#because oh sweet stars that was a tricky section

[dragonfang-photography]

Made it to the top.

10/10 hike; will probably not do again.

It is rated "hard" for a damn good reason. There are multiple places alomg the ridge to the summit where if you fuck up, you absolutely risk death. I did find it easier to climb up the last chain section without using the chain, and hugging the ground next to it instead. I'll see how it goes on the way back down.

[sixthwater]

Tarot & Applying Advice

This is just something that I've been thinking about lately.

Advice is something that can be a bit tricky when trying to translate from tarot and apply to real life. Yes, the advice is usually pretty straight-forward and easy to break down, but how does it collaborate with real life and it's obstacles and how they interfere with us -- is what I'm getting at. It's also a good reminder that tarot should not be used for instruction, but for guidance. I fear I'm going to come off as holier than thou and oh I'm so intelligent but I've just thinking about it a lot and I want to stop so I gotta talk about it--

Usually it's either getting messages through guides or just breaking down the cards to figure out what advice to deliver. So I'm gonna dip in each section.

Messages from Guides

It 100% depends on the type of guides you have. Some of them are a bit more...blunt. Some playful, sweet, etc, you get the point. What I've noticed though is that the advice is never bound by earthly matters, which makes sense. It's a bit difficult to apply it directly though because of that. Affectionately, it can sometimes come off as telling a depressed person to just breathe or drink some water and they'll be fine. Granted they can see the entire situation so it's easier to say that plus they're our guides for a reason but we're not getting into that If we're reading for someone else, it's our job to kind of figure out how to relay the 'just breathe' message. I'll get into this further, but there's usually some context as to why the querent isn't 'just breathing'. Besides that, obviously these messages are always for their benefit. It's a struggle to leave it up to the universe/guides/divine, but there will always be that 1% that has to stay rooted to deal with the poor earthly matters, so its picking apart if they're too connected to that and worrying about their manifestations, or they're just chilling and being...a person lol. I'm not involving ancestors cause those who know, know. We'll come back to this though.

Breaking Down Cards

So let's say you don't do guides. Breaking down cards can seem pretty straight-forward. I'm going to pull some cards for me actually:

Page of Swords Rx, Page of Wands, Temperance Rx (Back: The Star)

So, being reckless. Throwing caution to the wind, doing what I want. Taking risks. There's a lot of young imagery so calling action to embrace childhood dreams or energy, have fun and not being too wound up. Now, the back is The Star (if you've been here you know how I feel about this card, so having this for advice in this context worries me, it's like the querent sees things as glass half empty currently). So it's also saying to believe that things will work out, so don't worry about having everything planned or being worked out, you will be okay. Now, with all these cards, you have to assume that the person is worried about something for a reason. We can gather that the person is feeling hopeless to an extent, probably in a practical and earth like mindset. They're feeling more materialistic because there's a lot of fire and air, can't speak much for emotions, but they're clinging onto tangible things right now, since they're being told to take a breath of fresh air basically. We can now combine this information with the advice and sound more reasonable and empathetic since we understand where they're coming from instead of just going 'bro just go out there and throw caution to the wind have a little laugh', cause that probably won't get through to them.

Combining the two

So you're shuffling you're channeling you're delivering the message -- let's say a card whipped out and slammed on the table. We can assume that card is probably important and there's an emphasis on that card in some way. If you interact with guides, the way they're interacting with you and...discussing? the topic can give you a hint too. Sometimes there's an exhaustion, so a sense that this has been going for quite some time or the querent is missing something within their field so they need help, or they're enthusiastic, so it can point to a topic that the querent might've not been focusing on and they want to focus on it. It heavily depends on the guide and the person, this is a bit more difficult to talk generally on. It's also gonna be difficult to remember all of this stuff in the moment when you're trying to channel and let all these energies flow LOL, but again it's just something I've been thinking about

this is a little blurb bc i absolutely am supposed to be recording something else but i wanted to get it out today i am leaving now i hope this was fun/nice to read ok byyyyeeeee

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

Geralt and the Minotaur p6

Y’all im so fucking sorry this took so long. This part of the myth was tricky but I think I weaved it in okay? Don’t read me to filth? Please? 

Warnings: swearing, unwanted advances, discussions of promises/consent, surprise! there’s a god!, otherwise pretty tame.

Fun Greek Fact: only the top few wealthiest families in Athens paid taxes to support the infrastructure and feed the poor and such. It was seen as a rite into higher society. 

-we’re picking up right after the last part! 

____________

They had to rush the doors and throw their whole weight into them to break the plank of wood securing them inside. With scrapes on their shoulders and adrenaline in their veins, they partially closed the doors and set the Minotaur’s head at the bottom of the steps, a clear message to the king. 

Geralt led them back the way they came, scampering under open windows and sprinting down streets one by one. It must have taken longer than he’d realized  to find the beast because by the time they reached the docks livestock was stirring and roosters were crowing. 

There was only one problem.

���South docks?”

Triss lounged on the boarding plank like it was a throne, her toga barely considered decent. 

Geralt cursed under his breath and took a step forward, “At least let the others pass. If you take issue with me, do not sentence them to death.”

She lunged forward, stepping so close their chests nearly touched, “My prize, I’m only here for you.”

Geralt grit his teeth and waved everyone onto their ship.

He made to snap at Jaskier and insist he follow them but Triss trapped his chin between her thumb and forefinger, “You promised. I thought heroes kept their promises.”

Geralt almost growled his response, “Would you consider words said under the fear of one’s life a true promise?”

Jaskier raised a finger, his voice full of indignant rage, “Technically-”

“Hush child.” Triss snapped, “We’re leaving.” She nodded at Jaskier to board the ship as she hooked two fingers through Geralt’s belt and started walking backwards up the plank, whispering as she went, “I don’t like being lied to.”

“I thought these were the south docks.” Geralt had never been a good liar and his luck had seemingly run out. 

“I’m not stupid Geralt,” Triss sighed, “I know you’ve got some strange infatuation with Blue Eyes. But you’re to be king, so I hear. You’ll need someone to provide an heir, someone well versed in royalty and politics.”

Finally on the deck, Geralt sat on the edge of what had been their prison not two days ago and now felt not all too different, “Athens is a democracy. Your political knowledge isn’t applicable.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Geralt saw Jaskier watching them like a hawk. He absently chatted with one of the deck hands, now wearing Athenian colors, but his eyes never left Geralt. 

Tris sat next to him, wrapping her arms around his and leaning on him heavily. It felt wholly underwhelming, nothing like when Jaskier had cuddled up to him in much the same fashion. He felt warm and safe and inviting, Triss just felt heavy. 

“You still need an heir, and I still want you.” Her face said this was supposed to be a compliment, “Don’t you want to find out what you’ve been missing? Why staying pure is such a challenge?”

Geralt smirked, looking her dead in the eye as their boat drifted out of port, “No.”

“Oh, my prince. My pretty naive prince…” Triss toyed with the hem of his chiton, avoiding the bloodstained sections, “I could change your mind. Make you see the stars in broad dayli-”

Geralt jumped when he felt a hand press down on his shoulder and hot breath on his ear but an unfamiliar voice to accompany it, “Just who the fuck do you think you are?”

Before he could answer, Geralt was shoved forward, stumbling to keep from falling flat on his face. Triss shouted and a few crew members moved to intervene but with a flick of his wrist, the stranger froze them in their place. His eyes glowed gold and his toga almost sparkled it was so bright.

“Did you learn nothing from Minos? It doesn’t pay to cross the gods.” the man sneered.

Geralt felt the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand up and he wanted to dive off the side of the boat, but that wouldn’t be very becoming of a young prince. Instead he stood there with a dumb look of confusion.

Triss yanked her arm away in a rage, “Dionysus! You take other lovers, why can't I?”

Geralt’s eyes bulged out of his head and he tried to hide his face behind his hair as he dropped to one knee, “I’m so sorry your grace, I had no idea.”

“Oh get up,” Dionysus scoffed before turning back to the princess, “Mortals live by a different set of rules, love.”

Jaskier piped up, hesitantly stepping forward, “I’m sorry, what am I missing here?”

“We are,” Triss rolled her eyes like a spoiled child caught with her hand in the jar of molasses, “what one could call betrothed.”

Geralt did his best to keep the hopeful smile off his face as he opened his mouth to speak but it was snapped shut with another wave of Dionysus’ hand.

“Please, child, save your breath. We’ll be going now.”

Geralt blinked once and they were gone. He blinked once more and Jaskier had flung his arms around his neck.

“Thank the gods! I’ll be sacrificing to him as long as I live.”

“Relieved?” Geralt chuckled, resting his hands on Jaskier’s hips.

Jaskier placed a quick peck to Geralt’s lips, “I thought this was going to end sooner than it had to.”

Geralt frowned and tilted his head, tightening his grip on Jaskier, “End? Why would it end?”

Jaskier blushed and smiled to hide the hurt in his eyes, “My sweet prince. I’m no fool. I come from a large farming family but we certainly don’t pay taxes. I don’t belong in your high society.”

“Nonsense.” Geralt insisted, moving to place his hand on Jaskier’s cheek but thinking better of it when he remembered the monster blood coating his palms. He settled for pressing a kiss to his forehead, “You belong where I am. If you want, for as long as you want.”

A dreamy sigh reminded them they had an audience, sending them into a fit of nervous giggles. 

Jaskier played with the clasp at Geralt’s shoulder, “I’d love that.”

“Good.” Geralt hummed, drawing him close and resting his chin atop his hair.

“Mhm! But maybe, darling, maybe you should change? And wash off the monster bits sticking to you?” Jaskier suggested, making a point of picking at a piece of his chiton soaked in black blood. 

“What would I change into?” Geralt asked, leaning closer to Jaskier’s ear, “I’m sure the crew wouldn’t appreciate me wandering the deck in the nude.”

Jaskier laughed, “I beg to diff-” he was cut off by a sweet kiss from Geralt before he was able to continue, a little breathless, “Then what did you stowe in the rope pile when you boarded?”

“Fuck!”, the realization hit Geralt harder than the minotaur and he immediately ran to the corner of the deck, digging through the coils of rope and oars. 

“What-? Geralt!” Jaskier called after him.

“Sails!” Geralt shouted, spinning to the nearest crewmember, “There were sails here, what happened to them?”  

__________

next part here!

tag list! I still have it! I promise! 

@hailhailsatan @so--many--fandoms @the-blondey @patchwork-quilts @honeysuckletook @peach-colored-sun @moretomhardy @artisanbaguette @iamaqt314 @lady-laufeydottir @localgaycatastrophie @sleepy-theif  @fandommagpie @ineffable-lasagna 

[btschooseafic]

Hey you, what’s your dream?

Pairing: platonic!oc x ot7

Details: manager!oc, predebut/idolverse, partial BTS World!verse

Summary: The boys start filming vlogs.

Warnings: This is a fictional story based on real events. The characters presented here are not the same as their real life counterparts. [Masterlist]

Track 15: First log

Video Phone- Beyoncé ft. Lady Gaga, William Burke

“On your video phone (Make a cameo)

Tape me on your video phone (I can handle you)”

December 2012

“Okay, well, that takes care of the budget section of our meeting,” Aviva said, looking up from her papers. Jimin and Taehyung were playing some kind of hand game. Jin was watching something on his phone. Yoongi and Jungkook were napping on Jin’s shoulders. Namjoon was slumped over a bit and wearing sunglasses indoors, so she was pretty sure he was sleeping as well. Hoseok had been in the bathroom for over ten minutes now, but she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was really constipated or something. She let out a long breath. “Seriously, guys?”

“Hmmm?” Jin looked up at her, smiling innocently. “I’ll wash the dishes in the morning.” Aviva rubbed her temples.

“Yeah, you said that already. We already finished the cleaning schedule.”

“Oh.” He blinked at her. “Then… what were we talking about?” He looked at Taehyung and Jimin, who shrugged.

“The budget,” she said. “Which you might’ve known if you had actually been paying attention to me instead of playing on your phone.” Jin’s smile turned a little sheepish. “Ah, but you three get credit for staying awake at least.”

“I’m awake,” Yoongi said. Jin jolted.

“Aish.” He rubbed his chest. “Min Yoongi-yah, don’t scare me like that!”

“Boo,” Yoongi muttered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He looked at Aviva, his gaze suddenly so alert it made her blush. He smirked. “I’ll work on a grocery budget with hyung so you don’t have to.”

“Thanks, Yoongi-yah.” She let out a breath of relief. “That would be a big help. Now, let’s wake the others up, cause they actually really need to hear this next part.”

“Hmm.” He kicked Namjoon’s shoulder. “Joon, wake up.”

“Wh-what?” Namjoon sat up straight and looked around. “Why’s it so dark in here?”

The others snickered.

“Maybe these?” Tae suggested, stealing his sunglasses and putting them on his face instead. “Wow, yeah, these are dark. How do you see in these things?”

“I’ll wake Jungkookie up,” Jimin offered, springing up and shoving the youngest boy. “Kookie, time to wake up!” Jungkook just groaned.

“He’s so cute,” Jin cooed, cradling him under his arm.

“JK, if you don’t wake up right now, I’m going to take a picture of Jin-oppa cradling you like a baby and send it to Jen,” Aviva threatened.

Jungkook sat up abruptly, nearly knocking his head into Jin’s.

“I’m awake! Don’t do it!”

“Blackmail?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow at her.

“The tricky part is, she’d probably think it was really cute,” Aviva admitted.

“Yeah, but cute in what way?” Jungkook thought aloud. “Probably not the right way…”

“What’d I miss?” Hoseok asked, walking back into the room.

“Doesn’t matter,” Aviva said. “Everybody else missed it as well…” She paused as Yoongi caught her eye. “…With the exception of Yoongi-oppa who gets a gold star.” Yoongi smiled smugly.

“Kinky,” Hoseok said appreciatively. Aviva blinked at him.

“…How?”

“I don’t want to know,” Yoongi said, waving his hand as Hoseok opened his mouth again. Hoseok shrugged.

“Anyway,” Aviva said loudly. “Special announcement—Youtube finally gave us permission for an official channel, so I’d like for you all to start posting vlogs.” They blinked at her. “Video logs.”

“Logs…” Jungkook stared at her uncertainly.

“Just talk to the camera,” Aviva said. “About what you did today, or what your hopes for the future are.” Namjoon grimaced, shaking his head. “Joon, I know you like to write silly raps just for fun sometimes, maybe you could record one of those? I could edit them in sort of a meme format, and that should attract some viewership.” Understanding passed over Jungkook’s face. Aviva pointed at Jimin and Hoseok. “And you two can post routines that wouldn’t be spoiling any original content.”

“Ah, like, coming soon, Bangtan boys,” Hoseok said the last part in a surprisingly deep voice. Aviva blinked.

“Hobi, you ever considered voice acting?”

“Eh?”

She shook her head. “But I’m getting sidetracked… anyway, I’d like you each to get me a video by the end of the week.”

“The end of the week!” Jungkook repeated worriedly.

“It doesn’t have to be anything special,” she told him. “Just be sure to record it in the studio, there’s the best soundproofing in there.”

“Beep—Wrong,” Taehyung said. “It’s the Bangtan Room, not the studio!”

“I’ll call it the Bangtan Room if you actually pay attention during next week’s meeting,” Aviva offered. Taehyung rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“You drive a hard bargain, manager-noona.”

She sighed.

“But, who would want to know what we do all day?” Jimin wondered.

“Come to think of it, I’m not comfortable in front of the camera… I’m not sure I can do it,” Jungkook thought.

“I could be in the background out of the shot to keep you company,” Aviva offered. He frowned at her.

“Yeah, I think that would only make it worse.”

“Jungkook-ah, you’re going to be an idol, get used to it,” Yoongi said bluntly. Jungkook grimaced. “Unless you want to be treated like a baby forever?”

“No.” Jungkook’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t worry,” Jin said. “I’ll show you how to do it. Watch and learn!”

“…What, now?” Jungkook wondered, as no one moved.

“Ah… maybe tomorrow,” Jin thought.

“Okay.” Aviva gave him a thumb’s up. “Let’s meet at the studio around this time tomorrow and see how it’s going.” Jin smiled nervously. “Yoongi-oppa, text me some kind of treat you want and I’ll bring it for you.”

“Hmm, now I kind of want to know what Hobi thought a gold star meant,” Yoongi said thoughtfully. Hoseok opened his mouth again.

“Nope.” Aviva made an X with her arms.

‘Have you decided what you want?’ Aviva texted Yoongi first thing in the morning before she even got out of bed.

‘…I wanna eat meat.’

‘You always do! But remember the budget…’

‘right. ㅠ.ㅠ ok. Can I be exempt from logs for the next couple of weeks? I can do a product review of the new soundboard that I’m getting, but it hasn’t come yet.’

‘Ok. The viewers will miss out on your cute face, though,’ she texted before she thought too much about it. She froze. Shit.

‘Shut up >//<, u r the cute one.’

She laughed. ‘No, it definitely you. Just look at that emoji usage!’

 ‘u text like my grandma.’

 ‘u live like a grandpa.’

 ‘I see, so we match well together~’

She laughed again. It wouldn’t be too bad if not everyone got a log out this week. As long as two of three members posted something, that would be good. But was that really enough of a treat for Yoongi? She hadn’t done any baking in a while, and if she did something with ingredients she already had, it wouldn’t break the budget.

‘Do you like sweet things?’ She texted, and then got up to get dressed and start the day. Her phone buzzed. She finished getting dressed and looked at it.

‘d(^_^)b Duh. ♡.♡ Check the name.’

 ‘I thought it had something to do with basketball?’

‘…It does. I was just… guess I’ve spent too much time with hyung. ^^; ’

Aviva snorted.

That morning, Hoseok had somehow convinced Yoongi to join him at a nearby basketball court. They were shooting hoops, and Hoseok was frustrated, because Yoongi was winning, even though he kept taking breaks to look at his phone. He kept smiling at it, and at one point Hoseok even thought he blushed, although that might’ve been from the exercise.

“Who are you texting with?” He wanted to know.

“Your mom,” Yoongi said, without looking at him. Hoseok whipped at his ass with his sweat towel. Yoongi attempted to fight back, but Hoseok caught the towel, holding it as he smirked.

“Ah. I bet it’s Avi-yah.” He leaned over closer, trying to get a look at Yoongi’s phone screen. “What did she say that made you blush like that? Or was it a naughty photo?”

“That would be sexual harassment, technically, I think,” he said, twisting away from Hoseok, trying to keep his phone hidden. “Since she’s our manager.”

“Not if it’s totally consensual,” Hoseok thought, grabbing at the phone. Yoongi finally just shoved his phone in his bag.

“Let’s go back to the dorm and shower before she gets there,” he said.

“You don’t want her to see you all sweaty and messy?” Hoseok teased. Yoongi shot him a weird look.

“She’s seen me after dance practice plenty of times.”

“Ah, right.”

They walked out of the court, continuing down the street towards the dorm.

“Anyway, she doesn’t seem like the type,” Yoongi said, so quietly Hoseok almost didn’t hear him.

“To want to see you sweaty?” He wondered, confused. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“To take pictures like that.”

Hoseok blinked. “Eh? You were still thinking about that?” Hoseok grinned. Yoongi was definitely blushing this time. “It’s always the quiet ones. Like, I bet you’re pretty kinky.”

“Depends who I’m with,” he said honestly.

“Ah.” Hoseok nodded. “You’re a switch.” Yoongi stared at him.

“…Can I consensually murder you?”

“What? No! How would that even…” Hoseok stopped suddenly as a familiar car pulled up alongside them.

The window rolled down and Aviva waved at them.

“Morning, boys. Need a lift?”

“Sure!” Hoseok said, going to open the passenger seat door.

“Ah, no, I have stuff on the seat,” she told him. “Sit in the back.”

“Okay, okay.” They got in the back. “What’s on the seat?��� He wondered, trying to lean forward to see.

“Buckle your seatbelt, Hobi,” she ordered.

“I got it.” Yoongi buckled him in.

“…They’re cookies I made for Yoongi-oppa,” she said quietly. Yoongi blinked, and then a smile spread over his face.

“What? Hyung doesn’t deserve cookies,” Hoseok protested. “He threatened to murder me!”

“Yeah, cause he was saying dirty stuff about you again, Siljangnim,” Yoongi told her, without even hesitating. Hoseok gasped.

“Aish, you tattletale! Seriously?”

“While I appreciate you trying to defend my honor, or whatever, oppa, don’t murder him, that would be too much paperwork. Anyway, that stuff doesn’t bother me,” Aviva said. Yoongi and Hoseok looked at each other, and then her.

“Wait, really?” Yoongi said. “Why?”

“I grew up with Soonyoung, so I’ve been kind of… desensitized to that stuff?”

“Ah.” Both boys nodded. “That’s why your reactions are so amusing,” Hoseok figured. Aviva made a face.

“You know, both her and Taehyungie have said that before, I don’t get what I’m doing that’s so amusing.”

“Hmmm. Well, it’s similar to the satisfaction I feel when get Yoongi-yah or Tae Tae to react to things,” Hoseok told her. “They’ve got good poker faces, but they’re marshmallows on the inside.”

“Yeah,” Aviva agreed. “Cause he’s Suga.” Hoseok laughed as Yoongi groaned, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Later in the Bangtan Room, Jin was dressed oddly formal, in a suit.

“Seokjin-oppa,” Aviva started, but Hoseok interrupted her, pressing his finger to her lips.

“Shush. Just let enjoy the view for a moment.” He paused, tilting his head. “Eh, the moment has passed—why such a plain suit? That cut and color? So boring…”

“More importantly,” Aviva said. “Jin-oppa, you don’t have to do this in front of us, if it’s stressing you out too much.”

“Ha ha, of course not! I’m not stressed at all,” Jin said. “Why would you think that?”

“You’re standing as stiff as a board!” Aviva said.

“So…” Jin brushed his hair away from his face, ignoring her. “I’m going to do a three-line poem using my name.”

Aviva stared at him as he recited. “I don’t get it... did I lose something in translation?”

“No,” Hoseok told her. “It’s just not funny.”

“Yah!” Jin said, finally breaking from his robotic stance. “What do you mean?”

“It wasn’t fun at all,” Jungkook agreed, his nose wrinkling as he smiled slightly.

“It was hilarious,” Jimin disagreed. “But maybe not for the right reasons.”

“I’ve been thinking about the concept for these logs, but… do you think three-line poems are the right direction?” Namjoon wondered, tapping his chin.

“Not to mention the suit…” Yoongi added.

“Right?” Hoseok agreed.

“Is it too much?” Jin touched his lapel nervously. “I thought it would show I’m taking it seriously.”

“Aw, Jin-oppa, I really do appreciate the thought…” Aviva smiled at him gently. He smiled back at her. “But you should change.” He pouted.

“What about Tae?” Jin wondered as she started shepherding him out of the room. “He’s just been whispering into the mic!”

Aviva shrugged.

“Eh, some people like that kind of thing.”

That night, Aviva had just gotten home when her phone rang. It was Jin.

She answered. “Yes?”

“Ah, Aviva-yah? I was wondering, well, I think I need to get more used to being in front of a camera, so, I thought… maybe you could take some pictures of me?”

“…Like a photo shoot?”

“Did somebody say photo shoot?” Soonyoung wondered, popping up from the couch.

“Ah, it’s Jin-oppa,” Aviva told her.

“Oh? That oppa? Can you put him on speaker?”

“Um, oppa, do you mind if I put you on speaker?” Aviva asked him. “Soonyoung-ah wants to be included.”

“S-Soonyoung-ah?” He repeated. “Um… okay, sure.”

“Alright.” Aviva hit a button. “You’re on speaker. I think I know where she’s going with this, by the way. Soonie’s always liked dressing people up and taking pictures of them.”

“Well, yeah,” Soonyoung said. “It’s fun. But you never played with me!”

“I don’t like having my picture taken, and I don’t really like dressing up either, you know that,” Aviva said.

“Anyway, it would be fun to have such a handsome model,” Soonyoung thought.

“H-Handsome?” Jin said. “You’re too kind.” Aviva squinted at her phone, wondering at Jin’s sudden change in personality.

“You don’t mind people dressing you up, do you, Jin-oppa?” Soonyoung purred. “Since you’re gonna be an idol soon, hmmm?”

“Ah, no, I don’t mind,” Jin said, sounding like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“Great!” Soonyoung said. “I’ve got some free time on my hands, so why don’t you meet me in the morning, that’s when the light will be best—ooh, ask Hobi to pick out a few outfits for you to bring, he’s good at that.”

“Okay, the ladies have arrived!” Soonyoung sang loudly, as they entered the dorm the next morning. She looked around. “Where is my model?”

“Ah, Soonyoung-noona,” Jimin smiled at her sleepily. He was still in his pajamas, sitting on the couch and playing a game on his phone, by the looks of it. “I heard there’s a photoshoot happening? Jin-hyung is in the kitchen, as usual.” Jimin pointed in the correct direction.

“Thanks, cutie.” Soonyoung leaned over and kissed his cheek before continuing on to the kitchen. Jimin’s face turned red.

“W-what?”

“…You haven’t really interacted with her much, have you?” Aviva realized.

“Ah, no, I’ve only met her a few times.”

Aviva nodded. “You get used to it,” she told him. Jimin looked doubtful. “Is Namjoon-ah in there too? He said he needed something.” Jimin nodded.

In the kitchen, Namjoon’s spoonful of cereal was frozen halfway to his mouth.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He said, eyes wide as he looked at Soonyoung.

“Joonie, I don’t remember saying you could address me so informally,” Soonyoung said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Soonyoung-ssi,” Namjoon amended, putting his spoon down like he’d lost his appetite. “Could you please tell me... what the hell are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you hear me yesterday?” Hoseok wondered. “Jin-hyung’s having a photo shoot.” Namjoon’s eyebrows went up.

“With her?” He pointed at Soonyoung. Hoseok nodded. Namjoon patted the frozen stiff Jin on the shoulder. “Good luck, hyung. You’re gonna need it.”

Soon Soonyoung had left with Jin, somehow conscripting Jimin to help her, with Hoseok volunteering to go along.

“Do you think Jin-oppa has a crush on Soonie?” Aviva wondered as she sat with Namjoon, Jungkook, and Yoongi in the studio room. Jungkook and Yoongi were looking through a free-use video library for good meme clips to add Namjoon’s more serious than expected rap encouraging voting.

“What?” Namjoon stared at Aviva.

“She is hot,” Yoongi said, blunt as ever.

“Well…” Namjoon looked hesitantly at Aviva.

“She’s hot. She knows it, I know it, we all know it,” Aviva said, unconcerned.

“I guess,” Namjoon agreed reluctantly. “But I didn’t think Jin-hyung was the type to go for just looks.” He looked worriedly at Aviva again.

“It’s fine. I love her, including her personality, but I know she scares a lot of people,” Aviva said. Jungkook grimaced.

“She is a little scary.”

“Some people are into that,” Yoongi pointed out.

Jungkook’s eyes widened. “Jin-hyung is like that? Really?”

“We don’t know that,” Namjoon said, waving his hand. “And I never said I was scared of her.” Everyone looked at him in disbelief. “Okay, maybe I am a little scared of her…” Yoongi patted him on the shoulder.

“It takes a brave man to admit his fear,” he said. Namjoon smiled at him. “Which means Kookie is braver than you.” Namjoon frowned. Jungkook laughed. “Anyway, can we stop talking about this and get back to your video? I’m bored.”

As far as any of them could tell, Jin had survived the photo shoot. He was very quiet when he got back, but definitely more relaxed.

“These are actually great,” Namjoon admitted reluctantly, clicking through the photos of Jin on the studio desktop.

“Right?” Tae agreed. “The lighting and composition are gorgeous.”

“And the way she directs your eye to all these little details you’d normally miss is so cool,” Jungkook commented.

“…Did you both take photography in school?” Namjoon wondered.

“A bit!” Tae said.

“No.” Jungkook shook his head. “Just a personal interest.”

“Ah, you guys are constantly impressing me,” Namjoon said, patting both their heads at the same time. Tae smiled. Jungkook blushed.

“Okay,” Aviva said, walking into the room. “I got Jin-oppa to eat something and then sent him to bed.”

“Eat what?” Tae wondered.

“I picked fried chicken up as a treat,” Avi told them. “It’s in my office.”

“What?” Jungkook’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? It’s all gonna be gone.” He and Taehyung sped out of the room, though Namjoon stayed in his seat, frowning. Aviva sat next to him in Jungkook’s abandoned chair.

“Are you sure he’s alright?” Namjoon asked her.

Aviva nodded. “It’s just the Soonyoung after affect. I have seen it in many of her… um, objects of affections, over the years, even suffered it myself a couple of times.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm. She pays so much attention to you, it gets overwhelming,” Aviva explained. “It feels like she’s breaking you down and building you back up again stronger. She probably would’ve been a good manager… but she’s always been more interested in the technical side of things. She picked a broken old PS3 up off the street the other day and fixed it.” Namjoon made an impressed noise. “Don’t tell the boys, I don’t want them showing up at my apartment to play it at weird hours.”

“Got it,” he said.

That night, Aviva stayed in the studio to watch the vlogs on the desktop. Guilt stabbed at her chest when she saw Tae’s video in the queue. She should’ve told him what was said in that marketing meeting as soon as she saw him, but she knew it would hurt him. She was hoping to fight it somehow. Maybe if he’d made a really cute video it would convince the marketing team to retract their decision?

She clicked play, watching Tae excitedly brag about all the business cards various talent agencies had given him. There were some big names in there. Aviva leaned back in the chair, trying to untangle her feelings—the ones that came to the top were pride and possessiveness. She was proud that others saw how brightly Tae could shine, but she wanted to be the one to show everyone that light. But wasn’t that selfish? If she really wanted him to reach his dreams, shouldn’t she encourage him to strive forward, even if that meant alongside someone else...?

She sat back up, watching the video as Tae happily told the camera that he was already taken, and started making the cards into paper cranes. She smiled slightly.

“Manager-noona!”

She jumped as she felt someone’s hands on her shoulders.

“Kim Taehyung-ssi, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“Nope.” He was grinning. “But the guys don’t fall for that anymore, so you’re my best target!” She glared at him. He poked her cheek and cooed. “Even your glare is adorable!” She sighed, running her hand through her hair. She stared up at him, wondering how to break the news. He bit his lip, his playful expression turning into something she couldn’t read. “Ah, manager, why are you looking at me like that? That’s no fair!”

“Did you get taller?” She wondered absentmindedly, thinking she was having to crane her neck more than usual to look at him.

“Did I?” He wondered. “Stand up.” He took her hands in his, pulling her to her feet. Then he measured the distance from his head to hers and nodded thoughtfully. “The height gap has changed. It appears you’re correct, I am taller.” He smiled. “You’re so tiny, manager!”

“I’m really not...” Aviva automatically hugged her arms over her stomach.

“Well, maybe not all parts of you are small...” Tae glanced briefly at her chest and then blushed, moving his gaze to the ceiling. “But they are parts of you, and together they make up someone beautiful.” He booped her on the nose. “And cute.”

“I don’t agree, but thank you for the compliment,” she said stiffly.

Taehyung frowned. “I don’t do empty compliments.”

“I know. I have told you I admire your sincerity, Taehyungie.”

“Hmmm. You know, Jiminie doesn’t think he’s cute sometimes too, which is ridiculous, because he always is!” He tilted his head. “And I know I’m good looking, but sometimes people call me beautiful, like a few of those agents giving me business cards...” He pointed to himself on the screen. “And I’m not so sure how I feel about that.”

“Do you not want to be called beautiful?” Aviva wondered.

“I don’t know. Do you think I am?”

“Yes,” she said honestly.

He smiled. “Well, that makes me feel good, even if I’m not sure that’s exactly how I see myself... because you don’t give empty compliments either. Isn’t it amazing, noona, that no one sees things the same? You see me differently than I see myself when I look in the mirror. It’s like a painting, or a poem—we’re all art up to each other’s interpretation. I want to know more about how you see me, and I want to tell you more about how I see you.”

Aviva stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. “Tae, you are special, I’m sorry I can’t put it into such pretty, cheesy words as you do. There’s something else I have to tell you, and I don’t know where to start…”

“Would this help?” He held a crane out to her, which was made out of one of the biggest entertainment companies in the country. She swallowed. “I want to make a set of one hundred, but I want you to have the first one.”

“Are you planning on getting a hundred more offers?” Aviva wondered.

“Eh, maybe, if people keep calling me pretty,” he joked. He pointed at the video. “Will you post my video first?”

“I... I can’t,” she told him apologetically.

His brow furrowed. “Why not?”

She took a deep breath. “There was a marketing meeting earlier and they said, well, they want you to be a secret member.”

“Secret member?” He repeated.

“They don’t want to announce you until later. They know you’ll do well with the intended demographic and they’re hoping you’ll have even more of an impact if you come as a surprise,” she explained.

“I see...” He said slowly.

“So I’m not allowed to post any images of you online, but... I can fight it, if you want me to, Tae.”

He blinked at her. “Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re just as important a member of this group as any of the others, and I don’t want you to feel left out,” she said.

He smiled, a little sadly. “Thank you for offering, but I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with your sunbaenims.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll make it through.”

Instead of Tae’s video, Aviva launched the official Bangtan Youtube account with Namjoon’s ‘get out there and vote!’ rap as the first post.

The next day she launched their twitter page after talking to them about what kind of message they wanted to open with:

'What’s up! This is BTS. We’re finally officially opening our BTS Twitter~ *Clap Clap Clap* We will upload more weird and fun things that one could have only imagined about before our debut…’

Next was Soundcloud, which she opened with a solo song adaptations by Rap Monster and Suga.

To wrap up the year, all of the boys recorded a Christmas diss track together (except for Hoseok who was visiting family for the holidays). They called out themselves, Big Hit, Bang-PD, even Aviva.

“When do I ever sleep?” She wondered, glancing over the lyrics as they gathered in the studio.

“Well, we told you it was a diss track,” Namjoon said slowly.

“Besides, blame Jungkookie,” Jimin said. “He wrote that part.” Jungkook and Aviva squinted at each other.

“You need to sleep more,” he told her pointedly.

“That’s not what you make it sound like!” She argued. “You make it sound like I’m at home sleeping while you work to death!”

“Aish, just post the video already before we all grow old and die,” Yoongi groaned.

Although only Jin and Rap Monster were featured in the Youtube video Aviva and Yoongi did the editing for, Tae was still excited to hear his voice in the background. Aviva returned his warm hug and tried not to think too much about the glow of pride for the first posts wearing off and leaving them only with the strain of hard work.

[artificialqueens]

Blue Neighborhood Series: THE QUIET + DKLA (Jackie-centric) - Mac

AN: Thanks a million for the feedback on this series! It truly means the world to me. Thank you so much, guys. I hope you enjoy this part as much as the previous ones. As always, thanks to the incredible Meggie for putting up with me and beta-ing this work, she is a superstar, send her some love!

Summary: Jackie is doing her best to keep her head above water. But with a stressful home life and a stressful school life, the walls feel like they are closing in.

Jackie was a social floater. She could twist her skin into whatever people wanted her to be. Most of the time they just wanted her to be quiet, sit back and listen to their problems. Which Jackie was fine with. It meant no one was asking about hers.

Jackie’s family life was… complicated to say the least.

Her father and mother both knew she was gay.

But they pretended like they didn’t.

Where they would pester her older brother about girls every chance they got, they sat stone-faced when she mentioned she was taking Gigi to Homecoming. Well, not completely stone-faced. Her father coughed.

Jackie had given up the chance of exploring her sexuality in high school. Content to let bygones be bygones until college. That’s when she would really get to shine. Away from judgment from her peers and parents and teachers. She would be free then.

For now though, she was standing outside Gigi’s door. The younger girl appeared a moment later, long blonde hair up in a high ponytail clad in flared jeans with a crop top that definitely wasn’t up to dress code. Jackie rolled her eyes internally, knowing that there was virtually no way Gigi would get called out on it. She supposed there were just perks to being the skinny white femme of everyone’s dreams.

The two walked in relative silence over to Brita’s house.

Then they walked in relative screaming to school. Brita was going on and on and on about how horrified she was to hear the news and how terrible it was that Jan thought she couldn’t share the sordid details of her personal life with her friends.

Gigi didn’t comment much, other than a small nod of agreement here and there. Jackie just steamed quietly to herself.

She had her own thoughts about the whole endeavor. Which she happily kept to herself, thank you very much. It wasn’t any of their business if Jan was gay. It wasn’t any of their business if she was getting it on with the captain of the varsity basketball team.

Yes, they had been friends since childhood and yes, Jan had been there when Jackie came out, and yes Jackie had told Jan every possible detail about her life because she trusted her. And no, that kind of trust wasn’t easy to come by.

So maybe Jackie was a little confused. A little hurt even.

That must be why she felt so weird.

“Have you seen her at all this week?” Jackie asked, knowing the answer hadn’t changed.

Gigi gave her a weak smile. “Not since Wednesday, no.”

“Is she okay?” Brita asked.

Jackie rolled her eyes. “Well, considering she had the flu last year and came to school anyway to protect her perfect attendance record, I think it’s safe to say no.”

Gigi spoke softly, calmly. “Jacks, I know you’re stressed with the whole Jan thing, but—”  

“I’m just tired.” Jackie cut her off. “It has nothing to do with her. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

Brita and Gigi dropped the subject for now, but Jackie could see on their faces that they didn’t believe her.

Jackie bid her friends adieu at their lockers and headed up the stairs to her own. She tried to shake the feeling of unease that accompanied her, but it wouldn’t dissipate. It sat in her gut and ate at her through the morning. Her classes passed in a haze. At times it felt like she wasn’t even real.

The pit in her stomach only grew as the bell for lunch sounded.

She headed toward the art room, hoping to find some sort of mental reprieve from the strange feeling.

She had no such luck.

Nicky and Crystal were flirt-fighting again. Or at least that was the term Heidi had given it. Nicky would pick something, anything to complain about, and Crystal would evidently rise to the bait and the two would bicker and one of two things would happen. Either they would eventually fall into a fit of giggles, or one of them would say something a little too flirtatious and they both would look away and poorly hide goofy smiles.

It was so sweet it was sickening at times.

Heidi was torturing Aiden by recounting her date with Jacob the other night, going on about how it’s only been three months but she really thinks he’s the one. Normally, Jackie would sit back and laugh. Watch as Crystal and Nicky danced around each other. Watch as Aiden got closer and closer to strangling Heidi with every word.

But today, today she felt like she was drowning. Usually, the art room was too warm in a good way. Cozy even. The breeze from the propped door offering a bit of relief from the stale air. But today it just felt stifling.

Jackie sat and ate in silence, letting her thoughts ruminate over the events of the past few days. The infamous picture. Jan’s weird behavior. Jackie’s weird feelings about Jan’s weird behavior.

“Are you okay, Jackie?”

“Hmm?” Jackie looked up at the sound of her name.

Nicky smiled softly, “I asked if you were okay. You seem quieter than usually.”

“Is it Jan?” Crystal chimed in.

Jackie scoffed, “Why does everyone keep asking me that? Why would Jan have anything to do with—”

“Because you’re in love with her,” Crystal answered simply.

Jackie’s stomach lurched.

Oh fuck.

“I’m not—”

Heidi cut her off, shouting from the other side of the room. “No, girl, don’t lie. You’ve been head over heels for Jan since we could talk.”

Jackie’s brain was still trying to compute. The pit in her stomach felt like it had swallowed her whole and her heart was beating a mile a minute. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe.“But I’m not… not in love with her.”

Her shock must have been apparent, because her friends’ expressions shifted suddenly from condescending to shocked.

“I thought you knew,” Crystal spoke quietly.

“How do you not know you’re in love with someone?” Aiden whispered.

“You’d be surprised,” Heidi murmured back in response.

Crystal elbowed Heidi in the ribs.

“Hey! I didn’t ask-”

“Shut up!” Crystal whisper-shouted. “Clearly she’s going through something and you wanna talk about—”

Jackie didn’t hear the rest of Crystal’s statement; she was too busy focusing on her feet hitting the ground as she ran out of the art room, down the hallway, and through the double doors at the end to gulp the outside air.

It didn’t help.

She still felt sick.

Love.

What a tricky little word.

Farsi has over 80 different ways to say love.

Eighty different ways in a language she had been speaking since birth, and yet Jackie couldn’t wrap her head around a single one that encompassed how she felt about Jan.

Love seemed too pedestrian. Too cliché. Too plain.

Maybe that’s why it never occurred to Jackie that such a simple sounding word could be related to Jan.

Jan wasn’t cliché or plain, the opposite actually.

But Jackie… Jackie was simple. She was cliché. So cliché in fact that she had apparently fallen for her straight best friend like the stupid lesbian stereotype she so tried to keep herself from becoming.

So she guessed it made sense.

Jackie shook her head to clear it. And when that didn’t work, she found her eyes searching her surroundings for anything else to focus on. Her gaze landed on two familiar faces in the distance.

Dahlia and Bryce sat close together under the bleachers. Jackie went to turn away, to shield her eyes from whatever shenanigans they were getting up to, when she noticed the open books in their laps.

Dahlia was pointing to a paragraph and talking with her hands. Bryce nodded along. He said something Jackie couldn’t make out and Dahlia nodded excitedly. She continued pointing out different sections of the textbook and Bryce went on to ask questions.

It looked like she was… tutoring him.

Huh.

Jackie couldn’t help her morbid curiosity, so she approached the two as quietly as she could. She ducked under the bleachers and inched ever closer to the pair until she could make out what they were saying.

“So, what you’re saying is I’m stupid and all I had to do was flip the fraction?” Bryce asked.

“Exactly,” Dahlia said.

Bryce chuckled and tried to sound offended, “Hey, you weren’t supposed to agree with that first part!”

Dahlia shook her head and barely hid a smile. “It ain’t about agreeing, it’s just facts. You pretty stupid. You lucky I’m not.”

“I really am,” Bryce said genuinely. Dahlia looked up to meet his eyes and Jackie could see something brimming under the surface. “I feel like I don’t thank you enough for this. But I really appreciate it.”

Dahlia broke eye contact with him and waved her hand as if to break the tension, “Yeah, yeah, I heard it before, you wanna impress your girl.”

So that’s what this was about. He wanted to be good enough for Jan.

And dammit if that thought didn’t hit Jackie in the chest. She knew the feeling.

Bryce sighed and ran his hand through his unkempt hair. “She’s really fucking pissed at me right now.”

“I would be too.” Dahlia nodded. “If you were my mans and I saw you comin’ back from somewhere with the school slut, I wouldn’t be too happy either.”

Bryce winced at her words. “Don’t say that.”

Dahlia gave a bitter laugh. “It’s true. They see you coming from the bleachers with the whole football team and assume you sleeping with ‘em.”

Jackie tried to inch closer but completely missed the giant tree branch right in front of her. She caught her foot on it, which caused her to trip and fall, letting out a curse as she hit the rough ground.

Dahlia and Bryce looked over at her with wide eyes and had the decency to even look a bit guilty. Dahlia was the first to come back to herself, snatching up her backpack and practically sprinting back into the school building.

Bryce lingered and offered a hand to help Jackie up, which she took gratefully.

The two stared at each other a moment. It seemed like Bryce wanted to say something, but he ultimately shook his head and settled for, “Hey, Jackie.”

“Hey, Bryce,” Jackie said.

Bryce coughed to try and break the sudden awkward tension and motioned to the still open text book behind him. “I’m not cheating on her.”

“I know,” Jackie said simply.

She never thought he would. Bryce wasn’t cheating. Didn’t have the brain power to cope with the guilt that came with cheating.

“Dahlia and I were—”

Jackie cut him off, “Studying, I know. I saw.”

“Can you tell her? Jan?” he asked, a hint of desperation creeping into his words. “I’ve been trying to call her but she won’t answer.”

Jackie shook her head. “She’s not answering me either.”

Bryce looked shocked. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Jackie said simply, suddenly fighting back tears.

“But you guys are…” He trailed off.

Yeah. Jackie wanted to say. Yeah, they were. And they had been that way for so long that now, now that they weren’t, she didn’t know what to do or think or how to breathe.

Bryce just stood there. Looking at her.

Jackie just stood there. Looking back.

Until he rallied the courage to ask what she knew he had wanted to ask since they had locked eyes.

“You think it’s her? In the picture?” Bryce asked.

Jackie nearly screamed.

“No,” she answered truthfully.

She didn’t think it was Jan. Hadn’t even considered the possibility that it could be Jan until Wednesday. And even then, Jackie still couldn’t wrap her mind around it because Jan was straight. And Jan was Jan.

But even still, Jackie couldn’t stop her mind from running away with the alternative. The alternative being that it was Jan in the picture.

And that alternative made Jackie’s stomach twist up like a balloon animal.

“Me either,” Bryce spoke softly, pulling Jackie from her thoughts.

The two sat in relative silence for a few more moments before Jackie mentioned that they probably should be heading back.

Practice after school went about as well as expected, with Jackie, Brita, Gigi, and the rest of the seniors taking turns leading the team through exercises and routines. Jackie couldn’t help but pick up on the feeling of defeat. They had already been pushing their luck with one flyer down and no coach, but now that Jan wasn’t there it just felt hopeless.

Jackie asked her mother later that night if they were coming to regionals.

Her father coughed and her mother danced around the word ‘no’ for half an hour or so.

Jackie just rolled her eyes at her mother’s antics. Taarof, the Persian word and Iranian principle of not saying what you truly mean, but the group understanding what is actually being expressed. Her mother meant no, but she never said it outright.

By the time Jackie finished dinner and her homework, it was nearly midnight. She sighed at her clock and willed that it would turn back. Willed that it would turn so far back that it would undo whatever weird spell she seemed to be under.

She had no such luck as the clock ticked on and on, and Jackie’s mind only got more cluttered. After twenty minutes of staring at her ceiling and praying that her mind would empty, Jackie gave in. She grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter and left her house without a second thought.

Jackie got in her car and just sat for a moment. She stared at the radio and the steering wheel and when she blinked, she was outside Jan’s house, not remembering having driven the short distance across the street.  

It was raining, Jackie noted after a minute, pretty hard actually, and if Jackie were in her right mind, she would worry about how her tires really needed replacing because she kept hydroplaning. But Jackie clearly wasn’t in her right mind because before she could think too hard, she was calling Jan.

The younger girl finally picked up after the third call.

“Come outside,” Jackie said firmly.

Jan sighed, and it spoke volumes. “Jacks-”

“Please.” Jackie startled herself with how broken her own voice sounded.

She heard Jan inhale slightly on the other end before she hung up.

Not a moment later, the blonde’s head appeared, and she ran from her front door to Jackie’s car, holding the back of her jacket up to shield herself from the rain. She threw open Jackie’s car door and settled down in the passenger seat. If it were any other day, Jackie would lament about her seats getting ruined, but with Jan sitting beside her, hair thrown up in a messy bun with no makeup and not a trace of a smile on her face, Jackie really couldn’t give a damn about her seats.

Jan sat in her passenger seat and just looked at her for a moment, taking her in almost.

“Hey,” Jan said finally.

Jackie’s heart hammered in her chest, as it normally did when Jan was around. Only now she recognized the pounding for what it truly was.

“Hey.”

I love you. Jackie thought.

Jan sighed and broke eye contact.“I’m sorry everything has been so crazy recently.” She looked back over to Jackie. “I’ve just not been feeling well, but I promise I’ll be back soon, and the team has my full attention and I—”

Jackie stopped her, “You don’t have to explain anything, okay?”

I love you. Jackie thought.

Jan nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but Jackie cut her off again.

“But don’t lie to me and act like everything’s fine.”.

Jan looked down at her feet on the floorboards, then to the window where the rain was making patterns on the glass.

Jackie didn’t know what else to say. So she just drove.

She drove and drove and drove and let her hands and feet do the thinking. Traffic was light, the rain was heavy, and the silence in the car was loud. They passed stores they used to spend all day window shopping at, houses of their classmates that they didn’t talk to now, the old library they never got any studying done at, the roller rink where Jan broke her arm, the neighborhood basketball courts they used to lay on until the sun disappeared and the ground got too cold.

They drove for so long that Jackie surprised even herself when she came to a stop.

She looked up and realized she was in their school parking lot. It was empty, save for the lone golf cart in the far parking space.

Jackie unbuckled her seatbelt, driven by some force that she couldn’t all together name. She opened her car door as the wind and rain beat against it.

“What are you—”

Jackie didn’t wait to hear the rest of Jan’s question, instead focusing on her steps, careful and measured as she got a good distance away from her car before letting her mind shut down and her body recoil as she let out a long and impossibly high scream.

The storm around her did a good job at mostly covering the intensity of her voice, but Jan still heard and came running at the sound.

“Jacks, are you okay?” Jan had to practically shout to be heard over the storm.

Jackie shook her head. “No,” she answered as honestly as she was able. “But that felt damn good.”

Jan looked at her concerned. “You can’t do that you’re gonna—”

Jackie cut her off with another ear-shattering scream.

Jan’s entire body winced at the sound, but Jackie could see something in her eyes simmering just under the surface. A fire. Envy almost.

“C’mon, give it a try,” Jackie yelled over the thunder crashing closer than before.

Jan shook her head. “I’m not gonna—”

Jackie screamed again. This time feeling her throat constrict and the sound fighting to get out. She sounded crazy. Broken and insane but Jackie swore she had never felt more alive than she did right now.

“Jackie!” Jan scolded.

Jackie just screamed again, louder, and couldn’t help the manic smile from spreading across her face. For the first time since they had known each other, Jackie felt her chest lighten in Jan’s presence. She felt a weight being lifted like she could finally breathe.

Jackie looked over to Jan who still looked hesitant, but after a firm nod from Jackie, Jan let out her own scream. It wasn’t nearly loud enough in Jackie’s opinion. And she said as such.

“Louder! You’re a singer you can do better!”

Jan shook her head and Jackie could barely make out a bitter laugh Jan gave at the notion. Jackie just shrugged and opened her mouth to yell again, when Jan stopped her with a hand. “Fine, I’ll do it. Just give me a second!”

Jackie mimed looking at a watch that didn’t exist and Jan bit her cheek to hide a smile.

Jan let out another scream, louder this time, a bit more unhinged.

It still wasn’t right.

Jackie walked closer to Jan so that she didn’t have to shout as loudly as before. “Everything that’s happened,” Jackie said, breathing heavily, “everything that’s made you fucking crazy, this week or your whole life, channel it. Right now. Let it out.”

Jan nodded her head in understanding.

Then she let out a scream so loud, Jackie swore the lights at the football stadium should have popped. She let out a scream so powerful Jackie was surprised she wasn’t knocked back by the force. She let out a scream so guttural that Jackie’s heart nearly broke in two at the sound.

Jan looked up at Jackie with wide eyes, shocked by her own pain almost.

Jackie just beamed at her. “That’s more like it,” she chuckled.

After the initial shock passed, Jan could stop from falling into a fit of laughter. Jackie couldn’t help but do the same.

They spent an immeasurable amount of time laughing and jumping around like idiots in the rain until a flash of lightning struck a bit too close for comfort. They screamed at the proximity and bolted to the car, still laughing and out of breath.

They collapsed in the seats and fell into another round of giggles until their stomachs tired and their jaws ached.

Jackie looked over at Jan, with her head thrown back against the car seat, mouth upturned for the first time in what felt like ages, and Jackie’s heart soared in her chest.

And for a brief second, Jackie thought that maybe, just maybe, everything was going to turn out fine.

[mautadite]

october book round up

19 books this month, which brings me to 125 for the year, and i’ve officially completed the yearly challenge! :) a little later than last year, but still earlier than i expected. i don’t imagine that i’ll read as much as i did last year, but i can still get a good bit done in two months i think. this month was pretty much just different flavours of romance, once again all audiobooks.

poison kiss - ana mardoll ⭐️⭐️⭐️ mixed feelings about this one. urban fantasy/paranormal with a neat setup and world building, but i feel like the author didn’t tell the story in the most effective way? not enough time spent on certain sections, time skips that were not needed, too many flashbacks. the poly romance was really sweet, though i didn’t much care for the love at first sight aspect when the third character was introduced. but this was a good book overall, with a unique plot and cast; might revisit the series.

the best boy ever made - rachel eliason ⭐️⭐️⭐️ very cute coming of age/ya romance. a conservative country girl is at first shocked when her best friend comes out as trans, but she slowly finds herself becoming his biggest champion, and then falling in love with him. took me a while to warm up to it bc i found the protagonist to be kind of obnoxious. and some of the later plot events were kind of ham-fisted. but i definitely liked it, mostly for sam and how good and kind he was.

i wish you all the best - meason deaver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ BRUH I’M CRYING IN THE CLUB. this was a really fucking sweet ya romance. the main character finds themselves homeless after they come out as nb to their parents. they move in with their sister, enroll in a new school, and find themselves making friends with (and slowly falling for!) a literal ray of sunshine. this was great, another one of those books i wish i could have read when i was younger. dealt with coming out, depression, anxiety and first love, had great writing, and i’m still thinking about how great the ending lines were.

the neighbour - gerri hill ⭐️⭐️ eh... a book that COULD have been good (woman with a stunted career as a writer moves back home to take care of her ailing mother, finds herself falling for the rich lesbian player next door) but both main characters were so thoroughly unlikable lmao. judgemental, snooty, made jokes about harmful things, kind of elitist... there was one aspect of this book that i really liked (the main character changed careers later in life and it wasn’t seen as a failure, just moving on) but otherwise this was a disappointment.

the turner series - cat sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ historical romance!!! always a fave. this was a pretty fun series; first three m/m, last one f/f. a bit of mystery and intrigue in all of them, good humour, and a great cast of characters through and through. the second one was probably my favourite; one of the mcs suffered from anxiety attacks in an era where there was a lot of wrong information about mental health, and his love interest (a cheat and a scoundrel) ended up being the best thing that happened to him. although now that i’ve said that i just remembered how very much i love the third book’s protagonist (the rake, to be specific). standout character for sure. the last book has a dear place in my heart bc even though you can tell that the author doesn’t often write f/f, and it was a pretty short novella, it’s still historical lesbians, and i eat up historical lesbians with a spoon. (i could make a pretty bad joke here but lo and behold; i have GREAT self control.)

the secret casebook of simon feximal - k.j. charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ when k.j. charles is good, SHE’S REALLY FUCKING GOOD. this is a paranormal-mystery/romance book styled after the adventures of sherlock holmes (if you must know one thing about me it’s that i’m a slut for acd holmes, don’t fucking @ me), set in the very universe itself. not quite a pastiche but close enough, and it was so well written, with great world building around the magic and paranormal events, great characters, GREAT ROMANCE. told as stories published by robert, simon’s biographer and lover. i adored this and will definitely reread.

puppy love romance - georgia beers ⭐️⭐️⭐️ a trio of f/f novels centred around an animal rescue, and the women who work and volunteer there and fall in love there. each of these novels was really sweet, grounded in a way that i like for contemporary romance, and they all had adorable dogs in them. and i feel like beers really knows her way around plotting and pacing a novel, especially small town romances. but i also had pretty sizeable nitpicks for each of them lol. part of it is that i just got tired of beers’ writing style (as you can see, i took a break between the series). this is such a weird complaint but oh my god she uses too many adverbs lol. also there was always an emphasis on how amazingly stunningly gorgeously beautiful all six women were and it got so tiresome. idk who wants to read about women who are physically perfect all the time, but it’s not me. and one half of the romantic pair in each book (lisa, emily and sydney, in that order) had attitudes that i found obnoxious and were not resolved and i felt bad for their girlfriends having to deal with them. a fun read all in all, but some of those things rubbed me the wrong way, and i’m ready to take a break from this author. 

bound series - ava march ⭐️⭐️ a resounding meh. historical m/m romance that wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t anything great about it. i only read these like maybe a week and a half ago but i’m struggling to remember details. there was bdsm, which i didn’t hate, but i also didn’t care. the plot was bleh, the sources of conflict were weak, and one of the dudes was kind of an asshole. /shrug emoji

reverie - eliza andrews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ god... GOD. the ride i took with this book was like... a really sexy butch took me out to dinner, wined and dined me, and in the very last course she leaned over and spit in me food. the premise: a woman on the run from her abusive ex-husband settles into a small town where she find herself drawn to the only out lesbian in town, a sweet butch ex-marine, and her mysterious nurse of a neighbour. this book was soooooooo well written, so well crafted, so moving, so beautiful. a paranormal mystery that actual kept me guessing. i was ready to name it the best f/f book i read this year, if not the best romance period. and then the ending. the FUCKING ENDING. i’ve rarely been so let down in my life. i’m looking at the four stars i gave this and wondering if i should go lower because SERIOUSLY. thinking about it is getting me kind of upset. this book could have been SO good. uuuuuugh. 

brothers of the wild north sea - harper fox ⭐️⭐️ this is tricky because like. this book was definitely like, not good lmao, but it was good enough that i almost feel guilty giving it 2 stars. this is a historical romance that takes place more than a thousand years ago between a viking and a monk. it wasn’t badly written, probably wasn’t historically accurate but i mean, i don’t care. but it was too long, i didn’t care about the characters, it was badly plotted, and just really confusing overall. i think harper fox is great at writing romance, but all other aspects of this novel fell flat.

escape velocity - anah crow, dianne fox ⭐️⭐️⭐️ sci-fi m/m romance. a linguistic researcher and a pilot struggling with his religious beliefs fall into a whirlwind romance. pretty cute. i found it too short as i find most novellas, but i think the authors did a lot in relatively few words. definitely wish there was more worldbuilding. kind of hope the authors have plans to make this a series.

nowhere ranch - heidi cullinan ⭐️⭐️⭐️ a sweet romance between a farm hand and his boss. i didn’t think i’d like it much, but it was pretty enjoyable! very simple writing stuff that fit well with the gruff, no-nonsense, trying to shut everyone out protagonist. i really liked him; identified with him a lot, and his journey into opening up, dealign with his anxiety and self-worth issues. and the romance was sweet (though oooof, some of the sex scenes were too much). the book went from being really raunchy to really domestic and i kind of liked that. the resolution came a bit too quick, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.

that’s it for october! still currently unemployed, waiting for the people i signed a contract with to call me. since i don’t want to dip too much into my savings i’ve been doing odd jobs here and there, and might take a more steady part-time job in the meantime? all of that to say: i probably won’t be reading as much in november. i’m currently reading the first book in the spencer cohen series, and not... really loving it, lol, so i might pass on the others.

[tsukishun]

How to Grind Jewels in Tsukipara

I’ll be using this as a sort of basics guide, so feel free to skip to any part that applies to you!

I’m making this to help @minazukirui-pluviawaltz and anyone else who plays Tsukipara! I hope this helps~ <3

Okay, so for starters, if you haven’t played all the difficulties of the songs unlocked through story mode or read all the main stories, definitely clear those! Each main story chapter is worth 5 jewels. Each song with all difficulties cleared is worth either 19 or 38 jewels depending on the song. (For example, LOLV is worth 18, while Burny!!! is worth 38. You can calculate how many jewels you’ll get per song by clicking on the little ミッション tab (or the little notepad icon) and checking the requirements for each difficulty.

*Special Note!: If you buy additional songs from the song shop (each costs 5 Moon Sound discs), each song is guaranteed to be worth 38 jewels if you clear all difficulties!

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that you have done this already, which leads me to my next tip...

Daily Log In Bonus / Special Log In Bonuses: These are self explanatory. Just make sure you log in every day. Every seven consecutive days (they must be consecutive) you’ll earn 25 jewels. 

(Excuse the old pictures lol).

In addition to that, you earn 10 jewels from character birthdays~ (If you log in consecutively much like the daily bonuses.)

Here’s a bonus tip! The special cakes given on the first day of the character birthday log in bonus when used in the little interactive dorms unlock a story and an additional 5 jewels. The only requirement is that you must have all that character’s group members in a room in order to use them. (The same way you use the other group exclusive items).

Special log in bonuses are for big events such as the recent road to the first anniversary log in bonus happening right now~ Their jewel account varies, but they’re definitely something to watch for (and encourage daily log in practices, so win win!).

Next tip! Giving characters in the dorms items~

So you know how sometimes the characters in the dorms want items and you can get presents from them if you give them what they want?

Well, there’s an additional thing you can do with items other than wait for them to want something. Each character has a few items that unlock special dialogues if you give them to them. And these dialogues unlock more jewels!

Simply click the items tab...

(He’s waving to me my sweet baby~)

And you’ll see this menu. The items that you can give to the character to unlock the special dialogue and jewels will usually be at the top of the list of items. Simply drag and drop it into their room to give it to them~ 

Do note however, that like giving them an item when they need it, giving them an item will deplete your stash by one copy. That is unless it’s one of the plushies you earn from events OR is a special event item like the chocolates from the Valentine’s event.

The items that you cannot give are easy to distinguish since they have a yellow banner along the top and will not be drag-able!

By doing this, you earn 1 jewel per item, but because each character has  five preferred items, that’s 5 jewels per character, which adds up quickly.

My next tip is awakening cards and this can be a bit tricky, but I’ll do my best to explain it!

So every time you complete a card’s board, you get an amount of jewels for doing so. The number you get depends on the card.

1 stars - 5 jewels

2 stars - 10 jewels

3 stars - 15 jewels

4 stars - 20 jewels

But there’s a way to get even more jewels if you have extra birthstones and medals lying around!

If you click the circled tab, you’ll see something like this:

So, there’s a lot going on here, but let’s focus on the fact that you can see there are two “tiers” of boards (it’s what I call them). *And yes, technically there are three, but if all you care about are jewels, you just need to worry about the first two*

This first one is the one you clear if you complete the first board. It’s the one that gives you the jewel count I mentioned above and unlocks the idolized version if you have a four star card.

This second tier gives you an additional amount of jewels (the amount you get on the first board + 5). In order to unlock it, you need a specific amount of the different medals.

From my experience, these are the best ways to unlock these tiers using the four different kinds of medals, but if anyone has a more efficient way, feel free to let me know~

1 stars - 20 red medals (it’s your only option)

2 stars - 30 red medals / 10 blue medals (depending on which you have more of)

3 stars - 30 blue medals / 20 green medals *Do NOT use the 50 red medal option unless you have a massive surplus of them

4 stars - 30 white medals ALWAYS *The other medal options are valid but cost so much more that you’re better off unlocking two 3 stars using the materials it takes to unlock one 4 star)

But wait, there’s even more you can do with the boards!

If you click the above circled tab, you’ll see a screen which looks like this:

This is called the “Talent Rank” section. Every character has their own talent rank which increases every time you get a card of that character and/or unlock one of that character’s card boards. By increasing the talent rank, you unlock additional stat bonuses to that character’s cards, special voice clips, and, you guessed it, more jewels!

Simply tap the above icon and...

You’ll see this new menu! As you can see, you don’t start unlocking jewels until after you’ve reached a talent rank of 7. However, after you’ve reached this point, you’ll start earning more jewels each time after stopping at a max of 5 jewels per talent rank up. This max is hit after rank 11 as you can see below.

So if you have a lot of a specific character and a lot of medals and birthstones, I recommend unlocking the boards of your characters that have high talent ranks in order to acquire a few more extra jewels (because hey, every jewel counts when you’re free to play~).

And now onto without a doubt the best way to grind jewels...

The Golden Tip: Events are your best friend when it comes to jewel grinding.

Events are hands down the best way to grind jewels, and basically everything in general. You can easily grind birthstones, moon sound discs, medals, and other prizes also which is super useful! The amount of jewels one can earn varies based on event, but I’ll do my best to cover everything~

Each event story, regardless of event type, is worth 5 jewels upon reading, just like the main stories.

Any event songs available during the duration of the event (excluding dice events) are treated like songs from the song shop. If you play all difficulties, you’ll get 38 jewels per song and since there’s typically 3-5 event songs, you’ll earn 114 - 190 jewels just by playing the event songs.

This doesn’t even factor in the jewel rewards for reaching certain point amounts and/or using the randomized gift mini gachas (depending on the event)!

And if you’re tiering in tier events (may Shun have mercy on our souls for these) you obviously get an amount of jewels for accomplishing that.

(Dear sweet Shun, how the heck did I accomplish that back then?!?! Picture is super outdated, but I understand now why I did, oh my gosh!!)

When it comes to dice events, you earn jewels based on how many rounds you clear. These can be a bit of a blessing because if you make it past round 100, you get 250 jewels plus all the jewels from the lower rounds which is super nice (and is why they’re my favorite type~).

Events are super helpful in grinding jewels, so if the event cards weren’t motivation enough, the jewels that you can earn should definitely incentivize you!

...And that’s about all I got!  I’ve played free to play as long as I’ve had this game, and this is how I’ve managed to acquire so many jewels during my play time~ I hope these tips help everyone like they help me!

Good luck with everyone’s jewel grinding~ <3

-Claire

[serenity-writes]

Rose in the Embers - Kyosuke Takatsukasa Spoiler-Free Review

Welcome to my review of Kyosuke Takatsukasa’s main story route from Rose in the Embers! I love this game + route so much, and here are some reasons why. Spoilers will be in section two and clearly labelled.

OVERALL RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

ART/MUSIC: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

STORY: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡

STEAMINESS: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡

LOVE INTEREST’S LIKEABILITY: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

MC’S LIKEABILITY: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

First off: Ahhhh… Kyosuke’s so handsome! 

I really love the art style in this game and the boys are all very easy on the eyes, this main lead especially. I am a sucker for those lazy brown locks and the well-tailored suit. He immediately captured my attention, especially with that flashy throwing of cash into the air at the end of the prologue. I know I’ve low-key dreamed of something like that happening to me, haha. The CG’s in this route are among the better Voltage pics, and compliment the more sophisticated, historical air the game has. Take a gander at Kyosuke’s room:

As well, the music is quite beautiful, with the subtle tones of piano. It creates a perfect mood.

Personality wise, Kyosuke is quite the flirt, but he doesn’t come across quite as overtly perverted as Misao. He loves to tease MC just to watch her get flustered and blush, making him oh-so-attractive and adorable. He’s truly the prince character of the game, sweeping MC off her feet with his extravagance and $$$. But he never really comes across as condescending, which I love. He sees MC as genuinely interesting and fascinating, and treats her like a human being instead of paying much attention to the class differences. He’s stepped right out of my dreams…

(Yes, I am melting, just like chocolate :’).)

Speaking of MC, I really liked her in this route! Like a lot of Voltage MC’s, she works hard and has got that doe-eyed innocence oozing out of her. But she has her brave moments, and she manages to stand her ground against a lot of Kyosuke’s banter, even coming back with some clever nicknames and quips of her own. I enjoyed seeing the world through her “farm-girl” eyes, since I didn’t know much about the Taisho era myself. Plus, it’s fun to watch her freak out over Kyosuke’s advances. In a word, she’s very relatable.

The story itself isn’t quite unique. But as it’s a retelling of a Cinderella-style tale, I wasn’t really expecting something too original. Overall, it’s interesting, with family dynamics and a very pronounced social-class struggle that I found wasn’t as prominent or emphasized in the other routes. The story definitely gives me Boys over Flowers vibes, which I welcome wholeheartedly <3.

This is one of the routes I can genuinely give a five-star (or like a 4.75) rating to, and I highly recommend it as an introduction into Rose in the Embers.

Tips for the route: To get the Favored Bold ending, choose answers that are more assertive and defiant. To get the Fortune’s Fools ending, choose meek, apologetic answers. If you still need help, I recommend a walkthrough. I found that the bulk of the answers are rather clear which way they sway (but some of them are tricky).

  SPOILERS FROM HERE ON:

I love MC’s line: “You could offer me all the money and riches in the world… and my heart would still not be yours to buy.” I think it perfectly encapsulates her inner strength, even though the world sees her as just a poor maid. That, and her hilarious nickname for Kyosuke: Earl of Lecher. It sets up their hilarious dynamic, which I thoroughly enjoy.

I think a handful of characters in the story could have benefited from being more dynamic, but hey it’s a short and very sweet route so I’m not complaining. As amusing as they are, the triplet mean girls with the same heads could have been a smidge more interesting if they had actual motives to be mean other than to fulfil a trope. Still, I enjoyed putting them in their place all the same…

I really love the motifs of chocolate and the camellias. I always love the language of flowers in otome games, though I think it’s slowly becoming a bit of a cliché :(.

I love the return of the older gentleman, Lord Koshibayama, and how he becomes endeared to her simply because of her unique attentiveness with things that others think beneath them, something that she’s usually mocked for. And I think the fiancée issue was resolved quite nicely. Though it’s a little too convenient, I don’t care because it’s cute as hell and works out in our favor.

Favored Bold ending is the one that has the CG. I found myself liking both of them equally! They both had similarities, though they were different enough that felt like I didn’t waste my time trying to get both endings. I really appreciate that it didn’t feel like one was more “right” than the other. The engagement was resolved in both rather peacefully, and they are reaffirming that the road before them will be a hard, but worthy, one.

From FF:

I found it a little difficult to get the Fortune’s Fools ending ;-; (part of why this review took so long to write). But both endings made me squeee with happiness at Kyosuke’s beautiful words and the happiness that is to come for our little Cinderella and her Lord.

(From FB)

P.S. I heard Season 2 is already out in Japan. I hope they bring it over soon!

[us2dinosaurplanet]

Ultimate Story 2: Dinosaur Planet-Chapter 22: The Final Battle’s Over, but the Adventure’s Just Begun

After Andross exploded, the Krazoa Spirits flew back to Dinosaur Planet, restoring every fallen piece back to the planet. At long last, the planet was restored and never fell apart again.

A little afterwards, Fox and Falco were seen flying along side each other for a bit. Falco: “So, Fox, aren’t you going back to the Great Fox with me?” Fox: “Nah, I can’t. I have to meet Misty and the others back on Dinosaur Planet.” Falco: “Suit yourself, I’ve got some reuniting to do.” Fox: “OK, then. See you later, Falco.” Falco: “So long, Fox.”

Fox flew back to the planet while Falco headed for the Great Fox. Inside, Falco entered the main room. Falco: “Hey, guys. I’m back. Did you miss me?”

Unfortunately, the team wasn’t very happy to see him again. Falco: “Uh, guys, why are you staring at me like that?” Slippy: “Falco, you jerk! Don’t you even realize what damage you’ve caused after leaving the team?” Falco: “I don’t know. What sort of damage did I cause after leaving?” Blossom: “First of all, you crushed Buttercup’s heart. For the many months that you’ve been gone, she’s been in her room crying like there’s no tomorrow.” Falco: “Dang! Was Buttercup really that sad because I left? I never knew. I should go apologize to her, right now.” Peppy: “Ah, ah, ah! We’re not done with you, yet, Falco.” Falco: “What, now?” Peppy: “The second thing you did was leaving without doing the oath of our crests. Because of that tiny mistake, every single one of our powers disappeared from our hands.”

Falco placed his hand over his eyes. Falco: “Aw, man, the oath. I knew I forgot something but how in the name of Star Haven did I forget about “the oath”?” D.W.: “Well, that doesn’t matter at the moment. What really matters now is correcting every single mistake that you’ve made, starting with Buttercup.” Peppy: “Good idea, D.W. Blossom, you go and get Buttercup.” Blossom: “I’m on it.”

Blossom flew to the door behind Falco.

She entered the bedroom section of the Great Fox. She floated to Buttercup’s room, where Buttercup was still crying for Falco. Blossom: “Um, Buttercup?” Buttercup: “Go away!” Blossom: “Um…Buttercup…I…” Buttercup: “I said go away!” Blossom: “Buttercup, I need you to come out, I have…” Buttercup: “What part of go away do you not understand? I’m not coming out of my room! Falco left me! He’s never coming back!” Blossom: “But Buttercup…” Buttercup: “Leave me alone! I said I’m not coming out!!” Blossom: “BUTTERCUP!!! Get out here right now! Falco came back!”

Buttercup then looked up toward Blossom. Buttercup: “What? He did?” Blossom: “Yes, he did. He wants to see you and apologize.” Buttercup: “Yeah, right! That’s a good one, Blossom! He’s not coming back! He hasn’t answered any of my email or my messages. He’s not coming back! He…he never is.”

Blossom became even more furious. Blossom: “That does it!!”

She flew over to Buttercup and grabbed on to her. Blossom: “You are coming out of this room right now!” Buttercup: “No! Let me go!!!”

Buttercup fought Blossom as she was being pulled out of her room.

When Blossom finally got Buttercup reached the main room of the Great Fox, Buttercup couldn’t believe her eyes. In fact, she was constantly rubbing her eyes to see if she was seeing what she thinks she’s seeing. She saw Falco standing right in front of her. It was no illusion or hologram. It was Falco, himself. Buttercup: “F-Falco?” Falco: “Hi, Buttercup, I’m sorry.”

Overjoyed, she flew to him and knocked down on the ground. She had her arms around him, crying with joy. Buttercup: “Falco! I can’t believe it! You ARE back. I’ve missed you!” Falco: “I’ve missed you, too, Buttercup.”

Buttercup was gently hitting Falco on the chest. Buttercup: “Falco, you fool, don’t you realize how badly I’ve missed you?” Falco: “I know, Buttercup, I know. I wish there was some way I could make it up to you.” Buttercup: “Don’t ever leave me again. I’m a wreck without you.” Falco: “I’ll try.” Blossom: “Aw, isn’t that the sweetest thing you’ve seen?” Peppy: “Not exactly, Blossom but it’s sweet enough. Now that that’s been taken care of, all we need to do, now is find Fox and do the recovery oath with him to restore our powers. It’s been long since I’ve seen the rabbit of speed on my hand.” Slippy: “Yeah, and I can’t wait to see the snake of invisibility back on my hand again.” D.W.: “And once the horse of recovery is recovered to my hand, I’ll be able to fix my broken arm in no time.” Falco: “Come to think of it, I always wanted to see the rooster of levitation back on my hand. I’ve missed that power.”

Just then, the General’s hologram projector appeared in the middle of the room. General Pepper: “Outstanding job, Fox. You and your friends have…huh?”

But as the holographic head of General Pepper looked around the room, he could only see Slippy, D.W., Blossom, Peppy, Falco, Buttercup and Rob. General Pepper: “Uh, guys, isn’t Fox and the others suppose to be here?” Falco: “Well, actually, the last time I saw Fox, he headed straight for that planet that just reattached itself.” General Pepper: “So, they’re still on Dinosaur Planet, huh? Well, I’ll contact them from there right away. Pepper out.”

The general’s hologram turned off. Slippy: “Hm, that reminds me; where on Dinosaur Planet is Fox, Misty, Bubbles, Princess Peach and the others?” D.W.: “Oh, guys, come check this out.”

Everyone gathers around D.W. as she zoomed in to the South East section of Dinosaur Planet on her laptop and displayed the map of Cape Claw. Then she zoomed in to the round beach of Cape Claw to show Fox and Misty lounging on the beach on lounge chairs while wearing sunglasses as Banjo and Rayman snooze on a beach blanket and Princess Peach shade the boys with her parasol and Bubbles plays happily in the sand with Pikachu and Tricky. Then, Falco and Buttercup started laughing. Falco: “Get a load of those guys. What a bunch of lazy saps. (Laugh)” Buttercup: “(Laugh) Yeah, I know. (Laugh) Is that what they’re doing right now? Oh, man, what a load off.”

Falco and Buttercup continued laughing. Peppy: “Will you be nice, you 2? Fox and his friends have been living it rough these past few days. They deserve to relax after what they been through and I believe that they’ll be getting plenty of it.”

Meanwhile, back in Cape Claw, Fox and his friends were happily relaxing. Just then, General Pepper’s hologram popped up right in front of Fox and Misty. General Pepper: “Outstanding job, Fox. I don’t know how you and your friends did it but you’ve saved the Lylat System from Andross, once again. I was surprised that he was able to survive after what happened 8 years ago.” Bubbles: “Not as surprised as we were.” Fox: “Well, as you can see, Andross learned about the ancient power of the Krazoa Spirits.” Misty: “By trapping Krystal who was able to channel the spirits, he was able to use their power to revive himself.”

The general was silent for a while. General Pepper: “Well, hopefully, we’ve seen the last of that tyrant.”

Pikachu responded in a cute and happy way. Fox: “Yes, let’s hope for all of our sakes.” General Pepper: “Well, guys, I’m done here. I’ve managed to transfer your fee to the others back on the Great Fox. Contact me anytime. Enjoy your vacation. Pepper out.”

The general’s hologram disappeared. Bubbles: “Uh, Fox, what if we didn’t see the last of that nasty Andross?” Fox: “I don’t think we’ll ever see that monkey again, Bubbles but just in case he does show himself, I’ll just fly back up there and kick his butt. No sweat.” Misty:” Oh, speaking of “tyrants”, whatever happened to General Scales? Fox, do you think we’ll ever see him again?” Fox: “You’ve got me. I have this strange that we will meet again. On the other hand, I’m not sure if he’s alive right now or not after what happened at the palace.” Misty: “Well, I was hoping you would say no.” Fox: “But Misty, why?” Misty: “Well, because I felt terrified after what he said to us, especially after what he said to me. What if he does come back? Who knows what revenge he has planned for us? Who knows what even worse revenge he has planned for me…or…us…?” Fox: “Misty, calm down. It’s OK, there’s nothing to worry about, even if he does come back. I’ll protect you from him no matter.” Misty: “You…you will?” Fox: “I promise.” Misty: “Oh, Fox…”

Once again, you see them staring into each other’s eyes. They should have figured it out by now, but no. It was still kept a secret from them. I hope they would figure it out soon because the end of this story draws near, very near.

[semanticuk]

3 Things to Maximise Your Success on Google My Business

Google My Business is something we find that clients often overlook.

We’ve highlighted 3 areas to make sure you make the most of this prime real-estate on Google

Firstly though, you need a Google My Business (GMB) listing.  If you don’t have one then you should register and verify your business right away here.. If you want to know more from a beginner’s point of view, check out Moz’s guide on how to get started.

There are plenty of guides out there on filling out your listing for the first time, or feel free to contact us if you need a hand.  This week we’ll be going over a few features that can sometimes be overlooked or underutilised.

1. Photos

It may seem like a weird one to include, but there are many local businesses out there with a Google My Business page that have no photos. So why is that bad?

Well, direct from Google themselves, Google My Business listings with pictures receive 42% more request for directions to the business, and 35% more click throughs to their website.

It’s a no brainer really, add some photos of your business. Show the faces behind the name!

If you and your workforce are intensely grotesque however, don’t fret. Perhaps you could include a couple of photos of the business from the outside (in good weather), or some of your products (if you have any).

It beats a picture of just a logo or even worse, no photos at all!

When in the photo upload section of your GMB listing, Google have listed specific photo categories to give you an idea of what kind of photos to try and upload, which is handy.

Oh, and it’s worth geo-tagging your photos. Your business listing is of course linked to your location and appearance on Google Maps. It is said that adding location information to your photos is pretty helpful for local search. Google have shrugged and said maybe, maybe not. Can’t hurt to try anyway, right?

2. Posts

This feature is a potentially powerful one, and one I found is frequently underused (usually because people don’t know it exists). You have everything to gain from using it from not a huge amount of effort.

With the Posts feature, you can create posts that appear within your GMB listing with options to feature almost anything you want. Got an event coming up? A new product launch? Create a post! Just upload a related picture within it, write some copy, and stick a sweet call to action at the bottom linking to the relevant page on your site.

Here’s an example of the York Dungeon making use of it:

And here’s what happens when a user clicks on it:

There has been some debate on whether the Posts feature is worth using. Why? They once featured higher up on your business page but now find themselves further down. This is sometimes seen as a sign that Google is giving up on it.

However, this post from SEO experts Moz posted in February 2019, gives a full rundown on the feature with a nice comprehensive study on how useful it is. The bottom line? Google My Business posts are absolutely worth it.

On another note, Google have very recently announced that they have given “Offers” type posts more prominence within local searches. Perhaps they do care after all.

3. Reviews

If you currently don’t have any reviews on your listing, it’s time to get started on it. And I don’t mean writing your own ones. Reviews are a powerful way to convince users to interact with you.

It’s well known how influential reviews are in purchasing decisions. I hate to use anecdotal evidence, but in my previous job, a client literally told us that the good reviews he read on our business listing convinced him to deal with us.  Social proof is a powerful tool to help drive business.

If you’re a small business it can be tricky to get reviews, but not impossible. Try and reach out to your previous (preferably happy) customers and ask them to review you. Something I learned quite quickly was to make your request as easy to fulfill as possible, and by this I mean not just emailing to ask to review you on Google, but to give them a link that takes them straight to writing a review.

People are busy, they will forget. Don’t be discouraged. It is best to strike while the iron is hot and you’re fresh in their memory, but chances are you have happy customers out there who will be happy to spare a minute or two to leave you a review (as long as you make it super easy for them!). It’s worth the effort, and those gold stars looks good on the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Make sure you reply to reviews too, good or bad. It’s good practice and shows to potential customers/clients that you’re active and care.

That’s a brief summary of 3 fairly new and under-used features on GMB.  As ever, we’re always happy to help, so just drop us a line if you need a hand.

-- Darin

[thecoroutfitters]

Oh the delicious flavor of smoked ribs, brisket, or even fish and seafood…

It’s a distinctive flavor, but varies significantly based on your methods. It can be sweet and fruity, or deep and woodsy, or anything in between. The beauty is that you can mix and match and blend to find your favorites and make them your own.

Smoking used to be used as a preservation method but that fell out of use with the invention of refrigeration and isn’t a great method anyway, as it requires a smokehouse and another preservation technique such as salting to ensure food safety that changes the taste and palatability of the meat.

There are also seven ways to Sunday that you can ruin meat while you’re smoking it, too, and that’s not only expensive, but disrespectful to the animal. In a survival situation, it may also mean the difference between eating and going hungry.

Old Days. Old Ways. But The Food Never Tasted Better.

The main issue that you may run into is that you’re going to burn it up. Until you get the hang of it, it’ll be easy to go from not-quite-done to oops-I-made-leather.

So, to save you time and money, and to save wasting perfectly good meat, we’ve gathered some tips to help you get started.

Choose the Right Smoker

There are four basic types of smokers, and the first decision you need to make is which one’s best for you.

Electric Smoker

Electric smokers are probably the easiest to use because all you have to do is plug it in, put the meat in it, and forget about it until the timer goes off.

It’s basically a crock-pot for smoking meat. There are a couple of downfalls, though. It’s pricey, and you don’t quite get that deep smoky flavor.

Gas Smoker

This is the next step in easy smoking. Using a gas smoker gives you the safety measure of controlling your temperature while still being able to add wood chips for flavor, though it won’t permeate the meat and give it that deep, smoky flavor. Also, you have to have gas (propane) to run it, so it won’t be much of an option if SHTF.

Charcoal Smoker

Now you’re getting into an area that requires skill. Charcoal smoking is a favorite even among professional meat smokers because charcoal burns long and steadily and you can add wood to imbue the flavors that you want. You have to know what you’re doing if you’re going to successfully use a charcoal smoker, but it’s nothing you can’t pick up with practice.

Wood Smoker

Cooking with wood is the most difficult method but also imparts the biggest, purist smoky flavors. It’s tricky to cook only with smoke because it burns at different speeds depending on the type of wood you use and how seasoned it is.

You need to tend a wood smoker closely because you want to maintain an even temperature that’s hot enough to cook but not so hot that your meat will be charred on the outside and raw in the middle. You’ll use a combination of chips and blocks to maintain the temperature and you’ll also need to watch the airflow closely so that you’re not getting gusts that cause fluctuations in the temperature.

Choose Your Wood

OK, now that you’ve chosen your method, you need to choose your wood. Different woods imbue different flavors, and some go better with certain meats over others. In other words, match your meat to your wood, or even to the occasion and what other sides you’re going to be using.

Hickory will add a strong smoky flavor so it needs meat with big flavor. It goes well with lamb and beef. I like it with venison, too.

Cherry has a sweet, mild flavor. It’s good for meats that you aren’t going to be seasoning heavily because the seasoning will cover the delicate flavor of the wood. Cherry’s great for poultry, red meat, and pork, as long as you’re just highlighting the flavor of the meat.

Apple and Alder are kind of like cherry. It’s sweet and mild. I like it with fish because I’m not a fan of heavy smoke flavor on my fish. It’s also good for poultry and pork.

Mesquite is probably the most recognizable, along with hickory. Many barbecue sauces use these in their labels. Mesquite is great for big flavored meats like beef or pork, specifically ribs or steak, because mesquite is super strong and smoky. Use it when you’re grilling something quickly rather than smoking for a long time.

Maple is sweet and smoky. It’s not light like apple or cherry; it adds plenty of flavor and is great with poultry or pork.

Soak Smaller Chips in Water

You can either toss them in and they’ll burn up quickly, or you can soak them in water for several hours so that the wood doesn’t burn up quickly. Wet wood also smokes more. Remember, smoking is meant to be a long process.

The standard with the pros is to use logs and larger pieces dry and smaller pieces and chips wet. Another advantage is that if the wood is wet, it helps prevent flare-ups.

I have a friend who’s big into smoking and he soaks his in Guinness, which gives the meat a little extra something, and he says he’s also soaked it in wine, but I haven’t tasted it when he’s done that. Chances are good that if he did it, it was delicious.

If you soak your chips, wrap them loosely in foil and poke holes in it.

Pick Your Meat

Ahhh … the meat of the matter! The entire process that we just discussed depends largely upon personal taste and what type of meat that you’re going to use. Remember that smoking is usually long and low, or at least medium, so you can get away sometimes with using a larger cut of meat, and sometimes a tougher cut, though you don’t want to go too cheap on the meat.

Brisket

Ribs

Corned Beef

Ham

Venison Roasts

Brisket

Pork Roasts

Trout and other sturdy white fish

Salmon

Chicken

Turkey

Marinade or Rub?

Fights have been started over this question in parts of the country where smoking is a point of pride. If you decide to use a marinade, whether yours or one you buy, score your meat a little so it’ll soak it up better, and leave it in the fridge for at least 8 hours.

Find the Right Temp

Smoking is a low and slow game. You don’t want it to get over 220 degrees except in the very beginning before you put your meat on. As soon as you put your meat on, get it back down then keep close track of the temperature after that.

If you’re using a charcoal or wood smoker, you can use a pan of water to help keep the temperature regulated and keep the meat moist.

Too Much of a Good Thing is Bad

The general rule of thumb is that smoking shouldn’t take up more than half of the cooking time. Also, you want the smoke to be a steady stream, not huge and billowing.

White Smoke is Good, Black is Bad

White smoke means that everything – wood, meat, ventilation, temperature – is good. Black smoke means that you don’t have enough ventilation or your meat is dripping onto the wood and burning the fat. That’ll make your meat taste burnt.

Leave it Alone!

Leave the lid shut. When you open it, you let the smoke out and you mess with the temperature inside the cooker. If you want it to be awesome, leave it alone.

Respect the Meat!

The star of this show is the meat, not the marinade, the rub, or the smoke. Everything you do is to enhance and complement the flavor of the meat. Respect that. Don’t use anything that’s so strong that it covers up that natural deliciousness.

Now that you have a general idea about smoking, what are you waiting for?

Are you a long-time smoking pro? Share some of your tips with us in the comments section below.

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

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