#why should anyone ever have to pay over $500 for something that can equally be valued at under $100??

[nancywheeeler]

dynamic pricing should be illegal. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[classroomconfidentialblog]

“Teacher: If you don’t pay attention and do well in school, you’re going to have to be a garbage man.  Student: Miss Smith, my dad is a garbage man and he makes way more money than you.”

No one in their right mind should ever choose to be a preschool teacher.

If you are either supported by a spouse or maybe working your way through college or grad school or something, it might seem like a half-decent job opportunity. But in such a case, you could make equally decent money as a nanny helping far less children at once, and you can study while the baby is asleep.  

The pay early childhood educators get versus what their educator counterparts earn teaching elementary school and above is basically inhumane by comparison.  

Riddle me this: why is there no such thing as a preschool teacher’s union?  Why do preschool teachers get left out  of the tax write offs for classroom supplies even though we buy things for our classrooms with our incomes, too?  Why don’t preschool teachers fall under the umbrella for public service loan forgiveness?  Literally no one would be able to go to work if we weren’t watching all of their children.

It’s like preschool teachers are the ghosts of the education world. The illegal aliens. Except we don’t make as much money as actual illegal immigrants working under the table may very well be making.  

Want to hear something nuts?

My dear friend who isn’t even a US citizen is getting a full-ride scholarship to become a US-certified teacher.  That’s how fucked up it is to be a preschool teacher in the USA.  Those of us who are from here, born and raised, don’t even get full-ride scholarships to actually get certified to be a teacher here.  

Here’s another absurd and very true irony of being a preschool teacher at a lot of preschools.  If you are literally THE program, because you’re the lead teacher and without you, none of it would be legally possible, your own child can’t even attend the preschool for free.  What in the actual fuck is that bullshit?  

At that point, you have no business working for anyone else because you could start your own preschool out of a house where you are still offering that exact same program, and your kid could absolutely attend school with you for free.  That or you could be earning all the tuition yourself, and then send your own kid to another preschool  with all the income you’re now earning. 

This is how poorly preschool teachers are treated. 

More real life, bona fide examples... 

When I started working in early childhood education, I got paid $10 an hour.  This was in the 2010s.  

I know fully-qualified lead preschool teachers right now in 2022 who are still only earning $15 an hour.  And this $15 an hour is supposed to support not only their own cost of living as an adult, but also their children.  

What’s even more sad is how little the assistant teachers typically get paid.  They are usually hourly employees earning minimum wage or not too far above it.  

I know of a lead teacher who only made $500 more per month than they did as a TA, when the load of work on the lead teachers was absolutely insane.  

To put this into perspective, the starting wage at Whole Foods in America is $17.70 an hour.  A garbage man in the USA  can earn $52K a year out the gate, and over six figures after a while on the unionized job.  A nanny can earn $24/ hour.  An elementary school teacher gets paid $60-65K on average in the USA.  A server in a restaurant in the USA makes between $30-60 an hour. Meanwhile, a preschool teacher makes $11-21 an hour.

And when you factor in all the work we have to do, real talk, why would anyone say yes to that shit long-term?  

Why would you say yes to being in a work environment that basically feels more overstimulating than an actual circus, AND to being professionally scrutinized AND dealing with nightmare parents, AND nightmare colleagues, AND sometimes a nightmare boss, AND being surrounded by germs all the time AND doing things like scrubbing toilets AND changing diapers (depending on the age of your class), AND sanitizing a room full of toys AND constantly working outside of work hours AND lesson planning AND the onslaught of emails AND the never-ending administrative to-do list, AND being a photographer AND being an event planner AND being a graphic designer and digital content creator AND being held liable for a room full of children and their wellbeing...

... when you could choose a totally different more relaxing job where you only have to deal with ONE core responsibility? Like only bringing food out to tables? Or only ringing up customers at the cash register? Or only restocking grocery store shelves? or only emptying trash cans?  

Fuck, I mean as a preschool teacher I’ve had to empty trashcans, and a bunch of other shit, on top of keeping a room full of children alive.  I could have gotten paid a whole hell of  a lot more to *just* empty trash cans for a living, ya feel me?

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #182

Today marks the end of the Dead Heat Summer Race builds as we finish up with today’s sponsor, Ishtar (Rider)! “Ishtar is best girl, and you should give all your grails and QP to her!” Now that the ad copy’s out of the way, let’s get to her build. For this build we’re re-flavoring an old UA to create the Traveler Sorcerer (original names for everything can be found in the character sheet.) We also dip into Monk for a level because the 20th level of sorcerer is bad.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: BB 2: Electric Boogaloo

Race and Background

Ishtar’s still a Protector Aasimar and she’s also still a Goddess Alliance Anarch, which means she starts out with +1 Wisdom and +2 Charisma, Darkvision, Celestial Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, Healing Hands to slap healing into people as an action, and the Light cantrip to help out racers with dumb human eyes.

She also gets Animal Handling and Religion proficiency from her background, as well as extra spells. We’ll get into detail about that last bit as it comes up though.

Ability Scores

Not a whole lot has changed since last time; make sure your Charisma is as high as possible for good spells and good Tricking People into a Race, then make Dexterity number two to stay on your scooter as you warp between continents. Your Wisdom should also be pretty good if you want to keep an eye on anyone trying to cheat by entering a rocket into a- hold on a second.

Where were we? Oh right, after that is Constitution. Gods don’t die. Your Strength is a bit low, but we’ll make up for that with technique and speed, so dump Intelligence. Once a Useless Goddess, always a Useless Goddess.

Class Levels

Sorcerer 1: First level sorcerers get proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saving throws, as well as two sorcerer skills. Grab Deception and Persuasion so we can get this show on the road. As a sorcerer, your Spells (which you can cast using your charisma) come from a special source, which in your case is the magic of Travel. You picked a pretty bad time for it, but I’m pretty sure gods can’t get sick? Humans can though. Stay home if you’re a human. At first level, you have a Soul of the Race, giving you a swim speed equal to your walking speed, and you can breathe underwater. DHSR is probably the least water-based summer event so far, but you get a bonus in all the other ones too, so it’ll pay off if you’re patient. You can also invoke the Curse of the Race after hitting a creature with a cantrip, lasting until the end of your next turn or until you curse another creature. Once per turn, you can trigger the curse by hitting the creature with a spell that has one of three requirements. If it deals cold damage, their speed is reduced by 15′ for a turn, or by the amount the spell already slows them by, whichever is greater. (You say you don’t play favorites, but that’s a lie.) If it deals lightning damage, it deals extra damage equal to your charisma modifier. If it forces movement, add 15 feet to the distance moved. Perfect for when you have to ground a rocket. You get a lot of spells this level, like Sword Burst for a good melee option while we wait to multiclass, True Strike so your punches can be slightly less bad, Friends to help coerce people into the race, and Prestidigitation to make yourself some free gems. For leveled spells, grab Chaos Bolt and Chromatic Orb for ways to trigger your curse with plausable deniability. Chromatic Orb even uses a diamond to cast, flavor win! You also get plenty of spells from your background for some more... “explosive” results. You get the cantrips Fire Bolt and Produce Flame, and the spells Compelled Duel, Speak with Animals, and Thunderwave.

Sorcerer 2: Compared to level 1, this level’s got a lot less going on. You become a Font of Magic to get your sorcerer level in sorcery points each long rest, which are mostly going to be useful at third level, and you can cast Distort Value to make your gems even more beautiful just by being around you.

Monk 1: Yeah, let’s just slide this in right now, why not? First level monks get Unarmored Defense to make your AC 10 + your dexterity modifier + your wisdom modifier. It’s not quite as good as mage armor, but it’s free. You also get Martial Arts, meaning your unarmed attacks use dexterity instead of strength, deal 1d4 damage, and you can attack as a bonus action if you attack as an action. Honestly you could’ve just used a knife before, but this is more flavorful. You also get to unleash your Radiant Soul as an action. You transform into a fancy shiny version, granting you flight and extra radiant damage once per turn.

Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers can spend their sorcery points on Metamagic to mix up your magic in a meta way. Extended Spell doubles the length of a spell’s duration, (very useful later) and Twinned Spell lets you take any spell that hits one target and make it hit two instead. You’re going to make a scooter fly eventually, it might be worth it to make sure you fly too. Fewer broken bones that way. For your first second level spell, grab Alter Self as one last preparation to trick people into racing by transforming into those close to them. You can’t change your general body type though, so you can’t turn into Charon to get Achilles to help out. Alternatively, you can use this to make natural weapons that deal 1d6 magical damage, and get a +1 bonus to your attacks and damage. Even sorcerers can do monk stuff faster than monks. You also get more background spells, like Beast Sense and Shatter. If you need to knock a rocket back to earth in the first place, it deserves to get wrecked.

Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma for stronger spells. You also learn Dancing Lights to put on a show at the opening ceremonies, and you can cast Find Vehicle from the Modern Magic UA to summon your scooter. Technically it can be any nonmilitary land vehicle, but no matter what it is it comes with some perks. You’re automatically proficient with its handling, and double your proficiency when making ability checks about driving it. Also, spells you cast on yourself can also effect the vehicle, so I guess that twinned spell doesn’t help here. At least it gives you more damage.

Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers have Magical Guidance, making them just a bit better at everything than normal people. By spending sorcery points, you can re-roll a failed skill check, hopefully doing better. You also learn how to cast Haste to speed up your scooter to the maximum. You also learn Conjure Animals and Conjure Barrage from your background. The latter doesn’t really see play, but the former will make it a lot easier to recreate your final ascension art.

Sorcerer 6: A sixth level Traveler can use their Accel Turn to avoid damage as a reaction. When you get hit by anything dealing bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, you can reduce it by your sorcerer level plus your charisma score (not your modifier, your entire score) and move 30′ away without provoking attacks. You can use this once per short rest. You can also cast Fly now. I don’t think you ever actually touch the ground, do you? (You get resistance to fire damage too. Suck it, Icarus!)

Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, like Dimension Door. It’s not a fantastical trip through the world’s greatest capitals, but all teleportation has to start somewhere. And for you, that somewhere is 500′ away.

Sorcerer 8: Use your next ASI to become a Magic Initiate to steal a couple spells from the Wizard spell list. Grab the cantrips Gust and Minor Illusion for an easy way to trigger your curse and so you can make cool holograms to go with your communications (coming later). You can also cast Find Familiar once per long rest to make a little doll you that can help out the racers. You can also cast Charm Monster now. It won’t be enough to convince Lobo to change sides, but it’ll make it much easier to find judges for the other legs of the race.

Sorcerer 9: If your DM’s a stickler against UA, you can use your fifth level spell slots to cast Animate Objects instead to bring a chair to life or something. You also learn Destructive Wave. Probably shouldn’t use that one while riding.

Sorcerer 10: Grab the new Metamagic option Seeking Spell for more accurate spells, re-rolling a failed spell attack. Your curse is based entirely on being able to hit people with your spells, so it’d be nice if you could do that. You also learn how to use Message to keep up communications with the racers even if they’re, say, stuck in prison somewhere, and you can use Far Step to teleport you and your scooter around in short bursts, using your bonus action each turn.

Sorcerer 11: Use your fancy new sixth level spell slots to create an Arcane Gate, creating portals between a point within 10′ of you and a point within 500′ of you. You can also spin them around as a bonus action, so feel free to get Looney Tunes with it.

Sorcerer 12: Use this ASI to max out your Charisma for stronger spells, then use that last remaining point to bump up your Dexterity. That doesn’t really help yet, but trust me on this one.

Sorcerer 13: Good news; you can finally Teleport now. The bad news is it’s a seventh level spell. Also, it has a slight chance to mess up, and if you’re traveling across the globe “messing up” by even one percent means you’re several hundred miles off course.

Sorcerer 14: At fourteenth level you finally get another Travel Souvenir, the ability to open a Maana Gate without using spells, making it easier to move around a battle field. When you move on your turn, you take half damage from opportunity attacks, and can move through enemy spaces (as long as you don’t end your turn there.) You can also pass through solid objects, as long as there’s at least a 3 inch diameter space to move through. (again, you can’t end your turn there.)

Sorcerer 15: Fifteenth level sorcerers get eighth level spells, and I highly suggest you go with Sunburst. Being able to teleport all over the place is fun, but if you’re trying to replicate Ishtar’s NP you actually need a payoff at the end, and that’s this spell. Deal tons of radiant damage with all those shiny stars, and blind creatures that fail their constitution save.

Sorcerer 16: Use this ASI to become more Resilient when it comes to dexterity saves. You gain proficiency in them, and you also get +1 dexterity for your troubles. That bumps you up to an even number again, so your AC improves, as do your unarmed strikes.

Sorcerer 17: Seventeenth level sorcerers get their final level 9 spell, and yours is Gate. This lets you create a portal to a precise location for up to a minute, with no chance of mucking up unless a nearby deity isn’t a fan. The downside is this specifically only works on extraplanar trips, but I’m sure you can find enough sightseeing locations to make that work. To make travel even faster, you get your final Metamagic option, Quickened Spell. Cast action spells as a bonus action now, yay.

Sorcerer 18: At eighteenth level you receive your final souvenir, a Traveler’s Soul. Now you don’t need to eat, drink, or sleep, you can ignore critical hits against you, as they only count as normal hits, and you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. People seem to focus on the “useless” part of your title way more than the “goddess” part. Show them why they shouldn’t do that.

Sorcerer 19: Use your last ASI for the Tough feat to grab 40 more HP. Goddess or not, nobody wants to get Power Word Killed.

Pros:

Your various defensive features make you surprisingly tanky for a spellcaster, with plenty of ways to negate common damage types and stay out of trouble.

Speaking of, thanks to your flying moped and teleporting you can be extremely mobile when you want to be, making it a real pain to keep you pinned down long enough to fight you.

You come packed with plenty of social spells giving you plenty of options to get away with stuff you shouldn’t. Break into secure areas, impersonate people, and charm foes.

Cons:

Your subclass’ features mostly focus on lightning and cold damage. Your damage dealing spells mostly come from your background, which focuses on fire and thunder. This means you can’t use your early subclass features to their fullest potential, which can make early fights difficult if you’re playing to character. That’s why I recommend you start off with Chaos Bolt and Chromatic Orb- they can be used practically at the start, then Ishtar-ly later on.

The curse of the sea is finicky, and it’s the only offensively minded feature you really get. It restricts your damage types, and it comes into play only every third turn unless you’re using nothing but cantrips. You can definitely feel this is a UA class.

You only have about 140 HP, and very little way to deal with magic damage. All of your defenses only worry about damage types associated with physical attacks, so most spells can still chew through you if you’re not careful.

[faulty-writes]

I'd like to request a follow up to that scenario with the intern of Nighteye that causes a stir between his two boys. One where Mirio gets his turn to shine with y/n by taking yn on a, in his words, "romantic date!" to the aquarium after overhearing yn offhandedly telling Nighteye how she'd love to go sometime during a day off. They pet some penguins and Mirio learns A LOT about fish from the reader that day - being a marine biologist was the backup plan in case being a hero just didn't pan out.

[ So I know this is a request but it just so happens for my hero bingo event that one of the square’s is "Aquarium Date” so I’m taking this and running with it. Even if it’s past the event deadline. So @bnhabookclub this is my piece for the Hero Bingo Camp Event. Theme: Aquarium Date. Now that I said that, I hope you enjoy! ] 

[ Part 1/Previous One Shot located here. ]

Mirio was completely smitten with you, despite the small rivalry between Izuku and himself. He wanted to be the one to capture your heart and even though Izuku was a good friend of his. All was fair in love and war, right? Given, he knew he had to be careful when he asked you out. Both because of Izuku and Sir Nighteye, who didn’t seem so tolerant of his work-study students chasing after his intern. Despite the previous bet, he had made with All Might, which still made Mirio a little angry.

But, overall it seemed Sir Nighteye had lost interest in seeing who would eventually capture your heart and made it a point to speak to Izuku and Mirio about it. He claimed he would not allow any romantic interactions or relationships to take place in his agency, something Mirio was a little indifferent about. Truthfully, he didn’t know what Sir Nighteye even thought of romance. He wondered if anyone in the past had captured the interest of his teacher, but considering the fact, the man was married to his work. It was highly unlikely, Mirio, on the other hand, wanted someone in his life.

That someone was you, of course, he had thought of countless date scenarios. But, none of them seemed as though they would impress you. He had tried to think of places you might like, but he was worried that you’d get bored. Especially if you had been there before. In short, he was stuck. He continued to rattle his brain, what would be a good date? He thought he’d never get the answer and he knew he’d have to hurry before Izuku decided to make a move and snatch you away.

“Maybe I should just take them somewhere I like, after all, as long as I can make my sunshine smile. Well, that’s all I could ever want,” he muttered to himself as he walked down the hall that led to Sir Nighteye’s office. He stopped a few feet from the door when he noticed it was slightly ajar, something that Sir Nighteye didn’t approve of. He knew the man liked his privacy and was very strict when it came to the privacy of others as well, everything and anything that was said in his office stayed there. He was about to turn and leave when the sound of your voice caught his attention.

“Uh…” he latched onto his bottom lip, he knew better than to eavesdrop. But, he thought there was a chance he’d overhear something that might be the solution to his current problem. So, with that in mind. He tip-toed toward the open door and prayed he wouldn’t get caught. At first, he was confused as to what you were talking about, but it began to make sense when you mentioned the aquarium. He couldn’t help but smile when you claimed you’d love to go one day and he knew he’d make it happen.

That was the perfect date idea! Of course, he may have been a little too excited when he asked you. “Hey Y/n!” he called, waving his arm like mad. “Hm?” you turned, your hand still resting on the handle of the double doors that led outside. Your day had just ended, you knew Sir Nighteye often stayed past hours to complete the paperwork for the day. Despite your offering to help him, it seemed as though he’d prefer to handle it himself. “I was hoping I’d catch you!” Mirio said in his normal cheery voice, something that made you smile.

“Oh? Is something wrong?” you questioned as you dropped your hand and turned to face Mirio, it was a little amusing how he towered over you. But, it helped his overall image as a hero. He shook his head before flashing his signature grin at you. “Nope! I was just wondering…” he paused and glanced to the side, something you found unusual considering Mirio tended to be upfront and honest. Especially when it came to his feelings, but you already knew he had somewhat of a fancy toward you. “Are you okay?” he turned his attention back to you and nodded.

“Yeah heh, sorry,” he said before clearing his throat. “Um, so I was wondering...would you maybe like to go out with me? I was thinking we could go to the aquarium!” your eyes lit up, how did he know you wanted to go there? “Sure, I’d love to!” Mirio felt his heart accelerate, “O-Oh! I...t-that’s great! I can’t wait, sunshine! You have off tomorrow, right?” you couldn’t help but smile, “Mmhm,” you replied with a slight head nod. “Great! I’ll see you then!” Mirio happily exclaimed before pulling you into a hug, you cried out at the unexpected action. But you couldn’t deny the fact that it felt nice.

The next day, you found yourself feeling a little nervous as you stood next to Mirio in line. He had insisted on buying the tickets, even though you told him you wanted to pay for your half. But, Mirio said it wouldn’t be a proper date unless he spoiled you which made you blush furiously. Though you still felt some guilt knowing that you were on a date with Mirio and Izuku was busy at Sir Nighteye’s agency. You hoped the feeling would go away, but Mirio seemed to notice your expression. He wrapped an arm around you, “Hm?” you looked at him, noticing the way he smiled.

“Something wrong, sunshine?” you glanced to the side and shrugged. “I’m just thinking, that’s all. I hope Izuku is alright, does he know you asked me out?” given it wasn’t as though you belonged to either male, but you didn’t want to cause a fight or get in the way of their friendship. Still, Mirio seemed a little jealous that you even mentioned Izuku. You didn’t miss the way his nose flared up and his eyebrows lowered. He removed his arm from around you and stepped up to the booth where he finally purchased the tickets.

He held them between his index finger and thumb and proceeded to wave them in front of you. “Why don’t we worry less about work and the outside world. I want this date to be special, so…” he extended his free hand to you. “Let’s go inside,” he insisted and you looked at his hand before shifting your gaze to his face which still held a kind smile. “Mm,” you hesitantly reached out and took his hand, he seemed satisfied and turned to walk into the entrance of the aquarium. Immediately your eyes were drawn to the round glass walls and ceiling which cast a dark blue shadow over you.

Mirio seemed equally as stunned as the two of you stood together, watching the various colorful fish swim freely behind the glass. It made you smile and you pointed toward the ceiling, “You know, fish have been on the earth for more than 500 million years. Can you imagine being that old?” Mirio turned to you and you took note of his wide-eyed expression. “That’s...amazing, I didn’t know you knew about fish,” he replied and you shrugged, “Yeah well, I studied to become a marine biologist. Just in case, I mean you never know when your current career will end,” you felt Mirio squeeze your hand.

“W-What do you mean, sunshine...I thought you wanted to be a Pro Hero?” he tilted his head, was he wrong? You lowered your hand and shrugged, “I do, I guess. It’s a little discouraging considering I’m only an intern. It’s always been my dream to become a Pro Hero and have people look up to me but, I’ve also always had a love for marine biology. The ocean life and all that. So, I thought maybe I could do both,” you explained, it wasn’t something you normally shared. But, you trusted Mirio and knew he wouldn’t go telling anyone behind your back.

“Let’s see what exhibits they have, I heard you can pet the penguins and spend time with injured seals!” you were a little excited and it certainly showed as you pulled Mirio forward. “Whoa!” he stumbled before attempting to keep up with you, a soft chuckle escaped him as you ventured down the vastly open and dimly lit hallway. You glanced back and forth, enjoying the sight of the fishes that continued to swim around. You came to a gentle stop when you spotted a directory, “Let’s see…” you muttered as you looked over the map.

“We’re here right now...maybe we could go visit the sea turtles,” you suggested as Mirio released your hand and reached to grab a pamphlet. “Hm,” he tilted his head as he opened it to reveal a map of the aquarium. You turned to look at him, waiting for a response. “Whatever you want to do, sunshine. I got a map, so we won’t get lost. Heh, that is...unless you want to,” he said with a playful wink which caused you to flush. “Heh, um,” you glanced down, nervously rubbing the back of your neck as you willed your cheeks to cool.

“We’ll see...I...I mean, uh, let’s just go see the turtles,” you muttered, the hand that was on the back of your neck came to clasp your forehead. Did you just make a fool out of yourself? You didn’t particularly like finding yourself at a loss for words, but somehow Mirio was making you nervous. You knew he didn’t mean to, it was just his playful personality. You took a deep breath before you began walking, according to the directory the turtle exhibit was at the end of the current hall you were in. You turned your head, once more watching the fish swim by before you were pulled back.

“Hm?” you paused and turned to look at Mirio who had reached out for your hand, a bright smile on his face. “Gotta make sure I don’t lose you,” he teased once more, “O-Oh, uh...yeah,” you replied, mentally telling yourself to stop blushing. The looks you got from people as you walked to the turtle exhibit didn’t exactly reassure you, but you partly wondered if it was because of the fact you were with Mirio. He was pretty recognizable outside of his Lemillion costume, you hoped there weren't any reporters around.

The media would do anything for a juicy story or rumor surrounding a Pro Hero. You tried to push such thoughts to the back of your head, you were unaware that you were holding your breath until you approached the turtle exhibit. Which consisted of a large pool, the water was clear blue and sure enough, a few turtles were swimming without care. “You okay, sunshine?” Mirio asked, clearly concerned as to why you took a sharp breath. “Hm?” you nodded, “Oh yeah, just nervous. Don’t worry,” you replied as you looked at the turtles.

“Do you think we can get one to swim over to us?” a smile was on your face as you walked over and wrapped your fingers around the small railing that ran around the length of the pool. Mirio quickly followed behind you, “We can try!” he said as he leaned over and dipped his hand into the water, splashing it a bit. “Hey!” you cried out and grabbed his arm. “Don’t do that, it might startle the poor things!” you exclaimed and Mirio frowned, “Oh! Sorry!” he said as he pulled his arm back, though your hand still kept a firm grip on him.

“It’s fine,” you replied with a smile, “Just wait until one comes over to you,” Mirio nodded and focused his attention on the water. Watching a few turtles bob their heads along the surface and others dive into the water to snack on some of the greenery. You continued to watch, smiling as one turtle turned to look at you and part of you wished to know what stories those dark orbs could tell. Either way, you held your breath once more as the turtle began to swim toward you. Mirio leaned over and let his head rest on top of your shoulder.

You shivered at the added weight but found it pleasant nonetheless. You smiled and reached out when the turtle brushed against the wall of the pool. A bright smile came to your face as your fingers skimmed over the top of the turtle’s head. Feeling the smooth and moist texture of it, you turned to Mirio. You exchanged a friendly look before Mirio reached over, deciding to pet the turtle’s shell. “Wow, feels kind of slimy,” he said as he pulled his hand away. “Mmhm, that’s normal,” you replied as the turtle ducked its head underwater and swam away.

“Where do you want to go now?” you weren’t sure if you could make time to visit all the exhibits, but you still wanted to visit as many as you possibly could. “Let’s see,” he reached back to pull the pamphlet out of his pocket. You watched as he unfolded it, “Well, we could visit the coral reef exhibit. Unless you want to visit those injured seals or the penguins!” your eyes lit up, “The penguins! I’m not sure about the coral reef. But, I’d love to pet the seals too. We could visit the octopus exhibit on the way there,” you rushed past Mirio who looked confused before quickly following after you.

“Did you know octopuses have three hearts and blue blood? They’re intelligent too!” you said with a big smile, “Three hearts? Well, I guess that means they have a spare to give to their octopus soulmate!” you couldn’t help but snicker at Mirio’s words, “I’m not sure if that’s how it works. When octopuses mate, that's usually the end of their life cycle,” Mirio’s face twisted with an emotion that could only be described as somewhere between disgusted and sad. “They die?” you almost expected his bottom lip to start quivering.

Still, you shrugged. “I guess it depends on the species, but I’m pretty sure. I read it in a book once,” you replied as you continued to walk, “So you like books about sea animals?” Mirio questioned, leaning down with a knowing smirk on his face. “I like to read about ocean life, yes. I must own a thousand books,” you chuckled, feeling a tad embarrassed. “That probably sounds silly, huh?” Mirio shook his head like an overactive puppy. “No! I mean, if it’s something you like and makes you happy. Why would it be silly?” he questioned and you pressed your lips together, unsure of what type of answer to give him.

You tilted your head, “I guess I don’t know,” you muttered before Mirio grabbed your arm, you squeaked as you stumbled back. “Ah, what?” Mirio pointed his finger to the side, “Huh?” you blinked and followed that finger, you had nearly walked past the octopus exhibit. Though the entrance to it had an oval-shaped door and the lighting inside was tinted purple, was that normal? “Too busy thinking, sunshine? Sorry, but I couldn’t just let you walk past the exhibit,” he said as he released your arm, “Uh, right…” you said as your cheeks flushed once again.

Were you really getting that distracted? Mirio just smiled, he noticed the way you were blushing but decided not to say anything. Though he thought seeing you act so shy was adorable. He stepped closer and wrapped his arm around you, pulling you close. “Don’t get too shy on me now, I mean I don’t mind if you are, but you really don’t have to be nervous around me,” he said and you turned to look at him. Mirio had such a warmth about him and those eyes that glanced down at you held such kindness.

You looked away, “Sorry, I love this date. Really, thank you for bringing me here,” you said as you turned to look at the octopus exhibit once more. You missed the surprised expression Mirio gave, but it soon melted into another smile. “You’re welcome, I knew you liked the aquarium and it’s nice to see you so happy,” he replied before guiding you into the purple lit room. It was rather small and two large tanks were built into each wall. But, you tilted your head. “Where’s the octopus?” you questioned, your eyes scanning the seemingly empty tank.

“Maybe it's sleeping?” Mirio suggested as he approached the tank and laid his hands on the cool smooth surface. He then leaned forward and pressed his cheek against the glass, you couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene. It was kind of adorable, but you walked to the second tank and much like Mirio, placed your hands on it. “Do you see anything?” you questioned as your eyes continued to search for any sign of an octopus. Mirio frowned and leaned back, “Nothing so far, hm,” his eyes scanned the tank once more.

“Strange, well that’s okay. Maybe we can come back later,” you suggested as you turned away from the tank and offered your hand to Mirio. “Are you sure?” he didn’t want you to miss out on anything, but maybe the octopuses would be more active later in the day. You nodded, “Yeah, you want to go see the injured seals? I want to pet them if I can,” you replied, your heart always ached for injured animals. It was sad, but as long as they knew not all humans were bad. Mirio’s smile widened and he finally took your hand, squeezing it gently.

“You can pet them all you want, uh wait…” he once more reached for his pocket and pulled out the map. “Looks like kind of a long walk, but it’s near the cafe. We can have lunch there if you want,” the thought of food made your stomach growl which caused Mirio to chuckle. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, “Hey...it’s not my fault you mentioned food!” you barked, but it only seemed to entertain Mirio all the more. “I’ll buy lunch,” he insisted before guiding you out of the room and down the hallway. You passed by several exhibits, though you noticed some were exclusively for children.

Given that didn’t stop Mirio from looking at them with interest, you kind of hoped he wouldn’t try to drag you into one of the children’s activities. You also noticed there was a tour guide explaining the various exhibits to a group of people, you enjoyed the thought of a tour guide. But found it more exciting if you ventured around the aquarium yourself or rather, with Mirio. Your feet were aching by the time you reached the seal exhibit. “Hm, seal and sea lions?” you questioned as you read the banner that was plastered above the entranceway.

“Well, maybe they didn’t want them to be separated,” Mirio suggested, which had you turning your head to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “What?” he questioned and you shook your head, “Nothing,” you replied before walking through the door. You paused shortly after when you noticed the small hallway turned into three separate entrance ways. “What the…” you then noticed there was what looked to be a street sign cemented into the middle of the floor.

“This is a strange way to give directions, wouldn’t it be more fun if you had the element of surprise? You could choose which room you went into and find out what’s on the other side yourself!” Mirio exclaimed and he sounded a little more excited than he should. “I mean...it’s also good to have direction,” you muttered as you leaned forward and carefully read each sign plate. “This says the injured seal exhibit is through this door,” you said, pointing to the closest one to the left.

“Great, let’s go,” Mirio said, taking the lead. You were surprised how narrow some of the hallways were and part of you felt annoyed by how little lighting they had. About two minutes passed before you finally reached the end. You were greeted by a rather impressive setup. The injured seal exhibit had an employee stationed at every corner, more than likely to prevent the seals from getting injured further.

There was a small road of concrete stretching through the exhibit and what looked to be a mountain of rocks. You took note of the flat rock surfaces as well and the impressive amount of water for the seals to freely swim in. A few others were in the exhibit as well and you smiled as you watched a young girl interact with one of the seals. You felt bad seeing the scars that littered the sea creature’s body, but the freshest one seemed to be around their neck.

“Some seals get captured in fishing lines because they’re searching for food, they escape and the fishing line gets embedded into their skin. It’s kind of sad how much litter, nets, and such people leave in the ocean,” you commented as you crossed your arms, a pout on your lips. Mirio frowned, he didn’t want you to be upset. “Hm,” he tapped his chin a few times, “I got it!” he said and without warning, scooped you into his arms.

You cried out, getting the attention of everyone in the exhibit. “W-What are you doing?!” you exclaimed, your heart was pounding in your chest which only matched your dark red cheeks. Mirio could be too much sometimes and the way he turned to look at you with that confused expression only seemed to make things worse as if he didn’t register how his actions affected you.

“Sorry, sunshine. But, these rocks look kind of slippery and I’d hate to see you get hurt. Plus, I can carry you to the water. I think a few seals are taking a swim, maybe we can get their attention?” he suggested with a big goofy smile, however, you returned it with a blank stare. “Heh,” he didn’t seem to mind the fact you said nothing in response and you securely wrapped your arms around his neck. You noticed he took slow and careful steps, more than likely because he didn’t want himself getting hurt either.

That would be a lousy way to end a date. You could hear the sound of the seals calling to one another as you neared the water and Mirio carefully lowered you to the ground. “Uh thanks,” you replied as you stared at the water, a smile coming to your face as you watched the seals splash and play with one another. “They’re so cute,” you commented and Mirio smirked, “I think I know something cuter,” you struggled to keep a smile from coming to your face as you looked at him. “Please don’t say it’s me,” you replied in a dull tone and Mirio frowned, “Fine, I won’t say it. But, that doesn’t make it any less true,” he said and you playfully rolled your eyes.

“I’m sure,” you replied before your attention drew back to the seals. One of them had climbed onto the smooth warm surface you stood on, like the other seals. This one seemed to have a few nasty scars but appeared to be a curious little fella. You watched as it sniffed the air and tilted its head when it caught sight of you. Carefully, you crouched and held your hand out, “Come here, it’s alright,” you assured and held your breath as you watched it inch closer to you. Using those oversized flippers to pull itself along.

“That’s right, come here. I won’t hurt you,” Mirio crouched down beside you, laying his hand on your shoulder as the seal closed the distance. “Aw,” you smiled as you ran your hand over its slick wet head which it seemed to enjoy. “They are pretty cute up close,” Mirio said as he reached over and proceeded to pet the seal as well. You liked to think all animals enjoyed receiving attention, the seal seemed over the moon to have two people petting it. But, then it let out a noise that startled you and caused you to press yourself against Mirio.

“Huh, wasn’t expecting that,” he said as the seal made the noise again, you turned your head as you watched another seal come up from the water and begin to walk over to you. “I think it’s calling for friends,” you replied as a third seal climbed onto land. You turned to Mirio with a concerned expression. “I think we might have given them too much attention,” you said, did all these seals want pets? You weren’t sure, but it certainly seemed that way. Mirio raised both his hands and gave a determined smile. “I’m ready! It’s the least we can do to help these poor guys!” he said and you couldn’t help but smile.

Tamaki always claimed Mirio shined like the sun and you were beginning to see how. Nodding, you turned back to the three seals. “Okay, let’s see how many we can pet, just be careful of their fresh injuries. We don’t want to aggravate them,” you said before Mirio and yourself got to work. Petting an animal was supposed to be a joyous activity, but you almost regretted letting Mirio’s determination drive you. Considering your wrists and hands were aching by the time you walked out of the exhibit.

“Mm...maybe that was a bad idea,” you whined as Mirio cracked his knuckles, “I gotta admit, those seals really wanted attention! But, we did a good deed and maybe they’ll remember us for it,” you shrugged, “Maybe,” lowering your hands, you paused and looked at Mirio. “So, are we going to get some lunch now?” Mirio nodded, “Sure! I’m pretty hungry, I hope they have something good,” the cafe itself was rather cute, it had several tables and benches one could sit on. The counter was colored blue like the ocean and the menu was in the shape of a whale.

You ordered a hot beverage and a sandwich, Mirio ordered large fries to share and a burger with an oversized soda. “How do you stay fit if you eat like that?” you questioned as you took a bite of your sandwich, Mirio shrugged. “I’m always working out my body, a hero has to keep their strength up,” he replied before taking a massive bite of his burger. “Right…” you replied before getting up to retrieve more napkins, with the way Mirio ate. You’d need them.

“Ah! That was good,” Mirio said, seemingly satisfied with the lunch he had. You nodded, “Yeah, it was pretty decent for a cafe,” you said as you two entered the hallway. “Wanna go pet those penguins now?” you asked with a smile, “Yeah!” Mirio declared as he threw his fists into the air. “I can’t wait, I know it’ll be cold. But, petting those little guys will be worth it!” you chuckled, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, maybe we’ll see them huddle together. Huddling helps them stay warm, you know?” given most animals huddled for warmth, it was especially adorable when penguins did. “Oh,” Mirio quickly ran behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Ah, hey!” you could feel yourself being pressed against his chest and looked at him with some confusion. “Like this?” he asked, making it a point to bury his nose into the crook of your neck. “U-Uh…” a shiver ran down your spine and yet again you felt your cheeks grow hot. Mirio’s soft hair brushed against your skin and his hot breath caused goosebumps to rise when he spoke. “I love hugging you, sunshine. I kind of never want to let go, I know that’s kind of silly and all. But, isn’t part of a date being nice and close?” his words were spoken with a purr and he tightened his arms around you.

“U-Uh, I g-guess!” you replied, almost choking on your words. You swallowed back any extra saliva lingering in your mouth and grabbed hold of his arms. Trying to ignore your rapid heartbeat. “C-Can you let go now? We’ll never get to pet penguins like this,” you noted and Mirio tilted his head, almost looking confused about your request. He pouted and dropped his arms soon after, “Fine, I guess that’s true. Heh, maybe we could...huddle together later?” he questioned, reaching up to rub the back of his head.

You saw a faint blush appear across his face, it almost looked adorable. But, you supposed it matched your surprised expression. “You...y-you want to cuddle later?” you questioned, reaching up to brush a piece of your hair behind your ear. “Heh, if that’s okay! I totally understand if it’s crossing boundaries just…” he glanced down and his hand nervously tugged on the collar of his shirt. “Uh…” honestly you weren’t expecting this, but what harm could it do? This was a date. “I mean...if you want, I’d love that. We’ll...see how the day pans out,” you replied, “Let me see that map,” it was amazing how much walking you had done today.

When Mirio handed you the map. You quickly realized the penguin exhibit was on the other side of the aquarium, you felt like groaning. You lowered the map and looked at Mirio, placing your hand on your hip. “Get ready to walk,” you said with a perky smile, the only benefit of walking so far was that it gave time for the food in your stomach to settle. When you finally neared the penguin exhibit, you smiled at the fake snow decorations that surrounded it. You also took note of the temperature change which caused you to shiver. 

“I wish I brought a coat,” you said, or at least a sweater. “Me too,” Mirio said as he rubbed his arms, goosebumps were rising across his skin but he paid no mind as he turned to you. “I bet if we hug the penguins, we’ll stay warm,” he said with a smile and you shrugged, “Maybe, heh. Let’s go,” you urged, trying to will yourself to stop shivering. You reminded yourself a little cold was worth it if it meant you could pet penguins. You walked through the door, down another small hallway before you walked into the penguin exhibit. You took note of the sign that cautioned you to watch your step.

The habitat itself was covered in a thin amount of snow and was constructed of both icy and rocky surfaces. Much like the seal exhibit, there was a fair amount of water for the penguins to swim in and you could make out a few floating ice glaciers that were preoccupied with a few penguins. You smiled, your breath evaporating into the air. Looking around, you took note of the other aquarium goers. Some of them were children and they seemed to take joy in wrapping their arms around the penguins and hugging them for dear life.

The sight made you chuckle, “Isn’t that cute?” you questioned as you pointed to the scene, “Hm?” Mirio followed your finger and smiled, “Yeah, I almost wish I could have brought Eri. She’d love this, but then again. I think I’d get a little jealous I wasn’t getting all of your attention,” he said with another playful wink, you partly wondered if that was his way of flirting. It was somewhat humorous and you chuckled, “I think you get enough attention as is,” you replied before turning to the penguins. Watching a few of them waddle around, “Let’s go see if we can get one’s attention,” you said before reaching over to grab Mirio’s hand.

You carefully walked down the snowy path before stepping over the edge to get onto the second level near the body of water where a few penguins were just returning from their swim. You smiled as you watched the droplets of water fall from their slick feathers and bent your knees. “Come here,” you urged, watching one of them shake off the extra water and flap its wings. You looked at Mirio before creeping forward, the penguin in question turned to look at you. Those dark eyes studied you a moment before it began to waddle away.

“Ah, hey, no!” you cried out, slapping your thighs. “Maybe another one will be more friendly,” Mirio suggested and took the lead this time. He was tempted to use his quirk, but he decided against it. Knowing it could cause the penguins to become panicked. Regardless, most of the penguins waddled away and made a path as you two tried to get one of them to come over to you. “Maybe if we sit down they’d come?” Mirio suggested and without warning, plopped himself onto the ground. You stumbled a little, your body slightly bent as Mirio still had hold of your hand.

“A little warning next time?” you said, “Oh right, sorry,” he adjusted his position so he was sitting cross-legged and tugged on your hand. “Hm?” you tilted your head, “Sit down with me or you could sit in my lap so you don’t get any snow on your pants,” you jumped in surprise, “Your...lap?” you questioned, looking at him with curious yet suspicious eyes. He only nodded in confirmation and you looked around, given it wasn’t anyone’s concern what you were doing on your date. You turned back to Mirio and shrugged, “I mean I guess it couldn’t hurt,” you replied before lowering yourself into his lap, it was a little embarrassing and an overall new experience for you.

When Mirio wrapped his arms around your waist, you felt your stomach twist with butterflies. “Uh…” your legs were stretched out and you tried to focus more on the penguins that continued to waddle around. You held your hand out, wiggling your fingers in hopes to capture their attention. It took a few moments, but eventually, one penguin decided to be brave and approach you. It flapped its wings before closing the distance and you smiled as you ran your hand over its head which was slightly fuzzy and slick.

Mirio retracted one of his arms and reached out, allowing his hand to stroke down the penguin’s back. You watched as the penguin’s eyes closed, “I think this little guy is enjoying our pets,” you said with a smile before another penguin approached, you reached out to pet it. You leaned against Mirio’s chest and found yourself at peace. It was almost amusing watching the penguins form a line, each one waiting to get a dose of attention. You couldn’t deny such cute little animals. It took some time, but eventually you lowered your hand when the penguins seemed satisfied and content. 

Your fingers ached and your body trembled due to the cold, though you had to admit. Sitting in Mirio’s lap kept you warm and you leaned your head against his shoulder. “Does your hand hurt too?” you questioned and Mirio smiled, “A little, we’ve done a lot of petting today,” he said as he reached around and took your hand between his, gently massaging it. “Maybe we should take it easy, I think I read in the pamphlet there’s a whale show. Maybe we could go watch it,” he suggested, “That could be fun,” you said before wiggling in his lap, you pushed your hand against his knee and stood on shaky legs.

“I can’t wait to get warm again,” you said as you crossed your arms. “Yeah, let’s get out of here,” Mirio said as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and guided you out of the penguin exhibit. You couldn’t help but wave at the penguins as you exited. But you were more than happy when you felt the change in temperature as you entered the hallway. “So, I’m guessing the whale show is back near the seal exhibit,” you said and Mirio shrugged, “Probably, I’m sure we just have to follow the signs,” he pointed to the ceiling and sure enough you saw wooden plates with words and arrows.

“Let’s go!” he insisted before he reached down to take your hand again. You had to admit, you were happy Mirio had asked you on this date. He was so energetic and though he came off a little strong, it was nice to know he cared about you. He even made it a point to grab front row seats for the whale show, though you weren’t too sure if you enjoyed getting splashed when the whale performed its tricks. Given it was amazing, “Ah!” you cried out when another wave came, further soaking your already drenched clothes.

The fabric clung to your wet skin and a shiver ran through you. When you turned to look at Mirio, your eyes widened at the sight of him cheering and smiling for the whale. He too was soaked. His shirt clinging to his body which allowed his muscles to show, his normally spiky hair was pressed against his forehead. But his eyes still held that same happiness and joy you were more than used to seeing. He turned to you with a bright smile, “Having fun?! I think this is amazing!” he declared before another splash came which had both of you crying out.

You were grateful that they were handing out towels after the show. Once you dried off, you suggested going to see the jellyfish. You loved the way they swam through the water, almost like a ballet. “Did you know jellyfish can technically clone themselves? They can actually regenerate if someone or something were to split them in half,” you explained, you were happy Mirio didn’t mind you sharing your knowledge and little facts. You did the same thing when Mirio suggested going to see the sharks, though sharks themselves were a little intimidating.

You also believed they were just misunderstood, you kept that in mind as you watched them swim in their tank. “There are over 500 species of shark, I’m not sure how I’d feel about scuba diving with one though,” Mirio chuckled, “Yeah, that seems a little dangerous,” he nodded in agreement before turning to you. “Anywhere else you’d like to go?” The last activity you wanted to do was pet the stingrays which Mirio happily agreed to. After which, you were beginning to feel tired and a loud yawn escaped you. “Hm, don’t tell me I tired you out already?” Mirio joked as he reached over to run his hand through your hair.

“It’s not you, I love the aquarium. But, it is exhausting doing all that walking,” you commented as you two headed for the exit. “Yeah, I guess,” Mirio said before stepping in front of you which caused you to stop short. “What are you doing?” it wasn’t like Mirio to try and block your path unless he wanted a hug or something. He only smiled at your question and reached up to place his hands on your shoulders. “Uh…” you glanced to the side, unsure of what Mirio was doing. But, you began to get the hint as he leaned down.

You felt your cheeks heat up, “I had a really amazing time with you, sunshine,” he commented as his nose brushed against yours. “Uh...yeah, I had a g-good time too,” you squeaked out, feeling Mirio’s grip on you tighten. “I’m glad,” he whispered before pressing his lips against yours. “Mm!” you should have expected this, but Mirio’s lips felt so warm and inviting. You kept your arms by your sides and shyly returned the kiss before leaning back. Your cheeks flushed, “Uh, t-thanks?” you said, unsure of how to respond after the kiss.

Mirio seemed to find amusement in your reaction and reached over to cup your cheek. Taking note of how warm it was, “You’re welcome,” he responded in a chipper tone, “But, you don’t have to thank me for anything. I’ll happily kiss your lips over and over again! Heh, though that might make them sore, uh…” he removed his hand from your cheek and nibbled on his lip. You noticed this but given the strong tension in the air. You assumed Mirio was going to ask you something.

“So, would you maybe like to go on another date? I know with Izuku around, you might feel guilty. But, I kind of want you all to myself. Sorry if that sounds selfish,” he said sheepishly and you were a little surprised, yes. A part of you felt guilty, given the fact you were aware of how Izuku felt about you. Still, Mirio had made the first move, despite Sir Nighteye’s warning.

Which was surprising considering Mirio seemed to cling on every word his teacher said and followed his orders without question. Was he really willing to disobey him for your sake? You did have a wonderful time on this date. You wouldn’t mind seeing where a second date would go. “It doesn’t sound too selfish,” you teased before placing your hand on his chest, something that caught his attention. “I’d love to go out again,” you said with a smile.

[tuanhood]

rumor

pairing: kim yugyeom x reader

genre: smut, enemies to lovers au (kind of)

warnings: 18+, public oral sex (female receiving), cursing

word count: 5k+

summary: the bane of your existence, kim yugyeom who has been bothering you consistently for the past 6 months comes to find you in the library, because well... he heard something.

a/n: keeping it going with the smut i GUESS. my russian mother would literally die if she knew i was doing this instead of writing my dissertation. :) this is barely edited but go easy on me OK. 

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Here you were. Another Thursday night in the library, endlessly highlighting the printed-out text in front of you. Your eyes shifted towards the other portion of the table you were sat at. It was filled with papers by students from the course you were TAing for and its placement in front of you was another overwhelming reminder of the work you had to accomplish before the weekend. A thought occurred to you that maybe it was worth it to take a break before you really got into grading, but as you glanced at your phone for the first in what felt like hours, you realized there was no time for a break if you wanted to finish everything on time. 

It wasn’t always like this, you used to have fun, but as time passed and you went on in your collegiate career, there was more time for work and less time for play. You wanted to say a big fuck you to your friend Mark and his “work hard, play hard” motto, because who the hell could do both equally and not ruin their life? 

Just as you were about to text Mark and ask him for 500 words on how his life mantra could be applicable to literally anyone, you heard heavy footsteps coming from somewhere on the floor of the library you occupied and it was almost as if your comfortable atmosphere shifted. As the footsteps grew closer, your body tensed up in preparation for the interruption you felt that you were about to endure. 

“Shove it Yugyeom,” you said without looking up at the tall boy. Kim Yugyeom had bothered you so much in the past 6 months that you practically had a sixth sense for whenever he was within distance. 

“Dude, why are you so mean to me?” 

Sighing, you pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration, “how many times do I have to tell you that just because our moms are friends, doesn’t mean we are.”

He pulled a chair from the table and flipped it with the back facing you, plopping down, his arms folded on the chair’s back. “Okay but the reason I’m here is actually really important.” 

Knowing Yugyeom and judging on his insistent tone, you knew it wasn’t actually going to be important. The two of you had known each other most of your lives because of your respective mother’s being lifelong friends. You had always wondered what it must have been like for them, having such a strong bond of friendship that they would make it a pact to have children at the same time and force them into being friends. Unfortunately for them neither of those things really happened – your mother became pregnant with you and it wasn’t until two years later that Yugyeom’s mother followed. However, despite the small age gap, they still tried to manufacture a friendship between the two of you. By the time you were thirteen, they gave up. 

For months Yugyeom had been finding you on campus and was constantly bothering you with things that he deemed to be paramount, but instead were things such as “what bedding do you think I should get?” or “hey are you going to your mom’s birthday party? Should we carpool?” Obviously, you would be going to your own mother’s party, so why did he have to ask you? All of his questions, comments or concerns, could easily be discussed over text, but for some reason he had to come find you in person. Every. Single. Time. 

At first you blamed it on his age and innocence. He was two years younger than you and his common appearance in your life with things that were “important,” probably had to do with his adjustment to university life. You were the only person he knew, so it was a given that he would come to you with questions or in need of advice. But after 6 months and the large friend group Yugyeom had grown on campus – you knew that had nothing do with it. 

Losing your place in your notes, you groaned and looked up at him, realizing as long as he was in your presence you wouldn’t be able to get any work done, “what is it Yugyeom? What could be so important that you had to come bother me yet again.” 

You noticed Yugyeom cower back a bit at your annoyed tone, clearly striking some kind of nerve within him and it almost made you feel regretful on how you’ve treated him lately. It was certainly much worse than you had been with him in your childhood. 

He clicked his tongue as if signaling that he meant business, “well… I came to ask about a rumor.” 

The order of business that brought Yugyeom into your midst today immediately made you let out a snort from your mouth. He still didn’t understand what “important” meant, even after all this time. You especially didn’t pay any mind to what was or wasn’t going on with Yugyeom’s little friends. Rolling your eyes, you picked up your forgotten highlighter and put it back on the page, you predicted that this visit couldn’t last much longer. “I really don’t care about what’s going on with lower classmen.” 

“It’s not about anyone in my year… It’s about you.” 

You paused, dropping the tool in your hand, once again forgotten, wondering if you had misheard him. Campus was full of hundreds – probably thousands of students more interesting than you. Nothing you’d ever done could be warranted as interesting enough to be circulated throughout campus whether real or not. “Excuse me?” 

“I heard a rumor about you.” And a rumor that was widespread enough that it could somehow make it to Yugyeom? You were certain that he had to be mistaken. 

His eyes looked around the room. You noticed they wandered to the sheets of paper in front of you, your hands and the shelves of books surrounding the table. He licked his lips before speaking to gain confidence before he continued on, “I want to know if it’s true.” 

Usually conversations with Yugyeom contained a lot of back and forth. There was never this much air that left room for thoughtful pauses or awkward silence. It had always been him asking random things or making comments that led to you snapping at him. This time you weren’t really sure what to say. Being so perplexed by the encounter and why he was concerned about a rumor regarding you, left you unsure of how to respond. 

“It’s about you and Park Jinyoung. I want to know if it’s true,” Yugyeom bit his bottom lip so hard, you thought he would draw blood. 

Blankly, you blinked at him, wondering why anyone would be fixated about you and Jinyoung, “first I kind of have to know what the rumor about the two of us is.” 

“Ugh I knew it,” Yugyeom narrowed his eyes at you, and it’s perhaps the first time you’d seen him show any kind of negative emotion. Even after all of your countless ignoring and bitter words towards him in the past, he would always maintain the same bright smile and puppy dog look in his eyes. It was something you actually admired about him. 

“Knew what? I didn’t say anything! I’m asking you what you heard. What the rumor is!” You whisper shouted, in an effort to remind yourself that you were in the library after all. 

“If it wasn’t true you would have just denied it!” Yugyeom insisted. 

Now it was your turn to be angry, through clenched teeth you asked him, “what the fuck is your problem?” 

He stood up briskly and the chair shook from his sudden stance, “you fucking Park Jinyoung, that’s my problem.” You widened your eyes at him, especially since you had hadn’t really ever heard Yugyeom curse, “what?” 

“People are saying you guys slept together.” 

His words caused you to freeze up for a moment, but you felt a need to play it off, to not show your hand. “Yugyeom��� Jinyoung and I TA for the same intro Lit class. That’s it. People like to create drama… especially if it’s about their superiors.” The way you defended yourself made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Ultimately, you had no reason to explain anything to this guy who wasn’t even classified as an acquaintance to you. Kim Yugyeom had no real place in your life. “And why does it matter to you? I can sleep with whoever I want… Not that it’s any of your business or anyone else’s.” 

For some reason you found yourself unable to look up at him. It felt different then the times you simply avoided his gaze as a method of ignoring him in the hopes he would leave. This time you felt just nauseous. First you were being defensive with him and now you felt too nervous to look at him? What was wrong with you? “So, it’s true then, huh?” 

At his words, you sighed, lifting your eyes up slowly to finally look at him again. For a moment, the thought entered your mind to lie and you had to shake the delusion out of your head. Why lie to him? You had nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed about… and yet why did it cross your mind to be dishonest with Yugyeom, as if to shield him from it? Before you could regretfully change your mind, you responded, “yes, I slept with Jinyoung, but it was literally forever ago. We’re just friends. I don’t understand why it’s even coming up now.” 

It surprised you when you noticed his hands had clenched into fists at his side and you tried to conjure up something in your brain that could explain why he cared about this so much. Your heart pained a little from his aggression and you wondered if you were going to start wondering why you care so much about this. 

“Why do you care?” You asked, rolling your eyes to put on an act of nonchalance. 

“It’s embarrassing!” 

“Why the hell is it embarrassing?” 

His fists finally unclenched and he threw them down in annoyance at your question, as if you were supposed to be able to read his mind. He answered you as if his reasoning was the most obvious thing in the world, “my friends keep teasing me about it!” You couldn’t help but notice the way he whined at the end of his sentence, like a small child being annoyed about finishing their food. 

“Yugyeom… I don’t think I’m following. Why does who I do or don’t sleep with embarrassing for you?” 

“Because…” he took a deep breath in as if contemplating whether he should go on and there was a long pause before he continued, “because it’s embarrassing that this is going around about someone I like.” 

Shock washed over the features on your face. This was it? This was the reason why he had been acting so ridiculous? You certainly weren’t expecting that. “You have feelings for Jinyoung? I-I’m sorry Yugyeom, but I swear it’s in the past… and if it makes you feel any better it wasn’t even that good of-” He cut you off briskly not wanting to hear where you had been going with the thought.

“No, I don’t like Jinyoung.” He rolled his eyes out of frustration at your lack of understanding. 

“Then I don’t know what you’re talk-” this time you cut yourself off when your brain finally caught up to the rest of you. If he didn’t like Jinyoung... that meant he likes the other person in the rumor… and that other person in the rumor was in fact you. Which meant that Yugyeom must like… 

“Me? You like me?” Your voice got higher, a nervous habit that continued to grow whenever you were in a stressful situation. A situation you couldn’t easily see the conclusion of. 

Judging on Yugyeom’s gaze, one could say that the conversation didn’t faze him – that he was confident even, but as you glanced down, you were met with the fidgeting and shuffling of his feet. “Yeah. I do, so what?” 

After all this time and after everything you had said or done to him, he still liked you? 

You looked back up to his face and saw the hard and cold exterior he tried to put up between the two of you. He was attempting to make it seem like he didn’t care. That putting his feelings for you out in the open and holding his heart out in front of you was no big deal. You knew from knowing Yugyeom from all these years that this was no simple feat for him. You knew he was probably shaking inside, nervous and afraid of the rejection that he had expected to come from you. He had put on an act, because he thought that’s what you wanted and because he didn’t want to show you his true feelings when the hurt that he knew was coming finally came. 

You studied his face for a moment, his features and glimpsed into his eyes that you knew would hold how he really felt. 

Yugyeom felt the silence between the two of you get heavier and heavier with every moment that passed. He felt uncomfortable and he just wanted you to tell him what he knew he was probably going to hear from you. “I bet I’m ten times better than Park Jinyoung,” Yugyeom mumbled quietly to himself, clearly not meaning for you to hear it, but hear it you did. 

His words shocked you and you felt a nervous flip in your stomach, but the good kind. For some reason you couldn’t help but think back to Mark’s stupid motto as you looked Yugyeom up and down, checking him out. Before you could process what, you were doing, you began to gather all of your things on the table without a word to Yugyeom. When you were finally done you saw the panic in his face as he wondered if you were just going to leave him without a word. Instead you surprised him, placing your backpack in one hand and you grabbed his hand with the other, “follow me.” 

He didn’t move and you almost fell back against him at his pull, “where are we going?” 

“You’ll see come on,” you rolled your eyes at him and tugged him forward once again towards the stairwell of the library. Both of you climbed the stairs in silence, and you found yourself grateful that he followed you. It was difficult for you to understand what it was about the situation that had you more nervous – that he had come with you or that you were doing this at all. 

When you finally reached the fifth floor you led him through various stacks of books and multiple rows of shelves until you were both in the back corner of the floor. You stopped in between two shelves and he glanced around the books surrounding you, “why are we in medieval literature?” he asked.

“Because no one ever comes up here.” 

He blinked quickly, not understanding your reasoning for bringing him up multiple flights of stairs to be amongst more dusty books. 

“And there are no security cameras up here,” you continued, hoping that something would click for him. If it took him much longer to figure out what you were trying to communicate, you were afraid you might lose your confidence in doing this. You tapped your foot lightly against the ground, “so are you going to show me?” 

“Show you what?” He asked completely oblivious. At this point, he was just grateful that you hadn’t kicked his ass after he had confessed to you. He had to be honest with himself, he hadn’t come to find you expecting to tell you about his feelings for you. He thought they had been clear from the beginning, but after the third or fourth time you had reacted negatively to him appearing in your life during these past 6 months, he figured that you would never see it without him explicitly telling you. And judging on how much you seemed to hate him – he had come to the conclusion that he would never tell you. But after hearing about you and Park Jinyoung from his friend Bambam, he couldn’t stop himself from marching to the one place he knew you would be on Thursday night – the library. 

Yugyeom had always pictured your reaction if he was to tell you about his feelings for you and it always ended with him having a bloody nose, a new bruise or a pain in his foot after you stomped down on it in anger or disgust. The worst part of this situation was that so far you hadn’t done any of these things and for once he didn’t know what to expect when it came to you, somehow that scared him more than being flat out rejected. Wait… maybe you were bringing him up to the isolated section of the library to do your damage and hit him? 

“Jesus fucking Christ Yugyeo-” You cut yourself short when you noticed your hands had involuntarily thrusted towards him, clenching as if you were about to wring his neck and the way your tone shifted to frustration. Exhaling, you relaxed your hands and put them down, rubbing them against your thighs to calm yourself down. You weren’t trying to be your normal self towards Yugyeom, you were trying something… different. Much different. 

It seemed to you that the only way you’d be able to get Yugyeom to well… get it was spelling it out for him. 

“You said you bet you were ten times better than Jinyoung... so show me.”

Nothing leaves Yugyeom’s mouth in response and he stared at you blankly. Had you read this wrong? Were you embarrassing yourself? At his lack of words, you felt your confidence chip away piece by piece and your face grew hot. 

Then everything seemed to fall into place for Yugyeom as his mind begins to compute the words leaving your soft pink lips that he’s wanted to kiss for so long. He noticed the way that your eyes are no longer fixated on him, and instead begin to look over the place nervously, pretending to find the books around the two of you more interesting. 

Due to the lack of response from Yugyeom, you’re surprised when you he takes a step closer towards you and you feel his hot breath near you just as your eyes became glued to a text about women’s literature in the Middle Ages. 

You looked to his brown eyes which stared at you so deeply you felt as though you’re about to suffocate. Although Yugyeom’s always been much taller than you, you’ve always somehow felt bigger than him – older, wiser and more mature. But for the first time ever, under his hypnotic gaze you felt innocent, small and like all you wanted was for him to take care of you. 

As he took another step forward, you took one back until you’re pressed against the bookshelf, unable to take back your decision, but you could feel that deep inside of you that you didn’t want to. Both his hands went to either side above you on the shelf and he looked down at you, a new lustfulness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “Is this okay?” 

Nodding your head, you bit your lip to stop the smile that dared to spread across your face and Yugyeom caught it immediately. He brought his right hand down to your hair and brushed some of the strands out of your face softly, “you know… you don’t have to pretend to be this cold, mean person all the time… If you want to feel something, you should just… feel it.” At his final words his hand moved to a permanent position on your cheek as he leaned down to connect your lips together. At first you remained frozen, but as his left-hand slides from the bookshelf to land comfortably at your waist as if it was always meant to be there, you melted into the kiss. Your lips parted and his tongue slipped into your waiting mouth softly, without rush or urgency and somehow that gentleness alone made you feel like all that existed was that softness and the mixing of your breaths. 

The slow, sensual pace that you savored soon began to pick up as Yugyeom deepened the kiss, pushing himself closer to you on the shelf. Your hands that had remained mostly stagnant and at your sides soon began to drift up to run through his hair as if they had a mind on their own. When you first heard him let out a small moan from your tugging on his locks, you felt a fire ignite inside of you that told you that you wanted to hear more. With every tug, Yugyeom’s fingers dug into your hips and soon he let out a sigh of content as his hands moved to rest on your ass. Your lips worked seamlessly together as if it was the missing puzzle piece you never knew you needed. 

“Let me show you something else I can do better than Park Jinyoung,” Yugyeom said through a raspy breath, against your lips. His hands squeezed your ass before they moved around to the button on your jeans to undo them. It feels as though he works in slow motion as he pulled down the zipper and moved his hand inside, slipping them over your panties. His lips still on you and his hand in a place where you never thought you would need him; your breath grew heavier and heavier. 

Your knees buckled as Yugyeom’s fingers suddenly brushed your clit through the thin cloth and he grinned into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around your waist to hold you up. You tried to focus on the feeling of Yugyeom’s fingers rubbing your through your underwear, but soon he withdraws them. You whimpered at the loss of his fingers against you and he gave you one last soft peck before he disconnected his mouth from yours as well. You missed the contact, wanting to make your lips even more swollen than they probably already were. 

Yugyeom chuckled at your needy reaction and he caressed your cheek in a reassuring manner, “don’t worry it’ll be worth it.” 

You grew confused, wondering what his next move would be, but as he crouches down onto his knees in front of you, pulling your jeans and underwear down with him it begins to dawn on you. You felt yourself grow more wet at the thought. 

“I need to taste you,” he practically whined, “let me clean up the mess I made between your legs.” If Yugyeom had said anything remotely close to that in the past, you know you would have smacked him across the face, but instead you felt yourself involuntarily moan, turned on by his words. 

Still leant up against the bookshelf, you spread your legs apart, which was proven difficult with the jeans and underwear around your ankles, but Yugyeom grabbed them in an effort to help you. When you were comfortable and well situated, he settled himself between your parted thighs and grew closer. 

First all you felt was his hot breath on your clit and he softly blew to tease you, as if paying you back for all the countless you shrugged him off. When you let out a whimper that sounded a little too desperate, even for your ears, he decided his short-lived teasing was better off short. He took one last look into your eyes before he leaned in without hesitation. His tongue first gave a slow lap as if savoring your taste, and he let out a groan that made you feel more wet than you already were. Soon he began to pick up the pace and he used the way your hips moved against him and the little sighs coming from your mouth to feel what it was that you like and don’t like. When he sealed his mouth around your clit in a soft suck, your hands instinctually went back to his hair to bring him even closer to you. 

“How do you taste so good,” he mumbled mostly to himself, followed by a noisy kiss and delving into you further. 

A sudden and continuous swirl of his tongue against your clit caused you to let out a loud moan that you couldn’t hold back even with all of the strength in your body. With his lips still attached to your clit and continuing his ministrations, he tapped his fingers on your thighs in an effort to remind you to be quiet. You both may have been in a secluded part of the library, but you were still in the library. 

It was when you really looked down at Yugyeom that you felt as though you were going to combust. For some reason to see the younger boy that you had completely written off for most of your life, and especially the last 6 months, with his mouth on your clit with a look of pure satisfaction on his face made you feel closer to your high. 

His sudden harsh sucking as if he was a man eating his last meal, caused you to lift your hips off against the book shelf and into his face further. 

“Yugyeom…” You moaned out with eyes squeezing themselves shut. Hearing his name fall from your lips in bliss – something he had always wanted and dreamed about – edged him to go even harder and faster, wanting nothing more to see you fall apart before him. 

When he slipped two fingers inside of you, pumping them quickly, with his lips still attached to your core, you began to feel dizzy just at the pleasure. He pulled his mouth away for a moment to watch his fingers sink in and out you, pleased to look up and see how overcome you were with the way he was making you feel. You let out another cry when his fingers curled in you, finding your g-spot with ease. When he reattached himself to your clit and his fingers found that spot in you once again, it all became too much and you felt yourself closer to your climax. You tried to push his face away from you, trying to let him know that you were close. 

“Cum on my face. I want it, I want it all,” he said muffled against your core at your effort to move him away from you. 

At his words and the continual, brutal pace of his tongue and fingers, you felt your hips buck into Yugyeom’s face and yourself clench around his fingers, orgasm washing over you hard. You attempted to keep your moans in, but the feeling you get through out your entire body is too much to contain as you let out a load cry from your release. One of your hands left Yugyeom’s hair to aggressively grip the book shelf behind you, causing a book to fall from the shelf and hit part of Yugyeom’s head and his back on the way down. 

“F-Fuck Yugyeom I’m sor-” He shut you up as he continued to lap at your core, letting you ride out your orgasm as if he was in his own world where a book didn’t just fall on him. 

After a few moments in your own blissed out state and deep breaths with your head against the book shelf, you looked to see Yugyeom getting up off of his knees. His mouth and jaw glistened from you and if he minded how wet your release was, he didn’t show any sign of it. On his way up to stand before you, he lifted your underwear and jeans up your legs. 

He smiled smugly, “not bad for a kid, huh?” 

You shyly looked away from him, feeling like the kid. 

“Yeah whatever, Kim Yugyeom,” You said rolling your eyes, and he catches the smile that was written across your face. When your eyes met again, he stared at you so deeply with so much fondness that you felt yourself grow weak for the second time in the last few minutes. 

Bringing your hand up to gently rest on his cheek, you pulled him in for a kiss, wanting to show him the same pleasure he gave you. He let out a loud groan when your hands reached his jeans in an attempt to unbutton them. 

“Um… hello?” 

You both froze at the voice and broke apart to look at each other in panic.

“Shit,” you whispered to him. 

Yugyeom widened his eyes as if asking you what to do, “don’t look at me!” 

“Is uh… someone there? Or… two someones?” The unknown voice called out into the stacks. The sound of the voice made you feel sick. You didn’t know how long they were there or how much they had heard and especially because you were 90% sure you knew the voice. 

When Yugyeom looked at you again with fear in his eyes, you realized the roles had been reversed once again and you were back to being the older, wiser one out of the two of you. This time however, his look to you for guidance didn’t annoy you as it had in the past. Instead, you felt your stomach flip and it go straight to your core. 

Your eyes wandered to the floor, where you see the piece of literature that fell and hit Yugyeom. Reaching down to grab it, you motioned for Yugyeom to crouch down with you, “okay, on the count of three, you’ll grab my backpack and I’m going to throw this the opposite way. They’ll probably hear it and go look where the noise came from. That’s when we’ll run towards the exit.” 

“Why do I have to carry your backpack?” Yugyeom whined. 

Rolling your eyes, you answered him, “because a gentleman always carries a lady’s things.” “You just want to be the one who throws the book.” 

You shrugged, pretending like he didn’t have you figured out already, “now come on,” both standing back up you nodded at him to signal the beginning of your countdown. 

“One…” you whispered, looking back at Yugyeom who licked his lips in anticipation, “two…” 

You paused hearing footsteps, “three!” you scream whispered at him as you threw the book in the opposite direction, in one of the book stacks, praying you don’t get seen. At the end of the countdown, Yugyeom grabbed your backpack and your free hand, both of you running towards the exit. 

You both practically stumbled down the stairs of the library, unable to contain your laughs as soon as you’re free and on the front steps outside. 

When finally caught your breath from the running and laughter, it dawned on you the events that had just taken place and what you actually just did in the library. “Holy shit… I can’t believe we actually did that. That was kinda fucked up wasn’t it? That we did that in there?”

“You said no one goes into the Medieval Lit section!” Yugyeom complained as soon as he’s caught his breath. 

You bit your lip and nervously looked at him, “Well for the most part no one really does! There’s only one person I know of that does…” 

“Who?” 

“Park Jinyoung.” 

He let out a snort, “I can’t believe you.” 

You shoved Yugyeom lightly, “It’s not like I knew he would show up!” At your words he pulled you towards him and close enough until his mouth brushed your ear, “I bet you wanted him to catch us. You dirty girl.” 

With widened eyes and once again turned on by none other than Kim Yugyeom you moved away from him gently and take his hand in yours, “come on.” 

“Where are we going?” He asked for the second time of the night.

“My place. I have something I want to show you,” You answered him, attempting to pull him forward again. “Oh and what’s that?” He had a smug smile on his face, clearly wanting to torture you. 

“Kim Yugyeom, I swear to God,” you wondered if he was really going to do this to you, “you better come with me so we can finish what we started or I’m starting a rumor about you.” 

He pulled your arm until you were back against him, your body flush with his front and you felt his hands go to your ass, “nah I know you wouldn’t do that.”

You pushed your hips against him and he let out a soft groan at the contact against him, his hardness being neglected this entire time, “try me.” 

He smirked at you, “fine… let’s go before I fuck you on the steps of the library. Then there’d be a rumor about both of us.” 

“If that happened that wouldn’t be a rumor. That would just be fact,” you explained to him, grabbing his hand again. 

“So that’s a yes?” 

You rolled your eyes at him and smiled. Kim Yugyeom was doing things to you and making you feel things that you couldn’t deny it any longer, “come on Yugyeom.” 

“Yes ma’am.”

[astonishinglegends]

Ep 203: The Beast of Gévaudan

“This animal is a monster whose father is a lion; it remains open what the mother is.”

– Dragoon Captain John-Baptiste Boulanger Duhamel, speculating on the origins of La Bête du Gévaudan in January of 1765.

Description:

In the years between 1764 and 1767, a real-life monster had brutally savaged the residents of the former province of Gévaudan in the highland region of south-central France. While the creature's first attack was reportedly unsuccessful in killing its intended victim, it did provide a horrific description of it. Some sort of massive, canine-like creature was stalking the villagers out in their fields of the Margeride mountains. And it would remain as elusive as its killing spree grew nightmarishly effective. In a three-year span, contemporary and modern estimates put the death toll anywhere from around 100 to 500 people, mostly women, and children. To add to the fear and suffering, these were no ordinary large animal predator attacks. Considering that only a small percentage of the victims were found partially consumed, with livestock untouched, the bodies of all were so shockingly mutilated that it could be surmised this abomination of nature was not killing out of hunger but for sport. As news of the relentless slaughter spread throughout France, tens of thousands from every walk of life, peasants, soldiers, and noblemen alike, joined in the hunt to stop this menace. Reports had even reached Versaille, where King Louis XV had placed a large bounty on its head. When survivors and eyewitnesses had given their statements, a puzzling picture of the beast emerged. Although many accounts described this creature as having some features like an abnormally large wolf, or wolf-dog hybrid, other details combined didn't fit any known animal. It was also described as the size of a calf or donkey, with reddish hair and a black stripe down its back, giant, razor-sharp teeth set in the gaping mouth of a pig-like head, a tail with a tuft on its end, and talons on its feet. This being was shot and wounded on several occasions at close range only to escape and kill again, adding a supernatural element to the legend. Many believed then as they do now that this animal must have been a canine mutation of some sort. However, without the descriptor of "werewolf" or "skinwalker" added to the story, saying it was just a vicious, big dog leaves an unsatisfactory conclusion. With no remains or taxonomy to define this murderous freak, the only name that could be given to it then is the one that remains today: The Beast of Gévaudan.

Reference Links:

Scrying on Wikipedia

The 1992 motion picture, The Crying Game

Samhain

Lori Williams’ Controlled Remote Viewing website IntuitiveSpecialists.com

Russell Targ

Crystal Gazing – Its History and Practice, with a Discussion of the Evidence for Telepathic Scrying, by Northcote W. Thomas, M.A.

Benjamin, from the Old Testament or “Hebrew Bible”

“The Forgotten Art of Scrying” by Fernando S. Gallegos on ExploringTraditions.com

Bernardino de Sahagún

Moctezuma II

Nostradamus

John Dee

Edward Kelley

“Notes on John Dee’s Aztec Mirror” by Ed Simon on NorthernRenaissance.org

Horace Walpole

“Making a Sigilum Dei Aemeth out of Wax [Esoteric Saturdays]” on YouTube

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Thelema

“Joseph Smith's "Magic" Glasses and Other Bizarre Objects from Mormonism” on ranker.com

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Credits:

Episode 203: The Beast of Gévaudan. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[sworntoprotect]

THE MEGA RP PLOTTING SHEET / MEME.

First and foremost, recall that no one is perfect, we all had witnessed some plotting once which did not went too well, be it because of us or our partner. So here have this, which may help for future plotting. It’s a lot! Yes, but perhaps give your partners some insight? Anyway BOLD what fully applies, italicize if only somewhat. Long post!

MUN NAME: Pie     AGE: +25       CONTACT: IM, Ask, Discord (mutuals only, by request)

CHARACTER(S): Cullen

CURRENT FANDOM(S): Dragon Age

FANDOM(S) YOU HAVE AN AU FOR:  I have a modern verse for everything not Dragon Age, but I might add some actual alt verses for other fandoms

MY LANGUAGE(S): English (native), Spanish (intermediate), Korean (baby lol beginner), bits and bobs of other languages (namely French and French Patois)

THEMES I’M INTERESTED IN FOR RP: FANTASY / SCIENCE FICTION / HORROR / WESTERN / ROMANCE / THRILLER / MYSTERY / DYSTOPIA / ADVENTURE / MODERN / EROTIC / CRIME / MYTHOLOGY / CLASSIC / HISTORY / RENAISSANCE / MEDIEVAL / ANCIENT / WAR / FAMILY / POLITICS / RELIGION / SCHOOL / ADULTHOOD / CHILDHOOD / APOCALYPTIC / GODS / SPORT / MUSIC / SCIENCE / FIGHTS / ANGST / SMUT / DRAMA / ETC. (I started this and realised I’d be bolding almost everything, so: EVERYTHING)

PREFERRED THREAD LENGTH: ONE-LINER / 1 PARA / 2 PARA / 3+ PARA / NOVELLA. / ALL

ASKS CAN BE SEND BY: MUTUALS / NON-MUTUALS / PERSONALS / ANONS.

CAN ASKS BE CONTINUED?: YES / NO / OCCASIONALLY   - only by Mutuals?:  YES / NO

PREFERRED THREAD TYPE: CRACK / CASUAL / SERIOUS / DEEP AS HECK. / ALL

IS REALISM / RESEARCH IMPORTANT FOR YOU IN CERTAIN THEMES?:   YES / NO.

ARE YOU ATM OPEN FOR NEW PLOTS?:  YES / NO / DEPENDS. (after my paper is submitted, yeah sure)

DO YOU HANDLE YOUR DRAFT / ASK - COUNT WELL?:  YES / NO / SOMEWHAT. (irl makes coping difficult sometimes)

HOW LONG DO YOU USUALLY TAKE TO REPLY?: 24H / 1 WEEK / 2 WEEKS / 3+ WEEKS / MONTHS / YEARS. / DEPENDS ON MOOD AND INSPIRATION, AND IF I’M BUSY 

I’M OKAY INTERACTING WITH: ORIGINAL CHARACTERS / A RELATIVE OF MY CHARACTER (AN OC) / DUPLICATES / CROSSOVERS / MULTI-MUSES / SELF-INSERTS / PEOPLE WITH NO AU VERSE FOR MY FANDOM / CANON-DIVERGENT PORTRAYALS / AU-VERSIONS.

DO YOU POST MORE IC OR OOC?: IC / OOC. (I strive for more IC over OOC, but my queue does a lot of work too)

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WITH FOLLOWING OTHERS?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.  

BEST WAYS TO APPROACH YOU FOR RP/PLOTTING:  Talk with me over IM, asks, or Disco. I’m down for almost anything as long as I see it’s feasible.

WHAT EXPECTATIONS DO YOU HOLD TOWARDS YOUR PLOTTING PARTNER:  Transparency. If you have an idea, let me know! If you’re stuck, let me know! If you want to start something new or scrap something or whatever...LET ME KNOW! I promise I don’t bite and I understand.

WHEN YOU NOTICE THE PLOTTING IS RATHER ONE-SIDED, WHAT DO YOU DO?:  I’m not very good with coming up with plots myself, so I’m typically the weak link when it comes to that. Sorry! But you bet I’ll pull up a plot generator and start throwing things down to see what sticks haha.

HOW DO YOU USUALLY PLOT WITH OTHERS, DO YOU GIVE INPUT OR LEAVE MOST WORK TOWARDS YOUR PARTNER?:  I’m all about equal opportunity, so I try not to leave the plotting work to my partner. Let’s negotiate and find something that makes both of us happy. That’s the point after all.

WHEN A PARTNER DROPS THE THREAD, DO YOU WISH TO KNOW?:   YES / NO / DEPENDS. - AND WHY?: If you want to drop a thread, I’m completely fine with it. I want to know so that I don’t end up replying to something you have no interest in anymore. Saves both of us the time.

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY LEAD YOU TO DROP A THREAD?:  If drafts eat it (as they are wont to do these days) or if I feel it has reached a natural conclusion. I rarely, if ever, drop a thread in the middle. I’ll just let you know I’m going to finish it on my side and allow you a chance to finish on yours if you’d like.

WILL YOU TELL YOUR PARTNER?:   YES / NO / DEPENDS.

IS COMMUNICATION IN THE RPC IMPORTANT TO YOU? YES / NO. - AND WHY?: You don’t need to chat with me every minute of every day, but I like knowing the people I’m writing with. Discerning your personality and your approach to your muse gives me a much stronger understanding of how to write with you, and what vibes between us. Plus, it’s easier to remember different people’s boundaries if I talk with them a lot, too.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH ABSOLUTE HONESTY, EVEN IF IT MAY MEANS HEARING SOMETHING NEGATIVE ABOUT YOU AND/OR PORTRAYAL?: I am all for constructive criticism. Even if you think it’s nitpicky, it’s going to be a great help. Good crit allows us grow as writers and as people in general. However, I am not for baseless accusations, childish name-calling, or outright insults under the name of “constructive crit”. Remember the “constructive” part: we need to build each other up. 

DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE SUCH SITUATION IN A MATURE WAY? YES / NO.

WHY DO YOU RP AGAIN, IS THERE A GOAL?: I love a good story. While I don’t agree with everything Cullen does (and no one should, for anyone real or imagined), his story is intriguing. He’s a deeply flawed, deeply broken man. I love to take on a character, toss them in every situation I can think of, and watch them evolve and grow.

WISHLIST, BE IT PLOTS OR SCENARIOS:  A real redemption arc, for one. A realistic struggle with substance abuse and recovery. A future of happiness.

THEMES I WON’T EVER RP / EXPLORE:   Rape or sexual assault, unless being spoken about as a past event (as I truly believe that Cullen was sexually assaulted at Kinloch along with the other psychological and physical torture he endured). In-game racism is baked in, unfortunately, but it’s not something I seek out to roleplay as a PoC myself. Finally, while I play Cullen as canon-straight, I will not play out homophobia and most definitely not transphobia. If he rejects your muse for hitting on him, it’s not because he’s being homophobic: he’s just not interested. That also doesn’t mean he’ll never be interested; people can and do change, and I ship chemistry overall. He doesn’t hate your muse for their gender, orientation, or sexual preferences. I feel like I really have to spell this out for people who don’t understand. If you feel personally insulted by this somehow, feel free to address me directly, off anon. It’s probably an issue of fuzzy wording that I’m 500% willing to fix and talk about.

WHAT TYPE OF STARTERS DO YOU PREFER / DISLIKE, CAN’T WORK WITH?: I love starters that set the scene and provide plenty to work with, be it in terms of interacting with the environment or with the other person. If your muse shows immediate disinterest in communicating (and I don’t mean argumentative, which is perfectly fine), I am not going to respond. I might politely ask for more if I feel like it’s a salvageable interaction.

WHAT TYPE OF CHARACTERS CATCH YOUR INTEREST THE MOST?:  Stoic soldier types, bubbly short girls, and semi-mad scientists.

WHAT TYPE OF CHARACTERS CATCH YOUR INTEREST THE LEAST?:  Characters that come across as Mary-Sue / Gary-Stu types. No flaws and barely any room to grow. 

WHAT ARE YOUR STRONG ASPECTS AS RP PARTNER?: I'm very easy-going and I have an unearthly level of tolerance for almost everything. I try to provide partners with as much to work with as possible IC, and will pretty much support your very existence OOC. I believe in open communication so you’ll know what’s going on with me and/or our threads. Also, I typically reply within a week or two. Currently I’m tethered to finishing a big paper so I’m not a good example of that right now.

WHAT ARE YOUR WEAK ASPECTS AS RP PARTNER?: I can get overwhelmed by too much which slows my pace down considerably. I’m also a bit distant and do shut down on occasion; that’s usually no fault of my partners, though. Just my brain being a dick.

DO YOU RP SMUT?:  YES / NO / DEPENDS. (the closer we are OOC, the easier getting here will be)

DO YOU PREFER TO GO INTO DETAIL?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. (it’s not going to be XXX but it will be descriptive)

ARE YOU OKAY WITH BLACK CURTAIN, FADE TO BLACK?: YES / NO.

WHEN DO YOU RP SMUT? MORE OUT OF FUN OR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT?: I prefer to write smut for character development and to mark a progression in a relationship. Plus Cullen is not a “one and done” guy so getting to the smut stage will take a bit of build-up.

ANYTHING YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO RP THERE?:  Hmmm things that he personally wouldn’t go for I guess? Honestly I don’t know. And obviously, no rape/animal abuse/predator nonsense.

ARE SHIPS IMPORTANT TO YOU?:   YES / NO Ships are a great way to further explore a character and their motivations. People do not exist in pure isolation, so I don’t believe characters should, either.

WOULD YOU SAY YOUR BLOG IS SHIP-FOCUSED?: YES / NO. I bolded both because the focus of the blog isn’t ships, but this thirst trap guy is really easy to ship with other people I tell ya hwat. I am severely picky with romantic ships for Reasons, but I don’t eschew any other types of ships. I encourage them!

DO YOU USE READ MORE?:  YES / NO / SOMETIMES WHEN I WRITE LONG STUFF.

ARE YOU:  MULTI-SHIP / SINGLE-SHIP / DUAL-SHIP  —  MULTIVERSE / SINGLEVERSE.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE TO EXPLORE THE MOST IN YOUR SHIPS?: Characters who challenge Cullen into revising his point of view and force him to be a better person. Also, characters who understand his past and they are in no ways obligated to forgive it, but do recognise that he’s struggling very hard to mend whatever mistakes he can and is willing to pay the price for his decisions.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.  - Be a good salesperson and I might buy it.

► SECTION ABOUT YOUR MUSE.

- WHAT COULD POSSIBLY MAKE YOUR MUSE INTERESTING TOWARDS OTHERS, WHY SHOULD THEY RP WITH THIS PARTICULAR CHARACTER OF YOURS NOW, WHAT POSSIBLE PLOTS DO THEY OFFER?: Cullen is a massive stick in the mud, which means it’s incredibly easy to taunt him and get him flustered all at the same time. He’s loyal, he’s intelligent, and he’s largely self-aware. He likes swords and using them. Anything your character hates about him, he most likely hates about himself 100 times more.

WITH WHAT TYPE OF MUSES DO YOU USUALLY STRUGGLE TO RP WITH?:  Those from the start that show absolutely no interest in speaking with/interacting with him. Mun and muse are going to struggle to stick around. I’m not going to fight for attention and neither is he.

WHAT DO THEY DESIRE, WHAT IS THEIR GOAL?:  Redemption. He wants to be a better person and make up for the past as much as he can.

WHAT CATCHES THEIR INTEREST FIRST WHEN MEETING SOMEONE NEW?:  He can sniff out a fellow Templar a mile away (or several miles, in the case of Samson). 

WHAT DO THEY VALUE IN A PERSON?:  Honesty, a strong will, devotion (not necessarily to the Maker or the Chantry, but to a just cause that focuses on protecting others).

WHAT THEMES DO THEY LIKE TALKING ABOUT?:  War stuff, chess, books, trebuchets, dogs.

WHICH THEMES BORE THEM?:  Lectures about anything. He did his time in Azkaban in the Circles. No more. Please no more.

DID THEY EVER WENT THROUGH SOMETHING TRAUMATIC?:  His parents died trying to escape the Blight, he was tortured for weeks/months on end by blood mages, almost all of his friends died because of it, he was manipulated and brainwashed by his superior, he was forced into a near-debilitating substance addiction by his workplace... yeah just a few things.

WHAT COULD LEAD TO AN INSTANT KILL?:  Darkspawn and abominations. 

IS THERE SOMEONE /-THING THEY HATE?:  Darkspawn and abominations. Blood mages on principle. Regular mages (but he’s working hard to remedy this extremely bad and prejudiced thinking). Himself.

IS YOUR MUSE EASY TO APPROACH?: YES / NO.    - BEST WAY TO APPROACH THEM?:  Just be polite and he won’t turn you away. He’s guarded, yes, but not impossible to talk to.

SOMETHING YOU MAY STILL WANT TO POINT OUT ABOUT YOUR MUSE?: You’ll find out by writing together! ;D

CONGRATS!!! You managed it, now tag your mutuals! ♥

tagged by: pirated tagging: anyone who actually read this

[jakegyllenhaalsupportgroup]

Sunlight

Welcome to the second day of my 500 Followers JGCU Write Fest!!! I figured after yesterday’s angst with Loki’s JGCU Backstory we could do with some nice fluff - plus I never really expanded on the background between Jake and the reader within the Multiverse other than the bare bones of the story! So I hope you guys enjoy this! Please remember to let me know what you think - send in some concepts (or Romcomcepts as they’re called on here when regarding Jake x Reader) and even some blurb/headcannon requests! I love you all!!!

“Hey - Y/N, right?” The girl looked up from her notepad and smiled warmly at Jake.

“Yeah! And you’re...” Y/N trailed off, her face slightly scrunched up as she tried to recall his name. “Jake!” She exclaimed in triumph and Jake chuckled, nodding as he felt his cheeks blush a little hearing his name falling from her lips.

“That’s me,” he confirmed. “I didn’t know you worked here?”

“First week,” she admitted, shrugging. “Do you... live around here or something?” She asked and Jake nodded, unable to take his eyes off of the waitress.

“Just down the road, actually.” He clarified when her eyebrows raised just a tad and he realised that he hadn’t actually responded to her with anything other than a single nod.

“Oh, that’s cool!” Y/N told him. “Can I get your order?” Jake felt his cheeks heat up and he nodded immediately.

“Yeah, of course - sorry. Just a latte please,” there was a warm smile on Y/N���s face as she wrote down his order and turned away back to the counter.

Jake sunk down on his chair and groaned quietly under his breath, silently beating himself up for his awkwardness when talking to the pretty girl he had been unable to get out of his head since running into her and Donnie on various occasions.

He shook his head at himself in despair and lent down to pick up his bag, pulling out his messy notes from the lecture he had just left along with some more paper, preparing himself to neatly write up his notes.

Jake let out a heavy sigh and brought out his phone, plugging his headphones in and pressing shuffle on his music before beginning to write.

He was so distracted by his work that he didn’t realise that Y/N had returned with his order until the coffee was placed on the table in front of him. He looked up at her, seeing her grin making him do the same.

“Here,” she placed down a piece of cake in front of him and Jake looked between the cake and her in confusion.

“I didn’t order that,” he pointed out and Y/N rolled her eyes playfully.

“I know you didn’t - you just looked like you needed it.” 

“Is that so?” Jake chuckled and Y/N nodded.

“I saw you pull out that uni stuff and I felt physical pain for you,” Jake burst out laughing, rolling his eyes at her.

“You wait until this time next year and you’ll have equal amounts of work to do,” Y/N crinkled her nose.

“Ugh, don’t start me thinking about next year when I’m actually going to have to start doing work.”

///

Jake had to admit that since he had found out that Y/N worked at the cafe he had become much more of a regular than he had previously been. Sure, the cafe wasn’t all that far away from his home but it definitely wasn’t the closest one to either his apartment or where he had his lectures.

Which was why David was so justified in his groaning when Jake insisted on them going to that cafe on their way home rather than the Starbucks that was so much closer.

“Come on, Jake, I just want to get home - I have so much work to do,” David groaned, his head lolling back.

“You were the one who said you wanted a coffee,” Jake pointed out, shrugging.

“I thought we’d just go to Starbucks seeing as it’s literally down the road from therapy,” David complained.

“Well we’re here now, dude, so stop complaining.” 

“You’re so annoying,” David told him, fixing him with an unimpressed look and Jake shrugged.

“Ask Loki to take you to therapy next time,” David stuck his tongue out at Jake in response, slouching down slightly in his chair.

Jake’s heart clenched just a little when he saw his friend shrink away further into the corner when Y/N walked up, ready to take their order with a smile on her face.

“Hey Jake!” She greeted before looking to David with the smile that set butterflies off in his stomach. 

“Hey, Y/N,” Jake put all his effort into ensuring he didn’t stutter over his words. “This is one of my roommates, David,” he introduced.

“Hey David, it’s nice to meet you - you’re the medic right?” David responded to her questioning with a tiny smile and a slight raise of his hand, which shook just a little as he swallowed and nodded.

“That’s me,” he agreed, his voice slightly hoarse.

“Just the usual?” Y/N questioned, looking back to Jake, who nodded.

“And a decaf for David,” he added and David scowled at him from across the table as Y/N scribbled down the order and walked off.

“That’s such bullshit,” he scoffed. “I don’t need decaf.”

“Dude your therapist told me not to let you have caffeine anymore,” Jake pointed out and David rolled his eyes.

“Whatever - at least I now know why you were so insistent on coming here,” David claimed with a devious smile.

“Is that right?”

“Yeah - you fancy the waitress girl,” Jake opened his mouth to protest but David shook his head, holding up his hand. “Please, Jake, you were practically drooling when she was over here.”

///

“I didn’t take you for a theatre kid,” Jake’s head shot up at her voice and his cheeks instinctively tinged red at Y/N’s presence, a cheeky grin on her face as she stood in front of the stall.

“What can I say? I’m full of surprises,” he teased, standing back from the sign up list and folding his arms a little, grinning at her.

Y/N stepped closer to the stall, looking at the photographs and leaflets in interest.

“So you like... run this thing?” She asked and Jake nodded.

“Kinda - Quentin’s really in charge but he... kinda sucks at the whole ‘organisation’ part of it so it tends to get passed along to me,” he told her, shrugging.

“Where’s he at today?”

“He’s around... somewhere,” Jake chuckled, looking for his friend. “Probably talking to Morf.”

“Morf?” Y/N questioned, her eyebrows raising a little. “Is that the dude who runs LGBT soc?” 

“Yeah - and Fine Art,” Jake confirmed.

“He tried to convince Rob that he was gay,” Y/N stated, her grin widening.

“What?”

“Rob signed up for Fine Art society and that dude told him he should also sign up for LGBT soc because he was clearly a closet gay,” Jake burst out laughing, shaking his head.

“That does sound like Morf,” he admitted. “He’s convinced all of us are closet gays, though - he took Q to a male strip club once in their first year because he was so convinced Q was gay,” Y/N threw her head back laughing at his story.

“You definitely know some interesting people, Mr Gyllenhaal,” she teased.

“I’m not sure that ‘interesting’ quite covers Q and Morf, to be honest,” he sighed. 

“Unless interesting covers ‘catastrophe-inducing’” Anthony commented, walking over to where the two of them were talking, a sly smile on his face that Jake knew too well from nights out with him. “I’m Anthony - Anthony Bell-Claire.” 

“Y/N,” the woman nodded back to him, looking a little awkwardly between Jake and Anthony.

“I think you’d make a wonderful leading lady, may I say.”

“Oh - I’m not... I’m not signing up I was just... talking to Jake,” Y/N told him immediately and Jake smiled softly at her, catching her eye.

“Right...” Anthony’s smile got slightly more knowing and he looked between the two of them. “Gotcha,” he winked at Jake. “Hey, if you want someone to show you around the Freshers Faire then I’m sure Jake here can spare ten minutes of his time?” He offered and Jake’s eyes widened a little.

“I don’t want to inconvenience anyone,” Y/N promised with a smile, though Jake could have sworn he could see her face lift a little in hope.

“Not at all - I can handle the stall for a little bit,” Anthony promised. 

///

“You look really pretty tonight!” Jake was shouting to be heard above the music as he danced with Y/N, whose smile widened at the compliment, though her eyes were hazy from the amount of alcohol she had already consumed at the party that night. “You look really pretty every night, though!” He added and he could see Y/N’s mouth open in laughter.

He wasn’t sure if the slight blush on her cheeks was as a result of his compliment or from the beer pumping through her body.

“I thought I should start making an effort - I don’t want to end up in Morf’s column,” she reached up towards him so that their faces were pressed together to make sure that Jake could hear her.

He started to laugh at her, shaking his head, his heart beating fast at the close proximity between them.

“You never look anything short of perfect - even Morf could never find anything bad to say about you!” He swore.

Y/N pulled back from him, biting her lip.

“How are you still single?” She questioned. “There’s got to be something wrong with you!” She insisted.

“No - I’m completely perfect so girls are just too intimidated by me to want to stay with me!” Jake insisted, leaning down to repeat himself to her when she looked at him in confusion.

“I’m starting to think that’s true, you know,” she retorted.

The song ended and a slower one began. Just as Y/N was about to move away from the dance floor to find herself another drink, Jake tugged on her wrist to make her turn back towards him.

“One more dance?” He requested hopefully.

“I was hoping you’d ask.”

///

No sight had ever been quite so beautiful to Jake.

He couldn’t even pay attention to the pain throbbing through his head as he looked at the woman sleeping on his chest, curled up into him, completely bare.

His fingers combed through her hair which was messy both from sleep and from the activities of the night before.

Sunlight was streaming through the slight crack in the curtains and Jake thought it made her look ethereal.

In a way he almost dreaded her waking up. He wanted to stay like this, with her in his arms, forever. He never wanted the night to end. 

He had to admit that there was a part of him that was afraid that she would wake up and be disgusted to find herself in his arms, to realise what she had done last night.

But then again, he was sure that there had been little signals that she liked him back.

“Jake?” The word was mumbled into his skin and Jake tensed up at it, worried by what would follow.

“Morning,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss her hair, worried that it may be his only chance to do so.

“Can you do me a favour?” Y/N requested. Jake’s heart rate increased, worrying over what it may end up being.

“Anything,” he sighed.

“Close the curtain a bit more?” She mumbled. But as he tried to move away from her to close the curtain and cover up the sunlight Y/N whined, gripping onto him tighter. 

“You wanted me to go.” He pointed out.

“Didn’t realise you’d have to move to do it,” she huffed. “I’ve changed my mind - stay with me.” 

Jake’s heart soared as he heard the affection, clear as day in her voice.

“Always.”

[ampharos-writes]

Red Eye

Statement #0050204 Author’s Name: Hector Calderon Nature of Incident: Anomalous occurrences during an overnight flight Date and Location: February 4th, 2005, between Seattle, Washington, USA and Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Statement

I’ve never understood people who dislike traveling.

Well, no, I’m not sure that’s entirely true. I can understand disliking public transportation, perhaps. Trains and buses inevitably become messy despite the best efforts of poor overworked city employees, and societal convention seems to break down when you try to pack that many people in that tight a space. I can understand that.

What I [i]don’t[/i] understand is people who claim to dislike driving or flying. There’s something peaceful shared by the both of them, a quiet atmosphere, an isolation that, whether it be simulated on an airplane or very real in your car, can create a sort of inner peace. I’ve never done quite as much good thinking and introspection as I have on long flights, and there’s perhaps nothing quite as relaxing as a drive to nowhere in particular.

Of course, it’s always better to go at night. Daytime in a car runs into traffic, heat from the sunlight constantly bearing its gaze through the not-quite-tinted-enough windows, the smog of the city and the exhaust fumes from your roadmates slowly leaking in through the AC vents and making you gag. Daytime on an airplane is never as cool as you want it to be and ALWAYs more crowded. The false sense of privacy is shattered. There is always a crying baby, and it is always no more than two rows behind you.

It shouldn’t surprise you, then, that I always schedule red eyes when I travel for business. I find they make the actual traveling process much more bearable, and the necessary shifting of my daily schedule to accommodate them is a small price that I’m more than willing to pay (and it’s offset by the even smaller price of the tickets themselves). I’m able to fall asleep fairly easily on airplanes, so if the fatigue overweighs the relaxation, it’s just a short hop on over to dreamland with fairly few lasting effects the following morning.

My wife, of course, both disagrees with and is concerned by my traveling habits. She’s the type of person who can hardly keep her eyes open after 11 PM, and she has a tendency to assume this same quality in those she doesn’t know - this extending, of course, to any other late-night drivers I may encounter, or the pilot of an overnight flight I’m taking. While this does grow occasionally annoying, it’s hard to stay mad, given that I know she only protests out of love and concern. Of course, it doesn’t stop me from moving long distances after the sun goes down.

So really, then, there was nothing particularly unusual about this particular flight. Seattle to LAX, departing at 1 AM. I was off work the following day, being at the tail end of a business trip, so it would be no problem for me to catch up on any lost rest once I got back. I don’t recall there being anything particularly odd about the booking process, or the wait to board, or the plane itself, and for the first 30 minutes or so, things were… normal, I suppose. Quiet, but that was to be expected. A fairly standard late-night/early-morning flight. Having no reason to suspect that otherwise would be the case, I allowed myself to slip from relaxation to dozing, falling into what I assume was a brief nap. If I dreamed, I don’t remember it.

I didn’t notice anything unusual when I first woke up, either. I had never been slow to rise, exactly, but neither was I a particularly light sleeper, and the fact that I had the row to myself delayed the realization of what was happening. It was when I noticed how dehydrated I was and pressed the service button, in hopes of calling an attendant over for some water, that I made my… well, actually, I guess it wasn’t really a mistake, was it? I mean, I was gonna find out what was happening sooner or later. The attendant’s failure to show up after 10 more minutes of pseudo-dozing is what truly roused me from my slumber, and after checking that the seatbelt sign was still disengaged, I rose from my seat, intending to track down my forgotten beverage and perhaps report a broken service light.

What I discovered instead was that the cabin of the plane was completely empty. No attendants. No passengers. Just me. It took a second for the realization to sink in, but once it did it was just so hopelessly, obviously, disturbingly wrong.

Of course there had been people on board before I had fallen asleep.

...hadn’t there?

For a minute, I simply… stood there, looking around blankly, as if expecting someone to pop out from behind a seat at any moment. This had to be a prank, a practical joke, or maybe… a drill of some sort? One I had slept through the announcement for? They certainly hadn’t exited the plane in midair; I wasn’t sure how many parachutes were present on the plane, but I assumed it wasn’t enough for the entire flight, and furthermore I surely would have noticed if someone had opened the door in midair while I was asleep. 

Perhaps they were simply… in the cockpit. It was the one place I didn’t have a direct sight line on. It was possible. The “why” wasn’t important to me in that moment, not as much as the “where”. Furthermore, we were still airborne, I could feel that much, so surely there was at least a pilot still on board. If nothing else, I should be able to march in there and get some answers, even if I wasn’t 100% sure of the questions.

Each step I took towards the front of the plane emitted a muffled “thump” that, while quiet, nevertheless reverberated through my skull in the deafening silence of the empty cabin. Everything seemed muted somehow - the AC vents pumping in pressurized air, the distant whine of the engines, the underlying white noise of the outside air whipping past at 500 miles per hour - as if I was listening to it from the other side of a plexiglass barrier. Every action I took felt magnified in its volume and intensity, and I was struck with the immensely powerful feeling that simply my being here was disturbing something, that breaking the perfect stillness of this barren and abandoned place was a crime of immense magnitude. I don’t know how long it took me to make it to the cockpit, but it undoubtedly felt much longer.

With a trembling hand, I opened the door.

Behind it was nothing. The cockpit was empty. No pilot, no copilot. Just the dim glow of the controls and the oppressive matte black of the night.

Numbly, I made my way over to the controls. I’m certainly not an expert on aviation, but the joystick was moving of its own accord, and the altimeter was holding steady, so I assumed some sort of autopilot was engaged, but there was definitely nobody manually running the show. Not knowing what else to do, I slumped into the pilot’s seat. I was alone.

...or was I? I pulled out my mobile phone. No signal. Makes sense. Plan B was still in play, though, as I frantically cast my gaze about the cockpit. After a moment, I spotted it: a small back radio transceiver, sitting calmly on its hook. I was sure that this was against air protocol or whatever, but I was EQUALLY sure that this was an emergency situation, and I wasn’t exactly super interested in the trappings of procedure. I grabbed the transmitter and called out into the night.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

A burst of static. Then silence.

“Does anyone copy? Hello?”

Nothing.

I wasn’t just the only person on the plane. I was the only person, period. There was no one else.

The transmitter fell from my hand, and for a long time I just… sat there. The plane continued to fly itself in the meantime, its destination at this point no longer important to me, as I was growing increasingly certain that it had no real intention of ever reaching one. The joystick gently drifted through the still air. The altimeter held steady. And I just… sat there.

My thoughts drifted to my wife, and I had the curious thought that perhaps this wouldn’t have happened if I had just listened to her. If I hadn’t been so keen on flying at night, maybe I wouldn’t have fallen asleep, or maybe I would have been able to see outside the plane. Maybe none of this would have happened. It was nonsense, of course, but the thought of her face comforted me. If I was never going to see her again in person, I might as well at least hold her in my mind. The resignation to my fate, to starving to death aboard this gently soaring metal tube, had my stomach dropping.

...or maybe it didn’t. Because as I continued to stare blankly at various different instruments throughout the cockpit, my eyes alighted once more upon the altimeter, and I noticed that ever so slowly, the plane was dropping, and furthermore I became aware for the first time of a slight canting forwards of the floor. It was the first time something had changed since this whole thing started, and I frankly wasn’t sure if I should be ecstatic or terrified.

The decision became much easier when the cant became more pronounced, and the speed with which the altimeter dropped began to increase, and the rushing of the outside air grew from a gentle hum to a deafening roar. Panic began to set in as I rushed to the control panel, looking for anything that might disengage the autopilot and allow me to TRY to slow my descent. It was hopeless, of course - all the controls were unmarked and unlabeled, and as terrified as I was, the thought of making my predicament WORSE tempered any rash action on my part.

Desperate then, I attempted to simply grab the joystick and pull. It didn’t budge - the autopilot, it seemed, was significantly stronger than I was, and our forward descent was locked in place.

I looked at the altimeter.10,000 feet and falling quickly. 

NOW I allowed myself to be rash, flicking every switch, hitting every button, kicking the joystick in a frantic attempt to dislodge it. Nothing worked, nothing changed. The plane screamed downward into the night, quite set on its destination and quite unwilling to listen to its lone passenger’s arguments to the contrary. I was going to die, and I was going to do it alone.

5,000 feet now.

I remembered those old duck-and-cover videos from grade school. It seemed like lunacy, but lunacy was all I had left. I retreated to the back of the plane, furthest from the place of impact, and I ducked, and I covered, and I waited.

I thought of my wife again. If things went as poorly as I expected they would, I wanted her to be the last image in my mind.

I don’t remember hitting the ground.

I DO remember waking up in a hospital bed, apparently two days later. The doctors said I had collapsed on the flight and, while I was apparently physically fine, had been completely comatose. There were no injuries, and there was no mention of a plane crash or of any mysterious disappearances. They held me overnight for observation, and I was discharged the next day.

I have another business trip next month. I’ll be taking a 9 AM flight.

Supplementary Comments

Any statement in which the anomalous occurrences begin only after the author has fallen asleep should set off immediate red flags in the mind of any properly skeptical reader. You would be surprised at how many people struggle to distinguish from the waking world and the world of dreams. I note that at no point in his statement did Mr. Calderon ever make an attempt to verify whether or not what he was experiencing was in fact real, and the details would fit with him having been comatose.

Mr. Calderon did provide us with hospital records and a flight stub as corroboration, which is quite refreshing - usually we have to rely on Ara for those sorts of things, and she staunchly refuses to divulge her methods of acquiring them, which is always somewhat concerning. Regardless, Mr. Calderon’s documents both seem to corroborate the more verifiable details of his tale - he was in fact admitted to the hospital after falling comatose on Spirit Airlines flight 271. The cause of this is, according to the records, unknown.

Lissa did manage to spot something I missed that I suppose qualifies as unusual. The flight log for Flight 271 lists the pilot as being one Captain Lucas Janssen - a name that meant nothing to me until some cursory Googling revealed that a pilot by the same name disappeared along with his whole plane somewhere over the pacific in 1998.

-Amy A. Ampharos, Head Archivist April 17th, 2011

[the--sad--hatter]

Phantom Pain (5)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU

PAIRING - Bucky X Reader 

WARNINGS - Bad Habits and Rough Sex, Angsty and Dark AF.

DESCRIPTION -  Everybody in the world knew of you, but not who you really were. Some called you a vigilante, some called you a criminal and some called you a hero but all of them called you The Phantom. Only two people knew your real identity and they swore to never tell anyone but when The Avengers need to infiltrate a high-security facility, Bruce Banner deduces that you’re the only one who can pull it off. That decision puts you and Bucky Barnes on a path you can’t turn back from, even if neither of like where it’s leading.

Chapter Five - Sold, To The Highest Bidder

“How did you even know where I lived? How did you get in the building?” You demanded in the elevator ride down.

He just raised an impassive eyebrow at you. You huffed and turned away from him. You were sulking and you didn’t care if he knew it.

Bucky found your petulant attitude amusing in a ‘I can’t wait to make her regret it’ kind of way.

“I’m using my Saturday night off to look after you, instead of planning our attack on the Hydra bases we uncovered. Show some gratitude.” he reprimanded you.

You were about to roll your eyes at him but he had a point and he was giving you a warning glare.

“Thank you, for protecting me. You didn't have to do this, I really do appreciate it.” You said truthfully.

You weren't in need of protecting but he didn’t know that, so the fact he was here was actually kind of sweet.

“So the event is at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I have to make an appearance on behalf of the King family and buy something. The proceeds are going to inner city art programs, something none of the snobs there tonight actually care about.” You said, rolling your eyes.

“You’re one of those snobs. Or do you care about the art programs?” Bucky pointed out as he led you across the lobby.

“Yeah, I care. Creativity is something that exists outside of the social hierarchy. Art, Music, Literature... it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, we are all equals when faced with that kind of beauty.” You informed him.

He opened the car door for you, looking at you with a hint of wonderment.

“Never took you for an art lover Mic Domniţă.”

“You’ve met me all of three times. How well do you really think you know me? And why do you keep calling me that?” You asked, slipping into the car as gracefully as you could.

He closed the door and walked around to the drivers side and got in before he answered.

“It means little Princess in Romanian.” He informed you as he started the car and pulled out of the private parking lot.

“That’s not even close to what I thought it meant.” You smirked.

“What did you think it meant?”

“Something sexier.”

His eyes were a shade darker as he looked over at you and pinned you in place with his gaze.

“Micuța Prințesă care crede că este o regină, totuși vrea să fie sedusă.” He growled and you shifted in your seat.

“If you’re going to insult me, can you do it in a language I’ll understand?” You snapped.

“You’re an immature brat who’s used to getting her own way. This might come as a shock to you, but I don’t have to do what you tell me.” He responded, turning his eyes back to the road.

You exhaled loudly and pulled out your phone, rapidly texting.

“What are you doing?” He demanded, if you were texting Tony you’d find out he wasn’t actually here to protect you.

He knew for a fact that Tony had jammed the signal around the base so Hydra had no way of possibly knowing you’d been there and you weren’t in any danger.

“I’m texting my regular driver to let him know I was kidnapped by a grumpy sarcastic assassin. Otherwise he’ll be waiting all night to pick me up.” You informed him.

“Former Assassin.” He corrected.

“My mistake.”

“Take this.” Bucky instructed, pulling a small case out of his pocket and passing it to you.

“A comm unit? Why do I need this?”

“Just put it in.” He ordered.

“Why?”You pushed.

He sighed and snatched it off of you and took it out of the case as he rolled to a stop at a red light. His metal hand held you still by the back of the neck and he brushed your hair back to put the comm in. To his pleasant surprise you didn’t struggle against him, just glared at him like an angry kitten. His fingers lightly grazed the top of your spine as he pulled his hand away and your eyelashes fluttered closed.

“Do you want me, an Avenger to escort you in on my arm? Won’t that raise some questions from your uncle?” Bucky asked.

“Who, what?” You asked, confused by the question.

“Secretary Ross, your uncle.” He reminded you, amused and happy at your reaction to his touch.

“So you’re going to guard me from a distance?”You asked, frowning.

“I don’t need to be next to you to keep you safe, and remember that just because you can’t see me it doesn’t mean I can’t see you.” He told you and for some reason, the thought of him watching you made you shiver and not in an unpleasant way.

He pulled up and parked down the street from the museum.

“Stay.” He ordered as he got out, somehow making it sound soft and not like he was instructing a dog.

The door on your side swung open and his hand entered your eyeline. You placed your hand in his and let him help you from the car.

“You’ll be fine, just act normal. There’s nothing to worry about, but if I tell you to do something then you do it. No matter how strange it seems, you do it without question.” He said, keeping a hold of your hand and staring you down.

“Ok, no questions. I’ll do what you say.” You agreed and were rewarded with him brushing his thumb across your knuckles before he dropped your hand.

“If anyone raises your suspicions or makes you feel uncomfortable, drop the word ‘Winter’ into the conversation and I’ll know you need me.” He instructed.

“Winter? The safeword is Winter?” You smirked.

“The safeword is Winter.” He confirmed, seriously.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As soon as you entered the museum, the vultures descended and as the recently widowed Ms Gillies  babbled on about the renovations to her townhouse you resited the urge to ask her if she had any Winter plans. The thought of Bucky descending upon the insipid woman and shooting her had you grinning and kept you going until you could politely excuse yourself.

You grabbed a champagne flute from a passing waiter but before you could drink it, Bucky was talking in your ear.

“Don’t drink that. Could easily be poisoned.” He said.

“Well what the hell am I supposed to drink?” You whispered.

“Not my problem.” He told you.

“Where are you?” You asked, looking around for his hard to miss figure.

“Stop looking for me, you look like an idiot.”

“How are you doing that?” You whisper wailed, annoyed.

“I’m the greatest assassin in history.” He said simply, no trace of arrogance or smugness.

“Greatest hide and seek player in history you mean.” You quipped.

“That too.”

“Queenie! What are you doing here? Did someone tell you about the open bar?” Someone called.

“Oh no. Winter! Winter! Winter!” You hissed, turning around with a fake smile.

“Chuck, you realise this is an art museum right? Should you be here? Aren’t you allergic to culture?”

Chuck Lauderdale chuckled loudly at your jab and you had to stop yourself physically recoiling as he placed a kiss on your cheek.

“As sharp as ever Queenie. I’m here for the same reason as you I assume. The parentals didn’t want to come and needed someone to represent them.”

“Speaking of your parents, do they still have that vacation home in the Alps? The Winter cabin?” You asked.

“The safeword is not so I can save you from annoying conversations. Grow up.” Bucky sniped at you in your ear.

“The Alps? How last decade, no our Winter home is in Greenland.” Chuck said haughtily.

“Mr Lauderdale? We have an urgent call for you at the front desk.” A museum attendant said as he hurried over.

“Ah, excuse me Queenie.” Chuck said, shoving his empty glass into your hands and sauntering away.

“Did you do that?” You asked auspiciously as you dropped Chuck’s glass and your untouched champagne on a passing waiters tray.

Bucky hummed non-committally at you and your melted a little at his thoughtful rescue.

“Unlike some people, I respect the use of the safeword. Don’t abuse it again.” He said.

You very nearly swooned.

“Ladies and Gentelmen, the auction is beginning. If you will all follow me.” Someone announced and you followed the crowd, accepting your bidding paddle at the door.

You kept an eye out for Bucky as you moved but to your dismay you could not see anyone who resembled him even a little bit.

You planned to bid on the first item that came up, pay an outrageous amount for it and then escape the boring event but as soon as you attempted to raise your paddle to bid on the weird looking Egyptian vase Bucky spoke again.

“Don’t. You don’t want that.” He said.

“Does me not bidding on it ensure my safety in any way?” You said quietly.

“It doesn’t matter, you agreed to do as I say no matter what.” He informed you and you sighed and kept your paddle down.

“Good girl.” He praised as the Vase was sold to Ms Gillies for 90 thousand.

You were forced to sit through four more long auctions, nearly falling asleep at the monontony of it before the Auctioneer announced the next item and Bucky spoke to you again.

“Bid on it.” He ordered.

You raised your paddle straight away.

“We have 60 thousand from Miss King. Do I hear 70?” The auctioneer called.

You saw Chuck Lauderdale raise his paddle and rolled your eyes. He didn't even like art, he just liked annoying you.

“Why this one?” You whispered.

“Because I want that one.” He retorted.

“80?” The auctioneer asked and you riased your paddle.

“Does this make me your sugar mama?” You whispered behind the paddle to Bucky and he snorted.

“70 years of military backpay Domniţă, I can afford it on my own.” He informed you.

“Let’s speed it up, I bid 500 thousand.” You called loudly.

“Nice try, but I still want it.” Bucky told you.

“Why do you want it?” You asked.

“I don’t. Steve will like it, just don’t tell him how much it cost.”

“Sold! For half a million dollars to Miss King.” The auctioneer called.

You breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, politely smiling and escaping from the room. A few official signatures and arrangments for delivery later and you were free.

“Where are you?” You asked Bucky as you walked through the museum.

“Close.”

There was literally nobody around you and you were unnerved.

“Where?” You asked.

“You don’t need to know.” He said.

“But I want to.” You pouted.

“Stop pouting.” He instructed and you rolled your eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me Domniţă.”

You wanted him to step out of whatever shadowy corner he was hiding in and you knew exactly how to make him do it. You smiled misheciously to yourself and ran up the stairs, heading down an empty corridor and through an unmarked door.

“What are you doing?” Bucky asked suspiciously.

You didn’t answer him as you wandered onto the secret balcony. Gathering your dress in your hands you stepped onto the ledge of the balcony and looked down. You teetered precariously in your heels and a few short seconds passed before you felt a metal hand clasp your calf and you were pulled backwards.

You yelped as you fell and were subsequently caught in Bucky’s arms. He was holding you bridal style and you could feel his hard chest rising and falling as he furiously glared down at you.

“What the hell are you doing?” He demanded.

“Getting your attention.” You explained.

“You might be used to acting out to get attention but that doesn’t work with me. Try that again and I will punish you for it.” His chest vibrated as he growled angrily and set you on your feet.

“Punish me?” You asked amusedly.

“Maybe you’d learn some manners if someone had ever put you over their lap and spanked you instead of letting you get away with your brattiness.” He snapped.

“You volunteering to spank me Sargent?”

His reaction was instantaneous and visceral and for a brief second you thought he was really about to do it but then his phone started ringing. He answered without breaking eye contact with you.

“Steve?” He answered.

“What?” Buck asked, turning away from you.

“I got it, yeah. Ok, be careful.” He said, hanging up.

“Was he checking to make sure you’re behaving WHOA!” You yelped as Bucky pushed you into the wall firmly and glared at you.

“King Inc, they have an unregistered building in Brooklyn.” He snarled.

“Yeah, I think so. It’s a test facility, not technically part of the company.” You stammered, confused.

“And you just didn't realise it was on the list of Hydra facilities you gave us?”

“What?”

“The team are doing recon on it right now. Care to explain why your father just walked in?”He asked.

Your stomach dropped and the world started spinning. Bucky frowned at you in concern. You were either a very good actress or...

“You didn’t know your father was Hydra?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'll be honest, I don't know if the vision of this chapter I had in my head translated well onto the page so I just really hope you like it. What do you think of the relationship/interactions with Bucky so far?

You can ask to be added to or removed from tags at any time folks, just comment or inbox :D @lifewanderer @drdorkus @gravedollie666 @sadsoldat @bigplantdaddy @moodyruth @likes-to-smell-books @shirukitsune @inquisitor-selvala @brownle-22 @myfandomlife-blog @markusstraya @adeleoctobre @vajeenparty @sexyvixen7  @love-nakamura  @buckitybarnes @littledeadrottinghood @pinkisokay @jsmith509 @brownlee-22 @angieptt  @thosesexytexasboys @liveonce-sodoitright @tarastudiesalot @spnrvt @dahkness @dilaila95 @rororo06 @mizzzpink @release-the-cathyrchkn @thefridgeismybestie  @fairislesheets​ @strangersstranger​ @life-wanderer​​ @uuuuuuuuggggghhh​​ @curiositykilledthepepe

[alittleshocking]

Phillip and Shock are Disgusted and Frankly Appalled by the Miracle of Pregnancy (*) [Tell Tale Heart]

In which the title explains it all...[takes place idk some time]

@knightley--phillip

[tw -- frank discussion of abortion]

SHOCK: “So, I’m pregnant,” Shock said to Phillip as she lay in his bed, the blanket tossed artfully over her lower body. She slid her heel up the mattress, so her knee was bent, the black sheet pooling over her abdomen. She let out a huff.

Yes, Shock was pregnant, because she let men inside her body however she wanted. Usually, she was rather good about it in terms of the pull out or what not, but she had always played fast and loose. She had assumed God or whoever the fuck owed her majorly for giving her fucking cancer as a kid. Maybe she had used up all her “poor little cancer girl” tokens in the slot machine, gambling away for more time consequence free. 

Maybe it was just shitty luck. One too many times letting some dumbass come inside her.

Honestly, she didn’t even know if it was Phil’s. He was her best guess, considering he was a frequent customer, but there would be no telling without a DNA test and if Shock had anything to say about it--that wouldn’t be necessary at the end of the day.

Shock lit a cigarette, even though she knew Phil’s tight-ass roommate hated her smoking in the house. Maybe she should’ve announced this at family dinner. That would’ve been hilarious. John would’ve popped a blood vessel. Tom would’ve asked to be godfather or some shit. Of course, in this scenario, Shock convinced them all she was keeping it. Which--

“Don’t freak out, I’m not keeping it.” The cigarette wagged between her teeth as she spoke and then she took a drag, plucking it from her lips and letting the smoke drift into the air. 

PHILLIP: “Oh thank fucking God.”

He let out a breath. He’d been totally and utterly frozen the moment she’d said what she’d said, sitting up so his back was against the headboard. He’d been about to suggest they grab a drink after she lit her cigarette and then she’d spoken and Phil couldn’t hear much else.

Here was a thing Phillip Knightley knew: even the best birth control was only 99.9% effective or something. He couldn’t beat those odds.

Here was another thing: Phillip had been...how shall we say...particularly careless when it came to fucking Shock. He wasn’t normally, mind you. He was normally very careful about rubbers and all that sort of stuff, because if there was one fear Phillip had, it was some woman knocking on his door heavily pregnant and demanding he pay for a child he did not want. That’d make his father quite happy.

Not that Phil didn’t want kids eventually. Maybe. He knew he was supposed to want them — or at least supposed to want to breed like a rabbit and produce strong Order sons. 

But a kid running around from some non-approved woman was a fucking nightmare — and it’d ruin his status. Not that Order members didn’t on occasion keep side mistresses or slip up, but Phil couldn’t do that to the Knightley name. He’d already fucked up once. 

“Not that I won’t help you remove it,” said Phillip, smiling now, because that’s what he did when things got weird. “But how the hell do you even know it’s mine?” He nudged her with his leg. “Not exactly like we’ve ever been exclusive.” 

SHOCK: Shock snorted at his emphatic response. She’d wanted to elicit a similar sort of reaction from him, just because she’d find it funny. And she needed funny right now.

No, Shock was not having some moral quandary over yeeting a fetus out of her uterus. She was having a monetary quandary. Since she wasn’t a citizen, she was going to have to pay out the ass for an abortion. And there was no other option. Either Shock was gonna have to prostitute herself out for a few months to gather the near 500 pounds she was gonna need (maybe more including a place to stay for the recovery after the operation) or she was gonna get it from Phil.

She knew he could afford it, which is why she had targeted him for this particular favor. Well, he was also the closest thing she had to a friend in town. They actually spent time together not having sex or doing drugs sometimes, which equaled friendship in Shock’s eyes. Which meant there was an emotional connection here she could play on too--garner his sympathy. 

She rolled her eyes. “You’re fucking me a lot more tan anyone else. Didn’t that big fancy university you went to teach you statistics?” she scoffed at him. 

PHILLIP: “You overestimate my ability to pay attention in school and do math,” fired Phil right back. 

He was quiet then, thinking about the weight of it all. He couldn’t help it. Stewing on things was part of his nature, trying to find some sort of meaning to it all. Logically he knew this would get taken care of very easily. Phil had money. He knew Shock probably came to him because she knew that he had money. He knew that he wouldn’t have said no. She didn’t need to convince him. It was something he’d do for a friend. 

The corner of his mouth tugged up. He didn’t know if he’d consider Shock a friend — just someone he was fucking. But it was more than that, wasn’t it? It wasn’t romantic, nah. Phil knew what love felt like, this big, gnawing, pulsating thing that clawed in his chest and suffocated him. He didn’t feel like that with Shock. He looked at her and he felt — he felt like high-fiving her. 

“Wow, fuck. We made a thing.” He laughed, poking Shock’s lower stomach. “There is a thing in there. That’s mental. That’s fucked. That’s straight up horror movie shit, I don’t know how women do it. Something just bloody grows inside of you for nine months all because a bloke didn’t pull out fast enough.”

He shivered a little and then for good measure, slapped a hand on Shock’s thigh.

“Alright, when do you wanna extract this thing? How does this work? Do you call ahead? Make a reservation? Just show up? I’ve no idea. Maybe I should.” He tilted his head. “For the future.”

SHOCK: Shock actually smacked his hand away. She didn’t feel like high-fiving. She felt like breaking his damn fingers, one by one. Or kneeing him in the groin. She didn’t think it was mental. It was horror movie shit. She had done a lot to keep this body: chemo and radiation mainly, though malnutrition definitely played its part. Part of her body had never really recovered from any of that. And she liked it that way. The idea of getting fat was a fucking nightmare. Especially if it wasn’t because she’d gorged herself on delicacies and sweets because she could.

It was disgusting and awful and she wanted it gone. The thought of thinking of something unauthorized growing inside of her made her feel violated. Her room was not for rent, get the fuck out squatter.

“I’ve got to make an appointment and go through some bullshit pre-screening process, probably to get convinced out of it. Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen. I’d rather die. And as soon as fucking possible. We have to go up closer to London, because there is no doctor out here in the boonies that’ll do it. Also, it’s gonna cost you 500 quid or whatever the fuck you say. And that’s just the operation. Apparently I’m gonna need to be there 48 hours before. So, add hotel on top of that. And I want the fancy shit, as mother of your bastard, I deserve the best.”

She flicked some of her blonde hair into his face. “I know you can afford it, so pony up. Oh, also, if you’re using a credit card, you’ve got to come with me.” 

PHILLIP: “Yeah, yeah.” Phil waved a hand at the mention of a hotel. He knew a place in London that was nice, but tucked out of the way, the sort of place that rich executives — and rich Order Princes — took their mistresses.

“Don’t worry, nothing but the best for my baby mama.” He reached on the side table for his phone, typed in the name of the hotel and then pulled up the website that listed all the amenities — spa, pool, lounge, gym, all that jazz — and tossed it to Shock. It was an expensive hotel, the type with a big flashy chandelier in the lobby, and if Phil didn’t already scream money, he sure as hell did now. The Knightleys were old money, basically gentry, which Shock, an American might not realize, but Phil knew she knew he knew that she knew that he was loaded. He wasn't gonna skimp out now. 

“That good enough for you? Might as well make a mini-vacation out of this whole thing.” He sighed, leaning back on the headboard. “Vacabortion. Aborcation? Something like that. Is that crass? That’s absolutely crass. Good thing we’re on the same page here.”

SHOCK: Holy shit, this was working?

For all the shit that Shock talked, she didn’t actually know if it was going to and there was a part of her that she’d never admit to, if you pried back all the rest, that was terrified. She didn’t want to go to some shady backdoor doctor, she didn’t want to turn tricks in order to afford the abortion and probably end up with some disgusting STI in exchange. Her options, outside of Phil, were unappealing and dangerous. As much as Shock liked to risk her life, it was always on her terms.

Not to mention: Shock hated hospitals and anything medical. She barely took Advil, if she could help it. Now, she was going to have to have surgery. Be strapped, helpless, to a table and dissected.

This fear lurked like a shadow against the wall, in the peripheral of Shock’s vision. Just faint enough that Shock could ignore it. 

She hadn’t panicked. She’d gotten to work.

There was this burn in her chest when Phil handed her the phone. Something that was as thick and cloying as perfume: gratitude. Shock would rather choke on it. 

Good thing Phil handed her his phone. She took it with eager hands and, despite her composure throughout this conversation, her eyes bulged wide at the sight of glittering chandeliers and a pool bigger than any she’d ever seen.

“Holy shit, that bathtub is a-maz-ing! That’ll be so great to soak in after they’ve ripped my uterus out through my vagina.” 

Shock wasn’t going to say thank you. Even if the words were on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she leaned back against the cushions and clicked the “book room” button--

“So, when are we going? You don’t have school yet, right? And if Gaston doesn’t let me off, I’ll just start a smear campaign about him.” 

PHILLIP: “I’m literally always free,” said Phil, which was somewhat of a lie. He’d have to make up a reason to tell John and Tom why he was going out of town with Shock. Maybe the reason was just as simple as he was going out of town with Shock to the Belleview — which both of them would recognize immediately — and Tom would make a big deal about it and John would roll his eyes, but Phillip could deal with that. 

He did not want a child. Not right now at least. Maybe one day. In the future. In the far future. Hopefully. Phillip hoped that one day he’d wake up and the future that was laid out for him — marry a nice well-bred Order girl, breed like a rabbit and have an army of children — would be something he realized he’d been looking for. All this youthful ennui and restlessness was just an adolescent phase. Phillip Knightley was just a bit too late in growing out, of course! He wanted to want it, wanted to duck his head down and make his parents happy, please his brothers, stay by John and Tom’s side for the rest of his days. 

He glanced back at Shock, the thoughts too heavy for even him to infuse levity in, pushing them out of mind as he browsed more of the Belleview’s amenities. 

“Next weekend? Or is during the week better for you? What would please the boss man? Like I said — and like you know — I am very flexible.” 

SHOCK: The relief was like a shock (ha) to the system with how immediate and all-encompassing it was. She hadn’t even realized how stiff she’d been until her body finally caught up and realized: damn, girl, you actually got us out of a shitty situation for once. She felt herself relax into the fluffy mattress of Phil’s bed, her body aching slightly. 

“During the week probably. Definitely can’t take off Friday/Saturday. Could leave Sunday and get back..Tuesday? Do you think there is a long recovery time for getting your uterus lining ripped out of your vagina? I mean...usually that shit takes a week, I can’t imagine it all done at once.” She gave a shudder before perking back up. “Hey, you think they’re gonna give me pain killers? Like--the good shit?”

She laughed. Awesome, if she got those, she could turn around and sell them maybe. Give Phil back at least some of the money. As much as she enjoyed having money and attention lavished on her, she didn’t like the idea of being a charity case.

“Thanks, though. Guess I owe you a really good blow job or something.”

[aerotey]

Glassy Sky

I violently awoke from my slumber, not knowing why until I heard two loud knocks at the door. It would seem whoever is outside is getting impatient. I looked out the window to see that it was the dead of night.

“I’m comin’.” I called before rushing to the door. I opened it and was met by two men, both had dark ruffled hair and eyes, as well as tanned skin that was being stretched by their smiles. It was my best friends Benjamin and William, we would often joke about how I looked more like a noble than a commoner, with my fair complexion, blond hair, and green eyes. The only thing stopping me from passing as one was my ratted clothes, and speech. I grew very confused, there was no logical reason for them to show up at my house at this hour.

“C’mon we’ve got to show you somethin’!” Benjamin said, in a bit of a drawl due to his lack of education. We all lacked in education, after all, peasants didn’t need to know grammar to work in the fields. William promptly grabbed my arm and proceeded to drag me out the door, only pausing to allow me to shut it, not that it would stop anyone who truly wanted to get in, not that anyone would, I was dirt poor. The wood of the door was rotted from the water damage caused by the rain over the years, the hinges were rusted and the lock was broken.

“Where are we goin’?” I asked, more exasperated than anything.

“Bed n Bar!” William said as if that held all the answers.

“But you know it's closed at this hour!” I said, flabbergasted. Neither of them said anything for the rest of our walk to the Bed n Bar, which also happened to be the most popular tavern in the capital.

When we arrived the tavern appeared to be empty. Nobody was loitering around its outer brick walls and no light shone out through its paned windows. However, William and Benjamin quickly dragged me through the door and into the cellar, where I was flooded with light. I was catching snippets of conversation about raids and theft. I was confused and looked at William, my face conveying that I was demanding he explain to me what was going on. “This has been goin’ on for weeks now. We here are what make up the resistance.” William said.

“Of what?” I asked incredulously.

“The rule of the king, we be fighting for equality we is.” Benjamin said proudly. I could only gape at him. Looking around the room I saw no weapons and only a handful of people. If they were plotting a rebellion than they surely weren’t prepared. I supposed that was one reason peasants didn't receive an education, so we couldn't fight back.

“Attention!” a stranger called from the front of the room. “We are gathered to discuss the raid on the tax collectors carriage comin’ up from Briarton next week!” the other men gave cheers. It was only when they were talking about stealing the money while it was in the clearing south of the Brooke that I objected. There was a steep hilling further south than that called Deadman’s Tumble, the name was ironic because nobody had ever died there.

“Wait! The clearing wouldn't give you the cover you need and they would see you in wait. Why not ambush it at Deadman’s Tumble? You would be upon them before they knew what was happenin’.” I stated. Everyone in the room froze, including William and Benjamin. Then the man at the front of the room broke into a smile.

“That’s some good thinkin’ right there.” he said and began to plan for the ambush. Whatever tension that had come upon the room seemed to have vanished. It was a while later before Benjamin leaned over and explained to me that that was their leader. The sheer idiocy! I barely know anything at all about strategy and yet I knew an ambush was better than a charge!

After the meeting Benjamin, William and I were standing by the mural of the sky that had been painted on the east wall of the tavern earlier that month. Benjamin and William were discussing the ambush and plans of the “rebellion” when its leader approached us. “That was some good ideas in there. How’d you like to take over? To be honest I ain't got the slightest clue what I'm doing.” he said.

“No tha-”

“I'm sure he’d like that!” I was cut off by Benjamin.

“Great!” the man said and proceeded to walk away.

“What are you doin’? I ain’t got the slightest clue how to lead this thing!” I whispered angrily.

“Bet you you can still do a better job than him.” Benjamin said. I sighed and went back to admiring the mural, this time around the chips in the paint stood out more, making the mural seem more old and shabby than beautiful.

Two weeks later, the ambush at deadman’s tumble had finally come, we were waiting out of sight on top of the steep hills surrounding the road. We waited there for what was likely to be hours until the carriage finally came into sight, I waited until it was just underneath us until I gave the signal, and with it, we charged.

The ambush had gone exactly as planned, we had slaughtered the escorts for the carriage and the people inside and taken the money. However, now that I was standing in my house, staring at my reflection in a shard of glass from the carriage I had picked up after the battle. My face was smeared with dirt and had cuts all over, yet that was not the damage I was searching for. I had killed three men today, many more under my orders but I didn’t look any different. Why was that? I shouldn’t- no, I couldn’t be okay after killing people. It wasn’t right! Suddenly my hair felt too heavy, my limbs too long and my skin too tight. My chest began to feel constricted and it was like the walls were closing in on me, my hand grew tight on the glass as I tried to sort out what I was feeling. Frustration? Anger? The more I tried to think the more chaotic my thoughts grew and how I was feeling worsened. My skin grew extremely itchy, from the blood coating me or something else I didn’t know. The itch grew and my breathing became labored. It felt like the very sky should come crashing down upon me, crushing and killing me with its weight as, unlike Atlas, I don’t believe I would be able to hold it up. With a scream I ripped off my shirt, scratching my arms violently. I watched with morbid fascination and calm as blood beaded up from the cuts. The itch and tightness from earlier were all gone. I do not know how long I sat just watching the blood run down my arms until I finally pulled myself from the floor. It was strange, I thought, looking in the mirror, how I now looked like I felt inside, with the wounds I had inflicted upon myself.

Slowly the resistance attracted more people, soon everyone in the lower class in the capital and surrounding towns were on board, and I still had no clue what I was doing. Benjamin and William soon became my right-hand men, we discussed all ideas before presenting them. However, we finally had the stupidest idea yet, in a months time we would be storming the castle. By that point, we would number around a thousand and have weaponry for at least five hundred of us. We were relying on numbers alone and the cooperation of everyone in the surrounding towns.

The night of the storm was here, we had 500 guns and were hiding in the dense forest around the castle gate. There was no order to how we were lined up, because we only had a haphazard plan, for everyone to run into the castle and kill anyone they saw. We were all wearing red armbands to declare ourselves a member of the rebellion. However, when the time came for the people we had inside to open the gate, it remained closed. We waited for an hour before we heard a gunshot from deeper in the forest. Just like that, everything was thrown into chaos, bullets were flying through the air. I ran through the bushes and trees and what I saw struck me with dread, we were firing at each other. I began shouting, calling for them to stop firing, and being drowned out by gunfire. Searing pain suddenly ripped through me. My shoulder had been shot. The castle guards surely would have heard this by now I thought. A moment later we were set upon by them, we were all being mowed down, like trees being cut. I was shot again, in the leg this time and at this point, I no longer had any clue from which side it came, my vision was fading and I was dizzy. I fell to the ground and everything went black.

The dampness of the dark cell had long since sunk into my bones, the days becoming impossible to count. I knew there was no chance that the rebellion had succeeded and I cursed myself. One gunshot that night from what had probably been an overeager boy had lost us any chance of winning, not that it was likely in the first place. I prayed that at least a few of my men had slipped away, but that hope was soon revealed to be in vain. The door slammed open and crashed against the already cracked stone of the wall. I startled to my feet and the guards that were dressed in red, dirtied uniforms each grabbed my arms, cuffed my hands behind my back, and led me out of my cell. The hallway walls were much like the cells, I could tell they had all been grey at one time but the dampness and mold had long since settled in, staining them green. As I walked down the hall I was surprised to see that many of the other cells had barred doors, allowing me to see through them. It was then that despair crawled its way into my gut, I was being paraded down the hallway in front of a countless number of my men. I held my head high and calmed my racing heart, even if captured I was still their leader and would act like it. The hallway seemed to stretch for miles, and soon I felt whatever energy I had left drain from my body. My legs dropped out from under me and the guards had to half carry, half drag me down the remaining length of the hall. My face contorted with grief, I had let myself, my comrades, and my country down. Anyone else could have done better than the sorry excuse for a charge I had led on the castle, and now my men would have to help me pay the price. The hallway finally ended and with a few more twists and turns I suddenly was blinded by the bright light of day. The stands were packed with people. The sand in the arena empty save for a wooden platform. The guards slowly led me towards it. I began to struggle, I couldn’t do this. I had so much more left to do, and yet my efforts proved fruitless and I was led up the steps of the platform, standing to face the balcony where the king was sat.

“Edric Bayard, you have been charged with treason against the king and have been sentenced to the gallows.” the man standing in front of me said.

I already knew that, I had known that would be what happened to me if I was captured from the moment I had begun to lead the rebellion. Still, my throat constricted in fear and I found myself frozen as the executioner, who was dressed in black, put the noose around my neck. He then stepped over by the lever that would end my life, and with a flourish of the king's hand, he pulled it. Time seemed to stand still as the floor dropped out from beneath me. Then, all at once I fell, I shut my eyes and was met with excruciating pain. It would seem I was not one of the lucky ones, my neck had not snapped from the drop, instead, I would suffocate slowly. The crowd was cheering around the arena, overjoyed with the idea of watching my death. The sky was so wondrously blue I thought, even as I imagined it cracking, just like the shattered glass from the carriage at Deadman’s Tumble, just as I thought it should have done that day. The cracks were spreading and as I was running out of air I no longer knew whether it was just my imagination or if the sky was actually cracking and would fall on me any moment, cutting my death short. Soon it wasn’t just the sky breaking, it was my vision too, black streaked across it, looking like one of those fancy store windows downtown after someone threw a rock at it. Slowly, I closed my eyes and the world stopped, and my existence ceased.

[persuasiontechniques]

Get your business networking to the next level

Effective networking is essential for any business to succeed. The landscape of business networking has changed drastically. Business networking does not have to be about meeting people in a crowd and exchanging business cards. Traditional networking is still valuable and effective. However, e-networking via social networking sites for business is equally as valuable.

No matter what people think about social networking sites they will be here for the long-term. They will change over time and may look different from what they are today, but they will always be there. While social networking sites may be purely for "social", they can also have a business component. However, it is important that business owners, executives and managers have strong connections on the trusted business networking sites like LinkedIn.

Why? Why? Because clients, customers, colleagues and other people look at business networking sites as evidence of your character. If a prospect is interested in doing business with you and has a question, they will likely conduct a search on social media. People have never had the ability to search for anyone or any company. Background checks used to be expensive and time-consuming. But these days, a few keystrokes and mouse clicks can provide a wealth of information. This is why your company and you should be active on business networking sites... and you must use the e-networking websites effectively.

These tips will help you to become an e-networker savvy and have a positive online presence.

* Do not be a collector of contact information; become a cultivator.

Any networking effort should be about building relationships and not collecting business cards. E-networking is no exception. You've probably seen people with 500+ connections if you've ever used any business networking site. You may initially think "Wow, this person knows a lot." But is he or she actually able to make those connections? Or are they just trying to collect contacts?

Instead of accepting invitations from everyone, pay attention to who you are connecting with. If you make a connection with someone you should look at their profile and send a note to them indicating a shared interest, club affiliation, or other details. You could write to someone and say, "I saw you attended Northwestern University" or are a member the Miami Business Association, etc. I share a similar interest. I also attended Northwestern...am a member the Tulsa Business Association have a pet beagle named Snoopy...etc .)." You get the idea. You will be able to stand out and open up the doors for real communication later if you find a common interest.

* Have a clear purpose.

Many people believe that social media will bring them business. Although you may be able to make money online, it shouldn't be your primary purpose. Your purpose should be to share your knowledge and make people aware of you.

Every business networking site should be a place where you can give and not just get. You must contribute valuable content to your e-networking activities to gain business. There are many groups that you can join and have strong conversations. You can be sure that someone will reach out to you if you share something useful and smart (good content). This will allow you to share your message with more people.

You can also share a business tip, ask thought-provoking questions or post a motivational quote. You can always acknowledge someone for any feedback or contribution, no matter what content you post. You can't assume people are trustworthy in the real world. Every person who responds to your content is a potential partner and you should treat them accordingly.

If you are responding to a question that someone else has asked, it is better to do so in the first part of the conversation than to reply after 100 people have replied. Your answer should be on the first page. This way, everyone who replies to you will see your photo and information. Pay attention to the question and don't give any answers that aren't necessary. Remember that your answer will be available forever.

* Personalize your profile.

It's fine to add some personality to your profile, even though it is business. Remember, not everyone is a businessman. There are likely to be interesting hobbies and other aspects of your life that you find fascinating. You might have the largest collection of yo-yos in the city, collect antique cars or breed prize-winning dogs. These are some interesting facts about yourself that you can add to your profile to make it more real.

Also, take a look at the widgets and tools that business networking sites offer and make sure you use them. You can post your reading list, link to your blog, and upload your Twitter feed. These additional applications allow people to get to know you. These applications are easy to use and integrate into your business network persona.

An Old Tool Gets a New Look

The world is currently experiencing the largest social media experiment. The pioneers of business e-networking are those who embrace it now. They will determine how the tool is implemented and evolves. Keep in mind that business networking should only be a part of your overall business building strategy. It's not the only way to get business. Effectively using today's business enetworking tools will give you another way to connect with prospects and clients, which can help you grow your business and increase your bottom line.

[nightfallwolfkin]

Why Voter ID Equals Voter Suppression

This was written by a close friend from her own personal experience. --------------------------------------------- Oh hey. Someone's tweet just reminded me of something. #voterID #VoterSuppression My mom's 70-something. She's been married to my dad, a retired Army warrant officer, for 50+ years. She's had numerous jobs, been overseas several times, had a driver's license since she was 16.

She's volunteered at the VA medical facility, worked at the polling stations every election (big & small) for about a decade, has had numerous bank accounts, credit cards, loans, mortgages, etc. Her current driver's license (exp 2022) doesn't have the "Real ID" marker on it.

She has a friend whose son is pretty high up in the DMV; he assured her she could do it all online. She's not internet savvy, so I got her info & tried to do it. Everything said she was eligible to renew/update her DL online, but when I tried to finalize it, it was rejected.

So I took a day off of work one day and went with her to the DMV to find out what's going on. Except we couldn't find out, because the DMV isn't letting anyone in, not even to ask a question, unless they have an appointment. You have to schedule the appointment online.

Remember, my mom's not tech-savvy. She can do a few things, but not a lot, and between her own innate irritability and the stresses of caring for my dad, she simply doesn't have the patience for it. So I went online to schedule the appointment. Except I couldn't.

They only book two weeks out at a time; all the available appointments were filled. The website said to try again on such-and-such a day, so I did. Same thing. All booked up. I took some more time away from my own work to go with her to talk to the lady turning people away.

We asked if we were doing something wrong. No, she said, it's just really hard to get an appointment right now. Try logging on at like 12:01AM on the next available day. My mom's usually sweet to other people, but on occasion she can talk to them the way she talks to me lol.

It's very effective, and the lady whose job it was to turn people away agreed to go inside and pull some strings and got my mom and appointment for three weeks away. By now we've been trying to get her a new driver's license for about two months.

The lady tells us we have to bring her birth certificate to prove that she's a US citizen. My mom scoffs and says they've never needed that before. Well, they need it now. Three weeks later there's a bit of a panic when we can't find her birth certificate.

She insists on trying to get my dad to help her look for it, despite the fact that he has raging dementia. He goes through all the folders in a file cabinet three times and swears it's not there, while she tears up the rest of the house. I've taken another day away from work.

I tell them to leave and get something to eat, and I'll look for it. I don't think my dad actually knows what he's looking for. He and she both insist that if it was in that cabinet, he would have found it. "Humor me," I say. They leave to go get lunch.

They walk out the door, I open the file cabinet, and look at some manila envelopes right in the middle. I pick one up. Printed on the front of it in ~36-point font is 'BIRTH CERTIFICATES' followed by the names of everyone in our family. I call my mom and tell her to relax.

We get to the DMV a half hour ahead of time. I check in online - another thing that my mom couldn't figure out how to do - and then I go stand in line while she sits with my dad in the car. The Go-Away lady comes out, confirms our appointment, then asks for the birth cert.

I hand it over. She looks at it and says, "No, her birth CERTIFICATE." I look at the document. She says, "This is a Certification of Birth Registration*. It's not a birth certificate." health.maryland.gov/vsa/Pages/cert… *or something like that

I look at it, puzzled. It says 'birth' and 'certificat-' something; surely that's the same thing. No, she says; this is just a paper saying that the official birth certificate was processed. "This is the only thing she's ever used," I say. "The military, her passports -"

"Does she have a current passport? We can use that." "Well, no, she hasn't needed one for like 30 years. How come all of a sudden this - which has been perfectly fine for her entire life in NUMEROUS states and countries - isn't sufficient?" "They changed the requirements."

The Go-Away lady tells me we'll have to request a certified copy of the BC, and then start the entire process over again. I get a link to a company that processes the requests, but they charge $10 for the BC, and $11.75 for their processing fee.

To hell with that, I think, I'll go directly to the Vital Records people in Maryland. They charge the same thing, because they want you to use the internet company. You can request it by mail, by... wait for it... downloading a form from the internet. health.maryland.gov/vsa/Pages/birt…

So basically you can do it on the internet, or on the internet, and if you don't have access to the internet or don't know how to do stuff like "download a PDF" well, tough noogies for you. But that's what I'm here for. So I go back to the company and fill out all the info.

They're asking for some weird stuff to verify her identity: "Which of these properties is associated with you? A, B, C, D, E, or none of the above?" My mom immediately goes into a panic because those are all strange addresses to her. "Somebody must be using my SSN!"

I try to explain to her that knowing that you've never been at ANY of those places is confirmation as much as knowing you've been at this or that one. She doesn't understand it, and she's almost in tears. I tell her to just trust me, it's fine. We finish that, and move on.

We get to the checkout part and guess what? They don't have an option to just send it regular mail (or not that I could find). Your only "option" for shipping is express mail, for $18+. That brings the total cost to $40-something. And it's going to take 3-4 weeks.

In addition to the ~2 months we've already been waiting. If you add everything all up, by the time we're done it'll probably "cost" ~$500 to get her driver's license renewed. (That's counting my time at my full rate; even if you just count it at minimum wage, it's easily over $150.) And that's just the things we can put a price on - gas, hours away from (my) work, actual costs. It doesn't count the hours staying up until midnight to try to get an appointment or the frustration (for her) of not being able to talk to a human.

It doesn't count the stress she feels hoping my dad's not deciding to walk into traffic or burn the house down, since he's not allowed to come in to the DMV office with her and has to wait outside/at home, or the guilt she feels about relying on me for all this.

And altogether it'll probably take us 4 months minimum to simply renew a driver's license to put a little star on it. (The lack of birth certificate is why she couldn't do it online, btw.) And consider this: My mom's an intelligent, middle-class, white cishet woman.

She has a car, she has internet access (though she doesn't know how to use it), she's fluent in English, she's worked outside the home for decades and, as a former military wife and government employee, understands paperwork and bureaucracy.

She doesn't have a criminal record, she doesn't move around often (or at all), she has perfect credit and plenty of credit cards to pay for things online - she should be the easiest person in the entire damn world to renew a driver's license for. And it was (is) HARD.

Anyone who thinks getting "suitable" ID is a walk in the park needs to pull their head out of their ass. For someone with disabilities, living in poverty, without a permanent address, unfamiliar with bureaucracy, limited access to the internet, someone whose appearance doesn’t match the name on their ID or birth certificate, someone who doesn't have a credit card and pays cash for everything - imagine.

Imagine how fucking hard it would be for a single parent who speaks limited English (and YES, there are plenty of natural-born US citizens who don't speak English), or doesn't have a car. For someone who's not the gender they were assigned at birth. For someone who hasn't had $40 to spare in years. For someone with a learning disability. For thousands of other people. It's bullshit, is what it is. (sorry so long.)

[mentornationpodcast]

The Most Powerful Investing Secret that Nobody Wants to Hear

If you follow some of the most successful influencers on social media today such as Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Dean Graziosi, and others, you will hear a very common question asked thousands of times by so many people. The question goes something like this. Grant! I have $25,000 saved. What should I invest in?

Hi, my name is John Abbas and I’m the host of Mentor Nation Podcast. Today, I’m writing an article about The Most Powerful Investing Secret that Nobody Wants to Hear. These tips will help you to gain more and more profits.

Every time I hear this question, I usually see two answers being given.

They say “Invest in yourself”

They recommend investing in what “they” are selling.

Not that this answer is wrong, but is it really what people want to hear? Is the answer complete? Is the question even able to be answered generically or is the answer on a case-by-case basis depending on the situation of the person who is asking?

This is why I want to share something with you that a very wise mentor of mine shared with me.

You see. In my 20s, I was all over the place. I was making decent money in Network Marketing, and my mind was racing. I had a little money saved and decided that I was ready to be an investor. Every time I heard about some cool opportunity to get in on something early, I was hooked. I started following lots of people who built wealth in different industries. Some made millions in the stock market. Some made their fortune in Real Estate. Some by selling coaching and marketing. If you follow anyone enough, you will feel like what they do is what you should be investing in. If you follow several people, this can lead to confusion and uncertainty. This is where I found myself. I had several courses that I only watched part of. I was paying for software that I didn’t know how to use. I was paying for masterminds with other clueless people hoping to get some sort of direction. I was dabbling a little into the stock market. I owned a little cryptocurrency. I was trying to figure out how to do drop-shipping and make millions on Amazon.

Then I met a mentor in Nashville that corrected my thinking and helped me get clear on what I should be focusing on… Here is the advice he gave me almost 10 years ago that has made me a lot of money but more importantly helped me understand the mind-set around investing wisely.

Before you ever become an “investor” with your money he said “Invest your time to build a skillset because nothing can take that away from you. Learn how to build a business around that skill set. Not only will you learn a valuable skill, but you will learn other equally valuable skills as you build the business such as leadership, communication, problem-solving, sales and marketing, and management.”

Choose what you are passionate about, what you enjoy doing, or something that is highly valued in the marketplace to others, and build out a strong skill set by learning, finding mentors, practicing, and getting results. This is how you create a stable and steady income. If you do this well, and you don’t live above your means by buying dumb shit, then you should make quite a bit more than you need to live allowing you to save money. Focus on building that before you invest in anything else. Don’t think because you have $20,000 saved that you are ready to be an investor. Until you have mastered something that makes you valuable, and that people are willing to pay you good money for, just stay the course with blinders on. Regardless of what happens in the economy, there will always be a demand for people with a valuable skill that most people don’t have.

Here is why this is important. As I type this, the world is getting ravaged by the coronavirus. Nobody saw this coming. Businesses are closing, people are losing everything, the stock market dropped over 30% and things are just getting started. In Nashville where I live, thousands of Airbnb’s that were making owners a fortune due to tourism, are now vacant and many of them will head into foreclosure soon.

“Investments” are getting crushed but the people who have skills are still making tons of money.

Once you have built a business that generates excess cash flow that is stable, then it might make sense to start investing. So what should you invest in? Unfortunately, I can’t give you a perfect answer because everyone’s situation is different, however, I will give you some direction and some questions you should ask yourself.

Do you want to be a hands-on Investor or a hands-off investor?

Do you want to focus on short-term investing or long-term?

Do you want to invest in things with high risk, high reward, or low-risk low reward?

Do you want to diversify, or just invest in one thing that you believe in?

Do you see how the answers to these questions can lead to drastically different advice?

What I do might not be what you should do but let me share what I do at the moment that works for me.

My main business is day-care. That is where I spend much of my time and energy because I know that business, it’s very profitable, and I can expand. The demand for quality childcare is high and it’s not easy, so I spend a majority of my time planning the next 5 years on how I can go from currently doing over a million per year to be at $10 million per year at the end of the 5th year. I know that to do this, I will need to open up more locations and focus on owning the real estate as well so that the money I pay monthly in rent is toward a mortgage on a property I own vs. giving it to a landlord.

I know that I have excess money and for me, I like to be hands-off. I want to invest in both short-term payoff and long-term payoff, and I don’t mind taking big risks if the rewards are there.

I put my money into buckets.

Bucket 1: Savings. 6 months of living expenses in liquid money or cash because you just never know.

Bucket 2: Money I focus on just investing back into my main business

Bucket 3: Retirement. I have Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, and IRA’s

Bucket 4: Stocks. Since I want to be hands-off, I focus on ETF’s, and solid companies that pay a great dividend. ETFs are Exchange Traded Funds that just follow the S&P 500.

You are just buying a pool of the top 500 companies traded so it’s more stable. Since for the last 100 years, the S&P has gone up, if I think long term, I should be good. I like dividend stocks because, in addition to owning shares of the company, they pay a dividend quarterly which is steady cash flow aka residual income.

Bucket 5: Real Estate: This is also hands-off for my situation. Since my fiancé is a realtor, and Real Estate holds value well long term, I chose this and can do this hands-off. She sources deals, she runs the numbers, we buy the property or properties, have a contractor fix them up, and then have a property manager rent them out and handle 100% of the day-to-day while we collect a check every month.

Remember: I am not telling you what to invest in or that your plan should be my plan because it shouldn’t. The purpose of this blog is to help you understand that before you become an “investor” with your money, Invest your time into building skill and build a business around that FIRST until you can create a lot of excess cash flow.

Second, before you invest your money, ask yourself the right questions so that you understand what type of investing suits you so that you aren’t just throwing your money away at everything that sounds good or some get rich quick BS. Many great investments are both hands-off and hands on, low risk and high risk but you need to know what your risk tolerance is and also if you’re thinking is short term or long term.

Lastly. Some of you reading this might just want to be an “investor” for your career. In that case, being an investor will be your business and you will still need to build a “skill” so everything above still applies. Choose the industry you love, learn all that you can, find a mentor, take massive action, make mistakes, learn from them and keep going and chances are you will become a great investor!

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[highbuttonsports]

The Flames offseason took a big swing a few days back with blockbuster trade.

Yeah I’m upset. I think it was Drake who rapped that, now the city of Calgary is singing the same song. Let me preface this by saying personally, I’m not upset, let’s go with neutral. The Flames offseason took a big swing a few days back with blockbuster trade. Alright, well yea you’re right, it’s probably not a blockbuster in today’s game, but back it up 5-6 years when both of these guys were in their younger years, it might have been a decent heavy hitting deal. That’s right, breaking down the James Neal and Milan Lucic trade. 

Let’s put this deal in a brief perspective. It’s like used cars. I have a pickup truck that is no longer good to me living downtown Calgary, I can’t park it in a parking garage, I don’t drive it much anymore and need something smaller. My buddy has a smaller car, with a bunch of miles on it and although isn’t ideal it’s better for what I need. We might have a good trade off here, he actually just bought a house and could use a truck for homeowner shit. The payments are pretty much equal, the needs have changed, how about we swap? That seems like exactly what the Flames and Oilers ultimately did. However you want to help yourself sleep at night, whether it was a bad contract for a bad contract type of deal, or  “filling a need” for “filling a need” type of deal, it’s done. Looch will be wearing the Flaming C come October, and the Real Deal will be up in the blue and orange. I’ll be the first to admit, I was excited as hell last July when the Real Deal signed in Calgary. 

  Who wouldn’t love a career 20 goal scorer each year on their roster. It’s screams consistency. Even at 5.75 million some say it might be steep, others might be like that’s a pretty good deal. I’m in the decent deal boat. Obviously that was shown to be a bust this year, but when you look at some of the other contracts out there based on contribution I don’t think it’s the worst. Looking at Milan, again similar deal. 6 million for what he is now is extremely steep. He probably still calls Uncle Peter Chiarelli every summer to thank him for that ticket. I won’t disagree that it’s also steep for what he offers now, but when you’re dealing with bad contracts sometimes you just have to take your medicine. Obviously Holland just inherited this, but he still has to make the best out of a bad situation and I think he did that here. Treliving on the other hand must of felt like he had no other choice. Listening around the city on sports radio, news outlets and all things Flames, or should I say James Neal must go.  Almost a year later what we thought was a good signing, or what I thought was a good signing was traded away. 

Let’s look at it for each player. When I talk to the boys in the shop, I talk about this deal with expectations. I don’t hate that we traded James Neal, I don’t love it either. I don’t hate that we acquired Milan Lucic, but I don’t necessarily love it. When I say expectations, I go this route. Let’s look back at last summer when the Flames signed James Neal. They’re starting to change their identity after another down year. New coach, some roster changes, things are looking up. Adding what was really a bigger free agent signing in James Neal we were all under the impression he’d walk in here and score another twenty. I was in that boat 100 percent. The expectations were being set for James Neal before he ever stepped on the ice in a Flames sweater. He was going to step into the first line with Gaudreau and Monahan and flourish. Worst case scenario he’d be a second liner and likely still throw up twenty. Obviously that wasn’t the case, so as you sit back and try to find out where it all went wrong we can look at a few different things. New coach, Bill Peters. 

   Right from the get go, did he give Neal a true chance. Sure he threw him up on line one or line two from time to time for a shift to give him that shot, but nothing came to fruition. Did he write off Neal before he ever stepped on the ice? I’m not saying that this was the case, but it definitely could be possible. It could be James himself. Did he play too much hockey over the past few years and never had a true off season where he could recover, and train. This could be the case as to why his foot speed or straight up hockey sense seemed to be non existent this past year. Like I mentioned, expectations, here’s where we lie. We EXPECTED James Neal to come into Calgary, with a 5.75 million dollar contract to put up twenty goals and play top line minutes night in and night out. We don’t know it for sure, but it could be the exact same expectation James set out for himself. Once that doesn’t happen, then obviously it’s a failure. When you are expecting a 5.75 million dollar sniper to be just that, and he turns out to be a dud playing out on the third and fourth line, putting up 7 goals, 12 assists for 19 points you’re damn right we’re going to call a spade a spade and call for his head because that was an epic fail of a contract, or so it seems. Now I’m one that was expecting him to get another year to prove his worth. He would have that full summer to get himself in shape.

   He had that bad year so the motivation should be there to get his shit together. There wasn’t many options for Treliving to get rid of him as a buy out just didn’t make sense, and trade partners are extremely limited. Clearly the Flames felt the trial ran out like it usually does after 30 days and found a partner to dance with and offloaded the baggage. Looking at him up in Edmonton, again it’s a hit or miss. Either he’s going to put up 20+, or he’s going to be another dud. Everyone is expecting him to put up 30 being on a line with Connor, but can he keep up? Can he be put in the slot and get a feed from McDavid? It remains to be seen, and should be interesting to see how it plays out. I will say this though, although I’m not sure what the over/under will be set at for 2019/2020, but based upon last years totals, I got the over for James Neal goals this year.

The other piece of that trade was Milan Lucic heading down Highway 2 to the C of Red. I’ll start this bit off with a little about myself. I grew up a Bruins fan, and still love following the Bruins, but living in Calgary and attending many Flames games, and being invested I’ve come to cheer for the Flames. Call me what you want, but unless you live in the city and go through the same ups and downs and feels in the arena, don’t comment until you do! Looch was your stereotypical Bruin. I loved his game since he came into the league. He was the true big bad Bruin. Obviously times have changed, the league has changed and his game isn’t what it used to be. The game of hockey isn’t want it used to be as it’s changed so much over the past few years. That’s why I’m sitting back and waiting to see how this plays out. By the numbers, again bad contract. Calgary did save some money taking on this bad contract which will help when trying to sign our other RFA’s, but we also take on a NMC, and some signing bonus money that we didn’t have with Neal, but it’s the old adage that the change of scenery could make this work (for both teams). Let me take you back to where we talked about expectations. 

  Let’s move into this trade, and realize that we are not expecting Looch to walk in here and play with Gaudreau and Monahan, or with Backlund and Tkachuk. So yes, when you look at it in the sense that we’re paying 5.25 million for a guy on the bottom 6, but we were going to pay that anyway. Are we going to pay that for a guy that we’re expecting to do something that isn’t, or actually find the value in the fact that we have a guy playing his role, what he was brought in to do and anything he does will seem like an added bonus. Let’s not discount the fact that in 12 NHL years, he has over 500 points and 1000 PIMs in almost 900 games. That’s not terrible for a guy who has been a grinder throughout his career, but can also play up and down the lineup. In those numbers, he’s scored 15 or more goals 8 times with a career high of 30 goals in 2010-2011. Now I won’t be the one that sits here and suggests he’s going to put up 30 this year, or ever again, but I will sit here and suggest that he gets 15+ this year. If we get 15+ along with 40-50 points I think that should be considered a success. But all that aside, I think the part of this deal that will make this a win for Calgary is the fact that Milan Lucic is in the lineup. 

  Yes the game has changed, but if you don’t think he keeps guys honest out there, take a lap. He’s a presence no matter where he is, and with a younger lineup along with some vets like Gio, this has to be a win for the dressing room, not to mention allowing some guys like Bennett and Tkachuk to be their usual aggravating selves out there with a bit less pressure knowing whose backing them up. Not that they necessarily need it, but you know in the back of everyone’s minds that’s the case. I’m not sure if Milan feels as he has a lot to prove, but we know his years in Edmonton didn’t pan out how anyone was expecting let alone how I’m sure he expected it too, so maybe he is entering this year training as hard as ever, maybe even with a chip on his shoulder coming into this season with the mindset he has everything to prove. I’m hoping for that, as I’m sure the rest of Flames fans are. 

We’re still weeks away from these guys even stepping on the ice for training camp to see how this deal is going to pan out, but rest assured on every sports channel, every sports radio feed, every blog post at some point or another are going to dissect this trade all year long no matter how it starts, how it progresses and how it finishes. A very familiar scenario is going to be playing out on both ends of the QE2 Highway this year and it will definitely be fun to watch. The more I write about this trade, the more excitement I get thinking of having that 17 flying around in the Dome this year. I’ll leave you with this. Mark it down now, December 27th, 2019 up in Edmonton. The first time this regular season this trade will go head to head. Until next time C of Red.

-Murrant