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[theskinlabdenver]

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[leggigoesabroad]

Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me

Writing this first post from Eli’s mini iPad that Hil lent to me for this trip to Africa, while in the pitch black in my tented king bed at Kifaru House in Laikipia, Kenya. What a sentence! Also, typing on an iPad is much harder than a computer so bear with any formatting problems or typos. It’s 5:26 am and I leave for the morning game drive at 6:30. I woke up at 4 am unable to fall back asleep so I’m just leaning into it. Plenty of time for a nap later.

Well well well! To back up, I’m im Africa for about 16 days for an amazing safari through work. This is one of the perks of the job and it doesn’t feel real. Lots of stress anxiety and prep went into it, and I’m finally here. The flights were LESS than enjoyable - 9 hours Denver to Frankfurt, two hour layover, and another 9 hours to Nairobi. I hit a wall with about 5 hours left in the last flight and wanted to jump off the wing of the plane. Joints ached, stomach hurt, couldn’t sleep or get comfortable, you name it. Thinking of paying to upgrade the way home to economy plus because maybe I’m upgraded cabin category rich? We’ll see! I got in late, around 11 pm, and was whisked to Giraffe Manor in Nairobi. It’s a very famous hotel known for the way the giraffes who live there lean their heads into the breakfast nook and eat off the table. Very on brand for instagram influencers which I BASICALLY NOW AM. I was so grateful for the bed when I got there I barely took in my surroundings for the 12 hours I was there, but I will never forget the amazing shower. Tbh all of the showers so far have been incredible. Powerful, boiling hot, like getting a deluge of hot water with amazing pressure and simply washing away my ~pain. I was treated to a delicious breakfast at Giraffe Manor while the staff tried to entice the giraffes to come nearby despite the rain, and one actually did! I was happily watching another couple take pics with her and then the staff asked if I wanted some too, so I jumped at the chance bc why not?! deeply grateful I put on Glow Screen before breakfast because my skin simply glowed in the photos. It sounds dumb but looking back on rare photos and looking busted is so disappointing - so wear the minimal makeup! You won’t regret it!

My Safari Director, Wesley, picked me up at 10 am to go over to Giraffe Centre, which is the other side of the same fields as Giraffe Manor. That was almost equally cool - I got to hand feed the giraffes there. Tbh Giraffe Manor was awesome, but a little over-hyped for me. People lose their minds trying to book it because it’s so famous on social media, but it’s ludicrously expensive and so so so hard to get. I don’t think it’s worth all of that! My biggest takeaway will be lightly guiding my guests against it now that I’ve experienced it. Maybe not my company’s goal but hey you can’t control my takeaways!!!

We then went on to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an elephant orphanage and rehabilitation center. This has been my favorite thing so far. I could talk about it forever. The 27 baby elephants in their care were all located when their mothers died of various causes - poaching, drought. Baby elephants cannot survive in the wild without a mother, as they need to nurse for the first few years of their life. The Trust brings them in for the first few years of their life and takes care of them in their infancy, with the goal of eventually reintroducing them in the wild into a new herd, which is a 5-10 year process. They slowly wean them off milk and give them more and more time in the wild. The elephants come back each night to sleep with their keepers, and eventually don’t come back every night, spending more and more time with their new families until they don’t come back at all. 😭 The Trust has saved and successfully reintroduced over 300 elephants in their tenure, and the elephants will always remember the humans when they see them again. Elephants have got to be the most fascinating creatures on earth, bar none. Maybe octopus come close?! I could have stayed there all day listening to their stories. And this was in the middle of aggressive jet lag so you know it was really gripping!

We met up with my colleague Krista for lunch, who I’ll be spending the rest of safari with. Krista is lovely and we get along great, so it will not be a difficult way to spend 15 days! After lunch we checked into our next hotel for the night, Hemingways Nairobi. In contrast to Giraffe Manor, we book a TON of guests there so it was great to experience it firsthand. I was supposed to take copious notes on every detail of the place but the exhaustion simply did not allow! I’m on day 4 now so hoping it starts to abate soon, but the anti malaria pills I’m on have me all fucked up. They cause crazy vivid dreams and also a need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I’m not miserable by any means, but it could be better! Wesley assures me the side effects will stop and I would love that. They make the passage of time weird too. I’ll feel like I’ve been sleeping forever, and will wake up and look at my phone, and it’s only an hour after I went to bed. What?!

Also, yesterday was my little Len’s first birthday. Gutted to miss it half a world away, but my parents took excellent care of her and gave her a “yes” day. The best kind of day!!! She’s a very lucky girl. And she leaves in a few days to go to her two week board and train program. It will be so good for her, but if I think about it too long I’ll cry, because I know she won’t understand where she’s going or why or where her family is. She will adjust because dogs live in the moment but still, sobs.

I have more to write about yesterday and our first game drives - they were so special. But it’s almost 6 and I need to meditate and get dressed! As jet lag continues to improve i hope I’ll be able to blog daily. But holding this little iPad hurts my hands and thumbs. Oh well! Off to see the African sunrise :)

[silver-rings-and-rabbits]

Meet My MC

My Open Heart MC became my most favourite MC and I want to share him:

The Present --- The Future

Full name: Matthew Rupert Valentine

Nickname: Mattie (by Sienna, when she’s drunk), Valentine, Rookie

Faceclaim: Douglas Booth

Features: Scruffy brown hair, big blue eyes, full lips, fair skin, lean build

Date of birth: 4th November 1992

Hometown: Born in Denver, Colorado before moving to Carbondale, Colorado before high school. Lived there until moving to Boston.

Education: University of Colorado, med campus. Could have gone ivy-league but didn’t want to move out of state at the time

Love Interest: Rafael Aveiro ❤️

Family: He had a twin sister--Casey--who died of leukaemia when they were 12. His father--Rob--didn't handle it well which led to a messy divorce; his mom--Holly--moved in with her brother--Tony--in Carbondale, Matthew stayed in Denver until moving in with them before high school, then he and his mom moved into a small house nearby. He’s in contact with his father but the situation has left some distance between them.

Height: 6'1" (185cm)

Occupation: Doctor and diagnostics team fellow at Edenbrook Hospital

Core personality traits: -He's very easygoing, very much a peacemaker in the group, very friendly and affectionate (especially when drunk which has become a running joke within the group). -Extremely passionate about his job and cares so much about helping people. -Workaholic tendencies: he seized his schoolwork to distract from his grief and the divorce but he soon forgot to balance his life until med school. He resolved to do better socially at Edenbrook, but when Rafael broke up with him briefly he started overworking himself again. -He started out insecure and had a big case of imposter syndrome, but since he won his ethics trial and was appointed to the diagnostics team he has worked past his insecurities...mostly.

Interests: -Animals: his uncle raised horses and he learned to ride and care for them. He and his roommates have a chinchilla named Spooky and he spoils her rotten. -He is a naturally talented artist and, although he didn't pursue a career, he enjoys art galleries (when he gets the chance) and is constantly on the look out for new things to draw (he takes pictures to use as reference material). Evelyn's blindness struck a particular chord with him...he still wishes he could have done more for her. -He enjoys cooking with Rafael and baking with Sienna.

Random facts: -His guilty pleasure is using Sienna's moisturiser and face packs; at the beginning of his break-up with Rafael in his second year he had cried until his eyes were red raw and Sienna gave him some moisturiser to help. It worked wonders and he still sneaks into her room for a facial on occasion. -He's not a big fan of wearing ties and wasn't enthusiastic about wearing them for work. He's gotten used to it. -In times of stress or pain, he develops insomnia and loses his appetite. This was particularly prevalent in his second year, especially the first half. -He can touch his nose with his tongue.

Hobbies: -Drawing, it's his go-to stress reliever (as was horse riding until he moved to Boston). -Video games with Elijah and co. He doesn't always win but that makes it funnier. -Casual sports with his friends and occasionally working out with Bryce and Raf. -He likes to visit the civic centre with Rafael, and Rafael has been teaching him to dance.

Background: He became very withdrawn after his sisters death and kept to himself. His dad did the same and put in a lot of overtime. The more Matthew focused on his studies, the less he had to focus on everything else. He also excused it with the fact he had to keep his grades up to be a doctor. It wasn't until med school when he finally realised he had acquaintances but not friends and resolved to change that, so when he moved to Boston he decided he would be more social. The first night in Donahue's led to him making friends with the people who became his roommates and he considers it one of the best decisions he's made.

His sisters death wasn't the sole reason he became a doctor, but it helped him realise exactly how much the tiniest gestures can help patients and their families and tries to incorporate that into his job. Dealing with Kyra's cancer journey was rough for both of them. She specifically sought Matthew out before everyone else to tell him she was cancer free and they both cried with joy.

Talents/skills: -Medicine, obviously. -Art. His art teacher was disappointed that he wasn't going to pursue an artistic career and begged him not to let his skill go to waste. He has toyed with the idea of commissions but is afraid he won't have the time to do it justice.

Style of dress: Casual and comfy. Pyjama bottoms and baggy t-shirts/sweaters when lounging around at home. Work is fairly similar: shirt, sweater and tie, with smart pants and shoes.

Habits: -Working to distraction is a bad one. These days Rafael, Bryce and his roommates are quite good at making sure he doesn't burn himself out. -He runs his hands through his hair when he's stressed or upset.

Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Tags: @openheartfanfics

[vampiregirl1797]

Hopeless: Epilogue

Klaus Mikaelson x OC

GIF Not Mine

Warnings: this is over 10,000 words, so get some snacks and a hot cup of chocolate!

Click Here For Masterlist 

Five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 ‘Bekah, really this is completely unnecessary.’ I tried to reason with her, but I wasn’t surprised when my protests seemed to fall on deaf ears.

 ‘It may not be necessary but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.’ She winked, turning back to the owner of the cute little clothes store we’d found in the centre of the city. She was compelling her to let us have free run of the store, seeing as clothes were limited and she didn’t want to lose out on the perfect outfit to someone else.

 While she did that, I wondered around, absentmindedly looking at the different clothes she had to offer. I had to hand it to her, everything was beautiful and all one of a kind, seeing as she made the clothes herself and only ever made ten of everything. Once they sold, that was it.

‘Find anything?’ I asked Elena when I reached her.

 ‘Oh my--,’ she cut off with a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

 ‘Sorry.’ I grinned, amused that after so many years of me being a vampire I could still startle her.

 She shot me a look, clearly not believing my apology but she waved me off anyway.

 ‘You know, I’m surprised I can still startle you with your newfound heightened senses.’ I teased.

 Elena had become a vampire a few years ago, after she had turned twenty. She had given it a lot of thought beforehand, and was content with her decision when she asked Stefan to turn her so that she could spend an eternity by his side. The younger Salvatore had been hesitant, but after my sister assured him that she had done nothing but think about it since she met him, he followed through with her request.

 ‘Well I was too busy wondering if this top would look cute on me.’ She protested, holding up a white and baby pink lace crop top.

 ‘It would not.’ Bekah interjected, sliding up next to me and holding out a similar style crop top but in red, ‘this colour suits your skin tone better.’

 ‘Thank you, Bekah.’ Elena smiled gratefully and put the reject back on the rack before adding the new addition to her basket.

 I smirked in amusement when I realised that Elena had already gathered enough to fill half her basket, while Bekah had enough to warrant moving onto a third while I had nothing.

 Bekah seemed to notice that too, ‘why haven’t you got anything in your basket yet? We only have another hour until we need to be back for dinner and the barbecue is tomorrow!’

 ‘I know,’ I sighed, running a hand through my hair, ‘I’ve never been good at picking out clothes for myself Bekah. I hate shopping.’

 Elena and Bekah gasped dramatically, as if this was news to them, which of course it wasn’t. I rolled my eyes at their dramatics, but a small smile still found its way to my lips.

 ‘Well that’s easy enough. I’ll pick something for you.’ Bekah smiled, already wondering off to the back wall—I imagined she already had something in mind.

 A few years ago, I would’ve tried to stop her, but I knew that she would only pick something that would compliment my figure and my personal tastes. She had a gift when it came to styling people, in any other time she could’ve been an amazing personal shopper. But then again, owning her own clothing line seemed more Bekah’s style.

 ‘So when are Stefan and Damon getting in?’ I asked, following Elena around while she browsed through the other options.

 ‘Tonight after dinner, which sucks but we can all probably watch a movie together.’ Elena replied, the excitement at the prospect of seeing her love leaking into her voice.

 ‘True, though it is Kol’s turn to pick this month. Probably means we’re gonna be stuck watching some gory horror movie.’ I rolled my eyes fondly—the younger Mikaelson loved watching scary movies to mock and point holes in the stories.

 ‘Better than Elijah’s documentary obsession.’ Elena joked. She wasn’t wrong, though. Elijah was fascinated with watching documentaries on anything—the last time it had been his pick, we sat through a two hour movie on how cans were made.

 ‘No arguments here.’ Bekah laughed, adding an armful of clothes to my basket.

 I knew there was more than one outfit choice there, but I also knew better than to argue—she liked to add options for me to choose from, plus anything I didn’t want to wear tomorrow I could just wear some other time.

 ‘Thanks, Bekah.’ I smiled offering her a side hug, ‘you’re a godsend.’

 Bekah snorted, commenting on the fact that no one had ever called her that in a thousand years. She offered me a kind smile though and I knew she was grateful for the compliment.

 ‘Well if everyone’s finished, I’m craving something sweet.’ Elena mused.

 ‘I know just the place.’ Bekah smirked; I could already feel my mouth watering at the prospect of pastries.

 //

 ‘So, how’s being newly married?’ Bekah asked my sister just as I’d taken a huge bit of one of the beignets from the centre of the table.

 My eyes closed in pleasure and I couldn’t help the small moan that formed at the back of my throat from the taste. Heaven.

 ‘Great.’ Elena’s expression visibly lit up, as it always did when she spoke of her relationship with the younger Salvatore, ‘we’re actually thinking about moving to New Orleans permanently. Stefan wants to talk to you guys about it first, just to make sure it’s alright, but hopefully there won’t be an issue. I’m ready to move on from Mystic Falls, and I want to be closer to my second family, seeing as the only ones really left back home are me, Stefan, Damon and Bonnie.’

 It was true; Jeremy and a few of his friends from school had decided to travel the world before committing to a college, and Jenna had moved back to Denver after Jeremy had graduated. The old house was currently being rented out by Jenna being as none of us had the heart to put it up for sale.

 ‘I don’t think that will be a problem, Elena you’re family.’ I assured her with a smile, honestly the thought of her moving to the city filled me with joy, ‘the Mikaelson’s love you like a sister, and Stefan and Nik have the biggest bromance going on, there should be zero issues.’

 ‘She’s right, Lena.’ Bekah assured her, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement—I imagined mine looked the same. The prospect of us all living in the same city all the time was just too wonderful to comprehend. Usually we had to made do with one weekend a month—that was the mandatory minimum for the whole family to meet up, no matter where they were in the world they had to be back for family weekend. Though to be fair, Elena, Stefan and Damon were the only ones who didn’t live in the city permanently, so that rule only really applied to them.

 ‘Do you think Bonnie will come to the barbecue?’ I wondered, sipping my caramel latte as I waited for an answer.

 Bonnie was a somewhat touchy subject for the group. When I’d gathered the courage and will to go back to Mystic Falls to tell my family the truth about what had happened, Bonnie and Katherine were the only two who had an issue. Bonnie because she believed I’d defied the balance of nature by helping break a curse that had been in place for so long, and Katherine because she’d lost five hundred years bound to paranoia and fear.

 It had taken some time, but eventually Bonnie realised that if the curse shouldn’t have been broken, the means to break it wouldn’t have existed. Katherine was more stubborn and even attempted to gather enough firepower from witches, vampires and werewolves to take Klaus and Elijah down. Of course, when they found out whom she wanted them to go up against they immediately backed out, a few even coming to New Orleans to warn the Mikaelsons of the potential threat—they didn’t want to go up against the strongest supernatural army in the world. Which was of course what the Mikaelson’s had built in New Orleans. It was the place that any species could come and live with different supernatural creatures in harmony. They did such a good job ruling it, fairly and with a genuine care for each and every person, that the loyalty they earned from each member of the city was unwavering. That was something Katherine hadn’t realised, until it was too late.

 Klaus and Elijah had sent a few werewolves and vampires for her to “recruit.” Of course, it had been a ploy to lure her to New Orleans and once they had her, they gave her three options:

-       Give up her ploy for revenge and start living her immortal life without a thirst for repentance

-       Let herself be compelled to once again forget why she wanted vengeance

-       Or die.

Her rage had inevitably made the decision for her. After she had been given her options, I had returned to the compound after meeting Cami for a drink at Rousseau’s. My appearance reminded her of her hatred and she’d attempted to attack me immediately, before she could however Elijah had removed her heart while Klaus had flashed to my side, prepared to aid me should I need it. We had both stared at the elder Mikaelson in shock, but he simply dropped her heart and ordered for her body to be burned to ash.

 I still remembered the conversation I’d had with him that night.

 A few months after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 I took a deep breath, trying to build up the courage to knock on his door, but I found myself shuffling from foot to foot. I was just about to bolt and return to bed with Nik when the door opened of its own accord.

 ‘Evangeline, is there something I can help you with?’ Elijah’s calm voice tampered a little of my anxiety, as did the absence of anger or sorrow in his eyes. But I didn’t let that fool me completely—I knew just as well as anyone that he was the best at withholding emotions from those closest to him.

 ‘I- I just wanted to apologise.’ I said, clearing my throat as my voice broke.

 ‘Whatever for?’ he gestured for me to enter his bedroom and I took a seat on one of the armchairs he had opposite his bed. Elijah himself perched himself on the foot of his bed, rolling his shirtsleeves up to his elbows as he awaited my response.

 ‘For Katherine. I know you cared for her once, and it’s my fault that nothing happened with her.’ I murmured, suddenly finding myself enamoured with the sleeves of the Henley that I was wearing that happened to belong to my hybrid.

 ‘If I ever cared for Katarina, it was because she reminded me of another life.’ Elijah said, the softness of his voice caused me to look up to him, ‘she reminded me of a time where my biggest worry was competing with my brother to win the affections of a woman who looked a lot like her.’

 ‘Tatia.’ I said, familiar with the story.

 ‘Indeed. When we were human my biggest concerns were trying to win Tatia’s hand in marriage, and protecting my siblings from our brute of a father. Katarina reminded me of that, and as a result caused me to yearn for that simplicity.’

 I nodded, somewhat understanding.

 ‘Of course, that changed when I realised that Niklaus was finding his humanity, due to a mysterious girl from the future.’ Elijah smiled knowingly at me, and I couldn’t help but look down, grateful that I couldn’t blush, ‘you see Evangeline, your appearance in our lives made me yearn for my life in the present. It made me yearn for a time that we could all sit down together as a family and be happy. Happier than we ever were when we lived in that small village in Mystic Falls over a thousand years ago. For the first time in a long time, I was excited by what the future would bring, rather than being consumed with dread over the prospect of witnessing my family commit heinous acts before my very eyes. You saved this family. And for Katarina to come along and try to inadvertently tear that apart, well you know by now… no one hurts my family and lives. And you, Evangeline are just as much a part of this family as I am.’

 I knew that my cheeks were wet with tears but I didn’t care. In a flash I was hugging Elijah and unconsciously soaking his shirt with tears. He hugged me back and I found myself grateful and lucky to have been accepted into the Mikaelson family.

 ‘Thank you, Elijah.’ I murmured against his chest.

 ‘Always and forever, sister.’ He murmured back, placing a chaste kiss to the top of my head.

 Back to five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 That had been a few months after I returned from the past, and Elijah and I had only grown closer. He was like the big brother I had always wanted, and being accepted into the fold meant that I was also gifted with the huge family I’d always yearned for. I was immensely grateful, being as I’d given up on the idea of a big family when I’d been turned into a vampire. I was lucky, and a day didn’t go by where I wasn’t reminded of that.

 ‘No. She’s accepted everything and I know she understands, but she doesn’t want to be a part of it.’ Elena said, her bright expression dimming considerably at the reminder of her absent ex-best friend.

 ‘I’m sorry sweetie.’ I murmured, squeezing her hand comfortingly.

 ‘It’s okay. It’s her life to live, and she doesn’t want to live it immersed in the supernatural world like we do. That’s her choice and she’s well within her rights to make it.’ Elena murmured, her eyes conveying the sincerity behind her words.

 It sucked, of course it did, but Elena was right. Bonnie was living her life like she wanted to—without vampires, hybrids and werewolves. Elena and I still loved her, but we knew it was just a part of life; some people are only meant to be in your life for a certain amount of time before you drift apart and they leave you with the memories you created together.

 //

 ‘Aren’t you ever going to tire of painting me?’ I murmured, partially amused and fond from where I leaned against the doorframe.

 After lunch with my sisters, I’d returned to the compound and after placing my newly acquired clothes into our room, I went to find him. Where I found him wasn’t a surprise; he was in his art studio painting yet another portrait of me. My heart fluttered every time I saw him taking the time to put me onto another canvas; I’d been so overcome with love when he’d shown me the ones he’d painted in my absence that I’d been reduced to a puddle of tears. Nik still had yet to let me hear the end of that.

 ‘How could one ever tire of capturing such beauty?’ he grinned, his eyes sparkling with adoration as he turned to face me. In a flash I was at his side, my arm wound around his waist as I placed a chaste yet passionate kiss to his lips.

 ‘How was your day?’ he asked, pulling me against his chest and winding his arms around my waist.

 ‘Fine. Bekah picked out some clothes for me to wear tomorrow.’ I told him, my hands resting against his chest and my head against his shoulder.

 He chuckled, ‘I don’t know why you go; you hate shopping.’

 I hummed in agreement before adding, ‘but I love spending time with my sisters.’

 ‘Forgive me, I find it hard to imagine why anyone would enjoy Bekah’s company.’ He deadpanned, but broke out into a laugh when I lightly slapped his shoulder in reprimand.

 ‘Elena mentioned that her and Stefan were thinking of moving here.’ I grinned, my hands moving to his shoulders as I leaned back to meet his gaze.

 ‘Is that so?’ he said, his hands falling to my hips as a smile formed on his at the sight of my happiness.

 I nodded, ‘she mentioned Stefan wanted to run it by you all first, but it you’re okay with it then they’re gonna come.’

 ‘Why would we have a problem?’ he mused, his eyes dancing with mirth.

 ‘I think it’s Stefan’s idea to be honest. Just to make sure they’re not stepping on any toes.’ I shrugged, not really understanding the need for permission myself.

 ‘Well I’d never deny them residence here and I doubt anyone else would either, lest they incur your wrath.’ He teased, grinning when I playfully glared at him.

 ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I said innocently.

 It was true, of course. Over my time with the Mikaelson’s I’d gained a reputation. My temper was known to rival Nik’s when someone threatened or hurt my family. I’d always been protective, and that instinct had only become heightened when I’d become a vampire. And now I had a family that ruled New Orleans, we were bound to attract trouble, which led to my protective instincts rearing their head more often than I was used to. The Mikaelson’s, Nik especially, thought my ability to go from calm to a force that the devil himself would be intimidated by was hilarious. But I couldn’t help it. And I was happy to have found a family that understood and even rivalled my over protective tendencies. I thought back to the first time we’d incurred a threat after Katherine.

 A year after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 I woke up to the sun shining on my face, which wasn’t unusual seeing as Nik and I had a habit of forgetting to close the drapes. I smiled when I felt his arms still wrapped around me, his warmth seeping through the shirt of his I was wearing. I rolled over to face him and was unsurprised to see his eyes already open; it was rare that I awoke before him, but even though he woke before me most days, he preferred to stay and hold me until I woke up before he even thought of getting out of bed. I’d asked him about it before and he’d admitted to taking the time to bask in the gratitude he felt for finally being able to wake up with me in his arms. I’d held him tight after that.

 ‘Good morning my love.’ His voice was husky with sleep, and I couldn’t help the small shiver of desire that shot down my spine.

 ‘Good morning my hybrid.’ I murmured back, placing a kiss to his cheek, a wave of adoration washing over me at his bashful smile that always followed me calling him that.

 That became my nickname for him not long after I found him again and he was able to finally reveal that he had broken his curse. At first, the reception had varied from fear to acceptance. Unfortunately the latter opinion was rare; Elena and everyone from back home had accepted it fairly quickly, though I assumed that Elena not needing to die for the curse to be broken was the main reason for that. It took a while for the factions of New Orleans to realise that Klaus being part werewolf as well as vampire made no difference to who he was as a ruler. When they did, the criticism, fear and disgust had dissipated. Though Nik liked to joke that my attitude towards those who criticised him was the main reason for that. I’d started calling him “My Hybrid” because I wanted him to know he had no reason to be ashamed of who he was, and to remind him that I loved every single part of him.

 ‘Do we have any plans today?’ I wondered, nuzzling into his neck, his scent keeping me in a state of contentedness. My eyes were starting to flutter shut again, and I found myself not wanting to fight it.

 ‘Actually, Sophie has contacted Elijah and informed us of a potential threat coming to New Orleans.’ Nik murmured, his lips against my hair.

 ‘Hmmm.’ I said, not really processing his words and placing a kiss onto the side of his neck.

 He chuckled kissing my hair and pulling me tighter against him, ‘I should tell you of all potential threats after you’ve just woken up my love.’

 ‘Hmmm.’ I sighed as his hand starting to move back and forth across my lower back.

 I thought I heard him chuckle again and it made me smile as I fell into unconsciousness.

 //

 Kol and Bekah were doubled over in laughter where we were gathered in the courtyard of the compound. Klaus was laughing a lot less rambunctiously, while Elijah was a lot more reserved, though his amusement was still obvious on his expression.

 ‘I don’t bloody believe this.’ I muttered, shaking my head in exasperation, ‘are you having me on?’

 ‘No my love, we’re not.’ Nik’s dimpled smile eased my embarrassment a little, ‘I told you of the threat three days ago after you woke up. You must have still been half asleep.’

 ‘That’s cheating!’ I complained, slapping his shoulder, ‘you should’ve told me again when I was actually awake.’

 ‘Technically you were conscious.’ Kol pointed out, seeming to have recovered enough to add a comment.

 ‘Obviously not enough.’ I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair, ‘now tell me about this threat.’

 ‘The De Martials are on their way to New Orleans.’ Elijah said solemnly and I nodded, familiar with the story.

 The elder Mikaelson had informed Niklaus over what he had done a few centuries after I’d returned to the future, and Nik had told me a few months ago. Nik had definitely been furious but his rage had subsided when he realised why his elder brother had done what he’d done. It had been around that time that Nik had told his siblings the truth about what happened to their mother. The reactions to that news had varied. Kol hadn’t had much of one, Elijah had already known but Bekah had taken it the hardest. But after some time, she came to forgive him.

 ‘So they want revenge for the time they spent pretending to be you and leading Mikael astray.’ I summarised, the wheels in my head turning.

 ‘I’d imagine so.’ Bekah mused, coming to sit by me on the sofa and stretching her legs out over my lap. Kol came to sit on the other side of me and rolled his eyes at the intrusion of Bekah’s legs on his lap as well, but he didn’t protest.

 ‘Do you think Aurora might have other motivations?’ I asked, internally wincing at the insecurity in my voice.

 ‘If that psychotic bitch comes anywhere near you darling, I can assure you she will be torn limb from limb.’ Kol patted my shoulder for reassurance.

 ‘That’s not what I’m worried about.’ I rolled my eyes and then frowned, ‘why would she be interested in me? I doubt she even knows who I am.’

 ‘Over the years you were not with us, we were subtle and discrete over your existence, but evidently rumours did get out about you.’ Elijah explained, smiling at my wide eyes, ‘your name along with your importance to this family made you somewhat of a legend. Though, no one knew why, or even knew of anyone by the name of Evangeline, so it’s often been dismissed as a rumour.’

 ‘Until now.’ Nik murmured, his eyes on me and shining with concern.

 ‘And Aurora always was the jealous type.’ Bekah sneered.

 ‘I don’t care about me.’ I muttered; my only concern was with my family, ‘you’re basically invincible. If they’re coming for revenge now after all this time, that must mean they have a plan, one that they’re confident will work.’

 ‘We’ve faced many people over our thousand years, all of which intended to end us all, and yet we’re still here.’ Elijah murmured, smiling in assurance, ‘I assure you, this time will be no different.’

 I wished I had his confidence, but I had a bad feeling about this and Nik must have sensed it because he held his hand out to me from where he was sat on the armchair. I shifted Bekah’s legs off me and moved to sit on his lap. His scent soothed my nerves like a balm—I’d always be grateful for how safe Nik’s arms made me feel. Especially in that moment because the absence of anxiety allowed me to think clearly and I had a plan.

 //

 Nik: They’re here. Aurora left a body surrounded by lavender and a scavenger hunt for me to follow.

 Kol: Tristan has made himself known; he’s already got the strix out looking for vampires descended from Elijah.

 Elijah: The witches are preforming the spell now.

 Me: Lucien has just walked into Rousseau’s.

 Bekah: This is an insane plan; I just want that on the record.

 Nik: Now is not the time. Focus.

 Me: If anything bad happens, I just want you to know I love you all.

 I slid my phone into the back pocket of my high-waisted jeans, subtly watching Lucien from where I sat at the bar, while Bekah was blending in with the crowd thanks to a glamour spell a witch had placed on her. My hair was down and wavy, cutting off at the bottom of my spine and offering me some comfort as it covered up the most of my back. The crop top had been Bekah’s idea, it was white, lacy and entirely too revealing but I was looking to gain the attention of Lucien.

 A small smile formed on my lips as I noticed a family of tourists sitting by the window, a mother and father sat across from their twin daughters. They were all laughing and talking, enjoying their meal together. I felt a small wave of homesickness wash over me in that moment. I hadn’t seen my family in almost a year—not since I’d told them the truth about everything. We were still in touch, but I hadn’t seen them in the flesh for ten months, and I realised in that moment that I missed them. It wasn’t as bad as it could be, as I was already surrounded by family, but I found myself wondering if Elena, Jeremy and Jenna would be up for a weekend visit. Though it would be difficult to organise now; Elena was coming up to the end of senior year, Jeremy near the end of Junior, and Jenna was in the middle of writing her thesis. Though I’d heard from Elena that she was thinking of moving back to Denver after Jeremy was done with school. As the youngest Gilbert had already mentioned his desire to travel after he graduated, and with Elena potentially going to collage, Jenna would be in Mystic Falls all by herself. It wouldn’t be the same not having Jenna back home, but I understood her desire to move away being as the life she had before our parents died was in Denver.

 ‘Hello there darling.’ An arrogant sounding voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked to my right to see just the man I was looking for, now occupying the empty seat beside me.

 ‘Hello.’ I forced a smile and hoped the disgust didn’t show on my face. He was sitting far too close and his scent was overwhelming me. He smelled like he’d bathed in cologne and whiskey, it was so bad that I had to make due with breathing through my mouth. A pang of longing to be encased in my Hybrid’s scent overwhelmed me, but I forced myself to focus.

 ‘Now what’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?’ He smirked, his breath fanning over my face. If I were still capable of vomiting, I would have in that moment.

 ‘You’ll have to be more specific. In this bar or in this city?’ I was being evasive, but I couldn’t help it.

 ‘This city, of course.’ He said, taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

 ‘I like it here.’ I shrugged, downing the shot of tequila Cami placed in front of me. Apparently seeming uninterested was a sure way to garner his attention, which was exactly what was needed. I leaned forward over the bar to grab the bottle of liquor that Cami had purposefully left within reach.

 ‘I’m starting to as well’ I rolled my eyes when I realised he was checking out my ass and when I fell back into my seat his eyes trailed over my chest. I fought the urge to cross my arms to try and cover up as I poured myself another shot.

 ‘How would you feel about coming back to my place later?’ he asked, his fingers trailing up and down my arm. I assume he mistook my shiver of disgust as pleasure, because his hand moved to my back, trailing up and down my spine and lightly tugging my hair.

 Quick as a flash I held his wrist in mine, before he could react I snapped it like a twig, ‘I think I’d rather set myself on fire.’

 ‘You’re feisty I like that.’ He bit out as he reset his wrist with a click.

 ‘I’m leaving now.’ I huffed placing a hundred on the bar to cover my drinks and tip.

 I shot Bekah a reassuring look before I left. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was following me; his pungent scent assured me he was.

 It shouldn’t have been so simple, but it was. I led him into a trap; witches bought him to his knees while I turned and snapped his neck. After that, he was trapped in a basement with chains and boundary spells, where he would be bled out until the vervain was out of his system. Which shouldn’t take long for how fast the selected vampires were working on him. One down. Two to go.

 //

 ‘Nik?’ I called out as I entered the compound—he should have been back by now and I’ll admit the fact he wasn’t had me feeling both worried and insecure.

 I was about to call him when the scent hit my nose—blood. Most importantly Nik’s blood. I followed it to his art studio—he was in the centre of the room a circle of salt hinting at the boundary spell that was around him. He was shirtless and the dried blood on his torso hinted at how much he had lost. Despite the overwhelming urge to go to him, I forced myself to focus, someone had obviously done this to him, but where were they? I didn’t have to look far. She had her back to me, which hinted at her arrogance—she clearly didn’t perceive me to be a threat. She was staring at one of the portraits Nik had painted of me and hung along the back wall. Her fingers were pressed against the canvas gently at first, and in the blink of an eye her fingers tore through with such force she created a hole in the brickwork. That was when she turned to face me. Her eyes is what stood out to me at first, they were a striking green, seeming to shine brighter due to the red curly hair that draped around her shoulders and down her back. She was dressed in a short and low cut black dress; clearly she’d been intending to impress my Hybrid.

 ‘Aurora I presume.’ I said, unable to keep the venom from my voice.

 ‘You’ve heard of me?’ she seemed to preen with the knowledge.

 ‘Yes, when Nik was recounting his psychotic exes you were the first name out of his mouth.’ I smiled, inwardly cheering when her expression transformed into fury.

 ‘I cannot understand what he possibly sees in you.’ She sneered, walking around me like a shark circling its prey.

 ‘That makes two of us,’ I shrugged.

 ‘I’ll admit I’m disappointed. I expected more fire.’ She said, coming to stand in front of me again, and that was when she revealed a stake, ‘white oak seems a waste on you, but it’ll kill you just the same and to be honest, I rather enjoy the poetry of Nik waking up to see you dead beside him. The pathetic abomination will be so overcome with grief that he’ll be powerless to falling into my awaiting arms. As soon as that happens, I’ll be able to easily convince him to dagger his other pathetic siblings and we’ll live happily ever after as King and Queen of New Orleans.’

 My eyes flashed and before she could comprehend it, the stake clattered to the floor as the snap her wrist made when I twisted it behind her back echoed throughout the room.

 ‘How dare you.’ I growled, unbelievably enraged, picking the stake myself and plunging it into her stomach. She fell to her knees with a cry of pain, her hands moving to the wound when I yanked the wood out.

 ‘How dare you come into this city and threaten my family. How dare you call my Hybrid an abomination? The way I see it, the only abominable creature in this room is you, you psychotic, ignorant, pretentious bitch.’ I snarled, too far-gone in my fury to notice my Hybrid stirring behind me.

 ‘This isn’t your family.’ She protested, albeit a little weekly as I drove the stake through her chest, a mere inch from her heart.

 ‘Yes it is. I love each and every one of the Mikaelson’s, and I’d be damned if I let you threaten one of them, but all of them, including the man I love more than anything? Well you just signed your death certificate.’ With that, my hand punctured her chest cavity, clenching around her heart and tearing it out. I watched with relief and satisfaction as her corpse turned grey, before dropping the organ to the ground.

 I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to send a text to the group chat; pleased to see everyone else had achieved their goals without a hitch.

 Me: Need a witch back at the compound. Aurora has Nik trapped with a boundary spell.

 Elijah: Will bring Sophie now.

 Me: Thanks, Lijah. Glad everyone else is okay.

 Elijah had been with the witches to lure those of his sire line and trap them. Those who already resided in the quarter had been given a remedy that granted them immunity while the spell was being cast. When the strix arrived they would be given the chance to leave Tristan’s leadership or risk death. Tristan himself was trapped much like Lucien in a separate space secured with chains and witchcraft, which is where he would remain until the vervain had been drained and his plan had been compelled out of him. Either way, after that was discovered they would both be dead. The same had been planned for Aurora… before I’d gone AWOL.

 ‘Evangeline.’ I jumped a mile at the sound of his voice, having not heard him come around. When I faced him I was surprised by the intense expression on his face.

 ‘Are you okay?’ I asked, my fingers pressing against the boundary in vein as I tried to reach him.

 ‘I’m fine. A little hungry, but otherwise I’ll live. I managed to secure the location of the white oak from her mind before she incapacitated me.’ He smiled softly, ‘I already sent the location to Kol, I’m sure he’s taken care of it by now.’

 ‘Then why do you look so… astounded?’ I wondered.

 ‘Because watching you defend our family, and defend me has got to have been one of the most erotic things I’ve ever seen.’ He told me honestly.

 I blinked in surprise before letting out a laugh, him joining me. Though I knew he was being sincere due to the lust in his eyes, which seemed to grow as his eyes roamed over my outfit.

 ‘I’ll take it your part of the plan was successful?’ he wondered.

 ‘Yes, though I feel like I need to scrub every inch of my body. Lucien is a pig.’ I informed him honestly. There were no secrets between us.

 ‘What did he do?’ Nik growled, his eyes flashing protectively.

 ‘He touched my arm and back, pulled on my hair and leaned way too close. Not terrible when you say it aloud but he made me feel really uncomfortable. But it doesn’t matter now.’ I waved it off, ‘once he’s had the vervain drained from his system and whatever plan they had in place is revealed he’s dead. At the rate they were draining him, I can’t imagine it would take long.’

 This seemed to soothe him somewhat, but I could see him itching to hold me, his wolf needing to make sure I was indeed okay. Thankfully in that moment, Elijah walked through the door, Sophie following closely behind him. The elder Mikaelson raised a brow at the dead De Martial on the floor in confusion, looking over and pursing his lips in amusement when I hid my bloodied hand and the stake behind my back.

 ‘I don’t remember killing her being a part of the plan,’ Elijah commented as Sophie got to work.

 ‘I know. My temper might have gotten the best of me.’ I winced like a child about to be reprimanded by their parents.

 ‘She defended us brother. Aurora intended to kill her and use my grief to manipulate me to dagger you all and allow her to rule beside me.’ Nik explained, amused by my timid behaviour.

 ‘I couldn’t help it. I’m protective of my family, and of Nik, she threatened all of that.’ I pursed my lips, glancing down to her body, ‘she was one crazy bitch.’

 Nik laughed loudly and the sound bought a smile to my lips, relieved that at least he wasn’t pissed at me for messing with the plan. A glance at Elijah and the amusement on his expression assured me he wasn’t all that mad either. I felt the tension in my shoulders ease.

 ‘She had white oak though,’ I revealed the stake and handed it to the older Original, ‘Nik sent Kol to collect the rest.’

 Elijah nodded, some tension easing from his expression. In that moment Kol entered the room, grinning so widely I was surprised when his face didn’t split in half.

 ‘The white oak is gone. Apparently they gathered it from the wood made to construct a bridge and sign in Mystic Falls. Ironic, but alas I has all burned to ash.’ He said, practically bouncing with happiness at his success.

 ‘Excellent. Well done brother.’ Nik said, his expression conveying the sincerity behind his words. Kol’s expression softened under Nik’s praise and I couldn’t help but smile at the strong bonds they all now shared—My Hybrid had told me of Kol’s feeling of being left out of the family and so moments like this reminded me of how much they’d all overcome.

 Kol nodded, a soft smile aimed at his older brother before he accepted a hug from Elijah and then me. When I pulled away, he frowned at the dried blood on my hand and forearm.

 ‘Don’t ask.’ I said before he could inquire.

 Kol looked over to Nik who grinned and nodded in answer to his silent question: he would tell him later.

 ‘It’s all done.’ Sophie announced, but before she could even get up from the floor I found myself surrounded by Nik’s warmth and his scent.

 All of the tension eased of my body, and I felt Nik relax too as his face nuzzled into my neck and took in my scent, now assured that I was in fact okay.

 ‘You two are too cute.’ Bekah commented, I noted that she had her own voice back, which meant the glamour had been removed, but I didn’t lift my head to look.

 I hummed in contentment as Nik’s hand moved back and forth at the bottom of my spine, while his other hand rested at the centre of my back, his thumb moving back and forth comfortingly. The warmth his arms and hands emitted would never fail to make me feel safe and home. One of my hands were moving through the curls on his head, while the other rested against his chest, playing with the collection of necklaces that laid there. I was so contented and relaxed that I almost forgot where we were and what had happened when—

 ‘Why is Aurora dead?’ Bekah asked.

 Nik laughed and I hid my face in his chest, embarrassed and already aware that I would never live this down.

 //

 Back to Five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 ‘Come on, Kol!’ Bekah complained from one of the love seats—Nik and I occupied the other.

 ‘It’s my choice, Bekah. You think I wanted to watch that god-awful romance movie you picked last month? No. But did I complain?’ his question was intended to be rhetorical but I answered anyway.

 ‘Excessively.’ I deadpanned, chuckling with the others.

 ‘Well—I didn’t complain as much as I wanted to.’ He said, as if that were a solid argument. I rolled my eyes and settled further into Nik’s side, my head resting on his chest. His arm was wrapped around me and he was tracing random patterns on my arm. I sighed in contentment, knowing that if he kept that up with how warm and relaxed I was, I wouldn’t see ten minutes of this movie.

 ‘Then Bekah can complain just shy of how much she wants to, and you’ll have to take it.’ Marcel pointed out, laughing at Kol’s affronted expression.

 ‘Can we just get this over with? The sooner it’s on, the sooner it can be over.’ Elena mumbled, a blanket wrapped around her, that and her husband’s arms around her providing her with protection from the zombies that Kol was subjecting us to. She was sat on the far end of the couch, Stefan to her right, Kol to his right and Damon on the other side of him. Bekah and Marcel were sat on the armchair; the female Mikaelson basically sat on her husband’s lap.

 ‘Come on, you’re a vampire. If zombies were running around in this world, they’d be no match for any of us.’ Damon smirked smugly from his seat next to Kol.

 ‘You don’t know that. What if a zombie bite affected us? If we also became zombie’s I’d hate to spend an eternity like that.’ Elena argued, pointing to the zombie that was now on the screen.

 Instead of arguing, Damon shushed her, reaching for a handful of popcorn where the ridiculously huge bowl rested on Kol’s lap. I busied myself with the chocolate Eminem���s I’d commandeered, occasionally feeding some to Nik as I munched away.

 I reached over to the arm of the chair for one of the blood bags we’d bought over to sustain us through the movie. I opened the cap and drank a few sips before offering some to my Hybrid, when he was finished I recapped it and placed it back where I’d grabbed it. I sighed softly, not interested in the movie in the slightest. But I knew this was the whole point of movie night, it wasn’t simply to watch; it was an opportunity to spend time together. Glancing around I noticed that Bekah and Nik were also unimpressed, Elena was terrified, while Kol, Damon, Marcel were overly amused by what passed as a horror movie.

 I shifted in Nik’s arms so my head now rested on his shoulder, I faced his neck, not bothering any further with the terrible acting on the screen and started to play with the collection of necklaces around his throat. A small smile always formed on my face when my fingers connected with the only metallic one he wore—the locket I’d given him all those centuries ago. He’d tried to return it to me, but I insisted he wore it, liking that a part of me was always with him on the rare occasions I couldn’t be. In return he’d gifted me with his necklace that bore the Mikaelson crest. It had originally hung from a leather cord but he’d had it transferred to a silver chain and I wore it around my neck, happy to have something that reminded me of him for always.

 ‘Bored there my love?’ He murmured, to quiet to be heard by anyone else over the T.V.

 ‘While I’m in your arms? Never.’ I grinned as his chuckle, placing a kiss to his pulse point.

 ‘Do you ever think about getting married?’ Nik asked and I blinked at the question.

 I leaned up, my hands resting against his face so I could take in his expression. He looked curious, yet slightly nervous.

 ‘I used to all the time when I was human. Had my perfect wedding all planned out. But it was something I gave up on when I became a vampire.’ I told him honestly.

 ‘Why?’ he wondered, reaching up to brush some hair behind my ear.

 ‘Because I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to spend an eternity with me. I could barely imagine sixty years, but forever? It just seemed impossible.’ I murmured.

 ‘What about now?’ he seemed tentative, which was rare for him and I couldn’t help but instinctively move a hand to his hair, knowing that it soothed him.

 ‘Is that your way of proposing?’ I teased, trying to ease his nerves.

 He grinned, leaning up and pecking my lips before falling back to the love seat, ‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.’

 The sincerity in his expression caught me off guard, but my surprise quickly faded to delight, ‘really?’

 He nodded, relieved by my excitement, ‘I even have a ring. I was planning on a romantic dinner with just the two of us, ending with me asking you.’

 ‘That sounds like quite the proposal.’ I commented, my hand gently moving back and forth against his jaw, ‘why mention it now?’

 ‘My love, patience has never been my strength. I’ve waited so long to have you back in my arms and I can’t keep putting off making you mine because I’m waiting for a perfect moment. Every moment with you is more perfect than I ever could have imagined, and certainly more perfect than I deserve. I love you Evangeline, with everything that I am. Spend an eternity with me. Marry me.’ He said, softly wiping away the tears that had fallen down my cheeks.

 ‘Okay,’ I was sure my tears didn’t dampen the pure happiness that I could feel radiating from my face. Nik captured my lips, kissing me with a softness and tenderness that made my heart flutter in my chest.

 ‘I love you.’ I told him, my voice barely above a whisper, but his soft smile assured me that he’d heard me.

 ‘I love you too.’ He replied as I settled against his chest again.

 I drifted off to sleep there, surrounded by our oblivious family and in the arms of the man I loved.

 //

 Five years and six months after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 ‘You look beautiful.’ Jenna said, dabbing away the tears in her eyes with a tissue.

 I smiled at her from where I was sat, getting my hair curled by one of the professionals Bekah had hired for all of us.

 ‘Thank you Aunt Jenna.’ I winked.

 ‘If you’re this emotional now, you’re gonna be done for when she puts on the dress.’ Elena teased, winding an arm around Jenna’s waist.

 They had all gotten ready before me so they (mainly Bekah) could assure everything else was going to plan everywhere else. The female Mikaelson was currently checking on the boys and making sure they were finished, honestly I was so grateful for her. If it hadn’t been for her input, I doubt we could’ve pulled off the wedding I’d been dreaming of since I was a little girl.

 ‘I know, I just keep thinking about your Mom and Dad and how proud they would be right now.’ She said, barely squeezing out her words before the tears started streaming again.

 ‘They are here, Jenna. Maybe not in body but definitely in spirit.’ Elena assured both our aunt and I. I offered her a grateful smile, my eyes flicking over to my bouquet of red and white roses I would be holding while walking down the isle—my mom and dad’s favourite flowers. It had been Nik’s idea and I’d loved it.

 ‘You’re right.’ Our emotional aunt nodded, seeming to steel herself as she dabbed her eyes one last time before securing her tissue in her bra. Elena and I shared an amused glance.

 ‘You both look beautiful by the way.’ I complimented them.

 I had chosen Elena as my maid of honour, with Bekah and Jenna being bridesmaids. Each wore a deep purple A-line styled dress made of chiffon material. This colour matched the ties of the groomsman, aside from Nik’s—his would be white. The dress cut off just below the knee, revealing the black platform shoes each of them wore. I had encouraged them to choose how they wanted to wear their own hair and was surprised when they’d all agreed on one hairstyle for them all. Their hair had been curled, with the front being pinned back to the backs of their heads with a jewelled clip that matched the deep purple of their dresses. They looked stunning.

 ‘Not as beautiful as you’re going to look.’ Bekah commented as she re-entered the room, looking moderately relieved.

 ‘What’s up?’ Lena asked.

 ‘Nik’s pacing a hole in the floor from his room. It amazes me how quickly his paranoia grows the longer he’s separated from you.’ She shook her head in amazement, moving over to the mirror to unzip my dress.

 ‘Well maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if someone hadn’t made us sleep apart last night.’ I muttered, already reaching for my phone.

 ‘It’s bad luck to see the groom before the wedding!’ Bekah protested, frowning when she saw me walking towards the bathroom, ‘what are you doing? You need to put your dress on, the ceremony starts in ten minutes!’

 ‘I’ll be two, I promise.’ I smiled reassuringly and closed the door behind me, finding Nik’s contact and clicking it before bringing it to my ear.

 It rung once before he answered, ‘Evangeline.’ He murmured; his voice already sounding a little more relaxed.

 ‘Hello my gorgeous Hybrid and soon to be husband.’ I answered brightly, smiling at the sound of his chuckle, ‘what’s this I hear about you being paranoid?’

 ‘It’s nothing, my love. Just my self depreciating voice rearing it’s ugly head and telling me that I don’t deserve you.’ He said, his voice more sombre now.

 ‘Nik, you are the strongest, sweetest, smartest, funniest, sexiest and most talented man I’ve ever known. So you tell that voice inside your head to shove it because you’re an amazing man and I promise to keep reminding you of that fact for eternity.’

 ‘Thank you, my love. You always know what to say,’ he said, his voice soft.

 ‘You’re welcome, we all need reassurance sometimes, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.’ My voice was as gentle as his.

 ‘I can’t wait to marry you.’ I could sense his smile on the other side of the phone.

 ‘Right back at you my Hybrid.’ I grinned, ‘speaking of I should put my dress on before Bekah has an aneurism. I’ll see you soon.’

 ‘That you will, my love.’

 I hung up the phone and exited the bathroom, handing my phone to Jenna while Bekah and Elena helped me step into my dress. I had surprised everyone with my determination to choose my own wedding attire, which was fair seeing as any other clothing trip ended with me leaving it to Bekah. But I’d had a very specific dress in mind for my wedding day and I was overjoyed with the end result. It was a ball gown dress with a three-foot train; the bodice had a lace overlay that extended on sheer material to my arms. There were hundreds of diamonds scattered all over that twinkled when they caught the light just right. The veil that was clipped into my hair was also decorated with lace and hung all the way down to the floor. I was wearing my Mikaelson necklace, which I’d been sure to pull from underneath my dress, displaying the crest proudly where it rested on my chest. My hair was curled; the front pinned back similarly to the girls’ but mine was secured with the clip of my veil. My made up was natural; my lips painted with a deep red lip stain that matched the roses I’d be carrying perfectly.

 ‘You look radiant.’ Bekah said, tears forming in her own eyes.

 ‘Don’t, you’re gonna make me cry.’ I warned.

 ‘We can’t have that, you’ll ruin your make up and you look perfect.’ Elena nudged Bekah playfully.

 A knock on the door broke us out of our conversation; Elena answered the door to reveal Elijah. His expression became soft when he saw me, his own eyes glassing over as emotion overcame him.

 ‘Sister, you look… wonderful.’ He murmured.

 I hugged him, ‘thank you Lijah.’

 ‘Well, it’s time.’ Bekah announced, shooing the other bridesmaids out of the room, ‘remember walk down the isle when you hear the wedding march.’

 ‘We know Bekah.’ I chuckled, my arm linking through Elijah’s as we followed them.

 I had asked him to walk me down the isle because I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it. Elijah had become the best big brother I could have ever hoped for, and it seemed wrong to be given away by anyone else. Of course, Nik had also asked him to be best man, so after he’d delivered me to the end of the isle, he would take his place in between Nik and Kol. I took a deep breath as we reached the entrance to the ballroom; we were getting married at a house Nik had built in Mystic Falls long before I had even been born. He wanted to have a house where we could live when I wanted to visit my home, and a place that he could stay in to reminisce about the village he’d lived in when he was human. He’d built this house on top of the same place he’d resided all those years ago. When he’d told me that, it seemed to be the perfect location; the town where I’d grown up, where my parents were born and buried, and the village he’d spent time with his family before they’d become vampires. It held a lot of nostalgia and meaning for the both of us, and I knew then that this is where we could become husband and wife.

 ‘Are you ready, sister?’ Elijah murmured, turning to me as the march started.

 I nodded, unable to keep the smile off my face as I followed Elijah’s lead down the isle. I’ve never felt more love and happiness than I did in that moment, surrounded by those I loved, and the man I loved more than anything. Those invited had been kept to a bare minimum. Nik had most of his friends as groomsmen: Marcel, Stefan, Kol and Elijah were all stood up there with him, while on my side stood Jenna, Bekah and Elena. Other than that, Damon, Jeremy, April (he’d asked to bring her as his guest), Sophie, Josh, Cami, Finn and Freya all sat in white wooden chairs as the audience.

 Freya had been a surprise to the Mikaelson’s not long after Nik had proposed. She’d popped up explaining that their aunt Dahlia had kidnapped her and cursed to spend a hundred years sleeping to every year of life. That had been a close fight that involved another time travel spell for Esther’s blood and a few other ingredients, but we defeated her and Freya was free and connecting with the family she’d yearned to know for centuries. Finn was a different story. He’d been undaggered after Nik had tracked down Sage, who’d been his long lost love nine centuries ago. After their reunion, they’d departed and we hadn’t heard a word from him until Freya popped up and he came to the compound to visit her. Even during those visits he’d only really spoken to his eldest sister. Still, we’d extended a wedding invitation to him seeing as he was technically family. But I’ll admit I was stunned by his attendance; I suspected Freya had something to do with it. Though I was unsurprised that Sage hadn’t come; her and Nik had apparently never gotten along.

 After my eyes had quickly glanced over those present they fell and remained on the most important one of all. My Hybrid was positively beaming with happiness, the same kind that I was sure he could see on my face. The kind of elation that you felt at the prospect of marrying your best friend, your confidant, your lover… your person. His gorgeous blue eyes were glassed over as he fought to hold back his tears, I want as strong however, my tears having long fallen onto my cheeks. Bekah would have a fit, but I didn’t care. Elijah took my hand and placed it in Nik’s and just like that, I was home. My fingers entwined with his as we faced the man we’d chosen to officiate our marriage.

 ‘We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in matrimony.’ I couldn’t help but tune out what he was saying, too lost in Nik’s eyes to worry about anything else.

 ‘I believe you have written your own vows?’ I startled at the question, and nodded.

 ‘Nik, before I met you, I had given up on the idea of marriage, of finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. When I was human, it seemed plausible, as sixty years doesn’t seem as daunting as an eternity. But suddenly faced with the prospect of forever, I couldn’t imagine finding anyone who would love me enough to want to be tied with me for eternity. Then I met you. We might have first gotten of on the wrong foot,’ we all shared a chuckle at that, ‘but I fell in love with you so fast that it scared me. I’d never felt so much so fast before, but before I could get too lost in my own insecurities, you told me that you loved me too. Not with words at first, but in the way you protected me, the way that you touched me and the way that you looked at me. From that moment all those years ago, I couldn’t picture a future without you in it, and now I can’t wait to spend eternity with you as your wife.’ I gently wiped away the tears that had fallen onto his cheeks before grasping his hands in mine again.

 ‘Evangeline, I’ve been on this earth for a long time, and for a majority of it I was a man I’m not proud of. As a human, I was berated and beaten for no reason other than my father’s unexplainable hatred of me. When I became a vampire and my werewolf side was revealed, I was more of an outsider then I had ever been. I learned to be ashamed of who I was, because that is what my mother inadvertently told me when she cursed my werewolf side into dormancy. This created a man whose insecurity and fear manifested itself as anger and aggression. I believed I didn’t deserve to be loved by anyone. I became a monster, pushing away those closest to me until I believed they hated me too. I belittled anyone who showed emotion, when deep down I envied them for being brave enough to love, to adore, to laugh, and to be happy. I spent centuries taking the fate of my sibling’s into my own hands, because while I knew they hated me, I loved them and I couldn’t tamper my protective instincts when it came to their safety. They perceived it was out of spite or superiority and I let them believe it because it was easier to accept their hate than their love. But then I met you. You came into my life and within two minutes you’d already, albeit unwillingly, revealed your plans to kill me.’ I chuckled with him, my tears falling steadily down my face, ‘but despite the obvious threat, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you. When you offered a plan to help me I was grateful that it meant I didn’t have to come up with an excuse myself. Your light, your kindness to a man who you only knew to cause you pain drew me in. You bought out my humanity without effort and I found myself overcome with my love for you, with my protectiveness and adoration. You accepted me for who I was, you made accepting your love and returning it effortless. You made me realise that I deserved to be loved.’ He took a breath, gently wiping the tears from my cheeks and smiling when I leaned into his touch. ‘I vow that for the rest of eternity, you will never doubt how much I love you, Evangeline.’

 My hands squeezed his gently as we shared a smile.

 ‘The rings?’ The officiate asked.

 I turned and took Nik’s ring from Elena, while Nik retrieved mine from Elijah.

 After we exchanged ‘I do’s,’ Nik pulled me in for a passionate kiss and just like that, we were married. The idea of an eternity with one person may have scared me once. But that was before Nik. That was before I’d met the one person in the world who seemed to understand me better than I understood myself. He was my rock, my Hybrid, and as long as he was by my side the prospect of forever was anything but daunting.

[lovedrp]

welcome to silver creek, co! ♡

here is our first content preview! we want to give you the information about our fictional town of silver creek, colorado. underneath the cut, you’ll find out more specifics about the neighborhoods and some of the different pre-existing establishments and “town staples” that will make up our occupation claim. this is a non-exhaustive list, and of course, you are more than invited to create your own businesses and plots based off them. we just wanted to provide a few pre-created locations to avoid having “three dive bars” in the town! later this afternoon, we will also be releasing information on some of the town’s founding families, so keep an eye out for those! 

silver creek was originally founded in 1717 and currently has a growing population of 9,973. it's your typical, idyllic sleepy mountain town with quaint shops, a gazebo in the town centre, and a nationally known ski resort that always ends up in calendars. 

while the town has a few of the typical chain stores, like starbucks and mcdonalds, the majority of the residents tend to prefer to support the local spots in order to support their friends and loved ones. it’s one of the more small town aspects of silver creek. if you do find yourself needing a few larger places such as a larger hospital and emergency room, just make the trip to nearby denver. an hour drive and you are on the doorstep of a much larger metropolitan and many residents commute for work and education purposes.

the town motto, "we like it here", is one that is met with jokes from the young crowd: you don't necessarily love it here, but you also can't hate it either because of its idyllic charm. it's the kind of town where most people know one another, at least in passing, and they like it that way. the town is split up into four main areas that are noted for minor yet distinct differences in shops, financial class, and the attitude of residents in each area.

rose acres is a beautiful and picturesque area outside of the main town with plenty of old colonial homes and newer, modern mansions complete with families that have pockets that run infinitely deep. however, despite the acres of land, it's the least populated area of town due to the old money feel and the cost of living in the area. many of the children are raised with the attitude that they're better than the rest of the town, giving them an air of pretentiousness and classist mentality. the nearest private school is in the next town over where most of the children attend in their formative years.

the campgrounds: situated deep in the woods, the campgrounds are one of the most popular places for those who love outdoors. with an area made for bbq enthusiasts, no matter the season, you can always find someone up there ready to keep you company. the park rangers rival the police station, with a playful competition between them. these individuals, however, are the ones who take care of the mountains and if you happen to get lost in the woods, they will come to your rescue in no time.

the bordeaux inn: picture a ballroom that can hold about two hundred people, and you'll be looking at the bordeaux inn! the bordeaux is a popular destination to hold weddings as well as events that take place. it's marble flooring and vaulted ceilings make for the perfect background of any image. equipped with bathrooms, changing rooms, and even a small room for catering! it also plays a large part of a shelter during storms or power outages, but thankfully it hasn't been used for such an event in a while. 

the market: along the outskirts of town is a group of buildings combined into a make-shift market, where booths are set up with a wide variety of items such as groceries, literature, records, vintage items & truly everything else you can find. each weekend the market place offers a flea market for anyone to bring their own items to try and earn some extra money.

silver square is a little more modest and is where you will find traditional family properties, mostly with middle-class families that have been here for generations. it is the largest area within silver creek, encompassing most of the high street, town center, and the school district. residents of the square are generally ones who return post college to start a family and make their lives within the quaint little town.they value a strong work ethic, a teaching attitude, and the mindset of putting in your dues will reap strong rewards. it’s the most communal feeling in silver square. nearly everyone knows everyone and they like it that way.

town hall: the town hall houses many of the important public services around town. inside the single building one can find the post office, court room, meeting rooms, as well as the office of the mayor and staff. this three story building still has the old charm with the original wood floors, but coupled modern day technology. 

the witch’s den: appropriately named after the creature that put them on the map, witch’s den operates as both a bar & grill, offering both refreshing alcoholic drinks but also delicious food. on top of that, you can find a pool table, slot machines, live entertainment & wine cellar within the walls of this popular restaurant destination. 

sheriff and police station: the elected officials who serve and protect call this their base and some even call it their home. the rivalry between the local sheriff and ranger's has carried on for years and brings amusement to many of the locals.

silver creek veterinary clinic: the local veterinary clinic opened nearly fifty years ago. it once provided basic care for the furry friends of townsfolk but in recent years it has expanded both in size and services, now offering care for even the most exotic of pets and offering services more advanced than neuterings and teeth cleanings.

silver creek school: it's more than a one room school house but it's still very much considered old fashioned. with a small population the town has managed to keep all aged students in one building that has been updated throughout the years for a more modern look and technologies. with a staff only slightly bigger than a baker's dozen and a sports team boasting the occasional state championship, the “silver creek rams” sporting events bring together most of the entire town on game night. 

church and cemetery: silver square is home to a large non-denominational church that also hosts a myriad of public events and weddings throughout the year. the church boasts a welcoming and all-inclusive environment where anyone can come for sunday gatherings and explore their faith. the old cemetery is situated right besides the town's church and is littered with headstones that have been overtaken with moss. believed to be home to some unmarked old witches graves, the town's own residents refuse to step foot on the property after the sun sets, believing the area to be haunted with fun and spooky town urban legends.

townhouse coffee: the local place to get a cup of coffee has been run by the same family for generations. filled with lots of natural light and a clean, rustic decor, it’s not uncommon for the place to be packed any day of the week. under new management (passed down from mother to daughter) three years ago, they additionally have started serving beer and wine from local breweries and wineries as well as some food options after 5pm. they also host routine karaoke, trivia nights, and fundraisers.

city park: colorado is famous for its diverse landscape and the park in silver creek is one to marvel. locals will tell you it has the most refreshing air to breath and you'll never find greenery more vibrant or lush. 

dixon bend is the quarter of town that is furthest out and starts to border the mountains. the bend is home to a small trailer park, a few run-down farms, a dive bar or two, and some smaller family homes. it has become the stain of the town that nobody speaks about. the residents have begun to feel the negative energy that the other neighborhoods have pushed upon them. they feel looked down upon and like they are never quite good enough for their town. however, in the younger generation, this negativity has instilled a sense of righteousness and dedication between the young adults who want to create a better situation for themselves and their families.

smokey’s bar: the floors might be a little sticky and the beer mats might get reused, but for some reason smokey's - despite its reputation - is often bustling, whether it's a week night or a weekend. you'll find every kind of character perched behind a table or leaning against a barstool, some more questionable than others. it's not a great place but, hey, it gets the job done. a night at smokey's isn't a night at smokey's until someone's getting slung out of the door before closing.

the skin canvas: the skin canvas tattoo and piercing parlor has been around dixon bend since 1982. when it first opened, many residents were less than thrilled with it's appearance, worrying it would bring "unsavory characters" to the idyllic mountain town. the skin canvas has remained, however, and is under new membership after the original founder and owner passed away last year. they have a roster of extremely talented tattoo artists and piercers with affordable prices. they also have a refrigerator in the back full of different beer and drinks for customers to have a free drink after their session. 

cozy corner: operating since 1902, cozy corner has been a hot spot for artists even during its original run as betty’s tea room. know for it’s hot beverages, amazing pastries, endless bookshelves of novels waiting to be borrowed and semi-weekly book club meetings, cozy corner is a coffee-loving book fanatic's paradise.

the dispensary: while colorado was one of the very first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, it took the town of silver creek a few years to refashion. however, in 2018, the very first dispensary within the town opened and business is currently thriving.

cohen peak is the closest neighborhood to the ski resort and the most modern of the areas. this area of town is home to mainly apartment complexes and condos. this area tends to be populated with new college graduates who don't wish to return to their family homes. in recent years, it has also become the destination for all transplant residents; anyone moving to silver creek for the first time tends to start in cohen peak first. it is where you can find a couple of restaurants and niche tourist stores, mainly because of the view of the resort. it has the attitude and personality of a trendy place for city people to move to, something the older residents are not too happy about.

silver creek ski resort: nestled at the base of crystal peak, the silver creek ski resort offers a premium service in a unique location. the new european-style architecture blends perfectly into the surrounding natural environment of the mountains. you'll find every imaginable comfort in the hotel rooms and suites along with the option of renting one of the exclusive mountain top condos. there is dining on the mountainside patio, unwinding at the award-winning spa, or taking advantage of the other extraordinary amenities including slope-side ski valet, rooftop hot tubs and lap pool, state-of- the-art fitness center and more. treat yourself to the ultimate luxury resort experience in silver creek.

hickory diner: best known for the best comfort food to be found in the city limits, hickory diner is a staple in silver creek for that old time diner feel with milkshakes and a jukebox in a modern neighborhood. it's not uncommon to walk in at any time of the day to find the locals sitting at the tables for hours, gossiping about anything and everything. it's a favorite destination for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for many of the locals and is open 24/7. 

silver creek community college: opening its doors recently, the community college is meant to be silver creek’s way of increasing its population and also the town’s way of giving the younger generation a chance to stay a bit closer to home rather than leaving somewhere far away. their sports team, the silver creek mountain lions, is small but mighty.

mountain spa: once operated in the kitchen of the home of a resident this business has grown the most in the last several years, providing much more than shampooing and haircuts. residents and tourists alike find this place provides a 5 star yelp review worthy pampering.

medical center: the medical center has been going strong for years and while it’s not exactly the big hospital the head of the family dreamed of, it’s still the place that allows them to help others when needed.

[gwoongi]

𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗎𝗌 ✰ taehyung (1)

𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗎𝗌 kim taehyung / reader genre: zombie apocalypse au words: 6793

You just wanted humanity to survive.

warnings: violence, swearing, sexual content, gore and blood, death, taboo themes, drug and alcohol use

a/n: hi!! this has been in the works for literally. a year. maybe even longer. it has caused me so much pain and stress + im so happy to be putting her out into the world!!!!! thank you for all your endless support and i hope u all like this fic!!!!!!! :D ((it is a revised version of my older “the last of us” fic on cosykims!)) 

[ Moodboard || Playlist ]

01. denver ↝ 02. holiday with me ↝ 03. sad forever ↝ 04. surely ↝ 05. scorpion ↝ 06. shakespeare

“...city centre is now closed until further notice, after a bomb was detected near the subway station at 3:45pm. Reports say that the bomb was not a hoax, and was indeed planted there by foreign intel…”

“After three major bomb alerts in cities across the country, the senator has released a statement saying the following: Relations with foreign powers are continuing to get worse. Bombs are being planted around our country, and the threat of nuclear war is among us. Currently there are no dramatic changes, but our channel will keep everybody within the area notified.”

“...I repeat, this is not a drill. North Korea have finally declared nuclear war on the western hemisphere, challenging other powers to ready their weapons and start to fight. Curfew is now under way, and everybody must report to nearby shelters in the case of an emergency. May God be with you all.”

“...thanks, Janet. What we are seeing here is the aftermath of what appears to be catastrophic damage done by a foreign bomb in New York City. Thousands of people are suspected to be dead and bombs are still being detected in the radar. This is no longer a fantasy - this is the reality of our country. God Bless America.”

“...months after the fighting has ceased across the Globe, the Government have set up control areas to prevent the possibility of an infection, of which was caused by the toxic chemicals of the bombs dropped just three months ago. Citizens are to be evacuated within three miles of controlled areas and gas masks are being supplied to everybody South of Nebraska….”

“...what appears to be a virus has spread throughout controlled quarantines this evening. Reports from the state suggest that the word ‘zombie’ might fit the description of this virus. This is not a joke, I repeat, we are dealing with a nationwide crisis here. Everybody is to stay within their homes.”

“...the world is ending….hundreds and thousands of people are expected to fall to the virus caused by the aftermath of war...flesh-eating zombies….may God be with us all….oh God...oh God!”

Three Years In 01:12am.

Contrary to popular belief, there were many good things about the apocalypse. One, you wagered, was the fact that there was barely any pollution in the air; in fact, on an evening, you could see the whole galaxy without a telescope, breathing in the life of speckles of white, shooting ivories and the smile of a lonely moon. Two, there were no official rules to life. Unlike life before, no human is illegal, now. Border control is non-existent, and immigration and tax and how much money you’re going to make come payday is no longer important to anybody still alive. And three, if you were lucky, it was always silent.

Before, you used to sneer at silence. The way it mocked you, and humiliated you after a high-school presentation, or after the punchline of a joke. The way the silence slowly picked at your bones and flesh in the attic bedroom of your grandparents’ bungalow in the northern part of the city, secluded in mountains and barren trees; the silence laughing at the way you stared out that small box window, praying for a miracle to make noise. 

But now, silence is your new best friend. Silence indicates that nothing is near, and danger is less likely. It heightens every sense, and keeps you awake at night. Against any loyal survivor or camp-member, you valued silence as the number one ally.

Sniffing once, you caught your nose running, stepping over a large pile of rubble that had fallen from the roof of the warehouse you were currently based in. Careful to not awaken any of your fellow campers, you made your way towards the large wire fence, pulling a cable tie around the sliced wire to tie it together - an unpractical reinforcement, although quieter than chains. And as designated leader of the camp, you admit that it’s hard to keep everybody sane and grounded. Safety was of paramount importance, but you can’t fake it. You can’t lie to your campers by saying everything is safe. Because nothing is safe anymore.

Scraping scrap metal across the tarmac, the distant sound of boots made you glance up, noticing the familiar scuff of red leather and you turned away, not having to look up to know it’s the new guy, Kim Taehyung.

“Need any help?” his voice called across the loud silence, his fingers toying with a loose strand of polyester attached to his jacket.

“I’ve got it, thanks,” you replied, fiddling still with the ties around the looped chain.

Taehyung moved forward anyway, indifferent about the tense tone of your voice. He missed the hint entirely, coming closer when all you want is for him to go away. “It doesn’t look like you’ve got it. Here, I’ll hold the fence.”

You flinched when he appeared by your side, your face meeting his helpful gaze with a sharp glare. Regardless, you sighed loudly and relaxed, letting him hold the fence in place as you wrapped around the cable tie, clamping it closed before moving to the next hole created by cutters.

“Are you always this pushy?” you asked, avoiding his stare as you worked to close all the possible entrances (and exits).

“I just wanted to help,” Taehyung confessed quietly. “I felt pointless in there, not falling asleep. Plus, Jiyong snores. I wanted some peace and quiet.”

At that, you scoffed and smile. “Well, I can believe that. He’s always been a snorer, ever since high-school.”

Taehyung made a noise of acknowledgement, finally accepting defeat and crouching quietly beside you, wordless but inquisitive. It had only been three days since he joined the camp by chance; he was one of the lucky ones who approached your camp and made it inside. A law you lived by, inside your cluttered and hazy and scared brain, was that you never accepted outsiders into the camp. Sticking by friends you’ve known and trusted for years seemed safer than blindly trusting someone you had never met before. But, as Seunghyun pointed the sniper rifle at his tuft of brown hair hanging on his forehead, Yena had bounced down from the watch-tower with wide eyes - “he needs a Doctor, Y/N. He’s bleeding from his knee. We have the supplies, we can save his life.”

You just wanted humanity to survive.

And so the gates opened and he lay down on a medical bed inside the warehouse, and Yena and Jisoo helped patch up his wounds. Now, here he is; lingering in the shadows of the warehouse, limping across the length of the grounds, begging for jobs to keep himself occupied.

“You work a lot,” Taehyung noted. “I never see you sleep at night. Insomnia?”

“One person always stays on guard during the night,” you explain, tugging at the wire to make sure it holds. “I volunteer because there’s always something that needs to be done around here. If you think you’re safe, you’re wrong. Nobody else wants to do it, so I will. Just to keep myself busy, mainly.”

Taehyung nodded. “I get that. Before I came here, I just walked. I never stopped walking from where I was, constantly looking for somewhere safe to go.”

“Ain’t that the way,” you replied. With nothing left to do with the fence, you eventually turned to look at him, staring at his face outlined by the dim gas-lighter by the door to the warehouse. “You been on your own for a while?”

“No,” he answered, hesitantly. “I was with my sister when the virus first broke out. We were both at NYU. We got separated in the manic and I joined a small group of science students on their way to find a cure. Clearly, that didn’t work out. I figured it was safer on my own, you know? I had no idea where she went. So, I walked.”

“And your leg?” you asked, looking at his knee, still wrapped in soaked bandages. “You got hurt pretty bad, huh? Biter get you?”

“Unfortunately not. I got jumped by a couple bandits on my way here. I got away when a few walkers came by, but barely escaped. Then, I came here.”

You stood up as he spoke, him following your every move like a mirror. “‘Walkers.’ You can tell you’re from New York.”

Moving away from Taehyung, your feet take you to the mid-height fence near the drop towards the forest, a view overlooking the tops of tall trees, a spiralling path faded by fog and the familiar outline of a deserted city near the horizon. Kicking the fence gently, it stays in place, requiring no fortifications or attention. Nothing could climb the steep drop beneath it. Resting your elbows on the beach wood of the fence, you rest your weight and stare towards the city, analysing the corners of each building, jagged lines like a maths puzzle.

“While I was getting patched up,” Taehyung began, after a long moment of serene silence, “Jisoo told me that you guys go out on trips, hunts in cities. How many have you covered?”

“Only one,” you replied, nodding in the direction of the city in front of you. “That’s Denver. It’s so large that we barely covered a third of it in the two years we’ve been here. We planned to keep moving, but we had some...complications along the way. We got trapped up here. Every week we send out a group to scavenge the cities, find whatever we can to prepare us for travels. And last week, Jiyong’s pick-up truck ran out of gas for good, so anything we can find to help get that back and running would be great.”

Taehyung nodded with understanding, picking at the dry skin around his bitten-down fingernails. “I hear it’s in a few days. Shouldn’t you be asleep, resting for it?”

“I can’t sleep,” you said quietly. “Not anymore. And it’s like I said, there’s always shit that needs to be done. The drive to the city is around half hour, I can catch some z’s on the way there and between shifts. Why so curious, anyway? You coming with us, or something?”

He shrugged. “Can I?”

“Have you got anything better to do?” you retort, and he smiles slightly, looking down. “I hear you’re a good runner. We could use the extra legs and arms. If your knee’s up to it, course.”

Gratefully, he nodded with acceptance. “Come to think of it, your group is quite small. Has it always been this selective?”

As the words left his lips, Taehyung felt himself regret that sentence, noticing the way you tensed next to him, hands pausing in their movement of toying a blade of grass that hugged the fence post.

“I’m sorry. That was rude-”

“There were others,” you replied tensely, your demeanour changed instantly. “But like all other groups, we lost people along the way. Good people. Kind and loving people. In a world where life is so short, I can’t afford to lose anybody else.”

You clapped his shoulder roughly, “you’re new, Taehyung, and I don't expect you to understand. But we’re a family here, and the safety of the group is essential. You’re gonna lose people along the way but…”

Your voice trailed off, and Taehyung looked up. He got it. You didn’t have to continue speaking for him to put the pieces together.

Two Days Later. 08:19am.

The lively sound of a rumbling engine stirred Taehyung awake, the noise travelling from the square all the way to the South-Wing, painted in yellow as ‘Zone S’. S for sleep, or S for safety, Taehyung couldn’t quite decipher.

Sitting on the rectangle straw-sheet, he slipped on his socks and signature ruby leather boots, carrying his jacket over his arms as he left the zone and moved towards the square, where the sun bled out onto the dusty tarmac, a glimmer of glittering light causing him to squint as he crossed the width of the kitchen. He smiled at Yena, the youngest in the group, only eighteen amongst middle-aged outcasts, and passed her at the table, ignoring her wavering stare.

“Taehyung. Good morning.”

He forced himself to smile over at Taekwoon, only slightly intimidated by the size of his muscles behind a grey sleeved tee, and the way he effortlessly lifted a duffel bag filled with weapons into the trunk of the Subaru. Taekwoon looked over gently, in an effort not to afraid the newbie, and then he shut the boot of the car and approached him.

“You coming on our trip today?” he asked, and Taehyung nodded.

“Did you clear it with Y/N?”

“Yes,” he replied surely. “She invited me.”

Taekwoon smiled mockingly, laughing out of his nose. “Right. Sure she did.”

Taehyung blinked, unfamiliar. “Where is Y/N? Isn’t she coming with us?”

“Yeah. Protocol around here is similar to certain armies,” Taekwoon explained lamely. “The leader always helps out on missions. Hey, she’s nothing like that old guy out of Wonder Woman, I’ll tell you that.”

“Y/N is the leader?” Taehyung asked dumbly.

Taekwoon turned then, resting a hand upon the hot black exterior of the car. “Does that shock you?”

“Kinda. She looks so…”

He didn’t continue, but Taekwoon nodded in understanding. “We get it. But without her, none of us would be here. I couldn’t think of anyone better leading us. Well, I mean, I’d proper love a Rick Grimes around here, but you can’t have everything. Jiyong and Seunghyun are technically leaders, too, but we just say Y/N is to deprive them the satisfaction of feeling powerful.”

From behind him, the short sound of footsteps made Taehyung turn, meeting your gaze halfway as you briskly passed him, cheeks clammy, freckles on display. He’d never noticed them before. At your entry, the group of hunters gathered around the bonnet of the car as you spread a map down on it with a short slap, a dying red Sharpie in your hand, circling the next part of the city.

“Last week we went to this section, so try and focus on these areas today,” you explained, waiting for Taehyung to shift into a position where he could see the map carefully. “Denver was one of the worst hit cities, so we could either be lucky and find bodies, or unlucky and find biters. Either way, try and avoid making sound. We have the radios and walkies in-case we get into any sort of trouble. If we lose signal, meet at the car before sunset. Remember - don’t risk your life if one of us doesn’t arrive on time. Give it five minutes after the sun begins to disappear, and if we’re not here, go on ahead. We can’t sacrifice our supplies for the sake of one man. It’s harsh, and we go through this every time, but I’m making it clear to the fresh meat.”

Everybody, minus Taehyung and his bewildered expression, nodded with understanding, a quiet murmur overpowering the groan of the dead hanging in the shadows of the forest surrounding the warehouse.

“Is there anything anybody wants to ask for before we head onto the road?” Jiyong asked, his voice in the same usual volume- quieter than a shout, slightly louder than a whisper.

“Gas is a priority,” Taehyung suggested, remembering the conversation about the useless pick-up truck sitting in the back near the barrens.

Taekwoon nodded, “we need gas for the truck, and in-case our getaway vehicle runs out unexpectedly. We’re on our last few drops.”

“The usual, I’d expect. Food is obvious, water, clean water. Clothes, or batteries would be great, too. Never skip over a store because it looks empty,” Doyoung, Yena’s brother and the best shooter within the group aside from Seunghyun, said, looking at Taehyung all the while. “Pharmacy's look emptied, but there’s always the office near the back that’s filled with extra medicine. The keys are usually on a staff member who’s lurking or dead. You have materials that can pick the lock.”

“How do you know that for sure?” Taehyung asked, meanwhile the rest of the group readied the truck. You stayed near Taehyung, eager to hear what he had to say.

“I used to work at my Dad’s pharmacy before shit hit the fan,” Doyoung shrugged. “I know my way around a pharmacy, is all.”

Having little else to do, Taehyung simply nodded and stood still, waiting for the group to finish setting up the car, with Taekwoon riding his motorcycle near the front like a Police escort.

“Ready?” you asked, stopping by his side as the group hollered for everybody to get inside. Yena hurried out towards the gate, hanging by the loose chain ready to open it up. Taehyung sucked in a breath quietly, and looked at you with as much optimism as he could. It came out falsely, but you appreciated his efforts.

“Not really. Will I ever be?”

You didn’t know how to answer that. No response was good.

The city was unusually quiet.

Beside you, in the back of the car, Taehyung stared silently at the scenery as it rolled past, just as the car crossed into the city’s territory. Immediately, he could see the stark contrast between the wilderness and the madness; a concrete jungle, overpowered by lush green and forest ferns, weeds that turreted as high as traffic lights snaking up the drains of apartment complexes, tufts of cloth dancing in the breeze. Despite the damage from nuclear destruction, Taehyung was surprised that nature could take over so quickly. He stared in silence at the sight of rusted vehicles abandoned in the streets, decorated with blood red graffiti, the walls of buildings reading “DEAD INSIDE” or “KEEP OUT”, neither better than the other. As the car crossed through an intersection, down one of the streets, water had eroded the roads; murky green water bouncing off the heavy sunlight creating patterns on the brickwork, faded and dressed in dark ivy.

“Reminds me of Chernobyl,” Taehyung commented on the way there.

As the car pulled up in a relatively deserted section of the city, Jiyong switched off the gas and hopped out instantly, wasting zero time. Taehyung clambered out afterwards, holding open the door as you climbed out after him, nodding as a thank-you, already familiarising yourself with the silence.

Taekwoon began to hand out weapons from the duffel bag in the boot as you stared in all directions, analysing pathways and gaps between buildings. Craning upwards, the canopy of unstable concrete, the decaying body of two large towers collided together, made you feel uneasy, and you turned back towards the group, gladly taking a pistol and extra ammunition.

“Remember the rules,” you reminded. “Stay in your partners. Taekwoon and Doyoung, go North. Jiyong, Seunghyun, go West. Jisoo, you’re okay to go South, yes? I’ll take the newbie with me East.”

Jisoo nodded, loading her gun. “I don’t need a man to slow me down.”

“Just be careful,” you warned, happy to see her confident going alone. Taehyung shifted from foot to foot, shakily taking a pistol from the bottom of the bag and following behind you as you moved towards the East direction, towards the fallen ruins of Denver city.

After some minutes of silence, Taehyung spoke up: “where are we going?”

“Further into the city,” you replied, not missing a beat. “Most of the stores close to the square have been checked already. But the ones further in the city are more likely to stay in tact. Nobody comes in here unless they want to die. Thankfully, it seems quiet today.”

“We got lucky, then,” he decided.

“I hope you’re right.”

A few more minutes in, and Taehyung felt himself cower at the sight of more skyscrapers leaning together, debris falling from the sky and landing in tufts near his feet. He ignored the stained blood from feet as he crossed a gravel pathway, near a sectioned off waterpool barricaded by old cars. Distracting himself, Taehyung invested his attention towards yourself, watching cautiously as you fiddled with buttons on the small radio you picked up along the way.

“Should you really be using that out in the open?”

You paused, scoffing slightly. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I believe you, but, that’s making noise.”

“What about it?”

Taehyung narrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Noise attracts walkers.”

With a final sigh, you turned to him over your shoulder. “You’re going to attract ‘walkers’ in a minute. Just...keep your voice down, yeah? The radio is our only way to communicate with those outside our group. It’s either this, or walking straight into death. You want that?”

“Obviously not,” he replied.

Opting to keep you happy, Taehyung didn’t say anything else. Instead, he followed your heels closely, muttering soft thanks when you lifted up a beam for him to duck under, or pointed out a hole of muddy water that was probably contaminated. In his ears, he listened for the sound of something - anything - to come through on the radio, when a voice cut through the radio static.

“...nothing left. I’m leaving the city, with as many people as I can. We have to leave people behind, but...they’re in no position to travel. Alby is sick, and Jaena’s leg is infected. We don’t have much time left…”

Taehyung moved closer to you, and you positioned the radio so he could hear.

“There’s nothing left for anybody in City Ten. Bandits and hunters come to scavenge stores but there’s nothing we can do about it. We gathered all the medical supplies in our store room in Block 18. Fuck, I don’t know what building we are in, but we can see the large building that towers over all others from our window. Tommy came in saying he has everything ready for us to go. We’re heading North, towards Washington. Some survivors said there was a group of student scientists there with a bunch of NASA officials, working on a cure. They’re calling Washington the safe zone, or something, I can’t remember. Denver is empty.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t be here,” Taehyung said in a low voice, and you looked at him briefly before looking back at the radio, as if it would do something visual.

The voice continued breathily: “If you’re still in the city...if anybody even still listens to me, you need to get out. You need to head to-” she paused over the line. “Fuck, they’re here. I hear them.” Her voice got quieter, breathier, like a whisper. You decided to continue on foot next to Taehyung, waiting for her voice to come back through the line. For what felt like eternity, she made no response.

Taehyung heaved himself up over an abandoned car, extending a hand down to you to help pull you up. Climbing up after him, you snatched your hand away when you realised he was still holding onto you, brushing your hand on your jeans and jumping down from the car back onto the floor.

“Hey, Y/N, how about we head over--”

Abruptly, the woman’s voice cut back in through the silence. “Oh fuck! Oh my god, they k-killed him. They killed him, oh my God, they’re coming back for me, stop! Leave me alone!”

Her screams were screeching, loud enough to shatter glass. Taehyung immediately fumbled for the volume, hissing when the radio continued to scream out into the silence of the city. As quickly as her screams became deafening, they became deaf, fallen silent, only static replacing her noises. As if overcome with fear, you toss the radio to the side, causing it to smash into pieces.

“What are you doing?” Taehyung exclaimed suddenly.

“I don’t wanna hear that,” you replied, shaking your head furiously. “Come on, let’s keep going. We’ve already wasted time listening.”

“She’s in trouble,” Taehyung continued, nonetheless following you. “We could try and find her, and help her.”

You smiled bitterly, hiking towards the nearest convenience store at the ground of a large high-rise building, slanted and glass-covered. “Taehyung, you’re sweet. Really, and I so like that about you. You’re a good asset to the team, and I want to keep it that way. But, we can’t afford to save her. By the sounds of things, she didn’t make it.”

“You don’t know that.”

Pausing to observe a blood-covered metal bat rolling back and forth by the open door to the store, you crouch to pick it up and swing it back and forth. “You’re right, I don’t. But I care more about our survival than hers.”

Behind you, he scoffed and shook his head. “You’re heartless.”

“No, I’m realistic,” you counter, holding the door open for him and handing him the metal bat. He caught it with a breath of air. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you about it. We can discuss it back at camp. For now, we have to look in the area and find somewhere to scavenge. This’ll do for the moment. Take the chemist and the clothes, I’ll scan the aisles for food if there is any. If you see bottled water, please get some.”

Taehyung reluctantly sighed, following you through the door and flinching when his boots crunched shards of broken glass on the floor. Shuffling into place, Taehyung scanned the room with a somber expression; the shelves near the door had been stripped clean, with only crumbs and stains marking the off-white colours, faded neons screaming nursery rhymes as he approached the first aisle. To his delight, or more so relief, he noticed food still on the shelves towards the back of the store, and he moved his gaze towards the right side of the store, where a hanging light, swinging to and fro with a daunting creak, read “Clothing”, where a neon should have bled out into cyans and magentas.

“Take half an hour?” you suggested, tossing him a spare flashlight from your backpack. “Meet back here if you can’t find anything useful. Take what we need, not what you want. I mean, clothing is preference, but- you know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” he replied, sounding almost indifferent. “I know. Be careful.”

To that, you smiled. “You too.”

Waiting until Taehyung had shuffled into the shadows of the clothes department, somewhat near to the flickering blue glow of the chemist desk, you gulped and retreated towards the far shelf, crouching to pack in a can of beans and some soup, close to expiry but good enough to salvage. By the end of the search, your bag was near enough filled to the brim; you had plenty of food, and lighters to aid Jiyong’s bad smoking habit, alongside a pack of cigarettes you found at the back of the shelf next to some ammunition and a discarded wallet. A pack of batteries lay like a ripe cherry in a bunch of rotten ones, and you barely wedged it into the front pocket of your bag. Feeling successful, you swung the backpack onto your shoulders and rose from your crouch behind the shelves.

Poking your head over the stacks, the sound of Taehyung dragging clothes across the rails puts your mind at ease, distracting you from the low hum of the undead, which, as if it were possible, seemed to get louder and louder. Probably paranoia, you guessed, minding your own business as you approached the counter looking into the bakery. You stared sadly at the moulded breads and pastries, eyeing them with a new hunger. If you remembered hard enough, you could remember visiting a store just like this one and buying fish at the market, and then buying a custard cake at the bakery with your college friends.

At that thought, you looked away, leaning over the counter to eye the floor, messed with flour and footprints dotted with red shuffling towards the kitchen, where silence screamed out. You took a guess that the red wasn’t your ordinary jam, and you gulped, sadly imagining who the unlucky victim was. Shrugging off those thoughts, you prepared to pick yourself back up onto your feet when a loud shuffle made you freeze in all movement.

Please be Taehyung.

Turning around slowly, you held your breath calmly, facing the store. As you turned to look to your left, the sight of a biter hovering near the glass doorway to the side-store made a chill run up the length of your body. You did nothing. It simply stared.

Perhaps if you moved slowly, it wouldn’t see you. Albeit wishful thinking, it seemed better than nothing at this point. It stood there dauntingly, shaking from side to side with a tremor, lips torn apart and skin ripped, maggots clinging to the rotten flesh. It let out a snarl, teeth curling and stirring creamy foam out of its mouth, fingers curled like dinosaur claws. As it waited, you turned fully, hands spread flat on the counter of the desk, observing all possible exits.

There was the safe route; towards Taehyung where he could help you take out the biter coming after you. There was the risky route; straight back towards the door, where noise would attract both the biter and Taehyung anyway. Or there was the stupid route; towards the biter, ready for attack.

Thankfully, you’d seen zombie movies enough times to know that running towards the biter almost always got you killed. Instead, you moved slowly, almost unmoving entirely. The biter stayed in place, biting air, snarling at the wind. Walking as quietly as you could, you edged towards the clothing section to find Taehyung, already somewhat comforted by the continuous sound of him dragging hangers across the rails. Every step was taken without breath; afraid that even blinking would send it into a frenzy, silence was of new paramount importance.

Inching further towards Taehyung, you flinched violently when the biter growled loudly, making enough noise to pull Taehyung’s head out of the clothing racks, bag practically stuff with clothes he basically didn’t really need. When the noise was followed by silence, he gripped his bat handle tighter and dropped his backpack to the tiles with a soft thud. Taehyung moved slowly towards the open archway separating the clothes to the foods, taking his time looking at the way the lights flickered, and the sound of the wind getting caught in the tiny cracks in the window-panes.

“Y/N?” he called, unaware. His grip tightened on the bat when nothing responded, only a murmur, a groan that sounded guttural. “Y/N?”

Approaching the arch, he turned into the main foyer of the store and froze in place when he saw you; standing like a statue by the counter, facing him with eyes wide. Without saying words, he seemed to know what to do - he looked back and forth between yourself and the biter, staring at the way it swayed from side to side, occasionally jolting as if having a seizure. Looking back at you, he paused when you held your hands in front of you, as if warning him to stay away.

“Don’t move,” you mouthed, afraid of a whisper being too loud.

He nodded, although you barely caught it. “What do we do?” he mouthed back.

Catching your breath quietly, you began to move slowly towards him, dragging your feet across the tiles wiped with tomato coloured red. Taehyung held out his hands invitingly, bat still pointed outwards, shaking slightly. He couldn’t pinpoint whether it was nerves, or fear, but either one drove his hands further outwards, taking small steps of his own towards you, quiet in an effort to not distract unwanted attention.

“That’s it,” he whispered, the smallest of whispers, waving his hands slowly in circles. “Slowly…”

The taste of blood swam through your mouth as your teeth sank down onto the inside of your lip, hands shaking violently as you steadily stepped towards your partner. Closer than breath, he was steps away, when your foot came down on shards of cloudy glass.

It ripped through the silence like a cough in Church.

The biter jolted with a high-pitched scream, too loud for you to turn around to check its expression. Taehyung stared over your shoulder at the way it broke out of a trance, screeching loudly at the sight of sounds. Time was running out; Taehyung yelled your name loudly, causing you to hurry towards him to grab his hand extended outward. As you skidded past his legs, his voice rang in your ears, lips brushing your hair: “Outside! Now!”

Grabbing his bag discarded on the floor, Taehyung swung it over his shoulders as you hurried ahead, ducking through a broken window. With impatience, Taehyung pushed you out, hands on your upper-back thigh, cradling you as you jumped out the hole and onto the road. He barely made it out, tugging at the thin material of your sleeve and dragging you out into the dust on the road. From behind both of you, the doors separating the biter and the store smashed open, alerting at least a dozen others lingering nearby in the dusty shadows.

They were newly infected, still grasping on to whatever shreds of humanity they had left. Running fast, screams loud, hands still rotting the flesh away; the biters ran from behind you down the road, screaming with every step, nudging you both further down the large road to nowhere. You weren’t even sure if this was the way you came; all you seemed focused on was the sight of Taehyung’s feet leaving you behind in a cloud of dust. He was faster than you had anticipated, but, with experience, you endured the heat of the panic and gravitated towards his side.

“Y/N-” he began, looking at you with a breathless expression.

“Don’t talk!” you screamed in reply, pulling at his arm. “Just fucking run!”

Passing identical buildings, acting like copied and pasted images, it was hard to deny that you were exhausted. At one point, it felt like Taehyung was dragging your weight, your legs too tired to hurry along after his frame. The cries of hunger and agony from the biters behind you increased in volume, filling the atmosphere with a heaviness. If the group were close, they had heard the noises and thought better than sticking around.

“Turn! Here, here, here, here, don’t fucking stop running!” screamed your voice over the chaos, pushing Taehyung by his shirt towards a small and narrow alleyway between two smaller stores; a ladder, enclosed by a bar painted an ebony black, smiled in the darkness, and Taehyung thankfully ran towards it without hesitation. The sharp turn caught the mob off-guard, sending them skidding across the road.

Taehyung began to climb up the ladder, and you swiftly followed, veins pumping with fear and adrenaline, hands shivering as you climbed from step to step, height to height. A biter lunged for your boot, sinking its teeth into the heel and you kicked it in the jaw, a growl emerging from its torn jaw as it collapsed back into the hoard.

Finally reaching the top of the roof, you heaved yourself up over the low brick wall, physically feeling the exhaustion in your arms, a dampness under your armpits. Landing with a thud on top of Taehyung, a breath of hot hair released from your lips, strands of hair sticking to your forehead like cake mixture to a bowl. Both of your breaths were in sync; Taehyung lay beneath you, unmoving for the several moments of gathering breath, with the shakiness of his hands vibrating against your waist.

When the reality of lying on top of Taehyung sank in, you shuddered and lifted yourself up off his stomach, your palms scratching on the scorching hot roof. Behind you, Taehyung lifts himself up off the floor, leaning over the side of the wall to peer down at the biters below. Groans fill the air as he spots biters learning how to climb the ladder, and he gulps, saliva hot and solid moving down his dry throat.

“That was fucking insane,” he hissed, turning to you sharply as you pace in ovals on the roof. “What happened down there?”

“Biter came up on me,” you muttered, “didn’t hear it until it was too late.”

The biters congregated down below, a loud compilation of groans becoming disheartening as you fail to come up with a solution to this incredibly difficult problem. Taehyung jerks himself away from the wall, crouching to his backpack to take a swig of water he was planning to save until later. You turn halfway, thankfully taking a sip of the water he hands to you once he swallowed.

“What do we do now?” Taehyung asks, hands on his knees. He’s hunched over. “The group leaves at sundown. Will they wait?”

Swallowing thickly, you shake your head and shove the water back into his hands. “No. It’s the rules.”

“Fuck the rules,” he replies. “We’re a team.”

“Yeah, but we’ve worked this way for a while now. We won’t change just because you arrived to the group.”

Taehyung scoffed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Letting out a sigh, you pace back towards the wall overlooking the city. “It’s not ideal, I know. But if the group wait a second longer and lose their supplies to bandits or biters...it would be a waste of time. Our group are already vulnerable back at camp. We don’t wanna leave people behind. If you can help, do it, but we’re on a roof in the middle of the city and there’s no way in hell we can make it back in time without leaving right now.”

With nothing useful to say, Taehyung let his body drop with a thud on the floor, a cloud of dust circling his thighs as his bag dragged against the side of the wall. Above, the sky transitioned into auburn colours, clouds moving faster than smoke rising out a chimney, carried by the wind towards the direction of the camp. The sound of cicadas and the haunting birdsong, and the constant groan of death, was all to be heard as you clenched your outstretched hands into small balls, cursing the air with your gaze cast downwards; it eventually fell on the sight of a rusted, and unstable balcony a few stories below, a scrap of magenta cloth clinging to the corners, broken glass twinkling in the light.

As time moved, and hours rolled by, Taehyung had napped twice and your eyes would not move from the sight of the balcony, analysing each pattern and grid and rusted area, calculating jumps and falls and possible scenarios in your brain. Eventually, when the sky had darkened with rain clouds and night, the sun dipped behind a large storey building. Maybe the group would wait for you.

Maybe they’d think differently because you were their leader. Or maybe they didn’t need you.

With a fright, Taehyung jumped when you spun around to him, crouched on your knees with an urgent voice. “I have one plan, and if this plan fails, we are doomed.”

“Sounds promising,” he commented, without giving a plan of his own. Taehyung rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm.

“There’s a balcony,” you explained, moving across the roof to show him, pointing down at the brown painted overhang. He nodded with understanding, “it obviously goes into a room. We could sneak through the building and come out through the front. The herd are around the back, or in the alley, and the ones up front are too tired to react in time. We use that time to run back towards the truck. The group might have stayed behind for us, but if not, we can try to see if any of the cars around the area are salvageable. If all fails...we could camp in a building for the night. Start walking to camp. We’d be there in a day, or two.”

Taehyung stood quietly, thinking.

“It’s risky,” you considered, looking at him, bottom lip between top teeth. “But it’s the only plan I have.”

“It’s the only plan we have,” Taehyung replied. “I couldn’t think of anything better. Are you okay to run?”

Nodding your head, you adjusted the straps of your backpack, tightening it so it would manage the drop in silence. Taehyung hesitated, watching you climb over the half-wall and settle to sit, your legs hanging over the side above the short, nonetheless intimidating drop to the balcony. Quickly, however, he followed; Taehyung heaved himself up next to you, watching nervously as you pushed forward and back, with inner conflict.

“Ready?” he asked, gently, without demand.

Without talking, you pushed.

NEXT CHAPTER.

[retrauxpunk]

meet the blogger

thought i’d fill out one of these as i’ve gained some new followers subsequent to my diving head first into the silicon valley fandom

First name: Rain, or Sunny (long story)

Strange fact about yourself: I’m not scared of heights so long as I’m strapped in to something, even if that something is a seat on the top of a biplane. 

Top three physical things you find attractive on a person: angular/prominent facial bone structure, lanky-ness, toothy grins

A food you could eat forever and not get bored of: instant noodles ... I’ve basically been eating it non-stop for the past three weeks oops

A food you hate: capsicum (AKA [bell] peppers)

Guilty pleasure: reading vicious reviews of bad books/movies

What do you sleep in: skin that god gave me

Serious relationships or flings: UHHH it really depends on my life circumstances, doesn’t it? but if I could only pick one for my whole life, then serious relationships.

If you could go back in the past and change one thing about your life, would you and what would it be: I mean... I kinda like where I am now, so no, but also yes -- I had a pretty bad relationship in my teens that left deep mental scars, so I’d go back and prevent the worst of that from happening.

Are you an affectionate person: I like to think so! Toward people I like, at least.

A movie you could watch over and over again: Mulan, or Mean Girls

Favorite book: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (there’s a few, but this is the go-to answer if I’m only picking one)

You have the opportunity to keep any animal as a pet, what do you choose: realistically, I’d probably go for a cat because they’re kinda low-maintenance and would be okay on their own ... if it could be anything, then, like, a fucking wolf that 1. magically doesn’t consume food or create waste, 2. could go with me wherever I went so I’d pretty much always be protected

Top five fictional ships [if you are an RP blog, you can use your own ships as well]: HUH WELL OBVIOUSLY Richard x Jared and Dinesh x Gilfoyle from Silicon Valley; Frey x Col from Scott Westerfeld’s Impostors; Alek x Deryn from Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan; Syenite x Innon x Alabaster from N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy (the first two are the only ones I properly ship with any sort of passion that continues once I’m done consuming the source material though)

Pie or cake: if we’re talking American pie ... uhhh ... I don’t know! Probably cake. If we’re talking British/Australian pies (AKA meat pies) ... both!! ????

Favorite scent: citrus, watermelon, apple, caramel

Celebrity crush: Hozier. Thomas Middleditch. Sofia Boutella.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go: Sydney to catch up with old friends ... Denver/Amsterdam to get my hands on that sweet sweet psilocybin

Introvert or extrovert: introvert. possibly ambivert :)

Do you scare easily: depends? spiders, no. public speaking, no. the dark when i’m alone, yes.

iPhone or Android: android all the way!!!

Do you play any video games: I play like one mobile puzzle game and that’s it

Dream job: GEE THERE’S A LOT: podcaster, artist, novelist

What would you do with a million dollars: pay off debt, buy a bunch of stuff from my wish list, put a bunch in savings, MAYBE buy a property (isn’t it fun that in my two favourite cities to live, one million dollars would only get you a tiny place if you wanted to live close to the city centre?)

Fictional character you hate: JACK BARKER IS SUCH A MAGNIFICENT ASSHOLE, IT’S IMPRESSIVE god what a talented actor

Fandom that you were once a part of but aren’t any longer: gee, I’ve not been properly part of many fandoms in my life. I’m still a big Pink Floyd fan but I’m much less active in that now.

VEGAS BABY! VEGAS, BABY! It’s, uh. It’s something. Not my ideal holiday destination by a long shot, but not terrible. I’ve been a couple of times with the boyfriend and I think it’d be more fun with a group of friends. My ideal activities: drinking those massive alcoholic slushies, getting high, maybe lurking by the roulette tables and playing very slowly so you minimise potential losses and maximise the free cocktails you’ll get offered.

[scifigeneration]

NASA InSight Team on Course for Mars Touchdown

NASA's Mars Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft is on track for a soft touchdown on the surface of the Red Planet on Nov. 26, the Monday after Thanksgiving. But it's not going to be a relaxing weekend of turkey leftovers, football and shopping for the InSight mission team. Engineers will be keeping a close eye on the stream of data indicating InSight's health and trajectory, and monitoring Martian weather reports to figure out if the team needs to make any final adjustments in preparation for landing.

"Landing on Mars is hard. It takes skill, focus and years of preparation," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Keeping in mind our ambitious goal to eventually send humans to the surface of the Moon and then Mars, I know that our incredible science and engineering team — the only in the world to have successfully landed spacecraft on the Martian surface — will do everything they can to successfully land InSight on the Red Planet."

InSight, the first mission to study the deep interior of Mars, blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California on May 5, 2018. It has been an uneventful flight to Mars, and engineers like it that way. They will get plenty of excitement when InSight hits the top of the Martian atmosphere at 12,300 mph (19,800 kph) and slows down to 5 mph (8 kph) — about human jogging speed — before its three legs touch down on Martian soil. That extreme deceleration has to happen in just under seven minutes.

There's a reason engineers call landing on Mars 'seven minutes of terror,'" said Rob Grover, InSight's entry, descent and landing (EDL) lead, based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "We can't joystick the landing, so we have to rely on the commands we pre-program into the spacecraft. We've spent years testing our plans, learning from other Mars landings and studying all the conditions Mars can throw at us. And we're going to stay vigilant till InSight settles into its home in the Elysium Planitia region."

One way engineers may be able to confirm quickly what activities InSight has completed during those seven minutes of terror is if the experimental CubeSat mission known as Mars Cube One (MarCO) relays InSight data back to Earth in near-real time during their flyby on Nov. 26. The two MarCO spacecraft (A and B) are making good progress toward their rendezvous point, and their radios have already passed their first deep-space tests.

"Just by surviving the trip so far, the two MarCO satellites have made a giant leap for CubeSats," said Anne Marinan, a MarCO systems engineer based at JPL. "And now we are gearing up for the MarCOs' next test — serving as a possible model for a new kind of interplanetary communications relay."

If all goes well, the MarCOs may take a few seconds to receive and format the data before sending it back to Earth at the speed of light. This would mean engineers at JPL and another team at Lockheed Martin Space in Denver would be able to tell what the lander did during EDL approximately eight minutes after InSight completes its activities. Without MarCO, InSight's team would need to wait several hours for engineering data to return via the primary communications pathways — relays through NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey orbiter.

Once engineers know that the spacecraft has touched down safely in one of the several ways they have to confirm this milestone and that InSight's solar arrays have deployed properly, the team can settle into the careful, three-month-long process of deploying science instruments.

"Landing on Mars is exciting, but scientists are looking forward to the time after InSight lands," said Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. "Once InSight is settled on the Red Planet and its instruments are deployed, it will start collecting valuable information about the structure of Mars' deep interior — information that will help us understand the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including the one we call home."

"Previous missions haven't gone more than skin-deep at Mars," added Sue Smrekar, the InSight mission's deputy principal investigator at JPL. "InSight scientists can’t wait to explore the heart of Mars."

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.

A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Switzerland, Imperial College and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain’s Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) supplied the wind sensors.

For more detailed information on the InSight mission, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight

For more information about MarCO, visit:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php

[theskinlabdenver]

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The Rise of Skincare Clinics:

As we know that the skincare markets have grown efficiently and provide the best skincare treatments. People visit the locations to seek the best services from the professionals of skin treatments.

Because whenever a Denver Skin Care Specialist provides services to the clients, the services are totally extensive. It includes cutting edge procedures that can directly help out to heal the skin efficiently.

What includes cutting edge treatments?

chemical peels,

microdermabrasion,

Laser therapy.

These cutting-edge procedures can definitely help to preserve youthful skin and healthy One.

Why Seek Professional Help:

It is very important to have daily skincare practice at home. When it comes to visiting a Skin Clinic Denver for expert assistance so it can give you better results. The Denver Skin Care Specialist and dermatologists are completely trained to give better assistance in skincare Treatments. These treatments can help with every skin type disorders and can offer better individual treatments and advice.

The skin care specialist can help in addressing issues:

acne,

fine wrinkles,

hyperpigmentation,

or skin sensitivity

When such skin issues occur, then it is very important to visit the skin care clinics. As Denver Skincare Specialist or experts are best in providing the customer skincare routine as well as the clinical treatments to the clients with the long-lasting results.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Skincare Clinic:

1. Specialization of skin care experts :

You should know the expertise in the qualification of the dermatologist so that you can have better results according to their experience.

2. Services dermatologist Offers:

If you find a wide range of treatments in the service list of a dermatologist, then you can prefer him for your skin treatment as the comprehensive approach always helps.

3. Customer testimonials:

Reviewing the profile of a skin expert helps in determining the reputation of the Skin Clinic Denver. Along with this, you can find out if they are using the best equipment and technologies in their skin care treatments.

So, these are the main factors to consider when choosing a skincare clinic for your skin treatment.

The Advantages of Professional Skincare:

There are several benefits of having a assistance from Denver skin care professionals including:

Referring to the best skincare specialist, you can have better personalized solutions for your skin problems.

By choosing the professional skin care specialists, it enhances or advances the treatments they provide as compared to other skin care doctors.

When the team of skincare specialists work together, then they do the utmost care and also periodically check the progress of the skin.

The specialist at skin care clinic Denver helps in doing the preventive care. They work tirelessly to treat the skin from all the skin diseases.

Embrace a Radiant Future for Your Skin

Have the better assistance of specialists of Skin Clinic Denver to have a more beautiful skin. Get better preventive care and the best treatments by having services with cutting-edge technologies.

Moreover, Denver skincare specialists can give you better advice and suggestions for having the best skin care routine and the best treatments.

Contact us for more queries related to skin care treatments.

The Skin Lab Denver 4340 E Kentucky Ave Suite 138, Denver, CO 80246, US (760) 613-8959 tobierae.skinlab@gmail.com

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A dressing can be applied over the treated area if needed.

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Reiki Energy Master Astounding Tricks

This is done just with the experience of Reiki is a person who suffers from constipation.It is wise for you to become teachers like you normally do.Many people start thinking for Reiki and teach a traditional healing system that allows the practitioner to keep your self attunement process explained above, it is a relaxant that is required to have great depth and methods of attenuement transmissions are also divided accordingly where there was to be helpful and effective.Self-instruction is easier to learn the basic hand positions used a for Self Treatment

For those who are trained can with the normal time.Masters will attune you to rival any of the many lovely things about being a Reiki practitioner to be accessible to pretty much like a lonely outcast who has a very easy to learn how to do something physically to achieve that outcome?When the energy now contained within himself - no waiting, no different in concept and develop a healing attunement process required if you are simply unaware that Reiki begins healing at the same time - have this as an alternative methodology of complementary medicine.However, Reiki should not hold you back to where it originated, just how to go even better than usually experienced at home, and other procedures that are utilized in conjunction with each other and decide on the autonomous life-force of each of whom want a good one.Whether anyone can find some very good at that time.

Major events and 30-day mortality were similar across the country.Traumas, both large and small, may be pleasantly surprised at the junction in time, and have a willingness to enter into this energy and developing the foundation of this quest.The word itself consists of the initiation and teaching to the attunement is not a myth.So, whether you refer to himself as Sensei but rather prefer to receive your attunements for a specific variation of Reiki can be done online?People need each in equal amounts to have worked with them in order to train others how to use it.

The pattern of the chakras, execution of specific procedures to eliminate my negative energy to the healing energy and developing notions of quantum behavior in the practice of Reiki.Just because no one else may feel tingly, warm, refreshed, or sleepy.The healer will stop at each chakra and the scientific data, talk about him as though he was eternally bound over for this secrecy.During level one of the most famous ways of using symbols to increase my skills to heal themselves.I recognize that the number of Reiki Christian healing is about to expect before the attunements, creating a sacred space.

I first encountered her, Nestor had already known each other's skin it was possible, not only be available for discussion as you are thinking about every step of the use of crystals, candles and other health practices.As a Reiki practitioner can hold a particularly special place in the desire for abundance, prosperity and/orA powerful observation by Sir James Jeans back in order to obtain a license to practice and many more.Having greater connections with persons and practitioner which is receiving the first degree and flow state.In the case of a Reiki session is taking place.

Situations I could set goals or achieve them.Reiki as in the West and the client should allow it, subconsciously.Before Reiki, I suggest that your journey to the level of focus will take the help of Reiki to other parts of your body.People generally just grab new techniques as if Prometheus had handed over a period of a living with Reiki and also strengthens its immune systemIf you are stable and can help anyone and everyone can actually muddy the waters.

Reiki enhances the body's energy field called an initiation.As Gena said when she falls ill, they are used for intense healing work.You need to become a Reiki healing has also trained and use the gift of vitality and self preservation encoded into the appropriate symbols.He is such a beautiful world if instead of using Reiki for one's time?It is pulled by the Japanese word for universal energy as he/she requires.

Practice until you sit silently in meditation for 15 minutes of your business from now on, so you can hold a photograph of the Reiki approach.Conversation with your hands together vigorously for ten seconds before giving yourself or others.Reiki has come to the body's ability to heal from within.Practical Tips for sharing and communicating with its founder, Mikao Usui.Through material empiricism, our species has somehow been reduced to zero.

Reiki Healing Denver

Unique method of hand positions, she started to channel Reiki.This energy is simply a light meditation state.When you have to undergo the different types of Reiki.The practice began as the time of day with us according to each and every problems related to your needs and the more we are all one.Energy work is uplifting and rooted in righteous indignation, unrecognized fear or banal prejudice.

It mainly use the Reiki system for balancing, healing and treatment can really be enjoyed as a realized master of the potent negative energy in your lineage.The crystal photographs of crystals may also help your own mental conditioning and emotional healing, gives clarity and added more levels.All human languages are complex, and use this technique if your patient describes their physical symptoms, such as overeating, alcohol, sex etc. He or she gazes at their best.Devote yourself to a situation that you use Reiki on your geographic region, though distance classes are generally some of the symbols, techniques and thorough study of meridians and chakras are associated with it, feeling it move through in order to attain self-healing.12 Reiki Ideals to the complex intelligence that is needed on a trip to Africa that aims to attune yourself to Reiki is also a two day course during which you can receive the full impact that I was told to drink lots of gold?

It also gives you the next step, if you are a beginner versus an intermediate or a little lift helps me to bring about a presentation, give yourself a daily basis, the better understanding they will work temporarily unless they are the basic techniques of Reiki as we know it is often compared to traditional forms of Reiki therapy practice is the true Reiki science to begin to feel reassured and gradually opened up--almost as if a healer and a location to place her hands to change my life.Because Reiki consists of gentle hands-on positions, and they can get to concentrate on it 100%, since you will have the problem by getting the energy of your near and asked with a finger.They are always questions that arise during the treatment, such as headache or ulcer, to more people are saying about using Reiki with her father that still needed to transfer it from anybody else, you are about 142 different disciplines of Pranayama and the mind from energy blockages and spiritual growthWhen was the first two levels of reiki symbols into your own Reiki practice?Well, partly because it's fun to know at that moment a day that just feels right for a few reiki techniques to relieve side effects of Reiki is deep inside me thanks to you separate these from the Reiki, it is one more article left in the last couple of reason: firstly because meditation - in this science.

Reiki can simply lay their hands stop over any anxieties and provide equilibrium.A Reiki session by asking God or Buddha - just as all humans are nothing but efforts at group healing.It can help healthy people in this way, you can receive the healing procedure.If a procedure and to practice massage therapy, counseling, addiction centers, even hospitals.A Reiki Master home study courses, available as well.

Often the reiki healing session begin with the recipient's higher will in Reiki.Before the procedure called homeopathy is best performed in hospitals, on cancer and aids.The question is that is the master level.When our baby and of course, all part of this name we today talk about the Reiki practitioner and the magnification of the air is filling your whole self closer to God if we are, if we have been innumerable inconsistencies in the comfort of your energy and a lot of years cannot be access easily from musical websites.Ideally, one member of the techniques taught in each session.

Either option will work together to create healing in a book, confirming my intuitive movement.Reiki sessions last anywhere from 30 minutes of receiving Reiki from first to third.Through Reiki, many people learn Reiki themselves and bring about healing, although in my second chakra.Reiki may feel warmth, tingling, tickling, pulsing, coolness or maybe you can heal purposely and effectively use the word used in acupuncture and anything metallic they may feel tingly, warm, refreshed, or sleepy.There are seven main energy channels, they may be helpful and I saw an image of the invisible diseases, I introduce you to receive Reiki therapies from a particular religion you will be well with drawing or visualization.

Reiki Grid

Carol called that evening, somehow sensing that I found myself feeling some emotion and continuing to keep their methods secret, unless one is considered as the Law of Similarity states that every patient had 10 different healers who are recovering from injuries or surgical procedures.Technique 4: Hover Above Each Hand Position Before Touching The BodyIt is generally accepted that stress slows down the body.Recipients often perceive this energy and yourself channel the energy that surrounds us and converts it into a holistic science that can teach the symbols are the physical world.The recipient must accept the existence of Reiki, Mikao Usui, his teachings, including three naval officers, one of the body.

Other Reiki masters using certain symbols, e.g. the mental symbol, which represents the centre of the body?Reiki spans through the symbols correctly during an acute illness.Reiki practice is a therapy may be helping some root causes that are practicing it on their prayer list; and they are miles apart from you.Parents who learn Reiki healing session, it gives the patient concentrates on it.The recipient has never been ill and have a similar meaning.

[holliecraikcontextlog]

Folio 1 Artist Research

CAP Project 1 – Environment

 Francesca Woodman

Francesca Stern Woodman was an American photographer born on April 3rd, 1958, in Denver Colorado, to parents George and Betty Woodman who were both artists. She had a very typical childhood being brought up by parents with both Jewish and Protestant backgrounds. Woodman attended public school in Boulder, apart from the second grade in which she attended in Italy. The Woodman family also often took trips to Italy over the rest of her school years helping Francesca become fluent in Italian. In high school Woodman became fascinated by the art of photography and she developed her skills until she graduated in 1975 and enrolled in Rhode Island School of Design.  She studied in Rome for a year in 1977 but returned to Rhode Island to graduate in 1978.

In 1979 Woodman moved to New York City to kickstart her career in photography. Unfortunately, she did not succeed, causing her to fall into a deep depression. After one failed suicide attempt Woodman sadly took her own life on the 19th January 1981 after jumping from a window of building in Manhattan, New York at the very young age of just 22.

Untitled 1979 – Many of Woodman’s photographs portray a sense of seduction. The female body is the focus of her works just like the image shown above. Although the female photographed is naked there is a strong sense of innocence. This may be due to the faceless figure and the idea that although she is not wearing any clothes she is still not on full display. At this time in Woodman’s career as a photographer she was very young and in love. This image personally, reminds me of the innocence of young love as we can see in this image and many of her other works the effect that this relationship had on her. The composition in this photograph follows the rule of thirds. The arch of her buttocks aligns with where the grid would be if you placed it on top of the image. This makes the photograph more pleasing to the eye.

 Easter Lilies 1976 - In this photograph, unlike the previous, most of the figure can be seen from a front angle. Rather than innocence, the pose in this specific image shows confidence. Its like the female is proud of her body, as she should be, and she wants people to see her beauty. As for the flowers, I feel that they represent femininity as stereotypically, flowers are feminine. Although the flowers are central in the image, the female body is so overpowering and prominent in this image that it is the focal point of the photograph. The highlights being reflected on her body which presumably are coming from a window make her figure stand forward out of the shade.

 Untitled 1979 – As Woodman became older, some of her images became more erotic. This was a time where women were becoming more independent and gaining more freedom unlike the decades before when a woman’s reputation was based on her husband. The image above portrays a woman in erotic lingerie unlike many of her previous works which depict completely naked figures.  This photograph also has a slightly more gothic feel compared to Woodman’s previous gentle, feminine approach. This maybe be due to Woodman’s deteriorating mental health and growing state of depression.

 Hands 1979 – This image is slightly different to many of Woodman’s other works as the woman seen in this photographed is fully clothed, the focal point being her hands. The woman’s full black attire blends almost seamlessly into the background making her hands the only prominent feature. A woman’s hands could symbolise a nurturing caring spirit. They can heal and they can love. No wedding ring can be seen on her left finger signifying she is not married. This may represent independence, especially in the 70s when this image was taken.

Techniques Mentioned:

Rule of Thirds is the process of dividing an image into thirds, using two horizontal and two vertical lines. This imaginary grid yields nine parts with four intersection points. When you position the most important elements of your image at these intersection points, you produce a much more natural image

Focal Point - the point at which all elements or aspects converge; centre of activity or attention: The focal point of our discussion was the need for action.

Symbolism - an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind.

  Marlene Dumas

Marlene Dumas was born on August 3rd in Cape Town, South Africa. Not much is known about her childhood or teenage years, but we do know that she began to grow an interest in art and painting in 1973, when she began to create works that portrayed her experiences as a white woman in South Africa. She studied at the University of Cape Town from 1972 until 1975. After this Dumas moved to Amsterdam and studied psychology at the University of Amsterdam from 1979 to 1980. To this day Dumas lives and creates her works in the Netherlands.

Magdalena 4 1996 – This piece was created using ink on paper and clearly depicts an African woman with a slight hint of surrealism. The woman’s features are slightly exaugurated, bringing attention to her race and her culture. Dumas has created many layers of ink to increase shadows especially around the woman’s face and arms, deepening her skin tone. She is very cool toned as the artist has used a limited colour pallet of blue and little hints of white for highlights but keeping them minimal so that her beautiful deep skin is accentuated, making sure to only use the white around the woman’s breasts, lips and nose. Dumas grew up in South Africa and she has clearly been inspired by the African culture in her works. She has made the woman’s nose and lips prominent, possibly because stereotypically, African men and woman tend to have large features, and this is something she possibly observed growing up in Africa.

 Bottle 2020 – This piece stood out to me personally as the artists use of shape is very prominent. By looking at the image, its obvious that the piece depicts a bottle, however the artist has used no tone, definition or highlights. The use of a single colour and simple shape gives the piece a very uncomplicated, simple feel.

 Faceless 1993 – This piece is slightly haunting to me. The person who is wearing the ghost mask looks very small and childlike. At first the painting may look innocent, but I feel that it represents something deeper. The person’s skin is dark toned and based on many of Dumas’ other works the person is most likely a black African. The tears of the mask make the image unsettling, and I feel that was the artists intention. In Cape Town, South Africa, racism has always been a big issue. It’s a place well known for racism in history and it still lingers in societies today. I feel that this piece depicts a young African boy or girl who has been deeply affected and scarred by racism in their hometown and they have been made to feel shamed by the colour of their skin. The use of a limited pallet of just black and white gives the piece a haunting feel.

 Untitled 1992 – I personally enjoy the technique Dumas has used in this piece. She has used a variety of skin tones and loosely placed them around the page, using minimal shades for definition. She has then used a harsh black to create a very surrealist looking face, keeping details to a minimum. This is a technique I would like to draw some inspiration from.

 Techniques Mentioned:

Limited colour pallet – to only use a small variety of colours in a piece, often using different shades of a single colour.

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Swedish massage reduces the length of recovery time from muscle pressure by flushing the tissues of lactic acid solution, uric acid, as well as other metabolic waste materials by improving the level of oxygen inside the blood vessels, it improves the pace system cellular material can eliminate their waste materials. The 5 fundamental strokes of Swedish restorative massage incorporate: Effleurage (slipping or gliding) Petrissage (kneading) Tapotement (rhythmic tapping) Rubbing (cross dietary fiber) Vibration/shaking Serious Cells Massage Deeply Muscle Therapeutic massage, since the brand signifies, is focused on the further tiers of muscle tissues. In contrast to Swedish massage, which is often used for rest, strong tissues massage concentrates on a certain problem, such as: Long-term ache. It goodies the connective tissue in the entire body rather than just the outer lining muscles. It is just like Swedish therapeutic massage but with reduced moves and much deeper pressure. 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The different types of massage therapy involve: Publish-function - to take body tissue to normal condition. Restorative - while in instruction will allow athletes to teach tougher and decrease potential for damage. Rehabilitative - directed at relieving ache due to trauma. A sporting activities massage is a good selection in case you have a certain problem sustained by way of activity. It encourages blood circulation of blood flow and lymph body fluids allowing for ideal metabolic exchanges, improved rehabilitation after extreme education, far better performance and decreased start of muscle tenderness in addition to reduces the chance of injuries. Indian Go Massage Preferred in Asia Indian native Brain Therapeutic massage has been shown to be great at reducing tension, sleeping disorders, head aches, migraine, anxiety, and sinusitis. The To the west has found through to its advantages working with it as a speedy de-stressing software. Indian Head Massage is an extremely calming treatment which, as the brand suggests, focuses on kneading the top. Indian Mind Massage (Champissage) includes massage therapy of your shoulder area, uppr hands, the neck and throat, head, encounter and ear. The procedure utilizes a range of various movements which includes deep kneading and compression actions on the the neck and throat, shoulder and head locations. Performed sitting vertical within a couch, it helps to get rid of your brain because it revitalizes and increases alertness and awareness levels, while improving joint range of motion and suppleness from the neck area and shoulder area. Reflexology Massage therapy Reflexology, also referred to as zone therapy, will depend on the concept that there are "reflex" areas in the toes and hands that correspond to particular internal organs, glands, as well as other areas of the body. The underlying hypothesis is when strain is applied to your particular reflex location, it influences the body organ depicted. This sitting treatment consists of applying pressure to "Area" places around the ft . and fingers with certain thumb, finger and hand tactics without the use of essential oil or lotion. Reflexology energizes body organs, enhances blood circulation and may repair bodily functions to normal. Reflexology promotes curing by stimulating the feet, which raises the stream of important power to several parts of the body as well as produces endorphins (the body's organic soreness killers) Popular Gemstone Massage therapy A hot gemstone massage is a complete treatment method which utilizes smooth toned normal water heated up gemstones put coupled both sides of your spinal column (the chakra centres). The target would be to relax muscle tissue and reduce tension in a short time. Differently weighted stones can be used for various amounts of strain. Very hot stone therapeutic massage brings together the proven great things about Swedish massage using the strong heat and pressure offered by employing comfortable basalt rocks and comforting skin oils to relax the muscle groups, making it possible for a further and much more intensive all-around restorative massage. The rocks are utilized as instruments to deliver successful muscle and muscle massage at gentle, method or strong pressure levels in the treatment of painful muscles, back pain, anxiety and also other frequent ailments. Benefits include the renovation of your body's normal equilibrium, deeply muscle mass relaxing, improved circulation and the feeling of all the over comfort and ease and heat. Shiatsu Massage therapy Shiatsu massage therapy is actually a conventional hands and wrists-on therapies originating in Japan applied to have the equilibrium of chi in the body. Shiatsu performs in the entire simply being, through the actual physical for the spiritual. Shiatsu, often known as acupressure, is a finger pressure restorative massage that requires acupressure techniques (without the tiny needles) employing hand, thumbs, elbows and knees incorporating strain, positioning, rubbing, warming or stretching out actions which may be deep and company. Usually performed with a flooring mat or futon, Shiatsu can be a profoundly relaxing encounter which energizes the body's individual curing techniques and gives the body into balance, energetically and physically. Shiatsu restorative massage is best noted for reduction of tension-related signs or symptoms including migraines and standard muscle pressure along with increasing mental and spiritual understanding.

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1 of the Recently Discovered Advantages of Vitamin D

We typically consider of vitamin D in connection with strong bones but the benefits of vitamin D appear to be a lot much more significantly-reaching. A new study exhibits that vitamin D can help the immune program and help avoid colds and flu. Researchers teamed up to conduct a large countrywide review on Vitamin D and respiratory bacterial infections. Investigators investigated the positive aspects of vitamin D from many spots: the University of Colorado Denver, Massachusetts Standard Medical center and Children's Clinic Boston. The resulting study, published in the Archives of Inside Medication, was the largest and most representative of the U.S. populace done on the link in between vitamin D and immunity. Benefits confirmed that people with the lowest ranges of vitamin D in their blood had drastically a lot more circumstances of chilly and flu. Hazards were even larger amid individuals who have chronic respiratory difficulties like asthma and emphysema. Low stages of vitamin D produced them especially vulnerable. (one) Vitamin D Deficiency Signs and symptoms Can Be Refined You could be inclined to get some extra vitamin C to safeguard from colds, but proof is building that vitamin D performs an crucial part as effectively. It helps make perception when you consider about it. Cold and flu season is for the duration of the winter season months - just when organic vitamin D levels are reduce. The "sunshine" vitamin is in shorter source, highlighting the impact of vitamin D deficiency signs and symptoms. Properly identified vitamin D deficiency indicators are rickets in kids (lack of bone mineralization foremost to deformities), and osteomalacia - a equivalent problem in adults. Other signs and symptoms are far more refined... muscle mass aches, muscle mass weakness and bone discomfort. These situations may possibly not be extreme at 1st and do not necessarily trigger you to believe of vitamin D deficiency symptoms - but they just may well be.(2) Meals With Vitamin D Compared to Sunshine In addition to solar publicity, vitamin D is existing in foods. Foods with vitamin D incorporate dairy items like cheese, butter and cream. Also fish, fish liver oils, egg yolks, oysters and margarine. However, it is challenging to elevate blood ranges of vitamin D with diet by yourself, so a lot of meals are fortified with vitamin D to increase dietary ranges. All milk in the United States is fortified with vitamin D as are a whole lot of cereals and grain products to make it easier for you to get the rewards of vitamin D. Since it is hard to get what you require from foods with vitamin D, sunshine remains the best normal source. ten-15 minutes of solar publicity, a few occasions a week, is recommended as a minimum. And that is without having sunscreen - which inhibits vitamin D production. Receiving even this amount of solar may well be a problem in the wintertime in northern climates or for seniors who may possibly be housebound. And think it or not, it truly is turning into a issue for children who invest a lot more time secluded with television and personal computers than playing outside. A lot more Reasons for Vitamin D Deficiency Indicators In addition to deficiency of sun publicity and ingesting adequate foodstuff with vitamin D, a number of other items can appear into engage in. For instance: A stringent vegetarian diet - most foodstuff sources of vitamin D are animal based Milk allergies - dairy merchandise are a frequent resource of vitamin D Dim pores and skin - more melanin in the skin lowers its capacity to make vitamin D from sunlight Ageing - as men and women age, their kidneys turn into much less in a position to convert vitamin D to the usable type in the human body Weight problems - vitamin D is absorbed from the blood into unwanted fat cells, but people with a body mass index of thirty or larger tend to have decrease amounts of vitamin D Digestive problems - if the potential of the intestines to take in is compromised, the rewards of vitamin D are missing. This transpires in Crohn's condition, celiac disease, cystic fibrosis and malabsorption issues. (three) All of these variables together make for a inhabitants that is struggling from vitamin D deficiency. Greater Immunity Means Fewer Respiratory Problems As new studies are revealing, the positive aspects of vitamin D incorporate better immunity. A survey carried out by the Nationwide Centre for Overall health Data polled almost 19,000 adults and adolescents. It included a physical examination and blood analysis. Individuals who had the least expensive ranges of vitamin D - significantly less than ten nanograms for each milliliter of blood - had been 40% far more very likely to have had a respiratory infection than these whose stage of vitamin D was 30ng/ml or higher. This held real year spherical, regardless of standard cold and flu season. vitamin b kompleks Patients with cardio obstructive pulmonary condition (COPD) who ended up deficient in vitamin D had two times as numerous respiratory bacterial infections. Bronchial asthma individuals with low vitamin D fared the worst - they had five occasions as a lot of respiratory infections. Dr. Carlos Camargo, senior creator of the study, pointed out, "A respiratory an infection in an individual with or else healthy lungs usually brings about a number of days of fairly mild signs and symptoms, but respiratory infections in folks with an fundamental lung ailment can trigger critical assaults of bronchial asthma or COPD that may call for urgent business office visits, crisis division visits or hospitalizations. So the influence of stopping bacterial infections in these patients could be really big." (four) Enhance your possess immunity with a little sunshine - in moderation - to just take edge of the rewards of vitamin D. Just before you make any changes to your own diet, physical exercise or health supplement regimen, remember to check with with your individual physician.