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slashscowboyboots · 4 years ago

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The Stars Are a Part of Us: Different Speeds (Part 4)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Tag list @izzysdenimjacket @warrendemachokeme @awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands @smokeandmirrorz @sodalitefully @roger-taylors-car @lost-in-the-80s @whisperess33 @shawolat @80snikki @rumoured-whispers

Warnings: Underage sex, drug use, drinking, implied violence. 18+ ONLY

Notes: Track #2 is by the sadly underrated Cowboy Junkies. It was released in '93, and I wondered if I should include in a fic set in 1987, but then I realized this is fiction and there's no rules! Yayyy! It's such a killer song I had to add it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajtnaiLaJNQ

Checkout was at the ungodly hour of 11, and of course none of the band was anywhere to be found, just Karen perched on a chair in the lobby, still reading her book. Love’s Surrender was the title of it, and Izzy snorted through his nose. Surrendering was probably the last thing this uptight broad ever did.

“Fun night?” she asked, her eyes not leaving her page.

He shrugged. “‘S’all right.”

She lowered her book. “Heard you met Kasey.”

Izzy blinked. “Uh, um, yeah.”

She rolled her eyes, exasperation pulling down her mouth. “Oh, of course you don’t know her name,” she snapped.

“She didn’t know mine either,” he retorted. “She thought I was Axl.”

Karen sighed. “She blew him too.”

“Huh. I thought he was with Velvet.”

Her eyes met his. “Velvet insisted on it.”

Izzy furrowed his eyebrows.

“Hazing ritual. She made Kasey suck him off in front of everyone, then he announced that Velvet was better at it. Velvet always does the local talent dirty.”

Izzy closed his eyes. “Fuck,” he breathed, “you bitches don’t take any prisoners.”

She gave him a hard look. “You’re the wildest band in LA. Did you expect angelic whores?”

Izzy frowned, then said, “You’re not just here because of us, are you? You protect her from the other girls too.”

“No. She’s everyone’s little sister, although I’d kill one of them for doing something to her.” She narrowed her eyes at him again. “I’m here because I think I need to be. Cause if I didn’t, I’d be sitting this shindig out. This is definitely my last rodeo.”

“This is your third tour, isn’t it? You were with Def Leppard too.”

Her eyes widened, and Izzy nearly licked his lips in glee. “Steve is Steve Clark. I found out some dirt about you,” he smirked.

“Choose your next words very carefully,” she said in a low voice.

“You were a groupie. Were you running naked through the hallways too?”

She stiffened, eyes widening and her face going pale, and for a second Izzy thought she was going to slap his face. “No, I was trying to keep him from killing himself, you fucking asshole,” she gritted, then slumped down. “I thought a blow job would put you in a better mood. Guess you’re just a dick 24/7.”

“Sissy!” Celestia cried, flopping down on Karen’s lap.

“Hi, Sis. You and your beau doing all right?”

“Yeah,” Celestia answered, centering herself on Karen’s legs. She was taller than Karen, and was nearly crushing her. “Did I tell you he has an anaconda?”

Karen made a face. “Celestia, I don’t need to hear about that.”

Celestia giggled. “No, he has a snake! His name is Clyde. He has some bearded dragons too.”

Karen shifted in her chair. “That’s lovely, Sis. Who’s taking care of them?”

Celestia hung onto Karen’s shoulders. “Uh, he says someone named Yvonne.”

Karen took a deep breath. “Is that his girlfriend?” she asked gently.

“His ex.”

“Uh huh. And she still has custody of his pets?”

Celestia nodded.

“Then she’s not an ex. An ex would’ve poisoned them.”

“You think he still has a girlfriend?” Celestia gasped.

Karen shot another look at Izzy. “I think they all do. Probably a few kids they don’t know about too.”

Celestia leaped off Karen’s lap. “Omigosh! Slaa-ash! Do you have any kids?”

Slash took a sip from a styrofoam cup and pulled his top hat down over his eyes. “I don’t think so,” he muttered, throwing an arm around Celestia.

Izzy shook his head. “You have a really cynical view of the world, don’t you?”

Karen snorted. “I’m never wrong.”

Izzy took a drag from a cigarette. “Actually, you are.”

“Is he still seeing Yvonne?”

“Hell if I know. But I don’t have a girlfriend. Mine got married. And not to me.”

Karen looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. You write a song about a woman, and she dumps yer ass when you’re drying out.”

“Was it ‘Sweet Child of Mine?’”

He shook his head. “I co-wrote the music on that, but no. I wrote ‘Patience’ for her.”

Karen’s eyes widened in amazement. “You wrote ‘Patience?’”

He stood up and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “Yeah. And you’re wrong about something else too. I’m not a dick 24/7, although you’ll never find that out.”

Izzy leaned over his seat on the bus and looked down at Karen, still engrossed in her book.

“What do you do for fun on the road?” he asked her.

She didn’t look up. “I’m having a love affair with my vibrator.”

“Oh, ha ha, smartass.”

She turned a page. “You think I’m joking. It’s Japanese and has different speeds. I’ll never need a man again.”

Izzy didn’t say anything, but he could feel his eyes getting bigger. Guess you’re not the prude I thought you were.

“Wow, that shut you up,” she chuckled, looking up at him. “Are you bored on the road already?”

He nodded. “I don’t get fucked up anymore, and that took up a lot of time, y’know. I’m not scoring or getting drunk and now I have just…...time.”

“Yeah. Well, I like to read, and being with my sisters. Sometimes, I like to see the towns we’re in, get out of the hotel a little. I like shooting pool. I really like karaoke but I doubt if they have a lot of that here. I’ve seen your itinerary and it wasn’t promising, they’ve got you out in Bumfuck most of the time.” She knitted her eyebrows. “You’re a guitarist, why don’t you play guitar?”

“That’s what I did last night. I don’t know if I can do that every night.”

She cleared her throat. “I’m sure there’s a Kasey in every town. I doubt you’ll be bored for long.”

He shrugged. “That does it for you? Reading all the time?”

She looked up at him. “I rather enjoy being bored. There were many times I was on the verge of a heart attack, and I longed to be bored.”

“Steve kept you hopping, huh?”

She held his eyes for a long time, furious, then dropped her head. “Yeah, he did.” She looked up. “Is that what you want, me to talk about him? Fine. I was in love, he wasn’t, end of story.”

He saw the pain etched in her face, and he let it drop. He lit a cigarette and asked, “You’ve seen our itinerary?”

“Yeah. The record company doesn't have a lot of faith in you, do they?”

He shook his head. “They think we’ll be dead by the end of this week.”

“Those seem like good odds. Where’s your record at?”

“At?”

“The top 100.”

“I dunno, 101 I guess.”

“Is it moving up?”

Izzy blinked.

She sighed. “Okay, how big was your record deal?”

“Two hundred fifty grand.”

She sucked air between her teeth. “You know you have to recoup your costs, right? I’m guessing you have a slew of lawyers and a bunch of court fees too.”

Silence.

“Izzy. Have you talked to MTV?”

He shook his head. “They won’t play our video.”

“You made a video? For how much?”

“$75,000. With Nigel Dick.”

“Ooh, you used a name.”

“That’s bad?”

“Yeah, cause he’s the only one who made money from it.” She lit a cigarette. “Izzy, are you aware you guys are broke?”

“We're getting a per diem.”

“You’re in the hole is what you are. Who are you signed with?”

“Uh, Geffen.”

“Huh. So just one man owns your ass.”

“So what you’re saying is that we’re in debt to the record company?”

“Yeah, big time. I mean, Hoss, if your album tanks, you could be sued.”

He exhaled. “How do you know all this?”

“Because I paid attention when the suits showed up. I knew there had to be a reason for a record exec to leave his wife and kids to hump it all the way out to BFE to talk to the band.” She lit another cigarette. “”Pyromania’ started moving up the charts, and the suits came more and more frequently.”

“Def Leppard are millionaires. I mean, their music sucks, but they made a shitload of money off of it.”

“It took them awhile to make it, though. They had to pay back Mercury, plus they used Marilyn Monroe’s image in the ‘Photograph’ video and it cost them a bundle.” She shook her head. “Your attorney fees will keep you in the red for a while. Especially if you keep playing these podunk towns.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.” Karen took a drag. “Well, maybe the record company is looking out for you. They probably figure you can’t kill yourselves out here in the boonies.”

“IZZY!” Steven shrieked, slapping him on the back. “Howya doin’, brother?”

Izzy smiled. “I’m all right, man. How are you?”

Steven was nearly hopping up and down in his dingy white hi tops. “I’m so excited, man, we’ve got a gig tonight. We’re gonna ROCK Canada, aren’t we, Izz?”

“You bet your ass, Stevie.”

“You!” Steven shouted to Karen. “You, what’s your name? Donna?”

“Karen.”

“Yeaah, Karen. You really should fuck Izzy, girl! He’s cool. Like the coolest brother you could ever have.”

Izzy smirked. “She says she doesn’t need a man, she got a device with different speeds.”

Steven looked horrified, then he grinned. “Well, let him use it on you.”

Karen blinked, and Izzy cleared his throat. “Dude, she’s not into that,” he said.

“Too bad. Fuck, that girl I’m with is insane, man. She ate that girl Kasey out last night for like an hour, man. Then they sucked me off at the same time! I’m living the dream, Izz. I don’t want this tour to ever end.” He hugged Izzy, then went back to his seat and snuggled up to a sleeping Absinthe.

Izzy raised an ornery eyebrow at Karen. “So, different speeds, huh?”

“Absolutely not. And you can’t borrow it either.” Her eyes slid to Steven’s seat. “Coke always make him like that?”

“Yeah, he takes a while to come down. He’s pretty hyper to begin with.”

“Well, you should have a high energy set then.”

Izzy rested his arms on the top of the seat. “You’ve seen us play. What do you think?”

Karen fought a smile. “You don’t suck.”

“Says the woman who traveled with Def Leppard.”

She gave him the middle finger. “Keep it up, Hoss, and I’ll ram my Japanese precious where the sun don’t shine.”

Izzy puckered his lips and made obnoxious kissing noises, then said, “Promises, promises,” and flopped down in his seat.

#hello to all 5 of you reading this #i love you more than you will ever know #izzy stradlin x ofc #izzy stradlin fanfiction #guns n roses x ofc #guns n roses fanfic

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imagine-loki · 5 years ago

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Pride and prejudice

TITLE: Pride and Prejudice CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 29 AUTHOR: wolfpawn

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths. RATING: Mature NOTES/WARNINGS: Forced Marriage, not all fun and games. My first real step back into the Loki scene in over a year.

Tags - @skulliebythesea @asimovethroughthisworld @blackcherry26-blog @we-shadowhunter2901

Loki walked into the throne room with purpose. Court was in session for the past hour and he was late but considering his morning, he was surprised he could force himself from the bed at all. When he rushed to his father’s side during an interval, Laufey looked at him curiously. “Apologies, Father, I found myself having to attend to some issues.”

Laufey had not expected to see Loki for the day at all, as Helbindi was utterly inebriated when he had come into his father’s rooms the night before the same time Loki had unintentionally entered Ella’s and informed his father that he and Loki had drunk the late-night hours away. Yet here stood his middle son, looking fresher than a newly blossomed flower in front of him. “I thought I excused you from court for the day to recuperate after the heat of Vanaheim?”

“My good mate ensured that we did not have to endure too badly on Vanaheim.” He smiled to where Ella was now standing in the court.

Laufey looked at Ella who seemed unable to cease smirking. To his side, he noted his son doing the same. Though startled by the situation he was now clearly able to translate from their faces, and wondering how it could have possibly come to pass considering the day before’s revelations, he was elated to see the connection between his son and his mate. “Well, then, you know what to do. You are always fearful you will miss something.” He remarked as he gave the order for another to come forward.

When the issues of the court were discussed and Laufey asked his son to inform all of what had occurred whilst on Vanaheim, Loki spoke, but through the entirety of the rest of the proceedings, his mind was only on one thing, the morning with his mate. He watched her across the hall, paying attention to everything that was occurring and when she noted him looking at her, she gave him warning glances but could not cease to smirk herself.

Laufey was able to see their interactions and could not resist giving his son a raised brow himself. On seeing Loki’s reaction of not being able to hold his gaze, he chuckled to himself. Upon dismissing everyone for the day, Laufey asked Loki to remain behind.

“Yes, Father?” “Arden informed me of Prince Nigel’s attempts to anger and bother you all, congratulations on keeping a calm head and for allowing Prince Thor’s assistance. The marriage to Ella is a strong one and allows such alliances. I also heard of your discussions with the Vanir and Light Elves and of the trade talks you are arranging with them, you are every bit the capable man I knew you to be, my son."

"Thank you, Father." Loki was used to his father's comments on his actions, knowing him to think him capable but considering the sheer magnitude of the situation with foreign realms, it made him all the prouder.

"I understand the situation at present with Byleistr is fraught, his betrayal will not go unpunished by myself and indeed by you as my heir."

"Your support in this is all I could ever ask for. As Ella stated, had there been honesty, had they spoken to me and explained their situation, I would have been hurt but I would have respected it, this I cannot respect, this was lower than low. To lie...Ella put it better than I can."

"And in this, something had changed between you and your mate?" Laufey gently pushed.

Loki found himself smiling again. "Ella is never dishonest with me. She respects me enough to be so and I cannot help but want to return her respect. She understands my thoughts even when she does not experience them herself because she takes time to consider others."

Laufey studied his son closer. "Is that everything?" Loki looked at him baffled. "You forget, my son, that all present in the throne room today saw your interactions with your mate and you can be assured, it will not be received negatively. This is a wonderful advancement of things. I am elated that you see the value in her now, both for her own being and for what she brings to Jotunheim with her ties. There are many great things that this does for you, my son. Focus on being happy with a good mate and cease mourning one that evidently did not see fit to respect your sacrifice. She knew well her actions and as your mate stated, had there been respect, well, it is still unacceptable but to show that would, at the very least, show some thought for another, but they both declined to do so."

"I do not intend to spend time thinking about such things. As Ella stated this morning, thinking of such constantly only allows such thoughts to fester and when they do, they poison our thoughts and cloud our judgment. I will not let any take from my focus."

"Not even Aesir mates with whom it is clear you cannot cease thinking of in some manner that I assume has something to do with you being in discussion with her this morning?" Again, Loki did not look his father in the eye causing him to chuckle. "Come now, do you think me blind? All can see that the time in Vanaheim has stirred something different in the relationship between you."

"She understands everything, even things I have not told her and she respects it all fully, without question or expectation to be told more. I have a mate like none other."

"I am elated to hear that my son. Now, I have to deal with the ever dull Lord Gregory, damn but I hate that Jotnar, but needs must." Laufey rose to his feet. "Try not to skewer anything in the meantime." Loki looked at his father on confusion. "I saw your little anger exercise yesterday."

"Ella felt it a better idea to release some anger."

"Once again, your mate was correct. It is clear to see, now more than ever, that the mate you have is more than the one you could ever want, she is what you need more than any, my son."

Laufey left, leaving Loki to consider his thoughts. Not long after, a timid looking Helbindi entered the throne room. Loki laughed at him as he meekly held his head.

“How are you here? You drank more than me?”

“Ella healed me,” he declared smugly.

“That is not fair. How come she did that?” “I may have accidentally stumbled into her room last night in my drunken state and not my own.” Helbindi laughed at that. “Better than you walking into Father’s rooms.” “I’ll have you know, I did not walk in, I fell in, on top of him.” Loki chuckled at the image of his younger brother falling onto their father. “How did she take you barging in?” “Very well, according to what she showed me from her memories this morning since I remember nothing.”

Helbindi noticed something in his brother’s features. “Why are you smiling like that?” “What?”

“Like...wait, what happened?” “What are you babbling about?” Loki tried to walk off but Helbindi used his superior size to block his brother. “Bind…”

“Who is she?” “Who?” “This new one? You only ever look that happy after you get to have some fun, who is she?” “Bind…” Loki looked around. “You cannot speak like that.” “Like what?” “Like I am sniffing around those I should not. I do not want trouble.” “So, just say her name.” “Ella.” “Your mate?” “Yes, my mate.” “Why are you saying her name?” “Because she is who you wish to know the name of.” “No, I don’t, I want to know about...wait, you lay with her?” Loki nodded. “Not sleeping, actually…” “Well, there was sleeping too.” “But you said it was terrible with her.”

“It was,” Loki agreed. “Before.” “What changed?” “The time she almost left, she confessed that she heard us talking about her, how I spoke about her to you and she decided not to put any effort in but this time she did and it was good, great even.” “Really? But you said she was a maiden, so how would she know how to do anything?” “She has this ability, with her seidr, to show things she has seen in the past and she showed me things she read and things that those ladies-in-waiting she spoke about, Helbindi, the Aesir women would make you blush, they are not without sexual knowledge.” Loki’s eyes were wide as he recalled one of Ella’s ladies explain how to perform a leud act.

“Really, how?” Helbindi was intrigued more than he should be by such a statement.

“The things they know, and they all told her things. And what she read...Why did she never say anything…” “What were the books?” “I have no idea.” “Ask her.” “I am not asking her, you ask her.” Helbindi looked at him with disbelief. “I cannot ask her, you idiot, then she will know we spoke like this again and she won’t let you near her.” Loki winced. “Good point.”

“Wait, what if she bears you a child now?” “Considering she is supposed to give me two sons, I would think it would be seen as a good thing.”

“But what about, you know…‘Leist and...” “Ella stated it best, it would have been better if they were honest but they were not. I want to hate her for it, hate both of them for it but she wanted to hurt me, so I won’t let her.” “Do you think that is why she did it?” Helbindi asked.

“I am not sure but the manner she looked at me, the cold look in her eyes, I think that perhaps she did. But I will not let her get me down, not now.” “Not that your mate showed she actually knows what she is doing?”

“That helps, I will confess,” Loki smirked.

“Do you think the Vanir are as knowledgeable. There were one or two there that seemed interested in some fun when we were there.”

"I know a few of her ladies were Vanir. None seemed to be blushing in her memories."

"Nice." Helbindi's eyes were alight with such a prospect. “I think they look better than the Aesir.” “Yes, you would think that, I remember you and the, what was her name?” Loki looked at his brother.

“No idea, that kissing thing they do is fun though. What do you think?”

“Have not tried it.” “Really?”

“Is that hard for you to believe?”

“I thought you would try it since you tried everything else again. So, not a corpse then?”

Loki thought about how Ella had intertwined her legs with his, her hands exploring his body, whether intentionally or not, the manner in which she gripped his ass as he moved, urging him on. It all felt so much more natural. The one thing he did notice was her attempts to remain silent, biting her lips to remain so. He pleaded with her a few times to not force herself to remain quiet, but Ella would not relent, biting her lips together in attempts to not make noise. Clearly, that was something she was still under the impression should be done. He would have to speak with her and inform her that he liked that, being told how much his partner was enjoying herself made him feel better, knowing he was doing things well was something he wished for. It may be an awkward conversation, but he was willing to try it, as he hoped she would want to try other things with him. “Not like a corpse, definitely not.” “I think you would rather be with her now.” Helbindi jested.

Loki could not argue his point.

#Pride and Prejudice #chapter 29 #wolfpawn #loki #other #submission #Submitted fic

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wolfpawn · 5 years ago

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Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 29

Story Summary - Based on an idea I had that I submitted to Imagine Loki. Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths.

Chapter Summary - Loki goes to the throne room and deals with the day there, after, he has two conversations that make him think more of his interactions with Ella

Previous Chapter

Tags - @peppermint-j @damalseer @perpetual-fangirl @tinchentitri @inspired-snowflace @raphaelaisabella @alexakeyloveloki @caffiend-queen @devilbat @nonsensicalobsessions @skulliebythesea @majoringinlife @salempoe @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @rookienumber98 @emily-s1263 @ivytoh @agarwaeneth

Request if you wish to be tagged

“My good mate ensured that we did not have to endure too badly on Vanaheim.” He smiled to where Ella was now standing in the court.

“Yes, Father?”

“Arden informed me of Prince Nigel’s attempts to anger and bother you all, congratulations on keeping a calm head and for allowing Prince Thor’s assistance. The marriage to Ella is a strong one and allows such alliances. I also heard of your discussions with the Vanir and Light Elves and of the trade talks you are arranging with them, you are every bit the capable man I knew you to be, my son."

"I understand the situation at present with Byleistr is fraught, his betrayal will not go unpunished by myself and indeed by you as my heir."

"And in this, something had changed between you and your mate?" Laufey gently pushed.

"She understands everything, even things I have not told her and she respects it all fully, without question or expectation to be told more. I have a mate like none other."

"Ella felt it a better idea to release some anger."

"Once again, your mate was correct. It is clear to see, now more than ever, that the mate you have is more than the one you could ever want, she is what you need more than any, my son."

Laufey left, leaving Loki to consider his thoughts. Not long after, a timid looking Helbindi entered the throne room. Loki laughed at him as he meekly held his head.

“How are you here? You drank more than me?”

“Ella healed me,” he declared smugly.

“That is not fair. How come she did that?”

“I may have accidentally stumbled into her room last night in my drunken state and not my own.” Helbindi laughed at that. “Better than you walking into Father’s rooms.”

“I’ll have you know, I did not walk in, I fell in, on top of him.” Loki chuckled at the image of his younger brother falling onto their father. “How did she take you barging in?”

“Very well, according to what she showed me from her memories this morning since I remember nothing.”

Helbindi noticed something in his brother’s features. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“What?”

“Like...wait, what happened?”

“What are you babbling about?” Loki tried to walk off but Helbindi used his superior size to block his brother. “Bind…”

“Who is she?”

“Who?”

“This new one? You only ever look that happy after you get to have some fun, who is she?”

“Bind…” Loki looked around. “You cannot speak like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I am sniffing around those I should not. I do not want trouble.”

“So, just say her name.”

“Ella.”

“Your mate?”

“Yes, my mate.”

“Why are you saying her name?”

“Because she is who you wish to know the name of.”

“No, I don’t, I want to know about...wait, you lay with her?” Loki nodded. “Not sleeping, actually…”

“Well, there was sleeping too.”

“But you said it was terrible with her.”

“It was,” Loki agreed. “Before.”

“What changed?”

“The time she almost left, she confessed that she heard us talking about her, how I spoke about her to you and she decided not to put any effort in but this time she did and it was good, great even.”

“Really? But you said she was a maiden, so how would she know how to do anything?”

“She has this ability, with her seidr, to show things she has seen in the past and she showed me things she read and things that those ladies-in-waiting she spoke about, Helbindi, the Aesir women would make you blush, they are not without sexual knowledge.” Loki’s eyes were wide as he recalled one of Ella’s ladies explain how to perform a leud act.

“Really, how?” Helbindi was intrigued more than he should be by such a statement.

“The things they know, and they all told her things. And what she read...Why did she never say anything…”

“What were the books?”

“I have no idea.”

“Ask her.”

“I am not asking her, you ask her.”

Helbindi looked at him with disbelief. “I cannot ask her, you idiot, then she will know we spoke like this again and she won’t let you near her.”

Loki winced. “Good point.”

“Wait, what if she bears you a child now?”

“Considering she is supposed to give me two sons, I would think it would be seen as a good thing.”

“But what about, you know…‘Leist and...”

“Ella stated it best, it would have been better if they were honest but they were not. I want to hate her for it, hate both of them for it but she wanted to hurt me, so I won’t let her.”

“Do you think that is why she did it?” Helbindi asked.

“I am not sure but the manner she looked at me, the cold look in her eyes, I think that perhaps she did. But I will not let her get me down, not now.”

“Not that your mate showed she actually knows what she is doing?”

“That helps, I will confess,” Loki smirked.

“Do you think the Vanir are as knowledgeable. There were one or two there that seemed interested in some fun when we were there.”

"I know a few of her ladies were Vanir. None seemed to be blushing in her memories."

"Nice." Helbindi's eyes were alight with such a prospect. “I think they look better than the Aesir.”

“Yes, you would think that, I remember you and the, what was her name?” Loki looked at his brother.

“No idea, that kissing thing they do is fun though. What do you think?”

“Have not tried it.”

“Really?”

“Is that hard for you to believe?”

“I thought you would try it since you tried everything else again. So, not a corpse then?”

“I think you would rather be with her now.” Helbindi jested.

Loki could not argue his point.

#loki fic #Pride and Prejudice #chapter 29 #wolfpawn

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myhauntedsalem · 5 years ago

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13 Terrifying True Tales of Abandoned Asylums and Hospitals

Could there be anything more nightmare-inducing than an abandoned lunatic asylum? Not really. Haunted hospitals and insane asylum stories are the stuff of legends, often places of trauma, and death it’s hardly surprising when they become a source for a ghostly tale or two. Here are 13 frightening ghost stories of abandoned asylums and hospitals as shared by urban explorers and security guards

1. The Old Operating Room

Abandoned hospital in my town is very active. It was also used in the movie Bone Yard. When they blew the hospital up in the movie apparently they actually burned some of it. So they abandoned it completely. Still have tables, desks, chairs, boxes and boxes of files. Not sure if half of the sightings are squatters or paranormal, but friend of mine snuck in and had a series of lights turning off and on that lead him (and his friends) to an operation room. The light turned off and they panicked and ran out. They also had batteries drained and could only make out the light outside through the roof access hatch they used.

Also had a co-worker who worked at a renovated sanatorium turned tree farm. The basement had screams and grabbings. Still had an attendance board where the old nurses still signed in for duty even though there wasn’t any chalk. Some other things, that I cannot remember, happened that led him to quit.

2. 911 Calls

I’m a nurse that worked at a psychiatric hospital for five years. That place was haunted as shit. Police would call us in the middle of the night saying some little girl who identified herself as Satana was calling 911 from a certain extension in the hospital.

That extension? The arts and crafts room. Nobody goes there at night. Nobody. I assure you. Yet there’s obviously something there. And it calls 911 a lot.

Lots of other stories from that place but that’s the craziest, creepiest one.

3. The Power Was Still On

When I was a teenager (20+ years ago) my friends and I trespassed on a condemned insane asylum called Eloise in Southeastern Michigan.

The worst thing wasn’t that it was at night with shitty flashlights, the dirty patient records scattered on the floor, the broken furniture, the torn up walls, the leaking water pipes, or the huge fungal bloom from the leaking water. The worst part was finding a tunnel and following it to a place inside where power was still on. There was a light, an ominous looking double doors… and an active security camera.

It was like… why is this here? What’s going on?

Later on, I found out that the asylum and a nearby hospital were connected. However, the wikipedia page says it closed in 1984… but we were there several years after that.

I think I saved one of the patient records somewhere.

4. The Footsteps Above

I was the night watchman at an abandoned mental hospital turned state park for a summer in college. The only creepy thing that happened was one night I was with one of the state park police and we saw flashlights in one of the buildings. Kids constantly broke in and other people broke in to gut the old buildings of any copper they could find.

So as I was saying one night we saw flashlights moving around so we went in. The officer pulled her gun and flashlight and in we went. We could her footsteps on the floor above us and we slowly and quietly went upstairs. We checked every room and found nothing. Then we heard footsteps above us again. This happened for a few floors until we were on the top floor below the roof. We heard footsteps up on the roof so we went up there. Still nothing. We never found anyone or any indication that anyone had been there. It was friggin creepy.

5. Things Moved In The Night

There is this abandoned mental hospital in my town called Prudhoe hospital which is sort of the scary place kids go to show bravado. It’s surrounded by woods so obviously you hear lots about it.

You hear lots of stories from people after it was abandoned but the spookiest things come from when it was still in service.

My mam worked at an auxiliary nurse there for years and she said at night the crippled kids who couldn’t move due to severe diseases and birth defects would somehow get out of there cribs and into the middle of the floor on the wards. Whatever was doing this would also go around and remove blankets from all the patients and again pile them in the centre of the room.

Eventually security was hired believing it was someone getting into the hospital at night and doing all these things to scare people or to just be trouble.

However even with security they never found out who was doing these things at night.

6. The Praying Nun

My dad worked at a mental hospital that used to be connected to an abandoned nun’s home by underground passage. He says that one night he was walking down there when he saw a praying nun. He walked by her and said hello. She did not acknowledge him.

My dad does not believe in ghosts, but he says there was a nun down there that night.

7. The Séance

I had a guy I worked with who used to be a hospital wardsman. He was telling me about a night where a few young nurses and some of the other wardsmen were going to hang around late one night and conduct a seance in one of the older unused wards.

Anyway, he agreed and one night they did it. He didn’t believe a word of it but took part for fun. He said they called through one spirit who identified himself as ‘Nigel’ and when asked if he was good or evil the planchette flicked straight to evil. At this stage my mate assumed people were pushing it and just laughed it off. After some more unintelligible responses the planchette started going ballistic, flicking from one letter to the next. Someone asked the scribe what it was saying and this guy goes ‘I can’t make it out….errrr hang on it’s saying ‘KILLBABYCASSYKILLBABYCASSYKILL??? Is it saying Cassy Kill Baby?’ One of the female nurses ran screaming and absolutely lost it, one of the girls running to help her.

Turns out this girl was named Cassy and she had had a secret abortion two weeks prior. She had told no one about the pregnancy, not even her boyfriend.

8. The Late Night Walk

A few years ago my cousin and his friends were walking in the woods outside of Fredrick and found an old abandoned Insane Asylum. It was all boarded up, grown over, dark, dusty; it looked like it was out of a movie.

Obviously my cousin and his friends broke in to look around.

The first room they went into was full of file cabinets holdings records of all the patients that used to be there, and they found a bunch of really creepy ass pictures. Another room was nothing but concrete and drains on the floor. The walls had chains attached to them, and in the center of the room was a table that had what looked like torture tools and beating sticks. Other than that they didn’t really see anything but they claim to have heard talking, footsteps, and demented giggling.

9. The Little Boy

I work night shift as a CNA in a hospital. I had a patient last year. He was in his 50s, totally with it. I had him for a week or two and never showed signs of confusion at night or otherwise. He liked to keep his door open at all times and he was in a room close to the nurse’s station, so he saw myself and plenty other staff walk by throughout the night.

One night, around 2:30 in the morning, he sees me walking by and calls me into his room.

“Is that your son or something”?

“Who”?, I asked.

“The little boy that’s been following you all night”.

I proceeded to ask what he looked like, because I could not see him. He said he looked to be about 7 years old, with short, dark hair and a baseball cap. Both of us were freaked out about the situation, and he requested to keep his lights on after that.

I’m getting chills thinking about it now

10. What was running around with us in that asylum?

I love anything that will get my heart pumping and the adrenalin flowing, from extreme sports to urban exploration, I’ve almost done it all. But, there was one time when I really considered my beliefs as an Atheist. I reckon that ghosts and spirits and all that cannot possibly exist, due to the lack of physical evidence, but one night really god my mind going.

It was about 16 years ago (I’m old now haha), when I lived in Topeka, Kansas. Now some of you will know what I’ll be talking about already, but for those of you who don’t, keep reading. I was a keen urban explorer, there was just something thrilling about breaking into abandoned buildings and exploring them. I had always known about the Topeka State Hospital due to the numerous ��haunted’ stories around it, but I had never really thought about exploring it. My friend of mine, Reece, was also an avid urban explorer, and one night he suggested to me that we go check it out at night. Not believing in ghosts or scary stories as such, I instantly agreed to go. We got our bags ready with torches, phones and a snack or two (you have to travel light) and waited for sunset.

On arriving it was already pitch black, there were no lights as the place had been closed since 1990, so we flipped on our torches and crunched our way up the gravel to the front entrance. It was locked, as we expected, so we made our way around the red bricked exterior, looking for a way in. About halfway around, we came across a boarded up window, I offered Reece a parting glance and a slight nod of his head indicated we were thinking along the same idea. I braced my shoulder and bashed into the window. The sound echoed around the empty halls and the surrounding forest for what seemed ages. A second bash proved successful as the wood splintered and fell to the ground in a large bang. Reece whispered in my ear ‘honestly if nobody comes after us after that then we’re safe’.

I climbed in through the small gap, before lending a hand to Reece to do the same. Once we were inside, we flipped on our torches and were met with a view of peeling wallpaper and a heavy, musty smell. We crunched our way through the first room, just enjoying the rush of adrenaline as we tiptoed our way through the halls before we heard footsteps running in the room above us. Immediately my heart skipped a beat and I glanced at Reece who put up his finger to his lips and indicated that we should turn our torches off. In the pitch black, I must admit I started getting scared, but I carried on and we made our way up to the second floor to see who was with us in the house. After three minutes of looking, we turned up empty and were about to leave when we heard more footsteps running, and this time we were sure that we weren’t just hearing things as a light rain of dust fell from the room. We immediately thought we were being pranked, so we ran up to the third floor in hope to catch this person. But once again, it turned up empty. We had had enough and just started going down when we heard a door creak from above. This was it, our chance; we sprinted up, barged though the door and we ended up on the roof of the Asylum. Empty. Just then we heard a door being slammed from the floor beneath us and some guttural whispering noise.

I can’t tell you how fast we got out of there, but I can tell you that we probably ran faster than the time we got chased by the police. To this day, I still have no idea what was running around with us in that asylum, I’d like to believe it was some bad prank, but I have this nagging feeling that it wasn’t. Ghosts and spirits don’t exist do they?…

11. She Was Right Behind Me

A friend of mine was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and was so upset over it that she made a suicide attempt. She landed in the mental health wing of the big hospital, and I went to visit her one evening. Had a hell of a time finding the right place and felt like I’d walked through miles of increasingly decrepit hospital before I found the right wing. Went through a set of double doors and found myself staring down a dimly lit hallway with an incredibly creepy, weathered-looking old lady in a housecoat standing right in the middle of it.

I walked down the hallway nervously, not taking my eyes off of the old woman. She didn’t take her eyes off me, either. I flinched as I walked by her, but she didn’t move. Ten feet beyond her was the doorway to the waiting room of the ward I was looking for. I breathed a sigh of relief as I reached the doors, then glanced over my shoulder to see if the woman had moved.

She was right behind me, staring into my face. I don’t know how she managed to silently cover that ten feet just as fast as I had moved, but she did.

12. The Night Shift

A few years back, prior to sworn LEO, I worked as a Security Guard at a hospital. Sounds cool, and it was, except for the fact it was 9pm to 7am, I worked alone, and the hospital I guarded was abandoned.

A year prior, the hospital built a brand new facility to replace their five story tall, 1900’s building. When the employees and patients left, they left everything in place. It looked like the people just disappeared in a hurry. Partially full coffee mugs, uniforms hanging on coat racks, wheelchairs in the halls, everything as it was, with a good coating of dust.

I was always a 3rd shift kind of person, I don’t get night ‘jitters’ or scare easily. But this place could do it to the best of em. Every night I would walk (or ride a wheelchair) through the halls that were supposed to be empty/unused. Every night I would end up having to close doors and re-lock them. I would walk one floor, move up to the next, and continue on.

I got a little shaky when an hour after already walking a hallway, I would have to turn off the same hall lights and close the same doors AGAIN in the building. Or when I would be walking a hall and then I would hear footsteps on the floor above me, doors opening and closing, elevators moving from floor to floor, phones ringing, nurse call lights going on, etc.

There were only 3 times I got the “I hate this sh*t” feeling. 1st time I was checking offices on the 4th floor. There was a light on in a locked hallway (no surprise). This hallway hadn’t been renovated since the place was built, short of electricity, so everything was from the 1920’s. Unlock the door, flip the lights, walk out, re-lock the door, and turn to leave. Behind me I hear the “flip” of a light switch. Through the frosted glass I see the lights went back on. I left the hallway alone that night.

2nd time was riding an elevator between floors. I was taking the elevator to the top floor, when at about #4 of #5 floors, I hear laughing and muffled talking. It kept getting louder as it got higher. Elevator makes it to #5, doors swing open, and absolute silence. Of course, every light was on on the floor, even in the patient rooms. I checked high and low, not a single living and breathing person in that place except for me.

3rd, and worst of all, was just an average night. I’m on the lower level locking a door in a corridor. The door had a glass middle but on the backside it was covered by white tape. The room it led to it was dark and the hallway a few feet behind me was partially lit, so the glass acted like a perfect mirror. Everything normal, key in, lock clicks, turning the key… When behind me I see the full outline of a person walk past me in the hallway. Clear as day, just a full shadow of a person walk past. I froze only for about a second, and then ran into the hall after the supposed ‘person’. No one, just silence.

Awesome gig, but after a year it felt like I should’ve been an exorcist with all this stuff happening. The other guards that worked on the days opposite to mine had the same stuff happen, except they always saw nuns walking into rooms just outside of an old rectory/chapel on the 3rd floor. Better nuns than something else I guess.

13. The Ambulance

One fall afternoon a buddy of mine and I decided to visit a massive abandoned mental hospital to take some photos. We’re talking 11 wards of two floors and a basement all connected from ward to ward. In total it must be 200-300 linear yards of winding connecting hallways on each floor. You get in and see open cell after cell after cell, peeling paint and graffiti all over the walls. We check the basement, walk through the majority of the wards and are now at ward 8.

We got there early in the afternoon maybe around 2 or 3 because we were too pansy to go at night. Mind you, we’ve heard there are cult gatherings and people have been known to stumble across the occasional hobo on their visits, so we came equipped with a couple of kershaw’s, praying not to get in some fucking knife fight. But, shit, its better to have one than not right? So. Ward 8.

We’re in a connecting hallway with a couple of wired off windows that can see outside, and my buddy say’s “yo, yo get away from the window”. We look outside and there’s an ambulance, no lights on, creeping slowly around the hospital. He must’ve been going at about 5 miles per hour, so we thought dammit, if there’s an ambulance, there must be a cop somewhere (bad logic, I know, but we we’re just worried about being busted for trespassing). The ambulance disappears from our line of sight from the windows, and must’ve driven around all of the other wards at the same pace because a minute or so later, we see the ambulance pass right alongside the hallway we were standing in. Still fucking creeping. Thank god, the ambulance drives away, so we think, okay shit that was just a scare, there’s no cops around, let’s just keep on going.

We slowly advance for another 3 or so minutes and come across a huge lobby, probably the cafeteria and start taking a couple shots of the collapsed ceiling. we walk a bit further into the cafeteria and are by the windows again. The see the ambulance again! Creeping, just like last time, along the perimeter of the building. We hide from the windows hoping that we weren’t seen as the cafeteria is full of windows to the exterior. This time, we start to shit ourselves a little bit more.

He disappears from our line of view again, and of course, comes across the other side of the building, circling it just like last time, 5 mph, just like last time. This time, however, he doesn’t go leave the complex, he drives up to ward 11, the last ward and parks in a cove with no exit that was right out of our line of sight. We hear the door open and close, and another door open and close. We were able to tell that there was only one person in the ambulance from the first time we sighted it. What the fuck is going on?? Was this guy here to shoot up? seemed like a bad place for a trip. Was he here for some sort of drug deal? Or was he back to “play” with us because he saw us on his last ride around?

We stay put, and at this point, we’re maybe 50 yards from ward 11 and 100-200 yards from the exit that we came in from. We know of no other exits except for the ones at each end. Trying to be as quiet as possible, we begin to hear footsteps on the floor above us. seconds later the footsteps turn into running. Towards us! NOPE, we both instantly go for our knives and begin to book the fuck out of there. The fastest 200 yard dash I will do to this day.

We finally reach the exit. We’re safe goddammit we’re safe. We continue to book it a ways out of the hospital till we’re on the path that gets us back to our car. On the way back to the little lot with my buddies car we see there’s a truck, one of those ford rangler types parked right next to my buddies car. We get maybe 50 yards away from it when he turns the car on and starts driving down the road towards us. In the car is another middle aged man, looked real real sketchy. He drives past and thats the last we saw of both of them.

I never got a shot of the ambulance as I was too scared to go near the windows and that my flash would go off, but I did get a shot of the rangler in the parking lot.

What the fuck were these guys doing there? An ambulance??? I’d love to hear what you guys come up with, we’ve been playing it over in our heads for quite a while now…

#13 Terrifying True Tales of Abandoned Asylums and Hospitals #paranormal #ghost and hauntings #ghost and spirits

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chrysaliseuro2019 · 5 years ago

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Will the Poms Lose their Marbles

Monday morning and we are scheduled to catch up with old friend Doug Brister and wife Kaye. Doug and I had shared an apartment in London for a number of years in the 70s and also played a lot of football together for our local team in the Medway Towns. They now live in Leighton Buzzard and we met them at the British Museum. This was an opportunity to see some of the museum offerings prior to heading for the inevitable pub lunch. Top of the list, for me at least, was the Elgin Marbles. Liz has seen them before so has other exhibits in mind. We will be going to the Parthenon in the next few days and of course that's where Lord Elgin "borrowed" them from 200 years ago. We should see the remainder at the Acropolis museum in Athens when we get there. Much controversy about the British not returning them from whence they came. They are simply excellent. A series of scenes of a procession on marble tablets which decorated the Parthenon once upon a time. There are people on horseback, others walking and animals also in the procession. They are now white or grey but would have been coloured originally and the detail is still pretty good. Explanations are also good about what is happening on each tablet. Having now seen them they are among those artefacts which for me are so interesting and so extraordinary that you want to visit them every couple of years just to remind yourself and get that buzz of pleasure. Like a Van Gogh painting. Yes they should go back. It's hard to justify otherwise in my view especially now the Greeks have a dedicated museum awaiting them. The Rosetta Stone was another highlight of the visit. One of those artefacts that you know about but in my case did not have much detail of. Fascinating to learn how it was used to assist in the translation of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic script as it was basically a decree which was issued in both hieroglyphics and Ancient Greek. Scholars were able to compare the two and ultimately this assisted in the translation of Egyptian texts which had proved impenetrable prior to that. Those were the highlights for me in a couple of hours visit though the Nereid monument from around 4th century BC in what was then the Persian Empire is worth an honourable mention. While the rest of were "marbling" Liz visited the Egyptian section and really enjoyed the artefacts including some of the macabre but fascinating procedures required to mummify people and animals. This may be too much information for some in which case skip to the next section. Apparently they sucked the brains out through the nose (explains a lot about what's going on at Collingwood), removed vital organs except the heart and embalmed them, put them in a container and then buried them with the mummy. They salted the body (with a chemical) to dry it out and then wrapped things up so to speak. Good job if you could get it though it's a dying art. See photos for other highlights of her visit. The 4 of us assembled for lunch which was always going to be in a hostelry serving good pub food (hopefully). The British Museum is in an area of London just north of Oxford St that I hardly ever visited when living here. Doug had local knowledge as he had worked here a lot though some of his old haunts seemed to have closed. We found a local and settled down with beers, wine and spirits (each to their own preference) and nattered away about old times and new and latest family development. Turns out my godson James, their son, is going to get hitched to the lovely Charmaine who we met when last in London (on the infamous night that England were eliminated in the semi final of the World Cup). So that was great news. Kaye had had a cataract op but generally speaking both in good health, touch wood. The food was pretty standard fare, sausage and mash, pie and mash and chicken and gammon. Good stuff. After a couple of hours (and a couple of rounds!) we headed off for a stroll in a Southerly direction down Charing Cross rd. The landmarks started to get more familiar to me within half a mile or so though some things have changed. Doug pointed to a corner and said remember the Sussex pub we used to frequent - that's where it used to be though I would never have picked it with the degree of building on that corner. His memory might have been a bit more vivid as he reminded me that that was where he got beaten up one night when a gang of blokes set on him and his brother in the pub after an altercation. Of course things would have been different if I had been there - 3 blokes would have received a pasting - we were lovers (well, mostly wannabe lovers) not fighters. Our memories of the place and our time together in London and elsewhere were mostly much happier than that particular night though and we laughed our way along or occasionally felt sad about lost friends as we discussed old times. We strolled through Soho and bought very tasty Portuguese tarts and up and down a few of the back streets pointing out different things we remembered - back street casinos, the club that Georgie Fame used to play at in Wardour St, the comedy club which was in the same premises as of all places Raymond's Revue Bar - a strip joint. It was at this club that Liz and I first saw Alexei Sayle, Rick Mayall, Adrian Edmonsson and Nigel Planer the stars of what was later the "Young Ones" back in 1980 or 1981. They were comically insane back then and very in your face but hilarious. Inevitably after a while further refreshments were required and we found a pleasant little pub not more than 100 metres from Piccadilly Circus and not really touristy. A couple more refreshments and we headed off after an interesting and fun day. Doug and Kaye are good and easy company and the years peel back every time we catch up. Wonderful to see them and slip immediately back into that comfortable familiarity you have with old friends. We found out that our hosts in London Peter and Sue had plans for the night and so headed out ourselves. Last time we were in London we had eaten at Mildred's vegetarian restaurant with Georgie. Style is modern Asian food. We managed to get in again after a short wait for a table and the food and ambience was equally as good as previously. Would thoroughly recommend to all in this vicinity. It had been a big and thoroughly enjoyable day and we headed home ready for a good sleep.

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hazyheel · 6 years ago

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10 Ways WWE can improve their weekly TV

WWE has a bit of a problem on their hands: the other major wrestling promotions around the world are making a serious run at their product. New Japan has proved on several occasions that they can sell out buildings in the United States, and their incredibly powerful alliance with Ring of Honor, RevPro and CMLL gives them a huge talent pool to work with, without overexposing them. Lucha Underground (if it is staying afloat) is an interesting alternative to a lot of main stream wrestling due to its unique style of storytelling. Impact Wrestling has been improving steadily since the beginning of 2018, and they are becoming a bigger threat every year. And of course, AEW is premiering next month, and indy fans are already saying that they will revolutionize the wrestling business, and could even bring a new form of the Monday Night Wars. Now, I don’t know how accurate that is, but WWE needs to be concerned about these other companies. The reason why I took a week or two off of WWE in March was because I was watching the New Japan Cup, and I couldn’t even stand watching Raw or Smackdown because of the high quality of wrestling I was watching every day. That is a serious problem that I couldn’t watch their programing because I knew it would be a lot worse than a competitor. It will be a while before WWE falls to another company, but they need to get ahead of the curve on this. Several companies are coming for their position as number 1, and the first step to defending their turf is improving Raw, Smackdown, and hell, even NXT and Main Event.

1. Make Raw 2 hours again: this point has been beaten to death, but that is because it sooooooooo needs to happen. A 3 hour show is incredibly difficult to watch every week, and we end up watching a bunch of low card matches that we do not care about, and the people that we do care about get overexposed because they need to be on the show every week. 205 Live and NXT work really well, because their talent does not wrestle every week, which gives them a sense of specialness and mystery that is not present on the main roster. So, why two hours instead of one like the “developmental” brands? Well, those brands simply couldn’t sustain a monthly pay per view schedule with that little air time. It works perfectly for the bi-monthly schedule of NXT Takeover, but they could not do 12 big shows a year. So, a two hour show for Raw, where all of the important storylines and title scenes are addressed in each episode, will be enough to craft good stories.

2. Form some stables: this is a very New Japan style, but there is a reason it works. Forming some large stables in WWE would give a tangible reason to put lower and midcard guys on the show. Put them in a big, multi person tag match when they need to fill time. This creates the option to have feuds between stables, allowing for actual reasons for interesting feuds on the undercard, without matches getting too competitive. It also provides relationships between wrestlers, a necessity for interesting storytelling that is not used nearly as much as it should be. In a bigger tag match, it allows for lower card guys to wrestle possible main eventers. It even would help for pay per views, giving an organic style of match to put on the pre-show: a fun 6 or 8 man tag between stables, possibly with big stars on the teams who don’t have anything real to do at the show. It shows good wrestling without showing off major storylines for free. Moving away from the booking for a bit, putting these less popular wrestlers on the show more in a capacity that fans may care about means that they have less of a reason to jump ship to another company. There are a lot of diverse benefits to creating a larger atmosphere of gang warfare, not unlike the way things were in the late 90′s

3. Clean up the announce team: another point that has been beat to death, but I am so damn sick of a three person team. There is better chemistry in a two person booth, again creating a relationship for fans to enjoy, while allowing the commentators to have organic conversation without feeling the need to chime in. Renee Young and Corey Graves have great chemistry together, and it pains me to say that Michael Cole gets in the way of that, often. He is just redundant on the team. The same goes for Byron Saxton and Aiden English. Saxton sucks, so Tom Phillips and Corey Graves would be a fun and refreshing commentary team without Saxton desperately trying to get Graves to respect him. Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuiness work great together on NXT UK, so there is no reason why they can’t on 205 Live as well. As for NXT, I actually like the team they have, but Nigel McGuiness doesn’t really need to be there. Percy Watson and Mauro Renallo would be fine on their own. Also, going in a bit of a random direction, the main roster commentators need to take a page out of NXT’s book of announcing a match or two for next week, to get fans excited a week before the match even happens. I always liked that, but it is really just a random suggestion. A two person booth genuinely works better. And though I criticized Michael Cole, that does not mean that I don’t have an idea for him outside of commentary.

4. Very professional General Managers: Drake Maverick, William Regal and Johnny Saint are phenomenal in their performances as GM. Smackdown and Raw really need something like that. This is where Cole comes in. He, as a professional babyface, would be a welcome change to the constant annoyance that is the presence of an authority figure at every turn. Cole could run the show from behind the scenes, appearing for important segments but nothing more. I think that the McMahons have far overstayed their welcome, although having them around for a few weeks at a time to abuse power is a pretty good idea. But in between those stretches, Cole has a good idea of how to come across as an authority, and he has a subtle charisma about him that would benefit him in that role. He isn’t the kind of guy WWE would want to shove down our throats, and that is the kind of GM Raw and Smackdown need right now.

5. Fewer non-finishes: these are just infuriating, and they happen all the time. Now, not every count out is necessarily a non finish, but DQ’s tend to be, and they are maddening. I would even lump in the distraction-roll-up finish in here too, because that is waaaaaay overdone. I mean, shouldn’t the faces of the company start to realize what their rivals are doing by playing their music? I hate when the heroes just look dumb. Non-finishes is mostly just a lazy storytelling crutch, and they should be fazed out for competitive matches with actual booking.

6. Better main events: I am just kinda sick of rushed together main events that don’t end up meaning anything. WWE is normally pretty decent with this on Smackdown, but Raw’s main events seem to be repetitive and boring. Why watch a throwaway match like Baron Corbin vs. Rey Mysterio when there was a tag team championship match earlier in the night? That seems ass backwards. WWE needs to respect their belts more, and that includes those in the midcard. If there is a championship match on the card, there is no reason why it shouldn’t be the main event. It will give the final match of the night a sense of stake, and it will elevate the belts. The tag titles are never in the main event slot, and they would get a huge bump for being in that top slot on Raw. Better booking of the main events, in ways that aren’t so repetitive and pointless, will help the shows overall.

7. Keeping track of wins and losses. Because then, we will be able to understand how people are progressively moving towards a title belt. Keeping track of the wins and losses in this manner will give the audience a real sense of where things are going. It will make random title matches and open challenges feel a bit more like a great opportunity, because anyone could challenge even if they aren’t on the list. It will also be an interactive thing with the fans. It will be easier to show people on the rise as they go from contender 5 to number 1. It will just be an easier way to book Becky Lynch’s meteoric rise to the women’s championship, because people could follow it. It will make things feel like a real sport, and that is a good thing in a product that feels oddly in between a sport and soap opera.

8. Weekly press conferences with the on screen GM’s. Speaking of making things feel more like sports, this is a very interesting way to progress storylines. Gm’s come out for a little press conference things, and fake reporters ask questions in kayfabe about certain stories. For example, if there was an attack backstage on Raw, a reporter can ask about it, and the GM can talk about what he or she will do, such as keeping them apart for the night, or booking them in a match. This will be an interesting way to keep on screen authorities involved in the shows without really shoving them down our throats all the time. We don’t need to see someone like William Regal every week, because he will show up on this show and talk about the various feuds. It could also be a great way for champions, or controversial superstars to have a place to cut a promo. It will feel very professional, and interesting, to see the champions speak about their various feuds and such. And yes, an extra hour for fans to watch on the network could be tedious, but given that we are rolling back an hour for Raw, I am not too worried.

9. Use stipulation matches correctly. WWE is very weird about how they book stipulation matches. A few years ago when I started watching, they would not often book a stipulation match, but when they did, it could be anything from a no DQ match to a cage match. This era was around 2011-2012. Then I stopped watching, and I picked up again in early 2017. And boy was there a change on TV. They do more stipulation matches now, but almost all of them are multi-man matches. They happen about once every 2 weeks, whether it is on Raw or Smackdown. And I am not opposed to things like this happening, I just don’t think we need it as often as we are getting it. A good example of a triple threat was on the Smackdown after Elimination Chamber 2017. Now, if you don’t remember, Bray Wyatt won the WWE championship in the chamber that night, and it was only 2 weeks after John Cena beat AJ styles for it at the Royal Rumble. So, on Smackdown, Cena wanted a rematch, and AJ wanted a more fair rematch than he got the sunday before. So, they booked a triple threat main event. That makes sense. But last year and bleeding into this year, they have been throwing together multi-man and multi-team matches to fill out the card and get a lot of bodies on the show. And I understand that impulse to do that, but it devalues those types of matches and makes them feel a lot less special. When they happen in New Japan, it feels like a huge occasion, because the happen so infrequently. So, if WWE wants multi person matches to feel interesting and special, we can’t have them every two weeks. But at the same time, throwing in a different type of stipulation every once in a while spices things up.

10. Make NXT a real brand. Triple H has already gone on record saying that he wanted to make this a reality, so why not go for it? Given the crazy amount of talent on each roster, having a third brand that is equal but different would really help. If a superstar is too overexposed on the main roster, draft them to NXT. Down there, they feel special, and can get their mojo back. Same goes for 205 live, if a superstar is a cruiserweight. But say someone like Finn Balor or Ricochet or Johnny Gargano just do not work on the main roster, 205 live will give them a fresh start. Now, I get that is disappointing to a lot of people, but given the quality of 205 Live lately, it would only make it and the superstars better. Then they can do some interesting things with titles crossing brands and such, maybe even an NXT vs. Smackdown show or something. It is just interesting.

So, that is how I would improve WWE tv. Not all of these things need to go together, although some of them do, but each one of them would definitely help. Hopefully, WWE can start to implement these and make their shows even better.

#hazyheel #wwe #wwe list #pro wrestling #pro wrestling list #raw #smackdown #nxt #nxt uk #205 live #raw list #smackdown list #nxt list #nxt uk list #205 live list

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the-magnus-archives-archiver · 6 years ago

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Vampire Killer

Case: 0100710

Name: Trevor Herber Subject: His life as a self-proclaimed vampire hunter Date: July 10th, 2010 Recorded by: Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London

Right then. Been almost 50 years I’ve been meaning to pay you people a visit and get this down on paper, but I finally got here. So where to start? My name is Trevor Herbert, like I put at the top of your form there, and I’ve been homeless for most of my life. In fact if you lived in Manchester there’s a good chance you’d have heard of me. They call me “Trevor the Tramp”. I mean, I’m not exactly easy to miss am I, and I’ve been living there in public view for so long I guess I’ve become kind of an institution. Helps that I’ve always had a kind of uncanny knack for guessing people’s ages. People will come up to me on the street and ask me to guess their age, and I’ll tell them and most of the time they’ll be shocked when I get it right. It’s fun. So everyone around Manchester knows about Trevor the Tramp, sure. I hear someone even made me a page on the Internet and it got a few thousand likes. I don’t know exactly what that means but it sounds nice. Obviously that’s not why I’m here, though, is it? No, I’m here because I have also dedicated my life to finding and killing vampires.

I have killed five people that I know for sure as vampires, and there are two more that may or may not have been. There is one man I have killed, unfortunately, who I am now sure was human, but I also know he was a violent criminal so I try not to feel too badly about that. I’m sure it’s hard to accept for anyone, even an organisation such as yourselves, but I do not have proof to give you except for the vampire teeth that I will leave with this statement. Do not feel bad about reporting me to the police for the murders, as I am sure you must, since I have recently received a diagnosis of late-stage lung cancer and it is doubtful I will be living much longer anyway. That is the main reason for finally putting down on paper the details of the mission I have been secretly undertaking for the last half a century.

I killed my first vampire in 1959. At that point I was still living a mostly normal life, save perhaps for the abuse my family was subject to from my father. He was a vile man who ended up killing my mother in ’56. It was a clear-cut case of drunken murder but the courts ruled it as an accident and my father stayed out of jail. Luckily, myself and my brother only had to endure four months of unpleasantness from him before he finally finished drinking himself to death. I was thirteen when he finally died and my brother was fifteen. Following his death, there were several attempts to rehome us as orphans but they always split us up, and we couldn’t be doing with that, so we’d generally run away. After a while it became so we were happier finding our way on the streets than in another stranger’s home.

It was in autumn of 1959 that we were taken in by Sylvia McDonald. It wasn’t any sort of official fostering agreement, but it was getting to be quite cold at the end of October and it just saw us shivering in a side street next to the Kings Arms Hotel, as it was back then, on Tipping Street before the ring road took it over. Looking back I believe it to have been visiting the pub for the purposes of locating down and outs for use as victims and in my brother and myself, I must say, it successfully found some. It looked like an older woman, a widow I assumed, from the way it dressed in black and had a strange manner, which I now know to be the mark of the vampire, but back then I paid no attention to it. Many of the older folks had lived through both wars and it was not uncommon for them to be somewhat strange. I thought this was the case with Sylvia McDonald and after a small amount of discussion my brother and I agreed to the offer of food and shelter.

Let me say a little bit about the vampire’s manner, because once I taught myself to read I read as much on the subject as I could and it isn’t covered often or clearly in those books I have found. You see, from my own observations I believe a vampire to be more like an animal than a man. That is not to be taken as merely a turn of phrase but more to do with how they work. I do not believe vampires are human in anything more than their appearance, nor have I ever seen evidence that they create more of their kind through feeding. One thing that should be noted is that they do not speak. In fact they are in my experience totally silent, having no need for air and no room in their throats for a windpipe. They are able to make themselves understood, however, with absolute clarity, though the manner through which they do so has never been clear to me. When Sylvia McDonald came to us in the alleyway that day, we understood that was the name it gave itself and that we were being offered a meal and a bed, even though it never uttered a single sound. More than that, I do not recall the fact that it never said a word as striking either of us as strange in the slightest. I have never fully understood how they are able to do this, and I doubt that I ever shall, but I can only assume it to be some instinctive form of hypnosis or mind control.

Another misconception I have always faced when trying to discuss vampires is that people think they cannot go out during the day. They can. While I have witnessed them avoid direct sunlight if possible and wear generally more covering clothes when moving around during the daytime, they seem to have no significant problem doing so. I would describe them as weaker during the day, but whether this is scientifically due to the sunlight or simply because evil has less power in the daylight hours is unclear to me. Sylvia McDonald came to us on an overcast afternoon and enough of its pale flesh was uncovered that, were sunlight to truly harm a vampire, then it would likely have been destroyed.

On that afternoon my brother Nigel and I agreed to go back to the house of Sylvia McDonald in the hopes of a roof over our heads for a little while. She lived on Loom Street, which is still there, though the house itself was torn down long ago and there’s just a bit of scrubland now where it used to be. I sometimes go there to pay my respects, since my brother has no burial or grave I can visit. The house was old, even when I went there in 1959, and entering it I was hit by a stale, coppery smell that I did not recognise as old blood at the time, since I was barely 16 and did not have then the experience I have now. The furniture and wallpaper had clearly not been changed in many decades and a thick layer of dust covered everything. Even the floor was pale with dust except for a stark line where Sylvia McDonald moved, the train of its dress dragging behind it. I remember wondering whether Sylvia McDonald walked exactly the same route through the house always, as I saw other clear lines of passage in the rooms we passed through. None of the furniture looked used and when I picked up a book from one of the shelves the pages were solid with damp and mould. I began to feel very uneasy at this point, but whatever powers of persuasion the vampire had calmed me enough to continue following it with my brother.

We went up the stairs and I was led to a small room with a bed in it. I was made to understand that this would be my room and was left there as Sylvia McDonald led my brother away to the room next to it. When it returned it brought a bowl of fruit and offered it to me. The fruit was clearly a few weeks old and in various stages of rotting, but just to appease the thing I found an apple and a couple of grapes that seemed edible and I ate them. It watched me silently the whole time and then turned and walked out towards Nigel’s room. By this time whatever the creature had done to make me compliant seemed to be starting to wear off, and I was realising just how wrong everything was. I was also realising that it didn’t look like there was any easy escape from the house. All the windows I had seen were barred, and I recalled Sylvia McDonald had locked the sturdy-looking front door behind it after we had all entered. So instead I just laid down in the old musty bed and I waited.

Couldn’t rightly say what I was waiting for, but soon enough it got dark and I assumed Sylvia McDonald had gone to sleep, not yet realising the manner of being that I was dealing with. I wanted some light to comfort me but the old house seemed to have no electricity at all, so I used my cigarette lighter on a candle I found next to the bed and crept towards the door. It wasn’t locked, thankfully, and I left the room assigned to me and walked over to where I believed my brother was. I went in and found him lying in his own bed, pretending to sleep. After a bit of talk it became clear that Nigel was no happier with our situation than I was and we both resolved that another night on the cold streets was better than staying with this strange woman. As we talked through possible ways to escape, however, we heard a rustling sound outside the door, and the handle began to turn. Not wanting to anger our strange host, I crawled under the bed to hide, while Nigel returned to pretending to sleep.

From my vantage point under the bed, I could see the door open and the skirt of Sylvia McDonald enter and move towards the bed. I simply laid there and tried not to make a sound. I am not proud of this and sometimes have a certainty that my inaction led directly to my brother’s death, but most of the time I accept that if I had alerted the vampire to my presence then I would also have died. Either way, the fact of the matter is that I did nothing as I heard the sounds of a struggle overhead and Nigel’s strangled cry. The creature turned quickly and hurled him down, something fell to the floor in front of me, but I didn’t look at it, my eyes locked on Sylvia McDonald as it pounced upon my brother. It opened its mouth for what I then realised was the first time since we met it, and I could see nothing inside save for a dozen long, thick, pointed teeth like a shark. In one fluid movement it plunged those teeth into my brother’s neck and tore out a great chunk of flesh. Blood started to spurt from Nigel’s spasming body, as Sylvia McDonald’s throat began to twitch. Its jaw detached and a long tubular tongue about the thickness of my forearm snaked out of its throat and clamped onto the gushing wound. There was an awful slurping sound, the first noise I’d ever really heard the creature make, as the tongue sucked the blood from my brother’s throat. I just lay there watching as its stomach began to distend and swell, the now bulbous belly straining against the black dress it wore. After the longest ten minutes of my life, the vampire finished. Its tongue retracted back into its throat, still dripping blood onto the now-pale corpse of my brother, and it lay back upon the floor, apparently contented.

As this had been happening all my energy had gone towards not screaming or giving away my presence. But as the vampire lay satiated on the floor, I turned my attention to what had fallen from Nigel’s hand when he had been dragged out of the bed. It was his pocket knife. I had no idea what a small knife like that would do against a creature that seemed far stronger and faster than me, but I didn’t see any option other than to try. I moved so slowly as I reached for the knife that at times it seemed like I wasn’t moving at all. I was worried that the creature would spot me and strike as it had with Nigel, although I now know that smell is in fact the vampire’s major sense and, with all the blood around, there was little chance of it detecting my scent. Grasping the knife in my hands, I crept over towards the creature as it placidly digested my brother’s life, until I stood over it. I felt a sudden surge of rage and adrenaline come over me and with a speed and strength I never knew I had, I plunged the knife into Sylvia McDonald’s blood-bloated stomach.

It burst like a sick balloon, and blood began to pour out. The creature’s eyes shot open and it clutched at the wound desperately. Its throat was not capable of uttering a scream but its face displayed a silent pain and anger as it flailed on the floor. Stumbling back, trying to wipe the blood from my eyes, I felt an unexpected burning in my hand. I realised I’d touched the still-lit candle on the bedside table. I don’t know what I expected to happen when I grabbed the candle and pressed it to the dry part of Sylvia McDonald’s dress. I was just trying to find anything else I could do to harm it before it could recover from its split belly, but I certainly didn’t expect it to catch like dry tinder. The fire spread quickly over its repulsive form, though it did slow somewhat where the clothing or flesh was still moist with blood. It struck me that the vampire must be a very dry creature when not fresh-fed and engorged. Perhaps I had struck before the liquid could spread throughout its body.

Whatever the reason, Sylvia McDonald was alight, and to such a degree that the rest of the room was starting to catch fire as well. I was distraught at the idea of leaving this house without my brother, but he was clearly dead and I needed to escape. I recalled the vampire had been carrying a handbag when we first met it, and had used a key from it to lock the front door. It did not have the handbag with it now, though, so I began to desperately search the other rooms of the house, trying to find it. I did find it in the end, in what I assume to be the vampire’s bedroom. I’ll not describe it in detail, except to say that it appears to be where the creature took most of its meals. Hopefully that makes the picture clear enough for you. I found the key, though, and escaped that house before the fire did me any serious damage. I was terrified of the police coming and thinking I was a murderer, so I didn’t stick around. I just fled into the night.

It was almost a decade before I encountered another vampire. I’d been living on the streets all that time, occasionally in and out of various institutions, and had just about managed to convince myself that Sylvia McDonald had just been a bad reaction to the stress of watching my brother’s murder. It was in the late 60s that I learned different. It was 1968, I remember because that was the year United won the European Cup, and I did quite well out of it – people being generous to begging when they’re happy over a sports win. On a Friday night I would generally spend my time around the Oasis Club in Lloyd Street and hit up for change anyone who was slightly the worse for drink. Well, this night in particular I was doing quite well, as it was a warm June evening not too long after the Cup Final, and everyone was in a good mood.

Now about half eleven that night I spied a stranger all turned out for dancing, making his way from the club with a lady friend. I reckoned they might be good for a tanner, so made my approach. I gave them the spiel and waited. The man looked at me and I understood he wouldn’t be giving me any money, and I stepped away. It was as he turned to leave I realised that he hadn’t opened his mouth, and memories of Sylvia McDonald came rushing back to me in a flash. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I followed behind them at a distance. I didn’t try to hide or disguise myself, as I had long since learned, and it’s true now as it was back then, that no-one pays any real attention to a tramp. As I watched, I saw the clearly drunken woman asking this stranger questions and each time he’d just look at her and she’d smile as though he’d given some reassuring answer and stumble on behind him. All the while he never once opened his mouth.

I didn’t rightly know what to do about this. I had no weapon save my brother’s old pocket knife which I had kept sharp all these years, and while I was pretty sure of what I was seeing, I was still hesitant to attack with no provocation and no plan. As we walked, I kept an eye out for any discarded wood or timber and, sure enough, noticed a broken wooden palette partially sticking out of a bin. I grabbed a long shard and used my knife to quickly hack it to a point, ignoring the splinters. While I had not, at that time, done much research into the creatures I faced, believing as I did my experience as a youth to be the product of a disturbed mental state, I was still aware of their supposed weakness to wooden stakes. I had now followed the vampire, who I would later find out called itself Robert Arden, and its victim back to the building where it apparently lived. It let itself in the front door and the woman followed. I wasn’t fast enough to get in before the front door closed and obviously didn’t have a key, so I went round the windows and, luckily, it seemed the vampire lived on the ground floor.

I watched through the window as it led its victim into a sparsely furnished living room. I couldn’t see any obvious signs of previous slaughter, but I remembered how cleanly Sylvia McDonald had sucked up all the blood from my brother, so this did not strike me as odd. I gently tried the window and found it locked, so searched the garden for the heaviest stone I could find and watched what was happening inside. I had to be sure. Soon enough Robert Arden moved smoothly behind its now-seated prey, and finally opened its mouth to reveal those rows of shark-like teeth I knew would be there. I hurled the rock I held through the window, showering the room with broken glass and causing the woman to scream in shock. Robert Arden raised its head in surprise and for one moment our eyes locked and I knew I had made a terrible mistake. The woman looked at her monstrous companion and, seeing his now open mouth, screamed her terror even louder. In a single movement, far quicker than I expected, Robert Arden was through the window and on me. I struggled and fought, but it was far stronger than I was, and I could barely keep its jagged teeth from finding my throat. It was the first and last time I ever touched a vampire’s skin with my own. The flesh was cold and spongy, like the inside of a bruised apple, and I felt bile rise in my throat even as I fought for my life.

Finally, its teeth bit into my neck. Not enough to kill me outright but with enough force to cause the blood to flow. At that moment I saw a sort of frenzy enter the eyes of Robert Arden and with a spasm its leech’s tongue surged from its throat and I felt it attach to my neck. I do not know if you’ve ever felt your blood being sucked out of you, but I would not recommend it.

Now it is at this point I have something of an admission to make. For the three years preceding this event, as well as on and off through the years since, I have had a relationship with the drug heroin. I tried it for the first time shortly after Nigel’s death and since then I have periodically relapsed. I have always tried to keep this a secret, as I am aware that I have a certain reputation to uphold and I would not want it to be damaged with the revealing of my addiction. But it is important to this account, as I believe it was whatever heroin still remained in my system that night that caused the vampire Robert Arden to remove its tongue from my neck and start to shake, as though having a violent choking fit.

I lay there, trying to compose myself enough to fight back, when I became aware of the screaming. The woman, who had been brought in as a victim, was standing over the flailing Robert Arden, stabbing it repeatedly with a kitchen knife. Strong and quick as it was, the vampire didn’t seem to be able to cope with the sudden onslaught of violence and was on the ground. This gave me the precious seconds I needed to get to my feet and locate my improvised wooden stake. I took aim and plunged it into where I believed the thing’s heart should be. It was easier than I thought it would be – the chest was soft and yielding and there didn’t seem to be any ribcage to stop the blow. Robert Arden went rigid and froze, apparently unable to move its body, though I saw its eyes darting around wildly.

It was at that point the woman whose name I never discovered, dropped the knife and ran. I never saw her again, but she had already saved my life. I took out my cigarette lighter and set Robert Arden alight. Like Sylvia McDonald before it, it caught fire in a matter of seconds and, by the time the police arrived, there was nothing left but a small patch of scorched tarmac. I was lucky that night, and nobody saw anything or called the police before I was finished and had made my way from the scene but I was always more careful after that.

Following that night, though, I was never again worried that I might have been wrong about the existence of vampires. I always kept my eyes open for them, although sometimes I was too eager, as was the case of Alard Dupont who I killed in 1982 and later discovered was a human. It is my belief that they are very rare and feed only infrequently, as all evidence I have seen points to their feeding being fatal. If there were many vampires or if they ate often, the number of disappearances would quickly become noticeable to the rest of society. I do not know what they do with the bodies of their victims and this has always perplexed me, as they do not have any mechanism for eating solid food and I do not believe there are many, if any, cases of murder where the body is found completely without blood. I certainly do not think they rise as vampires themselves, as the vampire population seems far too small for this to be a possibility.

Archivist Notes:

According to Martin, who was here when they took this statement, it was at this point in writing that Mr. Herbert announced he needed some sleep before continuing. He was shown to the break room where he went to sleep on the couch. He did not awaken; unfortunately succumbing to the lung cancer right there. Martin says the staff had been aware of how serious Mr. Herbert’s condition was and had advised him to seek medical aid prior to giving his statement, but were told rather bluntly by the old man that he would not wait another second to state his case. I can’t decide whether this lends more or less credibility to his tale.

Regardless, there is substantial evidence to support the version of events told by Mr. Herbert in all aspects except the vampirism. There is a news report of a 1959 fire that consumed a house on Loom Street and apparently claimed the life of an 18-year-old boy, although no mention is made of the homeowner, and a police report from 1968 confirms the disappearance of Robert Arden in Manchester amid circumstances of violence, including a broken window and signs of a fire, though no human remains were found. There is also a murder report concerning one Alard Dupont, whose partially burned corpse was found in his home on August 2nd 1982. Unfortunately Mr. Herbert was never able to give details of others, so we cannot corroborate further.

There was, however, a small bag left on top of this statement, which appears to contain six shark teeth of varying sizes. According to correspondence with the Zoology Department at King’s College, they didn’t match any currently known species.

Personally, I don’t know what to think. I certainly don’t believe in wild tales of vampirism, but I can’t help but notice that the statement above appears to be a photocopy of a photocopy, and can’t find these supposed vampire teeth anywhere in the Archives or the Secure Containment Room. I don’t know where the originals are but the file number is listed among multiple information requests from the Institute’s government and law enforcement contracts. It may be that they take Mr. Herbert’s statement far more seriously than I do.

Source: Official Transcript and Podcast (MAG 10 Vampire Hunter)

#the magnus archives #magnus archives #MAG #MAG10 #MAG 10 #VampireKiller #Vampire Killer #Statement #The Hunt

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racingtoaredlight · 3 years ago

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Beans & Toast: Saturday Night’s Alright

It's getting late, have you seen my mates? Ma, tell me when the boys get here It's seven o'clock, and I wanna rock Want to get a belly full of beer

***

Eric Roberts was down.

He hated being reprimanded, especially when he was trying his best to help out the team. All these other guys? They all had “training” and “experience.” He was figuring all this shit out on the fly, baby!

Not that it necessarily mattered now. The boat took off, leaving him with Nigel, Connie and Preston back in Cape Town. He was far more useful as a third wheel than on trying to board a ship in the middle of the night. But that didn’t make him feel any better after his mistake.

He’s gonna blow off some steam, see what all this Cape Town hype was about. Roberts had grown fond of the new Italian clotheir Doppiaa, threw on a pair of stone colored linen trousers and a forest green terry cloth polo, a pair of chili-colored suede Ferragamos, lit up a cigarette and hit the streets.

***

Ribs angrily throws a half eaten package of Roberts’ Patagonia dried mangos into the gunmetal blue Atlantic waters. “Fucking Christ, all this shit tastes like wasabi from those fucking walnuts! Goddamnit Roberts!”

The boat steams north.

***

Oh, don't give us none of your aggravation We had it with your discipline Oh, Saturday night's alright for fighting Get a little action in

***

“Again? You did this last night, uncle.”

Nigel relaxed in the bed of this soon-to-be run down Cape Town Hotel, satisfied and drowsy. He listened part way to Davita talking to her uncle, who Nigel assumes lives in the area, trying to talk him out of something. The more he watches her on the phone, the more he seems to not recognize the person he just spent an hour with between the sheets.

Her tenor and cadence of speech were markedly different, he even thought he detected hints of a European accent. But his instincts honed by years of intelligence work barely managed to cut through his post coital haze, if at all. Despite him logically cataloging all these different things a seasoned intelligence agent would pick up on, his emotional response overrode the things he should have picked up on. Because he didn’t care.

She angrily hangs up the phone, turns to Nigel, smiles with her mouth but not her eyes, and jumps back into bed. Nigel, despite not caring about the answer, asks, “what was that all about?”

“Oh nothing, my uncle is such a dork sometimes,” waving off any of his potential concern as she slides into bed next to him. “Round 2?” the American accent’s deflection expertly executed.

***

Well, they're packed pretty tight in here tonight I'm looking for a dolly who'll see me right I may use a little muscle to get what I need I may sink a little drink and shout out, "She's with me"

***

Abeo Chukwu-Ojhogar wasn’t with the CIA, MI-6, Mossad, BND, FSB or even any of the independent groups, but he knew intelligence work better than most of those service’s top agents. He had an advantage they didn’t...no loyalty, nobody to answer to. A dollar’s only as good as the agreement it’s made upon.

If there was one thing Abeo had in his skill set, it was the ability to keep his eyes open and see opportunities. As much for his employers as himself. At the same time he attached himself to his employer’s security team, he was looking for their own vulnerabilities to exploit for his own benefit. You don’t want to bind yourself to a boat that might sink.

And, in his opinion, his employer might sink. The fact they were there at all was something Abeo viewed as creating a vulnerability for yourself, questioning his boss’ better judgement. As he became comfortable with his surroundings, he kept his eyes on the entrance, casually noting the comers and goers, not expecting much of anything.

***

A couple of the sounds that I really like Are the sounds of a switchblade and a motorbike I'm a juvenile product of the working class Whose best friend floats in the bottom of a glass, oh

***

Don't give us none of your aggravation We had it with your discipline

“Tell me about it, baby,” Eric Roberts mutters to himself as he walks into a half-packed Cape Town club, still stinging after getting dressed down by Connie.

He walks to the bar and orders a martini. After the bartender explains they don’t have any vermouth, Roberts tries to instruct him how to make one properly (despite the missing ingredient), yelling over the Elton John cover band blasting away on the small stage.

“I SAID FORGET ABOUT IT, JUST GIVE ME A...”

Roberts pauses mid-sentence as he glances at the stage. His jaw drops. He whips out his phone, takes a picture, begins to text it Connie when he hears the telltale click of a gun and feels the barrel pressing into his side.

“Come with me,” Abeo growls in his ear.

***

Her chair screeches against the floor as Connie bolts to her feet, eyes as wide as saucers staring at her phone’s screen. “DAD!” She slides her phone down the table, not even looking up while she furiously types into the encrypted messaging program that was their only communication with the group steaming north along the west African coast.

ENCRYPTED MESSAGE FROM: 87522365852 TO: 385719849083

ABORT ABORT BACK TO CT

***

Preston looks at Connie’s phone in shock. “This motherfucker’s been in Cape Town the whole time.”

***

TO BE CONTINUED

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architectnews · 3 years ago

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Foster, Grimshaw and ZHA among thousands of UK practices failing to back RIBA net-zero carbon challenge

Less than six per cent of UK architecture firms have signed up to a RIBA climate initiative aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emissions from buildings they design.

Just 230 of the 4,000 Royal Institute of British Architects chartered practices have signed its 2030 Climate Challenge.

Leading practices including Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects and Grimshaw Architects are among those that have failed to join the initiative.

RIBA chief executive Alan Vallance urged firms to sign up to the "undeniably tough but progressively achievable" challenge.

"Changing the way we practice to combat climate change isn't an option anymore," he told Dezeen. "We need everyone on board to make a difference."

Initiative challenges studios aim for net-zero

Launched in October 2019, the voluntary challenge helps architects design buildings with net-zero lifecycle emissions by 2030.

This is in line with the decarbonisation goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as well as anticipated UK legislation.

Signatories must "attempt to meet the targets on all their new and major refurbishment projects and commit to submitting data on these projects."

RIBA told Dezeen that more practices had signed up recently amid growing awareness of the need to eliminate emissions from buildings, which contribute around 40 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

"We know lots of practices are contemplating and reviewing the targets, which is really encouraging," said RIBA senior media officer Abigail Chiswell-White. "We just need them to sign up!"

Majority of UK studios not signed up

But the failure of the vast majority of practices to join the initiative follows concern from United Nations climate champion Nigel Topping over the lack of climate action by the profession.

Last month Topping told Dezeen that architecture "is one of the least well-represented businesses in the Race to Zero," referring to the UN initiative to get companies to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Net-zero means that there are no net emissions of carbon across the entire lifecycle. For buildings, this covers both embodied carbon emitted by the construction supply chain and operational carbon emitted during the building's use. Unavoidable emissions must be offset using schemes that remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Emissions from the built environment are under the spotlight in the run-up to the UN's COP26 climate conference in Glasgow this November, where a day will be dedicated to the sector for the first time.

Topping said architects are in a "unique and important position" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to the influence they have on choices of materials, systems and construction methods.

He said his team was working to get architects to join the Race to Zero commit to net-zero "so that when we reach COP26 we can really show ambition within the sector."

Foster + Partners says joining scheme would be "confusing"

So far, none of the world's 50 largest architecture firms has joined the Race to Zero. Of the 20 largest practices in the UK, only 12 have signed up to the RIBA initiative.

Dezeen contacted all eight practices that have failed to join the 2030 Climate Challenge.

Foster + Partners, the UK's biggest architecture firm, said it had not signed up as it has its own sustainability manifesto, which it launched in 2019.

"We feel it would be confusing for our teams to have two similar systems running in parallel," the practice said, claiming that its manifesto covers "covers much of the same ground" as the RIBA challenge.

However, Foster's manifesto does not commit the practice to achieving net-zero emissions in its projects or set out how it can do this.

Zaha Hadid Architects uncertain it's "something we believe in"

"We are addressing these targets," said Zaha Hadid Architects, the UK's third-biggest practice and another that has not signed up to RIBA's 2030 Climate Challenge. "We are currently measuring our portfolio with respect to these targets and establishing robust systems to monitor the progress of every project."

But it added: "We would not make any public commitment without being certain it's not only something we believe in but also something we are able to deliver."

Sheppard Robson, the sixth-biggest UK practice, said it was about to sign up to the latest version of the challenge, which was updated recently. "Sheppard Robson are signing up to version 2 and are currently aligning our reporting to enable data to be shared with RIBA," the practice said.

Grimshaw Architects, the seventh-biggest UK firm according to the AJ100 list, said it has set its own net-zero targets.

"We were the first major architect practice to pledge to design and deliver socially and environmentally regenerative buildings and assets by 2030 and, as a first step to reach this, to design net zero-carbon ready buildings and infrastructure by 2025," it said.

However, the net-zero carbon statement on Grimshaw's website only commits the company to making its own buildings net-zero, not those it designs for clients.

Large studios now considering signing up

Stride Treglown, another top-20 UK practice that has not signed up, said the aspirations of the RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 "align well with our own ambitions and targets". However, it added that "the collection of data required to demonstrate performance against the RIBA's targets was a considerable challenge."

It said that version 2 of the challenge "has since made data collection more achievable and we therefore expect to add our signature in the near future."

EPR Architects said: "Our dedicated in-house sustainability team are currently reviewing the RIBA Climate Challenge data submission requirements, with the view to sign up shortly.”

PRP said: We have not signed up to the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge as of yet as we are currently undertaking work to establish whether can exceed the targets. If we can, and we believe we will be able to, we want to make a statement that we are going beyond the targets set by the 2030 Climate Challenge."

Squire and Partners did not respond to Dezeen's questions asking why it has not signed up to the challenge.

Targets "undeniably tough"

The twelve practices in the UK top 20 that have signed up to the initiative are BDP, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, Allies and Morrison, Hawkins\Brown, Atkins, Scott Brownrigg, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, TP Bennett, Purcell, AHR, WilkinsonEyre and PLP Architecture.

"The targets we've set our chartered practices through this challenge are undeniably tough, but they're also progressively achievable," said RIBA's Vallance. "We're here to provide our members with the guidance they need to work towards them."

"Changing the way we practice to combat climate change isn't an option anymore, and we're confident that these goals will place projects on the trajectory towards net-zero," he added.

In October, RIBA and climate network Architects Declare will host a conference that aims to hone a message to governments ahead of the COP26 conference the following month. The Built Environment Summit will generate proposals for regulations to help decarbonise the built environment, which it will present at COP26.

"We're seeing more and more practices sign-up to attempt to achieve these reductions on their projects ahead of COP26, but we need everyone on board to make a difference," said Vallance.

"The challenge is about committing to design for outcome-based building performance based on a clear set of RIBA standards – and I cannot emphasise the importance enough.”

The post Foster, Grimshaw and ZHA among thousands of UK practices failing to back RIBA net-zero carbon challenge appeared first on Dezeen.

#Architecture – Dezeen

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tyttetardis · 7 years ago

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Miranda Does Christmas - Extra material

(Spoilers about the show…well, sorta anyway)

This might be somewhat unhelpful - I’m pretty awful at remembering stuff clearly- but here are a few notes on Miranda Does Christmas and “teasers” about stuff that didn’t make it into the finished show. Luckily most of the best stuff did, but a lot of little things and a few bigger things were unfortunately cut.

I gotta say I’m so glad they kept in the Nigel Farage joke - I loved that! Perfect :D I was certain they wouldn’t have kept it in, so that was such a nice surprise! (On the other hand, I used my mental capacity for remembering direct quotes on this, oops)

Anyway, David talked a bit about how Christmas is a very romantic time at their house what with Georgia’s (”my wife’s”) birthday and them getting engaged on that day too. The audience didn’t “aww” like expected with a story like this (they did with Susan’s engagement story), which was quite frustrating because I was absolutely on the verge of going big on the Aww-ing, but then no one else did and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. But it really was sweet - just imagine that adorable look on his face whenever he talks about his wife 😍 He looked so chuffed about it :D

Miranda asked him something along the lines of whether he lets his inner Hamlet out when wearing his Christmas-cracker crown - I’m not sure what his exact response was, but I’m pretty sure it was confirmative - jokingly of course, but still!

Debating whether Die Hard is a Christmas film, begrudgingly conceding that it probably is since it does take place during Christmas. This was probably part of the quick-fire quiz - it seems a bit short.

They showed a childhood picture of David when he was around 9, I think he said (or that might have just been with the doll - but even then it can’t be too far off) - I don’t know if it’s a known picture, but I had never seen it before. He was sitting on a couch (I think) unwrapping a gift (I cannot for the life of me remember what it was - even though he explained it! Feel like it might have been one of those chemistry or magic sets....or sth like that) or possibly having unwrapped it and holding it tight in excitement - looking up at the camera as you do when you have something far more interesting to get on with! David commented on the complete lack of Christmas decorations in their house - I don’t recall exactly what he said, but I think it was something like “How depressing is that!”. I have such a clear mental picture of this - but for some reason, my brain just won’t translate it into words.

At some point, David responded with “That’s because it hasn’t been Christmas yet” and you could sort of see his face go “oh!” and everybody pretended like nothing, but it got awkward for a tiny second haha, and then they just quickly moved on!

Miranda did a hip-hop song….about 3 times! And then they didn’t even use it! Though I’m kinda glad they didn’t show us waving about with our hands - I was so confused! But it sounded funny :)

Oh, speaking of singing - they cut out our singalong rendition of Jingle Bells! I guess it was too good - we were quite bad at singing it awfully like she asked us to. But David looked precious meanwhile, so they should absolutely have kept it!

The Choir also had to do their sequence 3-5 times! So while it was very good, it was a bit awkward having to seem excited about it again and again, but it was quite lovely observing David meanwhile. Tapping happily along to the music :D and singing along a bit too, even though I obviously couldn’t hear it.

Well it was quite lovely observing him during the breaks throughout the whole thing - seeing him talk and laugh with the others without being able to hear what they talked about, him checking his phone, eating sweets, being instructed on the next scene, getting re-powdered, him sitting just quietly and waiting, his face going lax - he also promptly jumped out of his seat and went to look at the photo above the chimney, face very close to it and so giving us a lovely view of the other side of him :P

When Miranda asked if anyone knew which song was the Christmas number two David went all Hermione - immediately raising a hand in the air, lifting himself from the chair, going all “ I know” - again, I don’t remember what he said precisely, it all happened very fast. But it was quite funny that it turned out David had the wrong answer.

Regarding David not getting the Leela doll, they talked quite a bit more about it and David said his children certainly wouldn’t have to be afraid to ask for something like that ( Well, more like they wouldn't have to be afraid to wish for anything) - if that’s what they wanted they would absolutely get it! (or something to that effect ). Also, do look up the Leela doll from the 70′s :D they should have gotten him that one - then again, he probably already bought it himself :) They showed a picture on the small screen, so I couldn’t see it, but David said sth about it not being the same version he had wanted back then.

During the reading of the Highway Rat the camera was in front of me in a way so that I could pretty much only see the top of his head, so all I had was just his crazy eyebrow acting the hell out of that piece, which was kinda fantastic! Haha but it was great to see his entire precious face

They recorded the bit with Sam Smith first because he had to leave early, so David did the entrance scene twice (It looks like it might have been the second one they used, he seems a bit loosened up, doesn’t he?), and before Miranda went to do the rap-song David and the others went out again so they could come in later again - David stood and as he walked off the stage he stretched and then looked out at us, shrugging like “I don’t know what’s going on either!”

The telly didn’t do the dancing justice at all! So much better in reality :P No cuts, and full frame! Also before the dancing, Miranda asked them if they had a personal dance-move that they used - and I cannot for the life of me remember what David said or did, I was no doubt laughing too hard, but it was definitely one of those patented David-moves. Not sure if it was him or Susan who talked about having done their dance-moves on many a clubs/nights out, but I think Glasgow came up. I feel like he did the DJ Zig-zag dance move shortly at some point too.

During the first seconds of the pre-recorded clip with Miranda, he squinted at the screen and I think I heard him quip something like “Oh I think I know that bar!” - but I didn’t even notice a bar, so I’ve no idea!

When they sat down to play the car-race game David looked adorably confused and went all “Which one am I?!” - and of course winning the first round anyway. Someone said sth about David being a champion at the game, not sure who, but then Susan upped her game and went all “you’re gonna lose”! They certainly got a bit more into it than it appears on the screen.

At the beginning of the show, the prompt screen read “Miranda Does Christmas. Not sexually” - she didn’t use it a first, but it was mentioned later on, and David said she should’ve just called the show that. No explanation.

Concerning planning Christmas dinner with military-precision he said he makes a time schedule and joked about having put aside scheduled time for family fun “15 minutes, go!”. They cut this talk off quite abruptly, such a shame, as it was also very funny.

It was very lovely the way he hurried over to relieve the choir singer of the stuff he had given her during the “date” immediately after the scene was done. Or, maybe it was right after he was given something to clean his hands with, he looked like he didn’t know what to do with them, and so relieved at being given a cleaning cloth. Either way, it was cute how he bounced over there taking it back.

The talk about that family log of Susan’s went on quite a bit longer - David was so confused by it and then very interested in learning more! He definitely commented a lot more on the subject than it appears :) I don’t remember the details, but I remember laughing a lot!

During the breaks, annoyingly, some people in the audience kept (okay maybe it was only like 2-4 times/people) asking if they could get a hug from David, and the audience entertainer then went “David’s pretending he didn’t hear, but he totally heard” which was kinda funny ‘cause that’s exactly what David looked liked - poor guy!

I really hope they release an extended version of this, because I feel like there’s so much missing! Even if it’s just little things - but there was a lot of lovely talking. You almost get whiplash watching the edited version, it’s so rapid. We were there for about 3 hours, so even with the breaks and the repetitions, that still leaves quite a lot of time unaccounted for in this 45-minute show!

She didn’ ask him about his favourite Christmas song, so, unfortunately, that wasn’t just cut - would have been nice. She also didn’t ask him about a tradition like she did the others - or do the which-of-these-is the-correct-answer...

#david tennant #miranda does christmas #miranda hart #anja rambles again #gah someone please give me photographic memory skills!#well even if i don't remember all the stuff it was certainly a blast being there for the whole thing!#but it was so confusing to watch!#i've not actually seen the two other recordings i have gone to so i was not prepared!#it was disorienting how quickly things were happening! and then in a completely different order and with so much cut!#it's like passing out in the middle of a conversation and then having to pretend you know exactly what was just said to follow along #also i had no idea who anyone but david was haha so that was kinda awkward!#especially when sam went into the audience to hand out tickets and everyone went nuts clapping haha but i sorta just awkwardly clapped alon #but it also seems like no one else knew david was coming haha they all seemed surprised!#i also liked susan - even if she was a bit talkative! but very sweet - and i feel like i have a lot in common with her!#she had a lot of comments that had me laughing - many of which didn't make it into the show either #they also had to have a break to give her a jacket - i think she was too sparkly!#obs if they should release additional stuff and it turns out i misremembered everything please kindly ignore me hahah :p #wish i had been naughty and recorded this - haha such a chicken!

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myhauntedsalem · 5 years ago

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13 Terrifying True Tales of Abandoned Asylums and Hospitals

1. The Old Operating Room

2. 911 Calls

That extension? The arts and crafts room. Nobody goes there at night. Nobody. I assure you. Yet there’s obviously something there. And it calls 911 a lot.

Lots of other stories from that place but that’s the craziest, creepiest one.

3. The Power Was Still On

When I was a teenager (20+ years ago) my friends and I trespassed on a condemned insane asylum called Eloise in Southeastern Michigan.

It was like… why is this here? What’s going on?

Later on, I found out that the asylum and a nearby hospital were connected. However, the wikipedia page says it closed in 1984… but we were there several years after that.

I think I saved one of the patient records somewhere.

4. The Footsteps Above

5. Things Moved In The Night

There is this abandoned mental hospital in my town called Prudhoe hospital which is sort of the scary place kids go to show bravado. It’s surrounded by woods so obviously you hear lots about it.

You hear lots of stories from people after it was abandoned but the spookiest things come from when it was still in service.

Eventually security was hired believing it was someone getting into the hospital at night and doing all these things to scare people or to just be trouble.

However even with security they never found out who was doing these things at night.

6. The Praying Nun

My dad does not believe in ghosts, but he says there was a nun down there that night.

7. The Séance

Turns out this girl was named Cassy and she had had a secret abortion two weeks prior. She had told no one about the pregnancy, not even her boyfriend.

8. The Late Night Walk

Obviously my cousin and his friends broke in to look around.

9. The Little Boy

One night, around 2:30 in the morning, he sees me walking by and calls me into his room.

“Is that your son or something”?

“Who”?, I asked.

“The little boy that’s been following you all night”.

I’m getting chills thinking about it now

10. What was running around with us in that asylum?

It was about 16 years ago (I’m old now haha), when I lived in Topeka, Kansas. Now some of you will know what I’ll be talking about already, but for those of you who don’t, keep reading. I was a keen urban explorer, there was just something thrilling about breaking into abandoned buildings and exploring them. I had always known about the Topeka State Hospital due to the numerous ‘haunted’ stories around it, but I had never really thought about exploring it. My friend of mine, Reece, was also an avid urban explorer, and one night he suggested to me that we go check it out at night. Not believing in ghosts or scary stories as such, I instantly agreed to go. We got our bags ready with torches, phones and a snack or two (you have to travel light) and waited for sunset.

11. She Was Right Behind Me

She was right behind me, staring into my face. I don’t know how she managed to silently cover that ten feet just as fast as I had moved, but she did.

12. The Night Shift

13. The Ambulance

I never got a shot of the ambulance as I was too scared to go near the windows and that my flash would go off, but I did get a shot of the rangler in the parking lot.

What the fuck were these guys doing there? An ambulance??? I’d love to hear what you guys come up with, we’ve been playing it over in our heads for quite a while now…

#13 Terrifying True Tales of Abandoned Asylums and Hospitals #paranormal #ghost and hauntings #ghost and spirits

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wsmith215 · 4 years ago

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Steve Bruce says Premier League should not resume before end of June | Football News

Bruce says squad are largely happy with measures put in place for safe return to training

Last Updated: 16/05/20 11:28pm

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce is concerned at how quickly players may be expected to recover full fitness

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has warned players will not be fit enough to resume the Premier League season until the end of June.

Bruce has joined Watford counterpart Nigel Pearson in voicing concerns about Project Restart and a targeted return date in mid-June, ahead of Monday’s expected vote on a return to training in small groups with social distancing.

Troy Deeney and Glenn Murray publicly pleading for football in England not to be rushed back too soon, while on loan Newcastle defender Danny Rose has raised his concerns over returning to action.

UEFA are hopeful major European league can finish by the end of July but should the Premier League not resume until late June it would be difficult to complete the remaining 92 league games in time.

Newcastle sit 13th and eight points above the relegation zone in the Premier League

“We’ve listened to what has been said and, with the precautions taken, we will get back to work and start phase one,” Bruce told The Telegraph.

“Can we get to that stage where we can have all the players on the pitch together? We don’t know yet.

“Phase one will be mainly fitness work, four or five players on a pitch. Let’s see how we get on [and hope there are no infections].”

1:26 Former England internationals Paul Robinson and Matthew Upson believe Premier League players may be under too much pressure to return to action

Former England internationals Paul Robinson and Matthew Upson believe Premier League players may be under too much pressure to return to action

The Premier League has been suspended since March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic and Bruce says there are widespread concerns from managers over how quickly players are expected to find recover full fitness.

He added: “We need enough preparation time to get these players into shape or they are just going to fall down like a pack of cards.

“Most of the managers have the same concerns. We would need at least six weeks. I don’t see how we can play games until the back end of June.”

4:28 Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard says he has been making plans for a possible resumption of training next week

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard says he has been making plans for a possible resumption of training next week

Bruce revealed his squad are due to undergo testing on Sunday and should the results all come back negative then the side will return to training following their two-month break on Tuesday.

A meeting of Premier League captains was held last Wednesday and Bruce says his squad are relaxed about a return to training but he insisted players deserve respect should they opt to stay at home.

Bruce said: “If a player refuses to come in or play, I have sympathy for that and would understand it. Most of my players are happy with it.

“There was a captain’s meeting the other day as well and as a squad they are happy with the measures that are being put in place. You have to respect everybody’s personal views on it.”

PL ‘Project Restart’ Q&A: Decision imminent

The resumption of the Premier League campaign remains uncertain with talks ongoing between clubs, players, medical experts and top-flight officials

Premier League clubs will hold their latest emergency conference call on ‘Project Restart’ on Monday. Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Bryan Swanson answers the key questions…

Is a return to training close?

Yes, but clubs are required to agree to Premier League protocols.

A vote will be required over the first phase of training – small groups with social distancing – and nothing more advanced.

At least 14 clubs must approve these new measures.

If the majority of clubs agree on Monday’s conference call, players can return to a sterile non-contact environment later in the week. It’s important to stress: This is about the first phase of training and nothing further than that.

1:10 Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Jonathan Van-Tam told the government briefing how they will decide on the return of elite sport

Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Jonathan Van-Tam told the government briefing how they will decide on the return of elite sport

A return to training, on a socially distanced basis, has been discussed this week between club captains, managers, the Professional Footballers’ Association [PFA] and League Managers Association [LMA], and concerns have been raised by some senior players.

Clubs had to conduct a COVID-19 focused occupational health risk assessment by Friday [May 15], record its results and make those results available to the Premier League on request.

In a draft document seen by Sky Sports News, each club must ensure that, before any player or staff attends the training ground, they have provided written confirmation that they have received the terms of the club’s Covid-19 operational policy.

Read the rest of the key questions here

Join Sky Bet Club and track your progress towards a £5 free Bet

Opt in and bet £25 or more before 23:59 on Sunday. Free bets credited by 7pm on Monday.

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sciencespies · 5 years ago

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To Silence Wind Turbines and Airplanes, Engineers Are Studying Owl Wings

https://sciencespies.com/nature/to-silence-wind-turbines-and-airplanes-engineers-are-studying-owl-wings/

To Silence Wind Turbines and Airplanes, Engineers Are Studying Owl Wings

Every owl fancier has a story of the first time they heard an owl — or, rather, didn’t hear one. It’s unforgettable to see an enormous bird, whose wingspan can reach more than six feet, slipping through the air without even a whisper.

Justin Jaworski’s first close encounter came at a flying exhibition at the Raptor Foundation near Cambridge, England. “They trained the owls to fly very close to the audience,” he says. “My first experience was of ducking to avoid a collision. I heard only a very slight swoosh after it passed.”

Laboratory measurements have shown that the slight swoosh made by a barn owl is below the threshold of human hearing until the owl is about three feet away — a feat of stealth that biologists and engineers are far from completely understanding. But researchers from both disciplines are working to solve the riddle of silent flight — some with the aim of designing quieter fans, turbine blades and airplane wings.

Such owl-inspired innovations can reduce noise by as much as 10 decibels, similar to the difference in noise between a passing truck and a passing car, Jaworski and Nigel Peake write in an overview in the 2020 Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics.

Go gentle

Jaworski, an engineer at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, is hardly the first scientist to be captivated by the puzzle of silent owl flight. In 1934, Robert Rule Graham — a British pilot and bird connoisseur — called attention to three structures on owl wings that might account for the owls’ silence.

More than 80 years later, his “three traits paradigm,” as Christopher Clark calls it, is still cited in many papers on owl wings. “He clearly knew birds very well, and he was an aeronautical engineer,” says Clark, an ornithologist at the University of California, Riverside. “Science was different in the 1930s. In our age of specialization, you don’t get that combination.”

First, Graham pointed out an unusual structure called the “comb,” which literally looks like a comb projecting forward from the wing’s leading edge. Second, he noted that most of the owl wing is covered with a soft layer of velvety feathers. Finally, he observed that the feathers on the trailing edge of the wing form a ragged fringe.

Most researchers still agree that the comb, the velvet and the fringe combine in some way to reduce noise, but the owl may have more tricks up its sleeve. “When all is said and done, I think we’ll have a number of mechanisms, including Graham’s,” says Clark.

To explain how an owl suppresses noise, it would help to identify where the noise comes from in the first place. For an airplane coming in for a landing, a large part of the noise comes not from the engines but from the flow of air around the plane, especially the sound produced at the trailing edge of the wings. The turbulent air rushing past the exposed edges of the wings translates to the dull roar you hear as the plane flies overhead.

Researchers trained a Florida barred owl (Strix varia alleni) to fly through a special recording room. The gliding owls generated very little sound in the range of human hearing (people can hear sounds above the dashed line). Low-frequency sounds made by owl flight are inaudible, no matter the distance. Humans can hear flight noise in the mid-range frequencies when the owl is between one and three meters away. Owl wings and feathers are especially good at dampening higher-frequency sounds, which can be heard only if a person is standing within a meter of the noise.

(Knowable magazine)

One way to reduce this noise would be to make the trailing edge of the wing less hard, more porous and more flexible. This may be the function of the owl wing’s ragged fringes. Jaworski and Peake have mathematically calculated how engineers might use such porosity and elasticity to reduce noise, and how to quantify that diminished din.

Those calculations are supported by wind-tunnel experiments: A variety of porous materials do dial down the noise. Work by Thomas Geyer at Brandenburg University of Technology in Germany has found that a poroelastic wing the size of an owl’s can be about 2 to 5 decibels quieter than a regular wing.

However, says Geyer, the right porous material is crucial; in the wind-tunnel tests, some materials actually increased high-frequency noise. Measurements of owls in flight show that their wings mute only frequencies higher than 1,600 hertz (on a piano, two-and-a-half octaves above middle C). Since this is roughly where the range of rodent hearing begins, it’s the range that an owl would benefit most from suppressing as it hunts for a meal.

Jaworski and Ian Clark (no relation to Christopher) of NASA’s Langley Research Center have attempted to mimic the owl’s velvet by covering a standard airfoil with various kinds of fabric. “The winning textile was a wedding veil,” says Jaworski. However, it may not be necessary to donate your nuptial accessories to science, because the researchers got even better results by attaching tiny plastic 3-D–printed “finlets” to the blades of a wind turbine.

Research suggests that owl wings have three features that contribute to their silent flight: a “comb” structure (just visible at the wing’s top right), ragged trailing edges (visible along the bottom of the wing) and a velvety material that covers much of the upper left of the wing. The comb structure from a different specimen is shown close-up at bottom.

(Thomas Fritz Geyer / Brandenburg University of Technology )

“Over a certain frequency range, we saw a 10-decibel noise reduction,” Jaworski says. “That may not sound like much, but in air acoustics, engineers fight over two or three decibels. Ten decibels is half as noisy. That’s a massive change for any technology.” Siemens, a manufacturer of wind turbines, has apparently been listening, and recently unveiled its second-generation “Dino Tail” turbines that have combs directly inspired by the owl wing.

Feathery enigma

Though owl wings are providing new insights into noise reduction for aeronautical engineering, engineers have had less success describing the physics of owl flight. According to ornithologist Clark, the engineers may not even have identified the most important source of noise in owl aviation.

If you’re trying to build an owl, rather than a wind turbine or an airplane, you’ll notice several differences. Owls have feathers; airplanes don’t. Owls flap their wings; airplanes don’t. There’s a good reason that aeronautical engineers prefer stationary, solid wings to flapping, feathery ones: They are easier to understand.

But if you are a biologist, to ignore flapping is to ignore a fundamental ingredient in avian flight, says Clark. As bird wings flap they change shape, and as they change shape the feathers rub against each other, causing noise. This noise is frictional, not aerodynamic, produced by the contact of solid against solid.

In Clark’s view, the purpose of the owl’s velvet and the fringes is to reduce frictional noise between the feathers while flapping. Clark concedes that his argument would be moot if owls glided while hunting, but video evidence shows they do not: They flap when taking off, they flap when landing and they even flap when “coursing” for prey.

Scientists seeking to understand why the owl’s flight differs from other birds have studied the turbulence patterns left in their wake. Red and blue indicate vortices spinning in opposite directions.

(Roi Gurka, Costal Carolina University and Elias Balaras, George Washington University)

And the fringes are not only on the trailing edge of the wing, where the aerodynamic theory would predict them to have the greatest noise-reducing benefit. Fringes also exist on the leading edges of the feathers, where they do not affect aerodynamic noise, as well on some feathers that are not even exposed to the airflow. This suggests that their purpose is not aerodynamic.

Clark says that we may be asking the question backward. Instead of asking why owls are so quiet, we should ask why other birds are so loud. The answer is feathers. “Feathers are amazing structures, and probably the reason birds are so successful,” Clark says. But they come with an evolutionary cost: “If you’re going to build a wing out of feathers, they are going to produce frictional sound.” To become silent hunters, owls evolved special adaptations that reduce this disadvantage.

Owls are not the only kind of bird that has solved this problem. Some species of Australian frogmouths have independently developed the same adaptations. These birds are also carnivorous and have wings that are soft and fluffy with combs and ragged fringes. In Graham’s day, people assumed that frogmouths were closely related to owls, but genomic analysis has proved that they are not. While less studied than owls, they too are silent flyers.

“Evolution often takes a quirky path,” Clark says. “One way you can home in on the underlying mechanical principles, and tell them apart from quirks, is with convergent evolution.” When two unrelated animals have the same adaptation, it suggests that the feature confers a benefit — in this case, stealth.

At present, there are two ways to understand owl flight: an engineering view informed by the equations of fluid motion and wind-tunnel experiments, and a biological view based on anatomy, behavior and genomics. A truly integrated story will probably require both. Even engineers realize that idealized studies based on rigid, unfeathered wings are not enough. It’s quite possible that the owl uses its feathers and small shape adjustments of the wing actively, rather than passively, to manipulate airflow. Engineers aren’t even close to understanding this process, which spans several size scales, from the barbs of the feathers to the individual feathers, to the entire wing.

“What is missing to us is the microscopic point of view,” says Roi Gurka of Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, whose experiments with flying owls have led to beautiful computer simulations of the flow field around a flapping owl wing. “I understand the wing,” he says, but understanding the role individual feather morphology plays in noise reduction is another matter.

While the scientists debate, the barn owl will continue flying as it always has: its face as round and imperturbable as the moon, its ears trained on its next meal and its feathers treading gently on the air.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for the newsletter.

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melaninkpopimagines · 7 years ago

Text

Slick vs Sleek

Jaebum x Reader

*Requested*

Warning: Partial Smut, Violence

Word Count: 4617

Author: Admin Jae

“You know what you came here for. Stay on target” Nigel whispered in the microphone attached to the inside of your ear.

“Yes, I get it. Stop pestering me, will you?” you snapped back. Nigel is your partner during your assignment. You were fond of Nigel, just because he bought humor to the table. Nigel would make it his personal mission to see you crack a smile. He was serving as an intern at Crimson. He graduated top of his class and in his spare time; he hacks and read comic books. He found your stern looks intimidating causing him to be extremely nervous around you. You were known to be a smartass around the office and never followed the rules despite your strong work ethic.

“You look absolutely beautiful tonight” Nigel commented. “Thank you, I try to be a good representation of Crimson. Sexy... Deadly” you said.

You were wearing a sexy red evening dress with a slit and v-neckline that can tease any man. You also carried a concealed weapon underneath. You had stares coming from all directions, men stealing glances from you.

“All right, what’s next?” you said.

“What do mean, what’s next? Haven’t you’ve done this before?” Nigel speculated. “No, I don’t perform stakeouts” you replied. “Well, it’s not our assignment to search and destroy. Keep your eyes sharp and ears open” Nigel urged. “I know Nigel, this isn’t my first day” you reminded handing the guard your gala invitation.

You walked up the marbled steps to the ballroom. Everyone was dressed their very best only to impress those around. It was a very elegant atmosphere. People gathered in discussion barely able to hold their alcohol before the gala starts. “People are already drunk” you observed. “That’s a shame” Nigel said. You caught a glimpse of the most notorious criminal- Silas.

To get a clearer view, you saw a bar across the way to watch. “He’s here” you spoke. “Good, now go entertain him” Nigel encouraged. “I don’t think that’s the best idea” you rejected. Walking gracefully past everyone, until you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder, “Excuse me Miss, may I have moment of your time?” a gentleman asked.

He was dressed in all black. His hair was slid back exposing the two beauty marks above his left eye. He was blessed with a chiseled jawline and defined cheekbones and broad shoulders. Something about his eyes, you found him intimidating and intriguing. He was a sharp dresser no doubt. Yet behind his appearance, he had a mysterious aurora about him.

“No, you can’t” you said as you kept walking with your hips swinging. You sat in a bar stool. “What can I get you?” the bartender asked. “Yes, I’ll take Vodka martini”. “Don’t you think it’s too early for a drink” Nigel questioned. “Shut up” you said. The bartender threw you a confused look. “Oh no, not you. I wasn’t talking to you. I’m sorry” you apologized.

You looked at your surroundings. Security was tight, there were guards at the major exits.

“Ok, here are your drinks Miss.” the Bartender announced pushing two drink towards you.

“I only ordered the Vodka Martini” you corrected.

“That guy over there ordered it for you” the bartender pointed.

You look over your shoulder saw the same gentlemen staring at you from afar signaling his drink in the air to give you a toast.

Who is this guy?

“I think I have some company” you said. “Who?” Nigel asked as you heard his fingertips lightly tap the keyboard. “There’s a camera right above him on my 4 o’ clock” you instructed. “Ok, got him. Running a facial recognition now”.

“What’s this anyway?” you asked politely. “It’s Strawberry Pink Moscato Cocktail”. You nodded your head and sipped your drink. It tasted good, smooth and sweet. “Tell him I said thank you”.

“Find anything yet?” you asked as you continued drinking. “Almost the scan is 75% done. It’s searching through all the databases.” Nigel answered. You looked over your shoulder again and saw him walking in your direction. You quickly looked away. “Act natural and be yourself. Smile.” Nigel suggested. “That’s hard to do” you said.

You felt a gentle tap on your shoulder again. “Hi” he said. “Hi” you smiled. He took a seat next to you. You sat your drink down and said, “I didn’t realize a thank you is meant as an invitation to sit with me”. “It is, if she accepts a drink” he smoothly remarked. “Touché” you said grinning. “She smiles” he said eyeing you. “Stop referring to me that way” you said sternly. “I’m sorry, we got on the wrong foot” he said.

“Oh shit!” Nigel gasped over the microphone.

“I’m Jaebum” he extended his hand. “I’m Y/N” you said shaking his hand.

“His name is Im Jaebum. He’s working with Silas as his bodyguard. Y/N, he’s a SILENCER!!! Tread with caution, I repeat tread with caution!” Nigel exclaimed in your ear.

Silencers were bad news for anyone. Hence the name, no one has ever lived to tell.

You kept your composure. “So, you’re not going to use the cheesy phrase” you hinted. “What phrase?” he wondered. “What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” you said. Jaebum chuckles to himself and responds “I don’t see a girl. I only see a woman”.

You nod your head and turned your body towards Jaebum. The slit resting on the left side, you seductively rose your left leg over exposing such beautiful skin. “That I am” you said. He smiles and continue eyeing you.

“What’s going on?” Nigel interrupts. You didn’t answer.

“Why are you here?” Jaebum asked. “Someone sent me an invitation” you remarked finishing your Vodka martini. “Who exactly?” he edged more.

“Your boss?” you shrugged your shoulders.

“You do realize I am head of security, right?” he assumed.

“No, I couldn’t, you must be a Rent-A-Cop” you replied.

Jaebum moves his jacket and shows you his gun resting at his waist. You raise an eyebrow. “Should I be afraid of that?” you asked. “No but you should be afraid” Jaebum suggested getting a sip of his drink. “Of what exactly?” you wondered.

He leaned into your ear and whispered…

“Me”

You gasped under his touch as he gently caressed his hand up your revealed thigh.

He felt your gun and pulled it from your thigh holster.

“Shit” you mumbled under your breath.

“Look what we have here. A gun. Ms. Y/N. I don’t know who you are but I do know you won’t cause a scene tonight.” he said

You kept your composure and asked “How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’ll have to punish you” he smirked.

“Enjoy your evening Ms. Y/N”

He left his seat, walked away and winked back at you. You were shaking. “Y/N, are you still there?” Nigel chimed in your ear, “What happened?”

“Nothing Nigel” you huffed to catch your breath, “I’m still here”.

The lights grew dimmer and a bright light shined to center stage with the announcer.

“Good evening, everyone and welcome to our annual Charity Gala”.

Everyone gives an around of applause. “This evening we want to think our sponsors for helping us fund and plan this event. And tonight, our biggest contributor is millionaire entrepreneur Silas”. The light shines on him, he stands up to receive a thunderous applause. You scoffed in seat observing the pure nonsense.

He was more than a philanthropist. He was a murderer, a thief, and a liar. He was cruel and merciless. You couldn’t stand the sight of him. It was all a cover up his true nature.

You saw Jaebum standing in the corner behind him. His eyes were right on you. You rolled your eyes. I can’t believe he has my gun and that’s my favorite one.

“He took my gun” you grumbled.

“He what?” Nigel wondered.

“He took my fucking gun” you said. “I want it back!”.

“Y/N don’t do anything drastic. Stick to the plan” Nigel encouraged.

A young gentleman was passing around numbered cardholders. You were handed the number seven.

“We are about to begin our auction this evening and all the money raised for each item will go towards our World Relief Foundation”.

“Tonight, we are starting our auction with the most expensive device in the cyber market”. They placed a small gray hardware decoder on the auction table. It didn’t look like much. Who would want this piece of junk?

“This little guy has a history; it was first created during the Cold War. It was unknown when or where during that time-period. However, we do know that it was supposedly used to decode top secrets information. It’s called Decon20, it is also presumed to bypass all firewall security and networks faster than a room full of computers working at the same time”.

The whole audience was amazed and whispering amongst themselves.

“Alright let’s get started. Place your bets” the announcer said, “starting at $50,000”.

“Remember Crimson got you covered for the amount. They will only provide you with $50 million dollars to use to get it” Nigel said. “Copy” you said.

You rose your cardholder immediately high in the air first. “Alright, we have the lady by the bar for $50,000----going once, going twice. Going for 1 million dollars”

“Uh no. I have this older gentleman right here for 1 million dollars. Anyone for 10 million dollars-going once, going twice”

You rose your cardholder again. “Alright the lady again by the bar for 10 million dollars. Alright. Anyone for 20 million dollars----going once, going twice….”

Silas rose his cardholder. “Alrighty now, we have Silas wanting to join the fun. $20 million dollars does anyone want to go any higher”. You were determined not to lose to Silas. You need that Decon. You rose your cardholder again. “Lady by the bar is very determined this evening, 30 million dollars----going once, going twice”. The older gentlemen back down from the offer.

Now it was just you and Silas.

Silas rose his cardholder. “Silas for $40 million dollars, do you want to go any higher lady?” the auctioneer asked.

You rose your cardholder. “Now, you are fierce. $50 million dollars”. You were staring at Silas. He paused for a moment and whispered in his accountant’s ear. He nodded his head and finally rose his cardholder again. “Omg, $60 million dollars”.

“You can’t go over 50 million dollars. We lost this bet” Nigel responded. “Fuck it” you whispered to yourself.

“100 million dollars!” you spoke loudly. The entire audience turned their attention to you. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO?!” Nigel cursed. You didn’t answer him.

“100 million dollars. Silas, can you top that?” the auctioneer asked. Silas rose from his seat and drew his attention to you. “She can have it” he spoke.

“Alright folks, there you have it. Decon 20 is going that pretty lady by the bar. Come claim your item and pay in the back” the auctioneer instructed. You nodded your head and was escorted backstage.

“Where the hell, are you going to get the rest of the money?” Nigel asked. “Do you honestly think I’m broke?” you retaliated. The things I do for this agency.

You went backstage. You saw Silas approaching you with Jaebum alongside him.

Silas came from a rich family. His birth is unknown however he grew up in London. He dropped out of college at the age of 19 but had extreme interest in computer hacking. Good thing his family could pay the cops off. He hated his family and never spoke to them after he left college. He made his living working for criminals around the world. His skillset was vital to anyone. When he realized this, he decided to go into business for himself selling arms, cars, money, sometimes drugs to whoever was willing to be the biggest ATM machine. No one has ever caught him.

“Well, you are a very lovely woman. Be careful with that. You don’t want it to get in the wrong hands” Silas whispered in your ear and smirked at you.

“Trust, I can take of myself, thank you very much” you said as you finished paying.

Silas face grew slight grim and he narrowed his eyes at you. “I’m sorry have we met?” he asked. “No” you replied. “Mhm. Maybe we can meet sometime?” Silas smirked again.

“I have things to do. I don’t have time for you or anyone for that matter” you answered carrying the Decon in your hand.

“Well, maybe I can arrange something?” Silas started walking alongside you as you began to head to front entrance. Jaebum walking behind you two.

“How about no?” you said shook your head. “Shame. I’m never rejected easily by a woman” Silas laughed. “Well, there’s a first time for everything” you sarcastically replied.

“I guess there is” Silas said. “Have a goodnight, Miss…” he paused. “Y/N. Goodnight” you said walking down the remainder of steps to the front steps.

You got outside, it just finished raining. There was a black car parked out front. Nigel was waiting in front of the driver’s door wearing his driver disguise. Nigel opened it for you as you crawled inside. He got into the driver’s seat and began to drive.

“Well that went well” Nigel finally smiled. “If you say so” you said. “What happened in there?” Nigel asked checking the mirror for the car behind him.

“Nothing really. I just got Decon 20 and left. I didn’t want to stay” you said. Nigel nodded his head. “I think Silas took some sort of interest in me” you blurted out.

Nigel choked gasping for air. “WHAT?” he exclaimed. “Oh God, I hope not” he said. “Why do you say that?” you curiously asked.

“Because I’m sure you’ll kill the man in his sleep that’s why” Nigel explained. You nodded your head in agreement. Nigel was right, you’d kill him if he even touches you.

“There’s a file right next to you about Jaebum” Nigel said.

You scanned over the file. His facial profile and records. “He served in the Korean Military for a short time. He’s a master marksman. He specializes in hand-to-hand combat just like you. But that’s all we know”. You laughed and replied “But I’m pretty badass with a knife though”. Nigel smiled. “At least you didn’t have use your gun, right?” Nigel added.

“Fuck, he took my gun” you blurted. “Maybe he’ll return it” Nigel proposed. “I doubt it” you said staring out the window.

“Are we heading back to the hotel?” Nigel asked. “Yes, please. Enough scouting for today. We have to continue our work tomorrow” you instructed. Nigel drove you to the hotel.

“Good night Y/N. See you tomorrow morning” Nigel said as he opened the car door for you. “Good night Nigel. Sleep well” you said heading for the hotel entrance.

You carried the Decon20 under your arm. For something to be this small, it was a little heavy. You exited the elevator to your floor. You pulled the room key from your dress and entered the room.

You didn’t leave it dark, you left the tv running and lamps on. You heard a slight shuffle from the chair in the corner of your room. You tried to pull you gun but you didn’t have it. “SHIT” you said and turned the light on behind you.

You found Jaebum sitting in the chair holding your own gun in his hand. You didn’t flinch.

You rose an eyebrow puzzled. “You do realize you have something that belongs to me, right?” you said.

“Same” Jaebum motioned the gun and eyes to the bed. You placed the Decon20 on the table. You moved slowly and sat quietly on the bed. You huffed. “Let me guess Silas sent you to get the Decon20” you suggested. He slowly nodded. You nodded too and asked “How do you want to do this?”.

“We can either do this the easy way or hard way?” Jaebum offered.

“The easy way sounds good. But I prefer the hard way because I don’t cooperate with people that are trying to kill me” you said.

“I don’t want to do this to you” Jaebum spoke “but I need it”.

“You don’t need shit, Silas needs it” you said. Jaebum huffed, a shot rang passed your ear.

You froze realizing he could have shoot your ear off. “Really?” you asked. “Really!” Jaebum said motioning towards the Decon20.

You kicked your gun away his hand and kicked him back into the chair. Your gun flew into the air, landed near the door. You ran for your gun, Jaebum jumped the ground and grabbed your legs towards him and pulled you towards him. You were a few inches away from. He pulled you some more. You kicked him in the face twice and crawled for the gun. You reached the gun to shoot him, he quickly came behind you twisting your arm to disarm you. You headbutted him in the face, some blood started seeping down out his nose. He wiped his nose on his white-sleeve. You kicked him in the stomach while he was distracted. Jaebum tumbled to the ground. He swiped his legs quickly under you. Your legs buckled from his hit causing you to fall as well. He quickly crawled on top and began choking you. You tried to pull him off, his strength was no match. You grabbed your gun from your peripheral to hit him. He fell back holding his head. Coughing, you gasped for air. You pulled the trigger hoping to shoot. No bullets came out. There was only one bullet in your gun and he wasted it. Jaebum smiles at you.

“You really thought I would let you shoot me” Jaebum laughed.

You threw your gun away from you frustrated. You both had enough strength to stand up. Facing one another, he lunged at you with everything he has. He bolted you against the wall, you held your hands together and pulled all your upper strength together and plummeted both hands into his back three hard times. He groaned and dropped to the floor slightly, he pulled himself together and grabbed both your ankles pulling you. You bumped your head against the floor hard. You laid there for a few seconds trying to regain consciousness, Jaebum standing over you.

“I’m sorry” and punches you in the face.

You slowly opened your eyes slowly. Your eyes scanned the room, you found Jaebum searching your belongings. You blinked some more. The right side of your face was experiencing dull pain. You moved your mouth around, you were lucky your jaw wasn’t broken. Your wrists and ankles felt very stiff. Fully conscious, you realized your arms and legs were apart from each other. You turned to your right and left tied to each bed post. Only in your black lingerie.

“Hey, let me go!” you shouted. JB still searching. “I’ll do that until I find every weapon hidden in this room” he replied walking in the bathroom.

There was a black bag sitting on the chair, the Decon20 was inside along with your weapons. He came out the bathroom with your knife set in his hands. “Knives need to be used for cooking not killing” he said placing them in his bag.

“Just like hands shouldn’t be used for hitting women” you remarked. “And in defense, you tried to kill me and I said I was sorry”. You rolled your eyes.

He began scouring your night table. “Hey, that’s private!” you exclaimed. “No matter how loud you shout. Remember you decided to get a soundproof suite” he said quietly searching.

His face turned completely stiff and red as he pulled out your favorite toy. “Well, no wonder you don’t have time for anyone. You’re too busy with this” he said as he appeared with your vibrator. He stood over you and smirked. “Ok so what’s your point?” you suggested. “Well, I was thinking I would put this to use” he said. Your eyes widen in shook, out of your mouth came “Don’t”.

“I’m just curious, what exactly makes Y/N tick?” he wondered. You sighed. “Why does it matter?” you asked. “Because you decided to choose the hard way remember?” he recalled, “So I’m going to make sure you get what you deserve”.

Jaebum stood at the edge of the bed, turning on your vibrator. He was adjusting to how it worked. He was intrigued. He shook his head and spoke “Instead of this, you could have had the real deal”.

He crawled on the bed on top of you. You heaved as his hands gently roamed your body. He wasn’t rough with you. “You’re not protesting” he said. “How could I when I’m tied up” you reminded. “I don’t want to hurt you” he spoke softly caressing your face. “You already did” you said looking him directly in his eyes. He nodded his head not denying your statement.

From his eyes to his nose to his lips, you couldn’t stop staring at how handsome he is. He was staring back at you. He inched forward and pressed his lips into yours. His lips were soft to kiss. You slightly parted your lips just get a small taste of him. He kissed your cheek and whispered in your ear, “You’re so beautiful” and kissed you with more passion. You couldn’t resist his sultry aura. He kissed your neck and moved downward. His hot breath against your skin sent shivers down your spine. He stopped himself between your aroused peaks. He slid his tongue to your right peak and twirled his tongue around. Your nipples were so hard and sensitive to his touch you managed to let out as soft moan. His other hand groped the other. He changed his direction to the left peak. He stopped and kissed your temple reaching his final descent.

He slid your panties down slightly. He rubbed his thumb over your moist lips. “Someone’s wet” he said turning the vibrator on.

“Which is it” he asked.

“What?” you wondered.

“Which are you wet, for me or this? Answer truthfully” he teased.

You huffed and answered “You”.

“Wrong answer. As much as I would like to believe you. I don’t. You’re not very convincing” Jaebum smirked as he rubbed the vibrator against your entrance. You quivered. He was teasing you, you didn’t like to be teased. Neither as a joke and especially not in bed. Your breathing became heavy as he continued. You let out a moan.

“Does Y/N want more?” he asked sweetly.

“Yes” you spoke softly.

“Alright then” he said and inched the entire vibrator into your heated core. You let your head fall back and absorb the sudden movements your vibrator made inside of you. You were becoming wet by the second, what made it worse; Jaebum purposely thrusted inward and outward just to see your reaction. Jaebum lightly sucked your nipples as he did so. You were going insane from the sheer pleasure, you started rocking your body wanting your vibrator to go deeper to reach your furthest.

“You like that, don’t you?” Jaebum asked.

“Yes” you whimpered, his thrusts went faster. “Oh God, don’t stop” you pleaded.

“I’m not going to until you see you cum for me” Jaebum replied kissing you.

“Ahh shit!” you said arching your back off the bed.

He took the vibrator out leaving you with trembling pussy and a free clit he graciously licked and sucked on. This wasn’t anything you experienced before. If you weren’t tied up, your hands would be in his hair helping him steadily eat everything you had to offer. You edged your pussy further into his mouth. His tongue swirled around your clit and your entrance. You were so wet, no matter how much his tongue entered you, more cum seeped into the bedspread.

He grabbed the vibrator and plunged into you. He changed the setting to the fastest. You began to shake. You curled your toes from the intensity, you were no match for it. You whimpered in pleasure. “Yes, baby. Yes baby. Give it to me! Oh, God Yes Jaebum! Please Don’t Stop!” you rocked harder to the vibrator. You felt your core began to tighten. You were ready to release all your stress.

“Please Y/N cum for me” Jaebum whispered in your ear. Your eyes rolled backwards. “I’m cumming”. You let out a loud moan, you felt yourself slipping; your juices poured into the bedspread. Jaebum slurped the rest of your cum seeping out. You were shaking, your body felt every sensation he sent every time he licked your clit. Your body went limp, you released yourself to a someone you didn’t know.

“It’s wonderful seeing such a woman like yourself this way” Jaebum said. He kissed you passionately. Your body began to relax. He got up from the bed and place the vibrator on the nightstand.

“Oh my God” you huffed, you were embarrassed. “Don’t be embarrassed. If I had more time, I would fuck you until you couldn’t walk; but I have to get going” he said.

He went over to his bag sitting on the chair. Jaebum pulls out a needle from his black bag. Your eyes widen in horror, you toss and turn trying to stop him but you were still tied to the bed posts.

“Calm down! I’m just making sure you’re not going to follow me. I’m going to put you to sleep for a little while” he said injecting the substance in your arm.

“Why are you doing this?” your speech started to slur.

“Because…..” his voice became muffled. Your eyes were closing against your will. You fell into a deep sleep.

The sunlight streamed past the blinds hitting your eyes. You slowly opened them to see the room completely empty. Jaebum was nowhere in sight. You moved your arms and legs realizing he took the restraints off. Your body was aching all over. You slowly walked to the bathroom, you found a small bruise on your face from where Jaebum punched you. You rubbed your face and splashed warm water on your face. You searched through your drawers luckily, he left your clothes the same, but took your vibrator with him. Son of a bitch.

This is the second time he took something from you. You took a shower, it felt good to have hot water to relax your muscles from last night’s soiree. You came out the bathroom in your robe hearing your cellphone ring.

You answered “Morning Nigel”.

“What the hell happen last night?!” Nigel barked.

“It was a misunderstanding. I can explain” you spoke softly as your rubbed your forehead in frustration.

“Well you better explain that to Crimson and tell them how the hell Decon20 ended up with Silas! Our asses are on the line now! They are calling us in!” Nigel scolded.

You huffed over the phone, you quickly got your thoughts together.

“Nigel pick me up in 20 minutes. I’ll be ready. Call them back and tell them I’ll be in” you instructed.

“Alright” he said and hung up.

You huffed some more and fell back into the bed staring at the ceiling. You closed your eyes to the events that occurred last night. How could I let myself slip so easily to Jaebum. I would never do this on a regular assignment. What’s happening to me! Why did I let him take control? He knew what buttons to push and what I craved. I’m better than this!

Absorbing all your anger and frustration, you opened your eyes determined to set things straight. I’m coming for you Silas.

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