#my digital footprint will never recover from this one

[mochirimochi]

Someone Else

William Afton X Reader

I continue to wanna smash the pervy dilf in the rabbit suit.

Part 2 in a series. I strongly suggest reading part 1 first, but you do you.

p1 ● p2● p3 ● p4

-----

William spots you attempting to make a quick escape through the security cameras. He decides to make a quick call to demonstrate the... benefits of sticking around. You're his, afterall.

18+ Minors DNI.

~3500 words, no use of y/n

------

content: extremly dubious consent, voyerism, mutual masturbation, phone sex, dirty talk, degradation kink

cw for abusive relationships

You can also read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51615532

-----

You slowly blink your eyes open and it takes a moment for you to remember why you’re lying with your face down on a musty old couch cushion. You sigh and force your pounding head up, attempting to ignore the screaming pain in your hips and back. Why in the world were you so sore? You’d slept on worse couches than this one and they’d never done you this dirty before. You’d had the most vivid dream as well, the strangest, most frightening, and yet also the most… stimulating wet dream you’d ever had in your life. 

You push yourself into a seating position and a sharp twinge between your legs gives you pause, as does the breeze over them. Slowly, you look down and realize your pants and underwear are tangled around your ankles. Still tangled around your ankles.

Fuck. 

The events of the night before come flooding back to you with all new clarity and you bury your head in your hands with a groan as it sinks in. You don’t know whether to be ashamed, terrified, or uncontrollably aroused. Actually, you seem to be managing to feel all three things just fine. When you stand up your hips practically scream, and after a moment you feel something warm and viscous begin to slowly drip down your thighs. Your cheeks and ears burn with what must be the most intense blush you’ve ever felt.

First order of business is going to have to be getting clean. You’re sure you can manage that literally, but figuratively it feels like you might never achieve it again. You pull up your jeans and underwear and limp your way out of the staffroom on stiff, aching legs. Around the corner you spot a bathroom and you push your way through the doors. To your surprise and relief it not only contains the regular amenities, but also a cramped shower stall. It makes sense, the mascot suits the staff wore sometimes must have gotten awfully hot on the inside, you’d probably want your employees to freshen up a bit after wearing one before they went back out to interact with customers.

You reach in and flick on the shower, twisting the knob all the way to the top of the hot dial. You don’t really have any hope for hot water, but you can dream can’t you? The shower spits out a stream of cold, rusty water that thankfully clears after a few minutes. While the water flows you strip out of your clothes and use a fist full of the paper towels that are thankfully still in the dispenser to scrub off the worst of the grime that’s accumulated in the stall. To your utter shock the water eventually begins to warm, and you gratefully step into the hot shower.

There’s no soap of course, but it’s better than nothing. You rub your hands over your body, flinching when you hit a large bruise on either hip. Unbidden, your mind slowly starts to drift back to the night before. You remember the way his nails sank into your flesh, his iron grip as he’d slammed into you. A shiver runs through you and you don’t even have cold water to bame it on. Before he left you last night he grabbed your panting form by the hair one last time, pressing his face into your neck and licking you from collarbone to ear.

“Stay as long as you like.” He’d practically purred, pushing his cheek against yours as you whimpered helplessly. “As long as you let me collect rent.” With a sharp nip to your jaw he’d finally let you go, allowing your limp body to crumple onto the couch. You must have passed out after that, because the next thing you can remember is waking up.

Just thinking about it makes desire curl in your stomach all over again, but it also makes your blood run cold. You can’t be sure, but you don’t think he’d come to you that night looking for sex. No, you have a feeling his intentions had been much, much worse than that. It seems to you like you survived that encounter through sheer, dumb luck. The best option for your continued survival is probably to beat a hasty retreat and find somewhere else to lay low. Yes, that’s definitely what you should do, but even as you mentally commit to getting the hell out of dodge you can’t help feeling a pang of disappointment. You can't remember the last time you were so uncontrollably and unreservedly turned on. None of what happened last night should have aroused you. You know on an intellectual level that it was deeply, deeply wrong and dangerous. Your body however, feels differently.

Your body isn’t the boss of you though, and as you turn off the water you resolve to pack up and leave. It’s better to be left wanting than left for dead after all.

You do your best to dry off with the paper towels, a frustrating affair that leaves you mostly still damp and you struggle your way back into your clothing. There isn’t much to be done about your wet hair, so you settled for running your fingers through it to tease out the worst of the tangles. Without letting yourself think about it too much you hurry back to the staffroom and begin to gather your things. You don’t have much to grab, just your flashlight and bookbag. The guts of your phone are still spread out across the floor and for some reason you feel compelled to pick them up and drop them into the nearest garbage. It feels like disrespecting the building by leaving trash around would be the wrong move to make.

After peeking out the window to make sure the coast is clear you shrug your bag over your shoulder and hastily make your way down the hall. You can’t help but feel like you're being watched as you walk, and your brain pictures a large yellow figure looming behind every door you pass.

Just as it seems like you’re going to be able to make your way back into the main area of the building, something stops you in your tracks. The sharp and abrasive ring of an old fashioned phone pierces the quiet and you twist towards the sound. It’s coming from the room next to you, helpfully labeled as the “security office”. You continue to peer into the room as the phone’s shrill ringing echoes in the empty hallway. You can’t think of any good reason that someone would be calling the long defunct business and dread begins to pool in your gut.

The phone is not your problem though, and after a few more piercing rings it falls silent. You give yourself a shake and try to move on, taking a few steps forward and reaching for the door to leave. Just as your fingers brush the knob the phone rings again, causing you to practically jump out of your shoes. You turn back towards the room, staring at the door in trepidation until the ringing stops. It has to be a coincidence, right? You stay frozen for a few long minutes, but the phone doesn’t ring. It could easily be a wrong number you reason, or kids calling on a dare. You reach out for the door one last time and your heart begins to hammer as the ringing once again fills the silence.

Not a coincidence then.

With a gulp you begin to move towards the security office, stepping through the door and casting your eyes around the room in search of the phone. You spot it sitting on a cluttered and dusty desk, just behind a rickety old fan. Your hands shake as you reach out and pick up the receiver.

“Hello?”

–

William has been glued to the monitor from the moment he arrived in his office. Connecting the video feed from the pizzeria to his office at the counseling center had been a simple endeavor, and one that he had found necessary to keep an eye on his… wards over the years. He’s thankful for it now as he watches you blink the sleep from your eyes. The sight of the dark purple bruises forming on your hips and ass sends a wave of possessive pride through him that has his cock twitching in his trousers, and he hisses in disappointment when you pull up your jeans to cover them. 

He watches in amazement as you effortlessly navigate the halls and disappear into a bathroom. What is it about you? How can you survive unscathed and with such little effort where so many before you struggled and failed? He knew the animatronics knew you were there, he’d watched you bumble right into Freddy the night before. Yet somehow they had no desire to pursue you, they even seemed to be actively avoiding the areas of the building they knew you were in. Were they trying not to frighten you? It stokes a deep curiosity in him, the same one that had driven him to visit the pizzeria in person last night for the first time in years. 

What makes you so special?

That curiosity had been all that motivated him the night before, but now he finds he has an even better reason to keep an eye on you. Claiming you last night was thrilling, and now that he has that he wants to do it over, and over, and over again. He’d watched you sleep all night through the security feed, stroking his cock as he replayed your dalliance in his head until he couldn’t take it anymore. You’d been so wanton, so pliable. It was exquisite. 

His brows furrow when you emerge from the bathroom (damp clothing clinging deliciously to your frame) and begin to pack. It’s immediately clear that you’re planning on leaving.

Now, that just won’t do. He’s just gotten you, he won't be letting you go that easily.

He didn’t expect you to pick up the first call, but when you ignore the second his teeth clench in frustration. 

No, that won’t do at all. You’re his, and things that are his do not ignore him.

When you finally begin moving towards the phone the wait is agony, but he relishes the fear in your eyes as you lift the receiver.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

–

You suck in a deep breath at the familiar voice, your blood is pumping so fast you can hear it roaring in your ears. The mix of fear and desire from last night comes flooding back to you all at once and you squeeze your legs together despite yourself. 

“I didn’t think you’d want me to stay here.” You lied, your voice barely louder than a whisper. “I was going to find somewhere else to stay.”

“Now that won’t do at all. Here I’ve offered you room and board out of the kindness of my heart, and at such a reasonable price. You wouldn’t throw all that back in my face by leaving, now would you?” His voice is smooth and even, taunting you. The underlying threat in his words sends chills down your spine.

“I appreciate all that, thank you.” You push the words out quickly. “But I don’t want to impose on you anymore. I’m sure I can arrange to stay with someone el-”

“You’ll do no such thing.” He cuts you off with a harsh growl. “You’ll stay where you are like a good little slut.”

You flinch at his words, but heat floods your stomach.

“Please, I can’t stay here forever.” You whisper, clenching your fingers around the phone cord.

“The way I see it, you don’t have much choice in the matter. You’re mine now, little mouse, let’s not forget that.” 

A whimper forces its way past your lips, and you can’t be sure whether it’s in fear or in longing. You hate that your body is reacting to him like this. You’ve just jumped headfirst from one terrible situation and straight into one that’s even worse. And yet you find yourself practically buzzing with anticipation. You shake your head to disagree with him, but it doesn’t have much conviction behind it. 

“There’s no use fighting it, little mouse. Besides, you didn’t seem to mind it last night.”

“I’m not. I can’t.” You gasp, but you don’t know what it is that you can’t do. Can’t stay here? Or can’t fight it? Does it even really matter?

“You can and you will.” His tone is sharp, demanding. You can feel your chest heaving in desperate breaths and his next words fill you with a delightful dread. “I want to hear you say it.”

“No.” It comes out in a whisper, and even to you it doesn’t sound very convincing.

“I want you think very carefully before you say ‘no’ to me again.” He speaks slowly, and the words sound like they’re coming from behind clenched teeth. “Now say it.”

You clench your fingers even tighter around the cord and feel the hard rubber press into your skin. After a moment you finally manage a response.

“I’m yours.” It’s barely audible, no more than a breath, but you know it’s true the moment you say it. Just admitting it fills you with a shocking longing.

“Again.” 

“I’m yours.” Louder this time, it comes out in a breathy moan.

“That’s my good little slut, I knew you’d make the right decision.” He chuckles into the receiver, but his voice is deep with arousal. You clench your legs even tighter and grasp at your stomach with your free arm, desperate to relieve the throbbing heat at your core. “Does that get you off? Knowing you’re all fucking mine?” The rumbling of his voice in your ear and the desire behind his words has you gasping.

“Yes.” God, you wish he could step through the phone and take you right there, bend you over the desk and fuck you into oblivion.

“Then be a good little whore for me and take off your shirt.”

–

God, you’re exquisite.

Hearing your whimpers, watching you give in to him, knowing that you’re his? It’s enough to drive him insane. His cock is straining at the seam of his trousers and he can’t resist the urge to free it any longer. He takes himself in his hand with a satisfied groan, letting his head fall back against his chair and closing his eyes for just a moment to drink in the pleasure.

When he looks up again your hands are tangling themselves in the hem of your shirt as you chew your lip, pinching the phone between your ear and your shoulder. Just as he’s about to repeat his command you slowly begin to pull your shirt up.

You tip your head just so as you lift your shirt off over it, giving him the perfect view of the love bite he’d left at the base of your jaw as a parting gift. His cock jumps in his hand and he groans in satisfaction. He wants to leave his mark on every inch of your body, leave evidence of his presence everywhere he touches. His attention shifts to a deep, mottled bruise at the base of your neck, one that he knows he didn’t leave. The groan turns into a growl. He remembers the pathetic man whose voicemail he overheard you listening to the night before. The thought of another man putting his hands on you, leaving a mark on what’s his, fills him with rage. Your body is for him and him only, no one but him will ever touch you again. He’ll have to find a way to pry his name out of you, although the thought of anyone’s name but his on your lips makes him sick.

His attention comes back to you as your shirt drops to the ground. He’ll have time to worry about staking his claim on you later, he decides as he watches you bite your lip in anticipation, waiting for his next direction.

“Now the bra.” He breathes into the phone and watches as you slowly pull down the straps and undo the clasp, baring your breasts to him for the first time. He wishes that the monitors were bigger, that he had more than one angle to appreciate your delectable body. He wants to touch you, but settles for stroking his cock while he watches you squirm for him. He sees your eyes roaming around the room, looking for the camera that you must have realized is there by now. When you finally find it, staring up at him with wide, pleading eyes he can’t suppress a groan. 

You're all his, and he plans to take full advantage of that.

–

You don’t know what’s come over you.

Your chest is heaving, your whole body trembling as you hang on his every word. A small part of your brain is still rebelling, telling you this is capital “B” bad and you should turn around and run straight out that door and never come back. But that thought can barely surface before it’s washed away by a flood of earth shattering arousal like you’ve never experienced before. You really should run… but you won’t. 

His voice comes through the phone again.

“You wish I was there don’t you?” His voice was like velvet brushing against your skin. “Wish I could bend you over that desk and take what’s mine.” You gulp, had he seen your hungry glance towards it earlier? You nod frantically.

“I can’t hear you, little mouse.”

“Yes, please, come take what’s yours.” You rasp, you hear another groan on the other side of the line.

“Well then take off your pants and show me how much you want it.” You almost drop the phone in your haste to rip your jeans off and another deep chuckle signals his approval. “Now sit in the chair and face the camera.”

You do it without a thought, swiveling the chair around and crumbling heavily into it. Your practically soaking panties are the only barrier between your ass and the seat. 

“Spread those legs for me, I want to imagine my face between them.” You obey with a moan. You’re desperate to touch yourself, desperate to plunge your hand into your panties and relieve the thrumming pressure between your thighs. You don’t dare to deviate from his instructions, so you sit there, the cold air and your arousal forming goosebumps on your skin.

A few minutes pass before his next direction, you can hear his deep breathing through the phone as it quickens. You realize with a gasp that he must be touching himself and the image in your head makes you throw your head back and groan. The thought of him stroking his cock to the sight of you is almost enough to push you over the edge and you haven’t even touched yourself yet. You haven’t even taken your panties off yet.

“Please.” You beg, and for what feels like the hundredth time in the last few hours you don’t know what it is you’re begging for.

“Stroke that pussy for me until you cum like the little slut you are.” He barely has time to groan out the words before you plunge your hand into your panties. You’re so sensitized that you gasp when your fingers meet flesh. You imagine that they’re his fingers and you whimper at the image. The sound of his ragged breathing in your ear tells you he’s matching your frantic pace.

“No one else will ever make you feel like that, little mouse.” His voice is tight and strained.

You groan as your hand works with feverish intensity. You’re so close.

“Whose are you?”

“Yours”  You’re gasping for breath, his voice driving you wild with desire.

“Who owns your pussy?”

“You.” There isn’t anything you won’t agree too right now, as long as he doesn”t stop talking.

“And you won’t try to leave again.”

“Never.” You practically sob out the words, your brain going blank as your body takes over.

The intellectual part of your brain is sounding another alarm and desperately waving a red flag, but the red heat of your desire outweighs everything. You scream as you reach your peak, twitching and spasming as your muscles clench with a strength you’ve never known before.

You hear his breath stutter, and his deep groan sends another wave of pleasure through you. You imagine him coating his fist and thighs in his cum, all the while watching you from wherever his video feed leads.

Neither of you speak for a long moment, the only sounds filling the room are the twin sets of ragged breaths that come from you and the man on the other side of the phone.

“You won’t forget who you belong to again.” His words are both a threat and a promise. When the receiver clicks and the dial tone assaults your ears you collapse out of the chair and onto the floor, still quivering.

You are literally and figuratively fucked.

#my digital footprint will never recover from this one #william afton x you #william afton x reader #william afton #fnaf #fnaf smut #fnaf fic #five nights at freddy's #mochi writes #fnaf movie

[horridly-plagued]

Digital footprint don’t exist, anyways I’m gonna ramble about my OC Raptual

Raptual is an Oc I didn’t exactly make for Snz content but actually D/N/D stuff which is currently still running! What’s his gag? He’s a popstar that’s end goal is to eventually trance 1/5th of the world into his music driven cult. (Yes this is an Evil Campaign!)

Basically I had only thought about putting the guy into Snz content stuff after me and my boyfriend had ended up doing a RP with him which ended up getting my writing juices going.

My favorite thing about adding him to Snz content is the fact that he is extremely sensitive to light sun hits his face there’s a 50/50 that he might end up needing a second to recover from a small fit, thing about this though is well he’s literally surrounded by bright theater esc lights each time he performs which makes for the funny concept of he never goes a performance without once sneezing fit especially given his additional sensitivity to feathers which- He’s an Aasimar so you could assume how that goes. Must be one of my silliest scenarios but also extremely entertaining in my mind.

(THIS IS A CHIBI this ain’t my full art-style)

I guess I should put this (please don’t repost to Non Snzblr :])

#snz blog #snz kink #snz things #snzario #snz fet #snzblr #snz art

[ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa]

Footprints in the Sand

Part 10: Start a War

Summary/Author's Note: TWO MONTHS. Two fucking months Oberyn was silent in my head and y’all suffered for it. I just knew everyone would stop caring about this fic because I let you all down but I posted that it was coming back and my inbox and DMs have been BLOWING UP all fucking night. I love you guys and I am very emotional. Enjoy. 

We had to have just a little drama but of course I would never keep our main three from going to Dorne. Oberyn knows perfectly well that there will be consequences to his actions--he does not care. We are officially in double digits people?? This is unreal. Also, please listen to this song to get the feeeeeeel of what’s going on. 

Pairing: Oberyn x Ellaria x Lannister!Reader Word Count: 4.1k Warnings/ratings: 18+/R - Distress, Sad!Oberyn (this was hard to write but I fixed it), murder, throat slashing, Oberyn is angry and reckless.

[Parts] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]  [MASTERLIST]

The waves crashed against the rocks with as much gentleness as was possible for the crags of King’s Landing. The air was cold, but the sky a crisp blue as the sun started to peak over the water. It was a good day for sailing, a good day for travel, and most importantly a good day for going home. Oberyn leaned on one of the posts on the boardwalk leading out into the waters as he watched his soldiers ready the ship. He held the slip of parchment in his fist, torn between crumpling it, re-reading it for the hundredth time, or throwing it into the ocean. 

‘I’m sorry. I can’t do this.’

Six words. After this week was that all they meant to you? The note was signed at the bottom with your name but he couldn’t believe it. His guts churned with the idea that what the three of you had shared in the brothel could be summed up in such a small note. He crushed it in his fist again and swallowed the lump in his throat as he tossed it into the sea. He watched it float down to the surface before getting swallowed by a wave and wished it was the sorrow he felt instead.

“My love?”

Oberyn looked over his shoulder as Ellaria came to stand behind him and put her hand on his sleeve, the other gripped his bicep as she bowed her head to kiss his shoulder. Her eyes were red and despite the stern, stoic way she held her body he knew she had spent most of the morning with silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She had put most of her energy into ignoring their existence, and he didn’t dare bring attention to them.

“I thought she’d come,” Oberyn said flatly as he looked back out onto the horizon.

“So did I,” she whispered against his cloak.

He knew it had been quick, a passion spurred on by spite and excitement, but he thought despite the amount of time, there was a certain kinship between you. The idea of not belonging in one place, of wanting to see what wonders the world held--they could give that to you. That and so much more. All it required of you was a leap of faith and yet you were choosing to stay with the Lannisters.

Looking back to the city, looming in the twilight of the morning, it was as if he was waiting for you to come running over the hill. If it was possible, he would stand here and wait as long as he had to.

"I vow to worship your body with my mouth, hands, and cock, every night once we're in Dorne." “Promise?”

He had made you that promise against that table in the library with his cock buried inside of you and you had called him your prince. Had it all been for nothing? Was it just a pretty sentiment said in the height of ecstasy? The thought made a twinge of pain blossom in his chest and he pushed it deep into the background of his subconscious. If you truly didn’t want to go to Dorne, if you didn’t want Ellaria, if you didn’t want..him--he wanted to hear it come from your own lips.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he rubbed his beard in thought. “Who did you say brought the note?”

“I don’t know,” Ellaria answered honestly. “Your men said the messenger was wearing Lannister colors.”

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Oberyn stood up straight and walked towards the plank ramp that was leading up to his ship. He stopped the captain of his guard with a gesture of his hand and the man stood at attention with his hand on his scimitar. “Change of plans.”

“But, my prince--” the man looked startled as he faced him. “We’re almost ready to set sail.”

“Then you’ll be ready when I return.” Oberyn held up his hand and stopped another of the guards from walking one of the horses up the ramp.

“Return?” Ellaria spoke up and turned Oberyn to face her instead. “What are you doing?”

“She didn’t write that, Ellaria--”  

“Oberyn--”

“Someone else did.”

“Listen to yourself--”

“My gut is never wrong. She’s in trouble--”

“Oberyn!” Ellaria grabbed both of his upper arms tightly, digging her fingers into the fabric of his yellow sleeves as she fought the urge to shake him. “I thought she would come, as well. I’m heartbroken that she--” She shook her head and swallowed hard. “That she doesn’t want us. But what are you going to do? Storm the Red Keep with a handful of men? And what if you’re wrong--what then?”

“I’m not wrong. And I don’t need a handful of men--I have me.” He gave her waist a squeeze in return and leaned forward to capture her lips and kiss her hard. It was brief, but it caught her off guard just enough to release her hold on him as he walked around her to the horse.

“Don’t do this,” Ellaria pleaded once she recovered, but it fell on deaf ears. Oberyn was many things, but with his fearlessness often came a stupidity that Ellaria knew was going to put her in an early grave.

“Captain,” Oberyn addressed the man from before as he undid his traveling cloak and tossed it to one of the other soldiers.

“Your grace?” The stoic man stood up straighter and gave a nod of attention.

“No one, except myself, is allowed on this ship. You are to stay with my paramour and keep her safe at all costs, do you understand?” Oberyn gave him a very serious gaze and the other man nodded.

“I’m coming with you,” Ellaria protested, but Oberyn shook his head as he grabbed the horn of the saddle and hoisted himself up onto the animal with a swing of his leg.

“No,” He said curtly, rubbing his hand along hers on his knee to soften the sting of his words. “You are correct in saying I will not be able to take the Keep by force. I’m going to go get her, and come back unseen--I need you ready to sail the moment our feet touch the deck.”

“This will have consequences.”

“Everything we do always does.”

She bit her lip and lowered her dark eyes at him. There was no arguing with him. He had clearly made up his mind. “Be careful.”

He grinned and gave her a nod. “I always am.”

“If that were true, I would worry less,” She said. He chuckled before clicking his tongue and spurring the horse forward back across the dock and back into the city.

--

It was early enough in the city square that barely anyone was in the streets. The shops and carts were still closed and the morning air was the cold, crisp kind that seemed to permeate one’s lungs and make them feel clean. The metal shoes of the horse clopped softly as Oberyn turned the reins and clicked his tongue again leading the animal down an alleyway.

The shadows swallowed him as he moved along the wall and pulled the animal up short, dismounting gracefully. He moved the reins up over the animal’s head and tied the leather straps to a beam that was protruding from the stone walls.

He knew the tower that held the servants quarters and the one that had held the bedchambers for the Lannisters when Elia had been queen. Ellaria would have skinned him alive if she had known that was what he was basing his entire plan off of--a memory of the castle layout that was the better part of a decade old.

He ran his hand along the damp stones of the wall that led down the alley and around the larger part of the tower. There were no guards to be seen, as they were no doubt guarding the doors, but he wasn’t looking for a door--he was looking for a window. He looked up, carefully pulling a bit of the mortar that held the stones in place from the wall and crumbled it between his fingers. Humming his approval, he pulled his dagger from the sheath on his side and reached up as high as he would and started digging one of the bricks loose.

He put his dagger away and grabbed the self-made foothold tightly before hoisting himself up to the metal sconce that held one of the Lannister banners on the side of the wall. With careful, meticulous planning, he found something to hold onto, one right after the other, up the side of the tower. A gap in the bricks, a stone that was slightly larger than the rest, it all served the same purpose. His arms and shoulders ached with the repeated motion of pulling his weight up but he pressed on.

He climbed to where the tower met one of the breezeways of the garden and used it as an opportunity to take a break and reassess. His boots dropped down on the roof of the apex of the tower and movement caught his eye. 

The window directly above him, where he was betting your bedroom was was open. But what was odd was the rope that was hanging down from it, blowing gently in the breeze. No, that wasn’t a rope, that was a long line of bed linens knotted together. The realization made him smirk as he searched the courtyard below for signs of movement.

“Clever woman,” he chuckled quietly to himself.

Staying low, he walked the spine of the roof along the perimeter of the courtyard until he got to the end and looked over into another dark alley. Whatever gods were looking down on him that day, were doing so favorably because just like he had hoped, there you were. You hugged the wall of the alley much like he had, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. Not only were you not wearing a dress, leather riding breeches took the place of lacy skirts, but your hair was tucked carefully under the dark hood of your cloak. To the average person walking by, you looked ordinary, easy to miss, unless someone was really looking.

He turned his back to the alley and gripped the edge of the roof, lowering his body down as far as it would go before releasing his grip. His boots made a firm thud on the cobblestone behind you and he moved swiftly, putting one arm around your waist and the other over your mouth. Just as he expected, you tried to scream against his hand but he was quick to speak against your hair.

“It’s me, it’s me--”

You turned in his arms and he loosened his grip enough to let you. The look of utter relief on your face was enough to make his chest tight. He grinned and tucked a strand of your hair back into the safety of your hood.

“Oberyn..”

He let out a grunt and braced his knees as you threw your arms around his neck and put your face against his shoulder. His arms wrapped tightly around your back and he dipped his head to kiss you softly.

“It’s alright. You’re alright,” he said, quietly.

"How did you know to come? I thought you were supposed to sail this morning before dawn. I was worried I would be too late."

“We are--but I knew something was wrong. I knew you didn’t send that note.” he rubbed his hands up and down your arms as if to keep you warm and convince himself that you were indeed real.

“What note?” You asked, a flash of fear crossing through your eyes followed quickly by realization. “Cersei--she said that she was going to send word to you and Ellaria that I had changed my mind.”

“She did,” he nodded. “But it wasn’t very convincing.” He winked and you gave a sigh of relief and hugged him again. "If you don't wish to go to Dorne, I expect to hear it from your own lips."

"No--" you blurted out and put your hand to your mouth, looking around the alleyway for any signs of another person. "No, I want to go--I want you, and Ellaria."

He smiled then and let his large hand cup the side of your face, allowing you to lean into his touch as he backed you up against the stone wall and kissed you deeply. "I was hoping that's what you would say." He whispered against your lips and you put your hands on his chest, gripping his tunic. He allowed himself to indulge for only a moment before he pulled back and said to the space between you, "We need to go. Ellaria is waiting and I fear the longer we wait, our odds of getting caught only increase."

You nodded quickly. "Cersei gave the order that if anyone wearing Martell colors came to the castle, they were to be killed on sight--especially you and Ellaria."

"Did she now? Well, that might make things interesting." He chuckled, but it held no joy, it was a noise of spiteful entertainment. "Come on," he grabbed your hand and walked ahead of you, keeping the majority of your body behind him.

The two of you hurried along the wall and you let Oberyn guide you down the alley and around the corner as he clearly retraced his steps. He stopped abruptly, almost causing you to collide with his back as he spotted his horse, now being inquisitively observed by two of the king's guard. They carefully untied the beast from its tether to the wall and looked at one another in confusion. Two against one? Those were favorable odds in his eyes.  

"Stay here," he said, planting you against the bricks with a firm hand on each of your arms.

"Oberyn--Obr--fuck." You tried to protest but he was already gone.

He moved like his nickname implied, swift and silent, like a snake in the sand. He grabbed the hilt of his dagger and pulled it from his belt, his hand wrapped securely around it as he reached the two guards. They never stood a chance as the prince grabbed the taller one by the back of the helmet, jerked his head backwards, and wrapped his arm around the front of him to run the blade across his throat in a dramatic display of red. The horse whinnied and reared back, taking a few steps away from the group of men.

“Stop!” The other guard yelled, as his comrade fell to his knees and then face down, unmoving on the stone.

The command didn’t do any of good, as Oberyn rushed him before he could pull his long sword. The Prince raised his knee and kickied the long sword from his hand with a clang. Oberyn used the momentum and slammed him up against the brick stones, the man tried to scream and he drove the blade of his dagger into his open mouth, through the back of his head, pinning him against the bricks. Your hand flew to your mouth, muffling an involuntary noise of shock as you watched the man’s body twitch, resembling a butterfly pinned to a board in a Maester’s laboratory.

Oberyn leaned in, gripping the man’s hair as blood poured down his chin and he fought his body’s urge to close his mouth around the blade. Any screams he may have made were strangled around the steel as he looked at his attacker with horrified eyes.

“You can keep the dagger,” Oberyn said quietly, close to the man’s face, as he traced his finger down the detailed snake on the hilt. “I want Jaime and the queen to know I was here.”

He looked back at you, expecting to see horror on your face, disgust, regret, anything that would have you second guessing your decision to go with him now that you had seen such a thing. But you were a Lannister, and when he extended his hand to you, you took it willingly. He pulled you behind him only dropping your hand long enough to hoist himself up onto the horse and reach back down to lift you up as well.

You put your hands in the mane of the animal as one of his arms came around the front of your body and held your back tightly against his chest. He dug the heels of his boots into the haunches of the horse and it bolted, thundering hooves against the stone. It was no longer about being quiet. It was about being quick, and putting as much distance between the you and King’s landing as possible.

The two of you rode hard and fast through the streets of the city. People waking up for the day and starting to open up their homes and shops looked at you with curious speculation but you moved too swiftly for much else. Oberyn’s arm was a comforting weight along your stomach and you put one of your hands over it, leaning back into his chest to ground yourself against the jerking of the horse as it galloped.

The minute the docks came into view you felt like you could breathe again. Your chest ached from the anticipation of being unable to see your destination but it was the image of Ellaria standing tall at the edge of the ship that made you want to burst into tears. She looked absolutely stunning, in her burnt orange robes, soft dark leather bodice and matching riding trousers. She was a siren on the water, and she was waiting to call both of you home.

“Sails!” She yelled, over her shoulder to the men behind her and Oberyn’s captain nodded in agreement before moving to make sure everyone within earshot followed her orders.

Your body jerked as Oberyn steered the stallion up the ramp to the ship and jumped it over the edge onto the deck with a loud thud. He let the animal slow to a trot as its chest heaved from the exertion and it blew loud breaths through its nostrils. He pulled up on the leather reins and came to a stop just as the ship shoved off from the port and Ellaria picked up her robes and came running down off of the quarterdeck.

No sooner had Oberyn released you to slip from the saddle and to the ground did she have you gathered in her arms. Your hood fell and she put her hands in your hair and kissed you. “Thank the gods,” she breathed against your mouth and you smiled, a few tears of relief forming in the corners of your eyes.

Oberyn swung his leg and jumped down, handing the beast off to one of his men before turning a fond grin upon the two of you. “I do believe I told you so.”

“Not now,” she chastised him with a smile and a shake of her head but she kept her gaze on you. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Ellaria--” you swallowed hard and took her hands in yours and gripped them tightly. “I didn’t--I would never have left..”

“I know, I know, sweet girl,” she brushed your hair back from her face and nodded. “Oberyn knew. You’re safe.” She kissed you again and drew you into her body, resting her chin on your shoulder and looking at Oberyn standing behind you. “What have we done?” she asked with a smile, her tone saying full well that the consequences didn’t matter.

“With any luck,” he shrugged and rubbed his chin as a smirk overtook his face. “We started a war.”

--

You had no idea just how long you had been on the open water, the days all seemed to run together. The sun rose, the sun set, and as far as the eye could see was just blue water that blended with blue skies. Your fingers twisted idly in the chain of your mother’s necklace that sat nestled between your breasts inside of your bodice--the only worldly possession you had made sure to grab when fleeing the Red Keep. Your lovers had assured you that their first task in Dorne would be to buy you everything you needed, but none of that seemed to matter that much.

The whole feeling of getting further and further away from your old life in King’s Landing seemed surreal. The idea that you didn’t have to return to Casterly Rock didn’t feel like it could possibly be true, but it was. As you stood on the bow of the ship with your hands on the railing and the wind in your hair, you knew that it was true--there was no going back.

Solidly strong arms slid around your waist as sun kissed skin nosed your neck and you leaned back against the solid chest of Oberyn Martell. You had been so caught up in your thoughts, that you hadn’t heard his boots on the planks behind you.

“How is she?” you asked quietly and he spoke as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

“She’s fine,” he heaved a sigh when you reached back to put your hand in his hair. “Finally asleep--hopefully she stays that way for a while.”

True to what she had told you in the brothel, as soon as the ship broke the waters of the open ocean, Ellaria had become almost violently sea sick. She had spent the majority of the trip with her entire body over the wooden rails, Oberyn and you taking turns holding her long, dark curls out of the way as she emptied her stomach until there was nothing left. She refused to eat, and when she finally caved and allowed even the smallest morsel to pass her lips, it wound up back in the water a few hours later.

“I feel awful for her.”

“It happens every time,” he said, trying to ease your concerns. “It is a small price to pay to see the world--her words, my dear, not mine.”

You nod and keep your eyes on the horizon as he moves your hair to the side. The action bares your neck to him and your eyes close slowly as you feel his lips start a trail at your shoulder.

“Did you ever send word to your family?” You asked finally, putting your hands over his on your abdomen.

“No,” he answered flatly. “I thought I’d let it be a surprise.”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea.” Your voice was chastising and it made him nip your neck and chuckle when you jumped.

“I’m a Prince of Dorne,” he continued. “You need to get used to that. You don’t need to ask permission anymore.” He kissed up to the shell of your ear and whispered. “What’s our rule?”

The action caused you to shiver and you squeezed his hand. “Don’t apologize.”

“Exactly. Most people spend their entire lives making excuses and apologies for the things they truly desire--we are not most people.” One of his hands slid up from your waist to cup your breast through your bodice as he licked a slow, wet line down the side of your throat.

“Oberyn…” you bit your lip and let out a shaky breath before briefly glancing over your shoulder to make sure none of his men had their attention on the two of you. “Stop--” you moved his hand from your breasts and back to your waist.

“As you wish,” he grinned against your skin and went back to resting his chin on your shoulder and looking out at the water. “But the second we get settled in our chambers in the palace--you and Ellaria are both mine.”

“Our chambers?” you asked, turning your head to smile at him and he hummed in agreement.

“Of course. Unless you’d rather sleep elsewhere?” he teased and chuckled as you shook your head. He was quiet for a few moments before he squeezed you gently, moving one of his arms to point across the horizon. “Look, my love.”

Your gaze followed his arm and your heart raced as the horizon broke to show that there was indeed land on the other side of the world. The smile that broke across your face was so wide that it almost hurt. Unlike the shore of King’s landing and Casterly Rock, there were no cliffs, no crags, no ragged edges to dull the beauty of the waves and darken the landscape. No, this was very different. The sandy beaches were warm and inviting, the foam from each crest of the waves broke against the shoreline and rolled back to let the sunlight sparkle off of the surface. You wanted to jump into the water, to feel the sand against your skin, to immerse yourself in what was to be your new home.

As if sensing your thoughts, Oberyn lowered his voice and spoke against your hair, “Welcome to Dorne, Lioness.”

--

[Next Chapter]

PERM TAG LIST

@rae-gar-targaryen @zeldasayer @stevieharrrr @winters-buck @gooddaykate @jigglemiwa @seawhisperer @halefirewarrior @ripleyafterdark @phoenixhalliwell @thebakerstboyskeeper @honestlystop @lackofhonor @readsalot73 @cryptkeepersoul @skdubbs @sendhoots @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @googiebeankat @dinohaze @saltywintersoldat @huliabitch @silver-lined-solitude @tainted-gay-ghost @roxypeanut @@hayley-the-comet @domino-oh-damn @manda-but-not-lorian @maybege @corvueros @thea-cartier @pettyprocrastination @qveenbvtch @hopplessdreamer   @apples-of-february​ @pocket-of-anxiety​ @marie-is-in-the-dark @agentpike​ @pascalplease​ @cosmicbug379​         @your-pixels-are-showing @gamingaquarius​ @blushingwueen​ @crimsonandwhiteprincess  @bluemoon-glen​ @river-soul​ @robbinholland

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND:

@earthtokace​ @tarrevizslas 

 @shrew1999 @sabinemorans @talesfromtheguild @leahnicole1219 @coredrive @twomoonstwosuns @ghostlywhisperssong​ @luosymekawa​ @shippers-heart​ @auty-ren​ @notawhitegirlblog​ 

@asgardianvamp21​ @saffiter​ @c-ly-g​ @snivellusim​ @coffeeandtodd​ @taengooz @hun-gary​ @le-roman-rose @bookshelvesandteacups​ @a-killvr-queen​ @mad-red @lostinwonderland314​ @emwriterblur @sydnubabu​ @demoncrypt1066​ @nerdysuperchick @lokiaddicted​ @valhallavalkyrie9​ @angstytoddd @colourmeinblue @maybege​ @mp0625​ @that-chick212 @gooddaykate @whiskeyxinxaxteacup @thesadvampire @xxlovingfandomsxx @little-ms-fandom @forever-rogue @coredrive @twomoonstwosuns  @space-floozy @okilover02 @arrowswithwifi @ms-dont-care @fantasticchaoticwho @gamingaquarius​ @cathym99​ @valeecruz16​

--If there is a strike through your tag, it means Tumblr is not letting me tag you. Please please please let me know if you wish to be tagged, untagged, if I missed you, spelled something wrong, or if you would like to be added to the PERM tag list. <3 <3 I finally got a better tagging system and I’m working on perfecting it. 

#oberyn martell #prince oberyn #oberyn x reader #oberyn martell x reader #pedro pascal #oberyn x ellaria x reader #Ellaria sand #oberyn x ellaria #pedro character fic #game of thrones #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #oberyn martell x you

[zansofiyan]

Traces of you

It is undeniable that you cannot avoid being googled or search over the internet. Like it or not, there bound to be something about you that could be found over the web. There will be things from your past, what others might say about you, or perhaps you yourselves made it available online for others to read about, watch, listen or simply get to see pictures of you. Whether it is in your favour or not, whether it is flattering or insulting, there bound to be something that you left behind. The traces of you and the digital footprint is all over in this day and age.

How I ended up here on Tumblr is interesting. Heard about it but I never knew anything about. I've already gotten myself pretty deep in Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter. Oh yes there are somethings that I am not proud of. Now I am getting myself on another social media platform? What have I gotten myself into?

The reason that I got here was because I wanted to follow my fellow brother-in-Islam @eimbrunt and read up his stories. Upon signing up, I discovered many interesting things about Tumblr. It appears to me this Tumblr is like a combination of all the social media platforms and blogging platform put together. I have a website which was created using wordpress. It is http://www.sapiansapari.com. I kind of abandoned it. It was hacked and recovered, hacked again and then restored. The multiple changes made to it caused me not to have the desire to type anything into it anymore. I don't quite understand the use of it anymore.

As muslims, we believe that we are held responsible for the actions that we did. The bad intentions are not judged and you will be rewarded should you not act upon it. For good intentions, you will be rewarded and there will be more rewards if you do as intended. These social media is not haram or forbidden in Islam but it could turn out to be haram if you abuse it. Of course it can be very sketchy as how it might turn out.

Since this is my first post on this Tumblr with zero followers, I shall remind myself to stay clean and make sure nothing written or posted is sinful. I hope this new journey brings goodness not just for me in the hereafter but for those who read it.

We can all enjoy the freedom and the wonders of the technologies of the world and no one can stop us from doing so. Nevertheless I do hope that anything that we utilise will be of good to both world and the life in the hereafter. Let us continue to leave behind good traces in the virtual world, at least, which are beneficial to those alive and of course, our own very lives in the world after our death.

#myfirstpost

[kewltie]

Katsuki’s backlog of military pension from the Imperial Homeworld arrives thirteen cycles after he’d finally settled on a newly minted colony outpost in Wild Space. He’d given more than twenty years of his life to the Empire and its glory and they still half-ass his retirement.

Fucking figures. Useless bureaucracy as always.

His pension landed with a dropship of shipments from a nearby space station. Katsuki half expected some kind of parade of medals and acclaims, and enough credits lining his bank account to tide him over for several generations, because Bakugou Katsuki is a goddamn war hero. He’d carried more than his weight in battle and had fought on the frontline of the Empire’s wars since he learned how to carry a gun and shoot a man at eleven on one of the Empire’s offshoot colonies.

He’s a soldier through and through, and he’d paid his dues. It’s now their turn.

What actually steps out of ship is neither some fanciful rewards or some official congratulating on his overdue retirement, but a young man with curls of green hair that reminds him of an overgrown bush and the greenest pair of eyes to match. He even got freckles dusting his face and decked out in gleaming gemstones that covered his ears, hands, neck, and wrists. He is a walking treasury of the Empire, wearing a thin long flowy dressrobe too flimsy and delicate for the kind of harsh climate in CAPU VI, and his long hair is pinned up with a flower ornamental headpiece dyed in crimson colors.

Their eyes meet and Katsuki’s pension dip his eyes as his cheeks stained a soft hue of pink. “Colonel Bakugou,” he says, lowering his head and his long lashes dipping with deference. “I’ve come on the behest of the Empire as a reward for your honorable service and duty to the Imperial Homeworld.”

Katsuki drags his hand down his face and groans as Kaminari whistles appreciatively next to him. “Oh Merciful Thane, they got you a courtesan as your pension,” he says, barely containing his amusement. “What were they even thinking?!”

“Those fucking nutjobs,” Katsuki grumbles.

Courtesan. A fancy nomer for the flowers of the Core Worlds. Genetically engineered humans with spliced genes from various plants, they're bred and raised to be the companion of the elites. Docile, submissive, and blindingly loyal to their master; they're worse than actual pets.

Katsuki crossed path with a few of them in the past through public functions pushed by the Imperial's propaganda machine, because someone got to nicely package war to the ignorance mass. All the courtesans he'd previously encountered were all pretty smiles, well mannered, and soft spoken. They were so goddamn perfect in presentation that it was like talking to an empty headed doll. It had grinded his gears then and it still grinds his gears now. What the fuck is Katsuki even supposed to do with some artificial created flower doll?

Sheltered in the cradle of the Core Worlds, these courtesan certainly never know the meaning of starvation, never dirty their hands in a hard day of work, and certainly had never step foot on some far flung planet and told to survive they must fight and kill the enemies in front of them.

Katsuki had worked his ass off to be able to finally retired deep in Wild Space, far from the Empire's reach, so he can live a life away from the bloodshed and deaths of war after having endured it enough to last several lifetimes.

But, of course the Empire continues to fuck him over even now.

He gazes at the Empire's last fuck you to him, brows pinching in thought. Shipping him back would be an annoyance, too many toes he would have stepped on, but worth it.

The courtesan gives him a tentative smile under the intense scrutiny. Cool. Professional. And just downright perfect. "I'm Izuku from the Misty Rain Teahouse," he introduces himself.

Misty Rain, a famous teahouse that had train some of the best courtesans in the galaxy and Izuku is one of theirs. At least the Empire is not that much of a stingy ass autocracy to skimp out on his pension even if their gift is completely useless and inconvenience to him in this part of space.

"I don't care what the fuck your name is or where you came from," Katsuki says with narrowed eyes, "because you're going hop right back on that damn ship. I don't have time to take care of some pamper pet trying to warm my bed when this hellhole of planet is going to fuck me sideways if I'm not careful."

Izuku flinches, but holds his head high and shoulders firm. "I--," his cheeks redden as he clear his throat, "I'm not here to be just your b-bed partner, Colonel Bakugou. I'm to be your husband. You made an acquisition for a spouse with the VA and I'm here to fulfill it."

A beat of deathly silence, then, "what?" Katsuki demands with an outraged hiss.

Kaminari's brows shoot up to hairline at that revelation. "Sol's galactic balls, they sent you an equivalent of a mail order bride!" He clutches his stomach, and laughs and laughs like the idea is so absurd it got to be some sort of a joke. "I didn't think you were that lonely to be in a need of a spouse, Bakugou."

Katsuki's eyes flashes toward Kaminari and he smacks him at the back of his head for the trouble. "Shut your fucking mouth before I stapled it shut," he threatens.

Kaminari just grins and mines zipping his mouth in the face of Katsuki's glare and fury. "Aye, aye, sir," he says with a lazy salute that makes Katsuki bristle. They’re out of uniform, but doesn’t mean Kaminari can be indolent with his manners.

Katsuki consider throwing him in the compactor for his casual insubordination, but he's shorts on extra hands at his ranch and Kaminari when he's not speaking is actually a good engineer. He sighs, and turns back to the other problem at hand, who is sparing him a hopeful smile.

Katsuki rakes a hand through his hair furiously, before biting the bullet. "Look, I didn't make any formal request for a spouse," he tells Izuku. "So you can go back and tell those fuckers that they had made a mistake. I wanted my pension in credits at least and not a damn bedwarmer."

"B-but," Izuku's green go wide with hurt, "I got your signature here right here, sir." He pulls up a holocron page on his wrist and there's a digital footprint of Katsuki's signature on it. "You signed the paperwork so we're officially married under the Empire's purview."

Katsuki’s jaw locks, hands curling at his side as a windswept murderous rage set in. He thinks of that boy orphaned by war, who had learned how to wield a gun and shoot a man down long before he even knew the warmth of another home; his hands are uncleaned.

Twenty years. Twenty fucking years that he had let them strung him up like a toy soldier so he can bleed on foreign soil countless time, spearheaded invasions, and waged wars for the Empire's ambition that had left him half mad and lost in a sea of the ghost of his compatriots.

He was done. Done with their damning blood wars. Never again will he played into their hands. The day after they had pinned another the medal of honor on his chest, he'd sent in his retirement papers and that was that. Only thirty years old, but he was already a veteran of hundreds of wars.

It only took watching a friend get shot way too many times, that there's no honor or glory in burying the dead and having to grip the hand of someone you had slept and fought side by side with as they breathed their last breath. Katsuki was tired of it all. Losing and losing and losing, even when he had come out of each battle unscathed. Using the blood money they had given him and had accumulated over the years, he bought several acres of land and within a year he managed to carve a life for himself here in the Wild Space.

He'd never consider that escaping from the Empire's machination would even remotely entrap him with a damn husband for a spy later.

"I don't need or want you, so fuck off!" Katsuki spits out. This man before him reeks of the Empire's ploy to have him fall back into their grip. He would foolish to assume that once he hung up his guns and assumed a civilian identity that they would just leave him the fuck alone. He’s too good of a soldier to be ever truly let loose in society.  

Once a dog of war, always a dog of war.

 "I'll double whatever they'd paid you to be here,” Katsuki continues to offer with a glower.

Izuku blinks, taken back his sharp words as hurt flashes across his face, but he swiftly recovers with a steady voice that had been practice a million times before. "Colonel Bakugou, it is of great privilege to be able to serve you,” he says, the words flowing out of him easy and true. “You are not only a hero of the Empire, but the hero, the White Wolf, who had ravaged Epsilon VX and saved the Citadel from the Anrhon." He drops his gaze to the ground. "I was chosen specifically as reward for all your accolades. I deeply apologize that you do not find me to your taste or use."

Kaminari jabs him in the side with his sharp elbow. "Couldn't you be more considerate?" he hisses. "You're going to make him cry!"

Katsuki turns to him and glares. "I fucking didn't ask for him or any of this! I just want those fuckers at HQ to leave me the fuck alone." He switches his attention back to the new baggage that was dropped in his lap unceremonly and finds him hunch over, eyes still downcast, and so out of place at this shitty spaceport with all expensive jewelries and clothes. And fuck.

He sighs, dragging a hand down his face at this entire fucked up fiasco.

Izuku jerks his head up suddenly. "If General Bakugou wish for me to leave, I would," he starts, voice hesitant and wary, "but as the next transport shuttle won't depart to the core worlds till next quarter, I cannot leave yet."

Katsuki groans in defeat, because what the fuck.

When he'd chosen this quadrant of the in the outer rims, Wild Space, because he had wanted to put as much distance from the reaches of the Empire as possible and this part of space is harsh and still mostly untamed. It takes the Empire too much manpower to maintain control of the independent colonies this far off the rim. And very few seek to settle on this last frontier of the galaxy where raiders, slavers, and the worst kind of people make their home here. The colonists that landed here either has no other choice left or they're just plain mad. Katsuki is neither, because he's very good with a gun and he always like a challenge.

It's much easier to find shuttles that take the passengers here then is it to find one that is willing to take them back, because very few does. The outer rims will chew you up and spit you out all wrong and fucked up that you become unrecognizable. This place is not made for pretty, delicate flowers like Izuku. "Fine, fucking fine," he growls out, frustration thickening his voice. He's not that much of an asshole to leave his not-spouse stranded and alone in this hellhole. "You can stay with me for now. Temporary until I figure what to do with you." He scowls. "But as soon as the next shuttle arrived, you're going to drag your ass on that ship and never come back here, do you hear me?"

Izuku lights up, eyes bright as his hands clasped together. "Thank you, thank you so much, sir. I will not drag you down and will work hard to earn my bedding and food."

"So," Kaminari muses, "you got a free labor and companionship for an entire three months. Fun times ahead."

Katsuki’s scowl deepens. "Fun my ass." He rolls his eyes. "Come on, get your luggage and throw it in Kaminari's hovercar. We're heading back to my ranch and it's a long and bumpy ride hed."

Izuku shuffles forward hopefully. "Yes, sir." Then, he stops and winces. "My luggages are quite a lot. I'm sorry that it might be a tight squeeze in the hovercar for all three of us."

Katsuki snorts. "It’s fine. I didn't come here with him on the hovercar anyway. I have my own ride."

He prefers to travel around on his cy-bike anyway. It's faster, smaller, and his. Less chance of other people riding along, because he hates having passengers on his bike anyway.

"Oh," Izuku breathes, his eyes widening with delight and curiosity, "I've never been on a cy-bike before." He looks hopefully at Katsuki. "May I ride with you, general?"

Katsuki's brow twitches as Kaminari snickers beside him at the audacity of this sheltered flower from the core worlds. Suicidal or mad, he thinks in annoyance, these are the people that chose to come here. Izuku might be both. Sol, the boy is both. "You," he points at Izuku, then to himself with narrowed and skeptical eyes, "want to ride with me."

"Yes." Izuku nods eagerly. "May I? I promise to behave!"

Katsuki rubs his throbbing forehead and sighs. "I don't take passenger," he says, "and especially when you're wearing that." He gestures to Izuku – to the delicate, fine silk skirt of his long dressrobe that swamped his person. "It's going to tear into the fabric and you're going to be upset about your ruined clothes."

Izuku looks down at his chosen attire, frowns, and then with no hesitation he bends down, reaches for his skirt and tears right into it. His hands pull taught at the material like a fine knife cutting through water. Seamless, clean, it goes all the way around him till whatever remains is a very, very short skirt that hang loose mid-thigh,  making him look like one of those port hookers ready to drop their clothes for ten credits.

A treasured courtesan, raised in the core worlds with all its luxury and wealth, had ripped his overprice damn robe in front of them with no shame. "Will that do?" Izuku asks earnestly, holding the piece of fabric he had torn in his grip. "Or should I make it even shorter?"

Kaminari makes a scandalized sound next to him that sound like dying horine. "Fine, you win," Katsuki drawls out, mostly exasperated but also slightly impressed. This shittyass galaxy that had made children into soldiers and soldiers into monsters, he wouldn’t surprise if the flower before him will also grow some teeth one day.

Honestly, fuck them all. Clearly, Izuku has no intention to give him any peace or quiet in the next several months that he’s stuck here with Katsuki.

#bakudeku #fic snippet #mail order bride in space #or really #space farmers au

[ajoy3fanfics]

Missing Pt. V

Hey hey! I hope this chapter finds everyone well :) I had a super stressful week- I was given two really great job opportunities and had to make a choice on a deadline, and I think I drove everyone crazy weighing the pros and cons. I dove into writing this while procrastinating and giving my loved one a break from my (very voiced) indecision. Hope you like it!

Also found on FF.NET

~.~

“You owe me, like, ten times over dude.” Miroku complained as he walked through the threshold of his small, no- their-small apartment. He carried a large brown box in his hands, full of his new roommates things and set them on the counter with a loud thud. Inuyasha glanced over at Miroku and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The guy had done him a favor, a hugeone, so he had to curb his instincts to mock his best friend.

“I know, you’ve told me about a million times. On the way home from the hospital, this morning when you angrilymade coffee.” He held up his fingers, ticking off the ways for dramatic effect. “While you were driving in the car on the way there. Walking up the damn steps to her house. On the way home, when you tried to give me every detail-“

“Because you were astoundingly uninterested!” He interrupted. “How can you not care, or-or- at the very least be a little interested in how your quasi break up went?”

Inuyasha waived him off. “Can’t remember dating her, so why should I be interested in the break up?” Extra drama just for the sake of it? No thanks. His interest was on Kagome. The minute he had come home and taken a shower- a real one, with real shampoo, not the cheap shit the hospital gave out- he was dressed and ready to hunt her down. He was pretty sure Miroku laced his food with pain killers, because after he scarfed down his ramen, he became too tired to even move. Conceding that maybe, just maybehe needed some rest before he went on the hunt didn’t sit well with him, but he had no other choice; it was either take it easy and get well, or pass out somewhere on the side walk and get re-admitted to that nut house they called a hospital. He placated his ego by trying to track her online, tracing her digital footprint.

Except she had none. He couldn’t find her anywhere!

“It was a nightmare, just so you know.” Miroku filled him in, his tone quick, snappy. “That woman is a freaking ice queen. She watched over me like a hawk without saying a word. I still have chills!” He cried, crossing his arms over his chest and rubbing them for pseudo-warmth.

“I got it.” He said threw his hands up in surrender. “I owe you.” This time didroll his eyes before sinking back down into the cushions. But not before turning his head so his best friend couldn’t see.

That would just be rude.

Inuyasha looked up at him, as if remembering for the first time that Miroku had come back with his things, and not just attempts at emotional blackmail.“Hey, did you find my red hoodie? How about my old necklace, the one with the beads? Or-“

“Yesand yes.” He snapped. “If you wanted an itemized list you should’ve just gone yourself.” Miroku narrowed his eyes at his best friend, not for the first time realizing that living together was going to be an adjustment. He was happy to do it, of course, and thankful Inuyasha had made it out of his coma okay, but damn if he wasn’t one of the most think headed bastards he knew. Wearily, as if the fight and stress of the day had hit him all at once, he let out a long suffering sigh. It would do no good to harp on the dog demon about Kikyo;  Once Inuyasha was set on something, there was no changing his mind, and right now, he was only focused on getting Kagome back.

“I can’t believe they recovered that from the crash.” He said, nodding towards the phone in the demons clawed hands. “Your bike was completely totaled, but amazingly, your phone wound up without a scratch.”

The dog demon grunted as he examined case. “It’s the otterbox. Nothing breaks this shit. Best 35 dollars you’ll ever spend.”

“I would’ve taken your word without a near death demonstration.” He mocked. Inuyashas focused was back on the phone, and clearly unhappy. “Any luck?” He questioned, his tone considerably less edgy.

“I cant find her on facebook.” He complained. “Or Instagram, snapchat. Anything! Its like she disappeared!”

“Did you really think you’d be communicating or sharing memes after the horrific break up you had?”

“Horrific?” He echoed. “Wh-“

“Nope.” Miroku held up his hand, effectively cutting off his question. “Not going down that rabbit hole. All I’m saying is she hasn’t gone MIA. She’s just blocked you.”

The demon knit his brows together as he considered Mirokus words, running his tongue over his sharp fang before he spoke. “If you know that,” he said, “that means you have her on social media. She hasn’t blocked you.”

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Miroku firmly told him no. No way was he going to let Inuyasha just peruse though his phone so he could stalk his ex. He drew the line at being an accomplice to a misdemeanor. Complaining that he was hot and sweaty, and above all, irritated, he was going to take a shower to cool off; Miroku disappeared into his room, retrieving a spare change of clothes and a towel- and no phone.

He had left it on his nightstand, plugged into the charger, never thinking that his best friend would invade his space like that; Inuyasha was someone who valued privacy, and although stubborn, respected a boundary when one was given. That’s why he was so shocked to see the dog demon sitting crossed legged on his bed, red flannel pajamas a sharp contrast to his crisp white sheets, face pale as a ghost. Inuyasha must have heard him turn the shower knob, letting the water come to a stop, the click of the door handle opening, his footsteps steadily approaching the door; but he never moved, made no effort to hide it. When he finally looked Mirokus way, he swallowed hard.

“She has a boyfriend.”

#inuyasha #inukag #fanfiction #inufanfic #ajoy3 #missing

[orbemnews]

Fox News Intensifies Its Pro-Trump Politics as Dissenters Depart Fox News once devoted its 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. time slots to relatively straightforward newscasts. Now those hours are filled by opinion shows led by hosts who denounce Democrats and defend the worldview of former President Donald J. Trump. For seven years, Juan Williams was the lone liberal voice on “The Five,” the network’s popular afternoon chat show. On Wednesday, he announced that he was leaving the program, after months of harsh on-air blowback from his conservative co-hosts. Many Fox News viewers cheered his exit on social media. Donna Brazile, the former Democratic Party chairwoman, was hired by Fox News with great fanfare in 2019 as a dissenting voice for its political coverage. She criticized Mr. Trump and spoke passionately about the Black Lives Matter movement, which other hosts on the network often demonized. Ms. Brazile has now left Fox News; last week, she quietly started a new job at ABC. Onscreen and off, in ways subtle and overt, Fox News has adapted to the post-Trump era by moving in a single direction: Trumpward. The network has rewarded pro-Trump pundits like Greg Gutfeld and Dan Bongino with prize time slots. Some opinion hosts who ventured on-air criticism of the former president have been replaced. And within the Fox News reporting ranks, journalists have privately expressed concern that the network is less committed to straight-ahead news coverage than it was in the past. The shifts at Fox News, which is controlled by the father-and-son moguls Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, have come in the wake of what amounted to an existential moment for a cable channel that is home to Trump cheerleaders like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham: the 2020 election. Fox News’s ratings fell sharply after the network made an early call on election night that Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, would carry Arizona and later declared him the winner, even as Mr. Trump advanced lies about fraud. With viewers in revolt, the network moved out dissenting voices and put a new emphasis on hard-line right-wing commentary. In January, the network fired its veteran politics editor, Chris Stirewalt, who had been an onscreen face of the early call in Arizona for Mr. Biden. This month, it brought on a new editor in the Washington bureau: Kerri Kupec, a former spokeswoman for Mr. Trump’s attorney general William P. Barr. She had no journalistic experience. Financially, the Murdochs’ formula has produced results: After a rare loss to archrivals CNN and MSNBC in January, Fox News’s ratings strength has recovered; the channel is again the Nielsen leader in cable news. In May, Fox News is on track to more than double CNN’s prime-time viewership. Its new opinion shows at 7 and 11 — with segments that lament “cancel culture” and attack Mr. Biden — are attracting bigger audiences than the newscasts they replaced. And the niche right-wing network Newsmax has failed to sustain its postelection audience gains. In some ways, the Murdochs are making a rational business decision by following the conservatives who have made up the heart of the Fox News audience; recent surveys show that more than three-quarters of Republicans want Mr. Trump to run in 2024. But under Roger Ailes, the network’s founder, who shaped its look and feel, Fox News elevated liberal foils like Alan Colmes, a Democrat who shared equal billing in prime time with Mr. Hannity until the end of 2008, and moderates like Mr. Williams. Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox News, wanted some unpredictability among commentators.Credit…Andrew Toth/FilmMagic “Roger’s view was you had to have some unpredictability and you had to challenge the audience; you couldn’t just be reading Republican talking points every night,” said Susan R. Estrich, a Democratic lawyer and former commentator on Fox News who negotiated Mr. Ailes’s exit from the network amid his sexual misconduct scandal. Today in Business Updated  May 28, 2021, 12:54 p.m. ET Ms. Estrich recalled that Mr. Ailes had defended Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News host, when Mr. Trump, then a presidential candidate, attacked her in misogynist terms. Now, she said, “instead of trying to broaden their audience, Fox News is narrowing it and digging in.” Partisanship plays well on cable news, an insight not lost on programmers at other networks who are chasing fatigued viewers. Liberal-leaning MSNBC expanded the show hosted by the anti-Trump commentator Nicolle Wallace; it also replaced the moderate Chris Matthews at 7 p.m. with the partisan commentator Joy Reid. Last week, CNN dropped one of its chief conservative commentators, Rick Santorum, after he was criticized for remarks about Native Americans. Ms. Brazile said she had left Fox News of her own accord. “Fox never censored my views in any way,” she wrote in an email. “Everyone treated me courteously as a colleague.” Ms. Brazile added: “I believe it’s important for all media to expose their audiences to both progressive and conservative viewpoints. With the election and President Biden’s first 100 days behind us, I’ve accomplished what I wanted at Fox News.” Mr. Williams will remain at Fox News as a senior political analyst; the network said in a statement that he had requested to be closer to his family in Washington rather than commute to New York, where “The Five” is taped. Fox News said another liberal host would replace him. Among those in contention is a newly hired contributor to the Fox stable, the former Democratic congressman Harold Ford Jr. Mr. Williams departed after a harder edge had crept into his exchanges with colleagues like Mr. Gutfeld and Jesse Watters. “The Five” had long been a venue for heated, if friendly debate, but Mr. Williams was repeatedly mocked and shouted down when he accused Mr. Trump of lying about the election and fueling the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Mr. Williams also noted, on-air, a Fox News report about Mr. Biden that falsely claimed he wanted to restrict Americans’ consumption of hamburgers. (Fox News later issued a correction.) Greg Gutfeld, an on-air antagonist to Mr. Williams on “The Five,” now has his own nightly show, “Gutfeld!”Credit…Fox News His prime antagonist, Mr. Gutfeld, started an 11 p.m. show last month that is meant to compete with late-night fare like “The Daily Show.” “Gutfeld!” has attracted a bigger viewership than the previous 11 p.m. offering, a newscast anchored by Shannon Bream that was shifted to midnight. Fox News is still determining a permanent host for its new 7 p.m. opinion hour, which is now a reliable venue for pro-Trump commentary. It was where Tucker Carlson, the network’s 8 p.m. host, made his remarks about white replacement theory that prompted an outcry from the Anti-Defamation League. A pro-Trump drift at Fox News is not new: George Will, a traditional conservative who opposed Mr. Trump’s candidacy, lost his contributor contract in 2017. Shepard Smith, a news anchor who was tough on Mr. Trump, left in 2019. Some Fox News journalists, though, say privately that they are increasingly concerned with the network’s direction. Kristin Fisher, one of the network’s rising stars in Washington and a White House correspondent, left Fox News last month despite the network’s effort to keep her. She had faced criticism from viewers in November after a segment in which she aggressively debunked lies about election fraud advanced by Mr. Trump’s lawyers. The longtime Washington bureau chief, Bill Sammon, resigned in January after internal criticism over his handling of election coverage, around the time that Mr. Stirewalt was fired. (Mr. Stirewalt was let go along with roughly 20 digital journalists at Fox News, which the network attributed to a realignment of “business and reporting structure to meet the demands of this new era.”) Mr. Sammon has effectively been replaced by Doug Rohrbeck, a producer with extensive news experience on Bret Baier’s newscast and Chris Wallace’s Sunday show. Still, some Fox journalists were surprised when the network hired Ms. Kupec, the former Barr spokeswoman, to work under Mr. Rohrbeck. (In 2019, CNN hired Sarah Isgur, the spokeswoman for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as a political editor. After protests from staff, she was shifted to an on-air role and later left the network.) Fox News says its news coverage remains robust. Mr. Baier, its chief political anchor, announced in May that he had extended his contract through 2025. He regularly lands newsy interviews; a recent conversation with Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming grew testy when she faulted Fox News for perpetuating Mr. Trump’s lies about the election and Mr. Baier responded that he had made clear to viewers that Mr. Biden was the legitimate victor. Fox News has a smaller international footprint than rivals like CNN, but it maintains several foreign bureaus and has had reporters in Israel covering the recent violence there. On Wednesday, the network announced an expansion of Fox News International, a streaming service available in 37 countries in Asia and Europe. Despite continuing criticism from liberals, Fox News remains a financial juggernaut for the Murdoch empire; it is expected to earn record advertising revenues this year, the network said. Even as its programming decisions seem aimed at attracting Trump supporters, Fox News does face one roadblock: Mr. Trump. The former president has maintained his stinging criticism of Fox News, which, he has claimed, betrayed him by calling the election for Mr. Biden. On Friday, after criticism from Paul Ryan, the former House speaker, Mr. Trump wrote that “Fox totally lost its way and became a much different place” after the Murdochs appointed Mr. Ryan to the Fox Corporation board. “Fox will never be the same!” Mr. Trump wrote. Source link Orbem News #Depart #Dissenters #Fox #Intensifies #news #Politics #proTrump

[dipulb3]

How the pandemic transformed some of America's top female execs

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/how-the-pandemic-transformed-some-of-americas-top-female-execs/

How the pandemic transformed some of America's top female execs

Even many women in high-level leadership roles — despite the privileges that come with their jobs — were forced to reassess their priorities.

Here’s how the pandemic has changed three women executives’ views on their careers and their lives.

As a mother of two and the new CFO of the virtual reality technology company Dreamscape Immersive, Deborah Medrano’s plate was already full. But then the pandemic hit.

She was only on the job a few weeks before her company went remote. Her father-in-law died (unrelated to Covid) just days before the shutdown. She was helping her two teenage sons with distance learning and then, after the family moved to a new neighborhood in July, helping them adjust to their new school. She was making meals for the family. And all while trying to work virtually and get to know her new team and other C-suite leaders, most of whom she’d never met in person.

“I felt like I was in a fog. My kids were like, ‘Mom, you’re zoning out all the time.’ Objectively I was achieving enough. But I didn’t feel very motivated. I was just trying not to drown. … I had a very low bar [for success] — nobody’s dying, nobody’s complaining. If you asked what I did yesterday I couldn’t tell you most of the time,” Medrano said.

She came to realize how important it was to recharge whenever she found a free moment during the workday, and to put aside the guilt she felt for not using that time to get work done.

“I decided to do something for me. I bought a bike, and when I found an hour gap [in my work calendar], I went for a ride.” Or some days, she said, she’d take a bath in the middle of the day.

Beyond recognizing the need to take breaks, Medrano said 2020 taught her to think differently about time and about the need to be present, which she considers blessings.

After years of long workdays, frequent business trips and very scheduled times with family, Medrano realized she had been missing those little moments of serendipity with her kids. Being home gave her a chance to see their quirks and their sense of humor in ways she hadn’t before. “Now we walk to school with my 12-year-old and I relish that.”

With her 16-year-old, as frustrating as it can be dealing with teenagers, she said, “I may only have 25 more frustrating fights with him [before he leaves home]. So I don’t lose my cool.”

From now on, Medrano said, she will hold herself accountable to create the space and time in her work schedule to be present for herself and her family in ways she wasn’t before.

Eager to spend more time working from home

For years, Amy Jo Smith logged 150,000 miles of air travel annually going to Europe, Asia and various US cities in her role as president and CEO of the Digital Entertainment Group, a trade association for the home entertainment industry.

Smith said she was on the road for one week out of every five or six. “Sometimes I was more in the air than on the ground — it sounds crazy.”

When not traveling, her daily work routine meant getting up by 5:30 am, taking her daughter to school and arriving at the office between 7 am and 7:30 am.

But the past year has taught Smith she has no interest in resuming such a punishing schedule. Now she gets up, works out, has breakfast with her 16-year-old daughter, and then starts working from her home office.

“I love the new pace. I don’t have any wish to have to be and go and do. I don’t miss it,” Smith said.

She also said when things open up she won’t resume commuting to her old office.

The landlord for DEG’s office space in Los Angeles, where Smith lives, wanted to raise the rent when the lease came up for renewal. So she decided to give it up. Instead, she said, she and her team will continue working from home but get together in person for some meetings, whether at the private women executives club Chief, where she’s a member, or at a WeWork space.

While she misses seeing her business associates in person all the time, she realizes this time with her daughter is a gift.

“Sitting here in my home office and having my daughter run in and tell me what someone said in class… or a thought she had… is more powerful than any meeting you can have in person. I don’t have that many more years with her,” Smith said.

As for business travel, she expects to do some, but nowhere near what she used to. “A lot of the travel that I did will not come back because people will understand they can be just as efficient without doing it.”

Prior to the pandemic, Smith had been contemplating what she might do next professionally.

But now that she is not having to log long days at the office and spend weeks on the road away from her husband and daughter, Smith said one thing became very clear to her. “I really like my work.”

A chance to think about bigger issues

Hemali Vyas, a program leader at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, realizes how lucky she is that her two children are now young adults, and only one still lives at home. So she hasn’t experienced that acute stress many mothers have had juggling child care and schooling while trying to work from home.

For Vyas, however, the pandemic clarified for her that she wants to spend more time on pivotal social and political issues, such as climate change.

“It opened up time to reflect on bigger issues and on what else I can do,” Vyas said. And it taught her how much more efficiently she can get some work done while working from home.

Among her upcoming projects at NASA, she will serve on the board of the team charged with recovering samples from Mars after the successful rover landing in February.

But Vyas also has let her boss know there are projects she might like to work on either in the early mornings or late afternoons — such as perhaps creating a STEM program that teaches middle schoolers and high schoolers how to create a garden that grows food for people in need, all while learning how to reduce their carbon footprint.

So Vyas now thinks it will make sense for her to work from home for part of the week. That option had been available to her before the pandemic, but she hadn’t utilized it because she thought it was important to have a lot of face time with colleagues.

“But I’m realizing you don’t need that five days a week,” Vyas said.

[goldbscurity]

So my last post here was on 12th Feb 2018.

Today is 14th Feb 2021, it's been 3 years.

Let me leave another digital footprint about where I've been, what's been happening, my life updates, and how many dark days I've successfully past to be here hahahaha

1. I'm 24. Well technically about to be 25 this year but hey, still 10 more months let me not think about becoming a quarter of decade first, ok?!

2. I've fucking graduated! Hahahaha yeah I have a BS now, B.Sc for sure. Bachelor of Science. On 2019. Finally huh? Twas some roller coaster of uni life. I kinda missing it now tho🙄

3. Currently working, on my second job!

Gotta say I'm lucky, blessed, whatever but clearly lucky enough to found a job right after I started looking for one, which is 2 months after the graduation ceremony. It wasn't a glamorous job at all, but I loved it. And I love my job now as well. I can say it's my life, my whole life😂😂 as maybe I can predict ever since I'm a child that I'll grow up into a workaholic kind of person lol #capricorn at its best quality ✨✨ And hey, I'm doing pretty great! Career ladder wise, salary ladder wise, I'm doing okay. Of course my current salary is far from my ideal salary if count based on my education background, my vision board and my stuck up personality, but anyway all good all great, considering I'm now living in the middle of a pandemic.

4. Yeah right, I should've mentioned this on the first update. It's pandemic year!!!! Corona now ru(i)ns the world, est.2020. Crazy, crazy year. People working from home, people got laid off, people got sick and dead, the world turns upside down. But let's be grateful that we all still alive and thriving and still have tomorrow to looking forward.

5. I'm still friends with my best friend, and I still like them as much as I like my dog or well I like them more and more every day ngl I love em and I feel lucky grateful to find em🥺🥺

6. I see the reason I started this tumblr initially was for me, a cold hearted, heartless, emotionless, denial-lover, avoidant person to LEARN to pour out my emotions for the sake of the mental health and to recover from...uhm, brokenheart hahah🙄 I see the last time I post here I said I've moved on but let me tell you that I still sometimes missed him and there was this never ending curiousity of what could've happened and what went wrong.

Now, 3 years later, let me tell you that I am now has been Ex-Free for a whole good year!!!!!!!! ✨✨✨✨ I think it's all started in the middle of 2019 and it continues til now.

I even met someone last year that I instantly feel connected (well, idk the other end I'm not responsible for their feelings) let's we all hope that this will end well, shall we? Because I really like him

See, it's a LOT OF WORK AND OBSTACLES I'VE OVERCAME to finally being an individual who recognises its own feelings and being okay with it. Proud of me💐

7. It's not all rainbows and sunshine, there were lots of bad days, especially those near my period days.

Called it PMDD, I now become very close with that bitch. Definitely has a strong effect on me, makes me 100x bitchier than usual. Not only that, but some times also kick me right at the gut and throw me into the deepest hole very near with borderline depression. But that's another story to tell. The last few months has been good tho, the symptoms is no longer worse maybe except this month lmao.

I started to think whenever I overworked myself, put myself in the middle of a very packed schedule with a messy sleeping pattern and unhealthy food, the symptoms will only getting worse. So I guess my homework is to balance it all out. No big deal..

8. Last but not least, I lost a couple of friends/aunties/grandpa this last 3 years.

Started in 2019, on April, suddenly a friend of mine from the secondary school died from lung cancer (may he rest in peace, we all really sorry for being such a jerk). Pretty shocking, kind of throw me off.

And then another friend suddenly got sick and he died on August, literally 2 weeks after we visited him in the hospital. Bone cancer. This one friend was closer to me, his house even just a couple metres away from mine. Last fun we had was when we were on a small reunion and he picked me up, and on the way home he told me and my other friend that his legs occasionally felt numb and weak. We joked that it was the age factor hahahah we had no idea that it was actually cancer. It was on May, if I'm not mistaken. We knew he had cancer by June/July. Consider him as a good friend, good human. Yeah anyway, his death literally surprised me and I was really really sad. Well, fella, I hope you both found a safe place in heaven and continuously play your music for God just like you did on your time on earth. We love you both, we will never forget you.

Lastly, my grandpa died on September 2020. Also two or three weeks after I visit him? Couldn't remember. Haven't paid a visit to his grave since it's pandemic season, I can only watch virtually the moment he was on the casket and buried. Hope you'll always watching us and guide us, grandpa!

Oh wait I hate to end my story with a sad shit, so...yeah just.......maybe........wish me luck with this...new person... I've found.... attractive..........cs I really...like him........hahahahhahahahahahahahahaha I'm soooo cheesy buh bye

#capricorn #self journey #journey #reflection

[perfectirishgifts]

Everyday Carry Gift Guide - 10 Perfect EDC Stocking Stuffers

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/everyday-carry-gift-guide-10-perfect-edc-stocking-stuffers/

Everyday Carry Gift Guide - 10 Perfect EDC Stocking Stuffers

Dashing through the snow, but make it practical.

The great thing about everyday carry (EDC) gifts like wallets, watch straps, and keychains is that they’re small enough to fit in a stocking, so they don’t look like they’re a big deal, but at the same time they’re durable, stylish, and something you know that they’ll use on a daily basis. 

That means they’re perfect to get for those difficult individuals who refuse to tell you what they want or, even worse, tell you to get them nothing (because that’s ever a viable option).

I’ve come into contact with a lot of products over the past 12 months. Very few of them actually make it into my regular EDC rotation. These are the few that I find myself reaching for again and again.

Wallets

The Ridge Wallet

Ridge Wallet – 18k Gold Plated

BUY FROM THE RIDGE WALLET

My favorite thing about the Ridge Wallet is all the varieties you can get. Want to get a titanium wallet to match your titanium Apple Card? Go for it. Is carbon fiber your thing? Ridge has that as well. Maybe you prefer gold because gold is best. There’s an 18k-plated version just for those who want as much bling as possible. I’m a big fan of the damascus steel version because it reminds me of the Beskar steel everyone pines after in The Mandalorian.

But the style on the outside is only part of the story. The Ridge Wallet blocks RFID, making it ideal for keeping your cards safe. The elastic is stainless-steel reinforced, so it’ll last as long as the wallet itself. And if you need to make room for more cards, you switch out the elastic for a larger band. The Ridge Wallet is durable, stylish, easy to use, and feels great in hand.

Ekster Aluminum Cardholder

Ekster Aluminum Cardholder

BUY FROM EKSTER

Ekster’s latest eschews the bull leather exterior of their previous wallets and offers up a slim, attractive, RFID-blocking aluminum cardholder that can hold from one to six cards. With the pull of a trigger, your cards pop up beautifully, ready to grab. The trigger is nicely integrated into the footprint of the wallet so it won’t snag or activate accidentally. 

The interior of the cardholder has rubber nibs on one side to keep your cards from sliding out. Though if you have a heavier card like the Apple Card, a hard shake can pop it out unexpectedly. Maybe put that in the elastic-attached backplate that gives you room for an additional nine cards, some cash, or maybe even their own Chipolo-powered wallet tracker. It comes in a number of attractive, understated colors that match really nicely with the latest iPhone 12 Pro line.

iPhone Leather Wallet

iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe – California Poppy

BUY FROM APPLE

If you really want to minimize your EDC, then you’ll want to grab the MagSafe-enabled Apple iPhone Leather Wallet. It pops onto the back of your iPhone 12 (regular, mini, Pro, or Pro Max) seamlessly. There’s even a satisfying little “thunk” noise that plays and your iPhone screen displays an indicator for a successful attachment. It’s a surprisingly satisfying process. It even works if you have a MagSafe case on your iPhone (though Apple has warned that using the wallet with their leather cases can mar the leather of the case). 

The one thing to keep in mind is that this is exclusively for those that limit themselves to the slimmest of slim EDCs. The iPhone Leather Wallet is awesome if you want to minimize the amount of stuff in your pockets, but especially if you have a large heavy card like the Apple Card, you’re only going to be able to get three-to-four cards in the wallet before it’s packed too tightly to get cards out using the rear thumb cutout. Still, if you’re looking for a wallet that conveniently attaches to your iPhone and is color-coordinated with your phone or its case, there’s honestly no one else making a product like this.

Keychains

Orbitkey Cactus Leather Organizer

Key Organiser Cactus

BUY FROM ORBITKEY

While digital car keys are quickly becoming a thing, chances are the majority of you still have a key fob that you need to carry around for your vehicle. But there’s no reason to be stuck with a boring, jangly keychain. Why not get something stylish and multi-functional? 

The Orbitkey organizer holds a few keys, plus an available multitool, and an available Chipolo tracker, all in an extremely grabbable loop made from a truly unusual material—cactus leather. This plant-based leather is, you guessed it, made from cactus leaves. The resultant material is more environmentally friendly than leather, sustainable, and feels just as nice as regular leather. Rotate the keys out of the loop when you need them, then rotate them back when you’re done. There’s no jingling, no keys scratching up your wallet or phone.

Orbitkey Clip v2

Orbitkey Clip v2

BUY FROM ORBITKEY

The Key Organizer is nice, but if you need regular access to your keys, something that lives in your pocket might not be the right choice. For you, there’s the Orbitkey Clip v2. This zinc-alloy carabiner clip has a magnetic attachment that allows you to quickly remove the D-shaped keyring from the clip. It’s a much more elegant solution than digging through your bag for a keyring that’s inevitably sunk to the bottom. 

The large keyring can easily accommodate the thick ring openings of vehicle key fobs and works with Orbitkey’s Key Organizer as well in case you’d like to use both.

Covid Carry

Sanikind Mini

Sanikind Mini

BUY FROM SANIKIND

The pandemic being what it is, not many of us leave the house without sanitiser of some sort. That doesn’t mean it has to be some sad squeeze bottle or one-use disposable. The Sanikind Mini is an eco-friendly refillable spray sanitizer that does its job without looking like a reject from the local bath supply warehouse. 

Made from ocean-bound recycled plastic (i.e. plastic that’s been recovered within 50km of waterways and thus more likely to end up in the ocean), the Sanikind Mini comes in an array of stylish colors. It ships empty, but includes a funnel so that you can fill it up with Sanikind’s own liquid spray sanitizer (shipped in equally eco-friendly recyclable aluminum bottles) or whatever sanitizing liquid you prefer. The included carabiner makes it easy to clip onto a belt loop or bag strap for easy access. When you just can’t avoid contact with someone or something, it’s reassuring to have one of these stashed on your person. The Sanikind Mini holds 1 oz. of sanitizer, equivalent to around 460 sprays.

Leatherman Clean Contact Carabiner

Antimicrobial Brass Carabiner

BUY FROM LEATHERMAN

Add this to the list of items that I never would have expected to need before 2020 but now can’t live without. The Leatherman Clean Contact Carabiner is a multitool made of microbial-resistant copper alloy. The hook is perfect for snagging door handles. The rounded tip is great for pushing buttons without damaging them (something store owners will appreciate). It can also be pressed into service as a table hook, letting you hang a bag from the carabiner without having to put it on the ground. And, of course, there’s a bottle opener. Because we all need bottle openers this year. 

The removable clip lets you attach it to your pocket, hang it on a lanyard, or stick it with your keys. Finally, no more staring at door handles, doing some quick theoretical math as to what part of the handle has most likely been touched by other people.

UA Sportsmask

UA SPORTSMASK

BUY FROM UNDER ARMOUR

Don’t  settle for a flimsy paper mask that sticks to your face or a cheap cloth mask that doesn’t fit right. The UA Sportsmask isn’t just a good mask for working out, it’s a great mask, period. Made with performance fabrics, it dries quickly and is extremely breathable. The best part might be how it has internal structure so that it doesn’t rest against your lips and mouth. Talk away without worrying about the mask getting stuck on your lips and slipping off your nose. 

The Sportsmaks is water resistant on the outside and built with UA’s cooling fabric on the inside. Less of an issue in the winter months, but something not to be dismissed for when it gets warmer. The middle layer of the mask is antimicrobial, so you don’t have to worry about constantly washing it to keep it fresh. Though, when you do wash it, it dries fairly quickly. Just make sure you measure carefully before choosing a size, as the fabric ear loops aren’t adjustable. It comes with a convenient storage bag, so you can stash it away when it isn’t in use. It comes in several attractive colors, from staid black to flashy red.

Watch Straps  

Nomad Sport Strap

Cases & Accessories

BUY FROM NOMAD

Nomad continues to make my favorite watch straps outside of Apple’s official straps. They’re durable, attractive, and stylish without being gaudy or staunch. They’re exactly the kind of strap you need to elevate the style of your Apple Watch. Their latest, the Sport Strap is a variation of another favorite of mine, the Rugged Strap. 

It’s made from ultra-high quality FKM rubber. It doesn’t break down under high heat, won’t be cracked or discolored by exposure to chemicals (like sunscreen), and is, of course, waterproof. Ventilation channels in the strap keep moisture from building underneath the strap, making it the perfect companion for whatever activity you’re engaging in this holiday season. It cleans up quickly, dries even quicker, and looks good enough to leave on your wrist all the time.

Nomad Modern Strap

Apple Watch Natural Leather Band, Modern Black Hardware

BUY FROM NOMAD

As much as I love the Sport Strap, I’ll admit that there are times when a rubber band, no matter how nice it looks, just can’t compare to a good leather watch strap. Nomad’s Modern Strap now comes in a stunning natural leather, giving you even more options to coordinate your strap and your outfit. 

The undyed Horween leather will develop a natural patina over time, making the strap as unique as the person who wears it. The stainless steel hardware will last for as long as you need it to, probably longer than you own your current Apple Watch.

From Consumer Tech in Perfectirishgifts

[trenttrendspotter]

What Recovery Looks Like

COVID-19 arrived and has not yet left. As a society, we initially dealt with the shock, learned to adapt to the “new normal” and we continue to power through. Now, consumers and the brands they use need to dive into the recovery process. The pandemic has made us more resourceful and resilient and we therefore expect the spa and salon industry to come back stronger.  

Traditionally, in a recession, companies that have lean operations, relevant value propositions and a loyal client base will survive. It has also been said that brands that invest during a downturn capture three times more market share. Conversely, going dark in a recession, downturn or crisis can cause more suffering. The more marketing is cut, the longer it will take to recover.  

On the road to recovery, companies need to evaluate what they know, what they learned and how they changed culturally during this crisis.

Factors to consider include:  

● Shoppers were forced to try new things (i.e., virtual consultations) and started to seek out the familiar (at-home self-care).

● People quickly adapted to all things virtual despite early discomfort for many, which has left them craving real-time, in-person interaction.

● Consumers have learned to be quite happy staying at home but it hasn’t stopped the itch to get back out.

● Health consciousness and the desire to boost immunity are on the rise.

● Quarantined clients have been forced to skip hair removal and hair color.

● People have placed more pressure on themselves and peer pressure has risen as the public spends more time surfing and posting on social media.  

We have all realized new needs. Based on these contradictions and behavior patterns we can expect customers to want more connection, truth, meaning, bonds and simplicity.  

Moving forward, consumers will want support, quality, inspiration and versatility. They will have the following questions about every purchase:

● Do I need it?

● Will it work for me?

● Can I get it?

● What are my other options?

As a beauty brand you need to answer these questions before the consumer even asks.

Additionally, your brand should quickly build loyalty with an irregular customer looking for a temporary fix. Ultimately, what many in the cosmetic business have learned was that the core of the business must be expanded to whatever consumers need in the moment, which changes from week to week.

Consumers coming out of the pandemic will have more self-confidence and trust in their abilities and decisions. They will be less dependent on company sales pitches and more aware of what is necessary to live, be healthy and happy. They will value your experience and know-how as well as the quality of their experience with your products or in your facility while using your equipment.

It’s not what you say, it’s how you make people feel. Everyone wants to feel good about the future. You need to show your clients that they can be confident that your business will make it. Your customers want to be on the healthy, winning team. People vote with their dollars and they want to be aligned with the brands that are giving back.  

The companies that were able to pivot to digital, delivery and donations are the companies that will be first to thrive.

6 Companies’ Journey to Recovery

1. Spa Revolutions

With the current state of the industry, Spa Revolutions, the creator of patented thermal wellness massage tools, began an affiliate program for new and existing clients that affords them a 30% commission as credit toward inventory purchase when their clients purchase at-home spa products.

When signing up for the program, affiliates also receive free samples of the new ThermaBliss Charges. The charges heat up using only tap water to eliminate the need for electrical appliances so users can deliver five-star spa treatments anywhere the client would like. More than 250 spas inquired about the free sample program and affiliate program, and more than 540 samples have been sent out.

Tools like this are coming in handy as there is going to be a burgeoning need for enhanced mobile spa services.

Glenn Hogle, co-founder of Spa Revolutions said, “We feel like one of the lucky ones and we are grateful because the comprehensive line of thermal wellness solutions for professionals truly answers the call for safety and sanitation in this new COVID-19 reality. All ThermaBliss treatments ensure the highest sanitation levels, deliver continuous radiant heat for the duration of the service using only mineral energy and water for total portability in on-the-go services—all this while eliminating the need to purchase, lug around or plug in electrical appliances.”

Spa Revolutions’ self-heating Lava Stones massage tools are non-porous and sanitize in seconds compared to the traditionally porous and hard to sanitize hot stones with their communal turkey-roaster-water-heater pot. Cal-a-Vie Health Spa is in the process of removing all its porous stones and roasters and switching to Spa Revolutions non-porous stones for sanitation purposes.

Cal-a-Vie Health Spa’s director, Traci Trezona, said, “We have learned to keep an open mind for how things can be done differently and more effectively regarding sanitation. We are ensuring that all of our products are sanitary and client-exclusive [single use].”

2. Peet Bros.

Another fortunate business to be in is the soap business, even if the brand is new.

David Bass, president of Peet Bros., stated, “Just like everyone else, these unprecedented times have forced us to think of the world and how we run our business differently. The good news for our business is that we are in soap and personal care, which consumers will always need in some form. The not-so-good news is that we are a new brand in the market, and we are trying to figure out our path. We will continue to focus on our key messages and push the limits on innovation.”

New companies, like Peet Bros., need to get creative about getting in front of the right buyers at retailers and be patient as it takes more time.

3. City Beauty

Known for decades for its plumping lip gloss, City Beauty has been keeping people Zoom-ready in lockdown while lip injections and other popular treatments remain unattainable.  

Allyson Barrio, director of national accounts at City Beauty, said, “At City Beauty, we have a very strong digital footprint and heritage. While many skin care and cosmetic brands are busy learning the ropes of what omnichannel presence means, we are already experts. With the strong educational focus and consumer feedback that we prioritize within our direct-to-consumer models, we have experienced strong growth. Specifically, where industry reports show lip categories performing softly and at a decline, we are experiencing strength like never before.”

With a shift to online consumer spending, City Beauty has been able to gain even more brand exposure.

Barrio explained, "To better serve our customers during this challenging time, we've reduced the price of our products for an extended period. This includes waiving shipping fees, a 15% off site-wide discount and deeper discounts than we normally offer on our top-selling products—up to 60% off.”

City Beauty also broadened its communication channels by adding a live chat feature on its website and modifying email content—including at-home beauty DIYs, emotional health tips and lighthearted, engaging stories.

Kim Ferguson, owner of Kilee Distribution, one of City Beauty’s distributors, said, “I refuse to call it the new normal. I believe in the creativity of independent retailers, and the strong ones will survive this. Because we specialize in serving small retailers, many without an online presence, our business almost came to a standstill. We did manage to service those who were being creative with curbside pickup and even delivery of at-home beauty care packages.”  

Online retailers have had the advantage.

Ferguson predicted, “I have vendors that are now only shipping products to their online retailers even though the small stores are begging for products. The mom-and-pop, small-town businesses do not have a lot of foot traffic at any one time. If they can open back up as normal, I see business picking up to 60% of what it was at closure. Hopefully by Fall [2020] up to 75%. We will lose a lot of stores that were barely hanging on as it was.”

4. SilcSkin

Beauty brands such as SilcSkin, which offers all-natural anti-aging pads made of 100% medical-grade silicone, have also proven to be an ideal isolation beauty necessity for women who cannot get their usual wrinkle treatments.

The patches adhere to the skin to keep trouble spots smooth and wrinkle-free while you sleep; however, 65% of SilcSkin’s business has been to spas and salons that have been closed. The company’s main pathway to meeting new clients has been predominantly through conventions/conferences, which have all been canceled. No refunds were given, only credits for future shows.

Camille della Santina, the Emmy-award-winning celebrity makeup artist and founder of SilcSkin stated, “I’m not sure when or how they will be able to hold these events with large gatherings in the future. It is not financially viable to attend these conferences if the attendance is low. We have partnered with online professional esthetician groups to introduce the product to estheticians. We want to help these estheticians however we can with our dropship program and by removing minimum orders. We will also continue to enhance our partnerships with professional esthetician groups. I really feel this is the new avenue for spa and salon continuing education. While SilcSkin was known for its customer service, we have upped it 110%. I think we really need kindness in these times.”

Many businesses have discovered during this pandemic that they need to stay connected to their regular customers while they are forced apart. Your personal touch has never been more important. You must find a way to do this.

5. Chiavaye

Shortly before the pandemic hit the United States, Kaylyn Easton launched Chiavaye, an all-natural, all-purpose vegan personal moisturizer available at natural grocers. Chiavaye will soon launch in other mass retailers, such as Walmart.

Since the nationwide lockdown started, Chiavaye has had a greater focus on online conversations and being present on popular media outlets.

Easton said, “The Chiavaye YouTube channel has increased viewership and comments. We also send out a special newsletter to our Chiavaye family with date ideas for couples during COVID-19 and fun reading material on female wellness topics.”

6. HydroPeptide

HydroPeptide, which combines epigenetics and peptides, continued to introduce new products including a new hydrating Vital Eyes Instant Awakening Serum as the mask culture will be putting an emphasis on eyes. HydroPeptides’ Vital Eyes minimizes the look of dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles over time using an eye-safe retinol alternative called bakuchiol. The treatment brightens hyperpigmentation and reduces the look of crow’s feet. It has a cooling rollerball that massages with anti-inflammatory caffeine to increase blood circulation and instantly depuffs for a smoother, brighter undereye.

As spas begin to open across the country, many are wondering what safety precautions are being taken to ensure the safety of both employees and clients. Amy Mclain, the spa director for Kenneth’s Salon and Spa in Ohio where HydroPeptide is on the menu, and her estheticians have been preparing for re-opening.

Mclain shared, “This experience has really reinforced the need for human connection in this business. The entire customer experience, from when they call to schedule an appointment to when they leave the spa or salon, is so important. Mental health and wellbeing play a big role in the spa industry, so we have been viewing our business through that lens to ensure we are giving our guests the best, most relaxing experience possible. Things in the spa have not changed too much from before, because we were already following rigorous sanitary guidelines. But we have given everyone 15 more minutes in between guests to clean their stations, and there is no longer a lobby where guests check-in, making room for wider spaces in between blow-dry stations so we can maintain six-foot distances between everything.”  

Recovery will look much the same. Each week will bring new findings and cause new habits to develop and we must continue to adapt, persevere and market to existing and new audiences.

As Seen in Global Cosmetics Industry

[joshuajacksonlyblog]

Three Recent Incidents that Prove Bitcoin is Better than Gold

Bitcoin has beaten Gold in terms of returns on investments in its 11-year existence. Now the cryptocurrency is taking on the biggest hedging asset for its limitations in the 21st century. The Bitcoin market is on the move again. The cryptocurrency has seen its price ballooning by more than 150 percent from its March-lows. Meanwhile, it has surged little over 34 percent on a year-to-date timeframe. If Bitcoin were equity, the “firm” would be worth more than Airbnb and Adobe at its current market cap of roughly $175 billion. But the cryptocurrency is fighting Gold, a giant worth a couple of trillions of dollars, more than individual stocks. Analysts have found similarities in the economic model of Bitcoin and Gold. First, they both behave as safe-haven assets against geopolitical and macroeconomic risks. Second, both are speculative investments. And last, both tend to portray themselves as scarce assets against inflation worries. Nevertheless, many gold bugs have accused bitcoin of being a sham, even though the cryptocurrency has grown 8,000 percent in its 11-year lifetime. But the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic is proving those accusations as false. As the virus forces people into their homes to practice social distancing, it has kept businesses across all the leading sectors closed. The global economy is expected to shrink by 3.2 percent in 2020, according to the United Nations. The demand for gold is rising as the world’s oldest safe-haven. Nevertheless, the yellow metal has turned out to be a heavy object for some, leaving many bitcoin enthusiasts to play “what if” with Gold bugs. Here are three incidents that prove it. #1 That Non-USD Oil Deal Two nations hit by U.S. sanctions last month joined hands to open a private commercial and financial route. Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro sent Iran about $500 million worth of Gold via airplanes in exchange for help reviving its battered oil industry. As Bitcoiner Stephen Cole pointed, Maduro must have spent a fortune moving 9 tons of gold across Atlantic ocean and Caucasia. Had it been a Bitcoin transfer online, the socialist politician may have just paid a little less than $3 in fees. Source: Twitter The use-case proved that Bitcoin is much cheaper to transfer – and probably saves the environment from unnecessary carbon footprints. #2 Give Me Back My Gold The Coronavirus pandemic put an additional economic burden on some countries. While Venezuela was sending its gold reserves to Iran, it was also requesting a third-party custodian to sell its yellow metal to raise cash. But sadly, the country never got even to see a single gram of its very-own property. In retrospect, Venezuela kept part of its gold reserves in vaults owned by multiple foreign financial institutions, including the Bank of England. But the bank since 2018 has refused to hand back 31 tonnes of Venezuela’s Gold to its President Maduro. The Western superpowers don’t see Maduro as a rightful leader of the Latin American country. Battered by a crash in the oil market, Maduro – literally – pleaded with folks at BoE to sell their Gold to the United Nations. But the request again fell on deaf ears. That left the emerging nations’ central banks with another lesson: Whatever that is yours is not yours until it is in your hands. Bitcoin, of course, is better. The cryptocurrency stays with its master, locked in a digital wallet protected by a 16-word code. Had Venezuela had Bitcoin, all they would do is open the digital vault and sell them online. #3 Faster Recovery As stated, bitcoin recovered faster and broader than any other traditional asset after the global market sell-off in March. Even Gold’s gains felt dwarfed at just 15 percent YTD. It isn’t just the price but the digitization itself. As the world prepares for a post-lockdown world, where making physical contacts would risk infection, people will operate digitally. So rather than moving physical gold from one hand to the other, why not transfer bitcoin one wallet to another. from Cryptocracken Tumblr https://ift.tt/35XN5Gx via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Cryptocracken Tumblr

[orbemnews]

Janet Yellen Drops Hints What Janet Yellen thinks The Treasury secretary opened the DealBook DC Policy Project yesterday, one of the few media interviews she has given since taking the job last month. Although she was typically understated in her conversation with Andrew, she dropped hints about some of her biggest priorities. Here’s what we think she’s planning: On jobs: Ms. Yellen said that the goal was to “get unemployment down to the levels we enjoyed prior to the crisis.” But she’s looking beyond the headline unemployment rate at bigger, broader numbers, and believes that the government has capacity to take on even more debt — suggesting she’ll push for more stimulus and other policies to goose the economy. On taxes: Don’t expect Ms. Yellen to support an Elizabeth Warren-style wealth tax. But the Treasury secretary suggested that she might support closing some loopholes in the tax code, including carried interest and, intriguingly, the “stepped up” basis of estate transfers. On crypto: Ms. Yellen dismissed Bitcoin, calling it an “extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions.” But she said it “makes sense” to consider a so-called digital dollar run by the central bank, in the first comments she has appeared to make about the idea. This could lead to “faster, safer and cheaper payments,” she said, an important statement of intent for crypto regulation in the coming years. Highlights from the other sessions yesterday: “It’s not my objective to run Amazon out of town.” The attorney general of New York, Letitia James, talked about protecting people against powerful business interests, including her recent suit against Amazon over workplace safety during the pandemic. “These big tech companies stifle competition, innovation, creativity,” she said. “Our product is missed.” The C.E.O. of Delta, Ed Bastian, spoke about the future of travel and about when the airline would start selling middle seats again. “The pent-up need and urge and desire to travel is like never before,” he said, though he noted that virus fears would make international travel slower to recover than domestic flights. “It is troubling to me — very troubling — that people don’t believe government numbers.” Microsoft’s former chief, Steve Ballmer, founded the nonprofit USAFacts to make economic data more accessible and understandable. In a chart-filled chat, he ran down the numbers on economic growth, jobs and more in an attempt to identify priorities for stimulus spending, minimum-wage policies and the like. To watch video replays of all the sessions, visit our live briefing. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING The U.S. reaches a grim pandemic milestone. More than 500,000 people have died from Covid-19, the worst absolute death toll in the world. President Biden marked the moment with a solemn ceremony at the White House. Donald Trump loses a final bid to shield his tax returns. The Supreme Court rejected the former president’s effort to prevent Manhattan’s district attorney, Cyrus Vance, from obtaining his financial records. Just as important, Mr. Vance could get access to additional records from Mr. Trump’s accountants. Facebook and Australia reach a compromise over sharing news stories. The social network agreed to restore users’ ability to post news links after Australia agreed to minor concessions on a law that would require tech platforms to pay for articles that appear on their sites. BlackRock clarifies its climate change goals. A spokesman for the money-management giant told The Times’s Peter Eavis and Cliff Krauss that its “ambition” was to have its entire investment portfolio reach net zero emissions by 2050. But many corporate giants either haven’t set emissions targets or are struggling to meet their stated goals. SoftBank nears a settlement with Adam Neumann of WeWork. The Japanese tech giant is close to an agreement to buy half as much of Mr. Neumann’s stake in WeWork than previously agreed. A deal could help pave the way for SoftBank to sell WeWork to a SPAC. Victoria’s Secret reaches out to private equity again Less than a year after the pandemic doomed an effort to sell Victoria’s Secret to the investment firm Sycamore Partners, the lingerie chain’s owner, L Brands, will again test private equity’s appetite for the business, DealBook has learned. L Brands’ bankers at Goldman Sachs will begin formally pitching buyout firms about a potential takeover as soon as this week, according to people with knowledge of the matter. L Brands said this month that it was weighing a sale or spinoff of Victoria’s Secret by August, as it focuses on its faster-growing Bath & Body Works division. In a statement, L Brands’s C.F.O., Stuart Burgdoerfer, said that Victoria’s Secret had “substantially increased its valuation” and that L Brands was still evaluating all options for the business. Victoria’s Secret has embarked on a turnaround since the Sycamore sale collapsed. A priority has been overhauling its brand, as younger customers shunned its overtly sexy products for alternatives focused on comfort and criticized its marketing as exclusionary. The lingerie market is in demand. A recent investment valued Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty brand at $1 billion, for example. For prospective buyers, Victoria’s Secret remains a well-known label with a sizable market share. But potential acquirers may have one lingering concern: the continuing investigations and shareholder lawsuits about the ties between L Brands’ chairman, Les Wexner, and Jeffrey Epstein. “It’s just embarrassingly bad.” — Jennifer Doleac, an economist at Texas A&M, who co-wrote a study that found women presenting research at economics seminars faced more questions than men and were more likely to receive questions that were patronizing or hostile. A record SPAC deal gets the cold shoulder Wall Street has wondered for months what Churchill Capital IV, a nearly $2 billion SPAC, would buy. But after it finally confirmed that it would merge with the electric carmaker Lucid, investors soured on the news — a potential turning point for the blank-check boom. The deal will take Lucid public at a $24 billion valuation, one of the biggest SPAC transactions to date. To finance the deal, Churchill Capital IV set a record for a so-called PIPE, raising money from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, BlackRock, Fidelity and others. But Churchill Capital IV’s shares tumbled 30 percent in after-hours trading following the announcement. That wasn’t down to surprise — news reports about a merger with Lucid have been around for weeks — but may instead be rooted in the financial terms of the deal: The PIPE investors paid the equivalent of $15 per share, a premium to the SPAC’s net asset value, but nearly 75 percent below where Churchill Capital IV’s stock was trading before the announcement. (That said, shares in Churchill Capital IV had soared in recent weeks, thanks in part to recommendations on Reddit forums.) Andrew’s take: “Hey CCIV investors: You realize the PIPE investors, who actually got to see the books of Lucid, paid $15 a share while they literally watched retail buy at $40 and $50 and $60 a share? I’ve mentioned before these structures can create misalignment. Not always. But sometimes.” The big question: Is the bloom coming off the SPAC boom? The Lucid deal may turn out to be a good investment in the long term. But any increase in skepticism about blank-check funds could endanger the stratospheric growth in the sector. In other SPAC news, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch writes about today’s $8.5 billion deal between Ardagh, which makes cans used by drink brands like LaCroix and White Claw, and a blank-check fund run by the serial SPAC founder Alec Gores. Bitcoin’s bad energy Among the reasons Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is skeptical of the promise of Bitcoin (see above) is its energy use. As she told Andrew yesterday, “It’s an extremely inefficient way to conduct transactions and the amount of energy consumed in those transactions is staggering.” The more Bitcoin is worth, the more energy is burned. “Bitcoin is energy inefficient by its very nature,” Charles Hoskinson, the C.E.O. of the blockchain engineering firm IOHK, told DealBook. “The more its price rises, the more competition there is for the currency, leading its energy requirements to rise exponentially.” So-called miners use computers to solve increasingly complex mathematical puzzles to verify transactions, earning Bitcoin for the work. This consumes huge amounts of energy, equivalent to a midsize country’s power use. One Bitcoin transaction has the carbon footprint of 700,000 Visa payments, said Alex de Vries, an economist who created the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index. (Smaller estimates still reckon it’s in the tens of thousands of equivalent credit card transactions.) “The Bitcoin network already requires half the amount of electrical energy to operate as all global data centers combined,” Mr. de Vries asserted. Miners could migrate to renewable power sources, but he cautioned that such operations need cheap and consistent power. And there is an electronic waste issue: Bitcoin mining requires highly specialized equipment that has a short life span and can’t be repurposed. At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin is down sharply, nearly 20 percent off the high it set this weekend. THE SPEED READ Deals Politics and policy Dominion Voting Systems sued Mike Lindell, the C.E.O. of MyPillow, for $1.3 billion over his public touting of baseless election fraud claims involving the voting machine maker. (NYT) Tech What “nonfungible tokens” are, and why people are paying thousands of dollars for them. (NYT) Remember Long Blockchain, the onetime iced-tea company that refocused on crypto technology? It was delisted by the S.E.C. for failing to report its financials. (Bloomberg) Best of the rest Just one U.S. company went public with an all-male board last year. (Bloomberg) There’s a glut of luxury New York City homes being put up for sale by hedge fund tycoons moving to Florida. (WSJ) “Is McKinsey losing its mystique?” (FT) We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected]. Source link Orbem News #DROPS #Hints #Janet #Yellen

[brettzjacksonblog]

Three Recent Incidents that Prove Bitcoin is Better than Gold

Bitcoin has beaten Gold in terms of returns on investments in its 11-year existence. Now the cryptocurrency is taking on the biggest hedging asset for its limitations in the 21st century. The Bitcoin market is on the move again. The cryptocurrency has seen its price ballooning by more than 150 percent from its March-lows. Meanwhile, it has surged little over 34 percent on a year-to-date timeframe. If Bitcoin were equity, the “firm” would be worth more than Airbnb and Adobe at its current market cap of roughly $175 billion. But the cryptocurrency is fighting Gold, a giant worth a couple of trillions of dollars, more than individual stocks. Analysts have found similarities in the economic model of Bitcoin and Gold. First, they both behave as safe-haven assets against geopolitical and macroeconomic risks. Second, both are speculative investments. And last, both tend to portray themselves as scarce assets against inflation worries. Nevertheless, many gold bugs have accused bitcoin of being a sham, even though the cryptocurrency has grown 8,000 percent in its 11-year lifetime. But the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic is proving those accusations as false. As the virus forces people into their homes to practice social distancing, it has kept businesses across all the leading sectors closed. The global economy is expected to shrink by 3.2 percent in 2020, according to the United Nations. The demand for gold is rising as the world’s oldest safe-haven. Nevertheless, the yellow metal has turned out to be a heavy object for some, leaving many bitcoin enthusiasts to play “what if” with Gold bugs. Here are three incidents that prove it. #1 That Non-USD Oil Deal Two nations hit by U.S. sanctions last month joined hands to open a private commercial and financial route. Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro sent Iran about $500 million worth of Gold via airplanes in exchange for help reviving its battered oil industry. As Bitcoiner Stephen Cole pointed, Maduro must have spent a fortune moving 9 tons of gold across Atlantic ocean and Caucasia. Had it been a Bitcoin transfer online, the socialist politician may have just paid a little less than $3 in fees. Source: Twitter The use-case proved that Bitcoin is much cheaper to transfer – and probably saves the environment from unnecessary carbon footprints. #2 Give Me Back My Gold The Coronavirus pandemic put an additional economic burden on some countries. While Venezuela was sending its gold reserves to Iran, it was also requesting a third-party custodian to sell its yellow metal to raise cash. But sadly, the country never got even to see a single gram of its very-own property. In retrospect, Venezuela kept part of its gold reserves in vaults owned by multiple foreign financial institutions, including the Bank of England. But the bank since 2018 has refused to hand back 31 tonnes of Venezuela’s Gold to its President Maduro. The Western superpowers don’t see Maduro as a rightful leader of the Latin American country. Battered by a crash in the oil market, Maduro – literally – pleaded with folks at BoE to sell their Gold to the United Nations. But the request again fell on deaf ears. That left the emerging nations’ central banks with another lesson: Whatever that is yours is not yours until it is in your hands. Bitcoin, of course, is better. The cryptocurrency stays with its master, locked in a digital wallet protected by a 16-word code. Had Venezuela had Bitcoin, all they would do is open the digital vault and sell them online. #3 Faster Recovery As stated, bitcoin recovered faster and broader than any other traditional asset after the global market sell-off in March. Even Gold’s gains felt dwarfed at just 15 percent YTD. It isn’t just the price but the digitization itself. As the world prepares for a post-lockdown world, where making physical contacts would risk infection, people will operate digitally. So rather than moving physical gold from one hand to the other, why not transfer bitcoin one wallet to another. from CryptoCracken SMFeed https://ift.tt/35XN5Gx via IFTTT

#IFTTT #CryptoCracken SMFeed

[michaelbennettcrypto]

Three Recent Incidents that Prove Bitcoin is Better than Gold

Bitcoin has beaten Gold in terms of returns on investments in its 11-year existence. Now the cryptocurrency is taking on the biggest hedging asset for its limitations in the 21st century. The Bitcoin market is on the move again. The cryptocurrency has seen its price ballooning by more than 150 percent from its March-lows. Meanwhile, it has surged little over 34 percent on a year-to-date timeframe. If Bitcoin were equity, the “firm” would be worth more than Airbnb and Adobe at its current market cap of roughly $175 billion. But the cryptocurrency is fighting Gold, a giant worth a couple of trillions of dollars, more than individual stocks. Analysts have found similarities in the economic model of Bitcoin and Gold. First, they both behave as safe-haven assets against geopolitical and macroeconomic risks. Second, both are speculative investments. And last, both tend to portray themselves as scarce assets against inflation worries. Nevertheless, many gold bugs have accused bitcoin of being a sham, even though the cryptocurrency has grown 8,000 percent in its 11-year lifetime. But the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic is proving those accusations as false. As the virus forces people into their homes to practice social distancing, it has kept businesses across all the leading sectors closed. The global economy is expected to shrink by 3.2 percent in 2020, according to the United Nations. The demand for gold is rising as the world’s oldest safe-haven. Nevertheless, the yellow metal has turned out to be a heavy object for some, leaving many bitcoin enthusiasts to play “what if” with Gold bugs. Here are three incidents that prove it. #1 That Non-USD Oil Deal Two nations hit by U.S. sanctions last month joined hands to open a private commercial and financial route. Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro sent Iran about $500 million worth of Gold via airplanes in exchange for help reviving its battered oil industry. As Bitcoiner Stephen Cole pointed, Maduro must have spent a fortune moving 9 tons of gold across Atlantic ocean and Caucasia. Had it been a Bitcoin transfer online, the socialist politician may have just paid a little less than $3 in fees. Source: Twitter The use-case proved that Bitcoin is much cheaper to transfer – and probably saves the environment from unnecessary carbon footprints. #2 Give Me Back My Gold The Coronavirus pandemic put an additional economic burden on some countries. While Venezuela was sending its gold reserves to Iran, it was also requesting a third-party custodian to sell its yellow metal to raise cash. But sadly, the country never got even to see a single gram of its very-own property. In retrospect, Venezuela kept part of its gold reserves in vaults owned by multiple foreign financial institutions, including the Bank of England. But the bank since 2018 has refused to hand back 31 tonnes of Venezuela’s Gold to its President Maduro. The Western superpowers don’t see Maduro as a rightful leader of the Latin American country. Battered by a crash in the oil market, Maduro – literally – pleaded with folks at BoE to sell their Gold to the United Nations. But the request again fell on deaf ears. That left the emerging nations’ central banks with another lesson: Whatever that is yours is not yours until it is in your hands. Bitcoin, of course, is better. The cryptocurrency stays with its master, locked in a digital wallet protected by a 16-word code. Had Venezuela had Bitcoin, all they would do is open the digital vault and sell them online. #3 Faster Recovery As stated, bitcoin recovered faster and broader than any other traditional asset after the global market sell-off in March. Even Gold’s gains felt dwarfed at just 15 percent YTD. It isn’t just the price but the digitization itself. As the world prepares for a post-lockdown world, where making physical contacts would risk infection, people will operate digitally. So rather than moving physical gold from one hand to the other, why not transfer bitcoin one wallet to another. from Cryptocracken WP https://ift.tt/35XN5Gx via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Cryptocracken WP

[ledenews]

Suicide? No Way - Part 2

(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles that will examine the passing of 19-year-old Colby Brown, a 2018 graduate of Cameron High School, who attended Marshall University in Huntington. Colby was pronounced dead on Aug. 26, 2019, once paramedics treated him in the middle of Interstate 64.) There was an unexpected knock at the door at the family home at the top of Benwood Hill, and it was finally dark outside on this warm, August evening in Marshall County. When Shelby Brown looked to see who it was, Colby’s sister saw two uniformed police officers on the porch. What did Mom do now? That’s what Shelby initially thought, especially since Gwen Wood is a 10-time women’s Toughman champion who still can be a quick wick. But that wasn’t it. “It was about 9:30 p.m., and they asked if Gwen Wood was home, but my mother wasn’t because she was caring for her friend in Charleston,” she recalled. “Then they asked me if I was related to her, and I told them that she was my mother, and they asked if they could speak to me privately outside.

They Told His Sister

“That’s when they asked if I knew who Colby Brown is, and that’s when I thought Colby may have gotten himself into some trouble for whatever reason,” Shelby said. “I told them that Colby was my little brother, and then they told me he passed away tonight. I asked what happened to my brother, and they really didn’t tell me any information other than he had passed away.”

Shelby and Colby were close in age and were together with their mother very often. David Brown, father of Brandi, Shelby, and Colby, was home at the time, but he was in the shower when the officers first knocked. When he realized Shelby was on the porch with the police officers, he entered the conversation. “He heard me scream when they told me about Colby, and he opened the door and asked what was going on. That’s when I slammed the door shut on him because I didn’t want him to hear it. I thought that if I could just keep it to myself that it wouldn’t be real somehow,” Shelby admitted. “Of course, my dad came back out, and he demanded that the officers find out what happened to him. He told them that they just couldn’t come to our house and tell us Colby was dead without telling us more. Finally, they said that all they knew was that he had fallen off a bridge.

There's No Way

“But they said nothing about Colby falling onto an interstate, so I didn’t know if they had found him in the water or something like that,” she said. “It wasn’t until later when my dad finally got some more information, but then a friend of Colby’s, John Crow, got ahold of us and he said when he talked to a police officer at a gas station that night that the officer told him that Colby committed suicide.” The incident was reported by the Huntington 911 dispatcher shortly after 7 p.m. on Aug. 26, 2019, but Colby’s mother was not informed until the family traveled to Charleston, where Gwen was caring for a lifelong friend with cancer. “When the police finally told us what they thought happened, we knew we couldn’t tell my mom that kind of thing on the phone, so we packed up and immediately left,” Shelby explained. “None of believed it from the very beginning, but we had to go to her and tell her what they told us. “When we explained it to her, she immediately said there was no way. We all felt the same, too, and the people who knew him thought the same. Not Colby. There’s no way.”

Gwen, Darby, Shelby, and Colby were inseparable as a family.

Labeled ‘Missing’ in 15 Minutes

A group of college guys, Madden football on Playstation 4, and a packed bowl of weed is what Colby’s family knows about the 19-year-old’s afternoon at Jon Crow’s residence. According to Crow and the others in attendance, Colby won a couple of games before six young men shared a bowl. It is at this point where inconsistencies begin, Gwen and her daughter’s believe. “That’s because one guy said he went down and knocked on the door; another person said he must have splashed water on his face because he was soaking wet; and another guy said that he watched him walk out, get into his car, and drive away,” Shelby reported. “And all of them say that from that moment on, they have no idea what happened. “But 15 minutes after Colby left, though, they told us, they decided to become a search party, and they contacted all of Colby’s friends, too,” she said. “After only 15 minutes, they had labeled him as missing, and that seems strange to me. Why so quick?” Crow became good friends with Colby after accepting a summertime pipeline position on a Marshall County project, and Colby welcomed him to the area since there were fellow Marshall University students, Shelby explained. As it turned out, Crow was hired to work on the same crew as Shelby’s boyfriend and father. Crow rented a residence, in fact, from Colby’s grandfather for only $200 per month at a time when such spaces were worth much, much more.

WVU football games were attended as often as possible. “Jon and Colby appeared to me to be friends because they were always hanging out and getting along, and Colby was last seen alive at Jon’s house,” Shelby said. “Colby wasn’t really close friends with the other boys who were that at the time, but Colby went there because Jon invited him so they could all play Madden. “The story that Jon told us was that they all were playing the video game and that they all shared one single bowl pack (of marijuana), and he repeatedly let us know that it was Colby’s weed that he had bought in Morgantown. Then Jon said that suddenly they couldn’t get Colby to talk, and then Colby stood up and said, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’ That’s when he walked downstairs to get to the bathroom. From that point, we really don’t know anything for sure other than I don’t have my brother anymore, and I want to know why.” Crow, along with the leadership of his fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi, staged a football-related benefit titled “The Colby Brown Showdown” on Sept. 13, 2019, according to Shelby, but it’s been silence ever since. “I didn’t know what to expect from Jon after Colby was gone, but I can’t say I am surprised we’ve not heard from him since the funeral. I don’t know why that is,” she said. “I just having a feeling someone knows something more, and I don’t know if he’s that someone. “He spent the entire summer with our family, and my pap charged him only $200 to rent a house that he owns,” she said. “We did Jon a lot of favors that summer, and it just seems odd to me that we’ve not heard from him because he knows us all. He was a part of our family, and he was a follower, and he let Colby lead him around every day.” Her final text from Jon Crow? “I sent him a text on September 10, and he replied, ‘Honestly, Shelby, I don’t know. I just know what the state police told me.’”

All three of Gwen's children were raised to love each other unconditionally, and that's exactly what they did.

The Tox Report

There are texts that Gwen Wood has been able to recover from her son’s cellphone and digital footprint, and, of course, there is evidence proving her son had marijuana he purchased in Morgantown, but also there was mention that Colby experimented with “magic” mushrooms, a hallucinogen that is well known to supply a peaceful high. What else could there be? Colby had just moved into his apartment, had no food in the refrigerator, and he took care of his beloved dog, Penny, before leaving to play video games on his friend Jon’s apartment. The expanded toxicology report from the West Virginia Crime Lab is expected in March, Wood said. “And I don’t fear the toxicology report. I want it to come back, and if there are drugs in his system, then that will lead us to more questions and hopefully more answers. That’s also when we will know if someone else knows something that they aren’t saying. “But if it says there were not drugs in his system other than the weed, I believe that should show everyone that something went very wrong,” Shelby said. “That’s because, in his right state of mind, nothing like this would have ever happened.” At 1:15 p.m., Colby signed into his Marketing Concepts and Applications class, and then at 2:35 p.m., he attended his Principals of Macroeconomic class, and he did that after going to the Marshall Recreation Center for his daily workout. Colby remained on a Promise Scholarship after excelling his freshman year and was geared toward a degree in the business field. “So, if you were planning to take your own life, why would you go to the gym to improve your body and then spend the last few hours of your life attending your classes on the first day of school? It makes no sense,” Shelby insisted. “If you’re planning on dying that day, why continued working toward your degree? Plus, he would have spent all of the money he had in his savings account if that were his intention, right?

Gwen's children had been in consistent communication with Colby up until his passing.

Colby Had Plans

“He had plans with a (female) friend of his that first weekend, and he told me he was excited about it, and when I talked with her, she was shocked because Colby never said a word to her about anything negative,” she said. “The day before he died, I messaged with him to discuss what he needed to buy at the grocery store. He said he was going to call me the next day when he got there so I could help him with all of what he needed. I never got that call.” Although she’s been hurt by headlines and perception and by the silence from law enforcement and Colby’s friends, Shelby remains staunch in the belief her brother was taken away a different way. “He was my best friend. Colby was always happy, and when there were low moments in my life or my sister’s life, he was the one who would pick us up and say, ‘None of this matters. You’re going to be somebody. We’re young. None of this matters.’ “He’d tell me that I was bigger than whatever it was I sad over. He’d tell me that our family had a bigger purpose than worrying about the little things,” she remembered. “Colby was always on track from the time he was a little kid, and he did it himself. What 19-year-old walks out the door and every single time tells you that he loves you? My brother did not suffer from any type of mental illness, and I can say that with certainty.” When it comes to what has been reported to this point, Shelby echoes her mother. “No way. I knew him inside and out. We told each other everything, and I mean everything, so I knew him, and I can say, 100 percent, I know he did not commit suicide. He was a person that I really, really knew, and there’s no way he would have taken his own life,” Shelby insisted. “He lived with a purpose because it was him who was going to be somebody someday. I have no idea how he ended up where he did, but he didn’t do that.”

Colby, of course, was there when his sister Shelby gave birth.

A Leaf Falls

Gwen Wood desperately has been attempting to “shake as many trees” as possible the past six months simply because she is as mystified as the rest of her family. Always smiling, the one with the plan, Colby was labeled the “Golden Boy” early on and retained that reputation following his freshman year at Marshall. And then he jumps off a bridge onto a heavily traveled Interstate 64? But that’s not why Ricky Cremeans finally decided to contact Colby’s mother. Cremeans was forced to swerve around Colby’s car on McCoy Road Bridge that night, and he and wife parked at the end and walked back to see if they could help. The first leaf has fallen, she believes. “He’s a guy who had commented on a post from Huntington, and I messaged him at the beginning of December, but I didn’t hear anything back from him. But then he saw the first story and decided to contact me,” Wood explained. “He told me he drove over that bridge and at that time there was a car parked in the middle of the bridge, and that the door was open. He and the person with him parked at the end of the bridge and walked over to the car to see what was going on. “They told us that there was another couple walking on the bridge at the same time, and when the guy who contacted me asked what was going on, the couple said they thought someone had jumped,” she said. “They walked up to the edge of the bridge and saw the paramedics all around, and they saw Colby.” She’s still his mother, and her voice changes inflection anytime Colby's name enters the conversation. And Gwen is not going to stop scrambling with her collected puzzle pieces, and that’s because, in her opinion, two-plus-two doesn’t add up. The conversation with Cremeans, however, helped. “He said that he saw that I messaged him, but at that time he didn’t feel he had any useful information, but after seeing the story on LEDE, he decided to get back to me and at least tell me what he saw,” Wood reported. “He told me a lot of things that the authorities haven’t even told us, and he told us the exact position of the car, and that’s not something anyone had told us. “We were also told that Colby’s car was running, but it wasn’t. He also told me that the couple that was walking across seemed a little too calm for people who said they had just seen someone jump off that bridge,” she continued. “And he told me that he and his wife talked about the whole situation when they got home, and that they agreed that something just didn’t seem right. “I hope and pray he’s not the only one who sees these stories and decides to step up and contact me, and I thank God people in Huntington are reading, too.” (Photos provided by Shelby Brown) Related: Suicide? No Way – Part 1 Read the full article

#AlphaSigmaPhi #Cameron #colbybrown #colbydavidbrown #crime #I64 #ledenews #Marshall #marshalluniversity #McCoyRoad #news #notsuicide #Playstation #suicide #toxicology