Thanks for bearing with me in meta-marathon, and Happy New Decade! :)

Tagging some people who might be interested: @raggedyblue @ebaeschnbliah @sarahthecoat @gosherlocked @loveismyrevolution @sagestreet @thepersianslipper @tjlcisthenewsexy @elldotsee @88thparallel @sherlock-overflow-error @yeah-oh-shit

#mary=heteronormativity #mary=facade

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elleroodles · 4 years

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tagged by @ellegreenawy! thank you tons for the tag, celie!

au or canon fics: depends on the fandom, but for cm, usually canon unless it’s a gen fic, then i love me some rewriting and character development that canon never allowed

dog or cat person: i love both with every fiber of my being but am terribly allergic to both as well :( however that doesn't stop me from having two dogs and living a life of pain

favorite snacks: cheez-its and ice cream (sometimes separately, sometimes not)

are you bubbly, or do you have clinical depression: extremely anxious, so normally somewhere in the middle. i can't get diagnosed until i move out so i won't say i have anxiety, but i am an incredibly anxious person 24/7

smut or fluff: fluff,, i simply do not see the appeal to smut (plus i’m a minor)

do you like making new internet friends, or are you capped out on social interaction: i love making new internet friends! i'm bad at it, sure, but whenever i talk to one of my internet friends it makes me so so so happy

do you text with full sentences or slang: i’ve been told that i’m a very stoic texter because i don't use slang, so i overcompensate with lots of exclamation marks and emoticons!!!!!!!!! :)

where do you get your memes: the dark web tumblr, usually

do you like swearing: i was exposed to a lot of swearing in my formative years and because of that, my inner monologue is littered with cursing, but i’ve actually only swore once and it was in front of my mom. she’s said before that she doesn't care if i swear or not, but i am simply too babey

if yes, what’s your favorite curse word: seeing as it’s the only one i’ve ever said, sh*t

what is your country of origin: usa

how do you debate: i get a little too riled up when it’s with my peers and people my age, but with anyone else i get really bashful (debate is required this year, so can't wait for that to go down)

early bird or night owl: both. no matter what i do, i can't wake up later than seven. it’s a curse. but i also stay up quite late, so i’m just sleep deprived, really

therapy or compartmentalization: i have gone to three different therapists in my lifetime and i am SO bad at it. i seriously don't want to burden people my problems, so i will keep all my innermost trauma to myself until the day i die

last one, rank your top 5 criminal minds characters: spencer, emily, jj, penelope, luke

tagging anyone else who wants to do it because all my other cm mutuals have already been tagged :,)

#boy oh boy i got tagged!

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hiphopbeenybop · 5 years

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The Birth of Hip Hop

The hip hop culture has its roots in the Bronx, borough of New York, in the early 70s. At that time, no movement really existed. Many scattered performances were developing in the streets of the Bronx with no global leader.

DJ Kool Herc, Jamaican–American disk jockey, started organizing dance parties at his home. His parties soon spread throughout the Bronx. Quickly attracting a lot of young people, Kool Kerc made a name in the district, organizing more and more parties, indoor and outdoor, always in the Bronx. DJ Disco Wiz and Casanova Fly, Herc’s henchmen, were hacking the electric power of the street lights in order to party in the basket fields of the Bronx.

This is the flyer of the Back to School Jam that took place August 11, 1973 at Kool Herc’s place. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue is an apartment building that was recognized on July 2007 as the birthplace of Hip-Hop. This is where the first parties organized by Kool Herc took place. It has been honored in June 2017 with an award. The moderate rent building is now standing on the newly inaugurated Hip Hop Boulevard, marking where it all began.

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1- The Deejaying

Kool Herc created a new music with 2 turntables playing Disco music, hard Funk and other James Brown records combined together. By playing the drum beats of the songs alternately, he enhanced “the break”. This is the birth of Hip Hop Music. Without delay, a lot of young artists started Deejaying and creating new techniques around this new culture.

In these new artists, Theodore Livingston. In 1975, he is only twelve, practicing turntabling in his bedroom when his mother yells at him from another room. The young artist, now known as Grand Wizzard Theodore, puts his hand on the spinning record to stop the music and causes the “shigi” sound. So the invention of the scratching technique was an accident !

If the origin of the name Hip Hop is often disputed, some say that Keef Cowboy, member of the groupe Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, teased a military-friend by faux-marching to the sound hip-hop-hip-hop. Or the name might come from Afrika Bambaataa, African-American DJ who largely influenced the creation of the Hip Hop movement. At that time, the gangs made the law in the Bronx. Violence and brutality were at every corner. Lance Taylor (Afrika Bambaataa), who used to be a member of the gang P.O.W.E.R and the leader of the Black Spades, started an Anti-Violence Movement (now known as the Zulu Nation). He soon understood that using the new performances of the youth would help canalize their energy. So, inspired by DJ Kool Herc, he started hosting parties in the city. Turntabling, organizing dance contests, inviting MCs to animate the show, welcoming graffiti writers…

The four main pillars of hip hop appeared.

2- The Breakdancing

While DJs like Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa began building music on Kool Kerc’s innovations, the breakdown inspires bboys and bgirls. Breakdance is a street dance largely based on drums and funk music. This dance holds a major part in the urban culture and is full of athletic moves. This discipline also thrived in the 70s with bboys like Trixie or Dancing Doug. If he was already dancing before DJ parties were organized in the Bronx, Lauree Myers, better known as Trixie affirms :

“When we did go to Herc's parties that's when I took it to another level.”

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3- The Spraywriting

Third element composing Hip Hop, the Graffiti, or Spraywriting. It is a form of artistic expression that primarily involves illegally painting walls in the streets and trains in the city. There are many different types and styles of Graffitis, ranging from words to drawings. This activity is the most controversial of Hip Hop elements. Widely considered as vandalists, the graffiti artists need to draw fast and run fast. Generally ran in public places, this business often involves running from the police, especially when a huge part of the graffitis were spelling “A.C.A.B” (All Cops Are Bastards).

Graffiti already exists for a long time, the first “graffitos” dating from the ancient Egypt or Roman Empire. But the Graffiti we are talking about here doesn’t originate from New York but from Philadelphia. In the 1960s, the first known graffiti writers Cornbread and Cool Earl used black markers to tag their nicknames on all public property throughout the city. In 1968, the rail transport between Philadelphia and New York intensifies. The wagons are moving frames, exposing the paintings from one city to the other. A train to success. In 1970, Topcat 126 copies their practices and brings graffiti tagging into the big apple.

At this time, a bunch of buildings are popping up every week in the city. The youth wants to take over on these new walls and spaces. In the 70s, many issues of racial and social inequality were already taking place. The non white youth adopts this art as an expressive form of rebellion. One of the street art pioneers, Quik, explains to Widewalls :

“Graffiti was intended as a “voice” to be heard; as we sought a broader audience than our immediate community.”

In the first generation of graffiti artists, we can also cite Futura 2000 or Phase 2 who also largely influenced the discipline for decades. Everyone invents new styles, trying to make their tags more unique and noticeable. LEE 163 joins his letters together. Later comes the Stencil Graffiti with Blek le Rat in Paris. Groups such as United Graffiti Artists and the Fabulous Five start working together to make more elaborated canvas and to escape the scenes more discreetly.

This was all before graffiti became fashionable. At that time, graffiti artists were chased by the authorities. Only ten years later, a painting of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who started as a graffiti artist, was sold for over $110 Million.

4- The MCing

Last but not least, the rapping. If MCs (Masters of Ceremony) were originally at parties to animate the show and cheer the dancers, they were also here to communicate. To talk about the problems faced by the african-american community. Dancing and spraywriting were a great way to express the feelings, but rapping had no equal. Rap has its name from the slang word meaning “conversation”. Or maybe it stands for Rhythm And Poetry. Certainly both.

The 3 major components of MCing are the content, the flow and the cadence. The three are essential to deliver a message and get the listener to feel your melody and bounce their head. Rapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay usually over a beat. Rapping has its roots in Africa. Centuries before Hip Hop music existed, the griots (traditional communicator) of West Africa were delivering stories rhythmically, over drums.

At his beginnings, Grandmaster Flash was so focussed on his mix, breaks and scratching skills that he forgot one of the essentials. The mic. The occasion for some to propose their services. One day, Flash met Cowboy, an MC as charismatic as his word.

His entry on Flash’s scene inspired two brothers : Melle Mel and Kid Creole. Creole was really good at freestyling, but little was Mel who decided to work his texts before the shows. Quickly, his sharp feather offset his ad lib skills. He becomes the leader of Flash’s new vocal trio and inspires others to work on their texts, ad style figures and play with words.

The Last Poets were the first group to throw an album out in 1970. It coupled spare funk and aggressive delivery, combined with socially-conscious word. This is the basis of MCing. Social and racial awareness are the foundation to the vocal performance in Hip Hop.

It is hard to cover this whole rap period without talking about Kool G Rap, the Godfather of Gangster Rap, the Sugarhill Gang, first group to ever throw a rap album, the Treacherous Three, MC Hammer, the Funky 4+1, the Cold Crush Brothers…

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Widely inspired by jazz, soul, funk and disco, the Hip Hop movement is multicolor. Created and lead by african-americans, it has a root in Africa, one in Latin America, one in Asia, another one in Europa… Hip Hop is a multicolor culture that assembles the people.

According to Kurtis Blow, an MC from the outset who started as a Master of Ceremony for Flash’s parties :

“I'm a firm believer that hip hop and rap is so malleable; you can shape it in any form. We have these fusions like rock n roll rap, reggae rap, country and western rap”

This is how Hip Hop, now a truly international cultural movement, had its start.

PEACE, UNITY, LOVE AND HAVING FUN

#hiphop #hiphop history #hiphopbeenybop #today in history #today in music history #music #rap #dj #graffiti #breakdance #Birth Of Hip Hop

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xaphrin · 5 years

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Coffee Run

Part Six

It was the middle of the last and worst ungodly heatwave of summer, and while Wayne Manor was notoriously upgraded with the best technology, it was still a hunk of practically ancient house and had problems regulating its temperature - especially on days like this. Raven found herself buried in a shaded corner of the library, two fans pointed directly at her as she picked through a book Babs had told her to read, saying it would help her understand different types of patterns more. It took all of her focus to try and understand it, and it certainly didn’t help that she was currently melting into a puddle, but at least she felt more empowered to be helpful in her new role. So, she would suffer through this heat as long as she could.

“You look miserable.”

Raven glanced up to see Dick standing there, a pair of basketball shorts slung low on his hips and… nothing else. She blinked, staring at him as though he had grown a second head, and tried to remember the last time she had seen him shirtless. Years ago. It had to have been before the full force of puberty had dumped hormones into their systems, and Dick was more of a ropy, wiggly boy than a fully developed, muscular man. She felt another strange rush of emotion again, but took a slow breath to try and push her rogue thoughts back down before they started affecting her. Even though she didn’t have powers, it didn’t mean that having feelings like this wasn’t completely and utterly embarrassing.

Dick lifted an eyebrow, looking down at himself as if he’d spilled something. “What?”

Raven swallowed, her throat dry, and turned back to her book, hoping she looked more unaffected than she felt. He had to have heard her heart. “Just wondering where the rest of your clothes have gone, Dick.”

“Oh, come on.” He laughed and leaned back on his heels. “It’s hot as satan’s asshole, Raven.”

Raven snorted and looked over the edge of her book at him. “You make fun of me picking up slang from Constantine, but Jason is clearly rubbing off on you.”

Dick practically pouted, and he came to stand in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest. Raven’s stare flicked up to watch the soft, dewy moisture of his skin ripple with the movement, and she felt something wild rise up inside her. Dick had always been attractive, even back when he was a ropy, wiggly boy with too many limbs, but seeing him this casual (and this naked), made her heart do something strange in her chest. It felt a bit like it was rolling around, slamming against her ribs, begging for attention. She blinked, trying to keep her face completely blank, and looked up into his eyes.

“Well, I was going to tell you that I’m heading out on a coffee run, and ask you if you wanted to join. But, if you’re gonna be mean to me, I might not ask.” His lips tugged at the edges as if trying to convey that he really was teasing. “But I’ll still invite you if you ask nicely. Bruce is letting me take the Bugatti out.”

Raven cocked her head to the side, suspicious. “Is he?”

“Well…” Dick rubbed the back of his neck, his smile turning sheepish. “He’s not coming back for like another six hours, so what he won’t know won’t hurt him.”

“You’re really going to chance coffee in the Bugatti?” Raven snorted. “He’d murder you if you spilled.”

“Ugh. You can be such a spoilsport.” Dick’s shoulders dramatically dropped and he sighed up at the ceiling, his hands settling on his hips. Raven watched the waist of his shorts drop nearly a whole inch lower, exposing the oh-so curious V of muscle, and she finally noticed the fine line of hair that ran from just below his belly button to disappear under his shorts. Her jaw ticked and she turned back to the page she had been on, the words scattering around. Great. And now she couldn’t focus.

Dick huffed and the sound brought Raven’s eyes back to his face. “Okay. Fine. We’ll take something else. It’s not like there isn’t a zoo of cars to choose from.”

Raven swallowed again, her mind brought back to the little line of hair, and she found herself consumed with where it led to. Heat curled up her neck as images flooded her mind, and Raven realized with stunning clarity that she was thinking about Dick in that way, which was mortifying, and yet happening with more frequency than she wanted to admit. In fact, if was happening pretty much every time he was around her now, and having him completely shirtless in front of her was not helping.

Dick’s eyebrows knitted together in concern, and he pitched forward, resting his hands on either arm of the chair she was in, crowding her space.“You okay? You look flushed. It is too hot? We can go stand in the walk-in cooler for a bit if you think it’ll help?”

“No.” Raven shook her head and looked up at him. “No, I’m fine. Just… just hot.”

“Mm.”

He didn’t move, and Raven realized that Dick was still standing in front of her, waiting. She shivered, in spite of the heat, and tried everything in her power not to think about how good he smelled - like sweat and Old Spice. And she tried not to think about that little curl of blue-black hair that fell into his eyes, or the way his lower lip looked plump and full, or the sharp curve to his jaw, or the way his muscles tensed when he was this close to her… she tried to not think about all of that and failed miserably.

Raven tilted her head back and looked into his eyes, wondering if her human resolve was ever going to be as strong as her demon resolve. Her demon side wouldn’t have ever noticed all these details, and yet her human brain was staunchly focused on them. Her eyes fluttered, but Dick didn’t move back. Instead he stayed there and watched her, silent. The teasing light went out of his eyes, and shadows filled them again. It was like he was holding onto secrets she wasn’t allowed to know about. He moved forward an inch, and Raven closed her eyes, as if waiting for something she wasn’t sure was going to happen.

The world around them faded away, the hum of cicadas filled her ears, the heat pressed against her exposed skin, and her heart skipped beats in anticipation. She knew what was coming and… and she knew she didn’t want to stop it. Her mind was filled with a hundred images and thoughts, and yet surprisingly blank. Raven swallowed again, holding her breath as she felt Dick move closer to her, his hand sliding up the arm of the chair and resting against her elbow. His touch burned her more than the heat ever would, and she waited, holding her breath for… for what came next.

“Oh!”

Dick whipped back so quick he nearly tripped over one of the fans. “Alfred!”

Raven ground her teeth together and slammed her eyes shut in embarrassment. Stupid. She was so, so stupid. Her fingers curled under the hem of her shorts and she pulled them down, embarrassed. Of course Dick wasn’t interested in her that way, he was only helping her out because they were friends. It had to be something else that pulled him close like that, it was the only possible explanation.

“We weren’t-” Dick stumbled over a response, and he untangled himself from the fan’s electrical cord. “It’s not… what it looks like?”

Raven took a slow breath through her nose and finally opened her eyes, watching as Dick looked away, rubbing at the back of his head. She watched as his hair threaded through his fingers, and finally looked away, turning to her book.

“I saw nothing at all.” Alfred turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving Dick and Raven staring at each other for a long moment.

Dick fidgeted, his eyes meeting hers as he stumbled over a response. “So… ah… coffee run?”

“S-sure.” Raven cleared her throat and stood up, nodding. “I could use a break anyway.”

“Mm.” Dick nodded and took a step back, but Raven could feel him watching her from the corner of his eye. He let go of a soft sigh and made his way to the door, his hand clenching and unchelching as if he was having some kind of war with himself. Finally, he stopped at the door and gave her his usual smile. “Meet me downstairs in ten. I want to get out of here before Tim knows we’re leaving. He’s been trying to hide from Jason all day.”

Raven gave a soft laugh and nodded. “Be there in ten.”

Dick nodded and started for the door again.

“Oh, and Dick?”

He looked back at her, curious.

“Put a shirt on.”

His face fell and he stuck out his tongue at her before moving back towards the door. “It’s too hot. You’re gonna have to deal with this hot piece all day, Rae. Sorry.”

He didn’t sound sorry at all, and Raven rolled her eyes, somehow managing to fight back the laughter building in her chest. What a dork.

#robrae #robrae week 2019 #robraeweek2019 #welp #this got posted an hour early 😐#there's like a whole other part after this that I didn't include #where they actually argue over Tea v Coffee #and Robin isn't allowed in the coffee shop because he has no shirt #it will be included when I edit all of this and dump it on AO3 and FFn on Saturday as a complete fic

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emma-nation · 5 years

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Exclusive - KamilahxMC Fanfiction

Summary: How will Kamilah react when Amy is ready to take things to the next level?

Genre: Romance

Rating: T

Word Count: 3023

Tag List: @begging-for-kamilah, @lulu-the-cat, @ilovekamilahsayeed

Notes:

- English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes - I hope you enjoy it, your likes and reviews are always appreciated.

- Warning: It includes Lemon. Let’s go back to this old fanfiction slang. So in case Tumblr asks, the characters will be doing a lemonade together.

“All this time... I think I was searching for you. And I didn't even know it.”

Her words still echoed inside Amy’s mind every single day. She never intend to fall in love. She wasn’t looking for a relationship at the moment. She was only 22 years old and recently moved to New York. There was so much ahead of her. So much she’d like to enjoy before getting settled with someone. Then, she met Kamilah Sayeed.

Kamilah was different from everyone she had ever met before. It wasn’t for her age. It wasn’t for the fact she was a vampire. She was just different. At the same time she was cold, distant and mysterious, she could be extremely caring and affectionate. Like in the moment she told her those words. That was when Amy knew she had fallen in love.

In the next morning, after a quick breakfast, Kamilah told her she had to go. She had an important meeting and she needed to be prepared. Just like that. There was no goodbye kiss or even a promise they’d talk later. Amy didn’t told anyone about that night, not even Lily or Adrian. She lied, saying she and Kamilah were out for a drink and spent a long time chatting at her rooftop.

By the end of her shift, she was sitting at her desk with an upset look on her face, staring at her cellphone screen. Hoping that by some miracle, the female vampire would remember her existence and call her or text her. Asking about her day would be enough. But that wasn’t like Kamilah, she knew that. And after 2063 years, she wouldn’t change.

The elevator’s door dinged open and she scented a familiar fragrance. When she looked up, Kamilah was standing right in front of her.

“Amy, hi. Is Adrian busy? I’d like to speak to him, please.”

“I don’t think so, I’m going to check.”

After confirming Adrian was indeed free to meet with Kamilah, she entered his office, without telling Amy another word. For her surprise. she came back only a few minutes later, closing the door behind her.

“A-Already?” Amy asked nervously, without even knowing why.

“I just needed to deliver him some papers,” Kamilah placed both of her hands inside the pockets of her jacket. “See you around, Amy.”

She started walking headed to the elevator, when she turned around.

“Amy? Would mind coming with me? I need you to pick up something in my car. It’s... for Adrian.”

Amy nodded, following her inside the elevator. She felt her stomach twitching only by being close to Kamilah and she hated that. She hated that in only a couple of days she had developed such a big power on her emotions. The doors closed and before she could even be aware of, Kamilah’s lips were already on hers. Kissing her hungrily, fiercely. She pressed Amy’s body against the elevators wall, while her mouth traveled down her jawline and neck. With her free hand, Kamilah pressed all the elevator buttons, making sure it wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon.

That was the first time of many. In the next day, she was back. By the same time of the night. Apparently, she had forgotten a pen at Adrian’s office.

“It’s really valuable. I bought it in an auction a few months ago.”

After getting the pen and making sure Adrian was nowhere around, she didn’t say anything. She grabbed Amy by the hand and dragged her to the nearest bathroom.

And that routine continued, everyday. To cover up their secret meetings, Kamilah started requesting her presence at Ahmanet Financial, either to get a rare artifact she would be gifting Adrian or to get papers with confidential information about The Council. All excuses to take her in her office or at the company’s conference room.

In the days Kamilah could find an excuse to meet her, she learned she could just sneak through her apartment’s window in the middle of night. They only needed to make sure they wouldn’t make too much noise and wake up Lily.

That night was different though. For the first time, she invited Amy to her penthouse. She cooked them a nice meal, they were able to have an actual conversation and most of all, she invited Amy to stay the night. Right before falling asleep, Amy started wondering if she was ready to take things to the next level. She was getting tired of living an adventure, she wanted more.

When she woke up in the morning, Kamilah was already awake. Her gorgeous brown eyes were watching her and as soon as she noticed Amy was waking up, she opened a big smile.

“Please don’t do it,” Amy thought. Those eyes, that smile... they were becoming her biggest weakness.

“Good morning,” Kamilah said.

“Hey.”

“We better hurry or we’re both getting late for work.”

“Five more minutes, please,” Amy whined, shoving her face at the pillow.

“I suppose I can do that. Perks of being the CEO.”

“Your bed is so big and comfortable…” Amy closed her eyes again.

“Hmmm. I thought you wanted something else,” she felt Kamilah’s hand running down to her side under the sheets. She approached, her face getting really close to Amy’s.

“That too.”

“I’m going to take a shower,” Kamilah smirked. “Maybe you should join me.”

“Of course,” Amy sat down, to face her. To look straight in her eyes. “Uhhh Kamilah… There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“I’m listening.”

“How busy are you tonight?”

“It depends. Why?”

"There's this new movie I really wanted to see. I was thinking maybe we should go together."

Kamilah looked thoughtful for a moment, as if she was trying to remember her schedule.

“Actually… One of Ahmanet Financial’s biggest clients is opening his second restaurant tonight and I was invited to attend.”

“Good. Then we can go to the restaurant’s opening and leave the movie for tomorrow, what do you think?”

So far, Kamilah hadn't invited Amy for a real date yet. She figured out that if she wanted to take things to the next level, she'd have to be the one to make the first move.

“Amy…” Kamilah sighed. “There will be journalists and photographers… We should leave it for another occasion."

“Another occasion? Okay."

That was the answer Amy needed. If Kamilah wasn’t ready for a real relationship, it was the end of that adventure. She’d no longer allow herself to be used by the Vampire CEO.

---------------------------------------

For a 2063 years old vampire, time tended to pass in a blink of an eye. Especially for Kamilah. She spent most of her time locked inside that office. More than at her own place. But for some reason, that day was being unusually long. Boring, maybe. She had no enough patient to answer any more clients or write any reports. She checked her cellphone.

“Weird,” she though. There was no texts from Amy. For the last few days, her phone was always filled with a “Hope you have good day” message, along with those little yellow faces and colorful hearts.

She was a mortal. Maybe she was having a a headache, or a flu. Maybe she was too busy at Adrian’s company. Anyways, she’d pay a casual visit before heading to the restaurant’s opening, only to check out what was going on.

It was 7 PM when she arrived, but Amy was no longer at her desk. She usually stayed until 8, or even later, when Adrian needed her. Kamilah knocked at Adrian’s office door, he looked relaxed behind his desk, reading a book.

“Kamilah, hi. What brings you here?”

“Nothing, I was just bored at my office and decided to drop by.”

After accommodating herself and getting some of his liquor, she finally cleared her throat.

“Where’s Amy? Don’t tell me you’ve gotten rid of her yet.” Kamilah asked, trying to act carefree. She had no plans of telling Adrian, or anyone, yet. Not because he was going to react badly, but because she felt uncomfortable.

“Oh no. I dismissed her earlier tonight. She had a date with Jax.”

“What?!” Kamilah stood up from her hair, clenching her fists. “That pup… Adrian, we don’t even know if we can trust him yet! How could you let her…”

“Kamilah, it’s Amy’s life and… You agreed Jax was a good person.”

She rolled her eyes and stomped away furiously. Slamming her car’s door as she left. Who cared about a stupid restaurant opening? She needed to find her mortal. Eyes glowing red and fangs exposed, she drove to straight Lily’s apartment. If somebody knew where her Amy was, it should be her best friend.

“She didn’t told me where they were going!“

Kamilah pressed her a little harder against the wall, holding her by the shirt’s collar.

"Oh please, you’re her best friend. She’s supposed to tell you these things!”

“But… why do you care anyways?”

With the most threatening look on her face, she moved really close to Lily. Her fangs looking sharper than usual.

“Listen Lily, and listen well. If you don’t tell me where she is right now, I’ll appeal to The Council. I’ll convince them to revoke your acceptance and you’ll be left to burn in the sun.”

“I-Is it even possible?”

“Do you really want to know?”

---------------------------------------

Amy attempted to keep her eyes on the screen, but at this point she should've missed most of the best moments of the movie. Somehow that felt strange and slightly wrong. Even if she hadn’t a solid relationship with Kamilah, she still felt guilty.

"Stop being stupid, Amy. Right now she must be exhibiting that perfect face of hers and that stunningly gorgeous body to the photographers, in all her arrogance. She's not even thinking about you. You were just... a hobbie."

She turned her eyes to the screen again. Something light and soft hit the back of her head, landing on her lap. It was a popcorn.

"Hey," she scowled at Jax. "I'm paying attention now, okay? I promise."

He cocked his head, giving her a confused look.

At the movie screen, a love scene started taking place. Around them, many couples started exchanging passionate kisses. Amy glanced at Jax, blushing a little. She wasn't sure of her feelings for him. He was a great friend, who never failed cheering her up. He was also caring and cooked amazingly. Lily told her he had a small crush on her but, she wasn't able to retribute it yet. Not right now. Suddenly, multiple popcorn started being thrown at both her and Jax, hitting both of their heads. When they turned around, Amy spotted Kamilah. Arms crossed and an ugly snarl on her face.

"Finally," she grunted, rolling her eyes.

"Kamilah," Amy whispered as lower as she could. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk. In my car. Now."

Ignoring her demanding tone, Amy confronted.

"Later. I'll finish watching the movie first."

"Fine. I can wait."

Kamilah stood up, but instead of leaving, she moved to the front row.

"Get off, pup," she ordered, placing herself between Amy and Jax. "My spot."

She glared at the male vampire with a devious smirk on her face.

"I didn't know you two..." Jax spoke, after an uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Well, now you know."

As the crowd started to complain, the three of them finished watching the movie in silence.

---------------------------------------

“You had no right to do this!” Amy yelled, as Kamilah drove, “You embarrassed me, Kamilah. In front of Jax and everybody else in that theater!”

Kamilah didn’t answer, she remained quiet and calm, what annoyed Amy even more. When she stopped, Amy quickly recognized where they were. In front of her building.

“Oh, this is what to wanted, huh? You brought me here to your penthouse so you can use me again. I’m not your property, Kamilah. Are you aware of that?”

Amy kept following her, angering through the hall, the elevator and finally, Kamilah’s living room. After she closed the door behind her, Amy shouted even louder.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?!”

Instead Kamilah planted a soft kiss on her lips. Amy mentally cursed herself. for not being able to resist. Kissing Kamilah was like being put under a spell. It was magical, electrical, fiery.

“I don’t wanna do this anymore,” Amy said, after their mouths parted.

Kamilah gazed deeply into her eyes for a brief moment. Even though she could hide her feelings like no one else, Amy could tell she was somehow troubled. She unexpectedly placed her hand on Amy’s chest and smiled.

“Oh really? Because this is not what your body says when I do this..."

She nibbled Amy's ear lobe.

"Or this..."

Kamilah placed soft kisses along her jawline and down to her neck. Those soft lips grazing her skin made her entire body shiver.

Amy's heart started racing inside her chest as the vampire's hand caressed her waist from under her shirt.

"And especially... this."

She felt Kamilah's free hand moving down to the waistband of her jeans, reaching for her underwear.

"Stop," she grabbed Kamilah’s hand. "I can't do this anymore. I'm falling in love with you, but the feeling clearly isn't mutual. For you, it's only sex. You play me as if I was your toy!"

Kamilah abruptly stopped, staring her in confusion.

"T-This is what you think of me, Amy?" She had a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I... I don't know," Amy sighed. "In one moment I feel we're finally connecting, then you suddenly become cold and distant again. You barely let me touch you, like if having you was too high for my standards."

Kamilah fell silent, looking down at the floor. Amy couldn't quite figure out what was going inside her mind.

"My apologies," she finally spoke. "I haven't felt anything for so long that... Maybe I don't know how to show it properly anymore."

Amy sat down on the couch, examining as Kamilah struggled to find her next words, pacing back and forth in front of her.

"I like you. I enjoy your company, our conversations. I long for those texts of yours, full of... emojis? everyday. And it has been driving me crazy that, during all those exhaustive business meetings, all I have in mind is how much I’d like to escape only to be with you.”

She could barely breathe, Amy noticed. Anxious, she ran her hand through her long straight hair.

"Amy," she placed herself next to the girl on the couch, holding her hand. "I can't explain but, would you give me one last chance to show you?"

Upon Amy’s agreement, she lead Amy's hand to the buttons of her shirt. The girl gave her a consenting nod, slowly opening each one of them. She let her hand wander through Kamilah's exposed chest, carefully tracing her skin with the tips of her fingers. When she faced the vampire again, a small smile appeared in the corners of her mouth, indicating she was enjoying it. Finally enjoying something she hadn't been able to feel for centuries.

Taking another step, she kissed Kamilah's forehead, then her nose, her cheek... Before taking her lips in a long and deep kiss.

She allowed Kamilah to decide what she wanted next. Again, she lead Amy's hand to her pants. After getting rid of the rest of clothes, Kamilah lied on her back as Amy straddled her, keeping eye control the entire time. An attempt to build a mutual trust between them.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Amy wanted to know.

"More than okay."

Amy's mouth hungrily met Kamilah's again, letting her take small bites that she knew the girl loved receiving. Amy started moving her hips against Kamilah’s finding a perfect rhythm that pleased both them. Kamilah placed her hands on her waist, pulling her closer and increasing the pressure. As both of them reached climax together, Amy laid on Kamilah’s chest, panting and tired.

“So, do you feel it now?” Kamilah caressed her hair. “Connected to me?”

“We’re getting in there,” Amy gave her a weary, but satisfied smile.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of each other’s body. Amy suddently noticed Kamilah’s heart race speeding up a little bit.

“Amy, I... I want you for me exclusively.”

“What?” Amy raised her head to face her, unable to believe what she was hearing. “Kamilah, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”

“This term is more modern than I’m used to, but yes, call it was you want.”

“Okay, but… you know it means you’re my girlfriend too. Right?”

“Oh darling, are you honestly afraid I’ll get attached to another human being?”

“Definitely no,” Amy let out a laugh, “what I mean is… It has some implications like, you’ll take me on dates and it won’t about sex the whole time. A relationship require other things too, other feelings. And... You should no longer be embarrassed of being seeing with me in public.”

Kamilah let out a sigh, finally understanding why Amy was so upset earlier.

“Is it because I refused to take you to that restaurant?”

Amy nodded.

“Amy… I… I just wanted to protect you. Believe me, those journalists would take pictures of you, investigate every detail about your life. They’d invent things about you, about us. Believe me, hurting you was never my intention.”

Amy studied Kamilah’s eyes, recognizing instantly she was telling the truth.

“I’m so sorry for going on that date with Jax. I was convinced you didn’t care.”

“And I’m sorry for this stupid misunderstanding. I’d never be embarrassed of being seeing with such a beautiful mortal. I care about you, Amy. More than I’m able to show.”

Amy placed a finger on her chin, looking at her with a playful grin.

“So, it means you’ll finally taking me on our first official date?”

“Okay,” Kamilah rolled her eyes. “Tomorrow. Wait for me at 8 PM. You choose the place.”

#playchoices #choices stories you play #bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #mc x kamilah #bloodbound fanfiction

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feelbadorgan-blog · 5 years

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Journal Entry #1: Draw My Life

I would like to think that I’ve always been a reflective person even my childhood memories are full of solitary moments, me left alone to my perceptions and creations. I find it almost addicting going back to my childhood memory of playing in our sandy garden alone. This reflective peculiarity will prove valuable to me in the later years up to the present. It helped me grow and develop my definition of my identity, although more of identities. It brought me to the world of self-help books, journaling and constant self-evaluation. My days are full of questions and ambiguous answers to life. This time a year ago, I have decided to write them into journals. My journal typically starts with a question and continues freely, most of the time irrelevantly, to where writing takes me and it may be observable in this entry. I hope not. It is also written as if it is someone else’s so I can be more objective and harsh on myself.

Ever since I arrived here in NCR, I haven’t written anything yet so this will serve as my first entry. I literally write in journal notebooks, but I have discovered that I can use technology, prove myself as a gen-Z and use the softcopy format a.k.a. “.docx” and even “.txt”.

I have filled three different journal notebooks ever since I started a year ago. Although majority of my writing are on my laptop now, I still write on paper and my fourth journal notebook is almost halfway filled with whatever this mind encounters. Journaling is a very soothing and liberating process for me.

This is how I journal now, and I’d like to call it “E-journal” as if putting an E in the beginning of any word makes it sound better. I typically write anything I can think of and anything that intrigues me. Although, my writings are hindered by my writing skills because I don’t know a lot about forming sentences, using punctuation and selecting words from a narrow and shallow vocabulary. I love English because I think it is a very creative and inclusive language but sadly, I’m not that good yet to create and enjoy it to its fullness.

I think I am exposing myself too much already but what’s life without a little vulnerability. I personally have struggled with vulnerability and insecurity. This basically became the story of my high school life and pretty much of my life because I can hardly remember events before high school. Peer pressure got the best of me and it made me do things I would regret but I can do nothing about so let’s move on.

This is the grade 7 me, too naïve about the world around him and on the things about to come. He feels very insignificant and is peer pressured a lot. He has grown and he’s very different now but it humbles him to know where he started. Reminiscing how we grow through time always lead to smiles.

“Beast”

In high school is where you find inevitable to be grouped to the same people with the same interests. For our group named “BST”, we found each other through sports and cutting classes to play sports. They saw and guided my growth from the one on the picture above to who I am today. The day after graduation transforms high school friends to lifelong family.

“Megs”

Megs is the Bisaya term for friends. This my wholesome and nerdy squad. It may seem contradicting belonging to two squads with different nature but it’s not. I found that one squad completes and balances the other so that I stay right in between my academics and my passion. I am not swallowed by academics nor do I sacrifice my future for playing sports.

“Do your thingsss”

I have loved a few things and formed a few passions in my life and this picture shows it all.

The Wipcap, official cap of Fliptop which is the Philippines’ Rap Battle League and is the last Rap Battle League in the world, for my love of the hip-hop and culture.

The rifle for my love of service and to my three years membership of our school’s CAT.

Kyrie 5 “Husky” shoes for my passion in The Game and my homage to passionate players.

“Orchid in a bottle” for my love of biology, laboratory work and simple science.

The Innovators book for my love of technology, great people, great work and cooperation.

This is the product of my six years in high school. When I heard we were allowed one creative shot for our yearbook, this image of me popped into my mind. I have unconsciously viewed myself this way and I can say this has been my self-image as a product of my high school life. High school has been productively transformative for me. It gave me the chance to redefine myself through reflection. I have known myself deeper. This probably is the most “me” picture of my life.

I believe that a man is defined by how he uses much of his time. This is where majority of my time goes and majority of where my self-concept comes from. These are my mentors and my hobbies.

THE HIP-HOP CULTURE

“BLKD”

A UP-Diliman graduate Fliptop pioneer who is considered now a Legend and the best lyricist of the game. He takes pride in his timeless content, intricate flow and crafty use of rap elements like anagrams, personals, quadruple meanings, metaphors and bars. These are a few of his lines.

“Tanggap ko kung wala ako sa top 5 niyo, nasa Top 5 ako ng nasa top 5 niyo”

He may not always be the fan favorite, but he surely is feared among fellow emcees.

“Kaya kong magpaka-street, magsalit ng pa-slang

Kasi pen-game ko perfect, sa iyo pass lang

Puro galaw wala namang puntos, puro pass lang

Ako puro tirang sharpshooter na pumapaslang”

A quadruple meaning of the homophones paslang/pass lang with street, school, basketball and battle references.

“Hindi titulong pangdakila tinutukoy ko pangratrat

kapag sinabi kong si Bonifacio ay ginamitan ko ng Gat”

Personals spat in a game against Marshall Bonifacio referencing the Bonifacio vs Rizal argument through the “gat” double meaning as a pistol and as Jose Rizal.

BASKETBALL

“The Alchemists”

This was taken after our exhibition game. I have only known basketball in high school and from that day onward I still have the same passion from when I started. The summer after my first year, I then enlisted to a basketball camp. All the free time I have after that we then spent playing the game. I am very passionate about the game. Although I don’t play as often as I once did, deep inside is the same fire.

DOTA

“The Internationals 2019 bracket”

The internationals more commonly known as “TI” is the most prestigious and largest tournament in e-sports. It’s prize pool is crowdfunded by the Dota 2 community and is now at US$33 million. Today is actually the first day of the main event. I have played Dota 2 for 4000 hours already, all on the internet cafe. I know I shouldn’t be “that’ proud about it but it’s not all negative. I know that I have developed some of my skills and besides, I don’t play anymore in fact I only had 30 games last year. The best part about ti9,The Internationals 2019, is that there is an all-Filipino team in the upper bracket, TNC. They are representing the Philippines and all the Filipino players. They have cemented their name along with the best teams worldwide and now they have the chance to win The Aegis of the Immortal, the trophy of the champions ever since 2010.

“TNC Predator”

This is our team fighting for the Aegis of the Immortal.

The SCIENCE of LEADERSHIP

“The Golden Circle”

This is a concept by Simon Sinek in his book “Start with Why”, one of the first books I have read and reread. I love the book as much as the man who wrote it. It demonstrates the difference between good and great leaders based on their conduct. Good leaders lead from the outside in starting from what they do, how they do it and why they do it making the “what” aspect clearest for their followers. Great leaders do the opposite, they talk most of the time about why they do it and they assure that this be the clearest aspect for their disciples. It is even manifested in their advertisements. TiVo is a good television company with good leaders. One of their advertisement says “We can pause, forward and rewind your favorite shows for you”, focusing more on the what. Apple, a great company with a great leader - Steve Jobs, would have an advertisement that would sound like “The ones crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do”. This advertisement doesn’t even mention any of their products but it does mention why they make their products and it being clear to their followers is one of the reasons why people line up for hours in Apple stores to get their new Iphones even if they can buy it without hassle the week after.

I love leadership and cooperation especially the the value they bring to the world. It has brought us movements to question what the world is doing, great products and most of all it bring faith back into humanity. This interest in leadership forced me to read leadership, business, self-help and personal development books. You’ll find a lot of these people in these.

Another fascinating aspect of this circle is its accordance to the layers and structures inside our brain. The “what” represents the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for, you guessed it, what we do. The “how” is where the limbic brain starts representing the basal ganglia - responsible more on how we conduct thing. Lastly, the “why” represents the primitive amygdala which answers all the question to why we do and it sets out our priorities from food, reproduction and finding meaning.

SERVICE of the CAT

“Legions of Pisay”

We are the Legions of Pisay, a club created and organized by students. Our advocacy is the Citizenship Advancement Training. We trained volunteers, we serve the student body as manpower for events and we are directly under the disciplinary officer in imposing the laws of the school. My three years of service in the CAT is all about service. We arrange the venues, direct the audience and clean up after the event. We are the first to prepare and the last to clean. All of this for service. In three years, we have created a bonding from all the sacrifices we’ve made together for the student body. I have served and I hope soon I will be able to serve again.

INTERSECTION OF TECHNOLOGY and PASSION

“Steve Jobs”

Steve Jobs. The great man Steve who founded apple at his parents’ garage with Woz, brought great products to the world, exiled by the very company he founded, created another company “NeXT”, created Pixar, sold NeXT and himself to Apple and saved apple from oblivion. This is how I simplify the life of Steve. He founded Apple, Apple kicked him, out but Apple bought him back just to save themselves and to bring back their visionary. I am a total fanboy. He has nothing but passion. He gave his all even his health for the world to enjoy great products and to bring us great experience. He placed a thousand songs in our pocket when all there was is a Walkman through iPod. He didn’t commercialize his software. He created the best animation movies. He thought he can change the world, he did. Apple is now US$1Trillion in valuation and in fact if it were a country it would’ve been the 27th richest. We don’t know when we will get another Steve or another Apple but I’m sure it’s trying to change the world with passion.

MOVIES and The NERDWRITER

Evan Pushack aka “The Nerdwriter” creates videos about everything he can think of but mostly about people, art and movies. We share the same interest and his youtube channel has become a haven for me. I indulge in his content. With this platform he tries to help people. His K.I.N.D. “Kids In Need of Desks” video raised US$3 million for the school children of Africa. That’s worth 62 000 desks in 4 000 classrooms. He himself is struggling to make money from his videos but he never forgets to help. The world needs more of these people and those who can’t be them can at least support their causes.

I really talk a lot and mostly not about myself as much as my self-concept which is hugely not about me at all. I like talking about topics I love and consequently they become intertwined with my self-concept.

I don’t remember much before my high school life and I don’t rely on them so much for my self-image. As far as I can remember these are where my personal life revolves around, outside the relationships I’m keeping and building. These are where most of my time is spent. I like that I have a lot of mentors and passions. I can and have tried doing these for consecutive hours without getting even bothered. I hope that I would be able to keep most of these.

I have probably crafted, maybe stolen, my self-image around these people and activities. If they crumble, so as my self-image. They have contributed a lot to my ever-expanding self-concept as well as to the self I strive to be.

Knowing about people is my thing. Writing about them fuels me. I like to write more about people especially those who touch me. If I’d be given another chance to draw my life, I would still make this kind of piece.

credits/follow:@dotesports @startwithwhy @cultofmac @nerdwriter1@danicamarie

p.s. reading this entry proves how much i need to improve on the canon of disposition

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mountainbikeheart-blog · 5 years

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Hill Bike Forks

Essential mountain biking items for beginners

Mountain Cycle Forks | A very helpful beginners guide | Huge batch Bike HeartAll About Pile Bike Forks Recently We submitted a brief review of Full Interruption Batch Bikes> > in addition to I thought I may possibly dance a little considerably more into mountain bicycle forks. So let’s commence the understanding with the essentials like, what are pile cycle forks? What are usually their capabilities? What are generally they made of? Which are the maintenance methods used for you to have them clean? Essentially, Im gonna discuss and offer a useful beginners guidebook to mountain motorcycle forks. Yay me. What exactly is Hill Bike Fork?

Essential mountain biking items for beginners

A motorbike derive is a metal part of the bike which keeps the bike and typically the entrance wheel together. And so the new part which tends to make sure that your own personal bike’s front wheel is definitely linked to the main body on the bike. A hand typically has two mower blades upon either side involving the controls and leading fork which usually joins all these two blades. Here is the signing up for which we can observe from your front view connected with the motorbike. This portion is more connected to help the handlebar so which steerage is possible. Unnecessary to say, that front side wheel of the bicycle is known as a leading element to often the whole cycle and the actual person. So often, the particular wheels and tires have the attention in safety bank checks repairs and maintanance checklists. But batch motorcycle forks need a new little adore too.

Merely because I’m this kind of good guy, I have did this awesome mountain bike shell diagram below. This can supply you with a good overview associated with the different ingredients that will go into mountain pay suspension. For this plans, I actually based in in a fairly common the lady of RockShox forks. RockShock forks are extremely frequent on a lot regarding factory products. So My spouse and i thought it might end up being one of the most relevant.

Mountain Motorcycle Forks | A beneficial novices guide | Huge batch Motorbike Heart

Functions involving Pile Bike Forks

Except if your personal mountain bike is actually totally rigid, meaning simply no postponement, interruption at all, and then you’re forks usually residence a set of dampers. These shock absorbers supply interruption by allowing typically the derive blades to proceed vertically along depending about the terrain, speed connected with travel and size associated with protrusions. The type regarding suspension and their qualities depend on the sort of bike you could be making use of. They are cutely named “legs” of the circuit, to get a reason.

The hand delay, pause allows riders in order to equipment rough and difficult hiking trails and obstacles together with far more comfort and simplicity that a rigid motorbike. Due to the the front suspension getting all often the impact, rider tiredness will be heavily reduced inside palms and forearms. Likewise, the actual level of control in which top suspension provides is usually also a huge factor. An individual simply don’t have to be able to work so difficult to hang up on to the bicycle, as well as maneuvering it will become much less of any obstacle. Can You Ride A new Mountain Bike On The actual RoadWhat Are Mountain Bicycle Forks Made Of?

Cycle forks are often made involving steel, aluminum, magnesium, ti, carbon fiber and a lot of more materials and precious metals for presenting an extra advantage. In many cases, the particular fork is made connected with carbon fiber knives while the lightweight and solid with an aluminum the queen's to offer better strength.

The particular design notion of mountain cycle forks may differ widely based upon on the need, substance used, shape and construction requirement. Absolute care is definitely taken within each and also every aspect as typically the cruise feel. Riders will probably knowledge a product associated with all these factors collectively. These days, as there is not any room quality compromise, specifically with your forks. A lot more and more, purchase is disturbing the best bikes plus the best features. The makers giving answers to the call usually are the ones having the revenue.

For example, even even though carbon fibre forks will substantially raise the price of often the bike total, the producers are not taking the backside step. Because, from the end of the actual day, they already know that the consumer cares for having the particular very best experience and certainly not the price tag. In addition, these forks are developed to may help impact regarding vibrations proposed by the diverse types of terrain.

Inside yesteryear, it was pretty common to view wood extensively used as the motorcycle fork material. Thank chivalry, days past are gone.

Sorts of Bike Forks Delay, pause Forks

This kind involving shell has an further duty connected with providing pause to the riders. Several of the forks get a physical motion associated with up and down whilst new and hybrid designs have an internal motions which can be subtle and simple. Once more there are any couple of variations regarding suspension offered by typically the forks. 1. Single pay along with 2. double derive, which is to be directly attached for you to the spiral handlebar. This specific sort of design supplies a comfortable ride on incredibly tough terrain. Top on the lookout for starter mountain bike blunders to help avoidSingle Blade

Typically the best illustration which a single can think of is actually, the bikes used inside sporting. They are offered the postponement, interruption with just one single leg. Several huge name cycle manufacturing organizations just like Cannondale’s uses these kind of kinds of forks with their bikes. We cannot see this type involving single lower-leg suspended device in goes biking. Because often the demand for high efficiency along with the hilly terrain will need dual side blade in order to provide successful suspension. Connection To The Mainframe

Rarely assume that the hand will be attached to be able to the main deal with Technological innovation and research include exposed the door for quite a few fresh advancements and development. In several triathlon bikes, the actual forks will be immediately attached to the particular axis of an external shell, which is assisted simply by a couple of different frames independently.

Entrance Suspension

The pay interruption of the entrance wheel of an mountain motorbike has a significant portion of work to accomplish. Although going downhill or perhaps standard ride the weight with the rider and the bicycle was created to act more typically the front steering wheel. Commonly, hill bikes have the item adjustability of this weight behaving collection, firm or soft according to their personal using tastes.

Fork suspension connected with bikes up mountain trails are made right up of stanchion tubes while using vertical axis movement. These kinds of tubes can move upward in addition to down depending upon the need. Top tyre will be attached for you to the lower of the derive while the higher hand I attached to the top tube of the huge batch cycle frame. What will be a mountain motorcycle employed forAir spring

It is really an tool which is popularly made use of as spring action within the fork. So next moment once you feel smooth way up and down movements. Often the degree of resistance presented by often the spring can easily be adjusted as for every rider’s convenience. It’s therefore gratifying to see thus many options available to help riders of all measurements as well as riding styles. It may be really easy now to call inside your perfect custom delay, pause options. Rear suspension

Backside pause is only noticed in mountain bikes that offers dual, both front and also rear suspension. The odd terminologies for this sort of postponement, interruption are “full-sus” “dual-sus” throughout riders slang. As surfaces offers much more roadblocks along with challenges the actual amount of pressure in rear suspension will boost rapidly. The basic perform of the rear end in addition to front suspension tend to be practically the same as they will deal with the identical excess weight. But the rear jolt absorber is often positioned in the midst of the backed and front triangle listed below the rider’s seat.

Any sort of Mountain bike forks or maybe the suspension system often demand maintenance and cleaning, whether it be at home or services centre. As there are usually many parts which can be with motion, a small a significant bikes suspension may give you huge discomfort ride. Consequently always take an specialist thoughts and opinions and follow suggestions inside the service manual just before restoring your wonderful pile motorbike by yourself.

Well-liked Brands

In terms of forks presently there are a few models this stand out. Batch bike forks are and so important to your drive comfort. But also enjoy a vital part in keeping an individual safe and secure. Forks are priced accordingly, seeing that so much is cycling to them, literally. play that safe and look regarding trustworthy manufacturers like ‘RockShox’, for example. RockShox is the particular go-to individuals for consequently many bike companies. They will are of great benefit. But also keep a great eye out for companies like Marzocchi, X-Fusion as well as Fox. These are furthermore high quality manufacturers and just about all their products is a lot more than capable of stopping typically the mountain bike existence.

Ending

I hope My partner and i was able to provide better idea about batch bike forks and just how all of it goes together. When you have some other feedback, please leave them down below, and please consider opting-in to stay in often the loop. Appreciate your sharing reading and also happy pistes.

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fionas-french-challenge-blog · 5 years

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Blog 1 - Initial Challenge Planning

My challenge:

Vocabulary – Difficulty keeping up language practice outside class. I have tried to combat this sporadically through use of Duolingo, although it does not target specific vocabulary from my classes.

‘Thinking too much’ – Rather than trusting my knowledge of the language and letting myself feel how to correctly use the language I find myself grasping for particular rules and structures that I should be using, therefore hindering my fluency and stressing me out further. The best solution I have found for this is knowing structures very well so they are second nature, though this becomes an issue when I am placed in variable situations.

Getting confused about when to use different conjugations – I get confused about which conjugations to use in certain situations and find myself stressing and without knowing where to start if I haven’t been specifically instructed to use a certain one. I have best approached this in the past through memorisation, though I feel as if this knowledge has not stayed in my memory very well.

My Learning goal:

Getting a 6 in FREN2010 throughout the regular assessment pieces in the class and overall for the course.

Being able to differentiate and describe different verb tenses + conjugations (present; past (passé composé, imparfait); future (futur proche, futur simple); conditional).

Feeling more confident and relaxed in straying from specific sentence structures/responses/questions, especially in class. Decreasing my use of English in French classes.

Increase confidence in conversation (especially with native speakers).

Retaining knowledge so that I can have a good base for FREN2020 and speak functionally in France at the end of the year.

My learning styles and strategies:

Very clear guidelines/rules for grammar – Purposed French language learning Instagrams, Youtube, and Podcasts should help me with this by providing definitions and explanations for difficult grammar concepts using different learning strategies of which some will hopefully suit me.

Creativity – exploring knowledge through reuse which is then subject to critique; application of critique and revision of problem areas. – I will achieve this through interaction with French social media (Instagram). This creativity is given much room for exploration in my formal university class sessions and is therefore not a huge focus of mine for this challenge.

Group settings/discussions. – I can participate in discussions on Instagram and YouTube posts aimed specifically for French learning.

Natural and practical applications for knowledge – Exposing myself to French designed for native speakers (podcasts, YouTube videos, Instagram, Netflix, etc.) should help me to be more comfortable with integrating French into my everyday life, and therefore increase my familiarity with it in a casual setting.

The technologies I am going to test:

Duolingo:

Not very useful to actually teach me intricacies of grammar

Good way to revise and improve vocabulary

Requires listening to and replication of pronunciation

No options for experimenting with language knowledge (e.g. creativity using the language and therefore challenging self to be more independent with language – ‘thinking too much’ challenge)

Instagram: Following French Instagrams with language teaching focus, as well as sourcing some French Instagrams with an aesthetic I would like.

Exposure to native speakers of French and content intended for native speakers – broad exposure to structures, vocab, and culture I may otherwise be unaware of.

No output from me (unless I interact with the Instagrams in French)

iPhone: Changing language on iPhone to French

Only useful up to a certain point (once vocab for common phone notifications is learnt)

May be frustrating when I am trying to go about daily activities.

Netflix:

Preserves interest/motivation as language can be explored without focusing on the task as a targeted learning activity.

Native speaker speed and pronunciation, as well as slang and culture.

Some English movies/programs can be dubbed with French – expands content available and possibly means I can watch content that I’m already watching in French)

Youtube:

Gives a larger variety of content with which to preserve interest/motivation.

Good way to gain access to various teaching strategies for particularly challenging aspects of language.

Very self-guided -> can be very basic or very challenging.

Due to volume of content could be difficult to successfully locate useful resources.

Podcasts:

Countless options offered from lessons, news-readings, audiobooks, talks etc.

Many offered at various levels of French (purpose-made)

Not currently a habit of mine – often use my phone to listen to things when I specifically want to relax (e.g. after work or class), meaning that in such an occasion I may have to force myself into this.

CEFR language level tests:

Will be frustrating on top of usual class assessment.

Potentially not very accurate as the tests I have source seem to have only 20-30 questions on which to base their results. Therefore, may be necessary to take tests from multiple sources each time.

Tests may recycle questions so that it would be unwise for me to take the same test more than once over the course of this challenge.

My plan:

Trying to add activities into my day that I can reasonably attempt to incorporate as habits. This involves evaluating technology that I already use on a daily basis in terms of how my use of each may be altered slightly to increase French exposure.

Incorporating 4+ 30 minute or longer French listening activities into each week (May be Netflix show, movie, podcast, Youtube video).

Duolingo: Reaching 50XP per day.

Instagram: Because I already check Instagram almost daily, I will make sure to properly read through the content from the French Instagrams that I follow, making sure that I unpack the meaning completely.

iPhone: Changing language to French so that exposure every day is unavoidable.

My evaluation approach:

My goal of achieving a final mark of 6.0 or higher will be evaluated from the grades which I receive in my FREN2010 course at university. I will additionally record results from class assessment on my blog.

At the start of the challenge and every following fortnight I will take an online French placement test based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) learning levels. I will change the source of such a test each time, and perhaps do multiple tests at the same time, in order to increase accuracy of results.

Blog 1 Reflection:

I have intentionally designed my language learning challenge so that over the semester I can develop it in any way that I think is suitable. I have taken such an approach as this challenge must be incorporated into my daily life, and I want to go into the challenge from a practical perspective knowing that some aspects of the initial plan may be less realistic to fit into my lifestyle than others. Furthermore, I may discover that some aspects are less helpful for me in terms of achieving my learning goals than I thought they would be. Over the next week, I think it is important that I further evaluate my chosen technologies in terms of my goals and learning strategies, and do more research to explore other technologies which may be more useful for me in the context of this challenge. I would like to revise my plan for the challenge if necessary.

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aioe09 · 2 years

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The ten-point path will teach you how to transform into an NFT circle.MadCanner NFT upcoming!

At the moment, as BAYC, Disney, and other related entities continue to break the circle, I’m afraid the hottest concept in the Internet world and investment world is NFT. Many people within the circle have taken it as faith, erecting fortifications and extending upward; but a sizable portion of the outsiders, who do not understand what it is, wish to enter but are unable to, see cannot see.https://discord.com/invite/Wduk7zNjPM

This article will introduce ten fundamental learning paths that will assist anyone outside the white circle or new players in quickly entering the circle. I hope you can follow these paths after gaining some of their own insights and experiencing the joy of joining a genuine NFT circle of people.MadCanner NFT upcoming!

1. is familiar with the circle of black words and acronyms for high-frequency words

The NFT circle circulates a plethora of terms, abbreviations, confusing slang, and deliberate misspellings, some of which are required knowledge to enter the NFT circle and others of which are simply “boring” hackneyed; and this is a lot of new information for the “white” confused.

What does the term “Mint” mean? As in mint?

What exactly is Airdrop? I’ve only heard of Apple’s Airpods; is that a new product?

What is OS, an abbreviation for SOS?

Why is it that everyone sends GM first thing in the morning?

And as each of these issues, such as the Gas War, the Floor Price, and the Whale, becomes more and more familiar, those outside the circle become increasingly resistant; however, familiarity with these issues is actually the way to enter the circle. Additionally, the public can access NFT Labs via the NFT Labs website “How to quickly become an insider of the NFT? The following is a list of 32 slang terms used in the community “, I believe you can quickly become acquainted with and recall.

By mastering some significant or minor, or interesting or boring terminology, I believe they can help you integrate more easily into the positive, friendly NFT circle.

2, with a wallet in the shape of a “little fox” and some Token

The circle of “wallet” does not refer to the physical wallet to which we frequently refer, but to a virtual wallet. MetaMask, also referred to as “Little Fox,” is the most straightforward and convenient wallet, and is also the most popular among newcomers to NFT. The most frequently used by players, the most widely available option on the market today. You can search and learn, register and get a feel for it, but keep in mind to save the helper word and private key — they will serve as your gateway to the wallet.

A token is analogous to money in an account. Purchases, fees, and some routine operations all require Token, so having the appropriate amount is also critical.

The subsequent operations of 6 and 7 are inextricably linked to these.

3By means of a Twitter, Telegram, or Discord account

Twitter, Telegram, and Discord have developed into a hub and discussion forum for NFT projects and fans.MadCanner NFT upcoming!

Twitter is the international equivalent of “microblogging,” and in the absence of a comprehensive aggregation platform for early NFT projects, Twitter is the best tool for searching for and exposing early NFT projects.

Telegram is more akin to an international version of WeChat, but whereas WeChat limits users to 500 in a single group chat, Telegram limits users to 200,000 in a super group chat. Unlike WeChat, Telegram is primarily a messaging platform, which provides community members with a variety of communication options and access to a larger, more authentic community and user opinions.

Discord is the international equivalent of “YY” and is the primary social tool in the NFT space. Discord is a gathering place for fans of all NFT projects, a platform for direct conversations, events, and actions, and a tool for you to gain the most insight into the project and community, all thanks to its functional design. Once you’ve passed this point, you’ll feel the tool’s strength and understand why it’s become a popular social tool in the crypto world.

Although these tools are primarily in English, they contain a significant amount of Chinese content. And, with the advancement of powerful translation software, even users who are not native English speakers need not be concerned.

4Join some Web3 communities and increase your communication.

Web3 is a relatively broad concept, involving the concept of decentralization. Elements of the Web3 field include the DAO, NFT, and meta-universe. (See “Internet users’ revolution — three critical points to understand Web 3.0”); and in the Web 3.0 field in general, talent is the carrier, and the user is the core.

At the moment, the entire Web3 industry is in its infancy, and there is no one-size-fits-all learning path; therefore, in addition to active participation, the most effective method of learning is to communicate with users and industry insiders, solicit additional advice, and gradually transform it into your own understanding.

“One day on earth, one year on Web3” is an apt metaphor for the Web3 industry’s rapid evolution. If there is only one person in the field to figure out, it is easy to miss out on cutting-edge news, solidify one’s thinking, and eventually fall behind.

Of course, community is not limited; the WeChat community, the Discord community, and the Telegram community are all places where anyone can communicate. However, exercise caution when it comes to projects recommended by “unknown groupmates” and fancy advertising in the community.

5Create a new NFT avatar MadCanner NFT upcoming!

Because there are no two identical goods in the real world, they are referred to as non-homogeneous goods, which means unique, irreplaceable goods; similarly, because there are no two identical NFTs in the field of NFT, they are referred to as non-homogeneous tokens.

NFT insiders are delighted to purchase collectible NFTs and exchange them for their avatars — as each NFT is unique, each avatar is unique as well.

For new players, they may not have attempted to purchase NFTs yet, or they may discover that they enjoy NFTs — or that their favorite NFTs are prohibitively expensive; however, there is no rule stating that only the NFT holder may use the NFT as an avatar, just as there are far more BAYC users on the Internet who use BAYCs as avatars than there are BAYCs in existence.

Therefore, choosing an NFT that you like and incorporating it into your social media avatar may provide a unique chatting experience; why not give it a try?

6. Make a single attempt to be whitelisted.

Whitelisting is typically an incentive for early stage project backers, equating to granting backers a spot to cast one (or more) NFTs, and for some hot projects, whitelisting eliminates the need for users to pay high Gas fees to be first to Mint, thereby saving significant amounts of money. As a result, many users will engage in the activities of whitelisted projects; after all, they can opt out of Mint after being whitelisted, so there is no loss.

There are a variety of ways to become whitelisted, and they are constantly evolving as NFT’s popularity grows. Many projects begin by being randomly selected, and then require participation in activities, project-related art, and even now, many projects require you to sing, dance, or write a “small essay” in order to be considered for, can be said to be “increasing in volume.”

Naturally, the project establishes the specific rules. The whitelist of user-approved projects may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, while the whitelist of unapproved projects may not be requested.

7Experiment with Mint and purchase an NFT

Mint refers to the direct “casting” of an NFT, which falls under the primary market category; purchase refers to the direct purchase of an NFT from a trading platform, which falls under the secondary market category.

Mint is generally classified into two types: one that is directly related to the Mint project side of the contract established in the NFT, and another that is dedicated to preparing their own images, videos, and other content formats in order to Mint their own NFT. Generally, users refer to the “punch project” in one of two ways: the first, as a good long-term hold or as Mint after selling for a quick profit; and the second, as “Mint”. The second method is primarily used for commemorative purposes or to gain firsthand experience of the process.

Purchasing an NFT on the secondary market is the simplest way to obtain one, and it only takes a minute or two once you’ve chosen an NFT and prepared a specified number of Tokens. There are currently several different types of trading platforms available, each with their own distinct characteristics, but OpenSea remains the market leader, accounting for more than 90% of trading volume.

Whether using Mint or purchasing, it is an excellent way to quickly become acquainted with the NFT circle and logic.

8, acquire proficiency in the use of pertinent tools

If you’ve gotten this far, I believe you’re already a qualified NFT circle, but if you use the tools effectively, you’ll be able to see additional NFT market opportunities.

Photograph courtesy of Foresight News

Just as a chef cannot survive without a refined palate, tools greatly benefit NFT users. With the tool’s volume indicator, we can quickly understand changes in the market’s heat; with the tool’s giant whale indicator, we can learn about the projects that big investors are interested in, allowing us to assess the spread effect or risk of a crash; and with the tool’s rarity indicator, we can effectively choose the most cost-effective NFT.

Nftgo.io is the source of this image.

9, capture the instantaneous exchange of industry information

As stated in the article “a day on earth, a year on Web3,” the industry is changing at a breakneck pace, and with no particularly intelligent first-line news aggregation platform, all first-line news discovery and dissemination are artificial. If you are able to identify cutting-edge changes in the industry, obtain information about front-line projects, or have a keen sense of market sentiment and the ability to respond quickly, you are a very good NFT insider.

However, what if you can only see the data and lack the ability to analyze and respond? Post the information you discover to the community, engage in discussion with others, and incorporate the process and results into your own thinking, and you’re sure to gain something in the long run. While this may appear to be a simple task, it is one that many users are incapable of performing.

And let us not forget that the most profitable way to earn money is through the information gap.

ten, go over the entire NFT Labs release “from 0 to 1: NFT masteryMadCanner NFT upcoming!

From 0 to 1: NFT mastery “It can be used as a first step to introduce white people to the NFT circle and pique their interest in NFT; it can also be used as a final step once they have entered the NFT circle to help them advance a step closer to perfect knowledge of the entire NFT industry and even the Web3 ecology.

As I previously stated, there is no complete learning path for the entire circle. Numerous enthusiastic individuals in the industry are assisting those outside the circle in opening the door of NFT in their own unique way, as well as assisting those inside the circle in climbing to the top — even if they fail one day, they can provide a green shade for your Web3 friends to rest.https://discord.com/invite/Wduk7zNjPM

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