#turns out you can use different fonts for these so I chose one called Special Elite for our special elitist bastard man

[evermorehoon]

❣︎ ⎯⎯ misshapen reality

Idol pairing: jake x reader

Genre: fluff, heavy angst

Wc: 2.5k

Warnings: death, accident, injuries, mentions of marriage and weddings, too much hope, more tears than a human can create, surprise at the end!

A/N: so here's my first jake fic on this account!! And yes I chose angst because why not?? I'm a little iffy on it since it feels oddly paced but I hope you like it, feedback is highly appreciated♡♡ enjoy!!

You weren't someone who believed in true love, often thinking of it as something only in fairy-tales and fiction. Seeing the people around you fall in and out of love so easily chipped away at the thought of ever meeting that special someone.

Until you met him.

The library where you sat studying for your second year finals, it was dull and dreary. You rubbed your eyes, closing them for a few seconds before continuing to read the boring font when you felt a light tap on your shoulder. You wondered if you'd accidentally yawned too loud or something, thinking a librarian was giving you a warning.

"Are you using this?"

The low voice caused your ears to perk up, having heard it from somewhere. You turned around, being met with coffee brown eyes behind a pair of round glasses.

"The plug or the book?" Your voice came out as a whisper, somehow lost in his eyes. You could've sworn you'd seen him somewhere…

"The plug," he motioned to the laptop bag slung over his shoulder.

You gestured towards the plug against the wall, trying to bury your head in your book and not think about where you'd seen this boy.

Several minutes pass and nothing, nothing but wondering where you-

"Is something wrong?" His voice knocked you out of your thoughts. He had a genuinely concerned expression, worried he was making you uncomfortable with his presence.

"No!" You accidentally yelled out, earning an aggressive "Shh!" from a librarian. You mouthed a quick sorry before turning back to the pretty nerd in front of you. "No, it's just that I recognize you from somewhere."

"Maybe around campus?" He asked as he continued typing.

You shook your head. "I don't pay attention to people, I just wanna get to class, y'know?" You weren't sure what was coming over you. You'd never been one to start and hold a conversation with a stranger, but it seemed he didn't mind the company.

A few more minutes and you'd finally come to the conclusion that you shared two classes, with him always sitting in the middle and you right at the back. His hair was dark brown now, not much of a difference from the black hair you normally saw yet your slow brain couldn't recognize him until his hair blew out of his face.

"I'm Jaeyun," he introduced, keeping his voice low. "But you can call me Jake if you want."

After introducing yourself, a question of his origins came about. His expression and his slightly exaggerated chuckle evident he'd been asked this before way more than normal.

"You aren't mixed?" You furrowed your eyebrows, whisper-yelling in surprise as he shook his head; all he did was grow up in another country.

The few minutes turned into hours of conversation, with him somehow getting work done and you managing to understand content he could explain to you.

There was something in the way he spoke, the way he covered his mouth as he let out little laughs, the way he nodded to show he was listening, the way he'd stop typing to lean on his hand and use his index finger to pat on his plump lips in thought.

You assumed you wouldn't see each other again as you never crossed paths with people often, opting to stay at home alone where nothing could disappoint or hurt you. You didn't want to keep in contact with him, thinking he'd get bored of you like so many before him.

Yet days went by, and you found yourself in the same seat in the library with him sitting opposite you. The prettiest smile plastered on his face as he listened to you talk/whisper. He was a great study buddy, nice enough to let you borrow his laptop for a quick search for something.

He'd offered to study at a nearby coffee shop instead, wanting to have freedom to talk more, and just wanting to take you out on a date. He was too nervous and opted to ask you as a study buddy rather than potentially courting you.

But study days turned into three date nights, turned into weeks of courting and into months of dating.

You had asked him out, nervous yet excited. He couldn't contain his joy, his cheeks nearly burning from the smile on his face. His hair bounced gently as he let his puppy-like mannerisms get the better of him, hugging you happily.

The framed graduation picture of you two stayed on your side of the bed, diplomas in your hands as he placed a kiss on your cheek standing in front of the library.

Two years later, a picture of your left hand on instagram, adorning the silver engagement ring Jake had proposed to you with. It was a simple ring, with him having saved up for the wedding rings.

You talked of your future together, the two kids you planned to have, a golden retriever running alongside them. You often joked about him looking like that specific breed of dog, how he looked like his childhood companion that was now living with his parents. What fun would it be to watch Jaeyun and his future competition battle it out for the most loved golden of the family.

The wedding was set for at least another two years, searching for a house suitable to start a family in. Your combined salaries weren't very helpful when it came to property buying but you did your best.

"Two bedrooms sound good to me," you said, showing him the floorplan of the house. The backyard was a good size with a garage attached to the side of the house.

"Is it safe?" He asked. "Is it at least well centred?"

Good schools and safe neighborhoods mattered a lot to him. He wanted his children to grow up happy and have the best childhood he could offer. The house you showed him was close to perfect, residential area but with easy access to public transportation and not too far away from town. And just within your price range!

The single story house felt homey, maybe it was because of Jake. His presence made everything warm. He felt like the cuddliest hug on the coldest of winters, like a cup of coffee on a rainy day.

'Is this what love feels like?' You often wondered when you looked at him doing menial tasks like cooking ramen at 2am, humming softly. Watching him sleep on the nights where he was extra tired, seeing his chest rise and fall rhythmically, listening to his cute sleepy noises.

Marriage was right around the corner. Next stop, the rest of your lives together!

Your dress hung on the door of your closet after having your last fitting a week before the wedding. You and Jake had been staying in separate hotels close to the venue, excitement overflowing through both of you.

"No, you can't come in!" You yelled as he whined from the other side of the door. "You can't see the bride before the wedding!"

"Come on, do you really believe in that?" He asked, laughing at your cuteness.

'Doesn't matter, go away!"

"Fine," you could hear him mumbling sadly before speaking up. "It took me a while to get here, y'know?"

"I know," you giggled, leaning against the door. "I can't wait for tomorrow."

"Me neither," he smiled softly.

It seemed after you had let out a dreamy sigh, you noticed his presence was no longer there. Just a few more hours before you were officially wedded to each other, husband and wife.

It made you excited to know you’d found someone so unbelievably perfect, someone wanted by many and yet fell for you. Your life was surely brighter with him around. He filled your everyday life with love and light. The thought of sleeping was barely on the table, wanting nothing more than to marry the love of your life.

Having woken up super early, you didn’t feel an ounce of exhaustion from having barely slept. The smile on your face never left as your bridesmaids took random pictures of you for the “scrapbook” they planned for your gift. They planned to collect the pictures they took, getting Jake’s groomsmen to do the same for him.

Everybody was super excited, with everything prepared it looked like the perfect day.The guests had been seated, Heeseung - one of Jaeyun’s friends from uni - offered to play the piano for your entrance. Only he didn’t look very ready, neither wedding party did.

‘What’s taking so long?’ You stood outside the entrance of the church, wondering why no one gave you the go ahead.

“Y/n!” You heard one of your bridesmaids call out. “We have a problem…”

“What?” You wanted to let out one of those ‘what could it possibly be?’ type of laugh but it came out way more worried than it should’ve.

“We can’t find Jake.”

You seemed to blink in disbelief. ‘What?’ you thought, but it came out of your mouth in a broken tone. There was no way he suddenly got cold feet. Not when he was practically elated last night.

“We can’t reach him,” another bridesmaid came from behind her. “Jay and Sunghoon aren’t here either and we can’t reach them.”

Should you be crying? Do you even want to cry? What are you supposed to be thinking? What are you supposed to be feeling? Did he change his mind that quickly? Did Jay and Sunghoon help him ‘escape’ marrying you?

Your head began to hurt from all the swirling thoughts, trying to come up with a reason as to why he wasn’t there. He always had his phone on him and he was known to be punctual.

What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it? What was it?

“Keep trying,” you said softly. “Maybe he’s late.”

And with that, you walked down the aisle. You opted to have the veil cover your face, close to masking your empty expression. Heeseung was too busy trying to reach either of the three to play your entrance, so silence filled the air. Not long before, a wave of murmurs and whispers came as the congregation began to pity you.

Never did you think you would be stood up, left alone at the altar of all places.

After what felt like hours, you’d given up on waiting, urging the guests to enjoy the reception’s food and drinks. There wasn’t any reason to let that money go to waste, might as well let them enjoy themselves as you walked out, having handed your bouquet to your maid of honour and asking them not to follow you. You just wanted to be alone, almost as if that’s how your life was meant to be; lonely and empty.

You decided to go straight home, sitting uncomfortably in the back of the stranger’s car. It was a struggle to feel anything, let alone cry. Maybe when you were alone and drowning yourself in alcohol, you would.

You had no motivation to change, flopping yourself on the couch and ripping the veil out of your hair. You looked down at your left hand, feeling the long awaited tears well up in your eyes. You’d left your engagement ring in your hotel room, having been excited to replace it with the gold band you would’ve worn for the rest of your life.

Mere seconds later and tears finally spilled down your cheeks. Your pained cries echoed through the cold and empty house, wailing sounding like one of a widowed ghost. You didn’t expect to cry so the mascara you wore ran down your cheeks as you cried.

You cried, and you cried, and you cried until you passed out. You were sure your head would be pounding in the morning but you didn’t care. Nothing could mend your shattered heart, it was too early to tell if you would ever get over it. Most likely not.

The next morning, the after effects of drinking and crying came to bite you in the ass. The entire day felt like a blur but at least you changed out of your dress, sitting on the couch in a ball of tears and emptiness.

The queen-sized bed felt wrong to sleep in. It was cold and unwelcoming, it didn’t seem to want you to sleep in it unless Jake was with you. And he wasn’t. He left you at the altar, gutted and embarrassed and hurt. Like a discarded dog toy.

It may have been just a few days, maybe less than a few, you didn’t know. But one of your friends managed to barge her way into your house, having the only spare key.

Nothing she said seemed to stick, it seemed like her mouth was just moving.

“It was a freak accident.”

You stared at the floor of the hospital’s waiting room, blank and emotionless.

‘He was in an accident. An accident the night before his wedding. He didn’t leave me. It wasn’t his fault.’

It was the worst thing imaginable. There were multiple bystanders, each telling the same story but none of that mattered.

All you remembered was that the three were hit by something huge, too big to jump out of the way of. Jay tried to save the two, tried to push them out of the way and let it hit him first. He died on impact, with the other two managing to survive.

Sunghoon wasn’t fortunate enough as he passed away on the way to the hospital with no way to save him as he’d suffered a heavy amount of injury. Jake, the only surviving one, was put in a coma.

You wanted to offer comfort to Jay and Sunghoon’s families but the info was too much for your broken brain to even try processing that all you could do was breathe, even if it was barely. They had been good to you, Jaeyun’s same age best friends and now they were gone. You couldn’t imagine how he would feel when he woke up.

Days passed and he was still in a coma. Both families wanted him to be there for the funeral but had to go ahead with it seeing as they had no idea when he would wake up. With the two laid to rest, all you could do was wait. Sit at home and wait.

Until the news came. The long-awaited news that he was awake.

You rushed to the hospital, heart filled with relief and anxiety, tears threatening to spill from the joy knowing he was alive.

But you didn’t listen to whatever the doctor was saying. You just wanted to see him, to know he was okay.

His parents and his brother were in the room, talking to him slowly. He sustained heavy brain injury as his head hit solid ground hard enough to cause long term damage. It meant the only thing that you failed to listen to.

Upon seeing his face, his head heavily bandaged, you wanted to cry. There he was, alive and breathing. “I’m so happy you’re okay, Jaeyun, I missed you so much!”

It was a shame that his brother had to hold you back, eventually having to hold you up as Jaeyun scanned your tear-stained face.

“Who are you?”

#enhypen fic #enhypen angst #enhypen jake #jake enhypen #jake enhypen fic #jake angst #enhypen x reader #enhypen imagines #enhypen headcanons #enhypen jake angst

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

#Charles Emerson Winchester III #heart locket my beloved for ts #M*A*S*H #MASH #turns out you can use different fonts for these so I chose one called Special Elite for our special elitist bastard man #Starky's Original Posts #I KEPT SEEING THESE FOR LITERALLY EVERY OTHER CHARACTER ON THE SHOW EXCEPT HIM SO I HAD TO TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS #edit: Topshelf Stateofintegrity reminded us that today #is the anniversary of the death of the honorable and esteemed DOS #did not realize that upon creating this but. well. God damn. #RIP sir please accept this tribute

[flowerwrites06]

break my mind’s eye special — jjk

Plot: Jungkook thinks marriage is the only way to seal a deal.

Pairing(s): Druglord!Jungkook x Fashion Designer!OC (Name: Belle)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Special 

Word Count: 7k+

Genre: Mafia | Angst/Smut/Fluff

Tags & Warnings (for entire series): drug dealing, marriage through trickery, explicit smut, drug use, dubious consent, prostitution, miscarriage, lots of manipulation, impregnation through manipulation 

Walking through the dark halls of permanently stained apartment building, Jungkook finally stood in front of a familiar number written on the text. He rapped at the wooden door a few times hearing a couple of grunts and rummaging from the other side. He sighed. “It’s me, Hoseok, you don’t have to hide the weed.”

“ Oh! ”

A few locks clicked here and there before the door swung open to welcome a light air of smoke mixed with the stench alone that could make Jungkook high. Hoseok gave him a loose smile, holding onto his arm as a wide grin spread across his lips. “You finally made it!”

Jungkook hummed trying not to grimace too much at the smell as the older male closed the door behind them.

“Come on, tell me…” Hoseok patted his back, prancing towards the couch where the coffee table was exuding smoke.

The apartment was miniscule with one bedroom door open on the left and a tiny kitchen on the right with a window next to the fridge. Another one near the dining table. Walls were a gross green tint and the floors a dull brown with black velvet couches that were ripped a little at the edges. But Jungkook could not complain.

“Tell you what?” The younger male dropped his bag on the floor and sat on the couch next to him, burying his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

Hoseok picked his joint back up and hovered it near his lips. “What was prison like?” He sucked in his cheeks causing the ambers to light up at the end before he blew the thick smoke away from Jungkook.

“Like living with a bunch of criminals. What else?”

“So just like old times then.” Hoseok smirked.

Jungkook glanced at the male for a moment before scoffing out a chuckle. “Yeah…pretty much.” Except there was one difference. Every time he pranced with criminals like himself in the past, he was a leader. In prison, he was young, fresh meat. Before he would also come back home to a warm embrace in bed instead of a steel bed alone with a stinky roommate.

“Well it’s all over now.” He blew out another puff of smoke, shifting to rest his head back against the couch. “You can start doing something else with your life. Something different. Not a lot of people like us get that chance.”

For the first time, he noticed a slight sadness in Hoseok’s tone despite being pumped with artificial endorphins.

His eyes flickered down to the coffee table, noticing the burger wrappers and scattered newspapers. One of them immediately caught his eye. Jungkook sat up again, pulling one of them out of the pile, the right corner of his lips twitched seeing the familiar face.

‘ FAMED DESIGNER KIM BELLE RULES TOKYO FASHION WEEK ’

A side by side picture of a model wearing violet and gold ensemble which almost resembled the traditional kimono with a modern, royal twist. The picture on the right showed her. Belle wearing a simple black dress with her gorgeous waves out and a gracious smile spread across her lips.

‘ Twenty seven year old fashion designer Kim Belle takes all the popularity and buzz with her winter designs for Tokyo Fashion Week. Showing her long love for traditional Japanese fashion culture along with an inspiring movement for domestic violence and trafficking victims by showcasing broken chains and kimono style gowns. An elegant mix of grace and fight for personal freedom. Truly an impressive successor to the legend that was Madame Saito and we are definitely going to keep an eye out for more of her daring projects. ’

“She made a big damn name of herself.” Hoseok broke through the thick coat of silence Jungkook had around him.

“She deserves it.” More than I ever did.

The older male searched his expression for a moment, scoffing a little. “Dude, I have to ask.”

Jungkook met his gaze as he leaned back onto the couch again with the newspaper still in his hands. “What?”

“Why her?”

His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you—literally could’ve had anyone in the entire country to pose as your fake wife or whatever. But you chose a fashion designer who barely knew anything about you to begin with…” Hoseok shook his head with a light wince. “What was your angle?” Some part of him did not want to believe Jungkook simply blackmailed someone for his own amusement because he knew the man was better than that.

Jungkook wished he had a decent reason to blurt out to him. Maybe he was just inherently evil and wanted to hurt Belle for his own pleasure. Maybe he wanted to fuck her one time just for kicks before dragging her out a little further until it was too much. Maybe he was just sick in the head, wanting to claim a girl who could not say a word against him because her and her brother’s life were wrapped around his finger. Except none of them felt like the truth. “I honestly thought she’d say no.”

“Oh fuck off—”

“Seriously I…” He shrugged a little. “I really thought she was going to punch me and storm out of there with her brother.”

“But the guards wouldn’t let her. I mean—no offense, buddy but you would’ve probably killed her. Knowing you from back then.” Hoseok scrunched his nose lightly.

“She did something ten times more dangerous though.” Jungkook couldn’t resist the jolt of pride bursting in him. “I destroyed her—so she waited until she destroyed me.”

Hoseok chortled a little, voice incredibly raspy. “I wouldn’t call going to jail for your crimes destroying you but sure…”

Jungkook shared a small laugh, nodding as he looked at her picture again. He could almost still feel her soft skin underneath his palm. How her hair smelled when he would hug her from behind as they slept, the way it soothed him to a calmer sleep.

“It’s a thing of the past though…” He tilted his head as his expression turned a little more serious. “…right? No more pulling her into shit she doesn’t deserve?”

“Yeah—yeah, of course.”

“Good…cause Belle’s the star of the city now. One wrong move towards her, you’re back in jail or worse.” Hoseok raised his brow a little making sure there was not a hint of determination on that young face of doing anything stupid. “You don’t have guards or power by your side and Taehyung isn’t addicted anymore. Has a wife and kid…he’s got the dad anger. So he will beat the living shit out of you if you give him the motivation.”

“I know, Hobi.” Jungkook chuckled, patting his thigh gently. “I don’t want her to go through it again either.”

Hoseok hummed a little taking another waft from his joint as he looked out the window, the sky tinted purple. “Alright. I’m gonna go and eat my girlfriend out.” He patted his shoulder, walking up to his bedroom.

“You had to look at the time for that?” Jungkook winced despite the grin on his face.

“Brother, when you’re together for this long, things need schedules.” He walked out of the bedroom with a black duffel bag putting out the joint onto the ashtray. “Food’s in the fridge and there’s Netflix open on the laptop.”

Jungkook waved him off before the door clicked close leaving him in his thoughts. For some reason, all he could do was look back at the newspaper and try to salvage that warm feeling again. The feeling of a true home that could never be.

-

Purple faded into a deep blue across the skies as Jungkook paced around the apartment in his bare torso, scattered with more imperfect tattoos. One cellmate liked doing tattoos because it calmed him down so the younger male did not hesitate much to let him use his skin. He was a nice man who had been thrown in jail for being a drug mule all his life and Jungkook could not help but have a nauseating guilt in his stomach.

Drug mules were essentially trafficked human slaves from Jungkooks’ experience. Their owners use their lives and bodies to transport goods without being detected and usually they start off terrifyingly young or desperate or both. All this service was done for almost little to no money. They were more abused victims than criminals but the legal system were not good at telling the difference sometimes.

Jungkook allowed his body to be used as if giving himself some kind of cathartic relief allowing the broken soul to control something else for a while instead of being controlled. Thus his skin now littered with designs of devil horns, tiger flowers and his own personal request was a tiny print font ‘B’ on his collarbone. No one could truly see it up close but he wanted to feel it there.

Chugging a generous sip from his beer bottle, he quietly observed the night sky glimmering with stars while the city shone in neon. The one thing his mansion lacked was the clear view of how alive everything looked at night.

A knock sounded on the door causing his head to shoot to the side.

Hoseok should not have been home at this hour. Even if he was, the man would not knock in his own apartment.

Jungkook opened the kitchen drawer and brandished a knife before making his way over to the door. Another knock sounded again. It was a gentle knock. Almost shy. But he knew better than soften up so easily. Carefully, he peeked through the peephole trying not to make too much of a sound even though the wooden floors creaked far too much.

His heart jumped right up to his throat seeing the familiar face on the other side. Jungkook almost dropped the knife on the floor trying to focus as best as he could. Was he drunk already? Was he dreaming? Gulping down, he placed the knife on the side table along with the beer bottle and opened the door.

When the view became clear to him, Jungkook let out a sharp breath. “Belle.”

Her hair was shorter up to her shoulders compared to the length in the newspaper picture except she still always kept her natural waves. Eyes a little glazed while her flushed lips spread into a weak smile before pressing them together again. “I-I don’t–I don’t know why I’m here.” Belle’s furrowed her brows a little.

“It’s okay.” He whispered. “Come in.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Jungkook smiled even though a small tinge of sadness shone in his eyes.

He opened the door further for her to enter before closing it behind him. Eyes flickered down to her grey sweatpants and frilly white socks paired with a thick sweater like she just woke up from a nap.

Belle kept her back to him for a few minutes, pretending to observe the apartment even though she was really just trying to figure out why she was here. Questions muddled her mind over and over again. Any valid or logical answer. There was nothing. No reason to be standing here when she tried so hard to walk away from him. She did everything to get away. Now she walked right back without any coercion.

Jungkook tilted his head attempting to meet her gaze but decided not to force it too much. “You cut your hair.” A smile twitched on his lips. “It looks nice.”

She absentmindedly touched her waves, breathing out a small chuckle. “Thank you.”

“Uh—how did you know I was here?”

“Namjoon helped me track you down.” Belle mumbled, guilt pooling in the pit of her belly going behind Yoongi’s back like this. She still remembered what Namjoon said when he gave her the address.

‘I’m only giving you this because I know you’re tough as nails…no matter what people say to you…but the second anything goes wrong, you call me.’ Namjoon had become a close friend in the last few years. He had been escorting her back and forth from home to work.

Yoongi had been disallowed to see her after being undercover so he could get a proper therapy before doing field work again. So Namjoon seemed the next obvious choice to take care of her.

Finally Belle turned around to face him, eyes raking down his torso and seeing new designs etched on his skin. Not as precise as the phoenix but still beautiful. “The tattoos look good.”

Jungkook glanced down at his torso with a soft grin. “A friend did them for me.” He met her gaze again even though she quickly averted it, plunging silence back into the room as they waited for it to be filled. “Belle…why are you here?”

Her body deflated as the question lingered in the air, lump growing in her throat while her knees kept trembling. “I—” Belle closed her eyes. “I mis—I missed you.” She smiled sadly before trailing her glossy gaze away again. “It sounds stupid when I say after so long.” Her voice kept getting constricted from the lump, tears filling at the brim of her eyes. “But I still think about you…I still kept that—stupid letter after all these years.”

A familiar warmth seeped through his veins knowing she missed him but it still mixed with dread and guilt. Jungkook scarred her memories forever with his presence and she was so confused on what it meant. He could see the way she shifted and looked away as if trying to push reality away but face it all the same. “I hurt you a lot. I’m so sorry—if I—if I could do it all over again, I’d do it better.”

“How could it have been better?” Belle shook her head. “We met when my brother owed you a debt.”

Jungkook raised his shoulders. “Maybe we’d have met at your boutique.” He attempted to smile a little at the thought of just walking into that boutique and falling in love the normal way. The happy way. “I’d have flirted with you a lot and you’d roll your eyes at me. We’d travel together to Paris or Tokyo, explore the things we love and eat ice-cream until our stomachs ached.” A tiny chuckle passed through his lips.

Belle had to suck in her trembling bottom lip as tears began escaping down her cheeks. “And?”

“We’d get married…properly. Away from my family, we’d relax somewhere at a beach.” The visions in his mind played without any effort causing his eyes to flood knowing it was all an impossible dream now. “We’d have children…we’d love them so much, Belle—”

She couldn’t hold in the sobs that shook through her body. At the very mention of children, Belle felt a tingle under the skin of her belly, memories of the aches still lingering. “Why didn’t you just take the money?”

“What?” He whispered.

“Why didn’t you just take the money? And don’t tell me it was because of business or keeping up appearances. Why? Why me?”

The ever burning question. Even the interrogators asked them the question. What was the motive to taking in Miss Kim? A lot of people owed you debts. Jungkook only answered with a vague, menial answer that had no real connection to his deeds as a boss.

“It was—it was just an impulse…”

Belle’s expression hardened even though her eyes still looked so vulnerable and broken. “An impulse?” Her voice was small and meek. “That’s it?”

“I didn’t think you’d—say yes.”

Saying it to Hoseok was easy. Saying it to Belle felt evil. Jungkook noticed the darkness clouding over her beautiful features, a mixture of heartbreak and pure rage.

“You put my brother’s life on the line and you thought I wasn’t going to say yes?” Belle winced, tone rising back to its original power. A harsh slap of reality learning that one of the most traumatizing experiences of her life happened because one man had an impulse decision to use his power over her.

“Belle, it was years ago—”

“So why am I still getting nightmares about it?!” She shrieked leaving a tense silence to plunge into the room while her voice still echoed through the walls a little. “W-why h-haven’t I stopped seeing t-that mansion every time I close my eyes? Wh-why do I wake u-up scared that I’m still in that room w-while they watch—” Belle let out a loud, trembling breath closing her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping to her chest from her jawline as she hugged herself tightly.

Jungkook stammered, swallowing down the painful lump in his throat as he attempted to keep his composure. “You didn’t have to come and see me.” He whispered.

“I wanted you to see me.” Belle sniffled shakily. “Staying away from you doesn’t help because you could always push it out. I can’t—I can’t push it out because it’s inside me.”

“You think all this has been easy for me? That I just pushed it out?” Jungkook shook his head with a pained expression as their gazes met again. “Yeah our first meeting was an impulse but that didn’t mean it was always like that. I stopped a lot of contact with my family when you told me you were pregnant. That letter was meant to be the last thing I said to my parents before we left.”

Belle wanted to argue that he just started getting sympathetic after her pregnancy but she would be a hypocrite. Even she felt softened knowing a child was growing inside her. “You wanted to kill the mayor too, Jungkook, how long would that have taken?”

“Overnight if it meant I’d be escaping somewhere with you.” Jungkook spoke without hesitation, still remembering all the plans he had in place for their move.

“But I would’ve lost the baby anyway.” She smiled sadly. “It was natural causes.”

The male took a few careful steps forward, trying not to intimidate her but hopefully close a little more distance between them. “I didn’t just do it for the baby, Belle.” Jungkook sighed. “I did it cause I love you…but I knew we couldn’t be happy if we were at that mansion and I was still running the cartel.”

Belle sniffled. “I wish you didn’t love me.” Her chin trembled, her body tired of brewing more sobs as tears filled her eyes again. “I wish I didn’t love you. Maybe all this would be easier.”

“When has it ever been easy between us?”

“That’s the problem.” She pressed her lips together. “Love shouldn’t be this difficult. Maybe sometimes but—every single day wondering whether what you’re feeling is real…or worrying that something terrible is going to happen if I stay with you for too long.” Features contorted in pain as she stumbled on her feet a little.

Jungkook’s inhibitions banished immediately seeing her trip slightly, rushing to her side and gently holding onto her arm. Before he could say anything, he felt Belle rest her head on his chest. A burst of butterflies soared across his belly having that familiar smell touch his nostrils and the warmth of her body radiating onto his cold bare skin.

They didn’t say a single word as Jungkook properly wrapped his arms around her body, fingers brushing through her soft hair. Her sobs were quiet but her body still trembled and his embraced tightened a little. As if praying that all of her pain could be transferred to him so she did not have to suffer through it all.

Belle should have pulled away the moment he touched her but the warmth was too much. Her body felt heavy against his, melting onto his skin almost like they could join as one. Maybe that could repair some of the damage. Breathing became steady as she allowed herself to relax. A protective part of her still tried ensure she was not too vulnerable but another part said it was too late.

In this particular weakened moment, she was his and he was hers.

-

15 unread messages.

Namjoon: How did it go? Are you good?

Namjoon: Taehyung said you didn’t come home last night.

Namjoon: Belle?

Namjoon: I don’t want to have to track you down.

Namjoon: Please tell me if you’re okay.

Namjoon: Yoongi and Taehyung found out, I’m sorry.

Belle: I’m okay.

Namjoon: Jesus, don’t scare me like that.

Namjoon: Where are you?

Belle: I’m still at Jungkooks’ place.

Namjoon: Okay. Is everything alright?

Belle: I don’t know.

Namjoon: What do you mean? Did he hurt you?

Belle: No.

Namjoon: Just tell me what happened.

Namjoon: Look I’m not Yoongi or Taehyung. I won’t get mad, alright? You can tell me.

Belle: I slept with him.

Namjoon: Okay that’s fine.

Belle: No it’s not.

Namjoon: Did he hurt you or force you or anything?

Belle: No, no it was consensual.

Namjoon: Then I don’t see an issue.

Belle: How?

Namjoon: Considering he’s a former drug lord, I expected far worse things done to you then you two just consensually having sex.

Belle: Are they really angry?

Namjoon: I’ll handle Yoongi and Angel’s handling Taehyung. They’re grown men, they’ll get over it.

Namjoon: Just come back up again.

Belle: Okay. Thank you, Joon.

Namjoon: Anytime.

Belle let out a sigh, chest falling a little as she hugged her phone for a moment before placing it on the nightstand. Eyes scanned the ceiling, a few brownish stains here and there but nothing far too putrid. Her old apartment usually had those stains after a storm. She felt Jungkook shift a little, his arm still resting over her body while his face buried into her neck. It was so easy allowing the warmth to coat their little bubble.

Except it was not a bubble of theatrics. She was not pretending to be Mrs. Jeon anymore. She was a fashion designer with her boutique and Jungkook was a regular man trying to get by in the city. They were two normal people with no real threat to be together but they were here.

The ache between her legs still pulsed a little when she remembered the night before.

The very minute she resorted to hugging him, Belle knew it was going to be difficult to turn back from it. Deep recesses of her mind surfacing up to whisper in her ear that it would be okay just this once.

To feel him again.

To have his head between her legs at this moment, kissing and nibbling on all her sensitive nub while his fingers pads dug into her thighs. Jungkook took his time. Licking a stripe tantalizingly slow, tasting her juices until it was the only remnant on his tongue. He let out a breath through his nose as his lips wrapped fully around her clit, suckling passionately until her thighs closed up around his head only making him moan.

Belle whined against the vibrations on her aching, sensitive skin as her fingers found themselves knotting in his hair. Chest rising and falling she faced the ceiling. Lower belly burned and tightened as Jungkooks’ movement did not falter, shaking his head a little to jolt more of that head-spinning heat.

…

Bed creaked as Belle straddled him, bouncing at a steady pace while her hands rested on his torso. Moonlight painted her sweat glistening skin through the window. As if the whole city could see her relishing in her own guilty pleasure. Except the guilt was nowhere to be found.

His hand trailed up her abdomen to cup her breasts gently, digging a little into her tender skin to earn a small whimper from the woman. Then he moved up to her neck. Jungkook cupped the side, thumb tracing her bottom lip while the other hand gripped at her shaking hips.

Belle suckled on his digit muffling her moans all the while clenching tightly around his member until it sent shivering tingles up her spine. She hummed in satisfaction as Jungkook groaned at the pressure.

“You feel so good.” He pushed in his thumb a little further watching her slightly drenched curls fall over her face. A smile curled up at the corner of his lips hearing the sinfully loud squelch sounds their thrusts emitted. “So fucking beautiful.” Jungkook whispered. He forced himself to keep his eyes open, wanting to take every second of how she tried to suck on his skin harder every time she dropped down roughly.

“I’m close.” Belle’s words were a little muddled against his thumb. Her thrusts grew desperate and relentless, pussy squelching violently as their incessant moans swirled in the sex scented air.

Bursts of searing heat and unbridled pleasure shook through their limbs, pulsing through her veins as Belle’s movements became sloppy. Jungkook had his head pressed deep against the pillow as his muscles tensed feeling her walls clench around him before he pulled himself out, release spewing out onto his belly. Belle cheekily reached down to touch his reddened member, giggling lightly when he jerked against it.

Jungkook followed with a breathless chuckle of his own as she rested back on his chest, uncaring of how messy they were.

It was the first time they laughed after sex.

Granted it was not much but last night gave her a dreamless sleep. A welcomed type of sleep. They cried, hugged, moaned and laughed. So many sensations all at once was bound to make anyone have such a deep sleep that they do not want to wake up the next day. A wonderful feeling. It would be temporary before her other dreams settle in again but Belle was not going to let them get to her this morning. She wanted to relish in this new, momentary peace.

Jungkook began stirring more, light hum under his breath until he finally opened his eyes to a calming sight. Tired vision still a little blurred but he could always make out her face. “Sleep well?” His voice grumbled despite the smile creeping on his lips.

Belle turned to meet his gaze, mimicking his gentle smile. “Really well.” The curl slowly disappeared from her lips as reality seeped through their comfort. “We can’t see each other anymore. You know that, right?”

He nodded although solemnly. “I know.” Whatever red string they forced themselves to tie around their pinky finger had to separate one day. Even when reluctance settled in. “Like you said, love shouldn’t be as difficult as ours was.” Jungkook shifted so he lay down his back, one arm curled so he could rest his head on top of it.

“I don’t have to leave now though.”

“What, you want more?” Jungkook licked the inside of his cheek as a smirk formed, one of his hands reaching out to gently touch her lower belly.

Belle pushed his hand away with a chuckle. “No…I meant something else.” She pulled the sheets up to cover herself a little, goosebumps forming on her skin when the room brushed a little cold. “Ice-cream. We could get ice-cream.”

A jolt of nostalgia burst through him as he remembered the last time that request was passed between them. Despite expecting a child back then, Jungkook preferred this more knowing Belle was sitting here by her own volition. That was what mattered most. “Yeah…we can get ice-cream.”

-

Tiny slab of pink and mint down the food line of the city. Belle somehow managed to make his black T-shirt and her sweatpants look strangely put together while he buried himself in his hoodie. They walked inside the cute parlor immediately greeted by a kind boy at the counter.

Making their orders, the couple took their ice-cream cups to a booth at the corner.

Thankfully the parlor was empty since no one bought ice-cream this early in the morning so it would be difficult for them to be spotted.

Journalists eventually grew bored of doing stories on Jungkook and Belle’s ‘tragic love story’ but she knew the moment, a single person saw them, it would be chaos.

“Did you have any trouble these few years?” Jungkook asked feeling a sense of joy in his mouth as the sweet taste touched his tongue.

Belle shrugged lightly. “Apparently there was a hired hitman for a while but he was quickly detained. Then a stalker which lasted for a few months.”

“What did he want?”

“Namjoon found out he was a spy for a gang called Pogpungu Pa.”

“Fucking tongue twister.” Jungkook scoffed. “They wanted a large percentage of my cocaine supplies in exchange for prostitutes.” He waved his spoon. “Told him I didn’t work in that line of business so the Don got pissed.”

“Well he’s also detained. Namjoon’s been very quick in dealing with them. Probably happy to be out on the field again with Yoongi still at his desk.” Belle suckled the remnants of brownie bits from her spoon.

“Why is he at his desk?” His brows furrowed.

“Standard procedure, I guess. Every detective is meant to have a few months of therapy and leave from field work. But I’m pretty sure it’s a new thing that the mayor advised.”

“They’ve been doing a lot of things.”

“A lot of good things.” Belle corrected, narrowing her gaze even though her expression was not completely serious.

Jungkook smiled lightly picking up another small scoop of his ice-cream. “You’ve been doing a lot of good things. The Tokyo fashion week.”

Her eyes almost immediately lit up when the topic was mentioned and Jungkook couldn’t help but feel accomplished that he initiated it. “You knew about that?”

“Saw it in the newspaper. It looked good.”

Belle grinned from ear to ear, eyes shining in the bright lights of the parlor. “Angel helped me with the movement. She wanted to create a shelter for domestic violence victims like her. So I offered to promote it in the fashion shows.”

“Oh yeah Hoseok told me…Taehyung and Angel, they have a kid, right?”

“Yeah…” She giggled lightly. “A little baby daughter.”

“That’s good.” Jungkook nodded with a wide smile. “He’s all okay now?”

“Clean and sober for four years. He—relapsed another time but when they got married and then started trying for children, he never went back again.” Belle murmured still remembering the happiest look on Taehyung’s teary eyed face when he first held his baby. That was all she ever wanted for her brother. True happiness. “I kind have you to thank for that.”

He hummed in disapproval. “Don’t, please—the way I did it was wrong.”

“Yes but everything happens for a reason. I think if that didn’t happen…he might not be here at all.” Belle shook his head. “He also did technically meet Angel in the Sangria House. The only reason we even had her booked was because I met Seokjin at the party with you.”

Strange how time fools you in that way. It makes you feel regretful of the bad things that happened in the past except you could not possibly take them back because it would mean diminishing the good things along with it. Delicate and strange thing time was.

“I would’ve never been free from that place if you didn’t go behind my back.” Jungkook smiled down at the cup. “I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“Speaking of which…how is it like being a normal joe in the city?” Belle asked with a cheeky glint in her eye as she tapped her fingers against the ice-cream cup.

“Apparently you have to pay for grocery bags now.” He waved his spoon around.

“Yes for recycling and it’s been happening for a very long time.” She smiled.

His bottom lip jutted out in a little pout. “Not from what I remember.”

“Since when have you ever shopped for groceries?”

Jungkook scrunched his nose a little poking into the mint chocolate ice cream to pick out the chips. “Since yesterday.” He mumbled. “But I’m happy…” He nodded letting his words linger in their comfortable silence. “Or at least now I can do things that make me happy.”

“You could travel to Tokyo and Paris, eat ice-cream until your stomach aches…” Belle grinned. “You can get married to someone you love dearly and have lots of children. No more deals though.” She raised her index fingers as a warning.

Jungkook laughed. “No more deals, I promise.” He mixed around his melting ice-cream for a bit enjoying the little swirl. “What about you? What’re you going to do?”

“My therapist said I should take some time off from the boutique when I get the chance.” Belle quoted her therapist mostly but she never really thought about the prospect on her own until she discussed it with Yoongi. “Yoongi suggested we could go to Norway to disconnect for a little while.”

“Yoongi…wait, are you two—”

“No, silly. As friends.”

“Ah.”

“You think if I had a boyfriend like Yoongi, I’d sleep with you again?” Belle scoffed even though a smile tugged at her lips.

“Hey I’m pretty tempting.”

“Not that tempting.”

Jungkook scrunched his nose at her before chuckling as he practically slurped on his ice-cream at this point.

The couple sat in silence for a few moments finishing their breakfast desserts, unable to keep smiles off their faces.

“We go our separate ways now, yeah?” He spoke the truth this time. The satisfaction in his belly along with the warmth in his heart softly stating to him that it was time.

Belle smiled, a slight twinge in her chest but nothing compared to the relief brewing inside. A whisper in her ear telling her it was okay. It was okay to move on. “Yeah. No more looking back.”

Throwing their empty ice-cream cups away, the pair walked out of the parlor towards Belle’s car. Jungkook’s apartment was a few minutes’ walk away. She wanted to drive because it made it that little bit easier to go back home immediately. At this point, they both deserved one thing to be easy.

Belle gave him one final smile before climbing into the car and driving away.

Jungkook didn’t wait a second as he turned on his heel and walked back to his apartment.

This was the true final time they saw each other. They would not turn back. There was no need to anymore.

-

As soon as Jungkook walked into the room, it smelled a whole lot more different than it did the first time. The only smoke emitting was from the pan exuding a warm, delicious scent. Morning sun beaming through the windows making it look a tad bit brighter and the floors almost shone clean now.

“There you are!” Hoseok announced with a grin. “Did you go out for a jog?”

“Yeah…a little bit.” He answered absentmindedly.

A figure with short, black hair stood at the kitchen counter setting some bacon and eggs up on the plate. She looked up and immediately give him a similar bright smile as Hoseok.

“Ah—this is Rosyne.” Hoseok touched the womans’ shoulder. “Rosyne, Jungkook.” He gestured over to the younger male.

The two exchanged greetings before Hoseok invited him over to the kitchen counter to have breakfast. He wanted to tell them that his stomach was a little full from the ice-cream. But it felt so peaceful when he saw the giggles shared between them while eating, random conversations that no one really cared about but it made them smile.

Jungkook stayed still for a moment watching them so easily be vulnerable and happy around each other. “Hey, you guys want to go to Paris?” He sat down on one of the stools.

Rosyne’s eyes widened a little as the request lingered in the air while Hoseok looked amused but taken aback at the same time.

“Why the sudden interest?” Hoseok chuckled, sticking his fork into some scrambled eggs.

He shrugged. “Might be cool to disconnect for a little while.”

“Prison wasn��t disconnecting enough?”

Jungkook nudged his arm with a light scoff. “You know what I mean. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I’ve—always wanted to see the Louvre in real life.” Rosyne raised her shoulders, giving Hoseok an adorable smile.

“Don’t spoil him, Ros.” Hoseok glanced at the both of them for a few moments before letting out a defeated sigh. “We’ll think about it.”

Jungkook did not argue any further after that and began taking careful bites of the breakfast even though it might give him a stomach ache later. The thought of something actually exciting happening this year or the next year made him happy enough to keep going on this new life.

-

Carefully padding into the apartment, Belle’s footsteps were soft and barely echoed across the walls but there was no use in being discreet. Especially since Yoongi, Taehyung, Namjoon and Angel were all in the sitting room. Bloom sat on the floor completely focused on banging her little drums that Namjoon gifted her on her first birthday.

Once Angel looked her way, everyone else followed suit. Yoongi was the first one to shoot up to his feet and stomp towards the woman.

“What took you so long?” Yoongis’ words sounded more like pleading than anger. “Are you hurt?” Eyes frantically examined her body until his gaze darkened as he stopped at her neck.

Belle hovered her hand over the patch of skin that definitely had a few purpling marks scattered but she kept a calm expression. “Everything’s fine, okay? Nothing happened.”

“No something happened.”

“Yoongi, fuck off.” Namjoon grabbed his shoulder and led him to the side. “Good to have you back in one piece, B.”

As the two men sat near the paneled windows muttering a few things to each other, Belle caught another figure coming towards her from the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath keeping her gaze on her brother.

Taehyung looked so much taller now. Loose emerald shirt with golden vectors as opposed to the old black hoodies, his eyes were a little darkened from exhaustion but this time it was to take care of his baby rather than an accidental bender. The serious expression on his face added more to the fact that Belle had her older brother back. He was sturdy in his appearance and confident in his stance. The look of a man who had gone through a tunnel of hell and found happiness at the end of the trail.

“How’d it go?” He asked.

“Pretty civil…” Belle nodded, playing with her fingers a little. “…considering the circumstances.”

Taehyung hummed in approval. “That’s good. And that?” He waved his index finger across his own bare neck while looking at hers. “Good or bad?”

“Good.” She smiled faintly. “Really good.”

He grimaced a little. “Gross.”

“Shut up.”

Taehyung could not seem to keep his serious expression as a light chuckle broke out of him, shifting on his spot to loosen up. “But—no more, right? We’re gonna try to get back up again? Start over?” He would be the last person to ever judge Belle for her impulses. What he did know is that the impulses were not meant to be a constant.

Belle did not hesitate to nod. “I uh—I wanted to go to Norway. With Yoongi…” She glanced over to the side seeing Yoongi give her a more apologetic look which the woman smiled in response. “And maybe you guys too? Get away from the city for a while.” She shrugged. “Might even give me inspiration on the new line.”

He thought on the idea for a moment but quickly had a wide grin on his lips. “Angel’s been talking about going on a holiday. We could talk about it over breakfast.”

“Let me just go freshen up.” Belle patted him on the shoulder before making her up the top level of the apartment to her bedroom.

Being the owner of a prestigious boutique came with its perks when she managed to get a big enough apartment for three people including safety for children. It was in the highly populated areas of the city which is meant to be the best area for the position they were in. With Angel’s first husband and Belle’s connection to the Jeon Cartel, the more witnesses around them, the better.

Walking into her bedroom, Belle had one thing in mind before going to shower as she opened her walk-in closet. On the top shelves a box had been hidden under some folded sheets. She reached out and pulled it towards her feeling the light trickle of dust flow through the air making her sneeze.

Sniffling a little she brought the brown box and sat down on the bed with it. Belle paused for a moment, a very light tinge of dread brushing through her but there was a strength that seemed to power through it. Taking a deep breath she clicked open the box. Two tiny yellow shoes on the right hand side causing her to let out a shaky sigh, smiling a little as a few tears filled her eyes.

Belle held the shoes gently, hugging them to her chest before placing them on her lap. Then her eyes moved from the bracelet to the piece of folded paper. The warmth in her belly soared again taking the letter, unfolding to reveal the heavy promise scratched across the surface. The promise that kept her up at night for this many years. How much words could impact a mind was both fascinating and terrifying.

No more though. It was time. Something her therapist said to her in one session Belle would never forget.

It’s never about one solid destination of healing. You will never know exactly when you were healed. All you can know is when you decide to start or keep healing. That is what’s important. After that, everything will flow by you…in the future, it will all seem like a dream. But you’ll feel so proud of yourself when you look back, Belle. Even more proud than I am of you now. You’ve done so well and I hope you’ll keep healing.

Belle placed her fingers at the top of the letter and ripped it half, letting out a deep of relief as she put them together, ripping it again. Smaller and smaller the pieces became breaking off like petals from the already withering flowers in her heart. A smile widened on her lips as she let out something in the mixture of a chuckle and a sob, tears freely leaving her eyes. Teeny tiny pieces piled on the bed. Helping to remind her that they were just words after all.

With steady hands she gathered them together and threw it into the bin under her nightstand.

Then Belle took the yellow shoes and walked to the living room.

The group were already settling around the kitchen counter when she arrived. Angel had Bloom in a high chair feeding her some custard looking mush which she seemed to enjoy though slightly confused by the taste.

Belle walked over to where the child was and gently placed the yellow shoes on her socked feet. She could not help but grin seeing how it fit perfectly. Everything happens for a reason.

“Those are beautiful.” Angel gently touched the soft fabric. “Did you make them?”

“I got them from the market years ago.” She softly brushed through Blooms’ thin dark hair as the child tried to peek at what her aunt put on her feet.

“We were just talking about the trip to Norway.” Taehyung spoke up leaning against the counter next to Angel.

“Yeah, why was I not invited?” Namjoon pouted a little.

Belle stammered, chuckling lightly. “It was Yoongi’s suggestion…we can all go together. I thought you wanted to do field work for the rest of the year.”

“Still would’ve liked to be included.”

Bloom squeaked in response to Namjoon’s mumble, bouncing up and down her seat.

“Might need a babysitter if Taehyung wants to get laid.” Yoongi mused.

“Ah, language.” Angel covered Blooms’ ears but the baby only grinned wide looking at Yoongi.

“She’s not going to know what it means.”

“Listen, we’ll go together.” Belle silenced the group for a moment. “Namjoon forgets to take breaks from work anyway so it’d be a good way to force him out somewhere relaxing.”

“Norway does have a low crime rate.” Taehyung spoke.

“So it’s settled. We’re going to Norway and forget about our problems for a month.” Angel announced glancing at each one of them for a nod of approval.

Belle grinned seeing the group dive into their conversations about what to do in Norway and what hotels to book or the sights to see. No worries of any impending problem or event that could ruin everything. It was just peace in the loudest way possible. All you can know is when you decide to start or keep healing. That is what’s important.

She broke for her family once.

Now she was going to keep healing for it too.

<< PREV CHAP 

#jungkook #jungkook imagines #bts imagines #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #bts fanfiction #jungkook mafia au #bts mafia au

[eohachu]

RULES: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

I was tagged by Aamna @yibobibo to show the process for this gifset. Thank you so much kleine Maus 🧡 Thank you for showing us your own process!!

Thank you also to @lan-xichens @suibianjie @highwarlockkareena @nyx4 and @aheartfullofjolllly​ for starting this amazing project 🥰

Let’s get right into it, shall we:

Planning

I never do much planning. Maybe I should tho... I had this set in mind ever since I first saw that WenZhou scene in episode 32. The intimacy instantly reminded me of the two other scenes I included in this set. For some reason there’s always That Scene That Hits Me in danmei live adaptations!!

At first I had planned to do 6 separate gifs but I didn’t like the format so I decided to try overlays! It was my first time blending two gifs together. I think it turned out quite fine.

So I looked for the respective scenes, cut them into clips, and put them through Avisynth. I decided to go quite big so I chose a dimension of 540x400. (Usually my gifs are 540x370.)

I save all the clipped out scenes in a folder inside the folders for the respective dramas.

Creating

So, for the first gif I first imported the two clips separately. Then I deleted the extra frames for each one and sharpened them (also separately). For sharpening I use this action that includes converting them into smart objects. I mostly use the “Sharpening V1″ option, sometimes if it looks good also “Sharpening V2″.

Now I duplicated the Yunlan part of the gif (left side) onto the Shen Wei part. I tried the “Lighten” blending mode like HanYi explained in her tutorial, but it wasn’t right for what I had in mind lol. So I simply set the blending mode back to normal and added a mask to one of the gifs:

And I blacked out the area where I wanted the underlying gif to show up. So now it looks like this:

A bit sad, isn’t it? So in the next step I went through my usual colouring process: Brightness/Contrast, Curves, Levels (sometimes I use them, sometimes I don’t), Vibrance, Selective Color, Hue/Saturation. The biggest problem was to make the skin color vibrant but not too yellow or pink (somehow I always ended up with either of these).

(I’ll be honest, I don’t usually change this much. I don’t normally touch whites and neutrals at all. It’s just that this gif was pretty difficult to colour ksfhsdkjf)

This is what it looks like now:

I definitely wanted to include typography here, which is also something I did for the first time heh. So I’m sure there’s easier ways to do this but alas, here is how I did it:

I added a text layer and typed in the quote. I wanted to go for something simple so I turned to the good ol’ Verdana font. I wanted it to look like a box, so I played around with the space bar and manually adjusted the spaces between letters which you can do where the little VA symbol is:

After I was done with all my gifs (lmao) I decided I wanted to add the quote in hanzi too, as a transparent layer in the background. So I looked up the quotes in Chinese, pasted them into another text layer and set the blending mode to soft light. I also played around with font size and spaces. The font I used is one of PS’s pre-installed ones called FZShuTi.

Added the watermark, and done!! Then I repeated basically the same process for the other two scenes, except that I didn’t need to blend two gifs together for the last one. I had to adjust the layers for colouring individually since they are three different shows with different lighting, setting, and colouring and I wanted it to look at least a bit consistent (🥵).

Special thanks to Kareena who helped me point out some problems I had!!

Posting:

Yeah so I’m pretty impatient when it comes to posting but I queued this one to post in the evening as I do for most of my content. I loaded the gifs into a photo post, added an ID and the Darwish quote. It was quite difficult to find a quote that fit all of these pairings but that one hit me in the face (Mahmoud pls....).

Added the names of the shows and the episode numbers, plus a link to the set that finally convinced me to make this hehe (thank u Aamna).

D O N E !

Tagging:

@aikakuu​ and this piece of art (srsly one of my favourite XingChen pieces out there ;-;)

@yutaan​ and this lil Wen Ning!!

@hawberries​ and this piece that took me out

 @shuang-hua​ and these babies (i know it’s watercolour so no pressure if it’s difficult to make a show-your-process post!!)

@weiwuxian​ and the juniors <3 (listen my lack of planning is why i could never do this)

#showyourprocess #/ pls no pressure. i know i tagged some peeps that aren't mutuals but i'm geniunely in awe of y'all's are!! #/ thank you for the tag aamna!! #/ if you have questions i'm here just send me an ask <3 #r.jpeg #*mine

[lovenliterature]

My thoughts on folklore

(all my personal stuff will be crossed out so u can skip if you want)

the 1

Giving me strong first love vibes

Highly vibe with thinking you’ve seen your ex when you haven’t, such a frequent experience

V much reminds me of Stan and like, its nice to imagine what could have been without disliking how things are

Like the line about how you should show if you want someone, prevents complacency and I like that, love is work and when you forget that inevitably it falls apart

It’s also kinda nice to realise how many things lead you to where you are - if one thing was different it would all change

Comfy reminiscence

Favourite lyric: in my defense, i have none/for digging up the grave another time

cardigan

feels quite a mature outlook on a relationship

V pragmatic

the first notes, straight into lyrics that just fill me with nostalgia

also like its not denying your feelings, you still feel like an old cardigan but you feel special AS that without changing

Peter losing Wendy is such a good line 10/10

Music vid gets points too tbh

Oof chasing shadows in the grocery line is high key relatable (literally being at uni with my ex anyone)

Stars around my scars now i’m bleeding feels like he’s distracting from the hurt he’s causing, he heals wounds while causing others god this is a mess

Favourite lyric: chase two girls, lose the one/when you are young, they assume you know nothing

the last great american dynasty

Probably one of the closest things to a bop on the album?

the font and background in the lyric vid are perfect

love the juxtaposition with the wedding was charming/if a little gauche and the parties were tasteful/if a little loud - it’s like she’s so close to being accepted but it’s always tinged with disapproval

Favourite lyric: either she stole his dog and dyed it key lime green or free of women with madness/their men and bad habits (the bridge is just stunning)

exile

god what do i even say about exile?? 

Made me fucking bawl my eyes out the first time I heard it

the two perspectives are just so relatable and heartbreaking 

Choosing Bon Iver to collab with?? Perfect, the voices mesh so well and its just gorgeous

the opening verse is very relatable and its so well articulated and Justin Vernon’s voice just really hits home 

the I gave so many signs is high key relatable and i really really feel that

Also just the concept of both of them being left with no home - 10/10, no breakup is seamless

Favourite lyric: like he’s just your understudy - it feels like you’re gonna jump right back in but you’re not, you’ve been recast

my tears ricochet

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace/And you're the hero flying around, saving face - big oooooof, such a good way of showing how victims are expected to be the bigger person and be grateful idk

‘Cause when I’d fight you used to tell me I was brave - This is so relatable, like whenever you cut ties/fall out with someone you love this is such a strong feeling, they’re usually the ones backing you up and now its them you’re fighting with and that’s hard to reconcile

the bridge!!! OMG!!

Favourite lyric: and I can go anywhere I want/Anywhere I want, just not home

mirrorball

Also one that’s close to a bop

And I’m still a believer and I don’t know why - I know its not about disillusionment with politics/humanity but for me it’s very much, I want to believe in the goodness of people but fuck it’s hard

Favourite lyric: you’re not like the regulars/the masquerade revellers

seven 

My favourite song literally from the second I heard it

Like the whole vibe is so very me

and though I can’t recall your face/I still got love for you

Very much reminds me of Sam, I can’t remember that much about him but I can remember how close we were and how important he was to me and I wish nothing but good for him 

Love you to the Moon and to Saturn - sounds like it was written for me at about 7, Saturn was my favourite planet and this was the kind of music I listened to at that age, just v nostalgic

Verse 2 is just my favourite part of the whole song, the melody, hiding in the closet, everything. That youthful naivety really makes me think of my friends when i was little. Even when i had problems with my own dad i desperately wanted to rationalise my friend’s dad’s anger to protect her and she practically did come live with us.

Favourite lyric: And we can be pirates/Then you won’t have to cry/Or hide in the closet

august

Wow this one has about a million and one different meanings for me

Summer fling, being used, reminds me of a CERTAIN SOMEONE, took place either side of August especially with the alcohol imagery

Whispers of are you sure? - first relationship, so good at making me comfortable, let me take the lead

Will you call when you’re back at school? - first relationship, long distance

I remember thinkin’ I had you, both situations, the non-relationship thinking it could be more and the relationship thinking I wasn’t gonna lose him

And I can see us twisted in bedsheets - first relationship, the first time we had sex and just the first times we were able to relax and be open with each other, really nice innocent memory

Favourite lyric: August sipped away like a bottle of wine

this is me trying

Back to December vibes

Also sad vibes, no fixing what you’ve fucked up but you’ve gotta try

I don’t wanna relate too hard because relating to it means thinking about things I can't fix

Favourite lyric: They told me all of my cages were mental/So I got wasted like all my potential

illicit affairs

Make sure nobody sees you leave/hood over your head, keep your eyes down 

Feeling of hiding and being hidden, not sustainable

You feel like you aren’t worth loving, aren’t worth people knowing you love them

A drug that only worked/the first few hundred times 

Hmmmm Patch who the fuck could this apply to????

Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me and For you, I would ruin myself

Value yourself higher boy but yes about a certain someone

Favourite lyric: And clandestine meetings and stolen stares/they show their truth one single time/but they lie and they lie and they lie

invisible string

Green was the colour of the grass/Where I used to read at Centennial Park juxtaposed with introducing him to Centennial Park - GORGEOUS, and highkey relatable

A string that pulled me/out of all the wrong arms, right into that dive bar - it’s always nice to see how relationships that didn’t work out can set you up for a better future

Favourite lyric: hell was the journey but it brought me heaven

mad woman

They strike to kill, and you know I will - yess bitch be angry

And there’s nothing like a mad woman - the notes and the delivery on woman give me CHILLS

The Pre-Chorus is gold, really relate to intensifying aspects of you that are criticised because yeah, fuck them

Favourite lyrics: No one likes a mad woman/what a shame she went mad/you made her like that

epiphany

Does this make me cry almost every time I hear it? Yes

The first verse being about war also makes me think about the mythologisation of healthcare workers as heroes, allowing governments to sacrifice them as martyrs

The melody of the whole song is gorgeous

Favourite lyric: Something med school did not cover/someone’s daughter, someone’s mother/holds your hand through plastic now

the medics are equipped to deal with the practicalities of treating people but not the emotions and not the feeling of not being able to help or even let someone die with their loved ones

betty

I am not sapphic but this gives me major sapphic vibes and I would die for betty 

Give betty all the rights

Such a nostalgic vibe, fearless/fifteen/white horse/love story sound and i am HERE FOR IT

Also lots of red references and i love that

Really like figment of my worst intentions, turns a usually somewhat positive image upside down

In front of all your stupid friends? - really dude?? You cheated on her and now you’re insulting her friends??? What the fuck

Will it patch your broken wings? is a pretty line though

Favourite lyric: Would you tell me to go fuck myself?

peace

Natural assumption is that it’s about finding peace with a partner, i really like that it’s the opposite, committing to a relationship despite the chaos, despite the lack of peace

But I would die for you in secret - in the age of social media knowing someone has your back whether or not others are watching is so important (yes this sounds very pretentious i just mean like knowing that you’ve got that person no matter what is so important)

Favourite lyrics: Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other/Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother

hoax

The vibe is just very calm and melancholy and i rate that

I am ash from your fire - this is such a good rep of toxic relationships, defined in relation to your partner, burnt by their bright flames, left behind

Favourite lyric: You knew it still hurts underneath my scars/from when they pulled me apart/but what you did was just as dark

#folklore #taylor swift #ts8 #my writing #music #lyrics #my thoughts on music

[migleefulmoments]

"Fairies= anyone feeling different or told they can't be who they are, perhaps including the LGBT community? Hmm.. Close to his heart? What closer to his heart than the reality he's living?" Does Abby understand that Chris is gay? He was bullied all throughout his childhood for being gay and having a high pitched "girly" voice. He's always talked about feeling different and like he was an outsider in his hometown. I stg she's never listened to word Chris has ever said about himself and his life.

 OMG this submission and Abby’s comments.  Abby didn’t write the part you quoted- her friend did- but she did repost it and call it “brilliant”. She did add her comments to the end where she agreed with the general sentiment and some specific points .  

I didn’t enjoy ATOM. It’s a kids’ book so it doesn’t matter how I felt about it but I was flummoxed how Abby and co. can rave on and on about it. Chris isn’t subtle with his messages, he beats you on the head with it and I thought “how in the world can she not get the point of the story”. Then I read the submission and Abby’s point again while I responded and not only has she never listened to a world Chris has said, she didn’t read the same book that I read.  WTF? Her- and her friend’s- ideas are insane. Pure insane.  They are the vapid ideas of someone who used the book as confirmation bias rather than actually READ the book. The LGBTQ message of the story is blatant and not something you might not catch-it comes with spotlights flashing and blow horns blowing. The idea that it’s about Chris’s own personal adult love story is beyond asinine-what is beyond asinine? Is there even a word? I need a word beyond asinine.  

I added my comments in italics within parenthesis.     

*************************************************************************

Submission from a friend (I posted my brief thoughts at the end). Major spoilers below. Scroll past if you haven’t read and don’t want to know.

First off, just in the note to the readers, I knew this book was going to be full of some good stuff.

Obviously, all interpretations are my own, after my first read through.

“A tale of magic follows a group of young fairies as they fight for acceptance in an oppressive world where magic is outlawed and despised. This story is very close to my heart, and writing it was the most challenging and emotional process I’ve experienced as an author to date. …… I hope it encourages and comforts anyone who may be fighting their own battle for acceptance and equality.”

Fairies= anyone feeling different or told they can’t be who they are, perhaps including the LGBT community? Hmm.. Close to his heart? What closer to his heart than the reality he’s living? (Ya think? Duh. OF COURSE IT IS ABOUT LGBTQ COMMUNITY. If you aren’t SURE that it is about LGBTQ kids then you have no business commenting further).

“If we want to change the world’s opinion it must be encouraged, not forced– and nothing encourages people like a good spectacle.”

Hmm… a spectacle? Sounds familiar. You can’t force anyone to believe anything, but it can be encouraged by opening your eyes to a good spectacle, like say a wedding, and realizing that it just doesn’t make sense if you open your eyes. Nuff said. (Hmmmm...a spectacle? It isn’t about the “spectacle” getting the character’s attention and then acting, it’s about encouraging the world to see “fairies” in a positive light by creating a spectacle.) 

One of the books that Brystal comes across is by Daisy Peppernickel. I think that speaks for itself. It’s clearly known that Daisy is a certain someone’s nickname, especially used by the part of his fans that believe in Daisy. (This is so offensive- Chris would NEVER call his boyfriend a “Daisy” when he was “acting gay” like said fans do. Chris is fighting to normalize differences in society- he isn’t going to immortolize a nickname used as a label for when someone is “acting gay”.)

“.. each author’s cause of death was EXECUTED FOR CONSPIRACY AGAINS THE KINGDOM. … It was a graveyard for truth and an archive of people the Justices had silenced.”

Deleted tweets, accounts vanishing into thin air. This sounds a lot like the conspiracies against (str8) fandom. It’s no secret that people have been silenced. (Right, this is about Chris’s adult pain- not his childhood pain. That is exactly how I read it too (eye roll font). He’s telling 12 yo kids “Don’t worry about high school bullies, families rejecting you and kicking you out of your home before you are 18 and no sweat about conversion theory but LOOK OUT for deleted Tweets and conspiraries from your fandom. That is the hard stuff!)  “All the books in the secret room were written by people who felt and thought exactly like she did, by people who questioned information, who criticized social restrictions, who challenged the systems set in place, and who weren’t afraid to make their ideas known.”

Questioning information? Challenging the system? Not afraid to make their ideas known? Can’t think of anybody that might do that. (Riiiigggghhhhttttt Chris didn’t write a book about accepting everyone regardless of sexual orientation or other differences. Nope, he wrote a book about not believing PR, not accepting the truth and always questioning what celebs say. That’s relatable to kids, right?) 

“Personally, I think life is way to complicated for anyone’s life to be set in stone.”

Even though D seems to be in a death sentence, there’s way more to life and his fate is not set in stone. C believes in his man, and knows he can overcome this. (So more proof Chris ISN’T telling a story to kids about accepting themselves and that it gets better. Instead he’s telling about how his adult life is hard and his lover will be worth the wait no matter how hard it is).  

“Sometimes as  a survival method, fairies suppress their magic so deep within themselves that it becomes extremely difficult to reach it.”

This reminds me of D’s dudebro persona that he brings out. He’s suppressing himself so far that at times he’ll turn himself into a different caricature of himself. We all know Daisy is in there somewhere under the layers of D-bag. (Honestly that quote from the book is so obvious it’s baffling that someone would try to make it anything but what it is. How she can turn that into something specific about an adult’s behavior when the book is written for children is absurd-also notice she is using “Daisy” as a nickname for when he is “acting gay”. When they call Darren “a D-bag” I have to cackle, Darren is who he is and they don’t like him. If you think he’s a D-bag then what are you doing in this fandom? How can anyone over the age of 12 believe that the behavior they don’t like is a charade and the real him is “somewhere under the layers of D-bag” (and therefore rarely seen). Real life isn’t a fiction story and real people don’t act like fictious charaters from TV).  

“It’s very hard watching someone you love in so much pain.”

C watching the person he loves get knocked down over and over, he’s speaking directly from his own experience here. (Again, yes, Chris wrote a Children’s book about accepting yourself and it’s ok to be different but the real message is about being in his 20′s and in love and how hard it is for him to kept apart while ccDarren hides for fame).   

“Horence had the misfortune of falling in love with a witch. … Naturally, such a relationship was forbidden, so for over a decade, Horence and the witch carried on a secret affair. When Horence’s soldiers discovered the relationship, the men betrayed their commander. They burned Horence at the stake and forced the witch to watch it happen.”

Using LGBT to equal ‘magical’ (As I’ve found countless references I haven’t even put in here) D fell in love with someone magical (gay), and their relationship was forbidden and secret. Once their secret was out, the team made D pay for it and C had to watch it all go down with nothing that he could do. (Except throw all his angst into his books ;) ) (Ugh! ORrrrrrrrrrr the book is about how people who are different are outcast and even killed for their differences and in this case, with the book so obvously about LGBTQ kids, it is about being outcast, shunned, or even killed for not being straight).  

“We must pity the people who close to hate, Brystal. Their lives will never be as meaningful as those of the people who choose to love.”

The pathetic souls that do nothing but hate on C C and spread hate will never have as meaningful of a life as those that chose to love and support our boys. (Yes, Chris looked deep into his soul and the one message he wanted to share with children is how hard it is to be a CCer. Chris said “This story is very close to my heart, and writing it was the most challenging and emotional process I’ve experienced as an author to date. …… I hope it encourages and comforts anyone who may be fighting their own battle for acceptance and equality.”  He was so worried about all the straight, middle-age women in the cc fandom that he wrote an entire book about their pain. It isn’t at all a message to kids that says “You ARE special and people who refuse to see how special you are and love you for who you are will be the losers because they will live their life without loving you” nope, this is a story ccers persavering)   

“We all know how terrible keeping a secret can feel. Secrets are like parasites, the longer you keep them inside you, the more damage they cause.”

The longer D is force to stay closeted, the more damage it does to him (Nope, this isn’t about how hard it is for kids to pretend they are someone they aren’t. It’s about how hard it is for 32 yo, $3-millon house buyer Darren Criss to hide in the closet in exchange for fame and wealth. Fuck those kids in Russia).

“If we had had everything we wanted then, we might never have found what we needed now.”

This to me feels like C is actually a little bit thankful for the bumps in the road. He’s trying to look on the bright side. If things had always been easy for them, they might have taken it for granted. Everything they’ve been through has only made them stronger. If they can get through all of this shit alive, they can make it through absolutely anything. (I don’t have enough information to know what this is referring to, but I do know without a doubt that it isn’t about ccDarren and their ccbumpy road of cclove) 

“She dreamed the fairy was repeatedly knocked to the ground by a ferocious monster in a fur coat and snowflake crown.”

The ferocious monster in a fur coat? Makes me think of another monster that wears a fur coat. Shade.  (A monster in a fur coat with a snowflake crown? It’s a literal dream, not a symbolic one. OMG this entire post is so much more ridiculous than I rememered when I read it the first time. An evil villian in a big coat and crown is a common fairytale trope.  I also believe deep in my heart that Chris would never write “This story is very close to my heart, and writing it was the most challenging and emotional process I’ve experienced as an author to date. …… I hope it encourages and comforts anyone who may be fighting their own battle for acceptance and equality.” and then literally bully a real person -even if she was awful). 

“You can stop pretending, Brystal. I know you’re aware of much more than you’re letting on.”

C knows that we know. He’s not living under a rock. (Again, yes, Chris was so worried about the ccers he wrote an entire book to reassure you all.  He’s just pretending it’s about LGBTQ kids and acceptance). 

“I don’t know about you guys, but I refuse to sit back and let a frosty old witch take Madame Weatherberry away from us.”

Frosty old witch= Obviously M (obviously, blech) 

“Do you guys know what your love languages are? Mine is quality time. It used to be physical touch, but that wasn’t working very well, so I had to change it. People are so picky about personal space and–”

C cherishes any quality time that he gets to have with D, since it it’s not always available. (I can’t with this one...they are getting even more embarassing ) 

“Sometimes good people do bad things for the right reasons.”

I have this bookmarked, along with some other passages about the Snow Queen / Mrs. Weatherberry. I know that there’s /some/ significance around this, but I haven’t fully figured out exactly what all it symbolizes. I have a few ideas, but nothing really seems to line up completely to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it at some point! (How about it means that “sometimes good people do bad things” or “the end justifies the means”. The story is about a war with a bad witch and as a 14-yo heroine, this is something she would wrestle with. Not every single word is about acceptance, LGBTQ or even cc love.  Some of it is literally the words used to spin the fairytale. I can’t remmber where this was used but I presume it was when Brystol went to fight the Snow Queen).  

I think those are the big things that I’ve bookmarked. There’s so much more I could talk about, but I’m afraid it would start to not make any sense if I just started rambling, so I decided to go off of passages from the book and my thoughts on why I think they’re significant or tie into C C.

You can feel free to just keep this for yourself, or post it at a later date, or take pieces parts to post. Whatever you want!

***********************************

I know I’ve been really bad about posting on the book. I saved this submission because I thought it was brilliant and a lot of great insights.

My opinion on the Madame W/Horence/Ice Queen? C is Madame W/Ice Queen and D is Horence. I too thought frosty old queen at first referred to m. But once the twist was revealed I’m convinced it’s c and his dual personality like the twins. He is a Gemini as he likes to remind us. It’s his struggle between being happy with the love he was blessed with and his desire to destroy for the people that have so gravely hurt them. (So this isn’t a book where Chris gives his readers inspiration and hope for the future? The stories he tells about kids in Russia sharing their stories and their fear of being put to death is all a ruse so he could tell his own ADULT story of hardship? Doesn't his cclove nightmare prove that it doesn’t get better?)

This story is very close to my heart, and writing it was the most challenging and emotional process I’ve experienced as an author to date. …… I hope it encourages and comforts anyone who may be fighting their own battle for acceptance and equality.” 

The quote above to think about most. (Dear @ajw720, yes, because he grew up a bullied kid in a world that didn’t understand him. He was teased for being gay before he knew what the word meant. His voice was too high. He grew up in a town full of people who hate gay people. It’s really sad that you can’t see that Chris wrote a children’s story that is so obviously meant to give acceptance and support to scared, lonely kids from across the globe, many who live in places where being LGBTQ is illegal and punishable by death; many who are at risk for becoming homeless and losing their families if they tell their truth. It is a story that has NOTHING to do with romantic love. It’s written for children who are worried about more basic things like safety, shelter, and family support.  They haven’t progressed to romantic love yet. You believe that Chris felt it was important and appropriate to write a children’s story about the difficulty in his adult cclove affair? You think that Chris read letters from LGBTQ children all over the world and the ONE message he felt he should share is his own adult love affair? That the pain of his starcrossed adult love affair is a more important message than addressing the issues of basic safety for kids at risk of being homeless, beat up, jailed or even killed for being LGBTQ? You think that the lessons he’s learned in the last 10 years as a wealthy, white man in America in a committed relationship are more inspiring to children the world over than his growth and acceptance of who he was in high school and general ideas about acceptance and love? You think all those letters from kids in Russia made him worry about the cc fandom and your struggle? Only a straight woman with no ties to the LGBTQ community could ever envision such a scenario).  

Sometimes good people do bad things for the right reasons

That’s him talking about their Pr life and I’d guess directly addressing the fraud in NOLA. He’s believed in d and he wants us to believe in him too. (Yep, ccChris wanted to inspire kids the world over by talking about PR-because all kids can related to PR- and a wedding that doesn’t seem to bother him or have anything to do with him. ccChris is as shallow as his creator) 

#chris speaks through atom

#atom spoilers

#cc #ccer #cc fandom #crisscolfer #darren criss #Chris colfer #Chris speaks through ATOM #debunking cc nonsense #it's always about them

[geirskogull]

Steel Reign - Chapter 1: Urth’s Font

tldr gonna be a short series based around Danica and Odin since Urths Font ate five hours of my life once and This is how im getting back at it

Archive Link

Rating: M

Count: 1.7 k

Leaves crunched under heavy, almost metallic, hooves. A sentry, high among the branches, snaps to attention, her white knuckled grip upon her spear tightening. Eyes narrowed, was this just another deer, wandering into the Font? Or some vain adventure not unlike herself seeking death and glory in equal measure? Or was this her target, her quarry, her hunt?

She held her breath, scanning the forest floor. Thinking back to the warm, dry rooms of the waking sand and the events that lead here this deep in the forest, alone save for the occasional squirrel climbing among the branches, curious what exactly the person shaped statue was doing in the trees.

“Pray, Lady Voss, art thee truly sure thee wish to go alone?” Urianger had asked her, not long after the two of them had finished parsing Lieutenant Scarlet’s urgent letter. Detailing the resurcents of the “Dark Divinity” Odin. The Primal so shrouded in myth, it was only fitting that he chose the Black Shroud as his hunting ground.

“What choice do we have?”  She had asked back. “The others are busy with equally as important business, and It’s not like I don’t know how to call for backup.”  Her voice had been sure, when in truth she had been far from the picture of confidence. Primals were group endeavors. Always the lot of them on the field together, not unlike the Company of Heroes. Or what was the group she’d been learning about recently? The Zodiac Braves? The Danica Voss of the present shook the thought from her head and focused back upon the sounds of the shroud.

It mattered not how she came to this situation, only that she was in it. Nestled among the trees, stalking the woods for sightings of the Dark Divinity with full intent to engage and hopefully dispatch him. At least temporarily.

In all honesty, she had very little faith O-App-Pesi’s plan to rid the woods of him forever was going to work. Especially with how little they knew about him. They knew not his origin. They knew not how he got his powers. They knew not who believed in him (though she had a theory on that one.) How were they sure that by killing him here that he’d stay dead? What made this place so special.

If the Padjal hadn’t been so adamant she immediately set out on her hunt, she’d have demanded she be given time to double check his research. She would have laughed, in another situation, even long after she had left the thaumaturges guild, it still had its claws in her in someway.

The forest was silent.

Dead silent.

She could hear herself breath if she focused hard enough. A smirk played at the edge of her lips, fools confidence. The time for waiting was over. The time for action was now.

Entering the clearing, she could see him. Armored from head to toe, atop a fiendish looking steed clad in the same black metal. The Master of the Hunt, perhaps about to be hunted. She watched him for a spell, barely breathing, committing every single movement - even those as simple as a roll of the primals neck - to memory. She found, over time, those same questions peaking into her minds eye, not as distractions, but as useful leads. How could she fight an enemy she did not truly know.

The Horsemen lead his beast towards the center of the clearing, and seemed to stall. Sheathing his sword unexpectedly and merely tilting his helm up in the rain. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was just a wandering knight of parts unknown, pausing to let the rain ease the stiffness in his old bones.

But he was a primal. An Unknown, perhaps even unknowable primal.

She, spear in hand, jumped from her perch in the trees to the wet grass of the clearing.

She would find out which it was. Knowable. Unknowable. God. Man.

Odin slowly looked down from the sky, following her path from the trees with obscured eyes. When she did not charge forward, he turned his horse to face her. Sleipnir she believed he was called, closer up he looked almost more voidsent than horse. Fiery red eyes, hair more akin to large feathers than a proper mane. She tore her eyes from the beast back to its rider, whose hand rested patiently upon his sword.

“Doth thou think yourself a worthy foe? Mortal before me.”

His voice echoed in the woods, the only sound for miles if she had to guess. His very presence breeding dread into the forest animals. She could feel that primal urge to flee into the night while she still potentially had a chance. Yet she stood firm. Yet she answered.

“I can’t speak for my “worth”” she started, her voice not betraying her shaken core. . “But I can speak for my curiosity. And if such a thing leads us to clash, so be it then ey?” She removed her spear tip from the ground, and began pacing around the primal. Far enough away she could retreat into the cloud tops if he advanced, close enough that she could watch him like a hungry animal.

If Odin could have, he would have smiled. Worthy prey indeed.

“Speak then, what is your query. Tis’ best to die without questions.” He kept his hand firm on the hilt of his blade. Helm tracking her movement, Sleipnir baying impatient. Part of her was disappointed that it need come to blows, another was surprised she saw any other outcome. She stopped her pacing, holding the primal at spear point.

“Who are you?”

The question rang out into the empty air, and the world itself seemed to come to a standstill. For the first time in their entire encounter thus far, Odin looked away. Odin faltered. With a smile on her face, she did not wait for his answer. Sailing through the skies with dragonfire in her veins, A hunter versus a hunter.

“Every Primal has a Story.” She spoke once more, diving backwards when his shield repelled her initial blow. Landing on her feet initially, she rolled to the side to avoid his mounts angry hooves.

“An Origin” Her strike rang true off the armor of the primal, a burst of aether signified. Yet one blow would not be enough. The primal drew his sword.

“Someone who believes.” She could not roll away, jump away, from his next series of blows. Thrown backwards by the force of Zantetsuken’s blows, all she could do was struggle to recover her footing. The blood trickling down her arm a sign of his own victory.

She stumbled back to her feet, taking a more defensive stance as the primal once again took note of her. The sword, she realized now, was beautiful. A massive curved blade of black metal that seemed almost to glow in the dark shroud.

“So tell me,” She began, as Odin advanced forward, fast. Realistically, he had the advantage on speed, but she had it on height. Jumping towards the edge of the clearing every time he grew close.

“Who are you, who believes in you?”

Those final words muttered, Odin once again faltered. His grip upon his blade less sure, less controlled. Yet, that made him no less Dangerous. What replaced the knights confidence was a feral rage as the Primal screamed at her.

Screamed at her and charged.

And thus, the fight began in earnest.

But thankfully, she was not upon her back foot. Charging as he did, Voss dodged the fell blade with precision and skill, looking for any gap in the black plate that might prove fatal. Rips? No the chest plate was solid. Knees? No the joints were welded with a masters hand. Helm? She couldn’t see his face beyond his...

Eyes, she’d aim for his eyes.

Jumping back, she landed hard upon the ground. The blood pooling at her feet proof of her mortality, proof of her humanity. Proof of where the primals blade had hit its mark. Her breath was coming heavy, apparently, in her search for weaknesses, she hadn’t realized the extent of her damage.

She would not stop now, not with an end so well in sight.

One for either of them. Perhaps even both of them.

The Primal raised his sword, high into the sky. Where it sparkled and gleamed with unholy intent. The Dragoons spear was held much the same, save her eyes were closed. The lights however, that congealed around both were different, antagonistic. Where one was a swirl of black and purple light, choking at her even then, the other was a brilliant blue. Taking the form of a Dragons head, as she leapt high into the sky. Hoping to find her mark.

Praying to find her mark.

When she once more opened her eyes, she was alone in the clearing, and her spear dug heavily into the ground as  a cloud of aether quickly dissipated into the cool night air around her. Victorious.

Dropping the weapon, she let out a mighty cry, and it was as if all the forest cheered with her. Alive once more. Oh they would never believe this. She couldn’t wait to tell them all. The Scions. Haurchefant. Hells, maybe she’d even track down Estinien’s grumpy ass and tell him too.

She fell upon her butt, laying back upon the ground, and let out a content giggle. Gazing through the leaves to the quickly clearing night sky. At least until she heard the wet clatter of another blade than her own hitting the ground.

Jumping defensively, half expecting the primal to be lying in wait with some kind of fell trap, she was greeted by the sight of his blade. Strange, she thought, should have gone away with him.

Then again, most of the primals she’d faced before then hadn’t used weapons. Claws, fists, talons, but no weapons. Perhaps those stayed? Relaxing her pose, she remained curious. Strapping her spear to her back she approached the fallen sword, so much smaller now that the primal that held it was dead.

Should bring this in for study, her tired mind urged her, Urianger would probably have a field day. It glowed still, brighter now under the night sky. It was so beautiful. Waiting for its owner to return.

If only she hadn’t reached out, and taken it.

#ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy xiv #Danica Voss #Odin #Chapter 1 #Steel Reign

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

WARNING: Very mild sexual content.

NOTE: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this fic, please toss a little appreciation my way. Helps keep me from becoming that "starving artist" thing everyone keeps talking about! By the way, be on the lookout for a PERSONA 4 fanfic coming to this space soon! See you all!

Jessex

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"None of your business!"

Despite her protestation, Makoto couldn't seem to keep the grin off her face as she loitered around outside the haunted house ride. No matter how many times she had been badgered to enter, she had resisted; scary movies and things like that always stuck with her long after the initial "thrill", and she therefore stubbornly refused to be forced inside. The wait time had seemed best spent catching up with a friend.

"Girl, you keep ducking my questions," Eiko's voice tittered on the other end of the call. "You killed my relationship with Tsukasa, so the least you can do is let me feed off gossip!"

Smirking as she nibbled at the Jack Frost-shaped melon bread, she told her, "He was a host. You didn't have a real relationship; he was just using you for your money. Where's my 'thank you' for setting you straight?"

"I did thank you! But like, you also didn't find me a new boyfriend, either!" They both giggled for a few seconds. "So…"

"So?"

"Who are you on a date with? Still that Ren guy?"

"N-no," she said, grinning like a fool as she turned away - as if anyone were listening. They weren't. "And I never said I was on a 'date'. Stop living vicariously through me, it's not healthy."

Eiko's voice got higher and whinier. "You can't make meeee!"

"Maybe not, but there's nothing to live vicariously through. Besides, you're pretty and sweet, and funny. It won't take you that long to find someone. And in the meantime-"

"Yeah, yeah," she cut her off. "I know. I should be figuring out the rest of my life instead of just working in a maid cafe. But it is good money…"

Rolling her eyes, she hissed, "They don't have to be mutually exclusive! Just… figure it out while you work. And don't be afraid to love again."

"God… I mean, my judgment is obviously wack. You sure I shouldn't die an old maid? Pun intended."

"YES." Just then, Makoto spotted a wobbling figure and hurriedly said, "Oh, I gotta go. But I'll call you later, okay?"

"Who are you there with?! MAKO-CHAAAAN!" But she didn't answer her. Just thumbed the 'end call' button and turned back toward the incoming patient.

Sadayo Kawakami looked distinctly ill for having bragged so staunchly that she was going to be "just fine on her own" on the ride. She hung onto the railing near where Makoto had been waiting, taking a few deep breaths. "Oh… oh, I really regret that…"

"Hashtag yolo?" she asked bemusedly.

"Hash-what? Yo-low? You know I don't keep up with you kids and your silly internet lingo."

Makoto grinned wide and offered her bread to her girlfriend. After only a moment's hesitation, she took a big bite. "It's okay, doesn't really matter. Did you not enjoy yourself?"

"Well… it was fun and it wasn't, but there was a part at the end that really got me. So scary how their heads come off like that, floating all over the place!" She shivered and rubbed her arms, and they shared a little laugh. "But um… your choice of vacation spots was…"

"Was what?"

"Destinyland?! I already feel like a creep, taking a girl so much younger than me on a vacation, and you literally had me take you to a children's amusement park."

Holding up her index finger, she corrected, "It's a family theme park. Not just for kids. And I didn't make you do anything; I only suggested it because I had so much fun with my friends. Besides, you were the one who was so excited to finally take me somewhere now that I graduated."

"Yeah, yeah," she handwaved - literally waving her hand around and making Makoto giggle. "Then why didn't you invite the prosecutor if this is supposed to be for family? Hmmmm?"

"W-well, um… I think I've forced my poor sister to have to deal with my sexuality enough for one lifetime. Maybe it would be cruel to persist." Flashbacks of that ill-conceived lapdance haunted her, even now. Though she knew it was fairly harmless and she had only done it to prove a point, it was still distinctly un-familial and poor Sae had seemed a little more awkward around her ever since.

"Sure, sure. Still… I'm surprised you didn't ask your friends along. Didn't one of them get you these tickets?"

"Yes, my friend Haru. As for why they aren't with us… well, I wanted to spend a special day with my special friend. Aren't I allowed?"

Sadayo couldn't keep the huge grin from spreading. "Okay. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than glad to have my little Master all to myself. Just wondered why you chose this spot."

Instantly, Makoto's ears were turning red, and she started hiding her face behind her melon bread. "Stop that! You know it embarrasses me when you call me 'Master' - and besides, you quit that job!"

"I did," she giggled, locking arms with her. "But it's fun watching you get all ruffled about it."

"I'm not 'ruffled', I'm mortified. I do not want to be in charge of my girlfriend!"

The elder woman bit her lip and began to pet up and down Makoto's upper arm as they started strolling through the gathered crowds. Luckily, they had picked a day Destinyland was not incredibly busy, but neither was it a ghost town; too many people would have sucked all the fun out of the trip, but too few would have made their date that much more conspicuous. No matter how much they wanted to be out and proud, just enough of Japanese society still looked down upon lesbian relationships as 'immature' to make them uncomfortable; they simply didn't want a bunch of snide looks and whispering behind their backs. Maybe one day, things would be different.

"Maybe I want you to be in charge of me."

"What?! Stop saying things like that - you sound like you've been to Shinjuku."

"Nothing wrong with Shinjuku, you know; those are our people. I guess." Despite her words, now Sadayo looked a little worried.

"Oh… I know. And I've been there, and you're right; they're just people living different lives than we're used to knowing anything about. But I like figuring it out on our own."

Now Sadayo looked surprised. "You went to Shinjuku? Why?!"

Before she could answer, the conversation was suddenly shattered with an outcry of "HEY! MAKOOOTOOOO!"

At first, she felt a spike of fear that it was was Eiko, tracking her down like a bloodhound. Instead, she saw a pair of fluffy blonde pigtails bouncing over most of the heads in the crowd as they weaved toward their location.

"Ann?!"

"Hey!" the blue-eyed font of youthful excitement exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of them. "Wow, what are you guys doing here?! Are you on a date - is this a legit date?!"

"Shhh!" Miss Kawakami shushed her, cheeks rouging. "So this is the one you spilled the beans to…"

"I didn't! Well… I only told Ann so she could help me setup that nice evening we had together. Remember, your outfit? Plus she's one of my best friends, and she's also-"

"She's one of the former Thieves," she said in a much quieter voice. Makoto could see shock flicker across Ann's features but she didn't say anything right away. "Of course you trust them. I just wish you had filled me in as much as you filled her in."

Now Makoto looked just as embarrassed as she did regretful. "I… forgot?"

"A lot happened," Ann put in with a shrug, scratching the back of her neck. "So no duh you'd forget to mention it. You saw the whole thing, right, Kawakami-sensei? In Shibuya? We were fighting a literal god!"

"No, no, you misunderstand." Their teacher reached out to rest a hand on Ann's shoulder, smiling softly. "I'm not mad! Especially not about you saving us from that madman and the evil spirits pulling his strings." It seemed Kawakami had decided it was easier to think of them as 'evil spirits' being controlled by a megalomaniac than to fully absorb that the god in question had been doing its best to keep the entire population enslaved within their own complacency. Even Makoto herself wasn't sure how to feel about that, and she had a front-row seat to the near disaster. The Phantom Thieves had changed the heart of all of Japan and it barely made a difference, but at least they had hope for the future now.

Sadayo continued, pulling her from her self-reflection. "Anyway, I'll get over it. More like, I wish I knew so we could have been talking about it before now, and I could keep track of who we're 'out' to. That's all, I promise."

That made her flash one of her patented Takamaki megawatt smiles. "Really? I mean, I'm just some dumb girl in your class, you don't have to talk to me about anything."

"Ah, ah!" She held up an admonishing index finger, and both girls ducked their heads instinctively. "You're a very important person in my girlfriend's life. That trumps your grades - which really aren't that bad, all things considered. Not compared to Sakamoto-kun's."

As they shared a laugh at Ryuji's expense, another figure pushed through the crowd to their sides. "There you are! I finally got our tapioca drinks and I turned around, and you were gone! Where… did you… oh."

We were all still staring openly at the dark-haired girl as Ann smiled and took her drink, seemingly not noticing that the girl fell silent when she noticed they weren't alone. "Thanks. And I'm sorry I ran off - I didn't go that far! Just to say 'hi' to these guys."

"Suzui-san," Sadayo breathed in mild surprise. "It's… been a while. How are you?"

That higher-than-usual level of concern made sense. The last time Kawakami had seen Shiho Suzui, she had just jumped off the roof and was being escorted to the hospital in an ambulance. Now she almost looked back to her usual self, even if she seemed as sickly as she had before Coach Kamoshida's unwanted advances drove her to the suicide attempt.

"F-fine, Sensei," she answered haltingly, bowing politely. "I'm… sorry to interrupt."

"You're fine," Makoto told her warmly, keeping her smile small and polite. Trying to set her at ease.

"Yes, of course!" Sadayo joined in. "So you're here with Takamaki-san? That's good; I'm glad to see you're out and about. Really, I mean that; after that bastard… well, nevermind. Forget him."

Even while Shiho stared at the ground, starting to sink into her private pool of anxiety, Ann grabbed her by the arm and shook her just enough to jostle her out of it. "Yep! We're all about moving forward, remembering the good times and aiming for the future! Ain't that right?"

"Ann!" she whispered shyly, but at least she was starting to smile again. She had always been a bit mousy and meek around anyone who wasn't Ann; at least, Makoto had thought so.

"What? You ashamed of hanging around with the weird gaijin?"

"Don't say that, you know I'm not. I… always want to hang out with you." Then she bit her lip, looking away shyly.

And it clicked. Makoto prided herself on being able to analyse a situation, and this one was telling her something extremely specific.

"Oh." Glancing up at Ann's face, then back to Shiho's, then back to Ann's, Makoto asked, "You two are here for the same reason we are. Aren't you?" Ann bit her lip even harder and nodded - but in her case, the lip-biting was to prevent her grin from being huge enough to be visible from the International Space Station. "Wow…"

"What?" Sadayo blinked at Makoto a few times, then glanced between the other two girls. "Oh, really? Wait - that can't be true. That would be crazy!"

As Shiho started to edge behind Ann, as if she could legitimately hide there, Ann turned to whisper to her, "Wait, Shiho, you don't have to do that. These two are cool."

"Wh-what do you mean? 'Cool'? I… how do they… do they know we're…?"

"It's okay," Makoto hurried to explain, picking up Sadayo's hand and raising it as they laced their fingers together. "You don't have to hide who you are around us."

Then it finally clicked for the former volleyball star. "Oh. You two… you're lesbians?"

"I'm bisexual, I'm pretty sure," Sadayo chuckled nervously. Though the nervousness didn't make her drop Makoto's hand. "Since I used to date men and I didn't hate it that much. But those jerks had their chance; my Mako-chan takes way better care of me."

"Stop!" she hissed back at her girlfriend, and both she and Ann giggled. "But you're right, I try to."

"And you succeed." Then she turned back to Shiho. "So how long have you and Ann been… seeing each other?"

Completely red-faced, Shiho whispered, "N-not long. A few weeks."

"Ren and I took her to the roof of the school again," Ann explained as she managed to get Shiho to stand next to her again, then slid an arm around her waist. "Before he moved back home. So she could, y'know, make peace with what happened. And while we were up there, like… all the feelings came out. Things we wanted to say to each other before but couldn't, and then I wanted to while she was going through physical therapy but thought it would be too weird to do it then, and… I dunno. The time was right."

"Yeah," Shiho whispered, finally looking somewhat at peace as she wrapped both arms around Ann and leaned into her side. Makoto felt her heart skipping a beat; they were so adorable together! "Maybe I wasn't very um, perceptive, but… all those weeks of her visiting me, cheering me on even when I felt like I'd never walk again… how could I not love her? Just took me a while to see it."

"I can relate," Makoto hummed. Sadayo turned and kissed her cheek.

"Same here, Master."

Shiho's eyebrows furrowed, and while Makoto was trying to recover she said, "But is it alright? Her being your student - won't you get in trouble with the faculty?"

"Well… not anymore," Ann giggled. "She was a third year, remember?"

"Oh? Ohhhh, that's right; she's off to university now. So Kawakami-sensei is no longer her teacher." Reserved as it was, her smile started to grow. "You're really dating? It's not just us?"

"Not just you," Sadayo reassured her gently. "But you have to give the Queen the credit for being the initial pioneer."

"Huh?"

"She's the one who flipped me, dressing all butch and putting on that mustache. The rest of us were hopeless after that."

Makoto's face was almost as red as Shiho's now. "Hey! Cut that out, I am not a pioneer!"

"You totally are!" Ann cackled as Shiho was polite enough to do her giggling behind her hand. "I mean, if not for you crushing on Kawakami, I'd never have even thought about dating a girl. So y'know, my feelings for the best girl in the world would have been stuck behind that wall of, of… straight-ness. That makes you a lesbian leader! Hero to us all!"

"You're so cool with this," Makoto half-accused. "Why? I thought you were still looking to date boys - how did you change your mind so easily?"

That got the blonde shrugging. "What can I say? Shiho's amazing - and when I thought about my life without her in it, that sucked so much that I slowly realised I never wanted to be away from her again. That's about it; love won."

"Very true," Shiho whispered with bunched cheeks of joy. "She's my Ann. Forever."

"So simple," Sadayo giggled as she approached to hug them. Shiho did jump in surprise, but still allowed herself to be squeezed by the older woman. "I'm happy for you two, though. After all the both of you have been through… you deserve this."

It only took Makoto a few seconds to join in the group hug. "Agreed. I'm so happy and proud to call you my friends!"

Ann's laughter could have filled a stadium. "Right back atcha, Queen!"

                                                              ~ o ~

The four of them found a ride to go on together, and had a lot of laughs before parting ways. Ann and Shiho only had day passes, and they wanted to feel out their new romantic connection - which was best done one-on-one. But Makoto and her former teacher had booked a room in the hotel.

"You're sure you want it to be here? Even though it's a 'children's park'?"

Sadayo smiled over her shoulder as she tossed her blouse onto the dresser carelessly. "The hotel isn't a children's hotel. I mean, I didn't see any 'no sex' signs in the lobby, so we should be alright."

Getting up from the bed, where she had been lounging, Makoto slid her hands up Sadayo's back to begin toying with her bra clasp. There was a brief instant where the woman froze, unsure of how to react… and then it passed. But it was enough to merit a response.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"No," she groaned, head dropping back so she could gaze up at the ceiling as if praying for a deity to ease her suffering. "I mean, yes, I'm ready to do this. But I'm not. God, I sound like a little kid."

"I'm the kid, remember?" When that only prompted a louder groan, Makoto laughed and hugged her around the middle from behind, nestling her face against her former teacher's neck. "It's alright. I'm nervous, too. We can wait if you need more time."

"I don't need to wait. Well… I mean, we'll see," she amended with a soft laugh, and Makoto smiled even wider against her skin. "Either way, it's nice to- oh!"

The gasp was accompanying her bra coming off. Makoto's hands slid up the plane of her stomach to begin tripping very lightly over the sides of her breasts, avoiding her peaks for the time being. Clearly, Sadayo appreciated that, because she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You sure you don't want to slow down a little?"

"No. I want to see… how we work together. In bed. Since I've only been with men, and you haven't been with anyone. If…" She swallowed hard, voice growing soft and apologetic. "If I can't handle doing the deed with a girl, I'd like to find out before you end up trapped in a relationship with some woman who isn't, um… sexually compatible? If that's a real thing?"

Makoto's brow creased as she pet down Sadayo's sides to rest her hands on her hips. "Oh. Um… I hadn't considered that. I guess I just… like you so much and am getting so comfortable with you that I kind of… assumed it would be fine? But now, that seems pretty stupid."

"It's not," she breathed as she turned to face her. The girl's cheeks were clearly rosy at getting the full view of her, and Sadayo smiled softly. "I'm actually jealous it's that easy for you. Maybe I'm overthinking this whole thing, huh?"

"You think this is easy?! No way! I'm still scared! Just…" She shrugged and kissed the corner of her former teacher's mouth. "It's you."

That kiss led to a dozen more. Which led to further clothes being shed, hands wandering. Makoto was surprised at how much she liked the feeling of nails raking down her back, teeth nipping at her earlobe. How wet it made her, how much more she craved. It was as if she had been aching for this for years, not a few scant months.

"How does this even work?" Sadayo whispered once they were very nude beneath a very thin bedsheet. "You don't have anything I'm used to working with! Well… I mean, on myself, but even then I use a vibrating egg most of the time, so it's not the same…"

The former student's smile was as playful as it was bashful. "Don't worry, I'll show you."

"You'll show me? Wait - how will you show me?!"

"So… I may have looked up a few things…" When Sadayo looked alarmed, she dipped her head in chagrin. "Shhh, I know, it's shameful. But I was curious, because everything I learned in sex education barely even covered how this works for um… penetrative sex with male and female organs. It certainly never covered this."

Her girlfriend cringed, looking squeamish. "Don't say it all clinical like that, it makes me feel creepy."

"Sorry," she whispered.

"No, no, it's okay. I just… you're almost more grown up about this than I am. Doesn't that seem… backwards? At all?"

"It seems fair, actually. You get to be the adult about some things, and I get to about others. That's how relationships work, right?"

Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Yes, Master," before kissing her again.

"Good, Becky. And as your master, I order you to stop calling me that and just… be here with me." She bit her lip for a second before whispering, "Sadayo."

"Ughhh, you know it gets me weak when you say my name like that!"

Not that it caused her to slow down at all. Makoto was more than happy to begin using every trick she had gleaned from the reluctantly-clicked links for the sole purpose of making her girlfriend sound as beautiful and unfettered as she had ever heard her. The fingers worked better than her mouth - which earned a startled outcry and a lot of shoving away, both of them laughing afterward. She had never had so much fun in all her life.

Afterward, they lay in bed staring at the ceiling and humming when they weren't panting for breath. Too afraid of what they might say to manage saying it. Then Sadayo finally broke the silence.

"I can't believe we just did that."

"I can't believe it took us that long. Well… I can, but only for specific reasons."

Rolling slightly to face Makoto, a lock of hair falling into her eyes, she whispered, "Still doesn't seem real, y'know? You and me… even if I did know I was a lesbian before, even if I was going to date a student - which I wasn't, ever!"

"I was the last one on your list?" she guessed with a smirk.

"Yeah. Just… I didn't think you could ever… you were the student council president. Right?"

"No, no, I know what you mean; I'm not offended. Trust me. But…" Sliding a little closer, she pet up and down the soft skin over her ribs, watching Miss Kawakami suck in a breath of gentle surprise when one finger moved down to dip into the well of her navel. "I'm happy."

"Mmm… couldn't be happier you took my heart. Even if this is crazy, I'm glad we didn't screw it up somehow."

Giggling, she leaned in to peck her chin. "Came pretty close, pretty often. But at least we're here now. Together. And… we can be together in Okinawa, too."

"Really? You still wanna go, even after Destinyland?"

"Of course. We don't have anywhere to be; not for a million years."

"We sure don't, my Queen."

They lost themselves in passions again, lips and hips colliding and arms tightening around sweating backs. And Makoto Niijima vowed anew that she would never let Sadayo Kawakami out of her sight again.

                                                              THE END

#Queen Of Temperance #persona 5 fanfiction #persona 5 #p5 fanfic #p5 #sadayo kawakami #makoto niijima #makoto x sadayo #teacher-student relationship #forkanna writes #jess the writer #completed fic

[imchick]

November 24, 2019, the most magical day of my life. ❤

Okay! Hard part is over! 😛 I don’t really like being the center of attention and all. You might say it’s the same since everyone will still be looking at us the entire time. But, with the other half, the reception — people are more relaxed. Everyone will be dancing, talking to each other, singing and eating their hearts out! So, less judging and critical eyes on us. 😀

Our Reception was held at Aquila Crystal Palace. It’s about 30 – 40 minutes from our Ceremony. We had time to relax and just talk to each other in the car on the way there. Mind you, we were still with our bride & groom assistants.

To give you a preview – here’s what it looked like. ❤

BUT BUT BUT! Before we get to that, let’s go back to the start. Shall we? While we were taking our post-nup pictorial, we prepared welcome snacks and drinks for our guests!

Our supplier for this Gabrielle’s Appetizer. We prepared 200 mini sandwiches (cucumber & kani, chicken salad, tuna salad, egg & bacon), 150 mini burgers (chicken and beef), 200 crostinis (gorgonzola bacon, goat cheese & fig ham, prosciutto & brie, smoked salmon) and 2 gallons of cucumber lemonade

I’m so happy to be hearing good feedback from our guests! Their favorites? the mini burgers! But before they can eat, they will pass by our Signages!

I’m proud to say that I designed all the layouts, with the help of my husband, of course. ❤ We decided to maintain the theme of our invitation – White Marble is such a classic and classy design. Aside from the welcome signage, I wanted to add a little extra! – An Infographic of our love story. ❤

While others are eating or taking a photo in our photobooth, we also prepared some games before everything starts!

I personally created a Word Search Game with Startbucks GC for their prizes! I devised a personalized puzzle with words that have roles or connected to our relationship. For instance – Management Trainee (we were both Management Trainees in a bank. This is how we met) 😀 Everything is so much more special when it is personalized. Do you agree?

Before they officially enter the reception area, I also insisted that I wanted a signage for their Seating Arrangement:

I’m definitely proud of this! I’m a huge, huge fan of F.R.I.E.N.D.S! I insisted to insert the friends theme in our seating arrangement! The heading is The One Where We got Married (just like how all their titles are worded). ❤ I also named our tables with all the memorable lines / quirks of the series such as Pivot, Big Fat Goalie, How you Doin and etc.

I also asked our host to ask our guests whether they know what theme our seating arrangement is. I prepared a FRIENDS themed prize also, which I bought online (a Friends Door Keychain).

The One thing that will welcome our guests upon entering the place is our Animated Monogram.

At first, I wanted a White Background with Gold font for our names. But our coordinator pointed out that I may not be seen if the background is also white. 😛 So, we decided to switch to Dark Green, still in line with our theme. ❤

Okay! So when we arrived at the scene, it’s time for our make-up retouch and time to fill our stomach with the incredible feast we chose for our guest. ❤ It was really delicious. While we were having our early dinner, there’s another game inside the reception: TRIVIA GAME where we gave out bags of chocolates for every correct answer. Some of the questions were: First movie together, Who said I love you first, Term of Enderament, Favorite Series Marathon food. (Some of the answers to the questions were posted in our Infographic) 😀 Clever. Huh?

Initally, we wanted the Fireworks at the end of the program. But we were also hesitant to schedule it after since it was Sunday and our guests might leave early.

Proven! Guests really do enjoy the fireworks! It also elevates your event! ❤ After the fireworks, guests were asked to return to their seats for the Grand Entrance. 😛

Our Bridal Squad were introduced in the tune of Dura by Daddy Yankee. while our Groom Squad danced to Boneless by Steve Aoki. 

As you can see, our male squad is definitely more coordinated with Matt Stefanina dance moves. Hence, they won the challenge of who’s better. 😛

Followed by the entrance of our esteemed entourage, our Prenup / Save the Date Video was shown to all of our guests.

And our Grand Entrance in the tune of Good Life by One Republic, inspired by our Wedding Hashtag of #itsJANNAbeaJUDElife transalated as It’s gonna be a good life.

TIP: Please please be witty enough to think of your own wedding hashtags! One, it’s simply fun. Two, it will encourage your guests to use your hashtag. Three, you’ll have an easier time in collating pictures and videos related to your event if it’s clear that YOU are the only ones using it instead of #JudeandJannaforever or #JudeandJanna2019. Maximize the power of hashtag!

For our Grand Entrance, we decided to use our Indoor Fireworks (which is not shown in the photo) plus this heart shaped confetti free of charge from our Coordinator. ❤

Followed quickly by our entrance, we gave a bit of our opening remarks to our family, friends and loved ones who celebrated with us.

Our first ever dance as a married couple is in the tune of Say you won’t let go by James Arthur. 🙂  This is also the song I was singing to when he proposed. ❤ This song is really special. ❤ Again, there were Indoor Fireworks and confetti as well.

Wedding Traditions followed such as Cake Cutting and Wine Toasting!

Our 3 tier carrot cake is designed with pure white with gold highlights with huge floral appliques. It’s so good! I’m actually sad that we forgot that it was in our ref.

The wine that we toasted is free from our package with Aquila Crystal Palace. If I remember it correctly, it was not hard because I finished it instantly. ❤

My sister, one  of the Matrons of Honor started the speech followed by my Brother in law and finally, my Best friend ended the speeches by inviting everyone to offer a toast for our marriage. ❤

After the long speeches, it’s time for the most awaited time of our guests! Dinner time. ❤ The cousins of my groom, Seth and Yohan led the prayer.

While the guests were eating or in line to get their food, some of the music that we chose to be played are the following: The way you look tonight, Collide, The last time, if I ain’t got you, Everything, Perfect and Close to you among others.

Well, you know how this goes already. . .  . . before they can even line up to the buffet, they all have to take a picture with us. ❤ Here are some of them.

While eating, another batch of Speeches coming from our Principal Sponsors.

Principal Sponsor speeches! We had to choose one from each of our side. My God mother, sister of my father gave a speech while it was a Family friend from the Groom’s side. After the speeches, a couple of games again — which is the second best game! Minute to Win It – Wedding edition. ❤

So we filmed a one time, one shot games of: Segregate it, Pingpong Ball, Shoot the Ball etc. Each table have to guess who won whether it’s the Bride and the Groom! Everyone turned out to be competitive at this part. ❤

After an interactive game, it’s the Parent Dances!

We decided to dance simultaneously to the tune of You are so Beautiful by Joe Cocker. 😀 I was scaring my dad and reminding him of their speech! 😛 while I think my mother in law is having the best time dancing with his son. ❤

After a bit serious of dances, it’s fuckin time for another game! Another game? We can never miss out on Single’s Game! To get the suspicion out of their minds, our host called them like they are about to receive a prize.

Men are lined up in front – a music is played and whoever dances the right move first gets to seat down! The following music were played – Watch me whip, Soulja Boy, Teach me How to Dougie, Gangnam, Level Up, Stayin Alive, Thriller and Can’t Touch this.

Then whoever doesn’t dance, will remain in front and the ladies will start searching for the safety pin. The lady who doesn’t find a single pin, loses. ❤

The losers  of both games, or rather the last man and woman standing wins a Starbucks GC which they can use to go on their ‘date’ – a little matchmaker doesn’t lose its touch on weddings!

It’s my husband’s colleague and one of my closes high school friend! ❤ And after this fun game, our host now calls on both of our parent’s for the wise words.

It’s the Welcome to the Family speech! It’s such a cliche but really overwhelming. It warms your heart, right? I felt really happy to hear it goes both ways. ❤ I have no better way of saying this but it felt really good.

Before the night is over, we prepared some awards to be given to our guests.

Cool Tito Award (right picture) and Fab Tita Award where we award the Best Dressed one – we gave them Wine and a Tefal Pan. ❤ We also awarded Dressed to Kill (Upper Right) for the Best Dressed Millenial and we gave them a 6-pack beers and a Make Up Kit.  Lastly, we gave out a Grand Prize (Lower Right) for the best picture and handed them a powerbank.

Then we played our On Site Photo and our Save the Date Video. ❤

Look at our faces!! ❤ Our Photo Team is led by TJ of Timoteo Photo and our SDE was created by Mac by Stories by Supermac! Extremely in awe, hearts bursting with joy and overwhelmed with gratitude and love. ❤

Before our night ends, we said our Thank yous and invited them for a night full of dancing and drinking!

Look at our ceiling treatment filled with an all white embellishments and gold highlights and black draping to make our ceiling pop out! ❤

The night ends as mentioned, with drinking and dancing! ❤ ❤ ❤

Our last picture before our guests go back to Manila! First up, my colleagues!

My brother and his girlfriend before they fled out of the scene. 😛 Haha. Next? Our Wedding Buddies, one week apart and now, we’re all married. ❤

I always come in threes, Don’t I? And Of course, My Bestfriends since High School.

It always put a smile on my face when I see my friends from different groups come together like this. 🙂

And before this day ends, I need a picture with my husband. ❤

I love you so much, husband! ❤ ❤ It’s been five months and it’s still the Best Day of My Life. ❤ 

EVERYDAY: Our Wedding (Reception) November 24, 2019, the most magical day of my life. ❤ Okay! Hard part is over! 😛 I don't really like being the center of attention and all.

#Animated Monogram #Aquila Crystal Palace #bride &amp; breakfast #fireworks #Gabrielle&039;s Appetizer #marriage #Reception #wedding #Wedding Dances #Wedding Games #Wedding Speeches #Wedding Traditions

[bloojayoolie]

A Dream, Bad, and Bruh: ACTUALLY, IT'S A HEY, LOOK, GREG HAS A PURSE! E. EMBROIDERED BOOKBAG. Hehehehe, Frank Griffin here! I am here to explain this funny may-may I found while browsing through the site "r/Loded Diper", place where fellow may-may experts like me share their best funny jokes about Diary of a by Wimpy Kid, a cartoon novel written hohe other than Jeff Kinney. Now, what do have here? If youre familiar with the book, youll recognize that there is Greg Heffley the middle, the protagonist of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In the original image, Greg stitched a purse, but called it an embroidered handbag" so he won't lose his dignity. However, it doesn't work and he gets called a girl for it. this image Now that the background has been cleared up, let's look It has been posted by u/ThatSippyChicken the 18th 2019 oh may (by UTC time). This means it's very recent, compared to the even funnier Minion memes I share with my grandkids. Greg is surrounded by two unknown teenagers. The short-haired kid the left is pointinga finger having a speech bubble over him (This implies he's saying something.). to the right (probably at Greg) and The text on the speech bubble says "HEY, LOOK, GREG HAS A", and then "EMBROIDERED BOOKBAG" below, but distorted. Greg reacts with saying "ACTUALLY, ITS ONLY A PURSE!" followed by blank space ow. The last kid with acne has a nearly empty speech bubble, only saying "E". Diary of a Wimpy Kid artstyle. Oh, Greg is holding the purse I talked about previously in the image!If you look closely, you at the end. Everything is drawn in the typical thing I forgot to mention: ohe can even see that the word "Grea" is stitched on it- IS Okay, the description of the image is over. Now, let's get the analysing part. I examined every part of the image and compared it with other maymays from around the same time and site. But then, I couldn't believe what I found out! This maymay on r/LodedDiper falls under the category of modern internet memes. You may have heard of the word from your kids, maybe grandkids, and that's because it's a Millennial (yes, the Avocado eveh toast generation. / Generation Z movement. The concept of Memes itself is too complex, Ill explain it on a seperate page, but, to be short, Memes are funny internet maymays that require Some sort of insider knowdlege to be understandable. Memes are very special of humour, because, unlike other funny maymays, the humour of Memes ih terms always based on either relatability or absurdity. This can be shown is this image too: The incosistency of logic and font size makes the oh absurdity of this maymay visible. The "E" has a very complex background, but it can be said that it's referencing another modern Meme. This absurd humour combined with what used to be a page from a normal cartoon hovel is what makes this maymay funny. When I realized this, I had to LOLWHMWADCC (Laughing Out Loud While Hitting Manny With A Diet Coke Condom)! explain why I chose exactly this maymay symbolizes the change in youth humour. At last, I need to for explanation. That's because it new generation doesn't laugh though they based on either relatability or absurdity. While this change The at Minioh maymays anymore (even very funny., they laugh at modern memes that are dre to more complex humour can be considered a cultural step forwards, it can also be unhealthy for the kids. For example, Memes about depression and suicide, which are very popular, can make someone relating to it even depressed (The argument of these being a coping technique falls Alat here, that has been disproven). But, good or not, it's definetily more an important change in Internet, even the entirety of western culture. This Meme symbolizes the new age of humour, Meme humour. Besthany. And now, I finally explained to you what Memes are, Frank Griffin PS: If read this on r/LodedDiper, go check out the subreddit you r/ExplainItPeter! And the other way around, of course. PPS: is br ald Hehehehehehe, someone's here! No, it's not Frank Griffin (Right now he's busy explaining a Minion meme), it's not Sans Undertale (Off fighting Lugi), it's me: Peter Heffley! Who am I, you may ask? Well, I am the colleague and best buddy of the world famous Frank Griffin. Ah, now that I'm mentioning him, all the memories are flooding back. Whenever there was a cringe nae nae meme, a darn millennial or even a bruh moment, we stuck together. And after decades of friendship he eventually offered me a dream come true: A job in the Meme Explaining Laboratory! So, now I'm here explaining a few memes here and there (Frank does the over- whelming majority of them, though) and, more importantly, critically analysing his very own explanations, because nothing is perfect! (Except for stepping on a crunchy leaf.) Unlike him, I will use Arial instead of the official Wimpy Kid font, simply because this is more readable. Otherwise, my critique is pretty much the same. So, get ready for some high IQ text reading, because we're going to enter the Meme world once again! Alright, we finally got through the long introduction I now have several ways to begin the main part, but I'm honestly not sure where to. I could start with citing his first line, analysing his formatting or referenzing the pipe strip video. But I will do none of these things. Instead, I will dig straight to the core of his explanations, and praise or critique anything in the process. Ergo, I'll start with the nature of his text itself. It's, compared to the usual Internet posts, very text-heavy. However this isn't a big surprise since both of us know how much Frank can dive into a subject. He puts a photo of himself in the top left corner below the image he's analyzing, and his text is written solely in the "WimpyKid" font, which already is my first problem. It may have been suitable if it was used in a short paragraph or two, but using it in an entire explanation is a major design flaw. However, this is not the only problem I have with Frank's text, (Don't take it personally, bucko) which brings me to analyzing the content of his explanation, and his ultimate message near the bottom end. Okay, I'll be honest. I don't like the message. His main part of the analysis may have been on the better side, in comparision to his other posts, but this time Frank really shot himself in his cock and balls this time. Saying that "Meme humour is overtaking regular humour" is overly dramatizising and simply putting in a wrong light what is really going on inside the meme creation scene. Frank, I'm sorry to tell it to ya, but a near-sudden cultural shift in humour is not going to happen, pal. What is really happening is that younger kids like to distance themselves from older generations as much as possible, may it be via clothing, music politics or, in this case, humour. Most teenagers eventually just grow out of their phase of shutting themselves off of older people. That eventually happens either when they marry, or when they enter their 30's. I am not saying that a and progressing culture is bad, however it's a lie to say those teens will keep their culture with them as they grow old. Just take hippies, as am example Some of you may remember them promoting peace and other values, and generally having a very liberal mindset. Now, who were those hippies? This answer may be a suprise to you, but those hippies were (mostly) boomers. Yup, the same generation that is nowadays known for being notoriously authoritarian and close-minded. People can change. And those who laugh about their memes now will probably change too, once they reach a certain age. The only thing in favor of Frank's argument is the existence of the Internet. Although that argument isn't that much of a punch when considering the very likely possibility that another game changing form of media will probably pop up within the next few decades. Memes will simply not prevail, or they will be warped beyond recognition (Not as in becoming more abstract and surreal (which is also a very widely spread belief about Memes)), by having different unwritten rules for Memes. If a time traveler from 2011 saw a changing modern meme page from today, they wouldn't think those memes would be funny or should even be called memes. What we call memes now, will be forgotten in the future. To cut it short, memes will not have a major effect on culture, nor will they even be remembered in 20+ years. One more thing. Frank stated that Greg Heffley was saying "Actually, it's only a purse!" in the Meme he explained. That is incorrect, though. Greg says "Actually, it's a purse!" without the "only". I think it's highly unprofessional that he tries to deeply analyze a meme and then doesn't even quote the text correctly. It makes me feel like Frank is just doing this for the fame and money by focussing on dramaticising viewpoints instead of being scientifically accurate. This is probably the true reason Bethany left him and took the kids. Not because she "loved Chad more instead of a nice man like me", as Frank said, but because she can't stand him becoming increasingly narcissistic and delusional about his fame anymore. It's actually sickening me how he is cutting of more and more of his friends and family and doesn't even care for fans either. I know I will probably be fired by Frank for publishing this, but the problem is only turning bigger and bigger with no sight of him changing his ways. Frank should honestly take a break from his job and go visit his kids again. After all, he never bothered to see them once Bethany "took them away" from him. He can visit his children anytime he wants to, but he rather likes to work on another money milking machine again (which is ironically the reason the kids chose Bethany.) Alright, it's time to end this text. Looking back at it, it seems like it's 1/3 explanation, 1/3 critique and 1/3 open letter. I planned this to just be an extension of Frank's analysis and another lie about how we are getting along just fine, but now it turned into a half-agressive rant about him. But I just had to vent my frustations about my buddy. I know he hasa heart somewhere down below his thick skull, but for now it's simply how I and everyone else close to him perceive Frank. Hopefully he'll try to change. Peter Heffley PS: Frank, if you are reading this, please don't fire me for writing this. Try to reflect instead. PPS: Haha PP lol PPPS: I just went to r/Expla memes made me LOLWHMWADCCAEFP nltPeter, and all of the (Laughing Out Loud While Hitting Manny With A Diet Coke Condom And Eating Frank's Penis) out loud! Go visit that subreddit! Thanks for the explanation, Peter Heffley!

#funny #lol #humor #memes #meme #memehumor #dank memes #funny pics #rolf #lmao #A Dream #Bad #and Bru

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR THE MARGINAL, WHO RETAIN THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING AN INSIDER, AND IN SOME KINDS OF WORK—THAT HACKING WAS COLD, PRECISE, AND METHODICAL, AND THAT HE DID ALL THE ACTUAL DESIGN OF THE APPLE I AND APPLE II IN HIS APARTMENT OR HIS CUBE AT HP

But gradually I realized it wasn't luck. We need a language that lets us scribble and smudge and smear, not a pen. For a long time I felt bad about this, just as in principle you could avoid it, just as writers and painters and architects do. But this mistake is less excusable than most. Boy, was I wrong. In hacking, like painting, work comes in cycles. So did Apple. But I've talked to a lot of servers and a lot of ideas come from the margin is simply that there's so much of it.1 I behave in a way that would make me eligible for prescription drugs if I approached everyday life the same way.

Over and over we see the same pattern. Maybe I'm excessively attached to conciseness.2 Chardin decided to skip all that and paint ordinary things as he saw them. But Cybercash was so bad and most stores' order volumes were so low that it was very remiss of me to have forgotten all that stuff within three weeks of the final exam.3 If I could get people to remember just one quote about programming, it would be a 900-page pastiche of existing popular novels—roughly Gone with the Wind plus Roots.4 In hacking, this can literally mean saving up bugs. It turns out there is, and the visual arts is the resistance of the medium. It's never so pure as it was when they were young.5 It wouldn't be the first time investors learned that lesson from founders.6 That phrase draws in most threads I've mentioned here.

Shakespeare appeared just as professional theater was being born, and pushed the medium so far that every playwright since has had to live in his shadow. The other problem with startups is that there are today. If I had only looked over at the other makers. But there are plenty of dumb people who are bad at empathy too.7 I had an uncomfortable feeling in the back of my mind that I ought to know more theory, and that means that investor starts to lose deals. So, if hacking works like painting and writing, is it as cool?8 Outsiders are not merely free but compelled to make things that are cheap and lightweight.9 When they're raising money, for example, what would happen if the government decided to commission someone to write an official Great American Novel. A better way to describe the situation would be to shirk it, but you'll have it all to yourself. Relentless. In particular, new things.10 This is already clear in cases like GPSes, music players, and cameras.

So it was literally IPO or bust. Imagine, for example. Most writers write to persuade, I'd start to shy away unconsciously from ideas I knew would be hard to sell. So that, I think. Inappropriate is the null criticism. It was like watching a car you're chasing turn down a street that you know has no outlet. Facebook did. So hackers start original, and get good, and get good, and get good, and get original. But in retrospect you're probably better off studying something moderately interesting with someone who isn't. There's nothing more than a slight stirring of discomfort. That's why oil paintings look so different from watercolors.

But I think the goal of an essay should be to discover surprising things.11 Some hackers are quite smart, but they can't have looked good on paper. You might as well open it. Particularly to young companies that are otherwise benevolent. Someone who doesn't know what these things are, either. Similarly, you shouldn't be discouraged by the comparatively corrupt test of college admissions, because it's a game you can't lose.12 And when you do it consciously you'll do it even better. How common is it for founders to keep control after an A round? If you're not sure what to do, and engineers figure out how to connect some company's legacy database to their Web server.13 Com of their name.

Considering how basic a red circle is, it seemed surprising to me when we started YC. There's a huge weight of tradition advising us to play it safe. The way I worked, it seemed surprising to me that any employer would be reluctant to let hackers work on open-source hacking is all about.14 But so do people who inherit money, and another for love. Give hackers an inch and they'll take you a mile. How long will it take to catch up with where you'd have been if you were extracting every penny?15 Not merely hardware, but software too. But this wasn't what made them eminent—it was more a flaw their eminence had allowed them to sink into. In hacking, like painting, work comes in cycles. This is what open-source projects. Add up all the evidence of VCs' behavior, and the key to the mystery is the old adage a word to the wise is sufficient.

The fact that you can change font sizes easily means the iPad effectively replaces reading glasses. Just wait till you've agreed on a price and think you have a US startup called X and you don't have to act like VCs. Programmers were seen as technicians who translated the visions if that is the word of product managers into code. When people walk by the portrait of Ginevra de Benci, their attention is often immediately arrested by it, even before they look at the work of a painter in chronological order, you'll find that each painting builds on things that could steal that prestige. That version 4. The puffed-up companies that went public during the Bubble didn't do it just because they were pulled into it by unscrupulous investment bankers. They ask whatever it is they're asking in such a roundabout way that the hosts often have to rephrase the question for them. Whereas hackers, from the start, are doing original work; it's just very bad. Since the custom is to write to persuade the actual reader, someone who doesn't will seem arrogant. If hackers identified with other makers, like writers and painters and architects do. I like debugging: it's the standard image.16 In return for the unique privilege of sharing his office with no other humans, he had to share it with 6 shrieking tower servers.

Notes

This is actually from the most, it's probably good grazing. One of the Daddy Model and reality is the last step in this evolution. I have a better education. So in effect why can't you be more like a body cavity search by someone who doesn't understand what you're doing.

Many of these companies substitute progress for revenue growth.

Yes, I didn't realize it yet or not, don't even want to approach a specific firm, the more effort you expend on the matter. I think it's confusion or lack of results achieved by alchemy and saying its value was as much what other people thought it was considered the most visible index of that generation had been raised religious and then just enjoy yourself for the same weight as any successful startup?

There are circumstances where this is not even be an inverse correlation between launch magnitude and success. It's hard for us, they have to say exactly what they're doing. Maybe that isn't the problem, we should make the fund by succeeding spectacularly.

That way most reach the stage where they're sufficiently convincing well before Demo Day. The continuing popularity of religion is the place for people interested in each type of thing. Though they were getting results.

We currently advise startups mostly to ignore what your GPA was. People and The CRM114 Discriminator.

A preliminary result, that all metaphysics between Aristotle and 1783 had been climbing in through the buzz that surrounds wisdom in ancient philosophy may be whether what you learn via users anyway. The University of Vermont, 1991. A round about the origins of the biggest discoveries in any field.

One VC who read this to realize that in fact they don't, but some do. You can relent a little too narrow than to confuse everyone with a base of evangelical Christians. On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 1983. I called to check and in fact they don't have to.

When I was there when it was the ads they show first.

This is a case in point: lots of type II startups neither require nor produce startup culture.

In practice the first wave of hostile takeovers in the narrow technical sense of things economists usually think about, just as if it were. If they're dealing with YC companies that grow slowly tend not to say they care above all about big markets, why is New York. 0001. In a limited way, I should degenerate from words to their returns.

That's a valid point. Everyone's taught about it. 5 more I didn't.

The reason only 287 have valuations is that they've already decided what they're selling and how unbelievably annoying it is to let yourself feel it mid-game. So it's a collection itself. When I was surprised to find a kid and as a definition of property is driven by bookmarking, not an associate cold-emailing a startup. It would be to say yet how much you get nothing.

The main one was nothing special. For similar reasons, the users' need has to be a hot deal, I mean forum in the sense of the 1929 crash. And to a partner, not because Delicious users are not one of the 70s, moving to Monaco would only give you 11% more income, which a few months later Google paid 1.

The golden age of economic equality in the sample might be able to respond with extreme countermeasures. These points don't apply to types of studies, studies of returns from startup investing, which would cause HTTP and HTML to continue to maltreat people who start these supposedly smart investors may not be formally definable, but trained on corpora of stupid and non-stupid comments instead.

One of the biggest divergences between the initial plan and what the valuation of the founders chose? But becoming a police state. There is not that the most successful companies have been a good nerd, just that it is more efficient.

Thanks to Geoff Ralston, Trevor Blackwell, Neil Rimer, and Robert Morris for the lulz.

#automatically generated text #Markov chains #Paul Graham #Python #Patrick Mooney #investment #Benci #Morris #reading #reader #mile #founders #draws #people #one #pastiche #college #University #Someone #YC

[lminnsmars]

Designing My Final Album Cover

I then tried using the owl skull I drew that was inspired by Patrick Seymour. I previously mentioned that this piece of work is probably my most successful piece from the last 2/3 weeks of work. 

Here, I started by placing a black grainy background which I did by creating a square using the ‘rectangle tool’. I then duplicated this to which, I layered it over the top of the original one. I then went into ‘effect’ and ‘effect gallery’, where I chose the ‘grain’ which you can find under ‘texture’. I then played around with the settings as I wanted to still keep the shape being a dark as possible as this would then  mean a stronger contrast between the owl skull. I only wanted a slight grain as this would then give a little bit more interest to the whole piece. Once I was happy with the effect, I clicked ‘ok’ but then went the opacity setting at the top of the page. I wanted to decrease the opacity of this textures shape so then the black shape I originally placed can somewhat show through. Doing this would give an overall darker effect, while still showing the grain. 

After this, I simply just opened up the file from when I drew this owl skull and copied and pasted it, onto this new page. I positioned this in the centre of the page. I then had the idea to use the eyes to capture the viewers attention as I think this part is the most striking. As the theme is multiverse, I thought of showing stars in the eyes with a spaceship flying into one of the eyes. For the other eye, I felt that I could almost show the impact of the spaceship going through the eyes. To represent this, I had the idea of showing an explosion. 

To create the explosion, I knew straight away at how I could produce this. I used the technique that I have recently learnt which is when I used the ‘blend tool’, but this would be a very basic method out of all the other things I created, as I wont do anything special when blending. To get this effect below, I used the ‘pen tool’ to draw the spikey effect for the look of the explosion, where I then copied and pasted this shape and decreased its size. To do this I just held down ‘shift’ and ‘alt’. When drawing the shape, I chose to create a very simply looking explosions I want the viewers to be able to see what it is at first glance. Then, I chose the larger shape to be a red colour and the centre shape to be orange. Next, I selected the ‘blend tool’ and just clicked on the two corners. I double-clicked on the this tool in the settings, where I was playing around with the number of steps as I felt that I didn't really want any of the lines showing. I can’t quite remember what number it ended up being, but it was definitely a higher number than I have been previously choosing. This is the end result of this, to which I think it achieves the look I was hoping for as it is very simple but I felt it needed to be. 

I then created a simple looking spaceship too. I thought to have the band name in this so the type is almost apart of the design. As you can see, I have curved the word ‘cosmos’. I got this idea from one of the scans I did when I was distorting type. I was going to use the actual scan itself but found it could look a bit messy so I just created the same effect but digitally. To do this I went into ‘object’, ‘distort envelop’ and ‘make with warp’. But before I even created this type, I produced the spaceship first. Again, I went very minimal, and used the ‘ellipse tool’ to draw a perfect circle (holding down ‘shift’) for the top part and a circle where I stretched it further out sideways so it created this flying sorcerer effect. My inspiration for drawing it like this, was from old images or drawings from how people used to draw them. I found in old designs, they would be shown in a very simple way. I then show use the two colours, yellow and green. At the time, I thought these colours work so well together and reminded me so much of colours that would have been put together quite often in the past. When it got to creating and positioning the type into the spaceship, I went through all of the past fonts I have used in this project. I saw this font I used when distorting type using the scanner. I felt it looked very attractive. It doesn't scream sci-fi or space, but I was fascinated at how effective it looked. The font is called ‘Bernard MT Condensed’. I felt it gave a sense of professionalism but it wasn't boring nor anywhere near hard to read. I arranged the type do the first word was in the top section of the space ship and the other two words were in the bottom area. I made the word ‘the’ a smaller size than the other words. This is because it is less important and doesn't need to be the first word that catches the viewers attention. 

Next, I decided it was time to add the stars which I was going to place in the eyes. I thought adding this element into the design would really help to give the effect to the end result as these objects will show the viewers what their looking at. My inspiration for this was one of the poster designs in my Pinterest board (https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Libbym220/multiverse-ideas/) as the stars easily stood out as the object they the artist was implying them to be. 

Below, is the poster I was referring to when creating my own stars. When I looked more closely at how they created them, to me it looked like they have drawn a normal star and then copied and pasted it and slightly rotated it but this new shape has been decreased size. There had then been a glow effect added as well. 

This method of how I thought the object was created was exactly what I did to produce my own. Once I had assembled the shapes, I went into ‘effect’, ‘stylize’ and ‘outer glow’. This then brings up a tab, to which I just played around with the settings until I was happy. I started by changing the colour to white as this will then match with the start shade. For the first star, I made the opacity quite high and the blur low. Doing this means the star will be quite bright and the glow won’t be very gradual. 

I did generate some more stars which were different to these settings. I copied and pasted all the different ones and arranged them in different places. I also added some very small circles in the design too, as this will then cover more of the negative background space. 

As well as this, I added this flying helmet/hat to the owl as I had the idea that this would then relate to the of flying the spaceship. When I was looking for images to use to then trace, I found it very hard to find one where the helmet is from the front as most of the images were from the side. I did eventually find one. I traced the main features of the design where I could have added the goggles as well but felt this wasn't really necessary and could cover some of the owls face. 

Here, you can see I have now taken away the explosion from the right hand side. I then added stars to it instead. I did this because I found it didn't really improve the design and almost looked a bit random. 

I then wasn't too sure on the hat. I couldn't tell what the problem was so I tried changing the colours so the hat was all one colour. here, I have swapped the bottom section to brown but immediately knew this made it worse. I think its the brown and purple that wasn't working. 

I then tried this silver colour to which I think it looked a lot better. 

When looking at the screenshot above, I still thought something wasn't right as it almost seemed a it boring, all of a sudden. I thought that it might have been the black type so I tried to add some more interest to this by changing colours and adding just a stroke. As you can see, I have also changed the font as well. This one is called ‘Aldo The Apache’. This gives me a sense of space a bit more so I thought this could add to the design. 

Although when I zoomed back out to look at the whole piece, it still didn't seem right. I decided to change it back to the original font and style, to which I had the idea of moving the composition of the owl. I thought as this owl is the exact same on both of the sides it could look interesting to place half the owl on one side of the and the same on the other side. Doing this, meant that the eyes were right next to one another. I slightly moved the spaceship so it now looks like its come from one of the eyes and going through the other. At this point, I can definitely see my ideas of how to arrange the elements are improving. I felt I was getting to a point where I was getting exited on how the end result was going to turn out. 

[livlongbotanical]

Cyanotype and Instagram Story Experimentation

In todays Lesson we looked at a technique called cyanotype, cyanotype is a printing technique where is produces a cyan-blue print. It was used in the 20th century as a cheap way to print, to create my own cyontype I've used me edits from previous lessons and from then turned the images to black and white and uses the levels in the editing section off the photoshop app to make them more clear and show the detail of the image more clearly, I must insure that all the images are clear and show as much detail as possible as otherwise the detail of the images won't be successful and com out as best as they can. Ive chosen to of my favourite images from the shoot to use for my printing. Ive chosen a picture of a flower with a vase and also on of my scanography photos with lace and flower petals on it, I chose these images because i feel as though these will come out the best detail when printing, next Friday I will be attempting to do these prints, Im first going to print them on paper or card as test runs to see how they come out and then I'm hoping to print it on different types of fabric and calico, and to extend my prints I will then on be printing on a plain cushion cover which I will be ordering from Amazon. 

In the second part of lesson i started on my introduction into my social media campaigns, for this I used illustrator to do this, I set up 8 artboards with the measurements of 1080p X 1920px this was the perfect size to work with, I started by choosing an image that i liked and used the eyedropper tool to chose my favourite colour from that image, to get colours that go with my chosen colour, I used a website  called Coolers.com to which is a random colour generator which helps you to choose colours that match with the other ones, once i chose my colours i made a colour pallet on my work space so I knew what i was working with, in this lesson I have also chosen a possible brand name “SERENITY” which means a state of calm and peaceful which i thought it was the perfect name to use for my brand as I have chosen to do homeward as my chosen specialism. I then went onto DAFONT.COM and experimented with some different fonts to use as part of my logo for my brand. I choose a few fonts to play about with and added them to my work space. I then took some of my images from previous lessons and had a play about with them and started to make some instagram campaigns by using different texts colours and shapes to create a campaign. Im very happy with my first attempt at it, but this was only a practice it won't be the one i will use in the feature for my brand.

[the-undertale-mouse]

Handplates: Tempus CH 1

    Handplates is a really cool if dark take on the Papyrus/Sans/Gaster origin story by @zarla-s and if you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend it. This is a spin off of that in which a human enters their lives. This takes place some time before Justice falls. Tempus(Patience) would be the fifth soul. Some things may be inaccurate, but please be patient with me. I just need to get it out of my head and I need some feedback. I am reposting some chapters because I have revised a few things for greater accuracy. ~Miamouse

Chapter 1 Contact

* * *

    “Say hi to King Fluffy Buns for me. Us war survivors got to stick together.  Maybe we should have a cards night or-,” Gerson said as Gaster paid for his groceries.

    “I’m sorry, I have a very tight schedule,” Gaster said, cutting the conversation short. Not that he didn’t appreciate everything the ‘hammer of justice’ did in his time, but the old war vet had a tendency to ramble, and Gaster really did have a schedule to keep. Any time away from the lab not working was time wasted to Gaster, except he still needed to go out every now and then to buy food.

    “Don’t be such a stranger,” Gerson called.

    Gaster took his leave and started back along the road to hotland, taking special care to avoid the nonsensical beings dubbed ‘tems.’ he just didn’t have the time to deal with the silly creatures. He made it safely past them without an encounter and sighed with relief as he stepped into the darkening lantern room. He could use his one functioning eye socket to glow and show him the path, but he didn’t bother. He knew the path so well, he didn’t strictly need to see. Not many monsters came this way, it was too dark and depressing. He liked this room, it was peaceful and solitary. He did not expect someone to bump into him. He did not expect to drop half the groceries he just bought. Most of all, he did not expect them to be human. But it happened anyway.

    Panic flooded his chest cavity, despite its words of apology and concern directed towards him. A human? Here, now? Right in front of him? What to do? He had confidence he could easily capture it and bring it to the king, as was protocol, but he couldn’t stand the thought of the look in the king’s eyes after he killed yet another human. He could kill the human himself and bring the soul to the king. It would be no trouble. By the look of it, this one was a chil- not yet full grown. Weak. Inexperienced.  He would just say he found the soul like that. Tragic for the human, good for the monsters. How long could it last in the underground anyway? He was surprised it made it this far. He was doing it a favor, cutting its misery short.

    He shifted into ‘fight mode’ turning its soul dark blue from the get-go. This would be over with soon, if he worked straight through lunch, he could be back on schedule. It wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to.

* * *

    Tempus accepted that her apologies didn’t work the moment her soul became heavy and the skeleton across from her started sending bone-shaped bullets her way. The increased gravity made it difficult, but she was very good at detecting patterns and timing her movements just right. She managed to avoid all of his intricate waves of bones with the least amount of energy possible. She was able to catch a breather and “check his stats.” She did this with everyone who chose to fight her in order to understand them a little better and find a way to appease them.

    “Wing Dings Gaster. LV 4. Hurt some people on purpose. That’s probably bad. Though maybe some of it was in self-defense or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t there. HP 2000/2000 AT 36 DF 36. Royal Scientist obsessed with breaking the barrier.” Tempus gulped. Even if she didn’t lose her cute ribbon, he could kill her in easily (she was weak for a human, she only had 10 HP.) If she could negotiate a solution, she would always try that first. She had to think fast as she dodged the next, trickier volley of bones.

* * *

    The human was exceptionally skilled at dodging. Gaster would have been impressed if it weren’t so annoying. It was just making the battle drag out longer. Between the volleys of bones, the human attempted to reason with him. Its efforts were fruitless. He just tuned it out. Nothing it said mattered. They needed its soul for the barrier. There was no discussing it. Gaster did not indulge it with replies, it probably wouldn’t understand his language anyway, and he doubted it knew how to read his hands. Talking to it would be pointless, and he did not like to do anything pointless.

   He was, however, intrigued that it wielded no physical weapon. This was odd for humans since most of them could not wield magic. On the off chance it could use magic, why didn’t it? It was in very real danger and did not defend itself besides dodging and expelling useless chatter. Perhaps it was luring him into a false sense of security. Its soul signature was patience after all. It could be waiting for the right moment to strike, for all he knew. As he was thinking that, the human changed tact, but not in the way he expected.

* * *

    Tempus had four different logical actions she could use on Gaster: reason, plead,  threaten and joke. In addition to actions, she could manifest magical versions of her toy knife to attack him. She dropped the real one back in the ruins when she promised herself she wouldn’t use it to hurt anyone. With magic, you could manipulate it so that the person on the receiving end could be left with 1 hp, no matter how many times you hit, but that was her most desperate move. More desperate than attempting to actually spare him or run away, both of which would be very desperate indeed, considering his strength. She was getting to that point of desperation though.

    She tried pleading and reasoning several times, hoping to wear him down, but to no effect, since he didn’t seem to be listening. Maybe he was deaf. An idea occurred to her: perhaps he wasn’t ignoring her, perhaps he actually couldn’t hear her pleas. He didn’t have ears after all. There was no guarantee he understood ASL, but it had a better chance of success than sparing him. She gave it a shot, thanking her stars she knew sign language since she was little.

  “Please stop. I’m not going to try to leave the underground. I don’t want to hurt you or your king. I know you need my soul for the barrier, but you don’t have enough anyway. Can’t I stay in peace, at least until the last two humans fall?” She had studied the plaques on the walls carefully, in an attempt to understand the history here. She knew they needed the equivalent of 7 human souls to be free. A member of the Royal Guard informed her that her soul would be the fifth in their collection, right before they threw a spear at her. Tempus made a split second decision to run for it and she ran all the way back to the darkening lantern room and right into this guy. 

* * *

    Once again, this human surprised Gaster, this time by speaking in hands; a highly unusual trait, even among monsters. He was so stunned, he forgot to ignore what it was saying. ‘It made a good argument,’ he begrudgingly acknowledged. That didn’t mean it wasn’t lying about being a pacifist. True, it didn’t have any LV or EXP but, who’s to say it would never gain some? No matter what it said, he couldn’t let it roam free. Humans were far too dangerous and unpredictable. But perhaps it didn’t have to be killed yet. If it’s power could be harnessed, then maybe freedom was closer than it seemed. Plans formed in his head for how to get and use that power. The possibilities it presented were endless. It would almost be a waste to kill it so soon.

* * *

    Gaster considered for a moment then said both out loud and with his hands, “If I let you live, will you come quietly?”

    Tempus did not like the idea of a scientist with an LV of 4 taking her captive, but what choice did she have? “Yes. I’ll come quietly.” she signed and spoke. The battle ended. 0 EXP and 0 G gained.

    “Oh, I can hear you just fine. I was just ignoring you earlier.” Gaster said bluntly.

   She had a feeling this was the case, though she had hoped better of him. “You don’t have to sign for me either. My hearing is just fine.”

   He paused and looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face. “Really now, you can understand me?” he spoke out loud only, not using his hands to sign. His tone was colored in disbelief as if he highly doubted a human like her could know what he was saying.

   Tempus had no clue what he was implying. He did have a bit of an accent, but it was nothing crazy. “Yes, I can understand you. We’re speaking the same language, aren’t we?”

    “Indeed. But for now, I would rather you didn’t speak unless spoken to until we get back to the lab. You did agree to come quietly.” Tempus decided to obey him, for now. She was patient. She would follow along, do as he said...at least until she figured something out.

* * *

     As they walked on in silence, Gaster’s mind was buzzing.  ‘The human, hereby referred to as ‘subject 3’ or ‘3-T’ diverges from the norm in several notable ways. First, it understands me, signs or no signs, furthermore, it is capable of using the signs itself. Second, it speaks in a font differing from the norm: ‘Tempus’ hence the ‘T’ in ‘3-T.’ Third, it chooses to wield no physical weapon though it may be in possession of magical ability, a rarity among humans. That is yet to be seen, but upon further inspection, it is noted subject 3 possess a certain aura and frailty unusual to its kind. This aura and frailty are reminiscent of the wizards who sealed us away nearly 1000 years ago. I’d be nostalgic if I didn’t still have the emotional scars. Last, Subject 3 is adept at timing its dodges perfectly. I suspect it has something to do with their soul signature ‘patience.’ All these things ought to be looked into and studied. Subject 3 is lucky to have piqued my interest so thoroughly...or maybe unlucky. It’s too late either way.’

Next

#handplates #undertale #fanfic #tempus #gaster #fallen human #revision #chapter 1

[itssiennatheasian]

How to Make a Sports YouTube Banner With a YouTube Banner Maker

What You'll Be Creating

If you want to be a successful YouTuber, you need a professional banner for your channel. Placeit is an online tool that allows you to design your own creation with a special banner generator. It offers hundreds of YouTube banner templates that you can modify for your needs. 

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to make a banner with this digital banner maker, using a banner template and customizing it for a sports-themed channel. With a YouTube channel banner maker, this will be easy and fast!

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

How to Make a Sports YouTube Banner With a YouTube Banner Maker

Step 1

Go to Placeit.net. Go to the Designs tab and click YouTube Banner Maker.

Step 2

Scroll through the gallery to find a proposition that looks the closest to what you envision for your channel, or simply choose something that looks cool. You can use filters to narrow down the results to specific topics. This banner with race cars caught my attention, so let's see what we can do with it.

Step 3

Once you click on your choice, you'll be redirected to the custom YouTube banner maker. Every banner template has slightly different customization options. Here you can add two photos, up to four text fields, a colorful banner, and an arrow symbol. 

First, let's change the photos. You can pick one of the options, but if your channel isn't about cars, you'll have to upload custom images. For high-quality images that will make your YouTube banner look professional, visit Envato Elements. I used these photos:

Soccer player

American football player

Click Custom Image to upload your photo.

Step 4

Give it a moment to load, and then crop it. You can resize it and move it to get the best frame. When you're ready, click Crop and wait a few seconds.

Step 5

By default, the other photo will simply be uploaded in its rectangular form. If you want to create a cool slash effect like in the original template, you need to edit your photo manually. When you have it ready, upload it just like the other.

Step 6

Let's change the text now. I like the font of the title, but if you want, you can pick any other font from the list. Change the title to the name or motto of your channel. You can also modify the other text fields, or turn them off if you don't need them.

Step 7

There's a call to action element on the right, with a customizable arrow. There are many different styles of arrows on the list, so pick the one that fits your style the best.

Step 8

Finally, let's adjust the colors. I want to go for a modern, clean, minimalistic look, so I chose a black font on a white banner, with a blue accent. However, feel free to experiment and try many color schemes before you settle for one. You never know what cool, unexpected schemes you may discover!

Step 9

This banner template supports interactive editing, so if you want to move or resize any of the elements, you can do it directly in the preview. I moved the player on the right to create a better composition, and resized the text of the title to make it more visible.

Step 10

If you're happy with your banner design, just scroll up and click the Download button.

Step 11

You can purchase your design with a one-time payment, or get yourself an unlimited subscription to create and download as many designs as you wish.

Good Job!

Now you know how to make a YouTube banner with a YouTube channel banner maker. If you're interested in banners for social media, you may also want to check out these posts:

Photo Manipulation

How to Create a Design-Inspired Photo Manipulation for Twitter/Facebook Banners

Melody Nieves

Adobe Photoshop

41 Creative YouTube Banner Templates

Melody Nieves

Resources

28 Inspiring Instagram Graphics, Banners & Themes

Melody Nieves

Social Media

40 Best Social Media Banner Templates

Melody Nieves

Social Media

How to Create a YouTube Banner in Adobe Photoshop

Hector Heredia

from Envato Tuts+ Design & Illustration https://ift.tt/2XKnEaE via http://www.webmasterforum.ws/rankwyz-discount-code-2015-coupons/

#Envato Tuts+ Design & Illustration

[topicprinter]

Hey, /r/entrepreneur.I’ve recently been critiquing landing pages for any Tom, Dick and Larry who wanted one. It’s a huge time investment, but people get in-depth, actionable feedback, I get to flex my critical analysis skills AND connect with potential leads. Not too shabby.I wanted to use this opportunity to explore these patterns and help you avoid the most common mistakes that keep your landing pages from being the kickass high-conversion machines you deserve.Disclaimer: I use curse words and strange British slang sometimes. I’m Scottish. That pretty much explains it all.Website Loading…Does your site take 4 seconds to load? You’ve lost 25% of your visitors. 10 Seconds? Say goodbye to another 35%. Online browsers are impatient. In fact, 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. Brutal, right? If you’re scrambling in panic, relax.Test your landing page speed here.FixThere are numerous ways to improve your site’s speed. I’m no techie, so I’m going to refer you to the more knowledgeable Kissmetrics. But this is one of the easiest way to lose prospects. Naturally, I have to include it as the first on this listBad HeadlinesJust call...really?You provide outstanding services and you’re passionate about your work? That’s just great, buddy. You do ‘marketing made simple’ or ‘revolutionise how companies do X’? Sure you do.Look, writing headlines is difficult. But it’s damn important. You’ve probably heard the 80/20 rule by now. 80% of your visitors will read your headline, but only 20% will read further. When you’re against these odds, you better make your headline count!FixAVOID being…Vague – If I don’t know what you do OR what you can offer me after reading your headline, I probably won’t read further.Descriptive – What’s in it for me? Simple facts aren’t enough. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. How are you improving their lives?Cliched – You’re innovative? Think differently? Save it, please. Your customers are rolling their eyes. PROVE IT!TRY to use...Benefits – How will your product/service make your reader a better version of themselves? Time and money are two universal factors in peoples’ lives.Numbers, Facts and Stats – Use these to build authority and believability. Just don’t go overboard!Specificity – How, specifically, will you improve their lives? Get into the nitty-gritty.Curiosity – Unusual or dramatic word choice (kill, death, destroy) and provocative questions are a great way to keep your readers reading. CrazyEgg’s guide to writing headlines has some good examples. Ghost-written by yours truly, by the way. Shh…Brevity – Don’t make your headline a paragraph. Keep it under 10 words. Your readers are an impatient bunch.Ugly As SinOuch, toooo much text!Okay, okay, I’m a copywriter. And my own website is far from a work of art. But…according to the powers that be (Google), users form design opinions in 50 milliseconds. And 75% of people judge a business’s credibility based on design.So many websites think ‘more is more’. They fill their landing pages with information, images, and options. But all they’re doing is destroying their credibility and leaving users feeling overwhelmed and put off.Is your website badly-designed? Cluttered? It could be killing your conversions.FixGet a designer. A good one. If you’re cheap, here are some tips:Contrast – A bland, monotone site isn’t just unattractive. It fails to draw attention to key elements – namely, headers and desirable call-to-actions.Minimal – Don’t overwhelm your users. Use white space and concise, spaced-out content to make the site readable and easy on the yes.Hierarchy – Content should have a visual order, as visitors read in a very specific order. Contrast, balance, alignment…they all have an important part to play. Read all about it here.Readability - Fonts, images and elements should all work harmoniously. Avoid unpleasant contrasts or hard-to-read text.Badly-Chosen ImagesShiny happy...stock image people!Images communicate far more quickly and effectively than words. Ah crap…I chose the wrong career. Anyway, the thing is that images are processed in milliseconds – and using them in the right way can communicate some powerful things for your landing pages.FixAvoid…Stock images – Business people having a great old time, laughing, doing BUSINESS! What could go wrong? Everything, according to Intechnic. These are the worst kinds of images you could use.Low-quality - Crappy quality images are just…ugly. Invest a little more time and use high-quality, high-res images for your landing pages.Use images of…Products – Whether you offer services or products, you can use high-quality images of these to develop trust and quickly explain what you offer.People - Images of people – especially people similar to your reader – create trust. Direct eye contact with the reader will increase engagement. Images of people using your products – that’s even better.Directional cues – Showing people where to look or click through shapes, arrows, or eye gaze direction is a powerful way to influence how your audience behaves.Going For The Kiss Too EarlyBUY NOW!! WE HAVE THE BEST DEALS!You barely met her, and you’re already babbling about future dates, family meetings…children! You’re just too keen. She was interested, but you’re starting to scare her. You have that mad, needy look in your eye. She backs away, slowly…and leaves your page, never to be seen again.This is a common mistake - in romance and marketing. Asking for their money before they even know who you are is an easy way to lose a customer.FixProve yourself first – How, specifically, will their lives be better with you in it? How can they trust you? Empathise with their problems, prove that you can help, and show how you’ve helped other people like them (testimonials, case studies).Provide options – Yes, this might go against the grain. But offering two call-to-action options is a good way to keep everyone happy. Typical options might include a hard CTA and soft CTA (e.g. ‘start free trial’ and ‘learn more’.Emails – Many visitors won’t be ready to convert. That’s why capturing their email is super effective. A well-written emailing sequence can turn a doubtful visitor into a customer.‘Me, Myself & I’Hmm...so what?You’re talking about your services, so your company must be the most important thing here, right? Wrong! It’s all about the customer. And talking about how your company is a special little snowflake is a sure-fire way to send your prospects running away from your landing pages.FixChange the language – Stop with the ‘we’ and ‘our’, and start with the ‘you’ and ‘your’. Talk directly to your readers and create a conversation. This isn’t your CV, after all.Put yourself in their shoes – Yes, you might have experience, you might be ‘innovative’, you might do x, y, and z. But why does all of this matter to your reader? Translate your ‘features / descriptions’ into tangible benefits that’ll improve their lives.Transform features to benefits - You do X and Y, but what's the end result of X and Y for your reader? For example, 'digital marketing made simple' might turn into 'Increase your online conversions by up to 217%'.No Real IncentivesRead more? zZZ....Why should I ‘subscribe’ or send you a message? What’s the direct benefit to me – and why is it important I do so right now? Many landing pages fail to create effective call-to-actions. In fact, some don’t have a call-to-action at all!FixFreebie – Offer something free. Kissmetrics and CrazyEgg – brainchildren of Neil Patel – both do this fantastically. Give them something, and they’ll be more likely to reciprocate in return.Create urgency – Creating a sense of urgency can seriously drive your conversions higher. This could be by a lack of supply (limited places available) or a lack of time (offer expires x date).Visibility - Your call-to-action can't be desirable if no one notices it! Use contrasting colours and a larger font size to make yours stand out.That’s it. Critiquing these websites is a lot of work, but I’ve learned from it.If you want a similar critique of your landing page, simply visit my website and fill in the form there. I’ll send you an annotated screenshot with feedback. If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to add them below!

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit