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[irohsteaa]

dr. Tenma taking care of Jan Suk

[davidmann95]

Comics this week (3/10/2021)?

cheerfullynihilistic said: Comics this week (03/10/21)??

adudewholikescomicsandotherstuff said: This week’s comics?

Anonymous said: Comics?

Anonymous said: 3/10 NCBD?

Non-Stop Spider-Man #1: The lead story was fun, the backup was dopey, I’ll give it another issue or two to see where it goes.

The Immortal Hulk #44: While it was too late for this week I’ve taken Hulk off my pull list, so the store won’t order any copies specifically for me and therefore my future purchase of the book won’t support Joe Bennett’s presence, just the store. This issue is typical of some of the books’ weaker installments of the last year or so - feels like well-done regular superhero comics instead of Immortal Hulk - but those last couple pages bring it back around.

Daredevil #28: Holy cow, those King In Black issues actually mattered. God this book is still so fuckin’ good in so many ways, everything every dumbass street-level superhero ‘deconstruction’ wants to be when it grows up.

Children of the Atom #1: Sucks real bad! This weird combo of ‘hip new young Marvel heroes!’ trappings and soulless X-Men lifer comics execution that feels certain to appeal to neither group.

Eternals #3: Of the listed Deviants I imagine I’d relate most to Annoyed Veug.

Commanders in Crisis #6: While I remain without the ability to weigh in on this objectively, this is the issue that to date most feels like it lives up to the promises of the series premiere.

The Wrong Earth: Night & Day #3: Little disappointed personally with the reveal of what the third world is - I assumed it was going to be more of a straight take ‘modern’ version to the other two’s flavors of throwbacks - but this series still rules. And that ending.

Home Sick Pilots #4: Okay, I think I can follow what’s happening at this point, still enjoying it.

Proctor Valley Road #1: I review these books in the order I present them to my dad since he likes DC/Marvel/Other to each be lumped together, but make no mistake: this is the last of the three Morrison books to read this week, because this is what comes next for them. A return to their roots - 70s kids way into music and dealing with the weird, girls adventure stories of the kind they apparently grew up reading - this feels like a refinement of their mid/late-00s Vertigo work in the same way they’ve been iterating on their superhero material for decades. The horror is sold excellently, whether by their own efforts or thanks to cowriter Alex Child this is their most fluid, ‘real’-sounding dialogue perhaps ever, and Franquiz with Bonvillain are instantly among their all-time best collaborators, perfectly capturing the shifting tone and character acting necessary to best put Morrison’s big ideas over in a way a number of their collaborators haven’t lived up to over the years (and speaking of the visuals, Jim Campbell does the lord’s work with that lettering trick near the end). Ritesh Babu and Sean Dillon have a lot more to say about the book and how it already acts as a darker, more honest take on your Stranger Things and the like as a commentary on its times, but I’m already loving to see this particular return down to Earth for Morrison and company and I’m glad to hear this is selling really well compared to their previous indie work.

Dead Dog’s Bite #1: This actually came out last week, but Ritesh recommended it so I figured it might be worth a look. A so far intensely low-key missing persons mystery with a touch of surreality around its edges, this already looks to be the best “look! A nine-panel grid! Fancy!” comic since Mister Miracle, really lived-in and emotional for as little happens in this debut. Very curious where it’s going.

Rorschach #6: I continue to like it.

Batman: Urban Legends #1: Glory be, a good Jason Todd comic - at last, you noble stubborn weirdoes living off of like six nonconsecutive panels all these years, you may lay down your burden. Not all you’d necessarily hope from Zdarsky tackling Gotham after what he’s been doing with Daredevil but rock-solid work regardless; the Harley story is fine, Outsiders is a letdown after Thomas’s shockingly good showing for them in Future State but it’s still fine, and the Grifter stuff is fun.

The Joker #1: I thought the advertised ‘a Joker story from Gordon’s POV’ angle was an interesting one even if I was concerned this book would in practice be pure editorial mandate, but in reality? Tynion has managed to pull the wool over DC’s eyes and do a full-on Jim Gordon book (one predicated with him being off the force to make it reasonably comfortable read in 2021) with Joker as the barest of pretexts to get it out the door and selling for as long as he wants to continue it. He even said in interviews that when the book was first pitched to him that his response was that a Joker solo book was a dumb unworkable idea until he had an idea for a ‘different way to approach it’, he knows exactly what he’s doing and I salute him. And it’s a darn good Gordon book even if the Punchline backup is predictably tepid, I’m in the tank for Gotham’s perpetual whipping boy dealing with weird noir international crime with Joker sort of hanging around in the background menacingly to justify the nominal premise.

Anonymous said: Hey, so I figure one random anon won’t change your mind, but like you I was disappointed by New Frontier’s immortal Wonder Woman, but I still got the new issue of Wonder Woman cause Wonder Woman at Valhalla still sounds great and I actually liked it! I think I’m gonna get at least the next issue, so there’s at least one recommendation for it

Wonder Woman #770: This combined with the store still putting it in my pile prompted me to give it a try after all, and whether because something here clicks better or if they’re simply not trying so hard without the pressure of doing a ‘final’ story for Diana, Cloonan and Conrad do in fact do substantially better on the main book than they did with Immortal Wonder Woman. Some fun, some fights, some mythology and intrigue, gorgeous landscapes and generous servings of beefcake from Travis Moore - this isn’t going to be sweeping the Eisners, but this is as enjoyable as a Wonder Woman comic has been in a good long time. My only concern is that the joyousness on display here might dissipate somewhat once Diana fully returns to herself, but in the meantime this was a very pleasant surprise (especially with the the Young Diana backup by Bellaire, Ganucheau, Goode, and Carey).

Superman #29: PKJ’s Superman thus far has been a story of overcoming initial worries of mine - in this case, my concern that he’d have a bad Scott Snyder-ey case of “if you’ve read the interviews you’ve pretty much already heard the dialogue of the comic verbatim”. In practice here most of what he’s had to say about these issues are distilled down really succinctly and poignantly in the midst of a fun little upper-atmosphere adventure portending something grimmer, and while I know it didn’t click with everyone I thought Phil Hester’s work here was a perfect accompaniment. The Tales of Metropolis backup wasn’t nearly as enjoyable, but hints at some interesting worldbuilding I’m hopeful will pay off in the main run.

The Green Lantern Season Two #12: The final Grant Morrison DC comic. One of two anyway, but if the next story I discuss is their broader final (non-Klaus, hopefully) statement on the superhero subgenre and a bridge to what they’re doing next, this is the one that’s about being The Final Grant Morrison DC Comic. A mélange of pretty much all their other DC finales into a shamelessly self-reflective meditation on the limits of what they can accomplish in shared universe storytelling where Green Lantern saves the universe through collective action and then fucks off to do his own thing elsewhere while the kids take over the ongoings. Weird and kinda perfect, and if nothing else this series took Liam Sharp from “really? This dude is drawing the last ever Morrison DC ongoing?” to “HOLY FUCKING SHIT LIAM SHARP”.

(The panel folks blew up over I think can be read multiple ways, but not in a ‘it’s open to interpretation!’ way so much as the storytelling/framing being unclear. I personally read it as ‘this is what neighbor versus neighbor looks like now’ rather than ‘calling someone a TERF or a Nazi is as bad as anything the other side does’, because oldster and out of touch though they may be I can’t see Morrison seriously saying that, especially after coming out.)

Wonder Woman Earth One Volume 3: At long last, after a hideous misfire kicking the series off and a second installment best described as ‘well, at least it wasn’t the first one’, this while not without elements I want to see femme and nonbinary critics discuss critically lives up to what you want to see out of ‘Grant Morrison’s Wonder Woman’. Big utopian fiction breaking the typical boundaries of superhero stories with aplomb in implicit conversation with a ton of their previous work, a bridge from what they’ve done to what they’re doing next, it’s an imperfect (especially with Paquette’s art, which while gorgeous and majestic in the way this story demands really doesn’t living up to the ‘acting’ necessary here in a way thrown into sharp contrast by Franquiz in PVR) but shockingly passionate statement of intent - if the last two volumes felt like Morrison struggling to have something to say with Wonder Woman in the same way they did with Superman and Batman, this feels at the close like them at last finding in her a way to do everything left with the cape and tights crowd they wanted to but couldn’t manage anywhere else under the Big Two umbrella. Odd and lovely, a fine sendoff.

[writeyouin]

Swerve X Reader – Changes - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Whispers in the Silence

A/N – After a very successful vote in which Swerve won out, here is the next chapter. As always, a great thanks to @rocksinmuffin​ for continuing to inspire this story with their amazing imagines.

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

As a rule, the Lost Light was a ship that prided itself on noise, adventure and laughter, but with you in sick bay, under the careful operation of three medics and two scientists, the ship held nothing but a deep and terrible silence. It didn’t matter that Swerve was quietly sobbing outside the operating theatre; the ship was still a static void in which no sound mattered.

If you were beside him, Swerve knew you would make the best of such a situation, probably saying something like, ‘Huh, I guess in space, nobody can hear you scream. Who’d’ve guessed?’

When Swerve was in the operating theatre all that time ago, you left him a message to listen to until he got back. He had listened to it over seventy-two times while you were in the medics’ servos, if only to hear your voice again. Primus, it wasn’t fair! Swerve couldn’t leave you a message because you weren’t Cybertronian, and worse than that, he wasn’t even allowed to be in the same room as you because Ratchet had thrown him out when he started to get in the way.

Swerve looked up when he heard a door open, but it wasn’t the operating theatre, it was only the waiting room entrance that led to the decks. Tailgate waved awkwardly at Swerve, soon lowering his servo out of respect. He and Cyclonus simply made their way to the right-hand wall and left two small vials of their innermost energon before leaving to stand with the bots in the corridor; that made exactly ninety-seven vials of innermost energon thus far. Swerve was glad that none of the others tried talking to him upon leaving their energon; for once, he was in no mood to talk. He also appreciated that the bots outside were staggering their queue times in leaving their innermost energon. One or two bots would come in every half hour or so to leave their vials, and before the day was through, Swerve was sure there would be almost two-hundred vials for you. It seemed everyone loved you, almost as much as he did.

Another round of sobbing racked Swerve’s body. He pulled out his locket with your hair in it, clutching it close to his spark, as if it might will you back to full health. The two of you had only been married one year, how could the universe be so cruel as to threaten that so soon?

“Swerve?”

Swerve shook his head, as a memory of your voice surfaced, followed closely by a visual feed of the event in his processor’s optic.

“(Y/N)?” Swerve beamed, repeating your confused tone, even though he was well-aware of what you were going to ask.

“I um- I know we said we were going to re-decorate the hab-suite, but why… why does it look like the friends set?”

“You don’t like purple?” He asked all too innocently.

You jumped as a laugh-track played aloud, “Oh my God…. You didn’t. Swerve, tell me you didn’t add a laugh track to the apartment.”

Swerve looked far into the background, winking at nothing, “Maybe.”

The laughter briefly continued, only escalating when you face-palmed.

“Why are you like this?”

At that, Swerve only chuckled and splashed you with paint, triggering the first of what he hoped would be many paint fights along your life together.

Coolant sprung from Swerve’s optics and he choked out another sob. That memory was from April Fool’s Day and he had re-decorated the apartment with you properly the day after. Swerve prayed to both Primus and every deity he knew of on Earth that you would come out of this okay and that he wouldn’t have to live with the weight of his mistake forever.

He needed you. Couldn’t the universe see that? He needed you to reassure him that everything would be okay. He needed you to come in the bar every day and lean over to kiss him, no matter what anyone else muttered under their breaths about him. He needed you to waylay the fears and doubts from his mind that he wasn’t good enough.

More than that, he wanted to be there for you as-well.

“(Y/N)! ARE YOU SICK? PLEASE, TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG!”

Swerve scrunched his optics shut as another memory hit him like a tonne of bricks.

You were curled up in pain, hugging yourself and groaning. You forced yourself to shake your head, shuddering as you breathed out slowly. “Shark week,” You winced.

“SHARK WEEK?” Swerve cried. You had already forewarned him of this, but he didn’t think it would hurt you so badly. Hurriedly, he ran to your tiny cupboards, bringing out extra blankets, a two-litre bottle of water, several boxes of pills (one of which surely had to be the right one), a large bar of synthetic chocolate, and a heat pad. After you mentioned shark week the first time to him, Swerve had visited Ratchet to learn what would help you and Ratchet had given him these supplies.

“Which do you need?” Swerve asked frantically.

You could tell he was about to go into full-blown panic mode, as he usually did when he first encountered some new experience of organic life that he hadn’t seen before. Before you were married, you had generally avoided him when this happened to save him from any embarrassment, but now the two of you were married, you knew he wouldn’t be awkward about organic matters; well, not that awkward anyway.

Sitting up slowly, you took a few sips of water, smiling when the nausea passed, “Good job sweetie. I’m all better now.”

Swerve pointed an accusatory finger at you, “No! that’s your placating smile, not your happy smile. Tell me the truth, do you need Ratchet? Are you still in pain? If so, how much pain? Should I get Rodimus to stop on a nearby planet? I could-”

For once, you left Swerve to rant on, while you simply went to sleep. In retrospect, that wasn’t your best idea as he gasped and sped of to the medical bay, dragging Ratchet back with him, but honestly you were too tired at the time to answer his questions. After giving you the once-over, Ratchet gave Swerve a stern-talking to about heeding his research into humans before wasting his time.

“If (Y/N) says she’s fine, she’s fine,” Ratchet glowered, walking out of the hab-suite. “Next time, listen to her before you come to me.”

Swerve chewed his lip anxiously, before approaching you again. Now you were well-rested, you were sat under a blanket with the heating pad over your stomach.

“You’re really okay?” he asked.

“With you to take care of me? Always.”

Swerve stared at the operating theatre door. That was the problem; he wasn’t there for you now. Granted, Swerve was smarter than most bots gave him credit for, but he wasn’t a doctor or a scientist. He didn’t have healer’s hands. He was a barman. Why in Primus’ name had you married him instead of somebody useful? You could have been with somebody who listened to you when you told him not to cross that bridge. You could have been with someone who hadn’t got you shot.

The hall door swished open again and Rung came quietly in to leave his innermost energon. He looked like he wanted to say something to Swerve, perhaps even comfort him, but he knew the protocol was to stay quiet when somebody's Conjunx Endurae was in in fate’s servos. Swerve could have invited him over, giving Rung permission to comfort him. After all, Rung was almost like a creator to you, but quite frankly, Swerve didn’t think he deserved to be comforted when all of this was his fault.

“What are you doing married to Swerve anyway? Don’t you know there are better mechs onboard this ship?”

Swerve could hear the cheesy 70’s music playing in his bar as if it was yesterday. He had briefly left you to grab some supplies from the back but when he heard Getaway say that, he remained hidden, knowing it was wrong to listen in on you like this, but needing to hear your response all the same.

“Please don’t talk about my husband that way,” You said, giving the overcharged mech a chance to back off and apologise before you ripped into him.

“Come on, he’s not even here right now,” Getaway guffawed, admittedly somewhat jealous that you loved Swerve instead of him, even though the two of you had hardly spoken before; Getaway always coveted that which he did not have. “He won’t hear what you really think about him.”

‘If only that were true,’ Swerve thought, though he still continued to eavesdrop.

“I mean, who would really notice if you and I just kind of slipped away right now to have some fun. You’ve got to have wondered what it would be like with another, more charming mech right?”

Swerve gulped, sure he was going to purge his tanks out of nervousness. He knew for a fact that most mechs considered Getaway to be charming and none considered him to be.

“Hmm,” you said thoughtfully. “You’re really good at sex?”

Swerve fell against the wall, wanting to claw out his audials, but frozen in place as the conversation continued.

“The best.”

“Good, then go fuck yourself, and never ever talk about my husband like that again. Swerve is ten times the mech you are.”

Giddy elation filled Swerve up and he rushed out from the supply closet, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing. He could have waited a little bit longer to compose himself, but he was afraid Getaway might be just overcharged enough to hurt you if you injured his pride any more than you already had. Getaway left irately and you turned your attention to Swerve who pretended he hadn’t heard a thing.

“What’s his problem?” Swerve asked casually, though he could hardly keep the giggle out of his vocaliser.

You shrugged, “Small man syndrome.”

“Huh? Okay, whatever you say, (Y/N).”

Before any more memories could torture him, the med-bay door finally opened and Ratchet stepped out, looking grimmer than ever. Swerve wanted to blurt out a million questions, but fearing for your life and knowing every second counted, he waited through the agonising seconds for Ratchet to speak.

“I have sent the medical team into the back so you and (Y/N) can spend some time alone, but I hope you are ready to face the consequences of what you have done Swerve. The lies you’ve told her – to everyone on this ship – will not go unnoticed.”

Swerve swallowed fearfully, “But she’s alive? She’s going to be alright?”

Ratchet considered the question before answering, “Physically, yes. Mentally however… Only time will tell. If you will excuse me, I’m going to join my team in med-bay two, where we will wait until you are ready.”

Swerve waited momentarily for Ratchet to back-track though the medical bay; it gave him a few minutes to compose himself and think of what he would say when he saw you. Then, forgetting his composure, he ran into the medical bay, stopping short when he saw you, in your new Cybertronian body. He knew there was a chance this would happen, but he had told Perceptor and Brainstorm to wait until they were sure your organic body couldn’t be saved.

Swerve looked to the bed across from you, where a sheet covered the corpse of your previous organic body. Why hadn’t he immediately told you about the mini-bot shell he’d had made? If he had, he knew the conversation ahead would be easier. All the same, your optics were offline and Swerve knew by instinct that Ratchet and the others had left them off to give him the chance to explain before you saw yourself.

Before he approached you, he took a few silent steps over to the organic corpse. He held the corner of the sheet that covered it, hesitating before he lifted it to look into your cold dead eyes. He needed to see this, to burn it into his memory of what his mistakes brought on. Granted, your mind and memories were still alive, but this mess of a cadaver that had been stitched up by servos inexperienced with organics, that still had patches of dried blood caked around the sealed wound, was his cross to bear.

Finally, when he could look at it no longer, Swerve covered the corpse with a sheet again, and moved to your side.

“(Y/N),” Swerve whispered.

You moved your head frantically to your left where he was standing, “SWERVE?! I- I CAN’T SEE- I CAN’T-”

Swerve grabbed your servo, “Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m going to explain everything. What- What do you remember?”

You went quiet for a long time, thinking back to the bridge. Almost silently, you spoke, “I was shot.”

Swerve nodded affirmation, speaking aloud when he remembered you couldn’t see, “Yeah… That was it. (Y/N), I’m so, so sorry this happened to you. It was all my fault. I never should have put you through that. Uh- (Y/N), the docs here, they’ve been working on you for a really long time.”

“Swerve… Am I blind?”

“No sweetheart, that’s only temporary, I promise you’re not blind.”

“Then are you- are you in holoform? You hand feels so small, but it doesn’t feel like skin. Swerve, what’s wrong with me? Nothing feels right. I don’t feel real. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I feel all wrong inside.”

“Yeah, about that… (Y/N), I need to tell you something… Something I should have told you when we got married, and I need you to listen okay.”

“Okay,” You shivered, and coolant leaked from your offlined optics.

Swerve pressed his helm to your servo. “From the moment we wed, I was so scared something like this might happen… That you’d get hurt and I’d lose you. So, I had Perceptor and Brainstorm work on something, a- a new body of sorts. I- I was scared that you would think I was trying to change you, so I didn’t warn you about it, but now- Well, now you’re different.”

“Swerve,” You whimpered, “You’re not making sense.”

“I know… (Y/N), I’m going to sort out your eyes, make them work right, y’know. Please trust me, okay?”

It seemed you weren’t focusing on what he was saying, as you groaned, “My head hurts.”

Swerve sighed solemnly, then opened your head panel to reveal your processor. From there, he connected the wire that would allow you normal control of your optics. As your optics flickered to life, you caught a reflection of yourself and Swerve in the chrome wall across from you. Your previously human mind tried and failed to connect with the newer faster Cybertronian processor. You couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Swerve had his servos inside your head and all you could feel was numbness where you should have felt pain. Everything from your past and present crashed together in a way you couldn’t handle. Then, you screamed.

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[foreignobjecticus]

3) writing meme for AV, either of them, any season would be alright.

FOUR PROMPTS HUZZAH! Thank you everyone who sent me things. I was going to fill these in the order that I got them but then this happened. I should go to sleep. More writing tomorrow.

Avon/Vila: amnesia

I tried to take the prompts and get a bit creative with them. This is an extract from a longer idea now.

Because I haven’t written the lead up yet, a bit of background just for Tumblebumbles:

Avon has something wrong with his heart, a congenital malformation which rarely causes him serious issues, though he has medication he sometimes needs to take when stress or fatigue take a toll on him. The only one on board who knows about his secret is Cally. Before leaving to find Shrinker, Avon has taken a dose calculated to help him through the torture.

A few days after Rumours of Death, Cally is taking stock of the medical bay onboard Liberator. While counting the medicine supplies, she realises something that chills her to the bone: Avon hasn’t taken his pills since he left for Shrinker; in all that has happened, he’s forgotten. Cally confesses this to Vila, and they rush to his cabin before it is too late.

//Avon!// Cally reached out with her mind as she pounded down the corridor, hot on Vila’s heels. The two of them ran full tilt from the medical bay to Avon’s cabin and thundered to a halt outside his door, Vila bouncing off the wall as he thrust his palm to the scanner and the door slid open at his touch. Rushing inside, they found the cabin empty.

“Avon!” Vila called out, eyes wide and sparkling, his voice caught in his tight chest. He turned on his heel, scanning the room before heading towards the bathroom door. “Where are you!”

Voice tight, a tinge of panic. He lurched for the bathroom door and caught himself up short, hesitating for the briefest of moments. There was no sound in the room, no gentle whoosh of water beyond, no splashes from a steaming, drawn bath. No response to his plaintive calls. He opened the door.

Vila froze, the sight before him just what he had feared, worse. Cally elbowed past him in haste and reached out to check the pulse of the man lying slumped in a tub of thin, grey water. Her stony expression grew grimmer still.

“His heartbeat is erratic. We need to get him out of the water. Help me, Vila!” her words broke through Vila’s petrification, and all at once he felt fire burn in his limbs. He crossed the small bathroom in one great stride and slipped his hands under Avon’s arms, shuddering at the feel of clammy skin, and hauled Avon from the water. Cally followed with a soft towel, wrapping it around Avon’s wet torso both for modesty and to dry him of the stone-cold water that shrivelled his skin and made his flesh pale and soft.

“Zen, increase the ambient temperature to 26 degrees,” she called out to the room and, ever attentive, the ship’s computer sent a blast of dry, hot air blowing through the vents. A gust from the ceiling ruffled Avon’s dry hair.

Taking Avon’s legs, Cally and Vila carried Avon to his bed and slipped him beneath the unmade sheets. Vila rubbed at Avon’s chest through the soft material to warm him up through friction but pulled his hand away suddenly when he felt Avon’s heartbeat through the thin skin of his chest. Cally was right – it wasn’t right.

“Out of the way, Vila-” she pushed Vila aside, rough in her haste, and deftly uncapped the small bottle of pills she’d brought from the medical bay. Avon’s pills.

Vila couldn’t believe he hadn’t known. Couldn’t believe it had taken this.

“Get me some water, quickly,” Cally commanded, and Vila dashed to the bathroom, dumping out the contents of a glass by the mirror and filling it with fresh water at the sink. He was back at Avon’s side in a matter of seconds. He held the glass out for Cally, thief’s hands trembling, and he spilled a great splash over the ground before him.

With a gentle touch, Cally pulled open Avon’s bottom lip. The bloodless, soft flesh stuck to her thumb and when Avon’s sculpted lips parted, Vila was reminded all too starkly of a scene from some Old Earth play, some tragedy.

Cally slipped a pill onto Avon’s tongue, and when she turned to take the water glass from Vila, Avon’s eyes opened and he jerked away from her touch, coughing out the pill and gasping. Vila felt tears spill from his eyes when Avon clutched at his chest, eyes wide with abject horror.

Avon knew what was happening.

All in an instant, Cally had another pill pressed to Avon’s lips and helped him gulp at the water she pulled from Vila’s hand. Avon drank like a man dying of thirst and swallowed until the glass was drained and whisked from his hands. He panted, and his eyes seemed to search the room, lost. He groaned, doubled over, clutched again at his heart; fingernails scrabbled at the fine scratches across his chest, marks from his torture, breaking the scabs open and letting the blood swell out like tiny red jewels across his skin.

Cally grabbed Avon’s hands, pulling them down from his chest, but another spasm had him shouting again and his hand clasped futilely at the skin about his heart, smearing his chest red.

“Avon, breathe! Follow my lead,” //calm down, relax your heart// she wrestled with his hands again and pulled them down, breathing loudly for Avon to follow All while Vila stood by mutely, numb.

There was little he could do.

And so he watched, helpless, as Avon shrieked and shook through pains he’d never seen his lover endure.

He never wanted to see Avon endure them again.

 In a minute, the pill dissolved and medicine rushed through Avon, thinning and easing the blood through his veins, the effect like a rush of adrenaline. Slowly, surely, Avon’s heart calmed again, beating steadily in his chest as if it had all been a dream. Cally pressed her fingers to Avon’s wrist and nodded minutely.

“How does it feel?” she asked, and Avon’s eyes couldn’t quite meet hers. He licked his lips and closed his mouth, forcing his breathing under control if for only a moment.

“Yes,” he nodded back to her. “It’s- fine now. Thank you.”

Releasing his arms, Cally slipped the pill bottle into Avon’s hand and he closed his fingers around it dutifully.

When she stood, she looked to Vila and saw the shock on his own face warring against relief and something else she couldn’t quite understand, though she thought it probably wasn’t her place to know.

“Stay with him, Vila,” she squeezed Vila’s arm before leaving. The cabin door sliding closed quietly behind her, and the room was suddenly silent.

It took a few seconds of idleness, processing, until Vila could more. Dropping down, he knelt by the bed and looked up into Avon’s face. It was a rictus of shock and pain; no recognition lit Avon’s eyes and it looked to Vila as if he were having a hard time even remembering where he was at that moment. Carefully, so not to startle him from whatever thoughts he’d tumbled into, Vila drew Avon from his reverie with a brush of his fingers against the back of his hand.

“Love?” Vila whispered, and Avon turned to him slowly, his glazed look melting away like thawing ice, and Vila bit his cheeks in a watery smile. Avon looked down at the pill bottle clutched loosely in his hand.

“I- forgot to take them-” he confessed sheepishly and gripped the bottle tighter. “After Anna-”

Vila rose from the floor in a slow, steady motion and gathered Avon in his arms, hugging the cold body close to his and swallowing down the lump in his throat.

There was nothing he could say, and all he could do was hold Avon until the shivering stopped – from both of them. A warm tear dropped onto the shoulder of his shirt, soaking through the cloth, and Vila squeezed tighter to stop the rain burning his skin.

Thank you for the prompt!

[mysticalreadingnerd]

Let Me Warm Your Heart (Part 6)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 |

Words: 2656

Summary: Love isn’t always rosy summers spent floating on tender clouds of euphoria. Sometimes it is loneliness and bracing the cold winters alone. Y/N and Credence both find the atmospheric dreariness reflected in their lives, separated as they are now.

 Disclaimer: I don’t own any character of the FBAWTFT universe. I wouldn’t have to spend time slogging over studies if that were true.

Warnings: None

It was truly strange how life brought things into perspective too late. For some reason, Y/N remembered the time when she and Credence had bumped into each other late in the evening. This had happened a few days after coming across him in front of Broadway. She had been bone tired after a gruelling training session and didn’t watch where she was heading. That had resulted in stumbling head along into someone. And that someone had just happened to be Credence. Maybe it was the fates that kept pulling her thread towards his, interweaving them in such an ironical manner, judging by the way she always chanced upon him in the unlikeliest of places. Y/N had apologized profusely for her clumsiness, fearing that she had hurt him. She sat there, unaware that she was practically straddling him, a dozen flyers strewn around them. He had just stared at her for a while, not believing his luck and then smiled saying, “It’s okay. I was just thinking about you.”

The wind had rustled his hair and his earnest expression had sent a warm tingle in her heart, his eyes shining in the evening light and a small goofy smile alight on his face. That was when she had started falling for him, she suspected. There were many similar instances that were literal neon signs screaming ‘you’re in love’ now that she thought of it. The way his ears turned bright red when Y/N lightly teased him about being a ladies’ man after at least 3 elderly women had smiled at him. She thought he was adorable. The way his mouth made a surprised O when he had his first coffee, his calloused hands being soothingly warmed by its heat. This innocence needs to be protected, she had mused. The way he stood silently watching over the kids from the NSPS, making sure that they didn’t get into trouble with Mary Lou (it didn’t matter even if he did instead). How the dreary light of the oncoming winter made his sharp features stand out even more, with the shadows dancing across his face. But above all, it was the kindness that emanated from his chocolate brown eyes when he smiled at the lost kid they had found. Credence had managed to stop him from wailing even when she had been unable to. 

She had been trying to deny it all this time, hoping that what she had felt was merely concern over a suffering boy she had stumbled across during a case. When in fact, she had been falling for the silent strength and gentleness with whose brilliance his soul shined. Y/N dragged a weary hand over her face, hoping she could be anywhere but this dimly lit room and wondered what Credence was doing right now. It was late afternoon and it been exactly three weeks since she had last seen him. He was probably scouting for a place for the next scheduled rally if her internal Credence tracker was correct. She thought about him often, at times, unaware that she was doing so until her mind had been consumed with the thoughts of the reticent man, thinking about how he used to smile at her with joy or look puzzled at something she said which he didn’t comprehend. 

Y/N shivered in her seat and idly wondered whether he was weathering the winter cold still clad in his threadbare jacket. That was more than likely to be the case. The first snow had made its appearance the day before and had it been up to her, the boy would be bundled up under a thick pile of blankets and made to spend the whole day lazing around in bed while warm, home-cooked meals kept him full. But it was no use pondering about how things should have been when it was no longer in her hands to change them. She had decided that being out of his sight would probably be the best thing to do. After all, out of sight meant out of mind right? She groaned internally, cursing herself. 

She knew better than anyone that Credence was starved for affection and given the attention she had been giving him, it was unlikely that he would forget her. If she had only been able to meet him once more, she could have cooked up a reason and made it seem like an assignment abroad. At least he wouldn’t worry about her and in turn, she for him. She had avoided the areas that they frequented and taken up longer work hours just to avoid accidently meeting him. But a part of her hoped that their paths would cross, just so that she could see him. See him and make sure that he was okay. But instead, Y/N found herself overseeing the interrogation of the wizard they had arrested for torturing Muggles. It shouldn’t have warranted her personal attention, but something about the man seemed… off. 

For one, he refused to talk with any of the Aurors. No manner of questioning had yielded any results and President Picquery had been at her wits end as to how to make him talk. There had been growing concerns ever since Grindelwald had disappeared from Europe and if a probable henchman of his turned up in America is would spell problems for the MACUSA. Y/N stood behind a screened wall, a one way glass blocking the criminal’s view. But despite that, for the past one hour, ignoring all questions aimed at him, he kept staring straight at her. It seemed as if he was aware of her presence and was drilling a hole through the glass with his gaze. His slit-like black eyes followed her every move and it felt as if he were sizing her up. Chalking this notion as absurd, she signalled the interrogating Auror to step aside and took up the reins in her own hands. The moment she entered the room, he looked up at her, the first movement that he had made since he had been brought there. He considered her with a slight tilt of his neck, like a snake coiling and uncoiling, curious of its prey.

Y/N checked the reports related to his arrest, most of them not giving up much information about him except for vague facts about how he tortured the victims to near insanity using demonic forces. He had been a pain to restrain, the backlash of his magic bringing down an entire warehouse and nearly obliterating three agents. He had managed to escape twice before they had finally caught him, half passed out from using too much blood for his sacrifices (apparently, demon summoning required magical blood, much to their relief in this case). She had met her share of crazy, blood purists in her time as an Auror but nothing made her skin scrawl more than the dead black eyes staring at her. Y/N shrugged off the sinister vibes aimed at her. 

“Let’s stop this pretence and get to the point, shall we? We have enough evidence to persecute you, and what awaits you doesn’t look good. Torture of innocent Muggles, one of whom was an ambassador, flagrant misuse of magic, use of dark rituals, forbidden blood magic, destruction of property through magical means in contradiction to secrecy laws, besides violating at least 40 other clauses of the International Statute of Secrecy.  It will be easier to just talk and may be the MACUSA could be a bit lenient. You either speak up or face the execution squad. There’s no means of escape.” The man, Asian from his appearance, didn’t blink even once as he considered her words. As soon as she was done speaking, a snicker escaped him, at first low in pitch. Bubbling up his throat, it grew louder and louder until it was a full blown laugh. The hair on her arms stood up at end as the air surrounding them crackled with magic.

“You are funny”, he said, a smirk painted on his face. He hadn’t moved an inch from where he had been sitting throughout the interrogation, restrained with bindings, recovering from battle injuries without even his wand on him.  Being able to channel magic despite that meant that he was dangerous beyond their comprehension. If he were to unleash his true powers, burning the MACUSA to the ground with no one else standing would be cake walk for him. Calmly, in a silent show of her authority Y/N stood up and spoke, “You can rethink your stance on this. It would be better to talk instead of wasting your energy like this. But you won’t have long.”

She exited the room to the sound of his booming laughter, as Aurors rushed towards the room to secure him. She ordered them to keep him in complete isolation, tied up and no one to enter his cell without her express permission. This was a matter more grave than she had imagined. They would have to use force if necessary and though she didn’t like using underhanded means, the alternative seemed grimmer than they could afford. She would have to report to the President soon and though she wasn’t looking forward to it, Percival Graves too. Dark times were here.

Credence looked up when a hand tapped on his arm for a flyer, but the touch was too rough, too hasty to be hers. Still, ever hopeful, his gaze did a quick sprint to the person’s face only to be disappointed. Yet again. It was just another street-side vendor looking for ways to pass his break time. He sighed as his Ma droned on in the background, his body slumping further into its perpetual slouch. He wondered for the umpteenth time where Y/N was. It had been 21 days since she had last met him. Not that he had been counting or anything. It wasn’t that they had decided to meet up regularly (it usually happened through mere coincidences) but this was quite unusual for her. He had grown so used to her presence in his life that her sudden absence made it that much harder. 

It felt like a lifetime since he had last seen her. Not just in his imagination or conjured up in his dreams like a wisp of a memory but in person, seen her brimming with life and filling his own with vibrancy, felt her laugh vibrate through his ear drums, touched her soft, unmarred hand as it warmed his own along with his ever beating heart, which sped up every time their eyes met. He just wished to see her once more, if for nothing else, but to make sure that she was okay. He had been worried sick by all the disastrous ‘what ifs’ that his mind had conjured over her prolonged disappearance and his heart ached with longing and sadness, anxious for her well being and hurting at her unexplained absence. Before his mind went off on a similar tangent, he scanned the crowd again just to make sure that she wasn’t there. 

It comprised of the usual people mixed in with a few unfamiliar faces, spread across ages, some of them curious, others whiling away time with nothing better to do. Credence was about to look away when an elderly woman standing on the periphery caught his eye. Being short in height she struggled to see what was happening and stood on her tiptoes. Silently, he withdrew from his position and approached her, hoping to help her navigate the crowd. 

Unsure whether to call out or to tap on her shoulder to draw her attention, he was put out of his indecision when the lady lost her balance and stumbled across his feet. He steadied her reflexively as a few of the flyers slipped from his grasp. A strong sense of déjà vu hit him when he realised that this was how he and Y/N had first met.  A pair of kind eyes looked at him as the woman regained her balance, her hand resting on his arm for support. Credence did his best not to flinch at the touch. He still found it difficult unless it was Y/N’s. “Thank you, young man.” A lilting voice accompanied the warm smile. She seemed vaguely familiar but he couldn’t quite place where he had seen her, if at all. Maybe he had seen her at a previous rally. “I hope I didn’t hurt you, child.” 

Credence looked at her once again, struck afresh by the words she spoke. Then he remembered her. It was the same woman who he had met during a rally, the kind Asian grandma who had complemented him on his name. Today she had donned a flowing winter coat instead of a kimono, so he couldn’t recognise her in the first instance but the homely aura still clung to her demeanour. In response to her question, he merely shook his head. “I’m glad”, she hummed in relief, “It wouldn’t sit right with me if I hurt a sweet soul like you, even if unknowingly.” Her words though gentle hit him in the gut. He looked at his adoptive mother, who was winding up her speech, calling supporters to come forth when they petitioned for wider public awareness. Coldness crept in his chest and settled there. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the woman observing him carefully.

“Credence?” he looked at the grandma again, surprised that she had remembered his name after all this time. “Don’t look so surprised. I may be old, but my memory is like an elephant’s”, she chuckled at her own joke, its meaning lost on him. “Besides, I could never forget a handsome boy as you even if I tried.” Crimson dusted his cheeks at the compliment and he remembered Y/N’s words of being a natural ladies’ man. It couldn’t be true, could it? “I’m not”, he muttered denying any such notions. “I won’t insist on it if you’re uncomfortable but I speak nothing but the truth.” Her eyes twinkled and he couldn’t help the small lift the corner of his lips did. 

“Credence?” Another voice called out to him ,this time louder and more impatient, lacking all warmth that the previous caller had. The chill in his chest spread to his bones, creeping into his marrow. His attention whipped to the centre of the crowd where his mother stood looking at him with calculative eyes. “Duty calls, I presume?” the old woman asked, sizing up the elder Barebone now approaching them. Credence gulped, unsure whether he had done anything wrong or not. “Hello, I hope there isn’t any problem?” Mary Lou assessed the single flyer that had escaped his notice when they had bumped, her eyes flashing though a smile adorned her face. 

The lady smiled and said, “None at all. This fine man here was just helping me pick up the flyer I dropped in my clumsiness, silly old me can’t do much except live out my abundant pensions you see. From what he told me, your cause seems quite noteworthy. I’d love to hear more about it.”  Mary Lou gave him a once over, before deciding that things seemed fairly in order and launching into an in depth campaign talk with the woman. 

Credence couldn’t help but be bemused at how she had managed to divert Ma’s attention and saved his skin in the process. He silently thanked her, glad that angels similar to Y/N were still present in this world. He let out a sigh, all would be well with life if only he could meet her soon. “Don’t dally, there’s work to do”, his mother said to him over her shoulder, a cold look freezing him in his tracks. She glared at the flyer on the ground in a silent warning. Picking up the fallen flyer with his icy fingers, Credence hoped he could see Y/N before this winter froze his heart beyond redemption.  

Tag list: @multifandom-slytherin @mysticracoon @retardedhumanhere @thequeerishere555 @daeshaunex2

A/N: My procrastinating ass has no excuse besides being totally unproductive since the last update. Sigh. Not completely happy with this but I needed to get plot rolling forward. I will eternally hate filler chapters. Message me to be added to the tag list. The last three tags don’t seem to detect you guys, please tweak your settings to enable tags.

~ Mystical reading nerd

[everygame]

Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4)

Developed/Published by: MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks Released: 20th May, 2014 Completed: 21st June, 2017 Completion: Finished it almost completely on Bring It On! until I got real bored, because I’d got all the perks other than the stupidly random demolition ones. I didn’t get all of the collectibles, sometimes they showed up on the map and sometimes they didn’t? What was up with that? Trophies / Achievements: 70%

Hmm, this is why I should write these as soon as I finish the game in question, because it’s been a little too long since I finished this for me to be writing it up for it to sparkle in my memory. However, at the time I’m writing it, it all feels rather topical, what with Nazis literally rallying in the USA last weekend (“Mathew is writing this in mid-August. For all we know Wolfenstein: The New Order’s plot has become literally true by the time you read this. Has it? Please tell us it hasn’t.”—Ed.) and so let us begin.

So why did I decide to play this weeks before we’d all need a Nazi punching simulator close to hand (for when there weren’t any actual Nazis nearby, who you would obviously already be punching)? Well, it’s because I saw that trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Colossus at E3, and I thought… bloody hell, they really managed to get the look of one of those sixties TV programmes right, huh? It doesn’t look digital, the lighting is right, the costumes, the performances… it blew me away. Anyway then I pretty much immediately stopped watching the trailer.

It’s weird because it’s not like that kind of attention to detail from their marketing department meant I was going to enjoy their game or anything. And I did slightly swither on this, for a very classic “me” reason. You see, Wolfenstein: The New Order is—rather absurdly—an actual sequel to ID’s 2009 Wolfenstein, which even itself is a sequel to 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein. And although I’ve played Return To Castle Wolfenstein, I didn’t play its sequel, so I was like… hmm, am I going to miss important references if I just skip to the sequel that came out five years later?

The answer is… only really with one character, and I suppose it’s debatable how much you would really want to play through an (apparently) 30-odd hour campaign in a game that isn’t generally considered to be that good to get slightly more background on one character. For once, thankfully, I decided against it.

Anyway. Here’s the thing. Wolfenstein: The New Order is—and I bet you every single critic wrote this at the time, and hell if I can avoid it—weirdly old school! I don’t feel like I’ve played an FPS like this one since, like… fuck, I don’t know, the Half Life 2 episodes or something. Because Wolfenstein is: super, super long; broken up into discrete levels but each level is usually pretty open; and all about health-packs and armour for survival. It feels odd!

And actually, I don’t entirely get the sense that MachineGames was completely comfortable with it. Don’t get me wrong: The New Order is extremely polished. But it’s also… sort of… wildly inconsistent in terms of both tone and design.

Design first: the game sort of wants to give the player complete freedom to play it as a balls-to-the-wall Wolfenstein-me-do—as you can dual wield everything and just run wildly into battle—but also as a stealthy sort, with lots of silent kill options and bonuses for doing so (such as avoiding new baddies spawning.)

The issue is, of course, is that stealth is the better option because of those bonuses. Killing a commander silently and avoiding new enemies spawning mean that you save ammo and health, and the game’s fiction makes running into any building and just lighting it up feel insanely unsurvivable (even if you can.) Problematically, stealth kind of blows because of the first-person perspective: I’d often find myself doing something like silently murdering a commander while someone watches me because I didn't turn my head 45 degrees to see them standing right there (and i can’t just blame first-person for this: the stealth in something like Far Cry 3, from two years earlier, is superb.) And the shooting is just kind of... loose feeling? When you’re letting go and just running around murdering nazis, you never feel masterful, and I can’t quite pinpoint why it doesn’t feel as amazing as it should. Maybe some of it is to do with the design of enemes, of course, which for some reason are often bullet sponges and—absolutely worst of all—armour plated, meaning that you have to watch your bullets ping off a lot until you hit the right spot. That the biggest and most horrifying enemies are fully armoured completely removes any joy you get from taking them apart—even with a rocket launcher. The lesson here: nazis are better when you can pound their pasty white flesh into a pink paste. if they’re going to be armoured, let it be a helmet we can ping off with a bullet (that also embeds in their cranium, preferably.)

So it’s not quite there in game feel, and the tone is also a case of wondering exactly what they were trying to go for. I mean, in a game this long it’s possible they just wanted to have their cake and eat it, but what we have here is a game that simultaneously wants you to think about the real horror of the actual nazis—human vivisection, concentration camps—while also enjoying the camp of "cinematic" nazis—who are all about, you know, being “nazis… but in space!”

Just like the design, it so totally allllllmost works. The things that make you consider—you know—how bad the nazis actually were are not merely disturbing but often moving, and at the same time, going into space and seeing a 60s pulp nazi moon base is fun as heck! Really the game feels like, well, this, where you have an alternate reality Jimmy Hendrix (ok) talking about racism in America (good) only to then, uh, take acid and have a guitar freak out with BJ (genuinely idiotic). It’s not like the stupid stuff removes the good stuff—you can enjoy it—it’s just... why.

The fact is, that I’d probably give the entire thing a pass if I hadn't got tired of Wolfenstein about two-thirds of the way through, and had to (for my own sanity) blast through the rest on easy even though I was committed to and interested in the story. Instead Wolfenstien: The New Order gets a partial credit, because killing nazis is right and just and feels good, man.

Will I ever play it again? No sir! However I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to play the sequel, The New Colossus. I’m happy to skip The Old Blood, tho.

Final Thought: So, there’s a pretty nice and clean way to "fix" one of my biggest complaints about The New Order, and it’s weird that they didn’t do it and I wonder if it was something that they’d planned and then—after word from higher up—decided not to do. You see, the “timelines” split after a decision fairly early in the game, and there’s simply no reason that you don’t split the levels up between the timelines. So—for example—you’d be stealing a nuclear sub in the Fergus timeline, and going into space in the Wyatt timeline, and dealing with the Nazi threat in a unique way in each. Heck, you could even, if you felt like it, make one story the grimmer reality, and the other the wackier one. And each timeline would still have been about bloody ten hours long.

But yeah, “players shouldn’t miss out on content” probably. Let’s take a look and see how many people on PS4 have finished the game, eh? Ah, 37% of owners. Brilliant decision.

[arcadequartermaster]

JULY 2017 UPDATE www.arcadequartermaster.com

After having a Final Fantasy fix and some laptop monitor issues, the Kaneko fighting game collection is now live!

SHOGUN WARRIORS: Kaneko’s title based on Japanese history and mythology adopts the SFII format: 8 playable characters and 4 secret bosses. Each fighter has about 2-3 specials, which the game is generous enough to show in the select screen. While some commands go properly, some are quite stiff to pull off akin to the 1987 SF specials moves. While the game is very bare-bones, it has fairly big sprites, vibrant Japanese scenery, and some head-bopping tunes (that Shogun’s theme!)

BLOOD WARRIOR: For the Fujiyama Buster’s sequel, they sure did use an apt title. This game eschews the bright visuals for a grimmer atmosphere with realistic 2D backgrounds, digitized actors for the spritework... and blood. Lots of blood as from the recent Mortal Kombat craze of the day. The game now has given names to the “job classes” of the previous title, and the special move inputs are much, much smoother this time around.

JACKIE CHAN IN FISTS OF FIRE: Kaneko had a lot of press in promoting Jackie Chan in a digitized fighting game (and rightfully so), also featuring a bunch of Chan’s fellow actors in various Hong Kong movies. It started up with the first title as Kung-Fu Master, with six base players and Jackie Chan appearing as boss characters, each utilizing a specific Kung-Fu style from one of his movies. Fists of Fire is more of a “Turbo” update, where Jackie’s 3 various styles are now playable, but the base players have been given bizarre alien complexions. These titles are regarded for a deep and complex fighting system, and hearing of gaming tournaments for fans of this game is not uncommon. For simiplicity’s sake, the shrine will stick on the Fists of Fire game. 

HEAVY BARREL: As for the odd-one-out, Data East’s overhead Rambo-style shooter in the vein of Mercs sends players through several perimeter areas of a rogue fortress using stolen machinery. You have to use collected keys to unlock boxes to assemble the titular weapon to unleash hell and dismantle their organization inside out. The parts of the Heavy Barrel are hidden in their constant box locations, so with several plays, it is possible to predict which boxes to open to progress on your weapon while making the best use of your keys for extra weapons and grenades.

Due to the very very sparse amount of Kaneko material, I would quite appreciate any corrections or additions you could contribute for the movelists. And yes, I’m aware that “Andy” in the Jackie Chan games is well-contested to not be Andy Lau, I’d leave it there for the time being. Please enjoy the new shrines and C&C are always welcome!

The Taito collection will be up for next month’s update!

[harikrishnak-blog1]

How to Make Your Event Registration Landing Pages More Effective?

So, the perplexing issue of making event registration landing pages more effective for more event registrations is bugging you? And, you have already tried and had trouble coming up with a high converting landing page for your event registrations? Well, don’t worry as you are not alone in your quest for a better converting landing page.

Various studies and researches confirm that visitors usually spend 3-5 seconds upon landing on a page before they decide to learn more or leave the webpage. So, you really have very little time to catch the fancy of your visitors to get them to stay more on your website for additional information or register for your event. To make the situation even grimmer, the average conversion rate of landing pages across industries is only 2.35%. As such, it becomes obvious that creating an effective landing page is crucial as far as generating and capturing leads and obtaining valuable information from website analytics data.  

When talking about landing pages, the top most important aspect which surfaces out of clutter is conversions. Optimizing landing pages tantamount optimizing conversion rate. There are many aspects of website conversions and conversion rates, and this EventBH post will give you some important tips on what aspects of conversions need to be kept in mind to optimize your event registration landing page, which eventually is bound to bring in more qualified leads and attendees.

Call to Action (CTAs) on Your Landing Page

Yes, call to action (CTA) is the most important part of your landing pages. Without CTAs your visitors wouldn’t know what is on the offer and what is expected from them. When your website visitors click-through your given CTAs, you receive either leads or valuable information that you can then employ to start new targeted campaigns. CTAs are tricky and seem like a petty detail to be casually included in the end. But CTAs can’t be overlooked at any cost.

Give Clear Call-to-action (CTA) and Make it Inviting

Give clear call-to-action (CTA) and make it inviting to get your visitors to click on it.  Your CTA should be such that it invites your visitors to click it for more information or registering.  Aesthetics and cosmetic changes are also important here. Make sure your call-to-action is in bold font and is in the center. Do not put distracting images and text around your CTA to distract your visitors.

Word Choice in CTAs

Word of choice is important when it comes to CTA for your event registration landing page. Keep it minimalistic and to the point. This is so because the words you use for your CTA are actually very crucial in getting you precious clicks. For an event, come up with interesting and intriguing CTAs that convince people to want to sign-up for your event. Incorporate words that are used for the copy of landing page content. This enhances landing page relevance and experience. Following are some examples of effective call-to-action for event industry:

·         Register Now!

·         Download Your Free Copy of Event ROI Whitepaper

·         Get Your Copy of the E-book Today

Providing some free stuff is always very effective. Don’t you love free online stuff and give your email to those providing such useful free stuff? Additionally, using words like, “Free,” and “Yours,” will make your website visitor feel special by virtue of personalized address.

To conclude, keep word choice in mind, the right words at the right time for the right audience can guarantee a sign-up or a download!

This all should come out effectively

Color selection and positioning of content are also very important when it comes to your CTA. It should all come out well.

Make sure that your CTA is placed at a place that will be seen, in a color that comes out well. Colors such as red, purple, orange, or green are considered good for this purpose. Make sure that the color you choose contrasts with your landing page’s background color.

By implementing these simple landing page and CTA tips, you can create CTAs that lead to conversion.

Blogging to Boost Registration Page Traffic

Yes, blogging is a great organic way to boost traffic to your event registration landing page. With blogging, you funnel traffic to your event registration landing page via blog posts. By providing additional event information to your visitors at a place and giving a link that takes them to your registration page, you make sure that you get more traffic on your registration page.

Blogging is a great way to disseminate information as well as update your visitors on important event dates. This way, you enhance the experience of your visitors. If they start following your blogs, they wouldn’t be required to hunt around on the web for every event information.

Email Marketing to Drive Traffic to Your Registration Page

Even today, email marketing is the most trusted and cost-effective way to reach out to your prospects. Email marketing certainly helps you drive more traffic to your event registration landing page.

Come up with a simple, straightforward email copy for the purpose. Add some details of what your upcoming event with a clear call-to-action (CTA) that goes directly to your landing page. This all sounds easy but can generate excellent results for you.

By keeping the above-mentioned strategies in mind, event managers can make their event registration landing pages more effective. This is sure to drive more traffic with greater propensity to convert into event registrants.

[airoasis]

Mid-season motivation comes out in playoff win

" https://coppellstudentmedia.com/staff/?writer=Karis%20Thomas" > Karis Thomas Coppell Cowboys senior protector Thomas Grimmer prepares to headbutt the ball throughout the first half of the video game on March 30 at John Clark Stadium in Plano. The Coppell Cowboys beat the Garland Owls, 4-0, in the bi-district round of the Class 6A Area I playoffs.

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PLANO-- After 33 scoreless minutes, Coppell senior Wyatt Priest started a conversation with a chip-in objective for the Cowboys.

With this goal, and the three following, the Coppell soccer team defeated Garland, 4-0, on Thursday at John Clark Stadium in the Class 6A Area I bi-district playoffs. The Cowboys (18-3-2) advance to deal with The Woodlands on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Belton High School Athletic Facilities.The inspiration for this win over the Owls (11-9-2), however, is rooted much deeper than simply winning a soccer match. "Right after the Pearce video game that we lost about midway through the season, we yapped," Coppell coach James Balcom said." They ended up beating us out for district, so that made us much more motivated to win tonight and ideally keep winning." After Priest's initial goal in the 33rd minute, the Cowboys did not score again until the second half. However, that did not slow down their offending rate. In the 65th minute, senior forward Marshall Board sent out one to the back of the net on a left-footed cross from Priest. Board's explosive goal was quickly followed by an unlikely objective by senior forward Cesar Alves. For Alves, standing at five feet tall, all it took was a well-timed jump and a completely put header. A lob-pass from a midfielder sent out the ball into the air-- perfect for Alves. He then leapt up, barely tipping the ball with the top of his head; just enough to send it up over the goalkeeper and into the net. Alves, an effective opponent on the field but not known for his vertical positioning, instantly ran to his teammates who were waiting to commemorate." Working with these guys is a four-year procedure," Alves said." It doesn't change from freshman year and it just improves every year. You do not even have to worry that they're doing their job due to the fact that you're doing yours and all of it fits together completely." After the enjoyment of Alves' objective in the

78' minute, the Cowboys were ready to coast through the final minutes and on to the second round. Senior midfielder Amit Verma had a various concept. With simply five seconds left, Verma put in the fourth and last goal for the Cowboys on a well-placed strike. The magnificence of the win does not go solelyto the scorers, nevertheless. On the other side of the ball, the Coppell defense did not enable a goal, regardless of a scare for the Cowboys in the 35th minute. On a strong attack by the Owls, followed by a long shot, Coppell was conserved on a huge play by junior goalkeeper Austin Simigian." Everyone has a role on this group, and understand that," Balcom stated." With 29 kids on the lineup, not everyone is going to make the field every video game, but every player contributes in the success of the team."

[abundantchewtoys]

Strife 2 reaction

Time to listen up on Strife 2! We're pumped to hear what cool tunes Tensei has concocted. We deliberately didn't listen to any of the previews - I don't think Blaperile even heard about those songs' titles before now!

Just looking at the track list, I can see we're in for good stuff. Off the bat, what I expect is a good few remixes (Arachnofunkia), extended versions (Spirit of Storms) and possible shipping songs (Aerosoul - John/Dirk? Or  :P).

I'm glad Tensei was able to create a finished version of King in Red, I'm interested to hear it based on the snippet in White Host, Green Room. I saw Heel Girl as a WIP on his Tumblr, but I don't remember exactly in what way it differed from Of Gods and Witches. Well, it's a Grimbark Jade song, that much I remember.

I wonder if the track art contains a lot of Homestuck references - I saw the artist post the track art they finished on Tumblr but I scrolled over it and don't really remember, but I think so.

HOLY SHIT, Blaperile just unpacked the downloaded album and it contains a MASS load more of songs. I saw "Duet" pass, and he saw "Dance of Thorns", omfg!

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1. Spirit of Storms

Maybe this song won't get extra track art when the artist finishes up the rest, because it's the first song on the album.

... THAT is a lot HIGHER pitched than I thought this remix of Stormspirit would start. Wow. This is a nice rearrangement of the small soundbit we got at the start of Strife.

2. Sanguine Panchromatic

Sufferer song? I think this is gonna be a Sufferer song. Track art TBD.

Oooh, Blaperile's right, it's like it references Iron Knight. So, is it more like a Karkat song? ... Are those violins? Strings in a Vantas themesong? I like it.

3. G4M3 OR D13

Latula song? I'm betting a Latula song.

... Is that Troll Game Grl. Pfffff. Troll Game Grl is a Tealblood, of course!

Awesome track art, sneaky game sprites but we spotted them.

I wonder how Tensei is going to go about this. I mean, 8-bit music combined with his kickass guitar riffs, uhmmm?

... I'm not 100% sure, but I might have heard this song on his Tumblr before, or maybe I did click on the preview at the time... Yeah, that last one. Straight up forgot about it until now, shame on me.

Hahaahh, so yeah, he does it masterfully, 8-bit + riffs right there.

I gotta say, I love how Tensei's songs have, like, chorusses and crescendos. (That's about all music creation lingo I master, though.)

Pure golden awesomeness.

4. Rouge on the Rox

... Roxy song, hands down.

N'aww, track art TBD.

... Samba!! Pfffff. What, Walls Covered In Blood remix somehow? :P ... Loungey music, I dig it.

If Roxy was a James Bond-esque spy as well as the classy superhacker she already is, this would be her themesong. Heh, the first part of the leitmotif on the guitar reminded me of the Kid Next Door opening theme, actually, probably intensifying the spy impression I got.

5. Perfect Cascade of the Heart

Somehow I doubt Tensei is remixing Total Eclipse of the Heart, but I don't even know the motif of that song, so who cares?

So, yeah, Cascade remix FTW? Potentially rewritten for Dirk?

... Pffff, Elevatorstuck 2.0 wasn't what I was expect-----

NEVER MIND.

There's the Cascade-esque sounds. AND SAXOPHONES OMG. Oooh, and the windy-music from Knife's Edge, I think!

Now this is song fit for "lösgehen", niiice.

The last three songs have been salacious.

6. Hope Strikes Eternal

Now, I don't want to hope that Tensei would remix Eternity Served Cold, but I also don't want to NOT hope, you know? :P

... That is not Jake in the track art, that kind of looks like a Jade-troll. With cherub wings and antler horns. WTF. The colours are Hope, but the symbol of the outfit is like a feather, heheh. Like the feathers in the wings.

Well, okay, an angel is part of the Hope-aspect's theme. Skaian clouds in the background.

... That piano opening, wow. It reminds me of the Rose-meteor shower song from Vol 10, I think.

At 1:15, that little bit reminds me of one of Tensei's songs, maybe Atomyk Bonsai?

I think Tensei had a whole original story to tell, perhaps not linked to a specific Homestuck kid but more like, the Hope aspect itself and how powerful it is?

7. Aerosoul

So yeah, what, John song? John/Dirk song? Erisolsprite song? What is it going to be? ... Maybe a Tavrosprite song out of left field. Or (Tavros) song, since "soul".

The feeling I get from it is kind of a grimmer Heir Conditioning. So, what, like a grimdork John song? :P

8. Arachnofunkia

Serket song on Number 8 FTW!!

So yeah, how's this going to sound versus Spider8reath? I'm pictuing something more closer in spirit to Midnight Spider, but who knows.

Heheheh, track art with a four-horned troll on the guitar, which reminds me of the track art for ... MeGaLoVaniac from LOTAM. So yeah, I have to wonder, also seeing as to how it's Arachn-O-Funk-Ia, whether it might contain a MeGaLoVania reference, or at least be similar in spirit?

... That sure is a funky spider right there.

Even though none of the songs so far were remixes of anything besides Tensei original sounds, I like how there's still that FEEL about them that makes them spiritual remixes.

Bit around 2:40 reminds me of Heir Conditioning's piano bit, which is again an example of what I was saying.

9. The King In Red

Of course this makes me think of the Red King from the Alice Through the Looking Glass story, but also of a blood-drenched king. So this could really go a lot of ways. But I distinctly remember a choir from the bit in White Host Green Room, so I'm leaning towards the latter...

... Wow that track art. It's like a combination of the Grand Higblood's throne room, and the White Queen's throneroom. Prospit Dreamer gone mental?? Is this supposed to be, like, a brownblood troll Mirthful Messiah follower or something?

... "REMIXES 'CRUSTACEAN'" WTF???

Pipeorgan opening for dramatic effect.

... Well this sure would fit nicely with a king gone mad, that's for sure. (If King Lear was a Prospit dreamer.)

Oh yeah, I recognize the Crustacean part on the piano.

Dear God I get the (positive) goosebumps from the dreadful feeling in this song. I understand fully well that Tensei's been toiling on this song for so long!

10. Heel Girl

So if this is supposed to be Grimbark Jade song, what's the track art going to show since it seems like all original characters each time? (I was already reminded a few times of the track art on Sburb OST.) Some other corrupted character? ... Oh, track art TBD.

... Well, at least I should be right that it's Jade-themed, it remixes Courser.

This song is definitely old though, I just realized that I first listened to it before Songs Unsung was even out.

... Yes that sure is what I remember!!

Atomyk Bonsai meets Knife's Edge.

2:00 Oooooh, instrumental intermezzo! No, I'm wrong, the rest of the song is the Courser remix, Tensei style! Awesommmmmme.

Boy these last two songs are jawdroppingly good. Together with the 3rd to 5th songs they make up my top favorites so far.

11. Unite Division.

So in what sense would this song reference Unite Synchronization, I wonder?

"Remixes 'Liquid Negrocity'"! OMFG, what, is this going to be kind of more like a counterpart to Time On My Side, specifically written for Dirk this time??? Or something else entirely.

We know he can do great things with the Liquid Negrocity riff, in any case.

Maybe it's the song to officially fit with the track art?

... This ALSO sounds like it could fit a character gone mad. So, maybe more like a Jack song still. I'm not 100% sure, but maybe Tensei had posted this as a nameless WIP soundbit on his Tumblr as well. Years and years ago, that is. (That I remember, speaks to the memorability of his songs, doesn't it?)

12. Spirit of Storms (reprise)

Well, this sure is going to be a reprise of Spirit of Storms. I wonder how it will sound now that it's the closing part of the album versus the opening part.

... Wow that sure is festive ^_^

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And that's all 12 official songs, now on to the bonus!

Well, actually, we'll listen to it at a later date, it's been enough.

^-- A later day turned out to be the next day... --v

Part 2!

I wonder what bonus songs could be on here. We spotted Dance of Thorns, so I wonder if he remixed it, if so how, or extended it, if so how. Also, what was that thing I saw regarding a "duet" - Tensei doesn't sing AFAIK, not in his Homestuck songs anyway, so, like, is it a collab song?

13. The King in Red (Beta)

Oooh, coool! Just like how Volume 8 contained the "beta" (aka original) version of Cascade as a bonus track, it seems some of the bonus songs here will be beta versions of pieces on the album! (That may or may not have been said on the funding page, bluh, I don't want to go check at the moment.) So, what, that includes Dance of Thorns?? I wonder how a 1.0 version of it would sound, taking into account the difference between Anbroids and Anbroids 2.0, for instance.

So, here's the familiar choir and pipeorgan in any case, it's not like the instruments are different.

Ooh, there is (something akin to) that choir piece that came in White Host Green Room! (somewhere between 01:00 and 01:30). And a small quoting of Crustacean's already in this version, too.

Well, that sure is a shorter version of the final song, I'm glad he extended it.

14. Unite Division (Beta)

I spotted another few (Beta)'s underneath the listing of the previous song, heheh. So, if the previous song is anything to go by, the quoting of Liquid Negrocity in this bit should be smaller.

Hmm, this beginning kind of reminds me of the Lemonsnout Turnabout, heh. Wow, sudden snaring bits.

Maybe it was this version of Unite Division Tensei posted that time on his Tumblr...

Hmm, the start of this song was very different from the original, I liked it a lot as well!

16. Arachnofunkia (Beta)

Well, as long as we're in this beta zone, might as well :P

I wonder what the differences here will be. There were more differences to the final version with Unite Division than the King In Red, will this one fall somewhere in the middle?

... I think Tensei removed some of the blaring basses to get that 'funk' feeling in the final version. ([s]That certain je-ne-sais-quoi[/s])

17. Heel Girl (Beta)

So I figure this is the version I heard of this song on Tumblr as well.

I think this might be the closest to the end product of all beta's so far.

18. daet with roze

... Is this something from the perspective of Roxy? LMAO. Or... Drunk Rose, pffffff. Actually, Blaperile immediately thought of SBaHJ, and Drunk Rose gets her Roxy on with regards to spelling and such, so yeah.

A date with Drunk Rose. Aka Jasprosesprite's precursor. Welp.

... Wow, blues-y. Jazz is... Well, it kind of is fitting for Jazz-prose (sorry not sorry), but also brings that Midnight Crew/Felt feeling along. (9-in-the-evening dress FTW!)

... Wow, those... I don't know what to call them, 8-bit-trumpet-blares? Sound good - by the end a bit silly, but yeah, seeing as how Rose gets when she's drunk...

19. Dance of Thorns (Karaoke)

... WUT.

I...

WUT.

BUT DANCE OF THORNS HAS NO LYRICS!!!! (When suddenly, it does.)

I... I guess this means it's a whole new instrumental version??? Fit for singing to in a bar. Well, given what I said earlier in this reaction post, Tensei's songs often sound to me like they could have a chorus and verses, Dance of Thorns is certainly no exception.

I'm intrigued...

... It sounds like it might start a bit more bitty, I'm not sure???

... Ooooh, after the start it suddenly goes a whole nother way!! IT'S A REMIX!!!

Aww, no violins in that one part that's the same as in the original version...

... You know, I'm suddenly wondering if this Dance of Thorns without the violin parts??? Pffff, as in, BRING YOUR OWN VIOLIN KARAOKE NIGHT! Hahahahah.

Yeah, that MUST be it, wow... Hahah. Awesome. It sure sounds like a remix this way, so different in parts.

(Also,I suppose there was no 'duet' in this list, I just misread 'daet'.)

19. Bound in Blood (Beta)

Oooh, a song he didn't put in the final version. The name doesn't ring any bells, in any case. (Unless it was made into the Sanguine song.) I wonder why, did he just not see it fit in, or was it difficult to extend the original bit?

It starts out instrumental, and then that... dancey... leitmotif from Doctor, I think, comes in, wow. (Or well, Penumbral Phantasm more like.)

... WOWWWW. Rock on.

This went a whole other way than we're used to from Tensei.

20. Duet

*tableflip* Okay, so I WAS not mistaken, hahahahah.

But uh, duet between who? I kind of think there won't be a guest artist collaborating on this song, but I don't know?

I don't really have an immediate thought between which characters this could be a duet, either. (Wild unsubstantiated guess: Bicyclopsdad's two heads. :P)

... Piano bit start is John's, probably. Then the violin starts... And I think I heard this one before on his Tumblr, too!

This just goes to show how varied Tensei is in the genres he can do. Like Blaperile points out, this is reminiscent of Jit's style of songs, like October on One Year Older!

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Wow. Cool album, that's for sure.

He's did it again. There's guaranteed to be a few ear wurms in this batch, I can tell you that.