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[gasolineghuleh]

Can I Get Your Number?

Commission for @monstranceglock-- today, I am salivating for your bread. So I cooked for you.

Dew matches with you on a dating app and asks you out to the movies. Are you sure he's in it just for you, though, or is this another run of the mill 'ghosting' situation?

cw: semi public kanoodling Words: 5.3k

The phone lands with a thump on the bed beside you, accompanied by your groan and rolling eyes. You huff a snarl of hair out of your eyes, fighting the urge to fold your arms in almost child-like defiance. This is the third Brother this week that’s stood you up on a date, only to try to sext with you later once he apologized a sufficient amount. If they aren’t going to bother to show up for something scheduled, what makes them think they deserve anything afterwards? You grumble in frustration when the phone lights up again, the blinking fire icon igniting and then cooling back to an ember once the notification fades. 

Ah, yes.

Sinder. 

The Emeritus Church of His Morning Star’s most recently launched Sibling Matching Service, as they called it. "Ignite your blasphemous future.. together!" It’s a glorified hook up app, but you know several of your Sisters who have had a long term match and are now happily in a relationship… something you've always wanted for yourself. Maybe just one more try… You screw your mouth up in annoyance before grumbling and picking up your phone again. When the app launches on your screen, you cock an eyebrow in interest— the match was from a Ghoul. Your thumb hovers over the “Yes” button as your eye watches the Ghoul mask blink in and out of existence— the notification bubble for the match tempting you with every movement. 

The app itself was divided into two sides; humans and Ghouls. You’ve always fancied yourself a monster fucker, and the Ghouls of the Abbey tended to lean into that role quite nicely when they sensed a human who was down for it. Sometimes you could even hear them chasing a Sibling around campus, just for the rush of it. Matches from the human side of the app were much more common, and you would be lying to yourself if you said you hadn’t been disappointed in what they had to offer, recently. Maybe Lilith herself is trying to send you a sign in a convoluted means by matching you with a Ghoul instead of a man this time.

After another moment of consideration you swipe your thumb to the left and accept the match, holding your breath as you wait for the profile of the designated Ghoul to load. When it finally does it's a concentrated effort for you to not drop your phone in surprise, fumbling with the glossy black square of technology for a moment before catching it properly and holding it back up to your eyes. The Ghoul that you've matched with seems to be the guitarist for the latest Ghost project, this time under the flagship banner of Papa Emeritus the Fourth— his name on the app appears as Dew with a fire and water emoji, and this peaks your interest enough for you to dedicate your full attention to the match.

You pull your legs up underneath you on the bed and situate yourself into a comfortable seated position, hunching over slightly and holding your phone in both hands. You swipe through the photos that have been provided by the Ghoul and catch yourself smiling before long, thoroughly enjoying the photos of him and his fellow Ghouls as they tour the world. Papa crops up frequently throughout the photos, and each one is captioned with some quick-witted sentence from Dew. 

As you continue to scroll through Dew's profile, you come across a picture of him in full costume, complete with his signature chromatic mask with the mouth cut out and a guitar slung over his shoulder. The image sends a shiver down your spine and a flush to your cheeks, the kind of reaction you usually only get from watching horror movies or listening to heavy metal music. It isn’t the first time that you’ve matched with a Ghoul or even considered matching with one and speaking— but it’s the first time you’ve had this sort of reaction to the photos on the app.

You scroll through Dew's profile, admiring the photos of him and his bandmates as they perform on stage in front of a sea of screaming fans. There's something electrifying about seeing him in his element, his fingers deftly moving over the strings of his guitar as he pours his heart and soul into the music. You can almost feel the energy of the crowd pulsing through the screen, and you find yourself getting lost in the moment. You’ve been to a few of the Ghost project shows before, as a Sibling of the Clergy, and the same feeling of being there radiates through his photos. The energy of the crowd, the feeling of the arena swelling with the lyrics, and the power of the Ghoulish incantations sprinkled throughout the songs— all of it comes flooding back and you begin swiping through more of his photos.

In one, Dew is lounging on a couch in a dimly-lit room, his black leather jacket draped casually over the back of the sofa. For once, his mask is off and you can see it discarded on a small table next to the sofa, next to a half empty beer bottle and a lightly smoking joint. His hair is styled in messy waves, and his eyes are heavy-lidded as he stares into the camera. There's a hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his lips, and you can't help but feel a flutter in your chest as you imagine what it would be like to be sitting beside him, running your fingers through his hair.

In yet another photo, Dew is standing in front of a graffiti-covered wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he leans casually against the brick— his eyes are looking somewhere off in the distance and the photo is clearly a candid shot. The sunlight is casting long shadows across his face, and the contrast between his gray skin and the dark ink of his tattoos is striking. You can't help but feel a twinge of envy as you imagine all the people who have had the chance to see him up close and personal, to feel his body heat and hear the sound of his voice in person. The rubber band in your core tightens further as you gnaw on your lip, thinking about his voice as he growls in your ear, saying-

You pause on one final photo, this one a close-up of Dew's face as he looks directly into the camera. His eyes are a lightly glowing amber, and there's a hint of stubble on his jawline where he hasn’t had the time to shave while on the road. You can see the shadows of his sharp cheekbones and the curve of his lips, and you find yourself studying every detail of his face as if committing it to memory. There's something undeniably attractive about him, something that draws you in and makes you want to know more— more than any other human man who’s spurned your interest. 

As you continue to browse Dew's profile, you notice that he's listed his interests as "horror movies, rock music, and all things spooky." Maybe this is the sign you've been waiting for, the universe telling you that it's time to take a chance and pursue something outside of your usual comfort zone. Maybe this will be the start of something new and exciting, something that will take you out of your comfort zone and into a world of darkness, passion, and forbidden pleasures.

You click on the "Sin Together" button and start typing out your first message to the Ghoul. "Hey Dew, I noticed we matched! Your photos are amazing, it must be so cool to tour the world! What’s up?" You hesitate for a moment, wondering if you should hit send. Your thumb hovers over the arrow and your internal battle rages strong. It's not like you to take risks or be so forward, but there's something about Dew that makes you want to break out of your shell and take a chance. “In for a penny,” you say to yourself, and press the button.

Fwoosh~~ ping!

“Okay, it’s done. Nothing to do now but wait.” You huff out a quick anxiety-ridden breath and shake out your hands, scanning your eyes around your dorm room for anything you could use to distract yourself. 

Television in the common room? No, it’s Real Housewives night and Terzo is bound to make himself comfortable for the new episode. A new book? No, it’s a monster romance. That won’t help right now. How about some music?

Mind made up, you lean over to the side and flick on your radio, only to immediately flick it off again. Of course his music would be on all of the channels right now, just your luck. 

As you wait for a response, you begin to doubt yourself. What if Dew doesn't find you interesting or attractive? What if he's just looking for a one-night stand or someone to fangirl over him? Could this have been a bug in the application? You suck your lower lip into your mouth and worry at it with your teeth, wondering if you should unmatch him and save yourself the waiting. But then, a notification pops up on your phone. 

Ping! 

Your heart races as you open the message, a grin already spreading across your face. He’s written quite a bit more than you expected from a first message response, and you feel a little bit of a flush pinken in your cheeks as you scan the contents.

“Sup gorgeous! Yeah the pics are pretty cool, touring around ain’t bad but I got a group of guys that make it way better, yk? What are you up to, beautiful?” You perk up a little bit from your spot on the bed, re-reading the text three more times to yourself before you reply.

“Just sitting and relaxing, I had class just before this so I’m trying to chill out for the rest of the night. What about you?” You pause for a moment, considering if you should say anything else. Finally you decide on it and add, “I'm into horror movies, like you said on your profile. What’s your favourite one?”

This time, his answer is almost instant and you opt to just keep your phone in your hand, now that he seems to be answering quickly.

“The Exorcist all the way. I love that demon-possession shit. It's pretty intense when you get to do the real thing ya know? Lol. Maybe I can show you sometime, it can be pretty fun with someone.. What’s yours?” Heat coils in your gut at the possible implications of his statement, and you can’t help but wonder what he could mean by that. You shake it off and decide to bring it up later, once you’re more comfortable with each other. Perhaps it was just a joke.

“Probably The Shining. The big wheel trike! I can’t! It makes me shudder to even think about it.” True to your word, you do feel a little bit of the hair along your arms raise as you start to think about the ominous scene in question. You blink and look down, noticing the notification already.

Dew responds almost immediately, "Oh yeah, that's a classic. Ay speaking of horror movies what do you say we watch one together sometime? I know this great lil indie theater down in the town that plays all of the best horror flicks, like Cannibal Holocaust and all that shit. How about this weekend? You down?" You feel a flutter of excitement mixed with nerves at the prospect of a date with Dew. He may be a little rough around the edges, but there's something undeniably charming about him.

Before you know it you’ve already responded in the affirmative, your mind already racing with what to wear the night of. As soon as you hit send, you can feel your heart beating fast in your chest. You’ve never been on a date with someone like Dew before - he’s charming and witty, but there’s also something about him that feels a little dangerous. You shake your head, trying to clear your thoughts. It’s just a date, after all. What could go wrong?

As the night wears on, however, your excitement begins to give way to nervousness. What if you don't hit it off in person? What if he's not as charming as he seems in his texts? You spend the next day going over every little detail in your head, from the outfit you've chosen to the topics of conversation you want to bring up. Despite your nerves, you can't deny the anticipation building up inside of you, and you find yourself looking forward to the date more than anything else in recent memory.

The next day you wake up to a text from Dew, confirming the details of the date, accompanied by a black and red heart emoji, and a suggestive way of saying he can’t wait to see you. One of the movies that happens to be showing at the theater is the original Scream movie, and you’re almost as excited to see one of your favourites on the big screen as you are to see Dew. It’s shaping up to be a good night. As the day goes on, you can hardly focus on anything else. You try to distract yourself with your work, but your mind keeps wandering back to Dew and the date. The letters in your textbook swirl until all that you can make out is “You down?” and you allow yourself to drift off into thought, daydreaming about the date.

Finally, the evening arrives and you spend hours getting ready, asking some of your closer Sisters if they have any input into your dress or makeup. You don’t tell them who you’re going to see, but they all figure out that it’s a date anyway, and gas you up appropriately. You choose a cute, slightly edgy outfit that you hope will impress Dew— ankle heeled boots and a black low cut dress, leaving your ample cleavage exposed. 

When you arrive at the theater in the town below the Abbey he’s already there waiting for you, dressed in a leather jacket and a pair of jeans, as well as some sort of ripped band tee. His mask is off, presumably left at the Abbey to make blending in in the town a little bit easier. As soon as he sees you, he grins and stands up from the bench he was reclining on, offering you his hand and looking into your eyes. “Hey, beautiful,” he says, his voice low and smooth. “You look amazing.”

You can feel the heat rising in your cheeks as you take his hand and follow him to the glass ticket booth of the theater, trying to surreptitiously take in his looks now that you’ve seen him in person. His hands were lithe and agile as he exchanged his card for tickets with the teller behind the glass wall, and his fingers were swift when he twirled the card to pocket it with ease. One of his horns peaked through his long white hair when he leaned forward slightly, and you 

As you step inside the theater, you immediately notice the worn out seats with torn upholstery and the musty smell that hangs in the air. The dim lighting flickers overhead, casting a dim glow over the rows of empty seats. In the corner you’re almost sure that you see a large hanging cobweb before the overhead lights begin to dim in preparation for the movie. Despite the evident signs of decay and neglect however, there's something charming about the vintage feel of the place. You can picture how it must have looked in its prime, packed with moviegoers eager to catch the latest movie that just released. The paint on the walls, a dark maroon with gold filigree, was faded but still beautiful enough for you to spend a moment admiring.

Dew leads you down one of the aisles and you settle into a pair of seats in the center of the theater. The silence is almost deafening, broken only by the occasional creaking of the floorboards beneath your feet. You steal a glance at Dew, feeling a bit nervous and excited all at once. "I can't believe we're the only ones here," you say, your voice echoing slightly in the empty space. “This feels like stepping into a time capsule.”

"Yeah, it's definitely seen better days," Dew replies with a smirk. "But that's part of the charm, isn't it?" You nod, trying to ignore the slight unease that's settled in your stomach. “It's got that old-school vibe that you just can't find anymore."

As the movie starts playing, the screen illuminates the dimly lit room with flickering light. You can tell just by how it displays on the theater screen that it’s an original film reel— you can make out the edges of the film reel along the sides of the movie as it opens. The images on the screen are in black and white, and the characters have exaggerated features and angular shapes. It's the movie "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," just as Dew promised, a silent film from the 1920s.

As the story unfolds, you and Dew are completely immersed in the eerie atmosphere of the movie. The jagged shadows, twisted buildings, and distorted faces create a surreal and unsettling aura that settles over the two of you like a shroud. The film's haunting score adds to the tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You can't help but feel a little spooked as you steal a glance at Dew and see that he's just as captivated by the film as you are, his eyes fixed on the screen, his hand occasionally gripping the armrest. His claws dig into the velvet arm of the chair just slightly before he notices, turning to you and shrugging with a laugh. 

“I doubt they’ll notice,” he quips, pulling some of the fluff from his claws with his other hand. When he struggles with a piece of the fabric you take his hand in yours gently, using your smaller hand to easily unwind it from the tip of his claw and allow it to float to the floor. “Does this count as holdin’ hands, then?” His eyes meet yours and you stammer a little before you’re able to get the answer out.

You can feel your heart beating faster as his hand lingers in yours, and you're not sure if it's because of the creepy movie or the fact that Dew's touch is sending electricity through your body. You clear your throat, trying to hide your nervousness as you respond, "I guess it does, technically." You both chuckle softly, but the tension in the air doesn't dissipate. Rather, it turns to electric pulses that chime in time with your core, suddenly tight and aching with desire. You haven’t noticed it until now, but he smells amazing… Leather and musk and nicotine and underneath it all, the slightly otherworldly scent that accompanies Ghouls. 

“You’re real hot, you know.” You whip your head to the side as soon as the words leave his lips, eyes wide. Dew’s hand clenches on yours slightly as if to hold you in place, urge you to stay. “I thought, maybe, you’d be a little worried that I asked you out just to fuck.” Taken aback by his sudden honesty, you grip his hand and look down, watching as his fingers slowly twine into yours.

“I was thinking you wouldn’t be interested in me. Most guys-”

“Most humans,” he corrects with a grin, his sharpened teeth almost exaggerated in the flickering white light from the cinema screen. A sudden fanfare blares from the speakers as a reveal happens and both of you jump in your seats before laughing a little— it seems to have dissipated some of the awkward tension, however. 

“Well, most of them just either want sex or suddenly ‘aren’t interested’ once we get beyond talking.” You huff out a frustrated breath and attempt to explain. “I was just worried that I’m not enough… or too much.” When you look up again and meet his eye, he smiles gently down at you before bringing your interlaced hands to his face and pressing a kiss against the top of your hand.

“Not at all. You’re just enough, babe. If I gotta be honest, I’m really kinda falling for you, and all that shit.” His words take you by surprise and you laugh, a genuine smile spreading across your face. “I mean hell, you came to see a silent fuckin’ movie with me as a first date. That’s pretty cool. And your eyes make me want to kiss you.” His words send a shiver down your spine, and you feel your heart beat faster in your chest. Dew’s eyes land squarely on your lips and you watch his pupils dilate slightly— he’s clearly as into this tension as you are. You feel his thumb rubbing slow circles on the back of your hand, his touch igniting the heat that had laid coiled in your belly.

Without even thinking you move closer to him, the distance between you almost non-existent. You can feel his breath on your face, his scent intoxicating and suddenly so very present. You look up into his eyes, the deep pools of amber staring back at you with such intensity that you feel your knees go weak— if you had been standing, you certainly would have slumped into his arms with all of the desperation of a lover reunited. Instead, you bite your lip, trying to suppress the overwhelming desire that's coursing through you, but it's no use.

Suddenly, you feel his lips on yours, soft at first, but then with a growing intensity that takes your breath away. His hand cups your cheek, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on your skin as his other hand finds its way to the small of your back, pulling you closer against him in the rickety seats. The kiss is electric, and his intake of breath tells you he feels the same. Dew’s hand tightens on the back of your neck and your skin prickles when you feel his claws against you, gentle enough to only graze you. When he breaks the kiss and pulls back he’s breathing almost as hard as you are, and his cheeks are tinged slightly pink under his usual gray pallor. 

“So, I mean, like- Would you be, like, disappointed if I DID want to fuck?” he asks, having obvious difficulty keeping his eyes from floating down to the soft curves of your breasts, practically spilling over the top of your dress— just as you intended. “Cause I’ll be honest, I’m kinda thinking about it.”

“Only kinda?” you say, feigning offense. Dew just leans closer, his eyes flickering between yours and the tops of your breasts. When you make no move to stop him, beyond a quick scan for anyone else who may have snuck into the theater, he leans down, pressing his lips to the top of your breast before using his nose to fold down the front of your dress slightly.

“Can I keep kissing you, then?” he asks, only slightly muffled by your chest. You nod and hum an answer in the affirmative, watching as his forked tongue sneaks out to lathe across your skin. Dew groans against you as soon as his tongue makes contact and he follows it quickly with his teeth, biting you and sucking a kiss mark into your chest, just above the line of your bra. 

“Do you want to get out of here?” Your breath is already coming quicker, the need and desire threatening to spill over until you’re no longer sure you’ll care if anyone sees you. Would he? “Fuck me proper?” Dew just shakes his head from his place between your tits, his hands coming up to tug your dress slightly further down, until the hem line rests below the swell of your breasts. 

“I’m about-,” he pauses, dragging his tongue across your breast until he finds your nipple, sweeping over it briefly. “-to stop caring if someone hears us. And I am this fuckin’ close-” Dew holds up two fingers, hovering just a centimeter away from each other. “-to just taking you how I want to right now. Tell me I shouldn’t.” His eyes land on yours before you look down, watching as he rolls his hips gently against the arm of the chair, rutting against it instead of you. 

“Do it.” 

Dew clicks his teeth together twice at you with a wink before pulling himself over you, planting a leg on either side of your thigh. You blink in surprise, suddenly having a leg full of Ghoul, and Dew takes the moment to his advantage, taking your nipple into his mouth and dragging his tongue around it while his other hand drops to upper thigh. Dew’s hips roll against your thigh and you have the brief realization that he intends to get off like this— touching you with more intimacy than his instrument and rutting against you like he would on stage. It smacks you like a truck, and you can’t help the suddenly lust-laden sigh that drops from your lips. 

The Ghoul grins against your breast, and you can feel the points of his teeth as he bites you gently, sucking another mark that will no doubt blossom into something purple by the morning— a van Gogh reminiscent swath of colour that will server as a reminder when you fuck yourself later, no doubt. His fingers linger alone the hem line of your panties, tugging gently before he moves them. When you shift your hips below him and make your need for contact known he hums against you, finally bringing his fingers to your already soaked cunt through your panties, pressing gently until he finds the delicate bud of nerves there. 

“Knock knock,” he quips quietly, laughing to himself as you struggle to contain a laugh of your own. The tension has built up so much that you know if you break and laugh now, you won’t be able to stop— the anxious nerves have returned slightly, and you know they won’t go away until you feel his agile fingers slip inside of you, guided by the slick evidence of your need. Dew feels you tense up and wraps his lips around your nipple again, biting gently and pressing the pads of his fingers more firmly against you. 

“Dew, please,” you breathe, “Make me cum. You have no idea how badly I want to cum for you.” Desperation tinges your voice just a little bit, and you allow it, hoping that it will spur him on faster. You’re relieved when it does, and finally Dew uses one of his claws to slice through the front of your panties. When his fingers touch your wetness for the first time both of you gasp, his hips stuttering against your thigh momentarily before finding his groove again. 

“So fuckin’ soft.” Dew pulls away from your breasts to bring his lips back to yours, sucking your lower lip into his mouth in the same moment that his finger finally, blissfully slides inside of you. Your mouth drops open against his in pleasure and again, he takes advantage of this, sweeping his tongue into your mouth and deepening the kiss even as his finger slides deeper inside of you. When you feel his second finger teasing around your entrance you move your leg slightly, offering him the same sort of pleasure as he was providing you. 

Dew groans against your lips and his finger moves quicker inside of you, finally adding a second finger when you harshly whisper “do it!” against his lips. He breaks the kiss and returns to your breasts, rolling one of your nipples gently between his sharp teeth and pressing the pad of his thumb to your clit and mimicking the motion. Before long you feel yourself approaching your climax and your eyes turn to the screen briefly, watching as the movie approaches its own. Dew coaxes you through it, muttering and swearing encouragement against your tits as he works your orgasm out of you, his fingers deft and his thumb keeping perfect pace. 

“Lift up your dress,” he instructs as he pulls his fingers free of you gently. You follow his words, pulling up the hem of your dress enough to expose the smooth skin of your upper thighs and stomach. “I wanna see my cum on your skin- see it coat you, make you- make you mine.” Dew speaks through gritted teeth as his hand flies to his belt, hips still rocking against you. Finally he pulls his cock free and grips it tightly in his fist, stroking himself with the hand that was inside of you. 

“Dew, cum for me.” He breathes in sharply at your words, his head tilting back slightly in pleasure as he gets closer. “Cum all over me, so people will know just how much fun we had.” Dew’s mouth drops open and he gasps before rocking forward, cum landing on your skin in ropes that match the pulsing of his heart and rolling of his hips. 

“Sathanas, I haven’t- haven’t cum like that in ages,” he says, pulling away and falling back into his seat beside you. 

“Apparently not a moment too soon.” You point at the screen with one hand and adjust your dress quickly with the other— the credit title cards have already begun rolling on the screen and some of the lights on the wall have started to flicker back to life. 

“Shit, that was close.” Dew laughs and takes another deep breath before standing and making a show of having wobbly legs. “If you got me this hard from just this… Man, I can’t wait to fuck you.” You instantly flush now that the lights are back on, your cheeks pinkening almost as soon as the words leave his mouth. Everything feels much more intense when the lights go up, you suppose. “If- if that’s alright, that is. If you wanna see me again, and shit. I know you’ve probably your pick of the Abbey, but-”

“I’d love to,” you say as you stand up as well, making to move down the aisle and exit the theater. He stops mid sentence, blinking and beginning to attempt to adjust his mask before realizing it’s not on.

“Right, yeah. I knew that. Cool. I figured. We should get going anyway, actually.” You laugh and spare him the embarrassment, reaching your hand out and lacing it with his as the two of you leave. “Are you heading back to the Abbey?” he asks, looking down the road outside of the theater for a possible taxi. 

“Yeah, ride with me?” You move to stand beside him, shivering slightly in the sudden cold night air. Dew, noticing, takes off his jacket just as he manages to flag down a taxi. He holds his coat up for you and you slip your arms through it, immediately hugging the warm material closer to yourself. 

“I gotta get to practice, I think I’m already late. If I’m too late, Aether is gonna have my ass. Something about ‘you were a more reliable bassist’ and shit.” The taxi pulls to the curb and Dew opens the door for you, helping you into the car with more manners than you expected he was capable of. “I’ll see you back home.” You roll down the window of the taxi and lean out of it as it starts to pull away from the curb.

“Text me?” you ask, hoping that your voice doesn’t come off as too desperate.

“Shit, hey, wait!” Dew scrambles after the car and it stops short when the driver hears him. He leans against the window and grins widely. “I don’t, uh- Can I get your number?”

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[cheri-cheri]

[L&N] Truth or Dare 10: You Win + Dare

Prologue + Red Hands Game: here

After seeing the task on the card, Charlie hands his phone to me with complete ease.

MC: Do they have anything to do with proposal strategies...

Charlie: Of course not.

Hearing this satisfactory answer, I release a sigh of relief.

Charlie: I had already searched up proposal strategies a long time ago. It’s a shame that those ideas were far too uncreative, which is why I’ve decided to tailor a proposal just for you.

MC: As expected.

Despite what I said, a hint of warmth mixed with some anticipation surfaces quietly in my heart.

MC: I’ll tap it open then. There’s nothing I shouldn’t be looking at, right?

Charlie: Go ahead. I’ve never needed to hide anything from you.

To my surprise, the first search term that appears in the browser history is the word - “Zha Li Su”.

MC: Huh? Why did you search for your own name?

Charlie: As your fiancé, it’s only natural for me to pay attention to any public opinion about me. A model fiancé can’t have any gossip.

MC: Oh~ So what’s the public’s opinion of you?

Charlie arches his brows, a confident arc on the corners of his lips.

Charlie: Why don’t you search it up for yourself?

His expression piques my curiosity. Tapping the “Zha Li Su” search term, a series of headlines appears before me.

“Patients and family members sign on a silk banner as the well-known doctor in Guangqi City once again creates miracles.”

“The sole heir of the CEO is dressed to the nines as he participates in the ribbon cutting ceremony.”

Although the headlines are reminiscent of gossip in tabloids, the contents do sound like Charlie’s typical routine. I continue swiping the screen.

MC: “After the wealthy son’s beloved wife runs away, the infatuated Young Master chases after love courageously”?

Although this did happen, seeing how the embarrassing experiences between Charlie and I are described in this way makes me feel a little abashed.

Charlie: Such flowery news are far too outdated. Right now, aren't already at the stage of “Model Fiancé has succeeded in his romantic pursuit”?

Charlie winks at me. The brimming affection in his purple eyes reflect my blushing face.

Charlie’s Post: In ten minutes, I’ll get the bank account number of the editor of today’s QQ News and express my sincerest gratitude.

MC: “The sole heir of the Zha family has secret meetings with a talented female designer and dotes on her alone.” This editor’s pretty good at writing~

Charlie: Isn’t it very apt? However, we don’t meet up in secret. My love for you has never needed to be hidden.

-

Charlie’s Post: In ten minutes, I’ll get the bank account number of the editor of today’s QQ News and express my sincerest gratitude.

MC: I saw it too. The “Good-looking couple has a kind heart” article refers to the time we helped out at the orphanage during the weekend, doesn’t it?

Charlie: That’s correct. The article talks about how we’re a couple who is beneficial to society. Looks like becoming this year’s Model Couple of Guangqi City is a given.

-

Charlie’s Post: In ten minutes, I’ll get the bank account number of the editor of today’s QQ News and express my sincerest gratitude.

MC: “Handsome man and beautiful lady cause the street to erupt. Their radiance will never end”. Such a caption suits your palate. That editor deserves the money!

Charlie: Actually, what suits my palate is that photograph of us together, with you leaving on my shoulder and with happiness written all over your face.

#light and night #光与夜之恋

[timep3tals]

Since I’m such a slut for Iron Dad & Spidey-Son field trip fics, I decided to procrastinate my homework by creating a detailed list for clearance levels for the badges given out by SI because I’m sick of the same Alpha, Beta, etc. or just the numbers.

It’s too basic. In this household, we are Extra.

Shoutout to @riseuplikeglitterandgold​ for watching me go down a rabbit hole and not attempt to stop me whatsoever.

Please read this and use this, I spent too much time on this for it to go to waste.

Clearance Levels 

Visitor: 

Construction (1) - Not often utilized, as SI is fully completed, but when needed, will have a badge that grants them access to the construction zone only. Construction is entirely outsourced.

Tours (2) - Discarded after use; at all exits, there’s a box for discarding the badge. It is automatically deactivated once it passes through the bin, and is shredded before being recycled into new tour badges.

Educational (2.1) - One of the lowest levels of access to the building; often linked to the tour guides badge, and are unable to access any room the tour guide has not swiped into.

Science (2.2) - These tours are guided throughout the majority of the labs, often for parties interested in becoming an employee at SI. Can be more specific to a certain field, and will usually be conducted by interns-turned-tour guides as they move up through the ranks in SI.

Press (3) - Only has access to conference rooms, and are often allotted one badge per press company, which they pick up at the front desk at given times depending on the press conference schedule, as decided by the PR division.

Buyers (4) - Are considered an upper-level visitor badge, but mostly just for show to make the buyers feel important/be more likely to purchase from SI. Have relatively limited access, and are only shown products/labs that pertain to what they’re looking at purchasing.

Partners (5) - Are not very often used, as partners often meet off-site, or are communicating largely through email with either the Board of Directors, or Pepper. Have the most access out of all visitors badges, but is still usually directed by/connected to a tour guide’s badge.

Ex(s): Visitor 2.1, Visitor 5, Visitor 1

Maintenance: Access is often changed as needed. No subsections under maintenance; FRIDAY is in direct control of badges and will allocate where they are needed as work orders are processed. No attached number.

Ex(s): Maintenance

Janitor: Much the same as maintenance. There are specific crews of “spill/break/chemical teams”, but those requests are again processed by FRIDAY. No attached number, though an implied 1.

Lab Clean-Up (2) - Labs are largely kept clean and handled by scientists, but every Sunday there is a deep clean of all floors/surfaces. These janitors have higher access, as most of the janitors are kept locked out of labs for their own safety. Have to have special training.

Ex(s): Janitor, Janitor 2

Interns:

Business (1-9) - Any intern under any division in the corporate offices (financial, PR, HR, etc.) Level depends on sector/experience and where the intern is initially placed.

Lab (10-19) - Often the “janitors” of each lab throughout the week. Are allowed to work on small projects with a chosen mentor (usually Head Scientist). This is the largest, most diverse group, and their access depends on which lab they’re placed in (determined by prior experience, collegic level, etc.) Apply through Operations Management, not HR; no high school students are accepted as the work they’re surrounded by can often be dangerous. No interns are placed in High-Level Labs.

Ex(s): Intern - PR 5, Intern - Financial 8, Intern - Marketing 2, Intern - Lab 15, Intern - Lab 10

Tour Guides:

Press (1) - Technically classified under PR; is solely there to guide press to the designated location and manage traffic during conferences.

Educational (2) - Typically beginning level tour guides; still expected to know as much about the company as a tour guide for partners would.

Science (3) - Has to have intimate knowledge of the workings on each lab; usually coordinates with Head Scientists to stay updated on each lab. Often has the least amount of tours, and typically will have another job/duty elsewhere.

Business (4) - Mostly for corporation heads to come and tour the business portion of SI. Small business/first time business owners are encouraged to take these tours so they could see an example of an effective work environment/procedures.

Partnerships (5) - Has intimate knowledge of the going-abouts in all labs. They are also aware of some financial statistics in regards to new/upcoming projects, as well as ongoing projects. Out of all tour guides, these guides have the greatest access to the building. These guides also lead the buyer tours as well.

Ex(s): Guide 5, Guide 2

Financial: (1-7)

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (7) - Head officer that has primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financial reporting. The CFO is also responsible for analysis of data, but has the option, and often will, to delegate it to others in the financial sector.

There’s probably a lot of other jobs in this, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy.

Ex(s): Financial 7 (only applicable to the CFO), Financial 2

Public Relations: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Social Media Manager, PR Specialist, Spokesperson, etc. (I’m of the opinion they created a section specifically to help handle whatever it was that Tony said this time. Official title: Owner Management. Unofficial title: Tony’s Bullshit Cover-Up Specialists.)

Ex(s): PR 4

Marketing: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Designers, Web Content Writer, Supply Chain Analysts, etc.

Ex(s): Marketing 5

Human Resources: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Compensation and benefits managers, Training and development specialists, Employment, recruitment and placement specialists, Human resources information system (HRIS) analysts, etc.

Ex(s): HR 6

Board of Directors: Despite being one of the highest positions in SI, they have extremely limited access. This clearance level is mostly restrained to the upper level offices and meeting rooms, but can have special access granted to visit labs, if absolutely necessary. No attached number.

Ex(s): Board Member

Operations Management: 

Hiring Managers (1)  - These managers directly oversee hiring of all lab personnel, including interns. 

Inspectors (2) - Inspectors handle all safety precautions/procedures in all labs in SI. Are often updating rules and regulations in order to best protect all personnel and equipment.

Lab Overseers (3) - Are who Head Scientists report to. Overseers are then to report their findings to the Head of Research and Development in a succinct manner. Are one of the last lines of defense when it comes to arising issues.

Project Managers (4) - Their job corresponds directly with the Principal Investigator and the financial & marketing division to help get finished products out into the market. Often help oversee manufacturing of said products at the different plants across the planet.

Ex(s): Operations 3, Operations 1

Research and Development:

Low-Level Labs (1-15) - Low level of risk. Most often handle coding/computer sciences/refining formulas sent down from some of the upper level labs.

Research Assistants (1-3) - Hand selected by the Principal Investigator from the top universities across the nation to help with research. Found generally at conferences hosted by SI at universities.

Graduate Student (3-5) - Single student from a graduate program, also hand selected. Typically have worked on projects in SI before.

Post-Doctoral (6-9) - Single student from a post-doctoral program. Prior SI experience is required for this position, and must present a thesis project based off outside research in order to maintain position.

Principal Investigator (10-12) - Previously Post-Doctoral, generally, but the position can be earned through impressing the Head of R&D at conferences/presenting thesis work or previous research on a specific topic.

Head Scientist (13-15) - Manager of funding for project, and overseer of the work being produced by the team. Doesn’t typically involve themselves in actual research, but is more the manager to maintain structure/order in lab and ensure work is flowing smoothly.

Ex(s): LLab 14, LLab 3

Mid-Level Labs (16-30) - Mid level risk. Performs higher risk sciences, more along the lines of a chemistry lab. Tests different types of products for higher efficiency.

Research Assistants (16-19)

Graduate Student (19-22)

Post-Doctoral (22-25)

Principal Investigator (25-38)

Head Scientist (28-30)

Ex(s): MLab 25, MLab 19

High-Level Labs (30-45) - High level of risk. Handles all new and volatile materials, and is the most involved in the newest products, etc. on the market. Requires highest grades/performances/experience/etc.

Research Assistants (30-33) 

Graduate Student (34-36) 

Post-Doctoral (37-39) 

Principal Investigator (40-42)

Head Scientist (43-45) 

Ex(s): HLab 43, HLab 30

Head of R&D: (All Access) Tony Stark. Oversees all divisions and labs. Spearheads the creation of new tech and development in the company, and is expected to continue to expand SI’s reach into new areas of science and technology.

Ex(s): You Know Who I Am

Avenger: (Residential: Semi-Access) No associated number. One of the most lucrative badges, only granted to Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Thor Odinson, and a few select others. Most have been deactivated following the events of the Civil War. Typically allowed access to all floors (though entry to labs was not granted unless necessary), the residential living spaces, and the training room.

Ex(s): Avenger, Residential: Semi-Access

Remaining Badges (All Access) - Granted only to James Rhodes and Peter Parker (Peter, although classified as Avenger, will be announced as Personal Intern, as per his request). 

Ex(s): Avenger, Residential: All Access, Personal Intern: All Access

CEO: (All Access) A lovely Miss Pepper Potts. Her job is kind of a given, I don’t think an explanation is necessary. Also I’m tired.

Ex(s): Virginia Potts

#I hope SOMEONE finds this useful #I spent over an hour on this nonsense #sos #tony stark #iron man #peter parker #spiderman #pepper potts #rescue #james rhodes #war machine #peter parker & tony stark #peter parker tony stark #iron dad #spiderson #spider son #iron dad and spider son #iron dad spider son #marvel #mcu #field trip fic #steve rogers #captain america #sam wilson #falcon #natasha romanoff #black widow #bruce banner #hulk #the hulk

[thatmultifandomhoe]

Consequences

Word Count: 6,583

Overview: You had dated one of Jungkook’s best friends - someone he consider to be an older brother - and even though you were now single and he had never stopped loving you, dating was an impossible option. The consequences of dating an ex of the leader? Life threatening.

Pairing: Jungkook and Reader

Genre AU/Rating: College AU - Forbidden Love AU - Lost Friendship - Childhood Best Friends to Lovers - Rated: PG-13

Warning: Drinking - Swearing - Cheating - Flashbacks of Implied Sex - Dirty Talk - Calling someone a Whore - Implied Unwanted Drug Use - Jungkook is a badass covered in tattoos and piercings, so take that as you will - Namjoon is an asshole with tattoos (sorry fellow Joon stans) - Implied Assault.

Master List:

Spotify Playlist:

Pinterest Mood Board:

Also, just a reminder that I had changed my name from @/abangtanfangirl to my current username, I’m just too lazy to remake the banner I originally made.

©thatmultifandomhoe 2020. Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

The party was in full swing by the time you and your roommates arrived. Strobe lights were bouncing off the walls in reds and blues as bodies carelessly danced all around, girls even risking limbs to stand on top of tables and chairs, thriving in the attention from the party goers that gave them the courage they needed to swing their hips to the beat of the music.

It wasn’t as if this was your first party, but it wasn’t every day that you attended a college party that seemed more fitting for a rave than a place that was the home to a frat house. Then again, knowing the seven men who lived here, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they purposely designed tonight’s party after a rave.

“Here,” Louise said, gaining your attention. She grinned as she slipped a purple glow stick necklace around your neck, wearing her own neon green one. “Everyone has one. They must have black lights or something.”

You raised an eyebrow at her but silently accepted the matching bracelets. A quick glance around revealed that everyone was wearing some type of glow in the dark jewelry and white shirts, effectively glowing as the drunk the night away.

“Maybe,” you answered, pressing your lips together as you grabbed the back of Louise’s shirt when she began walking towards the kitchen. The rest of your roommates had scattered about once they walked through the door. You had your own plans for the night, but attempting to make it through this large of a crowd by yourself was insane, so hitching a ride on the end of her shirt seemed like the best idea at the moment.

Louise glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at you. “Come on,” she hollered, the music getting louder at a break down in the song. “It’s the Bangtan Boys, out of everyone here you should know that they do.”

You narrowed your eyes at her, shoving her away to elbow your way to the kitchen, ignoring the high pitch laughter that Louise possessed.

She was right though. They did own a black light. They owned several boxes of black lights in fact, for this sole purpose of throwing insane parties that everyone on campus would be talking about for the semester. How you knew that however, was a reason you wanted to forget.

With the familiar path ingrained in your mind, you were in the kitchen long before Louise. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as crowded in the kitchen like one would think, especially considering the round table in the middle was covered in every bottle of alcohol imaginable, and knowing the Bangtan Boys, the fridge was fully stock as well.

The green painted walls had you doing a double take, intrigued with the sudden change of color. Last time you were here, the kitchen was a soft watercolor yellow that matched perfectly with the wooden cabinets. Not that they now clashed with the green walls but, it was something you hadn’t expected to see.

“Well look who we have here,” a voice purred in your ear, the hairs on your arms standing up as your hand settled on the red solo cups. It wasn’t the one you were hoping to avoid, and while Jimin was a dozen more times pleasant than him, you preferred to see Jimin under you own circumstances.

Ignoring him, you grabbed the empty cup and walked around the round table, window shopping for what they had out at the moment.

“Oh, come on,” he called out, but you still refused to look at him. “Did you really think you could come to one of our parties and not expect to run into one of us? That hurts me.”

He just had to hit the hammer right on the nail. He was only going to get more persistent, so after locating a bottle of bourbon, you looked at Jimin, wishing that you could wipe off that satisfied smirk he wore. His soft pink hair was slicked back, that pair of tangerine tinted sunglasses he loved were perched halfway down on his nose.

“What do you want Jimin?” You asked. Finding less than an inch of space on the table, you carefully set down the solo cup to open the bourbon.

Jimin laughed, walking around the table to stand beside you once more. Trailing his fingers up your bare arms, he jerked his hand at your elbow causing more alcohol to pour out than you originally intended. “Nothing really. It’s good to see you again.”

The cup nearly knocked over and on to the floor, but you caught it at the last second. Glaring at him, you shoved the glass bottle into his stomach, his silver rings glittering in the light as he caught it with ease.

“Quit lying and tell me what you really want,” you said, raising your cup for a sip, ignoring the sting as the magic liquid settled in your chest.

He laughed again and you wondered if he had been the one to get the party going this time. His personality itself was like a person with three drinks in them to begin with. “I mean it, you know that. Things got quiet and boring when Namjoon dumped you.”

There it was. The reason you wanted to oh so easily forget while enjoying the free alcohol. Normally you didn’t rush to get drunk, but the pang in your heart cut through you more deeply than the bourbon and you were once again raising the cup to your lips, this time allowing the burn of the liquor to drown out the heartache.

It had been almost six months since Namjoon had broken up with you. Well, he never said it with words, but you had gotten the idea after walking into his room to find him naked with two other girls in his bed. The man that was the head of the Bangtan Boys and had more philosophical thoughts running through his head than Plato and Aristotle, was no better than any other fuck boy you had met in your life. His sweet words and intelligence had just masked over it.

You had fallen hard for Namjoon, and even now six months later, it was still painful to think about that morning. The feelings by now were long since gone, but knowing he had cheated on you lingered within your mind and seeped its way into your bones. It hurt to find him with one girl, but when the second sat up from underneath the blankets, it was a slap to the face.

He never even tried to follow after you like they always depict in the movies. No calls. No texts. Nothing. Not even the others went after you when you silently stormed out of their house, passing by all of them without a word. The last thing you had gotten to do was slam the front door behind you hard enough for it to echo in the house.

“Nice to know I’m part of your fond memories Jimin,” you bitterly spoke, staring down at the amber liquid.

A small frown appeared on Jimin’s face as he watched you lift the cup for another sip, but he reached out and placed his hand on yours, stopping it from reaching its destination. “Hey, I mean it,” he murmured in your ear, stepping close enough for you to be able to hear him. “We all like you. You were good and Joon shouldn’t have fucked you like that.”

With every word he spoke, his plush lips grazed your ear. The cup lowered down so it was once again resting on the table, and when Jimin was sure he wouldn’t have to stop you from drinking so fast again, he removed his hand.

“We all miss you,” Jimin added, glancing up and around the party. “That’s why when Kookie asks for cover, we do it.”

At the mere mention of his name, your body tensed up against Jimin’s chest, a familiar fluttering occurred in your chest where it had only been beating in pain. Like Jimin, you spared a glance to the other room, spotting the jealous looks you were receiving from women and men for simply being so close to one of the Bangtan Boys.

It was easy to ignore them. You had gotten used to receiving the same looks when dating Namjoon, and then again when you would hang out with the others in public and in-between classes. “Where is Kook?”

Jimin’s lips curled up in a grin, this time raising your hand and the cup to your mouth. “I’ll allow one more sip before I take this away.”

“You didn’t answer me.”

“You know I never take away anyone’s drinks, so that should be enough for an answer.”

That was true. Jimin always loved his drinks. While Yoongi was more of a social drinker with his glass of red wine, Jimin never cared what it was or when he drank. Give him wine, bear, or hard liquor, it didn’t matter to him. He’d drink it all till the sun came up if he could.

Heeding his advice, Jimin eagerly watched as you drank one last sip before he was wrapping his fingers around the cup, spilling a few drops down your chin when he took it away. He didn’t even set it down, settling on finishing it off instead.

“You ass,” you muttered, glaring at the now empty cup as you carefully swiped at your chin, not wanting to ruin the makeup that you had spent the last hour working on for this party. “Where’s Jungkook?”

Jimin shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face as he filled the cup up with something clear. “Beats the hell out of me. He’s around here somewhere.” Quirking an eyebrow at you, he raised the cup in a mock salute before rejoining the party, the crowd parting for him with ease like he was royalty.

You bit the inside of your cheek in annoyance. Of course, Jimin would only partially tell you what you wanted to hear; he never did like giving all the good information out in one conversation. If he did, it was best to hightail it the hell away from him. That meant he wanted something and usually – depending on who it was directed towards – it wasn’t always the most pleasant of things.

With Louise gone and Jimin most likely in search of bed partner for the night, you forced yourself to leave the kitchen in an attempt to find Jungkook. Unlike Jimin, it was like walking through Jell-O. That was one of the few benefits to associating yourself with the Bangtan Boys, no one gave you hard ass time and parties were easy to navigate through.

As you elbowed your way to the living room, your mind wandered back to the time you spent here. From all the nights you slept over and simply came over to visit during the day, you knew this place like that back of your hand. For long time, this place had felt like home. Which was almost expected considering up until that morning, you and Namjoon had been dating for a year and a half by then.

Out of the seven of the Bangtan Boys, only Namjoon managed to maintain normal relationships for long periods of time. The others preferred hookups more often than not, only indulging in relationships for a month or so before jumping ship, something that Namjoon explicitly expressed disgust for. Which only made your breakup situation ironic.

Finally breaking through to a clear space in the living room, your skin crawled as you felt eyes on you from every person in the area. It wasn’t like you had hid your relationship with Namjoon, in fact, he actually took pride in making it known that you were his girl. You had been forced to get used to all the stares and now it didn’t faze you as much, but this was the first party of theirs that you had attended in a while.

The large three-piece leather sectional didn’t have any empty seats left. There wasn’t any space left, forcing people to sit on the back of the couch, the arms, or even in the laps of those willing. However, it was the man leaning against the wall with a beer bottle in hand that had your attention.

Jungkook was talking to Hoseok and Taehyung, a foot pressed up against the back wall as he tilted his head to the side, a lazy grin on his face as he spoke. His black muscle tank was bagging enough to reveal a majority of his tattoos, ones that you had gotten to know well in the last few months.

Physically, you were seeing Jungkook as he was right now. Mentally, you were picturing the boy you had grown up with.

It had been a shock when Namjoon brought you to the house first time, having stopped dead in when you laid eyes on Jungkook. The first time you originally met was back in elementary school. It was during art hour and you were drawing a picture of your family, Jungkook was sitting next to you coloring his paper when the two of you reached for the same yellow crayon to draw the sun. It was cheesy, but since then the two of you stuck to each other like glue, lasting all the way up to high school. The summer before sophomore year was when things broke apart. His family was moving away, and he wouldn’t be able to attend the same school come fall. Hell, he wasn’t even going to be in the same state anymore.

For a while, phone calls that started on Friday nights and ended on Saturday mornings were a weekly routine for the two of you. But when the two of you got adjusted to school again, the work piled up, and parents began taking away phone privileges until the grades got better, the weekly calls slowed down to once or twice a month. By the time graduation came and you decided on which college you were attending, you never thought you’d see him again.

To see Jungkook for the first time during your sophomore year of college, you hadn’t been able to stop yourself rushing forward to hug him. Luck on been on your side that day when he lifted you up, your legs instantly wrapping around him as he held you tightly.

“I thought I was never going to see you again,” Jungkook had whispered, his arms almost crushing you with his strength, but you were hugging him back just as hard.

The reunion between you and him was the last thing anyone expected, especially with Namjoon right there to watch you jump his youngest friend, someone he considered practically a brother. Looking back on it now, the jealousy he harbored for your friendship with Jungkook was as clear as an ocean made out of crystals. Whenever Jungkook entered the room and you were there, Namjoon was instantly touching or kissing you, something that at the time you never thought twice about because he was your boyfriend and that’s who he was. It didn’t matter if the two of you were alone or out in public, if he wanted something, he didn’t hesitate about taking it.

It was so stupid now as you thought back to your ex-boyfriend. You had been completely devoted to Namjoon, the idea of being with someone else never once crossed your mind, at least up until that last month of your relationship when he grew distant.

A body suddenly stepped in front of you, blocking Jungkook from your sight and forcing you to look at a black t-shirt and a tattooed arm. Lifting your head, irritation filled your veins at the sight of Namjoon. At some point during the last six months he had dyed his hair platinum blond again, and regrettably, it looked good on him. The last time you had done an impulsive dye job you ended up having to go to the salon to get it fixed.

“Was that morning not enough of a hint for you?” Namjoon slowly asked.

You clenched your jaw, glancing away from his eyes as you took a step back. “When did you start kicking people out of your parties?” Raising an eyebrow, you ignored the way he crossed his arms over his chest, displaying the way his muscles flexed at the small movement. He must have started working out more often lately.

Namjoon chuckled though, drawing your attention back to him. “Not unless you piss me off. Although considering you’re my ex, that should be enough reason for me to throw you out.”

Don’t say anything, you thought, you haven’t found Jungkook yet. Instead, you focused on his right arm. Back then, the black and grey scaled tree of life tattoo that wrapped around his arm had brought a sense of comfort. Many nights you had traced each and every delicate line and branch while draped on his chest, the blankets crumpled up and covering yourselves only from the hips down.

He had other tattoos, mostly phrases he had written over the years and had Taehyung ink onto his body in various scripts, but this was his single largest piece. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t beautiful. Just because he was an ex-didn’t mean you couldn’t appreciate the art.

Without warning, Namjoon grabbed your chin with his fingers and forced you to meet his gaze. Brown eyes that you once thought belonged to the minds of the gods, stared down at you with unwavering disdain.

“You gonna tell me what you’re doing here? Or do I actually have to kick you out of my house?”

I can’t believe I loved you, you thought, wanting to yank your chin out of his hold but knowing better to not to.

“I came with my roommates,” you sighed, gesturing with a thumb around the party. “We’ve all been stressed with classes and wanted to relax. I didn’t realize we were coming here until Louise pulled on to the street and I recognized where we were. They’re around here, somewhere.”

If there was anything decent about Namjoon, it was that he listened. Even if he hated someone, he always listened to them without interruption – whether it was in hopes of finding dirt to hold over them or to give the benefit of the doubt – and that seemed to be working in your favor right now.

He licked his lips, looking away from you to scan the room like he could see everyone who was currently dancing and getting drunk in his house all in a matter of seconds.

“Alright,” he finally said, releasing you. “You can stay. But you know the rules. Don’t break any of my shit, and don’t fuck with some stranger in any of the rooms. I’d say don’t do drugs but I know you won’t…” his voice died off, his face barely softening for a few seconds.

That was another good thing about Namjoon. When it came to the Bangtan Boys and the girls he dated – including you – he protected and took care of them. During your relationship, he had rushed you to the hospital when you showed up at the house banging on the doorbell in the dead of the night.

After a night of hanging out with friends, the group of you decided to go out for Taco Bell – the ultimate form of comfort food while on a college budget – and were walking home. You had been the only one to not have a drink that night, but some of them decided that the night wasn’t over. It was only sheer luck that you were near Namjoon’s street and were able to run to his house.

Before you had passed out, you vividly recalled the rage that had been apparent on Namjoon’s face when he swung the front door open, ready to punch out the lights of the person banging on the doorbell, until he saw you standing there, hysterical and pupils nearly blown out with bruises and scratches on your body. You had been shaking with adrenaline and from whatever drug a group of guys had forced into your mouth.

You had been hospitalized for two weeks to make sure the drugs were out of your system and to make sure everything healed okay, and even now, the night was fuzzy in certain spots, but you never could forget Namjoon’s reaction.

When you woke up, along with Namjoon, Jungkook had been asleep in chairs by your beside. Their knuckles were busted and had dried blood on the skin. Namjoon’s face remained unscathed, but Jungkook had had purple bruises blossoming on his cheekbone and his lip was split.

Instead of answering, you silently nodded. That memory, along with various others when he as all soft words and gentle caresses, reminded you that Namjoon wasn’t one hundred percent evil, but that didn’t make him pure. It was like having a poisonous snake next to someone and saying it wasn’t poisonous because it hadn’t bit them yet. Only time would reveal their true intentions, and you knew his.

He gestured over to one of the folding tables against the wall to your left that was covered in bowls of snacks. “Go, get something to eat before drinking anymore.” He didn’t stick around for much longer, pushing past and harshly bumping into your shoulder before you were able to step out of his way.

In that instant the memory disappeared, nose scrunching up in annoyance as you watched your giant of an ex-head towards the kitchen, moving with ease until some girl stumbled into him and he caught her. She was holding a cup and so it was possible that she was just drunk, but even with the distance between you and them, her eyes weren’t glassy enough and the way she instantly pressed her body against Namjoon was too stable.

Whether or not she did have too much to drink, Namjoon easily wrapped his arms around her lower back, settling his palms conveniently near her ass. He didn’t have to be facing you for you to know he was grinning down at the party girl.

Not that you cared, but at least have some decency.

You rolled your eyes, glancing back at the wall where Jungkook had been, but neither him or Hoseok or Taehyung were there anymore. Sighing, you made your way over to the snack table, this time finding it easier to move around as people headed to the center of the room to dance.

When you reached the table though, Hoseok was leaning against it and tossing M&Ms into his mouth. The candy fiend himself appeared to be enjoying the break away from the party and sweaty bodies, and considering how flushed his face was, perhaps the alcohol too.

“How many have you had?” You asked, stepping closer to sink your hand into the bowl of Reese’s Pieces.

Knocking back another handful, Hoseok held up one finger.

That wasn’t surprising in the least. Turning around, you ate the candy piece by piece as you watched the strobe flights speed up, bouncing off of everyone so fast a headache was sure to form.

“He’s in his room,” Hoseok said, his breath rich with chocolate as he leaned close for you to hear him.

Nodding, you turned to walk down the hallway when Hoseok grabbed you by the bicep, dragging you back towards the wall and out of the way of the strobe lights as your snack spilled onto the floor, the sound lost to everyone. Back here, the light only reflected off of his face every once in a while, instead of constantly highlighting him.

“The two of you are crazy as hell for doing this.”

It wasn’t the first time Hoseok told you that. He was the first to inform you of this thought when it all started two months ago, and he said it every time he covered for you and Jungkook whenever Namjoon was near.

“Then why help us at all?” you snapped, staring up at him.

Hoseok narrowed his eyes, his hand tightening just the slightest before suddenly dropping from your arm. “And see the two of you dead? You’re fucking insane.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” You exclaimed, grateful that the music was turning up as you spoke, the walls practically pulsating with the beat. “Namjoon cheated on me with two whores! I waited months before seeing someone else, and I knew Jungkook for years before any of you. Why the hell does this make me the terrible one?”

You ignored the sympathy on Hoseok’s face and walked down the hall towards Jungkook’s room, shaking your head.

That was perhaps the most difficult thing about sneaking around. You had been the person wronged here, you had spent the weekends locked up in your room with the blankets tightly wrapped around your body as you cried, wondering what the hell was wrong with yourself for Namjoon to cheat on you with those women. There had even been a period when you considered changing certain aspects about yourself to win him back, to become his ideal woman. You’d get more tattoos, add a few more piercings and read up on philosophical texts to be able to hold a conversation with him.

The only saving grace through that entire time, was Jungkook.

When you saw him for the first time in years, it was like all that time apart had evaporated and you were hanging out like old times. There had been plenty of catching up to be done and there had been a shock factor on his part – he had since bulked up and no longer resembled the scrawny kid he once used to be, had grown out his hair, his ears had piercings galore, and he covered himself in tattoos – but he was still the Jungkook you knew and loved.

Like clockwork he came over to your apartment every chance he had. Bringing your favorite take out and watching trashy reality shows, even holding you when you couldn’t force the tears back. Jungkook didn’t let you fall beyond repair, choosing to be the glue you needed for you to put yourself back together.

When it had been four months after the breakup and you were getting back to yourself, you had realized that while watching a movie late one night with Jungkook, you were in his lap. The lights had been off and the two of you were sitting on your bed with his back against the headboard, and you were sitting in-between his legs with your back against his chest, his arms hugging you closer.

“What’s wrong?” Jungkook asked when you shifted in his arms, capturing his attention when you sat on your knees in front of him.

You didn’t say anything, simply reaching up to brush the hair that had fallen in his eyes away. He didn’t stop you. Instead, he patiently waited as you stared at him, trying to figure out how the kid you had grown up with, was suddenly the man who owned your heart. When that happened was unanswerable, but it felt like no matter where you went or what happened, you would always find your way back to him.

With that in mind, you slid your palm down to his cheek, shakily breathing when he slid his hands up your thighs to gently rest on your hips. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards for only a moment because the next thing you knew, you were kissing Jungkook.

His hands tightened on your hips as he eagerly kissed you back like he had been waiting for this moment for years.

The next morning when you woke up, the first thing you saw was a chest covered in hickeys and a tattoo of a caged swallow, its partner flying free but nearby. He was still asleep, his arm like dead weight on your bare waist. You should have been questioning yourself, you had slept with your best friend who was also one of your ex-boyfriend’s best friends.

Even as you considered that, you shifted your leg over his and leaned forward, gently kissing his chest once, twice, slowly making your way up to his neck. It was on the fourth kiss that Jungkook groaned, and on the sixth, he was rolling you onto your back as he harshly returned the kisses, his knees spreading your legs for round three.

Since then, it was meeting up in secret and Jungkook spending nights at your apartment to avoid running into Namjoon. It wasn’t a secret how possessive he could be, and if he saw Jungkook with you romantically, there would be hell to pay.

Knowing that he was waiting for you, you didn’t bother with knocking and just walked in, spotting Jungkook sitting on his bed with one leg propped on the mattress and his elbow resting on his knee as he scrolled through his phone.

You shut the door and with extra caution, flipped the lock on it, guaranteeing a few stolen moments without someone barging in. He looked up then, a smirk growing as he tossed his phone to the side, his arms wrapping around your waist when you were close enough for him to touch.

“I’m too sober for this,” he murmured, tilting his head back to look up at you, mischief alive in his eyes as he slid his hands into your back pockets, squeezing your ass. “There’s a Goddess in my arms, and I want to fucking ruin her.”

As filthy as his words were, it brought a smile to you lips as you tossed the glow stick necklace to the floor while the frustration you had from dealing with Namjoon was whisked away. In addition to igniting a flame to your insides that had you thirsting for more of Jungkook’s words, but for his touch, his kisses, for everything that was him and that he was willing to give.

“I’m tempted to let you do that,” you murmured back, moving your leg so your knee was on the bed next to his hip. “But you have tendency to go for hours.”

He quirked an eyebrow at you, the silver hoop glinting in the low lighting. “You’ve never complained about my stamina before.”

“What’s there to complain about?” You teased, pressing your lips together and enjoying the way Jungkook’s eyes darken.

“I’d be careful if I were you baby,” he warned, his voice lowering as he squeezed your ass tighter before massaging it through the denim. “I have no problem with bending you over my desk and fucking you rough to teach a lesson.”

Any normal person would have been worried by that statement, but you? The image that came to mind had you shakily inhaling, your panties feeling a little damper than they had ten minutes ago. If it weren’t the fact that Namjoon was in the house, you would have continued with the teasing until he fulfilled his promise. But even you were smart enough to know that was too risky.

Which is why you had to tell him.

“I ran into Namjoon,” you said.

Jungkook’s smile disappeared, his hands pulling out of your pockets at the sudden change of topics. Instead, he scooted backwards so you were able to join him on the bed, not even waiting for you to be completely on it when he was bringing you next to him on your side.

“Everything okay?”

You shifted an arm underneath your head. “Yeah. I was looking for you when he suddenly appeared. Threw back that morning at me and debated on kicking me out.”

“Fucking Namjoon,” running a hand through his hair, he clenched his jaw before reaching out, gently rubbing your thigh as he propped his chin in his palm. “Why can’t he let it the fuck go?”

That seemed to be the million-dollar question. Namjoon had been the one cheat with not one, but two girls at the same time, not even caring as you walked into his room. That morning had been meant to be surprised. You had finished working on a majority of your papers the night before and it had been a while since you got to spend some time with Joon, so you had planned on waking him up in his favorite way, only apparently, he already had someone else doing it for you.

If he had been able to move on so fast while still in a relationship, why was he always throwing it back at you now that he was single?

“Tell me you need me,” Jungkook suddenly said.

“What?” You asked, blinking up at him in confusion. Where had this come from?

Jungkook’s eyes reminded you of a galaxy of stars hidden away from the rest of the universe, but as they gazed down at you, they were hardened with determination. “Tell me you need me,” he repeated, firmly this time. “So, I don’t fucking go out there and tell him to leave my girl the hell alone and beat the shit out of him.”

You felt your bottom lip quiver briefly as he spoke. Not because what he said could be considered mildly scary, but because you knew how hard this was on him. Jungkook, while he may look like he didn’t give a shit, had the biggest heart you had ever seen. That was something that never changed about him since his younger years.

More often than not he vocalized wanting to be able go out on campus and into town with his arm around you, to hold your hand and go out on dates. You were his girl and the only ones who knew where the other Bangtan Boys. They only knew because they all covered for the two of you when Namjoon asked where Kook was.

He wanted to love you the way he thought you deserved, and he was denied that because if Namjoon found out, blood would be spilled. His in particular. Namjoon would only see the betrayal that Jungkook had committed and in their group, he saw loyalty as number one.

That was why Hoseok always said the two of you were crazy for this.

The consequences of dating an ex of the leader? Life threatening.

Wetting your lips, you reached a hand up to cup his cheek, stroking his face in an attempt to soothe not just him, but yourself as well. Even if either of you came out with the truth, it wouldn’t just be your lives at risk, but the others would be in just as much danger. They were the ones covering your asses, and Namjoon wouldn’t take that lightly.

“Jungkook,” you whispered. “Of course, I need you. I never stopped needing you baby.”

He stared down at you; the room nearly silent with the exception of the music that shook the walls. While he always dreamed of having you like this, he felt like a failure in some ways. Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against yours, hugging you as he sniffed.

“I’m gonna get us out of here one day,” Jungkook promised. “I’m taking you and we’re going wherever the hell we want. Far away from Namjoon so that he can never find us.”

Despite the situation hanging over your heads, you couldn’t help but smile at him. “Kookie, we’re still young.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’ve always known that I’ve loved you, since we were kids and when Namjoon introduced you that day. It was all just a matter of timing.” In an instant, his hands were on your waist and he rolled you on to your back as he hovered over you with practiced ease. His bangs hung down drawing giggles from you, but you felt more alive as he spoke with passion.

“And if we can’t find the right time, then we’ll take it for ourselves. I’ve been saving up these last couple months, and it’s gonna be a while more before we’ll have enough to get away and not be stuck living in a car, but I’m getting us out of here baby. That is…as long as you want to come with me.”

At some point his hands had slipped under the hem of your shirt, the rings he wore sent cold tingles up your spine at their sudden touch, but all you were able to do was focus on Jungkook and the way he was currently chewing on his bottom lip. Not too long ago he had talked about getting his mouth pierced, although from the amount of times he bit his mouth from nerves or deeply concentrating on a task, the healing process for that one hoop would take forever on him, if he didn’t end up taking it out.

Looking up at him right now, it was like seeing the Jungkook you used to know and the man he had grown into, and you were absolutely in love with both of them. You had loved Namjoon yes, but the way you once felt about him, was nothing compared to the way you felt about Jungkook.

“Do you remember when our moms would schedule playdates for us?” You suddenly asked, a soft smile growing on your face. “And they would always say how cute we were together.”

A grin formed on his face as he briefly glanced away from you, the faintest blush appearing on his cheeks. “My mom still says that.”

Giggling, you nodded in agreement, though your own mom had called him hot when you showed her a recent photo of Jungkook. “Afterwards when we’d get home,” you continued, “I would always tell her that one day, I wasn’t ever going to date anyone who wasn’t you.”

Jungkook’s grin widened to the point of threatening to split his face, but knowing that even back then you had felt the same way about him like he did for you, only made him more determined in getting you far away from Namjoon.

“We can’t tell the guys about our plan. If they don’t know, then Namjoon won’t hurt them.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Your heart felt like it was racing. The idea of being able to love each other without fear of Namjoon was a dead weight being removed from your shoulders.

“Then I guess that’s it,” he said, leaning down to kiss the tip of your nose. “We’re getting the fuck out of here.”

With a nod, you wrapped your arms around his neck, adjusting your head to kiss Jungkook.

It was going to be awhile before the two of you had enough money to leave, but the moment the two of you had it, you and Jungkook were going to be gone. There would be no goodbyes to the others. Even though they were pains in the ass at times, they weren’t cruel to those they cared about. If anything, the day the two of you left for good or when they realized what happened, you could easily imagine them getting together and having a drink in your honor.

Maybe one day when it was safe, you and Jungkook could come back for a visit or find a way to stay in touch with them. But none of that would matter if you got caught.

The two of you were dancing on the edge of a knife’s blade, and it was worth every second.

#bts boulangerie #bts bookclub #btswriterscollective #bts #bts fanfiction #bts fandom #bts fan fic #bts fan fiction #bangtan sonyeondan #bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan fanfiction #bts jeon jungkook #jeon jungguk #jeon jungkook #jungkook #kook #bts kookie #bts jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook college au #jungkook and reader #jungkook angst #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook friends to lovers #bts forbidden love

[themyskira]

So....have you read the latest Avengers #20, about the current version of She Hulk? How do you feel about that?

I’ve made a point of avoiding Jason Aaron’s Avengers because I truly can’t stand what he’s done to Jen. He took a character who, for all her more recent traumas, for all she can struggle to balance her legal career with her the pitfalls of being a publicly known superhero, loves who she is and embraces being green wholeheartedly -- he took Shulkie and turned her into Lady Bruce Banner, retiring lawyer whose inner ragemonster is just waiting to break loose. It’s some deep-seated bullshit and I’ve been trying my best to simply wait for it all to pass over.

But it was hard to ignore Avengers #20, because this was the issue where Jason Aaron went right off the fucking rails. I mean, he really went full Aaron Sorkin on his readers, and that isn’t a compliment.

Classic She-Hulk: Charming. Witty. Sensational. The Jolly Jade Giantess. The sassiest super-lawyer in all of Brooklyn. More laughs than a barrel of Deadpools. Fun. For years, that’s how the world described my client.  Until the accused came here and flushed all that global adoration down the gamma-irradiated toilet.Jason Aaron She-Hulk: Rrrgh. Objection. Some still like--Judge Jen: Overruled!Classic She-Hulk: The accused would like you to believe she’s not at fault for what happened to my client. That these changes in her personality are the unfortunate side-effect of her new powers, which were awakened inside her by some meddling space giants... and that since that happened she's been doing her best to regain control of herself. To do right by my client and give the world back the gorgeous, green, fun-loving bombshell they know and love. But that’s a complete lie, isn’t it? ... Ladies of the jury, I ask you... is this the face we want to present to the world? After everything we’ve worked to accomplish over the years, is this the sort of muscle-bound downer of a Hulk we want to be?

This sequence takes place in the context of a mental simulation being used by Jen in an effort to build her control over her powers, but in truth it’s just three long and excruciating pages of Aaron taking petty swipes at fans who are unhappy with his portrayal of She-Hulk. Through this exchange, he deliberately frames criticisms of his She-Hulk as shallow, over-the-top and sexist, suggesting that those of us who dislike his barely-recognisable ‘roidmonster Jen simply don’t understand good writing and that we just want a fun sexy green bombshell to wank over.

(Also implicit in this, and indeed throughout the comic, is the view that classic She-Hulk is less meaningful as a character because her comics are frequently humour-oriented. ‘Funny’ is situated in contrast to ‘deep’, ignoring the fact that Jen’s best writers have found room for both, and that Aaron’s She-Hulk fails to be either.)

And that sets the tone for the whole issue. From that point on, the entire comic is just Aaron transparently editorialising that no, you guys just don’t get it, my She-Hulk is better and deeper and more feminist than your She-Hulk.

“I was an omega-level threat in the charm department. I was the Hulk you’d want to have a glass of pinot with. And the craziest part was, my powers, for the most part... made me happy. An incredibly rare occurrence in my line of work. I actually enjoyed being a hero. I loved being the fun Hulk. I loved it a whole helluva lot. So how come I don’t miss it?

“There’s a war on. And the trolls have taken Australia. I’m part of the team that’s taking it back. These trolls come from a faraway realm, but I know their kind. They would’ve laughed at the old me. Made crass jokes even as I was taking them down. This time, nobody’s laughing. And I love it with my all big, green, glowing heart.”

The frustrating thing is, he’s right on the cusp of something genuinely interesting here.

Men who speak angrily and aggressively are apt to be seen as tough, forceful and strong-willed; women who do the same are more often viewed as shrill, nagging, hysterical, bitchy. Many women consciously or unconsciously learn to mask their anger, make ourselves smaller and less threatening. Asserting yourself can be the difference between being seen as the ‘fun girl’ and the humourless bitch.

And the sexual harassment he references -- the sexist jokes, the propositioning, the devaluing of women’s capabilities -- not only are these things that many women, from the most disadvantaged to the most powerful, face to different degrees, they’re relevant on a meta level to the portrayal of women in comics.

All of these themes would be ripe for exploration in the context of classic She-Hulk. Jen is a fun-loving character whose life isn’t governed by rage and the need to control it the way other Hulks are, but that doesn’t mean she can always afford to lose her temper -- as both a woman working in a profession rife with sexism and ‘old boys club’ attitudes, and as a female superhero in the public eye, “you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” takes on a whole different meaning.

Conversely, we might also think about Jen’s privilege in this regard -- that by virtue of her public profile and influence and general ability to grind men into a pulp without breaking a sweat, she doesn’t face the same level of discrimination as other women. That other women (particularly women of colour and LGBTQI women) don’t have the same freedom to express their anger as she does, not without consequences. And that -- as both the superhero She-Hulk and as the high-profile lawyer Jennifer Walters -- she is in a position to help other women to be heard and ensure that their anger is answered with change.

As for historical sexism in comics, there’s no better antidote to the male gaze than hiring more women and nonbinary people.

None of that seems to interest Jason Aaron. Rather, in defence of his roided-out Girl Bruce, he seems to be saying... what? ‘I have fixed sexism by making Jen so buff that men are too scared to undervalue or sexually harass her’?

(Which, by the way, they still do anyway.)

Next, we get this exchange:

Deadpool: Why’d you stop being funny? I mean, you were really good at it. You were like... me before me.She-Hulk: Rrgh. Rather be free.Deadpool: How’s that?She-Hulk: Free to be ugly.Deadpool: Um, wait, can’t you be both?

So, the implication is that before now, Jen wasn’t “free” to be her whole self -- that she had to be the fun, funny girl to avoid being seen as too angry and threatening.

And aside from the fact that, as I said, I think there are many more nuanced ways to explore this without negating Jen’s characterisation -- this is just lazy goddamn writing. It’s not an idea Aaron has explored up till now, nor is it reflective of the ways in which Jen has been portrayed in the past. It’s just a messy retcon jammed into the story to justify the ‘superiority’ of Aaron’s version of the character. Once again, the writer is speaking through the characters.

We also see Aaron once again implying that being “ugly” -- by which he means physically imposing, buff, not resembling a typical comic book pinup girl -- ‘frees’ Jen from the constraints of sexism, which is full-blown outrageous.

You think that men only sexually harass women they deem attractive? Really? You think that sexism stops at catcalls and underestimation? You think that Jen, a female superhero in the public eye, isn’t going to be subjected to ugly sexist slurs no matter what she looks like? That is as insulting as it is naive.

Later, Aarons-via-Jen engages in some meta-criticism of the fact that She-Hulk has traditionally been portrayed not as a huge, buff ragemonster but as a sexy bodybuilder (and retconning in a shit-ton of sexual harassment while he’s at it, because remember, sexism only affects women society deems conventionally attractive).

“Cousin Bruce said something once, a few years back... about how envious he was of me. How easy he figured I had it. When he hulked out, he became a giant, deformed monster who couldn’t even wear normal clothes. While there I was looking like a bodybuilder who’d just been spray-painted green. I could wear suits, walk down the street without people running and screaming. Teenage boys hung posters of me on their walls. Must be nice, Bruce said to me, to be that kind Hulk.

“I’d never wanted to punch my cousin so bad. And that’s saying something. I told him about the parts of being me that he was oblivious to. About all the times I’d been hit on during team-ups. The bad guys who’d cop a feel when we were fighting.  The sleaze ball who published photos of me topless when I was in the Fantastic freaking Four. (I’d really rather you didn’t Google that.) No paparazzi ever followed Bruce around taking photos of his butt while he was fighting the Leader. I told him... looking like a big scary monster didn’t seem so bad to be sometimes.”

And here we really get to the thesis underlying Aaron’s argument, the reason he feels She-Hulk needed a complete overhaul.

Like most superheroines, She-Hulk was shaped by the male gaze. It’s fair to say that played a lot into her original character design as a green Amazonian bombshell, whose appearance and comparative level-headedness stood in stark contrast to the huge, monstrous, rage-driven Hulk whose powers she inherited. Heroines in cape comics are supposed to be ‘fun’ and ‘sexy’ (as judged by the men they were typically being written by and for). Jen’s body has frequently been the subject of titillation and her promiscuity has frequently been the subject of crude humour.

Aaron seems to view this as the flaw at the heart of the character, and it’s something he’s set out to correct -- by making her the gigantic, buff, scary, angry Hulk she was never allowed to be at the outset. Sexism thwarted! Strong Female Character accomplished! Give yourself a pat on the back, Jason.

Except, here’s the thing.

It’s true that Jen has often been depicted through the lens of a male sex fantasy. 

It’s also true that many readers have embraced her as a female power fantasy.

As the super-buff, super-strong, seven-foot-tall She-Hulk, Jen doesn’t feel the need to bite her tongue or moderate her opinions or diminish herself out of concern for how others might respond. She doesn’t have to hide her confidence or her sexuality. Through her transformation, Jen gains the freedom to embrace all that she’s been repressing -- the brilliant, witty, brash, assertive, body-confident parts of herself she’s always kept hidden from the world.

In looking at Jen selectively through the lens of sexualised artwork, instances of bad writing and a frankly snobbish undervaluing of humour comics, Aaron zooms right past everything that makes her such an appealing and empowering character to so many readers.

Which brings me right back to Deadpool’s comment earlier in the issue: Can’t you be both?

If your complaint is that Jen is portrayed in a male-gazey, overly sexualised manner that de-emphasises her strength and physical power, hire an artist who will draw her as the buff, badass giantess that she is.

She-Hulk doesn’t need a gamma power-up or a brutish alter ego to be formidable, she’s She-Hulk ffs. And stripping Jen of all her femininity in the process of turning her into a ‘roided-out tank raises some dodgy gendered assumptions in itself.

(For me, Peak Jen is a giant buff green woman in a bright pink designer suit. Not only can she be both, she already was.)

And hey, just gonna throw this one out there again, if your complaint is that since her creation Jen has been predominantly written and drawn from male perspectives for a male audience, resulting in some sexist and oversexualised portrayals, how about you hire some goddamn women and nonbinary people to write and draw her?

This is not the Great Feminist Reimagining of She-Hulk that you think it is, Jason Aaron. This is a slightly more pretentious rehash of that time David Goyer dismissed the character as a “giant green porn star”. You’re trying to ‘fix’ Jen by negating everything that she was previously, which is quite simply bad writing.

And when you find yourself dedicating a full issue of a comic book to calling your readers stupid for not liking your treatment of a character, that feels like a pretty sure sign that you’ve fucked up.

#whoops i tripped and wrote an essay #comics talk #she hulk #jennifer walters #jonsei93

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[ineffablecolors]

NEW TALES FROM THE OLD FOREST [5/a few more]

New Tales from the Old Forest; ~ 3, o00 words; FF.NET || AO3 Lovely banner by the equally lovely @katie-dub !

Hey, thanks so much to everyone who so enthusiastically dived back into this story again - means a lot! Hope the joy of the season is already upon you! :)

She wraps her arms tighter around herself and jumps in place to get the blood flowing or whatever people hope for when they do that. Perhaps they hope to jump high enough that they never come back down and just orbit the cold earth from then on. Sounded plausible enough.

But, looking out at the Storybrooke harbor, Emma has to admit that she kinda gets what Killian sees in the place. When it’s not trying to turn you into an icicle that is.

This is ridiculous. She knows enough about Storybrooke to find some hot cocoa, warm food and well, just warmth in general. So with one last semi-mournful, semi-accusatory look at Killian’s house, she gets back in her bug and asks Henry how he feels about some grilled cheese.

///

Emma knows next to nothing about Storybrooke. Usually it’s her complaining to Killian about the hustle and bustle of New York City and he either doesn’t have a bad word to say about the sleepy town he spends most of his time in or he is way less of a whiner than Emma.

(It’s probably the latter but she likes to reassure herself with the former.)

She knows nothing until the day of “The Big Skype Hijacking” as her son had dubbed it. Why? He had a lengthy explanation about the importance of title-picking for a budding author. She… does not entirely get it. Then again, maybe she is a bit prejudiced ever since “The Horrific Waffle Fiasco”. The nerve on that kid, she swears.

It all starts with her getting home early and hearing Henry’s laugher. The pros of having an 11-year-old include the fact that you are still not completely banned from the perimeter of their room but at the same time you have been made aware of what a privilege that is. And how soon it will be taken from you.

As it stands Henry’s door is thrown wide open, probably thanks to the sneaker that is jammed half under it. A definite sign of the haste with which he threw himself on his bed. And the voice drifting from his laptop explains it all.

“Well, that is quite the fascinating story, lad. So now he is stuck with this little bird?”

“Yes, but he has no idea what to do with it. He says the thing is nocturnal and won’t let him sleep!” Henry’s merriment makes her mouth tick up in seconds.

Killian’s deep laughter doesn’t hurt either.

“And has your teacher actually been to see the poor creature? Or its poor besotted owner?”

“That’s the thing – I don’t knoooow! His “bird-induced insomnia” was the last we heard from David. You know, when he came by the school to drop off some textbooks we had left behind. I’ve never seen anyone look so happy about kids leaving their stuff all over.”

“Hmmm. Well, this just won’t do now, will it? We need more intel before we can proceed with any confidence.”

“Well, I was thinking…”

Uh-oh. She knows that tone. Last time he heard that tone, they spent 3 hours in The Belle of Bookstores and came out carring so much shit Emma didn’t have to workout for a week.

“Mhmmm…”

It seems like Killian has a sixth sense about “the tone” as well.

“Maybe you could convince mom that a pet is a good thing for a kid to have around. You know, a pre-teen thing. She is really into those recently.”

“Right. And me, with all my expertise on pre-teens...”

“You write children’s slash young adults slash anyone who has good taste books!”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, young man!”

“But it might get me a puppy!”

“I’m glad to see you think your mother so easily bought, kid,” she finally joins in, leaning a hip on the doorjam and crossing her arms in her favourite ‘I’m a single mom who takes no bullshit’ pose.

“Oh. Hey, mom,” Henry, on the other hand, has his own favourite ‘I’m your little angel and you’ll forgive me anything’ face.

“Nonsense, Swan, the lad thinks your defenses so insurmountable that he felt the need to contract a professional tale spinner.”

The laptop is angled so that she can’t see Killian’s face but Emma finds herself perfectly capable of envisioning his ‘I’m so charming and suave, how can you resist me’ grin.

Because it’s 5pm and the universe is probably napping and so unable to conspire against her, Henry’s phone rings not 10 minutes later and Emma has no qualms about settling herself on the floor beside his bed and dragging his laptop into her lap.

Hijack #1: Emma Swan taking over for Henry Swan

“Fancy seeing your face, love.”

“Wish I could say the same but that light is really not doing you any favours.”

She teases him because she can. Because they’ve established that “they definitely did not break up” three weeks ago and have talked every day since. She teases him because they are good. If she wasn’t afraid that it might wake up the universe and jinx them all to hell, Emma would say that they are very good.

“Oy! No need to take me down quite so many notches, Swan. I believe this place was designed to flatter Ruby’s pale complexion and no one else’s.”

It is so obvious that he is in a public place, a diner of sorts, with a vibe that’s even familiar-ish. Which is why the slight note of irritation? warning? jealousy? in her tone is absolutely ridiculous and yet-

“Who’s Ruby?”

“Oh. Have I not told you this?”

“Mmm, don’t think so.”

Yup, definitely irritated now.

“Remember where I had my signing in your fair New York?”

“Yeah, I seem to recall that place and event. I believe Henry made me check it on Google maps 4 times. 4 times. A bookshop that we had been to before! I’m surprised he didn’t make me do a test drive before the signing to see how fast we get there.”

“Right,” he probably deserves some credit for swallowing his laughter but she sure isn’t going to give it to him. “And you know Granny? From the diner across the bookstore?”

“I’ve only been addicted to her grilled cheese for like 2 years. ‘Course I know Granny, Killian, would you get to the point already?”

“Bloody hell. Fine. Long story short – and trust me that’s no small sacrifice for a writer – Granny used to run a diner in Storybrooke with her granddaughter Ruby. They were doing real well but then Ruby went off to model in New York so they decided to open a… a branch there. But then, one Christmas-“

“Wait, wait. I’m sorry, hold up and take in some air, I didn’t mean get to the point that fast.”

Killian, bless him, actually does need to suck in some air and she shakes her head in fond exasperation.

“So, let me see, if I’m getting this right. Granny, the same Granny who has been feeding me and Henry almost every weekend for years now, used to live in Storybrooke? You used to know each other?”

“That is correct. Is why I chose the bookstore across her charming establishment. And why she was the one keeping everyone there hydrated and nourished.”

Emma snorts. She’s hard pressed to define Granny’s hot chocolate as hydrating. You can eat the thing with a spoon, it’s so thick and creamy… Some days Emma thinks she’d rather part with a kidney than Granny’s cocoa.

“Alright. Let’s ignore how absolutely bizzare that coincidence is-“

“As I told you, lass, no coincidence at all. I very purposefully chose-“

“Right, right. I got it. But still. You know Granny! Our Granny!”

“Well, to be fair, Swan, she was my Granny first.”

His grin is infuriating. And so is the way his hair falls across his forehead. And the light circling under his eyes. And the long eyelashes that swipe over it whenever he blinks at her. How can someone look so innocent and infuriating at the same time?

She knows Killian Jones is far far from innocent. And maybe it’s because she knows his story that sometimes she just wants to reach through her laptop (or Henry’s as the case may be) and brush his hair and wrap her arms around him and smother him with kisses. And that’s just plain ridiculous so-

“Whatever. Why is she here and her granddaughter is in Storybrooke, if she was the one working in New York?”

The granddaughter is still… a question mark. An ex-model question mark.

“As I was just saying, one Christmas Ruby came back and after one too many holiday run-ins with a certain deputy, she never left. But the place in New York was literally ready to open and, if you know Granny, you know that woman never turns down a challenge, so… Granny is there, making sure you don’t starve on your stakeouts and Ruby is here, bugging me closer and closer to an early grave. One mediocre cup of coffee at a time.”

“I heard that, Jones!”

And Emma heard that.

“Granny’s is a chain… Huh. I guess wonders do never cease…”

“Sorry, love, Regina seems to be calling me on here. I’ll just give her a call instead and be right back.”

And that’s how it happens.

Hijack #2: Ruby Lucas taking over for Killian Jones

“Freaking finally! I thought I’d never get my chance.”

Suddenly Emma’s screen is filled with a whole lot of what she will soon know is Ruby Lucas.

“Hey?”

“Hi! I’m Ruby. And you must be the magical Emma!”

Emma sputters. It’s not graceful and it’s not pretty but at least she’s not drinking anything.

The hell? What kind of things has Killian been saying about her?

“Excuse me?”

“Hmmm?”

“Magical Emma?”

“Oh. Sorry. That’s just what I’ve been calling you in my head. Not like to Killian’s face or anything.”

The Ruby girl gets a thoughtful, borderline fiendish look on her face.

“Maybe I should. Can someone die from blushing?”

“Umm… I don’t think so. Can we go back to how we’ve never met but you have like… a nickname for me?”

Eyes darting away just for a second, probably to check that Killian is still occupied with his manager, and Ruby fixes her with a serious look. It’s like watching all the bubble exit a champagne bottle until all that’s left is concentrated alcohol that can really do a number on your head.

“He’s been back in Storybrooke for a few years now. But he’s only been back for a couple of months.”

…

“Oh.”

…

“I don’t know what kinda magic,” Ruby scrunches up her unnecessary perfect nose and waves her hand in what Emma supposes illustrates magic. “you’ve been doing but just keep doing it, yeah?”

…

“I-“

…

“And that’s how Jones ended with a drawn mustache and a perm!”

“Bloody hell, woman!”

“She needs to be warned.”

“Get off. Off. Stay away from my computer and my- Off.”

“Looovely to finally meet you, Emma!”

Ruby leaves with a wink and a wave and a generous view of her retreating back. Killian reemerges with the most sheepish look on his face and she smiles.

She doesn’t call him her boyfriend either. The word feels so… foreign. She is not sure her mouth would know how to form the syllables.

But other parts of her anatomy are definitely beating out the rhythm.

“Bloody hell, why does Regina insist on skyping me?!”

Hijack #3: Roland Hood stealing the whole show

///

He can tell she is up to something. He knows his mom pretty well – has known her all his life, you might say.

She is great at fooling all her “targets” and depositing their asses in jail before they even realized what the hell is going on. She is not too bad at faking it with his teachers and the other parents at his school either. Expect her smile is always like… extra tight and fake-y around the other moms, especially the ones with such long nails that Henry is always a bit apprehensive about shaking hands with them – except they usually prefer to pat him on the head and squeeze him up with something like “poor sweetheart” which makes his mom look even more like an arrow drawn up and ready to fly off. Honestly, sometimes he doesn’t get adults at all.

But he gets his mom and he knows she is up to something. It’s just that… he is as well so he’ll let it slide this one time.

Henry figured (and Killian reluctantly agreed) that just because they are not getting a pet, doesn’t mean that Killian possibly can’t. There is, of course, the small matter of him being in another state but somehow David doesn’t think to ask after any whereabouts when Henry tells him he is picking a cat for his mom’s boyfriend.

Killian asked for more intel before he agrees to tackle the Teacher-Pet case. He also vehemently protested naming it that but, for the life of him, Henry doesn’t understand why – it is all about getting his teacher together with the pet shelter’s owner. It is perfect and Killian is being silly.

It is fun really. To find out that Killian can be silly as well and get cranky when his coffee is “bollocks” (whatever that is, he isn’t supposed to use it). He never really considered the fact that Killian Jones might be genius and talented and super awesome but also… silly. It’s nice.

And because he has seen Killian in action – his mom told him all about Roland hijacking Regina’s Skype and calling Killian non-stop for a full two hours before he was discovered – he knows that his matchmaking skills are the best money could buy – or, you know, puppy eyes since it’s not like he has any money. He feels like he might be getting a bit old for that trick but it seems to work just as well on Killian as it always does on his mom and desperate times…

///

The idea pops into her head about an hour after “meeting” Ruby for the first time. And once there it’s like that little piece of popcorn that’s stuck to the roof of your mouth and keeps annoying you and you just can’t get it off.

And then she goes to Granny’s a couple of days later and the woman looks at her over her glasses and says she heard her granddaughter made her acquaintance. Says she heard someone else has been making her acquaintance as well. Emma is pretty sure that’s not how you use that phrase but she is also too busy dumping half the cinnamon shaker in her cocoa and fleeing as if Granny had turned into a pack of wolves.

And then Ruby adds her on Facebook. And Emma eyes the request suspicious all Thursday and then she does the one thing Emma from like 4 months ago would probably gag at her doing. She asks Killian what he thinks. And frankly? Emma from like 4 months ago can suck it. Because she has someone whose opinion she values and respects and actually wants and she is OK with telling him that the brunette freaked her out a bit and eventually, after a couple of hours on the phone, she even tells him she was a bit “on the fence about this Ruby chic” when he first mentioned her and if his smirk is anything to go by, he knows exactly what that means but just shakes his head and says “Lucas is a pest. The big, fangy kind, not the kind you can swap away”. And really in the end, Killian just tells her to go with her gut – Ruby is cool in his books, her grandmother probably saved him from being homeless both times he rolled into Storybrooke with nothing but the clothes on his back, an unfinished manuscript and a spectacular hangover. In the end, it’s not about Killian telling her what to do at all, it’s about her having someone to talk it out with and make up her mind. It’s new. It’s kinda wonderful.

And then Henry asks if he can invite Killian to his birthday. His birthday. In August. 5 months away.

And then because being his girlfriend or whatever (she still cannot say the thing with adding “whatever” after, she has tried) doesn’t mean that she is not still a fan or whatever (that one is just a bit embarrassing – being a fan of your boyfriend… or whatever). So, yeah, she checks Killian Jones’ blog, which he updates only every month or so but, yeah, she follows him on Instagram and she follows his blog and whatever, he follows her as well and once said something ridiculous along the lines of him being a fan of her, like every part of her or whatever, so yeah. It’s fine.

But then she opens his blog, while on a ridiculously unproductive stakeout and she sees his last post from a couple of hours ago.

The wonder isn’t that love find us, as strange and magical and mystical and wonderful and unbelievable as that feels.

The wonder is that even when we never find it, even when love waits in the wings of dream for too long, even when it doesn’t knock on the door we’ve been staring as for years, or leave messages in bottles or on answering machines or on Facebook walls or in the bloody sand to be washed away by the waves of time, even when love doesn’t put flowers in our hands or tears of incomparable joy or unimaginable heartbreak in our eyes… even then… so many of us never stop believing in love.

Imagine how lucky we are. To have such hope, such faith. And then, occasionally, when we are so very very lucky… such love.

She is doing it.

#cs ff #cs fanfic #captain swan fanfiction #cs au #cs fluff #NTOF

[dippedanddripped]

The first time Lucy Kyselica’s face was stolen, it turned up in the window of a beauty salon in small-town America. Kyselica is a Dutch beauty YouTuber who mostly makes videos about historical hairdos, but she had also made a video showing her subscribers how to thread their own eyebrows. The salon took a screengrab from that video, enlarged it to poster size, and used it to advertise their eyebrow threading services. Across the ocean in the Netherlands, Kyselica only found out because some fans recognized her, and asked her if she was working with the salon or if she even knew her image was in its window. She wasn’t; she didn’t. She sent an email, and never heard back. “It may still be there,” she says.

In the six years since, Kyselica has seen her image used to sell other people’s products over and over. She’s been the face of hairstyling tools, hair thickening products, and beauty pills. “The products are always kind of dodgy,” she says. Most recently, it was clip-in bangs sold by a Chinese merchant on Amazon. Kyselica decided to publicize her problem, and made a video about it: “I Ordered My Own Bangs Off Amazon 🤔 🙅‍♀”. You see, Kyselica’s bangs, which are her signature look, aren’t actually clip-ins. They grow from her scalp.

Image theft isn’t unique to Kyselica, or even social media influencers. If you’ve ever seen (or bought) a designer handbag or a pair of sunglasses that “fell off a truck,” you’ve seen a version of this before. The internet has made selling knockoffs a breeze, especially because vendors can just use a picture of the genuine article on the listing and the customer won’t know the difference until the inevitably plasticy and awful fake shows up on their doorstep.

As influencer marketing has grown in popularity, using images from their accounts has became the logical next step. Instagrammers often complain about Chinese fast fashion companies copying their looks and using their photos (often with their faces cropped out) to sell cheap knockoffs. Beauty YouTubers constantly encounter ads featuring their own eyes, nails, or whole faces, as well as inboxes and DMs full of fans telling them about such ads. In an economy based on audience trust, the products can be a real blow to their businesses. More often than not, they have no idea what to do next.

While it certainly isn’t good, a brand making a low-rent dupe of your outfit and selling it with a photo of your headless body can be a sick sort of best case scenario. For one, you’ve got that plausible deniability: If I really endorsed this (crappy) product, why would they crop out my face? Plus, for some, the scandal of it all can actually be a benefit.

That’s what happened to YouTuber Bernadette Banner, who makes historical sewing videos. One morning around 6 am, she found her DM inboxes—Facebook, Instagram, Etsy—stuffed with messages from fans. They were all telling her that a fast fashion company was advertising one of her dresses—a 15th century gown she had copied from a painting and hand-sewn over the course of over 250 hours—with her (headless) image for $40.98, which is not even half of her materials cost. “I had just woken up. I was incoherent. I never got to the point of rage,” Banner says. “I thought, ‘What would happen if I bought it? That would make really good video content.’ Without getting out of bed, I ordered the dress.” The resulting video, which she calls “an educated roast,” went viral. It got 3.5 million views, doubled Banner’s subscribe count, and made her five figures in revenue.

Banner’s business is based on showcasing her expertise: She didn’t design that dress, and she doesn’t sell it anywhere, so the knockoff didn’t really cost her anything in lost business. It’s the same for many beauty influencers. They derive their income from images of their faces, hair, and nails, so they stand to lose a lot more when those images are stolen. Even celebrity YouTubers have been affected. Nail artist Simply Nailogical, who has 7.5 million subscribers, has experienced so much image theft that she watermarks every image and video she uploads—and people still swipe them for advertisements. Makeup guru Tati Westbrook, who has over 9.5 million subscribers, has made a video detailing every time her image and voice have been used to promote products she doesn’t endorse.

People are almost always dismayed when this happens. “It's just kind of creepy to see my face in something I’m not associated with in any way,” Kyselica says. “It hurts my business. Also, on a personal level, the trust of my followers means a lot to me. I feel iffy about having my face used when the products are made in a way that is likely not ethically produced, like in a sweatshop in China.” The ethics concern comes up a lot: Banner is publicly critical of fast fashion companies in general, so to have her dress copied by one was extra frustrating. “There is probably somebody working basically as a slave to make this dress,” Banner says. “I got uncomfortable buying it, but I’d like to think that I’m keeping hundreds or thousands of other people from buying it, too.”

Among YouTubers and other influencers, there’s a sense that nothing can be done, of screaming into the void. There is frequently a language barrier between the influencer and the seller; the companies rarely (if ever) respond to their emails, and the images often pop up online again as advertisements for different companies entirely within a few days or even hours. (Typically the brands all share a parent company.) “It’s always disheartening to find out that it’s happened again,” Kyselica says, especially because, in its own way, it’s a symptom of her success. “It’s our job to produce nice images of ourselves and make them findable on Google,” she says. “When you Google images of girls, it's not surprising that we come up.” Put another way, SEO is now an occupational hazard.

However, if the products are being advertised on US-based platforms like Instagram or Amazon, recourse is possible, though somewhat complex. Using someone’s image for your commercial gain without their consent is illegal. “The platforms are supportive, but need to be communicated to in their format. If someone is sending an email that says ‘I want my image off here,’ it's not sufficient,” says Fred Dimyan, CEO of Potoo, a company that handles this issue for hundreds of major brands. “You have to note the specific infringement. Is it a trademark, or is it a registered trademark? That’s the level of granularity.” People without lawyers or platform experts on hand will find that difficult, but it’s not impossible.For now, platforms are not proactively dealing with image theft on behalf of influencers. It’s up to the individual to report it. But fortunately for them, they have legions of fans watching feeds on their behalf, and can publicize the misuse of their images when it happens. Sometimes it even helps. After talking with me, Dimyan agreed to help Kyselica approach Amazon about the advertisement for those clip-in bangs. Her images have been removed—for now.

#influencers #fashion blog #australia #streetwear blog

[theadmiringbog]

“Overload, clutter, and confusion are not attributes of information, they are failures of design.”

--

There’s really so much to celebrate in technology today. We’ve created materials that reduce the sun’s glare. Really. We’ve made screens that have greater clarity than ink on paper. We’ve not only built a really useful Internet but made it available across almost the entire world at really fast speeds in the palm of our hands. It’s kind of ridiculously amazing how awesome we are.                

--

I’m a user experience (UX) designer. That means my job is to understand your common, everyday problems and to use technology to solve them. I’ve worked at an innovation lab for Zappos, where I helped design and imagine the future of how a customer service company could solve customer problems. I’ve worked at a Samsung innovation lab, where I helped design and imagine new services and consumer electronics to solve people’s problems. And I worked at Cooper, a design consultancy where we solved everyday problems for our clients’ customers.                

--

HOW DO YOU MAKE A BETTER TRASH CAN? 

A: SLAP AN INTERFACE ON IT! 

Hope you got this obvious one: You can make a better trash can by turning it into a $47,000 LCD recycling bin, so that you can see if it’s raining outside when you’re standing outside in the rain.                

--

UI and UX are just acronyms (not even good ones) for “user interface” and “user experience.” And the hiring managers who listed them probably have good intentions. But blurring the two disciplines upon hiring designers has played an important role in our approach to creating technological experiences.                

--

When you specifically hire someone to generate UI, you won’t get new, innovative solutions. You’ll get more UI, not better UX.                

--

This is UI: Navigation, subnavigation, menus, drop-downs, buttons, links, windows, rounded corners, shadowing, error messages, alerts, updates, checkboxes, password fields, search fields, text inputs, radio selections, text areas, hover states, selection states, pressed states, tooltips, banner ads, embedded videos, swipe animations, scrolling, clicking, iconography, colors, lists, slideshows, alt text, badges, notifications, gradients, pop-ups, carousels, OK/Cancel, etc. etc. etc. 

This is UX: People, happiness, solving problems, understanding needs, love, efficiency, entertainment, pleasure, delight, smiles, soul, warmth, personality, joy, satisfaction, gratification, elation, exhilaration, bliss, euphoria, convenience, enchantment, magic, productivity, effectiveness, etc. etc. etc.                

--

We confused the two. And instead of pursuing the best, most creative, inventive, and useful ways to solve a problem, we started solving problems with screens because that was our job description. When we saw problems, we slapped an interface on it.       

--

In the words of Jeff Hammerbacher, a former manager at Facebook and the founder of Cloudera, 

“The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads. That sucks.”           

--

Free—a business strategy that’s the result of many probable factors, among them: being unable to motivate customers with an immediate need to pay, creating a valuable service in a business sector that has traditionally been free, or making an effort to massively and rapidly grow the size and impact of technological products.                

--

“I have come to believe that advertising is the original sin of the Web.” 

Ethan Zuckerman, one of the original creators of the pop-up ad, once said that in a public apology printed in the Atlantic. 

“The fallen state of our Internet,” he says, “is a direct, if unintentional, consequence of choosing advertising as the default model to support online content and services.” 

The pursuit of elegance has been long forgotten by short-term, revenue-seeking decision makers.                

--

In this perverse user experience model—reflective of one of the many negative outcomes of screen-based thinking—at the end of the day designers have a business mandate to prolong user goals, not to help us most elegantly or joyfully get done the things we need to do.                

--

Yes, corporations need to make money; yes, companies like Google have provided very useful tools for free in exchange for eyeballs; and yes, we can—and I have—found and shared valuable information more easily thanks to services such as Facebook and Twitter. But publicly traded companies with ad-based business models must eventually force their designers down a distinct path.                

--

Some younger startups that haven’t yet been plagued by going public with an ad-based revenue model still pursue this Addiction UX in hopes of a higher valuation. Maciej Cegłowski calls it “Investor Storytime.” It’s “when someone pays you to tell them how rich they’ll get when you finally put ads on your site.”                

--

As Don Norman wrote in 1990, when these digital interfaces were just beginning to take over our lives, 

“The real problem with the interface is that it is an interface. Interfaces get in the way. I don’t want to focus my energies on an interface. I want to focus on the job . . . I don’t want to think of myself as using a computer, I want to think of myself as doing my job.”                

--

The best result for any technology is to solve meaningful problems in impactful ways. The best design reduces work. The best computer is unseen. The best interaction is natural. The best interface is no interface.                

--

That’s a great wireframe. We nailed it. We’re going to make a billion dollars.

--

Make sure you add a share button! Yeah, one for Google Plus, too.

--

Contrary to the press-driven hype—most people download, um, zero mobile apps every month. Yeah, zero per month.5 I’m gonna get so rich off this app! That seemingly practiced task of developing an app typically requires a fair amount of money, open-minded leaders, great research, deep insights, a team of really smart people, and even a little luck.

--

The best interface is no interface” doesn’t mean the only outcome should be no interface, it means the best possible outcome is no interface. 

Insisting that NoUI is the only viable solution would be utterly stupid.

#The Best Interface Is No Interface #books

[randykopplin]

New Post has been published on https://randykopplin.com/self-fulfilling-prophecy/

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

First off, why did I call this "Self Fulfilling Prophecy?" I don't know. Call it a Holy Spirit thing. Intuition? Honestly, I was told to call this article that, but it has nothing to do with that, really. It has to do with Markethive going viral, exponential growth. And my call out to you to be part of this amazing venture.

I also have to say, I love Markethive, I mean I really love this system, I am passionate about it. It is my life's work, my calling and I know many of you feel the same way. I am humbled the Lord has called me to build it. So there, now you know. OK here is the article I have spent a week writing.

Nice illustration huh? Again doesn't have a lot to do with this article, but then again it does. While writing this article I have also been completing our Pitch Deck, Financials and Business Plan. I have made a ton of Infographics like this as well. All in preperation for Markethive going viral, gaining perspective and acquiring. We are now gaining interest from Angel Investors. We are on our way. So here is the article.

I am calling upon all of you to help propel Markethive exponentially. There are 3 things we need you to do and I am asking you to do this so, I can leverage your assistance to turn Markethive into one giant Entrepreneurial Ecocenter driving huge results, results that will reward every single one of you.

Acquire the Alexa Browser Exchange and log into Markethive every day and post, comment, blog, and register your social accounts.  

Make referring 3+ new subscribers to Markethive a daily commitment.  

Upgrade to Entrepreneur.  As of this notice, Entrepreneur is now classified Entrepreneur One. Explanation to follow.

Primary Mission: More Customers and More Revenue for you with Markethive Markethive is a Commerce Platform (look for the coming Store Fronts), an Inbound Marketing platform (nearly identical to Marketo) that recently sold to Adobe for 4.75 billion, an integrated social community (navigation familiar to Facebook and LinkedIn), and a Digital Media Network (like Western Journal, Cointelegraph,  Mashable and Techcrunch) all integrated and fully operational right now.

Alexa Ranking. Credible Traffic 3rd party confirmation: To help build a solid ecocenter for the entrepreneurs, being able to publically display our traffic with a 3rd party is necessary to establish Markethive’s credibility.  Each member can assist us by installing the free browser extension from Alexa @ https://www.alexa.com/toolbar. We are now approaching 100,000 unique daily visitors. Our internal tracking, Alexa and WorthofWeb all confirm this. These numbers are critical to establish our rates for members to pay for our advertising and marketing services.  Allowing us to reference similar digital media networks like AMBCrypto and Blockonomi .

AMBCrypto Alexa 23,841 : Price: $5,500 https://coinbound.io/buy/ambcrypto-banner-ad-top-content/  

Blockonomi Alexa: 54,230 Price:$1,850 https://coinbound.io/buy/blockonomi-banner-ad/

Therefore it is to all of ours focus and recognition is that traffic and credibility are the key aspect of our strategy and you can help. BTW: As we continue to develop Markethive’s “Infinity Bounties” Markethive will eventually recognize your Alexa browser extension as you login and give you additional ranking, bounty and advantages in the “Infinity Bounty” program. The core of Infinity Bounties is you registering your social accounts with Markethive and then following Markethive’s social networks. Doing this increases your earnings in the faucet system. There is more to it as well, but that is the foundation of this service, now….

Refer 3 to activate your faucets Markethive requires you to refer at least 3 people to activate some of our services, particularly the Faucet and the Hive Ranking. The Faucet system is a micropayment system that all Markethive usage like posting, commenting, blogging, emailing, etc. pays you in MHV coin for your activities and other members activity in reaction to your activity (blog swiping, blog subscribing, tipping, etc.). The Hive Ranking rates your activity and popularity and the higher your rank the greater your faucet earnings. So the more you use Markethive and produce quality content the more you make in MHV coins which have value that can be used for Markethive services, exchanged for Bitcoin, sold for fiat, or used at other 3rd party systems, stores and services.

Entrepreneur One Upgrade The current Entrepreneur Upgrade is the premium highest level you will ever have the opportunity to acquire. It contains all the leveraged advantages you need to accelerate your success in Markethive:

Associates Control Panel: Gain full data, their social networks, verified phone and text, verified email and a contact management system that tracks data, stores dated notes, sends messaging and calendars events reminding actions on your Markethive calendar like call backs, email, etc. with the Associates Control Panel (Part of your Friends section)  

Primary Matching Airdrop Bonus: Receive 100% matching bonus from the new registration airdrops. This can be a significant reward for those that aggressively build “associates” the term used for the leads, Markethive provides (profile page and default capture page). Our first infinity airdrop will be 500 coins, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort to offer a system as powerful and valuable as the Markethive system that also rewards new members with an immediate 500 coin reward. You can easily promote this and build 1000s of referrals that will add up to significant coins and customers.  

Secondary Matching Airdrop Bonus: When your associate customer upgrades to Entrepreneur, we airdrop them 100 coins and you will also receive 100 coins as a matching bonus.  

Matching ILP Loyalty Program:  You also get an equal ILP share after 12 months of continuity with the Entrepreneur program. This is only available for the first 1000 Entrepreneur upgrades. What that means….Liken to an ICO, your monthly payment is accrued and if you stay current for 12 straight months, we contribute to you a full 10% ILP and continue to offer this 12 month reward for 10 years or your stop payment. This offer is limited to the first 1000 active upgrades.  

Banner Ad Program: You also get unlimited 1st level Banner advertisement in all of our traffic portals and Internet properties. This offer is incredibly valuable. Markethive properties are already receiving significant traffic and as we grow, this traffic is included with this Entrepreneur upgrade.  

Press Release Program: Markethive will also be delivering a Press Release system as a hybrid liken to PRNewswire (traditional distribution) to  include Forbes, Yahoo! Finance, CNNMoney, MarketWatch, TheStreet.com, Bizjournals.com, Business.com ,  Wired, Tech Crunch, Engadget, Computerworld, CNET News, InformationWeek, R&D Magazine and more in the Tech industry.  Our Media List will be greater than 4000 media organizations, journalists, reporters, bloggers, producers, freelance writers and editors across print, online, blogs, radio and television.

 It will also publish to our growing social network followers (40,000 and growing via MH subscribers) and our growing members WordPress blogs (about 3000 and growing with MH members). When Markethive reaches 1 million members our Social Following is projected to be at (700,000 – 2 million followers total) and about 150,000 WordPress sites. These WordPress sites will be mini news media and vertical news media like http://aimhigh.news along with publication to Markethive’s portfolio of sites like https://Markethive.com , https://Markethive.net ,  http://allaboutco.in, http://aboutbitco.in , and http://aboutco.in .

Cointelegraph, a vertical tech news media organization, which charges about $8,500 per release with an Alexa rank (2,646) social followers (1.3 million) and 16,000 subscribers justifies their price. Markethive’s press release will be priced accordingly and increase as our subscribers reach grows.  The second biggest digital news media site to Cointelegraph is CNN with an Alexa rank (10,899) charges $1800 and only posts to their main site front page.

The Entrepreneur One Upgrade will include one Press Release per month for life as long as your Entrepreneur One Upgrade remains active and current. This does not accumulate. Additional Press releases will be discounted.  

Sponsored Article Program: Sponsored content is a piece of brand journalism that lives on a publisher’s website. It’s usually written by the publisher’s staff so the article matches the tone and voice of rest of their content.  Sponsored article are published to the same distribution Markethive articles are published on plus, notification of articles is sent to our social network, and the 1000s of connected WordPress sites. Sponsored articles run from high end media sites like Cointelegraph for $7500 to an average of $1200 for most other media systems in the general markets.  

Co-Op Customer Acquisition Program: Markethive strategic campaigns will designate %60 to %80 of our revenue into Marketing and Advertising campaigns.  These campaigns will point to Markethive assets like: Markethive.com Markethive.net Aboutco.in Allaboutco.in Aboutbitco.in Ewav.net Iwav.net

Traditional Customer Co-Op programs charge $50 to $100 per customer. Cooperative marketing programs foster teamwork between a brand (Markethive) and its channel partners (Markethive Subscribers). Channel partners often don’t have large marketing departments.  Markethive is more equipped to create professional advertisements and deal with media placement. Markethive Entrepreneur Upgrade subscribers create the demand and. Co-op marketing programs take advantage of the sale channel’s local presence. This benefits both the partner and the brand.  

Commerce Portals: To sell on our commerce portals, like Big Kahuna (A website builder like WIX), Beelancers (A freelancer service like Freelancers), Markethive Exchange (A full service crypto exchange like https://idex.market/) you must be an active Entrepreneur One Upgrade to sell or trade. This eliminates processing fees and commissions like found on Freelancers, Upwork, Guru,  etc.  Buyers have no obligation other than free registration with Markethive.  This change in services where it is traditional to be constrained into the platform and pay high processing fees and commissions is eliminated with the Markethive Entrepreneur Upgrade system.  

Crowd Funding Portal: If Markethive engages (likely we will) with a crowd funding campaign, promoted to top crowd funding systems like ICOranker, ICObench, Tokentops, Airdrops.io and Cryptoslate.com etc. We will be sharing the campaign traffic via all Entrepreneurs through our crowd funding portal @ Markethive.io and giving all Entrepreneur Upgrades their own self replicated portal to help in the campaign. These portals will earn equal matching shadow shares if they bring in new ILP purchases and will also be traffic portals earning new members as well.

So I have to ask, what are you waiting for? And now a word (audio) from the CEO

Thomas Prendergast CEO Markethive

Randy Kopplin

#automatedmarketing #content #inboundmarketing

[lessiesullivan]

50 ways to promote a single and bring it to the masses

Here are the first 50 ways to promote a single that came to mind (in no direct order and definitely not in order of importance) –

Lyric Video

Create recognizable artwork

Debut the song at a show before it’s released

Lock in the right premiere partner

Give the song to your super fans early via text

Moving visualizer with the artwork (never static)

Get YouTube promoter channels to post it

Shoot a music video

Create a trailer and or behind the scenes content from the music video

Send out a modern press release to friends and press contacts

Design a t-shirt or other merch for the single

Utilize social banners to direct traffic to the song

Capture live footage at a show and repurpose it with the single in the background

Utilize a press partner to do a social takeover at the shoot

If it’s an acoustic song, create a remix. If it’s a produced song, create an acoustic version.

Regardless of the above point, commission remixes

Redeliver the single with a new feature

Shoot a video of how the song came to be (can also capture this in real time i.e. Songs from Scratch)

Create a studio shoot (i.e. In the Room)

Instastory that swipes up

Get influencers to post the song or a video with the song in the background and tag the artist

Get the single synced in TV, movies, advertising, etc.

Annotate the lyrics on Genius

Send the fans an e-mail newsletter

Write a catchy headline and seed it with the press… Something that will grab attention. Here’s one that got me a year ago.

Do a pop-up show to perform the song in a public or private location

Send the song to DJ promo lists to get it played in the club

If you’re not on a label, find a radio promotion partner

Take out a billboard that makes onlookers double take

Make an artist playlist and put the song at the top

Submit your song to playlist forms and relevant curators

Send a message to fans via PandoraAMP and set as focus track

Set as Spotify’s Artist Pick

Utilize SubmitHub to reach more blogs and get feedback on the single

Exchange soundcloud reposts with other artists

Shazam the song from the artist’s profile with a message

Run digital ads against similar artists

Go live on instagram when the song premieres

Do a contest to reward sharing

Create memes utilizing pop culture moments

Shoot collaborative content with influencers specifically geared around the message of the single

Hire a publicist

Write a list of the 50 most important people in your network (could be friends and family at first) who need to hear the song and will support the movement over time. Share it with them.

Find creative ways to express gratitude to those that support the single

Do a listening party

Encourage fans to create UGC around the single with specific calls to action

Identify priority international markets and a strategy to reach fans there

Incorporate it into the tour name

Pick a release date that markets itself, like Smino’s album release date being his hometown’s area code.

Make sure the story of the song has THE SAUCE… Not just a headline, but an actual shareable story directly tied to the brand identity and the career the artist aspires to have. If it makes people curious, it can build an artist brand – Here’s a great example.

The bottomline is checking all these boxes and securing each and every opportunity will only be as meaningful as the talent of the artist, the quality of the song, and the X FACTOR behind why people should care. You must hook them.

So what did I miss?

Our company has a release template we follow for each single / EP / album release. I didn’t refer to it to write this post, but I am interested in what’s missing from above – What’s been your best or favorite single release tactic? Looking forward to hearing from you!

Check out ‘The Song Is The Single’ by Barr:

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