#i don’t work in construction to be clear but many of the sites i survey for reasons are under construction

[impishglee]

i have a job that is functionally very blue collar and the way i dress on the job reflects that. orange high vis vest. heavy duty cargo pants. etc. on the clock i am extremely butch. but the thing is. the thing is is that my mannerisms are inextricably those of a pansy. my speech and body language are those of an effete bookish nerd. so when i open my mouth everyone around me wonders to themselves “why is there a little girl in disguise at this construction site and how did she get here???”

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Blacklisted

"Blacklisted…" Marinette whispered her face blank as she stared at Chloe's worried face. "Adrien and Lila had Gabriel blacklist me." Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she choked back sobs, she covered her face with her hands. Chloe moved quickly pulling her shaking friend into her arms. "What am I going to do Chloe? Fashion was my future-and-and they ruined it for me. Four years of college all for nothing." Marinette sobbed into Chloe's shoulder as both girls sank to the ground.

"I don't know Marinette, I really don't know." Chloe said quietly she pulled back and pulled a handkerchief out of her bag. She brushed it across Marinette's cheeks wiping away the tears. "My mother confronted him and he refused to unblacklist you. It ended in a screaming match and mother declaring that Bourgeois would never associate with them again. Mother has been trying to counter the blacklist but Agreste has gotten too far already Mari." Marinette sniffled nodding as Tikki and Pollen flew over to their holders tentatively, the other Kwami remained near Pollen's little mansion.

"There is nothing that can be done? There has to be something!" Tikki said with anger clear in her voice. Marinette gave her a sad smile holding out her hand for Tikki to sit in it. Pollen landed in Chloe's open hand curling her arms around Chloe's thumb.

"No Tikki there is nothing we can do. We just have to move on." Marinette said they could all hear the anguish in her voice. She took a deep breath stopping herself from crying. "Plagg," she called softly , causing the Kwami to fly over. "normally I wouldn't allow this, but I think Gabriel has a streak of bad luck coming don't you?" Plagg was silent before her let out a loud cackle flying around Marinette's head.

"Oh kid, you're my favorite Ladybug for sure! What do you say Tikki, want to take away his creativity?" Tikki frowned part of her wanted to join in, but part of her pointed out that she should be the better person. "Come on Sugar Cube, I know you want to get payback for your chosen." Plagg said softly, smirking more when Tikki sighed and nodded. 

"But only once." She said looking at him with her own glare.

"It's funny," Audrey commented during dinner, she looked up with a smirk. "ever since Gabriel made the mistake of blacklisting you six months ago his designs have really dropped." She let out a laugh before taking a sip of her wine. "On top of that he has not only lost workers, but I heard there is a scandal going on with his son and the model of his!" Chloe snorted at that shaking her head, she took a bite of her steak. She glanced over at Marinette sending her a gentle smile, Marinette returned it before turning back to Audrey. "Mari dear, have you decided on what you want to do? I told you once I have absolutely no problem with you remaining here. On top of that I am more than willing to help you sell your designs under the acronym MDC like you've been doing with Jagged." Marinette glanced down at her food before looking up with a small smile.

"I am going to keep designing for Jagged and Clara. However I will not for others

, no, I have other plans now. Audrey you like my food, pastries, and weird drinks, yes?" Audrey glanced at Chloe in confusion before nodding.

"Yes I find it pretty amazing that you can make pastries from all over the world. Your apple pie is my favorite, although it is the reason that I have to work out so much." The comment caused the two young women to burst into soft laughter. "What does this have to do with anything?" Marinette smiled and placed her elbows on the table resting her chin on one hand. She smirked slightly thinking over her plan. 

"You see they derailed my dream just a bit, yes, but I have two loyal customers so I'm not completely stuck. I am not a one trick pony, I have a lot of talents." The mother and daughter were silent both confused, causing Marinette to laugh softly. "I was raised in a bakery, and my Great Uncle is a world renowned chef. I think a restaurant is in my future." Audrey smirked as she held her wine glass up.

"You see Mari, this is why you're one of my favorites, you never let anything keep you down. You'll have my backing and my husband's as well. With Chloe's help we are going to make your restaurant a hit." She shared a smile with her daughter knowing that Marinette's restaurant would be a hit when it opened. "Just one question Mari, what is the theme?" Marinette smirked looking over at Chloe with a twinkle in her eye.

"It's going to be subtlety themed around Paris's heros. Ladybug, Lynx(Felix), Viperion, Ryuko, Queen Bee and current Honeywell. Each hero will have their own signature dish. That is their personal favorite, Ladybug's is macaroons with her famous spotted design. Lynx's is Soupe à l'oignon, and so on. Desserts will be specially designed after their hero., While meals will be served on dishes resembling their costumes." 

“Well, you know you’ll have my full backing. Once you pick the perfect location I will have construction workers on the site, and once they’re done interior decorators to listen to your every input! On top of that I will make sure to talk up your restaurant to every business partner I have.” Audrey declared gently dabbing around her mouth with a napkin. She placed the napkin down before standing up; she made her way to Chloe grabbing her daughter's face and kissing her forehead gently, before doing the same to Marinette. “Now it is time for me to retire to bed. Don’t stay up too late girls!” She waved walking to the door nodding when Butler Jean opened the door for her. “Much appreciate Jean.” She gave him a rare smile, one which he returned with his own. Chloe and Marinette shared a look giggling softly together as Jean closed the door behind Audrey.

“Well, Dupain-Cheng, shall we retire as well?” Chloe said mimicking her mother’s voice. Marinette snorted covering her face with her napkins as Butler Jean gave Chloe a stern look struggling to hide his own smile.

“It’s beautiful.” Audrey said in awe taking in her once protegees restaurant. The outside of the store was simple yet elegant. Cream bricks with black accents, the two large windows were slightly tinted and had the name written in elegant cursive. ‘Miraculous’ The outside sitting area was gated off with a station for the host that provided shade on particularly hot days. It was divided into different sections, for certain Parisian heroes. Ladybug, Lynx, Viperion, Ryuko, and Honeywell. Each section was styled after their hero, Marinette and the interior designers had managed to make it so the colors didn’t clash. Instead they gave off a look of abstract beauty. In the middle of the outside area sat one table that had a sign stating it was permanently reserved for the original Queen Bee. The table made Chloe shine with happiness that only doubled once she realized that there was also a table inside reserved just for her. The inside was much the same except in the middle of the restaurant their was another table for Chloe. There was a window that took up much of the back wall, displaying the kitchen where ten chefs were divided in two, each learning their heroes menu together. There were two hallways on either side, the right had the bathrooms and the left had five private rooms. Each styled after their hero. "I must say, I was unsure that you'd be able to fit their colors together. However, you and the interior designers pulled it off flawlessly. May I see the menus?" Marinette smirked a twinkle in her eye as she held up five menus.

"Five menus for each hero. Which one would you like to see? The waiters and waitresses are instructed to request what hero's menu they would like to eat from. Each has eight different meals, five deserts, one specialty drink, and specialty salad, the only thing they have in common is drinks. side salads and soups. Two waiters and two chefs for each hero, more will be added if needed. The chefs have their own spaces together in the kitchen."  Marinette surveyed the restaurant, a smile taking over her face as she took in her finished product. Butler Jean walked up placing a hand on her shoulder, his gentle smile already present.

"If I may break character for just a second, I must say and I'm sure Mistress Bourgeois and Mistress Chloe agree, I am quite proud of you Miss Marinette. You've truly outdone yourself." Chloe nodded and came up hugging Marinette's arm smiling at her as Marinette started to tear up. The tears didn't fall until Audrey placed her hand on the back of Marinette's head, a rare smile on her face.

"Thank you for everything." She whispered softly, smiling brightly at them.

"Don't bemused, it's just the news! Nadja Chamack back again! Good afternoon Paris! New in Paris today, I'm sure you have all heard of the hit restaurant Miraculous that only opened a week ago! Well Paris, I have the inside scoop for you today! I was invited by the owner of the restaurant just last night! Now I am sure you are all wondering! Nadja, how did you get a direct invitation?! I was shocked too! Only to discover the owner of the restaurant was my goddaughter Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Marinette is twenty-three years old and now owns one of the most popular restaurants in Paris! Let me tell you! The restaurant is absolutely beautiful and styled after our heroes, you all know Ladybug is my personal favorite. So Marinette set up a private room for my daughter and me. She has five private rooms, all designated with a specific hero, so obviously my room was Ladybug's! I must say the restaurant is truly one of a kind! Marinette has out done herself, and its not just me saying that. Jagged Stone, Audrey Bourgeois, Clara Nightingale, and even some famous actors and musicians have all gone to Miraculous this past week. Each one had raving reviews, so much so that many celebrities and even some heroes are coming to Paris just to eat there. Pictures on Jagged's and Clara's Instagrams show them posing with a bright eyed Marinette, in one of the private rooms together! I think Paris agrees with me when I say this, congratulations Marinette, and I must say this to my goddaughter, I'm so proud of you Marinette. Now it’s time for sports-" Lila paused the tv glaring at is as she stared at the picture of Marinette between Jagged and Clara. She screamed throwing the remote at the wall, causing Adrien to tense up in their share kitchen. He sighed glaring down at his coffee only sparing a glance at the tv as he stirred. 

'When will she stop causing problems, I seriously thought she was more mature than this. But no she just has to keep thrusting herself into the spotlight knowing it'll piss Lila off.' He shook his head turning to watch his fiance finish her tantrum, as a smirk covered her face, a plan clearly forming. Only briefly did he wonder what the new lie was going to be this time. 'I am surprised she didn't just give up when we ruin her dream. Lila and father thought for sure that would break her.' He glanced down at his right hand where the ring use to rest anger growing in his chest. 'She deserves it, if she had just kept her mouth shut things would be different. No, she had to tell Ladybug everything when she discovered my identity. If it wasn't for her I'd still be Chat Noir, things would be different. I'd be with the love of my life and out of my father's control. This is all her fault, she deserves to be ruined.' Lila turned to him with a predatory smirk, her eyes glinting in the light as she walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck leaning against him standing on her toes as she lifted one leg into the air. She bit her lip before kissing him and pulling back their lips barely touching as they stared into each others eyes. 

" We're going to get reservations at her crappy little restaurant, and we are going to destroy it and her name for good." Adrien smiled and placed his mug down wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her closer kissing her deeply before pulling back

"I'll have Nathalie set them up for us under my name. Now go get dressed, we have a photoshoot at 5." He let Lila go picking up his phone and texting Nathalie as Lila went to the shared room in their penthouse. He picked his coffee back up and starred at the picture of Marinette on the tv a smirk crossing his face. 

Two days later however they were all furious when the reservations were denied under all their names. They were only given reservations after using a fake name. When the day came they were dressed to impress and arrived in a limo. Lila smirked before letting her mask fall into place, as paparazzi turned to them and started taking pictures. She wrapped her arms around Adrien's arm giggling and waving at them until they reached the door only to be stopped by two guards and a hostess who was looking down at her book. "Name?"

"We are under Anthony Stewart." Adrien said smiling charmingly. The host ran her finger down the book till she came to the name. She nodded and looked up glancing at them before turning to the guards only to turn back surprised.

"I apologize we do have a Anthony Stewart down for reservations but you are not him." Adrien smiled nodding to her glancing at Lila. 

"Yes, you see my assistant set up the reservation for us under his name." The hostess gave them a tight smile before nodding politely. 

"Yes we do allow that to be done here. Unfortunately I am still not allowed to let you in." She said holding back a smirk at their shocked faces as the cameras began to take even more pictures.

"What do you mean you're not allowing us in?!" Lila said anger displayed clearly on her face.

"I'm truly sorry, here Maya let me take over while you take care of our other guests." Marinette said as she stepped out of the restaurant. She hair was pulled into an elegant up do, still wearing her signature black earrings. However she had a simple pairing of silver glasses on and was wearing a pink pencil skirt a white ruffled top and a black blazer. Her nails were a soft pink matching her toes as she wore black open toed heels. Both Adrien and Lila saw the glint in her eye even though she was smiling politely at them. "I really hoped you would all take the hint when reservations under your name were all rejected. You see I refuse to allow petty drama cause problems for my restaurant, and I'm afraid that you two bring drama with you where ever you go. However I can see my hint was not noticed so I'll tell you myself. Lila Rossi, Adrien Agreste, you two and your families are banned from setting foot into my restaurant. So sorry, but after you two repeatedly bullied me, spread lies about me and tried to ruin my future, I simply couldn't find it in myself to allow you in. Now please leave, your blocking other customers." Marinette turned and began to walk back into the restaurant until Adrien grabbed her arm dragging her back roughly.

"Now listen here Marinette!" He started until Marinette turned to him no fear in her eyes as she drew her free arm back and decked him. Adrien released her arm falling backwards holding his nose in pain, Marinette falling to the ground holding her arm gingerly.

"How dare you!?!" Lila snapped dropping down and wrapping her arms around Adrien's shoulders protectively, glaring at Marinette attempting to play the victims. "Thats it! We are sueing you for everything you have, I can't believe you just assaulted Adrien!" She smirked as she watched an officer get out of her car and advance on them. "Officer! Officer please arrest her! She just assaulted my fiance!" Lila cried out as tears began to fall. 

"I'm afraid I'll be taking Mr. Agreste into custody instead Miss Rossi. I was here the entire time and I watched him grab Miss Dupain-Cheng roughly. He assaulted her and she defended herself." Sabrina said staring down at the two as Lila looked up at her in shock. Another officer pulled up with his lights on and stepped out of the car. "Raincomprix, an ambulance is on the way to fix his nose before I take him in. Please make sure to get the photographers names, emails and numbers so that we can get pictures and possibly videos. Then take Miss Dupain-Cheng statement along with pictures of her and her arm, I'll take his pictures. After that get witness statements." Sabrina nodded before pulling out her notebook and walking over to the paparazzi. A few minutes later an ambulance pulled up and took care of Adrien before he was escorted to the back of the police car. Lila stood watching in shock, her mind running a mile a minute, she was quick to flee the scene once she realized pictures were still being taken.

The next day they were all over the news and everyone was on Marinette's side. Videos and pictures were all over social media and Gabriel's lawyers told him that there was no way they could save Adrien from being guilty unless they took a plea bargain. Adrien would admit his guilt and instead of jail time he had to pay Marinette a settlement and was given a restraining order to not come within fifty feet of her for five years. Gabriel's brand took a great hit and for a while Lila and Adrien couldn't step outside with out receiving glares or being refused business. Their reputations were dearly hurt and it didn't look like they'd ever be fixed. While Marinette was higher than ever everyone viewing her as a strong and amazing person after she didn't let his attack hold her back. This drove them crazy but they knew they couldn't do anything, Lila however decided that Hawkmoth just needed to target Marinette. Unluckily for them, it was that targeting that gave away Gabriel's identity to Ladybug and the Miraculous team.

A few months later it was breaking news when the Miraculous team brought in Gabriel, Natalie, and Lila and exposed them as Hawkmoth and Mayura, and that Lila was working with them. Adrien was spared after Ladybug revealed that he was Chat Noir. Everyone was ecstatic, parties were thrown and statues of the heros were placed in different parts of the city. It was shortly after that it was revealed that Gabriel blacklisted many people and allowed his designers to steal work in the hopes that they'd get others akumatized. Marinette was ecstatic that her name in fashion was cleared but she told the press she wasn't planning on going back into fashion. That only a few people would receive her designs, and they would only be those that Clara or Jagged recommended. It was a few months later that Gordon Ramsey visited her restaurant everyone was expecting Ramsey to find something to tear apart and were extremely surprised when he made a tweet praising Marinette's meals and her chefs talents. It actually spurred a friendship between the two and soon Gordon was added to the list of people that received her designs. After this everyone was going to Marinette's restaurant, they had reservations book 6 months out. Every day there is new pictures of celebrities at the restaurant Marinette was the new name in restaurants and cooking. She even agreed to star on some cooking shows. Her favorite guest spot was on Nailed it. The show was themed after heroes Jacques Torres made cupcakes specialized after America's heros, while Marinette made a five tier cake, each tier representing a different Parisian hero. Marinette lost it when she saw the cupcakes for Batman and Robin she couldn't stop laughing and immediately took pictures. Marinette and Jacques held multiple conversations in French, both struggling not to laugh as Nicole made faces at them. When Marinette pulled out the money gun she flicked her head done and a pair of Eiffel Tower shaped glasses covered her face. She looked at Nicole seriously and nodded before saying she was ready to complete the mission. This cause Nicole to burst into laughter.  After the winner was announced Marinette made another announcement, all three contestants and their family had an all expenses paid trip to Paris and a free meal at her restaurant Miraculous. It was shortly after that, that Marinette began to open more restaurants starting in each heroes city. Twenty-five percent of their earnings went to either the heros in question or a charity that they picked. Marinette's restaurants got popular quickly and soon she was named the youngest billionaire and only twenty-five years old. Everyone was shocked when majority of her money was put towards charity and thar she began different foundations to help others. She even began programs to pay for peoples schooling in university and colleges. Soon she was invited to charity events all over the world, from the Maria Stark Foundation to the Martha Wayne charity Gala. When she is twenty-six Marinette moves out of Audrey's penthouse and travels between different homes until settling down into a penthouse in New York. Audrey and Chloe both follow her over Audrey simply returning and establishing New York as her base of operations once again.

[earthstellar]

TFP Concept Essay: What if the bots had come to Earth and landed in Russia?

Almost a year ago, I posted about a jokey mental image of Ratchet having to wear a giant ushanka if they had landed in Russia because he’s an old bot and would be more prone to cold metal fatigue, but it got me thinking: 

What if the Cybertronians had made contact on Earth in Russia, and not the USA? 

Why Russia? 

Both continents would be appealing from a landing standpoint; The USA and Russia both cover a massive amount of land, so even without knowledge of human national borders, it’s safe to assume that the areas on the globe that would look the most appealing may very well be: 

-North American Continent

-Russia/Eastern Europe

-African Continent 

Now, without knowledge of human national borders, many other parts of Europe, South America, etc. may have also seemed like good options at first, Brazil and Mexico come to mind, but we need to establish what Cybertronians would be looking at in terms of terrain and population risk. 

We can assume that Cybertronians didn’t have prior information on the actual life, society, and general human construction on Earth because the bots (while they have been on Earth long enough to have at least cursory knowledge of humans) still act as though humanity is a bit novel to them.

 A lot of information would not have been available to them outside of Earth’s orbit or atmosphere, and by the time they were in atmosphere, a decision would have to be made quickly based on relative proximity and what data they could scan for within that possibly very limited amount of time.

Nevada, USA likely seemed appealing because it has mountainous and flat terrain in large swathes, with few largely inhabited areas especially near old nuclear testing sites (some radiation may have appeared on any scans they were capable of performing once in-atmosphere and that ambient radiation may have obscured the radiation that they themselves generate as we know sparks emit radioisotopes), making it a good option if they happened to wind up over North America and had to make a quick call. 

(All of this assumes that they had some control over where they landed; It may have been the situation that their ship was damaged enough that they just had to end up wherever they ended up, in which case, they just as easily could have wound up making contact in Russia anyway.) 

This isn’t to ignore the suggestion that Cybertronians had prior, ancient involvement with Earth in some capacity. In fact, that’s a big part of why I think Russia is a reasonable place for them to go. 

-We know Unicron’s energy was deposited into or directly forms the core of Earth. This is explained, albeit quickly, that at some point in Earth’s early history, when Unicron was expelled from Cybertron, his life force ended up on Earth. 

-Would Earth have still been Pangea at that time? What did the continental layout of Earth look like when Unicron’s energy nestled into the planet? 

-Assuming Unicron’s impact with Earth was not the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, which in the TFP universe it may well have been given the timeline of Cybertron relative to Earth, let’s instead assume continental drift had already occurred. 

-Russia is well known for perma-frost and preserved biological life in layers going back centuries. I have a great visual concept of Unicron’s dark energon appearing as purple or black layers of ice, settled unseen and unnoticed under the ground. 

-We also know energon is naturally occuring, in a crystalline, mineral like form. Just like Nevada, USA, many parts of Russia have a similar history of mineral mines and crystal mines, so the actual potential for energon crystals to grow is definitely equal if not arguably better in Russia as there is far more variety of geological conditions across Russia as a nation than there is across Nevada as a state. 

-To better explain the above idea, Czech could also be an energon deposit area, as we know Czech crystal and mineral mines are very successful which is why they are able to produce so much garnet, and even garnet of different varieties. Red garnet and the rarer black garnet. We can assume energon and dark energon would form crystals similar, but not exactly the same, and we know that Central and Eastern Europe have very good geological conditions for this already in real life! 

Compare red garnet with energon, and black garnet with dark energon; Similar structures but very different end results: 

Notice also how energon crystals seem to form in clusters like plain quartz, which is the second most abundant mineral in Earth’s crust: 

We can assume that because the crystal structures of quartz and energon are so similar, that energon may have the geological ability to thrive and be harvested from most areas on Earth in a similar fashion, so this doesn’t necessarily rule out other appealing continents/areas, either! 

But it’s not unreasonable to believe that when coming into atmosphere, the Cybertronian ship tech would likely pick up recognisable energy signatures before managing to process other purely Earth-native data. In doing so, they may notice concentrations of energon and dark energon in Central and Eastern Europe, or perhaps contaminated dark energon from Unicron’s initial contact with Earth within the terrain or perma-frost areas (where applicable), and decide to head towards those regions as fuel will be easier to find and closer to any base they might be able to establish. 

What if Decepticons land first? 

The above section also assumes the Autobots are the first to reach Earth; If the Decepticons were to arrive first, I have no doubt that they would head for any concentrations of dark energon as commanded by Megatron. Countries with larger land mass and older long-lived terrain may have a higher concentration than other areas.

For example, Florida would be a bad place for them to look for energon or dark energon deposits in the USA as the state isn’t that far above seawater and erosion is a huge problem, so there is likely very little dark energon concentrated in the actual land. No significant deposits would be found as there isn’t enough actual ground to contain all that much, compared to other places that may have mountains, hills, ice, valleys, etc. that may accumulate such materials over time significantly better and with higher concentration/overall quantity. This is why other peninsulas, islands, or coastal/water heavy areas like the Mediterranean or Holland may not be as appealing to the Decepticons.

Back to searching for the right spot...

Looking for a place to land, Central Europe, although with good crystal potential, may not look like as good of an option, due to population density that would become evident once better scans were available. Rural areas in a lot of Central European countries are still relatively small in comparison to slightly more north on the map, where rural Russian areas may afford larger spaces to work with, proximity to a wider range of supplies, afford a degree of secrecy, and there may be complexes or materials that could be easily stripped or repurposed that wouldn’t impact on native human life or communities/wouldn’t draw much attention. 

And remember what I said about radiated areas possibly affording cover for their own naturally emitted radioisotopes which may otherwise be detected by human instrumentation; Russia has a similar history of radiological site contamination to that in Nevada, USA-- And not just Chernobyl, which also irradiated Belarus as well as Ukraine, but there’s also Mayak/Kyshtym/Lake Karachay and the surrounding East Urals irradiation, among a few other sites. It might be an appealing factor for them to consider when choosing somewhere to land. 

(I don’t want to skim over the fact that people do live in the these affected areas; I highly suggest you research into this if you’re reading this and have never heard of those sites. There used to be a fundraiser for people living in and around Mayak as well as an awareness effort, but I’m unsure of where that link/website has gone. If I find it again, I will link it. For now, here is a documentary/interview series with local people; Please be aware it may be upsetting, but their voices deserve to be heard if you think you can handle it.) 

Once landed, they could also survey more, and consider their options. Russia has a lot of rural space in some areas, and plenty of very appealing abandoned sites that could possibly be converted into functional bases when supplemented with metal and other materials collected from other similar abandoned industry areas or factories etc., which would spare them the need to actually make their own; They could just re-use the raw material, whatever’s usable, and if necessary look for better cover. 

Russia has tons of biomes/terrain types: 

So they have options. We know in TFP that extreme cold does impact Cybertronians, so tundra and more northern arctic territory would be ruled out, but I can easily see them going for a rural abandoned industrial site in a forested area, which would provide significant visual cover, likely areas already cleared out by previous industry in a given area, and minimal chance of discovery by humans depending on specifically where they end up. 

How would Cybertronian-Human alliances go down? 

A big difference in approach to setting up a base would be the Russian government/forces, and the reaction to the Autobot arrival. 

In TFP, the bots work directly with the USA Air Force/Army, and the base seems to be primarily US Army operated. Their existence and the operations at their base may well be hidden from the wider USA Federal government for the most part at least, possibly using the already secretive clustered Nevada sites as a cover and making the Autobots something of an internal local operation or “quiet site”, which would fit what we see on screen generally speaking. We don’t really get a lot of clarification on this part of things.

But what would the reaction of the Russian government/Army be to discovering the Autobots? 

We know that Russian national forces are very, very capable of defending their air space. It’s unlikely if not impossible that a Cybertronian ship would go undetected or unnoticed, if not immediately then at least within. Seismic data is often monitored and reported as well, so the actual impact of landing may trigger an alert record to be sent to the relevant people, who can escalate those reports. 

Think about Japanese tsunami/earthquakes or West Coast USA earthquakes, and how quickly public alerts and operations are put underway, even before physical effects are felt. Most nations have at least some similar system in place, sometimes to detect earthquakes, others to detect suspected weapons impacts.

We can safely assume that even if they were remote and under as much cover as possible, it wouldn’t be long before Russian forces were involved, and therefore the Russian government. 

I won’t comment on the politics of other nations, although I am very open to hearing from Russian people about their take on this, but it is very possible that the initial engagement would go one of two ways: 

1) Defensive Conflict

2) Attempted Diplomatic Resolution 

I don’t believe conflict would be immediate, because of the sheer physical intimidation and surprise factors. Nobody expects to find giant robot aliens, and there may be immediate challenges surrounding basics like verbal communication (have the Autobots learned human language, in this case Russian, by the time of their discovery?) and so on. This may complicate first contact, as it would anywhere.  

I don’t know if resolution would be reached, as I think it’s likely that the Russian govt would like to weaponize or manipulate the Autobots, use them to intimidate other nations (”look, we have giant robot aliens”), or upon learning of the Russian government or after becoming more aware of the political/social mood amongst Russian citizens if they encounter any communities and perform low key intelligence gathering for a better idea of the local humans, seeing material conditions in some of these more rural areas, after obtaining historical or current socio-political data, etc., Optimus or others may simply decide they don’t wish to work with the government and attempt to peacefully decline, thus issuing diplomatic ultimatums (similar to the back and forth that occurs when trying to establish treaty agreements).

I’d like to note here that I think the Autobots likely had to have a similar discussion with the USA govt, as I think the US Army would have initially had a very similar thought process. I get the feeling Optimus made it clear he wouldn’t be manipulated and wouldn’t be caught up in other conflict(s)/fight human battles.

However, this would be their first experience with human government, as this would be their first contact. They may well assume that this is representative of how things work on Earth until they have the chance to learn otherwise, and in an attempt to be diplomatic, Optimus might cooperate until it becomes clear that it isn’t a good fit, and how the Russian government would handle the subsequent conversation would be anyone’s guess. (Again, Russian people, please tell me what you think!) 

Ultimately, either USA or Russian governments would likely want to at least not ruin diplomatic relations with a space-faring, seemingly extremely powerful alien species. Sometimes that’s what it comes down to, and that would be enough, although conflict could arise here and there, like when we see Agent Fowler have to defend the Autobots to his superiors. 

Episode / Scene Concepts

I have an excellent image of further down the line, however, where things are smoothed over or at least tenuously managed with the Russian govt (perhaps an allotted small autonomous zone for the bots to create their base in with minimal interference, under certain conditions)... There could be so much potential for some great episodes with human interaction with the bots. 

-A great episode of just creating the base, figuring out what’s around, gives us a look at where they are in Russia and who’s nearby, we could see some pretty beautiful shots of abandoned Soviet tech and sites being repurposed and revitalised (with Russian designs remaining evident in the final base construction, just with Cybertronian flair). Maybe within the Autobot Autonomous Zone we would even see locals engaging with the process after the initial shock...

I have an image of Ratchet arguing with an old Russian engineer, and it goes on for a while until the engineer explains to Ratchet that working with scarce resources in less than ideal conditions isn’t exactly new to them, and they might have some valuable tips for working under such conditions. Ratchet comes to respect the engineer after they work together to create a functional power network made from old factory components, a few turbines from an old textile workshop, power generators from abandoned Soviet sites, and power poles made from disused radar systems. 

They relate to each other after they get to talking while cleaning up the rest of the work, and it turns out both of them have similar concerns about the futures of their respective peoples, and have some degree of depression over what they feel they may have lost forever to political games and wars beyond their control, sharing some memories with each other. The engineer is their first local human ally. 

-Russian kids stumbling upon the bots! I’d love to see parallels to the American TFP kids. Miko from Yakutia would be the best, and I believe I talked about that with someone on here months ago. I still love the idea.

-Who would the Agent Fowler character be? He’s listed as being a US Army Ranger, and I’m not sure what the equivalent rank would be in the Russian Army. Google tells me that the equivalent would be a Spetsnaz role, but I am unfamiliar with Russian Army structure, or how personnel might be allocated to the proposed Autobot Autonomous Zone or “secret city” realistically. 

It would be good to get an episode where the Agent or equivalent character first meets the Autobots, and how expectations differ from reality. Maybe over time we see a crisis of conscious with this character, where they initially start out as keeping an eye on things for the government, but slowly become friends with the Autobots and wish to engage more genuinely with them and the other humans who may be involved. 

-An episode where Optimus realises they need to learn more about these humans to work with them more effectively, and sets everyone on tasks related to cultural reconnaissance. 

Optimus studies the literature and history of Russia, and has perhaps some spicy takes. Arcee goes on a drive and has fun going up and down hills in Vladivostok, then races a Trans-Siberian Railway train back and takes note of what the people inside the train are doing. Bulkhead explores cultural identity with Yakutian!Miko. 

Ratchet looks into human medicine and is fascinated by Russian folk medicine and goes on a rant about Soviet spa/sanitorium treatment programs. Ultra Magnus delves into Russian law and almost burns out his processor. Wheeljack explores some industrial sites and studies the detonation techniques of Russian construction workers, comparing their casual conversations to those between him and fellow Wreckers. 

Bumblebee finds an old radio station and uncovers some extremely good bops. Smokescreen discovers Russian dash cam videos and gets pulled over for trying to recreate one. 

Phew! Initial post done! 

There might be more in the future as I love this idea, but I’d equally love to hear from Russian TFP fans: What do you think? What episodes or scenes do you think would be fun or interesting? Is there anything you’d like to add or change? 

Please add whatever you’d like, and if anything I said above comes across as uninformed, I encourage you to correct me or pitch other ideas if you would be so kind as to take the time to do so. :) 

[luxekook]

chapter two.

⇥ pairing: namjoon x reader; eventual bts/ot7 x reader

⇥ genre: college au with fluff, smut & angst

⇥ summary: a series in which the reader meets (and falls for) seven members of the Beta Tau Sigma (BTS) fraternity

⇥ word count: 2.3k

⇥ warnings: 18+, cursing, chaotic namjoon, power tools, hints of poly relationships, overall pretty smut free (who AM i???)

© luxekook. please do not repost, modify, edit or translate.

characters | prologue | one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine

Chapter Two

Habitat for Humanity Worksite – 9:26am

When I signed up to volunteer Saturday morning of syllabus week, I should have known I would end up regretting it. I almost punted my alarm clock out of the apartment window this morning, but instead settled a slightly more civil action – punching the shit out of the ‘off’ button.

Don’t get me wrong: I love volunteering. It’s been part of my routine since sophomore year when I was recruited for the all-women’s service society on campus – the Alphites. As a society, us Alphites volunteer around campus and in our local community each week. There’s something about doing service together that really creates bonds, and the girls in the society have quickly become some of my closest friends.

We sign up to volunteer for a variety of different service projects each week, and Habitat is my current favorite project to sign up for. As a nonprofit organization, Habitat for Humanity helps families build and improve places to call home. Currently, our regional Habitat is working on building a house from the ground up for a local family in need.

Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form a very ‘handy’ person. Luckily for me, there are always a couple volunteers with construction or engineering backgrounds who are willing to teach other volunteers with less experience – or none, like me.

Since beginning to volunteer at the site last year, I have learned how to use a power saw, how to fasten siding, and how to mix, pour and level cement. It’s definitely empowering to learn new skills and also to see how my handiwork contributes to someone’s future home. I also feel lowkey badass when I get to use the power drill for anything.

Pulling up to the worksite, I clutch my cherished 24oz. Wawa coffee. I finally feel somewhat human as I park my beat-up Jeep Wrangler and hop out to meet the other volunteers for our task assignments.

The site leader Eddie – a burly retiree with a background in construction management – greets me with a huge grin, “(y/n)-doll, we missed you this summer! I can’t believe you abandoned us during the hottest months of the year.”

I roll my eyes, smiling at his teasing. Eddie’s like a teddy bear disguised as a grizzly – all rough edges and a heart of gold. “Missed you, too, Eddie.”

“Look at our progress now,” he continues, “Pretty impressive, yeah?” Nodding, I greet some regular volunteers I recognize as Eddie leads me around the house. He proceeds to show me what they had done over the summer in my absence – and they had done a lot. The house now had its full foundation and wooden framing with most of the doors and windows installed.

As we walk back to the front of the house to the main area, I sip my coffee and turn to Eddie, “So, what can I work on today, fearless leader?”

Letting out a patented ‘Eddie belly-laugh’, he replies, “I know you worked on the siding at our last site so I'm gonna have you work on where we started the siding on the right side of the house.”

Sweet, I could work with that. “Aye, aye, captain,” I respond with a lazy salute of my coffee cup. Before I can turn to start towards the scaffolding to begin, Eddie stops me.

“Oh, one more thing. I’m gonna need you to orient our new volunteer and let him shadow you today. Kid’s from the same school as you, I think… Mandatory service. Anyway, he should be here any minute.”

Shit, I know what ‘mandatory service’ means. It’s the first form of disciplinary action that the college issues and is usually the only form of disciplinary action for our athletes or for Greek life – a fact I actively resent. During my time in the Alphites, I have had to deal with some of these ‘mandatory service’ characters and they’ve never been much fun to be around.

“Ah, that’s probably him now,” Eddie startles me out of my thoughts of dread and doom as a black gleaming Tesla practically purrs down the block, swinging into the spot next to my Wrangler. Scowling, I cross my arms as I survey the stark contrast between this person’s shiny-ass luxury car and my dirty-ass well-loved Jeep.

The Tesla door opens. A Timberland booted foot emerges followed by a thick leg encased in light jeans, a tanned well-muscled arm…

No. Nope, it couldn’t be— Please, not today, Satan.

He stands with his back to us now, stretching out his large body. In only a cutoff t-shirt, his rippling back muscles might be enough to send me into an early grave.

I sigh in bitter defeat of the inevitable. Seriously, the fucking universe must have it out for me because I can’t seem to shake this stupid fucking fraternity.

As if the boy feels my eyes on him, he turns. His eyes immediately clash with mine as he slams his car door, clicking the lock over his shoulder. Those eyes – golden brown beneath dark brows and a wave of bleached blonde hair. Their focus is absolute – hard – as he strolls towards us. It’s almost as if he knows the maddening effect that he has on me.

I think Eddie is speaking, but my senses are on lockdown, his words muted. My thighs tighten as my pulse picks up. Get a fucking grip, (y/n). I can’t let him know that just one look from him has me thirsty and oxygen-deprived. I can’t look away – that would be succumbing to weakness.

Instead, I hold his heated gaze as best I can as his confident gait brings him closer. God, he’s got to be at least 6 foot...

The goddamn president of BTS Kim Namjoon is getting closer and I can’t help running my eyes over him.

His thighs flex and shift beneath his jeans with every calculated step. His abs are apparent under his tight cutoff shirt emblazoned with his fraternity letters.

Namjoon stops in front of us, hands stuffed into his back pockets, biceps flexing. “Nice to finally meet you, Eddie,” Namjoon takes his eyes off me long enough to greet Eddie and shake his hand, but then they’re right back on me, “Hi, (y/n).”

He drags out my name in a such a sinful way that even old Eddie does a slight doubletake. Clearing his throat unnecessarily loudly, Eddie booms, “You two know each other?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Our differing replies sound at the same time.

“Yes,” Namjoon repeats, lips turning up in an infuriating smile, “We have several mutual friends that she’s met a couple times now. Want me to jog your memory? I’d be more than happy to do so.”

Eddie takes one look at my face and hustles off, mumbling something about support beams. I guess my inner thoughts of ‘kill, maim, slaughter’ could easily be read from my facial expression.

Namjoon opens his mouth to speak again, but I’m faster, “Listen, Kim, I don’t know who you think you are, and, quite frankly, I don’t care. What I do care about is this house and these people working on it. Don’t fuck this up for me, okay? Let’s just get through today and then you can go back to ordering around your brothers and causing general mayhem.”

I’m feeling pretty proud of my little soliloquy until I realize he’s still smiling with those blasted dimples out in full display. No, his smile has grown even wider now as he simply answers, “The semester.”

My nose crinkles in confusion, “What?”

“The semester,” he repeats, “I’m assigned here every Saturday for the rest of the semester.”

I stare at him.

He smirks back.

I stare.

His smirk begins to fade, “Uh, did you hear me?”

I stare.

“Okay, you’re creeping me out now, (y/n),” Namjoon waves his giant paw of a hand in front of my face, “How many fingers?”

I break out of my trance of denial and hiss, “What did you do? Double homicide? Serial arson? Oh my god, you were the one who blew up the science lab!”

His hand covers my mouth – it’s rough and warm and entirely disarming.

“You have quite the imagination, jagi. I’ll keep that in mind,” Namjoon chuckles, “To answer your question, I did none of the above. Now, answer a couple questions of mine: what did you do to get here and – more importantly – why did you distract Jungkook from doing his fucking job on Monday?”

I glare in response, waiting for him to remove his hand from my mouth. He takes too long, and I lick his palm. It works. He removes his hand, but from the look on his face it seems like he liked my tongue on his skin entirely too much.

Thankfully, Eddie chooses the perfect moment to yell across the site, “What are you doing just standing there, (y/n)-doll? I don’t pay you to just loiter around all day!”

“You don’t pay me at all!” I yell back, already moving towards the trailer with all the supplies to get started. Namjoon follows.

“(y/n)-doll?” his eyebrows are raised as I hand him a pair of the biggest gloves I could find, “What’s up with that?”

Taking a pair of smaller gloves for myself, I turn to look for some hammers and nails as I respond, “I’ve been here a while. He’s like my honorary grandfather at this point.”

I spot the hammers and nails tucked away on the highest corner shelf and I huff. Namjoon follows my gaze, “Need a strong, intelligent, tall young man to grab those for you?”

He’s impossible, but for some reason it draws a small smile to my face, “Yes, that’d be great.”

The smile I receive in response is so bright I wonder if it could make flowers grow, “Okay, but only if answer my questions, (y/n).”

I shrug, trying not to notice how his cutoff shirt rises as he stretches to reach the upper shelf. I catch a sudden glimpse of his abs, and I praise every god out there that hot weather can be blamed for my sudden onset of sweat. 

Clearing my throat, I laugh lightly, “Fine, first of all, I didn’t ‘distract’ Jeon. I just had a temporary lapse in judgement. Besides, he came to me all on his own.” His back muscles tense up at my words, but I continue, “And second of all, there’s no juicy story of how I got here. I just volunteer here every Saturday for the Alphites.”

The sound of a hammer hitting the floor startles me as he whirls around, “You’re an Alphite?”

Namjoon’s tone is one of disbelief and it’s a tone I do not appreciate, “Yes, why is that so hard to believe?” My arms cross defensively, “I’ve been a sister since my sophomore year...”

I trail off. He’s still gawking at me ridiculously. Narrowing my eyes, I stride across the trailer and grab his chin, closing his mouth for him, “Watch out, Kim, you’re gonna catch flies.”

Spinning on my heels, I sashay out of the trailer, nose held high in the air and satisfaction held even higher. He’ll catch up. After all, he’s basically supposed to be my bitch today.

I climb up the scaffolding next to the house’s right side and assess the siding work that has already been started. It looks pretty solid and level. I should have no issue with continuing without having to make any initial corrections.

The sound of a bucket of nails hitting the top platform I’m sitting on alerts me of Namjoon’s impending presence. Saving the bucket from teetering over the edge – a safety hazard for sure – I watch amusedly as Namjoon struggles stay upright and climb up to where I am on the scaffolding. Finally, he plops down next to me – entirely too close. I can feel his stare on my skin as I steadfastly ignore him.

“Hey, jagi,” he pokes my arm, “(y/n), listen, you just caught me off guard. I mean, you don’t seem like the type to be an Alphite – that’s all.”

Fury curls up inside me for the umpteenth time that morning, as I turn to face Namjoon with a sickly-sweet smile that has him flinching back, “Then do tell, Namjoon, what type I seem to be?”

I pick up the hammer closest to me and dip a hand into the nail bucket. The sooner this siding got done, the sooner I could haul ass out of here.

“I feel like that’s a trick question,” Namjoon sighs, rubbing a hand over his chin, “I didn’t mean anything bad by it, okay? I guess I just have always thought that your society was a bunch of mom-types—”

I cut him off with a swing of my hammer in the air, “What’s wrong with mom-types, you uncultured swine? And is serving your community really such a ‘mom’ thing to do? I’m sorry. I must have missed that memo. Here I was thinking that it was public service but go off I guess.”

He blinks, “Did you just call me an ‘uncultured swine’?”

I sniff in indignation, “Get with the times, Kim. I just roasted your ass. Now hand me that piece of siding and make yourself useful.”

“You’re so weird,” Namjoon mutters, sliding my request over to me.

“So what?” I shrug, “All the best people are weird. Now, do me a solid and explain to me why you and your ‘brothers’ keep suspiciously popping up everywhere I go.”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” he grins, “We’re interested.”

“What does that even mean? That you’re interested?” I wrack my brain, “As in all seven of you fuckers?”

“It means, jagi,” Namjoon pauses, leaning closer, “It means that we’re going to date the shit out of you.”

a/n: i love namjoon. that is all. 

taglist (message me to be added):

@catsandstrawberries @h5naaa @meowmeowyoongles @leftflowerprunedonut @rjsmochii @athletes-of-god @karissassirak @weallhavesecretsinthebestway @cvbachacbitch @bewitch3dforivar @honeyspillings @xxonyxpearlxx​  @valiantcollectorofsandwiches @fivesecondsofsarang 

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[knightdale-secret]

Today I learned a haunting truth about a secret hidden right in my very neighborhood. An ugly truth that has been hidden, covered up and mostly forgotten, until now.

In Knightdale, North Carolina the prominent plantation owner, Charles Lewis Hinton, purchased and built a plantation home for his son David Hinton and his new wife Mary Boddie Carr as a wedding present on a stretch of land that would come to be known as the Midway Plantation because it was halfway between two other Hinton family properties. The beautiful, two-story Greek Revival plantation home was built in 1848 as a forced-labor farm. A slave plantation.

I’m not certain how many people were enslaved there over the years, but I do know that at least 130 of those slaves were buried on a site that would later be knowingly built on top of to create Widewaters subdivision. MY neighborhood.

Right behind the community pool and club house there is a strange white gravel path that leads up a slight hill to a black wrought iron fence gate that is always latched. There is a rickety wooden fencing surrounding a wooded area on a hill. This is in the middle of the neighborhood. There was never any explanation for it - for why, in a development, this overgrown patch of trees is fenced in and gated off, untouched, where normally there would be another few houses perhaps. I pass this area almost daily in my car or on leisurely walks. I had noticed the fence but thought maybe it was part of someone’s property. I didn’t think too much of it.

But that changed today. Today I was bored and looking up about local plantation owners in the area because history has always interested me. I learned a little about the Shoppes of Midway being built where the plantation house once stood and that the original house and its outbuildings were moved 2 miles up the road so a Target could be built and the ever expanding road wouldn’t keep encroaching on their lawn. This made way for growth in Knightdale. And grow it has. What was once a small town on the outskirts of Raleigh has become busier and more built up as available housing in the city has decreased and people leave it in search of quieter suburbs to live and raise their families. So as I was researching for no reason in particular other than personal interest, I stumbled upon an article about Midway Plantation and it stated that there was a slave cemetery that was surveyed and a neighborhood was built on top of it. It said it was across the street to the east from where the Midway Plantation house originally stood and that all that was left of the cemetery was maybe 50 graves on a hill in some trees surrounded by a black wrought iron fence. The article states that after the building of the subdivision was started, it was clear that houses were more important than the graves of the many slaves that worked the plantations. And yes, the builders did know about the cemetery. It was surveyed and it was signed off on to be built over. I think this is when the downplaying, lying and covering up started. A letter was reportedly written according to the below article when the preparations for the subdivision were being made that said that such a large slave cemetery couldn’t have existed in this area based on the shaky reference that the present owners didn’t have enough slaves to have this type of burial ground and no church could be identified on the grounds (cause cemeteries only are constructed on church grounds?) this mysterious letter writer conveniently failed to recognize that the land was originally Hinton land and they had slaves numbering in the hundreds here and could most certainly have amassed a deceased slave population of that size over the years it was in operation.

There is a saying about guilt : “A given excuse that was not asked for implies guilt.” If this letter writer submitted this without prompting from any public outcry than he was already defending a guilty mind. He was trying to persuade people away from the truth and to avoid any public outrage over the very wrong they knew they were committing by building here.

That article link is here: http://www.knightdalehistoric.com/pdf/plantations3.pdf

This was the only article or snippet of information I could find about this cemetery that very clearly under my neighborhood and whose remaining grave sites lie just mere feet away from our community swimming pool. This disturbed me greatly because to date, this site is unmarked and unrecognized. So i first decided to submit a request for a historical marker to be made for the site. I was met with an emailed response by a very helpful administrator for the NC Marker Historical Society who said that they no longer do markers for cemeteries but she would contact the National Register for Historic Places and see if the cemetery could be added to the Midway plantation that is already registered as a historical place. She has been talking with archaeologists who are working on this and she’ll be in touch. I also emailed someone in archives to see how I could find the site survey that was done but haven’t received a response yet.

Next I decided to post this information on Facebook to the local community groups and see how they felt about it, and to inform them as well as pose that a marker be made and that I would try to get that facilitated. An outpouring of support and offerings to donate to help fund its creation were given. I knew I was onto something that was important not just to me as a person living in a neighborhood with a secret of this magnitude, but to a community of people who would also want this recognized.

Now, I myself am not African American. I am pretty much as white as they come, I have the genealogy report to prove it. I struggled with the idea that I would be lambasted as trying to be some sort of “white savior” or something by trying to make this happen. I felt guilty that I was the one that found this information and had to be the one to put it out there. I felt like this belongs to the descendants of slaves. this is something that would affect their community,feelings and hearts maybe more than the white community’s in its ramifications and would of course be more important to them on a more personal level. Who am I to come in and make a big stink about something that isn’t even my history someone might say,but it is America’s history. It is the history of the land I now inhabit. And it is an issue that I hold dear to my heart because these men and women and children that lived, worked and died here were not just property or possessions, they were people and their graves should be respected just like anyone else’s. More so I think. Their graves can serve as a reminder of the great bloody sins that occurred in the building of this country. In the building of the south. The only monuments I’d like to see in the south would be to commemorate the slaves, not the enslavers and the people that tried to tear the country apart. The hero slaves that helped build this nation against their will and with great laboring and suffering due to an abhorrent institution that stains our history. They are the ones that should be remembered. Their stories told.

I have always been a sympathizing person. My first hero in elementary school was Martin Luther King, Jr. I gave an oral report on him and did papers later in junior high. I have always been the type of person that hates seeing injustice done to people and the hatred that divides communities and people over nothing more than color or ignorant biases. It never made sense to me and I never understood why people can’t be kind to one another and celebrate differences rather than fear them.

Some people made the point that many cemeteries have been likely built on over the years including white cemeteries, which I also think is awful, but in this situation PART OF THIS CEMETERY IS STILL HERE! Part of our history, this city’s history is still here in OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. We pass it every day! It is here with us and it should be recognized. It should be visited and reflected on. It should be acknowledged.

I visited the cemetery site today and saw the indentations in the ground and the old stone markers left on some of the sites where the slaves were buried. I couldn’t believe that this was just here, between houses and a pool, not in a historical site that you had to pay to see. No fanfare or brochure handouts. Just dusty old bones in the ground marked by grey stones in a patch of trees in the middle of a subdivision, silently waiting to be seen. I whispered to them before I left that I would do all I could to make sure they were not forgotten. That a marker in their honor would be made so they could be remembered. I sincerely hope I can make that happen.

Thru my posts on Facebook, I met a man named Keith Gibbs who has apparently already done a lot of work to try to have this cemetery recognized with a small group of others but they hit many roadblocks. He told me that there are cover ups and corruption surrounding the area from higher ups and people that don’t want this information out there. He was unsuccessful in his journey to get the site recognized, but he has agreed to hand over his research and findings to me in hopes I will be the one to get something done. ME, a curious girl with no real clout, lol. Yeah, ME, I’m the one. I’m the one that will make this happen where others failed. RIGHT?? Right.

Now, it should be said that I have never really been the figure head for anything in my life. I have never been the spokesperson, the leader the public person, the socialite. I am a shy person that works best from the shadows, behind the scenes. The one that does the work but doesn’t get the credit. And I have largely been okay with that role. It’s less stressful. But now people are looking to me to lead them on this issue. To call the shots and take the donations and create the marker. And that was all fine and dandy…. until CBS 17 messaged me asking if I’d like to do a story for them to help get attention and funding for the marker. I got excited and also nervous. I let her know that would likely be a good Avenue to take to get it done but I am still in the information gathering stage. I let her know of my meeting with Keith and told her I’d get back with her when I knew more. She was okay with that.

Honestly, I was relieved I had a reason to stall. I’ve never been on TV before! Cameras DO NOT love me unless its a selfie photo with a Snapchat filter that i’m taking of myself lol. I’m no public speaker. And also I still feel like it shouldn’t be me. I mean, it should since I discovered it and put it out there for the masses, but how can I be the face of this? Me, a white girl from small town Pennsylvania, be the face of a covered up slave cemetery? I feel guilty but also I do feel like there is something to white privilege and power and I hope to only use it as a force for good in this world and to help those with less privilege than I where I can. We only live once and I think a whole lot about how I want to be remembered when I am gone. When someone is building houses over my grave. I’d like to know somewhere out there I might be remembered fondly for doing something that was right in this world of wrongs.

I’m terrified to do the story, but I feel like it is my duty now and my responsibility. I am just so scared of fucking it up. What if I say something stupid or that can be taken out of context? This is such a touchy issue after all. I just want to do them justice. God help me. I just want them to be remembered.

[sarahdmoss]

How to create a ghost mannequin effect

Now the imperative question is how you can create a ghost mannequin effect. You want to observe some steps in this regard. If you observe the under steps, you can get the great model for your product image.

Step 1:  Choosing and posing the mannequin

First, you have to pick out a stay mannequin or a model for the ghost mannequin effect from special angles. You want to seize a number of snap shots of your product. Which kind of model you want with or besides body components rely on your requirements. But you can use all these photographs in your picture gallery except your 3D images.

Step 2: Setup the vital sorts of equipment

Implement your hole effect; you want to set up the studio for tremendous photographs. Camera, lighting, and all different pictures strategies and portions of gear all play a quintessential position equally in this regard. So don’t decrease the fine of the studio except you favor much less enchantment for your on line products.

Step 3: Photo shot the Products

Photographing both too excessive or too low perspective may additionally motive the garments’ seem taper and inaccurate. I desire to put an instance right here to make clear how to seize the photograph for the 3D image.

Suppose you prefer to shot on a shirt. So first, you will take a picture of the shirts’ the front and returned view that your ghost mannequin effect or model have to wear. Then cling that shirt on a white foam board and once more shot the the front and returned view. This foam board will assist mix the snap shots that enable you to consist of the garments’ internal areas.

Here it would be fine if you remembered something. During shooting, you ought to use a telephoto zoom lens to limit deformation and furnish the flexibility to go nearer to the smaller objects and farther away from large objects.

For collared clothes like shirts, blazers, jeans, jackets, etc., make certain the pinnacle need to be open and the internal lower back is visible. You can also flip it inner out in some cases. Remember, at some point of photography, do now not function the digicam beneath chest peak however constantly role at once toward the chest degree location and for the bottoms from the hp area.

Finally, it would be excellent if you had a giant studio for the taking pictures to put your cameras, tripod, mannequin, and different indispensable portions of tools barring your merchandise and scenery.

Step 4: Post-production procedure

Creating a ghost mannequin effect is easy after finishing your shooting. It would be satisfactory if you had Adobe Photoshop software program and express picas of your products. Then observe the beneath guidelines for the post-production technique and get the ultimate ghost mannequin effect:

Open snap shots in Photoshop: First, you will open the pix that you took on the ghost mannequin effect and foam board in Photoshop software. Then structure your new heritage layer and select a model image. Fill that layer with white. It will serve you with a extensive history and assist you label your layers to inform them one after the other and stay structured.

Use determination tool: Now, Use a Selection Tool to Select the Product in the ghost mannequin effect Image. Quick selection; lasso or magic wand etc. decision device pick and zoom in tight to accomplish your preferred selection. Here you want to notice down that the usage of white history helps you dispose of the dummy without problems with the coloration separation between the product and the background.

Filter and Place Mask: Now, after deciding on the full product and putting off all backgrounds, you will filter it to make the photograph excellent and farm. You can use the “Refined Edge” device from the “Select” menu; Click “Ok” in the communicate container of Refined Edge and location a masks on the picture layer to end it. If necessary, you can filter it once more to make it greater most effective and clean.

Clean and Repeat Previous policies with the Foam Board Image: To create a new layer and masks and refine that mask; at this point, you will once more repeat the first three regulations and change the gear. Maybe it will confuse you, however this rule will enable you to exhibit the product’s internal lower back and whole the model delusion.

Merge the Images: Now time to merge the picas to create the ghost mannequin. Foam board pictures and model pictures when each include the tight and easy masks; drag the masks from the foam board pictures over to the snap shots of your ghost mannequin effect images. Here, prepare the layer to decrease the foam board pix than the model pictures and alter the foam boar images’ function to in shape in the back of the model layer easily.      

Remove Pointless Parts of the Foam Board Layer: At this point, you will get rid of the unneeded components from your foam board photos and cover your model layer due to the fact it is already in region in the model shot. After undertaking all these tasks, crosscheck if nothing is left out of alignment and layers are easy and friendly, particularly in the neck and shoulder area.

Insert Shadows and Save: To supply the product Photo Editing, lastly, add a shadow between the two layers and, for safety, shop a reproduction with all the layers of the intact Photoshop file. Then retailer the mixed reproduction once more in every other one-of-a-kind file. This last step will furnish your photograph greater expert and realistic.

If you have achieved all the steps correctly, you may want to get attractive and special 3D consequences that attraction to your favored audience.

 How the ghost mannequin effect images works

3D ghost model impact is one of the most inexpensive and nice feasible approaches to show your garb merchandise to on line customers. It will enhance your Ecommerce product capturing and assist to expand income for your on-line store.

The hole impact helps your product maintain its shape, making them greater specialized and dependable and growing the customers’ interest.

It has some benefits: It is cost-effective; attracts extra clients instead than the ghost mannequin effect  or background; helps to visualize the product after carrying it; much less modifying time, etc.

One of this ghost mannequin picture maker’s essential features is that it can create a standardized seem for all the apparel merchandise on an e-commerce site.

This ghost mannequin photograph maker approach helps to create company identifies for the garment business. It helps to entice extra clients toward the merchandise relying on their preferences and growing company loyalty.

Conclusion

Do you ever take a look at massive on line enterprise web sites like Amazon, eBay, Alabama, Zara, etc.? Musa requested me. He then informed me if you ever survey their pages. You will note that all the colossal on line e-commerce commercial enterprise organizations are additionally the use of this method on their garments’ product pix whilst attracting extra customers.

He informed all these when I disagree with the use of ghost mannequin effect apparel due to the fact of my missing knowledge. Gradually, I began to observe his instruction, and now I am grateful to my buddy for giving me the proper training at some point of my pitiable point.

It would assist if you remembered that e-commerce success more often than not relies upon on the product images’ high-quality quality.

It mu be sharp, consistent, dust-free, smooth, and shadow less. Low-quality snap shots can't snatch the proper market and can spoil your on-line business. So, each time the use of this ghost mannequin, put more warning in this regard.

I recognize many human beings choose to begin their personal on-line businesses. But they have no suited training on how to show their product pics with minimal cost. This article is for these newcomers who are fascinated in constructing their careers as e-commerce entrepreneurs.

[immediateedgeappuk]

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Immediate Edge Appsoftware is among the couple of bots that give day in and day out client assistance. The robot has a huge number of clients across the globe, and henceforth, its client administrations are in high requests.

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A directed dealer is an assurance that your store is protected even in the impossible occasion of the merchant failing. Most controllers expect representatives to isolate stores and submit occasional reports enumerating how the cash is utilized. Open your record All exchanging conveys hazard Step by step instructions to open a Immediate Edge AppAccount. Opening a record with Immediate Edge Appis immediate and clear. The cycle takes around ten minutes. Before we talk about the cycle, it is basic to take note of that Immediate Edge Appis just accessible in nations where its accomplice specialists are directed. We recommend that you check Immediate Edge AppCircuit if this Immediate Edge Appis not accessible in your nation. Peruse our Immediate Edge AppCircuit survey to find out additional.

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Live exchanging with Immediate Edge App App occurs at a tick of a catch. You don't have to have any exchanging experience to utilize the bot. On the off chance that you need to construct abundance through Immediate Edge, you should run it day by day for at any rate 8 hours. Likewise, possibly exchange when the US markets are in advancement. This ought not be an issue given that you can leave the bot to run as you proceed with your everyday exercises or rest.

Immediate Edge Appreview: The Verdict!

We have looked into Immediate Edge Appand discovered clients guaranteeing it to be genuine. This bot professes to have a success pace of around 90%, implying that clients are probably going to make a benefit in any event 9/10 exchanges. However, it is not necessarily the case that it is sans hazard. Immediate Edge Apptrades on edge, implying that it is conceivable to blow your exchanging account. It is in this manner fundamental that you abstain from exchanging with what you can't bear to lose. Immediate Edge Appappears to be genuine, as indicated by client input. Clients ought to recall that all exchanging conveys dangers and clients should just put resources into directed firms. What amount do I need to exchange with Immediate Edge? You need at least $250 to open a record with this bot. We propose that you start little and reinvest your benefits for development. What amount would i be able to produce with Immediate Edge? Immediate Edge Appclaims that it is conceivable to procure many dollars in benefits day by day from a store of $250. Would i be able to pull out from Immediate Edge? Indeed! Solicitation through a structure on the assets' administration dashboard, and you will get your assets in 24 hours. eTorox Review

Clients ought to recollect that all exchanging conveys dangers and clients should just put resources into directed firms. Perspectives communicated are those of the authors as it were. Past execution is no assurance of future outcomes. The feelings communicated in this Site don't comprise speculation counsel and autonomous monetary guidance should be looked for where suitable. This site is free for you to utilize yet we may get commission from the organizations we include on this site.

Article InfoAuthor: Adam GreenLast Updated: 21 November 2020Adam Green

Adam Green is an accomplished essayist and fintech devotee. He worked with LearnBonds.com since 2019 and covers a scope of regions including: individual budget, investment funds, securities and duties.

Cautioning: The substance on this site ought not be viewed as venture exhortation. Contributing is theoretical. When contributing your capital is in danger. This site isn't expected for use in wards in which the exchanging or speculations depicted are denied and should just be utilized by such people and in such manners as are legitimately allowed. Your speculation may not meet all requirements for financial specialist assurance in your nation or condition of habitation, so please direct your own due constancy. This site is free for you to utilize yet we may get commission from the organizations we include on this site.HomeBest Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Robots For 2020Immediate Edge App Review 2020: Legit Or Scam? Live Results! Immediate Edge App Review 2020: Legit or Scam? Live Results! Immediate Edge App is an apparatus that apparently empowers clients to benefit from crypto instability. The bot is supposed to be completely auto and totally amateur agreeable. In any case, is Immediate Edge App genuine, and is it conceivable to bring in cash through it? Peruse further to think about our industry specialists audit, framework, and advantages and disadvantages.

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[madamslayyy]

Log Cabin And A Brewing Fire VII (Trevante Rhodes x Reader)

Pairing: Nebraska Williams (Trevante Rhodes) x Reader

Warnings: This is a SLOW BURN fic. I know a lot of people are ready to see some action but the progression is supposed to be natural in this story.

A/N: if you didn’t get tagged, I am so sorry in advance. I don’t update my taglist before every chapter/ fic I put out but I will get around to it soon!!

Wanna Catch Up on all my other fics? Wanna Catch Up on any previous chapters? Tune in to my Masterlist for exclusive content you can’t find anywhere else!!!

~*~

The next morning you woke up first, which was an unusual break in routine. Nebraska woke up before you pretty much every day because he had to be at work earlier than you and he cooked breakfast so by the time you opened your eyes most mornings, he was already up and dressed.

Today was not one of those days. Somehow, in the night the two of you had shifted and you were now laying directly above him, your head on his chest, his arms wrapped around your waist holding you in place. You glanced up to see him sound asleep. You watched him, admiring the look of calm on his face as he slept. And that’s when you felt it. His member was painfully hard and pressed directly against your thigh.

You could feel it creeping down your thigh hinting at an obviously impressive size and you felt your face immediately heat up. Maybe you should just pretend to go back to sleep and ignore it until it went down? No that’d be awkward. Maybe you should wake him up? Definitely not, that’d only make things even more weird between you two. You resolved that your only option was to climb out of his sleeping bag as quietly as you could so not to wake him up. You softly unzipped it so that you could make a clean exit and tried to slid out when you remembered that his arms were around your waist locking you in. You tried rising up but it was impossible without actually straddling Nebraska, causing you to sit directly on his... guest. Just as you were about to crawl off of him, Nebraska opened his eyes. He stared at you and you stared back awkwardly, still perched on top of him.

“Hey,” he said in that damn sexy ass sleepy voice of his.

“Hi,” you squeaked out.

“Comfortable?” He said looking to where you were sitting. You swore you felt his dick jump beneath you.

“Oh um actually I was just trying to get up without waking you.” You stumbled, getting off of him. You unzipped the tent and stood outside, enjoying the escape into fresh air. There was a clear blanket of snow covering the ground around you.

“Breakfast?” Nebraska hummed beside you. You nodded in his direction then began gathering more twigs to get the fire started. Luckily he’d chopped enough firewood last night so that you guys wouldn’t have to worry about it this morning.

You got the fire started while he went off to get some water to boil for tea. Even though there was snow on the ground, the temperature wasn’t that cold in itself. You still were gonna wait until closer to midday when the sun shown brighter so you could go and take a “shower” by the little waterfall at the end of the stream. It’d be a cold one so you were going to have to make it quick or risk hypothermia.

Nebraska came back and got started on breakfast just like he was at home and not in the woods. He cooked bacon and scrambled eggs he’d seasoned and scrambled before loading it in a large hydro flask. That way all he had to do was leave it in the snow last night and it actually kept it colder that refrigeration. You couldn’t deny it was smart and you wished you’d thought of something like that before on one of your solo trips.

“Bob Apetite, O’ Cher” he said passing you your scrambled eggs and bacon.

“What accent is that?” You asked taking the plate.

“Creole. I told you I grew up in Louisiana,” he smirked.

“You did say that, didn’t you? Do you ever miss it?” You asked digging into your breakfast. It was delicious, as always.

“Sometimes. I miss the people. The heat.” He had a sort of far off look in his eyes and you could tell he was deep in thought.

“What do you miss most from there?” You asked and he smiled. Whatever it was he was remembering really made him happy.

“This is gonna sound weird but uh, the weeping willows.” He looked at you and you could nearly see the joy in his eyes.

“Weeping Willows?”

“Yeah, you ever seen one?”

“Can’t say I have.”

“They’re these really big trees. The leaves grow down and float in the wind, hanging all around you. Back home I used to sit under them for hours, reading, thinking, sleeping. They really make you feel... something,” he sighed nostalgically.

“Sounds beautiful,” you offered, nibbling at a piece of bacon.

“Yeah, it is,” he smiled, his eyes back on you.

“So what’s life like down there, Country Boy?” You asked and Nebraska howled with laughter.

“It’s slow. Real slow. Time doesn’t move at all. Or at least it feels like it doesnt. Everybody can cook-

“I see you’re a product of that,” you winked at him and he looked down bashfully.

“Thank you, I do what I can. Can’t help but learn growing up, y’know.” He said and you nodded in agreement.

“So you’ve lived in New England your whole life?” He asked, drinking his tea.

“Oh, no I’m originally from (Y/H/T) but then I went to live with my Aunt and Uncle. Then I moved out when I graduated high school and moved to the city but I hated it. So I ended up... here,” you shrugged.

“Why’d you hate the city?”

“Too busy. Too many people. Too... lonely. Felt like everyone was going a hundred miles per hour and I just wasn’t keeping up. Fell into depression and from there things just got worse. I knew something had to change... so I left,” you were just now realizing you had never told Nebraska this before. You’d actually never told anyone this before except your Aunt and Uncle. It was silent now and you looked over to see Nebraska staring into the fire, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

“I get it,” he spoke after a pause. And with that the two of you finished Breakfast and began the day. You helped Nebraska clean up from breakfast then he went off in the woods alone, saying he was going to cut more firewood.

You cleared the snow off of a spot by the fire and threw a couple of more logs to make it burn warmer. You then stretched out in front of it and began reading your book you’d brought with you. You were halfway through it and planned to finish it this weekend but you couldn’t really get yourself to concentrate on the words. You mind was full to the brim with thoughts of Nebraska.

You weren’t sure how long you were lying there, desperately trying to concentrate on your book when Nebraska came back. He had a huge pile of logs on his shoulder, set them down, then went back to retrieve more. He made several trips back and forth until eventually you were nearly surrounded by wood.

“Did you cut enough wood for the rest of the trip?” You asked, surveying his piles.

“Nah, I’m gonna build a bushcraft,” he said and set out to work constructing the shelter. You’d given up trying to read you book so you rose to help him.

“Want some help?” You interjected, picking up a log.

“Sure.” He smiled and the two of you got started.

It was different to say the least, making the makeshift little hut looking structure but it had a certain charm to it none the less. And it was twice the size of your tent so at least that was something.

“Where’d you learn how to make these?” You asked, hours later as you packed leaves and twigs in between the logs. Nebraska said it’d keep the wind from slipping through the cracks.

“Army taught us some pretty basic survival skill. Everything else was the internet.” He was currently laying a reflective tarp over the other side so that it would reflect the fire into the Buschcraft.

“Neatooo,”you murmured sitting down on a log. You checked your watch and realized it was already nearly four o’clock. You’d missed the warmest part of the day to go “shower” in the waterfall. You jumped up and ran to grab your outside shower kit out your pack.

“What’s the matter?” Nebraska asked, his eyes holding a bit of alarm to them.

“I’ve gotta go bathe before it gets cold,” you said dashing for the end of the river. It took you about 10 minutes to walk all the way to the edge but you had to get to where you where the water could pour over you easily. You quickly undressed and started showering, the feel of your loofah and scent of your bodywash was extra comforting when you were out in the woods. That familiar feeling of home that really put your mind at ease.

You finished washing and drying off, putting on a new set of clothes you’d packed. You headed back to the camp site. As soon as you came back, Nebraska left to do the same and you cozily stretched your limbs out in front of the fire.

You had to admit the little hut the two of you had built was the epitome of cozy. And warm, you felt yourself growing pretty hot actually and peeled off your jacket followed by your long sleeve shirt, leaving on only a tank top.

Nebraska came back from his bath soon after to find you lounging by the fire, all the snow around you melted.

“I’m guessing the fire reflecter works, huh?” Nebraska grinned, plopping down next to you.

“A little too well, it seems. I’m burning up. Here, feel,” you had rolled your tank top up to your bra, leaving your midsection exposed so it was unnaturally warm due to the heat from the fire. You grabbed his hand and placed it on your tummy.

“.... wow,” he murmured to himself, rubbing his hand up and down the soft skin of your stomach. You felt electricity roll throughout your body at the touch of his rough hands upon your belly, time seeming to stand still as he stroked your skin. Nebraska seemed to shake out of his trance and snatched his hand away, standing up.

“I’m gonna go get some water,” he said then stormed off. It was... odd to say the least. Did he feel what you felt? Maybe not, and you were just imagining things again but you couldn’t deny something had just transpired between the two of you. Something powerful yet nonverbal.

You waited for what felt like forever before he returned. He went straight to attending the fire in front of him, boiling water and unloading the ingredients for dinner.

“You really packed all that? Where were you putting all this stuff?” You asked watching him.

“Space conservation. Why do you think it was so much heavier?” He smirked, still attending to the fire.

“Incredible,” you murmured, watching him once again with the fire.

As Nebraska cooked dinner you found yourself in a particular Harmony that you could easily see yourself getting used to. In the months that Nebraska had been with you, you always felt completely safe, as opposed to the paranoid and vulnerable feeling you’d felt prior that came with being a single woman living alone virtually in the middle of the woods. You also felt somewhat spoiled. You were so accustomed to having to do absolutely everything for yourself that having someone around to cook, take out the trash, pick up groceries, clean, etc. etc. was a perk you didn’t know you’d love. You’d never had a man take care of you the way Nebraska did, not even former boyfriends. If you fell asleep on the couch, he’d carry you to bed. If you couldn’t reach something, he was right there to hand it to you. Sometimes it really did feel like you’d found the yin to your yang with him. He was easily the most considerate and thoughtful man you’d ever met.

There was a part of you that never wanted him to leave. That wanted to stay in this routine for as long as you could, maybe even forever. But that wasn’t fair to him, he had an entirely different career before this, maybe even an entirely different life. He probably wanted nothing more than to get his head straight so he could do things the right way. Find a girl, a beautiful girl at that, not just some blob like yourself but someone he could actually show off and be proud of. Then he’d marry her, have a couple of kids because he seemed like a family man, and then eventually he’d settle down from such an active military career and just focus on loving his wife and his kids. He would have an amazing life awaiting him once he left and you would still be here. Alone. The thought of that never mattered to you before but now the thought seemed almost unbearable.

“Y/N....” Nebraska called out softly, and you looked over at him. You’d meant to clear the dark thoughts from your mind but it was too late, you had looked at him with big, sad eyes almost threatening tears and it alarmed him immediately.

“Y/N talk to me, what’s wrong?” He said sitting down next to you. He rubbed circles on your bare back and you could smell the hint of cologne on him that you loved, he must have brought it with him. That made you let out a small laugh .

“I’m fine, Nebraska,” he lifted your chin to look in your eyes, probably to see if you were still crying but that was a mistake. You didn’t know if it was you or him ( maybe both) but the two of you had leaned into each other, lips pressing lightly together.

His lips were soft and oh so warm. You could feel the heat coming off of him in waves, warming you both inside and out. His hand that was under your chin found its way to your neck drawing you closer. His other hand was wrapping around your waist.

The kiss was simple, could have even been seen as innocent until Nebraska suddenly pulled you onto his lap. You gasped and he took that opportunity to explore your mouth. You moaned into the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck. You felt his length growing hard beneath you. You decided to grind into him to help stimulate that growth but that’s when he pulled away.

“Shit,” he whispered breaking the kiss.

“Y/N I’m... I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for... I didn’t want you to feel like.. um... I wasn’t-“

“Don’t worry about it.” You said cutting him off. His eyebrows furrowed.

“Let’s just, uh, pretend this never happened,” you said, standing up from him and sitting down across the fire.

“Y/N I really am sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Nebraska said and you felt even worse.

Of course he didn’t mean for that to happen. He made a mistake. He was with Tonya, or at least you presumed by the way he was with her all the time. He even spent the night there, so you naturally assumed he was sleeping with her. And you were nothing like her. Whatever the status he had with her, he probably didn’t want to mess that up over someone like you. Or even if the two of them weren’t anything special, that still didn’t mean he’d go for someone like you. The two of you slept in the same bed almost every night and he hadn’t tried anything ever. Not once. If there was even a slight chance anything could happen between the two of you, it would have happened by now. But it hadn’t, because he didn’t see you that way. You were just something he slept next to so he could fall asleep and you were kidding yourself by overemphasizing your place in his life. That was your fault, not his. You should be the one apologizing.

“I know Nebraska, it’s fine. Let’s just eat dinner,” You said, putting an end to the conversation.

~*~

Nebraska couldn’t sleep. How could he when you were less than three feet from him but never felt more distant.

He knew he shouldn’t have kissed you but he couldn’t control himself and now you wanted nothing to do with him. He’d always had a feeling something like this would happen if he pursued you. That’d he’d only end up pushing you away. But you were right there, and you looked so sad and it just felt... right. Of course he’d fantasized about being the man to kiss your tears away but if this was the price to pay then it wasn’t worth it.

Judging from how far away you were sleeping from him, he knew you had to be thinking the worst of him right now.

She probably thinks you followed her out here to take advantage of her. Force yourself on her.

Nebraska tried to get that little voice out of his head. Tried to shake it off to no avail. How pathetic he must seem. Making a move on her alone in the woods when she’s probably too scared of him to say no. He really was a scumbag.

As much as it pained him, he was just going to have to stay away from you. No more cuddling up at night, no more close touches, no more instinctual affection. He had to cut himself off from you cold turkey. Obviously he’d gotten too comfortable and let his delusions take over that you’d be open to being somebody like him. How fucking pathetic could he get.

~*~

The next morning Nebraska woke up to see you already up and gone. He exited the tent to find you outside, packing up.

“Good Morning, Y/N,” he said still groggy.

“Morning,” you said chipper as ever. Apparently you’d been up for a while.

“What are you doing, I thought we had one more day out here,” Nebraska asked eyeing you.

“I know but I thought it’d be best if we go ahead and turn back now. It’s been a long trip and we both could probably use some proper rest.” You said as you continued to pack a little frantically.

Nebraska silently began to help you without a word of protest.

~*~

A/N: Hewwo!!! Long time no chapter but I realized quickly how much I hated writing a camping scenario but it was too late to turn back so I just went with it. Anyway let me know what y’all think!! 🤗

Wanna be tagged in any future fics? Tune in HERE to find out how!!

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[freehawaii]

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR TMT DROPS SHARPLY ACCORDING TO NEW POLL

Honolulu Star-Advertiser - September 25,2019

Public support for the Thirty Meter Telescope has declined sharply after more than two months of peaceful but determined protests on Mauna Kea, and most voters now oppose the idea of using force to reopen Mauna Kea Access Road to allow construction to move forward, according to a new Honolulu Star-Advertiser poll.

Half of all voters surveyed in the poll still support plans to build the $1.4 billion next-generation telescope near the summit of Hawaii’s tallest mountain, but that is a dramatic drop from 18 months ago when 77% of voters said they supported the project.

The poll also found that slightly more than half of all voters approve of the protests, which are a well-organized effort to prevent the TMT from ever being built.

The state and anti-TMT protesters are deadlocked. Supporters of TMT say the project has a legal right to proceed with construction, but protesters who describe themselves as protectors of Mauna Kea are camped on the access road to prevent construction equipment from reaching the summit area.

The access road has been closed since July 15, and dozens of anti-TMT activists were arrested July 17 for blocking the roadway. The protesters regard the project as a desecration of a mountain that many Hawaiians consider sacred, and say they will not allow TMT to be built.

The Star-Advertiser poll found Hawaiians object most to the project, with 62% now saying they oppose construction of the TMT.

The Hawaii Poll, conducted Sept. 12-19 on cellphones and landlines by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy of Washington, D.C., included 800 registered voters statewide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. It includes a percentage of a separate poll of 400 Hawaiian registered voters, weighted to reflect their percentage of Hawaii voters. The margin of error on the Hawaiian poll is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Gov. David Ige said in an interview Tuesday that “the issue of building TMT is not a popularity contest. TMT has the potential to benefit the world by advancing scientific knowledge, and has met all its legal requirements.”

He noted the flurry of anti-TMT activity on social media in recent months, and acknowledged the poll shows support for the project dropped amid that cacophony.

“I do get the sense, and I think some of it is shown in the polls, is that people want both,” Ige said. “They would like and they support TMT, and they support the protesters, even though you and I know that that’s two different sides of the same coin.”

Ige has pledged to reopen the road and “enforce the law” so that construction can proceed, but the new Star-Advertiser poll found 59% of Hawaii voters oppose the use of force to reopen the road. Among Ige’s fellow Democrats, fewer than a third say the state should use force to clear the road.

That is one reason Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim and Ige have been patient as they try to work through the issue to find a solution, Ige said.

“Use of force is the absolute last step that we would want to be looking at,” Ige said. “Whatever action that we take to physically move those who are breaking the law will be done in a respectful and nonviolent way.” That might mean law enforcement officers would pick up protesters and move them off the road, he said.

Andre Perez, one of the leaders of the protest movement, said in a written statement that the poll results show “that the more educated people become on this issue the more they support the protection of Maunakea and oppose the TMT.”

“The community support for the protectors’ stance, and opposition to the state using force to clear the road, clarifies that by any ethnic or cultural standard, arresting elders for protecting their sacred, ancestral land is just wrong,” Perez said in the statement.

“Hawaiians have suffered generations of injustice and forced compromise. The Hawaiian community has drawn the line to say no more. The kupuna (elders) and kia‘i (protectors) are united, firm and committed to their position,” Perez said. “It’s my feeling that the outcome of this issue will define Hawai‘i politics and community relations for generations. TMT should just leave Hawai‘i.”

Colin Moore, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said the poll results are remarkable because support for TMT has apparently collapsed since Honolulu Civil Beat polled voters on the same issue early last month.

“You’re talking about people changing their mind about an issue, which is an incredibly hard thing to achieve,” Moore said. “It’s not as if the TMT is a new idea that no one has ever heard before. I mean, people had years to form opinions on this, so it goes to show in some ways the brilliance of the protest campaign.”

The finding that most voters support the protest is also surprising because protest movements tend to be unpopular. That suggests that “they have a lot of respect for the way that the protest has been handled,” Moore said.

“The kapu aloha (non­violent protest) approach seems to be very popular, and that again is a testament to the sophistication and organization of the protest movement,” he said.

Gordon Squires, vice president for external relations for TMT, said the poll results “do not deter or discourage us because we strongly believe they reflect responses to a number of issues beyond TMT.”

“Those issues include the desire among some Native Hawaiians for self-determination, a belief that there has been mismanagement of Maunakea in the past, and community concerns about citizens acting unlawfully and where that might lead,” Squires said in a written statement. “TMT, its supporters and its protesters have become caught in a perfect storm wherein TMT is an icon for those issues.”

When the project’s sponsors first came to Hawaii more than a decade ago, “we were aware of the issues related to self-determination and land management. We heeded those concerns, and others that arose during numerous sessions with residents across Hawaii,” Squires wrote.

“We listened carefully and responded with solutions. The resulting site selected, which is 600 feet below the summit; the physical design plan; and the education and workforce programs all stand to benefit Hawaii and all residents, without negative impact, now and into the future,” he said in his statement.

During the 10-year approval process and legal review, “TMT brought together scientific minds and community hearts to create something of which Hawaii can be proud. TMT is grateful for the community’s support and we believe this poll does not reflect their commitment, which we know full well through their advocacy and public as well as personal communication.”

But Moore said the poll probably understates the opposition to TMT because people who are most likely to oppose the project — young people and students — are less likely to answer the phone and sit for a poll interview, he said.

He said there may be greater opposition to TMT among Hawaiians because many have family members who are committed to the protest movement. “My guess is that this is a message that Hawaiians have heard more directly from people they know and trust,” he said.

On the use of force to clear the road, the poll results show “that’s entirely off the table. That’s politically impossible now,” Moore said. “What this shows is that’s going to be very politically costly for the governor, for Democrats who stand with him. This is the sort of thing that can become a voting issue. I think it would if there’s force used.”

“I don’t know what they’re going to do, but these numbers suggest that it won’t be possible to resume construction,” Moore said.

[coaffiliatemarketing]

Strategies for Effective Snapchat Marketing

It has 2020--and Snapchat even now has about 188 million active daily end users.

Nevertheless, it is also even now dwarfed by Instagram--that has 500-million daily end users and probably always is.

And that begs this query: why if a firm devote in capturing attention and constructing an audience on Snapchat, the demonstrably popular platform?

Allow me to explain.

As of 2018, about 4-5 percentage of all Snapchat end users are 18 -- 2-4 years of age and 71 per cent are below 3-4 years of age. That means Snapchat continues to be tremendously popular among Millennials. Thus in case your goal would be always to engage a more youthful demographic, Snapchat can become a effective supply of engagement.

Resource: ComScore

Also, Snapchat end users create 3 billion videos a day, investing an average of half an hour onto this platform. The amounts --combined together with Snapchat's striking audience targeting capabilities--indicate enormous options for brands and marketers.

Do not have a Snapchat to get Organization account?

Let us place up you...

Reward: Download a free guidebook that reveals the measures to create habit Snapchat geofilters and lenses, and suggestions about the way best to make use of these to market your company.

The best way to Prepare a Snapchat for Organization account

In the event you opt to advertise on Snapchat, you are going to require a enterprise account.

In the event you have an account, create one the following . Subsequently fill on your own enterprise details.

Like many actions on Snapchat, creating a enterprise account is straightforward and intuitive. As soon as your company is established, you're going to be motivated to create a campaign. Clearly, that will be optional. As a company, that you never will need to advertise to the platform to garner attention, construct an audience, and make an impact.

Onward.

7 essential Snapchat marketing Strategies for company

Yesallocating expend to a own content will soon enhance its own reach.

That saidthere are additional strategies you can utilize to maximize your marketing on Snapchat. All these are timetested, recognized tactics and fundamentals social media marketers can apply to cultivate virtually any brandnew.

When you are new to Snapchat, don't forget to read our newcomer's guidebook . This can allow you to learn the technical abilities necessary to apply those strategies.

But should you already understand the fundamentals, stay stuck. You are in the proper place. This advice may allow you to make the most of one's own presence.

Let us proceed:

1. However, your audience isn't everyone.

Your audience will be a set of men and women that all share exactly the same want. And, maybethey all share a particular combination of characteristics. By way of example, your audience may dwell in a certain location; your own audience may speak a certain language; your own audience may make a particular earnings.

The greater you understand that these characteristics, the higher you will end up at creating fantastic backup and art that captures attention, incites attention, creates appetite, and pushes action.

You may already understand that your audience, at which case you are ahead. However, if you should be working on understand that to target, utilize Snapchat Insights. Here really is actually the platform's built in analytics application, and that, among other statistics, can inform you

    Your audience count weeks, months, and years

    Your audiences' age, location, sex, and also pursuits

    Your audiences' attention span (i.e., just how many individuals watched your own articles before the end)

In addition to revealing your one of a kind perspectives, watch instances, and end rates, Snapchat Insights can inform you the articles's fall-off rate and screen-shot rely.

These statistics can simply help you understand what your audience wants.

2. Establish goals

You are utilizing Snapchat. However, are you currently getting accomplishment? Maybe. Maybe perhaps not.

You'll not be able to share with whether a material investment would be well worth the funds if you don't establish clear goals.

Very good social media marketers always place goals for their . However, the finest social media marketers establish S.M.A.R.T. goals: special, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely goals.

Let us break it down:

Make it"Distinct"

As an example, it is perhaps not sufficient to say,"that I want to increase my Snapchat reach"

Instead, you need to say,"that I want to increase my Snapchat audience to 4000 followers"

As an example, it is perhaps not sufficient to say,"that I want to increase engagement on Snapchat."

Instead, you need to say,"that I want to induce my own screen-shot count upward with 12% and also my fall-off rate down by 5 percent "

As an example, you can't say,"We have never ever done it but that I want such a material to induce 100 new Millennial followers a month"

Instead, you have to say,"Introducing such a content material added fifty Millennial visitors into your own account, and that if we double-click this particular content every month, then we will be on track to add 100 new female followers"

As an example, in the event that you want to utilize Snapchat to cultivate your own mailing list, then it will not make sense to create aims around screen-shot counts.

Instead, it makes sense to concentrate on forcing followers for your internet site, at which they can register for the newsletter.

The latter is far more relevant and applicable for your own business goals.

As an example, it is perhaps not sufficient to say,"we will have these changes executed in Q 2."

Instead, it really is better in the event that you say,"we will have these changes executed by May 15."

The S.M.A.R.T. goal framework is going to make sure that you remain honest and targeted as you create marketing aims.

3.

In the event you want to learn where you are progressing and exactly where you are falling quick, review the competition.

That is, run a competitive analysis by analyzing the accounts and activities of all different brands on your space. Here is the way to do that, incremental:

Measure 1: Describe your competitors

The very optimal/optimally way to recognize a competition would be by simply analyzing your audience.

Who is your own audience after? Do any one of these brands resemble your own personal? The ones that are looking forward to the prospective customers' attention. Although perhaps not every rival brand will be worht analyzing.

Start with creating a lengthy checklist, then pare down it again. Choose four or three strong competitions to benchmark your self against.

Measure Two: Participate in

Now it is Time for You to research, taking several alterations in to consideration, for example:

Existence

Are the competitions active on each and every social networking? Or simply a few

After

Just how many men and women are after your competitions? And quickly would be each after growth?

Cadence

How do your competitions article?

Engagement

Just how many enjoys, re tweets, shares, and opinions perform your competitions' average?

Now it is the right time and energy to analyze that raw data.

Measure 3: SWOT

Strengths

Analyze to understand what your competition are succeeding on Snapchat? Are the articles timely or smart or interesting?

Weaknesses

Analyze wherever your rivals are falling quick. Can that their cadence inconsistent or slow? Are the articles self-serving?

Possibilities

Considering your opponents' strengths and weaknesses, wherever can you differentiate your self? As an example, if there is absolutely no comedy within the landscape, can you add a few?

Threats

Anything that can fail, will fail. Describe those instances and become prepared for them.

And you also really don't will need to do all this manually.

There are applications you can utilize to make the procedure easier, faster, and much more successful.

Share great articles

Far more specifically, share great Snapchat testimonies.

A tale can be a video or photograph that resides in Snapchat to get twenty four hrs, and then disappears.

Adding articles into your narrative is so straightforward:

Measure 1. Navigate for a camera perspective

Measure Two. Tap the camera button to take a photograph OR tap and maintain the camera into capture a video

Measure 3. Add components, such as stickers, text, and doodles

Measure 4. Tap the blue arrowthen pick"My Tale"

But creating articles great content material is hard. It truly is hard to capture attention, create envy, and induce folks to maintain watching.

The optimal/optimally Snapchat testimonies are typical nonetheless unexpected. Nevertheless they may be also surprising, providing comedy or amusing or educational value. In any case, audiences really should walk away out of the tale pleasantly amazed, and joyful .

To create this impact, many organizations create"behindthescenes" testimonies, supplying content material associates might never find. You can also ask issues, create surveys and run interviews to engage audiences.

Whatever material you opt to create, be sure to be sure it stays mild and, obviously, authentic. Snapchat end users appreciate authenticity. This is the reason many started utilizing the platform at the very first place.

    Document size.

    Document format.

    Full display screen canvas. Construct Your audience

    Snapchat will not have"recommended consumer" lists such as Instagram, that makes it harder to construct an audience.

    As a firm, don't forget to publicize your existence with your handle and Snapchat icons that connect back into snapchat.com/add/yourusername. You might also utilize a exceptional, scannable Snapcode.

    Listed below are the top Five places to Market your Snapchat:

    Your site

    Your own Snapchat icon ought to go into your internet site's header, footer, and sidebar. It must also be found to your own"Contact" page.

    Conventional wisdom says that the 2nd most read part of an email--after which the thing line--would be your signature. That's because 1) a lot of folks would immediately scroll into the underside of an email to observe who composed it and two ) it visually stands outside to the page.

    This means that your email signature is excessively observable, that makes it the right place to display your Snapchat icon.

    Again, your Snapchat icon ought to go from the header or footer of one's newsletter. It ought to be observable and notable.

    This consists of digital and publish ads. Display your Snapcode anyplace.

    Your occasion stalls

    In the event you attend trade shows or conventions, make certain that your Snapcode is someplace accessible, at which people can view and scan it (e.g., then shoulder-height in your own booth).

    It is also important to note always and at the proper moment. Snapchat end users check about 20 days every day, averaging about thirty minutes every day over this platform. Utilize Snapchat Insights to determine whenever your audience is the most active, subsequently place regularly at that moment.

    Want to cultivate faster?

    6.

    Additionally, there are a whole lot of Snapchat hacks out-there, tiny hints and features that can make a significant difference if you employ them precisely and always.

    Listed below are the top 5 hacks that you Ought to Know about:

    You can draw impressive detail by turning in your phone's zoom feature

    Drawing really is hard. Drawing to a phone by means of your finger is much harder. This Snapchat hack can assist you always color inside the traces --and some...

    The Way to do it upon I-OS:

        Proceed to Configurations

        Pick out General

        Tap Accessibility

        Underneath the Eyesight segment, enable Zoom

        Pick out Demonstrate Controller

        Opt for your Zoom Area taste (Window or Full-screen )

        Establish Maximum Zoom Level into 15x

    The Way to do it upon Android:

    This can allow you to draw the way that you want a stylus.

    Reward: Download a free guidebook that reveals the measures to create habit Snapchat geofilters and lenses, and suggestions about the way best to make use of these to market your company.

    Obtain the free guidebook at this time!

    By way of example, that the"0" creates a wonderful oval border and also the"A" can provide you a fearless triangular edge.

    The Way to do that

    You can pin an emoji onto a shifting target

    Straightforward, interesting, and engaging.

    The Way to do that

        Document a video that concentrates to a transferring item

        Once you are finished filming, then tap on the emoji icon at the Summit of the preview display and Pick exactly the one you want

        Resize that the emoji until you pin down it

        Tap and maintain the emoji to drag it Within the transferring target (that Ought to Be suspended at the stage )

        haul it Within the item to get a Minute

        Snapchat will reload on the video, and also the emoji must follow along

    You can edit things from your own Snaps using Magic Eraser

    Amazing! You captured a great chance... with the exception of that one, minor item.

    The Way to do that

    The application is not ideal, but naturally. Nonetheless, it functions exceptionally well in plain, uncomplicated backgrounds with reliable colors.

    This will be interesting.

    The Way to do that

        Document a video Snap

        Tap the speaker in the underside left-hand corner of this display

        Opt for the voice filter you want to add for Your Snap

    All these are just 5 essential hacks. Listed below are thirty longer .

    7. Measure outcomes

    Utilize Snapchat analytics to measure your final results and, subsequently, establish your yield on investment (ROI).

    Snapchat analytics may allow you to understand that your audienceand learn what material works well, and detect vital engagement instances. The greater you realize that information, the easier it will likely be to gain a competitive advantage on the market.

    Here is how you can access and utilize Snapchat analytics:

    Measure 1. Open up Snapchat. Tap the icon to automatically start it.

    Measure Two. Proceed into your house display screen. Tap your bitmoji from the top-left corner.

    Measure 3. Tap"Insights" beneath"My tale."

    You will Observe a dashboard that resembles that:

    Listed below are the Leading Five analytics that you ought to think about:

    Unique viewpoints

    This may be actually the total quantity of those that opened the very first video or image to your own Snapchat narrative and watched it to get at least one moment.

    You can watch your one of a kind perspectives each week, month, and year.

    View the time

    This may be actually the total quantity of seconds that your audiences watched your Snapchat narrative.

    Similar to Specific Perspectives, you also can watch that your look at Time per month, week, or year to gauge the achievements of one's content within that time period.

    Assessing this data can allow you to understand 1) that day of this week is most appropriate for one really to article and two ) just how long that your narrative needs to really be.

    This can be the way many audiences watched the full narrative from starting to stop.

    You can observe this information divided by day--and you also can put it to use in order to analyze how nicely your articles will be resonating along with your audience.

    This will definitely let you know exactly when audiences quit watching your narrative.

    It has an amazingly powerful in sight that may allow you to spot material that is not doing work and replace it.

    Demographics

    This really is a breakdown of the percentage of guys and ladies who watched that your narrative. You can also discover age range of one's own viewers.

    You can take advantage of this information to understand age, pursuits, and locations of one's audience, all which can in form the form of articles that you share.

    Want far more neat Snapchat hacks, hints, and features?

    Take a look at our article Snapchat hackshints, hints, and features you probably did not recognize about.

    8. Try out Snapchat ads

    In case your audience is not rising as fast as you possibly want (or desire ), then Snapchat ads may assist you to acquire followers at a faster clip.

    There are several Sorts of Snapchat ads to Pick out of:

    This is really a fullscreen, vertical video ad that lasts 10 minutes or not.

    You can put it to use in order to connect folks for your site, to install an app, or only to watch a branding video.

    This really is an ad variety that allows end users alter their images--usually selfies--together with your branded filters and logos.

    Users try so because it really is interesting. And once they share, your brand will get vulnerability. It is a Winwin situation.

    Approximately 1 billion Sponsored Snapchat Geofilters are observed each and every day, or so the potential for vulnerability is outstanding.

    This could be actually the cheapest, easiest, fastest way to receive started using Snapchat advertising.

    It truly is similar to a Sponsored Geofilter, but can be utilised within an ultra-tight area, such as, for instance, a town block. You can create one at a second --and pay as few as 5 dollars to drive it all live. It truly is an outstanding choice for small organizations.

    Snapchat is also a easy, easy-to-use platform. However there are many nuances to advertising to this platform.

[nitewrighter]

Satya was at first unsure about letting an outsider in on this Vishkar humanitarian assignment but Sanjay vouched for him and he's been very good with the refugees. She shut down his initial drink offer but that damn charming smile and those biceps of his are making her consider an afternoon tea with him.

Whoops I thought about Pre-Defection Baptiste too long and this turned into a whole ficlet.

---

Technically the assignment was Talon sub-leasing his contract to Vishkar. Mauga teased him about getting “cushy work” but Baptiste was just happy to get a combat medic mission that was more ‘medic’ than ‘combat.’ The mission site was a ruined village in the Seychelles. When he stepped off his transport, he would have guessed a hurricane whipped through the place, but looking at the smoldering remains of some of the buildings, he told himself maybe a gas main blew. 

There were a handful of Vishkar employees there, tapping away at their tablets, surveying the area, but one woman seemed to be singlehandedly constructing shelters for the displaced people. She was a striking sight among all the refugees: Effortlessly creating beautiful little white geodesic dome tents with waves of her arms and dancer-like gestures of her fingers. Her probably-long hair was swept back in a glossy black bun. His own combat medic armor had ventilation, but wondered if she was hot in that long-sleeved uniform.

 Baptiste had seen videos of Vishkar’s hard-light online, but it was a whole other thing seeing it in real life. He gave a glance back to his area of work, a canopy tent distinguished by a hovering medic’s cross over it, before looking back at the woman, still making tents with all the ease and focus that one might have folding paper cranes He remembered a quote he read somewhere--’Technology, when sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic.” If there was anyone in this area who seemed like a wizard...

“I take it you made my medic tent?” he asked, tilting his head and her shoulders jerked in a flinching motion and she whirled on him, gold eyes veiled by a blue visor of light.

He flinched back a little and brought his hands up in turn. “Sorry--didn’t mean to surprise you,” he said, itching between the plates in his combat medic armor, “Augustin. Reporting for duty.”

She forced a polite smile and resumed materializing tents, facet by facet. “I’m fine,” she said, “You may call me Satya. You are one of the subcontractors, are you not?”

“Yes I am,” said Baptiste, putting his hands on his hips, “I’m one of the medics.” He flashed a grin. “If you ever start to feel faint, just give me a call and I’ll come running.”

She arched an eyebrow at him.

“Not that you’re.. prone to fainting... it’s.. just... hot and... you’re... working...hard,” Baptiste made an awkward finger gun at her, “Stay hydrated.”

“I will. I believe there are locals in more immediate need of your services,” she said, finishing off the tent she was working on with a whirl of her wrist.

“Oh-yes--of course,” said Baptiste, heading into the medic tent. God, he was so glad Mauga was not around to see that. He would not hear the end of it. 

It seemed most of the locals had managed to semi evacuate before the fires set in. There were some second degree burns at worst, they looked worse before you cleaned them, but with some biotics. It was crowded, but with Vishkar overseeing everyone’s treatment, people were having their injuries treated and being sent out to the tents with a near frightening efficiency. A Vishkar agent pointed him to where he could handle some overflow of patients, and he walked off in that direction. He approached a bench where two girls, apparently sisters, sat. The smaller girl, couldn’t be older than 7, shrieked and hid her face in her sister’s dress. Her older sister spoke soothing words to her in Seselwa. The Creole threw him off briefly, like his own, but not quite. But he knew they could probably parse French from him, at least. 

“Allô?” he offered, holding his hands up in a soothing motion while slowly closing the distance between them, “Tu es en sécurité. Je suis là pour aider.”

 The older sister lifted her head and nudged her younger sister a little. “Ça va,” she said quietly, “Son casque est bleu.”

“Mon casque?” Baptiste’s fingers brushed at the the transparent blue of his combat medic head guard. The younger sister lifted her head from her older sister’s dress, her eyes tearstrained and defiant.

“Elle a peur. Les monstres aux casques rouges ont tout brûlé,” said the older sister.

“Monstres?” Baptiste repeated and his stomach dropped. Red helmets. He knew exactly what red helmets they were talking about. He shook his head. He had to see to their injuries now, worry about that later. He cleared his throat. “Les monstres sont partis,” he said, “Montre-moi où ça fait mal.”

The older sister nudged the younger sister again with more soothing words in Seselwa and sniffling, the younger sister extended her arm, ribboned with blisters. Baptiste’s stomach tied up in knots at the sight of it. He tended to their injuries, then a few more locals---the burned, the dehydrated, the delirious, those with chronic conditions that were exacerbated by the fires or the panic.  He let the patients just be a whirl of injuries to be stitched up by his hands, let the work drown out the thoughts, the dread, the knowledge of who had done this to them. He had completely lost track of time when a Vishkar agent put a hand on his shoulder and he jolted back to awareness.

“It’s your break,” said the Vishkar agent.

“Right...” said Baptiste, “Right...”

He headed outside to see the golden-eyed woman from earlier frowning over a roughly table-sized 3-D hard-light projection of what looked like neat beachside residences laid out strategically across the island’s shoreline floating in front of her.

“Staying hydrated?” he called to her, and her head jerked up from the projection.

“Oh,” she said, smiling a bit more genuinely now, “It’s you. Saved the whole island, have you?”

“Well, I’m on break,” he looked over the projection, “You’re still working?”

“Oh, merely musing,” said Satya, tweaking the position of one of the residences on the projection.

“Vishkar’s planning a development here?” asked Baptiste.

“Well, nothing’s set in stone yet,” said Satya with a shrug, “The corporation made an offer before, but the locals refused,” she shrugged, “Stubborn. Unfortunate as it is, this attack has made Vishkar’s offer the best choice for the people here.”

“So it was an attack,” said Baptiste, more to himself than to her.

“A barbaric attack,” said the woman, shaking her head and looking back at the projection, “But things will be much better from now on. Vishkar will protect them against thugs and criminals like Talon. We’ll give them all a better way to live.”

“You know it was Talon who did this?”

“Yes,” said Satya, “Despicable. Cowardly. But it’s because so many refuse to see the superiority of Vishkar’s order that Talon continues to thrive. If people were only willing to see...” she trailed off and folded her arms. “Talon needs chaos to survive. And Vishkar stands as a beacon against that chaos.” 

She has no idea, thought Baptiste, watching her eyes as she talked. She honestly believed all this. She honestly believed she was building a better world, when in fact, Talon and Vishkar went hand in hand. Talon burning through obstacles to Vishkar, and Vishkar swooping in to be the heroes building a better world, all the more filling Talon’s coffers with the money it made in the process. He wanted to throw up a little, but he managed to keep a straight face as she continued talking. 

“...don’t you agree?” she said and he was forced to snap out of his own train of thought.

“Pardon?” said Baptiste.

“I said ‘People must be willing to accept the truth if things are going to get better for any of us,’” said Satya, “Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah...” said Baptiste, looking back at smoldering remains of the village, mere skeletons of buildings standing stark like ghosts behind her perfect geodesic dome tents, “Yeah, I agree.”

[the-uptake]

The Uptake, The world was beginning to fluoresce into wounds. 0|0|1|-, Prologue. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

It only stopped raining an hour ago. A handful of select CERCLIS staff, many of whom had half-stripped out of their neon yellow hazmat suits, lined up behind their leadership, awaiting further instruction in the intersection of a Level 0 street halted by media equipment, portable construction lights, and vehicles. One of the employees had not removed his suit, with unusual violet straps taping together every major seam, and more noticeably the hood he kept drawn was missing a visor shield altogether. He fidgeted in place. Galen had been requested to accompany Bensington today, but the one-eyed metahuman hadn’t expected his day off to go anything like this. There would be a billion Web eyes on him and he loathed the very idea of it.

Somehow, when the boom mic and reporter approached Bensington, and not him, it only unnerved him further. The heavyset Indian woman had removed her hood, and she checked the integrity of her snood-bun, while a makeup artist scrutinized the lavender eyeshadow which streaked uniformly from her orbits out to her temples. The camera lead gave her the green light, and they began.

“We’re speaking today with Yvpraksya Bensington, the regional executive for the Northeast and New England branches of the EPA.”

“Thank you, Alex. As many of you have come to know in the past few months,” Bensington announced, shoulders square but calm, “Tri-City’s foundations are slurrying. Seventy years or more of illicit disposal of industrial chemicals has resulted in the pollutants supersaturating the soil of Level 0. Investigations punctuate that the dumping evidence runs rampant throughout all levels which fall below city limits.”

“Miss Bensington, you said the foundations are slurrying. Does that mean you believe that Tri-City will get shorter?”

"The EPA has already launched remediation efforts to prevent it. We want to keep Level 24′s Mile High Club mile-high, don’t we?” She paused to smile at her own whimsy. “Since April, we’ve surveyed the extent of the damages wrought by improper disposal of these poisonous, highly reactive chemicals, in particular Wolfrin--ironically, the organochlorine responsible for much of fusion cities’ capacity for upward sprawl. Construction companies are estimated to be at fault for a majority of the chemical presence in the soil. We’re doing what we can to slow the chemical reactions with other wastes present in the Stalkers’ Quarter’s stalking yards.”

“The stalking yards are the city’s largest concentration of landfill plots. What does the sustained presence of the EPA in Levels 0 to 3 mean for the city?”

“Not to worry. E-cycling will not halt during this crisis. There is no threat to human life, so long as appropriate caution is taken. Our remediation efforts for this Super Fund will not impact city life, though it is strongly advised that citizens not sight-see the disaster and respect quarantine lines. The Agency can and will defend the quarantine by force. These chemicals are highly dangerous, and we can’t have trespassers distracting our cleanup efforts.”

“What is the EPA doing to, well, remediate?”

“We are isolating the contaminated soil, as well as separating solid from semi-solid and liquid wastes. Several sites have required the excavation of buried drums of waste. We’re neutralizing a majority of the waste on site. Cleanup requires extensive equipment and labor. In addition to the dozens of engineers and environmental technicians we have at our employ, we also have a specialist on site.”

“Miss Bensington, is that the specialist there, behind you?”

When the crowd of reporters clamored, Galen flinched to stand straighter, but he couldn’t help but turn his face from the camera lens. Bensington glowered at the reporter for putting so much focus on someone besides herself unrehearsed, and they pulled back to her. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms.

“--We have the finest on hand for this monumental undertaking. Our methods may prove a bit unorthodox, but the potential for catastrophe demands it. You can put your trust in the EPA to control and backpedal any damages irresponsible dumping may have done to this illustrious city. And I promise this city: I’ll get to the bottom of this myself, and locate as many perpetrators as I can. Good day.”

Bensington shooed the media cameras with an angry fat lip, and she pulled Galen along with her by the arm.

“Forgive them,” she started, walking briskly enough that he struggled to match her gait. “They’re scrabbling for any mote of interest. You stood out because you’re comfortable in your suiting.”

“S’the only clothes that really work anymore, Miz Benz. Y’know that--”

They stepped into an alleyway, so the leaden-pale ghoul could bestill himself.

“I apologize that you had to spend your day off this week doing something so... uncomfortable. I know you’ve never been too sociable. I appreciate you attending with me. I wanted my best represented.”

His immediate compulsion was to deflect the compliment, but he caught himself and replied with a self-conscious smile which she mirrored with a genuine one.

“I know there’s more going on with you than simple stage fright. I’ve had the impression that you’ve adjusted pretty well to your position with us. We’ve outfitted you with clothing tailored to your unique physiology, scheduled you according to your limitations, and arranged housing for you on Level 8. Be honest with me, Galen. Do we need to further adjust your accommodations? Just say the word and it’s yours.”

“I... i, i, it’s not just the things y’done for me. Y’already do so much.” He gnashed his teeth a spell, not making eye contact. “Y’said e-cyclin’s gonna continue unhindered. The EPA hasn’t shut down more than three yards at once, t’my knowledge. An’ you’n me both knows just how dangerous Wolfrin is. But... what I, I--” He flinched and flared his nostrils at himself, “tryin’ t’say is... the stulkers not been evacuated yet.”

Warmth filled her face while she formed a response.

“The Stalkers’ Quarter is one of Tri-City’s largest landfills. CTMHW prevents any fusion city from outsourcing disposal to nearby cities. And Tri-City accepts wastes from adjacent non-fusion cities. We can’t halt waste procedures in the entire metropolitan area just because this one landfill sector’s soil is leaching.”

Galen could feel a flush cross his face, and he backpedaled to a previous topic.

“...Forget me mentionin’ it. Th, there is the one thing y’could do for me, since y’mention it. Y’got me set up with a serial an’ a cred account an’ all that... but besides buyin’ my own groceries, dunno how ta be a Leveler. Used t’read a ton before all this happened. Told that ta the Fultonites an’ they brought me a reader. Y’can pro’lly guess ‘bout how long that lasted. Used t’read physical copies, back before all this. Lotta the books, I, I fished outta the yards myself. Sides that, Pretty much lived in the school library back when I, I-- was still goin’. Hopin’ maybe... maybe you’d get me a library card? For Central? Always wanted t’be able t’borrow somethin’ from Central.”

“You need enrichment. Entertainment. Of course. And you’re worried your habituations would risk any technology that came into your possession. Paper products aren’t among your nutritive sources, nor have I really noticed you crave it... If you’re confident you’ll be comfortable with a physical copy, then consider it done. I’ll call my contact at Central and have it arranged this afternoon.”

He hadn’t expected her to agree so readily, and his jaw slacked.

“Thanks, Miz Benz. Y’got no idea how much it means t’me.”

“Is there anything else? You’re doing so well with the Golbrook site. I’d love to honor your hard work with a little token of gratitude.”

His eye widened, and in one stunned motion he pushed his hood back to run his gloved hand over his slicked undercut.

“...Really, the library card’s huge. But if y’willin’ to negotiate the rules... Maybe ya’d lemme keep another... say, five pounds a copper? Been distractin’ myself in my apartment with lots a art. Gettin’ pretty good at it, to be fair.”

Bensington chuckled, relishing the notion he had begun purposing his sweat toward learning how to sculpt with it.

“You’re currently allotted a hundred pounds, correct? One-oh-five doesn’t seem unreasonable. That’s fine. I’ll notify the CERCLIS supervisor you’re working with this week.”

“Really, gosh, you’re the best. If a body’d told me workin’ for the city’d be anything as gracious as this, would’a been with it from the start!”

“I’m a rare employer, and you’re an even rarer employee. You wouldn’t find a better job arrangement than you have with the EPA.”

“--With you. I’ve. I. I got trouble talkin’ with the sup’s y’got me under. Nothin’ ‘gainst ‘em but... you. You listen. Really listen. Y’get it. Get me.”

She glanced to her reader, then returned it to her pocket.

“Well, right now, if that’s all we needed to discuss, what I’ve got is an appointment I have to be getting to. If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to communicate with me, all right? You’ll be transferring to your next site by next week. I’ll speak with you again when I liaison for you.”

“Hope it goes smooth,” he thanked sheepishly.

“As do I, your week.” She patted him on the shoulder, and started back to the media circus. “Enjoy the library. I’ll ping you when your account’s live.”

He waved her off, smiling strangely to himself, then excused himself as well. He passed the cred-chip embedded in the wrist of his left glove over the payment node when he loaded into the public lift back up to Level 3, and got more comfortable in the back corner of the car by rolling his coat down to his waist, affixing it with a reflective belt-and-brace harness he produced from an inner pocket. Beneath his gear, he wore a taut high-collar black compression top. He kept on his long black waxed leather work gloves. With a snuffle of the air, he snorted in nuisance that he could smell the product in his hair.

The EPA dress code regulation hadn’t required that he cut his hair, but they had insisted that he style the long part such that the undercut didn’t hang in his face.

As he switched off from the lift to a bus, he resolved to buy a tube of hair gel just to satisfy the desire to suck it out of his locks. He softened at the idea of deviating from his typical shopping list, and busied his mind enumerating all ilk of his comfort foods. By the time he let off at Level 8, he was whistling to himself.

“Miz Benz was right. Should treat myself. Gonna get the good weight oil today.”

[recalibr8]

The mEtOHd in my madness

I’d been out with my teen lads on a Friday. We got off the train and there was a young, crumpled woman sat on the platform, fat tears splashing into a puddle of sick on her trench coated lap. I offered her some tissues; I’m a mum, it come with the membership card. After a few sorries she asked “where did you stop?”. It took us a while to realise she meant, ‘where are we?’ She was out by 2 stations which on the face of it wasn’t bad. We pointed her onto the next train, gave her a mint (gold membership benefits) and my youngest shouted “take care of yourself” as we trudged up the platform. We agreed it was probably work drinks getting out of bounds and she’d be ok now she had tissues. But I kept thinking, “where did you stop?”. Where did I stop? Because I’m now AF af.

AF af. That’s alcohol free and doing pretty darn ruddy brilliant. Three months ago I upgraded my BrewDog to NannyState, went Becks Blue and am thinking in an offhand way about brewing Kombucha. I’ve teamed this up with going plasticlite, veganish and kimchi curious. So far, so middle class virtual signalling. But where did I stop?

I’ve been drinking since I was 5. I’d adorably finish up the beer in my parents’ guests glasses and well, kept going. Not in a Drew, Carrie or Liza rehab by 13 sense but I think I’ve probably had my fair share. I’m well aware that I knew, know and don’t know but suspect people who I love who have significant alcohol use problems and this is blog is in no way trying to say my needs are greater than theirs. I know a lot of highly creative endeavours and friendships were found in a gin bottle but also unforgivable abuses. And I know friends whose acts are based around the camaraderie of drinking. And I’d never tell anyone what they *should* do. But like all ex anybodies, I’m annoying about my sobriety journey right now. Bear with me.

But it’s not just me though. I see booze everywhere. For a dose related lethal toxin that’s very effective marketing. There’s a giant ad on Toots Broadway station entreating me to Go Bottomless and every other Facebook ad is for a spirit that promises to make evenings round the back of Catford Lidl magical. And many of these are aimed at women. A recent industry survey found ‘only’ 17% of women drank beer and this needed sorting out. Look out for more lady drinking adverts, they’re coming.

But I wasn’t alcoholic. Was I? Are you? You’re only an alcoholic if you have one more drink than you doctor. I’m

a doctor ... so let’s take a look.

*I’m really low on the alcoholic check list*

I’ve never drank alcohol in the morning, blacked out, been told by others I have a problem, had to apologise...

Ah, I have had to apologise once or twice. Nothing major, just ‘sorry, I was a bit wobbly/silly/rude/loud/insulting/gave you my shoes as a gift’. I once lost my credit and oyster card at the bar of a immersive theatre event though. I don’t know how I got home. I had to find the site manager the next day and he definitely had other things to do. Not long after my bag was stolen in SoHo because I was distracted. Not sure how I got home then either. Friends put me in an Uber after my MA showcase because I wasn’t walking very straight. Or being very nice. So I definitely remember getting home then.

These were all Thursdays or weekends. I’ve always been careful not to have any chance of affecting my work. But yeah, how clear headed was I for my family, myself? And much of this was stress drinking after a week of being a clever doctor. Just loosened up the joints a bit. Particularly if your slightly socially awkward. But I wasn’t a drunk, no. Maybe just a binge drinker. And that’s ok, isn’t it?

*Hangovers are just a thing*.

With only drinking at the end of the week, I was careful not to be hungover at work. But I had a Friday at home hangover where I didn’t get out of bed for the day. I claimed I’d been poisoned. I’d just had one too many Jaegerbombs. I vomited in the taxi. I’ve vomited in several taxis. That’s not a good look at any age. Hangovers are a funny meme, a cartoon of a dog in sunglasses, office banter. It’s your liver crying and your brain folding it’s arms in judgment. It’s not bad wine, it’s bad choices.

*Get kids used to drinking. Like the French. Then they won’t binge*.

My 13 year old buys old vodka bottles from charity shops. Wearing a furry hat, his comedy drunk Russian is not bad I used to have the deepest voice of my friends at 14 so it was my job to buy the booze for house parties. My mother always told me drink a pint of milk before you go out to soak up the booze. At 14. I had a few sexual assaults along the way but if I blame myself that’s victim blaming and I don’t want to be a bad feminist on top of everything. Med school in the 80’s/90’s was all over the drink. Freshers’ week was a booze insurance test. The circle line pub crawl, the Clint Eastwood Appreciation Society, the Med School pub crawl...end at Barts because Smithfield’s liscence meant you’d keep going all night.

*Booze always cheers you up*.

I’ve got to confess, my life has got a lot quieter. I’m going out much less, I leave early, I’m not champagne Charlie any more. I’m always, well, me. My dad was a depressed alcoholic, so was his dad (he ran a tobacconist and offie so that didn’t help) and his dad before him. And I have depression and PTSD. My moods are now not so high, but they are also not so low. This is very strange. I’m hoping this is a good thing. I’ve heard it is. This, this is the mEtOHd in my madness. The mood stabilisation. That’s the plan.

*Being a doctor is just one of those boozey jobs*

Fun quiz! Who do you think drinks the most? Enough to have a problem. Oooh, were good at guessing this in ED. Writers must be bad, farmers, journalists! yes, they’re always drunk, private invsestigators (?), airline pilots (like my dad, I saw what those guys put away). Ok...it’s.

Lawyers - reporting 33% with problematic drinking

Construction workers- 16.5%

Miners -17.5%

Then it’s Healthcare workers, especially doctors (oh no). A. 2012 study of American surgeons published in JAMA Surgery found 15.4 percent had an alcohol use disorder. Female surgeons (25.6 percent) were more likely than male surgeons (13.9 percent) to exhibit symptoms of alcohol addiction. Healthcare professionals in general it’s 10%

https://www.drugrehab.com/addiction/common-professions/

Performing artists and writers - 11.5%

Catering/hospitality -11%

So no pilots then? I think there’s something they’re not telling us or things are much better since the 80’s. 


 A 1998 study of junior doctors in Newcastle-upon-Tyne reported that:

* 60% exceeded the recommended safe limits for alcohol consumption

* 36% of males and 20% of females used cannabis 

The Sick Doctors Trust says “Since our working lives are spent helping others, it is easy to push aside our own problems, in addition to which, denial is quite common in medical staff. This is not deliberate, but a part of the whole illness of addiction. That addiction is a chronic illness which therefore requires treatment as for any other condition, is now well-established but there is still a tendency to feel that it is a sign of weakness, and that maybe things aren't 'that bad'.’

That some individuals are more prone to developing addiction is generally agreed. There is no single determining factor, but usually a combination of biological, psychosocial and environmental factors - a mixture of nature and nurture. There is now much evidence implicating dysfunction in the Dopamine transmitter system & it’s involvement in craving. There is also evidence to suggest that the effect alcohol has on an individual’s brain is genetically determined. A family history is present in many alcoholics- those having direct family affected being more at risk...

*Its a family affair*

I went to Adult Children of Alcoholics once. It wasn’t for me but what they said made total sense. I take responsibility for everyone, I’m primed for betrayal and disaster and I totally thrive in emotional drama. My dad wasn’t a nice drunk. He made my mum drink when pregnant ‘to keep him company’. She in turn gave babies a tot of brandy to keep them quiet as a stewardess and I can’t imagine my permanently shouting parents wouldn’t have liked us to be quiet babies too. So I’ve got pre and postnatal form. But I don’t have to fix them now. Particularly dad. It’s quite hard to fix dead people.

https://adultchildren.org/

*Booze: the solution AND cause of all of life’s difficulties*

Sick Doctors again “ Alcohol is the commonest substance of abuse in all doctors. Drinking will surprisingly continue despite negative consequences such as job difficulties, relationship breakdowns, financial problems, loss of driving licence; the alcoholic is driven by an irrational compulsion to continue, and frequently results in despair to the point of suicide. Fortunately, the depression associated with active alcoholism often abates when sober.”

http://sick-doctors-trust.co.uk/page/addiction

*I’m not an alcoholic*

and you probably aren’t either. But you might have problematic drinking. I did a survey as part of an UCLH research project. You can too. I lied a bit on it and still came out drinking more than 97% of women my age. Now an icon opens up on my phone every day to that says ‘DRINK LESS’. I stopped leaving my phone on meetings tables.

Drink Less. by Robert West

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/drink-less/id1020579244

If you are thinking about getting help for problematic drinking or any other addictions including workaholism or have any burnout symptoms for more than 3 weeks, you can of course get staff support and occupational health. But/And there is the amazing NHS Practitioner Health Programme where doctors with any addictions are supported https://php.nhs.uk/ DocHealth is another equally good programme https://www.dochealth.org.uk/. I used the latter when it was MedNet.

So, do I feel amazing? Had I got amazing skin, lost weight, feel energised and hopeful. Urg, not really. I feel a bit scared actually. I’ve lost my social crutch and I’ve stopped going out. I’m worried I’m boring and people will think I’m weird. But....I can get up earlier to walk the dog, I’m moderately less tired and although I’m not skipping down the road happy, the depressive moment I had in spring could have been a lot worse. I think that’s actually amazing. And that’s why I’m doing this. I want to face the world honestly and openly. I want to enjoy my kids before they leave home which is frighteningly soon and weirdly, I want to know my liver replaced itself in a year so I’m literally a new person (don’t google Theseus’ Boat Paradox, life is complicated enough). Oddly compelling, that. So where did I stop? I stopped here. In a weird waiting room in my head. But with the promise of a new adventure through the next door.

But don’t stop doing you, babes. Keep telling me your booze bantz. They are hilarious. Any story that starts or ends with Baileys is only going one way. This clearly isn’t a lecture. Most people can do moderation. And do could I, mostly. And it’s the mostly that’s not good enough. Not for me. Not any more.

Online support - https://www.facebook.com/groups/joinclubsoda/?ref=share

Samaritans- https://www.samaritans.org/

BMA wellbeing including 24 hour support - https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/work-life-support/your-wellbeing

Tea and Empathy for doctors’ online support - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1215686978446877/?ref=share

Al Anon for children of alcoholics https://adultchildren.org/

https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/

Dedicated to my husband who gave up the wine w*nker 6 years ago without any of this mid life crisis fuss. But I gave up meat and caffeine first so I still win.

[swjuicy324-blog]

Grow your business Exponentially

for only $2 a day!!

 Before we begin I want to give you a little checklist of the things you will need in order to complete this process. Most of it is pretty simple stuff you should already have. If not then you will need to.

 1.      An email (it can be whatever email you use for your business)

2.      A payment method for managing your accounts - credit card or at least an active prepaid credit card with VISA/MASTERCARD logo.

3.      A little bit of time to set everything up.

4.      An idea of the kind of business you want to start or an existing business

That’s it!

Anything else that is recommended throughout the guide that you may need on the way is not essential but may be convenient for you to have.

The first thing that any business needs to do, is be accessible to its customers at any time. Of course the easiest way to do that is for any business to have a website. Once you have that website you want to gain your customers and keep those customers continuously thinking of your business anytime your business can fulfill their needs. Here is a step by step setup on how to only setup your business to be successful in doing that, but also setup your business so that it is most cost effective for you.

First things first, as a business owner you want to make sure that anything you do will be profitable and allow you maximize your opportunity. So, I want to make sure that as an entrepreneur you are maximizing your ability to use this information to increase your business. To do that, you want to make sure that your business is setup to receive the best possible benefit from any expense put into your business. Even if it is $2 a day.  In order to do that you want to make sure your business is setup properly. If your business is already setup and established and this information is just going to help further along grow it the you ca go ahead and jump to the next section. However, if you are just starting out then you would want to follow this step by step.

Now keep in mind this is a brief overview so I wont be getting down to the nitty gritty of everything but enough so that it will set you up for major success or at least give you a good starting point.

Now for some of you who don’t yet have a business or may have already have a business you may want to do this first. Keep I mind as a disclaimer this is in no way shape or form any financial or legal advice and any and all content going forward does not hold the creator(s) of this content responsible for any outcome should you chose to go forward. This is for informational and educational purposes only. Now that that is out of the way…….

 Step Number 1: Legally Establish a business

By this we mean form a separate entity to do your business. Most entrepreneurs/business owners start out by doing things as a sole proprietor. Not that it is anything wrong with that, its just a lot of things that can go wrong with that for one reason or another. The reason why we state this no matter what industry you are in are for many but we’ll mention a few key reasons here now and show you the easiest way to have your business setup for you. If you already have a business entity setup, then you can go ahead and jump to step #2.

Now some of the main reasons you want to establish a real business are as follows

·         Protect yourself from being personally liable from lawsuits

·         Be able to extend your tax write off amounts

·         Appeal to your audience more and grow your business

With having a legal business entity established anything you do will keep you free and clear from someone making you personally responsible. Because if the business goes bankrupt that is fine just start another one. But if you get sued, well it maybe a little harder to come back from that. One of the best things about having the business is the financial benefit you get. Just about every expense you have pertaining to your business is tax deductible against the business income, even your $2 expense to grow your business. This means more money in your own pocket and less in uncle sam’s. Even the little things you may not even think of such as your cell phone bill, meals when you go out to eat, heck even this $2 a day marketing business plan is going to grow your business. Again speak with your accountant or financial professional about how that will apply to your business.

Another important thing, is that establishing business separate from yourself will look much more appealing to your audience as well as other potential businesses, or business clients. It gives your customers the sense of satisfaction that they are dealing with their preference of a company on whatever scale they prefer (big or small) and also allows other businesses to see that they are dealing with a likeminded organization. Win Freakin Win Baby!

All that is good to know but wait…. What if you don’t have the time or resources to learn how to go about doing all the legal paperwork to legally form a company? Good you shouldn’t be wasting your time to doing that anyway you are a business owner leave the paper work to the professionals. The best way to do that is to hire the professionals. Now what is the easiest way to go about this? Simple, You can spend your time going around town trying to find a local accountant or lawyer or just keep it simple and hire the pro’s at INCFILE. There are many other organizations that do this like legal zoom and even local professionals. However, through our testing, experience and surveys, we have found that INCFILE has been not only the easiest, hassle free way to do this, but also the most cost effective.

There are plenty of reasons why we are recommending them. Because for but mostly these:

Folks let me tell you for $49 and getting all of this you honestly couldn’t get a better deal! Had I known this when I first started doing my own businesses I would’ve saved my self so much more time and research. Take a look at the packages they offer and I’m sure they will try to upsell you (which is normal of any business) so make sure what you they offer you is essential but for the most part the $49 + state fee package is all that you need. There is no better place that will help you with How to start your business than going to INCFILE.

Once you get all your paper work back it may be a good time to open up a business bank account. This is fairly easy to do as well. Just take your paperwork into the bank of your choice and they’ll let you know what the requirements are to open a business account with them.

 Step #2 Setup your business

Time to get a domain for your business. The best place for this cost wise is definitely going to be google domains or namecheap.com for the best. Now if you already have a business website go ahead and skip on to step 3 because more than likely you’ll need to start there. $12 for a year isn’t bad to have your business website name. Pretty simple process just search for what you want your business website to be called, once you find it. Pay for it and voila! No tricks, no gimmicks just pay your $12 get your domain and move on. Now that you have your business website name setup now its time to get that website built. Step 3 will walk us through that crucial part.

 Step 3 Website Wonders

 So you have your website name now what? Now its time to make that website! Now for some of you you may already have a website and everything already constructed. Even better you just have the easier part of this step to do. Now for those of you who don’t. You can easily make your website  

Both places (google domain & namecheap) in fact, any place you go to buy your domain may also offer web design to create your site along with other things such as advertising your website as well. Although it sounds convenient it is not recommended for many reasons. Mainly, you dont want to have your website suppressed which is typical with domain hosting companies when using their advertising. You’ll want to have your website set up for peak optimization and be able to run smoothly for your clients at any and every moment. Trust me the last thing I hate is going to a company’s site and waiting for the page to load. Most consumers by then have already lost interest on continuing on to the site. This is major must for any of you running an e-commerce business. Well actually, any business who is dealing with many products or even just having high definition photos or even simple youtube videos on their site. If your site is barely loading or taking forever to operate or be found by the ones looking for you its simply a waste of space.

How do you make sure this isn’t you?

So first you want to make sure your website is using wordpress. Wordpress is used pretty much any and everyone on the internet who has a site for countless reasons. If you don’t know how to install wordpress on your website and are doing it yourself, there are plenty of youtube. videos on how to do so. Just type I (How to install wordpress for nanmecheap / googledomain) We wont go into those benefits right now because we’ll be here all day but just know you want to have wordpress.

Once it is installed, There are many wordpress tutorials you can find on how to design a website. But if you’re anything like me and don’t want to take the time to do and learn all that just have someone else do it. You can easily find somebody to design a website for you for cheap now and days. But of course you’ll more than likely get what you pay for but at the same time you may not need all the bells and whistles. So you can head over to fiverr and higher a developer for a couple of bucks. I’ve actually had a few on them design a couple of my sites for cheap and they did outstanding jobs. $7 got me some pretty good sites designed. From a basic website to a complex ecommerce site there are web designers of all types there. Of course you will need to provide them with the password and/or Cpanel access to your domain and website but you can change it afterwards.

 Here is where your Secret weapon comes in!!!

Once your site is up and the way you want it you now need to get it on over to Kinsta. Especially for you ecommerce stores using woo commerce, shopify, or any other online shopping setup, Kinsta is going to hands down be the best platform to support your site. With them you’ll be able to spend less time worrying about your website and more time growing your business. Whether you need to roll back your site or you’re hit with a sudden surge of traffic, Kinsta’s got you covered every step of the way. Also, Kinsta uses google cloud platform so you have which will allow your site to be secured and fast globally. This is probably the bulk of your expense being that it is going to cost a minimum of a $1 a day but trust me the support and service is definitely worth it.

If you don’t find yourself for some particular reason like using Kinsta you can also use SiteGround. And for $4 a month it is by far the best hosting site you could use. Many people still report seeing substainal change in not only their site but the traffic and sales too when switching over to either one of these hosting companies.

  Step 4: Stay in Touch

Now that you have your business built to run on peak optimization, Once you get those customers that are interested, its time to keep them engaged and coming back for more. The number one tool to do this is AWeber for only $19 a month. I cant begin to mention how important this tool is going to be for your business’s continuous success. Aweber offers a service to help businesses communicate more effectively and profitably with prospects and customers. It will allow your business to utilize their permission only email marketing service to establish and maintain profitable relationships.  Aweber is a great email marketing program for several reasons. Not only is it wonderfully customizable, but it also has great features like broadcast messages, reports, and managing subscribers. Broadcast messages are basically emails with an important message (like an upcoming event) that are sent once to all subscribers, certain ones, or to a certain email list – you get to choose! You also choose the day and time each broadcast will be sent

If you are going to use any tool at all this is the one no matter what your business is. It is wonderful to be able to remind your clients and customers that you are still around should they have a need for what you have to offer, any promotions coming up, and also helps put a personal touch on your relationship with them.

  Step 5 Marketing Marketing Marketing Marketing!

Let the automation begin with Buffer remember when we said that you want your website set up with Kinsta? This is why. Buffer is a social media management company already integrated with Kinsta. Having them handle your social media will just make the process of gaining more customers easier. Buffer is a software application for the web and mobile, designed to manage accounts in social networks, by providing the means for a user to schedule posts to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin, as well as analyze their results and engage with their community. Whether you are an ecommerce business, a restaurant, or a service business, you always want to keep your past and potential clients engaged of the any changes, promotions, or updates on your business.

Having all these steps into place on top of maybe even hiring an assistant to manage it or an intern looking to gain some experience is more than worth its weight in gold to take your business to the next level. Fiverr has ton of virtual assistants ready to do work for you.

So to recap you want to do these steps

Step 1:  Establish your business $50 +additional state fees with INCFILE (one time fee)

Step 2: Get your business website domain name namecheap.com or google $12

Step 3: Build your website and optimize it with Kinsta or SiteGround $4-$30

Step 4: Set up your marketing to be automatic through Aweber $19

Step 5: Let buffer handle getting you your business. $15-$65

 Now you know how build your business, optimize your business, automate your business, and how to grow a business with limited just as little as $3 a day (Business Website hosting: $1/mo + Kinsta $30/mo + Aweber $19/mo + Buffer $15/mo = $65/mo or $2.16 a day) . Now you have no excuses to get out there and crush it. Keep this document handy in case you need it for future reference. Also, feel free to share this with anyone you think could benefit it. Unfortunately, in the world of business not many successful business owners are hesitant or reluctant to share their steps to success. But we believe that everyone who is aspiring to succeed should have a fair shot to, but its up to them to put in the work!

    Bonus Steps

 For those of you who are seriously wanting to get started and see boost in their business right away. The following bonus tips are here for you to use. These tips have been able to help business owners get started who have no funds available to get everything going as well as been able to help owners increase their sales/business 10x more than if they had not used it.

 Now that you have your site built its time to get your customers to it. This is where SEMRUSH

comes into play. SEMRUSH is where you will set your business apart from your competition. If you are not using it then whoever is running your marketing better be. This tool alone will allow you to dominate by giving you an edge on the internet marketing. SEMrush is an online visibility management and content marketing SaaS platform that ensures businesses get measurable results from online marketing. SEMRUSH lets you run up to 11 different focusing on a single domain. The abilities of a Project include auditing a website, search engine rank tracking, auditing backlinks, social media management and posting, link building and more. These tools each have a special function and can be configured to track your campaigns and provide you with actionable plans and tactics. There is over 4 million companies who use SEMRUSH and there is no reason why you shouldn’t too! Unless you want to stay stagnant that is. Do yourself and your business a favor and get this software.

 Don’t worry about not knowing how to use they actually have courses to show you how to effectively utilize the software to skyrocket your business. Worse case scenario you can always jump on fiverr and hire someone to manage the software for you for cheap. Take this information and grow your business today!

[about-russia-from-1st-perso-blog]

On the night of May 14, the state disappeared in Yekaterinburg, and fighting brigades working in the interests of big business got the right to violence.

A crowd of strokes enters the square by the city pond in Yekaterinburg from Yeltsin Street. There is music in the square, about 800 people dance to the Scorpions and dance. I am among them. Watching. A minute goes by: people run in panic, pitching overtake them, beat them and pour them out of gas cylinders. All this, in their words, is done "in the name of the Orthodox faith." For the slaughter watching the police. Do not interfere. That's how it was ...

Breaking fences

The morning of May 13 began with the news: "The construction of the church of St. Catherine began in Yekaterinburg." "Started" - loudly said: just at night the square near the city pond was fenced with aluminum fence and set up a tent with the first stone of the future temple.The city boiled over. Against the construction of the church on the site of the main city square, many thousands of meetings have been held before. And although the erection of the temple was authorized by the Yekaterinburg authorities in February, the opponents hoped to the last that they would start a dialogue with them.Appeared in social networks: by 19.00 to gather at the city pond for a walk. By the appointed time come about two thousand people.

The walk immediately turns into "fighting." People try to rock the fence, and they do it with ease. For some time, the guards of the Russian Copper Company, one of the sponsors of the temple, are trying to keep the fence in place.

But the “walkers” still felled the fence and rushed into the square.

And the real walk begins: people turn on the music, talk, someone gets badminton rackets. A young man in a Square-to-be T-shirt sits down with his back to the guards and starts playing the glucophone.

- In general, my name is Katya Lavtikova, but today I am Nature Anatolyevna, - the girl in a dark blue dress with a wreath of artificial roses jokes. - I came here, because the story of the square for me - a knife to the heart. I can not watch how the last green zones are built up in our city. Moreover, they are built up without a dialogue with the residents: after all, no one asked us, and I don’t like it when they don’t ask me.

In fairness it should be said that public discussions on land surveying of the territory for the construction of the temple by the mayor's office were held. According to official figures, 3,107 people voted for the construction, only 192 were against it. Opponents of the construction of the church did not recognize these figures, noting that almost no one was informed about public hearings.

Closer to nine in the evening the walk turns into a disco. From portable speakers sound: "Nautilus", Queen, Scorpions and, of course, "Changes!" Viktor Tsoi. Hundreds of people lead a round dance around the tent with the guards, singing "Katyusha". The chant “Square to be!” And “This is our city!” Is heard.

The police do not interfere. Nobody thinks of raising a fallen fence.

And very few people pay attention to the fact that on Boris Yeltsin Street, on the approaches to the public garden, a crowd of sports guys are wearing T-shirts “Academy of Martial Arts of the Russian Copper Company.” It is a quarter to eleven on the clock.

The pitches run into the square, as if on command (later they will say so: “There was a command from above, from God”).

After a moment, the mess begins: the thugs grab the crowd, push them out of the public garden. Bute, swearing, mocking. A guy in a black T-shirt and a black cap pushes me on the shoulder: “Why are you taking pictures? Went from here. ” I am trying to explain: "I am a journalist." The answer is simple: “V *** (face) need?”

It takes no more than a minute, and the square is completely trimmed, the fence around it is restored.

- What you think you are? - shouts a guy in a denim jacket to one of the “athletes”. - You beat my girlfriend! Why did you hit a girl?

Opponents find themselves on opposite sides of the fence: sportsmen remain in a fenced square and interfere with “walking” to break the fence again. The “walkers” themselves periodically manage to pull out from under the fence the concrete blocks on which it is attached. There is an endless squabble. Every now and then, particularly hot-blooded activists are piling on the fence to enter the fray. But there is a clear superiority in athletes. Among them notice the famous boxer Magomed Kurbanov and MMA fighter Ivan Shtyrkov. Both, according to media reports, are graduates of the Russian Copper Company Martial Arts Academy.

After the next portion of mutual insults, the athletes themselves raise the fence.

One of them rushes into the crowd of “strollers” and sprays pepper gas from a can.

The police, who had only watched what was happening before, were missing an athlete with a can, but the rest of the jocks were dragging him back over the fence. After some discussion, the police still head for the fence and "take" the sprayed gas.

Half an hour later, they begin to delay the “walkers”. However, also unsuccessfully: only one person is taken to the department. Two more crowd manages to fight off.

While the police are trying to detain, athletes begin to shower people with half-liter bottles from under the water. Those in response chant: "The Nazis!"

At some point, one of the jocks pulls out a large icon of the “Savior from the Hands of God” and begins walking in a circle with it. Then it stops and reads something on the screen of a mobile phone.

- What is your icon? - asks his girlfriend on the other side of the fence.

“Women in Orthodoxy do not make women talk,” cuts an athlete. Then bypasses the fence with the icon, reading a prayer.

By two o'clock in the morning, the police are leaving. “Walkers” gradually disperse: by 2.30 there are no more than 150 people. Athletes are still behind the fence in full. The parties fail to conduct a constructive dialogue: the protesters do not understand why you should not ask their opinion about the future of the public garden, and the athletes just do not understand “how can you oppose the temple?”

By 5:30 am on Tuesday, the protesters were leaving. Behind the fence, there are two dozen strokes to guard the tent with the first stone of the temple.

It seems that neither side is ready to make compromises in Yekaterinburg. Advocates of the public garden and supporters of the construction promise new mass actions.

A situation where a hundred well-trained athletes are having a fight in the center of the city, when a crowd for almost six hours has been fighting over raised tones, cannot be normal in any civilized state. But all the authorities on this night behaved as if nothing special was happening

photos from the scene