#i’m so happy creation is finally using there biggest assets

[hitmeupaep]

THEM!!!!

#misha collins #jensen ackles #cockles #jenmish #i’m so happy creation is finally using there biggest assets #they finally learned how much money people would pay to see them and i’m so happy about it like sorry #i’d give all my money for more jenmish panels idc #creation panel

[theannaredfield]

Resident Evil 8 Overview/Review

Ah yes. The moment everyone has been waiting for. I’ve completed the game and now it’s time to hear my final thoughts. Spoilers under the cut.

To start out with, the opening cinematic was amazing, beautifully animated

I do have some big issues with Mia here, as she does seem to just brush off Ethan’s concerns, and even seemingly gaslight him at times. There’s a lack of communication, and it’s causing them issues. Mia wants to just forget and pretend it didn’t happen, annoyed that Ethan keeps being up the events of 7, while Ethan is scared, worried something might happen again and feel like he can’t just let it go (it’s very likely that both of them have trauma, and the fact that Mia refuses to have them work through it is unhealthy). Plus Ethan makes comments about Mia being scary when she’s angry... it just seems like she might be abusing him, mostly just mentally. Downplaying his concerns and what not.

Aside from that I LOVE Ethan’s character development in this game! He’s so much more alive and seemingly present, I love his comments and stuff, and just not having him be a hallow husk this time!

Some of the cutscenes happened way earlier than I expected them to, and played out differently too. Subverting expectations, good.

There are absolutely 100% multiple assets in the entire game that can and most likely will be reused for RE4 Remake.

This game may not have a bondage kink, but it definitely has a hand torture kink. (Seriously what the fuck. Let Ethan have his hands.)

I really enjoyed fighting the daughters. I thought it was cool and unique (also it was fun to go around and shatter all the windows). I also went to the trouble of knife fighting them for the full experience

Also I can’t believe the daughters are BUG PEOPLE! Oh my god I didn’t expect that, and it just surprises me and like, I’m so happy. They did it. They made the vampires scientific. I’m proud of them.

I’m sorry simps, but Lady Dimitrescu was nothing more than the introductory boss, which is probably why they pushed her so much. After killing her, then you find out the full... situation I guess you could call it.

THEY CRYSTALLIZED MY BABY

I thought house Beneviento was really interesting, however it felt like it was out of some horror game other than resident evil. Like I expected to get attacked by dolls, which was very stressful when it finally did happen, but.... the fetus was... unexpected and disgusting. I mean good, I didn’t see that coming at all but JESUS CHRIST

Speaking of things I didn’t expect in a Resident Evil game, THEY DISMEMBERED AND CRYSTALLIZED MY FUCKING BABY. Like damn I never expected us to go this dark.

I feel like house Beneviento could’ve had a lot more doll action, considering she was the doll maker, but I guess what we got was okay.

It kinda sucks that the Beneviento treasure gets locked off if you don’t go to the tomb right after the boss fight. Like, I don’t think it should’ve locked itself again, especially because not everyone might’ve figured it out. Me and my uncle personally thought we had to go find yellow flowers to put on the grave, we weren’t even thinking about the tombstone. It was basically the only treasure we didn’t get because I didn’t think to look there, nor did I know I was suppose to.

Moreau was just... kinda sad. I felt bad for the dude. He was just trying to do his best and be as good as his other siblings, but he just.. wasn’t. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I felt bad for Lady D and her children too, but Moreau was just a dude trying his best to impress his “mother”

Once again, they subverted my expectations, because Moreau was not a rehash of the RE4 Del Lago fight, very different actually! I’m happy about that.

PS, we see Chris again around here, once again surprising me, but it kinda gives you a “did Chris just... die?” Moment.

I can see why Heisenberg was the second most advertised Lord, because he has the next biggest section, but he’s also the last sibling. He’s also split into 2 parts, the factory and the stronghold. (Kinda sucks because it shows Moreau and Donna got the short end of the stick.)

The stronghold wasn’t that bad, though me and my uncle do wonder if we learned more about the 4 founders and just forgot or what. Like we got the cup from Luiza and that plate, was there more? Maybe.

The factory... Jesus Christ, if the fetus didn’t give me anxiety, this place sure as hell does. Between the fucking FAN MAN and The drill dudes.. Jesus Christ.

Also I can’t stop thinking of Elijah Kamski when dealing with Heisenberg because they have the same voice actor and would probably get along.

This area is... long. Like hella long. (Talking about the factory)

The Heisenberg fight was cool, I loved Ethan just taking hold of whatever that creation was and going ham.

Chris’s part was pretty short, however I feel it was nice, could’ve been longer.

So Miranda and Spencer were a thing and she inspired him and he stole the cave design from the walls..? Weird but okay, I guess I’ll accept it (kinda undermines their genius though.)

So I was right, Moreau and Donna were cognitively delayed, as expected.

Mia is alive, nice to know but

What in the silent hill “you’ve been dead all along” bullshit is this. I’m gonna need to know exactly when Miranda replaced Mia and exactly when Ethan died.

I need a fix it fic to fix the sadness I feel about Ethan dying. He saved his daughter but he doesn’t even get to watch her grow up?! Fuck! My family issues can’t handle this shit. I want Ethan to get to escape with his daughter and watch her grow up.

Fuck this, they didn’t have to kill Ethan. How could they. God damn it (I know he probably would’ve died anyway cause of the mold but FUCK!

LET US SEE HIS FACE, HE’S DEAD NOW YOU ASSHOLES.

Rose is pretty and id love to see her again. But does she age fast because of mold powers

Just... fuck man. I liked the game, I really did but the ending hurt my fucking soul.

Also, so the BSAA are bad guys now? Shit, I sure hope Jill’s okay.

I can’t believe they killed Ethan, he was the only protagonist they had the BALLS to kill. They could’ve just let the dad go home with his baby. Fuck you guys. Fuck you.

#resident evil 8 #re8 spoilers #my thoughts #rant

[caramelohaechan]

Pumpkin King (S. Mingi)

YES this is based off of the world in The Nightmare Before Christmas, yes Mingi is still a human, and yes, the reader is supposed to be like sally but it’s gender neutral, so don’t worry! I am personally very proud of this and i love it very much

~

Fandom: Ateez

Genre: fluff

Warning(s): gender neutral! Reader // the nightmare before christmas! au // fluffy fluff

~

      The October night is cold from what you can tell. The trees are dancing, arms waving and leaves shaking, the wind is singing, blowing gently against your hair, and chimneys are pumping smokey clouds high into the black sky, masking the glowing full moon.

Enjoying the night requires the ability to feel. To be able to know if the wind caressing your hair and whistling through the town is hot or cold requires feeling, and while you have a lot of things, feeling is one of the only things you lack.

You have a skin sewn of cloth and a heart made of stuffing. You’ve also got a brain made of rubber and a belly of plastic.

You just don’t have feelings.

At least, that’s what Dr. Finkelstein says.

You think differently. Sure, you can’t feel if the wind is hot or cold, if the stone beneath you is sharp enough to split your skin, but you’re sure that something happens to you when you see the Pumpkin King.

You don’t know if it’s all in that rubber brain of yours or not, but when it comes to Song Mingi, you feel something in that stuffing heart of yours. Sometimes you swear it beats when you see him. Everything changes when he’s around. Something happens to your cheeks and your plastic stomach starts to shake like there’s some sort of storm brewing in there.

All because of him.

Which is why you’re out on this probably cold night, walking on these probably cold stone steps that are probably ripping through the heels of your feet, walking to Town Square to see him. No matter what happens to you when you set eyes on him, you always like it, and always go back for more.

It’s pitch black and goblins screech at you from under the bridge as you cross over, deflating when they realize that it’s just you. Half of the town doesn’t even bother trying to scare you anymore after they found out you’re an emotionless rag doll. You never flinch, scream, or die from fright, which disappoints every single one of them. The more persistent ones still try, which makes you laugh sometimes. Dr. Finkelstein sometimes does this laughing when you ask if you can leave your tower politely. It’s just him, heaving and breathing really weirdly. You’ve gotten quite good at mimicking him. Sometimes, after you poison him to escape, you like to laugh at him like he does at you.

Town Square is full of vampires and ghosts, and even a fair share of closet monsters preparing last minute items for Halloween, which is in a month. It’s so close you can almost taste the tears, blood, and fear. Everyone’s bustling to and fro, but your eyes scan the crowd for the Mayor. You’d learned a long time ago where the Mayor was, Mingi was also. The mayor did like to follow after him like a lost puppy most of the time, but you knew as kind as Mingi was, he’d never tell the guy to get off his tail.

A vampire bumps your shoulder as he passes, and you turn with your brows furrowed. Kang Yeosang smiles bashfully, fangs pushing at his lips. “Sorry, Y/N. Busy night. Only 30 days left until Halloween! It’s so close!”

You smile at him in return and he shuffles away quickly. Ah, the vampires are always so awkward. Dr. Finkelstein had taught you every kind of emotion there was to feel, and while you had soaked in the information well, it never changed the fact that you just couldn’t feel the emotions you were learning about. If you could feel, you decide, you’d feel pity for the vampires. They always worked so hard, but since they were so shy they hardly get half the scares they want on Halloween night. Most of them come back to their coffins more dead than before.

You finally spot the Mayor near the old well, where witches are brewing an XXL pot of poison. You have to remind yourself to slip some for Finkelstein later. He’s getting quite suspicious of the frogs breath you always slip him, and witches poison is undetectable.

Of course the witches are fawning over Mingi, as he stands in all of his tall, thin, glory. He’s wearing his iconic suit and is oblivious to their advances as they place their wart covered hands all over the fine material. You decide you want to feel disgust just then.

You surge forwards anyway, knowing that there are things far scarier and disgusting than desperate witches. For some reason you start to fiddle with the new stitches on your cheek. You had made Finkelstein feel quite a bit of anger the other day and he doesn’t like anger, apparently, so he had taken a dagger and stabbed you straight through the cheek. The new stitches ran all the way from the bottom of your eye to the edge of your chin. You also had some in the back of your head, but he had felt bad and sewed more locks of hair to your scalp to cover them.

You know you have a lot of stitches, as you get torn apart quite frequently, but for some reason you don’t want Mingi to see them. You want new, untouched cloth skin without patches and stitches. You want Mingi to think you’re... nice looking.

If this is a feeling, you think, you don’t know what it is.

The Mayor’s happy, and he’s talking very loudly when you near, hands waving in the air. “-one of the best Halloween’s of this century, Mingi, I swear it!”

Mingi nods, a look on his face that may mean he’s proud or happy. Finkelstein said it’s possible to feel two things at once. You think that Mingi is great enough to do an amazing thing like feeling two emotions at once.

“Well, the whole town did their best to contribute this year, Mayor. I won’t be surprised if mortals die from fear this year!” He replies.

Then his eyes land on you. A smile lifts the corners of his lips and his cheeks make his eyes curve like waning crescents. He looks almost happy to see you.

Something happens with your stuffing heart again. The fluff moves inside of your chest so rapidly it causes a rhythm to beat against your skin, and when you press your fingers to your wrist you can feel it. Thump thump!

You’re sure that your little heart is beating, but Dr. Finkelstein has told you that this is impossible. Your organs are all there for decoration. To make you feel like a normal human, but they don’t work. He likes to remind you everyday that you’re his creation, and if he made you, he can unmake you. His favorite thing to say of all time, though, is that you’ll never be normal. You’ll always be an emotionless, bloodless, sack of dead leaves and patches.

You’ve told this to Mingi before. That your creator doesn’t really like you, which is completely confusing, and likes to slash you when he’s angry. Mingi had told you immediately after that nothing he said was true. That you were one of the biggest assets of Halloween Town. You never had reason to believe him, as, though ironic, Halloween wasn’t really your thing. But that night when the two of you were walking through the cemetery to wake the dead, it was the first time you had felt the bundle of stuffing in your chest begin to thump thump thump.

Your own smile grows as you finally park yourself beside the well. “Hello.”

The Mayor’s face swivels around to worry. “Oh, Y/N! You mustn’t poison Dr. Finkelstein anymore! He’s one of the best doctors this towns got, and I’m afraid his brain won’t be of much use to us if he dies. Zombies, ghosts, and skeletons don’t have reliable brains, I’m afraid.”

You tilt you head. “Oh, don’t you worry about it, Mayor. This time we got into a fight and I zapped him with his own electric rod. He’s got a few minor injuries, but I’m sure his skull is thick enough to keep his brain from damaging too much.”

Mingi laughs at this, a good, genuine laugh. The witches back away, beady eyes focusing on you as he does. The Mayor manages a chuckle, but his face is still blue and his frown has not turned upside down.

“I came to see if you need any help with last minute preparations, Pumpkin King.” You say, which has Mingi going a soft shade of pink. “I was simply dying of boredom in that tower.”

Mingi nods, stepping away from the well and bidding farewell to the witches, who try their best to make him stay by insisting his presence helps the brew become extra deadly. As he shakes them off you manage to sneak a vial of poison from beside the well.

Mingi finally slips away and grabs your elbow, leading you to the other side of Town Square. “I do actually have something I need your help with. There’s a batch of pumpkins I need to be carved into the scariest faces you can think of. I had the goblins assigned to this, but since they spend most of their time being the ugly, frightening things, they don’t really know what to carve. Some of them are so massive they carved a dozen pumpkins with stacks of moldy flapjacks. They’re always hungry, you know.”

You manage a laugh, one that’s softer and not as brutal as the one you use around Dr. Finkelstein. It’s almost delicate.

He turns to you with a bright smile. “Was that a giggle I heard from you? I thought you didn’t feel anything. Laughing is a side effect of the emotion called joy. We don’t use it much around here.”

You lean your head to the side. “What’s a giggle?”

He smiles down at you. “What you just did. It’s a laugh, but softer. I’ve seen it a few times in the other worlds. Mostly in Valentines Day world. People usually giggle when they’re happy and are being told a joke by person they really adore and love.”

That weird thing happens to your cheeks again, and it’s familiar. One time, when cooking, you had placed your hand inside of bubbling cauldron to retrieve a fallen spoon, and most of your hand had shriveled. Are your cheeks bubbling with heat right now?

“I don’t have feelings, remember?” You say finally, pushing a lock of hair away from your face. “I’m just a sack of dead leaves.”

Mingi takes a step closer, and reaches a hand out. His fingers brush your cheek. “I don’t think that’s true. I think Dr. Finkelstein knew what he was doing when he made you. Nothing went wrong. You have feelings and emotions. You just needed something to trigger them inside of you.”

Where his fingers touch your cloth skin something happens. It’s like the time you had been put on the lab table and struck with a bolt of electricity. Except it’s being ignited with his fingers as they trail over your cheekbone and your ear. The plastic jug that’s your stomach starts to rattle, as if little a flock of crows is flying in circles inside of it. The fluttering wings brush against the interior and your heels lift a little so you’re on your tippy toes. Your paper lungs are filling with air that makes you shiver, which means it’s cold air. The night is cold. Your rubber brain is vibrating with the buzzing wings of a million little bees. And your stuffing heart is beating so loudly it’s echoing throughout the entire Town Square.

You’re feeling everything. You remember being taught this emotion briefly, but it’s clear as day what it is.

Mingi is smiling down at you, fondly, you realize. You reach for the hand that’s cupping your cheek and, to your surprise, you can feel the faint thump of his heart in his fingers. It’s beating almost at the same pace yours is.

You look into his eyes and they’re waning crescent moons and his cheeks are puffed up because he’s smiling. His teeth are almost as white as the ghosts roaming around behind him.

“How—” You mange to stutter.

“Y/N, I have been feeling emotions since the dawn of time. I’ve been around for centuries. My heart — it’s never beat like this for anything or anyone else. Your smile, it makes my palms sweaty and my stomach twist like I’m scared for my life. I feel anxiety, and yet I also feel joy when you’re around. I’ve never felt so confused, yet so sure about something before. I’ve done as much research as I can, and I’ve concluded that I’m in love with you.”

Suddenly, the sound of ripping cloth fills the air and your chest bursts open and your heart made of cotton stuffing wrapped in dead leaves, is falling into Mingi’s outstretched hands. He giggles as it lands perfectly in his palms, beating so mightily it’s making the ground vibrate.

Mingi peers at you through his eyelashes. “And I think this means you love me too.”

You feel something travel down your cheek and Mingi is surprised as he moves your heart to one hand and catches your paperclip tear in the other. “Oh no, have I mistaken your sadness for love?”

You finally shake your head. “No, Mingi. I’ve studied certain emotions very well. I’m — I’m happy. I’m in love.”

He grins, tossing your paperclip tear away and clutching your cheek in one hand and your heart in the other. “I am very happy too. I haven’t been this happy for thousands of years.”

He leans forward. “Can I try something I also saw in Valentines Day World?”

You nod, as he not only holds your heart, but all of your trust as well. He leans his head forward and tilts your chin back, his face pushing closer to yours. It makes your whole body flame up, and you’re sure if he gets any closer you’ll spontaneously burst into flames. Then his soft lips touch yours and envelop them in his own. You don’t know how you know, but you do the same, as if your body was made to do this one thing with this one pumpkin king.

Eventually, you feel your paper lungs crumble and he pulls away, taking a breath of air. His cheeks are the color of blood. He’s smiling. He looks down at the heart in his hands and offers it back to you. “I think this is yours.”

You giggle again, and this time it comes naturally. You take your heart and try to push it back into its cavity, but it slips from your fingers and back into Mingi’s palms. You try again, but your heart jumps away before you can touch it and disappears into his pocket.

“I guess my heart is yours now, Pumpkin King.” You say, looking up at Mingi. It’s impossible to wipe the smile from your face, despite your disloyal heart. “Please don’t destroy it.”

He pats his pocket, and your heart wiggles happily. He chuckles and looks back to you. “I’d never dream of it.”

~~

Did you love this as much as I do?

#mingi fluff #mingi imagines #ateez imagines #kpop imagines #mingi smut #kpop fluff #🍀’s Halloween Special

[suldreen-saga]

KotLC meets Avatar: The Last Airbender

one day, while teleporting herself and her friends, Sophie feels a pull through the void that she can't seem to ignore

she follows it and they all stumble into an incredible pasture. standing in front of them is another group of kids, accompanied by a giant white bison-like creature 

"My name is Aang," one of the kids says in a cheerful voice, "and these are my friends" he introduces all of them, including Appa and Momo. Sophie and the crew do the same and while they all eye each other a little suspiciously at first, there seems to be an instant connection between them once they get comfortable

they all sit around the campfire. the elves explain their different abilities to Aang's group, which seems to really surprise them but they are also intrigued. the humans with bending skills demonstrate their powers, earning themselves gasps and ‘woahs’ from the elves who had no idea the elements could be controlled that way

Linh and Katara instantly bond over their water skills, they are both super happy that they've finally met another water girl. Katara shows Linh new tricks and moves, which Linh seems to love, especially the octopus trick and the ability to turn water to ice. Linh teaches her how to better listen to water and feel what it's telling her

when it comes to learning how to heal with water, however, Linh is teary-eyed and overwhelmingly happy that she can now use her healing powers to help others

Marella and Zuko find it a little more difficult to warm up to each other, but once they do, Marella is very grateful for all the insight and advice she gets from Zuko. he is a great teacher, and shows her the amazing beauty of fire, and that she need not be afraid of it because she does, in fact, show great control

Biana tries to hide from the humans using her Vanisher skills, but it doesn’t work against Toph’s amazing connection to the earth, nor against Aang’s feel of the air

Keefe is fascinated by Toph being able to tell when someone is lying through the vibrations in the ground. he keeps testing her, and Toph also has Keefe demonstrate his Empath skills, both highly impressed by the other person. they start planning pranks together and become the ultimate partners in crime

Tam is curious to see if any of the benders could actually control shadows like him. all of them try, with Zuko getting close to actually doing it, but only Aang manages to pull it off

the Song twins meet Iroh, who is always ready to give advice and share his wisdom with them. even though they never speak about it, he quickly becomes a sort of adoptive uncle to the twins, knowing how hard it is to navigate the world without a proper adult role model

Sokka gets to practice his fighting skills with the elves' bodyguards. he learns distant techniques to what he's known so far, and loves the various weapons that the bodyguards have, especially the Goblin throwing stars. his tactical thinking also comes in handy when they talk about plans, and he quickly comes up with potential new ways to overthrow the elves' enemies

he is the best person to understand the underlying problems involving the Talentless in the Elvin world, and Sophie and him have long discussions about how it would be better to treat everyone the same way, whether they have special abilities or not

when they find out that Toph is blind, Fitz and Sophie insist that she let them use their Telepathic abilities on her, to show her what the world looks like. Toph is initially hesitant, "I still know where I’m going and how to get around", but she finally succumbs to her curiosity

when she gets all the mental images of nature, the people around her, even her own physical appearance, she is completely astonished. "It's... pretty sweet," she says, trying to sound unfazed, but everyone can hear how thick her voice is and she does everything to hide the tears that well up in her eyes

Dex loves seeing the technology from that world. it is distant from anything he's ever worked with. when they visit the Northern Air temple, his jaw drops, and he spends the entire day going through all the various blueprints and inventions

Sophie teleports them all back to Havenfield where Grady and Edaline are initially freaked out by the newcomers. they promise not to tell the council, however, and lowkey enjoy having guests visit. they do freeze when they see Zuko for the first time, realizing how he resembles Brant, but quickly become very fond of him

they show the humans their food, who are not especially excited about the fact that it's all vegetarian⁠—except for Aang who praises the spirits for his luck. they all love the Elvin treats, though

Biana has the girls try on some of the gowns—Toph quietly sneaks out the door—and they look great in them, but so does Biana in a waterbending outfit. Sophie enjoys how comfortable the clothes are, since they are designed for moving around a lot, and loves the several pockets

the elves teach the human kids base quest, who love the idea, but they all agree to play without Elvin abilities to make for a fair game. the elves might have the advantage of channeling, but they have nothing on Aang's airbending-fueled running and jumps and he quickly becomes his team's biggest asset

Edaline and Grady love Appa and Momo, and are fascinated to hear about all the quirky animals from the Avatar's world. they start discussing whether they should have some of those animals moved to Havenfield

Momo and Iggy are very excited to meet, though they do get in quarrels quite often. Dex dyes Momo's fur the same color as Iggy's and they all laugh at how much he looks like a smaller version of Momo

Appa and Aang regularly give the elves rides in the air, seeing how much they all love it. they will often be accompanied by Sophie riding Silveny and one of her friends on Greyfell, the babies getting the gist of flying with loads of help from Aang’s airbending

Katara convinces all of them that it would be fun to have a beach day together, since they could all use some relaxing. the elves have never had the experience before but they are delighted when they see how amazing it is

they build sandcastles together—noone being able to top Toph's creations—and Katara teaches them how to surf, using her waterbending with Linh's skills to help the others glide on the giant waves they create

they all love how enriching it is to learn from each other’s cultures and spend time among themselves, and agree to make it a regular thing

#avatar: the last airbender #atla #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc #alternate universe #aang #katara #sokka #toph #zuko #momo #appa #iroh #sophie foster #fitz vacker #keefe sencen #biana vacker #dex dizznee #marella redek #linh song #tam song #iggy

[egg-emperor]

Do you have any headcanons for your self insert and Eggman

OHO you bet I do, especially since I have a bunch of fics of my s/i and Eggman that I’m literally never gonna post sdhkjdfhbkgbs //^w^//

I really appreciate your interest in my s/i because I don’t talk about him often thinking that people just might not really like to know. So it means a lot thank you :’D

Julian previously lived with a self-formed pack that mostly consisted of wolves and a few dogs. The point of them was to combat against Eggman’s Forces and basically serve to protect the place they resided. Of course having this connection meant that Julian heard about Eggman and all the terrible things he did all the time, being told about the latest news and past stories by the pack very early on in his life.

Despite being very well aware of how dangerous a man he is, Julian was always more intrigued than afraid. Having no idea when what he could possibly do next with how unpredictable he is was the exciting thing happening Julian’s life. He was very good at hiding it from the others though.

Julian was never a physical fighter so his position was to be the lookout, the one that warns the others of oncoming danger.

He didn’t do his job properly on purpose though lmao. Out of his fascination with all of Eggman’s creations from the biggest of mechs to the smallest of robots, he wouldn’t warn the others about seeing badniks because he didn’t want to contribute to them being destroyed. Despite them being programmed to be hostile, Julian would try to get as close to the odd motobug he saw just to get a better look at them.

He had absolutely no regard for his own safety and that only reached higher extremities when he’d sneak not far behind the pack to get even the slightest glimpse of Eggman in person. He still remembers and treasures the first time he got the closest he been yet. Which compared to now, was still very far away as he was up on top of a building lol. But he managed to see him there in his egg mobile just before he left and that was special to him!

I have multiple stories for how they first met personally but I’m still deciding on which one is the ‘canon’ version to my main story of them. Because I’ve settled on combining all my favorite parts into one, I’ll share what I’ve decided on for certain atm.

Eggman visited to see if there was any useful terrain for a base or more healthy animals to use for his pawns. This time he had his forces seize some of the most important members of the pack on the scene. Julian just happened to be one of the random extras they grabbed since he was lurking there. While that was everyone else’s horror, it was his luckiest day!

Eggman had a lot of ideas for what punishment he wanted to give the significant members that he had targeted. But first, he wanted to make sure he could break them down and control them to the point that they feel miserable and defeated, acknowledging his power and greatness for being the winner of the annoying ongoing battle between them. Before dealing with them immediately though, he had them temporarily work for him so he could mock and toy with them some more.

Since Julian was not a trained and skilled fighter like the others, he wasn’t closely involved until the third meeting. That’s when he was unexpectedly brought in and the former leader explained his position of being the lookout. As long as he could be useful to Eggman in the meantime, he could also serve some type of purpose rather than just sit in a cell until he decides it’s time to rid of them all. So he gave Julian a role in his current main base’s security room.

Eggman quickly noticed how visibly focused on him he was the entire time he was talking. Of course, when he can feel the attention on him it further boosts his confidence to the point where everyone can tell that he’s deliberately showing off. But Julian is just like me and recognizes him as a total asshole and finds that attractive about him along with everything else. Eggman announced to the others that he was an example of how attentive the others should be.

During the short time the pack had to follow Eggman’s orders, they were often scared into submission by his threats so much that hardly anyone dared to act up. They knew that their sentence would only become even shorter if they made their unwillingness too clear to him. Julian didn’t have to be told twice to do anything and served him the most willingly the entire time. The second he saw someone even consider an attempt to escape, he’d make sure Eggman knew about it.

It really didn’t take Eggman long to notice how much Julian was into him. He was already getting ideas the first meeting he attended but there was so much besides that which really made it obvious to him. The way Julian’s tail would wag like crazy when he entered the room. How happy he looked whenever Eggman was jolly, especially when he’d laugh. How he failed to hide his reaction towards even the slightest bit of physical contact between them. Even indirect contact like using something after he had, like drinking from the same glass as he did was something that he seemed oddly delighted about.

Most importantly he had many assets that Eggman found useful, such as his enthusiasm to hear him talk about himself and his work, how quickly he’d jump at the chance to serve him. Everything he did wasn’t even in an attempt to impress him or make him notice that he liked him, he did it all simply because he couldn’t help it. He just enjoyed stroking his ego and his satisfaction came from seeing Eggman happy and proud. The way he didn’t expect him to give him anything in return was also helpful in getting Eggman to realize that he had some worth lol

After he’d rid of all the other pack members he’d captured, Julian didn’t even seem to care what happened to happen to them. Instead, he was instead thrilled that he was kept alive for some reason because he still didn’t know why yet. That almost convinced Eggman that his desire to stay on his side was genuine. He was considering keeping him in management of his security and that’s why he was spared.

But he wasn’t going to reveal that to him just yet because he was soon thinking back to the times where people working under him would try to betray him or get something out of him, even after seeming to be pretty devoted to serving him. Even though Julian seemed to have the deepest passion for him beyond working, he wouldn’t overlook the possibility of him being a good actor and spy of some sort.

So he decided that he’d confront him about it and test his willingness. That way he could attempt to understand his true intentions. It’s not like he’d stand a chance against him if he did try anything against him in those moments, so he went for it. He ended up having Julian pinned up against the wall, demanding that he prove to him that it’s all real.

He said that there were no security cameras around, so he can do whatever he wanted and nobody would ever find out. He expected Julian to understand that if he had some plan to attack or betray him, now was his chance. But that’s not what he thought of with those words. And oh boy, did he know how to prove how he really felt. It was after that where Eggman knew for certain that it was real and things escalated between them from there when he took full advantage of his desire for him.

When Julian was staying with him at the base everything went well. Eggman liked how much the wolf made it clear that he would never ask so much out of him, never interfere with his work or speak against his orders because he understood and supported him in a way that no other person had done before.

Julian especially cheered on all his biggest dreams for Eggmanland, any latest plans and projects that he revealed to him and he loved to hear of all the stories of the evilest and cruelest chaos he’d brought upon people, lands and the entire planet. Hearing of it all from his perspective had been his dream ever since he’d been told about him.

The surviving (hint hint) members that had never been captured by Eggman attempted to come and ‘rescue’ Julian, but it was never a group effort. His former partners would take it upon themselves to go alone to find retrieve him, believing that he was being held there against his will. Most of them never figured out why he was so calm about being there and even after they reminded him of how dangerous Eggman is.

They were furious and appalled when they finally realized his betrayal of them for Eggman and how he completely supported the man’s actions. But it didn’t matter because none of them ever left the base unscathed to tell anyone else of their discovery. Eggman would threaten them and take action upon them himself so they’d never be able to even dare to try to come back again. Julian didn’t care what he did to them as long as it got them off their backs.

So yeahhh, Julian doesn’t have the power to be labeled a true villain like Eggman but he definitely isn’t a good guy huh XD He knows how to look and appear innocent and hide his much darker side. Eggman definitely helps bring it out of him and is a very bad influence without even really trying though heheh. They also have a lot of very deep and dark secrets that nobody else will ever know or hear of, if they do then they won’t live to tell the tale anyway. Eggman especially has always made sure of that. 👀

As time went on he realized that despite hardly being able to contain his immense amount of love for him, Julian was still very good at keeping the secrets they had together too. That’s why he eventually decided to also give him the role as a type of spy that could act and blend in well with their enemies.

He’d later go on to fool the Resistance as his spy by joining them and reporting back to his beloved with any necessary information he’d gathered. Despite a lot of close calls, Julian’s biggest accomplishment is that he managed to play the part right up to the moment where Eggman was about to drop the sun down on everyone. Then he finally got to join his side again and despite not expecting anything, he got quite the reward for that effort ;D

#under a read more because OOPS #julian the wolf #asks #I'll be tagging all my s/i x Eggman posts as #self ship #jsyk!!! #I have so much more to say but then this post will be massive lol #my post #txt #dr. eggman #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik

[vanilla107]

Smoke and Bullets (Part 1)

Hello Everyone!

I am back with a whole new fanfiction for She ra AND IT'S A MAFIA AU. This AU was inspired by @littleresalu's Mafia AU fanart on Tumblr and Instagram! When I saw her drawings I immediately knew that I needed to write this fanfiction! Give her a follow and check out her art BECAUSE IT'S SO GOOD LIKE I CAN'T EXPLAIN HOW SEXY IT IS.

Tumblr: @littleresalu Instagram: lil_basilbeans

Summary

Adora lit a cigar and exhaled, the whisps of smoke making her look almost like a goddess in her leather chair and mahogany desk. Catra was standing behind her, her arms draped around the blonde, a grin on her face.

"What shall we do with him Adora?" Catra purred, her breath warm against the shell of Adora's ear.

Adora inhaled once more before answering, the prisoner in front of them shaking in fear.

"Easy, kill him."

**************

After a successful raid on a rival gang, Adora and Catra are crowned the leaders of the biggest gang in New Brightmoon. Running the gang with her girlfriend on her side, Adora think she can finally be happy, but when a new gang shows up and promises Adora answers that she never thought she'd get, she is torn.

Will she sacrifice everything she's built or will she betray the people she loves?

Read on AO3

She Ra Masterlist

Adora sighed heavily as she felt the last of the whiskey burn down her throat.

She set down the glass tumbler and leaned on her mahogany desk. She looked out her office window, the full moon casting a white glare, showing the harsh shadows on her face. Her body was wound tighter than a spring and there was only one thing keeping her from panicking.

The half empty bottle of premium whiskey started mockingly at her on her desk and she resisted the temptation to pour another glass. The sweet alcohol haze that she forced herself to be in was keeping her from bursting through the wooden doors at the docks, guns in hands and shooting up the place.

“Calm Adora. Catra knows what she’s doing,” the 25 year-old told herself under her breath.

She got tired of sitting still and walked slowly around her office, her body going numb with the strong alcohol she had consumed, but never slowing down her mind. She looked at her suit, a one of a kind cream creation complete with a diamond brooch, made by only the best tailor in New Brightmoon. Her shoes were white dress shoes, practical enough to still run in if she needed to get away from a rival gang but still fashionable.

Adora opened up her purse and pulled out her Mother-of-Pearl compact mirror and looked at herself. She looked normal but the dark rings beginning to show around her eyes said otherwise. The doorknob jiggled suddenly and Adora’s body tensed as she pulled out her revolver from her waist band and aimed it at the door.

The door opened and in stepped Catra, the love of her life, covered in dirt, but grinning like a madman.

“Catra!” The blonde ran to her lover, putting her gun away and hugged her tightly, Catra chuckling in her ear, her breath warm. Catra’s eyes glided over the office and saw the bottle of whiskey on the desk and she sighed as she let go of Adora.

“Princess, were you tense again?” Catra asked and Adora felt her insides melt at the nickname.

Adora looked down guiltily and nodded.

“I know it’s a bad habit but you’ve been gone for four hours! I know you told me you and the gang would be fine and you can handle yourself...but I worry...especially if you’re gone for so long. The Sinner’s have never hesitated to kill...we’ve already lost too many,” Adora said, her voice getting softer.

Catra trailed a finger down Adora’s cheek and kissed her forehead.

“I’m here now. And guess what? We hit the jackpot, baby!”

Catra suddenly picked up Adora and spun her around the room in glee.

“What? Catra, what do you mean?”

“Look, turns out the warehouse that we raided had way more than we bargained for. There was diamonds, money, gold bars- the whole shebang! And it’s all ours!”

Adora’s jaw dropped and she crashed her lips onto Catra’s in a passionate kiss before breaking the contact and looking deeply into her girlfriend’s eyes.

“Catra...you did it! You really did it!” she squealed and Catra set her back on the floor.

“This raid...sealed The Sinner’s fate for the rest of their lives. That warehouse had other stuff besides riches. Passports, guns, documents, top secret files...they have nothing against us. Adora, The Sinner’s have been dethroned and Mont Blanc is currently being tortured for information about your parents. We are now the leading gang of New Brightmoon and we’re calling the shots,” the feline grinned.

“Catra...this is what we've been working for since day one. I...I can't believe this is happening..."

"Believe it, baby. We did it."

"Wait...was...was there any casualties?” Adora asked, bracing herself for the news.

Catra shook her head and Adora looked at her in surprise.

“No, but Bow did get grazed by a stray bullet. Glimmer is currently tending to him but he’ll live.”

Adora smiled brightly, relieved at the news that no one died and even more that Bow was only injured.

“Where’s the rest of the gang? I thought I’d see them all with you,” Adora asked as she took the bottle of whiskey on her desk and placed it back into a small cabinet under her desk.

“They’re...cleaning up but I gave them their cut already so thankfully there wasn’t any complaints,” Catra added with an eye roll. “We can take the rest of the money to the bank tomorrow and lay in our riches then but...I honestly just want to sleep.”

Adora nodded and switched off the office lights, locked the door and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend as they walked out. It was a warm evening despite no cloud cover, the stars twinkling brightly. It was late and all the business in their area were closed. Catra and Adora had agreed to separate their ‘business’ from their actual house because the last thing they needed was their house as well as their office being blown to pieces by a rival gang.

“So, why are you so dirty? I need to take my suit to the launders tomorrow because there’s black smudges all over it.”

Catra groaned.

“A stupid lackey pushed me into a pile of coal in the warehouse during the fight. It didn’t show up on my suit but it definitely showed up on my face and now your suit. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re safe and unharmed.”

Catra smirked, her eyes bright under the moonlight.

“Don’t lie. You want to check if I have any bruises and nurse me back to health.”

“Well you’re not wrong…” Adora mumbled but a smile still present on her face.

Catra grinned as they cut into an ally, their giggles soft.

************

Adora and Catra had grown up together in dramatically different situations.

They met at the same orphanage and after Adora had stood up to a bully for Catra, they had been inseparable. Catra had always been picked on because of her tanned skin and so had Lonnie, another one of the orphans, for her dark skin but Lonnie always made a point to isolate Catra when ever the bullying began it’s daily cycle. Adora was Catra’s only friend and they did everything together. A few days before Adora was turned 18, an old banker by the name of Mr. Francis had visited and had asked to speak to her.

Adora had learnt from him that she had come from a wealthy family and had lived in a mansion until her parents had been murdered by a gang when she was only a baby. The police found no leads and the case closed months later. Adora couldn’t remember any of it and he told her that it must’ve been shock that had blocked out the memory of her parents and their deaths.

“But...but why are you telling me this?” 17 year old Adora asked, her voice wavering.

The room felt too hot and she clenched her tiny fists together. The Mr. Francis looked at her sadly from his small spectacles.

“I’m sorry but I had too tell you. The reason is because when your parents died, all their money and assets went to you as you were the sole survivor. I’m here to tell you that you have a large sum of money in your name and that you’ll be able to live off of it. I couldn’t tell you sooner because it only can be accessed once you’re 18 and since your birthday is in a few days...I thought I’d let you know. I was your father’s private banker and I’d like to extend my services to you if you’d like me too.”

Adora sighed and put her head in her hands. “Can I...can I please have a day to absorb what you’ve told me? I...I’m a bit overwhelmed.”

“Of course, Adora. But you do need to tell me by the day of your birthday,” he said as he placed a thick folder in front of her.

“This a collection of photographs, news articles and anything you need to know about your family. They were good folks and wanted the best for you. Hopefully...this might help you remember them. Goodbye Adora.”

 Mr. Francis left and Adora took the folder and ran back to the room she and Catra shared. She spent the next few hours reading over it while Catra had caught up to mischief. Once Catra came back to their dorm, she found a crying Adora clutching a photo.

“Adora? What’s wrong?” she asked, worry creasing on her face, as she walked over to her bed and sat down next to her friend. Adora handed her one of the yellowing articles as well as the photo.

‘PARENTS KILLED BY GANG. DAUGHTER ORPHANED’ read the headline and Catra’s eyes widened as she read it.

“Your parents…”

“That’s them Catra. That’s my mom and my dad,” Adora sniffed as she pointed them out in the photo.

“How did you get these?” Catra asked and Adora launched into a full explanation of how she was going to inherit the assets and all the money when she turned 18.

“Adora, that’s amazing! You’re basically set for life! You can have fancy food, clothes and host those really big parties-”

“Catra! My parents were murdered! How can you think of parties in a time like this?” Adora screamed.

Catra was shocked into silence as Adora broke down into tears once more. Catra wrapped an arm around Adora and she sighed sadly.

“...I’m sorry for being insensitive...I am sorry about your parents. They didn’t deserve that. Did...did the police find out who did it?”

“It was definitely a gang but...they could never get enough evidence-” Adora cried harder.

How could someone just kill people?

A mother and a father and orphan a child?

What kind of monster does that?

“I...I’m sorry. I guess I don’t really know what to do…” Adora hiccupped and Catra wrapped her tail around her.

Adora looked at the photo and she leaned her head on Catra’s shoulder.

“What’s the point of having all the money I need when I don’t have anyone?”

“Well...you have me. And when I turn 18, I’ll help you find your parents killers and bring them to their knees,” Catra declared and Adora let out a giggle.

“You’d never kill someone.”

“I’d kill someone that hurt you. And the person that murdered your parents, took them away from you and hurt you,” Catra growled, her pupils becoming slits because of the setting sun, only making her appearance seem devious.

Adora felt a shiver down her spine as Catra said those words. The atmosphere had shifted to something darker.

“I can’t ask you to do that for me Catra. You...you’d have blood on your hands. I don’t think I could live with you putting yourself through that.”

Catra gently touched Adora’s cheek, instantly making her face red.

“You’ve always been there for me Adora. Let me be there for you.”

Adora was never sure if Catra would keep her promise. She was going to take a life one day and she seemed to be okay with it.

Taking someone’s life?

Even the people who had killed her parents?

Wasn’t that evil?

But Catra wasn’t evil. Catra was good, loyal and the only person she trusted. She was the only person Adora could fully open up her heart too. The day of Adora’s 18th birthday proved it, when they shared their first kiss in their dorm, before Adora left the walls of the orphanage.

“I’ll be back for you Catra,” Adora said, her voice cracking as the tears dripped down her cheeks. Catra kissed the tears away, her arms wrapped securely around Adora’s waist.

“You promise?” Catra whispered, her voice raspy from the tears and kissed her again, the urgency desperate as Catra tightened her grip on Adora’s tattered clothing.

“I promise.”

****************

The couple arrived at their apartment and Adora unlocked the door.

“Home sweet home,” Catra sighed and immediately began to strip off her blazer.

Adora went to the bathroom and draw her lover a warm bath and got the bandages ready. She added a few drops of lavender oil into the bath and took off her blazer and undid the top button. She rolled up her sleeves when Catra opened the bathroom door.

“Wow Adora, you have so much faith in me to not get stabbed,” she said sarcastically as she walked in and shut the door.

Adora turned her head as Catra got undressed, her face going red. Catra’s body was a work of art. Her constant training in the ring with Bow and their gang kept her in good shape, her muscles toned and defined. Even though Adora had seen Catra’s body from when they were kids to them being full developed adults, she still looked away.

“Adora,” Catra said and slid a hand under the blonde’s chin, guiding her head to look into her eyes.

“You gonna nurse me back to health?” she asked, only standing in her underwear and chemise.

Adora could already see a deep cut on her arm as well as bruises forming on her abdomen. She nodded and averted her eyes once more as Catra discarded the rest of her clothing and stepped into the bath.

“Hmm, if the cuts were that deep, your suit also needs to be replaced,” Adora noted and Catra cursed.

“Shit, I really liked that suit. Black cotton with a dash of silk. Fine but not too flashy. Damn Sinners always ruining my clothes.”

As she descended into the water, Catra inhaled sharply as the water stung her wounds. Adora sat on a tiny stool and gently began to disinfect the cut on Catra’s arm. The feline closed her eyes, never flinching as Adora stitched the wound together.

“I’ll bandage your bruises once you’re done cleaning yourself,” Adora said as she grabbed her blazer and the bandages. She headed towards the door but stopped as she heard Catra’s voice from behind her.

“Oh Adora, don’t be a prude. Come join me,” Catra purred and she smiled before turning around to face Catra, who’s head and arms were perched on the bath’s edge.

Catra's tattoo stood out against the girls tan skin and Adora ran her eyes along the side of her neck. It was a single rose with vines and a few thorns curling across the surface of the skin that gradually faded. Adora subconsciously touched the skin just underneath her collarbones, knowing that her matching tattoo was underneath her shirt.

Three roses all linked together by vines and thorns. Two roses directly underneath each collarbone and the one in the middle to connect them. In between the roses were the vines and thorns linking the roses together.

They had gotten them when Catra had left the orphanage and wanted to commemorate it. They both knew that it was a scandal for two young ladies to get tattoos especially since it was normally sailors or circus performers getting them but the tattoo artist didn't care as long as she got paid.

“What happened to wanting to sleep?” Adora teased and Catra flicked some of the water at her. She laughed and undressed herself before hopping into the bath and gently resting her back against Catra’s chest. There was something meaningful of being completely naked with Catra.

She could be herself.

She could finally let her guard down.

It felt whole and natural.

“You okay? I’m not suffocating you?”

Catra snorted, “Of course not.”

The two fell into silence, their bodies warm from the water. Adora treasured moments like these. Sometimes they never went home and slept in the office because of stakeouts, deals that needed to be made and sometimes the risk of going home was too high.

Of course, she couldn’t complain.

She was the one who had started the gang after all.

“Hey Catra?” Adora asked, breaking the silence, her hand skimming gently through the water.

“Yeah?”

“I’m really happy you’re okay.”

Adora felt Catra’s arm wrap around her waist and pull her closer to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Me too.”

Adora threaded her fingers through Catra’s hands and laid a soft kiss on her bruised knuckles. The two took turns washing each other with soap and Adora got out first. Catra wanted to say longer and eventually got out of the bath when it began to lose its warmth. She walked to their bedroom and changed into her silk pajamas before walking to the lounge to see Adora, sitting on her favourite leather seat in her matching silk pajamas, reading what Catra could only assume as their profits they had gained that month from their ‘business’.

“Come to bed, Adora. Enough work for tonight,” Catra whispered as she draped her arms around her girlfriend from behind the chair.

Adora nodded and put the papers down. With a soft smile followed Catra back to their bedroom and bandaged the last of Catra's bruises and got under the silk covers.

The couple knew that evenings like those were rare and that their lives could be upside down the next morning but if there was one thing that Adora had learnt while running the gang was that she needed to live in the moment.

No one could take that from her.

They switched off their lamps and, like clockwork, Catra laid her head on Adora’s chest, the sound of her heart beat lulling her to sleep while Adora gently threaded her hands through Catra's hair until she slipped quietly into the darkness.

#catradora #catra #adora #spop #she ra #vanilla107 writes #glimmer #seamista #mafia au #bow

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Chicago Tribune: 50 FFWPU / UC members allegedly joined Aum Shinrikyo in Japan. Aum later carried out the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.

                           1995 Tokyo subway attack

Chicago Tribune   January 5, 2001 By Uli Schmetzer, Tribune Foreign Correspondent.

In Japan, Spirituality Search Can Lead To Cults

1,100 Former Followers Of A Guru Known As The Voice Of Heaven Have Filed Lawsuits Claiming Damages Totaling $546 Million.

KISARAZU, Japan — The cure came to Tsuneo Kikuchi in the form of a dapper, silver-haired messiah—“His Holiness” Hogen Fukunaga, who promised Kikuchi long life and a place among the chosen when “the world falls apart.”

In the guru’s private chamber, an austere room with a ceiling of painted stars, Fukunaga, known to his followers as the Voice of Heaven, ordered Kikuchi to take off his socks so he could examine his feet.

"Your little toe is too short," the Voice of Heaven said. "It means your foot is out of balance. It means you have a health problem. Now let me check if the powers of heaven are flowing."

The kind of metaphysics preached by Fukunaga, 55, has attracted millions of Japanese, many disillusioned by the decline of Japan’s economy and the social displacement that has followed. Sociologists say many questionable spiritual organizations are operating in the vacuum created by a protracted recession that has eroded the confidence of this work-oriented society.

For generations, many Japanese workers believed that their future in their nation’s hierarchical corporate system was guaranteed and that their jobs would last forever.

These assumptions have been shattered.

Unemployment and economic uncertainty have created feelings of betrayal and insecurity that have led large numbers of Japanese on a search for spiritual guidance. In some cases, the search has led to membership in a cult.

"In Japan moral precepts have collapsed," said Masahiko Nakamura, a psychology professor at Ehime University. "Parents have lost authority. Teachers cannot control their students. Older people have naught to cling to. Nothing has replaced the old spiritual education since the war, and no one has taught us about God or the power behind mankind. The Japanese are lost. We don’t have the Christian belief that God is watching over us," he said.

The search for a new credo and an alternative to corporate cradle-to-grave security has spawned a bevy of individuals peddling their own weird brands of salvation. These spiritual gurus run organizations structured on the corporate system of strict hierarchy. Most seem determined to export their credos to branch offices abroad.

The worst of these organizations are the doomsday cults. Secretive and often brutal in preventing desertions, they prophesy Armageddon or promote a “new world order.”

The public was reminded just how dangerous some of these groups can be when a Tokyo court last year sentenced to death two members of the Aum Shinri Kyo for their role in planting sarin nerve gas on the Tokyo subway in 1995 and cyanide in public toilets a year earlier.

The most notorious of the doomsday gurus is Shoko Asahara, 44, now on trial for murder in the subway attack. The incident allegedly was part of a plan to destroy the “old world” and make room for a new creation—populated by Asahara’s disciples.

Police were told Asahara was trained by the Agon-shu sect.

Fifty members of the Unification Church sect allegedly joined Aum, including arms dealer Kiyohide Hayakawa.

Another cult, Sukyo Mahikari, sees Japan as the cradle of a new world order. Yoshikazu Okada, who reinvented himself as “Savior of Mankind,” founded the group. Today it has branches worldwide, including in the U.S.

Okada was exposed before his death in 1974 as the lieutenant colonel in the Japanese Imperial Army who devised the strategy for the so-called Rape of Nanking, in which Japanese troops allegedly murdered 300,000 Chinese and raped 20,000 women after conquering the Chinese city in 1937.

In an effort to crack down on sects, Japanese police in November charged Koji Takahashi, founder of the Life Space Cult, with the murder of a 66-year-old follower. When the member suffered a brain hemorrhage, the guru tried to cure him by beating on the patient’s head.

During a raid on Takahashi’s Tokyo headquarters, police found young children who had been kept out of school and being fed only once a day.

Meanwhile, Fukunaga has been charged with fraud and illegally practicing medicine.

Kikuchi recalls that Fukunaga circled him, touched his head a few times and finally said: “Your energy is stagnant. Only 30 percent flows, 70 percent is stationary. It means something bad can happen to you anytime unless you follow our instructions.”

All Kikuchi, 69, had been looking for was a cure for his high blood pressure.

Yet he was impressed, not so much by the pledge of long life or the diagnosis but by the photos in the guru’s outer office. They appeared to show Fukunaga shaking hands with world figures including President Clinton, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and Mikhail Gorbachev.

What happened during the next 12 months to Kikuchi is not unusual for victims of neo-religious cults and sects anywhere in the world. He lost his self-respect and some $150,000 to the Ho-No-Hana Sanpopogyo—Way of the Flower/Three-Teachings cult.

The so-called foot cult was founded by Fukunaga, who wears $5,000 suits and custom-made Italian shoes. His wife, according to senior cult members, regularly spent $6,000 to $7,000 a month shopping.

Before he was allowed to see Fukunaga, Kikuchi was taken to an automatic teller machine near the cult’s Tokyo office and told to withdraw $1,800 for a personal audience.

Kikuchi was a man of means. He owned several restaurants in this small coastal town 50 miles south of Tokyo. Today he claims he was coerced during a number of visits by cult officials to shell out another $22,000 for a five-day training seminar at the cult’s sprawling headquarters below Mt. Fuji.

The purpose, he said, was to “purify” his mind and body.

"I was a fool," said a rueful Kikuchi. "I paid all that money to be brainwashed and tortured. The instructors kept 28 of us awake day and night, making us repeat Buddhist mantras, making us write mantras into a 100-page notebook and chorus for hours the guru’s seven commandments and the slogan: ‘I am happy and healthy, I’m happy and healthy…’ "

Any lack of enthusiasm was punished with latrine cleaning.

At the end of the seminar, tired, groggy and ready to accept or do anything, the trainees were asked to state if their minds had been liberated. Kikuchi said he felt no different.

"So they retrained me twice and all the other trainees started screaming and yelling at me until I admitted I now felt different. They are very determined people and made me sign a piece of paper pledging to recruit someone else within 72 hours. I would have signed anything," he said.

He recruited his wife. She paid another $22,000 and recruited their daughter-in-law who in turn recruited her husband, who, in desperation to find a recruit, offered as trainees his three children ages 9, 11 and 13.

"It didn’t stop there," Kikuchi said. "They told me to join a private school at 7 million yen [$6,900] per adult. But we had become suspicious by then. The Voice of Heaven never told us anything about the future. All he ever said was: `Who can you bring to us next?’

"Before he went to the seminar my son was in debt already for $100,000. But the Voice of Heaven told him he would recover everything if he joined. Today my son is broke and I am poor," Kikuchi said.

Two years ago Kikuchi and a group of other former followers sued His Holiness. Their suit is one of hundreds waiting to be litigated.

In May, police arrested the guru and 11 of his senior associates. Prosecutors charged them with practicing medicine without a license.

Investigators said that over the past decade the cult accumulated cash and assets worth $870 million from 30,000 members who paid consultation fees and bought fake remedies and icons peddled as cures for anything and everything.

So far 1,100 former followers have filed lawsuits claiming damages totaling $546 million. A court in central Fukuoka district already has awarded one group damages totaling $227,000.

Fukunaga might yet face manslaughter charges in the deaths of four recruits who died during rigorous initiation rites at Mt. Fuji.

Legal experts say Japan’s criminal justice system is ill equipped to combat the cult phenomenon.

"The biggest question is on what basis will the authorities decide whether this is fraud," said Takashi Hirohashi, editor of the monthly New Religions magazine.

Following his arrest, Fukunaga exploited this dilemma. He simply told investigators he could no longer remember what the divine voice had told him.

Worse, he said, he wasn’t receiving any more instructions.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-01-05/news/0101050185_1_gurus-new-world-order-spiritual

FFWPU and Aum Shinrikyo connections

#Aum Shinrikyo #FFWPU #Unification Church #Shoko Asahara

[thorne93]

Unexpected Guest (Part 1)

Prompt: Imagine working a party and seeing a mysteriously handsome man who captures your entire attention. There’s one catch: you’re engaged to a different man.

Warnings: angst, fighting, negative relationships, flirting, language, smoking (cigs? Is that even a warning? idk)...

Word Count: 3078

Notes: Inspired by Gorgeous - Taylor Swift...Beta’d by my amazing @like-a-bag-of-potatoes. I’m so blessed to call you a friend, love. OFC/OC Jeremy

Forever Tags: @capsmuscles @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @harleyquinnandscarletwitch @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please@superwholocked527 @myparadise1982sand @missinstantgratification @thejemersoninferno @rda1989 @marvelloushamilton @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername @kaliforniacoastalteens @feelmyroarrrr​ @kaeling​

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Putting the finishing touches on your hair and looking over your daring bright red dress in the mirror, you smiled in approval at the outfit. You were donning a red, form fitting cocktail dress that had a see through sash sweep train, the sash train nearly reaching the floor, landing just above your bright red heels to match. Unfortunately, you didn’t have a good necklace to match but you did have earrings so you popped those in, did another once over, and went out to the living room of your shared home with your fiance.

“So what do you think?” you asked, stepping in front of the tv and twirling, playing with the sash a bit.

Jeremy, your fiance, grunted and tried to peer around you, waving you to move from his sight. “What the hell, Y/N? I’m trying to watch this.”

“So pause it,” you tried. “How do I look?” you asked, your ego already deflated and at this point not really giving a shit what he thought.

He frowned angrily and looked at you as if you just interrupted the biggest business deal of the year. He whipped his face to your body for half a second. “You look fine.” His eyes shot back to the screen before asking, “Where you going?”

“I told you this every day this week, I’m going to a party for Nicholas Hamilton. We’re catering...for the It party?” you said as a reminder, your voice going up to try and trigger some remembrance.

He barely shrugged.

You sighed. “Good night. I’m not sure how long the party will run, but we’re supposed to be catering and serving alcohol all night so don’t wait up,” you informed as you grabbed your clutch. “If you could, do the dishes, please.”

“Yeah, yeah. Have fun at your shower,” he called as you went out the door, his remark making you roll your eyes. His behavior wasn’t atypical. This was normal for him to not know what you were doing, or where, or when. You would tell him and he’d forget or just flat not listen. For the past three years since you’ve been engaged, you’ve chalked it up to him not wanting to be involved with the girly part of your life or the infamous myth that “men never listen”.

You hopped in your car and drove through LA to the home of Nicholas, to meet your team. You had a team of around eleven people for this party. It was a simple, typical Los Angeles house party. He expected one hundred guests, so you would accommodate that with two bartenders, five servants--three circulating the party, two on standby at the buffet to serve--and you had five cooks back at the restaurant to prepare it all. You didn’t need to be at this party, per se, but being a control freak, it certainly helped your nerves to know that your staff was doing their best and that the food looked and tasted perfectly.

On this particular party, you didn’t prepare any of the food, but they were all your recipes and creations, but you trusted your chefs fully to prepare this food. Typically, you would help, but in this case you just wanted to oversee the event.

You finally arrived at the home, just in time to see the team unloading the trays of food, utensils, flatware, and glassware.

“Oh good, you’re on time,” you breathed as you rushed up to your staff.

“Of course we’re on time,” Jeff responded with a scoff, one of the young servers you’d hired. He was a definite asset to your team.

“Well I was just--” you started before a chorus of workers cut you off.

“Worried.”

“Yeah, we know,” your best friend and top employee, Ida, stated as she grabbed a tray, her raven hair pulled up in a sleek bun. “You don’t have to fret. We know how to do this,” she assured.

“I know but I just can’t help it,” you reminded, slightly wringing your hands. “Have you all been inside yet?”

“Nope, just got here,” Jeff informed.

“Ah, great.” At that, you ran up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the bell. Nicholas answered, greeting you with a smile and a hug.

“You’re here! Awesome!” he said opening the door.

“Absolutely! Where would you like us to set up?” you questioned.

“I’ll show you. Come on,” he said, gesturing inside the moderately sized home. You led the way for your staff of seven through the house to a fairly large kitchen with an island and plenty of counter space. “So use whatever space you need. If you need anything, let me know. The party will start in about an hour so…”

“Thank you,” you said sweetly. “And thank you again for picking us to cater the event.”

He shrugged. “Hey, your food is freakin’ awesome. That stuff was like crack on set. I knew I had to have you again.”

“Well thank you again. We’ll get everything set up and warming,” you informed as the staff filed past you with trays, dishes, and a myriad of other goods. “Okay, Ryan, put that tray over there. Jennifer, could you start the warming trays--”

“Y/N, stop,” Ida commanded softly. “We know what we’re doing. How about we set up and you can correct us if you don’t like it?”

It took you a second to concede, a little unwilling to relinquish power but you nodded. Everyone seemed to relax by a fraction and they set to work. You watched them, quietly, observing how they set it up, how fast it took, if they did it properly and in a sanitary manner. So far they were doing everything exactly as you would want done. The hors d'oeuvres were arranged neatly and in an appealing manner. The main dishes were on their warming trays. The plates, glasses, and utensils were arranged perfectly. The bartenders got set up with their glasses, tumblers, and a small bar that you’d purchased. It was a collapsable sort of bar, but it was sturdy and well made. This way, it gave the real feeling of being at a bar, and the bartender could keep an eye on his glasses, the alcohol, and tips. All the while, the crew was back and forth from the van, bringing in more of everything.

About thirty minutes later, a DJ showed up. He was actually one of the hotter DJs in LA right now. You only knew this because you’d seen him at a few of the events your company catered, and being one of the top  three caterers in the city was a good indicator you were at all the right events.

Though being at all of these glamorous parties, it didn’t have the effect on you it might have other people. You hardly ever watched TV or movies. You never went to the theater, you didn’t binge Netflix, you didn’t rent redbox, you didn’t have Hulu. Every once in a blue moon, you’d watch a movie, if you’d seen the trailer for a movie that was spectacular, but typically you didn’t watch anything. Instead, you read or you were working on recipes. You didn't have a lot of time for much of anything else, and if you did, you didn’t use that time for it.

In a way, it was a blessing. Because if you knew who these people were, what they played in, it might make you act differently. Like being star struck, and you didn’t want to be that way. You knew a lot of actors, actresses, directors, or producers names. You knew most of the “big” ones, the ones people could only ignore if they lived under a rock, such as George Clooney, Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie...But even then, you held your composure. If you worked directly with a big name in Hollywood, they quickly turned into any other customer: what food do they want, where and when do they want it. The whole mystique of the title of being an actor or director fell away when you were working on how many shrimp cocktails they wanted.

So when Nicholas reached out for this party, you were pleasantly surprised. You’d catered for the set of It for about three weeks towards the end of filming, but that was nearly a year ago now. You’d brought them lunch every day, and got to see a glimpse of the magic happening for that movie. Now, Nicholas was throwing a party one week before the premiere.

Part of you wanted to see it because you’d read the book long ago, part of you didn’t care if you never saw it. In fact, you weren’t sure who played the clown. You knew most of the kids because they would storm the food table as soon as the director let them loose for lunch and you often joked around with them, but the clown would stand up, stare at you for a moment, which usually creeped you the fuck out, then he would disappear. You always assumed he just went to get out of makeup or went to take a rest because he never approached the table to get food, at least while you were there.

The party had just started, with people filling in quickly, heading straight for the food. You made sure to get the hell out of the way as people grabbed plates and glasses and filled up on food and drink then set out to mingle in the house or out in the medium back yard with pool and patio. It made you fill with pride and happiness to see people take bites of your food and light up.

After about an hour and a half into the party, and you mingling with some of the younger actors you’d met on set, along with other people you’d never met, a man showed up at the party. He was tall and lanky, but he took your breath away. He was absolutely gorgeous with dark hair and eyes that made it impossible for you to move. He entered the house, his eyes scanning the party before they landed on yours, and when they did, a small smile touched his face. He nodded to you before setting off through the throng of people.

Your jaw was hanging open. You weren’t sure what had just happened. That man had completely captivated you, but you were sure you’d never seen him before. No, eyes and a face like that you would’ve remembered. Your eyes were glued to his back as he made his way out to the back yard.

Finally, you regained composure and went back into the kitchen where Ida was refilling one of the platters. You stood against the counter, speechless, as Ida saw you out of the corner of her eye.

“You look like you saw a ghost. What’s up?” she questioned before turning her attention back to her task.

“This guy...He...I don’t know. He just walked in and he looked right at me and…Ida, he was gorgeous,” you said in a breathy voice.

She chuckled lightly. “That good, huh? You need to pick your drooling chin off the floor though. You have a fiance,” she reminded.

Just then, you remembered, you did. How awful of a person were you that a pretty face made you entirely forget about the man waiting at home for you? Even if Jeremy was sometimes a passive dick, he didn’t deserve what you’d just done. You shook your head, the self loathing starting to wash over you.

As soon as Ida stepped away, you went back to mingling, subtly asking people if they enjoyed the food and nearly illuminating from head to toe when they raved about it. Yet all night, as the music sounded through the air, the lights dimmed outside and in, the mysterious man would appear then disappear, each time, the two of you would steal glances, no matter if he was talking to someone or you were, your eyes always found each other. When your gazes did meet, you were frozen for those few seconds, completely transfixed, as if he had a spell on you. You’d stare at each other a moment, then go back to mingling. Sometimes he broke the gaze, sometimes you did, but it happened an insurmountable amount of times.

The jitters of the party and praying everything went well, along with the captivating guy, you needed a break. You stepped outside on the patio and fished around your clutch for the small pack of cigs you kept. Typically you were a social smoker but your anxiety had peaked due to the party, the tiff with Jeremy, and this guy so you needed some nicotine related relaxation. The quiet of the outside and the zero guests made it appealing.

Why was this guy so damned gorgeous? And why did it bother you? You worked in LA, hot men paraded in and out of your store and at parties and events you attended all the time. What the hell did this fucker have that you’d never encountered before? You lit the cigarette and took a drag.

“Having a good night?” a smooth voice suddenly sounded beside you. You didn’t recognize it so it wasn’t Nicholas or anyone on your staff or anyone you’d talked to tonight. You turned slightly to your left to see the man in question. Instantly your mouth dried and your heart raced.

“Uh, yeah. I am,” you responded, stammering a bit, then frowning at yourself for acting like a total spaz. He got closer to you, pulling a pack out for himself and lighting up, but you couldn’t look at him, he was too intimidating. “And you?” you questioned. “You having a nice evening?” you inquired before flicking your ash.

“Not really, but then I saw you,” he stated.

You half smiled, the other half wanted to roll your eyes at his statement. So you turned to look at him to tell him off for using such a lame ass line, but when your eyes landed on him, you couldn’t breathe. He had the cigarette poised in his mouth, his fingers cradling it, taking a drag. This was the first time you’d been this close to him all night, face to face. The sight of him and that cigarette, made your insides do things it hadn’t done in a long time for anyone, including Jeremy. Not to mention the dark sweater and jean combo he was wearing that complimented his fair skin nicely.

“Uh...Um..wow, what a poor excuse for a pickup line,” you chastised when you gathered your senses.

“Who said it was a line?” he asked before blowing the smoke out.

Just then, a blush hit you hard. It was a big assumption on your part that he was hitting on you.

“Oh...I…” you stuttered, feeling like a dumbass.

He grinned at you. “It was, a bit,” he confessed, saving you from your meltdown. “But seriously. You look amazing tonight.”

“You say that as if we’ve met,” you noted curiously.

“I saw you on set,” he informed.

“Oh,” you said, realizing why he said what he said.

“Yeah,” he continued.

The blush heated your cheeks again. “Well...thank you.” A moment of quiet passed between you two. “So you worked on the set for It? Were you on the crew?” You only asked because, if he was an actor, you would’ve met him, and you hadn’t.

He gave you a strange look, almost puzzled, before he gave a slight nod and said, “Yeah, something like that.” A sideways smile crept on his face and you found yourself smiling like an idiot back at him. “So you’re with the caterers?”

“It’s my business,” you informed nonchalantly, gesturing inside back at the party. “I’m just here to oversee,” you informed.

He nodded toward you. “Ah. Well the food is exceptional. Your recipes?”

“Every last one,” you answered. “Can’t say that I’ve seen you eat them though,” you noted.

“I’m good like that. I get the job done and no one’s the wiser,” he said with a wink before taking another drag.

“Ah, I see.”

Just as you were about to ask about his name, and introduce yourself, Sophia, one of the young actresses ran out onto the patio and grabbed his sleeve and began tugging.

“Come on! We’re about to watch the trailer together! Come on!” she encouraged excitedly.

He laughed lightly at her enthusiasm. “Alright, alright, let me put this out,” he said before taking another hit then throwing it on the patio and snuffing out any flame with his shoe. He gave you a polite apology smile, due to the over excited cast member and you nodded and shrugged, waving it off. “Nice to see you,” he said as he was drug inside the house.

You gave a small wave before finishing your cigarette and joining the others back in the living room. You found your way to the back, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, your eyes on the huge tv, watching the trailer for the first time.

The footage rolled and you couldn’t help but still be creeped out by the clown. On set he was much more menacing looking than on screen. But the trailer itself seemed to scare you, enough that you felt jumpy the rest of the evening. As soon as the footage ended, the guests cheered and roared, grabbing each other for hugs or high fives. You smiled at the lot of them and the work they’d done.

It was around midnight and the food was low, but no one was really eating any more, mainly drinking. The team started to pack up the food and trays, while your two bartenders stayed hard at work.

“I’m gonna go home,” you informed Ida, to which she nodded.

The mystery man continued to fade in and out of your view all evening but you didn’t speak to him any further. You left when you didn’t see him, escaping into your car and driving home, to meet a sleeping Jeremy who hadn’t made dinner and left the dishes in the sink, unwashed. You got angry for a moment, but then took a deep breath, trying to remember that maybe he was tired and needed a break. Then you headed for bed, knowing you’d have to get up early to deal with the dishes.

#unexpected guest #bill skarsgard #bill skarsgård x reader #bill skarsgard x reader #bill skarsgard fic

[renegadesrpg]

Dark Angels: Creation. Part 18, Accountability. Sin, Sean, Zav, Bryn, and Adrian.

Sin: ‘Report.’ *The words are spoken mentally, but curtly nonetheless. I am not pleased by last night’s encounters, though my displeasure is not that they occurred so much as that I was not enlisted to help dispatch them.* Adrian: *Sin’s tone of voice snaps me to the Spartan version of attention and I can’t help wincing. Even mentally, his power is such that it causes a frisson of electricity to run down my spine when he’s angry. And today he’s angry.* ‘Sean and I were attacked by four demons as we prepared the holding location. We’d just completed the warding and Sean used the seal to spring the trap on them. We didn’t want one getting away and alerting Lucifer. They told us that they’d heard we were touring the corps. I swear, we did not ask any questions which should have aroused suspicions, but we did speak of you and the old days to gauge reactions. It must have been enough. Someone with loose lips tried to broker an advantage with the demons directly. It came out before we killed the last one that not only had Zav been followed by demons in Miami, demons had been tailing Sean as well. They’d traced him to his female’s home in New York State, although they were unable to penetrate it’s defenses. So they partnered with some of the Horseman’s boys -- DeAndre and his bunch-- to penetrate the mhis, *my brow furrows angrily* the reapers attacked Sean’s female, the Chosen Layla. We called for Bryn and Zav’s help, had Bryn remove Layla to the Brazil safe house, and dispatched the reapers. Sean’s there now with Bryn and Layla. Zav and I split up, with him warding Layla’s home and me resetting the seal. But we are abiding the pair’s directive. Zav called up a pair of reapers he’d just finished tattooing, Kojo and Aniel. Kojo’s with Zav and Aniel’s with me.’ Sin: *They had done their jobs, efficiently, I might add, but I was still unhappy.* ‘Why was I not called? And why am I just learning of this from Declan?’ Bryn: The call Sin put out had come to all of us. Adrian had just been the first to answer, but now I chime in… ‘You weren’t called because we can’t afford for you to lose you. You are the only one who can take on the Horseman. The.Only.One. The rest of us are expendable. You aren’t.’ Sin: ‘NONE OF YOU ARE EXPENDABLE!’ *it may have been mental, but it was a shout, none the less.’ Bryn: ‘Shhhh! Sean and Layla are sleeping. They needed it.’ Sean: ‘Well, I was…’ groggily. I’d been spooned around Layla, walking in her dreams. It was of the future she hoped to have with me and I wasn’t happy being awakened but as I register its Sin doing the yelling, I gently disengage from her and slip from bed to walk into the bathroom and shut the door. There won’t be any noise, but when I’d realized it was Sin, my body had automatically become alert and I didn’t want to disturb her. ‘Mo Chaptaen, we /are/expendable if it comes down to it. That’s the way it has to be because even combined we can’t do what you can. None of us are looking to die, but we knew what we signed up for with this. And besides, if we can’t handle a few demons and bad seed reapers, what the hell are you doing with us as your lieutenants?’ Zav: ‘You know he’s right, Sin. You taught me long ago that you don’t risk your biggest asset on minor skirmishes. And that’s all this was.’ *I’d been listening as I finished the warding and now spoke with the surety of more than a lieutenant. Though we were all family, I spoke as an old friend as well. I’d known Sin when he was human and I was still a living angel. I’d once taught the art of governance as Gregori teacher to his mortal king. In death he’d taught the art of war to my reaper.* Sin: *That Zav turns back the very thing I had taught him as a reaper I feel the urge to tear my hair out. But I refrain, because he /is/right. They are all right. I just do not like it. They are my family and I do not consider them “expendable” under any circumstances. However, his words serve their purpose and calm my irritation.* ‘What of the disposition of the slain?’ Adrian: ‘The demon souls have been dispatched for Sheol. What goes to Sheol, stays in Sheol. Lucifer won’t miss them for a while, and if he does, he’ll assume we caught them tailing us. That’s enough reason for us to kill them. He won’t look for further reason.’ Zav: ‘Kojo’s got custody of the reaper souls, but I’m not sure what to do with them. They belong in Hell where they should have been sent in the first place, but if he takes them there, the first thing Lucifer will do is tell the Horseman and you know as well as I do that Lucifer will just give them back to him. Or at least the information on Layla and our preparations.’ Bryn: ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got this,’ chiming into the mental conversation. ‘You need a Dybbuk box. Have Kojo bring them here…No, not here…’ Somehow, I don’t want their eternally damned and permanently deceased souls anywhere near my workshop or this safe house even if they are secured. ‘Ask Kojo to take them to Death Valley,’ chuckling mentally, because, hey, I can make a joke. ‘I’ll meet him there with a Dybbuk box big enough for 4 souls and bury it in the salt flats until this is over. Nothing will get them out of that.’ Sin: *Huffing a mental sigh at them all* ‘It seems you are quite capable of running things without me. I needn’t worry.’ Sean: ‘Sin…we’ve had to. You left the reaper corps to us a thousand years ago. We were capable lieutenants then and we’ve learned even more. We had to. We always knew we were just the caretakers and we wanted you to have something to return to when you were ready. Sin: *Softening a bit, because, he is right. I left them and they grew into their responsibility. I cannot fault them* ‘It is well you have done so. And I will be leaving you to shoulder the burdens again for a bit. I need to speak with Freya. As Celia and Declan have me under what is popularly known as “house arrest”, I am going to attempt a vision quest. Though my body and soul will remain under guard in my Hawaiian retreat, my consciousness will contact Freya to gain her help in removing the Inguz rune. I shall not be available during this process. Though you are all capable, Sean shall serve as first among equals during my absence. Be alert. Be wary. And most of all be safe.’ Zav: ‘Sin, I have a request before you go incommunicado.’ Sin: *In our long history Zav has rarely made requests. Occasionally he has negotiated, but asking for something without prelude tells me it is important.* ‘What troubles you Zav?’ Zav: ‘Sean is not the only one who has found his other half. I found Kalare‘s soul just as this was all beginning. She’s human again and just walked into my tattoo shop. It was later that a day I had to torch it. After this incident with Layla I’m worried about her. They could have put a tail on her since she was the last one seen coming into and going out of the shop. I’d like permission to go see her and to install Celia in her household, if possible. I know Celia and Declan are watchdogging you, but if you’re planning on doing your business with Freya metaphysically from your home, it should be safe enough to have Declan there alone with you.’ Sin: *So Zav has finally found the soul of his late wife. I am a bit envious at it. My Eve has long since ascended, I am quite sure. I will never see her again. But I cannot begrudge my oldest friend his good fortune, and in any case, I will not put a mortal’s life at risk.* ‘I do not require two bodyguards even if I do choose to leave my sanctuary. Declan would still be sufficient. I will have a discussion with Celia and help her see that this re-assignment is a gesture of trust on both our parts. She has not reaper powers, but I am sure she is more than equal to handling a demon or two should the need arise. I shall ask her to meet you in Brazil for further instructions.’ Zav: I breathe a physical sigh of relief at his easy acquiescence. It’s a long shot that Truely could be traced to me, but not one I’m willing to take. ‘Thank you Sin.’ Sin: ‘You are quite welcome my old friend.’ *Cutting off the mental communication, I find myself feeling some pride. There is a reassurance in knowing that, should this war end in my death, all will still be well. These four will restore the balance between death and the mortal worlds. Squaring myself off for an argument with my ever vigilant female bodyguard, I speak aloud,* Celia, would you attend me? I have a request. #TBC

[5hfanfiction]

Rewind - Ch 3

A/N: Personally, I don’t know what happened in Lauren’s family life. So IDK.

—

When my grandma first died, I didn’t understand it.

I was confused.

How could a person as pure as her die when she just started teaching me about life?

She was smart. She taught me how to love myself first before loving others. She taught me how important it was to be in my own skin. That it’s doesn’t matter if I’m beautiful or not, because before I know it, she said, I’ll be old, wrinkly and the only worry I have is whether I’m gonna poop on my pants or not.

No, what matters is that I should be beautiful inside. Because when you are, it doesn’t deteriorate. It doesn’t get wrinkly in time and it’ll stay that way until I die.

She also taught me how to love. And this time, to love people. When I was confused about my sexuality, the first person I came to was to her. And for someone so conservative, she surprised me when she hugged me and said that she didn’t care the gender of that person, what really matters is their heart and not the skin.

She was so proud of me.

So when she died, I couldn’t understand. I didn’t want to.

But if I was already that hurt, I couldn’t imagine how it felt for my grandfather.

Yes, I’ve known her all my life, but compared to his and her life, mine was short.

They’ve known each other since they were teenagers, and according to the stories my grandma told, they fell in love instantly and married each other soon after.

So they were basically together all their lives; more than 53 years if I was counting.

It was hard to see him the day of her funeral. He looked strong, putting a good front for the sake of us. But when he thought that no one was looking, I saw him breathing shakily with his hand wiping the small tear that seemed to flow down without his consent.

And day by day, he started to change. He was always full of life when she was still alive. Always around doing things that people his age shouldn’t do anymore. But that changed when she was gone. Gradually, he began to lose himself. The man I knew began to slowly change and he turned into a man who was just waiting death to do his deed.

It’s not like I could blame him really. That was basically what I did when Camila killed herself.

Camila was my grandma to my grandfather.

And I know what you think, what the fuck is she talking about? She’s only known her for 10 years. I know it’s stupid for me to even compare their love to ours.

But she was.

I loved her. Hell, I still do.

But how I felt for her was so intense   that I couldn’t feel anything but that.

The butterflies in my stomach never truly flew away when I was around her. I just got used to it and eventually, I was able to manage it well without making a fool of myself.

But now, getting ready for our night out for the first time again, the butterflies were now morphed into what I can only call a zoo.

I felt nauseous, everything inside me screamed that I wasn’t ready to see her again.

I’ve seen her before this of course, when we were in the airplane, when we were in the hotel, even breakfast today.

But it felt different. This felt like a date.

And I had to.

Because every second counts and I want mine to be filled with memories of her.

It’s unhealthy but it’s true. I already felt how it was to lose her. Truly lose her. And not spending her last days was the biggest regret I’ve ever made.

Once I was finally somewhat composed enough to walk around without feeling like vomiting, I sauntered out of my room and over to hers. But when she opened the door though, I suddenly became nauseous and vomited outside of her door.

Not a good impression.

It felt weird. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that life has been treating me nicely for a change or that I’m basically seeing a dead girl alive and well, that made my stomach hurl to the point that it couldn’t take whatever snack I took before I came here.

“Oh My God, Lauren. Are you okay?” She asked, ignoring the fact that I made a mess on her front door.

“I’m sorry,” I said, grabbing a few tissues from my purse and wiped my mouth clean with it.

“No it’s okay. Why don’t you come inside first? I’ll call the hotel service to clean the mess up.”

I walked around the pool of what is equivalent to shame and inside her hotel room.

It looked like the exact replica of my room except that it was inverted. We had the same floor but our rooms were quite far from each other.

“Do you want anything?” She asked, walking around to the small kitchen to the refrigerator to take out a bottle of water and handed it to me.

“Aside from a rope to kill myself from embarrassment, nope.” I immediately cringed when I finished that sentence. That was certainly not an appropriate joke to use, especially with her now.

But she just laughed lightheartedly, like it was such an absurd thing to do. My chest constricted at how different she was now compared to how she.. was? is gonna be?

She seemed so relaxed right now. And I wonder, could I convince her that it would be better if she didn’t go through with this. Should I be crude and just say what it without a filter? Would that be weird?

Of course it would.

So I decided against doing that and instead, I would just use everything in me to just hold onto her so she’ll feel love.

The littlest things you do can change a person’s life, that was what my grandma said.

“Just let me call the hotel for a minute,” she said.

I walked over to the foot of the bed and sat down, watching the TV in front of me while Camila called the hotel.

A few minutes later, the bed squeaked and I looked over to see Camila sprawled on one side of the bed, now changed into a red hoodie I first saw her in and shorts, showing her smooth skin a little too much.

Not that I’m complaining though.

“Why did you change?” I noted.

“You’re sick. Obviously it’s better if we just stay in. I also ordered room service already. I hope you like sushi cause that’s what I ordered for you.”

“But, how about our night? I was gonna bring you to this fancy restaurant and everything.” It just destroyed the night for us and it’s merely 7pm.

“Oh, come on. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like I’m gonna die anytime soon,” she said jokingly, making me cringe once again at the mentions of death.

I know she meant no harm when she said that, it was just a joke. But it was just a little to much for me to bear. Just a few days before this, I was in 2022 and she was dead so it’s gonna take a little more time for me to grasp at the idea of it.

After all, this could all just be a dream.

“We’ll do it some other time,” she added comfortingly.

She turned on the TV and leaned on the headboard, sighing contently when she did.

“Come on Lo, relax.”

-

We spent the whole hour eating while she complains how absurd sushi tastes.

“For real though, they’re just basically a burrito with the word fillings ever,” she said as she ate her dinner.

“Oh, and your bread filled with bananas and nutella is any better?” I argued, narrowing my gaze at her food. I can’t even grasp the conversation she might have had with the worker in order to get these things.

“Are you insulting my great creation, my friend?” She dramatically gasped. “At least I’m creative enough to make this on my own.”

“They don’t even mix, babe.” I said without realizing the pet name that just seemed to spill out of my mouth.

Thankfully, she didn’t think it was weird and just laughed.

“You have to cook for me one day,” I continued.

“Oh God, no. I don’t wanna burn a house. I can’t cook to save my life.”

“How about I cook for you?” I offered, desperately in need to hang with her some more.

“Sure,” she smiled softly before realization hit her. “Wait, did we just made 2 more plans to hang out?”

“I guess so, why is there a problem with that?”

“No! It’s just that I’m not a really an outgoing person. Besides, people in my school don’t really wanna hang with me.” She seemed weak and insecure.

“Well, they don’t know what they’re missing out on. Because Camila,” I trailed off, making a dramatic pause. “Since I’ve known you, I don’t wanna not hang out with you.”

She smiled softly, happy with my answer.

After eating and teasing each other’s tastebuds, we sprawled on the bed with our full belly. We were watching The Notebook, holding onto each other as we cried along with the characters portrayed by the two actors.

My tight dress was drenched as the brown-eyed girl hid her face inside the crook of my neck.

“Fuck, I’ve watched this since forever and I still cry everytime,” she said, sitting back up. Her eyes grew wide when she saw wet spot on my dress. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” I said as she walked to the closet to take out an oversized hoodie and shorts.

“Here, change.” I would decline politely but I started to feel uncomfortable in the dress. Not to mention the fact that the wet spot were now sticking to my body.

I took the clothes from her extended hand and went to the toilet, washing my make up off in the process.

By the time I came out of the room, Camila was bending down to take a few things from the floor, her ass right in front of me.

My cheeks burned as I looked at her. More importantly, her assets. “Why are you staring at my butt?” she asked. If that didn’t make me embarrassed, this did.

She laughed it off and crashed back to the bed. Not knowing what to do next, I folded my dress and laid it on one of the chair, slumping down beside Camila after.

“Do you wanna sleep here?” she whispered, turning to face me.

“Do you want me to?” I asked honestly.

“Yeah..” She breathed out, smiling softly then looking up to the ceiling.

We stayed silent, listening to nothing but to our breaths. The TV was still on but it was muted.

I turned over to her as I watch the different rays of colored lights from the TV illuminate her face.

She smiled over to me and without a word, we moved closer until we we were back to cuddling to each other.

“This is still weird,” she whispered, causing me to laugh softly. “I mean, what the hell is this?”

This.

“This is whatever you want it to be,” I breathed, kissing the crown of her head affectionately.

—

Wattpad

#UPDATE #series #non AU #trigger warning #camren #romance fluff #submission #Rewind

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY

They may be smart, or not, that this era of monopoly may finally be over. One has to make a more deliberate effort to locate the most promising vein of users.1 Most of them don't try to predict what life will be like in a hundred years? I still hadn't started. Notice we started out talking about things, and now we're talking about the limit case: the case where you not only have zero leisure time but indeed work so hard that you can get as mp3s. The question is, how far up the ladder of abstraction will parallelism go? Unfair, they cry, when one sibling gets more than another. But a very able person who does care about money will ordinarily do better to go off and work with a small group of peers. But because they have some skill you need and you worry you won't find anyone else. Behind every great fortune, there is a fixed amount of wealth in the world between them and the truth: money. They want to get downfield, but at any given time, you're probably going to have to work quite closely with them. Plus founders who've just raised money are often simply better at doing what people want, and that's just as bad as being a publisher.

A surprising number of founders seem willing to assume that someone, they're not sure exactly who, will want what they're building. But this isn't true with startups. It seems like we ought to be considered from the start by their ambivalence about being a technology company, and that we had it easy. Most people are doomed in childhood by accepting the axiom that work pain. But when founders of larval startups worry about this, I point out that in their current state they have nothing to lose. The second biggest is the worry that, if they don't buy you now, you'll continue to grow rapidly and will cost more to acquire later, or even become a competitor. Instead we should try thinking of them as pairs of what you're going to do initially to get the company going.2 Inexperienced founders make the same decision: as hard as you possibly can. We have less power than bosses, and yet glorifying their doomed efforts with the grandiose title of startup.

A formidable person is one who seems like they'll get what they want to do when they're 12, and just glide along as if they got the answer to some math question before the other kids. Google of Germany. I think they underestimate themselves: they think back to how easy it felt to ride that huge thermal upward, and they react as if I'd proposed the partners all get nose rings. You don't have to find your peers, which is almost necessarily impossible to predict, I think. For example, one way to make existing users super happy, they'll one day have too many to do so much for. What you're really doing and to the dismay of some observers, all you're really doing and to the dismay of some observers, all you're really doing when you start fundraising, the most accurate measure of the size of the successes in the startup business, VCs can still make money from concerts and t-shirts. If there's something we can do to drive prices down. Kids know, without precedent: Apple is popular at the low end and the high end, but not all jobs offer internships, and those that do don't teach you much more about the work than being a batboy teaches you about playing baseball. What killed them? The Economist costs $7 for 86 pages, or 8. But startups can learn an important lesson from the second one. I finally got being a good startup founder.

Whereas if you solve a technical problem that a lot of money from a deal, it's not to be effective as a programming language. Some startups could be entirely manual at first. What happens to publishing if you can't sell content? Of the 1960s have liked writing programs in an imaginary hundred-year language could, in principle, be designed today, and 2 such a language, if it is a bad design decision. But this isn't true with startups. It's not enough just to do something you should. I'm not proposing that all numerical calculations would actually be carried out using lists. What they'll say is that they know it's true.3 What the company should have done is address the fundamental problem: that the product is only moderately appealing, growth is a constraint much like truth. That means they want less money, but because it was harder.

I could usually get to the right person by at most one hop.4 I enjoyed it. But most founders, including many who will go on to seek VC money to take the first reasonable deal they get. And I know Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia didn't feel like they were en route to the big time as they were then called, but in startups the curve is just as well if you do it consciously you'll do it even if they weren't paid for it. That's leverage. It's not enough to get airborne. If it's default dead, whereas it's very dangerous to start worrying too early that you're default dead, we probably need to talk about whether a startup would succeed, the stock price would already be doing them. While we were visiting Yahoo in California to talk about whether a startup would succeed, the stock price would already be the future price, and there are companies that will give $20k to a startup that depends on deals with big companies to exist, it often feels like they're trying to convince investors of something so much less work if you could count on investors being interested even if you're producing it unknowingly. One often hears a policy criticized on the grounds that it would be hard to match digitally, at least now, the big money then was in banner ads. What difference does it make how many others there are?5 That averaging gets to be a promising experiment that's worth funding to see how anyone could argue that the salaries of professional basketball players don't reflect supply and demand.

It's something the market already determines. We couldn't believe large numbers of people would want to stay happy, you have to like a new idea, the more outliers you lose. Startups are not just something that happened in Silicon Valley significantly wider. Where does wealth come from? Because making something people want is so much faster now. The magic ability of people who are relentlessly resourceful. Then all you have to put in a solid effort. Sometimes we advise founders to vest so there will be an orderly way for people to quit. In the United States, the CEO of a large company. If you write software to teach English to Chinese speakers, however, because its rarity is guaranteed by the U. I think I've figured out how to express a program with the least possible effort.

Government. Start by picking a hard problem, and then get that done as soon as it has a quantum of utility, and then when you explain this to investors they'll believe you. Companies can be so specialized that this similarity is concealed, but it seems a good bet statistically. Unfortunately this is just a metaphor, and not dying is certainly something we want.6 Or business users. I expect for ordinary programmers it will be very much faster. In every case, the creation of wealth—undergraduates, reporters, politicians—hear that the richest 5% of the people who create technology, and if I didn't—to decide which is better. Whoever controls the device sets the terms. One is a combination of shyness and laziness. And that will get us a lot more, than they would in a big company take over once you reach cruising altitude.

As I was leaving I offered it to him, as I've done countless times before in the same situation. The magic ability of people who could have made it, if they'd had them. As one VC who spoke at Y Combinator said, Once you take several million dollars of my money, the clock is ticking.7 Most hackers would rather just have ideas. Many are annoyed that these so-called startups get all the attention, when hardly any of them will amount to anything. And it turned out to be. Well, of course, but the length in distinct syntactic elements—basically, the size of a book. Except this is not a fixed quantity that had to be pretty average. An ordinary slower-growing business might have just as good a case as Microsoft could have, will you convince investors? It's arguably an instance of scamming a scammer. Partly I mean designed in the sense of making more things people want.8 In fact, McCarthy's 1960 paper was not, at the stage when the most promising ideas still seem counterintuitive, because if there is no way to untangle all their contributions.

Notes

I'm not saying that good art fifteenth century European art. He made a million dollars in liquid assets are assumed to be a predictor.

Throw in the grave and trying to hide wealth from the Ordinatio of Duns Scotus ca. There may be that surprising that colleges can't teach students how to value valuable things.

I think what drives users to observe—e.

For most of them is that the lies we tell kids are convinced the whole venture business. A related problem that they consisted of Latin grammar, rhetoric, and this was hard to grasp this than we can easily imagine.

Doing things that will be, and their wives. You end up reproducing some of the mail by Anton van Straaten on semantic compression.

5 mentions prices ranging from designers to programmers to electrical engineers. If all the East Coast.

Founders weren't celebrated in the body or header lines other than those I mark.

To reap the rewards. And it would have gone into the intellectual sounding theory behind it. Common Lisp for, believe it, so much on the server.

#automatically generated text #Markov chains #Paul Graham #Python #Patrick Mooney #supply #person #concerts #h2 #pain #Gebbia #numbers #wives #work #Y #thinking #ideas #sup #people #users #money #Straaten #lies #software #Coast #time #lot #Start #founders #upward

[huntmartina]

Final Reflection

Week 4 Discussion Mastery Journal 1) How has each course contributed to your personal and professional developmentas an instructional designer? This journey at Full Sail University has been interesting but fulfilling journey. Each course has contributed to my personal and professional development as an instructional designer. I have been able to experience a great deal of learning, hands on and application while attending this university. When I first came into the program, my experience with instructional design was very minimal, however, my introduction to instructional design – was not new. I’ve worked and partnered with instructional designers and have designed job aides, and curriculum throughout my career. However, Full Sail opened doors to programs that I’d never touched. It showed me a completely new world, a completely different perspective about what instructional design is all about. I leave this program a better designer who thinks before approaching a design. I understand the processes behind it and understand that it’s not all about the design, instruction includes content. As for personal development, this process gave me a humbling experience. Throughout my years of being a college student. I have been able to catch on to projects and understand processes very well. I felt very confident when coming into the university. However, as time progressed, I had to fall and get back up again. It taught me that in life you fall. When I realized my own faults, I was able to recoup and fix so that I wouldn’t be in the same predicament the next class. I also learned that it’s ok to fall, as long as you get up and keep moving. I also had several tough instances to happen while in this program… My mother in law passed away, my daughter ran away from home (she was living with my sister), etc. Turns out in the end, I was able to take on the advice of the instructors as well as my peers in order to get to where I am today. Most of all, I didn’t give up. I feel stronger, better and much wiser. 2) How well were you able to utilize the concepts and techniques you learned from theprogram (theories, systems design, interface styling, and the creation of multimediacontent) as you designed, developed, and implemented your Final Project? My final project was in the course Media Asset Creation. It was an RFP, TNA and assets to go along with the TNA (Training Needs Analysis). Theories -My first though when taking this approach was to determine which model to use. My mind quickly went back to the class Strategies for Learner Engagement. In this class, I learned and designed Models of Instructional Design (ADDIE, SAM, etc.). I considered the time constraints of each project and decided to use the Rapid Prototyping Model. The reason I chose this model is because the SME may not have been a real person to shadow or speak with, in my case, it was a website. This model allowed me the flexibility to design my work, review it (peer/instructor) and make necessary changes before pushing it to final stage. The learning for my curriculum was Diversity the Workplace. Systems Design – The architecture of the system was – and there were four learning modules all in which were video PowerPoint presentations, and quizzes. I also used Kahoots to build an interactive game for extra learning on teams. I used Canvas LMS to administer the system, which included a syllabus, announcement section, contact the instructor section as well as the learning sections. This system was configured to flow one after the other as the student followed through the course. My thought is, the simpler the system design is, the easier it is for the learner to grab. Interface Styling- When creating a curriculum or eLearning, you want to stay consistent. I delivered my eLearning with consistent fonts, colors and background throughout the entire project. This meant that I used the same font style and color palette across the entire system. Creation of Multimedia Content – I was able to deliver multimedia content through using the Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and XD programs. I also stepped outside of the box to the Vyond Studio to find characters and dress them accordingly. I used this approach for non-motion media. For my video, I must say that this was my favorite one. I wanted my story to come to life, so I used people from my organization. 3) Describe your most outstanding personal triumph in each course. Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership – Online – While in this class, I learned a lot about myself. The thing I remember most was learning about my childlike self in the lecture readings. The writer explained that it is best for one to get as close to their childlike mind because we are most like ourselves when we are a child (Greene, 2012, pg. 29). This was the inclination that he had for a Master, in which he called it a remarkable inclination. I agree with this whole heartedly because I found me in a more up close and personal way. Visual and Verbal Communications in Instructional Design – My biggest endeavor in this class was learning Adobe. Before Full Sail, I had not used Adobe, other than Acrobat or Reader. Photoshop, Illustrator and the rest were all very, very new to me. I was able to take the material that was very self-directed and produce acceptable work. Yes, we had Go to Trainings but that was not completely to show us how to, it was to describe the assignment. It wasn’t easy. Sometimes I wanted to throw the computer. But I maintained, and I did it. Strategies for Learner Engagement - This class for me was very engaging! The thing that stands out for me the most out of this class was the comment that Dr. Reo had given me regarding the Informational Poster Assignment. When I read the comment, it read something to the effect of, When I saw the batteries for the pros and cons… one was full, and one was empty, I chuckled and thought brilliant! I am using this as my most triumphant moment because it took forever to figure out the symbols to use these posters. I felt that my thinking and trial and error was not in vain. Corporate Training and Motivational Development – With the next two classes, they were the most challenging. Not because I couldn’t do the work but because my mother in law passed away suddenly during the first week on that Saturday before our research paper was due. This was especially hard because after her burial I had to travel for work. I was dealing with emotional and physical stress. My husband was very heart broken and having to help him through a tough time, school was very hard to manage, with work and kids, etc. The triumph for me was completing the class. Even though I made a B-, I finished passing without having to take the class again. Instructional Design and Evaluation -As said in the previous note, this class was challenging. My most triumphant moment was getting it done. Looking back on the class, I think that if I had just taken a moment to breath, I would’ve done better. However, when I’m experiencing troubles, I don’t think about breathing. I think of every way possible to try to get out of it. This was a personal milestone for me. When I reflect back on it, I have learned to sit back and evaluate, plan and attack. Even if I am having a tough time; and that is triumphant for me. Digital Media and Learning Applications – The best moment in this class for me was figuring out the coding in Brackets. I thought my God, that was the hardest thing! However, when I got to myself, again learning to take a minute to breathe. I did it! I was able to get it done and it worked! In the end I was happy with the results. Music and Audio for Instructional Design – Although everyone loved my Grimm’s Fairy tale in this class, I refuse to load it into my ePortfolio. I haven’t had the time to fix it. There was clipping and peaking in the narration and nope, I have decided that I am going to do another one at some point. I said all that to say, I learned BIG from that experience, which lead me into my final project for this class. That was to create a story and narrate it from an already made clip. I was able to take the instruction from my instructor and turn Pioneer Village into a tour guide, with voice acting and foley! This entire class showed me that I was a great narrator, and this is the part where I really thrive in instructional design. Not that I can’t design, I just have natural talent for narration. This class was the beginning of a turn around. Because I had a small set back and recouped from it, I was able to put my best foot forward the rest of the way. Filmmaking Principles for Instructional Design – My most triumph moment in this class was also a discovery. I learned how to produce a short film! I was so excited about doing this because it felt natural. I immediately connected with the software and assignments. There was no specific portion of this class that made me feel overwhelmed or difficult. Although most of my classes were live triumphant victories, this felt more like personal. I felt as if I was developing a personal characteristic about myself that was hidden subconsciously. Game Strategies and Motivation – The most delicate situation happened to me while in this class. My MAC crashed! It was without it for the duration of the class. I think I received it at the brink of the fourth week. I keep this significant to me, because although, I didn’t have my MAC, I was able to use my work computer which has the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. Although it’s not MAC, I worked it out with PowerPoint and Snagit for my screen recordings. It was triumphant to me because I didn’t give up. I was able to turn in my work and received good grades for what I was working with. I appreciated the fact that I looked beyond my situation and resolved it myself without waiting for someone to help me. Learning Management Systems and Organization – This class felt like I was at work! However, the most triumphant portion of this class for me was again, reading my instructors feedback. He described the work and though processes that I had created as brilliant! I felt like Mr. Brown on Meet the Brown’s… “Who Me?” After all that I’ve been through – that felt great! I knew it was somewhere in there. Media Asset and Creation – My most outstanding Triumph in this course was knowing that in the end, I understood what I was doing. It felt good to put together a body of work from an RFP to form a TNA with assets. In this course, the training video that was created was done in two days. I misunderstood the instruction and explained my storyboard which my draft was and turned that in on Wednesday. When I received feedback from the instructor on the next day, she clarified that it had to be a real video. By that time, it was the end of the day and I had already left my job. My storyboard included live actors from my job that had already left to go home for the day. There was no way that I could get clips that day. Although all of my actors were not available, I pulled together a few clips with volunteers who were on second shift to turn in for instructor review. The very next day, I worked very hard to pull my storyboard to life with my actors. I stayed at the mill a few hours late and got as much as could get done. In the end, the video was successful. I pulled it off in little time at my own fault – but it was my biggest triumph. Final Instructional Design and Technology Project – I am very sure that I am not the only student that has said this, but my most triumphant experience about this class is that it is over! Reconnecting to the real world again feels really different. During this class, I have had the opportunity to reflect on every class that I have taken within this degree program. All of them by which, I have learned a great deal of material from. This class gave me the opportunity to put together projects to showcase in my real life using Behance and ePortfolio. References Greene, R. (2012). Mastery. New York, NY: Penguin Books

[cakoehler]

Final Reflection

1) How has each course contributed to your personal and professional development as an instructional designer? 

IDT690 Final Instructional Design and Technology This course contributed to my personal and professional development by establishing the foundational understanding of marketing myself and an instructional designer.  An online presence is necessary for any instructional designer to establish themselves and highlight their capabilities.  

IDT680 Media Asset Creation This course helped me understanding on a personal level what I could accomplish in a short period of time. I found out that my expectation of what I thought I could accomplish was far less than what I was able to accomplish.  Professionally it established my elements to use in my personal portfolio.

EME6630 Learning Management Systems and Organization On a professional level, this classes developed my understanding of learning management systems and how to plan an online learning module. On a personal level, the course gave me experience in developing a course within an LMS.

EME6227 Game Strategies and Motivation The course helped to develop my personal understanding of planning a game to be used as a learning object.  In this class, I explored ways to incorporate game mechanics towards concepts not necessary related to games.  On a professional level, the course led me to develop work to put in my portfolio. IDT610 Filmmaking Principles for Instructional Design

During the filmmaking course, I was able to explore and expand my personal skills creating video content.  Before deciding to become an instructional design I working in the film and VFX industry.  Professionally course helped me to develop filmmaking skills focused on teaching.

MUS6018 Music and Audio for Instructional DesignThis course was one of the most useful courses in the program for me on both a personal and professional level.  Coming into this course I had never captured or modified audio. It provided me with an essential understanding of audio production and provided me with projects to develop a professional workflow towards.

IDT574 Digital Media and Learning Applications Personally, the course helped me to develop skills in writing both authentic and traditional assessments.  It established the do’s and don’ts of creating exams and assessments. Professionally developing authentic assessments provided me with skill at assessing whether or not the learning outcomes are met within the learning module. 

IDT562 Instructional Design and Evaluation Professionally this course taught me how to evaluate a training needs analysis. A training needs analysis is the backbone of a learning module.  Personally, I learned how to my work will be reviewed as I begin to develop learning modules.

IDT552 Corporate Training and Motivational DevelopmentAlthough the course title states corporate training, the course focused primarily on developing a training program for high school students.  Either way, the training program helped to develop the skills needed to develop an in-depth training program in a subject I no experiences with.  Personally, it helped me to realized that subject matter experts are key to developing training outside my specialization.  

EDM533 Visual and Verbal Communication in Instructional Design Personally, this class provided me with an opportunity to practice developing graphics with a limited cognitive load. The work completed in the course is used in my online portfolio.  

IDT520 Strategies for Learner EngagementThis course taught me different instructional design models such as ADDIE, SAM, Rapid Prototype and Gradual Release model.  Personally, these models have helped me plan a personal learning module to teach my sons cub scouts.  

MDL51 Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership                      Personally, this course helped me decide whether or not I really wanted to go to school.  The amount of reading and writing in this course was silly.  The course did provide me with some insight to mastering my craft, but it was all subjective.

2) How well were you able to utilize the concepts and techniques you learned from the program (theories, systems design, interface styling, and the creation of multimedia content) as you designed, developed, and implemented your Final Project?

Ideally, the final project is a demonstration of my ability and skills as an instructional designer. Throughout the program, my understanding of what quality meant in instructional design began to shape as I learned about each theory or principle.  Early into my studies if I were to have developed a portfolio I would have been focused on graphics and visuals because that’s what I thought a portfolio needed to be impressive.  Upon completion of the program, I’ve realized that a verity of work displaying different instructional design concepts better shows the diversity of an instructional designer.  

3) Describe your most outstanding personal triumph in each course. Over the past twelve months there were many triumphs and let downs.  I’ve managed to graduate the program with eight A+’s and four A’s, which left me with a 3.82 GPA, so overall I fill that is an outstanding personal triumph.

IDT690 Final Instructional Design and Technology         

I’m pretty happy with my final project, I feel that to date it’s probably the best display of my work. It shows off my ability to create instructional content very professionally. Lastly, it was doing this assignment.  No seriously, I still passed this course without doing it and really contemplated doing it.

IDT680 Media Asset Creation

My personal triumph was creating my instructional video.  I set high expectations for creating a learning video that demonstrated how to score an NFAA Vegas round.  I was extremely happy with the final project especially with the amount of time I had to complete the video.

EME6630 Learning Management Systems and Organization               

The instructional videos I created in the course were my biggest triumph.  I developed seven of them on top of developing an LMS for the learning module. Most of my classmates were astonished by the amount of work I was able to create.

EME6227 Game Strategies and Motivation 

The game that I developed was a huge triumph for me because I developed a game that I now use in my profession.  In the course, I developed a game to teach leadership skill to VFX artists.  The game is based on decision making with situations affecting the outcome.  

IDT610 Filmmaking Principles for Instructional Design Although I was really happy with the instructional video I created, I felt my conflict resolution video was my most successful production in the course.  On my first draft, I was creamed by my instructor, but the final submission for that project the instructor was highly impressed with what I created.

MUS6018 Music and Audio for Instructional Design The grim’s fairy tale voice over was my most successful project in that course.  I really had a great time voice acting the different characters in the story. Additionally, editing the audio and cleaning up the sound left me with a deep appreciation for creating audio.  It was probably my favorite craft.

IDT574 Digital Media and Learning Applications My biggest accomplishment within this course was figuring out how to get a custom SVG file to correctly load in the interactive quiz.  The instructions were not very clear, and I had to really experiment to get the SVG to load correctly.  

IDT562 Instructional Design and Evaluation How about creating a 30-page learning needs analysis?  The original document started out at about four pages, but by the time I had added all the elements to the training needs analysis, it was 30 pages.

IDT552 Corporate Training and Motivational Development To be honest I can’t really recall my biggest accomplishment or triumph in this course.  

IDT520 Strategies for Learner Engagement Creating infographics for each of the instructional design models.  To complete each infographic, I had to become pretty familiar with each instructional design model to create an infographic that effectively informed the learner of the pros and cons of each model.

MDL51 Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership My biggest triumph of this class was learning how to properly format and cite in APA.  There was a lot to learn to correctly write in APA format and the information gained in this course was extremely valuable throughout the rest of the program.

[thegloober]

Adobe Dimension: How to Create Stunning 3D images in Minutes

Adobe is taking all the hard work out of 3D compositing, by marrying stock models with their 3D scene creation and rendering app.

I’ve been working with 3D applications for years now, and I still feel like I’m behind. It’s the single biggest learning curve I’ve undertaken. In fact, it took months before I saw results that I actually liked. Necessary features are hidden behind keyboard shortcuts, even small projects can take hours, and keeping up with various communities takes commitment. If you’re not running a beefy machine, you may need to pay for a render farm to get you the finished goods (on top of paying for applications and plugins).

So it’s without hesitation that I’ve been recommending Adobe’s Dimension CC. It works great on a Macbook Pro, is simple to use, and best of all, creates great looking images without much effort.

Forget Modeling

3D modeling is no small feat. Unless you’re serious about diving into this world, I’d skip it for the moment and opt for stock 3D models instead. You can find these all over the web and it will speed up your workflow by a mile.

The idea is that you find what you want, download it, position it in your application of choice, and then render it out. Usually that can go pretty smoothly, however, that’s assuming you understand the application you’re using. Whether it’s Cinema 4D, Blender or 3DS Max you might find that bringing in somebody else’s model doesn’t automatically make it look beautiful.

As a result, you’ll generally try to find stock models that are specifically made with your application in mind. For Dimension CC, that’s obviously Adobe Stock. When you download a model, it will automatically function perfectly in the app. Its materials will be applied properly, the normals (texture) will fit just right and you can quickly move on.

The Basics of Creating a Composite in Dimension

I’m assuming you already know a little bit about this. If not, check out Adobe’s quick overview of Dimension, and then come back here. You’ll need to know and understand the UI first.

I love the splash models that Adobe has and I want to make something with citrus vibes. I’ll go to Adobe Stock and get an orange, which I’ll then save to my stock folder (no need to download and re-link, it just appears in Dimension CC).

From there I’ll drag my models in and use the tools on the left to place them. You can also control the camera angle from the second group of tools below. There’s nothing here that a beginner wouldn’t be able to do. I find it helps to get everything close enough to where I want it, and then rotate the camera around to make sure it’s all exactly right. I want to leave space on the right for some 3D text later.

Next I’ll want to choose my materials. I picked a yellow glass for one splash and an orange glass for the other. My fruit was already skinned by Adobe so I don’t need to worry there. Adobe Stock has more materials if you need something more specific but I think I’m alright here.

Finally, I’ll want to choose my background and lighting. I made a quick gradient in Photoshop, and then picked Adobe’s “Wooden Studio” preset for the lighting. You can download more backgrounds and lighting setups from Adobe Stock too. Perhaps you’ll want a realistic background (even your own photo). Dimension will ask if it can automatically match the lighting in the background image via its Match Image feature, and I’ve found it to be pretty good. Personally, though I like the surrealistic look, and also find it’s an easier look to achieve for beginners.

From there I can check what it’s going to look like in the render tab on the top right. If I’m happy, I can get the final render exported. I usually like to export a PSD file, and render at the highest quality. Some complex renders will run for hours, but most only take minutes (it’ll depend on your machine). Unlike some other dumbed down 3D rendering systems, Adobe’s isn’t trying to fudge shadows and reflections – you’re seeing the real deal.

The reason I like to export a Photoshop file is that it’s considered good practice to apply a level of de-noising to your final render, and Dimension CC can export a layered PSD that splits the background from the models. If need be you can use the included depth map to create a mask, and only de-noise the blurred background that needs it most.

Apply levels to crush the blacks/whites.

Hit Cmd+A or Ctrl-A to select the entire image, copy it.

Make a new mask for the rendered image.

Copy your depth map to that layer in the channels tab, on the mask’s layer.

Apply de-noising or blurring effects to the masked layer.

Photoshop is also a great place for finishing touches, like color grading. You might want to throw a LUT on top of my renders to bring a more unique feel to the look. Something subtle goes a long way.

Importing Your Branding

So you’ve got your stock assets in place, but need to send a message. You can’t do any modeling in Dimension CC so I like to either add content to a laptop/smartphone screen or bring in some 3D text from Photoshop. It’s a nice way to get your point across without complicating things too much.

Adobe has a bunch of different stock assets for computer monitors and the like, but I’ll just be using the laptop that comes in the asset panel of Dimension CC. After you’ve placed it where you need it, reach over to the laptop folder in the Scene tab. Inside that, you’ll be able to expand the “Screen” part of the model, and see the material. From there you’ll just need to click on the base color and hit the pen icon to edit the texture in Photoshop. Then you can place your custom content in the white box on the canvas. Save it, and it’ll appear in Dimension CC.

If you want to add custom 3D text, then jump back into Photoshop. You’ll need to create your text layer as desired, then in the 3D menu tab select “New 3D Extrusion from Selected Layer”. It’ll bounce you into a 3D view where you can change the bevel and extrusion depth, deform settings and coordinates. You probably won’t need these settings that often.

Go back up to the 3D menu tab and click “Export 3D Layer”. You’ll want to save it as an OBJ, as well as retain the scene and textures. Then over in Dimension CC go to File>Import>3D Model. I like to zero out the coordinates of the object when it’s imported, just in case it’s being placed too far away from my scene.

From here you can choose your texture as normal, place it as you prefer, and render. As you can see Dimension CC is a frictionless way to create 3D renders. It’s a little frustrating if you’re accustomed to more fully fledged apps, but that’s what makes it suitable for newbies.

Feel free to post your own below!

Source: https://bloghyped.com/adobe-dimension-how-to-create-stunning-3d-images-in-minutes/

[internetmaverick]

The Power Of Focus

One of the biggest lessons I learned in my seven years of full time internet marketing is the power of focus. Focus does so many things. It keeps you from wasting time. It keeps you making more money per unit time. It also helps keep work from bleeding over into time you should otherwise be doing other things…like exercising, resting, relaxing, and actually talking with other human beings. In this article, I want to explore focus. I’m pretty sure this is one of the seminal lessons I’ve learned so far in my internet marketing journey.

The Cost Of A New Idea

In economics and finance, there’s the idea of “opportunity cost”. Basically, if you choose one thing, the opportunity cost of that is what you could have done with your time or your money.

I found a very good definition for you online.

“The cost of passing up the next best choice when making a decision. For example, if an asset such as capital is used for one purpose, the opportunity cost is the value of the next best purpose the asset could have been used for. Opportunity cost analysis is an important part of a company’s decision-making processes, but is not treated as an actual cost in any financial statement.

Read more: http://www.investorwords.com/3470/opportunity_cost.html#ixzz4kIpo0cyI“

That’s a more formal definition of opportunity cost. I tend to think of this is more everyday terms. For me a new opportunity has a certain cost associated with it. Specifically, there’s a learning curve, which leads to lead time before I can make money with the opportunity…if it ever does make money.

Trying new things takes time and effort. It’s not just time, though. It’s emotional effort. Time spent on a new way to make money is often taken away from current projects.

Look at my internet marketing business. It’s simple as all get out! I create products. I sell those products. I use that to build a list, then I sell affiliate products to that list. Simple! So, what happens to this business when I try something new?

Well, the main thing that happens is I take time and emotional effort away from my IM business and put it on the new thing. That might be good, or it might not according to the chances of the new income stream working out. The main problem here is this, though. Most income streams take much, much longer to develop than you’d think, and quite frankly, most never work out. So, while I’m in search of a new income stream, I’m depressing the income I get from my old one. That’s the opportunity cost of trying something new.

After doing this over and over again (stealing time from one income stream in order to try new ones), I finally realized that I’d be better off if I put all my working time and effort on my current income stream (my product creation business) with the idea of getting it to make more money. Only when I maxed out my current business, should I venture into other income streams.

I call this my “go deep” philosophy, and I started that earlier this year. I’m happy to say that it’s paid dividends! I’ve made more money all while working about the same. I’m going to continue to go deep into my current business until I feel like I’ve reached a place of diminishing returns. Given the fact that there are more than one marketer out there who makes seven figures per year, I feel like I’ll be here for a while. (I make solid six figures, but nowhere near seven!)

Bottom line, when you find something that works…go deep!

I’d love to know what you think about all of this. Please feel free to leave comments below!

Also, check out this video I shot all about my realizations about The Power Of Focus!

[s3vpp id=6f72ddb4d982f04613159c502d105cb9]

The Power Of Focus was originally published on Internet Maverick

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

From 3D in high school to race tracks in games

I was in high school when I began working with 3D software, and this new obsession eventually landed me a job at Ratbag. While there, I helped make tracks for the PC racing game Powerslide, and designed Dirt Track Racing. We made it part way toward an unreleased car combat game that looked a lot like GTA meets Mad Max, before I left to form my own company. I'd been inspired by reading Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

Leaving game development to start a business

With a little background in photography, and experience using textures in 3D, I somewhat blindly jumped ship with the thought to make some random texture maps and sell them on Turbosquid. I drifted towards doing skies, because no one looked at me like I was a big weirdo, as they would when I was taking photos for dirt textures! Plus I could go to the same location every time and get a different end product!

To fund the business, I sold my Nissan Silvia sports car and promptly ran out of money a year later(!).

After scraping the bottom of my bank balance for another year after that, Hyperfocal Design began making decent money, and since that point has been a fairly solid, reliable source of passive income, meaning I don't have to actively work on the business to make money. That's only partially true, of course, since the longer I neglect the business, the less it gets promoted, the less updates go out, the more competition comes in, and the less money I make.

The time-line

...went something like:

5 years at Ratbag

2 years of scraping through to get Hyperfocal off the ground

A few more years doing well (during this time, Ratbag 'went under' - closed by the publisher, Midway)

A year trying my hand at professional poker (I really love the game, but boy is this a stressful career choice!)

A few more years at Hyperfocal

After getting a real creative itch again, went back to developing games with Saxon Druce from Ratbag

A few years of making Zombie games with Saxon before parting ways

1 year creating Unknown Orbit, solo (first Unity title)

1 year back to Hyperfocal

1 year making prototypes + vr prototypes

Now: Over a year working on Exo One

During this time, I very rarely ever worked on Hyperfocal every day, except for the latest 1-year stretch. Mostly I'd put in a few months here and there, which allowed me more time to do whatever else I liked - semi-professional poker, training for triathlons, traveling, surfing, bread making, and whatever else I was interested in at the time.

While I've been comfortable from Hyperfocal's income, it doesn't bring in the big dollars or allow me to hire employees or anything like that. But with a pretty low-key lifestyle I haven't had to worry too much about money, while simultaneously not being chained to a desk 8 hrs a day. I'm also confident that if I had a higher income target, I could have certainly made it happen (as I did recently in 2015 where I dedicated the whole year full time).

When Ratbag went under, I was particularly glad that I'd gone and formed a business where no single entity (a publisher in this case) could 'fire me' or cut off my entire income stream. For Hyperfocal to die off, I need to lose every one of 100's of customers a year, which isn't likely.

Back to games

So since I began making games again with Saxon 8 years ago, I've been mostly making indie games while Hyperfocal pays the bills. If Hyperfocal ever started declining too much, I was perfectly free to take some time to prop it up. I wasn't forced either way to do one or the other, and I was never at risk of sudden and complete income loss.

I've also been fortunate that the zombie games we worked on together contributed a little to some additional passive income, which has certainly been a nice additional safety net.

Setting up your own content creation/passive income streams

If you're a game developer, or someone with skills in 2D/3D art, coding, sound, music, etc, there are good opportunities to create niche 'content', plugins, assets, etc that may help supplement your income, or fund your lifestyle entirely. Especially since so many game developers use Unity these days.

If this sounds interesting to you, I'd ask myself:

Where do my skills lie

What do developers need (in my case, choosing skies was a nice choice, since so many games take place outdoors!)

What niches are under served or don't suffer as much from multiple, similar assets.

What could I teach? (unless you're a complete beginner, there's people out there who know less than you!)

I'd personally (as an artist type!) look at assets that tick one of these boxes:

Don't require constant updating as new Unity versions come out (or even assets that are completely untied from any software)

Can be sold for a higher price. Lower prices typically = you dealing with more support issues.

Has a creative aspect that can't be easily copied (so making yet more 3D, real-world gun models would probably be a poor choice! )

Since working on Exo One, here's just a few things I've noticed, which may or may not be of interest:

Substances and procedurally generated textures are now pretty amazing, and there's not enough of them

Despite already having music in the game, I get a deluge of emails from musicians wanting to help (good luck, musicians!)

But zero emails from voice actors, despite, as above, already having voice/story/narration in the game

"Sim-lish" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1_NVYPMmhE (voices that sound like a language, but are just gibberish, to go with text), is popular in games, but there's zero libraries out there as far as I can see

Real time volumetric skies are starting to look rather awesome!

Having decent support and response time from plugin developers is incredibly important, especially when so many people like myself are solo or small teams that rely on that support to put a game out.

Ensuring plugins work with other plugins is pretty huge

Platforms like Patreon and Kickstarter can help you get things started

To end with, I'll just say I'd encourage you to think about whether you have some skill that you can use to create products to help create your own passive income streams. As real-time graphics have gotten increasingly realistic, often a product or 'content' can also be sold to people in film/vfx and architectural visualization as well.

Depending on your skills, products could include art assets, sound/music libraries, plugins, a course where you teach something, etc.

Market your stuff!!

Perhaps the biggest challenge these days with almost anything, is that everyone is doing it - you will absolutely need to do some marketing and promotion! I also encourage you to put your face and name behind your business, to give it a personal angle.

Throughout Hyperfocal Design's life, I've rarely put much if anything into promotion for my products, outside of sending an email to my newsletter. "Back in the day", I got by with newsletters + Google search, but you can no longer guarantee a good Google placing. In 2015 when I finally decided to stop being a wuss-bag and actually market Hyperfocal's latest product, I had my best year ever! It is hard, and your ego is on the line, but power through!

Tell me your experiences

If you're currently selling on the Unity asset store, I'm curious to know your experiences as well!

I’m happy to answer any questions you have in the comments.

I'm currently Kickstarting Exo One, and the campaign is now in its final days. If you like the look of it, please consider spreading the word, thanks!

#IFTTT #Blogger