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whyralltheusernamestaken · 4 years

Text

Curse

Where she's cursed with immortality so she chases around the reincarnations of her first love over and over again and the one time she’s decided to give up, it just happens to be an explosive blonde.

Warning : none!

Words : 6590 (wtf my goal was 3000)

Masterlist

A/N : Thank you all for being so patient. The ending is kinda rushed, but I hope you enjoy!

Quirks had left an undeniable mark on the face of society. It just came one day and slapped some magical powers on to someone and left just as quickly, with no explanation whatsoever. No one knew why, or how. Nothing could've hinted to the appearance of quirks and none of the decades of research that followed had any more insight into the matter. Y/N was quirkless. Immortal yes, but she had no quirk of herself. She was born a thousand and so years ago, in Japan, and within a decade or two, became known throughout the lands for her immaculate beauty and poise. She became an object of affection for thousands, and one of the men happened to be the emperor. Bakugou Katsuki. He had approached her presence with the sole intent of adding the most beautiful woman in the world to his harem. He was an arrogant and prideful noble, and the thought of her in his grasp has excited him to no end. He could then prance around with his head held up so high that people would crane their necks to meet his eyes. He smugly grinned at the idea of her clinging to his arm, or for her to be waiting for him back at the palace with the rest of his concubines. He flooded her with extravagant gifts, compliments and praises, small private dates in a back garden of the palace, away from prying eyes and complaints of Bakugou's other dozen girls. She had been easily wooed, being kept away from suitors from an early age, the emperor had certainly been her first escape into romance and she was ecstatic. Her parents had gleamed at the idea of her being with the most powerful man in all of Japan, and had given her away to the palace at the first suggestion of the emperor's affection.

He had fallen in love with her, not only her beauty but her personality, her small habits and her other mannerisms. It wasn't his initial plan, he had only wanted to add her presence into his long list of women, that he had reassured the other women, but his heart can softened considerably and he had fallen hard. Anyone around the emperor could see that, even the towns' people were gossiping about it. The other concubines too, quickly caught on. She was a woman of absolute beauty, only a few hairs short of Y/N's, a princess of a famous descent from China, promised to be married to the emperor. He had taken a liking to her because like himself, she too had a quirk, which was still a very rare trait to have at the time. One of curses, sure it was evil in nature, but she had proven to be a responsible and respected lady. It all turned sour when her fiance liked another woman. In her rage, she had cursed the younger woman. The aforementioned girl had been told what had been done by the princess, by the sobbing and apologetic woman herself, but she was clueless to what extent this curse was. She had forgiven the princess straight away, an act of kindness that the nobles had shined to and the emperor had simply fell more in love with her for. But as countless years went by, she stayed the same. She then truly realised the horrors of her curse and at that moment in time, she wished she hadn't been so naive, so kind to just forgive the woman who left her life in ruins. The curse was one of immortality. Something she couldn't escape even after the princess had passed away. To watch her lovers grow up and prosper, only to stay the same young woman when she watched they started to wilt and eventually die. And so here she was. An entity of over a thousand years old and yet she remained the same bubbly and happy woman on the outside, smiling brightly at the cameras as she walked around the towns. Everyone in Japan knew of her. Not only did her predicament attract the attention of the public, she was also the CEO of Japan's most well known and successful hero agency. She had set up the agency with her husband, Katsuki, a mere 18 years ago, before he was killed in one of the largest villain attacks in Japan history 2 years after it opened. They had employed All Might when he was in his younger days as well as worked with all of the top 10 heroes, and after his death, she become the sole chairman of the agency. And thanks to the technology present in the modern day, those who weren't previously interested in her at least knew her name. There was then the nickname the media had given her after she had survived the attack : ‘The Undead Hero.’ She sure as hell wasn’t a hero. For god’s sake she was quirkless! But the internet took joy to praising her successes within the hero world. And as a joke, an online petition started for her to become licensed pro hero and the people in charge decided there'd be no harm, since she can't die and all, in making her one, titling her in as Pro Hero Number Zero. So here you were, the country's first quirkless pro hero. ~~~ You had watched the UA sports festival, looking for students to intern here at your company. One certain blonde had caught your eye but you felt yourself flinch at the mention of his full name. It had certainly been a long time since the last time you met another reincarnation of your first love. There had been many different personalities before and the situation you met him in varied to such extent that you had given up with the idea of repeatedly seeking him out and your last encounter with him, or his spirit at least, was your breaking point. You have a good 16 years to grieve his unfortunate and untimely death but even the ten hundred years you were alive wasn't enough time for you to forget and move on. It seemed that you had a curse where you could never escape your one lover, but maybe that was the package deal with immortality. "We're definitely sending an offer out to him right boss?" your assistant, Naomi asked, writing down that all so familiar name down on a notepad. "Up to you, I'm taking a break." you replied, standing up and walking away from the big screen. You knew her eyes softened as she watched your figure retreat out of the room, after all she was there with you after your husband died. Your husband, the one who shared the same name as the boy mentioned. "Alright I'll send you the list later." she replied softly, before turning her attention back to the live broadcast, which now showed a green haired boy. "Thanks. I'll look over it and then you can send out the offers tomorrow." you said before completely leaving the room. It had been a week since the sports festival and it was time for the internships. You had a very important meeting in the morning, causing you to regrettably miss welcoming the trainee heroes to your agency. Standing up, you voiced your thanks and bowed, to which the other businessmen and women returned the guesture.

"I'll be expecting to see you soon." you smiled as Naomi showed then out. "Of course." one of them replied, smiling once more before all of them left the building. Waiting for them to disappear completely from sight, you turned back around. "Alright, what's next?" you asked, looking over. "Next we need to speak to the interns. Briefly would be fine but we need a positive review of our work place." she replied and started walking away, to which you followed. "Of course." you replied curtly. To be frank, you didn't need her to remind you how to keep up the reputation, after all you had been running the agency for almost 20 years but you bit your tongue as you didn't want her to feel as if her work was unwelcome. She was a great assistant and you knew that you needed her and her abilities. Turning the corner, someone roughly crashed you into you, sending you tumbling back a few steps. "Watch it." they snapped, sending to you a glare. "E-excuse me." Naomi stuttered. She wasn't too intimidated by the way the young boy was fuming, instead at her bosses reaction. You had a vendetta against extremely rude people and she braced herself for an ugly ending. "What?" he scowled, turning to send her a nasty look before he turned his attention back to you. You pursed your lips, unsure whether to snap back or not as you didn't want to cause a scene. The meeting had taken much longer than expected. It was only two in the afternoon but all you wanted to do was sleep, but you needed to meet the interns and consolidate the arrangements with the other heroes that worked here. "Well are you going to say anything?" he asked. "Why are you just standing there like a idiot?" "Young boy I don't think that's very appropriate to say to someone." Naomi said quietly, eyes flickering to observe your reaction. "Well it's true isn't it." You let out a sigh, deciding to not waste your energy on anything out of your plan, especially people who were unnecessarily rude. "Hey, don't ignore me." he shouted as you walked past him, your assistant shuffling behind you. You walked briskly towards the training halls, ignoring his shouts for you to acknowledge him. He eventually stopped to pick up a phone call but at that point you had already walked down two corridors, too far away to hear him stop shouting profanities at you. You pushed open the doors to the largest training hall in your building, leaning on the wall next to the door as you watched several people combat each other. You had stayed there for no more than a minute or too when the fuming blonde stomped back in. A green haired boy, Midoriya was it, waved excitedly at the him, but he simply flipped him over, moving over to the side of the hall. If they had any more interactions planned, they had to be stopped there as one of the heroes spotted you, quickly shouting for everyone to come over and you slowly walked onto on of the courts. "I'm glad you to see that none of you are slacking off." you announced loudly, your eyes scanning over the small crowd of people. "Of course not boss." a young hero replied. You smiled at her with a small nod. "Boss?" someone shouted and you turned slightly to spot the blonde from earlier, his mouth hung open. "It's nice to meet you Bakugou-san." you said, a small bitter edge to your words before you turned back to the rest, a large smile on your face. "Good afternoon everyone, it's a shame I wasn't able to welcome you this morning, I hope there hasn't been any trouble. My name is Y/N and I'm incredibly pleased that you chose to intern at my agency." "Y/N!" Midoriya shouted, a look of glee filling his face. "You're my favourite hero, I love you so much." he shouted, jumping up and down in excitement. The gesture from the boy made you grin even wider. It was almost as if some of his endless energy had been transferred to you. "That makes me very happy, thank you Midoriya." "She knows my name!" he shouted, earning a few praises and snickers. "Shut up Deku." Bakugou seethed. He was fuming at the thought of you. He had not only completely embarrassed himself in front of you, but also insulted you, the CEO! He cursed himself for not researching prior to this, but the fact that you seemed so young to him gave no implications that you were the big boss of this place. "Alright." you shouted, clapping your hands together. "Let's get this show on the road." ~~~ Midoriya had fallen asleep extremely quickly, a small 'good night Kacchan' and he had been out like a light. But the same had not befallen Bakugou and instead he stayed awake, shifting and turning restlessly as he lay on the bottom bunk. After a few more moments of him lying wide awake, he shuffled out of his bed and left the room. He walked down the corridor, planning to head towards the kitchen when he spotted a light on. It was indeed the same direction in which he wished to go so he followed it. Stepping inside the room, he saw you sat on the couch. Your back was to him and you were muttering something. As he got closer, he made out the words falling from your mouth. "He loves me, he loves me not." He turned around to exit the room, sure that you wanted nothing but space, but his foot slipped slightly and he fell slightly, cursing. You jumped at the sound behind you. "Oh I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" you asked, looking up and around at him with a sniffle. Your cheeks were flush and the tip of your nose red, a few stray tears resting on your cheeks. Bakugou stood their awkwardly as you wiped your sleeve across your eyes and cheeks. He didn't know what to do in this situation. He hadn't comforted someone in years, always opting to leave his group of friends to take care of a problem, only ever observing from the side line. "D-do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly. He tried to make sure his words were more gentle than usual, careful not to make you start crying again. Your eyes widened at his questioned but you slowly nodded. Patting the space next to you on the couch, you smiled slightly. "Have a seat Bakugou." You laughed at the irony. Here you were crying about your deceased husband as his reincarnation sat beside you, offer on the table to listen to your troubles. Your mind began to wander at the word troubles. What exactly in your life was going wrong? It was a simple answer really, everything. "So how are you?" you asked, breaking the silence. He blinked a couple times in confusion. "I'm good." he answered slowly, his voice low and hushed. "Well that's good." you nodded turning back to the lonesome rose stem in your hand that you had been previously picking the petal off from. "So why are you up?" you asked. Bakugou at this point was lost for words. Wasn't you the one who had been crying? Why were you so intrigued in asking him questions? "Couldn't sleep." he muttered, a glare on his face as he stared forwards at the coffee table, trying desperately to understand you. "Fair enough." you hummed, turning to look in the same direction as him, your eyes landing on your untouched mug of hot chocolate. "Do you want a drink?" you asked, gesturing to the mug on the table. "I haven't drank from it yet." Bakugou nodded, after all he had come out of his room for the hopes of getting a drink. "Thanks." he muttered. You watched as the boy brought the mug up to his lips and you thought back to your previous encounter with his spirit. "He liked hot chocolate too." you mumbled, turning away and back at the rose stem. "Did you say something?" he asked, mug in hand as he sent you a glance. You pursed your lips, taking a moment before shaking you head. "No, it was... nothing." you trailed off. "Well you accepted my offer so you'd better start talking." he scoffed, but his angry facade was falling apart almost as quickly as he started it and he was sure you could see through it, but you decided not to comment on it. And so you spent the rest of your night with Bakugou. He had proven to be much more thoughtful than you had imagined, less rude and obnoxious, which you were grateful for. It was obvious that he hadn't recognised you during your first encounter, and more than likely did not know about your immortality. You didn't need any more pity for that. So you talked about your husband, to an extent, keeping away from mentioning his name, instead reminiscing the memories you had with him. The younger boy listened, nodding and throwing in small comment here and there. The two of you exchanged a few more words after that topic, but in an hour or two, it was a simple silence. He had fallen asleep next to you, a peaceful look on his face. You got up and cleaned away the mug and flower petals, before returning to your room to get a blanket. Laying it gently on him, you took the liberty to press a kiss to his forehead before leaving, turning off the lights. "Sleep well Katsuki." ~~~ Bakugou was needless to say, very disappointing that he had barely seen you all week. He understood that you had a lot on your plate running a business, but a part of him had hoped that after your emotional night with him on the first day, you would at least take some time to say hello to him. He had went to the living room a further 5 more times, hoping that you would be there waiting for him. But he found himself being disappointed time and time again when he saw that there was no room with a light on in the corridor. Today was his last day of fully interning, he was due to leave the following morning and although he could say he was very happy to leave the other bastards in the company behind, he couldn't say the same for you. In truth, he had formed a small interest in you. Call it a crush or whatever, it wasn't as if he would say it out loud. Sure you had a pretty face and all, that much he would admit, but he was genuinely confused by your appearance. You said you had been running the agency for almost 20 years but you didn't look anywhere near your 40s? That had greatly puzzled the explosive boy. "Deku." he shouted, catching the attention of the smart boy as he was chatting with one of the heroes. "Y-yes Kacchan?" "How old do you think Y/N is?" he asked. The green haired boy gasped, shaking his head. "Kacchan! It's rude to ask about a girls age." he scolded him, to which Bakugou snorted. "But between you and me, I'd say about a thousand and one hundred?" "Are you shitting me you nerd?" he bellowed, hand raised with his palm upwards, ready to start an explosion. The hero chipped in. "I'd say so too. She's definitely over a thousand." she commented. "I think last year was her one thousand and seventyith birthday? I could be wrong, I wasn't invited to the party." she sulked. "You two are fucking joking right?" "We're not." the hero replied, furrowing her eyebrows before she let out a small gasp. "Are you telling me you've never heard of the boss?" "No. Should I have?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes!" she cried out, throwing her hands up in the air, before bringing them down and massaging her forehead. "You're overreacting." Bakugou stated, giving a deadpan look to the girl as he let out a 'tch' in annoyance. "She really not Kacchan, literally everyone has heard of Y/N. She's a massive sensation in the hero community but also the beauty one, I'm not sure how you've never come across her." The truth was Bakugou had come across your name on his browser, twice, maybe three times. But most of them had popped up during the start of the school year, when Midoriya had suddenly shown up with a quirk. So as soon as he read that you were quirkless, he made sure to avoid your name like the plague. Midoriya soon left to start his patrolling, and left Bakugou standing there, thinking about you. With many more questions than he had answers. ~~~ "Y/N." he said, standing at the doorway of your office and you and your assistant stared back in confusion. "Hello there Bakugou, is there anything I can help you with?" you asked. He froze up at your question. Why was he here? He had barged past some security just a few moments prior, saying he had something urgent to talk to with the boss, but now that he was here, no excuse would pop up in his mind. "Alright Naomi, give me a few minutes." you said, handing the papers you hand in your hand off to Naomi before she nodded and left. "So." you began, leaning forwards so both your elbows were on the desk and your chin rested on the back of your intertwined fingers. "Have a seat Bakugou." You gestured to the big chair in front of your desk and he complied, sitting down in utter silence. He opened his mouth to speak but it took a few seconds for the words to come out. "I haven't seen you in a while." he blurted out. He immediately wanted to slam his head into the desk before him, cringing at his words and the smug smile that you shot him. "If I knew any better, I'd say you missed me Bakugou." “Katsuki." he corrected, eyes trailed carefully on yours. You nodded and ran a hand through your hair.

"Honestly, I'd love to stay and talk Katsuki, but I'm on a tight schedule right now." you explained, tilting your head to the side as you waited for his response. "Will I see you again tonight?" he asked, his voice so quiet that he seemed almost... shy. Your smile grew wider. "Sure thing. I'll make sure to swing around earlier so you don't need to stay up so late waiting for me." He nodded at your response and started to get up. "Tell Naomi to come back in when you leave." "Alright." he muttered, turning away towards the door. "And Katuski?" you said, earning a grunt from the younger male. "I missed you too." He quickly turned away at your statement but you could see the tips of his ears grow red. Of course you had missed him. He was the only other person you confided in about your husband other than Naomi. But it was truly Bakugou Katsuki that you had missed. His soul that you had hopelessly fell in love with over and over again. The result was always the same, and after each time, you would tell yourself that it was the last. But he would always come back. And you, once again, would fall for him, like a drug that you simply couldn't fight the addiction of. And so you braced yourself for another heartbreak. After all, it was inevitable. ~~~ Bakugou had waited for you in the living room of the dorm space he currently stayed in, a cup of chocolate in his hands and one for you placed on the coffee table. You kept to your word and came earlier. It was around 11pm when you slipped into the dorm floor of the building. Seeing the light on, you made your way quietly towards it. "Hey." you said, your voice warm and gentle as he looked up towards you, moving to hand you the mug. "Thank you." You sat down on the couch with your legs crossed and he chucked a blanket to yo, to which you laid on your lap. "Is there anything in specific you want to talk about?" "You." he stated. You hummed in response. The rest of the night he asked questions about you, your immortality and more about your latest deceased husband, who he found out the name of. He recognised the hurt that flashed in your eyes as you recalled telling him about your immortality. He had be an accepting person, loving you for you as a person and paying little to no mind to your unchanging outer appearance. At least that was what it seemed on the outside. There had been times were his act slipped and he crumbled, talking about how he wanted to grow old with you, not for you to look the same when he was in his older years and your children looked the same age as you. But of course you hadn't even gotten the chance to think about having children, setting up the agency had taken up most of your time, and which to this day you still regret. You wished you had spent more time with him, appreciating him instead of work, before his dying moment. You hadn't thought too much about things, his presence made you live in the moment, not caring about any problems or consequences as long as he was with you. But of course he wasn't. He had left too early. The younger boy had wrapped an arm around your shoulder when you began to sniffle, grabbing a box of tissues from the table for you. After he was satisfied with the amount of answers you gave him, he opened up about the guilt that he felt for All Might's retirement. He told you about the things he witnessed during the fight against All for One, how utterly useless he felt. He followed with nightmares that visited him almost every night, how he was force himself to stay awake to avoid them, causing him to form a habit of being unable to sleep. You had been so understanding and sweet that the boy couldn't help but let out a few tears, relishing in your soft touches and soothing tone that he eventually fell asleep in your arms. The following morning he waited excitedly for you too see him off along with the other heroes from your company. But you didn't come. He left in the train with a heavy heart, head titled backwards against the glass window as he thought back. He hadn't seen you in the morning, waking up alone and in his own bed. He had wandered out into the living room, hoping that your figure would be sleeping on the couch, but alas, you weren't there. His way home was unusually silent. Midoriya had definitely picked up on it but when he attempted to talk to the blonde, he only received shouts and threats. He eventually gave up, opting to leave the teen to his own devices. Once Bakugou returned home, he unpacked him clothes, throwing everything into a pile to wash. He turned every pocket inside out and when he got to his pajama bottom, a small piece of paper fell out. 'Hey sorry I had to leave so early in the morning, here's my number if you wanted to talk more. xxxxx-xxx-xxx' He instantly smiled, diving for his phone, typing your number in just as quickly before he sent you a text. ~~~ It had been a few months since the internships and Bakugou had found himself calling you on a regular basis. It would mostly be in late into the night, with you obviously busy with your agency during the daylight hours. You would talk about your day, ask him about his. He would often complain about his classmates, maybe his teacher, but on some rare occasions he would say something nice about them, like how Shitty hair had improved in combat or that Deku was getting progressively less annoying. You listened, giving him tips about a variety of things, ranging from things about the general hero world or what he should get for his pink skinned friend's birthday. And he soon found himself hopelessly falling in love with you. He hadn't planned for this to happen. Fuck, he'd sworn to himself that he wouldn't. He didn't want to have to deal with the consequences of your immortality, but he found himself crawling back to you even at a bat of your eyelashes. Your grasp on him was truly... inescapable. He had been horrified at the thought, refusing to acknowledge your existence. Your calls would go through to voicemail, your texts left unread. You didn't understand why he was ghosting you, beating yourself up about it over a few glasses of wine as you slowly sunk into sadness. It was another simply another repeated loop and you recognised all of the signs, but you felt what was left of your heart completely shatter. Sure you had previous reincarnations reject you because they disliked, or even feared, the idea of you being immortal, but they had made it clear at the beginning, not half a year into talking with you daily. Your mood soured drastically, and Naomi had tried to persuade you into talking to her, but you refused to, keeping all of your thoughts bottled up. You buried yourself with more and more work, creating a wall around you that even the one or two friends you had couldn't break down, let alone your employees. The company continued to receive praise, by media and heroes alike, but what used to be your sole joy and pride left nothing but a bitter taste in your mouth. You had gotten so used to Bakugou's company that without hearing his voice left you so empty. And to save yourself from being hurt like a broken record on repeat, you gave up on love. ~~~ It was on an interview that Bakugou witnessed the true extent of what his actions had done to you. He had the unfortunate timing of walking in when Midoriya was watching your interview live on the big screen in the common room. Bakugou had initially refused to stay, but his friends had forced him to, saying something about how he should see how his old mentor was doing. He had complained to the point where his friends willingly let him go but instead he begrudgingly stayed, standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed as he furrowed his brows at the screen You sat across from the interviewer, a tired expression on your face as you explained the agency's plans and future aims. The other woman nodded, asking questions here and there, and then it came to the questions fans asked. "Have you been taking care of yourself?" The question caught you off guard and your breath hitched. You tried to take a deep breath in but everything around you started to blur together into nothing but a background noise. "S-sorry, could I have a moment?" you asked, but before she gave you any answer, you had already left the set. At the same time, Bakugou slipped out of the common room, his heart clenching at the terrible state you were in. When he first met you, only a few months ago, you stood high with your head help up high, a sort of excitement in your eyes, an aura of authority when you dared to ignore him! But now you were reduced to short sentences and even shorter smiles, fake and forced. And unbeknown to you, you were doing the same to him. His loud shouts had reduced to smaller, and less often sharp erratic outbursts. The distance he had put between him and his friends was almost immeasurable and none of them could reach even close enough to console him in the slightest. He had shut the world out completely, solely focusing on training and school work. He gritted his teeth as he fought back the itch to call you, but eventually he relented, taking him phone out of his pocket and dialling on your number. He sure wasn't expecting you to pick up, but when you did, his heart felt elated. "Hello?" you asked, your phone on speaker by the side as you dried your hands in the bathroom, lookign at yourself in the mirror and giving yourself an encouraging nod. "H-hi." he whispered, locking himself up in his room as he sat down on the floor, his back against the door. "I'm sorry." ~~~ He was in his early twenties, too young to be giving up what his future held. You hadn't meant to choose his path for him, but you had indirectly done so when you said no. So there he sat with his head in his hands, cheeks stained with tears and the ring somewhere lost in the corner of his room. It was selfish, you knew, but the time you spent with him only felt like a ticking bomb, each week, day, hour even, was counting down to the day in which you would lose him. And you weren't ready. He knew it was a stupid move to make. After all, you have discussed with him countless times about how scared you were to commit to a relationship you knew would once again end up in flames. "Death is inevitable." he said, watching as you fiddled with his sleeve as you laid together on the couch. "Well not for me." you countered back. "If you could remove this curse, would you?" "I don't know Katsuki. I'm honestly so scared." You shifted so your face was buried in his chest. "I've seen what death can do and I'm just so, so scared." "I want to grow old with someone I love." you continued. "I really do. But I don't know how to feel knowing that was my last few years alive. I've been around for so long that I've become afraid to die." "I'm tired of the heartbreak, but there's always a comforting moment because I know you'll come back. Sooner or later, your soul will be back in my arms, whether it takes 20 years or 200. But if I were to find a way to remove my curse and you died before me, I'd never see you again." He found himself at a lack of words that day. Nothing would leave his mouth so the only thing he could do to comfort you was to hug you even tighter. Eventually something came to his mind. "What if I just find a way to be immortal too?" he asked. You looked up at him. "That's highly illegal Katsuki. Think about it, if you could easily do that, then everyone would be able to live forever. And normally, the effect of the quirk disappears as soon as they die." He hummed in response, mood downcast that he couldn't help you in any way. He spent the rest of the night comforting you to the best of his abilities. You truly had felt better after his words, but he didn't see the subtle change in mood. He wanted to reassure you, to be someone you could rely on. But all he brought into your life was constant worry. He replayed your words in his head on a loop. He already saw this coming, but his constant refusal to acknowledge his situation had led to his downfall. You had sent him a quick message and in the following days, you hadn't picked up his calls in days. He had called your assistant as well as visited your company, but he was told you weren’t there. He cried in anguish at how hell bent you were at avoiding him, even going to the extent of having your employees lie for you. But he soon found that they weren't lying. No one had seen you in weeks and your fans had picked up on it fairly quickly. There were articles all over the internet, forums and interviews with her assistant and closest friend. "She has left on her own accord." Naomi stated as multiple cameras flashed in her eyes. You had told her you were out to seek happiness, as vague as it had been, and that she needed to cover for you during the month or so that you were gone. That was all of the information you had given her, before you disappeared without a trace. She sighed at your foolishness but part of her resonated with you, knowing she too would do anything for her love. You sent Bakugou a 'I'll talk to you later' text, before taking apart your phone, leaving it under your pillow before grabbing your get away bag and leaving by train. His proposal haunted your every thought, and it drove you insane. He knew you were scared of commitment and heartache and yet he still asked you! You didn't blame him though. More so yourself. Nobody had made you talk to him about your troubles or reach out to him. You had given him your phone number. He could've left your company with new knowledge about the hero world and not about you, but he already had your heart and you had taken the opportunity to reconcile with your first love, regardless of whether it would leave you in ruins in the future. You were going to make this right. You were so utterly tired of the constant dull looming tide of sadness, doubt, anger. You wanted it to end, you really did. You had told Bakugou you were scared of dying. You were. But your greatest fear was losing him and you couldn't take it anymore. You raised your hand to knock and a large smile decorated your face. It had been a good month since you had last talked to him. You had set out to the remote countryside, searching for some young woman who had a curse removing quirk.

You had gone with no expectations, telling yourself over and over again that you would be fine if it was unsuccessful. But deep down you knew you would be distraught if your current situation could not change.

The door opened to the blonde, his instantly furrowed his brows as his mouth hung open.

"Hey Katsuki." "Y-Y/N?" "I think I'm going to die-" "What?" he shouted, startling you. "Let me finish." you laughed. "I think I'm going to die in 50 or so years. Hopefully longer if that means I can be with you until old age." "W-what are you talking about?" he asked, confusion littering his face. "I'm no longer immortal." you grinned, before it fell slightly. "At least I think I am, the girl told me he got rid of the curse fully, but I’m not expecting too much." He continued to stutter, incoherent sentences falling from his lips as he fought back tears. "Surprise?" you asked, letting out a nervous chuckle. You started to grow worried at his reaction. You wanted nothing more than to wrap your arms around him, but your feet stayed frozen in place, after all you had rejected him a month or so ago. "Y-you got rid of your curse?" You nodded and he asked another question. "For me?" "Of course silly. Who else am I going to die with?" you laughed. His nose scrunched up as he tried desperately to comprehend the situation. "Aren't you scared?" "You'll be there with me right?" "Of course." he quickly said, nodding his head. "I thought." he trailed off and wrapped you up in his arms, head in the crook of your neck as his body shook with sobs. "I thought you left me." "I'm sorry." you said repeating it quietly over and over again. "I love you so much." "I love you too."

Taglist :

@boku-no-family @toobsessedsstuff @renarderouges @thatonegeekchick @mrminyoongles @yourscorpiodaddy

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metalgearkong · 4 years

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Horizon Zero Dawn - Review (PS4)

4/2/20

Developed by Guerrilla Games, released February 2017

...Yet another big game I was late to the party on. Horizon Zero Dawn got a lot of praise when it came out, but I never got time to play it; Three years later, I can finally see what all the hype was about. Horizon Zero Dawn is a beautiful and detailed open world action-RPG with tons of things to do and see. Its deep combat mechanics, breathtaking environments, crafting, exploring, and character interactions make this one of the best games in the genre. Its enigmatic story was a blast to uncover, and rivals some of the best of the science fiction genre in gaming. Horizon Zero Dawn is is a massive RPG that will satisfy the tastes of those who enjoy epic titles, such as The Witcher 3, Far Cry, or Mass Effect, all the while establishing a brand new IP.

Horizon Zero Dawn couldn’t be a further departure from Guerilla Game’s Killzone series. We play as Aloy (Ashley Burch), a hunter in the forests and mountains raised by her adoptive father Rost (JB Blanc). The story takes place in the deep post post-apocalypse, where the Old Ones have left behind rusted skyscrapers and mysterious underground ruins, forbidden by the Matriarchs to be entered. The game never establishes where physically on Earth the game takes place, but contains biomes from all hemispheres. Life has reverted back to clans and tribes, with no advanced technology or luxuries whatsoever. Each tribe is distinct and has their share of superstitions and philosophies. The world is also populated with machines in the wild that resemble animals, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and behaviors.

The machine combat is Horizon Zero Dawn’s biggest draw and its most unique aspect. Aloy can use several weapons to help take down these foes, ranging from bows with elemental arrows, to a slingshot that launches bombs, and a weapon that ties down machines with metal cables. The game does a great job of putting you in the mindset of a hunter. Many of the low level machines are easy enough to take out, but often run in packs. The idea is to lure away individuals from their pack and take them out silently (if possible) and whittle down numbers before things get too chaotic. The game gives you tons of tools like tripwires, mines, and other traps to help prepare for fights. I love this beings every encounter starts off in stealth, and if you’re good enough, many of the enemies you face (machines or human bandits) can be taken out quietly.

Machines have plates of armor, and several weakspots to target before they can be killed. Every machine has a different build, and its components are all weak to one element or another. Aloy gets a tool called a Focus, which is one of the only working pieces of tech from the Old Ones. It essentially gives the game Batman: Arkham vision, allowing you to see animals, people, machines highlighted through walls, and see their patrol paths. The Focus also lets you scan machines and learn where their weakspots are, and what element (ice, shock, fire, etc) that component is weak to. It’s fun to study the machines and eventually learn better and better how to take certain ones down. Each machine drops different kinds of loot and eventually you learn which machines to hunt to get which kind of loot.

If I had to give Horizon Zero Dawn one complaint is that there’s actually too many machines, and too many of them behave too aggressively. Virtually all of the machines will be hostile, and encounters can turn into an assault from every angle in seconds. Sometimes during a battle I would get so focused on running, dodging, and shooting, my fight would spill into the site of another animal herd, making them join the fray as well. Too much of the time I would get frustrated being drawn into fights I didn’t even want to start, and battles would get far too frustrating to be enjoyable. I did however always love the fights with just Aloy and one big machine. The t-rex and polar bear machines were my favorites, acting like stand-alone boss fights. If there were 20% less machines in the wild and they behaved 20% more docile, it would have been more realistic and more enjoyable.

Horizon Zero Dawn feels like a lost BioWare game that BioWare never made. I wasn’t expecting such an emphasis on story and characters, nor how much time is spent in dialog. Much like Mass Effect or Knights of the Old Republic, Horizon Zero Dawn lets you chose responses during dialog to find out new information and learn about your quests. The amount of main quests and side quests was truly impressive, usually involving exploration, combat, and several conversations before a climax. Next to The Witcher 3, I think this game has some of my favorite side quests in any game I’ve played. It lead me to completing every single main quest and side quest that had any narrative appeal, and nearly all of them subverted my expectations in some way.

The environments are visually stunning, and the world has a beautiful day and night cycle. I can’t say how many times I would stop at a vista or a moonlit grove and just breathe in the scenery. From a Wyoming mesa bathed in orange light from a sunset, to a midnight blizzard atop a snowy mountain, the environments in this game were consistently gorgeous and varied. I also never ran into a character or background NPC that I ever saw copied (aside from city guards and hostiles). The voice acting all around was very good as well. I can’t think of a single weak performance in my entire 55 hour experience with the game. Aloy gets a lot of concentration on her character development, and it begins when we play as her as a child. The developers and actors did a great job making us care for her and identify with her plight. She does get a bit sardonic for my taste late in the story, but its the only chink in the armor of an otherwise excellent RPG protagonist, one who stops at nothing to help anyone she comes across.

Rivaling the best juggernauts in its genre, Horizon Zero Dawn fits in with the best of the industry. From the well crafted quests, to the emphasis on character, to the environments, to the deep combat mechanics, this game is easily one of the best exclusives on the PlayStation 4. Other than the sometimes frustrating machine encounters and battles, I enjoyed myself throughout the experience, plus the Frozen Wilds DLC expansion. I hope Guerilla Games continues this series, as Horizon Zero Dawn has laid the foundation for a fantastic new series. Some room for improvement here and there, but as it stands, this game is definitely an action-RPG fans of the genre need to own and play.

9/10

#horizon zero dawn #horizonzerodawn #guerilla games #guerillagames #aloy #RPG #open world #PS4 #playstation4 #playstation 4 #exclusive #bioware #mass effect #far cry #the witcher 3 #witcher 3 #assassins creed #takeheed

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adcoupgoetroop1970 · 3 years

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wheeler and taylor insurance

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes from different companies :insurancefastfinder.top

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go-redgirl · 3 years

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By Larry BellMonday, 30 November 2020 03:11 PMCurrent | Bio | Archive

Biden 'Miracle' Election Numbers Don't Add Up

You can go ahead and count me among a growing number of skeptics regarding confidence of any "President-elect Biden" certainty. I’ll share some less-than-rocket-science reasons (you can trust me on this) why that dangerously unguided bombastic missile won’t launch.

Following Dismal Record and Campaign, Gets Most Votes in History

An obvious head-scratcher is to wonder how an old notably cognitively challenged politician with no discernible accomplishments over nearly a half-century, lackluster Democratic primary performance in a field of radical lightweights, conspicuously inactive campaigning with no clear policy messaging, and no evidence whatsoever of enthusiasm within his own party ranks, could possibly have received the most votes in presidential history.

Incredulously, Joe Biden’s purported 80 million-votes shattered his former boss Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election performance by a staggering 15 million.

He also allegedly trampled a hard-driving campaign opponent with a record of presiding over the best economy and employment record in modern history, who drew unprecedently enormous and enthusiastic rally crowds, and who had gained more than 10 million more votes (a 73 million-plus total) since his 2016 presidential election victory.

Yeah, President Donald Trump also trounced Obama’s re-election numbers, with supporters that included a record increase in Hispanic and Black voters.

Nevertheless, his alleged loss represented the first time in nearly a century and a half that an incumbent president who had gained votes in a re-election bid didn’t win.

Trump Overwhelmingly Won Bellweather States, Counties

Also truly remarkable, Joe Biden would prospectively become the first president in 60 years to lose reliably predictive Ohio and Florida and still win the election.

Despite national polling which foresaw him winning both states, Biden lost Ohio by eight points, and Florida by three.

More amazingly, Trump won 18 of 19 bellweather counties with 16-point average leads throughout the nation that were determined by The Wall Street Journal and The Epoch Times to have nearly perfect voting records in predicting presidential winners over the past 40 years.

Washington’s Clallam County, with a three-point Biden advantage, was the only outlier.

Joe Biden also underperformed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 totals in every urban county, yet suspiciously outperformed her in metropolitan areas with murky vote tabulation histories in critical battleground swing states . . . Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and yes, ground zero of a critically consequential upcoming two-Senate-seat run-off, Georgia.

Biden Wins Despite U.S., State Congressional Washouts

We are led to believe that Joe Biden was so popular among voters that his all-time record win triumphed over his party’s devastating losses in local House and state legislative seats across the nation.

Not even oceans of Silicon Valley and Wall Street funding were enough to accomplish the "blue wave" of Democratic wins that mainstream pollsters and pundits had posited.

Whereas polls had predicted gains of up to 20 U.S. House positions, Biden’s party failed to unseat a single incumbent U.S. Republican representative including 27 races listed as "toss-ups." Democrats can now expect to lose more than a dozen seats, including four in California.

Supposedly vulnerable Republican U.S. Senate incumbents Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., successfully won out by strong margins over Democratic challengers who outspent them two or three to one.

As it stands now, Republicans will hold control of the Senate, with the possibility that Democrats might even the score pending a Jan. 5, 2021 runoff election for two Republican seats in Georgia.

Massive Vote Tabulation Irregularities Mostly Favor Biden

The former data and strategy director for President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, Matt Braynard, assembled a team to look for inconsistencies in six contested states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada.

The group identified, followed up on, and ran several major analyses on a variety of issues and irregularities.

Among the biggest discoveries were 2020 voters who had submitted National Change of Address forms to post offices indicating that they had moved out of state, yet who appeared to have voted in the state they moved from.

In Pennsylvania, more than 160,000 uncounted mail-in ballots were found to have been requested by or in the name of registered Republicans.

The team concluded that overall, the illegal vote numbers were presently high enough to easily overturn tabulation margins in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin — a combined total of 37 electoral votes that could flip the national election results.

Braynard told The Epoch Times, "This isn’t speculative. This is just what the data shows."

Failures to Provide Electronic Voting System Security Safeguards

Multiple-state lawsuits independently being filed by former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell allege numerous electoral fraud and other irregular activities and features, deficiencies and security hazards associated with Dominion Voting Systems and software that may have manipulated 2020 mail-in outcomes.

A Georgia suit alleges "incontrovertible physical evidence that the standards of physical security of the voting machines and the software were breached, and machines were connected to the Internet in violation of professional standards and state and federal laws."

Among the charges, the plaintiffs allege based upon expert sources that the design and features of the Dominion software don’t allow for a simple audit to see whether votes were intentionally or inadvertently misallocated, redistributed, or deleted.

An affiant identified as part of a national security detail to former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, whose name was redacted for security reasons, alleged that software used by Dominion was designed for the regime with the specific purpose to rig elections without getting caught.

Cybersecurity expert Navid Keshavarz-Nia testified that "U.S. intelligence services had developed tools to infiltrate foreign voting systems including Dominion."

Pointing to vulnerabilities in the Dominion’s software, he concluded that "hundreds of thousands of votes" were transferred to Biden from Trump in battleground states.

Another complaint cites a former electronic intelligence analyst under the 305th Military Intelligence Battalion, who declared that the Dominion software was accessed by agents acting on behalf of China and Iran to monitor and manipulate elections, including the 2020 U.S. general election.

None of this computes as an honest presidential win for Joe Biden.

America cannot allow such an unjust travesty to repeat again in Georgia.

__________________________________________________________

Larry Bell is an endowed professor of space architecture at the University of Houston where he founded the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) and the graduate program in space architecture.

Larry has written more than 700 articles for Newsmax and Forbes and is the author of several books. Included are: "How Everything Happened, Including Us" (2020), "Cyberwarfare: Targeting America, Our Infrastructure and Our Future" (2020), "The Weaponization of AI and the Internet:

How Global Networks of Infotech Overlords are Expanding Their Control Over Our Lives" (2019), "Reinventing Ourselves: How Technology is Rapidly and Radically Transforming Humanity" (2019), "Thinking Whole:

Rejecting Half-Witted Left & Right Brain Limitations" (2018), "Reflections on Oceans and Puddles: One Hundred Reasons to be Enthusiastic, Grateful and Hopeful" (2017), "Cosmic Musings: Contemplating Life Beyond Self" (2016), "Scared Witless: Prophets and Profits of Climate Doom" (2015) and "Climate of Corruption: Politics and Power Behind the Global Warming Hoax" (2011). He is currently working on a new book with Buzz Aldrin, "Beyond Footprints and Flagpoles." Read Larry Bell's Reports

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josephlrushing · 5 years

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One Plus 7T Review: An Incredible Phone for a Reasonable Price

Today, the OnePlus 7T goes on sale in the US, and I can safely say that if you’re in the market for a new phone, it should be a front-running contender. Loaded with flagship features, at $599 the 7T is almost a no-brainer. Let’s take a look at why I think this is the best phone for your money.

If you haven’t picked up a new smartphone in a few years, you’ll be in for a bit of sticker shock when looking at what’s available: Prices starting at $749.99 are the norm for mid-tier models with flagships starting in the $1000 range. :choke:

What’s a prospective buyer on a budget supposed to do? One excellent option has always been the phone models offered by OnePlus, a company who prides themselves on their tagline #neversettle. Over the last few years, they have really begun to enforce that promise.

The OnePlus 7T features a 6.55″ 3D Corning Gorilla Glass AMOLED display with a smooth 90 Hz refresh rate (like we saw on the recent 7 Pro). The 7T runs on the latest and most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ mobile platform, and it comes with 8GB RAM and 128 GB or 256 GB user memory. The 7T has an excellent, accurate, and fast in-display fingerprint sensor, but it can also be unlocked via PIN or facial unlock (which is equally fast and accurate).

Included in the box are the OnePlus 7T, a 30W Warp Charge 30T wall charger, a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable, a SIM tool, a quick start guide, a welcome letter, safety information, a warranty card, a OnePlus logo sticker, and a clear TPU case. A non-glass screen protector comes already installed on the phone right out of the box.

The OnePlus 7T measures approximately 6.3″ long by 2.9″ wide by 0.3″ thick, and it weighs 6.7 ounces. Its body is composed of 3D Corning Gorilla Glass on both the front and back; the side rails are aluminum. In hand, the phone feels really good; it’s sleek and well-balanced, and while the phone is elongated, it doesn’t feel top-heavy. I like that the display is flat rather than curved like the 7 Pro was. I’ve come to realize that although I like how curved edge glass looks on a device, for actual use I prefer a flat display. On the top center of the display, there is a little “waterdrop” notch that houses the 16-megapixel front-facing camera.

The 7T is available in either Frosted Silver or Glacier Blue I was sent.

Specifications

Display: 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED (2400×1080; 90Hz) Rear Cameras: 48 MP (ƒ/1.6); 16 MP ultrawide lens (ƒ/2.2); 12 MP telephoto lens (ƒ/2.2) with 2x optical zoom Front Camera: 16 MP CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ Operating System: Android 10 RAM: 8GB User Storage: 128GB MicroSD: No Battery: 3,800 mAh with Warp Charge 30T

Here’s a clearer shot of the notch; it’s really small and unobtrusive. At the top of the phone, there is a microphone. If you look closely, you’ll see the long narrow ear speaker that also functions as a second speaker for dual stereo sound. Speaking of stereo sound through the speakers, it’s actually pretty impressive. While it’s not loud enough to rock a room, the Dolby Atmos sound is rich and strong enough so that you can enjoy playing a game or listening to music without feeling like you need to stream to a better speaker; this also makes for an excellent speakerphone experience.

On the right side, there is a power button and a mute switch. The textured mute switch has three locking positions: ring, vibrate, and off.

On the left side, there is a volume rocker.

On the bottom, there is a Dual SIM tray, USB Type-C port, and the second speaker.

On the back, there’s a circular cluster that houses the triple camera lenses and the LED flash. The cameras include the main 48-megapixel lens, a 12-megapixels telephoto lens, and a 16-megapixels ultra-wide lens.

Battery Life

The OnePlus 7T has a 3,800 Lithium-Ion battery that can last for about 8 hours with my typical use which leans heavily on surfing, reading news sites, perusing and posting to social media, writing and answering emails, playing word games, taking lots of photos, and reading Kindle books. The good news is that when charging is required, the all-new Warp Charge 30T will get the battery from 0 to 70% in around a half-hour. The 7T doesn’t have wireless charging, but since that is more about convenience than speed, I’m okay without it.

Speed

I have zero complaints regarding the 7T’s speed. Between the 8GB RAM and the Snapdragon 855+, there are no stutters or stalling whatsoever; it is fast and smooth. Realize that I am not a huge gamer, but I am a power user — and I’ve had to suffer through weird stalls and stutters on other devices (:cough: Pixel 3 XL :cough:). The combo of 8GB RAM with the 855+ on the 7T is the virtual equivalent of a chef’s kiss. I like that the 7T comes loaded with Android 10 right out of the box, and OnePlus’s OxygenOS doesn’t add a lot of unnecessary bulk to the stock Android experience.

Camera

Judge for yourself! Each one of the photos below is a thumbnail. Click on one to open the gallery where you can see larger unedited photos. I’m in Hong Kong for the next few days, so I’ll add a few more as I take them.

The camera feature that really shines for me is the macro setting. I realize that this may be a niche request, but not many phones have cameras that can handle being so close to something and picking up as much detail. Check this out …

Regular picture of a 50 Yuan bill.

Macro photo of the detail at the bottom of a 50 Yuan bill.

Yeah … wow.

The Display

The OnePlus 7T’s AMOLED display features a 90 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and a 20:9 aspect ratio; this all combines to make for an excellent experience when watching movies, reading, or playing games. The notch is so tiny and unobtrusive, you can almost forget that it’s there.

Gotta love the near bezel-less display!

Depending upon what you are looking at, you may not even see it.

In bright sunlight, you will notice the screen is a bit harder to see, but that’s typical so I’m not holding it against the 7T.

Overall, the OnePlus 7T has proven to be one of the fastest, brightest, and most perfectly sized (for my hand, anyway) phones that I’ve ever used. When compared to my daily driver, the Pixel 3XL, I’m blown away by the 7T’s speed and how much bigger (and nicer) the screen is. The 7T’s features and build make it perform like a flagship phone, but the price makes it much more budget-friendly than most. If you are in the market for an affordable new Android phone with all the bells and whistles, the OnePlus 7T is the one to beat.

The OnePlus 7T retails for $599, and it is available directly from the manufacturer and from T-Mobile.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: Super fast and smooth; Excellent build quality; Beautiful and brilliant screen with 90 Hz refresh rate; Dual SIM; Ships with Android 10; Itty-bitty waterdrop notch in the center top of the display; Gorilla Glass display and bak; Excellent stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos sound; Super fast charge; Free case and screen protector included; In-display fingerprint reader is super fast and accurate

What Needs Improvement: No memory card slot; No wireless charging; Battery life, so the Warp Charge 30T is very handy if you are a power user

from Joseph Rushing https://geardiary.com/2019/10/18/one-plus-7t-review/

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sandiegodjstaci · 7 years

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Inject "Rock Star" Steroids into Your Conference Planning: Lessons from SMMW17

All the same complaints people have about weddings (Chicken Dance anyone?), they have about conferences as well. Last week at Social Media Marketing World (SMMW), yea, I learned a shit ton about social media…but I also was blown away by “the experience.” How do these social media geeks manage to inject “rock star” steroids into conference planning?

SMMW is the world’s largest social media conference (3k attendees from over 40+ different countries) and it oozes “rock star” at every step. I was both the SMMW conference DJ and an attendee (my 2nd year), so I can take you behind-the-scenes on both sides.

(c) San Diego DJ Staci – Sure are a lot of people here…3,000 to be exact. How many more registration tables can we squeeze in the lobby?

#1 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Over-Staff Your Registration Area

I have been to conferences with 700 people in which the line to register was a mile long because THE BOSS and 2 helpers were the only people handling registrations. When I got to the front, my badge could not be found so they had me stand there clogging the mile-long line for 5-10 minutes while they printed me one. DON’T. BE. THAT. CONFERENCE.

SMMW had like 20 registration counters. And you know who wasn’t working at any of them? The guy in charge. Get a volunteer staff, train them thoroughly (or else they are useless), and delegate. Imagine how you would feel arriving to a conference you paid dearly for and your first impression is “I should have worn comfortable shoes…sigh.”

#2 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Have an “Opening Night” Party

Don’t think you are going to bring a big, diverse group of strangers together and have “the ice broken” just by playing an upbeat video or having an engaging host crack some one-liners. SMMW does NOT sponsor their opening night party or do ANYTHING remotely sales-y there.

SMMW’s opening night party is held aboard the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier parked in San Diego harbor…how’s that for rock star? Conference attendees get shuttled in from area hotels by SMMW’s buses and greeted with a red carpet. Yep. Oh, and they are also greeted by a horde of smiling volunteers giving out high-fives and waving welcome signs.

Once on the USS Midway, conference-goers can go on flight simulators, eat a catered dinner, listen to a live band at one end or my jams at the other. This year there was a donut bar in addition to an alcohol bar, which was very popular. There were also charging stations, belly bars, networking bingo cards, portable heaters for the outdoor parts of the ship…and, of course, the opportunity to snap pics with the conference logo backdrop.

The level of detail is amazing. It is obvious that my fun and comfort as an attendee were considered at every step.

#3 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Splurge on Content, Not on Fluff

Did I not love the Starbucks coupons floating around in the mornings each day at SMMW? Of course. Did I enjoy the free mini bags of popcorn passed out each afternoon for NO REASON whatsoever? Damn straight. But those niceties were not the draw….the fact that I learned about Twitter from a TEAM (yes, a power business duo) all the way from England, who–within 10 minutes of starting their presentation–had earned my trust enough that I was whipping my phone out to do my first Twitter video reply in a room full of strangers…THAT is the draw of SMMW.

If you are at the budget level where you need to choose “goodies” over “good speakers”…choose good speakers.

Content is everything. I recently attended a conference where the “goodies” were better than the content…not worth it. Goodies will never win people over if the content stinks. Content doesn’t always have to mean paying for expensive presenters–SMMW added a ton of value by having presenters lead structured networking discussions each day at specified lunch tables. Easiest networking I ever did…AND there I am sharing box lunches with a bunch of fellow super-star bloggers!

#4 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Don’t Plan in a Vacuum

Again, the less-than-stellar conference I recently went to was such a great comparison against SMMW…it was like, “This is how we’ve always done it, so we’re going to keep doing it.” Yea, Einstein, that is not the recipe. You better get yourself a PhD in what other conferences are doing (two 12-hour days or three 8-hour days? meals included? tables for note-taking or just chairs? pre-recorded presenter introductions?) Step out of your box and get ideas from other conferences. Get inspired!

#5 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Offer a Virtual Ticket

So people can be cheap about certain things–it’s a fact of life. As a DJ, I offer a DIY package where I put all of my “dance floor secret sauce” into a series of ebooks and playlists for those who can’t afford to have me perform live at their weddings. I ain’t too proud to offer a price point that literally anyone can afford.

Any other conference I’ve ever attended cost around $200-$300. SMMW costs 3x that…and then some. But why does a BMW cost more than a Geo Metro? Guess what, you can sell both on your lot! Another conference I attended offered a VIP upgrade to get a reserved seat in the front row, early backstage access to presenters/special guests, and “no waiting” registration. It was $200 extra. Then tables for note-taking were taken away from anyone who didn’t buy VIP. Boo!

The virtual ticket concept is MUCH better. Be a BMW conference and offer the lower-priced option rather than being a Geo Metro conference offering an upgraded sun roof and leather seats. You know what that white speck on top of chicken doodoo is? Yep, it’s still doodoo! Content over “goodies.”

SMMW’s virtual ticket gives access to each presenter’s slides, an audio of the presentation, and a video of the slides & audio together. It costs around $300…AND it’s included free with the full price ticket. $300 to hear some 50 or so presentations from industry rockstars. No brainer, right?

(c) San Diego DJ Staci – Jasmine Star jumped on stage and was immediately mid-story. All side chat instantly stopped so we could find out why this legendary photographer and Instagram expert was crying over a bowl of pasta 5 years ago.

#6 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Prepare Your Presenters Like Kindergartners

Conference calls with what to expect, question-answering, deadlines, rules, A/V info, etc…your speakers are the engine that keep the car going. Pamper them! I believe SMMW has presenters find their rooms the day before and do a FULL rehearsal of their presentations with the A/V staff in the room–everything as it will be during the real deal (slides, mic, up on stage…FULL dress rehearsal). At SMMW, there is also a special “green room” type area especially for presenters (not the same as the private staff room) with some snacks and just a quite place to recharge–a nice touch that really does not add much cost to the event.

Some great presenter tips you should be giving to your “engine” include:

Tell the presenters everything you know demographically about who will be in attendance (FT? PT? Corporations? Solopreneurs? Mostly men? Mostly newbies? Mostly local? International?)

Don’t make presenters worry about ANY tech issues. Provide all the equipment, hook it up for them, have the A/V staff offer mic tips for sounding good, let the presenters worry about their content and presentations ONLY.

Don’t be salesy. This is a BIGGIE!!! The “boo” conference I recently attended started off the first session of the conference with a book talk from a book having ZERO to do with the conference’s industry…but it’s author was a well-known member of that industry. The entire presentation was just chapters of his off-topic book 🙁

Tell them to PRACTICE!!

Make sure you have back-up copies of their slideshows. Always have a Plan B if a projector dies or a laptop freezes.

Give general pointers like, “Don’t start with, ‘Man, it’s early…I need more coffee. How is everyone?'” Snooze! Start with a power punch and give the audience the ride of their lives! Avoid religion and politics if you’re not at a religion or politics conference. Avoid generic inspirational advice–get to the specific, actionable items, case studies, screenshots of the tips in action, and so on.

Let them know whether swearing is OK or not.

Final two tidbits: personally listen to your own “quality control” session recordings, and let presenters know your organization is happy to write them a reference letter to speak at other conferences if they like.

(c) San Diego DJ Staci – SMMW sponsored the raffle for those who submitted conference feedback for a chance to win free tickets for next year…Genius!

#7 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Dos & Don’ts of Conference Sponsorship

The “other” conference I have attended has break-out rooms for sponsors to do infomercial-style presentations. Hmmm…in my numerous years attending that conference, how many times have I walked away from the “conference main street” to voluntarily attend a live infomercial off in some new room? Umm, never. Don’t expect attendees to seek out sponsors, put the sponsors’ messages in front of the attendees.

(c) San Diego DJ Staci – I had to sit around in the dark at this DJ conference (how can I see to take notes?) just because a DJ lighting company was one of the sponsors. See their green lights behind the presenter? Turn the lights back on please so I can record this valuable content!

Now this tip is coming from me…this is not how SMMW does it, just to be clear. So it’s a bit of an experiment, but I think it would be a win-win. What if exhibitors got to sponsor the seminars? Nice value add-on for them, right? “Ladies & gentlemen, welcome to ‘Spin the Pin: How DJs Can Kill it on Pinterest’ presented by Canva! Canva offers free Pinterest templates to make gorgeous, optimized pins every time. See them at booth #73. And now let’s give it up for your presenter, DJ Staci Nichols!”(Yes, this is my topic at the upcoming Wedding MBA conference in October…ut ut!)

Now imagine a Canva ad up on the projector screen as this is being said AND maybe a rep from Canva standing up front smiling and waving (the rep can stick around and pass out Canva swag to attendees as they leave the seminar too).

Wow! Now you just gave the exhibitor a live almost TV-style ad in front of a very targeted audience. Didn’t cost you anything to add this value for the exhibitor either. Of course, the sponsor would be printed in the program and all that too.

Depending on the size of the conference and how many exhibitors you have, you might have to make the seminar sponsorship an upgrade for exhibitors -or- you might be able to bring in non-exhibitor sponsors (like the virtual ticket of sponsorship LOL). Either way, provide top value for exhibitors WITHOUT detracting from content!

#8 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Branded Slideshow Openers

Another ninja-level hack from SMMW is to require presenters to use your organization’s own branded slideshow page template as their opening slide. It gives a consistency to the presentations and provides a professional feel for virtual attendees.

Now, if you like tip #7, you can even throw the sponsor’s logo onto the bottom corner of the template or have the presenter include the sponsor’s logo elsewhere.

#9 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Offer Different Types of Presentations

Don’t make all of your conference content one speaker standing up and talking with a Power Point in the back. How about getting a panel of your website writers together for a Q&A so attendees can pick their brains about articles they read throughout the year on your site? How about small workshops limited to 50 people plus the hands-off mega lectures? How about a panel discussion with 3 industry leaders lead by a host? Get creative because not everyone learns the same way.

#10 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Working the Networking

Free-for-all parties with alcohol and dancing and food are great for getting attendees together, but you also need structured networking activities to help them break the ice and really make friends they will keep in touch with after the conference. SMMW has their networking bingo cards at the Opening Night Party and structured networking at specified lunch tables (i.e. “table talks”), but they also offer a morning networking break where nothing is on the schedule for 45 minutes. The introverts check in with the office and clean out their in-boxes, but everyone else is wandering through exhibits, buying presenter books in the book store, and casually chatting.

SMMW also starts the networking well before the conference and loops in virtual attendees as well as in-person attendees. They start a Linked In group and Facebook Event and asked everyone to introduce themselves there. They have networking on Slack. They have networking on the conference app, Buzzaboo. They had an “official” after-party at the hotel the night after the last Keynote that a ton of presenters attended (it was just casual drinks at the hotel bar, but it was announced a few times before and after Keynotes so everyone knew about it).

#11 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Offer Lots of Effective Badge Stick-Ons

Make sure to have stick-on ribbons or something similar for people’s badges that say “First Timer,” “Alumni,” “Speaker,” etc to help attendees more easily start conversations. At SMMW, in addition to these easy-to-read sticker ribbons that hang from the bottom of the badge, they also had stickers to put ON the actual badges saying things like, “Blogger,” “Influencer,” “Snapchat Expert,” and so on. The more you provide these kind of labels for the attendees, the easier it is for them to get conversations started. While cutesy badge stick-ons that say, “Party Animal,” “Girl Power,” or “I’m Tired” are fun, they are not as effective at helping attendees find like-minded allies as the first type of stick-ons are.

#12 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Provide Meals for Attendees

If your conference is at a location with a lot of eating options (i.e. a casino in Vegas), it can be tempting to let everyone loose for lunch, but when attendees disperse like that they are far less likely to network. The more the attendees make valuable contacts at your conference, the more value it provides them…and the more likely they are to return the next year. By providing a box lunch or food stations in such a way that keeps attendees from dispersing, you are much more likely to see attendees swapping business cards over their turkey wraps and laughing together. When they disperse, they are super likely to end up eating lunch alone or with the same one or two friends they already made.

#13 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Get your Conference #Trending!

Have a conference hashtag AND encourage attendees to use it. Offer give-aways to those posting with your hashtag. Post almost all of the professional pics from your staff photography crew to the conference hashtag so attendees can see that group shot they posed for last night (that probably won’t make the conference highlight video or the website for next year…but still has value). Ensure your organization has someone monitoring the conference hashtag throughout the conference and liking, commenting, and retweeting as much as possible. When those using the conference hashtag are rewarded with retweets and comments, they will only want to promote your conference for you for free MORE!

Attendees will go on Instagram and Twitter (maybe even Facebook) and check the conference hashtag regularly…and this will also help them network. I make A LOT of conference connections by first developing a relationship on Linked In (pre-conference networking in the Linked In group), Twitter, or Instagram and then recognizing that online acquaintance at lunch or in the hallway. “Hey, it’s you from Instagram. OMG! Nice to finally meet you in person.” Easiest #Networking ever.

And, don’t forget, your virtual attendees will be going crazy with jealousy at all the fun everyone is having without them when they check the conference hashtag. Hello, upgrade for next year!

#14 CONFERENCE PLANNING TIP: Now We Talk About Entertainment

See how this is the bottom item? Having some music by a DJ or band adds a lot of energy…even the right pre-recorded music is better than nothing. At SMMW, they had me DJ 30 minutes before and after each Keynote as everyone was coming in and out. I was set up on a small stage in a big, open networking area between the doors and the Keynote room. When attendees opened the door to come in off the street, grab a coffee, and find a seat, “Good Day Sunshine” (Beatles) or “Lovely Day” (Bill Withers) was the first thing that became a part of that day’s conference experience for them. On the last day after the final Keynote, their good-bye music was “Takin’ Care of Business” (BTO) and “Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow” (Fleetwood Mac). The music connects with them and taps their “conference loyalty” button.

Up on the Keynote stage, SMMW had different live bands not just playing upbeat music but interacting with the crowd. The energy was through the roof! They also had a Calypso band play during that morning networking break right by the breakfast area. How “feel good” is Calypso??? Ever meet anyone who didn’t like Calypso music???

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